The Journey

August 2011

2011-08-06T23:23:00.001-04:00

Just a short blog to update all of my readers (all 2 of you). I am currently in Arkansas picking up some contract work. Financially we have gotten to the point that I have made the last draw on my home equity line of credit to live and pay bills for August and after that we would have to look at taking out from my retirement account which I really prefer not to do. I am with a friend who had connections and all the doors have opened up, just not the ones I wanted personally. I am trusting that God has plans and that all is working for his good, but boy is this out of my comfort zone. If it works out like we think it is going to, then the work will provide a very big income for a short time (3-4 months). No it's not illegal, why did you even think that! Anyway, we will be contract sales people.
I am still applying for work back home and have several applications submitted and will continue to pursue that as we are here.
Plans right now are to come home every other weekend.

That's it for now.

Mission Impossible or is it?

2011-07-25T15:04:00.001-04:00

This morning I was listening to a podcast from Focus on the Family. Bare with me while I give them a small plug here. They have been around for years and their mission is "helping families thrive". I like that because I would like my family to thrive and not just survive. Anyway, they have apps for smart phones, a website, and they are on i-tunes podcast, providing 30 minute talks about many topics that we face as parents and spouses. Today I was listening to part 2 or The Challenges of Parenting Teens, and for those that have teens you understand that it is a challenge to raise teens. I have 2 of my own and so I wanted to hear what someone else said about how to deal with some of these issues.

Ok, so now you think I am fixing to repeat what I heard, NOPE. If you want to hear it go listen for yourself.

What I want to share with you is a comment that was made that has been so true of me and I think typical of most (if not all) dads. The comment and I quote,

"I think some dads find their role as only the provider role, write the checks, see that they get the things they do, and get real loud at games. I don't know that dads know what else to do"

For me, picking up the backpack of providing was easy. It's what the world says we are to do as men. We are to be the provider, the one with the fat wallet that is full of 20's to hand out to our wife and kids to get stuff, we are expected to pay the bills, we are expected to provide. So what did I do? For about 20 years I have worn that backpack well, making more and more, but also working more and more. At work we feel accepted, appreciated, respected, and needed, and so we (or at least I) got to where I would pour myself into work for 8-10 hours per day and sometimes 10-12 and sometimes even more than that. It rarely bothered me to put that much effort, time, and energy into work because I felt as though I was achieving something, that what I was doing was making a difference.

However, the backpacks I didn't want to carry were the backpacks of being a dad and husband. Those backpacks looked as if they weighed 10 times more than my provider backpack. When it came to being a dad and husband I didn't know what to do so I avoided it for the most part. Sure I did surface things and I did make some effort to go deeper occasionally, but for the most part, this was a much more difficult role to play and the responsibility felt much more as well. Feeling inadequate (not knowing what to do and afraid to make mistakes) was what most kept me from engaging in the arena of leading my wife and kids. Most of the things I did at work felt right and successful, but at home most attempts felt wrong and failed. Just what the enemy wanted me to feel.

As a father and a husband we are called to lead -

1. Our family spiritually (scary because we feel so unspiritual which lends to feeling inadequate)

2. In discipline of our children (sounds easy, but what a battle this can be)

3. Financially (as long as we are working all the time and making plenty of money not much to worry about)

Sound like Mission Impossible? Or is it?

As long as I try to do all this in my own strength and ability it is Mission Impossible. But the bible says that with Christ it is Mission Possible for "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me".

We must be weak so He can be strong. We must seek Him in carrying this backpack. We must continue to seek Him in all things. Reading his word and seeking wisdom and truth that we will use to carry out this mission. Not in our own efforts, but allowing the Holy Spirit to lead us all the time, praying at all times about everything that is causing us pain and discouragement.

If married, we are given a spouse and we are called to be committed to them through good times and bad, rich or poor, sick or healthy, sex or no, clean house or dirty, agreeing or disagreeing, mad or happy, good meals or burnt meals. Through days of perfect weather and through some of the worst of storms that feel as if things are about to be ripped apart. We are called to be committed to them no matter what and the only way we will do this is In Christ, being like Christ, loving them like Christ loved. He loves and accepts us unconditionally, we should love and accept unconditionally.

If we have children, we are given these children by God and called to raise them up in the way of the Lord. Our children are not ours, they belong to God and they are on loan (so to speak) for a time in which we are to raise them up and teach and discipline them (what a great and huge responsibility). We have to teach them God's law and God's grace. It is said that we see God through our earthly fathers, what kind of picture of God are we painting for our kids. Each and every day we are painting on a canvas a picture of God that they will leave home with. Think about that all day as we deal with our children.

Yes, as men, we have been given a huge role to play in the life of our families, and with Christ it is MISSION POSSIBLE.

Difficult Times

2011-07-11T09:37:00.001-04:00

Things haven't been going so well for me, at least that is how I feel anyway. I don't like to blog when I am not doing so well, but I think I need to because I need to be open an honest about what is going on in my life. If I only post when things are going well then I begin to paint an untrue picture of what life is like for a christian. Life for a christian isn't perfect, it has its share of valleys, disappointments, times of feeling alone, sad, and just downright depressed.

It all started last week sometime. I have had a run of trusting and believing and having faith that God is going to come through for me and provide a job, and now for about a week or more it has been all the opposite. I have felt abandoned by God, I have felt like God doesn't care about me, I have felt like God is not going to take care of me. No matter how much I read and prayed and put on the armor of God daily, I still felt like I was walking in the valley of the shadow of death. Wondering around lost, unsure of myself, unsure of my future, and winding up in a place of feeling hopeless. I can't compare what I am going through to what Job went through, but I have a great respect for Job for being able to stick with God while he lost everything.

It got to the point (sad to say but true) that I was ready to throw away all my books and not go back to church and basically turn my back on God. Sunday morning I managed to listen to Charles Stanley and David Jeremiah on the TV while I was in Ellijay and all I seemed to hear was how God would bless us. I wasn't feeling blessed with anything, I was feeling cursed, I was feeling as though God was punishing me for something.

I got back home in Carrollton around noon on Sunday and got busy with Ethan in an effort to get my mind off my troubles. Then around 3:30pm my wife comes to me and ask if I wanted to go to church tonight. My initial response was "no, not really", and then around 4:20 we are in the car heading to Atlanta to go to Passion City Church. My heart was still heavy, but it began to lift a little as we sang some great songs of worship and praise to God. The message was great, it was John 4, and the pastor did a great job of turning a story from the past into a present day story about us, about me, about how we are all the woman at the well, we all have a past. He knows our past, present, and future sins and he still chooses to give us living water that only He can give. During the closing song I couldn't sing, I could only stand their and listen, as warm tears rolled down my cheek I could only think about how I had been lacking trust in God. Just like the woman at the well, God knew that about me. I began to acknowledge/confess to God my lack of trust in Him and I began to wonder how I could doubt that the creator of the universe could do something for me.

