Top 5 Things NOT To Do South of the Border

#1 DON'T DRINK THE WATER. Basically, there are parasites in the non-filtered water that will…how do I put this nicely…make you sit on a toilet or in front of a trash can for a VERY long time. These parasites will wage war against your intestinal system…doesn’t sound like fun to me!

#2 DON'T PUT USED TOILET PAPER IN THE TOILET. Trash can only! Or else…you get to go fishing. I won’t even try and put that one nicely. We were told over and over again: “You don’t have magical toilet paper. It will not disappear when you flush.” :)

#3 DON'T HANG YOUR LIMBS OUTSIDE THE BUS WINDOW. It would be a shame (and quite painful) to have them ripped from your body by the vehicle passing you. Thankfully, everyone on our trip returned with all four limbs intact.

#4 DON'T COMPLAIN. Life is good in America…you don’t know how good until you visit Mexico. We take so many things for granted, and this trip was a good reminder of how many privileges we enjoy in the USA.

#5 DON'T LEAVE UNCHANGED. We had the opportunity to visit one of the poorest areas of Juarez. People literally live in homes made of cardboard boxes and construction scraps. They are given 10 gallons of water by the government every week, and that’s all that they are allowed for bathing, cooking, and drinking. Most homes didn’t have plumbing…some didn’t have electricity…and the average weekly grocery budget is only $5.00. As Americans, we can do without a lot of things, and we don’t really need as much “stuff” as we think we do. This experience helped me see what it really means to sacrifice and struggle, what it looks like to go without certain comforts, how misguided our sense of material entitlement can be, and how small our own problems really are.

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Overall, we had a really great missions trip to Mexico last week. Our teens (Brad Heintz, Michelle Cave, Jenny West, and Sarah Stephens) were wonderful, and God really taught us a lot (and hopefully used us) through our ministry opportunities. I mentioned it in my sermon last week, but I think this was one of the best missions trips I’ve been on. Some of our projects included helping build and renovate homes, working on the site for a future community park, and leading a Vacation Bible School. Watch for a full report coming in the next few weeks! Thank you so much for your prayer and financial support…we really appreciate it!

Sam

Old and new

OLD: that's me. I turned 24 on Saturday. Okay, some of you may say that's not old, but it's the oldest I've ever been in my life!

NEW: that's the updated and improved Cornerstone website. Check it out at www.cbcspringfield.net! Special thanks to Kim Hughes for all her work on the site; I think it looks awesome!

Let's see...what's going on with me that I could write about?

I started my fourth year of ministry at Cornerstone last week.

I'm almost done with the process of choosing this year's Christmas musical.

I celebrated my birthday Saturday by getting ice cream at ColdStone with my wife and in-laws :)

I fly to Austin in a week for the National Worship Leader Conference.

I'm looking forward to checking out the Creation Museum next weekend.

I'm glad the Cubs are playing well and can't wait for football season to start.

I'm currently listening to:
Jonathan Martin/With One Voice
Rachael Lampa/Blessed

See you Sunday!
Tim

A difficult day

Our dear sister in Christ, Jeannie Miller, went home to be with Him yesterday morning. Please pray for Jeannie's family during this time. (Information about the memorial service is included in the above link.)

The Holiness of God

Dan and I had the privilege of attending some of the sessions at Grace Chapel Church's pastors conference last week. The guest speaker was Dr. Steve Lawson, a pastor that we had heard in California last year.

It was refreshing and encouraging to spend some time with friends who minister in other churches, and it was neat to hear Dr. Lawson speak about how he prepares sermons, leads his church, etc.

On Friday night, Dr. Lawson preached a sermon on "The Holiness of God" from Isaiah chapter 6, verses 1-8. Eight verses, over an hour and a half of preaching...wow! He dug in deep to each word of the text, and I came away with a newfound sense of awe and amazement at what a holy God we worship and serve.

The main point that stuck with me from the message was this: we struggle so much with sin because we don't have a right view of the holiness of God. Holy...Holy...Holy...three times the word is used...and Isaiah sees enough in his vision to say "Woe is me"...God's holiness isn't a laughing matter.

When we come together to worship through music this Sunday, I hope you will join me in trying to especially focus on the perfect holiness of God.

Tim