Animal Revenge

My good buddy JV sent me this pic. The man who wouldn't kill a rabbit - I suspect - is on the animals side of hunting. I love it.

DW Review

Disney World is an amazing place. Duh - that's why people flock there by the thousands pretty much 365 days a year. My wife thinks it's the best place in the world. If you catch her at any given time or place and ask her where she'd rather be at that moment, she'll say "Disney World!" She loves it. I enjoy it. There is a difference. A trip there once every four or five years is plenty for me, but she could do it annually - okay, maybe monthly. I'm not a crowd person, rides don't just compel me, and long lines don't thrill me. Still, DW just amazes me with it's attention to detail, it's total customer orientation, and it's ability to give everyone an incredible, memorable experience. I love the friendliness of everyone who works there, I love the cleanliness, and I love the total-kid-friendly-atmosphere, professionalism, and high moral standards that are part of everything they have. More than anything else, I love watching kids (especially my grand kids) see everything and be totally wowed at every turn!
Of all the times that I have been there (and there have been many since my first visit in 1972), I was really aware of how nice and polite nearly every one in the park was - and I'm talking about the visitors - parents, kids, and families of all kinds and sizes. I saw more smiles, less stress, and more acts of consideration and friendliness than I ever have before. Not that it was THAT bad before, but it just seemed to be more obvious and prevalent. As an official "stroller watcher" a couple times, I got to just watch people/families - especially at the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween night when we were there until 11:30 P.M.. Good people having a good time. I liked seeing that. I loved seeing my family love it. I loved seeing my beautiful wife love it. So I suspect, Lord willing of course, this won't be the last visit we make to DW. Maybe my wife's right. Maybe it is a special place. Where else can you spend so much money and yet find yourself saying, "I don't care"?
Cabela's?

From Mickey Land

We are in the middle of our vacation with family at Disney World. I brought my iPad thinking I could do anything with it that I could do with my lap top, but I was wrong. I posted the previous pics yesterday, but my iPad wouldn't let me do any typing on it. Those pics are from my trail cams from last Friday. You really have to click on them and enlarge them to see the deer clearly. Especially the first one because my camera is angled up too much, so I only got the top of his head and it's a little dark. And the last one is a true monster. I heard one was shot by a bowhunter that was a real trophy class animal and I assumed it was this one, but I found out later that it had been shot before this pic was taken. So it's still out there. ALRIGHT!
Anyway, we are having fun and staying busy. Don't know when the next blog will be posted. We'll be home Friday night, so not too far away. Now it's on to the next Mickey sighting. Boy, talk about new and exciting pics...

Exciting New Trail Pics

The Cat's Meow?

My brother sent me a bunch of these funny animal pictures, but I especially like this one. I think it brought back memories of our last cat EE, who died about nine or ten years ago. He sang a lot, and he was black, but I'd say he was a baritone not a soprano.

Sleepless In Suburbia

Something I used just briefly in the Introduction to last Sunday's lesson was the question, "What keeps you awake at night?" I called it a Focus Question because I wanted us to focus on our passions, concerns, or drives, and I feel that this is a question that causes us to honestly see what really goes on in our hearts. Most people lay awake at night worrying about one or more of the Big Three - money, family, & health. In past years I have done my share of staring at the ceiling as it if were the "mirror, mirror on the wall." For the record, it has never given me an answer or helped out in any way, shape, or fashion.
A lot of sleepless ceiling watching comes with life's changes and varies with where we are at that time of life. Like when you're young and you discover for the first time that credit cards are a two edged sword, or when your children are sick or struggling or going through a life change of their own. And then there are those years when your teenage kids want to be with people you don't know, go places you're not sure about, and stay out later than you want them to. No one knows the anxiety of laying in bed late at night waiting to hear them come in the front door unless they've been a parent. Their time will come - and then they'll "get it".
The bottom line for asking the question is to simply challenge us all to ask, "When was the last time I laid awake at night because of concerns about spiritual matters?" When do you worry about your walk with God? Do you have worries about the souls of your loved ones? Have you ever lost sleep thinking about your church family? Remember Paul's list of experiences and sufferings as an apostle and a missionary in 2 Corinthians 11? Wow! Beatings, imprisonment, shipwrecks, and near-death experiences galore - and on top of that, he added his constant concern for all the churches! I think many would consider that unnecessary baggage. He didn't. Jesus didn't, when he paid for his church with his blood and called it his body.
Maybe it's a sign of getting old, but I don't lay awake a night worrying about the "Big Three." Reflux - yes, but money, family, and health - no. I do worry about whether or not I am doing all I can to help people grow in Christ. Even then, what is different from years past is that I'm not ruminating in the darkness buying guilt that Jesus already paid for. I'm talking about it with God. I found that when I do that, I not only tend to find some answers, but I find peace, and perspective, and often...sleep.

