Bobby Lepinay

Flying to MN......

Deb, Victoria and myself are flying out Friday morning to Vern @ Mellisa's wedding in Minneapolis, MN. This promises to be a very special wedding between 2 very special people.  I will be performing the ceremony, on a paddlewheeler steamboat, out on a river there. 

Of course, the girls are excited about going to The Mall of America Mall of America - Home , the largest mall in the world. 

....Man.....I am sure you can feel my heart pounding with excitement on that one.  :) 

We have another special wedding going on this weekend, Joe and Laurie (Hayes).  Pastor Roger will be doing that one over here at Spanish Cove. 

Looking forward to being with everyone Sunday...!

PB

An Interesting Call........

Yesterday afternoon, the phone rang.  Though I didnt recognise the number, I picked it up.  When the voice said "This is Kenneth Fontenot...!",.... I about fell over.....!

Here's the story:  Way, way back in my Fresh/Soph years of High School, Ken and I played football together for the Acadiana Rams.  Kenneth was our 'star' running back.  I was his pulling guard, opening up the holes for him to run through.  The guy was a beast, literally running over people, playing with broken noses, etc...

Off the field, Kenneth was known as the one guy NO ONE even THOUGHT about messing with.  He was also at that time getting pretty heavy into drugs, which is what ruined the rest of his high school football career. 

You were either on Kenneth's good side or bad side.  I was on his good side, thankfully, as I did a pretty good job opening holes for him to run through.

The story continues....

2 years later, in our Senior year (25 years ago!), I was shooting pool one night, when a guy came up to the table picking a fight. 

The guy was HUGE!  But because of my pride, I went outside to take him on......really, inside praying something would happen to deliver me from getting killed by this guy!  (and no, I was not yet a Christian....! .....:)...1 year BC)

We went outside, and suddenly, out of nowhere, Kenneth showed up and said, "HEY.....then lots of other choice words...."Are you messing with my friend...???"  He then proceeded to beat the tar out of the guy, then dove into the window of a friends car who was just passing by, calling back to me, saying, "Hey.....remember...You owe me...!"

That was the last we ever saw each other....til late yesterday, when he called and I agreed to meet him at Whataburger after 25 years of not seeing each other.

Kenneth had heard I was a pastor.  He had given his heart to Christ about 10 years ago, but now was going through a nasty divorce after 22 years of marriage.  He was struggling, hurting deeply.

  He was passing through Pensacola and felt he had to call me. 

I wont go into the details, but our time was very good and the Lord met us.  As I drove home, I remembered the last words he had said to me so many years ago, which I am sure he probably didnt remember.  Kenneth had bailed me out of what was SURE to be a real jam......now, the table had been turned......

Life really can be incredibly ironic. 

What an adventure, eh..??!

PB

Happy "Big 18th", Brittany...!

This past weekend was a big 'rite of passage' for our middle-born child, Brittany.  She finally turned the BIG 1-8......unbelievable, ....at least from this point of view!

On Friday night, we opened up our home for tons of Brit's friends, clearing out our living room for them to dance and just have fun.  It was great to watch them all swing dance, line dance....just have a blast. We did cake and presents from friends, then the boys left and all the girls slept over.

Late night, needless to say......!

On Saturday, we drove over to Destin with our whole family to meet my parents and sister and her husband and kids at the Hard Rock Cafe.  This was my 2nd time eating there in 3 days, as Robert Pooley and myself met Gary Lamb over there on Thursday for lunch.  Gary has a great church in Canton, GA called Ridge Stone Church Ridge Stone Church - Pastor: Gary Lamb that is meeting in a movie theater and is just flat out 'doing it'. 

We had a great time eating with the whole family, then walked through Destin Commons shopping, enjoying the nice evening, as we strolled my mom in her wheelchair.  Brit loaded up on the $$$ this birthday and has one goal in mind:  To redo her room completely.  Let's just say Target (or 'Tar-jeh') is getting alot of trips by my 'no longer little, but now big girl".....

