Soakin' Up Life . . . at a 100 MPH!

This is the day we are to give thanks. So what am I thankful for? A God who loves me and is faithful to never leave me or forsake me! A wife who trusts me because I trust God and is willing to pack up and ride across this amazing country of our to follow Him. A new place to serve God. For family who supports us and is sad that we are not closer Friends who still keep in touch Stacey - just being the voice on the other side of the phone is all I need sometimes, but is often time much more The opportunity to make new friends Getting to live where an outside activity doesn't have to include a gun, 4-wheeler, or a boat Churches who have been there for me throughout my ministry -Legacy, Carpenter's Way, & North Mobile Opportunity to serve with/under pastors who love God, are transparent, and want to see people meet Jesus all over this world My friends in Tanzania & Tanzania itself - it's where God showed us we were supposed to be in missions - and we are! Parents (both ...

Sorry for not posting for the last week and a half. We have been in transition to our new home and ministry in Gresham, OR. I will be serving as Pastor of Discipleship and Administration at Greater Gresham Baptist Church . Our trip was pretty event-less, though it was long. We left Thursday, Nov 20 and arrived at Gresham on Monday, Nov 24. We spent the nights in St. Louis, MO, Kearney, NE, Rock Springs, WY, and Boise, ID. Cindy took some pictures and video. I've still got to download it and post it. Hopefully, I will have time this weekend to do some downloading so you can get a feel of where we've been. A couple of side notes: It was 22 degrees in St. Louis with light snow flurries when we arrived There's nothing in Nebraska west of Lincoln, NE - literally Coffee at Flying J and Pilot truck stops, while not the best tasting, will definitely keep you awake! Our cats, Lucy & Dot, will not have to go to drug rehab The drive down the Columbia River Gorge/Hood River ...

This time last year I was running around with my hair on fire getting ready for November 17th when God would put our lives together forever. Today Cindy and I celebrate our first year of our marriage. I am so blessed to have a wife who loves me, helps me, encourages me, confronts me, and prays for me. Thank you Cindy for being there for me when I needed you. Thank you for trusting me. Thank you for being willing to follow me. Thank you for loving me, in spite of me sometimes. :) HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!! I love you!! Mike

That's right folks. . .the trailer is loaded. WOOOHOOOO!!!! We got a few last minute items to stack, but for the most part the trailer is ready to go. We packed and loaded it in three about 2 days. That was while we were having to take time away so Bev, our real estate agent, could show the house. Tom & Dora, Cindy's parents, were troopers. They kept us focused - not easy when working with two ADD adults. :) They finally headed home about 6:00 yesterday evening. Lord, get them home safe and bless them in a way that only you can do. On Saturday - Ricky, Joey, Bob, and Cliff came over to help with loading the trailer. We started about 8:30 and by 10:30 the big items - furniture, etc. - was loaded and most of the boxes we had ready were neatly stacked. I couldn't have done it without these guys. They were a blessing beyond words. We still have some things to pack up that we will take with us. The office - computer, printer, etc - and a few items like laundry a...

Last night Cindy and I watched The End of the Spear . It's the story of 5 missionaries who were killed by the Waodani tribe of Ecuadorian natives while trying to reach an evangelize them. One of them was Jim Elliott . Later, as I fell into bed I grabbed our devotional book, Voices of the Faithful . It's a compilation of devotions by Southern Baptist's international missionaries. I flipped to yesterday's devotion. The focus passage was Matthew 21:22 - "If you believe, you will received whatever you ask for in prayer." It was a great reminder of God's faithfulness. You see, I struggle with trusting God sometimes. Maybe I'm the only one, but I do. And in my lack of trust I take control and I try to make things happen. I trust God, but sometimes I try to take control of things. Last week I was awake at 2:45 and finally got up around 3:30 - yes, it was in the morning. I was wrestling with a ton of stuff - selling a car, motorcycle, house, find...

How do you handle stress or stressful situations? I was thinking about how I tend to handle stress and stressful situations in my own life this morning. Some people workout - probably the best option. Others talk it out. If you're like me you work harder and push through it or you eat - yeah, I'm a stress eater. Thinking about some of the ways we handle stress led me to create the new survey for this week. So take the survey and let's see how many of us use one or some of the options listed to the left. ============================== SURVEY RESULTS Last week's survey was about college football. I was wondering how many of you think we shoudl keep things the way they are and just rely on the BCS for picking the two best teams to play for the national championship or you think a playoff system of some kind would better. We only had 6 people pariticpate and all 6 (100%) believe college football should go to a playoff system. I do too, just don't think the Bowls wi...

Got a couple of cool surprises First, Cindy gave me my birthday present early. It was one of those things that if I didn't like it she was going to have to quickly change her plans. Thanks to her power of observation and knowledge of my love for all things technical and gadgety, she gave me a Garmin Nuvi 750 . It's a GPS unit and Cindy got it in preparation for our move and transition to Gresham. I've been playing with it out this morning (teehee. . .). Second, I got my "D" key back on my laptop. It popped of sometime last week and I couldn't get it to go back on AND I didn't want to break something. This morning. . .tried again, a little bit different than I had in the past and hot diggety! It went back on and works just fine. Third, as my sister-in-law, Michelle, reminded me - the Tennessee Titans are still undefeated! Who'da thunk it? Any surprises in your life today? Mike

Now that all the election hype is over and now know that Obama will be our 44th President, I've noticed that among those who voted for McCain a bit of a struggle. I know because I'm wrestling with the same thing. Yes, I voted for McCain/Palin. But this morning I find myself laboring with relinquishing my future to Obama/Biden. Another thing I've noticed how many of my evangelical friends who also voted for McCain/Palin state that God is in control, though Obama won the election. If you, like me, believe that God is truly in control then why are you still mad, upset, angry, frustrated, etc., etc., etc.? I ask that question because God asked me the same question this morning as I was running through my morning routine - yes, I talk to God while I'm picking up, showering, straightening things up, and checking email. For those of you who, like me, may be struggling, then I'm just gonna tell you what God told me. If you believe God's in control, get over it. The...

Time for a new poll! The question pertains to College Footbal l: Would you rather continue using the same BCS system currently in place or would you like to see College Football implement a playoff system? Interested to hear what you think. Mike

Well. . .life at the Shipp house has been fast and furious these last couple of weeks and it doesn't look like it's slowing down any time soon. You saw the pics Cindy posted as she gave you an idea of what we've been up to. In the mean time: The Phillies took the World Series. They deserve it - they definitely played way better than the Rays. Don't feel sorry for Tampa, though. This was their first time to go to the Series and they had an outrageous year. Texas was number 1, but their schedule finally caught up to them. Tech beat them with a last second touchdown. Tech deserved the win. They were ready for this game. I'm still sick about that game. And, yes, the Horns lost, but how do you go from number 1 to number 5 or 6 (USA Today Poll) by losing by a measly few points to the team that ends up number 2. Don't get it, probably won't. And they're still my Horns!! Alabama is number 1 now - even after playing, arguably, the best high school team i...