Monday's Musings

Sunday School lesson yesterday was on "Slothfulness"... Not a hot topic usually in the theological realm but it does make for interesting thoughts....Especially in Sunday School...

Slothfulness is another word for LAZY...How can one be lazy in the church you ask??? By just sitting soaking and souring......That's why you have people who complain all the time about something in the church.... They are focused on what the church can do for me or what can the church give to me..whether physically or spiritually...

Amy Grant sang about people like this back in the day with the song. "Fat Baby or Fat Babies" They just sit waiting for their "bottle" then leave... Never growing up in Christ but just sitting drinking from their bottle "fat and happy" as long as everything is going their way....When it doesn't they are like "babies" crying and whining to anyone who will listen...

Don't see a piece of paper on the floor at church and say someone needs to pick that up... Pick it up yourself! Do something... get involved with Jesus' work!

Paul tells us, "We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; but are busybodies. Such people we command and URGE in the name of Jesus to settle down and earn the bread they eat. And as for you brothers never tire of doing what is right. " II Thessalonians 3:11 - 13

Prayer of the Day: Jesus help me to get involved with Your work.

Keep Lookin' Up!

Brian

Thursday's "Thought"

Open House was tonight at Ridge... It was great to see the kids... All ready for school...

Anticipation... Anticipation.....It's making me wait...it's keeping me waiting.... Old Carly Simon song also used for a ketchup commercial....

Sometimes I feel this way about my walk with Jesus... Anticipation.. He keeps me waiting... Or does He??? Or am I the one who's keeping Him waiting??? Which is is?? That's what I constantly struggle with in my own life....Am I walking with Jesus or trying to lead Him...

In life the Bible tells us to keep in step with the Spirit..."Walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the desires of the flesh." Galatians 5:16

Anticipation it's a great feeling... When I walk with Jesus it's worth the wait!!! Let Jesus lead! And the walk will be great as we enjoy His presence in our lives!

Prayer of the Day: Jesus as I anticipate our walks together, help me to grow more like You.

Keep Lookin' Up!

Brian

Tuesday's Tidbits

Tuesday the second day of teachers being back to the school...Meetings and catching back up on how the summer was... Today we also learned about why and how we need to wash our hands from Mike Miller... Boy that was sure exciting! I never knew germs could be in so many different places...from toilets to tea pots... We have to be careful... "Danger Lurking Everywhere!"

Ya' know sin is the same way ... It's lurking everywhere and we never know when it's going to raise its ugly head... Paul tells us that Satan is like a roaring lion seeking to devour anyone he can... Have you ever seen the Discovery Channel showing lions hunting prey?? Do they roar and make a lot of noise before they go after their prey?? No they're quiet and always watching... Satan is the same way...

Be careful and watch what you're doing ... "Wash your hands" make sure you are "clean" everywhere you go!

There's not a temptation put before you that God does not give you an out." I Corinthians 10:13 Brian's Paraphrase

Prayer of the Day: Please help keep us clean before you Jesus.

Keep lookin' Up!

Brian

Monday's Musings

Shhh!!! Can you hear them??? Listen close... Shhh!!! Ya' gotta listen close I'm tellin' ya'....Can ya' hear them? It's all of those nagging voices going off in your head telling you that you're going to fail....Even when things are going well our mind tricks us into thinking we're not doing well and that we are going to fail...

How many times have you been told that you are doing a great job... and then have one person tell you that you stink and all you do is worry about the one person with the negative comment? Too many times I can tell you!

When are we going to stop listening to the "naysayers" and listen to the positive people? My prayer is that we will begin really soon.

In our Sunday School lesson we talked about being afraid... And I am afraid that is what we our most terrified of in the Christian walk than anything else...Just being afraid..Am I going to do something wrong?? Say something wrong??

Quit listening to the negative and listen to Jesus! He promised to help us and never leave us...So what do we have to be afraid of??? Absolutely nothing!!

Can ya' hear it? No really can ya' hear it?? Jesus' voice telling you to not be afraid!

"When I am afraid I will trust in you. In God whose Word I praise, in God I will trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me? (Or his negative comments?) Brian's parahrase in parenthesis....Psalm 56:3 - 4

So let's get to it!!!

Prayer of the Day: Jesus help me to trust your Words and not those negative words from man or those negative thoughts in my head.

Keep Lookin' Up!

