Travis Spencer

my house on a FSBO site

noreply@blogger.com (travis spencer) — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 20:09:00 +0000

Here is a link to a new site that our home is listed on.

FSBO Houses in Mattoon Illinois | ForSaleByOwner.com - FSBO

Tour My Home

noreply@blogger.com (travis spencer) — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 04:37:00 +0000

www.3413prairie.com

My biking partner

noreply@blogger.com (travis spencer) — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 03:52:00 +0000

50. complete.

noreply@blogger.com (travis spencer) — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 02:07:00 +0000

I just finished a goal that I really didn't think I would be able to do.

On Memorial Day, May 30, Joy and I established a goal to run 50 miles by July 1 ... our vacation. I had one month to run 50 miles. Fifty miles. FIFTY MILES.

At that point I had ran one 5k and probably had not ran 50 miles in my entire life.

But goals keep us motivated, thus we set the 50-mile run goal.

Tonight, I completed it. On June 27 my three-mile run tonight tipped the measuring stick to 51.5 miles since Memorial Day.

Feels so good to be getting healthy.

Father's Day--speaking about football

noreply@blogger.com (travis spencer) — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 15:46:00 +0000

Brings back some MJFL memories. I'm #87 in the team pic.

Father's Day 2011 at The Fields

noreply@blogger.com (travis spencer) — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 20:29:00 +0000

Why I Coach

noreply@blogger.com (travis spencer) — Wed, 04 May 2011 14:20:00 +0000

That's me at the pitching machine. That's my son Dakota on first base. This is our first game of a summer season of baseball, having fun, and hopefully winning a lot of games. (We won our first one!)

Confession: I didn't play much baseball growing up. I played summer league up until junior high. Never played school baseball.

Now I'm coaching. Why?

1. I want to be intentional about investing in my boys' lives. This is a great opportunity to spend more time together.

2. I want to be intentional about investing in my community. I want my 11 boys on my team to have the greatest season ever. That means they learn the game of baseball, learn teamwork, learn respect, and learn how to build some self confidence.

3. I get to build new relationships with some families and parents I would not have had the opportunity to meet. What a great way to build bridges into my community and into people's lives.

4. Coaching is a lot of fun. This age group of boys is in the learning stages of baseball, so you get to see great improvement over the season. It's rewarding to watch them get better over the summer season.

(Thanks Blake for the photo.)

One Of Our Easter Elements

noreply@blogger.com (travis spencer) — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 03:10:00 +0000

We wanted to show a contrast from evil/sin to the awesome light of God.

Here's what we did during the opening song of our worship set.

Marvelous Light Easter Creative Element 2011 from Evan Courtney on Vimeo.

Read Evan Courtney's blog post on a better how/why of the element.

Easter ramblings

noreply@blogger.com (travis spencer) — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 22:00:00 +0000

Let me ramble for a few...

1. THANK YOU to all the amazing volunteers who made Easter a wonderful weekend at The Fields. The hospitality teams, Family Life teams, creative arts, behind-the-scenes people...everyone and anyone who played a part in serving on Easter....You did great! I appreciate every effort, every minute invested, and every attention to detail you gave to make Easter awesome. It takes an army of volunteer team member to be an effective church..... thanks for being on the team! I couldn't ask for a better group of people to serve alongside.

2. Thanks for bring people and bragging on a God who can impact their lives. People matter.

Let me say this again...people matter.

We gathered 278 people for Easter this year. That's a 41 percent increase from our average attendance on any given weekend these past several months. Also, it's a 22 percent increase in attendance from the past two previous Easter gatherings in 2009 and 2010. Is this about numbers? Nope...It's about lives. Thanks for helping gather 278 lives into The Fields Church this past weekend to hear the most powerful epic story ever experienced on this planet.

3. You invited someone and they didn't come? It's OK. Keep building relationships with people who need some spiritual direction. Keep investing in their lives. Keep advancing the incredible work of Jesus and His hope to a hurting world.

4. What's next? We are ready to move forward. There is summer camp for the kids and youth. Special events for men and women, and we are ready to gather again this weekend for another powerful time of worship and teaching at The Fields. Check out www.thefeldslive.com or our Facebook page for more details.

I love our church!

And here's some pics from our Gathering. {click for PICS}

Entering 2011

noreply@blogger.com (travis spencer) — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 05:48:00 +0000

Happy New Year

MORE NYE PICS

Merry Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (travis spencer) — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 06:03:00 +0000

The Fields Church : Little Drummer Boy

noreply@blogger.com (travis spencer) — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 21:06:00 +0000

CLICK inside to watch on YouTube site. For some reason by blog only shows 1/3 of the screen.

Welcome aboard!

noreply@blogger.com (travis spencer) — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 19:41:00 +0000

I'm excited to announce the addition of Elgin and Christina Combs to The Fields Church. Elgin will serve as a worship pastor who will coordinate all worship gatherings, develop musicians, and give leadership to our band as they encourage and inspire all of use to worship our amazing God.

His first weekend will be November 13/14.

We believe God continues to guide and lead us at The Fields Church. We will continue to share the powerful story of Jesus with our community. And we will continue to help people understand their need to follow Him in every aspect of their lives.

Meet Elgin and Christina

Introducing Elgin Combs from The Fields Church on Vimeo.

Speak Freely

noreply@blogger.com (travis spencer) — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 04:18:00 +0000

Laughs. Tears. Silence. Worship. Confession. Compassion.

The Permission to Speak Freely tour was a powerful event hosted at The Fields Church Sunday night. Anne Jackson, Susan Isaacs and Sloveig Leithaug shared their personal stories in a way that gave absolute permission for anyone in the room to be open about their own lives--and they did.

