Monday Morning Perspective

Principles of the new life was our focus yesterday as we looked at Ephesians 4:25-32.  Awesome message spoken with boldness.  The point of the entire message to me was that if we claim the new life and claim that something has happened on the inside, it should be evident on the outside!! Point taken.
One of the things Eddie brought to our attention was the anger issue.  How true that so often we get angry about how we are treated when that's just the opposite of what Jesus got angry about.  We are so wrapped up in ourselves that sometimes the only thing that makes us angry is when someone does something to us or speaks against us or doesn't agree with us or something doesn't benefit us.  A lesson I'm sure we all needed to hear.
Since we dealt with anger yesterday, I will just share with you something that has been making me angry lately...bullying.  It seems like it has been talked about on the news shows lately, at least the ones I watch.  Usually it's the talk about kids bullying kids.  It has led to trauma for many, even suicide.  Many times it's physical violence but often it's words used as weapons.  How true that it's a lie of Satan that "words will never hurt me".  I've also experienced it personally as some have told me themselves of being bullied and believe me some bullies never grow up.  There are adult bullies just as mean as kid bullies.  It takes place via texts, emails, phone calls, some are face to face but I've found that lots of times it's through technology.  Sometimes we don't see "getting things off of our chest" as bullying but I believe it is.  I remember the great restraint of a staff wife one time as she was "bullied" by someone about their anger towards how her toddler treated her toddler.  She could have reached out and "laid hands on" that woman but she didn't even reply.  I've noticed when I'm walking close to the Lord the more restraint I have when people are lashing out at me whether directly or indirectly and when I'm not where I should be I just want to "reach out and touch someone".  I must admit I have felt much anger lately on behalf of others that I feel have been bullied at the mouth of someone and struggled to find the line between defending and allowing God to be the Great Defender.  I struggle with that sometimes because I'm of the belief that God gives me information and when He does He expects me to do something with it, however I also know that at times the thing I am to do is pray and boy do I do that.  Oh, well, that will be a constant struggle I'm sure, as long as there are issues that make us angry just praying that my anger will never be on behalf of myself.  God give us eyes to see when we are guilty of being the bully and the grace to react as we should when we are the victim of it.

Thanksgiving Time Once More

I kinda hate to even start this because it's actually never ending and I will close it and forget a dozen things I failed to add but...I will anyway.  There's so many things I have to be thankful for it's hard to even know where to begin...
I'm thankful for...
Salvation, Redemption, Forgiveness and the Word.
I'm thankful for ...
A Christian heritage, A godly husband, that my 4 children are saved and live for Jesus, that my daughter married a godly man who loves Jesus and for his family and Christian heritage, for my brother, sister-in-law and precious nephews who love Jesus as well and serve Him, for my parents who led me to Christ and raised me to love Him and trust Him.
I'm thankful for...
My church family, churches who don't compromise the Word, ministers who are passionate and give it all, missionaries who don't see the sacrifice as a sacrifice, church leaders who are loyal and follow the leadership, sunday school teachers who study their lessons and serve faithfully, active church members who use their spiritual gifts and pass all the glory on to God.
I'm thankful for...
Mentors God has always placed in my life who tirelessly answer my questions and lead me, Friends who are bit ahead of me in age and experience and pass much wisdom on to me, Friends who encourage and serve as a soft place to fall, My awesome staff wives who serve alongside of me making it all worth it and much easier and they are friends as well,  Friends who have been friends for over 15 years...thank you for hanging in there even when times were tough, Friends who love me enough to give me the truth and trust me to handle it...you are real friends and I'm too old for the fake ones.
I'm thankful for...
Laughter, Fun times with girlfriends, Giggles from much younger girls who have filled my house and days with so much fun, Blogs that challenge me and encourage me, make me laugh and make me cry, Facebook that has reconnected me with people I have missed and lost touch with over the years.
I'm thankful for..
The hard times that have chiseled away some stuff in my life, the times when the road was rough and I got to see the best in people and got through some things I would never have believed I could have, the struggles when God showed Himself faithful, the mountains I've had to climb and the valleys I've had to walk through...I've learned so much from all of them.
MOST OF ALL I'M SO THANKFUL FOR THE LORD JESUS CHRIST WITHOUT WHOM ALL OF THIS WOULD BE WORTHLESS STUFF!!!