Brian

Friday's Fun Fact

Fun Fact for the Day! I was on a "chain gang" For the first varsity football game for Ridge tonight! A first for me also'''' I was what they call a "boxman"? I realized quickly I was in the wrong postiton as I was the one doing all the running... Jason, Brent and Gentry held the sticks and placed the clip.... They ran very little.... okay they did not run at all....I placed the marker for each play and had to run to where te linesman told me to and mark the ball... Quite an interesting night! I learned alot!!!

Our first game was not a win for our team but they gained valuable experience. They played on a soaked field and were tired and wet but did their best... I was awfully proud of them and our coaches...Well done guys! We'll do better next time!

Jesus tells us the same thing when we don't have a great outing for Him. We mess up and He takes care of us! He tells us over and over again that He will never leave us or forsake us! And you know what I have found out in studying His Word??? "He will never leave us or forsake us!" In John 10:10b Jesus tell us,"I have come that they might have life and have it to the full!"

Let's live life to the full no matter whether we win or lose on the scoreboard...With Jesus we always win!

Prayer of the Day: Jesus thanks for being with us when we lose and don't win.

Keep Lookin' Up!

Brian

Thursday's "Thought"

With thunder in the background I am writing today...Was selected to go on a free 4 day 3 night cruise leaving from Charleston today had a confirmation number and everything! Only problem was that I had to pick up the ticket on Sunday between a certain time and of course spend 90 minutes with someone telling me how great a deal I was in for....But the cruise??? Oh well GoodBye cruise.... Hello Time with Jesus!

Not blowing my horn or anything... Susan sat through one of those presentations b4 and said she would "HURT" me if I ever did that to her again... Plus she has Worship Kid Style Sunday and did not want to miss that...

Why is it there is always a "hook" in the deals???

Jesus gave us a great deal over 2000 years ago... No hooks ...No gimmicks.... No tricks...
Just truth...His truth...What a Savior!

Believe on Him and have a wonderful life!

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whosoever believeth in Him will not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16

Prayer of the Day: Thanks Jesus for No Hooks But truths!

Keep Lookin' Up!

Brian

Wednesday's Wonderings

Man did you see that girl? Oooh did you see that guy? Why is it that we place so much emphasis on the physical appearance of people and things...In the beginning that was the downfall of Adam and Eve... with the serpent.. When they saw that the fruit looked good and that it was good for food they ate it... When they saw...

Let's look again at David for a moment "up on the roof" when he looked over and saw Bathsheba and that she looked good he sent his servant to bring her to him... The servant told David.. you mean you want me to go get Uriah the Hittite's wife and bring her to you??? David saw that she looked good...

Looks can be deceiving..'Don't judge a book by its cover!" But we usually do...I know I'm guilty of it sometimes...Isn't it great to know GOd doesn't look on the outside but on the inside.

God tells Samuel in I Samuel 16:7, "Don't look at his height or appearance... I don't do that and I don't want you to either... Man looks on the inside but I judge people according to their hearts."

Let's strive to be more like God and look at the whole person instead of just looking at their looks.

Prayer of the Day: Jesus help me to look on the inside instead of the outside of an individual.

Keep Lookin' Up!

Brian

Tuesday's Tidbits

It's a Super Tuesday.. At least I think so... Way back in the day when I worked with youth we used to have super Tuesdays where we did all kind of different activities. What a time we had going all over southern Illinois discovering many different things together... I miss those days... But I will always have the wonderful memories! Thanks y'all!

With time comes change and one cannot live in the past even with our relationship with Jesus. We set "Ebenezers" (Stones of remembrance) to remind us where we have been but we don't build our lives around those stones....Our memories.. Because as someone once said.. Once our memories exceed your dreams your life is over! Are you living on your memory of what your walk with Jesus used to be? Is your walk today with Jesus as great as it was in the past? If not, What needs to change to get it moving forward again...

Times change... Things change....Truths never change.... Jesus is still LORD and He wants to be LORD of your life... Memories are great but the present brings forth new opportunities to create more memories ... Let's get about making more memories wih Jesus!

Paul said, "Forgetting what's behind I press on toward the goal for which Jesus called me."
Phillipians 3:14 Brian's Paraprhase

Prayer for the Day:Jesus thanks for the memories... again help me make better memories with you today!

Keep Lookin' Up!

Brian

Monday's Musings

Whew.. Made it through the weekend ... just barely... Last Friday while opening the freezer door a frozen 2 Lb. bag of lil' smokies fell on my toe and broke it... Black and blue on Saturday morning... A little while later was changing a lightbulb in the hallway and was on a footstool... it proceeded to flip out from underneath of me and me, the light fixture and stool crumpled to the floor... Of course the footstool was Susan's favorite... She was not real happy with me...She did vacuum the glass off of me though...Footstool had been with us for over 15 years...

