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Our son, Brandon, graduates from high school in a few weeks. I am writing letters of wisdom and advice to him that I hope will encourage him to live a life that pleases God. I hope these letters encourage you as well.

Dear Brandon,

I am so happy for you. This time of your life is a wonderful time with a new horizon every day. Your world is opening up to new experiences and great possibilities. One of the great joys of youth is that it is so filled with hope. No dream seems to too big. No risk seems too great. You have not fully plumbed the depths of your responsibilities so things are fun and life is good. Big mirth and tiny girth – nothing wrong with that picture.

So many people waste their youth and all their youthful opportunities. They become self-indulgent, thoughtless, sluggardly, aimless, and narcissistic. They pursue that which matters little and sacrifice that which matters most. They learn too late that it is not all about them. Some never figure out that the happiest people are those whose lives are spent pursuing God and a noble cause. Those who give themselves to something bigger are never smaller for it. They, in fact, are the rare ones who live the biggest lives.

Solomon told us that God has put eternity in the heart of every man. I believe that means we have a divine spark and yearn for meaning, truth, and God. It means that we long for doing something that matters. It means that in the deepest recesses of our soul we know that there is more to life than merely existing. We want to do something that lives on. It is where dreams come from.

I want to challenge you to “lift your eyes unto the hills” and find your purpose. Find your meaning and pursue it with a passion that is reserved for only the greatest men. Give yourself to a noble cause. Prepare. Strengthen yourself. Arm yourself with knowledge. Lift the sword of resolve and strike a mighty death-blow to any and every obstacle that threatens your way. Live it. Love it. Nurture your cause, your gift, and your passion. Do not wait. Pursue it now. Give yourself utterly and completely to it. Let your life be spent so that at the end you have nothing left. Then you will ascend the steps of the heavenly city and hang your sword on the glistening wall like a warrior whose thirst has been fully slaked by the sweet taste of victory.

I believe in you, my son. You are a warrior and a champion in waiting. You have what it takes to be great. Keep your eyes on the mission for you are a dream chaser.

Now pick up your weapon. Your dreams are waiting.

Much love,
Dad

This past Saturday I took Kim, Brooke, and one of her friends to the Georgia Renaissance Festival in Fairburn, GA. I had never been before and had always thought that it would be fun to go. I am glad I went but I can definitely check that off of my list. I seriously doubt I will ever go again. It was kind of like graduating from High School; you are glad it happened but you might have a meltdown if you had to do it again and there are fun things, weird things, and totally annoying things about the whole experience.

The Fun – I love movies, books, art, and museums that are set in that particular historical time period. The buildings were great, the food was interesting, the festival atmosphere was fun, the shops were good, the artisans, perfumers, and carvers were cool, and the actors were dressed in smart outfits.

The Weird – The people who dressed in costumes that were not employees, the many women who dressed in costumes that looked like a cross between Tinkerbell and a hooker, and the weird fake British accents. I swear it felt like a geek fest/sci-fi convention for people who like dressing like Henry VIII and do very bad impersonations of James Bond.

The Annoying – The way the employees/actors kept acting like they were in a time warp by answering my questions with, “In your century….” After about 15 times of that I wanted to punch someone in the mouth and ask them how that felt in “their” century. The weird guy at the perfumer that kept telling every woman he saw that he was going to “moon” them was especially annoying. He had some weird fragrance that smelled like pine bark, mushrooms, and wet dog that he called “moon.” I had to buy $50 worth of fragrances just to get that smell off of us. But the most annoying thing of all was the clueless, redneck woman who changed her baby’s diaper on the table where everyone ate. As if it were not enough that she did that while everybody was staring her down and making loud comments about her, she then proceeded to CHANGE THE DIAPER OF HER FOUR-YEAR-OLD!

Hey, weird accent, perfume guy, does that not violate some health code in your century?

Ritchie

I am speaking at The Edge church planting conference for the Alabama Baptist Convention. The conference is being held in Elberta, Alabama. I spoke once yesterday and will speak twice today.

While I was running yesterday I saw this bus and I just had to take a picture of it. I think it may be the bus my children rode to school. I definitely know some kids that should ride this bus. Funny.

Ritchie

Does your kid ride this bus?

We had a great weekend. The services at church were great as usual. On Friday Brandon and Lacey went to their senior prom. Here are a few pics.

Brandon looking silly

Brandon Miller and Lacey Chupp

Brandon and Lacey

Brooke (our 13 year old) and Lacey

Have a great day!

Ritchie

Our son, Brandon, graduates from high school in a few weeks. I am writing letters of wisdom and advice to him that I hope will encourage him to live a life that pleases God. I am sharing some of them with you hoping that it might inspire and encourage you as well.

Letter # 7 - Loving your woman

Dear Brandon,

No matter how many times some things are explained to me they remain a mystery. I understand the science behind flight but it still amazes me. I do not understand how the human eye can see or how a high definition image can be transmitted into my living room. Even though I do not fully understand these things I really, really enjoy them. There are some who try to explain the mystery out of everything. Personally, besides being a total buzz-kill, I think they rob us of some of the enjoyment of complex things.

