I'm a sucker for something free... II

If you are willing to take a Friday off, then head over to Mix 107.3 and register your carload of people for a free day (June 13th) at Hershey Park.

There are three key elements to the success of this day:
-A day away from work.
-The smell of chocolate in the air.
-And the price is right.

Sign up today and I'll see you in line for that classic coaster, the Comet.

Web Traffic Results

Currently 4th from the top of page one. The top three all lead to Destiny.

That was fun. Try this with your own blog and see how high up you get....let me know your results.

Web Traffic

Yesterday I got to be a part of a panel discussion regarding Church marketing. The seminar which was put on by Unity Business Solutions affirmed some of the things Destiny is doing well and reminded me of where we can improve.

We can always improve on traffic to areyoudestinized and to the Destiny website. Right now this blog is buried in the second page of a google search for Destiny Church, Leesburg, Virginia, but I thought I'd experiment to see what this does to better it's standing...

Destiny Church, Leesburg, Virginia, Destiny Church, Leesburg, Virginia, Destiny Church, Leesburg, Virginia, Destiny Church, Leesburg, Virginia, Destiny Church, Leesburg Virginia, Destiny Church, Leesburg, Virginia, Destiny Church, Leesburg, Virginia, Destiny Church, Leesburg, Virginia...

Thanks for being a guinea pig. This doesn't make for very interesting reading but should improve our standing.

By the way, One Prayer starts for us this weekend...

What did you do with your day off?

Courtesy of www.indexed.blogspot.com

Were you able to get away from work for a while? Could you put down the laptop, cell phone, pda? 

The quality of my day is often defined by food consumed during that 24 hour period. The menu for this Memorial Day : 

-Homemade waffles for Breakfast.
-Burgers on the grill for Lunch.
-Texas Barbeque on a friend's deck for Dinner.

I'm feeling good about this down day. It definitely fits in the "B- Day Off Enjoyed" category...

A Quick Look Back at Wibo

Here is the Reader's Digest version of my time at Whiteboard today:

Mark Batterson:  

-Your best thought on your best day is light years away from God's thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)

-When was the last time you confessed the smallness of your dreams?

Vince Antonucci:

-Only 2.2% of all churches are experiencing  real growth.

-We need to seek and save that which is lost.

-Are you going to the places where lost people go?

Tim Stevens:

-Reality #1:  Most churches are not impacting their communities.

-Reality #2:  Spiritual interest is growing in our culture.

-We need to leverage the culture or risk losing our impact.

Darrin Patrick:

-All of our sins revolve around one of four core issues: power, comfort, approval or control (Alfred Adler).

Mark Dever:

-Church is not an event to be produced but a community to be cultivated.

John Burke:

-Every 60 minutes ask "God, is this where you want me to be? Is this what you want me to say? Is this what you want me to do?"

Perry Noble:

-We have to understand that we are called, we have priorities and we have temptations.

-We are to be with Him (Mark 3:13).

-We are to preach (Mark 3:14).

-We have been given authority (Mark 3:15)

Ed Stetzer:

-Conferences like this one are like ministry pornography, a picture of an unrealistic experience you are never going to have.

Whiteboard Thursday

Tomorrow at The Whiteboard Sessions, I get to hang out with the Destiny team while being challenged by some of the sharpest minds in the church today.  I have heard half of these guys in a conference setting before and they were great. Now I'm looking forward to them, and am anticipating the new voices of the other half.

All 8 speakers have only 30 minutes to make their point, so I'm expecting some rapid fire wisdom from these guys. It all cranks up at 9, rolls through a solid lunch at Rio Grande, and gets me back on the toll road by 4:45. This is going to be great.

YouVersion now available for your Mobile Device!

On the road with your smartphone, iphone, etc, but still want to read what God has for you in His word?

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Final Frenzy '08 - What Would You Do?

Do not try this at home.
Final Frenzy '08

I Really Do Like My J-O-B

Here are a few words that will be rattling around the Destiny office this week: Final-Frenzy, Next Gen, Whiteboard, Dedications, One Prayer, Ministry Expo, Budget, Soft Serv and many more...

