Hurry up with that patience, God

It seems to be that the hardest thing about trials and life in general is that we should be patient in them.

My friend Larry Hatcher who is in his mid 50's fell 20+ feet from the roof of a commercial building just over a month ago. He is healing but is in a deep coma. Larry was, until the fall, the constant at our church in many ways. He always made sure that the buildings were in order and took care of so many details that even if he went on vacation it was evident he was not around.

Of course he and his wife Allyson were always there at church serving in many areas, including the choir where I stood next to him singing the bass parts. His moto has always been two words, patience and perseverance. This seems to be the attitude Larry's family is having to take as there is no sure guarantee that he will ever wake from his comma.

Larry reminds me a lot of my grandfather, or Papa as I called him. As I knew him he was a very patient man with a determination to do it right no matter how long it took or how hard the work was. Although he passed away while I was in college I have many memories of lessons he tought me, just by watching him. I wish I could have had more time with him.

So today as I read James 1:1-8 I think of these two men who are examples of patience. Not that they are perfect of course, only Christ was the perfect example. It is great to be able to see it in action and know that it can be done.

So as I find myself lately needing to wait on the Lord for His timing, I am thankful that if it takes a long time to get to the goal, the sweeter it will be knowing that I have, through God's strength, reached another level in my walk and relationship with Jesus Christ. After all, He hung on a cross in my place. The least I can do is wait on Him to show me His will and worship Him for caring about me enough to make me more like Himself.

God's Will For His Benefit, Not Mine

"We are always to depend on the will of God. Our times are not in our own hands, but at the disposal of God. Our heads may be filled with cares and contrivances for ourselves, or our families, or our friends; but Providence often throws our plans into confusion. All we design, and all we do, should be with submissive dependence on God. It is foolish, and it is hurtful, to boast of worldly things and aspiring projects; it will bring great disappointment, and will prove destruction in the end."

Matthew Henry on James 4.

Molded

First of all thank you to those who have helped with VERY generous gifts for my India trip so far. I can't thank you enough. I am looking forward to serving.

Lately God has had me all over the place in my daily scripture reading. Colossians, Ecclesiastes, 1 Peter, and James. I assume because I have great deal of work needing to be done by the hand of the potter. Of course as all of us as pots do, I have been struggling with the direction His hands are trying to shape me.

We have a mindset that God is there for US. When the reality is we are here for HIM. Regardless if I am experiencing success, great tragedy and loss or anything in between, God is to be worshiped and praised. That is so difficult for us since we are so selfish and prone to follow the flesh. Which explains Paul's daily ritual of "Dying to self".

I am convinced that our struggles as Christians with trials and problems stem from a improper view of our God. We could truly let go and let Him work if we really trusted Him. We trust Him with some things but often times we hold something back. I'm so glad he "remembers our frames that we are dust" and is merciful when we try to pull away from his hands.

As we struggle with patience in difficulty, my desire is that we will be able to worship our God regardless of our situation and know that He cares for us, loves us, and wants the best for us because He said He does, and we can take Him at His word.

Oh for the day when we go HOME!

Big Little News

I'm posting this on the blog to see who is really reading this because I know we will get a response.

I am proud to announce that we are expecting another child. Raina is around nine weeks and feeling very sick. Her pregnancy with Connor was not this bad so some have said it will be a girl. Don't know if that is true but we are fine if it is a girl. Looks to be a January baby. I'll post the due date when we find out.

As you can guess everyone is very excited and we are happy to share the news with everyone now that the grandparents have been informed. Of course you may already know this news if I know the two grandmothers. Anyway, we just wanted to let the world hear our good news. You know, 210 Our Horn!

Mark 15:15

Mark 15:16 (AKA the Great commission) "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature"

Many years ago as a teen I went to Mexico on a mission trip. It had a profound impact on my life and I knew that I wanted to do short term missions as often as the Lord would allow. I have since been back to Mexico and also to Honduras. Many of you who will read this know the desire to serve in short term missions and have done so at least once and many have gone several times.

Whether you have accepted the call to serve in this way or not you can understand that the financial requirements are often the reason why many people don't go and it is why I can't go more often. I have had a desire to serve in a different area than South America and in a ministry format as most of my trips have been labor focused.

God has provided the opportunity for me to spend two weeks in October in India with our national missionary and the Baptist missionary we support there, assisting them with teaching the local pastors to better equip them to do the work of Christ.

There are many things I could say about this area of the world and the need for the light of Christ to shine but I will save that for a later post.

The reason for this post is to make a request for assistance with funding for this trip. I am not the type person to ask for help but in this case I very much need the assistance. The plane ticket has been purchased by our church but I need to pay that back with donations. I also have to get my visa soon. All in all I need approx. $2500 for the two week trip.

If anyone reading this feels a call to help with these expenses please let me know or you can simply mail me or the church a check made out to Buncombe Road Baptist Church. Send it to my work address at 339 Miller Road Mauldin, SC 29662 or to the church address at 111 Courtney Circle Greenville, SC 29617 with a note that it is for my trip to India.

I of course would never ask for money that would belong to your local church but if you feel you can afford $5 or $500 it doesn't matter, any amount will be greatly appreciated and will be money well spent and of course will count for your savings account in heaven.

Thank you in advance.

In Christ,

Clay

Say no to this face!

In these days of technology one would think that the camera phones would be able to take a snapshot faster than the speed of smell but unfortunately it seems most of the pictures we take on our mobile devices look like we took them out the window of a Formula one car (Go team Sabuer) at 215 mph.Have you ever found yourself asking the subject of the picture to "be still" or "don't move"? If you feel the twitching in your eye as I just described this game of stop and go you can understand how rare it is to get a photo like this one with a phone.

Seriously, you tell him no. We couldn't do it. Now we have an in ground swimming pool thanks to this look. Let's hope he doesn't realize the strength of his super power.

Capt.Meltyourheart to the rescue!

Blessings in Testings

In each of our lives we are tested. Different ways and at different times, with varying levels of difficulty. I have a saying I quote a lot:

There are two sure things in life. 1. There IS a God and 2. You're not Him.

I have had to be reminded of this as I have studied the book of Job recently. I am so thankful for how God reveals Himself to us through His Word. Despite testings that to other peoples problems pales in comparison, we can truly say God is good, ALL THE TIME!