Tonight DeAnna and I hit the next stop on our concert stop with Bon Jovi and Daughtry.  We actually have tickets in a suite so to say we are pumped up would be an understatement.  Please pray that DeAnna doesn’t make it backstage because if she meets Jon face to face, it is over for me.

It is Saturday morning and I am up way to early.  Not cool.

We had a full house for our Partnership Class last night and it was exciting to put names with faces, hear how people found out about Revolution, cast vision, and the coolest thing was we had a lady enter into personal relationship with Jesus Christ!!!!!

Today I’m giving DeAnna a break (I’m not actually giving anything, she is just taking it) and I am hanging out with the kids.  I’ve been on the road so much lately that I am looking forward to the day with them.  The worst part about it is that it means I have to watch Hannah Montana later today.

Hopefully I’ll sneak a little NFL draft coverage in as well.

11 years ago today I married the love of my life.  I feel like I have been married my entire life, but I also feel like we just said “I do.”

I can honestly say today that I am more in love with DeAnna then the day I married her.  To me she is Proverbs 31 woman in every way.  She is my best friend, she stands by my side no matter what, she has followed me moving her across the country, she is the greatest mother in the world, and just the fact that she puts up with me is amazing.

I would be lying if I said the past 11 years have been easy.  Marriage is hard work.  We have had GREAT times, good times, and we have had very bad times.  I have shared this in church before but DeAnna almost left me while I was pastoring my first church.  I was cheating on her, not with another woman, but with the church.  I will never forget the thought of knowing I might lose her.  It was the worst feeling in the world and that day changed our marriage for the better.

Many people at Revolution don’t even know who DeAnna is but trust me, Revolution wouldn’t exist without her.  She has prayed for Revolution, served behind the scenes at Revolution, and supported Revolution and me every step of the way.  She is not someone who needs or wants the spotlight, but she is my backbone as I lead.

Today we are sitting here with no children and it is just awesome.  We spent last night with some great friends that go to Revolution (isn’t it great you can be friends with people you pastor?), we slept late today, got up and got breakfast and now we are headed out to simply enjoy the day with each other. I’m blessed.

I thank God every day that we didn’t quit on each other.  I thank God every day for sending DeAnna my way.  I thank God every day that my children have her as their mother.  I thank God every day that Revolution gets to have her in the church.

The best part is it has been 11 years and she still lights my fire!!  I think she is hotter today than the day I met her.  I’ve gotten fatter, balder, and grumpier, and she has just gotten more hot!

I’m a lucky dude.

Today I am back in the office and I started the task of processing all that God has spoken into my life this week.  Some All of it is uncomfortable but the overwhelming theme from this week is simply WHAT STANDS BETWEEN REVOLUTION BEING WHAT IT IS AND WHAT GOD WANTS IT TO BE IS PAIN. 

The question is not what will it take or if I have the ability to do it; the question is am I willing to do it?  Am I willing to pay the price that it will cost?  Am I willing to be uncomfortable?  The answer is YES.  Yes, I am willing to do whatever it takes to become the leader God wants me to be and I am willing to do whatever it takes for Revolution to be the church that God wants it to be.

I got in the office today, caught up on some things, listened to TD Jakes from the C3 Conference, had some hard meetings, and I am now getting ready to head home.  I feel good.  I feel good that God has put people in my life that will speak the truth even when I don’t want to hear it.  Last night I sat and talked with DeAnna and I am blessed to have a wife who backs me and supports me every move I make but will also tell me what needs to be said even if I don’t want to hear it.  I think I must be hard headed. :)  Because God has used 4 people to slap me upside the head this week, but I think I finally got the hint.

I’m heading home now to spend the next two days with my beautiful bride and NO children.  Saturday we will have been married 11 years!  I can say without a doubt she is the love of my life and I am more than blessed to have her as my bride.

I’ll see all of you on Sunday as we continue our Rock Star series!!!!

DeAnna woke up this morning and hit the ground running.  She has been cleaning like a mad woman.  I hate cleaning but love a clean house so I decided I would help out.  Now that it is 1:00 p.m. I am going to get a shower, put some clothes on and run a bunch of junk we need to get rid of to the dump.

Yipee!

I had a great couple in the church give me tickets to the Braves game tonight so we loaded the kids up and headed to the ATL.  I am not a big baseball fan but I have the best time taking my kids down there.  They have a blast and there is just something “all-american” about eating a crappy hot dog, cracking peanuts and watching baseball with the family.

