Ouch!

Every once in a while we come across something that challenges and moves us in our walk of faith.  Recently this happened when I watched a sermon preached by Dr. Herb Reavis from North Jacksonville Baptist Church, Jacksonville, Florida.  (I have included the link below).  Often, I believe, God is able to use sermons, scriptures, and music to move us in our faith that will take us out of our comfort zone.  Since we are out of what we deem to be comfortable, God is then able to stretch us and make us pliable for use in His kingdom work.

We ought to be aware of God working around us, AND that He desires to use us in His plan to share the message of Jesus Christ.  It’s not about us.  It’s not about our feelings.  It’s not about our agenda.  It’s only about Him.  It’s only for Him.  So next time the Holy Spirit hits you with His hammer, it’s alright to say “ouch!” in response.  Then make it a point to change, and not repeat the mistakes of the past.

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/14460214

(Sermon preached at Mud Creek Baptist Church, Hendersonville, NC)

Traveling

Have you ever noticed the different types of drivers in this wonderful country?  This afternoon, the Lee family made a trek to Statesville to drop off a precious little girl to spend time with her Nana and Papaw, and I was amazed at some of the "slower" drivers out there.  It made no difference to gender, race, age, type of car/truck, etc. there were simply poor skills exhibited.  Driving slow in the left lane (it was a four lane highway), not moving over for faster traffic, big trucks in the left lane going uphill, changing lanes without ANY turn signal, talking on the cell phone while driving, and other things.  Usually I am mild mannered when making a long trek (especially with family), but today was not normal.  At one point I began to imagine that I was driving like my beloved brother James.  Now THAT is scary!  He makes the moonshine drivers look like sissy's.  He is like Richard Petty are on steroids.  He makes the Busch brothers look like the Busch sisters.  Get the point?  So now beware of  James's little brother on the road...he has arrived.

Another view

Well this morning I dragged myself out of bed (after hitting the snooze button several times) to hit the trail again.  This time I took note of the start and ending time thanks to a clock in the garage which was placed lovingly by wife several months ago.  The unofficial time for my 2 mile trek was 15:20.  Not too bad, but I did push a little since I committed to posting the time here. :)

While I was cruising the 'hood this morning, I took time to notice several homes.  Since I am now "visiting" the other part of the 'hood that I am not accustomed to driving through, I paid close attention to the yards.  You know, the color of the grass (hopefully green, but with this drought, most are showing brown), the length of the grass, yard ornaments, flowers, and shrubs.  You can also tell by yard debris if there are any children around...can I get a witness!?!?  Then my thoughts turned to a spiritual application...what does our life tell about us?  Are we close to God?  Are we trusting Him with our details?  Do we "hide" things in the back yard in hopes of concealing a mess?  Do we have a tendency to act like a toddler ("I can do it myself!")?  Also, I wonder if God laughs at our attempts to take control of our lives and situations?  Since I enjoy laughter, I realize that God too must enjoy laughter (especially at my antics), but is quick to comfort us in failures.  So take heart, and realize that in our journey we don't surprise God, but He will always (and I mean always) love us in spite of our clutter.

Bicycle Cause Efforted

What a rush!  This morning I was able to peddle my way around the neighborhood without causing harm to myself (which is a good thing) and neighbors (which is important to them too).  The total distance is 2 miles.  Since it does include hills and  inclines, these tired legs were pushed, dragged, and beaten into submission, and let's not even mention the saddle.  No amount of cushion is helpful to me, so I do what my dad taught me many times as a child "suck it up son, get used to it!"  The new gear function is amazing...just a click of the thumb or index finger, and you are able to go up or down with ease.  Technology is wonderfully cool!  It is a challenge, but hopefully I will drag myself out of bed in the morning and repeat the cycle of abuse in hopes of trimming weight and increasing lung capacity.  You never know when you will need to yell really loud for a really long time period.  It took me about 23 minutes to complete the coarse, but I will follow that time more closely tomorrow for a more accurate reading.  Once I get some better endurance, I will check out the bike trails around the area, but not too quickly...no need in bringing humiliation into the equation.  In the mean time, happy trails to you!

Fathers Day

What comes to your mind for Father's Day?  For some it's a day to relax, watch sports, eat big, or spend time with family.  Either way you choose to spend it, make the most of it.  I received a great gift for Father's Day: a mountain bicycle.  I am really excited to get in the groove of using it since I am in dire need to lose weight and get back into shape.  Way back in the day, my wife and I used to have matching 10 speed bikes, and we enjoyed riding them, so now is my chance to get back into it.  On my first spin through the neighborhood, I relished the wind in my face especially going down hill, but alas, one must also go uphill.  That was a challenge, but I made it through the neighborhood and did not hurt myself in the process. 

The rest of my Father's Day was spent eating lunch at Red Robin, riding a carousel with my daughter at Cary Town Center Mall, enjoying a cookie sandwich filled with icing, and watching Cinderella...pretty much a normal day. :)  I am so blessed...great family, friends, church, neighbors, and Savior!  Thank you God for all that you have given me.

Fathers Day

Not sure why some things are funny for men, but not for the ladies in our lives...but here is a short video that will probably bring a chuckle to the men.

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/b5500157e1/a-fathers-day-salute

I love the expression that the wife gives the man, and then the children in the back seat...way TOO funny.

For my dad, Wetzel, thanks for the laughs, and a happy Fathers Day too!

Space Bags

Space Bags.

Recently an effort has been put forth in the Lee household to clean and organize closets (not my idea mind you, but one that had to be done).  What started as a relatively easy task, later erupted as a mammoth beast in really organizing existing closet space.  Mary won the contest of having the most items…anyone surprised?  Since I generally fluctuate in weight size, I normally have two sizes: regular and husky (nice way of saying it, don’t you think?).  So to accommodate the large surplus of clothing, we discovered a great way to store clothing items: space bags.  Seriously, they are fantastic and work wondrously.

I must admit that I was extremely skeptical of the bag that reduces bag size by removing air through a “magical” portal.  However, it works!  We bought several bags to store items, and then placed them in the attic for future retrieval.  I’m not sure how it works, it just works.  The image of attaching a vacuum to the bag portal helped me to see something different.  What does it look like to a child of God, when we allow the Holy Spirit to remove ourselves from the center spotlight?  I believe that less is more.  When I decrease, God increases.  True to the opposite: when I increase, God decreases.

Spiritually speaking, is it time to employ the use of space bags in your life?  What do you need to do to let God be God in your life?  Tough choices, but they must be made.  Let’s work together in allowing God to increase in our lives with the hope of others coming to know Christ as Lord and Savior.

Blessings,
Jack