How’s it going?

For all of my friends who are fasting with us these 21 days, it’s been 2 weeks now, so how is it going so far?  Here are a few of my thoughts during this time and some lessons I have learned and applied.

My biggest craving has been sweets! I thought I would be like a ravenous wolf and attack anyone I saw with a nice slab of meat by now.  Surprisingly the meat cravings haven’t been that bad.  I think a lot of credit can go to Amber (my wife) for preparing good and well-balanced meals.  There have been some tough times, but I am trucking through them fine.  The toughest seems to be the first three days, always does.

I am doing a Daniel Fast that is mainly fruits and vegetables.  Amber has made some very creative and good tasting meals.  As for Amber, she has been on a modified Daniel Fast.  She has to include small amounts of dairy and protein in her diet since she is still nursing.  She has to make sure her body doesn’t go through the normal detox like I went through or it could harm Nevin (our son).  If you or anyone you know is nursing and wants to fast, Amber would be a good contact to know how to do it safely.  I have to admit that I crave her meals at times.  She is careful not to do too much in front of me, but just the other day she cooked some salmon and my mouth was watering.  And I HATE salmon!

The overall experience, despite the occasional cravings, has been well worth it.  I recommend doing an occasional fast, even if it’s only once a year.  Through this fast Amber and I are taking time before we go to sleep to include reading a verse or two and prayer.  This fast has been a blessing and has helped us get on the same page again.  I have to admit having a baby changed a lot of things and this is one of our priorities that I let slip.  We are seeking guidance from God for our family, our church and ourselves individually.  I feel God has His favor on us and is leading us in the direction we need to be.  He has even shown us things we need to change in our lives.  What a GREAT way to start a New Year!

I hope that if you are fasting you are also seeking God through prayer and reading your bible.  Take this time to evaluate your self and seek vision from God.  Here is what Daniel (the guy we are modeling our fast after) had to say,

Daniel 10:2-3 (NLT)

2 When this vision came to me, I, Daniel, had been in mourning for three whole weeks.

3 All that time I had eaten no rich food. No meat or wine crossed my lips, and I used no fragrant lotions until those three weeks had passed.

God will give you vision when you seek Him.  He will be faithful in that, I promise you.  Remember that you are seeking a vision that comes from God and not your own.  Where there is vision, there is LIFE.  That vision may be as elaborate as Daniels or it may be as powerful as a gentle whisper.  God will definitely show you things in your life that need to change.  You may be afraid of that, but remember God loves you no matter what and He will NOT abandon you.  And above all, this is a time to work on your relationship with God and go deeper with Him.

If you are like me and have given up certain food, you will be hungry and you will be tempted.  No matter what you have given up, this will happen in some variation.  Instead of focusing on the hunger or temptation and wishing you could have what you gave up.  Take those times to focus on God, pray and read His Word.  Plan and prioritize out what you want to pray or even read.  This will help in those moments when you catch yourself thinking of how great it will be when the fast is over.  You can immediately go into prayer and focus on God, leaving your mind free to hear from Him.  It will even help give you drive and purpose.  You will know what to pray about with your spouse, children, even individually.  It may help to have a few Bible verses to focus on throughout your fast that you can memorize and use.  Use them when you are tempted and use them to kick-start your prayer.  I personally pray through Scripture.  I change the words into a personal prayer and it is always powerful.

I hope this helps and encourages you.  Keep on going and stay strong.  If you feel you messed up and broke your fast, just pick back up where you are and keep going.  God is with you and loves you.

Happy fasting!

How do I do this?

Recently I have taken on a lot of new roles from being a father, pastor and even a coach.  The interesting thing to me is to see how much each of these have in common.  I have been able to learn from each and apply those lessons to each role.  One question always pops up when beginning something new, “How do I do this?”.  It is a question I have asked before starting each role and it is a question I get from first year wrestlers and I am sure I will get from my son soon.  It may be the question you asked before you started (or start) your fast.  It may be the question you are asking as you go deeper into this year.  Truthfully, it may be our most common question we have our entire lives.

And my answer is START!  Take your first step, try it and you will learn as you go.  It is a process.  That is something I am still learning.  As a father, pastor and a coach, my task is to provide the tools and resources it will take to equip those under my leadership.  The first thing we each need to have is something to follow so we can take that first step.  For each person it is something different that gets us to the starting line.  But once there we need instruction, rules, a path or something for us to know what our next move should be.  We also need encouragement and hope.  We may be doing fine for a while, but then stumble or make a mistake.  Big or small the first thing we want to do is beat ourselves up.  Mostly we do this because someone in the past did that when we made a mistake.

