Quote of the Day 5-30-08

Lately I have been on this thing about the "church" ... while we are all "proud" of our church, I see that we are pretty much underachievers ... My next few statements may seem harsh and insensitive, but I promise that I am not intending them to be harsh or insensitaive ... I hope you understand what I am trying to say ...

There is a lady in our church that has a tumor on her spine that causes great pain ... I read today that they are giving God praises because the pain has subsided a little because the tumor has shrunk ( not sure if that is the correct word ) and so therefore the pressure is not as great on the spine as it was ... now she can rest ... THAT IS GREAT ... answered prayer for sure

As far as how this relates to church ... when we have "pressure" that causes discomfort don't we pray that God would relieve it ? WHY ? We want to rest ... Isn't that pressure and pain a good thing as far as churches go ? After all, it is the intense pressure that forms diamonds, right ? Why do we run from it ? We rebuke it in Jesus name when we should be EMBRACING it in Jesus name ...

Now for the quote of the day ...

"When the church becomes an institution, people are nothing more than volunteers to be recruited. When the church is a movement, our stewartship becomes the unleashing of our Godgiven gift, talents, and passions."

.... Erwin McManus



.



DWC



.

Mason

This is kinda funny ... also my first pass at simple editing ...







DWC




.

Quote of the Day 5-29-08

"The difference between 'involvement' and 'commitment' is like an eggs-and-ham breakfast: the chicken was 'involved' - the pig was 'committed'." ....... unknown



"Unity will change the world" ... TD Jakes



DWC




.

Well ... I kept on reading ... Deut 30

Well I guess I jumped the gun ... I should have kept reading before I posted ...

The Choice of Life or Death


11 “This command I am giving you today is not too difficult for you to understand, and it is not beyond your reach. 12 It is not kept in heaven, so distant that you must ask, ‘Who will go up to heaven and bring it down so we can hear it and obey?’ 13 It is not kept beyond the sea, so far away that you must ask, ‘Who will cross the sea to bring it to us so we can hear it and obey?’ 14 No, the message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart so that you can obey it.

15 “Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster. 16 For I command you this day to love the Lord your God and to keep his commands, decrees, and regulations by walking in his ways. If you do this, you will live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you and the land you are about to enter and occupy.

17 “But if your heart turns away and you refuse to listen, and if you are drawn away to serve and worship other gods, 18 then I warn you now that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live a long, good life in the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy.

19 “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! 20 You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This[b] is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”


WOW ... this speaks for itself ... I know that God has made promises that He wants to keep ... but if I am reading correctly ... it is up to me ... and you ( that is if anyone is reading ) ... I CHOOSE LIFE ... or at least I am trying to choose life ... with everything that is in me I CHOOSE LIFE ...


.




DWC



.

Deut 30

Deuteronomy 30
A Call to Return to the Lord


“In the future, when you experience all these blessings and curses I have listed for you, and when you are living among the nations to which the Lord your God has exiled you, take to heart all these instructions. 2 If at that time you and your children return to the Lord your God, and if you obey with all your heart and all your soul all the commands I have given you today, 3 then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes. He will have mercy on you and gather you back from all the nations where he has scattered you. 4 Even though you are banished to the ends of the earth, the Lord your God will gather you from there and bring you back again. 5 The Lord your God will return you to the land that belonged to your ancestors, and you will possess that land again. Then he will make you even more prosperous and numerous than your ancestors!

6 “The Lord your God will change your heart[a] and the hearts of all your descendants, so that you will love him with all your heart and soul and so you may live! 7 The Lord your God will inflict all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate and persecute you. 8 Then you will again obey the Lord and keep all his commands that I am giving you today.

9 “The Lord your God will then make you successful in everything you do. He will give you many children and numerous livestock, and he will cause your fields to produce abundant harvests, for the Lord will again delight in being good to you as he was to your ancestors. 10 The Lord your God will delight in you if you obey his voice and keep the commands and decrees written in this Book of Instruction, and if you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and soul.

Oh my word ... this is where the Lord sent me today ( after lunch ) ... not sure how I got here except that He directed me here ... couple of points that stand out to me :

V5 The Lord will return you to the land that belonged to your ancestors ... I think this means that there are situations and circumstances that I had no control over that have put me where I am today ... generational "sins" so to speak ... I long for the day that those are gone ...

V6 Sold out ... He wants me to be sold out ... I heard a guy say one time that when he was going thorough his divorce that he walking in and just signed EVERYTHING he had away ... he gave it all away to his (soon to be) ex wife ... God wants us to give up every part of ourself ... not just the parts that we think we can do without ... eveything ... even the MOST IMPOORTANT part

V9 Successful in everything I do ... WOW ... wouldn't that be grand ? I read in Monroe's good the other day this quote ...

Success is not measured by comparing ourself to what others have done ... Success is measured by comparing ourself to what we were designed to do

This is a mouthful ... what was I designed to do ? That is the struggle ...

