Filed under: MISC Posts
Man, what a time we had last night experiencing what seemed to be one of the most severe thunderstorms I’ve ever experienced!
It was about 11pm last night and I was finishing up some media needs for today’s service when I began to hear the wind literally roaring…followed by some intense hail, I decided to stop what I was doing and take a peek outside. The moment I opened the door, you could barely look past the near 2 inches of rain that fell in just 20 minutes as the lighting displayed quite a scene unfolding as you could hear trees began to snap all over our 12 acre piece of property. It was just seconds before the electricity went out and remained out until just a few hours ago.
It was quite the scene when we woke up this morning before heading to church (which by the way – we had a TREMENDOUS time together this morning!) where we found one tree completely uprooted leaving just a hole in the ground! Here are a few shots of what it looked like before we spent nearly 5 hours chaining debris to our 4-wheelers and moving them into our next bonfire pile. Gotta respect the forces of nature!
Snapped in half
This one impresses me the most
Thank God this 70' tree snapped in half instead of falling on my sister's home...oh, that's their clubhouse behind the tree, not their home. 
Down everywhere - poor pear and walnut trees!
Unbelievable
Nature, you have my upmost respect from now on.
Jesse
Filed under: Journey Church
I am INCREDIBLY excited about the message this Sunday!
Man, it’s so hard to beleive that we are already walking into our 4th service here at Journey. We have taken the first 3 weeks of our services and have been discussing our need to RE-FOCUS our view or perspective on some of the most important things in our lives (prayer – the bible – church – storms in our lives) so we can approach them with great success and have the right foundation and understanding of what our church will truly be in these ‘beginning’ stages of our church.
I will be wrapping up my ’series’ this month with a message entitled RE-VIEW. In this message we are going to dive deep into the life of Abraham and take a look at the greatest trial that one of the greatest men that ever walked across the pages of our bible actually faced – we’ll find that even he had to ‘refocus’ himself to see success in his life…trust me, you won’t want to miss it!
Jesse (Pastor – Journey Church)
Filed under: MISC Posts
That's right...it reads 100
I took this picture just minutes ago on the patio outside…100 degrees!!!
Today was a day where you would sweat beads simply standing outside…my kids spent a good part of the day in the pool, which is where I’m about to head off to…but wanted to come and let you know that you can’t beat the heat of a humid Missouri summer day! There’s nothing like it! The only way I can describe it is to just imagine yourself in a 100 degree hot tub completely immersed under water – and you can somehow breathe.
Gotta love it…
Jesse
Filed under: Journey Church
If you haven’t heard by now (you can go to any major internet news page and read the story) about the horrific train collision that took place in Washington D.C. early this evening when two metro transit trains collided leaving 6 dead.
They stated on an article on MSN.COM that the ‘accident took place at the height of the capital city’s evening rush hour leaving at least 6 dead and injuring scores of others’.
You know, tragedy carries with it a feeling that goes far beyond words and is never easy to see, hear, and most of all experience…I can’t imagine what the families of the those who recently lost their lives must be feeling…our prayers are most certainly with them.
Every time I hear about these types of things happening – it never ceases to bring me to the hard reality of James 4:14 ‘you don’t know what will happen tomorrow’ – we have got to be ready to meet Jesus at any moment in our lives – I pray that was the case with the 6 that unexpectantly slipped into eternity as most of them were probably on their way home from work during a busy Monday rush-hour commute with everything else BUT a sudden disaster that would take their lives being on their mind.
My pastor Steve Lummer told me a long time ago these words ‘you’ve got to PLAN like you’ve got the rest of your life ahead of you, but you must LIVE like you’re going to meet Him tommorow.”
Words to think on…praying of those today in D.C.,
Jesse (Pastor – Journey Church)
Filed under: Family
My youngest son Javan has been asking Missy and I if he could take Karate lessons for quite some time. When we asked him why, his reply was because he ‘really really wants to learn it’ and so ‘one day he would be able beat up his older brother’ (haha).
So for his birthday last month, we let him know that we will grant our young grasshopper his wish to take Karate lessons…needless to say he was extremely enthusiastic when he got that news.
I must tell you, this kid absolutely LOVES this class! He’s been through a few practices now and has really taken his Karate seriously…when he suits up in his little ‘gi’ – he turns into a different little man – like a small ninja – it’s so cute!
