silhouette

I've always found it interesting how you can look at a simple silhouette and know who it is. Have you seen the ones which have the silhouette of a child on a plate hanging on the wall, or sitting on a stand for visitors to see. The child's name doesn't even have to be on the plate, but you know who it is.

I saw one the other day and it started me thinking about silhouettes I remember from the past. As a parent, all the times you have seen your child from a distance, and the light is behind them, you know them by their silhouette. It doesn't matter what they are doing, you know it is them. I saw a silhouette of my son one morning. He was a long way off. I mean a long way off, but I knew it was him. He was running, like he does everyday, but this day.....I pulled up to the end of our driveway, and as I checked the road for traffic, I saw Joshua running. I couldn't tell which running clothes he was wearing. I don't have eyes like a hawk. I saw the silhouette of a runner coming down the road and......I knew it was Joshua. I recognized his stride as he runs. It was a silhouette, but it was Joshua. It reminded me of when I'd go and watch his cross-country races. No matter how far away he was from me, when I saw his stride....I knew it was him.

What kind of silhouette do we have as followers of Christ? Are we recognizable from a distance? Can we be picked out of a crowd simply by our stance, our walk, our stride? I believe we all need to concentrate on the silhouette we have. We are followers of Christ, children of God. We need to live lives so people know who we are, even when we can't be clearly seen. Our silhouette has been created by the Light of the World, and whether we want to believe it, or not, it is for everyone to see.

We are recognizable. But, what do they see?

months

Last night, or morning, whichever way you look at it, was very difficult for me. I had to make a decision that would ultimately lead me to a place to hear things I knew I would one day hear, but didn't want to hear.

Life will do things like this to us. We are comfortable with how things are going in our life. It's spring, and everything seems new and growing. After it rains, the air even feels cleaner and fresher. Everything is moving along as we think it should. Then in a few hours....with just a few words said.....it all changes.

We always consider life in the terms of years; whether good or bad, we measure a person's life by years. We celebrate a loved one's birthday each year to commemorate another year of life. We measure a couple's love by their years of marriage. Life seems to revolve around years, and we have grown accustomed to that. The biggest obstacle for a lot of us, myself included, is measuring life in months. Our first response is, "What happened to the years? Don't we have x-amount of years?"

Sitting in the ER this morning, I heard the few words that have shifted my measuring of life in years...to months. Daddy is not well. He s declining in health. The Dr. says there is a mass in his lung. It is terminal. We are looking at.... "months". This was harder to type than to hear.

Why is it we don't think about months? They are more important than years......now. Do you realize there are more days than months in a year? I know....... sounds a little silly..... but, how important are the days you get to spend with those you love......... your family..... your friends...
your Savior.... your God.

ready?

Today has been one of those days where I find myself taking a moment to stop and realize all that has happened. So often, like most holidays in our life, the anticipation keeps building right up to the last minute.....and then its gone. In the blink of an eye....its gone. Easter almost took that same path this year. There has been so much going on, construction, scheduling, construction, planning, construction, set-backs, not enough time in the day, not enough days in the week, and let's toss in a little stress......not much, just a little to make it interesting.

Then, on Saturday morning, just when I needed it....I got an email from Brian Duncan (Kannapolis Campus Pastor). His email was a wake-up call to me. I know he sent it to more people than just me, but I know what it meant to me. Without saying a lot in his email, he changed everything for me about the Easter weekend. His email was a warning to me; a warning of Easter possibly being covered up, maybe even missed by so much stuff getting in the way. And believe me, there was beginning to be a lot of stuff on my plate for this Easter weekend.

Was it necessary for me to stress over how the stage looked, how prepared the band would be, how would the songs fit into the service, how many people would show up, how would the worship be?.....No.....but I was stressing just the same. Brian's email destroyed all of that. The one thing I needed to be focused on for Easter was how I was going to worship. Would I be ready to truly worship God for His incredible gift of salvation through His Son? Would I be ready to worship a Savior who was raised from the dead and now lives in me? Would I be ready for Easter, and what it represents in my life?

I would be now.

Thank you Brian.......

there

This past weekend, during our worship service at HRCC, I had the pleasure of delivering the message that begins a new series entitled, "Provision". If you were there, you may recall how I spoke about God instructing Elijah to go "there"; that place where God would meet his physical needs; that place where God could give him protection; that place to be alone with God; that place where the presence of God would be.......there.