Emotions/Feelings are part of who we are, God gave us emotions, but a truth that I know about my feelings is that - - Feelings are facts, (its true that I feel a certain way) but their not always true. So when I feel like God has left me (that is a fact, that I feel that way) I must remember that it is not true because His words tells us that He will never leave us or forsake us. God loved me (and you) enough to give us His son so why would He abandoned us. He was there all along with Job, He never left Job, but I am sure that job was feeling that way, but Job had unwavering faith even though his (so called) friends were telling him to turn his back on God. Thank you Lord for reminding me of this and I pray that I can trust you even when my feelings are not lining up with your facts. Thank you Lord for friends that encourage me in the truth, these are priceless.

It begins with us (part 2)

2011-06-29T17:35:00.000-04:00

OK, well that's great, but where do I start?

I was talking with a friend the other day and he had this analogy that most men can definitely relate to and that is the whole idea of instructions. Most men as you know will take the instructions and throw them out, (same goes for maps), it seems like any kind of directions for how we are to do things we just want to ignore and do things on our own. Then when things don't go well we give up and swallow our pride and pull out the directions or the map (or have it thrown at us).

This is not unlike how we face manhood, we tend to think "I got this" and do things the way we think is best. And then I hear Dr. Phil say, "so how's that working for you?", and for me, I have to say, not to well. It's when things aren't going so well that we might give up and turn to the instructions and begin reading looking for the answers or maybe just hoping that reading will do the trick. I know we tend to think things go bad because we don't read and pray enough, but I say even if you are reading and praying that things will still go wrong, but we will handle them differently. I know things are going to go wrong because of what James says about considering it pure joy when you face trials, not if, but when we face trials. No doubt about it we are going to face trials of many kinds, and believe it or not, it is good.

I say all this to bring it to a point, and that point is, it begins with us. God the Father desires to have a relationship with us, he wants us to know him better (by reading his word) and to rely on him for everything and to communicate with him (through prayer and worship). Instead of trying to be a better Father and Husband, lets focus on having a better relationship with God and allow him to direct our paths on being a better Father and Husband.

Several years ago I wrote this on a sticky note and came across it recently.

We can't lead until we follow, and they can't follow until we lead.

Our family can't follow unless we are leading, but we can't lead them unless we are following. Let us set the example by following after God, by spending time reading the word and praying and focusing on our relationship with God and trust that he is going to lead us down the path that He has set before us.

I have been down the road of doing things on my own and then going to God when things got bad. When I would do this, reading was a task, something I felt I had to do to get back in God's good grace so that things would go well for me. I wasn't reading to know God better I was reading so things would go better.

Here is a suggestion for reading.

Read out of a desire to know God more
Read to find out who you are, in Christ
Start in the New Testament
Have a reading plan

If you find reading the bible difficult, then I would suggest checking out youversion.com this is a bible reading app that you can get on the computer or as an app on your phone. It has several versions to read from and they have a bunch of reading plans to choose from including devotional readings. You can even play the audio of the readings and listen or read along.

It begins with us

2011-06-23T09:36:00.002-04:00

Well, I decide to start blogging again and then I get hit by the enemy and haven't blogged in over a week. I have sat down to blog on a couple of occasions and NOTHING, nothing at all, my mind was blank as all get out. I sat at my computer for about an hour and I typed and erased, typed and erased, until I finally gave up.

My struggle is coming from the enemy saying to me, "what do you have to offer?" and to that I say I have nothing to offer, but, Christ has something to offer through me and through writing this blog. So my prayer for this blog is that it will not be me in my strength and it will not be about me, but that it will be all about Christ in me saying to me and to you (the reader) exactly what we need to hear the Father say to us.

So with that said, let's talk about that lie. What do you (or I) have to offer? That is a lie that I believe most of us struggle with. As a father and husband I have struggled with this. What do I have to offer, except the ability to go to work and provide for my family. Don't take that wrong, providing is a good thing, but that is not all we have to offer. I think we have put ourselves in this box that says all we are good for is providing for our family, that we have nothing else to offer except that. We somehow have come to believe that we have little to nothing to offer around the home. If we are handymen, then that fits the place of fixing things and we can offer that. But what do we think we have to offer when it comes to our wife and children?

I don't know about you, but this thinking of "what do I have to offer" at home, is what kept me working long hours at a job and then coming home to exhausted to offer anything to my wife or kids. At times I have even thought that my wife was more "spiritual" than me so that too would lead me to think, what do I have to offer? My kids are pretty well behaved, in public, and so again the thoughts roll in, what do I have to offer? My thoughts would continue down the path and go something like this, "how could anyone as screwed up as I am have anything to offer" (to any relationship). So we sit back on our tails and hope and pray (sometimes) that God will watch over them, and that He will lead, guide, and direct their paths. Well, I do believe God will do that, but I don't believe that we are suppose to sit back and let him do it all. We are called to LEAD our families, as difficult as it may be, that is the calling we have on our lives as men.

Blogging Again

2011-06-14T08:18:00.004-04:00

It has been a long time, over a year, since I have last blogged. In my quiet time today I was thinking of all the men that God has brought into my life. Some have joined in the journey and others are still where they use to be. One man that is on the journey with me called yesterday because I was on his mind and he has done this a couple of time over the past few weeks, he called and weather he knew it or not he encouraged me to continue on this journey of following after God and leading other men to do the same. He reminded me of some seeds of truth that I had planted in him over a year ago, maybe even 2 years ago, and he let me know that those seeds are growing in his life. One of the hardest things in ministry is that you minister to others but sometimes you rarely know if it is really making a difference or not. I think from this story, Father is telling me, "hey son, you just keep planting seeds and leave the rest to me". Once again it is about trust, Father says do what I ask of you and trust me to do the rest. The past 3.5 years have been all about trusting Father more and more, I hope I am making some progress.

So, here we go again, starting to blog. Why? Because men are loners. We tend to want to do things on our own. We tend to think that we don't need anyone else. We tend to think that we can fix all things and do all things all by ourselves. And this............ is what gets us in so much trouble. It's what puts us in a place of being all alone, and when we are all alone......the enemy knows it and goes to work. But, if we can recognize this and be intentional about being around other brothers on a regular basis, and if we can reach out to another brother when we are struggling then we will not be fighting the battle on our own. We were not created to live this life with its struggles all alone, we were created to be in relationship with one another.

Men, we must overcome this obsession with doing life alone, we must put aside our pride and our ego, we must put aside everything that causes us to stand alone and we must stand together. This reminds me of the scene from the movie Gladiator when they are in the arena about to face the enemy and Maximus tells the men, "no matter what comes through those gates, we must stand together". So men, no matter what comes at us we must stay together in order to stay alive. Being by yourself will lead to death.

2009

2010-03-01T14:26:00.003-05:00

WOW, it's gone and we are now in March 2010. 2009 was an incredible year, difficult, fun, challenging, new, exciting, scary.....and on and on.......I think I probably experienced every emotion possible in 2009. I am making a short post in an effort to close out what is behind me and look forward. I hope that I can do a better job of posting in 2010, but I haven't gotten off to a good start. I'm glad there is grace.

