Giving

Well, today is the day after Thanksgiving and all the advertisements have been zooming at us all.  When I got home from a few days away my mail box was full of sales papers and political ads.  It’s like Thanksgiving day is the day you stand on the starting line and wait for someone to say, “go!” and start running until Christmas is over.  I think that is what makes us feel so empty on December 26^th. We have been running and running to make Christmas this big unforgettable experience for our family that some how it is a let down.  It came and it went and I didn’t feel the way I wanted to after it was over.  I have had it with Christmas as usual, I have determined in my heart that Christmas is all about doing something for someone else who can’t pay you back in anyway. 

 

That was the great times that Rhonda and I have had at Christmas. When our kids were small and we would buy things for them knowing they couldn’t do anything to repay us, we didn’t even expect a thank you or I love you or anything, we just gave with no expectations.  I can’t remember the last time I gave a gift with no expectations.  I believe that is the spirit of Christmas.  Now that I think back it was so fun running from store to store looking for a Buzz light year because Tyler, my son, didn’t expect it and so it would be that big of a deal if he didn’t get it.  But just to see the smile of a kid who did ask for a gift, get a gift and we as parents not expect anything in return.  Now that was Christmas. 

 

Now we sound like the varsity “What’ll you have, What’ll you have?” and when they get it because they ask for it we expect a THANK YOU, or I will never disappoint you again because you brought me this.  That leaves me disappointed when I build Christmas up to be that.  So, this year I am gathering my family and we are going choose a family that we can buy a gift for that can’t give us anything back.  I just want my family to experience Christmas the way God meant it to be.  Just giving without expectations because we want to, not because we have to.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today is Thanksgiving Day and I will be packing up my camper and taking it home. Rhonda will start cooking things to carry to my mother’s house. My brothers and sisters love for her to cook Macaroni and Cheese and Hash-brown casserole. We will hurry and get ready to go see that side of my family that I have not seen in awhile. But, all of that is still a few hours away and now I will take some time just to be thankful. I like writing out the things I am thankful for it makes me really focus on them, so just endure me as I let my real heart beat out on this blog.

 

What I am thankful for..

1. I am thankful for a God who would see a person like me who was a nobody and give me the greatest blessing of a life calling to change the world one person at a time with the Good new of
Jesus Christ.

2. I am thankful that he gave me a wife who is so supportive and who believes in the good of her husband and is willing to share in this great mission.

3. I am thankful for two children that have taught me how to love as God loves through the ups and downs of their lives.

4. I am thankful for the people that God put in my life to influence me and lead me to understand that character is the most important quality a person can have.

5. I am thankful for the people who are called my staff that work with me every day and who have walked with me through the best of time and worst of times and are still with me today walking
beside me making this heavenly vision possible, I am truly thankful for them.

6. I am thankful for a church family that loves me and I love them.  SCC is different from many churches because it really cares about the person sitting beside them on a Sunday. I am thankful that I get to give
my life serving people like the people of SCC.

Happy Thanksgiving everybody

 

 

 

Rocky Top

 

 

I did it. Yesterday I climbed the mountain.  I am sure it was in record time.  I could feel my heart pumping from the time I started.  It was windy and cold so I had the path pretty much to myself.  It is only a mile and a quart hike,  but it’s all uphill.  The first three quarters of the way is a gradual climb, but the last quarter is very steep.  As I was climbing up that last part I could hear my legs screaming to my brain, “what are you doing to me?”  That is about the point when you look back at how far you have come and look ahead at how far you have left to go and start asking yourself, “do I go back or do I keep climbing?”  When I reached that point I could see the top and knew my goal was in sight.  To reach the top and arrive like Rocky when training for the big fight, was such a great feeling.  To know not only did I reach the top, but I must have burned five thousand calories on the way up, I think I will do it again today.

