Remember when we were kids or maybe the last time you did this with your children or grandchildren, those moments when we held a string in our hand and high above us soared our kite and we ran with the wind whipping in our face? Imagine an eagle soaring in flight riding with the wind and acting as if it were a 747 in flight.

The wind can propel us, hold us back, or tear down what we have built because it is just the wind and it is. The only thing we can do is run with it, get out of it and run to shelter, or build something strong enough to withstand it. Bottom line, it is much easier to run with it than run against it, even though the truth is we will never totally know which way it is blowing.

Confused? Please let me clear it up in spiritual terms. God made the wind (Gen 8:1), Solomon said we often chase after the wind in futility. (Ecc 1:14) Life always throws strong winds in our face. (John 6:18) Jesus is the only one who could can calm the wind, and it obeyed him. (Mark 4:41) So we could ascertain from all of this that what I said, that we never know which way it is blowing, but we do know who can control it, and it's definitely not us.

The conclusion, we need to run with the wind to stay in step with the one controlling the wind. Listen to the words of John 3:8......

"The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound but you cannot tell where it came from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the spirit".

Like the day we ran with that kite, running with the Lord every day takes us in directions we cannot ever imagine or plan for. Don't let it surprise you if he changes your "To Do" list, and if he does and you run with it, you'll be running to him. And if we resist, well I think you know the results as we have experienced that many times, because once we give our lives to him, we become his proverbial kite to fly.

And, we cannot fly if we are grounded against the wind!

Running With The Wind, Glenn

We hear it in a Sunday song, we see it on the TBN network, maybe we say it ourselves sometimes, hopefully often. But last night took my breath away. I was stunned!
 
My grandson Logan received an award (as did just about all the grade school kids), but he was thrilled that he was getting one. It was for good character exhibited in class and at school. Others got perfect attendance, etc. I got there just as he got his award, and he was smiling from ear to ear. Afterward, he pulled me aside and said "Papa when I got it I said Praise The Lord". Wow, it made me feel awesome that he chose those words over any variety of others he could have said.
 
Made me think what influence we have on those around us by the way we conduct ourselves, by what we believe in and how we invest ourselves in others rather than letting the world revolve around us. As a grandparent my influence on Logan is mostly encouragement and playful, leaving most of the discipline to his Mom. But, every time we get the chance he comes to Campus with me and those beautiful folks in our children's ministry have an incredible influence on his demeanor. He sings, he is an encourager himself, and he remembers what he heard. I am sure they uttered that phrase many times in children's worship......Praise The Lord!
 
As for me, those words come out of my mouth almost automatically when he blesses me, and occassionally when I am under duress. That's right I accept both the good and some of the bad moments of life, knowing he is with me, but it is just more difficult to have a great attitude when you are under fire. There are great days and moments we would soon like to forget, but in every moment the heart of God beats within us through his Holy Spirit. I would bet that God wants to reward us for our faith whether we are Pre-K or Pre-historic-K!
 
More importantly, think of how great our attitude would be if we could utter those words no matter what our circumstances? Takes some practice, as I am still a work in progress, but hearing my grandson say it just accelerated my learning process.
 
Take a moment now, or at any time and say those those 3 beautiful words because He is really the one who deserves an award!
 
Praise The Lord..........

"Consider the postage stamp: its usefulness consists in the ability to stick to one thing until it gets there" Josh Billings

I may be the worst case of Attention Deficit Disorder on on record. That's why I do well in my profession, especially at auctions where there are many things going on at the same time. It keeps my attention locked in on what my purpose is. I stick to it.

KFC says we do one thing, and we do it right.....chicken! They must because they have been around since I was a child. Jesus of course had one purpose, to save mankind, and despite the opinions of others and having to overcome many challenges, he fulfilled His mission.

For us, the key is to find our purpose, our passion in life, and to stick to it. Like my oldest daughter Tara, mother of 3, but holder of a Masters Degree, who spent many years doing social work before becoming a full time Mom.  She never gave upon her desire to help people after insuring her own family was secure. Today she is Executive Director of Family Promise of Brevard, FL, which keeps homeless families intact and works with them to find jobs, housing and independence.

Through her efforts, and that of more than 300 volunteers and 13 Church congregations, many families have gone from homeless to homebound in an average of 28 days. She took over when this program was flawed and with her passion and leadership has created much excitement to get on this bandwagon of success in Brevard County. Not only am I and her family proud of her, but there is a veteran single parent and his 3 kids who are being interviewed nationally about how this program has worked for them.

Point is, KFC could expanded to burgers, what if Jesus just got tired of carrying the weight of our sins around? Maybe Tara could have chosen to be a Real Estate agent? Thank God all of that didn't happen, and because of it, our lives are better.

How about you, have you found your purpose, the thing that brings out your passion for life? Do you have the ability to stick to it despite whatever odds you are facing? Even the postage stamp cannot insure delivery, but it has paid the price for it, and fulfilled its purpose.

Now consider Jesus, he paid the price, will you accept His delivery and your deliverance?

Stick To It, Glenn

No, I haven't relapsed, this is a song from a bygone era by the Mighty Clouds of Joy (check it out on youtube). Used to be I danced at a disco in a long ago, far forgotten stupor, but as Will and I discussed this morning, it has far greater meaning to us today.

With all that is going on now, it is hard to find inspiration that truly gets us excited about our faith. Yes, the Bible provides instruction and inspiration, but it also reminds us of our faults and our troubles that will certainly occur. Movies (Son of Man), motivational preachers and daily devotionals help, as well as personal stories of faith that was found while lost.

For me though, there is nothing like a song to inspire, and being an obsessive compulsive person, I usually play the same song over and over until it runs its course in my brain. Coming down the road to ATL I wore this song out, and it definitely reminded me how far God has brought me from way, way gone. It also gave me a boost of faith to realize these men made this song in an era when similar songs talked about all the wrong things. If there is such a thing (David) as dancing in the spirit, that was me coming up I-75!

How about you, what inspires you? What song rings your spiritual bell? Need a lift, instead of riding that other high, check these guys out, and if it makes you want to dance in happiness over your faith, we won't tell anybody!

Oh, the Mighty High they are singing about is the Spirit of the Lord......"listen to my story, ride the mighty high"! Credit where credit is due, and thank you Jesus for not giving up on us!

"Take the load off your mind, ride the mighty glory.....he's so good, he'll set you free".

Glenn