Yummy Low-Carb Brunswick Stew

There are certain rituals I love. Fall has quite a few for me. Yes, there's football, hunting, leaves changing color, MLB playoffs, the weather, fall fruits, and fall food. Regarding the latter, when the weather turns cool and ALCS and NLCS is happening, to spend a few hours making a big batch of Brunswick Stew. I didn’t have the time to do it before THE RED SOX WON THE ALCS (yeaaaa!), but today I finally did. Every year I make a big batch so that I can freeze a bunch of quart-sized containers. Brunswick stew makes the best quick lunch! I love having the option to throw a quart in the microwave and enjoy a hardy bowl of steamy hot goodness during the winter months. But I’ve been thinking for about three years that it would be awesome to have some low carb Brunswick stew, and I’ve looked and looked for a good low-carb recipe. When nothing tickled my fancy, I decided to come up with one myself. 

I must say…I think it was a success.

It’s basically a modified version of my old Brunswick Stew recipe with the following changes:

I replaced all the sugar with Sucralose (Splenda), the potatoes with cauliflower, and the BBQ sauce and ketchup with sugar-free varieties. I decided to keep the other sources of carbs (like corn and tomato puree), because I don’t know of an adequate substitute, but I cut the amount.

Here’s the recipe, make sure you have a HUGE pot because it makes a lot.

Chad’s Low Carb Brunswick Stew

Ready in 4-5 hours and serves 20 people

Ingredients:

4 chicken breast halves

1 large rotisserie-roasted chicken (yes, from the grocery store)

1 lb. pulled pork bbq (I bought mine from Buddy’s)

1 large onion (diced)

6 stalks celery (finely chopped)

1 bag (1 lb.) frozen shoe peg or white corn

1 bag (1 lb.) fresh frozen butter beans (the big brown/speckled kind, not the lima/green kind)

1 large (28 oz.) cans pureed tomatoes

60 oz of cauliflower half riced and half diced

1 bag (1 lbs.) fresh frozen okra 

2 cups G Hughes Sugar Free ketchup

4 tablespoons (=1/4 cup) sucralose (Splenda)

(Optional) 1 teaspoon dark molasses (to provide that brown sugar taste)

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 stick butter

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup G Hughes Sugar Free Hickory BBQ sauce

1 bay leaf

6 tablespoons (=3 oz.) salt (more if desired)

5 teaspoons course-ground black pepper (more if desired)

Directions:

In a large stock pot (this makes over 3 gallons of stew), cover chicken breasts with water and cook until tender. Remove chicken from stock (keep stock/broth in pot!) and, when the chicken is cool enough to handle, pull chicken apart, removing any gristle or fat. Pull the chicken so there aren’t any chunks larger than your thumb. While the breasts are cooking, pull all the meat off the roasted chicken in the same way.

Return all chicken and pork to pot with remaining stock. Add celery and onions, and simmer until tender. Add the cauliflower, corn, and butter beans, and simmer an additional 20 minutes.

Finally, add tomatoes, ketchup, Sucralose, BBQ sauce, Worcestershire sauce, butter, bayleaf, salt, pepper, and vinegar. Cover and simmer at least two hours. Add okra last (about an hour before serving). Remove bayleaf before serving.

Stir often and be careful not to burn the bottom!!! Nothing burns like Brunswick stew, and it ruins the whole pot!

Verdict:

I’ve got to say, I was pleasantly surprised about how good it is! I mean, I seriously think I like it as much as the original! That says a lot!! This really makes me happy. I’ll be enjoying Brunswick Stew all winter long—with no regrets!

How many carbs per serving? Here’s my math:

Meats and celery and other- 0

Onion- 10g (net 8)

Cauliflower- 84g (net 28)

Corn- 68g (net 58)

Tomato Puree- 74 (net 58)

Okra- 16 (net 0)

Butter beans- 91 (net 70)

Ketchup- 16 (net 16)

BBQ sauce- 8 (net 8)

Molasses- 5 (net 5)

Total (almost 4 gallons) - 372 (net 251)

Per quart (huge bowl full)- 23g carbs (16g net carbs)

Per cup (little bowl)- 6g carbs (4g net carbs)

Chasin' Rabbits

I am about making disciples. There is NOTHING more exciting and rewarding than watching people grow spiritually. That's what I live for. However, there are times when I need to not think about anything serious. And God is good with that. He wants us to enjoy simple things, good things he has created. Beautiful things. Even things of the physical world.

