Patience

OK, so maybe I can't be the cool parent. Thanks for the advice Jen and Clara. I will continue to pray for them, with them, and over them while they sleep. I just don't want to fail as a parent! It is getting harder and harder with all the distractions to be the parent I really want to be. So much gets in the way.

We have been studying Genesis and I am really seeing one constant that amazes me. The fact that everyone has unbelievable patience, they endure, they persevere, and their faith is 2nd to none. In this instant society and times in which we live, this is very intriguing to me. It took Noah 120 years to build the ark, and it had never rained before. Abraham was going to sacrifice his only son. Joseph went from an abandoned brother sold into slavery to the 2nd in command of all of Egypt, answering only to Pharaoh. All because they trusted God, walked with Him, and He found favour in them.

All throughout the Bible we see examples of this and it is a wake up call to me. I desire to be more patient and wait on God to reveal His perfect plan, I want to be used by God, but I sometimes have a hard time waiting on Him to prepare the way. Do you ever find yourselves in this situation? God never fails and His plan is perfect, I just have to hold myself back sometimes and be still and know that He is God. Just like with the parenting I am sure it will all workout, its just the unknown that I struggle with. I have to let go and let God!

Have a Blessed Day!!!

A Cool Parent

It appears that I am falling into the black hole of good intentions. I want to blog everyday, but the reality is that I just don't have time.

I talked with the youth last night and I asked them how can I be a cool parent when Sid, Lillie, and the new baby become teenagers. I want to be a parent that they can feel comfortable talking to and sharing the ins and outs of their life. Do you guys have any suggestions, because they said that a parents involvement should be minimal. And almost all of them said they didn't feel that they could tell their parents everything that is going on in their lives.

So fire back your suggestions. Let me know what has worked for you or maybe what you are planning to do. I want to be all that I can be.

Have a Blessed Day!!!

UP, UP, and UP!

Seems like forever since I have posted. I am just getting lazy, no more excuses needed. Busy at work, busy at home, and busy at church. Just a lot going on.

So what do you guys think about the rising gas prices? As much as I don't really like my job, I am so thankful for a company car and a gas card!! Could it really reach $5.00 a gallon by Memorial day? I don't know, and I don't really understand why we continue to pay so much at the pump. I wish someone could explain it to me in layman's terms. It really is ridiculous!

You will have to forgive me, I am just a little mad this morning and I want someone to do something. What is the Christian stance on this one? I know that everything under the sun belongs to God: the oil, the money, etc., but where should we be on issues such as this? I know that God is in control and maybe we are in the last days, but it really puts a crunch on the budget when you figure a 20 gallon tank could be $100.00 to fill up before long.

Thanks for allowing me to vent this morning...I feel a little better.

Have a Blessed Day!!!

Jar or Knife

How have you guys been? I am good and excited about our growing family!! Sid and Lillie are beside themselves and the rest of the family seems to be happy as well.

Last Sunday I met some customers at Newspring and it was awesome. These are some people I have been trying to get to go to church for almost three years. Perry delivered an awesome message and it was well received by the customers, so much that they are coming back this week. Wow. Persistence pays off.

It was all in God's timing and the 6 that showed out of the 15 invited were supposed to hear what they heard. They will probably have a greater impact on the remaining 9 than I ever will. But you have to be out there. It is our duty as believers to spread the love. Speaking of spreading I got a question for you: Are you the Jar of Dukes mayonnaise or the Knife? What I mean is are you constantly dipping and spreading or do you keep the lid secured and not let anything out? Please be a knife today and everyday. Be like a honey bee spreading the pollen. SPREAD THE LOVE!!

Have a Blessed Day!!!

Pull - Bang - Ouch

Friday I took some customers to enjoy a little redneck golf. We had a blast. For those of you who don't know what redneck golf is; it's shooting sporting clays. You know - Pull, Bang, wow my shoulder hurts. It really is fun.

The guys I took are down here from Minnesota doing a job and I just hit it off with them. They were my biggest customers last month doing a little over $80,000.00 with me. They have the mouths of sailors so while eating lunch before the event, I inquired about the number of churches back home vs down here. They were blown away by the "church on every corner" and asked if I attended. I told them that not only did I attend but I taught a Sunday School class. So we talked a little more about it and they said they both attended a Lutheran church back home which surprised each of them. Evidently they had never discussed it between them.

So anyway we get to Harris Springs and I let them go first. They miss a few a start cussing like crazy. I mean bad, so I get up there and miss half of them and say dad-gum. Well the next stand we come to they miss a few and in between the swearing I hear a few dad-gums followed by laughing. By the end of the day very few cuss words and a lot of dad-gums. It was pretty neat to see the change and influence we can have with just a simple example.

