A Special Day

Yesterday was a really awesome day that I can't really put into words. My Mom and Dad, and Belinda's Dad came into town before the weekend to see my son Ryan baptized yesterday. We spent Friday and Saturday camping at Spruce Knob Lake which I'll post about later.

Yesterday my Dad preached at our church for the first time, encouraging us to build a church Jesus's way, found in John 4. He disected how Jesus had compassion for the Samaritan woman and how he interacted with her to bring her to the Truth. Two teenagers indicated that they accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior yesterday! Our good friends Bill and Becky Williams came over from Inwood along with their daughter Christie Tucker and her son Andrew. They are our "West Virginia family", so it was great to have them join us yesterday.

After the service, we headed to White Day Creek for our baptism service. This is the second time we have had a baptism service here (Memorial Day 2005). I can't really put into words how it felt to baptize Ryan. He accepted Christ in September after his 1st grade teacher shared the gospel with her class. Linda Morris will always have a special place in our hearts for what she has done for Ryan this year in class. Hillery Chadderton was also baptized yesterday. She is truly a dynamo who is turning the world upside down for Jesus.

Here are some pics from the day.

The Great Commission, Neighbors, and Killin the Stank

Yesterday Aaron, Andrew, their families, and the core group from Project Ecclesia in Washington PA came down to visit our service. Aaron continued our OneEight theme talking about the desperation to seek the lost as Jesus taught in Luke 15. It was a good day, and it was great to see them again.

Most of you know that we are in the middle of a complete bathroom remodeling project, which is not a big deal for some, but for someone like me who struggles to install windshield wipers on my car, it is a big deal! Well, my neighbors are bailing me out big time. On Saturday, we had a combined garage sale with my neighbors Rich and Trish, and Rich offered to come up and help me put in a subfloor and lay vinyl tonight! He also has plenty of tools which will help get the job done.

Another recent development at the Knight compound has been the emergence of black, stinky gunk seeping up in my yard. You guessed it...we've got a code red on the septic tank. The stank emerged last Tuesday when our entire small group was sitting in my front yard and the wind started to blow our direction. Everybody high-tailed it for the other side of the house. Not good. When I went to dig to find the septic tank lid, I found probably the hardest, rocky soil on my property. Yesterday, my neighbor Ron bailed me out by bringing his Kubota and his backhoe to dig up the lid. After 15 minutes, we were done.

This morning Morgantown Septic Tank service came to pump our junk and clean it up. The dude said we were about two flushes from serious back up into the house. Thank you God for saving the house from utter stinkage!

We've got some awesome neighbors, and God is giving our family prime opportunities to build relationships, new friendships, and to share the love of Jesus with Green Valley Estates, although right now they are the ones sharing the love! One one of my neighbors, Jeremiah, has a meaningful church relationship. Keep praying that the two of us can make an impact and reach our neighbors for Jesus.

Snow in May

Parts of Randolph, Tucker, and Pocahantas counties got up to 2 inches of snow yesterday. We're getting ready to do some baptizing in White Day Creek next Sunday and I'm thinking the water is gonna be frigid. Better get out my wet suit.

Bathroom Misery Update

So...since I have a small bathroom (25 sq ft), I decided it would be nice to tile the bathroom floor and the walls up to four feet. Went with a reputable dealer in town that I have used before at my previous home. Got the estimate that I was expecting to be in the $600-$800 range....it came in at $2196. After my body convulsed violently...

Today I went to Wholesale Carpet Inc. in Fairmont and bought a high quality 6x6 sheet of vinyl flooring for $50. Anybody ever laid vinyl?

My Wife is on Steroids

So...I'm enjoying a nice tranquil Mother's Day afternoon reading the Sunday paper, when Belinda walks by with a...bathroom sink in her arms. She had gone in our master bathroom to begin cleaning the house and noticed the vinyl floor separating from the subfloor by the shower. What did she do? She ripped the floor out...ripped the toilet out...ripped the vanity out...tore the medicine cabinet out...and ripped the sink out...all while I'm in la la land reading the paper.

So now we're looking at a quick time turnaround bathroom remodel. My parents and father-in-law are coming into town from Texas a week from Thursday, and we're gonna need that bathroom. Looks like we're gonna put mosaic tile or 6X6 terra cotta tile on the floor and on the walls to four feet, put in an old fashioned pedestal sink, new faucet, and new cabinet over the toilet. Pray for me.

The Truth About Complainers and Servants

Ben Arment has a great post about complainers and those who serve in the church. Check it out here.

Coming This Month at StoneBridge

This month everyone at StoneBridge is going to be challenged to live out the Acts 1:8 calling, taking the church to the streets. Jason is kicking off the series tomorrow by speaking on "Save the City", based on a passage in Ecclesiastes 9. Next Sunday our church planting coach Mike Prince is coming in from West Memphis to speak. On May 20th, Aaron Johnson is coming down from Washington, PA to challenge us from the Word. Our church supports both Mike and Aaron financially on a monthly basis, so it will be good for our church to see them again.

On May 27th, my Dad is going to run the anchor leg of the series by showing how the woman at the well pursued her missional calling. Also on the afternoon of the 27th, we're going to have an old fashioned West Virginia style baptism at White Day Creek south of Morgantown. My son Ryan and several others are going to publicly declare that they are followers of Christ by being baptized.

It's shaping up to be a great month...

God Does Great Things...

when we risk and when we pray. Examples:

Abraham leaves his country to follow God...risk
David goes against Goliath...risk
Daniel refuses to eat the king's meat...risk
Gideon obeys God and whittles his army from 30,000 to 300 men...risk
The 12 leave everything and follow Jesus...risk
Peter preaches to the ones who killed Jesus at Pentecost...risk
Paul's missionary journeys...risk

Alan Hirsch call this risk being in the state of "liminality". This week, my LTG reading is in the book of Daniel. In Chapter 2, Nebuchadnezzar is ready to execute all of the astrologers, soothsayers, and wise men, including Daniel, unless they can not only interpret his dream, but tell him what he dreamed. I noticed that before Daniel jumps headfirst into a RISK situation, he engages God in serious prayer with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Verse 18 says, "Daniel urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon."

This passage is busting my chops right now. How many times am I guilty of playing it safe, being soft when it comes to taking a big risk for God, and relying on my abilities instead of begging God for his mercy? Lord, I beg you right now...save the city of Morgantown. Constantly remind me of my desperate need for your intervention. Use me to keep people from going to hell. Give me a burning passion for people in this city. Amen.

Great Night at Chick-Fil-A

Tonight our church partnered with Chick-Fil-A to sponsor Family Night. We created a "Wilderness Adventure" theme and had several activities for kids including crafts, face painting, and a campsite in a grassy area adjacent to the building with a fire pit and smores.

Our team of people hit a home run tonight! Everywhere you looked you saw StoneBridge T-Shirts and people ready to serve. In a two hour time span, we had 60 kids come in the restaurant. Oh wait, Belinda is trying to be a backseat blogger and give me advice so I am shutting this post down.