I have grown over the years to appreciate good leadership and great teaching from the Word. I have been a inspired and encouraged by Louie Giglio, Andy Stanley, Zig Ziglar, Max Lucado, Charles Swindoll and Andy Andrews to name a few. These men are great teachers/speakers but more importantly, they walk with the Lord. They…
I’ve seen death fairly close up. I’ve been to a lot of funerals over the years. The bodies I’ve seen have all been dressed nice and have make-up. I’ve been to funerals where the casket was closed for obvious reasons. I think I would have a hard time seeing a body that had been…
A gatekeeper is someone who has charge of who comes through the gate and who doesn’t. I am a gatekeeper of sorts for my home. My wife and I can decide whom we will let into our home. We have a security system to help with gatekeeping as well. I’ve seen my self as…
It’s probably not a bad thing to take a look at the family tree to see all the connections of people who’ve gone before me. Over the years I’ve learned a lot about my grand parents and great grand parents. I don’t know much about my family beyond that except that life was pretty hard.…
I know people personally who have gone through the depths of grief. It is a dark valley and the road is paved with despair. It is so hard to see out of the valley. I’m so thankful that the Lord can come along side and direct the grieving out of that dark, dreary valley.…
I love music! I grew up around music. I remember watching my grandmother entertain her fellow residents in the nursing home playing guitar from her wheelchair. She had grown up playing in string bands as a youngster. Her family was the Hayes family from Boone, North Carolina. The Appalachian music roots ran deep in her…
One thing I’ve learned, as I’ve grown older and hopefully wiser, is which battles to fight and which ones to work around. They are definitely some things I should fight for because of the issue or the principle involved. At other times, the battle really isn’t worth it because it’s just my opinion versus someone…
I’ve asked the Lord for lots of things over the years. I think once I became a Dad and felt the weight of that responsibility, my prayer life improved greatly. Over the years, I’ve found myself praying intently for my children. I’ve asked the Lord for their protection. I’ve also asked the Lord for His…
I’m pretty sure that I’ve passed the halfway point of my life. My math is not that great, but I’m confident that I passed that point a while ago. I was reminded this morning that there is a difference in how you start and how you finish. I’m talking specifically about life – everyone starts…
It’s interesting to research the family tree. Here in the Deep South we have despairing jokes about how some peoples family tree don’t fork. It’s interesting to trace my roots back for several generations. I grew up in Kentucky with deep roots there on my mother’s side. My Dad’s family was from North Carolina. I…