OK, I promised her I would not get mushy and overly syruppy.......:)

I am heading to the Gastroenterologist's in a few minutes to see about doing another test.  After that, I have a quite 'interesting' appointment for coffee that I am sure I will blog about tommorow....a real 'blast from the past'...

Grace,

PB

Mahalo

"Mahalo" is the word you hear whenever you are arriving or leaving in Hawaii.  It is a word of affection to say either hello or goodbye.

These pictures were taken on our way out of Honolulu as we were about to board the plane back home.  By the way,....and dont forget this.....If you ever go to Hawaii, make SURE to just fly to LA, spend the night, then finish flying the next day.   That flight home was nothing less than torturous!  You fly all night, getting back here at 10am. 

Anyway....just remember that little tip!

Well, that about closes out 'Hawaii Stories'.  The fact that so many of you guys gave toward us going is deeply humbling.  Thanks, guys......you will never know just how very timely this was for us in this EXACT season of our lives and ministry. 

Soooooooo......"Mahalo".......til tommorow....!

PB

PS  Kudos to everyone who was serving on all our teams at our service this evening.  "Unwritten" was dead on (GREAT job, Allysa...) and the house was packed.  Pastor Craig delivered one of his best yet. I especially got alot out of the whole idea of "relaxed yieldedness", of Jesus being a 'shepherd', not a cattle-driver.  The Holy Spirit was just deeply present all night. 

Pick up a free CD next Sunday if you werent able to make it......again, "Mahalo"!

Room 2413

OK.....I think this is my 2nd to last post on "Hawaii Stories".......As I said, this is more for Deb and I to look back on years from now, as well as for my kids to be encouraged in trusting the "God of Wonders".  It blesses me to see so many of you as well enjoying the stories as well.

Room 2413.....At the Hilton Waikiki.....Hilton Hawaiian Village® Beach Resort & Spa on Waikiki Beach

We arrived in Honululu on Sunday afternoon after spending 5 wonderful days in a condo in Kona.  When we arrived at the Hilton, we were put in the Diamondhead Tower, 12th floor.....one of the older rooms, though still a $300 room, as July is high season. 

When we went up to the room, we couldnt help but notice the real mildewy smell in the bathroom, and the view was......well, not much.  I decided to call the front desk, just to see if they by chance, had another room. "Im sorry, sir....but we are completely booked as it is high season." was the reply.  I thanked her for trying.  Before I could hang up, she paused, then said, "I'll tell you what...give me your cell number and go to dinner and I will see if something comes available."

Now to be honest, I was not feeling well that afternoon.  Deb and I went to dinner at the BEST chinese restaurant we have ever been to there on the property.....(another story on getting the best table, again, outside, ...but not now...), then we walked around the shops.  As we walked, my fingers began to go numb, which had never happened.  Needless to say, I was a little concerned. :)

The phone rang and the lady at the front desk said they had a room for us and that they would send a bellhop to move our stuff to our new room. 

Enter, Ray, servant of the Lord....our bellhop.

We met Ray in our old room and when he saw the new room they had assigned us, he said, "Wow....you are really going to like this!"  I could see him looking at us to check us out, probably wondering why exactly they had given us room 2413.

We walked over to the other side of the resort and as we walked, discovered that Ray was a part of a church there where a good friend of ours, Jim Laffoon has just ministered.  We shared our story with Ray.  As we got to the new room and he was about to open the door, he just looked at us and teared up and said, "Wow....God REALLY, REALLY loves you guys...."  He opened the door and brought us into their "Specialty Suite"....reserved for the most 'special guests', Ray told us! 

We were blown away: 2 separate bathrooms, double balconies with all glass walls, plasma tv....on and on.  Then he took us out on the balcony to show us the view from the 24th floor: To the left, we overlooked the city, directly in front was Diamondhead Mountain, to our right, a spectacular view of the ocean.  It really was breathtaking....surreal, actually.   Ray was all teary; we were blown away....so we prayed for each other.  Ray prayed a powerful prayer over me, with tears.  This guy was such a neat brother in Christ that he called me the next morning to check on me, just to see how I was doing. 

Ray was a servant of Christ first; being a bellhop was just his job, though he did it well.

