Video Heads Up on the Road Trip
A number of you wanted to know about the road trip, but we never cross posted the video heads up here on the blog. So, here’s a quick note to those who might want to support this ministry through prayer or giving.
Immediate Prayer Request
Could ya’ pray for this?
“That Day:” World Tour, 2016?
This August, we’re hitting the road with That Day! World Tour, 2016?! I’ve been invited to present this show at a revival “The Called”, in the Manassas, VA area and I want to invite you to pray for us in this endeavor.
“The Called” will be one of the most diverse crowds I’ve been in front of – including attendees of Baptist, Pentecostal Holiness, and even Charismatic churches from multiple states. While I’ve performed the show many times, presenting it to an “away” crowd this broad is uncharted territory. So, I’m inviting you to pray for me, my family, and whatever God has for us now and next.
Since the revival is on a Monday, we may also have an chance to add a secondshow on the way, in Kingsport, TN. Making that show happen will require some very quick thinking and last minute logistic miracles on the side of the organizers. Your prayers would be greatly appreciated.
3 Prayers – “Now”, “Then”, and “Next”
For “Now”:
- Pray for focus and fruit in my remaining 2 weeks of rehearsal.
- Pray that if God wants to add a Friday night show in Tennessee that he moves the hearts and minds to make it happen.
For “Then”:
- Pray that the Holy Spirit opens the hearts and minds to the story of “That Day”
- Pray for fruitful feedback – not just “great show” but “Wow, I’m going to live differently in light of eternity.”
- Pray for additional performances and Clean Slate opportunities to spring from this engagement.
For “Next”:
This fall, we’re planning to present a “Feed & Feedback” lunch for pastors and retreat leaders where we give them lunch, half of That Day, and a chance to give us feedback on the play and what it has to offer. We also hope to create a custom track for the Stay in the Word mobile app that’s specifically based on the biblical roots of the That Day and Clean Slate messages.
- Pray for great momentum for the lunch(es).
- Pray for diligent follow up on my part after the lunch.
- Pray for fruitful progress as we develop the app further with this content.
Ping us back – would ya?
If you’re committed to pray for any of these, comment below OR email us at prayer@seasonsoflifeministries.org and say “I’m in!” and you’ll be the first to get updates!
in Christ,
Aarron & Cristine Pina
P.S. Know anyone in the Kingsport, TN or Manassas/DC area? Send them our 90 second That Day teaser video!
Slump-Proofing the Summer?
Sox are doing fine. This is a different kind of slump.
Who Said “Slump”?!
For some, the term “summer slump” is that painful period when their baseball team goes on a long losing streak. The Red Sox are only a game out of 1st place right now, so that’s definitely not what I’m writing about.
While many people get the beach, travel, and vacation bug this time of year, ministries and other non-profits often experience a very painful drop in support. With all that God has potentially put on our to do list right now, it would be a terrible time to bottom out financially. Fortunately, we have some good plans in the works – a paid That Day performance coming up in August (with the possibility of a second booking), plus some matching funds available in the meantime. You would help us accomplish the work if you help us capture the match.
They’re Overwhelmed, We Can Help
Even smart people, Christ following people, deeply committed people get overwhelmed. Jesus warned us it would happen.
If you’ve ever felt like there’s just too much to do and not enough time to do it, been over committed, or just felt outright overwhelmed by all you have on your plate, you’ve lived a life of “inbox full”. Helping people connect the dots between “why am I here/where am I going” (vision), “what do I do about it?” (strategy) and “how do I do THAT?!” (execution) is key to minimizing their stress and frustration.
That Day provides vision, Clean Slate develops strategy, and Discipleship and coaching clarify execution. Simple enough? My professional goal this year is to help “defrustrate” at least 5 individuals plus 3 organizations or groups, bring them to “zero inbox”, and help them stay there.
How We Plan to Help Them
To make that happen we need help, but we’ve done, are doing, or plan to do the following:
- we’ve unified some of our branding (free)
- have been approved by Google Apps for integration of our zeroinbox.org division [you can now email aarron@zeroinbox.org, etc., seamlessly] (free)
- plan to migrate our entire site to a new, cleaner WordPress template ($400)
- are editing and developing our Clean Slate Workshop and Webinar materials ($unknown/time)
- we’re brainstorming about a pastor/leader’s lunch that gives pastors a preview of That Day and an opportunity to pray for the lost, the saved, and the confused. (For more on that, email me.)
