Cody Webster on espn this tueaday night 8pm. Wow! Way 2go @worthwhile team!!! #

Powered by Twitter Tools.

Powered by Twitter Tools.

Powered by Twitter Tools.

Today began with eager anticipation of spending the weekend with family in Pennsylvania. We arrived at GSP in plenty of time for our 7 am flight.

We transferred from USAir to United due to unresolved mechanical problems. United said the connection was short but we should make it.

We had a small carryon that would have fit under the seat but the gate agent insisted we plane side check. Of course then we had to wait 10 minutes for our bag.

Ran to connecting gate arriving at 12:28pm. Gate was closed. Flight departure was 12:38 Had to get rental car to Harrisburg PA. Cost $180!!

United, will you accept any financial responsibility in this case? Sure seems like you should.

The good news is we will make it in time for tonite’s 7:30 Sight and Sound performance of Joseph.

Found an exciting,effective way 2 keep the engaged couple apart til the "I do's" r said alaska here we come! http://twitpic.com/2aridv #

Powered by Twitter Tools.

Powered by Twitter Tools.

This past weekend, my Pastor delivered a powerful sermon from Genesis 21:12 where God tells Abraham to send away Hagar and her son and that he (God) promised to make a nation from him. This phrase “but God” is a great way to find places in history in which God has intervened in a special way in order to accomplish his purposes in the world. I think one of the greatest occurrences of this phrase is Ephesians 2:3-5 which says “among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ, by grace you have been saved.”

I decided it was time to put all these occurrences in a single place. So here they are, unedited (other than bolding the phrase) and without comment. Read them, meditate on them, and consider the greatness of our God to control the events of history in a way that ultimately brings him glory. Even in the midst of a world filled with death, disease, pain and suffering! To God be the glory. The Bible is HIStory!!

1. Genesis 3:3
but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’”
2. Genesis 8:1
[ The Flood Subsides ] But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided.
3. Genesis 20:3
But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.”
4. Genesis 21:12
But God said to Abraham, “Be not displeased because of the boy and because of your slave woman. Whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for through Isaac shall your offspring be named.
5. Genesis 31:7
yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times. But God did not permit him to harm me.
6. Genesis 31:24
But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream by night and said to him, “Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.”
7. Genesis 45:8
So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.
8. Genesis 48:21
Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you again to the land of your fathers.
9. Genesis 50:20
As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.
10. Genesis 50:24
And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”
11. Exodus 13:18
But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle.
12. Exodus 21:13
But if he did not lie in wait for him, but God let him fall into his hand, then I will appoint for you a place to which he may flee.
13. Numbers 22:22
[ Balaam’s Donkey and the Angel ] But God’s anger was kindled because he went, and the angel of the LORD took his stand in the way as his adversary. Now he was riding on the donkey, and his two servants were with him.
14. 1 Samuel 23:14
And David remained in the strongholds in the wilderness, in the hill country of the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God did not give him into his hand.
15. 2 Samuel 14:14
We must all die; we are like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. But God will not take away life, and he devises means so that the banished one will not remain an outcast.
16. 1 Chronicles 21:7
But God was displeased with this thing, and he struck Israel.
17. 1 Chronicles 28:3
But God said to me, ‘You may not build a house for my name, for you are a man of war and have shed blood.’
18. 2 Chronicles 20:15
And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the LORD to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s.
19. Psalm 49:15
But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,for he will receive me. Selah
20. Psalm 52:5
But God will break you down forever;he will snatch and tear you from your tent;he will uproot you from the land of the living. Selah
21. Psalm 64:7
But God shoots his arrow at them;they are wounded suddenly.
22. Psalm 68:21
But God will strike the heads of his enemies,the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty ways.
23. Psalm 73:26
My flesh and my heart may fail,but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
24. Ecclesiastes 5:7
For when dreams increase and words grow many, there is vanity; but God is the one you must fear.
25. Jonah 4:9
But God said to Jonah, “Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” And he said, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.”
26. Mark 2:7
“Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
27. Luke 5:21
And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
28. Luke 12:20
But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’
29. Luke 16:15
And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.
30. Acts 7:9
“And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him
31. Acts 7:42
But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: “‘Did you bring to me slain beasts and sacrifices, during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?
32. Acts 10:28
And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean.
33. Acts 10:40
but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear,
34. Acts 13:30
But God raised him from the dead,
35. Romans 5:8
but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
36. Romans 11:22
Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.
37. 1 Corinthians 1:27
But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;
38. 1 Corinthians 3:6
I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.
39. 1 Corinthians 12:24
which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it,
40. 1 Corinthians 15:38
But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body.
41. 2 Corinthians 7:6
But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus,
42. Galatians 3:18
For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.
43. Galatians 3:20
Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one.
44. Ephesians 2:4
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,
45. Philippians 2:27
Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.
46. 1 Thessalonians 2:16
by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved—so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But God’s wrath has come upon them at last!
47. 1 Thessalonians 4:8
Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
48. 2 Timothy 2:19
But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”

My children are among the first @CreationMuseum visitors about 17 years ago! Things have advances a bit. http://twitpic.com/28f3ys #

Powered by Twitter Tools.

