Do you have amazing friends? I do. Just about everywhere I turn. God has placed these people around me strategically. He uses them to inspire me, to encourage me, to kick my backside when it needs kicked…You know some of them. Shoot, you may be one of them.

But have you met my friend Stephanie? I don’t see her nearly as much as I used to, but I’ve known her for about 14 years. She’s a worship leader from our town, but that’s really an understatement. I’ve told her more than once that I’d be willing to carry her gear in and out of churches just to be in the room when she leads people in worship. She’s a gifted musician, yes, but she knows Jesus intimately and has the ability to help people connect with him.

I ran across this story today. It’s her story of God’s faithfulness and her obedience. And it made my cry.

Someone you know needs to hear Stephanie’s story today. And you can buy her new cd on iTunes. A-maze-ing. Seriously. Go buy the music.

It’s unclear as to who is to blame.  I am not seeking to distance myself from culpability–one of the foundational principles of Men’s Fraternity is that I want to accept responsibility for my actions.  The bottom line is that the wonderful and moderately miraculous rice-warmer-sock creation died last night in a glorious stinky mess.

It might have been the non-cotton sock that I used.  The website said to use cotton, but I figured that the sock was mostly cotton.  The rice was supposed to be uncooked.  Does Minute Rice qualify as uncooked?  Of course, I’m not ruling out gremlins in the microwave. That thing is scary, man.

Whatever the reason, Kim had to pull the beast out of the microwave last night amidst a cloud of smoke.  The rice had turned black, holes were forming in the sock, and it stunk the house up.

So it was a short-lived reprieve from the cold.  At least it’s not the longest day of winter…

The upside in the whole situation is that as I’m typing this my lovely wife is snuggling just a little bit closer to me.  I am the remedy for cold feet.

It’s also after midnight, so I’m guessing that unless something ridiculously disastrous befalls us tomorrow, it’s not the end of the world as we know it.  So maybe I’ll see you this weekend at church, or at the Waffle Shop.  I might eat there twice tomorrow to celebrate the non-end of the world.

and so do these ESPN commentators

You know the old saying, don’t you–when it comes to your ham & egg breakfast, the chicken is involved, while the pig is fully committed.

Levi & Lilly have been bustin’ their booties as part of the cast/crew bringing “Into the Woods” to life this week at State High. Levi will be playing the role of Jack; Lil is the Assistant Stage Manager. It’s a pretty good fit for both of them!

Levi has played this role before, but this time around he’s got a new look: orange hair! He went blond over the weekend, and tonight the family gathered around him as the next step in hair color was initiated.

To be honest, I don’t know if I could do it. I don’t mind donning a weird costume, trying a foreign accent, or learning a Russian dance for a role. But I don’t know if I would be so committed as to totally change the way I look. I’ve heard that actors like Tom Hanks and Matt Damon have gained and/or lost upwards of 50 pounds for a role.

Commitment level…In order for you to take your ___________ (family, business, ministry, church, etc) to the next level, you probably need to take a peek at your commitment level. That’s where I am right now. I’m asking myself if I’m working hard enough/smart enough. What would I gain if I dialed it in a little more, if I gave a little more…

Sports teams talk about being “all in.” In order to get where you want to go, you might have to raise your commitment level. Even if that means you go to school tomorrow with shocking orange hair!

This morning at Men’s Fraternity (I still don’t like 6:15am, but the goodness that is Men’s Frat totally makes up for the earliness) I got a timely reminder:

It’s not too late.

If your past is filled with mistakes, it’s ok to regret.  But don’t let your past hold you prisoner.  Deal with the pain, the guilt, the shame, the mistakes, the hurt, the sin.  Whatever it takes, whatever it costs, whatever it means.  Dig in.  Roll up your sleeves, get out the broom (or shovel…or bulldozer) and clear away the junk.

It’s not too late.

Your life may not have turned out the way you thought it would.  Divorce.  Broken promises.  Estranged relationships, or just strange relatives!  Hurt caused; hurt received.  Lies.  Betrayal.  Disappointment.  Unmet expectations.  Loss.  Lonely.  Your dad.  Your kids.  Her kids.  The neighbors.  Your boss.  You wish you had a boss.

