Mark's ReMarks

sore arm

2009-05-05T09:38:00.002-05:00

Trenton and I have been playing a little catch here in the last couple of weeks. He is getting ready for the summer baseball season to start, so we have been tossin the ball around a little bit. I have purposely been asking him to not really throw the ball all that hard so far, because I want him to make sure that he is getting his arm loosened up well, so he doesn't hurt himself. Yesterday was the first day that we did some long toss and I let him "open it up a little." He did fine. I thought I would start throwing a little bit harder yesterday as well. Just in the little bit of time that I did...my arm started hurting. It wasn't a pain in the eldbow or anything like that, my shoulder was a little sore, but it really was more in the muscle. I guess that is what happens when you don't use certain muscles for awhile.
I saw a church sign the other day that said "for a healthy heart, exercise your faith." I liked that. When we go for long periods of time without exercising our faith our heart gets hard and our spiritual health tanks. Then when we do decide to exercise our faith...it hurts, it makes us a little sore.
Here is the catch...what do you do then? If I say well I can't really "throw" anymore, it hurts too bad... eventually i will just not try. But, if I give it a day, and then start back slow and just toss the ball around a little bit and begin to rebuild that stamina and rehab it slowly...eventually the strength and stamina will return. If you say well, exercising my faith was just too difficult...eventually you just wont try anymore. But, if you work at it everyday... it gets stronger and you begin to see a renewed vitality in your spirit.

For a healthy heart...exercise your faith

Trenton and Trevor are pumped

2009-05-01T13:41:00.002-05:00

Trenton and Trevor are totally pumped! Let me tell you why. A couple of weeks ago, Jerry and Vivien, Shannon's grandparents were just returning home from a trip to Florida. They decided that on their way home that they would stop and get something to eat at a new restaurant not too far from their home. As they were eating dinner, they recognized former St. Louis Cardinal first baseman Jack Clark, and his wife, in the restaurant. They told the waiter that they wanted to pay for the Clarks' meal. When the Clarks' realized what had happened they went to Jerry and Vivien to thank them. Jerry expressed to him that they have been long time season ticket holders, and they had always gotten a lot of enjoyment out of watching him play. The Clarks' were very appreciative. He asked Jerry and Vivien if they had any children and Jerry told him that they had two children and four grandsons. Mr. Clark gave Jerry his cell phone number and told him to call him and they would set up a time to take the boys to a game. Not only that, but that he would take them out on the field, introduce them to some players so they could get autographs and pictures, and they could sit in the owners box with him.
When Vivien called to tell us, she could couln't hardly wait to get the story out...she was about to burst! I made sure I had all the information straight before I told Trevor. Trenton was in Anderson, Indian at Jr. High Believe. When I told Trevor his jaw hit the floor, and after picking it up, he ran thru the house screaming, yelling and doing a little "I get to meet the Cardinals" jig like i've never seen before. When we told Trenton you could just about hear him gasping for air over the phone. In fact, he called me early the next morning to make sure that he was not dreaming.
So, on May 6th they get to go down on the field at Busch Stadium, and meet some of the players, get autographs and pictures. One of Trevors teachers is possibly offering a little extra credit points for an autograph or two. And then they can watch the game from the owners box.
Can you picture how excited they are? Put yourself in their shoes for a minute. Two young boys getting an opportunity that they may never get again. Do you have a sense of that excitement yet? Now, then let me ask you...when was the last time that you got that excited about worship? When was the last time that you got that excited over being involved in a ministry, or the opportunity to share your faith, or even share about your church? I mean, Albert Pujols, Chris Carpenter, Yadi...they are all incredible ball players, but none of them died for your sins. Ok, so baseball may not prime your pump that much...what if it were a movie star that you got to meet. Or a Nascar driver, or a band or the first guy to ever get a mullet! Baseball may not excite you, so what does? Ok, now answer the question. When was the last time that you got that excited about your quiet time. When was the last time that you were counting down the days till you could put your check in the offering plate?
It's a sobering thought isn't it. How excited we get so excited about temporal things of the flesh and yet we encounter the divine with a laissez-faire attitude.
I want the boys to enjoy this incredible opportunity, but I will also use it as a teachable moment to help them reflect on their attitudes toward their relationship with Jesus. It's definitely been a teachable moment for me as well. How about you?

a long time coming

2009-04-24T13:39:00.002-05:00

This story has been sittin on me since before the election back in November. I finally decided that I would write it down.