Powered by Twitter Tools.

Powered by Twitter Tools.

Powered by Twitter Tools.

@JasonSBurton yep, count wisely in reply to JasonSBurton #

Marriage is compromise w/love: yesterday Karen got the Burchart Gardens tour http://wurl.ws/0bLJ, today I get the Boeing airplane tour. #

Just experienced our first "ship is sinking" drill about to embark from Seattle for Alaska. http://twitpic.com/226kko #

Powered by Twitter Tools.

Powered by Twitter Tools.

As I listen to the debates on the war in Afghanistan, everyone says “we must win”. I like to win. I want to win. I do things to try and win. I agree we must win. But the missing element is “what does win look like in this war?” Past generations defined war winning by surrender. Does this still apply today to the war on terror? I think not. Please define win otherwise what we are asking of our American soldiers seems highly illogical and likely immoral!

Perhaps this new tax would help legislate morality look carfully at the sign http://twitpic.com/1xlxft #

Powered by Twitter Tools.

Worthwhile guys threatening to hack toyota plant network! here we come. Big tour scheduled – thanks to Beth! http://twitpic.com/1v1y1b #

Burning rubber burner is my name, smoking corners is my game! #

Powered by Twitter Tools.

From my son: She said yes on top of the ferris wheel at Navy Pier after fireworks and a funnel cake. more details to come. #

@daveruse stop tweeting and you will have the time! in reply to daveruse #

@joefeser riverside high graduation. I am here in reply to joefeser #

Powered by Twitter Tools.

Dan Wooster

May 30, 2010

Dear Church Family, Folks and Friends:

I have attached a letter that gives a fuller picture of the recent story which was broadcasted on Channel 4. Normally, the less said and written is the best approach to take when the media either misrepresents a story or when someone is maligned. In this case, our founding pastor, Dr. Matt Olson and one of our former youth pastors, Dr. Chuck Phelps are being grossly misrepresented. Our church is indebted to these men. They are also my friends. Now is not the time to distance ourselves from them, but to pray for them and to stand with them. Our church is not directly involved with the incidents, although the media and those who despise our form of Christianity will try to bring us into it.

The attached letter is my “Official Response.” We have nothing to hide. You are welcome to use this letter in any way that you believe promotes the edification of the body of Christ and the glory of God.

We had a special prayer meeting tonight to pray for those involved and for the Lord to protect our church’s testimony and most importantly the Lord’s Name. Let’s pray that His Name will not be tarnished.

This past Wednesday Channel 4 contacted our church to ask about a girl who once attended our church about thirteen years ago whose name is Tina. Prior to Tina’s coming to Colorado she lived in Concord, New Hampshire and attended Trinity Baptist Church. Allegedly, at that time and in New Hampshire, Mr. Earnest Willis, a married man and member in the church, impregnated her. Tina was only fifteen at the time. Tina’s family (single mother, father in prison) was apparently limited in how they could help her and it was suggested that the Landrys, who were in our church at the time, would be the best to minister to her. Dr. Chuck Phelps knew the Landry family when he was the youth pastor at Tri-City and also had all three of the Landry boys in his church at one time or another for a church internship. Tina agreed to come to Colorado where Dr. Clovis Landry and his wife Diane took her in and cared for her. She was homeschooled and loved. To Tina’s credit she did not seek an abortion, but instead carried the baby and at birth gave the child up for adoption to a loving, Christian family. Tina’s own testimony regarding her time at Colorado, the Landrys and Tri-City had been favorable.

Recently, Tina was encouraged to press charges against Mr. Earnest Willis in Concord, New Hampshire. The man was arrested and charged and then released on bail. Brian Maass, a Channel 4 News reporter, was made aware of this story and on May 27, he reported on Tina’s alleged rape in New Hampshire. There were additional statements made regarding Dr. Chuck Phelps, Dr. Matt Olson and our church. I would like to comment on those issues and make these clarifications:

