Happy Holidays

Good Morning Everyone,

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I hope you enjoyed my last post about our Christmas tree. You will be happy to know that we were able to get a Christmas tree with all of its pieces and it is beautiful.

I want to share with you today something that I did last week. A week ago today I had the privlege of attending the stage production of "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" . I am not sure how many of you are familiar with this book turned play turned movie. I highly recommend you check it out.

This play centers around a church's annual Christmas pageant. Every year the same children play the same roles in the nativity story. That is until the neighborhood bullies the Herdman's are incorrectly informed that if they come to church they will get refreshments. Hilarity ensues as the un-churched Herdmans attempt to find their way in the pageant.

All throughout the play the majority of churchgoers treat the Herdmans as outsiders. They see them as a bad influence on their children and wish that they would spend there time anyplace but their church. As I sat there watching this play I was struck by something that has caused me to spend a whole week soul searching.

How many times do we treat people like the Herdman family? How many times do we meet people who obviously need the Lord but simply wish that they would go someplace else other than "our" church. The truth of the matter is that the church is not ours to begin with so we need to throw that idea out completely. I firmly believe that all of the people who read this blog have never told anyone that they wished they would just go someplace else but sometimes our actions say it.

This is a time of year when people's hearts sometimes turn towards God. While we do not believe that this is the time of year Christ was born we can still use this time to reach out to people. If people's hearts are turned towards the Lord then by all means lets take them by the hand and lead them to the father.

I hope as you read this that you have never been treated like the Herdman children. I especially hope that as you read this that I have never treated you like the Herdman children. If you find yourself in a position this holiday season to reach out to someone then by all means do it. It was this time about a year ago my family suffered some pretty big blows to our faith. What we remember most are all the people who rallied around us and helped us come to be in the place we are today. I encourage you to seek out the Herdmans in your life and help bring them to the Lord. Merry Christmas, happy new year, God bless!!!!

Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul

Faith In Action

Good Afternoon Everyone,

Our Faith In Action activity which was originally scheduled for this Saturday December 6th is still going to happen the only difference is that now it will be at the Impact Church of Christ in Houston. We are going to help with their Elementary School Holiday party. There will be face painting and other fun activities that we can help with.

We will still leave from the annex at 8:00AM Saturday morning . We will return home around 1:00PM. Let's take this opportunity to put our faith into action.

Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul

Hey Look Paul Is Posting a New Blog

Good Morning Everyone,

Well at the suggestion of my good friend Ryan Parsons and my Sister Melissa I am finally updating my blog. A lot has happened since my last post so I will save you all the boring details of that and catch you up on my last week.

I performed my first wedding this past week. Our minister was not available to marry this young couple so I was blessed with the chance to perform their ceremony. This was a great experience for me and I am glad to say that they are off to a great start in their life as husband and wife.

April and I have both been sick for the last week. When we are both sick not much gets done around the house but we have managed to muddle through just fine. April enjoyed her week off of work as much as she could while being sick and actually got quite a bit done.

Thanksgiving was a great time for the Cartwright family. Because I had to perform the wedding on a Wednesday evening we ended up hitting the road for Dallas on Thursday morning. I have to say that travelling on the day of Thanksgiving may just be the way to go. I have never made it through downtown Dallas that quickly at 3:00PM. We had a wonderful visit with my brother and sister and their respective families. My oldest niece now comes up almost to my shoulder. I am not sure if this is a testament to her height or my lack there of. My youngest niece will be a year old in January and is just about to start walking. Thankfully for us she still enjoys being held.

We left for home on Saturday morning and only met a little bit of traffic as we came into Houston. Since I had preaching duties on Sunday that meant that Saturday evening was spent completing a sermon. Sunday I preached on finding Thanksgiving in your Trials. It is amazing that when you think a sermon will not be strong is when you end up getting the most response from it. I am so blessed to work with so many encouraging people here in Pearland. Sunday evening we attempted meeting at 5:00 PM instead of 6:00 PM. We had our 5th Sunday singing which went well. Since we got out early April and I took off for League City to visit people there we never get to see.

Yesterday I was blessed to spend the day with our Golden Agers here in Pearland. We had a great potluck and time of fellowship. I went to the grocery store for this week's groceries which was uneventful until I broke a bottle in the parking lot at Kroger's.

April and I have been searching for a Christmas tree for the last couple of weeks and my Mom offered to give me one from her attic. I thought this was a great idea considering it was free so we went over and got it last night. We brought it in the house, put on Michael Buble's Christmas CD, unpacked the box only to realize that the tree has no stand. I guess we got what we paid for on that one. Mom is going to look for the stand so hopefully we can decorate our tree sometime soon. Until then our decorations are going to favor more of the experimental side of things.