Response to Question about a previous Blog

2009-01-22T21:51:00.003-05:00

A reader recently posted a few questions to my post "Hearing from the Father"

I would like to read your thoughts on these questions.
Do you feel in your heart, or by the word of God, that God has a difficult time speaking to us?

I don't believe God has a difficult time speaking to us. I believe that it is easy for God to speak to us, we just don't take the time to listen to Him. We tend to want to talk with God when we are in a bad spot and then we are really busy unloading our stuff and not really taking the time to listen after we speak. Hearing from God comes with practice, and it comes from truly seeking to hear, and expecting to hear. Some people may find this statement strange, as I for one for the longest time, never really thought that He would really take the time to speak to me, but He has and He does, in several different ways.

Do you think that God is missing out on a relationship with us because He can't get through to us?

Is God missing out on a relationship with us because He can't get through to us? He longs for that relationship but it is not Him but us that is missing out on something incredible. The story of the prodigal son comes to mind. See Luke 15:11-32 The Father did not want his son to leave, He desires to have a relationship him. He has so much to offer yet we want turn from that relationship and want to do things our way. But, WAIT!!!, the awesome part of this story is when the son returns..........read it and believe it. That is God, that is Abba Father.

Do you feel we are powerful enough to stiff arm God and cause God not to use us?

I don't believe it has anything to do with how powerful we are, but how He has given us free will to make decisions on our own for ourselves apart from His good and perfect will. Just like the prodigal son, the Father allowed his son to walk away without hesitation, this all goes back to "in the beginning" when Adam and Eve choose to not believe that God has their best interest at heart, a lack of trust in the creator. God desires to use us, He created us for a purpose and has a plan for our life, but, He gave us free will, to decide what we will do with His purpose.

Hope this helps, thanks for the excellent questions, I really enjoyed thinking through these and answering them.

A great book to read along these lines is one that I am reading right now, The Shack by William Young. I am not completely finished reading it yet, but what an awesome picture this novel paints, this book in incredible. it gets 5 no 10 stars, it is a must read book.

Final Post for 2008

2008-12-31T00:53:00.005-05:00

Well it's almost 2009 and it has been a while since I posted. Can't sleep tonight (thinking about the future) so I am up listening to a sermon on "Everlasting Father". This sermon had an impact on some people that had father issues growing up. I also went back and viewed our cardboard testimonies done this past fall. So as I sit here wide awake mind spinning along I shall blog once again, and hope that I can do this more consistently in 2009.

Since you last heard from me, we went on our whitewater trip on the Ocoee River with 12 of us, we had a great time and are looking forward to doing it again in '09, hopefully the upper Ocoee.

In October, 9 men participated in a weekend retreat called Band of Brothers Weekend, it was a great experience as usual. Most importantly the men connected with God and with each other. One man said, "this was the closest I have ever felt to God". We also had great fun and some great fear with rappelling off of Mt. Yona.

In November we had some fun with paintball, fathers and sons spending time together shooting each other with paint, what a better way to get close and get even all at the same time.

In September I started driving a school bus to help provide a little bit of income and some really good health insurance in order to provide for my family and continue what God has called me to do, ministering to others.

As we close out 2009 I reflect on how much I have had to learn to trust God this year, how He has taken us through some great challenges, and how He has helped me grow closer to Him. I am reminded of so many stories in the bible about how God provided, most of the time right in the nick of time. That is what he has done for us so many times this year. My desire remains unchanged and that is to Glorify God with my life and to live out His purpose for my life. I desire to continue to grow into what God wants me to be as a man and take other men on this journey.

I pray that you too would take this journey and become closer to God and more like Christ in 2009.

I don't know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future.

God Bless and Happy New Year

White Water Adventure on the Ocoee

2008-09-14T01:26:00.003-04:00

I like to keep these things short, I know how busy people are, write to much on a given post and all my many readers will stop reading. (that was a joke)

On Sept 27 a group of men and a couple of sons will journey to TN to go White Water Rafting. This is the adventure we chose to do after completing an 8 week study called Wild at Heart. I am including my oldest son as part of his initiation into manhood, this is his big adventure. We have had some outings together this year, and I presented him a sword to remind him that he is a warrior. Cody will be 15 on October 14th. I am very proud of my son, he is strong, he is tall, and he is handsome. It is hard to believe that it has been 15 years since he came into this world, time flies when you have 4 children.

Anyway, I am looking forward to our time together and I hope to blog about our White Water Adventure soon.

Married Life Live

2008-09-14T00:59:00.003-04:00

I know it's late, but I went to North Point Community Church tonight with some friends from church to attend Married Life Live. This is something that NPCC does 4 times a year and it make for a good date night. We had dinner at Justicks (sp?) which was very good.

The topic for tonight was conflict in marriage and how we deal with it. First of all "conflict is inevitable" there is no way of getting away from it, conflict is going to happen. Most men don't care anything about having conflict with our wives so we try our best to avoid it at all cost, nevertheless, it occurs. So we have to decide how we are going to handle it. BTW - conflict sounds like a bad thing, but if we figure out how to work through it the way God wants us to, it can actually be a good thing. So let's quit being passive and figure it out.

Here was the verse used tonight and it makes sense, just never have applied it to marriage. James 1:19-20

When you get in a conflict be quick to listen, and the speaker said that means you can't have your wheels spinning while the other one is talking, just listen. Slow to speak, think about what you say before you say it (I know now, this I have learned the hard way). And last, be slow to become angry (that should the least thing we do even in conflict because it doesn't help resolve the conflict - the other 2 do) and why, because our anger does not bring about the righteous (or right living) life that God desires. So if we are truly seeking to live in a way that pleases and glorifies God, then this we should strive to do.

The other thing I did think was a good idea was deciding on a signal that we agree on that during a conflict would mean that we need to take a break.

I am definetly not a fan of conflict, but I do understand that it is going to happen, so it is best if we figure out how to handle it to win and not loose.

2008-08-26T19:45:00.006-04:00

This post was meant to be published before this past Sunday when I actually preached. I had it in draft form and forgot to publish it. Was reminded by my MIL.

Another month has almost behind us and my God continues to provide for our family. It is awesome to see him work in ways that I can never imagine. In case you feel like your missing something, I have no guaranteed paycheck, I am living on God's provisions. For 9 months now we have not missed a meal, or been too cold or too hot, we have cars to drive, and on top of all that I get to do what God has placed on my heart, be in ministry working with people, watching them grow.

It has been a while since I have been asked to preach, but the opportunity has once again arrived. This will be my second time. I was a little more on my guard against spiritual warfare the first time, he got me last week until the blinders were removed. Not as much prep time this go around, I have this week to get ready, but then again I serve a God that is going to deliver to me the message. I have already spent several hours preparing by reading, listening, and praying. I think I need to change the order of these and pray and listen more, I'm learning. I still have my doubts about doing this every week, but I do enjoy studying some specific scripture in depth, researching to see how different people interpret, and then hearing what God wants to tell our church body.

