All Day

2009-06-12T20:04:00.002-04:00

Nothin says fun like Busch Gardens! Had a blast with the family. This is in the famed Pirate show where you get very wet.

We're in!

2009-06-12T19:49:00.003-04:00

Well, we've made it to Lutz [pron. loots]. It's been a week. We have a great 4 bedroom rental house we're in with a pool awaiting the bank's reply on the offer of a short sale we have on a beautiful home. We've been asking God to open the doors. Keep praying!

The DiStefano's are moving!

2009-05-15T07:50:00.004-04:00

Well, it's official. After 20 years of ministry at Flamingo Road Church The DiStefano's are moving to Grace Family Church in Tampa. I didn't think we would ever move but God had other plans. We will HUGELY miss our family at FRC! The smiles, hugs, friendships. We are beyond truly blessed for being part of a ministry that has and will continue to change the world! Thanks for all the awesome times and memories. You'll always be in our hearts. We love you guys. We're so excited about going to GFC and seeing what blessings & assignments God has for us. We're looking fwd to giving Him our best there. Please come see us in Tampa!

This Weekend...Marriage!

2009-04-22T23:52:00.017-04:00

Check out ivemissed.com & this video:

A memorable Easter!

2009-04-16T17:27:00.001-04:00

Some Pics say it all!

Lauren's 20?!

2009-04-14T22:57:00.000-04:00

Lauren turned 20! What! 20! I know what you're saying right now, Allen, Sharon you CAN'T be THAT old and it's true. To set the record straight, we had Lauren when Sharon was 13 and i was 12! Hmmmm? Anywho, we had a sweet time at Brio and her favorite gift was a juicy charm.I

I love my oldest girl. She's loyal, bright, beautiful and wonderful, strong young Christian woman. Happy B day Lorna!

Sahweeet!

2009-03-26T17:06:00.003-04:00

Here's another sweet pic from our new set. Notice the wailing wall on the side under the screens. It's available for people to write down the names of people they're praying for and put them in the wall.

Jenna's Bday

2009-03-25T22:54:00.005-04:00

Jenna had her 16th B day! It was Jenna palooza as Pastor Brian would call it all week long. She scored herself a Canon Rebel and lots of other sweet Bday gifts. I love my baby girl. She's funny, she sings like a bird and she loves Jesus and tells her others about Him. Rock strong Darlin!

and...we're back!

2009-03-25T15:42:00.009-04:00

Wow! What a looong break from blogging. While we've been gone this is some of what my honey, Sharon Lee, has been up to(see pic!) She, Peter and Yoel delivered an awesome stage for our new series. Pretty sweet, huh? 2 weeks ago over 600 people walked onto that stage and gave their life to Christ. You never know how your life is going to intersect with eternity. Glad we're back.

Superstar!

2009-01-28T11:24:00.003-05:00

As some of you may know our Brittany Marie is heavily involved in music and drama and last week she got the opportunity to combine these two arts for an awesome memory. She received straight superiors in everything she did! Solo, large ensemble, small ensemble, large group, small group, small solo, large...(u get the idea!). She even won the Critique's choice award for her solo so that means that out of all Broward county schools...she's the best. Now I'm not a bragging Dad or anything, but the girl can throw down! It's also been cool to see Brit leverage her influence in this area, and being the Drama(AMT) president, for God. Congratulations my bugness. Continue to thank Him and use the gifts for His glory. Leave her a comment to encourage or congratulate Brit.

Tonsillectomy...Ouch!

2009-01-13T16:05:00.002-05:00

Our Little Lorna had a tonsillectomy last Thursday. it was pretty traumatic at age 19, but she's been a trooper! Usually when you have one of these you get to look fwd to eating ICE CREAM...but our Lauren is lactose intolerant! She is happy, though, when somebody comes around! Get well soon my baby girl.

Random thoughts

2009-01-11T21:25:00.003-05:00

friends are a gift so is family
pray for my Lauren to heal up(she just had a tonsilectomy)
race movies are annoying(the girls and Andres are watching the Fast and the furious)
my dog is cool
FRC Doral connected with God today
our volunteers are awesome
i like the way our pool looks at night
God is in control

I am not ashamed!

2008-12-19T22:18:00.002-05:00

I found this video on Ed Stezter's blog. This is a great truth from someone who doesn't know the truth. His insight and honesty are hugely refreshing and challenging.

Don't miss this Weekend!

2008-12-18T08:34:00.005-05:00

This is going to be an off the chain Sunday at FRC Doral. Here's just a few things that are gonna happen...