My children's minister Penny (the one on the left in the picture) was having a conversation with her adult daughter Sanya sometime before the election, and the issue of who each of them was going to vote for came up. Sanya, was appalled when she found out that her mom was not going to vote for Obama. The conversation took a rather humorous turn when Sanya finally expressed her frustration by saying..." Mom, I know what it is...you are not voting for Obama because he is black."

Now the humor in that is... Penny's husband, Ken (Sanya's dad) is African American. Can you imagine?... Penny would marry an African American man, have three children with him and yet her own daughter says that she's not voting for Obama because he's black.

Penny could not hardly contain the laughter when she was telling me that story. I appreciate her letting me share it.
I will be glad for the day when we can have eyes that will see beyond the color of skin and see the real issue...the spiritual issue. It doens't really matter if a person is black, white or any other color what is truly important is does that person know Jesus.

That's my prayer that we have spiritual eyes, to see the people around us as Jesus sees them... and when that happens...we'll let's just say it will have been a long time comin'.

2009-04-21T15:09:00.002-05:00

My youngest son, Trevor, is preparing for his birthday. He has been checking the mail, even after I tell him that I have already gotten the mail. He can’t wait to see if there is a birthday card in the mail.

Trevor was born on April 29, 2000. He was a big baby to say the least. He weighed well over 9lbs and was almost 22 inches long. Many of you already know that when Trevor was 18 months we started noting that his growth was tapering off. We would mention it to the Dr. and she indicated that it was normal for there to be times that he would not grow as at the same rate that he had been growing. He went from a big baby to an average sized 18 month old. We continued to talk to the Dr. about his lack of growth and we were always assured that he was fine and that we did not need to worry that his growth would start up again soon. We began to think that since Shannon is somewhat “vertically challenged” that Trevor might be the same. Finally after asking several times about his lack of growth, we insisted that our Dr. give us a referral to Children’s Hospital in St. Louis.

We met with the endocrinology department at Children’s and began a series of tests. Initially they were concerned about a pituitary gland tumor, but what we found out was that the posterior part of his pituitary gland had never formed. So, Trevor was diagnosed with Human Growth Hormone Deficiency Syndrome. He was three years old and still looked like an 18 month old. He was developmentally fine in every other area; language, etc. He was just tiny. It was humorous to hear this tiny little boy speak in full sentences.

The Dr’s at Children’s told us that we were going to have to start giving Trevor a shot of humane growth hormone every day, six days a week. The needles would be small insulin needles so the shots wouldn’t really hurt him, but just be more of an annoyance to him until he built up his tolerance to them. They also told us that eventually he would be able to give himself the shot. He has been on the shots for six years now and you would definitely never know that he ever had any problems growing.
Along the way I would ask him if he wanted to give himself a shot. He has always turned me down. That was until about a month ago, when I offered a little bit of cash to go along with the sense of accomplishment. Honestly, I didn’t think he would take the deal. I should have known better though, he’s a little money hound. I offered up a little bit of money and he grabbed the needle out of my hand, wiped off the spot in his belly (which he would never let me do…it always had to be in his arm) stuck the needle in, gave himself the shot and then held out his hand and waited for me to fork over the cash.
I was very proud of him, and we celebrated his accomplishment. I have made the analogy that Trevor’s medical situation is a lot like our spiritual conditions. We all need that daily shot of studying the Word, prayer, silence, worship and listening in order to keep us growing spiritually. I can’t tell you how many times that I have shared with people that if we don’t have that daily shot, we stop growing, and we die spiritually.

Trevor has reached a milestone in his physical development. He is now mature enough to give himself the shot. He does not have to rely on me to do it for him anymore. How about you? Are you still relying on someone else to give you the shot of faith that you need to grow? Or are you doing digging into the Word on your own and maximizing your daily time with God. Education classes, community groups, preaching all of that is wonderful, you can’t substitute those things for your personal time in His presence.
Keep on the grow! Let me hear about your personal, spiritual milestones like Trevor’s.

