Something that made me go hmmm . . .

I do my dead level best to live my life accepting others on their on their character and the way they live their lives and not their skin color or their place in the society that we live in. What I am trying to say is that I do my dead level best not to be a bigot. I will be honest – I never listened to Dr. King’s famous speech until I was in college at North Greenville. I will say this – I have listened to it several times since and am impressed with Dr. King and his vision. The thing that makes me go hmmm – especially on the day the is set aside to celebrate his birthday is the way that some people either misunderstood what Dr. King said or they just don’t want to accept what he said.

I listened to a lady on the news this morning say that she believed that Dr. King would say that the mountain top had been reached because our next president, that is to be inaugurated tomorrow, had been elected to office. It is my opinion that this lady did not understand what Dr. King was saying during his speech so many years ago. What I hear, when I listen to this famous speech, is a man with a dream that his children would be judged on their character and not on their skin color. Well, I guess if all that it takes to have character is to be elected president then maybe the mountain top has been reached. Maybe I put to much content in what the character of a man or woman really means.

I will say this – our next president’s character will be judged and it is my prayer that when it is judged he is found to be upright in all that he has done, is doing, and will do. Whether you like him or not – we need to lift our president in prayer and pray that God will direct him in all that he does. May God bless President Obama!! Until next time – keep your eyes on Jesus and how does your character measure up.

Creature of habit or stuck in a rut . . .

I’m not sure how most of you would view my life. I, by my own confession, am a huge creature of habit. I love the holidays, but they throw my life way out of balance. Where most people, it seems, can get a lot of work done when there are fewer people around, if everyone is not in place around me, I loose focus. I have been thinking about this during the holidays and have come to a conclusion – let me know what you think.

I’m not so much different than a lot of the world around me except in one way – when I keep my focus on Christ, my life is centered right where it should be. Let me go a little deeper and maybe I can get us on the same page with this thought that I am struggling to put into words. As I look at the world around me, it seems to be filled with people who have an attention disorder. The world seems to be filled with those whose attention seems to be held for only a brief amount of time before moving on to something else. People who move from job to job, wife to wife, cause to cause – are we now getting on the same page? The shame about it is that I could have just described those inside the church as much as outside.

As I start a new year with lots of new and exciting things on the horizon – I have to start at the point that is most important – with my life centered in Christ, my eyes firmly focused on He that is my guide. Let us all refocus our eyes – like a runner in a race focusing on the finish line – on Christ. Until next time – keep your eyes on Jesus and pass the tissues – this cold is killing me.

Time to get back to business as usual . . .

Well, as the title says – it is a new year and it is time to get back to business as usual. Except as I sit here I wonder – exactly what does that mean? If we are talking about what I do to pay the bills – that means back to concrete, steel and working on drawings so that someone else can do the back breaking work as easy as possible. For those who do not know – I work for an engineering company as a designer doing drawings for precast concrete structures (i.e. parking decks, warehouses, etc.)

Now if we are talking about what I do to further the kingdom of God – I am the connections guy for The Journey – a church plant in the Mauldin Area of Woodruff Road. As I think about what I do there – I’m not sure there is such a thing as business as usual. Our focus is building relationships with the people that we come in contact with where we live. One thing that I have learned on this journey that God has placed us on is that there is no such thing as business as usual when you are dealing with people. Something else that I have come to the conclusion about is that there is no such thing as business as usual when you are following a call from God. His message is the same but the way the message is presented is constantly changing just like is His word.

So as I look at a new year – I realize that there are probably changes coming around every bend, but as long as we keep our eyes focused on God we’ll always be on the right track. So, until next time – keep your eyes on Jesus and be prepared – changes are probably on the way.

Hello World . . .

Hello world and yes I am still alive. I am sorry that I have not posted in several months but things in my life have been a little crazy. I will not even try to catch you up on what has been happening – let’s just say that life has not stood still. I will say this – I am still active in The Journey as the connections guys and news is coming about that; I still have a job, which in this economy is wonderful; my wife and cats still love me, which will always be a gift from God. I will further say that – I realize that I have a long way to go to be the person that God wants me to be and I believe that I am gaining on that, I am not as healthy as I want to be but I am going to work on that in the new year; this year I turn fifty and I hope that I am only half way through life.
This is not going to be long, but let me say this – if this new year passes as fast as last year it may be 2010 before I finish typing. I look forward to the new year with new adventures, new things to learn, and new people to meet. While I look forward to a new year, I am excited that I serve a God that never changes and has a plan in place through that grace and mercy shown through His Son on the cross and His Son is in heaven preparing a place for us even now.
This I can say with all confidence as we look forward to a new year – hang on because we have started at a dead run. Until next time – keep your eyes on Jesus and make my cookies chocolate chip.