July 26th, 2013

Hey, everyone!

Hope you’re having an awesome day! Hope you’re having an awesome, more-relaxed-than-usual summer day! “Cause you can feel it coming…”Back-to-school!” days! Vacations done! Pools drained! School bell ringin’! Bands practicin’!  Wow! That happened fast! 

I remember “back in th” day” when I was one of seven kids in a C-house with one bathroom trying to get out the door for school! My dad never understood why the shrubs outside the backdoor never grew well…

Hello!! 

Every first morning of school, it was always breakfast of sizzlin’ bacon, eggs, and pancakes! “This year, we’re doing this every morning! The most important meal of the day! To be your best in school, you gotta…” You can finish the speech yourself. By Day Two, we were staring at… and munching sleepily with… our ol' pals Cap’n Crunch and the Alpha-Bits bear…

But it must have been unbelievable trying to get seven kids combed, brushed, and ready for the school bell to ring! So… 

What would you do if you had 10,024 kids!?

One of my all-time greatest heroes was a guy named George Mueller. He began orphan homes in Bristol, England back in the Oliver Twist days of the 1800’s. when there were thousands and thousands of orphans living in the streets When he started, there were only places for 3,600 orphans to live in all of England. Twice that many under the age of eight were in prisons! He inspired so many people that fifty years after he started, there were homes for over 100,000 orphan kids! Besides raising 10,024 orphans in the “Mueller homes”, he preached 10,000 times between 1830 and 1898! When he turned 70, he started traveling to preach in other countries…42!! A sermon a day ‘til he was 87! Over 3 million people heard him! Before microphones were even invented!

And he got thousands of kids ready for school…before Cap’n Crunch was even born!

He must have been a busy dude!! How do you do all that stuff? How do you get everything done?!

He had a secret! Before he would start looking for kids’ schoolbooks, lunch money, his list of “to do-s”, or sermon notes and train tickets, he’d look for one thing first…his joy!! Wasn’t ready for the day ‘til he found it!!

George Mueller said that he discovered that his most important duty, job, whatever you wanna call it…was each day, to “get his heart into a happy state…” 

He’d wake up, brush his teeth, open the Scripture, find some reasons to praise God, do that, and stay at it ‘til his heart was filled with joy! Then he was ready for the day!

Check this quote... 

“While I was staying at Nailsworth, it pleased the Lord to teach me a truth…the benefit of which I have not lost, though now . . . more than forty years have since passed away. The point is this: I saw more clearly than ever, that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was, to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was not, how much I might serve the Lord, how I might glorify the Lord; but how I might get my soul into a happy state…

… According to my judgment the most important point to be attended to is this: above all things see to it that your souls are happy in the Lord. Other things may press upon you, the Lord's work may even have urgent claims upon your attention, but I deliberately repeat, it is of supreme and paramount importance that you should seek above all things to have your souls truly happy in God Himself! Day by day seek to make this the most important business of your life. This has been my firm and settled condition for the last five and thirty years…”

Wow! 

That is awesome!!

“Above all things, see to it that your souls are happy in the Lord!” 

That’s one of those things you could write over your door and smack it on your way out of the house like football teams do with the sayings that they have painted over the exits from their locker rooms on their way to the field. You know how they have their favorite saying over the door and as they run out, they all reach up and smack it? Like…

""Play as hard as you can for as long as you can."

Smack! Smack! Smack!

Or…"Hustle, hit and never quit!"

Smack! Smack! Smack! 

How 'bout the one down the road?

"I will give my all for Tennessee today!"

Smack! Smack! Smack!

Or this famous one up north somewhere…

"Play like a champion today!"

Smack! Smack! Smack!

Well, why not paint this inside your house above your front door and smack it in the morning when you leave?

“Of supreme and paramount importance, see to it that your soul is happy in the Lord!”

Smack!

Or (if that one won't fit) …"First thing, get your soul into a happy state!" 

Smack! 

Or maybe…"Above all things, happy in the Lord!"

Smack! 

Or…"“A Heartful of Joy in Jesus…Don’t Leave Home Without It!” 

Smack! 

Only thing…If you wait 'til you're leaving your house to remember it, you’re too late! You’d have to go back inside ‘til you find your joy! 

Maybe you should paint it inside the bathroom just above the bathroom door,  or maybe above the fridge, so you see it first thing in the morning…

Somethin' like…"First, some coffee or tea, then joy in Thee!"

Smack!

July 19th, 2013

Hey everyone!

Hope you're having an amazing summer day! I know it's hot and humid and the air is filled with sunshine and water droplets (and there ain't nothing we can do about that!) but it could also be filled with singing and praise! And there IS something you can do about that! Praise!

And sing!

Why not just try to sing the song from that classic Charlie Brown cartoon? Remember?…

"Summertime is here!

Happiness and cheer!

Oh, that we could always see

This spirit thru the year…"

(Wait. That's not right…)

I know it's not always easy to praise God for everything "summer-ish".

"Ol' poison ivy and sunburn on children.

Sweltering temperatures, keeping the kids in…These aren't a few of my favorite things!"

And how 'bout those mosquitoes?

"What mosquitoes?"

Oh. You must be one of the ones they don't bite as much!

Folks have always suspected that mosquitoes like some people more than others. If you're covered with lumps and itchiness and your bff is an official mfz (mosquito-free zone), the Smithsonian Institute now says there's a reason! There's something' about you that you may not even know about that earns you "two thumbs up!" and one "needle-nose down" with those flapping pests!

"Sluuuuuuurp! Yuuuum!"

"What is it about me that they love so much?! I'll change it!"

Some you can. Some you can't.

If your blood type is O, you're two-times more mosquito-likable than your friends with type A. And 85% of folks secrete a chemical that gives away your blood type. Sorry, O's!

Mosquitoes can tell it's lunch time when Co2 is in the air. They can smell it from 164 feet away. If you breath more than other people do, you're more likely to be a blood donor!

They really love folks who have more bacteria on their skin. (I didn't see that one coming!) That's why they go for the invisible but over-crowded bacteria villages on your feet and ankles!

If you drink a 12 oz beer, you up your chances of having your blood sucked. Scientists don't know why. Unless it's that they like a cold one on a hot day, too. And your skin is easier to puncture than the can!

So, if you put hand sanitizer on your feet instead, hold your breath, and remember "This Bud's NOT for you!" your deliciousness-index may drop significantly in those tiny little annoying minds.

Sorry, O's! You're stuck! In more ways than one!

Maybe you never knew those are the reasons you're so attractive to mosquitoes. It's why they love you so much! They like things about you that you never imagined you had!

Ever wonder why God loves you so much? After all, Jesus said that if you wanted to know Him, it's because He wanted you first! There's a ton of deep, mysterious Scriptures that say that if you believe in Him, it's because He wanted you, chose you, picked you first!

I wonder why!

Is it because He saw things in me that attracted Him? Are there things about me that I may not even know about that made Him want me? Just like my blood type makes me delicious to mosquitoes even if I don't even know what my blood type is, do I have hidden qualities I'm unaware of, so that it just made sense that He would pick me instead of someone else?

Nah. I don 't think so.

I don't think there is anything about me that He needed. He doesn't want us or decide to make us His own because He was lonely! We have one God Who (I know this is incomprehensible to us…) is Three! Father, Son and Holy Spirit! Always in love and loving Each Other! Never lonely or needy! In fact, He is infinitely and totally powerful and mighty! He wasn't looking for our help…or a hand…or that unique contribution you or I could uniquely make to His cause that He couldn't get along without! He didn't pick us for that hidden skill or talent we didn't even know we had!

He doesn't need our help!

He doesn't need anything from us!

He doesn't need us all!

It's a load better that way! If God loved or wanted you because of something you had or could do that He wanted or needed, there's more pressure in that than you could ever bear!

He just loved you! 

He just loves you! 

He just wanted you! 

He didn't pick you like mosquitoes do…for your blood type, or breathing patterns, or bacteria count…

There's no reason you could put your finger on for why He loves, wanted, picked and chose you!

The only reason is His heart! Love is His blood type! 

In fact, unlike mosquitoes who like you because they want to suck your blood, Jesus loves you just because He does and He gave HIS blood for you! 

So, have a great summer day!

July 12th, 2013

Salut à tous!

Opps! Sorry! 

I meant to say, "Hey, everyone!" I've just been working a little on my French pronunciation lately. Mostly names. Did you know…

When you say, "Michel" in French, you should really say it as if it was "me+shell" instead of "me+chill" or "me+kell". "Louis" is more like "luu+WEE" than like the one in "St Louis". If your name is "Antoine", we'd call you "an+toy+n" but you'd prefer "ant+juan". If your name was Benoit, you'd really hate the way Yanks would call you "ben+oint" (like "ointment") instead of your real name, "ben+waah"! 

I'm gonna need to know these things one day! I have a lots of French friends I haven't met yet…and so do you! We're gonna need to know how to say their names when we meet them! 

Many of y'all know Paul and Karan Davis from the times they have visited us at C3. They have been in France for, like, forever! They have been leading people to Jesus there for years! And in each village they live in at the time, they bunch the new Christians together (in a country that has one of the lowest number of them in the world!) into new baby churches. And just like you do with other babies, they feed them, change them, and protect them until these new-born congregations are able to stand and walk on their own…Then the Davis leave these churches in someone's care and moved on to do this again in a new place! It's amazing! 

