Goodbye 2006 and bring on 2007

So 2006 was pretty good to the Kincaid family. The only exception was the passing of Patty's mother in October after a lengthy battle with cancer. But she is no longer in pain and is with the Lord now.

We have made many new friends at The Vineyard and have stepped out of our comfort zones and gone on the Amadeo Church plant. Patty and I, along with Mark and Susan, will serve the Youth in this plant. We are looking forward to it.

Patty saw a job change in 2006 that got her out of a very stress filled job environment she was in. She is much happier now where she is at. Shannon will be graduating high school in May of 2007. I continue my job as Cooperative Program Manager at the NWS office in Phoenix and enjoy the field work part of the job. Getting out and mingling with our cooperative observers and maintaining the equipment.

We have been meeting with Mark and Susan the past few weeks and praying for the Amadeo Youth and the community in and around Power Ranch. We will officially begin January 8th.

We are going to a cabin we rented up in The White Mountains to bring in the New Year and for some very needed R&R. There is snow up there and we are looking very forward to it. We leave tomorrow the 30th and come back on the 2nd. Even the dogs are going with us.

Some personal goals I have for 2007...
I want to mingle and get to know people. Get into relationships with them. Especially people that I do not know or would not normally mingle with. I want to step way out of my comfort zone and love people the way Jesus does. No judging, just love. I want to be an encouragement to each and every person I run into. Even those people that can get on my nerves. Negative people. If they approach me with negativity, I will try and encourage them with something positive. Life is so short man! Why be pissed off at the world all the time? I run into a lot of people like that. All they do is complain about this or complain about that. Do something about it instead of bitching about it the whole time.

Be moved by Love folks! Encourage someone. If someone pisses you off, tell them things will get better. Encourage them. Be their friend. Do something nice for them even if they are a stranger to you. That guy that is trying to get ahead of you on the roadway, slow down and let them in. Everyone is always in a hurry to get somewhere. Life is sometimes too fast.

Slow down and listen to His voice. Know that He is God! I pray that you all have a blessed New Year and that you ring it in with the joy and love of Christ. Be Moved in 2007!

I love you all! This will be my last post until 2007. Happy New Year!

Another night of prayer

We just got back from the Bogumills and what a wonderful time it was. Robert also met us over there. We just sat and prayed for the youth of Amadeo, for the kids in the community and for whatever the Holy Spirit had put on our hearts to pray for.

We also chatted a bit about plans for the Youth. Beginning Jan 8th we will meet every Monday night at the Power Ranch Clubhouse from 630-830 pm. We talked about some events an the ones that are planned so far are Rage Music Festival on January 13th, Youth Night with the Phoenix Roadrunners Hockey Team, and a servant evangelism trip to CDE with Hannah. I'll need to get with her because we would like to do this in March or April. We are also looking into a Summer Camp for the Amadeo Youth.

Thanks you Lord for what you have put on our hearts for the youth of Amadeo and the youth in the community. May we serve them gladly and bring Your Kingdom to them in a loving way. Help us to love them just like you do. Pour out your grace and mercy over them.

Be Moved!

PAUL HARVEY'S CHRISTMAS STORY

"THE MAN AND THE BIRDS"
By PAUL HARVEY

Unable to trace its proper parentage, I have designated this as my Christmas Story of the Man and the Birds. You know, THE Christmas Story, the God born a man in a manger and all that escapes some moderns, mostly, I think, because they seek complex answers to their questions and this one is so utterly simple. So for the cynics and the skeptics and the unconvinced I submit a modern parable.

Now the man to whom I'm going to introduce you was not a scrooge, he was a kind, decent, mostly good man. Generous to his family, upright in his dealings with other men. But he just didn't believe all that incarnation stuff which the churches proclaim at Christmas Time. It just didn't make sense and he was too honest to pretend otherwise. He just couldn't swallow the Jesus Story, about God coming to Earth as a man. "I'm truly sorry to distress you," he told his wife, "but I'm not going with you to church this Christmas Eve." He said he'd feel like a hypocrite. That he'd much rather just stay at home, but that he would wait up for them. And so he stayed and they went to the midnight service.

Shortly after the family drove away in the car, snow began to fall. He went to the window to watch the flurries getting heavier and heavier and then went back to his fireside chair and began to read his newspaper. Minutes later he was startled by a thudding sound. Then another, and then another. Sort of a thump or a thud. At first he thought someone must be throwing snowballs against his living room window. But when he went to the front door to investigate he found a flock of birds huddled miserably in the snow. They'd been caught in the storm and, in a desperate search for shelter, had tried to fly through his large landscape window.

