More from the Young Pro Team Roping Camp

Young Pro Team Roping Camp

This week I am in Graham Tx. for the Young Pro Team Roping Camp. This is one of my favorite camps that I have the honor of being invited to speak.

What is the Young Pro? In the NBA and the NFL they take the rookies and spend a week preparing them for the pressures and temptations related to the field of work they are going into. This is the same principle with a different foundation, Jesus. The entire camp is biblical based and spirit filled. YPTRC covers rodeo subjects such as finances, relationships, horsemanship, sponsorship and professional clinicians. Then it covers spiritual subjects such as choices, dating and successful marriage, following Christ and living a spirit filled life.

A lot of the National Finals Rodeo team roping contestants are here. Ropers like Clay O'Brian Cooper, Rickey Green, Clay Tryan, Travis Tryan, Allen Bach, Caesar Delacruz, Rope Myers and many more.

There is also great spiritual directors here also. Pastors like Randy Weaver, Trey Johnson, Tom Underhill, Me and others.

Today I will talk to the students about dating and marriage. I talked on this subject 10 years ago, and they have asked me to speak on it every year since. This group of young men and women are more mature than most people their age. They are hungry for both rodeo direction and spiritual direction.

I also have a side agenda. My friend Zack Burkett lives here and owns a hunting ranch 12 miles from the arena. Soooooooooooo! I might go deer hunting on my time off. "Through me in that Brier patch." More to come!

The 248 Ghosts in Walmart

My trip to Walmart recently started off business as usual. I was not excited, in the least, about going. Heather had to pick up a few things and some of them were heavy so I went to help out.

I was tending to my own business when I could sense, "them","The Others", "Ghosts", "I see dead people", ok, ok enough with the ad lids. It was as if I knew there were people, but I just did not see them. Have you ever had that experience at Walmart, so many people you just don't notice them anymore? Let me go on.

I probably would have got in and got out that day if it was not for the way my day had started. I specifically prayed for people that morning. People in Lea County, people in our community, people in our neighborhood, people to come to our church. Then I found myself in the middle of Walmart not caring about..."people".

I had a thought. I would start my Walmart trip over again, and count every person I see. I went back to the front doors of Walmart and started to count every person who I ran into. 4,5,6,7.23.24.25...109,110,111. The counting continued right up to the time we checked out and walked out the doors. How many do you think I counted in a 1/2 hour visit to Wally World? 250 faces that I would have never noticed. However there was another shocking numerical fact. Out of 250 people I only knew 2.

If you know me you know I like people. I am a friendly guy, good natured, kind, even loving. This quick census made me really evaluate a side of me I am not to comfortable examining. I remember my reaction to some folk, now forced to look at them. I had no desire to even know them. There were others who I would notice based just on how they look or dress.

What would be your reaction if a random trip to Walmart would show that you only knew 5% of the most visited place in your community? Questions came to mind. Am I stuck up, a snob? Am I raciest or maybe just racial? Prideful, arrogant or self-centered might be a way to describe you.

My conclusion, YES and NO. The thing is, this is how all of us can be described. Its when we get an opportunity to self evaluate our lives we become the people we really want to be.

Here are a few ways to help in this area.
1. Walk with your eyes open.
The guy doing 45 in a 65 is not a Ghost. He is actually a bad driver who has problems of his own. He is a "people" you prayed for this morning.
2.Enlarge your circle of Love.
This might even include people who don't share the same beliefs as you. They are still "people" you prayed for this morning.
3.We can't help everybody, but one person can make a difference. Number 16:48
Story: An old man was walking along the ocean beach noticing the millions of starfish that had washed up on the shore from the storm the night before. He thought how sad it was that the starfish were unable to get back into the water and now was ding due to the hot sun. Then he noticed a little boy picking up Starfish and throwing them as far as he could back into the ocean. One by one he would through them back into the ocean. The old man grouchy said to the boy, "Young man, there are to many of them. How could you ever make a difference?" The young boy reached down and picked up another starfish, rared back and through it as far as he could back into the ocean. The boy then looked at the old man and said, "I made a difference for that one." The old man picked up a starfish and through it back into the ocean.

Weekend Reflection

This was an amazing week.