Their latest one is in a little village in the Alps, named Pontcharra. They've been encouraging a few believers in Jesus there and leading the "interested in Jesus" to become believers and followers of Him! And soon they had so many gathered together in the town that they started looking for a place to meet and be a church together! 'Course, the "church" is never a building…it's people! But when you have a place of your own in those tiny, spiritually desolate towns in Europe, it gives you identity, visibility, and "legitimacy" in the minds of the folks who live there and who don't have  a clue what a "born again Christian" is! Having your own place to meet, for a new church is like bringing  your new-born from the hospital…You already have the baby, but now it has a home! 

So…they found a place! Right in the middle of town! 8000 sq. feet! If you went to the post office, you'll pass in front of the "Evangelical Church"…the "E'glise E'vangélique"! 

"Sacre bleu, Gaston! What is a église évangélique?"

"Je ne sais pas! I think it has to do with believing in Jesus…it says, 'Bienvenu!' Maybe we should check it out! We both kinda feel like somethin's missing, right?"

Wow! So many people have and will come to know Jesus thru the Davis' thru the years! And we at Triple C have had a share in supporting them financially month by month for a looooooong time! 

There's an unusual story in Luke 16 (it's too complicated to get into!) that ends, "So, use your money to make friends who can receive you into eternal dwellings!"

"Huh?"

Well, one thing that could mean is that if you give money so that people come to know Jesus, in Heaven you'll have friends you've never meet who will be waiting to give you a big "welcome" hug and maybe a kiss when you  arrive! A "Welcoming committee" just for you! They'll be there because someone shared Jesus with them! And those guys could be there to do that because others gave so that they could! So loads of people will be in Heaven partially because some folks, including you, cared about their hearts and their eternal future! 

It'll be clear on that day that you were one of the best friends they'd never met!

That's why, since you go to…and give to…a church that gives your money to expert, experienced missionaries that live in countries and speak languages we don't, folks they bring to Jesus are going to be your friends in Heaven! And if you don't want to be too embarrassed when you meet 'em, you might want to work on your pronunciation of their names!  

"Juliette…Emilie…Adrien…"

Only problem…

We (you!) help support bunches of missionaries around the world! 

The Fiores are in Italy so you'll need to work on Italian names ("Giuseppe"…the "s" is like a "z"…and "Lucia" is "loo+CHEE+ ah")

But their church in Milano, besides the Italians, also has a Korean, a Latino, and a Romanian congregation…It's a "four-in-one"! 

FYI, top Romanian names are Ovidiu, Krisztina,and Mihaela…

Of course we also have the McNamees in Spain…You might want to start learning to say names like "Manuel, Miquel, and Angel"…

But then we have Victor in India leading thousands to Jesus! So, you may have friends in Heaven with names like Sanjana, Khushi and Akshara!

Plus, there are the Matthews and Melissa in Kenya and Tanzania, so you could have brothers and sisters who love you as dear friends, named Akello, Hilda, and (one of the more popular names there…) Elvis!

Along with Bill and Maria, Erica, Matt, Devo and Erin, Travis, Glen and Jane, Jed and Hallie, Pete, and Tasha working to reach folks in the States, you're gonna have loads of friends in Heaven, thankful for you…

Thankful that you cared!

And thankful that you gave!

...so that someone could share Jesus!

…so that they could be there!

Thankfully, Heaven is gonna last forever, 'cause it's gonna take a while to greet and know all the friends who will be so happy to finally meet you!

July 5th, 2013

Hey, everyone!

Hope y’all had an awesome fourth! The other day, I was trying to get that "Fourth-kind-of-feeling". I knew we were gonna have more waterworks than fireworks this year so I figured it'd take some work to get in the Independence Day spirit. So…  

I was reading some fun "Fourth facts"…Did you know...

On this 4^th, Americans slammed 155 million hotdogs, smothered in all kinds of things, mostly depending on where you live and how long you’ve been around. Kids prefer catsup, adults, mustard. New Yorkers like steamed onions, and in the Windy City, they throw tomatoes on the puppies. In one survey, kids were asked what they would put on their dogs “if mom wasn’t watching”. 25% in a "mother-free zone" would go for the chocolate syrup! Gross! 

By the way, those 155 million are just a few of the 60 hot-dogs-eaten-per-American-per-year! Whoa! I might surprise myself if I counted, but I think someone else is doubling up and getting some of mine! I may down 60 dogs per year…but I don’t think so!

It was probably a little easier to get your heart ready for the Fourth in Liberty, Missouri, or Liberty, Colorado, or Liberty, Ohio…or in Libertyville, New Liberty, North Liberty and West Liberty, Iowa…or any of the other thirty one towns in all in the USA named “Liberty”! 

And there are nine towns named “Freedom”… 

I had to work hard to to get psyched up on July 4 a few years ago because on like, the 3rd of July, my favorite dog of all our dogs died. That year we had a sadder Fourth than I thought we would. 

Tell ya the truth, it was sadder than I thought it would be. We knew it was coming. He was a humongous St. Bernard and was about 140 in dog years. Couldn’t see or hear. He could just smell,tho!  And he did! A lot sometimes (before Tina shampooed all 200  somethin’ lbs of him!) I’m definitely not a big “dog-guy” (and Harley was a big dog!) and I’ve never really had a desire to have a bunch of dogs. I’m a big "Tina-guy", however, and she loves them! Consequently, of all our thirty eight years together (yesterday!) not many of them have been dog-less. 

We’ve had dogs that were “rescue dogs”…the kind you rescue from ending up on death row in the pound…”Dead dog walking”…Some of those were a little traumatized and frankly, a little psycho. Harley was a rescue dog, too. A lot of times, people get big dogs and than realize that they eat half a house daily, and do other things in a big way, as well, and decide they don’t want them. We got two St. Bernards almost at once that way. I wasn’t sure where it was going to end and how many “saints” we’d eventually wind up with, but I was getting prepared to celebrate All Saints Day! 

One of them was kinda grouchy and mean…well, not exactly mean…just mean-ish. But Harley was the sweetest. He really was the sweetest dog we every had. Always! Always kind…always wanted to be around you…wanted to touch you. If you walked down the street, he wanted to rub up against you when you walked. It was a good way to wind up in a ditch! He just wanted to be around you. He just wanted a pat on the head. He just wanted to please you. He was just sweet. And when he was old and walking into poles and trees and stuff, it didn’t bother him at all. He ate the worst smelling dog food everyday…same thing everyday…and never complained! About anything! 

When he was really old, he slept most of the time. He snored like Bronco Nagurski and you could hear it all over. It is quiet now out there at night.

And I was kinda surprised how much I missed him. He was just a dog. But in a way he was more and I didn’t know it. He was kind of a mentor. A mentor who left dog hair everywhere. But a spiritual mentor. Like the way he just wanted to be around us and how he was happiest with that. And he just wanted to please you. And I want to be like that with our Lord! Like Harley! Just happy to be around Him. Content to know He’s there. Only goal is to please Him and that’s all. And if I know my Lord is pleased with me, I just wag my tail, spiritually speaking, and I’m totally content and filled.

And what if a person could be so kind all the time, and so sweet to people that when you’re not around, it’s what they missed the most. To live so that when you’re not there, no one will remember a time when you barked at or bit anyone… 

Mother Teresa of India said, “Let no one ever come to you without leaving better or happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness in your warm greeting” 

Don’t lick people in the face, though. It’s not as cool as dogs think it is.

June 28th, 2013

Hey, everyone!

Hope you're having an awesome day! If you are, it's probably because you had an awesome night! Wow! I was getting ready for our "Four Wednesdays" on "How to live in a body…How your body and your soul affect each other" and this last one was on sleep…Man! I learned tons I didn't know! 

For example,…

If you didn't get enough sleep last night, it affects you negatively in many ways. If you didn't sleep enough… 

…You may be experiencing memories problems. 

Quick test! What was the date yesterday? Who was Jimmy Carter's Vice President? Who was the runner-up in the World Series last year? You may need more sleep if you can't remember that stuff!  What's the name of Tennessee's football coach? (Wait. That wasn't really fair…It changes so much, it's tough to keep track…)

If you didn't sleep enough last night…

…You have a much higher risk of accidents. Unless you're reading this on your phone while your driving. If you're doing that, not sleeping enough probably isn't your most riskiest behavior! PLEASE STOP READING AND DRIVE!  THIS EMAIL ISN'T WORTH RISKING YOUR LIFE!!! 

If you didn't sleep enough last night… 

You are 17 times more likely to be anxious and fearful… 

BOO! 

Did that bother you? You may need more sleep!

When we don't sleep enough our mental efficiency is not that awesome. One drowsy dude was complaining to his girl friend that he couldn't find his cell phone anywhere. "Have you looked in the bathroom?"'"Yes." (Some folks talk in there apparently)

"Have you looked under your carseat?"

"Yes."

"Wait. How are you talking to me right now?"

"Oh."

2/3 of our fellow countrymen and countrywomen testify that they don't sleep enough.  Everyone has to sleep. Flies do it. Giraffes do it. Elephants sleep standing up but have to lay down to dream…This keeps them from sleep walking. (Sleep-walking elephants would NOT be good!) 

Dolphins sleep with half their brain and swim with the other half. Then they switch! Amazing! I knew someone once who talked with only half his brain. I believe the other half was asleep.  It was somewhat less than amazing.