Let me know what you think.

In this holiday season I am thankful for my wonderful wife, a great physical and spiritual family and the ability to minister to people. I hope you have all been blessed by this little update on the craziness that is my life.

Be Strong and Courageous,

Paul

All I Can Say Is WOW!!!

Good Morning Everyone,

I am sure you are thinking my title is in response to writing two blogs in a week but you would be wrong.

Yesterday was an unusual day. I walked to the mailbox(which is not normal) to get our mail. In our mailbox was a big envelope and a small envelope. Inside the big envelope was our claim information and a couple of checks to help begin repairs. WOW!! Inside the little envelope was a card from a family that my sister worships with at the Shawnee Trail Church of Christ in Frisco Texas. We have met this family two or three times. They have a daughter the same age as my sister's youngest and they play soccer together. Inside this card was a check for $100.00. WOW!!

Fast forward until about an hour before writing this blog. I was talking with my sister on facebook and telling her about my unusual day yesterday. In the course of this conversation my sister informed me that the husband and father of this family(Mike) lost his job last week. These people are so faithful and so generous that even facing rough economic times they saw fit to give April and me $100.00. WOW!! WOW!! and DOUBLE WOW!!

My sister also informed me that Mike has a job interview with United Way in Dallas today. This is a second interview which means there is a good chance he could get this job. Today I am pleading with anyone who reads this to to make today a WOW day for Mike by saying a prayer for him and his family. I hope you are all as blessed by this blog today as I have been blessed from my unusual trip to the mailbox yesterday. WOW!!!

Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul

Believe

Good Afternoon Everyone,

What is is that you believe in? This picture exemplifies the world's message of believing in yourself and your own individual experiences. As Christians this message is one that is outright opposition to what God had in store for us. Is this to say that we should not use our experiences in making decisions? Absolutely not. The difference in the message of the world and the message of the Bible is that the first place we need to go when making decisions is to God's word and not our own experiences.

The Bible puts it this way...

Proverbs 3:5Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding

1 Corinthians 10:11These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.

So the next time you are in a situation remember to not look to the GAP for your answer but look to God.

I am sorry it is has been so long since my last post but we have been going fast and furious in Pearland. We went to Harding this past weekend for Bison Daze and we had a blast. I hope you are all blessed today.

Be Strong and Courageous,

Paul

And The Word Became Flesh

Good Morning Everyone,

It has been a long time since my last blog post. Since I last posted we have had a hurricane, I have picked up pieces of what used to be my roof from my yard and seen people helping people in some amazing ways. I was also blessed to spend a few days in Searcy Arkansas for Haring University's 85th annual lectureship. Lectureship was as good as I have ever seen this year. We took our lessons out of the Gospel of John which is my favorite of the four gospels.

I heard so many great things last week that I could probably fill up the rest of this month with posts about it. Instead of doing that I will share with you what I felt like was the most important lesson I took away from the week. To share that lesson with you I will quote John 1:1-2 and John 1:14

John 1:1-2
1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning.

John 1:14
14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Basically we got a swift kick to the rear from the many presenters at lectureship. I am sorry to say that in our flesh we do not accomplish the same things Jesus accomplished in his flesh. Where Jesus was amongst the people calling them to him and meeting their needs we seem to be happy waiting for people to come to us. I have a new resolve to try to reach people where they are like Jesus did. I believe this to be a good goal but I also know I will need all the help I can get. I covet your prayers and welcome any ideas you may have. I'll try to blog more and I hope this blog has blessed you all as much as you all bless me.

Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul

I Need a Little MORE Help From My Friends

Good Morning Friends,

I want to begin this morning by telling you ow much you all bless my life. I think about the blessings of my life far too little. My friends are some of the richest blessings in my life. I am blessed to be married to the best friend I have ever had, I have all of you who read this blog and I have friends all over the globe that keep up with me. This week alone I have been so blessed by the encouraging words I have received from people who read this blog.

Last Sunday night I preached a sermon on Joyful Living. This has been one of my favorite sermons I have ever preached. I have to thank my good Laura Odom for suggesting this topic. I am blessed to be able to preach once a month here in Pearland and to be the fill-in preacher when our minister has to be gone.

Laura suggested this topic to me after I requested some ideas from my friends. This brings me to the reason for this blog. I am preaching Sunday September 7th and I need a little help. I love to preach on relevant topics that people want to hear. This blog is a great outlet for me to express my thoughts and for you to tell me your thoughts. We'll do this the same we did it last time. You can leave me comments here, you can send me e-mail pmcartwright82@gmail.com, or if you have my number you can call me.

