Lessons from Country Music

Hey listen... Life is swinging a mean bat these days... A LOT of people, some I'm close to some I barely know, are struggling with real life stuff. I'm watching Revolution Church pick up, dust off, and move forward.... I see comments in the LifePoint Youth blog about our kids realizing that other kids in the world have NOTHING!.. and how our kids plan to react and change the world.... I'm seeing friends of mine going through tough career decisions after losing their jobs.... I'm watching my mom's body wither away from Parkinson's MSA as she sits unable to do ANYTHING for herself... including talk... I get to serve with some incredible people at LifePoint Church as we try to balance our time between family, work, God stuff, fun, etc....

Ahhh yes..... TIME! I heard a song by Tim McGraw the other day... I've heard it a few time before... but this time it GRABBED me! Let me set the stage.... My wife and girls were gone this week, so it was just me and my boys - Dawson (6) and Griffin (5). I not only had to try to keep up with my normal schedule, but I needed to pay some extra attention to the boys this week. So, I made a few decisions... I mowed some lawn clients a couple days early, I took 2 days off from AT&T to hang out with them, I handed the worship set responsibility for this week to Brandon, and I let some of the other needed things wait. OK, back to the song... here is verse 2 from Tim McGraw's Grown Men Don't Cry:

Keep having this dream about my old man
I'm 10 years old, and he's holding my hand
We're talkin' on the front porch watchin' the sun go down
But it was just a dream
He was a slave to his job and he couldn't be around
So many things I wanna say to him
But I just placed a rose on his grave, and I talk to the wind

Bob has preached several times about time and having balance and priorities lined up. Here is the deal... I am AT the tipping point now... I stand in the ring with my gloves on in the fight of my life... and time just took the gloves off... Oh SNAP! So what is the next step? Tonight I will do what needs to done (for church, for work, for pleasure...) AFTER I spend some QUALITY time with my boys.


Ephesians 6:4
Fathers, do not make your children angry, but raise them with the training and teaching of the Lord.

To raise them I must spend time with them.... to teach and train them I must be REAL and ACCESSIBLE. Come hell or high water, I'm going to do it right!!

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action!

Guys week

Today we kicked the girls out of the house for a week... Actually they went to camp... Me and the boys went to the pool. Dawson is Diving and flipping off the diving board. Griffin was a mad man going down the slide and off the diving board... AND he gave up his arm floaties!!! Here are a few pics...





Had a blast today... tomorrow we are getting TATOOS! Even Daisy (our Golden Retriever) is getting a tatoo... she wants a CAT!

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action.

Darn It Crap!

When my 5 year old son, Griffin, gets mad or hurt, his favorite phrase is Darn It Crap! Today, I'm having one of those Darn It Crap moments. A pastor in Canton, GA resigned from leading Revolution Church Sunday. Gary Lamb stepped down because of an affair he had with his assistant. That SUCKS! While I'm still very fond of Gary and how God has used him to challenge me, my attention and prayer right now is leaning toward DeAnna, his wife, and their kids. There is a LOT of hurt and betrayal they are dealing with.

Let's be honest, we all sin, and in marriage we sometimes treat our spouse inappropriately. My prayer is that God does a beautiful healing in the Lamb family and that they once again are a potent force in causing people to turn toward Christ!

Live loud, live intentional, and love God and people with every word and every action.

Driving

I recently took my 14 year old daughter, Ashli, out for her 2nd driving lesson. Her 1st lesson was in a large empty parking lot with me sitting on the center console of the Suburban ready to take control if needed.... after all, she was brand new to this experience. She did so well the 1st time, that I decided to give her a bit more freedom and responsibility during round 2. This time, I sat in the passenger seat and we actually went on a back road... She had to navigate actual road signs and a few other cars. She did really well! I was very proud. Here is Ashli' Twitter following her drive:

went for a driving lesson with my dad. there is just something cool about controling a suburban:)

So, is she ready to jump in the Suburban and drive up to the church? No. She will need much more guidance and practice... more understanding of the rules of the road.... and more chances to apply them. She has started her journey, and it's a journey that never ends. Driving is a living, breathing animal. There is always something new to learn, road construction / detours and potholes to deal with, newly discovered roads, different passengers to share the ride with.... It goes on and on...

So let me ask you something.... When a person decides to cross the line of faith and say yes to Jesus for the first time, how quickly do we expect them to "drive" all by themselves? I grew up in a church culture that believed once you say yes to Jesus and show up at church a time or two, all of your external behaviors need to have changed to align with God principles. In fact, if you still were dealing with a habit or some element of your lifestyle that was not very "Christian" then you must have been faking it and did not really give your heart to Jesus. That's a bunch of... um, let's see..... how can I put this... CRAP!

Listen, the very 1st message that Bob spoke as the Lead Pastor at LifePoint dealt with the idea we are not really concerned with how close to or far away you are from Jesus you are... what is important is your direction of travel... be moving TOWARD Jesus, not away from Him. When you decide to say yes to Jesus, don't get in a hurry to "drive" all alone too far too fast. Be a "passenger" some, learn the "roads" from others and from checking out God's "Rules Of The Road" (yes, I'm talking about the Bible), "drive" with someone else for a while.... and be excited about this new stage in life cuz it is very cool!

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action!