Nick’s Walk

So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. Ephesians 2:19 The Family of God met last night at Amana. We gathered to raise funds for members of the family who live far away in a culture very different from our own. Because I leave town today for a week away with grandkids, I was not able to spend the entire evening with the family, but the brief time I spent renewed my love of the family and my awe at the extensive nature of the family.  Together In Christ, we who live and work together on weekly and daily basis are family in a special way. At the same time we enjoy oneness with a community so vast and varied that it may spend much of eternity in a amazing time of meet and greet.  May the Lord forgive us for it every slipping from out mind the great price He paid for us to be family. May He grant us the supernatural understanding of how vast and how miraculous is the extent of our family. For those who spend much of […]

It has been several days since I posted anything to this blog. That happens from time to time. Usually the reason is that I just don’t have anything to say. We all go through dry periods. That is not the case now. God is speaking in volumes and working great things in my life. For me it’s a case of “TOO MUCH INFORMATION.”  The problem is that I am struggling to interpret everything that is happening. Once I do I will probably have material for the blog for the next year.  All I can say at this time is that the next 48 hours will be critical in the life of my family. I ask for your prayers for protection and wisdom to all those I love.  God is good and is doing great things. When I figure it all out, you’ll know. In the meantime, stay blessed. Nick

Florida 14 LSU 6Tiger meat…. mmmmmmmmmmm good

I am wearing red today. In fact, I’m wearing a University of Louisiana shirt. It’s homecoming tomorrow. I attended UL (Then USL) for three semesters before signing up in the Navy. I eventually graduated from Pepperdine University in California and went to Law School at University of Florida (chomp chomp). I’m still a great fan of our local university and I have no trouble expressing that in my clothing choices.  I felt a tinge of guilt while donning the shirt this morning. I briefly flirted with wearing a UF jersey (chomp those tigers).  But the real source of my guilt was something else. A few days ago I talked about putting the “God Loves You – He Always Has and He Always Will” sign in my yard. A photo of my sign even made it to the David Jeremiah website.  But that kit I received also included wristbands and tracts. The idea is that you wear the wristbands and someone will ask about them. You can then given them the wrist ban and pass on the idea that God Loves You. The tracts could be left with a generous tip or something like that. I haven’t worn the wristbands […]

And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19 Yesterday I took a walk in the Mall. I haven’t done that in a long time. My bad knee was only part of the reason. I’m just not much of a shopper. Rose was looking for a jacket for our trip to Tennessee and my knee feels better with activity than with sitting in a vehicle. I stopped by one of my favorite shops, Brookstone. They have an incredible collection of cool things.  Things nobody needs. A walk through the Mall can lead you to think there’s an awful law of stuff  you don’t have and might need. The Mall isn’t really about fulfilling needs. It’s about satisfying wants. You could go through  your entire life in a very satisfactory manner and never set foot in a mall. Like most folks I have a tough time separating my needs from my wants. That leads not only to wasteful spending but to an unnecessary sense of dissatisfaction.  A need is something that is necessary to our purpose. Wants are a distraction to our purpose. […]

Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. Matthew 26:40 This morning I went with my men’s group to pray for one of our members who is dying. It was a great privilege and a blessing to those of us who went and, I hope, to our brother who is headed home. Our friend is dying courageously, but it’s tough. Why do we think he ought to do that alone?  It reminded me that as men we stubbornly fence in parts of our lives from contact with others. Obviously there is death, sickness, and trouble in life. Yet some seem to teach that such things are not an appropriate part of the Christian life. We are told that we are not to “confess” illness or death or trouble. Have these people read the bible? Have they experienced life at all? Where is it written that we will never die a physical death, that we won’t be ill or that we won’t face trouble? No where. In fact, we are told just the opposite. We are warned that the life of the Christian isn’t […]

I have a shed in the back of my property in which I store yard equipment. I haven’t done my own yard work for a long time. I went to the shed a couple of weeks ago, for the first time in a long time,  to look for an ice chest. I rediscovered a bunch of stuff I had long forgotten I had.  Yesterday we talked about the process of identifying vision. We begin with taking inventory. Satan tries to cut us off by confusing us in this process. He points us to what we don’t have. Don’t be fooled. We tend to forget some of the most important gifts we’ve been given.  Consider: Time: We tend to believe we don’t have time for anything else. If we take a careful inventory we will discover how much time we waste. If we can find time to watch tv or chill, we can find time to devote to our vision. Contacts: This morning I was exploring a new application that combines your contacts, email, Facebook, Twitter, etc. I was amazed at how many people I know, and who must know me. We tend to minimize our sphere of influence. It’s […]

Then the Lord replied: “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. (Habakkuk 2:2 NIV) I’m not a big fan of folks who talk a lot about vision. I guess we are all victims of our past to some extent. I’ve been in churches that talked about vision constantly. Maybe that was the problem. If you’re talking, you’re not doing. If you have to struggle with defining your vision that says much about you. It says you don’t know where to go and, therefore, you aren’t going anywhere. I don’t like much talk. I’d rather do something. I don’t find that I get anywhere when my mouth is open. That’s why I liked the sermon I, and many of you, heard yesterday about vision. It was simple and straightforward. It told us how to get a vision: Inventory, Listen. Write it down. I like that because if I did that more often I would avoid many problems. I often go to the store for my wife and the trip is a bust. I haven’t completely checked out what we have in the pantry and refrigerator before I leave. I […]