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I'm excited about surrendering to lead the new Spanish service at our home church Castle Hills First Baptist. We held the first Castle Hills en Español service yesterday with 43 in attendance. I love that the vision is not to start a church within a church, but to add a service completely in Spanish to our Sunday morning schedule. Castle Hills now has three services to choose from. Celebration, Mosaic and Castle Hills en Español. I'm very excited.

Of course, I will continue to travel and speak in other churches as the Lord allows. I have been blessed with an outstanding support team which brings incredible comfort and encouragement to my heart. Great things are ahead. God is moving. I'm glad that I can come along for the ride.

with Lisa and one of the Reptile Man's friends  |  the Triple A's at Seaworld  |  with Amanda and her favorite animals on her birthday in Leonard, Texas  |  with Andrew on his birthday at Chuck E. Cheese's  |  with Amanda on her birthday  |  with our dog Rocky  | 
Our latest family picture  |  with my dog Rocky  |  Baptizing Adriana at Youth Week @ Alto Frio last July

2010 has been great. God is so good. I'll never understand how God can be so faithful and good to us when we are so unfaithful and bad. I know it's grace. I know it's mercy. I know it's love. I know that God's ways are way above mine. I also know and am confident that I will know and understand all truth one day.

I'm really having a blast speaking at e-kids. It has really become our ministry at Castle Hills. In the past it has been rare for me to speak to kids on a regular basis. All of a sudden I'm speaking to kids at least once a month. This Sunday I'll speak at e-kids for the third week in a row.

I've got three OBEY Regional Rallies scheduled so far for this year. The OBEY Conference is coming up in April and I'm praying for the largest crowd we have ever had. Last year we hit 500 and this year I'm praying for 700. More than anything I want God to be there and to move in a powerful and life-changing way.


Our family picture taken in December of 2009. I'm blessed with a great family.


Tried to find this dog a good home when he showed up in my yard. Came to the conclusion that
we were suppose to keep him and make him our family dog. I love "Rocky". He's a great dog.


Andrew also loves "Rocky".

I don't get how so many of us can go days without opening our Bibles and having some one on one time with God. I have preached and taught that prayer and Bible study go hand in hand, but in my life that hasn't always been true. Many of my prayers have become weak and routine. A quick meaningless prayer before a meal had the power of a wet mop. In spite of my personal devotional life or lack of, God still used me by his grace. I wonder what more he wanted to do and could have done if only I had been more focused on connecting with Him. If I struggle like this, how many more are out there struggling? Worst of all, how many are out there that don't realize there is a problem?

God is good! In the last few weeks God has gotten a hold of me. He has captured my attention like never before in my life and has revealed great and mighty truth. He's led me back to my Bible not just for sermon preparation but for my personal growth. Lisa and I are having prayer and Bible study with the Triple A's every night and are enjoying a devotional time together. I'm studying my Bible because I want to not because I feel I have to. I'm encouraged and excited about what is ahead and especially about what God will show me and do in and through me.

The Bible is God's gift to us. The answer to every question and situation is found in the Word of God. It strengthens, encourages, guides, convicts and builds. The Bible is designed to better our lives and families. Why not make time for it in our lives? Don't have time? Make time! We can't afford not to.

I would estimate that over 700 people attended the homegoing service of Pastor Jerry Salinas last Thursday evening. I met Pastor Jerry back in 1993 and had been encouraged by his life and ministry ever since. He always had a smile on his face that I believe was a direct result of his love for God and for people. He loved his Lord and was passionate about introducing everyone he came in contact with to him. One of my favorite memories of him is when he prayed for me at my ordination service back in 1995. Pastor Jerry's service felt more like a revival service than a funeral service. It was filled with powerful praise and worship, testimonies and a life-changing message from the Word of God. One of the best parts of the evening was getting to see so many friends that I hadn't seen in years. There were people greeting and hugging each other all around. I couldn't help but think that even at his homegoing service God was using Pastor Jerry to bring others together for encouragement. It was truly a night that honored Pastor Jerry and that brought glory to God just as he would have wanted.

