Psalm Saturday: Psalm 15

Psalm 15

O Lord, who shall dwell in your tent?
Who shall dwell on your holy hill?

He who walks blamelessly and does what is right
and speaks truth in his heart;
who does not slander with his tongue
and does no evil to his neighbor,
nor takes up a reproach against his friend;
in whose eyes a vile person is despised,
but who honors those who fear the Lord;
who swears to his own hurt and does not change; who does not put money out at interest
and does not take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things shall never be moved.
____________________

This one is pretty straightforward.

Honor the Lord, and walk righteously. Then, you will dwell in the presence of the Lord and you won't be moved.

I love that image of being solid--like a rock, or a fortress. I think it's worth noting that in this Psalm, it is not God who changes and moves from us; instead, it is we who change and move away from God.

According to David, God is on his holy hill, and we can enter into that presence. If we live a life of sin and wickedness, we cannot enter into that presence, and we depart from the presence of God. Consequently, we live a life of turbulence and discord. We have no rock on which to stand. There is no fortress on which to depend in our times of need, because we have left the place of our refuge.

However, if we walk according to the ways of the Lord, we may enter into his presence, and there we can stay. God is never going to move us. He is never going to run us out. We leave on our own accord whenever we allow sin to control. If we stay in the presence of the Lord, though, we cannot be snatched from the palm of his hand. He is faithful. He is strong. He is good to us.

We never have to leave that security, but we do so often. What's more important: temporary pleasure or eternal security?

Me? I choose to not be moved.

On Being Broken

I'm tired of not caring.

I'm tired of not living with urgency.

I'm tired of not seeking the glory of the Lord in my life.

I'm tired of acting like I know what I'm doing.

I'm tired of wanting what's best for me not what's best for the Lord.

I'm tired of not being a good steward of the Gospel.

I'm tired of not telling people about Jesus.

I'm tired of being proud and arrogant.

I'm tired of offering up watered down, comfortable truths.

I'm tired of not fulfilling the work of an evangelist.

I'm tired of not preaching with passion.

I'm tired of feeling satisfied.



I'm tired of not being broken for the Lord and for people.



I don't want things to stay the same. I don't want to coast through life like I've been doing. I don't want to be the guy that the little old ladies pat on the back on the way out of the church building on Sunday morning, telling me how wonderful I am.

I'm not wonderful. I'm far from what God has called me to be.

I'm not broken for people. I'm not broken for the Lord. I'm not broken for his Word and for His truth.

God, break my heart for you and for the people around me. Give me your eyes so that I can see the hurt inside people and so I can see how much it hurts you when I sin against you. Give me a sense of urgency for the Gospel and for the lost who are walking on a path straight to hell and eternity apart from you. I don't want to coast anymore. I want to live my life for you and for your glory, not for me and my comfort.

Break my heart. I'm giving up my facade of intelligence and wisdom. I have none. I need you. I truly need you.

Break me, and make me the man you want me to be.

On Awaiting Christ's Return (this is big)

I've been out of town the past couple of days at a state Evangelism Conference (hence my absence). It was a really good conference, and I learned a lot there. Obviously, the focus of the conference was evangelism, and we were encouraged to evaluate our current evangelical situation and discuss ways that we could more effectively reach the people around us who have no relationship with Christ.

During this afternoon's session, after being challenged to make more intentional efforts in personal evangelism, we had a short musical worship time.

As soon as we started the first song a simple, but profound thought hit me.

I don't even know what the song was, just that it was an older hymn about the Second Coming of Christ. It was something along the lines of "I can't wait until Jesus comes back so that we can live with him forever." I honestly can't remember which one it was, but all I know was that I sat there looking at the words, and then I got floored by a truth:

How can we sit there singing about how we can't wait for Jesus to come back when we haven't been sharing the Gospel with the people around us?

As that thought hit me, I sat down and wept.

Don't we realize that while the return of Christ is a joyous occasion for us as believers, it is the impending doom of people who do not know him in as Lord and Savior? In other words, while we get to spend eternity in heaven with our Lord, there are millions of people who would spend eternity without him.

I don't think there's anything wrong with looking forward to going to heaven. I don't think there's anything wrong with looking forward to Jesus' return (which he promised us and told us to look forward to). However, there is something wrong with looking forward to the return of Christ when we haven't been sharing the Gospel.

