Christmas Eve 2009 is upon us

Christmas Eve service begins in just under 3 hours! 2009 has come and gone so quickly! For many perhaps it has not been quickly enough. Suffice it to say, 2009 has been a hard year in many ways. We see so much pain in the financial situation of families, the health of relationships and uncertainty with jobs & more.

However crazy Christmas may seem when it comes to commitments & obligations....I encourage you to stop, if even for a short while. Stop and contemplate why we celebrate this holiday. Has the birth of Jesus made a difference in the way that you live your life? If so, stop and thank Him that he cared enough to enter our world, live a perfect life & give it away unselfishly so that we could live. Thank Him for the opportunity He has given us to be in relationship with the Father. He says, "If you know me, you have come to know my Father in heaven."

Tonight - we celebrate "The Savior of Christmas". It is about hope. It is about life. It is about our lives being changed because of this one event in history.

Join us at Oasis Life Church, 19756 N. John Wayne Pkwy, Suite 108 at 6PM tonight for a celebration of dance, worship, Christmas carols and an interactive message including adults & children. The service is just one hour long and there is childcare for 0-5 yrs old. Refreshments will be served and the service will end with a candlelight ceremony with the singing of "Silent Night".

Merry Christmas!

With Love - Pastor Scott

"At the Kids Movies" is coming back to Oasis!

Last summer one of our most popular series was "At the Kids Movies". It was July, gas was $4 a gallon, it was 100 degrees plus and the popcorn was free!

Well - we're bringing it back for the summer of 2009. Gas is almost $3 a gallon, it's hot and once again the popcorn is free.

Starting July 12th and running until August 2nd. In the heat of an AZ summer, a cool, dark theater is just the place for a family to retreat. For a few hours we get lost in the action, excitement and the thrill of what Hollywood has produced. But could these movies point to truth in our lives? Join us as we apply Scripture to the life lessons "At the Kids Movies"

Just as last year - the first weeks movie will be a surprise and then the next week's movie will only be revealed at the end of the service! Showings are each Sunday at 8:30 or 10:30 AM. You'll not want to miss a week!

Oasis Sunday Night Reflections

Hard to believe that I've not made an entry to this blog for over a month! Seems like the manic Monday sent me over the edge - not really but life has been a blur since that time!

It's Sunday night and Caryl is putting Johnny to sleep after a very long day. Here are just a few reflections for a Sunday night:

• God is working in our midst!
• Today was a powerful and awesome conclusion to our series "Sexual Revolution"
• Response time was incredible today as dozens posted their shame on the cross, lit a candle for purity in their lives, were anointed for healing and received communion!
• Seeing people get "shame off of them" is worth it
• This sexual revolution that has begun between our ears and not between the sheets needs to continue from generation to generation!
• Can I just say that my wife gave one of the best talks about sex ever last week! Men and women alike need to listen to this! Here's a link - http://tinyurl.com/ca2d7u
• I don't know about you but I'll forever think of the hand motions to "Trading My Sorrow" to be equated with the phrase "shame off you"
• We are seeing a lot of visitors this year! Praise God and by the way it seems like "Google" is one of the main way people find us in Maricopa!
• Six people baptized today in a beautiful ceremony in the pool of Daniel & Susi Wagner!
• What incredible testimonies we heard from all of them!
• And nearly 100 people came to eat, hang out and witness this incredible event!
• Baptism is one of my favorite things we get to do in the church - cutting off the old man and moving forward in what God has for us has so much meaning!
• Windy - can you say windy this afternoon?
• The wind always reminds me of the Holy Spirit. And - the Holy Spirit is moving in our midst - bringing us peace and freedom, hope and life!
• I think a few people may have missed out on an incredible day because of March Madness and the playoffs! - Anyway - God still has something for you too!
• Can you believe that next week we start the series that will lead us into Easter?
• The series will be "Famous Last Words" - as we explore the last 16 Words of Jesus as he hung on the cross - powerful, life changing!
• Didn't realize that the youth leaders would get about an hours rest before they had to be at Hydrate - oops - we'll have to do something different next time we have baptism.
• Thank you for all the prayers for our brother-in-law, David Sharp. He had quadruple bypass surgery in Panama City, FL on Friday and we just learned that he got out of ICU this afternoon. Hopefully he'll be going home very soon!
• Please pray for the finances of the church - like everywhere - things are tight and we trust God for all our needs. Pray that he will release the financial blessings that he has in store for us all!
• Caryl, Susan, Josh, Emily, Sean, Cheryl, Brandon, David, Carrie and so many others - thank you for the time, energy and passion you devote to this ministry! You are making a difference! I love you all!
• Turning 44 this week - Yikes! But as my 100 yr old great grandmother used to say "Age is a matter of the mind." If you don't mind - it doesn't matter!
• Have an awesome week and here is to believing it won't take another months until I post again!

