YouTube – star wars snowboard parody

YouTube – star wars snowboard parody. As silly as it might be this is is guite hilarious!

Illustration

This morning I sat in the Sunday morning service and listened to a wonderful message.  A message that can not be preached enough.  But our Senior Pastor Pete Tackett shared a story from his own life to illustrate the wonderful gift that has been given through Jesus Christ.  That gift is the gift of salvation that is given by God so that all may know Him, and be made righteous in His eyes.  But this story went a little deeper and illustrated the perspective of God when we don’t pay attention to this precious gift, basing it all upon Hebrews 2:3.

Pastor Pete shared the story of when he was a child and his step father bought him and his brother shotguns.  It was what they did.  They would go out hunting and shoot squirrels and rabbits in the area of Northeast Tennessee where they lived. The fact that a shot gun was given was very important because this was not an inexpensive gift.  And Pastor Pete’s step father worked very hard, and sometimes two jobs.  So giving him and his brother shot guns was a financial commitment, and made the gift more valuable than the pricetag that the store attached. 

Well one day after being out shooting the young Pastor Pete came home.  He set his rifle down against the house and kicked off his dirty boots after being out in a damp, cool spring day.  So he goes inside and takes a warm shower, gets something to eat and forgets about the rifle sitting on the front porch.  Later that night, about midnight as he was asleep his bedroom door flies open and his stepfather is standing there. Wanting to know why he has left his shotgun on the front porch, and someone could have come by and taken it. Or worse even shot themselves not knowing what they were doing.

How many times as children have we not appreciated a gift that was given to us by our parents, or a loved ones.  We thought it was great but didn’t take care of it as we should and suddenly a parent appears asking why don’t take better care of the things that we are given?

As I listened to the illustration this morning during the service I gave it some thought and wanted to share it here. Because I have to think that God looks down at us and sees the gift of salvation that he gave through His Son, and the respect that we show to this awesome gift.  A gift that we don’t respect, a gift that we don’t appreciate, and a gift that we don’t share.  God gave the gift of salvation out of love, when he didn’t have to.  He gave it through His Son, when he didn’t have to.  And His Son paid a great price for each one of us. 

So give praise to God for the gift that He has given us.  Because one day he is going to ask the question why didn’t we take care of this gift?

Another Day

I was driving into work this morning. And as many of you can say I was thinking that I had another day to go through. Another list of things that had to get done, and another schedule to complete, goals to achieve. But thank God it is Friday, but there was still another day that needed to be done. But as I was driving I plogged in the iPod and started playing the new Matthew West album that I downloaded earlier this week. 

As I listened to the first track of the album, “Something to Say”, God really spoke to me and challenged me.  The first song is called Something to Say, and  it leads off with the line ‘7:32 and I wake up and prepare to face another day’ or something like that.  (Forgive the paraphrase Mr. West.) And I started thinking about facing another day. 

How often at the start of a day do we think about another day that we have to face.  And we think that it is the worst thing. It is going to be a long day, busy, stressful, hard and difficult.  And many times days can be like that and at the end of the day you are wore out and ready to crash into the bed. 

Yet this morning God reminded me about my day yesterday.  It was a day where I was able to hear both my parents say that they were proud of me and congratulate me on being placed in a place of service in my church.  I was able to see the excitement and enthusasim of my daughter when the UPS man delivered her Animal rescuer vest like Diego’s.  And watch her show me every little feature, and see the joy on her face.  I got to spend an hour playing and having fun on the new Rock Band for Wii with my wife.  I was able to hang out with a friend and meet some new people.  I was able to spend time in prayer and study, and continually grow closer to God.  That was my day yesterday.

Now that doesn’t mean that yesterday didn’t have its stresses, its appointments, its tasks, its meetings that had to be done.  But how pale do those thing compare to the smile on my daughter’s face, the laughter of my wife, the fellowship of a friend, the closeness with my Savior. 

So when I thought of another day. I had to stop and ask God to give me another day like yesterday.  So when you think that you have to start another day, give it a minute and think about the blessings that yesterday held. And instead of thinking of all that you have to do today, think instead of all the exciting blessings that God has in store for you through this day!

Do we need a sign for that?

Tonight my wife, my daughter and myself walked into one of our favorite restaraunts.  Now I am not going to say what restaraunt it was because some of you might know it.  Let’s just say that is our favorite Chinese buffet. 

On the front door is a sign saying ” Parents please keep an eye on your children at all times”.  Now from the restaraunt’s point of view this is probably a neccessary sign.  Inside the restaraunt they have a huge pond that has the really big gold fish. This pond is big enought that it has a bridge that you can walk across to get to the other side.  It just screams for kids to come play in it.  And obviously many have headed the call.  But the sign, parents please keep an eye on your children at all times.

Is that a message that should be said.  Should that not be a foregone conclusion.  Or is that an issue that as a nation, and as a world we have allowed to become a problem.  We don’t watch our children. We allow them to be entertained by television. And never ride a bike.  We allow them to learn how to play a video game before they can play T-ball.  We have not kept our eye on our children at all times and now they are growing up and other things are keeping an eye on them.

