Nate and I were commenting back and forth on Facebook. I told him I was getting up early here in Lithuania, because it is daylight from about 4 AM to 11:30 PM. Here was his comment back:
Cheryl and I are in Lithuania. Read other posts on this blog. Cheryl and I differ on what an email home should look like.
I like that kind of guy. We see it in our brave soldiers who fearlessly defend our nation. We see it in the dozens of hunters and fishermen in our church. We see it in the football and baseball players and coaches. We see it in the guy who works an office job fighting his way through the corporate world or the factory worker who sweats 8 hours a day to feed his family. One thing I am so thankful for at Grace Community Church is that we have attracted a lot of men’s men who are tough outside, but inside they have tender hearts for God and their families. I love when a man leads his family to church.
Here’s a random post that came to me this morning. I was thinking about some of the things that encourage me in life.
The shortest chapter in the Bible is Psalm 117. I have often wondered what was going through the Psalmist’s mind when he recorded his thoughts for this Psalm. Was he finished? Did he get interrupted? Was there something else he wanted to say? Was he satisfied with his work? (Obviously God was.) This shortest chapter has huge meaning. If we were to memorize just these two verses and implement them in our life, I think it may make a difference in our perspective on the world and the situations in which we find ourselves.
We are in the middle of a family series and I was talking yesterday about marriage and specifically the need to commit ourselves to making marriage work. My co-pastor Chad and his wife sang while Cheryl and I danced. It was a visual picture of the leadership of the church admitting that marriage is tough, but our commitment to make it work is what can make a marriage strong.
Today was my long mow day. I have to mow my lawn at least once a week, but about once every three or four weeks I have to get my push mower out and mow places I cannot get to with my riding mower. One of these places is with the Magnolia tree in my back yard. This is Cheryl’s favorite tree in the whole world, but it is the tree that may one day cause me to lose my Christianity. We have been told it may be the largest and one of the oldest Magnolia trees in the city. Cheryl does not want me cutting any branches on it and it is almost impossible get under to mow, even with my push mower.
I am so bummed tonight to have heard the news about Pastor Gary Lamb of Revolution Church in Georgia. I do not know Gary personally, only through Facebook, Twitter and his blog. I would never be one to put more burdens on a man already so broken, but I cannot get some thoughts off my mind tonight and my blog is one way I express myself. Since he addressed this in a very public way through his own blog (Read the account HERE), I thought I would share some of the things racing through my head. They may be good for all of us to consider.
When communicating with children there is an old management axiom of communication that works well with children also. If you want your children to respond well to your instructions for them, try these steps.
