God is so Good!

This last Sunday we finally made our break to our Sunday Morning Service. I anguished over that for some time but I knew that the Lord was leading us to do it. When it came time to get ready to start I was holding my breath because they did not start coming in till about 10 minutes before service, but when they did come they all came at once. We had 49 people there and we had a great move of the Spirit during Praise and Worship.

I can't tell you how hard of a decision that was for me but I knew that it was the right thing to do because we were competing with every major event on Saturday night. This last Saturday night we had a major concert in town with Blake Shelton and Casey Donahew. If we had been on Saturday night we would not have had a great turn out.

I was pleased to see a new beginning at ICC. We have some new families that are coming and I feel like they are wonderful additions to our family and can't wait to have a chance to take them out and have dinner with them so we can get a chance to get to know them a little better.

One thing about becoming a Senior Pastor that you learn fast, that is, you need God to be with you every step of the way. You can't afford going around making decisions that just seem right, you have to seek the Lord and remain teachable. I said this week that God is always speaking for those who will listen. Sometimes we need to just stop and listen, Amen!

Stuck in the mud!

I am my letter from this weeks bulletin. I have been going through some tough times this week and this little incident put everything into perspective for me, I hope it helps you out with things that you are dealing with.

This week has been a hard week I have had to walk through some trials by fire as a Pastor as well as having a Personal hard time. I have been working pressure washing a fence on a ranch on Hwy 7 trying to make some extra money to help offset some expenses that we have as a Family. It's not hard work but it is a tedious type job. Sometimes you wish something would happen just so you could have a little excitement. Well you know the old saying "Watch what you ask for, because you just might get it". Well I got my excitement this week and it only cost me a little pride so far.

I was pulling a big pressure washer behind my pickup, which had about 500 gals of water in it. I was in the ranch owner's driveway and I decided that I was going to turn around and back to the barn. When I tried to turn around I swung wide and went off the driveway just by a foot or so to get that little extra space, but what I did not know was that the yard sprinklers had been going and the grass was wet. Can you see where I am going with this? I got STUCK with my drive wheel stuck in the grass just one foot off the driveway. I tried to pull out, but I couldn't get it out. I called a friend, and after careful consideration, we decided to unhook from the trailer and move over. The weight of the load was keeping the truck stuck.

I was reminded about what Jesus said in Matthew 7:13-14 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
No matter how far off the narrow path you go, you are not on the road that leads to life. So let's make sure we don't off roading and slinging mud everywhere.
Blessings,
Pastor Stan

CBS19.tv - Trail Riders Benefit

This whole weekend we are helping sponsor a trail ride event in honor of Frank Fields a wounded Iraq war veteran. Please watch and let me know what you think. CBS19.tv - Trail Riders Benefit

What kind of Minister are you?

Last night I had a friend over and we went out to dinner along with my family. After we got back we turned on the T.V. and Jurassic Park III was on, so we sat down to watch the last part of the movie. I am not a huge Jurassic Park fan so I don't have all the names of the characters down but this guy in the picture which I know has been in the first three movies said something that has me thinking hard about who I am. In the movie he is about to get eaten by a group of raptures and this young man pops some smoke grenades which drives the raptures away then the young man comes in and rescues the older guy. He then takes him to his hide out where they are talking and they figure out that they are both science type people.

The older man finally says's that "He has concluded that in this world there are two types of people, the first group of people are astrologers, and the second group of people are astronauts. He then said that astrologers like to study the stars from the relative safety of their labs or in the comfort of their own home and come up with theories about why things work or don't work. They don't risk anything other than their reputation.

He then said that the Astronauts were people who were educated but were driven to strap up and take the dangerous ride to get into the middle of their work and were willing to risk all to investigate what they were studying.

I have a question for you as Christians. Are you the safety type person who has faith but is not willing to risk much to learn about it and keep your thoughts to yourself afraid that you might be laughed at or ridiculed, or are you the type of Christian that would be willing to put your faith to the test and be willing to risk your life upon it?

I feel like Jesus has a desire for you to be willing to leave your atmosphere (comfort Zone) and get out there to make a difference for the Kingdom of God. Remember nothing has ever been gained or won with out a risk to go get it.