Tina said she could tell I was super sleep-deprived in our seminary days. I'd sit down to read the kids a bed-time story and fall asleep right in the middle of the reading it! She said sometimes the story would just take this wacky turn… 

" 'I know," said Oliver the Pig. 'Yes, Oliver," said Mother. 'Thank you, Mother," said Oliver. 'You're welcome…well…come here, Olive…say…here…welcome here…hear what…what…wha…www…zzz…zzz…ZZZZZ…ZZZZ"

"HONEYYYYYYY!" 

"Wha…!!! Oh. Sorry, kids!"

Scientists say we all need at least 71/2 hours of sleep…and more like 8 or 9!… every night. One doctor says that the percentage of Americans who can live healthy on 5 hours sleep, rounded to the nearest zero, is ZERO!

Not getting enough sleep is an economic problem…Helping folks fall asleep is a $32,000,000,000 industry!

It's a major health problem…One study shows that not sleeping enough causes more risks factors for mortality than high blood pressure or smoking! Yikes! 

It's also a spiritual problem, I've found. Today, many feel "guilty" for sleeping as much as they need. Being tired and sleeping little is a point of pride and self-importance. "I'm too important to be out for so long." One person called it, "taking an adversarial stance against our own bodies". 

One coffee shop mug read, "Sleep is for the weak." 

Actually, sleep is an act of worship! 

It's a way to admit and confess, "I am not in control. I will lie down and let my God protect me all through the night! "In peace I will lie down and sleep for You alone, o Lord, keep me safe!" (Psalm 4.8) 

Sleep is a way of saying to Him, "Results are not up to me! They are Your responsibility! "The kingdom of God is like a man who sows seed, and whether he's awake or asleep, it grows and he doesn't know how…" (Mark 4)

In the Book of Genesis it says, "It was evening and morning, the first day…evening and morning, the second day…evening and morning, the third…" The day starts at sundown So the first thing you do each day is go to sleep! It's not the last! It's the first! Then you wake up to discover what God has done while you snoozed!

"Sleep forces you to let go. Everything is beyond our control while we sleep. We can't check emails or Facebook. We can't make connections or plans. Sleep is the only human activity that requires our undivided self. You can't do anything while you sleep but sleep.." 

So, tonight, just let go! Let God care for you! Let Him work while you rest! Go to Him with your stuff and then go to sleep! For a long time!!

If you don't, you'll be sorry! I've had a few nights where I haven't been able to sleep as much as I should and I feel it…Like this morning, I was trying to start a thing…start…thing…stop…start…sta…thing…think…th…th…zzz…zzz…ZZZZZZ

Huh?!

Sorry!

June 21st, 2013

Hey, everyone!

Welcome to summer! I know lately it's been hot at times but you've officially only enjoyed the "good ol' summertime" since about 1:43 a.m…Which makes today the longest day (sunshine-wise) of the year! So you'll be able to stay out on the golf course, keep on mowing,  or work in the garden 'til about 8:30 or so! And on behalf of your tomatoes, "Thanks for all you do!" 

Speaking of golf, the other day…Wednesday, to be exact…I had one of those days when I felt just like Tiger Woods! In fact I felt like him and Peyton Manning and Shaquille O'neil, rolled up into one! It wasn't exactly because I hit a 340 yard drive or threw a 70 yard strike to the end-zone…It was because I had noticed, while watching sports on TV, that those guys all encourage us to buy Buicks. And yet, my bet (I may be wrong!) is that those three, in all probability,  don't actually drive Buicks. So, it's possible that they may be asking us to do something that they don't actually do themselves. 

Which brings it home to me. I've been encouraging y'all to come to our Four Wednesdays series that we're having, and on this last Wednesday, I didn't even come myself! Just like Tiger, Peyton, and Shaq, I feel like I was trying to get you to do something I didn't actually do! 

There was a reason I couldn't be there, however. A BIG reason!

It all started about 4:30 that afternoon…and I wasn't sure when it was going to stop!

Tim Bowerman was helping me in an awesome way on my roof over the ol' farmhouse down in OS. I noticed that there were a bunch of bees and wasps buzzing' around. Then one noticed me. I also noticed it. We noticed each other. I'm sure he or she was thinking, "Should I? Should I not?…What the heck! Let's do it!"

Bam! Right in the kisser! ("One of these days, Alice!") 

I mean, he or she stung me so hard right on that upper lip, it crossed and watered my eyes and took my breath away! And I knew that wasn't the end of it! Only the beginning!

That lip started to swell and swell and SWELLLLL! Before long, I looked like a cross between Daffy Duck and "every Who down in Whoville"! "Is it gonna stop?" I wondered…"What if I can't drive because that lip's smushed up against the windshield?…What if I can't get my T-shirt over my head?…What if all my food falls out because 13 inches is as close as my lips can get to one another?…"

I texted Tina (as soon as I could see) and told her to please bring home some Benadryl. And I told her to get her heart prepared for what she was going to see. Well, she wasn't really ready for it…

When she got out of her car and looked at me, she started to…

"Gasp and faint?"

Nope.

"Weep for shock?"

Not quite. 

She actually started laughing soooo hard that tears began to flow! And she was trying to not! She looked away, worked up a sympathy face with all her might, and then looked into mine…Busting with laughter! The side-splitting, leg-crossing kind! 

Actually, I did too. 

It was hilarious! My lip was so big, my talking was crazy! 

 "Bdo youb bthink itb blooks btoo funnby tob gob bto Fourb BWednesdabs?" …

 And it was funny because there was something that we both knew…

We both knew it'll be back to normal soon!

In a few hours or maybe a day, it'd just be a story, a picture, or a Friday CCC email! 

If we thought I was stuck that way forever, there would have been no laughing then! Not even a chuckle! If I had to warn kids when I was coming, or ask the photographer to back up so he could get all my face in the picture, for the rest of my life, it would have been super tough to face! But we knew it was just for a moment…

I guess it's all how you look at it…How you look at time and how you see forever. Moses says that one thousand years is like one day to God (Psalm 90). No matter how long we're down here, compared to Heaven's clock, it's just for a little while! That's why Paul can say that any and all of our troubles…and his were some tough stuff!…are "just for a moment"! (2 Corinthians 4) And Peter says that "it's just for a little while"! (1 Peter 5)  

I have a friend who had a super puffy face once. He was on steroids because of chemotherapy he was facing. It seemed he suffered for a long time. But it wasn't long in Eternity's timetable! And he's been in Heaven for years! And his face isn't just normal again…It's radiant and glorious!! 

Bmy faceb isb almost bback bto normal…itb won't bbe loongb bnow!

June 14th, 2013

Hey, everyone! 

Hope you’re having an “APFF” so far! (“awesome, praise-filled Friday”)…It’s gonna be a sunnier and increasingly hot weekend! I remember once the weather guy saying, “The atmosphere is going to be hot and unstable today”, and the guy who reports the traffic conditions said, “Hey! That sounds like my first wife!” 

Anywhoooo… 

Speaking of hot, here’s something that may be hotter than you realized…”Georging”!  

“Huh?!”

Yeah…georging!

“What on earth is georging?”

Glad you asked! (Otherwise this email would be basically over…) 

“Georging” is when people (“georgers”) write “wheresgeorge.com” (as in, “Where’s George?”…as in George Washington’s face on the $1 bill)) on dollar bills, and other people who receive that bill go to wheresgeorge.com, enter the serial number of the bill at the web site and you can find out every where that dollar’s been in it’s circulatory “life”.

“Who cares?”

Thanks fer askin’, again! Apparently a lotta people do. 3.2 million have done it and as of this month, Where's George? is tracking over 229,821,410 bills totaling more than $1,000,000,000! One pizza delivery guy has registered over 130,000 $1 bills by himself! The furthest one ever went in its travels is 14,000 miles from Springfield, IL (Lincoln’s hometown!…It shoulda been a $5! "Where's Abe?") to Samoa to Oregon!  

George gets around! 

Y’know, after reading all that, I just started thinking the other day…you all at CCC are soooo faithful to give to God and to His work here at CCC!! It is sooo beautiful to watch how He puts it on the hearts of sooo many to be sooo faithful in giving!

Here’s what Paul told the Philippians about their giving to God’s work:

“I have received…the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering… pleasing to God.” 

In other words, the way you give…mmmm! Sure smells good! 

But I was thinking in a “georging” kinda way…about where the money you give, goes. Where does it travel?…

Some of the “Georges” you give to the work at CCC will be on their way to Sharp Top Cove in Georgia, later this month! Young Life of Oak Ridge, Oliver Springs, and Clinton is taking 50some kids to Young Life camp! Many of the kids who are going, LOVE Jesus! But many who are going, don’t know Him yet. I know many kids will come to know Christ this week! 

Some of your “georges” go to India to support amazing Victor and Indian evangelists who travel on bikes to villages where Jesus’ name has never been spoken! They face hostility and threats but share His love week by week!

Some of your money goes to Chicago so Glen, Jane, Pete and Tasha, and our very own MATT KING(!!), and Jed and Hallie can share the love of Jesus to the “least of these” (as they love to say!) and help ex-offenders, addicts, and felons come to know the “love that passes all understanding”.  

Some of your money goes to Spain so kids who live in Madrid can know Him and, even further, so Jim and Barb McNamee, responsable for Young Life in all Western Europe can help reach kids from Portugal to Greece!

Some goes to Missouri so Bill, after years of serving Jesus all over, can reach kids where he grew up, and fulfill the words of Jesus…”"Go home and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." 

Some goes to France so Bible studies and churches can begin in Alpine villages where people have never had a chance to really hear the Message in a way they can understand it. 

