Seriously...

Is it just me...or does this look like Larry King?
I have nothing spiritual to say about it....just couldn't pass up this picture-

Enjoy your blessings this weekend!

Grace and Peace,

DCC

Water...

Remember when we were little...and you would play outside and get your water from a neighbor's hose or spicket? It has been increasingly hotter down here in San Antonio...somedays the heat index is in the 100s...and so thirst has been on my mind.

Jesus told the woman at the well, He could provide "Living Water" and ensured her she would never thirst again.

He is that Living Water indeed...

May He be the spicket we all choose to gulp from!

Grace and Peace,

DCC

In Person...

Frank Woodruff Buckles our last surviving WW I veteran

He was just 15 years old when he joined the U.S. Army. Soon, he was deployed to war and headed overseas on the Carpathia -- the same ship used in the rescue mission of the Titanic.

He was taken as a prisoner of war for 39 months in Manila, eating his meals out of a single tin cup. More than 60 years later, he still clings to that cup, the one that sustained his life. Weathered with age, the cup has flecks of white paint chipped off. He keeps it as a reminder of his sacrifice for the country he so loves. He also still has his dog tags.
At age 107, there's not much he has not seen. But this week, this quietly accomplished man was humbled.
Buckles met the president of the United States and received a standing ovation at the Pentagon.

He spoke from a wheelchair, dressed in a dark blazer with his military medals pinned over his heart. Those in attendance clung to his words.
"We cherish the chance to say thank you in person to Cpl. Frank Buckles," Defense Secretary Robert Gates said, before unveiling a portrait of him.
At the White House, President Bush thanked him for his "love for America" and called him "the last living 'doughboy' from World War I."

"Mr. Buckles has a vivid recollection of historic times, and one way for me to honor the service of those who wear the uniform in the past and those who wear it today is to herald you, sir, and to thank you very much for your patriotism and your love for America," the President said, seated with Buckles in the Oval Office.

John was said to be the longest-living disciple of Jesus..

Can you imagine what it would have been like to get him one on one and just listen...many did.

More than that...can you imagine sitting with Jesus Himself??

To thank Him in person??

You don't have to imagine...you can do it.
Right now.
Right where you are.
He deserves it.


Grace and Peace,


DCC

With Him...

"I can do all things through Christ who Strengthens me" Phil 4:13

ALL things, not just SOME!!!
Far be it, for me, to suggest cliff diving...but, please rest assured, if Jesus actually told this guy to do this...than he is safe.

No matter what your challenge is today...big or small, it is important in His Eyes...and with Jesus, you can do it.
Grace and Peace,

DCC

Memorial Day...

"On This Day of Memory, we mourn brave citizens who laid down their lives for our freedom. They lived and died as Americans.

May we always honor them. May we always embrace them.

And may we always be faithful to who they were and what they fought for." President George W. BushThank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Memorial Day is one day designated to honor soldiers who have made the ultimate sacrifice-

the other 364 belong to the living.

And of course, to my very favorite soldier, my grandfather, Happy Birthday "Big Con"

May I live my life in a manner worthy of your sacrifice.

May all of us.

Grace and Peace,

DCC

Share....

I don't know which is worse.....hogging it....or shoving it in someone's face....

Share your faith...gently...

like Jesus.

Grace and Peace,

DCC

Sanford and Son...

As many of you know...we are opening "The Foundry" soon.It is our coffee shop for the church-

Michael and Cindy have been working around the clock, (while also both selling their homes, weddings...school changes...etc...)

Needless to say, they have been stressed and praying for some help-

A specific concern for them yesterday morning, unbeknownst to us, was a for a table-

Good news...God heard and answered.

Bad news....We had to go dumpster diving in '09 to assist

On our way to staff lunch yesterday...Cari, Dinah, Darrell and myself noticed a Chili's dumpster...which was filled with furniture they were giving away. hmmm...

The next thing you know...there we are "dumpster diving in 78209".

We could see this sign in our hearts-Loading up two booths..and three tables...100 degrees outside...a preganant woman, a pastor, and apparently Lamont and Fred Sanford....

We crammed it all in my car and headed down to deliver it-

Please tell me you can hear the theme song from "Sanford and Son" It will enhance your reading today if you can hum it as you are reading.

