Life in Narnia

Often times the weather were I live is extreme. Because of our elevation, we have much cooler temps and heavier snow. For example the forecast for Canton NC, was snowy and a lo of 9 degrees. At my house it was very snowy, high winds and a balmy 2 degrees. That is ridiculous.
So we call it Narnia. These pictures were taken one year ago when we graciously received 26 inches a week before Christmas 2009.

We are however thankful for our mountain home, it fits us well.

Blessings

A Life of Greatness...

What is a great life to you? In our post-modern society greatness is sought out by everyone. Everybody wants to be great. Greatness is usually judged by how famous, rich, and important you are.

How does God judge greatness? The word of God tells us of a man named John the Baptist. We learn much about him. The most amazing thing we hear about him comes strait from Christ. Jesus calls John the baptist the greatest man ever born. What a statement...In Gospels we can find some aspects of his greatness.

You will notice throughout the Gospel's description of John the Baptist some aspects of a great life....
Background…
1. No royal birth, born into a plain common ministry family
2. He had no formal education, lived isolation
3. He made no fashion statement, he had no concern for what was in style
4. He was not involved with any institution
5. He started no real movement
6. The religious leaders despised him…he despised them
7. He spent his last days in Jail, eventually was beheaded.
8. Despised, hated, and decapitated, at a young age (early thirties)
In the worlds eyes this is anything but greatness

I. Life that is Christ Centered
a. “He must increase, I must decrease”….”I am unworthy”
b. Understood his calling ---to prepare
c. Uncertainties…he went to Christ..
II. Life that Calls for Repentance
a. Requires a Response
i. Living in such a way that the lost people in your life respond with persecution or repentance
b. True Repentance
i. Not, religious repentance---having sorrow for everyone elses sins and not yours…pointing out theirs and not yours, self –righteousness,
ii. Pagan-assuming God is not good and we have to manipulate him “if I tell God I am sorry he will he is obligated to help me, GOD is Sovereign and good and free to do what he wants…he is not a good luck charm
iii. Worldly Sorrow—feeling bad and seeking someone to tell its okay…celebrities are notorious for this….Oprah…Dr. Phil, or Barbara Walters..No new life, No Holy Spirit, No Jesus….counterfeit.
iv. Mere Confession—this is confusing …I was wrong I am sorry…”I thought you were sorry last week…you will be sorry next week too”
v. Blame Shifting---I did this but it was their fault….Adam, Eve…
vi. Minimizing---At least I did not kill someone….Well I am not a Nazi…
vii. Excuse making – Yeah I did it, but it was the way I was raised, I did not get hugs when I was a kid
c.
i. Is …Conviction…this is of God through the Holy Spirit…through the conscience, the scriptures, bible teaching, testimonies…
ii. Confession…this is agreeing with God..telling God your sin
iii. Repentance….is not managing or minimizing your sin…its killing it…
iv. Reconciliation….This were God and people are reconciled
III. Life that Endures
a. Critics
i. Scoffed him
ii. Spectacle
iii. Confronted them
b. Persecution …
i. he was in prison for…
ii. he died by losing his head
iii. By the way…if you are not experiencing persecution you will
IV. Life that is Mastered …he did not master anything…he was mastered by Christ
a. By the Word of God
b. The Holy Spirit
i. Spirit filled…..Life out of the box….
c. Even unto death---Are you willing to let God lead you into what he has for you even if its death?

What to GO fishing!!!

Usually I stay pretty serious on the blog but this could not be resisted. This car was in Waynesville Wednesday afternoon. I thought this was hilarious. The picture was taken with a phone, and sent to me.

I love it!!!!!

Pa Burnette...

(another entry from my wife's blog...this one is about my great grandfather, Emma and Macy's great great grandfather)

This year Pa Burnette will turn 95, and lately he hasn't been doing too well. We are coming to the sad realization that there won't be many more Christmas lunches at Pa's house, or pictures of the five generations every year. So my family took some time to go visit with Pa Burnette this week.

Even short visits with Pa are rich with wisdom. Here are few things about Pa you might be interested to know: This year is the first year he has not tended a garden (of over 100 tomato plants, mind you!). And though his name is Elbert, they call him "Tobe". He got the nickname from the family mule years ago. Why? Because he worked as hard as a mule and was just about as stubborn. Pa has been married and widowed twice and loved them both more than life itself. I only met Jenny, his latter wife, who was as much a gem as he. And of all the times I have visited Pa he never fails to mention her name....and how much he misses her. Another interesting thing about Pa...he's never owed a man anything. When visiting with him the other day, he told me that he gave Jenny $500 back in '65 to get a new TV. She came home with an $800 TV and told Pa she hard charged the other $300. He immediately gave her $300 and told her to go pay it off, he never intended to be in debt for anything, especially not a TV! Another fond memory of Pa....his dog, Holly. She's a deaf cocker spaniel who walks with a limp and can't see a thing. And she's fat as mud because Pa feeds her candy.....her favorite...Werther's Originals. And despite her deaf ears, Pa still issues the old commands, "Get up in your chair" (Jenny's chair) and "Shut up!"

Such fond memories, and you know what I love.....No matter when you go see Pa and no matter who is there, it will always be the same memories. Emma will eat all his peppermint candies, she'll feed Holly all of the Werther's, Macy will sit in his lap the whole hour and just pat his belly, we'll talk about gardens and good old fashioned hard work, he'll share fond stories of Jenny, and before we leave he will give us bean seed and rhubarb.

Maybe it sounds boring to most, but to me its precious. Oh the blessing of gleaning wisdom from older generations! And what a testimony a 95 year old man has when he can say he has seen the work of God throughout five generations!

Joel 1:3-4
"Hear this, you elders; give ear, all inhabitants of the land! Has such a thing happened in your days, or in the days of your fathers? Tell your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children to another generation."

