Sunday Take Home - What I Do

This past Sunday my pastor, Chad Graves, continued with his series on the Ten Commandments.  This week we covered the 4th commdment: from the passage of Exodus Chapter 20: 8 -11.

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

The one phrase that stuck in my head from the message this Sunday was a resounding of the messge from last week: "Who I am determines what I do".  Since confirming the need for establishing and maintaining my identity in Christ it was an awesome reminder that my identity should translate into my actions.  I do not go to church to be a Christian. 

I do not feel that attending church is a chore.  It is a welcomed blessing each week to spend time worshiping with my family at Pauline.  It was a great confirmation to hear the message as Chad presented it Sunday to know and solidify that the 4th Commandment is not meant to be a difficult command.  It is meant to free us from binds of this earth.

God, in his infinite knowledge knew and made provision for us to take some time from everything in the world and come to his house for worship and revival.  He knew we needed rest! 

Felsenthal NWR Geo-Photo Blogpost

This past Saturday my family and I spent Friday night and Saturday camping near Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge in southern Arkansas.  The weather was geat!  Saturday morning I got out and enjoyed the cool morning temperatures by canoeing in the Grand Marias area of Felsenthal NWR.

Felsenthal NWR is the world's largest green-tree resevoir with 15,000 acres being covered by water nearly year round.  Some years this acreage more than doubles to 36,000 acres during winter flooding. The refuge is a very diverse ecosystem with open water, bottom land hardwood, and upland timber habitats.  For more information you can read the refuge's fact sheet here or go to their website.

For my canoe trip I picked a short 3.5 mile path in the Grand Marias area of Felsenthal.  The Grand Marias area is in the southwestern most corner of the refuge north of the Felsenthal Dam.  I put my canoe in at the county boat ramp and campground which is provided and maintained by Union County, Arkansas.  

View From Boat Ramp down the boat canal.

From the boat ramp it is a short paddle down a boat canal which leads to the open water of Grand Marias.  The canal is surrounded by lily pads.  It is not very wide and you should be cautious and watch for other boaters (especially if you are in a canoe).

As I exited the canal I saw the beginnings of a very beautiful sunrise over Grand Marias.  Instead of beginning with my original plans of paddleing northwest I first went east to get a front row seat for one of God's many beauties...a Sunrise. 

Sunrise over Grand Marias From My Canoe

After watching and taking several photos of the sunrise I traveled northwest and began my trip around the island in the middle of Grand Marias.  While in the area I saw many types of waterfowl, wading birds, and woodpeckers.  The scenery of Felsenthal NWR is beautiful with the many Cypress trees, each with its own unique form, lining the banks and lily pads growing in huge patches throughout the shallow water of the refuge. 

Blue Heron in Cypress Tree in Grand Marias Area of Felsenthal NWR

For more photos and to see the path I traveled see the interactive map below.  The red line indicates the  canoe path I took.  There are multiple points also placed on the map:

• Yellow Stickpins are Geotagged photos of either scenic points of interest or wildlife seen on the trip.
• Orange Stickpins are Geotagged photos taken just to show my point of view at various locations of the trip.
• Orange Circles are Geotagged photos with notes about various locations in the trip.
• Yellow Arrows are written notes or observations made during the trip.

All of the above mentioned points are interactive in that you can click on each to see either the photo taken or read notes from the trip.  On geotagged photo points you can also click the underlined description to see a larger view of each photo.


View Larger Map

The data indicating boat ramps and other reference information is provided by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission's GIS Division.

His Name

This past Sunday my Pastor, Chad Graves, presented a message from the text of the 3rd Commandment:

"You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name." Exodus 20:7.

I can not remember a time hearing this passage so clearly taught.  I believe that I have not truly understood this passage until now.  Forever I have only looked at this commandment as a warning against using the Lord's name in vain or in instances of cursing someone or something. I have never considered this commandment seriously and in the full context in which it was given.

Growing up I remember my dad telling us to always remember everywhere we go we are representing our God, our Family, and our Church.  This was one of those life lessons that I have always remembered (maybe not always followed as I should).  Through the message Sunday morning I was drawn back to this lesson from my dad and I believe it was finally solidified in my heart.

I am not going to attempt to re write the entire message.  If you would like to hear more you can listen to the service from Pauline here. 

Only a portion of this commandment is dealing with how we speak the name of the Lord.  I know I should only speak the name of God in complete holy reverence for who he is.  The context of this scripture deals with how we represent God in our lives as Lord of our lives.  Through salvation I now have a new identity, I have been bought by a price. In Galatians 2:20 Paul sums this thought up so clearly.  I do not want to live my life as if Christ died for nothing.  He died for me so I could have eternal life.  When we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior we take his name. 

I know that in my life I am guilty of taking on multiple identities or names at different times.  I take on identity from my job, from my family, and from my hobbies.  Altough these identities are not necessarily bad it is not the identity that is true to who I am.  My take home from this past Sunday is I need to clearly identify myself.  I need to strive to stay away from the corrupt identities of this world and also to be more conscience of representing my God as my identity and foundation.  In all things I must represent my God first and the rest are only modifiers of who I am.

Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts. Isaiah 26:8

Choctaw Island Geo-Photo Blog with Instructions

Below is the same map I posted on Saturday. I have uploaded a few of the photos I took Saturday at Choctaw Island WMA to photo bucket as well as mapped the locations of each photo. Along with photos (Red Push Pins on map) I also placed trip notes with observations I made while at Choctaw (Yellow Arrows). The WMA feature data is provided by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission's GIS Division.