Needless to say, the next day I got concerned that maybe I was being charged for this thing.  I got REAL concerned when I looked on the door and saw that in that time of the year, the rate was....get this.....$4700...that's right....$ 4700 a NIGHT!  I was told that "it was taken care of."  Praise God...!!! 

The pictures here are all of and from our suite.  A camera really couldnt capture it all, but trust me, it was NICE!  The best part was walking up the first morning and seeing the sun come up over the mountain, opening the glass doors of both balconies, cuddling back up in bed together.....and just hearing the breeze,..... dozing in and out....in the most amazing bed we have ever slept on.

  No kidding,...since we got back, we really are on a hunt for the bed they had in there...!

OK....that is enough for one sitting..... 

Room 2413 will always stand as a 'monument' to God's favor over our lives. ....

To more and more of the wonderful FAVOR of the Lord....eh????  God likes to bless His kids, I have discovered, ...like any good dad does. 

Be blessed indeed...!

PB

PB

Serving Christ....Whatever, Whenver

It's Tuesday evening and I am finally getting to post......hope you guys are all having a good start to your week!

I will be finishing out the stories from the Hawaii trip our leaders gave us last month this week.  As I said, this is more for ME, really, .....to REMEMBER the goodness of God, His amazing kindness and love and watchcare.

Anyway.....

Today's post centers around some of the people Deb and I got to encounter, pray with, share with.  While I was out on the lanai one evening, looking at the stars, talking to the Father, this realization hit me: The only thing that counts is serving Christ in the exact place I am at TODAY, now. 

Serving Christ has nothing to do with me being a pastor.  It has to do with being willing to encourage someone, pray with someone, serve someone.....in Jesus' Name. 

Whatever place.  Whatever time.

The first 2 pictures are of a lady named Dale.  Deb and I were late clearing out of our condo to fly over to Oahu, when the 'cleaning lady' came in.  I was in the shower and when I came out, Deb and Dale were talking as Dale was getting started cleaning. Dale was a believer who had moved to Hawaii from the mainland to help her 23 year old son who had been attacked by a Hawaiin gang, and because the courts are prejudiced toward natives, HE had been charged with attempted homicide and was facing life in prison. 

Dale had left everything to come to the aid of her son. 

She was teaching school and cleaning condos just to survive in expensive Hawaii.  Deb and I layed hands on Dale and prayed for her, calling out to God.   Her supervisor came in just about then and we headed out the door, having served Christ with 'one who may have SEEMED forgotten'.

The next picture of the guy and girl is of Kent and Katie from Beaumont, TX. 

Kent is a single dad who brought his Senior daughter, Katie, to Hawaii to find good waves to surf.  We met them on our last night at the Luau we went to.  The cool thing is that these guys were real, authentic 'seekers', in that Kent especially is very hungry to find God.  He said that he had just that past weekend driven almost 2 hours to go to Joel Osteen's church in Houston, and that he was absolutely blown away.  The really cool part to me is that for 5 years, get that, 5 years, Kent had been watching Joel on TV.  He finally the weekend before, decided to take his graduating daughter to visit the church he had been watching on tv. 

We talked about next steps to take.  He worked in a beer factory and was just a guy trying to make it who loved his little girl looking for God.  When we told him about Harvest, he said that was the kind of church he wanted to find. I gave him some contacts I knew of.

The picture after that is of myself and Ray, our bellhop.  I will save that one for tommorow.......

Finally, I dont want to forget Fred and Dot.  I did not get a picture of them, but what a story........

Deb and I were in Waimea, a small, out of the way village, sitting outside of a tiny coffee shop, drinking the best cup of coffee I can recall, "pressed" Kona coffee.  This elderly gentleman comes outside and walks in our direction and I ask him if he can take our picture.  He fiddles with this 'new-fangled' camera. :)..., then his wife comes out and takes it from him and takes the picture.  They sit down and we begin to talk. No one else is out there.......remember....this is really an out of the way place, not a tourist trap. 

