Ramblin' Thoughts From A Weary Mind

Oh my goodness......1977... Might as well have been 100 years ago.... Look at this bunch will you... What would I tell that young man with the beard if I could travel back and meet with him? The main thing would be to say..."Enjoy every moment because it will be gone before you know it." Don't let your selfishness get in the way of being a father. Don't wish your live away and at the same time do nothing to prepare for what lies ahead. What does lie ahead? Some dark times.... Some hard times.... Some good times.... Some happy times.... What about the little boy on the right? My oldest son... I would probably be a bit more diligent in being a father than I was... I'd love to tell him how things turn out in his life, but as Jack told us all in "A Few Good Men"...."You can't handle the truth!" Oh, this little boy will grow to handle the truth and a whole lot more. He will walk down paths that I never thought he would, and he wo...

I Thessalonians 4:16-17 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. 2020........ What if 2020 is the year that we see,understand, and experience the truth of what the passage from I Thessalonians says? Don't hear a lot of teaching about Christ's return anymore. I'm sure there are some who still preach on this. I'm sure that there are heart out there beating, waiting, and watching..... Yet all the while carrying out the duties given to them by their heavenly Father. What if 2020 was such a year? I look around at the state of our nation... Anger... Hatred.... Divisiveness... Selfishness Greed.... A disdain for anything to do with God and yet, at the same time, a chasing after all manner of...

There is something inside each of us that really doesn't like to give up. It doesn't like the idea of admitting defeat. Saying that we are incapable of making something happen. In some situations, this can be a good thing...not liking to quit or give up. It brings about, in us, the idea that if we keep striving and  fighting, we can overcome whatever problem we are facing. Dealing with sin/addiction, such an idea of surrender or giving up is not only foreign but at the very core of our struggles. In fact, sometimes the individual wants to give up and quit using or drinking, but they can't. They simply can't stop. They try. Over and over and over, they fight this battle daily. But they fight it in the wrong way.  Some say that they have lost the will to quit. When in reality will power is not the problem. Complicated issues that deal with, first--the spiritual side of sin/addiction, make it hard for the individual to stop. They have devolved to such a level that they ...

Twenty five years ago, this book was the means God used to answer His call to pastor. I'm not even sure the book is in print any longer, but I have my copy and I reread it once every year. The basis for the book is that church has been taken out of the hands of the people given to (what the book refers to) professional clergy. We even have terms to divide church.... #1 - clergy....and #2 - laity. Now while I do agree that there has to be pastor's and teachers within the church, I think we've lost something by not giving the people a voice or place in our services. I'm not referring to a Christian-free-for-all type meeting, but I am on board with everyone having something to offer to the service. This is what I have tried to do with each meeting I've led. Last night's meeting @ VRC was a prime example of this. Now I do not go out of my way to coerce people to speak up, but I do want to create an atmosphere that says, "It's o.k. for me to speak ...

It seems to me that the minds of people are being assailed at every turn. The ability to keep one's mind at peace and rest is slowly being taken away by the demands and dictates of society. Here in our country, we medicate to be peaceful and even with that, it still doesn't work. A pill for depression.... A pill for chronic depression.... A pill for clinical depression.... I do not downplay depression or act like it is not a real malady, for it is. A mind that is racing and never at rest is an easy target for the devil. Just as the body needs rest, so does the mind. The answer? I thought you'd never ask. The finished work of Jesus. That's too simple you might think. I believe we fully discount the work of Christ on the cross. The power of God at work in us produces the very nature that society cannot. We read in Isaiah 26:3 - 4  -  The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in You. Trust in the LORD forever, for in God the LORD, we have a...

(Some last minute thoughts and impressions on Christmas 2019) Luke 2:6 So it was while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth here firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. I love Christmas... Always have... Always will... It is the only season that comes to the Bynum household with our own specific traditions. Traditions that have now been handed down to another generation. Oh, on the scale of human endeavors, our traditions have no significance to anyone else.But at this time of year, those who gather at our house know full well what to expect in our celebration of Christmas. Putting up our Christmas tree is a night of memories. Each ornament has a story... And we share those stories out loud as we hang them. There are paper cut-out donkey's that Chad and Josh made when they were little boys. Crayon scrawl on the back of each ornament show th...