LEAP YEAR 101

As found on infoplease.com...
2008 is a leap year, which means that it has 366 days instead of the usual 365 days that an ordinary year has. An extra day is added in a leap year—February 29—which is called an intercalary day or a leap day.

Why is a Leap Year Necessary?
Leap years are added to the calendar to keep it working properly. The 365 days of the annual calendar are meant to match up with the solar year. A solar year is the time it takes the Earth to complete its orbit around the Sun—about one year. But the actual time it takes for the Earth to travel around the Sun is in fact a little longer than that—about 365¼ days (365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 46 seconds, to be precise). So the calendar and the solar year don't completely match—the calendar year is a touch shorter than the solar year.

It may not seem like much of a difference, but after a few years those extra quarter days in the solar year begin to add up. After four years, for example, the four extra quarter days would make the calendar fall behind the solar year by about a day. Over the course of a century, the difference between the solar year and the calendar year would become 25 days! Instead of summer beginning in June, for example, it wouldn't start until nearly a month later, in July. As every kid looking forward to summer vacation knows—calendar or no calendar—that's way too late! So every four years a leap day is added to the calendar to allow it to catch up to the solar year.

But Wait! It's Not Quite that Simple!
The math seems to work out beautifully when you add an extra day to the calendar every four years to compensate for the extra quarter of a day in the solar year. As we said earlier, however, the solar year is just about 365 ¼ days long—but not exactly! The exact length of a solar year is actually 11 minutes and 14 seconds less than 365 ¼ days. That means that even if you add a leap day every four years, the calendar would still overshoot the solar year by a little bit—11 minutes and 14 seconds per year. These minutes and seconds really start to add up: after 128 years, the calendar would gain an entire extra day. So, the leap year rule, "add a leap year every four years" was a good rule, but not good enough!

Calendar Correction, Part II
To rectify the situation, the creators of our calendar (the Gregorian Calendar, introduced in 1582) decided to omit leap years three times every four hundred years. This would shorten the calendar every so often and rid it of the annual excess of 11 minutes and 14 seconds. So in addition to the rule that a leap year occurs every four years, a new rule was added: a century year is not a leap year unless it is evenly divisible by 400. This rule manages to eliminate three leap years every few hundred years.

This ingenious correction worked beautifully in bringing the calendar and the solar year in harmony, pretty much eliminating those pesky extra 11 minutes and 14 seconds. Now the calendar year and the solar year are just about a half a minute off. At that rate, it takes 3,300 years for the calendar year and solar year to diverge by a day.

NO NEED TO PANIC...
This all means it's 'Smooth Sailing' for the Next 3,300 Years!

And the next time this DAY (FEB 29th) comes again - I'll be "40!"
Couldn't miss an opportunity to BLOG on such a day as this!!

Cold, Achy, Feverish...SICK!!

It's been quite a week! Last weekend the RSV junk finally caught up with me! I've eluded it this past season, but in the tail end it reached down with its nasty claws and grasped my HEAD/NASAL/CHEST regions and infiltrated me like a thief! I feel so violated! Keep me in your prayers as I continue to FIGHT!

Last weekend was good though! Last Friday, I had a chance to go see in person the GREATEST GOLFER TO EVER WALK THIS EARTH - Tiger Woods! My wife (Ging) and some friends went to the WGC in Tucson! I am not necessarily a huge fan, but I am in amazement at his skill, focus, and ability to WIN! We will NEVER see another like him! On top of that thrill, my mom had been here for about a week, and on Saturday, my uncle shows up at my house with my DAD! Surprise visit! It was really great seeing him, even though it was brief! My brother and family also came in from California for the weekend to visit as well!

Yesterday, my folks headed back and today, my in-laws (Tom & Wanda) arrived. Haven't had a chance to see them just yet! It's good to have them here! Our family's are such a blessing when they come, making life easier! I thank the Lord for the heritages that God has blessed myself and my wife with! GREAT - GODLY PARENTS!!

SUNDAY SNAPSHOT...
We launch a new series this week...SOUL STEALERS

Drugs, Work, Sexual, Relational, Rage & Anger, Food, Compulsive Health, Alcohol, Nicotine, Caffeine, Money and/or Media...The lure of TEMPTATION is strong, it’s not always seen right away. All it usually takes is one glance, one touch, one drink, one bite, and before we realize, our life begins to disappear before our very eyes. We’re trapped, with no visible sign of escape. When dealing with SOUL STEALERS like these, you must realize it is a SLOW FADE to destruction…In the words of a song entitled Slow Fade (Casting Crowns) it paints a clear picture of what cannot always be seen in advance…

“It’s a SLOW FADE, when you give yourself away! It’s a SLOW FADE when black and white are turned to gray! Thoughts Invade, Choices are Made, a PRICE WILL BE PAID! People never crumble in a day! Daddy’s never crumble in a day! Mommy’s never crumble in a day! Children never crumble in a day! Families never crumble in a day! It’s a SLOW FADE!”

