Christopher Laurie, son of Pastor Greg Laurie and Cathe Laurie, was called home to be with the Lord on Thursday morning.
Christopher, 33, died in a car crash while driving to Harvest Christian Fellowship, where he had served as the church's art director for the past three years.
In addition to his parents, Christopher is survived by his wife, Brittany, and daughter, Stella, as well as his brother Jonathan. Christopher and his wife are expecting another daughter in November.
More information will be posted at harvest.org as details become available.
We ask that you pray for the Laurie family in this time of mourning. You may pass along your condolences and thoughts for the Laurie family by posting a comment at Pastor Greg's blog.
A Silly Grandfather and God's Love Curtis K. Shelburne Jul 24 2008 09:30AM
Brenley Shay Shelburne is now almost a week old. Yes, this proud father of four sons is now the beaming grandfather of TWO beautiful little girls. Amazing!
It’s too early to tell, but I’m pretty sure little Brenley has come on the scene GPS-equipped just like her little now 18-month-old cousin Brylan.Brylan just crawls into Paw Paw’s arms, points, and the Grandpa Positioning System is automatically and immediately engaged. Paw Paw goes wherever she points.
Grandfatherhood is an interesting and wonderful stage of life. I’ve noticed that I’m talking to myself more these days. When no one’s around, I catch myself saying aloud in Brylan-like tones, “Paw Paw! Paw Paw!” just to hear it.
Brylan dances about, all the while singing/chanting the names of people she loves. Her names for her four grandparents figure in prominently. I’m tempted to list those for you. (The amazingly advanced child has chosen four distinct names.) But were I to list them in any kind of order, I’d undoubtedly be in trouble with three of my grandparenting colleagues.
Now I find myself doing the same thing. Chanting, that is.We’re driving down the road to go see the little girls, and out of my mouth I hear flowing a little repetitive chant, “Brylan, Brenley, Paw Paw; Brenley, Brylan, Paw Paw . . .” You get the idea.
Yes, I know. Unless you’re a grandparent, the silliness of all this gets a little nauseating. But grandparents understand.
Brylan’s daddy (once known as Jeff), just shakes his head. “It’s weird!” he says in astonishment. “When Dad turned into a grandfather, he regressed about 30 years.”
“Regress” isn’t the word I’d have chosen. But grandparenthood does indeed turn back the clock a bunch of years and relieve you of a good deal of stodginess, a burden it’s good to get rid of anyway. It had been too long since I lay on my back in the grass and watched the clouds roll by. Brylan and I recently fixed that deficiency.
And Brenley? That little beauty wasn’t aboard more than ten minutes until she had me wrapped around her little finger, too. The most wonderful thing in the world may be to sit back in a recliner with your little grandchild napping on your chest. A little sleepy and contented coo from her is worth more to me than anything ever written on a check.
Rocking our newest little girl, I found myself again just gazing at her beautiful face. She is little and weak and helpless, completely unable to do or make anything to trade for wealth, impress the powerful, or prove her worth.
But she is deeply loved. Helpless and small though she may be, her “value” in my book is incalculable—just like God’s love for his unimaginably weaker and smaller children, you and me. Our Father looks at us with eyes filled to overflowing with love. He could not possibly love us more, and he will never choose to love us less.
Copyright 2008 by Curtis K. Shelburne. Permission to copy without altering text or profiteering is hereby granted subject to inclusion of this copyright notice.
Matt is a young man who wanted to see the world. He decided to keep his family and friends posted as to his whereabouts by making videos of himself as he went. His videos were always the same. He would find a picturesque setting and proceed to DANCE IN IT!
Eventually Matt's videos were seen by more and more people throughout the world. He even began receiving emails from many of them, and the request was always the same. "If you're ever in my part of the world again, can I dance with you? And, of course, Matt said, "yes.""
What follows is the video that came from that, and it got me to thinking. What if our Christian walk/DANCE with the Lord was so appealing, so joy and love-filled that others wanted to dance with us too. What a wonderful difference that would make! After all, love is a universal language, everyone speaks it! Right?
So, my question to all of us is, "How's Our Dance?" Perhaps we need to practice it more and More and MORE until the world becomes desirous of, not only the rhythm of our step, but of the Lord of our dance as well!
SO, WHAT DO YOU THINK?
SHALL WE DANCE?
Linda
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlfKdbWwruY
Dance On Your Giant Bring Satan Defeat Dance Into Victory Win Wars With Your Feet!
The Lord of the Dance
I danced in the morning when the world was young I danced in the moon, the stars and the sun I came down from heaven and I danced on earth At Bethlehem I had my birth
Chorus Dance, dance, wherever you may be I am the Lord of the dance said he And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be And I lead you all in the dance said he
I danced for the scribe and for the Pharisee They would not dance, they would not follow me So I danced for the fishermen James and John Came with me and the dance went on
Chorus
I danced on the Sabbath an I cured the lame The holy people said it was a shame They whipped and they stripped and they hung me high Left me there on the cross to die
Chorus
I danced on a Friday when the world turned black It's hard to dance with the devil in your back They buried my body they thought I'd gone But I am the dance and I still go on
Chorus
They cut me down but I leapt up high I am the life that will never never die And I'll live in you if you'll live in me I am the Lord of the dance said he
Zola Levitt discovered an amazing correlation between the Seven Feasts of the Lord and the gestation of a human baby, from conception to birth. While preparing for writing a book for new parents, Zola contacted a gynecologist for some help in understanding gestation.
