The Great Adventure of 2011

When I was in the process of planning our vacation, I kept everything a secret from Katie and Kellie about what we were going to be doing.  We took off Thursday morning for the Ocoee river in Tennessee for a wild adventure whitewater rafting.  This is something I have always wanted to do and I wanted to experience it with my girls.  We had such a good time.  This river has some class III and IV rapids on it and you would have thought we were pros.  I would highly recommend this river for anyone feeling froggy. (That’s me in the red shirt and white legs)

After we finished our rafting we headed over to Bryson City, N.C. were we stayed at the base of the Smoky Mountains at a wonderful little cabin. (http://www.greatsmokies.com/peacefulcreek)  I had the opportunity to take my nephews on their very fist tubing experience.  It was priceless.  They were scared to death the first time down, but just like ducks in the water they were ready to go again and the second day we had a blast.  By this time Mom and Dad had met up with us at the cabin.  Mom has always wanted to take the train ride that leaves from Bryson City so that’s what we did.

We got up on Friday morning and boarded the Great Smokey Mountain Railroad.  it was a good time for all as we went by some mountain lakes and waved at people rafting down stream.  it was slow paced but that’s why I enjoyed it so much.

After some more tubing and a trip up through the Smokey Mountains we were ready to head back to good old Georgia,  but we weren’t done yet.  We had to stop by the Amicalolla Falls, the most beautiful water falls that I have ever seen in my life.  We all got adventurous and hiked up the side of this wonderful mountain  with the water falling right next to the path.  A picture is worth a thousand words!

Well this has been our great adventure of 2011.  I believe it is one for the history books in the Sizemore family.  I have more pictures and stories on tap for those that are interested.

Hot-Lanta

AS we checked out of the hotel of the Radisson Tuesday morning the clerk behind the counter asked, “And how was your stay?”  I said, “Well it was alright.  The bathroom was to small for four people trying to get ready. (I do have three girls I’m dealing with.)  Because we were on the top floor we were listening to all the motors and fans operating on the roof.  The beds were full size which made them a little small for comfortable sleeping, and they were sleep number beds (which I don’t have) and didn’t know what my number was supposed to be so we got up with back aches.  Needless to say, her smile and have a nice day was of very little consolation.  The good news is we only had a 3 hour drive to get to Mom and Dad’s after breakfast.

We got to the house about 12:30 eastern time and had some lunch with Mom and Dad.  I didn’t realize how exhausted we were until I turned around and everyone was taking a solid nap all over the living room.  So I joined them in Mom’s recliner and caught some Z’s.

After a nice dinner with all the family, My brother Chris invited us over for a run around his neighborhood.  My brother is preparing for his first marathon in October and is up to a solid four miles.  I, on the other hand, am a casual runner and run about two miles with stops.  So, off we went.  The hills were crazy.  I was literally having to stop myself from tumbling down the street.  The trails that we were running on were beautiful.  Then we walked up to the top street in the neighborhood and there was a beautiful view and the houses were amazing.  But the best thing about the run was that I was running with Chris.  I enjoy our time together. 

After the run.  We went back to Mom’s. I took a shower.  And I was out for the night.

The Fast Track

 

What an amazing Sunday we had for Memorial Day at the Church.  I’m sure when I say that many of you will be wondering how we honored our war heroes of the past, but there was just one hero we honored yesterday and that was Jesus the Christ, the Son of the Living God.  The One that was willing to take our shame and die for our freedom and bring us back into a loving relationship with God.  Last Sunday being a fifth Sunday was a time of celebration at Fellowship Baptist Church.  It is the time that we introduce all the new members to the Church.  We had two new adults join the Church through believers baptism and two families join by letter.  It is good when God adds precious souls to the mix.  Our evening service was filled with praise and adoration for our God as the praise band took us to the throne. Then we communed with the Lord as a family. 

