Archive for March, 2010

Christ is Sufficient

Monday, March 29th, 2010

Don’t let my demeanor and physical stature fool you, I am NOT an athlete.  Growing up, I was always one of the taller boys in elementary and junior high school.  So people always thought I would be great at basketball.  Two minutes on the court and everyone knew I was the most valuable player for the other team.  I was great at dribbling, as long as it involved liquids trickling out of my mouth and down my shirt.  Trying to bounce the ball, walk and/or run, keep an eye on my fellow players, and keep the ball away from the opposing player was far too advanced a  task set for my staggering mental and physical capabilities.  Walking was a sufficient enough challenge.  There were a couple unwritten rules which helped everyone on the court when I played basketball.  If you want the ball to stay in play, do not pass me the ball.  If you wanted to try to score during this possession of the ball, do not pass me the ball.  If you wanted the ball to be passed back to a member of our team, do not pass me the ball.  If you wanted to chase the ball after watching it fly between someone’s hands and bounce off their face…..by all means, pass the ball to me.  If you wanted to watch someone forget which team they are on and give the ball to the first person that asks for it, pass the ball to me.  If you wanted to see someone double dribble, travel, or just fall over while holding the ball, pass the ball to me.  The amazing thing is that my athletic ability doesn’t stop with basketball.  No, this staggering level of skill on the court extends to football, baseball, tennis, tiddlywinks and thumb-wrestling.  I’m the only person I know who suffered a muscle strain playing a game of Mousetrap.  I don’t want to say that I’m uncoordinated, but using the TV remote requires me to use Olympic level reflexes.

I know I have talents to share with the world.  I can say the most awkward things at the most inappropriate times.  I have a staggering ability to take naps.  I’m messy, lazy and disorganized.  I have the attention span of a squirrel on crack. Yes, I am the total package.

In spite of all my specialized “gifts” and “abilities” I know that God loves me.  I know that Jesus died on the cross for my sins (which by the way outnumber the needles on a longleaf pine).  I know that I am called to live by faith, trusting in the sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life.  I live with all my shortcomings and failures knowing God is faithful and just.  I know that grace is not based upon my ability to shoot a free throw or hit a home run, but on the work of Jesus Christ.  Hebrews 12 says 1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  I am not strong or great or worthy, but Jesus Christ is all I need.

Chad

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Burn Out or Rust Out?

Thursday, March 25th, 2010

 When I met Agnes, she was in her 80s and playing the organ for the Methodist Church down the street from where I was minister.  Agnes was a sweetheart.  She was as kind as can be.  But age caught up to Agnes.   One Sunday the Methodist Church was celebrating communion.  Agnes was playing the soft background music that churches usually have accompanying their time of communion.  People gathered at the rail, knelt, received communion and went back to their seats, all while Agnes played.  When communion was over, the pastor returned to his place in the front of the church to continue the service, but Agnes kept playing.  The pastor waited, but Agnes kept playing.  After several verses of one hymn, she moved on to another.  “Agnes,” he whisper/called.  “Agnes, you can stop playing now.”  But Agnes kept playing.   The people fidgeted, the pastor puzzled what to do, and Agnes kept playing.  Finally, the pastor walked over to the organ and put his hand on Agnes’s shoulder.  Agnes glanced at him, but played on.   Finally, he leaned down to her and whispered in her ear, “Communion is over, you can stop playing now.”   Agnes nodded, but played on.  The pastor waited until she ended the verse of the hymn she was playing, and he gently pulled her hands away from the keyboard.  “Thank you, Agnes,” he said with a kind smile.  He led her to the front pew and had her sit down.  Then the pastor pronounced the benediction and released the congregation.  That was Agnes’s last Sunday as organist for the church, and shortly afterward she entered a care center.

