Q Crashing

Upright citizens bless a city and make it prosper, but he talk of the wicked tears it down. Proverbs 11:11 I don’t know if we think about blessing our city near enough.  I’m enamored with it. And to be honest I used to be the opposite.  I was the guy who always griped about what the city wasn’t doing and how there wasn’t anything fun to do in the city and when I grow up I’m not living here.  That was me.  But it is funny how time, perspective, and scripture can help to change a man.   A pastor at a conference I attended recently said we need to be critics less and students more.  It’s easy to criticize things we don’t like or agree with, but it’s not really a fair criticism until we know the subject.  When it comes to our city, we need to become students of it.  Do you know our city council?  Do you know our mayor?  Do you know the Parks and Rec director?  Have you listened to their ideas for what the future could hold? ...

So she seduced him with her pretty speech.  With her flattery she enticed him. Proverbs 7:21 It really has to do with our insecurities.  We want to say something so that someone will think we are special.  Men want to be impressive and be revered.  Women want to feel loved and desirable.  And we all turn to our words to get a cheap injection of it.  And most of the time we go down the roads of pretty speech and flattery because we were to weak and lazy to do it right.   Let me explain.  We many times choose the cheapest product.  It takes the least resources to accomplish the task.  We might get Dr. Thunder instead of Dr. Pepper.  Cocoa Rocks instead of Cocoa Puffs.  And for the most part we are satisfied.  There might be slight differences, but we are okay with it, because the product is cheaper, which means we had to work less for it.  I remember when that paradigm shifted for me. It was the day I discov...

For the Lord sees clearly what a man does, examining every path he takes. Proverbs 5:21 So much of our life is hidden at varying degrees from various people.  The first and last of my days usually spent in my bathroom or on my couch are reserved to me.  My wife and kids are spectators to the majority of the time in my home.  It is usually a comedy by the way.  Co workers see me daily at work.  Life group hangs out with me once or twice a week.  Friends get some time here and there.  And on Sunday the whole church gets just a peek at what makes me, me.   But God sees it all.  He sees it clearly.  So clearly that he knows intention behind decision. Intention. I would love to say that the reason I played football was to use the abilities God had given me to create a platform to share his name to the world around me.  My intentions, looked something a bit different.  Girls and glory (mine not God’s).  It was rea...

“Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do.” Proverbs 4:23 There is a term I heard so much growing up that was used synonymously with salvation. It was this: “Give your heart to the Lord.” And the recent church has got up in arms about how this is bad theology and I think they are right. Our salvation is not based on our giving God anything. From what I can tell it is based on our belief in Jesus as our Savior. So I understand why people don’t use it as much anymore. I understand the teaching correcting it. But if I’m honest . . . I really like it. Not as a theological statement on salvation, but as a love story. For me there was this moment when the beauty of God’s love became as clear as I've seen it on this side. His love became so much deeper than all the longings that the world has to offer. His promises were so much richer than anything I’ve ever seen. Career, money, power, notoriety, toys, houses, relationships: they all make offer...

“Never let loyalty and kindness get away from you! Wear them like a necklace; write them deep within your heart.” Proverbs 3:3 I started thinking about the things that can “get away from you” today. Race cars get away from people. “Dale Jr, what happened in the second curve on lap 53?” “Well Stan, she just got away from me, you know.” Diets. “Hey, I thought you were on a diet?” “I was, but I saw this pizza buffet and it just got away from me.” Two year olds. “How did Harlow get in the fire ant bed?” “I was watching her, and then this football play on TV, and she just got away from me.” These things usually happen against our best intentions. The writer says to put loyalty and kindness around your neck. Let people see it. Our own pride and ego tries so hard to make us unloyal thinking that if we talk down those we are under or our bosses that in some way we shine brighter than them. But loyalty squeezes humility out of us. Instead of talking down those...

Proverbs 2 "He grants a treasure of good sense to the godly.  He is their shield, protecting those who walk with integrity." Proverbs 2:7 Man I love shields.  Sometimes I walk around and pretend I have a shield on my arm and and sword in the other hand.  When you study the Spartans, their greatest weapon was their shield.  It is the quintessential defensive tool but it can also be used as an offensive weapon.  I mean look at Captain America.  Shield Mastery. The shield Solomon is talking about is wisdom and the way to ensure you are protected with wisdom is integrity.  In old farmer talk, "No one believes what you say unless you act like you say." We can spout all the wisdom we like, but if we aren't walking in integrity we are just kidding ourselves. I remember walking into the college weight room for the first time.  I couldn't wait to work out with the other guys and try to show off my strength.  I wanted to impress all my new team...