Bounce house for the kidos

Live band and DJ

Free Food & drinks

Hot Coco and Christmas cookies

Santa

Face painting

Guitar hero and...

Pastor Troy LIVE!!! That's right, our very own Pastor Troy will be teaching LIVE at FRC Doral this Sunday at 12:30. We'll have all the festivities begin at 11. Bring the whole family. Don't miss it!

Gotta watch...

2008-12-11T19:13:00.002-05:00

I jacked this from Heredes' blog. This will totally put you in the mood for Christmas!

Get captured by the Revolution

2008-12-07T16:35:00.004-05:00

Our family is totally loving the Giftrevolution.com Here's some pics of Brit and the crew. It has enabled us as a church to reach people that we normally wouldn't have had contact. Here's 4 examples:
1. We had a 1 hour and 15 min Student Rally at Ronald Reagan high school(where our Doral campus meets) during regular school hours with over 500 seniors!
2. Our Doral Student ministry purchased(with there own money!) a bunch of Publix gift cards and handed them out at Publix and helped carry out groceries and gather up carts!
3. Brit organized, with the Principal, a hot chocolate give away day at her high school, Cypress Bay(which is the 2nd largest HS in FL!) and gave away a ton of Hot chocolate and giftrev cards.
4. Our family has bought coffees, meals, groceries,christmas trees, given away purses,clothing etc. It has truly revolutionized the way we view Christmas!

Pastor Troy on Channel 6!

2008-11-27T11:22:00.002-05:00

You got to tune in this Saturday from 9am-10am and watch Pastor Troy talk about the Gift Revolution! The Revolution is taking ground!.

This is how you begin a Revolution!

2008-11-24T06:00:00.001-05:00

Inspire the World in 25 days!

2008-11-23T21:44:00.003-05:00

We have begun the Revolution! This has been an amazing weekend, but the best is yet to come! Saturday night was one of the most memorable times in FRC history. God showed up in an extraordinary way. It really did feel like the launch of a movement! if you haven't already gone to the Giftrev sight please stop by now. You CAN inspire the world! Join us.

Here we gooooo!

2008-11-19T15:29:00.005-05:00

Get ready for our ____ __________ series!
Don't miss this Weekend! from Flamingo Road Church on Vimeo.

IT Book study

2008-11-18T14:43:00.003-05:00

We're having all these crazy Book studies to get ready for the series that cannot be named! There are 4 at FRC Doral. Email me to get the details!

Cool Memories

2008-11-10T16:06:00.005-05:00

Sharon, Jenna and i went to the Sawgraass mall last Fri night to buy a dress for a sweet 16 bday party that Jenna was going to. After we found the dress in less than an hour(this is a HUGE deal!) we deceided to eat dinner at Rainforrest cafe. Now this is a place of memories where we used to take the gurls when they were much younger(about 9-10 years ago). Expectations were low but i gotta tell you, even though the food wasn't great retelling some of the stories meant so much. Jen remembered the bag o stones she used to get and the Lady tree that used to freek her out, and still does! Just some cool moments, that will, themselves, become memories. What are some cool memories you have?

Random Sayings

2008-11-05T18:11:00.004-05:00

These are some random sayings that are in my head right now.

Deal with the negative dwell on the positive

People do what you inspect not what you expect

The deep things of God are discovered through how we live everyday

Everyone's replaceable

You matter to God

The opposite of Ethos

2008-11-02T21:30:00.003-05:00

Here's a post from my Pastor. This is great perspective. It's a very cool formula for keeping things fresh. Check it out:

In Romans 12:9, Paul exhorts us to hate what is evil. Here, at Potential, I've talked a lot about Flamingo's Ethos (values). As it pertains to "hating what is evil," I thought how we need to hate the opposites of our Ethos as much as we embrace the Ethos, themselves:

Love potential; hate actual

Love thinking; hate laziness

Love movement; hate dormancy

Love environment; hate apathy

Love collaboration; hate disloyalty

Love diveristy; hate segregation

Video Game, part deux

2008-10-20T06:00:00.000-04:00

Here's the current "video" game i play. Anything you're hooked on? This can get addicting!

Are you gonna vote?

2008-10-17T14:42:00.003-04:00

In our series making life work, this weekend our very own Pastor Troy Gramling will be talking about Making your vote work at all of our campuses. Don't miss this one!