How can we sit there, comfortable in our salvation, awaiting the return of our King when we haven't shared the truth with those around us? It's so selfish. It's so lazy. It's so arrogant.

Jesus wants us to love him and look forward to spending eternity with him, but until that happens, he's left us here on the earth for a purpose: to bring him glory by making disciples of all nations. And that starts by telling the people around us about Jesus.

Yes, let's look forward to the return of Christ. But let that thought encourage us to get urgent in sharing our faith, not complacent in the security of eternity.

Day of Thanks, 02.22.09

This week, I am thankful for:

1. Time at home: I got to go home for a couple of days this week. It was really nice just relaxing at home. I had a couple of places I had to go while I was down there, but I really enjoyed just getting to sit at the house for awhile with my family. It's always nice to go home. Thank you, God, for allowing me to go home this week. Thanks for my family, and thank you for letting me spend some time with them. Thank you for keeping me safe on the road.

2. Justin's recovery: As I mentioned in Thursday's post, one of my youth had a seizure at church on Wednesday. Justin has recovered well, except for some lingering soreness. I'm truly grateful that he's doing a lot better. Wednesday was pretty rough. Thank you, God, for taking care of Justin Wednesday night. Thank you for watching out for him and keeping him safe during his episode. Thank you for being in control. Thanks for giving him such a speedy recovery, and continue to heal and bless him.

3. Girls' small group: Yes, I said girls' small group. Our high school girls' small group at EVBC went extremely well Wednesday night. The girls really opened up to my small group leader/volunteer, and they kind of had a breakthrough night as far as their discussion went. I'm hoping that these results continue. Thank you, God, for what you did on Wednesday with our high school girls. Thanks for really breaking through to them. Thanks for Krystle and her leadership. Please continue to touch those girls' hearts. Show them their need for you. Help them to see that you love them and that we love them, too.

4. Not burning down the house: I actually did a bit of cooking this weekend while Nate and Katie were out of town. I cooked a full dinner on Saturday and baked some cookies this afternoon. For my first real weekend cooking in the kitchen by myself, I don't think I did too terribly. At least I didn't burn anything down or contract food poisoning yet. Thank you, God, for providing for me. Thank you for Nate and Katie, and thank you that Katie is a lot better cook than me! Thanks for their hospitality, but thanks for giving me what I need while they're away, too.

5. Thomaston friends: I went to Thomaston on Monday for a funeral visitation. Someone from my church in Thomaston had passed away. The circumstances for my visit were sad, but it was really good to see some old friends from my home church. I got to see a lot of people that I hardly ever get the chance to see, and that was really encouraging. Thank you, God, for allowing me to see everybody in Thomaston the other day. Thanks for giving me the chance to catch back up with some old friends. Please continue to be with Mrs. Artie and her family after the death of Mr. Doug. Thank you for taking him home, but please give Mrs. Artie peace and comfort in you. Take care of her in her time of loss.

Thank you, God, for these blessings, both significant and trivial. You are God, and you are good.

On Being Helpless

Sorry I didn't blog yesterday. Here's why:

One of my youth had a seizure. It happened at about 8:45 or so last night while we were at the church. He was in a solid seizure for about 45 minutes or so before the EMT's were able to get it under control. There were only 4 people up at the church when it happened--me, Robby (my friend and youth volunteer), Kendal (one of my youth), and Justin (the guy who had the seizure).

Justin is all right now. He spent a few hours in the hospital before coming home.

It was pretty crazy, sitting there watching him shake like crazy while we could sit there and do nothing. Watching him suffer like that until the EMT's showed up was terrible. It was the most helpless feeling in the world. When someone goes through a seizure like that, you can't really do anything but let them go. You just have to make sure they keep breathing, and that's about it.

Sometimes life leaves us helpless. We see the world around us going crazy, and we have no idea what to do. We start panicking and fretting about the troubles around us, feeling like we can't do a thing to fix our problems.

And that's where God comes in.

In reality, we really are helpless. Yes, we get to make decisions in life, but we are not in control. God is in control. He is sovereign. He is Lord. And while we feel utterly helpless, God is never absent. He is never far away. He is never too busy for us or too preoccupied to hear our distress.

So when our world goes crazy and we feel helpless, remember that God is there, and he is in control.

Feel better, Justin.

On Being a Day Late and a Dollar Short

As several of you reminded me, I did not get to post every day last week, and for that I apologize. I'm still experiencing computer difficulties, and it is hard to post when you don't have a computer that works.

