I've moved!

I've moved to a different address and wanted you to know so you can come with me.

You can check out my continued blogging at:

http://scottgaglardi.typepad.com/souljourn/


thanks for stopping by and I hope to see you at the new location.


Scott

Hitting The Mark

Now that was fun!! I got to spend the morning with 7 other guys shooting a variety of guns at a variety of different objects (Thanks Craig for organizing a great day!!) Here's a rundown of what I had the chance to shoot - 20 gauge & 12 gauge shotguns (pump & semi-auto), 9mm & .45 handguns, 308 & 30/30 rifles. With these guns I attempted to hit a; skeet, water jug, paper target, paint-can, steel person cut-out and a 5 gallon bucket. I did hit a few of these but I think the dirt bank behind got the worst of it :)

I was a little disappointed with how I did considering the level and extent of preparation I had gone to (READ - watching the Mark Wahlberg sniper movie 'Shooter') but I was reminded of a couple valuable lessons. First - In target practice, just as in life, it is important to keep your eye on the target. As hard as it may be to hit what you are aiming at, it is impossible to hit the mark if you aren't aiming at anything. Secondly - make sure you don't go by yourself. We had a lot more fun simply because we were together. We had fun cheering for each other when someone hit the target (and when one of us decided to put another round into the dirt bank). All in all it was a great day and I really hope we get a chance to do it again (I hope you're reading this Craig).

Staying in the orphanage....

We are taking our children with us to Uganda in 4 weeks for a ministry trip and so we are in the midst of preparations and determining our schedule over there. One of the young women from our home church growing up is currently living in Kampala and running an orphanage. She has a couple of extra beds right now so while we are over there Naomi and the kids will be able to stay there and help out.

I got this figured out while I was at the office and I was pretty pumped about the opportunity for our kids so when I got home I announced to Naomi, '...there are some extra beds at the orphanage so we can take the kids and they can stay there...'. Now to the informed, this sounds like a completely appropriate statement about an exciting missions opportunity, but for my 7 year who came into the conversation at that point it didn't produce the same response. While Naomi was responding to my comment with a, '...that's fantastic!..' she happened to glance over and see a very despondent look on Hudson's face. With a downtrodden, and somewhat anxious, response he said, 'but I don't want to go to an orphanage.' We quickly realized the misunderstanding that had taken place and provided Hudson with some clarification and then everything was fine.


We laugh about it now (hopefully Hudson won't need counseling later in life!) but it really emphasized to me the importance of clarity in our communication. It is so easy to have a misunderstanding and then run off with it. I have seen so many people struggle with issues for far longer than they needed to simply because they never bothered to get further clarity on an issue.

So let's make sure we don't ever drift off to sleep thinking we are going to be abandoned in an orphanage.

Thoughts from Sunday

What a great morning we had in all 3 campuses! Several times during worship I found myself thinking about the rest of our family spread out over all 3 campuses worshiping together and celebrating God's greatness. It's not hard for my mind to wander as I see people participating & responding in worship in 1 campus to wonder what is transpiring in the other 2 locations. As I see people in front of me being ministered to by Holy Spirit I know by faith that the same is being accomplished in each campus as we come together in unity & expectation.

Several times when we debrief the different services I will hear about how Holy Spirit emphasized the very same aspect of God during worship and I marvel again at how in 3 different locations God is building 1 family. It is an amazing reminder to me that God is building something and as we continue to submit to His leading in obedience & faith we will have the amazing privilege of participating in a work that will touch individuals, families, communities, regions and Nations. I can't possibly think of anything more fulfilling or significant!!

The icing on the cake today was hearing afterward about an individual who responded to Jesus' free gift of grace and accepted Him into their heart. I missed seeing their hand when opportunity was given but I know that God didn't. He never misses one person, and with great compassion and celebration He welcomes another member into His family.

It has been an amazing day and it is not over yet. Tonight we get to gather and discuss 'A Christian Response To Homosexuality' and learn more about how we can follow the example of Jesus. We want to model His example and embrace & accept people, regardless of struggle or sorrow, and treat every individual with love and respect.