Our children are our future.  I know it is a corny saying that is used way to much, but none the less it is true.  If we don’t raise them up in a Godly manner, instructed by the Bible and prayed over constantly then we aren’t keeping an eye on our children. And our enemy is keeping an eye on them. He is waiting for us to look away so that he can pounce in like a lion.  And he will keep an eye on them as he devours them.

So the restaraunt sign is my message. Parents keep an eye on your children at all times. 

I have a Daddy

My all time favorite television show, above Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, and anything else is the televisin M.A.S.H.  I can watch it all day, everyday.  And on Father’s Day I think of one particular episode when Hawkeye learns that his father is going in for a difficult surgery. Half way around the world Hawkeye is going crazy, desperatly trying to get speak to his father, or at least learn of his status.  Throughout his turmoil Charles Emerson Winchester, III sits with him.  He tries to help him and work with him to see him through this difficult time. During the course of the conversation Charles shares about his relationship with his father, or his lack there of.  He listens to Hawkeye talk about his relationship with his father and learns that Hawkeye has a different, and a deeper relationship with his father.  Charles makes the statement, ” Where I have a father you have a dad.”

Five years ago my wife and I bought our very first home. It is a small little home that sits on a little more than an acre of land. It is beautiful. It sits atop a very small hill, that slopes down to a creek that is surrounded on both sides by tall oak, and maple trees.  I love my house, and we bought it brand new so this is our house and no one elses.  Like alot of new homes the yard was seeded before we bought it. And of course they covered the grass seed with straw.  It is a good way to keep the birds from getting to it and allowing it the oppurtunity to grow.  Yet once the grass starts to grow you have to remove the straw and rake it all up. 

So here I am a box of lawn and leaf bags, my brand new rake, ready to tackle my first yard project in my new home.  My father calls me before I head outside to begin work and asks me what I am doing. I tell him what I am getting ready to do and we talk for a few minutes and conclude the call.  So I head out into the yard to begin what I arrogantly thought would be a quick and easy job.  And I job that I thought I could simply, and efficently do without help.

Two and a half hours later I have barely gotten past the halfway point and I have about forty five minutes of daylight left.  I stop for a breather as the sweat is pouring down my face.  I look to the left and look to the right as I stood at the base of that gently slopping hill. And seeing how much I had left my heart sank.  I was just ready to loose heart when I look back up the hill and see my dad standing at the top of the hill wearing work clothes and a rake in his hand.

I am utterly surprised.  He has driven forty five minutes to my house to come and help his arrogant and prideful son finish the project that he knew would be more than a one man job.  So he jumps in and we are able to nearly finish the project. We got close enough that the next night I was able to finish in about twenty minutes.  Where as all have a father, I have a dad!

To all fathers, have fathers day! But especially to my dad. Happy Father’s Day! Thank you for all that you have done throughout my life, and all that you did and I never knew you were there. Thank you for the example that you set, and the encouragement you provided.  Thank you for being my dad!

Full Support

It is that time again. Where the mudslinging begins.  As the dust begins to settle between the parties and they themselves begin to pick their candidate for President, the citizens of the US begin to look to where they will vote.  Senator Clinton has thrown her support behind Obama, and for all intents and purposes it looks like Senator McCain will be the Republican representative.  As the political analysts have their field day with over analysying every word that is said by the candidates the church must listen, and listen only.

No where in the Bible do we have it recorded where the church was voting in a political race. Mainly because the idea of democracy wouldn’t be around for about another 1,700 years.  But in the United States we have a unique situation where the church as a whole can not only be drawn by congregational lines but by political lines.  And this can be dangerous. 

I believe that every citizen should vote, and should vote intelligently.  By looking at the candidates and learing what they believe and stand for.  And I know that a lot of candidates make campaign promises that they never keep.  But that is no different than when we make a promise to a brother or sister in Christ and fail to keep it.  While learning as much as we can about the candidates we have to listen to what is being said, but also more importantly listen and hear the Holy Spirit.

Please note that I said listen and hear the Holy Spirit.  When we vote we can not, as believes, vote independently of our beliefs and the leading of the Spirit.  It can be hard but political lines are not biblical.  The only bibilical political line is the line to God.  And how can we cast something as powerful as a vote, without consulting Him. 

Imagine what are nation would look like if we voted by follwing the spirit as a nation after devoted prayer. I think that our nation would look very different than it does now in many ways.  So by all means vote! But don’t vote without asking, listening and hearing what God has to say.

My thoughts on Prince Caspian

 Well I waited, and it finally arrived.  I wish the enjoyment of the movie could have been as much as the anticipation.  Don’t get me wrong, was it a good movie?  Yes it was. I would go see it again if someone asked me to go with them. 

My biggest complaint of the movie is changing the book. I am a huge C.S. Lewis fan and would recommend his books to anyone.  And I will openly admit that my fascination with the books goes back to my childhood.  And I know that sometime you have to change things up to make it into a movie. 

But… sometimes I wonder if we go to far about changing movies and still the intent of a story.  Overall I thought it was a good movie, and it wasn’t too far off from the book. 

Overall recommendation, if you saw the first one you will want to see the second one. So go see it.  If you haven’t read the books, by all means go see it today! If you have read the books, go see the movie, but be prepared that the storyline was changed, the plot has changed, the characters have been modified. Don’t expect the book on the screen. Accept that it has been made for a movie,and has been changed. And you will enjoy the movie!