DAN GOULD

FROM THE INSIDE OUT

Author: dgould77

  • Tractor Rides, The Farm, Christmas Gifts, B-Day Cake

    One of the things that has become a tradition for Josiah when we visit Nana and Papa’s house is to go on a tractor ride with Papa.  Today, he got to do that; and boy was he excited.  Also one of the things that has become a tradition for all of us now has been going to the farm and having Great Papa give us a ride behind his big tractor.

    Today we did things a little different!  Instead of being pulled behind a tractor, we just piled in the back of Great Papa’s pickup and went for a ride through the farm.  Both boys had so much fun and Stephanie’s Grandfather loves to do it.  We saw cows, drove through the creek, went past the old barn, and saw more cows. Doesn’t sound like much, but the fact that the family was all together and the boys loved it, made it so worth it!!!  To top it off, the weather wasn’t to bad either, it has been colder!!!

    Afterward, we all came back to the house for some good ole BBQ Pork Steak!!!!  It was so good!  The night was capped off with Christmas Gifts for the boys.  Nana and Papa said, since this is the only time we will all be together lets do it tonight.  However, Nana said something about coming to Texas over Christmas.  After the opening of gifts, we celebrated Rachel’s Birthday with an Ice Cream B-Day Cake.  It was sooooo good, and I don’t even like ice cream that much!

    Today was a lot of fun. Here are some pics of our adventure.

  • Nana and Papa’s

    We made it!!!  After eating a ton of food, playing with, better yet, being worked over by kids, and getting my rear kicked by my nephew in Madden 09 football, we packed up, left Nixa and headed for Salem MO.  We got in at about 8:15 last night.  Some exciting news . . . we bought gas last night for $1.57 and saw it for $1.41 on our way here!  We are excited to be here and will celebrate another Thanksgiving feast on Saturday.

    Here are some pics from yesterday:

  • Acts 2:14-40

    “Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what should we do?

    38 Peter replied, ‘Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 This promise is to you, and to your children, and even to the Gentiles[f]—all who have been called by the Lord our God.” 40 Then Peter continued preaching for a long time, strongly urging all his listeners, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation!’” v. 37-40

    After Peter’s powerful, Spirit-filled message, the people were deeply moved and asked, “what should we do?”  This is the basic question we must ask.  It is not enough to be sorry for our sins.  We must repent ask God to forgive us, and then live like forgiven people.  Has God spoken to you through His Word or through the words of another believer?  Like Peter’s audience, ask God what you should do and then obey. – NLT Life Application Study Bible

    Peters first Sermon was powerful.  Why? The truth was told, people were convected of Sin and responded with repentance, and many about 3,000 are baptised and added to the church that day.  The Gospel is so powerful!  How are you responding to it?

  • Chinese Food, Jump Mania, and The Mall

    We slept in, haven’t done that in awhile but it was so nice!!!  On the agenda today was Chinese food, Jump Mania, and the Mall.  Yes, we can’t seem to go to any town with out visiting a Mall.

    So we accomplished all of these things however, the Chinese place that I was craving apparently was having a bad day.  As we walked in a guy told us that the food wasn’t very good today that he eats here all the time but today it made him sick and he was getting his money back.  Whether the story was true or not, we left and went to a different Chines place.  I was so excited until I got there.  They had a great Buffet but the Cashew Chicken wasn’t the kind I was craving.  So needless to say, I didn’t get my Springfield style Cashew Chicken that I am still craving.

    From eating Chinese we went to Jump Mania.  A place a Larry Stehr, one of my former teachers in College and Youth Ministry friend recommended.  It was so much fun and it only cost us $5.00.  Both boys had a blast and Stephanie and I were able to play with them.  I must say, that it wore me out.  I have a feeling I am going to be sore tomorrow.

    From there we went to Battlefield Mall, a place I know all to well.  It’s the only real Mall in Springfield.  It was nice just to walk around without an agenda or time frame.  The only problem . . . my wife decided to close the Mall down.  Yes we were there for 5 hours.  Jackson was soooo good, and Josiah, well he wanted to go home with Grandma Sheila after Jump Mania, so it was just the three of us.  Maybe that’s why we were there for 5 hours.

