Review: Cigar Saveur (August 2016)

It's officially August and the beginning of the month is always a great treat. Each month, the guys at Cigar Saveur mail out shipments of 4 premium cigars. Now, what tends to separate Cigar Saveur from a general "cigar club" is the fact that they make it personal. In other words, the cigars they have selected aren't necessarily in abundance, but are kind of hard to find, limited edition cigars, or they are a featured company producing really good cigars. 

In the end, the purpose of this experience to is to open you to the bigger world of cigars. By receiving 4 great cigars, you're exposed to a different perspective of flavors, blends and transitions, and art. When you find a stick that you enjoy from the monthly selection (and believe me, you will), it should prompt you to head over to your local cigar shop and potentially buy more of the same cigar, if not a box! 

Above are this month's featured cigars and I can't wait to smoke each one of them. If you're not a member at Cigar Saveur, then head over to their website to sign up and check out my reviews on the cigars from previous months. 

Cheers! 

Adoption Fundraiser Recap!

This weekend was all sorts of crazy and excitement. On Saturday, we held our first fundraiser for a family (who's name should be implied, but cannot be said legally...yet) who is in the final stages of the adoption process for their son. And things got pretty intense! 

But before I jump into all of the details, I wish to start with one big honorable mention: our community group. 

FRIDAY COMMUNITY

Our community group was such an incredible help this past weekend! And as the cherry on top, friends from Denton, TX made the 8 hour drive down to McAllen to help support the fundraiser. While it's only been a day, simply looking back puts tears in my eyes because so many people came out to help and give up of their time and energy to put this fundraiser together.

Every person sacrificed their time to help load and unload furniture and appliances on Friday and we had several people hang out with us on Friday evening as we organized and priced everything out. I learned that pricing is a lot more trickier than I expected! At the end of the night on Friday, pizza was the greatest call in the entire world and we shared a table with laughs and exhaustion. To those of you who were there to help us organize, manage, and haul- THANK YOU! You did an amazing work and your support means the world. 

SATURDAY MADNESS

The fundraiser began at 7:00 a.m. and by 6:30 a.m. we had about 15 people outside waiting and several trucks parked, ready to be loaded. And let me say, there are some serious garage sale shoppers in the Valley! I saw people who were very intentional about the area they wanted to scope out first and rushed to it the minute the doors opened. I even saw a lady double hop on her way to the shoes! It was interesting to say the least. We learned that people came in waves and they had an agenda. After the 15 people cleared out their findings, things were pretty quiet for about 20 minutes. And then around 9:30 a.m. it picked up again and then quieted down. It gave us a chance to post on social media what we still had, new "deals" that we thought of, and reorganized our "departments." I felt like I was working at the mall all over again. 

We knew people would be looking for a bargain and some would talk it up! And they didn't disappoint. There was this odd line of thinking where my wife would process "we really need to sell this, but how badly do I want to get rid of it? Should I lower the price that much?" 

In short, it was great and such a learning experience. I managed all of the social media on the fundraiser and people came from all over with questions, negotiations, and quirks. But despite all of the bargaining and helping to load furniture, God was gracious and met our financial goal- even passing it for the day! It was wonderful, exhausting, and it has opened our heart in moving forward with an adoption ministry in the Fall. 

We have an incredible heart for adoption and many families lack information and resources. This fundraiser became a small catalyst for the beginning of something much larger. More details on that later on.

I write all of this after preaching two services, running on fumes, and after a long week so I apologize for the brevity, but please know to all of you who supported physically, financially, and prayerfully Thank You! As we move along, we will give you more details on how things pan out.

Have a great Sunday! 

THE Garage Sale!

I've mean to post this earlier in the week, but simply didn't get a chance. So, without further interruption, I'm stoked for this weekend! We're going to be having a Garage Sale at our church (Logos Community Church) this Saturday in an effort to raise funds for a family who's in the final steps of their adoption process! Legally, I can't post any names or where they're at in the process, but I'm sure you can use your creativity. 

In any case, we're really excited because it's going to be a pretty epic morning. We'll be selling everything from appliances to furniture, clothes and toys, and plenty more. We have already had several people approach us to donate items to sell and we've been extremely grateful. Additionally, we're organizing it in a way to help your shopping experience more convenient :) 

Here's the info for Saturday followed by a few things, should you feel led, that you can do to help: 

1. The Garage Sale: Saturday, July 23rd | 7:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. | Logos Community Church (2700 N. 10th St.)

2. Donations for the Sale: If you would like to donate items (clothes, furniture, etc.), you can drop them off at Logos Community Church on Friday (7/22) between the hours of 10:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. as we'll be setting up. 

3. Monetary Donations: if you would like to donate financially, then please email Marco (marco.logos@gmail.com) with any inquiries on monetary donations. 

