Wordless Wednesday

THREE YEARS OLD!!!!

That's how old my little boy will be in 32 minutes! How can that even be true?? How can my little boy be that old? Ok....enough for sounding like an old-man dad...

Here's the thing. I LOVE my little boy. More than I ever thought I could. What do I love about him, well let me give you a list. The other night I put Jonah down for the night and he wanted me to sing him a song. I asked him what song and he chose the classic lullaby, "The A-B-C's"...so here's my list.

Asking--Jonah loves to ask questions and I love that he's inquisitive.

Beginning--I love the new things that he does. It seems like something new every week if not every day!

Chutes and Ladders--Jonah recently discovered this game. He doesn't really get the concept, but he loves to go up and down the ladders and slides, and he loves to fold and unfold the gameboard.

Dog--My little boy has fallen in love with our little dog Max. I love that the one that took most attention away from Max has become Max's primary source of attention. It's so fun to see them together.

Eggs--Pancakes and scrambled eggs (we have this for at least one meal probably three times a week)

Funder--That's "Thunder" for all of you who don't speak Three-year-old. Jonah yells "Funder" everytime he hears thunder (or a car door closing, or a loud truck, or...)!

Grace--We don't call it "Grace" around here, but "B" for blessing is already taken. We get Jonah to say the blessing everytime he will because it reminds us of just how lucky we are to have him!!! Oh...and no "God is Great" prayers around Jonah. Oh no...he's a full on Thank you for....In Jesus Name, AMEN!! (The "amen" is always the loudest part.)

Hospital--Everytime we pass the hospital in Natchez, Jonah tells the story about when he was spinning around and fell and hurt his eye on the coffee table. Then we had to go to the hospital to see Dr. Farmer and get his eye fixed. It's a classic Jonah story! He has an unbelievable memory.

Inclusion--Ok...he definitely doesn't know this word, but it's what he does! Nobody is left out with Jonah. He loves EVERYBODY! I love that about him.

Jonah Daniel Gwen--That's how he introduces himself.

Ketchup--Oh my goodness. EVERYTHING needs ketchup. He put ketchup on pancakes and syrup!! Ugh!!

Lammy--That's his favorite stuffed animal. AND HE LOVES HIM!!! We've got three identical lammies just in case.

Movies--Jonah loves movies and he has quite a collection. You should see him flip through deciding which movie he wants to watch next.

Neck--We play a game where I pick him up and tell him to look up at the sky. He looks up and I give him kisses right where your neck meets your body. He giggles hysterically! It makes my heart smile!

Ocean--Jonah's never seen the ocean, but that just reminds me of all of the experiences that I still get to have with my little boy.

Please--We're working on getting Jonah to ask rather than tell. Please is the key word.

Quiet--If you've ever heard Jonah say, "We have to be very...very quiet..." You'll understand why this makes my heart swell.

Radiant--Have you seen his smile? Nuff said...

Swimming--Jonah's learning to swim and I'm so proud of him.

Tickling--I love that little boy's laughter when we tickle to the point that he is almost out of breath. It makes me smile just thinking about it.

Understand--Sometimes I have to be away. Jonah is so understanding and he's always glad when I get back home.

Vitamin--Jonah gets a Flintstone vitamin every night and if you don't remind him to chew it up, you'll notice 30 minutes later that he still has it in his mouth. Just one of those quirky things that is SO Jonah...

Whiner's Mat--We've just started this, but everytime Jonah whines, he has to sit on the whiner's mat. The other day, he was a little fussy and put himself on the whiner's mat! What a great kid!

X-tra hugs and kisses (need I say more??)

Years--looking forward to what my little boy will accomplish in the years to come. My love has grown for him exponentially over the last three years. How can that increase? I'm so glad I've got years to find out.

Zebra--Ok...this is only slightly about Jonah, because it was one of the first animals that I really remember him KNOWING what it was. But I think he really likes zebras. I know I do...I mean, what is it a black horse with white stripes or a white horse with black stripes. Who knows? Oh well...

Next time won't you sing with me...Happy Birthday, Buddy!!!

My little boy!

Jonah turns three Monday. I love being his dad!

God of this City

Someone asked me today to put the "GOD OF THIS CITY" video on the blog. This video was used for "GRACE DAY" last year. Steve Wilson and I went around Vidalia and took all of these pictures then I edited a video to be shown using a video I had seen on the Passion website.

7/12/09 Video of Service

Our service last Sunday was so powerful as we talked about the power of a changed life. The sermon is broken down into three segments on YouTube with the final being the cardboard testimonies.

