Man, what a Sunday! This morning, it felt like we were just on the edge of something truly magnificent. The worship was great, don't get me wrong. It just felt like we almost broke through something really special. This was baptism Sunday, and I always enjoy the stories that come from these services. One lady turned her life around from an addiction to meth. She said that her family didn't even recognize her anymore. I fought back tears as her video played.

After the last baptism, we played "Your Grace is Enough," and the response was tremendous. Tim wanted to start with just the kick to get everyone involved, and the entire audience was clapping and getting amped! I think that people are coming to our services these days with a sense of expectancy. We have been able to go to some special levels during worship over the last couple of months, and the feeling is getting contagious.

Pastor gave a message that was direct. I felt like my feet were getting stomped for a good portion of the service. Sometimes the truth is tough to stomach, but that is what is healthy for me. I normally choose the sweet or deep-fried versions of my interpretation of truth, but that only leads to a sluggish and unhealthy spirit. I am thankful that my pastor doesn't shy away from what God tells him to speak about.

Temptation was the focus of today's message, and I want to post a couple of thoughts that came to my mind this morning. In the reality of today's current events, it is easy to get wrapped up in the constant parade of things that shout for my attention. Monday, my son started school. Tuesday, my wife had a blowout on the interstate while coming home. The blowout resulted in 200 bucks that weren't planned for. Wednesday, the a/c compressor on the car went out and stranded Meredith and the kids in the parking lot of a good friend's business. 600 clams later, I was starting to wonder what God was trying to tell me. Thursday and Friday, I watched "Gustav" start his march towards friends and family in Louisiana and Mississippi. I then saw yesterday that "Hannah" is going to follow closely behind. What is the deal? Throw in a holiday-shortened work week, and my head is spinning.

To be honest, I was not in a good frame of mind coming into service this morning. I was overwhelmed and a little frightened with thoughts of how to make life work for my family. I am thankful that God has provided all that He has, because I know some that don't have enough. I guess that I am greedy when I am pressed to want a little more during times like this. I am convicted by my personal struggles when I know others in my life have a much harder path to walk. Today, Brandon Love sent me a text that hit me in my spirit. He was at Wal-Mart when he saw some evacuees that were fleeing in advance from hurricane Gustav. He said that they were just sitting there, and he wished he could help them. Simple geography separates me from them, and that is a sobering thought. What would I do if I were forced to gather my family and leave everything that was "important" behind? How on earth would I be able to keep it together long enough to not freak my wife and kids out? When I think about the things that trip me up in my day-to-day, I realize that I am a spiritual sissy.

"The squeaky wheel gets the grease" is a saying that I have heard all of my life. It means that the loudest thing gets the most attention, regardless of its' importance. Seldom does the manifestation of the problem relay the true cause of the impending failure. It is the result of an intense search that identifies the truly most important area that should be the focus of our concern. That would be called discipline, and I am severely lacking in that department. My grandfather was the master of this character-building tool. He would sit back and take in all of the production, all the while reading the situation for the truth that was in disguise. He was slow to act, but his action was seldom wrong when it arrived to the party. I miss him so much during these times, because he could teach me some great things that could save heartache.

I guess that the secret of keeping your wits about you is to make things take a number. I have to realize that God must always come first. He is never going to push his way to the front of the line and grab me by the collar, so I can't look for a big commotion to find him. He has always been the one that sits quietly in the back of the room, waiting for me to get settled so that He can have my undivided attention. I find that if I go and seek His advice during all of the commotion, usually the chaos subsides and order is restored. Why is it so hard to remember that?

Pastor commented that Satan is a formidable force. He isn't stupid, and he isn't weak. His traps are tricky, and the tools that he uses are specialized for my situation. He has been doing this for quite a while with much success, and his methods change daily. I think that Satan's greatest tool in his attack against me is that he persuades me that he isn't all that stout. In sports, a good offense attacks the weakness of the defense. If a defense can mask their strength so that it is perceived as a weakness, the best offense available is but a puppet at their command. Satan presents himself to me in this way. The key to fighting an enemy with his capability is to find the one that knows all of his patterns and weapons. God is the only one that Satan must submit to, so it only makes sense that I should cling to Christ when the flood waters try to drag me away. In reading about the persecution of Job, Satan had to ask God for permission before he could even approach Job. Man, what a privilege we have as children of God!

