John In Real Life

Where's My Bacon?

2011-12-19T13:51:00.009-06:00

It is Christmas time. All you have to do is listen, look and at times even smell and you can get the sense that it is "The Most Wonderful Time of The Year"! People are bubbling over with excitement. Kids are anxious, anxious for no school and what will be awaiting them under the tree Christmas morning. Parents have spent time and money looking for that perfect gift for their child. Work parties and dinners along with school programs and ugly Christmas sweaters have all become part of the excitement...Yes it is an exciting time of the year.
As I thought about it, what should excite Christians is not all of the things that were just mentioned. What should excite us is that, now more than any other time of the year, people are more receptive to listen and to hear about the Greatest Gift of All! We have numerous opportunities during this Christmas season to share our faith with others and point people to Jesus.
This morning, I was by myself drinking some coffee at Cracker Barrel. I was reflecting on the great day God gave us yesterday at church and watching the fire when I happened to catch a bit of the conversation of the two older couples sitting next to me. After listening for a while, I made the assumption that these two men were pastors. One was retired and only preached occasionally while the other still pastors a church. As I listened too them talk about the music and message from the day before, my ears tuned in more for what they had to say as their conversation went on.
Minutes later, the waitress appeared with a tray that had their breakfast. As she placed the food down in front of each person, one of the pastors said in a harsh, disgusted voice, "Where is my Bacon?" The waitress replied, "Did you order bacon?" He then said in a more stern voice, "What's the matter, didn't you listen"? As I watched her walk away to get his bacon, I then witnessed this man lead the rest of the people at the table in prayer. A few moments later as he thanked God for the food and all the blessings that He has given them, yes there stood this waitress with her head bowed down with bacon in her hand listening to this man pray.
I sat there in disgust and anger. Here was a man who had a great opportunity to take this "Wonderful Time of The Year" and to point her to the road that Jesus is on but instead, he placed a roadblock in front of her. The way that he treated her was in no way warranted nor right. I then quickly snapped a picture of these men at the table with my phone, drank my last swallow of coffee and went on my way. I wondered as I paid my bill and headed out the door why the Lord allowed me to see that today? I couldn't help to think what the Lord was telling me is as a reminder to you and all you come in contact with, especially this time of year...it is much better for you to focus on the countless number of blessings you have received (like this Gift named JESUS) than on the bacon that you didn't!

Consider Your Ways...Pastor John

20 Years of Reflection

2011-12-06T18:50:00.008-06:00

20 YEARS...There are absolutely no words to say when I think back that long. As a matter of fact, as I try to do so, it becomes like a year in review video where everything is played in super fast forward and all you do is hope that you can catch a single memory or two. On December 7, 1991...which happened to also be the 50th Anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, my wife and I decided to jump into this thing we call marriage. At that time, we lived in Texas. She was 19 years old and I was the manly age of 21. Neither of us knew what all we both were getting into but looking back, I sure am glad that I did. Our life over the years, just like many others has been full of ups and downs. In 20 years of marriage, we have moved 16...yes 16 times. Our first was to Grand Prairie, Texas then twice to Arlington, Texas. We then thought we would try the north a bit so we moved to Waterford, Michigan then to Clarkston, Michigan then back to Waterford again. Our travels then took us back to Arlington for two more moves then back to Grand Prairie for another three. In 2001, we left for Gallatin, Tennessee which led to two more moves and then on to Marion, Illinois for what we had thought would be our last but God had other plans. Good ole Rockytop came calling again and Gallatin, Tennessee became home again in 2009 and we have moved two times since arriving back here! I wonder sometimes when I look at the lives of other people and wonder why it is that they can grow up in an area, marry there, raise a family there, make friends there and live a happy life there without ever having to leave while on the other hand we have moved all over God's creation...then it hit me, that wasn't God's plan! You see going back to that 7th day of December in 2001, there was also a third party involved in the ceremony. That covenant was not only between my new bride and I but also God. When Shelly committed to trusting me and I her, we also committed to trusting God and that we have done, regardless of where He has led or how much it didn't make sense or how much it was going to hurt. That is the most important message that we have taught our kids, to trust God. Speaking of kids, God has blessed us with three awesome children. Emilee came to us in July, 1995 while we lived in Michigan. Mollie showed up in Arlington, Texas in January 1998 and this world hasn't been the same since and John Luke, my "mini me" arrived too in Arlington in October, 2000 and our family was complete! Since then, all three have accepted Christ and are wonderful followers of Christ, students and friends. I said all of this because there is no way I could speak about 20 years of marriage without mentioning the best gifts that God has given us along the way. Yes these 20 years of marriage have brought about many memories, many good and many not so good! Our hearts have been broken many times but also mended along the way. Our vision of what God wanted has been clouded but later restored. Our GPS...God's Positioning System has led us to 4 different states and 16 stops and looking back, I wouldn't change a thing. I am thankful for all of the stops along the way and connections made with others but none of this would have been possible if it wasn't for my wife by my side. She has been the best mother, friend, encourager and helpmate that anyone could ever ask for. She loves me for who I am and far too often times, I am not so lovable. We never argue, except for last Sunday when putting up the Christmas decorations and we always see eye to eye on everything! Not really...we don't always agree on everything but we always make up and support whatever decision is made!

Yes 20 years is a long time. Statistics say that here in the US that the average marriage last less than 7. We have blown that out of the water, not by anything other than by loving God and loving each other. It has been a great ride that started off as two, grew to five and one day will be back to two again. Lord willing when we celebrate the next 20, we will look back and see how even farther God has brought us since the first 20! I LOVE YOU SHELLY!

See you @ The River...John

NO TRESPASSING

2011-11-15T16:46:00.004-06:00

Yesterday morning I headed out in the woods with our student pastor to try to see if I could get him a whitetail deer. We arrived plenty early before the sun began to even break the eastern sky. As we sat there with a strong south wind, warm temperatures and a moon bright enough to read a book, I knew that this was not going to be a great hunt.

Later that morning, after only seeing a few does and one small buck, the idea of bagging a huge buck was overshadowed by biscuits and gravy at the Four Corners Restaurant so we decided to end the hunt. We headed down the tree stand and decided to walk a different way out of the woods, just in case a deer might have passed us by using another way. When we were about 30 yards, I noticed something that was hanging in a tree. It was a rag tied to a rope that obviously had been used to put some type of deer scent on and then hung to attract deer. I immediately thought to myself, someone has been TRESPASSING and they are hunting out of my deer stand! Now I will be the first to tell you that hunting is not about killing something and more about the experience that is shared with others and God as I enjoy the quiet and the stillness of His creation but I still was upset! I went and asked the landowner if she knew of anyone else that was hunting and she said that no one else had permission. As I left her place, I was angry and a bit nervous about the situation. I was angry that someone had TRESPASSED and used my property and also nervous wondering if the next time my son and I walk out there that someone would be sitting in our deer stand and aiming a gun at us as we approach. This concern and anger led me to action. I went down to the local hardware store and purchased numerous NO TRESPASSING signs and I plastered them all over the property boundaries. I even placed one on a tree directly in front of the stand so that the next time the TRESPASSER got up in my stand, he would feel the guilt and shame of what he was doing and maybe fall and hurt himself... (Can I feel that way?)

So the next day, I was home outside with my son and he noticed all of my hunting stuff out by the truck. He also noticed the rag and rope that I had grabbed from the woods that was left by the TRESPASSER. It was at that time that he told me that that rag and rope that I had found was one that we had left last year and that the rag wasn't actually a rag but an old glove. I then felt so stupid! I was so concerned about the TRESPASSER and the TRESPASSING that he or she had done that I overlooked my own fault and that was that I left that hanging last year and had forgotten.

Boy what a lesson we all ought to take from that. Most of the time, we spend a lot of time looking at the injustice and wrong that someone has done that we forget about what we have done as well. We worry about all the TRESPASSES against us that we forget about our own that we make. Matthew 7:1-5 states.. “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Yes, yesterday I spent the day focusing on this TRESPASS, this wrong thing that I believed had happened to me when I should have focused on my mistake. So the next time you have a wrong done to you, before you judge, before you react, you better make sure you haven't left anything hanging in the tree!

See You @ The River...Pastor John

A TEXAS RANGER LESSON

2011-10-19T10:08:00.005-05:00

Today begins the 2011 WORLD SERIES which happens to feature my two favorite teams. Obviously, the TEXAS RANGERS are my favorite because Arlington, Texas is my home town where I grew up and the RANGERS are the team I have cheered for my entire life. The St. Louis Cardinals are my second favorite because for a number of years, I lived outside of St. Louis about 90 miles and I had the choice of watching them or nothing at all. During that time, I enjoyed many games and watching this team with a lot of baseball history.

As I prepare for tonight's game, I wish that my son and I were able to attend one of the World Series games. With that not being an option, we will build our memories sitting at the home in our RANGER gear!

Thinking of memories that my son and I will be making, I couldn't help but think about the young boy and father who were out doing the same thing at the RANGER BALLPARK this past summer when the father accidentally reached for a ball and fell over the red railing and to his death while in front of his son. As I witnessed that scene, my mind raced back to just a short time before that I and my son sat almost or in exactly those same seats. That could have been me? I reached just as that father did for a ball and I could have just as easily fallen over the railing! As I saw the story on the news, the thought of that tragedy hammered home the truth that the Bible says in James 4:14 that "Our life is like a vapor, here for a moment and then it vanishes away". We are not guaranteed of tomorrow, only right now! What started off as a fun, memory making day between a father and son ended with a terrible accident that not only changed their life but mine as well!

So keep your overpriced WORLD SERIES tickets. Enjoy your $6.00 sodas, $5.00 hot dogs and peanuts that are more than just a few "peanuts"! I'm gonna sit at home, snuggle up to my son, cheer on the RANGERS and be thankful that I have another day to live, another day to love and another day to serve!

See You @ The River and GO RANGERS!

Pastor John

Who's The Dummy?

2011-09-26T14:14:00.003-05:00

This past Saturday, I was heading home with my son following his football game when we both came across a sight that for most people would have been unusual but living in Tennessee, unusual things have become quite the norm! As we drove through Hendersonville, we noticed and old, rusty car pulling up next to us on the left side. At first glance, it was the car that caught my eye. I and my son immediately took a second look as he passed by and took a quick picture. We tried to catch up with him to see more but he simply got away.

What we noticed was an older man driving and a female mannequin or in other words, a dummy riding shotgun with him. As I thought about it, I said to my son "Which one do you think is the dummy"?

I have heard some people refer to Jesus being their co-pilot, the one in the seat next to them as they travel down this road called life. Just a few years ago, Carrie Underwood sang a song that was number one for a long time where she describes getting to the point in her life where she needed to let "Jesus Take The Wheel". The problem with Jesus being your co-pilot is that is NOT where He is suppose to be. A co-pilot is simply there in case the pilot can't do his job or something goes wrong. When things go bad in our life as they do, it is then that most of us hand the wheel over to Jesus so that He can fix our mistakes. If only we would all just scoot over and let Jesus take the wheel from the beginning and let Him drive our life we would avoid many disasters! Yes, Jesus should have the wheel now and we ought to slide on over and let Him drive. Proverbs 3:5,6 says "Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In ALL your ways acknowledge Him and He will make direct your path"...Yes what this dummy ought to be doing is trusting God and sitting where that dummy was sitting in that car so that Jesus can lead me on! Where are you sitting you dummy?

Consider Your Ways...Pastor John

Better Than A Bird

2011-08-31T12:54:00.010-05:00

Not too long ago, I came out of one of the local establishments that I eat at regularly in Westmoreland (I don't wanna mention any names but it is the one on the corner). As I exited the building, I noticed something about this car that was parked facing the building.

What caught my eye was a dead bird that was wedged into the front grill of this white PT Cruiser. Upon further examination, I determined that it was a Cardinal. I am not sure if it was a St. Louis or Arizona Cardinal but it definitely was a cardinal. I am not an accident investigator or a veterinarian but it appears to me that this bird flew in the path of this car as it was driving down the road. One minute life was good for this cardinal. Flying in the breeze. Enjoying the sunshine. Just doing what every other cardinal was doing then all of a sudden, his life changed...no ended!

You know sometimes people think that being a pastor means that you have no cares in the world, that life is all good. The fact is that we put our pants on just like you. We hurt like you. We cry just like you. The only difference is while we help and pray you through your difficult periods of life, often times we have our own to deal with. I know that I personally can be just going through life much like that cardinal, enjoying the daily routine and all of a sudden from out of nowhere my world is rocked and I am all caught up in the grill of life.

What then do I do? What do you do when life has got you down? As I looked at that bird stuck in that grill of that car, I couldn't help recall the verses in Matthew 10:29, 31 where Jesus says, "What is the value of two sparrows? Did you know that not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. So don't be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows." As I thought of that verse, it reminded me of just how Jesus knew that cardinal had ended up in the grill of that car so He also knows about the hurts and pains that you and I go through. The reason why is because we are far more valuable to Him than some bird.

Has life got you down? Do you feel like you have been run over by the things of this world? Just remember to trust in Him because your Heavenly Father knows!

See You @ The River...Pastor John

NOT MY KING!

2011-08-16T11:26:00.007-05:00

Today is the 34th anniversary marking the death of Elvis Presley. I was 7 years old, almost 8 when this event took place. I much like many of you remember where I was when the news broke. Please remember this was way before CNN or FOX NEWS. It proceeded Twitter, Facebook or any other social media that is now at your finger tips! No this tragic news came to me from the mouth of my friends mom! As we were inside the house playing around, she came running in screaming and balling like a baby. I still to this day have not seen anyone act that way that was over the age of 6, except for...let's just leave it at that!

As her babbling turned to a mere whimper, I began to put together these garbled up words in between the sniffling and hacking and they finally made some sense. She said in broken words as she wiped the mascara that was now rolling down her face..."The King is Dead"! I then said as any other pastors kid would've said..."what king"? You see we weren't allowed to listen to Elvis Presley at my home! Lawrence Welk was the norm for us and occasionally we could watch Donnie and Marie but when the show went from being "A Little Bit Country" to "A Little Bit Rock N Roll", well we had to change it! So needless to say, I didn't take it quite as hard as my friends mom.

After hearing all that crying, I headed home which was just a few houses down. As I entered into my house, I said to my father as he sat in his chair, "Did you hear the king is dead"? My Dad said, "what king" and I said "Elvis". He then put his paper down as he looked at me and said..."That's NOT My King"!

Oh how true that was and is! Revelation 19:16...On his robe at his thigh was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all lords.

My God is the King of all Kings. This world may not know it. This world may not believe it but the Bible says in Philippians 2:10-11...that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Yes this KING, the Real KING has taken this old "Hound Dog" and got me "All Shook Up" about serving and loving HIM! My question for you is..."Are You Lonesome Tonight"? If so place your faith and trust in the one and only true KING, I promise He will give you a big "Hunk of His Burning Love" and not leave you "Crying in The Chapel"!

See You @ The River...John

A Cow In Need

2011-08-05T12:09:00.003-05:00

Psalm 9:9 says " The Lord will also be a REFUGE for the oppressed, a REFUGE in times of trouble".

If you look up that word REFUGE in the dictionary it will say...

a type of shelter, protection or safety from danger or trouble; a source of aid, relief, or escape. Being a city boy, I enjoy driving around the country soaking in all of the sights that Middle Tennessee has to offer. Just this past week I was out driving to see someone from the church when I noticed a cow standing in a pond up to his head in water. Now for me, that was a strange sight! Cows are usually out in the field eating grass or huddled up along some fence row, but not this cow! He or she was standing in this water trying to escape from the heat. The cow had left its place of normalcy along with the other cows to find a place of relief...a REFUGE. That is exactly what Jesus wants you to do with Him. He desires for you to run to Him during your time of need when you need a place of REFUGE. In the book of Matthew 11:28 Jesus said "Come to me all of you that are weary and heavy burdened and I will give you rest..." So if you are wore out and tired of what this world has done to you, don't just get your feet wet and get a little relief but jump all in, head deep into the REFUGE that Jesus has for you!

See You @ The River...John

Hold That Cable!

2011-07-19T13:52:00.006-05:00

Last night, I had the privilege of hanging out with some of my church family at a local concert. Now I will be the first to tell you that Southern Gospel is not my favorite genre of music but I do love the words and the memories it stirs up as I reflect on my years growing up in a preachers home where the only music allowed in our house was the Sunday Morning Sounds of SONshine on KCBI radio in Dallas. You might be asking why I remember that and it is just that I do!

