I’ve Seen London, I’ve Seen France…

 

Last week Tracy and I had the incredible opportunity to travel to London, England with some great friends of ours.  Hillsong Church of London was holding their annual women’s Colour Conference so Tracy went with Delynn Rizzo, Shari Melara, and Laura Domingue, and all the husbands got to “chaperone” our wives.   During the week we connected with Priscilla and Jerry Shirer…what cool people they are!  And of course Nick and Chris Caine from Australia.  While the girls were in conference all day for 3 days, us guys got to do some serious shopping and incredible site seeing.  The London Eye, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, and Westminster Abbey were just a couple of things we saw.  Selfridges, Harvey Nichols, Zara’s, and Harrods are the places that eagerly took our money. (the exchange rate from US $$ to UK pounds is horrible!).  Then on the last day we took a day trip to Paris, France via the Euro-Star Chunnel Train….180mph.  That was pretty cool!  We visited the Eiffel Tower, Arc De Triomphe and strolled down Champs Elysees. 

Mercy, HPC, LSU

This last week was a pretty busy one.  On Thursday Mercy Ministries held their 25th Anniversary Gala.  I had the privilege of co-emceeing the banquet with Shelly Breen of the Christian singing group Point Of Grace.  It was an awesome night and an incredible fundraiser for a phenomenal ministry, started by Nancy Alcorn.  On Friday morning, me, Kirkland, and  Eddie Johnson, Billy McCarthy, and Bruce Brady of Cumberland Church in Franklin, traveled to Baton Rouge, La to attend Healing Place Church’s first ever men’s conference. Upon arrival, we had lunch with a great friend of mine, Julio Melara, a business leader, teacher and man of God.  From there we headed to the LSU Football Facility…WOW!  Wish we could have had that when I was there. Then finally to HPC for the conference.  I had the opportunity to share a word, then my testimony to the nearly 600 men who were in attendance.  I was followed by former Colorado Buffalo coach, Bill McCartney.  On Saturday, Joel A’bell of Hillsong Church in Sydney, Australia spoke, followed by Zhenya Kasevich of Hillsong Kiev.  It was an awesome two days of Godly teaching and manly fellowship.  The entire weekend was topped off with a trip to Leesville, Louisiana to spend time with my parents, brothers, nieces and nephew.

Other Things We Did in Hawaii

Besides the NLFPA meetings, the family did a few really cool things while we were there.  We went to the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor…this may be the most reverent place I have ever been in my life!  We also went to the Bishop Museum and the Polynesian Cultural Center while in Oahu.  One place I always go when in Ohau is a local dive called Hannarra’s in Waianae, man you talk about the best blue berry pancakes and awesome fried rice omelets!  Once in Maui, most of the time was spent at the hotel because of our meetings, but me and the kids did some snorkeling in Makena.

NFL Players Association

 

 We have been in Maui for the last several days attending the annual NFL Players Association meetings.  This was a significant year in that our president had to step down due to retirement as well as 2 other executive committee members.  It’s funny how God works in our lives, sometimes putting us in places we had no intention of being.  This week I came to Maui believing it would be my last trip as a board member, only because I thought it might be time to step away.  Well wouldn’t you know it, during the week God worked on my heart, and after much counsel and extreme prayer, I decided to stay on as an executive committee member.  However, by the day of the elections I had a conviction in my heart that, if nominated for the president position, I would accept.  I got nominated and elected, and now I am the president of the NFLPA!  WOW!  I feel so insignificant and under prepared, but I do believe that where I am not capable is where God will fill in the gaps!  This has been an amazing journey for me and the family, and we will continue to look to the Lord for guidance, wisdom, and knowledge.

Calvary Baptist Church, Murfreesboro, Tn

Calvary Baptist Church, Mens Sportsmen’s Banquet

A couple of weeks ago I had the honor of speaking at a church in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.  I spoke at their annual mens sportsmen’s banquet.  The theme was cammo, hunting, and all things male.  It was a great time made even more so by the fact that my son, Kirkland, was there.  Anyways this just came up on the internet about that evening and I wanted to share it with you. 

Baptism at PAO

The previous post talked of the PAO conference Tracy and I attended with other couples from around the NFL.  Part of the excitement of PAO is seeing people experience life changes through the Holy Spirit.  An example of just that took place while in Ft. Worth.  A young couple, after hearing the message of salvation throughout the conference, accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior.  Led in their prayer of salvation by Erwin McManus, they then decided to be baptized as an outward expression of their newly committed faith.  We, along with their teammates, and others in attendance had the honor and privilege of being a part of their baptism and celebration of  a new life.  Attached here is a slideshow of their baptism.  

Dallas, Jesus, and the NFL

 

 

What do Dallas, Jesus, and the NFL have in common?  NO!  NOT THE COWBOYS….I think they just ran out of money when they built the Dallas Stadium!  This past week Tracy and I joined nearly 140 other couples in Dallas (Actually somewhere far west of Dallas and outside of Ft. Worth), for 3 days of worship, teaching, and fellowship.  We attended the annual Pro Athletes Outreach conference with players from around the NFL.  We had the opportunity to hear two awesome speakers in Dr. Voddie Baucham and Erwin McManus.  They taught on relationships, marriage, evangelism, and much more. Tracy and I never come away without learning something about ourselves, each other, and God’s greater purpose for our life, our family and our marriage.  What a way to refresh and renew after a long season!  

What is our life like on the farm?

We are so busy during the NFL season there really isn’t a bunch of time for us to do a whole lot.  However, once the season is over sometimes we have to find things to do, and living on 19 acres offers a lot of choices.  Last week we dug some wood/lumber out of the shop, grabbed a box of nails, and began building a “fort” for the kids.  Of course the kids “helped”, but we know who is really doing all the work! I will post pics and another post once our project is done…in the mean time, during a break from the construction process, we decided to to a little goat wrangling.  The goats are the coolest animals and a lot of fun to be around.  The white one is Pepper, the brown one is Jay, and Bachelor is the black one.  The kids like to “ride” the goats, but catching Bachelor is difficult at times.  Kirkland got bucked, Pepper and Jay didn’t make it interesting enough, but Bachelor can put up a good fight.  Here are a few pics from down on the farm. Pepper going for a ride,  Goats stripping tree branches, Abbye Kirkland and Bachelor

Natchez Trace Parkway

 

A few days ago the kids and I took a little drive down the Natchez Trace Parkway which runs from Nashville all the way to Tupelo, Mississippi.  It’s a scenic 2 lane road, that if you are in any kind of a hurry, stay away from!  The Natchez Trace Bridge spans the Murfreesboro Highway as it leads into Franklin, the town we live in.  Anyways, here’s a couple of pics of the kids on the Natchez Trail.  Kids at Natchez Trace Bridge ,  Kids in Natchez Parkway

New Jersey Baptism

On Friday night, after our miserable day in the woods, we had the blessing of being a part of Dave Szott’s son’s baptism.  The awesome part of this is that Shane is 13 years old, with special needs.  He is an amazing kid with a heart for Jesus.  To watch him worship the Lord with enthusiasm during the  service was a sight to see.  Everyone could take a lesson from him in unashamed worship…it was awesome!  Check out these pics from that night!  Dave baptizing,  Shane at his baptism, Kirkland and Josh Szott (Shane’s Brother),