We celebrate WORK today by having a holiday. Work, in this country, has yielded great rewards for many people individually and collectively. Freedom gives rise to opportunity and when combined with good work….varying levels of success and prosperity follow.
Work is ordained by God. Even in Eden, Adam was led to lead, to name the animals, to have and assert dominion. Work today, because of The Fall, has toil and suffering attached to it. If we partner with God in our work, the toil is lessened and blessing can come. God blessed us with gifts, talents and abilities. If your work involves using those, it can be enjoyable. Put your heart into your work. If you work for someone, honor them with your best effort – as Gods Word says – “as unto God”. Don’t cheat your work or any superior with less than your best. A “man in full” does not try to skirt by with minimum effort. A man does not do “just enough”. You would not teach your son that. If those before us did that we would not have the freedoms nor the comfort we have today. Maximize your effort. Seek better results. Aim higher. That is why today is a holiday…. Because Men before us did those three things. Terry Labor Day 2014

There are great lines of dialogue in movies. Allow those lines to reach your mind. When I hear a line that holds substance….I write it down. One line that grabbed my attention is from Lord of The Rings – the “Fellowship” episode. Frodo is lamenting his plight having to bear the ring and speaking to Gandalf. He says he wishes he did not have to bear this burden and wishes he did not live in the time he does, that it is too hard. Gandalf looks at the little Hobbit and says …. “Ours is not to determine the time in which we live. It is up to us to decide what to do with the time given us”. It is up to us to decide what to do with the time given us. Time is a gift . Maximize the use of it. Excel in the task before you, the life before you. Do not cheat that time . Do not waste it. You do not want to look back and lament the ill use of the time given you. If you have lamentation about a bit of your past …. Determine to exercise fully every ability given you and never give your self the opportunity for regret again. The time, when spent is irretrievable. Be wise and strong in the use of what time lay ahead. Decide to fully use your gifts. Decide and then do those things given you to do. Doing determines life. Do life well…. Do it to your end. Do NOT retire from life….EVER. God does not have it for us – even in Heaven – to lay around and not use the gifts given us to do the work given us. There are times I wasted. I cannot get a “mulligan” Decide to put to full use what God placed within you. Get rest when needed. Then get back to doing those things that will fully exercise you toward fulfilling your journey. Your eyes are in the front of your head to look forward. Your hands are structured to work on things in front of you, not behind you. Decide . Move. Forward. Terry September 4, 2014

Being blessed isn’t based on your circumstances, but about belonging to the God of your circumstances. And the ACKNOWLEDGMENT of that. As I recommended yesterday , pray for those guys around you. Specific prayer for those you know about … Corporate prayer for those you do not . We need to know prayers are being lifted for us. Have you contacted those guys whose a Corner you are in? How are they doing? Be there for them. We should pray for all the pastoral staff of our church. Very influential in the life of our Church. Have you separated yourself from things for a few minutes this year ??? To meditate, to pray, to hear from and have extended time with God. The year is 2/3 over… Have we spent it well? Have we invested well in those around us? Try to get away…. Even if it’s a long drive in your car for a while… Get alone, meditate to hear from The Father. You know that if you seek Him…He will speak…. After you have emptied yourself, He will fill you. Terry
September 1, 2014

The goal of partnering with other guys …. Getting in their CORNER and getting some particular guys in your CORNER … is perfectly described by Paul in II Corinthians 3:1-5. Read it. We ARE the Gospel. Living, breathing, walking manifestations of Epistle of Christ…. written, not with ink, but by the Spirit of God. And we become known of, and are daily read by all those around us. Know today that the story of your life, the Scripture you compose everyday with the words, actions and reactions… are the Fifth Gospel in the eyes of the world. Terry August 31, 2014

We are there. “In season ” From now until after January 1 we will be involved with the teams we pull for, the teams we pull against ( that will be the subject of another message) and the ups and downs of the Football season. Then there is hunting season. It could be some guys are absentee from Friday through Monday morning for the next 4-6 months. You know it’s true in some instances. I have a friend in Texas, he quits working on Nov 1 and is out until mid January. Sometimes he is in San Angelo stalking white tail deer for days at a time. He lives in Dallas with his wife. His children are grown. But he did this when they weren’t. I know a guy here in Birmingham who sat in his wife’s hospital room after she gave birth to their first child…. Looking at hunting videos rather than tending to her or the baby. It was late October and he has a farm where he hunts. Nothing is out of balance by being involved with football. Nothing is wrong with being an avid deer hunter. If ANYTHING draws you away from your family excessively… It can GET out of balance. Football, hunting seasons, work, any hobby… Anything can get out of balance. Balance it properly. If you sense it is too much, cut back. You know that you know when it’s too much. Assert your dominion over ANYTHING trying to dominate your relationship to God, to your wife, to your children. And each of you receiving this message has enough of Gods Word in you to know when that begins to happen. The first Man was placed on earth to have and assert dominion ….not to be dominated. I hope your team wins every game. I hope you kill the biggest deer you have ever seen. Don’t miss any of your wife or children’s lives as you do these things. Matthew 6:33 Words for the season Terry August 30, 2014

