Illuminate

I was in a restaurant this past weekend with my beautiful wife, O yeah, and I over heard one of the most heart wrenching comments I have heard in a long time. This statement came from a man sitting behind us with his family. I did not hear the context of this statement but for whatever reason it really stuck with me. He said, "Remember, guilt is only an emotion. It serves no purpose." I want you to reread that and think about that. As I began to think about that a lot of thoughts came to my mind. One of them was Jiminy Cricket and his famous saying, "Let your conscience be your guide!" What has happen to the Jiminy Crickets of the world?  I do believe in the word guilt. It is more than just a word or some emotion and yes it does serve a purpose. It reminds us that what we did was wrong. There is no avoiding guilt. It is our conscience letting us know that we did wrong and we are accountable for what we did.  The question is how can we get rid of the guilt? Bette...

This past week at Youth Convention the speaker Jenne Mayo said something that stuck with me. I wanted to share this thought with you so that it could help you out in your life. How many of you have ever been to a farm? I grew up in the country and going to the farm and seeing farm life was almost a daily thing. One of the worst smells in the world was that of cow manure. Wow that would make your stomach turn. It is obvious that since we hate the smell and the look of manure, then we would not want to be near that. We don't want to be near the stuff.  In our life there always seems like there is sin that we cannot get rid of. We keep going back to it and we pray and ask for forgiveness and God forgives. What is another way that can help us get rid of it? What can we do to to improve this situation? The thing that we have lost a lot of times is a fear of the Lord. Proverbs says that, "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understan...

I went on a trip yesterday to Springfield to find some new interns. All the way home I kept thinking of how nice it was going to be when I got there. I was going to be able to come into my apartment and know that my wife would be there to greet me and tell me welcome back. I would be able to lay my head to rest and know that I was in a safe place. I heard this song while on the road and it made me want to get home even sooner. It is called "I'm Coming Home." It is by Diddy. I don't really care for his music or his lyrics in this song but I really liked what the chorus had to say.  "I’m coming home I’m coming home Tell the World I’m coming home Let the rain wash away all the pain of yesterday I know my kingdom awaits and they’ve forgiven my mistakes I’m coming home, I’m coming home Tell the World that I’m coming" I was so excited to come home because I knew it was going to place of rest and of peace. It is a place that is forgiving and understanding. As...