Marriage so far.

Tomorrow is going to be a long yet exciting day. For starters, I am leading my first Baptism service at the church (so pumped and excited about that). Then, right after church, Alyson and I will be leaving to go to Miami, Florida. We are staying with some friends Sunday night, and then Monday they are taking us to the port so we can board the cruise ship and embark on our long awaited Bahamas cruise honeymoon. YAY for cruises!

Well, it hasn’t been that long, but we got married November 25, 2008, so it has been like a month. However, we have needed to get away from the hustle and bustle of life to enjoy each other and relax since we tied the knot that morning in front of our families. What was meant to be a relaxing week at home afterwards ended up being a somewhat chaotic week of trying to get all her stuff moved in from where she was living, putting her stuff up, re-arranging how I had some stuff laid out, etc. (my cool little bachelor pad met it’s maker with Alyson!).

Anyway, we just finished our first month of marriage - one I will never want to forget. It was wonderful, amazing, insightful, growing, maturing, and dreamy. I’ve learned a lot about myself, and I’ve learned a lot about marriage (I’m sure I will keep learning).

So in the spirit of learning new things, I want to share three things I have learned with you.

WHAT I LEARNED ABOUT MYSELF – I’m selfish.
WHAT I LEARNED ABOUT MARRIAGE – It doesn’t work well when someone is being selfish.
WHAT I LEARNED ABOUT ALYSON – she’s nowhere near as selfish as me.

Blogger friends, please keep us in your prayers as we go on our cruise. Specifically you can pray that: (1) this will be a time where we can grow together as one, (2) we can give each other the attention we deserve (all of it), and (3) we can keep God first by praying daily together for our life, ministry, and future together.

See you all when we get back! Can’t wait to show you all some pictures (the picture shown is a picture of Alyson doing what she does best: helping straighten me out)!

Twas the Night Before Christmas...

I just got back from having Christmas dinner with the Costner family (I sure do love my family). As we all began standing around the Christmas tree to get the “kids” picture made, I realized how much things have changed. Some of the things were the same, but a lot about this year’s Christmas was different.

This year, and for the last couple years, we have met at my aunt’s house. It was fun and I like it, but I miss having Christmas at my grandparents. I miss my grandfather who died in 2002. I miss my grandmother (she has Alzheimer’s). She isn’t dead by any means, but I had to re-introduce my wife to her. It was kind of funny at first, but now that I think about it, Alyson will never get to know the grandmother that I knew growing up. I’m proud that she has at least gotten to know her on some level because she will never get to know my grandfather Costner.

He would have loved her. I can picture him kidding around with her and flirting with her. I can still taste that wonderful cornbread that only He could make. I can see all those flannel shirts he used to get every year for Christmas. I can hear him yell my name and ask me what I got for Christmas. If he were alive, he would be knocking on the door about the same time I get up Christmas day morning to see what I got.

I miss my grandfather so much. This year we lit a candle for him and some of the extended family that have died, and then we read the Christmas story. When we got through hearing about the birth of Jesus I couldn’t help but smile at the thought that one day I will see my grandfather again.

And that’s pretty much where the Christmas story begins – God so loved the world that He provided a way for us to experience hope, joy, peace, and eternity together with Him forever through His son Jesus.

I love you grandpa, and I’m glad that one day we will be together again for eternity.

Max Lucado

I got a new book this week from Thomas Nelson. It's by Max Lucado, entitled, For The Tough Times: Reaching Toward Heaven for Hope. It's a short book with only like 96 pages, so I am pretty excited about reading it (hopefully in one day over Christmas break). Not only am I loving that the book isn't long, but I'm a fan of Max Lucado. 

My favorite of his books is He Chose The Nails. What's your favorite book of his? Or better yet, do you even like his books?

Charlie Brown

I was at my buddy Matthew Paul Turner's house the other day and we started talking about Charlie Brown. As we were watching, I couldn't help but think of how much it seems that most of the shows on television during this time of year talks more about Santa Claus than Christ. Sure a good ethical or moral lesson may be taught in the Christmas special of whatever show we like best, but how many shows actually talk about Christ being the real reason for Christmas? 

I was excited to see that the Charlie Brown Christmas special is still keeping it real with the true meaning of Christmas. What are some shows you have watched that its "Christmas Special" actually kept the true meaning of Christmas in tact?

If you've forgotten what the true meaning is, let Charlie Brown remind you...

BOOK REVIEW

Below is a book re-view of Lynne Spear's book, Through the Storm, that I wrote and posted at Borders.com.  Have any of you read this book? If so, what did you think of it?

Skeptical, hesitant, worried, concerned, a joke, and marketing effort were several words and phrases that crossed my mind when a copy of Lynne Spears book, Through the Storm came across my desk. Now that I have read the book, I have to admit, I was wrong. My initial thoughts couldn’t have been further from the truth.

I had allowed myself to be sucked into the media’s frenzy and carried down its path of lies and deceit. I, like many, had been led astray, brainwashed, and manipulated to believe that anything the media said was truth concerning her family. By chapter two my eyes were opened to a world I never would have known without Mrs. Spears vulnerability in disclosing what life is like for her family behind the huge gates and fancy walls that stardom paid for.

