CHANGE

When something we’ve been used to changes, we often get upset. We say things like, “Well, we’ve never done it THAT way before” or “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”. Why do you suppose it is that we are so against things changing? Is it fear of the unknown? Is it that we’ve gotten comfortable the way things are? Is it that we are afraid something important to us will be forgotten? Is it that we are just plain ol’ stubborn? Change can be good, but it can also be bad. (Avoiding all political associations) We have all seen changes that didn’t work out quite like we thought they might. Sometimes they work out even better, sometimes they are worse, and a lot of times it all hinges on if we were actually seeking God’s will in that change to begin with. Sometimes the changes we face are downright painfull, like getting used to living without a loved one, or recovering from a terrible illness or learning to live with a disability. But we cannot let past failures predict or determine our future successes. So, what does the Bible say about change? There are some things the Bible says will NEVER change. God will never change. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. His love for you will never, ever change. Once you belong to Him, that will never, ever change. Then there are things that the Bible says should change. How many times does the Bible say for you to TURN from your wicked ways and become NEW? I’ve not counted, but I know it’s a lot! We are to become new creations in Him, turning from what we once did, what we were once comfortable with, and walk in a new direction, in His will. My favorite verse about change is also about music; “Sing to the Lord a NEW song!” It makes me think, “Well, I guess even God gets bored with the same old stuff.” Even God likes a new song every now and then!! That makes me smile!!  The truth of the matter is, no matter how hard we try to stop things from changing….they STILL change. Our children grow up, our loved ones die, we get older, we move, we get new jobs, we have grandchildren, we make new friends, good friends move away, we buy new cars, seasons change…do I need to go on? Our ENTIRE life is about changing. YOU get to decide if you are going to change for the better, or for the worse. YOU get to decide if you are going to accept changes gracefully, KNOWING that what Joshua 1:9 says is true “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” God has told us, over and over, to be STRONG and COURAGEOUS and to HAVE NO FEAR…and yet sometimes we still dig our heels in like a stubborn donkey and refuse to move forward because we are either too weak to stand up for what we believe in, don’t have enough guts to learn something new, and are too afraid of what “might” happen, so we sit in our comfortable complacency and do nothing. We can very easily avoid taking any risks and just maintain, but life was never about just maintaining, we were made for an abundant life! In the Parable of the Ten Talents, Jesus tells us not to hold back what he has given us. We are to use what He has given us to the fullest, not store it all away out of fear. He WANTS us to CHANGE! To be better, more faithful, more willing to serve, more willing to share, more willing to do whatever it takes to reach the lost! Jesus was NEVER in the business of maintaining the status quo. If He was, He would have stopped with the Disciples. He would have just maintained His relationship with them, never seeking out anyone else to teach, never healing, and certainly never dying on the cross for US! Change. How does that word make you feel? Apprehensive? Angry? Excited? Jesus was EXCITED! David was so excited he DANCED before the Lord! The wisemen were excited! The angels were excited! Change was coming….BIG change. When you look at things changing in your church, before you judge, before you get angry, before you get scared, measure it under God’s microscope. Are we trying something new to reach more lost people for Christ? Are we trying to improve something to make it even more effective for reaching others for Jesus Christ? Am I just acting this way because of MY feelings, MY comfort, MY fear, MY stubbornness? If you answer yes to any of those things, then you need to re-evaluate the situation. God doesn’t want us to tuck ourselves down in the ground and hide away in our comfort while the world dies and goes to Hell. That was not what he commanded us to do. “Go ye therefore, and teach ALL nations, GO.” You cannot GO anywhere, without changing were you ARE.  I hope you read this and it CHANGES your perspective on change.

I Will Never Forget...

I was standing in the kitchen of my house in Tampa, Florida the morning of September 11th with my mom.  Mom and Dad had been visiting for the week.  Scott had been called to a church in Tennessee and Mom and I were packing my crystal.  We were all smiles, excited that we would be moving closer to home.  Alex & Taylor had just left for school and Jarod, still a baby, was playing on the livingroom floor near his Papaw who was watching the morning news. They had been talking about George and Laura Bush being in Florida that morning reading to school children at a local school.  Mom and I weren't paying attention to the TV though, we were busy chatting about the flight we would be making in a couple days up to TN to finalize our housing and such when my Dad interrupted us.  We walked into the living room and I didn't understand what I was seeing.  He said, it's the World Trade Center.  I said, what happened?  Did something blow up?  He said, a plane has flown into it!  I was still confused.  I was still thinking it must have been a small plane, but how could they not see the Tower?  Then I heard them say, it was a 767, a large passenger plane, with at least 92 people on board.  I said, "how could this happen?" and my Dad just said, "Terrorists".  As we sat there staring in disbelief at the smoke and flames, suddenly another plane appeared and smashed into the other tower.  My knees buckled, and I sank into my chair, thinking to myself, "oh my God, what just happened....what just happened??  How many people where on that plane?  What is happening?!"  The news came shortly after that, that there were more planes that had been hijacked and they didn't know where they were going.  The only thing I could think of at that point was, I want my boys.  I want them here with me now!  I don't remember now if I went to get them or if I told Scott to go get them.  I was in such shock.  We weren't far from an airbase and the jets had been scrambled.  We would hear them overhead.  Then news came of the Pentagon being hit, and another plane crashing into a field in Pennsylvania.  My world changed that day.  It went from one of feeling safe, to feeling terrified, unsure of the future, extreme sorrow for the ones that lost their lives, and extreme anger at the ones that caused it.  Watching those towers burn, seeing people jumping or falling from windows, and then seeing them come crashing down on live TV is something I can never erase from my memory.  Trying to comprehend the evil behind the attacks was more than I could ever wrap my mind around.  So many people gone in an instant.   But I will also never forget the next morning.  It was a beautiful morning, not a cloud in the sky, nor a plane.  Quiet.  Pictures from New York showing black smoke still pouring from the holes where the towers had been, ash covered rescue workers trying desperately to find survivors, and seeing that picture of the Fire Fighters at ground zero, raising that flag.  After that, there were flags everywhere, every house, every store, every car.  And I will never forget President Bush asking for us to pray for the families and quoting the Psalms.  He reminded us that our God is stronger than any terrorist attack, stronger than anything we might ever face.  It was so very comforting to know that our country was being led by a man of God.  Americans came together like never before after 9/11.  Yes, we had been shaken, but we would not be defeated.  That day changed us all in many ways.  But I don't think it did what the terrorists had hoped.  It brought us closer together, brought us to our knees in prayer, brought more of us to Christ.  I will never forget that day.  What about you?

"If you've knelt beside the rubble of an aching, broken heart,
When the things you gave your life to fell apart;
You're not the first to be acquainted with sorrow, grief or pain,
But the Master promised sunshine after the rain.

Hold on my child, joy comes in the morning,
Weeping only lasts for the night;
Hold on my child, joy comes in the morning,
The darkest hour means dawn is just in sight.

To invest your seed of trust in God in mountains you can't move,
You have risked your life on things you cannot prove;
But to give the things you cannot keep for what you cannot lose,
Is the way to find the joy God has for you.

Hold on my child, joy comes in the morning,
Weeping only lasts for the night;
Hold on my child, joy comes in the morning,
The darkest hour means dawn is just in sight.

The darkest hour means dawn is just in sight.
Just in sight!"

Smoky Mountain Memories

We just returned from a fabulous vacation in the mountains.  It wasn’t to some fancy resort, or 5 star hotel though….it was a camping trip!  Yes, we slept in a tent.  We do every year!  I have been going to this same campground nearly every summer my entire life.  I learned how to ride my bike in that campground after my Dad and Granddaddy tricked me and raised my training wheels off the ground when I wasn’t looking.  Boy was I mad, LOL!  I’ve skinned my knees, climbed trees, tubed down the Little Pigeon River, seen bears, snakes, coyotes, skunks, deer and bugs of every shape and sort.  I’ve probably camped in nearly every campsite in the place in my life time.  I’ve fished, hiked trails, walked through the Ghost Town, and walked down the camp road in pitch black to see the most amazing light show of synchronous fireflies on the planet!  I’ve huddled under tarps while it thundered so loud and rained so hard that it felt like we were actually IN the midst of the storm clouds.  I know the smell of that place by heart.  It’s indescribably fantastic.  Pine needles, camp fires, the smell of rain in the air, sunshine on fallen leaves, green moss, black dirt, pure, cold water,  mountain laurel blooming and marshmallows.  It’s hard to say what is my favorite time of day there.  The mornings are so crisp, even in the summer and full of the smell of eggs and bacon and coffee.  The birds sing the sun up every morning with every ounce of strength they have.  It’s like they believe it won’t rise without them singing it up.  I think it’s how they worship and thank God for the new day, and they do it will all their hearts!  The afternoons are lazy, and warm, and filled with happy laughter and children squealing as they tube down the creek.  The evenings are filled with wonderful campfire smells and delicious food cooking.  The sound of Hoot Owls, bull frogs, crickets, the rushing water of the creek, and mountain music loft through the air.  There are no phones.  There’s no cell tower close enough to get a signal.  No TV.  No Internet.  No electricity.  Just people, the ones we love the most, to spend time with, play with, talk with, or just sit and listen to the sounds of the forest with.  When I’m there in that campground I remember my Granddaddy’s hugs, my Grandmother’s laughter, and the Hartman Brother’s cowboy songs.  This is as close to heaven as I can imagine.  We get so busy in our modern world.  So caught up in our man-made mess, that we forget the wonderful things God put on this planet for us!  Why did God give birds a song to sing?  Why did he paint beautiful, iridescent wings on butterflies?  Why did he make pine trees smell so good?  Why did he give us cool, refreshing water to drink and to play in?  Why did he make fireflies glow in the dark?  He could have made this world dull, and gray, and boring….but instead He was thinking of us.  He thought, “how much my children will love the colors in this rainbow and just wait til they see the sunset I’ve painted tonight!  I think they will love the smell of pine trees, and these flowers…..they won’t be able to resist the lovely smell!”  I feel closer to God in those mountains than anywhere on earth because all I have to do is look around to see what He has created for me….just to make me smile. 