It was an amazing night to be encouraged. It was a freeing night to share struggles. It was a humbling night as a pastor to hear how the church has been a blessing. It was an eye-opening night in how the church can be the problem. It was a wonderful night to watch God heal inner lives.

I'm thankful for three ladies willing to share. I'm hopeful it will be contagious.

See Photos

Anne's Blog

Multi-Generational Musicians

noreply@blogger.com (travis spencer) — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 04:28:00 +0000

Here's a great example of musicians in the their 20s to late 60s (maybe 70s) having a lot of fun on stage. These guys may have been around the block a few times, but they still know how to put on a good show for the crowd.

Introducing.... Kool and the Gang

(EIU Oct 2, 2010)

Unbelievable Opportunity: Anne Jackson

noreply@blogger.com (travis spencer) — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 20:10:00 +0000

We have the privilege of hosting Anne Jackson's tour.

This is a MUST ATTEND event. It really is.

Getting healthy

noreply@blogger.com (travis spencer) — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 04:44:00 +0000

Since July 19 I've completed 32 workouts, went 249.96 miles through biking, walking and jogging, and lost 28 pounds.

And I feel good.

Mornings with My Boys

noreply@blogger.com (travis spencer) — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 14:16:00 +0000

Dakota is in Second Grade.

Riley is in Kindergarten.

They are sponges.

This year I am doing my best to start every morning sharing some spiritual insight into their lives. At first you may think, these guys are young...what could they really understand?

I think they understand a lot. These are forming years. These are the huge opportunities to shape our kids into who they will become as adults.

So, every morning at the breakfast table we'll talk about God's Word and how it can apply to our lives. We talk, we read, we answer questions about life, and we pray.

And as a parent, I found a tool that made this VERY easy.

I use "My First Message: A Devotional Bible for Kids.

I love it.

Biggest Loser Update - Week 2

noreply@blogger.com (travis spencer) — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 04:09:00 +0000

The Fields Church is one week into The Biggest Loser series.

Here's some highlights:

- I announced my goal os 20-25 pound in the six week time period. I lost 9.8 during the first week.

- The 13 people who were able to officially weigh in on Saturday lost 60 pounds in one week. We averaged about 2 percent loss of total body weight.

- We called and talked to Matt Hoover, Season 2 Biggest Loser winner, Saturday night at The Fields (Common Grounds location). What an inspiring phone call! THANKS Lisa Hardwick.

-Chicago Bears chaplain and new friend Ray McElroy tore it up this weekend preaching at The Fields. Awesome stuff! He spoke on "Losing Selfish Ambition" - POWERFUL

- Several new families joined us this weekend at The Fields. That's always exciting.

- Lives were challenged and changed this weekend--God is at work!

-Thankful for God direction and presence at The Fields.

Below: Joey Bright Photography

Excited for this weekend!

noreply@blogger.com (travis spencer) — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 18:08:00 +0000

LINKS

Journal Gazette coverage

Mattoon Messenger coverage

The Fields Facebook

The Fields Website

Losing it

noreply@blogger.com (travis spencer) — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 20:03:00 +0000

Sixteen people from The Fields have signed up to be a part of a seven-week health challenge.

Together, we'll encourage each other to lose weight, live healthy, and start a lifestyle change that will impact our health for a very long time.

My persona goal: lose 25 pounds by August 28.

See you this weekend!

noreply@blogger.com (travis spencer) — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 21:25:00 +0000

www.thefieldslive.com

Let's Catch Up

noreply@blogger.com (travis spencer) — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 15:16:00 +0000

Sometime you just have to sit with a cup of coffee an catch up.

Go grab your coffee.

The Fields

Both Mother's Day and Father's Day were great gatherings this year. These two weekends have become very meaningful weekends at The Fields. We intentionally invest, inspire, and incorporate family activity in these weekends. Special thanks to Ashley West who spoke on Mother's Day, and a HUGE thanks to all those who worked hard to make Father's Day a great day.

Our graduating high school seniors had a great connecting time via a 2-day retreat that led them to a high-ropes course, camping, biking along a river (and getting scared in the middle of the night by an evil water fountain.)

Ten people served in San Jeronimo, Honduras las week as part of our 1814 Project. We are partnering with a great little community and church to help make transformational impact in people's lives.

Family

Dakota and Riley have been busy with t-ball and baseball this summer. Both are doing great. Dakota is at an interesting age where he can play both t-ball and machine pitch. So, he's a stud on the t-ball field and a rookie in machine pitch. It's been a really fin summer of baseball. I've help out coaching on both teams. (Don't let anyone know I never made it past jaycee league as a kid.)

Cooper is talking a lot. And we actually are starting to understand him. He loves to swim and watch the boys play baseball.

Since our family vacation was in April, Joy and I are feeling a weird "no summer vacation" emptiness. We may try to get away for a few days in July as a family.

Just Me

I'm in my sixth and final month of an online coaching community for pastor's leading their church through transition and change. It's been a very positive experience. And a great time to meet and connect with other pastors.

Thanks for letting me catch up after the kick-off of a busy summer.

Drop me a note and let me know how you're doing.

Better yet, let's have a real cup of coffee someday.

- Travis

Because it's World Cup Time

noreply@blogger.com (travis spencer) — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 03:13:00 +0000

Let's celebrate some amazing hand art.

Futbol!

Art by Mario Mariotti.

See more here.

Donate Your Summer Kids Clothes

noreply@blogger.com (travis spencer) — Tue, 25 May 2010 19:27:00 +0000