Video Games

2008-10-13T06:00:00.000-04:00

I've always loved video games. I was in junior high and high school between 1977 to 1982! Yes, the quintessential time for the Genesis of the video game era. There were many times I would go to Gran Prix off Stirling and 95 and would bring 2 dollars, yes 2 dollars for the whole 2 1/2 hours of playing. You can say I owned PacMan, Galaga, Miss Pacman and, my fav, Donkey Kong! I owned a Donkey Kong machine and had it in my house for 4 years. I have a pic of Lauren, when she was 2, playing it! So what's your fav?

Parenting tips

2008-10-10T18:12:00.004-04:00

Ok, so Heather wanted me to list the top 5 parenting tips that Sharon and I have used these past 1??!#? years of parenting. I'll list 4. You put in #5.

1. ALWAYS be on the same page with your spouse

2. Give freedom as they earn your trust.

3. If. No. When you make a mistake tell them you're sorry.

4. Tell your kids you love them everyday!

5. Your turn

Just do it!

2008-09-28T21:13:00.003-04:00

Get a behind the scenes look at FRC and why we do what we do. Get a glimpse behind the watch and see how the GEARS work.

Wanna be great?

2008-09-24T08:49:00.001-04:00

thoughts?

This weekend!

2008-09-24T08:12:00.003-04:00

Don't miss the opp to tell your friends about THIS weekend and don't you miss the opp to grow in your relationship.

Making Marriage Work - The Fall from Flamingo Road Church

Brit's 18!

2008-09-21T20:32:00.003-04:00

They said it couldn't be done.This is one of those things that is near miracle status. It's almost as crazy as cats and dogs living together, mass hesteria...! Out Britty is 18! AHHHH! So i was pulling up from a great day at FRC when Brit pulls up behind me with all this stuff and proclaims, with enthusiasm, "it's my birthday!" That about says it all for our middle girl. We are so proud of you and what you've accomplished and who you're becoming. Conitnue to humble yourself before the Lord and, always, give Him your best. Love you Darlin.

Friend Day...this weekend!

2008-09-12T13:49:00.001-04:00

Don't miss the opp. to invite your friends and anybody else you run into!

Strange facts about me

2008-08-29T18:41:00.009-04:00

1. i make sure all the screws are lined up vertically on all light switches and electrical plugs in my house

2. i like shopping with my wife

3. i love my dog

4. my clothes are color coordinated in my closet(this is from my Mom!)

5. i like to number things!

Alright, your turn...

New series

2008-08-24T20:06:00.003-04:00

This is our new series.

We baptised 150 people today.

Our new total for the year is 1069.

First time FRC has broken the 1 k mark.

In 1989 we baptised 30 people.

That's the year i came.

It's an awesome thing to see God work.

Axioms

2008-08-23T07:14:00.004-04:00

I love axioms. Here's the definition:An established principle in some art or science that is universally received. One of my all time favorites that I was sharing after my workout with some friends at Starbucks sipping my Venti agua con hielo(ice water) is...drum roll...Deal with the negative and dwell on the positive. A lot of times we get this reversed, deal with the positive and dwell on the negative. We already live in a very negative society and I would imagine God knows this. That's why He's given us these words:Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise(Philippians 4:8). What's one positive thing you like to DWELL on.

Our Gurls leading worship

2008-08-13T21:54:00.003-04:00

This is Brit leading in worship at our Lima campus. That same day Lauren helped lead at our Cooper city campus and Jenna helped lead in our Cooper city student campus. Go Gurls! Check out Gar's blog for more on the Lima trip.

Happy birthday Ray?

2008-08-13T21:43:00.007-04:00

Ok, so here's the deal:

Ray(bro in law) was in town on mon.

It's his bday today.

We decide to throw him an early bday party.

Janis(his sis in law) decides to throw his cake!!!

it was an accident(hmmm?!?)

This is wild!

2008-08-11T19:22:00.001-04:00

This or Classic rock!

There's still time-don't miss it!

2008-07-31T23:13:00.005-04:00

You can still sign up today for one of the greatest leadership conferences out there. Do it now!

A lesson in marketing

2008-07-30T09:34:00.003-04:00

I found this on Tim Steven's blog. It's shear marketing genius-props to Office Max. It's hilarious!

Brit's Peru trip

2008-07-28T14:35:00.002-04:00

This is a really cool post about our middle daughter Brittany. She went to our Lima, Peru campus and this post captures the essence of her trip. Rock strong!

F3=flamingo film festival

2008-07-26T10:13:00.004-04:00

This is the first annual F3. It was a really cool night to see who and what our video team is. Heredes leads this team. They produce professional videos every week with very little time and they do it with a great spirit. They really understand why they do what they do. Thanks so much for honoring God with the gifts He's given you. He is using them for His eternal purposes! Rock strong.

