It's Sunday Morning, May 20th and I'm not at church where I "should" be. Sometimes things come up in our lives that can keep us at home. This week my wife, who is 8 months pregnant, had some challenges with her back and a very high blood pressure episode. These things have kept me home from church and work, taking care of her and my nearly 4 year old son.

At these times we find that God is not confined to speak to you ONLY when you are in the four walls of the church. If that were the case it would have been a lot rougher week than it was. If God were confined to the four walls of the church who would comfort my wife at UCD Med Center this week? If He were confined to the four walls of the church who would have gotten you through your week?
I surely don't believe in abandoning the church at any whim or mood that might strike me at any given moment. There are scriptural dictates about church participation (Hebrews 10:25). But SOMETIMES it becomes necessary , because of circumstances, to be absent from "God's House.

If we only spoke to God in the few hours that we are at church on Sunday, Wednesday or for special meetings, that wouldn't say too much about our relationship with the Father. No, God is calling us to relationship. Church attendance should be an outgrowth of our relationship with God. We should go to church (if we are Christians) BECAUSE of our relationship with God, and for fellowship, encouragement, edification, etc.

One day a woman asked a stranger where she should go to church. She asked this after they had an interesting exchange of words. She wanted to know whether she should have church in one location or another. One group of people that she was familiar with worshipped in one place, while another group worshipped at another place....and both "knew" that they were .

As the conversation started to draw to a close, the woman recognized something very different about this man. She thought he might even be a prophet.....

So what was the conclusion? The man told her, that a day was coming and was now here when those who worshipped (revererenced, showed devotion to, respected, adored) God would worship Him in Spirit (God is at the center our worship not the location) and in Truth (genuine, real, not self-righteously, failing to acknowledge how much we need God, worshipping God out of more than just habit or tradition).

Some people would misunderstand this blog as an excuse to disregard church and worship God "in their heart". That's not the message. The message is, worship Him everywhere you are! At work (through your diligent job performance), with your family (how do you treat them), at church (do you really love your "brothers and sisters").
You see worship isn't a place it's an attitude. It's the attitude that we can take to the church house, our on house, the work place and everywhere we go.....by the way if you want to read the whole story that I talked about turn ro John Chapter 4 in the New Testament of the Bible.
Later, Minister D.

Life is a mixed bag...That's what the owner of the apartment  complex (Dimitri) that we manage said when we were sharing some stories (some good, some bad). He asked how things were going. I told him about Deb (my wife) having some troubling back problems compounded with the fact that she is 8 months pregnant. Then he asked how my son was. I said he's doing well....I asked how he's been. He had been visiting his home country.... some things were going well, others not so well.
Then he said life is a mixed bag isn't it? I told him that's just what I was writing about before he called.  The only thing is, I lost that blog somehow....so this one is a little different.
That's what life is, right?
A big mixed bag......a bag full of victory and defeat.....joy and pain.....beautiful and heart breaking.....we give birth to new children and bury beloved family members.....we have the sometimes crushing responsibility of mortgages and rent payments yet enjoy the comfort of our abodes.....a mixed bag.....we ride in nicer cars than in earlier years, but still pay the note, insurance and high gas prices.....many of us have solid families, but deal with the daily struggles of getting along with one another.....we get good jobs, yet deal with the pettiness of fellow employees.....we have great church services, but somehow can't beat our addictions.....a mixed bag.....we stay married for years, yet can't tell anyone how cold things really are.....we praise God, yet we doubt Him.....we love His word.....but can't find the time to read.....like the song says, "were just ordinary people".....a mixed bag.....with all our victories, all our struggles, all of our accomplishments, and all of our failings.....life really is one mixed bag.....Thanks Dimitri!
Minister D

Well, another weekend has come and gone. How was yours? Maybe you went to a Cinco De Mayo party. Maybe you went to the park. Maybe you watched the "big fight", which wasn't much of  fight as it was hype. Some of us had a rough weekend. Maybe you had to work all weekend to make ends meet. Maybe a relationship came to an end. Maybe you laid a loved one to rest. 
The point is that we are all facing another week. One we have never seen. Were still in the game. So make the most of the time that God has given you. Work as hard as you can. Laugh as much as you can. Hug your loved ones often. Lend a helping hand to someone in need. Enjoy the life that God has given you, whether at work or at play.
Have a great week!
Minister D.

Hey everybody. We made it through show number two! We interviewed Dr Phil Fernandes from the state of Washington. He has his Phd. in the Philosophy of Religion. We had a big problem with the phone, so only Minister Collins was able to participate from our end. The interview was great, and Minister Collins performed masterfully.

The second hour was our analysis of the De La Hoya vs Mayweather pay per view boxing match on Saturday night. We had a good time talking ablout the fight, and many of the old boxers that we love to watch.
The verdict: Mayweather will win!

Next week we welcome Melvin Jones rom www.pulpit-pimps.org.
Please continue to pray for and listen to, the Preachers Corner Live.

Later, Minister D. 

4-28-2007 (8:08PM)
Last night we broadcasted our first installment of the Preachers Corner Live. Minister Collins and myself are very pleased with the results. We tried to cover many different subjects, including preaching, boxing, our personal stories, our favorite restaurants, music, and on and on.....
We did this so that the listeners could get to know us.
It's exciting to start a new chapter in our lives and see where the Lord will take us. Please continue to listen and we will always do our best to encourage, inspire and entertain you.
I would like to thank those of you who emailed, called and those who I saw in person today, who had very encouraging comments for Minister Collins and Minister Macias.
Continue to keep us in you prayers, and please feel free to email us with your questions and comments.
Also, if you missed Friday's show we will replay it on Sunday night from 8:00 until about 10:30. The first 15 minutes of the show wasn't recorded.
Thanks, and keep listening.
Minister D