Happy Birthday To You Pastor Troy

"You encourage us with your style, commitment and passion." - F. Lugo

Today is my Pastor's birthday. Therefore I decided to not only wish him a happy birthday, but let the world know of a man who is chasing after God's heart. From my few years of being part of such an eclectic family of Potential, to my actual words exchanged with Pastor Troy Gramling and my encounters with a humble man who is easy going, soft spoken as a man, but a booming voice for God, I am glad God lead me to Potential Church.

It all started years ago in 2006. I was invited to share my testimony before hundreds at Potential Church (then Flamingo Road Church) and as I was praying backstage because I was very nervous to stand and speak before many, I remember as I raised my head up and opened my eyes after praying, I saw a tall man leaning against a wall. He looked tired and as I realized who stood before me, I was shocked to realize it was my very own Pastor. But I said to myself, 'This can't be him. I've seen him preaching the Word of God like a warrior...This is a Super Hero in my eyes.' Not knowing what to say to my Pastor, I said the only thing my finite mind could come up with that seemed intelligent and appropriate, I said "How's it going?" To which my Pastor replied, 'good.' I couldn't believe it! I spoke with my Pastor. What a thrill! A memorable moment in my life I would always be able to recall and thank God for.

But God spoke to me later concerning this divine encounter between my pastor and I. He said, 'Your amazement of this man is not amazement at all, but reverence for your leader. You were honored to be among him. This is called humility. You were thankful for the exchange of words although little. This is called being a child of God.' As I have heard my Pastor teach many times, there is one thing that never changes. I am always thrilled to hear from him again. Every time I attend service to hear what my pastor has to share with us that day from the pages of his heart, whether in person, or on a big screen because he is elsewhere doing the Lord's work or simply enjoying much needed rest, I am grateful to God for my Pastor and for God allowing our conversation to continue on.

I see my Pastor as a leader, and a hero. We all need to have heroes in our lives. And if that hero is in Christ Jesus, we should all be honored and thankful to God by always showing our respect and appreciation for the amazing job that hero; that leader, is doing in our lives and the lives of others. Let us never become familiar with our leaders and heroes whether we hear from them daily or not, but let us consistently rejoice with them always because God appoints all the leaders to their positions in life. That they who lead us triumphantly and victoriously may always be cherished, prayed for and encouraged. Why? They are people to and they as we, need to be loved, cherished and cared for also. Amen.

As I thought of a verse that would speak to my Pastor I thought it appropriate to not simply quote a verse, but rather speak a blessing over my Pastor. It's called the Priestly blessing: Pastor Troy may...

“The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26 NIV)


If you haven't known Pastor Troy and you haven't decided on a church to become part of their family, I invite you, I extend my hand in friendship towards you. I will be honored if you would come and join the celebration of God's grace that is Potential Church. Come to know a leader, a hero, a warrior, a husband, a father, a brother, a son, a man who is for God. His name is Troy Gramling and he is my Pastor. Amen.


Happy Birthday Pastor Troy.
As always...YOU ARE LOVED.

Proud to be a member

"Being a part of such an amazing diverse family is overwhelmingly satisfying to say the least." F. Lugo

As I read from my bible this morning, the message was spoken loud and clear into my heart. Be proud of your family. Be proud of what they are doing and accomplishing. Be proud to be a member of such a family, with such a rich history. Be excited to see your family members and root them on. Their tasks are no mere mole hill but mountains to be climbed, great distances to trek, and many sorrows and afflictions to remain hopeful and faithful through. Be proud...your family is amazing. 


A great sense of thanksgiving overcame me, as I envisioned my family members faces. The smiles, the embraces, the words of joy and excitement exchanged to one another. The tears, the sorrow, the moments when listening is all that can be done accompanied by a hug. I am very proud of my family. I love my family. They're all amazing. Some are great speakers and teachers. Some are amazing leaders. Others manage tasks quite well. You have those who love to connect with others; absolute people persons packed with smiles and always having words of encouragement. Some have such a great loving heart for children. There are those who will keep the house unbelievably tidy, and we belong to a very BIG house. I'm so thankful to them. Their tasks are quite time consuming. You have those who feed the family, and food is very much needed to remain energized to continue on. I am thankful to them as well as we belong to a very BIG family and they're many mouths to feed. You are such a blessing! You have those who earn much more money than others and they supply much for the family. Without them, our tasks would be that much harder to accomplish. So grateful for all of them, truly I am. You have those that make sure all the cars in the parking lot and drive ways are secured and traffic flows well. So many areas to tend to in our house, and every last one of my family members executes their duties to the best of their ability, but you can be assured that we will always be challenged to improve on our improvements. That's a good thing though. Belonging to such a big family with such a rich history, success is all about the next step taken, not the last step. The the most influential member of our house is a quiet humble man. He's shy yet powerful when he is called to the task. Out of the many brothers and sisters I have, I remain amazed to see them growing in all their ways right before my eyes. As I walk around the house and look around at my huge family, I am filled with joy, excitement and of course you can see how I'd be a proud member of such an amazing family.

The words I read today speak to such a thing, and I very much want to share them with you:



Unity and Diversity in the Body


 ¹² Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. ¹³ For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. ¹⁴ Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. ¹⁵ Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. ¹⁶ And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? ¹⁸ But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. ¹⁹ If they were all one part, where would the body be? ²⁰ As it is, there are many parts, but one body. ²¹ The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” ²² On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, ²³ and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, ²⁴ while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, ²⁵ so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. ²⁶ If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. ²⁷ Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. ²⁸ And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. ²⁹ Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? ³⁰ Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? ³¹ Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. NIV emphasis added)

As I reread the above words, that overwhelming sense of being proud of my family brought tears to my eyes. We may not all succeed in all the same areas. We may not always get along with each other as we very much would like to. We may not always see eye to eye. Being a very big family, with a very big task, can cause some friction at times, yet it's love that binds us all together in perfect unity, and that is what makes us unique, and for that I am thankful to God for my family. 

Love Is Indispensable

We all desire to have the more excellent way of being a tightly knit family, and the way to such closeness is shared so eloquently here, ⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NIV emphasis added) 

All of these put into perfect practice will give us that wonderful unity. Now out of all these amazing attributes being applied to one entire family executed by every member, there are three overseeing attributes that govern all the above to remain in perfect unity, and they are, ¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13 NIV emphasis added)

As I am very proud of my amazing family. I know you will be as well. Take the time to let your family members know they are loved and appreciated. You are more than welcomed to come see, and be a part of my amazing family. We're called Potential Church.

As always...YOU ARE LOVED.

 

Potential Church

My friends if you are in the So. Fla area, come check out Potential!

Potential Church
Main Campus: Cooper City
Website: potentialchurch.com (for other campus locations, service
times, and much more)
Address: 12401 Stirling Road, Cooper City, FL 33330
Dress code: Come as you are (suit, jeans, shorts, dress, etc... It's
all good).
If you don't have a bible, we'll give you one...FREE!!!!
If you have felt that nudge in your heart, and have chosen Jesus as
your Lord and Savior and want to know what's next, come to Potential
Church, and we'll be honored to point you towards your next step.
We can't wait to meet you. God bless.
P.S.
Starting January 26 we will be having Wednesday night service at 7pm.
How awesome is that? Very! :)