I’ve never met anyone who CHOOSES to be addicted to anything. Most every encounter is a learned behavior. What we need to do is educate ourselves in the fact that we cannot win these battles on our own, we must tap into The Higher Power (God) who created us to “experience life, and to experience it in abundance!”

Please know in closing…
GOD NEVER WASTES A HURT!

Here I Am!

Another week?! WHAT?!?!?! Ok-only 1/2 of it is gone, but I definitely wanted to squeeze a post in now, before it might pass by! Totally been abother BUSY WEEK, actually I once heard a great quote that symoblizes my life sometimes, maybe yours too... "I'm busier than a one-legged man in a butt kickin' contest!"

My biggest goal when I'm busy like this is to learn how to STOP, and take time for me, but most importantly my family! I don't ever want to cheat them from me and my time, but unfortunately I do - and often! Please pray for me that I can get better at that!

Hope your week has gone well!? My mom just got in yesterday, it's good to see her! She is such a HELP to us while she's here, and of course the BOYS love it!

SUNDAY SNAPSHOT...
We finish up our TOO COMFORTABLE Series this week! It's the finale in our OUTREACH EMPHASIS MONTH! It's been a great series, our GO (Outreach) Pastor - Mat Balgaard spoke the first two weeks, and did a GREAT JOB! I am finishing it up this week with a message called...GODCAST! (Fishing For Men!)

Take a look at Matthew 4:12-22 sometime. Jesus was walking around the Sea of Galilee, a beautiful body of water in Israel. Picture about thirty or so villages around the lake, and Jesus happens across some local fisherman and says..."WANNA GO FISHING?"
The interesting thing about this story is found in their response...
"IMMEDIATELY & AT ONCE - THEY FOLLOWED HIM!"

The one fact we determine this week in our Message is this...
FOLLOWERS FISH!!
If You're Fishing, You're Following!
If You're Not Fishing, You're Not Following!

So...I leave you with this question/thought...
THE BEST WAY TO KNOW IF YOU ARE YOU FOLLOWING?
CHECK YOUR STRINGERS!!

Sorry about the inconsistencies...

Well...Another week with only one post - my bad! I got home on Mon PM from Texas and hit the ground running! Before I knew it - it was Friday! I definitely wanted to post for the Sunday Snapshot - so here it is!

Family is doing well! Isaac had a great last two baseball games, going 4-5 combined! He's really getting it! I love to see his enthusiasm grow towards playing! Caleb is doing good, we're in some transition with him in his eduation in Maricopa. It looks like he is moving towards FULL DAY Pre-K, starting possible next week! He's really doing well in school, keep him in your prayers that the transition will go well!

My buddy Brad Wilkerson (COC METRO) is here this weekend! I know, I know - I was just there last week for his Night Of Vision - they had 148, a phenominal turn out for their sneak-peak service on the 380 corridor! Well...he's here (AZ) this week for us to feature them in our services! Remember it's Outreach Emphasis Month @ COC! We are a supporting church of their ministry, and since they are a network church of the COC, we wanted to put a 'Face' to the support in which we provide them monthly! Our people at the COC are AWESOME, it should be a great Sunday! They will be welcomed!


SUNDAY SNAPSHOT...
We head into our 2nd week of our TOO COMFORTABLE Series! Week 2 is titled...TAGGED! The whole idea is the concept in which God has hand-picked everyyone who knows Him personally as His 'Chosen Method' in continuing the message of Salvation! What a responsiblity, eh?!
To know that God has left the entire communication process of HIS LOVE up to us, is quite a responsibility!


If you get a chance, take a look sometime at LUKE 19:1-10. It's the story of Zaccheus, you know...THE WEE LITTLE MAN! It's quite a story of a transformed life! He wasn't necessarily an intriguing person, actually quite disliked by most! But...STILL LOVED BY CHRIST!

Through Christ’s encounter with Zacchaeus, we see how to discover real meaning to life! And we see that the only way to really understand why we’re here is to get uncomfortable enough to say something, do something, and be something for those people who are far away from God! We are all going to spend forever somewhere - we’re TAGGED for eternity! We might as well begin to see other people through that same perspective!

