Hero's

December 31, 2008- Today's standards of a hero are not what they were a few years back. A hero to me growing up was one of high moral standards. You know, one that would save a damsel in distress or get a cat out of a tree. Now we have hero figures who have affairs in their marriages and use pets as fighting instruments for sport. Wow. But you know, even the hero standards that I had as a kid were off a little. Real hero's aren't even very visible lots of times and even when they are we don't see them. Look at the Bible for examples of hero's. I'll just use Elijah for example. We definitely see him as a hero. right? But what did people back then see him as? Yeah he called down fire from heaven and made a show of the priest's of Baal, he did six other major miracles also, but when the kings wife started to search for him he ran. Next we find him complaining to God in hiding. If someone had seen that surely they wouldn't have thought, "you know that is going to be a man whose story is told in thousands of languages for thousands of years to millions of people". No. And today when somebody sees you they might think the same. What have you ran from? What miracles have you seen or been part of? Just know that your life might just be the one talked about for thousands of years. Or the guy that delivers your paper, or the girl at the grocery store. Hero's are all around us. Remember, it's God who chooses a hero, not a magazine. (image by wordle)

Maawidge

December 29, 2008- Just have one small announcement. I am finally getting married!!! You have no idea what a statement that is, but it's going to happen, and soon mind you. Can't really say the date though. We're keeping that quiet. You know, 007 stuff. Anyway, I wanted to post a video. I have loved this song since I was a kid, and now I'm going to get to play it at my wedding. Cheesy video but the song is wonderful, so watch the whole thing. Have a Happy New Year!!!

Resolution or Recidivism

December 26, 2008- Well, Christmas is over. Gifts have been exchanged. Relatives have gone back to their home lives. All is well.
Now it's time for the New Year. Out with the old and in with the new,right? Not so much if you ask someone that is truly honest. Mark Batterson had a post on a similar note (here). He calls it postcompletion error. I call it simple recidivism. Please read the definition to the word. You see, we make resolutions to change things in our lives. Some of the things that we commit to stop doing are harmful to us or have negative consequences. When we don't follow through on the commitment and revert back to that same behavior, we are in a state of recidivism. When you read the definition you will see that there is a comparison to substance abuse, criminal behavior, even sexual offenders. That might not wake you up but it does me. This coming year I plan to make changes and follow through with them. I'm not going around this mountain anymore. God has given us new life. And with Him living in me I know I can overcome the sin that has so easily beset me in the past.

Merry Christmas

December 25, 2008- Today is truly a very Merry Christmas. I woke up this morning and went for a drive with my mom. Now we are going out to grab a bite to eat and then a movie. Here are a few things I love about Christmas in Auburn.

1. The town is completely closed. That means that people are spending Christmas with their families.
2. The weather is fair, not too hot and not too cold.
3. Waffle House is open to those that want to eat out.
4. The movie theater is open for us that want to see the Christmas releases.

God has been great to me this year. I am truly blessed to be exactly where I am at this time in my life and I'm truly thankful and looking forward to all that is to come in 2009. Merry Christmas.

Delivering Christ

December 21, 2008- Giving Christ to the world is our job. But before we can do that effectively, we must go through a process. Looking at the mother of our Lord and Savior, we see a picture of the process we all go through before being able to deliver Christ to the world.

1) The process is uncomfortable- Pregnancy isn't comfortable and the same applies with our walk with the Lord. At times it is uncomfortable.
2) It stretches you- To have a child your body has to be stretched to accommodate the one that is living inside you. The same applies when Christ comes to live in us. Our capacity is stretched to new levels to make room for the One living in us.
3)You have to change the things you do- When pregnant you have to change the way you do things. Mary did. So do we. When Christ lives in us, we have to change the way we do things.

After, and only after this process can we effectively deliver Christ to the world. It worked for Mary, and it works for us as well. You don't have to become pregnant to give Christ to the world, you just have to go through the process.

Fear

December 20, 2008- Fear is something that plagues the world today. So many of us miss the great things God has for our lives because we are afraid either we will fail, or that we will be hurt in the process. Fear is an ugly four letter word.

• F ailure to know who we are in Christ
• E asily swayed to doubt
• A lways wishing things were different
• R eacting vs. acting according to what God tells you

Paul tells us in 2 Tim. 1:7, "for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self control". Fear is something we have to move past, move through, and overcome if we our going to experience God's best for our lives.

Despereaux

December 19, 2008- What the world needs is a hero. A good old fashioned hero, who isn't afraid to shake things up a bit...

