Tag Archives: comfort

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Daddies

dads

Some of my earliest memories involve my dad.  He was a really good high school coach in Crockett County.  I still remember sitting near him on the bench during hotly-contested basketball games…watching him plot plays, scheme defenses and berate referees. Those gyms were packed full of people- and dad’s bench seemed to be at the center of my small universe.

He taught me how to tie a lure, throw a spiral and change a car tire.  He showed me how to race go carts and went with me to buy an engagement ring for Hollianne.  I’m grateful that he’s now teaching my children some of those same lessons.

Sunday is the day we “officially” recognize our fathers.  I’m in a great place right now…as I can celebrate my relationship with dad, as well as experience a wonderful day with my kids.

For many people, however, Father’s Day can be painful.  Hollianne lost her father last Thanksgiving.  Mr. Tommy was a wonderful man…generous, loving and compassionate.

Tommy Holmes

His life and presence left a vault of good memories for his family, but his absence is painfully obvious this year.

Some of my friends never knew their father…or were abandoned as children.  This void can be a difficult one to fill.

We, however, have a heavenly Father that cares for us beyond imagination.

No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life.  As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.  Joshua 1:5

No matter what life throws at us- stress, illness, or disappointment- we have a Father who will be with us.

Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! Matthew 7:9-11

God has a plan for our lives.  While we cannot know what will happen tomorrow, we can rest assured that our Father will face tomorrow with us.

God’s uncompromising love.  Just think of it as the best Father’s Day gift ever.

Pray for me this week.  Let me know how I may pray for you.  God bless.

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Homesick

Hollianne, the boys and I have been on vacation on the South Carolina coast this past week. We were blessed with incredible weather, warm ocean water and great food.

This year’s trip was a bit different. Carson- our oldest child-  wasn’t with us. She was traveling in Colorado for a christian youth retreat with Young Life. So here we were on beautiful coast of the South Carolina lowcountry…and Carson was 1,700 miles away in the Colorado Rockies.

The trip just didn’t feel right. We missed our baby girl. The experience wasn’t complete.

Have you ever felt like this?  Even though you were surrounded by family and friends in a comforting setting- you longed for something else?

We are born with a temporary assignment on this earth. Our bodies are not built to be satisfied with what this world has to offer. We can never be fulfilled here- regardless of the spoils and riches that this life affords.

Pain, hurt and sin are constant.

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.  Romans 8:18

There’s a cure for our homesickness- that constant longing for comfort.

Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.  Luke 12:33

Comfort can be found through a relationship with Jesus and the promise of an eternity in heaven.

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. Revelation 21:4

Let’s pray this week to not be so distracted by the meaningless pursuits that this world offers. Instead, let’s focus on a home in heaven with a sense of comfort that “does not fail”.

Let me know how I may pray for you. God bless.

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Where are you from?

HACJTNYC

“Where are you from?”  It’s a question often asked when people meet for the first time.  “Home” is one of the hallmarks of our identity.  It helps define us.

Hollianne and I have several places to call home.  We were both born in rural West Tennessee. We still have family there, so it’ll always be a special place for us.  On the other hand- all three of our children were born in Knoxville, so East Tennessee sure feels like home too.  And southeastern Ohio holds a special place in our hearts as well….as that’s the area we first lived as a married couple right out of graduate school.

Hollianne and I have lived many places over the past 20 years, but one thing is for certain:  if I’m with her- anywhere feels like home.

Isn’t that what “home” really is?  It’s where we feel safe and comfortable.  Where we feel refreshed and alive.  Home isn’t a building or structure, it’s more about the emotion.

As Christians, we have the promise of the ultimate place to call home.

For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.  2 Corinthians 5:1

God has granted us a pathway to reach an eternal home.

But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”—  1 Corinthians 2:9

Heaven has been described as “paradise” (Luke 23) and a place of no pain, sorrow or sadness (Revelation 21).  Can you imagine that?  No tears in Heaven.  A place of eternal happiness.  The ultimate home place.

Let’s commit to preparing for a journey to our eternal home.  I’ll pray for you-  and I hope that you will pray for me too.

God bless.

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Electric blankets

Remember the electric blanket?  This device will forever be etched into my memory as a child of the 1970’s.

For a time in my life, my mother and I lived in a one bedroom apartment behind my grandparent’s country store in Frog Jump, Tennessee.  I have several vivid memories of my home on Highway 88.  First, the “front door” led right into the meat department of the grocery store.  I also remember that mom slept on a fold-out bed, giving me the only bedroom in the apartment.  Finally, the frigid winds would push through the roof line and windows of this old apartment, bringing a chill draft across our home when the daylight gave way to nighttime each winter.

This is my first memory of the electric blanket.  My mom would come in and plug this scientific marvel into the wall about 5 minutes before bedtime.  It had three settings…low, medium and high (I was never allowed to use the “high” setting…there were limits to this indulgence).  There was nothing like sliding into a warm bed during those cold winter months.  Instant comfort.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.  2 Corinthians 1:3-4

We all seek comfort.  Comfort from stress.  Comfort from our physical ailments and mental scars.  Comfort from the pain associated with this world.

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.  Matthew 11:28-30

We have a loving Savior that longs to take away our pain.  A generous God that loves us and invites us into His presence.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.  Psalm 23:4

Seek relief from the pain in your life with the promise of comfort of our Savior.  It’s the ultimate electric blanket.

Let me know how I may pray for you.  God bless.

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