Four More Days

Super Bowl XLII is now just four days away. Now, I don't really care who wins although it would certainly be witnessing history if the Patriots do, but I'm getting excited because Discovery Church is having a little tailgate party. We're playing cornhole and eating some snacks from our fold up camp chairs while we watch the Super Bowl, the ads, and just have a good time. If you don't have plans, make sure you come out and join us. It's just 4 days away.

The cornhole tournament starts at 4PM and you can sign up as individuals or teams through Sunday morning. If you've got questions, shoot Randy Strickland an email!

Three More Days

I'm not totally sure why, but one of the things I love doing is watching UFC. For those of you who don't know what that is, it stands for Ultimate Fighting Championship and about once every month there's a pay-per-view fight on that a bunch of the guys (and a few wives!) gather to watch and enjoy this primal sport. A few weeks ago we set up for church and then used a satellite dish and watched it on the screens we use for church with the sound turned up. It was almost like being there.

So if you like UFC or just need a little "man time" then make sure you come and join us at he Boys and Girls Club this Saturday night. Fight starts at 10, but you can come anytime after 6PM because we'll be there setting up anyway. Feel free to invite some friends and bring a little something to snack on and we all chip in to pay the guy with the dish back for buying the fight.

See you there in only 3 more days!

Two More Days

It's not a secret, but it's also not been formally announced yet. What is it? Can't tell you for two more days. Check back on February 1st for some exciting news happening at Discovery Church.

Fun Day Today

Had a great day today and heard a lot of good feedback. Randy did a bang-up job singing Jesus Paid It All which was totally appropriate in a message that talked about debt. Hopefully people will at least think differently about their money now after today.

I was amazed to learn in preparing for this that Americans use their credit/debit cards to purchase $51 BILLION of fast food each year. Unbelievable. That's enough $1 bills to fill a whole football field 32 feet deep with $1's. We gave everyone a fun "book" too. It was inspired by a SNL skit we showed and then gave everybody their very own copy of this practical life-changing book.

You can watch the classic video clip below. Which character do you relate to more?





Here's what this priceless (FREE) book says. Imagine if we put this into practice.

Rule # 1

If you don’t have any money, DON’T BUY STUFF!

Rule # 2

Buy expensive things you want using money that you’ve SAVED!

Rule # 3

If you want something but don’t have the money, DON’T BUY IT!

Rule # 4

If you don’t have the money, DON’T BUY stuff anyways because you want it.

Rule # 5

DON’T BUY something now and hope that you can pay for it later

Rule # 6

Make sure that you have the money BEFORE you buy something

Rule # 7

DON’T BUY things you cannot afford before you have the money to afford it

Rule # 8

If you can only pay the minimum payment you don’t have enough money so DON’T BUY IT!

Rule # 9

If you can’t buy it, don’t spend what you do have—SAVE IT for something else.

Sorry, 1 More Story to End Your Day

Couldn't resist sharing this. Considering it's a re-enactment of one of my favorite scenes from one of my favorite movies. I've posted the whole article below but you can read it here.

CHESTERTON, Ind. — Two fourth-grade boys mimicking a scene from the movie "A Christmas Story" wound up with their tongues stuck to a frozen flagpole.

Gavin Dempsey and James Alexander were serving on flag duty at Jackson Elementary School Friday morning, with the job of raising and lowering the school's flags. They decided to see if their tongues really would stick to the cold metal.

"I decided to try it because I thought all of the TV shows were lies, but turns out I was wrong," Gavin said.

Karen Alexander, James' mother , said her son told her he got the idea from the movie, which is based on stories about a boy growing up in the northwest Indiana community of Hammond in the 1940s.

"I can't believe he did it, but they learned their lesson," she said.

James said he plans to eat a lot of ice cream to help nurse his wound.

"When you're young, you're just messing around," he said.

Billie Dempsey, Gavin's mom, said a nurse called them to tell them the boys' tongues were bleeding.

"The nurse asked them, 'OK, who double-dog dared who?"' Billie Dempsey said, a reference to a phrase that a character in the movie used to dare another child to stick his tongue to the pole.

Long Day

We're back. It was a long day for everybody. Hundreds of kids wrestling on 12 different mats. Tyler and Tanner didn't have banner days by any means, but got to earn some great experience, both lost to either the first or third place winners so nothing to hang their heads about.

On the way back, I found out that there were people not just at the Boys and Girls Club, but set up in the gym for a nice formal dinner celebration of somebody's 60th birthday and they weren't planning on wrapping up until after 7. We actually pay to be able to set up starting at 6. Sounds like it was a scheduling mix-up but it's still frustrating. Makes it hard to get people to keep coming out for the setup team if there's no setup or it's not happening for another hour or more. Anyway, it all worked out (cause we're so flexible!).

