Not Quite Right

The reason for the season

2008-12-17T08:55:00.002-05:00

Hello all, I was doing better about posting, but just like sin a little carlessness and before you know it you have gone much further than you ever anticipated! Anyways, right at the end of December I finally decide to type again another "preachy" post, but with such a large audience that are preachers, married to preachers, or were the children of preachers I figure you should be used to it by now so what could it hurt right?!
As I have said in previous posts I have been able to be involved in a men's Bible study at one of the local churches here in Fort Payne. It seems as though every time I go a special thought will grip me and I just have to tell someone about it. It being the Christmas season the study was of course in the book of Luke. We all know the story. They go back to Isaiah and get that wonderful verse "for unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given..." The leader of the group posed a statement that made me think a bit. "We often say Jesus is the reason for the season, but why did Jesus become the reason for the season, he did it for us!"
When I heard this statement my thought was this: Jesus is the reason for the season, but we are the reason he chose this season. Jesus came for one purpose not for glory or fame, but for us. A God given child came to us that special night for one purpose redemption. We make this season so much about Jesus' coming that sometimes we forget for who and what he came. "...for unto us a son is given..." for one to give something one must have a person to receive it. God's gift to mankind was the sacrificial son Jesus. He came for one reason redemption. Let us never forget that there is one reason for the season. Jesus is the reason for the season, we are the reason he chose this season, he chose to come so we could have redemption. Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill towards men.

Rudy A Picture For Life

2008-10-17T11:08:00.002-04:00

I have had the recent pleasure of attending a Monday night men's Bible study at one of the local churches here in Alabama. It has been a wonderful experience thus far. Before the lesson and small group questions are presented they show short movie clips to give a good example of what the subject is for that evening. They showed a clip from the great football movie "RUDY." The clip showed Rudy sitting on the bench at the train station waiting for his train to Notre Dame.
His father tells him a heart breaking story about how his father wanted to be a dairy farmer, but because of disease all of his cattle died, and because of the great depression he couldn't sell the land finally one day the family woke up and he was gone. The family had to split up and live with relatives. His father looked and Rudy and said, "Chasing a stupid dream only brings you and everyone around you heart-ache. Notre Dame is for rich kids, smart kids, great athletes. Your a Rudiger... not that there is anything wrong with that you can have a nice life..." His father goes on to tell him that his brothers Phil and Andrew (those are probably incorrect but just stay with me!) are going up in factory work and if he would go to work with them... before he can finish his sentence Rudy looks at him and says, "I don't want to be Phil or Andrew." He then gets up and walks away. Now the thought that hit me is not the point that the Bible study made.
I thought to myself the world wants to tell us as Christians what is acceptable, what is okay, they lay out for us what we should strive for in our spiritual lives! When are we going to say, I don't want to be your kind of Christian, I'm gonna be God's child. What would happen to us if we would look Satan in the face and say, I hear you telling me who and what I am, But because of the blood of Jesus Christ I don't have to be that way anymore... I want to be like Jesus!!

Just some more from the "T" man

2008-09-23T15:20:00.002-04:00

Hello everyone! I have been trying my best to keep up with my blog and I appreciate all the folks that still come around and read what I have to say.
Every where I look I see the prophecies of the Bible coming to pass. If there has ever been an exciting time to be alive its now, but with that excitement comes a great responsibility. We must be ready for our lord's eminent coming while engaging the world around us with the kingdom of God. We must be the voice of one crying in the wilderness for our generation.
It seems that every preacher is preaching the same thing. The time for games and masks is over. We must arise as a people and be truly ready for the coming of our Lord. How hard it is to let go of the everyday stuff and grasp the eternal.
I was reminded of a saying in the movie Gladiator recently. Maximus (Russel Crowe) stands before his men about to ride into battle. Within his great oration he utters a wonderful phrase that I wish to strive to live my life by. He looks to his army and says, "...Men what we do in life, echoes in eternity."
Oh that the people of God would grasp this statement. When all is gone and faded away and we humans of shadows and dust are gone, what will be left? Let us live these last days ready for our Lord's return. Watching and praying.