I will do my best to use any ideas any of you throw out. If I can't use them this time I will try to use them at a later date (remember I preach once a month) so let me hear what you think. I hope that I am as big of a blessing to all of you that you are to me.

Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul Cartwright

A New Ministry Opportunity

Good Morning Everyone,

Several weeks ago we had the last Bay Area Wide Devotional of the summer here in Pearland. We had a really great turnout from all the participating congregations. The teens were all asked to fill out a card with their name and e-mail address. The cards conveyed the message that the teens could win the prize of a lifetime.

The devotional thought I shared centered around a song call "I Wanna Love You" by Vocal Union. The challenge I issued to the teens that night was for them to change their "I wanna" have a better relationship with God to an "I will" have a better relationship with God. And just to show that my words were not just words I committed to e-mailing these teens with encouraging and challenging thoughts throughout the year. I am dedicating this post to the first of these e-mails. If you know a teenager who would like to be a part of this you can send me their e-mail address at pmcartwright82@gmail.com I hope you are blessed today.


Hello Everyone,

Well I got a lot of responses which tells me that I have the right e-mail addresses so here we go. At the last BAWD at Pearland you all entered to win the prize of a lifetime. I will go ahead and tell you that e-mail from me are not the prize of a lifetime. The prize that was there even before you signed your name and e-mail address to a card is the chance to have a better relationship with God. I hope that by keeping in touch with you throughout the school year that I can encourage you to have a better relationship with God by giving you good things to think about.
I know by this time you must all be back in school. Hopefully you have found all your classes and know the names of all your teachers. I would imagine some of you have already had homework and are counting the days until the next holiday.

As you walk through the halls of your schools I would like for you to remember the words found in Romans 10:14-16 “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed our message?"

The feet are the ugliest part of the body but here we are told they are beautiful. Your feet are beautiful not because of the way they look but because of the job they do. All of you have such an awesome responsibility to carry the good news of Jesus Christ to your friends at school. I don’t mean for you to go beat someone over the head with your Bible but it wouldn’t hurt to live a good example out in front of your friends.

Today I am issuing a challenge. I want you to decide today that you will tell one friend about the saving grace of Jesus Christ. And just to show you that I am not afraid to get my hands dirty I will make you a couple of promises. First, if you will send me the name or names (you don’t have to stick to just one person) of the people you want to share the gospel with I will commit to praying for them every day. Second, since you have my e-mail address you can e-mail me with any questions you might have and I will do my best to answer them for you.
I hope that as you begin this new school year that you will commit this year to be the one where you begin winning souls for God. I look forward to hearing from all of you. I hope you are as blessed by me as I already have been by you.

Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul Cartwright Youth and Family Minister Pearland Church of Christ

Sync/Swim

Good Morning Everyone,

When I was a child we had a swimming pool in the house we lived in. I loved to go out in the water with my family but I had not quite figured out swimming yet. One night I was playing on the step of the pool when I ventured too far out and began to drown. My sister Melissa pulled me out of the water and made sure I was alright.

I think back on that story every time I hear of a child drowning and I wonder why people who have swimming pools do not teach their children how to swim. I also reflect on that story every time I see a parent that does not attempt to understand their child. It is sad when a parent feels so out of touch with their child's' generation that they just give up but it happens all the time.

As a youth minister I feel that one of my responsibilities is equipping parents to relate to their teen. Thankfully there are a wealth of resources on which to draw from. Unfortunately many of these good resources are not faith based and you have to do quite a bit of editing before you can present it.

Our good friends at the Institute For Church and Family located at Harding University have been working on the problem. The solution is a two day conference entitled Sync/Swim. What is even better is that the Westside Church in Alvin has arranged to host the Sync/Swim conference at their building October 3-4 2008. For the low price of $5.00 a person you can gain some peace of mind and a foothold against Satan in the life of your teenager. If you would be interested in attending this wonderful conference send me an e-mail at pmcartwright82@gmail.com . I hope you are blessed today.

Be Strong and Courageous,

Paul Cartwright

Are you Thirsty?

Good Afternoon Everyone,

Matthew 10:24-NIV
And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward."

I'm not sure if you have ever given much thought to these words spoken by Jesus. One thing I have had to readjust to living in South Texas is the heat and humidity. Today was a good example of the heat that everyone talks about down here. Today was also a good day to put the words of Christ into practice.

The Pearland Youth Group had our first lunch bunch today. Lunch bunch consists of coming together and eating lunch at some fast food location and participating in some activity afterwards. Today myself, Ryan Parsons and four of our teenagers drove around Pearland looking for people laboring in the heat. When we found those people the teens got out of the van and gave these people a bottle of cold water.

