Beyond The Visible

I Don't Want To Be The Rich Man

2009-07-10T23:18:00.002-05:00

In my quiet time today I read Luke 16. While I didn't connect with the first part of the chapter, v.16-31 spoke to me in a whole different way today. It is the parable of Lazarus and the rich man:

The Rich Man and Lazarus

19 “There was a rich man who was clothed in e purple and fine linen and f who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate g was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who desired to be fed with h what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 The poor man died and was carried by i the angels j to Abraham's side. [2] The rich man also died and was buried,23 and in k Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and l saw Abraham far off and Lazarus j at his side. 24 And he called out, m ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and n cool my tongue, for o I am in anguish in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that p you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ 27 And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house— 28 for I have five brothers [3]—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ 29 But Abraham said, ‘They have q Moses and the Prophets; r let them hear them.’ 30 And he said, ‘No, s father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 He said to him, ‘If they do not hear q Moses and the Prophets, t neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’” (ESV)

What made me think today is not of being the rich man in terms of money but in how it can be easy to become hard hearted to those around us while spiritually indulging in Christian music, various Bible translations, and attending church while there are those who are spiritually poor living or working in "at our gates" The difficult part is that we take little or no notice of them. We are tempted to pass judgement on them in our minds because of their lifestyle or actions when we should be heavy hearted because they don't live a life connected to Christ.

I don't want to be the rich man living my life ignoring the spiritual or physical needs of those around me. Even if it is nothing more than showing kindness and praying for them on a regular basis. Maybe God will open the door so that I can simply say "I believe God places people in our paths that we can pray for, is there anything you would like me to pray about?

Life Lessons

2009-03-24T15:08:00.002-05:00

Again time has slipped by as I intend to write more than I have recently. I like to attribute this to the fact that my mental fucntions are greatly reduced by the time I am home from work however I am sure some would argue about the existence of my mental functions in the first place.

The last two years have been really tough on our family. I would have to say it has been the roughest period that we have gone through in our 18 years of marriage. It is not our marriage itself, that is stronger than ever but the loss of a ministry position and the cancer fight my mother-in law is battling has put us in a position of complete vulnerability where we have had no choice but to rely on God. I think the most difficult thing for me is the unknowns and lets face it, when you are in a position of only being able to trust God it can be a big unknown. Walking by faith not by sight takes the control out of our hands and places it with the Creator and that is never fun or easy. Between my wife and I we like to know and be in control it feels safe and more secure. Jesus exemplifies this when he appeals to the his father while praying in the garden. He asks that if it be possible that this cup may be removed from him yet he is firm in is trust, yielding to God's will and not his own.

Personally, the hardest part about God's will is when you are not sure what the next step of the journey will be. We have gone through phases where we accepted the idea of moving to take a ministry only to have the door shut. Then coming full circle to not being sure we are supposed to move from Crawfordsville or not. Sometimes trusting in him and seeking only his will is not a matter of a revelation of his will but a series of roadblocks that or merely there to re-direct us on the journey. It is not an easy journey when you are in a two year lesson on learning to trust.

Jesus In The Flesh

2009-01-10T21:18:00.002-05:00

We have finished up all the holidays and put the decorations away. As I have thought back to December and the accounts of the birth of Jesus, one of the things that keeps coming back to my mind is the idea of God in the flesh. I think a lot of people kind of gloss over the human part of Jesus as if he was some kind of super-human. He was God and he did have the spirit dwelling in him but he also felt the same human things we feel. It makes me wonder if he struggled with confidence like I do. I know he felt hunger the same as I would if I fasted in the wilderness for 40 days. It just seems as if we glorify the human side of Jesus to be less human... almost more of a superman who can leap buildings with a single bound. Luke notes after Jesus was tempted Satan left him until an opportune time. Just like us, Jesus was tempted at other times even though they are not necessarily recorded. It makes me think that Jesus felt many of the same things that I do.

The Slippery Slope to Liberalism

2008-12-21T17:28:00.002-05:00

I have started a new book called Pagan Christianity by Frank Viola and George Barna. It is a look at many of the traditions that today's church upholds and the history of how they came to be. Many of them have come from non-christian or non-biblical backgrounds. Today I remembered a remark that was told to me in a previous ministry when we felt the need to remove the pulpit and move the communion table to alleviate congestion on the stage. I was told that we were heading down the slippery slope to liberalism by moving these two "religious icons". The ironic thing is that neither item appears in the New Testament and they were not fixtures in the in the first century church. Communion tables are derivatives from the alter that was put in place around the fourth century when Christianity became the official religion of Rome. John Calvin took the alter and made it a communion table in the mid 1500's. He is also the one that instituted the concept of serving communion to the people as they were seated in the pews. It strikes me as funny that I would be considered liberal and yet moving the pulpit and communion table really made us a little closer to the first century church. Wouldn't that make me more conservative?