One of the things in this world that are entirely pleasant for me is rabbit hunting with Mo. I totally relax. I totally soak in the beauty of creation and consider with wonder his grace and power. Mo and I don't kill many rabbits, but we both love it like crazy. Mo is a tough little dude. He never stops. As soon as he sees me with hunting pants on, he starts shaking and whining in anticipation. When we arrive to where we will be hunting, he can hardly stand it. I have to fight him to get his collar on. He will go full speed with his nose to the ground as long as I will stay out there with him. I love this dog! Here are just a few pictures from some hunting in the last couple of weeks:

Pictures don't do this scene justice. Mo is working this hedge like crazy, nose going full speed. In the midst of this is the amazing beauty all around. The Tennessee River is to my left (not pictured).

I have so much fun chasing Mo as he chases rabbits. It's a good time. We both enjoy a good cold drink after hunting hard.

On the List of Things I Like

Some of the things people like are curious to me. They are as different as we are—indeed they are a part of our individuality. "Things I like" is a subject we all enjoy discussing! I was at a restaurant a couple of weeks ago and a young couple at the table next to mine were talking rather loudly so that I could hear their conversation (I don't usually eavesdrop!). They must have been on a first date, because all they talked about was stuff they liked. Funny.

I like cutting firewood.

I can't really figure out why! It's hard, it makes you stink like chainsaw smoke and sawdust, it's kind of dangerous, it takes a lot of time, and I'm sore for two or three days afterward! Maybe it's some weird, Freudian, childhood psychology thing. I've been cutting wood since I was a kid. My family always had a fireplace and heated our home with wood. My dad worked my tail off cutting, splitting, and stacking wood. It wasn't always fun then, but I loved being with him and the men with which we worked. Manly stuff: loud chainsaws, big trees falling, cool tools (axes, wedges, mauls, and trucks), and lots of opportunities to prove one's strength made it strangely enjoyable. He would teach me how to recognize different types of trees and how to work on saws and how to "read" the logs and use proper techniques in order to split them with less difficulty. There were also many opportunities for my dad to compliment my strength and hard work (which he did more often than I deserved), which is important for a boy's confidence.

I must confess: there were times that I despised cutting wood. Like the time when I was 14 when my dad had me cut and carry lots of big oak logs up the steep ridge on which we lived...one log at a time...in the heat of the summer...by myself. I remember crying at one point from frustration and exhaustion when the log I was wrestling up the hill got away from me and rolled 50 yards straight down.

I definitely love the end result. There's nothing more comforting and romantic than a fire on a cold day. I love the smell, the crackle and hiss of the burning wood, the flickering glow of the flames, and the direct heat. Nothing chases cold away like that. On some dark winter nights I find myself fighting to stay awake in order to enjoy the fire a little longer.

A beautiful day for cutting wood. This is a trailer load of oak logs.
The Wagoneer is a workhorse! The Jeep 4wd and 360 V8 were 
made for this!

But maybe it's the peace I find while focusing on the task of cutting wood that's the best thing of all. My job requires a lot of meeting, sitting, emailing, reading & studying, making decisions, and planning. I do very little physical work--and I miss it. Don't misunderstand. I LOVE my job. But it's emotionally and intellectually taxing. Sometimes it's just downright draining. I'm an extravert and love people, but I find that the older I get the more I appreciate time alone. Only, often when I'm alone I get sucked into doing emails and phone calls and studying.

But I like getting outside in the woods. Cutting wood occupies my mind and my body. I find I'm not thinking about people's problems and the world's troubles and leadership strategy or sermon series. I'm thinking about my Stihl chainsaw, that tree, the perfect cut, split, and stack. How can I get as much wood on the trailer as possible without losing any on the journey or blowing a tire. There's a real sense of accomplishment when I finally get that wood stacked under my deck. I'm ready for winter. I've been a provider. Now to enjoy.

I'm always on the hunt for wood. Not just any wood—I'm a bit of a firewood snob. I prefer oak, hickory, and beech. Walnut, ash, cherry, and hard maple are ok, too. But I will not waste time and effort on soft maple, sweet gum, poplar, sycamore, locust (burns great and long, but stinks), birch, bradford pear (holds too much water), elm, hackberry, boxelder, pine (and other evergreens). Finding a big oak tree that has fallen and getting permission to take the wood is like hitting a little jackpot for me!