Branded

God is so faithful and good to us here at Impact Cowboy Church. We got a chance to bring in a country gospel group called "Branded" to te church and we are excited about it. We will be having them here on April 19th our services will start at 6:30 pm and it is going to be a good time so if you are anywhere near by come by and see them. You can look them up on their website at http://www.branded-duo.com/
They have one song called "above the noise" that a friend of our named Dwayne Williams http://www.texasteddybear.org/ told us about that we fell in love with. Come out and see us.
Blessings

Good times

Friday afternoon I was excited because a friend of mine brought his family and will be ministering this weekend at the church. Sometimes it feels so good to have friends around that can come spend some time with you.

I am proud that he is coming to see the Church that we have started, and I am proud of the people that we minister to. I feel like I have finally found my purpose in life and I hope to share my joy with other people.

We took Rob, Brooke, and Amanda to a country concert last night in a town not too far away from us where two of my praise and worship members play and the whole time that I was there I wanted to be standing up there with them. I have new friends here that only God can give. I feel like I am at home. Please pray for Rob as he is going to be ministering tonight and I expect that the Holy Spirit will annoint an bless his words.

Taming the tongue

This weekend I preached out of James 3 and how it concerns the dangers of the tongue. I was looking for a way to make a lasting imprint in peoples minds about the tongue. We bought one at a meat store and everytime I wanted to make a point I would hold it out and show them how to hold the tongue. Anytime you want to say something about someone Hold your tongue, you want to tell a lie hold your tongue, You want to curse someone with the same tongue that you praise God with, Hold your tongue. I think people got the picture I hope you enjoy the picture and get a good laugh and in the mean time "Hold your tongue"!

Welcome back to reality.

A friends sent me this letter I thought I would share it with you.

A father passing by his son's bedroom, was astonished to see the bed was nicely made, and everything was picked up. Then, he saw an envelope, propped up prominently on the pillow. It was addressed, 'Dad.' With the worst premonition, he opened the envelope and read the letter, with trembling hands. '
Dear, Dad. It is with great regret and sorrow that I'm writing you. I had to elope with my new girlfriend, because I wanted to avoid a scene with Mom and you. I've been finding real passion with Stacy, and she is so nice, but I knew you would not approve of her, because of all her piercing's, tattoos, her tight Motorcycle clothes, and because she is so much older than I am. But it's not only the passion, Dad. She's pregnant. Stacy said that we will be very happy. She owns a trailer in the woods, and has a stack of firewood for the whole winter. We share a dream of having many more children. Stacy has opened my eyes to the fact that marijuana doesn't, really hurt anyone. We'll be growing it for ourselves, and trading it with the other people in the commune, for all the cocaine and ecstasy we want. In the meantime, we'll pray that science will find a cure for AIDS, so Stacy can get better. She sure deserves it! Don't worry Dad, I'm 15, and I know how to take care of myself. Someday, I'm sure we'll be back to visit, so you can get to know your many grandchildren. Love, your son, Joshua.

P.S. Dad, none of the above is true. I'm over at Jason's house. I just wanted to remind you that there are worse things in life than the school report card that's on the kitchen table. Call when it is safe for me to come home :)

Funny letter

Someone sent me this e-mail so I thought I would share it, enjoy.Roping A Deer...Names have been removed to protect the stupid!Actual Letter from someone who writes, and farms.I had this idea that I was going to rope a deer, put it in a stall, feed it up on corn for a couple of weeks, then kill it and eat it.The first step in this adventure was getting a deer. I figured that, since they congregate at my cattle feeder and do not seem to have much fear of me when we are there (a bold one will sometimes come right up and sniff at the bags of feed while I am in the back of the truck not 4 feet a way), it should not be difficult to rope one, get up to it and toss a bag over its head (to calm it down) then hog tie it and transport it home.I filled the cattle feeder then hid down at the end with my rope.The cattle, having seen the roping thing before, stayed well back. They were not having any of it.After about 20 minutes, my deer showed up -- 3 of them. I picked out a likely looking one, stepped out from the end of the feeder, and threw my rope. The deer just stood there and stared at me.I wrapped the rope around my waist and twisted the end so I would have a good hold. The deer still just stood and stared at me, but you could tell it was mildly concerned about the whole rope situation.I took a step towards it...it took a step away. I put a little tension on the rope and then received an education.

The first thing that I learned is that, while a deer may just stand there looking at you funny while you rope it, they are spurred to action when you start pulling on that rope.That deer EXPLODED.

The second thing I learned is that pound for pound, a deer is a LOT stronger than a cow or a colt. A cow or a colt in that weight range I could fight down with a rope and with some dignity.A deer-- no chance.That thing ran and bucked and twisted and pulled. There was no controlling it and certainly no getting close to it. As it jerked me off my feet and started dragging me across the ground, it occurred to me that having a deer on a rope was not nearly as good an idea as I had originally imagined.