Life is a journey, enjoy it!  If you need to know where to start or if you need encouragement and hope, I can promise you one thing… Jesus is that start and He is our hope!

This is why fasting and prayer are so important.  They align us with God and his perspective.  During fasting and prayer it forces us to put our hope in Him.  It allows us to evaluate how we truly see God and hear Him.  If you make a “mistake” and “break” your fast early by accidentally drinking that Coke, God still loves you and He will not turn His back on you.  He will not think you let Him down nor will He call you a failure.  He will not beat you up emotionally, physically or spiritually.  He will encourage and help you.  He will always love you.  Like a good and perfect father, He will help you to get back up and keep going.

So, if you have found yourself in a place you don’t want to be, broken, stuck, falling, or maybe you made a mistake.  Reach out your hand to the One who is there beside you smiling and encouraging you to get back up and keep going.  You don’t have to start over, He takes you right where you are and goes with you.  He is your hope in which you can say, “How can I not do this?”.

Philippians 4:13

And we’re back!

I love Jimmy Fallon’s comedy.  He use to have a skit on SNL that Amber and I still laugh at and repeat all the time.  The skit was of him and Ben Affleck playing DJ’s.  They would keep going off the air to argue and when they came back on they would say, “And we’re back” in the cheesiest DJ voices I have ever heard.  Almost old school Casey Kasem, but more nasally.

The reason I share that story is because I feel I have gone on and off the “air” so to speak with my blog… And well, we’re BACK!  I love writing and posting to the blog, but like anything it is a discipline.  It is one of my goals to keep this blog up and post a lot more this year.  One of the ways I am starting this back up, is to post about our upcoming Daniel Fast experience we are doing as a church here at River.  John and I both are getting back into the blogosphere and will have some video post and even guest post.  I am really glad because if there is anyone who has encouraged and motivated me more to blog and just do anything it is my boy John.  So make sure you checkout his post too.

I have some things to share with you too outside of the fast.  So make sure you come back at least weekly if not daily.  Our Daniel Fast begins Monday Jan. 9th.  If you want to join us and need more info, feel free to leave a comment or email me.  Also be sure to watch our messages online at www.RiverofLeland.com.  Our online live stream campus will be coming at the end of this month too.  Lot’s of good things are ahead!

TC

1000 Words

Let me give you a quick rundown of this past week’s adventures… On Wednesday Team River headed toward Anderson SC to get a healthy dose of knowledge from a fire hydrant.  We attended NewSpring’s Leadership Conference on September 16th.  We learned from all types of leaders, Perry Noble, Francis Chan, Mark Driscoll, Steven Furtick, Judah Smith, Jud Wilhite and Andy Stanley.  WOW!  And even though we drank from a fire hydrant it did not put out our fire, but rather ignited us for our Launch Weekend September 18th and 19th…

Launch Weekend ROCKED and was full of hard work and fun.  And to be quite honest I am still processing everything from the conference to the launch.  So instead of boring you with words I thought I just show you some pictures that are worth a thousand PLUS.  But keep coming back, because I plan on telling you more of what this past week’s impact had on me and others.

Here are the Leadership Conference photos and the Launch Weekend photos.

More photo’s can be found on River’s Facebook page here.

Also keep praying…

TC

DON’T FORGET!

Two things not to forget:

Don’t forget to PRAY, pray for our country (prayer guide here) and pray for our church (prayer guide here).

AND

Don’t forget about our LAUNCH THIS WEEKEND! (Details below)

River of Leland Launch Weekend! September 18, Noon until 6 p.m. at Thunder Alley, River of Leland will be giving away free bowling and free tickets for your chance to win part of $2000.00 in free gas, gifts, and cash prizes on Sunday, the 19th. Bounce houses will be set up for kids. Drawing will take place at Thunder Alley during the 11 a.m. service Sunday Morning. All are welcome! Check out RiverofLeland.com for more info.

So help us get the word out!  Invite anyone and everyone.  And please pray with us.

TC

I hope YOU will read this…

Hello to whomever you are…

I hope you will read this post all the way through.

