Remember When?

I remember when I was more fit, lets say! Younger, of course, and able to do things that would beat my body down if I tried to do 1/4 of the things I did when I was, uh, younger. I remember one day biking 22 miles on Stingray bike I had, (with a banana seat...ouch). Then a friend of mine and I swam and floated over two miles to the city park in Lone Star, TX. Then there was the time I got up and hitch hiked to Fort Worth on Friday morning to see Lisa...mowed their yard on Saturday (hour of work) and her mom buying me a bus ticket back that got me to Longview at 5 a.m. on Monday and then went to school.

Now, I just feel blessed to put both feet on the floor. Memory is still good and that is a blessing. However, the body may go before the mind. Think it is time to work on that a little to see if I can start working my way back to doing a little more physically.

Just sayin'!

I'll see you later!

Spiritually Obese

I am over weight! I know it and those who know me realize that I am aware of this point.  I need to exercise because my being over weight has and will continue to affect my health.  I have sleep apnea and have to rely on a machine to help me continue to breath at night while I sleep.  I have weighed more than I do now, but I still need to lose a lot more of my body fat to be healthy.

This is not a revelation, but did get me to thinking about what I need to do to remedy this situation.  I need to lose weight, shed it, work it off to become healthy again.

I use to blame it on my inability to exercise because of a car wreck back in the early 80's that left me unable to be mobile and my inability to be mobile put me into a state of "I can't because..." when it came to being active.  I started gaining weight.  I became a couch and easy chair man.  It happened slowly.  The weight didn't just appear one day and I was obese.  It happened slowly.

I need to begin eating better and exercising more.  That is it.  I will not lose weight sitting in my chair at home continuing to eat more than I need.  I have to make some changes in my life.

A couple of years ago I was working for Schwan's Home Food Service out of Longview, TX.  My boss, Clint, made a statement that got me to thinking.  He made the statement that what actually made Schwan's good for people who are dieting or wanting to eat right is that the food is proportioned out to healthy amounts.  That was a standard company statement that he was parroting, but it got me to thinking.

There are people who are spiritually obese Christians. 

We have sat in the pew, feasting on great spiritual food.  We have gobbled it up to the point where we have become so full of good things that our spiritual bodies have become "fat" from the spiritual food that we have been digesting for years. That would seem to be a good thing.  Spiritually fat on good spiritual food.

However, understanding the word of God to the point where we have allowed ourselves to just become so obese on the word of God that we are proud to sit in our easy chairs laid back and thankful for all the good we have been given to feast upon is spiritual gluttony.  We have been eating and feasting on good spiritual food that we have become fat and satisfied to the point we have a hard time when it comes time to exercise our spiritual bodies. 

We are so obese because we have failed to exercise the spiritual muscle we had to the point we have become spiritually anemic.  We are failing to use the knowledge we have except to point out that our food is the best food because "Look at us, we are 'spiritually fat'.

We will die from the lack of using our spiritual bodies that God has blessed us with.  It is time we got off the pew (easy chair) and exercised our spiritual bodies into shape by using what God has blessed us with and share with those who are spiritually starving and don't even know it.  We need to exercise our spiritual bodies by sharing with those who are starving spiritually.  The food we have been feasting on needs to be used to feed others.

It is sin for us to hold back the exercising of our spiritual bodies while others who are so desperately needing spiritual nourishment.

There are a lot of people who have set up spiritual bakeries or candy stores who make it look and taste good but do nothing more spiritually than a steady diet of donuts and candy bars would do.

It is time we started exercising our spiritual bodies into chiseled spiritually healthy Christian bodies.  We need to get out of the easy life and begin moving into the right life.

It will never happen over night.  It will never happen unless we are willing to admit we have become spiritually fat, non-involved, spoiled to the easy life Christians, comfortable with where we have come to in our spiritual walk.

It is time we begin being the spiritually fit, chiseled Christians God wants us to be in the face of this world. It is time that we used our spiritual bodies to share Jesus with those who are spiritually starving. 

