“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.” (Jeremiah 29:11-13 – New Living Translation)

On September 22, 1995, my life would be forever changed. A little back story may be needed. I was head over heels crazy for a girl. I was 15 years old, and this girl…I knew she was the one for me. On September 18, I handed her a note before school asking if she would be my girlfriend. Every day, I waited anxiously for the answer to my question. September 22 was also the date for our rival football game in town, the East-West game. The game finally arrived. I still hadn’t received an answer to the question I asked her. When I got to the game, I got my answer. There she was, arm and arm with one of our classmates. He was cool, suave, and wasn’t me. My heart was broken. Earlier in the week, my friend Evan asked me to go to something called the 5th quarter party after the game. It was being held at Calvary Baptist Church, and I reluctantly agreed to go. I had never been to church that I could remember. After having my heart broken that night, I wasn’t going to go, but my sister urged me to go. She dropped me off at the church, and I was the first one there. I met a girl named Kelly there and she welcomed me, and told me the pizza would be there shortly…which was one reason I wanted to go. The music wasn’t what I expected. It’s now one of my favorite songs, dcTalk’s “Jesus Freak. I was out of my element. I still hadn’t seen Evan. I finally saw someone I did know, and I talked to him. After we ate, I expected to just go home. My friend informed me that we were going to the sanctuary to listen to a speaker. I didn’t sign up for this. I was so ready to bolt. My sister was supposed to come get me, so I didn’t have a choice. The music was fun, and we played some silly games, then the speaker, Jeff Harvel, started to speak. He talked about God’s love and faithfulness. He said that someone there had had his heart broken that night, and he was there to tell that person that God mends broken hearts. 11:30pm, I walked to the altar and I accepted Jesus as my Lord and savior.

Since that day, I’ve had my share of ups and downs, but God’s never let me go. He continues to bring me back to Him and mold me and change me and shape me into the man of God I need to be.

So, 15 years later, I’m still learning more and more about His love and His grace.

Today, I got to work and I had a little gift on our bulletin board from one our most beloved workers. It was a book called, “A Collection of Blessings” by Helen Steiner Rice, and a bookmark with Colossians 1:9-12 on it.

“…we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.” (NIV)

As if that weren’t encouraging enough, there was a quote on a piece of paper that read:

“Joie,

‘Admidst life’s pace and trials, we easily lose sight of divine viewpoint. When we’re overwhelmed by criticism, trouble, or suffering, it’s vital to recognize our worth in the Lord’s eyes. That realization can energize our service and renew our love for the One who gave Himself to bring us back to God.’ – Charles Stanley (In Touch)’”

I’m continued to be blessed and amazed by the God we serve. He’s been incredibly faithful. He’s also changing a lot of me. He’s getting rid of all the stuff that I’ve made a priority (selfishly) in the last couple of years. Honestly, tonight, I started to feel completely overwhelmed by all the changes that’s taken place. Who am I? Why me, Lord? Why? Because I said yes to Him.

When I first heard of the movie, I had no intention of seeing it. I was running from God, and I didn’t care about another “God story.” In our family’s van yesterday, there was a circular for LifeWay Christian Stores, and they are selling the movie for five dollars. I mentioned it to my mom and sister and I found out they had bought the movie years ago and it’s one of their favorites.

Last night, I popped it in and watched it.

Wow. This movie was thought provoking, and a worship experience! A story about facing giants. In the movie, they literally face the Giants (the number one team in the state), but they also must confront personal giants in their hearts. Worry, doubt, arrogance, and pride are all giants we all must conquer.

This morning, in my quiet time, I read this passage, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18). Seems to be a theme for me today. We all have giants in our lives that we have to overcome.

There’s an app for that. Well, not an app…but definitely a story in 1 Samuel 17:1-58 we can relate to. David was chosen to approach Goliath. Goliath was over nine feet tall and was the crown jewel of their forces. However, we know that David did slay Goliath, using only a sling and a rock. David’s focus was on the Lord, and “with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26).

We serve a mighty God. He wants us to be able to use His strength. We are made weak. It’s in our weaknesses that He is made strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9 says, “‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.“

Are you ready to face your giants? Where does your strength come from?

In 2005, I started to take my eyes off the prize, too. I started to cave into my own selfish desires and sinful nature. I started to walk slowly away from Christ. Now, some 6 years later, I just finished the biggest marathon of my life. I had been running from God. I took off like a sprinter without warming up. I was running, but I was in pain.

Romans 7:17 says, “As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.” My own sin living in my heart started it own agenda. Satan ran with my insecurities and eventually instigated a convincing lie that would have people around me telling me I no longer can be accepted by God’s love. I ran that race until I hurt my spiritual feet.

Two Sundays ago, finally, enough was enough. For the previous month or so, my life had become so dark and depressing. I wanted it all to end. I couldn’t stand who I had become. I was living deep in sin and didn’t care if the destruction effected anyone…especially my own soul. That Sunday, I finally stepped into a church for the first time since about 2005. At the service that morning, it was all about service to God.