Ok - time to relax and get some much needed sleep - Blessings - Pastor Scott

Manic Monday? Poop, Poison, Run Away Dog, Hospitals and More!

It was a Monday like I've not had for some time and I think it has finally come to an end but then again it is nearly midnight so I guess it should be ending.

I didn't get out of bed until nearly 9:30 and that was a good start. However within the first 30 minutes we had an elderly Alzheimer father in-law who had a fecal accident. My mother-in-law was not feeling well and attempted to get him changed. Soon I couldn't find our 10 wk old puppy, only to find her eating poop in the bathroom a few minutes later. I quickly got her cleaned up and back in her kennel for some rest.

Caryl got her dad shower and got him dressed for the day. During this time we noticed that her mom was more disoriented than the day before and that she continued to have some jerking of her arm. Her medicines had just been changed a few days ago so we've been believing that this is side-affects of the new medicines. As the morning progressed we noticed that she was getting worse so we called her doctor. He recommended that she go to the hospital to be evaluated and rule out anything that may be going wrong.

Meanwhile- I had a call to help a family get a tow dolly to go pick up a car in Tucson. When we were at U-haul it turned out that the vehicle they had to pull the dolly/car was not large enough so we couldn't make this work.

Our niece, Melyssa came to help with dad while Caryl was at the doctor. What a huge help and Marley came along to play and Johnny was entertained. About mid-afternoon dad let Little-Man (Mom's escape artist Bichon Frise) out the front door. Melyssa was able to get him back but not before dad had made his way partially down the street. Meanwhile I was partially oblivious as Johnny was doing a poop and Marley was playing upstairs. Soon Daniel, my awesome friend next door, was ringing the doorbell to deliver dad back home.

Around 4 Pm I arrived back from the store with a few items that we needed for the day. Around that time I had Susan come by to help rearrange mom/dad's room so that she would have a more comfortable bed. Meanwhile Melyssa took dad, Marley and Johnny outside - and I believed all the dogs were along. Once I thought I heard something and I went to check and see if a dog had been trapped in our pantry - didn't see anything.

Then about 5 min later Johnny comes to tell me that Sydney (our 10 wk old Mastiff puppy) had been trapped in the pantry. Not sure how she got in there other than that she followed Johnny in for a snack. Well, her snack was a tray of phosphorescent blue rat poison. Called her vet. They said make her vomit by using peroxide and then get her to the Doggy ER as quickly as possible. Didn't seem like she would vomit and then we finally had HUGE piles of blue vomit - lovely and then other dogs trying to get into it. I'd like to say I kept my cool but I yelled a bit and was rather forceful with everyone. Finally I'm off to the ER vet which is 30 minutes away in Chandler. Melyssa & Susan both agreed to stay behind and clean up the vomit, watch dad and keep the kids entertained.

The vet was so professional and so good. I'd like to say I've never been there before but our epileptic Dalmatian of days gone by made quite a few visits. Turns out the vomiting was good for Sydney. She got a good dose of liquid charcoal, a Vitamin K shot, an IV and a prescription for 21 days of Vitamin K. At the end of that we'll check her clotting levels and if they are OK we'll be done - if not - more Vitamin K. Fortunately second generation rat poisons are treatable and we should have a full grown Mastiff in the year to come! Praise God as I already love this dog and could not face Kelvin (the breeder) if she had not survived!

Meanwhile Caryl and mom have now been in ER for over 12 hours. She was seen by a doctor in the past hour. Prior to that they did about 5 tests - chest X-Ray, Head CT, Blood work, Urine tests and more. They are now looking to admit her as her oxygen levels have not been good, swelling is very bad and they want to run a few more tests. Looks like it could be 3-8 hrs until she gets a room - Wow do we need more capacity in health care in AZ or what?

The puppy is sleeping. My son is sleeping and Susan is staying over to help with him. Dad is changed for a final time and in bed asleep. I'm catching up on some blogging and other online stuff and will take my position on the couch downstairs very soon. Have to to be sure Dad doesn't get out again tonight!

I really have laughed today - what else could we do? Was it just another Manic Monday? You decide!