new life ramblings (5/29/09)

Every week (or most weeks) I take a moment to share what is on my heart.  Everything from what is happening at New Life, our culture, in my life and just random stuff.  I call this “New Life Ramblings”.  Enjoy! Feel free to respond back!  Give input!  Ask questions!  Grab a cup of coffee and catch up on what is going on in my mind. 

• Today is May 29—Did you read Prov. 29 today?  I like verse 20: “do you see a man who speaks in haste? There is more hope for a fool than for him”.  Interpretation—think before you speak. (or think before you press send on that email)
• Last weekend 29 people from New Life built 2 homes in Mexico.  I love to see their excitement.  Did you know we have built  8 homes in Mexico in the last three years?   
• A shout out to all of our graduates at New Life.  We have a ton of students graduating from High School and College.
• We just had 36 people in the “Fireproof your Marriage” series on Wednesday night.
• Man Up rally with Roosevelt Hunter is next Friday, June 5. Seven days from now.  You don’t want  to miss this Friday night rally.  You will love it.  Rally begins at 7:00 PM. 
• After the Man Up Rally, Roosevelt Hunter will be speaking for our youth at 9:00 PM.  I am very excited to see what God will do next Friday night at New Life.
• The original game of “Monopoly” was circular.
• Simply Worship is Wednesday.  This is the last Simply Worship before summer.  I love these evenings where we pursue Jesus together.
• We have over 17,000 books in the RCS library. 
• We are making great head way with our building.  Very exciting.  Begin to pray about November 1, 2009.  This is the day we finish “Now is the Time”.  We need $800,000 to come in by this day.  We will do a one-day miracle offering on this Sunday.  I need everyone to pray about giving.
• I visited Mike Taber in the hospital this week.  The Taber family is a significant part of New Life. Mike is struggling for his life.  He needs a touch of God. It was amazing to see the church in action.  To hear the stories of how people are gathering around Amy (his wife) and the family is amazing.  Everyone needs to have friends in life that will stand with you during tragedy.
• Fridays Rock for kids is tonight.
• We are baptizing some kids on Sunday.  I love seeing people go public with their faith.
• Your thumb is the same length as your nose.
• Read Exodus 18 to prepare for Sunday.  This is a defining text for me as a leader.
• Last week I met with the elders.  We were reflecting on the generous giving of New Life.  Thank you your giving.  I pray God’s favor on your life.  I often think—what would happen if everyone gave in a systematic, generous and cheerful way?   Can you imagine the potential and strength of this kind of church?  Ok, something is stirring in my heart. 
• Jana and I love New Life.

new life ramblings (5/22/09)

Every week (or most weeks) I take a moment to share what is on my heart.  Everything from what is happening at New Life, our culture, in my life and just random stuff.  I call this “New Life Ramblings”.  Enjoy! Feel free to respond back!  Give input!  Ask questions!  Grab a cup of coffee and catch up on what is going on in my mind. 

• We are home!  Jana and I had an outstanding time in Hawaii.
• Sunday we finish our series on Joseph.  Joseph is known for many things.  On Sunday we are going to unpack the most powerful principle in Joseph’s life.  Read Genesis 50 to prepare. 
• The Word of God changes our character and conduct.  How has this series changed your character and conduct?
• Jeffery did outstanding last weekend.  I love our teaching team.
• We have 30 people in Mexico this weekend building homes.  I love this church.
• Short week for my ramblings.  I’m still trying to catch up on everything.  
• See you Sunday! 

new life ramblings (5/15/09)

Every week (or most weeks) I take a moment to share what is on my heart.  Everything from what is happening at New Life, our culture, in my life and just random stuff.  I call this “New Life Ramblings”.  Enjoy! Feel free to respond back!  Give input!  Ask questions!  Grab a cup of coffee and catch up on what is going on in my mind. 

•  Aloha from Hawaii! We’re celebrating our 20^th wedding anniversary. 
• Sunday is going to be incredible. Walking through the life of Joseph has personally challenged me in some core areas of my life.  Read Genesis 45 to prepare for Sunday.
• Last Sunday we received $7,078 for homeless moms.  Every penny goes to Vine Maple Place and Vision House.  You can still give to this online here.
• Roosevelt Hunter will be speaking our Man-up rally on Friday night June 5.  This is the first time I can recall doing a Friday night service just for men at New Life. Click here for more details.
• Last week they installed all 173 of the geo-piers.  This week they poured the footings for about half of the perimeter of the building.  Take a peek at the live webcam here.
• I am believing God for people to give their lives to Jesus every Sunday at New Life.  Last Sunday two people filled out the NEXT card and said, “I prayed with the pastor and gave my life to Jesus”.  Also 4 people signed up to be baptized in water.  This is what the church is all about!
• Last Saturday at Serve Day over 50 volunteers collected over 300 yards of garbage, 1 truck full for Salvation Army, shredded over 50 boxes of sensitive documents and a container full of recycled appliances.  I love serving our community!
• The youth ministry secured a great location for their fireworks stand, Goodwill in Four Corners in Maple Valley.
• Pastor Ricardo and Pastor Randy met with some traffic experts to improve our traffic flow.  Very important for us to solve this.
• The average chocolate bar has 8 insect legs in it. 
• Our Women’s event, Morning in May, is taking place this Saturday.  Click here to register.
• My oldest daughter is graduating high school in 4 weeks…Crazy!
• We still have a few spots open for our August mission trip to Panama.  Check out our mission catalog or email bert.fields@newliferenton.com for more info.
• I want to invite you to follow me on twitter.  If you don’t know what twitter is—don’t worry about this.
• Jana and I love serving you!  Last Sunday was very humbling for me.  Thank you for all the kind words last weekend.  All the notes were very meaningful for Jana and me.  We read each one individually.
• Pray for people to give their lives to Jesus on Sunday!  

