A Father's Hands

I recently took this photo of a very unsuspecting gentleman as he sat quietly in the chair next to me. While we didn't speak very much, his hands said a lot. These are the hands of a hard-working man who gets up everyday to go to work in order to provide for his family.

As I looked at his hands through the lens of my camera, I was struck by the the thought of how Jesus used His hands in so many ways to provide for others...

-to hold children

-to touch people as he healed them

-to bless people

-to hold Himself up as He hung on the cross

Yet, as I look at this photo, I'm reminded that the hands of Jesus also protects...

John 10:27-29 (New International Version)

²⁷ My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.
It sure is good to know that as a followers of Jesus Christ, I am double-covered!
And yet, some times, I don't listen to His voice. Far too often I listen to my own voice before listening to His. Thus the inner battle of every person who seeks to follow Jesus Christ. John 3:30 reminds us that, "He must increase, but I must decrease."
We need to be filtering our lives through the lenses of what God would have us do in EVERY area of our lives (marriage, work, parenting, church, leading others, etc.) And thus, hear His voice...not our own. And when we do, we can find rest in His hands.

What Kind of Friend Are You?

Someone once said the best way to get friends is to be one first. Good words.

A friend of mine, Robin Carlile, shared something with me that is worth sharing with you. It's an evaluation tool to guide you through a stern look at how you perceive the value of friendships and what you look for in a friend. She created this for a Bible study and it's too good not to pass along.

Take a few moments to assign a numerical value to each attribute of a friend below. Use a scale of one (1) to five (5). A "1" indicates that particular attribute is not real necessary for you in a friendship, and a "5" indicates that it is a must for you in a friendship. The Bible verses are for later, but you may want to consider what they say as you make your decisions.

More instructions after you finish this part.


I look for friends who...

Are loyal (Proverbs 8:24b) ____
Are forgiving (Matthew 18:21-22) ____
Will ask tough questions (Proverbs 27:17) ____
Will make sure I do what I say I will do (Matthew 18:15) ____
Will restore me when I mess up (Galatians 6:1) ____
Has a moral character (1 Corinthians 15:33) ____

Are committed to a Holy alliance (1 John 1:7) ____
Are sociable (Proverbs 18:1, Acts 2:46) ____
Are consistent (Proverbs 17:17) ____
Are like-minded (Acts 4:32) ____
Are honest/truthful (Proverbs 27:6; Ephesians 4:15) ____
Are generous (Acts 2:44) ____
Are loving (Leviticus 19:17-18) ____
Are kind (Ephesians 4:32) ____
Are servants (Galatians 4:13) ____
Are selfless/sacrificial (John 15:12-13) ____
Are motivated (Hebrews 10:24) ____
Are considerate (Philippians 2:3-4)
Will pray for me (James 5:16; Galatians 6:2) ____

Now, the fun part. Add up all of your numerical values and see how you fare according to the following scale.

0-39
Your friendship skills are sorely lacking. Your friendships are limited and probably shallow. You generally have some clever rational for why this is. ACTION PLAN: Take the "20 Day Challenge." Each day for the next twenty days, focus on one of the listed friendship attributes. Begin your day by reading the accompanying scripture and praying the following prayer: "Lord, show me where I lack this quality today in a very real and clear way. Lord, I allow you to develop the quality of ( ) in my life today."

40-79
In general you are very friendly but may lack deep committed relationships. People may generally characterize you as the life of the party but you burn bright and fizzle quickly because you do not have the genuine depth to sustain this energy for very long. ACTION PLAN: Look over your individual scores. Highlight those friendship attributes for which your score is 3 or less. Each day chose a “lacking” attribute and begin your day by reading the accompanying scripture and praying the following, "Lord, show me where I lack this quality today in a very real and clear way. Lord, I allow you to develop the quality of ( ) in my life today."

80-100
You are a true and reliable friend whose friendships are characterized as deep and genuine. Friendship, for you, is a two way ever widening street. You pursue close friendships and are fulfilled by supporting those who call you friend and by relying on those who you call friend. ACTION PLAN: You need to be fine tuning your skills. Ask God daily to grow you in the areas He sees fit. Daily look over your list of attributes paying attention to the scores that are somewhat lower than others and go through your day looking for those divine appointments for growth in these areas. At the end of each day make a note about how you saw the Holy Spirit at work and write a prayer of thanksgiving.