I worried several days last week about not posting. Here are some samples of my thoughts: "What if I get out of the habit and stop blogging?......What if people stop reading my blog because I haven't posted in a couple of days?......People are probably thinking that I'm just lazy and unwilling to commit to this......What are people going to say?......."

Seriously, I was really worried about losing readers because of not faithfully executing my daily blogging duties. Then I realized something. This is not a duty. It's not a chore. If I don't blog every day, so what? It doesn't matter. I don't have to prove my worth to people by posting random thoughts every day.

Then I realized, I do the same thing with God almost every day. I worry that if I don't do my quiet time that morning, that God will reject me. I am afraid that if I don't spend enough time in prayer, then God will stop listening to me. He won't accept me if I don't seek and serve him hard enough.

That is not true. We are free in Christ. We are free from the sin, free from death, and free from the law that chokes us.

I was joyfully reminded of the fact that we are already justified before the Lord. We cannot earn our salvation. We cannot make God love us more by following daily routines or checking off spiritual disciplines. Yes, those things are wonderful, but they do not earn our justification. We are justified through faith in Christ, and God sees us that way all the time.

Yes, discipline is good, and yes we need to seek God faithfully every day. But we do this out of love and not obligation.

And if we're a day late and a dollar short of perfectly seeking God, he doesn't see it that way. Yes, he wants us to be faithful, but he loves us beyond our imperfections.

As long as I can keep my computer charged up, I'll keep blogging every day; however, if I miss a day, that's alright, too. Blogging doesn't justify me in the eyes of people or in the eyes of God, because we are free.

On Small Amounts

I don't have a computer charger here at the house, and my laptop has exactly 1 minute left of power, so today's post will be quick.

Just like this post doesn't have to be long, we don't have to spend hours of time with God every day to make him "happy." He just wants us to be in constant communion and fellowship with him.

Famous preacher Charles Spurgeon once stated the following: "I can probably count on one hand the number of times in my life I've prayed for more than an hour; however, I can probably count on the other hand the number of times I've gone an hour without praying."

The Lord wants quality time, not quantity. Let's meet with him constantly, even if it's only for just a minute.

I guess this means that Katie B's blog is more spiritual than mine....

And all this in one minute!

Day of Thanks, 02.15.09

This week, I am thankful for:

1. The chance to preach. I got to preach tonight at church. I didn't get asked to preach until this morning (yeah, not a lot of preparation), but I was glad to get the chance to. I preached out of 1 Corinthians 4. The sermon went really well, I thought. It was encouraging and challenging to me, anyway. Thank you, God, for letting me preach tonight. Thank you for giving me the opportunity. Thank you for giving me a message this afternoon, and thank you for giving me the words to say in such a short amount of time. I give you all the glory. May you use the preaching of your Word to further your kingdom.

2. Valentine's banquet. The youth hosted a Valentine's banquet for the senior adults at our church this past Friday. We had a great turnout, the food was good, and we had a great time. The youth served dinner, and we played Family Feud for entertainment. It was really fun. The youth did a good job, and the adults were very appreciative. All in all, it was a great night. Thank you, God, for the Valentine's banquet the other night. Thank you for helping me get everything together. Thank you for the help of my volunteers, and thank you for how smooth everything went.

3. East Asia. As I posted on Monday, I'm going to East Asia in July on a mission trip. I'm so excited. I'm really thrilled about the opportunity and truly grateful for the chance to go. Thank you, God, for allowing me to go to East Asia. Thank you for giving me the chance to take your name to the other side of the world. Thank you for working everything out so that I could go. Please be preparing my heart to do your work. Please already be working to open up doors for us to share your name.

4. Going home. I'm going home this Thursday. I'm looking forward to seeing my family again and hopefully getting together with a couple of my friends. I always enjoy the chance to get home, even if it's only for a couple of days. Thank you, God, for letting me head home for a couple of days this coming week. Thanks for letting me see my family again. I pray that you will give me safe travel and that you give me a productive trip home.

5. Cory. I've gotten to know Cory a lot better over the past couple of weeks. He's the BCM campus minister at LaGrange College. We've gotten to talk some and hang out a bit, and I really enjoy his company. We've talked a lot about ministry and about the workings of the Lord, and he's truly been an encouragement to me. Thank you, God, for Cory. Thank you for allowing us to meet each other and get to know each other better over the past several weeks. I truly appreciate the encouragement that he is to me, and I am grateful for his friendship.