I have been praying for you.  You are in need of hope, help, change, direction or something… YOU ARE IN NEED.  You came here today to my blog because I prayed for you.  You came here today to find the thing(s) you are looking for.  By the time you finish reading you will have the map you need to find what you are looking for.  PLEASE continue to read and don’t stop.

I wrote this post just for you because I care about you even though I may not know you.  I have not probably been where you are, but I have been in GREAT need myself and constantly am.  I don’t have it all figured it out, but I have hope and I am not alone.  You too can have hope and you are NOT alone.

Yes I believe in Jesus and yes I am a pastor, but that does not change anything and it does not put me on a different level than you.  I am human, I am weak, I cry, I mess up, I hope and pray.  I need and I seek.  I am just like you, maybe different lives, but I have been alone.  I have been alone on the inside and on the outside.  I have been abandon and lost.  I have fallen so deep that I thought I would never find my way back out.  I have been the rejected and ridiculed.  I have been many things.  There is something deep within you, something deep within that tells you there has to be hope.  Follow me, this tiny ray of light as I lead you to a room full of light.  This room has no dark corners and when you enter through its doorway all that baggage, all that stuff yesterday and in the past, everything is stripped away.  In this room there is only room for YOU.  You are welcomed, you are wanted and you will find the one thing you have looked for all this time.

If you listen closely you will hear a sound… That sound is a whisper.  The light draws you and so does this whisper, this whisper that pierces all other noises, it pierces even the quite of places.  This light can be seen by the blind and heard by the deaf.

Do you still want to approach this room with me?  Isn’t it worth it to enter if you could get out of the pit you are in?  If you made it this far with me, let me share with you this light and whisper that breaks through and draws you.

The light and the whisper is Jesus.  He is the light and it is his voice that is the whisper.  The following was written long ago for you so that you would have the map needed to find this that you have been looking for.  Maybe you have rejected it in the past, but it is still here for you regardless of how many times you have turned away.  This room no matter what has happen before stays open to you and if you enter nothing or no one can take you away.  Here is what the whisper in the light (Jesus) says…

While I am in the world, I am the light of the world. (John 9:5)

I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them. (Isaiah 42:16)

Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the word of his servant? Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God. (Isaiah 50:10)

The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. (Isaiah 60:19)

Through [me] all things were made; without [me] nothing was made that has been made. 4 In [me is] life, and that life [is] the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. (John 1: 3-5)

Whoever believes in [me] is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. (John 3: 18-20)

Here is what I say to you…

The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. (Romans 13:12)

Here is what you can say…

Because I have sinned against him, I will bear the LORD’s wrath, until he pleads my case and establishes my right. He will bring me out into the light; I will see his righteousness. (Micah 7:9)

He redeemed my soul from going down to the pit, and I will live to enjoy the light. (Job 32:28)

Have you said these things?  Will you enter the room?  If you followed me this far, will you come in?  If your heart desires this and you believe, HE (Jesus) will be faithful to take you in.  He will forgive you and love you.  All things will become new.  There is nothing that can keep you from coming into this room, NOTHING.  All the past WILL be stripped away.  You simply have to enter.  If you doubt or think you are not good enough, even if your faith is too small… ENTER.  I promise you that you can enter regardless of what you think.  I invite you and HE has called you.  He is the one who sent me with this invitation.  He alone wrote your name and has prepared this place for you.

I have been praying for you and will never stop.

Will you enter?

Please feel free to email me if you want to know more or if you decided today to enter into this room.  Email me at travis@riverofleland.com.

Check This Out!

I told you in my last post that we had some new stuff coming down the pipe for small groups.  Well, check this out!  Below is a little taste of what we are beginning to do here at River in our small groups.  If you want to know more come on out to Thunder Alley on Friday night at 7pm.  We will be doing our small group kick off where you can learn all about what the new groups will look like and where and when they are meeting.

Broadcast Small Group Discussion Starter from River of Leland on Vimeo.

Broadcast Small Group Discussion Starter

Discussion Questions

1. What happens If we drop the ball?

2. Are we held personally accountable? What happens
if we do not fulfill the Great Commission?

3. Is there another plan?

4. Why in the world did God put all of His faith in us to
see this fulfilled?

5. Are You living in such a way that the Commission is
being fulfilled in your life? Is there anything you
need to change about the way you’re living?

