Dan Gould

  • Pneumonia Again and a Blast from the Past

    That’s right Jackson now has pneumonia for the 3rd time this year.  Luckily we caught it before it got to bad and needed to be in the hospital.  He seems to be doing better already.  We picked up a battery operated nose aspirator from Wal-Mart yesterday and it has been amazing so far.  However, it is gross when the clear cup fills up with green snot after sucking a kids nostril.

    On another note, while working on my talk for this weekend, I had a music shuffle going on through itunes and came across a song that believe it or not, played a huge role in my transformation at age 18.  Music has a powerful way to influence us whether we want to admit it or not.  I found a video on youtube with the song.  Listen and Enjoy! (Warning, it is a rap song, so don’t hurt yourself bobbin you head or waving your arms in the air like ya just don’t care!)

  • Acts 5:12-16

    “But no one else dared to join them, even though all the people had high regard for them. Yet more and more people believed and were brought to the Lord – crowds of both men and women.” v 13-14

    I am thinking about this verse and statement today:

    What makes Christianity attractive? It is easy to be drawn to churches because of programs, good speakers, size, beautiful facilities, or fellowship. People were attracted to the early church, however, by expressions of God’s power at work; the generosity, sincerity, honesty, and unity of the members; and the character of the leaders. Have our standards slipped? God wants to add believers to his church, not newer and better programs or larger and fancier facilities. – NLT Life Application Study Notes

    I would love to hear your thoughts!

  • Back Again!!

    Well today marked our 5th ER visit with Jackson since early September.  We really thought that we were moving past this, but it just goes to show that at anytime things can change so much.  Jackson was completing a follow-up sleep study from his surgery that removed his tonsils and adenoids.  While there he had about a 3-5 minute seizure.  He was taken to Plano Presby for follow-up evaluation.  The only bad thing is he still has the electrodes on his head from the sleep study.  We have tried to get them off but those things are like super glued on his head and the Baby Shampoo Presby said would take it out didn’t work, nor did peanut-butter, and Vitamin E oil hasn’t worked to well either.

    Other than that Jackson is doing fine now, and the family is sleeping.  All of us have been up since 1:30am this morning.  The only reason I am able to stay awake right now is I had coffee this morning.  Don’t ask, I am not a coffee drinker, but I saw some old guys drinking it and was inspired to have a cup.  That’s all it took since I have not had caffeine since early October.

    We have had the unfortunate opportunity now of seeing every Hospital in Plano, Allen, and Frisco.  If I had to rate them on our experience, Stephanie and I would have to say that Children’s Medical Center in Plano has been by far the best with Centennial Medical Center in Frisco being a close second.  Both of these places have provided excellent care to Jackson and given us quick info and results.  Here is what our list would look like from best to worst care and experience.  Please keep in mind we have never had to wait in any ER waiting room at any of these hospitals.  This is based strictly on the care we felt was provided

    1. Children’s Medical Center Plano – great ER, great Nurses, great overnight staff, ok food (2 ER visits, 2 nights stay)
    2. Centennial Medical Center Frisco – great ER, great Nurses, great overnight staff, ok food (1 ER visit, 1 night stay)
    3. Medical Center Plano – old facility, decent care, not good food (2 days and 1 night stay)
    4. Plano Presby – Less than desired ER, Higher expectations than what was reality based on peoples references, Jackson became a pin cushion when getting blood-work done,  took extra long to get results.  (1 ER visit which was an all night deal)
    5. Allen Presby – Less than desired ER, Jackson became a pin cushion when getting blood, not kid friendly, great Labor and Delivery unit, awesome food.  (Labor and Delivery, 10 Night stay in NICU, 3 ER visits, 2 nights stay)

    If you were to look at Jackson right now, beside seeing a lubed head with electrodes stuck to it you would see a normal boy.  In fact, today on the way home from the hospital he was dancing and singing to the music on the radio.  I am so thankful that he is ok, and God has taught me a ton through this process, but I sure would like to not have to experience this anymore!  To see Jackson in minutes go from one extreme to the other is painful, and exhausting as a Dad.

    Lord Jesus, will you meet us where we are, comfort our fears, provide for our greatest needs, strengthen our family, and help us raise two boys to bring glory to your Name!

  • World Tour

    Senior Pastor George Feiser and Administrative Pastor Dennis Tollison are finishing the second leg of their world tour looking at where Grace might be able to impact a community for Christ using the Peace Plan.  You can follow them while they are oversees on Pastor George’s Blog.  Yes he is blogging again.  Here is an excerpt from his latest post,

    The day is not over with….we are going to 1 more church to teach. It will be a late night, but we are going for it.

    It was a very emotional day because of going to the leper colony. As far as I am concerned, just going to the leper colony would have been worth this whole trip – just to see all of their face smiling after we left. Truly just our presence communicates God cares. As they took pictures I cried and felt their hurt. We gave rice, 20lb with oil and 2 other liquids. I prayed for Gods blessing on their life. I told them that God had not forgotten them – that is why he sent us to them. When we left they had big smiles on their faces and all together said thank you in English.

    If you want to read more, visit his site by clicking this link, George Feiser’s Blog!