The look on the faces of the people were indescribable. The opportunity to tell people about the love of Christ was also there. People would ask who we were and where we came from. We even had a few say that they wanted to worship at a church that would give cold water to people in need. It doesn't take much to make a difference in someones life. The hardest part is getting our and doing it. Today four teenagers made a difference in the life of a handful of people in Pearland. What can you do today to make a difference where you are?

Be Strong and Courageous,

Paul

God Called Him Home

Good Afternoon Everyone,

Pictured above is a man that I love and think a whole lot of and whom I will never see this side of Heave again. Albert Ray Cartwright is his name but I called him Pop. Pop was my Grandfather on my Dad's side of the family and he passed away today. I have been trying to help with as many details as I can for the funeral and other things. One thing that has become apparent is that I will more than likely be preaching the funeral. I have preached funerals before and I feel confident I am ready to do this. I would covet your prayers in the coming days for my family. Along with the sorrow of loss we will all be traveling in some form or another be it by automobile or plane. I would also ask prayers of strength for me in preaching this funeral. Today I want to leave you with some words about Pop. Pop was a blessing the lives of so many I hope that you bless someone today.

Pop was one of the most interesting people I have ever known. When you think about someone who has done it all that was Pop. He was a milkman, he ran a gas station, he drove big trucks and still made time to teach his family and others to love the game of baseball. Pop has the distinction of being one of the few men in the Old Timers Baseball hall of fame for baseball and softball. Pop was a man who dealt in absolutes. In his life things were either right or they were wrong. It was this since of right and wrong that he instilled in my Dad Wayne and my Aunt Nancy.

Pop had one of the best senses of humor that I have ever encountered. One time several years ago he had gone to play golf and as he was backing his car up he hit a Coke-a-Cola truck. When I asked him about it weeks later he said “yeah buddy I bought a little stock in the Coke-a-Cola company that day.” That was the essence of the man I called Pop. While he dealt in absolutes he also could laugh at himself.

Pop was a man who understood the importance of community involvement. He was Colonel in the Civitan organization and participated in numerous other activities within the city of Nashville. Pop was always known for being a referee of basketball and football. One time I asked my Dad if he liked it when Pop would ref his games for him when he was a boy. My Dad told me that the only time Pop reffed a game for him was the time when he was fouled the most and never once did he give Dad an inch of slack. Some might say that what Pop did was mean but not me. By doing that Pop taught Dad a valuable lesson in life. He taught Dad to never trade on anyone else’s name and to never expect to get something for nothing.

I was always proud to tell my friends that my Pop was one of the men that held the chains at the Vanderbilt games. As a boy we would watch on ESPN every time Vanderbilt played in hopes of seeing Pop on TV. The problem was that when we would see Pop it usually meant that some linemen was running into him. It was my freshman year at Harding when Pop did notget out of the way quick enough and he broke his leg effectively ending his career holding the chains.

Pop loved to tell stories. This past year I lived in California for a time and before I moved my wife and I came to Nashville to visit Pop and Gan. Pop was thrilled for us to come because my wife, April, had never heard any of his stories and he had someone new to tell them all to. Really I say that jokingly. Pop loved April for the same reason he loved everyone and that is because he cared about people. Once when we were living in Nashville one summer our car broke down. My Mom called Pop to come help and when he got to the house we were renting he slipped a 50 dollar bill into her hand and told her “don’t worry about a thing sugar, I’ve got more where this came from.”

I could go on and on about Pop’s life. I could share with you all the stories I heard growing up but instead I will share with you what meant the most to Pop. When I was 16 I came to visit Pop and Dan and we went to a dinner for all the retired Dupont employees. The people there asked Pop to get up and say a few words about life. He stood up and told people the most important thing in life was to never give up. He then asked me to stand and told everyone I was his grandson and he was proud of me because I didn’t ever give up.

What was most important to Pop was never giving up. Whether it be in sports, your business or your faith he never wanted to see anyone give up. The wonderful thing is that even in death Pop has not given up. Pop has won the prize that we read about in scripture. Pop has gone home to be with his father in heaven. I would like to share with you a passage from 2 Timothy 4

2 Timothy 4
1In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
6For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. 7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

Pop fought the good fight and ran his race with endurance and now he has claimed his crown of righteousness. Today I encourage you to celebrate the life of Albert Ray Cartwright. Don’t leave this blog with a frown on your face because I know Pop is happy where he is now and he would want you to leave here sad on his account.