Romans 14 is what I get to cover - if I had to sum it up in one sentence it would be "Mind your own actions(business), and be confident in your convictions(what you believe in) when it comes to disputable matters".

Sounds a little confusing, but to expound a little, we are instructed not to judge others on matters that are disputable. To me one thing that comes to mind in todays terms would be something like, what you wear to church. This is a disputable matter, some say you need to "give God your best", I think God accepts us as we are and he really isn't concerned that much about what we wear, he is most concerned with the condition of our heart. He would rather have a guy in ripped blue jeans, a t-shirt, and ear rings with a heart for God than a man with a 3 piece suit and tie without a heart for God.

More later..............

Update

2008-07-30T13:25:00.003-04:00

Almost a month has gone by without posting, my how time flies when you havin fun. I have been working a lot in July with a guy from church that owns PCEfloors.com, we make concrete look a lot better. In July we worked at the Atlanta Motor Speedway airport finishing the floor of an airplane hanger, we went to Charlotte NC and did a beautiful job on not so beautiful concrete, then it was off to Kennesaw GA for a 1200 sq ft garage that housed a Ferrari and Mazarati (not sure if I spelled that right). Anyway the work is pretty physical - probably 80% of the job is getting the concrete prepared for the finish. It has provided me with some income to continue doing what God has called me to do. Who knows where next month will take us.

During this time I was working about 2 days at office each week, I actually had to miss one of the wild at heart sessions, but basically have been going wide open for the past 3 weeks and have not had much time to do anything other than work, eat, and sleep.

July 16th we celebrated our 19th anniversary, WOW, hard to believe we have already been married that long, but it has been 19 great years, thanks honey, I love you.

I got a little down last week, I think all the working has kind of taken my focus off of my purpose and I was feeling like I was getting side tracked, but what do you do, it takes money to live and gas and groceries are more expensive than ever. I wish I were totally supported so I could do nothing but what God has called me to do. This led to a conversation with my better half, my wife, also sometimes known as the holy spirit, she agreed that she didn't know how I could do both, but then she proceeeded to tell me how I volunteer for everything, try to help everyone out, and all the many hats I wear of which some have nothing to do with what I feel that God has called me to do, needless to say, I am going to evaluate my many task and see what can be taken off my overflowing plate in order to focus on God and his purpose for me, my wife and children.

She has offered to go to work full time and is looking at being a parapro at the school where the children go, that way she has the same schedule. More on this later when she gets the job.

I finished up my first pre-marital couseling session last night, it was a great learning experience.

In my next post, back to what God has in mind.

Affirmation

2008-07-01T22:41:00.003-04:00

To affirm is a verb that means to encourage or support someone, this is usually done verbally but can be an action.

After a week of SuperWOW with the student in Jekyll I was exhausted and physically run down, guess who decided to jump in and kick me while I was down. You guessed it, the enemy, Satan, the deceiver, the father of lies, the one who doesn't mind kicking you when your down as a matter of fact I believe that is a tactic that he teaches his angels, to lie in wait, to watch and catch them when they are weak.

It really started Sunday after we returned that Friday night. No time Friday night because we were to exhausted we went straight to bed. Saturday was a busy day because we went to a Family Reunion almost all day, then Sunday rolled around and of course it is usually busy till the afternoon, we had lunch, we went home, and I crashed on the couch sometime after that is when the enemy started throwing the hand grenades of doubt about what I was doing. I had been doing good to fight these battle lately, but I hadn't fought them in a state of exhaustion before, so he got the upper hand and I began to believe that this was not going to work that I was going to have to leave what I was so passionate about, it crushed my spirit to think that I could not do this anymore. I drug myself through Monday, praying, reading, and even going to my quiet place by the river to meet with God, but nothing, I had been knocked down to the bottom. I woke on Tuesday feeling a little better and by lunch I had nothing to say (roller coaster effect).

Then it came, words of affirmation, I was missing them. They came from different areas all morning long and I was totally missing them. A friend from California sends an email and it was very encouraging (thats why I am blogging now). A text message comes through from one of the guys in the Wild at Heart study thanking me for following the vision God has given me for men. In a staff meeting a fellow staffer states that she is thankful for what I am doing with the men that she agrees that the men are the key. And in the mail over the weekend an unexpected supporter with $150 per month. Once again He has brought me through the battle.

Later that day I talk with 3 different parents of the students that I had the pleasure of chaperoning and they too were encouraging conversations. One parent had a difficult question about how to keep the fire that had been lit burning. It is so easy to go to a retreat and get emotionally pumped up and spiritually high and then come back and crash because we are not spending that much time in worship and the word when we come back. I understood what she was asking, but not sure I had an answer other than encouraging him on a very regular basis. Then a good friend of mine (and accountability partner) calls me up, he use to be a youth pastor, and we get to talking about the very same thing and he had some great words about how to get the kids to maintain and not burn out. It's kind of like weight training, you have to be determined that this is what you are going to do and then you have to do it daily, not overlooking any muscle group, but working them all to have a good balanced faith, praying, reading, hearing from God, sharing with others - mostly be determined that this is what you are going to do no matter what.

TTFN

Feeling kind of Blah

2008-06-30T23:44:00.004-04:00

Truly trusting in God is not an easy road. To give everything to him and to trust him with every detail of your life is, well, kind of scary.
On one hand I truly believe that God has called me to this place in my life, but then the other part of me says OK where is the money coming from. I am suppose to be the provider and now every days is depending on God to provide. It is not to far away from being just that, like the Israelites in the desert and God provided each day what they needed, and they grumbled because they didn't have what they wanted.
Notice I said they were provided what was needed but they became unhappy because they didn't have what the wanted.
Contentment is a very tough thing, we live in a world where more is better and the idea that he who dies with the most toys wins. I look around and see just that, people with more house than they need, more cars than they need, more stuff than they need, the latest gadgets, and more and more and more.
I find myself like the Israelites unhappy because of what I want, not what I need because God is providing.
Deciding to truly follow after what God has for your life means going through times of learning to trust. But why is that so hard when we know that He is a Big God, and that He can, and has, and does do Big Things.

