Day 204- A Requested First

Today, I was requested by my children to do a "first" with them.  Hannah Grace wanted me to let her get a streak of color in her hair and Joel wanted me to let him set some ant hills on fire.  Today is national hot dog day and I did plan on celebrating that for my "first."  Instead, I let Hannah Grace have a streak of color put in her hair and Joel set some ant hills on fire for my "first."

This was a very fun "first" for the children which made it very fun for me.  Hannah Grace was absolutely thrilled to have her hair color in.  I even let her and the cosmetologist pick the color without me or her Mom. We trust the cosmetologist!  It turned out very pretty.  The cosmetologist even braided it for her so the color would be in a twist like fashion. Hannah Grace was so excited about it she wanted to go to church early.

Joel loved setting ant hills on fire.  I knew when I did that for a "first" last week that he would want to do that.  He has; everyday.  I've been reminded everyday that he wanted to do that.  Today was the day.  Joel got two ant hills but he did suffer a few bites.  The ants scored a point or two in retaliation.  Joel got so interested in the fire that he did not realize that he was standing a bit too close to the ant hill. It just made him more determined to kill the ants.

 

One of the fun parts of this "first" was doing them with the children.  Seeing their excitement was exciting to me and was much more fun that celebrating hot dog day.  I really do like hot dogs. As we were doing these "firsts" today, I was reminded that God has made us for relationships. We are just not complete with a loving relationships with God first, but then also with a few other people as well. You sure can't please everybody and it would be a mess to try to build friendships based on trying to be what someone else wants you to be. When you find a few people who love God and who love you and accept you as you are, you have found a treasure.  God has made us where we can help each other grow in our faith.  We can celebrate joys together and share sorrows together.  Sometimes we experience God's love through other people who reach out to us. We can help each other withstand temptation.  Ecclesiastes 4:12 says, "And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart."

I truly believe that a huge part of the abundant life is being in a healthy relationship with God and a few other people who love you and you love them back.  Look for someone to spend some time with tomorrow.  You might even end up setting an ant hill on fire or getting a color streak put in your hair.

Enjoying others in the abundant life
Barry

3 things I thank God for today
1. Electricity
2. Toast
3. Socks

Day 203- A Card First

Today, Laura taught me how to play a card game called rummy for my "first."

I don't like card games. Board games are not particularly fun to me either.  Early in our dating relationship, Laura asked me if I liked to play games. I said I loved to play games. She said great because her and her friends/family loved to play games. Then, I asked her what she wanted to play; volleyball, basketball, or maybe some slow-pitch softball?  She was thinking something like Monopoly, Yahtzee, or Clue.  We were on different game wave lengths.

She offered to teach me how to play rummy for a "first."  I agreed.  She said there were many different kinds of rummy that can be played.  She's not sure what version we played.  Anyway, she was the dealer. Joel and I were the other players.  We played a few hands of rummy tonight. I did not win. Did I mention that I did not like card games?  It was interesting to me that Laura was the dealer and she won the most hands. I do think I came in second every time. There is no evidence to back that claim up, but it makes me feel better to think that.

It was pretty fun. OK, hanging out with Laura and Joel was pretty fun. It's been a long time since I've played a card game. It will probably be a pretty long time before I play another one.  I did enjoy playing footsies with Laura under the table.  In the interest of full disclosure, she started it.  That was the best part of the game.

 Don't let that smile fool you

I had fun with the family, but I'm not a big fan of cards.  If you had a petition to ban poker from ESPN, I would sign it.  Here's what I thought about tonight.  It's hard to get someone to do something they don't enjoy or love.  If a person does not love the Lord Jesus, it's hard to for them to do things like attend church, pray, worship, share their faith, or study God's word consistently and with joy.  If you love God, then there will be some joy in the things that help draw you closer to the God you love.  Sure, there may be times of dryness and difficulties where the joy is not as great as at other times.  The heart of our relationship with God is built on love and trust.  The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 16:22, "If anyone does not love the Lord, he is to be accursed." 

If we find ourselves shying away from God's people and the things that God has designed, let's be honest and ask ourselves if we truly love God.  If we love God, there should be some attraction to the things that God has designed to draw us closer to Him.  I desire that my love for God be real and genuine, not just something that I simply talk about.  What could be better than loving God?  So, I might not look forward to cards, but doing things that help me love God should be in the cards for me.

Loving the abundant life
Barry

3 things I thank God for today
1. Beauty
2. Woodpeckers
3. Glasses

Day 202- A Transfer First

Today I transferred some money from one bank to another online without any assistance from the people that work there as my "first."