Trail Cam Wild Life

Nice buck. You may have to click on the pic to get a close up of his rack. This is a new (and cheaper) trail camera, so the pics aren't as clear. This is in the newly cut corn field at the stand where I got a nice ten pointer a few years ago and where Chad shot his first deer w/ a bow. I now have my two person stand there just waiting for a grand-kiddo to go hunting w/ me. Notice what time of day it is at the bottom of the pic. That's another reason it's not easy to get one of these big boys.

Nice little buck - just before shooting light - of course.

It is almost thanksgiving - and me w/ no IL tag.

Masked bandit?

Now we're talking REAL wildlife!

Go Cards!

Okay, I'm not exactly a fanatical fan of the Cards, but we have gone to several games and we watch most of the rest of them on TV. We've watched enough games - and seen them in person - that we feel like we know most of the players personally - which of course, we don't. Nevertheless, we are excited about the play-offs. It has be great watching them come back from being so far out that all the news people had written them off - and of course the are all now saying they never did that. Well, we're cheering for our team and hoping they will make it to the World Series - hopefully against the Texas Rangers.

Albert is a neat guy. He's one of those players you nearly find yourself praying for just because you want a good guy to do a good job. I appreciate his spiritual convictions and the great job he does of being a role model. We don't see a lot of today's professions doing a very good job of that.

Communioin for kids?

When Paul told us that the law was "a tutor to bring us unto Christ" he was not only talking about the temporary nature of the law, but the teaching purpose of the law. The law was pointing to and showing the need for Jesus. The law could only reveal sin. It never was intended to save anyone, but rather to show the need for Jesus and the grace that comes through him.
The law, which was the Jewish way to think of the entire Old Testament, also teaches us about God, his nature, and how he makes his will known to us. One of the many things we learn about God in the OT is his understanding of mankind's weaknesses and limitations. I am especially amazed with how often God commands his people to do things so that they won't forget what he has done. Whether it's stone pillars & altars, or special feasts, or even physical signs like circumcision, he knows how easy it is for us to let time and distance cause us to forget things we really need to remember. I especially like those many times he specifically says, "When your children ask you....". He wanted his people to have a means and an opportunity to explain, tell the story, and make sure it was passed on to the next generation.
Knowing that part of God's nature, it makes me wonder if we've missed something very important about communion. In the culture where Jesus first gave it to his disciples, did he think he was giving them a sacred ceremony for insiders, or did he think he was giving his followers a simple symbolic tool to remember, to share, and to teach the next generation. Have we let our traditions, and the Catholic sacramental thinking it comes from, rob us of a wonderful tool to teach and share with our children?
I've been asked a few times by parents if they should let their children take communion. There was a time when I discouraged it, thinking it should only be for those who are obedient believers of Christ. Children can't get all the "deep meaning" behind the Lord's Supper - or at least that was our argument. But what was so deep about using two things that were on every table at every meal, and Jesus saying "Think about me" some of the time when you share it?
Again, was communion a "religious hoop to jump through" to show our obedience, or was it a tool to use to help us draw closer to God? In my opinion, using it to teach our children is probably a lot closer to the original intent than letting it become some private ritual to get checked off the Sunday morning list. Remember, in every mention of it in the New Testament, the Lord's Supper was part of a regular meal. Use it for the tool God intended - share & teach!

Liar, Liar!

I've started compiling a list of Things That Make a Liar Out of Me. Ouch! Yes, I know that's kind of harsh, but I'm amazing at the things in life that remind us of our inconsistencies. Here are a few that I already have on the list. What would you add?

