Merry Christmas

Wow! I can't believe that it is Christmas already. I love the season and what it brings out in just about everyone. Even if you don't celebrate Christmas as the birth of Christ I can guarantee that you are thinking about him. And it never ceases to amaze that just the thoughts of Jesus can make such changes in even the hardest of people. Enjoy the season and make every effort to share Christ with someone.
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Some big news! Next Sunday, December 30th, the Cross Lanes Church of Christ is going live. Well not really live, but there will be a tape delay of our service on television. It seems like a bold step for us but nonetheless exciting. We will be airing on Network West Virginia via local cable station on Suddenlink channel 2. We will be on from 9:00 - 9:30 every Sunday morning for the next year. We have the potential to reach 97,000 homes and 238,00 people in our local area. Our prayer is that this is an outreach for Christ and that he is the one who gets credit for anything that is accomplished. We just want to introduce Jesus and tell about him.

Please pray for our efforts that God will use us to strengthen his Kingdom.
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Merry Christmas everyone!

My Life is Better for Knowing Him/Her!

Okay, so I wasn't back like I said I was. I try but something always seems to take the time needed for this. I will try to do better. (That is for the one person who reads this blog).
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Update on the Cross Lanes Church. We are in an exciting place right now. It is easy to see God working through the whole church. While we are not without difficulties, we are pressing on and seeing God's hand.

Our outreach efforts are paying off and we are seeing new people visit. Our task now is to figure out how to keep them coming back. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

I have never been more excited about the future of a church than I am right now. And the best part is that we know God is working. Sometimes in spite of us. Pray for God's will to be done.
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Now to the title of this blog -- My Life is Better for Knowing Him/Her! What is it that would cause a person to say this about someone? I think there are many reasons for this to be said and I can honestly name several people who would fit that for me. Dean Miller -- taught me that it is ok to agree to disagree and still love and share together. Papaw Fuller -- taught me that you need to have strong convictions about what you believe, but still humble enough to change if needed. Phil Judd, my father-in-law -- taught me the beauty of tolerance and patience. Kerry Ross, my wife -- taught me that love is definitely blind because she still loves me to this day. And says more than she ever has.

I could go on and on. Take some time to reflect in your life those who have made our life better for knowing them. And then make an effort to improve someone elses life.

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Quote for the Day:

"It is often easier to fight for principles than to live up to them."

Adlai Stevenson

I' m Back!!

Well, it has been just over 4 months since I blogged. I have really missed taking the time to just write stuff. Hopefully, I will be blogging on a more regular basis.

Wow! Four months! So many things to write about, but I will write about only one. This for me is the greatest of all the news from the past 4 months. My 13 year old daughter was baptized. There is nothing to describe the feeling that a parent has when their child submits to Christ in batpism. Then you add to it that I actually baptized her and it just gets even better.

I am so excited about that and her journey in Christ that most other things pale in comparison.

Have a great day!


Quote for the day:

To have the right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it.

Odds and Ends and a little information

What a kick in the pants. John Beilein is leaving the Mountaineers to coach at Michigan. I can't say that I blame for moving on. Not that there is anything wrong with the job at WVU, but the dollars that are dedicated to the program at Michigan are so much more than at WVU. I have enjoyed Mountaineer basketball more in the past 5 years than I have in a long time. I wish Coach Beilein luck and hope to see the Wolverines win the NCAA championship.
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Why does it always seem to get cold and rainy just in time for Easter? We get all dressed up in our new, spring clothes and the weather just doesn't cooperate. Kids have to hunt eggs inside or in the cold rain and the parents have to be there to watch. Even if the weather doesn't cooperate, the celebration of Jesus coming from the grave makes any day a bright, sunny day.
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Have you ever just sat at the mall or in a park and just watched people? God definitely has a sense of humor. I am always amazed at the unending number of differences I see in people -- height, weight, noses, hands, arms, muscles, no muscles, foot size, eyes, mouths, teeth, hair, sense of style or no sense of style, eyebrows, finger nails, ears, shoulder width, balance, the graceful walk, the clumsy walk, the athletic walk, the lazy walk, the "too much caffeine" walk, etc. The list could go on and on forever. Yes, God has a sense of humor, but he is also a master creator unequalled by anything that was, is, or is yet to come.
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Question -- Does anyone have a vendor they would recommend for the purchase and installation of an LCD projector, screen and necessary hardware?
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How many churches have "Gospel Meetings" and actually preach the Gospel?
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Any good "church billboard" signs you have seen lately -- please send them my way.
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Quote for the day:

It is better to debate a question without settling it than to settle a question without debating it.

Roots and Wings

Do you have roots and wings?

Roots -- that run so deep in Christ that you are like the one described in Psalm 1. "He is like a tree planted by streams of water." So deep that you are "unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord." Roots so deep that "even though there is a drought, it always bears fruit."

Wings -- that are so developed that you are able to "go into a country that I will show you." Wings that force you to say "I only do what the Father tells me." Wings so wide that you are able to be "content in whatever state I am in."

This has been on my mind lately. I want to have roots and wings. I think I have pretty good roots, but I am not sure about the wings. I am just beginning this personal study and it has proven to be very challenging. Almost like a kick in pants.

So, do you have roots and wings?
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Quote for the day:

"Most people know what they hate, few what they love."

Charles Colton

Things you regret

The big story in West Virginia right now, at least in sports, is the OJ Mayo saga. Mayo is a gifted athlete with incredible basketball ability. He is the real thing. Up until now, he has also been, from all accounts, a good person. Generous with the media, staying out of trouble, "keeping his nose clean." And then comes the Huntington vs Capital game. Some taunting, some fouls, two technicals and a referee incident later, he is suspended for two games. Or is he?

Today an injunction was filed to allow him and the other five players who were suspended to play in tonight's game against Artesia, CA ranked number 11 in the national polls. The injunction is good until Feb. 9 when a judge will hear the case. I don't really know how I feel about the outcome today. Is it fair? Is it right? We will just have to let time tell.

But I do know this. From reading his comments and those of his coaches, he regrets the incident that got him into the situation.

Are there things you have done that you regret? Words spoken (yelled, screamed, etc.). Looks given. Blows exchanged (physically or emotionally). I know I have. Case and point. I have worked very hard to keep myself under control at athletic contests. I am a very competitive person and sometimes get too much into the game and it is not good. I scream and yell. I say things that I shouldn't. I get angry and take it out on my kids. It is really not a good situation.

Now, I have been very good for about two years. Calm, cool, collected, and in control. It is just a game. But I slipped up. The other night I had a case of "out of control parent" syndrome. I have regretted it ever since. I have even apologized to those sitting around me for my behavior. But that doesn't make it right and I still regret it.

I am over it now and I am committed to not doing it again. But I know that the possibility is there to "lose it" again. So I am convinced that "I can do all things through Jesus, he is my strength." Thank God. I really need it.
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Quote for the day:

"It is not only what we do, but also what we do not do for which we are accountable."
-Moliere

Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?

Take some time and answer these questions about yourself and see if it matches where you are in life.

Who am I, really?
What is it that I really want to do?
When do I really live?
Where do I want to be today? Am I there?
Why do I do what I do?
How can I be what I am really meant to be?

Just a little self inventory for the holidays and new year that is coming.
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Quote for today:

"The most important things in life aren't things."