Stop what you’re doing! I want everyone who reads this to take some time to think about how God has blessed you lately. I’ll wait while you think…Now I want us all to write down seven blessings that came to your mind. I’ll wait while you do that…

Now that we’ve done this, let’s take one of these blessings each day this week and get caught up in praising the Lord for blessing us so richly.

The practice of praising God is a topic we talk about but seldom practice. Yes, we know that God enjoys listening to His family thank Him for all He has done and given, but do we get so enthusiastically involved in doing praise that others will look at us like we’ve lost control? Ponder on these verses:

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. (James 1:17 ESV)

…The LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations. (Psalm 100:5)

I don’t believe it is enough just to know that God is good we must express our thankfulness to Him for being good to us. We must not take God for granted; we should passionately shout His goodness so others will hear that God does make a difference in our lives.

If you are reading this then you are one of the blessings I am praising God for this week. I love being a part of your life and am so thankful to God for you!

Grace & Peace, Scott

I am no expert in the arena of parenting. The problem with my fatherhood is three-fold:

1. The jury is still out on me.

2. At times I have failed as a father.

3. I am still learning how to be a good father.

But I offer some reflections that have benefited me and hope they will help others.

Being a father is tough. Too often men enter into this sacred role flippantly and with little or no preparation and that is sad. Of the many demands on our lives guys, being a dad ranks as one of the most difficult and important. Why do we spend so much time on our vocations or planning for our retirement, when raising our kids is so important? I believe we can lose a job and recover, but if we lose our kids…then what?

One of my cherished possessions in my office is a piece of cross-stitch I’ve had since 1987. It reads, Any man can be a father but it takes someone special to be a daddy! I would only add that it takes a great deal of blood, sweat, and tears as well.

Kids grow up too quickly. This is not just a worn-out phrase…it is shockingly true. Some days I long to hold my kids just one more time on my lap; I want them to wrestle with me and jump all over me again. The sad truth is that this will never happen and I have to live with that. Kids grow up, period.

Two songs that I listen to over and over are Cats in the Cradle & Watching Scotty Grow. Cats is a sad song about a dad who is too busy to spend time with his growing son. The son wants to be just like him. In the end the dad wants to spend time with his son, but his son is now too busy for his dad—“He’d grown up just like me.” Watching (a song my Mom used to sing to me) is a song about a dad spending time with his son instead of spending time chasing dreams…he just wanted to watch his boy grow up. Two good songs…two lessons learned.

There are no guarantees in raising kids. I partially agree with this, but it is no excuse for us dads to be physically present but emotionally and spiritually checked out! The principle of scripture still holds true, Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6 ESV). Men, we must be doing the training and not using the “no guarantees” excuse to get us out of our responsibility. Don’t just show up; do something to train.

I am scared…I am scared out of my skin to have my kids walk away from God and His love for them. The most security kids can have is in an eternal relationship with God, and I want to do everything I can to make sure they have that security.

Solomon wrote, The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him. (Proverbs 23:24 ESV)

Grace & Peace, Scott

There was a time when I dreaded special Sundays. These days had a tendency to get me off track in a series of messages, I had trouble coming up with new material (After all how much can you say about the shepherds during advent worship?), the worship had to be different, the welcome had to be changed, and I needed to take time to make sure I recognized every special person in the service. (These were “Don’t blow it Scott” moment for me.) However, in the last three years God has changed me tremendously. I have come to slow down and take time because I’m not going anywhere and I have all the time to do God’s will in preaching. I have realized that God’s truth is unimaginably inexhaustible on any subject, and besides it is not about what I am going to say, but what God wants to say through His Word. I understand that worship is a life-style, not just music we sing on Sunday mornings. I write all of this to say that I am both scared and excited about Father’s Day this Sunday!

I am scared because I know my own failures as a father. I am still learning how to be a good father. For most of us, it is not information we lack, but a lack of doing that is our problem. I have enjoyed the fellowship of many fathers over the years and one thing remains constant: There are no perfect fathers expect One!

I am excited because this is another opportunity for me as a pastor to open God’s Word and share God’s truth about how to pass truth on to our kids. The passage I have chosen for this Sunday is Proverbs 1:8,

Hear, my son, your Father’s instruction…

We honor God as fathers when we imitate His Fatherhood in passing truth on to our children. I believe this dictates three activities:

1. We need to be talking.

2. We need to be modeling.

3. We need to be writing.

This Sunday I will broaden our vision on these three activities.

Happy Father’s Day Guys, Scott

The decision has been made! The church voted Sunday morning (6-7-09) and 88% voted to buy the property on the corner of Parris Bridge Road and Flatwood Road. Two questions have been answered so far: “What does the Lord want us to do?” (That decision was made on June 1, 2008.) “Where does the Lord want us to go?” (We decided this on Sunday, June 7, 2009.) The last major question that needs to be answered is: “When does the Lord want us to move?” We have been sensitive to listening to the voice of God thus far and now is not the time to trust ourselves.

⁵Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. ⁶In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV)

Now is the time to ramp up our fasting-prayer and ask God to do what only He can do. He will accomplish His will through us. We must remain faithful to do what He has called us to do and what we know He wants us to be doing right now. So what is that? Good question…

I believe God wants us to continue to honor and glorify Him. This may sound simplistic, but it is the main reason we exist as a church. His glory is the target of our existence. Both in the Old and New Testaments we read that God’s glory is what it is all about.

I believe God wants us to continue relating to each other as family. We are sisters and brothers, and how we treat each other says a great deal about how we relate to one another. God is in the process of building a sense of community in His church…we are that community of redeemed people.

I believe God wants us to live redemptively in His world. God’s grace is still amazing and is able to reach and change anyone’s life. We are His conduits of His amazing grace.

These are the things I know we should be doing. Let’s not get caught up in things that are not essential. We will be aggressively tackling the project of getting a sign up on the new property. We will be putting together a ministry team that will lay out a master plan for the new Calvary Church location. We will be involved in some planning and promoting the sale of our current home. However, in all of this let’s not lose sight of the main thing!

Grace & Peace,

Scott

As I think of this week my mind wanders (yea, races) 25 years back. On Wednesday (6-3-09) Barb and I will “somewhat” celebrate our Silver Anniversary. It staggers my mind that this much time has gone by, and I am daily amazed at one person’s consistent love for me for so long. God is not only great, but also infinitely good. Barb has been nothing but supportive over the long haul. She has willingly followed everywhere we believed God would have us go. We bought a house that probably should have been condemned and lived in 750 sq. ft. for 5 years. She has put up with me bringing home both a puppy and a boat without really talking it through. She stayed at home while the kids were growing up. She goes without needs just so the kids (including me) can have what we want. She is the epitome of what it means to be a pastor’s wife (I sincerely believe you can’t find a better one). She is kind to others, loves to read, and prefers bad conversation to good TV. Best of all, she loves Jesus with all of her heart. She truly models what it means to be God’s daughter!

I write this to let you know what I bring to the table as a pastor. There are times when people look at me and think, “He’s not much smarter than monkey hair.” But, I’ve made at least three good decisions in my life: (1) I accepted Christ when I was 15, (2) I married Barb when I was 21, and (3) I came to Calvary when I was 43. Let the good times roll!

I offer this prayer: Abba, I stand amazed at all the good things you have given me. I am especially thankful for the wife You provided. You are so wise because you gave me the woman I needed to get me through this tough world. I thank you for redeeming my life and giving me a reason to wake up each day. Father, I thank you for calling me and placing me in your church—Calvary. Help my life to be a reflection of our goodness. AMEN!

Grace & Peace,