Weird Halloween...

I must confess a really weird thing about me...I have this little ongoing internal struggle about Halloween. It’s not a big deal. I certainly haven’t said anything about it to many others—definitely not publicly. I really don’t have an axe to grind with Halloween. I don’t think less of anyone who dresses like a zombie, witch, ghost, or Freddy Kruger. It’s just this little internal struggle. Perhaps it is because of all the trouble I got into as a teenager on October 31. Perhaps it is the fact that it’s the only holiday (“holy-day”) that has no national or Christian significance (there is debate on this: some say it has some Christian meaning and is harmless, some say it possibly even glorifies some anti-Christian ideas??). I’m really not sure what it is.

What I do know is that my kids think I’m weird. And some of the few others that know my struggle think I’m weird.

Add to this my weird affection for history. October 31 just happens to be the day that Martin Luther began the Protestant Reformation by nailing his 99 objections to the practices of the Roman Catholic Church to the big front door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany in 1517. He did this intentionally on “All Hallows Eve” (i.e. the day before All Saints Day, which is celebrated by Roman Catholics on November 1). Since Constantine became a Christian in 512 AD, it’s the biggest event in Christian history—perhaps even the history of the world! So (this is sooo weird), I try to get my family together to watch my favorite movie, Luther (2003), which tells the story!

This year, there’s another opportunity on Monday, October 31. No, not a Christian substitute “Trunk-or-Treat,” “Judgment House,” or “Fall Festival.” At noon that day, a group of Christians from Protestant churches all over Knoxville are meeting to silently pray for awakening. The Protestant Reformation was a long-needed awakening of true Christianity and millions were saved as God’s word was unleashed in Europe, effectively ending the dark ages of the medieval period. We need another awakening. You can come and pray, too! This time it will be at Cedar Springs Presbyterian’s old sanctuary (they call it their chapel). What a weird way to spend lunch on Halloween Day!

PrayForAwakening.com

Football and Church Planting

Ok, it’s fall and football time, so suffer me a related thought or two.

One of my favorite lines from the movie, Remember the Titans, is from Coach Boone when he was questioned about his small playbook. He said,

“I run 6 plays, split veer. Like Novocain, just give it time, always works.”

I guess you have to have played football for (or against) a veer-offense team to fully appreciate that quote. The veer is a fast attack, running offense, that forces the defense to make decisions and exploits them. To the casual observer, it’s not really that pretty. But to the educated eye, it is a thing of beauty. The bread-and-butter play is the triple option. The quarterback is the key. After taking the snap, he must make a decision based on the defense’s reaction to give the ball to the running back, keep the ball himself, or pitch to the other running back.

Many times a characteristic of veer-offense teams is that they will run two plays resulting in very few yards gained, followed by one that breaks for 5-9 yards, and slowly move down the field, eating up the clock. The offense keeps this bam, bam, break; bam, bam, break; pace going—daring the defense to stunt and take risks to stop it. When they do, a long break happens, many times for a touchdown.

What does this have to do with church planting? Let me name three things. As with veer football teams, church-planting churches must: 1. Believe in the strategy, 2. keep the offense on the field and the defense on its heels, and 3. learn from and reduce mistakes.

This might demand some translation/explanation for you football novices.

1. Believe in the strategy:
A veer team can’t be thrown by plays or series that don’t produce first downs or touchdowns, respectively. Losing teams panic and give up on game plans when the first drives fail or switch offensive schemes during the season. Winning teams stick to the strategy. Patience and execution will eventually yield results. Church planting is Providence Church’s primary strategy for culture change. It’s biblical and it works. It’s not glamorous. It is hard. Some plants don’t make it. Some struggle. Some need additional help. Mistakes will be made. But eventually, “like Novocain,” it works. Sometimes you get a big break for long yards. Over time, thousands of people’s lives are changed, and more churches are multiplied!

2. Keep the offense on the field and the defense on its heels:
Check the stats yourself. The team that wins almost always controls the ball longer. Football is also a game of aggression. The veer is an offense that goes forward almost always. It takes it to the opponent. The church is to be on offense. Jesus said, “Go.” We dare not take the foot off the proverbial pedal. It is Hell’s gates that are on the defensive. When Satan’s forces attack us, we must quickly respond. We must never rest. We must always move forward. Even when it is hard we must keep planting and keep planting. God will do the rest.

