Little things

OK, before I get into the rest of this blog, let me say that I must agree with Meghan Mochrie!! She says that, "WOW!!! either no one comes and reads this or no one likes to leave comments!!" So, if you are reading this (that means all three you that have bothered to stop by) then get going with the comments people. And on that note, if you find that you ever don't agree with something that I write, or if you think that my thinking is flawed. Let me know...I would welcome a little banter about the things of God, the meaning of life, etc. etc.

Now that I've given my little shout out to Meghan and done my pitiful beg for comments, I will return back to the real topic for tonights "deep thoughts."

Little things. Sometimes it's just the little things in life that just make it for you. For example...my daughters smile and her little giggle, a hug from your wife (or significant person in you life i.e. parent, friend, etc.) at just the right time, the perfect nap - you know the one where you sleep so hard so fast that you wake up with a little drool pool, or maybe it's just the perfect moment where you happen to pay attention to the beauty that God has orchestrated when you see the sunset just right and the colors cause you to amazed.

You know what I'm talking about...the little things.

It's amazing to me that the little things in life have the ability to grab your attention, your affection, and your imagination in such incredible ways. The only problem that I've found in my life is that I am perturbed by the little things in life far more than I am the big things. I know that you are reading this saying, "Jeremy, you've lost your mind!! There is no way that the little things in life should frustrate you. Their insignificant, let them go!"

I suppose you're right. However, venture here with me for just a moment. I don't know if you are like me, but I can handle the large things in life OK. Please understand, I don't like it when catastrophe strikes. I don't like it when people die, or family or friends are involved in car accidents. I don't like when things like 9-11 happen or when teenagers commit suicide. But somehow, I hold it together through catastrophes. It's the little things that set me off. I don't why...

It's the missing car keys when I'm late for an appointment and I'm rushing around the house like a mad man, getting angry that I can't find the keys and even madder at myself at the fact that I'm mad. It's when I'm mad at myself for forgetting an appointment with someone. Sure, it's regrettable that I made a mistake, but is it really worth the self-abuse I put myself through? Is it worth the fact that I treat myself like a dog for missing an engagement. Or here's one from literally my day today...I go to buy something for work, and I need the receipt to turn in for reimbursement, and somehow (believe me I DON'T KNOW HOW!!) in the matter of a 4 minute drive I lose the $84.17 receipt and i spend 2 hours looking for it!!! How mental is that? Ha, look at me, it's almost 8 hours later, and I'm still irritated with myself for feeling this way.

In case you're worried...I am OK. I will make it through the loss of a small 3 square inch sheet of paper...and yes, I will get reimbursed even if I can't produce the receipt. I know all of that already, but somehow, it just get down in side of me and rubs me the wrong way like a small pebble in my shoe that I can't rid of.

Isn't is great to know that in the midst of all things great and small God is right there with us?!! God is there teaching me and guiding me through the little frustrations of life...and it's moments like this where I can see that he was with me that help me to make it through the BIG challenges.

Isn't great to know that God is there is the little special moments of life. I feel so much closer to Him when I realize that for a breif moment, I recognized the work of His hands. What a cool feeling.

I'll close tonight with this thought.

Luke 16:9-11
9 Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your earthly possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home.[a]
10 “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. 11 And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven?

I know that this passage is talking about money. But I think it can speak to all aspects of life and who we are. When we learn to see God and trust God and love God in the little things of life both beautiful and frustrating, we will grow with God into a life that is bigger than we can imagine.

Good night

deep stench

Hey everyone!!! Sorry that it has been so long since my last post. I've been out of town, and really not had access or time to get to the internet. It's weird not getting to check email and cruise the net from the comfort of my recliner (like I'm doing right now.) Ahhh, this is the good life...however, I can honestly say that not being tied to the computer and all it's distractions can be a very good thing as well.

So, it has been an eventful week/end. Pretty much all of my time has been spent with family (both mine and Ren's) in Savannah for the past few days. It is always good spending time with family. I don't get to see my family everyday, so I think it makes me appreciate them more. I also think that because I don't see them often it helps us to have a better time when we are all together. That being said, there are some definite advantages to living close to family that we don't get to take advantage of. Such as help with raising children. Advice and help on how to do things around the home. For instance, my brother lives in Savannah near my parents and my dad spent all morning helping my brother fix his bathroom.

Anyway, all in all, time with family is a good thing. So let's get to the heart of the matter. If you've read this far, it's because you want to know what in the world could be this Deep Stench that Jeremy is talking about. Let me tell you.

