Dan Gould

Tag: Dan Gould

  • Galveston Mission Trip – Day 4: Obedience

    “I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters,[e] that I planned many times to visit you, but I was prevented until now. I want to work among you and see spiritual fruit, just as I have seen among other Gentiles. 14 For I have a great sense of obligation to people in both the civilized world and the rest of the world,[f] to the educated and uneducated alike. 15 So I am eager to come to you in Rome, too, to preach the Good News.

    16 For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.[g]17 This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, ‘It is through faith that a righteous person has life.’” Romans 12:13-16 (NLT)

    Today we took most of the group to the construction site and sent the rest to VBS. At the site, half of the group worked on painting the house while the other half worked on the fence.   However, we didn’t get the all clear for digging until late afternoon.  We took a volunteer team and worked until 8:45 to dig holes and set post so we could finish the fence Wednesday and Thursday.
    At VBS they doubled their number of kids, which created some excitement.  After VBS that crew worked with the University Baptist Church and cleaned a yard in the community.

    Here are some pictures from the Construction site:

  • Galveston Mission Trip – Day 3: Humble

    “About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?’

    2 Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. 3 Then he said, ‘I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. 4 So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.

    5 And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf[a] is welcoming me. 6 But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea.’” Matthew 18:1-6 (NLT)

    Today was our first day on the work-site and doing VBS in the park.  Both places had challenges.  At VBS, the students and leaders only had 3 kids show up.  This is much different than the VBS we were able to do in Mexico and it left some of the team feeling discouraged.  In that came the question, “Why go if no-one is going to show up?”  Great question!  I think it is easy sometimes to want to pull out of something when it doesn’t go the way we thought it should, or if kids don’t show up.  But we lead by example, if we pull out after 1 day, disgaurding all the work we did to pass out fliers, and talk it up with our students, I think we teach them that when things don;t go the way we thought, or when things get hard, its ok to give up.  There’s a word that I am sure will surface this week as a word called perseverance!  Maybe the lesson was never meant to be for anyone other than our group and our students to learn that sometimes when you work for the Lord you don’t see the results immediately, but you serve out of obedience, sacrifice, and perseverance.

    We had some challenges at the work-site also. We arrived and demolished the rest of the fence to get ready to put the new one up in the next 2 days.  We will dig 28 holes for new fence posts to a 8ft privacy fence.  While several crews do that we will have another crew stripping/scrapping the trim and soffets as well as the front entry so it can be repainted.  The homeowner is a widowed lady’s who’s husband died 5 years ago.

    In our worship time, Penelope shared the word of the day HUMBLE, and Josh led us in musical worship.  What a sweet time we had, the Spirit moved in a mighty way breaking students and adults challenging us to surrender all of us for all of Him.

    It’s been a good trip!  We have had some challenges, 1 sick, 2 students stepped on nails, and 1 students stepped on a rock
    and caused her foot to swell and toe to feel numb, and lots of sunburns!  Please continue to pray for our group!

    Here are some pics from today!


  • Galveston Mission Trip – Day 1: BE AN EXAMPLE

    “Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.” 1st Timothy 4:12

    We have arrived in Galveston. Alamo Elementary is a great facility that we are lucky to be able to stay in. The showers are small, but we are thankful for them. I believe that this week is going to be very impactful for our group. Each night we will be meeting from 8:00-9:00 to sing, learn, and pray. Each night a different student will share a word and a verse that encourages or challenges us in our walk. Tonight, our word was EXAMPLE. We were challenged to BE AN EXAMPLE. Everywhere we go people are watching. Let’s stop making excuses and start living like we Jesus called us to live. It’s a challenge for all of us, young and old. What a great reminder and Challenge as we begin this week! Let be examples in the words we use, in our action, in our love, in our faith, and by our PURE lives!

    Pics from today

  • Galveston Mission Trip – post #1

    Well, in less than 24 hours Fusion Students and Leaders will load some vans and head to Galveston TX.  We are working with Good News Galveston helping the community rebuild from hurricane Ike.  We will be one of the first teams reaching out to the children through VBS/Back Yard Bible Clubs.  Along with this we will have some of our team members doing construction projects.  As we have prayed and planned, we have purposely left some open spaces so we could be flexible and meet a need as a need comes up. Sometimes we schedule so much that we schedule out the opportunity to meet needs on the fly.  As you pray, would you remember our students, and leaders as we embark on this mission tomorrow.  Here is what I would ask that you would pray for:

    * Pray for Safety
    * Pray for Brokenness
    * Pray for Salvation’s
    * Pray for Repentance
    * Pray for Spiritual Growth
    * Pray for Unity
    * Pray for Attitudes
    * Pray for Surrendered Hearts

    I believe God is going to use this team greatly.  I know personally for me, mission trip is always a impactful and a highlight to see students do things they don’t normally do and experience God in ways they don’t normally allow themselves to experience Him.

    If you want to follow the latest and greatest details, I will be twittering the trip and posting updates daily to the blog.  You can follow me on twitter here:

    www.twitter.com/dgould77

  • Packing Round 1

    Well it’s that busy time of the year for me, long days and week long trips with students.  This Saturday we will leave Grace Community Church for a week long mission trip to Galveston TX.  However, my wife and boys are leaving for MO tomorrow.  As I put Josiah down for bed tonight he said in his sad voice that he was going to miss me.  I tried to encourage him with all the fun stuff they were going to do while they were in MO, but he said it didn’t matter because he was still going to  miss me.  It makes me feel good, but sad at the same time.  Josiah is getting old enough where he really wants to be with Daddy.  It will definitely be a quiet lonely house for the next three days.  But I know that they will have fun and that God is going to use our team in a special way next week in Galveston.  I will be posting daily happenings and testimonies from our students.