“For they are simpletons who turn away from me to death. They are fools, and their own complacency will destroy them.” Proverbs 1:32 Don’t quit moving!!! I’ve started working out and helping the Crossville Soccer team. It’s been great. I’ve always loved the weight room and coaching is one of the funnest things I’ve ever done. First day in I told all the guys we have three rules.   Rule 1: We never give up. Rule 2: Encourage your teammate. Rule 3: Always get better. These are great rules in the weight room, but if I’m honest they’re great rules for life in Christ as well. It’s incredible that Solomon writes "their own complacency will destroy them." Wisdom was trying to get their attention but they were just comfortable to let things keep going the same way and not pay attention to the things that really needed to change. That is so me some days, both toward wisdom and toward God! I would like to act as if my pursuit of intimacy and knowledge of God was a g...

So I'm a little nervous to really type this.  It's because I know if I just keep saying it in my head I won't every have to really follow through with it.  I can just keep saying, "Oh, I'll start that tomorrow" or "I'll get back at it after the weekend". But I don't. One of the hardest things for me being back in Alabama is the battle to eat healthy foods.  It's not that you can't find them here in Albertville.  You can.  They are just not the movement they quite were in Eugene. We actually had the ability to get healthy fast food in Eugene.  That actually tasted good.  They used Kale and sprouts and other weedy foods to spruce up and fill in where oil plays main stage on most of our southern foods.  And I'm not blaming the food.  It's my choice.  To be honest, I've just been lazy when it comes to this part of my life right now.  In Eugene it was the cool thing to do.  Eating all my cool health foods, but here there ...

So we added two interns to our staff for the summer.  I can't tell you how excited I am about that.  I love teams and when people join a team they automatically make it better.  That person brings all new perspective, talents, passions, and energy to the group.  Now granted, sometimes people can have a negative impact, but I'm going to be honest.  We have two amazing new teammates. Anna and Jake are who has joined us and I'm so excited to see what these young adults do for us at LifePoint, but also what they accomplish in their lives.  Anna is an amazing young woman with a heart for families and it is staggering to hear some of the ideas she is coming up with at a young age.  She has a fighters heart that loves deeply.  A powerful tool.  Jake is energy personified.  There is such hunger for God's word and love for the mission of the Gospel within him. I wonder how many times we miss out on the gifts that people are in our lives.........

If I had to say what I missed most about Oregon, it's an easy answer. Community!!!! My wife Audrey and I are having to rebuild it in our lives.  And that's so much fun, but also a little sad at times.  Only because as your building community, you think about all the people who use to be part of it.  During our four years in Oregon there became a group of people who knew they were absolutely cleared to drop by anytime and when they did we were happy and our family was better for it.  The cool neighbors that we built friendships with.  There was duck fans, parents of three daughters just like ours, a guy who wore a kilt, and a family that ran a restaurant in the back of their house.  These people were all amazing in their own way and enriched the lives of the Williams clan so much.  We miss them.  We miss the people who had became so close that we could not wait for the next excuse to just sit and talk together.  It really was something spe...

The other day a friend of mine called and made mention that she was stressed out because the students in the College she works at were worried that they weren't going to get their annual Puppies and Chocolate Day.  Yeah, you heard me right:  Puppies and Chocolate Day.  In fact, one person who was running for the next years student government realized  how upset the student body was so she used it for political gain.  Immediately her campaign became, "elect me and I'll bring back Puppies and Chocolate Day". Wow. Puppies and Chocolate Day ended up happening.  There was free Chocolate to eat and Dogs hanging around to pet and all was well in the universe again. Here is some insights. We are all really worried about our own Puppies and Chocolate Day.  It may not be candy and chocolate, but maybe it's the next promotion or the next relationship.  We so desire comfort.  We don't really desire contentment, but comfort.  Puppies and Choc...

So what am I back at... Trying to serve God? Trying to be like Jesus? Trying to show my wife as much love as my heart feels? Trying to be a good dad? Trying to impact a community? Trying to live. Trying to live in a way that is good and right and full. Trying to live in a way that makes others smile and makes God smile and makes me smile. Trying to live free from the constraints of this world. I miss and enjoy at the same time. Miss so many great friends in Oregon and enjoy the old relationships rekindled after four years of smoking. Miss comrades at Izakaya Meji. Enjoying times on the porch. Miss big mountains and enjoy warm water. Miss community and enjoy family. This is just one more step to the end. The end of this life leads to the one that last forever. There try and miss will disappear. I will strive to lead others to that forever. It is better than this. It is everything. It is our hope.