2 Hours later strong thunderstorms moved through... lightning strikes our house and of course all of the light bulbs that were on in the house blew out... yea get to change more lightbulbs... Got them changed with no more physical damage to myself.... Yea...

Had pity party... Lasted all of three minutes when I realized I was really blessed... No real injuries to myself... no real damage from a lightning strike....

"Give thanks in everything, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." I Thessalonians 5:18

Prayer of the Day: Thank you Jesus for all of your blessings!

Keep Looking Up!

Brian

Thursday's "Thought"

What a day! Up early....Made tea for Chris with Chris as he is a quick learner... taught him the secret sugar amounts needed to make our famous Ridge sweet tea. Helped him do an outreach meal at Cane Bay High School for the teachers and it was a huge success! Great job for coordinating this event Chris!

Working with others in helping build the kingdom of God is what it is all about! Now is the time to start helping build the kingdom of God...If not now.... when... If you would like to help here at Ridge give me a call or come by and see me...If you would like to start helping build the kingdom of God where you are get hold of your Pastor or other staff member and tell them you're here to help!

Jesus looked unto the fields and said, "The fields are ripe unto harvest, therefore pray to the Lord of the harvest to send workers unto the field to help bring in the harvest."
Matthew 9:37 - 38 (Brian's Paraphrase)

Folks the harvest is truly plentiful and the time to harvest is now! SO Let's get to it!

Prayer of the Day: Jesus show me where I need to go and who I need to talk with about You.

Keep Lookin' Up!

Brian

Wednesday's Wonderings

Wow.. It's Wednesday already can you believe it??? So much to do and so little time to do it ....

Whining sometimes can be considered a Spiritual Gift.... (Brian's Translation) LOL

Wondering what to talk about today... Weather is always a great topic to talk about when one needs an ice breaker.... It sure was hot today... 93" the usual high temperature is only 90" No rain in sight for the next few days so we will need to water plants for a couple of days...

Which gives me a great new topic to wonder about... Water... It helps sustain life everywhere on earth. Without water you will die physically rather quickly... Without "water" you will one day die spiritually... Jesus talked to a woman at a well about this topic one day and she was really interested in the living water Jesus was talking to her about. Hoping she would never thirst again... She questioned Jesus on how she might attain this living water...Guess what.. He told her how to get this living water...

Are you thirsty for more than what you are experiencing right now in life??? I know life is really great for you right now... All the bills are paid and you are now building your nest egg for retirement...But is that all there is... are you still thirsty for more??? Jesus told the woman at the well there was more to this life... He told the rich young ruler that followed the commandments there was more to life than just money and commandment following...

To experience real living may I invite you to drink of the water Jesus is offering us today??? Experience life to the fullest! Jesus tells us: "I have come that they might have life, and have it to the full." John 10:10 This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible!

Drink in Jesus! Drink in Life! Drink in Happiness that only He can bring!

Prayer of the Day: Jesus help me to constantly focus on you everyday of my life and fill my thirst with only the water you give.

Keep Lookin' Up!

Brian

Monday's Musings

Back to work... Lot's to do to get ready for the start of the Sunday School and school year! Was a great time in W.Va. last week... Looking and remembering...but alas I must move on... With the new year approaching for education both spiritually and academically getting prepared is half the battle. Not only preparing for the different studies but also preparing myself for the tasks at hand. There are different steps I take to prepare for these tasks and I would like to share them with you now:

1. Pray and seek God's face
2. Pray and seek God's face
3. Pray and seek God's face
4. Pray and seek God's face
5. Pray and seek God's face

Five easy steps to prepare for the new year but also five of the hardest steps to follow...

I like to do things on my own so to stop and pray and seek God's face is really hard for me to do! But to be successful I have to do it.... For you to be successful may I suggest you follow these simple steps.... Good Luck! May God Bless you in this wonderful adventure!

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Philippians 4:6

Prayer of the Day: Jesus help me as I prepare to do _____________ (you fill in the blank for your own particular need.)

Keep Lookin' Up!

Brian

Thursday's "Thought"

Got up early and picked up the rest of the slate off the hill... It was cooler this morning and a lot easier to get the stone down the hill...Why stone you ask?? Because I made the mistake and told Susan... wouldn't that slate look good at the back of our house... And now I have a new project...(Thanks to me)...