Looking over my notes for tomorrow and I'm still excited. We'll see if I can convey that excitement and Biblical truth tomorrow. Kids are all bathed, brushed and bedded so now I gotta get some sleep. Out!

Wrestling Tournament

Headed to Fayetteville this morning for a wrestling tournament. Tyler and Tanner are wrestling in it but Chandler isn't. Looks like there's more than 600 kids that will be here. And we're taking the whole family - girls and all. Should be an interesting day. Hope it goes well and hope the nursery worker training and information dinner goes well tonight. I'm sure Laci will do a great job. See you all on Sunday!

Gonna Be Good

I'm excited about this weekend. We're in the middle of our iLife series and this week we're talking about money (iOwe). So many people struggle with their finances that we're trying to do something to help. We're in our third offering of Financial Peace University and if you haven't taken it, I'd encourage you not to miss it the next time it comes around. Our next series, starting February 24th, is all about finances and stewardship and is going to be a blast. We'll be playing The Price Is Right. Whether you struggle with your finances or not, you won't want to miss Sunday or our next series.

It's Early

Got a men's Bible study that starts meeting today and boy, it's early. We meet at 6AM and I've been up since before 5 because I was so worried about sleeping through my alarm (and I have the key to open the place up so it's not like I can not show). I know some people are up this early or earlier everyday, but not me. Between 6 and 6:30 is my time. Hope to see a good turnout of men this morning though.

Just So You Know

You should still be able to get to my blog the old fashioned way, but I got tired of seeing or having to type this huge long discoverychurchjason.blogspot.com. Not exactly easy. So I'm switching my blog over to my own domain name jasonebeling.com. The change should be complete sometime in the next couple of days. Just wanted to let folks know. Until then...read on.

Sick, Just Sick

I spent the better part of the middle of the night making trips back and forth between my bedroom and my daughters. Why? Because they were up I guess. The crying one woke the talking one and the talking one turned into the whiney one when I took the crying one into my room to try and comfort her. Get all that?

I won't bore you with details except to say that Hannah's seemed sick for almost three weeks but the doctor's have been saying she's fine. Even so, Lora had them work her in today and she just called to say that she's heading home with a nebulizer and picking up medicine for Hannah AND Sarah because it seems they both have walking-pneumonia. Wow! I feel like a great parent.

EDIT: I guess they don't have anything but a wheezing sound and the doctor wants to make sure it doesn't turn into pneumonia or something else

I guess it'll be just the boys and I heading down to Fayetteville for "family time" since Lora needs to be back to see the doctor on Friday and the girls need stinkin' breathing treatments every 4 hours.

Welcome to my world. I really do love my kids though and I love being a parent. Heck, I woke up yesterday to Hannah crapping in her diaper (good) and it overflowing all over in her pink footy pajamas (bad) and all I could do was smile (and hold my breath). That's love. That and cleaning up your kid that just poo pooed all over in their pajamas. Anybody want to babysit so Lora and I can go out for a quiet meal - ALONE!?

Bet You Never Saw A Hillbilly Like This

Got this in an email and couldn't resist sharing. I don't care who you're voting for or if you even like Hillary and Bill. This is just plain funny. I've never seen a Hill-Billy like this one (and for that, I'm very thankful)! I love some of the humor that comes out every election cycle. Of course there's some really hateful, negative stuff out there, but like I said, this is just plain funny.

I'd love to hear, read or see some of the stuff you find humorous. Post a link in the comments section.

Digging Out

Well, after that snow last night, we're digging out. Yeah right. How do you dig out of less than what might be generously considered "a dusting"? I'll tell you, you don't (most people probably have more "dust" in their homes). The NC blizzard of '08 never materialized. I saw a few flakes about midnight, but nothing more. Not even cold enough to freeze over all the water standing around from the rain.

If this happens again, it's really gonna crack me up. I wonder how people would act if it actually snowed. There might be fist fights at the grocery store for the last loaf of bread. The good news is it didn't seem to affect our attendance today. Then again, maybe people were afraid that I'd make fun of them if they didn't show up. Silly North Carolinians....

Winter Storm Warning?

I think it's seriously been a decade or more since I've been someplace where there's been a winter storm warning. On top of that, the last one I really remember was back in MN and those don't happen unless they're expecting 8-12 inches. So apparently there is really a winter storm warning for right here in NC. Why? Because they are expecting up to 4 inches of snow (MN Jas is saying in his head, "ooooh, 4 inches. What a joke!)

