May 21st

I don't always agree with Al but in this case I think he's right on. Read his blog here & as always I'd love your feedback.

My Desire

The other day I had the privilege of doing a memorial service for an incredible women. Her name was Betty Williams. She lived to be 94 years old. Her life was an incredible testimony of service, perseverance and faith. One of the things I discovered in talking with her family was that she was a poet. I got the opportunity to read some of her work and the one below stood out.

My Desire
by
Betty Williams

I do not long for wealth or fame;
I'm sure in history books my name
Will never rank with peer or sire.
For praise of man I don't aspire.

I do not long to know that I
Shall dwell in comfort till I die;
Nor ask that God shall grant me peace,
Nor from all troubles give release.

But this I pray, that I might be
A friend to all who turn to me;
that I might words of comfort speak
To weary ones who respite seek

From burdens oft too great to bear,

Because the world seems not to care.
To those who know not friendship sweet,
I pray that God will guide my feet.

A helping had to them I'd lend,
And pray that God through me might send
A gleam of hope from Heaven above,
A glimpse of God's eternal love.

This past Sunday I shared a message from our Losing My Religion series called, "Why Care?" In it I admitted that I sometimes struggle with caring. To say I don't have the gift of mercy would be an understatement. As I look at lives like Mrs. Betty's I am reminded that one of the greatest things we can leave is to be remembered as someone who truly cared. Thank you Mrs. Betty for reminding me what is important and I pray that as He did you, God would "guide my feet" to people who need a touch. I pray that I might be half as good at loving, touching and caring for those people God puts in my path as you were.

Some Assembly Required

It's been a long time since I have blogged. I took a break because it seemed more like something I had to do instead of wanted to do. I think I will jump back in. I'm not sure how consistent I will be but here goes.

For the past 4 weeks BridgePoint has been in a series called "Losing My Religion." We've been looking at the difference between "religion" and the relationship God wants with us. Each week we've been answering a different "Why?" questions about God, Jesus, trust and this whole journey He wants us to join Him in.

This past Sunday we took a look at the question "Why Church?" Why do we need to gather together each week? Do we even need the church anymore? In preparing I was reminded of a time when my wife and I bought a bike for our son. It was his first "big boy" bike. We went to our local Walmart, picked out one we thought he would like and loaded up the box. It wasn't long before I was sitting on the garage floor surrounded by bike parts. Those of you who know me, know that patience isn't one of my strengths, and putting together a bike was a real test of what little I had. After what seemed like an eternity I finally got the bike together and was confident that it was safe to ride.

The time came to give him the bike and to say he was excited was an understatement. He jumped on that thing a tore out of the drive way wide-eyed, hooping and hollering all the way down the street. It was in that moment that I forgot how much frustration and irritation the assembly of that bike had caused. You see, his excitement made all the work worthwhile and had I not been willing to put the bike together and endure a few hours of assembly I, nor my son, would have been able to enjoy the results.

In our lives God has an incredible experience for us. It's called life with Him. He tells us he wants us to have it "to the fullest," but to do that there is one truth we often ignore. It's the same one that I discovered in putting that bike together. If we want that full life God has for us. If we want to enter into a wide-eyed, hooping and hollering relationship with him... some assembly is required.

Whatever It Takes!
Tim

11 Words

Families are one of our greatest assets. In Genesis 2 God created family and gave us a great gift. But, as we see from the story of Adam and Eve this masterpiece of God's creation soon faced the same problems we face today. Every family in all of history has faced, is facing and will face storms.

The family is in need of a makeover, a remodeling. But, as with any remodel we need to remember:

1 - It takes longer than you planned
2 - It cost more than you figured
3 - It's messier than you anticipated
4 - It requires great determination
5 - It takes more patience than you often have

Family is not easy but strengthening the family and beginning the remodeling process is simpler than we think. If fact, it begins and hinges on just 11 words.

Look what it says in Psalm 127:

"Unless the Lord builds the house,
the builders labor in vain."

The Lord is the master builder. Remember, He is the creator and designer of family. I don't know much about building but one thing I do know is that you don't bring the builder and the designer into the process at the end. He is consulted from the beginning.

One of the reasons many of us have crooked, lopsided and dysfunctional families is that we brought the Builder in at the end. We tried to construct and put together ourselves and our families on our own. We don't know a 2 by 4 from a 6 by 4 and we tried to build our own house and then we asked the Lord to bless our mess. We need to bring Him in at the beginning. God wants to be the builder, building your life, your relationships and your family from the very start.

Whether you are contemplating a family, beginning one or in need of a family makeover there is one plan and one Planner. If you let the Lord take control from the beginning or release control and let him take over, He will establish your family according to His will and purpose. He will build your family according to His blueprints. However remember, He will not violate your will. God will give you what you need but you have to release him to do His work.

