Pastor J's Blog

2010-03-22T09:06:00.002-04:00

THE GOOD LIFE – DANGER of the FAMILIAR

Proverbs 3:5-8

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil.

This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.

There is a slight danger with passages of Scripture that have become very familiar to us. The danger is that in their familiarity to us we forget what they really say. We can quote them forwards and backwards and we say them without thinking, but we often just ignore the words. This familiar passage centers on the theme of trust. It tells us who we can trust (God) and who we can’t (self). I know you have memorized this passage, but don’t miss the message.

Trust will be the most important investment you will make in your life. It is through the investment of trust that we decide who we will marry, who we will work for or with, who we will worship with, and ultimately who will be the principal influencers in our lives. All have been searched out and only one has been found to be fully trustworthy He is Jesus, the Christ. You can’t trust men, they will fail you. You can’t trust systems or governments, they will let you down. You can’t trust knowledge, it is ever changing. But the Lord, He is the faithful one. He is the one in whom there is no danger of Him ever changing. He is the only one who will never turn on you. The only one worthy of all your trust is Christ!

Among those I mentioned who cannot be trusted is one who I believe is your chief enemy. Surprisingly it is not Lucifer. Your chief enemy is that person who has feelings that will lie to you, deceive you, mislead you, and bring destruction into your life. That person has the ability to convince you, even though you know better, that somehow the path they are leading you down is the path you should take. That person who will tell you “its ok to steal because you won’t get caught and you deserve it anyway”. That person who will say “it is ok to tell a little lie because everyone else does.”

That person who will say “go ahead, marry the wrong person, you’ll make it work, they will change for you, it will be ok”.

Figured out who it is yet? The chief enemy in your life who cannot be trusted is that person that you will see staring at you everyday in the mirror. That’s right, it is you. Don’t be wise in your eyes or depend on your own understanding. Accept and acknowledge that you don’t know it all. Recognize that you don’t always see the whole picture so you can’t have it all figured out. Rather put all your trust in the Lord and refuse to even lean toward what you think you know or understand. Then, and only then, He has promised to direct your paths to healthy and nourishing places.

Wisdom's Best Friends

2010-03-01T08:52:00.001-05:00

THE GOOD LIFE – FINDING WISDOM’S BEST FRIENDS

Proverbs 3:1-4

My son, do not forget my law, But let your heart keep my commands;

For length of days and long life And peace they will add to you.

Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck,

Write them on the tablet of your heart, And so find favor and high esteem

In the sight of God and man.

NKJV

Thinking back to the days of my youth (which now seems like a lifetime ago) I recall with great fondness a couple of young men with whom I was “bound at the hip”. It would have been very rare for you to have seen one of us without seeing all three of us! We did everything together. We ate lunch at school together everyday. We played ball in the evenings together. We spent the weekends together at one another’s house. We wore one another’s clothes, laughed at one another’s jokes, and at times fought one another’s foes. Even today just thinking of them brings a smile to my face and warmth to my heart.

Wisdom has a couple of friends like that. Wisdom that offers us a long and peaceful life has some companions that will always accompany it. Find these companions and bring them into your life and wisdom will surely be close by. The first friend of Wisdom is MERCY. Mercy is an attribute of God that He has allowed men both to receive and to give. It is that element that is seen when men are not given what they deserve, but instead are given favor they could never of themselves earn or buy. Mercy is being kind to someone who does not deserve kindness. Mercy is offering help to someone who would never offer help to another. Mercy is not doing harm to someone when it is within your right AND your power to do so. It is helping the helpless, and loving the loveless. We are never more like God than we display the trait of mercy.

Along with mercy, wisdom loves to hang around truth. Truth also is an attribute of God, for God does not lie. Truth seems to be a little more hidden and withdrawn than mercy, for sometimes truth will initially bring pain. Whether it is hearing the truth or speaking the truth, its initial impact can come with a force that seems repelling. Look beyond that initial impact because the benefits of truth are long term. Living in truth means that you won’t have to lie awake at night plotting and planning stories to cover deception. Living in truth means that you may not always be accepted by the crowds but you will be able to look yourself in the mirror and be accepted by the person that looks back at you. Living in truth means you are living in the path of God and that path brings long life and blessings.

