Gilbert Thurston

• Wow what a weekend…I’m just now getting home.
• Saturday night Shalom Christian Academy had their version of the prom and I ran all the tech stuff for them so it threw me off my normal Saturday schedule.  I never got home until after 11PM.
• Not a good thing because I was already nervous enough about today’s message.
• So I got up at 7 this morning to put some last minute touches on the message.
• I’m not sure I’ve ever been more nervous for a message.
• It was a lot of personal stuff to share and the fact that my in-laws and parents usually listen on-line doesn’t make it any easier.
• Anyway the morning started out with easy set-up other than the fact that it was stinking hot and that we noticed a pool of water had pooled outside of the Youth Room door entrance…so I got a mop and played the role janitor.
• I had warned the team that we needed to cut one of the songs because the message was going to be a long one.
• I thought they did a great job with the 2 new songs.
• As I expected some parents did elect to take there kids out once they found out what the message was going to be about.
• The parents that did let their kids stay told me they were glad they did.
• I had quite a few guys tell me that when I mentioned the 48-72 hour rule they felt bad they didn’t have enough guts to stand up and cheer.
• “Ah just go hug a tree.”   Yet another saying that will end up on a t-shirt.
• Overall everyone I talked to seemed to get a lot out of the message and many people shared it was timely in their lives or in the lives of others that were with them.
• Afterwards our team had to tear down all of our equipment so they could play in the sanctuary for the missions event.
• Wow that’s a lot of work…nothing a little pizza couldn’t help with though.
• The team did well considering that we basically have to get set-up without much of a sound check.
• Not sure how much the people attending enjoyed it…
• Andy and I ran the tech side of things and it was a nightmare.
• At one point one of the presenters was introducing churches and having the people stand.  At the end he asked if their were any others present.  Both Andy and I stood up…it’s a joke because our favorite show is LOST and some of the characters are called the Others.
• By the time we got all cleaned up, it was time for CAYA…
• Now everyone from CAYA is at our house and getting ready to play a game.  Others are playing pool and some are playing Wii.
• They’re eating all of our food, so I’m getting ready to head out to Food Lion…

Not sure why I found this so funny, but as I came into the office this morning a softball game was about to begin…or at least it was supposed to.  Pretty hard to play when you can’t see.

• No…I’m not dead from the killer candy bar…but it was touch and go there for awhile.
• I’m pretty pumped up about this weekend…I think God is going to change many lives for the better.
• Last night’s practice was a lot of fun…we were all in a sort of goofy mood afterwards during our normal prayer time….it’s nice serving together and making a difference for Jesus with people you genuinely enjoy being around.
• Today is my day off so I’ve been just relaxing, doing some reading and playing Wii.  I bowled a 279 earlier.  I had strikes in the first 7 frames…in the 8th I left one pin standing on my first ball and then picked up the spare on the second.  After that I struck out the rest of the way. 
• Tonight is the coffeehouse…come on out and listen to the bands and grab a drink in our cafe’ from Susan of Heavenly Grounds.

• To file under the “Further Proof Gilbert is an Idiot File.”  I had a sweet tooth earlier so Lisa gave me a “healthy” chocolate candy bar…it was huge and oh so good.  Since it’s “healthy” I I kept eating and eating and eating…my stomach hurts.
• I’m also still reeling from the Caps losing a Game 7 overtime thriller last night.
• Seriously I hope I don’t puke…my stomach really hurts.
• Speaking of things that make you sick to your stomach.  Someone has twice now in the past month stolen CAYA’s food and drinks from out of the refrigerator at church.  It is clearly marked as CAYA’s stuff but yet someone persists in doing this.  If it’s you and your reading this, please realize that you’re hurting a ministry and that in effect you are stealing from God.  Really I could care less about the food/drinks, but I do care about your soul…please stop sinning against God and His church in this way and do the right thing.
• Not only has this week’s message been getting a lot of hits on the web-site, but I’ve been excited to see that literally dozens of you have downloaded last years Mind Your Own Businessseries like I suggested.  Way to go…now put the principles into action and watch as God leads you to financial margin and to a place where you can be radically generous to those in need.
• We discussed this past week’s message last night in small group and we all agreed that one of the big problems in our country is we have too many choices.  We have so much stuff, but yet because of the fact there’s all this other stuff we don’t have, were never content, which leads to buying more and more, which leads to a life without margin and full of stress.
• Dan reminded us of this verse.
• Hey have you noticed that new feature on the site?  I looked up that verse by using the “Bible Search” link that’s now available on the left side of your screen.
• In this case, I knew the word contentment was in the verse, so I typed that into the Bible Search box and boom it spit back to me the different verses that I was looking for.
• Hope this new feature on the site helps you get more into God’s Word than ever before.
• Speaking of…tonight is our Wednesday night classes.  I know for me, participating in the Men’s group…especially my small group…is a highlight of my week.  If you haven’t tried out a class on Wednesday yet, give it a try.
• My stomach is starting to feel a little better…remind me never to do that again.

One of my spiritual heroes has begun blogging…check it out here.