My devotion today, thought I would share it with you...

"Yet lackest thou one thing; sell all that thou hast . . and come, follow Me." Luke 18:22

"And when he heard this . . ." Have you ever heard the Master say a hard word? If you have not, I question whether you have heard Him say anything. Jesus Christ says a great deal that we listen to, but do not hear; when we do hear, His words are amazingly hard.

Jesus did not seem in the least solicitous that this man should do what He told him, He made no attempt to keep him with Him. He simply said - Sell all you have, and come, follow Me. Our Lord never pleaded, He never cajoled, He never entrapped; He simply spoke the sternest words mortal ears ever listened to, and then left it alone.

Have I ever heard Jesus say a hard word? Has He said something personally to me to which I have deliberately listened? Not something I can expound or say this and that about, but something I have heard Him say to me? This man did understand what Jesus said, he heard it and he sized up what it meant, and it broke his heart. He did not go away defiant; he went away sorrowful, thoroughly discouraged. He had come to Jesus full of the fire of earnest desire, and the word of Jesus simply froze him; instead of producing an enthusiastic devotion, it produced a heart-breaking discouragement. And Jesus did not go after him, He let him go. Our Lord knows perfectly that when once His word is heard, it will bear fruit sooner or later. The terrible thing is that some of us prevent it bearing fruit in actual life. I wonder what we will say when we do make up our minds to be devoted to Him on that particular point? One thing is certain, He will never cast anything up at us.




~Oswald Chambers

Running with the Pac

I am taken back by a young man who has impressed me lately. I watched him as he made some HUGE mistakes, but I watched him as he fought to get back.

Adam Jones (PacMan)


Here is what happened.
*Near the 2007 NFL Draft, Jones's off-field issues (one revealed instance involved in a fist fight and a shooting in a Las Vegas strip club that paralyzed manager Tommy Urbanski) led many to believe that the Titans would cut or trade Jones before his third season in the league began. On April 10, 2007, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced a 1-year suspension for Jones, to be re-evaluated after the 10th regular-season game, pending disposition of current cases.

So... he is suspended for making a mistake. Causing damage to people who cared for him. He was faced with a choice... he knew what he had to do...

* Jones took out a full ad in the Tennessean, promising "he'll win back trust" of his teammates and fans." "To my family, teammates, coaches and fans, I recognize that I have lost the right to ask for your patience and understanding," Jones wrote. "However, I will do everything in my power to regain your trust and respect."

In his apology, Commissioner Roger Goodell still suspended him... but there are those who knew his talent and ability...and vouched for him. On April 24, Hall of Famer Jim Brown announced that he had offered his support and help to Jones while in Dallas. Former Cowboys teamates and NFL standouts Michael Irvin and Deion Sanders have also both expressed a willingness to help the troubled cornerback.He said earlier in an interview on a Tennessee radio station he said..."I have always want to be a Cowboy, and where the number 21" So... Now? He is not only a Cowboy...but is fully reinstated.

When you fall down, sometimes the only way back up...is a hand to lift you. Those don't come often. There a few people who want to attach themselves to failure, because of what it says about them. But, there are those, who know what it's like to get hit...in the middle of a crowd teeming with expectation for success, and you are on your back without the strength to get up on your own. Then you look up through your armor and see a hand. A hand with scars from the same impact. Eyes with the same focus of one who will keep going if they can just get back up. That hand makes the difference.

What do i say about this?



Go Cowboys.

Had to post this...

Being here in Arkansas has been a big move. A lot of boxes and a lot of changes. Our family has been faced with one of it's greatest challenges to date. But, the greatest aspect of it all has been family. We have been surrounded by family in the same breath. Upon arriving here in Arkansas we were welcomed with Marty and Becky and a crew of guys to unload. At 6am in the morning. In the pouring rain. For 3 hours...now that I think about it we still owe those boys dinner. Ironically enough a crew of the boys who helped that are in Masters and the youth ministry, live next door :) I say all this because family is what really is important. Even as I type this I am hearing my son in the next room laughing like I haven't heard him laugh in a long time. He is with his cousin who is spending the night making videos for youtube...so stay tuned for some videos :) I have included a video below of the boys. I have a thought under the video for today...

