Walking with Jesus

. "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things." ~ Philippians 4:8 I want to focus on true things: walks with Olivia and Gracey, our hopes to move soon and return to school, the dream of teaching, the memory of our last moments with close friends, the thrill of new discoveries, the knowledge that I am not alone in my convictions, the fact that I have a job and a house, a glimpse of my beautiful nieces via webcam, a solid church family, a deepening walk with the Lord. I want to focus on the true things, but the world is so loud and so desperate to shout out the true with the false, the bad, the compromised, the fallen, the sensational, and the evil. I had to press back in today. I had to focus on the Lord, push out the noise of life and r...

There are some evils we choose, and there are some that sneak into our life because we get lazy, compromise, grow up with them, feel compelled by culture, or don't see life from God's point of view. 'Obviously' we should avoid the... well, 'obvious' ones such as adultery, gluttony, pride, living a homosexual lifestyle, and throwing a tire-iron at the lady who cut you off in traffic this morning. These are a no brainer. I'm not saying they are easy choices for everyone all the time (that car-lady lives in my town too!), just obvious ones. But, not all evils are obvious. . . I've been asked to preach on October 31st. I'm praying about what to bring, and God has been bringing the idea of evil (guilt), mercy, and reformation. For those who don't know, this date is not only Halloween, but Reformation Day, the anniversary of the day Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg, calling for the Catholic Church to refor...

My cousin Julie and her husband Clayton officially welcomed a new son into their family on Sunday September 26th in the wee (strange word) hours of the morning. They have named their baby boy Whitman (Whit) Clayton Leverett.  He was 8 lbs. 2 oz. and 20 inches long at birth. (I don't know why we include this information, but we do, so I did.) I talked to Julie today and they are adjusting to their new life together very well. God has been good to their family and we have a new second cousin! Welcome home, Whit! Whit defenitely looks like Clayton, but I can also see some of Julie. I can't wait to meet him in person.