Monday Morning Perspective

Back to MMP...finally.
My man's preaching NEVER gets old!!!  There are times when I think the whole world should get to hear him bring the Word every Sunday as I have had the privilege for so many years.  I owe so much of my spiritual growth to the fact that I have been able to feast at what he has put on the table year after year.  I am so thankful for his faithfulness to study and prepare and preach what God has put on his heart and he has never entered the pulpit unprepared or lazy.  Thank you honey for taking seriously the bringing of God's Word, for making it priority in your schedule, and not giving up the pulpit often.  I have studied at the feet of other bible teachers and listened to numerous others preach and teach but none compares to what I have gained from you.  It's exhausting work not only the preaching but fighting the spiritual warfare throughout, just want you to know that this church member thinks YOU ROCK!!  My prayer is that believers everywhere would choose their church not based on programs, music, contemporary or traditional, but base it on where God's Word is preached and prioritized.
Major points God has me pondering this Monday morning...
...If we are believers, why don't we act like it.  Such a fan of living out what we say with our mouth that we believe.
...Losing sensitivity to our sin is a dangerous place to be. Never want God to turn me over to it, I want a heart quick to repent.
...What nature do we feed the most...the old self or the new?  The one we feed the most will be the one that gets stronger.  All the time and energy and money we spend to be entertained, that we give to facebook and twitter, to following and elevating hollywood "stars" and athletes who continue to let us down and live a life totally opposite of what we believe...what if just a portion of that time was spent studying God's Word and praying???  Just a thought.
I love how God continues to take the sermon throughout the week and teach me and convict me and change me.  That's kinda the point isn't it?  That's the reason most preachers do what they do...it's not just about Sunday and presenting a good message.  It's about lives being changed and my prayer is that God continues to change me cause He sure knows I'm nowhere near where I need to be.  Loving this study in Ephesians!

A rare fall getaway...blog 2

Wednesday was our free day in Boston.  What an awesome day!! Suffice it to say God showed off in a big way for us today.  The weather was good, cool but that's New England.  Everything was fabulous.
Joe and Karen took us up to Maine.  It's about an hour and a half drive from Boston...beautiful drive.  We went through adorable towns and then headed to do the cliffwalk on the coast.  The view was brilliant, more than I could have imagined.  Trust me, pictures do it no justice.  The waves were huge that day.  Joe and Karen even said they had never seen the sea so rough which to me just made it more magnificent.  We saw all the water along the walk but we just went for it.  Karen was a bit ahead and I was right in front of Joe and Eddie when a HUGE wave came over us.  Somehow when I turned and ducked God must've covered me but He had a huge laugh as He splashed Joe and Eddie good.  So thankful for their sense of humor cause Karen and I had to laugh right along with God on that one, still makes me laugh...sorry guys.  On we went to see the lighthouse and some beautiful homes and then to Bob's for some of the best fish I have ever tasted and true New England clam chowder.  We ate til none of us could hardly move although Joe did have room for some candy...I know I'm a tattletale. The sunset on the ride home was to die for.  Eddie and I spent the evening walking around a huge outdoor mall and ended the evening with a great meal at Joe's.
Thursday was another great day.  We spent the morning with the students.  Eddie preached at chapel and we had lunch on campus.  Took a few pics and said some see ya laters.  Amazing how you can love people in such a short amount of time and your heart hurt to leave them.  Only God can do that.  Joe and Karen spent the afternoon and evening giving us the historical tour of Boston.  We walked through Boston Common and saw most of the historical sites.  We drove around Harvard, very cool place.  We met the President of the college and his wife for dinner at Fire and Ice for our final meal in Boston.
On every level it was an amazing trip.  Being with Joe and Karen after so many years felt so right.  Just had a total blast with them.  So thankful God reconnects  at most unsuspecting times.  We saw some great sites and had so much fun.  Most remarkable was that God allowed us to share in the lives of some students who have such huge hearts for God and such a desire to serve Him and make an impact for Him.  Their stories were overwhelming at times.  My big question to Eddie was...what do we do with all of this we've learned and heard?  I don't believe God works haphazzardly and I believe everything He brings to our attention He Has purpose behind it.  I came home with much on my heart and plenty on my mind.  Can't wait to see what God is going to do with all of it.

