Rain!

It has been sooo long since we've seen rain around my house that today when it began raining, well.....I got excited. I grabbed my camera and took a couple pictures of the absolute beauty of it! You know you're really lacking in the area of yearly rainfall totals when you are so excited you want to document it! -_0













You can see how dead things are! Except for the neighbor across the street. They have a sprinkler system :)

My truck even got a wash!!













Thank you Lord for sending the rain! I loved it!

Baptism

One of the greatest events that I enjoy as a pastor is baptism. I was privileged to baptize three individuals today after this morning services. Usually we go down to the Medina River and have the baptism service which I REALLY love to do. But this time one of the candidates for baptism is an elderly woman. Her name is Lola. She is sooo precious! I just love her to pieces. Because of her fragililty, we baptized her in the "portable" baptistry that I borrowed from a pastor friend. She was so moved and touched after she was baptized that she just kind of sat there on the pre-formed bench in the baptistry crying. I began to tear up as well as many others in the congregation. It was really a touching moment. Thank God for his love and mercy beyond compare! Not only does God love us, he knows us better than we know ourselves and STILL loves us! He is awesome. Tonight after church I baptized a brother and sister....Phillip and Brandy. They are 7 and 9 years old. They are two precious kids!

I think I enjoy baptism so much because of what it represents. It's an inward change evidenced by and outward declaration. When one has accepted God's gift of salvation and then is baptized they are in essence telling the whole world that they are following Jesus now. They are no longer the same person. Symbolically the old person is buried when under water and the new person is raised when coming out of the water. Just as Christ had risen from the dead we are raised to newness of life!
What a wonderful privilege to be part of something so special in the lives of all who follow the command of Jesus to be baptized!

It's nice to be thought of!

It was a Birthday celebration in my honor tonight after church. I'll be turning 34 on the 31st of this month. It was nice and very appreciated. Every time we have a "food fest" at my church you're sure to come away having been fed some delicious food! I always over eat too...that doesn't help matters either :) There is a need in all of us to feel like we're appreciated and thought of on "our" special day. From the youngest of us to the eldest. We all want to know we're thought of. I really appreciate the efforts of all involved in tonight's events! I pastor a great church!



On a side note.....Kids say the darndest things (is that a word?) . Anyway, we had pulled into the drive way and our kids, Grace and Chase had been out yesterday (Saturday) riding their bikes and Chase on his "big wheel". Well, I was too lazy to go out last night and put them in the garage before I went to bed so they sat outside all night. When I left for church this morning I thought, "I need to put those up" but I was too lazy to do it then as well. So, when we get home tonight, Chase begins to push Gracie's bike toward the front door and Tiffany, Grace and myself all have our hands full trying to bring dishes and gift bags into the house. The problem with this is, Chase in on the side walk leading to the front door with Gracie's bike. He's sort of in the way. I'm trying to maneuver my way around him and doing quite well I might add. Grace however is not. She begins to get frustrated with her little brothers lack of concern that we're all waiting on him to get out of the way so we can proceed up to the front door. Grace is 7 and Chase is 4......Grace is telling Chase, NO, leave the bike alone we need to get in the house....NO Chase! Move! CHASE!! GET OUT OF THE WAY! Chase! Don't you understand the meaning of the word NO?!?




Without a moments hesitation Chase responds................................................NO!
I loved it!

What a day

Yesterday was a long day but it was fun! I played 27 holes of golf. By the end of the day I was exhausted! My 2 nephews, Zack and Adam, a friend at church, Levi and Myself played in an Honor Bound Men's Ministries Golf Tournament yesterday in Comfort, Texas. We didn't win but it was a lot of fun. I think our final position was 7th place. At the end of the tournament they gave away door prizes. Zack won a brand spanking new TaylorMade R7 Driver!! This driver is $400.00 retail and they gave like 2 of them away along with other fairway woods made my TaylorMade. He was very happy!! I would have been too. His winning ticket number was 249 and mine was 250....so close but yet so far away. Well, when he won his new Taylor Made driver he immediately went to his golf bag and removed his trusty and faithful Titleist driver and gave to Levi who had never really had a "good" driver to play golf with. Now Levi was pumped! It was pretty cool to see. Me, I won a Taylor Made hat and a bag of golf tees....not quite as exciting as a $400.00 driver but I was content non-the-less. My Father-in-law and Bro-in-law were on the same team and their team scored -9 under par. They played very well. My team finished +4 over par. Can't wait til the next time..we will crush them!!! Probably not :)

Random thought of the day....

Who I may become is greater than who I am.

If I'm ever to achieve success in my life I must first realize that success doesn't lie within me alone. I mean, I have to rely on a greater source than myself. Frustration sets in when I begin to live life as though it all depends upon me. It doesn't. Not when I'm journeying with Jesus. I don't have to do it all by myself. I don't have to count on my own strengths and my own ingenuity. God is there to give me wisdom and guide my choices. Decisions plague our lives. Not all decisions are difficult to make but many of them are. These decisions can mean the difference between success and failure. Every decision bears a tag-along consequence. Every single one. So, I must make sure the decision I'm about to make is one that will bring me closer to success. Not take me further down the road of failure.