1) Dr. Chuck Phelps, former pastor of Trinity Baptist Church and Dr. Matt Olson did not work together to hide Tina from the authorities or from her mother. Tina’s mother brought her to Colorado and later visited her on several occasions.
2) Dr. Chuck Phelps and Dr. Matt Olson did not collaborate to protect Mr. Earnest Willis, the man alleged to be involved sexually with Tina. Dr. Chuck Phelps does not believe that Tina was responsible for being allegedly raped and has said, “She’s not responsible for being raped. Of course not. She was an underage minor. That’s why I called” (the police).
3) There was no delay, nor negligence in reporting the alleged crime to the proper authorities. In fact, Dr. Chuck Phelps immediately called in the report to the police and to the division for Children, Youth and Families on the same day when he was made aware of the alleged relationship between Mr. Earnest Willis and Tina. In addition, Dr. Chuck Phelps urged Tina and her mother to talk with the police, but they would not. Dr. Chuck Phelps then called the police a second time to let them know about the situation. Unfortunately, it appears the authorities on both occasions did not respond to his reports, and apparently no investigation was made. Three weeks after these reports were submitted to the police, Tina and her mother left for Colorado.
4) Neither Dr. Matt Olson nor Tri-City Baptist Church harbored Tina or sought to hinder any legal process past or present. The arrangement for Tina to come to Colorado was between Dr. Chuck Phelps and the Landrys, not between the two churches or the two pastors. Tina’s mother was very pleased with the arrangement for her daughter.
5) Trinity Baptist Church and Dr. Chuck Phelps, now the pastor at Colonial Hills Baptist Church, continue to cooperate with the law enforcement agencies. This was true from day one and remains true today. If Tri-City Baptist Church is asked to assist in anyway in the investigation, we will cooperate fully to see justice delivered.
6) Dr. Clovis and Diane Landry were an incredible blessing to Tina and an exemplary example to our church family. The Landrys gave to her from their hearts, they homeschooled her, provided her a home and family and did their best to assure her a healthy pregnancy and the safe birth of her child. It is my understanding that Tina has spoken very highly of her care received from the Landrys.
7) Neither Dr. Chuck Phelps nor Dr. Matt Olson did anything illegal. Pastor Olson did not, in any way, publically draw attention to Tina in a negative fashion, nor did he require her to do anything privately such as writing a letter of apology for something she did not do. I was not here at the time, but those who were, remember the church reaching out to Tina and accepting her. She was not isolated from the teens as reported. She was encouraged to mix with the young folks of the church and with the teens of other churches. Tina sang in the church choir and played her flute in the services. This is not a life of isolation.
9) Tina willingly gave her daughter up for adoption to a very godly family who could not have children of their own. This is the bright spot of the story – this little child was the answer to that couple’s prayers! Pray that this child will not be hurt by this story!

For several reasons I have asked Pastor Robbins to represent Tri-City Baptist Church in these matters. In this case, he was here at the time of the incidents in question. Pastor Larry has an impeccable testimony in our community which he has built these twenty-eight years while on staff at Tri-City Baptist Church. He is loyal and incredibly trustworthy. He also understands the media and is very level-headed in his responses under pressure. Hence, Pastor Robbins is my go to guy on these matters with the public and will do a great job with these sticky issues. I do not believe this will be the last media attack on Dr. Chuck Phelps, Dr. Matt Olson or Tri-City Baptist Church. This story is already receiving national attention.

I believe the right course of action for us to take is to commit these matters to the Lord who “judges righteously.” As Christians and as citizens of this great country, we truly want justice to be served in the case that relates to Tina. Do pray for Tina, she is undoubtedly going through a difficult and an emotional time. Let us pray that the media will get their facts straight and will report them in fullness and in fairness. Let us pray that Christ’s name will not be tarnished. Let us pray that this potential ordeal does not hinder our ministry or distract us from the work of the great commission. The words from the song, A Passion for Thee, are appropriate at this time for our meditation.
“Set my heart, O dear Father on Thee, and Thee only. Give me a thirst for Thy presence divine. Lord keep my focus on loving Thee wholly.”

Let’s keep our focus on God and “be an example of the believers.” Let us love God, our neighbor and even our enemy with all of our heart! May the Lord use these trials to fuel revival in our hearts, our churches, and our country!

Heartily in Christ,
Pastor William J. Senn, III

@kirstendietz motorcycles count double! in reply to kirstendietz #

Stumphouse and isaquenna falls, very well kept secrets north of Clemson! Day of reflection with my bride of almost 30 years. #

This is it! Now I gotta go get it. http://bit.ly/aXBsjr #

Powered by Twitter Tools.

Don’t believe it? Try coaching a team of athletes who have never won. Nothing will energize them more than that first victory. All the practices, though important, all the peep talks, though inspiring, cannot provide the extreme level of energy that success pumps into the souls of the team members. Just ask my daughter Sara to tell you about the high school girls’ soccer team she helps coach.

As I return back to Greenville SC from Denver for about the 15th time, I am contemplating ways to expand The Worthwhile Company into the West. Making connections, learning of needs, seeking office space, searching for the right team, feeling out the business/technology climate, all these actions help me determine when the time is right to launch out into new markets. But for me, one of the most compelling reasons to expand comes from the encouragement of past success.

Each day I receive an email that summaries our income transactions for the day. I like these emails. It is sort of like getting up in the morning with a pulse, a daily reminder that the Lord of life has granted me the blessing (and associated responsibilities) of another glorious day of life! One of my joys is to use these emails to probe into the details of a customer we serve. It helps me learn how Worthwhile is serving them to make their calling more worthwhile. Today I ran across the following testimony from a customer of about two years. He said “Because of the inherent limits spoken language has with ultimately describing a sensation, I can really only express my experience with Worthwhile in barbaric sounds of elation. If considering Worthwhile, nothing in the world would give me more pleasure than to share these sounds with you.”

Wow! I can hardly express the joy and confidence that flooded my mind. What a privilege to serve a group of employees who are able to (and desire to) work together to serve customers with Internet technologies in a manner which generates this type of response! It empowers and energizes me to seize the opportunities of growth with great confidence that, by the grace of God, our past success will help generate future success!

Let’s go west Worthwhile!