During that session, the gynecologist showed him a series of pictures, pointed to the first one (an egg and a sperm) and said, "On the fourteenth day of the first month, the egg appears." The statement struck a chord in his Jewish mind because that was the date of Passover. He remembered the roasted egg on his family table every Passover. Now, for the first time, he knew what it meant! Not wanting to lead the gynecologist off from the subject at hand, but he didn’t say anything, but continued to listen.
The gynecologist continued: "The egg must be fertilized within 24 hours, or it will pass on." This reminded Zola of the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the seed or grain that "fell into the ground and died" in order to produce a harvest, the firstfruits of which was presented to God.
Next, the gynecologist said, "Within two to six days, the fertilized egg attaches itself to the wall of the womb and begins to grow." And, sure enough, the Jewish evangelist thought, "The Feast of Firstfruits is observed anywhere from two to six days after Passover!"
Next, he was shown a photo of an embryo showing arms, hands, fingers, legs, feet, toes, a head, eyes, etc. The caption said, "Fifty days." The gynecologist continued, "Around the fiftieth day, the embryo takes on the form of a human being. Until then, we don’t know if we have a duck or a tadpole." Zola thought, "That Pentecost!"
The next picture showed the embryo at seven months. The gynecologist said, "On the first day of the seventh month, the baby’s hearing is developed. For the first time, it can hear and distinguish sounds outside the womb." Zola knew that was the date for the Jewish Festival of Trumpets.
The gynecologist continued, "On the tenth day of the seventh month, the hemoglobin of the blood changes from that of the mother, to a self-sustaining baby." Zola thought, "That’s the Day of Atonement, when the blood was taken into the Holy of holies!"
Next, the gynecologist said, "On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, the lungs become fully developed. If born before then, the baby would have had very difficult time breathing." And Zola thought, "That’s the festival of Tabernacles, a time of celebrating the Temple, home of the Shekinah glory or Spirit of God." In the New Testament, the Greek term pneuma, normally translated as "breath," is applied to the "Holy Spirit."
Birth takes place on the tenth day of the ninth month. Eight days after birth, in Jewish families, a son is circumcised. Zola noted that the eight days of Hanukkah are celebrated right on schedule, nine months and ten days after Passover.
No human being could have understood the gestation period 3,500 years ago. The establishment of the Seven Feasts of the Lord was given to Moses by the Lord Himself. Its correlation with the human gestation period is not only remarkable; it proves "Intelligent Design." It proves that there is a Creator God that guides the affairs of man
A seminary professor was vacationing with his wife in Gatlinburg, TN. One morning, they were eating breakfast at a little restaurant, hoping to enjoy a quiet, family meal. While they were waiting for their food, they noticed a distinguished looking, white-haired man moving from table to table, visiting with the guests. The professor leaned over and whispered to his wife, "I hope he doesn't come over here." But sure enough, the man did come over to their table.
"Where are you folks from?" he asked in a friendly voice.
"Oklahoma," they answered.
"Great to have you here in Tennessee" the stranger said. "What do you do for a living?"
"I teach at a seminary," he replied.
"Oh, so you teach preachers how to preach, do you? Well, I've got a really great story for you." And with that, the gentleman pulled up a chair and sat down at the table with the couple.
The professor groaned and thought to himself, "Great . . . Just what I need another preacher story!"
The man started, "See that mountain over there? (pointing out the restaurant window). Not far from the base of that mountain, there was a boy born to an unwed mother. He had a hard time growing up, because every place he went, he was always asked the same question, 'Hey boy, who's your daddy? "Whether he was at school, in the grocery store or drug store, people would ask the same question, 'Who's your daddy?' He would hide at recess and lunch time from other students. He would avoid going in to stores because that question hurt him so bad.
"When he was about 12 years old, a new preacher came to his church. He would always go in late and slip out early to avoid hearing the question, 'Who's your daddy?'. But one day, the new preacher said the benediction so fast he got caught and had to walk out with the crowd. Just about the time he got to the back door, the new preacher, not knowing anything about him, put his hand on his shoulder and asked him, 'Son, who's your daddy?'
"The whole church got deathly quiet. He could feel every eye in the church looking at him. Now everyone would finally know the answer to the question, "Who's your daddy'.
This new preacher, though, sensed the situation around him and using discernment that only the Holy Spirit could give, said the following to that scared little boy..."'Wait a minute! he said, "I know who you are, I see the family resemblance now." "You are a child of God." With that he patted the boy on his shoulder, and said, "Boy, you've got a great inheritance, go and claim it." With that, the boy smiled for the first time in a long time and walked out the door a changed person.
