A Good Place

It has been a busy week. Last weekend I was able to attend the American Football Magazine Clinic in Kansas City. It was a great clinic and I picked up a lot of things that I can take back to make us better. I was able to stay with Ryan and Pam Potts for the weekend while I attended the clinic, it was a great blessing. They are very good people and have a heart for helping others.

My service for the weekend had been calling and inviting my friend Shea Allen to go to the clinic with me. Shea had been a graduate assistant at Evangel University in Springfield where he had played. Since then he has been working for Federal Express and was recently married. I know that he wants to get back into coaching badly. I gave him a call and invited him to attend the clinic with me. I am glad I did for several reasons. I enjoyed spending time with him and I know that he had a great time.

On Sunday I was able to go to church at Evangle Temple. It was bitter sweet. I enjoyed seeing everyone, the praise and worship was awesome, and the message was very good. At the same time, it was sad and made miss the church. I really like Kansas City and enjoyed living there. I don't miss the school systems that I worked at, but I do miss the town and church. When you find a special place it is tough to leave it. Don't get me wrong a feel a peace with my decision and believe that God opened the doors here at Sikeston and that I am in his will. I had a great season of my life in KC and now God is at work in a new phase of my life.

The truth is I am very excited about what God is doing in both places. He is doing awesome things at ET. The building is almost done, even though something inside me tells me it is not big enough for what is coming. The church continues to grow despite the inconvience of a building project. I could see growth in the short time I have been gone. The Church is trully a special place and I have been blessed to have been a part of it. It has a great history, but the best is yet to come. It will trully be a place of influence in Kansas City. As the economy and country continues to slip, ET will prosper and provide a place of hope in a dark time!

As for here in Sikeston, breakthrough is coming. The football program is about to turn the corner and will become a source of pride for the town. Kim is going to change a culture at the High School and scores will go up. Our little church will grow into a place where white, black, well to do, and poor alike will come to find God. There will be a building project here too I have a feeling as well. And this time, maybe I won't have to leave in the middle of it.

If you read this I hope you enjoy the blog and it has been a blessing to you. Please add me to your prayer list.

God Bless,

Mark Jackson

The Gift of Helps

What is our gifting? I know several people who have the gift of helps. I personally feel like that my giftings lie more in the area of teaching, encouraging, and motivating and that the gift of helps does not come naturally for me. But whether we are natural at that gift or not, it does not take a lot of effort to do acts of kindness for others. To show love is the greatest of all the commandments, love to our God and then to others.

Do you have the gift of helps? What acts of Kindness have you done for others?

God Bless,

Coach J

Chariots of Fire

There is a line in the movie Chariots of Fire, when I run I feel God's pleasure. As for me, When I coach, I feel God's pleasure. Do we give God the glory for what we do? Or do we take credit? My service to my athletes right now is showing up on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday for off season. I make a point of shaking every players hand every day I see them at off season and thank them for being there. The point is I take time to recognize them. I make sure that I try to push them as they lift with encouragement. I also have been giving one of my players a ride home everyday after off season.

What do you do that you feel God's pleasure?

Coach J