SIXTY-EIGHT YEARS!!!

Ok...68 YEARS! That number has resonated with me over the last few days. Let me share with you why...

It's pretty common for me to go into hospital rooms. I usually am in one at least twice each week (sometimes many more.) But, this week was a little different. You see...Saturday, I got a call that a church member, Colmetta Myers, was not doing well. She has been battling leukemia for several months. The last few times that I had seen Ms. Colmetta, I could tell that she was really having some difficulties. Something about the call last Saturday made me think that this hospital stay may not be the same as the ones in the past.

I went to see Ms. Colmetta when we got back in town, and my suspicions were confirmed. She was not doing well. She was having a great deal of difficulty. I could tell that she was getting much weaker. I went back every day last week. And on Thursday night, I got the call about 10:45 p.m. Ms. Colmetta had breathed her very last strained breath.

I went over to the hospital to meet with the family and try to comfort them. When I arrived, most of the family hadn't gotten there yet, but not long after, Mr. Jimmy Myers, Colmetta's husband of 68 years, walked in. He stood straight and proud and handled this situation like only he could. I'm just so glad that he could.

You see, three years ago, Mr. Jimmy Myers at the young age of 85 made a profession of faith! Most people would tell you that if someone doesn't make a decision to follow Jesus by the time they turn 18 then the chances are pretty slim that they ever will. When a person turns 25, the chances are even smaller. Even smaller at 40...55...65...etc. But I'll never forget the day Ms. Colmetta called me and told me that her husband, whom she never thought would make that decision, was asking questions about what it meant to accept Jesus into his heart. I made a bee-line over to their house and found a very strong, hard-working...humbled man waiting to accept Jesus into his heart. I hardly said a word. He basically explained to me what it meant to become a Christian. I've heard that the greatest distance in the world is the distance between the head and the heart. On that day, I literally saw that distance disappear before my very eyes, while the knowledge that Mr. Jimmy had in his head exploded into his heart! He and I prayed right then and there, and I witnessed the entrance of Jesus into an 85 year old heart. And just a few weeks later, I had the opportunity to baptize him! What an experience!!!

On Thursday night, Mr. Jimmy said goodbye to his wife of 68 years. Let that sink in for a minute...........

But because of a decision that Jimmy Myers made three years ago...there will come a day when he'll say hello again! WOW!

Back...AGAIN!!!

I'm a terrible blogger! It's not that I don't have thoughts, it's that I don't write them down! However, I've been challenged to do better. (By the way, I also hate bloggers who start every post with an explanation of why they haven't been blogging lately...now I'm one of them!)

Anyway, what has been going on in my life? The Sanctuary has opened! That's a great new beginning in the life of FBC Vidalia. The moment that we've been waiting for has finally happened! First service was a little awkward. Second service was pretty formal because it was our "Grand Opening." Third service (this past Sunday) finally felt natural. I'm so glad to be back in our sanctuary. I'm so glad to be out of our gym. I'm so glad the project turned out as well as it did. If you want to see pictures, go over to our family blog and check it out here. We are so proud. Our committee did a wonderful job of moving us through this project.

Another thing...we've got a new worship pastor. If you know us and if you know First Vidalia, then you know that Joshua Roberts left us back in November to continue ministry at a church in Pearl, MS. Because of the turmoil that our church was in (sanctuary renovation project underway, meeting in the gym, etc...), I made the difficult decision to carry the church through by filling the interim worship pastor position. Yep...that meant that I was both leading the singing portion of our worship service as well as preaching. Can you say, TIRED?!? Every Sunday afternoon I would just go home and crash (if that was an option due to meetings and such). I had a D.Min class back in December and a fellow student told me that singing and speaking use different vocal muscles. He said that preaching usually puts quite a strain on your "speaking muscles" and singing usually puts a strain on your "singing muscles." However, as long as you're not tiring both sets of muscles out, you should be ok...well, I pushed both sets to their limit. Enter...Stephen Powell!! Stephen and his wife, Meghan, have been with us since May 24th and boy am I glad!! As a matter of fact, I think my body reacted too. I made it through the 6 month gruel of having to both sing and preach, but as soon as Stephen got here, I got a severe sore throat. One that I still haven't quite kicked. Anyway, I'm glad to have Stephen here. He came in under enormous pressure! We were moving into the sanctuary on his first week. His first Sunday was our first Sunday in the new sanctuary. He has had to deal with a lot of upheaval in his first few weeks at FBCV, but I'm very proud of the way he's handled the pressure! Welcome...Stephen and Meghan!