Mark

2009-03-12T11:02:00.000-05:00

Over the last few months there has been a great deal of conversation about a movie called Fireproof. Our Recycled Youth’ers even turned the auditorium into a drive in theatre and watched the film together.
Fireproof is an incredible story of a young fireman who is on the verge of losing his marriage. He is challenged by his dad to take a “love dare,” in which sets him on a journey of reconciliation with God and re-capturing the heart of his wife. If you have not seen this movie, you should!
What is interesting about that movie is that it was made by a church. The Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia made the film. They used mainly volunteer actors from their church. The lighting people, camera people, makeup artists, set designers, decorators, caterers…were mainly volunteers. It’s hard to imagine a church making a full length feature film, but that is exactly what the Sherwood Baptist Church did. What is even more amazing is that they have done it more than once. In fact, they have made three movies, Flywheel, Facing the Giants and Fireproof. The story of how a church got into the movie making business is chronicled in the book, Prepare for Rain. Prepare for Rain was written by Michael Catt, who is the executive producer of the movie, and the preacher at Sherwood Baptist Church. Prepare For Rain is an intriguing little book that is worth the read.
The introduction of the book is the inspiration behind this article. You see, in the movie Facing the Giants, one of the characters is a discouraged football coach named Grant Taylor. Taylor is a teacher and coach at the Shiloh Christian Academy, and he has a conversation with another teacher at the school that is a prayer warrior. As Taylor is questioning whether or not God is working in his life and ministry, the other teacher tells him the story of a couple of farmers. Both farmers needed rain desperately. They both had been praying for rain, but only one of them went out and prepared his ground to receive the rain. Then the question is asked, “Which one do you think trusted God to send the rain?” Of course the obvious answer is, “the one who prepared his fields for it.”
Are you asking God for “rain” in your life? Is your marriage drying up? Are your finances drying up? Is your spiritual life drying up? Are you personally dry, emotionally, relationally, spiritually? Are you asking God to refresh your spirit? Are you asking him to rain down peace in your life? I would venture to say that there is some area of your life in which you are experiencing a drought. If that is true in your life, let me ask you what are you doing to prepare for the rain that God wants to send your way?
Are you spending time in the word, outside of the time you spend in the word on Sunday mornings at church? See, time in the word is what will cultivate a receptive heart. The Word of God exposes our sins that need to be repented of. The Word exposes negative attitudes and sins that have created a dry, crusty, hard heart. Attitudes and sins like unforgiveness, greed, idolatry, (which is in it’s simpliest form putting anything ahead of your relationship with Jesus) pride, divisiveness, gossip, unfaithfulness and the list could go on and on. Preparing for rain comes from time in the Word, and in communication with Him. Not only talking to Him about the need for rain, but listening to Him, thru the Holy Spirit on what we need to do to prepare for Rain.
I don’t know about you, but I desperately want “Rain” in my life personally and in the life of GCC. I am asking you to not only pray for rain of blessings in the life of our church, but also to join me in preparing for rain. Let’s join together in the vision of Honoring God Above All Else. Join me in loving God with everything that we have and loving others as well, and not just each other, but let’s have the heart of God to reach the unchurched in our community. Prepare for rain by sharing an invitation with someone you know that is lost, to come to church with you. Prepare for rain by sharing names of people that our prayer team can be praying for, so that when you share your testimony of what God is doing in your life, they are more receptive. Prepare for rain, by not looking at what GCC can do for you, but what you can do to serve others. Prepare for rain by being faithful in your giving to the ministry of GCC, missions and our VFC stewardship campaign. Preparing for rain, may be tough, hard work and a bit uncomfortable, but there is always hard work, sweat and a measure of uncomfortable when you prepare the ground to receive the rain. Let’s prepare for rain together.

inadequate

2009-02-06T14:27:00.002-06:00

Ever fell like you are in way over your head? I have to admit that is the way i feel right about now. I was asked awhile back to preach chapel at St. Louis Christian College... my alma mater (i think that is the first time i've ever actually used that word) And I am really feeling the stress of it. See, I'm not some super leader, mega church pastor that is asked to speak lots of places. I am at a small church in southern Illinois. I'm not a hip church planter, I'm not cool and creative. I'm not the guy that thousands of people clamor to read my next blog. I'm not the guy that those students are gonna want to intern under. So, since I write this blog mostly for myself, I need to fight off the temptation of thinking it's about me, because it's not. For the next few days, I'm gonna just hang out in I Cor. 2:1-5 and let that be my prayer for my message on Tuesday at SLCC.
"And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you execpt Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God."

