With wheels screeching, this blog is taking a drastic turn into another direction. Blog post after blog post has been a menagerie of different post, ideas, suggestions, and devotions.  I have tried to blog in order to help others grow and learn.  (I have started another website which will host over 35 years of my sermon notes, handouts, and studies I have taught. I will publish the website in a few weeks.)

But, now my writing will be centered on different experiences and events I have enjoyed throughout my life from my childhood to present. Maybe no one will read them, but I will enjoy writing and hopefully my children and grandchildren will one day smile and remember.

I read one of the most profound statements in a book on ancestry. The author said, “Most memories die with the person because they are not written down.”

How sad I know very little about my great, great grandparents other than their birth date, marriage date, and death! Nothing was written down about their lives. I hope these writings will leave something for my children to remember and enjoy.

Case of the broken stein:

When I was about 8 years old, Robert 10, Felicia 6, and Ricky 2, mother had a large stein she had painted and fired in ceramic class she was attending. When she brought it home, it was enormous and very colorful and decorative.  She placed it on the floor just outside the kitchen in the living room.

If my memory serves me correctly, it was sitting on the carpet very near the kitchen door. When you came in the front door, you walked through the living room into the kitchen and out the other side to the den. Someone running through the house probably kicked the stein causing it to break. Just surmising as to what might have happened since I did not see what happened.

While holding the broken stein, Mother rounded up her four children and interrogated us as to who broke her stein. No one confessed. No one cracked under the pressure of the interrogation. Mother heard from her four children “It wasn’t me.”

Even to this day, fifty something years later, no one admits to breaking her ceramic stein. Not a single one of us is willing to admit to committing the dastardly deed of breaking the beautiful, colorful ceramic stein she spent hours painting and firing.

All I can confess is this, “I know for a fact it was not me!”

The mystery of who broke the stein will probably go to the grave with the guilty party. I am just glad it wasn’t me.

Maybe it was the ghost “Not Me” who committed a lot of mischief in that little house on Sunset street.
Did your house have the ghost, “Not Me”, running around like mine did?

Proverbs 31:10 KJV “Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.”   While reading the last chapter in Proverbs this morning, I am reminded how blessed I am in my marriage. Pat and I have been married for 37 1/2 years. And, it has been an adventure, journey, and experience.  My father said, “Marriage is like a job, you have to work at it to be successful.” Over the years, we have endured difficult times and situations. We have celebrated great occasions and blessings. But, through it all, God has blessed us with each other. There are three things essential for a great marriage: love, commitment, and forgiveness. Love is the foundation of the marriage. A love for the Lord and a love for each other is the foundation the marriage must be built upon. Husband is to love the wife, and the wife is to love the husband. And, both are to love the Lord.   Ephesians 5:25 KJV “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;”   Titus 2:4 KJV “That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,”   Commitment is the second part to a great marriage. The husband must be completely committed to his wife. Not a half hearted commitment, but a full commitment to his wife. The wife must be completely committed to her husband. Commitment is 24 hours a day, everyday of the marriage.  Commitment to each other and the promises made before the Lord will see your marriage through the darkest of times.   The third part is forgiveness. When two people are married, they will experience those times when one spouse does something extremely stupid and dumb. I know; I have been there and done that. Love without forgiveness is not love; it is infatuation. Forgiveness is essential for a long and blessed marriage. Forgiveness shows the other one how deeply you truly love them.   “The first to apologize is the bravest. The first to forgive is the strongest. The first to forget is the happiest.” -Unknown   God has truly blessed us! May God bless you, your marriage, and your family.  

Song 2:15 KJV “Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.”
1 Corinthians 10:12 KJV “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.”
Hard to see in this picture what use to be a vibrant campground for youth!  Hard to imagine how it could go from a vibrant camp used to bring teenagers to Christ to a run down location with no purpose!  Hard to imagine how the vision was lost over the years!  Hard to imagine when the camp was first being built it would end up decayed and discarded!

The picture of this building brings back great memories in my life.  Times when I went there as a youth and later as a counselor.  This building served as the kitchen and eating area.  It had a large room on the back sitting approximately 50 to 100 individuals.  On the front was a huge screened in porch where we would sit and enjoy talking together.