 

Let me ask you today… what mountains are you climbing? Is it sickness? is it family crisis, or financial crisis?  Let me encourage you take the first step to getting over your mountain and I believe the first step is to always ask God for help.  It is also asking God to show you how to take the first step up the mountain by asking, “what can I do to make things better?”  If it is sickness maybe it means you do what your doctor recommends, if it is family crisis maybe you take the step to bridge the gap in broken relationships.  If it is financial maybe you decide to take the financial peace class.  Once you decide to take that courageous step with God, it is amazing at the strength you find to climb and keep climbing.  Once you do what you can do you will find God will do what you can’t do.

 

Listen to what Paul says in Philip. 4:12-13 (NLT)   “I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need.”

 

You can do it and God will help.

 

Have a great and blessed day.

 

Keep Climbing

Well, this morning is a beautiful morning here at our campground. Why?  The sun is shining.  Yesterday we had rain all day and were very limited in the things we could do.  So, we did what any real campers would do when it is raining outside, we went to the mall.  The great thing about the rain was that they lifted the burning ban and now we can have our campfire.  Last night was a riot because we were determined to sit outside under our canopy with each adult having their own heater in front of them.  We look forward to a great day today.  I am planning on climbing Stone Mountain today just to prove to myself that I am still in great shape and can do it without losing my breath.  It’s a 40 thing.

 

This morning I continued my reading in Genesis.  I read the story of Abraham and his son Isaac, how God told him to sacrifice Isaac.  If you know the story of Genesis 22 you know that God provided for Abraham a sacrifice so his son would not have to be the sacrifice.  This story is all about being faithful to God when God and life doesn’t make sense.  Every time God did something special for Abraham he named the place where it happened.  Abraham named this place, “The Lord will Provide” or in the Message Bible it says it this way, “The Lord Sees to it.”  I want to encourage you today to understand that no matter what you are going through the Lord will “See To It.”  This is how we let go and let God.  We have to remind ourselves the Lord will See To It.

 

Well, I must go climb that Mountain.

 

Have a great day today.

 

Camping inspite of the odds

This week is a week of time away with my family.  We are camping, which is something we enjoy very much.  Our camping is like doing a Holiday Inn on wheels. We have a bathroom and climate control on the inside of our travel trailer.  One of the things we love about camping is sitting around the campfire and talking.  Rhonda’s parents arrived before us and let us know that we could not have a fire because of how dry it has been.  We were like, “oh no!” because that was our only source of heat for outside and who wants to sit in a camper?  So, I scrambled to find some kerosene heaters to have outside so we could sit out and feel like we are camping.  Get the picture…. we have these big heaters and one of them has a loud fan on it so we have to talk loud and keep the people up around us.  Just another camping experience with the Daws family.

 

I was reading my Bible this morning from Genesis 18 when I came across the story of God’s promise to Abraham of a son.  What was interesting was while the Angel of God was promising Abraham a son, his wife Sarah overheard them and started laughing.  What was promised just went against all logic, but listen to how God responded to this doubt expressed through a laugh. 

 

Genesis 18:14 (TEV)   “Is anything too hard for the Lord? As I said, nine months from now I will return, and Sarah will have a son.”

 

That is the question we have to answer whenever we face things that are impossible for us to figure out.  We all know the answer to that question….  Nothing is impossible with God.

 

Ephesians 3:20 (Living)   Now glory be to God, who by his mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of–infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes.

 

Have great day.

 

I Am Free!

Today I am headed back to a conference with Dave Ramsey’s organization.  It has been really good to see the need again about how much we as God’s people need to be out of debt.  When the average person is spending $1.22 for every dollar they earn, we all become slaves to the people we borrow money from.  Thank God His Word has the answers and Rhonda and I have been putting them into practice.  With God’s continued help we will pay off our little car by January.  We will have paid off $15,000 from February 08 to January 09, praise God.  You can do it too!

If you have not been through Financial Peace I pray you will this February.  Go to our website at www.sccview.net to register or watch for the sign up table in the lobby coming soon.

Then, you can join me this year in saying I am no longer a slave but I AM FREE!

 

Relaxation tip:  Read your bible in the morning for 15 minutes

 

I hope you have a blessed day

What I see…

Today I thought I would share with you what I day dreamed about yesterday.  I actually took some time out yesterday and wrote down what I see in my heart and would like to share that with you today.

