GOD HAS A PLAN FOR YOUR LIFE

What a service we had? As we were ministering to the children at the orphanage I had the wonderful opportunity to speak at their church service. This serves not only as a church for the orphanage but for the whole community. Their were probably 200 people in attendance. I had a simple word, "God has a plan for your life." It was amazing to see 15-20 young people respond to the call of ministry and surrender to God's plan their life. Can you imagine what a difference that could make in a country where less than 1% is Chrsistian though the gospel has been here fro 200 years. Let's pray that the next Billy Graham will be in that group.

THE RIBBON HAS BEEN CUT

I wish you all could have been there today as we Tyra, Mackenzie, and myself cut the ribbon on the Chase Whitehurst Home for Boys. It was one of the most moving experiences of my life. The Holy Spirit was working in a RIBBON CUTTING CEREMONY, who would have thought it. I have tried my best to get pictures uploaded but it just was not working so I will continue to do so over the next couple of days.
We stood with 50 boys who's faces I will never forget who's lives are being shaped every day by Jesus Christ through the legacy of a 4 year old boy they will never meet until heaven. GOD IS GOOD! The Home is beautiful and the pictures that you have seen does not do it justice. I can not wait to bring a group from the church to minister in Thailand though I am afraid you would not want to leave without one of these kids.
Thank you for your continued prayers!

FLEXIBILITY

We have had to experience a little flexiblity as our trip to the boys home got moved back until tomorrow because of air flights. God has all things in this hands and we know that this is according to his will though we are so anxious to get to Chiang Rai and love on those kids. God has been gracious to us during our time in Bangkok. Tonight we had dinner with two of our missionaries Terry and Debbie Waisner. It reminded me of what partnerships we have for the kingdom. They are two of the choicest servants you could ever meet and God is using them all over Asia to make a difference. Tomorrow we will for sure be at the boys home so we covet your prayers as we know the Lord has great things in store. Blessings on you all!

WHAT LANGUAGE BARRIER?

Today I was in a store witnessing to a young lady. I am not sure of here name though she gave it to me I am not sure it would do me any good to try to spell it as I can't really pronounce it. I was telling her about the boy's home in Chiang Rai that we are building. With almost everyword I spoke she had to look it up in her Thai/ English dictionary. I could tell she was very eager to learn English better. She was almost in tears as I told her about Chase and the legacy that he would have through the boys home. Her emotions became even greater as I shared with her that God had a plan for her life through his son Jesus Christ. It took about 45 minutes because of the language barrier but I walked away encouraged that the Holy Spirit has a way of breaking through any barrier to show God's love to the lost.
Tomorrow we leave for the boys home so I do not know my how accesible a computer will be but I will do my best to blog as often as possible. Tyra and Mackenzie are doing great and send their love. Blessings to you all!

CAN I GET AN INTERPETATION

We made it to Thailand! Praise the Lord. We will spend the next couple of days in Bangkok before going to the orphanage. The trip was very smooth and without incident. Be praying for us to recover quickly from the jet lag that we might be fresh for our ministry at the orphanage.
I pray everything I am writing comes out legible and correct grammitically. If not don't blame me all I can see is Thai language on the computer screen. I would click English but I can not read Thai to figure out where that is.
I will write again soon!

LESSON FROM A FROSTY

Today while traveling down the road we stopped at Wendy's to eat. Mackenzie got a Vanilla Frosty and after my meal I asked her for a bite. To my surprise (not really) she said "NO". I wanted to scream I was so mad but I held myself back, knowing how possessive kids can be witht there stuff. There were a few things Mackenzie did not understand.

1. I am bigger and stronger than her and if I wanted to force my will on her I could have easily done it and ripped it out of her hand and not given her another bite.
2. The frosty was paid for with my money.
3. I had enough money in pocket to by her 10 Frosties if that's what she wanted.

I started thinking about this in terms of my relationship with God and how often I forget He is strong and able enough to do whatever he wills and everything I have is a gift from Him. I also fail to remember at times that God has an abundance and can provide for my life in an abundant way. So remember next time God ask for your frosty give it to him. You will fill better about yourself for doing so but most importantly you will realize with whatever measure you give to God he is going give it back to you.

