Ever wonder what Heaven will be like? I know most of us have at some point in time or another. We all have our idea of what Heaven will be like, but I personally think it is going to be a great big "everyone is invited" Thanksgiving celebration!
You all know how much I enjoy Thanksgiving. As I prepared for the holiday this past week, I found myself getting giddy over the thought of rest, turkey, dressing, pies, fishing, go-cart riding, and family. I just could not wait!
That is the way I feel about heaven. I just can’t wait sometimes! But just like the preparation for the Thanksgiving holiday, we need to be preparing for heaven as well. Rick Warren in Purpose Driven Life says that this life is a dress rehearsal for heaven. How is your preparation going in the dress rehearsal? I think heaven is going to be glorifying God 100% of the time and that should be our goal as we prepare during this lifetime! I pray that we as a church seek to bring glory to the Father daily!
Have a great week!
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Word of the Week for November 23rd
This is one of my favorite weeks of the year. I absolutely love Thanksgiving week! On Thursday I will sit down with my family and enjoy Thanksgiving dinner. After lunch I will loosen my belt, recline on the couch and watch the Cowboys play football while waiting for the Longhorns and Aggies to play that evening. Can it get any better than that?
We will have stuffed ourselves with turkey, dressing, football and family this week, but by Sunday many of us will say, “I have had enough!” I know I will be ready to get back to a normal routine.
That is the exact opposite of how I want to feel about my relationship with Christ. I want to stuff myself with His Word and get to know Him better. We should never have “enough” when it comes to our relationship and calling from our Lord. I hope you will join me in stuffing ourselves with Christ!
Happy Thanksgiving!
We will have stuffed ourselves with turkey, dressing, football and family this week, but by Sunday many of us will say, “I have had enough!” I know I will be ready to get back to a normal routine.
That is the exact opposite of how I want to feel about my relationship with Christ. I want to stuff myself with His Word and get to know Him better. We should never have “enough” when it comes to our relationship and calling from our Lord. I hope you will join me in stuffing ourselves with Christ!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Word of the Week for November 16th
This has been an exciting week in the town of Grandview! The Lady Zebra volleyball team is playing in the regional tournament and the undefeated Zebra football team is playing in the first round of the playoffs! Congratulations to both of the teams for a job well done!
I visited with several people this week about how the morale of the school and town is lifted when our teams excel. It seems there is a renewed energy and enthusiasm in the halls of the schools and in the restaurants in town.
The same effect is seen in the church. When the ball gets rolling in the right direction for a church, the excitement is contagious! The challenge for the football and volleyball teams is to win state. But only one school in the state will have that privilege. The question is how do we respond, when things don’t go our way? There will be defeats along the way. We have to wake up each day and realize our calling in life is to bring honor to our Lord with every action we make. We will fail, but we must continue to strive for the successes ahead!
Ride the momentum of Christ in your life this week!
I visited with several people this week about how the morale of the school and town is lifted when our teams excel. It seems there is a renewed energy and enthusiasm in the halls of the schools and in the restaurants in town.
The same effect is seen in the church. When the ball gets rolling in the right direction for a church, the excitement is contagious! The challenge for the football and volleyball teams is to win state. But only one school in the state will have that privilege. The question is how do we respond, when things don’t go our way? There will be defeats along the way. We have to wake up each day and realize our calling in life is to bring honor to our Lord with every action we make. We will fail, but we must continue to strive for the successes ahead!
Ride the momentum of Christ in your life this week!
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Word of the Week for November 9th
Another election cycle has come and gone this past week. In about 70 days our country will be under the leadership of our President-elect Barack Obama. This past week has been interesting to hear the different comments being made about whose campaign did a better job of getting out the vote, who picked the right running mate, etc, etc, etc.
Listening to all of the discussion made me so glad that when I decided to give my life to Christ, I put my trust in the ONE who holds my future in His hands. There is no debate about what Christ did for me when He died on the cross. There is no debate about what my future holds. There is no fear or uncertainty in my faith. So after I left the ballot box, I gave thanks for the freedom to choose my candidate of choice, but to also give thanks for the stability I have in Christ!
Have a great week!
Listening to all of the discussion made me so glad that when I decided to give my life to Christ, I put my trust in the ONE who holds my future in His hands. There is no debate about what Christ did for me when He died on the cross. There is no debate about what my future holds. There is no fear or uncertainty in my faith. So after I left the ballot box, I gave thanks for the freedom to choose my candidate of choice, but to also give thanks for the stability I have in Christ!
Have a great week!
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Word of the Week for November 2nd
I cannot explain how pleased I was when I laid my head on my pillow Wednesday night. Our church had done an incredible job of being a positive example to our community. We had a ton of people show up to enjoy some great family fun at our Fall Fun Fest!!!! But the thing that made me so proud was the number of our people who were there to help run games, greet people, bake cakes and cookies, donate candy, set up, and clean up! A huge thank you goes to Michelle Pannell, Amy Stanford and their helpers for organizing a fantastic event! Thank you, church family, for rising to the occasion and making this festival fun for all!
