I Am From

I am From

I am from the dirt of the earth

the machinery of a factory mill

the halls academia.

I am from family

crab boils and beef brisket

tennis and water skiing

christmas's and long weekend at the river house.

I am from Texas

(temporarily for 23 years).

My roots where planted deep in clay pot

ready to be transplanted

back in my true home

North Carolina.

I am from the smoke of barbeque on the grill

the smell of cut grass

the saltiness of the air at the beach

the freshness of a dew covered field.

I am from the breath of God

an early morning quietness

an afternoon on top of Marrow Mountain

a bible and composition book.

I am from the sum of my family

the stuff of creation

and the name spoken by the God of

yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

Hope

My daughter recently sent me this interview with Jon Foreman. As I read it, I began to wonder if HOPE can exist without brokenness? I was particularly moved by when Jon said,"We're still living in a very broken world. I still have a broken heart. It's from that context that hope is possible. "

Does that mean we need "brokenness"? No. Does God work in the brokenness of our lives? Yes. Does God transform our brokenness? Maybe. . . Yes. . . Definitely, but does that mean the brokenness is fixed or eliminated? Sometimes. More often, for me, it transformed brokenness lead to an understanding of our need for God and knowledge of the eternal correction of the brokenness. When is not important. The fact that it is already been accomplished by Jesus. That fact is my hope.

Hope is not a wish we want to come true. It is knowledge the the unseen is already done.

Brokenness. . . Hope. . . Quick thoughts that say I must spend more time at the feet of our Savior.

As always,

I am still being shaped by a cloud of witnesses.

I still here

I am still alive. Life's been crazy since my heart catheterization back in June.

More on that coming soon.

It’s Important

But is it REALLY important?

            Is it me,or does life seem to be getting more complicated?  It seems like I run out of day before I finish my to do list.  Why is there so much that needs to get done?  Why are we so busy?  Why can’t we ever catch up?

            Life has gotten more complicated.  There are more opportunities to get involved in more activities.  Each of which are very important to us.  I decided to list all the important activities that are taking up my time.

            Wow, what an overwhelming list, no wonder I feel so tired.

            The church has the same problem.  There are so many ministry needs.  There are so many new ministry ideas.  There is just not enough time, or people to accomplish them all.  If we could just have more time . . . If we could, somehow, stop the clock . . . then, I am sure, we could do everything that we want to.  We can’t make more time, so how do we begin to fix the problems.

            We don’t have a time problem.  We have an over commitment problem.  We simply are doing too much.  Maybe it time to eliminate commitments from you schedule.  We tend to become over committed when we fail to prioritize properly and effectively.  We say yes to everything because we don’t want to disappoint anyone.  Learning to say, “No” has powerful results.  It frees us.

            Where do we begin using this new power?  First, create a prioritized list of all activities.  Which ones absolutely have to get done? 

1. My relationship with God
   
2. My spiritual growth
   
3. Nurturing my marriage
   
4. Raising my children my children
   

            Does this mean children come last?  No, it means if the first three aren’t right we can’t do our best for them.  The trouble is that is so easy to make commitment based on the reverse priorities.  Kids get all our time, while we neglect our marriage, neglect our spiritual growth, and God seems to be at the end of the list.  God is squeezed in when we have time.  With this kind of priorities, no wonder nothing seems to get done.

            It is time for to change our priorties and put God at the top of the list.

            What do you need to change begin putting God first?  What’s stopping you?

You Deserve to Go to Hell???

I read this blog post this morning and it is making me think.

Have I had just enough Jesus to be desensitized? I'm afraid, sometimes, I might be so comfortable with God that I fail to grasp the importance of the relationship with God. Additionally, God has bestowed great power to us. Far to many times, I find myself "spiritually asleep at the wheel." Think about it, how many times while driving your car, you steer with your knee because you needed both hands to eat, or to text. We only realize the danger of it, when it goes wrong and we have an accident.

What kind of Spiritual accidents are about to happen in you life?

Check out this link that got me thinking.

What would you do?

There's an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth: Ecclesiastes 3:1 The Message

I heard a sermon this week from a pastor at a church near mine. His sermon was based on Ecc. 3:1-8. It was a good sermon, but somewhere in the middle I drifted away. (It's not his fault, I am just wired that way.) I started wondering, "What time am I in?" "What should I be doing?"

This morning I was reading and discovered a second question that struck me in such a way, that I have forgotten where it came from.
"If your life depended on doing one thing right now, what would that be?"

It's the right time to be doing the right thing. Sounds so simple, right?

Why does it have to be so hard to do. Why is it so easy to busy ourselves doing the wrong things and be proud of how well we done them?

I have become more aware of God's whisper, today. God has been reminding me(again) of one simple thought: To say "Yes" to God, we sometimes have to say "No" to family, friends, church members, and ever church boards.

Lord, may "Yes, your servant is listening(1 Sam.3:10b) be my breathe prayer.

Where do I start?

I have friends who challenge me to become more than I am.  They don't let me settle for good enough.  So, here's a record of  the thoughts and teachings that encourage me, challenge me, and grow me and my faith in Christ.

For now, I would like to share my life purpose statement.  It was written shortly after my father died.  Its creation was guided by "The Path" by Laurie Beth Jones.  

My Life Purpose is to L.E.A.D.

• Live - Live my life above reproach.
  
• Equip - Help others discover and develop their God given gifts.
  
• Add Value - Add value by pointing people towards a relationship with Jesus Christ, so that they may know him as their Savior.
  
• Disciple - Mentor a core group of people with the gift of leadership.
  

The best sermon that I will never preach will be the life i live.  People are watching to see if Christians live the messages they teach.  I strive to live what the messages I preach.  I am not perfect and I do make mistakes.  How I handle my mistakes, I believe, is an important part of living above reproach.

Developing people around me by helping them discover and use their God given gifts is not always easy, but I look for the opportunity that God gives to help others learn and grow.

 Additionally, I want to add value to people's lives by pointing them into a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Lastly, I want to mentor others with gifts of leadership.  The first century church did not have seminary to train people for ministry.  Other disciples mentored them in matters of the faith.  As others mentor me, I try to pass it on.

May we all be shaped by the cloud of witnesses.