I remember hearing a speaker at a conference who talked about Christian service.  He said, “Folks, I don’t know about you, but I would rather burn out, than rust out.”  He went on to explain that he wanted to zealously serve God.  He didn’t want to be a “pew-potato”, but someone who was engaged in ministry wholeheartedly.  For some reason, Agnes popped into my mind the other day and with the memory of her came the “burn out rather than rust out.”  Now some people might be tempted to say that because Agnes was in her eighties (old by some people’s standards, but looking younger and younger to me),  she rusted out.   After all, she had probably played the organ in that church for 60 years.  But I think Agnes served her Lord faithfully and joyfully all those years.  She had a committed heart that served God.  I used to snicker as I thought about her sitting there playing and playing, while everyone in the church wondered who would have the courage/audacity to tell her to it was time to stop playing.  Agnes loved the Lord, there is no doubt about that, and at an age when everyone else thinks about relaxing and coasting, she was still serving.  She practiced with the choir, practiced hymns, and learned new music for choir anthems.  Agnes served.  Oh, sure.  We would be horrified to think of something like that happening to us.  But what an amazing testimony!  She served until she literally could no longer do it. I believe that Agnes didn’t rust out, but somehow burned out and aged out at the exact same time. 

In Matthew 22 we read:  36″Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37Jesus replied: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”  As you go about your week, I invite you to ask yourself, “How am I demonstrating my love for God?  Am I living with zeal and commitment?  Am I serving God?”  Don’t be a pew-potato.  Serve the Lord with joy and gladness.

Chad

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Defragging the Hard Drive

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

If you are much of a computer geek, you know about defragmenting your hard drive.  Over months of use, programs and other files end up getting fragmented into a gazillion pieces scattered across your hard drive.  For those of you who need a visual picture – imagine driving across country on the interstate while the tiny scraps from your paper shredded fly out the back window.  Your poor computer has to keep track of which sliver of code goes with which program and where in the program it goes.  Other wise things could get really confusing.  Imagine what would happen if all those splintered pieces of information were just randomly put together.  An email to a coworker might end up embedded with your writing, a part of your child’s homework, and a part of a picture of your great-aunt Sadie hula dancing in coconuts and a grass skirt,.  As you are playing the SIMS, you would keep getting interrupted by little snippets of songs from your play list, dancing hamsters, downloaded videos from you-tube, and of course little bits of pictures of your great-aunt Sadie hula dancing.  Playing a game of solitaire?  Your cards would be attacked by little creatures from Farmville, error notices that the 7 of spades is not found on Google Earth would flash, and the queen of hearts would keep flickering with a strange resemblance of great-aunt Sadie.  Let’s face it.  Your hard drive has to keep a lot of things separated and in order.  Defragmenting your hard drive gives your hard drive a chance to put all the programs and files in their proper order.  It is supposed to make your computer run more smoothly and efficiently.

I’ve been looking around, and I can’t seem to find anyway to defragment my life. When I am trying to study, the phone rings.  When I am visiting a person in the hospital, I remember about a person back in Fuquay I need to visit.  When I’m here, I remember I should be there.  When I am focused on one thing, something else pops up.   I know I have a bit of ADD, but it doesn’t help that the world is full of interruptions; dead batteries, backed up toilets,  phone calls from survey takers, the neighboring car with its radio up so loud you’d think you were being bombed, and pictures of great-aunt Sadie on memory cards you swear you reformatted.  No there is no defrag button on life.  Life doesn’t come sunny side up or over easy….but scrambled.  So we need to take some time to catch our breath.  We need to slow down, refocus, and put things into perspective.  Several years ago, in one of the adult Sunday School rooms in Westminster Presbyterian Church of Sparta, Illinois, there was a small poster that said, “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.”  As much as life tries to fragment us, we need to keep the main thing the main thing.  What is the main thing?  When considering what the most important thing in his life was, the Apostle Paul wrote, “7But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 10I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection…” (Phil 3)  For the Apostle Paul, life is all about knowing Jesus Christ.  And he is right, knowing Christ is the main thing.  So when life starts getting fractured, take a step back, and make the main thing the main thing.   Make your focus knowing Jesus.  For when we have the main thing the main thing, everything else fits together.

Chad

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Because I’m the Daddy, and I said so!