May mercy and truth guide you into the Good life, into the way of Wisdom, into the path of God.

Living on Easy Street

2010-02-09T22:07:00.001-05:00

LIVING ON EASY STREET

Proverbs 1:20-33

Wisdom calls aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the public squares; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out, in the gateways of the city she makes her speech:
"How long will you simple ones love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge? If you had responded to my rebuke, I would have poured out my heart to you and made my thoughts known to you. But since you rejected me when I called and no one gave heed when I stretched out my hand, since you ignored all my advice and would not accept my rebuke, I in turn will laugh at your disaster; I will mock when calamity overtakes you — when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you.
"Then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me. Since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the LORD, since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke, they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes. For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm."
NIV

There is one street that everyone wants to live on! Saint and sinner alike all strive for the day that they can live on Easy Street. That is the place that is virtually carefree. Easy Street is the place where worry and stress have no access to the residents. The place where one can live in comfort and safety and surety. Understand that it is not a mythical place and that there is only one access road that leads to easy street: the way of wisdom!

Walking the road of wisdom is sometimes a difficult path. It means denying my flesh, my desires, and even my wants because I choose to do the wise thing. It means I will lose friends who choose foolishness because it looks like fun. It means I will be considered by some to be a prude, a “stick in the mud”, a nerd, a party pooper. You see, the road of wisdom is not traveled by the masses, and perhaps that is why so few find their way to Easy Street.

Because the masses do not choose this route, the way of wisdom is sometimes difficult to find. Yet it is there! It is right in front of your eyes. Calling out to you everyday, knocking at your door in every situation. Wisdom says things like “the Surgeon General has determined that smoking cause cancer”, diets high in fat can lead to heart disease, and while it would be nice to have that car the payments would make life stressful. Wisdom says “yes, he is cute, but he has a bad temper, so STAY AWAY!”

In every situation you face wisdom will present its case. It will shout to you that there is a way to Easy Street. That way means that you don’t listen to the crowd, your emotions, or even your desires. The route to Easy Street is found when in every situation you simply ask yourself the question Andy Stanley calls “The Best Question Ever.” That question is simply this: What is the wise thing to do? Not what do I want to do, not what can I justify or rationalize doing; rather, what does wisdom tell me to do? Follow that path, and Easy Street is just ahead.

2010-01-13T22:49:00.002-05:00

The Good Life – Be Careful Who You Run With

Pr 1:10-19

My son, if sinners entice you, do not give in to them.If they say, "Come along with us; let's lie in wait for someone's blood,let's waylay some harmless soul; let's swallow them alive, like the grave, and whole, like those who go down to the pit; we will get all sorts of valuable things and fill our houses with plunder; throw in your lot with us, and we will share a common purse" — my son, do not go along with them, do not set foot on their paths; for their feet rush into sin, they are swift to shed blood. How useless to spread a net in full view of all the birds! These men lie in wait for their own blood; they waylay only themselves! Such is the end of all who go after ill-gotten gain; it takes away the lives of those who get it. NIV

I don’t remember many of the school assemblies I had the “privilege” to sit through, but there is one that I shall never forget. The auditorium was filled with carefree and mischievous high school students. Sitting on the stage facing us were five prisoners, accompanied by armed guards. I’m not sure who was more afraid, them or us.

One by one they came to the microphone and shared their story. One was incarcerated for robbery, another for assault, another for drug related charges, etc. etc. The program was called Scared Straight. The goal was that these prisoners would essentially “scare” their listeners into good behavior. Sorry to say, it didn’t work.

What did stand out to me that day was the way their stories all began. All five from different backgrounds and different eras of time, guilty of differing crimes, began their story with the same phrase: “I was just hanging out with some buddies…”. Before they were guilty of the crimes for which they were serving time, they were guilty of a foolish decision - they were running with the wrong crowd!