    So tomorrow will be our last day here at Grandma Sheila’s.  We will have our big Thanksgiving Day meal and then leave early evening for Nana and Papa’s.  It’s only a 2 hour drive but its not very entertaining.  Here are some pics from today.

  • Acts 2:1-13

    “On the day of Pentecost[a] all the believers were meeting together in one place. 2 Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. 3 Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. 4 And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages,[b] as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.” v. 1-4

    What am awesome experience!  Have you ever been in a place where you knew God was?  This is that moment that Jesus, and the prophets have talked about, one that the disciples were told to wait for, and now, as promised, the Holy Spirit came and came with power like a mighty roaring wind. The Holy Spirit empowered the believers to do something they could not do on their own.  In this case, to specifically speak in other languages (tongues).  The believers were able to share the Gospel with all that were gathered and did gather because of this event.  Many people believed this day, while others walked away saying that those people must be drunk!  They totally missed what God was doing in their midst.

    Why did the Spirit come in this way?  Does the Spirit always come in this way? Here are some answers:

    Why tongues of Fire? Tongues symbolize speech and the communication of the Gospel (Good News).  Fire symbolizes God’s purifying presence, which burns away the undesirable elements of our lives and sets our hearts aflame to ignite the lives o others.  On Mount Sinai, God confirmed the validity of the Old Testament law with fire from Heaven (Exodus 19:16-18).  At Pentecost, God confirmed the validity of the Holy Spirit’s ministry by sending fire.  At Mount Sinai, fire came down on one place; at Pentecost, fire came down on many believers symbolizing that God’s presence is available to all who believe in Him.

    God made his presence known to this group in a spectacular way – roaring wind, fire, and his Holy Spirit.  However, God doesn’t always reveal Himself in this way. Be very cautious of thinking this is the only way God reveals Himself.  Elijah experienced a great wind, and earthquake, and finally fire, but God’s message wasn’t in any of those things!  Gods message came in a gentle whisper.  God may use dramatic methods to work in your life – or He may simply speak in a gentle whisper.  The key is to know when and how God is speaking and listen!     -NLT Life Application Study Bible

  • It’s Quiet . . . until tomorrow!!!!!

    WOW, my sister and her entourage of 5 kids just left.  Having that many kids in my mothers house, that is not child proof, was very challenging.  3 of the 7 kids are under 2 and all of them are under 10.  This is why I work with teenagers!!!  Anyhow we did have fun!  We played in the leaves, bowled, played hide and seek, got in trouble, ate some chicken noodle soup, all while making as much noise as we could.  As I sat and ate my soup I felt like i was on an episode of Super Nanny with Jo walking in at any minute!  Both Jackson and Josiah had fun playing with their cousins.  Tomorrow sounds like we do it all again.  Here are some pic’s from tonight!

  • The Gould Invasion has begun!!!

    Well after getting a later start than we wanted too we left McKinney last night at 7:15 and arrived at my moms house (AKA – Grandma Sheila) at 2:30 am. The boys slept most of the way, and of coarse when we got here, they both woke up and didn’t want to go back to sleep.  I think everyone finally fell asleep around 3:30am.

    So today, we tried to sleep as long as Jackson would let us, but both boys decided that both Steph and I needed to be up a 7 this morning.  So needless to say, neither of us got much sleep.  However, today was a good day with the family.  This morning I hooked the router up to my mothers cpu so we could have Internet, a process that took much longer than it should have.  But we have connection now, thanks to the AT@T service guy.

    When we come to Springfield there are always three places we want to eat,

    1. Mexican Villa – my favorite Mexican Restaurant
    2. Lamberts – Just plain good food and family fun, if you can catch a roll being hurled your way!
    3. Chinese Food – Springfield style – It’s much different in Springfield than anywhere else in the Nation, I promise!!!!  I miss it so much!