Thursday, March 18th, 2010

Life was easier when the children were smaller.  Oh don’t get me wrong, going anywhere was a major production.  If you have a child in diapers going to the grocery store to pick up a gallon of milk required loading the back of the minivan from floor to ceiling with “Just In Case” equipment.  There was the diaper bag, with two diapers (minimum), wipes, powder, additional wipes, creams, a small trash bag, a portable changing mat (that can transform any nearly level service into a roughly sanitary environment), and a 5 gallon jug of hand sanitizer -  all just in case.  There was also a bag with two changes of clothes for the child, just in case.  There would be a jacket for me to wear, just in case the baby shared.  Then we would need a bag of snacks, bag of toys, and a bag of secondary toys because the first bag of toys wouldn’t distract the child long enough to get halfway to the milk.  Two hours to pack the car for a 4 minute dash through the grocery store.  It would be easier to go milk your own cow.  And with that said, I’ll say again, life was easier when the children were smaller.  “Because I’m the daddy and I said so.” was a successful answer to any question or any issue..  “Why is the sky blue?”  “Why can birds fly and I can’t?”  “Why does it rain?”  “Why does ice cream get all mushy?”  Why can’t I have a camel?”  “How does a car work?”  “Why don’t I have any super powers?”  “How do you know God loves me?”  “Because I’m the daddy, and I said so.” 

Don’t get me wrong.  I love my son and daughter.  I am as proud of them as a father can be.  They are wonderful, thoughtful, intelligent, kind, caring, amazing individuals (obviously their mother did a great job raising them despite my influence on them).  But being a dad can be hard.  Like all parents I worry about them.  Are they happy?  Are they healthy?  Are they eating their vegetables?  As they make decisions that affect their lives, how much fatherly wisdom should I offer (also known as the parental veto)?  They need to do things on their own, but I want to protect them as if they were still 3 years old.  I can’t keep them from growing up and leading their own lives, but I also can’t help wanting to be in control.  Guiding, directing, leading…OK, OK… manipulating and shoving, when I feel it’s appropriate.  It is hard knowing I can’t tell my college graduate son, now serving in the Army, that he is grounded because he didn’t call home for 3 days.  I can’t tell my daughter away at college to be in by 8:00.  I can’t walk with her to protect her after dark.  No, instead I know my son will, at some point, be deployed to a far away land.  My daughter will go places and experience things I want to protect her from (like broken hearts and bad teachers).  While I know I could save them a great deal of pain and trouble, if they would just listen to me.  I know my interference will keep them from growing and learning and becoming responsible adults.  If I truly love them, I have to let them grow, make decisions, and become the people God created them to be.  Cindy’s idea of bubble wrapping them is a great one, but just not practical

As a father I’ve learned a little bit about God, our Heavenly Father.  As I read the Bible I see that He wants to love and protect me.  He offers His guidance care.  He tells me right and wrong.  He offers me the best.  And all the while, God lets me live my own life.  He says, “This is the way.” And then watches as I go my own way.  He forgives me for choosing the foolish things in life.  He teaches, corrects, and guides me.  But, ultimately, He lets me make my own choices.  And when I stumble back to Him with hurt feelings and bad results, He covers me with His grace.  There was a time where “Because I’m the daddy, and I said so,” was good enough for me.  But now I lean a lot on grace.  I trust God for all things.  And even though I’ve learned to find true happiness and peace I need to follow my Heavenly Father’s teachings, I still have trouble letting go.  I’m sure God would bubble wrap me if He could.  But the Father shows His love for me, for us….bygiving us His son, as a guide, a teacher, and most importantly of all, a savior.

