It's been more than three months since my last blog post, but since no one reads this, it's okay. I mainly do this for myself to organize my thoughts.
I have been quoted numerous times with the statement, "God works through your expectations", which after a little note I got from my pastor this week isn't exactly Biblical.
Ephesians 3:20-21 (MSG) says, "God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us..."
God doesn't work through our expectations, but way beyond them. In that same breath, God is not a cosmic Santa Claus. Just because we ask for something, doesn't mean it's God's plan. I'm not talking about asking for a new car here, but asking for God to bless your ministry.
For those of you that don't know, I'm a youth pastor at a big church that's run on a small budget in Pineville. My church just bought a new facility and I expected to walk in and have 50 or so youth ready to bust at the seams. But what I got was pretty much what I had at the old facility..... and like 5 or 6 more youth. This was a wake up call to me. I was shocked when on my first Sunday here, I didn't have a church full of youth. And God told me (not audibly), "Did you expect to be blessed without putting forth any effort?"
And the truthful answer was, yes. I expected to have a large group due to our location and the size of the church. I have always faithfully believed in the goldfish theory.... A goldfish will grow to the size of the tank you put him in. That's a true statement. But, not only do you have to have the goldfish a bigger tank, you also have to continue to nourish (feed) the goldfish or he surely will die.
That goldfish theory can be applied to any ministry. I firmly believe in it. However, I was forgetting one key aspect. If you focus on the growth of your goldfish, but not it's wellbeing, it will definitely die.
So what God has showed me to do, is love on the FAITHFUL kids I do have and growth will come, or maybe it won't and I have to be okay with that.
Run away from infantile indulgence. Run after mature righteousness—faith, love, peace—joining those who are in honest and serious prayer before God. Refuse to get involved in inane discussions; they always end up in fights. God's servant must not be argumentative, but a gentle listener and a teacher who keeps cool, working firmly but patiently with those who refuse to obey. You never know how or when God might sober them up with a change of heart and a turning to the truth, enabling them to escape the Devil's trap, where they are caught and held captive, forced to run his errands. 2 Timothy 2:22 (MSG)
Friday, November 13, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Pigeon or Statue?
"In life you just have to accept that sometimes you are the pigeon and sometimes you are the statue."
As you may or may not know, I work with Ebenezer Estate Sales (shameless plug= ebenezerestatesales.com) as often as I possibly can. Well we had a sale yesterday and I walked into the bathroom and there was this plaque with the forementioned quote on it. I was inspired.
Most statues are adored and loved by the people they mean something to. They all have their very own eccentric beauty to them, even if it is an ugly statue of a gargoyle or some other hideous creature.
Whether it's your car or the Statue of Liberty, pigeons do not care what they do their business on. It doesn't affect them one way or another.
Does a bit of pigeon fecies mean the Statue of Liberty no longer represents the Freedom we fought so hard for as a nation.
My point is, even if you have had a rough time and you're not as good as you want to be, God created you and He loves you because of what you represent and not what you look like on the exterior. He doesn't care if this world has tarnished your appearance. In His eyes, you are still a representation of His love for all people. You are the light in the darkness if you're washed in the blood. What He thinks of you should be your only worry.
That's all I have to say about that.
As you may or may not know, I work with Ebenezer Estate Sales (shameless plug= ebenezerestatesales.com) as often as I possibly can. Well we had a sale yesterday and I walked into the bathroom and there was this plaque with the forementioned quote on it. I was inspired.
Most statues are adored and loved by the people they mean something to. They all have their very own eccentric beauty to them, even if it is an ugly statue of a gargoyle or some other hideous creature.
Whether it's your car or the Statue of Liberty, pigeons do not care what they do their business on. It doesn't affect them one way or another.
Does a bit of pigeon fecies mean the Statue of Liberty no longer represents the Freedom we fought so hard for as a nation.
My point is, even if you have had a rough time and you're not as good as you want to be, God created you and He loves you because of what you represent and not what you look like on the exterior. He doesn't care if this world has tarnished your appearance. In His eyes, you are still a representation of His love for all people. You are the light in the darkness if you're washed in the blood. What He thinks of you should be your only worry.
That's all I have to say about that.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Introduction.
Hello world.
As always when one is introduced into a new social utility site, I feel the need to tell a little bit about myself that the people that have known me for a while may not know and any new readers who happen upon this fabolousness that will be my blog may enjoy.
My name is Terry. That's simple enough, isn't it?
I was born and raised the son of a preacherman and this is why I am who I am.
We'll start at the beginning, shall we?
The year was 1987. It was August 16 at about 10 p.m. and a lady of about 33 named Martha and a man of 29 named Terry were about to have their third child. It took him a few hours to get here so it was August 17Th before he was born (2:13 a.m. to be exact). Terry Ramone Smith Jr. (TR to his friends for many years) was three weeks premature but still a very healthy seven pounds. His birth was nasty and dangerous for mother and child. For about two weeks, neither of their lives were promised. But God saw fit to let both of them live.
Fast forward about 13 years. The boys childhood was nothing to "write home about" as they say. He lived a very happy (as far as kids go) life spending a considerable amount of time with his grandparents.
It was Easter Sunday in the year 2000 and his grandmother had her first big stroke. Five days later, she passed away. Honestly, no one saw this shock coming and it was the first bit of extremely bad news he got in the next fateful twelve months. The family grieved and moved on as best as they could. His grandfather was never the same and died (everyone believes of a broken heart) about eleven months later. But in between the losses of the two people he cared most for in his life, on December 2, 2000 another blow came about.
