What a Day!

Today was my last service at Providence Christian Center in San Francisco. It was an amazing day. The staff went all out and blessed my family, big time. I love them soooooooooooooo much. When we arrived the church family loved us and hugged us like crazy. We felt so loved.

Our Overseer Mark Williams came up to officiate the service and as always he did an amazing job. I can't believe with his busy life he got up early and drove all the way from Fresno just to be part of the service. He is a gifted leader and a wonderful speaker. Thanks Bishop for coming, it meant the world to me.

The music was off the chain today. Laz, my music pastor lifted us up to the very throne of God. I was crying the whole time.

Then after that, I got up and spoke a few parting verses over the church and then the Bishop came up and blew the doors off the church. After the Bishop spoke, he brought Eric Gabourel up and officially appointed him the new pastor. I was so proud of Eric. He is such a godly man and will do a great job.

For gifts we were given a night out on the town. Amy and I will be staying in a big time fancy hotel for one last night in San Francisco. We were also given a wonderful meal at a restaurant that is under water on the Bay. WoW!!! I can't wait.

Next, they showed a video collection of pictures of all the years of our ministry here and of course we cried like big babies. It was great. Then, to top it all off ,we had food together and another video, which I hope to post soon for all you guys to see. It was way to cool.

Well, I just want to thank everyone for all the hard work and thought you put into our final day. It was amazing and we love all of you.

Thanks,
Pastor Steve

How is this for a southern picture. I took this on the way to North Carolina last year in August. I mean, who in their right mind would not love a deep fried bologna sandwich?

Becoming

"To become a Christian doesn't mean to accept a philosophy, or a set of rules, or to believe a list of abstract principles; to become a Christian means to have God come and live in you" (Col.1:27)

I must remember these words written by Dennis Bennett not only all the time but especially now that Christmas is upon us. God is with us but we should never forget that He is living in us. I have often told my church that anyone can say they are a Christian with their words. However, the question is can we live our lives out loud by our actions and thus change the world? How are you living? By words only or by actions? Hopefully both.

Going Home

Well, the time has finally come. It is now time for me to leave San Francisco and the Bay Area. I only have 7 days left. I do look forward to moving back to where I grew up and showing my kids all the places I enjoyed as a child but the pain of leaving the bay is heavy on my heart. I will miss all of my friends and the church family so much. I have so many great memories over the last 13+ years and they will always have a special place in my heart. I just wanted to say a thank you to everyone who was part of our life and ministry here. We could have not done it without you. We will hold each of you in our prayers and we know you will do the same for us. I hope to be posting a few thoughts as we travel home so keep checking back and let me know your thoughts also. I love all of you. God bless you.
Pastor Steve

Weekend is coming

Well,
There is a lot to do this week. My wife is going out of town and I have the kids. I am looking forward to spending time with them. Noah has a game on Wed, Fri and Sat. Also Madison has art on Fri. I will be a busy man. I can't wait until the school years ends. We have some much planned for our family. Also, we are going to home school this year. I wonder how that is going to turn out? It will be a big change in our family. We can't wait!!!

Noah

Noah won his game today. I am so proud of him. Each game he just keeps getting better. He got two hits today and made it home both times. They won 14 to 6. What a great game. I love watching Noah play. He is such a great son.

Honduras

Well, it is off to Honduras May 8th. Eric and I will be going with one of his friends Wes. It will be my first time going out of the country. I am so excited to see all that God is doing there. Eric and Wes have been there many times and lived there for 4 months one summer. They both speak Spanish. I have been studying for about a year now and I am coming along just fine. I speak a lot but my ear is not tuned in well. I believe the trip will also help me to understand Spanish better. Anyway, when I get back I will post some pictures.
Pray for me.

Thanksgiving

Wow! What a great meal we had today. We had Thanksgiving in the San Francisco at my office. It was off the map. Food was laid out as far as the eyes could see. We had in attendance Elaine, David, Eric, Amy, Madison, Noah,Laz, Louise, Bob, Harriet and Susan. Everyone brought something and we had way too much left over. Oh well, I guess I will have to eat a lot over the coming days. I hope everyone out there had a great day also.

The Wedding

My wife Amy and I had a blast in Southern California at the wedding of Corey and Johanna. Corey is our youth pastor at the church and Johanna is a wonderful young lady Corey met and fell in love with. They make a great couple. I had the joy of doing their wedding and it was a wonderful time. The dancing was crazy. To watch all of them dance and have fun was funny.