Day 236- A Sunday Delivery First

Today, a friend delivered a Starbucks iced coffee to me at church for my "first."

This was a really kind "first" because we do not have a Starbucks in our town.  This friend loves Starbucks coffee and drinks the iced kind.  I'm really unfamiliar with the whole iced coffee scene, so she offered to bring me one to church and I accepted.  I am running low on ideas for "firsts" (yes, that's a plea for ideas) and this seemed to be a good one for a Sunday when "firsts" are hard to come by for me.  As a pastor, I've done lots of things at church so coming up with a Sunday "first" has become particularly challenging. 

I asked her to bring me what she drinks.  So, she brought me a venti non-fat iced latte. It is a double espresso with skim milk over ice.  I'm pretty sure I've never had one of these because I asked her to text what it was so I could get it right here on the blog.  It was very sweet of her to do this.  OK, let me rephrase that. She was very kind, but sweet had nothing to do with this "first."  That had to be one of the most bitter things I've ever tasted.  Wow, that was horrible. Whew, I've had bitter before and she told me it would be bitter, but that was seriously bitter.  Our Sunday morning Bible class got a pretty good laugh out of me on this one. When I took the first drink, I was expecting bitter, but I did not mean to say, "Golly, that's bitter."  But I did. I only said it was horrible about 5 times.  I usually don't say that about gifts that people bring me, but she knew it was bitter and was having a good laugh about it.  Hannah Grace saw the Starbucks cup on my desk and wanted to try it.  So, I let her.  She said it was terrible.  That's exactly the reaction I had hoped for.

It did bring up an interesting discussion.  Why is it that so many things that people get addicted to taste horrible the first few times you try it?  We thought of examples like coffee, cigarettes, coke, diet coke, beer, whiskey, etc.  Not all of those are things we taste in our class, but the point is that a lot of things that are addicting taste horrible at first taste.  We did not solve why that is.

This vastly improved the drink to me

 

Of course, this was all in fun. I really appreciate my kind friend bringing my an iced coffee for my "first."  What I enjoyed about this "first" was that the class got a good laugh out of it and that sort of carried over into the class. I love to hear God's people laugh at church. I really believe God's people should laugh much and often together.  That's one thing I enjoy about our Sunday morning Bible class.  I enjoy hearing them laugh together. I enjoy walking into our worship time a few minutes early and hearing laughter.  People that are truly laughing together are enjoying each other. I firmly believe that Christians should enjoy God and each other.  We are much better witnesses when we are laughing together as opposed to arguing or just trying to look holy.  When you know that you are loved and accepted by God and a few close brothers and sisters, you can laugh and relax a bit. I remember Jerry Clower saying something like, "Hell is the only place where there is no laughter and I've made arrangements to miss hell, so ha ha."

I encourage you to laugh with a brother or sister this week. Don't try to look so holy and righteous that you can't laugh or smile.  All you'll do that way is to be pain the neck and that's not a really good witness for Jesus.  Remember, the Bible says in Proverbs 17:22, "A joyful heart is good medicine, But a broken spirit dries up the bones."

Glad for the joy of the abundant life
Barry

3 things I thank God for today
1. Kind friends who help me with my "firsts"
2. Opportunity to preach at the jail tonight
3. Hopewell people that go to the jail each Sunday night to minister there

Day 235- A Double Daughter First

Hannah Grace came up with the title for today's "first."  There was a group called the Missoula Children's Theater in Andalusia this week and they put a production called Aladdin today. I took Hannah Grace to see this for my "first" today. We've never been to a Missoula Children's Theater Production before.

This was really impressive.  This company is based out of Missoula, Montana. Two adults with the company came into Andalusia and had auditions for area teens and children that would like to be in the performance of Aladdin on Monday. They performed it on Friday for the area elementary schools and today for the general public.  Wow, they had 3 days of practice to pull off an hour long performance with acting, memorizing lines, and singing. It appeared to me there were close to 50 children performing in this play. Aladdin was played by the guy with the company and the rest of the people were teens and younger from here in Covington County. 

Hannah Grace really enjoyed the play.  Joel had seen it yesterday as part of the elementary bunch that was invited to see it as a field trip.  I think they invited the 4th grades from various schools.  He give it a big thumbs up. Hannah Grace said it was very cool.  She liked the parts where they were chasing each other around the stage and into the audience. I liked the jokes the palm trees told and found the addition of penguins to the play an intriguing twist.  Penguins cast in a play that takes place in the desert was a bit unexpected and very cute.  Seeing people we knew do so well in the play was probably my favorite part.