Chad 

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Cutting the E-bilical Cord

Monday, March 15th, 2010

Are you addicted?  No, not to drugs or alcohol, I mean are you addicted to your electronics?  I’ve heard people call Blackberrys, “Crackberrys.”  I know people who spend hours a day on their cell phones.  Others are reluctant to leave the keyboards of their computer.  Even when there is no work to do, they wander through youtube looking for the next viral video of dancing cockroaches, or go onto facebook and stalk friends.  What about you?  Tired of those?  You can always download reruns of Charles in Charge.  Or if worse comes to worse….there’s always (hum dramatic music at this point) solitaire (a frightening scream resounds).  What happened to us that we have become so oriented… so addicted… so obsessed with “being connected”?  Sure, it’s fun to watch a video of a bear scratching his back against a tree while The Lion Sleeps Tonight plays in the background.  But, if you even know about the Happy Tree Friends, we wonder about your mental stability.  How often are you without your cell phone, blackberry, laptop, or e-reader?  Are you afraid to turn them off for fear that you will miss something really important, like a text from a friend saying, “Sam is such a doofus”?

Do you ever wonder what happened to us?  There was a time when we didn’t have instant communication.  People didn’t call their friend from a bathroom stall at a highway rest stop.  When people were out of the office, they were out of the office…unreachable even.  There was a time when “away from the phone” didn’t mean you forgot to put the iphone on the charger.  These days we are never away, never free, never separate.  We are instantly available 24/7.  We send tweets of what we are having for lunch. We text and email when our nose itches.  We send latitude and longitude via GPS the last place we saw our keys.  We IM our 40 closest friends about who has the best looking eyebrows.  We facebook chat all of our 6,381,453 friends at once (we have only met less than 100 friends face to face).  We are in a communication frenzy.

Psalm 46 says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”  We are so busy with life, so hooked in, so connected, we forget to be still.  We don’t really give God the chance to be God.  If Moses was around today, we’d find a video of the burning bush on youtube.  But for God to really communicate with Moses, God would have needed to send a text. “Go 2 Egypt.  Set my peeps free.”   Be still, and know that I am God.  Is anyone able to be still any more?  Can we break away from the world of total access and seek God?  It was in the silence that Elijah heard God’s still small voice.  It was as he slept that Samuel heard God call.  I’d like to suggest we all clip the cords, turn off the devices, unplug the earbuds, and turn our hearts, minds, and attention toward God.  Give God some time and commune with Him.  Let Him speak to you in the midst of the silence.  Let Him renew your soul, restore your heart, and refresh your mind.  Be still.  Let go. Remember the One who made you, sustains you, and loves you.

Chad

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Hobby Anyone?

Thursday, March 11th, 2010

It was about 20 years ago, that some wonderful, well intentioned, men decided their pastor should learn to play golf.  What better place to get to know their spiritual guide, than walking the green hills of the local golf club?  I’m not sure whether the three men that took me golfing on that day owed anyone money or just drew the short straws, but they were in for a real treat.  We agreed to play 9 holes.  After 2 hours and shooting what I considered a respectable 29, I was ready to head toward home.  The rest of the foursome, however, kept insisting that we needed to play the remaining eight holes.  Can I say that things deteriorated from there?  The value of balls I lost that afternoon surpassed a one year membership to the country club.  My lack of skill was quite obvious and the other members of my foursome spent a good deal of time muttering what I’m confident were prayers of blessings under their breath every time it was my turn to hit the ball.  You could tell these were church men golfing with their pastor, for after finishing the entire 9 holes, there was a great deal of thanking God that we completed the course.  I didn’t know golf had such a spiritual element. 

It was a few months later that I was invited to go fishing with a different gentleman.  It was here I found my niche.  While golf required hitting a small ball into a small hole, fishing only required hitting a rather large lake with a small lure.   How hard could that be?  But I found it quite odd that before we left to start our expedition, the fellow who invited me reminded me that when you fish “you need to be absolutely quiet” – so no talking, humming, singing, preaching, etc.  Fishing was delightful.  I’m proud to report that I was able to hit the lake with nearly every cast.  And even though I followed the directions of no talking, and casting to certain areas identified by my host, I never caught a fish. I may have returned empty handed, but fishing got under my skin like a double barbed hook.  I enjoyed it so much I began to buy fishing gear, and lots and lots of lures.  My lure choices however didn’t work out so well.  It seemed like no matter what lure I bought, it wouldn’t catch a fish.  Certainly it wasn’t my abilities; after all, how hard can it be to outwit an animal with a brain the size of a grape?  Fishing was great!  Success meant I would be able to provide food for my family should there ever be a horrendous catastrophe.  Failure meant my hands wouldn’t stink from touching a fish while trying to get it off my hook.   Now this was a win – win activity!