Monday morning we got up and finished the little bit of packing we had to do and we were on the road to Nashville.  We are taking our family vacation to spend some time with my mom and dad in Atlanta, but it is a two day trip.  So, we decided to knock most of it out on Monday.  We took off about 8:20 (after getting a Jesse’s Burrito of course) and arrived safe and sound in Nashville at 9:50.  this was our first time to travel all together in our new Yukon and it was nice.  The travel was so comfortable that I felt refreshed when we got to the hotel.  It was weird how fast the time went.  it was like people were praying or something.  So we are getting around this morning and will finish the trip today with about a 3 1/2 hour trip.  I will fill you in on the vacation as it happens.  It seems like the only time I find to blog is when I’m out of the office.

Stuff To Do

I am amazed at how much stuff we have to do.  I remember as a kid sitting on the couch in the middle of the morning saying, “I’m board.  There’s nothing to do around here.”  I would be so excited when summer was coming to a close and school was about to start.  Of course I made sure that no one knew that about me, but it was true.  I just wanted something to do.  Now it seems that there’s not enough hours in the day.  Here’s the strange thing.  If I’m not careful and purposeful I can work all day and not really accomplish anything.  I find myself tired and unfulfilled.

A wise person once said, “Live everyday on purpose.”  I have tried to take that thought to heart.  I have come to understand and appreciate that everyday we have is truly a gift from the Father of lights and should not be wasted.  We are so good at becoming “busybodies.”  Running here and running there; and after all the running we really haven’t gone anywhere.  I say life is to short.  What did you do today?  Did the day count?  Was there purpose and meaning?  Did the World change because you got up this morning?  We do have that power you know.  We have the opportunity to change the world simply because we are in it.  It’s 10:30 at night and I have been running errands all day long for my family: Shopping, cleaning, mailing, filing.  I even went to the DPS and scheduled a time for I first born to take her driving test next week.  And with all that, I still didn’t clean off my todo list.  But that’s O.K. because I have tomorrow, or I don’t.  That’s not my call.

Today was an odd day for me, because in the mist of all my business I really didn’t interact with people that much today.  Scott and I had a conversation about Revelation and the men that write about it. (One of the highlights of my day by the way.)  Other than that I didn’t talk much.  I went to several stores doing what I had to do.  I was in a sea of people, but just kind of doing my own thing.  I called Kim several times today (because I miss her like crazy.)  But for the most part it was just me.  The ironic thing is today is my day off.  I don’t know; maybe for a minister that’s what a day off means.  I don’t have very many of those to be honest with you. I must say except for the 2 hours it took me to change the spark plug in my motorcycle, I had a pretty relaxing day. 

One of the things on my todo list was to clean the downstairs bathroom.  I think I will knock that out real quick and then enjoy it by take a nice hot bath.  If that sounds feminine to you,  You don’t understand the therapeutic nature of a long hot bath and you’re missing out.  I might even top it off with bubbles, because I like bubbles.  I have to be ready to change the world tomorrow.

Bad Things, Good People

One can’t help but think as you look at a person like Kathy Umholtz, Why would she have cancer?  Kathy has always been a God-fearing woman; she’s gone to church all her life; she reads her bible through “The Daily Bread” everyday; she gives to the church and others, and has always taken care of her family.  It would seem that God would have favor on her and spare her from any harm that this world would bring.  It would seem this way if God was a control freak and did everything His way.  The truth is harder to handle than that.  God is not a control freak.  The Bible tells us that God created the World to be inhabited (Is. 45:18).  That means that the whole purpose for the Earth is for Mankind to live on it.  When God created mankind, He gave Man dominion over all the Earth.  Man had the ability to do with it whatever he wanted.