Anyways, a large number of our church family went out to be part of a television studio audience so not only was the concert FREE but we also received $1000.00 to participate and that will help out with some ministries we have here at the church! The building quickly filled up to near capacity and as soon as the concert began, I started noticing these rather large poles with video cameras swinging back and forth across the audience as they moved to video different angles of the artists as they sang. I thought to myself how bad it would be if that thing got out of balance and came crashing on the heads of all these gray haired "Jesus Freaks"! Anyways, I also noticed as I sat there another guy running around with some big belt around his waste that had an extension arm with a camera on it as well. He would move up and down the isle trying to get the best shot and at the right time. What I also noticed was the man that shadowed him. When the camera man went right, he would go right. When the camera man went down the isle, he would go down the isle. I watched as every step the camera man took, he would soon follow. You might be asking why? Well what this guy was doing was keeping hold of the cable that was connected to the camera and keeping it from getting tangled to where the camera man would not get caught up in it and possibly fall and damage the camera or even himself. You see the camera man had one job, to keep his eyes on the artist, the person on the stage, the main event! The other guys job was to help him to do that by keeping the cable from causing him to stumble.

The Apostle Paul dealt with this issue. In 1 Corinthians 8 the issue came up about eating meat that was offered to false idols and if it was wrong. Paul goes on and basically says that there is nothing wrong with eating that meat except for the fact that if eating that meat causes someone to stumble, then it is wrong and a sin!

You see there are things in our lives that might not be listed in the Bible that many would say are wrong, maybe even labeling them as SIN! Some might question if they are right or not but if what you are doing would cause another to stumble, then it is wrong. What Christians need to do is to be like that man who was shadowing the other man at the concert last night and that is to do whatever he or she can to help the other keep their eyes on the main thing which is Jesus and not stumble over one of your cables or mistakes you've been carrying around!

See You @ The River...John

Feed Me!

2011-07-11T11:43:00.006-05:00

Just a few weeks ago, we as a church headed down to Panama City Beach, FL for a week of Family Camp. It was an awesome experience for everyone who attended. I as well as everyone else came away with some great blessings, spiritual insight and some memories that will last a lifetime. Throughout the entire week, I tried to be a sponge...soaking up as much God moments as possible as to refresh, rejuvenate and revive my spirit. There were quite a few of them and today, I will mention just one.

On the last full day of our week, myself and others headed out for some deep sea fishing via a charter boat. The winds and the waves didn't cooperate much and it seemed by luck of the draw that the side of the boat that we were placed on was the side that for the entire time had to deal with tangling in each others lines. We will not talk of what we did/didn't catch! That will be for another BLOG, maybe one about lying!

Anyways, after a long day and a three hour tour, a three hour tour we arrived back at the dock. We all agreed that the sea had made us hungry to the point where we could not wait to get back to the camp to eat so we decided to stop off and eat a quick fast food lunch. A red headed, pony tailed girl called out to all of us and it wasn't long that we all were sitting in Wendy's enjoying burgers and their new "Sea Salt" fries...imagine that!

As I sat there enjoying my fries and wondering if the fishy smell I was smelling was from my nasty, squid hands or that Wendy's was actually trying to make these new "Sea Salt" fries more real like, I heard something yelled out that I am not sure I have ever heard before. As I looked to see, so did everyone else I was sitting with. I quickly grabbed my phone and tried to video what was being said but I didn't want to look like some kind of weirdo video taping someone elses kid so I just placed the camera down on the table and took a quick, sneak picture!

What I had witnessed was a young boy, sitting next to his daddy. He was standing up in his chair, rubbing his stomach and yelling these two words to his mother who was in line, ordering their food. After the young boy said it about three or four times, his father quickly shut him up. What the young boy said as he stood there facing his mother was..."FEED ME"!

As I watched that young boy, I knew that he was hungry. I knew that he was in need by the way that he was acting. Based on his age, he rightfully so was dependent on someone older which happened to be his mom to meet that physical need.

As a pastor, I am still amazed at how many believers out there are a lot like that young boy. They know Christ as their personal Savior. They have trusted in Him with eternity and yet they are dependent on me and others to "FEED THEM"! Now before you get all upset, I know and am aware of what the Bible says. I know that in John 21 Jesus tells Peter that if you love me then feed my sheep. I know of my responsibilities as a pastor and am learning more and more of them each and every day. I know if I am going to love Jesus and others like I should that I am going to have to do some feeding but I wondered about that word...FEED...and what it meant. I looked it up in the dictionary and one of the definitions was...to give to or supply food.

I remember as a parent when my kids were babies how my wife or I could place them in their high chair seat, put the bib around their neck, turn on Barney and have the best baby food that money could buy and yet there were still times that they would refuse to eat what was being fed to them. As a parent I or my wife did what we were suppose to do and yet the child still refused to be fed.

So what am I trying to say? Hopefully you're not the church attender that shows up each and every Sunday and stands on the seat and yells out to the pastor "FEED ME". If you are, maybe you need to understand that we can have the building set at a comfortable temperature. We can have your favorite Chris Tomlin song playing in the background. We can even keep all guest away from sitting in your seat. The table can be set and the Word of God can be presented in a way that would satisfy your soul but when it all boils down to it, at sometime you have to open your mouth and chew on and swallow what has been fed to you!

Are you Hungry yet?

Consider Your Ways...Pastor John

Church+Crows+Junebugs

2011-05-31T11:37:00.007-05:00

Today was the first day back after the Memorial Day weekend. These next few weeks leading up to VBS along with our Family Camp in Florida and the opening of our new children's ministry area have meant extra long hours. Today I was at the church at 7:30am so that I could get a jump start on the day. When I arrived at the church, I went to the back of the building to do some work. It wasn't long until I noticed a strange noise echoing through the lobby, down the hall and into the room where I was painting. I hurried down the hall to see something I had never seen before. There were two crows sitting by the glass door making a whole lot of noise while bumping up against the glass as they tried to get into the building. Why were they wanting in our church? Well it seems that the weather striping had come off the bottom of the door thus exposing a gap. This gap was just large enough for junebugs to find their way into our place of worship. There they lay on the floor next to the door and window, some dead, some near death and some probably wondering just like me what all the commotion was about! These crows were trying to get inside our building where they could feast on the mishaps of the junebugs.
As I pulled out my phone and recorded the video (Please Watch) I couldn't help to think of that is just like Satan...AKA the Big ol' Crow! He will do whatever he can to get to people, even God's people. If your church is like mine, it is full of hurting people...life is just that way. Many Christians are a lot like those junebugs, struggling in and through life. Many Christians feel like they can't go on and seek refuge inside of a church only to find Satan waiting at the door as they leave. The Bible says in 1 Peter 5:8...Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. It's easy being a christian inside the four walls of your church. It's outside those walls where your faith is tested and you have to stay on guard. Psalm 9:9 says...The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. Take refuge in Him and watch out for the old crow named Satan!

See you @ The River...John

Fingertips and Noses

2011-05-23T12:26:00.005-05:00

Well it was an interesting weekend for everyone as we all waited to see if the Lord would really return on Saturday night at 6pm. Now I will be the first to say that I was not counting down the time as if I was watching the "Ball Drop" in NYC on New Year's Eve but the 6pm deadline was something that would occasionally come to the forefront of my mind and then rush back to the place where all other crazy ideas are held. As I thought about it and even times joked about it, I wondered if really I ought to be acting, be living as some of these people were on Saturday.

About a month ago, my family and I jumped into the dog owner world again after many years of being dog less after our beloved DOBY died. Our new dog Jazzy is full of life and energy and treats us all the same except my wife. I am not sure why but from the beginning, Jazzy took a liking to my wife and when she is home, Jazzy treats the rest of us like we are invisible. When my wife is away from the house, Jazzy will sit, play and even snuggle at times with the rest of us "Extras" at the house. She will fetch a ball, chew on a toy or crawl up next to you...but she will usually never venture too far away from the living room and the front window. The reason why is because in the midst of dog games, snack time and naps, Jazzy is anxiously awaiting for that white minivan to pull up into the driveway where my wife will soon appear...and when she does, Jazzy runs to the window with her tail wagging and her nose pressed up against the window awaiting her entrance.

A number of years ago there was a song sung by the group NEWSONG titled "Fingertips and Noses" which spoke about how kids will press their hands and noses up against the glass of a window waiting for a loved one to enter...and that is how us believers should be as we anticipate Christ return. Oh there is nothing wrong with being busy. It's ok to have fun and even rest but we should never take our eyes off of the One who is coming! Sure I don't know the hour or the date and neither does anyone else but one day Jesus is going to return to come for me and you if you have trusted in Him and it won't be in a white minivan on Creekwood ct. but on a white horse in the Eastern sky!

See You @ The River...John

The Fight Club

2011-05-05T13:38:00.006-05:00

You ever had one of those days where you wonder as it continues to unfold, "Boy I didn't know it was gonna be like this today"! Well today was like that for me. I did what I normally do, drop off two of my squids at school and head off to the church. This day was going to be a busy one. I had to pick up paint for our painter who is painting our children's area, meet with a future bride and discuss wedding plans, attend a meeting with local pastors over lunch and still fit in some final preparations for the Mother's Day and a late season turkey hunt!

As I was driving to the church, I noticed in town a woman who was being chased by a man down the street. I pulled over in the turning lane to observe him catch up to her and push her to the ground. I then watched as he grabbed her by the arm and dragged her to his truck. I quickly turned into the parking area where I then saw him continuing to yell at her and shake her by the arm he was holding. I then did something that a lot of us DON'T do...I got involved! Immediately I thought of the ABC News show titled " What Would You Do?" where people are secretly videoed to see how they would react in a certain situation. I didn't wanna be like some of those people I've seen. I yelled out my window "You better leave her alone" and then he decided to yell some things at me that let's just say Jesus wouldn't have said them!

It was at that time where she said something to him which led him to then punching her in the face. I then thought as Popeye would have said, "I've had all I can stands, I can't stands no more" so I got out of my jeep and headed to the altercation. I then was greeted with a nice, swift left hook that contacted my right cheek. I then hoped at that time that all of those MMA matches that I have watched along with some of my son's WWE wrestling moves will finally pay off. After he made contact, his momentum carried him to the place where I simply got behind him, placed a choke hold and fell to the ground to hold him until the police arrived thanks to a lady who had witnessed the entire thing. As the police handcuffed him, I thought as I dusted myself off about how quickly things unfolded. One minute I am on my way to a busy day at work and the next minute I am defending a helpless lady. I could've chose to ignore it and drive on by but on this day, May 5, 2011 I decided to fight. What if Joel our student pastor had been with me today instead of sleeping on his day off? Would I have passed it onto him? I know he thinks he is tough but really all he does is wear his sisters shirts to make him look buff but that is another entire story! As I left the scene, an overriding thought came across to me...how many times have I as a Christian decided to walk on by issues, pass them off to someone else or ignore things that were not mine for lack of time or fear of hurt or pain. Today as an almost 42 year old pastor I decided to fight for someone who needed fighting for. It hurt a bit, it caused a scene and cost me some time. I guess what the real question is...who are you fighting for?

A Dryer Sheet Mishap

2011-03-07T12:55:00.003-06:00

This past weekend, we experienced what was the end of this years church coed volleyball season. As I look back and reflect, I am not looking past a first place trophy. I do not have fond memories of an awards ceremony where medals were placed around my neck nor championship banners hung to the tune of "We are The Champions". What I can reflect on are a few things. First of all, any competitive season that ends with only the use of Advil and no crutches, morphine or a wheelchair is successful in my book. After having two knee surgeries, one of which was major, I retired from competitive sports a number of years ago...(ESPN 4 carried my news conference). Over the years, Brett Favre-itis kicked in and I would find myself back in the competitive arena, knowing good and well that it was against the wishes of my wife. It wasn't just the fact that I made it through without an injury that left an impression on this season. It wasn't the team play, new friendships or the comradery that pushed it over the top. What left an impression was what was left on the court.

During one of the games, as my wife jumped, no lunged for a ball, an interesting thing happened. A dryer sheet fell from inside her pant leg onto the gym floor. She had no idea that it happened then accidentally stepped and slipped on it as it and her lay on the floor. Then while no one was looking, she picked it up, tucked it away in her pocket and went on as if nothing ever happened.

Who would have thought that something so soft, something that not only smelled real good but also gives off a sweet fragrance and makes other things smell good could end up being something dangerous?

James makes mention of that very same thing but he is referring to our mouths. In James 3:10 he says...and so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely my brothers and sisters, this is not right! James uses this chapter to speak about how we are to watch our mouth. Why? It is simple, our mouth is very similar to that dryer sheet. It can not only say sweet things but it also can make other things smell better by the words that we say. The sad thing is that a misplaced or misspoken word can become like that hidden dryer sheet in my wife's pants...it will slip out and cause you to stumble...and you can't tuck it back in your pocket as if it never happened!

Watch Your Mouths!

See You @ The River...John

A Lesson In TARGET

2011-02-28T11:36:00.003-06:00

Not too long ago, I was in a TARGET store looking for some items that were needed for our home. As I walked with my two youngest children, I decided to play a game. You might ask why? The number one reason why is that it helps make a dull, mundane moment more eventful...It might also give me a laugh and could even become a sermon illustration or BLOG post. This occurrence did all of the above.

As we walked, looking for our items, our journey led us through the "Home" department which was located near the rear of the store. It was there where we found a simple, black trash can that we needed for our newly renovated basement. I asked my son to pick it up and carry it as we went to get the other items we had on our list. As he began to walk, I asked him to place it over his head. I then challenged him that if he could make it all the way to the front of the store that I would buy him something. As he began to make his way to the front of the store, my youngest daughter and I laughed as we watched him try to maneuver through the isles of the store. We would get a head of him and call him, watching as he bumped into clothes racks and shelves. People were lined up watching and laughing as he made his way to the front of the store.

Once we made it to the checkout, my son removed the trash can and was handed his reward...a WWE Action Figure.

I watched as he stumbled and was laughed at. I thought and wondered as he was in the darkness and blinded why he would go through all of that? The reason was simple...my son was focused on the prize, the WWE Action Figure that awaited him.

The more I think about it, our life is deeply similar to this quick trip to TARGET. You know as well as I do that our lives are full of ups and downs. One minute your happy, hanging out with family in the TARGET store of life and the next minute you are blinded, obscured with what is ahead and maybe even laughed at along the way. The Apostle Paul addresses that in Philippians 3:14 where he tells those believers that he is going to "press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus". What Paul was saying that no matter what has happened in the past, no matter what comes his way that his eyes were on the prize that awaits him?

So what is it that has you worried? What obstacle has been placed over your head and has caused you to stumble, grief and maybe even ridicule? Let me remind you that the prize that awaits those that have placed their faith and trust in Christ...well it is much better than any WWE Action Figure!

See You @ The River...John

Catch a Grenade...Seriously?

2011-01-31T16:23:00.003-06:00

There is a popular song out on the radio right now that has a pretty catchy phrase. I will be the first to say that I am not real big on pop music because most of it is just plain JUNK or because they are singing about something stupid like catching fireflies in a jar. Anyways, the first time I heard this song I was being serenaded by my youngest daughter in my JEEP. Since then, I have heard it numerous times, each time being joined by my daughter and now my son. The name of the song is "GRENADE" and it is sung by a young fellow named Bruno who looks more like a Scott than a Bruno. When I think of a Bruno, I think of some big, Italian mafia guy that should be in the movie The Godfather. As you listen to the song, this young man mentions some pretty incredible things that he says he will do for his supposedly girlfriend. Here is a list of the things he says that he would do for her in the song: #1 Catch a Grenade #2 Throw His Hand on a Blade #3 Jump in Front of a Train #4 Go Through Any Pain #5 Take a Bullet to the Brain #6 Even Die

Those are some pretty brave things that this "Bruno" kinda guy says that he would do, but would he really? There are very few people that I would do even one of those things for, let alone all of them. It's simple, if you're not family, you'd better find someone else to do that for you. Why? Because I love my family more than I love others. That sounds selfish but that is true and if you were honest with yourself, you would say the same thing. I'd do anything for my family, but not anything for others...BUT the good news is that God does not think that way! He loved each of us so much that He was willing to even give up His own sons life for you and I. John 3:16 says that God loved us so much that He sent His son to die for us...I believe that Jesus would've caught a grenade for me. I believe that He would've thrown himself in front of a train or even allowed his hand to be cut on a blade for me. He would've done anything for me, but I am so glad that He died for me!

See You @ The River...John

It's Just A Wedding!

2010-11-17T13:32:00.007-06:00

Watch the news. Turn on the radio. Hey, even listen to your favorite sports talk radio station and at some point in time they will bring up this engagement, this wedding that they don't even know when it's occurring. This wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton has not even been given a place on the 2011 calendar and yet it's the talk , even the lead story on all news stations! Is something wrong? It's just a wedding and to top it all off, it's thousands of miles of way! I know what you're thinking...marriage is Sacred, it's Holy. I'm not talking about the importance of marriage or the lack of it in today's society. All you have to do is look at the divorce rate and see that marriage is not high up on the list of important things. It amazes me how the lead story of all the news stations all week now, both local and national news has been about this wedding. I'm glad they're getting married and I hope they do well. I am saddened though about how the national media will get so caught up in this "love story" this "prince and princess" fairy tale story and forget about what really matters.

