Adam Barnett

Reading on the Beach...

...is one of my favorite things to do.  We are in Inlet Beach, Florida for Cody Dunbar's wedding.  Today, Andrea and I took lawn chairs to a private beach and read for a long time.  Multiple signs told us that we weren't allowed on this private beach - oh well.  We decided that if anyone asked us why we were there, I was going to tell them that I was the guy that invented Facebook and that one of the beach-front properties was ours. We've also been driving a golf-cart on city-streets, which we think is illegal.  Again... oh well!  Coming back to the real world on Saturday.

Everything's Broken

Sorry for the close up, but I'm only showing you what a tooth looks like when it breaks in half.  (It actually broke in half both in length and width - pretty gross!).  Then, the next morning, I couldn't get out of my car - my door is broken.  Not to mention, my iPhone has been acting up for days.  Sorry, just wanted to vent...

OKC Rescue Mission

This weekend, I took 25 college students to spend the night at the OKC Rescue Mission.  This place isn't your typical homeless shelter - they do offer three meals and a place to sleep to 1,000 people every day, but that's not all.  They provide the Bridge to Life Program that walks people through an intense discipleship program, freedom from addiction and work therapy to prepare them to hold full-time jobs.  It really is an incredible place, and the group of students that went this weekend did an incredible job of meeting people and sharing life with them.  I honestly think a lot of great relationships were formed.  The best part of coming home is knowing that many of my students will return on their own time! 

Below is a picture of our team knocking out a huge project in their warehouse - organizing tons of clothes and toys donated over Christmas.  Donations are awesome, but require a TON of work!  Along with this, our students played ball, cards, games, sat around and talked with people and attended their chapel.  The most humbling part, I think, is sleeping on a thin mat on the floor like hundreds of homeless do every night.  If you want more info on the Rescue Mission, let me know!

 

The Little's

"Don't be sad because it's over; be glad because it happened."

It has been a difficult and tiring week.  After waiting 12+ hours at the hospital on Monday, our dear friend Sherri Little walked through the door of eternity.  To remember that she is with our Savior now is what continues to help Sherri's family and friends cope with this loss.

I'm very connected with the family and hurt because they hurt.  Katie has been one of my long-time little sisters in the youth ministry here... Andrea has been her small group leader for years.  I ask that if you read this, you take a moment to pray for the Little family.

More than anything else, I have been overwhelmed to see how many people have been impacted and influenced by Sherri's life.  Schools are calling in substitutes so their entire staff can come to the funeral.  The Photo-lab staff from Target sent flowers, sharing that she was more of a friend than she was a customer.  Offices are closing so people can come to honor her.  I have never seen anything like this.  All that to say, it is Christ that people saw in Sherri.  She loved Jesus with an intense passion, which spilled over into everyone that she met. 

"How precious it is to the Lord when one of His saints comes home."

Love Books

No doubt about it, the best place to look for lessons on love is in Song of Solomon.  But, if you're looking for more reading material during this season of love, here are a few books that I recently received to review and thought very highly of them...

The Love as a Way of Life by Gary Chapman is a daily devotional (90 day) that "makes love a daily habit."  First of all, if you've ever read The Five Love Languages by Chapman, it will surely push you to pick this devotional up!  In this devotional, Chapman talks about cultivating a new lifestyle built around seven characteristics of authentic love (kindness, patience, forgiveness, courtesy, humility, generosity, honesty). Each day, you're challenged through biblical truth to make these 7 characteristics habitual.  If you and your husband/wife enjoy spending time around the kitchen table like Andrea and I do, you should consider picking up this book!

I Do Again by Cheryl and Jeff Scruggs is about a couple that hit rock bottom - an affair led to divorce and the typical "shattered" family that you see so much of in our culture.  However, after seven years, the reunited and devoted their lives to each other... again.  For those of you that enjoy true stories, you'll enjoy this book.  And talk about a perfect example of the power of prayer and reconciliation between husband and wife.  Their story is a perfect example of 1 Corinthians 13 - love conquers all. 

For Couples Only Box Set by Shaunti and Jeff Feldhahn is a guide showing you how the opposite sex thinks.  It comes with a book for women only and a book for men only (so I'm implying that if you know a young couple about to be married, this would make a great engagement present).  Each book is based on input from more than 1,000 members of the opposite sex.  I feel like the more you learn about how to understand your significant other, the more likely you will both feel fulfilled by your relationship.  Relationships are like classes - you gotta study! 

     

Should be Good...

I'm about to start John Pipers, Let the Nations be Glad, and I can't wait!!!  Check out the first few lines of his book and I'm sure you'll agree that it should be really good!

"Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church.  Worship is.  Missions exists because worship doesn't.  Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man.  When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more.  It is a temporary necessity.  But worship abides forever."  (page 17)

Nasty Needles

Visiting Nurses Association (VNA) from Oklahoma City came to the church last night to give our mission team's their vaccinations for our mission trips this year.  My dear friend, Merlyn, is such a blessing to this ministry as students don't have to go and search for shots - she came to us!  Here are two students from my Mozambique team this year - Brent, who got 6 shots (hence, the 6 band-aids on his two shoulders) and Kelsey, who is terrified of needles but showed a lot of courage.  This is always a fun day for me because I just get to sit back and watch! 

 

The Lowest = the Greatest!

In John 13, Jesus shows the ultimate act of love and service to his disciples by washing their feet.  Imagine that picture - the King of Kings and Messiah on the floor washing the dirt off of his follower's feet.  Just another reason Jesus is so amazing... he does things that the average person would never dream of! 

My friend Blake showed a video to me that is very moving.  It is a group of people that are working under Truthseekers International and traveled to India to wash feet.  Not ordinary feet, but the lowest caste in India, the "untouchables," the people that go unnoticed and unwanted.  And now their feet were washed bringing feelings of value and importance and love.  Incredible.

Please click here to watch the video.  It will bless you, I promise!