Maple Leaf Duathlon Recap

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Man, what a great afternoon of helping with the Maple Leaf 5K and Duathlon!? We had a blast helping out racers from all over the area.? I am so proud of our church family who stepped up and volunteered their time and energy!? You guys ROCK!? I had a ton of the racers who were so thankful for the kind words and encouragement from our people.? Belinda Shores (#330 in the pic) is a triathlete and serves in our Kids City children’s ministry every Sunday? She did an amazing job in the Duathlon (5K run/15 mile bik/1 mile run). She is standing in-between Trisha Fisher and Jessica Ensz, two other Forest Park(ers)!? They decided to run the 5K together and did an awesome job too!

Check out an email that Jenny got this morning from Belinda…FP Carthage, you guys are awesome and it really shows!!!

Hey Stone Family and church family!

Just wanted to tell you how much your help was appreciated at the Maple Leaf Run and Duathlon.? What a great response from our church and what a unique way to reach out to our community!? You all did a wonderful job of protecting the racers from oncoming traffic and giving directions.? Thank you!? Those of you who were serving the water were a refreshment to the thirsty.? Thank you!

Matthew 10:42 “And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.”

Joyfully,
The Shores Family

By the way, Taylor your a great runner!? I could tell you trained hard, because you ROCKED the run!? Also, Patricia and Jessica what a great run!? Your run times were spectacular!? Way to go girls!

Thanks again to all of our FP Carthage folks who really made a difference yesterday in our community!? AWESOME!

Here are some pics from my iPhone…random, I know…forgot the “real” camera in the truck!

Join us for a free conference!

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NinesCome and join us at FP Carthage for a really cool conference on September 9th…in our auditorium. ?We will be gathering around the computer/video screens for this FREE online leadership conference sponsored by Leadership Network and Catalyst.

Here is the details from the website…

What if you could sit down across your desk with some of the best leaders in today’s church and hear what they would say to you? That’s the idea behind THE NINES.

THE NINES is a free one-day event that will take place totally on-line. It is designed for all church staff members who want to be motivated and stretched in their leadership.

Leadership Network asked some of the church’s greatest communicators: “If
you had nine minutes to talk one-on-one with thousands of church leaders, what is the one thing that you would tell them? The result is a series of passionate and personal messages that will help you and your church navigate into the future.

The format is simple: Nine minute video leadership lessons that can help
multiply your church’s impact. You will be stretched as a leader, and motivated as a church. And you’ll hear a personal word from many of the leaders you know and trust (along with some great new leaders we’ll introduce you to). It all starts at 9:00 a.m. Central time on 09/09/09. We’ll make a day of it. The conference will probably last around nine hours! You can come and go as you please, but hope that you’ll be with us the whole day!

We are encouraging every church staff member in America to attend THE
NINES. Watch it alone, or with your entire staff. It’s free.

Here is the trailer that explains the idea behind the conference…

Road Trip: Carthage Edition

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Wow, what an awesome day of serving our community! We decided to take the Church to the people today! We had a great turnout of people helping serve those in need here in Carthage.

Why do this on Sunday? This question has been asked quite a bit lately. The leadership felt that the best time to do this was on a Sunday to have the most people available. Plus, we wanted to do some ?teaching? that worship isn?t necessarily only when a group of people gathers in a church and sings songs and hears a message from the Bible. Worship is a lifestyle. We are also doing this on Sunday to send a message to our community that they are important–so important, in fact, that we are helping them instead of doing something for us. And, what better day than ?the Lord?s Day? to do the ?Lord?s work!?

What about the kiddos? We said that we wanted each mom and dad, use their own discretion on how much or how little ?help? they wanted your child to be today. Our group had a lot of kiddos, so we didn’t get as much done as some of the other groups, but it was an awesome time of teaching for our little guys about what “true religion” (see James) is all about.

Thank you again so much for helping us take the Gospel to this community through your service!

Here is a gallery of pictures of a few of the groups…thanks to Taylor Orr for the photos.

Sunday Night “Sum Up”–6.28.2009

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Each Sunday night I will be summing up the previous week’s events in a “numbered” list, along with the “sum total” of our attendance for the week…even though “I’m not very good with numbers.”