My golfing expeditions are limited to putt-putt courses now, but I still love to fish (or as a friend calls it- rinsing off my lures in lake water).  I don’t fish as much as I used to, but I still try to get away here and there.  In Ecclesiastes 3, Solomon reminds us that God wants us to enjoy our life- He made everything beautiful in its time… I know there is nothing better for them than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live. (vv. 11-12)  We are not called to selfishness or hedonistic living, but as we go about our lives, it’s OK for us to stop and smell the roses, have a cup of cocoa, or enjoy a summer day throwing a plastic lure into a lake.  We can do such things and still love God, love our neighbor, and serve the world.

Chad

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Got Faith?

Monday, March 8th, 2010

Are you a person of faith?   I think you are, whether you’ll admit it or not.  Every time you get in your car to go to work, you are believing that everyone else on the road is going to drive responsibly.  Every time you eat at a restaurant, you are trusting that the cooks and waiters are serving you food properly prepared.  Every time you forward an email, you presume that the other person actually wants to see one more picture of a cute kitty hanging from a tree limb.  You have faith that your employer will pay you when it’s time to get paid.  You have faith that your banker doesn’t idolize Bernard Madoff and his ponzi scheme. Nearly everything you do requires some level of faith.  Much of our faith or belief comes from our experiences.   No one has tried to run me off the road this week; I believe I can make it to work safely today.  My employer has paid me on time for the last 9 years; I believe I can trust them to pay me again on Friday.  None of the shopping carts I have used have transformed into raging alien beings out to destroy the earth; I believe I can trust this shopping cart as well.

The challenge of having faith in God is that we don’t have something to compare it to.  We can’t say, “I haven’t been struck by lightning in the last 6 years, God must love me.”  Because, we know that lightning is a natural phenomena caused by an atmospheric discharge of electricity, and not God “getting” you for stiffing the waitress at the restaurant last week.  Having faith in God requires a step beyond what we can control, understand, or experience.  It is choosing to believe that there is more to this world than what we can experience with our 5 senses.  Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” (NIV)  It is saying what I cannot prove is real.  But now, I have to take back what I said.  For many people of faith will tell you their faith has supportive experiences to strengthen it.  Some Christians will tell you about answers to prayer, or how they found unexplained peace or strength in the midst of a great difficulty.  We may experience guidance or direction when facing uncertainty.  I know from my own experience and hearing the stories of others, that although we cannot see, taste, touch, hear or smell God, we know His presence and love as surely as we see the effects of the wind.

Chad

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The Sales Pitch

Friday, March 5th, 2010

Have you ever been to a sporting good store and looked at the feet of the employees?  For the most part, they will be wearing athletic shoes that are sold in that store, and not the cheap ones either.  We expect people to use the products they sell.  We don’t trust the guy who won’t eat at his own restaurant.  If you noticed the commercials for hair color for men, you will see guys who suddenly appear 20 years younger thanks to their new hair dye job and some strategically applied make up.   While I can’t be sure, I bet most of them are sucking in their stomachs as well.  Companies want to believe that if we use their product the world will be a better place.

Have you ever taken a close look at before and after make-over pictures, you’ll notice the before person isn’t smiling and has little or no make up on.  To insure they have a very negative appearance I think they whisper things like, “I just ran over a puppy on the way here.”  “Don’t move, there’s a giant spider climbing up your back.” or “Weren’t you a really ugly, fat girl in Junior High School.”  People’s “before” faces look horrible.  The “after” picture is fun, flirty, and beautiful.  They have professionally styled hair, and make up that was applied by an airbrush.  All wrinkles have been filled in with layers upon layers of stuff.  Lips are now bright red, and glimmering in between them are newly veneered white teeth.  Somehow people are transformed from Boris Karloff in the mummy (http://www.alicia-logic.com/capsimages01/mmy_007BorisKarloff.jpg) to a beautiful, perfectly made-up, ravishing, super model (sorry, you’ll have to find your own picture for that one).  It was all done to make us believe that our world will change; global warming will cease; wars will end; hunger and poverty will be a thing of the past; our cars will get better gas mileage; and we will become the most attractive person on the planet; if only we will use Spit-Shine Hair gel – now available in the 7 gallon economy size.