Looking to Jesus

2008-12-14T17:43:00.002-05:00

Perhaps it is due to the "holiday" season or just where my brain matter happens to be focused these last few days but I have decided to take a look at the life of Christ again. One of the thoughts that has spurred this is the idea of becoming a better Jesus follower and I can't think of a better way to do it than to take a closer look at who Jesus was when he walked this earth in flesh and blood. (I think that was a pretty good run on sentence but it is my blog so I can do that!) :)

From the get go in chapter two there is the image of the "king of the Jews" being called the shepherd of his people. The imagery depicts the king, the highest and most powerful person in the land in the role of the lowest profession, a shepherd. As I think about the prophetic verses in Matthew 2 quoted from Micah 5 "for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel." The implications of this is a kind and gentle person who cares for and looks after those he is entrusted to. There is a toughness that lies underneath as one who protects his own when danger approaches.

How does this apply to me? To be kind and gentle to those I come in contact with. To protect, teach, and at times correct those who are entrusted to me whether my family or those I minister to. Sometimes this is easy and other times it is much more difficult. I think this shepherd concept of Jesus is really summed up in the fruits of the spirit particularly love, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self control.

Lessons Learned

2008-12-02T17:58:00.003-05:00

I found this blog post by Chris Bell, pastor at Woolridge Road Church. I wish that more leaders and pastors would follow this advice. It would save a lot of time and energy not to mention massive amounts of discouragements. Here are some lessons Chris has learned as a lead pastor.

1. Don’t assume the few numb skulls who are unreasonably giving you grief represent the masses… they don’t! People who are negative, critical, or attacking always act and talk like they represent the majority… they don’t… or you would be hearing from the majority. Most of the silent masses gets your vision and are headed that way. Don’t give unearned weight and credit to the numb skulls!

2. Remember God called YOU - specifically - to where you are for this season. He didn’t call them to pastor your church. Make mistakes, own up to them, and move on… and don’t let anyone make you focus all your time, energy, or emotions on their agenda. Even the worst pastor does more right than wrong - don’t get that turned around!

3. Remember who you work for!!! Who goes into ministry for the pay? The prestige? We go into this work because God makes it impossible for us to do anything else. That means HE is the one whom you have to impress, please, and work for… no one else!

4. DO NOT feel like you have to respond, fix, or reply to every nasty comment, snide remark, or “critique”. Do you chase down the guy who flips you the bird on the highway and feel compelled to make sure he likes you? Is ok with you? NO!!! So why feel unsettled if some in the church do not like you - often that means that your vision/strategy is clear. Some folks will not like you - ministry is not for people pleasers!!!

A Matter of the Heart

2008-11-06T21:27:00.003-05:00

I have really grown to love the book of Amos. It is such an obscure little book located in the latter books of the Old Testament. As I read through chapter 5, in the midst of all the warnings comes a promise. Simply stated in verse 4, "Now this is what the Lord says to the family of Israel, 'Come back to me and live!' " The following verses command Israel to give up various named idols and return to the Lord who created the stars and draws up the water from the oceans and pours it out as rain. As I continued on in the chapter we come to verse 21 where the Lord says "I hate all your show and pretense--the hypocrisy of your religious festivals and solemn assemblies... away with your hymns of praise! They are only noise to my ears."

When I read this (and I have many times) I begin to understand that God wants our desires and affections to be about him. It is no accident that the early part of the chapter is urging Israel away from worshiping idols. God wants us to want him... the phrase still echoes "Come back to me and live!" I have wondered many times God has hated our show and pretense in our worship of him. When our thoughts, desires, focus, or our very hearts are elsewhere in our "solemn assemblies" of Sunday church is he saying this to each one of us?

