Four years ago, Paul and Ali Smoot moved from Indiana to south Florida while I was going through the most difficult time of my life. Why was God moving my best friend away at this time?

That Fall, I retreated to their house for a week, figuring time with the Smoots would be about as close as I could get to God while trying to sort things out. It was an ideal sanctuary where I spent most of my time on their lanai, watching the lake behind their house and trusting that God was up to something special.

One day, I answered the door and met their neighbor, Frank. After he borrowed something from Paul and headed home, Ali told me that Frank was a Miami police officer and shared a little bit about his family. She and Paul had already been praying for them and their relationship with Jesus.

Fast forward to today.

About thirty people from The Pursuit family gathered around that very same lake this afternoon and watched Frank be baptized by Paul.

How amazing for Frank’s wife to know that he loves God so much. What an example for his two sons and daughter. What a testimony to the power of prayer.

Because God says so in His word, we trust that He works all things for good for those who love Him. That said, we may not always have the opportunity to see the good happen right before our eyes while still on this earth. Today, God gave Matt, me and the Smoots the thrill of getting a complete answer to so many questions about things that have transpired in lives over the past decade. Who knows what He’s up to that we don’t see!

I’m pretty ticked off at 500 people who live in Broward County.
I spent seven hours with them yesterday in a jury pool. I wanted to be there. They did not.

While I sat there so hoping to fulfill my civic duty of serving on a trial, allowing some defendant to get his or her fair day in court, everyone around me moaned and complained about having to be there and how awful it was the government made them do it.

And the scary thing is, I wouldn’t want some of them serving on a trial that would determine my fate! I mean, really … if you can’t follow simple instructions like “Don’t bring coffee into this room,” or “Don’t talk on your cell phone,” then how can you possibly interpret laws in a way to make a fair judgment on behalf of a defendant?

Yet, these are the people whose numbers kept being called while I sat and waited.

Perhaps God was protecting me. You see, I have an incredibly naïve and Polly-Anna perspective on life. Matt has denied my access to watching NBC Dateline because I end up in such a funk after watching it. Maybe the 27 trials in the Broward County courts yesterday were of such perverted and vile nature that God knew my brain couldn’t go there.

So, I’ll just have to settle for serving my civic duty when I go to vote in my first Broward County election on November 4. I hope my chads don’t hang.

Today’s reading in The Purpose Driven Life poses a question:

If I asked how you picture life, what image would come to your mind? That image is your life metaphor. … It’s your description of how life works and what you expect from it.

It says that some people view life as a roller coaster or puzzle, while others see it as a symphony, a journey, a dance or a circus.

I see life as a gigantic, page-turning novel. The plot gets juicier with each chapter, characters enter and exit sometimes before you decide if they’re good guys or bad guys, and there may be a few chapters that are a little slow and boring, but you’re compelled to keep on reading because you know that pause is just setting up the next big story line.

What about you? What image comes to mind when you picture life?

Evan just posted the highlights from one of the most original projects I’ve seen our Fishhook team lead (well done, Leah and team!) Besides just being a really cool event, I most appreciate what Evan said about it:

For Kingsway’s 35th Anniversary this was just one of many ways they celebrated. More than a stunt, or a clever piece of buzz marketing in their community, this big k logo is a living stone – a memorial to what God has done in this congregation in Avon, Indiana. Big. Fun. Memorable.

Check out the Big K. Is God leading you to bring people together to celebrate Him in big ways?

Though I know God has placed me in this location in the year 2008 for a specific reason, I sometimes wonder if I would have fit in better in centuries gone by.

I enjoy and appreciate modern conveniences, but I find myself longing for the world Jane Austen paints … women sipping tea and taking long walks with friends. The fast pace of progress has chiseled hard edges into the soft elegances of more genteel times.

Last week, my dear friend, Ali, and I stepped back in time and into the lobby of the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, FL – the oldest and most elegant area of Miami. You have to read this article to really appreciate this hotel, which was built in 1926.

Ali and I had a side lobby all to ourselves as we enjoyed afternoon tea next to antique birdcages and obnoxiously gigantic fireplaces that really serve no purpose in South Florida other than to be seen. As we enjoyed scones, finger sandwiches and petit fours, we pretended it was Ali’s dining room and this was a typical day in our life.

After several hours, we were brought back to reality by a group gathering for a corporate meeting in an adjoining conference room. To be candid, it was the obvious artwork of plastic surgeons that made us realize we were back in the 21st Century.

