A Little Bit Rusty

Erased

2008-06-23T08:47:00.000-07:00

I didn't make it back for church last night. I have to say I am having a bit of "ridge" withdrawal.... Chris' sermon was awesome (I listened when I got home!) and this is the video they showed last night. Rusty created it while on our trip to the beach. It's amazing! Take a look.

Making the switch

2007-11-09T11:47:00.000-08:00

From now on I will be blogging at
alittlebitrusty.wordpress.com

It seems to be a little more Mac friendly

See ya there!

I am thinking of moving

2007-11-08T09:09:00.000-08:00

I don't know yet, but I am thinking of moving my blog to WordPress.
See what you think.

A Little Bit Rusty

Send an ice scrapper!

2007-11-08T07:41:00.000-08:00

I went to take Paige to school this morning and it was the first time I really need to remove ice from the windshield. I tried the old Florida trick of pouring water on the glass to melt the ice... but at 28 degrees it also froze. I love it, I just need to get the tools of the season. Can't wait for the first snow.

Back from the High Country

2007-10-31T07:09:00.001-07:00

Tina and I just returned from a great weekend in the mountains of North Carolina. It was great! The scenery was beautiful... and the mountains were pretty as well.
I love being with Tina, we love the same things. The cold air, the mountain views, the wildlife. We have done and seen a lot of things together, and it never gets old. I would not want to share these firsts with anyone else. Tina is my best friend. I can't wait to go again.

Highlights from the Ridge

2007-10-28T06:28:00.000-07:00

Here is a video of Highlights from Ridge Church.

Video was taken on Launch Day come check us out www.ridgechurch.net

Big Fish

2007-10-23T06:33:00.000-07:00

I have been studying Jonah for the past week getting ready for our up coming series at Ridge. The bible doesn't say where the fish threw Jonah up, just that it was dry land. I think he probably ended up right back where he started. God knew what Jonah would say when he ask him a second time to go to Nineveh, so I think he positioned him for success.

At the end of something difficult it is good to take a look around and see if you are in the right place. Right where God wants you to be.

Heroes

2007-10-12T09:41:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite shows is HEROES. It talks about ordinary people with special powers that they use to save the world.

Today I read an essay that my daughter wrote about who her hero is. It was her Dad. It almost made me cry. She said that I am her hero because I help save lives by helping people hear the message of Christ and asking Him into their heart.

God does use ordinary people with special powers (the holy spirit) to saves lives everyday.

I am proud to be a hero.

I want a Jeep Daddy!!!!

2007-10-09T13:35:00.000-07:00

The dream has come true. My wonderful wife in all of her wisdom and beauty has allowed me to purchase a jeep wrangler. It's a 92 wrangler sport. Unfortunately it is garnet and gold and if you live in Florida you know what that means, but I love it in spite of the color. My good friend Spanky can drive it any time he wants!

RB

Toto, We're not in Florida Anymore!

2007-10-08T07:39:00.000-07:00

Me and the fam were in Costco on Saturday getting some stuff for the services on Sunday and we saw the following items.

I can't wait for the cold weather. I know that sounds kind of weird but growing up in Florida cold weather means 50s in the morning and 60s during the day. I really want it to snow but I am not looking forward to driving in it.

Got it CUT

2007-10-01T06:17:00.000-07:00

I finally got it cut. It was hard to give up on the dream of having long hair. Not that I wanted to have really long hair, but just something different. Back to the reality of, if you don't want to style it you don't need long hair.
RB

Time for a Cut

2007-09-19T12:39:00.000-07:00

I am pretty much down to wearing a hat everyday. I think I need to get a haircut but I have come so far I hate to give up now. I don't know if it will get easier to manage or if my hair will never be good long.

RB

Just a picture

2007-09-17T11:36:00.000-07:00

Matt Papa leading at Ridge

RB

Camera crews are setting up...

2007-09-10T16:18:00.000-07:00

Well it happened. The truck was loaded and unloaded. It was all setup. The band arrived and rehearsed. The volunteers came. The people showed. The Lord blessed and we rocked. We are so tired today.

I don't know if it is the physical labor or the mental preparation but I know it was worth it.

Keep watching the Ridge website for highlights.

Then the priests blew the trumpets, and Joshua yelled: Get ready to shout! The LORD will let you capture this town. Joshua 6:16

RB

Comfort Zone

2007-08-27T21:56:00.000-07:00

Today was an interesting day. Those of you who know me can vouch for me in that I don't deal with people well. I am very introverted until I get to know you. I would never walk across a room to shake your hand and introduce myself. To be put in a room with 20 people I don't know and be told to interact with them terrifies me.

I went to North Point today for the first time. It was really cool but very intimidating. They have created a great environment for learning and creativity. The tools they give us are amazing. I think tomorrow I am going to have to swallow hard and get out of my shell. It all seems to be about networking. I think all the ideas have already been thought you just have to find them.

