Carousel

Have you ever been to the fair? You know how, at least here, the fair is kind of sketchy looking. You walk around a see all the rides that have been assembled and disassembled hundreds of times. You see the food stands that are about as clean as a stadium bathroom. Even though I have been and enjoyed myself dozens of times; looking back, it was a pretty nasty place. But I always thought the carousel was awesome. It wasn't the most fun thing in the park to ride or the most exciting, but as a kid it offered something to me that was appealing.

I have loved horses since the first time seeing The Man From Snowy River when I was young. I remember pretending I was Jim Craig, popping my bull whip and humming the theme song while I played. Now, I know the carousel is nothing like being on a real horse and and chasing wild brumbies through the mountains, but I would pretend to. And to be honest, the pretending didn't last long because, no matter how hard I tried, those plastic horses were never going to break loose and take off through the fair grounds.

Isn't that kind of like us as adults. There are things we dream of doing, but we opt for the carousels life offers us instead. When I was in college I had a possible opportunity to work in New Mexico and in the Keys. Instead of doing it, I let things here at home talk me out of going. I kick myself all the time for not taking those chances and experiencing that. I could have actually lived out the dream I had as a kid.

Its kind of like that in our faith too. God offers us abundant life. He tells us to seek Him and his kingdom and He will bless us. He says seek, knock and ask. He tells us to abide in Him and be blessed. He tells us that we can do all things through Him. God offers us the chance to charge down that stage after wild brumbies, or whatever dream you might have had once. It may not be literally on horseback but it can be every bit as exciting.

Bye For Now

Granny,
I have never written you a letter before. You have always been a phone call away. But, now you are where I can't call and talk to you, or bring something by the house for you. I have so many wonderful memories and not even one bad one. You basically raised me until I started kindergarten, and even after I would play sick so I could come and stay with you. I will never forget all the cornbread, chocolate milk, cheese and pickles you always had ready for me at all times. I will never forget you letting me go outside and crank that huge Cadillac so it could warm up. I will never forget you letting me beat the crap out of that old piece of junk bean bag. I will never forget you running down the driveway when I tried to drive granddaddy's car. I will never forget the time I broke my arm in your neighbors yard and you coming to take care of me. I will never forget you fixing me glasses of water while I cut the grass. I will never forget you scratching my back until I fell asleep. I will never forget the 29 years you put up with me.

Now you are gone. But I am not as sad as I thought I would be. I think it bothered me more to watch you struggle and fight the devils attack on your body. Don't get me wrong, I miss you a whole lot, but I will see you again someday. I hope things are everything you expected them to be in heaven. The streets of gold, the singing, the pearly gates, I hope they are more amazing than you imagined. I just wish I had an ounce of your faith. I wish we all did.

Don't worry about grandaddy. We will watch after him. He will get his health back and start driving again. We will keep him busy. Dad and Steve are OK too, so are mom, Mandi, and Trish. We will all be OK. I am sorry you had to go through all of that. I am sorry you had to get sick and not be able to do the things you were used to doing.

I love you and I will miss you, but I will see you again someday. Tell everybody I said hi and tell Jesus I am trying.

Love always,
Nathan

Who will fall?

I was reading in an on-line devotional today about falling away from the Lord. One of the biggest struggles I have is spending serious time with God on a daily basis. The bible says in Timothy that in the last days people will turn from the Lord and what they believe, and they will follow the teachings of demons. To me that says that the devil will use whatever means necessary to attract and confuse even believers to drag them away from the Father. That concerns me and I hope it concerns everyone who reads it.

I have a friend, who I will not name, who has turned from the faith. This friend was once a very serious Christian, one that played a large part in a lot of peoples lives. I had lost track of this person for a while then he/she turned up out of nowhere. I found out that my friend was not a believer anymore. The world and all of its confusion dragged this friend down and away from God.

Now if the devil can drag this person away from God, he can do it to anyone. This is the scary part to me. My friend was strong in the faith at one time. Daily quiet times and prayer were more than common. Yet, the devil won my friend over.

I read last night in John that if we abide in Him he will abide in us. If we do not, we won't bear fruit and will be discarded like dead branches and burned in the fire. If we do abide in Him, we will be pruned to produce more fruit. To abide in the Lord we HAVE to spend time with Him.

Its amazing to me though, how the devil works. When I start praying and reading, the devil comes full head with things to beat me with. I try to resist for a while but I lose. I don't allow God to fight for me like he promises he will. Its at this point when the things of the world start to look appealing. I use to find comfort in people. People are weak. I should know that if I am weak without God, then the people I try to find comfort in will be weak too. I also have tried to go back to my old ways. No church, no prayer, just do whatever I want to do. All of these things are very short lived in satisfying me.

So, that can only mean one thing. I have to find comfort and peace in God. The sad part is, I have wasted so much time and resources in the time it has taken to realize this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNU-K5NLPSw