Convinced

He stretched and pushed himself beyond what he's ever done before in his short eight year life. Through rocky steep terrain, strong chilly wind, and the occasional slip; Isaiah pushed his body 8 miles to an elevation of 2200 feet and reached the summit of Mission Peak in Fremont Ca.

The most memorable moment for me as a Father is when my son became completely convinced the mountain he was climbing was his.

I was reminded of a quote from Mark Batterson's book Primal. "Few things are more thrilling than doing what you didn't think could be done." Hearing my son say "we are not quitting" gave me a glimpse of what God probably feels when He sees us totally convinced of our biggest purpose and most incredible dreams. I was absolutely thrilled seeing my son trust me and believe my words of encouragement every single step of the way to the top.

Can you hear God encouraging you to the top of your biggest dreams? Are you convinced the mountains in your life are yours? "Breaking a sweat for a God-given vision is the key to fulfillment and fruitfulness." Walk, dream, and live completely, wholeheartedly, and undeniably convinced!

Going to the Top

Taking the day off tomorrow but I'm still going to work. See that mountain in the background, my 8 yr old son Isaiah and I are taking the journey to the top (hopefully). Supposed to be an awesome day and I'm sure we are going to have an incredible time. We'll begin our trek at 9am PST, and I'll post updates via twitter along with pictures of our journey. Follow along, shoot us a prayer and we'll see you at the top!

God Bless!

THRIVE

I was reading out of Psalm 69 this morning and it challenged my heart so much that I wanted to share two pieces of scripture.

"...you who seek God, may your hearts live!" Psalm 69:32

When you seek God, your heart will find His heart for your life. When you find the heart of God especially through scripture it's not hard to find strength, relentless love, perfect peace and hope.

"...those who love his name will dwell there." Psalm 69:36

Think about how many names there are for God. Jehovah Jirah: God is our Provider, Jehovah Shalom: The Lord is my peace, Jesus the name above all names! Pick a name, and dwell under it.

Let God's thoughts bring you strength today, allow who God is to bring you hope and assurance. It's God's desire for you to thrive.

Thriving, Green and Growing

I paid a visit to the church I grew up in today, spent about 5 minutes inside the building but left with the most powerful thought. While talking to the receptionist, I noticed how many plants she had in the office. Mary began sharing that one plant was about 7yrs old and another about 10. Both plants were thriving, green and growing. I honestly didn't not know plants lasted that long.

Here's the powerful part of the story. Two of the plants we were talking about were gifts from the former Pastor Dr. Richard K. Tanon. You see, Pastor Tanon went on to be with the Lord as of Feb 7th, 2008, yet in that office that I walked into today, there still remained something growing that he had left behind. I was left with this thought, "Are you living to leave something behind or will your life simply be forgotten?"

I'm not talking about success, I'm talking about significance. Are you living with a sense of destiny about your life? Plants are not the only thing Dr. Tanon has left behind. Templo De La Cruz, is a thriving church 90+ years young now being led by another great man Pastor John Masis. There are many sons and daughters, marriages that are still thriving, ministries that continue till this day because of Dr. Tanon. Pastor Tanon baptized me when I was a kid. My first ministry opportunity came at Templo. I was taught how to preach by Pastor Tanon. I felt a sense of awe and privilege as I left the parking lot earlier.

This Sunday I return to my former church with humbleness and gratitude. I'm returning back to my roots, where it all began, where the dream first burned in my heart. I'm still thriving, still moving forward, and today I'm on the verge of my biggest faith move yet. Thank You God for putting a man in my life like Pastor Tanon, who lives beyond the grave and has paved the way for someone like me. Can't wait to preach on Sunday!