Today Heidie and I were at home and had the doors open since it was nice outside with a cool breeze blowing. The temperature was just about 72 degrees at the time so we thought we would enjoy the fresh air. This year we bought and planted a couple of butterfly bushes out front by our small stoop. While I was sitting in the chair that looks out toward the front of the house, I noticed a big beautiful butterfly going from one of the bushes to the other. He was yellow and black and was the biggest butterfly we had seen so far. I called out to Heidie to check it out. She came to the door and we watched it flit back and forth between the bushes. After a couple of minutes the butterfly took off and headed away. We talked about how we would love to see more of them come and fly around our flowers. We recalled how we saw quite a few at the house where we were going for small groups on Sunday night. The other thing we had seen was some hummingbirds coming up to the porch at there house and enjoying the feeder. There were a couple of them that kept flying back and forth checking to see if we were still there. We decided to finish the group inside to allow them to feed. They eventually got to feed. We thought it would be great to be able to see some at house. Of course we knew it would probably wouldn't happen because of where we live. But we had no sooner gotten out of the house as we were leaving to go shopping when we saw it. Just as we sat in the car we looked up and there was a little hummingbird flying around one of the flowering bushes we had planted. He was looking around for a bloom to check out then left as quickly as he showed up. We got excited and knew we had to get a hummingbird feeder for the deck. Well as I write this, there is a feeder hanging from the deck full of the nectar they love. Our hope is now we will start to see them coming a around on a regular basis and adding to our enjoyment of nature that God has given us.

I do not believe that it was just a chance that the hummingbird showed up when he did. I know that God had a lesson for me to learn. I thought about it and began to see a great truth revealed to me through the Holy Spirit. Just as we realized that in order to try to get the hummingbird to come around by putting up a feeder,we need to do things that will attract people to us so that we might be able to share the good news with them. There has to be something that they see or know that makes them to become open to the gospel. We have to understand what it is that will draw them and begin to use that knowledge to see their lives change. I can't put up a feeder with vinegar in it if I want the hummingbirds. We need to be living for Christ and reflecting His love for people if we are to be the witnesses He has called us to be. The Church (I am referring to the body of Christ not a particular denomination) has to offer folks what they need not just what we think they need. So lets be careful of how we live, act and talk! You may never know who is watching and listening besides God!

Success defined

Recently I was talking with a young lady that I had a as a kid in my children's church a few years back. She saw my wife and I coming out of Walmart and came running up to us. She was smiling and excited to see us. She gave each of us a hug and started to talk with us and began to tell us how her and her family were doing. She told us her little brother was now about 6'3" and towered above her and her mom. She went on to tell us somethings she was doing. She shared the fact that she was just talking about us to some folks and wondered how we were doing. We spent a little bit of time talking and remembering some of the great time we had at kid's church while she was growing up ( and I was growing up along with the kids) along with her brother. We talked about some of the other kids and how they were doing. I love to recall the names and faces kids that i ministered to over the years. It brings back a lot of great memories for Heidie and I. But our conversation make me start thinking about another aspect of my life and Heidie's as well.

We seem to have discussions about where we are and what we have accomplished in life. We look at ourselves and judge ourselves as not accomplishing very much. I often feel that way when I look at others and what they have done. I haven't done anything most people would see as worthy to be called successful. But as we talked with our friend, I began to realize something. I have done childrens ministry for 25 years and in that time I estimated I have touched and influenced over 300 kids. Now some of those same kids are now in ministry or going into the minitry and some are even married. When I talk with them, they share the fact that I ministered to them the love of God and that helped them to live their lives for Him and commit to the call God placed on their lives. God gently lets me know that the world may never know my name or face but the kids whose lives we have touched do and that makes me successful in His eyes. To be thought of as successful in God's eyes is more important and eternal than any accolade that man could ever give me. I need to remember that this world is temporary but His rewards are eternal and will never fade.

So if you are doing what God has called you to do for Him and it seems that no one thinks you matter, just remember that God knows you initimately and is only wanting for the day you stand before Him to say "Well done good and faithful servant"!

Living in Carlisle Pennsylvania means there are certain things that you must deal with on a regular basis. But I suppose that most places have the same issues only in greater or lesser degrees. Now if you are a car buff and know anything about car shows then you are probably familiar with the name of Carlisle. We have car shows of every sort here between April and October that occur every two weeks. They start coming in around Wednesday and stick around till Sunday. These car shows bring in people from all over the country. Some are more attended than others but they all bring one thing with them. More traffic! And when you have more traffic, you have a rise in the number of drivers who are rude and some that are downright ignorant which can lead to a lot of problems for some. These drivers cut others off, run lights or even fail to stop at stop signs because they are in a hurry. Needless to say sometimes tempers can flare rather easliy. I know all to well what happens when a driver behaves in any of the aformentioned behaviours. I was trying to get across town during one show weekend and a driver from out of state cut me off and almost caused me to wreck. I was not too happy about it and I started to get upset. Suffice to say my thought life at that moment was not very Christlike.

