Tag: Thoughts

A Week in the Life of…

So this week has been exceptionally interesting.

The Village has had some changes this week~

  • The second Village house is now open
  • We had 4 more guys come in this week
  • We now have 18 guys in the program
  • We are almost to the point to having to open the next house.

Other things this week~

  • Lovely is now 8 weeks along with our third child (9 weeks on Sunday)
  • I am just a few weeks from going to work full-time at the Village
  • I am just over half way through with my guitar class for this term

Non-sensical things~

  • I have been growing my beard now for 60 days
  • I will turn 30 years old this weekend
  • My white hair to redish-brown hair is increasing on the white side
  • People still ask about the R on my left hand ring finger. “Does that mean Ring??”

A few serious things~

  • My Grandpa (mom’s dad) had quadruple bypass surgery today
  • I lack a since of urgency and importance
  • I find that I’m not as good a husband and father as I thought I was/am
  • I find that I lack discipline in a lot of ways, especially around the house
  • I rely on my heart to lead me spiritually instead of the truth that God has given us (hence the last post)

This year will be a great year. Why? Because I want, with all I am, to submit, surrender, and obey God in everything. I want to stop making excuses to follow God’s call on my life and FREAKIN’ DO IT ALREADY!!! And I won’t stop in 365 days. I want for this to continue for as long as I have breath in my body.

Thoughts on life and death

These are just initial thoughts, mind you…

I heard the other evening that a beloved radio personality (Rick Burgess of Rick & Bubba Inc.) lost the life of his two-year old son over the weekend. On hearing this news, I was really taken back. I was in shock for a while. You know, you hear of people going through stuff like this everyday…My grandma passed away, my father passed away, but it just so terribly heartbreaking when a child passes away. I mean, they didn’t even really get to live life. They will never know love within a marriage. They will never get the thrill of watching their children being born. They will never know the experience of a high school or college graduation. Of course, as one of the radio guys said this morning, “…they will never know the pain of heartbreak in a relationship. They will never know the pain of burying a parent. They will never know the pain of being teased at school…” While these things are true…the Burgess family also talked to their son Bronner about Jesus on a consistant basis. He knew about Jesus and the love that He offers. The Burgess family is sure that Bronner is in heaven with Jesus right now.

So, thoughts…Life is a battlefield. Just like Joseph went through hardship and rejection from his brothers, he allowed God to turn every situation into a chance to bring glory to God, the Creator. God has equipped us with everything we need to make it through life. He gives us strength and authority through the Holy Spirit and through the blood of Christ. He gives us the truth we can call on for encouragement and a weapon against the enemy. God gives us maturity through all of these situations. And when you feel like you are lacking all you have to do is ask. (Matt 7, James 1)

Death of the human body…to the family and friends absolutely is heart-wrenching. In Christ, death of the human body is beginning of worship and adoration in heaven…free from affliction and disease and pain.

So while there is hurt and pain on earth…try to rejoice in the fact that if your loved one called upon the name of God and was saved by the grace of God through the blood of Christ then he/she worshipping the King of Kings and Lord of Lords…right now!!! Just like our second baby is…

Thoughts on my eyes…

I was thinking about it today on my way to work. It=the control of my eyes

I left the parking lot and was walking the stretch of sidewalk that takes me to the officina. About 20 feet ahead of me there was a young lady walking in the same direction. Simply, she was attractive (one draw back to working for a University) and so I decided that the best idea would to be to stare at the buildings. I made no noise or comment. Just looked away.

My thoughts took me to something my pastor said about this subject. He said, “You need to think of ALL women as your sister. You wouldn’t look at your sister in a lustful way would you? No! So just think of it that way. Then you will be able to acknowledge that, yes, your sister is beautiful, but you won’t have to deal with the lust.” Today that didn’t work. I still just glanced the once. Not in a lustful way. I thought clearly and innocently…”she is attractive,” then glanced away.

Today, this is what worked…

I am fortunate enough to be married. As most men do, I married WAY out of my league. Lovely is a wonderful wife who is loving and supportive. She is also a great mother who is teaching our child about life, love, responsibility (even as a 15 month old), and having a Christ-like attitude. So my thought today was that my body is not my own. I don’t belong to me. I belong to God and my wife. Well, much like 1 Corinthians mentions that you can’t have a head without a torso…you need the whole body (speaking of the body of the bride of Christ)…all parts must be included. Well, my eyes would be included. My wife wouldn’t look at a women in a lustful way. So why should I? It’s like to Bible says, that external beauty will fade. The young lady that was walking in front of me will age and as age and gravity seem to make a dreadful team. My wife is more beautiful than I ever could have imagined. Sure we both have packed on some pounds. We both know that and admit that to each other. But I’m beginning to look at her like Solomon looked at his Shulamite wife in Song of Songs after years of marriage.

Lovely, thank you for being and absolute encouragement to me even when I’m not next to you. My prayer is that I would honor God by the way I love you.

Thoughts on obedience…

So I’ve been reading on this book called UnderCover by John Bevere. So far the book is about submission and obedience to God. Not just the idea of being obedient when you don’t want to be. This is about having a heart for blind faith and obeying God like your life depends on it. (Because it does.)

Mr. Bevere writes in a way that really gives you a visual approach for application. He helps by painting pictures of Bibilical situations that layout his points. He doesn’t seem to pull stuff out of the air…he sticks to the truth. After all, the truth is all God knows…because He is truth. (Thank you Brother Bynum for your inspiring blog.)

The first few chapters were a little slow to develop due to building the importance of obedience and how we, as humans, have gotten to the point of distance from Him that we are at. (Since I thought it was slow, that means that I will have to go back and re-read because I probably missed something important)

I just stepped into chapter six and this book is already taking me for a loop. So far we have covered Cain and why his offering was not accepted. We’ve looked into King Saul and when he messed up with the battle with the Amalekites. The detail and the small choices that were made to come to such disaster…even with good intentions. It’s amazing.

I’ll delve more into it and do brief updates on it as I read and re-read.

If you get a chance, check this book out!!

Thoughts of the day…

Today. Hmm… Let’s see.

This is some of whats been cruizin’ through the bald noggin’ today…

What is giblet gravy made with the lungs, hearts, and other “innards” of the bird being baked.

How long is it before I will enter into grad school?

How hard is the GRE REALLY going to be?

Is four months enough time to get all my ducks in a row?

Man, I love playing my guitar. (Thanks Uncle B.) I wish I was playing and writing right now.

Storytellers is on Friday night. This Friday night. OH CRAP!!! I still don’t have much music. I hope they will still ask me back.

Is this what its like when you play on the road all the time and writing music for the next CD project?

If I ever started playing out like that I think I would want to stay unsigned. Or if Dave Barnes made a label, I would sign with him…if I was good enough.

Man, this paperwork is driving me batty. it just doesn’t stop. It keeps piling up and piling up and BLOGGING ISN’T MAKING IT GO AWAY.

Think of a happy place…a happy place…a happy place…

A home? A place of our own? Transportation that is dependable that isn’t astronomical in gas consumption. Financial peace. Free summers. Friday night football games and Saturday competitions.

Little Bear and Lovely’s birthdays. Hmmm. What about that?

Flowers? Mani/Pedi? Not just a meal together. Over the birthdays and holidays and all of the last 18 years or so has made eating so commonplace that it isn’t a celebratory thing anymore.

Hmmmm….Thoughts of today.

There’s more. Lots more, but only a few more minutes before I go home to Lovely and Little Bear.

Those are happy thoughts.

Yep. Happy thoughts.