SUPERWOW

2008-06-30T23:09:00.003-04:00

After a very tiring but rewarding week at Super Wow in Jekyll Island, I blog. I am a tired blogger because at 42 years of age your body just doesn't recover as fast as when we were in our teens. I had 8 young men in my room and some of them were very full of energy which caused them to stay up until very early in the morning hours 2-4am and as a counselor I was told that I had to be the last to sleep and the first to get up, I didn't quiet fulfill that, but I did come close.
The music was awesome The Chris Orr Band, Chris is a down to earth kind of guy and he truly gives all the glory and honor to God, he takes no credit a very humble man. He led in some awesome worship times. Then there was Drew Worsham - the illusionist - crazy guy using illusions and then bringing it all back to God, he never used the word magic and told the kids it was nothing but an illusion - he must have been handsome too because all the girls seem to really scream when he got on stage. And then there was the speaker, a fast talker, Wade Morris an fantastic speaker, God has really gifted him.
Now for the real story, the week was running along pretty calmly until Thursday, the day that Satan decided he needed to throw us for a loop. From my perspective it was as if the enemy came para trooping in and began opening fire, things began happening faster than we could deal with them, all the counselors had their hands full dealing with kids that being attacked in different ways by the enemy, we knew that Satan was trying his best to keep us away from the final worship time and so we did not give up we pressed on and took the kids to worship time, we really looked like we were bringing in casualties. During the service some of the injuries were dealt with and hearts were restored. Unfortunately some were not, one in particular that is still on my mind a young man whom I knew was dealing with something but just would not give up, he refused to talk, he is in a prison and the only person that can open the door is him, but he is afraid of something. I know he struggles with anger, but I don't know what about, I just pray that someday (I hope soon) he can open up to someone. God has a purpose and a plan for each of these young people, but he can't fulfill it if they can't surrender all.
It was quiet heartbreaking to get to know these young people and what they are going through, one was returning to parents separating, others with parents that have already separated, alcoholic parents, abusive parents, parents that do not take them to church or have anything to do with church. So what is the problem with society - PARENTS. Parents that don't listen to their children, don't spend time with them, have left them, have placed a fear in them. No apology for that comment because it is true. Not saying all parents are bad, just that it is hard to believe how some parents raise their children. Maybe I will elaborate at a later time, it would blow your mind.
To end on a good note several of the kids made decisions to renew their walk and 2 made decisions to begin their walk with God. This made the late nights all worth it.

Pre-Marriage Counseling

2008-06-22T23:49:00.002-04:00

What a great opportunity I have to be able to counsel people in many different ways. Thankfully I have begun to learn that it is not really up to me to fix anybody, I leave that up to God, I just try to be obedient to what he wants me to say. So many times and so many ways I think everything is up to me, but I know now, that nothing is up to me, I simple have a choice to be or not to be - obedient.

2 of 6 session complete of my first pre-marital counseling session and man what a blast. First of all, what a great couple. It is awesome when God brings 2 people together like he has these 2. I am going to really enjoy our time together, but better yet, I am going to enjoy watching them grow.

I wish I had been taught what I am teaching and I hope that couples take advantage of good pre-marital counseling (not me, but what I have been taught to teach) this is good stuff. Understanding what our expectations are before marriage. Understanding that fights usually come from UE's unmet expectations - and those UE's can be legit or not, and how to work through each. If we could just get it through our thick heads (mine) that the enemy is always at work and he wants nothing more than to keep us shooting at each other, if we could turn our focus and our guns toward the enemy we'd be so much better off.

Looking forward to the remainder of our time together.

God of Wonders

2008-06-22T23:13:00.003-04:00

WOW!! Think about how complicated the latest technology is, the iphone (created by man) and then think about how complicated the universe is or how a million nerves join from the brain to the eyeball to allow us to process much more information than any iphone or computer could even imagine. And some people choose to believe we evolved. Go to youtube and search for Louie Giglio and watch his many videos, or better yet get a full understanding of what happens after sperm and egg join and then see a baby born, I have heard numerous people say that when they saw there child being born, that there was no doubt there is a God and he created us. He is the God of Wonders. He created waterfalls, the moon, the sun and sunset and sunrise, he created our bodies that we take for granted until it doesn't feel good, he created a bunch of unique animals, insects, reptiles, birds, and fish, from the smallest to the largest. He created monster trees and tiny flowers. He created the universe and he created the billions of stars in the sky. He created Laminin - see Louie Giglio video on youtube - its amazing.

God of Wonders, thanks for creating all these wonders and thanks for creating me!

He was right beside her!

2008-06-20T22:42:00.004-04:00

God has used John Eldredge to explain things in a way that sort of take the blinders off.
I have started a study with 14 other men on the book Wild at Heart by John Eldredge. We just finished week 2 and the guys and I are seeing things in a new light already.
Week 1 was about who we are, we are men and we are created with a masculine spirit as women with a feminine spirit there is a difference and that difference is that men like adventure, and they desire to have a battle to fight, and we want to rescue the beauty.
In week 2 we talked about the poser, who we pretend to be and how we hide the real us. Why do we pose, because we don't won't anyone to think that we are weak or we are not smart, bottom line we cover up anything we think contradicts the idea that we "have what it takes" the all important question for every boy and man, "do I have what it takes".
In reading in Genesis a couple of things stand out in our mind that we had not seen that way before. First of all, Adam was created in the wilderness not in the garden, a reference to the idea that men need the wild and dangerous. In chapter 3 when Eve is deceived by the serpent we learned that Adam was not at distance looking on wondering what was happening, although we'd like to believe that, no, he was right beside her, close enough to touch her, they were side by side, elbow to elbow and he stood there and allowed her to take of the fruit that the Father had told them not to even touch. Most of the guys were thinking that he was off at some distance and maybe wasn't close enough to stop her, but he was, and he went passive, he stood there and allowed her to do what he knew was wrong and then (I believe) out of fear of loosing her he also ate the fruit. The first and only opportunity he had to be the leader that God created him (men) to be and he goes passive. We talked about how many times we have done the very same thing, instead of addressing something with our spouse we just ignore it, turn our backs, and go passive. Passivity is a Sin and we all fall into it because we don't want to fight or argue, yet at the same time we desire to have a battle to fight. Confusing? Is to me, but I catch myself doing the very same thing to avoid making her mad or to avoid an argument.
The next session is "the wound", the most difficult session, but the most critical to learn how to change the way we think.
Want to learn more, read Wild at Heart by John Eldredge.
Until next time.

Spending time with your son (part 3)

2008-05-26T21:02:00.006-04:00

OK, so because the other boys that were with there fathers were 4+ years younger than Cody, he felt a little out of place and it wasn't quiet what I had in mind. I wanted him to be able to spend time with boys at least closer to his age. So we decided to pack up and leave, we called my parents to see if they wanted to join us at a resturant in town and of course they were thrilled to have son and grandson to spend some time with. After a nice dinner at Ruby Tuesday's we went to their house and I spent several hours just telling them about how we both experienced hearing from God. Since this was not something I grew up knowing about, I had many questions for them about it. My dad is a bible scholar, he spends hours reading and making notes. I have no idea how many note books he has filled up, I hope I can be as knowledgeable over time.

I told Cody I was a little dissapointed in the father/son getaway but he assured me that he enjoyed just being away and having some one on one time. One on one time is hard to come by when you have 4 children, but they really enjoy it greatly and treasure the time spent alone with dad. Much like I enjoy being alone out in nature with my heavenly Father, just being quiet and enjoying the sounds of nature, the solitude, and hearing from Him. I often think of having a cabin in the mountains beside a stream or lake, no TV, no phone, just quiet solitude.

To sum this thing up, dad spend time with your children one on one, for they are only ours but a short time.

Hearing from the Father

2008-05-24T11:30:00.003-04:00

At the camp with my son Cody we spent time hearing from the Father. This post is about part of what I heard.

