Wild Ride

It has been a wild ride that last few days. I have been completely swamped with ministry and I feel that I may have ministryitus. I get this when I have been completely unfaithful in my resting. I overbook my schedule...which leads me to waste the time I do have...and all this be completely avoiding the necessary space God provides me to reflect and listen. When this point happens I get stressed, irritable and pushy with others. Right now i yearn for the "rustling of sandal-feet" in my presence.
I don't like this... I get so frustrated that this happens. I am not sure why I allow this to happen. Why can't I slow down and allow the Lord to speak peace into my life? I truly wish that I was able to pull away even for just a few hours to listen to God. Why is so hard for me? I am addicted to activity. God help me intentionally pause... long enough to hear the voice of Jesus as breaths life into me.
Lord, give us your rhythms of grace...

756

Last night Barry Bonds hit the record breaking home run. This is the most cherished of all sports records and last night it was broken. Barry hit the homerun in front of his home crowd, which is where he is most loved. There is no doubt that Barry has a lot of talent, but there are still many unanswered questions about his alleged steroid use. So we will have to see.
Hank Aaron hit #755 during a different era and during a time of much turmoil. Racism was very evident in our country and he gave people a chance to see that all people can excel. Hank Aaron's home run stood for more than just a record and this to me is why I still place more value on Aaron's record than on the Bond's homerun. I can appreciate a record being broken, but at the end of the day I respect the larger meaning of Aaron's homerun record and his life far more.
This challenges me to live my life in a way that is not just totalling numbers, but is a part of the larger picture that is being painted. I want to be a part of something that touches eternity. I am thankful that God enables us to move beyond ourselves and live for the common good of humanity. Jesus calls us not to be self-serving but to serve others with the Love of God.

Football is Coming

I a little over a month we will have football to focus on... I am most excited about the upcoming season. It is so much fun to be around the game... the tailgating...and the large crowds of people. Eagle Nation will see it's third coach in three years. Be easy on the guys it is their 3rd defense and 3rd offense in three years too. I expect that we will have marked improvement over last year and will contend in the SoCon. I look for Foster to have a great year and for him to leave an even greater mark on his time here in Statesboro.
It's about time for Saturdays in the South, where Football rules and grills are the standard cookware. It will be fun as the Eagles soar once again over The Best Little Stadium in America. So get your game face on...take a dip in Eagle Creek...and lets get ready for some FOOTBALL.

Here It Comes...

It is hard for me to believe, but the new semester starts in about 2 weeks. Can you believe it? I am always amazed at just how fast the Summer goes by. With the start of the new the semester, I am excited about the possibilities of the new school year and I believe that the Lord desires to work in us and through us.
I pray that we will listen to God more rather than all of the other noise around us.
I pray that God will give us an opportunity to serve others more intentionally.
I pray that we will thoughtfully consider what it means to live by faith daily.
I pray that we will be led as a ministry by the Spirit as we seek to minister on the Georgia Southern Campus and the Statesboro community.

Let us pray that God will draw us close to His side and give us the wisdom to effectively represent Him on our campus.

The Hard Work of Trust

Brennan Manning offers a story in his book, Ruthless Trust, about Mother Theresa. A man goes to her and asks her to pray that he will have clarity. Mother Theresa tells him, "No I will not do that. Clarity is the last thing you are clinging to and must let go of. " The man insisted that she had the clarity that he longed for. It is said that she laughed and said, "I have never had clarity; what I have always had is trust. So I will pray that you will have trust." pg. 5 Ruthless Trust
I need to ask myself this question daily:
Do I long for clarity in my life or do I truly long to trust Jesus? How about you?

Spiritually Speaking

So I have been reading this book and it has been very challenging. The books title is, Ordering Your Private World, by Gordon MacDonald. It is a classic that has been re-released. Early in the book MacDonald asks the question, "How are you doing spiritually?", which stopped me dead on the page. I needed that question. It is a pointed question and very helpful, because I could not get around it and I had to deal with the state of my hidden world. I have been doing well, but this put a new twist on it. Gordon says that our lives are spiritual and just merely logging in a "quite time" is not going to cut it. We must allow God to order our private world in a way that completely renovates our hearts. I am still reading the book and have been significantly challenged by each page. I encourage you to grab one from Amazon.com and begin the process now.
It is so easy to be defined by our outer props. We are known too often by what we do or how active we are. It seems that in my life I have easily allowed myself to be defined by the multiple hats that I wear. How about you? Are you known for you job? Do you consider yourself successful or a failure because of the outer crutches you have?
In your spiritual life, if all the "stuff" was taken away, what would be there to sustain you. I have to ask myself this question and remember that it is the Lord that sustains my life. Habakkuk 3:17-19 reminds me that all of life is not 5th Avenue.

"How are you doing spiritually?" Gordon MacDonald

Back Home

It is good to be back in the Boro. I can hardly believe that I have only been gone two and half weeks. I feel like I have been out for about six months.
It is fun to travel, but there seems to be nothing quite like home. It is always good to see my wife ans other familiarities. It is interesting how distance really does make the heart grow fonder. I wonder why this is. Do we become so used to something that we have to be away in order to actually appreciate it? I am not sure, but this does seem to be the case. This is a sad reality to me...
I looking forward to the beginning of the Fall Semester. I am praying for the Freshmen as they move to town. The year will be a challenge for us all, but it is especially hard when you are just learning the ropes and testing the college water.
I pray that we will be available to God to use us in ways that will impact the others for Christ. May we stay in step with the Spirit.