So what does this mean for Discovery Church? Great question. Since I'm the pastor and 4 inches of snow doesn't scare me, it means business as usual. We'll still be setting up at 6PM on Saturday and still be holding our service at 10:10AM on Sunday. I'd appreciate it if those of you who have experienced snow before would act appropriately by driving carefully, but still coming out to set up or worship with us. Together we can make fun of the rest of the people who are worried about being snowed in by "up to 4 inches" or use it as an excuse to do nothing. Come on people! It's just snow.

We'll see the few, the proud, the unafraid on Saturday and Sunday. Until then, better gas up your snowblowers!

Book Of Secrets

Went with my wife and oldest son to go and see National Treasure: Book of Secrets tonight. I loved the first movie and liked this one too. Wasn't quite as "believable" as the first one but didn't matter, great adventure and they of course left room for a potential third one (what was on page 47?)

The key to this was found in a secret book that only the President knows about (or at least can read and write in). It contained America's secrets and supposedly explained things like area 51, JFK assassination, Watergate, the moon landing, etc. Sounds like a pretty good read. But it was secret and only the most powerful person (the President) could read it or write in it.

Reminded me a little bit about the Bible, not that the Bible is a 'secret book,' but that only the most powerful person (God) can write in it. But unlike the movie, one day ALL the secrets will be revealed and we'll know God fully, experience Heaven (I can't flippin' even imagine) and meet and hang with Jesus (and I don't think I'm being disrespectful saying that). You want your own adventure, treasure hunt, solve-it-yourself mystery? Start chasing after Jesus. That's a treasure worth finding.

I admit it may sound a little hokey, but that's what I was thinking and it's my blog so back off.

I Think I Agree With This

I'll take a risk, but cover myself by letting someone else say what I might like too. As a pastor, I've heard more than a few people say to me or to other pastors (in other churches of course) that they're "not getting fed." I found this guys blog and I think I agree with him. He's doing a whole series on this, but here's his first couple posts on the topic.

Waaaaa...I'm not getting fed
Waaaaa...I'm not getting fed
Waaaaa...I'm not getting fed

Any thoughts...?

New Faces

One of the things I love about being a pastor is you get to spend a lot of time with people. I love people because there's such a variety of personalities, backgrounds, experiences, knowledge, and even shapes and sizes. Over the past couple of weeks a bunch of people have rolled through the doors of Discovery and I'm trying hard to learn names and faces. I'm in the people business and if I don't know, learn, teach, relate and care for people, I'm out of a job (not to mention I'd be a poor manager of what God sent my way which would make me a bad pastor!)

So I'm trying to improve. I'll be honest, I'm not very good at systems and we need to improve our systems when it comes to how we reach, treat and follow up with our guests. So I've been reading a book by Nelson Searcy who started the Journey Church in Manhattan called Fusion that's all about how to really connect with first time guests and turn them into people who are totally engaged in the life of the church. Part of me cringes because I don't want people sold out to me or Discovery in the same way I want people to be sold out to Jesus, but I believe that we're trying to model that, and push people to live out their faith in the marketplace and in their neighborhoods and families. So I think there's a benefit from being a part of Discovery Church. Haven't finished the book yet because I'm slowly digesting it (before I make the staff read it - heads up Claude!) but so far it's simple to understand, but a little more difficult to actually carry out. Still, I'm committed to doing the best I can with what we've got and that means first time guests too.

I've had a chance to talk with a good number of our guests, I've prayed for all of them and already shared a meal or some coffee with a few. I certainly don't have it all figured out, but I still think people just want to know somebody cares...and once they know that, they want to be a part of a place that cares about others. That's why I do this. I know Jesus cares about me (He's shown me in a million ways) and I want to be a part of His work and let other people know that He cares and I do to.

Who have you showed that you care today?

What I Might Have Missed

Occasionally Lora and I wonder if we're doing the right thing by homeschooling. We really chose this because we love being around our kids (and because Lora did a lot of reading, research and we prayed about whether or not it was for us). There are good days and bad days and when I got home today, I found it it was a good day. I'm wondering if my kids would think like this or even be allowed or encouraged to write stuff like this if they went to school. I don't think so.

They were working on writing more "formal" letters so Tyler wrote one to his mom (Mums) and this is what he wrote (you can click on the letters if you need them bigger to read them) He's a real schmoozer. He actually wrote a few notes for Lora and hid them in the kitchen the other day....first one said, "Good morning beautiful!" I'm teaching him well.

