We recently had a lot of frequent flier miles, and a limited travel window… so it was time for a quick family vacation in the Caribbean.   It was a great time of much needed relaxation and family fun.

We enjoy activity – even when we’re relaxing.  So the ocean sport activities at our hotel were ideal.  After taking the boys out with me on the ocean kayak a few times, our oldest (who is 7) decided he’d like to take one out for a spin by himself.

At this point, the wheels in my head started turning.  What are the risks here? This is the open sea.  How adept is he at paddling? What would happen if he tipped over? He’s a good swimmer.  What would you do?

After weighing all the probabilities, we decided to let him go for it… BUT with Daddy in his own kayak nearby.  Not bad, huh?

After the first couple of times out by himself, the young lad was really feeling his oats.  The 3rd time he wanted to go to the other side of the bay.  Which would have been no problem, except for the strong wind on the return trip.  About half-way home, the little fellow completely ran out of gas.  The wind was blowing him backwards every time he rested… and he wasn’t getting anywhere.  He started getting frustrated… then scared and confused.

When I realized coaching and encouragement from a safe distance wasn’t going to cut it, I paddled over next to him, clipped his kayak to the back of mine, and safely paddled us home.

By the time my son got back to the beach, he had forgotten the fear, and was basking in the glory of his accomplishment.

In life, we won’t accomplish much if we take NO risks.  Everything worth doing takes hard work and involves some degree of risk.

The key is to check with Daddy before you embark on that dangerous trip across the bay. If He says “no”,  you’d better not get in over your head.  But if he says “yes”… you know He’s got your back.  Faith is taking a risk when you know He’s backing you up. The Bible says that “without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6)

God is pleased when we attempt great things for Him.  We can take courage that He will be there to supply the power that we lack.

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Renaissance Church is very excited to welcome some international guests next week -  some young men and women from the youth group Mission72 of Eglise le Chemin in Hull, Quebec, Canada.  They are spending their spring break by going on mission.  Their mission?  To bless the city of Charlotte and assist Renaissance Church in reaching every person with the love of Jesus Christ.

(Off topic: “Spring break” in Quebec is the first week of March?!?  They’ve gotta still have 5 feet of snow up there, don’t they?)

After receiving some training, the youth will be busy throughout the week serving our community in practical ways and sharing the love of God.  The culmination of the week will be a Community Celebration on Saturday March 6th.  This free event will offer children in nearby apartment communities an afternoon of fun:  inflatables, food, and activities.

If you’d like to meet the youth or participate in the outreaches, please contact us.  There are plenty of opportunities to serve – especially for the Celebration on March 6th.

This was a Christmas gift from my wonderful and hilarious sister.  What can I say about this brilliant work of art?

I’m not sure I can access the deeper spiritual meaning of the electronic yodeling pickle.  Instead, here are a few points for you to ponder today.  I hope they enrich your life.

1.  First, you have to understand that on Christmas morning, of all the presents the family opened, our boys first and foremost gravitated towards this sonorous briny cucumber.

2.  The boys have perfected the lip-sync of the electronic yodeling pickle.  Classic.

3.  In my more philosophical moments, my mind drifts to an unknown factory in China, where workers there are fabricating the electronic yodeling pickle for export to the U.S.  What must they be thinking, as they complete their 10 hour shift on the assembly line of the electronic yodeling pickle?  What images of our society are conjured in their minds, as they contemplate a people who demand such a product?

Comments, please!

Hope you had a great one.  We had one of our best in years.

The highlights:

– Took family ice skating and skiing in the surprisingly nice mountains of North Carolina.  (Where else but Charlotte can you drive 2 hours to go skiing or 2 hours to go to the beach?  OK, California.  But we don’t have to worry about earthquakes, wild fires, smog, or traffic.  So there!)

–  Had a wonderful Christmas with Marla and the boys back home.  Good times, abounding in thankfulness for our Savior.

–  Marla’s parents dropped by for a very nice visit.

–  We are so blessed to have so many wonderful friends here in Charlotte.  Many of you came to our International Christmas Party.  What a blast that was!  The dream of a loving multi-ethnic group of passionate followers of Christ is becoming a reality.