One of the guys actually thanked me for sharing the word (dad-gum) with him and said, "I like it and I can use it to work on my potty mouth." This was a perfect way to get in with these guys and maybe I can get them to attend church with me over the next 5 months while they are down here, who knows I'll just let the spirit lead me. Remember all we do is plant seeds, God does all the watering.

Have you had the opportunity to plant seeds lately? Look for the opportunities, God puts people in our path everyday.

Breaking news: Lori is expecting our 3rd child!!! We are so excited and look forward to watching our family grow. She is 11 weeks along and is due the 8Th of November. We thank God for this blessing and have already prayed over Lori's tummy and thanked Him for this awesome miracle.

Have a Blessed Day!!!

A Great Story

AFTER A FEW OF THE USUAL SUNDAY EVENING HYMNS,
THE CHURCH'S PASTOR SLOWLY STOOD UP,
WALKED OVER TO THE PULPIT AND,
BEFORE HE GAVE HIS SERMON FOR THE EVENING,
HE BRIEFLY INTRODUCED A GUEST MINISTER
WHO WAS IN THE SERVICE THAT EVENING.
IN THE INTRODUCTION, THE PASTOR TOLD THE
CONGREGATION THAT THE GUEST MINISTER WAS
ONE OF HIS DEAREST CHILDHOOD FRIENDS AND
THAT HE WANTED HIM TO HAVE A FEW MOMENTS
TO GREET THE CHURCH AND SHARE WHATEVER
HE FELT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE FOR THE SERVICE.
WITH THAT, AN ELDERLY MAN STEPPED UP TO THE
PULPIT AND BEGAN TO SPEAK.

'A FATHER, HIS SON, AND A FRIEND OF HIS SON WERE
SAILING OFF THE PACIFIC COAST ,' HE BEGAN.
'WHEN A FAST APPROACHING STORM BLOCKED ANY
ATTEMPT TO GET BACK TO THE SHORE.
THE WAVES WERE SO HIGH, THAT EVEN THOUGH THE
FATHER WAS AN EXPERIENCED SAILOR, HE COULD NOT
KEEP THE BOAT UPRIGHT AND THE THREE WERE SWEPT
INTO THE OCEAN AS THE BOAT CAPSIZED.'
THE OLD MAN HESITATED FOR A MOMENT,
MAKING EYE CONTACT WITH TWO TEENAGERS WHO WERE,
FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE SERVICE BEGAN,
LOOKING SOMEWHAT INTERESTED IN HIS STORY.
THE AGED MINISTER CONTINUED WITH HIS STORY,
'GRABBING A RESCUE LINE, THE FATHER HAD TO MAKE THE
MOST EXCRUCIATING DECISION OF HIS LIFE: TO WHICH BOY
WOULD HE THROW THE OTHER END OF THE LIFE LINE.
HE ONLY HAD SECONDS TO MAKE THE DECISION.
THE FATHER KNEW THAT HIS SON WAS A CHRISTIAN AND
HE, ALSO, KNEW THAT HIS SON'S FRIEND WAS NOT.
THE AGONY OF HIS DECISION COULD NOT BE MATCHED BY
THE TORRENT OF WAVES.

AS THE FATHER YELLED OUT, 'I LOVE YOU, SON!'
HE THREW OUT THE LIFE LINE TO HIS SON'S FRIEND.
BY THE TIME THE FATHER HAD PULLED THE FRIEND BACK
TO THE CAPSIZED BOAT, HIS SON HAD DISAPPEARED BENEATH
THE RAGING SWELLS INTO THE BLACK OF NIGHT.
HIS BODY WAS NEVER RECOVERED.

BY THIS TIME, THE TWO TEENAGERS WERE SITTING UP
STRAIGHT IN THE PEW, ANXIOUSLY WAITING FOR THE NEXT
WORDS TO COME OUT OF THE OLD MINISTER'S MOUTH.''
THE FATHER,' HE CONTINUED, 'KNEW HIS SON WOULD
STEP INTO ETERNITY WITH JESUS AND HE COULD NOT
BEAR THE THOUGHT OF HIS SON'S FRIEND STEPPING INTO
AN ETERNITY WITHOUT JESUS.. THEREFORE, HE SACRIFICED
HIS SON TO SAVE THE SON'S FRIEND. '

HOW GREAT IS THE LOVE OF GOD THAT HE SHOULD DO THE
SAME FOR US. OUR HEAVENLY FATHER SACRIFICED HIS ONLY
BEGOTTEN SON THAT WE COULD BE SAVED. I URGE YOU TO
ACCEPT HIS OFFER TO RESCUE YOU AND TAKE A HOLD OF THE
LIFE LINE HE IS THROWING OUT TO YOU IN THIS SERVICE.'
WITH THAT, THE OLD MAN TURNED AND SAT BACK DOWN IN
HIS CHAIR AS SILENCE FILLED THE ROOM.