The Waiter Theory

     I read an article about "The Waiter Theory" that some CEOs use to evaluate potential employees. They take them out to eat at a fancy restaurant and then watch how they treat the waiter. If they're rude, condescending and impatient with the wait staff, then they usually don't get hired. Sometimes they will also ask their receptionist or secretary how the potential employee treated them. It makes you think doesn't it? How do YOU treat the waiter?

     The world likes to make us think that we are "better" than other people; that if we are highly educated, skilled, talented or well-off that makes us better than those who are not. The world tells us we have "earned the right" because of the degrees hanging on our walls, the way we look or dress, the neighborhood we live in, the cars we drive or the friends we have, to treat those we feel are "beneath us" like they are less important.  I'm reminded of one of my favorite quotes from, Horton Hears a Who; "A person's a person, no matter how small."
     God made ALL of us, not a select few. He loves ALL of us the same, not a select few. We are ALL God's favorite, not a select few. I am just as much a child of the King, as the homeless man who has Jesus in his heart but no food in his stomach. I am just as much a child of the King, as the Dr. with multiple degrees hanging on his wall wondering why all that education didn't make him happy, desperately needing someone to tell Him about Jesus. I am just as much a child of the King, as the prodigal, who has left his family for drugs & alcohol and is still searching for something or someone to fill the emptiness.
     Whether we are Christains, or not, we are ALL His children and He loves us ALL beyond measure....the only difference is some of us have come home to our Father, and some of us have not. For the ones who are still wandering around looking for home....how will they find it if we treat them like dirt? The Father doesn't want ANY of His Children to perish, but without Him...they surely will. We are His hands, His feet, His voice, His patience, His compassion, His love to this world. How will they find Him if we are a terrible example of God's love? How will they see Jesus...if they don't see Him in you and me??

1 Corinthians 13:2:

"If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing."

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"You can easily judge the character of others by how they treat those who they think can do nothing for them."

Who Are You Trying to Impress??

     I ask that of myself a lot.  Am I trying to blend in and be like everyone else?  Am I trying to change who God made me to be so that I will be accepted?  I mean, I do try to look decent when I leave the house. I do my very best to be nice to everyone I meet…even when they don’t return the favor. I try to be sure my clothes won’t embarrass my children and I’m wearing makeup so no one will think I am my children’s Grandma. But, in all sincerity, these things are done to impress someone else. I’m not saying my outwardly appearance is not important. Heaven forbid I decide it’s not and stop wearing makeup or fixing my hair!! That’s not gonna happen. And, I do admit I honestly enjoy getting my nails done and wearing a new outfit that is (hopefully) “cool”. I like it when someone says I look nice. Who doesn’t? But what about the spiritual side of me? Do I “put on makeup” to disguise the blemishes, the sin, the doubt? Do I “talk the talk” but not really “walk the walk”? Do I point out what’s wrong with everyone else and not see that blatant sin I’m flaunting for all to see? As Paul said in Ephesians, “Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.”. Am I just putting on the pretty parts of God’s armor and leaving the heavier stuff hanging in the closet?

