Sleeping Too Close to the Getting in Spot

Our Sunday school teacher told the Sunday school a story the other day and I wanted to share it with you.

He said, one night a small child rolled out of bed and landed on the floor. His Mom came in and picked the child up off the ground and consoled him and after the boy was calmed down put him back in bed. The Mom asked why did you fall out of bed and the boy thought about it for a while and after a minute or so said, well I guess I went to sleep too close to the getting in spot.

Our Sunday school teacher compared that to us as Christians. He said sometimes if we aren’t careful after getting saved, we may grow stagnant and go to sleep too close to the getting in spot. We think we are saved now and we don’t need to put forth any effort in our relationship with God. We’re good, we’re saved, right?

God already knows everything about us, he made us, but what do we know about God? I think the least we can do for giving his only son to die on the Cross for us, so we can be saved by God’s grace and go to Heaven is to spend some time and effort on our relationship with him. How do we get to know God, by meditating in our Bible (not just reading it), praying, and going to Church, to name a few and to be as close in our lives as possible to live like Jesus, yes Jesus was perfect and we are not, but we should strive to live like Jesus and to love like Jesus after all being a Christian is about loving others.

The Sunday school teacher also shared a story about sharing a garden with his neighbors and they would plant the garden, harvest the garden and share the crops from the garden. He said the men were all God fearing Christians, but he noticed one of the neighbor’s brothers stopped going to Church because he was afraid God would call on him to be a preacher like his other brothers.

It’s sad that some of us are afraid to step outside of our comfort zone to serve the Lord, whether that is being a Sunday school teacher, leading the music in our Church, preaching, serving on the pulpit committee, being a deacon, or all the other positions that are required for a Church to be successful. Aren’t we supposed to serve God?

Be careful not to go to sleep too close to the getting in spot and step out of your comfort zone to help your Church by serving God.

Acquaintances

I’ve been blessed with a job opportunity in Mena, Arkansas, where I live. I currently commute to work 1 hour and 45 minutes a day one way. I’m looking forward to working in the same city that I reside in. My new place of employment will be 2.5 miles away from my residence as opposed to 85 miles away, maybe I can keep my car clean now.

I wanted to pay homage to the people we come in contact on a day to day basis that I will no longer see (maybe not on a daily basis).

I travel on highway 8E from Mena to Arkadelphia so the first person I won’t see anymore is the policeman directing traffic at Centerpoint school district. If I leave early enough he’s not there, but if I am running behind at all, he is out directing traffic, keeping everyone safe.

Other places I won’t frequent as much is Norman Truck Stop, sometimes I stop there to get gas, when it doesn’t look too busy. Another place I won’t frequent as much is the Big Red in Glenwood, a place I stopped to get gas or grab a snack.

I will also miss the friendly people that operate Davidson’s Sporting Goods and Grocery store in Amity. I stop there to grab a pack of M&Ms and a Sprite for the ride home. I also found Zoom Brush Hog Watermelon flake tackle that I used to catch that 6lb bass. I will miss the nice people there.

Another place I won’t frequent anymore is the Chick-fil-A at Henderson State and Ouachita Baptist Universities. There’s no Chick-fil-A in Mena, but I will get to eat at Meyers Cruizzers Drive in more, or probably just drive home for lunch.

I also will miss Allen’s BBQ and catering. I have to hit these places up before I leave.

I’m leaving old acquaintances and making new ones and I just wanted to take some time to make sure we don’t take people for granted that we see on a daily basis, from the policeman directing traffic to the people working at your favorite convenience store.

I’m ready to start the next chapter of my life and none of this would be possible if it wasn’t for God! God is Good (All the Time).

Just Believe

I couldn’t sleep last night. I’ve got insomnia and I had this article stuck in my head. I got up twice to literally put pen to paper in the dark so I don’t wake up the rest of the family. I was up first at 1:30 am and again at 2 am. My best ideas come at night when I can’t sleep and if I don’t write them down, their gone the next day, no matter how much I rack my brain, I can’t remember it.