THE PASTOR AGAIN WALKED SLOWLY TO THE PULPIT AND
DELIVERED A BRIEF SERMON WITH AN INVITATION AT THE
END. HOWEVER, NO ONE RESPONDED TO THE APPEAL.
WITHIN MINUTES AFTER THE SERVICE ENDED, THE TWO
TEENAGERS WERE AT THE OLD MAN'S SIDE.

'THAT WAS A NICE STORY,' POLITELY STATED ONE OF
THEM,'BUT I DON'T THINK IT WAS VERY REALISTIC FOR A
FATHER TO GIVE UP HIS ONLY SON'S LIFE IN HOPES THAT
THE OTHER BOY WOULD BECOME A CHRISTIAN.'
'WELL, YOU'VE GOT A POINT THERE,' THE OLD MAN REPLIED,
GLANCING DOWN AT HIS WORN BIBLE. A BIG SMILE BROADENED
HIS NARROW FACE. HE ONCE AGAIN LOOKED UP AT THE BOYS
AND SAID, 'IT SURE ISN'T VERY REALISTIC, IS IT? BUT,
I'M STANDING HERE TODAY TO TELL YOU THAT STORY GIVES
ME A GLIMPSE OF WHAT IT MUST HAVE BEEN LIKE FOR GOD
TO GIVE UP HIS SON FOR ME.

YOU SEE...I WAS THAT FATHER AND YOUR PASTOR IS MY SON'S FRIEND.'

Transformed and Renewed

This past weekend Lori and I attended a marriage retreat at Look Up Lodge with 8 other couples from our church. Greg Boone the executive director at camp was our leader and he is an excellent speaker. There was as much on the gospel as there was on marriage. It was a great time in spite of the men being in one cabin and the women in the other. I always enjoyed camp, I just don't remember the beds being that small. It really was a mountaintop experience and I know that all who attended took something away from it.

One of the verses he shared that really impacted me was Romans 12:2:
2 And do not be conformed to this world , but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
Romans 12:2 (NASB)

We talked at length about the transformation that occurs when we become a new creature in Christ and the renewing our our minds. He laid it out in a way that I have never really thought of. He really pushed me even further out of the box than I already am in my thinking. And I am fired up and ready to go. It is my prayer that God will continually and consistently push me, pull me, stretch me, and lead me. I want to stay in His will. Where are you this morning? Are you in His will or yours?

Have a Blessed Day!!!

Creamer

How y'all been? I hope all is going well. My days have been real busy. Got a question for you? Can you tell if someone is a Christ follower just by observing them? Do our actions let others know?

I had a conversation yesterday with a customer who told me something that I know, but I don't like to hear. We were talking Jesus and church and he confided that the biggest problem he had with church was the way that church goers look down on him on Sunday mornings, but will buy him a drink at the local tavern on Monday - Saturday, tell all the latest dirty jokes, and make crude sexual comments. So he asked "What makes them different from me?"

I told him that I view our walk as a journey to which some are a lot further along than others. Some people have a Paul like conversion and others take longer to get to where they need to be. I shared that it has taken me years to get where I am and that I used to be one of the guys he mentioned earlier. I like the coffee illustration. Picture your life as a cup of coffee - black, and God is the creamer. If you put in just a little creamer you can't even tell its in there, but as you add more cream (or God) it starts looking more like cream. Bottom line the more of God you put in to your life the more you look like Him and act like Him.

Mostly what I take from this situation is that people just want us; as Christians, to be real. We all struggle with sin, we don't always get it right, and yes we are human. So maybe we should start acting like it. If you are a devil through the week and try to be a saint on Sundays ... quit it! The only person you are fooling is yourself. Oh and I love this one, if you don't want to go to church, because you are afraid of looking like a hypocrite ... get over yourself. I can't even count the number of times I heard that as I asked people if they were going to church on Easter Sunday. Hello, eternity is on the line here and you are worried about what people will think of you! None of us are worthy of the free gift we receive in Christ Jesus.

In Him we are made perfect, new, strong, and everlasting: would it kill us to start acting like it. For those of you who are really living for Jesus, I commend you. For those who didn't like this post there is your sign that maybe you need a God check!

Have a Blessed Day!!!