INTRIGUED

I have a painting hanging in my office that I really love. A friend gave it to me but it drives me crazy that I do not know anything about the artist or the subject. I have tried many times to find out about the artist so I could hopefully find out the town the painting is reflecting. The longer I have the painting the more intrigued I grow.
Many times the ways of God are the same way to me. I don't understand them. Though His signature is all over a situation it can still be so hard for me to comprehend. I find in my life the mysteries of God draw me closer to Him. The things I don't understand about God make me want to know Him more!

ATTITUDE CHECK

In a Peanuts cartoon Lucy says to Charlie Brown, "I hate everything. I hate everybody. I hate the whole wide world!" Charlie Brown says, "But I thought you had inner peace." Lucy replies, "I do have inner peace. But I still have outer obnoxiousness".
Lucy was quite often in need of an attitude check. When I was child we use to have periodic ATTITUDE CHECKS at church. Some children's church leader would say, "ATTITUDE CHECK" and we would respond by saying as loud as we could, "PRAISE THE LORD." What were they trying to teach us? It is impossible to have a bad attitude when you are praising the Lord.

Are there things that are causing you to get a little unnerved or negative. Take time to step a way from them and praise the Lord, it just might turn things around or at least your attitude!

IMPORTANT CORRECTION

It has been brought to my attention that last night while I was speaking I made reference to "the man my father married". While it is true that I had two fathers growing up, a step father who raised me and my biological father I can assure you that they were never married.
Isn't it amazing how sometimes we say something and hear it for what we meant to say rather than what we really said. I am just glad that no in the church knows my stepfather who would call him and say, "I did not know you were gay." I might be grown but I think he would drive to Nashville and pull the belt out on me!

AND SHE CHEERED

Last night we had our 3rd basketball and things went a little better. That is we only got beat by 19. Mackenzie and a few other girls from the church are our cheerleaders. They literally bring pom poms to the game, paint there face, and do organized cheers. I looked over at her when it became apparent that the game was out of reach and she was still cheering. I hit a three pointer and she jumped up and down and I heard her say that's my daddy. She did not care a bit that we had no chance of winning at that point she was just excited to be cheering on the team. When we got in the car she said, "Daddy, the team did really good tonight."
I love having people like that in my corner. They are encouragers and not just when things are going good but at all times. Even when you are getting spanked in basketball.

TIME REALLY DOES FLY!

I have been in the process of doing a total over haul of my office. I guess it needed it after looking the same for the last 9 years. I was looking through some of my old books and I ran across a book that someone had given me on fathering when our first child Mackenzie was born. I opened it up and found a poem that I had written to Mackenzie on the day she was born. I have to tell you that I had a Beaches or The Notebook (Not that I have ever seen either one of those chick flicks) type experience right here in my office. It wasn't that my words were as eloquent as Browning, Elliott, or Byron. It was the fact that 8 1/2 years have gone by so quickly. Mackenzie was in the office when I found the poem so pulled her aside and told her when I wrote it then I read it to her. I hugged her and begged her not to get any older. Time does fly and I have a feeling the pace continues to pick up.

BASKETBALL BLOG

Unfortunately game 2 went about as good as game 1. Slaughtered again! There is no one that I have ever met that hates to lose worse than I do, but when you get beat that bad all you can do is laugh; that is after you have cried. We got dunked on about 10 times and they were great dunks. I am talking NBA caliber dunks, three of them were alli oops.
I know what you are saying. That is so embarrassing how could you write about that for a second week in a row? I am just believing there very soon we are going to have a "the last shall be first experience." Don't laugh it could happen!

IT ALL STARTS WITH A THOUGHT

Do you realize that every great invention was at one time just a thought in someones mind? The first automobile did not start out on the assembly line but in the mind as a thought. Between the mind and the assembly line there was a process that had to take place for the thought to become a reality. Unfortunately some of the greatest products have never been created because they have gotten stuck in someones mind and did not go beyond a thought.
The same is true with sin. It always starts out as an unchecked thought. Here is a thought that might help you in that regard.
Watch your thoughts; they become words
Watch your words; they become actions
Watch your actions; they become habits
Watch your habits; they become character
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny!

ARE YOU A PRACTICAL ATHEIST?

I was at a conference last week where one of the speakers (who happened to be a pastor) made a startling confession. He said that he had lived most of his life and done most of his ministry as a practical atheist. I was stunned! How could this man admit to such a thing? This was his definition of a practical atheist. "To say you believe God exist but to do ministry or live life as if he doesn't." In other words we say we are people of faith but our lives are lived with absence of faith and more trust is put in our abilities than God's power.
WOW! I HAVE BEEN GUILTY AT TIMES OF BEING A PRACTICAL ATHEIST, WHAT ABOUT YOU?

DOMINATION STARTS NEXT WEEK

Ok, this weeks basketball game did not go as planned. Domination took place but unfortunately we were on the wrong side of it. What do you do when things don't go as planned? You live for another day. So I am announcing on the blog tonight that Music City domination starts next week!
I hate to lose but in life it happens, but your not a loser unless you refuse to play again. Take it from again who just had is his rear end handed to him on the court, there is always tomorrow.

IT FELT RIGHT

I spent the last few days of the week in Atlanta at the Catalyst Leadership conference with our music pastor Craig. Thursday night we decided to go out to eat in downtown Atlanta. I have to tell you that I have been to Atlanta many times and I can not remember one single time when I did not get lost at some point during the trip. This trip felt different, I was certain that I would not get lost on this go around. As Craig and I were leaving downtown I took a little bit different route than the one we came in on. Craig asked why? I told him it just feels right and I was confident that it would get us back to the hotel. An hour later I realized this was not such a good move. If it was not for anther friend of ours who lives in Atlanta that thank God answered his phone and mapquested me out of the God forsaken area that we found ourselves in we would probably be on the back of a milk carton by now.

How did this happen? I trusted my feelings. The problem is my feelings don't have GPS or mapquest. Nor as I found out do they even no what direction north is, because when it felt like I was going north I was actually going south (for a long time...just ask Craig). Our feeling are not always wrong, but they are never the best source or council for important decision making in our life. If I would have GPS in the car that night I would have caught the first 8 innings of the Yankees game. God's word is the Christian's GPS. You can trust it and if you will rely on its wisdom rather your feelings you will save a lot of heartache and a lot of wasted time.

I FEEL LIKE I GOT HIT BY A TRUCK

We had our second basketball practice for the church basketball team tonight. I had a great time but when I came home set in the bed for 5 minutes I started to feel the affects of the practice. If I got it, it hurts. I really do feel like a got hit by a truck.

I am sure you are wondering how I am going to pull some great spiritual truth out of this one. I am wondering the same thing because right now I want to take a few Advil and go to sleep.

A CHICKEN AND A PIG

I read a story of a chicken and a pig recently that I thought was very humorous.
A chicken and a pig came upon a church building and read the advertisement on the billboard out front, which read, “Help Us Feed the Poor.” Immediately the chicken suggested they help feed the poor with bacon and eggs. The pig thought for a moment and said, “There is one thing wrong with feeding bacon and eggs to the poor. For you it only requires a contribution, but for me it requires total commitment.”
What does your service to the Lord require of you? Are you contributor to the cause or are you totally committed to it.