Be Strong and Courageous,

Paul

A lot on my mind

Hello Everyone,

As my title suggest I have got a whole lot on my mind. We had a great Brazos Valley Camp for our 3rd-6th graders. April and I have been settling into our new home and we have been blessed to have April's brother Justin helping us paint the last two weeks. I have spent the last week registering our two cars and I literally just finished the last little bit of paperwork associated with that. To top all of it off our secretary, preacher and my co-worker are all on the beautiful Island of Dominica the next two weeks being the hands and feet of Jesus. This leaves me all alone in the office for the next couple of weeks.

This last little bit of information brings me to the reason for this blog entry. I have been blessed with the opportunity to fill the pulpit for the next two Sundays during both services. I have this week worked out (I think) but I have yet to figure out what to do next week. I am not worried though because I have loyal readers who will always come through in the clutch.

My request of all of you is to think about what you would like to hear from the pulpit. Put yourself in my shoes of having two opportunities to preach God's word and think about what you would say or would like to hear. I can't promise that what you suggest is what I will preacher but I will give anything anyone has to say a lot of thought. Thank you all for always being willing to help me. I hope you are as blessed by me as I am by you.

Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul

Going The Extra Mile

Good Morning Everyone,

As I sit here this morning I am reminded of a thought I had last night during Vacation Bible School. I watched as the faces of the children lit up at just the mention of the puppets coming out to see them. I listened in my Bible class as the children sang with their whole hearts all of the songs. I watched how determined they were to enjoy every second of playing outside and all of it got me to thinking about going the extra mile.

Children have no trouble going the extra mile because they are not hindered by so much of the baggage we adults carry around with us. They have no bills to pay, no cars to get fixed and don't have to buy groceries. Children amaze me in this way but it I am sad to say that we all have to grow up some time. But as is often the case being around our children at VBS this week has helped me to have some insight into my own life.

Jesus said in the book of Matthew "If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles." As a child I never understood how anyone or anything could force me to go anyplace I didn't want to go. As an adult all I have to do is sit down to pay my bills and I understand this principle all to well.

So I have made a decision. No longer will I be satisfied with going just one mile I want to go on to the second mile. I will do my best to put my whole self into everything and not lose that child-like wonder and amazement at what God has blessed me with. I hope as you read this post this morning that you will make a decision to go the extra mile in life. I hope you are blessed today.

Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul

Things that go bump in the day

Good Afternoon Everyone,

It is good to be in Pearland. April and I have bought a home and we are loving being homeowners. Monday night we hosted an area wide devotional at the Pearland Church and everything went great. Sunday begins our annual Vacation Bible School at Pearland.

Yesterday my partner in crime Ryan Parsons and myself got the building early to turn the auditorium into a scene from the book of Exodus. Upon arriving at the building we were greeted by a new friend.

That's right friends there was a raccoon waiting for us. This female raccoon had decided to make her home in the indoor/outdoor foyer of our building. After several attempts involving a bullhorn, beating on the wall and using an umbrella on this little lady Ryan finally took matters into his own hands. We have several long lengths of PVC pipe lying around so Ryan did battle with our new friend and came away victorious. Ryan literally scared the poop out of this animal and I have proof.

All of that being said I want to invite anyone in the Pearland area to come to our raccoon free VBS June 22nd-25th from 6-8PM. For more information give us a call at 281-485-2436. I hope you have been blessed today from this little slice of my life.

Be Strong and Courageous,

Paul

Off To Camp We Go

Hello Everyone,

It is had to believe that a month ago I was in California and now I am here in Pearland working with one of the best churches in the state of Texas. So much has happened since I last blogged. We have bought a home and are set to close on the 16th of this month. I have already taught a Bible class and given a devotional and pretty soon we will be heading off to do one of my favorite things and that is go to Camp Bandina.

Going to camp is like a homecoming for me. From the time I was a young child I attended camp and I have been blessed to be there as a counselor on two prior occasions. This year marks what I hope to be the first of many that I will be going as the youth and family minister at the Pearland Church of Christ. I am blessed to be teaching with one of my greatest mentors and friends Ralph Bryant. Ralph has been going to camp for nearly 30 years and has been teaching the 10th grade class for a majority of that time.

For any of you reading this who will be going to camp with us there are a few things you need to know. You need to be at the Pearland building at 7AM to load the van and worship so that we can be on the road no later than 8:00AM. You need to bring a sack lunch we will provide water to drink. There are other details we will share with you at church tonight.

I hope if you are a teenager and are reading this that you are going to camp someplace this summer. Camp is a place where you can remove yourself from the world for a few days and allow God to work in your life. Camp is a place where you will make lifelong friends and friends for eternity. I hope you are blessed by camp and by reading this today.

Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul

On The Road With Paul and April

Hey Everyone,

Just wanted to make a quick update to let you know that April and I are travelling down to Texas. This morning we are in Phoenix Arizona. We plan to make it to El Paso tonight. Thankfully we haven't had any excitement thus far. In case you were wondering what the scenery looks like in Arizona I am going to tell you. To better help you paint that mental picture I want you to think back to the videos they show of the testing of a nuclear bomb. That is pretty much what Arizona looks like. There is very little vegetation in fact the only green grass I have seen was on a golf course. I hope you are blessed today I will keep you posted on our progress.

Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul

An Overwhelming Response

Good Morning Everyone,

I have received an unbelievable amount of responses to my last post about what movies to get for our trip. Here are a few of the movies some of my faithful readers have suggested.

"Moving" with Richard Pryor
"The Money Pit" with Tom Hanks
"Ocean's 11" with Frank Sinatra and the rest of the Rat Pack
"Midnight Run" with Robert DeNiro and Charles Grodin
"The Big Sleep" with Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall
"Payback" with Mel Gibson - especially the recently released Director's Cut if you can find it
"8 Heads in a Duffel Bag" with Joe Pesci and David Spade
"National Lampoon's Vacation" with Chevy Chase
"No Country for Old Men" with Josh Brolin and Tommy Lee Jones
Air Force One
Mission Impossible
Ocean's Thirteen
The Bourne Identity
The Hunt For Red October
Groundhog Day
Napoleon Dynamite
Clue
Hoosiers
Glory Road
Garden State
Batman Begins

Keep in mind this is just a small sampling of the suggestions I have gotten. First of all I want to say a HUGE thank you to all of those who contributed. These movie suggestions will make picking movies easier and will help speed our trip along.

Since you all did so well with helping me choose movies I have a new challenge. I have grown kind of tired of listening to the same old music on my ipod so I need some new music. I need for all of you to help by making suggestions about what music I need to download for the trip. Suggestions can be sent to pmc01hu@yahoo.com or you may comment on this blog. Once all suggestions have been made I will post a list of all the new music and movies we download. Thank you all for blessing me by being my friends I hope I have been a blessing all of you as well.

Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul

I need a little help from my friends

Good Morning Everyone,

As most of you who read this blog on a regular basis know April and I will be moving to Texas in about a week. It is a long way from where we live to Texas so we are making the necessary preparations. I reserved our truck and tow dolly yesterday, April will be making hotel reservations for our nights on the road and we have both been picking away at the packing.

There are a couple of parts of our move we could use a little bit of help with. First of all we would love it if you would mention us in your prayers in the coming days concerning our move, assuming the work in Pearland and finding a house to make a home.

Secondly I need some help picking out some movies for the trip. I recently purchased one of the coolest gadgets out right now an iPod Classic 80 Gig which has video capabilities.

Itunes now offers the ability to rent movies for a very reasonable price. April and I will be travelling an average of 8 hours everyday so we will have some time to watch some movies. As most of you know I love movies but I would appreciate some suggestions from all of you. You can either commetn here or send me an e-mail to pmc01hu@yahoo.com

I hope everyone is doing well. I am literally marking the days off of the calendar until we load up our truck and begin the next part of the adventure that is life. Do your best to be a blessing to someone today.

Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul

My Iron Man

Good Evening Everyone,

Well I can see from my hit counter than a lot of you have been reading and that is so encouraging to me. I have managed to get one comment from one of my teenagers at Woodward Park and it was a good one.

This evening I would like to tell you about my hero. Me hero is my father Wayne Cartwright. Calling him father is so strange because to me he is so much more than that. The best word to sum up my Dad is just the Dad. In every since of the word he is one of the best Dads around. When I was growing up I never had to wonder if my Dad would be at my ballgames because a lot of the time he was not just sitting in the stands but helping coach. Any of you that know my Dad know that singing is not one of his talents. Even though he can't carry a tune in a bucket my Dad still made it to all of my choir concerts. There are countless hours we spent at the kitchen table learning math because I had to pass my tests and Dad was always there to help.

There are so many things I could tell you about my Dad but if I had to pick one quality to list above the rest it is the dedication he has for his family. I grow so tired of people who brag about the number of hours they put in at work or their success in the business world and have no clue about what is going on with their own kids. I consider my Dad to be a very successful businessman and I never once felt neglected because of his success.

For the teenagers reading this I would encourage you to get to know your parents better. I am constantly amazed that my parents keep getting smarter and smarter the older I get. The reality is they were that smart all along it just took me getting over myself to realize it. So I encourage you teenagers to learn from your parents.

