Overheard at my house…

Mary Fran:  “Can we watch a princess movie, maybe Cinderella?”

Evie: “We don’t have Cinderella Mary Fran”

MF:  “Maybe we could watch Jesus?” (we have an animated Jesus movie)

Evie: “Mary Fran!, that would not be much fun, Jesus is not a princess!”

The Fair

Going here today… should be lots of fun.

And I’m thinking that Evie will want to ride this…not so much fun

Maybe she’ll be to short!  For a little while…  Y’all come join us.

Quiet Time

While spending my daily time in the Scriptures this morning I came across this forgotten page tucked away between the pages of my Bible.  I had written this, or rather typed it a while back and it was certainly Divine Providence that brought it back to my attention today.  I have listed on this page the resolutions that I wish to live my life by.  I will share them with you here in hopes that they may be of some encouragement to you:

I am resolved in these areas:

1. To glorify God and enjoy Him forever

2. To love my wife as Christ loves His Church and put her well being before my own

3. To love my children (however many God blesses me with) and bring them up to love Christ and be like Him.  I am also resolved to actively help them discover their God given talents and abilities and encourage them to use them to advance Gods kingdom

4. To be a man who is certain in his affairs, whether business, church, state or country.  I am resolved to be a man with a broad focus in my life work, to not be contained by simply a “job” but rather be focused on God’s calling on my life and let all my ventures compliment this task

5. To be a learned man, knowledgeable in whatever I set my heart to do

6. To spend time daily in God’s work and apply its teachings and precepts to my life in all areas

7. To live a simple life not driven by what the world would deem successful, but rather be content with where God has placed me and find the enjoyment and pleasure that only He can offer

8. To leave an inheritance for my children and grandchildren

9. To take my thoughts captive for Christ and be pure in all I see, think and do

10. To be a man of discipline, committed to daily prayer and worship and diligence in whatever task I undertake

Monday

Good morning.  I am sitting in the office this morning with many things rolling around the interior of my mind.  Most of it is chaos and snippets from the weekend, business left undone and bills needing to be paid.  I think most would call it stress.  What causes stress?  Is it inevitable?  Or is it simply a part of life, an evil necessity?

RD spoke yesterday in our fellowship about nets.    He explained that trapeze artists in the circus cannot perform to their utmost potential without a net in place.  He also told us about the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge and how so many men were falling to their deaths that a giant net was installed and the deaths stopped and production soared.  And then came the question…  What is my net?  Is it wealth?  Or maybe my ability to sell.  Is it a full work load?  Is it having the bills paid?  When can I rest?

I think the answer lies in a verse as it usually does.  Consider Matthew chapter 11, verses 28-30.  ” Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

My Week in Review

This has been a week of service, no really, it has.  Nathan, one of our service tech co-workers has been on vacation and so with my background in service I was chosen to fill in and carry his load.  God blessed us this week with lots of business and so it has been a good and eventful week.  I have learned several things as well, so, here goes:

1. It never hurts to work for your brother.  Dustin is our service manager and so part of my working in service was working for him and doing what he told me to do.  In the past this has never come easy for me, it’s hard for me to be directed, but, this week was different.  I found a true peace in simply saying yes.  I thank the Lord for the strength to do this.  I’m getting there, slowly.

2. Hard work makes you sleep really well.  Not only because you are tired but because you have done well in your work.  In Proverbs there is found one of my favorite verses, it’s found in chapter 10, verse 4, “He who has a slack hand becomes poor, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.”  Good words to live by on my journey in business.

3.  Nothing comes easy.  Henry Ford once said that ”Some successful people are inspired, but most are simply diligent.”  Good things in business come from hard work, in my case, for this week it came through hard manual labor, and it feels good.  My desire is to be excellent in all I do, including my work.

4.  Finally, I appreciate our service techs.  Those guys are good!  They crawl in and out of nasty crawl spaces everyday so our customers can be comfortable.  My hat is off to you guys!  Let’s keep going forward together.

Drew

What does it mean to be content?

I awoke this morning full of dread.  Mary Fran had been up during the night throwing up and it seems that when my kids get sick it makes me worry.  Anyway, she now appears to be fine and so I feel better about that.  Now my point.

In Philippians 4 paul teaches us about contentment, consider verse 6; “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; (and now verse 7) and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Here Paul reflects Jesus’ own teaching found in Matthew 6:25-34.  To worry is to doubt God’s ability to help. 

We now have a practical way to deal with our worry and anxiety but do we do this?  I know in my own life I seldom do, and I pay the price for it. 

“Father, help me today to trust this principle as shown in your Holy Word.”

New post coming

I have been learning lots, it will be posted very soon.  Hang tight.

Oh Boy!! Not Cool!!

By Tommy Bowman
JOURNAL REPORTER
Armanti Edwards, Appalachian State’s record-setting quarterback, is expected to miss two to four weeks of practice after cutting his right foot yesterday in a lawn-mowing accident, according to Mike Flynn, ASU’s sports information director.
According to Flynn, Edwards was mowing the lawn at the off-campus residence he shares with teammate Brian Quick when he slipped pushing the mower up a hill and the mower came back on his foot. Quick took Edwards to Watauga Medical Center in Boone to have stitches.
It was determined that the injury is a cut only and that there is no structural damage.
Flynn said that expectations are that Edwards will be able to play in ASU’s opener Sept. 5 at East Carolina.
Edwards, a senior, won last season’s Walter Payton Award, given annually to the top player in the NCAA’s Football Championship Subdivision.
n Tommy Bowman can be reached at 727-7320 or at tbowman@wsjournal.com

A good meeting with McDill

For quite some time I have headed over to my mentor, Dr. Budrow McDill’s home early every Friday morning and spent time with him in God’s word and having some time for accountability.  This morning was especially good and I wanted to share a couple of the items we discussed:

1.  Be free from the power of wealth.  1 Timothy 6:17-19 is a good place to start in understanding this concept.  I believe that God has given me a desire and passion to be a giver and I really want to understand and live by this truth.

2. Do not covet or compare yourself to others.  Acts 20: 33-35, Paul’s message here is one of contentment and simplicity, realizing that we are more blessed when we give than when we receive, when we live the life that God has intended and gifted us for.

More will come on this later, my goal is to spend some significant time on these two verses, digging out the truths within.  I’ll keep you posted.

Thoughts on Pawpaw

I know that pawpaw is gone but it is hard for me to accept.  I know he is in heaven, I know that maybe I should be happy for him, but, in all truth I really miss him and my heart hurts for mamaw.  I know time will help but that’s in time. 

I will miss pawpaws smile and his laughter and songs.  I will miss him reading to my kids and holding them on his lap.  I will miss him giving Fran a back rub, and her telling me that I should learn how to do it just like pawpaw.  I’ll miss his presence.

I’ll see pawpaw again but it hurts now.