Are you spiritually obese?

More to come on this!  I love you all.

Britt

Holidays or Holy Days?

In our society today we are hit with many holiday seasons.  There of course is Christmas, one of my favorites, Easter, Fourth of July, New Years, Thanksgiving, Halloween, President's Day, Columbus Day, Flag Day, should I go on?  I think not.  You get the picture.

Now, I have something to say about holidays today.  Many of us have been celebrating these, well the "Big Ones" anyway, from childhood all the way to adulthood.  I still get excited when I see a Santa Clause sharing gifts and listening to list of things the children would like to have at Christmas.  Yes, it is a fantasy and I realize that, but one that we can use to teach our children.  Just like the true story of Easter Sunday is not about a rabbit and eggs, but a much more important and deeper reality to the child of God, Santa and gift giving can be used to teach our children the value of giving to those we love and to those we don't know who are in need.

There are always those who want to put down celebrating holidays and use the thought process that they are not "Done by the Authority of God" and are not to be religious celebrations at all. 

Let me share a verse that Paul stated in Romans 14 that, to me at least, sums up the way God looks at celebrating holidays as Holy days.

" ⁵ One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. ⁶ Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God." (NIV)

I believe the authority of God has spoken, if you consider Paul an authority.

I'll see you later!

It's All About Love!

I don't understand how it is so difficult or why it is so difficult for many of my brothers and sisters in the church have such a hard time realizing the simplicity of the Christian life.

Living the Christian life is not a matter of getting everything right.  It is the right of a Christian to be the best he can be, forgiven!  God did not make imperfect beings to live perfect lives.  God created imperfect beings to rely on a perfect Savior. 

You and I, being imperfect, are going to make mistakes and some of them horrific at times.  We need to feel bad and carry the guilt of that mistake, sin, or mess up to our Father and truly seek forgiveness.  However, we spend so much time worrying about the negative thoughts of Matthew 10:38-40, "He who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me". 

Why is it that we only see the negative aspects of this verse?  God is not expecting an "unnatural" response to this verse.  It is true that we need to be concerned when we don't mentally and spiritually carry the cross of Jesus in our lives, but we need also to be just as concerned about the positive aspects of this verse that we many times fail to see.

What is the positive?

We, as the children of God, are asked to carry a message that is life saving to a world that only sees the bad coming out of their lives and out of many of the religions of today. 

What man, or woman, gets up in the morning and decides that "today I am going out in my car and I am going to have a wreck."  Yet, we talk about how difficult it is to live the Christian life.  It is almost like we wake up and say, "Today, I know I am going to sin so here I go."

We leave our church buildings and homes thinking about the death sentence we carry in us because we know we are going to mess up in our lives and hurt God with our sins.  We just can't see the beauty of living the Christian life because we dwell on the negative life, the sinful side of our spiritual lives so much so that it consumes our thinking.

Just like you don't think about going out and wrecking your car, you shouldn't think about going out and worrying about messing up your spiritual lives because of the temptations you face.  Don't give up striving to live a good life, just know we aren't perfect and we are going to sin.

God promised us forgiveness if we lay our burdens down and ask for help.

I believe it is possible that we have overstepped and forgotten to look at the opportunity we have to live the positive side of this passage.  We get to be the children of God and carry the cross of Jesus to share with the whole world.  We can only do that with the love that has been given to us to choose instead of the negative aspect of "what I have to do to be right."  Just do what Jesus would do. 

What would Jesus do? 

Love, pray, share and give!  Change our attitude about having to live a good life for God to wanting to live a good life for God.  It is time to focus on the opportunity we have to take a different look at how we view living our lives.

"God, please bless my brethren and me to live lives looking forward to loving, caring and giving.  Let us carry the cross, not as a burden, but as a privilege." 

I'll see you later!

Celebration to Come!

