More power from the Word

I read a great verse this morning that I thought would be an appropriate follow-up to what I wrote yesterday.

1 Corinthians 4:20
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.

Don't mess with me

You want a piece of me!?!

If dogs spoke English I believe that's what you'd hear that little weenie dog saying. What could that tiny dog be thinking? As my 9th grade P.E. teacher, Coach Richardson would say, "Boy, your mouth's writing checks that your body can't cash."

Maybe you're in a spot right now where it feels like life is the big dog and you are a little chihuahua or toy poodle. I read a verse of scripture last week that I thought about it when I saw this picture:

2 Timothy 1:7
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

I try to remember every morning before I leave the house that nothing will happen to me that God doesn't already know about. Not only does He already know about it, He's already working on it. That knowledge alone should allow me to live a powerful life. When we face troubles and hardships, (and we will from time to time) we should remember that God's Spirit lives inside us and His Spirit is powerful not timid. Whatever you're facing today, look it straight in the eye and say, "You want a piece of me?"

Monday Afternoon Quarterback

This week has begun the way last week ended, busy. I guess that's to be expected. Here's what I'm thinking about today:

Sherry and I had a great time this weekend. Our girls spent Thursday and Friday night with Sherry's parents, so we were able to enjoy some much needed uninterrupted time together. We love our girls like crazy, but a couple of days alone is always nice. We spent Friday at the mall, and it was fun! Normally I'd rather take a beating than spend a few hours at the mall, but this was different. There was no hurry, not a big crowd, and we had plenty of time to talk and laugh. When Emily came back from Granny and Pops' house Sherry said to her, "your Dad was good at the mall." Maybe she'll let me go back.

I'm looking forward to baseball. Yes, Major League Baseball is in full swing but I'm talking about Greer Recreation league baseball. For the third year in a row I am helping Dean Hawkins with one of his boy's teams. This year we are the Cubs, and our first game is Tuesday night. I can't wait to start "coaching" this week. When I say "coaching" I mean saying things like "good eye" and "nice cut". That's about all the coaching I'm qualified for.

Rambo rescues woman from smoke. That is the headline across the top of today's Greenville News. Apparently a dog named Rambo woke a woman who was asleep in a burning house over the weekend. Of course when I saw the headline I imagined John Rambo, Vietnam veteran and vigilante warrior, shooting down the door to a burning building with a machine gun and carrying a woman to safety across his shoulders. That would have been more exciting.

Evidently lots of y'all that read this can relate to an overflowing septic tank. I have received more response to last Thursday's blog about pumping out the tank than any of the others. I guess the image of "stuff" bubbling up in the yard really makes an impact.

Men don't forget to let me know if you want to go to the Greenville Drive game on May 7. Send me an e-mail at: cliff@freedomfellowshipsc.com

Pumping out the tank

I've had this idea in my mind for some time. I haven't shared it yet because of the delicate nature of the subject matter. I wanted to be sure and share it in as non-offensive a way as possible. I'm still not certain I've figured out how to do that, but here goes:

Two months ago we had the septic tank at our house pumped. The guys came out and did a great job, and it didn't cost as much as I had feared. Here's the interesting part: We weren't having any problems when we decided to have the tank pumped. I didn't know that it was strange to have someone pump out your septic tank before things go wrong until I called to make the appointment. When I called the conversation went something like this:

Me: I'd like to make an appointment for y'all to come out and pump my septic tank.

Septic dude: How long have you been having problems with it?

Me: I'm not having any problems with it.

Septic dude: Oh. That's different.

Me: What's different?

Septic dude: Well everyone else who calls here is already having serious problems, like sewage backing up in their shower or bubbling up in the yard.

Me: That's what I was wanting to avoid.