Leadership Summit line-up

2008-07-24T21:26:00.004-04:00

click here for more info!

A cool leadership lesson

2008-07-22T17:44:00.006-04:00

I wanted to share a quick leadership lesson that I got to share with our Worship Pastors today. Here it is: Let's show people value when we meet with them by:

1. making eye contact: it lets people know you're listening

2. not taking calls: nothing says you don't matter if you take a call(emergencies excluded)

3. not appearing rushed: people won't completely share if they sense this from you

4. closing the computer: enough said

5. telling the truth in love: care enough to confront

Is it worth it?

2008-07-21T17:26:00.009-04:00

Last night I watched Batman begins with Sharon lee and my oldest girl. It was great. I know I'm 3 years behind but I was told I had to watch this before we saw the new one. So let me know...is The Dark night worth it???

2008 Leadership Summit

2008-07-20T18:37:00.005-04:00

This is one of the great leadership conferences out there and this year we're one of the hosts. You can register here. Bring your team, family, co-workers to hear from some of the great leaders of our day and learn how to reach your potential.

Movie Favs

2008-07-13T22:01:00.009-04:00

Since it's summer here's a list of some of my all time Movie favs and some classic quotes:

Airplane-i can make a broach, a hat, a terradactyl.

Saving Private Ryan-I hope that, at least in your eyes, I've earned what all of you have done for me.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off-Oh, Ed. You just sounded like Dirty Harry just then.

Tommy Boy-Went a little heavy on the pine tree perfume there, kid?

Trilogy-(Waiting for Gaufman, Mighty wind, Best in Show)-No, that's a bear in a, in a bee costume.

Caddyshack-a cinderella story out a nowhere
Monty Python and the Holy grail-Run away!, What is your favorite color?
Amadeus-Mozart: Is it not good? Salieri: It is miraculous.

Moonraker-Bond, James Bond...says it all!

Napoleon Dynamite-Pedro offers you his protection. Lucky. Napoleon, don't be jealous that i've been chatting online with babes all day. Besides, we both know that I'm training to be a cage fighter.

Hope you enjoyed-Rock strong!

Congrats Mom & Dad!

2008-07-07T08:18:00.001-04:00

As i mentioned in my previous post, it's my Mom and Dad's 50th wedding anniversary. Check it out here.

My Baby!

2008-07-06T21:12:00.002-04:00

I love my wife! She loooves to read on the porch. She really is the person on this planet that I would choose, over anybody, to spend time with. It really is difficult for us to spend too much time together. I know...sappy, sappy! This is my honey on the porch of a beautiful beach house reading Trial by Fire by Terri Blackstock(thanks Heather). We're here because it's my parents 50th! Congrats Mom and Dad. Where do you like to read?

It was the Cat's fault!

2008-06-28T11:10:00.003-04:00

I jacked this from Pastor Brian's blog. So are you a Cat or a Dog person?

FRC's future?

2008-06-25T08:34:00.003-04:00

So is this a glimpse of the future for FRC multi-sites??? This is the first real time 3D holographic telepresence presentation from Cisco and Munision systems. One was physically in India, at the meeting, and the other was in California! For more info check out Telepresence options.

The Blonde Antelope

2008-06-24T21:12:00.006-04:00

I jacked this off of my Mom's blog!

A special place to pray

2008-06-20T14:47:00.004-04:00

This is one of those special places for me to pray. It's our Auditorium at Cooper city. I'll specifically ask God to touch the lives of the people that will occupy these chairs. I'll ask Him to move them(and me) closer to Himself through baptism, prayer, Bible study, small group, salvation. Whatever it takes for Him to get our attention. What's one of your special places?

Enjoying the Summer at FRC!

2008-06-19T21:39:00.002-04:00

This is a cool pic from our current series Moods. I love the fact that we work so hard on connecting with people with Christ from the outside world by doing insane sets like this! My baby Sharon, Priscilla, Scott, Peter and Yoel are mostly responsible for this awesome set. Another cool side note is that's our very own Brittany Marie leading in worship! Rock strong Britty bug.

A wknd with Pastor Troy

2008-06-16T18:53:00.005-04:00

So i jacked this video from my Pastor's blog. The camera follows him around the whooole weekend! Enjoy.

It's worth the read

2008-06-14T10:12:00.003-04:00

I'm reading the book Pop goes the church by Tim Stevens. It's well written and has great insight into the reality of what the Church needs to do and be in order to leverage the existing culture to reach the world. I'm so glad I'm at a place that is making a righteous effort to make this happen. Rock strong!