When I was 11 years old, my baseball team won the City League championship in Longview, TX.  We were the Colonels and my brother Andy was the bat boy and was so excited about the win that he did a flip on the pitcher's mound.  The celebration for a group of  11 year old boys and their parents was so exciting that I have considered that year to be one of my favorites memories and my favorite age.

That one championship became one of my accomplishments that I cherished in my heart.  One of my teammates passed away as a result of a car wreck he suffered later in his teens.  Bruce Fisher was a friend and I have been thinking about him and the rest of the team who I wish I could see again.  We grew up, and now as men we have our own lives that were all shaped by the events of that summer.

However, several years later, I became a Christian by being immersed for the forgiveness of my sins and there are several people who were there as a part of that are no longer living in this world. I have lost my mother, several of my close friends who became a part of the team that I knew at that time as a result of my decision, and the preacher who immersed me, J.D. Lancaster and many who encouraged me to become who I now am in life.

Today, I live and work with a team of Christians who are living to win the championship of life.  Heaven is our goal, the celebration will be sweet, and I know that my brother Andy will do a flip for me at the thrown of God as a celebration of being home. (Well, maybe!) My Christian team was and is my favorite team and many memories have surpassed those baseball memories some 40 years ago. I have lost many of my friends and church family to death, but I know that they are waiting for the final celebration to come in eternity.  I too, with my physical and spiritual family, can't wait to celebrate with Jesus who "pitched a perfect game" in this life and is waiting for us to come home.

I hope you are ready for that celebration.  I would love to see you Sunday at the West Freeway church so that we can worship and praise Him who was perfect in this life so that we would have the chance to join Him for that celebration.  He lived the perfect life to be the perfect sacrifice for us.  "Come, now is the time to worship." 

God bless you.  See you Sunday so that I will be to possibly see you in heaven.

My Bucket List

It has been a while since I last wrote here so my apologies if you were waiting (no one mentioned it but just thought I'd say it)!

Bucket Lists are popular right now so I thought I would give you my top 10 things I want to do before I die.

10 -- Live more spiritually in the moments of everyday life.

9 -- Live at peace will all men.

8 -- Know that all whom I have hurt or offended have forgiven me.

7 -- Study more diligently to be more helpful to others.

6 -- Lose enough weight to make a difference in my health.

5 -- Write my story in a way that would lead others to a closer walk with Jesus.

4 -- Love my family the way they deserve to be loved.

3 -- Share my faith regularly.

2 -- Share countless blessings with my wife.

1 -- Be who I need to be for everyone I meet.

Honestly, this is my bucket list.  I hope you are thinking more spiritually than you are physically in your quests in life.

God bless you! 

Loving Our Christian Brothers

The beauty of what we believe is our faith that holds us and molds our hearts into God's grace and mercy. If we allow ourselves to be immersed in the world we will find our faith tested from the realm of the world.

Sad, but even with good intentions we must realize that some of the things we do in our lives may not be a problem for us as much as it may be for those who are not of our same mind set. Small steps for some in their faith may be giant leaps for some of our brothers and sisters. We need to consider them when we begin to take steps that they are unable to match with ours if we are leading. We may be leading in a direction we believe God is wanting us to go, but there are others with just as strong a faith who believe that they are being led not to go where we are heading.

How do we blend the two?

It takes two. We must be so in tune with our brethren in our spiritual family that they believe that they can disagree with what may be proposed and not be alienated by the decisions or feel forced to accept it without loving consideration. Too many times we believe that leaving those "more traditional" or "more conservative" brethren behind may be a good thing. Leaving anyone behind is not what a shepherd or minister does. There are those sheep who just will not follow, but are we sure we are leading them in the right direction?

My faith is not shaken when brethren come away with a different take on what I consider a change for the good. I am challenged to make sure that they understand why I see it the way I do. I realize that my baby steps may be those great leaps of faith for some. They may think that my approach is unloving if I do not consider them in the decision and handle them with love and concern.