Also this week it was reported that one out of seven families here in the United States has had a problem with feeding their own family and needed assistance from a local food bank. The Department of Agriculture has said that 5.6 million households, not people...5.6 million families have gone without food! The same report also said that 50 million people, including 17 million children live in a home that was uncertain of getting or having food at some point.

Yes it was reported, even discussed. It was never the lead story though. The lead story was a young man who is marrying a lady in a country that is not even our own. How sad that something so significant, so important could be a secondary story to that of a future king. We shouldn't be surprised. How many of our military over the years have lost their lives to be mentioned 20 minutes later in a newscast behind an oil spill, an armed robbery or even an idiotic political statement.

So with all that said, who really cares...it's just a wedding! As a Christian, I'm waiting for the real BRIDEGROOM to come and take me and HIS church away and that wedding will be with the KING of KINGS. Now that's a wedding.

See You @ The River...John

The EVENT?

2010-09-20T14:59:00.004-05:00

I am not sure if you watch TV or not. My family and I love to watch TV. We have our favorite shows we watch together as a family. Before I go any farther, television is not my life. It is a form of entertainment that we enjoy to do together. It just like anything else, it has good and bad. Anyways, for the last 3 or 4 months, NBC has been advertising and promoting its new Fall Series title THE EVENT. Over that time span, they haven't shared much about what this EVENT actually is. It has left a lot of people guessing, including my family...I guess we will see tonight.

As I thought about the EVENT, I thought about the many EVENTS that have happened in my own life and in the lives of my family. Broken arms, Broken Promises, Broken Dreams have all been EVENTS that have happened over the last year or so. Confusion, Chaos and even Cancer have been EVENTS that showed their ugly heads. But I would be wrong to tell you that those were the only EVENTS that came my way. God's Power, God's Awesomeness and God's Goodness were EVENTS that sprung up and at just the right time. His Faithfulness to those who call Him Lord, His unwavering love and His absolute Mercy and Grace were big time EVENTS that I could not help but notice. The wonderful church family He has given me to lead, to serve and to love. The home we live in. Our health and well being. New friends, new direction and a renewed spirit...yes all are EVENTS and all are from God. James 1:17 says "Every good and perfect gift comes from above." Even the bad EVENTS were just avenues to where I could strengthen my walk with my Lord.

As my family and I gather around to see what EVENT is going to take place tonight on NBC, we don't have to look very far or hard to see what EVENTS my God has already done! What EVENTS has He done in your life?

See You @ The River...John

A Dragon Tale...

2010-09-14T14:52:00.005-05:00

Every day working at the church brings about something new. I have the privilege of not only sharing the wonderful news of my Lord with others but also helping people out in a time of need. Here at WFBC, we give out food boxes nearly every day to people that are struggling. I count it a joy to be Jesus to that person who is looking for help. Today was no different than any other day. I was visiting with some of my church family out in the lobby when all of a sudden a car pulled up with a family Once the doors opened up, out came two moms, one with a baby and the other was a young child...dressed as a dragon. Yep, I said a dragon. I asked him if he was a fire-breathing dragon or a good dragon. He said he was a good dragon. I went on and got their food boxes and helped them load their car. As they drove off in a not so nice car, I thought to myself about how thankful I am to have the opportunity to help people. Christians ought to be so thankful of the people that God sends our way that we can be a blessing to. I believe He does it all the time but we just don't see them, we are just too busy.

As I was visiting with some friends today out in the lobby, God sent a dragon for me to take notice of...and I did. What dragons has He sent your way?

Consider Your Ways!

See You @ The River...John

American Pickers?

2010-08-14T11:40:00.005-05:00

I love to watch this show on TV with my kids called American Pickers. It is about a couple of guys who travel around the country in a large van seeing if they can talk some old person into selling some of their old junk they have laying around. The cool thing about it is that they can usually tell by looking at the front of the property if this place will have something they want. Once they meet the owner, they usually take them back to an old barn, building or in the woods. It is there where they begin to dig and uncover things, not just regular things but things that have often times been discarded but most importantly, things that are of great worth.

As I watch that show, it sure does parallel with you and I and what Jesus did with each of us. One day, Jesus was out looking for you and I and knew right where to stop. He dug around through the dirt and the grime to find us much like those buried treasures. Some of us have been discarded, left to rot in the awfulness of this world while others were in plain sight. Regardless, what we needed was someone to come and reestablish our worth and "PICK" us out of the mess we were in...Boy am I glad!

But it doesn't stop there! Now it is my job, it is your job to do as HE did and look out as in Luke 14:23 says "into the highways and the hedges" for others who are waiting to be "PICKED". Yeah I enjoy American Pickers but I would much rather be known as a "PEOPLE PICKER".

See You @ The River...John

Distractions

2010-07-26T13:20:00.006-05:00

This past Saturday night, my family and I and some friends headed on up to Franklin, Kentucky which is just a short drive from where we live to watch a movie at the Drive-In Theatre. In my almost 41 years on this earth, I have never been to a Drive-In. As a matter of fact, the only one I had ever even been close to was in Grand Prairie, Texas and my dad would make my sister and I lay down on the floor of the car as we passed it coming home from church because we were Independent, Fundamental, KJV only Baptist who did not believe in going to movies, let alone see 6 seconds of one as we drove by...but that is another story!

Anyways, we found our spot, set out our lawn chairs and gathered our food for the Karate Kid. The HEAT and the stillness of the air could not ruin the excitement of this new event my family and I were experiencing. My son had nestled up next to me and even though it was quite warm, I was enjoying every minute of it. As the sun set and the movie reels began to roll, we all settled into our spots. Other than the fact that it was 94 degrees and this wasn't your typical Dolby Surround Sound Theatre, I quickly learned that there were other things that made this movie experience much different than your typical one...DISTRACTIONS.

At your regular, inside theatre you might experience someone stepping around you to get by, a cell phone lighting up or occasional chatter but these things usually are rare, especially once the movie begins. This past Saturday night, things were different. The stepping around you was replaced with people walking about going back and forth to the concession stand. Cell phone lights were replaced with headlights and interior lights of cars. Chatter had changed into the slamming of car doors and a car alarm going off. All of these though failed to compare to the occasional IDIOT who while out on the main road would honk their horn and scream there head off as they drove by. Time after time they would pass by to the point where I was now watching and waiting for them to come by rather than enjoy the movie with my family and friends. I did not feel Jesus all over me as they passed and I wished I could have gotten a hold of them, in Jesus name of course.

I finally came to the realization that I was doing exactly what they wanted, focus on them and their distraction rather than what I was there for, to watch a movie and spend time with people I love.

Boy isn't that how Satan works. He will try to get us so distracted with the things around us that we lose sight of why we are really here, to honor and glorify God with our lives. Instead of focusing on the things that matter, we focus on the problems, the difficulties, the struggles that are going on in our lives. In Nehemiah 3, the job was simple...to help rebuild the wall. The problem was that the people were getting so distracted by the naysayers and enemies that they put down theirs tools and just held onto their weapons to protect themselves, thus focusing on the distraction rather than their duty which was to rebuild the wall. In verse 17 they are challenged to not put down their tools but to work with one hand and hold to their weapon with the other. Often too many times we get so distracted by the problems that drive by in our lives that we stop what we are suppose to be doing and focus on them rather than what we should be focusing on. Saturday night, I watched and waited for those IDIOTS to return again and again when what I should have been doing was enjoying the little boy who was snuggled up next to me!

See You @ The River...John

So Where Are You Going?

2010-07-08T15:57:00.003-05:00

Today's BLOG will be short but to the point. Tonight for all 73 of you NBA fans around the world is the day you have been waiting for. Lebron James will announce the next team he will play for tonight on ESPN in a one hour special. After much speculation, closed door meetings and weeks of wasted sports talk radio interviews, he will finally tell people where he is going. I just want everyone to know that you might be the best player in the NBA. You might make millions more on endorsements than you actually do playing basketball. You might be recognized in every nation. The REAL question when it all boils down to it is "Where are you really going Lebron"? The book of James says that this life is like a vapor, here for a moment then it is gone. Hebrews 9 says that it is appointed to everyone to die, then after that the judgement. Everyone will know where you are going tonight Lebron, but only you know where you are really going. Oh and bye the way, on that day you will not be King James because you will be standing in front of the REAL KING of KINGS. I hope you know where you are going Lebron...I do!

See You @ The River...John

A 5 Star Lesson

2010-06-14T14:03:00.006-05:00

If any of you have ever traveled this country, you learn first hand that not all restaurants are the same. Some might have a fancy building, some may not. Some might have cooking like your mom, and others like...well you know what I mean. The bottom line it's about the whole experience. A great steak and potato just ain't all that great if you have to dodge flies the entire time. That chicken sandwich looses something when that waitress who brings it has hair under her arm and a tattoo that says "I Luv Bubba" on the side of her neck. I hate to say it but I do scope out a joint when I enter in to eat. Last week, I did just that.

One of our local establishments here in Westmoreland is known for its convenience to the highway and it's good, cheap food. When I entered in the other day to eat lunch, I noticed something I hadn't noticed before. It seemed that all of the booth seats had seen their better days. Now I'm not sure if they all looked like this but the ones around me did. Some would say why don't they replace those seats with new ones? Others would say that them chairs just have a lot of character. I thought to myself as I sat, no sunk down into this seat, "Man I bet if this seat could talk, it sure could share some stories. For all of the people that have sat there over the years, it has seen the good and bad sides of people (if you know what I mean). In spite of its appearance and the way I felt when I sat on it, it was still functional. In spite of the fact that it was not appealing to my eye, it was still better than sitting on the floor.

Over the years I have met a lot of people like that chair in that restaurant. They have been through a lot of rough stuff and after many years, it is beginning to wear on them. They have seen the good and bad sides of a lot of people. Some of those hurts and scars have kept people from coming in and having a seat with them in their life. Those life learned experiences gave them a story or can we say, helped develop character. Yeah God could have replaced each and everyone of us with something shiny and new when he saved us, but instead He chose to use us, tattered and torn and all. Were still functional. Were still able to function as He intended. John 15:16 Jesus says "you have not chosen me but I have chosen you..."and for that, I am so grateful. He wants to work, to speak, to live in and through each of us!

I'm glad I did not let the condition of that seat influence me to where I didn't stay. I would have missed out on something special. What people do you know that you have refused to take a seat with because of what they look like and have been through?

See You at The River...John

A Lesson From Eastwood

2010-06-01T14:16:00.004-05:00

Not sure why but sometimes in my life I go through these periods where I need to get a "fix" on certain things. One day it might be Mexican food. Other times it might be a certain genre of music or even a style of clothes. These "fixes" even spill over into what I watch on TV. Now that one of my favorite TV shows LOST is now over, I have found myself scrambling to fill that weekly void. I have been looking at new shows but they all disappoint and I end up watching either reruns or a movie I have seen 632 times that is on TNT.

While flipping through the channels looking for something good that I could fall asleep in front of, man am I getting old, I came across one of my all time favorite Westerns. Now it doesn't have the gunfights like Open Range does with Kevin Costner. It didn't have all the star power that Unforgiven had but it did have Clint Eastwood.

Pale Rider is a movie about an unknown drifter who defends a man and ultimately a small town from an outside businessman who roughs people up and trys to get them to leave so that he can claim the mineral rights to the towns land. Unknowing to the town was that this new drifter (Eastwood) is also a Preacher.

What is interesting is that this preacher first came to their need because he realized that help was needed. Once he made it into town and word spread on how he whooped up on some of the bad guys, some of the people were ready to run this stranger off because they did not want someone of his kind there in their town. Then it all changed. Once they realized that this new drifter was a man of the cloth, a preacher, they wanted him to stay. As the story goes on he stays and fights off the outsiders, thus protecting this small town and their lives as they knew it.

As I watched that movie for the 29th time, I thought about isn't that what I am suppose to do? Isn't it my job to help fight off the bad and protect the people? I remember a line from the movie The Patriot with Mel Gibson when they are recruiting men from the town to join the war. As the plea is made there in the small church, the preacher to the amazement of his congregation joins the men to go fight. When asked, he simply says "a shepherd must tend to his flock, and at times fight off the wolves". As I thought about it even more, isn't that what all of us as Christians are suppose to do? People in this world, where you work, where you go to school, in your neighborhood are looking for someone to ride up into their life and help them in a time of need. It is through our service, our help where they will indeed see that we are much more than just a stranger or drifter showing up at just the right time. What they will then see is that we are people of God, Christ followers who first and foremost have a desire to help people, in whatever condition they are in. Who knows maybe after they realize who you are they might even want to keep you around for the next time a need arises. Luke 19:10 says "That the son of man has come to seek and to save those which were lost". The lost are those that are in desperate need of a Savior and they are waiting for both you and I to help them.

See You @ The River...John

If I Had Only Known...

2010-05-25T11:25:00.008-05:00

Before I get started, if you have a son or daughter right now that is going through this, I am not trying to rain on your parade or pour water on the excitement. I am speaking for myself and if it does not apply to you, then that is ok!

During this time of year, I start to see some things happening that stir up a lot of emotions inside of me. The month of May brings about storms, weeds in my yard, sunburns on winter whitened skin and the end of school. For some, as with my kids, it is the end of school for a short period then its back to work come August. For others, it is what is the end of an era...High School Graduation.

I remember so vividly how excited I was that all my years of schooling finally paid off and that I was now to use the term loosely, "Free" from what we call public education. "Live it up"..."This is the time of your life"..."You finally made it"! These were common sayings that were spoken to me and are probably still mentioned to the graduates of today. If you had asked me on that graduation day in 1988, I would have probably agreed with you. I could have never been more wrong!

When I look at my life now as a going on 41 year old man, I see things much different now then before. Some of that is by trial and error and others is just Gods guidance as He continues to work in and through me. The simple fact is that although graduating high school was a great accomplishment, as a man, it doesn't even show up on the "Radar of My Life" when it comes to important things.

December 7, 1991 was the day I married my wife. NO WAY graduation is better than that! July 3, 1995/January 22, 1998/October 7, 2000 are the days when my children were born. Graduation...not better than those either! I remember when we bought our first home, what a huge thing it was for us as a family. Again, much better than graduation. The day in 1989 when God called me into the ministry or when cancer struck my father and brought us all closer as a family. Both of those were better than graduation. I could go on and on with a list of things that would blow out of the water the concept that May, 1988 was the time of my life!

Then there is Jesus. You see He trumps everything! The specific days that I, my wife and all three of my kids placed their faith and trust in HIM, nothing could ever compare, not even graduation. The various churches and many lives that have been changed and people that have been saved along the way as we have served Him, way better than graduation! The days I got to baptize my kids, you guessed it, better than graduation!

Yes graduation, although a great accomplishment, will never, ever in the slightest bit compare to what Jesus has done for me an my life up to today and in the future. So as a graduate, enjoy this time. You've earned it. Please know that as life goes on, this time will fade into obscurity because of the many other things that will become important in your life.

See You At The River...John

I'm NOT Gonna Hold A Booger Hand!

2010-05-17T09:47:00.003-05:00

So did I get your attention with that title? Good then! These last few weeks of being back in the full-time ministry have really been great! They have reminded me of what I am suppose to be doing but also what I have missed. Sadly, the last 16 months working in the secular world, I missed out on a number of things with my family that I had not missed out on before. School lunches with my kids, programs, field trips and awards assemblies were things that had to take a back seat to my job. Now please understand, I enjoy seeing my kids perform, or receive their awards but not the other 200 kids in the school. If I could just get them to be at the front of the line and not the end where alphabetically RACIOPPA falls, it would be a much more enjoyable time. Anyways, one thing that I missed last year because I was working was the end of the year field day. Now all you parents know that this thing we call "FIELD DAY" and all of the field trips to the Science Center, petting zoos and bring a sleeping bag and pajamas to school day to watch a "Classic" are nothing more than a way for schools at the end of the year to meet the state "quota" for the amount of days they are in school. I say let's take the "penalty" from the state and federal government for not having enough days in school and start Summer Vacation early...but that's just me!

Back to Field Day. Starting early that mornng, I went around from event to event to watch my son compete. Since it has been a while since I had been at a Field Day, when did clothes pin drop in a jar become an officially sanctioned Field Day event? Sounds to me like Field Day has become Sissyfied, if that is a word? As we went from event to event, I saw his excitement seem to build as the day went on until we reached the jump rope event. My son went from being this excited young boy to a disgusted, I wanna go home kind of kid. I asked him what was wrong? "You're good at jump rope", I told him. I know he said, but by now, he was an empty shell of a boy that he once was just minutes prior. My curiosity got to me to where I asked him what the problem was. As he sat disgusted on the ground, he then proceeded to tell me. It seems that when he got to the jump rope event, he was told that he would partner up with another classmate. While one would jump, the other would count and then they would switch. Then they would take the total number of both students and add them, thus coming up with a winner. As he sat there waiting on his partner to start jumping so he could be counting, I said is the problem that your partner is a girl? He said no, the problem is that she picks her boogers and I don't wanna hold the jump rope handle after her dirty, booger hands have messed it all up!