Speaking of Michelle, she is having surgery on Tuesday morning to repair a bulging disc. Please keep her and her family in your prayers as she goes through this procedure.
I hope you have a wonderful week!
Speaking of Michelle, she is having surgery on Tuesday morning to repair a bulging disc. Please keep her and her family in your prayers as she goes through this procedure.
I hope you have a wonderful week!
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Thankful? For What?
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Have you ever run across one of those people? You know who I am talking about! One of those people who act like nothing is ever right and the world is always against them! The person you are afraid to ask how they are doing because you know the answer is going to be a 20 minute conversation about how miserable they are . . . someone stole their dog, a car ran over their big toe, their coffee was cold this morning, they didn’t sleep well last night, and on and on and on!!!! How much fun are they to be around? Not much.
Well this is the month of thanksgiving and I want to challenge us all to find a new attitude of giving thanks. We have so much to be thankful for . . . if nothing else the political ads will soon be over . . . ahhh thankfulness!!! In all seriousness what do you have to be thankful for? If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you have reason to give thanks for hope in a life yet to come as well as for the forgiveness in this life and the joy that comes from our Savior. If you are an American, you have reason to give thanks for the freedom you have to speak your mind, attend church, and vote for a candidate for president. I could go on forever, yet there are some people who just seem to never be happy or thankful. SHAME ON YOU! This is our wake up call, it is time to adjust our attitudes and give thanks for ALL with which we have been blessed.
As a church this will be a season of thanksgiving as well. I am thankful for the privilege of serving on staff at such a wonderful church. I am thankful for the love and support shown to my family and me. We are so fortunate to be able to call Grandview and First Baptist our home. I am thankful for the teachers in Sunday School and Busy Bees who teach Cameron and Easton about the love of God and are leading them down the road to the day they will give their lives to Christ. I am thankful for the friends Shelly and I have who encourage and challenge us to be the best we can be. All of these things are vital to us having the family God wants us to have.
What an incredible year of change it has been for First Baptist! For the most part it has all gone very well. We began a new service in January and God has blessed it in many ways. We have seen an increase in attendance and in giving and for that we should be thankful. But we have also seen an incredible amount of spiritual growth take place in our church family. Again for that we must be thankful.
Yet, as we give thanks, we must also remember to be thankful not only of the past but for the expectation of things to come. God says He will never leave us or forsake us. There is much to be done for the Kingdom of God in the days ahead. Let’s attack the challenges of the future with a thankful heart and see what God will do through us.
Happy future of thanksgiving! Life is pretty good, isn’t it?
Have you ever run across one of those people? You know who I am talking about! One of those people who act like nothing is ever right and the world is always against them! The person you are afraid to ask how they are doing because you know the answer is going to be a 20 minute conversation about how miserable they are . . . someone stole their dog, a car ran over their big toe, their coffee was cold this morning, they didn’t sleep well last night, and on and on and on!!!! How much fun are they to be around? Not much.
Well this is the month of thanksgiving and I want to challenge us all to find a new attitude of giving thanks. We have so much to be thankful for . . . if nothing else the political ads will soon be over . . . ahhh thankfulness!!! In all seriousness what do you have to be thankful for? If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you have reason to give thanks for hope in a life yet to come as well as for the forgiveness in this life and the joy that comes from our Savior. If you are an American, you have reason to give thanks for the freedom you have to speak your mind, attend church, and vote for a candidate for president. I could go on forever, yet there are some people who just seem to never be happy or thankful. SHAME ON YOU! This is our wake up call, it is time to adjust our attitudes and give thanks for ALL with which we have been blessed.
As a church this will be a season of thanksgiving as well. I am thankful for the privilege of serving on staff at such a wonderful church. I am thankful for the love and support shown to my family and me. We are so fortunate to be able to call Grandview and First Baptist our home. I am thankful for the teachers in Sunday School and Busy Bees who teach Cameron and Easton about the love of God and are leading them down the road to the day they will give their lives to Christ. I am thankful for the friends Shelly and I have who encourage and challenge us to be the best we can be. All of these things are vital to us having the family God wants us to have.
What an incredible year of change it has been for First Baptist! For the most part it has all gone very well. We began a new service in January and God has blessed it in many ways. We have seen an increase in attendance and in giving and for that we should be thankful. But we have also seen an incredible amount of spiritual growth take place in our church family. Again for that we must be thankful.
Yet, as we give thanks, we must also remember to be thankful not only of the past but for the expectation of things to come. God says He will never leave us or forsake us. There is much to be done for the Kingdom of God in the days ahead. Let’s attack the challenges of the future with a thankful heart and see what God will do through us.
Happy future of thanksgiving! Life is pretty good, isn’t it?
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