I have a little savings account at a bank different from our bank in town.  Occasionally, I'll transfer some money to that account. This happens way too seldom; like way, way too seldom.  When I do this, I call the out-of-town bank and ask them to help me do that.  They usually say something like, "Mr. Wilkinson, do you have access to the Internet."  I'll answer in the affirmative to that question and the questions about being able to access my accounts online.  Then they will say something like, "Well, Mr. Wilkinson, I can show you how to transfer funds without having to call. It is very simple."  I usually say something like, "I prefer to call and let you do it."

Since I am doing my year of firsts, I decided to try the online thing by myself. First, I did manage to remember my password and security questions. That is not a given here. I'm not sure how many times I've answered security questions on this computer, but I'll keep answering them rather than asking the company to back off the security.  Then, I followed the instructions and guess what?  I did it and it was really simple. The people on the phone were right. It is less time and less trouble to just do it myself without calling in and getting them to help me.

Sometimes we just have to try something.  For me, I don't like trying new things on the computer.  Part of that is that the times I've tried in the past typically have not went well.  It usually takes longer and is harder than people tell me.  Today was pleasantly different. It was a good reminder that we don't know how hard or easy something is until we try.

The same is true in our relationship with Christ.  There are things that we know God wants us to do and yet we are not sure how it is going to go, so sometimes we procrastinate and disobey.  Today was a reminder for me that you just have to trust God and go for it.  If not, we get stuck where we are in our relationship with Christ and that is never good.  Regardless of something "goes," I'm always glad when I go to bed that I obeyed rather than disobeyed.

Perhaps today there is something that God wants you to do that you've never done before. Perhaps you have been procrastinating and waiting till you felt braver.  Why not let go of the regret and procrastination and trust God enough to obey. He promises to be with  you. He promises to give you strength. What a joy it is to obey!

Looking for new experiences in the abundant life
Barry

3 things I thank God for today
1. Technology
2. Ink pens
3. Laura's poppyseed chicken casserole

Day 201- A Teenage First

Today is church day for us.  We had a Haitian pastor (Pastor Franckie Jeune) preach for us this morning. I wanted to use that as a "first" but he's actually preached here once before.  The last time he preached in the evening and this time he preached int he morning so that is pretty close to a "first."  It was also very challenging and convicting. There is nobody in his church (of almost 200 people) that has a job, 4 people have electricity, and they all have to walk to get water for their homes.  Quite the reality check for those of us living in the United States.

Tonight at church I stopped into the teenage Bible study class and asked them some random questions for my "first."  We have some great teens at Hopewell and I wanted to include them in my "first."  I asked them several questions.  Here are a few.
1. What is your favorite Bible verse?  Here are some of their answers: Isaiah 40:31, Romans 12:2, Philippians 4:13, 1 Timothy 4:12, and Isaiah 41:10.  The cool thing is when people ask me that I usually say Isaiah 41:10 so one of our teens shares that with me.
2. What is your favorite Christian song?  Here are some of their answers: Oceans by Hillsong, Miracle of Mercy by Steven Curtis Chapman,  Midnight Cry by whoever, Write Your Story by Francesca Battistelli, and Beautiful Day by Jamie Grace.
3. What is your favorite season.  The top two answers were college football season and hunting season.  I love the South.  Christmas and summer were the other answers.

Afterwards, I decided to ask Hannah Grace and one of her friends the same questions.  They both answered that their favorite season of the year was Christmas. Then Hannah Grace said her 2nd favorite season was the day after Valentine's Day and her friend said the third day after Valentine's Day. When I asked why (I was pretty sure of the answer), Hannah Grace said because the chocolate goes on sale the day after Valentine's Day. Her friend said, "Yes, but the third day after Valentine's Day it is 75% off."  That was pretty wild coming off the top of their heads.



Very cool teens

Fearless leader Pastor Jim

I love our teens.  As I thought about them today, I wanted to encourage them to live all out for Jesus.  When I look back on my teen years, I'm grateful that I came to Christ when I was 17.  I'm grateful for every decision to follow Jesus. I regret those decisions that moved me away from the Lord.  Some of those decisions seemed like the fun and exciting thing to do, but as a follower of Jesus, I regret the decisions to disobey God.  I'm very grateful that these teens have favorite Bible verses and favorite Christian songs.  As a younger teenager, I did not know any Christian songs except the ones that were sung at church.  These teens are listening to Christian music at other times and that is exciting to me.  It's also exciting to know that God can do incredible things with their lives if they will let Him.  Andy Stanley said he used to say to his children, "God's plan for your life is too good to miss."  I want these teens and my children to believe that with all their heart. I have not always embraced that belief.

