"EGGceptional Blessings!"

My daughter is a constant source of Joy and entertainment; in fact her middle name is Joy.  She gets so excited whenever she hears about a party.  Last weekend she went to her best friends birthday party, for weeks prior it was all we heard about.

This week, she had her Easter Party at day care.  She has been excited about this party for days.  She was excited to help her mother buy eggs and fill them with candy.

When we picked her up from school that day her teacher told us about the Easter Egg Hunt they had.  She said that they spread over 200 eggs in the small play area outside.  When they gave the signal to start our daughter, who is two, proceeded to sprint around the yard like an Olympian, gathering in 5 times the amount of eggs as the other kids.  Her bag was so full the teachers had to ask her to share with the other (slower) kids.

I wish I could have seen her in action!  But as me and my wife were chuckling about this during our morning coffee, I couldn't help but making a parallel to our Christian Walk, it's what I do...

There were so many eggs spread out in that yard for everyone to have more than enough, for every child's bag to be overflowing.  In the same way, the Lord has laid out blessings for each one of us, His children.  Unfortunately too often, we don't take the time to gather them up, or we think that we can't have too many.

So as we approach this Easter weekend, consider all the Lord has done, all the ways He has blessed you, and perhaps the ways in which He could bless you if you would simply claim them and gather them up.

I leave you with a passage from Ephesians 3:16-21:

"I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

"Lessons From The Sand Trap!"

One of my favorite things to do is play golf.  I'll admit, I am by no means a pro, or even a good golfer, yet I enjoy it!  For me there is nothing more relaxing then being outside, surrounded by the beauty of God's creation, and trying to knock the snot out of a tiny white ball with a long piece of metal.

I had the unique opportunity this year to attend both a Practice Round and Tournament Day of the Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia.  Wow!  Talk about the beauty of God's creation!  I was so caught up in the beauty that I even took a picture of the grass.

One of the weakest parts of my game is bunker shots.  If I end up in the bunker, you might as well give me a +12 on the hole cause I am going to hack at the ball repeated times like a housewife trying to kill a mouse in the kitchen with a broom!

I was amazed at the Masters watching the ease and the skill of the players who could intricately play the ball from the bunker many times getting it within a few inches or feet and sometimes right into the hole!

I started to think about how bunkers not only appear on the golf course, but in our every day lives.

For me there is no greater feeling then hitting that "Perfect" drive.  You know the one I'm talking about, where you just cream the ball down the fairway dead straight like it was what you always do.

But the worse feeling is after you creamed that drive, getting all the way down the fairway only to find that your enormous drive has rolled right into a fairway bunker.

Sometimes in life we end up in "bunkers."  Sometimes you feel like you have done something amazing or on track to achieve something you have been working on for a long time, only to find yourself stuck.

² He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
   out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
   and gave me a firm place to stand.
³ He put a new song in my mouth,
   a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the LORD
   and put their trust in him. 

(Psalm 40:2-3) 

As Christians we don't have to be in despair when we find ourselves in bunkers, water hazords or woods.  Because we are walking the course of our lives with the Holy Spirit as our caddy.  No matter what hazardous situation you find yourself in, remember that we serve a God who created it all and that is in full control of every situation.  Who knows, you just may play that ball out of the bunker and right into the hole...

...Just remember to give God all the glory!'

"Why I Do What I Do"

It's been a while since my last post...no excuses!

I wanted to share a video produced at our Emergency Shelter.  It's stories like this that give me the energy and drive to continue doing what I do.  Enjoy!