Monthly Archives: April 2009

by

Listen – Can You Hear That?

Dogwood Flower At My Granny's House!

Dogwood Flower At My Granny's House!

Sunday, I had the opportunity to go and spend a few moments at my Pa’s old place.  It’s just a little house out in the country with a couple of barns and an old outhouse.  While I was there standing on the edge of the field, I was amazed by what I heard:  NOTHING AND YET EVERYTHING!  Nothing like all of the noise that I have grown used to trying to drown out of my life and everything that I needed to hear to bring me to a place of peace.  There were no sounds of traffic, hustle or bustle.  Only the sound of the breeze blowing through the trees and some geese flying into a distant pond.  I appreciated the moment and it reminded me of the importance of having more of those moments!

Yesterday, I spoke with and challenged our staff to take some time for meditation!  We live in a world that is filled with noise and with all of the noise it is hard to hear the still small voice of God.  All of the noise seems to put us in a state of constant hurry and this causes us to run past so many wonderful things that God has for us.  We need some time and quiet for God to do His act of re-creation in us.  This is what meditation is about!  Meditation is our opportunity to step out of the hustle, bustle and noise of life and get into the presence of the One who can do something about making our lives better and more fulfilling.

When we meditate – we listen to God, think about what God is up to and how He is working.  We remind ourselves of His faithfulness to our lives in the past and know that He is in our present and will be faithful in our future.  This time of seeing, hearing and knowing God helps us to see, hear and know ourselves and allows us to discover the areas of our own life that need a special touch.

Take some time at some point today to step away from it all and get into His presence!  It will make your life better!  I am praying for you today – that you experience God in a powerful and life changing way!  God Bless & Press On!

by

I Feel Good! (Na na na na nanana)

I am pumped this morning and I have a whole big ole bunch of stuff in front of me that I am not looking forward to.  But I plan to work my way right through it, because it has to be done.  I have been trying all morning to figure out why I am extra pumped this morning – I had a great time with God, but that is every morning.  It is still raining and dreary outside, but I want to sing with my best James Brown imitation “I FEEL GOOD - Whoa-oa-oa! I feel good, I knew that I would, now.  I feel good, I knew that I would, now.  So good, so good, I got you.  Whoa! I feel nice, like sugar and spice.  I feel nice, like sugar and spice.  So nice, so nice, I got you!  (Let the sax kick in – you hear it?)

I think it is because I got a great night of sleep.  I actually feel rested and ready for whatever is going to come my way today.  I usually do not sleep all that great, but last night was great!  Let me give you some tips that I believe contributed to my great night of sleep:  We need to begin our day with God and we need to end our day with God and we need to stay connected with God all throughout the day!  Psalms 3:5 says  ”I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me!”  And then we read in Psalms 4:9  “I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety!”

I don’t know what you are facing or dealing with, but I do know that God loves you and has a plan for your life and He does not want you to lose sweet, refreshing, peaceful sleep over something that He can take care of.  Really give your life to God and then before you go to bed at night make sure that you have not taken it back from Him at some point during the day, and if you have, then make sure that you give it back!

I hope that we both get some good sleep tonight, so that tomorrow we can sing:  

Whoa! I feel good, I knew that I would, now.  I feel good, I knew that I would.  So good, so good, I got you.  So good, so good, I got you.  So good, so good, I got you.  HEY!!!  (Spin around, take a bow and have a great day!)

by

Working On Myself!

 

My Aunt Judy Having Fun At Easter Lunch!

My Aunt Judy Having Fun At Easter Lunch!

Hey!  I am glad that you made the choice to join me today!  Thank you so much for taking the time to read my post!  My goal in life is to help people find the right direction in life!  God has and is providing direction for my life and it excites me to be able to share that with others.  While I seek to improve and grow everyday, every so often, I go on a personal self improvement campaign.  It’s just a little something that I do to try and amp up my living life in the right direction that God has for me.

 

I thought that it would be cool to invite you to join me on this campaign!  All of us have things that we need to work on, areas of our life where we can grow and improve.  Today and this week – I am taking some steps to work on the spiritual and physical parts of my life.  

