HARMLESS THOUGHTS

Thanks to the Mast General Store , I have rediscovered the Bit-O-Honey. I haven't had any since I was a kid. My dad used to get them all of the time. At least the way I remember it, it was all of the time. In reality, he probably only picked that candy a few times. Regardless of how often my dad purchased these little delights, they always seemed like an "adult" candy to me. I can't actually remember any exact event that led me to believe this. Maybe it was because the adults wouldn't share their Bit-O-Honey's with me. Or maybe they had a fear that I would choke on it or something (...it is a very chewy candy). Possibly it was a little bit of both; they convinced themselves that I wouldn't be able to handle it's awesome chewiness, so they hoarded them all for themselves! Eventually I was able to get my hands on one. I felt like I was intruding into the land of adulthood with my stolen bit-o-sweetness. All of that put aside, I am lovin' ...

Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower;        We will grieve not, rather find        Strength in what remains behind;        In the primal sympathy        Which having been must ever be;        In the soothing thoughts that spring        Out of human suffering;        In the faith that looks through death, In years that bring the philosophic mind. —from " Ode on Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood " by William Wordsworth

I have been asked to teach the counseling class again. I was really hoping that this would happen, because I really enjoyed the last time that I was able to do that. (And, I have to say that it is a good sign, when you are asked to do something again ... It means that they must not have hated me the first time I did it.) This time the topic is Progressive Sanctification in Counseling . First I have to say that every time I am given a topic, I seem to be hit with all kinds of things in my life to help remind me of why God has really allowed me to teach this class. I can assure you that God has not allowed me to teach because of my great knowledge on a particular subject, or because of my amazing ability to present a lesson. No, no, that is most definitely not the case. The reality is that God allows me to teach because of my great need to learn and grow myself. Quite humbling, if you ask me. When I was given the Idols of the Heart topic, God began to reveal in me all of these id...

(It is a "moving" story...) I was in Jacksonville, MS. I was almost done unloading a 10,000 lb. shipment (which is a story in itself), when my boss calls me. He tells me that there is another driver that has an overflow. (For you non-truck drivers, an overflow is when everything that is supposed to fit on the truck, doesn't fit.) The other driver had relayed to my boss that there were just a few items left over, nothing that one person couldn't get by himself. He also said that everything was moved to the garage. Sounded easy. And it would have been easy if this other driver had actually been telling the truth . I didn't arrive at the residence, which was way down near the coast, not too far from New Orleans, until about ten at night. Now remember, I had already unloaded an entire shipment of stuff, then I had spent nearly five hours driving to this location. To be completely honest, I was pretty tired before I had even arrived, but I kept telling myself t...

How to Overcome Evil by Jay E. Adams Summary: The subtitle of this book is a practical exposition of Romans 12:14-21 , and that is exactly what it is. Jay Adams breaks down each word and each phrase of this section of scripture, and he does it in a very practical way. We are commanded to be overcomers, and that is what we will be, if we are followers of Christ. The key is that we are to overcome the evils of this world, not by returning evil for evil, but returning evil for good. God's good is the only weapon that will legitimately defeat evil. My Thoughts: This book was an eye-opener for me. I have two other posts that I have done about this book that will help illustrate some of the specific points of learning that I experienced through reading these explanations of scripture. (Here is post one and post two .) This book can serve as a great tool for anyone who is struggling with problems from other human beings. (I think that includes all of us, doesn't it?) Being a C...

With my job right now I have lots of time at home. I didn't think that it would be that way, but it does seem to be working out for the good. Now, I need to tell you, when I work... I WORK. Being a mover isn't easy business. Carrying hide-a-beds, taking refridgerators upstairs, and dragging pianos around to the back of a house is all part of a days work. There have been many, many times that I have found myself on the heavy end of a long, large dresser -- full of clothes, mind you -- wondering how I was going to make it up this long flight of stairs without crushing myself. Then, when I am between moves, I am driving...     ...and driving         ...and driving               ...and ... I have gotten really good at spending time on the road. I listen to books on tape, sermons, etc. When I am off of work, though, I am really off. That is one thing that yo...

"Fix my footsteps in Your Word And don't allow any evil to rule over me." Psalm 119:133 (Jay E. Adams translation) I think that it is amazing that God brings the right passages of scripture into our lives at just the right time. The verses that have been the most applicable to my current situations have been the exact same verses that I have found in my daily Bible readings. The verse quoted above is one of those verses. I decided back in January that I wasn't going to sign on for another year of teaching. This might be news for some of you who only keep up to date through this blog. I did not make this decision lightly. I had surrounded it with prayer and wise and varied counsel. Of course this decision left me facing in the direction of the unknown, (not my favorite direction to face) but I was sure that God was going to open some unforeseen door. Until that happened, I did know that I had a way to provide for my family, which was my primary concern and one of...

Here is the final week of the teaching. powered by ODEO To listen to all four weeks of the teaching visit my odeo podcast .

I have added the third week of the Idols of the Heart lesson. Here is a link to my podcast , where you can find the other two lessons and download the mp3's for listening to on your ipod. Or, you could listen to it here: powered by ODEO

The sins of some men are obvious,     reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them.     I Timothy 5:24 In my life I have fallen into both of these categories. There have been times when my sins were worn on a badge on my chest. They were right there out in the open for anyone to see, anyone who was looking. Sometimes I was the only one who could not see these sins. I was under the impression that I was doing pretty well, when those who were closest to me were being hurt. Other times I have kept my sins hidden. I was the only person who could see these sins. I held onto them the way a man might hold onto the last bottle of water during a drought. These hidden sins were the last remnants of a former self, a self that I clung to, even though it was detrimental to me. A better illustration would probably be more like a man holding onto a bottle of sea water during a drought. Secretly taking drinks of it, ...

As many of you know, especially if you are one of my former students, I have this thing with the number 27 . I don't really want to get into the origins of the 27 right now, I will have to save that for another day. I would like to share this e-mail that I received the other day concerning the 27. I think that you might find it to be entertaining. Your site describes almost the exact same set of events that my friends and I have been experiencing for about a year now. We are thoroughly amazed that another person has experienced this, let alone with the same number as us. We have a wealth of photographic and written evidence, and one of us is also planning to do a short comedy film (The Curse Of 27) based around the number (and possibly a comic, called the Chronicle of 27) The first incident occurred whilst purchasing sweets. When asked what the price of a Drumstick lolly, one of those present replied off-hand "27 p" for no reason. Upon inspecting the Drumsticks, to our...