A long-overdue update on Dad

9 Aug

I know it’s been too long since I posted anything about Dad.  Honestly, you can assume that no news has been good news …

Dad came home from the rehab hospital on July 1.  Once again, they were doing in-home therapy.  Mom restarted her search for a wheelchair accessible van.  And life rolled on …

On the weekend we went up to take Mom to Montgomery, the folks at Carolina Mobility in Spartanburg called us.  They found a van that was what we wanted and in the price range we specified.  We drove out and looked it over, took it to a local mechanic for a checkup, and ended up negotiating and buying the van.  Honestly, I thought this was just a token purchase to give Mom a feeling of freedom.  BOY WAS I WRONG.

This van has allowed Mom to discontinue in-home therapy and begin outpatient therapy at Roger C. Peace, which is much better for Dad.  They have more equipment and are able to push him harder.  And he is doing pretty well in it.  The van has also given both of them more mobility.  They are now able to go to places and do things with family and friends (on a limited scale).

So, this van has been the best purchase we could’ve possibly made.  Mom says it is a real answer to prayer.  I tend to agree!

Premeditated Sin, part deux

4 Aug

Yes, I know I’ve written about this before.  But I had a great discussion with a friend yesterday about this very topic … And it is on my heart this morning.

How do you think God feels when we decide we are going to protect one area of sin in our lives and claim to be His??  As if we were saying, “I feel the need to steal.  All of the time.  And I intend on continuing to steal, regardless of what the Bible says and regardless of what God thinks about it.  After all, He made me this way …”

Anyone who says this should be aware of LIGHTENING striking SOON … So, if you plan on saying this, please do it OFF church property.  We’ve had our share of lightening this summer!!!

Seriously, do you REALLY think this kind of living puts you in good standing with God?  With His church?  We have to get to this place where we BELIEVE GOD’S WORD.  And if God’s word says it is sin, IT IS SIN.  And if anyone openly plans on continuing in sin, and yet claiming Christ, they are openly disregarding the blood and sacrifice of Christ.  So you do the math on where they stand with Him …

Realizing there is MORE to His church than just me!!

3 Aug

One of the common mistakes made by people all over the world is the belief that what THEY are doing for the Kingdom of God is the ONLY THING GOING ON IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD!!!  Wow … we couldn’t be more wrong.

Paul wrote to many churches about the multitude of gifts God gave each local church.  And when a church gathers together, and begins to use the gifts God gave them, many great ministries blossom and grow.  And the Kingdom of God flourishes.  And, I believe He smiles BIG!!!

I look at the garden that is Ebenezer and I see MANY THINGS that glorify Him:  Children’s ministry, Youth ministry, Weekday Ministry, Worship ministry, mission projects (Angel Food, Creekside, Honduras, Haiti), and the list just KEEPS ON GROWING.  I’d better stop here, because I cannot possibly name all of them.  And all of them have a place in the kingdom.  And all of them co-exist at EBC.  (And, at many OTHER churches, too!!)

I pray EACH of them will continue to grow, continue to bless God’s name and build His kingdom.  And I pray that HE will help US co-exist for many, many decades to come!!!

Tired of the games??

2 Aug

I get tired of the games people play.  Sometimes I can’t even form words about the games people play.  I SURELY cannot blog about them in detail, because I would get into so much trouble.  But I see it all:  People playing games with each other, with love, with God, with the church, with their jobs, and with their pastor (just to name a few).

There are times when I get full … filled up and cannot take it any more.  And just when I think I can’t do it anymore, God reminds me of a couple of things:

1.  As long as there are people, there will be games.  Of course, the games will decrease and disappear as maturity grows.  But our nature is to play games, to work angles, to negotiate.  Games, unfortunately, are a fact of life on earth.

2.  God called me to love people.  Regardless of the games.  And that call is still alive, still loud and clear.

I take comfort in knowing that God is still in charge, regardless of the games.  And He is doing something special at Ebenezer Baptist Church.  I am just glad to be a part of it!!!

Courage and the Call

29 Jul

Are you brave enough??  REALLY??

Too many people fear the call of God.  Truth is, God has a calling for EVERY ONE OF US.  Some embrace it in all it’s fulness.  Some run from it.  Some use the 95% method, holding on to the 5% of their choosing and never fully surrendering to Him.  And some never answer His call.

Where are you on that spectrum?

The fear of surrendering to His call is actually the fear of losing control.  The fear of allowing God to call the shots is found, for many, in the lack of control over our own destiny.  AS IF.  As if we had ANY CONTROL whatsoever.

I am not a fan of rollercoasters.  I have been known to ride them, on occasion.  But if I had to choose between a rollercoaster and a ride like Soarin at Disney, I would choose Soarin every time!  And the reason I do not like rollercoasters is the loss of control!!  I know it!

Here is the thing:  We might THINK we have control over this life, but we don’t.  We are not nearly as omnipotent, omniscient, or omnipresent as we might think we are.  BUT GOD IS.  And, the truth is, it really does take courage to give Him control.  But it really is the BEST DECISION anyone can ever make!!!

Do YOU trust Christ as your Savior??  Then make His joy complete by trusting the Holy Spirit to enable you and empower you to do what GOD has planned for you TODAY.  And EVERY DAY!!!

