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Fear is a Liar

  • January 21, 2020
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When I first heard the song on the radio, “Fear is a Liar” by Zach Williams, it resonated in my soul. Fear is the great enemy of our human condition. Fear is written by the father of lies himself, Satan. Fear creeps in on its belly as the ancient evil one did. What are your fears? Loneliness? your health? your children? your marriage? sobriety? I could type a hundred more reasons for you and me to fill in the blank....

What Matters….

  • January 13, 2020
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What matters.  As I dig more into my ONE WORD for 2020 which is CONTEND, what matters tends to be the basis in every area of my life.   In my relationship with God…what matters? In my marriage, what matters?   In my home, what matters?  Within my church family, what matters?  In my work as a teacher, what matters?  I think that the “preacher” sums it up in Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:   Fear God...

Vulnerable….

  • January 7, 2020
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2020…thank you for coming.  I’ve been waiting for you, new year..new beginnings.  This will probably be one of the more “open” blogs I’ve written.  2019 was a hard year.  In fact, things are just beginning to settle.  It was a year of goodbyes, sadness, exhaustion, feeling out of control, and questioning.  It was also a year of faith building, hope, trust, perseverance and growth. Each year I choose a word to focus on, study and strive to plant into my...

Focus…with ONE word

  • January 1, 2020
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The “Resolutions of New Year” are quickly approaching.  It is a time for a fresh start or a “clean” slate. When the clock changes from 2019 to 2020, you want to do “things” better in the New Year. We want and desire change.   Resolutions though do NOT have a high rate of success.  As a matter of fact, research has shown that only around 10% of adults keep them after a few months.  I know for me personally, I fall...

When Advent meets Emmanuel and cries Maranatha

  • December 18, 2019
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The Christmas of 1986 will always be my foundation of faith. I can’t ever remember not believing in God as a child. My grandmother made sure I was in the pews in her arms. I was a member of the youth group, went to a Christian college, married a strong Christian man and by December of 1986 had two beautiful babies and a third on the way. Life was really good and in hindsight going to change into something I...

The Game Plan…

  • December 2, 2019
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The time to hit the hardwood has come to Middle Tennessee.  It is the “best” time of the year (coming from a basketball coach 🙂 ), and throughout the season we will endure growth, setbacks, and many opponents on the road to a state championship.   Our Christian walk is very similar in the fact that we will also ensure growth and setbacks as we press on to the goal, but one thing we need to remember is the only opponent...

The BIG Rock Wins!

  • November 18, 2019
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Read any good books lately?  There is a stack sitting on my bookshelf just waiting to be read.  I’m in the middle of about four as this is being written.  One of those is “The Domino Effect” by Tim Lewis.  Those of you who regularly keep up with our facebook page have probably noticed a few quotes from this book.  It is one of those practical books that manages to make you think about simple things in a very personal...

A Legacy

  • November 11, 2019
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On January 14, 1907, Joe D Nichols was born in a rural area near West, TX.  He grew up in a “farming” family where they operated several gins. When the depression hit, his family was terribly affected. It is understood that he moved to Haskell, TX around 1933, and then in the mid to late 1930’s, joined the Conservation Corps.   At the age of 35 he chose a different path—the Army.  He registered for the draft on October 16, 1940...

In this world you WILL have trouble…

  • November 7, 2019
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Life is messy. Jesus plainly told us we would have trouble in this world BUT HE overcame the world. Conflict equals trouble in our modern world. Conflict-resolution, conflict-management, conflict-avoidance, conflict vs. bullying, and conflict-anxiety symptoms were some of the topics that ended up in my Google search bar when I did a search. There are college-degree programs with conflict resolution as a major. You cannot browse your social media feed without finding conflict within a minute or so. Twitter is...

Planes, Trains & Automobiles…

  • October 28, 2019
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“If you could choose anywhere in the world to go, where would it be?  I need a travel partner.” That’s the question my mom asked me several years ago. Traveling with anyone other than the hubs is not really something I had ever considered.  Mom changed all of that.  A little backstory…My Dad loved traveling…to football games.  They went to a LOT of them.  Mom wanted to “see the world” but Dad had served in the Korean War and had...