For the parents reading this blog I would encourage you to get to know your kids better. They may say they do not like to be hugged and kissed but that is all for show. Your kids may tell you they want to be left alone and sometimes they mean it but more often than not they want your attention.

I like using this forum to issue challenges so I am going to issue one now. Hopefully by now you have thought about who your Iron Man or Iron Woman is in your life. My new challenge is for you to let them know and thank them for it. I hope you are blessed in reading this today.

Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul

Will the real Iron Man Please Stand Up?

Good Morning Everyone,

Well I made it out and saw Iron Man on opening day. I have to say I was really impressed with this movie. Aside from some gratuitous scenes to play up the fact Robert Downy Jr's character was a womanizer it was a great movie. The movie has a little bit of something for everyone. There is of course the action we all saw in the previews, there is an underlying love story between the two main characters and there is a great story of redemption on the part of Robert Downy Jr.

As I walked away from the theater I began to wonder what kind of role models kids have these days. Sure Iron Man saves the day but he drinks, smokes and womanizes while he does it. As a minister I want to always put forth the effort to provide for the needs of those I am ministering to. The Apostle Paul refers to this as becoming all things to all men. As a youth minister this means going to football games, school plays and concerts for the teens. This also means being available when they need someone to listen to. Above it all this means helping these teens enter into an eternal covenant relationship with Jesus Christ. As Christians I believe we all have the responsibility to provide heroes for our kids that they can look up to. Ultimately that hero needs to be Jesus Christ. He left the right hand of God to come and live the life of a human and to give his life as ransom for us.

While I believe Christ to be the ultimate role model I also believe we need Earthly role models to look up to. Today I want to issue a challenge to all who read this blog. I want you to tell me who the "Iron Man" or "Iron Woman" is in your life. I want to know who you turn to when the chips are down. I want to know who you want to be like when you grow up (you may be grown and still aspire to this one).

I know you expect me to give you my answer right away but I am going to make you all work for it a little bit. I want to hear from some of you before I show you my hand on this one. You may e-mail your answers to pmc01hu@yahoo.com . I hope you have been blessed this morning and I hope you know that if anyone deserves to be called an "Iron Man" it is Jesus Christ who gave his life for you.

Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul

Summer Blockbusters Vs. The Greatest Stories Ever Told

Hello Everyone,

I don't know about all of you but I am way excited about all of the movies coming out this summer. For those of you who may have just begun reading my blog you might not know that I am a HUGE movie fan. I could literally spend all day watching movies and not get bored. I love summer for a lot of reasons but right in the top three reasons on my list are movies in the summer time. Here is a sampling of the movies I hope to take in this summer.








1. Iron Man-I have never read an Iron Man comic book but the movie looks great and i am excited to go see it.













2. Indiana Jones-I grew up watching the original movies and I think that Harrison Ford has one more good one in him.











3.Batman:The Dark Knight-You would be hard pressed to find a man my age that didn't tie a towel around his neck and pretend he was the caped crusader at least once in his life. The first movie in this series left me wanting more and I think this next installment will deliver.



As much as I enjoy the big summer blockbusters I think sometimes we forget that some of the greatest stories ever told have never made it to the big screen. From where I sit you will never find a man physically stronger than Sampson. There will never be a better "wild man prophet" type than John the Baptist. No prison break scene can compare to the night Paul and Silas were set free. I could go on and on but you get the idea. I hope that there are people reading this that love to get caught up in a great blockbuster movie but more than that I hope everyone that reads this is constantly caught up in the word of God. We read in Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.


So as I come to a close I want to encourage you to enjoy getting caught up in a good story. Those of you with families I would suggest finding appropriate movies to view with your family. I also encourage you to set aside time to get lost in the Bible as a family. My hope is that we would never let Summer Blockbusters win out over the Greatest Stories Ever Told. These are my thoughts for today thank you for allowing me to share them with you I hope they were a blessing to you.


Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul

Don't Leave Behind The Important Stuff

Hello Everyone,

Well here I sit in the last week of April and my mind is spinning with ideas about all the things I have to do in the coming weeks. At the top of my list is packing up our apartment. It is hard to believe that next month that this apartment will have been my home for a year. As we begin the packing process we are prioritizing what to keep and what to throw away. When I got married I was a HUGE pack rat. Marriage has been good for me for several reasons but close to the top of the list is that I have stopped being such a pack rat. I am of the opinion if we have not used something for a year that it is time to get rid of it. Along with all this prioritizing I have to remember that some times you have to keep things you don't use very often because they are important.