Cool article

2008-06-13T14:34:00.003-04:00

We were fortunate to be featured in the Wall street journal today. They spent a little time with us here in Cooper city and they actually traveled to our Lima Campus. Pretty sweet! Check out the article here...
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121331198629268975.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Look at those lights!

2008-06-12T16:56:00.002-04:00

This is from one of our past concerts. It was a memorable night! A touring company allowed us to use their light curtain that priced out at about 200k. We had a blast for those 3 weeks! This weekend we continue our series Moods...Keep on Truckin. A man, who attends FRC, has graciously allowed us to use some "additional" lighting for the summer. It's worth over a half a million dollars! Wait til you see the lights THIS weekend!

You'd never guess!

2008-06-08T21:44:00.004-04:00

This is a disturbing sample of what happens backstage each wknd at FRC. Especially when we're doing a series based upon the 70's. Yes, Heather attended Saturday night worship dressed as Foxy Brown, i mean White!

Sooooo proud of my baby girl!

2008-06-08T21:31:00.003-04:00

It's not a great pic.
Can't even make out the faces, but...
the all blonde one is Jenna(Diaz is the partly blonde one!).
This is taken in the back of our Cooper city student Aud...
with my Dash
while i was catching a tear because...
my baby girl was leading worship!

Moods is coming!

2008-06-04T17:07:00.004-04:00

Moods Promo from Flamingo Road Church on Vimeo.">
Moods Promo from Flamingo Road Church on Vimeo." border="0" alt="" />

This is our new series for the next 5 weeks. I love the pic of the pants. Tell me your favortie part!

O what a night!

2008-06-03T16:12:00.005-04:00

Hi guys. Well FRC had an awesome beach baptism at Hollywood beach and we baptised 209 people(after Easter 2008's baptism of 500 plus i didn't know if there was anybody left!). This was the first! Our team played a concert at the band shell which was seen by thousands. Pastor Marc did a great job with song selection and getting the band and tech at peak performance. Our own Brittany Marie sang Not gonna write you a love song by Sarah Borelli. Way to go Britty. It was a memorable night!

Linda's doing better!

2008-06-03T16:10:00.002-04:00

Pastor Troy's Mom Linda is doing better after her brain surgery. He said her recovery is happening very quickly! Thank the Lord.

Keep praying

2008-05-29T13:21:00.004-04:00

As many of you may know Pastor Troy's Mom Linda had Brain surgery on Tuesday. She's doing well now-Thank the Lord! For more info check out www.troyandsteph.com

1 of the books I'm reading

2008-05-25T18:23:00.003-04:00

Branding faith is similar to Godin's All marketers are liars. Here's a good definition of branding: it's how we tell our story in a compelling way. The author, Phil Cooke says..."Throughout history, leaders and communicators have struggled against the various cultures in which they found themselves. In every case, anyone who attempted to present their message in a relevant way knew they had to recognize and understand the cultural framework of the time in order to be a more effective communicator." Veeeery true. We, as the church, have been waaaay past due to make the cultural connection with the society in which we live and we have created a subculture, of sorts, that is similar to the alternate 1985 in Back to the future 2-Ouch. Check out the book...it rocks!

i love our staff meetings(i really do!)

2008-05-15T08:07:00.010-04:00

Staff Meeting from Troy Gramling on Vimeo.

p.s. i missed the shot:(

What's for breakfast?

2008-05-10T11:55:00.003-04:00

Today Lauren, Andres and I made breakfast at home. When we were done I asked Andres what his favorite breakfast was growing up...he said fresh squeezed OJ with eggs and bacon. Lauren said "when Momma used to make us sugar toast." Mine was when my Dad made pancakes(Mom, i'm sure that's a rip off for all the breakfast's you made me-especially so close to Mother's day!!). Sharon's was when her Mom made animal and letter-shaped pancakes. It was a cool time together and we made a memory! Soooo what's your favorite breakfast growing up???

Well...the results are in

2008-05-02T18:01:00.002-04:00

Our very own Brittany Marie made straight superiors at States today. Not one, not two, but ALL three judges gave her duet(other girl's name is Brittany!) all 1's. Now if you're a band, chorus, drama or other artsy nerd you know that's a BIG deal. No other entries, to date, have received this honor sooooo Brittany is up for the Kid of the year award! Way to go baby! You put the chicken in the oven and cooked it! Way to rock strong baby!

Sing, Sing, Sing!

