Friends

From time to time I get some small reminder of what an incredible life I have been afforded and get jolted a bit to make the very most of this life God has given me. Not excluding the fact of having a great wife whom I love greatly and enjoy three fantastic kids I was able to live in a circle of friends who are the salt of the earth.
Here is what grabs my mind every now and then! I get this memory of a Josh Doss who loved God with a passion and commitment that was second to none. He would do anything for his friends except let them win in golf, ping pong, or whatever game was on. I think of a Barry Whatley who was large and in charge. He seized the moment of everyday and had a laugh that made you laugh and he made sure his fiends knew he was there for them. I think of a Ray Prestage who had a smile as big as his heart. He was as diverse as anyone you knew and could do most anything, especially sing! I think of Tony Brower who was the epitome of a fighter, musician, and cowboy. He had the ability to fill up a room whenever he entered the doors. Like, you never needed to ask, “Is Tony here?”
The common denominator of these four great men is they all were passed from this life way too early! They all seemed to have an uncanny ability to be passionate friends and be aggressive in their lives. They had infectious smiles and lived life at a high level that made you want to emulate some or all their traits. Ok, before we bring these four into sainthood we who knew them well knew they were not perfect but made life matter.
James 4:14
Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.
Life is fragile and we do not have a lock on when we get to die. But we do have time now to impact friends, chase our passions, make someone smile, and prove life is worth living to fullest!
Some people die at 25 and aren't buried until 75.
Benjamin Franklin

Sometimes it is good to be mindful of how blessed you are! I will be the first to admit that I can quickly forget whose team I am on! I do, at times sweat the small stuff. But today I am thankful for so many things. I have a great wife who is the reason I wake up each day! I got three wonderful kids who are as different as the days are long and I love them bunches. I have to date three jobs (some people would love just one of them).
Outstanding week stuff!
-After I ask Bo, “what did you get out of the meeting on Tuesday night? He looked right at me and said “I got HOPE”. Case is closed, a good night when your talk is on sin and your kid said he got hope.
-I landed a job this week that is has crazy upside to it!
-SLO is at home for several days and we are having fun.
-We have friends here this weekend!
-This week’s meeting had some new people in it!
-Shari and I have told our story to a few neat people this week.
-I am doing a wedding for some old Georgia friends.
-And the coffee is especially good, so I must bid you a “later”.
Try today to reflect on five good things God has done for you this week!
Peace and Love!

My I present Michel Oliver Lough, one great kid!
Tomorrow I will blow out 23 candles on my birthday cake! Daddy asked me to be his guest blogger today, and to tell you Coastal Community Church blog readers one thing I cherished being raised in the Oliver household for the past 23 years (although I’ve been married and gone for 2 years). Well, I couldn’t possibly narrow it down to one, but I just started a second job and worked 13 hours before coming home to write this blog so you can bet I’ll keep it short and sweet!

- seeing my parents talk to each other and treat each other like they love each other… sounds simple, but I never saw it any other way, and I sure am grateful for that.
- sharing a bed with Cadence and Bo when we were little -even though we all had our own bedrooms. I miss living with them and seeing them everyday. I’m grateful that we’ve grown up and become best friends.
- leaving the house, going to my parents’ room to say bye and my dad saying, “make good choices”. I could count on that like clockwork, and I loved having the feeling that they trusted me to know a good choice from a bad one on my own. For the most part, I’d say I did all right!
- living with my parents meant most of the time, one or ten of their friends would be over. especially when we had a hot tub! I loved seeing my parents be friends and laugh - belly laugh - over just about anything with their friends. I want to have a group of friends like my parents have, and I want my kids to look out the blinds onto our deck and think “hmm, maybe my parents are cool after all” just like I did.
- probably the coolest thing about being raised under Mike and Shari Oliver is the fact that I am taken care of even in my parents absence. People bless me and pray over me just because of who my parents are and because my parents mean so much to them. That’s cool!
peace, love, and rolltide (isn’t that how he usually end these things),
Michel Oliver Lough

It is 6:30 in the morning I am sitting on my patio listening to the birds sing and I am slurping a bold cup of java as I contemplate the day in front of me. I hope your day started as good as this!

Enough rubbing it in! I am having a breakfast this morning that should be another step in seeing a dream gain momentum. For a long time this ordeal was a labor spiritually and emotionally.
I know many of you are there for us in spirit with your prayers and support but nothing replaces having someone with you seeing and hearing the same things. I may have that beginning now and I already feel a bit safer with someone willing to shoulder the load and laugh at my stupid jokes!

I still get a chuckle when I think….. “ what have I done!”. Left massive amounts of friends you cannot replace and a work I am very glad it has some of my DNA (Make a Difference EWC!) on it. But deep down I knew and know even clearer that Shari and I belong here. I look forward to each day a bit more as I see neat stuff unfold and seeing the potential of seeing someone grip their destiny!