Some goes to Africa so that kids without parents can have a safe, loving, Jesus-filled home in Tanzania, and so that five language groups can finally have some Scriptures in their own language! 

Some goes to Houston, Texas where our very own Erica Sender, who is presently in Colorado at Frontier Ranch, serving Jesus by serving kids, has been helping kids find Jesus all year, with her joy-filled heart! In fact, the money we send to her goes first to Young Life headquarters in Colorado, then to Houston…Then this summer, it goes back to Erica in Colorado! That's what I'm talking about, George!! 

Some goes to Italy so that people on the streets can have an encounter with the Message of Jesus and come to know “l’amore di Gesu’ che sorpassa ogni intendimento!”!

Someone told me that families at CCC probably support over 50 (!) kids through Compassion International around the world! Those $32 per month per child, are going all over the planet!

More incredibly amazing than that, is this! Jesus said that if you give to the poor, you have treasure in heaven! He said when you give, you store your treasure in Heaven! When you give…as you give…and because you give… so that others can eat, live, and know love in Jesus, your “georges” go to Heaven!

That’s travelin’! 

All the way to Heaven!  

Try to beat THAT, all you “georgers” out there!

I thank God for y’all!

June 7th, 2013

Hey, everyone!

Well, just a quick reminder…this Sunday is the second Sunday of the month, which means, of course… that this is the Sunday when we usually have our after-church pot-luck! Only this time, since it's summer, we're going to the Emory Valley pool for a cook-out… 

Just wanted to make sure you get in on it!

Y’know, the reason we have those get-togethers is that hanging out and sharing food together is a super important way for us to be together, get to know each other, and encourage each other! It’s a way to make sure other brothers and sisters in the family of God feel included in your life!  

It’s so easy to feel like you’re not really included sometimes!

I was reading about an experiment this dude did in a church. He asked for ten volunteers to come up on the platform in the front. When they got there, he formed them into a circle. Out of the circle of ten, he picked one of the bigger guys. He took him to other side of the platform and told him he had to do whatever he needed to do to break into that circle of people. He could pull. He could push. He could jump into them. It didn’t matter if he drew blood! He had fifteen seconds to break into that circle anyway he could! 

The whole time he was giving these instructions, you could see the nine drawing a little closer, circling up a little tighter, locking arms, huddling up, gritting teeth, growing more and more determined that that guy was NOT going to breaking into their circle!  

“Go!” 

He ran at them and was repelled the first time. He stumbled back, took a longer run at it,  hurled himself through the air in a full swan dive, and landed on the wall of their exclusive resolve that he wasn’t coming in! He pulled, scrapped, and shoved until half of them fell to the floor and he tumbled over the top to the middle of their collapsing circle. 

It might have been a little “over the top” for a worship service but the important thing was that…he made it!

After the clapping (and bleeding!) stopped, the guy conducting the little experiment said, “Y’know, in giving out my instructions, there was one thing I never said. Anyone wanna guess what I didn’t say?”

No one could.

“I NEVER said that the nine in a circle were supposed to NOT let him in. I never said it was their job to keep him out! He could have just walked up to the circle and said, ‘Hey, guys! Mind if I come back in the circle?’ Or they could have said from the word ‘Go!’, ‘Hey, Frank! C’mon in here! We’ve missed you while you were gone to the other side of the platform! Get up in this circle where you belong!!' Then they could have opened up a space for him, and welcomed him in. That 'being so exclusive' just came out of nowhere!"

Well, it didn’t just come out of nowhere.  

It’s just easier moving in the little circles of the people we know and are comfortable with.  “With people who are like me”. But Paul said that churches are like a body where every part…even little toes…matter a lot! He said it’s where everyone is family and no one is a guest. Jesus said it’s like a flock where every sheep counts! 

It’s why we have community groups on Sunday morning. It’s why we have potlucks, dinners, "Four Wednesdays", get-togethers, swimming pool cook-outs, and small groups. 

It’s because we’re a community. 

We’re a family. 

We’re the Body of Christ! 

Want to make others feel like they matter? Want to make them feel included? Include yourself! Come to stuff! Stay for stuff! Tell us we matter to you! 

Oh yeah…And I almost forgot…

The second Sunday of the month is also Communion Sunday. This is when we remember how much Jesus hurt, suffered, and bled for us…to make us one…to make us a family…to make us into a flock… to bring us together!

It’s just a little cracker and half a sip of juice. Later in the day, at the pool, there will be a lot more! Burgers, chips, watermelon dripping off elbows…But in the morning, we'll just eat together a tiny taste and a little reminder of what it costs so that we could belong to Him…

And to each other! 

May 31st, 2013

Hey, everyone!

What a day! It's gonna be an awesome evening to play some softball! Or maybe you're thinking about heading for a hike in the mountains…or just taking the day to follow a golfball into the weeds and woods…But whatever you have in mind, it's a perfect day for praise!! And thanks!! Like I'm sooo thankful we live in such an amazing spot on the planet!

A couple of weeks ago, we went up to the Smokies and I saw Smokey! Well, I'm not sure if it was Smokey the Bear, but it was one of his cousins! At least I saw his big, round rear as he scooted across the road. I was jogging at the time. When I go jogging, I always think about all kinds of things. This time I thought about, "What do you do if a bear wants to eat you?" I'm not sure why I thought about it. Maybe it was because…I JUST SAW A BEAR CROSSING THE ROAD!!!

When we got home, I found that this thought remained with me…"What do you do if you're face to face with a big ol' bear?" So I looked it up. Man! There's a lot of confusion and differing opinions out there! 

Here are the facts. "Bear attacks in the Smokies are rare".

 Nice!

"Bears in the Smokies usually weigh about 250 lbs. But they can be double that… One once weighed in at 600 lbs!" It's like on that show "The Biggest Loser"! If you ran into him, you WOULD be the biggest loser! 

"Most injuries from black bear attacks are minor and result from a bear attempting to get at people's food…"

Good to know…This is when the advice  gets a little nutty…

"If the bear's behavior indicates that it is after your food and you're physically attacked, separate yourself from the food…"

Really?! What else are you gonna do?! Hold on to it? "You're not getting MY sandwich, you furry free-loader!!"

Beyond that wisdom, the websites differ so much, it's hard to know who to believe…

One says,"If the bear gets closer, talk loudly or shout at it. Try to intimidate the bear."

Another says, "Talk quietly or not at all…" 

Which is it, people?! Shout or shhh?

One says,"Make yourselves look as large and intimidating as possible…" ("intimidating"?)

Another says, "Turn sideways or bend at the knees to look smaller…"

Folks, make up your mind!! ! Do I make myself big or small?! All I know is I need to look as undelicious as possible!

Some of the advice just doesn't really make any sense at all. Like this…

"Stay calm. If you see a bear and it hasn't seen you, calmly leave the area. As you move away, talk aloud to let the bear discover your presence…"

My presence and anything associated with it is the one thing I DON'T want discovered!!

"Being too close may promote aggressive behavior from the bear such as running toward you… Don't run, but slowly back away…Try to increase the distance between you and the bear…"

Let me get this. He's running! I need to increase the space between us…by NOT running but moving slowly…Huh?! Like the two guys running away from a bear. One yelled,"It's no good! They can run 30 mph! We can't out-run it!" The other guy yelled back, "I don't have to out-run it! I just have to out-run YOU!"

Y'know, I'm just glad when you need to know what to do in a tough spot, the Scriptures help you a lot more than  the internet! I can know what to do! Jesus said that if a person will determine to do His will, he'll know what to do! (John 7:17,,,check it out!)

For example, let's say during the day…maybe first thing in the morning…or turning a corner at work…or walking in the door at the end of the day…you run face to face with a big, grumpy, growly "bear" of a person. You didn't expect it but you can tell that this person…whether it's your boss down the hall, or your five year old just wiping the sleep buggers out of his eyes, or the one who looked into your eyes so long ago and said, "I do!"…is in an aggressive, angry, grizzly "bear" of a mood. Almost like they just got up from a five month hibernation and they're hungry, achy, and grumpy. 

What do you do?

"Do I try to act big or small?"

If you said, "small", you're right! Listen to this…

"Be completely humble and gentle"…"He must increase; I must decrease"…"clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience" (Eph 4:2; John 3:30; Col 3:12)

"When you have to face a bear, some say I should talk softly and some say I should yell and shout. When it's this kind of 'bear', which is best?"

Answer? DON'T yell! Talk quietly and calmly, with only love! Here's unambiguous advice for you…"Do everything without arguing"…"Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, yelling and name-calling"…"do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up….((Phil 2:14; Eph 4:30-31)

"Ok. Well, should I run or stay there? Some say one thing and some another!"

Don't run away! You've committed to caring for this person! Even when they're as grumpy as a…well, you know! In fact, in Ephesian 4:2 it says, "Bear with one another in love!" 

In a world where some say, "Do this!" and others say, "Do that!" it's awesome that God can tell you and me exactly what to do!

Only thing…

The next time we go camping, if I stumble into a real bear of the Smokey variety, I still don't know what to do. But come to think of it, the Scripture does say, "Pray without ceasing!" (1 Thes 5)…and "Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed!" (Lam 3:22)

How 'bout this? David the shepherd boy said…

"When a bear came…I went after it…When it turned on me, I seized it by its fur and struck it!"

Wait a minute. I think that's against park rules.

