The Simplicity of the Season….

An overbooked motel.  A run-down animal shelter.  A wooden feeding trough.

All this to set the stage for the greatest evidence of redemption in the history of mankind.

My, how times have changed.

To Christians (myself included), sometimes the Christmas story seems so routine that it becomes an afterthought.  After all, the world bombards us with commercial and materialistic messages that come at us during this time of the year.  The idea of saying “Merry Christmas” is almost like walking around on eggshells, not wanting to offend anyone within the sound of our voices.  Stress levels reach an all-time high among even the most optimistic of people…just because we want to please everyone during the holiday season.

Christmas has become too complicated!

And, yet, the reason for the season came to us in the simplest of ways.

Christ wasn’t born in a four-star hotel.  Heck, he couldn’t even come to us at the local inn in the town of Bethlehem.  The “NO VACANCY” sign was lit.

So, Mary and Joseph stayed in a run-down animal shelter filled with horses, donkeys, chickens…a petting zoo of sorts.

There, the Son of God came upon this earth and spent His first few days here on this earth resting in a wooden feeding trough.  No gold-plated, diamond-encrusted crib was around.  This wasn’t necessarily about a little king looking good while sleeping.  This was simply a place of rest…because it was handy and available…for a Savior.

Political correctness wasn’t even considered.

And the birth announcement?  Only some shepherds and a few wise men got word of the blessed event from angels and a single star.

No commercials.  No media.  Not a single phone jack around for internet purposes.

Did Mary feel any stress?  Based on this passage found in Luke 2, I highly doubt it:

But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.  (Luke 2:19 NIV)

If Mary had enough stress to deal with like we do today, there would hardly be any room in her heart for any kind of “treasures”.

As I conclude, I remember growing up with two acronyms that my dad taught me in my youth:  K.T.O.Y.S. and K.I.S.S.  The first stood for “Keep Track of Your Stuff”.  (Sorry, but not relevant this time.)  However, the second acronym stood for “Keep It Simple, Stupid!”  Instead of allowing the hustle and bustle of the season to complicate things, why don’t we just take the time to remember that simple act of love that God demonstrated to us long ago:  sending His Son, Jesus Christ, as a baby born in a manger.  The simplest and, yet, most perfect gift that He could give us this holiday season.

Merry Christmas!

How’s Your Ministry?

This past Saturday (yesterday) was another workday for myself and a coworker at the paint store.  The first two hours of operation on that rainy morning produced no customers & no phone calls.   I had expected a very quiet, slow day to begin with–thanks to the endless hours of precipitation falling on the Northeast Georgia terrain.  What I did not expect, however, was a nudge from God through a customer.

About an hour before closing time, while my coworker assisted a couple on a paint project, a gentleman came in to our store carrying a large, molded piece of plastic.  The gentleman was short in stature and seemed a little older than I–but not by a whole lot.  He appeared to carry a large, off-white colored piece from an automobile–almost as if it came from a door of a mini-van.  The two of us talked for a few minutes as he asked what kind of material that he could use for touch-up.  I did the best I could to assist him, still somewhat amused that he brought such a large piece in to our store.  Our conversation was friendly and, hopefully, I was able to help in offering some suggestions to what he could use for his project.

As he selected his paint and we finished the transaction, he asked me a very simple question:  How’s your ministry?

My mind raced as he asked this simple question.  Do I know him?  Where have I seen him from?  What ministry is he referring to?  Without showing any signs of being flustered, I had told him of my interests in aviation ministry that I have been seeking God regarding and studying in recent days.  He proceeded to offer me a few words of encouragement before walking out the door of our store–automobile part and paint in hand.  Even today, his visit and question still remain fresh on my mind and my heart.  Though it is possible that I will see that man again sometime down the road in my life, I felt as if God was the one who had asked me this question:  How’s your ministry?

