Time with God

Do you ever feel like you're not getting anything out of your quiet time? Trust me, it happens to everyone. The problem is we judge the quality of our time with God by our emotions. The truth is...emotions may lie; feelings come and go. If you only have a quiet time when you 'feel' like it, the enemy will make sure you never feel like it. Some days your Bible will come alive and other times it may seem boring or hard to grasp. Having dry spells and reading your Bible without goose bumps doesn't mean God isn't with you. God desires obedience so whether you feel like it or not, be obedient. With or without goose bumps...He'll be proud of you.

Balloons

When I was a child there was something I remember doing at church on two or three different occasions...releasing helium filled balloons. We would attach a card to our balloon with all of our information on it and see who's balloon made it the farthest. I remember some kids getting their info. in the mail and their balloon had traveled many states. I never was lucky enough to get my stuff returned. It either never made it out of the county or it ended up in the middle of the woods somewhere. However, it was always cool to see the balloons take off. Some would go faster than others, some higher & some landed in the tree in the back lawn. When you think about it this is symbolic of our lives as Christians. Some people receive Christ, grow & do great things for Jesus. Others grow slower and don't seem to accomplish as much for the Kingdom. And still others end up in the tree out back...they do absolutely nothing. Isaiah 40:31 says we can soar on wings like eagles. Are you flying high for Christ or stuck in a tree? God's plan is for you to soar high. So, if you're not, maybe you need to let go of a few things that are holding you back and weighing you down. Who knows what God could accomplish through you?

Hearing from God

A man was irritated by his wife’s refusal to admit her hearing problem. Speaking with his doctor one day he asked, “How can I get my wife to admit that she needs a hearing aid?”“I’ll tell you what you need to do,” his doctor replied. When you get home peek your head through the door and ask, “Honey, what’s for dinner?” “If she doesn’t answer, go into the living room and say, “Honey, what’s for dinner,”Then walk into the kitchen and ask, “Honey, what’s for dinner?” “If she still doesn’t answer walk right up behind her and say, “Honey, what’s for dinner? Then you will be able to convince her that she needs a hearing aid.“Great! I think that will work.”So he repeats the question as he goes through the house. No answer any of the times. Then he walked right up behind his wife and spoke directly into her ear. “Honey, what’s for dinner?”She turned around in a huff and resolutely replied, “For the fourth time, I said WE WERE HAVING SPAGHETTI!!!”
One of the main problems Christians have in their realtionship with Christ is hearing from Him. Many times we say, "I just can't hear God speaking to me." It could be that we are the ones not listening. I think most of us spend too much time telling God what we want, rather than listening to what He tells us. My advice is, if you want to hear from God, turn down all the other noise in your life.

Boundaries

This is a picture of our two horses. My dad had four and he sent two of them to our place so the girls could be around them. Their names are Buttercup & Bandit. I put up a hot-wire fence to keep them in the yard. They are very afraid of the hot-wire...it hurts. However, something changed a few days ago. I was on my way to church and I noticed Buttercup was in the field next to our house...out of his pen. I put him back inside the fence and later that afternoon he escaped again. I didn't know what was happening. I checked the fence and everything seemed intact. I didn't touch it...I just checked to make sure it was all together and the light was blinking on the control box. It all looked good but it didn't work...he got out again. Now, I had built a smaller area with regular cattle fence so I put him in that area and left Bandit in the hot-wired area. You guessed it...it was Bandit's turn now. I noticed Bandit was sticking his head through the fence trying to eat grass and his neck was touching the wire...no shock!!! I got my fence checker thingy and it showed nothing. My shocking unit was malfunctioned. So, I locked Bandit in the pen with Buttercup and they are both unhappy about it. Can you tell by their faces? Ok, maybe not, but they are prisoners for the moment. Buttercup & Bandit desire the freedom to run wherever they want without any restrictions, but I can't let that happen. I realize they might runaway...get stolen by someone, etc. The horses only want to get out of the fence because they believe the freedom will be better for them. It's the same with us. God sets boundaries for us and He has a direction for our lives, but we are always trying to get out of the "pen" and do our own thing. Why is that? I think we just don't trust our Master. We might say we trust Him, but we're always trying to get away from His plan. I love my horses but I got very frustrated with them a few days ago. I think God gets frustrated with us a lot of times because we are always so disobedient, but I'm thankful His love never runs empty. If you've been trying to escape God's plan for your life lately, maybe it's time to stop hopping fences and enjoy the area he has designated for you.

Race marked out for us

We continue our series in Hebrews 12 this Sunday and we'll be looking at the end of verse 1...the race marked out for us. Now, even though we're in Hebrews we'll actually take a detour to the book of Proverbs. There is a story in Proverbs (not telling you where until this weekend), I don't know if it really happened or if it's just an illustration, but it fits perfectly with the topic for Sunday. Are you running the race marked out for you or are you just running and you're not sure what race you're in...or didn't even know you were in a race? Well, you're in one, but it may not be the right one. Hopefully, you'll find out this weekend. Charlton will be leading worship again this weekend and they've got a good line-up, so come ready. Also, we'll be having family day at Galactic Hurricane from 4:00 to 6:00 and then we adjourn to Pizza Inn (right across the street) for supper. Plus, we will officially weigh in Sunday morning for the Tug of War, which will take place one week from this Sunday. Pros & Joes will weigh in. Joes can't be over 10 lbs. of our total weight. Should be a great day! Listed below is a schedule for those confused:

10:30 Service (weigh in)
3:30 Pros vs Joes (ladies addition) all contestants meet at Galactic 30 minutes prior to family day for laser tag.
4:00 to 6:00 family day at Galactic Hurricane.
6:00 to ??? Pizza Inn (across street from Galactic)

August 12th @2:00??
Pros vs Joes Volleyball/Tug of War