Thursday, July 1, 2010

10 Random Thoughts

Here we go again...

1. What would the churches of our area be like if we pastors began to pray for other pastors? Not tear them down (not that this happens), not envy their successes (of course this one doesn't happen either), not believe gossip about them (OK, this one happens). I'm going to start a list of pastors in this area and begin praying for them to win souls and make disciples.

2. Don't forget - church was God's idea, not ours. We tend to reverse that.

3. Kylee has a loose tooth - her first. She can't wait for me to pull it and asks me to all the time. If she only understood what was about to happen... BTW, this is not a spiritual lesson.

4. I stayed up with the Lord (as if He slept) till about 3:30 the other morning. I know, when you eat it should be in moderation - consistent, 3 squares a day. But sometime you have to PIG OUT!

5. People leave the Church for stupid reasons. Their unrepentant petty issues mock the forgiveness and restoration of the Lord. Silly offenses slap the Lord and His Church in the face. When will we stop dividing the Church over Kindergarten, playground games and get real with Him and build the Church the gates of Hell cannot prevail against?

6. Church must be a place that kids love to come to - whatever the cost and sacrifice! I used to go to church because of a drug problem - my momma drug me to church. Kids should not want to leave. We have to keep improving and making church a fun place for kids. If all we ever do is tell them to sit down and be quiet in church then they will grow up in to adults that sit down and be quiet and do nothing - that's IF they don't quit church first.

7. I really do think a marriage can last a lifetime. One woman and one man for a lifetime is not a pipe dream. You can do it!

8. No one is good at everything. We all have weaknesses. I have to remember that there are no super pastors. Instead of trying to do everything ourselves, why not delegate our weaknesses out and really focus on what we are called to do. No one should be expected to wear 15 different hats either. You'll never master anything being divided in everything. Keeping the plates spinning is not fun. Nothing will grow like it needs to this way. Something eventually has to crash. Help me remember this Lord.

9. I made a lasagna the other day (no I did not open a box first). It was WAY too much for us to eat all in one night. I cut the rest of the dish up into 6 portions and froze it. Who likes leftovers? I do. Haley doesn't. For me, there's nothing better than some leftovers on a paper plate heated up in the microwave. Now, I wouldn't serve that to company - no one would. We'd cook our best meal and use the very best dishes. They could even use the fancy hand towels in the restroom that I can't use! Not that I'm jealous. How does this apply to church? We should not give our guests our leftovers! We should give them excellence! We should not give the Lord our leftovers! He deserves our best! When we teach kids at church, they don't need leftovers but "fine dining". We should take doing church seriously - Jesus does.

10. My wife and I need a date night. I think that will be tomorrow night. Now I have to find a babysitter, ...sorry Kylee, I mean a young lady sitter (even though you still have your baby teeth).