"today....our Daddy was pleased"

"That service was great!" "This is what a church service should be." "I've never seen so much emotion in a Christmas service." "I could feel the music through the seats." (I really liked this comment) "The church was singing so loud!" "Was this service recorded? I want a copy!"

These comments were a few of the ones that I heard this past Sunday after our Christmas service at East Rowan High School. It was so exciting having everyone from the Salisbury Campus together at one service. There is always so much work that goes on behind the scenes before an event such as this, but when you see the excitement in the eyes of people as they come into the school, and you hear them sing praises to the Savior as we celebrate His birth......its like a major recharge. No matter how tired you thought you were, the joy of the church lifts you up. And as the Worship Pastor here at HRCC, there is nothing that pleases me more than to hear the church come together in worship. Whatever you may have been thinking about when you walk into HRCC; it really doesn't matter which service you attend, if you focus your heart on the worship, and you become a worshiper.....then you are replacing everything in your mind with worshipping God. And that is our purpose......that is what we are called to do....worship God. So many times we think that we have to do things in a certain way to please others, or to be noticed by others. If you are like me, you probably have learned that it is very hard to please others. It is almost next to impossible to please everyone. But, when we decide to worship God; we realize that He is pleased with our worship. It doesn't have to be in tune; it doesn't have to be in time; it doesn't have to be flawless; it doesn't have to be perfect. All that your worship has to be is you and God. And when He has your full attention.......all of your focus.......all of you.......He is pleased.

One of the most amazing comments I heard about this past weekend was from a lady that said to me; while trying to hold back tears, but losing..... "I know that today.....our Daddy was pleased." My prayer for her, and for everyone that worships at HRCC, is that we all remember to take the time during this Christmas season to do our best to please our Daddy.

the whole peanut?

The last time I went on a trip to WV, I traveled with Jon and Mike from the church. It was actually a quick trip.....one of those "drive up there, meet with Ray, then head back" trips. It was still a good trip. There were a lot of memories about that trip; and the strange thing about memories is that they resurface at odd times. One such memory about this trip came back to me while I was eating lunch with Karen today.

We were sitting at the table at Lone Star, waiting to place our order; and you know how it goes... you have this bucket full of peanuts and an empty bucket for the shells. When I go to restaurants with peanuts on the table.....I eat peanuts. I just sit there and crack the shell open and eat the peanuts. I don't really think too much about it. Until today. I remembered stopping in Morgantown with Jon and Mike and eating at a restaurant and there was a bucket of peanuts on the table. I'm doing my usual ..crack the shell open...eat the peanuts, and Jon is sitting there popping the whole peanut....shell and all...in his mouth and just munching away. I'm thinking; "Man, that's disgusting." But Jon assures me that that is the best way to eat the peanut. He tried to convince me to give it a shot. I can't get past the memories of digging up peanuts in my Papaw's garden, so I pass. That is....until today.

I shared Jon's strange eating habit with Karen, and to my surprise.....she tried it. I couldn't believe it. I kept waiting for her to spit it out and drink all of her water and my tea, but she didn't. Hey Jon!! She did it!! I'm not saying that she liked it, but that she did it. Now I'm stuck. I have to try it. So, I look for the smallest peanut in the bucket....a single, not a double; and I pop it in my mouth and chew the whole thing. To be honest with you.....that was really good....and salty?!? And I wasn't making a big mess on the table by cracking open the shells. This was a nice, different, tasty surprise.

I learned today, that it didn't matter so much how I ate the peanut....it was still a good peanut. The fact that I even tried it was a surprise, but I guess that I can still learn something new. And you know, I keep learning something new from these "younger" pastors at HRCC.....they challenge me in my thinking, and they encourage me in my walk. They give me confidence; they pray for me, each other, and for you....the church. They have taught me so much, and I am forever grateful. Thanks guys.

butterflies

I recently read a book entitled, "Butterfly in Brazil". The author is Glenn Packiam; a worship pastor and director of New Life School of Worship for New Life Church in Colorado. I had the privilege of participating in two of his classes at a recent conference in Charlotte. In one of these classes, he gave a little insight into the idea for his book. So, I bought the book.

I'm sure that a lot of you have heard the phrase, "the butterfly effect". This statement has been used over the years to try and explain the changes in weather around the world, due to some atmospheric occurrence in a remote location. The original phrase went like this....."If a butterfly flaps its wings in Brazil, does it cause a tornado in Texas?" Sounds a little silly to think that something so small, in a country so far away, could have such a major effect on the homes of people that live in a small country like Texas. But, when we live the life of a Christ follower; isn't that what happens? We are challenged by scripture to be like Christ in our everyday life, but most of us (myself included) look at the life of Christ and how He touched the lives of all the people he met, and we adopt the defeated attitude of......"Who am I?" We look at the enormous impact of Jesus and then we see how small we are...............Why try? I've been there, and to be honest.......there are times that I am still there. On some days, I feel even smaller than the day before. And yet, I want to be a Christ follower in the biggest way. I want to have an impact on the lives of people I know, and on the lives of people I have yet to meet.

Have you ever read in the Bible that if you have only the faith of a mustard seed, you could move a mountain? Or maybe, if you would just do a simple thing like flap your butterfly wings, you could help in creating a tornado. If you are reading this, and you took advantage of flapping your wings with "Whatever It Takes", then you know of the "tornado" that you helped to create. So many families were touched by you and your willingness to help. And not only in this community, but in other communities as well. Did you know that there are other churches that are now trying out their wings because of you? What started out as a small idea (flap), is continuing to grow and spread.

Thanks to all the beautiful butterflies out there.