Adam had a choice to walk with God and in the righteousness of God, or to follow the ways and whiles of the Devil and turn from God.  Making the choice would not only determine the fate of Adam and the human race, but also the kingdom which he controlled.  When the King is cursed so is the creation.  You can’t have a corrupt King in a perfect kingdom because the king will corrupt it.  It’s no secrete that Adam chose to walk away from God, and as God promised, he died, and the world died with him.  The corruptness of Adam  corrupted all the creation for Adam.  Think about it: What if death came into the world but there were no flies to take care of the carcasses.  There would be rotting flesh everywhere.  My point is that the king (Adam) cursed his kingdom with death. 

If we look at this issue from God’s perspective, we see that God created the world and Man for his pleasure.  And we know that God created man in his image.  So we can look at ourselves to understand God is some respects.  I get much pleasure out of being around people that want to be around me.  My friendships do not consist of people that are forced to be around me.  As a matter of fact, when I find out that people don’t want to be around me, I will give them the opportunity to go and do whatever they want to do, because I take no pleasure in forcing people to be with me.  From what I gather of the character of God, He also takes pleasure in those that take pleasure in Him.  He desires friendship, partnership, and fellowship with those that desire such things with him.  What kind of God would he be to force us to love him or be with him.  He would be a insecure kidnapper that had to control his creation.  This is not God.  God says “Whosoever will may come.”  We all have a choice to be with the one who created us for himself; or we can continue to turn from God and do our own thing.

There has never been a time in scripture that God promises to take away all sickness, pain, and/or death in this time of the Earth.  There is coming a day when He finishes his redemptive work on the Earth that he will redeem it and restore it with those that decided to be with him.  As for now you will have trouble in this world.  There has never been a time that the children of Adam have escaped the death that we chose.  There has never been a time that the children of God have been exempt from that trouble.  Our hope as Christians does not rest in this world but in the world to come.  Paul describes a longing for the hope of the restoration in 2 Corinthians 5:1-14.  But in this hope Paul state that it is better for him to stay in this world and share the hope with others (Philippians 1:20-24). 

If you begin to ask the question why you must go back to the very beginning.  Why was Abel killed by Cain? Why was Esau beguiled by Jacob?  Why was Joseph sold into slavery?  Why was Job chosen to suffer?  Why did Jesus take stripes and the cross?  Why did the Prophets of God die?  Why did John the Baptist get his head cut off?  Why did Peter get crucified upside down?  (What’s the matter with you again, I forget?)  Why are people being murdered for their faith all over the World, today?! 

the blessing and conclusion is this: our hope rests in the world to come and God will be faithful to translate us from this place of darkness into his marvelous light.  Don’t be suppressed with dark things happen in a dark place.  That is just par for the course.  But rest assured light is coming.  the light that God has shined in your heart will one day consume this world in the brightness of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Then our faith will have become sight and we will live in the glory of the one who has saved us from this death.  Take joy, take comfort,  in the fact that God has not left you or forsaken you.  He will finish what he started!  And the time of our redemption is close at hand.  I love having the light in a dark place.  I would hate to be in the dark in this dark world.  God is good all the time.

P.S.  While I was writing this, the chair I was sitting in gave out and I hit the floor: not because God is mean, but because man produced a chair that was faulty.  It’s just the way of the world.

KC Bound

At the beginning of the week, I was getting many invitation for Easter meals with people at different times; which was wonderful since I had no idea what I was going to do for me and the girls.  In the course of those invitations it came to my attention that the girls were getting out of school early on Thursday and would be out all day Friday.  In my business I had failed to be privy to these essential facts.  The wheels started turning in more ways then one.  I thought, What a great opportunity to break up some of the monotony for Kim by going up to KC and spending Easter with her family.  I was a little worried that we would be in the way of the routine that Kim has fine tuned with her Mom, but after discussing it with her, she thought it would be a good change of pace as well. 

I had to make sure all my bases were covered at the Church and in ministry.  Here’s God as work for ya.  I was scheduled to be on the drums for the program this Easter.  (Yes, if you didn’t come to Church Wednesday, there is a special Easter program at the Church beginning at 10:30.)  So, Pastor Shawn was doing all the speaking parts already.  Then, Monday night Shawn has the opportunity to lead a professional drummer to the Lord and he was excited to get to play for the Lord.  I don’t know, maybe a “God thing.”  I know this the program just improved.  This was a green light for us to get packing and get on the road.