A rare fall getaway...blog 1

I was going to wait and do one post on our entire trip to Boston but we have been here less than 2 days and there's already way too much I want to share so this may turn into a series.
We flew into a cold wet Boston yesterday afternoon and were met by our dear friends Joe and Karen Sawyer.  Joe and Karen were friends, mentors, leaders, anything and everything to us in our church in Greenville.  We have not been together over the years but they haven't changed a bit and it was as if the years had never passed between us.  They have been serving God faithfully all over the world and most recently at Boston Baptist College.  They have recently moved back to Greenville but they are here this week with us and we couldn't be more thankful.
We did a bit of walking downtown to see a few historical sites, most amazing is the Holocaust museum and the stories shared there.  That was simply amazing.  We had dinner with them and some friends of theirs at the oldest  operating restaurant in America, Union Oyster House...yummy!!  My brother had told me we needed to eat there and he was right.  I learned a lot about Boston.  One thing I had no idea about is that we have never had a southern baptist church to survive here.  That alone breaks my heart.  It's a huge mission field.  While I agree with international missions, our own country is in desperate need for Jesus and we don't have to go far to discover that.
I had the huge pleasure of sharing with the college girls Monday evening at 10:00, that's when they meet for their bible study time.  I was fearful I wouldn't have the energy to engage them but all it took was seeing their sweet faces and sensing their hunger for the Word and I was ready to go.  They were INCREDIBLE!!  I was amazed at how many came out on a cold, rainy night when it would have been so easy to stay tucked away in their warm dorm rooms.  I fell in love with them immediately.  They were so warm and welcoming and it blew my mind that very few are from this area.  These girls are from all over our country and some from around the world.  Don't know that I've ever felt so blessed to be able to share in front of a group EVER.  The really cool thing was knowing that they meet every Monday night just like my daughter Jessica does for her bible study and just like my home girls do with me and Vickie every Monday night.  How awesome is that knowing that this next generation of girls are meeting on the same night studying God's Word.  I already know that a huge chunk of my heart will be left here when I leave.
Today, we started a very special morning at the college.  Eddie preached at chapel and was GREAT.  I looked around the room and was so touched at how the students, especially the boys, were zeroed in on him. We talked about how easy it is to speak before a crowd that is hungry and so in love with the Lord and just dying to learn more.  It was a great day with these kids as we got to eat with them in their caf and tour their campus and meet so many who are sold out to this generation.
Joe and Karen took us downtown to tour Fenway Park today.  Ok, that was just way too cool.  My daddy raised me to love Jesus and love those Red Sox and being the good girl that I am I do love both.  After having some shopping time we had dinner with a young newlywed college couple from BBC and they shared their hearts with us and trust me they have hearts of gold just totally full of Jesus and His love.  They have a huge desire to give their lives to sharing Jesus with the Muslim world and so within the next year they are looking to head out and serve the Lord in this way.  I just sat there amazed at them, at their tender age and they have no attachment to the things of this world.  When you decide to go in that direction, you are serious.  We are not talking about a vacation spot or a short term mission trip...they will be giving their lives to this group of people that most of us are just scared to death of.  I'm so impressed, so challenged, so convicted.  They are leaps and bounds ahead of me.  Again I just sat there and fell totally in love with them.  I have so much to learn and so far to go and I'm so grateful that I can learn it from this generation of godly young people.  More to come...