Day 1

Some Scripture:

“God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”

-Ephesians 2:8-10 (NLT)

Some Reflection:

In the context of expressing the miraculous grace that infuses new life – God's life - into the believer, Paul makes an intriguing statement: “...We are God's masterpiece.” Other translations might phrase it, “...We are God's workmanship.” However you put it, what cannot be denied is that each particular believer is special in the eyes of God, and as a result, each particular believer is being crafted into something more special than we can even imagine: a person conformed into the image of Christ.

The strange thing about persons, though, is that they are... strange. Think of it: You have never met another you. In fact, you have never met two persons who were exactly alike. Even identical twins are unique persons – complete with unique personalities, experiences, fears, tastes, likes, and dislikes. No two are quite alike. Persons are irreplaceable, and according to the intentional design of their Maker and Redeemer, it is precisely their unique expression of His image that both gives them dignity and makes them invaluable.

As you begin this week of intentionally searching for God's fullness to be actualized in your life, remember – first – that you are you, and there is no other. And – second – remember that He doesn't want too much: He just wants you... all of you. You are a masterpiece; you are His masterpiece.

Camp Devotions...

Lindsey and I were charged with planning and putting together this year's camp for the southeast region of our denomination.

So, in addition to all of the laborious work involved in preparing for a youth camp, the wife and I took it upon ourselves to write daily devotions for the adults attending camp this past week. We thought it would be helpful to give them a daily framework from which they might share some devotional thoughts with the youth in their cabins each day. The idea was to give the counselors a passage of scripture, help them to quickly flesh it out in their minds, have them read the passage with those in their cabins, have them possibly make a couple of comments, and finally have them close in prayer. This was to take place each morning so as to accomplish a couple of things:

-first, to begin the day well;

-second, to instill into their youth the reality that beginning the day well is actually possible when it, of course, is intentional.

Now, you are prepared for what will follow... [those devotions]

"Welcome to This World, Little One."

Weighing in at 6 lbs 13 oz and measuring 19.25 inches in length, Emery Silas Godbold entered this world at 4:46 this morning. As you might imagine, Lindsey and I were pleased to greet him with proud smiles, many kisses, and an abundance of thanksgiving. Filled with unnumbered prayers and too, too many long and tiring walks around the labor and delivery department of Emory University Hospital - Midtown, the last 24 hours have seemed terribly long, but it has been well worth it. He is a beautiful young man, and our first prayer for him once he was in our arms was that the Holy Spirit would be upon him even now at such a youthful age and that God would do great things through him as he loves and follows Jesus.





Please pray with us that his breathing proves itself to be normal, as he gets some rest in the nursery from a rapid-paced delivery (6 minutes). We appreciate all of your prayers in our behalf and the many, countless wishes of good things that we have already received.







Welcome, little man! We're awfully glad you've made it.

A Boy Becomes a Man...

So, the other day, something odd happened...

Around lunchtime, Lindsey was at home alone with the kids, and she heard a noise out back. Looking out the back French doors, she saw a young lady running down the stairs of our deck. Then, looking out a side window, she watched the girl running off with a half-empty bag of charcoal, taken from our deck. A few minutes later, Lucas began barking, and Lindsey saw a young man on our back deck looking around my grill and smoker. She went out on the deck, certainly startling the young man, and asked him what he was doing. He made up what he thought to be a clever story about his dog running through our back yard, only to be shocked when Lindsey asked if he needed some charcoal to help find the pooch. Lindsey gave him the ol' heave-ho, only to be interrupted a few minutes later by the doorbell. The two busted thieves stood on the front deck, bag of nabbed charcoal in hand, and tried to make sense of their senseless actions of thievery. "We thought no one was home..." And that justifies your actions, how? Lindsey kindly told the two busted "criminals" that she would have gladly given them the charcoal if they had but asked like good neighbors. But, there they stood as thieves, surely regretful, though most probably only because they had gotten caught.

If you know me at all, you probably know that I hate confrontation. Probably the only thing I hate worse than confrontation is for people to dislike me. [Why am I in ministry, you ask? I have no rational idea. What can I say, but that I'm a masochist?]

The predicament in which I found myself: I was confident that these kids hadn't told their parents. In fact, I wasn't even sure of who these kids were. I did, however, know that they either lived next door or were visiting the family next door. I also knew that I am both a husband and a father, that the parent's next door needed to know what happened, and that I suddenly found myself with the responsibility of telling them that either their kids or dear friends of their kids had stolen from their new next-door neighbors.

Therefore, a confrontation must occur, and I would certainly feel weird about what the new neighbors might be thinking about me. Oh, well... A man I must be. After all, I have a couple of factors in my home that could prove deadly for a couple of idiot teenagers snooping around my home: babies and handguns. These kids next door needed to know, first, that I will not tolerate thievery, and second, that their actions were more stupid then they even know at the time. [This young couple living next door - That's right, the couple with the adorable little kids. - we have guns for crying out loud! We are the last people you should be "robbing"!]

