Christmas is a Coming

Well, it’s been a busy two days.  I did two sozo’s yesterday and one this morning.  Sheryl helped me this morning and it was fun to work together.  All three went very well, it is just so fun to see the Holy Spirit bring freedom and set captives free.  So, that part of the day was awesome.  Then I went to work this afternoon and didn’t get home until a little after 8PM.  We had dinner together and then watched National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation with Chevy Chase.  It’s hard to believe that it was made in 1989.  It is a great, funny movie and I really have to watch it every Christmas.

I remember that last year we watched it together in Hilton Head.  We were all together last Christmas.  It’s going to be hard not being together this year.  But the travel begins soon.  We will be leaving on Wed for Juneau.  It’s hard to believe that it is coming so soon.  It will be great to see everyone and spend time with them.  Then we will be back here for a few days during Christmas and then it’s off to Ft Lauderdale over New Year’s with Jennifer and her family.  So, we might cover over 5000 miles or so round trip.  We will be up with Santa Clause as we travel.

Tomorrow I am off, that is good.  It should be a nice easy day, so I want to get to work out in the morning.  Then in the afternoon we are going to a play.  It’s a Christmas play about the Andrews Sisters in WW2 era.  It should be fun.  I still have two more work days before we leave.  I work on Sunday and Tuesday, both on B periods.  It’s really getting exciting as I sit here listening to Christmas Carols.  But Christmas is all about family, and as much as I am excited, I’m still a little sad that we are so spread out, but I certainly understand the dynamics of life, and it will be fine.  I think I will treat myself to an eggnog latte tomorrow.  That should make me feel better.  Anyway, life goes on, as we all grow up. But Christmas is for families, and I will do my best to make sure we get to see each other as much as we can,

Date Night

Well, I didn’t get to write last night.  I had planned to, but I had worked an early A period that morning, and I didn’t get home until very late last night.  So, buy the time I was ready to write. I was just too tired.  But it was a great night.  What was I doing?  It was a date night with my wife.  We really needed some time off together.  This has been building for a week or so.  It seems that everything is keeping us apart, or when we are together, we are so busy that we don’t have time for each other.

 

So, after work yesterday, we went to lunch together and then went to Lenox mall to do some Christmas shopping.  It was a fun afternoon, if you can have fun shopping.  No, seriously I did enjoy it.  I quickly realized that it was the first time I had been at a mall shopping since Julia died.  I had some good memories flash by, especially as we walked through pottery barn, but my focus was on being with Sheryl and having fun with her.  We looked for clothes and got some different stuff for each other.  We got a Starbucks and walked through all of Lenox Square just window shopping. 

I think one of the most telling sights I saw had to do with where technology is going.  First we packed the Apple Store and it was packed.  You could walk in, but you would have a long wait to be waited on or to buy anything .  It was filled with shoppers.  Then when we were downstairs, we saw a Microsoft Windows store.  It was almost twice as big is square footage as the Apple store, but there must have been only three to four customers in the store.  In fact, there were a number of employees just waiting around for something to do. 

We then left Lennox and went over to Nordstrom’s at Phipps Plaza.  I was looking for shirts, and I found some that I liked there.  By then we were tired and hungry.  I was thinking about eating there, or on the way home, but Sheryl had heard about this restaurant from Scott and Lacey.  It  was called “Two Urban Licks”.  It’s over near the Carter Center, and it was as good as advertised.  I had Calamari and a salad.  It was probably the best Calamari that I have had here in Atlanta.  It was a very upscale place.  It was an old abandoned warehouse that had been converted in to this beautiful restaurant.  So, to make a long story short, it was a night spent on each other, just hanging out and walking around talking.  It was a needed time, and I am so glad that we really enjoyed.

What Are You Worth?

That’s a fair question.  What are you worth.  I think that a few years ago, all the chemicals in your body would be worth a couple of hundred dollars.  I’m sure that I would be worth a lot more if I were to sell my organs off one at a time.  Who knows maybe I might be worth a million dollars or so.  What is a heart worth on the black market; or eyes; or kidneys, lungs or liver.  Yes, piece by piece I probably would be worth millions.  But that is not enough, not nearly enough.