What had happened to my son on Field Day is exactly what happens to us as Christians. He was so excited about the day and what it had to bring that he let someone elses "BOOGERS" steal his joy. The ministry is tough at times. Loving on people that quite frankly aren't very loveable can overwhelm us to the point where it robs us of our joy! Nehemiah 8:10 says "Do not grieve or worry, for the JOY of the Lord is your strength". My son was so focused on someone else's faults that he not only lost his JOY but he took his eyes of the prize or ribbon he was trying to win. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:24 that we are to run this race so that we can win the prize. Yep sometimes we have to get dirty. Sometimes we have to grab hold of someone elses Booger Hands if ultimately we want to win them them to Jesus and see them win the ultimate prize!

See You at The River...John

Dead Fish Talking

2010-05-03T12:53:00.008-05:00

Just about a week ago, Middle Tennessee went through the worst non-hurricane devastation that the US has seen. High water either closed or slowed down this entire region as hundreds of thousands were affected by this event. It will be months, if not years to fully recover from the storms and flooding.

During all of this, I noticed something interesting. As you enter into my neighborhood, there is a boat dock and parking lot for Old Hickory Lake. During the peak of the storms, the lake water had risen to cover the entire parking lot, the main street, and spilled over into the field on the other side of the road. Now this was not a trickle of water! The water just in the road flooded out cars up to the windows. The field, across from the lake was now a raging river, 6-8 feet deep in some spots. Yes it was a HUGE mess. Over the next few days, the sun came out and the water started to subside slowly. As this once raging river crept back to the place from where it came from, it left a ton of debris scattered all over...including tons of fish! I and my kids watched in amazement as these rather large fish swam around in what now was merely a puddle of water. Day after day, we would either see these fish finally succumb to the sun and lack of water, the nets of eager fishermen or even buzzards that came in flocks!

Only if they could have made their way back to where they belonged, back into the lake where there was safety and what they needed for life. The sad thing is that all of those fish survived the storms, but they did not survive the aftermath of what was to come.

We are a lot like those fish. Storms of life come and they can push us off track, away from where we were or where we are suppose to be. One minute were swimming along in the "Lake of Life" and the next minute...BAM, were in a huge mess. Oh, we might survive the storms but it's the aftermath that leaves us in danger. Too many times we stay waddling around in the puddles of life thinking about how we got there and why it happened when what we really need to do is get up and get back to the safety and where we belong. Psalm 9:9 says "The Lord will also be a REFUGE for the oppressed, a REFUGE in times of trouble". God's desire is that when we find ourselves heading into, in the midst of or coming out of a storm that we will seek refuge in HIM. If we don't, we might end up drying up as a christian, getting caught in a net of sin or worse be devoured by the big buzzard...Satan!

See You @ The River...John

Being a GREEN CHRISTIAN

2010-04-26T09:21:00.008-05:00

Last week was the 40th Anniversary of EARTH DAY. Yesterday, I preached on how to be a GREEN CHRISTIAN. Before you get your thoughts going, I did not spend time focusing on the left wing agenda. Although I believe we all ought to be good stewards of what God has given us, I do believe that some people take this whole "Mother Earth" thing a little too far. What I wanted to do is focus on some common terms that are used in this whole "GOING GREEN" and see how we can apply them to our lives.

#1 ORGANIC which means something that limits or excludes unnatural materials. I wonder how many things we allow into our lives that are unnatural and I'm not talking about food. Go read Genesis 1 and see how God created everything perfect and natural with everything man needed but go down to chapter 3 and you will read where man then allowed something unnatural to enter into this world...SIN. Romans 5:12 says that when Adam sinned, it brought death and sin to the world and it passed on to all men because of his sin. Yes, man messed everything up. What unnatural things have you allowed to enter into your own life that has affected others around? We as Christians need to live a life that is ORGANIC, one without unnatural material...one that is pure!

#2 EFFICIENT which means that we are performing or functioning in the best possible matter with least amount of waist. What good is one of those new electric/gasoline engine cars if they always use the gas engine and never switch over to use the fuel efficient electric engine that is installed? Similar, our efficiency comes from using the gifts that God has installed in our lives. Galatians 5:22,23 tells of the gifts that God has installed in our lives...LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS and SELF CONTROL. If we are not using these God given, installed products then were not being EFFICIENT.

#3 CLIMATE CHANGE which is a change of temperature over a period of time. Some studies show that the earth has warmed up, gradually over the years to the point where areas once that were covered with snow and ice, many years later are now dry. This did not happen over night. It was a gradual thing that now all of sudden people are taking notice of. In Revelation 3 you'll find a story of a church at Laodecia that had become complacent. They had become as the Bible says "lukewarm". My guess is that it did not happen over night. At some point, they went from being on fire for God to becoming just warm for him. A CLIMATE CHANGE had occurred and now they, much like the land had become dry. Christians must always be on guard that a CLIMATE CHANGE does not occur to the point where they are no longer on fire for God!

#4 RECYCLE which is the process of taking used materials and turning them into something new as to not to waste. When I was growing up, aluminum cans use to be found everywhere. Just look along the streets, on the ground at the parks or even blowing around on the highways until one day, someone realized that there was some value in those cans. Then all of a sudden, you didn't see them anymore. People were picking them up because they were worth something. That is exactly what God did with us! Before we knew HIM, our lives were just like those old cans...discarded and left along the streets to be kicked because of no value. But one day, Jesus came and picked us up because He saw value in us and RECYCLED us into something new. Read 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

#5 SOLAR POWER is the generation of power from the SUN. I installed some new solar powered sidewalk lights last week at my home. The first night, they all came on...shining bright because of the amount of time that day they spent in the SUN. The next day, it was cloudy and rained all day. That night, only one day later, they barely flickered a light if any. Why the change? Because the day before they were basking in the SUN and the day after, they did not. Our lives are a lot like that. The more time we spend with the SON, the brighter we will shine. The less time we spend with the SON, the dimmer we are! We need to realize that our power,our strength comes from the SON! Jeremiah 32:17. 2 Corinthians 12:9 tell us of God's great power!

So you see, we all need to be GREENER CHRISTIANS after all!

SEE YOU AT THE RIVER...John

Are You Gonna Wear That...Seriously?

2010-04-20T10:09:00.004-05:00

A few weeks back, I was speaking with my neighbor outside as we both were working in our yards. It had been a long time since we had spoken together because our time outside had been reduced due to Winter. But now, on this beautiful Spring day, we found ourselves once again where we once were, conversing in our yards. He asked me how the family was and then asked me how work was. I then proceeded to tell him that I was no longer working at the bus company and that now I was pastoring a church. I went on to tell him how it all unfolded, the time frame at which it occurred and gave him information about my new church family. He then looked at me and said, "Will you wear a robe while delivering your sermon"? I said no. He then said, "Please tell me you'll be wearing a coat and tie"! I said no. He then ended the conversation by walking off and saying out loud "I just don't understand people these days". I stood there amazed on how this conversation turned so weird. One minute were talking how good God has been and then next my neighbor is walking off disgusted about me not dressing like Cedric the Entertainer on Sunday mornings.

Do you think Jesus cares about what I wear when I am sharing HIS word? Go visit any church and most of them will have someone preaching in a suit and tie. Watch CNN or FOX NEWS and most politicians interviewed will be wearing a suit and tie. Look at all of those CEO's of the banks we bailed out and yep you guessed it, suit and tie! Does the pastor wear a christian suit and those crooked politicians and bank CEO's wear non-christian suits or are they the same? The fact is that it is not the suit that makes the man, it's what's inside the man that makes the man. It's a shame that I was judge by my neighbor, not by who I am but what I wear! I hope he comes some Sunday and when he does, he'll see me in my Levis on the outside and Jesus on the inside! Take some time to read Matthew 7 about judging others!

See You At The River...John

Change I Can Believe In?

2010-02-15T14:59:00.004-06:00

It's been awhile since I wrote on my blog. I apologize. I have just not had the time. I hope real soon to pick up where I left off when it comes to writing these.
I know you're wondering what in the world am I talking about? No, I'm not about to speak about the change that has/hasn't occurred with our current president. I'll leave that up to you. The fact is that change can be a good thing or a bad thing. It all boils down to how we look at it. To steal the presidents slogan, although I am not sure it was his to begin with, we all want "change we can believe in". If we can't believe in it, then we don't want it!
I don't know about you but I sure have had a lot of change in my life! Some of it I believed in and other times, I was uncertain about it. Some of it was welcomed into my life and other times it was shunned until eventually it made it's way to the surface. I thank God for the change that has happened in my life over the past year. I would be lying to you if I said that I believed in it this entire time. Oh, it started off me believing in it. The signs were too evident. the "Stars" were too aligned for it to not be a God thing. But over time, this change that I once believed in soon fell by the way side. Why you might ask? We'll I'll tell you why! Just as many Americans today are wanting and waiting for this so called "change we can believe in" to come about by our beloved president, I too have been waiting anxiously for my God to show up with this change. Many Americans are wanting this change and wanting it now! The president promised all these things and all it seems is that things have gotten worse!
I've been there with my life over this past year. I welcomed this change with open arms and I even convinced my family to do it as well. As a father, it's hard to keep your family excited about this change and to keep believing in it when it seems that every area of our lives has gotten worse.
God tells us in the book of Hebrews That He will never leave us or forsake us. That doesn't mean that when things change, that everything just falls into place. It doesn't mean that when change comes that we even have to believe in it. If that was the case, there would be no TRUST, no FAITH! Go read the book of Joshua and you will see that this new promise land that they were to go and get would be a huge change from where they were. It wasn't laid out for them all in an easy, job description or plan of attack. It came with ups and downs. There were even times when they had wished they would have never welcomed that change and had stayed where they were. I can say that I have done the same!
I want to believe in the change that God brings, I want to trust Him more and to have faith. And when things seem worse, when they seem like they aren't ant better, I will hold onto that He Will NEVER Leave or Forsake Me!

See You at The River...John

Things I learned before I was 40!

2009-11-19T09:51:00.001-06:00

I'm taking a little time today to recall some of the more important things I have learned in these 40 years I have been on this earth. All of this coming on the heels of my 39th year that was undoubtedly one of the most difficult, fulfilling and yet beneficial ones.

I have learned that as a father, what really matters is not what awards my kids have won, how many goals or touchdowns they scored, what college they will end up going to or even what job they land. What matters is who they are in Christ and that they are walking with Him. What matters is who they are and what people view them as when mom and dad are not around. What matter is Christ living in and through them for all the world to see, not man made awards!

I have learned that "You are who you hang around"...period! There has been only one who that would not apply to and He is now sitting at the right hand of the father!

I have learned that when you are done wrong or have been hurt, if you will not look at your hurt self but rather the motive behind at which it was done, you will find often times that they were pure and were not intentionally meant to hurt you.

I have learned that if something is funny and everyone is laughing but you, you just might be the one with the problem!

I have learned that ministry is about meeting the needs of people and not shoving it off on everyone else to do.

I have learned that if you can't be personal with people, then you can't be like Christ!

I have learned that God will often times make things uncomfortable to get you to move. I would rather acknowledge the gnat He sends my way then wait on His roar!

I have learned that it was a great thing to have grown up in a Christian home. I can't testify of the awful life I once lived and the gutter God brought me out of, but I can testify of the one He kept me out of and that had everything to do with my home I was raised in.

I have learned that their is a difference and I would rather have a great pastor than a great preacher...and bye the way, so would everyone else!

I have learned that it is an awesome thing to be married to my wife...no you can't have her!

I have learned that all three of my kids are a true joy and gift from God and I love them so!

I have learned that having great, Godly in-laws is a Huge Bonus, even if your mother in law uses your bath towel when she visits!

I have learned that God gives you some friends for a lifetime and some for a season. That is a fact!

I have learned that sadly, most pastors are not ever around people that are lost!

I have learned that the life of a church is not based on numbers but rather how many people are being saved and baptised!

I have learned that God is much bigger than the box we tend to put him in.

I have learned , Boy Did I Ever...that just because God tells you to do something, it doesn't necessarily mean it's His plan...See Abraham and Issac!

I have learned that man will let you down, hurt you and lie to save themselves but God will never do that!

I have learned that everyday we have the opportunity to see Christ but often times we miss it!

I have learned that it does not matter what kind of hand you have been dealt with in this life nor what your family life is/was like, it still comes down to choices that you make!

I have learned that the only thing that should ever "trump" family is God!

I have learned that I have not been a very good Christ follower but I am doing better!

I have learned that when you are faithful to God in the good times that He will be faithful to you in the bad times!

I have learned that when hunting with your 9 year old son, you might as well just mark it off as a bonding trip!

I have learned that I will never understand women nor their feelings!

I have learned that a true Cowboy fan is just that, regardless of the wins/losses!

I have learned that after almost 18 years of marriage and 17 moves in 4 different states that even in the midst of all that change, I still would not change a thing!

On and on I could go but I will not bore you! Yes I have learned a lot but the most important thing is that God loves me and that everything that happens happens for a reason and that it did not slip past Him! I would rather stand alone with HIM than with a crowd without HIM!

See You at The River....

John

See You @ The Pole?

2009-09-23T15:42:00.000-05:00

I was a student pastor for almost 16 years. During that time I witnessed many things, some that encouraged me, some that hurt me and even some that made me scratch my head and question why?

Early on in my ministry, I learned about this movement we call "See You at The Pole"which began in the town of Burleson, Texas near my hometown. Today, it has grown to worldwide proportions and numbers hundreds, if not hundreds of thousands of students who gather together on the fourth Wednesday of September before school to surround the pole, hold hands and pray. Now before you get mad, let me say I am not against public prayer or even a group of students gathering together. What I am against is this idea of gathering one day around the flag pole for all to see, unashamedly to proclaim that they are followers of Christ and immediately after walking in the doors they deny HIM by the lifestyle they live. I would rather them not meet than to send a mixed message to those that need HIM. Hey, how bout you Christians standout not just around a flag pole one day a year but out in the real world everyday. How bout we start a See You At The MOVIES? Oh wait a minute, if we do that then you might not be able to see that movie you were wanting to see! How bout a See You At The SHOPPING MALL? Oh, big problem there! If we do that, you might not be able to purchase the clothes you were wanting to wear. I thought about a See You At The COMPUTER but you might have to scratch that website you shouldn't be looking at or the songs you downloaded.

Gather, yes gather around the flagpole at school and sing KUM BAH YA if you so choose. But do us all a favor, if you aren't gonna be genuine and live the way you are proclaiming while huddled up with your friends outside the school, then stay inside and eat another breakfast biscuit!

SEE YOU AT THE RIVER!

John

Left Alone!

2009-09-17T11:54:00.000-05:00

Left Alone! Ever felt that way? I am not some sick minded person but I have done that with my kids at the local Walmart... (too many times to be truthful). I can recall how we would enter the store to shop and my kids would do what every other kid does, ask to go to the toys. As we shopped, we would somehow end up making our way to the toy section and off they would go to look at that toy or game that they so desperately needed. Now I being the son of my father did what he did to me as a kid so we can just pass it on as an hereditary action. After they wandered off from me, I would just step away and hide, not far but just out of sight and watch them as they would be so caught up in the moment. Then comes the best part. About the time when the toy trance wears off, then comes the reality that they all would come to grips with. 1) Where am I? 2) Where is my father?

Oh the transition from faces full of happiness and bliss soon changed to that of what have I done and shear terror! As tears would start to form, and laughter began to transition to crying, I would suddenly appear back in their presence and then be embraced by the welcoming arms of a running child.

I am there! I have walked into the "Walmart" store of life with my Father. I was amazed about what I wanted and what I saw. I ran to see all of the things that I desired, leaving my Father behind. Now once the trance has wore off, I have been looking around for HIM. HE watched me just as I had done with my kids. HE waited to see just how long I would go without acknowledging HIM. HE didn't hide. HE waited. Once I realized that what I really needed was to be by HIM, things changed. Fear was gone! Worry...bye bye! God help me to understand that I don't have to be in the full-time ministry to be with you! Help me to stay by YOUR side as you guide me and my family!

