Hurting People Hurt People

Any journey through life will bring your share of hurts. There will be misunderstandings- in the home and family. Your spouse may feel neglected, you may sense that you are treated unfairly by your parents. You may have conflict with a sibling. Friendship squabbles are also difficult. They sometimes turn into wars, with people taking sides, and the hurt becoming more entrenched in their pain, and in their anger.

It is easy to preach from the sidelines to those whose response is coming from a hurtful situation. Grow up, stop acting childish. Get over it, we often preach. Sometimes the words we say, although carrying a measure of truth, only serve to make the pains deeper and the hurt person more engrossed in their feelings. It's somewhat like telling someone who has lost a loved one to just get over it. The fact is, that not everyone is able to deal with hurt and misunderstandings at the same pace.

I am not advocating petting and pampering someone who only wants your sympathy votes, and is stirring up a mess with their gossip and lies in the process. The truth I seek to drive home is that often times we are in a process of healing, and we are not there yet.

I know personally the feelings of rejection. Being raised in a large family, and the oldest child, I sometimes felt lost in the family. Some of the problems as a child, I carried into my adult years. So I can sympathize with those who feel as if they have been overlooked, rejected, or been hurt by words or actions. While I may not agree with their handling or reaction, I feel compassion for them.

I know it hurts. Its possible they didn't mean to hurt you. Its also possible they did. Either way, I am pulling for you. You are a good gift, have tons of potential inside you. God wants to heal your hurts today.

Be Blessed, in Jesus' name!

Don't Quit

At numerous times in the past I have used this poem, both for personal strength, and to strengthen others. It is an encouraging word to those who may feel like giving up. This poem is not my own. Its author is unknown. I share it today in the hope that it will help you hang in there.

Don't Quit

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all up hill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest! if you must; but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don't give up, though the pace seems slow;
You might succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor's cup.
And he learned too late, when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out;
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt;
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit;
It's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit.

(Author unknown)

Don't Poop on My Parade

I often get my thoughts through various experiences of life. Such is the case today. I am sitting outside of my camper at Ocean Lakes, just outside of Myrtle Beach, SC. It is one of the most enjoyable and relaxing things we do. We absolutely love the opportunity to get away, even if just for a few days.

I set up a little tent outside the camper for extra space, just in case it would be needed. Next to the tent is our vehicle. I glance over at the tent, and notice there is bird poop all over it. Looking beyond to the Tahoe, I see bird poop all over the side of it, as well. In fact, upon further investigation, there is bird mess on the door panel (the window was down) and inside the doorway to the tent. Directly above is a power line. Several birds are there as I look up.

The birds remind me of life. There are times when in the midst of our enjoyment, something messy happens. Some stink occurs. It is not due to a fault or anything we have done, it just happens. It was caused by another. And it will need to be cleaned up by you. You didn't do it, you didn't cause it, but if it gets clean, you will be the one to clean it. I remember last year during our vacation time. When I returned home, I had to deal with several "messy" situations in the church I pastor. None of which were due to something I had done. And I will admit, I have made more than my share of problems, lol. But isn't it like the devil to try to steal your joy and peace, and often times just after, or during, your blessing!

I wrote a little poem. It is just a humorous attempt on my part to make light of what is going to be some scrubbing on the tent and car. Here goes:

"Birdie, birdie, up so far.
Why'd you do this on my car?
On my brand new camping tent,
And even inside your stinky went.
They parked my camper beside the power line,
Otherwise, all would be fine.
I'm on vacation
For planned relaxation,
Instead this vexation.
Here I am stressing
Because of your messing."

Has your parade, er uh, vacation ever been pooped on? Like me, you have more than likely faced times when things happened that were not of your doing, and it got dirty and messy. Maybe like myself, you wanted the bird that caused the mess to clean it up, but you knew it wasn't going to happen. I'm just here to tell you to move on. Clean up the mess. It's life. It happens. Get over it.

Y'all be blessed!

Flawed Friends

Have you ever noticed that we want our friends to become to us what we've never become to them? In fact, we expect them to be what we could never be to anyone-- perfect. Perfect is being without flaw. A perfect friend never is unfair, never treats you wrongly, never overreacts to a situation. A perfect friend is just that... perfect in every way. But that person doesn't exist. Truthfully, you don't have any perfect friends, and you are not one yourself.

You may have friends of whom you've never had a fight with. There may be those with whom you seem to hit it off. That is great! We all need friends that are special to us. Everyone needs a friend that will stand with him through thick and thin. A friend that will go to battle with them, believe in them, and encourage them, no matter what they have done or are going through. But even that friend falls short of the perfection mark. We just tend to overlook, ignore, or are purposely blind to their shortcomings.

