It's Kennedy's turn

Tribute to my 2nd Child... The thinker, whose name means "helmeted one" and full of grace. They are growing up way too fast! I love you Kennedy!

Aroma of Christ

Think about your sense of smell, the things you can detect with it. How certain favors and scents can invoke certain responses in our minds. I was taking the garbage out to the dump and today I struck a little more by the foul stench that came from there. The first thing I thought of was what does my sin smell like to God. Probably not much different than that trash dump. We were created to be the fragrance of life and the aroma of Christ to a lost, dying and stinking world: 2 Corinthians 2:14-15

14But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. 15For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.

How awesome is that, that God the Father and creator of the Universe would consider us to be the aroma of His Son. What does that mean???

When Helen gets out of the shower she smells like the scented soap she uses and the lotions that she applies afterward. Those scents are pleasing to me ( very pleasing), but that is beside the point. She smells good and I like to be near her when she smells good. Conversely, I have no desire to stand next to a garbage dump for any extended period time.

Basically it means that to God we smell like Jesus. What a sweet smell that must be to our Heavenly Father.

So let us consider how we can become the fragrance and aroma of life to this world and in so doing we will draw all men unto Christ because we smell like Him.


MUSA Out!

video tribute to the BIG DOG!

I figured since everyone else is using video in their blogs, that I should give it a shot. And since football season is right around the corner I felt it only appropriate to share a few of Caleb's football photos with you. I will be following with tributes to the girls as well. Since he is the oldest he got to go first. If you can't tell, I am a proud papa!

Moved to the bottom of the page...

Finished!!!

Has I drove into work this morning I was listening to a song called "At the Cross". It was arranged by Reuben Morgan. The part that impacted me was the bridge in which it simply states:

"You tore the veil, you made a way when you said that it is done!"

Think about it, all that was needed was done when He stretched out His hands and died on that tree. At that moment the veil was torn from top to bottom. From every thing I know about that veil, it was a thick piece of material, not likely to be torn by accident or by the hand of man.

What did this give us? It gave us access to the Holy of Holies. It paid all our debts in full. No other sacrifice was necessary. My debts and yours were cancelled when He said it was finished. I thought about how many times I have reminded God of my many shortcomings and failures. I was thinking about them again this morning until this song came on my Ipod. He simply said to me Johnny, I have taken care of it. It is finished. Let it go. I cried out to the Lord in thanks and praise for what He had done for me. I declared back to Him what He declare to me.

It is finished, it is over and done with. No more sacrifices are necessary. In a nutshell, I was reminded that I was free because of the finished work of Christ. God is GOOD!


MUSA Out!!!

Happy Anniversary Hoddie!

13 years of marriage excellence!!!

Yes I said excellence... Not necessarily perfection but excellence. In that time we have had 3 wonderful kids, 3 dogs, 3 apartments, 2 houses and 7 cars. We have lived debt free and paycheck to paycheck. I have had 6 jobs, some good and some not so much!!! We have attended 2 churches and had 1 real family vacation. We have purchased 3 couches, 1 washing machine, 3 mattresses and 2 computers. That is a snapshot of our married life by the numbers.

The highs and the lows, the imperfections, the disagreements, the plenty and the lack, the grace and patience are all rolled up into these 13 years of marriage excellence. I would do it all over again in a heart beat with you.

Happy Anniversary Helen!

Remember these words from our wedding day!

But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me."

I LOVE YOU

Praise and Worship!!!

What are some of your favorite Praise and Worship songs/artists?

Right Now My favorite is Israel Houghton- basically anything by him.

Failure

What is your reaction to it??? How do you respond??? I am a failure, once again. One more time I have allowed the little foxes to tear up my vineyards. No excuses, no exceptions just the facts. So what will I do now. Will shame and seclusion be my best friends or will I allow redemption and forgiveness to come along side me and lift me up? God is still good and I know He wants the latter. I have heard it said and have said many times myself that failure is a result of giving up the fight. So in hind sight I guess that I have only failed if I give up. This just the feelings of the moment.

MUSA Out!!!

Hanging on and looking to right the ship!

An interesting question...

Kennedy asked me the other day a very good question. She wanted to know why God created the Devil when He knew that the Devil would one day betray Him and try to take over. Helen and I thought about it for a minute and I honestly did not have what I considered to be a very good answer. My answer basically consisted of an "I don't know" which was followed by "You can ask God when you get to heaven" and finally the best answer: Maybe the Devil had free will as well, because he, like us is a created being, and it maybe all of God's angels have free will to choose whom they would serve. Those angels that sided with the Devil had a decision to make and they chose poorly. But it does raise an interesting question. Do the angels have free will like us? And did the Devil have free will to choose to disobey God and foolishly believe that he could overcome the creator of the Universe?

Just one of those things that make you go Hmmmmmmm!

MUSA Out!!!

Say It with me.... GOD is GOOD all the time and all the time He is GOOD!!! Sometimes we need to remind ourselves of this simple truth. If need be, we should practice in front of the mirror so that we can see the words forming in our mouths and know that it is us actually saying it. So go into your bathroom and practice.... Go on, I will wait for you!


MUSA OUT!

One bite at a time....

How do you eat an elephant??? See above. Something that seems insurmountable can be defeated and over come if you exercise patience and perseverance. There are still some areas in my life that I have not totally submitted to the authority of God completely. I draw comfort in writing this because I know that I do not ride in this boat alone. Everyone reading this has some mountain to move in their lives, so be of good cheer and let me share with you what I believe the Lord is doing with me. While I was enjoying the series on New Beginnings in church today I believe the Lord spoke two words to me. They are simply win today. If you stop and think about it, it makes perfect sense because we are directed in scripture not to worry about tomorrow and that we should take care of what is in front of us-TODAY!

So I have made a list of the top 3 things that I want to be better at. Before you start there are more than 3 but I limited myself to these because I believe they are the most pressing things that I need to work on in order to move to another level in Christ. I can not effectively conquer these challenges if I try to take a long term over arching view. It is just not how I am wired. But I can take it one day at a time and make a concentrated effort to be better today and hopefully climb this mountain one step at a time, one day at a time and eat this elephant one bite at a time. It is now 12:00 am, Time to go WIN TODAY!

MUSA OUT!

???

I have had nothing of note to write for the past few days.... That being said, I feel I need to jot down a few thoughts if for no other reason that to just get them out.

I love my family, my immediate and extended and church family very much. Don't always like them, but that is the beauty of family. I am bound to these people for life. I will take both the good and the bad, the pleasant and the nasty. My pastor has often said that if you are looking for a perfect church that we aren't it and even if you found it that you shouldn't go because you would mess it up.
I have taken an oath by covenant, by birth and by my word to remain true to my family. It is a commitment that should be reaffirmed everyday.

This is just my thoughts for the day....