If you live in SoFlo, take a break from reality and indulge in some afternoon tea. If you live elsewhere and are in the midst of planning your winter visit to Mehaffey Bed and Breakfast, be sure to fit this treat into your vacation.

JD just posted the new photo of the Fishhook team on our Web site, and looking at it just wraps a smile completely around my ears.

These are some of my favorite people on earth. They’re scary smart — I’m so glad they use their powers for good. And, in the midst of the ultra-professional way they handle client work, not a single one of them takes him/herself too seriously.

Thanks to the magic of videoconferencing through Skype, I get to “see” most of them every week, despite the fact they are all 20 hours away.

What an incredible job I have! I can’t believe I get paid for this (but glad I do .

PS Tho she’s in the photo, Jenn was the photographer on this one. She has a FANTASTIC photo-artist eye. Check out her work here.

Matt and I are dusting off our copies of The Purpose Driven Life. This Sunday we launch the 40 Days of Purpose at The Pursuit.

When Traders Point went through the 40 DOP in 2003, I could walk into any Starbucks in Indy and see people reading The Purpose Driven Life at every table. Now if I was to tell someone up there I’m reading the book, they’d look at me like I said I just loaded a hymn onto my iPod.

I love how fresh things are down here. I’ve asked my a dozen or so Pursuit friends if they’ve read the book and they have no clue what I’m talking about. They don’t even know who Rick Warren is.

I can’t wait to see LIFE unfold in front of these peoples’ eyes. Over the next 40 days, God’s going to pour into them biblical principles about why He created them. This is going to be fun!

Even tho it’s 90 degrees outside, there will still be a pot of chili on our stove today. It’s the first official NFL Sunday … and in my mind that means the beginning of Fall.

This year, our Fantasy Football league has extended to two leagues, full of Pursuit peeps.

Here’s who’s representing The Fighting Peezers this year, ready to defend our league title:

QBs: Tom Brady, Philip Rivers, Kurt Warner
RBs: Joseph Addai, Edgerrin James, Willie Parker, Ryan Grand, DeAngelo Williams
WRs: Santonio Holmes, Andre Johnson, Donte Stallworth, Rodd White
TEs: Antonio Gates, Dustin Keller
K: Nick Folk
D/ST: Steelers

In 11 days, church communicators will converge on Oklahoma City at MinistryCOM, the biggest gathering of this uniquely gifted group of ministers.

Force Fishhook has been all a buzz preparing for the conference. We’re tying a bow on some great tools designed to spur church communicators on in their work, while also introducing Fishhook to those who might not know who we are or what we do:

Evan’s workshop will undoubtedly help you “Keep the Creativity Flowing.”

Leah’s workshop will challenge you to ask if your church’s “PR needs the ER.”

JD has given the Fishhook Web site a fresh look that he describes as “kitchy.”

I’m suppose to be finishing up some text for a company brochure. (The pressure of writing for my own peeps has me paralyzed a bit.)

And Jenn … well, I can’t tell you what Jenn is working on. But if you’re going to MinCOM, be sure to stop by the Fishhook booth to pick up our give-away. It will make you laugh out loud.

If you aren’t going to MinCOM, send us an email. I’ll see if we can drop one in the mail to you.

On a bus somewhere around Bowling Green, KY, my friends JD, Jeff and Jenn convinced me to get on my iPhone and sign up for Facebook.
I balked, thinking it was just another animal to feed. Now a year later, Facebook has become one of the top five Web sites I visit every day. Why?

1. Having moved 20 hours from a huge friend base in Indy, it maintains the umbilical cord to day-to-day life up there.

2. As I meet new friends in SoFlo, it gives me quick insights to their lives … and connects me to their friends around the world.

3. Now that Matt’s out of youth ministry, it gives me my daily dose of pop culture.

4. Preparing for my reunion, it caught me up on friends’ lives so my conversations at the reunion could go beyond “what have you been up to for the past 20 years?”

5. After losing touch with too many college friends, it has reconnected me with Kappa Delta sisters and fellow Hilltoppers who crack me up and make me smile.

6. Transcending multi-generational lines, it links me to an array of peeps from high school friend, Rachel, to “retired” TPCC sr. pastor Howard.

What annoys me about Facebook?

1. Matt has way more friends than I do.

2. I keep forgetting about my virtual dog, so other people have had to feed and play with him.