In my spiritual life, I want to grow deeper in my walk and relationship with Jesus.  I already have a daily devotional time with God, but I want to make sure that I am not allowing it to become just a part of my routine, so I am changing things up just a little.  This week I am still meeting God in the morning, but I am specifically looking for direction from Him about how I can have a deeper and more meaningful relationship with Him.  Here are some things that God revealed to me this morning:  

One of the biggest temptations of living in this world is the temptation to become superficial.  It does not benefit anyone to play make-believe!  Get real with God, yourself and everyone!  Another problem in our world today is the need for instant satisfaction – realize that some of the things that God has for you are not instant, but they take time, discipline and trust!

We live in a physical/material world, but this is not all that exist.  There is a spiritual world of God’s creating that we miss out on when we get too focused on the physical/material.  I tend to focus to much on the outside.  I get distracted by the outside.  I need to make sure that my focus is on the inside, because it is the inside that matters to God!  God will give me victory from the inside-out, if I will trust Him.

For my physical – exercise and diet!  It is a continual battle of my life to stay fit physically.  Spiritual discipline seems to come much easier for me than physical discipline.  This week I am going to exercise everyday and I am going to try to treat food as fuel and make sure that I am taking the right stuff in.  I know it does not sound very fun or exciting, but I have to figure out how to make it that way.  I believe that my body is the temple and I have some fixing up to do!

How about you?  Do you have any spiritual or physical work that needs to be done in your life?  If you do, then join me and we will work on it together!  It’s going to be a great journey!

by

What Do You Believe?

I saw this video and knew that I would have to share it with you guys!  This is Penn from Penn And Teller – they do a magic/comedy show.  Penn has never been shy about the fact that he is an atheist and does not believe that there is a God!  And while he still does not believe that there is a God – he clearly displays that his heart has been touched.  This video gives us some really good insight into how the world is thinking.  I hope that it will make Believers think and get serious about what we say we believe!

by

Yes God Does Care!

dsc_0028Does God care?  Just look around and you will see that our world is in a mess!  Most people are living a “just getting by” kinda life!  There is unhappiness, dissatisfaction, frustration and discouragement all around.  People are just hoping that everything is going to be okay.  But, I want you to know that God does care!

If God does care – what does He care about?  Most people believe that there is a God!  But most people don’t really believe that you can have a real relationship with Him.  A relationship that changes your life today and for all eternity.  When life spins out of control we need to remember and remind ourselves that God does care and God wants to have a real and meaningful relationship with us.  And I want you to remember that God cares about you.

A lady by the name of Hannah is found in I Samuel chapter one and when we find her she is in a bad place.  She is married to a man that she loves and that loves her, but she cannot have a child.  The man that she is married to has another wife that has given him children and she picks at Hannah every chance she gets, because Hannah is barren and can have no children of her own.

It is important for us to remember a few things about this life that we live.  First – All things that come or fail to come into our life are allowed by God!  Second – God is sovereign and in control!  Third – We need to humbly recognize God’s hand behind the circumstances of life!  (GO back and read over those three again and take some time to think through them!)

Hannah was distressed and depressed.  She prayed and she wept.  Sometimes when life gets really hard, the only thing left to do is cry and pray!  Hannah was disappointed – life was not working out the way that she had planned!  Hannah was dissatisfied – life was not living up to it’s expectations!  Hannah was discontent – life was passing her by and she was not willing to sit by and watch it!  When life get so tough, that we think we can’t take another day – we have to decide what we really believe!

Some people live with an attitude of fatalism – they say to themselves and those around them:  If God is sovereign, then who am I to do anything about it?  Others choose to live life with an attitude of resentment – they say to themselves and those around them:  If God is going to treat me this way, then I want nothing to do with Him!  We need to live life with an attitude of faith – we should say to ourselves and those around us:  I know and trust in God’s sovereignty and His goodness toward me!

Romans 8:28 reminds us:  “We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

Romans 8:38-39 says:  “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

God Is Good Good And God Does Care And Don’t Let Anyone Change Your Mind And Heart About That!  Victory Is Yours – So Go Out And Get You Some!

by

Does God Care?

With all that is going on in our world at this particular time, this is a question that more and more people are beginning to ask.  And if God does care, then what does He care about?  In I Samuel 1:3-11 we find a lady by the name of Hannah.  She is going through a really tough time because she wants to have a child, but is unable to have a child.  We can tell by the prayer that she prays that she believes that God cares and that He cares about her!