It was nice to get away for a few hours.

They had the road closed we normally take into the stadium so I got a little lost and we got a nice drive through Atlanta and I was shocked at how messed it is from the storms.  I can’t imagine what it was like to be down there when they hit.  The place was looking rough.

• I’m still flying HIGH from Sunday!
• I’m home. I told the entire team to go home at lunch and that I would see them Sunday. They earned a little time after the last couple of weeks.
• I’m about to bike riding. I rode for about an hour yesterday and today I am going to try and get in 20 miles.
• I need a Sunday off from teaching. My brain is fried. I have taught every Sunday since the second week in October. Thankfully I have a couple coming up soon (no, I’m not telling you which Sundays)
• I am loving this weather.
• Pray for my message this week. I am struggling a little bit to get it totally together.
• I am loving life!!!!!!!!!!

DeAnna and I just got back home from Nashville.  We had a GREAT time.  No kids and No dog for two days was nice.  Nashville is a GREAT city.  Atlanta could learn something from Nashville.  The downtown area is rocking.  There are some great eating areas, some great music, and it just a great city.  It was so nice just hanging out with DeAnna.  We did a lot of sleeping.

Thursday morning I got up and hung out with about 12 pastors for a few hours and it was great just sharing stories.  Most of the guys I have mentioned a million times, but two guys stuck out to me.

1. Pete Wilson -  Pete pastor Cross Point Church in Nashville and is going a bang up job.  He reminds me a lot of  Batterson in that he might be one of the nicest guys in America.  The thing that stuck out to me about Pete was the building his church meets in.  It is an awesome story and one of the saddest stories I have ever heard.  The meet in a old church  building.  It is freaking HUGE.  Seriously it takes up a whole city block.  It is the old school brick building that has been added onto about 10 times.  It has a worship center that seats well over 1000, has a HUGE gym, thousands of classrooms and is just a lot of building.  They have done a GREAT job remodeling the inside.  It was cool to see how God provided this building for them to lease.  That is the cool part of the story.  The sad part of the story is WHY they can meet there.  On the city block is the first part of this old church building.  A small worship building that actually looks like it is falling apart.  Inside that small building on the same property meets the original church.  At one time they were THE church in Nashville and now they run about 75 people and meet back in their original building having to lease the rest of their building to another church to pay the bills.  It is a sad story of what happens when a church isn’t willing to change to reach the next generation.  I wonder what those people think every Sunday when they show up to their old building and see thousands of people walking into the building they use to meet in?
2. Randy Cook - Randy pastors a church called Crossroads that is about 14 months old.  This guy could be my brother from another mother.  The dude was flat out crazy and the story of his church is CRAZY.  Go check out his blog if you get a chance.  I was really impressed with this cat.

It was a good time and much needed.  Now, I am sitting here getting freaking pumped up about Sunday!  We are talking about something Sunday that we haven’t talked about in a LONG time and it is going to be something we ALL were created with a need to experience.  Oh yeah, wait to you hear the band Sunday.  I can promise you have NEVER seen the Revolution band like you will this Sunday.  It is going to be a fun Sunday!

Tomorrow around lunch, DeAnna and I are heading out of town for a couple of days.  I am SO looking forward to it.  No dog (thanks Preston), no kids (thanks Mom!), and just some time with my bride!

Tomorrow night we are going to hit PF Changs with Joe Case.  Thursday I’m going to hang out with some church planters.  Thursday night and Friday I get to spend all day with the love of my life!!!!  I can’t until Sunday, but I got to be honest and say I ain’t thinking about Sunday one time over the next couple of days!

I’m out for a few days, but I’ll see all of you Sunday!!!

70 degrees today!!!!!  I got to the office early, had our lead team meeting, hung out with our guys for a while, mapped out my week and left the office around 2 to run some errands, and then I pulled the bike out and went for a pretty good ride.

I ALWAYS dread riding UNTIL I get on the bike.  I love being out in the country with no cell phone, no e-mail, no one with questions, and just my thoughts.  I was sucking wind pretty quick but it was just a great way to wrap up the day before heading home.  Monday nights, DeAnna and some of the ladies on our staff hang out so I am on kid duty.  I love getting the kids bathed, play a game with them, and get them ready for bed.  It is always a fun time.  Tonight we have an intense night of Chutes and Ladders planned.  I plan on winning.

After the kids are in bed, I plan on sitting on the front porch and listening to some tunes.

I love this weather!