2008-04-30T19:20:00.004-04:00

"Oh, Sing to the LORD a new song! Sing to the LORD, all the earth. Sing to the LORD, bless His name." Psalm 96:1
Well, our Brittany Marie is at the Florida State vocal competition. She made a superior at the regionals so she's looking to score the same at States! Go Britty! We love you-Mom, Dad, Lauren, Jenna and Pedi! Tell me if you've ever been to a "State"competition.

Where does your dog sleep, the bed or the floor?

2008-04-21T20:55:00.004-04:00

Keyboards!

2008-04-18T18:03:00.010-04:00

Sorryfornotusingthespacekey,butourcomputerkeyboardisbroken.
Apparently,oneofthegirlsfriends(notthegirlsthemselves)accidently
spilledwateronit.Futurepostingsarepending
untilthepurchaseofanotherkeyboardrockstrong!

Beach baptism-Easter 2008!

2008-04-07T19:23:00.009-04:00

Family update

2008-04-06T16:35:00.014-04:00

Hi Guys. Here's what's happening with us:

Brit became the Children's director at our Hallandale beach campus!

Easter was insane(check previous posts for more details)

We had a bunch of kids over the house

Lauren and Andres celebrated their 3 month anniversary-whew hew!

The girls had fun during their spring break

We saw "Horton hears a who"

Brits car broke down and died

We bought a new car......for Sharon: the new Ford Edge.

We had a bunch of kids over the house(oh, i said that already!)

Sharon and i attended the funeral of Dr. E. G. Robertson(Garland's Dad). A very special man to me and Sharon. He was an awesome man of God.

Jenna brought the house down when she sang "Bring me to life"(Evanesence) in Student Worship this weekend

As i type this Jenna just walked in with a bunch of kids that have come over our house and we love it!

I love our video team!

2008-04-02T20:00:00.005-04:00

Click on the ?. Nothin but high tech here folks! Check out He lives video as well from FRC Easter 2008!

Other cool Easter pics...(thanks Heather)

2008-03-25T09:10:00.003-04:00

Unbelievable!

2008-03-24T10:40:00.005-04:00

This had to be the greatest wknd in FRC history! 503 people were baptized-wow, i've got to catch my breath! Nearly 16,000 in worship. Thousands of people making life changing desicions and pastor Troy was able to move after all those times! I hope you got to share in one of these amazing experiences.

Books i'm reading

2008-03-20T18:52:00.007-04:00

Here's a few cool insights from these writings...

Marketers:
find a shared worldview
frame a story around that view
make it easy for the story to spread
live your story

Launching:
Learning: a leader must be able to learn from anyone
Performing: perservere through failure to find success
Leading: extend your ability by expanding your team
Developing Leaders: learn to trust your people
Develop Leaders who develop Leaders: create a legacy

Ahhh duh Puppi duug!(Ah the puppy dog! in dog voice)

2008-03-20T18:38:00.004-04:00

As you may know I am a Dacshund lover. I have had Dachsunds ALL my life. I discovered this masterpiece on brianvasil.com blog(one of the truly brilliant humans i know-esp now!) This may be the cutest video you've ever seen-forget about it! Thanks Bri.

ps sorry for the ugly, random dog at the end

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Next Step

2008-03-18T17:02:00.007-04:00

This is a very special pic to me because it's the pathway that will lead to our new baptistry at our Hallandale beach campus. This weekend at all of our 36 worship times and on Sunday morning at sunrise(Dania Beach) we will be baptizing people that want to take their next step in their relationship with Christ! One of the other cool things about this picture is that the guy who is heading this Baptistry project up, Roly, is getting baptized at the beach! This is going to be a killer Easter weekend. Rock strong.

Easter 2008

2008-03-04T07:22:00.003-05:00

Easter is going to be strong! It's taking place in the middle of our most intense series RationaLIES. We actually kick off the wknd with our good Friday times and a Beach baptism on Dania beach at 6:32am(sunrise) on Easter sunday morning.

I love our new TV intro...

2008-03-04T07:06:00.004-05:00

Flamingo Road Church w/ Troy Gramling (Sundays on FOX) from Flamingo Road Church on Vimeo.

Our baby's 15!!!

2008-02-27T06:59:00.006-05:00

I know, i know it's so hard to believe that Sharon lee and i have a child that's 15, let alone be the baby of the family. One has to wonder about such complexities! Here are some cool things i remember about our Jenna Lynn...

going to the hospital not once, but twice for our "baby" to be born
Aunt Debi calling her Jenna Lyndrums
listening to some of her first words...can i have a diet coke Mama!
singing Happy burthday Jesus
listening to that same voice came back into town and exclaim weeur in ahur woolrld[we're in our world in baby talk)
watching her be a cheerleader, watching her take on the boys in optimist football
watching her carve her name and handprint in the sidewalk of our new house
riding the Hulk with her
seeing her trust Christ with her big sister Lauren helping her
getting to baptize my girl
watching her absolute love for God and music
taking her to Chimas(brazilian steak house) and watching her freak out over the incredible food!