One of the ways I can help them is by living God's incredible life myself.  I believe God's plan for our life at any age is too good to miss. It is easy for those of us well past our teenage years to say to them what a wonderful life they can have with Jesus.  That's kind of lame if I'm not willing to live that at my age. I want my life to say to anybody at any age, "Go all out for Jesus. He is worth it." I thought of 1 Timothy 4:12 today, "Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity."

Glad the abundant life is for all ages
Barry

3 things I thank God for today
1. Hopewell teens
2. Pastor Franckie preaching at Hopewell today
3. Running water

Day 200- A Kale First

Today I ate kale as my "first."

A while back I came across an article that touted kale as one of the healthiest foods on the planet. I did not know what kale was so I was pretty sure I had not eaten any.  I put that on my list of things to do for "firsts" this year.  When I was at the grocery store yesterday, I saw one of those cartons of salad stuff that they sell and this one included kale.  I picked it up and had my "first."

WebMD says this about kale, "Kale, also known as borecole, is one of the healthiest vegetables on the planet.What makes kale so exceptional? Here is why it's a superstar vegetable. One cup of chopped kale contains 33 calories and 9% of the daily value of calcium, 206% of vitamin A, 134% of vitamin C, and a whopping 684% of vitamin K. It is also a good source of minerals copper, potassium, iron, manganese, and phosphorus. Kale’s health benefits are primarily linked to the high concentration and excellent source of antioxidant vitamins A, C, and K -- and sulphur-containing phytonutrients. Carotenoids and flavonoids are the specific types of antioxidants associated with many of the anti-cancer health benefits. Kale is also rich in the eye-health promoting lutein and zeaxanthin compounds. Beyond antioxidants, the fiber content of cruciferous kale binds bile acids and helps lower blood cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of heart disease, especially when kale is cooked instead of raw."

 

Who knew?  I guess the people at WebMD. I've been worried about the binding of my bile acids. That sentence kind of makes me lose my appetite (for about 12 seconds). I tried eating some of it raw and it tastes kind of like spinach (I like spinach). It was much better with some salad dressing, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, etc.  Maybe I should be eating more kale.  It sure sounds like a good idea.  Today, it tasted really good because I ate it right after my walk when I was hungry.  Yes, I feel much healthier now.

 

OK



Much better

 

Maybe the cat or dog would like a bite

Maybe these plants are healthy 

 I remember Euell Gibbons saying years ago that parts of a pine tree are edible. I think I will stick with the kale and spinach; possibly some chocolate

 

The kale experiment went well.  I also had watermelon which was much better and also pretty healthy.  This reminded me that I need to be open to all that God says in His word and not just the parts I like.  I overheard a conversation one time where a person said they liked to read the parts of the Bible about God's love and skip the other parts.  That is very dangerous.  The Bible says in 2 Timothy 3:16, "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness."  God has revealed Himself in His word and it is very unhealthy to ignore parts of it simply because it makes me uncomfortable.  Eating kale and exercising kind of makes me uncomfortable but if that will help me not get cancer, it will be well worth it.  Parts of God's word may make us uncomfortable, but it may save us from some disastrous lifestyle choices and consequences.  All of Bible comes from God.  We would do well to pay close attention to it.  When we trust God and His word enough to obey it, I believe we will be glad we did 10,000 years from now.  Don't forget, He wrote it because He loves you and wants you to know Him. 

 

Eating up the abundant life

Barry

 

3 things I thank God for today

1. Kale

2. My family is coming home from visiting friends in Ms.

3. God has given us so much variety in the foods we can eat

Day 199- A Fire Ant First

I went to the store today. On my list of things to get was something to get rid of the ants in the yard.  I've been a bit slack on putting stuff on the ant hills to get rid of them.  It usually doesn't get rid of them, but it does keep them moving and in small hills.  They are beginning to win the war for the yard and so it is time for me to strike back.

While I was driving to town and thinking about that, I was also thinking about a "first." Then, my mind drifting back to the Duck Dynasty show from this past Wednesday night.  If you have not watched that and plan to, this is your spoiler alert. I remembered Jase declaring war on some ants and decided to light them on fire. Yes sir, I lit some ant hills on fire for my "first."

This was much more fun than sprinkling poison on them.  Plus, it was threatening rain and I felt good about that in case I got a little crazy with the fire.  If you combine a redneck like me with fire and killing things, it can get out of hand.  In fact, now that I think about it, I should have found something explosive to put in there with the fire. That would have been all kinds of fun. It did work pretty well with the lighter fluid.

I will admit that this is probably not as effective as other things are. Ant poison is probably still in the future.  Joel is not here today so I only did a couple of ant hills because when he hears about this I think I'll have another "first."  That will be Joel setting ant hills on fire.