During my “dark night of the soul,” a couple of amazing people stood by me and loved me though thick and thin. One in particular was my friend Ethan. God was using Ethan and I wasn’t even realizing it. Pastor David at church read this verse that critical Sunday, “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8). That was Ethan. He was obedient to God’s calling to love. I knew he’d been going to that church, and honestly, I was jealous. He had a relationship with God that I hadn’t had in 6 years. I missed it. My soul was crying out for help.

That afternoon, I was headed to Dollywood, and I started to pray in the car while driving. I prayed for Ethan, for Kimberly (who’s church it was), and for others in my life. Like He so often does, God said, “Let’s worry about you for right now.” I was broken. I pulled my car over on Interstate 40, and I gave my heart back to Him. I asked Him to come into my heart and my life and completely transform it as He sees fit. I was tired of running.

Romans 8:28 tells us, “therefore, there is no no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.” I have been transformed…and God isn’t finished. The last two weeks have been an amazing two weeks of growth and I have been able to rekindle my fire for ministry and His will.

If you recall in 2008, I posted a lot of spiritual teachings on my former blog. God tried to get my attention then, but I didn’t fully give Him my heart. He merely had a part. I didn’t want to give up my sinful nature to Him. Like a cancer, the sinful nature overtook my heart once more, and I wound up worse off. I’ve gotten rid of that blog, but I kept the posts here on this new one.

This time, however, I didn’t hold back. I gave Him every aspect of my heart. It’s a true relinquishing of my soul. Hallelujah! 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” Amen!!

Those last 6 years of my life led to some pretty destructive behavior and deception. In a blink of an eye, however, Jesus changed my desires. Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” I am convinced that God doesn’t give in to our selfish desires, but when we delight ourselves in Him, His desires become our desires. How amazing!

Father, I give you my everything! I give you my heart, my soul, and my desires. Mold me into the man of God you desire me to be.

Sam I Am is persistent in his quest to have the man try green eggs and ham. He’s relentless. His persistence pays off, however, as the man tries the green eggs and ham, and loves it.

This morning, I wanted to give a little hope and encouragement. When sharing our faith, we need to take a lesson from Sam. We need to be persistent when sharing our faith. They may reject the message, but in the end, they will try it and love it.

I remember riding in the car, on one those fortunate days we weren’t listening to Vanilla Ice, and hearing the best news that I was sure that was going to make my joy complete. The DJ announced that, for one night only, MC Hammer was coming to Knoxville with special guest Vanilla Ice! Of course me and my sister went nuts. My mom was willing to take us, or she knew she’d have it hear our whining for the rest of our lives.

Over the next few weeks, my mom got her, my sister, and me tickets to see the “U Can’t Touch This/To the Exteme” tour. My mom decided that it would be best to bring along another adult, so that we would be better watched.

The day of the concert had finally arrived. That day at school, I remember that I couldn’t concentrate. The overwhelming joy of getting to see Vanilla Ice was too much to handle. Finally, class was dismissed. Arriving at home, I threw my books aside, planned my “cool” outfit, then watched “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” until my mom came home from work.

When my mom finally arrived home from work with the other adult, and after a change from her work uniform, we were on our way to the greatest night of our lives. We stopped at East Towne Mall (as it still called then, not Knoxville Center) for some dinner. Then, we began our trek to Thompson Boling Arena on the University of Tennessee campus.

Arriving at the arena, we could sense the excitement. We parked, and we began what felt like a twenty-mile hike to the line to get in. We were in line with tickets in hand. Nothing could dampen our spirits. Nothing, that is, until we got to the doors themselves.

On the doors were posted this message: “Due to illness, Vanilla Ice will not be performing tonight. Sorry for the inconvenience.”

My ten-year-old heart was crushed. My sister was demolished. My mom was irritated that she traveled all the way to Knoxville for nothing. She marched to the ticket office and got a refund. Vanilla Ice had disappointed us, and we never listened to his album in our car again…well, all of it anyway.

The anticipation I felt to see Vanilla Ice is the same feeling the world feels for love. They wait eagerly to see love demonstrated by Christians, too often they are shown signs announcing they aren’t showing up.

There’s a lot of stuff in our world to deal with. Wars, illness, impending financial doom, and just struggles with everyday life. We need to feel comfort, acceptance, and love. As Christians, we are commanded to love.

Too often, we as Christians show love to other Christians and we forget to show it to those people who don’t know Christ. Something we are all guilty of is thinking that someone else will show them, or it’s not our responsibility. A common thought is “that’s why we have preachers.” We living in uncertain times. People need Christ. People need to see that times may be tough, but Christ brings peace. “The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding” (Phlippians 4:7). Hebrews 13:1-3, “Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.“

One way to exemplify the love of the Christ, is to live a pure life. James 1:27, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” Tim Huie writes:

Like it or not, lost people are looking at our lives. They want to know if we are genuine. And let’s face it: that lost loved one or neighbor that you’re concerned about? They are probably scrutinizing your life looking for a reason NOT to believe! How can we convince them that what we have is real? That’s exactly what James is going to tell us about today!

You may be the only Christ someone sees. Don’t let people think He’s not showing up, then let them leave wih disappointment.