3. Learn from and reduce mistakes.
My dad used to say it all the time. “We’re not playing the other team. We’re playing ourselves.” This is a statement of confidence. When we work the game plan and run the offense WITHOUT turnovers, penalties, and execution mistakes, we will certainly win. But mistakes WILL be made. The opposition WILL throw schemes at you that you did not expect in order to try to stop your offense. This is where discipline is important. Patiently figure out what they are doing and how to respond. Make adjustments at halftime. More importantly, watch the film, evaluate, and correct mistakes for the next game. Get better. With church planting there are universal principles, but every context is different and demands adjustments on the fly. Mistakes ARE made. We must not become shaken. We must learn from them and move forward.

Believe me, I could compare many aspects of church planting with football! Perhaps later. Pray for the elders right now as we are considering some church planting-related opportunities that have come our way. You will no doubt hear about these soon.

Mmm. Brunswick Stew.

I first had Brunswick Stew when a friend in seminary took me to shoot sporting clays at a family home place in southern Virginia. We had it for lunch. He was kind of apologizing for not having something else to offer. I was like, “Are you kidding? This stuff is great!” It's a little different looking, but is hearty with a mild and distinctive taste. I didn’t have it again for a few years until I was on a deer-hunting trip near Columbus, GA and ate at a BBQ place called “Country’s.” They served Brunswick Stew as an appetizer then and it reminded me of how good it was. I’ve had it a couple of times since, but none of them evoked the "wow that’s good!" response like the Virginia-style Brunswick Stew I had at first.

So when the first little cool-snap happened last week I got it on the brain. I found many recipes online and combined a couple that looked good. AWESOME. It made WAY too much (I fed it to our family, the church staff, and a bunch of pastors), so I reduced it and tweaked it a little. I made it again this morning and just finished THREE BOWLS. I’m telling you, I can’t get enough. It’s like the perfect meal for a cool rainy fall day!

A couple of the staff asked about the recipe, so here it is:

Brunswick Stew (Virginia style)
Ready in: 3-5 hrs Serves 9 people

Ingredients:
4 chicken breast halves
1 small strip fatback
½ of a medium onion (chopped)
2 stalks celery (finely chopped)
½ large bag frozen sweet corn (shoe peg or white)
½ bags frozen butter beans
1 large can whole tomatoes, pureed
5 medium/large potatoes, diced
½ 40 oz. bag okra (use about 20 oz)
½ cup ketchup
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
½ stick butter
1 tablespoon vinegar
¼ cup BBQ sauce (I used KC Masterpiece orig.)
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons salt (more if desired)
½ teaspoon pepper (more if desired)

Directions:
In a large stock pot, cover chicken with water and cook until tender. Remove chicken from stock and, when it's cool enough to handle, pull chicken apart, removing all the gristle or fat.

Return chicken pieces to pot with remaining stock. Add fatback, celery and onions, and simmer until tender. Add the diced potatoes, corn and butter beans, and simmer an additional 20 minutes.

Finally, add okra, ketchup, brown sugar, bbq sauce, Worcestershire sauce, butter, bayleaf, and vinegar. Cover and simmer two hours. Remove bayleaf and fatback before serving. Serve with cornbread!

You're going to doubt me while you're combining everything. Don't. It is really good!

A Poem?

Autumn’s Fruits
By Chad Sparks
January 6, 2009

With autumn leaves, more color glares:
   Apples, grapes, persimmons, pears! 

My favorite time of year you are.
   In winter longing from afar 

The icy wind blows through the boughs
   I see my breath and hear snowplows. 

Beyond the feast of Christmastide
   The days grow short, dark clouds abide. 

The springtime and her fragrant blooms
   Woven on God Almighty’s looms 

Do not compare to fall’s sweet fruits
   ‘Een though the trees dress in pink suits. 

The summer comes with heat and storm
   Mosquitoes, flies, and gnats all swarm. 

Sweat, humidity, and haze
   Make my heart long for the days 

Of harvest season’s tasty wares
   Apples, grapes, persimmons, pears!

I’m not a poet. I rarely read poetry. But I do write things in verse from time to time—things that are usually kept between God and me. Poetry is an ancient form of expression that seems less popular than it once was. I’m not sure why.