In my past worship ministry, a comment was made to me by the senior minister about "being in a position to have the best music in town". It should have greatly concerned me at the time but didn't because it was clearly desirable to my former employer that we could be in that position. As I think back I wonder if God was dissatisfied because the desire was for more than just him. Being in his presence and worshiping wasn't enough. It had to be good, maybe the best, certainly perfect and definitely mistake free when all God is asking for is just us, just me, and just you. No show or pretense, no arrogance or ego, just me giving my all, heart, soul, mind, and strength in worship of him. Nothing else. In Amos 5 the idols of the day are specifically mentioned. What are our idols that takes away our hearts. What is it that makes our "worship" merely show and pretense? It certainly comes down to a matter of the heart when all God wants is for us to turn away from our idols and come back to him.

Seeking The God Moments... Being a True Seeker

2008-09-13T06:23:00.005-05:00

In the last few years there have been numerous writings published on the concept of "Seekers". We have churches that have completely geared themselves towards those who are outside of the traditional walls and ideals of the church. This week I had read a section from the writings of Brother Lawrence in The Practice of the Presence of God. Here is a bit of the passage that caught my attention:

"I worshipped Him the oftenest I could, keeping my mind in His holy presence and recalling it as often as I found it wandered from Him. I made this my business not only at the appointed times of prayer but all the time; every hour, every minute, even in the height of my work. I drove from my mind everything that interrupted my thoughts of God."

It hit me this morning that we have our terminology all wrong. We call those who are outside of Christ "seekers" but we don't refer to those who are solidly in Christ as seekers. Maybe because as a seasoned believer in Christ we think that we have already "made it" and so we don't seek his presence nearly as often as we should.

Three hundred years ago Brother Lawrence was an uneducated lay cook in a French Monastery and yet he discovered a way to enjoy a profound if not continuous awareness of God. He never stopped seeking and his desire was to think about and to be aware of God's presence at all times.

"Can we keep that contact with God all the time? All the time awake, fall asleep in his arms, and awaken in his presence? Can we attain that? Can we do his will all the time? Can I bring the Lord back into my mind-flow every few seconds so that God shall always be in my mind? I choose to make the rest of my life an experiment in answering that question" Frank Laubach

In stead of referring to the unchurched as seekers, as a Jesus follower I should endeavor to be called a seeker and pray to have an unquenchable hunger for God's presence.

More Than Lip Service

2008-07-03T09:09:00.004-05:00

It has been awhile since I posted so I really felt the need to get back at it. There are a lot of things that we deal with in the course of life. In our area of Indiana there have been a lot of lost jobs recently. We may struggle with health issues and are besieged with bad news in the media. One only has to look at the gas prices down the street to feel down and trapped. The one thing that I have had to rely on is God. It has moved from saying God is taking care of us to actually needing... having to rely on Him. That is not as easy in action as it is to say... and that is what really gets us hung up. Trusting God in a way that we have never had to do is messy. For me it has been some uncharted territory that is not the most comfortable thing in the world to do. But we continue on, praying and believing in God's good and perfect will. Really placing our trust in God has to be more than just lip service.

More From Life On The Vine

2008-05-16T19:32:00.003-05:00

Love... such an over used word that describes the object of our affections, our spouses, favorite foods, favorite music, relationship with Christ, and on it can go. On the one hand I say I love Starbucks Coffee yet use the same word to proclaim my love for God and Jesus Christ. While the word is used in so many situations we often don't take the time to consider what it really signifies.

To really understand it and get back to its central meaning we really have to take a good look at love as it is displayed by God himself. Scriptures reveal several characteristics of God's love. The first one as described by Kenneson in his book (see previous post) is God's love for us is completely unmerited, and undeserved. It is played out in God's reaching down to us by sending Jesus Christ to die for us despite our rebellious hearts. Romans 5:8 "God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us."

The second thing seen in God's love is that it is steadfast. Because it is undeserved there is nothing we can do to keep God from loving us. Even in our rebellion, should we ultimately reject him and be separated for all eternity there is no reason to think God would stop loving us.

Thirdly, God's love is a suffering love... meaning he is not a distant God but one who is woven into the very joys and sorrows of our lives.

All of this said, I have to wonder how things would change around us if we took God's design for love and used it in all of our relationships that are around us. I am not just referring to spouses and our innermost circle of friends but stretching it out to even casual contact such as we we experience with a waitress at a restaurant or a cashier at the local gas station. I we would take these characteristics and live them out in our churches, how fast would we grow? If we became a people who displayed an undeserved, steadfast, and suffering love to each other I have to believe people would be breaking down the doors to be a part of our churches. We must ask ourselves... is love, as a fruit of the spirit, clearly evident in our life and in the very nature of the church we attend? If not, why? Paul himself said three things remain, faith, hope, and love but the greatest is love.

