time at the speed of a bullet

Ever wished time would slow down? Feel like the days are faster than a speeding bullet? Recently, comedian and blogger Lanny Donoho posted some new "bullet art"... Enjoy! -casey c.

happy father's day...a gift from a pastor to dad's

Happy Father's Day! Did you have a good one? I had a great time hanging with my family and some friends on both Saturday and Sunday! Tonight, I got the chance to spend time with my Father, and for that I am so thankful! I thankful that my Father has given me an opportunity to know my perfect Heavenly Father...I'm also thankful that my Heavenly Father who knows all things before we do, by his grace, has given me my earthly father. Here is a free gift from Pastor Mark Driscoll in Seattle, an online book about fathering-be careful, it's challenging: http://relit.org/pastordad/toc.php -casey cariker

dream big dreams/do hard things

Several months ago, I ran across this story because of a book by two home schooled teenagers, called Do Hard Things. This young man, at the age of 16 bought a small boat and spend over a year preparing the boat to sail. Then he spent six months preparing to be the youngest person to sail across the world. What an amazing story. Recently ESPN wrote about his recent life venture, you can the article here: http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=4234309 This story started making me thing again about God's dream for our lives! I wonder if we have small hearts toward God because we have small dreams for God? What could God be asking you to do for Him? What if it meant you had to move? What if it meant you had to give away all your savings? Go to a different school or college? Change careers? Become friends with new people? Would you dare to dream again? Would you risk it? God's dream for your life may lead to hard things, but it always produces eternal things! -casey c.

arms of compassion and endeavor games

A friend of mine, John Hewitt, runs a ministry called Arms of Compassion. Arms of Compassion exists to help people and cities who go through major crisis or catastrophes. They also help under resourced communities and schools. But one of the greatest things about John is his family and their children. You can watch this latest news channel highlight John's daughter Hanna...you can also go to their blog at www.hannah-can.blogspot.com Way to go Hannah!!!

Love Him by Living for Him

Recently, author Kevin DeYoung (co-author of "Why We Are Not Emergent By Two Guys Who Should Be") recently wrote the following on a blog:

There are a lot of popular versions of Jesus in culture. There’s a Republican Jesus who’s for free-market economics. There’s a Democrat Jesus against Wall Street and Wal-Mart. There’s a therapist Jesus who helps us cope with life’s problems. There’s a Starbucks Jesus who loves fair trade coffee and Apple computers. There’s a touchdown Jesus who helps Christians run faster and jump higher. There’s the martyr Jesus who died so that we could feel sorry for him. There’s nice guy Jesus. There’s spirituality Jesus. There’s good example Jesus.

And then there’s Jesus of Nazareth.

Jesus asks, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter says, “You are the Christ of God.”

Most people have a shrunken, domesticated Christ who is safe, easy and manageable instead of the real Christ. The closer you get to him the more you love him and the more you fear him. God is calling you to stop playing games and to stop making excuses and to open your eyes to see Jesus as the Christ. He is more glorious and loving and gracious and powerful and more wonderfully terrifying that any of us can ever imagine.

May we consider these thoughts as we study 1 John this summer! -casey c.

Brandon Grissom Band this Sunday at Rejoice South 9:30/11 am

This Sunday, June 14th as we host our special guests, The Brandon Grissom Band, and continue our study of: Truth.Love.Life. -an insider's look at I John.

1 John Challenge

Have you taken the 1 John Challenge? This past Sunday, both Rejoice campuses took up the challenge of reading one chapter a day, Monday-Friday, of 1 John. This means that hundreds of our Rejoice family could read I John 10-12 times this summer. We will begin to learn why truth is important, who Jesus is, how we show we love Jesus, how we respond to people who don't believe in Jesus and many more important truths. This Sunday, we will be looking at the rest of Chapter one and the beginning of chapter 2 in week 2 of Truth. Love. Life. - an insider's guide to I John. You can go to www.rejoicechurch.com and on the bottom right you will find an interactive reading of I John. -Casey C.

81 years of marriage...what's the secret?

Recently, several media outlets highlighted this couple for setting a UK record for being married for 81 years! How incredible! Make sure to watch this and here their secret at the end of the interview.

Discipline-the big "D" word

Recently, I got the opportunity to blog at a new website for pastors at www.pastorconnections.com
Growing up, I knew to stay away from many words. There were 3 letter words and four letter words that I was never allowed to say. There were some five letter words that were to never be said in public but could be talked about in private. Some six letter words were only to be mentioned with certain people in the room. But as a teenager the infamous 10 letter word was the word that no one liked to hear but everyone knew it was a word that was necessary. This word would affect your priorities, your success as a leader, your character, your friends, the information you learned, the places you went, the health of your body, your skills and talents, spiritual gifts, and many times the longevity of your life and ministry. The 10 letter word: DISCIPLINE And as I grew older through my teens years and into adulthood it seemed the more I had-DISCIPLINE, the less I was DISCIPLINED! (Which was always a good thing.) How disciplined are you? Here is what I'm learning which is probably obvious to all: Discipline takes focus, energy, and planning and is difficult, painful, and many times boring. However, the fruit of discipline is preparation, influence, and impact. Undiscipline comes natural, takes no planning, and is really easy to have, and sometimes is fun. Yet, the consequence of undiscipline is laziness, small thinking, little influence, and a hectic life. Discipline helps lead us toward producing "fruit of the Spirit". Think about it: It takes discipline to speak kindly toward an person who has been unkind-that is LOVE. It takes discipline to not allow your circumstances to dictate your happiness-JOY. It takes discipline to wait on something or someone-PATIENCE. It takes discipline to stick around and finish something-FAITHFULNESS. It takes discipline to not indulge or to hold back, or show restraint-SELF-CONTROL. So what area do you show the most amount of discipline in? Caring for people, studying God's Word, finishing a project, being in the office, returning phone calls and emails, loving people, witnessing to those who are far from God? Where do you show the least amount of discipline? Scheduling ahead of time, leading your family, exercising, being home on time, encouraging your co-workers, visiting the widows and caring for the orphans? This week, ask God to give you discipine in the areas in which you are weak, and thank God for giving you discipline in the areas in which you are strong! -Casey Cariker

beginning this weekend: Truth. Love. Life. -an insider's look at I John

This Sunday, June 7th we will beginning our summer series called: Truth. Love. Life. -An insider's look at I John. Are you reading to immerse yourself in the book of I John this summer? This Sunday we will be giving a summer challenge to each one of you. Make sure to bring your Bible, and remember that no matter where you go this summer, I John will be the book of the Bible to study!

-casey c.

pay it forward/LaBass family

This past Sunday, Brad preached at our Rejoice South Campus. Several people have already called me and told me that Brad did a great job! I look forward to listening to it on our website at www.rejoicechurch.com Thanks Brad-Keep paying it forward...

-casey cariker