Category Archives: Growing

Blogroll, Church, Discipleship, Enlightenment, Growing, Message, Personal

Sunday Evening Rewind!

I live for everyday – Sunday through Saturday, but I prepare all week for Sundays! Sunday is game day for the Pastor and all the prep work we have been doing all week finally gets to play on Sunday. I love every thing about Sundays and I love them even more now a days, because of what I get to do in sharing the encouraging Word of God.

When I was a little boy, I loved Sunday, because we went to church and I loved our church and all the folks that made it special for me. I love to stand with the Pastor and greet folks as they we leaving. I loved going to Grandma and Pa’s for a big ole family lunch of fried chicken, mac & cheese, green beans and homemade biscuits. I loved taking walks with my Pa around his property and riding to Jr. Campbell’s old store to get a chocolate solider and a pack of crackers.

I love Sunday’s now a days, because I really do believe that the Word is our hope and I so want people to get it and the difference it can make in our lives. I want people to see that is so much more than just going through the motions. I want people to grow in their spirit, so they can experience victory in their flesh and over come all the mental challenges that this old world try’s to beat us down with.

Today at Eureka, We talked about Devoted Discipleship and the fact that we all have a cross to bear. God did not promise this life would be easy, but He did promise that we would never have to walk alone. We talked about counting the cost by realizing that there is nothing more important than our relationship with God, because if it is right, then all the other pieces of our life will fall into place. We talked about the importance of making a plan to grow in our relationship with God and not just waiting for it to happen by chance. We need to let go of everything else and grab onto God with all we’ve got and He will do a work in us, to us and through us that only He can do.

After church this morning we had lunch with family and enjoyed some sweet encouragement and our fair share of laughter. This afternoon, I ran over to the Mineral Spring Park to watch my nephew Will Cantrell perform at his drum recital and then this evening, we headed back to Eureka to wrap up the evening with a little inspiration time in Bible study.

It has been another great Sunday at Eureka and I am ready to hit the bed and catch some Z’s, so we can get ramped up to do it all over again next Sunday. I love you all! God Bless & Press On! -Pastor MJH

Blogroll, change, Creativity, Enlightenment, Growing, life

Changing Your Change!

So I’m on the road today and I really have not had a chance to sit down and write anything on the blog, but I have a very unofficial goal of trying to post something everyday, so I figured I would pull out my phone and see if I had a little something in my heart I could pump out.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how I spent the whole first half of my life trying to change myself in an attempt to live up to what I thought was everyone else’s expectations. The problem with trying to change ourselves, is that it will almost always leave us disappointed, because there is always going some way, shape or form that the world uses to try and convince us that we need to change ourselves.

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” -James 1:17

The reality is that you are who you are and trying to change who you are will leave you disappointed and frustrated every time. A better way of doing life and working for meaningful change is to change your actions and reactions. When we work to change our actions and reactions, a more authentic version of who we really are begins to show up.

If you stop and think about it, I’m sure you can identify at least three actions that you need to change. You know these action are destructive and costing you more than you want to pay. When we talk about needing to change who we are, we are really distracting ourselves from giving attention to the actions and reactions that need to change in our life and living.

Identify your three actions to change, make a plan on how you will do it and get to work. The changing of your actions will not necessarily change you, but it will allow the real you to emerge and you and others will find that the real you is a true blessing and gift to this world…

Blogroll, Expectation, God, Gratitude, Growing, Personal, positive, Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Is Just Around The Corner!

I’ve been thinking about Thanksgiving, which is just around the corner. You know that time when once a year we are supposed to focus on being thankful for our many blessing, while stuffing ourselves with turkey, dressing and all the fixings. I try my best to express my thankfulness everyday, because I really do believe that everyday is a gift. I call it practicing gratitude, because I believe to get good at something, we must continually practice.

I’ve discovered that living a life of thanksgiving seems to open the door for me to experience the fullness of life. I honestly cannot think of anything I need and I am even more hard pressed to come up with something I want. I’ve learned through my thankfulness to accept things as they are, to embrace chaos as a friend and this has moved me out of an almost continual state of confusion into a place of crystal clear clarity that allows me to learn from my past, while living in the blessing of today and looking forward to whatever tomorrow chooses to bring my way.

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” -1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Living a life of thanksgiving is spiritual work. It is not always easy and it requires us to take our eyes off of self, so that we can see all around us at how the hand of God is moving and working on our behalf. Being thankful is a natural part of life, it’s the way we were supposed to do it, before we were corrupted by the world and the selfishness of our flesh.

Take a moment after you read this blog to think about at least three things that you are thankful for. Write them down and tape that note where you will see it multiple times through out the day. Also post your three things on social media to encourage others to think about what they are thankful for and you might just be surprised at how it makes a difference in someone else’s day and life too.