In closing, chaotic actions seldom bring order to chaotic situations. Consider the punching bag. It is made to absorb a constant barrage of fists and feet, standing firm for years of use. The manufacturer of this item took the environment of abuse that this training tool would be subjected to into consideration during the initial stages of it's design. In the same way, our Heavenly Father knows what we are going to face before we can even see the event start to materialize. Jesus knows the struggles that temptation brings, because he too was tempted by Satan. It is during these chaotic times that I must wrap my life line around me. I have to tie myself to Christ to be able to weather the storm. I must also listen to Christ when he tells me to evacuate, so that I am not left to navigate the storm with no compass.



Please pray for those in the Gulf Coast area as they are in harms way during the hurricane season. After the flood waters retreat, pray for healing and restoration. Geography is the only dividing line between us, but it should be physical and not spiritual.

Monday, David started school. I HATE THIS! He is still my little boy, and he has grown up so much that it isn't funny. Meredith and the kids got in from Seattle late Sunday evening, so I was worried that the "Monday Morning Blues" would hit with atomic force when I woke everyone up at 6. I dressed the kids and got them ready, then woke Meredith up. Everything went off without a hitch and I was impressed. Amy Gabbard kept the other two (thanks for the help, Amy - we couldn't have done it without you) and Meredith took David in to start his career in education. As they walk up to the door, David turns and says "I'm a little nervous, Mom." It is a good thing that Meredith took him, because I would have scooped him up and took him home immediately. It broke my heart that he was going to be left in that big school building all alone to fend for himself. My kids are growing up, and it scares me.

When we had David, I didn't really even believe that we were pregnant until I saw him in the hospital. That sounds stupid, I know. I saw the physical changes and put together all of the baby stuff, but it didn't register psychologically until I heard that little faint cry in the operating room. It hit me like a semi-truck when I held him in my arms for the first time. I was a dad, my wife was a mom, and our whole future just intensified. For the first time in my life, I HAD to keep a job. We HAD to stabilize our present and plan for the future. It was overwhelming to say the least, but I look back on that day with a smile. All of the uncertainty and fear was overshadowed by the fact that I had someone that was the physical manifestation of love. As he took naps on my chest, that little boy's heart beat right along to the same tempo as mine. I had a family, and it felt very nice.

We have since had two more children, and each birth was spectacular in it's own way. Little Paige cried and cried in the nursery, and she only slept when everyone else was screaming at the top of their lungs. I still get choked up when I see the pictures of my tiny little princess. She is a little mom in training, and she loves her brothers so very much. My greatest joy is that she is the one that I can always count on an "I lub you daddy" from. The boys and I play rough. and they are very high octane. She almost always stops to climb up in my lap at least once and hug my neck when she is being chased by the other two. Brushing her hair and buying the little clothes in varying shades of pink are just a couple of the highlights of having her in my life. My little girl has me wrapped around her little finger, and I don't have any issues with that. In fact, I find that I fit perfectly.

Jonathan's birth was the last one, and it was sad for me because he was last. I realized that we were making the right decision, but it was still hard to know that I wouldn't hear the first "daddy" from anyone after him. He came home from Seattle saying "daddy" plain enough that I don't have to strain to hear it. When they got off of the plane at Longview, I could see his toothy smile from across the terminal. He was kicking his little legs and laughing while David pushed the stroller across the pavement outside of the terminal. May I tell you that the memory of that moment will stick in my mind for the rest of my life. Since then, the rough patches in my day definitely have an adversary in that little memory. Jonathan is the analytical thinker of the group, and he will be the one that pays for all of the empire (if he wants to.) He runs towards me, knowing that I will sweep him up and tickle him until he gasps for breath. I then put him down, and he runs to a safe distance, only to turn and repeat the same insanity once again. We do this for hours every night, and I cherish those moments so greatly. It brings me to tears to know that one day, he too will start kindergarten and the clock will start to click much faster.

I cannot comment about my kids without praising the one that is responsible for them, because she is what completes me (I apologize for the cheesy Jerry Maguire movie line.) I am consistently amazed by her strength and courage in every possible configuration of our life. Meredith has been my life-line since the day we met, and she is definitely my true love. Without her, nothing else would be worth anything to me. I crave her presence in every room that I am in, and my heart leaps for joy when she walks through the door. She is graceful in every moment, and she does not sway when the winds of emotion blow. She is the example that I want my kids to live up to. I count myself as the luckiest man in the world to have her by my side My love for her grows deeper every day.

