Apple is my friend

ok ... so i get out of my jeep yesterday and i feel my phone, that happened to be in the side pocket of my shorts, bump against the door. i didn't think anything of it. i didn't think anything of it until i reached into my pocket and pulled it out to make a call. (i was on my way to the airport, headed to atlanta for an all-day meeting with youth specialties) i took it out and much to my disappointment the screen on my precious iPhone was shattered. it looked like someone had hit with a rock. needless to say, i was sick.

so ... i took my wounded phone and tried to make a call ... it worked! i talked to a friend, who happens to be an iPhone fan, and he told me he thought it would cost me a cool 250.00 to get it fixed. now remember, i'm on my way to the airport for a very important all-day meeting. i had to have a phone.

as i drove up 360 on my way to the airport for a 5:45 flight ... it was 4:06 ... i made a decision to try and stop by the apple store to see if i could get another phone. i was ready to spend the money to get another phone. but there was a problem. i did not know how to get to the southlake apple store. so, i took my broken phone and clicked on the google maps icon. and ... it also worked! i managed to see through the shattered screen and navigate my way to the store. that's right, the phone was working just like new. the screen was shattered!!!

i rushed into the parking lot, jogged into the store, and they put me on the waiting list for the genius bar. then they told me it would be 30 minutes. as i waited, i thought, there is no way i make my flight. yet another surprise was just around the corner. they called my name out after a short 5 minute wait. i went to the counter and an apple genius took my phone, switched my sim card and handed me a replacement phone ... i was ready to pay until i was handed a sheet of paper that had all zeros where the charges should have been ... the guy at the store, handed me my phone, smiled and told me about a shortcut to the airport.

i rushed back to the jeep, drove to the airport and had 20 minutes to spare before my 5:45 flight.

i had time to sync my phone and fly to atlanta!

amazing ... apple knows how to roll

John 13

So I read John 13 this morning ...this study in John has been so much fun
i loved this chapter!

the chapter begins with a simple announcement that Jesus knew His time on earth was done and that He was about to go back to His father in heaven. he knew!!!! nothing caught Him off guard or surprised Him. the chapter goes on to say that judas was led by satan to do his evil deed and then it says that Jesus had all power. i loved that little part — it was a slam on satan and testimony to Jesus' commitment to do His Father's will. Jesus knew he had all power ... as andy stanley says ... he was the most powerful person in the room!

after He tells us about his knowledge and His power, he displays the way he wants us to live. He washed His followers feet!!!!
he was truly showing us the full extent of His great love.

the passage shares a discussion with peter and we get to see Jesus teach peter a great lesson ... i pray i will learn the lesson he is trying teach me through this discussion with peter ...

in verse 12, He asks His followers if they are understanding what He is telling them. then ... He explains in verses 13 and 14. "Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you."

my prayer is that i can get this ... i lived a long life and its a harder to do the things i know i should than it used to be. i know, if its God's plan, i have a long life ahead of me and i want to live it serving God by living like Jesus.

i finished my time in God's Word with these words from Jesus .... "Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them."

may i do what He says!!!!!!

Thoughts on John

still reading John ... amazing stuff ... humbling, exciting ... one of my recent takeaways is what i'm learning about the way Jesus taught us about Him and about God ... i'll try and write more later ...

Catching up

had a great weekend. spent some good time with my mom. but ... we all really miss my dad. i think the thing that is so weird is that she is alone and i never got to say goodbye to the most important man in my life. i mean i know it was his time and it was the way God wanted it ... i just wish i could have talked to him. i miss him so much. i think i'm going to go visit the cemetery sometime soon.

i remember him. he was a great man!

i know lots of people feel like me and can relate to what i'm about to write — i wish we would all tell the people we love how much we love them while they are still here. that would be a good thing.

my last memory of my dad was in arkansas. he thanked me for taking him with me to see bailey and kori kate at camp. we had a nice visit next to lake quachita. i used to teach water skiing there. i took a cool picture of him with kori during the closing day ceremony.

thanks for letting me share and allowing me to catch up ... tell your parents you love them

John 12: 23-28

I'm captured by these words ...

Jesus replied, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

"Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.

Father, glorify your name!"

What grabs you by the soul

I'm reading a little book today ... the author says we should chase after the thing that grabs you by the soul. As I read those words it dawned on me that the only thing that truly ... I mean truly ... grabs my soul is God. He is all there really is to me. I'm happy when I am with Him. I'm fulfilled when I worship His glory. I laugh the most when I am in His beautiful word. He is what I want more than anything.

May I chase after Him!!!!!!! I want to. I will.

Its Raining Today

I love a rainy day. I even love it when I have the top down on my Jeep.
Rainy days seem to calm me down. They seem to make me feel better about life. They remind me God is near. I love the sound of rain.

I love the faithfulness of God. It is present on a rainy day. He uses a day like today to tell me that He is in control and that help is coming at just the right time. He sends help!

I'm up close and personal with God these days. He is near me and I know it. I spent more time in John 9 today. What a story!!!!! Jesus heals a man born blind. The man had never seen anything until he met Jesus. Jesus met his needs even though it was sure to cause a fight with the religious idiots of His day. I love the way Jesus handled them. So cool. So wise. He is truly transcendent.

Jesus was rain to that man who had never seen. He brought this man rain in more ways than one. I wish I could have been there the first time the blind man got to see rain like I'm seeing today. And what about lightning??? That was a riot I'm sure.

I love you Jesus. Thanks for being there ... for sending rain ... for sending dry times ... thanks for giving us sight.

