Foothills offered tours yesterday of the new building. It was awesome! It is so exciting to see the new facility coming together. The thousands of people that are going to come in touch with Jesus within that building really gets my blood pumping. Understand though that the building is just a tool, the people make up the church. It will be the people who step up and say that they want to make a difference in the eternities of people that they don't even know yet that will insure that the new "tool" is used to it's fullest potential.
Being an engineer, I like to think in terms of potential energy. Potential energy is the energy that an object has at rest, not moving. Kinetic energy on the other hand is energy that an object has when it is in motion. Potential energy changes to kinetic energy when the object begins moving and energy produces work.
Right now the potential energy of the new building is huge....and the more of our time and money that we invest into the ministries that will result because of that building...the more potential is created. It is like taking a bowling ball and raising it from the ground to the first floor of a building, it has potential energy. But if I take that same bowling ball to the 20th floor it has MORE potential energy and when I let it drop, the amount of kinetic energy will do far more work than if I had dropped it from the first story.
I guess what I am trying to get at is that the building itself is nothing but a tool. The effectiveness of that tool depends on each of us and the amount that we invest personally into it. If you want to see substantial life change in the people of this county and the surrounding counties invest of yourself, raise the bowling ball as high as possible and see what God can do!
Monday, April 28, 2008
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Clogs - (not the shoes)
I have spent the last two nights dealing with clogs.
Last night our dishwasher decided to relieve itself all over the kitchen floor. I was actually in Easley (30 min away) sitting in the parking lot of the gym that two of my daughters take gymnastics class when Amy called me to tell me that the kitchen, and the basement below the kitchen were flooded from the dishwasher. I was pretty helpless accept to make sure that she had everything turned off that needed to be turned off. When I got home and had a chance to take a look....I determined that for some reason, the dishwasher was not draining correctly....instead it was spewing (is that a word) all over the floor. After much very high tech diagnostics involving blowing in drain tubes, I discovered that the sump drain in the dishwasher was clogged! That's all that was wrong....it was clogged with junk like candy wrappers and plastic....things that certainly didn't belong in a dishwasher. Small things all by themselves, but grouped together caused a whole lot of mess.
Tonight Amy and I faced another type of clog. Amy was experiencing some pain and other symptoms that her doctor (if you are reading this Kelly - thanks for all you do) thought could possibly be blood clots. She was sent to the hospital to get some tests done. After several hour there, they sent her home. Apparently there were not any blood clots....at least nothing serious enough to admit her. Praise God! Once again....a very small thing such as a blood clot sure can cause a big mess.
What is so important about all this clog talk? Here is the deal....sin causes a clog in our relationship with God. God hates sin because it separates us from Him. We tend to want to justify our sin or take it out of context and minimize it as small and "no bid deal"....kind of like a single candy wrapper in the drain of my dishwasher. But eventually unrepented sin will cause a very serious clog and create a serious mess. The only way to fix the mess is to clear the clog....meaning falling on your face, confessing to God your sin, asking for forgiveness, putting your faith in Jesus Christ and strive everyday to stay in God's will.
Last night our dishwasher decided to relieve itself all over the kitchen floor. I was actually in Easley (30 min away) sitting in the parking lot of the gym that two of my daughters take gymnastics class when Amy called me to tell me that the kitchen, and the basement below the kitchen were flooded from the dishwasher. I was pretty helpless accept to make sure that she had everything turned off that needed to be turned off. When I got home and had a chance to take a look....I determined that for some reason, the dishwasher was not draining correctly....instead it was spewing (is that a word) all over the floor. After much very high tech diagnostics involving blowing in drain tubes, I discovered that the sump drain in the dishwasher was clogged! That's all that was wrong....it was clogged with junk like candy wrappers and plastic....things that certainly didn't belong in a dishwasher. Small things all by themselves, but grouped together caused a whole lot of mess.