So we are ready to be the Hands and Feet of Christ and deliver the goods-

Bad news- we were locked out of "The Foundry"

Good news- We just HAPPENED to drive by Cindy at someone else's home where she had the key. Well, we get down to "The Foundry"...as we are buried in furniture and nails sticking in places that remain unmentionable. The noises in my car, amidst the hysterical laughter, were hysterical laughter and moaning. Below is my favorite picture...it is what Darrell referred to as SACRIFICE. (please take note of the gum and nails sticking out of the table) When we finally got there...after a wrong exit by me, Lamont...
We got the furniture in...and immediately noticed....a "God Winking" moment-the booths and tables were the same color as the newly painted walls...it was a perfect fit!

God pays attention to detail and hears every prayer-Sometimes He requires us to go through a "dumpster" to get the answer...and when I don't make the effort - I am the "Big Dummy"-

Thanks be to God, for His Patience and Constant Provision-

Grace and Peace,

DCC

Idiots...

Just thinking of all of the latest political comments made by religious leaders around our country...including some I have personally heard locally.

Makes me wonder if they are worshipping the same God I am.

Then when I "remove the plank" I am left to wonder when and where, I am being the idiot and embarrassing Him.


This challenges me, to watch how I am acting and what I am saying- As believers, we are walking billboards for Jesus.

Grace and Peace,

DCC

Solidarity...

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Under a huge tent just outside the medical unit at Camp Liberty, shielded from the blazing sun, soldiers watch and cheer as two men at a time get their heads shaved. Clumps of hair fall to the hot sand below.

Maj. Stephen Roberts, a pediatric oncologist, set up a St. Baldrick's cancer fundraiser on his new base in Iraq.

But they're not just fighting the Iraqi heat. They're showing solidarity with sick kids they don't even know.
It started with a dare on St. Patrick's Day 2000, when two guys shaved their heads to support children with cancer. Thus was born the St. Baldrick's Foundation. In eight years, the awareness and fundraising organization says, events have taken place in 18 countries and the United States, "raising over $34 million and shaving more than 46,000 heads."
Maj. Stephen Roberts knows a lot about bald heads. He's a pediatric oncologist at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.
The kids he guides through treatment don't seem fazed by it. "They're just amazing, inspiring kids," Roberts said. "They're going through something more difficult than most of us can imagine and they do it with a level of grace and strength that I don't think I could match."

Christ in action-

Remember this coming Monday is Memorial Day...another opportunity for all of us to stop and say thank you. Don't miss your chance.

Grace and Peace,

DCC

Doorposts...

"And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and upon your gates."

Deuteronomy 11:20

In Jewish homes and businesses...this is on the doorposts, a mezuzah.

It is a constant reminder and acknowledgement of God watching your coming in and going out-

Makes me wonder what "I have on my doorposts."

Am I acknowledging Him?

Grace and Peace,

DCC

Slow down...

"Be Still and Know That I Am God" Psalm 46:10

Slow down and enjoy your weekend-

Grace and Peace,

DCC

Brave...

Irena Sendler, a Polish woman who smuggled thousands of children out of the Warsaw Ghetto, during the Holocaust. She saved them from certain death at the hands of the Nazis.

As a social worker, she did not have finances, nor the contacts of Oskar Schindler, to whom she is almost inevitably compared, yet she rescued almost double the number of children, about 2,500 in total. She had the heart of Christ.

The tricks of her trade were not fancy. She used tool boxes, trolleys, suitcases and old sewer pipes to smuggle Jewish babies and toddlers out of the ghetto, undetected by the Nazis. Once they were out, she placed them with Christian families.

She wrote children's names on slips of paper and buried them in jars in a neighbor's yard as a record that could help them find their parents after the war. The jars contained their real and assumed names.

She was eventually caught by the Getsapo...put in prison, brutally tortured and even avoided a death sentence.

Never once did she reveal the names...or compromise her mission, faith or spirit.

(Sounds to me a lot like Paul)

Irena Sendler did not think of herself as a hero. She claimed no credit for her actions.

