The book is on sale now for $3.99 as a kindle edition only.  So, if you have a kindle, you can go ahead and purchase my book now.  If you don’t have a kindle, but you have a iphone or ipad, you can still get my book.  Simple download the kindle app (for free) on itunes, then purchase my book.  Or, if you’d like, just visit amazon.com and search for my name.  You can also purchase and read my book on your desktop or laptop computer for free…simply visit Amazon For PC to find out more.

Thank you so much for all the support over the years, and who knows…maybe this will be the first of many books to come from me.  God Bless!

Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. Then the lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. ~ Genesis 2:5-7

What were you created for?  What were you specifically designed to do?  Each person has special gifts and talents and was created for a unique purpose, but there is also a general answer to these questions that fits everyone.  Do you want to know what it is?

Well, it’s NOT texting.  So many people love to text, and I am one of them.  Ever wonder why?  Texting makes us feel connected to others.  Posting on Facebook and Twitter has a lot of appeal too, because it’s all about social relationships.  But sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in the drama and log off feeling emptier than when we started.  While texting, Facebook, and Twitter are fun options to digitally connect, it’s important that we invest in relationships in other ways, too.

What about those who live for getting awards? From academics, to sports, to who’s who – all those are great, but they’re just not what we were all created for.

Some live life like it’s all about making money.  Having money is not a bad thing, but even if we plan to give it all away, it’s still not what we were created for.

The one thing we ARE all created for is relationship.  We were all created with a huge need for a relationship with God and for relationships with other people.  The word “relationship” means “connection.”  We were created to connect with others around us…to network with people in and around our lives.

This is one reason why God created the Church – to build strong relationships with others who know him and to worship him together.  If you don’t already have a church, try to find a local church you can plug into this Sunday. You need them and they need you.

We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. ~ 1 John 1:3

Have you ever done something stupid in your life, and then later on, looking back, wondered what in the world you were thinking? 

I mean, would you go skydiving without a parachute?  Would you bungee jump without a bungee?  Would you go on a roller coaster ride without pulling the shoulder harness down?  Would you scuba dive with no air in the tanks?  Could I convince you to eat a rotten egg with a dead goldfish in it, just for the fun of it?

The answer to all these questions is a definite “NO!!!”  I mean, doing these things would not be smart at all.  It’s not even tempting.  I mean…it’s a no brainer!  Why?  Because participating in any of those activities would lead to pain and probably to death! 

But, do you want to know something that is crazy?  People out there (teenagers included) take those kinds of chances every day.  They may not be performing daredevil stunts or eating raw food, but they take the chance of living life on their own…and THAT is taking a risk.

Looking back on my life and how it was, I am glad I am no longer a risk-taker like that.  I have done a lot of dumb things in my life, but the dumbest was not having a relationship with Christ as a teenager.  I am so glad I finally came to that with Christ.

God designed us in His image, as relational beings. He created us to be in a relationship with him and with other believers (1 John 1:3).  In the Bible, Christians are never divided into those who go to church and those who don’t.  In the New Testament, wherever Christians were within range of each other, they met.  In the book of Acts, every time the apostle Paul went to towns where there were new Christians, he immediately helped them meet with each other, and together they became a little church.

Pray that God would give you a heart for his people and that he would help you make the choice to meet consistently with other Christians.

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. ~ John 13:34-35

A while back, my wife and I (along with three other couples from church) traveled from our home in NE Oklahoma, to New Orleans.  Two of the couples went ahead of us so that they could spend the night in Jackson, Mississippi, while the rest of us would catch up them during the night.  So, I had DVD’s packed up, my iphone fully charged with all my music, and snack foods to help pass the 12 hour drive.

Driving at night has its disadvantages for me, mainly because I love to look outside and see all the surroundings.  However, just south of Memphis and north of Jackson, I could see some kind of light shinning off a hill.  I couldn’t tell what it was for a few minutes, but as we got closer, I realized that this light I had been seeing for a few miles, high above the road, was actually a cross all lit up.  It was AMAZING…and so pretty!  Out in the middle of knowhere, was this awesome illuminated cross, sitting there for everyone on that lonely stretch of highway, to see.

Not only did the cross reminded me of what my Jesus went through for me; that he died for me so that he could live in me.  However, it also reminded me that at times, I don’t show it as much as I should.  What do others see in you?  Do they see Christ, dying on that cross? 

We are commanded to love one another, so that others can see Christ in us and come to find Christ for themselves.  Let that be the missions statement of our lives.  Let that be our goal, not to blast one another on Facebook or talk behind someone’s back.  It took me a while to realize what this light was I was seeing on the highway, but once I saw it, it was amazing and beautiful. 

The same can be said about our fellow humans.  It may take a while for us to see the love in someone, but spend time with them, and that love will become greater, and when they see Christ’s love in you, and then want that same love…that light will shine so much brighter!

Date: September 14, 2011
Verse: Revelation 3:16

So, because you are lukewarm–neither hot nor cold–I am about to spit you out of my mouth. ~ Revelation 3:16

There is nothing, and I mean nothing, like sitting at my desk with my Bible and a nice, hot cup of coffee to start my day off. I LOVE my coffee. I love it in the morning time, and I like it in the evening, when it’s cool out. I drink it all year round, but there is something about it when I drink it in the morning time.

A few weeks back, after pouring it fresh into my cup, I had some things to do in the church. I wasn’t gone long at all, so when I came back and saw my coffee cup, I began to take a sip…cause let’s face it, I was in need of my coffee.

However, there was a problem. My coffee had set just a little too long, and it wasn’t hot anymore. Now, it wasn’t cold either, but it wasn’t hot, and had I had a place to spit it out, I would have. Instead, I had to do the manly thing, and choke it down.

I can’t stand cold or non-hot coffee. It’s disgusting. Hot coffee is the only way for me. Sometimes, I feel like I am God’s cup of coffee, and while, and while most of the time I am hot, there are a few times when I am lukewarm or even cold, and that taste makes God want to spit me out.

God doesn’t like it when His cups of coffee get cold. He wants us hot…hot for Christ. He wants us on fire. He wants our fire for Him to spread like crazy. Yet, so many times, our fire becomes dim, and we aren’t as hot for God as we used to be. God wants us to be on fire for Him. Maybe your cup of coffee was once hot, but now has become lukewarm or cold. My prayer for you today, is that you become hot for Him; that your fire burns for Him like never before.

God loves us so much…we need to show Him the same kind of love.

Date: September 13, 2011
Verse: 1 Samuel 16:7

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” ~ 1 Samuel 16:7

Have you ever really sat and looked at all the different kinds of people there are in this world? God has made all kinds of them; from fat, skinny, short to tall. There are people who are have long hair, short hair, brown hair, gray hair, blue hair and even no hair.

The other morning, I was looking around during service at our church, and just in our small community of gatherers, we have all kinds of people. I heard one of my youth tell me once that people have told her that in order to be an officer in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes that you have to be popular or pretty or cool, so that people will want to join FCA.

How twisted is that? That’s EXACTLY the OPPOSITE of what we should be doing as Christians. God can care less if you are popular, or how many friends of Facebook you have, or if your hair is a certain color or how tall you are. He made you, just the way you are….and not only that, you can be a valuable piece to this puzzle we call “Christianity”, by just being you.

If being the most popular person is going to win someone over to Christ, then that was all based of emotion or status, not desire to want a REAL relationship with Jesus Christ. Bottom line, God can use you in His Kingdom, just the way you are.

It takes all kinds of different people to make this thing work