If you have ever seen Sesame Street you probably remember the segment called One Of These Things Doesn’t Belong Here? Recently, to my private pain I could hear that classic jingle bouncing around in my brain!

It has defiantly been a challenge to stay active with this winter being the worst in 5 years! You see, you can’t run and you cant ride your bike in the ice and snow. The result??? I’m putting on my winter poundage hibernation coat. Urrrghh! So, I decided to attack the winter blue cheese buffalo wings butt and signed up for an indoor triathlon at the local YMCA.

Enter Jason-

A friend of mine who happens to be a hardcore Iron Man. Jason invited me to train and ride bikes with him at a class he takes in Saratoga. I never heard of such a thing but I went for it and experienced a whole new world.

A whole new world of extremely skinny people in spandex! A whole new world of people flying their seasoned marathon outfits as badges of honor. A whole new world of the most expensive bicycles I have ever seen….in the thousands! Really I’m not kidding. A whole new world of really cool Lance Armstrong look alike people!

-Enter me.

The largest human they have ever seen in their class! They kept starring at me…and starring. I could hear them thinking…. shouldn’t he be training for football or be in an old school professional wrestler class? My outfit? I was proudly rocking my hoody and my super elastic waist band shorts! Their just lucky I wasn’t wearing spandex.  My bike? Pee Wee Herman special baby! While everybody else was in race horizontal bike handle mode….I’m in vertical senior citizen position bike mode. Then to my horror the instructor says now its time to climb the mountain.

Climb the mountain?

Apparently my bike is not designed to climb mountains with a person that exceeds its weight limit. Climb the mountain position means you lift your blue cheese buffalo wing butt off the seat and drive the pedals as fast as you can while standing up. When I tried to climb the mountain I fell off the mountain! Now they are really starring.

One of the things just doesn’t belong here.

Believe it or not, I’m not talking about food.

Successful relationships don’t just happen; they are always intentional.

So let me ask you, do you hunger to know God more in 2009?

Are you NOT satisfied with business as usual in your relationship with God?

If so, you are in great company…

Great people of God all thru Scripture had an insatiable APPETITE to experience MORE of God.

People like Moses, David, and Paul to name a few…

If you want MORE, let me encourage you to read PURSUIT OF GOD. No matter how many times I have read Towzer’s book, it always challenges me. It’s one of my favorites and a reread for me every year. I put it on my blog as a resource so you can check it out. Let me know what you think!

How is your appetite? Do you want more of God?

• Great weekend in THE HOUSE!
• First weekend since Christmas…we haven’t had bad weather!
• Record attendance for our Clifton Park location!
• Very Cool.
• Northway Colonie had great services and continues to grow as well.
• Northway’s webcast is continuing to build in momentum.
• 2009…we will start an online campus.
• 1 week down on the Daniel fast…2 weeks to go.
• We will start every year with a fast.
• Fasting needs to be a part of our DNA
• Loved preaching this weekend thru Romans!
• Very grateful for God’s GRACE.
• Sensing a new wave of God’s presence.
• Sensing a new wave of God’s power.
• Sensing a new wave of God’s peace.
• Ok…enough with the p’s
• Seriously…sensing a BIG SHIFT at Northway
• Galatians 5:16, “Let the Holy Spirit guide your life.”
• Can’t wait till next weekend!

A friend of mine named Ritchie Miller pastors a great church in Atlanta, GA called Avalon Church.  He started the church in 2001, and it’s rapidly growing and doing incredible!

Ritchie is an amazing leader, and he wrote a great post the other day on our President Obama.  I believe his post just sums it up the best from the Biblical perspective of our President.  I encourage you to check it out.

This is your chance to kick it up a notch!

This is your chance…you could be the next Emeril or Rachel Ray of vegetable recipes!

I know some of you are thinking this is more like Hell’s Kitchen.

It’s time to share…and at the end of our 21 days, we will all vote and crown who is the best!

Gal 5:22  But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

We live in an instant gratification world, and many times that approach transfers to our spiritual lives as well. Fruit is not instantaneous. Fruit requires time. It’s no coincidence that one of the fruits of the Spirit is patience.

I realize I maybe annoying you in these recent posts with asking you to say these phrases out loud but this is my last time…

GOD HAS A GREAT VISION FOR MY LIFE…I HAVE A CHOICE…IT WILL TAKE HARD WORK…IT WON’T HAPPEN RIGHT AWAY.

Hebrews 12:11 says, No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

This “patience thing”…not happening right away is the hardest for me…what about you?

As we begin this 21 day fast, I want you to know that there are over 300 other churches across the nation participating in a time of fasting and prayer! There is a great resource available with everything from a fasting calendar to Bible reading to fasting how tos. Check it out here!

God has a great vision for my life…I have a choice…it’s going to take hard work.

Too many times we package Christianity like its easy. Following Christ is the hardest thing you will ever do…let me repeat that following Jesus is the hardest thing you will ever do, however without question it’s the most rewarding. Jesus described it this way… the abundant life. Sometimes in my own life I wonder where is this “abundant life thing” Jesus promised? Then God lovingly reminds me of…

spiritual discipline drift.

In other words, disciplines that I once had in my relationship with him start to slip. I may get soft in journaling, praying or reading the scripture. I may just get extremely busy and not make time to listen to His voice. Sometimes I just pull back in being open and transparent with my own junk.

Discipline is advanced decision making.

Hebrews 12:11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

God has a great vision for my life….I have a choice…..its going to take hard work!
Let me encourage you to say that out loud everyday!

In yesterday’s post, we talked about how God has a great vision for our lives. C’mon, go ahead and say it out loud again today…God has a great vision for my life! Now say it again with some authority and conviction…God has a great vision for my life!

How does God’s vision happen? You have a choice.

Gal 5:16 says, Let the Holy Spirit guide your lives.

Notice Scripture doesn’t say, let your spouse guide your life, let your friends guide your life, let your boss guide your life, let your Pastor guide your life. Only you can make the decision to let the Holy Spirit guide your life. Get this, even God The Father can’t make you let the Holy Spirit guide your life…it’s your call.

You have a choice.

So let’s recap. God has a great vision for our lives…but it won’t happen unless we decide to cooperate with God’s Spirit. Too many times we blame others or even God for why His vision is not working in our lives when it starts with us making a decision. So let’s personalize that.

God Has A Great Vision For My Life…and…I Have A Choice.

Let me encourage you to say that out loud right now and everyday in this fast.