1. Children - especially when they share "special" things about Mom & Dad with their school teacher or Sunday school teacher. (None of ours ever did that - of course!)
2. A mirror - I'm always ten years younger, twenty pounds lighter, and have hair three shades darker - before I look!
3. My doctor - enough said!
4. Our digital ultra modern bathroom scale - don't ask!
5. Driving - I always think of myself as patient, kind, non-aggressive, and considerate - and then I get into the car.
6. Sexy, attractive women on TV - I'm getting old enough that I don't notice them any more - and then I turn on the TV.
7. Motel clerks who ask if I have an AARP card
8. Watching "Surviving The Cut" (Special Forces Training) and thinking, "I could do that!"
9. Going to bed at 10:30 and planning to read for an hour - can you say "snore"?
10. Seeing Albert strike out and saying, "I coulda done better than that!"

Parenting & Churching

What would you say to parents who want to have a large family - they want lots of kids - but they don't want to raise them? They just want the excitement and recognition from being large, noticed, and maybe even envied. I know what you'd say, or what you should say, "You people have no business having children!" Then once you got over your shock and anger with such an irrational perception of parenting, you might back off and say, "You should only have children you are willing to parent and raise with all the love and guidance they deserve."
It is my observation that many of us think just like those "irrational" parents when it comes to "doing church." The worldly church says successful churches must be driven by "Church Growth" principles, and those principles are all about becoming large. Everyone wants to be part of an exciting, growing church, that is the envy of all other churches. And we cover ourselves by saying something like, "Well, we're only interested in numbers because that means more souls." Why do I hear the above parents saying, "We want a lot of children because of all the tax deductions we'll get." Parenting is about growing children into maturity, not about how many children you can have. Parenting is living for the joy of seeing your child grow in "the training and instruction of the Lord." There is no greater sense of thanksgiving and godly pride than "to hear that my children are walking in the truth." (3 Jn.4)
Paul was clear that church leaders have one primary purpose and that is to grow His people to "become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." (Eph.4:11-13) There is, or should be, nothing more fulfilling and satisfying than seeing souls that God put into your guiding hands become mature Christ-like servants of God.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to be a large church, or being part of a large church, but we MUST NOT LOSE THE PRIMACY AND JOY OF GUIDING MEMBERS TO MATURITY IN CHRIST! Since God is the One who gives the increase, and we are only planters and stewards of the Word, the real secret to "church growth" might be following His plan! Guide, mentor, shepherd, and love members - one at a time - into a deeper walk with God. What might THEY do when you've helped them develop a passion for Jesus! And maybe, just maybe, God is waiting for me, for us, to do the job He's given us before He adds to the work load. And maybe that's why the New Testament talks in terms of Christians coming together for spiritual growth, not "Church Growth."

It's Safe to Assume - Is it?

I mentioned a while back that the first casualty of biblical interpretation is objectivity. As I reflect on that, I realize how much I have been driven over the last few years by the desire to do just that - understand God's Word free from the baggage of pre-taught and predetermined conclusions. Like many things in life, it's easier said than done. I had many years of being taught what the Bible said, long before I was filled with a passion to truly know what God was saying. So for many years, passages of scripture that "I knew," because they were regularly used to prove a doctrinal position I'd been taught, became sections of scripture to skim, sometimes ignore, and often never study in the larger context of what the Holy Spirit was saying. Some of those same passages, now don't say what I'd always "known" they said. Some of them are NOW far more exciting, challenging, and full of grace then they were when I used them as proof-texts to support my positions.
I am also discovering how many conclusions I have be taught, and taught to others, are conclusions I/we infer from passages that support what we have already concluded. If you study the New Testament with the predetermined mindset that there is a formal time, place, and way that Christians worship God - I'm talking about a Temple worship mindset - you will find passages that support that belief, even if you have to infer that was what the Holy Spirit was talking about and there are zero commands to base it on.
We read the Old Testament because it tells us about God, how He works, and how He tells His people what He wants. The one thing that is absolutely clear from any study of the OT is that God is very clear about what He wants. When did He ever expect His followers to do anything with eternal consequences based solely on figuring it out from and example or from an inference? What God wants, God commands. An example or an inference is only valid if it supports a direct command from God. And yet, we have no problem developing major doctrinal positions based totally on what we infer from examples or biblical witnessing. It doesn't mean they don't count, but it does mean they are not a primary source of determining obedience.
Does it matter? Yes is does. Do we really think that God's will is a jigsaw puzzle to be pieced together? Does it make sense that God's plan for redeeming man, which was in place pre-Creation, and cost His only Son's death on a Cross, and is totally built on love, is dependent on our ability to infer what He wants us to do?
Commands are always a primary source. It's how God works. Whatever your personal passion is as far as your journey to know God, or whatever you believe the church should have a passion about - does it come from a command or did you start with a conclusion and then find verses that infer that your conclusion is correct? Again, it's not always about something being wrong, but about honestly interpreting, and being a person "who correctly handles the word of truth."

