Top 7 = a weekend at the "real life" version of Netflix's Virgin River

This week’s Top 7 features our little work trip to the “real life” version of Virgin River (the Netflix series).

Well, that and a few more things.

Here’s the 4-1-1…

(If you’re just now dropping in, each week I look back at the week behind + preview the week ahead— so I don’t miss anything— and look and highlight at least one thing for which I’m grateful in each of the 7 key areas of life…

💙 Fitness 

💰Finance

🏠 Family 

🛠 Field (work, career)(

🙏 Faith 

👊 Friends 

🎉 Fun 

Here’s the rundown…

Fitness = 7 for 7 in the past week

Last week was one of those rare weeks that I crushed it with exercise— 7 for 7 on the days. 

I was unaware of the radical consistency until I looked back and realized it… 

… but, there it was. 

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Finance = Best way to get a “free” vacation… 

We said some money— and made a little bit— via a work trip. I won’t write much about it here, b/c I penned some at the end of last week— from a coffee shop near the train tracks in the middle of Bryson City, North Carolina.

The church— Victory Baptist— hosted us at a great cabin that was less than 5 minutes from the church and the downtown area. It was a GREAT, much needed break, just as some projects have been wrapping— and with the end of the summer.

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Family = School starts, kids adapt…

Speaking of the end of the summer… 

Salter, the caboose, started 4th grade. His new teacher sent over a few pics, including the trendy-for-the-past-five-years “wing shot” as well as some chance you finally caught him sitting quiet and still 😂

Isaac scored a touchdown in the first football game of the season…

Judah and I went shopping 😂— as  he needed to “wardrobe up” for the new year. Turns out, he went for athleisure gear, totally buying basically the same thing three times… 

Ahhh— and we had to order blasted Crocs, which are apparently the “must have” shoe of the year.

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Field = Preaching in Bryson City felt a little like…

We had a few opportunities to teach in Bryson City…

• Beth spoke to a group of woman at noon on Saturday (women’s bunch) 
• I talked to the men on Saturday evening (fish fry— because men don’t do brunch of petit fours, unless their women drag them)
• I preached Sunday morning, followed by some sort of party / lunch-fest here in the country on the church grounds
• Beth spoke to the women on Monday, while I spoke to the men
• I spoke to the entire church on Tuesday 

The pic below was snapped— by Beth— Tuesday evening.

For the past season I’ve mainly talked NOT in churches— but at other types of events and gatherings. It seems, though, some of this has turned a corner (unplanned). 

We’ll see where it goes…

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Faith = All things, all for good, at all times… and Stronger is out

Monday night in Bryson City I talked about “Stronger,” the new material for men.

Stronger is the newest book available on our website-- and it was TOTALLY unplanned until just a few weeks ago.

Oddly enough, I’ve had the notes for this in the pipeline for years, but they’ve never made it out of the vault. 

There are probably a few reasons for this— 

💛 you go through a divorce, you feel (and to some extent, for a season are) unqualified to teach anything remotely about the family 

💛 it takes time to write this kind of stuff, and

💛 I’ve been busy doing other projects 

A few weeks ago, though, when the pastor in Bryson City called, he was pretty specific as to what he wanted to me speak about last week: 

👉 help people find their purpose 

👉 show the men how to lead

I looked through my old notes and decided it was time to resurrect some ideas I’d kicked around for awhile- and give them life. I already had A LOT written, so it wasn’t a “book from scratch thing” at all. 

Rather, I needed to just pull the ideas together tighter, as well as connect the chapters in a more fluid way. 

I know. The question…

“What qualifies you to write about this?”

In two words, here's what qualifies me-- and you-- failure and grace. 

Think about it—

✅ if you want to learn about freedom from the rules and freedom over legalism, you read the words of Paul— the self-proclaimed Pharisee-above-Pharisees.

✅ if you want to learn about intimacy between a man and a woman, you read the words of Solomon— the man who infamously had 1,000 women in this palace.

✅ if you want to learn about forgiveness and restoration, you read the words of David— the man who committed sexual ABUSE, got the woman pregnant, then murdered her husband to cover it all… 

Many times, I’ve found, the enemy attacks us in the areas where we’ll make some of the greatest impact— as if he sees the threat. And, in our failures, supernatural grace kicks in and does the unthinkable… 

The book went live on the site last week— 

… or, go here, and access the audiobook completely free—

-- enter the coupon code STRONGER for free audiobook access. 

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Friends = Blast from the past

Oddly enough, Ben called while I was in Bryson City. He and Rob (two friends from long ago) had an idea for a veterans project they wanted to run by me. Both of them ARE veterans, BTW.

Rob runs the new Exit Reality in the Lakeview District— here’s a pic I posted from May 2021 when Salter and I rode down to see the promo car they use, affectionally called “Lil’ Exit.”

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Fun = Night(s) out in Bryson City…

The best part of Bryson City…

… unrushed time with Beth.

Each night we had a 6:00pm church event, which generally left us free as early as 7:30pm…

… and left plenty of time for exploring, sitting and talking…. unwinding. 

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That’s the highlight reel for the week. Download your free planner at www.Jenkins.tv/FreePlannerPDF  or purchase the hardback in the online store.