Well, he couldn't let the poor creatures lie there and freeze, so he remembered the barn where his children stabled their pony. That would provide a warm shelter, if he could direct the birds to it. Quickly he put on a coat, galoshes, tramped through the deepening snow to the barn. He opened the doors wide and turned on a light, but the birds did not come in. He figured food would entice them in. So he hurried back to the house, fetched bread crumbs, sprinkled them on the snow, making a trail to the yellow-lighted wide open doorway of the stable. But to his dismay, the birds ignored the bread crumbs, and continued to flap around helplessly in the snow. He tried catching them. He tried shooing them into the barn by walking around them waving his arms. Instead, they scattered in every direction, except into the warm, lighted barn.

And then, he realized, that they were afraid of him. To them, he reasoned, I am a strange and terrifying creature. If only I could think of some way to let them know that they can trust me. That I am not trying to hurt them, but to help them. But how? Because any move he made tended to frighten them, confuse them. They just would not follow. They would not be led or shooed because they feared him. "If only I could be a bird," he thought to himself, "and mingle with them and speak their language. Then I could tell them not to be afraid. Then I could show them the way to safe, warm ...... to the safe warm barn. But I would have to be one of them so they could see, and hear and understand."

At that moment the church bells began to ring. The sound reached his ears above the sounds of the wind. And he stood there listening to the bells - Adeste Fidelis - listening to the bells pealing the glad tidings of Christmas.

And he sank to his knees in the snow.

Maybe this is a God thing?

Some of you know that we are planning on putting our house on the market in January and looking for a house farther Southeast towards Higley and Queen Creek so we can be closer to Amadeo. I really want to live in the community we will be ministering in.

So this morning at Amadeo church Patty and I were chatting with Maria Cornejo and told her about our plans. Well their next door neighbors are moving and Maria had been praying for good neighbors. It is very similar to the Cornejo's home and has a huge yard, 3 car garage, parking space for 8 vehicles, lots of upgrades, tiled throughout and with a doggie door. Sounds like a God thing to me. It is single story too which is what I wanted. A little bit over 2000 square feet.

We are going to get with a realtor after we get back from our little trip up North over New Years weekend. We have rented a cabin from Dec 30th-Jan 2nd up in the White Mountains.

Father, I ask that if this is your will for us, that things will go smoothly and we would be able to sell our house quickly.

Merry Christmas everyone. Enjoy your families, friends and neighbors. May Christ bless each and everyone of you.

Be Moved!

'Twas the war before Christmas

What would you do?

I would like to pose a question to everyone out there. I am just curious how people would handle this scenario.

Two guys walk into your church service holding hands or with their arms around each other. They are not being intimate such as making out or flaunting their homosexuality. But they are not hiding it either. They are greeted and handed a bulletin and then find a seat for the service. They continue to hold hands or have their arms around each other. What would you do?

A witness to what faith can be

PORTLAND, Ore. - Something radical is happening every Friday night where homeless people congregate downtown under the Burnside Bridge. read about it here

If only we could see this form of faith more often in our highly charged public arena. No doubt, the bad name borne by Christianity in some quarters is partly the fault of the media for highlighting conflict and inflammatory rhetoric and for shying away from the thousands of acts of Christian decency all around us. But most of the blame must be laid at the feet of the loudest and most visible champions of the Christian Right. Are those who project the divisive and arrogant side of religion willing to kneel down and cleanse the feet of the homeless?

Killswitch Engage - My Curse

Bakker, Brown: What the hell happened to Christianity?

I totally agree with what these guys are saying. Jay Baker is Jim & Tammy Faye's son. He is now reaching the punk rock crowd with the Good News. Read the article here

From Patty and I's daily flip calendar Sensational Marriage Secrets-365 ways to keep your love alive. Todays word Monday Dec 18th from Gary Smalley and John Trent, The Hidden Value of a Man


Christ expects us to throw a towel over our shoulders and serve frequently ungrateful, unresponsive men and women (sometimes even our spouse) with a full heart, as He did.

Matthew 20:26-27 TLB
Anyone wanting to be a leader among you must be your servant. And if you want to be right at the top, you must serve like a slave.

What a great weekend man! It started off with my office Christmas party at a co-worker's house out in Maricopa. Good food and great fellowship. We had to leave early to meet my folks and my grandma at my house but it was a great party. There were a lot of folks there that have retired that I had not seen in awhile and that was great to see them too.

My folks and grandma arrived at our house right at 5 pm and we hung out for a bit then headed over to VCCG. I enjoyed mingling with some of the folks there that I had not seen in awhile. I got to chat with Keith Killough for a bit and also Lonnie the commander. It was great to catch up with them. Lonnie met my folks and grandma. I also chatted with Pastor Jack briefly. Patty's sister Maureen went also and she really enjoyed it. I really liked the small prayer circles we did.