Fortress

2009-01-21T10:07:00.001-06:00

I am struck in Ps. 46 the number of times the word fortress is used. Fortress… it’s a place of protection. I imagine thick, impenetrable walls, guarded by high towers. No one can hurt you there. But also there is training, where you sit down with your commanding officer and he shows you how to protect yourself, to fight the enemy to defeat the enemy. There is discipline…you have to work out to be built up, but it’s not just for the sake of working out it’s repeated action so that in the heat of battle you don’t have to think of ways to gurad yourself, it comes naturally. You work out in the word so when you need recall the discipline of being in the word just overflows. There is nourishment…you are fed and strengthened, there is fun and laughter with those people that you are fighting the enemy with. There is rest. When you have been under attack you can sleep easy and get the rest that you need because you know that you are protected and that rest gets you ready to engage once again. There is a storehouse of ammo. You can stockpile all of the offensive weapons that you need. There is the shield of faith, the belt of truth, the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness…(btw righteousness is not from the things that you do…all of the church services, prayers, service, singing, preaching, teaching, leading etc…those things do not earn you righteousness, those things are what comes from being made righteous thru faith in Christ. To look at it the other way around is well, it’s likened to a mestrual rag…bloddy tampon…you don’t offer God that and he says…oh cool…you are now righteous. Righteouness comes thru faith in Jesus… anything else but Jesus is crap or rubbinsh/dung as it says in Phil 3.) in that fortress is also the protective footwear of peace. That fortress is a place where you can receive care and respit when you have been injured. And you take up the sword of the Spirit. You can’t stay forever in the fortress, eventually you have to reengage, but you always have that fortress to return to. And don’t think that when you leave the fortress you go alone. You engage the world with an army of brothers and sisters in Christ. You engage with the power of the Spirit knowing that the enemy is already defeated, but has not conceded his defeat quite yet. Fight the good fight of faith! HooRah!

Amnesia

2009-01-20T14:43:00.002-06:00

Who is Gerald Williams? I don’t know who he is, but obviously he thinks he knows me because he put me down as a cosigner on a student loan for almost $20k. I have had to do a bunch of work trying to get some credit score issues cleaned up since I was the victim of identity theft. Without boring you with all of the gory details…I got a couple of phone calls a few months ago from companies that were trying to collect payment on bills that were not mine. I got a little suspicious and checked our credit score and sure enough someone had gotten some of my information and I was now just one of the victims of what the FBI calls the fastest growing crime in history.
One of the things that I have wondered about in this whole situation is did that person ever really wonder who I was? Who is Mark Mitchell? To be honest I have wondered that myself at times. Am I a ballplayer? Baseball was where I thought I had found my identity…and then I had to come to terms with the fact that…nope that’s not really who I was. So, if not Mark Mitchell, Pitcher then who was I? Well, I have sought the answer to that question in a lot of venues…preacher, dad, husband, cool tattoo guy, coach, friend, leader. I have sought the answer in experience, pleasure and self fulfillment. I have had amnesia to my true identity.
I know the Scriptures that talk about who I am in Christ, but sometimes I can be like the guy that James described that looks in the mirror and the forgets what he looks like.
Ever wondered who you really are? Jesus knows. And when you ask and seek the answer He will answer. What I think is cool is that just like the person that has amnesia would have to sit with someone that loved them for hour after hour and fill them in on who they are and all of the things that they have forgotten…the more time I spend getting to know Him, the more he reveals about who I really am. Time, lots of time with Jesus…being still and knowing that He is God…and you get to know you as you are conformed into his image. It's really kind of a weird thought that you get to know more about who you are...when you get to know someone else and you see yourself more clearly when you don't look like you, you look like Christ.
Who am I? Who are you? Spend time with Jesus and you will find out.

2009-01-16T10:28:00.000-06:00

In John 4 Jesus meets the woman at the well. She comes there alone at a time when the other women in town were busy watching The Real Housewives of Sychar or something. Typically you would draw water in the morning or in the evening, but here she is at the well mid day. She would not have been someone that they talked too, talked about yes, but talked to…No. She had to be have been more than a little surprised when Jesus sits down and began to talk to her. Normally men especially Rabbis did not speak to women publicly, and beyond that she was a Samaritan. The story is very familiar with numerous spiritual lessons. Living water, worship in Spirit and in Truth, sexual sin and a call to repentance, but the thing that struck me the most and this is really no earth shattering revelation but in v. 4 this whole encounter starts with the words, “Now He (Jesus) had to go through Samaria. Well, technically he didn’t have to go thru Samaria, he could have gone around Samaria like most other Jews would have. The Jews and the Samritans hated each other so much that the Jews would make a trip longer and harder just to avoid going thru Samaria. So, there was another way to where Jesus was going. Or was there.? Jesus was not on some random excursion. He wasn’t out cruising aimlessly. He was on a mission. A mission to meet a “slut.” No, he wasn’t looking for a hook up, this was not some sort of first century bootie call, they weren’t friends with benefits, but he did go there the meet a “slut.” Well, at least that is what most people would have called her. She had been married 5 times and the guy that she was living with was not her husband. He couldn’t go around, because if he had he would have missed her. At a time when most people went out of their way to avoid her, except possibly some really creepy dudes that had lots of itching and burning sensations, Jesus had to go thru Samaria, because he had to see her. He knew all about her sorted past, but that did not stop him, it actually fueled his desire to see her. He had to be there to offer her living water, he had to be there to call her to repentance and a change of her sinful life. He had to be there to talk to her about true worship. But, really he had to be there because he was what she needed. He had to go to Robinson. He had to go to St. Louis. He had to go to Greenville. He had to go to Oskaloosa. He had to go to Centralia. He had to go because He is what I needed and no matter where I have been He has always been what I have needed. He has pursed me. Why because he was on a mission to meet with a “spiritual slut.” See, I have not always been faithful to Him. I am a part of the Bride of Christ (the Church) and I have cheated at times on my bridegroom. I have loved other things more than I have loved him. That’s what sin is. Loving something else more than Jesus. I have made other things…food, money, pleasure, family, baseball, relationships…and the list could go on… my god. They have become a functional savior, I put my trust in them and gave my love and devotion to them and in essence cheated on the one that truly loved me. He truly loved me because he did not go around the cross either. So, what is my response…repent of sin and share Jesus. Not a bad thing for everyone to do, because I know that He has had to go thru…(name the place) to meet you too.