That's My King

2008-09-04T21:00:00.002-04:00

This is a message from a man called S.M. Lockridge. It is a bit lengthy, but trust me it's worth the read! It's called "That's my King." I first heard it in a video presentation at my home church. You can view the video on you tube. Just search: (sm lockridge that's my king) I would highly recommend it. If it doesn't bring chills to your skin your spiritually dead! :-)

The Bible says my king was born king.
He's the King of the Jews.
He's the King of Isreal.
He's the King of righteousness.
He's the King of the ages.
He's the King of Heaven.
He's the King of glory.
He's the King of kings.
and He's the Lord of lord's.
That's my king, I wonder do you know him?

My king is a sovereign king.
No means of measure can define his limitless love.
He's enduringly strong.
He's entirely sincere.
He;s eternally steadfast.
He's immortally graceful.
He's imperially powerful.
He's impartially merciful.
Do you know him?

He's the greatest phenomenon to have ever crossed the horizon of this world.
He's God's son.
He's a sinners savior.
He's the centerpiece of civilization.
He stands in the solitude of himself.
He's unique.
He's unparalleled.
He's unprecedented.
He's the loftiest idea in literature.
He's the highest personality in philosophy.
He's the supreme problem in higher criticism.
He's the fundamental doctrine of true theology.
He's the cardinal necessity for spiritual religion.
He's the miracle of the age.
He's the only one qualified to be an all sufficient savior.
I wonder if you know him today?

He supplies strength for the weak.
He's available for the tempted and the tried.
He sympathizes and He saves.
He strengthens and sustains.
He guards and he guides.
He heals the sick.
He cleansed the lepers.
He forgives sinners.
He discharges debtors.
He delivers the captives.
He defends the feeble.
He serves the unfortunate.
He regards the aged.
He rewards the diligent.
and he beautifies the meek.
I wonder if you know him?

He's the key to knowledge.
He's the wellspring of wisdom.
He's the doorway of deliverance.
He's the pathway of peace.
He's the highway of holiness.
He's the gateway of glory.
Do you know him?

Well, His office is manifold.
His promise is sure.
His light is matchless.
His goodness is limitless.
His mercy is everlasting.
His love never changes.
His word is enough.
His grace is sufficient.
His reign is righteous.
His yoke is easy,
and his burden is light.

I wish I could describe him to you.
But he's indescribable.
He's incomprehensible.
He's invincible.
He's irresistible.
You can't get him out of your mind.
You can't get him off of your hand.
You can't outlive him,
and you can't live without him.

The pharisees couldn't stand him,
but they found out they couldn't stop him.
Pilate couldn't find any fault in him.
Herod couldn't kill him.
Death couldn't handle him, and the grave couldn't hold him.
That's my king, That's my king!!

Don't Worry I Am Alive!

2008-08-24T20:06:00.002-04:00

Hello out there to all my family members and blogosphere friends! It seems I have again found my way back to the blogrealm. I always feel terrible for not keeping up, but my life is pretty hum-drum so I figure why type the same thing all over again! :-)
Well I have been doing some soul searching as of late.... I have had one of those 'dark times' as I sometimes call it. It's not depression its just that time in your life when you look around and say, "Is this it? Is this as good as its going to get?!" I'm sure nobody out there in the world knows what I'm talking about right? Come on we have all had those times haven't we.
Well it came to me that my problem is that I don't fully understand who I am! I some how seem to forget on a constant basis that I am a blood bought child of God who has the right to life, and have it more abundantly, just as my savior and Lord promised. I finally had a thought that hit me like a ton of bricks. Paul said "This same power that raised Jesus from the dead is in you..." (oakley's unauthorized version) Now when I finally understood that as Paul meant it I could no longer accept my view of life. If you do a word study on the word same in that scripture a closer translation would be IDENTICAL.
We sometimes say of children you are just like your mother when they are not completely the same they are similar. That is not what Paul was saying. Paul was saying that the power that is in you is the identical power that raised Jesus from the dead! WOW!!! It's not similar, it didn't just come from the same place, it didn't roll over to us like cellular minutes. God imparts to us a portion of the same, exact, identical power. We have the resurrection power of Jesus Christ in us!! The very power that conquered death, hell and the grave works in us. The very power that took on all of mans sins and came out victorious is in us. The power that took on Satan and all his minions face to face is in us! Why then should we cower before anyone? Why then should we as Gods people, who are the heirs and recipients of this outpouring, take a step back away from the line that has been drawn in the sand? We are more than just believers. We have been given the power with which to thwart all of Satan's attacks. I have come to the realization that nothing can stand before the power of the resurrection. NOTHING!!! How long will the people of God sit back and believe that we are helpless in this world today. How long will we ask the question, "what more can we do?" It is time for the people of God to stand and know that we have a power that cannot be contested. We are able to change this world and shake its foundations with the power of the resurrection. When Jesus rose the earth shook and hundreds of dead people in their graves rose because of the intensity of the explosion that was the resurrection. If we, the people of God, the true followers will rise all the dead, dried up, weak, and terrified bodies around us will become quickened by the blast radius of our explosion for Jesus! We must rise in the power that has been given to us! We are more than Christians we are Gods army!!! I thank God that he showed me who I really am.... A powerful, mighty, unafraid, warrior; who can stand on the resurrection and know that I WILL WIN!!!