I must be worth a lot if Jesus was willing to die for me.  Think about it, if we realize what price our Papa was willing to pay to redeem us, we are worth so, so much more.  We tend to devalue ourselves if when we think that Christ died for all mankind.  Yes he did, that is true.  But He would have done the same thing if it was just me or you.  So we can’t use that excuse to cut down our worth.

Tonight Paul Manwaring was talking about our worth to our Father.  In the Old Testament God inhabited the Tabernacle.  It was a tent who’s value in today’s currency would be about 16 Billion dollars.  Then He moved to the Temple which is was worth about 60 Billion dollars.  He left both of those to dwell in my heart.  So, I must be worth at least 76 Billion dollars with Him. Think about it for a minute.  It puts a different light on the subject, doesn’t it?  76 Billion is a lot of money, and that is just the beginning. 

Most of us don’t value ourselves as much as God does.  If we could just see ourselves through His eyes, we would know that we are truly awesome.  We need to realize that we were made to hold His glory.  That is one of the reasons we are worth so much.  He wants His glory shed abroad in the earth, and He wants us to do it.   We have to expand our view of glory.  It’s not just found in the church.  Glory is found in every area of the earth.  It’s our jov to harness it and release it out into the world.  But first we have to understand how much we are worth.  I’m still learning, but I know that I am worth a lot more than I have ever realized.  You are too!

Sons and Fathers

Tonight Paul Manwaring spoke at BASSM on Sonship.  He talked about what it takes to be a son, and how the process comes about.  It was a great night and some real revelation was released to us all.  Paul is head of all the strategic planning and leads the Global Legacy network. It’s a network of churches that are affiliated with Bethel Redding.  He is also one of the elders in our church and plays a big part in our strategic planning as well.

Paul talked about how one of the marks of a son is his teach ability and not being prideful.  He talked about the verse in Proverbs that says: The eye that mocks a father is never satisfied.  Too often we believe we have arrived.  A true son never stops learning.  He never stops being able to receive from others.  Even if he is more experienced, He must be willing to constantly learn,  To often we stop and say that we have arrived.  Of course we don’t say it out loud, but in our hearts we begin to settle.  We are at peace where we are and don’t want change.  The churches job is to bring change, so we should embrace it, not try to hide from it.

 If you don't learn how to become a son or a daughter then every earthly father will let you down – Paul Manwaring.  We have to learn to become true sons and daughters; otherwise we will constantly run from those fathers who can best pour into our lives.  If we are to succeed in the Kingdom, then we have to let Fathers and Mothers pour into our lives.  If we don’t then we will not be balanced, and will wind up hurting ourselves or others.  This is one of the major problems in the church today.  The orphan spirit doesn’t allow us to trust leaders.  We have been hurt in the past and many times we have not been healed.  We project that same hurt and pain onto other leaders and then we allow ourselves the luxury of not listening to sound advice and getting the opportunity to grow.

Responsibility and faithfulness to those who are not sons looks like performance and duty. - Paul Manwaring.  Once again, we see that the good and the bad can look alike.  The outcome depends upon the heart and our attitudes.  As sons, we are to personify responsibility and faithfulness.  As a son it is easy, because we want to show and release love and respect.  But if we are not sons, it looks and feels like its our duty and we have to perform to get it ready.  It’s all about where our hearts are.  If our heart is right, then our attitude will be right, and then it will feel like we are responsible and faithful.  Otherwise it is all about how we perform and what’s in it for us. 

It really is about serving, but serving as a lover and a son.  In fact, we have to be sons, servants and lovers if we are really going to be the bride of Christ here on the earth.  We all have our own mission, but as sons, we have to allow our mission be brought into submission to the main mission of the church.  Only then will we be released  and sent out by gathers to fulfill our mission.  That’s how it works in the kingdom. Hopefully we can all become sons and daughters, because we can’t become fathers and mothers until we have past that first test.  The world is needing more Fathers and Mothers.  It’s up to us to give it to them.

Birthdays

I think that birthdays are special.  They ought to be the second most important day you celebrate, right after Christmas.  OK, we might need to add Easter.  But birthdays are unique to each individual and as such they each need to be celebrated.  I think that December is one of the most busy months for birthdays that ma family has.  First, Sheryl’s is on the second.  Then my nephew Gil will have his on the 8^th, along with Sean, my son in law.  Jennifer’s is on the 11^th and then Anna Roan’s is on the 12^th.  That’s five birthdays in 10 days.  That is a busy time of year.  Then you throw in Christmas on top of all that.  It’s definitely enough to keep you busy.

