Click HERE for the photoblog or check out AlexWorkmanPhotoBlog.WordPress.com

Well…I know I have pretty much dropped the ball on the blog lately. It has been an insane summer and it is going to get even crazier as the month progresses.

-My good friend and roommate David Holland is getting married in less then 2 weeks (22nd) and then moving to Ft. Worth, TX to be a youth pastor. Sorry KLife Orlando…you messed up big time letting this one go. Be praying for David and Miranda as they are preparing for the wedding and their move.
-We leave for Colombia August 23rd. That means after getting home at around 1:00am from the wedding I will get to turn around and be at the airport at 3:30am! We return from August 29th. We will be in Bogota helping plant churches. You can help support this trip by getting a t-shirt. You can get more information by clicking on “Colombia Shirts” above or visiting http://loltw.com.
-The Ascent has been asked to leave Windermere Community Church by the end of the month. We are currently looking for a place to meet. Please be praying for us and wisdom for Andrew through this process.

Have an incredible week!

Thank you so much to everyone who has gotten their shirt to support our trip to Colombia. We leave August 23rd. Please be praying for us. If you already got your shirt send us a picture of you wearing it (info@ascentchurch.com). If you haven’t got a shirt yet…well go to http://loltw.com and get one.

Go on iTunes right now and buy Aaron Ivey’s new album Between the Beauty and Chaos…

I have had this idea in my head based around the phrase “Love Orlando Love The World” and I am starting to try to being my thought into reality. I wanted to shoot some pictures to use for promotional and website stuff. So I went spent most of the morning in downtown Orlando this morning with a friend of mine. I really wanted to spend some time with some of the homeless around Lake Eola and take some pictures. It started out as a quite selfish trip. I wanted do get “the shot” so the website (or whatever it is used for) looks awesome. Well God had some other plans…

As we were walking down the sidewalk next to the lake I was approached by  a man who introduced himself as “Robert Lee.” He told me that he had just got a job in Miami and was leaving today with his wife and friend and asked if I would take a picture (who knows how I would get it to him) so he would remember his time in Orlando.

He and his wife had been homeless on and off for the past two years and this morning he emptied his bank account, which contained $4, to get breakfast for his wife, his friend David, and himself. We began a conversation that ended two hours later. He shared stories of living downtown, battling the struggles of a homeless life and what God had done in his life and that of his wife.

Now I know there is a ton of skepticism about giving homeless money because we all think that they are going to buy beer and crack… He never asked me for money but just an opportunity to share and ask for a picture. After spending the morning with Robert, his wife Cathedral and their friend David we ending up helping them out with bus tickets to Miami and lunch before they left. At the end of the day he could have been a total fraud and I will still pray for them and love them if for no other reason that Christ first loved me.

It was amazing how Robert saw God in every little aspect of the morning, from just the time talking, to talking pictures, the bus tickets and food. We left them as they were heading to the bus stop and he  As we were they we saw him share the gospel with other people passing by. Please be praying for our new friends Robert, Cathedral, and David as they begin this new journey and jobs in Miami.

“You are about to embark upon the great crusade toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you…I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle.” Those were the words that General Dwight D. Eisenhower spoke on this day 65 years ago just before the invasion on D-Day. Thank you to all of our troops that have fought in the past are are active today. It is sad that you are often neglected and rejected by a political machine, but it is because of you that America has freedom. And just as FDR spoke 65 years ago, “O Lord, give us faith. Give us faith in Thee; faith in our sons; faith in each other; faith in our united crusade,” let the hope of freedom continue…

I have all these crazy thoughts running though my head over the last few days. So I wanted to apologize if this seems totally ADD or incomplete, since I am still processing my thoughts as I type.

Moving to Windermere 16 months ago wasn’t a huge change in culture than Jupiter. It is far enough removed from the tourist insanity and almost in a way an invisible bubble has been created to keep the Windermere culture in and the rest out. I remember a number a months ago a homeless man name Marshall showed up at church. As he walked down the pathway he was ignored and it seemed by the expressions on some peoples faces that they didn’t want him even there. Eventually he was invited into a small group and together this group of young couples shared the love of Christ with him. But to see the “country-club” mentality by so many people broke my heart.

I have this crazy idea that as a community we can love Orlando in a way that it can’t even imagine. I’m not sure how or what it is going to look like, but I am so stoked to see what God is going to do…

Coldplay released a new live album entitled “LeftRightLeftRightLeft” and they are offering it free on their website. It’s awesome. Check it out.

In order to raise financial support for the Colombia trip The Ascent is taking in August, we have designed a shirt to sell where 100% of the proceeds will benefit sending people on this trip. Shirts are $20 and include free shipping to anywhere in the continental US. XXL shirts are a few dollars extra and will be available soon. All shirts are American Apparel 2001 and a sizing chart can be found HERE. Thank you again. To order a shirt click HERE. If you have any questions let me know. alexw@ascentchurch.com.

I was reading my friend Bush’s blog when I spotted  a post from a friend of his who just released a record. Here is the sweet thing…he’s offering it for free. Go check it out…click HERE. All he asks for is an email. He also has an option to make a donation if you’d like. So go and support good music… Now…

The last week of August Andrew and myself, as well as a group of guys from The Ascent will be traveling to Colombia. Please be praying for us as we prepare and gather funding. Also be praying for the people of Colombia.

Today Matt and I spent all day setting up the stage in the worship center at WCC for Motion Takes Over. It is going to be incredible. The stage is going to look better then it has ever looked before. I can’t wait for this weekend. Come to one of the weekend servies. Make sure you get there on time.

Happy Mother’s day mom… Thanks for all you do!

Today I rode the new roller coaster at Sea World. It wasn’t officially open but they were running it as a soft opening so there was only a 5 minute wait all day. It was incredible.

After being here for a few months Chad is moving backt o West Palm. Thanks friends for all you didi to help with The Ascent!

Dear Movie Reviews who said Wolverine was going to be a a bad movie,

You’re stupid.

-AW

I can’t believe that a third of 2009 is gone. It seems like just yesterday we were all running around playing capture the flag on New Years Eve. There is a ton going on and I will get into that in the days to come. I am getting ready to move…that’s going to be an adventure. I am leading worship regularly for Motion now and God is doing some incredible things there. God is doing amazing this at The Ascent too…

Well goodnight…by the way…Wolverine was a great flick…

Yesterday we had the awesome opportunity to put on the service for the guests and staff of the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort. We had 58 people join us to worship the Resurrection of our Saviour.

We went to Busch Gardens today. We rode SheiKra 8 times, Kumda twice, Montu twice, and of course the swinging ship twice. Quick Queue passes are the awesome!