The only upside is that they do not have as much stamina as many other animals.A brief 10 minutes later, it was tired and not nearly as quick to jerk me off my feet and drag me when I managed to get up. It took me a few minutes to realize this, since I was mostly blinded by the blood flowing out of the big gash in my head.

At that point, I had lost my taste for corn-fed venison. I just wanted to get that devil creature off the end of that rope.I figured if I just let it go with the rope hanging around its neck, it would likely die slow and painfully somewhere.At the time, there was no love at all between me and that deer. At that moment, I hated the thing, and I would venture a guess that the feeling was mutual.

Despite the gash in my head and the several large knots where I had cleverly arrested the deer's momentum by bracing my head against various large rocks as it dragged me across the ground, I could still think clearly enough to recognize that there was a small chance that I shared some tiny amount of responsibility for the situation we were in, so I didn't want the deer to have it suffer a slow death, so I managed to get it lined back up in between my truck and the feeder - a little trap I had set before hand...kind of like a squeeze chute.I got it to back in there and I started moving up so I could get my rope back.

Did you know that deer bite? They do! I never in a million years would have thought that a deer would bite somebody, so I was very surprised when I reached up there to grab that rope and the deer grabbed hold of my wrist.Now, when a deer bites you, it is not like being bit by a horse where they just bite you and then let go. A deer bites you and shakes its head --almost like a pit bull. They bite HARD and it hurts.The proper thing to do when a deer bites you is probably to freeze and draw back slowly. I tried screaming and shaking instead. My method was ineffective.It seems like the deer was biting and shaking for several minutes, but it was likely only several seconds.

I, being smarter than a deer (though you may be questioning that claim by now) tricked it.While I kept it busy tearing the bejesus out of my right arm, I reached up with my left hand and pulled that rope loose.That was when I got my final lesson in deer behavior for the day.Deer will strike at you with their front feet. They rear right up on their back feet and strike right about head and shoulder level, and their hooves are surprisingly sharp.I learned a long time ago that, when an animal -- like a horse --strikes at you with their hooves and you can't get away easily, the best thing to do is try to make a loud noise and make an aggressive move towards the animal. This will usually cause them to back down a bit so you can escape.This was not a horse. This was a deer, so obviously, such trickery would not work. In the course of a millisecond, I devised a different strategy.I screamed like a woman and tried to turn and run.

The reason I had always been told NOT to try to turn and run from a horse that paws at you is that there is a good chance that it will hit you in the back of the head.Deer may not be so different from horses after all, besides being twice as strong and 3 times as evil, because the second I turned to run, it hit me right in the back of the head and knocked me down.Now, when a deer paws at you and knocks you down, it does not immediately leave. I suspect it does not recognize that the danger has passed. What they do instead is paw your back and jump up and down on you while you are laying there crying like a little girl and covering your head.

I finally managed to crawl under the truck and the deer went away.So now I know why when people go deer hunting they bring a rifle with a scope so that they can be somewhat equal to the Prey.

Country Worship

I came across a video and it asked me a question, Let's see if it will ask you the same questions.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVQxh3VZ_UQ
Enjoy,
Stan

A true companion

A relationship between a man and his dog, Does anything else need to be said?

This weeks sermon

I am preaching this week about the difference between the Mosaic Tabernacle Worship and Davidic Tabernacle Worship which will be interesting to see. The difference in the two are vast. Mosaic Worship was reverent, solemn, ritualistic, done with animal sacrifices, and just plain dead.

As for Davidic Worship was loud, exuberant, joyful. David was said to even went in before the Ark of the Covenant and just lounge around in the presence of the Lord. He saw how the relationship with God was personal not sacrificial.

I know that when I try to get ritualistic in my Worship of God I am dead and have no power at all, but when I take care of the relationship with God then I am able to handle what all comes down the path.

This week I will beginning to talk about Worship and what is it and why is it important for Cowboys and Cowgirls to openly worship and glorify God in such a way that there is freedom in worship.

Please be praying for me because to turn a ship it takes speed, momentum and endurance. Amen.

Blessings

The Master's call

Awesome video. Let me know what you think.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbwPV9-gfAY

A real cowboy?

I came across this video thought it was funny have a good laugh.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2w6CHFbSLk

New Target Game.

I found a new way to get some practice for those moving shots. I think this might be a great tool to use to sharpen your shooting skills and increase your chances of hitting your target. What do you think?

