Now

One of the smartest people I know is my Dad. I've learned a LOT from him over the years... and have watched him model integrity like nobody else. Something we talked about a lot as I was growing up was how people wait until a funeral to give someone flowers....




So, we spend time "rubbing elbows" with people and just going on with our happy lives, all the while we selfishly CHOOSE to refrain from INVESTING in the relationship with some simple effort. My Dad's phrase was "Give people flowers while they are still living." Say what? Look, it's this simple.... Take time NOW to tell/show the special people in your life what they mean to you... while it will still make them smile. Hey LifePointers, does that sound something like LOVE GOD - LOVE PEOPLE?

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

Freakin Hero

Doing the right thing when people spit in your face for it is tough! So many of our military people do it so often... they deserve so much more respect (and pay) than they get. Check out this story...

This is an Airman's response to Cindy Williams' editorial piece in the Washington Times about MILITARY PAY, it should be printed in all newspapers across America.

On Nov. 12, Ms Cindy Williams (from Laverne and Shirley TV show) wrote a piece for the Washington Times, denouncing the pay raise(s) coming service members' way this year -- citing that the stated 13% wage was more than they deserve.

A young airman from Hill AFB responds to her article.

He ought to get a bonus for this.

"Ms Williams:

I just had the pleasure of reading your column, "Our GIs earn enough" and I am a bit confused. Frankly, I'm wondering where this vaunted overpayment is going, because as far as I can tell, it disappears every month between DFAS (The Defense Finance and Accounting Service)and my bank account.

Checking my latest earnings statement I see that I make $1,117.80 before taxes. After taxes, I take home $874.20. When I run that through the calculator, I come up with an annual salary of $13,413.60 before taxes, and $10,490.40, after.

I work in the Air Force Network Control Center where I am part of the team responsible for a 5,000 host computer network I am involved with infrastructure segments, specifically with Cisco Systems equipment. A quick check under jobs for Network Technicians in the Washington D.C. area reveals a position in my career field, requiring three years experience with my job. Amazingly, this job does NOT pay $13,413.60 a year. No, this job is being offered at $70,000 to $80,000 per annum...

I'm sure you can draw the obvious conclusions.

Given the tenor of your column, I would assume that you NEVER had the pleasure of serving your country in her armed forces.

Before you take it upon yourself to once more castigate congressional and DOD leadership for attempting to get the families in the military's lowest pay brackets off of WIC and food stamps, I suggest that you join a group of deploying soldiers headed for AFGHANISTAN ; I leave the choice of service branch up to you.

Whatever choice you make, though, opt for the SIX month rotation, it will guarantee you the longest possible time away from your family and friends, thus giving you full "deployment experience."

As your group prepares to board the plane, make sure to note the spouses and children who are saying good-bye to their loved ones. Also take care to note that several families are still unsure of how they'll be able to make ends meet while the primary breadwinner is gone obviously they've been squandering the "vast" piles of cash the government has been giving them.

Try to deploy over a major holiday; Christmas and Thanksgiving are perennial
favorites. And when you're actually over there, sitting in a foxhole, shivering against the cold desert night; and the flight sergeant tells you that there aren't enough people on shift to relieve you for chow, remember this:

Trade whatever MRE (meal-ready- to-eat) you manage to get for the tuna noodle casserole or cheese tortellini, and add Tabasco to everything. This gives some flavor.

Talk to your loved ones as often as you are permitted; it won't nearly be long enough or often enough, but take what you can get and be thankful for it. You may have picked up on the fact that I disagree with most of the points you present in your opened piece.

But, tomorrow from KABUL , I will defend to the death your right to say it.



You see, I am an American fighting man, a guarantor of your First Amendment rights and every other right you cherish. On a daily basis, my brother and sister soldiers worldwide ensure that you and people like you can thumb your collective nose at us, all on a salary that is nothing short of pitiful and under conditions that would make most people cringe. We hemorrhage our best and brightest into the private sector because we can't offer the stability and pay of civilian companies.

And you, Ms. Williams, have the gall to say that we make more than we deserve?

Rubbish!