In search of The Good Life, Proverbs teaches that we all must guard who we allow close to us. More than perhaps anyone realizes it is the people close to us who define us. Those people that we run with have an unbelievable amount of influence in our lives. Many people have done things they would “never do” except the people they were with led them down a path of destruction. Ironically, we often run with them thinking we will influence them. Reality shows that they are influencing us.

The lesson is clear: run with people of positive character and they will positively effect you. Run with people of negative character and they will negatively effect you. Paul wrote “do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character." (1 Cor 15:33). Did you read that? It doesn’t matter how good your character is, if you run with the wrong crowd, you get corrupted!

Dear Lord,

Reading your word we realize the need for wisdom as we choose the people we keep close to us. Help us as we choose our friends to look for people who display the characteristics of Christ. Keep us from those who would bring destruction into our lives. Surround us with the righteous, that our lives may always bring glory to You!

Amen

The Good Life - First Steps

2010-01-12T14:15:00.001-05:00

Proverbs 1:2-7

2 To know wisdom and instruction,

To perceive the words of understanding,

3 To receive the instruction of wisdom,

Justice, judgment, and equity;

4 To give prudence to the simple,

To the young man knowledge and discretion —

5 A wise man will hear and increase learning,

And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel,

6 To understand a proverb and an enigma,

The words of the wise and their riddles.

7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,

But fools despise wisdom and instruction.

NKJV

The ancient Chinese proverb says “the journey of one thousand miles begins with a one simple step.” The book of Proverbs teaches us that the journey toward The Good Life that God desires for each of us begins with two steps of acknowledgement. Be warned… these steps often are not simple.

The first step of acknowledgment is one of need. A step of acknowledging that regardless of how young or old, how experienced or naïve one may be in the things of life, we all need to continually gain wisdom and understanding. It is the acknowledgment that we don’t know it all, haven’t seen it all, surely have not experienced everything, and that there are sources from which we deeply need to learn.

It is the acknowledgement that my opinion and my understanding often are in error. The acknowledgement that my perception can cloud my judgment, that my emotions will lie to me, deceive me and, even with good intentions will lead me down paths of destruction. Jeremiah said “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”

This first step of acknowledgment is surely a humbling one. The prideful dare not take it. To acknowledge they need to learn, and be willing to listen is a step the prideful just can't make. A wise person will hear and gain in understanding, while the fool will despise it. A fool, as characterized in Proverbs, is one who just will not listen.

Having acknowledged the need for wisdom, the next step is given in the acknowledgment of the source of true wisdom - the Lord Himself!

It is acknowledging, respecting, and revering God’s opinion and His words above anything else. It is seeking to, above all else, live a life that pleases the Lord even at the expense of pleasing myself and pleasing others.

These are the first steps to The Good Life.

Dear Lord,

Today we humbly bow before you and ask that you instruct us how to live. In every decision we face teach us to be wise. Keep us from emotional, irrational decisions. Keep us from jumping to conclusions before we have heard the whole truth. Teach us through your Word, by your Spirit and through others who have walked before us. Don’t let pride steer us down a path of destruction, but guide our steps down a humble way in order to please You!

Amen.

Internet Myths and New Years Thoughts

2009-01-05T11:26:00.003-05:00

I'm not one for the forwarded "storied" emails that continually travel the web. Like you, my inbox is filled with them, and the funny part is most of the stories just simply aren't true. For instance the story of Billy Graham leading a parade on Bourbon Street, though it sounds wonderful, it just isn't true. The story of petitions before the FCC to ban the gospel from the airwaves, not true. Let me suggest before you forward one of these "stories" that you first check it out at http://www.snopes.com/.

However, I did receive an email that contained some great insights credited to "an old cowboy". While they may not be "scriptural", they might help us have a better year.

An Old Cowboy's Advice
Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong.

Keep skunks and bankers and lawyers at a distance.

Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.

A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.

Words that soak into your ears are whispered...not yelled.

Meanness don't jes' happen overnight.

Forgive your enemies. It messes up their heads.

Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.

It don't take a very big person to carry a grudge.

You cannot unsay a cruel word.

Every path has a few puddles.