Panic Attack

2008-11-28T14:43:00.002-06:00

This past Saturday night I had something happen to me that I had never had happen. I had a panic attack. Not, just a simple bout with anxiety, I mean a full on panic attack. It happened about 12:30am. The day had been fairly busy early...Trenton had a basketball tournament, but for the most part it was not horribly hectic. We had the boys off to bed. We had some of my moms corn out ready to make as well as a couple of other dishes that we were going to take for our Thanksgiving lunch at church the next day. For some reason Shannon and I started watching Air Force One and it didn't get over till late. So, I was off to bed after midnight. I got in bed and had this horrible feeling of..."WE DON'T HAVE ANY TURKEY FOR LUNCH AT CHURCH TOMORROW." I knew that I had talked to Sunny, our secretary, a couple of weeks ago about calling the guy that normally takes care of the turkeys for our dinner, but I had not heard the call and she had not said anything about it. So, I start to panic. I tried to just go to sleep. Shannon said that it was too late for me to call anyone about it anyway. I laid there and it was horrible. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't breathe. And then my thoughts went from we don't have any turkey to we don't have any plates or silverware or anything to drink. I knew that the tables and everything was set up, but all of the other stuff was totally up in the air. It got so bad that at 2:30am i'm out at the church making sure that we have plates, cups, silverware, drinks... Then to make matters worse by the time i got home, I still couldn't sleep because i was so cold that it was 3:30am by the time I got to sleep.

Well, to make a long story short...We had turkey, the day was great, but I was totally convicted because I was preaching about God's love and I commented on the idea that God loves us so much that it's evidenced in life and in the world that we have, and most importantly, he loves us so much that he gave us His Son to die on a cross for our salvation. If he loves us in the big things...why wouldn't he love us in the little things as well. So, I was truly thankful!

HOpe you had a great thanksgiving... I missed my mom's home made noodles, but we had a good time. We actually spent the day at Epcot. We ate at a Morrocian restaurant for lunch at Epcot.

Give Thanks with a grateful heart

Mark

are you listening?

2008-10-31T14:09:00.005-05:00

A few weeks ago, the boys had Monday off of school for Columbus Day. Shannon was off work, and I have been trying to take Mondays off. So, we decided that we were going to take off Sunday evening and drive over to my parents house, spend some time with them, pick up Trenton's 4 wheeler, and come home. While we were there, the boys had a great time being at Memaw & Papaws house. When we got ready to leave, mom had boxed up a bunch of goodies for us to take home. We had some grape jelly, tomato juice, green beans, corn and salsa...all of which we were completely out of. When we got home the boys were helping carry in some of the canned goods and you could hear them struggling, and getting loud in the garage. They both were about to drop the boxes that they were carrying in. Even though I had told them...if nothing else, just carry each item one at a time. Well, they got to the back door, got the stuff set down and proceeded to not pay attention to anything I had just said and carried the whole boxes on into the kitchen. From the other room, I hear that unmistakable sound of breaking glass. Shannon and I went running into the kitchen and there is every jar of salsa that mom had given us broken on the kitchen floor. It was all over the place, on the wall in the hallway, on our new carpet in the hallway, on the microwave, dishwasher and I think even a little splattered on our dog, Koda. I was frustrated to say the least! Why didn't they just listen to me. Why didn't they do what I said. Were they deaf?