I am still amazed at how Elijah must have felt when he was told to leave where he felt he was safe, comfortable, and secure. That had to be a very difficult choice to make; not in his original plans for his life; not what he thought God would want him to do; and, it was probably going to be an inconvenience for Elijah.

Do we ever feel like Elijah? We look at our life and we see where we are. Our basic needs are met. We are fed.... clothed.... have a place to stay..... comfortable.... we may be even doing what we think God wants us to be doing. Would we leave where we are if God said His provision was there; a place unfamiliar to us; a place where we might not fit in; a place that may expose us for who we really are; a place where God is our only source for any and every thing we will need; a place where God becomes the most important relationship we will ever have; a place where we feel His embrace each day; where He can comfort the sick, encourage the lonely, bring joy to the hurting, lift up the fallen, restore the marriage, defeat the grasp of addiction, and make us who He created us to be?

If we are not there, then we must still be here.....and according to Elijah....there is where God is...and where we need to be.

See you there.

elevator door

I was talking to a friend the other day and we got onto the topic of how Christians are to live their lives each day. I know most people understand that as a believer in Jesus Christ, we should be living a life that exemplifies who He is to us. We should live our lives in such a way so others will know that Jesus dwells in us. We are to be His hands and feet here on this earth; at the school we attend; on our job with co-workers; when we are with friends, or family. As a believer in Jesus Christ, our life is to be noticeable.

Anyway.....as we were discussing what this life should look like, he made a comment that caught me off guard. In our illustrations of how people might perceive their life as an example of Jesus, and all the ways they may think it should look; everything from tithing, to going on a mission trip to a foreign country.....he says that he wants to be the guy who holds the elevator door. The elevator door?!? How is that.......?

Then I saw what he meant. Too often we think a life that shows people we are a follower of Christ has to be something noteworthy, big, attention getting.....noticeable. I'm sure it can be, if our motives are right. But, to see the small gestures of kindness as being Christ-like....

Maybe we need to re-focus a little on what it means to live a life that shows we have Christ living in us. Maybe we've been looking too high on the "impressive" list. Maybe all people really need is for someone to hold the elevator door for them.

2-4-83

Twenty seven years ago I was blessed to see the birth of my son, Joshua....a beautiful baby boy, and now.....an amazing young man. I can rewind through my memory and see so many things that make up who Joshua is. Everything he is now, I have watched being developed as the days and years have slipped by.

There have been broken bones, school plays, Little League Baseball, Basketball, Wrestling, Track, Cross-Country, High School Graduation, College, MBA, Law School, and then there were the Church Christmas plays, Baptism, Caswell Youth Camps, Mission Trips. I have seen how all these events have been a part of making Joshua who he is, but more importantly....I have seen how God has shaped Joshua's life through all of this. Most people may not see God working in ordinary events of their life, but that is how these events become extra-ordinary.

Of all the things that I have witnessed in Joshua's life so far, I am most impressed when I hear people tell me what they think about Joshua. They may have been friends with Joshua growing up, or attended school with him, or maybe even competed with him or coached him, but they all have had good things to say about Joshua. And as a father......one of the best things you can hear about a child of yours......is not what others say about them.....it is how your child's life has impacted theirs.

That's when you know that their life is extra-ordinary........and God did that.

Happy Birthday Joshua. Your Mom and I love you and we thank God everyday for what He is doing in your life.

seem like 31?

Today is mine and Karen's anniversary. We have been married for 31 years. This morning, as we were headed to the gym to run, walk, ride, lift and sweat......Karen asked, "Does it seem like 31?"

My reply........"No."

It still seems like yesterday that I was standing at the front of the church watching the most beautiful woman in the world walk down the aisle toward me. Even now my eyes will begin to well-up when I picture it all again in my mind. Karen will tell you I had a hard time speaking at the start of the ceremony, and it was all her fault.

WOW!!! 31 years of sharing in a journey that only God could have orchestrated. His hand has been gently guiding us as we began our lives together; as we became parents and raised a family; as we have served in His church. God has blessed me beyond words with the one person that has been, and will always be......the love if my life.

"Seem like 31?......No......But, an amazing moment in time."

Happy anniversary, Karen. I love you.