How did you do? The key is to be honest enough to acknowledge where you are and determine where you want to go. I've said it before, "If you keep doing what you're doing, you're going to keep getting what you getting." Remember...be a friend if you want to get friends...

10 Simple Things Every Kid Wants to Hear

As school has begun, I wanted to empower you with something that would help you become a champion parent...

10 Simple Things Every Kid Wants to Hear

1. Yes
2. How can I pray for you?
3. Will you forgive me?
4. God has a plan for you!
5. We are excited that you are growing up (entering a new stage of life)!
6. I know it hurts.
7. You are more important to me than...(you fill in the blank - report cards, work, sports, etc.).
8. I am so glad you are in our family.
9. I love you too much to let you do that.
10. Try to be patient with me. I've never been the parent of a 10-year-old (or whatever the child's age is) before. (Caution: This only works on the firstborn!)

Be your kid's #1 fan...

Taken from The Parent Adventure by Rodney & Selma Wilson

Used with permission from HomeLife, July 2009

It's Football Season!!!

On a wall in my office hangs a print of a small, blond haired boy in blue jeans and a long sleeve, red and white striped shirt looking out over the ocean. Below the photo, the word PRIORITIES leaps off the page in all caps. And then at the bottom you find these words:

"A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove...but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child."

As I read that, I'm reminded of Steven Covey's Habit #3 that says, "Put First Things First." As he develops that point, he makes a great statement: "The things that matter most must never come at the mercy of things that matter least." It would appear that many people have forsaken what matters most in their lives in order to obtain things that really don't matter much at all. 

Priorities are the things we place in the center of our lives. It's what we revolve around from day to day. For some it's their job; for others, it's their stuff; and still for others it's personal success. But as I eluded to in the beginning, once they get to where they are going, there's a good chance they'll have no one to share it with because they neglected the people closest to them along the way. Not to mention that they may have never considered the One who helped their plans succeed in the first place.

Proverbs 16:3 "Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed."

Bobby Bentley was someone who was chasing a dream of being a successful football coach. Success as a high school coach at nationally ranked Byrnes High School led to an opportunity to coach a college football team at Presbyterian College. Then it all changed. Here's his story...

Back to School!!!

School is about to begin. Time for bookbags, notebooks, pencils and more. But as we kick off another 180 days of learning, I want to suggest that the most valuable component of a successful year might be something other than the typical items. It's something that varies among students, teachers and administrators. What is it? It's our perspective.

For some, the next 180 days are necessary evils. For others, they are opportunities to make a difference in themselves and others. It's like the old African adage that says...

Every morning, in Africa, the gazalle wakes up
Knowing if it runs slower than the fastest lion, it will be eaten.

Every morning, in Africa, the lion awakes,
Knowing if it runs slower than the fastest gazelle, it will starve.

Every morning when the sun comes up,
It doest't matter if your a lion or a gazelle,
You'd better be running.

Whether you are an educator or parent, we all play a part in helping our kids be successful in their education. I'm convinced that the parent's role in their child's learning is the most critical factor of their success. Don't neglect this responsibility.

Education is not simply reading, writing and arithmetic. It's becoming more about learning how to learn and how to make good choices. It's about getting up every morning knowing that you need to be moving forward. This video might help...Have a GREAT year and make it count!

eXtreme Kids Camp Wrap-Up Video

I'm working on a "Back to School" post. But before I get that up, I thought you'd like to see an overview of our week at camp. Thanks to "P-Diddy Pastor Doug" for allowing me to tag along and to "Super Ken" Mayfield for his work on the video each night and for this finale. Enjoy!

(* Note: If you happen to catch a guy in between two girls and they are all covered in "yuck," that's me and my girls...)

OMC = Organized Mass Chaos

It's Wednesday at the Extreme Kids Camp. We're learning what it means to be a "Worship Machine." This is a first-class event for children!