Life On The Vine

2008-05-14T12:21:00.003-05:00

I started this week "Life On The Vine". Actually I have had it on my shelf for quite a while. If memory serves correctly, my friend Wally gave it to me while I was still in Jackson, MI so I have had it at least five years and have just now decided to read it. The author is Philip D. Kenneson and is one of Wally's favorite authors. Here is a sample from the introduction that really lays it all out there:

"What the following chapters suggest is that it is quite possible for the church to be both growing and yet not bearing the fruit of the Spirit. What is happening in many cases is that the church is simply cultivating at the center of its life the seeds that the dominant culture has sown in its midst. As a result, the seeds that the Spirit has sown are all but being choked out, and the fruit that is being brought to harvest has little or no likeness to the Spirit's fruit."

So far I have found the book to be thought provoking and I think it will be a good read but a slower read than some I have read. Stay tuned for more thoughts. My thanks to Wally even though it has sat on my shelf for a while.

Back To Blogging

2008-04-26T21:14:00.003-05:00

Wow! It has been a long time since I have posted here. The Coffee Shop is no longer in existence so I will be back to blogging here for the time being. So first off, I am certain that God is leading us back into ministry of some sort. My passion still lies in worship but so far there hasn't been much open up in central to north Indiana or southern Michigan. The last several months have been a roller coaster ride of emotion since leaving Woodland Heights. We have had days were we felt we really trusted God then turn around and have days where we are yelling at Him, wondering when something is finally going to go our way. In the end, God is God and I am not. He still knows what is best and still wants to give us his perfect gifts, we just need to follow his path, his will.

So in the end, if you know of any ministries that are open, feel free to let me know either by email or by leaving a comment!

The Coffee Shop

2008-03-08T17:05:00.001-05:00

I do frequently update my blog "The Coffee Shop". Feel free to stop by as it gets updated a little more than this one.

Following Jesus

2008-02-07T10:08:00.000-05:00

Inconvience

Being a Jesus follower is never easy. My wife and I watched the movie Amazing Grace about the abolition of slave trade in the British Empire. The main force driving the abolition is William Wilberforce. He makes a statement to his servant about acting weird because of God. Wiblerforce is asked "you found God" and he replies "no, God found me... it is such an inconvienence". He really sums it up well, following Jesus is not easy and certainly is not always conveient. Often it means doing the things that are the exact opposite of conventional worldly wisdom.

God chose the foolish things to confuse the wise. The cross seems to be foolishness to the world. The death of the Messiah brings life and wins a spiritual war instead of the worldly war against the Romans that the Jewish nation though would take place when Messiah came.

Usually following God's path will not make sense in the face of social rhetoric. Much the same as William Wilberforce pushing for the abolition of slavery to a British Empire that was built on the profitable slave trade.

Learning One Step At A TIme

2008-01-23T14:57:00.000-05:00

Most of my posts have been on my typepad blog titled The Coffee Shop so it has been awhile since I have updated this blog but here I am again. Over the last few months I have been learning a lot about trusting God and being content in the circumstance I am in. This has not been an easy task as it took losing my position as a worship minister in order to get knocked down a notch or two. This isn't to say that I was arrogant or cocky, but I had really begun to identify myself as the "Minister of Worship and Arts" instead of a Jesus follower. I hadn't lost my relationship with Jesus but I allowed my position to take over who I was and I let it define me in a way that was not spiritually healthy. Now that I have been removed from this position I have been able to see things much clearer. It actually took sitting in the congregation (of a different church) and learning to worship without being in charge, without assessing or analyzing the service to understand what I had allowed to take place.

While I can't blame anyone else but myself, I also realized how much those who were my leaders wanted things to be a slick and showy production that was perfect in every way. That is where the crisis point came as I have always believed God was more concerned with the heart of the worshiper than a perfect production that had to have more and more creativity in order to please people. While I do not relish having to find employment and determine where God is leading us next, I am better for leaving this ministry than I would have been had I been able to stay.

With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility

2007-12-13T10:30:00.000-05:00

If memory serves this was a quote from the first spider man movie when Peter Parker first realizes the incredible power that he has. This came to mind this morning and now I sit and think of how the bible says the same thing. Those who are ministers, teachers and preachers of the word are held to a higher accountability or responsibility if you wish to call it that. For each of us there is a responsibility to speak the truth and to live our lives as an offering of worship, taking on the responsibility to live according to the examples set down in the bible. We all have a responsibility to minister whenever we recognize the opportunity and to seek to become more Christ like in our actions and our faith.