  1. I know, I know, I am a total slacker blogger…but I have been Tweeting a lot more lately. ?(Check out the left column)
  2. We had an awesome Sunday today!!
  3. Baby dedication was great…but, like Aaron Miller said today, kind of like “herding cats.” ?It was definitely dinner time for a couple of the four young ladies!
  4. Be praying for Ryan and Elise McBride along with Noah and Eli! They are pursuing God’s calling to go to serve Gunnison, CO. ?They are a community that is 90% unchurched! ?90%…amazing. God, please give them favor!
  5. Had 296 total people at Carthage today!
  6. Bapt-i-que was really great tonight! Good crowds, good food, good friends and conversation. ?Best of all…some serious diving prowess by Kevin Stratton. ?(Still has after ALL those LONG years since he was a diver at SIU!!) ?Check out the Facebook for some pics. ?I will also post as many pics as possible when I get them.
  7. A huge thank you to all who helped to make the evening a success! ?The Sanders, Yockeys, Friesens, Smiths to name a few! ?You guys are AWESOME!
  8. Still recovering from our “vacation” a couple of weeks ago…maybe I’ll post about it. ?Actually, I should save it and turn it into “National Lampoon’s Branson Vacation.”
  9. Pray for Jenny as she is going to have her gall bladder removed soon (she drove herself to the hospital in the middle of the night on our vacation…one of the many “hits” from our Branson Vacation to remember.)
  10. I am going to the doctor tomorrow for a rear kicking. ?Not eating right, not exercising, etc., etc., etc.
  11. I finally bit the bullet and bought P90X. ?The final nudge was from a pastor/church planter, Shawn Lovejoy, that I read his blog that has been doing it for a year. ?He feels he is the healthiest he has ever been in his life.
  12. I have really felt convicted about my health lately. ?I need to be more healthy for Jenny and the boys. ?They deserve me the best I can be…not some guy that is always tired and worn out all the time!
  13. We had a blast on Thursday night at the Springfield Cardinals game! ?Thanks to Uncle Tad and Aunt Katie for the great tickets (2nd row). ?They gave Taylor the tickets for his birthday in April.
  14. Continuing to work on our painting/wallpaper stripping project this week. ?Jenny finished getting all the wallpaper off the wall in the dining room. ?I am getting ready to texture and then paint. ?Lots of work ahead of us though
  15. Had our 14th Anniversary on Wednesday.
  16. Got our A/C recharged on Monday afternoon…Thanks Terry Ryan!
  17. Dog fence + lightening = Dogs running all over the neighborhood this weekend! (New transmitter and lightning protector in the mail!)
  18. 6 FP students found Christ at camp this week! ?That never gets old!
  19. Got my car back…6 new valves, new timing belt, etc. ?What a mess.
  20. Taylor had his last baseball game of the season. ?They did really good this year!
  21. We got a couple of Betta fish, Nemo and Swimmy. ?(I know we are crazy!)
  22. It is way too late for me to think back to last week!
  23. Good night!

Here are some pics from my phone this week…

Taylor sings at “Steadley Idol” Talent Show

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Here is our new rock star singing Linkin Park’s “What I’ve Done” at his talent show on Tuesday.? He did an AWESOME job and we are SO PROUD of him!? He was originally the 53rd act out of 56 acts!? Crazy!? They didn’t turn ANYONE down…the ultimate “ALL SKATE!”? So, three hours later, Taylor finally got to get on stage and show his stuff!? He actually missed his first baseball game because of this.? He could have played in both the 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. games and STILL gotten to the talent show to perform with time to spare!

I can’t wait until we get into our new building which we share a property line with!? My heart would be to offer up our auditorium to them to have a great facility and better sound system for their special events.? We really want to be a good neighbor and they can definitely use the help it seems.

Hope you love it like we do!!

Dave Ramsey’s Town Hall Meeting for Hope

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Connect with families across the nation for a truly radical message: HOPE.

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Tired of hearing the fear, doom and gloom that?s filling the airwaves? Join Dave Ramsey for a nationwide town hall meeting and discover what?s happening with the economy, how we got here, and where we?re going. Plus, Dave will answer your questions live throughout the event!

Join us at Forest Park Carthage at the Bykota Community Center for this free event April 23 at 7:00 p.m. CST in one of the thousands of venues across the country as we stand together to reignite the fire of hope!

Check out this video to see what it is all about!!

Sunday Night “Sum Up”–4.12.2009 (Monday Edition)

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Each Sunday night I will be summing up the previous week’s events in a “numbered” list, along with the “sum total” of our attendance for the week…even though “I’m not very good with numbers.”

  1. Had a great Life Group tonight!? Had a game night and really needed to laugh…it was nice!
  2. Finally got most of the mess from the painting of the foyer and hallway cleaned up…mostly, but going to need to put a second coat on . . . stinks.
  3. Yesterday was amazing at FPCarthage!? We had a great crowd with a TON of new faces!? We had 329 people.
  4. The LOST series is going to continue to be AWESOME!
  5. Our FREE Family Portraits were a HUGE hit!? We took a whole lot of pictures and they are turning out really well!
  6. Spent all day on Saturday painting our foyer and upstairs hallway…glad we have an attic fan…some serious fumes going up up in there!? Reminds me of our crazy builder of our house in Ozark.? Walked onto the site and the fumes knocked me over.? Opened the front door, saw his respirator on top of the can of polyurethane.? He sticks his head out of a cabinet he was spraying and was much too giddy for words!? Sad really all of those poor brain cells!
  7. Had a great time at the Jeffries for Easter celebration on Friday night!? The kids got to hunt eggs and we gave Tom and Gwen their anniversary present for their 40th Anniversary! A weekend trip at a condo in Branson with all three families…should be fun!
  8. Taylor went to Grandma Betty’s and Tucker went to Grandma Gwen’s on Thursday night.? Date night for us!!
  9. Taylor dyed Easter eggs with Grandma Betty–an Easter tradition for them!
  10. Tucker wreaked havoc at the Jeffries on Thursday night!
  11. We saw my cousin Mark Sanders and his bride, Michelle at Johnny Carrino’s.? Really like them!? It has been way too long since we had time to sit down and talk.
  12. Eric, Alisha, and Riley Schmidt were at Carrino’s as well.? Those people stinkin’ gave us a free dessert and left before we could thank them!? THANK YOU GUYS!!
  13. Met another neighbor on Wednesday night.? The winds the other night blew our grill cover about 3 acres away in to their yard!? He gave me the “low down” on the whole neighborhood.? Funny stories indeed!
  14. Can’t think of anything else…and you shouldn’t end on 13–bad luck.? Have a great week!

