Thanksgiving - Presidential Thoughts

10

The Ten Cannots posted by a friend. Pretty good food for thought.

Top Ten - Too Much Thanksgiving Dinner

10. Hundreds of volunteers have started to stack sandbags around you.
9. Doctor tells you your weight would be perfect for a man 17 feet tall.

8. You are responsible for a slight but measurable shift in the earth's axis.

7. Right this minute you're laughing up pie on the carpet.

6. You decide to take a little nap and wake up in mid-July.

5. World's fattest man sends you a telegram, warning you to "back off!"

4. CBS tells you to lose weight or else.

3. Getting off your couch requires help from the fire department.

2. Every escalator you step on immediately grinds to a halt.

1. You're sweatin' gravy.

From Letteman.

Leadership Thought

"After fifteen years of diligent digging into the world around me, I have reached several conclusions about the future of the Christian church in America. The central conclusion is that the American church is dying due to lack of strong spiritual leadership. In this time of unprecedented opportunity and plentiful resources, the church is actually losing influence. The primary reason is lack of leadership. Nothing is more important than leadership."
George Barna, Leaders on Leadership

For SCC - 11-16-08 A Formula For Frienships

We finished the Balancing Your Life series this past Sunday by looking at the importance of friendships. GLARE did a great job with the song "You've Got A Friend". I mean, they knocked it out of the park. Below is a brief of what Scott and I shared about friendships.

I. TYPES OF FRIENDSHIPS

Casual Friends

Close Friends

Fact: The closer I am to a person the greater impact they will have on my life.

II. DETERMINING MY CLOSEST FRIENDSHIPS

Avoid people who have chosen to be:

Lazy, Angry, Immoral, Greedy, Unbelieving.

Select close friends who will:

Stimulate me mentally.

Support me emotionally.

Strengthen me spiritually.

III. HOW TO BUILD FRIENDSHIPS

Become interested in other people.

Be a positive and cheerful person.

Learn to be a good listener.

Accept people unconditionally.

Be there for people in good times and tough times.

Be willing to share Jesus Christ with them.

I encouraged everyone in attendance to call a friend this week and leave a voice mail or speak with them personally and shower them with positive and encouraging words about themselves. It would be best to leave a voice mail so they can listen to it numerous times. We like to be encouraged, so give a good word to a friend this week.

For SCC - Giving To Missions And Ministry

Some of the money that is given during the Hearts and Hands emphasis in Nov. and Dec. at Sunrise will go to help people in need after a a natural disaster. I met a man this past week who lives in VA and flew to TX to help with the group you see in the above clip. People were helped, lives were touched and Jesus Christ was shared with thousands of people. Thank God.

Thanksgiving - Grandma's House

At Grandma's House

I like the taste of turkey

Any time throughout the year

But it never

seems to taste as good

As when Thanksgiving's here.

Could be it's all the trimmings

That are cooked with it to eat-

But I think it's

eating at Grandma's house

That makes it such a treat!

~Author Unknown

As a child, preteen and teen our family spent man Thanksgivngs our my grandparents homes with many other relatives. I have great memories of these times and thanks God as I briefly visit the memory banks in times of reflection.

Psalm 95:1-6

1 O come, let us sing for joy to the LORD,
Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving,
Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
3 For the LORD is a great God
And a great King above all gods,
4 In whose hand are the depths of the earth,
The peaks of the mountains are His also.
5 The sea is His, for it was He who made it,
And His hands formed the dry land.
6 Come, let us worship and bow down,
Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.

360 Atop Spy Rock

This video was taken on Monday, 11-10-08 by David Donahue. David is the friend who led the way on the hike to the top. Thanks David.

Spy Rock trail to Appalachian Trail is a 1.3 mile moderately strenuous hike from the Montebello Fish Hatchery up to the Appalachian Trail and to Spy Rock, probably the best viewpoint in the central Blue Ridge. The rock outcrop, at 3,980 feet elevation, provides a 360 degree panoramic view of numerous mountain summits.

Friends - Sunday, 11-16-08 at SCC

Cute - What are you talking to God about?

Change

On my drive to and from the office complex I travel a road that is narrow and lined with trees on both sides. The trees are in full Fall colors and are beautiful. The brief drive is energizing due to the colors. When I arrive and park I look across a large piece of land that is back dropped by beautiful colors due to the Autumn weather. I sometimes sit just a few seconds and gaze out at the colors and breath a, "Wow". In the office I use I see pretty colors of nature outside the office window. I have recently been opening the office window just a bit to experience the north breeze and the smell of Fall. My wife and I just recently visited about the color of the leaves and how pretty it is this year.

Fall is pretty in my zip code. The trees changing colors is beautiful and makes for some good driving conversation. It leads me to think some about changing seasons which in turn leads to pondering about personal change and growth. As I think on this I realize I am all for YOU changing and becoming a better person, a more giving person, a person that I might like, and a person who realizes just how sharp I am. I mean, I am all for YOU changing. But me changing and making personal changes, now that is another story. Really, I do think about personal changes that I need to make want to make and grow towards. Below are some of the changes I think about for Steve Nethery.


