So I got this email....

I receive emails from facebook followers and other people I come in contact with either on the net or in real life almost daily. For some reason a couple stand out. I know these people by association only. I am not sure that I have spoken to them at length, ever. I was asked for help whether it be prayer, counselling, etc. It gives me the warm fuzzies knowing that not only am I being viewed as a good person but as a good Christian man. I am not worthy of this praise nor am I worthy of the Grace that was given me by God for my salvation. I do not deserve it.

I work in youth ministry by choice and ask for nothing in return except that the kids get some God out of the lessons and activities. I try to be positive in all challenges and pray daily for guidance and discernment regarding this. The group has grown from two in the beginning to 14 this past weekend, we have outgrown two rooms. As long as we keep God as the focus it will continue to flourish.

 To God be the glory. Amen.

Famous people who died broke and alone...

Famous people who died broke and alone:
Oscar Wilde died penniless, the writer and aesthete was a huge celebrity... But he died penniless
and alone in a Paris hotel
Bela Lugosi
Bela Lugosi made nearly 70 more films in the 28 years after he first
sucked blood in Dracula (1931)
few filmgoers today remember him in a single one of them
(except, perhaps, his last, the bizarre cult classic directed by Ed
Wood, Plan Nine from Outer Space, 1959). (..) He died penniless in
1956.

Joe Louis

Joe Louis (boxer) retired from boxing in 1949 after defending his
title 25 times. He came back unsuccessfully in 1950 and re-retired in
1951 when Rocky Marciano defeated him. From retirement to death he
spent most of his life penniless from bad business ventures and legal
problems with the IRS. He died on April 12, 1981 in Las Vegas.

Judy Garland

By the time she died, Judy Garland was over $4 Million in debt. Her
body was stored in a temporary crypt for over a year, because no money
was available to transfer her to a final resting place. Eventually,
her daughter Liza Minelli raised the money for a proper burial.

Michael Jackson
Who? The King of Pop, who died suddenly in June.
Why? Jackson blew the profits from sales of 750 million records on extravagances such as $600,000 necklace for Elizabeth Taylor, to maintaining his $4 million-a-year Neverland Ranch. When he died he had accumulated debts worth an astonishing $400 million.

Edgar Allan Poe
Who? American poet and critic, celebrated for numerous gothic stories including The Murders in the Rue Morgue.

Why? Poe was among the first well-known American writers to try to earn a living through writing alone, resulting in a financially difficult life. He died in 1849 at his tiny cottage in The Bronx, New York, although his cause of death remains a mystery.

Jesus Christ
Who? Our Lord and Savior, the King of Kings, The fulfillment of the Law. Circa April 0033 Crucified dead and buried and rose again on the third day.

Why? For the forgiveness of our sins…..

Its not all Eggs and Bunnies…..

The stuff in your pockets?

This is the first year that I have done anything for the celebration of Lent. I have given up carbonated drinks for the 40 days (46 if you count Sundays too) leading up to Easter. It has not been an easy task for me but I have been able to do it. I have had help along the way to ensure I stick to it. (thanks Felicia and Kim S!) The idea is to give up something that you long for in order to be closer to God. To break the routine of worship that a lot of us fall in to. Is it working? I have felt better for one so I guess the health benefits are a plus. I have had better communion with Him. I feel more in His presence than I can ever remember too. I am in self denial in order to gain from Him. Penance and Prayer, I have made extra effort to read and study the Word daily. This is going to be a blessing to me and my family. If you have never tried fasting of any kind and long for a closeness to God, by all means, do it. Notice I did not say try I said do....That is a post all unto itself for a later time.

The deep water

When I was a growing up we lived next to a creek with the best swimming hole within three counties. Summer time would come and the kids would come. Friends, family, minor acquaintances, it did not matter they were there to go swimming! Some of my fondest memories are sitting on that creek bank watching the kids swim. Yeah sitting on the bank.... at most I would only get ankle deep in the water. To say I was scared to death of the deep water is the understatement of my childhood. As I grew older I became more comfortable with the deep water, even learning how to swim and have a good time with my cousins.
This correlates to my walk as a Christian. I have stayed in my comfort zone because, well, its comfortable. I know what I am called to do but have barely scraped the surface of it. Like most other areas of my life I have done what I absolutely had to do to get by. It hit me the other day as I was on my way back to Jasper from Gainesville on Hwy 53. I had a visual stimulus flashback to the times I spent watching my cousins and friends instead of swimming with them. I was driving across one of the bridges on Lake Lanier and it hit me. Its time to get off the bank and get in the deep water. Its time to answer the call.