After answering my question, the Father had some things he wanted to say to me and ask of me. The thing He asked me to do was to put up some very simple benches by the river at the church for a place to meet with Him. Well, I did just that, I asked one of our members that is usually out and about town when he works (real estate) to see if he would have a chance to go by HD and pick up some wood to construct them. He was at home and had exactly what was needed that he no longer needed. He dropped it off at church that night. On Sunday I talked with a guy that had a gas power hole digger and he said he would be glad to come by and help, he even brought some quikcrete for the post. We placed 3 benches by a spot at the river that is far enough away from everything to be a very peaceful and quiet place to hear from Father.

It has been well received by the other pastors and they have been spending time listening to Him as they prepare sermons or ask for direction, or ask very specific question with something that is going on that day.

Hearing from God is not that difficult, we just need to have a quiet place and go with the intention of hearing from Him. Probably the most difficult part about it would be getting our minds to slow down enough. I always feel like I can hear from him best when I am in nature, in the beauty of what He created. Some people have actually had the pleasure of seeing the beaver that lives at our quiet place and observing his behavior. I hope to be able to enjoy that as well.

Slow down and take time to listen to the Father. Not sure about what you should do with a problem in life, stop trying to figure it out yourself and ask Him. He wants us to seek Him and He longs to speak to us.

Spending time with your son (part 2)

2008-05-24T10:54:00.007-04:00

OK, this isn't going well, I can't seem to get in a rythm of posting weekly, so for those of you reading this bear with me.

Back to the weekend with my son. It wasn't quite what we expected, but we made the best of it. I was able to spend a little time with a good friend of mine, Tim Harrison, and his oldest son. We went up Friday evening and settled into a nice rustic cabin sitting above Carters lake in the North Georgia mountains. As with any place in the mountains my legs got more of a workout than they have had in a while, vehicles had to be kept at the entrance of the camp and everything was pretty much on foot from there. Friday night Cody and I found an empty cabin and took that one to spend some time alone. We awoke Saturday morning to the sounds of nature, birds chirping and leaves rustling in the mornig breeze, we dressed and went for food. After breakfast Tim and I took our boys to the overlook of the lake and talked about hearing from God. (something relatively new for me) After Tim explained the process we all went off to be by ourselves to listen to the Father, and we did. When we get quiet enough to hear Him, He speaks. We can't hear Him in the busyiness of life, the rush of the day, with our minds running 90 to nothing, we have to be still and quieten our minds and then listen for the small voice to speak to us. We each ask very specific questions and got answers. (More on this in another post). We met back together and talked briefly and then headed back to camp by way of the woods. In the woods we ran across a vine and had a little adventure by turning it into a swing and swinging off the side of a mountain like Tarzan, after a few turns we proceeded on our way, enjoying the beauty of what the Father had created for us to enjoy. After lunch we checked out the ropes course and then went for a canoe ride on the lake (we managed to stay in the canoe).

We headed back up the mountain and about half way back I realized that I had laid the camera and my wallet down while putting on my shoes and forgot to pick them up. I headed back down alone retrieved my things and then headed back up the long steep trail. On the way back up I got to enjoy the presence of a black snake, had to take a picture so everyone would believe me.

Cody felt sorry for his dad, so when he got back to camp he asked a counslor if he would take the Gator and go pick me up. I was never more happy to see the Gator. I was exhausted. We went back to the cabin and had a little nap, when we woke up I asked Cody if he wanted to stay or go spend some time with his grandparents. We opted to leave. To be continued.........

Spending time with your son

2008-04-25T13:55:00.005-04:00

I am packing to go on a father/son outing at Camp Highland and I just wanted to make a short post about spending time with your son.
Every son wants to know that he is loved by his dad and every son wants to know that he has what it takes. Spending time with your son lets him know that you love and care about him and that he is important. Cody is my oldest, he will be 15 in October, and on his 14th birthday we went away on a camping trip by ourselves and I presented him with a sword. The sword was a replica of the one that William Wallace had in the movie Braveheart. The sword is a reminder for my son that he is a warrior, that this life journey of ours is daily battle against the enemy. The enemy that wonders around the earth seeking whom he can devour. I don't know about you, but I don't won't any of my children to be devoured by the enemy. Cody is a fine young man, and I pray that as he goes through the trying times of High School that he will remain strong in his faith. Cody and I have had the sex talk, dad's need to be the ones to tell their sons about this, they do not need to learn from others. It was difficult because I had to share with him some of my struggles (porn), but I wanted to share it with him so he would understand the danger and understand how addictive it is. I have been addicted to nicotine before, but porn was much more difficult to break, as a matter of fact, I had to quit trying and give it to God and have an accountablity partner before the addiction could be broken. I don't want my son to go through this, so I am trying to spend time with him and start turning the father/son relationship into a friendship. Why? So he will have the chance of knowing that his dad has struggled with it therefore, if he begins to have this or other struggles, then he can go to his dad and talk about it without feeling condemned, or like a failure, or feeling that I would get angry with him.
You can't buy a friendship, it comes from spending time, talking openly, letting him know that you struggle with things and you are not perfect and that you do not expect him to be. When we can count on someone not judging us about something we have done wrong, and know that they will encourage us, love us, and fight the battle with us, then we will be more prone to open up and talk to someone.
The enemy wants nothing more than for us to be on our own, he can take us out a lot easier that way. When we stand together the enemy is not as confident and not as strong, because we bring light into the darkness, we bring truth to the lies, and the enemy will loose that battle. The shields that the Roman soldiers carried had hooks on each side so they would connect with the other warriors and this made a great barrier for defense as they fought side by side against the enemy.
So this weekend is about fighting for my son.
I could have easily said that I can't afford to, but the fact is I can't afford not to. The battle is that serious.
Men, spend time with your sons, go camping, go fishing, go to a movie, play paintball, just find something he enjoys and just do it. No excuses. They are only ours for a time.

Warped View of God

2008-04-23T08:16:00.005-04:00

It's not about rules and rituals, it's about a relationship. That is what we need to take hold of. We need to know that it is about the relationship with the Father, yes I said Father. When I think of "God" I think of performance, when I think of "Father" I think of a relationship. A father has a child and thus the relationship. We are God's children so he is our Father.

If then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him. Luke 11:13

WOW! How much more will Father give. I know what my earthly father did for me, more than I deserved. When I had a wild hair about keeping books for peoples business, he spent $200 on a program. I know today if I asked him that he would probably give me just about anything. Then the bible says "how much more" will your heavenly Father give.

Father desires to have a relationship, not a religion, not rules, not regulations, not rituals. It is not about a check list of do's and dont's. He simple wants to have a relationship with me, with me!

What is a relationship, a relationship is real, not fake. It's about being totally honest and being transparent and its about communication. How do you have a realtionship with someone?

Synonyms:
connection, correlation, interconnection, interdependence,

Connection-being connected, Correlation-being able to relate, Interconnection-having deep connection(not shallow),
Interdependence - dependance on Him -we depend on Him to provide all our needs in order that we could fulfill His purpose for our lives. He would like to depend on us to be obedient in fulfilling that purpose.