This is titled a double daughter "first" today because after the play Hannah Grace and I went to Wal-Mart and she wanted to try a Starbucks cold coffee.  From the time I mentioned we were going to Wal-Mart she immediately started asking for a Starbucks coffee. I told her I would make her a cup of coffee if she really wanted one.  Somehow, me making a cup of coffee that costs probably 25 cents is not the same as buying a cold Starbucks coffee that cost $2.78.  I bought her a Starbucks cold coffee (mocha flavor) for a "first" as well. She's never had a coffee before.  This could prove to be a bad mistake.  I was pretty sure she would not like it. She says she loves it.  I said, "Really?" She said yes and that it needed more chocolate.  I suggested chocolate milk, but somehow I think not having Starbucks in the name makes that not nearly as cool.

Desert penguins

 

This is before she drank it; perhaps you see the reason for my hesitation

As I watched the play today, I was impressed with what they did with this many children in so short a time. It was a real reminder that children can learn quickly and can accomplish a lot when given the right instruction.  Before we went, I had been watching the Little League World Series. These guys are playing at such a high level for 12 year olds.  Once again, it's truly impressive what young people can accomplish and learn when given the proper instruction and right enthusiasm.

I think this is a message for the church.  Our children can learn a lot more than we think they can.  They can also accomplish a lot. We don't need to undersell how powerfully God can use teenagers and children. Some of the great revivals in the world started with people under 25 years of age.  If you are a parent, grandparent, or teacher of young people in a church, let this be an encouragement to you to pour God's word into young hearts and expect that they can do a lot with it. Let's give proper instruction and good enthusiasm to seeing that our children really grab on to Jesus with a passionate love.  That's more important than any other activity they can be involved in. It will ultimately be the only thing that truly matters.

Learning in the abundant life
Barry

3 things I thank God for today
1. Bible teachers that teach children
2. Youth pastors; especially Bro. Jim
3. Mr. Bullock who taught me 4th grade Bible study at church

Day 234- A Scripture Writing First

We have friends who are excited about their new house that is being built. It is getting closer every day.  Soon, they will be putting their floor coverings in (wood floors or carpet).  Right now, there is concrete and wood down and whatever coverings they will put on will go over the wood or concrete. Our friends are committed Christians and want their house "built" on the foundation of God's word.  One way they thought of to symbolize this is to write Scriptures on the concrete/wood before the floor coverings are put down.  They invited my family and I to go and write Scriptures on the floor of their house today.  I've never been invited to do that at someone's house before.  Today, I went and wrote Scripture on the "floor" of my friends' house as my "first."

This was a very fun "first."  I was delighted that they would include my family and I in on this (they'll be writing Scriptures as well).  It was inspiring to talk with our children about the Scriptures they would like to write.  It was a helpful experience for me to think through the different Scriptures you can write in different rooms of the house. I was pretty proud of what I wrote in the laundry room.  I wrote Psalm 51:7- "Wash me and I will be whiter than snow."  I started to write in the restroom, "This too shall pass." That sounds like the best restroom Scripture to me.  I chose not to write that. It is hard to erase a Sharpie. I told Joel that I started to write that and he thought that was really funny.  He thought it was "This two (as in number 2) shall pass."  Oh, the humor of ten-year old boys.

Front door verse; Psalm 100:4

It's a great idea to build our homes on the foundation of God's word. To know that you are literally standing on God's word in your home sounds like an inspiring idea. Every now and then you could remind each other of the verse that you are standing on. All the fads and trends of this world will go away, but God's word stands forever.  It is more important that we know and obey God's word than what gadgets we own, how cool our clothes are, how new our furniture is, or what people think about us.  God's word helps us to know God. What could be more important than that?  Families that love and trust in Jesus are family forever.  Regardless of how much of this world's treasure and recognition we might get, it can't compare with spending eternity with Jesus.  Nothing and/or no one can compare to Him.

I pray God's rich blessings on my friends' in their new home. They have challenged me to think of new ways to get God's word in my heart and home. What verses would you like written on the floors of your home?

Grateful for the truth of the abundant life
Barry

3 things I thank God for today
1. Sleep
2. What God's word reveals about God
3. Our eternal home

An SLU/CCC First

Last night when I stood up to welcome everyone to church, I looked out and said, "I believe that's Eric Haynes sitting back there." Eric nodded yes.  I said, "I have not seen Eric Haynes since I graduated from college."  That's the truth. We had found each other on FB and started communicating a few weeks back.   Eric was in Alabama on a business trip (he now lives in Virginia) and made it to our Wednesday night worship. I was not expecting him.  What a great surprise.