May 24th, 2013

Hey, everyone

How awesome not to have a rainy weekend like the last bunch have been!! Todd the weather dude promises "a gorgeous weekend in store with mostly sunny skies and temperatures gradually warming into the mid to upper 70s…" A whole weekend filled with sunshine! And I hope it's filled with praise as well!

Y’ know, even if it were rainy, dizzily, gloomy outside like it has been the past weeks (which it is NOT!)…

…there’s nothing you can do about atmospheric conditions outside your house, school or office, but there’s nothing like praise for changing the conditions of the atmosphere inside your heart! You can’t do much about the weather that comes down, but you can do something about “weather” or not it’s gonna get you down! 

There’s nothing like praise goin’ up when the rain’s comin’ down! 

And I’m not just talking about the power of music. I’m not just talking about…

 “…singin’ in the rain! 

Just singin’ in the rain! 

What a glorious feeling! 

I’m happy again!” 

What I’m talking about is the power of praise to change how you see everything! There are a lot of people who know a lot about music and singing, but who don’t know about the secret of praise. And even though they wrote the songs we hear or even sing, a lot of times, they weren’t any happier for having written them. I know one Italian composer who wrote tons of operas, but…Man! What a grump! (Maybe it was from listening to all that screaming!) Some of those famous classical composers were so tempermental that their “temper” made them “mental”! 

Here’s a sad story.

One morning in January, 1864 they found a guy bleeding badly on the bathroom floor of a NYC  “flop house” where homeless people and alcoholics could spend the night for a few pennies. The dude had seriously cut himself trying to shave when he was in no shape to attempt that. No one knew who the poor soul was. They took him to Bellevue Hospital, where he died three days later. All he owned was a dirty, old raggedy coat with 38 cents in his pocket…and a scrap of paper with the words, “Dear friends and gentle hearts”.  

“Hmmm…what could these mean?...” 

Turned out, they were the words to a song. A song he himself was writing. In fact…turned out, he had written a lot of songs. Songs like, "Camptown Races Sing This Song! Doo-Dah! Doo-Dah!" “I Dream of Jeannie with the Light Brown Hair”, and “Beautiful Dreamer”, and “Oh, Susanna!”, and “My Ol’ Kentucky Home”, ”, and “Old Folks at Home” ,and a whole lot more.   

It is SO sad to think that even though Stephen Foster had many beautiful pieces of music flow from his heart, he never found how to get peace to flow INTO his heart! 

Praise is so much different than just listening to or singing along to your favorite song!  Praise is singing to our awesome God what we believe and know to be true about Him! Something happens when you’re singing words of faith…singing to Him what you believe and trust about Him! You not only fill your car or your house with these words; you fill your own heart! Singing “Halleluyah!” does for you what “Do-dah! Do-dah!” never could!

Just this week I was listening and singing to Eric Peters' songs on the way to my Bible study in the prison…

"This is the world turning upside down!

When the light that was lost is found!

Come see the dawn with the darkness refused

Today is yesterday made new!"

Lee had given me his number so I texted him,,,

Eric, I just want to say thanks! I'm on my way into the Morgan County Prison and I just wanted you to know your songs have encouraged me all day!"

After I went in, I realized he had no idea who that was from! But somebody's encouraged on their way to prison!

Exodus 15.1 says…or sings…these:

“You are our strength and song! 

Hebrew scholars tell us this could be translated, “You are our strengthening song!”…as in, “When I sing to You, I’m strong!”

You can’t do much about the weather outside, but you can do something about “weather” you’re happy inside!

Praise.

Don’t leave home without it.

Your Ol' Kentucky Home, or any other home. 

May 17th, 2013

Hey, everyone! 

Man! It’s hard to believe but, here it is already! Friday, May 17! And I know what you’re looking forward to! 

“You know it! The weekend!!!”

Nope. 

“Let’s see…Softball tonight?”

Not what I had in mind. 

“Memorial Day weekend?” 

I wasn’t thinking of that.

"Opening day for the Vols?" 

Wrong again.

First game for the Wildcats?" 

We're more excited than ever, but that's not it either.

“What am I looking forward to, then?!”

Duh!...Heaven!...Hello! 

Isn’t it true that you’re looking forward to that Day?! 

“Sure…sorta…I mean, I haven’t really thought about it all that much this week but…yeah, I’m looking forward to Heaven… 

...I guess.”

Probably that’s a little closer to how we feel about it than we’d like to admit. I mean, I’ve known some people who were REALLY PUMPED about going to Heaven! They thought about it all the time and couldn’t wait! My friend Pastor Stuckey, who’s been in Heaven for a few years now, loved to talk, think, and sing about it! He had these red pajamas sitting on a table by his front door for years and years. They were the pj’s he planned to be buried in. They were red to remind everyone of the blood of Jesus which makes us clean from our sin and messes. They were by his door to remind him (as if he ever needed it!) that the day they put those pj’s on him, he’d be in Heaven, where he longed to be in his heart for years and years.

Then one day, he had them on. I'll never forget it. 

In his letter to the followers of Jesus in the town of Colosse, Paul said they had love and real faith just springing up out of their hearts because of the hope they had of being in Heaven soon!

Y’know, maybe the reason it’s easier to get “fired up” about Friday nights or a week-end Saturday morning, is that you know what to look forward to. That’s the night you go out to eat, or it’s family rent-a-movie night. Or you know you'll hear "Roll, Wildcats! Roll!" And that Saturday-sleeping-in, followed by coffee and the sports page on the porch…Ahhh!…it’s what you daydream about on Tuesdays!

“But Heaven…? I just can’t get my mind around what to expect. I mean, I know it will be awesome, but…I KNOW why I love Friday nights! Heaven…I’m not so sure about. Can anyone tell me what’s it really gonna be like?” 

The Good News is…No, not really!! 

It’s going to be so awesome and amazing that we are presently incapable of imagining it! The Scripture say no one has ever seen anything even close to what it will be like! There will be sounds there that will be unlike anything ever heard in the history of the world! It is beyond anything anyone could ever dream or imagine! (1 Cor. 2:9! Check it out!) 

It’s going to be full of amazing, unexpected surprises! When you think you know something about it, you find out it will be amazingly different! F’r example, in Heaven we’ll serve Jesus night and day. Of course, we will! But, hey! Listen to this.

“It will be good for those servants whose Master finds them watching when He comes. I tell you the truth, He will dress Himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and WAIT ON THEM!” (Luke 12)

The Message puts it…

“Lucky the servants whom the Master finds on watch! He'll put on an apron, sit them at the table, and serve them…!” 

Did you get that?! We’ll be “finally home”, but also…we’ll be the guests at this amazing banquet…and (get this!) our Lord will serve us! He’ll wait on us! “Hi, Bill! Hi, Jill! I'm Jesus and I’ll be your server today!”

Can you imagine!?

How ‘bout this surprise…Heaven will be filled with praising God all the time. Absolutely! Who would expect anything less? But did you know that in Heaven… 

“…He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God…!”

That’s a twist! We’ll always be praising Him, but He’ll “praise” you for things you did and thoughts you had for Him that you’ve forgotten about long ago…but that He has always remembered and treasured!

And He could come for us at any minute! “In the twinkling of an eye!” Could even be today! What if He came today? Sure, you’d miss your Friday night movie and Saturday coffee on the porch, but…wait…come to think of it, you wouldn’t miss them.  

You wouldn’t miss them for second!

May 10th, 2013

Hey, everyone!

Hope you're having an awesome week! If you're not really having an amazing week, there's a 3-step plan you can fallow to instantly improve it 

Ready? Buckle up your seatbelt!…Here goes!

Step one: Stop and think of five reasons you have to be super thankful to God right this very second! Think of them as fast as you can! 

Step Two: Write 'em down… 

Step Three: Praise God for each of these things!

Bam! 

Don't you feel better?!

"The captain has turned off the seatbelt sign…You are now free to move about the cabin."

Actually, I know some guys who really can't afford NOT to be encouraged! If they get discouraged, it's a  long, dark way down. They do whatever they have to do to keep praising and thankful all the time! And you could make the case that they have  a lot less to be thankful about than we do…

On Wednesday afternoon for the last several months, I've been volunteering at the MCCX (Morgan County Correctional Facility) right there where you turn to go Frozen Head State Park. It's the largest prison in our state. To tell the truth, if you had to go to prison, snuggled in that charming valley, the MCCX is probably better than one in the desert of Arizona or the cold, endless night of Alaska. But it's really a prison. They all wear the same drab clothes everyday. The food is starchy and boring. They all have numbers. Their numbers for some reason all start with a double zero…as in, "008547823". If I was in there I'd think about myself, "Well, whatever else you are, you're first of all a zero…twice!"  

But there are guys out there who "shine with a light from above!" There are guys who have come to know Jesus and they love Him! You can see it on their faces! When I walk thru the compound, passing lines of guys as I go back to where we have our classes, I look for that light…As you greet guys, some have expressions of deadness. Some may look angry. Many look really tired and just worn down. But some have "it"! …that brightness…that joy…that peace…that only Jesus gives! You can way tell it!  

Maybe the guys who love Jesus see something like a flicker of it in me maybe…because often, somehow even with guys you've never met, you look at each other and know you're brothers and a family! 

Maybe they're just being kind, but the guys I have in my class seem like they can't wait for Wednesday! They all hug ya, ask you how YOUR week has been, (I never say, "Way better than yours!") They're super into the topics we are going to study that day! 

