“For God is not a God of disorder but of peace, as in all the other churches.”
1 Corinthians 14:33 (NLT)
This past weekend, several members of our church, including my wife and I, attended the Church Ministries Convention for the Louisiana District of the Assemblies of God in Pineville, La.
There were many tracts of learning, from Sunday School to Media. I chose those surrounding church administration, as I have been more involved in that area of the church lately.
I attended three seminars by Shannon Jackson, Pastor of Helps Ministry and Church Assimilation at First Assembly of God in West Monroe, La.
She shared some really good information about church administration, recruiting volunteers and church marketing. However, it was a statement she made that had been playing over and over again in my head (and spirit). “God will not bless through chaos. He is a God of order.”
She was referring to a vision cast by her Pastor, the Rev. Shane Warren. Their church has seen explosive growth in the past decade and all the challenges that go along with that.
As the growth started to taper off, Warren imparted this vision — first to his staff, then to the congregation — going as far as to require his staff members to “clean their closets.” The thinking was that God could not fully accomplish what he wanted to do in their church if the leadership was in disorder in their homes.
Before I am accused of taking the above scripture out of context, I fully understand Paul was discussing the order of service in the church. However, I also know that God is the same and never changes. He would not be a God of order in the church and a God of chaos in the home.
I wonder how many blessings we have robbed from ourselves because we have not cleaned up the clutter in our own lives (both physically and spiritually?)
Now, what is your definition of order? It is probably different from mine. That what is cool about our God. He is a personal God. He deals with us on a personal level and reveals to us His personal will for our lives.
Much like we are stewards (managers) of what God gives us financially, we are also stewards of everything God gives us – house included. If we approach these things with the mindset that they belong to God in the first place, we are more apt to take care of them.
When God can trust you with a little, he’ll give you more.
So the answer is “yes.” I cleaned out my closet Monday night. I also began the process of cleaning and organizing my office at work, and require the same of my staff (The boss can do that, you know.)
It won’t happen overnight — and staying the course is the challenge. Studies show it takes approximately 21 days to form or break a habit. However, this change in focus is more than a habit, it is a lifetime commitment. God will help bring order from chaos, and then just watch what He will do, once we get the garbage out of the way.
May The Blog Be With You.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Meat and Chesse Only, Please
It's diet time again for good Ol' Dave. Usually, I live life by two simple rules: Eat when hungry. Sleep when tired. Every once in awhile, however, my simple life is interrupted by two other rules: Pants don't fit. Two helpings aren't enough.
When I turned 33, I went to my doctor who said, "Your numbers a slightly elevated, which is no problem now, but more of a problem when you are 40 — even a bigger one at 50."
At the time, I weighed 305 pounds. At 6-foot-5, I carry that weight pretty well, but I was a "big man" regardless. During that summer, I lost 50 pounds on a combination of the Atkins diet and playing racquetball. I felt a lot better and returned to my normal eating habits.
When I began eating carbs again, I noticed my stomach capacity had shrunk. No longer did I need the "Extra Value" size of meals and actually would leave some food on my plate, completely satisfied with my intake.
Over the past 6 years, I have stayed within about 10-15 pounds of that weight I reached back in 2002. When I would gain a little too much, I'd return to the diet of choice and drop a few.
With my "Pants" gauge, I knew it was probably time to drop a few pounds again, although, I wasn't exactly looking forward to the idea. Afterall, eating is important.
Then came the Wii.
My son Joshua received Wii Fit for birthday in August. Wii fit is all the range among young and old alike. It is a fitness system for use with the Ninentdo Wii. Allegedly, it will help you get in shape and make it fun in the process.
Joshua has already set up his profile, as well as my oldest son, Zachary. While they haven't exactly gone "hog wild" with the exercise thing they are monitoring their progress every so often.
Monday, I decided to give Wii Fit a try. I was curious to see where I stacked up in the whole "fitness thing."
I'm obese — and apparently, I'm 50 in Wii years.