By now you’ve learned…Life isn’t fair.  People will let you down.  You’ll hurt those closest to you.

It’s not too late.

Forgive.  Seek forgiveness.  Pursue reconciliation.  Make the changes that you need to make to move forward.

You might feel like you’re stuck in a mess that you’re not totally responsible for.  Own your piece of the problem.  Maybe take a little bit more than your share of responsibility.  Find a good listener/wise person to talk to.  Figure out an action plan to make some course corrections.

Put that all together and you’ve got repentance.  A change of heart that leads to a change of direction.

It’s not too late.

Oh my, that’s some good news.

No, I’m not talking about the end of the Presidential Campaign, though it can’t come too early for me. I’m not referring to the Eagles’ woes on the football field (not over by a long shot.) I certainly don’t mean the start of the NBA season–I wouldn’t care if they never played another game.

I am talking about the most anticipated event in the Sublett house since we finalized our last adoption.

The iPhones arrived today!

Levi got the black; I got the white.

I spent the afternoon tweaking and getting mine up and running while Levi had to wait until his rehearsal was over to get his hands on the longed for phone. He couldn’t even wait until we got home–he started activating en route.

That’s when he hit the snag.

The new wonder-phone kept telling him that he was missing a SIM card. But it’s in there. We checked. Pulled the card, wiped it clean with rubbing alcohol, reinserted. No joy. 15 tries later, still nothing.

Turns out that the new iphone is having some SIM card difficulties. Looks like we have a trip to the Verizon or Apple store in our future.

I feel bad for the young man. He’s handling it pretty well. That’s a disappointing turn of events…

One of the pivotal pieces in Team Sublett landing in Happy Valley was a 5 minute conversation with Dan Nold. It was a Saturday, he didn’t know we were coming to town to scope out the situation, and I don’t think he had this prepped. I asked what I needed to know about Calvary. He answered:
1. We’re committed to being a church driven by the Biblical principles of Acts 2.
2. We believe that God wants to transform our city through prayer.
3. We are going to be part of the church of the city.

Wow, 3 for 3. I was hooked from that point on. I didn’t even care what they were paying; I wanted to be part of this thang.

Fast forward 14 years. Those same statements could be said today. To back up #3, several of the pastors of Calvary spent Mon-Wed with a bunch of pastors from other congregations in State College. We hunkered down at Krislund Camp & Conference Center, where there is extremely limited cell service, and internet access is next to impossible. The up-side is that we spent 3 days hashing out preferences & differences, getting on the same page, developing a set of playing rules that should let us work together for some good things for the kingdom & our town.

We can be a diverse bunch, but we’ve learned the value of unity, especially in light of what God says about unity in John 17 and Psalm 133. Simply put, the kingdom breaks out when unity is happening. That’s how important unity is.

I’m not real big on meetings, and I felt like I’m already fully on board with the “let’s do things together” movement, but it was a good few days of getting to know some new guys, hearing their stories, letting them share their hearts, hopes, and hesitations (yeah, pastors alliterate) with us.

We’ve got some momentum, some direction, and some solid men praying together…this could be a fun ride!

Seth Barnes writes about the gifts of the Spirit on the same weekend that my pastor preaches about us being filled with the Spirit of God, thus making us a Sacred Place… pretty sure that’s not coincidental.

This teacher in South Africa got fined for having 19 children in her car.  I was looking for the kid with the water-squirting flower to get out of the car…

We had our 1-year post-adoption visit for Isaac Sunday.  We passed!  I’ll be posting about our first year with Big I soon.

Midtown is growing–we’re adding a second worship gathering this Sunday (10/21) at the beautiful State Theatre.  We’ll be there at 9:30 and 11:15.

Just about the time that I adjusted/resigned myself to root for the Cardinals (the Spikes are now part of the Cardinals’ family) they tanked against the Giants.  Oh well.  Maybe tomorrow.

How about a poll?
iPhone 5 vs Samsung Galaxy S III vs other?
Give me your vote in the comments…

Hello there, my fabulous midtown family,

Stac
Stacy C. Sublett * 814.280-6388 * Stac’s Place