Saturday as I was doing a little maintenance on my mower deck, something occurred to me. My mower deck is a lot like Christians. On the top my mower deck is yellow; a little dusty and green in spots from where it has cut grass. Christians on the outside show a little wear from life, wrinkles and whatnot. My mower deck on the underside has grass stuck from weeks and weeks of mowing (and where my blower can’t reach to blow it out). Underneath all the grass the yellow deck has turned to a nice brown shade, where rust has started to form. Christians on the other hand, on the underside often times are hard and sometimes bitter. At times it’s at the world for the filth that is around us. Other times its focused at other believers for the things that they may or may not know that they have done to us. Sometimes it’s at the church regarding changes, requests or pleas. We need to clean up the rust in our lives. We need to bring it to light and share it with others and come to grips with the things that are going on around us and to us. That way the rust won’t spread and infect other areas of our lives.
So, what rust do you have underneath the surface that needs to be scraped and cleaned up?
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”John 16:33 ESV
Wow – I’m not really sure where to start a Life Update post.
Family – Desirée and I are doing good. She starts back to work on Monday for a new school year, with the kids coming the Monday after that (August 8th). Please be in pray for that. Jeremiah turned 8 months old yesterday. It amazes me how much he has changed lately. It only seems like yesterday that we brought him home from the hospital. He sleeps through most nights, but he has had some where he wakes up and needs to be rocked back to sleep. Fortunately, those are not the majority of nights. He has two teeth on the bottom and we’re pretty sure that the tops are about to start popping through any day.
Ministry – I have been working in the video ministry at church as a video director and helping the new staff person troubleshoot and upgrade certain aspects of the system. It has been an interesting adventure, that I wish I had more time to assist with, but with family and work, it leaves very little extra time for ministry opportunities. I continue to do IT support for a crisis pregnancy center in Oak Ridge as well. I often wish that I had more time for ministry opportunities as there are so many areas with needs, but a wise person once told me, “You have to prioritize the good from the great”. Often times I find myself balancing time with Desirée and Jeremiah, over ministry and extra curricular activities.
Work – We have TONS going on. This spring and summer have been the worst time for outages for us corporately with all of the area storms that we have had. That coupled with a major project that I am responsible for, have me working quite a bit of extra time. Fortunately we are about to get into the fun stages of the project, implementation. I won’t bore you with all of the details, but it’s basically changing out our entire core network infrastructure. It’s going to be great once we’re done, although I’m sure there will be a few headaches along the way. If you would like to know some of the details, I’d be happy to share, just ask!
Missions – Unfortunately this year we haven’t made it overseas for any type of trips (vacation or mission trips). I hope to be able to in the coming year, but it simply doesn’t look like it is going to happen this year.
Vacation – We vacationed this summer in Chattanooga and in Stone Mountain Park, GA. We stayed a few days in each, then ventured home. We ended up at IKEA twice during the adventure. We were (well I was) afraid to travel too far with Jeremiah not knowing how he would travel long distances. He ended up doing great in the car. One pitfall to having a staged vacation like we did was that he ended up sleeping quite a bit in the car, which made for long nights of him (sometimes) not wanting to sleep all through the night. I’m sure it didn’t help that he was in his pack and play, as opposed to his crib, which he is more accustomed to.
On this Fourth of July, I wanted to remind everyone that we live in a wonderful county. We live in a country that was founded on religious freedom. I think often time we take for granted (I know I do) the freedom that we have to share with one another the things that we go through. The God that we believe in. The hope that we have in Him! On this Fourth of July, as you celebrate with your friends and loved ones, remember the one who first loved you.
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5
If you have never heard the Cactus Cuties sing the Star Spangled Banner, let me introduce you to them. It is a fantastic rendition!
The past couple of weeks as Easter was approaching, something about fatherhood has been on my mind. God SENT his son to earth for the explicit purpose of saving all of mankind. As I’m a relatively new father, I couldn’t imagine sending my son on a mission or assignment that might hurt him. Nor would I intentionally let someone hurt him. I can’t imagine that kind of sacrificial love, but I’m sure glad that God did.
I hope this weekend you took some time to reflect on the wonderous love of the giver of life.
Well, it’s Sunday evening and in 24 hours or so I’m going to be a father. So far through my wife’s pregnancy I really haven’t been nervous about it at all. It seems now that we are in the final hours, as I’m cleaning up the house a bit that the reality of all that is about to be weighed down on my shoulders is setting in. Will I be a good father? Spiritual leader? Provider? Role model? Will he enjoy spending time with me, or will one of his friend’s dad’s be the ‘cool’ dad? Will he come to me first with problems? Will he seek after God will all he has? All of these questions and more will play out in the many years that follow tomorrow. I only hope and pray that I have been prepared for the many challenges and obstacles that are about to be headed our way. Please pray with me as our family grows tomorrow, Monday November 29th.
