More change. I couldn't resist with the awesome picture of Death Valley. I know there are a lot of Carolina fans out there (hello, I'm married to one), but that picture is just beautiful.
Jennifer Byers joined the blog world and I have a link to her page below to the left. Check it out and let her know what you think.
I also added a counter to the page so we can all see how many people have been checking us out. This is kinda a segway into what I wanted to say this morning.
Vanity is a ever growing problem, just like with the counter. Let me explain. On the old website I could go to a stats page and see how many people were reading the blog daily. When I changed to this free site it wasn't offered, so I've been curious how many hits I've been getting. I should also say that on the old website we had almost 2000 pages viewed when I switched. For a little redneck, that ain't bad. So last night I find this free counter and now I can keep track once again. But why does this matter to me? I don't do this for any recognition, so why should it matter if anyone looks at it? It matters because we want to feel accepted and hope that somehow we make a difference. When Dodd filled in for me last week, he said that he would check every so often to see if someone had posted a comment - and I'll admit that I'm the same. I love it when you guys leave a comment or give me a call of encouragement. We enjoy getting our ego stroked, and when others recognize us for what we do we swell up with pride, which can be as damaging as vanity.
The realization is that we are all important and we do make a difference. We are created perfectly in the image of God for/by/to his glory. If we have His approval, then why do we put so much emphasis on the approval of our fellow sinners? I am sorry to say that I don't have an answer to this one. Feel free to leave me a comment and let me know your thoughts; I'm curious to see what you guys think.
On a lighter note - last night the testimony of Caz McCaslin, the guy responsible for starting Upward Basketball, was shown in the Family Life Center. Churches who aren't involved with this awesome program, please go to this link to find out a little more about it http://www.upward.org/. Caz is an awesome speaker and he really has a gift of conveying his passion for sharing Jesus with children. I could watch that DVD every night, it really is that good. If anybody wants to borrow it just let me know. All I need is a $500.00 deposit. (Just kidding.)
All right - get out there and make a difference today, and as always, Have a Blessed Day!!!
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2 comments:
Now you are really messing me up with these big words. I thought a vanity was in your bathroom. Just kidding! I totally agree, If we are doing right by our Creator than why do we care if some one likes the superficial things about us i.e hair, clothes, houses, cars. Of course we dont want to look like we spent the last five years living under a bridge but why do we need pats on the back. Remember there is only one person we have to answer to.
Michael, as you say - we all like our ego stroked. Funny how our kids seem to bring that to our attention though. When I played every Sunday, my son asked "why is it the LK:LKJKL hour?" That cut to the quick once I realized that I was more concerned with the praise that I would get, instead of who I was playing for and who gave me the talent. Since, I have learned to acknowledge the praise by saying God did that through me. Give him the praise.
Keep us straight as we try to help you. One soul at a time. C
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