This relationship does not depend on our performance. He created us and He desires to have a true and genuine relationship. True friends forgive us and still love us. How much more does He love us? Enough to send His only son to die for me.

Thanks Father for loving me and desiring a relationship with me. Help me to understand and take hold of this more and more each day.

Let's get started

2008-04-22T22:46:00.002-04:00

I was recently given the great opportunity to preach at my church and I can't believe I didn't immediately say no. It's like God had prepared me for the question ahead of time and "yes, I think it's time". So On April 13 I preached my first sermon, 2 actually, we have 2 services. I spent a great deal of time praying and asking God to give me the message that he wanted PCC to hear. I also prayed till relentlessly about taking away the nerves and He did. He is an awesome God, I could not have done it without Him. That is exactly what I believe He wants from us, totaly surrender, we can do all things through Christ which strengthens us. Not in my power or ability but in Gods. In my feeble thinking I was wanting to survive and get through it and I figured after I got through it I wouldn't have to preach again for a while, but honestly, I could do it again. It was mentally and emotionally tiring, but worth it. The message was part of a series called "The Art of War", and I got to speak about the shield, helmet, and sword parts of the armor of God. Not sure where He is taking me, but I sure am enjoying the ride.

This weekend I get to spend time at a father/son retreat with my oldest son Cody. Cody will be 15 in October going in to High School. The next several years could be very challenging so I hope that we have a great weekend together with God at Camp Highland. Cody is a gift from God (as all my children are). Cody LOVES music and I believe God may be planting a desire in his heart to do something with music. He currently sings in the youth band at church and has recently picked up (and I do mean picked up) the bass. In a matter of weeks he had the basics figured out and was playing with the band. I am going to pray and ask God to allow us to have a great weekend and that we grow closer together, bond, and start the journey of becoming friends. He is becoming a man.

It's been a long time!!

2008-04-22T22:16:00.002-04:00

WOW!! I can 't believe that I have not posted in 3 months. I was supposed to be determined to post weekly and now it has been a quarter already. OK, its time to get my rear in gear. I am going to put a place on my weekly calendar for blog time. At least I haven't been as long as the Burrito Pastor.

Reading in 2008

2008-01-25T22:52:00.000-05:00

Just a short blog to help hold me accountable. My Bible reading goal this year is to read the entire Bible. So far, I am proud (not in an arrogant way) to say that I am ahead of schedule, as I have completed Genesis and Exodus. As I read through these 2 books, I have to say that no matter how many times I have read it, I pick up on something new.
For book reading, I plan to read 6 books this year. My first book is Samson and the Pirate Monks, this is a book about authentic manhood. Half way through this book and it has been good so far.

Resisting

2008-01-25T22:24:00.000-05:00

WOW, what a week. It has been so busy and the week has past by so quickly. The amazing thing to talk about this week is how God has been working. It seems that Satan has been working overtime and extra hard to try and mess with some guys that have been trying to grow in their relationship with the Lord. It never fails when we begin to grow closer to Him, we become more of a threat to what Satan is trying to do, therefore, he unloads and sometimes with both guns. But, I am very glad to say that in all the battles fought this week, God had some good victories.
In a devotional this week, Daily in Christ, the verse was James 4:7, "Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you." When we are under attack we often forget that the battle is not against flesh (yours or someone else) but against spirits. If we can remember that it is Satan, and if we can remember that as a child of God, we have the authority to rebuke Satan. If we keep this in mind then we should remember in those times to verbally (out loud) say, "In the name of Christ I command you to leave me." This is not a matter of how spiritually mature you are, if you have excepted Jesus in your heart, you have the authority because of your position in Christ. Resisting the devil is our responsibility .

Sex

2008-01-19T18:47:00.000-05:00

We had our men's breakfast this morning, we spent a good while in prayer, and then had open discussion. I wanted other men that have not been able to participate in our Wednesday night accountability group to see a little of what goes on. I was glad that the guys spoke up and shared with the other men. I so enjoy our time together, it is always so encouraging to see our men growing and I am excited about what God is going to do in and through our men in 2008.

If you are reading this and you are a father of pre-teen or teen boy(s) I would highly recommend talking to them about sex. You say you don't know how, then find out, get a book, ask another man in your church that has teen or older boys, but DO SOMETHING, don't just leave that to someone in school, a fellow student or even a teacher, it is our job as dad's to be the one that teaches them and shares with them how God intended it to be. I would hate to be a teen today with such easy access to pornography. With most homes having at least 1 computer, Dad's, we are responsible for protecting our children from that danger. Set limits and rules and have the discussion on the dangers. A great book for this is
Preparing Your Son For Every Young Man's Battle by Steve Aterburn

There is also one for Dad's called Every Man's Battle, in case you may be struggling with sexual sin. Learn how to win the battle.

You may think that you can't teach your son because you have messed up yourself, well, get over that, it is just Satan trying to keep you from doing what your suppose to be doing.

We'll talk more about who and what God wants us to be as MEN.

The Key

2008-01-16T21:26:00.001-05:00

It is difficult to make time each day to sit down and blog, I want to, but with 4 kids life gets busy and I want to keep my family at a higher priority than blogging. I will need to work on managing and utilizing my time better in order blog more consistently. I probably need to make my blogs shorter.
OK, my thoughts for the day were confirmation that the men are the key to a successful marriage, family, and church. How often can you go to a church and see kids there with no parents, or a wife and kids with no husband, and how often do you see a father at church with no family?? If you see a father, you typically see the family. Now the big question, how do we get connected to the men, how do we relate to them, how do we break through to them, in order to get them to place Christ in the center of their life?
It's not just a snap of the fingers, it takes time, and it is on God's schedule, not mine. I am on a campaign to see men grow in their relationship with Christ, because I believe without a doubt that this is THE KEY.
The other thing that makes it difficult is pride, pride is a killer of our progress to a Christ centered life. Shame, guilt, lack of self-worth and self esteem, all of these are lies that Satan has stuck us with that hold us back. We try to be transparent, but we can't go all the way, because we are still worried about what someone might think about us, well guess what, it doesn't really matter what anyone thinks because we were not made to glorify man, but to glorify God, and he already knows everything about us, right down to the number of hairs on our head (if your not bald). You can't hide addictions, anger, lust, filthy talk, you can't hide anything from Him.