I'm Still Here...

Ok-Ok! It's been about a week and I haven't posted, but I'm still here! I've been in Texas this past week with my buddy Brad Wilkerson, getting ready for his NIGHT OF VISION with COC METRO (http://cocmetro.com/). We've had a great week! I'm so proud of his accomplishments in preparing for his new Church in the 380 Corridor! It should be a GREAT night tomorrow!

I really am missing my family a lot! Haven't seen my wife (Ginger) or my oldest (Isaac) for about a week! They went to Missouri to visit family, my youngest (Caleb) and I hung out together for 3-4 days, and I headed out to Texas this past Monday! Looking forward to seeing them Monday of next week!

Keep my friend Jon Lloyd in your prayers this weekend, he and his dad are launching a new ministry in Evansville, IN this coming Sunday (http://journeychurchev.com/)! It should be a great Church!

SUNDAY SNAPSHOT...
I'm out this weekend, and our GO Pastor (Mat Balgaard) is kicking off our New Series (TOO COMFORTABLE) this weekend! Should be a GREAT WEEK! It's OUTREACH EMPHASIS MONTH at the COC!

Tell me something, who doesn’t like to be comfortable? After all, we live in an often uncomfortable world. Sometimes…discovering real comfort requires us to be uncomfortable! In fact, Jesus described what it meant to be uncomfortable. Take for example what He said would be the price of ‘Following Him’…(Luke 14:25-28a) “Great crowds were following Jesus. He turned around and said to them, "If you want to be my follower you must love me more than your own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters-yes, more than your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. And you cannot be my disciple if you do not carry your own cross and follow me. "But don't begin until you count the cost...”

Following Jesus requires a sacrifice. One must count the cost before they follow the cross! The real idea of COMFORT comes from the two Latin words: com fortis – literally translated it means “With Strength.” Another word often used for Comfort is Encouragement. I once heard a story regarding Encouragement… Someone once asked a paratrooper how many times he had jumped out of the plane while he was in the military. He said, “None.” His friend said, “What do you mean, ‘none,’ I thought you were a paratrooper?” He said, “I was, but I never jumped. I was pushed several times... but I never jumped.” – That’s Encouragement! God’s way of giving Comfort is to give us the strength to do what needs to be done in telling others about His Love! Let me ask you something today; wherever you are at on your Spiritual Journey…ARE YOU TOO COMFORTABLE?

TWO FULL WEEKS OF BLOGGING...WHOA!?

Well...another week down with my committed 2-3 posts a week accomplished! This would be #2 of the week! It's been a good week for me as a blogger - eh?! I am trying to get as much as I can done - I'm heading out of town the first of next week for an entire week (No Worries...I will still do my best to POST!)! I am really excited - I'm heading to TX to visit one of my best friends - Brad Wilkerson (http://blog.cocmetro.com/)! He is the Lead Pastor at our first Network Church - COC METRO (http://cocmetro.com/)! They are hosting their "NIGHT OF VISION" next Saturday, Feb 09th! Keep them in your prayers!

We are going to be doing what I call a "ONE HIT WONDER" - which is basically a message that is not attached to a Series. The message is a C.O.R.E. VISION MESSAGE --Gather+Grow+Give=GO! / The Discipleship Process! We do these from time to time and with the recent growth at the COC - we feel it important to inform all those new folks WHO we are and WHAT we are out to accomplish in Maricopa!

SUNDAY SNAPSHOT...
This week we will be reviewing our Discipleship Process (Gather.Grow.Give.Go). This week is also a 'KICKER' intro to our next series...TOO COMFORTABLE which is a series dealing directly with OUTREACH!

Jesus paints a very CLEAR picture of what it is that's needed to be a DISCIPLE of His in Luke 14:25-33..."If you want to be my follower you must love me more than your own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters-yes, more than your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. And you cannot be my disciple if you do not carry your own cross and follow me."

The key question of the week is simple...WILL YOU GIVE YOUR BEST?

-The COC believes whole-heartedly in GATHERING together to Worship God!
-The COC believes whole-heartedly in GROWING together in Christ - we do this through PRAYER and TEACHING the Word of God every week!
-The COC believes whole-heartedly in learning the aspect of GIVING back to the ministry through our TIME/TALENTS/TREASURES!
-And the natural bi-product of these three characteristics is GOING and fulfilling the GREAT COMMISION (Acts 1:8)!

"The Church that discovers that God wants Worshippers before Workers will always realize that INTIMACY with Him ALWAYS precedes ACTIVITY with Him!”

WILL YOU GIVE YOUR BEST?