Eric and I went to Southeastern Louisiana University (SLU) together.  Go Lions!!  We also were involved in an organization called Campus Crusade for Christ (CCC) which is now called Cru.  During the time I was involved with Crusade while in college was a time when I grew as much and as fast as at any other time in my Christian life. Eric said it was also a time of significant spiritual growth for him as well.  After church, we caught up some and I invited him to come over for supper with my family.  Today, I had Eric Haynes, my friend from SLU and CCC come to my house and eat supper with my family as my "first."  I've never had someone that I was involved in CCC with at SLU come to my house and eat supper with my family.

This was truly a wonderful and memorable "first."  It was really extraordinary the way we could reconnect so quickly and comfortably.  The conversation flowed so naturally about our walks with Christ, family, church, and I think there was even a mention of LSU and Saints football.  I was very encouraged listening to him talk about his walk with Christ, Bible studies he's been involved in, church involvement, and his earnest desire to see his children live close to Jesus. 

God was really sweet in the way that He gave my family an almost automatic connection with Eric.  Laura loved the way he bonded with our family because of our shared love for Jesus.  This was the first time she had met Eric, but God has a way of bonding people together quickly. Hannah Grace said she wished he and his family would move in across the road from us and we could all be great friends.  Supper was great and the conversation inspiring.  I loved this "first."

Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ; now called Cru

As we all visited, I was reminded of some of the truths that I learned while I was involved in Campus Crusade that have been so valuable to me through these years.  It would be hard to condense it down to a few points because that takes away from the friendships, worshipping together, sharing our faith together, going on retreats and conferences together and those kinds of things which were so beneficial. Nevertheless, here are a few of the truths that have shaped my walk with Christ that I learned while involved in CCC.

• Having a personal alone time with the Lord each day in prayer and Bible reading for the purpose of getting to know God better (we called it a quiet time).
• Spiritual breathing- confessing my sin as soon as I recognize that I've sinned and re-surrendering my heart to Jesus.
• Living a Spirit-filled life- Trusting in the Holy Spirit to reproduce the life of Christ in me and not simply trying hard for Jesus.
• Small group Bible studies- I learned so much by gathering in a dorm room with 5-6 other guys and seriously studying God's Word together and praying together for the purpose of getting to know God better.

There are many more. Bill Bright was the founder of CCC. He passed away in 2003.  I am grateful for the direction he led CCC in.  I am very thankful for the times I heard him speak. His books (some are Living Supernaturally Through Christ, The Journey Home, God; Discover His Character, and the biography of his life titled, "Amazing Faith) have greatly helped me.  He penned a series of short Bible studies called Transferable Concepts that were "how to" Christian books. They were short and very readable.  They were on topics like How to Know You are a Christian, How to be Filled with the Spirit, How to Walk in the Spirit, How to Introduce Others to Christ, etc.  These have been extremely helpful to me.

Praise the Lord for a great "first." I thank God I got to reconnect with Eric.  I've been inspired by thinking back on the days when I was involved with Campus Crusade.  If you want a good book that will be easy to understand and will help you grow in your Christian faith, you might want to give a Bill Bright book a try.

Thanking God for the abundant life
Barry

3 things I thank God for today
1. Reconnecting with my friend Eric
2. My family's enthusiasm in meeting Eric
3. Bill Bright's ministry

Day 232- A Backward First

Today, I picked up children and brought them home from school.  We carpool with 2 other families to school and back.  I had the privilege of picking them up today.  While we waited for Hannah Grace, Jack, Piper and I talked about what our favorite breed of dogs is.  I'm not sure how we got started on that topic. I think it was Jack's idea. Hannah Grace showed up and we started walking to the car.  Jack decided he wanted to walk backward to the car.  After a few steps, he invited Piper to walk backward, too.  It was then that I recognized a possible "first."  I suggested that we all walk backward to the car and we did for my "first."  This was fine with me because I grew in La. and ate enough crawfish that going backward is kind of second nature.

I have never had the children all walk backward to the car before. If this had been suggested when it had not been my year of "firsts," I probably would not have joined in.  It was actually more fun when we all did it together.  This may be a surprise to some of  you, but our children are not always all super happy when picked up at school.  School can sometimes dampen the joy of the Lord in their hearts.  Walking backwards had everyone smiling and enjoying the walk to the car.  If you can enjoy the walk to the car after school, that is a good thing in my book.