He Still Remembers Me

2009-08-03T23:03:00.000-05:00

When I was growing up, there was a show on NBC titled CHEERS. I wasn't allowed to watch it because the setting was a bar and the people there were partaking in things that Independent, Fundamental, Bible Believing, Hell, Fire and Damnation Baptist didn't do! I wasn't allowed to watch Three's Company either because it had a gay guy living with two girls but I'm not gonna waste your time or mine recalling the sheltered life I once lived. Since I didn't watch CHEERS, I am not sure how I caught on the little jingle song that they played at the beginning of the show. I do not know all of it but the main part of the song had these words..."You want to go where everybody knows your name".

When I moved back here to Tennessee after an almost 6 year hiatus, I found myself venturing into my old barber shop where I once went. When I walked in, I was immediately greeted by one of the men there who use to cut my hair. He said hey John, where have you been? It's been a long time. I immediately turned around to see who he was talking to and after looking back and seeing no one, I realized he was speaking to me! How could he remember? It had been almost 6 years! After sitting down for a trim, I found out that he not only remembered my name but also where I had lived and brought up conversations that we had had there in that little barber shop many years prior. What amazed me was how it made me feel that day. I felt welcomed. I felt at home. In spite of me moving away, when I came back, he remembered me and things about me.

God is like that too. Over the last number of months, I found myself getting farther and farther away from God. Oh, it wasn't a quick trip. It happened like it does so often to us all, slow and subtle. For the last few months, things have been rough for me and my family. I looked and tried to figure it out on my own. I tried to come up with my own conclusions on why I had lost my joy and then it hit me. I wasn't feeling like I was close to God because I wasn't. HE hadn't moved, I did! I wasn't loving God because I wasn't doing the things of God. I wasn't loving people like I should. I wasn't serving HIM like I should have been. I wasn't tithing. I wasn't spending time in prayer or in HIS word. I didn't trust HIM nor was I including HIM in my life. I wasn't leading my family as I should. Then things changed. After a long time, I finally decided to stop denying what I knew was wrong. I decided this past weekend to stroll back into HIS presence and just like the barber, when I entered in, HE called out to me by name. HE then dusted off HIS seat and welcomed me back into HIS presence. Conversation was sweet and it was just like old times. When that was done, my joy was restored.

I don't know where you are or where you have been. I don't know what circumstances you have or how far or close you are in your walk with HIM. What I do know is that it's not important to "go where everybody knows your name" but rather where HE knows you and your name, regardless of where you are or how long you have been gone!

See You At The River...John

What A Waste!

2009-04-28T20:50:00.000-05:00

I can tell you where I was. I can tell you what I was doing. Neither of them matter. The fact is once I realized the truth behind what I was thinking and feeling, only disgust with myself settled in. Let me say, I am not one to force my convictions on another. There is a difference between Holy Spirit convictions and those of man. So what I am saying does not mean that you should do the same. All I am saying is that this is what God spoke to me.

I have been a lot like some of you, caught up in this whole "facebook" thing. It was a great thing to keep up with friends, both old and new and family. Once an official member, I quickly downloaded the application to my BLACKBERRY so I could "facebook" anywhere and at anytime...except while sitting in the bathroom at the office next door in the wash bay area. Must have been the steel roof or the thick fog coming from within that inhibited a reception. Anyways, it seemed that I could not get enough of this thing. Now I wasn't as bad as some, but I did do my share of over facebooking...if that is a word. What I was doing I was unaware of until this God moment. I was spending time during the day looking at facebook seeing what other people were having to say. Oh, they might have just finished mowing their yard, climbing Mt. Everest, picking their nose or whatever. It didn't matter. At least I knew. I had taken the time to basically see for the most part what useless piece of information others were posting. As I cruised down Vietnam Veterans Pkwy @ 70 mph with BLACKBERRY in hand waiting to log in, it hit me...What if I was as excited about seeing what God had to say as all of those people on facebook? What if I took the time to read His word or to see what HE was doing in a through the lives of others rather than seeing if Joe Blow got his car washed after picking up his kids from school? So I made a decision. I will still do facebook. I will still stay in contact with friends and family. I will still use it to post my Blog. I will not however consume my time with useless, meaningless matter that has no bearing on my life or the things that are most important to me.

See You At The River...John

Where Are You Looking?

2009-04-14T22:17:00.000-05:00

Let me say that I am truly sorry for the many and I do mean many of you that have written me hate mail on why I am not posting updated blog entries. Let me get this one thing straight. Having and taking the time to write entries while I was living by myself was an easy thing. I had lots of extra time on my hands. Since my family has all been reunited again, I find myself staying busy being a dad and husband. So I said all of that to say that I will do my best to do a few post a week. If I don't get to it, it's not that I am a bad person or have fallen off of the deep end. If it bothers you that much, the days that I don't post one, how bout this no brainer...Read your Bible instead!

Now that I got that done, lets start back with a short but sweet one. A few weeks back while at work, I decided to help a driver back up his bus to a trailer. I just happened upon it and thought I would offer up my services. I will say that I am not a bus backing up pro but I did in my past guide jet planes into the Jetway at DFW airport for Delta Airlines. I also emptied the potties too but we will not go there! So as I said, I have had experience although it was 20 years ago. Well as I gave the signal to turn to the right and he wasn't, it was told to me by another person standing there that he was not watching me but rather his rear view camera that was mounted on the back of the bus and being shown on his dash inside the bus. Well you can guess what happened next. As I decided to no longer give signals because he refused to watch me, this driver rammed the newest bus we have into the trailer placing a nice, round dent where the trailer ball hit. He quickly jumped out of the bus and accused me of not directing him. I said to him that it was not my fault because he wasn't watching me. I had the better angle. I could see what dangers were there. I could help him do it right without causing any damage but no, he decided to do it his way.

Proverbs 3:5 says that we are to Trust in The Lord With All of Our Heart and to not lean on our own knowledge. Do we listen...NO! You see God is standing there waiting on us to follow His lead. He is wanting us to follow His direction because He has a better angle at it than us. God's desire is to help us do right. His desire is to steer us form any dangers. We are not to just do it our way even if we feel like we have it under control. When that happens, the next thing you know we have backed a $700,000 bus into a trailer. So when it comes to you and your life, get your eyes off of the camera and start focusing them on HIM!

See You At The River...John

What's Under The Sweatshirt?

2009-03-19T21:36:00.000-05:00

Tonight I went to my daughter Mollie's first softball practice. This was not the first time she has played softball but it is the first time for her to play here in our new town where we live...Hendersonville, Tenn. As we approached the park, Mollie was nervous. She was nervous because she had no idea what the coaches were like, what the team was like and if she would fit in. As we jumped out of the Jeep, she went ahead to meet up with the team that was already out on the field. After I met the coach and sent her in line to run some drills, I then realized that I had sent her to the wrong team. This was the team that was finishing up practice before it was our turn. Mollie was so embarrassed! As we sat and waited for her "real team" to arrive, I began to watch as one by one her now new teammates join the bleacher area. I then did as any other Red Blooded American Dad or Parent would do...I sized up the other kids, determining which ones were "real" ball players and which ones were "Wanna Be's". Now I am not a talent scout but without her ever throwing a ball or swinging a bat, I quickly came to a conclusion that the girl in the brown, high water, corduroy pants with Sperry type shoes on topped off with a blue sweater and pink plastic glove was not a "real" player.

There were however, a couple of girls though that caught my eye. The main reason was because both had matching city or tournament type softball hoodies along with nice equipment bags. Now as I said before, I was doing what any other parent would do. You moms out there, you do the same thing with your daughters in drama, drill team and any other activity your kids in. I have seen many parents think that their kid would be the best Joseph or Mary in the churches kids Christmas musical and they deserved a role like that over being a silly shepherd.

So, as one of these "softball sweatshirt wearing" girls began to throw, I watched as nearly every ball she threw flew over the head of the recipient. Her fielding skills were not any better! Ball after ball rolled right by her out to the outfield. The best place for this girl was catcher or right field! After observing, I came to the realization that this girl either: A) borrowed the softball sweatshirt B) bought it at Goodwill C) inherited it from an older sister who actually could play softball

How could I have been wrong? By looking at her appearance, what she wore and the equipment bag she was toting, she sure looked like a ball player to me. The outside all checked out. She was a "ball player" on the outside. On the inside, well that was a different story.

The Bible warns us about not judging people by their appearance. In the book of 1 Samuel 16, God tells Samuel as he was looking for the next King of Israel to not look on the outside as people do but to look as God does and that is inwardly on the heart.

God doesn't look at what type of sweatshirt we have on as we get close to Him. He doesn't look at what type of equipment we have or the type of shoes we wear as we draw near to Him. What He does care about is deep down, where He fits in each of our lives and how we express that inner relationship with others!

Yeah, I misjudged that girl in the softball sweatshirt for being a player but I got the one in the brown corduroys right!

So who are you judging outwardly. How have you been misled by the outside appearance of someone? Stop looking at the sweatshirts people are wearing and start looking at who they really are!

See You At The River...John

Give Me Your Word!

2009-03-16T19:32:00.000-05:00

I am writing this tonight for my friend who also happens to be my boss. Today was a rough day for him. It started like every other Monday...early and busy. Every week it seems we get closer to all buses being gone on a weekly basis. As I looked at the board to see the buses going out, what was scheduled this week and next was by far the busiest since this new year started off three months ago.

Here is how the day unfolded. We had a new client who was scheduled to head out this week for his first time. Everything had been set and ready for the departure when out of nowhere a call came in this morning stating that they had decided to go with another company. How could that be? We had already let you use the bus. Your word was "It was a done deal" but then to hear you are going somewhere else...what happened to your word?

Later that day, a meeting with the contractors concerning the renovations at the new building we will soon be meeting in. After much talk and disgust, the contractor went against his word and original quote by let's just say...too much to mention! What about his word? Why quote one price and then later hammer him with this incredible increased amount?

I have experienced that as well.

I remember a time when I had an employer who had noticed for sometime that I was a bit distracted, discouraged or me just not being myself. For a long time, I kept my feelings to myself. After much time, circumstances led to the point where I had to tell him. He then asked me why I did not share that with him earlier? I said, because I knew that as soon as I said how I felt, my time would be done, that I would be railroaded out of a job. He then said and I quote "Not on my watch. Not when I'm in charge". Well one day shy of three weeks, he came in my office to tell me that he did not have anything else for me at that place of employment and that I should start looking. What happened to his word? Why did he say one thing and then do another?

I think we have all been there. I think we have all been in that place where someone gave us "their word" but their word wasn't worth the chapstick they had on their lying lips! Man, no pun intended, does that "Chap My Hide"! The simple fact is that the sooner you realize that man will let you down but God will never let you the better off you will be. Yeah, it hurts! Yeah it sucks! (ooops said that word again) Yeah it means you might have to start over. Even with all of that, it is great to know that God's word will never fail us. His word will never contradict what he already has said and promised. His word will not always make sense, but nevertheless, we are to obey, regardless of what we think. Go read John 5 and the story of the miraculous catch of fish. Jesus said to Simon let down your nets, after the fact that they had fished all night and caught nothing. In verse 5, Simon says (no pun intended again) nevertheless at your word, I will let down the nets. Simon soon realized following his obedience that Jesus was good for His word. Simon (Peter) would soon become one of the disciples that was closest to Christ and a true fisher of men!

So who is it or who was it that went against their word in your life? Did it hurt? Dose it still? Forgive that person and then take some time to thank God for never going against what He has said. Thank Him for always doing what He says He will do, especially saving you. When you think of that, it doesn't compare to what man has said or done. God is good for His word!

See You At The River...John

What is ministry?

2009-03-10T18:53:00.000-05:00

I started a weekly Bible study at our office a few weeks ago. We were meeting on Thursdays but since most of our drivers are headed out late in the week, moving it to Tuesdays was better for them. This morning we met at 7am. We started a bit late due to me getting a speeding ticket but that's another blog. After we were done, one of the drivers came up to me with an outstretched hand and said thanks for ministering to me today. As I held back the tears, the thought once again came to me about what actually the "ministry" is. I then proceeded to pull out a card that my Dad gave me that I keep in my wallet ever since the day I surrendered to follow God. I take it out time to time, not to look but to see if there might be a hidden $20 bill I might have misplaced behind it. Well this morning, I was actually looking for it when I pulled it out. It's words still ring out so true. As I stood there and read it (see picture above), I thought about how there are so many people out there that don't get what true ministry is. I have even met pastors, some I even have worked for that had forgotten that. I remember one instance( you have 5 choices if you wanna guess what church) where we were building an addition for our students. I had worked long and hard planning and preparing for this area. One Thursday evening, we were going to have some people form the church come up and help paint. I thought I would spend a few hours during my work day getting primer on the sheet rock so that when the volunteers showed up later that evening, they would be able to move along in a timely matter so we could have our Grand Opening on the following Sunday. Well as I was painting away, my pastor came in and said some incredible words to me. He said "you don't need to be doing that! We don't pay you what we do to paint walls!"I heard him say that line many times to people there in the office. What that pastor had forgotten was what the ministry is! The ministry is very simply meeting the needs of people, wherever they are and whatever they need. It's not about what you're paid to do. It's not about what you feel like doing. It's simply about meeting their needs...PERIOD! Ministry does not have a job description. Ministry does not have a certain face or a common name. It runs on no time clock nor does it have any hours off. It is not only reached by just sitting behind a desk and delegating responsibilities. The Apostle Paul stated in 1 Corinthians 9 that he had become all things to all people so that he could reach some. The need was simple. The walls needed to be painted so that the room would be ready for all of those eager teenagers. I became a painter that day so that I could reach some. As I brushed stroke after stroke, in spite of what my pastor saw, I did not see me laboring in vain. What I saw was countless numbers of students coming to know Christ in this room that was needing to be made ready for them.

What do you do to minister to others? Have you let others dictate to you what they think ministering to people is? Meeting the needs of people is hard but rewarding. Others might see it and others may not. I ministered today to people I barely knew...I met their needs! Look around tomorrow at those around you. What needs do they have that are needing to be met?

See You At the River...John

Hacked Off!

2009-03-04T22:05:00.000-06:00

Today, I got mad. I feel better now that I got that off of my chest. It has been a long time since I felt the way I did today. I knew it was wrong so I just walked away a gave myself some time to think, think about what was said and think about what in the heck am I doing.

Today I did my usual, got to work, answered questions, had a meeting, checked bus schedules and checked all outbound buses making sure they were ready to go both inside and out. I even started up some that have been sitting for awhile so that the batteries would remain charged. Having that all done, I thought I would take some extra time after lunch straightening up a bit. We have a room where we store all of our giveaways and promotional stuff...ie shirts, hats, coffee cups, stickers...you catch my drift. Well we just received a shipment last week of a bunch of boxes of shirts that needed to be opened, folded and placed on the shelves according to size. Having the extra time, I thought I would do some folding. I then set up a table and placed one of those handy blue shirt flipper thingys that you use to fold that perfect shirt on the table. I then proceeded to folding. It wasn't much time before my boss entered into the room with a couple of high roller guys to give them some shirts. As I stood there working as if I was a sweat shop worker of a third world country, one of the men said to me with a smirk on his face, "where'd you have to go to school to get a job like that"? The fleshly side of me wanted to say "where'd you have to go to school to be a butthole like that"? Sorry that was my human nature, because of Adam in the garden, just plain sinful side that was just being transparent. Those words no longer fell off of his lips and I knew I had to leave or regret what I would say. As I walked away feeling not so good about myself to retreat for a moment in a bus, I thought about what he said and wondered what in the world am I doing! I am a child of the King. I have given my life to His service wherever that may be only to find myself folding shirts in an almost vacant building and being made fun of. I deserve more respect than I was being shown. Then I thought, did Jesus ever feel that way? Was He ever ridiculed by others? The answer is a resounding YES. In spite of the words, He kept on doing what His Father wanted Him to do and so will I! I will do whatever He ask of me, even if it means I have to be around "you know whats". See, God is already working on me! So what "you know whats" are you dealing with that have you distracted from what He wants? Think about it!

See You At The River...John

Rough Road Ahead!

2009-03-03T21:25:00.000-06:00

We had a bus come into the shop today to have some routine maintenance done. As the mechanics looked at the driver's list of things that needed to be addressed, I was asked to come and take a look at one of the problems. Now first of all, this bus was a brand new bus. It had just returned on it's maiden voyage you might say so this was not an old, reoccurring problem. As we knelt down by the rear driver's side wheels, I was shown what looked like to me was a plastic pipe that had a whole in it. This was not a drilled like hole nor was it a clean break whole. What it looked like was something had wore or rubbed on this pipe to the point where a hole had formed. I asked what that pipe went to and it was said that it was the drain that led from the shower to a holding tank...the kind of tank where all of the dirty, crappy, used water was stored. It was then pointed out to me the cause of the problem. It seems that the builder of the bus did not pay close attention to the placement of the drain and it's proximity to the rear tires. So what was happening was when the bus hit a bump or when the road got a little rough, it would rub up against the pipe. It didn't do it all at once. It started off very subtle but then led to the point where it finally caused over time a hole which led to dirty , crappy stuff to come out. (Now before you think to yourself I can't believe they were letting turds fall out onto the highway and on peoples cars...this was not the potty, just the shower drain.)

