Month: July 2021

Gentlemen, since the Olympic Games are going on in Tokyo, it seems appropriate to draw that analogy that this week’s lesson brings us to the “final turn” of our series, “No More Excuses”. This week, your focus should be on devotion days 80-85 in the final section of the book, “No More Half-Stepping”.

David Parker is no half-stepper, himself… and is graciously volunteered to lead our discussion. He and I have exchanged emails separately, and I know he’s got a great lesson planned. Last week, David shared a story about former University of Georgia (and University of Miami) head football coach, Mark Richt. Coach Richt is now retired from football, but will be working this season as an on-air commentator for the ACC Network, based right here in Charlotte!

The article talked about the coach’s recent announcement that he has Parkinson’s disease. Without stealing David’s thunder, I’ll just hint that he going to tie-in the coach’s earthly pains to what God reminds us of the final “prize” of Heaven.

I’ll leave it at that….else David might be giving me a stern phone call!

We’re continuing to be hybrid in our meeting. Zoom option remains or you can venture to the backyard treehouse (or patio or firepit….I’ll decide at the last moment).

Looking ahead, next week is our final week of the series. Then we’ll break on August 13th since a few of us will be out of town. On August 20th, I’d like us to gather for breakfast at Flying Biscuit (Park Road Shopping Center). Finally, we’ll have one or two Friday’s worth of guest speakers before starting a new series after Labor Day.

Have a great rest of the week! I’ll see you on Friday!

Peace!

Snow White famously sang the tune “Whistle While You Work” and now, sadly, you’ll probably have that song rattling around in your head! My sincere apologies.

But what does Snow White have to do with this week’s lesson; devotional days 74-79? This week our author talks about finding joy in the work you do, observing “rest”, and balancing everything in-between. Naturally there’s more to this week’s reading than simply that. But use that knowledge as the baseline when you do your homework before Friday.

I’m happy to lead this week. Hybrid mix again, either gathering over Zoom or in my backyard. New backyard venue this week as I’m setting up by the fire pit. A little “fireside chat” minus the fire!

Enjoy the rest of the week. See you on Friday!

Peace!

Truth be told, I’m a little torn talking about “work” this week as I’m writing from a tropical family vacation in the Caribbean! Then again, if vacation is the product of hard work then maybe it’s the perfect setting for this week’s lesson! We’re beginning a new section our author calls “No More Clock Punching”. For this week, please study devotion days 69-73.

Tony Evans sets the priorities of work right out of the gate when he declares that “work came before sin” in the Garden of Eden. God toiled for 6 days of “work” when He made Creation. Allow that one to sink in.

This week’s readings are not designed to say anyone who doesn’t work is a sinner. Rather I believe it’s designed to allow us to focus on “why” God created work. As I say each week, it will take you 10 minutes to read this week’s assignment but I’d encourage you to ponder about it for a couple days. It’s a fascinating read this week!

Jon Paschal leads us this week. Still looking for leaders the final 3 weeks of our series so if you’re led to sign up, please do so or let me know! We’ll gather virtually over Zoom or in the Treehouse this Friday beginning at 7:30 am ET.

Now…..let’s all get to work!

Peace!

I hope everyone had a great and enjoyable July 4th celebration with family and friends. My family escaped the summer heat in Charlotte and headed to cooler temps in the North Carolina mountains for a few days. Now, back in Charlotte again, I feel like I’m sweating like never before!

We’re also returning to our study series this week, picking up Devotion Days 63-68. When we last gathered, Rob Miller taught us about the importance of not allowing anything to go to waste. This week, I’ll finish his line of thinking by sharing our author’s theme of a “God who provides”.

One of my favorite verses in scripture is referenced on day 65:

“Consider the birds of the sky. They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they?”

Matthew 6:26

As you all know, I happen to know a little about the realities of raising feathered animals. I can fully relate to this passage from Matthew. I feed my backyard hens only once a day in the mornings, yet they graze around the yard all day long. They never go hungry because God provides them a healthy pasture of green grass and bugs. That’s what I think about when I read this passage from Matthew!

We’ll continue to meet in a hybrid way…offering both virtual over Zoom or in-person at the treehouse. Enjoy the rest of the week…and I’ll see you starting at 7:30 am ET on Friday!

Peace!