Preaching and Planning

So, it turns out that I have a lot to say. I was able to preach this last Sunday morning. It was my first time preaching in the morning. I have preached many times at the Thursday night service. Less people. People who really want to be there.
But Sunday is full of distractions and full of energy.
I really like it.
I chose a topic. I decided to preach on the fact that if we want to NOT sin, then we should be more obedient. To be more obedient, we need to follow the Bible. The Bible says we are one body in 1 Corinthians 12. If we are going to be one body, we have to work together. We also have to be heading in one direction. That direction needs to be what Jesus tells us. He said the greatest commandment is to love God, and love people. Therefore we must love. But not just love. REALLY love. Like Jesus did. And not just love alone. We need to love together.
What if all of our sins are a result of the fact that we don't love as one body.
When I finished preaching, I realized that I need more time to develop these thoughts. We have to figure out who we are and be that part of the body. We also have to continue to work together to be the body. And that is so difficult.
Lately, here in La Mision, there are many "dramatic" things going on. Here at the church there is "drama." And even in the town.
We have opportunities to love, but we aren't taking them.
As I look at my last year, I realize that I have a lot of things to say. When I was a youth pastor, I would speak three times a week. And get to share with kids when they came into my office with their problems.
Here I do not have that "stage." Instead, I just learn. I help out with the church. I just play the guitar in the band. I just help when help is needed. On the football team, I don't speak too much. The language is a barrier. And when I use the other coaches as a translator, they go on for five minutes for every sentence that I say.
This drives me to really consider my options. I become more passionate to learn Spanish. I also pray with passion, because God knows what He is doing when I do not.
But I am ready to take the next step in this ministry. I feel like I am just getting to the starting block of the race and it is nerve-racking and exciting. But I am ready.


On a totally different note. This is a picture of this flower that is all over our hills. We didn't know what the name of it was and had no idea how to figure it out. But then Erin and I got lucky and somehow stumble upon it on the internet.
It is called agave shawii....or Shaw's Agave. It grows only in our area. It is an agave plant that sprouts the shoots that are about 6-10 feet tall. They flower this beautiful and unique bloom, and then they die. (you can see some of the sticks in the background that are former agave shawii)