tis the season.....

I got the opportunity to meet an extraordinary man the other day. Despite some obvious physical setbacks and a very uncertain future, This man Bob was able to join us in singing some of the songs of the season. He and his wife Evelyn had decorated their house to the hilt, with a Christmas tree in every room and snow villages, lights and decor second to none.

I'm glad we took the time to go and meet this wonderful couple and receive the blessing that we did. Too often we get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the season and think ourselves too busy to give, and I mean in the truest sense of the word.

I'm convinced that if we listen hard enough we can hear the still small voice calling us to "lay down our lives...." No, not necessarily a physical gesture but maybe putting the brakes on for a few minutes, laying aside our schedules and agendas and thinking of others and discovering that we truly will receive far more in return.

Merry Christmas

in the flow....

Jack

Assisted Living

So here we are, fulfilling a promise I made a couple of years ago when my parents went to be with Jesus. Some of their better times in the last few years of their lives were spent at Peachtree Village in Commerce, Georgia. Today we went and did a program for the wonderful residents there and had a great time.

Just a thought about "Assisted Living". Don't we all need it when it boils right on down? Where we get in trouble is when we think we know it all or can do it all, when the Bible promises us that when we are weak, He is strong.

Anyway, we went in with guns blazing and gave them a pretty eclectic program that went something like this:

Cover Me by Healing Flow

I Can See Clearly Now

Glorious Day by Casting Crowns

In the Garden (Watermark arr. with There is None Like you by Lenny LeBlanc)

Christmas Carol Medley (O Come All Ye Faithful, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, and Angels we Have heard on High)

First Born by Healing Flow

Silent Night

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

My buddy Greg Roesch, Outreach Pastor of Walk on Water Church (Bowhunter #1) gave a great meditation on Luke 2.

We had a chance to greet the people, including our friend Ms. Dollie Jarrett, Ms. Margaret Brand (mother of one of my mother's best friends, Ellen Smith) Activity Director Morgan Shubert (a former student of mine) and a host of others. Maybe we can go back sometime and do this again.

Our first recording project is finished and in the copying/packaging phase this week. We hope to pick up our first copies on Friday.

Peace on ya! Merry Christmas!

In the flow.....

Jack

I'm thankful

Things I'm thankful for today.....

1. I have a God who loves me.

2. I have a fantastic wife and a great marriage

3. I have great kids (and a great grandkid)

4. I have a loving church family and a Pastor who is truly a shepherd

5. I have Healing Flow, a ministry made up of family members and friends whose passion is to lead people into the Presence of Almighty God.

6. I have family and friends who love me in spite of my faults

7. I have a great job and I serve great customers.

There is a lot to be thankful for today. It's a beautiful day. Love to all of you and Happy Thanksgiving!

My view from a deerstand

yea, I know...it's been a while since I posted here.

A little quiet time in the deer stand, and some random thoughts, if I may....

My dad used to say that he felt closest to God when he was in the woods, hunting. I'm fairly new at this but I am learning the secret that he tried to explain to me years ago. Going hunting, being in the quiet in the still of the night before the sun comes up is more than just a quest for the kill (obvious in that I have yet to kill anything but time so far). It is a time to focus, to listen, to enjoy God's creation in a different context, and to recharge the batteries for the next round of life experiences that are on the way.

People don't always understand fishing, either, in that catching fish is not necessarily the point. Going is not just the what, it's the why as well. (Don't get me started with what, how and why, that is a whole 'nuther day).

Do I appreciate the sport of it? Oh yeah, bowhunting is a trick in and of itself, and in my opinion a much more level playing field than with a high powered rifle. I am well prepared to send Bambi to her eternal reward if she ever gets anywhere near my part of the woods, too. But I share my Dad's love of the peace (and quiet) that passes all understanding.

ok, back to work.....

in the flow,

Jack

Think Outside of the Box

Me and Myles cooling out at Starbucks

A moment of your time, if you please....

What is normal, anyway? Why do some people insist on routine? Why do we expect things to stay pretty much the same, even though while we were not paying attention, the world kept spinning around last night?

As much as I like things to go smoothly, it just never seems to work out that way....and why? When we get stuck in traffic and our schedule gets changed, then we hear of a terrible storm or accident that we avoided, or have a chance encounter with someone that otherwise wouldn't have occurred, do we ever stop and thank God that He knows exactly what we need?

