Books I'm Reading Now

I try to read often. Admittedly, I do not read as much as I should. I plan on having a better reading schedule. There is no reason why I can't read 3 books a month. Especially during the summer. So, I'm going to use this blog to keep me accountable. Here are the books I would like to finish before the 4th of July rolls around:

When God Builds A Great Church by Bob Russell. My Dad just finished this book and really liked it. He passed it on to me to read. I was in it for a couple of hours today. So far...great!

Leadership By The Book: Tools To Transform Your Workplace by Ken Blanchard, Bill Hybles and Phil Hodges. I am listening to this book on tape. I have never attempted this before so we will see how it goes. Just getting started.

I'll let you know what I think of them when I am finished...by Friday!

Speaking Sharply

It is interesting to note the words that Jesus used in Matthew 23. He refers to the Pharisees as "vipers" and "white washed tombs" and even "dead mans bones." Those are really strong words from Jesus. He is calling them out on the spot and letting the Pharisees know what He thinks about them.
Can we talk like that? Should we speak sharply as Jesus did? When it is right to use tough language, even raw language like Jesus sometimes did? I have to admit this something that I struggle with. I often do not hear speech like this. Most, not all, of the pastors/communicators I listen to do not "speak sharply" and call people out like Jesus did the Pharisees in Matthew 23.
What do you think? What are the boundaries and guidelines for speaking in this manner? When is it right to speak sharply?

Who Says I Can't Dance?

It is a well known fact I am not a dancer. I have never claimed to be. Leah...she can dance a little bit. (At least more than me. I don't think that is saying much though.) I did happen to stumble across this video of us "busting a few moves" and I thought I would share. Enjoy!

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Good Reminder For All Of Us

Maybe you are having a bad day. Maybe you are a little down because of something someone said. Perhaps someone hurt your feelings. Maybe someone in your family is having serious health problems. We have those days that we would like to forget don't we? I know I do. I'm not taking away the "thing" that you are going through right now, but I do want to show you this video. Life is hard. God is good. Hang in there and keep fighting...for one more day.

Piety vs. Immorality

I spent the last two weeks on the campus of Lee University for basketball camp. Coach T Championship Camps are designed to give basketball players a couple of things: 1.) A LOT of basketball. From 8:30am to almost 12:00am. 2.) Spiritual emphasis. Three times a day the campers hear a testimony/challenge for a coach or a college player. The head men's coach at Lee, Tommy Brown, made this statement during his "Coach 'em up" time last Tuesday:

"I believe as Christians, we sin more because of our piety than we do because of our immorality."

What do you think? Which would be true for you? Do you sin more because of your piety? Or do you sin more because of your immorality? Do you think this statement is even true? Let me know.

Happy Fathers Day

Tomorrow is Fathers day. In honor of my Dad, I wanted to share something with you. You see, I can't tie a tie. All of the ties hanging in my closet were tied by my dad. Some of my ties have NEVER been untied. I think I have one that dad tied when I was 20. That was 7 years ago. He has tried several times to teach me how to tie a tie. He is a pro at it. If I was to get a tie for fathers day tomorrow, I would make sure I would have it with me next time I see my dad so that he could tie it for me. I depend on him to tie my ties. Here is a funny clip trying to teach a guy how to tie his own tie. Dad, I'm glad I have you to help me. I love you! Happy Fathers Day!

Living In The Dark Ages Pt. 2

It was about a week ago that I said at times Leah and I feel like we are living in the dark ages. Why? Because we do not have 2 of the modern conveniences that most married couples our age have: the Internet and cable TV. Well, now there is only one that we are missing, cable. We have the Internet at home now. (We got a great deal) Anyway, I finished that blog by saying this:

We do not think that the Internet or cable is wrong. We just do not have the funds to have those conveniences at this point of our marriage. We can do better things with the money God has given us. What about you? More on this subject next time!

I would like to take the liberty and elaborate on that for a minute. We have some friends who wonder how Leah and I do it? How do we live the way we do with the (lack) of income that we have. (I'm a christian school teacher. We aren't making BIG money.) It is quite simple really. There is no magic formula or big secret that we aren't sharing with them. Leah and I have been blessed. There is no way, other than God, that we could live in a house like we live in. That is a God story that maybe I could share at another time.

The bottom line is this: We have worked hard to be where we are. We have sacrificed some material things in order to have the material things we do have. We do not have cable. We do not wear designer clothes. (I never understood that anyway.) We do not have car payments. We have bought cars that we could pay cash for. They may not be what we want, but they are all we need. We keep our windows open in the spring and fall. That may not sound like it is a big deal, but we literally save $200-$300 a year just by opening the windows in our house. We do not eat out often. We do not have school loans. I worked hard while I was in high school and was able to obtain a sizable basketball scholarship. My mom and dad were gracious enough to pay for the remainder of schooling that basketball did not cover. We save for months before we make a big purchase. We do not buy things that we cannot pay for in cash. To borrow a quote from Dave Ramsey, "We are trying to live like no one else right now so that later in life we can live like no one else." Sacrifice now so that you can be rewarded later. That is what we are trying to do. With God's help, and hard work, you can do it too!

Feels Like Summer

I don't know what the tempature is like where you are, but here in Knoxville, it is HOT. We have a heat index of 101 today. That is crazy for the 7th of June. To help beat the heat, we took Landon to see his Grammy and Grandpa (my mom and dad) and his cousins Brevin and Allie and do a little swimming. We didn't get to go to the pool we were hoping for, so we improvised and bought them a $20.00 blow up pool at Walmart. Here are some pictures of them today.




Brevin was happy!

Allie wasn't very happy!

Landon was having a blast!

Landon wants to do EVERYTHING just like his cousin Brevin!

Landon even got to ride the VROOM today!

Read NOW

Is God good all the time? Let's face it, we like to say that, but do we really believe it? I want you to stop what you are doing and read this blog from a pastor in Florida. Have a Kleenex handy.