EARLY MORNING JOG BLOG

This morning I got up and decided I would hit the pavement for an early morning jog. The truth is I have not been doing near enough of it lately and I am feeling it. I took a route that I was very familiar which felt like it was up hill all the way. One hill in particular feels like the Everst of neighborhood hills. Every time I get half way up I say to myself, "no one would ever know if turned around at this point on my route." This morning I did not even feel like I was running up it felt more like a brisk walk, a painful brisk walk. About that time a small economy junk bucket of a car came whizzing by me. (You can tell I am bitter) This car went effortlessly up the hill at a speed quite over the limit while the owner set inside with the comfy a/c blowing. I thought to myself that it would sure be nice to have that kind of horsepower in my legs.
I think we are obsessed with power in this culture. We have power steering, power brakes, power drills, power saws, power bars, powerade, we even have power naps. I am not implying this is always a bad obsession after all life is a lot easier with power. That hill was definately easier with power.
I see so many Christians struggling. They look just like I did trying climb that hill this morning. They are making through life but not enjoying the trip. Acts 1:8 says, "You will receive power when the holy spirit comes upon you." Living an authentic Christian life is not always easy, but sure helps to have God's power at work with in you.

LOOK BOTH WAYS

The first rule of the road that most kids learned is any time you cross the street, "look both ways." We were all told the danger that could come if we did not give respect to cars.
Today I was reminded of this rule near a road when I was driving down a street on my way to visit someone and a man stepped right off of the sidewalk in front of my car. I slammed on my breaks and the car stopped with his hands on my hood. My heart was racing but I wondered if his was still beating. I saw fear all over him. It was evident that if I had not hit the breaks he would be dead or very seriously injured.
What happened? He ignored that first rule of the road. He looked at the traffic coming from the other direction but I watched him and he did not even look at the traffic of the lane he was about to step into. Perhaps he was in a hurry or had a lot on his mind, but whatever the case it almost cost him his life.
It is easy at times to get so complacent in life that we ignore principles or rules that were established for our benefit. The principles of God's Word are the most important of these. That is why Proverbs 3 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." Sometimes it feels right to go but God's word says wait. Trust Him and take Him at His word, who knows what he his saving you from.

CHASE'S LEGACY

In just a few short days Tyra, Mackenzie, and I will be in Thailand where we will dedicate the Chase Whitehurst home for boys. I can not wait to meet the boys whos lives are already being touched by the legacy of a 3 1/2 year old boy that they will never meet. I heard from the missionary this week that 46 boys are already in the home. Who knows that one of them will not be the next Billy Graham of Thailand or the world for that matter.

A year and a half after my sons death I still do not have all the answers to why his life was so short, but I am seeing how God "works in all circumstances for good, if we love Him and are commited to His purpose."

ROW, ROW, ROW YOUR BOAT

Go ahead you know you want to, sing it. Ok, I will do it with you. Row, Row, Row your boat gently down the stream. Merrily, Merrily, Merrily, Merrily life is but a dream.
Here is the problem. Rowing a boat is not always a merry job because sometimes you have to row upstream against the current. Going downstream the oars steer you more than push you, but when you are going against the current you can row to your arms fell like they are falling off and get know where.
Life is like that. When things are going well rowing is a merry job, but when you are fighting against the current of life it can be miserable.So what do you do; keep rowing and eventually the tide will turn. But most importantly remember Joshua 3:10 say, "The lord your God fights for you." In this case you could say he rows for you. He is in the boat and he will not bail out on you.

THE GROSSEST BLOG EVER

Last night Tyra went to the Women's Ministry meeting at the church and I stayed home with Mia. I had a bit of a headache and laid down on the bed as Mia was asleep and I watched a really cool show on the Discovery Channel called Man vs. Wild. The show is about a former Special Forces soldier from Britain who is dropped in remote locations or wilderness and is given the task of finding his way out with nothing but a water bottle and a flint rock. On last night's show he was dropped in the Australlian Outback. After only an hour in the 120 degree temperature he was out of water and on his way to being dehydrated. In a move that I can only describe as desperate and gross he resulted to drinking his own urine. That's right you heard in the Pastor's Blog, he drank his own urine which according to him is 95% water. (I'll take his word for it)
He made a comment that "in times of desperation you must be prepared to make any sacrifice to survive."
You are asking yourself right now what spiritual analogy is going to be made about this one? I am still trying to figure that out myself. In fact I will let you make your own analogy today. Maybe you will go the route of desperation in times of spiritual drought or maybe you will just jot down a note in your survival memory bank in case you are ever stuck in the outback. Whatever the case you probably won't forget this blog?