I have had to repent for moving in directions I felt the church I was serving needed to go without thinking of how some would feel about it. When we do something that affects everyone without considering everyone, we are not being the family of God. We are being like children in the marketplace, wanting what everyone else has. Feeding on the sugar of the world, leaving the family to wallow in doubt and some feeling the need to fit in accepting what is proposed just to fit in while shaking their faith.

I am all for moving forward and reaching out, but we must be careful not to destroy the family of God for the acceptance of man. This is for anything that affects our spiritual family we meet with each and every week. May God bless His church and those who lead it into the future. May God bless us all as family.

Landon Tyler Farmer

Born at 27 weeks into his mother's pregnancy, May 14th, Landon came all of a sudden to the surprise of every person in the family.  Heather, Landon's mother, and Tim, his dad, knew Landon was a boy and they had already been using his name when speaking of him.  We, as a family, were all excited that the youngest of our family would soon be a daddy.  Heather's family with Heather being the oldest reminded us of the excitement of that first grandchild, nephew and an additional cousin in the mix of family.  We were all looking to August.  I prayed daily and multiple times each day for this new family unit being united in love and joy.

Landon, as of this writing, has been through the things that premature babies go through.  He was diagnosed with Patent Ductus Areriousus (www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/pda/).  The surgery went well and everything is pointing right now towards a continued stay in the Neonatal Intensive Care at St. Paul's hospital in Dallas.  Other things could come up as his stay continues, but those are things we just will have to deal with as we have so far.  Needless to say, Heather and Tim have been strong because of a bond of love that exists between them.  They have been strong when others have been brought to tears of worry and anxiety. Now, I am not saying that they aren't worried, they are.  I know that they are.  But today, Landon reached out and held his mother's finger.  The first time that this has happened, and it wont be the last, but that is the time that she will remember forever and share with anyone who will listen.  She will cherish that in her heart and will be forever changed by that moment.  She is a mother.  She is a strong mother.  She is a proud mother and as far as I am concerned, a great wife to my son Tim.

Landon is my sixth grandchild.  He is the first born to my youngest son Tim.  He is my grandson and I am so proud to be his grandfather.  He has five cousins on our side of the family who are praying for him as he continues his life.  He has uncles and aunts along with so many others who are praying for him and waiting patiently for him to be able to be out of the hospital where we can all hold him and love him as a part of our family.

Heather's family has also been so supportive and I am so proud that Tim has Heather's family to give them strength as well. Please thank God for them for me if you would.

I know that I am writing this with an understanding that as you read it you read this through my eyes as a grandfather.  Yes, I am!  I am proud to be the grandfather, father in law, and father to this family.  I am proud that my children are concerned for their youngest brother and are keeping close tabs on what is going on.  May God bless them all with the grace He has to offer.

Thanks for reading this.

I'll see you later!

Jesus and Your Talents

Michael Hollinger wrote once: It’s a good thing that God is less concerned about our ability to value resources than he is concerned about our ability to use them. In our lives, however, we tend to have the reverse problem. Sometimes we overvalue ourselves. Generally instead of overvaluing our own resources, the problem tends to be that we overlook what we actually have.It’s very easy to think that because we don’t have as much money as the guy down the street that it should really be up to him to fix it. 

We think that the other guy is smarter, so he should be the one to solve the problem. We think those folks are more spiritual, so we’ll let them pray about it. Therefore we believe that since that church has more people, they are the ones responsible for evangelizing this part of the world, I’ve done my part.

The point is pretty simple actually: Don’t focus on what you do not have. That’s not important. Focus instead on what you do. As a child of God, you have a loving Master who, from the beginning of time picked you as his special child, worthy of doing good things for him. As Ephesians 2:10 says: He has created us in Christ Jesus to live lives filled with good works that he has prepared for us to do. I know that the One who gives us a job to do is never going to put his own child out to pasture without the resources needed to do the job.

