The Unwasted Life

Tape 2404.02

Associate Pastor, Jeff Jones

Pursuing God in Private

God desires a relationship with you!

Why?

1. Guidance and Wisdom (2 Timothy 3:16, Psalm 119:97-100)
2. Perspective
3. Strength (Psalm 127:1a, Matthew 4:4)
4. Life-Change (Ephesians 5:25b, 26)

How?

1. Invest in a good Bible
• Get a good translation
• Choose a good study Bible
2. Follow a Bible-reading plan
3. Journal your thoughts and prayers
• Scripture
• Observation
• Application
• Prayer
4. Prayer

Last night, we attended the first session of the Plano Citizens Academy. It was a meet and greet with the Mayor and City Council and then an overview of the city from City Manager Tom Muehlenbeck. We took note of a few items that stuck out from Tom’s presentation:

• Plano is considering dropping its practice of buying a full newspage each week to highlight city news. It cost the city $60,000 a year. The plan is to replace it with a web site that is updated weekly. They need to offer RSS syndication!
• There are 1,000 restaurants in Plano, boy we eat a lot!
• All buildings (commercial and residential) in excess of 6,000 square feet require sprinkler systems
• Plano currently has 237,000 residents with max buildout at 250-260,000.
• Plano has seen decreasing sales tax revenues for 14 of the past 16 months.
• Plano has contributed $463 million to DART since 1982.
• 26 city positions were eliminated this past year, they expect more job cuts this year.
• Plano will soon have an online ticket payment system.
• Plano has a $300 million budget for 2003.
• Plano is very proud of its AAA bond rating.
• City Council has final authority over all decisions, this in response to questions about Wal-Mart development.
• Plano is the 3rd largest retail center in the Metroplex trailing only Dallas and Fort Worth with 14.1 million square feet of retail space.
• Collin Creek lost 12% sales to Stonebriar and 15% to The Shops at Willow Bend.
• An addition floor will be added to Haggard Library and then Plano will have completed its Library System.
• There are approximately 68,000 residences in Plano. 27,000 homes are priced less than $150,000 with 11,000 under $100,000.