Accountability

2008-01-03T21:22:00.000-05:00

Accountability, WOW, what a remarkable thing to help keep someone in line. When you know that you will have to answer to someone about your struggles, whatever that may be, it's amazing how much easier it is to stop doing something you thought you would never break free from. About a year ago we started a men's accountability group that started with about 4 guys and has grown to about 15 (of course not everyone shows up on the same day) It has been AMAZING to watch God grow us and help us change and overcome some pretty strong bondage. Guys have begun to pray more often, date their wives more often, and call on each other if we may be having a weak moment. It is so tough for guys to ask for help, after all we are guys, we don't need help with anything, needing help is a sign of weakness or so we are suppose to think. When we can let our guard down, become transparent, and share those struggles with other men, then something incredible happens, we begin to overcome the grip that satan has on our lives, and we begin to have Victory and we begin to experience FREEDOM. Our favorite song is Freedom by Daryl Evans, check it out on i-tunes. We need each other to fight the battle, it wasn't intended for us to fight alone, we are to stand together with our brothers and fight the battles against satan and he deception and lies. We are about to multiply our group and my hope is that God will continue to move and grow in the men, because I believe the most important factor in a sucessful marriage, family, and church -- begins with us, the men.

The Journey - step of Faith

2008-01-01T20:11:00.000-05:00

Back to The Journey. After 5 years of being a plant manager and being recommended for the next step, it all ends, just as quick if not quicker than it started. I believe it happened the way it did for a reason and a purpose and that was God's purpose. He had been calling me and I hadn't been listening, actually I hadn't been trusting, I saw no way possible for ME to make this happen. So, out of a job and God is leading me into the ministry which would more than likely mean a significant pay cut in the beginning and hopefully come back with time. This is calling on all the faith that can possibly be mustered up to trust that God will provide. It is out of my hands, and only He will be able to provide, but I believe He will provide just like He provided never ending flour and oil for the widow and her son, just like He provided for 5000 with only a few fish and some loaves of bread. So beginning now, Jan 2008, we are relying on God to provide for our family as only He can do. 2008 is going to be an AWESOME year. God is going to use me to help people experience financial freedom, to minister to men, to direct the administrative function of the church, and best of all to assist in leading people to a life changing relationship with Jesus Christ. This is my heart and passion, and to have the opportunity to live it out is incredible. I can't wait to see what God is going to do in 2008.

The Van

2008-01-01T19:44:00.000-05:00

OK here it is, it's not new, but it is newer.

We just got back from a great New Years Day get together with friends, food, and fun. We were only going to stay about 2 hours and ended up staying for about 5. We had the required dinning of greens, black eyed peas, ham, and cornbread. I think Michael ate the most 3-4 plates plus dessert, he had to wait until Jan 2nd to start the diet.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!!!

The Truck

2008-01-01T13:41:00.000-05:00

Well, here it is I have spent the day cleaning up my 2003 Ford F150 to prepare for sale. Yes, I am giving up my truck. It eats to much gas so I am downgrading to something that gets better gas mileage, like a Nissan, Toyota, or Honda. When I buy it I will post it on my blog. But for now, this one is FOR SALE.

Selling this truck will allow us to buy 2 less expensive cars, actually I have already purchase Sheila a 2000 Honda Odessey that I got for a very good deal after negotiating for several days.

I'll Show the van on the next blog since I can't figure out how to add the picture, I am still learning.

Carrollton

2007-12-21T14:16:00.000-05:00

Now in Carrollton I quickly became involved in another church plant, this one in Villa Rica Ga called Peachtree Community Church. http://www.peachtreecc.org/ We are in the process of updating the website. Again serving in the same capacity as before and we started with 30 core members and now have about 300 attending each week. My wife is the worship leader, and doing an awesome job if I do say so myself, I only play on occassion when needed. It has been an awesome journey, from a temporary facility that had the green artifcial turf and smelled like sweat because it was a batting cage that we transformed every week into a worshisp center. In September of '07 we began meeting at a new location that God provided, a 9 acre campus with a building that we transformed into childrens area and offices and a new worship center that was added on. I couldn't believe the transfomation that took place with the building, it is an awesome place. The teenagers have a place to call their own and on Wednesday night it is rockin with about 50 teenagers and all their hormones. God has blessed us with Brian and April Bolden who sacrifically lead the teens, God has given them such a heart for these young people. OK that brings us up to date.

Ellijay

2007-12-20T22:36:00.000-05:00

Let's continue. After going to work with Gold Kist in 1990 I progressed over the next 12 years from dept supervisor, unit manager, and lastly superintendent. All this gave me a tremendous experience and I gained much knowledge to lead me to become a plant manager which came with a move which I never thought we would do. In 2002 we packed up the family and headed to West Georgia - Carrollton - I had arrived or at least I thought I had, I was a Plant Manager.
But what was it really about, it was really about us growing. I believe when God places you in a position of leadership it will challenge you in so many ways and with this comes learning, mostly from mistakes, and some learning was from doing some very difficult task like discipline and sometime dismissal, but I believe this just makes you stronger. More than any of this I believe that my wife and I grew tremendously just from being "on our own", we had to depend on God and each other more than ever before. No more parents to help out when the trials and tribulations are there, of course they were always there to listen, but no more taking the children off our hands to give us a break. And still again we learned and we grew and of course we have made mistakes.

Let's move from this subject and back up and go into ministry, you know, Church. While I grew up in Ellijay I was attending the local FBC always participating in mulitple activities and going anytime the door was open, this would be the place that Sheila and I would get married. After marriage we tried to find "our" church and so we tried many, but returned. We became involved again, she serving in music and I taking on different rolls and eventually becoming a "deacon" - later I would begin working with our youth pastor helping with whatever I could, not knowing that this was just the beginning of what would come. Somewhere around '98 that same youth pastor would be involved in a Contempary Church plant and go figure God wanted Sheila and I to go as well. We made up 1/2 of the band, her playing the keyboard and singing and me playing drums and singing harmony. God has given my wife a wonderful voice and musical talent and an extreme love for music. We served our hearts out, practice, set-up, worship service, tear down, weekly small group at home, and me also serving on the leadership team. What a great time, and we wanted to pour out for people to have a different type of worship one they could feel more comfortable with. It was an adventure and a learning experience and it too played an important part in my journey. And then, the move to Carrollton, to be continue..............

Getting Started

2007-12-17T09:33:00.000-05:00

Here we go, my first blog, it's a new thing for me. Here is the short version of where I am.
I was born in Dekalb County and lived in Tucker GA, attending Tucker Elementary until the 3rd grade when we moved to the beautifull mountains of Ellijay GA. Attending 4th and 5th grade at Epworth Elementary and then transferring to Ellijay Elementary for 6th and 7th and then on to Gilmer High School where I graduated in 1985. In the summer of '85 (July 16th) is when my wife and I had our first date (McD's and The Goonies) and we had fallen in love. I started Truett McConnell night school and later transferred to North Georgia College where I graduated in 1990 with a BBA in Finance. Exactly 2 years after I started dating my wife we got engaged and then exactly 2 years later we were married July 16th, 1989. After graduating from college I went to work with Gold Kist Poultry in Ellijay GA. We were dirt poor and in love, living in a small trailer next to the parents. Fast forward to '93 when our first child was born "its a boy" we named him Cody (now 14 and taller than mom), fastforward to '96 another boy, Caleb the comedian, and then in '99 along comes the only girl in the family Emma, the little princess. Last but not the least in '02 came another boy Ethan. God has blessed us with 4 wonderful children and he knew that 1 girl was enough for us. To be continued............................