Tonight Amy and I faced another type of clog. Amy was experiencing some pain and other symptoms that her doctor (if you are reading this Kelly - thanks for all you do) thought could possibly be blood clots. She was sent to the hospital to get some tests done. After several hour there, they sent her home. Apparently there were not any blood clots....at least nothing serious enough to admit her. Praise God! Once again....a very small thing such as a blood clot sure can cause a big mess.
What is so important about all this clog talk? Here is the deal....sin causes a clog in our relationship with God. God hates sin because it separates us from Him. We tend to want to justify our sin or take it out of context and minimize it as small and "no bid deal"....kind of like a single candy wrapper in the drain of my dishwasher. But eventually unrepented sin will cause a very serious clog and create a serious mess. The only way to fix the mess is to clear the clog....meaning falling on your face, confessing to God your sin, asking for forgiveness, putting your faith in Jesus Christ and strive everyday to stay in God's will.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
The American Family
I had an opportunity to sit down and visit with the Principal of my two oldest daughters school, Oconee Christian Academy. While sitting and talking about ministry and life and family, I shared a little bit about how our (mine and Amy's) blended family came into existence. Two family's, products of divorce, and all that entails came together to make this incredible family that we now have. When Thad had heard the story, his comment was simply "The American Family." My initial comment was "Sadly, that is true." Divorce is so common today....I think that was the commentary, and God hates divorce because divorce hurts people.
As I have thought about that conversation today, I can't help but want to shout at the top of my lungs....."But look what God has done!" Though divorce was not in God's plan for Amy and I, He was able to use that to bring us together and build a strong family that is anchored on the Rock of Jesus Christ! And in doing so...God has put us in a place where we can minister to "The American Family." There are plenty of divorced people and blendend families out there that need to hear that God can heal their lives and I believe that if we remain transparent and "real," God will use us to reach these hurting people...one "American Family" to another "American Family."
As I have thought about that conversation today, I can't help but want to shout at the top of my lungs....."But look what God has done!" Though divorce was not in God's plan for Amy and I, He was able to use that to bring us together and build a strong family that is anchored on the Rock of Jesus Christ! And in doing so...God has put us in a place where we can minister to "The American Family." There are plenty of divorced people and blendend families out there that need to hear that God can heal their lives and I believe that if we remain transparent and "real," God will use us to reach these hurting people...one "American Family" to another "American Family."
Patience...
I am on the phone as I type. I am on hold, dealing with my health insurance company. Talk about a lesson in patience. My daughter had an emergency room visit last year (that is a whole other story!). Anyway, the insurance paid the hospital, but denied the claim for the emergency room physician. That makes no sense! I don't exactly know how these things happen, but it seems like this kind of "confusion" is common with insurance claims. Do they randomly deny claims during the first go around on the hopes that they won't be challenged?
Good news. I just got off the phone. The claim has been resolved! The doc is getting paid.....wooo hooo!
Good news. I just got off the phone. The claim has been resolved! The doc is getting paid.....wooo hooo!
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Disconnected
My ear is still plugged up! I tried everything I could think of yesterday. Drops, irrigation, heat, allergy medicine, nose spray. My wife suggested baby pee this morning. I have never heard of this but apparently it is an old wives tale to put baby pee in your ear to relieve pain and pressure. I PASSED ON THIS ONE! I may be desperate, but I am not crazy!
My clogged ear has caused some problems. For instance, I didn't hear the alarm this morning. I was laying on my left side when the alarm went off. My good ear was muffled in the pillow while my completely useless ear was left to tend to the listening. I NEVER HEARD IT GO OFF. My wife who is typically deadwood in the morning, who usually relies on me to wake her up, ended up waking me to tell me the alarm was going off.
The second observation that I have made is that my inability to hear has made me feel completely disconnected. Last night I had the opportunity to have dinner with my daughter, Lily, all by ourselves. It was a real struggle to have conversation. I had a terrible time hearing her and she had a hard time hearing me. I had a very hard time gauging my speaking volume. We were in a crowded restaurant and I didn't want to be that "shouting guy" who didn't realize how loud he was talking but I ended up talking too softly most of the time for Lily to hear me. We struggled through it, but for me at least, I felt disconnected from Lily and everyone around me.