Sometimes in life we see things that look rough and useless... And all it would take is a little work and you have something that would be beautiful and useful...And that would last for years and years...

Isn't that like our lives... We are a mess and totally useless to God and then He takes us and molds us into something that He can use and are beautiful..

So what's keeping us from being molded by God into what He wants us to be...Oh yea... it's ourselves...

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" Phil. 4:13

Prayer of the Day: Jesus make me useful and beautiful to You.

Keep Lookin' Up!

Brian

Wednesday's Wonderings

Ever wonder why you can smell??? I learned a great reason tonight as I rode around the hills of West Virginia... From the scent of the fresh rain... to the scent of the trees and flowers... mix that all in with the scent of animals and its unbelievable!

Watching deer playing in a field was another amazing sight my children and Susan and I were able to watch... Their "Aunt" Sue "Uncle" Paul and Aunt Addie and Cousin Matthew also enjoyed these wonderful smells and sights with us! And I can't thank them enough for chauffering us around!

God has blessed me with a great family here in West Virginia and back at home and I am thankful so much for each one of them!

"We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers." IThessalonians 1:2

Prayer of the Day: Thank you God for my family

Keep Lookin' Up!

Brian

Tuesday's Tidbits

Have you ever tried to get four "wired' children to sleep at night on air mattresses sitting on the floor? Well last night that was the mission of five adults...and a dog... Needless to say.. It took quite awhile before the last of the children fell asleep...

With them all getting thirsty and then all getting hungry one would have thought the children never got fed or allowed to drink anything... Until midnight... Then there are the noises that had to be made from sneezing to coughing and other various sounds that need not get mentioned...(Yep Those...)

We get to bed and things are getting settled down when a millipede appears on the ceiling...How do children see a millipede on the ceiling in the dark??? Well now you have frantic children because everyone knows that's the kind of millipede that stings... We "take care" of the millipede and everyone now goes back to bed...

By now it's even later... So I decide to get them to sleep by sleeping with them on the air mattresses on the floor... We do all eventually get to sleep... Alas...I awake a little later on for a "Coffee" break and struggle off the air mattress and have my break and then get in bed...

What a night from an eventful day..which I will describe at a later date...

The Christian life is like this sometimes...When we all get together to accomplish something we are really excited at the prospect of the project... but sometimes in our enthusiasm and excitement we miss the "rest" that Jesus wants to provide us in our endeavor... We strive to do everything in our own power without using God's power and we miss the "rest".... Rest does not always come in the form of sleeping but it comes in the relationship of Jesus working with us to accomplish the task He wants and not always the task we want....Just like last night in the struggle to get the children asleep...Sleep and rest only came after I decided to get involved in the actual process of the sleeping... Jesus' rest only comes when we allow Him to join us in the task we are striving to accomplish.

"Come unto Me and I will give you rest.. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Matthew 11:28 - 30 Brian's Paraphrase

Praye of the Day: Jesus help me to take your yoke and allow me to find Your rest.

Keep Lookin' Up!

Brian

Monday's Musings

Today I am looking out at the train tracks I used to walk with my Papa when I was 4 years old and the great times we had doing that together....Yesterday I climbed the "mountain" behind the house up to the caves with my children and remembered the adventures I had as a kid climbing the hills around my Nana and Papa's house....Saw fresh bear "droppings" so needless to say we did not get to go into the caves ...(Yet..)

Like the old song says..."Memories pressed between the pages of my mind...Memories sweetened through the ages just like wine... quiet thoughts come floating down and settle softly to the ground like golden autumn leaves around my feet....I touch them and they burst apart with sweet memories... sweet memories..." Youtube "Memories" Elvis Presley great song

As I think about the memories.. The sound of cars going by on Rt. 2 are heard... with the sound of Cicadas singing ... and the noise of a river boat going by on the Ohio River ... brings all of these back as if it were yesterday....

As Christians we have memories in our lives of how we used to spend time with Jesus and others in our family... My goal as I visit here is to relive some of the memories with my family and most importantly make new memories with tem so I will have memories in the future.

God ordained the family first so we need to forget the job... Forget the $$$... spend time with the family... you're what they want.. not the "stuff". Jesus wants us to put our family before everything but Him... So let's do it!

"A man must leave his father and mother and cleave unto his wife (and children)" Genesis 2:24 according to Brian's Paraphrase...

Prayer of the Day: Jesus help me to take time for my family and You.

Keep Lookin' Up!

Brian