The good mood carried over into the car conversation on the ride home.  We looked up various dog breeds on my phone to see which one was the cutest.  We never did reach a consensus on that one.   Piper was pretty consistent on poodles and pugs. The other two had lots of dogs they thought were cute. I did not push for a consensus. There is no sense in setting the stage for an argument.  I think walking backwards to the car set the stage for a fun drive home.

Jack explaining

Everyone made it safely

Joel was home sick and did not get to participate

As we were walking backward today, Jack said, "You better watch out where you're going when you are walking backward."  He had some real insight there.  If you are walking backward, you can easily walk into something or step in a hole and fall.  That's a good reminder for us as believers. As we are walking through this world, we need to pay attention to where we are going.  Are we getting closer to Christ?  Are we becoming more like Christ?  Are we helping others become more like Christ?  If not, we need to walk a different way.  We don't want to simply wander through life. We need to walk with a direction in mind.

As followers of Jesus, there are lots of place that we can trip and fall spiritually and morally in this world.  Just like when you are walking backwards, if you are not walking close with Christ, you fall down or get run over.  As the children were walking backward across the parking lot today, I was walking in front and keeping a very close on eye on them so they didn't fall or walk into something. We need to walk close with Jesus and listen for His voice so we don't walk into some trap of the enemy.  We may not know what moral or spiritual traps we are about to walk into, but Jesus does.  Let Him be your guide.

So, if you want to have a little fun, try walking backward.  Just be sure that you are walking closely with Jesus.  Thanks Jack, for a great "first" idea.

Walking into the abundant life
Barry

3 things I thank God for today
1. Seeing my friend Eric that I've not seen since college
2. Romans 8:28
3. Printers

Day 231- A White Tea First

Today, I drank white tea for my "first."

This is something I probably would not have done if it were not for my year of "firsts."  I was in Wal-Mart picking up a few things and was looking for a "first" to do.  I saw this bottle of white tea. I've drank sweet tea and green tea, but I've never had white tea before.  I picked up the bottle and it said this white tea had a hint of mint.  I love mint so that was a plus.  It also said it was healthy. In fact, the back of the bottle said that each sip would take me into the realm of all-natural goodness and that it would satisfy my desire to treat myself and my body with something healthy and rewarding.  The label also said this would be a great addition to my healthy lifestyle.  They may have overshot my lifestyle a bit there.

This all sounded good to me.  So, I bought a bottle and had it with my supper tonight.  It was somewhat less rewarding than I had hoped.  There is a big key here.  There is a word that I should have paid more attention to on the label.  It is the word "unsweetened."  Actually, I did see that word and it bothered me a bit because I'm used to sweet tea.  The mint was pretty good.  The tea was not too bad I think. That unsweetened part sort of spoiled it for me.  If you are a sweet tea drinker, you know that you can't really get it sweet like you want it after it has cooled down.  After a drink or two, I decided to save the rest of it for later. I'd hate to drink it all at one time.

It is a little lighter in color, but not really white

 

Missing something

As I thought about this, it did strike me that I probably would have bought into this a lot more if the tea had been sweet.  Of course, that probably would have negated the healthy pitch they are making with the white tea.  I can drink healthy white tea or I can drink unhealthy sweet tea. This reminded me of a guy I worked with one time that would drink a Slim Fast for lunch to lose weight. I told him that I did not really like the taste of Slim Fast.  He said, "I put a couple of scoops of ice cream and some sugar in mine and it tastes pretty good."  I think that kind of negated the weight loss deal.

Sometimes we can do this spiritually.  We can read the Bible and/or listen to God's word and then try to obey it with a bit of compromise.  That really negates the ability of the Scripture to bring us closer to Jesus.  If I read where the Bible says to love my enemies (Jesus said that) and I choose to love people that love me but sort of let that enemy deal slide off, that is not really obeying. That's not moving into spiritual health.  If I read where the Bible says to rejoice because my troubles can be used to bring about better character in me (James 1:2-4), but I just think that must be for other people and I gripe and complain about my troubles, then that word is not going to bring about the good in my life that God intends for it.  If I read where the Bible says I should die to myself by taking up my cross and following Jesus, but I choose to obey God only when it is convenient, then I'm not going to benefit from that word. 

So, let's not sweeten God's word up simply so we will like it.  Let's take it in full strength and let it do a work of love and spiritual health in our lives. Wow, I did not see this "first" going this way. This turned out heavier than I thought when I bought the white tea. Maybe I should go get that white tea back out and have another drink.

Wanting the health of abundant living
Barry

3 things I thank God for today
1. Seat belts
2. Godly police officers
3. Paper towels