    Today for lunch we ate at Mexican Villa.  This place is like no other Mexican restaurant I have been too.  If you know me, you know I don’t like Mexican food; but this is one place that is to good to pass up.  Grandma Shelia joined us for chips and salsa and my favorite dish a Sancho enchilada!  It’s so good.

    Tonight my sister and her 5 kids are coming over for dinner.  Stephanie is making her famous Chicken Noodle Soup.  My favorite.  I am sure its going to be a fun evening, especially since there will be 3 kids under 2.  I’ll let you know tomorrow if we survived!

    Here are three pictures so far.  The room all of us are staying in while at my mothers house, my plate at lunch and Stephanie posing with her plate at lunch.

  • Weekend Review

    giveThis weekend we started a new series called the big give.  Kinda stole the idea from Oprah.  My wife and I caught a couple of episodes of the show and as I watched I couldn’t help but think how students could get involved in something like this that allows them to see a need and meet a need. This weekend I challenged the student to do these three things

    What is required to get involved in the Big Give!

    1. You have to DREAM BIG!
    2. You have to LIVE BIG!
    3. You have to SERVE BIG!

    We will have some organized opportunities for students to get involved with but the general idea of the series is to look at the needs around us and to get involved.  This week we talked about Gifts of Grace.

    This is how Gifts of Grace- Toys for East Plano was started and where I need your help blog land:-) Please, Please help a child in need. All you have to do is 3 simple steps!!

    1. Cut out a tag provided on this pdf file.

    2. Purchase a toy.

    3. Mail your NEW toy with a securely attached tag by Nov. 30th to:

    Grace Community Church
    Att: Toys for East Plano
    4501 Hedgcoxe Road
    Plano, Texas 75024

    OR drop it by the Church on Dec. 7th.

    **Please mail gifts by November 30th
    You may send wrapped or unwrapped toys as long as you include a tag.

    Our goal is to provide 800 Toys for this community need. Please help us reach our goal and make a difference in a child’s life!

    For more information about participating churches please visit: www.findgrace.org and www.willowcreekfellowship.us

  • Acts 1:12-26

    “So now we must choose a replacement for Judas from among the men who were with us the entire time we were traveling with the Lord Jesus—from the time he was baptized by John until the day he was taken from us. Whoever is chosen will join us as a witness of Jesus’ resurrection.” v 21-22

    Peter, who Jesus called the rock, steps out as the leader of the approximate 120 believers to address the issue of finding a replacement for Judas.  Judas betrayed Jesus as the scripture prophesied would happen, but scripture also said that someone would have to replace him.  So, Peter actually leads the first Church Business meeting stating the standards of the new apostle and taking a vote.  Matthias was chosen and I am sure they fellowshiped with food afterward.

    This may not seem important but it really is.  Notice how small the gathering of believers was.  We are talking about 120 people, who had a love for Christ, lets be honest, some probably more than others, but they still gathered together in unity.  This is the group that spent the most time with Jesus.  This is the group that would take the Gospel to the ends of the earth.  We are believers today, because this group didn’t drop the ball, they didn’t give into the pressures of this world, they remained faithful to Christ by carrying the Gospel to others.

    The Question – Who will be believers tomorrow because of your impact today? Let’s not forget the responsibility we have as Christ Followers!

  • Guys and Paintball

    xpaintballlogo1Today I joined a group of 8th and 9th grade boys, with three adult leaders, in an afternoon of paintball.  It was cold enough that we had enough layers on that when we got shot it didn’t hurt.  The place we played is probably the best paintball field this novice has ever played on.  It was a lot of fun.

    I think the highlight for me was hearing one of our boys talk about how “he was a better paintball player than he thought!”  He wasn’t saying this with pride but with growth.  Growth of overcoming a fear and gaining some confidence.  This is the same guys who said before we started that he is usually is one of the last ones left on his team and last time when he was the last one he surrendered so he didn’t get shot!  Anytime you get to hangout with students in a different environment you learn a lot about them.  I really enjoyed getting to know Cameron better as well as the other guys!  We had a great time!  Makes me appreciate even more what our troops do to secure and maintain our freedom!