Have a great weekend!!!

Peace and Love!

Slo, aka Shari Lynn wants the tree (Christmas) up! I first thought UUHH? But it is 30 degrees here and local malls look like Christmas is around the corner. So, I am putting the tree up on Nov 18.

When I think of Christmas in this new world of ours it seems all a bit strange. We will miss being around all of our Georgia buds this Christmas!! I will miss the gatherings with friends around this Holiday season for sure. We do plan to host a Christmas event with some peps we have met here and hope to inspire future relationships here in Mary Esther Fl.

I do believe this season will present some very new circumstances and will force us to make every effort to use the Spirit of Christ to be seeking newness, much like the wise men who were seeking something very new over two thousands years ago.

What are you seeking this season?

Peace and Love

I hope your weekend is going to be great, like I expect this one to be down here I already started with a FWB Chamber Breakfast (I was honored to give the invocation) and was blown away with the keynote speaker. Of all things, he is an Auburn Alum who played under Shug Jordan and was a powerful speaker.

Cadence comes in today (we will miss Michel and Jake), the weather is the bomb, I will see my fair share of football, and even Shari will be home! I hear some griffinites are lurking on the gulf coast and I plan to see them as well.

I hope your team wins (unless you pull for Kentucky Wildcats), your family time is good, and you rest well. I hope your finances get bailed out like Fannie Mae!

Psalm 20:4 (NLT)
May he grant your heart's desire
and fulfill all your plans.

Blessings! ROLL TIDE!!!

Some weekends just come and go with little agendas and no real with any real expectations. But this weekend is a bit different for me. In a few short hours I will jump on a plane and fly into Atlanta and be carted into Griffin for a full plate of plans.

I look forward to this visit and hope to finish it well with speaking to the congregation at EWC on Sunday morning. Shari and I are so fortunate to have a place like EWC and all its staff and members to come back to and be so welcomed!

This weekends gives me hope that all I ever do in life; I will always make quality friends a priority. Having people in your life that you have invested in brings a joy that cannot be filled by any other thing.

See to it today that you have plans that in include investing in relationships………you will not be disappointed!

Did I mention I will be watching college football with friends as well?

Roll tide!

Most of you know that Shari and I have banked our lives on some basic foundational platforms and one of them being relationships. Last night we had invited guest in our home. It was a nice time, but mostly it was next step in doing life our kind of way.
Anais Nin states:
Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.

Most of us establish barriers and walls in our secluded lives due to past offenses or just too “busy” or lazy to take a next step in relationships. What I do know is this….there are deposits of treasure in people’s lives and only in relationship can we receive benefit form that treasure.
2 Cor. 4:7 (NLT)
But this precious treasure—this light and power that now shine within us—is held in perishable containers, that is, in our weak bodies. So everyone can see that our glorious power is from God and is not our own.

Go treasure hunting….you will be glad you did!

Thirty days ago Shari, Bo and I left Griffin Ga. Which affected many things. We left friends of 20 plus years, we left a church we poured our lives in to and received a greater return. We left most recent friends who came in our lives so quickly and freely. We even left two precious girls behind in our leaving. We left some hope, vision, and legacy for the years to come.

We brought, strength, confidence and direction due to the kind of people we associated with. In all that happens here is in direct relationship to where we were long before we got here in Fort Walton Beach.

During these first 30 days I must say there has been this feeling of providence. Many things point to a His hand present in almost every small circumstance. Case in point, of course I need some employment; so while we are talking casually with a floor person at Bass Pro Shop in Destin I ask if they are hiring boat sales staff….guess what, they need one more sales person. HHHMMM , you know anyone familiar with boating who just moved in the hood? I asked for the contact info for the sales manger, called him and left a voice mail at his desk and signed of by saying….again my name in MIKE OLIVER call me at……
Guess what the name of the sales manager long standing friend is….you got it MIKE OLIVER. I have had two interviews with their management and expect one more!

Shalom and Roll Tide!

Did you get a chance to view some of the Wimbledon championship?
Today? Wow…. I thought Dr. Ken Mullis and Dr. David Hitson could
Play. After a long holiday weekend did you learn anything? I hope you did not spend a whole week without some new revelations. I learned some stuff and I want to share them with you!
- I learned that fear at any level can altar your thinking quickly!
- I learned that friends are truly priceless.
- I learned that I can drive a boat in the most adverse situations.
- I learned that happiness is a fruit not a privilege.
- I learned laundry done in a stackable appliance takes a while.
- I learned that lack of information always produces assumptions.
- I learned that respect is valuable in every sphere of life!
- I learned that in the gulf coast area two showers are better than one.

You experiences this week will allow you to learn, only if you pay attention!

Those who are praying for our efforts here in the gulf coast, amazing little moments are showing up and these next few days I have great hope for even better connections!