Today we picked up Josh’s new dog, Sam.  He is a Shetland Sheepdog (Sheltie).  He is cute but still trying to get used to our family.  We had to drive to Nevada to get Sam.  Nevada, Missouri that is:)  Josh was really excited to finally get a dog.  Hannah likes him too, although she tells us his name is Dog, not Sam.  It is a nice addition to the Cheney household.  I am anxious to see how well Josh’s 2 year intense dog study pays off.  Especially when it comes to potty training (the dog not Hannah:).

Josh and Sam

Hannah and Sam

Al Gore was right.  We are in danger of global warming.  It was 7 degrees this morning when I woke up and it has warmed up to 18 degrees.  I honestly am glad for this warming trend.  It might have been 15 degrees right now instead of 18. 🙂

This morning is our special Christmas Service.  The theme is Everything Glorious.  The choir has been working on this for many weeks now and we are going to have a great time.  The kids and youth will also be participating in the program.  Altogether, we are here to celebrate Christ and the fact that He is glorious.  He is the Majesty of the Universe.  The Lord of Lords and the Name above all Names.  Christmas is about Christ and He is the One we lift up!

As a leader, I try to grow and better myself.  In essence, I am trying to fix my flaws and yes, I do have some.  I have always been a thinker.  My brain rarely shuts off from thinking about things and ideas.  Sonya will often think I am mad at her because I am quiet.  But I am only thinking.  Ideas swirl in my head.  One of my flaws has been that I have alot of ideas but sometimes they do not come to pass because of the way I process them.

I am a computer geek!  Everything I do is by technology such as computer or on my Blackberry.  The problem here is I put my ideas into files on my computer and I never go back and look at them.  Hence, the demise of a good idea. 

Over the last couple of months I have been changing the way I process ideas.  Believe it or not, I am using the old fashioned method of pen and paper.  I bought a few Black and Red notebooks, which are hardback, and I write down my ideas, sermon thoughts, plans, vision and in-depth Bible studies.  I have a different notebook for different things, but my idea notebook I carry with me most of the time. 

This has helped me to be able to simply pick up the notebook and refer back to my ideas so that they do not get lost. I am seeing more of my ideas come to pass and I feel more organized than ever.  Who would have ever thought of using pen and paper?  The technology generation is good, but there are some benefits of reverting back to the old way.

Sermon Series Thought

I am now officially recognized by the state of Arkansas as a resident.  I got my new drivers license today.  The hardest part about that is having to memorize a new number.  I had the same number in Texas for 21 years.

Here is an interesting dialogue between Jesus and one of His disciples.  It was written by Ben Arment:

“J:  Listen, when you go into someone’s house, stay there until it’s time to leave. Don’t bring any food or clothes or anything. If the people don’t welcome you, then go outside the town and shake the dust off your feet.

P:  Well, we thought we’d just hand-out flyers. Put them on door knobs and all. Probably won’t even run into anyone. Figure we’ll knock it out in about three hours.

J:  What do you mean, flyers?

P:  You know, like, papyrus that says how you’re gonna be at the ‘gogue’ this weekend.

J:  But what about the power and authority I gave you?

P:  We used it on graphic design.

J:  On what?

P:  How ’bout a wheat buy-down?”

Are we building a church through marketing or the power of God?  When the power of God is absent, we have to rely more on marketing.  Just a thought!

I am mostly a humbug when it comes to Christmas, but my greatest joy is giving gifts.  If you asked Hannah what she wanted from “Santa Claus” she would tell you, “I want a park in my backyard.”  Her eyes would light up and she would look out the back window for where she wants her park to be.

Last week, her dream became a reality.  My dad was in town and put together her swing set.  The joy of Christmas for me was to see her face shine when she saw her park for the first time.  She played while, listing of all of the things there are to do on her swingset.  She was elated to finally have a park in her backyard.

Josh, on the other hand, has been wanting a dog for two years but we didn’t have a fenced in yard in Nederland.  He was always discourage because we wouldn’t get him a dog.  In fact, he said when he dies he wanted us to put on his tombstone, “All a boy needs is a dog and a mother who will let him have one.”  Well, this year he has a mother who will let him have one.  We now have a fenced yard and we decided to buy him a dog.  He was shocked when we let him know and he has been a new kid since.  He even, cleaned his room without us asking.  Sonya said, “If that is all it took we would have bought him a dog a long time ago.”

This is my greatest joy at Christmas.  Giving.  I love to see the surprise and the happiness of others when they receive a gift.  When my kids are happy it makes me happy.  Overall, Christmas is about gifts.  God gave us a gift in His son Jesus.  It delights the heart of God when we receive that gift.  That is the purpose of Christmas!