Light of The World....

"Jesus said, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.'” ~Matthew 19:14

The week of Vacation Bible School never ceases to amaze me. 
There is a rare, powerful, tear-stained, genuine worship that occurs, akin to nothing I've seen out of adults. 

Their worship was pure and heartfelt....with no distraction or concern of anyone around them. 

What was going on was a song and a conversation between each child there and their God.

While I was worried about getting "too in to it" at one point....I realized the quietest kids I knew were in front of 400 people "letting it rip" 

A few things overheard this week....

"We are giving money because, there are sad thirsty elephants in Africa that need it."

"God loved the world so much- 

that He decided to stay the same yesterday, today and forever" 

(messy 3rd grade handwriting Scripture looks better than any scroll found in Israel) 

"I growed a mustache here."

"favorite song is, My God is an awesome guy. He Reigns from heaven above. 
My God is an awesome guy." 

The particular singer also sings, 
"Mary had a little man. a little Man, a little man. He followed her home from school one day." 

"God sent bananas from the sky to feed desert people."

Kids took it upon themselves to help crying little ones. 

They giggled and skipped and didn't get their feathers ruffled by differences.

They had honest conversations with God....

They truly were and are, the light of the world and a city on a hill.

God, Thank You for giving us visual examples of what You desire. No wonder the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.

In His Dust,
DCC

The Emergency Pager...

When you call the church after hours this is what you hear....
"If this is an emergency or life threatening situation...please press 911 and a pastor will be paged immediately."

Let's review over a few possible emergency situations, shall we?

Someone is dying.
Someone is in serious trouble.
Someone is on fire.
Someone has just been in a terrible accident.
Someone has just passed away.
Someone is in a crisis and needs counseling.

I had the pager this weekend. 
(No, your time machine did not just drop you off in 1985, I said pager....which is an entirely different post)

This was a middle of the night emergency call we received...
"Please call me back quickly, I need to find out how to enroll my son in a shop class at Lee High School. Also, I could use $3500.00."

Ummmmm, at first, I wondered if he had misheard emergency as,

"Please press 911, if you would like to wake someone up and ask for help in a situation that is not an emergency."

In which case, I would say, Bravo sir, well played!

Then I reflected on all of the other middle of the night "emergency calls" we receive,

They go a little something like this...

What time is church? What should I wear? I think I lost a pair of sunglasses? I don't like that sermon series. Your message on the marquee is offensive. Why won't McNitzky wear a robe? What is Michael doing on his sabbatical? 

I could go on...but I was reminded by Job, that every concern of our's, is important to God.

"What is mankind that you make so much of them,

 that you give them so much attention." ~Job 7:17

Since God cares, then we should as well....3:00 am and pm equally.

God, Thank You for caring about every concern we have, just because You love us. 

In His Dust, 

DCC

Tools....

After a great dinner and on the way to my Godson's Bday party...I had a blow out.

Of course, I did what all 45 year olds do....I called my Mommy and Daddy.

And of course they immediately screeched up.

On board, was my Uncle Con. 

It is in his DNA to, "know what to do" and to not be afraid to do it. 

He does it with no complaints or even an eye roll.

With 600% humidity, with sweat literally pouring, off of his face....

there was not an eye roll or a complaint to be heard from him. 

Momo would be proud to know that there was no "belly-aching" from her boy. 

Just as Popo would be proud to know all his hard work and training in the garage paid off. 

I would be remiss if I didn't mention Reagan Stringfellow who drove by, stopped and turned into a Indianapolis 500 one man pit crew. 

(I owe you big time Reagan!)

 

I was quickly reminded that, we all come packed with a God Given set of tools. 

Our upbringing tends to sharpens, dull, add or subtract. 

Some of us look like we bring a shiny filled up tool box, 

that would make Tim Allen jealous... 

and others tend to show up with.....

a Fisher Price. 

You know the people I am talking about don't you?

They might not look like that much help in your eyes...or their "help" isn't exactly, "helpful." 

However, according to 1 Corinthians 1:26-31, He uses Fisher Price too!

No one is left out. We all have value and purpose. 

"Members do not have the same function... 

We have different gifts according to the grace given to each of us." ~Romans 12:4a,6a

 He has placed us where He wants us...

in order to Honor Him and Bless each other. So whether you think you arrive with a dented toolbox with inadequate tools...or you pull up whistling carrying plastic tools...

you and I can rest assured....

"He who began a good work on you 

will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." -Philippians 1:6 

Just like Reagan, My Uncle Con and My Daddy showed me....

Love changes everything.

Thank You God for loving me and looking out for me in such a way, that only I knew, was straight from Heaven. 

In His Dust,

DCC

Putting The Baptize On Charlie...

He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. " ~Matthew 19:14

This is Charlie... 
aka, "Charlie Warley Doodle all The Day" or "Sir Charles"
He is 3. ("Free")

For weeks he has been talking about going to church to.... "Put the Baptize on."

He was excited about the, "Jesus' river water"

 ...and "the sign it was gonna put on him." 