I began to feel gulity about how I was feeling and what I would love to see happen to that driver. Once again the Holy Spirit was there convicting me for those thoughts I was having. He began instead to remind me that Christ died for that driver and not just for me or only the considerate folks. He reminded me that God loves each and every person the same. I was looking at these folks as a nusaince that come to Carlisle a couple of times a year. The Spirit gently wanted me to know that instead of looking at them as a nusiance I needed to see them as an opportunity to minister to them and to pray for them. He asked me how could I reach these folks for Christ and touch them with the love of God. Many times we have opportunities to reach people for Christ but we blow it and fail to take the opportunities when they are there. I realized that I needed to change my thinking and see them from God's perspective. I need to start welcoming the people and plan ways to share God's love with them.

God also reminded me that there have been times when I was not the most considerate driver myself so I need to be careful when I want to throw stones. Instead of getting mad, I need to pray!

Living with scars

If you are like many people, you probably have a scar or two on your body for various reasons. If you are like me, you may have them as a result of a surgery or due to some injury or accident. I have scars from both surgeries and from accidents. if you are old enough, you may remember the old kid's song called "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes". I sang that song many times as a kid and even as an adult I have sung it. I have discovered an amazing fact about that song in regards to my life. I realized that I have a scar that covers the whole gambit of the song. I have scars on my head from a blueberry muffin in high school, a surgery to remove a tumor from my jaw and a scar from where I crashed my brother's new stingray bike. My right shoulder had to have surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff. I had knee surgery on my right knee to remove a bone chip while I was in high school. I even had surgery on my feet to remove planter warts as well as surgery to fix my ingrown toenails. They removed them and took out some roots and replaced the toenails. But just to make sure I was completely covered, I had surgery on my back in 2003 to remove and fuse two discs. The funny thing is the scar is on my stomach. So I can truly say I am well covered in regards to the song. I am sure that each person with a scar has a story behind them as I have with mine.
The thing about scars is that not all scars can be seen by other people. And I am not talking about them being hidden by clothes. There are many that have emotional scars that they cannot or will not show. Those are the worse kinds of scars that people carry. They hope that by hiding their scars they will be able to lead a normal life. But until that scar can heal they will struggle with their emotions and relationships. Imagine you are one of the lepers that Jesus healed. You go around crying 'Unclean! Unclean!" because you need to warn people you are coming so you don't touch anyone. Just think of the emotional pain that causes when you can't touch or be touched by anyone but another leper. Jesus did what no one else could! He touched the leper and healed not only the leprosy but healed the inner person simply because He touched them. Talk about the touch of the Master's hand! Their leprosy was gone along with the emotional and physical detachment from other people. What scars do you carry that no one sees but you? Remember we serve a God who is the same today as He was back then. Ask him for a touch of the Master's hand and let Him take those scars!

Have you ever gone wading and had a stone get in your shoe? Or gone hiking and got a stone in your hiking boot? I had that experience while fishing in the Susquehanna river here in Pennsylvania while going out for bass. That becomes the norm when you don't have a boat and you get use to it. I was out wading early one day and wasn't out in the water very long before I got a stone in my boot. Instead of sitting down on a rock and getting the stone out, I kept moving my foot around to try to get the stone in a place that didn't bother me when I walked. But as most of us know, that doesn't work for very long especially when you get more stones in the boot. Finally I gave up and sat down and took off the boots and removed the stones. They weren't big at all but just small ones. The little ones were the worst because they could get in any place. Once I had them out and my boots back on, I got back to fishing. I said fishing because I wasn't catching anything that day.
As I was going along trying the different spots I thought might hold some fish, I felt the Holy Spirit talking to me about the stones. I began to realize that most people deal with sin in their lives much the same way. They try to ignore the "stone" or sin and try to lessen its impact but never do what they should do about it. The right thing to do is to get it out of their life by asking God to forgive them and accepting His forgiveness. The Holy Spirit is the one who draws our attention to the sin so that He can help us to deal with it the right way. He doesn't make us aware of the sin so we can figure a way to make it more bearable in our lives. No! He wants to get rid of it just the like the stones in my wading boots. So when you are confronted with a sin in your life, don't letit stick around but take a seat on the rock of God's grace and let Him get rid of that "stone".