It is 10:30am and we are about to pull out.  We thought we would leave earlier but by the time Hannah and me got up it was 9:30am.  Before you say that it is too late for me to sleep in, just remember I am on vacation.  We are excited to get on the road and man, do we have  a load in the car.  We should have rented a U-haul to get there.  We are going to be in Tyler for the next two days and visit the Tiger Creek Big Cat Farm and the Tyler Caldwell Zoo.  It seems like everyone but Hannah is excited to go.  Pray for us as we endure 4 and a 1/2 hours of Barney and Silly Songs with Larry.

Friday morning is the big day!  Vacation begins.  We will leave Friday morning for Tyler to stay two nights and visit the Tiger Rescue Foundation and the Tyler Zoo.  We will take some time just to kick back and relax until we leave for Hot Springs on Sunday.  We have a cabin rented on Lake Hamilton.  You can check out our cabin here.  I am pumped about spending time with Sonya and the kids and just unwinding for a couple of days.  We will do some sightseeing but there will be no schedules for the next two weeks.  After Hot Springs we leave for Oklahoma to visit Sonya’s Family.  I am looking forward to two weeks of rest and fun.  Check back on the blog and we will try to update you on what we are doing and where we are.

I hate painting!  I believe I would rather have a root canal or even do plumbing but painting is on the list of things I despise.  I don’t know what it is about it.  I think it is because you have to be so careful and there is too much that must be done before you can start painting.  You have to pressure wash, scrape, sand, scrape, blast, tape, and then paint.  The worst part of painting for me is the scraping. 

This morning I began the mother of all paint jobs.  The house.  It needs paint desperately.  I tried hiring it done but the prospective worker left town.  I don’t think he liked painting either.  I began by pressure washing this morning, I grabbed my ladder and scraper and went to work.  After two hours of grueling with a scraper, I remembered the tool of tools at Sherwin Williams.  The paint eater!  That’s right, the Paint Eater by Wagner.  I went to Sherwin Williams and bought this tool and how did I ever live without it.  The Paint Eater, knocks off paint, helps smooth the edges and gets the wood ready for the paint.  I was done with the preparation after an hour.  God created the Paint Eater!  If you have a painting project pick one up.

On a spiritual note, we ought to be thankful we have a “Sin Eater”.  The blood of Jesus!  He helps remove the sin from our lives, He smooths out our rough edges and helps us get prepared for His service.  Jesus is the King of all Kings and He gave His life that He might become our “Sin Eater” or better said, “Sin Defeater”.

Recently, I read an article on the value of rest that really put into perspective the way we are as Americans.  We think the harder we work the better we are.  Our society glorifies busyness and overloaded workloads.  We have been conditioned to think that rest is lazy.  I have always felt guilty sitting around or even taking a day off when there is so much to be done for the KINGDOM.

Then I realized that even God took a break.  He created a Sabbath for the purpose of resting.  Six days we shall work and one day we should rest.  Could it be that we are so stressed out as Americans and even pastors, because we do not take the necessary time to refresh ourselves?  It is interesting to me that we feel like the world will stop if we stop. The truth is, however, God can keep things under control if we decide to take a break.

This is the subject of our message tomorrow morning.  By the way, it is a set up for my two vacation that starts next week:)

I had always wondered how early in life, people learned about money and what money was about.  Last night, I found out.  I was sitting in the recliner and pulled out a dollar bill from my pocket and began to put in my wallet, when Hannah noticed.  She began to reach for it and said, “money, money.  I want!”

This is not a good sign.  18 months old, already wanting my money.  They learn young these days.  This means trouble I am sure.

Just read a couple of thought provoking quotes:

“Without meaningful work, life stinks.” -Al Kaltman-

“Some people will never learn anything because they understand everything too soon.” -Alexander Pope-

For many years, in my times of frustration I have asked God the loaded question: Why?  Why must I go through this?  Why must I do that?  Why? Why? Why?

As believers we ask God the why question many times, but as David Ring says, “Asking why, questions God’s authority.”  He goes on to say that we should ask what not why.  What do you want me to learn from this?  What is it you are trying to teach me?  What is it you want to accomplish through me?

I was reminded of this message by David Ring last night as I was reading Ravenhill’s Tried and Transfigured.  These quotes pierced my heart because I am a slow learner.  I still have a struggle asking Why?

Ravenhill writes, “If I could write another beatitude it would be this, ‘Blessed is the man who does not argue with the Spirit.’ In dealing with God we ought not to have a ‘Why?’  Make no mistake about it – some people do just this: argue with God.  For if God says, ‘Do this,’ their first question is ‘Why?’ 

Let us not argue with the Spirit!  Let’s ask God what, not why!