Throughout the book, I found myself reminiscing on the similarities we share in the relationships to our grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, extended family, and hometown friends. On occasion I would wipe away a few tears, as I would get caught up in the whirlwind of drama and frustrations of her life’s story. Despite the storms that came her way, her faith in God and the close friends that God placed in her life proved to be the grounding anchors that kept the wind from carrying her off.

At one point in the book she admits, “I would not have been able to survive the hurricane of fame without God’s abiding strength and comfort.” The truth is, that’s how we all survive. Through an unspoken common thread throughout the book I was reminded that friends, family, and God are all key and necessary ingredients to finding happiness and contentment.

Thank you Mrs. Spears for sharing your story – one full of redemption, hope, and lots of love.

Here is a little widget where you can read the first couple chapters. Let me know what you think!

Buy		Read

Christmas Gift

Ok, so a friend of mine had this on his blog, so I thought I would share it with you all. 

The commercial is a great reminder for all of us men out there to get our wives something heart felt and loving this year for Christmas. If our wives truly are our "better half" and I believe they are (at least mine is :)) then we should make sure the gifts we get them this year say that. 

With that being said, Ladies, what are some good gifts to get you all this year? Anything specific that could help us men out?

Enjoy the video!

Don't Waste Your Pulpit

Tonight I've been sitting on the couch working on this December's sermon series and I came across a video by John Piper. I have to say I was in tears by the end of it (I think it has been one of those days where stuff is making me emotional). Anyone can watch it really, but it is mainly for pastors. On second thought, it would be cool to hear what everybody thinks about this.

While watching this video, I couldn't help but think about the sermons I'm writing now and the ones that I have preached in the past. It's so easy to preach from emotion and bias. Of course we preachers are said to preach out of the overflow of our studies, but can that truly be done without messing it up somewhere? I don't think so. Everything we do has to have flaw, right? 

However, that can't be the justification for any of us to preach and say whatever we want. We must strive, not just from the pulpit, but in every day life to preach and share Jesus. I truly want the meditations of my heart and the words of my mouth to be that of Jesus. I don't want to be anything less than what God is calling me to be. 

Anything less than God's best should never be good enough for us. And that's precisely why we should preach and live Jesus. Jesus is the best God has to offer for Jesus is God. May we all strive to live and love like Jesus. May we all be so bold and confident to speak truth, to speak Scripture, into everything.

What are your thoughts on this? Had you rather hear Scripture or a person's opinion? Do you go to church to hear the word of God or to hear your pastor's opinion and/or see friends and hang out?

Jesus is Lord

Last week was such a great week in my life. Besides my salvation experience, it was the best thing that has ever happened to me - I married the woman of my dreams. As confident as she was in marrying me, we had tons of conversations about what being a pastor’s life is and would be like. I've never been a pastor's wife, but I had seen what life was like for my mom at times and had heard many other horrible stories from friends.

Of course, I didn’t want to scare her away, but I was honest with her. I remember saying, “being a pastor’s wife is going to be hard. People will expect a lot out of ridiculous things out of you; talk bad about you; lie about you; not be their true self around you… but all I want you to do is be there for me and support me. You don’t have to do anything in the church you don’t want to do.”

This morning I have shed a lot of tears over that very conversation, but not because of how the church I serve God in treats Alyson. The people at Valley View love and treat Alyson great. They haven’t expected too much of her that I can tell and even went above and beyond giving us a wedding shower after we had only be there 2 months.

But the fact of the matter is that there are a lot of “frenemies” (friends yet enemies) out there – or maybe I should say haters. It blows my mind that some people (mainly Christians) argue, fight, and backbite over the Lord working in other’s Christian’s lives. It almost seems that many Christians don’t want any other Christian to experience joy. How soon we seem to forget that we Christians are all in this together.

But jealousy and coveting is alive in many people’s lives. I have to admit that I have been jealous and coveted other Christians in the past too because of their successful ministries. I’m sure I have even said less than appropriate things about what those individuals had done and were doing. But how silly and immature of me, and how silly and immature it is for anyone else who does that. When we backstab and talk about other Christians, we in effect are saying "God is not Lord so I must take all matters of life in my own hands."

I also have to admit that the reason I have even thought of any of this is because I read Anne Jackson's blog this morning. I don't know her but she seems to be someone truly anointed by God and who trusts God enough to walk in humility and meekness. She reminded me how the enemy can use many awesome and amazingly talented people of God to cause dissention among the body of Christ. I knew this though. Earlier this year, I was the recipient of such a horrible escapade. The enemy used someone in my life to cause me much hardship and heartache. 

But God was, is, and will be in the future, faithful. I sit here in awe and amazement at how God walked with me during that time and brought people in my life to encourage me to continue leaning in on God's promises. What I walked away with, was the knowledge and understanding that when things are great, Jesus is Lord. When things are bad, Jesus is Lord. When we are broke, Jesus is Lord. When we don’t understand what is going on, Jesus is Lord. With us or without us, Jesus is Lord.

I’m so glad that Jesus is Lord. It turns my worrying into rejoicing. It frees me to deal with the things God has called me to, and not worry about the things others may be saying, doing, or not doing. Therefore, “As for me and my house we will serve the Lord” because His word is the last word.