     You can’t expect to be a witness to the world if you say one thing and then do another. You can’t say you’re a Christian and you love God with all your heart, and then turn around and curse like a sailor, behave crudely, or treat other people badly. What does that say about your relationship with God? Any beauty or wealth you attain in this life will not last. Beauty fades, gets wrinkly and saggy and old. Wealth cannot buy you happiness or peace or love. The ONLY thing in this life that will last is your relationship with God and the legacy you leave behind with those who know you.

     What will they say about you when you are gone? Will they say, “She was so pretty” or “She sure could party!”? Will they be glad you’re gone because of the way you treated them? Will they remember you and say, “What a sad, lonely person he was. All that money, but no happiness.” Or will they remember you as a woman/man of God… Someone that truly listened when they needed to talk, gave a good example of a Godly life,spoke kindly to everyone and treated everyone with love? I don’t want to leave behind a reputation of being a party-going, hell-raising, drinking, smoking , cussing, Good-time girl. I don’t want people to say they respect me because of all the people I trampled on to get where I was. I don’t want people to say they want to be like me because I was beautiful and said all the things they wanted to hear. I want them to look back at my life and say, “She loved God. She cared. She prayed. She listened. She was kind. She was a true Christian example.”

     If you say you’re a true Christian, BE one…ALL the time. Not just on Sunday, not just when you see someone from church. Be a true Christian with your friends, when it’s not popular, when it hurts, when you feel insecure, when no one else IS. Don’t close God off and say, “Ok God, you can be a part of every part of my life….but this part over here…well you know I like to party and, well you know I can’t help it if I curse cause everyone else does, and wow, God whatever you do don’t go looking at my profile pictures on Facebook! That is definitely off limits….but I will let you in the rest of my life God, oh well, except you know that boy I’m seeing…well yeh, don’t go there either God ok?”

     Who are you trying to impress….really? You’re friends? You’re enemies? The world? The only opinion you need to worry about is God’s. He loves you….even more than your own Mother (and that’s A LOT!). He cares about everything that happens to you. And those areas you’ve asked Him to turn His back to…well He knows about all those too. Yep, He’s seen every picture you posted on Facebook. He’s heard every curse word you ever muttered. He’s seen every sin you ever committed….and He loves you ANYWAY!

     Everyone messes up. Everyone makes mistakes. Sin is Sin to God. There’s not one worse than another. It’s all the same to Him. And, if you’ve asked Him into your life and to forgive you of your sins then He does! But that doesn’t mean we now have a free ticket to sin all we want because we are forgiven anyway! We are supposed to be leading the lost to Him, and we cannot do that if we are living just like we never got saved…. “and (as Edith Ann would put it) that’s the truth!”

“Don't cause others to stumble, whether they are Jewish, Greek, or members of God's church.”

1 Corinthians 10:32

Tar Buckets

My Great Grandmother, Lona Mae Harper, had a lot of funny sayings. She had a great sense of humor and would always whip one of those wonderful, southern expressions out at just the right time. The one I remember her saying the most was her response whenever she was asked how she was doing. She’d always smile and say, “Well I’m busier than a bee in a tar bucket!” And, she usually was! What are you busy doing? Sometimes we get so busy we forget why we’re even doing it, or for that matter why we even started doing it in the first place! There are days when I am just so busy, running all over town, picking up or dropping off kids, buying groceries, running to this rehearsal or that meeting, and I get completely overwhelmed with it all. By the time I get to the overwhelmed stage I am usually angry and ready to collapse in a heap of self-pity and tears. I think that’s God’s way of making me stop for a minute and take a look at what I’m doing and why, and most often the moment I call out to Him for help. My youngest son, Jarod, has always had quite a temper, but it’s nothing now compared to what it was when he was a toddler! He was easily perturbed and overwhelmed, and when that happened he’d immediately start crying for me in the midst of his tantrum. I was always the only one who could get him to calm down, and the only way to do it was to speak calmly, tell him to take some deep breaths, and just hold him tightly while he cried it out. Once the storm of emotion had passed and he had control of himself again, I would whisper in his ear how much I loved him and he was ready to reason with me over what had upset him so much. Don’t you know God does the same thing for us!? He’s a whisper away…..God I am so stressed. God I am so angry. God I am so depressed. God I just don’t know what to do…..call out to God and He will comfort you through whatever it is you’re going through. Truth is, He might not take that stress away. You might just have to keep on walking through it. But you will not be doing it alone. He will be right there in that storm (or tar bucket) with you, holding you tight and whispering in your ear how very much He loves you.