ALL THE WORLD

It is a very sobering thought that after nearly 2,000 years we have more than one billion Christians worldwide. That is a little less than 20% of the world. To many that might seem great except for the fact that Jesus did not die for a percentage of the world. He died for the WHOLE world. There are roughly five billion lost persons on earth today. The question the church must answer is are we willing to do what it takes to to reach those 5 Billion? That is overwhelming!
Realistically we know that know single person will be able to reach 5 billion people that are lost in the world. That is why we must understand the mission we were given by Christ can only be accomplished by each one reaching their world. Your world is not comprised of the 5 billion but the people in your work place, neighborhood, and family that you interact with on a daily basis. I am convinced that if each one of us would concern our self with all OUR world then all THE world will be reached.

THE UNDERDOG

I decided to switch things up a bit and write in the morning today. I figure even if the blog is not good, I can not be accused of being a procrastanator.
Last night I had a dream about my high school reunion. It was a bit crazy because it was 25 years later but in my dream everyone looked the same way they did in high school. There was one guy at the reunion who surprised everyone, his name was Brent. Brent was a kid that everyone laughed at in school because of his hand me down clothing and learning disabilities. Maybe he was a bit "nerdy", ok a lot nerdy, but Brent had a good heart. My friends laughed at me because I was always nice to Brent and always made time to talk to him. I even introduced him in front of the entire student body when he wanted to run for Senior Class President.
In my dream Brent was the only one who looked different. His unfasionable duds were replaced by a three piece suit. A very expensive suit at that. He had made something of himself and became very wealthy in the process. Now I have know idea if that dream mirrors reality for Brent or not, but I do know that in my dream everyone now wanted to talk to Brent. Not only that they wanted their picture taken with him and his autograph. The strange thing is Brent was still genuinely kind to everyone even though they had treated him poorly in years past.
The older I get the more I like the Brent's of the world. People who are not given much of a chance by peers, but always seem to defy the odds and achieve.

WATCHES vs. TIME

Why did God make patience one of the fruit of the spirit? Sometimes I think it was just to keep me frustrated! I am just kidding (sort of) but it is something that I struggle with. Today I went and played golf and we got behind four of the slowest golfers I have ever seen. They would stand over shots for what seemed like eternity and then hit 15ft into the woods. Most of the time in golf etiquite when there is a slow group they will let others play through and keeps the pace up for everyone.
I know it must be a reflection of my spirituality but it bothered me. I wish I were more patient at times but in certain cases it is difficult for me. When I was in Kenya on a mission trip they said, "Americans have watches, and Kenyans have time." It is very true for the most part that as Americans we are controled by watches and dayplanners and don't take as much time as we should to enjoy time.
I guess this blog is a confession of my impatience at times and a prayer that God would help me to develop the spirit of patience in my life.

DROOPY FLOWERS

Today when I got home from the church I was wheeling the trash cans around to the backyard and noticed that the flowers in our backyard were very droopy. Not dead just droopy. They looked like that guy in the movies who is crawling through the desert craving just one drop of water. I watered them and then went inside for just a short while. Within an hour I looked out the back door to see the plants and flowers vibrant and all the droopiness gone.
Now of course there is a great spiritual analogy here! I myself go through those times when my spiritual walk is a little droopy. I am alive but not vibrant in the faith. I know that sounds like a terrible thing for a pastor to admit to, but I have been there quite a few times. It is amazing how refreshing and revitalizing God's word and spirit can be to our lives. As the Psalmist David said, "As the deer thirst for water so my soul thirst for you oh Lord."
Refresh yourself in the lord today by praying, reading your Bible, or just spending some quiet time in meditation before Him.
HELLO DEBRA AND KEVIN. IF ANYONE ELSE IS READING LEAVE A COMMENT!

THE LATE NIGHT BLOGGER

"Procrastination is my biggest sin, it brings me much sorrow. I think I will quit, and I will stop tomorrow." I am not really a procrastanator, but this blog has been easy to put off until the end of the day. Here it is 10:15pm and I am just getting home from the day and writing a few lines.
Where am I going with this? I have no idea! Actually, if there is something you have been putting off in your life that you know you need to get done. It is never to late. Go ahead get it done, you will be glad you did.

I LOVE TECHNOLOGY

I have a confession to make! I don't really love technology. It drives me crazy! I have posted several blogs that I am now observing are not showing up on the homepage of my blog. Who know's if this blog will be visible, but if it is be sure and go to the JULY archive to read the past few blogs. They will show up on the archive but I can not figure out why they are not showing up on the mainscreen.
It just makes me remember a very important fact, JESUS IS COMING SOON. Daniel 12:4 says, "in the end times people will run to and fro and knowledge will increase." Can you think of a time when people were any more busy than they are now and can you think of any other time in human history where knowledge and technology has moved at such a rapid pace. Would you have ever thought 15 years ago that you would be able to watch a movie, listen to music, write a letter, do office work, and talk on the phone on the same device. IT'S CRAZY!
I pray to God there are no computer's in heaven!

