Verse Of The Week

"Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the Lord." -- Proverbs 18:22

Today is mine and Teresa's 8th wedding anniversary and all day long I've meditated on this verse. Without a doubt, one of the greatest blessings in my life is the woman God chose for me to have as a help meet. She is such a great support. Even though things aren't always easy, and only a pastor's wife could truly identify, she always handles it with such grace. Not only is she my best friend, my high school sweetheart, and the mother of my children; she's also the love of my life. My prayer is that each day God would help me to be the blessing and help to her that she has been to me. To the husbands who may read this, let me encourage you to remember what a blessing your wife is. To my beautiful bride, let me say that I love you with all of my heart and when the Lord allowed me to "find" you, I found a good thing.

My beautiful bride of 8 years.
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!!

Verse Of The Week

"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." -- Proverbs 22:6

As we get ready to begin Bible School at our church tonight, this verse is on my heart. We must realize that children will never know or find the right way on their on. It is our duty as parents to train them in that way. Many may wonder what the "right way" really is. I am thoroughly convinced that the ONLY right way is God's way and the only way to know God's way is through His Word. We, as mothers and fathers, must take the initiative in properly training and teaching our children according to the Word of God.

Without a doubt, this requires a great deal of effort and dedication on our parts but the rewards are well worth the investment. Proverbs tell us in this verse that if we will train our children in the right way then they will NOT depart from it. The Word of God is inescapable. Even if they don't always abide by the teachings of God's Word, if we as parents do our part they will always know what the right way is. Let me encourage everyone to be faithful in training up our children in the right way. They will surely need that training as they grow.

Catching Up

After just over two weeks of not updating the blog, I felt like it was definitely time to do so. The last couple of weeks have been very full and very tiring and, to be perfectly honest, I've just not had the time or energy to post anything new. Hopefully I can get back on track now and keep the blog updated more faithfully.


37 days until we find out if the new baby is a boy or girl!

Friday Five

Psalm 119 is a psalm which is all about the Word of God. It tells us what the Word of God says of Itself. For some reason, it's been on my heart since I've been at the computer. So for today's Friday Five I'm going to list five of my favorite verses from Psalm 119. If you want to know the importance and the value of God's Word, Psalm 119 is a great place to study. I hope this is a blessing to you!

Five Of My Favorite Verses From Psalm 119

- "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee." -- Psalm 119:11

- "Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage." -- Psalm 119:54

- "For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven." -- Psalm 119:89

- "How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" -- Psalm 119:103

- "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." -- Psalm 119:105

Verse Of The Week

"Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us," -- Hebrews 12:1

Let me begin by saying simply this, thank God for a great cloud of witnesses!! The writer of Hebrews recognized three things that are a great help to all who hope to run the race with patience. The writer recognized that we all must deal with burdens, not the least of which is our own sins. The writer also recognized that the burdens and sins of our lives are sure to be hinderances to us as we strive to run the race for the glory of Christ. But the writer also reminds us that we are not alone in our ambition but rather that we are surrounded by brothers and sisters in Christ who share in similar struggles and are witnesses to the glory and power of the living Lamb of God. Without a doubt the Word of God is filled with men and women whose lives are witnesses to the fact that the power of God is sufficient to give victory no matter what we may face. Likewise, we are blessed with an assortment of witnesses in the life of every believer who have confessions of like faith as those found in God's Word. Witnesses who glory not in themselves but rather in what the Lord Jesus Christ has done, is doing, and will do in their lives and in the lives of all who trust Him as Savior and Lord. My prayer is that the Lord will help me to be a witness to someone else of the victory that can only be found in Jesus that someone else may find the help they need to run this race with patience.

I knew It Would Happen Sooner Or Later

When I started this blog, with every intention to update it multiple times during any week, I knew that eventually things would get too hectic and I would fail to follow through. That happened last week. Things were so busy and I had so much other stuff on my mind I neglected to even post a Friday Five for last week. The blog was not neglected without good reason though. Here's an update of the last few days of our lives.

Last Thursday - We had our monthly men's meeting at our church. Brother Dustin Copeland came and preached a wonderful message. The men's meetings have been such a tremendous blessing and help to the men of our church...and probably most of all to myself as their pastor.

Friday - We had the rehearsal dinner for Dean and Kellie's wedding. The rehearsal went very well and everyone involved seemed ready for the big day. During the rehearsal dinner, Addison got her first uninitiated kiss. One of the groomsman's little boy, who I believe is about 3, walked up to Addy G and planted one on her right on the lips. She just kind of stood there stunned for a minute looking at him like he'd lost his mind. It was great!

Saturday - I had the great privilege of officiating the wedding for Dean and Kellie and then it was off to the reception. The wedding was beautiful. Then it was off to the reception. It was a blast...and Addison danced herself silly. I even got to share a dance with my beautiful bride who still takes my breath away even today. I love you baby!

Sunday (yesterday) - We had two FANTASTIC church services! The Lord really blessed. Words really can't express how thankful I am for our church family. What a blessing to be a part of such an amazing body of believers!

Looking back over the last few days it's no wonder the blog was put on the back burner.

It's also been a while since I posted any pics of Addison, who turned 18 months old last Wednesday. Here's a couple of more recent pics.

Enjoying her first sucker


Being silly