But back to birthdays in general; many people don’t think that they are important.  I guess comes down to identity.  If you believe that you are special, and important then you normally enjoy celebrating your birthday.  However, if you have low self worth, then you tend not to enjoy or celebrate birthdays as much.  Of course that is just a generalization based on my limited observation, but I really think that there is a lot of truth in the statement. 

I do love birthdays, and I am still a little mad that I lost mine last year when I was flying to Australia for our wedding.  We got on the plane in LA about 11PM on the 24^th of June and landed at 8AM on the 26^th of June.  No June 25^th, so there really was no birthday.  It wasn’t too bad though; I did get married that afternoon.  But I was hoping to have the wedding on my birthday too.   But still, there wasn’t much birthday celebrating going on.

So, this week will be bitter sweet.  I celebrate the birthdays of those that I love, but they are too far away to visit, sol I will just have to send the cards and call and talk with them.  That will be fun, but it could be so much more.  These are just the birthdays of my relatives.  It doesn’t even include my friends.

Facebook has revolutionized the way you can keep track of your friends birthdays.  Every week I get an email telling me how many birthdays my friends have during the week.  This week 12 of my friends have birthdays.  That’s just the ones I know about.  I’m sure that there are more.  So, to all of you who are reading this post;  If you have a birthday this week.  Happy birthday!  May your special day be filled with love, joy and peace.  

Short and Sweet

Well I know that tonight’s blog will be short, but I will just have to assume it is sweet. That is for you to judge.  Anyway, this is a quick recap of the past two days.  I did get to the gym yesterday morning.  It was one of the few things that I did alone yesterday.  Dec 2 was Sheryl’s birthday, and I took her to lunch at Teds, and then last night we took Scott, Lacey and the Kids with us to see the Christmas lights at Calaway Gardens.  I have seen them before, but because they change each year I was more than happy to take her along with them.

 

It was really a great night, but we didn’t get home until after 11 and I had an A period this morning.  Needless to say, I didn’t do my blog last night because it was so late.  Tonight we had a sozo party at the house. I think there were 16 people here.  We had a couple of new people who have just joined the team, and then some of the older team members.  Their spouses came to and it made for a nice evening.  We also saw Dad and Allene today too. They came over to see the house.  I think that they liked it too.

The party is over, but I have an A period again tomorrow so I am going to cut this short.  Until Tomorrow night!

World Gym

I hope that I actually go to the gym more than I went to the Y last year.  What is it that makes us want to join something, and then we wind up not going.  I’m not sure, but today I went exploring Peachtree City for fitness centers.  My goal is to keep it into a one or two mile radius from the house.  From experience I know that the farther it is that I have to drive, the more likely it is that I will not go.  So, I picked out the first two to check out. 

The first one was Ultimate Fitness.  It was probably the closest by about .3 miles, so I was hoping that it would have everything that we need.  I liked it because I could ride the golf cart to it pretty easily.  The pros were that it was open 24 hours a day, and that it was close.  Everything else was a negative.  When you are used to the West Cobb Y, you get spoiled in what you are looking for.  This place was very run down and the equipment was not up to my expectations.  So, even though the price was right, I knew that it wouldn’t work. 

I went to the next place; World Gym, not knowing what to expect.  I knew that there was another World Gym a few miles farther from the house in the opposite direction.  I had seen a World Gym in Marietta, and was not impressed.  I was not very excited about going.  Boy was I mistaken.  It was very nice inside, almost on par with the Y and yet it was actually going to be less money for the month.  The inside was very nice, and it has a lot of equipment.  The best news is that we get to use either of the two facilities.  The other one has two pools and racquetball courts.  I will probably use this one the most.  We can ride the golf cart to this one as well.   So, I went ahead and joined.  I knew that this would be the one that Sheryl would like.  I’m excited and tomorrow I will go work out.

But the real question has yet to be answered.  Will I actually use it as much as I think that I  will.  I hope so. I don’t have the excuse that it is too far away anymore.  I can tell that the only way I am really going to loose weight is for me to work out regularly.  That is the key to seeing my body change and go back in search of the fountain of youth.  So, the easy part is complete.  Now comes the hard part, actually using it.  Hopefully I will have no problem with that.  Tomorrow starts a new day!