I think there are important things that we sometimes take for granted. The other day I was coming home from going to the store and I noticed my Bible was in the back seat of our car. In that moment I had the thought that I should bring my Bible in but my hands were full of groceries so I said I would go get it later. I didn't go back to the car until the next day and I noticed my Bible still sitting in the back seat. The really bad thing is that I knew where my Bible was I just chose to be lazy and leave my Bible in the car. What is worse than that is that I fooled myself into thinking I would go right back out and get it.

All of this got me to thinking about not leaving behind important stuff. The Psalmist said "Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path" Psalm 119:105. What I did by leaving my Bible in my car is the equivalent of going outside at night without a flash light. So after I realized what I had been doing I began making a conscious effort to not leave my Bible in the car.

What happened next was AMAZING!!!! I started reading my Bible more. Our theme for Camp Bandina this year centers around the Minor Prophets. I am not sure when the last time you read the minor prophets was but if it has been awhile then I would suggest giving them a look. I want to end my thoughts tonight with a question that occurred to me after leaving my Bible in the car. What if God had decided to just leave us someplace? What if instead of sending his Son to die for us he simply forgot about us? It's a pretty scary thought when you get right down to it.

I challenge you to stop leaving your Bible in your car, on a pew or in a classroom. Bring it into your home open it up and allow God to have the proper place in your life he deserves. I hope you are blessed for reading this.

Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul

A Prayer Request

Good Evening,

I just wanted to write a short note and request prayers on behalf of some good friends of mine the Larry Family. I have know Crichelle Larry since I was in 7th grade and we have always been great friends. Recently Crichelle delivered twin boys prematurely. There is a lot to this story and I think it would be good if you could get to know Crichelle, her husband and sons for yourself. If you would like to you can go to their family website http://family.jclarry.com/ and get to know them. I know they would covet your prayers even if you can't make it to their site.

Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul

Taking The Next Step

Hello Everyone,

Well I know it has been a long time since I have posted but I am back. I wanted to share the latest piece of good news in my life. Beginning next month I will be assuming the Youth and Family Minister role at the Pearland Church of Christ in Pearland Texas.

I know a lot of you who read this remember saying I was through with ministry, and for a time I thought I was. In the past few months I have learned one big lesson. That lesson is to never tell God what you are or are not going to do. After spending some time in the belly of a big fish I am now ready to do what God wants me to. I would like to thank all of you who checked on me and prayed for me over the past several months. Check back soon I am going to try posting more and more.

Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul

A Tribute to Eric Myers

Saying Goodbye

I want to tell you all about a friend of mine named Eric Myers. Eric and I were freshmen together at Harding University. Eric was in my social club when I was at Harding. When I got into our club Eric was the treasurer and shortly after I got into the club I was elected to be his assistant. Eric always went out of his way to make sure that I understood what I was doing and that I did a good job. Eric is probably one of the most patient people I ever knew.

Not too long after I got into our club I was elected to be a beau for one of the girl’s clubs on campus. For those of you not familiar with this ritual, the girls clubs at Harding select men that they feel reflect them well to become members of their clubs to help them when they need it. The night I was beaued Eric and our other friend Matt Clouse made me think they were fighting and they needed my help to settle it. Little did I know this was all a ploy so I would be surprised by the girls coming to beau me.

Eric and I cheered for our clubs at club sports, we participated in Spring Sing together and we served as officers and beaus together. Everyone loved Eric Myers. Eric excelled to become the Vice President of our club and he did one of the finest jobs anyone has ever done in that position. We used to watch Jeopardy together and more times than not he would beat me.

Eric died last night (February 24, 2008) in his sleep. According to friends he had been feeling ill most of last week and could not ever get warm. Eric went to sleep and never woke up and I never got to say goodbye. We have lost a good friend, brother, son and fiancé today. Eric was full of life and if you were around him very long you could not help but get caught up in his spirit.

While all of this may sound sad I write this with hope in my heart. The reason I have heart is because even though I did not get to say goodbye to Eric I will get to say hello to him again someday when we meet in heaven. All of the qualities I mentioned about Eric were overshadowed by his love for God. Eric was so many things but at the top of it all Eric was a child of God. I would like to think that Eric would not want us to be sad today. I believe he would want us to rejoice because he has claimed his reward in full in heaven.

I want to encourage you to always try to maintain strong ties with those who are close to you. There was a time when I didn’t go a day without seeing Eric Myers. It has been nearly three years since I last saw him and while I am so happy his now home I am sad that I didn’t get to say goodbye.

I want to leave everyone who reads this with a passage from Proverbs that reminds me of Eric.

A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. Proverbs 17:17

I hope that you have friends who fit this passage and I hope that you remember to stay in touch with them this side of heaven. Please remember to pray for Eric’s family and for his fiancé’ Kristen.

Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul Cartwright