A1C Michael Bragg Hill AFB AFNCC

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

Invention

When I grow up, I want to invent something cool. I saw this poster as an advertisement at a bus stop... It was promoting a young inventors workshop. A 14 year old kid came up with the LOST CAT MAGNET....


Does it work? Probably not.... Is that photo doctored? Ya think??? Anyway, I though it was funny. If you could invent something (even something crazy) what would it be? I'd invent a portable lake so I could take my boat everywhere with me and sneak in a little water fun whenever I wanted. Of course, I'd also have to invent a way for my HARLEY (OK I don't have a Harley yet...) to tow the boat....

By the way, I hate cats!! That's why we have a Golden Retreiver... Dogs are Godly pets! (Maybe that's a stretch...)

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

Technology Is Great

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action. (Can you punch in love??)

Whatever it Takes

Look out St Louis and the Metro East.... There is a group of people that are quickly getting to the place that we will do WHATEVER it takes to help people get back to Christ... many for the first time. You may be thinking "so what..." It may go against what you think is the "norm" for compelling people to pursue Christ.... and you will need to get on board the train or the freakin train will run you over.... Just sayin.... By the way, "pretty soon" is not a good time to start.... RIGHT NOW is a good time to start! Hey Kyle... take those Driven students to the edge tonight!!! We've got a freakin world to change!

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

Soaking

I remember as a kid hearing my Mom tell people "Go soak your head!" when she was mad about something. How about soaking your mind? That's what we are talking about this Sunday at LifePoint. Try this simple little activity this weekend and see if it helps....

... think about the things that are good and worthy of praise. Think about the things that are true and honorable and right and pure and beautiful and respected. (Philippians 4:8)

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

Loving People

My wife, Vange, is bent on loving people. The more we hang at LifePoint, the more we are transitioning our effort to care more about PEOPLE.... and less about the perceived normal "rules" of doing church.

Monday, a good friend of ours lost her mother. (Our friend's daughter plays soccer with my girls and hangs at our house a lot.) We have come to realize that there are no magic words or anything we can do to take away the sting of losing someone. A few weeks ago, Bob addressed the Biblical principle of "shiva"... just BEING WITH someone during a trying time. Responding with a "loving people" attitude, Vange, Ashli, and Haley went and bought a cooler and filled it with ice and soda, and grabbed a few snacks and delivered them to our friend's house. They spent a few minutes just letting this family know that we love them and are with them through this time. This is a BEAUTIFUL picture of loving God and loving people.

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

Moving pictures

I'm really aggravated about not being able to move pictures around on my posts.... My buddy Emily (gimme back that filet-o-fish) is sitting here watching Idol with us... I'm gonna con her into helping me... :-)


Add pic... cut and paste it elsewhere.... seems to work...


Thanks EP!

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

Old Bitter Lady

I have a lawn client who is a young, single mom. I'll call her Jill. Let's just say she doesn't put much effort into taking care of anything..... house, car, job, kid...... She has a neighbor. I'll call her Bertha. Bertha is one of those people who is in every one's business. Here are a couple of highlights of my experiences with Bertha:

• She badgered me repeatedly to try to find out what Jill pays me to maintain the lawn - she still does not know
• She gave me an earful about calling the police on the guy who owns the house (Jill's stepfather) because there were some leaves piles in the corner of the house and back yard fence. She wanted him put in jail for that....
• She came into my enclosed trailer, grabbed my arm and threatened to put me in jail for allowing dust to be blown on a car in her driveway. (I was mowing on a windy day and even though I always keep the discharge going away from her driveway, the wind blew dust everywhere.)
• I've seen her sweeping twigs and leaves from her driveway and lawn onto Jill's yard... Jill doesn't have any trees in front....

Here is where the story gets sweet.... Yesterday, I was at Jill's house mowing. I could not get into the back yard because there were so many toys and so much trash all over the back yard. Bertha had been edging her walks and driveway. I got done with Jill's front yard and was blowing off her walks. I stopped and approached Bertha and asked her if she'd like me to blow off her driveway and walks for her. She preferred to sweep them herself. Her reply was soft and thankful. Instead of threatening me or bullying me about the leaf pile (the leaves had gathered again just like last year), she asked very politely what we could work out to take care of the leaves. I had already decided to haul them off.... since I could not mow the back, I had time allocated for her property and the leaves needed to be handled.

