The Way

I signed up to work with little kids at church once a quarter almost 5 years ago. It was a little bait and switch because the once a quarter materialized as once a month but I digress. At first I was a little intimidated by these 3-5 year olds but now I am just resigned to the fact that they have it figured out for the most part. Sure they are young; they at times don't think through the consequences of their actions; they might have an accident in their pants; they might be challenged with a "mine" attitude, but THEY TEACH ME SO STINKING MUCH! Not actual kids in the Owl class. Sunday morning was the final day of our church's Disciple Now and Sondra and I hosted 7 young ladies that were a joy to have in our home for the weekend. I "helped" serve pancakes to the entire youth group (if you count trying to convince students to eat crazy amounts of pancakes as help that is). During our church's worship hour I headed to our Owl room which is made up of...

The last few weeks have been somewhat of a whirlwind for the Turners. I somehow thought it was a good idea to cram my schedule so full of "good" stuff and forgot that at some point I was going to need to rest a little. If you have kept up at all with some of my travels you know that I overextended. I love what I get to do but even too much of a good thing is still too much. All of my weekends were involved in training youth leaders or encouraging people coupled with a week of teaching at Midwestern Seminary, a quick trip to Alaska (which was awesome and encouraging), to attending one of our World Changers Spring Break projects in Birmingham and then a weekend of training in Kentucky. It was crazy. Sondra went on a mission trip to Guatemala with our church, Hermitage Hills, and did construction (I know, right?), worked with kids, taught a women's Bible study based off of our friend's (Hayley DiMarco) book, The Fruitful Wife, and even did some sewing. To say the lea...

I volunteer once per month to work with three-year-olds during worship. (I should know what ETC stands for but I don't but evidently that is what our church calls what I have volunteered to do.) I always go in ready to learn something (and hopefully, come out alive!) Today was no exception. Our lesson was on Peter being prayed for by his friends while he was in prison; the angel appearing to Peter saying, "You are free to leave this prison"; and then Peter appearing to his friends who had prayed for him. There were interjections throughout the story by the students and I am listing a sample of them below: Question asked during the lesson - "Do you remember ever praying as a family for someone who needed prayer?" Answer by 3 year old S - "We never pray at our house! Well, we pray for meals." I am sure the parents would be mortified. I know them. They are praying people. Me - "So, how did you cut your thumb?" "I cut it while I was op...

Poly Rouse, our pastor, has been leading us through a series of sermons loosely based on David Platt's, Radical Together book. I sort of pride myself in being frugal, not wanting for much, and basically considering myself better than I actually am. While confession is good for the soul and bad for the reputation, I feel compelled to share a experience that God and I wrestled through recently. I, in no way, am saying that electronics are evil or of the devil. I have greatly enjoyed my iPhone, TV, microwave, and on and on. I do have a tendency to "want" more technological devices and this past summer was able to use an iPad that work provided. It made travel a little easier, helped me stay a little more current with work, and let's face it, I liked the cool factor of it. "Oh, you have an iPad. Those things are so cool." And, I was quick to get caught up in the coolness of it. In August, the iPad gig was up for me. Work needed it back. I lamented it for aw...

The Courageous movie that has been out since September 30 is one of the best movies I have seen if not the best ever on men being courageous men of God. I have been fortunate to see it three or four times with my work at LifeWay. Our church, Hermitage Hills Baptist , has been spending the last month focusing on addressing the issues associated with men being courageous men of God. Last night was a powerful time of men signing the resolution promising to honor God, our wives, and families. It was pretty awesome. I have to admit that it was a little uncomfortable for me though. I found myself struggling with the whole idea of "do I sign in front of a group" or "do I show up and just not sign it." Let me explain. A number of years ago, I met with a small group of men and we made a very similar commitment. I was much younger, our girls were much younger, and my wife is still younger. (Notice how I just honored her there. Big smile.) Trust me, I have made many mist...