Thank you, God, for these blessings, both significant and trivial. You are God, and you are good.

On My Absence

I have not posted in several days. I am not going to make excuses, but it has been one of the busiest weeks I've had in a long time. On top of having to plan to teach 3 Bible studies this week (I found out I have a 4th one this afternoon...), I had to plan a Valentine's Banquet for our Senior Adults at church. Plus it was the busiest week of the year as far as college athletic events go, so I was doing that all week too.

On top of my business, I don't have a computer charger that works at the house, so my laptop's been dead for a few days, and I haven't had it to be able to post when I get home at night.

Consequently, I have been absent for a few days. I'm sorry to my few and faithful readers. :)

But, starting tomorrow I'll be back on a regular schedule. In the meantime, understand this:

God never gets to busy for us. He is never absent. He is never too occupied to hear us or speak to us. Why don't you spend some time with him today?

On East Asia vs. LaGrange

As you read in yesterday's blog, I am officially going to East Asia in July on a mission trip. I can't wait. I wish I could go tomorrow. I'm just really excited about this opportunity.

However, as I was driving down the road today, thinking of my upcoming trip, I realized something. I'm so excited about going to the other side of the world to reach people for Christ, but how passionate am I about reaching the people that are around me?

Yes, it's good for me to get excited about East Asia. After all, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity. It's not costing me hardly anything. I get the firsthand chance to literally make disciples of other nations by stepping foot in another country. I get to preach the Gospel to people that may never have even heard the name of Jesus before. All, those things are great.

BUT, I can do the same thing here. We get the chance of a lifetime here to share the Gospel. God has blessed us with the freedom, gifts, and resources to share his name and glory to all kinds of people around us. It doesn't cost us much at all to share the Gospel here in America (despite the alarmingly large church budgets that we see nowadays). We get to preach Jesus to people that have never really heard the truth about him--yes, even here in America. And, we can make disciples of all nations here by reaching people of other people groups than our own and equipping people to take the Gospel around the world.

Why don't we get excited about that? We get the opportunity to share Jesus every day, and we don't do it!

Right before he ascended back into heaven, Jesus instructed his disciples to reach the people in their own city before they went off to other nations. We are just as responsible, if not more so, for reaching our immediate area than we are on the other side of the world.

Please don't get me wrong, I am very passionate about sharing Jesus around the world. We are ALL called to do this. But, we are also called to make disciples here.

I can't wait for East Asia, and that is good. However, I need to be just as passionate about reaching LaGrange, Ga.

I'm going to East Asia!

I'm breaking from my usual format for some very important news.

The word is out, and I am officially going to East Asia this summer on a mission trip! I'm so excited. I'll be heading out on July 1 and returning on July 30. Woohoo!

Where in East Asia, you might ask? Well, due to safety reasons and protection for myself and fellow missionaries, I cannot tell you the exact location of our trip, but we will be in a REALLY, REALLY big and HIGHLY populated country in East Asia. Use your deductive reasoning and put all those things together (plus the fact that I have to be secretive about it), and you should figure out where I'm going. We just can't broadcast publicly where we're going.

That being said, I'll spend the month of July backpacking around the interior of this large country, helping local pastors meet needs in the area, building relationships, teaching some English, possibly doing some sports camps, and more than anything sharing the love and Gospel of Jesus Christ with the people that we meet. I'll be traveling over there with 2 other college students from Georgia and my good friend and former BCM campus minister, Tracey.It's going to be awesome.

Here's what I need you to be doing: PRAY! Seriously, be praying for me and the group that's going. Pray for safety traveling, protection while we're there (remember, it's a closed country to the Gospel), and the strength and perseverance to endure some difficult circumstances. Pray for the people that we're going to minister to, that they would be open and receptive to the Gospel. Pray that our efforts would last beyond our short term there and would help build the Kingdom of Christ in that country for years to come.

I'm so excited about this trip. I'm also humbled. I don't deserve this opportunity to go, but I'm truly grateful to have the chance to literally make disciples of other nations by actually going there. I am honored to be able to take the Gospel to people on the other side of the world who may never have heard the name of Jesus.

God is good. I can't wait to see what he's going to do there. Again, please be praying. I'll keep you posted on more details as the time draws closer.