He was never the same again. Whenever anybody asked him, 'Who's your Daddy?' he'd just tell them, "I'm a Child of God'." The distinguished gentleman got up from the table and said, "Isn't that a great story?"
The professor responded that it really was a great story!
As the man turned to leave, he said, "You know, if that new preacher hadn't told me that I was one of God's children, I probably never would have amounted to anything!" And he walked away.
The seminary professor and his wife were stunned. He called the waitress over and asked her, "Do you know who that man was who just left that was sitting at our table?"
The waitress grinned and said, "Of course, everybody here knows him. That's Ben Hooper. He's the former governor of Tennessee!"
You ask why I follow this Jesus? Why I love Him the way I do? When the world's turned away from His teachings And the people who serve Him are few.
It's not the rewards I'm after Or gifts that I hope to receive It's the Presence that calls for commitment It's the Spirit I trust and believe.
The Lord doesn't shelter His faithful Or spare them all suffering and pain, Like everyone else I have burdens, And walk through my share of rain.
Yet He gives me a plan and a purpose, And that joy only Christians have known, I never know what comes tomorrow, But I do know I'm never alone.
It's the love always there when you need it; It's the words that redeem and inspire, It's the longing to ever be with Him That burns in my heart like a fire.
So you ask why I love my Lord Jesus? Well, friend, that's so easy to see, But the one thing that fills me with wonder is Why Jesus loves someone like me.
WHAT GOD HAS EVER DONE FOR ME Contributed by Melanie Schurr Jul 21 2008 05:00AM
"What has God ever done for me?" grumbled an angry twenty-three year old man named Victor. "I mean, why should I believe this so-called God guy loves me as you say He does when He hasn't done anything to help me or my life?!"
"Oh?" said his uncle sitting next to him on the bus. "What do you feel has gone wrong in your life that God caused?" he continued.
Victor snapped, "I didn't say God caused it, but He sure didn't do anything to help me out! I had to deal with some pretty bad things all on my own, and, no thanks to Him, I fixed them all on my own too!"
His uncle nodded slightly and replied, "I assume you are referring to the hard time you began having when you got involved in street drugs and heavy drinking?"
"That's part of it," responded Victor as he glared out the bus window.
His uncle turned to look at him, and then said, "Did your parent's teach you, or tell you to get involved with these dangerous substances that can affect how you think and behave?"
"Of course not!" snapped Victor.
"I'm guessing they tried warning you, but you chose not to obey, correct?" responded his uncle as he straightened himself out in his seat. He continued, "And they probably taught you the importance of eating right, taking care of your health, staying close to God, and being careful about the friends you chose, right?"
Victor hesitated, then angrily replied, "Alright!, They were MY choices, not my parent's! I take full responsibility for my actions!"
Victor's uncle again turned to look at him, then quickly replied, "Do you? About everything?"
Victor looked puzzled. "What are you talking about?"
His uncle straightened his back one more time, and replied, "Do you also take responsibility for the fact it was YOU who turned your back on God? You keep asking what has God done for you, but it would seem to me that the question really is, what have YOU done for God lately?"
Victor immediately snapped at his uncle, "Hey, I prayed out to God a few times to make all the bad things go away, but He didn't!"
His uncle nodded, reached for Victor's hand, and said, "He (God) didn't, or YOU didn't?"
Victor quickly replied, "I kept on drinking, doing drugs, being disrespectful to my family, and other things I probably shouldn't have, but God could have stopped me, made all the bad things go away, and He didn't! He ignored me, or maybe He doesn't even exist at all so that's why He did nothing!"
As he held his nephew's hand, Victor's uncle calmly responded, "Victor, God is not a puppet master who pulls our strings so we will do what He wants us to do. He loves us so much that He gave us free-will. Even though you may have wanted God to take all the bad things away, your actions and choices revealed that you really didn't want anything to change. How do I know that? Because isn't it true you kept on drinking, taking drugs, and being disrespectful to your family?"
Victor was at a loss for words.
"Words are often shallow, Victor. It is our actions which prove what is really in our heart. What do you think your actions have showed God? Have they showed Him you love Him and want to be close to Him; that you want Him to be Lord of your life? Or, do they show Him that you want to ignore His commands, and remain in the lifestyle you have been living, and only call on Him when the going gets tough?"
The look on Victor's face began to change. The anger and resentment he had been holding in so long toward his family and God suddenly seemed to melt away. "I guess I had been blaming my parents and God, when I should have been blaming my self," he said quietly. Real life application: Many people blame God for what they themselves have chosen. We must remember, when we choose the action, we also choose the consequence.
As a loving Heavenly Father, God wants the best for us, and He is willing and able to deliver us from even the most dire circumstances. However, we need to also want it for ourselves, not just through lip-service, but through word AND deed.
Contributed by Melanie Schurr (Copyright (c)2005 Melanie Schurr) Melanie Schurr is author of "Ecstatic Living: A Christian marriage manual and Life-guide", "Son Salutations" and "Daily Contemplations" , a collection of read-one-a-day modern inspirations.
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Hi Precious 
of God:
