Direction

Well, we leave for vacation tomorrow afternoon. I am excited about the trip. When we come back we will be packing to move into our RV that we will purchase the day or two after closing on the sale of our house.

Lisa and I are excited for this new era of our lives. Having the opportunity to take our home with us as we travel is quite thought provoking. Sleeping in our own bed each night seems to present a blessing for us.

Sold my 2008 Jeep last night and they are picking it up today. Last inspection on the property we are selling is being done today and then the count down begins. We are to close on January 22. Wow.

Seven years we have lived in this house and that is by over a year longer than I have personally lived in any one spot in my 59 years of life. This is going to be different. I don't think I'll miss the house. I'll miss the memories created there and the neighbors that were so warm and kind to us, except the first ones that lived directly behind us. (I'm glad they moved within 6 months).

Yes there are changes coming.

How about you? What changes are you going through? Are they changes for the good or just to be changing? Are you excited about the changes you face or are you apprehensive about them?

Material things on this earth are nice and to many extents essential. However, if our focus isn't on the spiritual first, then God doesn't have the place in our lives He should.

Yes, Lisa and I are doing some changing in our lives to look towards our future on this earth based on financial outlooks and needs. However, it is not our main focus. We know that were ever we are together is our home here on earth, but our eternal home is with our God. That is our main focus.

We are here for any of you who need spiritual guidance. If we can't help you personally we will do everything we can to find someone who can. We love our ministry and we love our family. But most of all, we love our God.

May He be forever praised.

I'll see you later!

Growing Old

I knew it would happen. I just didn't know when.

I believe that it sneaked up on me in he middle of the night while I was tossing and turning.

"What did?" you might ask.

Getting old.

How can I be old? How can I now be someone without children at home (for the last 10 years)?

It happens. You wake up one day and there it is right in front of you. An older version of the one you remember looking at 30 years ago.

I can't imagine my life passing so quickly without me even realizing how quickly it has. There are plenty of things that I remember and cherish in my heart. My daughter's wedding, my sons sporting events, and two great daughters in law, and one son in law (he's my favorite and they are co-favorites), grandchildren (7 of the best) and one great grandson, have all become a part of my past.

I will never forget growing up and wanting to hurry up and get out of school, get a job, find a wife, and just be an adult. I've done that for a long time. 40+ years and I wouldn't trade it for all the money in the world. I love my family. We have made some great memories and that is what it is that growing old is all about.

Too bad that growing old also means that the hard drive memory chip God gave us fills up to a point some of us start loosing data and memory losses make us question even who we are and who our loved ones are.

Growing old is something that once you are there you wish you could go back and tell that younger self to spend more time with your friends and family when you were home growing up; going back and telling that teenage you to not rush through life because you'll forget most of what you did; going back to the day you got married, had your children, saw them begin to walk, heard them cry, watched them fall, learn to ride a bike, make and lose friends, meet that one they love, get married, have children, and begin their journey of growing old. Growing old is not fun, it is memorable. It is a way of making us realize that our memories are really important.

I have been told that I remember things that no one else does. Yes, but they are my memories. There are some I wish I didn't have to remember, but those too have shaped me into the person I am today. I'm not satisfied with where I am, but I believe that is a God thing. He wants me to strive to continue to grow and I believe He wants me to make more memories.

So, growing old is not all its cracked up to be with Teens and younger adults. I wish I could remember why I always thought that growing up and making my own way would be better than what I had. It still may be. However, I wish I had not had to do that.

I hope you can make sense of this...after all, I'm the one getting older, right?

Following the Crowd

Have you ever known someone who, after realizing that they had made a terrible mistake, keep heading in the same direction without changing anything? They are too proud to admit that they made a mistake and don't want to lose face with those that they may be hanging around with at the time. Their sphere of influence is based on those who are in agreement with them or are backing them with support in their mistake.

This type of attitude scares me, but it also helps me realize that there is something that needs to be done to help them. Letting them know that we love them and want nothing but for them to be right with God and themselves.

If you find yourself in that position, let me tell you now, I love you and will support you on your journey if you are wanting to get right with God. Actually, even in my family there are those that this applies to. It makes my heart ache as I watch them drift further and further from God. However, if you sincerely want to return, know that I am already praying for you whether or not I know of your situation. For those that I do know I hope you realize that I pray for you by name and want you to return, not for my sake, but for your soul to be in the hands of your Father as your time ends or He ends our time. I want you to hear "well done" not "depart from Me, I never knew you."

Please stop, turn around, begin walking toward God. He is right behind you with open arms, and we His children are praying for you to return.

I want you to come home!

The Return?

"I'll be back there when _______________________ happens."

Ever heard anyone make this statement? I have, and I have noticed that those who say such things are just saying something to pacify themselves from having to do what ever it is that they have said they would do. Believe me, something else will come up or something else will cause them to continue to walk away from the very thing that they said they would do.

I have also heard this: "I'll never go to church at __________________!" When asked why the answer is, "_______________ is a member there and I could never attend where they attend."

Funny, I wonder if they have considered the alternative?

I have told the story many times of the man who said, "If those ______________ people go to heaven I don't want to go." I told him not to worry!

Please, realize that the world we live in is divisive enough without Christians putting stipulations on who attends and doesn't attend a particular church. If you are allowing a human being to keep you out of or away from participating in a church, then you are allowing them to be your god and not our Father in heaven. If they are the reason you die outside of faith, whose fault is that and who will pay the consequence.

Now, if you read this and get upset with me, I'm sorry. I really am. But I love you enough to try to get you to stop and think about your spiritual life for a minute. If you still don't want to worship with God's family somewhere, then fine, you let God know what it was that kept you away from the family of God. As for me and my house, we are going to go and serve God and not worry about who might be there we don't like. God comes first, then others, and then my desires and wishes (maybe)!

I love you all.
Britt

Weight Loss?

I did it! 

I began a diet right after Christmas. I have stuck to it and I am losing weight. 38 pounds as of this writing have gone away and I feel better, have more energy and more excitement knowing that ultimately I will be healthier and able to see my children, grandchildren, and yes, I'm proud to say, my great grandchildren longer than I might have. Believe me, I still have close to 80 pounds to go to hit my goal weight, but I am a true believer in sticking it out.

Now, before you go and praise me and laud my accomplishments and send me encouraging notes of congratulations, let me ask you a question? How is your weight loss coming?

Wait just a second! I'm talking about the weight of your sins. Hebrews 12:1 "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us..." RSV

See, we all want to talk about our weight loss and all the accolades that go along with the excitement we feel as we see the profit of losing pounds. I just really wish that we would feel just as excited when someone we know overcomes the weight of sin that is in their lives. Or to hear about someone and the struggles that they have overcome to make their lives better, spiritually more healthy and the thought of a home in heaven being within reach.Your grandchildren and children are going to be watching your example. There are people who will notice your spiritual weight loss and change just as quick as they notice your physical weight loss and change. We need to be just as consumed about reducing sin's weight on our spiritual lives as we are our body's weight on our physical lives. 

That is weight loss! Losing sin's burdensome hold on us. 

How are you doing?

I'll see you later!

Don't Give Up

Walking onto the baseball field at Letourneau College with my glove in my hand, smelling the fresh cut grass and the dirt of the baseball infield, I thought I had gotten to the top of the sport for a 14 year old second baseman. The Hallsville Bob Cats had a pitcher who was one of the best we had ever faced. Barry Grimes, whom I am friends with on Facebook along with his wife, one of my school mates in our little community.

Barry was warming up and I was the lead off hitter. I loved hitting off of Barry. It was a challenge to stay in the batter’s box when that big overhand curve looked like it was going to hit you, looking as if that was the intent of the pitcher. I stood off to the side as Barry threw his warm up pitches and never once did he throw a curve during his warm up. I knew he was going to throw it to me, he always did.

            The first time he threw his curve with me as the batter, I bailed out of the batter’s box just knowing the pitch would hit me if I didn’t, only to hear the umpire yell strike one! I was 13 then. Now at 14 I had faced Barry on multiple occasions in the last year. I was aware of his curve by now. But, over time I realized I didn’t have to bail out. The ball was going to be a strike, or close enough to hit. He was that good of a pitcher. I dug in, took a couple of practice swings and waited. The curve was coming. It always did. And it was always a strike, at least to me.