I mean, I know they're in there for some terrible reason and at one time obviously they were and/or did something we don't really ever talk about. But something has happened! They've changed!

We are doing a twelve week class on Romans chapters six through eight, and how Jesus transforms a messed-up person into a holy person. And most of these guys are well on their way! One brother calls his wife, mother, and kids every Thursday in  a conference call and they pray together for each other and for the week ahead for thirty minutes. Know anyone else who does that? 

One of the guys I have has met every President of the United States since Nixon and had a former President as a professor! And some of his favorite Christian authors are the same as mine! 

One brother started going by his middle name four years ago because he was reborn in Jesus in '09 and he wanted to start over in every way he could think of! 

And they give themselves daily to keeping their hearts and minds filled with the encouragement Jesus gives!

Most evenings, different groups and churches will go out there and offer a worship and praise time. Lots of guys go to almost all of those. I asked some of the early arrivals on Wednesday if they go every evening. One brother said, "I used to, but now I only go to certain ones." 

"Why?" I asked. 

"Well," he said, "Lots of churches and pastors come out here and preach 'jail house religion'."

"What's that?" 

"Oh, you know", he said. "They preach at us, 'You're a sinner. You need to come to Jesus and get saved.'  We're thankful they come and that they think of us. But we've done that. We want to grow."

"Wow!" I thought. I've been thinking about it since. 

Just because a person is out there in…well…prison, people just assume things about them. That they're "lost sinners"…that they're "them"…that "we need to take the light to them"…

There are TONS of lost people in there! But there are also brothers in Christ who are walking with Him, learning from Him, and living for Him in a difficult place. I'm convinced that they are the ones who will reach the ones who don't know Him there. 

What if people always saw you for what you were and not for what you are now? 

Maybe you have people in your life who do see you that way. Maybe it's the hardest thing in your life.

On the other hand…what if you saw people who love our Lord the way HE sees them? What if you thought of them as Paul puts it... "chosen of God, holy, and beloved?" 

Once there was a FORMERLY sexually immoral person who had been forgiven and cleansed in her heart by Jesus. She loved Him so much, she busted into a dinner, crying and snotty, to thank Him. "If this Man were a prophet, He would know what kind of person this woman IS," someone muttered. 

Not "IS"!, dude! "WAS!" 

Dang!

He's more than a prophet! He's a Savior! And that's why she WASN'T any longer what she HAD been!

Jesus said to His dinner host, "Simon, do you see this woman?"

Nope. He sure didn't.

What if you saw God's folks the way He sees them? Including your kids?...Your mate? 

And what if you saw YOURSELF the way Jesus sees you?

He loves you! (Revelation 1:5)

He is enthralled by your beauty! (Psalm 45:11)

He sings over you with joy! (Zephaniah 3:17) 

Everyone one of us could say with John, "I'm the disciple Jesus loves!" 

I'm His favorite! 

If He gave me a number, it wouldn't start with zero!

Even if others only knew me as 008547823, to Him I'd be His # 1!

May 3rd, 2013

Hey Everyone! 

Hope you've had an awesome week! I know I did!! Last week, I was in Houston for a retreat for all the folks who reach out to high school and college kids through Young Life there, including our very own Triple C'er, Erica Sender!! How God is using her down in the Lone Star State!

Then, I got to spend a couple of awesome days with Charlie and Sarah and the kids in Houston…What a blast! We laughed, played, walking, talking…We even went to the art museum and saw a Picasso exhibit (Gotta say, I seriously don't get it!) 

Only tough part was the coming and going!

I drove to Nashville to take the Southwest Airlines flight to Houston. Southwest people were super nice, they joke around, and you can check a bag for free. The flight was not long and on time. Only problem was that during the flight, we were going 300 mph! And we were 30000 feet above the earth! That's 5.6818 miles!! 

The guy beside me went right to sleep before we even started to taxi! Did it the whole way! 

I was praying to our Lord instead! Did it the whole way! 

I know it's dumb! "Why am I afraid?" I ask myself.

Here's what's dumb about being afraid of flying on planes…

During your whole lifetime, you could get struck by lightning. In fact, our chances of actually being be-crisped by a lightning bolt in our life is one in 80,000. There have been lots of reports lately about this or that random asteroid hitting Mother Earth. Chances of that happening and squashing us is one in 200,000 in our lifetime. Sad to say, but one in 8,000,000 of our fellow humans will be a shark's snack in our lifetime. 

But your chance of being killed in a plane crash is one in 90,000,000! That's ten times less likely that being swallowed by a shark! 

"Your chance of being killed in a plane crash is so low, you could fly every day for the next 250,000 years before you would perish in a crash," according to Arnold Barnett, a professor at MIT and expert on the risk of flying.  

And if you are in a plane crash, your chances of survival are actually 95.7%! Bet you didn't think that!

So the question remains, homeboy…"Why were you afraid?"

It's an excellent question! It's been asked before…

Once Jesus was in a boat…late at night…in the dark…(this is getting scarier by the minute!)…in a sudden and terrifying storm! Wind was howling! Waves were crashing! His friends were screaming! And He was like my seat mate in the Southwest flight from McGee Tyson to Houston Hobby Internat'l! Sleeping! Did it almost the whole way! and He woulda too if His friends hadn't waked Him!

"Lord! Don't You care that we're drowning!?"

It's a real concern! The chances of dying in a water transport accident in your lifetime is one in 5,683!! 

Except for one factor that needed to be calculated.

Jesus was in the boat with them.

He had a job to do. He had been sent to our Earth to do it. Nothing would stop Him from accomplishing it! And nothing would happen until it was done! So, in a rickety ol' boat, in a raging storm, in the middle of the deepest sea and the darkest night, with Him in  the boat, there wasn't a safer place on earth! 

"Why were you afraid?" He asked.

Really! Why?!

You and I have stuff to do! Ephesians 2:10 says we have things to do that have been assigned to us from before the beginning of time! Nothing's gonna happen 'til they're done! 

So even if your chances of dying in a plane crash are 1 in almost 100,000,000, if your work for Jesus isn't done, your chances just slid to zero in one kabillion! 

Besides, if it had crashed between here and Houston, I'd just go home! If our plane had been hit by lightning or an asteroid, I woulda been closer to His house than mine!

April 26th, 2013

Hey everyone!

Hope you’re having an awesome and blessed Friday! Of course, I know that no matter what day of the week it is, we’re always blessed beyond our dreams! The Apostle says we’ve been blessed in Jesus from before the beginning of the world! He’s always there!...always loving us!...always doing something awesome in all that happens!...all the time! So…since I’m always blessed in Him all the time… whether or not I’m gonna have an awesome day depends on my attitude, more than anything!  

Want to remind yourself that it’s all about attitude? Try this little experiment…

Take a dollar bill. Fold it top to bottom, so that it makes a good crease that runs between George Washington’s eyes, down the length of his nose, and down the middle of his mouth, with George’s face on the inside. Once you’ve folded it, you should be looking at either the eagle or the pyramid that says, “Novus Ordo Seclorum” underneath. Crease it good! 

Now…

Open it up. Now make another crease that runs from the top of the bill to the bottom so that it passes through George’s left eye, down through the left corner of his mouth, but this time, make the crease so that George’s face is on the outside…Know what I mean? Like, fold it backwards so that the front side with our first President’s face is showing. 

Still with me?

Now…

Make another crease just like the last one but this time make it go from top to bottom so that it runs through George’s right eye and down through the right corner of his mouth, with his face on the outside. 

So now you have a one dollar bill with three creases. One crease runs top to bottom, right between his eyes and down his nose and points away from you, with George’s face folded up on the inside. The crease on the left runs top to bottom, through his left eye and down through the left side on his mouth, with his face on the outside.. The crease on the right side does the same thing, only on the right side. If you hold it by the sides, looking at it, George’s face looks like an accordion. But even if his face is all creased, you can still see him looking at you. 

Now comes the cool part…

If you hold the bill in a relaxed way by the ends of it so you’re looking at George Washington, and gently tip the bill away from you, he’s smiling! And if you tip it towards you, he’s immediately frowning! 

Isn’t that cool!  

Tip it up, George Washington is happy! Tip it down, he’s sad! It all depends on which way you’re tipping! It all depends on whether you’re looking up or down! It’s all about your attitude! 

If God is good all the time…

If I know He loves me no matter what…

If I know He’s always doing something awesome in me, or for me, and/or through me, it’s an awesome day no matter what happens! 

As one of my favorite writers says, “It would be cruel to expect anyone to be always  happy apart from God. But ‘in the Lord’- why not? Who wouldn’t be overjoyed with a God ‘Who has given us everything we need for ife and godliness’ (2 Pet. 1.3)? In the words of the Christmas carol, ‘Why should men on earth be so sad, if our Redeemer has made us glad?’ If you have Christ, why not rejoice?..”

Or, as Habakuk says, “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.”

All about faith…and attitude!

Anyway…I kinda can’t believe I shared this little origami experiment with you! I know it’s pretty dumb…

But feel free to share it with your friends!

April 19th, 2013

Hey, everyone!! 

Hope you're having an awesome, joy-filled week! I hope it's one of those weeks that's so joyful it's like when you can't wait for the day to come when you get to go to the airport to meet someone you've never met but you've always wanted to!! 

I'm going to have a week like that! On Sunday I'm gonna speed (not really, just sorta!) out to the airport to meet someone I love with all my heart but I've never met!! I can't wait!! 