*First I thought that the MISSION DRIFT was a success. The ministry heads shared their vision and new ideas. Way to go everyone. You had some great "idears".
*Cigi and I were able to rebuild the sound booth. We made it more work friendly. I really appreciate our sound people. Cigi, Mike, Ray D., Abby and Loray do a great job backing me up on my sermons.
*"Blessings" has heaters! Well they are hanging at least. Bill Gray and the RR pipe crew are hard at work getting gas and electricity to the heaters so we can get some heat.
Blessings is also pinking away. Every Friday at (9:00 am) were having a blast with "Blessings Kids" come help.
*NMJC RODEO TEAM was out and lending a hand at blessings Friday. They are also exercising the horses on the weekdays.
*SUNDAY MORNING SERVICE was over 100 people. 103 to be exact.
*MONDAY SERVICE had a low adult crowd, but Cigi had a big crowd for youth group. Cigi and I have a running joke. If the Youth out number out Adult Monday night group they get the church and the adults get the house. We will see.
*Thanks to Crill for filling in the sound booth Monday night. Good to have Charlie P. back ushering. He has been gone for a job he was doing. Kacey did a great job leading worship. Thanks for the commitment K. Mark and Roan got a new greeting system working. Team Work makes the Dream Work.
*Tuesday morning - Just got through praying for our church. Every time I leave the Tuesday prayer I leave with an energy for what God is doing. SO PROUD OF OUR CHURCH!

Mission Drift tonight!!!!

2009- Tonight is the first "Mission Drift" for the 2009 year.

I get the question all the time. "What do you guys need us to do?" That question is so much easier to answer at a Mission Drift.
If you are a new person at CJC this meeting is a must.
If you have any desire to get involved this meeting is a must.
If your clueless on how CJC operates this meeting is a must.
If you have attended CJC from its very inception this meeting is a must.
If you have no desire to live for Jesus, tell His story, love our world and make a difference
you might want to stay home.

Food will be provided. (Kendals BBQ)
Starts - 5:30pm
Ends - 7:00pm - (We will be respecful of your time)

Cya Tonight

A peek at our new website.

Here at the offices of COWBOY JUNCTION CHURCH we are hard at work providing our members and seekers the Gospel in a creative and unique way.

(however) Have you ever had one of those projects that is the kingpin that messes all your other projects up? CJC is not prone to theses encounters. Our website "is" something to be proud of. It has podcast, videos, up to date calenders, media, photo gallery, up coming events, etc..., but one little thing is messing it up. Our deepest apologies.

(however) We would like to give you a little taste of our new website. Here is the welcome video that we have completed. I think it does a pretty good job describing CJC, in one minute.

The One Minute Sermon. Words

Proverbs 18:21 (New King James Version)

21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue,

And those who love it will eat its fruit.

I have been on both sides of the wrong thing to say. I know most everyone reading this has. There is not a person I know that wants to say the wrong thing. It still happens all the time. There are forgotten lessons that we need to be reminded of annually.

1. Think before you speak.
This makes me nervous. Speaking is rhythmic and timely. If you miss your chance to speak you can't recapture the moment. However, what is the point if you say the wrong thing. Discipline is a temporary toil for a long term harvest. When you honor words, you will be honored by your words.

2. Be an encourager.
There are four types of people in the world. Adders, subtractors, multipliers and dividers. Your words reveal which one you are. Encourage someone everyday. I have fun with this. I have trigger moments that I will go out of my way to compliment someone on. IE: If I see anyone wearing Orange or Turquoise I will trip over myself to compliment them. Orange is an obvious reason (AHS) turquoise is a representation of my favorite state (N.M.). I am confident that my Lord purposely causes someone to put on an orange shirt or turquoise necklace just so I could encourage them. I have done it now for years and the stories are fun to tell. Airports, big cities, conferences, celebrities and regular Joe's God opens doors with the key of encouragement.

3. The art of apologizing.
You will never know what your words taste like until you have to chew on them.
Its not that bad, and it also gets easier after you get used to it. Before long you choose your words wisely. Because, being sensitive to the words your about to say is easier once you've apologized for them a few times. More blog to come on this subject "The forgotten Arts."

Come Dance with Me!

Don' forget the NEW YEAR EVE PARTY!!!

What: Cowboy Junction New Years Eve Party.

Where : Howe's Barn
Which is located between mile marker 3 & 4 North of Lovington,on the Tatum Highway,
35 Layni Lane

Why : Bring in 2009. As christians we are loosing the fine art of PARTYING! The best memories of my childhood were of branding dances, barn dances and 4-h dances. What better place to have fun than at Church.

We will be enjoying hamburgers so all you need to bring is a side dish. We look foward to seeing you all there. HAPPY NEW YEAR CJC!!!

Heart Attack!!!!!!

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also ye are called in one body: and be ye thankful. Colossians 3:15

Rather than throw in the towel and give way to these emotions that want to get the best of you why not stop right now and make a decision to let the Word of God rule you today? Here are some questions that we should consider on our emotions.

1. Do you recognize moments when your emotions try to throw you into an emotional tizzy and steal you peace and joy?
2.Have you asked God to help you overcome these moments?
3.What steps can you take to quiet yourself so you can focus on God's Word and allow peace of God to rise up and referee what is going on inside of your heart, mind, and emotions?