Today I will surely make decisions toward my success in life or failure. I will set out to make wise choices!

Pull the brake......

Every so often my wife and I will allow our 4 year old son to sleep in our bed with us. I for one really enjoy this time. I know they won't last forever. I love just cuddling with him as we both drift off to sleep.
Last night was one of those nights. We're lying in bed and very tired. Chase says, "I don't know how to go to sleep." I laughed and replied, "I'll teach you. Here's what you do. First you have to keep your eyes closed. Second you have to lay perfectly still and third, you can't talk." What does he do? Everything I just told him not to do. He said I can't go to sleep. A few moments later as I'm on the edge of total sleep he says, "Daddy, I'm sleepy now." "Ok son, go to sleep" was my reply.

Then as I'm just about to enter the land of total sleep again, he says, "Daddy, I don't want to be a train engineer."

Because he has such a fascination for trains, I always call him my little engineer. I joke with him that he'll probably grow up and be a train engineer. Last night just as we were both falling asleep, he made it very clear that he didn't want to be a train engineer.

I said to him, "Ok son, you don't have to be a train engineer. God will show you want He wants you to be and you'll be the best at whatever that is going to be." With that, I settled back in to find my sleep again. Well, he wasn't done. A few moments later he begins telling me why he didn't want to be a train engineer.

He said, "Daddy, I don't want to be an engineer because I don't know how to pull the brake and I'm scared."

I laughed a little bit, told him it's ok and we wen't to sleep.

Translation; he was afraid of it getting out of his control and not being able to stop it.

This morning when I woke up, I began thinking about what he said. I thought to myself, how true it is that I am just the same way sometimes. I tell God that I don't want to do this or that with my reasons being that I don't know how or that I'm scared. Well, to tell the truth, whenever God asks me to do something, I'm always scared. Not the fear that frightens me but heightens my reverence for God. The creator of the universe has asked me to do something for Him. What a high calling!

I argue that I don't know how to pull the brake if things go the wrong way. Human tendency is that if we don't feel like we have control of something, it's going to result in catastrophe. But that is just my point. God has to be the one in control. Though it goes against our very nature to sit back and let him handle the affairs of our lives, that is precisely what God wants us to do. Sit back and let Him handle it. We don't have to know how....He does. And He'll show us what to do when it's time to do it.

I would rather live my life out of control that God would take control. What seems absurd and illogical in my natural world, makes perfect sense in God's.

I must learn to trust that God will apply the brake when needed. I just need to learn to trust Him.

I didn't wear a coat and tie!

I didn't even wear a tie tonight at church! I loved it! I get so tired of wearing a suit everytime I go to church. Who said preachers had to do that anyway? I'd like to talk with that person :) I told my wife tonight that I'm going to begin purchasing a new "church" wardrobe.

Suits are not on the list!

我是很充分的

Ok, the first one to guess what the title says, wins a Chinese Fortune cookie! :) I am so full! We just at lunch at one of our Chinese restaurants in town. I love them both so much but one has items I like better than the other and vice versa. But both are very good. Well you know that when you eat Chinese food, at the end of your dinner you usually are given a "fortune cookie". Most of the times these fortune cookies say very little that makes good sense. I'm being honest here :)....you know what I'm talking about. Those cookies that when opened give you a piece of paper that says something like this, "He who doesn't have an umbrella when it rains gets wet"!?!? You think to yourself, duh! Well today my cookie presented some real beneficial data. Information that when put into practice can really benefit. Here is what it says, "Beware of little expenses. Small leaks will sink great ships."

Now that is good advice! That is good wisdom! It really does benefit us to keep an eye on the little things, doesn't it?

Sgs. 2:15 says, "Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines [have] tender grapes."

At the time this was written, vineyards had protective walls around them. The purpose of the walls was to keep out the animals that would harm the grapes. Foxes is a generic term, and includes jackals. These animals would not eat the flowers nor the vines, but only the fruit, the grapes. If the vineyard was not closely watched as the fruit came on, these animals would destroy the fruit of the vine.

It works the same way today. The world or enemies of all that's good and holy are mostly concerned with destroying the fruit of my life. I suppose the reason for this is because Jesus put such a high importance on the life that "bears" fruit.
In John's Gospel, Jesus says, "Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples."

Our fruit sets us apart. What we do for God is what counts most in our lives.
Guard your fruit. Build protective walls around your heart. Not walls that alienate you from everything and everyone, but walls that keep your fruit safe and secure. So that you may present to God what gives him the most glory! Your Fruit!

Caution! Random Thoughts....:)

What is God doing, right now?
I mean, what is he doing? You know? I am so awe filled when I think of God and about his greatness. All I know with any amount of certainty is what He is doing in my life and in my heart. I am so God hungry! I want to know Him and experience Him more than anything else. I want to know that my life is out of control for God. I want to live with a reckless abandon for God! I don't want to live by default settings. I want God to be able to do in me, through me and by me amazing things that will only bring glory to Him. I'm not interested in notoriety or popularity. I just want to know that God is "at work" in my life. Like when you're driving down the road and you see a sign that says, "Men at work", I want a sign on my life that says, "God at work"! I believe that God's business is the most important business.