Another thing (a BIG thing!!). I've been married for 10 years! On May 15 of this year, Nicki and I "celebrated" our 10th wedding anniversary. I say celebrated in quotes because we went to Monroe for our celebration. What fun!!! Well, at least we were together! It was great getting away and reflecting on the last 10 years. God has brought us through so much! Seminary...Erlanger...Vidalia (Worship Pastor)...Vidalia (Pastor).... Who knows what God has in store for the next 10 years!!! I can't wait. I'm just so glad I have such a loving and supportive person standing by my side!

Finally (or the last thing I can think about right now)...Jonah is potty trained!!! Wow! I never thought I would say that. Nicki and I had talked about how important it was for him to accomplish this feat before school next year, but I never thought it would be so easy. How did we do it? We've found a great method. Ready for it? Listen carefully...Drive to Meadville (that's right, Meadville, MS), Get out of the car at the gas station (you know the one), put your child in Mimi's car, drive away... That's it! Nicki's mom accomplished the whole thing in ONE DAY!!! We dropped Jonah off on Sunday and he was potty trained on Monday! He had one accident on that Monday and hasn't had one since (Monday was two weeks!!!) He's even sleeping in "big boy unnerwears." (A couple of days ago, he called them "panties." I put a stop to that pretty quickly!!!) I'm so proud. Now, we just need to teach him to make his own food, drive, and work for a living...our job will be OVER!!! Ha! I love being a part of these milestones in his life!

Anyway, that's it for now. I'll try to be more consistent with this blogging thing!

It's great to be a Daddy...

My little boy is 2 1/2 years old today! (That's 30 months for all of you month counters!!) It's hard to believe that two and a half years ago they put this little bundled up child in my arms and said, "Here you go, Daddy." I never knew a feeling like that!

I'm so glad that God has given me an opportunity to be Daddy to this little boy. I asked Nicki the other day..."When do the 'terrible two's' kick in?" She said I should be very quiet when I ask that question. Well...I don't know anything about the "terrible two's" so I thought we may be already in the thick of it and I was convinced that it wasn't that bad! Honestly, I think our child is an angel from heaven! (Or maybe we're just that good of parents! HA!)

All that to say, I'm so blessed to be this little boy's dad. What a joy to know that God has allowed me to raise this child. God, give me the strength and wisdom to do a job with this responsibility that will make You, my Heavenly Father, proud of me! I want to be a Daddy to Jonah the way God has been a Father to me!

I love you, my little Jonah-Bug!

Been a while

Ok...it's been a while!  I know.  This is not really my giftedness, but I do want to share with the people of "Blog-World" some of the things that are on my heart.  AND, Nicki and I made goals for each other for 2009 and one of her is for me to post something on my blog at least twice a month. (So what you're seeing now is the competitive side of me trying to live up to expectations!!)

Read something recently that talked about hospitality in church.  The idea was from the perspective of a worship leader, but it could be applied to the church as a whole.  The thought was that someone who is leading in worship should be very hospitable in their leadership.  That means that worship will become less about the leader and more about those he or she is leading. That's confusing...so for example.....If someone has an unbelievable voice and is singing to his heart's content on stage...that may not constitute worship leadership.  Instead, that person may have to mask his singing ability to keep the congregation engaged in the worship experience.  Think about it...most of the best worship leaders in our world today are not the most talented individuals.  You can mostly see this when some contemporary artist decides to step into the worship world (probably to catch the wave of the current movement)...usually a very awkward album.

So...how does this apply to a pastor?  I have to be sure that my ministry is to the people, for the people, and with the people.  Sometimes I can get so theological that I go right over people's heads.  I have to be sure that I'm communicating to the individuals that God has brought to our worship service rather than just amusing myself with what I've learned from a particular passage or subject.

Now...how does this apply to our church?  It means that we exist for the outsider.  One of the travesty's of church is that sometimes we get so wrapped up in our own pleasure that we forget that we have guests that we're trying to reach.  And even more than that, we have people who haven't darkened the doors of our church that we're trying to reach.  How are we going to reach them?  By doing what makes the longtime church member happy?  By making the pastors happy?  I think not. Outsiders are going to be reached by being engaged with the gospel.  We must show people how much God loves them and how much he wants a relationship with them.  What better way to do that than to allow God to engage their lives through worship and stand back to see what happens after that.

This Sunday, I pray that the people that come to our church will think more about others than about themselves.  Who are the most important people in the room?  They're probably the people that have been there the least amount of time.  May we put all of our effort into reaching them with the Love of God.

An update

Just for you Spydermonkey!!