Ever wonder that about God? Is God deaf? I keep praying about all this stuff and nothing seems to be happening. Other people are praying and they are getting answers right away, but that just doesn't seem to always happen for me.

It's like the prayers are hitting the ceiling and they just come right back at you. You wonder did God change his number cuz i just can't seem to get thru.

Well, prayer is simply talking to God, but in that there has to be a measure of listening as well. However, without oversimplifying things or making them too hard either, I do think there is some scriptural precedent that there are some things, in our lives, that can be barriers to our prayers... Let me just throw some of them out at you and you can search them out for yourself...

Barriers to Prayer:

lack of forgiveness/Mt. 6:14-15

double mindedness/James 1:5-8

rejection of the truth/Prov. 28:9

hard heartedness/Zech. 7:12-13

unconfessed sin/Ps. 66:18

unbelief/Mt. 17:20-21

broken relationships/I Pet. 3:7

vain repititions/Mt.6:7

pride/2 Chron. 7:14

lack of compassion/Prov. 21:13

wrong motives/James 4:3

not asking/James 4:2

sinful lifestyle/ Is. 59:2

hypocrisy/Lk 18:9-14

idolatry/Ez. 14:3

Remove the barriers and pray!

Make prayer as one man put it, "The talking part of the most important relationship in your life."

Trevor

2008-10-17T11:22:00.003-05:00

If you don't know my youngest son Trevor, well you are missing out. He is real trip! He's a very cute, talented, intelligent kid, but honestly he's just out there. I have know idea where he comes up with some of the stuff he does. Let me just give you some examples.

We are a Christian family. We love Jesus and the St. Louis Cardinals, like all God loving people should. When Trevor was about 4 we were stepping out into the terminal at the tampa international aiport. Shannon had put him in a Cardinals short outfit and he had a Cardinals backpack. He steps out into the terminal right up to a police officer and said..."I don't know why they make me wear this stuff, I'm really a Cubs fan." I thought the officer was going to have to give me mouth to mouth right then and there. Where did he come up with that? Not to mention that when we would get on the plane and get in the air he would ask me..."Dad, are we still in our world? Well, Trevor I am, I'm not so sure about you, dude."

Another example... Trevor for the longest time was geographically challenged. Shannon's parents have a home in Florida and a home in St. Louis. We would go to Florida to see her parents and Trevor would say "Is this where the arch is? No, Trevor this is where the palm trees are." Then we'd go to St. Louis..."is this where the palm trees are...no Trevor this is where the arch is." Awhile back he said..."Dad, I've got it! Florida has the palm trees, St. Louis has the arch, and well North Dakota...it doesn't really have anything." Now where he got that I have no idea. We've never been to N. Dakota or even really talked about N. Dakota.

The latest one was just the other day. His 3rd grade teacher (who has worked a part time job at Cracker Barrell for a long time) told me that Trevor came up to him the other day and was sneaking him $4. He said, "Mr Livesay, can you buy me $4 worth of suckers on your employee discount at Cracker Barrell..."

I don't know where he gets that kind of stuff.

Well, here is the point...Ever wonder if our Heavenly Father doesn't look at us the same way? When we sin, when we do some of the stuff that we do that is just absolutely goofy for a Christian to be doing... think God ever chuckles at us and thinks...what an odd child...I love him/her...I am proud of him/her, but goodness sake that kid is just not right.

Goofy or not, His love endures forever, and I'm grateful because Trevor may be a little more like me than I care to admit.

Mud Pies or Anchors Away?

2008-10-02T11:23:00.003-05:00

Have you ever made a mud pie? I have never really been that big on just sitting down and making mud pies, but I have been known to go out and slide in the mud during heavy rain storms. (In fact some of you have done that with me. Remember the huge storm when we lived in Iowa?) Anyway, it may not be mud pies but the point is the same...a cheap, short lived thrill that doesn't really last and leaves you dirty.

Ever noticed that in our lives we often times pursue things that we think will bring us great pleasure, joy, happiness, purpose, and satisfaction and yet at the end of the pursuit...it's been a cheap, short lived thrill but nothing more.

CS Lewis wrote about this in his book, The Weight Of Glory. "We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at sea. We are far too easily pleased."

What will be a more fulfilling joy? What will be happiness, purpose and satisfaction that will last? Are you ready? An UNADULTERATED PURSUIT OF JESUS CHRIST THAT ENDS IN WORSHIP AND PRAISE TO GLORY OF GOD.