4. SHARE: One of the biggest things that we've seen for this Garage Sale is people sharing it constantly on social media. Please help us spread the word by sharing this event on your personal social media outlets! Here's the FB Page: GARAGE SALE 

Further Reflection: Nehemiah & Humility

This series has been exciting and quite convicting for me. I have heard a good response from our people and that's awesome because it means that the Holy Spirit is at work in their lives; calling them to respond. This past Sunday we began chapter two of Nehemiah where he humbly and in great fear approaches the king and boldly makes his requests to be sent to Jerusalem. 

I walked through 5 characteristics that we could pull from Nehemiah's time with the king, but in this post I wished to be brief and specific about one in particular. As I reflect on Nehemiah 2, it is this point that can culminate much of the other characteristics. 

Planning and Preparation

Nehemiah was a man of prayer; with such humility, helping us to see his relationship and dependence on the Lord. AND while he prayed to the God of heaven, he did his homework on Jerusalem (i.e. how much time he'd be away, resources and supplies needed, etc.). The take away is that he was sound in his approach to a big decision as a result of his prayer life. In fact, he spent 4-6 months praying and fasting. How serious are you about your relationship with the Lord?

One of the things that I love about Nehemiah and his response is that it's not only emotional, but biblical. It's not only out of grieved heart, but sound judgement. In other words, Nehemiah doesn't approach the king emotionally and without a plan, shooting from the hip. Rather, when asked about what his needs, Nehemiah is specific about his goal and what it will take to accomplish it. And make no mistake, just because he was clear about what he would need the reminder here is that he's speaking out of a broken and grieved heart for his people and city. 

Often, I'm the guy that goes straight for the plan. I want to devise the best plan possible because my thinking is mainly about preparation and execution, but very quickly forget to (1) evaluate my heart in light of who God is and (2) approach God with whatever is on my heart. I'm so ready to execute that I quickly forget about the goal.

I wish and pray to have that kind of humility. The kind that drives me to my knees in worship of God and then to be strengthened by Him because of a recognized need, not because I think my gifting is capable of accomplishment. Nehemiah's bold request are a result of the Lord being with him in light of Nehemiah's deep foundation for the Word of God. 

What does your humility (or lack of) say about your relationship with the Lord? 

RECOMMENDED READING: Nehemiah (Expositional Commentary) by James M. Boice; Exhalting Jesus in Ezra-Nehemiah by James Hamilton

Reflection on Nehemiah's Prayer

This past Sunday we studied the prayer of Nehemiah during his time of fasting as he begins to prepare for what God would have him do in as he is sent to Jerusalem. I felt that the verses were beautifully appropriate for the time our community and country faces. My heart is weighty and burdened for the families who have lost their loved ones over the course of last week's shootings in Louisiana, Minnesota, California, and Texas. I do not want to make this post long, rather I wish to encourage the church, that is the entire body of Christ, with a few quick thoughts I spoke on yesterday morning. 

HUMILITY

Nehemiah's prayer provides us with an example of humility as he reveals his dependence for God. In a time of great need, his immediate response isn't for the blessing of a great plan or some execution. Rather, he appeals to God's character and faithfulness (who God is and what He has done; not what Nehemiah needs or how "good" he's been). 

Humility begins with our need and dependence on God (Nehemiah 1:5-7). 

CHARACTER

Nehemiah's prayer is filled with scripture references which help us to see that he was firmly grounded in the Word of God; whether it's an appeal to God's faithfulness or a request, it's founded on scripture. If the church is going to stand in a time of confusion, anger, mourning, and grief then we must stand on the foundation of God's Word (Psalm 1:1-3). 

UNITY

As a nation, we are in disunity yet the church has been called to model unity and to carry one another's burdens (Galatians 6:2) and this includes the cries of our community and nation. Right now, there are many who are angry and scared yet the church has been called to be strong and courageous (Joshua 1:9). This is not a political or economic problem, but a moral problem. 

The church must model unity not because we have it all together, but because while we were still sinning, Christ died on a cross for us (Romans 5:8). We are called to be a bridge in our community not because we have all of the answers, but because the gospel reconciles us to one another and to God. 

FINAL WORDS

Church, in 3 months, when some of this has settled or become a little quieter, will you still be standing? The charge of the church cannot be sustained by simply changing your profile picture and with the use of clever hashtags. Church, the aim of our charge is love. A love that is only possible through a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith (1 Timothy 1:5). 

A Night of Prayer

This Thursday, we'll be hosting A Night of Prayer at Logos Community Church in light of the shootings that occurred last week. We will be spending time in song and in prayer as we cry out to God to confess our sin, pray over our community and those who protect us, and stand in unity because of the hope found in Jesus. 

Check out the FB Event.