I first wrote this poem when my daughter Duncan had an art assignment to find a poem she liked and to paint several pictures in response. However, getting the proverbial cart before the horse, she really wanted to paint pictures of fruit and figured that she would be able to easily find a poem about fruit so she just began painting. When the assignment’s due date drew near, she began searching for a poem and could not find one. The whole family searched. Finally, the night before it was due, Duncan went to bed in tears. I decided I’d just try to write one for her. I began just fooling around, using the fruit in her paintings (Apples, oranges, cherries, and pears). As it developed, I started thinking about it and my heart began to get into it. I do love Autumn and the fruits thereof. I chose to change the oranges and cherries to more appropriate fall fruits for East Tennessee (oranges don’t grow here and cherries come out in early summer). Grapes and persimmons grow wild and are fruits that I have frequently enjoyed in the woods as I grew up. Apples and pears are dear to my heart as fall fruits—my grandparents had trees with both, and fall was a time that they made jellies, pies, and other delectables. Fall is my favorite time of year for many reasons: football, hunting, leaves changing color, climate. But there were some deeper symbols emerging as I wrote.

I began to consider the different “seasons” in life. The autumn of life is what I am entering. I have passed the spring (childhood and youth) and summer (college, marriage, and young adulthood). I have kids who are growing older quickly. It is that season of life that we tend to long for all our lives a time we enjoy the “fruit” of our labor, education, and decisions. Truth is, I love this season of life. I find I do not want it to pass. I savor every day as I do fall and its fruits. I do not look forward to “winter” when I will surely long for that season just gone by, when health is fleeting, home is empty of kids, and limbs are cold. Spring (childhood and youth) is a wonderful time. All is abloom. Sovereign God is the one who made us and gives us gifts that grow into the rewards (fruit) of adulthood. Young adulthood (summer) is hot (with activity and passion) and stormy. There are many hazards and discomforts amongst the otherwise good bustle. Finding a mate, having children, starting a career, moving, etc. are par for the course. They make us long for when the fruit ripen, days shorten, weather moderates, colors appear with vigor, and harvest.

On an even deeper level, fall can also serve as a spiritual metaphor. Notice the order: icy, dark winter can symbolize the death and emptiness of a person in sin before regeneration. Springtime is that period after new birth. It is full of color and excitement. God is the one who gives forgiveness and life. Summer is when great growth occurs but with it come the bugs and heat and storm of reality as the newness of the faith wears off. Haze symbolizes the way black and white can seem to become grey when the believer is exposed to the influence of less-than-committed Christians and less-than-biblical compromises. Then harvest comes. In truth, there are many “harvests” for the Christian. Many come early. Some like trees and vines take years of patient cultivation before bearing fruit. But they keep bearing year after year, indeed for eternity!

Duncan turned in the poem with her art and the teacher liked it. Duncan didn’t even know that I had written it. Kind of cool!

Whew! Fall is in the air.

It's just starting to cool off a bit from the summer heat. There's a smell to early fall. Maybe it's some weed or something that blooms giving off a scent that always triggers a flashback for me. I think of 13 straight years of my life when I played football. There's a feeling I get. Excitement. Hope. Enjoyment. BUSYNESS. Fall is undoubtedly my favorite season—and I promise it is not because of football season. Sure, I love football. But it's the whole season that I love. From the heat of early September to Thanksgiving, fall is quite nostalgic for me. And it's always busy. Always.

I went dove hunting on September 1st and haven't had a chance to go since—but I find myself noticing doves safely resting on telephone wires as I drive from one meeting to the next. This fall has been especially busy it seems—with good stuff.

New Church Plant
Our church voted on a vision for 2007 with three objectives. One of them was to begin a process to intentionally plant churches. Since we adopted this vision, a group of people from Kingston approached me who were exploring the possibility of start a church. Long story short, they sensed God leading them to become members of Providence in order to gain our DNA until they launched a church with our guidance and support. Of course, a vital part of a successful new church plant is a planting pastor. Another long story short, since the vision was adopted, I have gotten to know a guy from Mississippi named Kevin who began sensing God leading him to plant a church that reaches the culture with the word. This whole process has been both incredibly complicated and exhilarating. It's one of those amazing set of circumstances that really makes me say, "Wow. God is wonderful." We will know soon (after the church votes and Kevin senses God's call) if it really is of God, but no matter what I can't wait to see what happens. [UPDATE: KEVIN DID NOT SENSE GOD'S CALL, BUT GOD MOVED IN A GUY NAMED MELVIN SWAFFORD, WHO I HAVE BEEN TALKING WITH FOR YEARS ABOUT PLANTING A CHURCH--IT LOOKS LIKE IT WILL HAPPEN--GOD WILLING, OF COURSE!]

