Do prayers get answered?

Do prayers get answered? We talk about it, we hear every Sunday, we want it to be true. Is it? I must give this a firm YES. I have seen this many times in my life, as many of you have, so I just blows my mind that I, we, don't commit more time to prayer. I guess we truly think we can do it all and we don't need Gods help.

I spent most of last week sweating today's Angel Food distribution. I had lots of people lined up and one after another they fell out for one reason or another. I'd say " no problem, there's always next month" when in fact I was freaking out with the fact that I was not going to have enough people. I worked, called. e-mailed and set up things all day Friday. At 11:00 pm I was at the car wash cleaning dirt out of the church van so I could put food in it the next morning. As I feel into bed at around mid-night I said "OK Lord, it is in your hands, I can't do it with out you."

Saturday morning at 6:30am I was at the church doing my final check and unlocking the door for a few faithfuls and folks that I hoped could make it. I drove to Highland and was expecting to see the usual crowd of monthly vols. but it just me, Laura Taylor (the lead person for HPUMC), the truck driver and 2 older gentleman with the unloading equipment. Oh Lord, i thought, she has staff issues too. We didn't know exactly what we were going to do.

Then it happened, I saw Aaron Chainey and Christian. Then David and Jimmy Daniel. Before long Robbie Roof, Tory Brown, Brad Kempson, Tim Jordan, Scott Rainer and my nephew Blake Lee were there. A couple of other guys showed up and we could unload the truck. As we were working our cell phones started to ring and it was the group at the church checking on our status. I couldn't believe it, but I should. God always gets things done that should be done if we just get out of the way.

When we got every thing off the truck and I got all of the EBC stuff together the guys got it loaded in the van and we raced to the church. When I turned the corner I saw people standing in the parking lot waiting to help unload. My "Odd Couple" friend Philip Kennedy, Mike Hill, Jimmy Cox and some boys (young men) from my Sunday afternoon book study, Dustin Hayes, O'Neal Kennedy and Thomas Miller. My buddy Scott Taylor, my niece Jill Huggins ( who like my nephew drove from Bennettsville to help) the ladies who help me take orders during the week Melissa Miller (who's daughter was running the welcome desk), Debra Wadell, Linda Jordan, Denise Rainwater and Ms. Anita Shivley.

In minutes the food was off loaded and staged for distribution and we started giving it out. It was running like a watch made by a master craftsman and that wasn't me. We had a couple of shorts that my beautiful wife Wendy ran and picked up for us, but other than that it was smooth. My prayers had been heard and answered, but not just my prayers.

Ms. Betty Moore-Bell buys these boxes and she divides them up and takes the to Creekside Apts. and hands them out to the needed handicapped residents. She had asked to come at the end and if we had any unclaimed could she have it for these folks. I said certainly but I didn't expect any to be unclaimed. When she came in she said she prayed for me and this distribution last night, that it would be a success. Her prayers were answered too, and guess what. At the end after everything was handed out and boxed up we had 1 lonely grill special left. I didn't think to much about it until my good friend and head ram rod Amy Daniel came and said lets give it to Betty. I picked it up and took it over to her and she was over come with emotion. I wasn't expecting that. You see, where I only saw 1 little grill special, she saw several meals for people who really have nothing. She knew what that 1 box could do. As I looked around I noticed that she and her friend were literally counting cookies and putting them into zip lock bags. They were stretching those boxes as far as they possibly could.

So yes, prayers do get answered, YES, YES, YES. Not only do they get answered, they get connected and twisted in ways that we never see. When a plan is Gods plan and it does his work. There is no limit to the awesome power of PRAYER.

Death of a friend

I went to a friends funeral this past Saturday. It was a bummer. He was 2 days short of his 64th birthday. That's not that old. He wasn't sick, no accidents, no self inflicted injuries. He just went to bed Tuesday night with his wife and didn't wake up. It was such an uneventful death that it almost doesn't seem real, but it is. It is very real to the friends and family that he left behind.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if you just didn't wake up one day? Would you be missed? Could the ones you love carry on with out you. Who would pick up where you left off? Does a single life really matter? Do you matter?

I watched my friends as they sat and listened to the minister speak about the life Tex lived. They were dying as they listened to the countless good deeds and genuine love and respect with which he treated everyone. He and his wife Linda took in 14 foster kids over the years not to mention their own 3 girls. He was a real "stand in the gap" kind of guy. I watched them again in the reception line. I have no idea what held them up. If too no one else, Tex mattered to them.

I know allot of smart people but I must say Tex was one of the smartest. He worked with the NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) and was one of about 500 people in the country who could do the jobs he did. You don't get guys like that from Labor Finders or Monster.com. He was very smart but, he had a way of making you feel like the most important person in the room. He cared about people, all people. He will be missed.

As for me, I don't know if I will be missed by many. I do know that I have a place that belongs only to me. A place in my family, my church and my community. Yes, the world will keep turning and my family will push on but, I think I will be missed. I think you will be too.

Look around at your family, friends, community. You would be amazed how much of an impact you have on them. Even the worst of us are missed. So I'll say god bye and God speed to my friend Tex, you will leave a huge void to fill. God bless you and your family.