Trust in The Lord with all your heart Lean not unto your own understanding In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths. No one knows what lies ahead today. Or tomorrow. It really is a fact that we do not know the facts which will present themselves later today. Or tomorrow. Seek God. Love and protect your family. Prosper the relationships you are invested in. Be useful to someone today. Seek, know and work to fulfill the promise your life holds. After that…. We many times roll with the punches and adjust to the day. But we can be intentional about those 5 main topics listed above. Assert yourself into those steps God directs you to. Max out your Intentional Obedience. When the day ends about 8:30 or 9pm tonight, be able to look at yourself and know you fulfilled the promise and potential placed in you. Terry August 27, 2014

When you tell someone you will pray for them Do it. Right then. Why wait ? To tell them binds you to it. There is hope and anticipation there from the one requesting. If it comes out as a word you have spoken, it’s your Honor being extended to that person. That is a commitment we have to honor. If we are honorable. Let’s honor it. Honoring commitments is what a Man does. It’s His Word. In the past that was a bond between two parties, A Man’s word. Make it your bond to the group and to our Pastor. Do you keep your word? Your son and daughter know if you do…Or they are learning. It’s creating a new prospective adult … Who will either keep their word or not. We can slouch into the future leaving less than us or we can step strong into the times ahead training our younger ones Truth, Integrity and Honor. Your wife also knows if you keep your Word. She may not speak about it …if you don’t… But you become less in her eyes. If you keep your Word… She can trust in that… and you continually increase in her eyes. Keep your Word Honor your Commitments. Terry August 26, 2014

The last comment Pat Riley heard his father make to him was as his Dad leaned on the side of Riley’s car looked him in the eyes and said “Son, there will come a time when you have to plant your feet, straighten your back…..take a stand and be a Man”. As David lay dying he told Solomon to “be strong and show yourself as a Man”. The world we live in is resistant to that. The “progress” of society has been away from that. I will say that should be ignored. The Men in history were not emasculated. The heroes we have learned about and admired throughout our history were not metrosexual males. They were Men, without apology. The children in our world, whether they admit it or not the women in our world, and other younger guys… Need us to be Men. And the “cuteness” and cynicism in our culture has made even the phrase “Be a Mans Man”…. One with double meaning. It’s time to call enough of that. My encouragement to us all is to be a Man. Do the things that will lead others to see you as a MAN. Without apology. There is nothing to apologize for. God made Man in His Own Image. Is that anything to apologize for…??? Do not wait until you are 50 to do this. The world needs males to not be anesthetized eunuchs. The world needs males to be Men. Your wife needs that. Your son needs the lifelong example, your daughter needs the proper treatment and role model for her husband-to-be and the younger guys around you need to see. Man “in full”. What does it mean? Be strong in The Lord. Learn, know and use Scripture. Fight the battles which need fighting. Father knows best, without apology. Walk with Integrity. Live on and by the proper Principles. Have transcendent causes such as Faith, Family, Country that take precedence over any job or career. Do not be ashamed or apologetic for being a Man once again…. God made Man in His Image. Therefore – Plant your feet, Straighten your back, Take the stand to be a Man Terry August 25, 2014

The goal of partnering with other guys …. Getting in their CORNER and getting some particular guys in your CORNER is perfectly described by Paul in II Corinthians 3:1-5. Read it. We ARE the Gospel. Living, breathing, walking manifestations of Epistle of Christ…written, not with ink,but by the Spirit of God. And we become known of, and are daily read by all those around us. Know today that the story of your life, the Scripture you compose everyday with the words, actions and reactions… are the Fifth Gospel in the eyes of the world. Terry August 19, 2014

Each and every month you pay bills. You either write a check, pay in cash or have money transferred electronically. Those funds leave your account and move to another. To do that each month there must be money deposited into your account(s). You can pay a bill with an empty account….then you will owe more money. It makes sense to deposit money before withdrawing funds. True statement regarding financial transactions, relational transactions as well as spiritual life. Make deposits. The key to withdrawing is having previously made deposits. In our life most every situation requires deposits. Try having a relationship with a woman without depositing time, words, and effort. Try raising a child without depositing into that young life what you know and who you are. Why do people try to follow God and live a Christian life … without depositing Scripture into their heart, mind and life on a consistent basis. It leads to bankruptcy. Too many believers have a bankrupt spiritual life… Don’t do that. Deposit Scripture regularly. You do what you love or either what you most need to do. Urgent or important. Reading scripture is both urgent and important. It is the single most important activity involved in growing spiritually. Make deposits. Terry August 21, 2014