Embrace Now...

When I was a pastor I was always teaching on "Vision". The future... we were gonna do this or that or this or that.... That was great. Dreaming is great.. Vision is great and a must. However, just as many of us can get stuck in the past, we can get stuck in the future as well.

Right now we have life

Right now we have today

now we have these 24 hours

now we have time to throw the ball in the front yard with our kids

now we can enjoy good friends

now we can take a walk

now we can cry, laugh, morn or whatever needs to come out of our emotional system

Remember yesterday... it was great... but its a mere memory.

Tomorrow? Who knows??

Right now? Its here... now.

Take a breath and enjoy now........... Right now.

Just a Thought.....

My biggest complaint

Complain....

It is something I do everyday.

I complain about.........

1. Gas prices

2. Dirty Laundry

3. The BP oil spill

4. My bills

5. My job(s)

6. The heat

7. The rain

8. The lack of rain

9. Traffic

10. Poor service at a restaurant

11. And ton's of other things

However, yesterday, I found out what my biggest complaint is.... Randy G. Wood

I get on my nerves more than anything listed above.

When it comes down to the core of me... when you strip away everything... I am selfish, sarcastic, hypocritical, greedy, mean, wrong, a religious bigot, sneaky, a gossiper and a ton of other things.....

No, I don't do all of that in one day... Yes, i am working on them and letting God do his thing.

So.. while I am complaining about everything and everyone and all of the "worlds" problems... I need to shut the hell up and work on one person.. Randy G. Wood.

How bout you?

Roots

Victory, shame, continuous winner, bad health, good health. What do these words have in common? The answer is.. the root. The root is "the point at which something comes into existence or from which it derives or is derived".
Yesterday I was taking down an old fence which was used to be a grid or lattes for blackberries to grow.

As I began to take the fence down I was pulling off the dead vines. As I began to pull the vines I discovered that they were very deep rooted with several strong root systems. It took a LOT of digging and pulling and sweat to get the roots out of the ground. If i would have allowed the roots to remain then the vines would have continued to grow and take over that area of ground.

If we are to succeed in life the fruit of it is only from a strong root.

If we are dealing with bitterness, shame, etc. the same principle applies.

The root system of anything must be tended to in order for it to flourish or for it to die.

What do you need we need to strengthen?

What do we need to dig up?

What is our root system supplying?

Just a thought.....

Happiness

What is happiness? Is or does it truly exist? If so, where does it come from?
If your a Christian, you might say, "it comes from Jesus"
If your a Hindu, you might say, " it comes from within"
Maybe both principles are true.
One thing is for sure. Happiness does not come from a single event. It does not come from instant riches. It can never come from ritual or rite.

Happiness is very illusive. Its not tangible.

Happiness is a bunch of great moments celebrated every time they happen.....

Happiness must NEVER be taken for granted.

Happiness must be celebrated very slow.

Happiness is not a toy.

Its not just an emotion.

Happiness is not a product for sale.

Its not just landing the dream job.

Happiness is not joy.

Joy is joy... a state of being.

Happiness is happenstance...... curcumstance.

But..... Its OK to be happy.

We should never feel guilty for being or wanting to be happy.

Then again, I did say Joy is a state of being, not happiness.

Hmmmmm, maybe it all begins with then hugh?

Just a thought.....
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Makeing a difference

After Tami and I resigned as lead pastors of CrossPoint Church in Little Rock we started attending New Life Church at their Greater Little Rock Campus.

I admit, at first i was overwhelmed by the size at first (10,00 and growing between there campuses) But there is something else that overwhelms me, the way that they are making a difference.

One word, Wow!

NLC is not a Church that is about a "star" pastor, or any other big personalities. NLC is NOT about fads, competing with other churches, filling buildings, good music, good programs... NLC IS about Making a difference.

Go over to their website and see for your self. http://www.newlifechurch.tv

If you are looking for a place to worship, or just start a journey looking for God, try it out. If you don't want to come to the actual campus, watch them on line. If you want to be a part of something that is making a difference... come on!