Anticipation

Anticipation - 1. The act of anticipating. 2. An expectation. 3. Foreknowledge, intuition, and presentiment. 4. The use or assignment of funds, especially from a trust fund, before they are legitimately available for use. 5. Music Introduction on a weak beat of one note of a new chord before the previous chord is resolved. I want to take a few minutes to talk about this word, a word that has changed us as a family the past 9 months. Tara and I were completely out of the baby business. We are very proud of the way that Alexa and P.J. are turning out and continuing to progress through life. Alexa is a very driven, self motivated student and athlete. She is more disappointed in a bad grade than we are. P.J. is a closet nerd, she watches wheel of fortune and jeopardy and reads all the time. She is a sponge of information even when it appears she isn't paying attention she is. BOth of them make us proud in different ways. But, we were completely content with our little 4 person family. Everyone has their own bedroom(one bathroom is rough I will admit) but we were happy. Then, something happened. One morning Tara came to me and said I need to tell you something, what I said. I am pregnant she told me. I didn't react, I just told her let's go to the doctor and make sure before we tell anyone. As luck would have it I sat at a softball game that afternoon making fun of and harassing Freddy and Renee Allen(one of my favorite things to do lol) I was harassing them about their middle child Kaylee. I told them they baby their youngest and spoil their oldest jokingly. Just then, P.J. stopped what she was doing leaned over and told me, "That's called the middle child syndrome Jeff, that's why we aren't having any more kids right?" I was speechless couldn't react, couldn't get a noise to come out so I just laughed. Well, later that week we announced to P.J. that she was going to be a middle child. We went from completely content in life to anticipating an expansion. Tara is probably the best pregnant woman I know. She doesn't slow down one bit, she only put on 18 pounds total. She just keeps on plugging along. She was at the races, at ball games, doing housework and tonight she is going to a flag football game, and a basketball game with me and teh girls. This time tomorrow we will be in a hospital room preparing to have her induced, and praying for a smooth delivery of baby Braelyn(not sure that is teh official spelling lol) and a smooth delivery for mom. I will post a picture later of P.J.'s door, she made a count down to CHristmas but Tara and Alexa don't even care about Christmas they have been counting down to tomorrow, December 18th. Alexa already got all of her make up work and assignments done so that she can miss the rest of the week. Tara is texting me almost every hour telling me how slow her days are going. I anticipate that we will not get much sleep tonight as we toss and turn excited to welcome a new baby girl to teh family officially tomorrow. Thank you God for taking a fast paced, wide opened life like mine and spreading a little extra joy this season. Taking us from a life of day to day, wide opened never slowing down to a life of anticipating God's greatest gift to us, another little life. THanks for reading and have a great day. Odds are I won't be blogging as often over the next several days, but I will be tweeting and updating on facebook!

Hope : A Big God for a Little People

So our series on Christmas and the advent series has taken a different type of turn this year. I am almost always prepared with my sermons months in advance, but things have just been different. I had all 5 sermons ready for December and then one day I was reading letters to Santa and ended up changing one message. Then I felt led to let others share during this season so we started that yesterday with Tanya sharing a lot of her life's struggles and how she overcame them based on the hope that God placed inside her. So the messages got all comboed into one big long one and I am just sharing as much as time will allow each week and enjoying it. So today's blog post will be a little bit short, but still worth the read as we work through the Christmas season and think about the hope, love, joy and peace that was delivered when baby JEsus(our Saviour) entered the world. Hope : A Big God for a Little People—Luke 2:1–5 Have you ever thought at all about God’s ordaining in your life. I mean, I loved baseball and sports and always wanted to play in college. When the opportunity was there, I had no desire to. Why? Why did I have no desire to? God took that desire away, and in its place called me into the ministry. Then, to pay my way through college I worked two jobs, one of which was at a gas station where I met Tara. Then, I ended up in a Psychology class where I was going to have to sit near someone I was feuding with at the time, so I asked Tara to sit between us. We ended up talking after class most every day, I took her on a date and the rest is history. But it all started with God changing my heart and my desires. God goes to a lot of trouble to pre plan the good things in our lives doesn’t He? Have you ever thought what an amazing thing it is that God ordained beforehand that the Messiah be born in Bethlehem (as the prophecy in Micah 5 shows); and that he so ordained things that when the time came, the Messiah's mother and legal father were living in Nazareth; and that in order to fulfill his word and bring two little people to Bethlehem that first Christmas, God put it in the heart of Caesar Augustus that all the Roman world should be enrolled each in his own town? Have you ever felt, like me, little and insignificant in a world of four billion people, where all the news is of big political and economic and social movements and of outstanding people with lots of power and prestige? If you have, don't let that make you disheartened or unhappy. For it is implicit in Scripture that all the mammoth political forces and all the giant industrial complexes, without their even knowing it, are being guided by God, not for their own sake but for the sake of God's little people—the little Mary and the little Joseph who have to get from Nazareth to Bethlehem. God wields an empire to bless his children. Do not think, because you experience adversity, that the hand of the Lord is shortened. It is not our prosperity but our holiness that he seeks with all his heart. And to that end, he rules the whole world. Proverbs 21:1 says: "The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will." He is a big God for little people, and we have great cause to rejoice that, unbeknownst to them, all the kings and presidents and premiers and chancellors of the world follow the sovereign decrees of our Father in heaven, that we, the children, might be conformed to the image of his Son, Jesus Christ. Thanks for reading and have a great day!

more planning

Proverbs 16:3 Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. This is an interesting verse and like so many other verses we can take it completely out of context. Yesterday I shared about my ministry goals, today I want to share some of my personal goals. The goals that I set for 2013 for my family were as follows: 1 - Teach my children to love God, to put God first. 2 - Reach the community for Freedom through the sports and events my children participate in. 3 - Teach teh girls and inforce the importance of getting better every day in the things that you do. 4 - Make sure the girls work hard regularly at the sports they want to play and in school. Those goals sound very one sided but they are goals that Tara and I set for the girls and want for them. The funny thing is they all fall under category 1. If I can raise my children up to love God and to put Him first, to live for Him in every aspect of their lives then guess what the other things take care of themselves. People tell me all the time about what awesome athletes the girls are, about how good of students they are and how driven they are and self motivated, well I cannot take credit for that. It's about God, if our children love the Lord then they do everything they do for Him, and if anything is worth doing for Him it's worth giving 100%. Reaching the community is a fun one, it means the places we go, the campuses we are on and the sports teams our kids are a part of need to know that I am a pastor. That we are Christians and that we love God very dearly. They will know this by our actions, by our attitudes and by the way our children compete. This portion has been the easiest part, but yet the most flexible. Why? Because when I started praying over oru goals for this past year I had no plan for a number 3. Braelynn will be joining us next Wednesday and what a huge blessing she is. And, time to work goals for her new portion of our lives. Committing to the Lord whatever you do means before you act, before you say yes or say no to anything you pray over it. And while you are praying over it watch to see if your attitude towards it changes. If it becomes somethign you are more and more motivated towards then God is taking you there. If it is something that you lose interest in, then with out a doubt God was never in it. Thanks for reading and have a great day!

plans and more plans

Proverbs 16:3 Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. This is an interesting verse and like so many other verses we can take it completely out of context. I am praying hard for 2014, I am excited about the change for another year of ministry. If I commit to God my plan to fill our sanctuary up by the end of next year it will succeed going by this verse. But here's the problem with that. Last year I set goals for myself, I spend most of December praying over goals for all areas of my life. I have set long term goals for myself, and I use each year to create steps for short term goals that will get me to my long term goals. Ministry: 1 - Find leaders to help reach this community and be truly invested in our ministries at Freedom. 2 - Get the church's attendance to over 100 consistently. 3 - Make the transition from church to ministry. Family: 1 - Teach my children to love God first, to put God first. 2 - Reach the community thru the sports and schooling of my children. 3 - Teach the girls the importance of giving 100% to anything they do sports, school, chores. 4 - Teach the girls to get better in all areas of their lives every day. 5 - Stop living paycheck to paycheck. Work: 1 - become more involved in teh community through the Betty Griffin House. 2 - Do more on campus stuff with sports coaches. Hobbies: 1 - Win a division championship 2 - Win a wally 3 - Win a Track championship Let's look at ministry first today. I was at times depressed and fully beat up at the lack of attendance at Freedom. The number of people that we minister to on a weekly basis that don't go to church on Sunday. I get asked all the time what our numbers are for attendance and then I am quick to cower and say we we are reaching a lot of people most of them don't come on Sundays though.I tell them things like if everyone actually came to church this Sunday we would have X amount of people there. But then, I look at my other goals and yes as a pastor I am motivated and driven to reach our community. But, let's look at number 1 find leaders to help reach this community and be truly invested. That has happened, I no longer mow the grass and I no longer vacuum the church. I am no longer doing all of the outreach for the church like years past. I have families who are taking care of those things. The last few families to join our ministry have been pivotal in taking Freedom from a church to a ministry. Pivotal in assisting me in reaching our community and a huge blessing. I quickly realized last February that if we did have 100 people at church I wasn't ready. We didn't have our childrens' ministry where it should be, I cannot meet all of their needs working another full time job as well as coaching high school softball just to make ends meet. I was exhausted and run down. God knew that and my heart and my prayers shifted quickly to number 1 on my ministry goals list and to number 3 I didn't focus on number 2 at all from April til now. That one can wait, and realize that getting to teh point that we are at now is such a huge blessing and knowing that we have prospered in teh areas that God knew we needed to and not just where my ego wanted to. So you can commit to the Lord whatever you do, but you need to realize that your goals will change as God uses you in the ways that are possible, and He helps you avoid the headaches of accomplishing what YOU want to. I wnat to take a few minutes to thank a few families and people. T.J. Weedman has stepped in and taken the reigns on our music ministry. He is there every sunday morning at 9:00 and I never doubt whether he will be there or not. Phillip WOrthington and Tori are a huge addition to what T.J. is doing and a huge blessing as well I am so grateful for all three of them blessing our hearts every Sunday morning. THe Nix and Gause families for joining our ministry, serving whole heartedly and humbly in so many different capacities. The Rhodens for not only joining and becoming a part of our church family, but for welcoming my family as if we are part of theirs. For their serving in every way they can and taking a huge load off of my plate every week to them I am eternally grateful. To Hali WOrthington for taking over the childrens ministries and giving them direction. Every week we have a different group of kids and knowing that she is there consistently every week loving on them, serving their families and providing them with a message from God's Word on their level is one of the things I have prayed most heavilly for the past 4 years. My mom and dad serve in many ways, my dad is huge because he takes care of my yard, my vehicles and my family when I can't sometimes. He also plans a lesson and leads our small group every week for us and I am so grateful to Him. My mom also pays all the bills, balances the checkbook and helps out in many ways. Jordon and Kyle every week have the power point and sound taken care of. We don't have to worry about any of that and it is huge. The funny thing is sound and power point is the least thanked position in teh church. If everything goes smoothly(99% of the time it does) no one even thinks about sound or power point. If there is a mess up then everyone thinks about it so to those two thank you. Amber Lowe and Hali Worthington opened up their home so that we have somewhere to meet every Monday night for the Bridge. Tanya takes care of the giving records and makes the deposits every week while working more than 40 hours raising an awesome little girl and taking care of a sick brother(who is getting better and better thanks to everyone's prayers). To all at Freedom I thank you for another great year, for another opportunity to serve God here at Freedom. And for those who are wondering, my long term goal is not to pastor a mega church. I have two goals at Freedom long term. 1. To share the Gospel with, pray with and baptize three generations. I want to be able to preach to and baptize the grandchildren of the young people that we have baptized. I don't know what Gods' plans are for me but I would love to say that I have reached three generations of families all in one spot at one church for several decades. Thanks for reading and God Bless! 2. Be full time and be able to minister all week long. I know I left a lot of people out but I am thankful to all who have done so much.