All in all, my family is vital to my sanity (and sometimes to my insanity.) When they were away last week, nothing worked right. I couldn't eat, sleep, or even sit in my house without missing them. I felt all alone in a frightening place that I didn't want to be in. Family seems to do that to you.

As I re-read this post, I realize that I have to make one last comment. Family is needed, even if family has let you down in the past. If you don't have family, you may not understand the fullness of the impact that a well placed and meaningful "I love you" brings. If that is your case, I challenge you to explore the bible. Read the passages that tell of the love that God has for his children (John 3:16 is a good one to start with.) Realize that the "children" that God is talking about includes you as well.
























Sometimes you feel like the butterflies in your stomach have turned into fighter jets. You feel like the world is closing in around you, and you are running out of places to hide. When you look up and see that immense, ominous, unknown circumstance bearing down upon you, it's OK to say "I'm a little nervous." Family is the one that holds on to your hand a little tighter and helps you to get through it. "You're going to do fine, honey" has a way of sending all of that fear into hiding.

Great service this morning. I really enjoy being able to worship with the folks that are on our worship team. Tim, Chris, Jeff, Eddie, Ricky the Vocalists, the AV Team, Michelle, and Luis (hope I spelled it right) are tremendous people, and their good hearts allow the Holy Spirit to flow without resistance. People need an environment that doesn't have tension and unrest to be able to let God minister to their lives effectively. Too many times, I have been in services where the presence of the church has overwhelmed the spirit of God. I feel so blessed that our church doesn't have to fight that. We missed Eddie and Ricky today, but it makes me look that much more forward to them being back next week.

If you are involved in ministry, you need to thank your leaders often. I get into the habit of being a critic of people that are charged with leading the ministries that I really enjoy participating in. Most of the time, they are guaranteed to get criticism, so a good and friendly word does wonders for their spirit. Let your relationship with them be a joy, not a job.

This will be my last post for a while. I feel God calling me to get off of my duff and make some progress on my book. Today's post will be a result of what God placed on my heart this morning. We prayed for our children as they start back to school, and my heart was pulled from my chest and slammed against the wall. I don't exactly know who this applies to, but I feel that I need to write it so hear goes.

Love is a funny thing. We all need it, but most everyone at some point in their life has been abused by it. That is why we seem to want it to fail. Feelings and emotions often masquerade as love, and that makes us skeptics. Emotions and feelings ride the tide of your environment, and change as much as the skies in spring. On my TV, there is a show titled "Cheaters." This show is built on the premise that spouses will fail each other as soon as the opportunity presents itself. It shows the viewer that those feelings that creep in and start to unravel your beautiful relationship are perfectly normal, and expected many times. It is not the only show that thrives on this kind of garbage. The daytime talk shows and soap operas offer hours and hours of spiritual pollution. They vary in name and time slot, but carry the same virus of moral and ethical decay.

Observe one of these episodes, and you will wonder how the family unit is supposed to survive these kinds of attacks. When I grew up, the folks that drank from this well of "harmless entertainment" were the housewives that worked in the home. I think that this had a great deal of affect on my generation's divorce rate. When one of the marriage relationship is constantly bombarded by visual examples of infidelity and lies, the other (often un-suspecting) part of the relationship is seen in the same light of deception that is portrayed on the TV set. The marriage is undermined by the perceived lack of truth that is present in the relationship. Usually, the sides get into arguments for no reason, and the lack of communication is like a buffet dinner to this virus of anti-trust. The sides grow apart, and the result is just another contribution to the statistics of divorce. The christian artist "Carmen" said it best - "Garbage in, garbage out."

This perception of love is being soaked up by today's culture. You need not look farther than the magazine stand, hottest news blurb on the net, or the latest celebrity gossip show on your TV to find the example of love that our society is feeding off of. I heard a report yesterday that said the hottest fashion accessory of today's young Hollywood woman is a baby. How terrible that a child that should be seen as a blessing from God is now perceived as merely a fashion accessory! What is wrong with us?

