napoleon

A mothers plead for mercy...

A mother once approached Napoleon seeking a pardon for her son. The emperor replied that the young man had committed a certain offense twice and justice demanded death.

But I don't ask for justice, the mother explained. I plead for mercy.

But your son does not deserve mercy, Napoleon replied.

Sir, the woman cried, it would not be mercy if he deserved it, and mercy is all I ask for.

Well, then, the emperor said, I will have mercy. And he spared the woman's son.

anybody deserving justice? anybody received / recieving mercy?

I'm glad I'm still breathing!

I'd value some thoughts, stories concering mercy.

mercy me

what's mercy look like? any comments?
i'm doing a study anythoughts?

mercy is falling, is falling, is falling
mercy it falls like a sweet spring rain
mercy is falling is falling all over me

mercy is falling, is falling, is falling
mercy it falls like a sweet spring rain
mercy it falling its falling all over me

hey o i'v recieve your mercy
hey o i'v recieve your grace
hey o i will dance for ever more

faith and promise

he staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief Romans 4:20

A promise is an assurance given by one person to another that he will or will not do a certain thing. the validity of the promise depends[ends on the character and resources of the one who makes it, even as the value of a bank-note depends on the reputation and resources of the bank on which it is drawn.
A promise of God in His Word is an undertaking given by God. His character is there fore involved in His promises...Faith is the power which grabs God's promise based on His sure character. Faith is the power which turns promise into preformance. Our faith is full persuaded that what God has promised, He is able to perform. Romans 4:12.

j.o. sanders

duh like the monkeys

ever had a day when you knew you were doing too much? that's me...worked hard on moving things...washing bus...sweeping...sitting too long etc...soo it is ice on the ole back...i'm into my 12th day of IDD which stretches your back to relieve the nerve in the back...it is working...Sunday I felt totally normal...but today...i'm wondering if common sense is supposed to be part of the healing process...as well as patience...so one step forward two backward...

on a side note we are excitement junkies...last week Wed wow over 800 people showed up we fed over 600...ministry off the chart...Friday members meeting fed hundreds and had a great vibe move forward...Sat a great outreach...Sunday new believers class...Great message by Doug ending with 30+ baptisms...

leaders were tired on Tuesday...we wondered why??? duh?

Also, we forget about the warfare that always happens when we move forward, the emotional deposits made for every and all meetings, and the disappointments that seem to always muddy the water...sometimes it is good to regroup, celebrate the success, and pause...reflect...to ponder...

in my mind's eye

listened to an old song or two dc talk in my mind's eye song has a great theme:


[In my mind, I can see Your face
As Your love pours down in a shower of grace
Some people tell me that You're just a dream
My faith is the evidence of things unseen]

In my mind's eye, in my mind's eye
In my mind's eye, in my mind

You know what I'm going through
I know this is true
'Cause You stood in my shoes
Desire's inside of me
But it's hard to believe
In what you cannot see

Can you catch the wind?
See a breeze?
Its presence is revealed by
The leaves on a tree
An image of my faith in the unseen

(chorus)
In my mind's eye
I see Your face
You smile as you show me grace
In my mind's eye
You take my hand
We walk through foreign lands
The foreign lands of life

In my mind's eye, in my mind's eye
In my mind's eye, in my mind

In my mind I'm where I belong
As I rest in your arms
And like a child I hold on to you
In my moment of truth, yes I do

We can ride the storm
Endure the pain
You comfort me in my hurricane
And I'll never be alone again

(repeat chorus 2x)

In my mind's eye, in my mind's eye
In my mind's eye, in my mind

In my mind I can see Your face
Love pours down in a shower of grace
Life is a gift that You choose to give
I believe we eternally live
Faith is the evidence of things unseen
People tell me that You're just a dream
But they don't know You the way that I do
You're the one I live to pursue

Can you catch the wind?
[Can you see God, have you ever seen Him?
I've never seen the wind
I seen the effects of the wind
But I've never seen the wind]
Can you see the breeze?
[There's a mystery to it]

(repeat chorus)

In my mind's eye, in my mind's eye
[I see You there again]
In my mind's eye, in my mind's eye
[I know You'll meet me there my Friend]
In my mind's eye, in my mind's eye
[I know You're there, I can touch You there]
In my mind's eye, in my mind's eye
[I want You there, I need You there, I see You there, I know You care]
[And I believe, and I believe, and I believe]


I believe
steve out

the new do

just had a new haircut...i shaved my head almost bald...'if you don't have it why not flaunt it'...other line 'getting ready for the easter egg hunt in a couple of weeks now i'm an egg head'...

we have 15,000 easter eggs, pizes, rock wall, bouncy castles, 1500 hotdogs, face painting, candy, clowns and over 100 volunteers ready for the big event...it's like staging a battle, gathering materials, getting forms signed by the city, putting ads in the papers etc...we are expecting large crowds lots of kids and a few dogs...

should be a great time...

baptizing 30 people today...also our new belivers class is wrapping up next week...great to see them finish a 13 week commitment...hopefully, finding God, finding a friend, and finding a job will spill over into their lives...now they have established reading the bible, prayer and hanging out with believers.

1st saturday

great time today touching lots of people...a good number of people showed up so we were able to do all the active kindness outreaches we planned...the nursing home recived daffs to help brighten up their space...one lady we have been developing a relationship with was very appreciative of the flower and prayer...she is the necklace lady her walls are decorated with hundreds of necklaces...we had over 500 daffs so there were some left over we placed some in our cafe and later i took the rest to another seniors home...i rang the bell...mary carefully came to the door and said, "who are you?" with a smile i mention i had some daffs for all the people she smiled and opened the door...i mentioned i was a pastor with the vineyard she said she had been a few times and then looked at the flowers great to see a big smile and the twinkle in her eyes...

Scott led a team to a strip mall and we did the give em the bag outreach for 50 shops...one ice cream place the lady was very grateful, she had had a bag week...scott then led the team back for icecream...it made the ladies day and came out an hugged one of our first time outreach people...

another team washed windshields at at filling station...lots of smiles big thanks and puzzled looks...full service stations went out with the dinosaurs...do you know your children if you have them don't even know full service stations existed...

tonight is Baptism class with over 30 people being baptized tomorrow...huge...event...

one of the staff members had a dream a couple of weeks ago...i was in the dream and invited her to the ocean to see Jesus clearer...she went to the ocean and saw the brightness of His appearing...she told me the dream...I asked, have you been baptized nope was the answer...she is being baptized on Sunday...cool dream...good result.