We just need to remember that ultimately it’s the Master’s resources in the Master’s time that bring the increase to our church families and our own personal families.  We are actually sitting on a spiritual gold mine as children of God. We have a great pool of talent and resources that just needs to be used.  It may mean that we shift our focus to the people in our neighborhoods or in our areas. There are people herein your neighborhood and with whom you are friends who need the Gospel, and you have it. You just need to use what you have to get it to them. 

We can sit around here all day doing assessments of what we do and do not have, silently mourning our state, or we can get out there and use what we have to the glory of God.  We can't sit and say, "I'm the only one doing anything.  Others help would make it go that much better." 

In the end, the results are up to our God, Jesus and our choice. He isn’t going to hold us accountable for the numbers or the money that we do or do not have – just our faithfulness in using what he’s given us. 

Are you ready to be a part of something new and exciting? 

It is time to use your talents for God. 

Seeking New LIfe

“Both the hummingbird and the vulture fly over our nation’s deserts. All vultures see is rotting meat, because that is what they look for. They thrive on that diet. But hummingbirds ignore the smelly flesh of dead animals. Instead, they look for the colorful blossoms of desert plants. The vultures live on what was. They live on the past. They fill themselves with what is dead and gone. But hummingbirds live on what is. They seek new life. They fill themselves with freshness and life. Each bird finds what it is looking for. We all do." - Steve Goodier, Quote Magazine, in May, 1990 R.D.

I am amazed a how our so called "Christian Family" can be at peace with themselves when they are constantly on the lookout for the rotting meat in a desert of sinful brothers and sisters.  Yes, we have people in our churches who sin and make mistakes.  Some have gone on to be great men of the church.  Paul would be one example, and he was a murderer.  Peter was accused by Jesus as an agent for Satan.  I believe that they were forgiven.

Those who cast stones and feast on the death of the past need to remember that God is a forgiving God.  He takes vengeance upon those who attack His family.  If you are the one determining the validity of a Christian brother or sister's relationship with God and their sincere remorse for their sins by attacking their past you are a vulture who craves to dine on death and putrid rottenness.  

We, those of us who are in Christ, need to repent and turn back to God and once we have done this, live for Him.  We can never go back and change the past, but we can, with God's help, move forward in the knowledge that we are still children of God and forgiven.  We seek a new life everyday.  I am so thankful that I have no man to answer to for my salvation.

When we attack a brother in Christ, no matter the reason, we sin!  Love keeps no record of wrong is what Paul told the church at Corinth.  How are we doing? 

My Prayer for the Christians of America

The sad thing today is that many Christians live their lives based on their status and well being in this world. Don't get me wrong, God has blessed us to live in this nation and we are a blessed people for it. But, when we see this world as the most important part of our existence, we are not walking in the Light. Sure, less taxes and better living conditions, the less threat of gun violence (or any violence at all) would be nice. But, isn't that the heaven we are looking forward to? I believe it is the next world we are promised the beauty we are seemingly seeking here on this earth.

I am really concerned about the lack of knowledge and the lack of desire for the word of God.  We have to become more studious in our lives and in our desire to walk the paths of God.  We need to be concerned about our nation, our freedoms, but truthfully in the end, our spiritual lives are so much more important.  

We as a nation are sacrificing our children, not just through abortion, drug abuse, free and open sexual disobedience, but through negligence in our sharing the spiritual nature of life.  

It is time we stand together and truly share what we believe about God.  Or maybe, we already are! 

Sad to think and even sadder to say it.  But, I believe that statement may be truer than any other. We are showing the world what we believe about God by our concern more about what is wrong with our economy than what is wrong with our society and it's lifestyle.

My prayer is that God will take away from us whatever is keeping us from being His children in the way we need to be in this world.

Then, my favorite verse 1 John 5:17 will be true for not only the few but the many. "...in this world we are like Him."

How are you doing?

I'll see you later!

The Old and New Way of Looking Ahead!