The Slap Heard Around the Church!

I have to say that I've always focused a lot more on the last half of Galatians than I have on the first half. If it wasn't for Gal.2:20 ("I've been crucified with Christ...") I'd say nearly all my memory work in Galatians comes from chapters 3-6. I mention that to simply point out that Paul's confrontation with Peter in chapter 2, has mostly been "interesting" and in the category of "a novelty" for me, because I just didn't quite see the relevance and the application for me. My bad. If someone like Peter can get so distracted and out of focus that it takes Paul opposing "him to his face" because "he was clearly wrong," I need to sit up and take notice! After a couple decades of being an apostle, an elder, a missionary, a preacher of the gospel, and a "pillar in the church," he allowed peer pressure to pull him into ignoring his non-Jewish brethren and hobnobbing with the Jewish Christians from Jerusalem, forgetting everything he personally heard from God about not showing preferences (see Acts 10). Paul said he was being a hypocrite! This was more than just switching dinner partners one night. It hurt those brethren who had been slighted, it seriously damaged his influence as a leader in the church, and - maybe worst of all - he dragged others into the same hypocrisy. Paul said that even Barnabas was pulled into following Peter. Paul was shocked, and I think, hurt by that. Here's the Son of Encouragement being discouraging to all the Gentile Christians!
Clearly the biggest thing that disturbed Paul - and you must remember that he's the new guy with lots of folks questioning whether or not he was legitimate - was that Peter's decision to associate with the "circumcision" group, meant that he was promoting (probably not intentionally) the law over grace and faith in Jesus Christ. Paul screams - you can't have both! Only one brings justification (i.e. salvation) and it isn't the law! The only thing that counts is being "in Christ" - this is where you can quote or sing Galatians 2:20.
It's frightening to think that any of us could so cavalierly do something that could do that much damage! Just because we want to be accepted by some group of people who intimidate us or might not include us? As much as I love vs.20, I must say that it's vs.21 that probably hit Peter between the eyes like a sledge hammer, and took him back to a morning breakfast on the beach with Jesus.
"I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"

A Special Hunting Buddy

One of our grandsons sent us his class project, Flat Stanley, so we could introduce him to St. Louis and put together some pictures for him to use when he has to share this with his class. So, Caleb, I decided that Flat Stanley needed to go with me on my first hunting trip of the year. He seemed to enjoy the drive down to my hunting spot just outside of Sullivan, MO.

FS was a little nervous about being in a tree stand twenty feet off the ground, especially since I didn't have a safety belt for him. So he held on a little tight. Just as well, he was lacking some decent camo.

He tried to pull my bow back, but he couldn't quite do it. Still, I could tell he was ready to see something for me to shoot at. He's a born hunter. You can see it in his eyes.

FS hung on pretty tightly. He was my official bino-man, but he never saw anything.

Since the hunting wasn't exciting enough for FS, he decided to take my ATV out for a spin. He's a real speed maniac.

I finally found something that gave FS a real thrill. He's still picking bugs out of his teeth. What a wild man!

We didn't see many deer or come home with anything for the freezer. It was just a bunch of guys sharing an experience in the wild. Hope FS can come back for a visit some time.

First Trail Camera Pictures

Missouri bow hunting opened last week, so we just got back from a short two day hunting trip to my hunting spot outside of Sullivan, MO. I had gone down a couple weeks ago and repositioned mine and Danny's stands and put up my trail camera. These are my first trail camera pictures of the year. That nice little 8 pointer above came past my stand the day before we got there. Unfortunately, while the camera showed deer movement every day, nothing came by my stand Sunday evening, Monday, or this morning (Tuesday). Oh well, that's why they call it hunting and not killing. I was pleased with all the nice pictures I got. I had 150 on the camera, fifty were of my arm or hand putting up or taking down the camera. Another 50 were empty - probably a squirrel running by faster than the camera could catch it, and about 50 with some form of deer on it.

