I know, that’s an odd title for one of my Friday posts, but he did! My three-year-old son Jack, who can be a bit of a picky eater, just ate Japanese food – and then asked for more. Now, this may not be a big deal to you, but for this daddy, this is HUGE!

Kim is due to have third child any day now. So, I thought I’d be a good husband pick up some dinner to bring home. (Nobody wants me cooking in the kitchen. Tried it once. Bad idea.) She had been craving Japanese food, so I dropped by our favorite local chopstick-toting restaurant – Joy of Tokyo – and ordered steak and chicken teriyaki with steamed rice. Even as I was placing the order, I thought, “There’s no way that Jack is going to eat this.” Oh, he loves chicken and rice, but mostly the fried kind. Which, it turns out, are not the most healthy of foods. (more…)

“You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” What a true, and unfortunately an increasingly overlooked, statement. I can’t remember, and probably will never even know, all of the times that the way that I greeted somebody for the first time affected the opportunities that were to later come into my life.

I’ve written about it before, but we live in a society that is become less and less polite with each and every passing day. We see this everywhere from the schoolhouse to the mall to unfortunately even the church. Many parents my age weren’t taught proper manners and as a result don’t even know how to begin to teach them to their children. As a result children often become unruly and as a result in many locations become unwelcome. (more…)

I found out recently that one of my most faithful, trusted leaders and his family is being relocated due to a job transfer. It was really hard news to hear. This is a man who has taught for me, led Sunday School and Discipleship classes, counseled hurting individuals and families as well as done everything from cooking to cleaning to repair work around the church for the past ten years. I not only appreciate him as a church member, I love him as a friend. So, it was hard to hear this week that the time has finally come and this will be their last Sunday at Temple Baptist Church. (more…)

Let’s be honest, there are some days when even those of us who are always “up” and “happy” end up in a melancholy mood. There are days when we cry easier, get upset faster, or just want to pull away and hide from the world. There are days when, no matter how hard we try, we walk around with a frown on our face and a tear in our eye. We’re sad, mad, fearful, upset – whatever you want to call it. In short, there are days in our lives, even as adults, where we just don’t feel so “swell.” (more…)

As a pastor I’m often asked what I think is the number one reason for divorce. I always give the same answer, “Money.” Now, to be a little more circumspect, I must admit this answer is not only very simplistic, but it also overlooks a whole host of evident spiritual and personal shortcomings in both parties. However, I think it is fair to say that the majority of couples that come into my office for counseling do so because of something to do with their finances. Maybe the problem stems from the husband wanting more and more money, so he works more and more and never spends time with his family. Maybe the problem is found in a wife that doesn’t realize that you can’t spend more than you have – at least not for very long. Maybe the issue is that she “came from money” and he didn’t have “pot to spit in or a window to throw it out of” when he was growing up. Maybe it it simply the stress that comes from not enough money coming into the family and the constant struggle to just keep the utilities on. Whatever the situation or the circumstance, the majority of couples who come to my office with marital problems do so because of issues related to money.

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I don’t know if you’ve seen the amazing and powerful movie by Sherwood Pictures Courageous yet, but if you have you’ll no doubt remember the scene where the main character, Adam Mitchell, is asked by his young daughter, Lauren, to dance with him in front of a local bank. He refuses to get out of his truck and dance with her because his mind is on other matters and he didn’t want to be scene doing something that he thought everybody who saw him would consider silly. I won’t spoil the movie for you if you haven’t seen it, but he later realizes that it was a HUGE missed opportunity for him to spend time with his precious daughter doing something simple that she’d asked him to do. (more…)

This is the time of year when many people will sit down and write out a list of New Year’s resolutions. Unlike some, I’m not opposed to these sorts of resolutions. In fact, I believe that there are areas of our lives as individuals and families in which it’s perfectly fine to make resolutions. However, when it comes to our walk with the Lord I believe that a better word would be “commitment.” Let me explain. As I understand it, a resolution has more to do with personal resolve. It is a promise that I make to myself. “I resolve to lose ten pounds. I resolve to be more organized. I resolve to do this or that.” I have a personal goal and I determine in my mind that I will do certain things in order to accomplish that goal. I don’t see anything wrong or ungodly with making these sorts of resolutions. In fact, I have made a few of these myself for 2012. (more…)

Christmas is just over a week away. I don’t know about you, but for me this time of year always brings back so many great childhood memories. I remember Christmas eve services and musicals at church. I remember trips across Tennessee in a stationwagon to spend Christmas at my grandparents’ house. I remember Christmas dinner with cousins I didn’t get to see at any other time of the year. I remember hunting with my father and a snowy scene with a little white house in the curve of a dirt road with a huge fir tree next to it decorated to look like a Christmas tree. I remember unwrapping a present, expecting to get some toy I really, really wanted and pulling out a pack of underwear or socks. (The toy was usually unwrapped next.) There were Christmas songs on the stereo and boiled custard in the refrigerator and the smell of pies and cakes in the air – so many wonderful memories. No wonder they call this “the most wonderful time of the year.” (more…)

“…and everything in its place.” I will never forget those words that my Nanny shared with me when I was just a little boy. My grandmother’s house was always so neat and clean and tidy. Nothing – and I mean nothing – was ever out of place. It was almost as if she had some sort of magical ability to wiggle her nose or wave her hand and everything went back to where it was supposed to be. Now, I know now that it wasn’t that easy, but that’s the way it seemed to a young boy. (more…)