When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.

The best sermons are lived, not preached.

Most of the stuff people worry about ain't never gonna happen anyway.

Don't judge folks by their relatives.

Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll enjoy it a second time.

Don't interfere with somethin' that ain't botherin' you none.

Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.

If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin'.

Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.

The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin'.

Always drink upstream from the herd.

Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.

Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin' it back in.

If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around.

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.

Praise Cathedral Welcomes The Sheppard Family

2008-10-23T10:48:00.002-04:00

I am pleased to announce to you that Pastor Wayne Sheppard has accepted the position of Student Pastor of Praise Cathedral. Pastor Wayne comes with over fifteen years of experience as a Student Pastor and has a great heart and spirit for student ministry.
His present student ministry in Fyffe Alabama has seen great success including developing a 525-seat Student Center, National Teen Talent Winners, and a strong program of discipleship.

Pastor Wayne's ministry is complemented by his wife, Ginger, who has written many youth dramas, including the David and Goliath drama performed by our students. They have two children, Greyson and Tyler, who are looking forward to connecting with new friends at Praise. We expect the Sheppard's arrival in mid-November.

Replacing a student pastor the caliber of Pastor Lee is no easy task. His accomplishments here are "off the chart" and his ministry impact will be long felt in our church and community. I want to offer my thanks to the Youth Staff members and the Church Council who assisted me in this nationwide search. I believe the Lord's Faithfulness and our diligence is going to continue to bring great blessings to our Student Ministry.

Pastor Madden

Alright, Just Take A Deep Breath

2008-09-23T08:29:00.002-04:00

I have a confession to make (well, I have many, but let's start with one); it is easy for me to get worked up. Especially over church stuff! On one hand I think this is good, for it reflects my earnest passion that the church be everything the Lord wants it to be. On the other hand I think it is not healthy. I have to remind myself continually that life is marathon, not a sprint. I don't want to pray for patience, for I fear the test it will take to teach me patience. Yet, I need a good dose of it, and I need it right now.

I came across the words of Brother Jeremiah, a Christian Monk, and try to keep them close as a reminder not to take life TOO seriously. I thought I'd share them today:

If I had my life to live over again, I'd try to make more mistakes next time. I would relax. I would limber up. I would be sillier than I have been this trip. I know of very few things I would take seriously. I would take more trips. I would climb more mountains, swim more rivers, and watch more sunsets. I would do more walking and looking. I would eat more ice cream and less beans. I would have more actual troubles and fewer imaginary ones.

You see, I am one of those people who live prophylactically and sensibly and sanely, hour after hour, day after day. Oh, I've had my moments, and if I had to do it over again, I'd have more of them. In fact, I'd try to have nothing else. Just moments, one after another,instead of living so many years ahead each day. I have been one of those people who never go anywhere without a thermometer, a hot water bottle, a gargle, a raincoat, aspirin, and a parachute. If I had it to do over again, I would go places, do things, and travel lighter than I have.

If I had my life t live over, I would start barefooted earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall. I would play more. I would ride on more merry-go-rounds. I'd pick more daisies.

Since none of us get to live our lives again, I have a suggestion for us (and it starts with me):
Lighten Up and LIVE! Go have some moments today!

We Are Planting A New Church

2008-09-01T09:00:00.003-04:00

Over the past twenty five years our church has been involved in numerous outreach and mission oriented ministries, among them the planting of new churches. In 1998 we partnered with then Youth Pastor Chris Sustar to plant a church in Anderson, South Carolina. Although Pastor Chris doesn't get the credit he deserves for planting a church, it was a new work, which today has over 700 in weekly attendance.

In 1999 we partnered with a former staff member Daryl Croft to plant a new church in Columbia, South Carolina. The House of Praise grew quickly to over 300 and today has a great outreach ministry in the Dominican Republic.

It should be the nature of healthy growing churches to reproduce new, healthy growing churches. To that, I am pleased to announce we are partnering with Pastor Lee and Regina Claypoole to plant a new church in Lexington, Kentucky.