Humbled by serving

Psalm 30 : 8-12 8 To you, Lord, I called; to the Lord I cried for mercy: 9 “What is gained if I am silenced, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your faithfulness? 10 Hear, Lord, and be merciful to me; Lord, be my help.” 11 You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, 12 that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent. Lord my God, I will praise you forever. There is no way you can possibly serve God and not be humbled. I think one of the hugest mistakes we make, and David makes it here is that we put too much value on our service to God. I mean, how valuable are you to God? If you didn't go to church next Sunday, if you didn't show up the places that you go daily like work, school, play, hobbies, home would the people there's lives be any different? We think oh man, God is using me and I am irreplaceable. WRONG! David is attempting to say that, Hey God if I die, if these people who want me dead succeed at it, what do You gain? I am praising you, I am proclaiming your faithfulness if I am gone who will do that. The answer is, the next person God calls to do that. Look at churches all accross America, they are pastored by men and women who are called into the ministry. God called them, placed them there and many of them think they are irreplaceable. God always takes care of his church and His ministries. So, we are all as servants of God replaceable. Moses didn't want to lead, and then once he started leading I am sure he kind of got a big head. He probably thought man am I important. Then, God calls Joshua to step in and not only does he step in but he finishes leading God's people where Moses failed to. The story I like to tell is about a man I call Papa Brown. Papa Brown is the only Papa I have ever really had as both my grandpa and papa died when I was very, very young. So, Papa Brown is a servant of God and loves God and a times loves his church even more. One Sunday the Pastor called and said he was sick and couldn't make it so we had to plan out how to fill his spot. I ended up preaching, another staff member did some of the pastor's duties and we made it. The Sunday went off pretty well and I think it was a great success not just because I was preaching but because there was no angry mob there Monday morning at our offices lol. Well, a few months later Papa Brown was sick. What people didn't realize was papa Brown got to the church a few hours early every Sunday, set the air or heat, turned on teh lights and got the coffee pots started. Well, the Sunday he wasn't there was chaos. No coffee, people were waiting outside to get in early and could not, and Papa Brown's sunday school class all had to go get their own bulletins. The humble servants of God can always be replaced, but it's the true servants that are harder to replace than the pastors. God always takes care of His church and always provides a shepherd where His sheep need one. Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Is your faith really childlike?

Sadly at Christmas we all become childlike, but the rest of the year we have an impossible time having childlike faith. I will honestly admit I am a big kid, anyone who knows me knows that. But I am also very driven, so I believe in staying on course and full speed ahead at all times. My coaching side kicks in and I feel like if I am not doing something to better myself I am wasting time. But, from about Halloween on it slowly gets to me. It starts with the great pumpkin Charlie brown, then Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and boom ABCFamily’s 25 days of Christmas takes over my life. I love Rudolph that’s my favorite along with Charlie Brown. P.J. loves the Grinch so we watch that one several times. We all turn into big kids don’t we, thinking about Christmases past and our childhood memories that are so fond. Kids believe in things with all their hearts, whatever it may be. As adults, we have seen so many things in a different light that it makes us skeptical about everything. John 20:24Now Thomas (also known as Didymus[a]), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Ecclesiastes 1:18 For with much wisdom comes much sorrow;the more knowledge, the more grief. Doubting Thomas gets a bad rap, but we are just the same, we need proof of so many things that if we are honest we believed more strongly as kids than we do now. It is now “tell the current time” now be honest how many of us looked? You trust me as your Pastor, you trust me to share with you God’s word but you don’t trust me to tell you what time it is? Interesting! The older we get, the more we struggle to believe in things. Why? Because we have a better knowledge of how things work, we realize that the people we looked up to and idolized were just people. Many of us have been let down by people and we gain a perspective of God as if He can ever make a mistake and let us down in some way. “Dear Santa, please get me some things on my list. And there is some fruit salad & water to help your type 2 diabetes. “ There you have it, this young man thinks Santa has diabetes. He is able to fly a sleigh around the world in just a matter of hours, slip down a chimney and deliver millions of toys to millions of kids, but he can’t handle eating cookies and drinking milk. How often do we see a God who made everything, who knit us together in our mother’s womb as if he has a weakness of some sort. God knows everything, and He is all powerful but He can’t get me out of this mess I am in. “Dear Santa, I like you. Do you like me? I would like a DS Mario please. Next year I will give you money. How does that sound? Pretty cool. It does to me. That’s the deal.” We often try to bribe God don’t we. We think in order for Him to forgive us we need to do something. God if you will forgive me I will go to church more, I will read my Bible more or give more to those in need. God sent His Son to die on a cross for your sins, not for your gifts or bribes. He did it because he loves you, not because he wants something in return. We love the people we love in our lives because they love us, hopefully not because they buy us stuff or do things for us to bribe us into loving them. If that is the case that isn’t love anyway. Dear Santa,“We don’t need very many presents. You can give them to people who don’t have money to buy toys.” We think we have it all together, so the sermon must be for someone else. That facebook post or tweet full of Spiritual insight has to be for someone else, not me I am a pillar of Christianity. If you aren’t asking God for anything then you aren’t evaluating your life closely enough. “Dear Santa, I want you to know that I want a puppy, I do not believe in you and I do not think you are real. A lot of us ask God for things just encase. I meet a lot of people who say they want to pray and accept Jesus, and get baptized just encase all the religion stuff is right. Sadly, that is not salvation, that is insurance. God didn’t send His Son into this world for insurance, it was for salvation and love and as a way to pour his grace and mercy out on us. Dear Santa, I would like a new keyboard and some costume jewelry but please don’t go into my private things. Thanks, God I love you, I believe in you whole heartedly. I want to live for you, I want the salvation and the forgiveness, but wait I need to keep this one part of my life mine. You can have these days each week, this time frame each night but this one part is my life and I can’t let you in there. Dear Santa,I know that you already know most of my Christmas list so I won’t bore you with all of the details. I really do want a bike and a bb gun, and anything else you think I might enjoy. And I was just wondering how you eat the hot wings from Domino’s without staining your white gloves. You know the ones you are eating on the Domino’s billboard by my house. Back to doubting Thomas, God I believe in you. I believe you sent your Son to die on a cross for me. But how do you do this……… If you fully understood God He would no longer be God would He? I remember watching magic tricks as a kid and as I got older I figured out how they were done and guess what they were not magic, but they were tricks. God is not magical in any way. He is all powerful, all knowing and in every place at one time. I do not need to know how or why He is, I just need to know that He is. You see sometimes we get so scientific we end up being like Thomas and well, we forget that we are not supposed to understand God fully. Dear Santa,For Christmas I want walkie talkies, the ones that really work, I also want some handcuffs and a gun, with a real police car. One just like the ones they drive on television. I also want some dinosaurs, a fake camera and cellphone and some small cowboys and indian toys. My sister wants all of the same stuff that I do, only pretend police stuff not the real ones for her please. And here we go with the competing. There are three types of Christians: 1. Christians who have a revelation from God and cannot wait to tell everyone about it and share it with everyone. 2. Christians who have a revelation and are just too lazy to share it, they get it and they add it to their knowledge base with no plan of doing anything with it. 3. Christians who take what God reveals to them and use it to make themselves feel and seem better than other Christians. That kid wanted all the real stuff, and all of the fake stuff for his sister. Little league and youth sports is a funny thing. You have the dads out there that just want to be a part of their kids lives. You have the dads who want to make sure their kid is the best and focus soley on their child. Then you have the dads who realize that in order for their child to get better all of the other kids need to get better therefore they spend as much time as they can with all of the kids. As Christians we need to realize that we cannot grow unless other believers around us are growing with us. And we cannot reach this world for Christ unless we are all in it together. “Dear Santa,All I want for Christmas is peace and a job for my daddy. I am a big boy and I do not want any toys. Mommy said you will not be coming to my house this year because Obama got elected again.” This child is limiting the abilities of what God can accomplish based on what others believe. What are you going to do with Jesus this Christmas, how powerful do you truly believe he is? How much has your faith grown or dwindled because of your head getting in the way of your heart?