Be still and know that He is God….and there is nothing He cannot do!


Matthew 11:28
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

It Makes Sense to God

This is likely to be a bit verbose, and a little bit of a rabbit chase, but it’s a point that has been running around in my mind for several weeks. I believe it’s something God wanted me to write, and I’ve waited and prayed and listened to that still, small voice as the thoughts came together in my mind.

It Makes Sense to God

God has a history of asking us to do things, that to us, just don’t make sense. Think about it for a minute. He asked Noah to build an ark because a flood was coming, and it had never even rained. He took Moses, a man who couldn’t even speak well, and made him a leader. Spoke to him from a burning bush, led him to walk through the middle of a sea on dry ground and gave him the 10 commandments! He told Joshua and his Israelite army to march around Jericho 7 times and then shout the walls down. He chose a virgin, Mary, to give birth to His only son.  He asked his disciples to feed 5000 people with just a few fish and loaves of bread.  He died for US! He ROSE from the dead! If I took the time to list all the things God did that didn’t make sense at the time, it would fill up several books! You see for us….if we don’t understand what the purpose for something is, or what the outcome will be, then we think it is just not logical and it doesn’t make good sense. To give you a personal example; when Scott and I answered the call to Pine Valley Baptist in Wilmington, NC, it didn’t make sense for us to leave Crossville, TN. We lived near our family. We left a 10 year ministry, a well established music program, a community in which we were both well-known and respected, not to mention many dear friends. We put our home on the market in the worst possible time in history. We pulled our kids out of schools they had attended almost their entire life, away from friends they had known since early childhood, and I left a job that I truly loved. It didn’t even make sense to us at the time, much less anyone else! But in God’s world, it made perfect sense. He knew what He was doing. He knew that even though we would face many challenges, like foreclosure and bankruptcy, it was through these experiences that we would grow stronger. He has a plan He is carrying out, for our own good, and however long our ministry at Pine Valley lasts, we are here for a reason. The many blessings He has already given us here are proof of that. I’m not telling you this to brag, and say, “look what we did, aren’t we saintly”, but simply to make a point. God knows our past and sees our future. He’s the guy with the map…the one that MADE the map…and if we belong to Him, He is never going to leave our side. That doesn’t mean we won’t have problems, what it DOES mean is that He will be there to bring us through those problems. I’ve been in church my entire life. I’ve been a minister’s wife for 23 years, and because of that I know a few things about the happenings in churches. One of the worst things that can happen to a church, in my opinion and from my experience, is for members take their eyes off of Jesus and start focusing on their circumstances. Remember when Peter stepped out onto the water? As long as he kept his eyes on Jesus he walked right on top of that water. But as soon as Peter started looking around at his circumstances, he realized what he was doing didn’t make sense, and he started to sink. When churches start worrying and bickering about things, concentrating on things that are trivial, they take their eyes off of Jesus, and through lack of faith, they start to sink. I’ve seen it happen more than once. The sad thing is, a lot of times, they don’t even realize they are sinking until it’s too late. Creating a church budget is an act of faith. You don’t have a predetermined amount of money that you absolutely know is going to be coming in each month. That is why, as far as church budgets go, you have to start at the other end. You have to start with what GOD wants to do, PLAN for what GOD wants to do, and then…. step out of that boat and walk on that water. If your hearts are focused on doing God’s will, doing WHATEVER it takes to reach the lost, GOD WILL PROVIDE!! It’s not how many people you have that are giving. It’s not having lots of rich members. It’s having members that are completely surrendered to God, completely dedicated to serving God, completely dependent on God to provide. Once that happens, there is nothing that can hold that church back! Support your church staff, be willing to step out on a limb with them and do something different, be willing to do WHATEVER it takes to reach the lost, instead of fussing that you’ve never done it that way before. Get out of that comfort zone that is lulling you to sleep! The church staff members have dedicated their education, their lives, their families, and their futures to serving God. God has called them to your church for a reason…HIS reason. There’s no big “secret” to evangelizing the lost and growing a strong church….it is so simple. Keep your focus on GOD’S will, dedicate yourself to serving Him, and HE will take care of the rest….even when it doesn’t make sense.

* If you read this I challenge you to go forward this Sunday and dedicate yourself to keeping your eyes on God instead of the circumstances around you, to seeking God’s will in all that you do, and to doing whatever it takes to reach the lost.