As I went back and took a picture with my Blackberry, I thought about that pipe and how it is a lot like people. It is real easy to share your faith with people when things are going well but throw a little bump in the road of life, cause some things to get a little unsettled and over time, eventually it will wear on you to the point where dirty, crappy stuff will come out. It could even affect those that you love. Oh it doesn't always happen at once. In fact, most of the time it just wears on you a little bit at a time. Read the book of Job. God allowed Satan to rub or wear on him a little at a time thinking it would cause Job to turn against God. Job did not give in and over time, was restored with even more than what he had.

So what is it or who is it that has been rubbing on you? Take note that if you don't reroute your plumbing to where it's not in the way of what is causing the rub, over time your going to wear a hole and eventually crappy stuff is gonna come out!

See You At The River...John

Can Your Read My Sign?

2009-02-26T17:52:00.000-06:00

This past Monday night, I had the awesome opportunity to take two of my kids to downtown Nashville to watch Monday Night Raw which is a live television wrestling event shown every week on tv. Some of you might say, that stuff is stupid, fake or whatever. The fact is that it is the #1 rated show every week since 1993 on all of television. It also sells out more arenas annually than any music star, act or sports team. With that being said, we had to be a part of this fun night.
We headed downtown ready for an exciting evening. Mollie and John Luke both had their wrestling shirts on. My shirt got lost in the mail so I just wore my favorite All Access shirt. When we arrived in the arena, we were greeted by so many different types of fans, young, old, black, white, male and female. Almost all of those fans were wearing apparel that showed who their favorite wrestler was. What caught my eye though was not what they were wearing but rather what these fans were carrying. Almost every fan was carrying a cardboard sign, a sign that they personally made. These signs were the fans way of saying what they really wanted to say without actually saying it. So as the cameras rolled, lights came on and wrestlers entered the arena, as if an orchestra conductor waved his magical music stick or whatever that thing is they hold, posters went up in unison...each expressing the feelings of the holder and vying for that national audience hoping to be seen.
As the evening went on, each time a wrestler made his entrance, up went the posters, including my kids and mine. What our posters said was not the problem. What they did, now that was a different issue. You see every time our posters went up, displaying our words, our agenda and our feelings, we blocked the view of what others around were trying to see which was the wrestlers. All those wrestling fans behind us came to see the wrestlers, not the scribbled words of a couple of kids and their dad!
As I thought about this blog, I thought about how in life at times, I am more concerned about people seeing me rather than seeing what they need to be seeing. I thought about how I want others at times to focus on my agenda and my words instead of giving their attention to the one who really deserves it.
The Bible says in John 3:30 that "He must increase and I must decrease". What is being said here is very simple...Jesus must be the focus, not you or I. When it becomes about us rather than Him, it is sin. Just like all of those people who were there to see their favorite wrestler, people in this world, knowingly or not are looking to see Jesus, not you or I or what we have to say or think. What we need to do is put our personal signs down and instead of our words, thoughts or desires, let Jesus be seen and heard living in and through us.

See You At The River...John

On The Road Again!

2009-02-22T20:33:00.000-06:00

Sorry I have not blogged as usual this past week due to me moving my family. I will resume this week!

If you know country music or have had at least listened to a radio at sometime, you probably heard all or part of a song made famous by Willie Nelson. The following is a quote of part of his lyrics to that song. I left out the part about being like a band of gypsies out on the highway because it did not pertain to me because I do not play a tamberine, wear a bunch of beads or am a descendant of the nomadic people who moved from India to the uttermost parts of the world (thought I would throw a little KJV in there)! Part of the lyrics are as follows: On the road again. I just can't wait to get on the road again. The life I love is making music with my friends. I can't wait to get on the road again.

This last week, I once again spent time packing my family, loading my stuff and saying goodbyes to get "out on that road again". In 17 years of marriage, I and my wife have moved 15 times now. One might say how could you have done that? Are you a nut? I can say that although that is not the life that I desired for me and my family, it is the life that God has desired for me and my family and to that, I am grateful. I have learned over the years to listen to what my Father has to say and where He leads. With that said, I know what God's voice sounds like. Sometimes it gets drowned out by my own things. Sometimes I don't hear it because of I am not in fellowship with Him, but nevertheless, I know what it sounds like.

In 1 Kings 19, you find the story about the prophet Elijah. He had come to his wits end and was ready to give up. He even asked God to take his life that he was ready to die. It was then at that time that God did an incredible thing. God had Elijah go up on a mountain. God then sent a strong wind but the Lord was not in the wind. God then sent an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. God then sent fire but again, God was not in that either. Then the best part of the story...God then sent a still small voice! It was that still, small voice that simply confirmed his fellowship and presence with him. It was then that Elijah knew that he was not alone. Following those words, Elijah got himself up and went where God had led. It would have been easy for him to run during the storms...the strong winds, the earthquake and the fire but God was not in those. He waited and listened for that still small voice.

I myself have been there and done that as well. I have weathered some incredible storms in my life. Some of those being long ago and some recent. Some by people who were not Christ followers and others by people who are. Yes God has used circumstances and yes even some people as wind, earthquakes and fire but it was only the still small voice of my Lord that moved me along and not voices or actions that of man.

So as I left Marion Illinois on a cold, snowy, Saturday morning, yes I could not wait to get on the road again. Oh I will surely miss my friends. I will miss the students I loved and ministered to. I will also miss my lucky hunting and fishing spots. With that being said, as much as I love them, those people and things will never, ever trump me not listening to His Still Small Voice.

See You At The River...John

You Missed A Spot!

2009-02-15T22:06:00.000-06:00

Friday night I decided to tell Emilee about about our big Valentine's Day plans for Saturday, starting with sleeping in. About the time she got up and she got ready, it was after 1:30 in the afternoon. I didn't mind. I took the extra time to complete my taxes and get my coffee fill!

This day of love for the first time in 21 years was not spent with the love of my life. With us officially moving this week and being together again as a family, the weekend trip did not work out for either of us. So instead, I spent it with another love of my life, my eldest daughter.

When we left out for a busy day, we stopped at a little diner up the road. As we pulled up and headed to the door, we realized that there was only 2 other people inside and that this place closed at 2pm. We quickly ordered off of a limited menu and waited patiently for our food. As we waited, workers were busy like bees, cleaning up and getting the restaurant ready for closing. Dishes were being gathered. Tables were being wiped off. Even I paid my bill ahead of time so that the register could be closed out. Now this is not your 4 star establishment. There are no cloth napkins. Meat + 2 or 3 is what they are known for and to top it all off, Nascar was on the tv. Now you surely catch my drift! As I watched them work, I noticed a person who must have been given the floor duty. This person walked around, not with a mop and bucket. This person did not have a fancy floor machine or even a new "swiffer". All this person was armed with was a spray bottle , squirting dirt spots on the floor and then wiping them with a rag. If you looked at this floor in its entirety, anyone could have seen that this was not doing the job. What needed to happen was to not focus on the little spots but rather focus on the big, overall picture. I just did not see as I was watching why they were neglecting the whole floor. If it had been me, chairs would have been stacked and tables moved in order to "get down to business" and get the whole job done.

Dealing with sin is a lot like this ole' dirty floor at the diner. Sometimes we try to do whatever we can just to get by when it comes to sin. I know in my life there have been times that I just wanted to focus on "the spots" on the floor of my life instead of dealing with the real issues. Oh we can just play around and make things look presentable, but what God really desires is for us to stack things up and clean all of the mess, not just what stands out! Oh how much better our lives would be, our fellowship would be if we would look inwardly at the dirt in our lives and realize that not only does God want the spots cleaned but He wants a clean, pure vessel to live in and work through!

See You At The River...John

Hide n Seek

2009-02-12T22:51:00.000-06:00

When I was little, I loved playing the game Hide n Seek! All of the neighborhood kids would gather together to play. I specifically remember a time when we were playing that the kid who was hiding got tired of waiting for us to find him. He eventually just went home. Not knowing that, we looked for him for the longest time, only to find him at home sitting on his couch watching tv. I always liked being the one to hide.

With this being the second week that my daughter is here, she has had to come back to the office with me until I leave for the day. As stated before, I do not have an office yet, I am waiting to move into our new building. Until then, I am out in the shop area with all of the "heathen"! Well it only took a few days for my daughter to realize that the shop area was not the place for a young lady to hang out in. Oh, it kind of reminds me of the Mesquite indoor rodeo. You can go, take a seat and observe what's going on but the longer you stay, the more you start to smell like your surroundings...catch my drift? Just after a few days of coming up to the shop, she came to me and asked me if there was a place where she could go to get away from it all, the language and such. I thought for a second and went and placed her on a bus, outside and away. This bus was a place of safety, as some would call it, a place of refuge. It was a place of comfort where she would no longer have to focus on other things but rather the things she is suppose to think of!

Psalm 9:9 is one of my favorite verses in the Bible. It says that the Lord will also be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. A refuge is a hiding place. It is a place to get away from it all. When my daughter started feeling the pressures that this world has to offer, after she asked for help, I as her father simply took her and placed her in a bus for safety, for better words, a refuge! God offers us that place of refuge also. So many times we run to other things, other people, other plans to hide when what He wants is for us to go and run to Him! Now if you show up at All Access Coach between the hours of 3-5pm, you will find my daughter safely tucked away in a bus, watching tv, doing her homework and texting on her phone. At first she was unsure of where I was placing her. Now she knows that what her father has for her is best for her and it has become a welcomed place!

So the next time you find yourself struggling. The next time you are overwhelmed with the worlds words, thoughts and plans, run to Jesus and hide in Him. He desires to be your refuge! The awesome thing is when you do, it will become a welcomed place where you will want to return!

See You At The River...John

Get All Up In There!

2009-02-11T18:59:00.000-06:00

I try to stay at the shop as much as possible because I am needed there, at least I feel like it! Until my wife arrives in town, I am on daddy duty, that means taking and picking up my oldest daughter as far as school goes. Today about 2:30, I was headed out to get her so I went the short way. As I made my way through the "Hood" part of town, you know...the south side, I noticed something strange. Now every town has one of these parts of town and if you don't know of yours, well then you need to get out more often! Anyways, I spotted something that caught my eye. I turned around and drove back and pulled up to what I had now determined was a man working on a truck. Now, seeing a man working on a truck was not that out of the ordinary. What he was doing was, at least to me. The man was sitting inside where the engine is, bent over working. As I turned around to catch a second glimpse, I want you to know before I took this picture, that the brother on the opposite street corner wasn't the only one with "crack". This man in the truck had it all hanging out but surprisingly, that is not why I turned around! I turned around because there was a very large man sitting inside the engine compartment, under the hood of a truck. I determined that there was no way that this man could get close enough to diagnose the problem by just looking. As I watched I realized that this man had to remove a number of things in order to get "in close". As a matter of fact, prior to me taking this picture, a man came and wheeled off a cart with the parts that he had removed. The fact was that this man did whatever he could to "get all up in there" so that he could fix the problem.

Did you realize that God has done that as well? There are and have been times in my life that He has to help me diagnose the problem. Sometimes He has to "get all up in" my personal life. As I said before, it wasn't enough for that man just to stand there and look at that truck, he had to insert himself into the truck to get close to and expose the problem. God did that by sending His son to earth. It wasn't enough for Him to look from the outside. That is why He miraculously inserted Himself into this world in the form of a child, a Savior! I am so glad that He did just that! He knew we were lost! He knew we needing "fixin". In Hebrews 12:1 Paul says that we are to "put aside every sin that easily gets in our way. The cool thing about that is this. When we cast away those sins, God comes along and "carts" off all of the things that were in His way so that He can climb on into our life and do His work!

Think about what things need to be carted off in your life so that Christ can get all up in there and do an incredible work!

See You At The River...John

Do I Have To?

2009-02-09T18:59:00.000-06:00

As I thought about this blog entry today, a thought came to me. I did not realize until after the fact when the opportunity that presented itself rode away. I was sitting at a red light in Gallatin, Tn. while on my way to pick up my daughter from school. As I sat there, beside me came two local police officers riding on bicycles. It was a beautiful 70 degree day today and I must say that they surprised me as they pulled up right next to my Jeep. The first thought that came to me was what dorks! These guys didn't look a day older than 21 and I wondered if the reason why they did not have a "Real" police vehicle was because they hadn't had drivers education yet! The second thing I thought was, if I was a real bad guy, how could they ever catch me in something like that! I wondered if they ever asked me to do something like pull over or slow down or any other police, authoritative order, what could they really do to me. I could simply drive away, leaving them behind on their Huffy's! I mean come on, I know I am suppose to have respect for them, listen and such but do I really have to?

Jonah in the book that carries his name struggled with that same thing. God told him to go to a specific place and to share His word with them. He did not listen. He thought that he could out smart and out run God. Me, I've been there and done that too. I've heard God speak to me, not in an audible voice but He could if He wanted to. I've sensed His spirit before telling me to do something and I've thought, what could He really do to me if I didn't listen? I'm here and you're way "up there". I could just drive away and leave your thoughts behind!

There is no telling how many people I have ignored or walked by that needed Him because I did not listen to Him. There are many times when I chose to disregard His authoritative position in regards to sin, regardless of the cost. If you look at Jonah, his disregard for Gods direction not only cost him but also put the innocent people on the boat in danger as well.

Yeah, you or I could out run those cops any day but neither of us can out run God. Not listening to God not only hurts us but those innocent around us as well. Take some time today to listen to God and what He wants. Then realize when we start to listen to God on a regular basis, it becomes something we want to do not something we have to do!

See You At The River...John

A Real Reality Show

2009-02-05T20:27:00.000-06:00

Today I made a Walmart run to pick up some batteries to replace old ones in some of the remotes on the buses. As I was leaving and walking out the door, I overheard a couple talking rather loud. Let me say that loud talking is not an unusual thing for me, I live with Mollie Kate Racioppa, the MOUTH of the SOUTH. As I was saying, this couple was walking out of the door with a few bags in hand when I heard him ask her "why she didn't buy those jeans"? What an idiot! Anyone who knows women knows to NEVER ask a question like that! It could lead to an array of words in a response, most of which will NOT be good. One never brings up why something was not bought to a woman! I made that mistake one, no two hundred and forty two times thus far in my marriage. I can hear it now, "I'm headed out to the mall to look for a dress". Later, she returns with her hands empty. To most, that would be great! Empty hands mean larger bank accounts. But I know, believe me I know! If my wife returns with nothing, the celebration is short lived because what follows is all of the reasons why she could not find anything because everything is wrong with her body, not the clothes. Now, as I have said I am a veteran when it comes to marriage, seventeen years strong. Since I veered away from the Walmart story, I will now go back. Everything prior has been hypothetical, truly hypothetical! So as I said, the man said to the lady he was with"why didn't you buy those jeans"? She then replied that she did not like the pockets and the way they were laid out made her butt look big. What followed was something I would highly advise not to do. He said and I quote "I wouldn't blame that on the pockets"! I watched them as they headed off to their car, watching as they walked away. I then wanted to see if he was telling the truth so I did take a look, not in a lustful, badonkydonk kinda way. More of just a fact finding way...a mission! After looking, I am not sure what the jeans exactly looked like that she had tried on in the store but from what I saw, she didn't need to be blaming any pockets!

As I got in my Jeep, I told Emilee what had happened and said, I got my next Blog entry!

I am not sure what that lady was thinking. I am not going to spend anymore time speaking about another lady's derriere. What I am going to speak briefly about is REALITY which is where that lady needed to be!

When you look in the mirror, it is just you looking back at you. Behind all of the makeup, fixed hair and clothes is a person who is walking with God or one who is not. There is no riding the fence, no gray areas. That is REALITY! The Bible says in Mark 12:30 that we are to love God with all of our heart, soul and mind. That means our all, our everything! Oh it's easy to deny what is really going on. We can even blame the "pockets" on why things aren't well! Let's face it, our relationship with God and how good it is depends on us individually. If your walk with God is not as it should be. If you seem distant to Him, the reality is it is you that moved, not HIM!

GET REAL!

See You At The River...John

Get Thee Behind Me Eclair

2009-02-04T21:40:00.001-06:00

If you are not aware of this, let me fill you in on a secret I found out in February 1998. Are you ready? Here it goes. If you are past teenager years and you blow out your knee playing basketball which then leads to major reconstructive surgery and less exercise, you better quit eating the same way! There wasn't anyone who warned me about that. So over the next, let's just say 10 years, I ballooned up to the point where I looked like I had been stung by and angry swarm of bees. I also had more chins than a Chinese phonebook! If I had known that the late night affair I was having on a regular basis with another woman would have taken me that far, I would have never spent that time with Little Debbie.