  • Acts 4:32-37

    “All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had.” v. 32

    Unity is a powerful thing!  The early church understood it’s importance and therefore made sure that everyone was taken care of.  This is still the model for the church today.  It’s not something that happens naturally in our culture due to the lure of materialism.  But a church that stand united, focused on Christ and helping others.  It is a church that will stand the test of time and see God do wonderful things in their midst (like the early church).  A church that stand divided will be a church that doesn’t reach it’s full potential because people are headed in several different directions.

    We can learn a lot from the early church.  This was a church starting in very dangerous times, but they pulled together, stayed focused on Christ, committed to each other, made appropriate personal sacrifice, and had tremendous follow-through.  The early church was blessed by God because the were a blessing to God, and all the believer played a part in making the early church what is was.

    Today, think about your church!  Is your church unified or divided? What role are you playing in your church?  How can you make a difference?  Do you protect the unity of the church you attend?  It’s a powerful thing when the Church is United, and each of us has an important role!!!!

  • Weekend Review – Dec. 7th

    give

    This week was week 3 of the Big Give!!  God has really been doing some neat things in our time.  This last week concluded our Gifts of Grace for East Plano kids, it was awesome seeing our students come into church with gifts for kids.  I really look forward to worshiping with our students each week.  Our student worship team does such a great job.

    This week we encouraged students to get involved in a couple of mission projects.  One is teaching ESL to kids at Meadows Elementary and the other is helping raise funds to build schools in Uganda, in partnership with Invisible Children (invisiblechildren.com).  Note – the second opportunity in Uganda was inspired by one of our students who shared how she was getting involved in a project called schools for schools.  She did a great job and her story fit so well with the talk.  Here is the outline with pictures we used to drive home the point that you have to stay focused.

    THE BIG GIVE
    How to Give!
    December 7TH, 2008

    “‘So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.  Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.’” John 13:34-35 (NLT)

    HOW TO GET INVOLVED

    1.    It takes FOCUS!

    “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.  We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.” Hebrews 12:1-2 (NLT)

    What do you see?  Look at the pictures very closely!

    “I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” Philippians 3:14 (NLT)

    2.    It takes SACRIFICE!

    “We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.” 1 John 3:16 (NLT)

    3.    It takes COMMITMENT!

    “Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” Matthew 5:37 (NIV)

    4.    It takes FOLLOW-THROUGH!

    “As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. 8 And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:6-8 (NLT)

    Excited to see what happens this week as we talk about Where to Give Big.

  • Acts 4:23-31

    “When they heard the report, all the believers lifted their voices together in prayer to God: . . . After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness.” v. 24; 31

    Prayer changes everything when it comes from a pure heart.  In what seemed to be their greatest hour, Peter and John have come back to report what had happened to them as they faced the council.  The disciples at this time had a choice, to run and leave behind what Jesus had taught, or to press in and believe that He would be faithful to His teachings.  Instead of running, they pray.  This wasn’t just a whining prayer, this prayer was asking God to help them endure this tough road that could get even tougher.

    God hears their prayer and shows up in a big way through the promised Holy Spirit.  The Bible says that they (everyone) preached the Word of God with Boldness.  The same is true for us today!

    The power of the Holy Spirit first came with the attitude of prayer!  Are you facing a tough situation?  Have you taken the time to talk to God about it?  When you do you unlock the power of God for that situation.  Give it a try today and see if prayer doesn’t impact and empower you and your situation.

  • Illuminate – Be Our Guest This Christmas Eve

    christmas-eve-08

    Make plans to join us at Grace Community Church in Plano, Texas for Christmas Eve.  We have four different services you can attend:

    2:00 pm – Celebration Service with Nativity

    4:00 pm – Celebration Service with Nativity

    6:00 pm – Celebration Service with Nativity

    11:00 pm – Celebration Service with Candles, Choruses and Communion

    We would love to have you as our special guest this Christmas Eve as we celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Here is a glimpse of what you could experience.

  • Guys Night

    Last night Josiah and I camped out!!!  Yeah, we set a two man tent up in the living room and watched TV and slept in the tent.  He was so excited about it all day.  This is an easy way to create lasting memories. To see his excitement made it all worth it, even if I didn’t sleep good and my back hurts today!  Here are some pics of our Guys Night!

  • New WordPress Dashboard

    I am going to have to get use to this new dashboard set up! Once I figure everything out I think I might like it. I think there are some lessons to learn here that are bigger than wordpress changing the dashboard.  Here are a few I can think of

    1.  Change can be difficult – It doesn’t matter how well you have thought through changing something, there will always be those in favor and those that oppose it to some degree even if it does make things better, we are creatures of habit.

    2.  Everyone responds to Change differently – It is weird what changes can do to some people.  Some people accept change easily, while other take it hard and some may even try to resist it.  However, Change has to happen sometimes, so don’t be afraid to make changes when they are needed.

    3.  Change creates new opportunity for growth and learning – Let’s face it some changes are easier than others, but some changes cause us to have to learn new things or even create new opportunities for others to get involved.  When you change something, or something has changed on you, don’t be afraid to guestions.  This allows for the best outcome and most production.

    Just some random thoughts.  Now I am off to hang out with the Family.