Commitment

Proverbs 16:3Commit your work to the LORD, and then your plans will succeed. My thoughts on the act of committing. I do feel like there is so much going on in life that we don't truly commit to the things we should. And some things we seem to commit to but we really, truly aren't committed to them at all. How do we combat this? How do we decide what to commit to? And how to we know if we are committed to them? Commitment is defined as the state or quality of being dedicated to a cause, activity, etc. So commitment isn't necessarily an action, it's a quality. Commitment is so hard to find these days. If commitment is a quality then you cannot partially commit. You are either committed or you are not. THis throws out terms like partial commitment, and half way committed. There is no such thing. Let's put this in some context. In a marriage you are either committed or you are not. If you are "partially committed" then you are not in any way shape or form committed to that relationship. If you are "partially committed" to God and your church then you are not in any way shape or form committed there either. God should be a commitment, giving all that you can give with nothing taking the place of Him. Your marriage should be a commitment that is only overshadowed by your commitment to God. Commit your work to the Lord, man that is an easy thing to say, an easy thing to attempt, but very hard to pull off and here is why. You cannot commit to anything that your heart is not invested in. I was called into the ministry as a teenaged boy, I committed to serving God in whatever capacity He called me to. There is no way I would still be committed to the ministry, to Freedom Church, or to serving in any capacity as a pastor or chaplain without the commitment of my heart. Before I take on anything, anything at all I pray over it. I pray over it for weeks sometimes if time will allow. That way I am commiting it to God, and because He owns my heart there is no way I will commit without His consent. There are however, times where we act too fast, too rash and dive into something and call ourselves committed to it. Soon though, we realize we aren't that committed to it and as a Christian that usually means that our heart isn't in it, and if our heart isn't in it then God won't be in it either because that is where He resides. So when you are deciding on a job, a hobby, a place to volunteer or a relationship pray over it. GIve it to God and see if your heart is going to tune in. If not, then that isn't what God wants for you at that time and it will never prosper if you aren't committed. I love God, He has done so much in my life and revealed so much more to me than I can ever deserve in any way. I love my family, I am fully committed to Tara, Alexa, P.J. and soon baby Bray because my heart is in everything we do. I love my opportunity to minister to and thru Freedom Baptist Church and it is a commitment that stands strong until the Lord shows me it is time to move on. I pray over all three of those areas every day, and I thank God that He has helped me to remain committed to the things He has called me to. Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!

Tips for staying thankful

This past week, we celebrated Thanksgiving in the United States. On this one day, we gathered with family, ate a meal, and took a few minutes to express our thanks. Then, we moved on with talking, eating, watching football, napping . . . and eating again.The weeks before people started on Facebook with posting something they are thankful for, and they posted a different item they were thankful for each day. If you watched it kind of slowed down as we approached Thanksgiving day and as the year goes on they probably won't post another thankful post until November 1st 2014. How do we fight this, how do we combat this, well like anything else we need to have a plan. We have so much for which to be grateful. I fear, though, that we too often limit our expressions of thanksgiving to only this day. Because the Apostle Paul tells us to “give thanks in every circumstance” (1 Thess 5:18), we need to practice thanksgiving. Here are some practical ways to build thanksgiving into your leadership role. 1.Handwrite thank you notes. We all text and call and facebook or tweet. But maybe you should hand write a letter to someone you want to thank. When you get a text that says thank you it is meaningful, but when you realize someone took the time to hand write a thank you it is more meaningful I promise. 2.Make a weekly thank you call. Somebody in your life deserves a “thank you” from you. Again, a text message might be the more common expression of thanks today, but God gives us voices to communicate. Each week or atleast each month, find somebody for whom a phone call of thanksgiving will mean much. Use the phone, and have a conversation. 3.Surprise someone you love with another “Thanksgiving Day.” Everybody expects to celebrate Thanksgiving in November, but few people will be ready for an undeclared day of thanksgiving. Choose another day during the year (and NOT your anniversary or your spouse’s birthday), and show your gratitude the love and support of your loved ones. 4.Write a thank you letter to your loved ones and family. I don’t care how awkward it may feel, how uncomfortable or inconvenient it may seem there is no one on the face of this earth that doesn’t want a thank you letter from someone they love. Even though you see them every day, or eat dinner with them regularly or ride to school with them every morning, a thank you letter will be much more powerful. 5.Spend one day a week in thanksgiving prayer. Choose one day, and pray only thanksgiving. Every time you pray that day only thank God for things in your life, family, His love for you, His son dying on a cross, his forgiveness, food, shelter, clothes a job whatever it is only thank Him that day. No requests, no praying for anything but thanks. It will eventually change your prayer life. Everytime I pray I would say 80% of the time I spend in prayer I am thanking God for things and it all started with praying only thanks one day a week. 6.Send a thank you card to people who have positively influenced your life. Each month(or week it’s your call) pick someone out who has influenced your life in a positive way and write them a thank you card. Send them a card and wait for their response, it may lead to bigger and better things. If nothing else it will help you to remain grateful. 7.Get involved in a ministry to needy people. Christians often help the needy during the holidays, but the needs continue throughout the year. Who is going to provide families with birthday gifts, with clothing through out the year? Unfortunately we only think about it at the holidays. 8.Start a thank you journal. I am not typically a journaler, but this type of journaling does not take much time. Keep a small journal handy, and simply write down things each day you are thankful for, and I bet it will give you names for your thank you cards and letters. All of this is fine and nice but if you do it with the right intentions and pray about who would be the recipient of your thanks God will end up using you. Your thank you notes will reach someone right when they are about to hit rock bottom, your letters will reach a heart that is hurting inside and your heart will be changed when you see the results. Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!

The day of the camel

That's right it's hump day, and the word hump has so many meanings(some of which I don't wish to discuss in this blog lol) and it has come to be the term used for Wednesday. I know that there are times in our lives where we are trying to get through something, and we say we want to get over the hump. If we can just get over the hump it's all down hill after that. The hump referred to here is the peak of a mountain or hill. If any of you have ever climbed a mountain(i haven't) you climb and the climb is extremely rigorous but your mind is focused on the peak. At that moment that you reach the peak you know that the climbing is over with, you have reached the highest point and from that point on whether you take the same path you just climbed back down or if you go down crossing the mountain you have an easy way from that point on. In our lives we get discouraged, we get beat up and we let things drag us down. One way to figure out if God is a priority in your life is where your week starts. If you consider Sunday the end of your weekend then when you actually do go to church you are giving Him the final day of the week. If you see Sunday as the first day of the gift of a new week then you are giving God your first day of the week. You are kicking your week off the way God had desired for you to. THis mindset makes Mondays a lot more barable as well. Sunday is my day to grow in God and kick off the new week. We all hate Mondays and dread the first day of the work week, then comes Tuesdays which arent' much better than Mondays but they are closer to Fridays. NExt comes hump day and if you can just survive hump day it's all a downhill cruise to the next weekend. Thursday is kind of a day that is crammed in between Hump day and Friday and then Friday morning we wake up ready for the weekend. The hump is about endurance and here is a little bit about what the Bible says endurance is and comes from. 1 Thessalonians 1:3 We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. In other words Hump day, Friday, a three day weekend or even a week's vacation is no where near the inspiration for endurance that hope in GOd can give us. In the simplest of terms we are facing Hump day today, hoping that it will go smoothly right to the peak of the week so that the downhill slide leads us right into a great weekend. Paul is remember before God that the reason we do all that we do is by faith. THere is no gaurantee of anything in this world, a paycheck, a job tomorrow, another day or another breathe we do it all based on faith that it will happen. The labor you put into your work is for love, either love for your job or love for your family and wanting to provide for them and finally we endure it all because of the hope Jesus Christ planted deep down inside of us the day he died on a cross for our sins and then raised again. Hope is where it is at, and hopefully you are hoping for more today than just a good hump day or a great upcoming weekend. Hopefully, you are longing for God to use you and longing for the day you are in eternity with Him based on your personal relationship with Him. Thanks for reading and have a great Hump day!