In a hundred years (should Christ not come first), I think thousands of people will have been reached because of the church that is being born through this effort.

Mission Trip to Brazil
Darla and I have sensed God's leadership to take our whole family to Brazil on a mission trip this fall (October 22–29). This is something we have been hoping to do for years. Why? We want to instill in our kids an understanding of God's call to take the Good News to the nations. We have been saving as a family, have decided to not take a vacation this year, and are actively trying to raise money together so that Drew, Duncan, and Dara can appreciate the sacrifice for, and priority of this trip. Needless to say, they are ecstatic about being used by God in Brazil.
Secondly, we will be accomplishing important Kingdom work. The purposes of the trip are threefold:
1) We will be helping a church (that our church started three years ago) to secure land and plan the building of a facility in which to worship. This strategically placed Bible-believing church is in a fast-growing area of Rio de Janeiro, one of the largest cities in the world. They are successfully reaching hundreds for Christ. They currently meet in a small rented facility, which is a hindrance. We are taking three contractors from our church to help them in this effort. 2) We will be helping the same church begin a ministry to families that focuses on making disciples of kids, not unlike Kidstuf, which God has used to bring many families to Christ and deliberately equips parents as the primary disciple-makers of their kids. God used Darla to bring this ministry to Providence and all of our kids have taken part in it as well. They are so excited to help our Brazilian friends get this life-changing ministry started there. 3) We will be doing ministry in a poverty-stricken area in Rio. Even though the church we planted is in a middle- and upper-income area, they have a heart for missions and ministry to the many poor in their own city. We will assist them in their work and experience with our own eyes how those in extreme poverty live. There are other kingdom tasks we hope to accomplish as well.
Obviously, the trip won't be cheap. It'll cost about $7000 for our whole family to make the trip. We've budgeted and saved but are still trusting God to help us find this large amount. It makes it a little more challenging that I am the teaching pastor of Providence. I have thought it wise not to ask individuals in our church for donations. Please pray that we'll trust God to help us find the rest of the amount we need to go. There have been a gazillion complications. Airlines seem to be in chaos and so are the passport office and visa process. But other than coming up with the money, it looks like God has allowed everything to fall in place.

New People
Fall is always the best time for church growth. People get settled back into a regular schedule. For whatever reason, we have seen more new faces in the last few weeks than at any other time I can remember. This is great! However I find myself stressing over details: is the facility clean and inviting? Do we have greeters? Are we helping people take the next step (receiving Christ, membership, Life Group, etc.)? Am I communicating the word accurately and effectively?

New Elders
We're at the end of a long process of examining men for eldership. This is VITALLY important. We can't afford to make a mistake here. There has been much prayer and discussion involved in this process. [UPDATE: GOD CALLED KENNY SMITH, TIM TUCKER, AND DAVID ZELEM TO BE ELDERS!]

Kids Activities
Before I am a pastor, I am a dad and husband. Drew is in seventh grade, playing soccer (scored two goals in the last game!), is really involved in Technology Students Association (he competed in the state and nationals last year), is a ballboy for Carson-Newman football, has lots of homework, and at church he is volunteering in Preschool, Kidstuf, and is in the middle school ministry! Duncan's in sixth grade (experiencing a new level of homework), is playing softball (their team won the league championship last season), and at church she is volunteering in preschool, dancing in Kidstuf, is in middle school ministry and is an active part of her small group. Dara is in third grade now and is a big soccer player. She's also involved in church (getting baptized next week after recently receiving Christ!). Her birthday is coming this month and is a big deal! She's been watching too much "Extreme Home Makeover" and has asked us to give her an "extreme ROOM makeover" while she is at school. That's Dara. Going for it all.

Normal Schedule
Other than all of the aforementioned activities, I really don't have to do anything except lead our church through a study of tongues and spiritual gifts as we tackle 1 Corinthians 14, counsel people, meet with many pastors, continue efforts for area-wide transformation, work with and mentor leaders in our church, plan future sermon series, and read and study and pray.

Whew! Smell that scent in the air? It's fall. It's exciting. It's BUSY. I don't think I'll be doing much more hunting this year.