Day with Dads

  

Adam and I served alongside some dear friends at a prison unit recently, facilitation something called “Day with Dads”. Here, convicts, separated by their families, have the opportunity to fully embrace their loved ones. We served lunch and played games. Had it not been for the white uniforms and guards present, you’d forget this was a prison. To see the faces of the Dads when their son or daughter walked in that room…there are no words, but tears streamed down my cheeks. Through-out the day, the families continued to offer their gratitude for this program and the opportunity twice a year to see their loved one who’s living with the consequences of their choices. The end of the day came, and the good-byes held more tears than the “hellos”, for both parties knew it would be many months before this would happen again. The young children did not understand why Daddy can’t be home.

Don't Move that Wall!!

  

   We've all heard of the re-model project gone awry. The wife wants this wall moved over here to open up this space. That door then scoots down a foot and we put a new archway over there. Sounds simple enough, right? What's the one hitch to pulling it off? After the husband's approval, that is. Right, is "that wall" a load bearing or free standing wall? If that wall has a beam in it that's important to the entire structure of the house, to remove it means you're remodeling more than just the living room!
  

Dry Eyes, Prickly Thorns

   

Sometimes I feel that I know how the rose feels…to have a thorn in its side. I’ve written about the thorn of the rosebush before in the context of relationships (Relational Rose Bush). We know roses have thorns and must treat them as so and not curse the way they are! Some days I believe I too, have a thorn in my side. There’s this thing that is just apart of how God made me that gets twisted up in my flesh and rears its ugly head. It's purposes are against God's plan and desire for me. I have prayed for deliverance of it, confessed it, sought forgiveness for it's effects, ignored it, shoved it in a locked cabinet, fasted over it, but it’s still there, just like the rose's thorny stem.

Bigger is always Better...or Is It?

   Things are just bigger in Texas! We have bigger burgers, bigger hats, bigger cows, and maybe even bigger people. We look naturally to the BIGGER, thinking somehow it’s better.

   For many of us, we want to accomplish BIG things in life. We toil and strive to come out on top – to be distinguished and noticed in our field of expertise. Why throw a tiny pebble into the pond when a large boulder will make a much larger ripple effect? Have you ever tried to pick up one of those boulders? Or tried to launch it? I argue, your ability to would depend on how many smaller, “lesser” ones you’ve practiced on previously. The untrained can throw their back trying!

Better Than a Black Friday Sale

Proverbs 24:3-4 “By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.

   How do we build a house with wisdom? This verse says our house will be established through understanding. That like couches and tables that fill our actual house, the beautiful antique treasures in this metaphorical house get there by knowledge.