Pastor Lee and Regina are natives to the state of Kentucky and have a burden and passion for the people of that region. They have a vision to establish a church reaching the unchurched with the gospel of Jesus Christ. We stand with them in that vision and commit to them our prayers and financial support. Our Elders have unanimously agreed to provide the Claypoole family their salary and benefits for at least the first year of this endeavor, and will provide opportunities for the congregation to give to other needs of the new church (building needs, supplies, etc.).

Make no mistake, we will miss the Claypooles in our youth ministries and our church. Pastor Lee's achievements as a youth pastor are off the chart. I'm sure our youth will initially feel at a loss, but I am also sure their spiritual maturity will give them understanding that for each of us "God has a plan." A nation-wide search for the person(s) to lead our youth ministry is already underway.

I ask that you join with me in prayer for this endeavor and all impacted and involved. I believe in just a few months we will have another testimony of what God has done, both in Lexington and here at Praise Cathedral.

My Greatest Practical Joke

2008-08-27T18:01:00.003-04:00

My humor sometimes is sick! I attended a funeral this week of a dear man whose daughter and son-in-law are long time friends of ours. While sitting in the funeral, I found myself smiling uncontrollably as I reflected on a practical joke I had played on his daughter over fifteen years ago. It is my greatest of all time.

A group of forty or more young adults were attending a Sunday School Christmas Party at her house. She and her husband were our teachers. It was my first visit to her house and I was amazed to find her house was decorated in COWS! Really, cows were every where! Porcelain cows, plastic cows, pictures of cows, cow dishes, cow cups, even a cow shower curtain!

Not long after the party had begun, discussion was stirring about what the class had bought the teaching couple for Christmas. Then it hit me, we should have bought them cow stuff. Knowing it was too late to go find any at a store, I realized something: she had so much COW STUFF, we could probably take things from her house, wrap them up, and she would never know! So as the party went on, an accomplice and I went room to room taking cow stuff, placed them in wrapping tissue, and put all in a large gift bag.

The time came to open the gifts. There were the usual gift cards, books, etc. Then last, the huge gift bag that we had filled. The husband reached in and took out the first item, unwrapped it carefully and exclaimed "look honey, they bought us a Cow Coffee Cup". Then he reached for another, "look honey a Cow Coffee Creamer......a cow light switch.....a cow plate and saucer....".
With each gift the husband was excited but the wife was looking puzzled. One time she whispered to him "we have one of those". By now the whole class is ready to bust but somehow held it together.

He reached for another item and pulled out something that apparently either she had made or had personal markings on, because as soon as it was unwrapped she said "that's mine". He argued back "no honey, it's a gift" and they whispered back and forth things like "smile, these are gifts" and "that's mine, I know that's mine". Saving the best item for last, finally he unwrapped the huge and cumbersome Cow Shower Curtain. She stood up, said I know that's mine, and the whole house busted a gut laughing!

I'm sure I'll be repaid for that mischief someday, but whatever comes, it was worth it!

Women and the Church Council

2008-08-22T23:09:00.000-04:00

My wife and oldest son (Bo) were deep in conversation sitting at a red light in Cleveland, Tennessee, when out of the blue she looked at me and said "by the way, how did you vote on the women serving on Pastor's Council issue?"

The next ten minutes I was speechless as Bo and I literally had tears running down our faces in laughter: Dad was busted! It took her 8 days, but Dad was busted! Yes, I voted against women on the council.

Now hear me out, it's not that I am anti-women. My mother is a woman, my wife is a woman, that's the tradition our family has held for years! Truthfully I went to the assembly unsure of how I would vote on this issue. Like some of the old timers, I do find the scripture to be gender specific when it comes to the leadership of the New Testament church. And like the contemporary thinker, I do find women today to be qualified to serve. I also to see the point of hypocrisy that a lady can pastor but not serve on the pastor's council. But, an argument could be made that rather than allowing women to serve on councils to do away with hypocrisy, perhaps they should not serve as pastors. Didn't say I believed that, just that the argument could be made.