This must be the way unchurched people feel when they come to a church that doesn't meet them where they are. I wanted to connect with Lily. But I couldn't understand what she was saying a lot of the time. I wanted to understand it...and I believe that what she was saying was important and that I would have benefitted from hearing it.....but there was a disconnect. I believe that God put in each of us the need and desire to know him. Unchurched people come into churches all over the country every week trying to meet that need. There is something inside of them that tells them that it is important and that they will benifit from hearing....but there is a disconnect. Churches, sometimes knowinging, sometimes not, create the disconnect. They use "churchy" words that the unchurched don't understand. They set requirements of "goodness" that people must meet before being accepted into the church. They design liturgical gauntlets that you must go through to feel like you are participating. Todays church has got to constantly examine EVERYTHING that we do on Sunday morning to eliminate any obstacles that prevent unchurched people from connecting. From the parking lot, to finding out how to get your children to the right place, to an inviting atmosphere that says "I don't care what you have done, or where you have been, I am glad you are here." God is in the business of changing lives....we need to create an environment that makes hearing from God ACCESSIBLE to EVERYONE. Eliminate the disconnects.
My clogged ear has caused some problems. For instance, I didn't hear the alarm this morning. I was laying on my left side when the alarm went off. My good ear was muffled in the pillow while my completely useless ear was left to tend to the listening. I NEVER HEARD IT GO OFF. My wife who is typically deadwood in the morning, who usually relies on me to wake her up, ended up waking me to tell me the alarm was going off.
The second observation that I have made is that my inability to hear has made me feel completely disconnected. Last night I had the opportunity to have dinner with my daughter, Lily, all by ourselves. It was a real struggle to have conversation. I had a terrible time hearing her and she had a hard time hearing me. I had a very hard time gauging my speaking volume. We were in a crowded restaurant and I didn't want to be that "shouting guy" who didn't realize how loud he was talking but I ended up talking too softly most of the time for Lily to hear me. We struggled through it, but for me at least, I felt disconnected from Lily and everyone around me.
This must be the way unchurched people feel when they come to a church that doesn't meet them where they are. I wanted to connect with Lily. But I couldn't understand what she was saying a lot of the time. I wanted to understand it...and I believe that what she was saying was important and that I would have benefitted from hearing it.....but there was a disconnect. I believe that God put in each of us the need and desire to know him. Unchurched people come into churches all over the country every week trying to meet that need. There is something inside of them that tells them that it is important and that they will benifit from hearing....but there is a disconnect. Churches, sometimes knowinging, sometimes not, create the disconnect. They use "churchy" words that the unchurched don't understand. They set requirements of "goodness" that people must meet before being accepted into the church. They design liturgical gauntlets that you must go through to feel like you are participating. Todays church has got to constantly examine EVERYTHING that we do on Sunday morning to eliminate any obstacles that prevent unchurched people from connecting. From the parking lot, to finding out how to get your children to the right place, to an inviting atmosphere that says "I don't care what you have done, or where you have been, I am glad you are here." God is in the business of changing lives....we need to create an environment that makes hearing from God ACCESSIBLE to EVERYONE. Eliminate the disconnects.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
I am feeling completely lopsided
My right ear is COMPLETELY plugged up. When I say completely, I mean I cannot hear ANYTHING outside of my head coming into my right ear. I guess it's allergies or something that has caused this condition, but honestly it feels like I have hotdog stuffed straight up my ear canal! As a result, I feel like I am sitting crooked, my head is constantly tilted, and I am spending an absurd amount of time saying "huh?" This is miserable!
Anyone have any home remedies? I don't know when I will have time to get to the doctor.
Anyone have any home remedies? I don't know when I will have time to get to the doctor.
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