Excitement

If you are a regular reader to my blog I want to keep encouraging you to pray as we approach another week full of praying.  Remember the 140 days of prayer for our country and the 40 days of prayer for our church.  But for now I want to focus on what is coming down the pipe at River.

Our church is getting ready to launch on the 19th of September and a lot of stuff has already happened and so much more is about to explode.  We had our FIRST baptism on the Cape Fear River and what was supposed to be one baptism turned into TWO.  We continue to reach out and spread the Gospel and I believe our next baptism will be mind-blowing.  The anticipation is growing as we near our launch.  We had a ribbon cutting with the local Chamber of Commerce and the response was very good.  There are a lot of people interested and waiting to see what we are going to do in this community.  We shared with everyone our plans for the 18th and 19th and many people wanted to know more.  On the 18th we will blitz the community with free gas, free bowling, bounce houses for kids and so much more.  We will be giving away free raffle tickets for an opportunity to win great prizes.  We will be doing the drawing on the 19th and giving away free groceries and much more.  Our goal is to reach this community for Christ and the prizes we are giving away are meant to meet their needs.  This is not all, there literally is so much more happening on these two days.  If you want to know more and want to keep up with the updates go to our site by clicking here.

We also have small groups kicking off after the 19th.  And this is a big deal because our small groups have gone from 2 to 4 and possibly two extra ones.  We also will begin doing sermon based small groups and digging deeper into the message from Sunday and applying it to our lives.  These groups will also be available online for those who can’t attend or that live in other areas outside Leland.  That’s right, ONLINE… We will have personal small group material that we have developed in-house with personal videos from both John and my self and the needed printed material.  We are super excited about these new groups.  We will occasionally do other small group material outside of the sermon based, but this is our main material starting after our launch.  This will drive us all deeper and put us all on the same field, creating a unique culture of community within our church.  I promise you this is going to be AWESOME!  And if you missed your group or the sermon, you can always catch up by going online.  More info can be found here and our videos and podcast will be found here.

There is so much more I want to share, but these are the highlights of what is coming.  To keep up with regular updates, check out our website at www.riverofleland.com and check out our social network sites here.  Also check back often or subscribe to my blog.  I believe that BIG things are about to happen in Leland and the surrounding areas.  Keep praying and get excited!  Are you ready?

TC

Prayer for…

We all have a lot to be thankful for and it seems a lot more to pray for.  This week we advance in our 140 day prayer to week 9 and week 2 in our 40 day prayer.  For those of you that I just confused click on the hyperlinks to find out more.  In short we made a commitment to pray for our country for 140 days and recently our church River of Leland made a similar commitment to pray for our church launch and beyond for 40 days.

As we pray for our country this week remember Philippians 4:19 as we pray for those who are without jobs.  We have a huge increase in unemployment and we need to take this need to God.

As we pray for River, remember the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20 and Acts 5:42.  Remember to DO this together.  Serve were you are and let’s build HIS Church.  While we are at it, pray for every church everywhere.  Lift them up and rejoice with them as God works in and through them.  If one church grows, we ALL GROW…  When one church gains someone or something the whole Church gains.  This weekend was AWESOME and lost people all over the world were saved and baptized in the name of Jesus.  Our church and Crosswinds Church had baptisms on Sunday August 29th, 2010!  THAT IS FABULOUS!  And we didn’t plan for our churches to do it at the same time.  TWO CHURCHES, ONE PURPOSE… ALL CHURCHES ONE PURPOSE.  God was and is glorified!!!

Keep praying, keep reading, and keep doing all in the name of JESUS!

TC

Pray and Pray

I am going to keep this one short, but I want to encourage you and give you some NEW information.  Continue to PRAY as we approach our 8th week of the 140 Days of Prayer for our country.  (Click the hyperlinks for more info)

As many of you may know, River is approaching our Launch Day on September 19th.  As a part of the launch we are doing several things and you can find out more by clicking here.  We are doing an entire series called LAUNCH and this past Sunday was the first part of five in this series.  We handed out these prayer guides.  We want to join together and pray for this launch.  Will you join us in prayer?  I realize we are asking you to pray for two things, our country and this church.  But there is NO such thing as to much prayer.  Take the time and include these points in your existing prayer life and watch what God will do.

I will have more information coming soon.  Add me to your facebook or twitter so you can get automatic updates.  You can also subscribe through your email by clicking “Sign Me Up!” on the right column.

TC