 

I saw Stockbridge Community Church packed to capacity with people hungry for God’s Word and to serve Him.   I saw thousands of people sharing their life with others.  I saw thousands sharing heart felt relationships.  I saw myself motivating thousands of people to get out and share their love and life with those that can’t help themselves.

 

Proverbs 31:8 (NIV)   ”Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.”

 

I saw Stockbridge Community Church as a group of people that when we see others in our church in need that would let our faith lead us into action and share what we have with those who don’t have.  James 2:15-17 (Living)   “If you have a friend who is in need of food and clothing, and you say to him, ‘Well, good-bye and God bless you; stay warm and eat hearty,’ and then don’t give him clothes or food, what good does that do?”

 

So you see, it isn’t enough just to have faith. You must also do good to prove that you have it. Faith that doesn’t show itself by good works is no faith at all–it is dead and useless.

 

I saw Stockbridge Community Church as a group of people who look after orphans and widows in their time of hardship and by doing so we as the people of God would always keep our priorities right and not get caught up in things but in people

 

James 1:27 (NLT)   “Pure and lasting religion in the sight of God our Father means that we must care for orphans and widows in their troubles, and refuse to let the world corrupt us.”

 

I see us as a real church that is in love with God and it shows in how we respond to the people around us.   I want you who read this that are apart of Stockbridge Community Church to know I love you and believe we are becoming all of the above.

 

Well  this morning I am running late for a meeting, so I will share the relaxation tip tomorrow.   I hope as you dream you see a bright future with God and his people.  I love all of you.  Have a great day.

Imagine…

Today as I write I have become very aware of the ability that we all have…. a God given ability that can make our life much better or make our life very miserable if we use it the wrong way.

 

This great ability is our imagination.  I am reading a book called “Wide Awake” by Erwin McManus and he shares some wonderful insights about our imagination.  He says “you can imagine far more than you will ever live, but you won’t live far more than you imagine.” 

 

Who you are flows from what’s going on in your head.  Your imagination is the place where God begins to crate your future.  It all starts in your head before you begin heading anywhere.

 

Proverbs 23:7 (KJV)   For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he:

 

When we get stressed out our imagination works against us because it only imagines everything going wrong and getting worse.  That by the way causes fear.  Remember the definition of fear is:

False

Experiences

Appearing

Real. 

 

So today as you day dream on your way home from work or school, point your imagination in the right direction and let it run wild in the area of how you may be able to help some one who can’t help themselves.  Let it run wild on how you can make your home a better place without blaming someone else for all your problems.  Let it run wild as to how you can help your company be better and more profitable in these tough economic times.  Why not let God use your imagination today to do something great?  God has put something great inside of you to benefit others and will make you feel great about life.  So today let your imagination run…. let it run wild with God.

 

Relaxation tip for today:   Learn what it feels like for your body to be relaxed.  The way you do this to consciously tighten your muscle one at a time and release the tension slowly.  Record the feeling in your mind as to how the release feels.  Then, visualize a big dial with numbers on it and see yourself turning that dial from 10 to 0 and feel your body relaxing and your tension go away. 

 

I will give you the next step tomorrow.  Have a wonderful day.

Hello World

Today I am beginning this blog to let the people of Stockbridge Community Church and anyone who chooses to read it get a little closer to me.  It is my desire as I share on this blog about what God is doing in my life through the good times and bad that you will draw life principle and your faith will grow as you read this blog.

 

As I begin my day I have learned the important of starting it off right.  By getting up 30 minutes early and learning to practice some relaxation techniques.

 

I would like to share them with you.

 

The first one is to get yourself comfortable and take deep breaths from you abdomen.  You breathe in slowly and watch your stomach rise and release the air slowly.  It has been proven that most people who are continually stressed out are people who hold their breath or breathe shallow from their chest.  As I breathe slow and deep I say to myself, my body is relaxed and my mind is alert to love deeper and to be more patient with people and to more relaxed.  Once I practice that kind of breathing for about five minutes I go the next step and I will share that with you tomorrow.  Go ahead now and give the breathing a try and see how it brings your heart rate down as you begin to relax.  I hope you have a great day.