Can you help? If so, there are 3 ways:
- Be a Summer Slugger: need about 8 supporters at $25-50 a month and 6 at $75-150 for the summer.
- Swing for the Fence: Give a one time gift to help us capture a $500 matching gift this week and meet our $2,500 June need.
- Pick Your Spot: Make a planned donation for July or August to help us meet those upcoming needs.
To give online, click here.
To give via mobile, download the “PushPay” app for IOS or Android or
Text to give by texting “seasons” to 77977 (they’ll send you a reply text, you tap the link, and set up from there – just remember, normal texting rates apply, but most people already have unlimited text).
Hey, thanks for reading, praying, and supporting this work!
What Happened, What’s Now, What’s Next?
I’m Confused, What Happened?!
Here’s a quick ministry update for you. Many of you may be seeing what God’s up to with us this year and wondering why, considering what happened last fall.
Let me clear up the confusion:
In September, 2015, following a major case of tunnel vision on my part, both Cristine and I were buried in stress, so we called a round table together to ask some prayed-up outsiders their feedback on the tension we were experiencing.
They listened prayerfully and replied as lovingly and bluntly as we’d asked. Their conclusions were:
- “You’ve been faithful with the calling God had given you.”
- “You AND your wife are clearly exhausted.” and
- “Now is the time for you to lay this ministry down and pursue a full time job to bring stability to our financial situation.”
I felt like Abraham being asked to lay his son, Isaac, on the altar as a sacrifice. With deep grief, I obeyed their counsel. (more…)
Ultimate 2016 Summer Reading List
After New Year and Back to School season, summer is the most popular “reset” time of year. Who wants to be out of shape, behind the curve, or overwhelmed when “beach” is such a viable option? Heck, the words “summer” and “reading” practically go hand in hand, right? Summer is the perfect time to course correct on a few squandered New Year’s resolutions, especially catching up on lost bible reading or sharpening some otherwise dull iron!
I sent emails, texts and phone calls out to leaders all across the country. A good number have yet to get back to me, but the fastest to their phones were Boyd Bailey, John Woodall, and Joel Thomas. For this reason, I’ll let them go first with their top current reads and recommendations.
Boyd Bailey – Founder, Ministry Ventures; President, Georgia National Christian Foundation; Founder & Author, Wisdom Hunters
- The Power of the Other – Henry Cloud (Subtitle: “The startling effect other people have on you, from the boardroom to the bedroom and beyond-and what to do about it.”)
- 7 Men: And the Secret of Their Greatness – Eric Metaxas
- Robinson Crusoe – Daniel Defoe
Vision Matters: Are You On Target?
Three time Olympian Matt Emmons has won over 50 medals in his career.
Whether you’re a worker bee or an elite, Olympic athlete, vision matters. But, so does execution.
True story: Athens, Greece. August, 2004. Matt Emmons, a 23 year old kid from New Jersey, was hot on the trail of his second gold medal. It was down to the last round in the 50 Meter Rifle 3 Positions he had a solid, 3 point lead. Get near the bull’s-eye, scoring 8 points and the gold would be his. The place got really quiet, Matt exhaled himself into position, and took aim.
Associated Press gives us the story:
“Matt Emmons was focusing on staying calm…
Emmons fired at the target…
‘On that shot, I was just worrying about calming myself down and just breaking a good shot… When I shot the shot, everything felt fine,’ Emmons said… [but] no score appeared, he gestured to officials that he thought there was some sort of error with his target.
‘On those targets, sometimes every once in a great while, it won’t register. The shot just doesn’t show up, so that’s what I thought happened.’
A perfect score — dead center in a bull’s-eye that is smaller than a dime — is worth 10.9 in the final round, but all Emmons needed was an 8.0 for gold. His shot …was an 8.1, but it didn’t count, of course. Because the right placement on the wrong target is worth 0 points. [italics & bold mine]”
Ever hit the right mark on the wrong target? (more…)