The purpose of this post is simply to share a quick video of faces from the morning event. It's called "OMC" and it lives up to its name. I'll save details for later (if you need to know more, let me know.) In the mean time, here is a video (without sound) of the typical end result:

The Birds and the Bees...

Thought that would get your attention...

This past weekend, my wife took our youngest daughter away for her "Big Girl" talk. I'm not sure how you might handle this, but it stressed my wife to no end. The stress wasn't so much due to the content as it was her desire to set the correct foundation for our daughter's understanding of the greatest expression of love between a husband and wife.

As much as we try to use our marriage to reflect God's love for His greatest and favorite creation, we can only show them so much ;o). Some things are best reserved for them to discover with thier future spouse.

You may be asking, "How did it go?" Answer: GREAT!

How can anyone say that talking to an eleven-year-old about sex is "Great!"? It's easy. She used a program called, "Passport to Purity" produced by Dennis and Barbara Rainey (link provided below.) It's a weekend get-a-way with five sessions covering everything from self-esteem, dating and yes, the intricate details of "the marriage bed." More importantly, it was all based on God's design for His creation, not pop-culture. Just you, your child, some props and a CD player.

I love my wife! She loves our girls enough to work to put this weekend together and plan all of the details to pull it off. It will be a memory for them that will last a lifetime! It's like this; as parents, we can be reactive TO our kids or we can be proactive FOR our kids. We just want to be ahead of them to help them learn to make good choices.

The choices they make now will determine the life they live later.

Link for Passport to Purity.

You've got two seconds...

Have you ever had a moment in your life when you felt as if you were playing a game of Musical Chairs, the music stops...and there's no more chairs?

In the context of the game, it's a simple rush of disappointment as you realize you're "out." In the context of life, it's not so simple. When you "run out of chairs" in life, everything stops. You feel as if all the oxygen has left the room. You are aware of nothing going on around you except the one thing that has stopped the music. I recently heard the story of family who had such an experience.

They had their second child over one year ago. A precious little girl, whom they knew before she was born would have a club foot. A "minor" challenge that would be corrected with surgery later in life. Nothing to be concerned about. But a few days after she was born, the music stopped. She had an extra chromosome. She had Down syndrome.

As her parents shared her story, her dad made this comment: "It's times like this that you have just two seconds...two seconds to decide how you will respond." He shared how he was speechless. Nothing to say. His wife, however, didn't flinch. With a hint of fear and a heap of faith, she asked, "OK, where do we go from here?"

While it may have felt as if the music had stopped, she knew it was just beginning. She knew the Creator makes no mistakes. She knew this precious little girl was just as she was created to be. She knew the Creator had a plan.

Psalm 139:14-16 "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."

The bottom line here is that there will always be events in our lives over which we have no control. At those moments, the only thing we can control is our response. Some choose to get angry and bitter, while others see the opportunity to experience God on a whole new level. They know that regardless of how "bad" the situation, He's even greater.

Get ready. Life is moving on but one day, the music might stop. Get ready. You've got two seconds.

This is a link to a video that features this family. They appear just over halfway...you will not miss them: http://vidego.316networks.com/player.php?p=u8y0g80d

Countdown to Extreme Kids Camp

It's almost that time of year...

The Extreme Kids Camp is quickly approaching and the Morris clan can't wait. The topic of camp comes up in our home all throughout the year. But this year, we're especially excited because the folks at Woodlands Camp have just complete a MAJOR overhaul of the lake. (I'll post photos below.) If you've been, don't panic...the "Blob" is still there.

Another reason we get excited about camp is it's a great week of getting away from our normal routine, TVs, Emails and everything else that demands our attention back home. We're with friends, creation and, of course, the Creator. I get to speak during our evening event (music, videos, skits, etc...) It's one of the highlights of our year.

If you're local to our area and want to know more, you can call 864.578.0509. It's open to anyone who wants to join us. Kids need to be rising 3rd - 6th grade.

As promised...here are some pictures of the new additions at camp.

(You can click on the photos to make them larger.)

New Bridge, Diving area and "The Blob."

New Slides (Cool!!!)

Brand new Lake Swing...