Finally I Found My Way Back

2008-04-21T12:02:00.002-04:00

Heeeeeeeeeeeeelllllllllllllllllloooooooooooooooo!!!! It took me a while but I found my way back! I apologize to all those who kept coming to the blogpage looking for something new, I have been quite busy. I have been spending most of my time working on my house that I have been building for the past three years. Can anyone say thank you for tax returns!! With the tax return and some financial miracles I was able to put my flooring down down stairs! No more bare concrete floors praise be to Jesus!! I will try to figure out how to get some pictures before to long, I still have dial up so it doesn't always work as well as others. Anyway, Just wanted to let you all know I'm not dead and no the Rapture has not occured yet....... but even so Lord come quickly.

Oh! heres a thought for the day. I was watching Perry Stone the other night, and though I don't always agree with what he has to say he did make a statement that I greatly appreciated, He said, "People are dying and going to hell and we are telling them how to get rich!"

Useless Facts

2007-12-27T16:51:00.000-05:00

I had the great pleasure a while back to be the Bible teacher for the 6 to 12 year old kids at our church. The kids seemed to take to me pretty well and together we not only learned alot, but had alot of fun in the process. (that comes as no surprise for most of you I'm sure) Their favorite part was not the Bible story though. The first night I knew I only had fifteen minutes to tell the story and dismiss them to their proper classes. I quickly went through the story (for a church of God minister that is extremely difficult) when I finished I found I had five more minutes and they could not leave the room until the fifteen minutes were up so I started a tradition that they fell in love with. I gave them the "useless fact of the day." I got such a kick out of these I thought I would share some of them.

-a pregnant goldfish is called a twit
-there is an average of 333 sesame seeds on a big mac bun
-the plastic tips on your shoes are called aglets
-the average person will spend 3 years of their life waiting at red lights
-the average person will eat in their sleep up to 8 spiders
-there are 44 dimples on a golf ball
-in the city of athens it is illegal to throw a snow ball in the city limits
-in the city of Fort Payne it is illegal to beat your wife with anything larger than the diameter of your thumb

Useless Yes entertaining absolutely! Enjoy!

Been A While

2007-10-29T12:25:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since my last blog; between working and keeping up with church, kid's sports and just the everyday list of being a parent its sometimes hard to find the time. I'm not complaining, I'm just saying it can be hard to juggle it all! (Can I get an AMEN from the choir?!) Nothing is really new in my "not quite right" life, but I thought I would at least let everyone know that I am still here and NO the rapture has not occured yet! Each day I become less impressed with what the world has to offer. It's all so temporary, so empty, so absent of thought, kindness, and humility. Do I want to leave here? You better believe it!! I would pack up and leave today if God would allow. There is nothing so important that I would bypass a free ride to the most high!!! The world seems to just ignore God and if it can't ignore him; it tries to write him off from the get go. Take for example evolution. Survival of the fittest right? All I have to say is that the human body we now have is the best thirty billion years of evolution can do, I don't have much faith its gonna get better any time soon. I mean if we all came from aquatic creatures why not keep the gills so we don't drown when we go back into the water? At what point did we lose the ability to grow fur to keep us warm in the winter? Yeah we got possable thumbs, but if we don't have a gun there are animals that don't that will eat us! Why not keep the ability, like a lizard, that when we loose an appendage to grow it back? Have you ever seen a dog with allergies? Have you ever heard a cat wonder how its gonna pay the water bill? Like I said before if this is the best natural selection can do there is not alot to look forward to!! Anyways... that was one odd tangent. For those of you who would like to hear me sing I will be doing a solo in the Christmas program at City Church Dec. 1,2, and 3rd. Hope to see you all soon and may God guide you along the road of life!