We have been given a great power... all of us who believe in Jesus Christ have been given access to the power of the holy spirit, access to the very throne of God. Sometimes we act as if we have a superior power and knowledge that is of our own abilities and we wield it without responsibility or fear of consequences. Maybe the opposite is true, that we shy away from things because we believe we have no great power and we fear failure because we carry no confidence in the power of God or the abilities that he has given.

With power comes the responsibility to use it as God has intended not as man has intended.

Comfort and Joy

2007-11-27T11:42:00.000-05:00

Out of great struggle comes great character. God tests our character as described in James chapter 1 where he says to consider it pure joy when we encounter trials, knowing that the testing of faith develops perseverance and that perseverance, when it is finished brings about maturity and completeness.

Waiting on God, trusting in him is the hardest thing to do when you actually are in a position where you have no other choice. It is easy to say when life is grand and everything is the way you would want it but when life is the opposite and you feel hard pressed on every side then trusting God is so much harder to do. I do take comfort in knowing that I am under God's watchful eye but the joy is a bit harder to come by at times. When those times happen, I take the time to be thankful for the little joys in life, most of which center around my family, friends, and a warm home.

2007-11-09T10:39:00.001-05:00

Yet once again I find that I am a bit behind in my posting on this site. Maybe I should just cut back to one but now that I like my design on this I don't want to delete it.

Life has begun to get interesting. I have done a bit of writing about trusting God and now find myself in a position where I must live out the words that I wrote and I am not always enjoying it. For any of the readers that may find there way to this site, please pray for our family and the job stress that we are finding ourselves in at the moment.

On a happier note, I am looking forward to thanksgiving this year. It has been a tumultuous year (ooh! big word for me there) and I am going to be grateful for the reprieve that we will spend with family and friends. Take some time to focus on the things we do have to be thankful for instead of some of the junk that infects our lives.

The above picture is our Abby (left) with her best friend from school. That is one thing that we are thankful for, Jennifer is a wonderful friend and we couldn't have hand picked anyone better!

Video Post "Indescribable"

2007-10-24T17:17:00.001-05:00

We shall see if this works the way I want it to. Hopefully you can see a video I created. Most of the pictures are one's Jill took either in Maui or here in central Indiana.

Family and Fatherhood

2007-10-04T09:09:00.000-05:00

You know, I think I lied because I said I would update more. The problem is that I have to be in the right mindset to write anything that is semi-intelligent. Anyhow, thoughts for the post come from thoughts on being a father. Hopefully that won't turn anybody off who doesn't have kids because a majority of these thoughts come from God as our Father.

I am a huge fan of Criminal Minds that airs on Wednesday evenings. If fact so bad that we record it so we can go to sleep and usually watch it the next day...just as we did this morning. Over the course of the show, one of the things I have noticed is that the psychopath criminals are more often than not the result of a broken or horrendous home life. Now I know this is just tv but it makes me wonder why that seems to be the case and if the writers actually reference real life cases for their scripts. The more I think about this the more I realize how many people really struggle with life, situations, circumstances, you name it because they are the product of a horrible home life.

This is not meant to be an excuse but more of a call to attention. Everybody should still be held accountable for their actions. But what would happen if the church as a whole started paying attention and started mentoring young couples and young families as they are starting out. Not everybody has parents that have passed on warnings and wisdom about the pitfalls of life. How to save money and be content with what you have instead of spending every dime you make. What it means for a husband and wife to truly place the other's needs and wants ahead of your own and that it only works if both spouses are in it together. What to do when you are trying to by a house and how to know if you can really aford it. How to keep calm and in control when your newborn is screaming and you are at your wits end. There are so many who don't have people to turn to and some who are not willing to listen.

As a father I want the best for my kids... and sometimes that means having to discipline, sometimes it means letting them figure things out on their own, sometimes it means doing something for them just because it will bring them joy. I do know one thing though, my responsibility to my children is to pass on the things that I know and to pass on by belief and faith in God. I say this becasue he is my Father and he disciplines me, he loves to see me joyful, and sometimes he lets me try to figure things out on my own so that I will grow.