We don't know, and that is the problem. We don't have a good idea of what true love is. True love does not beg us for something, and then leave us feeling hollow and deceived. True love is a captivating kind of thing. It transcends time and situation. It pierces through the darkest night. It draws us out of our painful situation, and begs us to leave the pain behind. It heals and gives hope, no matter the environment that it finds you in. True love gives us the push that we need to say "This isn't so bad." Without true love, we can never seem to make it all work. It is like pushing water up hill. Everything seems to blow up in our face, and nothing ever finishes the way we saw it finishing when we started it. True love is a life saver, and it is contagious. Unfortunately, we look for it a great deal without ever finding it.

Today, people will tell you that true love is a misconception. True love doesn't exist, according to Cosmo and Oprah. Everything has an agenda. Well, I can tell you that it does exist. I can even tell you where it is...and I will. For just three easy, monthly payments of $47.95 - plus shipping and handling - this "true love" can be yours! If you call within the next 15 minutes, I will even throw in a handy fruit juicer, and this luxurious set of steak knives.....AAARGHH!!! Is this how you feel when you are searching for true love? Do you feel that someone is wanting you to commit and throwing stuff at you to lure you in? True love doesn't operate that way. The Author of true love doesn't require anything of you for you to enjoy this true love. God only wants you to say "I love you, God." That's it. How simple is that? The only requirement is that you confess your sins, and ask Him to help you through the process of conquering them. If you fail each day, or several times a day, that is OK. Just ask Him to help you when you let yourself down.

I challenge everyone that comes across this blog to spread TRUE LOVE in your small bit of the world. Let true love be the banner that people see you carrying, and when they ask you where to find it, tell them. If we can spread true love like at the same rate that AIDS has been contracted, we can eliminate the virus of hate and the decay of deception. It will then be only a matter of time before we can see True Love as a cornerstone of our society. On your marks, get set, go!

Sunday service was excellent. I felt the power of God and his forgiveness like I haven't before. We played for almost an hour, and I could have played for the rest of the day. I am in desperate need of touch and guidance, and Sunday's service helped tremendously. I have been blessed to feel an emphasis of God's peace for the last few weeks, and I am now the emphasis has shifted to love. I am so grateful that I know Jesus, even though I only know a small portion of who he is. I am constantly humbled by his concern for me. In my life, people shift into and out of my concern, but God doesn't operate that way.


Mark 4:39&40 (New Living Translation) 39 When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. 40 Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

My question today, is how do you proclaim peace in a hostile environment?

Chapter 4 of Mark tells of how Jesus had ministered to a large crowd all day before loading up on the boat to cross the water. His message that day revolved around the power of God's Kingdom, and the consequences of not utilizing that power. He spoke privately to the disciples after the crowds had dispersed, intent on explaining the beauty of the power of God. Despite hearing the message on power and the absolute submission of everything and every situation to that power, the group was gripped with fear as death seemed to snap at their feet. During all of the chaos of the storm, the disciples were frantically rushing about, trying everything in their power to ensure their safety. The last security that they tapped was the sleeping Jesus. He stood, proclaimed peace, and then questioned their lack of faith in Him.

If anyone should have understood the power of Christ, shouldn't it have been them? They no doubt saw examples daily of the miraculous power of God, and they had just listened to lessons on that same topic for an entire day! Still, they let fear take control when things got dicey. Why do we consistently do that? I see examples daily in my own life and the lives of those around me that shout "WE GOT IT - NO HELP NEEDED!" It is only when the flood waters threaten the rooftop, and the fire starts to char the front door that we finally look elsewhere for rescue. Our strength has become our weakness, and our knowledge the final nail in the coffin. God is standing, reaching, shouting for my attention, as I desperately follow the route to destruction. I am amazed that He doesn't tire of watching me try to go over the falls again and again. I am glad that He saves me from myself, but I am embarrassed that he has to.

Faith in God is a curious thing. It cannot be touched or felt with human hands, or observed by sound or sight. It is elusive, and specific to each individual. This makes it hard for me to explain the necessity of it to those that don't already have it. I know from my experience that my faith becomes real when nothing else can step in to bring resolution to the situation at hand. In those moments when nothing else makes sense, or no other possibility can explain away the results, I can't produce touchable evidence of the presence faith, but I can't validate the results any other way. Faith and the realization of faith only comes from a relationship with God. Faith in any forum or environment is at the mercy of the limitations of the provider of that faith - we can only trust someone as much as they can be trusted. The only one that has never and will not ever let me down in any situation is God. The trust that comes from that realization is faith.

