Thursday, September 29, 2016

Love To Learn

I ran across this short article by Scott Bessenecker relaying an encounter he had with a Jehovah's Witness that had stopped by his home to invite him to join a bible study.  Scott is in full time Christian ministry, and while the idea of starting a study with a stranger wasn't an opportunity he was ready to jump at, his response to her was insightful.  He briefly told the visitor what he believed, but then said that if those things weren't true, he did not want to believe them.  If she would take the same position, he would agree to meet with her.  She turned and left.  His conclusion was that all believers need to constantly think about and challenge what they believe - and be willing to question thoughtfully what others believe.  Being inquisitive and discerning is Godly.  I think this is why I am drawn to authors like CS Lewis and Dallas Willard and have gone back to their writing over and over again.  It's not just the words they write and the thoughts they express, but a genuine love for truth and knowledge that is undeniable.

Thursday, September 22, 2016

Making Clemson great

There's nothing like the first day of fall to confirm that football season is well under way.   And there is nothing like seeing someone overcome hardship and thrive to make for a great story (and some wet eyes). You may remember this story from year's past, but either way it is worth a watch.  Bob and Diane Saville are neighbors and clients at Lake Hartwell, and their son, David, thrived with the football program at Norcross High School and then at Clemson University.  This 10 minute video tells the story.  Please take time to watch. You won't regret it  - or forget it.

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Scaring the children



I am super-saturated with the media coverage of the election.  I am very tired of mountains being made out of mole-hills.  I take the election very seriously, but I am amazed at how the smallest incidents can become the subject of news for multiple nights (or weeks) of news coverage.  I want to vote, but I don't know what to do.  Andy Stanley did a great job of calming my fears with this clip from one of his sermons.  You may have seen this on social media.  Either way take a look, and let me know what you think.  Click here for video.

Thursday, September 8, 2016

Ball of yarn

We had dinner with our friends, Mark and Suzanne, this week.  Suzanne told us about one of her friends whose small child has been diagnosed with brain cancer.  The cancer was very aggressive and had intertwined itself within a region of the brain like spaghetti.  The surgeon told the parents that he would need to do surgery to biopsy the tumor so that he could determine a plan for treatment, but the outlook was not good.   The mom told one of her friends to pray for the safety of her child during the procedure.  The friend told her that she had prayed that the tumor would "miraculously unwind like a ball of yarn".  After completing the surgery, and with no knowledge of the prayer, the surgeon came in to update the parents on the biopsy.  The surgeon said he had never seen anything like what had happened.  As he was securing the section of the tumor for the biopsy, it seemed loose. He continued to pull on it, and the "tumor unwound like a ball of yarn."  He was able to remove all or most of the tumor during what was supposed to be only a biopsy procedure.  Praise God for making himself known through miracles only He can make happen.


Thursday, September 1, 2016

Labor of Love

I remember going to a career counseling weekend with my church when I was in high school.  They said I was pretty good with numbers, and that I might like to do something with computers.  I learned about computers at UGA (with punched cards), and then went to work for IBM right out of school.  I spent 8 years there and then left the hardware world to sell software.  i did that for another 10 years.  I was changing companies about every 2 years, but one year I had four W-2's due to two corporate acquisitions.  I was making a living, but I wasn't living.  My work consumed the majority of my time, but I wasn't doing anything or building anything that was very satisfying to me.  In 2003, I literally had a come to Jesus meeting after another software job change.  I thought and prayed about what I loved, and I kept coming back to my family and the lake.  It was then that I decided to get my real estate license and at age 42, make a complete career change to sell real estate at Lake Hartwell.  I work hard, a lot of the time too hard.  But now, with my son, Michael, working with me full time, I can say that what I am doing is very satisfying.  Please tune in next week to see a little project that I have been working on for two years that tells the story of my labor of love.