Cramped for space

27 Jul

A good problem for any church to have, but ALWAYS DIFFICULT TO SOLVE.  The NEED for space is great at Ebenezer in several ways … Storage space is almost non-existent, education space for Sunday School is so jammed-up you can’t believe it, and now OFFICE SPACE is the new frontier.

For the past several days we’ve debated where Dusty (our new administrator) will be billeted … The answer, for now, is that she will share space with Lisa.  So yesterday we moved stuff, assembled stuff, and got things ready.  Today we will run a few wires and set her up!!

Space limitations are good and bad.  Good that we have the need.  Bad that we have nowhere to go.  In this economy, this type of problem calls for us to do creative things.  Things that we’ve possibly never done before with Sunday School, with storage, and yes, with office space.  God is blessing up and growing us.  We might just have to break out of the molds we’re in and help make it work!!!

Two-Hundred

26 Jul

(Today’s funny from Mikey.  www.mikeysfunnies.com)

The pastor said to Mr. Smith, one of his long-time parishioners, “Thank you, Mr. Smith, for attending out church.  I wish I had twenty parishioners like you.”

“Gosh, it’s nice to hear that, Pastor, but I’m kind of surprised,” admitted Smith.  “You know that I complain about every sermon and hardly ever give money.”

The pastor said, “I’d still like twenty parishioners like you. The problem is, I have two hundred.”

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Okay, only a pastor would laugh at that … And I’ll be honest, in a 1300-member church, I really DON’T believe there are 200.  But there are some …  Are YOU one of the 200?

It never ceases to amaze me that some people thrive and survive on conflict.  You know the type … they are not happy unless they are UNhappy.  So they make it their business to find fault with everything and everyone.  And here is a little secret:  NOTHING and NO ONE but God is perfect.  So if you look closely enough, you WILL FIND imperfections and problems EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK.

So, are you looking??  Do you focus on the negative, or on the positive??  Focussing on the positive is the best way to survive!  Seriously, none of us are perfect.  Why focus on the negative in others when there is so much positive out there??

Don’t get me wrong … this does not give us licenses to bring less than our best to God.  As individuals and as a church, we need to bring our best and give our best every time when come to His altar.  And if we would each focus on OURSELVES and what IS our best, we would all be much better off.

Are you looking for the good or the bad in things?????

I think I can blog this …

23 Jul

It might be obvious that I haven’t blogged much lately.  Or posted to Twitter for that matter …  And, yes, there is a reason.

First of all, Dad seems to be doing a little better.  He was more alert this weekend than I’ve seen him in a long time.  And I was thankful he understood that he couldn’t go to Montgomery … It was also good for Mom to have a chance to get out of town, even if it was just for 30 hours.  I really appreciate my little sister and her husband for coming up and helping this happen by staying with Dad.

The Montgomery trip was … interesting.  But I really enjoyed getting to see my nephew and my niece.  They seemed to really appreciate it!  Jake reports today to Del Rio, Texas.  It will probably be a while before we see him again.

In the past few weeks, some good things have happened at Ebenezer and some hard things.  I guess you have to focus on the good things, and on where God is calling, and press on through the hard ones.  I never will understand the mentality that expects my family to be second-class citizens.  In an ideal world, they would just be seen as who they are!  Just regular church members!  That is one of the toughest things that a pastor ever faces.

This week, our new church administrator began her service to EBC.  And she is already making a difference!  One of the greatest things about this is it will free me up to actually do more MINISTRY!!

A trip to Montgomery

21 Jul

In what seemed like a world record pace, we finally make it down to Montgomery.  Diana and I took Mom; Dad stayed with Elaine and Karl (who flew up from Tampa for this).  It was the first time Mom had done ANYTHING like this.  That, in itself, is a small victory!

The original plan was for Dad to give Jake his first salute from an enlisted man … (Dad was in the Army once upon a time).  But the doctors and therapists told us there was NO WAY he should go on this.  So it was bittersweet …

We did this for Jake.  Other things happened that are probably best not blogged.  It was good to see him before this rollercoaster called the Air Force career begins for him.  We won’t see him for a while now … It was also great to see his sister, Jill.  She has grown into quite a young woman.

All in all, it was a good trip.  But I am really dragging this morning after driving 8 hours!!!!

I HAD to post this!!!

19 Jul

This is today’s entry from Mikey’s Funnies!  Subscribe at http://www.mikeysfunnies.com

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A man went to buy a parrot.  The pet shop owner pointed out three identical parrots and said, “The parrot to the left costs 500 dollars.”

“Why does that parrot cost so much?” the man wondered.

The owner replied, “Well, it knows how to use a computer.”

The man asked about the next parrot.

“That one costs 1,000 dollars because it can do everything the other parrot can do, plus it knows how to use the LINUX operating system.”

Naturally, the startled customer asked about the third parrot.

“That one costs 2,000 dollars.”

“And what does that one do?” the man asked.

The owner replied, “To be honest, I’ve never seen him do a thing, but the other two call him Boss.”

today’sTHOT============================

I did NOT escape. They gave me a day pass.

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