There have been many other things i could share, but you may get bored!
We love you Jen Jen. Continue to serve and trust in the One who made you. Love Mom and Dad

Here it comes...

2008-02-26T18:47:00.002-05:00

This is going to be one of our most righteous series ever! Bringing the darkness into the light. When we rationalize things long enough, they can become "rationaLIES". In this series, we’ll take a close, hard look at the lies Satan wants us to believe and how the Truth can win against them. Please join us for "RationaLIES" from March 9th through March 30th at one of our 6 Campuses!

First Internet baptism

2008-02-20T07:21:00.006-05:00

To be part of history is a very cool, yet humbling thing. To see technology used in such an eternal way makes you wonder how many more? God is always up to something. This time He used the ancient with the new! Rock strong!

Garage sale was awesome!

2008-02-18T16:41:00.004-05:00

Veeery cool...thanks Heredes!

2008-02-09T09:57:00.001-05:00

Check this out...

The gurls update

2008-02-09T07:29:00.000-05:00

Jenna
1. doing well in school
2. part of the Student worship team(singing and running slides) at FRC
3. loves spending time outside(esp the park, esp the swings, also loves sitting on the tailgate of the truck)
4. currently spending the night at Candi's house. Candice is a good friend-rock strong

Lauren
1. Still going out with Andres. He's a good boy. doing well at FIU
2. part of the adult WT at FRC(spends most of her time at Doral campus because Andres is there!)
3. loves spending time with...Andres(did i already say that?)
4. attended an FIU play last night with some Phi Sig sisters(was Andres there Lauren?)

Brittany
1. doing well in school
2. part of the Student worship team at FRC but currently acting Children's director at Hallandale beach campus for a short time
3. loves drama. not the real life kind, well maybe, no i mean at Cyrpruss bay. currently auditioning for Sandy in Grease
4. worked the chocolate fountain last night for (w/ french accent)Cafe' di Amore'. had many interesting stories and came home with chocolate ALL over her shirt!

Brainstorming

2008-02-03T06:50:00.000-05:00

I read a very inspiring and cool post on brainstorming by Nancy Beach of Willow Creek. I'm always amazed to see the small mustard seed of conception grow into a full-fledged production. Check it out...

http://nancybeach.typepad.com/nancy_beach/brainstorming/index.html

Sahweeet!

2008-02-02T08:02:00.000-05:00

Did anybody catch Jeff? Marc was with him too. There is something special about a place called The Chocalate Moose-hmmm-God bless America!

Heeeere's Vaughn!

2008-02-01T21:50:00.000-05:00

Our own pastor Vaughn on American idol. Did anybody hear him sing "Gravity" last wknd??? Forget about it-the voting's done baby!

U23D!

2008-01-31T20:54:00.000-05:00

We had a blast! This was one of the quintessential music experiences I've ever had! It's also awesome to get to do life with such great, cool, godly people.

Superstar!

2008-01-31T20:46:00.000-05:00

It was pretty cool to watch Idol last night and see 3 of our vocalists there. Felippe, Giovanna and Pastor Vaughn! Vaughn looked like Lenny Kravitz-cooool shades bro. Rock strong.

Poor Priscilla!

2008-01-28T08:01:00.000-05:00

Our Pastor, Troy Gramling, taught an awesome msg about the pull of gravity and used a 12 step staircase to illustrate his point. One of our team members, Priscilla, took this to heart. She was helping to lead worship at our Hallandale beach campus. Just before the second worship time she was coming down the stairs to the stage when she fell down the stairs right on her elbow-Ouch!!! She's fine now, but obviously felt the need to live out Troy's msg!

Words

2008-01-21T17:28:00.000-05:00

At FRC there are some important words. Words inspire us. They evoke emotion. They make us laugh. They make us cry. They spawn joy. They instill fear. They remind us of purpose. Words are powerful. Here's a list of some of the important words at FRC. Choose one and let me know what it means to you. Let's begin with the biggies at FRC.

Thinking Movement Collaboration Environment Diversity Potential

energy initiation execution flexibility
leadership love giving understanding
salvation change second-chance baptism
passion purpose kindness peace pace
excellence trust leverage partner reinvisoinate
podcast share sharp strength logistics
imagine inspire pro-active patience

for DLT(diretional leadership team)
fuel push gears gauges!

and let's not forget...I'm sorry and thank you!