When we moved this building to the property, the Georgia Association of Independent Methodist had bought, I rode on the roof as the tractor pulled the building down the road.  It was my job to move the limbs, telephone cables, and other things out of the way.  I still remember the excitement the building was used.

All of the cabins were built by different ones.  Mr. Lamb and my father did the vast majority of the work on the camp because we were the closest church.  The open-air building was used for the preaching of the Word of God.  It was a great place to go to camp.  No distractions!  No hindrances!

But, time goes by, the vision fades and eventually dies.  Buildings once used for the Lord lie in decay.  Every day slowly decaying further, until the point the only thing one can do is tear it down and start fresh.

The land is still there.  The buildings destroyed by neglect and time.  The problem is the vision and desire to use the land for the Lord has died.  It did not die over night, but slowly, ebbing away over the weeks, months, and years.

What a wake-up call this should be for churches, families, marriages, and individual lives!

Time, neglect, loss of vision, and other distractions can leave our lives in decay.  From our marriages to our churches, if we do not keep the neglect at bay, then it can decay to the point of no return.  So, how do we prevent this from happening?

1.  Keep the vision alive – remember the goal of your life, marriage, family, and church.  Remind yourself; evaluate yourself.

2.  Keep your love fresh – remember why you love the Lord, remember what He has done for you.  Remember why you love your spouse!  Remember why you love your family and church.  Rekindle the love in your life!  Fan the fire, feed the fire, and keep the fire burning!

3. Keep good maintenance – do not allow neglect to allow decay to come in and destroy.  It only takes a little rust to begin the process of destruction.  It only takes a few weeds to begin choking out the garden.

4. Keep your eyes on the goal – never forget why you started the ministry, to bring glory to the Lord and see people come to Christ.

5. Remember no one is exempt from decay.  Stand guard and keep yourself vigilant.  Complacency is dangerous and destructive to everything.

Revelation 2:1–5 KJV “2:1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;
2:2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
2:3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.
2:4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
2:5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.”

The other day, while I was backing out of my parking space at Walmart, a lady backed into the side of my truck.  She did not look, only glanced behind her, then just backed up.  It happened so fast; I did not have time to react.

Now, I have a big dent in the side of my truck, right behind the back passenger door.  I like my truck.  It is paid off, runs great, looks good, and will give me many more miles.  Every few weeks, I get a request in the mail or a phone call asking me to consider trading her in for a new model.  No way!  We have too many miles and adventures together with many more coming.

Now, she is dented and damaged, but still useful.  Life is filled with many dents and damages.  As we live, situations and people leaves dents in our hearts and minds.  Many times, these dents are inflicted without any intentions.  Our hearts and lives are damaged by the dents left by others, some intentional and others not.

The key is how we respond.  When the lady backed into the side of my truck, I had a choice to make.  I could get upset and throw a tantrum on her.  I could holler, yell, and scream.  I could question her driving ability.  I could place all the blame on her.  Or, I could remain calm, controlled, and level-headed.

She did not mean to dent my car.  It was an accident with no malice intent.  It happened like life happens.  The response to these dents in life is the key to continuing to enjoy life.  I did, by the grace of the Lord, respond with kindness and calmness.  Hopefully, it helped her, because she was very upset she dented by truck.  She apologized for the incident.

I know it helped me because it kept my attitude in the right place.  Now, when I see the dent it reminds me, it is not a big deal; it is trivial.  No one got hurt.  No one’s life was altered.  It is only a dent!

Have you allowed little dents to destroy your attitude, peace, joy, and relationships?  Remember to keep trivial things trivial!

One great verse to live by:  Ephesians 4:32 KJV “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”

Study of Joshua – book that deals with living the victorious Christian life.

Lesson 7 Notes
Lesson 7 Audio

Study of Deuteronomy – book that shows faithfulness of the Lord.

Lesson 6 Notes
Lesson 6 Audio

Study of Numbers – book that shows both the severity of God’s judgment and the goodness of God’s mercy.

