Tuesday, March 22, 2011

The Worth of a Mom? Priceless!


Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies. Proverbs 31:10

Her children rise up and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praises her: Proverbs 31:28 (NKJV)

Tomorrow, Lord willing, I get to celebrate the 72nd Birthday of my first valentine. The first love of my life as a young boy, my wonderful Mom, so I dedicate this blog to her.

A Boy Never Forgets
Pressed clothes, clean sheets hanging on the line and opening the windows and smelling spring.
Little league practice and the patience to just sit and watch. Strike three but still your all star.
Sacrificial summer vacations, the beach bag and the wonderful smell of coppertone. Summer nights sitting on the patio swing waiting for dad to come home from work.

Clean house, clothes folded perfectly, church clothes in closet.
A faithfulness to the house of God and a home that worshipped Christ. Hamburgers on Friday, and roast on Sunday.
Breaking beans in the summer and eating those beans in the winter. A great cook!

LP records and the excitement of Christmas fast approaching. The perfect gift wrapped just right.
Rebounding foul shots and replaying the games over a Tony's pizza. A fun home.

Tears of loss and tears of joy. Tears of a Granny holding her grandchildren and now blessings of a Great Granny holding little big man!

After all of these years, I have come to realize that a boy never forgets the love of a mom.
Happy Birthday! I love you, Greg


Monday, March 7, 2011

Haiti and Revival

Well it's been a week since we have returned home from a Mission Trip to Mirebalais, Haiti, a village about an hour outside of Port Au Prince. A layman, Jay Mabry and myself had the privilege to travel with Terry Essex, founder of It's A Brighter Day Ministries. He has had an orphanage there for over ten years.
Many had concern about our travel safety and the Lord was good to us, as we had uneventful flights and arrangements. The truth is we are anxious when we fly even if it for vacation; there are always some nerves involved.

It didn't take the kids long to warm up to us, as Jay was involved during the day with them. I had the privilege to preach a revival at night and teach the pastors during the day. These were services that I will never forget. I had the privilege to shake hands and look into the eyes of nineteen Haitian pastors. I felt in may ways as if I were looking into the eyes of preachers from the New Testament. Pastor Joseph reminded me of the Apostle Paul.

The power of prayer and the heart for worship were things that immediately touched my heart. I want to be like that. I was challenged, convicted, and broken over my own sin and often lackadaisical approach to both prayer and worship. God forgive me, I want to be a man after your own heart.

Gratitude is another lesson that has emerged from the trip for me. I will no longer take things for granted as I have in the past. A family for one. We were at an orphanage; a place where kids go when they have no parents to raise them or love them. Pastor Frisnell and Sylvannie Donne do a great job there in loving and nurturing these kids. Food? I will no longer leave food on my plate. Witnessing children being fed rice and beans twice a day and grateful for it, and then hearing the soft voice of a little boy say, " I'm still hungry", broke my heart. We are blessed in America, and spoiled in many ways we are not even aware of.

What does the trip to Haiti have to do with Revival? Everything! When prayer becomes a priority for us, worship takes on a whole new dimension. It is no longer just going through the motions, but seeking a supernatural encounter with the God we serve. Without the power of God, we get stale, cynical, critical and cold toward spiritual things. Lord send Revival and let my prayer life be real. May my worship be sincere, and my gratitude constant and overflowing.

A Christmas to Remember!

I must say that I am a lousy blogger having not posted since September, but the Christ of Christmas certainly is worthy.  It has been a rema...