For the rest of you, stop surfing the net and go hug your family.

Da Blues

Do you ever feel like no matter what you do it just won't matter? I've been feeling that way lately. No matter how much I want it, how hard I work, it just isn't enough. In the great scheme of things it means nothing. What do you do? I'm not one to get depressed or discouraged but I've been doing a dog on good job of it lately. I guess I just need to shake this and get my butt back in the saddle. What do you think? Enough with the pity party? Yeah...me too.

My wife

I love my wife...she's cool.

Men, the stronger gender?

Men have always been known as the stronger gender. We can fight any thing. We can conquer any thing. Nothing is outside our iron grasp. Men have fought wars, conquered nations and harnessed power from particles you can't even see. We have bent the universe to meet our needs. Companies and governments have been built and pushed to success by men. Men are the measuring standard for all levels of life. "Man up!", "Be a Man!", "Take it like a Man!" and of course "U DA MAN!!".

Being a man is not easy. You have allot of expectations. Even at early childhood you see that parents treat boys differently from girls. We are the corner stones, the base, the anchor. We are to be leaders of, protectors of and sacrificed for the family, community and the country. It has been this way from the dawn of time, and no matter how hard the new age, oh so enlightened modernist want equality, this is how it will be until the end of time.

Many women over the ages have wanted to be treated equally with men. WHAT FOR? They don't have enough problems of their own? Do they want to go out and work til their backs break and worry that it's not enough? Do they want to always be under the gun of responsibility, knowing that failure is not a option and that if they do, they fail the whole family and not just themselves. Do they want the responsibility for not only their spiritual growth, but that of their spouse and children? Do they want to be the ones who are called to lay down their lives for God and country, putting aside every personal need they have?

Sorry, they can't even if they wanted to. This is a mans lot in life. This is why we are here. Take it away or minimize it and you may as well kill us. You can put a square peg in a round hole, but you have to either cut up the peg or bust out the hole. The certain destruction of one or the other is inevitable.

Men are the hardcore, work horses of the planet. We can and will do anything. We are quick to sacrifice our time, resources and even ourselves for the greater good. We will lay down our very lives. It would seem that we are impervious to anything, but we're not. The only thing that hurts us worse than bullets and bombs are the words from a woman.

Yes, the words from a woman are more powerful than guns, planes and tanks. They can inspire us more than any political speech or condemn us more than and judges verdict. When a woman wants to take the mans role it kills the man. She then wants to know what happened to him. She should know, she pulled the trigger. A woman's words are powerful, they can build up or tare down.

Women in Kuwait do not have the right to vote. They don't want it. The men take care of that. Is it that they don't care if they are heard? Absolutely not, they are heard. How do you think the husbands know who to vote for? They are the head of the family and as the head they ask the neck. Yes the neck, the wife. The man is the anchor, his wife is the rock. He is the corner stone, she is the Key stone.

If you find yourself with a man who is having self doubt or feeling overloaded. If he looks like he has no more rope and is just hanging by a thread. You, as his wife, can turn this around or send it crashing down. Choose your words and timing carefully. You are his helpmate from God. You have the power to change his situation. Just remember, the trade off for being a man who can do all of these strong and powerful things is that we are fragile. You, women, are our Kryptonite.

Expectations

I've been working with some young people at church lately. I've been trying to use them as much as I can for small repair projects that they can handle. I am also working to try to include them in some regular BIG church duties. When I started this I got all kinds of feed back from other adults. It ranged from "that is awesome" to "are you nuts".

I have not been to surprised by the comments, it is the folks that have been giving them. You would think it would be our older seniors, the ones how have been around for 50 or 60 years. You would be wrong, they actual have been very positive about it, encouraging even. The next most obvious are the young adults, I count my self in this group due to mental state rather then pure age. No they are are very open to it. Yes, it is the middle aged group. Hard to believe. I guess it has to do with expectations. What we expect from our youth.

I think if you expect a kid to not show up or not do the things they are asked then they will not disappoint you. On the other hand, if you expect them to be a part of something bigger than themselves, be confident that they can do things, then the may just surprise you. I don't kid myself, I know they don't have my work ethic or my know how. It took me 42 years to get what I have and I am still in development. My dad expected me to do the things he wanted me to do. He taught me what I needed to know and he let me make my own mistakes. That is what you do with kids you love.

I have great expectations for our youth. I know they will make mistakes, they will even fail, but that's ok. So will I, so will you, so will we all. That's not what's important. What we do when they do is what matters. I say lets set the bar high and give them room to make the big mistakes. If they take the chance and fly great, if they crash lets pick them up, dust them off and love them and let them try again.

What do you expect from your kids?

Pinky Toe

Have you ever wondered what the purpose of the pinkie toe is. I have been pondering this and I think God gave it to us as a test. You go days, weeks even months doing and saying all the right things. You are living a good Christian life then BAM!!! You hit your pinkie toe on the corner of the bed coming back from the bathroom in the middle of the night. The pain runs through you and a string of not so nice words fly from your lips. You have failed the test. Not only have I failed, buy I have broken records for most number of words uttered in a second. I'm doing better. I have not failed lately. So when you go out in the world be on the lookout for those pinkie toes.