Hey Guys here is a post from my wife's blog ......She is amazing

Cracks

Last evening (Sunday) we rushed home after a day of church and began our usual bed time rush. Spring Break is over (sadly), and I knew Emma needed to be in bed at a decent hour, which had passed two hours prior to "the rush." I automatically started dishing out the usual commands, "Emma, brush your teeth......Emma get your pajamas on!.....Macy, I've got your cereal. Are you ready to eat?......Timmy did somebody let Smokey out?.....Emma, I said brush your teeth.....And did you potty before bed?.....No, it's too late for a snack.......I SAID BRUSH YOUR TEETH!!!!!
(Do you get why I call it "the rush"?)

Anyhow, I finally got everyone settled down, and I went to tuck Emma into bed. My plan was to get it done quickly and she would go to sleep quickly (yeah, right!). But nonetheless we began our usual routine. We got a drink of water. We turned her night light on, and we sang her lullaby (which happens right now to be "Glory, glory, glory Jesus touched me). When we finished singing she said, "Momma, I was wondering if you could just lay down with me for a few minutes." I started to say, "No, it's bed time. You have school tomorrow.' But then I thought....I should never be too busy to snuggle. Twenty more awake minutes won't make that much difference at 7:00am tomorrow. So I paused, and we snuggled, and I am so glad I did because God used 20 simple minutes to again teach me a complex truth.

You see, Emma is afraid of the cracks in her room. Her bed is next to the wall, and that leaves a small crack between the wall and her bed. In her six year old mind, something might come out of that crack at night, especially in the dark, and get her. So just to be sure she's safe, we line that crack with pillows every night.

After we took care of all the cracks in the room, she tried to go to sleep, but I could tell she seemed worried I might leave, so she hugged me as tight as she could, even while we sang. Then, when it came time for our prayers, she said, "Momma, can you just pray tonight?" Of course that was fine, so I began praying, and in my prayer I began praying specifically for Emma. In the midst of mentioning her name several times, I felt a light tap on my shoulder. I paused, looked down, and I saw Emma hold her hand up as if to say, "Stop." Then she said, "Excuse me, but could you just ask Him to help me not be afraid?" And I did. And within 5 minutes she was gone.....solid gone!

So, here's my big truth from my little moment....

You see, our life is full of cracks. Big ones, small ones, dark ones, scary ones. Some of our cracks are fears that leave us terrified and frightened, others are sins that leave us defeated and beaten, others are pressures that leave us weary and down trodden. And what do we do? We try to cover the cracks, but soon we find that there just aren't enough pillows.

But you see, Emma had the right concept. She knew those pillows could be easily moved. But she also knew there was one who was greater than those pillows and bigger than her fears. You see, we have a heavenly Father who knows, is interested in, and has even created the most delicate parts of us. I love that Psalm 139 reminds us, "O Lord you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up ; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. "

He knew Emma's fears before I even prayed for her. He, too, knows our cracks when no one else does and before we ourselves are even aware of them. And, yet, he gives us a great promise...a great comfort in Isaiah 41:10, "fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

Why? Not because we deserve it, but because he is God.

Created 3 days ago by Beth Burnette •

Separatists...

“The anvil is not afraid of the hammer.”.......Charles H. Spurgeon

In recent days I have been away from the "blog world". During this time I have been reflecting on life in general. One thing that I truly began to notice is the "revival" in pro-separation in the SBC and other evangelicals. The separation is rooted in one's view on the origin of salvation (monergism...salvation coming from God alone, which should be rallying point instead of a point of division) and then moves on to subjects like Calvinism, hyper-Calvinism, Armenianism,...etc...etc.

This type of separation is also found in the Independent Fundamental Baptist movement as well. The particular type of separation that I referring to is the sometimes called 2nd degree or 3rd degree separation. For example, If I hang out with someone who you think is a heretic,(keep in mind my convictions have not changed) you my brother who thinks like me, will not hang out with me because of who you "think" is a heretic, is associated with me.

Now, this type of separation may be justified when someone is truly living outside of scripture, but when it is an issue likened to that of Calvinists/Armenians, in which brothers from the same denomination disengage from fellowship, it becomes ridiculous and sinful.

Some questions that frustrate me....(theses questions are for both sides of the argument)...

When did Baptist theological debates become a spectacle, where calling the opposing argument equal to militant Islam become acceptable?

Why has many modern SBC pastors distorted their own history to make a point?

When did winning a debate and tampering with surveys, to prove a stance, become the priority of many Pastors in the SBC?

Why will a reformed baptist not attend a SBC church that does not have "reformed" in their sign?

How can those who love the doctrines of Grace not practice the very thing they argue over?


On this day...the day our Lord suffered for our sins, absorbed the wrath of God, appeased His Anger and won the Victory....let us remember what binds us together....THE GOSPEL...not a system of theology

To all my BROTHERS, who are Calvinists, Armenians, and everything in between.....GRACE AND PEACE TO YOU FROM OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST .....

"may the Lamb who was slain receive the reward of his sufferings"
Take a look at these sites
www.9marks.org
www.founders.org

Ministers

Some of the best student ministry I have ever seen has been done by those who do it for free. It is not the youth pastor with all the degrees or the youth guru at a conference. The best are those who come faithfully to the functions and invest their lives and time into teenagers. Thank God for you sunday school teachers, D-leaders, volunteers, cooks, etc..

thanks, "mom" "Old School" jordan, jake, Justin, Matt and Melissa, beth, "Larbee"Michelle, Scott, Greg, Shannon, Brandi, alicia, bill, and....all of you from the past, present and future thank you so much...

I love you guys with all my heart and I am constantly learning from y'all.....

thanks