Not a good thing to learn with your whole family sitting there watching. No more denying it now.
"Paging Dr. Atkins!"
Tuesday, I began phase one of the Atkins diet, coupled with some exercises on the Wii Fit. I know there are those "out there" who say Atkins (and all low carb diets) promote yo-yo-ing, are unhealthy in many ways, and not the best solution.
For me, it is. I do not eat vegetables. I do not have time to manage a points system. This works for me.
This time, however, I plan to get my BMI out of the "obese" category and into the "normal" category. According to the Wii, I will have to travel through "overweight" to get there.
My wife says when I set my mind to something, it's hard to change it. I hope that is the case with the diet/exercise plan (heavy on the diet).
Will it be a "once and for all" thing? Probably not. I'm sure I'll have to periodically go back on even after I reach my goal. But who doesn't?
I just hope I don't get sick of eating bacon. Joshua would be devasated if I did. This is probably his kind of diet too.
May The Blog Be With You.
When I turned 33, I went to my doctor who said, "Your numbers a slightly elevated, which is no problem now, but more of a problem when you are 40 — even a bigger one at 50."
At the time, I weighed 305 pounds. At 6-foot-5, I carry that weight pretty well, but I was a "big man" regardless. During that summer, I lost 50 pounds on a combination of the Atkins diet and playing racquetball. I felt a lot better and returned to my normal eating habits.
When I began eating carbs again, I noticed my stomach capacity had shrunk. No longer did I need the "Extra Value" size of meals and actually would leave some food on my plate, completely satisfied with my intake.
Over the past 6 years, I have stayed within about 10-15 pounds of that weight I reached back in 2002. When I would gain a little too much, I'd return to the diet of choice and drop a few.
With my "Pants" gauge, I knew it was probably time to drop a few pounds again, although, I wasn't exactly looking forward to the idea. Afterall, eating is important.
Then came the Wii.
My son Joshua received Wii Fit for birthday in August. Wii fit is all the range among young and old alike. It is a fitness system for use with the Ninentdo Wii. Allegedly, it will help you get in shape and make it fun in the process.
Joshua has already set up his profile, as well as my oldest son, Zachary. While they haven't exactly gone "hog wild" with the exercise thing they are monitoring their progress every so often.
Monday, I decided to give Wii Fit a try. I was curious to see where I stacked up in the whole "fitness thing."
I'm obese — and apparently, I'm 50 in Wii years.
Not a good thing to learn with your whole family sitting there watching. No more denying it now.
"Paging Dr. Atkins!"
Tuesday, I began phase one of the Atkins diet, coupled with some exercises on the Wii Fit. I know there are those "out there" who say Atkins (and all low carb diets) promote yo-yo-ing, are unhealthy in many ways, and not the best solution.
For me, it is. I do not eat vegetables. I do not have time to manage a points system. This works for me.
This time, however, I plan to get my BMI out of the "obese" category and into the "normal" category. According to the Wii, I will have to travel through "overweight" to get there.
My wife says when I set my mind to something, it's hard to change it. I hope that is the case with the diet/exercise plan (heavy on the diet).
Will it be a "once and for all" thing? Probably not. I'm sure I'll have to periodically go back on even after I reach my goal. But who doesn't?
I just hope I don't get sick of eating bacon. Joshua would be devasated if I did. This is probably his kind of diet too.
May The Blog Be With You.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Sarah Palin has made the race interesting
The race is on. All of a sudden, a “ho-hum” presidential race that many in this neck of the woods were less than enthused about, is the talk of the town, the television and the nation.
Who would have thought John McCain would create such and uproar (both for and against) with his vice presidential pick? Certainly not me, and obviously not the Democrats or the mainstream media (notice I didn’t call them the press.)
However, here we are, approximately 10 days since his choosing of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and approximately two months out from Election Day. And, we are still talking about her.
The “Palin Effect” began innocently enough, with Senator John McCain bringing her out for a brief acceptance speech Friday, Aug. 29. To the casual observer, McCain announcement wasn’t all that different from Democratic Candidate Barack Obama’s announcement of Senator Joe Biden as his running mate.