The ones who are in our churches and have never had people in there lives need the people in the church to step up and mentor them. To show love, to teach, to guide, and to graciously give of their wisdom when it is appropriate. If not, how will they know how to be a Godly spouse or a Godly parent?

When Sight Fails

2007-09-20T07:19:00.000-05:00

It is so easy to get caught up in the temporary situations around us. It can be losing a job, being miserable in a current job, struggling with church, other kids, neighbors or any number of things and situations. I take great courage in knowing "that which is seen is only temporary." (2nd Corinthians 4:16-18) I am eternally grateful that things are only temporary and that God's glory is so much better than anything around me. I must trust in this...I have to trust in this. If I don't then my heart will fail and I will be overcome by life's trials and become bitter and frustrated. That is the trouble with living by sight...the things we see around us begin to dictate our life and if it is good then we are in a good place but when things go bad we end up in a bad/dark place. When we live by seeing the unseen then the heart is constantly renewed and we are free from the restrictions of sight and the things in the physical world around us. It opens our hearts to see beneath the surface...things begin to touch us more, we are more concerned and aware of the things of the heart. And we begin to change from the inside out. This all stems from trusting in the unseen things that are of God and in God himself.

God's Goodness

2007-09-17T20:05:00.000-05:00

Today I am reminded of the goodness of God. In times of adversity it is a difficult thing to remember that God is the ultimate of goodness. The Bible is very clear that there is no sin, no evil in Him. When I consider the lilies of the field, the birds of the air, I know that God has taken care of them and that he loves and cares for me even more. There is evidence enough that he sent Jesus to die on the cross to save everyone from the clutches of Satan and the sentence of permanant pain and suffering through the cross.

That being said, it doesn't take away the fact that there is evil that seeks to devour and take as many souls with him as he can and it is Satan's desire to do just that. He is there, we can't deny it or pretend it doesn't exist. Anytime you want to question God's goodness, remember that there is an opposing force that want's to destroy all that God has created.

My prayer is today is a prayer of thanks for the richness of my life because I know that the bad things of life are not of God.

Giving Till It Hurts??

2007-09-08T14:54:00.000-05:00

I was at a wedding today where I was asked to run the sound equipment. Normally things at weddings don't give me much of a pause to think since I am there to do a job however today was a bit different. The grandfather of the bride was to read scripture and have some opening remarks and he made a statement about couples giving until it hurts. That made me stop and think because I don't think it is accurate. If done in the right heart...giving should never hurt. If two people love and care for each other so much then giving doesn't hurt because so much more is received in a good relationship. Giving only seems to hurt when it is done grudgingly, when one weighs the cost of the sacrifice. When it is done with the right heart and motive then there is no thought to how much this will hurt or cost. It all comes back to focus and motive. "Giving till it hurts" is a cliche that I will try to delete from my vocabulary...not that I use it much anyway but it seems to be a pointless phrase that carries negative connotation.

Time For A Change

2007-09-05T08:14:00.000-05:00

It is time for a change. This blog has been silent for awhile but I think it is time it is resurrected with a new purpose. My goal is to post regularly on this and on my other blog since the winds of change are beginning to blow. At this time, I do not know God's specific leading but I believe that he has been preparing Jill and I for something yet exactly what that is I do not know. My renewed prayer is that God will enable me to see beyond the physical world and learn to see with my heart and soul.

Plants, Seedlings, Spiritual Growth

2007-05-14T14:03:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we went to see my mother in-law for mothers day and had a wonderful afternoon being out on the farm. The girls love being able to be out and run around the 5 plus acres of barn yard and garden. One of the things we did yesterday was to thin out a little bit of the plants around the property. We dug up several lilacs, honeysuckle, trumpet vine, hibiscus, and something else that I can't remember and probably couldn't spell. The interesting thing about digging up plants to thin out and move is that it doesn't take very long after they are separated from the water and nutrients in the soil before they start to wilt. In fact if laying out in the sun, they can wilt in less than 30 minutes. In order for the plants to perk back up they need to be put in a bucket of water or put in the ground with a little fertilizer and water.

Our spiritual lives can be like that too. When we allow ourselves to become disconnected with God it doesn't take very long before we see negative effects. Prayer, worship, bible study, acts of service, spiritual reading, uplifting music are all things that help our soul to stay connected to the nutrients much like a plant that is dug out of the ground and moved. I have several things to plant tonight because if I don't, they may not survive. Our spiritual self can get pretty messed up too. We have to keep a connection with God, that is the only way to grow and survive.