Back To the Old Grind!

2007-10-02T10:25:00.000-04:00

Hello again! Well we are back from disney, as painful as it is to say. I hate having to come home from a vacation. Of course the only way to stay on vacation is to retire with lots of money.... I'm not old enough to retire.... and I don't have a lot of money so I guess I'll have to go back to the old grind. Wel had a great time. Gabby went to the Bibbity Bobbidy Boutique. She got all fixed up and then went to dinner with the princesses. Isabelle loved all the characters. Gabby wasn't scared of them this time, but Isabelle is going to be the risk taker of the two of them. She rode the kids roller coaster called Goofy's Barnstormer, and cried everytime we had to get off. She rode it three times in all and loved it everytime! I got to go to a place called disney quest. It's a five story arcade!! For those of you who know me well you can understand why this was a highlight for me. Sarah I think has developed a weak stomach, she wouldn't ride any of the crazy stuff, but what she did do she enjoyed. We are at home safely now thanks to the airport security. The randomly selected my brother in law Jason. I always knew he looked suspicious, but I had no idea it was that bad!!! Just kidding. I wish you all could have been there! I hope you all have a good day, week, and happy new year! Time flies doesn't it. Anyways love you all and may God bless you richly.

My Top Ten

2007-09-14T18:29:00.000-04:00

Hello again everyone! I made a comment last post about women and thier luggage. I hope I did not offend any of the female girl type people that read my blog. I try not to make fun, but I believe relationships between Men and Women is proof God has a sense of humor!! Have you ever seen male and femal from anyother species argue over who does the dishes? Or seen two cows try to make the deal one will cook and the other will clean? We are an odd species. Our relationships can be very rewarding, but at times can be quite hilarious! I want to play off that hilarity with the following list. I'm sure you have all heard of David Letterman's top ten. I have written my own top ten list. Its the top ten things you should never say to your wife! Now I'm not professing guilt by this list, although lets say I have done plenty of research. And not all these are serious, but although you might think them you should never say them. If you don't believe me just trust me.

Top Ten Things You Never Say To Your Wife:
10. No.
9. Yes I do prefer my socks thrown in the floor!
8. Do we have to talk about it right now?
7. Shhh! The game is on!
6. I'm sorry I didn't hear you I wasn't paying attention.
5. So what if I left the toilet seat up?!
4. What have you done to your hair?
3. This doesn't taste like mom's.
2. What? Today is our anniversary?
AND THE NUMBER ONE THING IS..............
1. Yes honey that dress does make you look fat!

Disney or Bust!!

2007-09-07T17:56:00.000-04:00

YeeeeHaaaaaw! One final work week and its off to the most magical place on earth. Of course I'm not looking forward to the magic as I am the time off from work, but hey what can be better than spending your time away from work at Disney World. Gabby every morning gets up and asks, "How many more days till Disney?" She is really excited about going! She will tell you everyday which rides she wants to go on and which characters she does and does not want her picture taken with. We usually start our trip in the Magic Kingdom, followed by Epcot, AnimalKingdom, and MGM Studios last.
For those of you who have not had the priviledge of taking your children to Disney yet I would say as soon as financially possible find a way to go with them. There is nothing like watching their eyes as they walk up to the castle at the Magic Kingdom, or the look when they see the enomous EPCOT ball. I have to admit even when I go and look I am filled wtih wonder. There truly is not place like it on earth.
I wish all of you could go with me, but I'm sure the room would be rather full, as well as the luggage. You know theres something about women and their luggage. They have a way of packing cinder blocks in their bags or something. It doesn't matter where your going or how long you plan to be there a womans bag always seem to be 20 pounds heavier than everyone elses. Why is that? Just another female mystery that I don't have the answer to and probably never will!!!
Anyway, I will blog you all before I leave and as soon as I return and will do my best to have some pictures of the family for you.

I'm Baaaack!!

2007-09-06T17:25:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the move. I couldn't get the comments to work on my old blog, which is the entire point of having one I thought, so I made a new one just like it. I hope I can get all of you back I 'll try to inform all of you as best I can. I'll be bloggin at you soon. TJ