After that we went to the house and fellowshipped for a few hours. Sunday morning we went to Amadeo and my cousin Jael and her husband Guillermo met us there. It was a great time of worship and Ian did the sermon which was great. We did the table church thing and it was very interactive. It was an awesome time. After that we went to Joe's Barbecue for lunch. Great food, great fellowship with family.

Jim Wallis Speaks on Anderson Cooper 360

An interview with one of my favorite bloggers Mr. Jim Wallis. It's about 10 minutes long.

A great weekend coming up

A 4 day weekend for me. Yay! I worked a string of 7 evening shifts in a row with 1 day off then 3 dayshifts in a row. But today I took 4 hours of annual leave to extend my weekend even more.

Tomorrow a guy that I work with is hosting the office Christmas party from 1-6pm. He lives in a huge house out in Maricopa. we're going to show up right at 1 pm and leave at 3 because my folks are coming up from Tucson for the weekend along with my grandma. They will be at our house by 5pm and we're all heading over to The Vineyard Christmas Cafe at VCCG. Sounds like it will be a great time of worship and fellowship around a fire along with hot drinks and dessert.

Sunday morning we'll all go Amadeo in the morning. My cousin Jael and her husband Guillermo will drive up from Tucson that morning and meet us at Amadeo. After the service we're all going out to eat.

A co-worker of mine has been asking me about Amadeo and they may attend real soon. They're good peeps too.

Patty and I went over to Mark and Susan's house Wednesday night and had a great time of fellowship, discussion and prayer about the youth group at Amadeo. We wrote down all of the names of the kids on a board and prayed for each of them. January 8th we will meet at the Power Ranch clubhouse and each Monday night thereafter from 630-830 pm. We will hold a drop in center from 630-730 pm where we will serve the kids hot dogs, hamburgers, and drinks and just hang out with them and love them. Patty and I will head up the drop in center portion and Mark said he would like to do the teaching so at 730 pm we will head to the clubhouse and get into God's word. At 8 pm we'll have prayer time for any needs the kids have and then we'll clean up.

We also have an event planned for the 22nd at Mark and Susan's house where we'll just hang with the kids, eat (Susan said she's making meatball subs yum yum!) and watch a movie.

January we'll team up with VCCG and head to Ragefest and check out the bands. I hear Project 86 is playing there and they're hardcore. Who wants to jump in the pit with a 45 year old crazy guy? See me if you're interested :-)

Then in Feb or March it is church Youth Night with the Phoenix Roadrunner's hockey team and we'll team up with Obie and VCCG for that too.

And some weekend I would like to take some of the Youth from Amadeo to CDE and serve those kids that Hannah and Susie serve with passion. I'll need to coordinate that with Hannah and Susie.

Don't let all of the busyness and craziness of this time of year get you all stressed out. Be still and listen to God's voice. Do something nice for someone. Talk to the cashier at the checkout stand. Talk to that neighbor you always see but never speak to. Bring someone dinner just because. Be moved by the love of Christ.

What do we want the Church to do? We don't ask for more cathedrals. We don't ask for bigger churches of fine gifts. We ask for its presence with us, beside us, as Christ among us. We ask the Church to sacrifice with the people for social change, for justice, and for love of brother. We don't ask for words. We ask for deeds. We don't ask for paternalism. We ask for servanthood.
- Cesar Chavez

When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?" When Jesus heard this, he said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners."
- Mark 2:16-17

I am liking this guy Obama more and more and I seriously hope he considers making a run for the Democratic ticket. Here are a couple of links about him.

This one is the most current where he drew a huge crowd in New Hampshire.
Obama Draws Crowds in New Hampshire

This one is a speech he gave at the Sojourners/Call to Renewal-sponsored Pentecost conference in June 2006.
One Nation ... Under God?

Yeah, I know, I know. I’m a religious satirist and these kinda scandals are supposed to make my day. Of course, Haggard was a hypocrite for advancing an anti-homosexual agenda while he was leading a double life. But the more I think about it, could he or anyone come out of the closet within the conservative climate of Colorado Springs, home to Focus on the Family, Promise Keepers and some really bad ‘80s style praise music? I kinda doubt it.

This is just an excerpt of a piece written by Becky Garrison that I read on The Ooze today. Check out the rest of it here. What to do about Haggard

QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"Jesus loved and accepted others without approving of everything they did. That's our position too, but it upsets a lot of people ...."
- Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life, responding to conservatives who criticized his invitation to Sen. Barack Obama to attend an HIV/AIDS conference Warren hosted at his church.