No, it's not my new grand babies. It'll be a few weeks before they have their cute  little American passports with their cute little smiles on them (smiling is a new skill they've just learned in the last month!) 

It's Tina I can't wait to meet! I really can't wait!

It's not like I've never met her, tho'.

I've known her for a good long time! We've got a bunch of kids and now eight grand kids together! I know her pretty good! It's just that…

The longer I walk thru the world with her, she always turns out to be deeper, braver, and stronger than the Tina I knew up to then! I'm always totally convinced she's the sweetest and most capable person I've ever known. And than something new comes along and I meet new sweetness and new capacities in her that I've never seen before! 

She always winds up being someone new that up to now I've not yet met! 

When we got married, she was the kindest, most gentle person I'd ever known. After a while, she began to really want kids. It came from a place deep in her heart. "Tina, the Mom" was a new person to me. I hadn't met her before. And when she got to actually be a mom, Wow!! Was she amazing! During all of our kids' births…and I was at 'em all!… the wonder of all the wonders of those moments-just before and just after- was always to me, her face.

We moved to Italy when we were thirty. Our colleagues were pastors and theologians with graduate and post graduate degrees. Tina always worked from the day we got married so that I could go to school. She never got to go to college. But after a while, all the Italians we knew would always make fun of all of us for our American accents. Than they would always add, "The only one of you who speaks perfect Italian with no accent is Cristina!" 

"Cristina, La Italiana" was a Tina I hadn't really known before! It was a wonder to watch!

Once we had a church up and going, EVERY Sunday she'd cook a humongous after-church dinner for everyone who had no place to go. It was always crowded around our table! We had loads of folks in their twenties who had just come to know the Lord. As Paul says of Rufus' mother, they could say of Tina, "…And she has been a mother to me!" (Romans 16:13)

Wow! Cristina, La Mamma Italiana! She was new for me! I hadn't really known SHE was inside the Tina I had known and loved!

Seemed like there was always a new Tina I'd not yet met!

Then when we moved back home and eventually found a little place out in the "country" of Oliver Springs, she started growing stuff and raising stuff. My life filled with wool, fur, and feathers! Chickens, sheep, goats, rabbits and other strangers I knew nothing about! She knew ALL about 'em! When we built our barn (with TONS of help!) on the inside there's a network of complicated gates and fences so "this critter can go here without that one going there". I just put 'em up step by step exactly as she told me. "Babe, is this cooler than you ever imagined? I said at the exhausted end of the day when we finished the inside. "No. It's exactly as cool as I imagined," she replied calmly.

Tina the farmer…After all these years, there was a country Tina I had never met!

Now she weaves on hundred-year old looms upstairs and blogs about it. People read it all over the world. It's a language I know NOTHING about! "12/3 cotton warps…loopers…lease sticks between the castle and the back beam…" I didn't know she spoke that! Unbelievable!!  

I knew she could do stuff like knit and stuff, but "Tina, the Artisan of Ancient Crafts"! I hadn't really met her 'til a few years ago! 

Emi asked her to come to Africa and help her and Graham with the process of getting the boys home. She cried! She was praying that call would come! She ran to Knoxville to get weeks of vaccinations. Before you know it, this thing was happening! Tina was going to Africa! Without me!! To rock and hold two African babies in the sweltering heat all day long! 

As she was getting ready to leave, my heart was a MESS! "How did this happen?!" I asked the Lord! I've always gone to places and countries by myself to serve Jesus, but she never had! Sometimes she gets to go with me but she had never gone WITHOUT me!!

I was praying for peace. Someone reassured me that God had called HER to this…"You'd just be in the way! They don't need three babies there!"

And she has been amazing! Fearless! "My trip here was great," She told me. "A couple of things happened that would have freaked you out but it was fine!" 

Knoxville to Dallas to London to Africa…alone!! 

Serving, sweating, laughing, crying, loving…

Tina the Missionary to Africa!! Rockin' it! 

On Sunday, I'm going to the airport! I won't have to carry a sign with my name written on it…She'll be able to recognize me!

But I can't wait to meet her!!

April 12th, 2013

Hey, everyone!

Well? What are you gonna say about this day? Is this not AWESOME!! I remember one April when we had just gotten back home as spring was bustin' out after having just driven home from West Texas. Back here everything was blooming all at the same time! In Texas, the only spring color we saw was the red light on the top of the Texas state trooper car as he pulled us over while we were speeding a little too fast to get back to our Tennessee spring! Texas is great and everything…especially if you like…well, Texas. But East Tennessee in the spring…AWESOME! 

They're just starting to peep out, but I get the feeling that they're gonna be so spectacular, that the dogwoods would win the gold medal this year if there were the Dogwood Olympics! And amazingly we’re not the only ones with beeeaaauuutiful Cornus floridas!  In Missouri, the dogwood’s the state tree. In North Carolina, it’s the state flower! In Virginia it’s the state flower AND state tree! They almost voted it the state bird! 

Did you know that the dogwood…which comes from the Celtic dagga, which was this kind of tool they made out of dogwood wood…is actually good for your dog? If your dog gets those doggie skin problems, just boil dogwood bark, and wash ol’Fido in the juice! 

At Christmas, you put lights and stuff all over your house and yard to make it Christmasy. But in the spring you just sit back and…ahhh! AWESOME! And SPRINGY! Sometimes people shine lights and tie plastic Easter eggs on their dogwoods. But aren’t they beautiful…aren’t they the best… just the way God made them? 

I don’t know if you’ve ever heard the legend of the dogwood. The story is that once dogwoods were thick and tall, like oaks.  The story says that the cross that they made Jesus carry through the streets of Jerusalem was made of this tree…

”When Christ was on earth, the dogwood grew

To a towering size with a lovely hue.

Its branches were strong and interwoven,

And for Christ's cross its timbers were chosen…”

So, God decided that since the dogwood was used for the cross of our Lord, it would never be large and stately again, but gnarly and twisted…

“'The petals shall have bloodstains marked brown,

And in the blossom's center a thorny crown.

All who see it will think of me,

Nailed to a cross from a dogwood tree.'”

Only thing is…that legend isn’t true. 

Really, there was no need to make up stuff about the dogwood to make them any more graceful and  lovely than they are already. Aren’t they beautiful…aren’t they the best…just the way God made them?

And the story of our Lord Jesus…Creator of heaven and earth…of rain and sunshine…of tulips, daffodils, redbuds, grass and dogwoods…born into a poor, poor family, growing to be, as the Gospel of Luke tells us, “the favorite of God and men”, dying for love of those who despised Him, rising to win their hearts and wills, living to help us walk through this world and to one day bring us home…

…There’s really no need to invent and add legends to this…to this life, this love, this walk, this gift of blood, and this heart for us. 

The story of Jesus…isn’t it beautiful…isn’t it best…just the way God told it?

April 5th, 2013

Hey, everyone! 

Hope you're having an awesome day, filled with praise! Wow! You have a Dad in Heaven Who knows exactly what you'll need today and exactly how to make sure you have it on time!! Who wouldn't praise Him?!  

Todd the weather guy says it's gonna be an awesome, sunny, and warmer day today! Well, actually, he said, "Decreasing clouds in the morning, with sunshine returning by afternoon…" Besides saying, "Hope you're having an AB day!" (that stands for "absolutely beautiful"), Todd just gives you the weather and that's it. Sometimes, some of his colleagues in the meteorology department occasionally (or almost all the time) give you a little more than you were asking for. Sometimes, after they drop the forecast on you,  they offer "suggestions" about how to face the day outside your door. 

Mostly, they tell you what to wear. But sometimes they even share other advice.  

"You're gonna need the umbrella and coat as you head out the door today…" or, "Don't forget the gloves or the mittens and the hat as you leave the house and give yourself plenty of extra time to make it to work today…"

I personally don't have "the mittens" and haven't since I was seven. 

There was one weather girl a few years ago (Jennifer)  who was kinda bossy about it! "MAKE SURE you grab the galoshes and scarf as you head out the door today…" I was just waiting for her to tell us, "It's gonna be clear and sunny, but MAKE SURE you floss those teeth when you brush this morning! And two cups of coffee is enough for you!" She was more of a "motheorologist" than a "meteorologist" 'cause she sounded like your mom when you were ten, headin' out to wait for the bus! 

I'm thankful that someone cares that we're ready for what we might face today! When it's raining a lot, Todd sometimes reminds us that it only takes 18 inches of water to wash your car off the road! "When you come to a puddle…Don't drown! Drive around!" Thanks, Todd! 

But sometimes…

Things happen in your day that you really didn't expect and can't prepare for! Sometimes it gets complicated! Sometimes…even when you're in the middle of it…you don't know what you need to happen to make things go better! 

If you turn to God, you're not even sure what to ask Him for! It's like you're not even smart enough to know the solution you need! In fact, it's not "like that"…It IS that! 

"God, HELP!! I don't know what the answer is! I'm not even exactly sure what the problem is! I sure don't know the best thing to ask for! You know what's best! Do that! Amen!"

Many of y'all know our kids are in Africa, "giving it their all" to adopt two precious baby boys and give them a family. It's complicated! There are tons of obstacles and maybe even situations they haven't anticipated. So, I ask God for every specific we know to ask. But lots of times, I'm praying more than anything, "Dad! Give them all they need today! Fix stuff! Give them…You know!…whatever it is today! Open doors!…Smooth the way!…Meet the need!…Hear their cry!…Do what You do!!!" 