You might have to click on this picture to enlarge it and see it clearer. It's a momma doe and her little fawn - still with spots. Must have been a late season birth.

This is a nice buck, and I think it's still in velvet. Hard to tell with a night picture. Wish he'd come past my stand. Still plenty of time left in the season.

Again, you might have to click to enlarge this, but it's a really nice buck with nice tall tines and big body. I will definitely be looking for him later in the season. My tree stand is actually just behind the deer to the left of the picture. The camera is ten yards from my stand. Hope to have some better pictures soon, especially when I set up my cameras (three now - how did that happen?) in IL.

"I'm happy today, oh yes I'm..."

John Steinbeck once said, "A sad soul can kill you quicker than a germ."  What grabs me most about his quote is the idea of a sad soul.  That is a deep sadness that goes beyond having an unhappy day, or being temporarily depressed about things in life.  A sad soul is a mind-set, an outlook on life, or maybe a permanent habit of looking at the world through a glass that's always half empty.  It's seeing the ray of darkness in a field of light.  It's seeing a world of people with specks in their eye, and assuming it's just camouflage for the planks that must be there.
A sad soul is sitting in the critics seat and never feeling any responsibility to commend others, be constructive, or contribute to any one's joy.  A sad soul is basically a selfish soul.  Yes, there are exceptions, but we've all known the secret to happiness most our lives.  Happiness comes from making others happy.  The sad soul is sitting back waiting for someone to do that for them, but it won't be enough, and it won't change a thing.  The more we focus on ourselves and dwell on what we need or what we don't have, the more we wallow in self pity and sorrow.
When those thousands of people journeyed out from their towns and cities to listen to the new prophet from Nazareth, they were poor people.  They had no transportation, no food, and time from work was time not making a living.  But they were seekers, and they hoped the new prophet named Jesus would show them how to draw closer to God.  What he gave them - right out of the bag - was what we call the Beatitudes.  A really strange way to begin a lesson.  And contrary to what we've always said about "blessed" being another word for happy, and that they would be happy if they had these spiritual attitudes, he was telling them that God understood their hearts and their deep desire to seek Him.  Each Beatitudes was a promise that God knows and would bless everything they were doing to seek him.  They were poor in spirit, mourning, meek, hungering and thirsting for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, and persecuted on their journey, but they should "Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven."  Jesus was telling them that their souls where in good hands and that is a reason to smile from the heart!
Often, a sad soul is not a victim of hardships or tragic circumstances, but someone who has never discovered that real living is found in unselfish giving and, more than anything else, being at peace with our God and Father.

Are You Smarter Than An Eighth Grader?

When I was preaching in Nashville, there was a young brother who became a pretty close friend.  Ocassionally he would come by my office and we'd study and pray together, and spend a good bit of time sharing some very personal things in our journey to know God better.  At that time, I was really discovering, or maybe rediscovering, the primacy of thankfulness if we truly wanted to draw closer to God.  In private discussion I said to him what I later used as a permanent prayer on this blog, "God has been so good to me, and I am so thankful for the wonderful life he has given me, that anything that comes from this day on is truly gravy."  That was said as a profession of thanksgiving, but later, when for reasons still unknown today, he became dissatisfied with our church family, he put that quote from me in a letter of complaint to the elders to point out that I was "burned out" in my ministry.
How could something that was being said as a praise of thankfulness to God be interpreted as the words of a burned out preacher?  I don't know, but I do know that communication - that is, being understood - is always a complicated process.
Many times we assume someone understands what we are talking about, or at least our perspective, and we don't explain things as completely as we should.  That's a real problem in marriage, because after so many years together, we assume our spouse knows what we are thinking so we don't have to explain things.  Wrong.
I have often mentioned to people that I preach on an about an 8th grade level.  It's not just me, any and all public speakers, even if they don't know it, nearly always speak on a Junior High level to be understood by the greatest number of people.  NO, that doesn't mean that you prepare your lesson and then go over it to "dumb down" your message for the "lowly masses" of people you have to talk down to.  Most of us, yes even with multiple graduate degrees, speak to one another on about an 8th grade level.  That has nothing to do with conceptual understanding or intellect, but has everything to do with vocabulary.  I could throw in all kinds of theological terms that I've learned from scholarly volumes or papers, but why?  To impress others?  To sound erudite and superior?  The goal is communication not personal grandeur.
I am profoundly convicted by Paul's declaration to the Corinthians, "For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified."  It was essential to him that they understand, "My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power." (1 Cor.2:1-5)  There were some at Corinth that evidently thought Paul's message was too common, too basic, and lacking eloquence.  They didn't want to be challenged by a crucified Jesus, they wanted to be impressed by a polished public speaker.
No, an eighth grade vocabulary is all you need to share Jesus, confront sin, and show the way to find hope.  Everything else is fluff, fizzle, and fake.  If you don't know what those words mean, ask an eighth grader.

