Dan Gould

Author: dgould77

  • Cali – Day 2

    Awesome weather, sunburned forehead, great friendships, and lots of laughter would be words that would describe today.  Spent the morning at Hunnington Beach.  Walked around Main Street and the Pier.  Watched surfers and beach volleyball.  The sign said the water temp was 60 degrees.  No wonder they wear wetsuits.

    The Gathering officially started today with lunch at In-N-Out Burger then dinner at the Fields house!  It’s  it so good to see friends, catch up on life and ministry, as well as meet the newbies, people that haven’t been to the gathering before!  Looking forward to a great week!  Here are some pics from today!

  • Cali – Day 1

    We landed in the OC Sunday night at about 8:00pm with really no plans but to get our car and find our hotel.  While waiting at the rental car, we got upgraded to a convertable because they didn’t have any of the premium cars on the lot.  Way cool!  So needless to say we had a great time Monday driving with the top down in So-Cal.

    It was fun just to hangout with Stephanie, kinda weird not having kids with us, but we really enjoyed the time.  We spent most of the morning at the Irvine Spectrum, since it was rainy, ate lunch at PF Chang’s, then headed to Laguna Beach.  The sun came out and we took some pics and just relaxed.  It was so nice.  That evening we went to The Cliff’s for dinner and literally had an ocean view as we ate and watched the Sunset over the ocean.  What a great first day.  Here are some pics.

  • Matthew 21:1-17

    The entire city of Jerusalem was in an uproar as he entered. “Who is this?” they asked.  11 And the crowds replied, “It’s Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.” v.10-11

    As Jesus entered the town on a donkey, the crowd covered the road with garments and palm branches.  Many people came to see what was going on and asking “Who is this?” the crowds responded with this answer, ‘It’s Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee”

    Some knew who Jesus was and others didn’t, regardless, Jesus was drawing a crowd and He still does today.  People flock to churches and other places to hear about Jesus to see if they can believe.  When someone asks you Who Jesus is, how do you respond?  Our response could lead them to a relationship with the Jesus.

  • DVR has spoiled me!

    I am sitting in the hotel room watching sports center and there are so many times I want to rewind it but can’t.  I even find myself doing that while I am listening to the radio in my Jeep.  I’ll hear something and want to rewind it but can’t.  I even find myself looking for the rewind button on my radio receiver.  Anyone else struggle with that?

  • John 12:1-11

    When I read this passage I cant help but think of this song by CeCe Winans.  It really captures the passage!

    How do you respond to Jesus and show your gratitude?  Today, I encourage you to spend some time with God and thank Him for all the blessings He has given you.

  • Change . . . It has to happen

    Like I said yesterday, I’ve been thinking a lot about some of the simple changes that can be made in my personal life that can lead to living healthier and longer.  It’s ironic that we are talking about developing spiritual habits on the weekends with our students and today I am talking about changing some habits in my personal life.  Here are the four areas that I want to change in order to have a healthier, longer life:

    1. Sleeping Habits – I have been bad about not getting enough sleep at night.  I typically go to bed late and get up early averaging about 5.5 hours of sleep.  I am going to try to add 2 hours of sleep each night.  This shouldn’t be too hard, I just need to go to bed and hour early and then allow myself to sleep in an hour later.  That sounds pretty easy but I am sure it will have challenges.  I guess the other option would be to take a nap in the afternoon.  I understand this is an ideal, life doesn’t always happen this way but if I don’t have something to aim for I will miss it every time.
    2. Eating Habits – I haven’t ever really watched my eating habits.  I have been fortunate enough to have a high metabolism, that is unfortunately slowing down with age, so I have pretty much eaten and drank what ever I wanted.  I was the kid in High School that ate a little debbie brownie for breakfast topped off with a glass of coke.  In college I was the guy that went with his roommate to Burger King at midnight to get 99 cent Whoppers.  This will probably be the most challenging.  I have cut caffeine out of my diet once before and it wasn’t that bad, but I came back to it.  I am on day 3 of no caffeine right now and feel like I can kick it again.  I am also going to try to eat healthier.  There are some little changes I can make that will have huge results, so I am optimistic to see what happens.
    3. Exercising Habits – I haven’t been the best here, there can be several days go by without me really having any kind of activity for more than 12 minutes.  My goal here is to add 30 minutes of activity everyday.  This helps bring up your good cholesterol and bring down your bad cholesterol.  Which in affect makes your heart healthier.  This is probably what my body needs the most and will demand probably the most discipline.
    4. Work Habits – I’ll admit it, I am a workaholic, mostly because I love what I do.  There isn’t much time that goes by that I am not thinking about student ministry or the church.  I think it’s just the way I am wired . . . or the way I have programed myself.  However, if I am going to change and create other habits, there are some things that I am sure need to change here also.  I don’t know exactly what that looks like yet, but I am sure after some talks with my wife, (she will be real honest with me) and our student staff, we can come up with a plan and empower others to take on some new aspects of ministry.

    This weekend we talk about accountability and why we need it.  If you’re a reader of the blog feel free to hold me accountable to the things I have just listed.