St. Francis of Assisi is quoted to have said, “Preach the Gospel always, and if necessary, use words.”  I believe that God spoke to my heart that day not to ask about my ambitions on serving Him through the aviation field but, rather, to ask about how my life will impact those around me to the point that they see something different about me…something that will impact their own lives to seek out a relationship with Christ on their own.  Sure, Jesus does command us to go and preach His good news, but our lives MUST back up what we preach.  If we send out mixed signals, this world will get even more confused and our message will be nothing more than “white noise”.

God sent a messenger into my life to help me retain my focus on His kingdom.  Today, I ask you what He asked me:  How’s your ministry?

Tweet, Tweet!

Just wanted to let you know that I’ve joined Twitter, but I will continue to blog from time to time on here so that I won’t be a stranger to you either way. Of course, if you would like to join my Twitter “circle”, please feel free to drop me a “follow” request on my Twitter profile. In the meantime, have a safe, restful and happy Memorial Day weekend! Don’t forget to thank the ones who have served our country in the past and to pray for the ones who are overseas protecting our liberties. God bless you and may God bless America!

Good Friday

In remembrance of the ultimate sacrifice that my Lord gave in my place on this Good Friday:

Lose My Soul

This is one song that both of my kids and I enjoy listening to and singing with each time it comes up either on the radio or on my Blackberry: “Lose My Soul” by tobyMac with Kirk Franklin and Mandisa. tobyMac has been a favorite of mine since his days with dc Talk and, nowadays, my kids have really enjoyed some of his music as well. I guess there’s just something about his music and ministry that attracts people both young and old. Anyways, I hope you like…

Happy St. Patty’s Day!

I hope you enjoy the following video that my family and I have enjoyed ourselves for quite some time. This clip is from the VeggieTales video entitled “Sumo of the Opera” that gives a simplified and humorous look into the significance of St. Patrick’s Day. Prepare to laugh, learn and be blessed:

The Weather Outside Was Frightful….

What started out as a prediction for a light dusting in our area turned into a significant snowstorm throughout most of North Georgia.  Nearly ten inches of white powder fell in Franklin Springs on the night of March 1st.  By the time that night fell on our area, most homes and businesses were left in the dark…thanks to the fallen trees and their limbs that snapped power lines to roughly 60,ooo electric utility customers.  Though our house had to endure one night of candles and flashlights, it was a walk in the park compared to a few places that did not have electricity until four days later.  All in all, it was an exciting event in one way or another for many people.  It also gave me a great opportunity to take a few snapshots of the blessed weather event.  Hope you enjoy the following photos.  (Click on the thumbnails to see a full-size image.)

Brand New Poll…

The results are in from last month’s poll and, based on the one person who voted, it looks like the Super Bowl between the Steelers and Cardinals was NOT the best one played in NFL history.  I guess everyone was distracted by the Super Bowl ads, instead.

Anyways, a brand new poll is up for anyone who’s interested.  The month of March usually means college basketball tournament time, so I thought I would see how many people will be filling out brackets this year for a contest–whether it would be by way of an office pool or an internet tournament challenge.  I’m sure that I’ll be one to fill out a bracket one way or another…but I’m not holding my breath on winning anything.

Thanks again on your participation in the polls!

A Stimulating Message….

Shawna had told me about this sign yesterday, so I had to check it out and take a photo of it myself.  Just a thought for you to ponder.

P.S.  I wasn’t intending on plugging ServPro in this post, but if ever you’re up in the Royston area and you just might have a house that needs serious cleaning….

Would you like to take a survey?

Starting in February, I will be creating different polls to post on my blog.  The polls will vary in topic and are not intended to indicate as to who’s right and who’s wrong on different subjects.  Most of my polls will be light-hearted in nature, but there will be a few that will make y0u think and consider all the choices before choosing according to your convictions.

The first poll is in regards to yesterday’s Super Bowl contest between the Cardinals and Steelers.  Was it the best ever?  Let me know!  (btw, congrats to the Steelers on their sixth Super Bowl title….and congrats to the Cardinals on an amazing postseason run)

Each poll may last about a month, but that’s only speculation on my end.  At the end of each poll period, I’ll be more than happy to post the results before setting up a new poll question here on my blog.

Hope you enjoy and thanks in advance for your participation!