new life ramblings (5/8/09)

Every week (or most weeks) I take a moment to share what is on my heart.  Everything from what is happening at New Life, our culture, in my life and just random stuff.  I call this “New Life Ramblings”.  Enjoy! Feel free to respond back!  Give input!  Ask questions!  Grab a cup of coffee and catch up on what is going on in my mind. 

• Hawaii here we come!  We leave Monday AM!  Why Monday?  This is when Pastors take vacation.  We arrange everything around Sundays. 
• 20 years of marriage this Wednesday May 13.—I am one blessed man!
• One of the traditions we have on Mother’s Day is giving people an opportunity to give to homeless moms in our community.  There will be a “Give Back” envelope available on Sunday.  All money goes to Vine Maple Place and Vision House.  I love this tradition we have at New Life.
• A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown, but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones (Prov 12:4).  God has blessed me with a wife with noble character.
• Serve day is Saturday! This is a great day to serve our community.  Click HERE for more information.  Tell a friend.  Encourage them to do spring cleaning. No strings attached.
• This year we had 8 interns from Northwest.  We take the summer off.  Very excited about our internship this fall.
• Junior Bible Quiz is going to nationals.  I love watching kids memorize God’s word.  We will honor them on Sunday!
• I preach Genesis 41 on Sunday.  What a story!  On Sunday we will learn the secret to Joseph’s success.  The principle we will unpack on Sunday is perhaps the most defining principle in my life. 
• “All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother.”  Abraham Lincoln
• They are done with the 173 GEO piers.  We are making progress.
• Simply Worship was amazing on Wednesday. There is something breathtaking watching 300 people come out on a Wednesday night  to worship Jesus.  Don’t miss our last one before the summer—the first Wednesday in June!
• Chelsey (my daughter) will be speaking for a few moments on Sunday!  She is quite the preacher.
• While doing site work this week, we removed an existing log that was approximately 8′ under ground.  The log was 27′ long and 30″ in diameter.  In the initial effort to remove the log, its size and weight collapsed the front tires on the back hoe.
• “A mother is a person who, seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.”   Tenneva Jordan
• Let’s “praise” all the moms on Sunday.  “Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her” (Prov 31:28)
• We are going to experiment receiving our tithes and offerings at the end of the service each week.  Thank you for your giving.  I live to give.  I don’t live to survive.  I am setting giving goals, not getting goals.
• Receiving the offering at the end will allow people to turn in the NEXT information card.  On the card will be a place that says, “I prayed with the pastor and gave my life to Jesus today”.    Let’s believe God for people everyday, every Sunday to say YES to Jesus.
• See you Sunday!  Sit with your mom! 

new life ramblings (5/1/2009)

Every week (or most weeks) I take a moment to share what is on my heart.  Everything from what is happening at New Life, our culture, in my life and just random stuff.  I call this “New Life Ramblings”.  Enjoy! Feel free to respond back!  Give input!  Ask questions!  Grab a cup of coffee and catch up on what is going on in my mind. 

• I was at a Northwest Ministry conference all week hanging around a bunch of pastors. 
• Sam and our worship team led the conference in worship on Wednesday night. They did an outstanding job. I was so proud that it actually brought me to tears. 
• The last episode of Heroes was amazing.
• Gen. 40 on Sunday! Can’t wait! Read this passage to prepare for Sunday!
• The building is happening! Wow! All week they were drilling geo piers for our foundation.
• Life lesson—you can’t see the geo piers. We can’t see the foundation of our lives.  So many things God does in our hearts we simply can’t be seen. But, without a strong foundation our lives will crash.
• Take some time on Sunday to check out the progress of the building (we have a viewing station).
• Simply Worship is this Wednesday. I can’t believe we are in May. Sam and Jana do great creating an environment where we can pursue intimacy with God.
• RCS uses 418,000 sheets of paper each school year. 
• Follow me on twitter. Ok, what is twitter? I send out personal updates and thoughts throughout the week. You can receive them on your cell phone. All you have to do is set up a free account through www.twitter.com. Then decide to follow me. If you don’t get it—don’t worry about it.
• 40% of McDonald’s profits come from the sales of Happy Meals.
• Jana and I leave for Hawaii in 10 days to celebrate 20 years of marriage.
• Beginning May 10 we are going to experiment receiving the offering at the end of the service. Why? We want to encourage people who say yes to Jesus to fill out the NEXT card and put in the offering plate as it goes by. What do you think?
• Lots of people coming to Married Life Live tonight.  It will be great. Last minute people still can register online or at the door. Click HERE to register online.
• Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 10. Mother’s Day is one of the largest Sundays we have at New Life. Moms have a lot of influence on this day (and everyday). Moms—tell your kids, husbands, relatives that you would love to sit together in church as a family. Do brunch before or after. 
• See you Sunday!