You'll Never Be Sorry...

Saw a great email this AM.  

YOU WILL NEVER BE SORRY...

..for thinking before acting.

..for hearing before judging.

..for forgiving your enemies.

..for being candid and frank.

..for helping a fallen brother.

..for being honest in business.

..for thinking before speaking.

..for being loyal to your church.

..for standing by your principles.

..for closing your ears to gossip.

..for bridling a slanderous tongue.

..for harboring pure thoughts.

..for sympathizing with the afflicted.

..for being courteous and kind to all.

Don't Miss Easter

Easter is always the 1st Sunday after the 1st full moon after the Spring Equinox (which is March 20).

This dating of Easter is based on the lunar calendar that Hebrew people used to identify Passover, which is why it moves around on our Roman calendar.

Based on the above information, Easter can actually be one day earlier (March 22) that is rare.

Here's the interesting information. This year is the earliest Easter any of us will ever see the rest of our lives! And only the most elderly of our population have ever seen it this early (95 years old or above). And none of us have ever, or will ever, see it a day earlier! Here's the facts:

1) The next time Easter will be this early (March 23) will be the year 2228 (220 years from now). Hmm, I’d be 280. Just a “spring chicken compared to Methuselah. He reached 969 years of age.

The last time Easter was this early was 1913 (so if you're 95 or older, you are the only ones that were around for that!).

2) The next time it will be a day earlier, March 22, will be in the year 2285 (277 years from now). The last time it was on March 22 was 1818. So, no one alive today has or will ever see it any earlier than this year!

Interesting!

You can verify, if you’d like at www.snopes.com.

Encouragement

These past five days following my resignation from First Assembly, Joliet have been unique and interesting.

The outpouring of love, concern, encouragement, positive support, counsel (some interesting aspects to that counsel I must say)...

Phone calls from Alaska to Florida.

Emails from Australia to Ukraine (wow, almost A to Z).


Flowers with a super encouraging note.

Scripture references given to me by people I deeply respect who are quietly, strongly so very godly. Most in the church wouldn't even know them, but these are prayer warriors that heaven recognizes immediately.

Isaiah 45:2

Isaiah 43:18-19

Ephesians 3:20

Luke 12:32

Thank you everyone... It has all given me heart.

I Believe In You

I love dimes. No, I don't have a "thing" for them, but I have been finding dimes on the street or parking lot lately. Pennies are a, pardon the pun, "a dime a dozen". Actually, they'd be 12 to a dozen, but I digress.

Four or five times in the last 10 -12 months, I have found dimes. Either on the parking lot or the entry to Walmart. They say something to me. No, I'm not talking to coins, nor hearing "things" from them.





Several years ago, like maybe 20... I heard a sermon by John Maxwell where he told the story of Bart Starr who was quarterback for the Green Bay Packers.

During the 1965 football season, Green Bay quarterback Bart Starr had a little incentive scheme going with his oldest son. For every perfect paper Bart Jr. brought home from school, his dad gave him ten cents.

After a particularly rough game against St. Louis, in which Starr felt he performed poorly, he returned home weary and battered after a long plane ride.

But he couldn't help feeling better when he returned to his bedroom.

There, attached to his pillow, was a note:

"Dear Dad, I thought you played a great game. Love, Bart. "

Taped to the note were two dimes.

I have used that same illustration twice in a sermon. Each time, I distributed a small card that had a dime laminated to it, simply saying "I believe in you."

Several times over the past 20 years, I have had people say to me or even show me their card, "Pastor, I still have my dime!" I like to say "And I still believe in you."

We all need someone who builds us up and BELIEVES IN us.

For me, each time I find a dime, I hear God saying, "I believe in you."

Friday afternoon, I was walking into Walmart. Heavy on my heart was the thought that I was going to be resigning from the church I had led for the past 10 1/2 years. As I walked through the doors, there all alone on the floor was a dime. I stopped and picked it up. It is going in my journal.
Thank you God for your encouragement.

Did the homework, didn't learn the lesson

I think this is true for a lot of people, they do the homework, but don't learn the lesson.

The news report on MSNBC.COM - Criminal Weirdness stated...

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Justin John Boudin may have done his anger management homework, but he apparently didn't learn his lesson.

The 27-year-old Minnesota man pleaded guilty to fifth-degree assault charges for losing his temper on the way to class.

According to the criminal complaint, Boudin was waiting at a bus stop in August when he harassed a 59-year-old woman. Witnesses say he yelled "Why don't you show me some respect?" at the woman.

The complaint says when she took out her cell to call police, he punched her in the face. When a 63-year-old man tried to stop him, Boudin hit him with a blue folder. Then he ran, dropping the folder.

Police were able to track him down using the papers inside, which included his name and his anger management homework.

THE PRINCIPLE should be...

Do the homework and LEARN THE LESSON!

ONLY LOVE WINS

My friend, Layton Howerton, always captures me with some of his great original work.
He sang one of his new songs when he was at our church over the weekend of January 13 -
Love Wins.

Layton's ability as a story teller is so impressive. One of his favorite phrases is "Long Story Short." So he is my "LSS" buddy.

I am so glad that I can count Layton as a friend.
Layton, thanks for a great song.

When the song comes out on his new CD, make sure and get it!
www.thestorytellersjournal.com



Love Wins

On life and love, it's complicated
Whether You're single or married, you' get frustrated
I Know love and how it makes you feel
yeah I know love and how it makes life reel

You put your right foot forward and drag your left
With all the heart/faith/life that you've got left
Even when you don't believe
You keep your eyes forward and don't look down
When your world's spinning round and breathe

If the first shall be last and the last first
In the end only love wins

On life and religion....(laugh)
It's mostly opinion and blended superstition
I know the truth, You can't outrun what You've done
Yeah I know the truth and the need for redemption

When your faith in folks fails you, when you forget to forgive
Remember everybody dies, few people live

Layton Howerton
Whistlin' Biscuit Music Co/BMI
OWM/19 Entertainment

Every line in this song is beautifully crafted.
But that last one is powerful...
"When your faith in folks fails you, when you forget to forgive
Remember everybody dies, few people live."

Thanks Layton.

HOORAY FOR THE UNDERDOGS

I just watched one of the most amazing Superbowls.
Congratulations to Eli Manning and the New York Giants.
Winners of Superbowl XL II.

How must Archie Manning feel?

Peyton - MVP last year...
Eli - MVP this year.

Very cool.

Bloomberg news reported...

Manning, whose brother Peyton was named Super Bowl MVP a year ago, completed 19 of 34 passes for 255 yards, with two touchdowns and an interception. He capped an 83-yard drive with a 13-yard scoring pass to Plaxico Burress with 39 seconds left in the game.

``We believed in ourselves all year,'' Manning said at a televised postgame news conference in Glendale, Arizona. ``That's the position you want to be in. You want to have the ball in your hands with four minutes left. You've got to score a touchdown. That's where you want to be, with a chance to win the game.''

The Giants' 12-play game-winning drive included a play where Manning broke free from a knot of defenders and found receiver David Tyree for a 32-yard reception. Tyree caught the ball over his head, holding it against his helmet as he was brought to the ground. The Giants scored four plays later.

``I don't know if there's ever been a bigger play in the Super Bowl than that play, at least from my viewpoint,'' Giants coach Tom Coughlin said at a news conference.