What in your life could be considered mud pies? What are you pursuing that you think will bring happiness that will ultimately leave you dissatisfied and possibly dirty? Are you settling?Are you too easily pleased as Lewis put it?

Ultimate joy, happiness, and satisfaction are found in Christ. Yet, many Christians settle for less that abundant life. They settle for less than the "holiday at sea." Do you? I have settled, in the past, but I'm grabbin' my sunscreen, my Oakleys and I'm ready to set sail. How about you?

Anchors Away!

'Old Beer!

2008-09-24T10:35:00.002-05:00

This morning there was a lady that came in the office that had taken her family to the Cardinal game last night on some tickets that the Church had given out. She made the comment that it was an incredible time for her family. She had initially been concerned with taking her 5 year old to the game because people in the section around them may be drinking beer and such, since we didn't have the whole section reserved. Anyway, she was thrilled because there were no problems and they had a great time.

I remembered a story from about 9 years or so ago. We were still living in Oskaloosa, Iowa and Trenton was about 3 years old. We had been on vacation and had spent some time in Robinson, with my family and in St. Louis with Shannon's family. While we were there we had the chance to go to a couple of Cardinal games. We loved it.

However, the next Sunday at Church, after the service, I hear something odd in the auditorium. What I discovered was my 3 year old walking thru each of the pews shouting..."old beer, old beer." (he couldn't say cold or he just misunderstood and thought they were saying old...i'm not sure.) Yep, you guessed it...he thought he was the bud man. I thought it was funny, Shannon was embarrassed.

Proverbs 23:7 says, "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he." The Scriptures are clear that what happens in your mind affects who you are. Psychology even agrees...There is the law of Cognition that says that if you change the way a person thinks you will change the way they behave. There is also the law of Exposure that says what you expose your mind to determines what you think.

I believe that is why we, like Paul, should take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ.

I still take Trenton to Cardinal games. He's still exposed to the Bud Man, but even more I expose him to the truth of God's Word and he no longer walks thru the Church yelling..."Old Beer, Old Beer..."

Underwear?

2008-09-22T21:14:00.002-05:00

Ok, so this may not be a deep, theological blog, but I thought it was worth sharing. The other night Shannon, Trenton, Trevor and I went to our favorite Mexican restaurant here in Centralia...Tequila's. As we were sitting there munching on some chips and salsa, they had a couple of TV's on. Trenton and I were watching one TV and Shannon and Trevor were watching another. None of us were paying that much attention, but the TV that Shannon and Trevor were watching was set to ESPN Classic. There was a replay of an old Boston Celtics/LA Lakers game. You know one of the good ones with Bird against Magic. Trevor kept peeking up and had a goofy look on his face (which if you know Trevor, is not that unusual) Finally he said, "Dad why are they playing basketball in their underwear?" Then it dawned on me. He was born in the era of the long, baggy basketball shorts...he'd never seen what uniforms looked like back then. Without batting an eye I just told him that they had all lost their uniforms. I guess as a parent, that's a good lesson on perspective. He was viewing the game thru a different set of lenses. I need to remember to teach God's Word to them, and my congregation in ways that relate to them, or as a good friend of mine always said..."look out the other window."

I eventually told him they weren't playing in their underwear, but looking back at that game...I'm kinda glad longer shorts are in.

It's a good thing I'm not God

2008-09-09T09:28:00.008-05:00

The title says it all... It's a good thing I'm not God. There are a lot of things that I would do, if I had the power, just to mess with people that are screwin around and not doing the things that I told them to do (If I were the almighty...which i'm not...which is a good thing...hence this blog) Now since I have the tendancy to be very sarcastic and have a slightly twisted side to me I will refrain from giving the numerous example that I have thought if in the last few minutes....I will just give you one, and this stems from a conversation that I had yesterday in which Kenny Todd our student minister made the statement that many people in our congregation just want me to feed them all of their spiritual nourishment for their week in a half an hour on Sunday. Here's why it's a good thing that I'm not God...

If I were God (which I'm not and that's a good thing) and I had made it very clear about the need to be in the Word and study the Scriptures (which He Has... "Wise men store up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool invites ruin.” (Proverbs 10:14)“Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge.” (Proverbs 23:12)

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)

If I were God (which I'm not and that's a good thing) I had had not only made available "The Word" for you to study in your homes on a daily basis but had also given you the opportunity to be involved in teaching opportunitites like small groups, adult Bible education on Sunday mornings or Wednesdday (Which He has) and yet people still thought they could get by with the spiritual nourishment that I received on Sunday morning for the whole week...