In the nicest way possible, I brought the situation to the attention of the father of the family. He was terribly embarrassed and completely remorseful. I ended our conversation explaining that I am willing to do anything I can, even give anything I can, to be a good neighbor to him and his family - just so long as it's not taken...

The next morning, on my front porch was a brand new bag of charcoal. Well, there you go.

The New Ride

Seeing how our family is expanding from four members to five and our only vehicle has been a 2003 Honda Element, which seats only four, we had to acquire a larger vehicle. And so... on Monday, I purchased a a mini-van. I got a great deal on a 2007 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT, and to be quite honest, I absolutely love it.



It's actually pretty fun to drive. It has pretty good pickup for a mini-van. It certainly doesn't drive like a mini-van [For the record, neither does the Element.]. It handles wonderfully and gets great gas mileage.



All in all: A pretty good purchase.

A Refreshingly-Unadulterated Swing of the Axe at the Very Root of the Problem:

Thursday, July 02, 2009

SEX: GOOD, BABIES: BAD
By Kortney Blythe


This mindset seems to be the theme in this week’s news from the frontlines of the pro-death camp.

Take for instance, this quote by Elisabeth Garber-Paul in an article on the rise in sexual activity during this economic recession: "So join the rest of America in this exciting new trend. Save money, stay in, have sex—just don’t make a baby."

That’s right, Elisabeth, throw respect for yourself out the window and spit in the face of God by removing one of his intentions for intercourse. More babies will just make the economy worse, right? Wrong. In fact, one of the reasons we are even in this recession is because of the plummeting birthrate. There simply aren’t enough people to replace the retiring population in the workplace and pay for social security or to stimulate the economy.

Not that you’ll hear about that from the anti-human, overpopulation zealots. But, do your research. Watch Demographic Winter and Demographic Bomb, two documentaries which debunk the overpopulation myth and ask the very important question: IS IT POSSIBLE WE HAVE BEEN FAILED BY THE VERY IDEAS WE THOUGHT COULD SAVE US?

It goes without saying that abortion advocates think saving sex for marriage is ludicrous and archaic. ....Just check out the title of a book just released by radical feminist Jessica Valenti, The Purity Myth: How America’s Obsession with Virginity is Hurting Young Women.

In an interview on RH Reality Check, the author, Valenti, purports that teaching and honoring purity is just as dangerous as the media’s “pressure on sexuality and the hypersexualization of women.” Oh really? So, protecting young people from the heartbreak and emptiness of pre-marital sex, not to mention a load of sexually transmitted diseases, is akin to the objectification of women, the result of which has been a generation of depressed, confused girls with eating disorders?

She goes on to say, “The purity myth is so embedded in our culture and our psyches…You don't have to be forcing your daughter to take a virginity pledge in order for the fiction of virginity to affect your life.” Really? Then, why does every Hollywood film end (or begin) with a couple jumping in bed together? If it’s so “embedded” in our culture then why are abortion, STD and teen pregnancy rates so high? (I’m not going to even legitimize her term “fiction of virginity” with a response).

As if that isn’t enough, in Greensboro, NC a new program is paying high school girls to not get pregnant. That’s right. For every day they stay baby-free, $1 is deposited into an account to be used for college. According to WXII12 news, the group was founded by Hazel Brown, a maternity nurse who thought too many teens were having babies. Ms. Brown, how about seeing the root of the problem - too many teens are having pre-marital sex. The problem is NOT the presence of a baby, but the actions of his mother, which resulted in his existence.

The three goals of this program, called College-Bound Sisters, are for the girls to “avoid pregnancy, graduate from high school and enroll in college,” Brown said. Oh, what lofty goals we have for our young people!....
Teenagers rise to the expectations that are set for them. If all we ask is that they avoid pregnancy (and bonus! we’ll pay you for it), what are we teaching girls about sex, relationships, the value of children or personal responsibility, for that matter?

Instead of urging purity and self-control and demonstrating the joys of a quiver full of children (Psalm 127:4-5) within marriage, this program bribes young girls. If those same girls were taught basic biblical morality they wouldn’t be having sex, and thus, there would be no chance of pregnancy.

The message of this program in a nutshell: Go ahead and sin against God by having damaging pre-marital sex, but just make sure you avoid one of the outcomes – babies.

If only young people knew the joy and blessings they are missing out on when they use sex for purely physical and selfish reasons! Then, and only then, they would cherish chastity as it should be.

To my unmarried friends reading this, please flee from this deadly mentality of me-first, pleasure seeking, sex without consequences. Seek righteousness, pursue holiness and practice chastity.

“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.”
-2 Timothy 3:1-5

Aidan's 2nd Haircut

His new do...