Glory to God!

Day of Thanks, 02.08.09

This week, I am thankful for:

1. Scholarship weekend: My sister competed at a scholarship competition at my alma mater this past weekend. It looks like she'll definitely be coming to LaGrange. I'm glad that she was able to go and earn some scholarships, and I'm hoping that she might even earn the full scholarship (and for all my Dresdow friends, I hope Todd gets it too). Thank you, God, for allowing Amy to go to the scholarship competition this past weekend. Thank you for already giving her some scholarship money so that she can come to LaGrange. Please work things out as you see fit for her.

2. Warm weather: The weather here the past few days has been particularly nice. I've really enjoyed getting outside some and doing some things such as playing tennis. Thank you, God, for the great weather lately. Thank you for blessing us with life and taking care of such little things like the weather patterns. Thank you for making creation beautiful, and thank you for allowing me to take some time to enjoy it this week.

3. BCM Summer Missions weekend: I spent the weekend up in Temple, Ga. where I participated in the Baptist Collegiate Ministries Summer Missions interview weekend. College students from throughout the state came together to seek out missions opportunities and get placements for the summer. I'm really excited about next summer (more to come on this tomorrow!). Plus, the weekend was a great opportunity to see a few good friends of mine and hang out with them, particularly some of my old campus ministers and my good friend Stuart. Thank you, God, for allowing me to go to interview weekend this weekend. Thank you for letting me meet up with some old friends. Thanks for the encouragement of fellow believers my age, and thank you for giving me opportunities to serve you.

4. Stuart: As mentioned above, I got to hang out with my friend Stuart for a couple of days at BCM interview weekend. It had been awhile since we'd really hung out, and it was wonderful getting to catch up with him, and I'm very glad for his friendship. We talked about a lot and prayed for each other, too. It was really nice. Thank you, God, for Stuart. Thank you for allowing me to see him this weekend. Thank you for his friendship, and thank you for his encouragement. Please bless him and his ministry up in Athens.

5. Kaleo Conference: I sent a couple of my youth (Joey and Travis) with my friend Robby to a conference in Alabama this weekend. They really seemed to get a lot out of it and enjoyed the trip (how could you not enjoy a conference where David Platt speaks?). Either way, I'm glad that they got the experience of going and hearing what God had to say to them. I can't wait to see the results. Thank you, God, for letting the guys go to Kaleo this weekend. I pray that you continue to speak to them and use them in awesome ways in their campuses and in our church.

Thank you, God, for these blessings, both significant and trivial. You are God, and you are good.

Psalm Saturday: Psalm 14

Psalm 14

The fool says in his heart, "There is no God."
They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds,
there is none who does good.

The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man,
to see if there are any who understand,
who seek after God.

They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt;
there is none who does good,
not even one.

Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers
who eat up my people as they eat bread
and do not call upon the Lord?

There they are in great terror,
for God is with the generation of the righteous.

You would shame the plans of the poor,
but the Lord is his refuge.

Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people,
let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.
____________________

Have you ever done something wrong because you didn't think anyone would see you? I think most of us have been in that situation at some point.

Psalm 14 reminds us that God is constantly looking down on us, seeing our every move. David says that he looks at us to see if there are any of us who are wise enough to seek after God instead of living a life of sin.

The findings of David are pretty bleak. He states that "they have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one." Sounds a lot like today, doesn't it? I'm not one to say that our world is getting worse and worse, but I do know that sin is rampant in today's culture (just like it was 100 years ago). People just don't seem to care about God anymore. In fact, I know a lot of so-called Christians who could care less about God, too.

It's time that we realized that God is there, and that he cares about what we do. According to David, he is seeking a generation of the righteous, a people that will follow him. It is true that none of us are righteous, as David said in the previous verse. However, God gives us grace through the blood of Christ. We are counted as righteous, we are seen as being clean. But, so many times we reject that gift and try to live life of our own accord, doing our own thing.

Salvation cannot be found in this world. It cannot be found in its pleasures, either. Salvation can only come from the Lord, and the Lord requires righteousness, not as a prerequisite to grace, but as a result of it.

It's time we started living like God's watching us.

On #100

This is my 100th daily post.

That seems like a lot, but when you really think about it, it's not. There are a lot of people who have been blogging a lot longer than me who I'm sure are up in the thousands. Nevertheless, 100 is a milestone worthy of noting, I think.