That 5 day weekend

As I am sure many of you are aware of I don't sit still well at all. I don't get invited to the movies very often because I don't sit still that long unless it is a very good movie. I don't attend a lot of events simply because I don't like sitting around. After being a team pastor and enjoying the sidelines the past 7 years I don't like sitting in teh stands watching high school football any more, and I love football. Well, last weekend was a 5 day weekend with little or no big plans. I didn't get a whole lot done, but I did find time to relax some and to be honest it wasn't all that bad. It was fun, Tara, Alexa and I watched a lot of football and as much as I love football there is no possible way I could plan my weekend around sitting all day and watching football. I saw several amazingly great games, one that ended with a missed field goal returned for a touchdown and one that ended in overtime. I don't do meetings well, I would prefer that you go to the meeting and tell me what needs to be done. That way the next time you are meeting I can be out doing what needs to be done. I don't attend staff meetings at Betty Griffin House unless it is pushed on me, I am required to attend one or two a year and that is fine but sitting for an hour or two talking about what we are going to do is just not my thing. I use the late night hours, many nights I use my pillow time to pray over and plan out what I want to accomplish. I don't need to waste an hour of my time. And these people who get up early Saturday morning to watch a show about football, what the heck? People honestly plan on sitting all morning and listening to people talk about football, hearing people predict who is going to win and why, I just don't get it. I work two full time jobs one as a pastor and one as a community educator for the Betty Griffin House. August thru November I am the team pastor for the football team so I am out there hanging out all the time and planning team meals and settnig up speakers. November thru December I start my conditioning for softball where I coach at PEdro MEnendez on Tuesdays and Thursdays and then January 6-mid April I am at softball every evening with practices or games. Not to mention countless hours sitting on a bucket with Alexa pitching to me, dribbling and shooting a basketball with both of the girls and enjoying their practices and games for all different sports. People ask me how do you do it? Why do you do it? I tell them that is just how I am wired. God put me together to be active and wide open at all times. That is just me. I also plan my down time. I have a few different ways that I take care of what I call self care. I am completely ineffective in helping anyone if I don't take care of myself. I do this in a few different ways. 1. I spend time in prayer and reading God's word every day. It sounds like the Vacation Bible SChool basic answer coming from a Pastor but it's what I need. I can honestly tell you that I hate Mondays with a passion. All week long I work on sermons and messages to share them on Sundays. Sunday morning is now the day that I spend the most time with the most people from our ministries. Monday mornings is like that day after Christmas when all of the excitement is gone, so some quiet time with God is all that it takes to get me going. And ofcourse I close out my Monday with the Bridge at 7 which is a great ministry that I am in love with. 2. Drag Racing, people think I don't take any time for myself I do it's every Saturday afternoon that I can afford to do it. I sneak away and enjoy it with my family. Drag racing serves two purposes. First of all it is the onlything I do all week that is totally about me, everyday, all day long I am husband, father and pastor and those jobs all intertwine in a way that you can't tell where one ends and the other starts. All three of those are on call positions 24-7 so drag racing is a nice get away. Secondly, I am probably the most intense competitor that you will ever meet. I love competition, drag racing for me is boring and I do not enjoy the speed or the thrill of a hard launch or driving fast. I enjoy the competition and Jeff Gatlin has got to have somewhere to compete. This gets all of that out of my system. Some pastors fish, play golf or collect stamps none of those work for this pastor so I choose to go to the drag strip on Saturdays and I am so thankful for a family, ministry and friends who understand that about me. Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Hope for the Holidays

Proverbs 13:12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. Yesterday we had our benefit spaghetti dinner for Jimmy Jam. I shared a few verses and then a little of my heart and Mrs. Jill Gause Davis stole the show. She shared about righteous giving and the importance of beating down our pride and recieving as graciously as we give. These words rang so true, and are so useful for us at the holidays. There are so many who are hurting, who are struggling financially, mentally, spiritually and physically. Many of us are the ones who are suffering, yet we don't want to take anything from anyone. We just want to puff up and take care of ourselves. I also shared the verse above from Proverbs and then the following illustration. I heard a story of a ship that was sinking in the middle of a storm, and the captain called out to the crew and said, "Does anyone here know how to pray?" One man stepped forward and said, "Yes sir, I know how to pray." The captain said, "Wonderful, you pray while the rest of us put on life jackets--we're one short." Unfortunately, as CHristians our catch phrase is I am praying for you. We say this in all sorts of situations but I want to think a little bit about this. If every single Christian prayed and simply prayed for the needs of those who are hurting, or sick, or struggling in some way. If that was all that ever happened then nothing would ever get better. If I have $50 that I can spare for someone, a friend has another $50, a few others have $50 and all totalled we have $250 to spare to help someone out. Another friend has several pounds of Pork and is an amazing cook when it comes to BBQing, and still another can bake amazing cakes and has all of the stuff to do it. If all of those people simply pray for the needs of those who are struggling then all of the money, the abilities and the possessions are meaningless and in theory so are their prayers. We should instead be praying for ways to be used by GOd, not for God to heal the sick, help the poor and love on the hurting. We should pray for them, pray for their needs and then ask God to show us how to meet those needs. So your prayers are important, but more important is how you pray for those who need help. There are no hopeless situations; there are only people who have grown hopeless about them. Clare Boothe Luce. THink about that, no situation is hopeless, but if we don't use the gifts we have, and do more than pray then those who we pray for will grow hopeless and it may be too late not only for us to help them but also for us to lift their spirits. Thank you so much for everyone who played any role small or large in our day yesterday, from cooking and baking, to purchasing, to picking up the donations and everywhere in between you were a huge blessing and a major part of Freedom becoming a ministry instead of a church. God BLess!

My thanks

Hebrews 12:25 says, “Let us please God by serving him with thankful hearts.” I have learned over the years that the people who are the best servants are always the people who are most thankful. THey are the people who are first and foremost appreciative to God and for His love, grace and mercy. They are thankful for the fact that even though they continue to sin, God loves them unconditionally and sent His Son to die on a cross for them. THey are also thankful for their families, their friends and their lives. I am convinced you cannot serve God without a thankful heart. People who serve the right way are doing it for God and because they are doing it for God they only want God to get credit for it. WIth God getting all of the credit they don't do anything to draw attention to themselves or their accomplishments they simply keep on serving. THey also keep on thanking God for the opportunities to serve. Today I want to share the things I am most thankful for in my life. These are in no particular order: 1. I am thankful for God, loving me and sending His Son as a ransom for my daily goof ups. I am thankful that He loves me through my darkest days and not just on my good days. 2. I am thankful for God placing me in a Christian home, I was adopted at just a few days old and placed in a home where I was in church all of my life. I was taught very early in life the importance of reading my Bible, praying and serving and those lessons have stuck with me all of my life. 3. I am thankful for the values my parents put on church. I was raised in a house where we loved sports, I played baseball, basketball and football from 6 years old. I was always doing something with sports but never on Sundays. I was taught that if I wanted to do something for God, I could not do it during a time that I am supposed to be with Him. I now drag race and some of the biggest races every year, the most prestigous opportunities to win a big race come with a Sunday schedule and I will admit I am tempted to attend, but I never do because it just doesn't feel right. Along with this I am also thankful that my children are following that same pattern. Alexa and P.J. realize as children that if they are going to do it for God, you can't glorify Him by skipping church to do it. God's plan for your life is God's plan for your life and putting Him first on His day only multiplies your chances to reach the potential He has given you. (No I am not on my soap box, but I do hate that Christian families push their children to play sports on Sundays thinking it gives them an advantage of those who choose to remain faithful to God) 4. I am thankful for an awesome wife and great children. I love them with all that I have, I love that they support me when they see me struggling with other peopel's inconsistencies. I love that they want to be a part of my ministry every step of the way. From standing on the sidelines of football games, to sitting in the stands during my races and softball games, to attending Monday night small groups and everywhere in between. My family is a ministering family and I thank God for that. 5. I am thankful for the opportunity to have been called in the ministry. I love that God chose to use me, and still chooses to use me to further His Kingdom. THere is no job in the world that compares to the opportunity to minister and to meet the needs of others with love. Thank you for reading and have an awesome Thanksgiving!