Summary : OBEDIENCE is everything to God


.
DWC



.

Quote of the Day 5-28-08

John Fisher ...


"David wasn't thinking of being king when he was tending sheep; he was just doing what God sat before him."




.



DWC



.

Quote of the Day 5-27-08

Reggie McNeal from The Present Future

"The current church culture in North America is on life support. It is living off the work, money, and energy of previous generations from a previous world order."




.

DWC




.

Quote of the Day 5-23-08

Michael Gott ...


“Every preacher must remember his role—He is not the cause of people’s coming to Christ, but he should be the catalyst, and he can be if he is under the anointing of God.”


“God never writes down your past and a way of writing off your future. The mistakes of yesterday do not forfeit the miracle of tomorrow.”


“Insecure people always produce isolation, and isolation always produces loneliness.”


“If you do no good for God talking to your neighbor across the fence, you will do no good for God talking to the stranger across the seas. Start at home or stay at home!”


DWC



.

This dude is pretty good ...

I know you may have already seen this guy before ( he is all over GodTube ) but this is a pretty good tune ... watch it all the way through ... he does a little rap thing in the middle ...








DWC

Quote of the Day 5-22-08

Another favorite .... T.D. Jakes

"When you walk with God, you will stumble into supernatural blessings."

The bigger the boat ... the bigger the storm.

Exceptional people have exceptional problems ... exceptional people should STOP worrying about simple problems.

Wait - where is it ?

Here is the deal ... I always ask God to speak to me in a way that I can understand ... and He is faithful to do it ... sometimes it is uncomfortable for me but I always KNOW what He is saying ... with that said ...

I wake up this morning ... get a shower ... get ready for work ... ( let me pause for a second to tell you how I can't stand to be without my wedding ring --- when I don't have it I am "lost" ) I put my on my cheap watch and my ring ... but as with most mornings it is just too tight so I do what I always do ... I put it on my pinky finger ( yes it is REALLY loose ) until I can get going and eventually ( around 8:15 or so ) the ring will go on my ring finger ... ok

Head to work ... get to work ... check mail .. talk to a buddy on the phone ... etc and so on ... around 8:45 I head out to an awards assembly at HCS ... arrive on time ... well actually they are behind schedule so I am waaaaaaay early ... sit and talk to a buddy for a minute ... find Steph and sit with her ... get up to get some water because I have a little while until Madi and Kenzi will be up ... AND I am trying to quit DP and Diet DP ( pray for me --- I am hooked ) ... get my water and reach for my ring and IT AIN'T THERE ...

I cannot tell you how that feels ... GONE ... no where to be found ... fear ... panic ... disbelief ... and much much more

I know you are like ... "It's just a ring ... buy another one ... it was probably cheap anyway because you were poor when you got married and spent all the money on Steph's ring ... !! "

But that is just not how I feel about it ... I worried for the rest of the time at the awards deal ... I am just sick ...

Madi and Kenzi get their awards ... I leave ... driving toward work ... the entire time wondering where my ring has fallen off my pinky finger ... I remember having it when I arrived at work ... is it in the parking lot ? In the breakroom ? It could be anywhere !!!

I was in front of Gipson's Funeral home when I said it ... " God, why is this happening ? You know I love that ring ... why did I even put in on my pinky finger anyway ? I know that is not where it belongs ... it doesn't fit ... "

And right there in front of Okay Food Store at the intersection of Denman and Chestnut ( remember I am driving ) ... it came ... like a knife it cut right through me ... all the way to my core ...

"Don Wayne ... 2 things ... I am depending on you to be there when I reach down for you ... just like you reach for that ring ... I reach for you ... I need you to be where you are supposed to be ... where you belong ... as a matter of fact look at your ring finger .. you can see the indention and the pale ring around that finger ... that is where your ring ( YOU - DW ) is SUPPOSED to be ... that indention is MADE for your ring no other ring will fit that indention .. only yours ... and secondly ... the reason you lost your ring is that it was NOT where it belonged ... you put it in a place that it was never meant to be ... you willingly and knowingly put your ring in danger of being lost ... there are people that live their entire life "on the wrong finger" ... I know it would have been tight and uncomfortable on the "right" finger ... but that is where it belongs ... IT WOULD BE SAFE THERE ... "

I am like oh my gosh ... losing my ring was worth what God said ... I am still sad and upset ... but God spoke to me in a way that I TOTALLY understand ...

DWC

( by the way --- my ring was on desk when I got back to work --- AIN'T GOD GOOD ? )

Quote of the Day 5-21-08

OK ... I am going to try to start a quote of the day ... I can't promise that I will find something everyday ... but I am going to try ... and you guessed it ... one of my favorite people ... Erwin McManus gets the first one ...

" The civilized build shelters and invite God to stay with them; barbarians move with God wherever He chooses to go.

The civilized Christian has a routine; the barbarian disciple has a mission.