People like to celebrate monumental events. We throw parties for birthdays, anniversaries, sporting events, weddings, and holidays. However, we reserve special celebrations for those really significant things, such as the 40th birthday or the 25th anniversary (or the 100th blog post!). Some days or events just seem a lot more important than others. They seem to garner more praise and celebration than just the ordinary things.

However, when you get really technical, doesn't the day of the 25th anniversary, or the 40th birthday, or the 100th blog post have the exact amount of time as the other ones? Doesn't the sun rise and set, the day begin and pass away, and time come and go just like the other days?

Don't get me wrong, I am not discrediting monumental events. Some days and events are truly worth celebrating. But, we are called to celebrate every day like it's something special. Paul said in Philippians 4 to rejoice in the Lord always. Always. Every day. Regardless of the significance or insignificance, celebrate. If it's good or bad, celebrate. If it's sunny or rainy, celebrate.

Why? Becuase every day is a gift from God. Every moment is an opportunity to thank him and serve him. He blesses us with so many things, and we should put just as much joy and celebration into the "normal" days that we do for celebrating other things. After all, Jesus died and rose again so we could live with him forever! That's worthy of a celebration.

So, here's to #100. But at the same time, I'm going to be just as joyful and thankful to post #101, #102, and however many more God allows me to.

On Having a Low Battery

My computer has a low battery right now, and my charger doesn't work. So, as of right now, I have about 5-10 minutes to finish and post this blog before my computer quits working. "Start your engines..."

I've had this computer for about 5 years now. It's served me faithfully. Although, I have had to replace the LCD, the original batter, and the original battery charger, not to mention the fact that I had to completely reformat it a few months ago. That being said, it still works and still gets the job done.

My charger, however, is another story. It's the third charger that I've bought for this computer and it's the third one to conk out on me. It's so frustrating! And what makes it worse, it stopped working about a week after the 30 day warranty expired. Thank you Dell for your wonderful service. And now, my computer won't charge unless I take it up to the church where I have semi-functional charger that only works if it's in just the right position and the wind isn't blowing too hard that day (don't ask).

This post, however it may appear, is not intended to be a rant. Instead, I wish to make a point (I'm down to 4 minutes...hurry!).

Our hearts are a lot like a battery in the fact that if we don't recharge, we die out. Our zeal and passion for God can only last for so long without being plugged back into our power source. Think about the last time you experienced a "spiritual high," such as going to a conference, or attending a really awesome worship service, or having some great time spent in the Word (yeah, when was the last time that happened?). How long after that moment, did the passion start to dwindle? What's your passion level now?

God wants us to stay plugged into his word and his Spirit. This sounds SO cliche, but it's also very true. Yes, it's possible to be a Christian and not read your Bible or spend time communing with the Lord through prayer.

But, it's also possible to be a computer and not have any power in your battery.

It doesn't make you not a Christian. It just makes you pretty ineffective.

On Haircuts

I got a haircut the other day. It had been a really long time since my last one, and I desparately needed to get a trim. I usually wait about 2 months or longer before I get a haircut. I'm cheap, and if my hair looks unkempt it's OK because I'm saving money.

Whenever I get a haircut, there's always this small part of me that wants to do something different. Like the other day, I really toyed around with the idea of cutting my hair really short again, of just completely doing the buzz cut. I mentioned this notion to a few of my friends. Most of the guys responded with "Heck yeah, man. Go for it!" while the girls typically responded with "No! You're hair looks better longer!"

So, being the gentleman that I am, I listened to the girls, and just got a trim instead of doing the buzz. OK, it wasn't just that I was listening to the girls. It was based a lot more on the fact that I just don't branch out very much.

When it comes to everyday life, there are a lot of times where a small part of me also wants to do something different. It tells me I need to branch out from the ordinary, to stop comforming to cultural norms anymore, to stop caring about what people think about me, and to be more like the "aliens and strangers in this world" that Peter talked about.

But so many times, I just can't make myself do it. I'm worried about what will happen when I break my routine.

There's a song by Leeland, one of my favorite bands, called "Opposite Way" which really fits my thinking. Check out the entire song, but the first verse goes like this:

Living in the same town for all these years
Doing the same old things
Hanging with the same crowd and it’s starting to get crippling
You’ve never felt in place and you tell yourself it’s all okay
But something’s different today
You want to run the opposite way

Anybody else feel like that sometimes? I think God calls us to. We are not supposed to comform to this world (Romans 12:1-2). Instead, we are to be different.