I spent Thursday morning in the office tying up some loose ends.  One of the rules that I have learned about time management and stress is to always do the tasks in which others are waiting on you first.  This gets the monkey off your back and you can breath (That was free).  I had been talking to Tim Dunigan about what success looked like in the life of an individual that comes to Celebrate Recovery.  From that conversation we mapped out the entire process by which a person comes off the streets of Borger and becomes productive for the Kingdom.  I needed to type this up for him.  After I finished my piece of that puzzle it was time to start preparing for the trip.  I had received a call from one of the Church members telling me that they were bringing food to the house for me and the girls (That’s the kind of family we have at FBC). I though, “What am I going to do with this food,” know that we were leaving in a few hours.  When people bring stuff like that it usually can feed an army, but I just couldn’t steal the blessing and say no.  The cool thing was that when they brought it over it wasn’t cooked yet and had instructions on how long to bake it in the oven.  I was so excited because I could put in in the freezer and save it for next week. 

The Yukon had been in the shop all of Monday and Tuesday getting a gas leak fixed (scary) and the front end allied.  When I got it back on Wednesday the ride was so smooth I thought I was in a new vehicle.  This made the trip to KC very easy and pleasant.  We made it in record time.  The girls are traveling machines.  They very seldom ask to go to the bathroom.  They can outlast Mom and Dad any day of the week and twice on Sunday.  So, If I can hold it, we can keep going.  I had a good day yesterday.  We arrived early enough that Kim could come and meet us at the hotel.  She was a sight for sore eyes.  I know this my life is not complete without my bride by my side. 

A Beautiful Sunday in the House of the Lord

I woke up early this morning as I do every morning to have my time of prayer and finish looking over my notes for the message I’m about to deliver.  I got a call from Kim with an update on her Mom.  White blood cell count is up and that is good.  Prayer does work.  The doctor was amazed at how fast the numbers were coming up. 

I arrived at Church on time for Sound Check and I just knew it was going to be a good day.  We had a full house for prayer meeting at 9:00 and prayed for some of our 10/40 ministers and the rest of the kingdom opportunities that are coming our way.  As we entered into our worship service the Spirit was active in the Body.  There were tons of visitors and members all ready to meet with God.  After we shouted Hosanna to the Lord I was moved to call the Church to prayer.  What a beautiful sight to see so many come to the alter and worship the Lord together.  Husbands and wives, and friend with friend praying together before we opened God Word. 

The message today was entitle “The Word made flesh.”  We were looking at the way Jesus came to manifest the Father by living out the Word of God.  Just as Jesus did, we have the power to manifest God to the world by fleshing out the Word in our lives.  I felt that God spoke and lives were truly changed.  I had ever intention on making a big stake lunch for the girls but the preacher was long winded and we didn’t get out until 12:30.  So, the girls opted for the Plaza instead of eating at 1:30 or 2:00.  That just put me a mean ahead.

We came home and I turned on the TV for some background noise for my nap and I was out.  I woke up to an explosion in the Sherlock Holmes movie.  Talk about a rude awakening.  This was alright though because I needed to get up and head to the Celebrate Recovery meeting at the Church.

I love watch Celebrate Recovery take shape the way it has.  It just gets better and better.  We are going through another leadership change and I’m excited to see what Tim Dunigan is going to do with the ministry.  We don’t change leaders because of problems but because of spiritual growth in all that are involved.

After taking the girls to class it was just me and the laundry at the house, and I had plenty to keep me company.  I have put off the ironing all week long and today was reckoning day.  I ironed for two hours and got through have the stack and realized I had earned a piece of cake.  Needles to say, I was done for the night.  I am sure that when I get up in the morning the ironing board will still be waiting for round two.