The Legend of The Candy Cane

Posted: 20th December 2011 by admin in Be The Church, Inspiration, Random Thoughts, Uncategorized
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A Candymaker in Indiana wanted to make a candy that would help us remember who Christmas is really about. So he made a Christmas Candy Cane. He incorporated several symbols for the birth, ministry, and death of Jesus Christ.

He began with a stick of pure white, hard candy. White to symbolize the virgin birth and sinless nature of Jesus. Hard candy to symbolize the solid rock, the foundation of the Church, and firmness of the promises of God.

The candymaker made the candy in the form of a “J” to represent the name of Jesus. It also represented the staff of the “Good Shepherd”.

The candymaker then included red stripes. He used three small stripes and a large red stripe to represent the suffering Christ endured at the end of his life.

The candy became known as a Candy Cane – a decoration seen at Christmas time. The meaning has faded, but still gives joy to children young and old, whom Jesus loves and treasures.

Happy Holidays…Bah Humbug

Posted: 12th December 2011 by admin in Be The Church, Inspiration, Random Thoughts, Uncategorized
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Hello everyone, it’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything.  It’s not because I have had anything to write about, just been lazy….lol!  Not really, I’ve been occupied with a lot of activities…..!

What is up with all of this Happy Holiday garbage?  I see pine trees for sale and the sign reads….Holiday Tree.  In the check out line at retail stores the clerk says Happy Holidays.  There are many holidays throughout a year, does that mean we go out and buy a tree for it?  Can you imagine decorating a tree for Thanksgiving, Columbus Day, Presidents Day, etc….NO!

I say Bah Humbug to this Happy Holiday or Holiday Tree CRAP!!!!  Yes I said CRAP because that is exactly what it is.  Folks it’s the CHRISTmas Season and we decorate a Christmas tree, we celebrate the birth of our savior Jesus Christ, we spread joy, we share love, we proclaim the good news of Christmas. Even Linas from Charlie Brown get’s it….in a Charlie Brown Christmas, Linas quotes the christmas story from Luke 2……Come On Man!!!!

So I say Bah Humbug to this Happy Holiday junk and say Merry Christmas to all of you.

Have a Merry Christmas Friends and let’s keep Christ in Christmas.

Selfless Servanthood

Posted: 16th June 2011 by admin in Be The Church, Inspiration, Random Thoughts, Uncategorized
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Recently my wife and my two sons flew to Nebraska to see my new baby niece and to also attend a memorial service for a loved one in my wife’s family.  At the memorial service I was so moved.  Clifford Stevens was 94 years old, he was a WWII veteran.

I personally knew Clifford for 16 years.  At this funeral service I was so moved and also convicted.  As I sat and watched and listen to many people get up and share about how this man impacted their life, I had tears in my eyes.  Clifford Stevens not only was a follower of Christ, but he actually lived out in public what a selfless servant looks like.  Clifford served his country, he served his family, he served his community, he served his church, and he served God with a selfless heart.  Every person that spoke about Clifford said that they never ever seen Clifford get angry, demand his own way, or say inappropriate things.   Clifford not only left a legacy he also lived a legacy.

Jesus said that to be great you must lay down your life for others, He also said that if you want to be first you must be last, He also that “No greater love has a man than this….that he lay down his own life for another”!  That’s exactly what Clifford Stevens did and modeled each and every day.

As I sat there with tears in my eyes realizing that Clifford wasn’t a perfect man, but he was a selfless man.  I sat there convicted and encouraged to examine and to change somethings within myself!

Maybe you know someone like Clifford, maybe you don’t!  Whatever the case we would all do well to strive to be selfless servants, putting others before ourselves, living in kindness, and showing love to all we come in contact with.

Unleashed Book Review

Posted: 11th May 2011 by admin in Uncategorized
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Let me just begin by saying that I absolutely loved Unleashed by Erwin McManus.  I’ve followed Erin McManus for several years now and I’ve always enjoyed reading his books.  Unleashed is a must read.  It was fantastic read that I needed at this time in my life.  Release the untamed faith within is something we all need to realize and take action with.  I was challenged and encouraged by this book.

Good Friday

Posted: 22nd April 2011 by admin in Be The Church, Inspiration, Random Thoughts, Uncategorized
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Today is Good Friday and the only thing good about it is the fact that Jesus came to fulfill prophecy and He died in our place.

It’s amazing to me that God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son to die such a cruel and punishing death.