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I took some things to storage today... for the umpteenth time. It's great because our nice chair is in there so I can go just chill for awhile as well. As I was sitting there...sulking in the moment wondering what is next for my life...still unaware if what that is, but just sitting and thinking. I looked right across from where I was sitting and there was an RV. On the back of the RV was the words "Idle Time" For some reason that hit me. So, if you know me...you know I had to look into the word Idle. I was familiar with the word in the terms of an engine...but I had to dig deeper.

idle |ˈīdl|
adjective ( idler , idlest )
1 (esp. of a machine or factory) not active or in use : assembly lines standing idle for lack of spare parts.
• (of a person) not working; unemployed.
• (of a person) avoiding work; lazy.
• [ attrib. ] (of time) characterized by inaction or absence of significant activity : at no time in the day must there be an idle moment.
• (of money) held in cash or in accounts paying no interest.
2 without purpose or effect; pointless : he did not want to waste valuable time in idle chatter.
• (esp. of a threat or boast) without foundation : I knew Ellen did not make idle threats.

Like a slap in the face, I read the third or fourth line that said "without purpose or effect" Um, no. I refuse to allow where I am to become Idle Time. Now more than ever it is time to drive. if you ever feel like your standing still in a world that keeps spinning? Don't allow it to be Idle Time. Time with no purpose. Lazy time. Lacking spare parts. Take every day for what it hands you, and hand it back full. Trust me, I am talking to myself as well.

"Just because things are spinning, doesn't mean your going anywhere"

No words, just excellence.

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I can't believe I am going to say this...

Everyday presents its new challenges. You go through one day and then the next day it resets. Just when you think you made it past that day...then another one. I don't know about you...but that can be alot. Sometimes the day before carries over into the next, so then you have yesterdays challenges and then the present. Sounds almost overwhelming. I understand. So? Since the day isn't going to stop, what do you do?



Seeing as I despise cats...it's difficult to even use one as a reference.

This morning on my way to my wife's car to look for my phone charger, I turned the corner down a long sidewalk and noticed a cat peeking around the corner. He knew and I knew I wasn't going to back down. I knew where I needed to go and my intended goal...but so did he. As I got closer I knew he would scamper...btw love that I could use that word in a sentence. I got about 10 feet away and he came around the corner and stood in the middle of MY path. Seeing as every cat I have come across would scamper every time you approach them. This one didn't. I took two more steps and he charged me. Trust me, it would have done me great pleasure to field goal that sucker...but he ran right at me and then sprinted by me to get to his destination. I watched as I saw a dumb animal do what he had to, to get to get to it's destination. What I expected to see didn't happen. He didn't look down the path and see me... a big obstacle... and run away. He didn't desire to go down the path I was, see what he was faced with, see what he might have to encounter, see what might be his death... cuz trust me... I hate cats... but I admired this one.

How many times do we back down when we see where we not only want to go but need to when we see something of a greater challenge in our way? You have every right to get to your destination as it does. Sadly enough...some of those things have been sent on assignment to knock you off that intended path. So? What do you do? Charge it. Run and keep your eyes on your goal. If a cat can look at a 235 pound dude and run toward where he is going and not back down? I think we need to ... I can't believe I am going to say this... I think we can learn from a cat.


"If you can match the Giant within you to the Giant your facing...then it's a fair fight!"

A Word

Words really can't describe what I have been through, what I have put my family through and how I have stretched my relationships to the breaking point. There is no reason for me to go into detail because detail is what is being taken in repairing my family and home. There comes a time in your life where nothing seems to take on what would be described as clarity. Even the word "Clear" is defined as "Easy to perceive, understand or interpret". Not even close to my life definition at that time. You can get yourself to the place where your and self get separated. Where the repairer needs repair and the doctor needs a doctor. Excuses lost there seat months ago. I am strong and understood and that is an unmeasurable place to be. 

I have and am using this blog to communicate to so many that have checked on April and I. We are good and strong. We have moved to Arkansas and doing incredible. I am going to note every step of our progress on this blog due to our understanding of the call of God on our lives and the road we are on and headed towards are huge. If your asking what you could do for us? Stay connected! The Phipps are not only good... but better than ever. I will post to this blog daily... (clearing my throat) ... try to daily ;)

"What you choose, determines how your chosen"... and btw... your still chosen.