My friend Nate has a mohawk, for which he almost got fired from his job. Maybe I'll go for that next time.....

On Groundhogs

Yesterday was Groundhog Day. I almost forgot about it until last night. It turns out that old Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow and forecasted another 6 weeks of winter. Down here in Georgia, though, we have our own groundhog, General Beauregard Lee. Gen. Lee did not see his shadow yesterday, signifying an early spring.

Hmm. Differing opinions. Who do we believe?

Honestly, I don't really care. I will not base my hopes upon a groundhog (as cute and fuzzy as it might be). But, it's still a neat tradition I guess. If nothing else, it's really funny to see a man lift up a fat groundhog in front of a bunch of people who are screaming and hollering. People go crazy at those things, clamoring for a chance just to see a large rodent.

However, when the people leave the event, most of them probably don't even remember what his prediction was. They just wanted to see the show, get a good laugh, and possibly get the chance to get on television. The groundhog really doesn't matter to them. He's just the entertainment. After all, he sits there 364 other days in the year, and no one cares about him.

Many of us often treat God the same way. God has a message for us everyday, but we don't really care about the message. We just want a show. We want entertainment. We just want to enjoy a good time that's centered around God, but God doesn't really matter.

Kind of sounds like a lot of church services doesn't it? Everyong gets together once a year (or once a week), hears what God has to say, cheers a little bit and might get excited, then they go home and forget what happened. We're terrible about that.

So which groundhog do we listen to, Phil or Lee? It doesn't really matter. A groundhog's prediction is completely worthless, yes.

God's message to us, however, is not.

On Rebuilding (from Laura)

My friend Laura provides some really good thoughts on the process of rebuilding that I'd like to share with you today.

I decided that her insights are better than what I intended to say today and might relate to some of you better, too. So, why compete?

Please follow the link to Laura's blog, and have a great day in the Lord.

Day of Thanks, 02.01.09

This week, I am thankful for:

1. Conclave: This week, I went to Southeast Conclave, an annual training conference for youth ministers and volunteers. I spent 3 days in Atlanta, talking with fellow youth ministers and networking with them. Additionally, I picked up a lot of great ideas for my youth ministry that I can't wait to implement. It was a great few days. Thank you, God, for Conclave. Thank you for the SBC putting it on, and thank you for allowing me to attend. I am grateful for the knowledge that I gained and the friendships I was able to make.

2. The Dresdows: Instead of staying at a hotel during the conference, I stayed with the Katie's family, about 15-20 minutes from the conference center. It really helped me out a lot by being able to save a couple hundred dollars on a hotel room. They were very hospitable, and I really enjoyed staying with them. I got to hang out with them a couple of times throughout those few days, and had some really good conversations with them. Thank you, God, for the Dresdows. Thank you for allowing me to stay with them, and thank you for their generosity and hospitality. Please bless them for their giving hearts and their willingness to serve those around them.

3. Tax refund: Last year, I got slammed with a major bill for taxes. Long story short, one of my workplaces didn't take out enough taxes in the year, and I had some school financial aid that added more tax on top of what I already owed. This year, though, it looks like I won't owe anything and will hopefully be getting a refund! Thank you, God, for working my financial situations out. You always take care of my needs and never leave me lacking. Thank you for sustaining me as you see fit, and may I never seek worldly riches above the treasure of knowing you.

4. Lunch with Phil: I was able to meet up with a Phil, a good friend of mine, for lunch the other day on my way back from Atlanta. It had been a month or so since I'd seen him last, so it was good to catch up with him again. We were able to talk a good bit about life and how God was moving in our lives. It was a great encouragement to me. Thank you, God, for Phil. Thanks for letting us get together the other day. Thank you for the encouragement and accountability that he brings to me. I pray that we will be able to get together again soon at some point.

5. Worship: We get to worship God. What a privilege! It is not something that we can do on our own accord. Neither do we merit the opportunity. God allows us to enter into his presence and give him honor and praise, and that is truly wonderful. Thank you, God, for allowing us to worship you. Thank you for letting us even mention your name, much less directly praise you. You are truly glorious, and we do not deserve to stand before your throne, but because of your grace we can worship you. May we never cease to praise you with all that we are.

Thank you, God, for these blessings, both significant and trivial. You are God, and you are good.