With that said, I challenged myself in January 08 to join a health club, diet and end the relationship with Ms. Debbie. Thirty seven pounds later, I was a much leaner, cleaner and pretty darn in shape 38 year old man! Which leads me to today. Today I dropped my daughter off at school and being that she had to be there early, I had plenty of time to get to work. I drove the more well traveled route which lead me by a Dunkin Donuts. I knew it was ahead and approaching fast. I prayed that if God wanted me to stop in there that there would be an open parking spot right in the front. Well I want you to know that on the third trip around the building, a spot finally opened up! Just kidding. Even though I was hungry. Even though I knew I would enjoy what Dunkin Donuts was offering, I did not give into temptation. I wanted to but I thought about my new jeans my wife bought me and how they fit oh so good! I thought about how disappointed my son would be cause now I can wrestle on the floor and not get winded. Yes, I just drove on by and never thought of it again...Not true! I thought about it all the way until I passed Shipley donuts and then I had to say no to temptation again!

Sin is just like that. Satan will throw whatever he can at us to tempt us and cause us to stumble. He will do whatever he can to get us to forget about our loved ones, the consequences and to focus on our right now, fleshly needs! Satan will never give up and just about the time we overcome one temptation, up comes another donut shop! The Bible says in 1 Cor 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. So the next time you are struggling with temptation, think about what you are about to do, who it will hurt and how long it's affects will last. Don't spend time circling around the parking lot waiting for another opportunity, LEAVE!That God way of escape is there, you just have to be looking for it!

See You At The River...John

He Came For Me!

2009-02-02T19:39:00.000-06:00

I don't get to see many movies like I use to. It seems to me that it all changed once I had kids. Most movies I see are kid or family friendly because I am a family man you know! Since most movies I see are family friendly, that would also lead to the simple fact that as a 39 year old, white male, most movies I see then SUCK! Ooops! Can I say that? I kind of felt a little exhilarated saying that! With that out of the way, let's get back to the movies thing. It is very rare that I do get to sneak out and see an "adult movie"...wait did I just say sneak out and adult movie? I wasn't meaning adult as in "adult" I was meaning as in an not for kids! Wow I'm glad I got that cleared up! I bet many of you were thinking that John sure has dropped off of the deep end now! Well this past weekend my wife and I and some other adults went to see a movie. Now let me just say that I do not agree with all movies but I am not going to lump all non-Fireproof/Facing the Giants/Passion movies as trash. I believe you have to pick and choose the good from the bad, just like clothes, music, etc. The name of the movie we went to see was TAKEN. Now I am not going to ruin the movie for you for those that have not seen it. What I want to tell you is the four things I walked away with after seeing it. #1 The man in the movie is one bad dude! #2 This movie was way better than Aristocrats! #3 This father really loved his child!

As I stated before, I don't want to ruin it. If you have seen the trailer you know that the movie is about a man's daughter who gets kidnapped or "taken". He spends the entire movie, searching high and low, holding nothing back, even getting in amongst the bad in order to rescue her. Most movies end good so me saying that he finds her at the end doesn't let the cat out of the bag! This isn't a Marley and Me movie that surprises you! With that said, once this father comes and rescues his daughter, she says some incredible words. She says "you came for me, you came for me"!

As those words fell off of her lips, the fourth and final thing that I walked away with was the last words that she said and how that is exactly what Jesus did for you and I. Just as this daughter had been "taken" away and thrust into an awful experience not of her choice, you and I have been thrust into this awful world as well. We can thank those two naked people in the garden for that!

Romans 5:12 states: When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. It was not of our choice, nevertheless we still needed someone to rescue us because we had been "taken" into this world and sin! With that said, we have a Heavenly Father who left the on high and became a lowly man. He placed himself among the bad, even carrying all of their sin. He held nothing back. Romans 5:8 says
but God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. This man, this father in this movie did exactly what my Heavenly Father, my Savior did many years ago, He came for His child who had been "taken"!

Think back to the day when you realized that He came for you and you were rescued and thank God that He did what He did in order to rescue us!

See You At The River...John

A Lesson From Emilee

2009-01-31T10:48:00.000-06:00

I will say that today's blog is probably my most difficult to write as of yet. It has not been long and thought out. As a matter of fact, it has been something that I knew of but kind of just pushed it away for the time being. There were numerous events this past week that lead up to today. I will share a few.

As stated in my other blogs and to most of you, I have begun a new God-led adventure. It all started very subtle over a year ago. The winds of change were blowing, not by my doing but by God. Over time, this change has led me to Tennessee. I started this new job in December '08, leaving my family, friends, home and favorite hunting spots. I thought about what this whole thing would be like , but the reality never really hit me until I packed up my jeep and headed south that late November day. Since then, during the last two months I have had limited time with my family. Seeing them only on weekends, if that! On top of all of that, I had to learn a new job, meet new people and be homeless! Through all this and once the reality set in, I became more dependent on God and less dependent on myself. I simply learned to trust my Father!

Fast forward now to this past weekend. This is the time we had set for my oldest daughter Emilee to move down and start school. She has been ready to make the break. She has been ready to start a new school, complete with new friends and all. She wants to get plugged into her new church. As this past week approached, she was ready to tell all of her friends goodbye. Well things went different then planned. Snow kept school closed so needless to say, the last goodbyes never happened. She loaded her things on Saturday morning, preparing herself for this new life. The reality now had hit her. The overwhelming feelings that I had to deal with two months prior, now my daughter was facing. I wondered if she would be able to overcome all of this? I thought and wondered if she could place all of this behind her in anticipation for what was to come. Knowing this, I did what any other loving father in 2009 would have done, I texted her as she headed down here. I texted her to tell her that it was gonna be alright and that God was in this. I told her I loved her and that I would see her soon. Then she texted back with the most incredible words any father could have received, she said "I Trust You Dad". Oh what incredible words from such a young lady! In spite of her whole world changing. In spite of her leaving her friends, her school, her dance team and her church. In spite of her not even getting to say goodbye, with all that she still trust me! Oh if we would just do that with God, how much better all of our lives will be! How much He would enjoy hearing and knowing that just as I did. When things get bad and they don't go our way, just trust your father, your heavenly father. Proverbs 3:5,6 says to Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding or knowledge but rather acknowledge Him in all that you do and He will direct your paths.

See You At The River...John

The Fish Aint Biting

2009-01-28T22:16:00.000-06:00

(New Video Hopefully Working Now)
Have you ever had one of those days where it seemed everything was not going your way? You got up one morning and you were not greeted with hugs and kisses. As you entered your place of employment or school, people did not say hello, shake your hand or pat your back? As the day wore on, you had no spring in your step, your chest was sunk in and your head was down. Sounds like a bad day. Then it all changes.
Last spring, I was fishing with my son John Luke and my daughter Mollie at a lucky fishing spot. I can't tell you where it is because one never reveals his or her lucky hunting or fishing spot. Anyways, we had been fishing for quite awhile and Mollie seemed to be the only one catching fish. I grabbed my video camera and shot this video of Mollie reeling in a fish and then my sons reaction.

(Watch Video) He was disgusted and had been for quite sometime as he watched time and time again Mollie bring in a fish. All he thought about was what fun he was not having and that he was wasting his time when he could be doing something else. It was one of those days that just was not going his way. Then it all changed. Shortly there after, John Luke landed a whale of a bass. We reeled and reeled and finally brought in this big pond beauty. John Luke was so excited. I quickly grabbed my video camera and shot this video. He was grinning from ear to ear. He could hardly contain himself with this fish he had caught. He said to me as I removed the hook from the fish and released him into the pond, Dad this is the best day ever. I thought about what a huge change I had just witnessed in the life of my son. Just when it seemed it couldn't get any worse, up swims this beast, bites his lure and the rest is history.
Life is a lot like that as well. We let the pressures of this world get us down. We focus on what everyone else is "getting" and just about the time when we think it couldn't get any worse, God allows someone or something to "swim" into our life to bring us back to life! There is a word for that, it is called a BLESSING. God has shown me that numerous times throughout my life. So the next time you're down. The next time everything is going someone else's way and you feel like your just wasting time. Keep an eye on your line and watch to see what God is going to send your way. Then rejoice in what He does!

See You At The River...John

You Gotta Have FAITH

2009-01-27T22:16:00.000-06:00

Do you remember that old song by George Michael of the 80's pop group WHAM titled...You Gotta Have Faith? I have grown to hate that song, not just because I can't stand that guy but also because of the wording of that song. Before you cast your stone at me, I know I'm suppose to love him, but I don't have to like him!

I could give you numerous scriptures of what the Bible says faith is and even some more famous, individual stories of those that showed it in Hebrews 11. Instead, I would like to tell you what I think having faith or trusting in God is.

I have faith in God and trust Him. When I became a Christ follower 35 years ago, I placed my faith and trust in Jesus. It's not enough to know who God is. The Bible says that even the demons know who God is and that they are fearful. It's not enough to know He can save you from your sins, you then have to act upon it. I have told numerous students over the last 16 years that if you were floating in the middle of the ocean and you were drowning and if a boat pulled up next to you, just seeing that boat and knowing what it is is not enough to save you. There comes a time that after acknowledging that boat and what it can do for you that you then have to get in that boat and have faith and trust that it will save you. Too many people do that with Jesus. They know who He is and what He can do but refuse to get in the boat, totally trusting Him.

Well, back to this whole trust thing. I and my family trust God. We have for a long time now but not because the Bible tells us too but because He has never failed us yet. Trusting God with your everything...your family, your friends, your home, your church, your job, your finances and on and on is a hard thing to do but all that fails to compare to trusting Him with my eternity. If I have done that, the rest should be a piece of cake! Well this whole moving thing, leaving my job and what I have known to do something different, yeah it has required a lot of trust on my part. It has required faith! Things have not gone as planned as we thought. My wife and I thought our house would sell in 2 hours after the sign went up in the yard and we would all move together. Well that didn't happen. Hours turned into days then weeks, then months. Why God? I trust you! I have faith in you! You've come through for me before! Why not just let it fall into place with me sooner rather than later like you've always done? You're not getting anymore brownie points from me, as I said I already trust you! Then it hit me. Maybe this whole trust, faith thing, maybe it's not for me and my family but rather for someone who knows us and is watching us to see if we have faith and trust like we say we do. I remembered a story I once had read similar to this and it went something like this:

When a traveler in the early days of the west, came to the Mississippi, he discovered there was no bridge. Fortunately it was winter and the great river was frozen over with ice. The traveler was afraid to trust himself to it, not knowing how thick it was. Finally with caution, he crept on his hands and knees and managed to get halfway over. And then he heard--yes he heard singing from behind. Cautiously he turned, and there, out of the dusk, came another traveler who had been watching him, driving a four-horse wagon with his family, singing as he came across!

I'm not sure where you are at as far as trusting or having faith in God but I do know this. Through your difficulty, obstacle or trial, God is either trying to strengthen your faith by trusting in Him or He is trying to strengthen the faith and trust of someone who is watching you show your faith and trust. Once you step out on faith, look behind you and don't be surprised to see others following right behind you watching your every move!

See You At The River...John

Good Directions

2009-01-26T20:08:00.000-06:00

I know you have heard that saying about how men hate to stop and ask for directions when they are lost. I admittingly am one of those men. Too many times I have gone "just 2 more miles" to look for that sign or let's see what's around this next corner only to find us 2 miles farther away from our desired location. Like it or not, we all need directions from someone at some point in time.

I remember a man in Illinois who I spent time with. As I would ride around with him in his car, I would do what any other normal person who can't sit still would do...I dug through his glove compartment. While looking in there, I found a GPS unit. I didn't say anything. I just looked around, made note of his expired insurance card and closed it up. Over time, I found myself riding shotgun many times in this truck and many times I dug through his glove compartment, always noticing the GPS unit tucked away in it's box. Finally one day I asked him, I said are you ever gonna use that thing. He said with a smile on his face, I don't need it now but if I ever need directions, I know where to find it.

Today I did something I have never done before. I have thought long and hard about this journey that God has me on. It still amazes me of what God is doing with me now and what I find myself in and around at times. If you would have drove up to our shop this afternoon, you would not have found me behind a desk. As a matter of fact, you won't find me behind a desk any day cause I don't have one yet. I will when we get in our new building in December '08...yes I did say '08! If you had shown up, you would have seen me in a golf cart driving from bus to bus placing Bibles in each of our buses. Why you might ask? I'll tell you why. Because all of those people that ride these buses...drivers, entertainers, managers and even those that clean and work on them one day are going to need some answers. One day, they're gonna need directions and when they come to the realization that they are lost, they will have something to pull out, just like that GPS. As I placed those Bibles in each of the buses, I prayed as I entered that God's word would speak out to those that are near.

Today, I was an Operations Manager involved in a Bus Ministry and gave out Gideon Bibles. Who says you have to work at a church to be in the ministry!

See You At The River...John

What's It Worth?

2009-01-23T17:32:00.000-06:00

This past week there was a driver who came into the shop. This was not his first time to show up. As a matter of fact, he comes in almost every day looking for work. Being a driver here is much like any other job, you're not just automatically placed at the top. You have to pay your dues, do a good job and what is asked of you. Over time, if all goes well you will get your shot. Unfortunately for him, waiting for that permanent "gig" has placed him in a financial mess. I understand his need. I understand his worries. I have compassion for the man. Well this week, he came in speaking of his predicament he was in. He spoke about how he was behind in his bills and that he needed money. He then reached in his pocket and pulled out some coins. He handed them to me as asked if I wanted to buy them or knew of someone who might. He told me that they were his grandmothers or grandfathers, I can't remember which, and that he had a whole trunk full of them. I told him that I did not want them but I knew of someone who might. I took the coins and told him that I would find out and let him know. He then said to take care of them cause they're worth $2200 each, then he left the building. Later that evening, I received a phone call from someone who knew about those coins. This person said that there are many of those out there and that they are only worth about $30 each, not the $2200 that was written on the coin case.

I then wondered about how the man who gave me these coins had determined what they were worth. What made him say that they were worth that much? He obviously knew nothing about them or he wouldn't have asked me. What he did do was he determined its worth by looking on the outside and what had been written there by someone else. He should have asked someone who knew.

People do that all the time. I have done that as well. At times, I determine my worth by what others see or what they have written on me. On the outside, I am a sorry husband at times. On the outside, I'm not the greatest father or friend. On the outside, I forget about others, make mistakes...yes on the outside I am a sinner. Ohhh but on the inside, I am forgiven and a child of the king. In 1 Samuel 16:7, God is speaking to Samuel concerning the next King of Israel. He tells him to not look at the outside appearance as man does, but to look as God does and that is on the heart (or the inside). My worth and your worth is not determined by what others have written. So the next time you feel worthless, remember that you are "fearfully and wonderfully made". If someone has written a false price on the outside of your life, how bout you ask someone who really knows what your worth...someone who looks on the inside!

See You At The River...John

Mollie...The X Factor

2009-01-21T23:14:00.000-06:00

January 22, 1998 Mollie Kate Racioppa came into this world of mine and life has never been the same. Today is her 11th birthday and I am headed home a day early to celebrate it with her. For those of you who do not know her, let me just explain as simply as I can. She is me in a girls body. She is beautiful like her mom. She sings like her mom. Mollie is loud...yep you guessed it, like her mom. But she is funny like me. I think I can say that. I've been told I was funny. Since she began to talk which I believe was at 3 days old, she has not shut up! She has a magnetic personality, loves people and being the main point of attention. When she is not around, the whole dynamic of our home as well as the northern hemisphere is disrupted. That is why we call her the "x" factor. While I'm away, I miss her loud singing, her enthusiasm for even the smallest things and the way she calls me daddy. She can't stand to be touched let alone to be tickled. I love her so!

Mollie is compassionate towards others and has a heart for those that are hurting. Jesus just oozes out of her in the way that she lives her life. God gave me someone special when He gave me her. I hope you know her or if not, I hope you will someday. Look for her on the next season of American Idol or The Last Comic Standing. I love you Mollie! Happy Birthday!