My strategy was based on the fact that our house is ten years old, and the tank had never been pumped. Now I don't know anything about septic tanks, but I figured anything that had been getting filled up with, will call it stuff, for ten years could probably use a good cleaning out. The last thing I wanted was a situation like the guy told me about over the phone, so I decided to fix the problem before it happened. I guess you might call it preventive maintenance.

Is there any, once again we'll call it stuff, that you are filling your life with that you can see a future problem from? Right now things are fine but you know that if you continue with this certain habit or relationship or schedule, one day you'll wake up with stuff bubbling up or backing up in your life. Don't wait until the mess comes to pump out the tank. Go to counseling before you get separated from your spouse, start exercising before you have a heart attack, spend time with your teenager before he fails the ninth grade. What areas of your life could use a little preventive maintenance?

A few of my favorite things

I know as Americans that we are spoiled, really spoiled. We have access to things that people in other parts of the world only dream of. I thought about that last week when Cuba made cell phones legal, and people were lined up down the street to get one for the first time. With that in mind, here's a list of some things that have me spoiled. These are things that I know I could live without, but I hope I never have to:

wool socks - I can't imagine wintertime with just regular cotton socks

ipod - the most awesome invention ever (in my opinion and this is my list)

reduced fat Cheez-Its - much better than the regular greasy Cheez-Its

peanut butter - Jif is my favorite, but I'm not picky. I made a tactical error by not taking any with me when I went to Brazil four summers ago. By the end of the week I would have given $100 for a spoonful.

crossword puzzle in the Greenville News - working on this two or three times a week has kept me from going crazy

Nestle Quik - the powder

Bible - obvious, but I wanted to be sure I listed it so y'all won't think I'm just about food and other unimportant things

Crocs - When they first came out I made fun of people wearing rubber shoes, then I tried some on. Most comfortable shoe ever. I'll still be wearing them when they go out of style, which may be now for all I know.

That's about it. What would be on your list?

Attention Men: Baseball

The weather is warm (sometimes), the trees are in bloom, and The Masters is over. It must be time to go to a ball game! The Greenville Drive are playing a daytime game against the Rome Braves on Wednesday, May 7, and I want as many of you men who can to go with me. You need a reason to knock off from work early every once in a while, and what better reason than to go to the ballpark? This would be a perfect opportunity for you to build relationships with some of the unchurched guys you work with by inviting them to join us.

The game starts at noon. We'll order tickets as a group if there is enough interest, if not we'll just purchase them individually that day.

If you want to go, send me an e-mail at: cliff@freedomfellowshipsc.com

Monday morning quarterback

The weather keeps getting weirder. Almost 80 on Friday, 35 this morning, it's definitely time to keep a jacket close by. Here's a peek into my head this morning:

-Yesterday had a little bit of everything for me. First of all the, band sounded great! I was especially excited to have Liz Wood playing guitar with us for the first time. Liz was in my youth group my last couple of years at Fairview, so it was very cool to have her help lead worship at Freedom. Talking about the whole Connection Card thing was kind of strange. I didn't want to sound like I was fussing at our regular attenders at all, but I just wanted everyone to understand why filling out the cards are important. It has already proven to be a great tool for connecting with our first time guests. Then to top off a great Sunday morning I had the opportunity to be there when a little girl began a relationship with Jesus! That's why we do what we do every week!

- Friday night we ate a ton of guacamole. Sherry and I went to El Mariachi for our regular Friday night date, but this week we had the girls with us. We ordered a large order of guacamole dip because Emily likes it too, and when they brought it out I started laughing. It was a large salad bowl full of the yummy green stuff. Then when the bill came out I really started to laugh. The dip cost more than Emily's entree! It sure was good.

- We're on the verge of some big stuff. I mentioned this a couple of weeks ago on this blog, but God has been giving the same message to some other people as well. Just last week I had someone stop me and say, "I think we better get ready because I sense that God wants to do something big here." I feel the same way. We need to be sure and be ready to do whatever He commands.

Don't let the unseasonably cold weather get you down. Have a great week!