I want to become less reactive and more responsive with my words.
I want to be a better listener.
I want to be a better public speaker/communicator.
I want to be more disciplined in my thought pattern and more optimistic in my thoughts.
I want to become more aware of what God is doing internationally.
I want to become more "Eternally Bound."
I want to... the list goes on.

Change. What are you seeking to personally change?

WOW

HARRIMAN, Tenn. – Ken Mink, a 73-year-old full-time student, scored two points Monday night in Roane State Community College's 93-42 victory over King College's junior varsity. Mink entered the game with about 16 minutes left in the second half and attempted one shot in about three minutes. Seven minutes later, he went back in the game, was fouled and made two free throws.
"I found myself on the free-throw line 52 years after my last college game," Mink said. "I said, 'Just relax and shoot it like you know how to all day long.' I just floated the shots in there. I'm in the books now. I can relax a little bit."
Mink, of Knoxville, last played college basketball 52 years ago at Lees College in Jackson, Ky. After someone soaped the basketball coach's office, he lost his spot on the team and was expelled. Mink still says he didn't do it.
Last year, after shooting baskets at a neighbor's house, he wrote to several area colleges, and Roane State coach Randy Nesbit agreed to give him a chance. Mink has practiced regularly with the team since school began in August.

Source: yahoo.com

The Month Of Thanks

During the month of November consider the personal developmment goal of becoming a more thankful and gracious person.

Helpful Hints:

Count your blessings - make a list and start enumerating the blessings in your life.

Consider the debt that has been paid on the cross - nothing is quite as humbling as an honest
evaluation of what Jesus has done in our behalf.
Write a brief “Thank You” note to everyone who gives you a gift this year - buy a package of
“Thank You” notes and a booklet of stamps. Write a cuple of cards each week and send them out.

Give thanks before each meal you eat and even your snack.
Begin teaching your children and/or grandchildren manners, like saying “Please” & “Thank You.”

Include thankfulness in every prayer - don’t allow your prayers to become a gigantic Christmas
list that you present to God…gimmie this, gimmie that… Spend time in thanks!

Nightly thanks - as you go to bed think of three things that happened that day and thank God for them.

The Hymn - Count Your Blessings

When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed, When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost, Count your many blessings, name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Refrain
Count your blessings, name them one by one,Count your blessings, see what God hath done!Count your blessings, name them one by one,And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.
Are you ever burdened with a load of care?Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,And you will keep singing as the days go by.

When you look at others with their lands and gold, Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold; Count your many blessings. Wealth can never buyYour reward in heaven, Nor your home on high.

Refrain
So, amid the conflict whether great or small, Do not be disheartened, God is over all;Count your many blessings, Angels will attend, Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.

Happy Halloween

This Song Rocks

I heard this song this week at an Associational Meeting that was held at Union Bethel Baptist Church. Their choir was powerful and this song really touched me and made me think about the hope I have in JC.

The Great Depression

A family member sent me this info about The Great Depression. It has been an interesting read, look and listen. Be warned, you may get hooked.

From "Serious Times"

Vol. 4, No. 19

Dear Mr. President:

I do not yet know your name, but in a few days you will be elected to our nation’s highest office, and become the leader of the free world at the end of a long and engaging election season.

I wanted you to know that I will be praying for you. Not praying against you, or about you, but for you. That is both my pledge, and my obligation as a follower of Christ. In the Bible, the apostle Paul writes, “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”

And I will do so with a full and undivided heart.

I will be praying for you from my position as a father of four children, and God willing, future grandchildren; that you will have the foresight to think through what your decisions will mean for them as the next generation.

I will be praying for you as a citizen of the United States; that you will seek wisdom from God and humbly submit yourself to His leadership as you lead our nation through economic turbulence, domestic divides, and cultural diversities.

I will be praying for you as a member of the global population; that you will work with other well-intentioned leaders from around the world as we face environmental challenges, wars and rumors of wars, and humanitarian crises.

And finally, I will be praying for you as a Christian; that you will encourage faith in God to flourish and never allow deeply held spiritual convictions to become a matter of ridicule, instead encouraging everyone to grant them a respectful hearing, even if they go against the political policy of your party.

It is being widely spoken that the next president will inherit more that needs immediate attention than any other president in recent memory. As a result, it has been a hard-fought and hotly contested election. Yes, I will vote, and I do not know if you will be the one for whom I cast my ballot. But following November 4th, all that must be set aside no matter how deep the divides may be.

So while I do not know if you will be the candidate I voted for, I do know that no matter your name, I will support you in one way without question.

I will be praying for you.

James Emery White


Sources

Scripture reference: I Timothy 2:1-2, New International Version.

For an online community committed to praying for our leaders that is both non-political and non-partisan, see www.presidentialprayerteam.org.

I copied this from an email I receive from Serious Times. Dr. James White authored the book and comments on the blog. Thoughtful reading.

Hearts And Hands

SCC begins a two month missions and ministry emphasis beginning this Sunday, 11-2. It has been exciting to think about this, discuss this and work on the promo with other leaders. Hearts And Hands will encourage and challenge those associated with Sunrise to think, pray, and give in new realms.