If I were God (which I'm not and that's a good thing) I would make the amount of spiritual nourishment that a person took in equivalent to the amount of physical nourishment they received...So, if you come to Church and think that's all you need...You get to eat Sunday lunch and then you have any other nourishment come into your system until you get back in the Word for some more spiritual nourishment. Wouldn't it be a little diffficult to do our jobs if we only ate one physical meal a week... Wouldn't all of those other activities that we think are so important...that we miss church, bible study, prayer meeting, or small groups for...be virtually impossible to do...wouldn't it just be awful if we just didn't have the strength to enjoy those....

No strenght to ... go to the mall, to work out, to hunt, to watch tv, to run our kids around to every activity known to man, to go to the pool, to play a game with the family... all because you had no energy... (btw energy comes from food )

Not to mention if what we looked like on the outside was reflective of what our spirits looked like on the inside...( many times we look good on the outside...we look good, but if you could see our spirits it would look the the photos of the people in the Nazi death camps that were nothing more than skeletons with skin.)

Don't you think people would change their priorities. Don't you think that hearing, reading, studying and memorizing the Word would be more important in their lives if their physical nourishment was equivalent to their spiritual nourishment... Maybe instead of thinking, "boy I sure am glad it's not that way..." maybe we should realize that ultimately it's the spiritual nourishment that is going to matter in our lives for eternity anyway...and maybe just maybe we should change our "eating habits" now while there is still time.

It's a good thing I'm not God

Just call me Mr. Romance

2008-08-29T12:03:00.002-05:00

On August 28, 1993 in front of about 500 people...many of whom I didn't know... like my in-laws plumber (but I'm glad they came they gave us a very nice cash gift) I married Shannon Jean Harris. Everything was just perfect that day...well after someone went back to the hotel to pick up my mom, who had inadvertently been left there with no way to get to the Church...anyway... It was a great day and I have had the wonderful privilege of having her as my wife for the last 15 years.

15 years that's a long time! So, I had to get her just the right anniversary present. I wanted to get her a very romantic gift that would make her the envy of every woman. I thought about jewelry... but I had given her an anniversary band on our 10th wedding anniversary. I thought about a surprise trip...but she's working on her Masters and didn't want to stress her out with not being able to study. Roses...no, a romantic candlelight dinner...no... Then it hit me... the perfect gift. So, I headed to the store to get it...what store you ask? Dillards, Famous Bar, Victorias Secret (by the way, I don't think she has any secrets left)... NOPE... Radio Shack. That's right, Radio Shack where I bought her a very romantic gift...A handheld POLICE SCANNER!

Now you may be thinking, "Oh My Goodness...He didn't" Yep, a police scanner. Now before you start to feel sorry for Shannon, it's actually something that she wanted. Why she wanted a police scanner, well that's for another time, but...bottom line she got exactly what she wanted.

Now, along with that I am giving her another gift...a renewed commitment...to her and our boys...to lead them in love, to lead them in the Word, to lead them selflessly, to lead them in righteousness. That's a gift that will keep on giving. It's a Biblical gift that as a Christian Husband I need to give every day. If you are a husband and a dad, I'd encourage you to give the same gift

That's why you can call me Mr. Romance

New Beginnings

2008-08-29T09:32:00.000-05:00

For quite some time I have been thinking about blogging. I did a little on my myspace account and realized that I felt somewhat pretentious thinking that anyone would actually read my blog, let alone benefit from it. However, since I have not been using MySpace as much as Facebook lately, I have had several people tell me that I ought to link a blog to my Facebook. So, here we go...

I actually don't know how often I will blog, hopefully it will be on a regular basis. I seriously doubt that it will be more than once a week, but you never know. Sometimes this blog will be serious and have a very poignant spiritual application, other times... not so much. Sometimes i'm just going to be relaying some goofy stuff that the boys are doing and such.

Also, please don't expect great punctuation. My grammar fine but my punctuation stinks. I tend to write like I talk so... you will see a lot of those little ... things and not much else in the form of punctuation. I can read a paragraph and seriously think that there needs to be a comma about every other word.

I don't know if anyone will ever read this, but if not it might be good therapy for me just to write some of my thoughts down.

It has taken me two days to get to the point where I am actually typing something because i could not get past the stupid section in the set up where i had to name the blog. I chose Mark's ReMarks which has bee the title of my church article for a number of years. I chose it not because i like it necessarily but because i could not think of anything else. So, if anyone has any ideas let me know. I'm open for suggestions.