Day: February 17, 2008

Categories
Annoyances Travel

The Road Rage Files – Chapter 21

I drove about 200 miles today from Homestead to Fort Myers via Florida’s Turnpike and I-75. Here are just a few thoughts of my trip today:

1.  This is the first time since the day after Thanksgiving that I have been further north of SW 184TH Street and U.S. 1 in Palmetto Bay. I need to get out more often.

2.  When the Florida Highway Patrol is by the side of the road either with their radar gun pointed out or attending to a motorist that’s already been pulled over all I see are bright red tail-lights as my fellow motorists slam on their brakes from their cruising speeds of 80, 85, 90, or more MPH down to below the posted speed limit. Meanwhile my foot remains on the gas pedal because I’m already at the posted speed limit. I’m a law-abiding motorist – even when the FHP is not watching me.

3.  20 years ago I-75 in western Broward County was a wide-open Interstate in the middle of nowhere. It was an oasis of empty pavement. My how things have changed since then !

4.  Two lanes in each direction is severely insufficient for I-75 traffic between Naples and Fort Myers. If it gets anymore congested then people are going to start driving on the grass.  😉

5.  U.S. 41 in Fort Myers (Tamiami Trail) looks a lot like U.S. 1 in South Miami-Dade. Edison Mall kinda looks like Southland Mall.

Categories
God Travel

InDependence Church Sunday Morning Tossed Salad

I wasn’t at Life Pointe Church on this glorious Sunday morning, so if you want to know what happened there then you’ll just have to ask Pastor Travis, Pastor Paul, or Praise & Worship Leader Jesse. Travis posted his usual Sunday Wrap-Up, so be sure to check it out.

As for me I’m currently on vacation over on Florida’s Gulf coast, but just because I’m on vacation doesn’t mean that I can’t meet corporately with my extended church family. In fact that’s exactly what I did this morning. On my way over to Fort Myers I made a well-scheduled pit-stop at Nathan Griffis‘ fresh new church in the heart of Weston Florida to attend the 10:29 AM service at InDependence Church. We (at Life Pointe) assisted in the planting of this church, and this was just their 5TH service since their official launch on Sunday January 20TH 2008.

Here’s the skinny:

1.  It felt weird arriving for the service some 45 minutes early and not serving with the setup and hospitality team. Everything was already setup nicely, and I kept reminding myself that I was just a visitor there. Pastor Nathan instantly recognized me and welcomed me. He made me feel right at home. I met his wife Harmony as well. As it turns out she’s a new fan of this blog. I like her blog too.

2.  I drank some delicious coffee and watched the house band rehearse their material. There was a small explosion on stage during the band’s rehearsal. OK perhaps ‘explosion’ is a slight exaggeration. There was no fire – just a little white smoke. An amplifier was blown out. That’s right – the music was that loud and powerful !

3.  ‘Praise & Worship’ was awesome. God was listening intently as we sang loudly and clapped in unison to the beat of His music. The band rocked the joint. The vibe was so amazing.

4.  After a short intermission Pastor Nathan got up on stage and began his teaching. It was all about ‘The Power Of Light & Love’. All of the lights went out. Darkness. A flashlight came on. Light at the end of the tunnel. Let there be light. All of the lights came back on. There is no more darkness, for we have been saved. We are chasing daylight. The secrets and the sins that we committed in the dark are in our past. This is a new Life for us. A life of light. Ephesians 5:8 (NLT, 2ND Ed.) illustrates the contrast between our past problems and our present privileges: ‘For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light !’ Ephesians 5:13 identifies the need to bring light to darkness: ‘But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them.’

5.  From start to finish it was about an hour and 45-minute service. Pastor Nathan’s message was powerful. He inspired and encouraged us to continue moving further away from the darkness and forward into the light. A new message series begins in March – ‘The Elephant In The Church’. He gave a sneak-peek of it. It should be a thought-provoking and revealing message series.

I really enjoyed myself this morning at InDependence Church. I will return in the future. This is just the start of something MASSIVE for Weston Florida. That beautiful city is going to be taken by storm by the forward momentum of InDependence Church. Satan is going to struggle to stay in business in Weston. The light is shining brightly. I can’t wait to hear about it, and see it in person !