Tonight at Northwood, we are going to take some time to look at Hannah’s prayer and also seek to understand the faith to pray such a prayer.  If you want to learn about how to talk to God and believe in God, then you don’t want to miss this special time of study.  Come join me in the Worship Center at 6:30 P.M. as we take some time to discover and remind ourselves that YES – God Does Care!

And for those of you who can’t make it – I will try and post some points on tomorrow’s blog!  (But go a head and check out the Scripture for yourself!)

by

Forgiveness!

Have you ever noticed how much the Bible talks about forgiveness?  There is verse after verse that tells us to forgive others!  When someone hurts you, you have a choice to make, you can hold on to the anger, hurt, resentment and thoughts of getting even or you can forgive and move forward.

Everyone has been or will be hurt by the actions or inactions of someone else.  It may come from a family member, friend or even a complete stranger.  The things that people say and do can hurt and leave you with anger, bitterness, frustration and an attitude of vengeance.

The Bible tells us to forgive, because we have been forgiven.  If we have been forgiven and truly appreciate our forgiveness, then we will forgive!  When we forgive, we will experience freedom and release, but when we fail to forgive it will cost us!

To forgive means that I make the choice to let go of the resentment that I hold on to and the revenge that I seek.  Forgiveness is the action of separating myself from my thoughts and feelings, so that I can make the right choice about what is best for me and those around me.

Forgiveness helps me to live a healthier life by allowing me to be in control of my feelings, rather than having my feelings control me!  Forgiveness is not always easy.  It is best to understand that forgiveness is a process:

  1. REALIZE that forgiveness is your best option!  Take some time to think about what unwillingness to forgive is costing you and allow these thoughts to motivate you to forgive!
  2. REFLECT and think about how you got to where you are and admit to yourself that you don’t want to stay in this place!
  3. REACT in a positive way and seek reconciliation as much as you can from your side of things!

Above all remind yourself again and again of the forgiveness that has been granted to you by Your Savior.  Forgiveness that we do not deserve and that we cannot earn!  If you’ve got it, then give it!

I’ve got some work to do – how about you?

by

Team Work Makes The Dream Work!

Egg Hunt 2009Northwood Easter Egg Outreach – Giving of ourselves to help people find the right direction in life!

This past Saturday the Northwood family showed up at Lake Cunningham with a mission of sharing the love of Jesus in a real and meaningful way. Men, women, boys and girls came out to help set up and everyone worked hard to make sure that people from our community felt welcomed, loved and special!  The event was totally free to the community and was made possible by the generous gifts of the Northwood family.  Everyone had a great time and God blessed with an extra beautiful day.  Thank you to each and every person that gave of themselves to help make this great outreach event a success!

If you want to know what the church looks like, then you need to come out to one of these events and watch our people as they work, sweat and give of themselves to share the love of Jesus.  I just want all of you to know how proud I am of you and how thankful I am to be a part of this team and family!  Thanks for all that you do to help Northwood be the place and people that help people to find the right direction in life!

by

Obituary For Someone Else!

Our church was saddened to learn this week of the death of one of our most valued members, Someone Else. 

Someone’s passing creates a vacancy that will be difficult to fill. 
Else has been with us for many years and for every one of those years, 
Someone did far more than a normal person’s share of the work. 
Whenever there was a job to do, a class to teach, or a meeting to attend, 
one name was on everyone’s list, 
“Let Someone Else do it.” Whenever leadership was mentioned, this wonderful person 
was looked to for inspiration as well as results; “Someone Else can work with that group.”It was common knowledge that Someone Else was among the most liberal givers in our church.   Whenever there was a financial need, everyone just assumed Someone Else would make up the difference.

Someone Else was a wonderful person; sometimes appearing superhuman. 
Were the truth known, everybody expected too much of Someone Else. 
Now Someone Else is gone! We wonder what we are going to do. 
Someone Else left a wonderful example to follow, but who is going to follow it? 
Who is going to do the things Someone Else did?

When you are asked to help this year, remember – we can’t depend on Someone Else anymore.

Author is Unknown

by

Right Direction!

One of my friends and a member of the church I pastor took this photo:  Brian at Reel Video And Stills

greerfd_vanfirehwy14_0044

You can read our church tag line on the sign it says “Helping You Find The Right Direction In Life!”  Everyone knows that the right direction is away from the fire!  What a great visual reminder of the task that God has given us as a church!  We tend to want to make it about so much other stuff, but the truth is our task is simple, so let’s get busy “Helping People Find The Right Direction!”