For me the turning point in my decision came after hearing Dr. Chris Thomas speak on the subject during the debate. I am told he is the brightest scholar the Church of God has on the New Testament. He said that since the Church of God Pastor's Council is not specifically defined in scripture, then we can do "whatever we want" and not violate scripture. I took "whatever we want" to mean we could vote yes or no and still be scriptural.

Eliminating specific scriptural references, I chose to step back and examine the whole of scripture on the subject. The whole being that from Jesus through the apostles, there was always some point in the structure of the New Testament Church where men and women were distinctly separate in authority. They served in many of the same ministry ranks and positions, but at some point there was a distinction in authority, the male ministering over the female. (don't give me the argument of redemption because the early church was just as redeemed as we are)

If in the LOCAL CHURCH women are allowed to serve on the church council, then in the LOCAL CHURCH there is no longer THAT point of distinction between the male and female. A lady can serve in every role (teacher, singer, evangelist, administrator, etc.) just as a man can. So to me, to keep the church in the "pattern" of scripture, then it was an easy vote no to keep some point of separation.

By the way, when the swelling goes down in my left eye I hope to have a new picture made! LOL.

About The Assembly

2008-08-20T08:30:00.000-04:00

Like many other Church of God pastors I spent the better part of a week at the Church of God General Assembly in San Antonio. Overall it was a great week, to see family and friends. It was a high water mark for our family as my brother, Tom Madden, was elected as the International Youth and Christian Education Director. He is well deserving of that post and yes, I am proud of him.

There were incredible "God moments" at the assembly. During a particular business session the Holy Spirit moved on the Ordained Bishops in a fashion I have never seen. During that moment I looked at an associate and said "this is a Like A Mighty Army moment". It truly was.

I leave that assembly with three observations and concerns and will briefly mention them.
1) A Dangerous Precedent - Without trying to explain too much the process of the Assembly, just know that during the particular business session I mentioned a substitute motion to the business at hand was submitted from the floor. The motion was good in content, but was out of order for the process. However, it was allowed to be considered and voted on.

Please understand, I like the motion and the solution it provides for a dilemma in our church. My concern is it subverted due process. That is not just my opinion. Dr. Hollis Gause, an expert in parliamentary procedure, had dinner with my parents the day of the session. He stated "the substitute motion was out of order and should never have been considered". Now again, I like the outcome. But my concern is we have set a precedent that "the end justifies the means".
We must be cautious in the setting aside of our by-laws and process.

2) Will Unity Remain? - There was great unity in the Council as we voted for a plan to reduce our church contributions from 15% to 10% over the next few years. There was great unity when we agreed that these reductions should be spread across international, state, and the Missions Department. My concern is that when the ideas become reality, will the unity remain.

When the cut impacts people close to us, will we still be unified? When the reduction eliminates jobs of people we know and love, will there be unity? When the ministry I love, be it Lee University or Missions or Youth or __________ (you fill in the blank) is impacted by the reduction I voted for, will there be unity? Time will tell.

3) What Are the True Motives? - There was a concerted effort at this assembly by a group of bishops to bring about change. I have no fault with that and probably by some am considered to be a part of that. Change is not bad and I agree with most of the actions the Assembly took.
But beneath it all I wonder about our motives. Is it change we want because we feel a particular issue needs to be addressed or corrected, or is it POWER we want? Hmmmm, time will tell.
Time will tell.

Me A Blogger?

2008-08-18T08:49:00.000-04:00

Me a blogger? Couldn't be. Who would want to read anything I have to say? What do I have to say? Most of what I have to say I give on Sunday Morning. Wait a minute, there is a thought: maybe if I "blogged some" I would preach less! Go from 40 minutes to thirty (Justin says "dad you've never preached a sermon under 50 minutes).

I do have a lot to give thanks for! A wonderful wife, two great sons, a beautiful daughter in law; an unbelievable church and staff, a great heritage, and the list goes on!

And I have a lot to complain about: three dogs under one roof, the reality that Clemson looks real good this year (I pull for USC), and no grandchildren yet!

So OK, I'll blog. Sometimes serious, sometimes not. Sometimes not at all. But let's see what happens.