Tanner decided to write one to his little sister Hannah. He's a real creative, comedian type (not a good speller at all) but his first attempt was a little 'over-the-top' so Lora had him do it again. I've included both for reading pleasure.

this was his first try...

this was his second try

And just think....I might have missed this if we didn't homeschool. I love my kids, their creativity, expressions, ideas, and the freedom they feel to be who God created them to be. We must be doing something right (but definitely not everything)

Great Sunday

I don't even know what the final numbers are or anything, but I know this....it was packed today and I can guarantee that we were over 200 for the first time!  We've been close a couple times before at 199 and 198, but not today - we finally broke that barrier.  They tell me we had at least 20 FTG's (first time guests).  That's what we shoot for - one guest for every 10 people.  Only bad deal is that we didn't have enough gift bags for all the guests!  We'll need to make sure that doesn't happen again.

Love having the college students back too.  They bring so much energy.  I talked about marriage (iDo) today but did my best to include them in the conversation so I hope I did that.  I even brought my Wii from home and set it up and started the message out by playing it.  After all, just like in a marriage, there are two 'i's' in Wii  - yep, two people become one we. I'm loving this iLife series.

The numbers are just a gauge and we're not saying we're successful just because we have a high number.  I'll only consider us successful when I see people starting new relationships with Jesus or growing in their relationship - putting Him first, making him greater and making themselves less and less self-centered.  You can be praying for that too.

Just gotta say - man what a day!

Looking Ahead

Even though we've just started our iLife series, we're already looking ahead and getting things ready for our next series. I think one of the most talked about series we've done so far is when we did Family Feud and talked about our family relationships. I still remember the main point from Ephesians 5:21 - "It's not who you're submitting 2 it's who you're submitting 4" and we used a 2x4 to help people remember it. I had so much fun inviting people up on stage to play Family Feud and I think the people really enjoyed it too (considering they've been asking for another game show series for more than a year now). Remember this....?

The Parents

The Kids

The Set

So, just to let you know, when the end of February rolls around, we will be doing another game show and asking people to "Come on down...." and compete for prizes as part of a series we're going to be doing on Money: how to walk away a winner. Should be lots of fun. Start thinking now about what games we might be playing from the show.

Second Saturday Service

Yep, time for Second Saturday Service again at Discovery Church. I love these S3 projects. We do everything from $1 car washes where we give people $1 and wash their car to picking up trash along the highway or raking leaves in neighborhoods. We were going to be handing out free hot cocoa, but it's not exactly winter weather so we've changed plans. We did this project before and it was weird for some people at first, but it's easy to get into and the people we bless love it. So if you want to take part, make sure you're up at the Boys and Girls Club by 9:30AM this Saturday.

Here's a hint...

I Got Flowers

Look who stopped by to give me flowers....Randy! He's Ella's dad and his wife Laci was over at my house watching my kids when he dropped these pretty little things off. Now before you start thinking there's something funny going on and go spreading some nasty rumors, Randy gave the flowers to me, but they weren't FOR me. They were a nice little surprise for his wife - some "Just Because" flowers. Way to go Randy, major deposit in the marriage account.

Don't Know What It Is

Is anybody else like me? Do you sometimes find yourself feeling "off" but you don't really know what it is? It's not like I'm mad at anyone, frustrated about anything, stressed over stuff - my marriage is strong, kids are healthy, church is still growing (a bit slow for me, but still growing). So what is it? Why am I just "not feeling it"? Ever been there before? Any ideas? Suggestions?

Planned Absences

One of the things we're doing with the staff this year is planning to when we're going to be gone. Over the past couple of years while trying to get Discovery Church going I think we've actually spent too much time at church and on church and not enough time on God and getting away to just be with Him. So when we meet for our staff meeting tomorrow, we'll nail down all the times each of us will be getting away - not to plan, not to work, but to listen. I'm convinced that God wants to do more than I've allowed Him to do here and it's because I haven't slowed down enough to really listen.

If you're feeling stressed out, overworked and overburdened, it might seem counter-intuitive, but schedule some time away where you don't regroup, reprioritize or even recharge so you can come back and do whatever it is you do even harder. Just get away, and relax. Unplug, unwind and sit still and listen.

And if you hang around Discovery, don't be surprised if you don't see me, Claude or Davey as much this year.

Mouse In The House

New Year's Eve was fun. Had about 30 or so people over and we played games, ate snacks and then prayed in the new year together. Most people had left by 1AM, but Davey and Janelle stayed and we talked until almost 3AM. As they were leaving, Janelle noticed something moving and said, "Do you want me to help you catch your mouse?" Apparently she thought we had a pet mouse to go with our ferret, ball python and bearded dragon. Only one problem - we don't!