The first words out of his mouth yesterday AM was...
"This is sure a beautiful day to put my Baptism on"

So, God reminded me,
 through a teeny-tiny person in a seersucker suit- 
toting a bag of jelly beans and pulling on a juicebox,
That we should ALL greet the day....ready to "Put Jesus On."

Both Charlie and his gorgeous baby sister, "Carowine" 
both, "got the baptize put on them"

He handed out some high-fives along the way to his co-teachers 
(They're who taught him all about Jesus' tomb having "NUFFING" in it.)

"Jesus said, 'I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, 
you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.'" ~Matthew 18:2


When all was said and done...what was left on the dining room table was a
wrinkled seersucker and spiderman underoos...

 but, what was left on the heart, was proof in the pudding.
The childlike faith Jesus Himself describes......
was found to have snuck out of bed and was reading, 
 his new Bible Stories to his invisible friend, "The Boy." 

 He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. " ~Matthew 19:14

Looks to me, like childlike faith, isn't so childish after all. 

God, Thank You for Baptism and for allowing us to "Put You on." Thank You for reminding us thru Charlie and Caroline that Your Love has changed EVERYTHING.

In His Dust,

DCC

The Voice...

I've had a heart for special needs kids since I was little. 
My Aunt "Ding", who also happens to be my Godmother, chose to serve them as a vocation- which I've always seen as more of a ministry. I believe she was called.

I've had the privilege of announcing Challenger League Baseball games this past season. 
(Challenger League is special needs baseball)

It's been eye opening to watch the different angles of God. 

Students helping special needs kids- 

Parents beaming with pride and broken hearted at other moments. 

I learned that Elliott likes Linus and Lucy....

Caroline likes a pink helmet...it makes her happy... 

Jake, "Boogie Man" likes KC & The Sunshine Band... 

Annie does a cartwheel every time she scores..

Mikey hits it out of the park...

Drew likes to eat donuts and enjoys a little crowd recognition...

Gracie runs faster when I play "Who Let The Dogs Out"....

The Parents beam with pride....

as they face a hard sense of reality... 

At the end of the last game a gorgeous red-headed freckled face player- 

handed me a trophy of my very own. 

She said "Thank you for being our voice." 

My heart dropped and exploded at the same time. 

It got me to thinking- what does my voice sound like? Besides scratchy....

It better sound like love and grace and mercy.

 Because that is what my Rabbi's Voice sounds like. 

This post is not about me, or anything I did, it is about us being His Voice.

So, as His Voice, what are people hearing from you?
Since His Sheep know His Voice....

"God's Voice thunders in marvelous ways; 

He does great things beyond our understanding." ~Job 37:5

God, Please let them hear Your Voice in Mine...in Our's.

In His Dust,

DCC

Don't Be Shaped...

"Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. 

You’ll be changed from the inside out." ~Romans 12:2

I was honored to speak in a wedding this weekend at San Fernando Cathedral. 

It was founded in 1731 and is the oldest continuously functioning religious community in the State of Texas. 

(As in "Remember the Alamo type old," and believe you me, it does.) 

So, when I was told by the priest to "lift my hands" during my reading, 

needless to say, I did it.

The comments I got, by those who didn't understand the ritual, made me think.

"Wow, you really take this reading stuff seriously...you were really excited."

"Did you know your hands were raised?"

"You should so go and be a priest already or go into ministry!"

My answers in order.....

"Yes. Yes, I do take God's Word real seriously."

"Ummm, yes, I had control of my limbs. Thank you for your concern."

"The collar would look silly with my shorts and t-shirt...

and by the way, I am already in ministry..................we all are."

God calls all of us to, "Not conform to the world around us."

The word conformed is, "suschematizo." 

It literally means, to be molded or stamped according a pattern. 

This includes the pattern of public opinion which tends to define truth. 

It is so much easier to be affected by the world and it's opinions.

Including those we often swim with.

But, it is not what is best for us.

and He knows that.

God, Thank You for Your Mercy when we worry more about what others think, than what You do.

In His Dust,

DCC

Breakfast with Jesus...

"Then, as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread…Jesus said to them, “Come and eat breakfast.” ~John 21:9,12

He knew, among many countless things...that they were quite simply....hungry.
The Creator of the Universe and all things in it....knew and cared about hunger.
The best part? He still does!!!

He wants to know...Peter, the original invitee to breakfast, tell us flat out- 

"Turn all your worries over to Him. He cares about you." ~1 Peter 5:7

Peter doesn't put a limit on what to talk to Him about.
He doesn't say, only give Him your worries about: North Korea, The Venezuelan election or drone strikes......
He says turn ALL your worries over to Him.
This includes the argument with your teenager on the way to school...
The stress you feel when "out of whack" with a friend or family member...

The anxiety of ______________ (fill in your own blank)....

He still calls. 
He still cares. 

So, today...let's take Him up on His invitation to "breakfast".

I'm afraid sometimes, I'm too quick to complain that it ain't Shipley's! 
Sometimes it might look like a fish on a stick over a fire, with the head still on it.
All that matters is, we are invited to sit with Him and hand over our worries.

God, Thank You for caring...about all of the things that are on our hearts.

In His Dust,
DCC