As he released the pitch the spin looked right. I recognized it was the curve. As it got closer I wanted to swing and drive it over the second baseman’s head. I gripped the bat hard and began to lean in and I wanted to swing, but I waited. Too late! See the ball looked like a curve, was thrown like a curve. I had seen enough curve balls to know what type of pitch it was. I didn’t have to guess. It was a curve ball that should have broken over the plate.  However, it didn’t. The ball hung up in the air and as it got to where I would normally have taken my cut at the ball, it wasn’t starting its downward trajectory. It was a hanging curve, a curve that didn’t break.

Believe me, Barry wanted it to curve. But it didn’t. It hit me. It hurt. The concussion of the ball on my batter’s helmet wasn’t as violent as it would have been if it had been his fastball. Yes, it hurt, but I would live. Barry’s plan was good. His motion looked good. His high leg kick was threatening as usual, but something happened as he released his pitch. He had lost control, but just a hundredth of a second, just enough to lose his grip on the ball. He hit the wrong thing, and I hit the ground. 
Barry’s loss of his grip has always reminded me of how so many of us lose our grip sometimes in life. We have done life every day for years. The problem is that one day when some of us lost our grip on our lives. We failed to deliver what we usually did. Everything we planned went wrong.

          Isn’t it great to know that we all do that? We all lose our grip on life at times. We go through the motions doing all the things that we have always done, yet something happens and we don’t throw the pitch the way we know we should. It is then that we need to realize we aren’t always perfect doing the right things the right way all the time. We will fail in life. But, God is there to forgive us when we fail to “make the pitch” in our lives. God still offers forgiveness for our sins when we lose focus, miss pitch a part of our lives. It isn’t the end of the game when we get hit or lose our grip on the pitch (our lives). It is just life. 
          Life happens. Just follow those who lead you into your future to be with God and take that next at bat or throw that next pitch. Success in life comes after a lot of failures, losing our grip, or getting knocked down.
          Life continues on. Barry kept pitching, I went to first, stole second, stole third, and scored on a base hit by Jerry Henson. We led 1-0. We lost 3-2. I kept playing even after getting knocked down and Barry kept pitching to get the win after losing his grip. We both could have thrown up our hand and quit, but we didn't. 
          Barry is a good husband and father. I am who I am. We both have aged with a love for a sport that taught us endurance. 
          God understands us and gives us words to live by when times get hard. John the Revelator wrote these words, "This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus.” Revelation 14:12 Get up, don’t give up. Press on in life and remain faithful to our God."

I'll see you later! 

Spiritual Chef?

There are people who believe that church should be the place where they get their spiritual nourishment. The preacher should give it and it has to be enough to get them through their lives.Why do we believe that one twenty to thirty minute sermon, and maybe two 40 minute Bible studies are enough to supply all that they need for the week? And, if it doesn't it is the preacher's and church leaders fault.

Isn't that a little silly? After all, we send our children to learn life skills at school for about six hours a day for 180+ days a year. That is about 1,080 hours per year for 13 years. That is 14,040 hours of their lives.

The average Christian is in classes and bible study about two and a half hours per week. Very few of those Christians who demand that the church be their primary source of spiritual nourishment spends in 70 years of membership a whopping total of 9,100 hours getting spiritually nourished.

What does this say about our need for spiritual nourishment? What does it say about the demand that we put on pastors, teachers, and preachers for nourishment?

I'm not saying that what you receive isn't or shouldn't be nourishing from your time with the church family, but what I am wondering is, why do we place the responsibility for our spiritual nourishment solely on the church leadership? Where is your responsibility to "feed ourselves on the word of God?"

If "church" is the only place you find nourishment, and you are demanding more than you are getting, do what you would do with a child that needs more study, or help, with their school work. You can get a tutor, spend more time in study yourself, or get involved in a study group with others who are struggling with their spiritual growth. Discipline may be needed. But, be careful. Study may lead to a better knowledge of other areas you may need to work on in your spiritual walk.

I am not saying this because of issues with the thought process of being nourished when we come to worship. I am saying this because it is a huge responsibility to be considered the main spiritual chef in someone's life when they will only eat once or twice a week.

I love you all.