I got the leaves all cleaned up. Then, Bertha and I had a very cool 20 minute discussion about her life story and teaching her kids right from wrong..... and how she lost her husband when her 3 kids were very young..... and what she did to survive. She totally opened up her soul to me. We touched on how wonderful God is in the midst of adversity (Broken Pieces). It was a beautiful conversation and time well spent. As I walked away she stopped me one more time and said "Jim, I'm sorry I've been mean to you." (She called me Jim because my mowing trailer has JAMES LAWN CARE on it.)

I just wonder what God was doing in her heart during and after our chat. I know for me, it was simply loving God and loving people by how I acted.

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

God and Eye Drops

This morning I got some disturbing news about my job.... could be a major bump in the road... I'll come back to this idea in a minute...

Griffin is getting over Pink Eye. We got the eye drops a few days ago and knew exactly what we needed to do to get Griffin healthy again. Here is the problem: Griffin was TERRIFIED of having something dripped into his eyes! Vange tried everything to prove to him that it would be OK. She even dropped some wetting solution drops in all the other kids' eyes and let Griffin watch so he could see that it was no big deal. Didn't work..... The whole family tried to convince Griffin that any minor discomfort he would feel would be just that, MINOR, and it would be over super quick. He could not see that the medicine was needed to get him to a better, healthy place. Finally, I had to hold him down and hold his head still while Vange pried his eyes open and applied the drops.... it was NOT pretty. He has survived the drop applications, and last night, he was a big boy and didn't fight it at all..... he was very proud of his accomplishment.

Back to the job story.... I never want to over analyze or over spiritualize anything. But, here's the deal.... I really feel like God is speaking to me (not audibly...). Imagine God's voice:

Doug, trust Me... it's not that bad. It'll be over before you know it. This is going to help you. Look around at your family and friends, haven't I steered them through similar situations to get them to a better place? Don't make me hold you down....

The very same process that we were trying with Griffin, God is using for me. Calm fears, apply the medicine/change, and get to a better/healthy place. Look, I can't prove that this is a step toward something better... Just like I hope that Griffin TRUSTS me enough that he knows I'm doing what is BEST for him, I'm trusting God that he is looking out for me.

Romans 8:28
We know that in everything God works for the good of those who love him. They are the people he called, because that was his plan.

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

Snacks

I've been called a lot of names over the years..... some good, some bad. Some of the names that are most fitting pertain to my snacking habits.

Count Snackula

Dr. Snackenstein

Snack Disposal

All are fitting.... I've included a pic of the snacks currently stashed at my desk.... they won't last long. What are your favorites?

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

Hands To Heaven

With our hands to Heaven we worship You

And when we do, may it be in spirit and in truth

The image of raised hands brings 3 thoughts to my mind:

1) A posture of surrender (giving control to someone in power)

2) A desire to be held or rescued (like a child lifting hands to his/her parent)

3) Celebration

This weekend, we are using a song that simply talks about raising our hands to God. Whatever we do, make sure it is an honest means to step closer to God. Check out these few Bible verses:

1 Timothy 2:8 - I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing.

Psalms 28:2 - Hear my cry for mercy as I call to you for help, as I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place.

Psalms 63:4 - I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.

Psalms 77:2 - When I was in distress, I sought the Lord; at night I stretched out untiring hands and my soul refused to be comforted.

Psalms 141:2 - May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.

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

Mowing Season is Here

Besides working in IT for AT&T, I also own a small lawn care business. Yesterday, I fired up the mowers and started the dance for this season..... I actually enjoy mowing. I have a simple goal this year to balance my time between work, church, and family. My relationship with Jesus is first! Then I need to cultivate the relationship with my wife, Vange. Next is pouring myself into my kids' lives (Ashli, Haley, Dawson, Griffin). THEN there is LifePoint and AT&T and the lawn business and the.... bla bla bla.....