Volunteer Night

December 17, 2008- We have had a great day here at Victory. This is the first time I've been involved with a volunteer appreciation event as a staff member. This stuff is work. But wow, what an impact. Serving as a volunteer, at times, seems like the hardest working, least appreciated jobs, in ministry. Tonight, we get the chance to serve the ones that really hold this thing together. It is great to see people serving God and doing exactly what Jesus told us all to do.

1. Love God with all our heart mind, soul, and strength.



2. Love our neighbors as ourselves



3. To take the gospel to all the nations(you'd just have to visit our church)

As a staff we are so greatful to work along side such wonderful people, and it is going to bless me tremendously to serve them as appreciation to our fellow workers.

Potluck?

December 16, 2008- I haven't been keeping up on my post lately. God forbid I ever get truly busy, I'd never post anything. Anyway, I have had alot going on the past couple of weeks and have saw some great rewards of that time. Now Christmas is really here and that means, guess what? Yep, potluck dinners. This week I am working on a message called "Potluck". We are having a potluck dinner for the Celebrate Recovery ministry and God spoke to my heart that the gospel message is a potluck message( not in what we say, but what we bring to the table). You see, we are all invited the dine with the Lord. All we have to do is answer the door. Also, It doesn't matter what you bring to the table. God uses exactly what we have and shapes us to accomplish great things for His glory. So bring what you have to dine with the Lord. We are all welcome.

Be the Change...

December 10, 2008- This is exactly what many people deal with during the holidays. We spend this time with family(and there's always the ones who hate each other, but continually show up at grandma's for Christmas). Don't you just love that. I've done that and I know you have too. Well, I'm not being apart of it anymore. This Christmas, and all the rest, are going to be different. There is a portion of scripture in Matthew 5: 13- 16 that says,"You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost it's taste, how shall it's saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to the whole house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven".

Remember to always be the change you want to see in the world...

Practicality

December 5, 2008- This time of the year is known for lots of things, but being practical isn't usually one of them. Everything is go, go, go, over the top, and over activity. That's why it doesn't surprise me that the suicide and depression rate in our country is through the roof during this season. So, in the midst of all the running, performing, overspending, smiling when you want to scream, I have some life changing advice. In this season we all need to take the time to do these 3 very practical things. Stop, Look, and Listen.

• Stop- Sometimes we need to stop trying to be everywhere and doing everything. Stop means to be still. This season, for Christians, is meant to recognize our Lord and Savior. Between shopping, Christmas plays, dinner parties, and more shopping, we miss the very reason for the season. Psalms 46:10 says,"Be still, and know that I am God..."


• Look- In a crazy economical time in this country, people are searching everywhere for an answer. Things can become distorted and cloudy in that search. But the Bible tells us where to look. We are to look to the hills. Psalms 121


• Listen- If we will just slow down for a minute in the chaos of this season, we might actually hear what God is trying to say to us. The breakthrough that we need in life might only require us to listen. Jesus said in John 10:37, "...Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice".

Inventory

December 4, 2008- I have a question that has been stuck in my head for the past few days. When I was a little kid, this was always a wonderful time of the year. You know with Santa coming and all. Anyway, as excited as I was, there was always that thing in the back of my head."OK, how did I do this year? Did I make Santa's nice list or am I on the naughty one,(Look, I don't have time for the theological discussion about Santa Claus, I'm making a point here). Did you do the same thing? I know you did, because people always sang that silly song to you. Well, now that I'm older and the world seems different, I don't always think that way. You know this year we all had things we said we wanted to do for God's kingdom. My question is, How did I do?
In what areas of my life do I need to improve? This time of the year means inventory for me.

Generation WE

December 2, 2008- Very powerful video of a generation that truly is determined to make a difference. So, when we ask, "who do we need to focus on reaching?". Well the answer is we need to reach WE....

I can do it!!!!

December 1, 2008- I am utterly amazed at what God is doing in the lives around me. It is so wonderful to see faith in action. The economy is a wreck, the state of our country is a coin toss, and despite all that I see the people of God saying,"It doesn't matter what it looks like, everything will work out".
To the unbeliever, that makes no sense whatsoever. Things aren't alright. People are loosing their jobs, families are being ripped apart due to financial crisis, and in a time like this people are looking for someone to make it all better, but nobody is there.
How is it that you can have a positive attitude in times like this? Well, just to keep it real with you, things aren't that bad. We live in the greatest time ever! We are blessed beyond our wildest imagination and we don't even appreciate it. We live in a country that spends in the area of a half trillion dollars on Christmas alone. We are blessed. But our main focus has to move from how do we get more so we can do more. Our focus needs to move to the true source of our getting. God is our supply. He is our source. And with Him all things are possible.
If you ever get in a rut and think you can't do it, just watch this...