Nick’s Walk

Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. John 15:2The first home we owned in Lafayette had a small patio in the back. The previous owner had planted rose beds on two sides of the patio. We really enjoyed the beautiful roses for a while, but soon the plants became leggy and less attractive. It got so bad they were taking over the patio. I wasn’t much of a gardener, but I read somewhere about pruning so I pruned the bushes. I cut them way back until there was nothing but stumps. They looked like the bushes you buy at the nursery. We spent some nervous time waiting and watching what would happen. Eventually new shoots sprang out and by the middle of the next summer we had beautiful roses again. Annual pruning became a part of my newly learned garden routine. I eventually learned to be an even better pruner and about other things like proper feeding and keeping away bugs.God is the perfect gardener. He knows all about pruning. It’s not as hard for us to understand why he […]

34 I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 

A few years ago I left a law firm and went into solo practice. It was a huge move for me. I had worked for someone else and had a regular paycheck since I had been in high school. I learned many lessons from that experience. Pastor T told us last week that we are all like pieces in a bucket, all useful. I have found that God likes to give the bucket a good shake every once in a while.  1. You can be replaced. I was handling the biggest cases and the toughest files at the firm. But it didn’t take them long to reassign them. I like to think the clients did not get the same high quality legal representation that I was providing, but who knows. We can get so comfortable in our lives that we think those around us can’t get along without us. Not so. We worry about what will happen to our family if we die. They will miss us, but they will be fine. We are not the only person who can fill our roles. God has us in important roles, but He is the ultimate source. We get so used […]

We have the balm to soothe the hurting hearts we come in contact with every day. But if excuses crowd our minds before passion fills our hearts, people will never hear. Thankfully, we can rediscover the passion of our early Christian days. Take time today to praise God for His salvation, which delivered you from a path toward disaster. Then commit to carrying out your part in the Great Commission by talking about Jesus with someone in your life. Charles Stanley. I saw a lot of passion at my church on Sunday.  It’s great to be passionate about something. It’s why we love sports. It’s why it’s more fun to watch a game when “our team” is playing. It’s why elections and honeymoons are exciting.  Satan fears our passion. Passion dictates action. We are passionate because we care. He seems to have two strategies when it comes to passion: 1: Cool it if he can. 2: Misdirect it if he must. Jesus wasn’t fond of the lukewarm. If Satan can get us to believe, that what we believe is not that important. He has won the battle. Don’t let that happen. Be passionate. Don’t have misdirected passion. Make sure […]

It’s Mother’s Day. The supermarket will be swamped with children, old and young, picking up last minute cards and flowers. Facebook is full of sappy Mother’s Day sentiments. Preachers will feel obliged to preach “Mother’s Day” sermons. Restaurants will be packed so moms won’t have to cook one day. Sorry but I’m not a big fan of all this. My mom has passed but don’t get me wrong there are lots of women in my life who are mothers and who I greatly appreciated: my wife, my daughter, my grand daughter, my daughter in law. My problem with Mother’s Day and similar days for other special people is that the persons honored expect to be honored on these days. That’s fine but it just points out how bad we are at making these people feel special year round. If the only day you kiss or do something special for your mom is Mother’s Day, bad on you. Our lives are special because of all the special people in them. I just spent a few days with my wife celebrating our anniversary. I try real hard to make sure she knows how I feel as often as possible. It’s just […]

Rose and I decided to go out of town for a few days to “get away” and celebrate our anniversary. We chose to stay at a hotel in the French Quarter in New Orleans. What were we thinking? At 4:30 this morning the noise was still incredible coming from Bourbon Street. We are not French Quarter people. We are certainly not Bourbon Street people. We would have been better off in a nice small hotel in the Garden District. We like to have a balcony and this hotel has one, but with that comes much we didn’t want and didn’t need. It’s amazing how quickly made and ill conceived some of our choices are. I like the fact that we made a last minute decision. I like to think we are not too old to have a sense of adventure when includes some quick decisions. I just wish we had made a better one. We still had a good time and it only affected three days of our lives. Some of our decisions have so much more impact and for such a long time. We sometimes have such a stake in our decisions that, even after we recognize we […]

My daughter broke her ankle a few weeks ago and can’t put any weight on it for a while. She can’t stay alone so she has been alternating weeks with Rose and I and with a friend. It’s been a bit of a hassle for everyone because she is used to living alone and we are not use to having a week long guest. But it’s also been a blessing. She and I both work from the house so we spend hours together in the same room doing our work. We have both picked up interest in each other’s TV viewing habits. I have learned more about her life and work and loves. Our relationship has been great (at least since the teenage hormones wore off); but in the last few weeks it has been “refreshed.” We are both probably pretty relieved when our week is over and a break is coming. But I also know when this period of alternating weeks is over I will miss her greatly. I have “refreshed” my memory at how cool, funny and lovely she is and how much she relies on Jesus. She is leaving for a week today and my wife […]

Choose to place yourself and your circumstances in God’s hands today. Joyce Meyer I think that Joyce is a pretty smart lady; but today I’m not sure about her quote. I would reword it “Choose to recognize that you and your circumstances are in God’s hands today.” I think we are always in God’s hands. We can try to take control. We can say we will let Him be our co-pilot, but the truth of the matter is that God is in control. Somehow He does it without denying our free will and in spite of the efforts of others to control us and everything in their worlds. The secure Christian lives in peaceful excitement. He knows He is in God’s hands and enjoys every moment of the ride. The insecure Christian keeps trying to grab the steering wheel and drive things himself. If the road starts to get bumping He thinks God has forgotten him or is taking him on an unnecessary detour. To be at peace, there must be trust. The truly insecure Christian tries to drive the bus for everybody else. Not satisfied to be “in control” of his own life, he tries to control everyone […]