Monday: Meetings to review, plan and dream. Jasmines is providing lunch.
Tuesday: Ministry Specific Meetings. Fix some, launch others.
Wednesday: Dave Dorst for lunch and Water's Edge Production in the afternoon.
Thursday: The Whiteboard Sessions at Reston Town Center.
Friday: Down day to fix the deck, clean the house and join one of my kids for lunch at their school. Gotta love those tater tots.

What does your Monday through Friday 9-5'er look like? Does anybody work just 9-5 anymore?

Final Frenzy

Destiny is stepping up to provide an incredible end of the year event for students throughout Loudoun County. This thing is going to be great, so be sure to Facebook, IM, email, snail mail, call, text, or send out smoke signals to all of your friends about Final Frenzy '08. Keep the afternoon of June 15th open.

I'm a sucker for something free...

Tomorrow is Bike to Work Day and I'm participating because I can get something free. In fact, the plan is to wake up early with my kids and schlep them over to the pit stop about two miles from my house so that they can get a free breakfast and t-shirt. After we're done with breakfast, we're heading back home so that I can drive them to school.

I know, I know, I'm missing the whole point of BTWD, but I like to get free stuff.

What would you do for a free breakfast and t-shirt?

Orioles 5, Red Sox 4

Last night I went with my brothers and my son to go see our beloved Red Sox at Camden Yards, the home of the Orioles. It was a beautiful night without a cloud in the sky. Here are 3 quick observations from my evening:

-In the Baltimore and Ohio Warehouse, which serves as the right field backdrop to this beautiful complex, the fourth floor men's room window has a great view of the field. You can take care of your business and not miss a pitch.

-A church adjacent to Camden Yards had this to say via it's marquee:

God Bless the O's,

And maybe the Sox,

But forgive us for our thoughts about the Yankees.

It is always easier to ask God to bless our friends but it sure is a struggle to do the same for our enemies. Jesus encourages us in Luke 6 to "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you." I hate to say it, but I think the Yankees are included in these verses.

-Finally, I'm getting old...I was dozing off at 10:30 on the way home. Pitiful.

Hippocratic Crystal Balls?

There is a local medical group that is flooding my radio airwaves with commercials that indicate that they can see into our medical futures. They are claiming to have some sort of Hippocratic crystal ball.   There is no question that well-educated physicians can anticipate much of what may happen to my body, if say, I don't eat well, or if I smoke filterless Camels for 20 years. 

What they can't do, nor will they ever be able to do, is to anticipate just what God has in store for me and for you.

But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, 

the purposes of his heart through all generations. 

Psalm 33:11 

In his heart a man plans his course, 

but the LORD determines his steps. 

Proverbs 16:9

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, 

"plans to prosper you and not to harm you, 

plans to give you hope and a future. 

Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, 

and I will listen to you. 

Jeremiah 29:11-12

It is in that truth, that I find comfort.

Photobucket

Spent too much time this morning messing around with Photobucket. (See above). This allows you to creatively display your photos on your blog, in an email, as a desktop or anywhere else you can think of. These advancements would have made those tearful mid 80's slideshows (with Friends by Michael W. Smith playing as the soundtrack) a little bit more palatable.

Happy Mother's Day

What does a blogger get his good ol' Mom on the one day set aside to honor her? Why, her very own blog of course.

www.tothebestmomintheworld.blogspot.com.

What throws you off track?

This past Friday, I went in for some minor surgery on my right foot. This was my first time to ever be "put under" and I had made the mistake of watching Awake a few weeks prior. I'll leave that for another post.

What I found is that not being able to run, bike or swim has really thrown me off of my natural rhythm. Those times of exercise not only help me physically, but emotionally and spiritually as well. I'm hoping to be back on track by the end of the weekend.

What throws you off track?

Tomorrow is Shut Down Day

In the spirit of the "put off" part of the April Challenge, why not consider joining thousands of others tomorrow for Shut Down Day.