Plastic Surgery in Church

I never really thought much about having plastic surgery. Seems like there are a lot of other things I could enjoy doing more with my money. I absolutley never thought about witnessing plastic surgery and especially not in church.

Last Sunday we had a couple dozens plastic surgeries performed in our worship center. It is hard to say for sure exactly how many were done because the excess parts simply covered the bottom of the two trash cans where they were discarded. Pieces of people's past life of various shapes and colors that had made them so unhappy.

It was so amazing to see people streaming to the front of the church to give offerings to God and for some that offering was to have this surgery performed to bring their life more in line with where God wants us to be. Since then I have received emails from some who siad their recovery time was instantaneous. Truly amazing!!

Oh by the way, did I mention that the surgery was on their credit cards which were shredded at the bottom of the cans?

What is it you need to give up to God?

Don't Overlook the Obvious

This morning I began the process of trying to get the Internet fixed at home. I was prepared to sit on hold for quite a while. I had set up the laptop on the desk next to the modem and the router. Just before I dialed the phone to begin the technology nightmare that I was sure would make me look like an idiot, I decided to double check all the wires. They were fine and secure, but then I noticed and interesting button. It simply said "Internet On/Off". Ok so I felt like an idiot, but nobody had to know. But as I drove into the office I began to wonder, what other obvious things am I overlooking?

As we approach Thanksgiving I have made a commitment to myself to look for those little things that I have to be thankful for. I can usually tell you the things I would like to change or go better, but I need to see the little things that are great that I often overlook.

What about you? What obvious blessings have you been overlooking?

A Weekend at the Henry County Hilton

I just returned from my first deer hunting experience. It was awesome! I have been threatening to do this for years, because whenever I drive down the road I can spot dear, even bucks all the time. So this was it. My guide was the imfamous Sam Eyle, otherwise known as our counseling minister. A counseling minister with a lot of guns, a target range and land to hunt; what a combination.

I arrived late in the afternoon on Thursday to practice shooting the gun I would be using. Sam showed me the ropes and pointed at the target and said try your best to get it in the six inch circle. Three shots, three in the circle, I'm ready - who knew I could shoot. Then it is off to the deck to enjoy the sunset and I see 5-8 deer in a field several hundred yards away. Tomorrow is going to be such a great day. Then Sam fixes an incredible dinner with the biggest steak I have had in years and baked potatoes. It was unbelieveable. Talk for a while then off to bed early.

Alarm goes off at 5:45. I didn't realize there was one of those when the sun wasn't up. We get dressed and are in the woods by 6:30 waiting for the sun to come up. The plan is simple first doe I see and then wait for the buck. Piece of cake!

My first deer hunt was incredible. I got to spend nine hours in the woods, marveling over God's creation. I got to hunt hiding behind logs, up in a tree stand, sitting at the edge of an open field. It was incredible!

Thanks Sam for the incredible weekend at the Henry County Hilton.

Oh by the way - I didn't see one stinking deer on the hunt! Oh well.

Yellow Wired

I am sitting at a Surviving Leadership retreat at Northside Christian Church with John Walker from Blessings Ranch. The concept of the day is are you "yellow wired". "Yellow Wired" is when you bypass the designed wiring to cross a circuit and ignore the planned wiring design.

It is an interesting thought as it pertains to ministry. It implies that you are bypassing important issues and decisions because to the difficulty of plowing through the issues.

So I am now trying to decide what areas I am yellow wiring. What about you?

Character

I just returned from a rally with Laura Bush. I have to admit it was my first such rally, but when Senator Gary Tapp who is a member of our church invited me I jumped at the chance. It was a rather long event with several elected officials and candidates speaking before First Lady Bush arrived. Then there was the long wait as secret service cleared the building and got the First Lady headed back to the airport.

The wait gave me time to think about the day. It dawned on me that the thing that stuck out most in my mind as I listened to poeple speak was "character". Every candidate and elected official that was there talked about their faith. Gary even quoted from the sermon at church yesterday. In fact several talked about their faith and mentioned by name people they were praying for that were going through difficult times.

Then as I reflected on Mrs. Bush and why everyone likes her so much, I realized it is her character. When she talks you believe her and even more important you realize that she believes what she is saying and is not just saying it.

One of the speakers spoke of a candidate that I won't mention by name, but he made this comment. He said, "He is a SELF-MADE man and he worships his creator." If you are not careful the impact of that can slip right by you. A self-made man who worships his creator, worships himself. There is not much "character" in that, just ego.

I do not know what is going to happen tomorrow, but the one who owns the cattle on a thousand hills does and he has it all under control, regardless of who we elect. He just may have to work harder in one scenario than the other.

It's Time to Pray

It's about 8 days until our country steps into the polling booth and cast our votes for the next president and several other important positions depending on where you live. The rhetoric has been going on for months. If you were able to put a meter on it you would probably find that none of the candidates are completely truthful or forthcoming.

So what are we going to do? It is time to PRAY! 2 Chronicles 7:14 tells us that God is willing to help and heal our land, if we are willing to pray and seek His face and turn from our wicked ways. It starts with prayer and simple prayer that asks God to help you with the rest of what he asks of us. Prayer is the beginning of seeking His face and the beginning of turning from our wicked ways.

Chuck did an awesome job today of reminding us that God is pro-life and all that this means. It is much bigger than the Roe v. Wade decision although that is a huge part of this campaign. It goes to the very meaning of life and how we are going to live it.

I would like to encourage Christians to spend next Monday fasting and praying not only about how you are going to cast your votes but for the will of the Lord to be done. We will be having a group prayer time at church this Wednesday night and the building will be open for prayer from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. next Tuesday if you would like to stop in and pray before going to cast your votes!

Praise You for the Rain

We never know when God is going ot answer our prayers. Many of us have been praying for rain for weeks. I've got to be honest driving from Knoxville to Frankfort in the rain today wouldn't have been my first choice for a trip home from the mountains, but as I recall I didn't say anything about the timing of the rain in my prayers. Not that it would have made any difference in when God sent the rain. Now that I am home I am just glad that it rained.

I am sorry we had to postpone the Impact Service Day tomorrow, but I am glad that it rained.

When was the last time you realized that your prayers had been answered in a way other than what you thought was best?

By the way, if you still really want to work in the cold and rain tomorrow, I'll be in the garage! (At my house)