Rev Charles

This weekend I came across this guy named Rev. Charles, I am thinking about having him come out to the Cowboy Church as a quest minister. What do you think?

Revival

This last week Caye and I went to a revival meeting at a friend of ours church and we went so we could have a chance to ministered to. Sometimes as pastors we keep going till we hit the red light saying that we are running on empty. It is sad thing to see a Pastor who has run out of fuel or can no longer get fired up about the Lord.

This week has been a time of me taking inventory of my spiritual life and evaluating on how to improve my spiritual life.

In the 40's, 50's, and 60's they used to have large tent meetings and they would put up sign saying revival meeting and the whole town would show up with either expectant hearts or at least a inquisitive spirit. People no longer care about what is going on in their spiritual lives much less church and that is something that I know God wants to change. I think sometimes that God must be sitting on his throne broken hearted and crying because his people do not come to him for comfort or fellowship.

Can you imagine what it must feel life as a parent if one of your children has a Father-Daughter dance and she does not come ask you to take her, that she would rather go by herself? How much would it hurt?

I feel like God is calling Caye and I into personal revival like no other time before and I am planning on sharing my heart with my congregation tonight. I know that if you call yourself a leader and you turn around and look and no one is following you you are just a man out for a walk. I am going to see how many people will follow with me. I know that revival is something sought after, fought for, and treasured when found. I want God to move in my life so bad that I can't stand it any more.

I have also become very sensitive to how we speak about the Holy Ghost. We have tried to put the Holy Ghost down on our level instead of us trying to reach out to him and raise ourselves up to him. I had a teacher back in Bible College named Dr. Eddie L. Hyatt and he taught on Characteristics of revival. In his class when he prayed he used to refer to the Holy Spirit as "Sir" I used to think that was kind of different but the Holy Spirit showed me that it was a matter of respect that Dr. Hyatt had for the position of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes we need to make sure that the Holy Spirit is not the Looked over part of the Holy Trinity. It recently has bothered me to hear people say that they were in a church service somewhere and " the Holy Spirit fell" in the church like the Holy Spirit is clumsy or something . I hate that term because I know what they are trying to say but more accuratley what they should be saying is that the scales fell off their eyes for a brief period of time and they recognized or was able to see or feel the Holy Spirit moving in their hearts at that time. You see the Holy Spirit is always constant he does not move around on different levels he stays steady. We are the ones who look like the heart monitor always going up or down. Sometimes either on our way up or down we cross his path and become aware of his presence. In Isaiah 55:1-9 says that he is given an invitational for you to come join him, he also says that his ways are not our ways, and our thoughts are not his thoughts. "Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David. See, I have made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander of the peoples. Surely you will summon nations you know not, and nations that do not know you will hasten to you, because of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor." Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

The Holy Spirit is with you all the time not just when you come across him. In Romans 8:11 says "And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you". If you are a child of God you have access to God at any time.

Matt 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Please be praying for revival for yourselves, my family, and for Nacogdoches, TX

Blessings

Church Growth

Hello everybody, welcome back to my blog spot. After the deer hunt we have been able to get the deer meat processed and we came up with about 150 lbs of deer meat. We have started distributing the meat to some families in the church that we wanted to bless. It was well received and I think we will have a better hunting season next year because we are hunting for other people as well. We have an awesome group at our church and I don't think I would trade them for anything.
This last two weeks I have been amazed at the growth we have had in our church. Last week we had 61 people this week we had 67 and it seems like each week we just keep growing. I love to see new people come into the church. I met a couple of new people this week that my heart just went out to and I hope to see them come back again.
I am excited to see that we are about ready to kick off our women's ministry here in a couple of weeks. We are sending at 6 ladies to go a conference called "COWGIRL GET-TOGETHER" sponsored by Cowgirls of Faith on Friday evening, January 25th and Saturday, January 26th, at the Living for the Brand Cowboy Church in Athens, Texas. Please be praying for our ladies that they would come back refreshed and renewed.
Blessings,
stan

West TX Hunting Trip

This weekend my brother in law Keith"Cookie" Wright and I went to his inlaws place in west Texas to do some hunting for the end of the year. We have had some hard hunting this year trying to find anything here in Nacogdoches, so we were excited to have an opportunity to go and get a free hunting trip in God's Hunting Country. We got 7 deer in 2 days enjoy the pics

My Son

While I was away this weekend my wife took my son to the park and took a bunch of pictures to show me what I missed and made a movie of it. Enjoy