Luke 2: 8 That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. 9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, 10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you GOOD NEWS that will bring GREAT JOY to all people. 11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,14 “Glory to God in highest heaven, and PEACE ON EARTH.

It’s a little after 4:00 am….cant sleep..…..This Christmas is different. Rewind years ago when I was 16, I invited Christ into my life. Then God blindsided me when I was in my mid 20s and called me into ministry…fast forward to today and I’ve been doing this ministry gig for close to 20 years! Last nights Christmas Eve was different for me.

It hit me.

I have the honor of sharing the same message that the angels declared 2000 years ago…..Good news…which shall be to all people…the gospel of Jesus Christ! You know what? If you are a follower of Jesus so do you. No longer are the angels the messengers of the good news….WE ARE. God has trusted you and me to be his messengers of peace. Wow!

What an Honor.

I think trust is the greatest honor you can give someone. Consider that the creator of the universe trust you and me….what an honor!

Merry Christmas everybody!

I’m going to do a blog fast till the New Year to reflect and spend time with my family and God. I want to pray and fast … seeking Gods wisdom for 2009. I want you to know that I appreciate all of you who read this blog….your thoughts and comments have taught me and encouraged me as well. I pray God richest blessings over all of you who stop by…may this Christmas be you Best….and may Gods peace be with you!

3 in CP….. 1 in COLONIE

CLIFTON PARK 4:00

COLONIE 7:00

The greatest thing going on in the capital region and beyond! Last night we families that all drove over an hour to come to our services…from the Berkshires Mass, Utica New York, and Manchester Vermont! Incredible!

See ya there!

God, Its hard to believe it was 16 days ago we started this journey together to true joy. God, I have to tell you the timing of this journey couldn’t have been better for me, our church and my blogging friends. Thank you God all you have shown all of us. Thank you for the unforgettable snap shots of our trip. I think the things that I’ll remember most is….I’m the only one that can move my chair. God, even you cant move my chair….its my choice what I focus on. Joy is not perfect circumstances, there is no such thing as perfect circumstances….joy is not happiness….joy is not based on happenings.

Joy is knowing you Jesus. Joy is knowing you are working thru imperfect circumstances. God I want to get where Paul was….where his one consuming goal was to know you MORE….thats easy to say but challenging to do. Jesus, thank you for Christmas, thank you for coming to this world and giving your life that I can have life! You are so much more than a ticket to heaven…you are my redeemer, my savior, my strength, my encourager, my hope, my friend, my source, my purpose, my meaning, my future, my life……without you my life is empty.

YOU are MORE.

I thank you today for my blogging friends, Dewey, Sarah, Sue C., Sue M., Debbie, Jason, Brian, Jenn, Dan, Neil, Angie, Janet B., Cheryl, Dave, Pam B., Donna, Steve & Megin, Bonnie, Elizabeth, JDE, Emily, Larry S., Lynn M., Bobby B., Audrey G., Heidi, Mandy C., Jennifer, Greg C., LAV, Valerie, Wendy, Mary Ann, Zack, Lauren, Chris M., Jeff, Mike, Josey, Kevin M., Pam H., Ed K., Susan V., Mark, Marti, and Tifany

May the JOY of LORD be their Strength.

• Off the chain….Off the chain…..Off the chain!
• Just got home from our 2 Christmas experiences in Colonie….Incredible!
• Both services were packed!
• So many decisions for Jesus Christ!
• So proud of the Northway Colonie Team
• Campus Pastor Brian Howe is building an incredible team!
• The music was phenomenal!
• Parking was crazy!!
• The kid’s rooms look amazing!
• Had so many guests!
• Had a visiting Pastor who said this is the same vibe as Clifton Park!
• Northway Colonie couldn’t get a better compliment!
• What an Honor to share the same message the angels declared…..peace on earth….good news which shall be to all people!
• I can’t wait ’till tomorrow….3 services in Clifton Park, 4, 5,and 6:00 pm
• Then back at Northway Colonie at 7:00 pm
• Get ready… get ready… get ready….
• Invite your friends…my waitress at PF CHANGS said she is coming tomorrow to Colonie! AWESOME!
• Get there early….
• Appreciate your prayers!
• Christmas with Northway is the BEST!

Has a nice ring to it doesn’t it? Tonight we will have two Christmas Services at our Colonie location at 6:00 and 7:00 pm! Northway Colonie is our newest location and is growing and thriving! I’m thrilled to be there LIVE and experience Christmas with all the incredible people of Colonie!

I have a core conviction that if you live in the Capital region you have’nt experienced Christmas until you have been to Northway! Yeah, I know it sounds a little over the top, and I admit I’m maybe a little bias….but it’s TRUE!

Christmas with Northway is off the chain! Off the Hook! Hands down you will not hear better music anywhere! Trans-Siberian Orchestra has nothing on Northway! Got to tell you I’m pretty pumped about what God has laid on my heart to share. I’ll be sharing a powerful message on how to have peace this Christmas.

See ya in Colonie!

Invite your friends!

Check back at lunch for a video taste of our service….

I was checking out my friend, Mike Silliman’s blog, when I saw this video by Penn of Penn & Teller.  Mike asks some pretty good questions:

Do we really care about those that are far from God?

Do we really believe that Jesus has given us eternal life?

Is our fear of sharing our faith really the fact that we have very little faith to share?

Our Christmas Illusions series was the catalyst for our Journey To Joy thru Philippians. Illusion is the art of deception…it exists to steal what is real…to deceive what we perceive. I was in awe this weekend to see how easy it is for our senses to be deceived.  BJ Harris mesmerized the crowd and held young and old alike spell bound…trying to figure out his illusions.

It was fascinating as Mr. Harris revealed the secret to his one illusion. All the momentum shifted as now it seemed so simple. The Illusion lost its prestige.

I was reminded how all of us are bombarded with illusions from our culture…we buy into the thinking they will bring us joy…only later to end up deceived and joyless. So I’ve been asking the question thru this whole series…

What if your entire life was based on an illusion?

What a GREAT QUESTION!  The only way to ensure that it doesn’t happen to you and me is to know what scripture says and then apply it. I don’t know about you, but it’s easy for me to think I’ve got this Christian thing down, and I can just coast. That’s an illusion! Reading Philippians with you is like getting the inside secrets of how the enemy steals our joy.

This journey could not have come at a better time for me and for Northway and you. This online community has helped us be aware and accountable.

The momentum has shifted.  The Illusion has lost its prestige.

What about you?

BTW Cremeans Couch will return Mondays on my blog in January

Move Your Chair To Scripture And The Big Picture

Phil 4:8-9 8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.

Move Your Chair to Prayer

Phil 4:4-7 4 Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! 5 Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon.

6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, PRAY about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.