Just wanted to give a shout out to my mom.  It is her 58th birthday.  I am thankful for her birthday because if she hadn’t been born, I wouldn’t be here.  Happy Birthday Mom!

I love Panera Bread! Not just the sandwiches but the atmosphere. It is a great place to eat as well as to have coffee. Last week my dad, Josh and I went to Panera Bread for lunch and ordered a sandwich and chips.  As I often do, I like to read the back of packages and I noticed something that caught my eye on the bag of chips. THE EXPIRATION DATE. The expiration date read Jan 3009. Holy Preservatives! I have seen some long expiration times but never a thousand years. I began to read the list of preservatives but I did not see embalming fluid on there. I told Josh that if those chips last a thousand years, we may never die:) I want to have whatever can make a bag of chips last a thousand years.

There is a preservative, however, that lasts longer than a thousand years. It is Jesus Christ. Eternal Life through Him. Everything in this life fades away (even Panera Bread chips) but with Christ we are imperishable. We will live forever in Christ. We may leave this life through death but He guarantees us a special preservative in Heaven. Heaven is a place where we will never die and there are no expiration dates.

Sometimes you can gain alot of wisdom from comic strips.  I am a huge fan of Charlie Brown.  As a matter of fact, I identify with alot of things he says.  Yesterday’s Peanuts Strip reveals alot of Charlie Brown’s Wisdom in dealing with conflict.

We had a great day today!  Worship went well and there was a sweet spirit in the house.  We discussed how to survive Christmas during the message today.  I shared from my heart about my struggle to be excited about the holiday season.  I love the meaning of Christmas but I despise what Christmas has come to represent. 

We looked at surviving stress, surviving our relationship, and surviving depression and loneliness during the Christmas season.  We then looked at the remedy: 1. Do not envy other people’s blessings  2. Forgive those who have hurt you  3.  Remember the true meaning of Christmas (Jesus).

After service the choir practiced for our special service next week.  They sounded great!  Make sure you are there next Sunday, it should be awesome! 

Today’s sermon is available online.  Click Here

As I was in prayer tonight, the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart.  He shared with me a profound truth that I am sure I have read somewhere but I cannot recall where.  The Lord reminded me, “The ultimate pride is prayerlessness.  To think we can handle life and ministry without God’s help.  To think that our own wisdom and strength is greater than what we can find in communion with the Almighty.”

There has been a song, by Justin McRoberts, swirling in my head for a couple of days now.  The key line for the song has some incredible truth in it.

McRoberts sings, “The question isn’t are you gonna die, you’re gonna die, will you be done living when you do?”

Read that again.  There is something profound about that statement.  It is not a matter of whether or not we will die.  We are all going to die, but will we be done living when we do?

There are two things about living after death:

1.  Will it be eternal life or eternal death?  This life does not end with death.  Will you live forever with Christ?  Or will you be punished with eternal death?  The only way to continue living after you die is to make sure you have a right relationship with God and have accepted  His Son, Jesus Christ.  “The question isn’t are you gonna die, you’re gonna die, will you be done living when you do?”

2.  Will your legacy live on?  We cannot live forever because our bodies decay and corrode.  We will all die, but are we ensuring that we live on through other people?  Leaving a legacy begins with teaching our kids to follow Christ.  Jesus told us in the Gospel of Matthew how we can live on after death.  He said, “Go into all the world and make disciples.”  If we are making disciples, we will live on through other people.  What we have instilled in other people will last for generations. “The question isn’t are you gonna die, you’re gonna die, will you be done living when you do?”

Make sure that when this life is over, you are not done living.

P.S.  We are traveling to Little Rock this morning.  I have a 1:00 meeting at the District Office to do a church planting assessment.  Please pray for our safe travel.  We will return home tomorrow morning.

I was raised in Southeast Texas and I remember one time when I was around 12 that we had snow that stuck.  It was a dream for a kid to be able to play football in several inches of snow.  I lived there all my life and we had snow like that 1 time. 

I recently moved to the Ozark Mountains (Rogers, Arkansas) and we have been excited to make our first snow man.  As a matter of fact, Hannah woke up in the middle of the night a couple of days ago, crying to go out and make a snow man.  I ensured her that in a couple of days we would have some snow to build one.

We are in the mountains and guess who got the snow?  Where we just moved from, in the hot south.  Below are some pics from Southeast Texas and the snow they received.  I am a little jealous that they got the snow, but I have a hunch that it won’t be much longer until we get some.  Not to mention, I am sure that by winter’s end I will be tired of the snow and the cold.

Every Thursday I work from my study at home.  I didn’t know how it would work out but I have grown to love it.  In an 8 hour day at home, I can get a great deal down.  Less distractions and it gives a change of scenery.  I wouldn’t work at home every day but one day a week gives a good break and I look forward to the day for planning and preparing for the future of our church. 

In my office at church, I notice so many things that I need to do.  At home, however, it seems on Thursdays my creativity rises and ideas flow.  Many leadership experts have said that it is good to change the scenery at least twice a month to allow for a different setting.  They say that this different setting gets you to thinking in a different way.  I am fortunate to have a study at home that I can go to. 

If you get in a rut and your creativity stops flowing, try a change of scenery.  Spend a day at the library or some other place that you can spend some time thinking and planning.  You will find that it benefits you and your ministry.