Side Note Confession... at this point I'm ticked because I can't get pictures to land where I want them to on my blog..... Oh Well.....

So, this week is going to be a busy week...... lots of fertilizer to apply, weeds to control, and landscaping to clean up. Here we go...

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

Griffy Grif

My baby is my 5 year old son, Griffin. He is hilarious. He's not a big eater, but he can drink enough Carnation to float a boat. He is VERY SNUGGLY. Grif loves to ride on my shoulders everywhere we go. He wants to be as big as his brother, Dawson. He is very smart. I'm not sure I've ever met a 5 year old that is as polite as Griffin - he is great with his manners. He has a new bike and has been riding it faster than an airplane! We are going to lose the training wheels this summer. One of our friends, Vince, is pretty tall.... Griffin always tells him that he is bigger than Jesus. Now when I see Vince, I call him BTJ for short. Griffin loves to play Wii, and he's really good. He makes me laugh... a lot! Emily has some great Griffin stories / sayings on her blog. He loves to have his back scratched at night before he goes to sleep. I am a blessed man!

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

Fireproof

I watched Fireproof last night with Vange and Haley. There was a line in the movie that screamed out to me and got my attention... "Being fireproof doesn't keep the fire from coming, it just enables you to handle it." (it was something along those lines...) How many times in life do we try to keep the fire from coming (a futile effort...) when we should put more effort into being able to handle it when it DOES COME....

In the last couple of weeks, I've listed the "Bringing Sexy Back" message series from Gary Lamb, the lead pastor at Revolution church in Canton, GA. (Actually, I've listened to it multiple times...) For me, it was Biblically solid, timely, and quite a catalyst for positive change in my marriage.

**WARNING: Uncomfortably Honest and Open Moment Ahead** If I can be brutally transparent, Vange and I are approaching our 18 year anniversary. Overall, we have a wonderful marriage. But God has used Gary Lamb and the movie Fireproof to thump my noggin! I have allowed my wife to be burdened by responsibility that should be mine. Last night, I had to apologize to her her for being mediocre in my effort to love her.... that makes God sick! On March 3rd, I made a decision to think about her differently (better) and to put her needs before mine. This is a process...... and I'm stepping forward.

I just started following a blog of a guy named Rob. First of all, Rob has really cool, layered pictures on his blog... I've got to find out how to do that. I don't know Rob well (yet), but as I read his stories and looked at his pictures I got a sense that he is HEAVILY invested in his wife and kids' lives. It was an encouragement to me to step up and increase my DEVOTION to my family (a good and perfect gift to me from God.)

We are spinning a lot of plates right now; multiple jobs, a bunch of kids' activities, church (after all, we have a freakin world to change), etc... Here is the deal - I'm praying that I get out of the way so that God can teach me the best way to spin my many plates without dropping any. That may mean I have to set some plates down... (Bob speaks the truth at LifePoint!) I want to handle WELL the fires that I'm faced with.

God, thanks for placing people in my path to steer me back on course. You do really cool stuff like that all the time.... Talk to You later.

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

Games

One of our family's favorite things to do is play games. It's always more fun when Kyle and Emily hang out with us and play a game called Joker (Marble Pursuit). Last night, Kyle, Ashli, and I had to put a whoopin' on Emily, Haley, and Vange. Victory is sweet!

Today when I got to work, Christy was telling me about taking her dogs to a dog park and just playing with them. That sounds like a lot of fun. I'm sure Daisy (our Golden Retriever) would enjoy that.

Dawson played soccer Saturday. He is usually defense... he really likes defense.... trying to be like his big sister, Haley. The coaches had him play forward and he scored a goal. Very cool.

Our Lifegroup went to an indoor water park yesterday. I loved watching Griffin play and interact with so many other kids. Vange and I had several opportunities to laugh and say "Say no to crack" as Griff's suit kept falling down a bit; exposing his... umm.... well..... uhhhhh... his crack. :-)

Play some games this week - have some fun.

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

Church Bulletin Bloopers

Christy, one of my coworkers, and I were laughing so hard at these that we caused a bit of a ruckus in the office.... Oh well.....