As I stated earlier as with any remodel it takes work, effort, time and determination. My prayer is that you and I will stop our DIY family projects and turn them and ourselves over to the expert. You will be shocked, amazed and pleased at the before and after.

Whatever It Takes!
Tim

Couldn't have said it better myself

Hey there. I hope you are having a great summer. I would love for you to take a look at my brother Steve's blog post. I have been thinking a lot about what he writes and to be honest I couldn't have said it better myself. By the way, he learned everything from me. Ck it out @

http://attheridge.wordpress.com/

P.S. Aren't you glad God doesn't take vacation!

Vuvuzelas

If you've watched the World Cup, you have no doubt been annoyed by the sound that drowns out even the TV announcers. The sound is from the vuvuzela, South Africa's answer to the Thunderstick. It's a small plastic trumpet that cost less than a dollar to make and creates no known musical notes. But when thousands of people blow them simultaneously, you get a loud, incessant hum that makes the entire stadium sound like it's being attacked by bees. It's normal to find them at any South African soccer match. Ask just about anyone though and they will tell you they hate them!

This past Sunday I preached a message from John 10 where Jesus describes himself as the "Good Shepherd." He tells us that we need to hear, listen and follow His voice. He then, in vs 5, warns us that there will be other voices and we need to learn to not listen to them. In fact, He tells us we should "run away" from those voices.

Jesus knows that just like the vuvuzela, Satan wants to distract you and create noise that drowns your ability to hear and listen to Him. If he can do that following Jesus becomes more difficult. Jesus gives us a simple and somewhat unexpected way to eliminate the distraction of the strangers voice. It's sacrificial love.

In vs 10 he tells us that Satan wants to "steal and kill and destroy." In other words distract us with the noise of this world and therefore kill our ability to hear Jesus. He wants us to have "life, and have it to the full" if we will only listen and follow His voice. In vs 11 He tells us how to hear that voice when he says the "shepherd lays down his life for the sheep."

The strategy for silencing the other voices and noise of the world is in first recognizing and accepting the sacrificial love that Jesus has for us and then practicing that same kind of love by sacrificially loving others. If I want to lead the rich and satisfying life that Jesus offers I must let everything I think, do and say be colored by His love. In order to do that I have to silence the incessant noise of the world that wants to steal my attention and joy.

As you watch the World Cup don't let the sound of the vuvuzela keep you from enjoying the matches and as you live your life don't let the noise of the strangers voice steal your love for Jesus and the world he wants to reach.

Whatever It Takes!
Tim

Couldn't Understand A Word (DR Update)

Just got to the hotel in Santo Domingo. To say it was a busy day would be an understatement. We finally arrived in the DR at about 1:00pm after a night stuck in Miami,. We went to get our checked luggage (not really luggage - we were caring in 4 duffle bags full of diapers), and sure enough the luggage didn't make it. Why would I expect anything else.

We headed to Casa de Luz so Frank could meet with the employees there. Before the meeting I got a chance to meet with the Dominican Director of SCORE International and some of his team. They were there to lend their support and connect with us. It was a brief meeting but I hope a fruitful one as we discussed potential partnerships between them and Casa de Luz. They also brought along their construction guy who assessed the needs on the 2nd floor addition and he hopes to give an estimate to get it in the dry (roof) and/or completely finish it out soon. Looking forward to seeing those figures. We then went in to the meeting with Casa de Luz leadership and then all of the employees.

Now for those who know me well you know my Spanish is limited to counting to 20 or so and maybe a few countrified (not sure if that's a word but my TN & KY friends are right with me) words. Well, you guessed it, the entire meeting was in Spanish. At first I was uncomfortable. Then I realized my role today was not going to be played with words (and that's strange for me). My role today was to pray and lend silent support.

But, a funny thing happened during the meeting. I began to understand. Now I don't mean I suddenly became bilingual. I didn't understand a word that was being said. What I do mean is that I began to understand what was happening in the room. God was working. God was speaking. He was calming fears, healing hurts, repairing relationships, restoring confidence and setting things right. Yes, He was using Franks words (that I didn't understand), but it was more than that, it was His Spirit. God was making a way. He was clearing the junk and obstacles that a few hours earlier threatened to take down a vital piece of His kingdom and a tool to reach forgotten and abandoned children, innocent children, that don't care about funding, politics and employee meetings. They just want to be touched, held, cared for and loved.

Today I got to see what I think St Francis of Assisi meant when he said "Preach the gospel always, if necessary use words." I got to see my friend Frank be a living reflection of the love, courage and strength of Christ. I got see him be a man filled with grace & mercy. A man filled with God's Spirit.

I am grateful for what I saw today even though I couldn't understand a word. More on the DR later.

Whatever It Takes!
Tim