Goose Poop

2007-08-20T07:28:00.000-07:00

I made an interesting observation when we moved to NC. We got up the first morning to the sounds of geese honking out our front window. When we looked out we saw, I'm not a good estimator, a thousand geese in our front yard. We thought cool, this is awesome, there are all these geese living here. They are pretty, they are tame and they are all over our front yard.

Well, day two came along and the same thing. "Thousands" of geese filled our front yard, honking and squawking. This continued on for a few days. As time went on we began to realize this was not cool at all. You see, geese are nasty. They poop everywhere and they are not very nice. I understand the Germans used them to guard prisons during WWII.

It seems as though I may have been a bit premature when I thought that it was cool to have a lot of geese in the front yard.

R

Gummies Are Bad

2007-08-09T18:04:00.000-07:00

Carter had 8 teeth pulled on Monday :( he did great! He has been through so much in his short time here. He had a lot of cavities( his dad cursed him with bad teeth). He needed to have so much done that he had to have out patient surgury at Charlotte Medical Center. It makes his dad sad to see him hurting.
It think it may be that way with God, He hates to see His children hurting but He knows a little pain now will save us alot of pain later. Sometimes we hide the hurt inside until the pain is so great that we cry out for help, give in and surrender and finally let God help us.

Launch Day

2007-08-08T19:25:00.000-07:00

Well Ridge Church is about to LAUNCH!! We have a location and a great core group of people and a great God. We are working fast and hard to make this a great day. It is an awesome thing to see something in its infancy.

Different things

2007-07-30T06:42:00.000-07:00

I did not think three months ago that that things would be as they are today. Me and Tina are in NC in a great area, ready to see Ridge Church make a great impact. We are in a great small group with alot of great people.

I ended up standing under an overpass on I-485 for an hour trying to cover up two trailers full of furniture when I helped one of those people move on Friday. Alot of his furniture is going to be ruined, but he had such a great perspective on it. He said, "God brings the rain and he knew that I would be moving my stuff right now." I asked him if he knew what Job felt like. He said, "God has a plan for this and it may be as simple as we get to stand here under this overpass and watch cars go by at 100mph and talk, or he may be taking my stuff so I can go on the mission field."

God is Good.

Back Home

2007-07-22T19:28:00.000-07:00

Me and the Fam are back home in Charlotte. We drove 8 hours today from Orlando. It is really HOT down there. We spent the day yesterday walking around Downtown Disney and I thought I was going to die!!!!!! The humdity was incredible. I don't know how those guys in the mouse suits do it. I heard that Shamu refused to jump out of the pool it was so hot. You get the idea.

We had a great week in Daytona, got to meet Andy, bond with staff, hear Steve Fee, talk with some old friends, and most of all I got to spend time with the love of my life my wonderful wife and family. I don't know what God has planned for me and my family, but I know it will be for His glory.

An Evening with Andy

2007-07-17T20:05:00.000-07:00

As you may or may not know Ridge Church is a Strategic Partner with North Point Community Church in Atlanta, and Andy Stanley is the Lead Pastor there. The Ridge Church staff is in Daytona this week for a staff retreat. Since Bigstuf is here as well, Andy was kind enough to have dinner with us.

There are few people who have shaped the way I think. My parents, my close friends and Andy. It was great to meet and get to talk with him. To hear his vision of what church should be about was inspiring. I am grateful to be a part of Ridge Church and to be connected with such a great vision.

Friends

2007-07-10T19:51:00.000-07:00

You never know when your going to be attacked by a pirate!
Well, maybe it's not a real pirate, but you never know when you will need a good friend to help you when you under attack. The attack could be from this world or not. Satan loves to attack just when you think everything is good and let your guard down. Sometimes friends can try to warn us that the attack is coming and we just don't listen. It could be that we doubt the danger or we ignore it because of pride.

A friend of mine was physically attacked and mugged last night. They were fine, a little brusied, but ok. Friends were concerned and offered to follow them home but in the end let them go home alone. Only the attacker is to blame but I think it is good example of how friends can help us avoid attacks and if we get attacked they can be there to help us fight or recover afterwards.

I have a good friend who tried to warn me of an impending attack and I didn't listen at first. The friend was there to help and never said "I told you so". I know without his help the damage could have been much worse and I wish I would have listened earlier.

My advice to you is to listen to good friends when they try to warn you of an attack or a least accept their help when they offer it. I know I will.

Rusty

A New Beginning

2007-07-08T20:06:00.000-07:00

Well this is it, I finally started a blog, or as President Bush says, I entered the bloggosphere. I guess we'll see how this goes. I don't say much, so it will be interesting to see how much I write down. The blogs will be short, but hopefully you will get a little look inside the life of Rusty.