Anyway, they ask where we are from and when we tell them, they are floored.  They likewise are from Pensacola!  Specifically, Tiger Point.  They lost EVERYTHING in hurricane Ivan and moved to Indio, CA, and because it was 115 there, had come to this Island to escape the heat.  We talked for awhile, as he had worked at Solutia for over 20 years and they had lived their whole lives in Pensacola and knew it like the back of their hand. It really was unbelievable.  We talked about church, and how they were Catholic but had not been involved since leaving 2 years ago.  It finally came out that Dot had just been diagnosed with breast cancer.  Deb and I prayed right then and there for her, outside that tiny Waimea coffee shop.  She cried and you could sense the Lord touching this precious elderly couple.

We exchanged contact info and it was time for Deb and I to head back for the hour drive, as we were trying to cook steaks and eat on our balcony while catching the sunset, which we did by the skin of our teeth!  These last 2 picts are the one Dorothy took at the Waimea coffee shop with our pressed coffee before we talked, and of the Deb cooking the steaks and the sunset as we ate that last night on the big Island, Hawaii.

Till tommorow....

PB

Headed to Encounter Retreat...

After a full day of at doctor's offices, I made a 'last minute' decision to head over to Baton Rouge to attend an Encounter Retreat, hosted by Bethany World Prayer Center.  They have been doing these for quite some time, but this one is specifically for pastors and after going back and forth on whether or not to go, I made the decision: I am going to 'sanctify' this time for God to work more deeply in me, period.  I want the Holy Spirit to have full 'right of way' in me and through me, with no reserve.

I covet your prayer, as I will be coming home Sat evening to get ready to speak Sunday.  The band will be doing "Fix You" by Coldplay to lead in, and from what I hear, there is some pretty cool creative stuff planned.  Pray for me to have a 'face to face' time with God, a "Peniel", over the next few days.  Pray for the message Sunday to truly have 'divine weight' upon it.....that it would imprint on hearts in an eternal way.

I will be back to blogging next week, slowly but surely finishing out stories I want, rather feel I have to tell.  Especially about some of the people Deb and I never want to forget that God allowed us to intersect with.....stay tuned!

You are loved.....

PB

Blessed in the Small Things.....

As I said last week, I am continuing for the next 4 or 5 posts to finish out some of the "God Stories" we experienced on our trip a few weeks ago, really, again, as a "remembrance" for me and my kids later, as well as to encourage your own faith to BELIEVE GOD.

A story in the Bible that has always intrigued me is back in Genesis 24, where Abraham basically has this thing in his heart that he wants his son, Isaac, to NOT marry a woman out of the land where he has been sent.  It's just a desire in his heart, something important to him, but to others, no big deal.....

I wont go into the whole story, but end of the matter is that GOD HEARS the whisper of this man's heart.  He leads Abraham's servant to the EXACT girl for his son Isaac, Rebecca, and Abraham's heart is satisfied.

Bottom line:  God delights to bless us, no matter how small and insignicant the desires may be.

The pictures you see here are from Huggo's, Deb's and my now favorite restaurant in the world.  We went there repeatedly while in Kona.....though it WAS pricey.  But really, EVERYTHING in Hawaii is pricey. 

Anyhoo....back to the point.....

We went to Huggo's the 2nd night we were there.  It is always packed.  As we drove up in our convertible Mustang :), and the valet helped us park, I uttered the simple prayer, "Lord, it would be great if you would give us favor and give us the BEST table in the house."

As we came in, they walked us over to to exactly that:  the best table in the house.  Right on the water, overlooking the Pacific waves hitting the rocks,... on the corner, .....tiki torch extending out from the corner, ......sunset unimaginable immediately in front.

The neat thing is that EVERY TIME we went, ......they gave us the exact same table!

Now, as I said, we had this kind of stuff happen over and over on this trip, and I wish I could say that is the par all the time.  It's not.  BUT........I have been challenged to "ASK".....even in the little things.

God really does care about us.  In the smallest, seemingly most absurd things of life, that we care about nontheless,.... He delights to bless us. 

Grace,

PB

Story #1 Continued.....!

Alright......we finally get back to the FIRST 'God-story' I want to share and log down...But first of all, an update...