"I could have done more," she said. "This regret will follow me to my death." in 1965 she accorded the title of Righteous Among the Nations by the Yad Vashem organization in Jerusalem and in 1991 she was made an honorary citizen of Israel.

"I am not a hero," Sendler said. "A hero is someone doing extraordinary things. What I did was not extraordinary. It was a normal thing to do."

They Will Know We Are Christians By Our Love.

Grace and Peace,

DCC

Bread...

Of course, God does nothing by accident....
and quite frankly, I think He enjoys when we just "happen" to figure these things out-

Jesus was from the small town of Bethlehem.

In Hebrew Bethlehem means, House of Bread, or what we would call "Bakeryville"

Jesus Is....The BREAD of Life.

Bethlehem, where Jesus was raised, was notorious, as the place where sacrificial lambs were raised

Jesus Is...The LAMB of God.

Coincidence??
Absolutely not.

Grace and Peace,

DCC

Grass...

Here is a soldier stationed in Iraq, stationed in a big sand box. He asked his wife to send him dirt (U.S. soil), fertilizer, and some grass seed so that he can have the sweet aroma, and feel the grass grow beneath his feet When the men of the squadron have a mission that they are going on, they take turns walking through the grass and the American soil -- to bring them good luck.

If you notice, he is even cutting the grass with a pair of a scissors. Sometimes we are in such a hurry that we don't stop and think about the little things that we take for granted.

Such as grass in the front yard and their GREAT sacrifice!

God, please bless our soldiers....near and far....then and now-

Thank you for their unselfish lives- return them, in your speed, to their families.

Grace and Peace,

DCC

Plank or speck...

"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?" Matthew 7:2-5

I love the way Jesus teaches me things....although I do not act on His lesson enough...I am much too busy worrying about other's faults...and how "I would never do that!"
It amazes me how small the speck gets in when I notice the gigantic plank in my own-

Grace and Peace,

DCC

Lean Not...

Easy to read....harder to do, sometimes.

Obviously, God knew we were going to need some help in this area--

He knew we would need to lean on something to make sense of things down here on Earth-
and He also knew leaning on our own comprehension- was of little to NO help-

Thank you God for the reminder that, You are in charge and if we just follow You...
there is no need to understand it all-

Grace and Peace,

DCC

Out of the Box...

No, I do not think Jesus looked like this...
But I do think we keep Him in a box like this sometimes...at least I do.

He is bigger than whatever, whenever and whomever comes our way-

He hung the stars....set up the mountains...told the oceans exactly where to start and stop...
He made man out of dirt...and woman out of him...turned the sun itself on and off....
and on top of that loves you and me more than we are able to understand!

How could He possibly be overwhelmed or surprised??

Grace and Peace,

DCC

Thy Word...

"Is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." Psalm 119:105

One thing we learned in Israel was that light was precious....especially in Biblical times.
When they walked at night...they had a small light, (similar to a candle), attached to the front of their sandal.

A flickering candlelight at the top of your sandals, of course, would only show you the very next step. This was all you had in the middle of nowhere. No street lights, reflections from suburbans driving by...just moonlight, stars and you.
That's it? The light equivalent of a birthday candle!?!
Apparently, God thought and still thinks...that is enough.
So shouldn't we?

One step at a time.

Grace and Peace,

DCC

Happy Birthday Hee Hee!!!

Happy Birthday Mommy!!!

Thank you for...

teaching me that there is always enough room at our table...

the door is always open to guests...

once they are in...they should feel like family.

that no one is perfect...and to accept them as they are...

This too shall pass...

teaching me to let go...

it doesn't cost a thing to be kind...

you can't help other people's bad manners...

don't give with strings attached!

Most importantly- God is in charge and He has a plan....trust it!

God, I thank you for over-blessing me with the ultimate role model in living as a Christian-

I love you both more than I can ever write on a blog and everything I am or could ever hope to be I owe to you two.

"Her Children Arise and call her blessed" Proverbs 31:28

Very gratefully,

DCC

Just Do It...

Just do it.

Have a great weekend-

Grace and Peace,

DCC

Right Hand...

I love thinking about His Big-Victorious- Strong- Right Hand on me....

Every day...all day.

No matter what or where.

And if you will take time to notice-it is on your shoulder as well.

Grace and Peace,

DCC