Pastor Jerry was 53 years old and as I'm sure everyone agrees was way too young to go home to heaven. He leaves a legacy of many things behind, but for some reason the one that stands out to me the most as I type is faithfulness. Pastor Jerry was faithful. He was faithful to his Lord, his family and to God's ministry. Just like the rest of us he was not perfect, but he was faithful. He had his stumbles and his weaknesses. He didn't always get it right, but what he did get right was faithfulness. When Pastor Jerry breathed his last breath in his earthsuit, he saw his Lord face to face and heard the words we should all live to hear "well done good and faithful servant".

I want to be faithful. I want to honor my Lord and the legacy of Pastor Jerry Salinas by being faithful.

I spent last weekend in Alabama. It was my first trip to that state and I really enjoyed what God did. My friend Emilio pastors a church in Russellville which meets in a former Kingdom Hall. It was amazing to see how they have transformed this facility and how God is using it to draw others to Himself. I loved how the people were so receptive to the Word of God. They were so excited. It was very encouraging and really fired me up. I especially love the way God spoke at our final service on Sunday morning. Almost every person present asked God to work powerfully in and through their lives.

There were a couple of other highlights of my trip to Alabama. First, I was blessed to enjoy lunch with my favorite evangelist Junior Hill. Since 2000, Junior Hill has been a friend and an encourager to me. I was so blessed to spend some time with him.



The other highlight took place as I was preparing to board my flight from Huntsville to Houston. I looked up and Kirk Cameron was standing next to me. He was a super nice guy and we spent a few minutes chatting both on the plane before takeoff and once we arrived in Houston. I gave him a super thin New Testament and he gave me a DVD and a "Faithfold" wallet. The wallet is genuine leather and has a New Testament inside. It was quite a gift. I appreciate guys like him that may be well-known but don't act like it.



I spoke at e-kids this morning which is the kids worship service at our home church. Speaking to kids ages 6 to 11 is the toughest crowd I have ever had to speak to, but God was awesome and the kids were awesome. I'm speaking again on October 18th and maybe doing a whole month in the winter. The best part was getting to watch Adriana leading with the praise team and Amanda in the "first grade" section having a blast.

Things are slow right now. God has never let us down so I'm trusting in Him. He knows how much I love to speak. He knows I would love to be busy. I'm trusting Him.

Some pics from yesterday. Andrew had a fun day turning 4. Church then Chuck E. Cheese's then cake and presents then Seaworld!

 

Get your tickets today!

I'm not sure how many people would consider 11:26 PM late, but its late to me. I really need to go to bed, but I haven't posted in awhile. As much as I have tried to post daily, it just hasn't happened. I'm not going to worry about it anymore.

Adriana and Amanda started school yesterday and they are very excited. They have excellent teachers and love going to school. I'm pretty sure their love for school will change as they get older, but I hope they always have a desire to learn.

I'm very excited about the courses I will be taking this semester. Luther Rice University is an excellent school and though it will take awhile I look forward to earning my degree. My desire to earn a degree is rooted in another desire. A desire for my kids to have two parents with degrees. I hope our example will motivate them to continue their education and to better prepare themselves to serve God and others.

Can't wait to begin a four day event at my friend Pedro's church here in San Antonio on Sunday. Jimmy Edward will be singing and sharing his powerful story and I will be preaching. It's been some time since Jimmy and I served together. I'm praying for an awesome move of God. I know there is only one thing I can do to make sure God is with us. Minimize me and pray for God to maximize Himself.

I'm very proud of Adriana. She is part of the E-Kids team at Castle Hills. They lead the worship during the kids' service. Lisa said she did awesome at last Sunday's first service of the season. I won't get to see her lead until September 6th. This year has been incredible for Adriana and us. She was saved in March, baptized in June and is now serving. The glory is all yours God!

I am extremely blessed. Beautiful wife and kids and I get to share the Gospel for a living. My God is an awesome God!

I'm really excited about hosting what I hope will become an annual event. On October 9th, I will be hosting "A Night of Laughs" with Bean & Bailey and Cleto Rodriguez. Both of these acts are hilarious and I'm especially excited about hosting a family-friendly show that's affordable. $10 a ticket isn't bad. I hope to pack the place. There is a lot of work to do, but I'm confident it will all be worth it.

Heading to Wichita Falls next Saturday. Ready to preach. It's been awhile.

Going to enjoy church tomorrow with the fam!