Me and Linda Davis

On August 1st, me, my sister, and my mama went to Dollywood to see country superstar Linda Davis perform as part of the park’s The Great American Country Show. For those who may not know, Linda Davis was the lady who performed with Reba McEntire on Reba’s hit song, “Does He Loves You.”

I was excited about the performance because Linda Davis had performed last summer at the park, and my mom and sister through the meet-and-greets she did at the park had befriended her! As soon as we saw the announcement she was going to be performing, we were there! As the normal show started, I was in awe. Dollywood knows what it’s doing when it comes to entertainment. The show is based on the country music channel GAC (Great American Country), and the section of the show was called “On the Streets,” a news show on GAC, and the big news was that Dollywood had an Opry legend performing on that very stage. Out comes Linda. She sings a song that was a great warm-up, then she sings “Does He Love You.”

The next song she sings was one that she had heard over the phone by a friend. It was about overcoming obstacles through faith. She recorded the song and it’s on her latest album. It was called, “I Have Arrived.” After she recorded the song, she received a letter from Christopher Reeve (yes, THE Superman). It was thanking her for recording such an honest and real song about overcoming obstacles. As she started the song, I knew I was going to cry. lol. The song has become a new athem for me.

Here’s a video of her singing the song:

Here’s the lyrics:

For so many years I’ve tasted tears
Prayed for all the pain to go away
And leave me alone
All that time I was unaware
That love was around me everywhere
But somehow I did not know
And I’ve learned to live with things
That I cannot change
It took me so long to get to this place

But I have arrived (I have arrived)
I have arrived
I’ve been through hell and back
But I survived
Yeah and I’m stronger – I’ve conquered
Every fear that held me under
I’m seeing life through different eyes
And I have arrived

I’ve held the hand of a dyin’ friend
And still I cannot comprehend the loss
Or the pain it caused
I felt bitterness and deep despair
Struggled with life ain’t fair at all
Yeah, I carried that cross
And I prayed to find my strength
As I fell down to my knees
And in my darkest hour
It was faith that set me free

But I have arrived (I have arrived)
I have arrived
I’ve been through hell and back
But I survived
Yeah and I’m stronger – I’ve conquered
Every fear that held me under
I’m seeing life through different eyes
And I have arrived

But I have arrived (I have arrived)
I have arrived
I’ve been through hell and back
But I survived
Yeah and I’m stronger – I’ve conquered
Every fear that held me under
I’m seeing life through different eyes
And I have arrived

I hope you got some encouragement from this song!

I was watching a recent sketch with Target Lady and Drew Barrymore, and I was laughing so hard! Then, it hit me! As Christians, we should be as excited about our job as Christians to spread the love of God. While being overzealous has an automatically negative connotation, I’m talking about being persistent in making sure that God’s love is made known.

I know it’s easy to read verses that tell us to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19) and feel energized. Then we go to tell someone that God loves them and we are met with hostility. Our zealous fervor diminishes and we lose heart. It’s in that moment I must remember Phlippians 3:12, “I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.“

I think about Evan, the one person in my life at the time that demonstrated his love for his Savior, and how much he was persistent on showing me the love of Christ. Had he been discouraged by my lack of belief, I may not know Christ as I do today. My behavior then and the behavior of people that reject the message of Christ is explainable in 1 Corinthians 1:18: “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.“

Much like the Target Lady is excited over her beloved Target, we should demonstrate the love of Christ to a dying world. Think of that person who was most influential in your life that led you to the cross! “For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.’” (1 Corinthians 1:26-31).

You can check out a funny “Terrget Leedy” sketch here…

The idea of someone having added abilities and care for humankind is an exciting concept. We’ve had our share of superheroes. We’ve had the original superhero, Superman, and we’ve had obscure ones, too, like in the movie Mystery Men.

Throughout the course of history, we’ve had people that may not have had extraordinary abilities, but they’ve saved humankind from oppression and evil. In my opinion, that list would include: Martin Luther King Jr., Ghandi, Mother Teresa, as well as countless others.

I think the ability to be a superhero lies in every single heart of a Christian. Romans 13:8 says, “Owe no one anything, except to love each other…” Jesus tells us in Mark 12:30-31 to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Not only is it an amazing ability to possess, but we are called to do it. Love each other. Imagine what an amazing world we would have if we chose to love instead of getting angry, upset, or we overreact to someone!

Superman is from the planet Krypton. His father sent his only son to save humankind from their own destruction. Sound familiar? Whether the creators meant to have such a close comparison to Jesus, it’s there. We are much like Superman as Christians. We’re alien to the world. Philippians 3:20-21 tells us, “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.” It’s the power of our yellow sun that gives Superman the amazing abilities he possesses. How do we love others? We allow the power of Christ to transform us and through Him, we can love others.

Much like most superheroes in comic-dom, we have weaknesses. Our weaknesses are explained in James 1:14, “each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.” We allow our sin to block out the power of the Son, and we start to lose the ability to love!

While we can’t save the planet from impending doom from evil mutants, we can love. Love speaks volumes to the people in which it’s shown. “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:12-13 [NIV]).