  • James 3

    “Dear brothers and sisters,[a] not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2 Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way.” v 1-2 (NLT)

    What you say and what you don’t say are important.  To use proper speech you must not only say the right words at the right time but also not say what you shouldn’t. Examples of an untamed tongue include gossiping, putting others down, bragging, manipulating, false teaching, exaggerating, complaining, flattering, and lying.  Our words have the ability to build people up or tear them down.

    I have found that if I think before I speak, I use better words.  This forces me not to spout off in the moment. (i am still working through this).  Before you speak ask yourself are my words . . .

    TRUTHFUL – is this fact or gossip?

    HELPFUL – Do my words help them or hurt them? Constructive criticism is helpful when it’s done in love. When its not done in love that’s just criticism.

    INSPIRATIONAL – Does it bring them closer to God or push them further from God? Does it inspire them to do grater things?

    NECESSARY – Do I need to even say anything? Sometimes we are smarter with our mouth’s shut!

    KIND – Are my words kind?

    Today, let’s think twice before we speak once.  Words are powerful … use them wisely!!!!

  • Home: No place for Bible Study

    A San Diego pastor and his wife claim they were interrogated by a county official and warned they will face escalating fines if they continue to hold Bible studies in their home. The couple, whose names are being withheld until a demand letter can be filed on their behalf, told their attorney a county government employee knocked on their door on Good Friday, asking a litany of questions about their Tuesday night Bible studies, which are attended by approximately 15 people.  Read More

  • Kris Allen – Heartless

    Ok, I may have just become a Kris Allen fan. I really liked his version of Heartless. If you missed it here it is!!!!

    Vodpod videos no longer available.

    more about “Kris Allen – Heartless“, posted with vodpod

  • James 1

    “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. 23 For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. 24 You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. 25 But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.” v. 22-25 (NLT)

    When I first started reading the Bible at the age of 18 James was the place I started.  I think I picked it because it was short and I wanted to say that I had read a book in the Bible.  The Bible can be intimidating, especially if you are not a good reader or don’t like to read.  Those usually go hand in hand.  Well it did for me.  But I still remember the first time I read these verses.  They were so convicting, but encouraging at the same  time.  You see I was guilty of hearing and knowing a little bit about the Bible, but I didn’t live out or reflect the things I had heard or learned.  (this is still a challenge today)  But the secret to the Life that God wants us to live is found in the pages of the Bible, His Word.  When we read, or hear them they should move us to a different place in our thoughts and actions.  What we truly believe will be seen in the everyday life we live.  My prayer today is that I would practice the things I read and hear, so I can live the life God desires me to live.  One filled with adventure, challenges, and victories!

    Today, will you ask God to help you to apply the things you have heard and read so you can live the life He has created for you.  If you aren’t or haven’t read or listend to the words written in the Bible, I want to encourage you to grab a Bible, and start reading one chapter a day.  Highlight the things that speak to you and commit those to memory and action.

  • Twitter & FaceBook have wounded my blog, and life is busy!!!

    I must admit that I haven’t been posting many blogs lately other than some devotionals or thoughts on American Idol.  There have been a couple of reasons for this.

    1.) Life has become so busy – In March Stephanie switched jobs and moved from working the front desk at Grace to working at Grace Christian Preschool at the church.  She made the switch for a couple of reasons, the big one was to allow me to be in the office more, which  you would think would make work easier . . . but it hasn’t.  It seems that there is always more to do.  However, I have enjoyed the time to have random lunches with staff, students, and other leaders form area churches.

    2.) Twitter and FaceBook – I must admit, I was a little hesitant in getting twitter.  At first, I thought it was unrealistic to let people know every time i was going to the boys room.  But, twitter has become so much more than what I expected.  I am not the best at it, but now I find myself checking twitter more than reading blogs.  Here is why:

    • It’s short and to the point.
    • I can see several people from one page.
    • It interfaces with FaceBook.
    • I get more dialogue through Twitter and FaceBook than my blog

    These four things have caused me to blog less and twit more. Yes it is cool  to see my loyal blog readership increase, but this new concept of micro blogging has really become addicting,  In fact, I have had way more interaction with people that follow my twitter or are friends on FaceBook, than I did having dialogue with people on the blog.

    So with this being said, I want to encourage you with this, if you don’t know what Twitter is, click this link to see my profile http://twitter.com/dgould77 – If you have FaceBook and can txt from your phone, think again about joining twitter, you would probably really enjoy it.

    3.) Apathy – I’ll admit it, I have become apathetic in writing new things.  I have several idea’s for new post but just lack the drive to sit down and type the details.  Please keep in mind that I don’t know how to type! (yes, I still hunt and peck, but I sure have become fast at it over the years.)  It’s hard to justify coming home late and then telling the world about my day at the expense of spending time with my family.  Not perfect, but it is really something close to my heart, and something I have been trying to work on.

    So, I said all of that just to say this . . . I will continue to blog, but for the fastest or most up-to-date info on whats going on in the Gould household, follow me on Twitter or catch me on FaceBook.  It’s much easier for me to post a thought, pic, or statement from my phone in 140 characters or less than to get the laptop out to write a new post at the end of the day!