It is Thursday night and I am SORE.  The first procedure on Monday was a piece of cake compared with Wednesday's.  I wont go into the details, but let me just say that my lower back is pretty well bruised from being made into a what felt like a human 'pin-cushion'!  I go next Wed to Dr. Torres to see where this goes next......thanks for the prayer.  Really......

On to the story....

On our first full day on the Big Island, Hawaii, Deb and I decided to drive up and get breakfast in the coffee village of Captain Cook just up the mountain behind us, then put the top down on our convertible Mustang, hit the road, buy some picnic stuff, and find a place to do lunch by the ocean. 

We stop in this little cafe that is about 1500 feet overlooking the ocean and get a table out on the back deck (picture up top). 

Next to us is a group of 4 people just hanging out.  This is where they gather each morning.  I ask the guy with the gray long hair to take our picture, and as we start to talk, he jumps down from the deck and goes over to a "Lichi fruit" tree and cuts off a branch and brings it to us, saying . "Aloha"..!  He than asks what I do, to which I told him "pastor",....he then says, "Your church sent you here, right? They KNEW you needed a break..."

Ha!  I laughed and asked how he knew.  He said, "There are more preachers, military guys with post-traumatic disorder and people the FBI is hiding in the witness protection program here on this island than any where else in the world. No one comes here looking.....we're too out of the way."

Come to find out, he himself and his wife were former military who just now hung around the coffee shop and did really nothing, and the guy you see to his left is in the witness protection program.  He was pretty open about it.  They asked all about our church and said, "Man, we would go to something like that that isn't all religious and you can really connect with God..." 

Deb and I then prayed for them, for the Lord to continue to lead them on their journey back to the Great Shepherd, the Lord Jesus,....Thed hit the road after they gave us their names and addresses to stay in touch. 

I LOVE lost people.....I crave seeing them find their way back to God, delivered from lostness and eternal destruction, connected with the Giver of LIFE....JESUS!

From there, we stopped in a coffee plantation, Greenwell Farms, Greenwell Farms: Private Reserve Coffeeand got some REAL Kona coffee.  $30 a pound there; $60 elsewhere.  And it really is THAT good......Not for everyday use for sure!

We then cruised down to the shore from the mountains and went to a remote place called "Place of Refuge". It was cool to be on this volcanic beach that is continually expanding, as the volcano has been gently eruption mode since 1984 and continues to add to the beaches.  We ended our picnic by going through the ruins of a hawaiin village that dated back to the 1500's, Place of Refuge, where just like in the Old Testament, those who were worn out in battle, the old, the infirm, the plain just too tired....could go into one of these huts you see here and you could not be harmed by the enemy, as it was kind of understood by all, including opposing tribes, that mercy was shown to those in this place.

Interesting.....

On Monday, I will batch a few more pics and another story that was pretty cool, again, more for my kids to look at one day and "remember the things God has.....and will always....do for those who just want to be used by Him.

By the way, look for a BIG surprise this Sunday.  I wont tell you now, as it would ruin it, but I am just glad we will be capturing it for our TV show.  I am really hoping it works! :) 

Our band is 'on the money' for the Rascall Flatts (?) song leading into it, "Life is A Highway".  How did you guys like the way they nailed the U2 song, "Vertigo" last week?  BA was unbelievable, in my opinion......I myself loved it!

Grace,

PB

Finally Getting To It......

Its late Tuesday night and I am FINALLY getting to sit down to post....! 

As I said Sunday, I am posting Hawaii picts here, as well as good "God stories" as I can, as so many of you guys sowed toward this happening for Deb and I and I want you to share in the joy with us. Being that it is almost midnight and I have to get up early, (and since it is ridiculous how hard it is to post many pictures on Typepad...!..), I will hit some tommorow night with an interesting story from our day in Captain Cook, a coffee village. 

The picture here will be where we start.....so tune in tommorow! (not same time....but same 'station'....:)..)

Thanks by the way for all the concern about the procedures this week yours truly is going thru.  Monday's ruled out muscular.  Tommorow morning they do some other procedure to rule out more options.  It will be prob a week or so before anything further goes on.  I have to fast tonight til then so am just looking forward to a Panera afterward!

Til tommorow....

PB