Well, I’ve been out of commission for 8 days now. It was last week Monday that I came down with a fever. Two visits to urgent care and one to my doctor, now on a different antibiotic and I’m finally on the mend from a brutal sinus infection. A lot of life happened while I was flat on my back. I had one of the biggest worship ministries weekends and managed to participate (perhaps aggravating my condition) in an incredible concert on Friday night and a workshop on Saturday. There were many highlights to the weekend, but one of my favorites was that we partnered with other churches. On Friday night, John & Tonya and their band, Mustard Seed, knocked a home run with an incredible concert. Then their guest band from Ecclesia just took it over the top with a gospel celebration. It was beautiful music, but more beautiful than that, was to see our congregation and stage mixed with color as we joined with these brothers and sisters. The joy was seeing this friendship between John and Cliff displayed. This truly is an answer to prayer – I’m so eager to get to know Cliff and develop a friendship with him. There was a great moment early on in the concert. As J&T sang their second song, Shelter, I welled up with emotion. I couldn’t sing because I was so sick, but I could cry, and cry I did. Many things were touching my heart at that moment. First was how wonderful it sounded – crisp, loud, and full of presence. Second was how wonderful Mustard Seed sounded and how clearly they were communicating. I was so proud of J&T and so proud that my church was producing such a wonderful expression of worship. Third, I was so excited to be doing this with Ecclesia – apart from my health, it was just a perfect night. On Saturday, Attila and his Sanctuary Worship Band led us in worship at our opening session. They brought a huge sound to our room and it was beautiful. They took it over-the-top and did a great job leading worship for our ‘youthful’ gathering that morning. My health was declining throughout the morning, but I was so proud of my people as they taught their seminars. It was wonderful to see our worship team ‘spilling over’ into the lives ofour youth, Light & Power, THELP and Hispanic Ministry teams. We will certainly do this again next year – perhaps inviting Cliff and Ecclesia to lead us. I was very sad to miss church on Sunday as my good friend and brother Cliff Hale shared his ‘spilling over’ faith story. I was eager to get a copy of the DVD and watched it and wept through it. It was beautiful! I have been so inspired by Cliff and Brenda as I have moved into the ‘spilling over’ ministry that God has prepared for me. They have modeled a bold faith and a willingness to get messy and risk for God. And the payoff was in the men that stood beside them on stage. Jaime and Anthony’s stories were so touching. People like them are worth all the risk in the world. That’s how God felt when he sent his one and only Son. And we’re called to follow him in such extravagant and risky expressions of love. Now for some reflections on ‘Investing Wiser.’ I think it all begins with the question, “Who owns it?” Most of us clearly think we own the things we have. We possess the money we earn and are free to spend it on ourselves and on our desires. I think one of the biggest failures/sins of the American evangelical Christian is how we use our money. If God owns our money, we would spend more time agonizing over how we spend it. We would be less concerned with spending it on our comfort, status and pleasure and would be more concerned about using it to make an eternal difference in God’s kingdom. But stewardship is about much more than money. It’s about everything that God has given us – our families, our talents, our jobs, our time – everything. The one who is following God is willing to leave everything at his feet for his use for his glory. My day begins with a short prayer recognizing my potential to be used for God’s glory and asking the God would indeed use me and that the Holy Spirit would pour out fruit through me in every interaction of the day. Then I make sure I don’t miss the opportunities that come my way.