Geo-Photo Blog Instructions.


-To zoom in onto the map you can use the scroll wheel of your computer mouse or the zoom controls in the upper left corner of the map.

-To pan click and drag the map to navigate around.

-To read a trip note or view a photo click the symbol of either feature.
-Once the pop-up appears you will see text for a trip note (Yellow Arrow) or a description of the photo (Red Push Pin) taken at the location. For a full sized view of the photo click the hyperlink in the photo's description area.

I hope you enjoy this first posting of the Arkansas Geo-Photo Blog!




View Larger Map

Choctaw Island WMA Geo-Photo Blogpost

Today I took advantage of the cooler temperatures and went for a walk around Choctaw Island Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in Desha County, Arkansas. I first visited Choctaw last fall and it became a favorite location to go for visits. With a huge diversity in habitat Choctaw Island offers outdoor enthusists opportunities for activity in all seasons.

Due to unforseen circumstances my original plans were changed for which trail I walked. I ended up walking a total of nearly 7 miles in a couple of different locations on the WMA. Below you will see an interactive map of the WMA. The trails and WMA features are provided by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission's GIS division. In the upcoming days I will place locations of geotagged photos on the map as well as provide more discussion about the WMA.

Below is one photo I took while at Choctaw. It is of the Sand Field, a large open grassland in the southern portion of the WMA.

View Larger Map

March 24, 2011 Change In Life as I Knew It

Life has certainly changed for my wife and I.  Our daughter was born at 7:55 am March 24, 2011.  I cannot begin to describe the extreme amount of joy that I have right now.  Joy over the fact that mom and baby are both doing great, joy for the blessing this little miracle is for us, and joy for the many answered prayers we've prayed over this pregnancy and birth.

We took Ady to church for the first time this past Sunday.  She did great during Sunday school and worship time by sitting peacefully for a while before falling asleep.  All through the day I was overwhelmed by a multitude of emotions.  I was thinking about my childhood and the impact that my church family had on my life.  Had my parents not introduced me to God at an early age I do not know where I would be today.  To consider the influence the great people of Pauline Baptist Church will have on Ady's life was an awe inspiring thought prevalent in my mind all throughout worship.  Seeing other young babies who would become her friends through activities such as Awana, church camp, and Sunday School made me smile.  I must admit my time in the sanctuary this past Sunday was somewhat distracted by my thoughts and prayers for Ady.  My prayer:

Dear Most gracious heavenly Father, I am so thankful you blessed us with our daughter.  Thank you for mom and baby's health.  I am so grateful for the influence your Church has had on my life and am thankful for the church family we have at Pauline now.  Father, please guide us as we parent our child.  Help us to show her your light and your love.  I love you and praise your most holy name.  Please forgive me for the many times I fall short.  I pray all these things in the name of Jesus. Amen

The birth of Ady has completely changed the way we live life.  The blessing that she has been to me these past eleven days is more than I ever imaged or dreamed it would be.

Godly Companions

Jon Acuff (@jonacuff) tweeted a couple of weeks ago, “Being aware of the story God is unfolding as he unfolds it, instead of realizing what was happening years later, is a gift.”

I believe this statement sums up my feelings after going through the “Living Parables” sermon series in February.  To know that God is in control, that he is faithful, that he is the Almighty God are a few of the facts that I am most guilty of overlooking.  There have been many times in my life that I have grown frustrated with myself and with God.  When prayers seem to go unanswered, when life’s trials seem to outnumber the victories, when struggles with sin seem to get stronger are all times when I am most prone to doubt God’s power.  Without a doubt after looking pack on the past and seeing where I am today I know that God has most definitely been in control orchestrating the tiniest of details to bring me to this point in my life.  Just as Ruth had Naomi as a companion God has placed some amazing people in my life.  Godly men and women that God has placed in my life at just the right moment have helped me through the many seasons of life.

The blessing that my family has been to me all throughout my life is truly amazing.  My parents are the ultimate example of how a follower of Christ should live.  It was from my family that I first learned about living a God honoring life.  An extension to my family is my first church family at Cullendale First Baptist Church in Camden, AR.  It was from the great men and women at this church that I heard the Gospel story and learned from bible stories in sunday school and worship time.  My youth minister here took a lot of time to teach me and a handful of other youth about leadership and that to be a leader you must be a humble servant.  After graduation I moved to a town I knew very little about.  I moved not knowing anyone at the college and spent my first weeks away from home wondering if I would be able to make a connection with people.  By the end of the second week at UAM I knew I had found my connection.  It was through the ministries of the local Missionary Baptist Student Fellowship (MBSF).  My time with the MBSF was definitely God ordained.  It was here that I learned how to love people with everything I had. I learned about giving and caring about people’s needs across the world.  I also met the wonderful people of Pauline Baptist Church through the MBSF and quickly found a home inside the walls at Pauline.  Pauline is an awesome church family and being a part of this church has given me the opportunity to serve and grow spiritually.  Also, while at UAM through a series of meetings and opportunities (which is another story in itself) I started working part time for a company which 5 ½ years later I am still with.  It was through this job that I had the most important meeting of my life, I met my beautiful wife!  Now three years later we are married (1 ½ years) and are expecting our first child, a daughter, any time.

I truly believe that God has been at work in my life since day one and has placed people in my path to direct my steps to where he wants me to be.    Although at times I have questioned particular steps and why some have been more difficult or painful than others I know that each have played a vital role in my physical and spiritual growth. I know that God is faithful to his promises and that he will never leave or forsake us.  I know that he is almighty and is in control guiding me each and everyday!