It is by that faith that I can stand and proclaim peace in the swirling winds of chaos and destruction. The faith that God will not put more on me than I can stand allows me to breathe easier when fear grips my soul. My bible tells me that everything that ever hopes to affect me or cross my path has to submit power, method, capability, action, intent and capacity to God before it can proceed. Knowledge of this single fact is what gives me the confidence to stand in the face of immanent destruction and proclaim victory and deliverance when all I can see is death and terror. If you are like me, and you sometimes cannot see how a situation will pan out, ask God to renew your faith. You will not leave that conversation in the same shape.

Growing up, my parent's had no problem with attacking my "curious" nature with sound lessons. I was taught to respect my elders, know my role, strive for the highest, rub some dirt on it, shake it off, and turn the other cheek - just to name a few. I have since learned that these lessons were intended to make things easier for me as I carved my chunk out of the big wad of junk we call "life." I was also taught things like - "Honor your father and mother or we will make sure that your days on this earth are short" (I learned that this is only partly scripture), and "Saying 'you're sorry' doesn't mean anything unless you change what you are doing." My attitude and intent, regretfully, were not changed in the least. I respected my parent's, but felt that they had no clue as to what I was going through, and they couldn't possibly be right all the time. Now that I have children, I see that all of these lessons that they threw my way were more of a life preserver that I would need when the muscles started to cramp up. They knew that I wasn't going to get out of the water, but they wanted me to have something to hold on to when things started to get a little sketchy.


This is a different posting today, but I am in a different frame of mind. Through some personal things that have take place, I find myself questioning respect and the reason for giving it. I guess that the thing that makes me question respect is the make-up of the person that you are respecting. The thing that confuses me a great deal is that I analyze everything these days with a spiritual mindset, and seldom do my questions get answered the way that I want them to. I usually end up with more questions that help to teach better lessons.


Family can often inflict catastrophic damage to the psychological balance of people that they are supposed to love. This can be from church, work, extended, and direct blood related family members. I think that this happens because the boundaries and borders of respect are blurred and moved a great deal. Oddly enough, I tend to respect complete and total strangers more than I respect those that are of absolute importance to me. Taking their kindness and acceptance for granted is something that I have been good at in the past, and am trying to correct with each day. In looking at the effects of my actions, I find that I seldom ever intentionally harm my loved ones. It just happens out of my lack of consideration.


There has been a new occurrence that has crossed my path regarding respect recently. Having a varied combination of friends and family, I am seeing that people tend to harm with disrespect when they feel that they have been slighted. Law enforcement, ministers, and educators are often targets for this kind of hurt and pain, despite their restrictions on acting when they are attacked. It seems that the more trivial the instance that caused the hurt, the more intense and hurtful the attack is that results from it. The simple lesson that was taught to me as a child regarding this is "The Golden Rule" - don't do something that you wouldn't want to be done to you. This is also know as "turn the other cheek."


The hang up that I have with this idea is the status of the "other cheek." The pain and hurt that results from an attack doesn't just go away because you turned the cheek, it presents another cheek to get slapped. I have to be willing to let that other cheek get slapped as well, despite the burning and stinging that still lingers. To make matters worse, when the other cheek is slapped, I have to turn once again. Once a violent reaction to the attack has been started, anger is fought with more anger, and no one can win. I find it hard to give respect when I am getting slapped around, but giving it usually helps to diffuse the situation (though it sometimes takes a while.)


The thing that is lacking in our culture seriously is loving respect. We have respect that comes from fear, idolatry, money, and power, but not respect that comes from love. A loving respect looks past the incidental brushes that come as a result of relationship. Polishing is a natural process that comes from bouncing things against other things, resulting in the smoothing of sharp edges. I just have to look at respect the same way. When someone is rubbing me the wrong way and causing friction in my life, they are helping to smooth some things out that God sees as rough spots. It is important that I am thankful at these times, because God is telling me that He is not done with me yet. I guess that the color of those bright red, burning cheeks just shows off my smile that much more.