Slingers & Swingers (Keep Your Distance)
Part 4 of the current series, Sticks & Stones from Elevation Church’s Pastor Steven Furtick.
Seeing the Works of God
Staring out the window this morning watching the sunrise against a bank of clouds and blue sky. With it’s pinks, light oranges and shades of yellow, it’s a thing of beauty. I’m always amazed at the majesty of our Lord and the depth of His grandeur. I wonder how many folks will take the time to stop and take in it’s depth?
Mornings like this give me hope that our Lord is truly in control of the world around us and has a master plan for everything that will happen. We have waded out into the deep water and find ourselves far from the shore in uncharted waters waiting for Him to show us our next move.
Passing The Test
Many years ago, a pastor friend told me I would have to pass 3 tests as a minister, the gold, the girls and the glory. I have to amend it to say in life you have to pass 3 tests and it does not necessarily apply just to men.
The gold…we’ve never been rich people, that’s just not part of our family history, not in the past nor do I necessarily see it in the future. I have learned to be happy eating hot dogs or steak. Our bills are paid, clothes on our backs and food in our bellies…what more could a person ask for? I am blessed.
All The People Said Amen!
Horizontal Versus Vertical
Yesterday we received confirmation we will be streaming over 60 events in 2014. We were waiting on one customers final schedule. This was the group that had a competing company bidding on a portion of their schedule in the 11th hour. It was hard for me to ‘sit on my hands’ while I waited for a decision. However, I knew I had to trust the Lord.
I did make a final email pitch for our services before the meeting with the other company. It was a simple 4 bullet statement explaining our experience and capabilities. In the end the racing group chose to use us to stream all of the races we originally bid on and work side by side with the TV production company. I did not see that one coming at all!
Seeing A Greater Purpose In Adversity
There are some days when quit looks real good. After the leaking oil line the day before, yesterday was one of those days that just did not make sense. We had an uneventful trip to our first event location. Everything was working good until we noticed the house heat (propane forced hot air) in the motor home was not shutting off. We finally pulled into a rest area and shut it down manually from outside.
We arrived at the track, parked and started set up. Set up is done in a sequential order. Coach set up, satellite launch, equipment and then the production suit. Since we were a day late, it would be essential that we all work to get things done. After we had the mid track camera platform in place, I decided to make a quick check on the satellite. It was up, but no lock in.
No More Reproach
We left yesterday morning for our first event of the year. A little over an hour into the trip, I noticed debris on the lens of the backup camera. It was oil from a cracked line that feeds the turbo. The back of the coach and the trailer were covered in oil. We looked everything over, made a call to the local cat dealer at home and found all of the parts we needed.
My son and I made a temp repair and we turned the rig north for home. An hour and a half later, we backed into the yard. I went to Macon, picked up the parts, swapped them out, changed the oil in the motor while my son cleaned up the mess…and it was a mess! (There’s a sermon in that line.) The kicker, it could have all been prevented. As we got ready to pull out yesterday morning, my son noticed a small leak on the turbo. I thought it would be OK. Had I taken the time to look at it, I would have realized how serious it was and could have prevented a lot of pain for all of us.