Here’s some pics of his practices…a special thanks to his Master Instructor Rich Steen of Steen’s ATA Black Belt Academy for taking the time to allow Javan and these little ones a chance to learn an age old art.
He’s like my little Chuck Norris – and you know what they say about Chuck Norris – ‘Chuck Norris never sleeps…he waits.’ I know that didn’t really make much sense in the context of this blog – but I thought the Chuck Norris comment was funny.
Jesse
Filed under: MISC Posts
Well…it’s official – I have joined DISC NATION!
I had the WONDERFUL opportunity to try my hand at a little game they call – Disc Golf (aka Frisbee golf or frolf according to Wikipedia). I have been invited to play this game I don’t know how many times and have just never had the time…until today.
My good friend David ‘BAKER’ and I hit the Quail Ridge Course today in Wentzville and I couldnt’ have had a better time! Baker taught me the ropes of this game that is catching some intense popularity in the St. Louis area (even though it’s been around since the 60s).
I threw for 1+ par (according to Baker – that’s a good thing for a 1st timer) and can’t wait to go again. Here are some pics of our time there today.
My amazing skills put to the test...
The GOAL of Disc Golf 'The Hole'. As you can see, I was close!
Baker in action...I wish I had that kind of stance - it's sick!
Good times…I recommend you try it out.
Jesse
Filed under: Journey Church
I cannot WAIT for this Sunday to come! This message will be one of those truly ‘unforgettable’ ones that will bring clarity to some of the ‘nasty’ stuff we go through in life.
Have you ever been going through some of the craziest junk before and have begun to wonder “WHERE THE HECK IS GOD IN ALL OF THIS?” or have found yourself in one of the biggest storms that life could dish to you and have said “WHY IS THIS HAPPENING? WHY ME? or WILL THIS EVER END?” regardless of how much you pray – read your bible – or go to church – the storm just seems to continue to pound down on you.
I will have the very great task of sharing this very impacting message with Journey Church this Sunday – if you’re going through some stuff like what we mentioned above (or worse) – it’d be great to see you there!
Love y’all!!!!
Jesse (Pastor – Journey Church)
Filed under: Journey Church
This past Sunday, we sang Chris Tomlin’s ‘God of this City’ in our service…I absolutely love every word in this song because it reminds us that we should always pray for the city we live in because God has ‘great things’ in store for your city – no matter where you live.
I mean, I love the St. Louis area (it’s my hometown) – the pizza (holla!), the people (so midwestern), the arch (so ‘archy’ – but also the gateway to the west and one of our nation’s most unique landmarks), the Rams (the greatest show on turf – at least it was a few years ago), and our beloved Cardinals (one of our nation’s most historical baseball programs – there’s nothing like the smell of hot peanuts and a couple of stadium dogs at Busch Stadium watching Pujols rip a homer in a game – ahhhh, the good life).
But more than anything – I love what God is about to do in the St. Louis area – move on the people like NEVER before seen!
Every time I go to prayer for our city, I walk away feeling so excited and so expectant that God is going to literally explode in our area. I beleive we (the church) better get ready and get our doors WIDE OPEN because there is a ‘hunger’ in the people in this area…a hunger for something that can only be found in Jesus…and when we start showing them the AUTHENTIC LOVE OF GOD – look out Jack! – you will then have to put ‘CHURCH’ on some of the COOLEST places to visit in the St. Louis area.
Beleive it!
Jesse (Pastor – Journey Church)
Filed under: Journey Church
Ever remember contemplating doing something wrong and that little voice in your head would begin to echo a statement you may have heard your parents, your grandmother, or your pastor say – ‘Remember now, GOD’S WATCHING YOU’ (immediately followed by the howl of a wolf…no?…well, at least for me it was)
We have been taught that God is ‘always‘ watching us…well…if that’s true…what in the world is He watching us for?
I mean, come on…the eye of God is NOT some ‘eye in the sky’ that represents a heavenly police system that targets us when we do something wrong…as we may have been lead to believe.
This Sunday – I’m going to do something EXTREMELY dangerous…I’m going to disect the ‘God Eye’…and show you what it’s really all about.
See ya Sunday!
Jesse (Pastor – Journey Church)
