My thoughts on Tori Taff's Blog Post - 10.28.11 C.S. Lewis...

My thoughts on Tori Taff's Blog Post - 10.28.11.  Tori's blog on 10.28.11 asked about our thoughts regarding C.S. Lewis' statements below:

http://babybloomr.com/2011/10/ (Tori's Post)

“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised.

But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of – throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”
C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

I have been meaning to post a reply so here I go...I tried to keep this short and to the point...here are my thoughts...

When you first come to God, you come to God because all you know is that you need Him.  Whether your life has been devastated by addiction, immorality, bad decisions, the enemy's attack, spiritual emptiness, etc., there is a "knowing" that you need Jesus in your life.  He comes in and starts fixing what you know needs to be fixed.  You are surprised of God's power to save, change, heal, redeem and deliver, but you are not surprised that He is re-building your life.  You understand that there are areas that needed to be re-built.  There is no question and no self-will at that point getting in the way of what God wants to do in your life.  Once you have made a decision to accept Jesus into your heart and begin to live for Him, then it's time to determine what God's will for your life is.  Sometimes we think we know, but sometimes God wants to steer us in a different direction.  At times, God might tell us to do something that we don't fully understand at that moment.  Also, we set our own plans, but God might say "no", I want you to do this or go in this direction.  This may cost you time, money, relationships, etc. in the short-term, but in the long-term, God is directing you into something far better and greater than you could ever imagine.  It is up to us to not settle for the cottage, but to let Him build the palace.

Congrats to Bill and Gloria!!!

http://gaither.com/news/bill-receives-honorary-doctorate-taylor-university

Hello--I tweeted a couple messages earlier regarding the news of Bill receiving the honorary doctorate from Taylor University. I felt my short statements did not do justice to the recognition that Mr. Gaither deserves. I am glad to see that Taylor University recognized his accomplishments and impact he has had and continues to have in people's lives.

I have been to Bill's Homecoming concerts and I have to say that I am overwhelmingly impressed. The concerts are professional yet laid-back, coordinated yet flexible. Bill really knows how to use the Spirit of God to help him decide when to change and when to stick to the program.  For example, on the Alaska Cruise this summer, I really wanted to hear the GVB sing "Clean". I asked Kevin to put a request in to Bill and I know he did.   My understanding is that Bill typically follows the same program for both concerts. As I was in the second concert "blue badgers!", I was waiting to hear "Clean" (I believe the GVB sang it in the first concert). In the "blue badge" concert, I think they were about to sing "Clean" when Bill changed the song after Russ sang a powerful melody about redemption.  Bill was listening to the moving of the Holy Spirit.

Bill's songs are not only well-written, well-produced, and magnificently arranged, they also speak to the heart and soul of men and women. I will be honest that coming from Hawaii, I never heard S. Country Gospel music until I met my wife 10 years ago. She grew up listening to the Homecoming music and eventually had me as a convert. My favorite part of Bill's music is the life-changing and inspiring message he brings about God.

As I mentioned earlier in my tweet, I also want to congratulate Gloria. Being married and in ministry myself, I know how critical it is to have a wife that supports and contributes to your work. I know that Gloria has had a significant influence in Bill's music and ministry. She may not receive the recognition that Bill does, but she absolutely deserves it.

In closing, thank you Bill and Gloria for staying true to your calling, ministry, and message of the Cross of Calvary. I pray that God continues to bless you and add as many years to your lives as possible.

PS--See you on the ship in Feb.!

The innocence of a child...

...Tonight, for my son's bedtime story, he chose the book "My Teacher Sleeps in School" that he recently borrowed from the library.  As I am reading on page 2, {"What a dumb idea," said Gary}, my 4 year old son abruptly stopped me and said "we don't say that!"...we need to say "silly" not "dumb".  He said they made a mistake by using "dumb", they should have used "silly." :-).  I love it! :-)

Have a great night everyone and a good Lord's day!

iphone...do you love it?

Hi all--I was driving to work today and I looked down at my iphone that was sitting beside me.  The technology junkie inside me said, "I really, really (can't list all the reallys) love this phone!"  I remember back when I was 15 or 16 years old (yes, in Hawaii, you could get your license at 15) Radio Shack came out with a mobile phone that looked something like this:



I remember thinking that this was the best thing since sliced bread and now I don't have to find a phone to call someone when I received a page on my pager.  If I recall correctly, my model had to be plugged into the cigarette lighter (yes, cigarette lighter. I am not that old, but we now have power/chargers, not lighters in our cars) to work and the battery was about as large as my lunch box.  Wow, times have changed!  Now I can browse the web, tweet, listen to music, talk on the phone, look at pictures, take pictures, record video (in HD!!!!!), video conference with my parents in Hawaii, etc. etc. all from my wonderful iphone.

I can't imagine what the next 10 years will bring us.

Fun read for all you singers...

This morning, we were driving home from church and got on the subject about going "flat".  My wife, the voice lesson teacher :-), said it totally bugs her.  I asked her if I go flat when leading worship.  She said sometimes.  I asked her how do I prevent that?  She told me I was singing incorrectly and need to sing from my diaphragm, and not from my lungs.  I thought to myself first and then asked, "how do I do that???"  Then came the 20 minute lecture :-).  I am glad that she is the one teaching the voice lessons...have a great day!

It's official!!!

A quick post to say that it is official...my wife and I are going to the Gaither Homecoming Caribbean Cruise in February.  We are very excited!  We purchased our tickets to FLL tonight.  If you are thinking about attending, I would call ASAP.  I just called the other day and they only had a limited amount of spaces left.  Can't wait to hear the GVB and Homecoming Friends!  The Alaska Cruise was totally awesome (I'll say it again, totally awesome) and I bet this will be just as good or maybe even better :-).  Mr. Gaither, Mark, Wes, David, and Michael...see you in Feb.!

http://www.inspirationcruises.com/christian-cruises/gaither-homecoming-caribbean-2012

To kick it off...

I'll never forget where I'm from is the title of my new blog.  A note that I will not be blogging all the time, mostly tweeting, but wanted to start a blog for longer messages.  The first thing I wanted to do was to explain why I named my new blog "I'll never forget where I'm from...".

There are 2 primary reasons:  First, I currently live in the great Northwest, but was born and raised on the Big Island of Hawaii.  If you have ever been to Hawaii, you know that the "aloha spirit" can get on you pretty easy.  I will never forget the fond memories of growing up in Hawaii...the food, culture, music, people, values, etc.  My mom and dad still live in Hawaii and bring the aloha spirit with them when they come to visit us.  I could not think of a better place to have lived for the first 19 years of my life.

Second, Ecclesiastes 3:11 says that God has "set eternity in the hearts of men."  During my junior year in college, I became a believer in Christ and that eternal and spiritual longing was fulfilled...I will never forget what God has done in my life.

My wife (Twitter @SMW003) and 2 children are actively involved in our local church, The Potter's House.  I lead the worship services and my wife sings on the worship team and teaches voice lessons to many members of our church.

Have a great day!

Scott

Connecting Twitterfeed

A test post to connect my new blogspot to my Twitter account.