My wife and I are away on vacation. Our grandson, his mom, and dad are with us, as are some friends. Zach, the grandson, Samuel, and Sydney Grace were collecting seashells yesterday as the sun was going down. It was for a project for my daughter Ti Ti, who leads Kid's Church back home. They returned with some perfect sea shells, among others that were imperfect. What they don't know is that Samuel and Sydney Grace's dad had bought an assortment of sea shells in the camp store, and planted them so as to help their project. The perfect shells to them weren't formed from the ocean, the grind of the water, waves, and rocks. Truthfully, I've never studied their formation. I just know most of the seashells you pick up at the beach are cracked, chipped, or have an imperfect form. Like my friends... and like me.

Job was going through the crisis of a lifetime. Calamity after calamity, trial after trial had hit. His finances, his home, tragic loss of lives and property, and his health were all affected. He was having wife problems. He needed his friends, but they weren't there initially. And when they showed up, they said nothing. Things got worse when they finally spoke to him. They played the blame game. Instead of encouragement, came accusations. Job called them "physicians of no value." Physicians are supposed to help heal, aren't they? Job's friends had become his frenemies-- friend enemies. Do you have frenemies? Have you become one?

Before Job could be restored, he had to pray for those flawed friends. I believe he had to forgive them. So must you and I. We are flawed, we are imperfect. Our shell is cracked, fragmented, and chipped. But Jesus loves us anyway. We should love one another as He has loved us!

Lord, thank you for my flawed friends today. Bless them, I pray. And forgive me when I hurt them. In Jesus' name, amen!

Your Presence Makes a Statement

My wife walked into the living room this morning. I am an early riser, and always am up before she. I have several nicknames for her, and one of them is "Pretty Girl." When she entered the room, it came to me that beauty had just walked into the room. It's amazing that the very environment of the room, and all in it, changes at her appearance. Her grace and beauty, her dignity, her mothering heart, all accompany her.
I am thankful for a Proverbs 31 woman. But in actuality, I think all of us ought to effect our surroundings.

Peter's shadow brought healing and deliverance. There was no magic in Peter's shadow, but there was a presence that accompanied him. It was the presence of Christ, the Anointed One and his anointing. The fragrance of Jesus should precede us and follow us everywhere. Our spirit and attitude should be exciting, contagious, stirring, uplifting, challenging. When we leave, people should know that a man or woman of God has been in the place. The world awaits the manifestation, the revealing of the sons of God. All world waits expectantly and longingly for the manifestation of our sonship. It's time to assume our rightful position.

You should never leave a place the same. May they take notice of us, that we have been with Jesus!

Tuscaloosa Tornado Tragedy "Praise you in this storm"

Praise You in This Storm

I just returned from a trip to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to take relief supplies to the area which was devastated by the tornadoes last week. The supplies were gathered very quickly, with the bulk of them coming from Restoration Church International, in Gaffney, and Restoration Church, in Spartanburg. My good friend, Pastor Joey Turner had talked with a precious brother who was donating his 18 wheeler, and a driver. In addition, someone from the Marshall Tucker Band provided another truck, which was filled at the church in Spartanburg, and went down the evening before us. Pastor Kevin King, from the church in Spartanburg, was originally on staff at a church in Tuscaloosa, which was serving as a hub for distribution. Kevin joined us there, at Daystar Church, and we unloaded about half of the semi truck there, and then took the remaining supplies to Double Portion Church. A precious elderly pastor there eagerly accepted the donations.

Also accompanying us on the trip was a team from the church in Gaffney, and Randy Brown, from New Harvest, the church I pastor. In addition, other pastors from the SC area met us there in Tuscaloosa.

The next morning we met briefly at Daystar, and planned further efforts for assistance. We also toured some of the areas which were hit by the storm. It was difficult to look at the destruction without feeling great sorrow. Houses, buildings, vehicles, demolished. Knowing that some of the areas we were in had bodies that had not yet been recovered. The stench of death was evident. A Chuckee Cheese where a child's birthday party was being held was completely demolished, taking the innocent lives of 30 children. Search teams were in some of the areas we were in. People were unaccounted for.

Our prayers are needed for the people of Tuscaloosa. My heart goes out to them. One sign painted on a house said, "We love you, Maw Maw and Paw Paw." Another sign said "We will praise you in this storm." Sometimes that is difficult to do, isn't it?