I Have Forgotten...

Sunsets. I have to admit, I had forgotten how awesome they look. As the sun goes down, the colors in the sky radiate. I had really forgotten what they looked like. I'm on vacation in Pensacola, Florida. The day brings about playing on the beach, hunting hermit crabs, eating shrimp, a little golf, playing in the water and relaxing. It is a vacation. But when the sun sets, things seem to slow down a little for me. To watch the sun slowly exit from the sky and see those deep colors, it is amazing.

Sometimes we get so caught up in the business of life that we fail to slow down and see the beauty God puts around us. We tend to focus on the activities we must do. Run to the store, go to work, drive kids around, cook dinner, pack lunches, etc...all those things in our daily routine that have our focus. But when do we slow down and see the things that God has so blessed us with? Our family, friends, home, His creation...sunsets. I have seen His glory through His creation. It is my prayer that you have a moment to slow down and see the beauty around us. Take a moment from the business of life to see what God has put around you. His creation is amazing. Maybe you will have the opportunity to see the sunset. I have slowed down...I have seen the beauty of the sunset.

What To Say

I received an email today. It wasn't the kind of email I expected to recieve. In fact, I was in total shock. I sat and read it. Then I had to read it again. It said..."Dear Terry, I know that this will completely shock you, but I had to tell you this. I was just told that I have cancer and it is rapidly moving throughout my body. I can't tell anyone about it. I can't tell my husband, my kids, my family. I needed someone to tell, so I sent this to you. I feel that I could tell you because of how you talked with me at the National Youth Gathering. I'm so scared that I might die. I have been taught that Christ loves us and will not give us more than we can bear. I have always been taught not to fear death but rejoice in the reward. When the Doctor told me I had cancer, I cried. Yes, I'm afraid to die. I don't want to leave my family. I love them so much. I'm angry that I have cancer. I'm angry that I might not see my children grow up. I'm angry that I may not have the opportunity to continue to share who God is to them. Who will tell them of the love of God if I would die? What should I do?"

My response...tears and prayers. I couldn't really give an answer. I could only stop and pray. I will respond. How, I'm not sure, but I know that the Lord will put the right words in my heart. But for now, I'm praying.

Juggling Made Easy

I have never figured out how to juggle. I'm in total awe of people who can. When I was younger, I tried. I even checked a book out at the library to teach me how. So I grabbed bean bags and started to learn the art of juggling. I figured if I could juggle, then I could be like those people on tv who could juggle chainsaws or axes. I read the book, learned what to focus on and decided it was time to start learning. I tossed the first bean bag and then the second and then the third and...they fell to the ground. So I tossed them again. One first, then the second, then the third and...they fell again. So again I tried and again they fell. Again and again my attempts to juggle didn't work. To this day, I can't juggle or can I...

In my life, I have to juggle many things. Like you, I have to juggle my job, family, my faith, my personal time and the list goes on and on. Juggling is something that we all must do. We do something for our family and we feel that the job suffers or we do something for the job and we feel that our family suffers. We get so caught up in juggling our job and family that our faith suffers. We keep trying to juggle everything, but then it all falls. We struggle with our juggling. But we have help. If our focus is on him, the juggling act becomes a lot easier. God has to be first. He has to be what we focus on. In juggling, the focus has to be on the right object. In juggling our life, our focus has to be on the right place. It has to be on God. He is the one that makes juggling our lives easier. Juggling made easy...Keep God first!

I Just Had to Look and Listen

I was sitting in my office looking out the window and suddenly it happened. I couldn't believe it. It happened right in front of me. My eyes were widen, my heart thumped louder. I was so amazed that it happened in front of me that I sat with my mouth wide open. So what happened? Stop leaving us hanging. What happened? I saw God's glory. Yes I did. You see, the sun was shining. That is nothing new. The traffic on the road was moving. Nothing new. The wind was blowing and clouds were moving across the sky. Nothing new. But I did see God's glory. For one moment, you could see the sunbeam from the sky. It looked like it hit the ground just outside of the window. In my mind, I saw God's glory.

What an amazing thing. I just happened to be getting a little frustrated at that time. I was trying to find music to fit the theme of a worship service. I was paging through scripture. I was grabbing songbook after songbook looking for the right song to share the message. I was working frantically. I stopped, looked out the window and there it was, God's glory! Through all this planning, my planning, I was forgetting to stop and let God talk. He was showing me all along what to pick. He placed the songs in my heart. All I had to do was listen to the still small voice from God.