Sometimes, you just don't know how to say it! You just don't know the words. And loads of times, you couldn't say it better than that! The Apostle wrote:

"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans…" (Romans 8.26)

Is the best you can say just a moan? A groan? A sigh from your knees? Paul says the Spirit of God Himself is the One Who helps you when you can't find the words!  In fact, He's giving you "the wordless words"! 

As the Paul Overstreet song says, "You say it best when you say nothing at all!" 

One time, Ruth Graham, Billy's wife, was walking the streets of the town in China where she grew up as a missionary kid. It was her first trip "home" since she'd come to the states to live. She was talking to a produce shop owner outside his stand on one of the streets when a little raggedy boy walked by and stopped to admire the fruits he couldn't afford. The grocer looked down, felt a twinge and said, "Hold your hands out." The kid just stood there motionless. "Hold your hands out, son!" the shop owner repeated. The boy just stared up into his face. Finally, the grocer dipped his huge hands into the cherries in the bin and held them out. The boy pulled the bottom of his t-shirt out with both hands to catch all the cherries that rained down from the hands that poured them down!  

"Why didn't you hold your hands out?" Ruth asked the kid, standing there with a shirt full of fruit and a grin on his face. 

"His hands were bigger than mine!" he answered.

That's the weather! (You're gonna need the sunscreen as you head out the door!) 

March 28th, 2013

Hey, everyone!

Hope you’re having an awesome week! Or better...hope you’re having a holy week! Hope you’re having an awesome holy week! Christians around the world call this week “Holy Week”...or they call it “la Semana Santa”, or le Semaine Sainte, or la Settimana Santa, or Karwoche... It all depends in what language or country you worship our Lord during these days. 

On Friday at 7:00, we’ll have our Good Friday service. Then we’ll hav... 

What? “Why do they call it Good Friday? “ 

Great question!

I don’t think anyone really knows why they call it Good Friday. Sometimes, churches have services on Maundy Thursday to remember the night our Lord Jesus ate the Passsover with His closest followers and washed their feet. “Maundy” is an Old English form of the Latin word, “mandatum” which means “commandment”. It comes from the Latin version of the words Jesus said on that holy Thursday...”A new commandment I give you that you love one another...” John 13.34  ("Mandatum novum do vobis ut diligatis invicem sicut dilexi vos.”…I’m not good at writing Latin but I’m getting better at Googling stuff)

Some people think “Good Friday” comes from “God’s Friday”. Like “good-bye” comes from “God be with ye”.  

Other people believe that we call it Good Friday because of all the good that came on that day. 

“What was good about that day?”, some wonder. It was the saddest day in the history of the earth. The sun hid its face so it didn’t have to watch. 

It was a day of all things sad and painful...

Jesus stumbling...

hammers ringing…

thieves swearing...

soldiers betting…

Jesus bleeding...

soldiers mocking…

women weeping...

friends hiding...

Jesus dying...

friends grieving...

stones rolling…

sun setting…

darkness reigning…

In the first moments of His nailing, our Savior asked the Father to forgive those who so horribly abused Him. Then He assured a criminal of a place in Heaven with Him that very day.  Then it became dark. For three hours, there was darkness in the whole world.  

And it became quiet. Our Lord suffered silently. 

As an old spiritual says, “They crucified my Lord and He never said a mumblin’ word…not a word…not a word.”  The cruelest, coldest hearts on the planet, employed to nail humans down and hoist them up, and do it without a qualm or shiver, watched the Son of God suffer in silence, as blood and love flowed. 

And then He spoke. And one thing He said just before He breathed the last time was, “I’m thirsty.”  Why would He say this? Say that to the most unconcerned, uncaring assembly of human beings of all time?  Did He hope that from those emotionless, cold, dead hearts, someone would care that He was thirsty? That hands that had hammered Him would now help Him?  

And yet…And yet…

“And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink.” (Matthew 27.48)

Could it be that one of them, having heard words of forgiveness and of a home in heaven…royal words spoken from a cross where a King ruled through love…had opened his heart to Him? And out of that new and reborn heart which moments before had been only dark and cold…out of that unlikely place…some pity…some caring…some good had come? 

In almost the next verse after this, our Lord was dead. But just before that darkest of moments, on that darkest of Fridays…on the worst Friday ever… someone with love for Jesus, did something good 

And this goodness grew.

Today it circles the earth. 

See you on Good Friday.

March 22nd, 2013

Hey, everyone!

It's gonna be an awesome day today! 85 and totally sunny all day!! I'm so thankful!

Well, not here…Here it's gonna be 50-ish, cloudy and yucky sorta. I guess I'm talking about the sunny day they're having in Ghana, Africa today! That's where my heart is these days… 

My youngest, Emi and her sweet hubby, Graham (I call him Grahamy) landed there yesterday. They're are going to do the first beaurocratic deeds, paper work, documents, court dates they have before them in order to finally (and hopefully soon!) bring home the baby boys they are adopting from there! And two sweeter faces you have never seen! 

Desmond and Quincey…They're not yet two, but…

What a story! 

What a life ahead of them! 

What love they will have!! 

In fact, what love they already DO have!

Two babies among millions on a continent so filled with poverty, sickness and hurt. Ghana is better than most of Africa. Average yearly income per person is $1500 (ours is $46,000!), but they do have 30% who live on less than $1.50 a day. Like our Des and Quince. They have no parents and have lived their first months in orphanages.

But things are about to change! They have NO idea how much!

The reason is that there are two hearts far away who have cared about them. 

There are two hearts that looked for them. 

There are two hearts that looked until they found them! 

They chose them! 

They just placed their affection and love on those boys! 

The boys aren't brothers. But they'll be a family soon! 

It's cost a lot of money…

It's taken lots of time, labor, and persistence (and they are just beginning…)

Emi and Graham have traveled a long way…

They have shed many tears…

They have and will sacrifice lots to have their boys…

Those boys will one day hear the story of how they came to have a family and a new home…

Right now they have no idea how deeply they are loved and all that is being prepared for them!

They may never be able to completely understand the depths of love and all it took to have them! 

This should be a movie! It's like no story I've ever heard!

Wait…actually…it's just like mine!

I was lost and alone once.

It says in Ephesians 2 that I was "without hope and without God in the world"…

But far away, there was a heart in Heaven- the very heart of God!- that cared for me!

And He looked for me!

He looked until He found me!

He chose me!

He just placed His love and affection on me! 

He knew I'd be in His family soon!

It cost Him a lot!

It took time, labor, persistence…

He traveled a long way…

Many tears between a Father and a Son were shed…

He would sacrifice lots…more than I could know…to have His boy…

One day, I heard the story of how I came to have a new family and a new home…

But really, I still have no idea how deeply I am loved and all that is prepared for me!

I may never be able to completely understand the depths of love and all that it took to have me!

What a story! 

What a life ahead of me! 

What love I have had!! 

In fact, what love I always WILL have!

It's your story, too! 

What a story! 

What a life ahead of you! 

What love you have had!! 

In fact, what love you always WILL have!

A soon-to-be mom and dad are about to hold two boys in their arms… 

mmmmm…. 

As I was saying, it's gonna be an awesome day today! 85 and totally sunny all day!!

That's the weather…

March 15th, 2013

Hey everyone!

What an awesome day!! Usually I try to send y’all a thought or two to encourage you here toward the end of the week on these CCC emails…But as beautiful as the days have been, my bet is that praising Him is just easier to do than it was during those cold, dark, wet weeks of February! So maybe I don’t have to make these so long!

Speaking of which… 

I noticed that when I started writing these little thoughts a coupla years ago, they were a lot shorter! Now, they’re a lot longer than they used to be! And longer than they need to be! 

Maybe I could make these shorter by using smaller letters! 

OrmaybeIcouldjustscrunchthewordstogether…

Or maybe I could work on getting to the point quicker!

Like bumper stickers! They say what they want to say in a few words and in about 13 inches! Here’s one I saw the other day… 

“Keep the dream alive: Hit the snooze button.”

And…

“Well, this day was a total waste of makeup.”

Or… 

“Karaoke bars combine two of the nation's greatest evils — people who shouldn't drink with people who shouldn't sing.”

How ‘bout…

“Gravity: It's not just a good idea. It's the law.”

Before he got in trouble, Lance Armstrong made $25,100,000 for cancer research with a one-word slogan (that’s really two words pushed together) written on yellow wristbands. You know the ones….They say, “LIVESTRONG”

There are 80 million of those little slogans on arms around the world! (Well, maybe a few less now…)

Just a couple of problems. 

80,000,000 of those might not be awesome for the environment. 

In one hospital they have to cut them off people being admitted because they look too much like their “Do not resuscitate” bands they put on patients.

And I think that God’s heart might have different advice! (Listen up, Lance.)

In Isaiah 41, Isaiah says that lots of people go around and, “each helps the other and says to his brother, ‘Be strong!’ “  Only thing is…Isaiah’s talking about people who don’t know or rely on God! He says it’s not good to try to be strong…or livestrong!...without God! 

Paul says in 2 Cor 12 that it’s a whooooole lot better to be weak!! 

Check this out…

“…He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me...For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

When you’re weak…when you can’t take it any more…when you just can’t make it on your own…when you can’t face it another day…when you have a problems (or problems!) and you don’t feel strong at all…that’s when you really start to rely on Him!!  When you feel weak, you trust in the One Who is strongest of all! Weak is the best way to go through your week!

Here’s some awesome advice…

“LIVEWEAK”

Put that on your wristband!!