Gratefulness is important

The day before Thanksgiving an elderly man in Phoenix called his son in New York and said to him, "I hate to ruin your day, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing; 45 years of misery is enough. We’re sick of each other, and so you call your sister in Chicago and tell her." Frantic, the son called his sister, who exploded on the phone. "Like heck they’re getting divorced," she shouted, "I’ll take care of this." She called Phoenix immediately, and said to her father. "You are NOT getting divorced. Don’t do a single thing until I get there. I’m calling my brother back, and we’ll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don’t do a thing, DO YOU HEAR ME?" The man hung up his phone and turned to his wife. "Okay, honey. The kids are coming for Thanksgiving and paying for their own flights." On Thursday we will all be gathering together with our family and hopefully we will remember to do more than eat a meal and watch football or make a mad dash for the mall. The Thanksgiving Holiday gives us the perfect opportunity to transform our lives from those of griping and dissatisfaction to lives of joy and gratitude. Thanksgiving is a good holiday for us to turn the corner and become grateful people. God wants nothing more than for us to be people of thanksgiving and gratitude. Alan Perkins says, “A thankful spirit is one of the key distinguishing marks of a Christian. It sets us apart from the world, it makes us different.” Psalm 118:1 says, “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love endures forever.” I. THE BENEFITS OF A GRATEFUL SPIRIT Now why do you think being a thankful person is so important? Well I think it is because gratefulness is good for us. There are a many ways being a grateful person can benefit you. A. INCREASE YOUR PERSONAL HAPPINESS. Most of us think that our happiness is determined by our circumstances. If I asked you, on a scale of one to ten how happy you are right now, you might say, “Well, I’m about a 2 on the happiness meter because of my circumstances.” We’ve been taught that our happiness is somehow dependent on how well things go for us. But really our happiness is determined by attitude. It is really in how we see things. The apostle Paul wrote these words from prison (yes prison). "Rejoice in the Lord always," he wrote, "and again I say it rejoice." (Philippians 4:4). Paul was happy despite being in prison and how, he learned to thank God in everything he did. It was really his perspective on life. You may recall the letter I shared a few weeks back from the young lady to her parents from college. About how she had a dorm fire and jumped from the second floor, got injured fell in love with a gas station attendant, moved into his basement and got pregnant as well as catching an STD. Then she closed by saying it was all made up but she wanted them to have the proper perspective when she told them she made a d and an f in her classes lol. Happiness is really determined by our perspective in life not by circumstances. If we learn to be grateful people despite circumstances that will greatly improve our happiness. B. IMPROVE YOUR WITNESS FOR CHRIST. Having a noticeable countenance of thankfulness and joy will certainly make us better witnesses for Christ. What is sad is that most Christians are the most negative, sour people in the world. It is no wonder people don’t want to have anything to do with us. But when we are thankful, joyful, upbeat people. We attract the lost with our spirit of gratitude because the world is so dark and depressing and ungrateful. Have you looked at this world lately? People are so discouraged? Yet if we can learn to be different, upbeat and thankful, we will attract them. We have something they don’t. 1 Peter 2:12 reads, "Live such good lives among the pagans that they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us." Living a life of thankfulness will attract the lost. C. ENHANCE YOUR RELATIONSHIPS There is one thing I notice about some married couples. After awhile many of them become ungrateful and unappreciative of their spouses. Over time they take each other for granted. Somebody described the first few years in a marriage this way. The husband seeing the wife has a cold, says, "You don’t look good. You should go to the hospital. I have already arranged it. I know the food is bad there, but we are going to have meals catered in." The second year he says, "You don’t look so good. I have called the doctor. Go and lay down. I will take care of the kids. The doctor will be right over." The third year he says, "You know you are not looking so hot. When you are done feeding the kids and cleaning up the kitchen, you ought to go lay down." The fourth year he says, "Would you quit walking around here barking like a seal, you’re going to give me your cold?" The longer we become familiar; the less thankful we are for each other. How much better would things be if we appreciated our spouses more? Our kids? Our church relationships? Do you know how the apostle Paul began most of his letters in the Bible? To the church in Rome he wrote. “First, I thank my God for all of you.” (Romans 1:8) To the church in Corinth. “I always thank God for you (1 Corinthians 1:4).To the church in Ephesus, “I have not stopped giving thanks for you; remembering you in my prayers.” (Ephesians 1:16). To the church in Philippi, “I thank my God every time I remember you.” (Philippians 1:3). To the church in Colossi, “I always thank God when I pray for you.” (Colossians 1:3). Paul made sure that he let people in the churches know that he was thankful for them. Imagine how much better our church and our relationships would be if we expressed our thanks for each other. D. SOLIDiFY YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD Which is the top benefit. Someone once said that God lives in two places. He lives in heaven and in a humble, grateful heart. Hebrews 12:25 says, “Let us please God by serving him with thankful hearts.” You know what I have found to be true in my life? I have found that I have an overwhelming need to give thanks. I am so thankful most of the time, but not all the time I will admit. Kenny with the chicken sandwich attempt at Burger King successfully and a few days later at Chikfila unsuccessfully. There is something inside of each of us that needs to give thanks to God. When I spend time giving thanks to God for all I have, I just feel close to him, don’t you? I think that is exactly why, 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” II. WAYS TO DEVELOP THANKSGIVING IN OUR LIVES A. EVERYTHING WE HAVE IS FROM GOD Acknowledge that everything we have is God’s and not ours. Psalm 24:1 says, “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.” When we do this, it reminds us that it is a privilege that God has loaned us everything we have. 1 Corinthians 4:7 says, “What do you have that you did not receive from God? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?” Everything we own, we ultimately received from God and we owe him thanks. James 1:17, “Every good and perfect gift is from above coming down from the Father of heavenly lights, who does not change like the shifting sand.” Dr. Dale Robbins writes, “I used to think people complained because they had a lot of problems. But I have come to realize that they have problems because they complain. Complaining doesn’t change anything or make situations better. It amplifies frustration, spreads discontent and discord, and can invoke an invitation for the devil to cause havoc with our lives.” Complaining makes us miserable. Psalm 77:3 says, “I complained and my spirit was overwhelmed.” Philippians 2:13 says, “Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe.” B. DEVELOP THE DAILY DISCIPLINE OF GIVING THANKS In order to be thankful people we need to start to give thanks everyday. Not just once a year on Thanksgiving. We need to discipline ourselves to find something each day that we should be thankful for and express our thanks to God. Perhaps create a journal or a file on our computers where we list the things God has done for us. Call it a praise file. Thanksgiving must become a daily habit. Ephesians 5:19 says, “Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything.” Always is the key word. Not just on Thanksgiving. Everyday. I read recently that if you own one Bible, you are abundantly blessed, because a third of the people in the world do not have access to a Bible. If you awoke this morning with more health than illness you are more blessed than 1 million people who will not survive the week. If you have never experienced the danger of war, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation you are more fortunate than 500 million people on earth. If you have food in your refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof over your head, twenty dollars in your pocket and a place to sleep you are richer than 75 percent of the world. O, God forgive me when I whine. I found this list of questions you can ask to test whether you are a grateful person or not? #1 Which do you tend to talk about more – your blessings, or your disappointments? #2 Are you a complainer, always grumbling, always finding fault with your circumstances? #3 Are you content with what you have, or always dissatisfied and wanting more? #4 Do you find it easier to count your blessings, or is it easier to count your afflictions? #5 Do you express thanks to others when they help you, or do you just take it as your due? #6 Would others say that you are a thankful person? Thanks for reading and have a great day!

God is Karma

We are on the road to Thanksgiving but I really want to talk about happy people. What are the things that distinguish happy people from others. We can't just say it's being a Christian because I know a lot of grumpy Christians as well. So I wanted to put together a list of things that distinguish happy people from others. The number one thing they do is trust God. Happy people are people who trust God with every single detail of their lives. From bills, to stress, to relationships, to the struggles of others to their health. THey trust God with all of it. 6 Things happy people never do 1. Mind other people’s business. Truly happy people don't feel the need to worry about other people's business, they just lift it up to God in prayer. We all suffer from this we get caught up in others' lives and think we are helping them, when in reallity we are hurting ourselves. 2. Seek self worth in others. We need to find our value and our self worth in teh fact that God loves us and longs to be in a relationship with Him daily. Truly happy people don't value themselves based on what others think of them. 3. Rely on others for their own happiness Truly happy people make others happy, they don't rely on others to bring them happiness. We all know that person that makes us happy when we don't want to be. Those are people who can be happy when we are not, and well sometimes we need to work harder to be that person. Happiness comes from an overflow of joy in our hearts therefore we are never without the ability to be happy, we choose to be. 4. Hold on to resentment Let it go. Let go and let God. Stop spending your time being resentful. Let God take care of it, his word tells us He is in total control and He will take care of the things he wants taken care of the way He sees fit. 5. Spend prolonged amounts of time in negative environments Happy people do not spend their time sulking. Happy people do not subscribe to the theory that misery loves company, they get out and far away from miserable company. 6. Resist the truth They face the truth, they live the truth, and they allow the truth to change them. Here are some verses that help us deal with how God handles business. Galatians 6:7-10 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. You reap what you sow, and you continue to reap even after you quit sowing. Proverbs 19:5 A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who pours out lies will not go free. Don't worry about people trying to slander you or talk bad about you, God will take care of it. 2 Corinthains 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. Proverbs 26:23-28 Like a coating of silver dross on earthenware are fervent[a] lips with an evil heart. 24 Enemies disguise themselves with their lips, but in their hearts they harbor deceit. 25 Though their speech is charming, do not believe them, for seven abominations fill their hearts. 26 Their malice may be concealed by deception, but their wickedness will be exposed in the assembly. 27 Whoever digs a pit will fall into it; if someone rolls a stone, it will roll back on them. 28 A lying tongue hates those it hurts, and a flattering mouth works ruin. Whoever digs a pit will fall in it, that is all I need to know when others do me wrong. God will take care ofit, God will not let it go untouched. And finally our first verses, God cannot be mocked. They may get away with it here on earth, they may puff out their chest and think they pulled a fast one. But God will not be mocked, he will see to it that it is taken care of at some point and that is all the reassurance I need. Close with video, this video shows how we want it handled. We want absulute immediate justice and that just doesn't show any faith in God. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1TrDMcaiLM&feature=player_embedded Thanks for reading and have a great day!