Next weekend: Jan 26/27 Let's Simplify our life

2008-01-17T19:04:00.000-05:00

We're kickin off our new series Garage sale...Simplify your life. It all culminates on Sat., Feb 16 with a Garage sale that will be around the world. All 6 of our campuses will participate as well as Texas, South Carolina, Mexico, Orlando, Ohio and many other locations TBA. All proceeds are going to be donated to the American Cancer Society. This is a great way to do something beyond ourselves-rock strong!

It's coooold out there! (re:Groundhog day)

2008-01-17T06:52:00.000-05:00

Well Brit and Jen are going to Winter camp in NC where they will enter into a world of fun, some deep hang time with God and friends and freezing cold! IT's gonna get down to 14 degrees. Now, keep in mind, that these are South Florida girls. They think it's cold when the air gets turned down to 74! Please pray for my children! It is cool that we have a church that values our students. I've said it often, but it's true that we're so blessed to be at a place that our girls can't get enough. It's hard to go on vacation or get out of town for a few days without the girls pushing to get back for the wknd. Good dilema, good times.

We serve a creative God! Wow, #4!

2008-01-05T20:29:00.000-05:00

Friday, January 4, 2008
America's Most Innovative Churches
Outreach Magazine just released the list for 2008. This is really cool and an honor to be named with some of the churches that we have learned from and admired for years. Here's the list of America's Most Innovative Churches of 2008:

LifeChurch.tv, Edmond, OK, Craig Groeschel
Mars Hill Church, Seattle, WA, Mark Driscoll
Granger Community Church, Granger, IN, Mark Beeson
Flamingo Road Church, Cooper City, FL, Troy Gramling
Seacoast Church, Mount Pleasant, SC, Greg Surratt
Saddleback Church, Lake Forest, CA, Rick Warren
Mosaic Church, Los Angeles, CA, Erwin McManus
Fellowship Church, Grapevine, TX, Ed Young
North Point Community Church, Alpharetta, GA, Andy Stanley
Willow Creek Community Church, South Barrington, IL, Bill Hybels
National Community Church, Washington, DC, Mark Batterson
NewSpring Church, Anderson, SC, Perry Noble
Community Christian Church, Naperville, IL, Dave Ferguson
Elevation Church, Charlotte, SC, Steven Furtick
Healing Place Church, Baton Rouge, LA, Dino Rizzo
North Coast Church, Vista, CA, Larry Osborne
NorthWood Church, Keller, TX, Bob Roberts
NewSong Church, Irvine, CA, Dave Gibbons
New Hope Christian Fellowship, Honolulu, HI, Wayne Cordeiro
Redeemer Presbyterian Church, New York, NY, Tim Keller
Crossover Church, Tampa, FL, Tommy Kyllonen
Perimeter Church, Duluth, GA, Randy Pope
Mars Hill, Grandville, MI, Rob Bell
The Orchard Church Community, Aurora, IL, Scott Hodge
The Sanctuary Covenant Church, Minneapolis, MN, Efrem Smith

Here are some other blogs that talk about the list:
http://churchrelevance.com/americas-25-most-innovative-churches-of-2008/
http://www.outreachmagazine.com/library/features/jf08ftrmostinnovativechurches.asp

Daaaaa Girls

2008-01-04T18:51:00.000-05:00

2008 is here! 2007 flew by-it really only feels like August! The girls are ready to take on 2008. Brit and Jen are preparing for the i've been out of school since Dec 21st and been sleeping in til 11ish shock to their system when reality will smack them in the face this coming Monday. We all had a cool, restful time during the Christmas break. Sharon has been changing over the stage, the girls have been, as noted before, sleeping in and shopping. Thank God shopping includes taking things back! it does help fill the time so more cash isn't spent on another pair of jeans. Lauren has a new boyfriend and his name is Andres. Good lookin boy. Reminds me of me back in the day when "the Kid" was on the loose! Word! We've got the Honda all fixed up from it's many "beatings over the last few months(reminder:Brittany Marie began driving in September!) Jen made some rockin jewlrey for Sharon for one of her presents. I believe she may have her Mama's creative design gifts. Brit is gearing up for GREASE this spring as the Cypress ba¥ lightning present the blockbuster extravaganza. I love my girls. God has given Sharon and me a very wonderful. meaningful gift in these 3 younger humans. We are so blessed to love, parent, lead and teach them.

Ahh! Momma, Lauren Elise and the puppeh dug

2007-12-25T15:16:00.001-05:00