I was up last night wondering what it’s like to be a non-believer. What’s it like to not believe in God? You can either choose to believe in God and Jesus or you can believe in nothing or maybe you believe in science. Don’t you think it takes more energy being a non-believer than it does being a believer? It’s kind of sad, when you think about it. How do you fully love if you don’t believe in Jesus? That’s a big part of being a Christian, is to love like Jesus or to try, how can we ever love like Jesus, but as a Christian, we must love one another. If you don’t believe in Jesus, it almost sounds like the absence of love.

What does it take to be a believer? I’m no expert, but I think it takes a person with an open mind and a willingness to believe in something greater than yourself.

Something that I think we take for granted, is the sun rising every day. Another miracle that we take for granted is the miracle of human life leading up to child birth. I don’t believe that these things just came about on their own. I believe that God created all living things and created Heaven and Earth. Genesis 1. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of waters. 3. Then God said ‘Let there be light’, and there was light. 4. And God saw that the light was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light ‘day’ and the darkness ‘night.’ And evening passed and morning came, marking the first day,” Holy Bible NLT, Second Edition. But I believe in the bible, if your an atheist you don’t believe in the bible.

It’s hard for me to fathom not believing so I’ll chose to Just Believe.

Faith and Patience

I work in Arkadelphia, Arkansas and I commute 1 hour and 45 minutes one way to work. We moved from Germany to Mena in April 2018, I’m a government employee and there weren’t very many GS jobs near my hometown in Mena, where my wife and I wanted to live.

But, I kept looking on USA jobs for job opportunities in Mena or at least in the area. I finally found one I was qualified for and applied for it a few months ago (It seems like almost 6 months). If you have ever applied for a job on USA jobs, you know it takes a long time to get notifications on the status.) I interviewed for the job over the phone and I would much rather interview in person, with a firm handshake and look the interviewers in the eye while answering questions while dressed for success.

I was nervous and I didn’t like my interview, but I prayed that if it was God’s will, they would pick me for the position. I rationalized it with God, saying I would have more family time, I wouldn’t have to worry about deer jumping out in front of me, or wrecking my car. I wouldn’t have to worry about bad weather. I would save money on gas, and oil changes, wear on tires, etc., etc. But God knew all this.

I kept my faith, but I hadn’t heard back from them in what seemed like an eternity, but in reality it was probably 3 or 4 weeks, so I called the forest service and checked to see if they had made a selection and they stated they had, but it was taking a long time for the notification to be announced. And two days later, I was notified that I was selected for the position. If I hadn’t have been selected I would have been disappointed, but I would accept that God needs me there in Arkadelphia, however, I kept my faith and tried to be patient and it all worked out and I am still thanking the Lord for this opportunity to be closer to home.

Pulpit Committee Part 1

Our Church is tasked with the unfortunate task of finding a new Pastor. We have known for a few weeks that our Pastor would be leaving and in our Sunday school class, I expressed interest in the process of finding a new one. God laid it on my heart to be on the committee, but I didn’t tell anyone of this desire. To my disbelief, I was nominated to the committee, I couldn’t believe it, when our Sunday school teacher asked if I was interested in being on the committee. It was like he read my mind. God definitely works in mysterious ways, because I didn’t even tell my wife of my desire to be involved with the process and my wish came true.

We had our first meeting on Tuesday, really just explaining the process, what our roles will be, and what to expect, but when we were done with our meeting, we got our first application. I’m not sure why God wants me to be involved with this search, but our Church has prayed a lot about it, and so have I. The Committe is certainly going to do our best to find the best Pastor that fits our congregation’s needs. I’ll let you know how it turns out.

Fishing Trip Prayer

We’ve been busy and I finally got a chance to go fishing yesterday. I looked at the radar and there was a little patch of rain nearby and a long line to the West of us. I pressed play on the radar to try and figure out where the rain was headed, but I was having a hard time predicting if it would rain or not.

I was about to grab my gear and go, but my wife wanted me to wait until Charlotte, my three year old, woke up from her nap, so I honored her request, but I was hopeful that I didn’t miss my chance to fish without thunderstorms and heavy rain.