  • Luke 19:1-27

    “The crowd was listening to everything Jesus said. And because he was nearing Jerusalem, he told them a story to correct the impression that the Kingdom of God would begin right away.” v. 11

    Verse 11 is an interesting verse to pick out of this passage but it has major importance and connect and transitions two very powerful story’s that give us insight to the Kingdom of God.  Here are some things to understand.

    • Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem!  I Jerusalem He will be betrayed and handed over to be crucified.  He knows this and that is why the next passage is so big for us as Christ Followers.
    • Jesus address with the encounter with Zacchaeus why He came from Heaven to Earth.  But it also reveals what the power of His Presence in ones life can do.  He changes people from the inside out.  Verses 9-10 give us a clear picture of His purpose and ours.
    • The story in verses 12-27 is an example of Gods Kingdom.  It represents the time period between Jesus Ascension and His 2nd Coming.  Jesus is coming back! He has given us (Believers) gift, talents, and resources to advance His Kingdom and He will hold us accountable to how we used them when He returns.

    So what does this mean for you and me?  Well a couple of things:

    1. People need Jesus. It doesn’t matter where they have been or what they have done, they need Jesus!
    2. We have been given a responsibility to advance the Kingdom of God. Jesus has entrusted us with His resources.  He expects us to use them in a way that others can come to know Him and grow in relationship with Him.

    Here’s the question are you using the resources God has given you to advance His Kingdom?  Do you see the people that need Him and are you willing to reach out to them?  Jesus, I want to be this type of person!

  • Stress . . . Can’t do a body good!

    Since Jackson has been born, the stress levels have been high for me.  In January I found out that I had high blood pressure.  Some of that I believe to be the high stress of both ministry and the things going on with Jackson, but most of it I have been told is genetics.

    So I said all that to say this, this week I seemed to hit the climax of what my body can take.  On Tuesday my wife had a doctors appointment and found out that she needed to take a test on Wednesday to determine what the next steps were.  I guess that stressed me out a little too much causing me to experience some chest pressure on Tuesday Night.  I had never felt like that before and it really freaked me out . . . enough so that the next day, Wednesday I made and appointment to see the doctor.  However, I never made it to the doctor on Wednesday because of other circumstance that seemed to culminate at 2:00pm yesterday.

    As I was sitting with Stephanie, who was just coming out of anesthesia, I got a phone call saying that Jackson was given to much medicine and was being taken to the ER.  Also at this time Josiah was needing to be picked up from school.  So needless to say, I needed to be in three places at once.  I left my wife there with the nurses and rushed to the hospital to make sure Jackson got the care he needed.  On the way to the ER I made phone calls to get Josiah and Stephanie picked up.  Thank goodness we had some life lines that were able to drop what they were doing to meet our needs.  The good news about yesterday is that Jackson and Stephanie are both ok.  Jackson never seemed to miss a beat and slept most of the 4-5 hours we were at the Children’s Hospital.  So yeah yesterday was stressful and my body felt it.  The pressure was still there and I was fearful that I might have been experiencing the beginning stages of a heart attach.

    I had already canceled may 3:25 appointment on Wednesday and set up an appointment with the doctor for 8:15 am on Thursday, but Wednesday Night, I didn’t know if I should wait that long, so I called the doctors office and talked to the doctor on call.  I explained my symptoms and told him my levels and he encouraged me to get some rest and get it all checked out in the morning.

    So there I was today, feeling better than yesterday, but still wanting some answers.  The doctor came in and listened to everything, gave me a EKG, chest x-ray, and blood work.  Everything came back normal.  Even my blood pressure today was the lowest it has been in 6 months.  I am still waiting on the Blood Work and think it should be good since it was good just a couple of months ago and I have been eating better.   However, this doesn’t mean I am out of the gray.  He said that by the test everything seemed to be ok.  But with my family history I should watch it.  He thinks that stress is the cause of the problems and pain that I was experiencing.  He also said, and I wish I would have had him put in writing, that I need a vacation!  Lucky for me, Stephanie and I are going to Cali Sunday for 5 days.  It couldn’t have come at a better time.

    Since this morning I have been thinking about the changes that I need to make in order to live a longer and healthier life. After all, my wife and kids deserve to have me around as long as they can.  And I believe some of the best parts of life are ahead of me not behind me!  I will post later what the plans are and how I believe they will help me live with less stress.

  • Jesus is My Friend – Bandwagon I know

    This video has made circulation lately on blogs because of it being played on The Soup and Best Week Ever.  But today I was reading Ben Taylor’s blog and saw that David Crowder did a cover of it also.  Much shorter and a little easier to watch. Enjoy!

  • Mark 10:35-45

    When the ten other disciples heard what James and John had asked, they were indignant. 42 So Jesus called them together and said, ‘You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. 43 But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.’” v. 41-45

    It’s easy to want to be recognized for acts of service!  It’s also easy to do stuff to look good in the eyes of others.  In this passage Jesus address the heart more than He does the actions.  When you are moved with compassion by the Holy Spirit, you will do things because it is the right thing to do not for a show, recognition, or other selfish desires.  This is totally opposite of cooperate America and the worlds way, but it is Gods way!  James and John wanted to be at the top, siting next to Jesus in the Kingdom of Heaven.  But Jesus told them that true greatness comes in serving other.

    Today rather than seeking ways to have your needs met, look for ways that you can minister to the needs of others!