 

Picture is not clear but those are ants running around on there

Then the Lord called the poor things home

Those are fire ants.  I thought about a verse for these ants.  Think about the fact they bite kids and try to take over people's yards.  So, here's the verse (1 Peter 4:12)- "Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you."

Sometimes as Christians we may say that people are "on fire" for the Lord.  What I think we mean by that is that someone has a very strong, passionate, and excited relationship with the Lord.  I did think about being "on fire" for Jesus today.

The thought that really came home to me as I thought about these ants is how those ants are like sin.  They sort of creep in.  A small hill comes and it doesn't look like much.  If something is not done, that hill will get bigger and bigger.  Probably one day someone is going to get bit. If that someone is allergic to ant bites, that can be bad.  If that someone is a small baby, that can be bad. 

While sin is much worse that ant hills, it does sort of creep in.  If something is not done (repentance and confession), that sin will grow and grow and try to take over a person's life.  Pretty soon that will become a habitual sin that is really hard to stop. I think this is what the Bible refers to as a stronghold.  That sin can also be very deceiving.  People will sometimes get involved in a habitual sin like cursing or skipping church. When that is mentioned to them, they may say something like, "Oh, that's just a bad habit I've gotten into."  It is more than a bad habit if it's against God's word. It is a sin and possibly a stronghold. It is something that needs to be torched out of that life with the fire of God's word and love mixed with faith.  The beginning of Hebrews 12 says, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith."

Fired up for Jesus and His abundant life
Barry

3 things I thank God for today
1. Fire
2. Grilling
3.  Apples

Day 198- A Lego First

I went to Pensacola for a while today.  If you read my blog a lot, you will be glad to know that nobody was in the hospital. I know it seems that every time I'm out of town I'm visiting someone in the hospital, but not today.

Last night I decided to do an Internet search to see if I could find any interesting "firsts' to do in Pensacola.   I saw there where as an exhibit at the Pensacola Museum of Art titled "The Art of the Brick."  That sounds like something. I had no idea what it was.  How does one create art out of bricks?  As I read about it, I found out this was art made out of Lego bricks. That's right, the little Lego bricks (I've never heard them called bricks before) that you and your children play with some guy has made art out of it.  I visited the Pensacola Museum of Art and saw "The Art of the Brick" display today for my "first."

It seems that this is kind of big deal.  The museum website said, "The Art of the Brick is one of the largest and most popular art exhibits touring the globe. CNN hailed The Art of the Brick as one of the top twelve “must-see exhibitions in the world. This year alone, we’ve visited Brussels, Singapore and Taiwan,” said Sawaya. “We are thrilled to be bringing this collection to Pensacola, Florida.”   I can think of 12 other things I'd rather see, but it was kind of cool.

It seems that this guy named Nathan Sawaya started playing with Legos as a child and never quit.  What he did quit was his law practice 10 years ago to be an artist; it seems mostly with Legos.  Quite the career shift, don't you think?  I found the museum and went to see the Legos. This guy spends quite a bit of time with Legos.  It truly was pretty fascinating what he made out of Legos.  One of the little message boards says he carries a sketch pad around and will sketch something and then build it out of Legos.  However he does it, the man can build with Legos.

 

This was a tall pointy finger

Laura and I 

This was made by Joel 

 

 

This guy knew what to do with a pile of Legos.  Some of these creations were about my height; others were about 2-3 feet tall.  The closer you got, the more you could see the distinct pieces, but from further away it was hard to tell these were made out of Legos.

 

As I looked about the display, I was reminded of Ephesians 2:10 which says, "For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."  The word handiwork is actually a word that means masterpiece.  When I think about what Nathan can do with Legos I thought about what God can do with our lives.  Some of us may not feel like we are very talented, but we have more to offer than a bunch of Lego bricks.  God is a better craftsman than Nathan is.  So, we need to present our lives to God to make something beautiful out of us.  God really does not care how we look.  God wants to make something beautiful out of our hearts.  He wants to make something beautiful out of us that looks a lot like Jesus.

 

I also thought about how Nathan has total freedom over the Lego bricks. When he puts one in place, it doesn't run off somewhere else. The bricks never complain and quit.  I bet they never compare themselves with others and says stuff like, "I'm tired of being a pointy finger, I want to be the boy for a while." Or, "how come that brick gets to be in the face and I have to be a knee that nobody pays attention to."  For God to make something beautiful of our lives, we have to remain in His hand and let Him do what He wants to do with us.  He's the wisest craftsman in the world.  Trust Him to do something worthwhile with your life.  And remember, when He places you somewhere, don't go running off or quit.  He knows what He's doing.

 

 

In His Hands for the abundant life

Barry

 

3 things I thank God for today

1. Ice

2. Laughter

3. Ephesians 2:10 that reminds me that God wants to do something beautiful in all of our lives.