Blog Revisited...

Let's revisit the ramblings on this blog...I have been searching for funny or memorable times and stories to let you read, but after driving to Gadsden and talking to my wife, I believe I am going to alter the course of this "space".  What do I want to accomplish with this writing?  The only thing I could really consider not being a waste of time is to pass on life experiences and "wisdom" that I have learned over the years.  If I were to die before my children really know me, what could I tell them that would make my life mean something to them?  I've learned a lot from life and through the will of God, so that if my children do not have a father, they will at least have a glimpse into what daddy was really about...  I want them to know it's not necessarily the answers that matter, but why the answers are important.
So here we go...
Yesterday I was sitting in the waiting room where my Paw Paw Gladden was holding on to life.  I wondered about the word "waiting"... What are we really waiting for?   Are we waiting for a great man to be called home to the Lord?  Are we waiting to see if by some miracle of modern science that this shell will regain the strength to start splitting wood with one hand again?  Why do we want to hold onto that last strand of "life" that we could possibly have?  While I am sad that the man that I hold in high regard is struggling, I pray for mercy. I know our struggles are temporary... John 16:33 says "I have told you these things so that in me you might have peace.  In this world you will have troubles, but take heart, I have overcome the world".  What an amazing piece of scripture.  I also pray for the opportunity to share what I have to my family.
I was about 7 when I got a particularly important Christmas present from my Aunt Donna and Uncle Jerry.  It was my first bible.  It has my name on it and a zipper with some pictures that I didn't understand.  I would not understand what a gift I got until 20 years later.  As we were leaving Paw Paw's bedside after prayer, I had an opportunity to thank my Aunt Donna for the gift that means more to me now, than when I first got it.  I hope these words will mean something to you when you need them.  This world will not know the peace I have unless I share it with them.  It starts with my family, my neighbors, my co-workers, the person I see at the grocery store, my children.  If I am no different than the world in their eyes, why do they need my Christ?
Which brings me to another point.  "If Ephesians says to imitate Christ, why do you look so much like the world?".  Todd Agnew sand these words in my favorite song.  When I first heard him sing this, I was taken aback by what he was saying.  Can he really say that?  But the truth is, we have lost what we should hold so dear... that being the truth that is found only in Jesus.  So my prayer for my children is that they know and follow the risen Christ.  And by knowing him, He lines up with the word of God and not the word of man.  Right now, some in my family are followers of Christ and some are Christians.  Before I go any further, understand that while those are by definition synonymous, they look different.  A Christian can be a default answer to "What is your religion?".  It can be an answer only.  A follower of Christ lives out the principles  set out by Jesus.  Note the distinction. will hear a lot of people talking about who Jesus is.  What matters is who is Jesus to you?