He took 39 stripes on His back with a whip dipped in crushed bones and broken glass.  Those 39 stripes were taken for our healing.  Think about it…..there are 39 major disease in the world today!  Sure there are several types of colds, cancers, etc, but 39 major categories.  By His stripes we are healed.  WOW!

His death on Friday was so that in Him we have life.  He said that He is the way, the truth, and the Life.

I’m thankful and very grateful that not even death could keep this good man down!

Jesus Christ crucified, bled and died to save our lives!  Thank you Jesus!

Friends it’s Friday and I cherish this day and spend this day honoring and remembering His sacrifice.  I so look forward to Sunday when I can celebrate His miraculous resurrection from the grave!

Be blessed!

BAM

Posted: 25th March 2011 by admin in Be The Church, Inspiration, Random Thoughts, Uncategorized
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BAM!  Maybe you’ve used that word for various different things in response to something you or someone else said.  Emeril a well known chef uses this word a lot on his cooking shows.  He says:  ”Bam, let’s turn it up a notch!”  I love that!  I believe we should turn it up a notch in a lot of ways.  One of those ways is through Fatherhood!

I have two amazing sons, Jeremiah is 12 and Jonathan is 9.  I am their biggest cheerleader!  Let me go on record by saying that I know that I am not a perfect father and will never be the perfect father.  However I feel as though I have a great mandate and calling to be the best father to my sons that I can possibly be.

I started doing something very special with my sons about 5 years ago.  We have BAM Saturdays once a month!  BAM means Becoming A Man!  We go to breakfast together one Saturday a month (BAM Breakfast).  As a rule of thumb we aren’t allowed to eat at the same restaurant so we are always looking for a different breakfast location….that’s a lot of fun in itself.   No offense ladies, but mom isn’t even allowed to come.  At our BAM breakfast there is nothing off  limit to my boys.  There is no subject off limits when it comes to our discussion and time together.  It is truly amazing and a tremendous blessing because my sons realize that they have the freedom to talk to me about anything at all without being condemned or judged.  I won’t go into great depth as to the topics of some of our conversations!  Some of those conversations make me laugh extremely hard, some challenge me as a man, some just make want to cry.  However, I’m loving this relationship I have with my sons.

On occasions we get really busy as a family and I’ll forget about BAM breakfast, but it means so much to my sons that they never forget.  They will say:  ”Dad, we haven’t had BAM this month yet!”  Awesome to say the least!   Now BAM is only one thing that I do with my sons.  I’m constantly with them, at every practice, at every game cheering them on, encouraging them.

Let me encourage those of you who have children:  take the time to invest into their lives, you have a great calling to your children. You may not have sons, maybe you have daughters, or sons and daughters.  Maybe the BAM acronym won’t work for you!  Do something, spend time with your children, invest into them.  Be intentional when it comes to your relationship with your family.

Don’t you think it’s time BAM—let’s turn it up a notch!

Forge Retreat

Posted: 21st March 2011 by admin in Be The Church, Inspiration, Random Thoughts, Uncategorized
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This past weekend I had the awesome opportunity to be a part of a Men’s Retreat.  40 some men gathered in the mountains of New Hampshire and had a blast.  Men from like 7 different churches who worshipped together, prayed together, fellowship together, played together, cried and laughed together.  It was amazing.

On my way home I was pondering the question:  ”Why do we allow our differences with each other keep us from enjoying the company with each other?”  Then I immediately remembered a quote…..”don’t let what’s wrong with the church from keep you from doing what’s right within the church!”

We all may differ on some things in the church like….worship styles, message styles (topical, textual, etc), communion practices, baptism practices (dunking vs sprinkle), but we shouldn’t fight over these things.  There are some nonessentials that we all shared at this retreat and the main ones were this:  Jesus Christ and His Grace!  Then we found some other things that we had in common….we loved ping pong, we loved pool, we loved the great outdoors, we loved the beauty of God found in the mountains of New Hampshire, we all loved the Forge style relationships that we developed.

So while we all left and went to different church services on Sunday, with all of our different and quacky practices, we all left with the understanding that God is for us and His grace is enough for all of us and we did it Forge style.

So I say let’s kick it Forge style everyday and let’s make this world a better place all because of the grace of God!

Trust Factor

Posted: 9th March 2011 by admin in Inspiration, Random Thoughts, Uncategorized
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Proverbs 3:5&6 says to Trust in the Lord with your whole heart and don’t lean on your own understanding, but in all of your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths!

