I just drove back from my doctor’s office…with BOTH HANDS!!!  I am not out of the sling.  The following is a transcription of the conversation going on in my head right now:

David’s Id, “I am going to celebrate tonight!”

David’s Ego and Super-Ego, “How so?”

Id, “By dousing the sling in gasoline and setting it on fire!!!”

Ego, “I wouldn’t do that.”

Super-Ego, “Hrrrmmmm.  Could be fun if not entirely logical.”

Id, “Shut up, I’m burning it.”

Ego, “Well, with the Fuller propensity for injury being considered, you may want to reconsider; you never when we may need it again.”

Id, “Ugh!”

Super-Ego, “You are probably right.  However, if and when we need it again I am sure we will be charged for a new one.  BURN THE STINKING THING!!!”

Party tonight!

Ever since my surgery, I have had a difficult time getting a good night’s sleep.  However, last night was one of the worst in a while.  I remember having a dream that I was trying to outrun a tornado.  I was running from it on foot and in a car.  It was crazy but I eventually found refuge…IN A DOUBLE-WIDE MOBILE HOME!!!

No wonder I rolled and twisted all night long and woke up with no covers.  I’m stupid in my sleep.

Legacy Fellowship is not quite big enough to support a paid staff so we all volunteer our time and work full-time jobs as well.  I sell home and commercial security systems for a large company.  Safety and the feeling it provides is priceless (of course, if you live in the Austin area and you email me, I can provide it quite reasonably).

My Dad is a retired Houston Police Officer of 22 years.  His idea of home security is a little different.  He gave me a home security system last week in the form of a 4” blue steel Ruger GP-100 .357 Magnum.

So, I was cleaning my new home security device and I thought, “You know, it would be kind of cool if someone called me while I am cleaning my gun and asked me what I am doing.”  About two minutes later Chad called me and asked, “Hey man, what are you doing?”

“Cleaning my gun,” I exclaimed.

“Cleaning your gun?”

“Yes, cleaning my gun.”

Rebecca (Chad’s wife), sounding somewhat concerned, somewhat sarcastic, asks, “Uhhh, do you need to call him back?” 

I reply, “What?  No, it’s cool.  I have you on speaker.”

“Oh, so ‘cleaning my gun’ isn’t code for something else then?”

“No, but that would have be a good one.”

Earlier today, Cheri came at me as if my head were a fly and she was Daniel Larusso with a set of chopsticks.  Apparently, I had a spider crawling in my goatee.  She probably saved my life today because I’m pretty sure it was a Black Widow.  She showed no fear in the face of death and I owe her big time.

Wife who catch spider on husband face shop for anything.

Thanks Honey, I love you.

When words are many, sin is not absent,
but he who holds his tongue is wise.  Proverbs 10:19  

A fool shows his annoyance at once,
but a prudent man overlooks an insult.  Proverbs 12:16  

A man of knowledge uses words with restraint,
and a man of understanding is even-tempered.

Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent,
and discerning if he holds his tongue.  Proverbs 17:27-28  

I am convicted by these words today.  God has been dealing with me for the last several weeks about my mouth.  I boast too much.  I gripe too much.  I gossip too much.  I just flat out talk too much.  I have a hard time controlling my tongue and I want to change that starting today. 

I want to be a godly man, husband and leader in my community and church.  I have to start with the small things.  I must love God and my wife.  I have to be faithful with my prayer.  I have to read my bible.  I have to go to church and I have to tithe.  But that isn’t enough.  If I do all these things yet cannot control my tongue then I am not godly at all.  James asks us in James 3:12, “can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs?”  Certainly not.  Neither can a man leave his tongue unbridled and expect to have influence. 

I know I can’t do it on my own; I’ve tried.  I am glad I don’t have to. 

      But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you,

      for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 

                       2 Corinthians 12:9

Thank God for grace.

There are apparently a lot of people that have chosen to stay in the Houston area and stare down Hurricane Ike.  I can’t help but liken this to the Christian walk. 

There will be many opportunities for each and every one of us to stare down a storm in our lives; it’s called adversity and it’s inevitable.  What we choose to do in the mist of adversity can possibly strengthen our character and it can definitely reveal it. 

Regardless of what someone does in the midst of a hurricane, the aftermath will almost always be messy.  The same goes with adversity.  Choosing to face it will almost always be messy for a while.  It causes damage, loss and it can hurt.  But we don’t have to brave the storm alone.  Psalm 46:1-3 says:

    God is our refuge and strength,
       an ever-present help in trouble.

    Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
       and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

    though its waters roar and foam
       and the mountains quake with their surging.

Do we have the faith to let God help us through adversity or will we run from it?  Personally, I am too chunky to run so I will just look adversity in square in the eye and when it asks, “Have you paid your dues?” I will respond, “Yes sir, the check is in the mail.”

One cautionary note: if I were in Houston facing an adversary such as Ike, I think would have to turn tail and run. (And I’m a manly man)  

Run, Houston, Run!!!

1 Peter 1:6-7 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.  These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Will someone please put a helmet of Tony Romo?  Seriously people!  Tony Romo is feeling about as much pressure from the Cleveland Browns as I feel to clean a truck stop toilet.  He has enough time to brew an espresso and eat some crumpets, much less complete a pass to Terrell Owens.  Arrrgggghhhhh!!!

Is it okay to hate the Cowboys since they are a team, and entity if you will, and not an individual person?

[I’m just really bent that my Texans just got THROTTLED!]

The staff of Legacy Fellowship is a completely volunteer staff.  Yes, completely.  That means even our Lead Pastor, Tony.  Though the jury is still out on just how hard he actually has to work at his real job, I mean, some of us even think he might be in the mafia.  Come on; Tony Chimento, Tony Soprano?  Need I say more?  But seriously, he works a full-time job, has a family (with a TEENAGER!) and pastors our church.  That is a lot of work.  My Houston Texans’ hat is off too you.

So a handful of the members and staff were up at the church today to help move some furniture around and clean up.  Tony mentioned something referencing how we used to bring in Krispy Kreme donuts for Sunday morning services.  I say, “used to” because money has been a little tight and we are still trying to get things finished at the building so lately members have been bringing the donuts.  However, nobody lives by Krispy Kreme and Tony apparently had an itch to scratch this morning.  He said he really missed getting his Krispy Kreme every week.

Cheri and I decided to have dinner this evening and afterwards we would get desert; Krispy Kreme.  The light was on (if you are familiar with KK you know what I mean) so we got our hot one and a dozen of glazed and chocolate dipped.  We stopped by the Chimento home to bless them with the iced decadence but we didn’t just drop them off.  No sir, we couldn’t pass up and opportunity to let Tony break bread with his disciples.  That would have been selfish of us. 

If was a good night of yummylicious donut eating and chatting but I am glad we got to bless them finally.  Thanks guys.

Oh, if you would like to chip in to the Get’er Done campaign you can do so here.

I once read that bitterness/resentment/holding a grudge is like drinking a spoonful of arsenic everyday and expecting someone else to die.  It is horrible and it can rot you from the inside out if you don’t nip it in the bud. 

Well, I need to nip my bitterness in the bud.  I rarely petition for prayer but I really need it right now.  So I ask you all to please remember me in prayer and I thank you in advance.

I try so very hard to not break any of the Ten Commandments.  Some of them are easy.  Some of them…not so much.  There is one that I have always considered pretty easy; taking The Lord’s name in vain.  I can’t say I have never done it but it’s not something that is part of my everyday language. 

Cheri and I went to Houston to visit my Dad in the hospital yesterday and on the trip home we decided to listen to a sermon on CD that my brother had given to me.  The message was Ray Comfort’s “Hell’s Best Kept Secret.”  The message is an absolute must for anyone that is, has or is going to be a minister, pastor or teacher of God’s Word. 

Anyway, about half-way into the message he recaps a hypothetical conversation he might have with someone that is not saved.

“Have you used God’s name in vain?”

 “Yeah…I’ve been trying to stop.”

“You know what you’re doing? Instead of using a four-letter filth word beginning with ‘s’ to express disgust, you’re using God’s name in its place. That’s called blasphemy.”

You know, I have thought about the fact that it is blasphemous to say the name of The Lord in vain.  That was a pretty big motivating factor in why I stopped doing it.  However, I never really thought about it this way.  I never thought that I was equating the most holy of names with something as filthy as excrement.  It hurt my heart.  I mean, not only is He my savior, He is my lord.  I wouldn’t call my boss a piece of poop why on earth would I do that to my God?  He didn’t just give me a job, He has given me life, salvation, my beautiful wife and everlasting life. 

I am sorry.  Please forgive me.