He will remember this day for the rest of his life. Joseph Marler, at the time a well respected Sheriff's Deputy and a family friend knocked on the family's door at 7:00 a.m. on that Saturday morning. He brought bad news. The boy's eldest sibling, Neal, had been involved in a car accident early that morning and he was DOA at Rapides Regional Medical Center.
For the next four years, Terry Jr. sowed his oats. He did the exact opposites of what his parents told him to do and undoubtedly broke their hearts. When he wasn't in school, he was with his friends, undoubtedly drinking way more than any teenager should, thus earning him the nickname, The Tank. His grades plummeted. Luckily, he is an extremely good test-taker. That's the only thing that allowed him to graduate high school.
I don't need to go into detail of the debauchery of his actions from the time he was 13 til the time he was 17. You have a good imagination.
It was the second week of August 2004, one week or so before his 17Th birthday and the most pleasant human being in the world came up to him and said, "Terry, what are you doing with your life?"
Wow. Indeed. What was he doing with his life? Letting it go down the drain is what he was doing, I tell you.
He broke down in tears right then and there. "I don't know. How can I fix it?'
"You can't fix it. But, you can let Jesus fix it for you," said the angel.
He didn't go to church with his parents that Sunday. He did go to church with her that Sunday. And he did give his life over to Jesus.
But that's not the end of the story. He is now a bondservant of Christ in a church that is alive and not dead.
He is still a slave but his new master is benevolent and does not brandish him with a hard whip.
He's doing his best to make sure no one he can reach has to go through the same things he did as a child.
He believes he is succeeding.
I was there to witness all this obviously and I tell you, the transformation was not easy. He still had his friends who wanted to party with him on weekends. It was not easy. But he did it. And if he can do it, so can you. In about three weeks, this young man will turn 22. He has not been in need of alcohol or anything else for 5 years for his victory lies in Christ Jesus now.
If you choose to read this, I would love it if you would comment and let me know what you think.
In Christ's Love,
Terry
As always when one is introduced into a new social utility site, I feel the need to tell a little bit about myself that the people that have known me for a while may not know and any new readers who happen upon this fabolousness that will be my blog may enjoy.
My name is Terry. That's simple enough, isn't it?
I was born and raised the son of a preacherman and this is why I am who I am.
We'll start at the beginning, shall we?
The year was 1987. It was August 16 at about 10 p.m. and a lady of about 33 named Martha and a man of 29 named Terry were about to have their third child. It took him a few hours to get here so it was August 17Th before he was born (2:13 a.m. to be exact). Terry Ramone Smith Jr. (TR to his friends for many years) was three weeks premature but still a very healthy seven pounds. His birth was nasty and dangerous for mother and child. For about two weeks, neither of their lives were promised. But God saw fit to let both of them live.
Fast forward about 13 years. The boys childhood was nothing to "write home about" as they say. He lived a very happy (as far as kids go) life spending a considerable amount of time with his grandparents.
It was Easter Sunday in the year 2000 and his grandmother had her first big stroke. Five days later, she passed away. Honestly, no one saw this shock coming and it was the first bit of extremely bad news he got in the next fateful twelve months. The family grieved and moved on as best as they could. His grandfather was never the same and died (everyone believes of a broken heart) about eleven months later. But in between the losses of the two people he cared most for in his life, on December 2, 2000 another blow came about.
He will remember this day for the rest of his life. Joseph Marler, at the time a well respected Sheriff's Deputy and a family friend knocked on the family's door at 7:00 a.m. on that Saturday morning. He brought bad news. The boy's eldest sibling, Neal, had been involved in a car accident early that morning and he was DOA at Rapides Regional Medical Center.
For the next four years, Terry Jr. sowed his oats. He did the exact opposites of what his parents told him to do and undoubtedly broke their hearts. When he wasn't in school, he was with his friends, undoubtedly drinking way more than any teenager should, thus earning him the nickname, The Tank. His grades plummeted. Luckily, he is an extremely good test-taker. That's the only thing that allowed him to graduate high school.
I don't need to go into detail of the debauchery of his actions from the time he was 13 til the time he was 17. You have a good imagination.
It was the second week of August 2004, one week or so before his 17Th birthday and the most pleasant human being in the world came up to him and said, "Terry, what are you doing with your life?"
Wow. Indeed. What was he doing with his life? Letting it go down the drain is what he was doing, I tell you.
He broke down in tears right then and there. "I don't know. How can I fix it?'
"You can't fix it. But, you can let Jesus fix it for you," said the angel.
He didn't go to church with his parents that Sunday. He did go to church with her that Sunday. And he did give his life over to Jesus.
But that's not the end of the story. He is now a bondservant of Christ in a church that is alive and not dead.
He is still a slave but his new master is benevolent and does not brandish him with a hard whip.
He's doing his best to make sure no one he can reach has to go through the same things he did as a child.
He believes he is succeeding.
I was there to witness all this obviously and I tell you, the transformation was not easy. He still had his friends who wanted to party with him on weekends. It was not easy. But he did it. And if he can do it, so can you. In about three weeks, this young man will turn 22. He has not been in need of alcohol or anything else for 5 years for his victory lies in Christ Jesus now.
If you choose to read this, I would love it if you would comment and let me know what you think.
In Christ's Love,
Terry
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