LA Times article

It is in community that we come to see God in the other. It is in community that we see our own emptiness filled up. It is community that calls me beyond the pinched horizons of my own life, my own country, my own race, and gives me the gifts I do not have within me.
- Joan Chittister

Our Great Tax System

It turned out that Mr. Buffett, with immense income from dividends and capital gains, paid far, far less as a fraction of his income than the secretaries or the clerks or anyone else in his office. Further, in conversation it came up that Mr. Buffett doesn’t use any tax planning at all. He just pays as the Internal Revenue Code requires. “How can this be fair?” he asked of how little he pays relative to his employees. “How can this be right?”

Even though I agreed with him, I warned that whenever someone tried to raise the issue, he or she was accused of fomenting class warfare.

“There’s class warfare, all right,” Mr. Buffett said, “but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning.”

The rest of the article

Tips as you prepare your weather forecast

Some of you know and some of you don't, but I work for the federal government in the National Weather Service. Here are some tips to think about while preparing a forecast. These are supposed to be funny, but I've been in this line of work for over 25 years and some of them, if not most, are soooooooooo true! Enjoy!

1. If there's a 50-50 chance that a forecast will go wrong, 9 times out of 10 it will
2. No matter how the forecast turns out-there's always another forecaster who "knew it would."
3. The forecaster who "knew it would happen that way", never told anyone else about it before hand.
4. The unwritten forecast is always the one that verifies best.
5. No two weather patterns are alike, although someone will remember one just like this that occurred back in '84.
6. Prog charts are like clocks:
...if you have only one, you always know exactly what time it is.
...if you have more than one-you're never sure.
7. Time savers don't.
Work savers won't.
Short cuts aren't.
8. A storm will develop only after it has been forecast for several days...then not mentioned.
9. Heavy snow will generally end once a winter storm warning has been issued.
10. Rules of thumb work best on someone else's shift.
11. You never notice the "glitch" in the forecast wording until after you've pressed the enter button.
12. No matter how far advanced you forecast a significant storm, the media will always call it unexpected.
13. When in doubt:
...mumble a lot
...talk with food in your mouth
...change the date/time group and reissue
14. Additional newly found data will always screw up a good analysis.
15. Always pass the buck to the shift that you just relieved (or to the hub).
16. I don't care what guidance says-I always make up my forecast while I'm driving to work.
17. Total confusion frequently results in outstanding performance.
18. Murphy's Law: The floppy disk you needed more data from...you just erased.
19. If you get a "gut feeling" about a forecast-it's probably heartburn.
20. When writing a forecast discussion make it so long that no one will bother to read it.
21. Never say "NEVER".
22. If everything in the office worked as well as the fridge and microwave, this would be a great place to work!
23. Bribing the observer will only be tolerated from just before, until just after verification times.
24. Remember-all extended forecasts fall into the realm of make believe stuff.

Monday night at Amadeo Patty and I had the Youth and got to know them a little better and really enjoyed their sharing with us. These are some great servants I'm telling you. We talked a lot about what we would like to do as a Youth Group and I told them basically what we would be doing for the first few months. That is, doing a drop in center and serving the youth at Power Ranch every Monday night beginning in January. We will serve them hot dogs and drinks and mingle with them for an hour, shoot hoops, skateboard, shoot the breeze or whatever. Develope relationships with them. Then for a half hour to hour or so we'll go to the clubhouse and dig into the word of God and share with them.

Robert taught the service Monday night for the large group and there was one thing he said that really touched me. We all want God to bless us and comfort us. But what are we willing to give Him? Are you willing to give Him everything? Robert used a great analogy. Our hearts have many chambers. Sometimes we say to God, "You can have this area here, and this one, and this one over here too. But this chamber I don't want you to enter into. I won't open the door to this area." God is knocking on the door in that area. If you don't open it, He won't come in. Give him EVERYTHING!

I went to 2 hockey games this week. The Roadrunner's are smoking hot right now. They had won 6 in a row and are currently in second place. They played Utah Tuesday night and last night. They beat them Tuesday night in a very physical game. So I was anticipating firworks last night. We got there at the tail end of the pre-game warmups and I could see the Phoenix players yakking at the Utah players. When they lined up for the opening face-off I saw the two wingers chatting with each other. As soon as the ref dropped the puck, their gloves were off and the fight was on. Immediately after that fight there were two more. Then they decided to play hockey after all of the scores were settled from Tuesday night. In the end they lost their first game in the last 7, but they are still in 2nd place. Ya gotta love minor league hockey man! Players playing for the love of the game and not the money.

Finally have a weekend off and am looking forward to it. First Sunday service for Amadeo is this Sunday and I believe great things are going to happen.

I also met this past week with the Pastor from the church we left a few years ago. We parted as friends even though we basically agreed to disagree. But I feel closure in this area of my life now and I thank God for bringing that to me as it has bothered me for quite some time.

Be Moved!