A day in my life

I want so badly for others to have what I have, and I can honestly say that only happens in a few areas of my life. My drag racing has taught me a lot of tricks of the trade while I am not the best, I do not win all the time I am riding a pretty hot streak right now, but I don't share those tricks. I am doing things with my daughters to get them prepared to play sports and while I do share the secrets of the trade I only share it with a select few because I honestly want my daughters to have an advantage and be successful. But, my greatest attribute, my greatest possession is my personal relationship with Jesus Christ. And that my friends is what I want for everyone. I do not post on Facebook every hour, or every time I think to about it because that isn't how you sell it. You live it, you pray for it, and you cultivate it and others will want it for themselves. The old saying You can lead a horse to water but you cannot make it drink is very true. You can drag everyone you want to church, you can share the Gospel with them all but you cannot force them to want it or accept it. But you can make them thirsty and that is our job. I start out the mornings with prayer and reading a devotional for Pastors that is emailed to me each morning. After that I get up, wake all the girls up and hop in the shower. I don't turn the radio on during my trip to the office, some days I just pray through that time, some days I just listen for God but I give that time to Him as well. ONce I arrive at my office I start blogging, working on my sermons for the following weeks and to be totally honest with you some days I just read the passages in different translations and that is all the sermon prep I do. It's all up to my mood and God's timing to reveal to me what I need to say. After about 45 minutes of sermon prepping I go pick Alexa up and take her to school, this is an important part of my devotional life because my most important ministry is my family. If I am not ministering to them and meeting their needs physically, mentally, emotionally and most importantly spiritually I am a failure as a pastor. After dropping her off I read my devotional book that my dad got me a while back. It's called the focused life and it is a daily reading that includes the chapter of PRoverbs for that date, and a few chapters of Psalms. All of this working together prepares me to face my day. Some days are busy and hectic others are not so much busy as hectic but either way, I am prepared to face the day and all that it throws my way based on my morning preparation. I long to see others grow in their walk, and I hope that in some way I can present it in a way that it makes others thirsty. In Africa there was a village that was not allowed to pray or worship God publically. So they met privately in homes and secretly in different places to avoid being persecuted and possibly killed. Well, in order to do their private prayers and quiet times alone with God each day they would have to leave their huts and walk off into the woods. As time went on they would walk the same path each day out into the woods for prayer and it wore a path leading from their houses to their spots for prayer. It was very common for someone to backslide and not continue their daily ritual and a neighbor would simply ask how they were doing and point out that the grass was beginnig to grow again, or that their path was not looking so worn as a way to remind them they need that personal time with God each and every day. So, I ask you now, what does YOUR path look like? Is it worn out and well trodden? Or is it overgrown and hard to even see? Thanks for reading and have a great Hump Day!

Advice, we need it!

Proverbs 9:9 Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still;teach the righteous and they will add to their learning. (I hesitated several times to share that first verse because I am in no ways wise, please do not think that I am putting myself in that place, just using it to make the point of my writings.) Proverbs 12:15 The way of fools seems right to them,but the wise listen to advice. Proverbs 19:20 Listen to advice and accept discipline,and at the end you will be counted among the wise. Proverbs 20:18 Plans are established by seeking advice; so if you wage war, obtain guidance. There are so many one man shows out there these days. They are Christians who say they only listen to God, they don't care what anyone thinks and they don't need anyone but God. They are baby Christians looking to make a name for themselves whether they realize it or not. I was 18 years old when I was asked to go and speak at a youth camp. I was honored and nervous because I didn't know what I was headed for that week. I knew with God, and doing God's will it would be great and there was no doubt God wanted me there that week. I had wanted to be a youth pastor for quite some time, even seeking ways to go to school for it. I had even served somewhat as a youth pastor in my church as a teenager in several different capacities and loved it. But it just wasn't solid, it was a great feeling, something I enjoyed but that was it. I still enjoyed playing sports(not as much as serving God but close), I still enjoyed drag racing and many other things. During the next to the last night of the camp it all came together for me. I was speaking during the days and another was speaking during the nights. That night, he was speaking and I was sweating, more than the usual pit stains. I felt like I was catching a fever, so I sat in teh back kind of away from everyone so that I didn't draw any attention to myself. Then, during the closing of the message and during the invitation my heart started to beat so loudly I was sure everyone in the whole auditorium could hear it. It started racing like I had just ran a marathon(I have no idea what that feels like to be honest, but if Jeff Gatlin ran a marathon and actually finished it at even a brisk walk his heart would be pounding) and there was no denying God was speaking to me. I rushed over to my childhood and teenaged youth pastor and started talking to him. He shared some scriptures and then prayed with me. One of the main things I remember him telling me as we talked later was that no matter how close I got to God, no matter how strong I felt to always seek guidance from other strong believers. Sure there will be those moments where people give good advice but let me tell you. If you surround yourself with Christians who are praying and reading GOd's word God is going to use them to mold you and make you into who you should be. I will never forget that advice, yes I am a Pastor now with a church entrusted to me. You will never hear me call it my church, because it isn't. It is God's church and I am just lucky enough that when God called me into the ministry at 18 he planned to use me at Freedom, I love my Freedom family and everyone in it. I spend a lot of my time giving advice, sharing my heart, and helping others as an undershepherd of Jesus Christ but I also take time to listen to advice from those who love me and more importantly love Jesus Christ. The false prophet, the one man shows, and the weak will all claim that they don't need to listen to anyone else but God, I tell you I first and foremost listen to God, and I also listen to those who God placed in my life to make me the whole person he wants me to be for Him. Thanks for reading and GOd Bless!

The Holy Spirit's job description

There was a teacher who was helping one of her kindergarten students put his boots on? He asked for help and she could see why. With her pulling and him pushing, the boots still didn’t want to go on. When the second boot was on, she had worked up a sweat. She almost whimpered when the little boy said, "Teacher, they’re on the wrong feet." She looked, and sure enough, they were. It wasn’t any easier pulling the boots off than it was putting them on. She managed to keep her cool as together they worked to get the boots back on – this time on the right feet. He then announced, "These aren’t my boots." She bit her tongue rather than get right in his face and scream, "Why didn’t you say so?" like she wanted to. Once again she struggled to help him pull the ill-fitting boots off. He then said, "They’re my brother’s boots. My Mom made me wear them." She didn’t know if she should laugh or cry. She mustered up the grace to wrestle the boots on his feet again. She said, "Now, where are your mittens?" He said,” I stuffed them in the toes of my boots..." Sometimes, we just need help. 1. Jesus is giving His final teaching before the cross. He knows there is a painful parting ahead. He is leaving them. And it is going to be difficult. Yet, in the big picture of things it will be better. These next chapters are very much like those conversations that start out with what do you want first the bad news or the good news? 2. It is going to be better when He leaves. Jesus, in fact, says that it is necessary. No doubt, this announcement that He was leaving seemed disastrous to them. In three years, they had learned to depend on Him for their very lives. The thought of being separated had to strain them emotionally and mentally. Have you ever thought that it would be so good just to be with Jesus, like the disciples, just to sit and talk and ask questions? Well Jesus is telling us right here that as awesome as we may think that would have been, the Holy Spirit is way more valuable to us in the here and now. This being so, I want us to realize today this simple truth, that… 3. THE HOLY SPIRIT IS OUR FRIEND. The Greek word that is used by John here you may have heard before. It is paraclete “to be called to one’s side.” And many good words are used to translate it -Comforter -Helper -Advocate -Intercessor, and even -Companion. These translations are powerful descriptions of the Holy Spirit’s ministry to us. How does the Holy Spirit act as our friend? 4. We will find in our study of John 16.5-15 three responsibilities taken up by the Holy Spirit that shows us He is our friend. A few weeks back we talked a lot about God as the Gardener and the job description involved in Jesus being the vine and God being the gardener. Well today let’s look at the job description or responsibilities of the Holy Spirit. OUR STUDY: I. The first responsibility is CONVICTION. At this point, the Holy Spirit acts as our prosecutor. We all have friends that tell us what we want to hear. Hopefully we have friends who tell us what we need to hear even if it means hurting our feelings. We need people like that who care enough to tell it like it is, and the Holy Spirit does that. Those moments of guilt we get when we do something we shouldn’t, when we skip our quiet times, or skip church or don’t do the things we should as believers. That guilt, that gut feeling is from none other than the Holy Spirit. 1. The greatest sin is unbelief. The greatest fight each one of us has is to get rid of our self as center. It is the Holy Spirit that brings this conviction. 2. We have no righteous standing before God without Jesus. The Spirit opens our eyes to our need for a Savior. We need the perfection of Jesus, and we cannot attain that. Therefore the Spirit helps point out anything in our lives that is inconsistent with aiming for that. Football teams film everything nowadays. I mean, games and practices and the purpose is to show the players any mistakes that they are making that keep them from executing perfectly. The Holy Spirit is like that, it comes and lives inside of us and slides a little gut check in every now and then when we are not being consistent with what God wants for us. Before Jesus came, God spoke through Ezekiel saying that help was coming (36.26-27)… The final act of conviction the Holy Spirit gives is that… 3. Justice will have its place. There is judgment. God wants that right relationship so badly that he sent his son to die for you and me. II. The second responsibility is DIRECTION. 1. We are given a source of truth. 2. We have a guide for our lives. ILL Holy Spirit (S) You may remember Jim Lovell as one of the astronauts of Apollo 13. He was portrayed by Tom Hanks in the movie, Apollo 13. Before the Apollo 13 mission he was asked by an interviewer if he had ever had a close call while he was a pilot, and this was the story he shared. “I remember this one time I’m in a banshee at night in combat conditions, so there’s no running lights on the carrier. It was the Shangri-La and we were in the Sea of Japan. My radar had jammed and my homing signal was gone because somebody in Japan was actually using the same frequency. So it was leading me away from where I was supposed to be, and I am looking down at a big black ocean. “So I flip on my map light, then suddenly, zap, everything shorts out right there in my cockpit. All my instruments are gone, my lights are gone, and I can’t tell even what my altitude is. I know I am running out of fuel, so I am thinking about ditching in the ocean. "I look down, and then in the darkness, there’s this green trail. It’s like a long carpet that’s just laid out beneath me. It was the algae — it was that phosphorescent stuff that gets churned up in the wake of a big ship. It was leading me home. “If my cockpit lights hadn’t shorted out there’s no way I would have been able to see that. You never know what events good or bad may occur to get you home.” The Holy Spirit works like that algae that led Jim Lovell back to his carrier. He leads us in uncertainty. It says in Psalm 23:3: “He guides in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” The Spirit leads us deeper and deeper into the truth. He takes the words of Jesus and places them in our hearts and helps us apply them to our lives. We are not alone in our decision making. Our Friend is our helper. III. The third responsibility is REVELATION. The key is Jesus. The Holy Spirit draws our attention to Christ. He makes Jesus a reality to us. The more we pray and the more time we spend in prayer the more that the Holy Spirit is able to reveal to us. At the close of the sermon I held out a glass of water. It was half filled glass and I asked how I could get the air out of the glass. After some time we decided that the only way we could get the air out of the glass was to add more water, and if we added water until it overflowed we would push all of the air out. That is precisely how the Holy Spirt works. God knew that the only way he could continue to work in our lives and to push the sin out of our lives was to fill us with more of Him. The only way to do that was through the Holy Spirit. Thanks for reading and have a great day!