On the way to the undisclosed location, I said a little prayer that it wouldn’t rain hard and there wouldn’t be any thunderstorms. The radar looked like it could rain any second. I had the van already packed with my gear and I made sure to bring a rain jacket.

We arrived at my fishing spot and I jumped in a boat and paddled out to my favorite fishing spot. It had just rained and it was in the afternoon now, so it wasn’t ideal fishing conditions. The wind was blowing me from one side of the pond to the other. I paddled from one side of the pond to the other a few times and I said “Ok, if this is where you want me, this is where I’ll stay, take me where you want me Lord.” And I didn’t fight it, I just fished right there. I was getting frustrated because I had been there for about an hour and not one bite. I even tried different fishing lures. I saw a big bass attacking and eating a perch, right by the boat. I didn’t even think to try and scoop the fish up with my net though.

I started getting some bites, but nothing serious. Keep in mind I am not a professional fisherman and I like to fish with Zoom Brush Hogs on a big hook, so oftentimes the bass get off. So now that I am at least getting some bites. I’m getting more frustrated that I am not catching any fish and I forgot my basket to put any fish in that I may catch, so I am thinking that the reason I am not catching any fish is because I didn’t bring a stringer or my basket, which makes no sense at all. It would make more sense that I would catch a lot of fish because I didn’t bring a stringer.

Anyway, now the sun is coming out, it’s getting hot and it’s really not ideal conditions for fishing. And now I am praying that I could catch a big fish because I know there are BIG fish in this pond. I hooked a huge one before, but didn’t officially catch it and I didn’t get a picture of it either, but the Lord blessed me with good weather and that is what I asked for. My prayer was to not have thunderstorms or heavy rain. I didn’t pray to catch any fish.

Now, I am praying that a big fish would take this lure like he is serious about it and swallow it or that it is hooked in his lip. The prayer was to actually catch a fish and that the fish wouldn’t get off the hook. I was just about to give up. I was making my way back to the shore and I hooked a monster bass and he was wearing me out. I was afraid he as going to get under the boat and get off. And the Lord blessed me with a great catch. It even jumped up and “tail walked” on me and still couldn’t get off the hook, it was hooked pretty good. I recently bought a big net for an occasion just like this, but it sure is hard to scoop up a 6 lb. bass by your self. I ended up releasing the fish because she had eggs.

I give all the glory to God that he allowed the fish to get hooked so good that the fish could not get off the line and into my net. Like I said, I am no great fisherman anyway. And the Lord first blessed me with no rain, like I asked for, then I prayed to catch a fish and I did. I told the Lord thank you for allowing me to catch that fish. The Lord does answer our prayers, but we have to be careful what we ask for. If we pray and have faith he will provide.

Strengthening Your Walk With Jesus

First of all, I am a sinner just like you! But, in my opinion, surrendering to Jesus Christ and accepting him as your personal savior is the easy part. It’s strengthening your relationship with Jesus, improving your walk with him is the hard part, and I wouldn’t really say it’s difficult, but it takes time.

First, you need to pray to strengthen you relationship with him, secondly, to be able to hear what God wants from you or which path you should travel, you need to read your Bible and finally attend Church. It may be hard to find the right Church for you, maybe it’s not the first Church you visit, but keep looking for a Church that fills your spiritual needs. It should be a place where you feel loved and a place where you feel overcome by the Holy Spirit and when you accept Jesus into your life (with faith), ask him to forgive you of ALL your sins (with faith), pray to Jesus, read your Bible and attend a loving Church with the Holy Spirit, God will certainly bless you and your cup will runneth over.

In Psalms 23 it says “¹The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing. ²He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, ³he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. ⁴Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. ⁵You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. ⁶Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. ” New International Version (NIV).

Also after accepting Jesus into your life you’re going to be faced with choices everyday. It could be anything from to drink alcohol, try or do drugs, gossip, go to work or stay home, who you associate yourself with, to how you treat your neighbors. There are many choices we are faced with on a daily basis that either strengthens or weakens our relationship with God, and as Christians we need to make good decisions.

