HANGING OUT IN THE CEMETERY

Ever hung out in a cemetery? I know, kinda of strange. I am writing about my grandfather who passed away years ago. In the process, I am doing research which sent me to the cemetery for dates on tombstones. I'm standing there and my imagination goes wild. Here's what I mean:

The years of birth and death are the same - 1900. The name is simply Baby. I picture a sobbing family gathered at this very spot over 100 years ago. Their tiny baby gone.

Here is another stone that is obviously military. It is a son who died in WWII. Again, a distraught family at this very spot burying their son who sacrificed his life for our freedom.

Then something strange - a tombstone with a husband and wife's name, but one grave. Not side by side like others, but one mound of dirt. My father told me the story. Their plan was that when the first one died, which happened to be the husband, he would be buried. When the second spouse died, which happened to be several years later, she would be cremated. Then a hole would be dug down to his coffin and her ashes laid to rest with him. They must have loved each other greatly. Don't you want to love like that?

Yes, many amazing, sad, and happy stories from the cemetery. Some day people will stand at your spot, at your tombstone. It may be a spouse or a child or even a stranger like me. It will happen. You are headed for the cemetery. There's no way around it unless the Lord comes first. But listen, your story - the message you leave behind, is the one you are building while you live. LIVE STRONG!

Not happy with funeral today. I grew up under the ministry of Calvin Williams in OKC. I later became a minister under his ministry. He was one of the greatest influences of my life. He was faithful! Over 40 years pastoring at the same church. Are you kidding me. He died last week at the age of 84.

Today was the funeral. The minister gave a short message about how to get to heaven - that was fine. But nothing about Calvin William's life. Nothing personal. So much to celebrate about his faithfulness and so many stories. I hate it when funeral services are so impersonal.

Certainly Calvin didn't care. He is too busy today reacquainting himself old friends. Today he is captivated with seeing the LORD!

BEST SUCCESS AND MOTIVATIONAL THOUGHTS AND IDEAS OF ALL TIME

Keep showing up!

Every adversity, every hurdle, and every struggle carries with it the seeds of a greater benefit.

Every success usually begins with a temporary defeat. 

There is a difference in being interested and being committed.

Work your strengths, hire your weaknesses.

Never make a major decision in the valley.

A dream is just a dream until it is written down. Only then does it become a goal.

Poverty and riches are the offspring of thought.

Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.

Climb safe, but climb to the top.

Dream big!

Focus on people more than profits.

People give up too soon.

The margin between victory and success is a very thin line.

Success is the rewards for setbacks.

You need two types of courage: courage to get started and courage not to quit.

Replace your wishbone with a backbone. 

The ladder of success is never crowded at the top.

Run from people with negative attitudes.

You must believe it before you can see it.

I can. I will. I am.

If you want something to change, then change the way you look at it.

Good enough - never is.

A dream is a reality waiting for you to get there.

Never let mistakes define who you are.

A true leader will take others where they would not have gone by themselves.

You may be three feet from gold - don’t quit!

THE TRIP OF ALL TRIPS

I have been on some amazing trips and have seen some incredible sights, but nothing compares to where I went and what I saw at the age of eleven, nothing. I’ve stood at the White House and day dreamed for hours. My feet have rested on the same steps of the Lincoln Memorial where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered the famous “I Have A Dream” speech. I have been to the Washington Monument and traced my fingers over the names on the Vietnam Memorial. I have walked the halls of all the Smithsonians. My knees have felt the ground next to the grave of John F. Kennedy and I’ve stood by the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. But none of that compares to where I went and what I saw at the age of eleven, nothing. I have looked down on the Grand Canyon and up to the snow covered peaks of volcanic Mount Rainier. On a clear day I’ve gazed upon the Cascades and marveled at the Olympus Mountains. I’ve stood over Niagara Falls as well us under it; deafened by its roar and soaked by its mist. I’ve stood on our old war ships and toured our new ones. I’ve walked the sacred grounds of the Civil War. I have floated in the Pacific and waded in the Atlantic. But nothing compares to a trip I took when I was eleven, nothing.  At the age of eleven I walked down a church isle and knelt at Mount Calvary. I looked up and saw an old rugged cross. To my horror and shame all my sins - past, present, and future, were nailed. There I experienced forgiveness and release of all my sins, gone. The Man who created the tree upon which He would be crucified, with outstretched arms,  asked for my life. I gave it to him. My destiny was changed for eternity. I was eleven years old that day. Nothing compares to that trip, nothing.

TOP 10 REASONS GOING TO HEAVEN WILL BE A BLAST

1. GET A NEW BODY
2. CUSTOM BUILT HOME
3. EAT GREAT FOOD
4. TALK WITH BIBLE CHARACTERS
5. REUNITE WITH LOVED ONES
6. LIVE IN A PERFECT WORLD
7. IT WILL BE THE LAST TIME WE FALL
8. BECAUSE OF THE “NO MORES.” no more death, pain, sickness, sorrow
9. AWESOME WORSHIP SERVICES
10. WE WILL SEE JESUS

ATTITUDE

A business man on his deathbed called his friend to his side and made one last request of him: “Steve, when I die, I need you to promise me that you will make sure that my body is cremated.” Steve replied, “What would you like for me to do with your ashes after I carry out your request?” He replied, “Just place them in a large envelope and mail them to the Internal Revenue Service and please write in red ink …Now you have everything!”

Paying taxes and experiencing death are the two inevitable events of life according to Mark Twain. How you approach both says a great deal about your attitude and the level of faith where you are living your life.

A quote from author, Charles Swindoll. “The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude to me is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than success, than what other people think, or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company…. A church…. A home. The remarkable thing is that we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past…we cannot change the fact that people will react a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play upon the one ‘string’ we have, and that is our attitude…I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it. And so it is with you…we are in charge of our attitudes.”

DID YOU KNOW PETER QUIT - part 1

John 21 is the story of Peter being brought back into ministry. When you think about it, this is an amazing fact. Really, you could say that humanly speaking the furtherance of Christianity had been placed into Peter's hand. But now he has abandoned the call. 

Peter was unquestionably the leader of the disciples. Every time the disciples are mentioned in the Bible he is always mentioned first. He is the outspoken one. he is the one who answers question when no one has asked any. He dives in when the water is shallow. And he makes promises that he doesn't keep.

This is why he is fishing for fish and not men in John 21. He has quit. The reason seems obvious - he promised Jesus he would go all the way, even death, and soon after denied that he even knew Jesus. He gave up. He quit and returned to fishing.

Peter makes the announcement in verse 3 when he simply says he is going fishing. Here is the part we miss with the english translation - Peter spoke in the aorist tense meaning this was a continual habitual action. He wasn't saying he was going fishing for a while, but that he was returning back to fishing on an ongoing basis. Peter was quitting his calling as a disciple. 

That's the first tragedy. The second tragedy follows in verse 3 when six other disciples said they were going with him. That's usually how it happens when someone falls and goes astray - others fall too. We now have 7 disciples who have left their calling as disciples and Peter was leader of the pack.