God is working it out HIS way

I shared a short devotional with the football team yesterday during teh team meal at Pedro Menendez. I love these guys and I have enjoyed being with the seniors for 4 years now and it was our last team meal. They won the North Florida Bowl and went out on top and that is all you can ask for, or is it. When I started at Pedro about 7 years ago I was excited. I called the then coach Keith Cromwell and talked to him about coming on as a chaplain for the team. I would show up at practices with Gatorade and cookies(back when I could afford those things lol) and prayed with them after practices. THe first game we had after that time I shared with the team during the team meal that we would pray together right before we went into the game. So that evening I had them all take their helmets off, take a knee and grab a hand. We prayed the Lord's Prayer together. Sadly, there were a handful of coaches and less than a handful of players who knew it. Now, before the games our new coach Patrick Turner kneels in the middle of them and prays, and they say the Lords prayer together and every single player and coach knows every word. It's my favorite part of high school football Friday nights. Nothing better than a group of young teenaged boys kneeling and praying together, and quoting scripture at that. Our Father which art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy name, Thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen I explained to the team that I strive to be the least religious person you can find. I hate religion and all that it stands for. To think that a group of rules and regulations decide how and what and when I worship God. No Sir! I worship God all day long, I talk to Him, live for Him and love Him with all I have. Because I have a relationship with the Creator of all things, and the person who sent His Son to die on a cross for my sins and my eternity. I have a RELATIONSHIP, and that relationship stops me from wanting to sin. Saves me from temptation on a daily basis and renews me every morning. And because every one of them has prayed the Lord's prayer, every single one of them has already had their first conversations with God, it's all a piece of cake from there. Then I shared with them that God is at work all around them, even when we can't see it or acknowledge it He is working on us and through us in ways we can't even imagine. God's love and grace and mercy and protection are all around us all through out the day. Illustraton: A young soldier was in the jungles and ended up getting away without being captured. He knew that the majority of his comrades were all either killed or captured. SO he found a hole in the ground like I little cave and he burrowed his way to the very back of it and hid there. For an entire day he hid and prayed that God would save him, that God would rescue him and that his enemies would forget about him. The second day he was there he could here the enemy troops getting closer and closer. THey were closing in on him and his prayer remained God rescue me God save me. Soon he realized they were right above the hole he was in, he then told God I guess this is it, you didn't protect me and you didn't hear my prayers for the past 30 hours. As the first soldier stepped over the hole another soldier stopped and looked down the hole and then walked on. The young man could not believe it, they had walked right past and ignored him. He waited a few hours and then decided to sneak his way up to the top to try and figure out what had happened. As he climbed he saw that a few spiders had built the most elaborate spider webs all accross the top of the hole. That's it the enemy soldiers had seen the webs and assumed no one had passed through there and walked right on by. You see when we pray, God goes to work. And when God goes to work He does things His way which is always the right way. Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!

Be still

Youth November 13 2013 “Castaway” with Tom Hanks -In that movie, due to an airplane accident, Hanks’ character finds himself stranded alone on a deserted island with his only companion being a volleyball he named “Wilson” -As we see him progress for hours, days, weeks, months and even years, we find him becoming a much different person -Much of this is due to the fact that his world is different than it was -No more modern conveniences -No more hustle and bustle / stress -No more noise -No more companionship -Yet, to a great degree, he is changed for the better -He comes to realize the unimportance of such things -He comes to know himself in a much deeper way than he could have with those things -What Hanks’ character goes through is, in a sense, what every believer who longs to be a disciple of Christ needs to go through from time to time Psalm 46:10 Be still and know that I am God. What does he mean by be still? Last week we talked about solitude, this week we are going to focus on stillness. What is the first thing you do when you get in your car? How about when you get home, what is the first thing you do when you sit down in your living room, or bedroom? We are addicted to noise and action and interaction aren’t we? It is impossible for us to be still and know that God is God when we are never still. Stillness is not the uncanny ability to keep from moving a muscle. It is not an environment or an arrival point. Stillness is an attitude—a condition of the total you. It’s your heart, mind and soul all completely silent and at peace. Colossians 3:15 We are guilty of this. Tara complains that we go through the whole day and hardly talk any, but then once I lay down at night I have so much to say. That is because I am guilty of not being still during the day. I am not completely where I am until I get home and shut down. We have to learn to shut down through out the day. Stillness is imperative to knowing God. Stillness allows you to gain God’s perspective on Himself and allows you an opportunity to show your perspective to Him. You cannot be intimately friends with anyone in the middle of all the hustle and bustle of life. It is impossible. Stillness also leads to worship. Louie Giglio defines worship as Our mind’s attention and our heart’s affection on God. A distracted mind will not worship God. A cluttered heart will not worship God. A still mind however, and a still heart has no choice but to think of God and worship God for who He is. Why is our worship service put together the way it is, let me explain. We start off with an upbeat type of song to get you singing and to lead into the welcome. Then as you move around you have a chance to shake hands, hug, high five and greet others in the church family. After that we close out that song and sing a middle of the road type of song, not upbeat, not slow to move you away from socializing and into an opportunity to worship God in stillness. The next song is a slow song that leads into a prayer and the offering followed by the sermon. In other words by the time I get up to speak on Sunday mornings you have gone from walking through the door with your minds all cluttered with work and stress and relationships and bills and homework or last nights’ events to singing praises to God, to the ability to sit still and listen. Unfortunately many people miss this, last Sunday I watched a couple people talk through the entire songs and it made me angry. Not because they were being disruptive but because they were robbing themselves of an opportunity to be still and worship God. SO please, try to shut out and shut up life so that we can truly hear from God on Sunday mornings. Here’s the problem, with Iphones, and facebook, and twitter and instagram along with all the other social things you cannot get away and be still, truly still. Instead what we end up doing is making our solitude and our stillness resemble a game of freeze tag. In freeze tag you run around until the person who is it tags you. Once they tag you, you have to stay frozen there until someone else comes along and tags you back in to unfreeze you. We sit quietly, we are still until we hear the next thing go off. An email, an update, a tweet or a text message then we are off and running again. Be still, shut it all down and watch what happens to you during that time. Here is your challenge for this week. Try to find a 2 minute point during the day to drive in your car without the radio on. Then, tonight at some point find a 2 minute time to sit without any sound, cellphone or television going on. Let that grow from there. I want to add that last night when we got home P.J. walked into the house and went straight for the television. She sat down in her usual chair and grabbed the remote. Tara and I weren't really paying that close of attention until we both acknowledged what she was doing. She got right up from the chair and went into the kitchen, from there she went to the microwave and set the timer for 2 minutes. She then returned to her seat and sat still and silent with the remote in her lap until the timer went off. As soon as the timer went off she turned on the television and went on about her business. So, lesson learned you just never know when P.J. is actually listening lol. Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!

The real sacrifice

A lot of people comment all the time about my busy schedule, and yes it is very busy sometimes. But, the way the kids play sports, the way I try to involve myself in the teens and kids at the church's lives and my hobbies lead to one thing. A lot of sacrifice by Tara. She is the one making sure everyone gets taken care of while I am fluttering around ministering in whatever capacity. Sure we do try to do as much as we can together, but that just doesn't work out every day so some days I am committed to being somewhere while everyone else is spread out all over town. From soccer, to volleyball, basketball and softball and the only way it works out is by Tara's commitment to the process. THere are times where I am on the phone late at night, or at the hospital on our day off or attending and event when we had other plans and she is the one that suffers through that. I was called by God into the ministry, but there is no doubt Tara was called to be a pastor's wife and for that I cannnot begin to put into words how thankful I am to her and to God for placing her in my life. I don't know of one other person who could keep up with me the way she does. I read a blog each day, it's sent to me by Thom Rainer with Lifeway and the other day it was a perfect statement of all that I am trying to say so I am going to paste it here below, I hope he doesn't mind lol: Thank you pastor’s wife. You may have one of the most thankless roles in the world. You receive no compensation, but there are many expectations of you. At times you are expected to be omnipresent; and other times you are expected to be invisible. Rarely at any of those times does anyone express gratitude to you. Thank you pastor’s wife. You may have one of the most selfless roles in the world. You are expected to be at the beck and call of church members, regardless of your own schedule. You are expected to adjust your life to the life of the pastor, who just happens to be your husband. You really have no independent life of your own. Thank you pastor’s wife. You may have one of the most challenging roles in the world. You are the only person in whom your husband can truly confide. When he is down, you are expected to encourage and exhort him. You try to provide balance for your family and children, especially since some of the church members expect them to be perfect. Thank you pastor’s wife. You may have one of the most painful roles in the world. You have discovered how hurtful some church members can really be. You listen to criticisms of your husband, and you are expected to be stoic. And when you are hurt, you think you have to keep it to yourself. You internalize it and hurt even more. Thank you pastor’s wife. You may have one of the loneliest roles in the world. People in the church seem afraid to get to close to you. Friendships are rare, if not non-existent. There are times you want to cry out in your need and pain, but there is no one to listen to you. In your darkest moments, you wonder if it’s all really worth it. Thank you pastor’s wife. We who stand on the sidelines may not know your hopes, hurts, and needs. We may not realize the depth of your times of pain and loneliness. But we know Someone who does. And He is with you. He is your strength. He is your comforter. He is your confidant. And one day you will see that Savior named Jesus face to face. One day you will get your rewards for your labor, sacrifice, and love. One day He will look at you with unstoppable love and piercing eyes. One day He will say, “Well done good and faithful servant. Well done.” And then you will know it was all worthwhile. Thank you pastor’s wife. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