The civilized believer knows the letter of the law; the barbarian disciple lives the spirit of the law.

The civilized love tradition; the barbarian spirit loves challenges.

The civilized are satisfied with ritual; barbarians live and thrive in the mystical.

For the civilized disciple, religion provides stability and certainty; for the barbarian, a life in God is one of risk and mystery."

Ok ... several all rolled up into one ...




DWC

Post - Graduation

Well ... K5 graduation is over ... the CHARGE went OK ... as always there were things that I thought I SHOULD have said but didn't ... and conversely things that I said that could have been left out ... all in all a success

I was a little disappointed that out of 23 or so kiddos that only about 5 came to pick up their $1 bill ... but that is better than none ...

DWC

Confession

Well I am compelled to confess ... I have nothing ... I have been trying to conjure up something to write about ... but there is just not anything there ... so to all my loyal readers ( both of you ) ... I am sorry ... I am just blank

So let me just tell you a little about what is going on and a little about what I have been reading ... ( you can hit the BACK arrow now if you want to !!!! )

I have to give a charge to the parents of HCS tonight for K-5 graduation ... what do you say to kindergarteners ? And to the parents ? I know that it has something to do with $1 bills ... but I am just not sure what, yet ... to some of you that may seem as if I have not prepared ... but trust me, there has been much preparation ... just not clear direction ... it is much like hunting ... you scout ... you have all your supplies ( gun, stand, ammo, etc ) ... but you don't really know what you will see until you are in the woods ... that is where I am at on this ... I am in the woods .. I am prepared ... God has already put into me what I need to say ... I just have to wait ... and use what I have ... clear as mud ...

I do know that I will use 1 Sam 1:1-11 ... I will paraphrase, of course ...

Back to the $1 bill ... one might think that $1 is insignificant ... it is a small amount ... even smaller than when I was a kid ... after all when I was a kid gas was just a little over $1 ... the $1 is like their kindergartener ... small and "insignificant" ... at least that is what it seems ... but how precious is a $1 bill to the man that is thirsty and sees a sign that reads "Water $0.89" ... or the woman that is hungry and sees a taco on the menu for $0.59 ? I say pretty precious ... maybe even life changing or life sustaining ... so is the kindergartener ... a precious little one that God has given ... how precious is one little bratty K5 boy or girl to the woman or man that cannot conceive ... ? Just a thought ...

So back to Hannah ... she wanted a son more than anything ... she promised God that if He would give her a son that she would give him back to God ... what ? Why would any person in their right mind give up their son ... their ONLY son ... the son that she had been praying for ? She understood that the son was not hers in the first place ... and so she dedicated him ( Samuel ) back to God ... did she deserve a son ? Probably not ... do you deserve what you have ? I know I don't ...

So I plan to give each parent a $1 bill ... something insignificant ( as far as the world is concerned ) but also something they DID NOT EARN and probably DON'T DESERVE ... they have 2 choices ...

1. Keep it ... use it ... spend it ... and forget about it
2. Give it back ... to God ... not back to me

By choosing #2 we are saying that we understand what God has done ... we are saying that we are giving our child back to God ... to have His way with them ... it is nothing more than a sign or a symbol ... a gesture ... give it as an OFFERING back to God ...

Hannah did ... we should too ...


DWC

Recent Reading

Just a few quotes from one of the books I am trying to read ...

- What God wants is established, but how He gets it may vary
- Purpose transforms mistakes into miracles and dissappointments into testimonies
- God's purpose is not hindered by your past
- You are the WAY you are because of WHY you are

Any thoughts or comments ? I don't really have very many "followers" of this blog so if something said here strikes you please pass it on ... I would like to actually have some folks tell me what they think ... agree or disagree

DWC

Emotional Wreck

I have heard a buddy talk about being an emotional wreck. I will be honest. When I first heard him speak these words I pictured a woman. I woman out of control, hair messed up, no make up, wrinkled up clothes, bloodshot eyes ... you get the picture.
I assumed a woman weak, wimpy, and depressed.

Never a man, right? After all, men are strong, conquerors, manly men. But alas, I have come to realize that men are emotional wrecks too. At least on the inside we are. Never on the outside. ( This is where an old song pops into my head THE WARRIOR IS A CHILD )

Men are pretty good at hiding how we feel ... but eventually it will come out in one way or another ...

Our emotions will fail us much of the time ... when we make decisions based on emotions we domesticate them ... we were designed to go beyond that ... a Christ follower ( in my opinion ) should not be domesticated to the extent that if it doesn't make sense we run from it ...

For example ... push out into the deep water and let down your nets ... an emotional man / domesticated man would not have done this ... after all ... they had been trying that and it didn't work

An emotional man says I don't know the man ... 3 times ... to save his owen skin ... then says but what about him ( speaking of other disciple ) ... a domesticated man wants everyone to get the same thing ... but God did not design it that way

Enough ... we should choose to be an innovator not an adopter


DWC