A Weekend With Good Friends

We were blessed to have our good friends Don and Kathy Rose with us for all of the Labor Day Weekend. We spent a lot of time talking, eating good food, going to some neat places, and playing lots of Fargle and Hand & Foot. It was essentially a cruise vacation w/o the cruise. Saturday was the last of the triple digit summer heat wave, but we still managed a great trip down to Union Station. Sunday was full of church activities and having a reunion of some of our Panama Canal trip people. Fun evening. Then on Monday, with wonderful cool temperatures and deep blue sky, we took them to Eckerts in Grafton to pick peaches and apples. It was a lot of fun. The above trailer is waiting for us to board to take us to the apple orchard.

This is the peach orchard we walked to first. It was late season and a little hard to find a bunch of nice looking and ripe peaches, but as you can see, we did ok.

This is Kathy, Donna, and me waiting for the aforementioned trailer.

We drafted a nice guy to take our picture after we'd paid for our peaches and apples and taken them back to the car. He was such a nice guy and did a pretty good job - considering the subjects.
From Eckerts, we drove over to Hardin, IL and had a great lunch at Mel's Riverdock restaurant on the IL river. It's where I eat breakfast after a morning hunt. Good stuff! Then we drove down to the Mississippi River and took the Golden Eagle ferry across to St. Charles. It's a really fun trip that we have done with several folks who visited us.

Don & Kathy are dear friends and we truly treasure getting to spend four days together. Can't wait for our winter vacation cruise this February when we get to do even more of everything we did last weekend but in a warm Caribbean location - and on the Grand Princess! Yeah!

Things that make me smile

For the last couple of weeks I have been making a list of little things that make me smile. Of course, some things on the list aren't so small, but they are all things that, when I see them or think about them, they make me smile. As I say regularly, we can grow no higher spiritually than our level of thankfulness. These are just some things I am thankful for - and they are in no particular order - just what I happen to add to the list on any given day. Maybe they will make you think of things you are thankful for.

Quiet moments on my back porch
Watching humming birds come to our feeder
My iPad (where this list was developed)
Wild flowers
Turtle concretes at Fritz's
Seeing kindness
Baby giggles
Loyal friends
Sitting next to my wife
Short dental check ups
Remembering God before getting out of bed
Everything Sunday
Mimosa blossoms
A good book
Chips and Ranch Dressing
Amens
My daughter's blogs
Skipping shaving
Being finished w/ my sit-ups & push-ups
People passionate about anything
AC (it's 104 today)
Hearing anything from my son
Fargle w/ friends (called Farkle by some)
People who are truly thankful
Sam carrying Frodo
Vacation with family or friends
First cup of coffee in the morning
Seeing loved ones reunited
NCIS
Las Fuentes
Have I mentioned my back porch....

Additional Thoughts

I've been working on a new list of "Things that make me smile" for the last couple of weeks. I add one or two to my iPad each day as I think of things. I'll put them on a blog next week, Lord willing. In the meantime, I want to add to a blog I wrote last week about being a people pleaser. First, when I referred to elders being a good example of people pleasers, I was talking elders in general, though I suspect my fellow leaders here are driven by that same need too. I would just remind you that the whole blog was about me being a people pleaser, so I certainly wasn't picking on or condemning anyone. I was just pointing out the impossibility of living with the misguided feelings that you must, or can, please everyone.
So - have you ever noticed when you spend time reflecting and praying about something, God has a way of helping you out? Part of my text for this weeks lesson is a verse that seemed to jump off the page and slap me around. So, for all my fellow people pleaser family and friends, I share it with you so you can be part of the slapping - if you need it.
Paul said, "Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please mean, I would not be a servant of Christ." (Gal.1:10)
Ouch! And what does that do to our feelings that being a people pleaser means we are servants of Christ?