The very reason that I went home early for Thanksgiving is so that I could take part in what has become a fairly regular tradition for me the last 5 or so years. In Savannah, there is a civic organization called the Shriner's. Each year at Thanksgiving time they hold a Boston butt cook to raise money for the St. Jude's Children's hospital. For those of you that are laughing because we were cooking butt...then ha ha laugh it up. You don't know funny, until you've been around a bunch or 70 year old men that keep saying, "those sure are some nice butts." Well, it just so happens that they do cook butt every year and yours truly is the head butt cooker. Actually, we don't cook the butts, we smoke the butts. (I'm sure that right now, many of you are laughing at the mental image of smoking a butt...so let me just say that a Boston butt is a cut of meat from a pig...and by smoking I mean that we build a very big, very hot fire and then direct the smoke from that fire to the meat, and the hot smoke is actually what cooks the meat. If you want to know how hot the fire was, at one point, it singed my eyebrows, beard, eyelashes and hair on the side of my face!!!)

Now that I've explained what butt is and how it is smoked, please know and understand that this process takes a long time. My friend Jeff and I had to prepare and cook 850 Boston butts. This is a lot. It takes about 7 hours to do this, and we had to cook three different loads. About 285 at a time. Needless to say, I apart of cooking for 26 straight hours. NO SLEEP. 26 straight hours of standing in front of a cooker, being choked by the smoke and the fire...and you guessed it the unbelievable smell.

So, anyway, the smell is so bad, that when I get home at 6:00am the next day, my parents make me strip down in the garage, and leave my clothes there. I've taken 4 showers and there are still times when I can smell it on my hands. My clothes have been washed 3 or 4 times and they still smell like it too. I'm talking a deep, deep stench.

It makes me think of sin. I know that sounds weird, but we all sin, and gets down into us deep. We try to do good things, and overcome it...but we still stink. We try to wash ourselves off with good deeds, but the smell of our sin is still there. There is only one thing that gets the stench of our sin out of our lives...the blood of Jesus. I can't earn my self clean, I can't "good" myself clean enough.

Thank you Jesus for washing away the stench of my sin.

1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

home

I've spent my entire life being very independent. Maybe you can relate? As a child, I always wanted to be out, moving, going, doing, being, etc. I was that kid that loved going on trips and vacations. It was really convenient for my dad that I liked to travel. My dad was and still is a workaholic. And truthfully, I appreciate his hard work, because it provided for a very nice life for our family. However, when I was really young, my dad's job was moving people. He worked for one of those companies that owned a fleet of really big semi trucks, and you hired them to move your stuff from one place to the other. So, my dad was on the road alot. I remember spending alot of time as a child, going on these trips with my dad. Luckily for him, I loved driving and traveling, seeing new places and meeting new people. It was a great way for him and I to spend time together.

I'm definitely a little older now, and I still love traveling. I love being off and going, doing, being, blah, blah, blah. But there's something different now. When I was a kid, I had such a great time on the trips, that I didn't care if we ever went home. Now that I'm older, it doesn't take me nearly as long to miss home.

Just the other day, I was in Southern California. It was a neat trip. I had never been there before, and it had so much to see that I had never seen or experienced before. But after I was out there for about 3 days, I started to him home. Now, you might be thinking, "oh, well, Jeremy you were just missing the comfort of you bed...or you were just missing your house." I think it was that I was missing my home.

Home is a state of mind, and a state of heart. I missed my home that included my wife. After three days of not having her to talk to face to face...I was missing something I needed. After three days of not seeing or holding my little girl...I was missing something I needed. I missed being able to go out to eat at the local restaurant and be greeted by familiar faces. I missed my friends and life I share with them. I did miss my bed, and I did miss my dog Sam, but more than the things in my life that I missed, I missed the people and the relationships that make my life a "home."

I'll still get to travel alot in the future, I'll still love to go, go, go. But I'm finding that my heart needs home so much more than it used to. I think that this is just one more way that God is growing me and teaching me what is important in life. I pray that I will always be as sensitive to the relationships around me as I am right now.

jeremy

Proverbs 27:7-9
7 A person who is full refuses honey, but even bitter food tastes sweet to the hungry.
8 A person who strays from home is like a bird that strays from its nest.
9 The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense

rain

Rainy days can be tough can't they? That's today. Rainy. Tough. Cold. Frustrating.

I don't really like rainy days too much. They get in the way. By that, I mean that rainy days make me rethink everything. What I'm going to wear, where I'm going to go, how I'm going to drive. Rainy days get in the way of my attitude. I get annoyed by the big puddle I step in in my nice tennis shoes. Then I walk around in wet socks for several hours.

You're starting to get the picture. Rain affects everything. People... cancel meetings, don't go to church, stay at home, drive less, get in accidents, get their appearances messy...all because of rain.

It's amazing that the rain does so much good as well. Rain provides relief from heat, nourishes the ground, washes away dirt, and is neccessary for our crops. Cultures and generations prior to ours, use to pray for rain regularly. Rain made it easier for crops to grow, and in turn for people to eat and/or make an income. It seems as though now a days, many people (unfortunately, me as well) simply just find the rain to be a nuisance.

