MAN! I can't wait for Sunday to get here. My LifeTalk has been in the can for a couple days now. I've actually been touching it up here in there today in the office. Usually our office is closed on Fridays but I've been in here working and while I miss the normal hustle and bustle and craziness that Brandon, Travis and Catherine bring, I must say it has been nice and quiet. Anyway, this Sunday is going to be a HUGE one for us. I can just feel it. I have an extremely important message that anyone and everyone needs to here. The only thing I'll say is that my text is Exodus 20:14 and my teaching will not be what you're expecting.

DON'T MISS THIS SUNDAY! I'm going home... Actually, I'm taking my hot wife to dinner and a movie! :) for me!

This is a video from our student ministry trip last week at Daytona Beach, Florida. It was an awesome time. This video captures some of the highlights...

I just finished my LifeTalk for this Sunday. I can hardly wait. I can hardly wait because it is going to be a life-changing message for some folks. I'm dealing with the seventh commandment - Exodus 20:14 - "Do not commit adultery." But my message is not what you're expecting. Trust me when I tell you that you do not want to miss this Sunday.

Got back home this afternoon about 4PM. Great trip there and back. Here are just a very few things I want to get out there...

- We had about the best trip possible. So many people made this a great success in so many ways and on so many levels.

- We had about 6 or 7 of our own students make first time decisions for Christ. That alone is priceless and worth every penny of the trip.

- We have a staff lead team that most churches would die for (Catherine, Travis and Brandon - you guys are the best. I MEAN THAT!).

- It just so happened that all of our staff members (including spouses and April - Brandon's awesome girlfriend) made the trip. I think it was good for our staff - even though "they" worked their butts off. I say "they" because I didn't do a thing :).

- We need a bus!

- Our future at Rocky River is bright. It only took about a day and a night with our students to realize that.

- We had a spiritual breakthrough this week that is going to turn our church upside down. Can't tell you what that is but you'll know about it soon enough.

- We had some adult volunteers and students that really got connected this week at camp.

- I can't wait until summer camp 2008...! When do we leave?!

- Next year my little Annie will be a rising Middle Schooler and will be making the trip with us. OH MY GOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

• Today was a lot of fun at Rocky River. The crowds were back for both services and the money was over budget. Beyond that though there was a good spirit in the services today.
• The message was fun for me. I don’t know if it was any good or not but I just felt good teaching.
• The music was good too (except for the bass player. He stunk the place up!)
• Can hardly wait for staff meeting tomorrow. I have some exciting new ideas to drop on our staff. You’ll have to wait until later to hear them though…

Hey gang. I'm ordering these shirts tomorrow (Thursday, June 27). Do you want one of these t-shirts for July 4th. I'm going to order a bunch of them but I'm trying to get a feel for how many folks want them. They will sell for $7 - HARD TO BEAT THAT!

Anyway, email me asap at jimmy@rockyriverchurch.com to let me know how many and what sizes. You can pay for them when you pick them up on Sunday!

*To me these look as cool as Old Navy's July 4th shirts :).

These are two kids from our church, Grant Lucas and Kyle Bateman. This picture was taken this week at the greenhouse at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The plant behind these guys is a BELLA - the largest flower in the world. When it blooms (sometime this week) it will REEK! Literally for about 24 hours this flower will smell like a rotting animal, dung or rancid cheese! Anyway, Grant and Kyle’s parents are in small group together (I guess they are bonding). They better not stand near that flower long or they'll not only be bonding, they’ll be STINKING TOO! Yuk! ☺

I am feeling good this morning…
• Last night my All-Star team got beat by the same darn team for the third time in 10 days. I’m getting tired of that but I love my little team. We’re having a really good time together and we’re going to win some ballgames this week. I feel good about our team.

I hate being away on Sundays. I really do. I just love teaching. I love the people. I just miss not being in church. BUT, I don't worry about it anymore. I used to like crazy. And I'll bet my team thinks I worry because I called all them several times this morning. But I really don't worry about what is going on and how things are handled when I'm away. AND THAT FEELS SO GOOD!

I can hardly wait for this Sunday. I’m excited about the LifeTalk (If you’re new to Rocky River we don’t call the "messages" sermons. I will do some preaching though. I don't mind. But in our LifeTalks we start with the Bible and talk about how is relevant to our everyday lives). We’re kicking off a new LifeTalk series called “Simple.” It is a summer-long series that is a search for God. That’s about all I’m going to say about it here except that you should move Heaven and earth to be @ Rocky River Community Church this Sunday. AND, don’t come in late! You don’t want to miss the first song! We’re going to kick off the summer right…!!!

Oh yeah, don't forget to bring your friends and family members who are searching for God, truth, direction, purpose and hope.