wow...missed bloggin'

so, my amazing mac went on the fritz, the hard drive crashed and so i had to give up my laptop for a few days.  i've spent most of my free time the last couple days trying to restore my mac back to the way it was when i turned it in (i could preach metaphorically on that for about a solid 20 minutes).  

anywho, i was thinking about Justin's message in besideus last night and it was really good to hear what he had to say about the cost of following Jesus.  not because it was a flowery, easy to hear message with promises of eternal bliss, but because it was the truth.  the cost of following Jesus completely is great but so is the reward.

write me back.  i want to know what runs through your mind when you hear someone explain the cost of following Jesus completely and being willing to give up EVERYTHING to follow Him to the end.  be real.  be honest with yourself.  i won't lie...i know beyond any doubt that His way of living would bring anyone who follows Him to the fullest life imaginable, but it is hard to get out of that every day, me-me-me, materialistic and worldy mind set.  

to sum Justin's message up, i think what Jesus said when He told us we had to take up our cross DAILY and follow Him is what this is all about.  okay, i'll wait to hear back from ya'll.

without words

when i was in my early twenties i cleaned carpet.  i got to go into a lot of people's houses and see how different people decorate their homes.  some people had shelves lined with pictures of their families.  others had things that were bought at stores that i think only the wealthy know how to find.  there was one house in particular that i remember.  it was a very normal house like yours or mine.  there were a few books on the book shelves and photos of their loved ones.  there were nick knacks and decorative pillows.  but there was one wall that was special.  this wall was unlike any wall i had seen in any house.  there were no autographed jerseys or pictures with movie stars.  no doctoral certificates or gold medals.  just one picture.  i had never seen this picture before and as i stood there looking at it i began to weep uncontrollably.  i saw a picture of Jesus holding up a man.  in this mans hands were a hammer and a nail.  i immediately understood what the artist was saying.  you've all probably seen this picture by now.  it's titled "Forgiven".

i've sat through many sermons and heard many lectures about what it means to be a christian, what Jesus did for us on the cross,  how much God loves us.  and they were all fine.  i don't know how long it took the artist to paint this message, but to this day it's one of the most memorable and impacting sermons i have ever witnessed.  i hope my life is like that picture for others.  i hope that when people see the way that i live it would leave a memorable and impacting message of hope for their lives  and that no words would be necessary.  

life is so good!

ooh...someone else wants to talk

Hi Everyone!!!  It's me, Christi

So, I have a question for you guys....

What is your favorite Christmas song?

Why do I ask???  Because I flippin' LOVE Christmas music.  I tune in the day after Halloween to WNIC and rock out to Christmas music until after Christmas.  I just LOVE LOVE LOVE the holiday season and everything about it.  Christmas time is my favorite.  Smiling is my favorite too.  If you've seen the Christmas movie "Elf", then you know what I'm talking about...you cotton headed ninny muggins!

My all time favorite Christmas song as of a few years ago is Drummer Boy by Mercy Me.  It is so powerful.  If you haven't heard it, I highly recommend you check it out immediately.  I never even paid attention to the words of that song until I heard Mercy Me's rendition of it.  Amazzzzzzing, I tell ya.  

That's all I got.  Please stay tuned, as I may pop in every so often to ask my questions and run my mouth.  

Love to you alllllll,

Christi

our annual thanksgiving pot luck

so yesterday was our annual thanksgiving potluck.  good food, good times, great memories.  with thanksgiving done, it's time for us to look ahead to the Christmas season.  it's so exciting to be part of a group of believers who love to serve others.  this Christmas we are going to help with the giving tree, pass out food at open door, and adopt an elderly woman.  Christi and i love Christmas and the more we grow in Christ the more we love it.  you see, the reason is because we used to think Christmas was all about us.  but now we find joy in making Christmas about modeling God's example of love by giving to others that way he gave Jesus to the world.  

i hope you'll join us in the true meaning of the season.  one thing we do that is way powerful is bake a cake and sing happy birthday to Jesus on Christmas.  feel free to adopt this tradition.  it's pretty much awesome.

now go eat a candy cane....

by the way

not long ago, i asked ya'll to lift up our friends eric and his wife jen in prayer and i think i can give you some update now.  jen was admitted into the hospital just a few days after delivering by c-section her and eric's son elijah.  she had been diagnosed with an infection in her blood stream and was given only a 40% chance of survival at the onset!  well, she has since returned home after a long stay in the hospital and some rough and painful moments.  she is safely home with her family now but has to go in for dialysis 3 times a week for at least the next 10 weeks and possibly for the rest of her life!  thank you so much for your prayers and please if you would, i ask you to pray that her kidneys would return to functioning at full capacity allowing her to get off of dialysis. 

also, i would like to ask you to please pray for sue mills.  she is our dear friend beths mother who has stage 4 lung cancer and is not doing well at all.  i hope she wouldn't have to suffer and that her family would feel the loving arms of our prayers holding them tightly and bringing them comfort in such a difficult time.  

thank you all so much.  love those in your life lots and love them constantly.  

of macs and men

sooo, my computer (the nothing ever goes wrong with a mac) has gone crazy on me and thinks that its memory is full.  i could park my tractor and trailer in the amount of space this silly machine made by mere man has available in it.  i am going today to get the marvel by man fixed...or so i hope anyway.  i wonder if one of the ways God relates to us is by having a creation that had all the potential to be amazing and flawless go stupid on Him?  i don't mean to compare Gods flawless ability to create with absolute perfection with a silly manmade computer...however, His creation was somewhat similar to my mac.  it was made with great care and precision.  it is built to be the latest and greatest.  when it came out of production, it was ready for anything.  there are certain things for both of their protection that they need to be conscious of.  for example, don't throw yourself from the top of a tree cause you might break yourself to the point of unrepair...same with my mac.  do not sleep under water, you'll croak...so will my mac.  beware of anything or anyone who would miss inform you as to how to properly operate according to your creators instructions: anti-virus protection!  i guess one of the differences between God and the creators of the mac book is that at least God can repair all of us whereas some mac books have no hope of repair.  go God! 

what is your profession

so as a guy, i really like those cleverly manly moments in stories or movies that make you wanna be on "that guys" team or even be "that guy".  i have posted a video from the movie 300 which shows one of those moments for me.  as a christian, i want whoever i lead to respond back when i turn to them and ask "besideus, what is your profession?!?" to hear in one roaring militant reply "Jesus!" i also want to be in the crowd of warriors roaring as the one i follow asks me that question.  enjoy. (by the way, i'm still learning this blog/video thing so just know the video i intended to show singly is the third one down from the top.)  now...enjoy...