Mailers hit mailboxes tomorrow

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We are kicking off a new series at Forest Park called “LOST: Finding Your Way in a Time of Uncertainty.” I am really excited about this series and this Easter Sunday!? We are going to be offering family FREE Easter Portraits…NO STRINGS ATTACHED!! Make sure you come and be a part of this awesome opportunity to reach out to our community here in Carthage and show them Christ’s love this Easter!

Check out the mailer that is hitting mailboxes tomorrow!

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Sunday Night “Sum Up”–4.5.2009

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Each Sunday night I will be summing up the previous week’s events in a “numbered” list, along with the “sum total” of our attendance for the week…even though “I’m not very good with numbers.”

  1. Had a really great Sunday today!!
  2. The “numbers” weren’t very good, but that is not all we are concerned about.? 220 today.
  3. We had a TON of elementary kids in second service!? We are planning on being PACKED next weekend!
  4. I had a conversation with a new couple that made my week this morning after service!? It is so cool to be able to be the kind of place that people “can’t wait” to come back next week!
  5. We prepared for next week’s worship response time by filming “Cardboard Testimonies.”? Check out an example here.? Ours are AMAZING too!? You NEED to be here in church this SUNDAY to see what God has done in Carthage!
  6. Had a very good crowd for our New Members Class this evening!
  7. We are gearing up for our Free Family Portraits…3 photographers to shoot a TON of pictures!
  8. Taylor had his first baseball practice on Friday night…lots of throwing and catching…if you can throw to a target and catch the ball, you are well on your way to being a good ballplayer!
  9. Supposed to have another practice this afternoon, but was called off–for SLEET!? What in the world??? We need some warm SPRING weather SOON!
  10. Got a lot of Kilz primer on the walls for our “little” (HUGE) painting project here at the house.
  11. Took a group of leaders to KC to Westside Family Church.? It was really good and I think it was awesome to have our folks be able to talk to some of their leaders and observe.? BTW, we are doing a TON of things right!!? Great job FPCers!
  12. Went to SGF to our architect’s office on Thursday.? The new building is going to really, really cool.
  13. Can’t wait for tomorrow night’s game!
  14. And the Masters this weekend!
  15. And MLB starting!
  16. Welcome Spring!

Here is a gallery of pictures that I posted on twitter and from my phone this week (and last week)…

The Week In TwitPics….

Sunday Night “Sum Up”–3.22.2009

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Each Sunday night I will be summing up the previous week’s events in a “numbered” list, along with the “sum total” of our attendance for the week…even though “I’m not very good with numbers.”

  1. Preached live at Carthage today…I love when I get to preach…I miss it!
  2. Don’t miss the preparation and study…but miss preaching.
  3. Don’t miss the “grind” of having to have a message every 7 days.
  4. Had 256 on Spring Break…don’t know if that is good or bad.? Seemed like we had a lot of new faces, which is awesome!
  5. My mom and dad spent the night last Sunday night and got to hear me preach at Collide.
  6. We went to dinner at Cheddar’s for dad’s and my birthday.
  7. Taylor and Tucker rode to SGF in the motorhome…Tucker rode “shotgun” and probably told Pa Pa how to drive the whole way!
  8. I took off Monday through Thursday to work on the house “remodeling.”
  9. I am extremely tired from scraping off our “house of wallpaper.”? There is wallpaper in almost EVERY room in our house!
  10. Didn’t get as much done as I wanted, but we will hopefully get the “wallpaper walls” textured and painting done soon.
  11. I was pretty proud of myself in not “working” during my vacation…I am pretty bad usually about “checking in” on my vacations.
  12. Taylor spent Monday through Thursday with both grandparents…had a great time!
  13. Tucker was “wheels off” here at home with us!
  14. Tuck tried to “help us paint” by painting with the roller (no cover).? He did a great job on our floor, the walls in the foyer, the hallway walls, and the playroom…problem, we didn’t want any help yet!!? Paint thinner anyone??
  15. Kids check-in is getting better each week.? Seemed like it went really well today.
  16. Mizzou RAH!!
  17. Rock Chalk Jayhawk!!
  18. and as much as it hurts to say it…Boomer Sooner
  19. Bottom line–Big 12 did really well in the first two rounds.
  20. Fran is leading a pool I am in…what??
  21. I have an idea for Easter that is going to be AWESOME if we can pull it off!
  22. Excited to have staff meeting tomorrow morning and get back into the swing of things.
  23. Happy Birthday Kevin!

Here is a gallery of pictures that I posted on twitter and from my phone this week (and last week)…

The Week In TwitPics….