So at 2:48AM on New Year's Day (technically) we set out to catch a mouse. It was under the piano and we couldn't get to it so I woke up Tyler and asked him to grab his snake figuring snakes eat mice right? So we haul out Samson the mouse killing snake and put him down at the last known address of the mouse invader. Small problem (or should I say big) - Samson is no longer a little snake. He's kinda fat and can't fit under the piano anymore. Ok, move the piano.

We move the piano and the mouse runs, jumps over Janelle's foot and makes a lap around my living room and realizes all the doors are closed, so it hides under the couch. I get Janelle a basket and Tyler a cooking lid to trap the mouse under (didn't want to squash it on the carpet so figured we'd catch it). We move the couch and it takes off again, squeaking out "can't catch me" as he runs around my living room. It runs onto the hardwood floor which is exactly when Tyler decides to try and capture it. He slams his tin lid down so hard it sounded like a cymbal crash and he woke up our house guests. Good morning everyone, it's 3AM.
Janelle finally corners and captures it under her bucket, I slide something under it and carry it into the boys room to drop the little menace into the snake cage and let it reap it's reward for taunting us. I sneak in, trying not to wake the other two boys. As I attempt to dump the mouse into Samson's lair, I watch him do a spinning, one-armed back flip off the edge of the bucket and land outside the cage! Now the mouse is loose in their room. Good thing we closed the door. Now me, Tyler, Davey and Janelle, grab the flashlights and start looking under and around stuff. When we can't see it, we finally turn on the light and start tearing the room apart, taking drawers out, unloading the closet, moving dressers. We see it move in the closet so focus our attention there. I know right where it is, but when I move the last bit of cover it has, it leaps something like 13 feet up and runs around the room behind another dresser.

Tanner is now up but we think we've got it cornered so everyone takes their places with some kind of containment device like a garbage can, bucket or lid. It's been 40 minutes and I'm ready to give this rodent as a treat to Samson. Heck at this point if we could catch it, I'd cover the stupid thing in chocolate if Samson wanted me too. We scare it out and Janelle's lightning fast reflexes put her bucket into motion and she traps the midnight scavenger. Victory is ours and to the victor go the spoils so we grab Samson and let him visit with our prisoner of war and then we let him eat the vanquished foe. Satisfaction and victory is mine.

The next morning, Chandler wakes up, knocks on my door and asks me - "Daddy, what happened to my room last night? It's messy" He slept through the whole thing.

Random Thoughts

Just needed to get a bunch of random thoughts out of my head and into yours!

• The holidays aren't over yet! Even though my in-laws just left this morning, I've got to pick up a friend at the airport in a little over an hour, some other friends from Florida just arrived last night, and more friends from Knoxville will be here later today. 'Tis the season
• Jerry Coyle brought his karaoke stuff over on New Years Eve and left it here. I'm having a little bit too much fun with it.
• My in-laws bought the kids (family) a Wii for Christmas. I'm having a little bit too much fun with that too.
• Dang it's cold out this morning. Ice on all the water I saw and the wind makes it worse.
• My desk is a mess (but that's normal I guess).
• It's 2008! This year is going to be incredible.
• I love having 5 kids. Never a dull moment.
• About 3AM on New Years night (or day I guess) Davey and Janelle were still here and helped me catch a stinkin' mouse in my house! I'll post about that later (with pictures!)
• Lora wasn't happy that we were tearing the house up hunting for a mouse at 3AM.
• Chandler slept through it - and we were in his room!!!
• I don't really play video games, but I've already made it through ever level in one of the shooter games. Wiiiiiiiiiiiii
• Revised giving numbers for 12/30 were almost double what we normally receive.
• I'm stoked about our next series - iLife starting
• Got some noise-cancelling headphones for Christmas. I'm gonna be loving that with my iPod
• Lora's birthday was yesterday. I goofed. I guess when she said she didn't want to celebrate her birthday Jan 1st it DIDN'T mean not celebrate, it just meant no gifts. Oooh, that darned miscommunication.
• Hurting people are coming to Discovery and looking for and finding help. That's cool.
• It's been a really weird schedule the past couple weeks - lots of odd hours for getting stuff done.
• It was really cool to look over the whole past year at Discovery on Sunday. It seems like some of our teaching really did stick since people remembered some of it months later.
• I don't like reheated pizza rolls, but I'll eat 'em if I'm hungry
• I haven't blogged much the past two weeks
• My house is doing pretty well for all the people that have been in it and through it over the holidays
• I'm chilled and that's not good. It takes me a while to warm up when I get chilled. Wish I didn't have to go outside again.