JUST A THOUGHT

Would you rather be a living rat or a dead lion? Think about it. A living rat may be living but its existence is of the poorest conditions and courage is not needed to scavage through garbage. A dead lion though dead lived with courage and strength. While living it took some risk and thrived though life rather than surviving a pitiful existence.
God said in Jeremiah 29:11, "I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future." Paul encouraged us that "we are more than conquerers."
Rats squeel, while lions roar. Rats hide and run if seen, lions are seen, known, and feared by all in their surroundings. Don't live beneath your privledge, be the lion God has called you to be. Act today with courage and don't merely survive but thrive in this life and you will know the riches of the next.

CONSEQUENCES

I just got finished taking a four hour online defensive driving course for a speeding violation. For all those who know me that is not very hard to believe. On one of the first sessions of this online course the narrarator who talked like a smalltown AM radio personality said, "All of your actions have consequences." DUH! Why do I need to be reminded of that? Of course the answer is that when you are driving behind the wheel, many times are caught up in the moment and don't think about how driving unsafely could affect you and others.
Why is it so hard to think of the consequences of our actions when we are in the heat of the moment? Paul said in Romans 6:23, "The consequences of sin is death." It is much easier to read that than to remember it when we are tempted. It is both a natural law and a spiritual law that to every action there is a reaction. Let's choose wisely our actions today that there reactions will be pleasurable and not painful.

FINISH THE JOB!

My father and law and I have spent the better part of the day wiring their new outdoor spa. It has been one of those jobs where every time you feel you are about to make some head way you realize that way is not going to work and you have to start again from square one. The three hour job has turned into a ten hour job and here we are at 10:30pm with no spa. It is sort of hard leaving the job unfinished until tomorrow but we know our energy is gone for the day, so we will FINISH THE JOB early morning before we have to head back to Nashville.
What job have you started and it is still left undone after hours, days, months, or even years? I want to encourage you to FINISH THE JOB! Paul said in Colossians 3:23, "Whatever your hands find to do, do it with all your heart as working for the Lord." So paint that room, finish restoring that old car, build the shed, travel to that dream location, or finish filing that stack of papers on your desk and do it as unto the Lord. You will be glad you FINISHED THE JOB!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!

Fireworks, pool parties, and barbecue all together on the same day can only mean one thing. It's the 4th of July! This has always been one of my favorite holidays. I love the patriotism that is in the air and every one always seems to be in a festive mood.
This morning I was reminded once again of what this day is all about as I watched yet another tragedy in Iraq on the news. It always saddens me to see our soldiers die in this or any war, but it makes me realize yet again how blessed we are to live in the "land of the free and the home of the brave." So take time on this day especially to pray for our troops and thank God for this country that celebrates it birthday today.

BUILD A BRIDGE

This morning started as most, with our 8 year old daughter Mackenzie crawling into our bed asking "can someone make me some breakfast." But since we are at her Papa and Nana's house who happen to have a swimming pool there was another question that followed. "After we eat can someone take me swimming." I love to swim but it is not usually on mind at 7:00am. I began to give all of the reasons that this was not on the agenda until at least 10:00am. It was then that daughter who at times proves to be a great theologian says, "Dad, build a bridge and get over it." Wow, don't you love it when you are put in your place by an 8 year old. Now our daughter is not a disrespectful girl, but her point was well taken. So I did what any father would do in my situation, I fixed her a bowl of cereal and we suited up for the early morning swim.
What is unneccasarily holding you back today or what excuses are you making that are keeping you from the truly important things that today holds. Take some advice from an 8 year old, "Build a bridge, and get over it."

ARK!

In the movie Evan Almighty the main character who is a politician makes a campaign promise to Change the World. How many times have we heard that? But by the end of the movie it is revealed that we change the world by one Act of Random Kindness at a time. Tonight I was at my father in laws church in Cordova, Tennessee and they are in the middle of a Random Acts of Kindness campaign. I was so encouraged to hear the testimonies of how ordinary people are changing their world with one act of random kindess at a time. It doesn't have to be monumental, and it does not have to cost a lot of money, but one act of kindness can be encouraging and life changing for the recipient. So go ahead and try it! Intentionally commit some act of kindness for a person who does not expect it today!