Do you know what it's like to be in a vehicle and you are going fast and you want to slow down but when you apply the breaks you just keep going? That's the way my I feel lately. I have been terribly busy with getting my youth calendar ready for 2009, lining up activities for this year, planning future events, and getting lessons prepared. I just looked up yesterday and realized January is already over and February is upon us! In fact, I mentioned in my monthly caller article that it feels like this year is blowing by so fast. I keep saying I'm going to slow down and take some time off but I just can't seem to find any! If you have some to spare, I'll take it.
I got an opportunity to preach a couple of weeks ago and it went well. I preached on "Life Is Fragile". I came up with the idea after seeing the plane down in Hudson River. It amazes me that all those people came out of that situation alive. Thank God for that. I didn't use this in my sermon but I did think about this thought later...James (4:14) says that our lives are a vapor and that we are only here for a little while and we are gone. Have you ever noticed how fast a vapor disappears? Even if we live 100 years, that's still not very long compared to eternity. So the question I ask is, "What am I doing in my life that makes a difference?", "Who have I made an impact on?" and even "What impact have I made-positive or negative?"
I hope you ponder these questions. Maybe you have made a great impact on someone. Maybe you have directed their lives in a positive manner, maybe even shared the Lord with them and they gave their life to Christ...AWESOME! Or maybe you have made a negative impact on someone and you know it. Is there someone who you need to forgive? Life is short...TOO SHORT! Let go of it. Go make it right if it's wrong. Go out today and be a blessing. Randy

love

Love. What is love?

When I was a teenager, at the age of 17 I thought I knew what love was. I met a girl in high school that I just couldn’t wait to see. By the time seven o’clock rolled around and it was time to get off of work, I bebopped to her home town to see her. My heart would race! My truck couldn’t go fast enough! And when I saw her I felt all that gooey stuff. You know what I mean? She was “my first love”. I reckon everybody has one…some even marries theirs. And that was our plan until…
Well, like I said, I thought I knew what love is. Twenty years later, I’m still learning what love is, but I guarantee I had no idea what love really was when I was seventeen. When I was so “in love” another girl caught my eye and I had to pursue her. So I broke off a great relationship with my first love for someone who I didn’t know, and by the time I got to know her, although she was a hottie on the outside, she wasn’t very lovable on the inside. Our relationship didn’t last very long because, well let’s just say that I didn’t like sharing my girl with other guys. Get it? You see I thought I was in love with my “first love” but I had no idea of what love is.

Love.
Let’s talk about what love is not.
Love is not: getting flowers, writing the words on a card, giving boxes of chocolate, heart-shaped balloons, text messaging or talking on the phone all night long, groping all over each other, hugs, kisses, no matter how long they last, etc. No. These things are not love! They may be things you do when you are in love, but they are not love. And I can go on and with this thought.

What is love?
In my opinion, this is love:
Tolerance-there are some things you will just have to tolerate that you may absolutely hate.
Balance-have you ever watched a balancing act? If they go too much to one side they fall! Love is all about give and take. You can’t have it your way all the time. Your loved one needs your time and understanding.
Giving-We as people are geared to “get all we can”. We are constantly taking and hardly ever giving. One of the greatest things we can give is an ear and keep our mouths shut!. (Boy, I really suck at this part)
Accepting-Everybody makes dumb choices. However, nobody likes to be rejected. We all want to be accepted and feel like we have a place to fit in.
Compromising-This goes back to the give and take concept. You can’t always have it your way. There has to be a compromise. Not on moral things. I love sports. I was athletic all of my life and played all kinds of sports. Now I coach my kids. But if something comes up with the wife and it’s important to her, that game on tv will have to be recorded and watched later.
Learning-never think you have it all figured out. If you stop learning things about each other, you are in trouble. Find time to spend with each other and learn something new.
Sacrifice-I know it hurts, but take one for the team. Let go of your selfish wants and desires and give some time to your mate’s dreams. Get your ego out of the way.
Forgiving-this is what love is all about. You will fail. Your mate will fail. However, love picks up the broken pieces and mends them back together again. If it can’t, it takes what is left, and puts them to good use. If you hold on to those things that hurt you, it will destroy your love and your life.
I’m out of time but these are some thoughts I had today at Piggly Wiggly. Maybe someday, I’ll make a sermon out of this. In the next few days, I will have some more thoughts and examples. peace. Randy