The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 8 says 28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. (NIV)

Contrary to the advertisers’ claims, I never became richer by switching peanut butter brands, I didn’t get a richer, thicker, fuller head of hair by wearing designer socks, and the economy didn’t turn around because I used the new salmon flavored mouthwash.  No, the world has continued to spin in the same direction and stubbing my toe still hurts.  But I do know one thing – No matter what happens in this crazy world of ours, God is in control.  And when all is said and done, His plans for all those who love Him and follow Him will be fulfilled.  My heartaches and back breaks will somehow work for God’s glory and purpose and God’s love will win out over all else.

Chad

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Dear Blog, Today was super!

Monday, March 1st, 2010

In order to become a better blogger and understand what people expect from a blog, I decided to do a little blog reading.  I went to several public blog sites and read a few random blogs.  There were a lot of business blogs, some art blogs (where artists show off their work), some political blogs, and then there were the personal blogs.  I found the personal blogs to be a little disturbing.  I felt like I was reading someone’s diary that they left open on a bench in the park.  I was sneaking a look at something I shouldn’t.  This was their private world revealed and left bare to anyone who will take a glance.  Do I really want to go there?  One woman gushed over getting a pair of guinea pigs.  They are just the cutest little things!  And so soft, I just want to bury my face in their fur all day long!  Then there was the woman sharing how excited she was about finding a pair of gloves on sale that matched a scarf buried some where in the back of her closet.  I’m sure her life has now found a greater, deeper meaning to it,  as long as she can find that scarf.  One fellow wrote about the inability of his favorite sports team to win.  I doubt if the excessive foul language will motivate his team to play better, but I certainly understood his disappointment with them.  Another fellow wrote about the two women in his life, his dog and his girlfriend.  The only problem was he never differentiated between the two, so it was hard to tell who had the beautiful deep brown eyes that always seemed to know what I was thinking, and who was always there for me, putting her big head in my lap to get a scratch behind the ears and then lick my hand.  Sure we want to believe the dog was the one that wanted the scratch behind the ears, but you just can’t be sure.  The one thing I’ve noticed about blogs is that many seem to be about the writer.  In a way it is an exercise in narcissism.  For some people blogging has become a means of emotional dumping, baring their soul to the world.

There are some Psalms that have the same feeling as a person’s blog.  David, the author of the Psalms, has great times of trial in his life.  He cries out to God, expressing depths of sorrow, frustration, and struggle.  With my whole heart I cry; answer me, O Lord. (Psalm 119:145)  Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me. (Psalm 42:7)  My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak. Because of all my enemies, I am the utter contempt of my neighbors; I am a dread to my friends— those who see me on the street flee from me. I am forgotten by them as though I were dead I have become like broken pottery. For I hear the slander of many; there is terror on every side; they conspire against me and plot to take my life. (Psalm 31:10-13)  When I read passages like this, I am reminded that the Bible is a living book.  The emotions, fears, and struggles I read in the Bible are the same ones which many of us deal with.  There are times we feel overwhelmed.  There are times we feel broken.  There are times we feel forgotten.  There are times our prayers seem only to hit ceiling.  The Bible also gives me encouragement, for the same author who cried, “I am forgotten…I have become broken like pottery.” Also wrote, “How I love Thy law, I meditate on it day and night. (Psalm 119:97)  I will extol You, my God and King, and bless Your name for ever and ever. (Psalm 145:1)  Praise the Lord!  Praise the Lord, O my soul! I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have being.” (Psalm 146:1-2)   The struggles of life and the faith to deal with them are found in the Bible.  It is not just a book for Sunday mornings, but it’s a book which speaks to us everyday, bringing richness and fullness to our lives, as we discover God through His Word.

Chad

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