But you know what? I don't ever want to think I've "figured" God out. I don't ever want to think I know what God is going to do next, what He is planning next. I want to live in the wonder and awe of it all. I am so there right now. I'm excited where God has my church! I see the wonder of it all and with expectation and anticipation, I wait for God. I will dare believe God for the impossible.

One day I will write all of the amazing things God has done for me...I will share where he has brought me from to where I am. What an amazing story as I look back on it all and consider the odds! I laughed when I used the word "odds" because really, the odds were against me. The promise of God's word says, "If God be for us, who can be against us"? Nothing! No one! No-thing! I love that!

The favor and blessings of God are not to be compared with even the greatest things this planet has to offer!

Am I really surrendered to God?

Suppose you had a thousand acre farm and someone offered to buy it. You agree to see the land except for one acre right in the middle that you keep for yourself. Did you know that in some areas, so called "grandfather laws" would allow you to have continued access to that one spot? And you would also have the right to build a road across the surrounding property in order to get to that spot; even though the property doesn't belong to you. That is how it is when we make less than a 100 percent surrender to Christ's lordship. Satan only holds a small plot of ground in our lives, but because of it, he has free access at anytime he wants it.

A man once stood up in an assembly of Christians in England and told of the great blessings that he had received at a certain conference he had attended the week before. When asked to speak more specifically about what he had experienced, he said, "Well, I can say this: I was a Christian before I went. Christ was my King, but I am afraid He was a "constitutional sovereign" and I was a Prime Minister. In this country the queen gets the praise but the Prime Minister runs the country. As a result of the conference, He now runs the country."

I want God to run my life....all of my life. Not the parts I'm willing to surrender only but the parts I have a hard time surrendering to him as well. Yes, we all have those parts of our lives. I battle mine everyday. I struggle within myself to let God have all of me. Everyday I must make a decision to follow Christ. That decision puts me in a place of complete surrender. I'm no longer my own but His. I can think of no better place to live life from than in the place where Jesus reigns supreme!

Duty calls but it's really a privilege.

I got a phone call yesterday. A lady who would visit my church when she was strong enough to get out passed away. She was a precious lady. She would bring her grand-daughter with her every time she was able to come. She wanted her to experience God. Monday I'll be preaching her funeral in Pipe Creek. I think I've preached more funerals in the last year and a half than the last 5 years combined. And you know what? They're all difficult to do.

I don't know about all pastors but I know this much is true for me. Whenever I'm asked to officiate a funeral, whether for someone I knew or didn't know, I want to do my absolute best for the family and the memory of the one passed on. I mean it's a difficult time and anything I can do to make the process better, I want to do it. I take it personal and ask God to be with me. In the things I say, in the things I do. In the end, I want to make a difference in the lives of the family. Touch them with the love of God. So Monday, I'll set my heart on those worthy goals. To speak the hope of Christ and the promise of resurrection for all who sleep in him.

God bless and keep the Moore family.

What motivates you?

The best thing about online journal keeping or blogging is, there are no set agendas. You can share whatever you want. Talk about whatever is on your mind.

Motivation is on my mind for some reason.

There are so many things to consider when talking about "motivation". Rather those things that "motivate" you. A good book, a song, friends, new life lessons, the list is really without end. Life is tiring and exhausting. Wouldn't you agree? But, there are so many little things in life that cause such immense passion on the inside of us. I can think of so many things that can create a spark of enthusiasm in the midst of a dull and otherwise normal day.

For example, what about the laughter of a child? There is nothing more special than pure laughter coming from the heart of a child. Sometimes when my kids are playing together (when they're not arguing :O), they'll begin to laugh. Not just laugh but a deep laughter of sheer joy and excitement. When I hear this, it doesn't matter what I'm doing or where I'm at in my day, I always smile! It breaks the monotony of the day, of the moment. I don't hear anything else and my mind is totally focused on one thing. Laughter! Simple as it may be, it's motivating.

Listen for the laughter around you. I'm sure it will bring a smile to your face as well :)

Proverbs 17:22 - A merry heart doeth good [like] a medicine:

.........And we're off!

So, here is the first of many posts on my newly created bLoG! I think I'm going to enjoy this immensely! There is an aspect of freedom in blogging..Being a blogster, writing a BLOGography everyday.....Or so :) Nonetheless, I will write what is true to me and of what is supreme in my life. I'll take you on a journey you will pay nothing for. Introduce you to my thoughts that I struggle to contain. I will not set out to impress but strive to connect. Connect with what is true in all of us. That all of us are unique, gifted and treasured by God! I won't preach here, (too much) I do that at church. I will write and be free in my writing; asking myself hard questions. Questions perhaps that have no certain answer but allow my mind to run un-hindered even in the absence of an answer.


Yes, I think I'm going to like this aLoT!