by David Docusen | June 2, 2009 | Uncategorized
Yesterday marked our one year anniversary of our final day on pastoral staff at Calvary in Orlando, FL. This was an amazing season of life for Dara and I. We got married during our time there, had three of our four children there, worked with teenagers and college students that changed our lives forever. We were a part of a staff of pastors that genuinely loved each other and believed in each other. Some of my best friends and closest relationships came from our 7 years at Calvary.
I can look back and see that God used this season of life to build a rock solid foundation for what we have done this past year. It has been one year + one day since we worked our last day for a guaranteed paycheck. The last 366 days have been an amazing walk of faith that we learned through so many experiences in Orlando.
I am so grateful that God prepared us before sending us out. We learned to surround ourselves with amazing people. We learned to open up our world to let others come in close. We learned to walk by faith. We learned to chase our dreams. All of these experiences are what we stand upon one year + one day later.
I am so blessed to be able to say that 366 days later, we’re still going. Thank God for our 7+ years at Calvary!
by David Docusen | May 30, 2009 | Uncategorized
If you have not checked out RELEVANT Magazine yet, you definitely need to take a look. RELEVANT covers God, life and progressive culture. It’s a great read for those of us who love God without turning a blind eye to the world around us. They have a great way of responding to what’s happening now and introducing us to what’s about to happen.
by David Docusen | May 28, 2009 | Uncategorized
I found myself this morning driving to Uptown Charlotte this morning to work. I am currently sitting in the Bank of America building at a Caribou Coffee (delicious) working on my message for this weekend at Hope and taking care of random details related to our move to Mallard Creek Elementary in a few weeks.
As I was walking the streets of Uptown this morning, I found myself not even knowing what to pray. Ever been there? There is so much going on right now. Moving the church. Mike’s wife, Denise, is still in the hospital with a sickness so confusing even the doctors are baffled. Preaching this weekend. Buying and selling tech equipment (as if I know anything about these areas). All of this while still believing for God to do amazing things in the future. Put all of that together and you have an overstuffed burrito of life.
The thought hit me as I was walking and praying in the Spirit: When you don’t know what to pray…PRAY.
The Bible encourages us in the first part of Ephesians 6:18 to “Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion.”
“At all times” even includes – I would say that it especially includes – the times that we do not know what to pray. When you are overwhelmed. When there’s too much. When the challenge is too big. When words fail.
I am encouraged today by the knowledge that I serve a God that allows me to come confidently before his throne to lay requests directly before him. There is warmth, love, care and interest from my God as I talk to him. He wants me to ask confidently for the things that I want or need. Even when I don’t know what to say.
When you don’t know what to pray…PRAY.
by David Docusen | May 26, 2009 | Uncategorized
I took Max (our 5 year old) to the NASCAR Coca Cola 600 yesterday. SO MUCH FUN! The race was scheduled for Sunday night, but was postponed due to rain. I had wanted to take him to the race because ever since he saw the Disney “Cars” movie his interest in racing skyrocketed. Every single week we sit on the lazy boy and watch a portion of the race together.
I was at Caribou yesterday morning making a delicious espresso based beverage for a couple that was all decked out on Dale Earnhardt Jr. gear and I started chatting with them about Max and his new racing interest. They went out to their car and grabbed two tickets and said “we don’t need these…you can have them.” So cool!
We shared some really special moments together just wandering around the track, getting soaked, laughing, talking and watching cars go almost 200 mph right in front of us (we were about 15 rows from the track right in front of pit road). Great day with my boy!
by David Docusen | May 25, 2009 | Uncategorized
Please be praying for our lead pastor, Mike Field, and his family. His wife, Denise, has been admitted to the hospital for the past couple of days. She has been dealing with what was presumed to be Multiple Sclerosis, but now they are completely confused. She had some sort of seizure over the weekend and now they are searching for answers.
God is completely faithful and able to heal Denise. Please pray for her healing, be it through a divine miracle or the wisdom of doctors. If you want to stay up to date with the latest news, you can follow Pastor Mike’s blog.