I remember that there was this time when Jesus was talking about how we treat our enemies. He said in Matthew 5, that God "causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous"

Wow, God causes rain. For a reason. There is a reason for this rain today, and it falls and good people and not so good people. I wonder if that is the reason that we equate rain with God's mercy? We say it all the time, "God, rain down Your mercy on us." Maybe use that analogy because God's mercy really is for everyone. Even the people that I don't like, or that I think don't deserve it.

Hmmm. Maybe I need to spend a little more time paying attention to the rain.

jeremy

laughter

Alright, so today I came home to meet Rennata and Taylor before we went back up to the church for our "Financial Peace" class. (This class, by the way, has been one of the best things I've ever done. So that is my plug for "Financial Peace!" If you are 17 years or older and reading this, consider this your encouragement from me to take the class in January when Chris Cole is going to teach it.)

So anyway, I get home and finally get to hold Taylor. Which, as of late, she has become quite cuddly with her daddy...and that is a great feeling. Well, while I'm holding her, I decided to start playing with her, and I begin to kiss her on the neck, and then make grunting noises. I'm just doing this to see if I can get a rise out of her. Well, first she starts to giggle a little bit...so I do it again...then she giggles more...so of course I do it again....more giggling...I start grunting and kissing at her yet again (I'm having a blast at this point!) and that's when she let's out a full fledged laugh!! Several laughs...complete with a big snort to end it! It was one of the best moments of my life. That was probably one of the best times I've ever had with my now 3 1/2 month old daughter.

So, if I get this much pleasure out of seeing my earthly daughter have a good time, then how pleasure does our heavenly father get out of seeing us have a good time? I wonder.

It makes me think of this passage of scripture in Matthew 7:
9"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 12So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

Basically, Jesus is addressing how we need to ask our Father in heaven for good gifts. It seems from looking at scripture that God desires for good things to happen to me. God has my best interest in mind. And when I spend time with Him, it is the best time that He has all day.

The God of the universe wants to give me to live in His blessing and all I have to do to receive it is to spend time with Him. I wonder if God really wants that time with us because of our ability to make Him laugh.

Laughter is a powerful thing.

jeremy

Comfortable

Right now, I'm sitting in my very comfortable easy chair recliner, trying to find out yesterday's NFL scores on ESPN. Life is really comfortable right now. Life is so comfortable right now, that even my dog Sam wants to join in on the good life. 'Ole Sam has just jumped up on my lamp and curled up into a nice warm little ball and is attempting to fall asleep in my lap while I begin typing this. If you really want a picture of comfort, then look no further than 'ole Sam, 'cause he has definitely got the good life figured out.

I wonder what it is about sitting up here on my lap that Sam likes so much? Is it because it's warm? safe? secure? because it makes him feel loved?

It just might be a little of all of those things.

I think that all of those reasons that make Sam want to be in my lap are alot of the same reasons that i want to be in a relationship with God. Being in a relationship with God helps me to be comfortable both with Him, in Him, and with myself (and being comfortable with yourself is often the hardest thing to do). It's nice to just curl up in God's lap every now and then. I think I'll just read a book.

later,

jeremy

OUCH!!

Well, today's topic is pain. This morning, I had the pleasure of playing paintball with 20 some odd friends of mine from church. It was great fun!! There's nothing quite like being given the opportunity and permission to shoot a teenager! Ha! Actually, in playing paintball, I (being quite a large man) am more a slow moving target than a weapon of mass destruction. That's right, I'm about like shooting an elephant. I'm pretty hard to miss. On most days. But today was MY DAY!! That's right yours truly started off the game by being the games most decorated sharp shooter!! I took out about 5 or 6 people from my hiding place. It was awesome. We won the first game and I never even got shot once.

Then we played game two. Well, by the time game 2 began, I was a professional paintballer. Skilled in the ways of secrecy, espionage, and the like. So, me and my team of ruffians decided that we would flank our opponents from the other side and storm the hill. However, somewhere in the midst of this game, I forgot that the rules changed. This time, if you shot someone, they could run back to their base and then be reentered in the game. So, back to the action, we stormed the hill, took out half their team and we were making our way towards their base. I was hiding behind this large wooden spool. On my hands and knees facing up the hill that lied just a few feet away. That's when it happened!! An absolute barrage of pain up my backside. One of the opponents that we had shot and hit earlier had reentered the game and came around from the other side and shot me in several places on my backside. It was the first shot that stung the most though. Right in the butt!!! And I mean right in the middle of slightly raised and protruding hindparts! Gary got me!!! And I mean he got me good. I was jumping around like a stuck pig. I don't know what hurt worse, the actual pain, the surprise, or the hurt pride.

