My wife and I just bought a new vaccuum at Sears this weekend and boy does it suck!  Get it?  Ha-ha!  But seriously, our old vaccuum really sucked bad!  Ha-ha, again!  Anyway, some of you aren't laughing and I do have a point so let me get to it. 

When we brought home our precious new vaccuum cleaner home from Sears this past Saturday night, we immediately tried it out.  Now to give you a little context to my story, you need to understand that we had recently vaccuumed earlier in the day with our older vaccuum, but we finally came to the conclusion that it just wasn't doing the job it should be doing.  Anyway, when Robin finished vaccuuming the living room that night and showed me all the crap that was on our living room floor I was blown away!  I couldn't believe I had been living in such filth, yet was so completely unaware of it. 

Now, let me make a quick, spiritual observation (you guys know I like to do this).  My comfort level with the living room floor is similar to that comfort level many of you have with your lives.  For instance, I see all kinds of my friends (high school and college students, as well as others) living in such a filthy away, surrounding themselves with such filthy people and yet completely unaware of it.  You've just settled for a lesser life.  And while you don't see it, and think you're living the wonderful life, else sees that your life is going downhill fast.  And sometimes, I have to admit, I just wish I had this giant vaccuum cleaner and could just suck these people out of your life.  But all I have is my words and my example, and  I can only hope that one day my words and my example will be helpful to you at some point in your life, and that you would awake from the outright filthiness of your life.   

So the moral of the story is if your vaccuum sucks really bad, get a new one.  And if your friends are bringing you down and someone you love has pointed that out, listen to them. 

I love you all and may you all come to know the "huge" God that I know.

Currently Reading The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (adult) (Narnia) By C. S. Lewis see related

Hello Friends!

I want to invite you to my ordination this Sunday night at 6:00 p.m. at Southside Baptist Church.  It's not going to be a huge deal if you miss, but I would love for as many of you as possible to come and be a part of this with me.  Many of you have been with me since day one of my coming to Southside as a pastor, and I would just like to invite you to be with me on this day.  I love you all, and I wish I could spend more time with you, but my pre-schoolers and baby won't be this age forever.  I really do love all of you and I hope I'll see you Sunday night!

Matt

Taking care of babies is hard work!  I should know.  I'm the parent of three pre-schoolers, and take an active role in the parenting process.  Anyway, it seems like with babies that you are constantly feeding them a bottle, soothing them during a crying episode, or worst of all, changing them due to a blowout in their diaper (I apologize to all those with queasy stomachs) 

I know some of you at this point are like, "What's your point, Matt?  Do you want us to present you with some kind of 'Father of the Year' award or something?  I admit, it would be nice to receive a little plaque or trophy for my outstanding effort and performance as a father, but that's not my point. 

Let me explain by quoting Scripture and then we'll go from there. 

So, imagine with me for a moment an adult who looks like, talks like, and acts like a baby.  This adult needs to be fed every 2 hours.  He has to take 4 naps a day or he'll be extremely cranky.  He won't stop screaming in the middle of Wal-Mart unless you shove a pacifier in his mouth.  Now, I think I can speak for all of us and say that this would be at the very least,weird, right?  But more than that, this would be a serious problem. 

And yet as I look around me (and often times as I look at myself), I see people who claim to follow Christ looking like, talking like, and acting like, "Chucky" from the Rugrats.  There's just absolutely no maturity in their lives.  

Now, I'm not proposing that you never ever burp out loud in public again (though I think it's a good idea to keep your burps to yourself!)  However, I am proposing that you begin to take your relationship with God a little more seriously.   

Well, this is starting to sound like a sermon so let me finish.  It's time for us to put our pacifiers down, take our bibs off, drop our bottles right where we are, and start becoming less and less like "Baby Bob", and more and more like the One who gave His life for us.

Growing ever so slowly,

Matt 

I'm so blessed.  I know if I thought really, really hard, I could find something to complain about, but the truth is, I'm blessed. 

I grew up in an incredible environment.  My parents loved, encouraged, prayed for, and listened to me.  They modeled a biblical marriage in front of me and my brothers and taught me what it means to really follow Christ. 

I'm also blessed to married to the most beautiful woman in this entire solar system!  Robin is the love of my life and my truest friend.  She pretty much stays behind the scenes, but she's the most remarkable human being I know.  She's an unbelievably patient woman (can you imagine living with me and three pre-schoolers?), and she's smarter than your average stay-at-home mom (can you say college graduate with a degree in psychology, summa cum laude?) 

And how blessed am I to have three super cool kids?  Oh, how I thank God for these little ones every night, and tell Him how much I love them. 

Micah is my Star Wars fanatic.  We've had more than a few lightsaber battles, and he's a very formidable foe.   I'm usually someone from the Dark Side, so he usually wins.

Kenzie is my little princess.  She loves to dance and sing and do anything else that the Disney princessess do.  Her favorite is Cinderella, and it just so happens that I make the perfect Prince Charming!

Brody is the new kid on the block.  He loves to give me the most slobbery kisses you could ever imagine.  He loves to laugh at my silly faces and eat whatever Micah and Kenzie leave on the floor. 

I have a great church family too!  The people at Southside love me and I love them.  God has blessed me by allowing me to serve on the staff of this local church, and words can't express how much I love being a pastor. 

I could go on and on an on some more about how blessed I am, but I'll stop for now.  But I've got a brilliant idea.  Why don't you take a break from whatever you're doing and think about how blessed you are?  I know you may not feel blessed or think that your life just sucks, but I'll bet you're more blessed than you think you are.       

"How we praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we belong to Christ."  Ephesians 1:3(NLT)

Currently Reading Star Wars, Episode III - Revenge of the Sith By Matthew Woodring Stover see related

May 19th is almost here. And by that I mean, Star Wars:  Episode III is practically upon us.  And the anticipation is killing me!  I've loved every Star Wars movie (yes, even the ones with Jar-Jar), and this one is shaping up to be the best of all. 

I understand that not everyone shares my enthusiasm.  I remember taking my wife Robin to the re-release of Star Wars:  A New Hope.  I was so excited to have "my girl"  experience the thrill of these movies with me.  My excitement was short lived as she fell asleep halfway through the movie and stayed asleep until the credits began to roll.  (How can you sleep through during The Battle of Yavin?!?!)  Anyway, I haven't asked her to watch a Star Wars movie with me since. 

However, some of my family shares my love of the Star Wars universe.  My son, Micah, has more than his share of Star Wars action figures and vehicles and we've been known to engage in lightsaber duels from time to time (Santa gave Micah lightsabers for Christmas- imagine that!)  And my daughter, Mackenzie loves to be Princess Leia and have her "Daddy" rescue her from Darth Vader.  My youngest son, Brody, can't even crawl yet, but I'm sure he'll be trying to eat my Star Wars stuff before long.

Anyway, the final installment is upon us.  I'll not be going to this movie with my wife, and no, I won't be dressed as a stormtrooper in case you're wondering.  I'm not that much of a fanatic.  But I will be there.  And I can't wait. 

May the Force be with You! 

But much more than that, "May our peace-giving God be with you all."  Romans 15:33 (Amplified Bible)