We must also love one another. John 13:34 says “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another”, New International Version (NIV). To love like Jesus loved us might just be the hardest commandment to live by because Jesus loved us so much he died for our sins, but we have to try to love one another as much as we possibly can. God Bless You and I look forward to writing more.

Reality Outreach Ministries

Dwayne and Renee Corbin, U.S. Ministry President/Team came to the sleepy little town of Mena, Arkansas and it changed my life. I have never been a part of anything as rewarding as working with this wonderful Christian family that is so dedicated to bringing people to Jesus.

To be in the production of Heaven’s Gates & Hell’s Flames, you have to dedicate some time but it is well worth it. There was a lot of praying, learning lines and practicing involved. We started on a Saturday in the morning at 9 a.m. and was at Church all day, praying, reading our lines and practicing, then we went home memorized our lines and came back Sunday, sang worship songs, prayed and practiced for our show that started Sunday night at 7 p.m., again all day, then had another show Monday and Tuesday.

I have to say, I haven’t had this much fun in a long time. It’s more fun than fishing (and I love to go fishing), going to a water park, or anything, I can think of. It was very rewarding to watch people accept Jesus into their lives. And I have grown spiritually as well. There is a lot of prayer involved to be a part of Heaven’s Gates & Hell’s Flames. It also brought our Church closer together. I would recommend every Church to reach out to Reality Outreach Ministries and book them to come to your Church. Honestly, I don’t want them to leave.

https://realityoutreach.org/

Heaven’s Gates & Hell’s Flames

The production Heaven’s Gates & Hell’s Flames is in our sleepy little town of Mena, Arkansas and when they arrived and asked for people to be in the production, to be honest, I really didn’t want to be in it, but since there wasn’t many people I was chosen to be in more than one scene, but I sure am glad I was picked.

But I have to say in the first scene, I have to beat Jesus up and nail him to the cross. Do you know how hard it is to beat the man up that died for all of our sins? And even worse, to nail the man responsible for all us to be able to enter Heaven to the cross? And even worse than that stab Jesus with a spear, which is the reason he dies. I’d much rather be in my Christian family scene.

But it is so rewarding seeing people accept Jesus into their lives as their Savior. It’s like nothing I have ever been a part of and frankly, I don’t want it to end. We have two more nights of the production. I pray that there are so many people tonight and tomorrow night that they stay for more nights, we’ll see.

Heaven’s Gates & Hell’s Flames is life changing for the people in the production and the people being saved. If you get a chance I encourage you to be involved in it in your Church.

My Cup Runneth Over

I have been strengthening my walk with Jesus and spending more time building a relationship with him (my wife and I have joined the Church, my wife and I have been reading our Bibles, daily, and I have been praying more) and I can see small miracles being performed everyday.

I commute 1 hour and 45 minutes one way to work and the road I travel is heavily populated with deer. I pray that the deer stay on their side of the road and they have. I have passed deer right on the shoulder of the road. I try to slow down and move over to the other lane, if it is possible. I pray for my safety when I travel to and from work and the last few months have seen a lot of rain and thunderstorms to include hail, strong winds and sometimes tornadoes. And God is looking out for me, whether that means my boss sending me a message to work from home, or the storms along my way dissipating and weakening, missing me, or me being allowed to adjust my time to travel to and from work, whatever the case may be God is taking care of me.

Our Pastor at Church is also leaving and we’ll be looking for a new one. God put it on my heart to be a part of the committee to search for a new Pastor and I didn’t tell anyone about this feeling to be a part of this committee, but one of the Deacons unexpectedly asked if I wanted to be on the pulpit committee. It was such a welcomed surprise and an honor to be nominated, God certainly works in mysterious ways. While I don’t want to lose the current Pastor we have, I certainly don’t want to stand in the way of God’s will and I look forward to helping find a Pastor to fill the void of losing the current one.

I feel blessed beyond measure, my cup is definitely running over and I believe the more time you spend getting to know Jesus, reading your Bible, spending time at Church, attending Church events, helping when you can, and praying the more you will be blessed. And I feel Blessed!