–  But perhaps the highlight of the Christmas season was seeing 5 precious people make decisions for Christ at the Christmas Service of our dear friends at the Vietnamese Christian Assembly of God.  Pastor Timothy, Pastor Stephan, and the church are doing a wonderful job sharing the message of the Good News of Jesus Christ.  It was a real honor to be invited to be a part of it.  I can’t think of a better way to celebrate Christmas than to share the message of Christ’s birth: it truly is “good news of great joy for all the people” (Luke 2:10)

What a beautiful time we shared on Saturday at our International Christmas Party!

By our counts, there were about 75 people from 13 nations celebrating with us!

It was just a foretaste of what heaven will be like, where we will worship our Savior with people from every nation, tribe, and people.  (However, I expect heaven will feel less crowded than our bursting-at-the-seams house.  On the other hand, the international cuisine we shared might rival what we’ll partake of in heaven!)

Here’s a link to some pictures on our Renaissance Church facebook page.  Have you joined yet?

We had a great time this weekend distributing turkeys and groceries to under-resourced families in the Charlotte area.  We were able to serve 11 families (over 60 people).  Many told us that they were desperate, wondering where the money was going to come from to pay for a family celebration this Thanksgiving.   We are so glad that we were able to help meet their physical needs in the name of our Savior.  We also had the opportunity to minister the love, life, and hope of Jesus Christ to every family.  Many received prayer.  Several Bibles were given away.

I want to offer sincere thanks to all of you who made this Renaissance outreach possible.   Thanks to our volunteers.  Thank you again to those of you who gave.  And thanks to Nova*s Bakery for donating fresh bread.

I’m thankful for so many things this Thanksgiving.  Having the privilege of witnessing so many smiles this weekend is one of them.  Happy Thanksgiving.

Renaissance Church was hopping today.  Bouncing all over the place.  Going bananas.

Yes, I’m talking about our day at Monkey Joe’s.

The children we sponsored all had a great time.  Thanks to those of you who made it possible through your generosity of time and resources (including the folks at Monkey Joe’s).

Just another day of expressing our faith through love!

For lots more pictures (on Facebook), Click here

The fun and excitement of our first Mega Sports Camp is over.  What a week!  God’s love touched 45 children and their parents.  Several made decisions to follow Jesus Christ.  And everyone had a lot of fun!

We received so much great feedback from the children and parents.  This was just the beginning of what God wants to do in our neighborhoods in south Charlotte.

Thanks again to our wonderful friends at the Vietnamese Christian Assembly of God who helped us so much.  And to our wonderful volunteers – Katie, Rod, Cindy, Chuck, and Gloria.  This camp simply would not have happened without all of you.

Notice the double rainbow in the picture above?  It seems almost every day of camp, the skies threatened rain.  People would call every evening asking, “Are we having camp?  It looks like it’s going to rain.”  We were determine to have camp, even if it poured.  But it never did.  A couple of nights it sprinkled briefly, but each time we prayed that God would hold back the rain – at least over Archdale park.  And every night camp went off without a hitch.  The double rainbow seems like a visual confirmation of God’s blessing on our efforts.  After all, Jesus told us, “Whoever welcomes a little child in my name, welcomes me.”

Click the link below to see all the photos from camp on our Renaissance Church facebook group:

http://www.facebook.com/photo_search.php?oid=91017415714&view=user#/photo_search.php?oid=91017415714&view=all

Last night was a great start to the MEGA Sports Camp. Basketball, soccer, and cheerleading were big hits with the kids.

4 more big nights!

Renaissance Church has been sending out teams into neighborhoods, hanging fliers door-by-door.  We’re inviting children to our Mega Sports Camp outreach next week.  It’s a sports-themed VBS which we are offering free of charge.

{Email us if you want volunteer to help out.  If you want to register your child, there are fliers and sign-up forms here.}

We think the best way to build a church is by reaching out to people, helping them as much as we can, building relationships, and helping them take steps towards God.  We want to let entire neighborhoods know that Renaissance Church cares – and that we want to help in every way we can.  We do it for Jesus, we do it in the name of Jesus, and we do it in the power of Jesus.  Our prayer is that He will transform entire neighborhoods.

Jesus said, whoever welcomes a little child in His name, welcomes Him.

That thought makes the whole thing more than worthwhile.