• This by far was the most awkward weekend in my short time as Pastor of The Heights. I missed worship because First Lady LaVera and I are on vacation.
• I hadn’t had a real vacation since I began this assignment in December 2010. That’s almost 2 years without missing a Sunday. I absolutely love my job. It’s hard work, but doesn’t feel like work so if I’m not careful I’ll overwork myself.
• Our newest deacon, Darryl Clark, stood in my place and preached an incredible sermon on Answering God’s Call. Darryl has been such a faithful member of our team and I’m grateful for him.
• The audio link to Darryl’s message is available online. Click here to listen.
• Of course my heart and mind was in District Heights at 11 o’clock thinking about what was going on at home, but we were blessed to worship at Calvary Revival Church. What an awesome worship experience! I missed hearing Bishop McBath preaching, but God had a Word precisely for me from Bishop Brian Greene.
• Our vacation actually started late last week with a tour of Nationals Park. We got to go to the dugout, the clubhouse and even throw pitches from the bullpen. Daddy had more fun than the boys!
• This Tuesday, several of our members will be getting together to assemble the thousands of school supplies that our church has purchased for children in our community. I’m so proud of how our church responded to this challenge. If you want to put your hands on the fruit of your giving, be there Tuesday!
• I’m so excited about this coming Sunday. We normally do our baptisms on Wednesdays, but we’re going to mix it up this week and have some on Sunday. I’m calling it Water Sunday and expecting God to do something we’ve never seen.
• If you are ready to share with the world the new beginning you have in Christ by getting baptized, click here to let us know!
• Vacation has been helpful and restful for us so far. We still have a few more days (so don’t call me. LOL), and will be back soon!
• Can’t wait to see you! Have a great week.

• Look at the love in this photo! That was truly one of the best days of my life.
• Today First Lady LaVera and I celebrate our 6 year wedding anniversary. I’m so blessed to be married to her! She is such an amazing woman. Every day she reminds me that God made her perfectly for me.
• I really should have seen it coming… but WOW! What an awesome day at The Heights!
• From the time that I walked into the building, it seemed like everything that could go wrong, did. We had audio issues, video issues, volunteer issues, attitude issues and any other kind of issue you can think of.
• It took me a little while to chill out, pray, and recognize that these were all signs that God had big plans. Whenever the enemy pulls out the stops trying to get us off our game, I know something BIG is about to happen.
• In the end, Christ prevailed, several people made decisions to follow Him, and worship was incredible! Praise God!
• I began a new series today called, “Allow Me to Reintroduce Myself.” Yes, I stole the line from Jay-Z, but I think it’s a fitting way to package this discussion on God’s attributes and how He invades our lives in order to show Himself to us in fresh ways.
• Today I preached from Exodus 3. Moses’ encounter with God teaches us so much about God as well as ourselves.
• I’m sure you’re waiting for the audio link… Here it is! Click here.
• This series will appease the seminarian/theologian in me as we discuss the attributes of God. One of the greatest tensions as a preacher and pastor is to properly esteem theology while connecting it to the lives of the people. I think I did okay this week.
• First Lady and I will celebrate our anniversary next weekend with a dinner cruise and other fun stuff. Today was just a chill day at home with the boys after a post-church brunch at IHOP.
• I’m so proud of our events team that pulled together an incredible July 4th outreach for our community. Each year, the city puts on a fireworks show fit across the street from our church which draws hundreds of people from our community to our church lawn. We couldn’t ask for a better opportunity to engage our community!
• We had a blast and enjoyed being a blessing! There are still some ways we could improve, so next year will be even better!
• Looking forward to a great week! I pray that you’ll have a great one to!

Love y’all!