Weekend Reflection

* Hats off to all the volunteers that make CJC possible.
*I thought that Abby and Kelly did a fantastic job leading worship. Those two girls stepped up and made it happen by themselves.
*We counted many of our faithful gone (due to the holiday's), but the attendance was still good.
*Crill made a hand by taking over the Kids church last minute.
*I love Christmas! However, I love Christmas more when its over. Its good to get back in "The Grove"
*Bill Gray and our contractor are beginning the bathrooms for "Blessings" (Horse Equine Therapy Program). After they have completed that project he will begin the task of heating the barn. What a barn it will be. If you have not got a chance to go and see all the changes to our horse barn, take the time to go look.
*Cigi is working hard on launching our new CJC website. She has worked very hard and it looks like it.
*2009 is coming up and there will be board leadership changes. You will hear more about this, but everything has been a blessing. Those that are moving on to leadership roles in other places in our church know this is the best for their calling and our churches calling.
*Today I worked on: 5 year goal for CJC, Land Payoff, and board commitments list. Can't wait to share this with the new CJC board.

Christmas at the Inlaws.

The three amigos. Carlos Lopez (friend of the family), Me, and Jotty Kinney (brother-in-law).

We are in San Angelo celebrating the Cox Christmas. It is 7o degrees and beautiful. Tonight we cook steaks, armadillo eggs and more jalapenos. Its a New Mexico - Texas Christmas.

Merry Christ-mas

"Its the Most wonderful time of the year..."

Today starts the Christmas responsibilities. Toys, trips and togetherness. I will be taking a break from blogging for a few days. I know you will understand.

From the Bean Family: Merry Christmas and remember to have a lot of fun, eat to much and Jesus is the reason Christmas lasts all year.

Pastor Ty

Home Cell Groups

One of my favorite things is to hang out with Cowboy Junction people. I am going to get to do a lot more of it soon at our home cell groups.

That's right, starting January 11 and 14 CJC is introducing two exciting ways to sharpen you walk with the Lord.

Hobbs - Mike and Jacqulyn Miller will open their house for "Ignite".
January 11, then every Wednesday
6:30pm - 8:00pm

Lovington - Mark and Joncie Hicks will open their house for "Financial Peace University".
January 14 - then every Sunday
6:30pm - 8:00pm

Take advantage of this opportunity. You won't regret it.

Fathers day success!

I wanted to give some pastors some ideas for their upcoming Fathers Day.

Fathers day is always a bitter sweet day for dads that go to church. What do I mean? Over the last several years I noticed that on Fathers Day the sermon always revolves around dads doing a better job. "It's time for our dads to be the Priests of the Household" is a popular saying. Although I agree. I did not want to beat up our dads on their special day. I was ready to try something different. What did we do? Here is a list.

1. Honor our dads.
2. For one day make church, dad friendly.
3. Lets do something special for them.
4. Feed the faithful, sow in the seekers.

How did we do it.

For the month of June we did a series called "Night at the Movies." We took some of our favorite movies and made sermons out of them. (Karate Kid, Hoosiers, Brubaker) On fathers day we picked one of Americas favorite westerns, John Wayne's "The Cowboys."

For some this might be sacreligious but I moved ten lazy boy chairs, five ice chests (full of every soft drink imaginable) and every snack on the planet. At the beginning of the service I drew names and that dad got to sit in the honor seat all service. They had a blast.

Next - Dad's love John Wayne! "The Cowboys" is a perfect Fathers Day movie-message. To make this special I included a friend, Clay O'Brian Cooper. Not only is Clay a seven time World Champion Team Roper and PRCA Hall of Fame inductee, but as a young boy he was in two John Wayne movies including "The Cowboys". I opened the service with this video. I knew that a lot of people knew Clay was in the movie. However, no one had ever asked the questions we were all asking. This video was a gift to our dads. I thought it turned out great.

Clay autographed two movie pictures for a couple of our blessed dads. All of our fathers had a great experience at church. Our Moms immediately made statements that they could go for something like this for Mothers Day.

I am so proud of Cowboy Junction Church for being a church where I could do something like this. Also everyone took advantage of this opportunity and invited their friend to come to church and "watch John Wayne".

A Long Time Coming

He did it!!! Me, Heather and the boys were jumping up and down cheering at the tv as Stran Smith won the World Tie Down title in the P.R.C.A. on E.S.P.N. I love it when great people accomplish great things. I have known Stran for a long time and we serve on the Forever Cowboys Ministry team together.

Stran is a class act and lives for Jesus also. I think the two should always go together.

Stran has been through the fire. He lost a traveling partner and best friend, had a stroke and lost his horse.

One year ago he started a strict diet and workout and hired a personal trainer. He only eats chicken and fish and other food I have never heard of. The only fun thing about going out to eat with him is the conversation. Appears that thats what it takes to win a World Title. THAT IL' PREACH!

Hats off to Stran! More WORLD TITLES to come.

My very first Blog!!!

This is more of a practice blog. This is a historical day! If you are reading this please comment at the bottom. You were there when I first started. More to come.

Cigi and I are working hard to fill you full of "it". :-}