by jimmy | Jun 16, 2012 | Uncategorized |
Well the first 24 hours is coming to a close. Wow. Our Pastor wrote a blog recently, about a woman that suffered a stroke and was left with a restricted vocabulary but one of the words she spoke well and often was WOW. As I lay here thousands of miles away from Austin in bed listening to frogs, distant fireworks and a thunderstorm that word WOW rings true. WOW what a God! I believe more and more as I read scripture that He wants us to pursue Him but also he is always at work making the way for us. Take this trip for example. I wrote a blog post a few weeks ago about the difficulty leading up to the trip. It was honestly one of the toughest things I have ever done. You can read the blog post here. In fact, you probably should because the way God showed up since that day has been WOW! In short, the post talked about needing my business to pick up but sensing the need to step out on Faith. Faith, not that God would do something for us.. I mean, I guess that is part of it, but He wanted us to do something no matter the cost. No matter the costs, and let me tell you I can count some costs with the best of them. This thing Faith that He hinges everything on is just brilliant. Letting go of something you can try to control and just letting the chips fall and trusting that God’s plan is better, well that is just crazy. Or is it? Over...
by jimmy | Apr 28, 2012 | Uncategorized |
There have been times in the past few years where I have come to a point where I know what I need to do but I am almost paralyzed with fear. This past week was one of those moments. We are in the process of exploring a trip to Nicaragua for the summer. Our plan is to take the entire family there for much of the summer and show the kids how Jesus can lead and move. Sure sounds easy. The reality is it is so much more than that. Because the question is not can we go for five weeks but what happens if we go. My business has been little slow lately and our cash flow kind of stinks. My natural tendency is to grab the wheel and make the business rise again. But in my heart I feel the pull to GO! It is hard to explain. I am learning to listen and hear God move my spirit. This is one of those times. It is clear. But what does that mean? Well, the possibility of coming back to nothing is real. What happens when I leave does the business burn up? What then? Our house? Everything would be gone. Or would it? Is that even possible? Or is that FEAR? Enemy comes to kill and destroy. My Father in heaven cares for and provides for the birds of the air and the fish in the sea. I am choosing to put my trust in HIM and let Him provide. Wednesday was probably one of the hardest days of my life. I cried often. I was...
by jimmy | Mar 28, 2012 | Uncategorized |
One of the things I have written about most over the years is mission trips. I typically journal at the end of each day and recap and talk about what I saw and how I felt God. I love it when these happen but recently it happened in here in town on the East side in a entirely new way. Jeannie was in Africa and I was at the ballpark watching Beck’s game and my phone rang. It was a lady named Kim she is a sweet lady and took care of me and some other guys on a homeless retreat I went on many years ago. Kim took us into her world walked us around town. We even ended up serving other homeless folks early one Saturday morning. She is turning her life around and attending school online to become a nurse. I will be totally honest. I never felt called to love on the homeless. I have a heart for them but never felt the pull like Mexico. I think I missed it though. I know I did. John 13: 34-35 This verse doesn’t say love those that fit your schedule or those that are like you or those that you visited. Pretty much it talks about loving people. I didn’t get it. Kim called me and I sat there listening to her talk about needing paper products and food. I wish what I said was “I would be there soon and we could go shopping.” Instead I let the silence do my talking. It was wrong. I hung up and knew it was wrong. And I...
by jimmy | Jan 31, 2012 | Uncategorized |
In the movies it is pretty clear when God is talking to you. He shows up and looks like either George Burns or Morgan Freeman. But in real life? How do we know when we are walking in God’s wisdom or when we are led by God? Does he encourage us? We know he loves us and the bible describes Him as a small still voice. There have been a few times recently that I truly felt that God was speaking to me. He encouraged me. This morning was one of those times. I may write about the others another time. Last night Jeannie and were talking and I told her how I felt I was being disobedient by not pushing further into a place of “going”. By this I mean leaving the US and going abroad. It is something Jeannie and I explored before and after we moved from North Hills. But lately I could not shake that somehow because I had not left that I was not trusting God with my life or that I was somehow wimping out. This feeling has been on me for months until this morning. Every so often I wake at the same time for a number of days in a row. By the same time I mean the exact same time on the clock. A few times in the past I have been encouraged by God in these moments. This morning was one of those times. I had dreams of Daniel and lions during the night. I do not recall exactly what was happening but the context was lions and danger....
by jimmy | Jan 12, 2012 | Blog, Uncategorized |
For many months we have been adjusting to our move into a new house. It has been both a blessing and the challenge of our lives… We are trying to show the kids how to love their friends in the midst of strife but sometimes it just takes action to get the point across. Jeannie and I will be a little more open to new adventures in 2012 and we embarked on one Monday night. I though I would share the story and how our blessings come in the strangest of ways. My commute to work takes me around 183 to I-35 each morning and on one of those days I felt that small still voice nudge me to a place that I have not been in 25 years. Not since my parents would take my sister and I there out on SPID in Corpus. Red Lobster! Yes, the same thought went through my head and Jeannie’s when I told her we needed to go have dinner there. Needless to say, I let it slide. But each day, I would see the familiar Red Lobster sign and knew something had to be done….but what? We decided we would do something we always heard about but never did. We would go have dinner and select a family to bless with their meal…anonymously. So we loaded up the kids and told them of our adventure. They were very excited. We were seated in the center of the restaurant after a long pause at the tank full of live lobster. I told myself we need to wait and let God show us...