Are we sensitive enough to His Spirit when He whispers "This is the way, walk in it!" and do we watch for the signs of His influence, or do we curse the very roadblocks and detours that may have been set up just for us?

Lately I find myself praying, "Lord, open doors that no man can shut and shut doors that no man can open". Think about that for a minute. Are you ready for that one or do you find yourself pushing on the door that says pull, fussing all along that you are about to be late.

Let's think a little outside the box and see what adventures may await on the other side of normal. Let's get a little lost in the zone where we aren't quite as comfortable. Let's visit the Shabat of praise and live in that higher plane. If we truly want the supernatural to operate in our lives, lets not try to make it "normal" or explainable, or comprehendable, and see where it takes us.

Worth a try? (on a Monday morning, what do we have to lose?)

in the flow

Jack

Joy

Pastor Perry Burgess of Walk on Water World Outreach Church

Awesome message today by Pastor Angie Burgess at Walk on Water Church. Joy...."The Joy of the Lord is my strength". Some awesome examples of Joy today:

Roy Looney, who lost his wife of 50 years to cancer finding joy and a soul mate and announcing it to the church. Happiness is contagious, Roy.

The worship today was fantastic. People are learning how to worship and finding that "In His Presence is fullness of joy and at His right hand are pleasures forevermore".

Altar call today...obvious joy breaking out all over several people who responded, including new people. You could get used to this, right?

My Pastor, Perry Burgess is an encourager, a man who lives out his faith in front of me daily, who loves the Lord with all his heart. When he was watching his wife, Angie deliver the message today, the happiness inside of him kept bubbling over and he couldn't help but smile.

I say make somebody happy everyday, even if it is yourself.

I needed this message today. Thanks Angie for your obedience, Perry for your trust in me, Healing Flow for your awesome heart for worship, and Walk on Water church for taking this journey with us. Anyone in Northeast Georgia who is looking for a church that thinks outside the box needs to come out and experience the difference. 217 Sandy Creek Road in Commerce Georgia.

Today's set list:

Hosanna by Paul Baloche

Our God by Chris Tomlin

Glorious Day by Casting Crowns

The More I Seek You by Keri Jobe

Gotta Have Faith by Healing Flow

This blog is networked with Worship leaders all over the country on Fred McKinnon's website on The Sunday Set Lists. Check it out by clicking here

in the flow,

jack

Walkin on Water

Pastor Perry Burgess of Walk on Water World Outreach Church

Walk on Water ministries has been a faith operation from the start. I remember when the ministry was birthed and a great commissioning service at the Lighthouse in Monroe with Sam Chand and others. I was blessed to be able to lead worship on Thursday nights when the church was on Clarks Bridge road in Gainesville and the freedom we experienced there. As a matter of fact, the first original songs started right there and the beginnings of what we call "Healing Flow", the place in worship where God moves, the original praise in which our Lord inhabits, and where the lines which define worship and intercession blur.

We were there the night the Athens Mission Church began, leading worship downtown in a little church hall that filled up so quickly, and people who were hungry not only for the free food, but also for the encouragement and direction that our Pastor brings on a regular basis. We continued to come on Sunday nights with our friends and our team to join the Pastor in his groundbreaking ministry to the street people of Athens. When the call came to come to the new building for the next phase we jumped at the opportunity and continued for a year and a half. To see the Pastor's generosity and his heart for the homeless and the street people of Athens inspires you to want to do more.

So the fine people of Athens, especially the landlords in our shopping center decide that they don't like the church housing from 50-75 people an night and feeding as many as 150. The homeless church of Athens ironically homeless. What to do? Where do we go?

We are in Commerce, making the best of it at 217 Sandy Creek road in a converted garage, and God is moving. This Sunday, July 3, we will have a team from the Lighthouse church and Side Walk Sunday School, with a cookout afterwards. Free to all. Come and see what the Lord is doing and join by faith as we continue to Walk on Water!

This weeks set list:

Friend of God by Michael Gungor and Israel Houghton

Open the Eyes of My Heart (a classic)

Glorious Day (Living He Loved Me) by Casting Crowns

Jesus Messiah by Chris Tomlin

Revelation Song by Jennie Riddle

This is a part of a worship leaders network led by Fred McKinnon called Sunday Set List

Check it out and see what worship teams all over the country are doing by clicking THIS LINK

in the flow.....

Jack