Lesson 5 notes
Lesson 5 audio

Study of Exodus – Book of Redemption – how the Lord brought the nation of Israel out of bondage to freedom. Exodus is a wonderful book of redemption how man cannot set himself free from the bondage of sin, but God in His wonderful plan of redemption can set him free.

Lesson 3 notes
Lesson 3 audio

Six ways to lift and protect your Heart

So easy to become discouraged and disheartened today, just look around and see all the problems that are happening on the local, state, national, and international areas. These issues can make person lose heart.
Personal and family issues can cause a person to lose heart and become discouraged. Financial, health, relationship, and other personal issues can bring a huge burden on one’s heart.
So, what can we do to protect our hearts?
Paul gives the Ephesian Christians several key factors to protect their hearts. Here are six.
Ephesians 5:15–20 KJV “5:15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
5:16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
5:17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
5:18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
5:19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
5:20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;”

Be careful how you behave or act because it affects your heart.
Ephesians 5:15 NIV “¶ Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise,”
A person might not understand just how much his behavior or lack of it can affect his heart. When a person is living a lifestyle that is contrary to what he know is right will have a devastating effect on his heart and life. How a person lives can either encourage or discourage him.
You protect your heart when you are careful to act properly and to stay away from sin. You need to walk in wisdom and avoid those things that seek to destroy your hearts.
When you fail to live according to how that you know you should live and act, it will discourage your heart and life. Good behavior lifts the heart; sinful behavior destroys the heart.
Sin brings hard consequences on both spirit and body. Living holy brings comfort and peace to one’s heart.

Be careful how you spend your time.
Ephesians 5:16 NIV “making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”
There is just so much time in the day – time to do what you need to do but not time to do everything what you want to do. So much of your day is already assigned to things that you must do, so you need to spend the rest of the time wisely.
Make the most of your time. Spend it wisely. Do not waste it.
What a blessing when you get to the end of your day and realize that you made the most of the time that God blessed you with. Plan your day accordingly.

Be careful to seek God’s will daily
Ephesians 5:17 NIV “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”
People want to know that there is a reason for their lives. They want to feel that there is a purpose for life and there is. It is doing the will of God.
First, God’s will is that a person comes to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Too often a person thinks of God’s will for his life in a global or lifetime manner, but he need to think about this question, “What does God want me to do today?”
Seek God’s will on a daily basis.
What is God calling me to do today? Then do it!

Be careful who you let control your life
Ephesians 5:18 NIV “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.”
A real problem in the city of Ephesus was the drunkenness of its citizens from all the celebrations and parties. Paul tells the church not to be under the control of anything but the Lord. Be not addicted to anything: drugs, alcohol, television, etc. But yield your life to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Let the Holy Spirit be the leading influence in your life.
A person protects his heart when he does not allow himself to be addicted to anything, but keeps his life under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

Be careful to keep a melody in your heart
Ephesians 5:19 NIV “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord,”
Music is such a vital aspect in a person’s life. It lifts the heart and encourages the soul – the music of the Christian should be that which praises and worships the Lord. Let these lift and give your heart a melody.
A great way to protect your heart is to keep a melody in your heart so it fills your heart with encouragement, joy, peace, and the love of the Lord.
Get some good music and let it lift your heart!!!

Be careful to have the right heart attitude
Ephesians 5:20 NIV “always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Have the right heart’s attitude – being thankful for what the Lord has given to you. Have a thankful heart and it will protect your life and heart.

Put these into practice daily and you will be encouraged in the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I am not sure it this has happened to you or not, but every now and then something happens that reminds me of a painful incident in my past and then if I am not careful, all the difficult and hard feelings come rushing back in to my thoughts. It can be something said or I see that can bring back these memories. I must immediately make a choice not to dwell on those things, but to think about what is good and right.

If you are not careful, you can dwell on them and bring back the bitterness and hard feelings that you had toward someone else.

How do we deal with not only things in the past that has happened, but things that are happening right now, and keep from getting bitter, resentful, or filled with dangerous emotions? How do we overcome? Can we overcome? Or, should we just give in to these feelings because someone has done something against us?