Waking up in the morning to the Star Spangled Banner playing on the radio at 6:00 a.m. on KEES Radio in Longview, TX was the way I started my day as a youth.  Sometimes I would have to go and turn off the radio as it blared on with no one else stirring or trying to turn it off.  It was time to rise, get ready to start the day.  I was always ready.  Wasting time in staying in bed was not my thing at that time.  There was too much to do, to much to accomplish just waiting on me to begin.

Then I grew a little older and that excitement seemed to wane a little as I began to live a life that was leaving me beaten down and not as excited about the new adventures that were just outside the door.  To me, outside the door was danger.  Not physically, but emotionally and spiritually.  I had started striving to be a "good" Christian and began realizing that it was so difficult because I couldn't conquer the sin in my life.

I had always been able to do anything I set my mind to do.  My dad had taught me that and I believed it, and still do!  He was a wise man.  He may not have understood what his statements concerning this meant to me in my young life.  In fact, I didn't realize what the meaning was until a few years ago.

As I have now had my children and drilled into their heads that they could do anything if they set their minds to it, I hear them talk about their children and the problems that they face in raising them and I still see them the way my father saw and I believe to some extent still sees me, still his child.

I understand that I can't be perfect and that God doesn't want my perfection on a daily basis.  He wants me to love Him on a daily basis and let Him know about it.  The new adventures of the day can only come when I have allowed myself to realize that each day is new and fresh, and being a child of God, I get to start each morning fresh and new.  The excitement of the day is in His hands.  Turn it all over to him.  Don't stop looking for the new in each day.  Also, don't forget to let the bad in the past stay there.  There is something new each and every morning for you to do.  Begin by basking in the sunlight of God's love, guidance and the leading He offers.

I'll see you later!

Work the Program

I am so thankful to be able to continue learning at my age, and I don't think that I am all that old, yet! But it is a breath of fresh air to see God at work in my life leading me to study and learn even more than I ever would have thought possible.

As most of you know my son Anthoney is an addict in recovery.  I am so proud that he is seeing himself in a different light than ever before.  He is smiling and seems happier with himself and who and whose he is.  He is jumping in with both feet, getting involved spiritually and emotionally with God and that to me is wonderful.

One of the things that I have learned from being a part of the recovery process that he is undergoing is leaning about the "Twelve Step Program" that he is using to become more dependent upon himself and God and less on drugs and alcohol.  Their statement of "work the program" means to find the way to sobriety. 

Working the program can also be a good way for us as Christians to look at our spiritual needs and desires. 

God wants us to be active and working in His kingdom.  When we have problems with our lives, we need to "work the program."  We need to admit our sin and look to Him for the forgiveness He offers.

When rehab is completed and the addict or alcoholic leaves, one of the things that they are encouraged to do is to attend 90 meetings in 90 days to help them continue in overcoming their addiction.  Wouldn't that be a great way for us minister to each other and move out of a life of sin and into a life of Godliness?  90 meetings in 90 days.  Seems like a lot of commitment doesn't it?  Is it to much to ask to strive to walk closer to God?

I'll see you later.

The Cruise!

Well, let me start by saying that I never thought I would ever go on a cruise and that at first it did not appeal to me at all.  However, hind sight is 20 20 as they say!

It was great.  Everything about it was wonderful.  We traveled with two other couples from church and had more fun and relaxed more than I believe I have relaxed in years.  To lie in bed with the door to the balcony open so we could sleep to the sound of the ocean was more than I can describe.  Then on our second night out of port to stand on the deck of the Triumph Cruise liner and see nothing but water on any side was awesome.  It was also humbling.

I serve a God that has  allowed me to go half way around the world to Europe and Africa.  I have now been in the Yucatan of Mexico and I am so looking forward to going back.  I am so thankful to have had this opportunity.

Now, let me also say this.  I would never have done this on my own. My beautiful and loving wife made the decision to go on this cruise and set it all up.  She paid for it and planned it and I am so thankful that she did. It was great.  (In fact, when we got in the car to come home she immediately started looking for other cruises for next year. She is hooked.)

Thanks Lisa for a great week and Christmas.

I love you.

I'll see you later!