IF I CAN MAKE IT HERE, I CAN MAKE IT ANYWHERE...

There's no city in the world quite like New York City. Every time I visit New York and spend some time there, I leave amazed. My son, Steve, just returned from a 5 day stay in the city and we had a great time. It all started in the midtown area at St. Patrick's Cathedral. We walked the streets of the upper west side, China Town, SoHo, NoHo, Greenwich Village, Bronx, Brooklyn, and Little Italy. We took an evening cruise around the southern half of Manhattan and enjoyed a wide variety of cuisine. We even witnessed the Yankees being shellacked by the Angels. That was especially sweet. It was great to experience Yankee Stadium before it's demolished and they make their move to the new stadium going up next door.

The best part of the trip, though, was just spending time hanging with my son. He's a stud.

I'll be posting a few pictures and comments in the future.

BREAKFAST FOR CHAMPIONS

The speaker of our last Breakfast for Champions for the season was none other than Frank Tanana. Frank spent 20 seasons in the majors as a starting pitcher for a number of teams including the Tigers. He pitched more than 4,000 innings and became a very durable junk ball pitcher after he endured an arm injury. After the injury 4 years into his career, he successfully transitioned from a power pitcher to a junk ball chucker.

Frank is an engaging speaker and told some great stories about his career, as well as shared some interesting facts and insight about the game then and the game now. In 1983 Frank's life changed completely when he invited Jesus Christ to be the Lord of his life. He shared with the 100+ men gathered at the breakfast, about the difference that decision made in his life.

It was a great morning capped by a clear presentation of the gospel.

GAITHER'S STILL GOING STRONG

We went to a Gaither Homecoming Concert about a week ago and really enjoyed it! Honestly, their style of music is not my first choice, but the talent is definitely there, and their hearts are so right and sincere. They're the real deal.

There's definitely an infusion of some younger voices in the program which proves that Bill can still attract and launch great talent no matter the age. It was an enjoyable and inspiring evening of music mixed in with some great humor. Bill is still the master at laughing at himself.

Give it Away!

PLUNGE ON

Last Saturday, 1,000 men, women, and children from Central joined 800 others from a number of different churches as we "plunged" into the community, meeting all kinds of needs. Our small group assisted a young couple who have 3 children. The wife/mom is is dealing with cancer and is in the process of receiving chemo treatments as well as undergoing a constant barrage of tests. Needless to say there's not alot of time or energy to get "stuff" done around the house. Enter the Deur small group and after 3 1/2 hours, we were able to complete the entire "honey-do" list...and we had so much fun doing it!

It was a great day!