Isn't that just like life. We think we've got it all figured out. We're moving along, winning and getting it done. We begin to think that we are invincible, untouchable. And then next thing we know...shot...right in the backside. Ambushed by life, sabotaged by pain.

Mabye for you that pain has come in losing a loved one, maybe that pain has come over watch parents fight or even split up. Maybe your pain has been caused by people that you once thought were you friends and cared about you. Maybe you've been abused or neglected by the people that should have been loving you. Whatever your pain or loss, I'm sure that you have experience the shock, surprise, and hurt that comes with being ambushed by life. For those of you that have been down this road, I would encourage you to explore a relationship with Jesus. For one simple reason. Jesus will not stop the troubles of this life from coming on, but he does promise to go through these tough times with you. For those of you out there wrestling with pain. You are on my heart and in my prayers.

jeremy

Anticipation

Tonight is a night full of anticipation. For several reasons. First reason...paintball. Tomorrow I am waking up to go and play paintball with some of the kids from church. I love playing paintball with them. I'm terrible at it, but it's so much fun. The main reason I'm not very good is because I'm just so big, I'm a pretty easy target for most of them. For me, the parts of paintball that I'm anticipating are the great fellowship I will have with some of the students, the thrill of playing, and the pain of being hit. Anticipating things can sure bring on a wide range of emotions from joy, to excitement, to anxiety and worry. I have a pretty good idea of what to expect tomorrow. I expect it to be fast, fun, freeing and even frustrating. But I can't wait to be there.

The second reason I am full of anticipation has to do with worship Sunday morning. I'm anxious for several reasons, but mostly because I'm going to be playing a new guitar. It's very nice and really cool looking, but I hope that it enhances the worship experience not detract from it. I really do want worship to be something that moves the people in our church closer to Christ and his call for their lives. So I'm pretty excited and anxious all at the same time about how that will be on Sunday morning.

Anticipation is part of the spiritual life as well. God desires for you and I to anticipate His work in our lives and His work in the world. I wonder why I don't think about or expect God to fix stuff in the world as much as I should? I know that I should be more prayerful about where God is at work and what He is doing. I hope to anticipate that Jesus will move in my life more in the next few days.

what sorts of things do you anticipate are going to happen in your life? What role does God play in those things for you?

have a good night,

jeremy

deep thoughts

Who likes getting sick? I know I don't. Well around my house we've been dealing with sickness. However, This time it's not me. Both my wife and daughter have been sick this week and it's been really tough. Sometimes it's just as hard to watch somebody be sick than to actually be sick yourself. I've experienced that this week when I look at my 3 month old daugther.

I look at my sweet girl that is struggling with a cold and battling with chest congestion, and it just makes my heart sink to watch her get choked up and have moments where she has to fight to catch her breath. I tell you what, if I could take away that sickness, I would.

How I look at my daughter gives me a glimpse into how God must look at you and me. The more I'm around my child, I grow in my understanding of how much God must love me and care for me. The difference, however, is that God is not powerless in my life to deal with my sickness. In my life, it's the overscheduling of my time and bitter attitude that I show others that open the door for sickness of the heart. God knows that about me, and chooses to love me anyway. Chose to offer me Jesus, to help remove my sickness.

I thank God everyday for my daughter and the insights that life with her provides.

talk to you guys later,

jeremy

Life with Jeremy Day 1

Welcome to Life with Jeremy!! What's in store for you as a reader of this blog? I'm glad you asked!! I have absolutely no idea. This blog just feels as though it should be done. So if you wandered in here on accident...I hope that you get something out of it. If you've come looking for this, then you'll just have to post and let me know how you found me.

so here we go!!

I think that I mostly want to talk about whatever topic happens to be on my mind at the time. Today that topic is rest. Everyone needs rest. Sometimes rest comes in the form of sleep or naps, some vacations, others even still it's vegging out watching some TV. But do any of those things really provide rest? I do all of those things at times, but yet so often I am still tired. I think that rest is best suited for us when we take time to rest regularly. Maybe that's why God told man to rest on every 7th day.

Well, now I've just opened up a whole can of worms. Do I take my 7th day off regularly? No, but I should. I wonder if I would stay healthier if I recharged truly once a week? I wonder if my energy level would increase? I'm sure it would.

I think that real and complete rest not only involves the body, but the mind and soul as well. I think that God wants me to rest so that He can help restore all of me.

Maybe as you are ready this, you are thinking about your stress level, workload, and schedule. Maybe we both need to reevaluate where our Sabbath has gone?

Matthew 11:28 say "Come to me (Jesus) all you who are weary and heavy burdened, and I will give you rest."

So, if I want real rest, that means that I have to go to Jesus, not away from Him. Maybe that's why we don't really feel more rested when we sleep through church instead of just going to worship? Maybe by just going, we find rest?

Well, I going to go rest now. I'll have more thoughts later,

goodnight,

jeremy