Dad

Pressure

2009-01-21T22:03:00.000-06:00

We received a call in the office about 10am today about a group needing a bus. This bus was not scheduled nor had it been prepped and ready to leave in the allotted time we were given which was two hours. After the news, I proceeded out to get it started, get the generators going, heat on and to take a look to see if it was indeed ready to go. As the generators kicked in and the lights brightened, I could then see my breath inside the bus. It amazes me still the cold these things can hold onto inside being closed up. There have been times when it was much colder on the inside than it was on the outside...sounds like some churches I have been at! OUCH! Anyways, after I inspected the rear lounge area and moved my way up through the 12 bunks and bathroom, I then looked through the front lounge area. I noticed that the drink cooler door was open and as I peered inside to look, I noticed that some soda cans had been left. During the last week, we have had some incredibly cold temperatures here in Nashville. Those extreme temperatures did a number to those cans as they succumbed to the extreme conditions. Some exploded and left a frozen mess all over. Others just expanded out with pressure but never gave in to the elements. I grabbed those that were about to burst and gladly headed to the dumpster. While on the way to dispose of them, one popped and sprayed me all over the leg. I tossed it away until it ran out and then threw it away. As I walked back to the bus, I thought about some people I have known that were alot like those cans. Too often times people give in to their surroundings to the point of erupting. The pressures of this world are so great that it is just a matter of time before they explode. Do you know anyone like that? Maybe it is you? As long as we live in this world, we will constantly be surrounded by the pressures of this world. That is why Jesus told his disciples in John 16:33 "these things I have told you so that you will have peace. in this world you will have trouble but take heart, I have overcome the world." Jesus said that when the pressures get to you, know that I had them and overcame them and we can as well. So the next time you get down. The next time the pressures at work, at home or wherever start squeezing you in, before you blow up all over someone innocent, remember just to turn it over to God. He's been there and done that!

See You At The River...John

A New President, A New Friend

2009-01-20T16:04:00.000-06:00

Today we have been in downtown Nashville showing off our buses. The day has been filled with all types of music people, road managers and even artist who came via an invitation to come and eat lunch for free and check out the buses we had to offer. It was a HUGE success. Well today was not only about buses, it was also an eventful day in the history of our nation. I had the privilege of sitting part of the day with one of our drivers in the bus he drives and watched our new president be sworn in. The name of this driver is Morris Jackson Jr., but friends can call him Mo. Morris is one of our best and a well liked drivers. Morris has recently been voted the best dressed driver of our company. Morris is also black. As we sat there and talked about Barack Obama and about the changes that he undoubtedly will bring, I couldn't help but notice how proud he was about this day. I never saw a tear fall and his lip never quivered. He didn't give high fives for the black man. He just kept repeating the same word, not loud and boisterous but very subtle and to himself. The word was...wow!

Shortly there after the conversation went from not about the new president but shifted to living right, trusting God and also screwing up. As time went on, I later found out that he too was the son of a preacher. He too has had his vast number of mistakes just like me but he also had been forgiven just like me.

Yes earlier today, I watched a man be proud of who he was. Later on, I too became proud of who he was but I wasn't proud because of his color, I was proud of who he was because of his relationship with his Heavenly Father. Today I made a new friend...I now call him Mo!

So Who's in There Anyway?

2009-01-18T17:41:00.000-06:00

Let me say that I am sorry to all of you that were looking for some post from me towards the end of last week. I was very busy getting ready for this bus showcase we are doing in downtown Nashville on Tuesday and many nights I was out late. I want to also say that American Idol didn't help the cause either. So needless to say, I am sorry and hope to better.

This weekend we had some great friends come in town from Illinois to spend some time with us and to meet our friends here in Tennessee and to see our new church home. After a day of running around, we all decided to go to dinner together. With the total being 13 , it was going to take either two vehicles or...a bus. My friend Eric decided to take us out on the brand new, shiny bus named Shadow. When I say brand new, it was just that. This bus had not even been leased out with a group yet. We all loaded up with tv's on, music playing and window shades up headed to eat Mexican food. As we maneuvered through the parking lot, people both inside and outside the restaurant were looking...no gawking at and wondering who could be in there. As we all loaded off of the bus, I thought as people looked, "boy I bet they're disappointed, no one special here"!

I thought about what it was that made people look for someone special. What was it that caught all of the eyes of people and their attention to the point of staring? Then I realized, it was because they saw something that they don't see every day. They saw something different.

Isn't that what people in this world are doing as well? They go through life everyday, seeing the same old things. That is where we then have the opportunity to roll into the "parking lot" of their life and show them something different, something life changing. But unlike the fancy bus with a bunch of nobodies inside that left many people disappointed, inside those of us that claim to be believers is a Holy God that desires to have a relationship with them and He will not disappoint them. Matthew 5:16 says that we are to let our light to shine among men so that they will see our good works and glorify God. This week, I'm going to focus on being different so that others can see Christ living in me.

See You At The River...John

Thanks For The Help Man!

2009-01-14T17:37:00.001-06:00

Yesterday we had our annual drivers meeting at the Gallatin Civic Center which is a city run recreation type center. We meet with all of the drivers to discuss any new changes and laws that have occurred since last year. It was a lot of work getting ready for this meeting. I have spent the last month working on various things like updating the handbook to get printed, PowerPoint presentations, giveaways, snacks, the list goes on and on. Well the big day finally arrived. We rented out two rooms that would be able to host about 65 of us total. Before the big day began, we had to load many vehicles up with all the things that would be needed for this event. Some of the things were a sound system, ice chest with drinks, coffee pots, snacks, gifts and even a photo copier. As we loaded, a cold front passed through and the temperature was bitter cold and dropping every minute. We pulled up to the building to unload for this event, and there stood a man at the door. He had sweat stains on the front of his sweatshirt and he was holding a gym bag. He watched as myself and others made numerous trips back and forth from the building to the vehicles carrying things in. He could see that we were busy. He could see that we needed help. Never one time during the 20 minutes or so did this man ever lift a finger to help or say a word. I wasn't expecting him to carry anything. I wasn't expecting him to do our jobs. He could have at least caught the door for us a time or two. He just stood there, oblivious to the fact that we needed assistance. As we neared the end of our unloading, he pushed open the door and walked outside to get inside of an awaiting car. Was this man lazy? Was he just a jerk? Couldn't he see that our loads were heavy? Couldn't he see that we just needed help getting in?

That is just how myself and other Christians at times treat people in this world. We at times find ourselves standing at the "door way of life" just watching people struggle with the weights of this world. It might be sin that they are dealing with or it might be that they just had fallen down on hard times. People struggle to "get inside", out of the cold and we just stand there. Oh we might be tired because of our own stuff. We might even be carrying our own weights as well. You see it's not enough to see a need, we must then act upon it. I believe myself and many others miss out on so many blessings because we overlook the simple needs of people. Jesus was all about meeting the needs of people. He saw our sin and the need we had of a savior to save us from that sin. I am so glad He didn't just stand at the door of heaven and watch us struggle with the weights of sin in this world. Spend some time thanking God for meeting your needs and ask him to help you see the needs of others and then act upon it. Don't just stand at the door!

See You At The River...John

An Early Morning Lesson

2009-01-12T17:14:00.000-06:00

I got up at 2:30 early this morning and started the 200 mile journey from Marion where my family is to Nashville for work. I am now trying to say where my family is and not say home because it is not home anymore, even with my house, my stuff and more importantly my family being there. It is an amazing thing when God changes your reason for being there He also changes your desire to be there too...but that's another story. Well on my way to work, once the first cup of coffee wore off, I began to then get hungry. I looked for that all to familiar establishment that calls out to me in the mornings but there was no Bob Evans in sight. (If I did find one they wouldn't have been open at 3:30am anyways). Because of the dilemma I was now facing with no Bob Evans and hunger pains, I decided to pull into an old time favorite...Waffle House.

At Waffle House you have the benefits of not only watching them prepare your food and making sure that they use clean hands or don't scratch places they shouldn't be scratching then touch your food but you just might be waited on by a toothless waitress named Emer! Yes she does exist or at least she did at the Waffle House in Arlington, Texas on Hwy 360. One other benefit of eating at a Waffle House which bye the way is one that they take pride in is stating that they are Always Open. I made note of that as I walked in, took a seat, grabbed a menu and watched not a toothless lady but a heavily tattooed man make my breakfast. I watched as he cooked over an open gas flame. The burner, once black now was white with age and I thought to myself, if this place is open every day, then that fire has been lit and burning since the first customer entered in however many years ago. Because it has never closed, that fire has remained on so that it could do what it was intended to do, cook food. If that fire ever went out, the people could not get fed! It was at that time that I then did what any other person who has been in the full time ministry for 16+ years and walked away from it to do something that they had no experience in nor longtime aspirations...I thought about my fire.

I began to cry, not an outward one but one of those inner cries like you use to do when you got a spanking and you kept it in so that the spankee (mom or dad) didn't see you and get the best of you. I cried because I thought about the fire that God himself placed inside of me 35 years ago. I wondered about how many times I had let my fire go out over the years. I thought how many times I didn't let the fire of God stay lit for others. I then wondered if this could be one of those times. Am I on fire for God? Have I been? You see it is our responsibility as Christians, as Christ followers to as Matthew 5:16 states "to let our light or "fire" to shine before all men". Why? So that "others will see your good works" then "God will get the glory". God wants us to reflect Him to carry His light, His fire to a darkened, cold world.

In plain, Waffle House terms...if we let the fire go out, then people can't get fed! Those Waffle House employees had no idea I was needing them and what they had to offer this morning. I am so glad they had the fire lit waiting to meet my need.

With that, I have chosen today to be "open all day" to those that just might walk into my life in search for some spiritual food. Have you?

See You At The River...John

Where'd They All Go?

2009-01-09T20:59:00.000-06:00

Before I write this, I want everyone to know that I am not nor was I mad. Let me also say that while I am on the subject about everyone, thanks so much for the many, many responses over these blogs I have been doing. The responses have been overwhelming and too numerous to count. I'll go into it at a later date on why I decided to do these. Well back to the story!

As many of you are aware of, I am away from my family most of the time due to me accepting a new job. As soon as our house sells, we will once again be back together. Until then, it is weekends if it works out. Well, I have been back in Marion since I left Nov.30 a total of 5 days. I was headed home this evening to be with my family through Sunday night. The plans were for me to get up early Monday morning to be back in Nashville and at work by 6am.

I have been extremely busy all week and then made the 3 hour drive to come home and see my family. When I arrived home this evening, I was greeted with all of my family as they headed out for their various activities for the evening. There were no welcoming banners, no fireworks, not even dinner was made. I felt like my arrival was kind of getting in the way of "their" plans. Didn't they know about the week I have had? Didn't they know that I had left and came a long way to see them? Didn't they know that all I wanted to was to be with them? And then a God moment!

I thought about how God has been treated like that by me many times and by you as well if you admit it. As a matter of fact, it started off that way with Him. There were no banners hung at the manger when Christ was born. There weren't crowds of people gathering or even fireworks lighting the sky. As a matter of fact, the only reason people showed up there was because God told them to via an angel. The only fireworks was a star that He created, that He placed and that He directed to shine. But didn't people know what God had done in order for Jesus to arrive there? Didn't they know that He had to leave his home in heaven to come to this earth to live as a man? Surely people realized that He came just because He wanted to be with them? Yeah that's how it all started.

It's no different now for me at times. At times, I forget what all He has done. I forget about the sufferings on the cross. At times I forget what he went through for me. At times, I treat him like when He does arrive that all He does is get in my way of my plans. When all He really wants is to just be with me.

Is that you? Take some time today to welcome Jesus into your life. Have him be a part of your entire day cause all He wants to do is be with you...Think On These Things!

See You At the River...John

There's Gotta Be A Better Way

2009-01-08T20:14:00.000-06:00

I left work and headed to the home where I am staying and was excited about the big game tonight...Go Gators! I hate Oklahoma! Before I could sit down, I volunteered my services to help connect the cables from the Nintendo Wii, Playstation 2, XBOX 360, DVR and VCR. It seemed that there had to be a better way, a better look than what was presently there. My friend started running these cables from the units into a small outlet type box at the bottom of the wall. His goal was to run them through this little box and then up through the wall to then come out to his flat screen tv that was hanging above. I kept questioning my friend saying things like, how are you going to get that up there through that wall? Wouldn't it be easier to send them through the top and then drop them down? He just kept smiling and said, trust me John I know what I am doing. I kept on, knowing good and well that the kickoff to the game was about to take place and realizing that I was now stuck and gonna be there the rest of the night trying to do it "his way". A little while later, with cables no closer to the tv hanging above than they were earlier, my friend quietly stood up, stepped to the left and opened a door which led to another door. Behind that door was an open, exposed wall revealing the cables that he had strategically placed in the lower hole. He then went over, grabbed the cords, gave them a pull and easily pushed them through and out, right behind the tv. If only I had trusted him!

Standing there, it hit me! I grabbed my Blackberry and took a picture. What I said to him was the way I have treated God many times! You see many times in my life, I have questioned God and what He was doing, most recently directing me to leave my job, friends and my family to follow His lead to another town and another occupation. I just as I did tonight thought I had a better way. I just like tonight thought I was wasting time. I just like tonight thought I was going to miss something better. But every time I have thought that with God, He has simply got up, opened a door and exposed a much better way than I even knew was available. He simply wants me to trust Him. He simply wants you to trust Him. In Isaiah 55:8,9 God states that His thoughts are not our thoughts, neither are our ways His ways because just as heaven is higher than earth, so are God's thoughts and ways higher than ours!

Think about the ways that you don't trust Him. Think about not trying to figure out your way but rather waiting for God to expose to you a much better way. Think on these things!

See You At The River...John

What a Life?

2009-01-07T17:49:00.000-06:00

*Posted a day late due to internet being down*

As I sat here working today at my "table" waiting for my new plush office to be finished in our new building, I once again was surrounded by many drivers. These drivers come in at various times of the day but most come in early, vying for a position or in music industry terms...a gig. I'm amazed on how they just sit around, waisting the day away. As I have sat here, I've heard it time and time again them mention to one another about how bad things are and that they sure do need a "gig' to get some cash flow. Well today was a bit different. I had the same man sit next to me for at least 7 hours, drinking coffee and looking at music magazines. I left the office to run some errands and when I returned, yep you guessed it, he was still there but now he had resorted to doodling on his coffee cup and it was quite a doodle if I do say. I said "Joe", let's just call him Joe for the sake of anonymity, I said Joe, are you gonna sit here all day, it had been at least 6 hours at this time. He looked up at me, set the cup down and said "some life huh"? He then got up, threw his coffee cup away and said, I'll see you tomorrow John.

As I watched this man walk away, I thought about that statement he said to me...some life huh?

Just the night before last I was reading in the book of John. One chapter I read was chapter 10. Now I can honestly say that I had not thought of those verses again but when I heard this man say "some life huh" verse 10 just jumped out of my mind and straight to my heart. Jesus said that he came that people would have life and have it more or greater than ever before, even people like "Joe". Here was a man whose life was and has been so bad today that he spent it sitting and drawing on a coffee cup to the point to where he even admitted it. I'm so glad that Jesus gave me a physical life on this earth but I am more glad that He gave an eternal life by trusting in Him. This morning, just like many mornings over the last 16 years I spent in the ministry I went to work secure in my own, complete life that I have but today, today I left work knowing that others don't have that greater life, even the ones that are sitting 3 feet away from me all day. What "Joe's" do you have in and around you that are looking for that greater life that only Jesus can give?

See You At The River,

John

Finally...What I have to say!

2009-01-06T21:23:00.001-06:00

After much time and thought, I have decided to do a daily blog because of the many people who have said they like my stories and the strange way that I see God in things that way too many people overlook. Maybe someday someone will right a book about me. I said someone because way too many people find my life more interesting that I do. You will find it here on Facebook or you may subscribe to it and see it as it originally looks at the following address: http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fmylifeasjohn.blogspot.com%2F&h=c412c8257afe9e8574f2c645f053119d
So today, I am starting off with my profile picture. If you look at it, you will see that my profile picture is that of my family. Let's get this straight, when I make this statement, I am not including God. I will write plenty about who God is and what HE means to me. So when you hear me say something like...I love my wife more than anything, God trumps her. When you read that I think barbecue brisket is the best, God trumps that too! You get my drift?
Back to my profile picture...My family is my life! They are who I am. Way before that Rene Zwelengerzinger or whatever her name is said to Tom Cruise in the movie Jerry McGuire that "he completes her", I had that phrase! Also that new country song about a dad waiting up for his daughter to come home from a date and that he would be cleaning his gun, well I had that phrase too but that is a whole different post. Anyways, it is true. I am just a shell of a person without my family. I can go through all of the motions but when it boils down to it, they all complete me! I said all because when even one is missing, part of me is too! I love my wife so much! She is my strength, my love, my help and the best darn wife anyone could ask for. She is my biggest fan, even when I am not worth cheering for! Kind of like me and the Dallas Cowboys!My three kids, Emilee, Mollie and John Luke...I love them so! I speak with drivers at my work who have made a career of being gone away from family days on end. One said and I quote, "man I bet you're enjoying this quiet time away from them before they move here"...he could have never been more WRONG! My kids love me in spite of my faults. Someone said that a dog is mans best friend. Whoever said that did not have a family like mine! They are my friends and I struggle every day I am away from them. God has helped me over this last month to become a little more sensitive to those that are away from their family. If that is all I would have learned during this time, it will have been well worth it...but it has been so much more! I love life! I love Jesus! I Miss My Family!

See You At The River...John