Personally, I had not heard of Palin before that day, and the announcement didn’t mean much at first.
Then came Friday night. I was in attendance at my church (First Assembly of God in Minden) for a banquet honoring our Sunday School teachers. That’s when someone asked, “Did you hear who McCain picked? She’s A/G.”
A/G is a term people in our denomination (I use that term loosely) to signify someone who is in the Assemblies of God. All of a sudden, I was interested in the V.P. pick of McCain.
All weekend I witnessed the “did you hear…” comments from friends and relatives.
The innocently launched “Palin Effect” was gaining momentum. Newspapers, radio, television and of course bloggers, all wanted to know more – and more they got.
The news media (notice I didn’t call them the press) learned Palin's 17-year-old daughter was pregnant — out of wedlock. They “covered: the story by saying they are not covering the story and then getting comments about them not covering the story, which others made comments about how comments on this story that wasn’t being covered were off limits, but that how being off limits doesn’t mean it should not be commented on.
Then came Wednesday.
Yes, I made it a priority to get home and watch her speech. And, yes, I was as floored as most Americans with how well she did under all the circumstances — including the problems with her teleprompter.
The aftermath of “the speech” is still ongoing. Conservatives are inspired and Liberals are less than amused.
Still no one knows how to react. Each day I check the wire for pertinent news that I feel would be of interest to our readers. Each day, there are more and more stories about Palin. The funny thing is the stories don’t really say anything new.
Thursday, Palin will sit down with Charlie Gibson of ABC news. Who knows if that will bring any “revelations” that the media (Once again, not the press) will run with.
Regardless, this election is shaping to be one for the books — which is just fine with me.
Who would have thought John McCain would create such and uproar (both for and against) with his vice presidential pick? Certainly not me, and obviously not the Democrats or the mainstream media (notice I didn’t call them the press.)
However, here we are, approximately 10 days since his choosing of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and approximately two months out from Election Day. And, we are still talking about her.
The “Palin Effect” began innocently enough, with Senator John McCain bringing her out for a brief acceptance speech Friday, Aug. 29. To the casual observer, McCain announcement wasn’t all that different from Democratic Candidate Barack Obama’s announcement of Senator Joe Biden as his running mate.
Personally, I had not heard of Palin before that day, and the announcement didn’t mean much at first.
Then came Friday night. I was in attendance at my church (First Assembly of God in Minden) for a banquet honoring our Sunday School teachers. That’s when someone asked, “Did you hear who McCain picked? She’s A/G.”
A/G is a term people in our denomination (I use that term loosely) to signify someone who is in the Assemblies of God. All of a sudden, I was interested in the V.P. pick of McCain.
All weekend I witnessed the “did you hear…” comments from friends and relatives.
The innocently launched “Palin Effect” was gaining momentum. Newspapers, radio, television and of course bloggers, all wanted to know more – and more they got.
The news media (notice I didn’t call them the press) learned Palin's 17-year-old daughter was pregnant — out of wedlock. They “covered: the story by saying they are not covering the story and then getting comments about them not covering the story, which others made comments about how comments on this story that wasn’t being covered were off limits, but that how being off limits doesn’t mean it should not be commented on.
Then came Wednesday.
Yes, I made it a priority to get home and watch her speech. And, yes, I was as floored as most Americans with how well she did under all the circumstances — including the problems with her teleprompter.
The aftermath of “the speech” is still ongoing. Conservatives are inspired and Liberals are less than amused.
Still no one knows how to react. Each day I check the wire for pertinent news that I feel would be of interest to our readers. Each day, there are more and more stories about Palin. The funny thing is the stories don’t really say anything new.
Thursday, Palin will sit down with Charlie Gibson of ABC news. Who knows if that will bring any “revelations” that the media (Once again, not the press) will run with.
Regardless, this election is shaping to be one for the books — which is just fine with me.
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