The real truth about joy

John 16:5-6 We are all familiar with the old saying you can lead a horse to water but you cannot make it drink. And I have shared with you several times that as Christians it is not our job to make anyone drink, it is our job as Christians to make others thirsty. And it is our joy that will make other thirsty. It is our sorrow transformed into joy that will make others who don’t know Christ envious. God uses our joy to create a hunger and thirst in the hearts of others and that is what we have to offer the world. After all, who wants to hang around a bunch of gloomy and sad people? The very thought is depressing to me. I believe the Word of God and the God of the Word tells me we can capture the joy and keep it. "But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, ’Where are You going?’ "But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.” John 16:5-6 The disciples were sad because Jesus was living out what God had sent Him to do. Understand something Joy comes from selflessness and sorrow comes from selfishness. I. First, capturing the joy means we have to ask what impact our requests and actions have on God's plans. Jesus knew his disciples were not thinking of him or his kingdom. Their hearts were asking where are you going because we are comfortable here and your leaving will upset that. Although their question was right, their motive in asking was wrong. We must ask with proper motive and as two world people when we pray. It is important to ask God if my requests and actions are taking me where He is going. Am I in step with His will? II. Capturing the joy means we must be intent on one purpose: John 16:5, Jesus is intent on one purpose: “But now I am going to Him who sent me.” He came to earth for one purpose: to do the will of His Father – to seek and save the lost; to give his life a ransom for many and accomplish the work he was given to do. We too should have the same attitude and intent in our heart if we want our heart controlled by joy. The Lord said as the Father has sent me so send I you (John 20:21). Philippians 2:2 tells us to“make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.” And the Apostle Paul said: “Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14) Jesus was never distracted and always moved forward in his earthly ministry. Likewise, we must be moving forward in our Christian life. Moving forward means we can neither live in the past nor be content with the false sense of contentment offered by the status quo. Being status quo Christians brought sorrow to the heart of the Disciples. Quoting Paul again, “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.” (1 Corinthians 9:24-27) Where are you in the race today? Are you living in the past of regrets and failures? Are you content with the status quo? Or are you moving forward with one intent and purpose and experiencing the transforming joy Jesus talks about? III. Capturing the joy means we need to learn God often brings joy to our lives by transformation. The circumstances do not necessarily change but a transformation takes place. Jesus was trying to tell the disciples He was going to the Cross to suffer the most painful death imaginable, yet the Scripture tells us “…for the joy set before Him Jesus endured the cross, despising the shame.” And we are admonished in Hebrews 12:3: “For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you may not, grow weary and lose heart.” Losing heart means to lose your joy. Jesus said to his disciples in John 16:20: “Truly, truly, I say to you, that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will grieve, but your grief will be turned into joy.” God doesn’t remove the grief but transforms it into joy. God takes seemly impossible situations, adds the miracle of His grace, and transforms trial into triumph and sorrow into joy. IV. Finally, we must continually examine what we are doing now for the Lord. The Bible says, “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you--unless indeed you fail the test.” Life is all about perspective, this letter from a daughter to her parents is a great example: Dear Mom and Dad, It has now been three months since I left for college. I have been remiss in writing this and I am very sorry for my thoughtlessness in not having written before. I will bring you up to date now, but, before you read on, please sit down. YOU ARE NOT TO READ ANY FURTHER UNLESS YOU ARE SITTING DOWN, OKAY? Well then, I am getting along pretty well now. The skull fracture, and the concussion I got when I jumped out of the window of my dormitory when it caught fire shortly after my arrival, are pretty well healed now. Fortunately, the fire in the dormitory and my jump, were witnessed by an attendant at the gas station near the dorm. He was the one who called the fire department and the ambulance. He also visited me at the hospital, and since I had nowhere to live because of the burned out dormitory, he was kind enough to invite me to share his apartment with him and his three buddies. It's really a basement room, but it's kind of cute. He is a very fine boy and we have fallen deeply in love and are planning to be married. We haven't set the exact date yet, but it will be before my pregnancy begins to show. Yes, Mom and Dad, I am pregnant. I know how much you are looking forward to being grandparents! I know you will welcome the baby and give it the love, devotion and tender care you gave me when I was a child. The reason for the delay in our marriage is that my boyfriend has some minor infection which prevents us from passing our pre-marital blood tests, and I carelessly caught it from him. This will soon clear up with the penicillin injections I am having daily. I know you will welcome him into our family with open arms. He is kind and, although not well educated, he is ambitious. Although he is of a different race and religion than ours, I know your often expressed tolerance will not permit you to be bothered by the fact that his skin color is different than ours. I am sure you will love him as I do. His family background is good, too, for I am told that his father is an important weapons dealer in the village in Africa from which he came. Now that I have brought you up to date, I want to tell you that there was no dormitory fire, I did not have a concussion or a skull fracture. I was not in the hospital, I am not pregnant and I am not engaged. I do not have syphilis and there is no man (of any color) in my life. However, I got a 'D' in History and an 'F' in Science, and I wanted you to see those marks in the proper perspective. Your Loving Daughter

Solitude is the fix

Last night's youth lesson notes, I will do a better job in the future of putting my thoughts down more completely so that it reads a little better. Capturing your time(your life) Illustration:Early African converts to Christianity were earnest and regular in private devotions. Each one reportedly had a separate spot in the thicket where he would pour out his heart to God. Over time the paths to these places became well worn. As a result, if one of these believers began to neglect prayer, it was soon apparent to the others. They would kindly remind the negligent one, "Brother, the grass grows on your path." Mark 1:35-37 Why did Jesus get up at the crack of dawn and spend time with God? He was God? Listen if Jesus, God’s own son had to get away from everything and renew his mind and spend time alone with God then we must need that desparately. What is a quiet time? It is a time when you sit alone, clear your mind and talk to and hear from God. It's a time that you designate just for you and God, no noise, no distractions, and no one else just the two of you. You cannot have a relationship with anyone, husband or wife, boyfriend or girlfriend, best friend and so on without some time alone with them. You need intimate moments where it is only the two of you without distractions and without others there. You need it far worse with God than with anyone else. What was the purpose for leaving the house? He wanted a completely undistracted time alone with God. Do you turn off the tv, the cellphone, the noise of life when you do your quiet time. Is it even quiet in your room, your area, your mind when you do it? Who needs a quiet time? Here are some names from the Bible: Moses, Jonah, David, John the Baptist, Paul and Jesus Moses was all alone when God called him to lead the Israelites into the promised land. Jonah was all alone when God called him to go to ninevah. David was all alone on several instances that God called him to action. Paul was all alone on the road to Damascus when God changed his whole life. Now Jesus we see several times was all alone when talking to His own Father. God used quiet times of oneness with Him to make all of them different. To mold them into what He needed them to be to impact this world he used times of one on one. One of the best things you can do is have a consistent time and place that you do your quiet times. What is involved in a quiet time? Quiet, stillness and solitude A designated time: you have to set aside the time every day or it won’t happen. A designated place: Every day that you can, you need a place and a time to set aside for your quiet time. Prayer: I prefer to pray, then read and then pray some more. It’s all up to you. Prayer in starts it off and helps me clear my mind of busyness. Reading is where I let God talk to me and allow for my own spiritual growth. Another prayer afterwards let’s me verbalize my learning from the readings that day. Psalm 46:10 Be still and know that I am God. Prayer, reading your Bible and solitude is what it is all about. This is a time when you are more aware than any other part of your day just who is in control, who is in charge, and who you owe everything to. I read a book in seminary called The Way of the Heart, and one of the things I remember about the book was that he described the kind of transformation we talked about last week. He said that “Solitude is the furnace of transformation” In other words nothing about your prayer life, your Bible reading or studying is ever going to change you unless it is quiet. Not just quiet in the physical sense but in the mental and spiritual sense as well. Solitude is another one of those things that we are afraid of isn’t it. Here is a test for you: Do you always have to be communicating with someone? Do you always have to have the television on or the radio? Do you ever sit alone and eat lunch, or dinner? Do you ever sit in absolute quiet and feel okay about it? Do you ever drive all alone in your car without the radio on? Intimacy with God is hard to get, it’s hard to grasp because it is dependent on time. Time is the one thing that we all have the same amount of. We all have the same amount of time each day, though at times it may seem like less and less. I hear people say all the time that time flies by, they can't get a handle on life because time is flying by. I can gaurantee you that if you sit still for a few minutes, no music, no noise, no thoughts about where you should be or what you are doing next time will slow down for you. I do this first thing in the morning, I do this around lunch time and again at night. Some nights Tara and I just go sit outside in the rocking chairs and chill, not really talking or anything, just slowing down and sitting in true solitude. Solitude helps you capture time. Think about it, if you truly relax and slow down and sit in true solitude. Not thinking about where you should be, what you should be doing, or what is going on somewhere else. Really, truly sit still and slow your mind down you will really, truly capture the time. Thanks for reading and have a great day!