Reaching out to Cyclone Survivors

go to http://www.gfa.org/cyclone
and donate what you can ... show the love of Christ.


A brief glimpse of the damage at GFA’s Bible college campus in Burma. This building lost its roof.

A Gospel for Asia Bible college in Rangoon, Burma (Yangon, Myanmar), is now a makeshift shelter for those devastated by Cyclone Nargis, which swept across the country early Saturday morning.

James Pinglay, the teenage son of a Gospel for Asia missionary in Kerala, India, was at the Bible college in Rangoon when the storm hit. He was able to obtain information and get on one of the only flights out of the country to deliver a report and photos of the devastation.

Pinglay said the cyclone hit at about 2:30 a.m. By daylight, the full effect of the storm was obvious. Homes were destroyed. Giant trees had crashed through buildings and were lying uprooted, blocking roads.

International news organizations are not allowed to report from Burma, but the news that is trickling out is horrifying. The death toll is estimated to be at least 22,000 and another 41,000 are missing.

"The people in Burma live in clusters of small communities in simple bamboo structures," explained GFA President K.P. Yohannan. "These villages are not made of concrete. I imagine that literally hundreds of these simple structures were just blown away. We are praying here in India and are asking Christians around the world to join us."
We are facing at least six months of continuous work ministering to the people. This is a tremendous opportunity for us to reach out in love to them just like we did after the tsunami in 2004.

Pinglay reports that more than 80 people—along with 70 children from a nearby orphanage that was destroyed—made their way to the Bible college campus as soon as the storm subsided. Buddhist monks are also at the college, seeking assistance.

Local officials set up shop at the Bible college because the police station was completely destroyed. The police have asked for help from the staff at the college. At present, the students are away on their summer vacation. This freed up space to accommodate many who came for help.

GFA missionaries serve at about 400 churches and 250 mission stations in Burma. In 2006, the military-run government of Burma forbade foreign non-government organizations from doing aid work in the country. In the face of this disaster, the government is now relenting and allowing outside aid.

Since GFA missionaries are already in the country and have found favor with the government, they are one of the few groups able to offer immediate help to the people as they begin the recovery process.

"In the past, whenever there was a problem of any kind, our people got involved in helping. That is why the government and the people there look at us with good favor," Yohannan said.

The missionaries and staff at the Bible college are taking care of the people's basic needs by offering meals, prayers and the love of Jesus for those who have lost all hope. They will continue caring for the people, but the task before them is daunting. "Rangoon is in total darkness, and they are estimating that there will not be electricity for at least three months," Yohannan said.

Obtaining enough food to feed all those at the Bible college presents another challenge. At present, the banks are closed and fresh food and water are in short supply. Yet these are simply the immediate problems before the aid workers.
A 2004 photo of GFA's Burma Bible college. Part of the building is now being used to house storm refugees.

"We are facing at least six months of continuous work ministering to the people," Yohannan explained. "This is a tremendous opportunity for us to reach out in love to them, just like we did after the tsunami in 2004."

And while part of one Bible college building is still standing, portions of the campus—including the building where the people are now staying—were severely damaged.

"We will need to rebuild the Bible college, staff quarters and hundreds of homes of those in our churches," Yohannan said. "Also, dozens of churches are sure to have been destroyed."

While many missionaries and staff will remain in Rangoon assisting with the work at the Bible college, many others are already going out into the villages, looking for survivors and surveying the damage.

Yohannan asks for continued prayer for the people of Burma as they come to grips with this crisis. He also asks for prayer for those who are helping them.

laminin

Reading John

As I've mentioned recently, I'm reading and re-reading the book of John right now as I seek to know God in a deeper way. And, just like I've written before, its amazing!! I was on the plane this morning and instead of working, I decided to pick up in John 6 where I finished a couple of days ago. So . . . I get my Bible out and a little over an hour later, the pilot comes on to tell us its time to land ... I read the entire flight!

Its really weird, its as if God is speaking to me in a brand new way right now through this book in the Bible. I'm seeing Jesus more clearly. I'm understanding the disciples ... I see myself both in His followers, and the others as they hear Him say these great things. His message is amazing.

I must say, that I totally understand why the religious people of His day wanted Him dead. Just read John 6-9 for yourself. Read it in one sitting. Try and relate to the feelings of the people who were hearing these words firsthand. Can you imagine being a Pastor today and having someone from an unknown place show up and say you are from the devil? And say it where the people in your church could hear him? Can you imagine being a religious leader and having a guy like Jesus end up near your community, take a blind guy that everyone knows has been blind from birth — and give him sight? Wow. Or — what it must have been like when Jesus handled the lady caught in adultery the way He did. I am sure the news of that story spread like wildfire and the people wanted to follow a man who was filled with grace and truth! I am sure the secret church meetings happened all over town after that little experience. Man I would love to have talked to the first guy who walked away from that scene!

I am loving this time in John. I highly recommend reading the Bible. :) Can't wait for the next experience.

AW Tozer Once Said

“Any motion toward God is a forward motion. Even repentance is not a retreat toward the past but a decided march into a more glorious future. Restitution is not a return to yesterday but a step into a blessed tomorrow. There is such a thing as going backward in the spiritual life. There is such a thing as a retreat from a spiritual position once held by us as individual Christians. And there is such a thing as denominations and missionary societies making a wholesale withdrawal from ground once won at tremendous cost. If we find that we have gone back, then we should immediately reverse the direction and again go forward.”