Trust—a word that is so scary at times.  How is it that we can put so much trust in the things that we can see and touch, but it is so difficult to put complete trust in God?  In such trying times with a dying economy, we still put trust in our banks, our mortgage companies, in our government, etc.  When illness or sickness comes upon we place complete trust in the doctors.  All of the things we place our trust in are temporal things, earthly things.  Even though these entities are physical things that we can see and trust, they are still fallible.

When all of our trust is placed in these fallible, temporal things, we then are directing our own paths.  Trusting in God seems so foreign to many of us.

1.  Can I trust God with my marriage?  2.  Can I trust God with my finances?  3.  Can I trust God for my kids?  4.  Can I trust God with my future?  5.  Can I trust God for direction?  6.  Can I trust God period?

These are all questions that we all have probably asked and maybe asking now.  All I know is that for me personally, whenever I haven’t trust God, the path that I take is a path that I see, the path that makes sense at the time.  Then I realize later that I took the wrong path.  Whenever I’ve trusted God and have allowed Him to lead me down the path that He has chosen, I realize that I have more peace, more assurance, more security.

Oh only if we could truly surrender our hearts, our minds, our emotions to Him and completely put our trust into Him, we would all be on better paths!

How’s your trust factor doing?

Blind Spots

Posted: 28th February 2011 by admin in Be The Church, Inspiration, Random Thoughts, Uncategorized
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John 9:35-41  v. 40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, “Surely we are not blind, are we?”

You know what a blind spot is. If you’re driving in a car and are relying on your rear view mirrors to check the lanes, there are some spots that you still won’t be able to see. The back right corner. The back left corner. Those are blind spots. Oh you can turn your head and take a gaze a those spots so that you will know what if anything is there, but for the moment that you check your blind spots, you are unaware of what is happening in front of the car. Blind spots. Blind spots are created by virtue that we don’í have eyes in the back of our heads, and that it is physically impossible to see everything at once.  There have been times where I know I checked all the mirrors and attempted to change lanes only to hear a loud horn and then see someone proceed to raise the middle finger to inform me that I am #1….ha ha!

We often have blind spots in our lives.  It seems as though we try our best to stay focused, to stay disciplined, to stay committed, and then out of no where something happens.  We get that phone call from a family member, we get news from the doctor that we never expected, you lose your job, etc, etc…..blind spots!  Things that show up and we never seen it coming.

What do you do when you realize a blind spot?

  • You adjust.  Just like in traffic when you realize their is a car present that you didn’t see because of your blind spot, you adjust to keep from crashing.
  • You calm down!  When you realize that you just avoided a possible crash, you need to calm down and relax.  Rest in the fact that God is still there with you and that in Him there are no blind spots.
  • You realize that you can’t avoid blind spots!  Like the bumper sticker says…..STUFF happens!  Can’t get around but you can be confident that He is always with you!
  • You stay focused!  God still has a plan for you no matter what has creeped up into your blind spots.

Stay the course my friends and remember He is still the God of blind spots as well!

Questions:

1.  What blind spots do you know of in your life right now?

2.  In what ways do you need help with these blind spots?

3.  In what ways are you spiritually blind right now?

4.  How can you sharpen your spiritual eye sight?

Too Soon To Quit!

Posted: 25th January 2011 by admin in Be The Church, Inspiration, Random Thoughts, Uncategorized
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Recently we’ve been having a lot of vehicle problems that leads to money problems.  It seems as though no matter how hard we try to get ahead, something always comes up and deals a low blow!

Norman Vincent Peale used to say, “It’s always too soon to quit.”

This reminds me of a quote attributed to Ross Perot: “Most people give up just when they’re about to achieve success. They quit on the on the one-yard line. They give up at the last minute of the game, one foot away from a winning touchdown.”

On this subject, Paul encouraged us, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9)

The “proper time” sometimes takes a little longer to arrive than we like. And sometimes it feels like the proper time will never arrive. This is when we need we need to engage our faith. It’s when we need to determine to dig in and stick around a little longer. It’s never a good time to quit.

B.C. Forbes said, “History has demonstrated that the most notable winners usually encountered heartbreaking obstacles before the triumphed. They won because they refused to become discouraged by their defeats.”

The Christian life — and more specifically, the ministry — consists of overcoming one defeat after another. That’s because we’re in a spiritual battle and everyday we confront the enemy. We may lose a little ground from time to time, but we will not lose the war. We have been promised victory — a harvest of righteousness — if we do not give up. It’s always too soon to quit.

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