• Church Bulletin Bloopers
• Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles, and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.
• The outreach committee has enlisted 25 visitors to make calls on people who are not afflicted with any church.
• Evening massage - 6 p.m.
• The Pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday morning.
• The audience is asked to remain seated until the end of the recession.
• Low Self-Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 to 8:30 p.m. Please use the back door.
• Ushers will eat latecomers.
• The third verse of Blessed Assurance will be sung without musical accomplishment.
• For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs.
• The Rev. Merriwether spoke briefly, much to the delight of the audience.
• The pastor will preach his farewell message, after which the choir will sing, "Break Forth Into Joy."
• During the absence of our pastor, we enjoyed the rare privilege of hearing a good sermon when J.F. Stubbs supplied our pulpit.
• Next Sunday Mrs. Vinson will be soloist for the morning service. The pastor will then speak on "It's a Terrible Experience."
• Due to the Rector's illness, Wednesday's healing services will be discontinued until further notice.
• Stewardship Offertory: "Jesus Paid It All"
• The music for today's service was all composed by George Friedrich Handel in celebration of the 300th anniversary of his birth.
• Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our church and community.
• The concert held in Fellowship Hall was a great success. Special thanks are due to the minister's daughter, who labored the whole evening at the piano, which as usual fell upon her.
• 22 members were present at the church meeting held at the home of Mrs. Marsha Crutchfield last evening. Mrs. Crutchfield and Mrs. Rankin sang a duet, The Lord Knows Why.
• A song fest was hell at the Methodist church Wednesday.
• Hymn 47: "Hark! an awful voice is sounding"
• On a church bulletin during the minister's illness: GOD IS GOOD Dr. Hargreaves is better.
• Potluck supper: prayer and medication to follow.
• Don't let worry kill you off - let the church help.
• The 1997 Spring Council Retreat will be hell May 10 and 11.
• Pastor is on vacation. Massages can be given to church secretary.

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

The Hog

Dawson, my 6 year old son, (also known as Daws Hog, Hoggalicious, The Hog) is creating some very cool stuff on his computer.



Dawson is such a great son... He is so energetic, smart, and very polite (most of the time). He is really good about stopping and looking both ways before we cross the street.... He always watches for cars in parking lots.... He gets straight As in school.... He is a really good soccer player..... He prays like a big guy.... He loves Bible stories..... He is a bike riding machine... He water skis - 75 foot behind the boat like the big guys.... He is the tubing King! He is super snuggly at night when I lay down with him.... What a blessing! God, thanks for letting me borrow the Hog... I'm crazy about that kid!!

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

Joker

Vange and Emily are taking on Haley and Kyle in Joker. I think I'll grab my Journey cd and play Who's Cryin Now..... Cuz someone is goin down!



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

That's my Koolaid

Thanks to Gary Lamb for getting all up in my Koolaid and punching me in the throat today (not physically). I was listening to a series he is doing called Bringing Sexy Back. He stepped through the idea that great sex starts long before you enter the bedroom. As I listened to his story about how he and DeAnna almost did not make it, and what they did to realign with God's plan, I began to wipe the fluids leaking from my eyes (since I'm not on stage at LifePoint I don't have to add a $1 to the cry jar). Guys, it is this simple, I better treat Vange as my BEST friend and actively put her needs before mine. Ephesians 5 says that men are to love their wives as Christ loved the church... that is a whole nutha level of love! Communication is HUGE!!! and I'm not as good at it as I want to be. Life happens (jobs, kids, projects, etc...) and we drift apart. Today starts a renewed love (not lust) for her... and there is no way in hell I will allow anything to become a wedge between us!

While Gary happened to be the guy God used to get my attention today, (serious flag) I'm privileged to sit under the teaching of Bob Robbins every week. Bob did a series about fighting for relationships... tonight, I'm going to grab the notes from those talks and determine to love my family like I never have..... BETTER than I ever have.

Here is my challenge for you... If you are in a relationship that is falling apart, or has already busted, I dare you to ask God what you can do to repair it and give you a relationship high like you've never felt..... I dare you.......

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