It has been said of Solomon that he was the wisest man ever to live. Here is what he said about mystery:

“There are three things that amaze me—no, four things that I don’t understand: how an eagle glides through the sky, how a snake slithers on a rock, how a ship navigates the ocean, how a man loves a woman.” Proverbs 30:18-19 (NLT)

We live in a time when there are lots of self-anointed gurus trying to sell their snake oil about how men should castrate their emotions and replace them with a woman’s. They try to convince us that being a man is a bad thing and that sensitivity is the cure-all and that men are emotionally handicapped until they discover their feminine side. They tell us that women should behave more like men and we should erase our differences so that we can all be from the same planet.

I say that if you want to be happy, son, don’t erase the differences, but rather, embrace them. Hold the mystery in your arms. You will never fully understand it. Sure, you should learn as much as you can but at the end of the day just enjoy it. Don’t over-analyze it. Just accept and love your woman.

In my opinion God was at His best when He created woman. I am so glad that He gave us marriage and love. What I want for you is a life spent pursuing a great dream, living boldly, and loving your woman. When you get married you will be responsible for loving her, protecting her, pursuing her, sanctifying her, providing for her, and knowing her. There will be bumps in the road but do not let that throw you. You will not always understand her or know what to say. There will be times that you will scratch your head and wonder what just happened. Do not let that bother you. Stay in. Love her. Talk to her. Hold her. Listen to her and learn to hear what she is really saying. Do not ever give your heart to another. Lead her and love her like this and she will follow you until she draws her last breath.

Take it from your dad, son, you will never fully understand her but that is okay. Embrace the mystery. Perhaps the greatest things in life are not meant to be understood. They are meant to amaze us.

Love, Dad

In my Bible reading this morning I read the passage in Joshua that was near the end of Joshua’s life. He was challenging the nation of Israel to stay in covenant with Yahweh and to worship only Him. In this passage he made the famous declaration that, “I don’t know what you boys are going to do, but as for me and my house, we are going to serve the LORD (Jehovah/Yahweh).” That is a powerful and inspirational challenge to me.

The thing that most spoke to me, however, was an odd statement that really got me to thinking. In his description of how Yahweh had delivered Israel from slavery and their enemies Joshua told them that it was not the power of their own swords – it was not their own strength, money, influence, ingenuity, or cunning – that delivered them. He said that God sent terror before them to drive out their enemies. Often, this word is translated hornets. Although the meaning of the word is uncertain (it could have been literal hornets, a foreign army, or simply the terror of what they were hearing about the Israelites) the meaning is very clear; God can use irrational fear to defeat the enemies of the purpose of God. He used it many times throughout the Scriptures to fulfill His purpose. He made the Egyptians afraid of their slaves, the Israelites. He made an entire army afraid of a teenage boy with a sling and five stones. He made a Middle Eastern king afraid of three Hebrew slaves who just would not burn when he threw them into a blazing furnace. When it comes to accomplishing His purpose He can and will use fear and irrational thinking on the part of your enemies to deliver.

He can do the same thing for you.

Be careful to remember that God uses this fear to accomplish His purpose, not yours. Sometimes His purpose is accomplished through sickness and sometimes through healing. Sometimes it is accomplished through a job loss and sometimes through a promotion. The point is that He is in control and you can trust Him!

So the next time you are afraid just remember that Paul wrote, “God has not given us a spirit of fear.” There are repeated admonitions in the Old and New Testaments not to fear, not to be afraid. You do not have to be afraid. The enemies of God’s purpose, on the other hand, should be very afraid.

So seize the day. You don’t have to be afraid. In fact, they are probably a lot more afraid of you than you are of them. Cool, huh?

Ritchie

On Easter weekend Avalon Church volunteers did two Avalon HOPE services in which we served hundreds of families in need with food, Easter baskets for children, a musical presentation by our children’s ministry, and a brief Easter service. 145 people received Christ at this event. Here are a few pictures of the day. For more pictures click here.

I am so proud of our church! You guys rock!

Ritchie

Rosina and the first three girls

A couple of years ago Avalon Church became one of the first churches to sponsor the Children’s Resiliency Project. We gave money to help buy the land and build the first home for this project. Dr. Bob Graham and his wife Joanna have moved to South Africa, bought land in Pietermaritzburg, built buildings, worked with the local government, raised money, and finally have laid the groundwork for this exhausting project. Just last week they got approved for their first children!

This project is so awesome and I can’t wait for reports of hundreds of children who have had their lives changed forever because of your generosity.

Drop Bob and Joanna (Robert Graham, Jacksonville, FL network) a line on Face Book and let them know that you are praying for them.

Have a great day!

Ritchie

I am off on Fridays. Some people think I am a little off all the time but I mean that Fridays are my Sabbath day. I rest from church work and try to do things that refresh me and get my mind totally off of all that I normally do. I have learned that I must guard my time off if I want to have a long and productive ministry. Truthfully, we seldom see consequences from missing one day off, or one day of working out, or one day not reading the Bible, but if we do not guard these things religiously we will find ourselves in a downward spiral that has great consequences. So I guard my Sabbath religiously.

My plan for today:

• Run (already did it)
• See the doctor for a regular checkup (already did it)
• Work in the yard, edge, and mow
• Read
• Watch a movie
• Whatever the heck I feel like

Have a great day! I plan to.

Ritchie

Today I will meet with the pastors in our coaching network. Once a month we gather and share ideas. I talk about leadership, staffing issues, fund-raising, preaching, church systems, and a host of other things. The network lasts for a year and we have pastors from Georgia, Alabama, and Florida who are in this cycle. Pray for all of these men and their families. Pray that they will be safe in their travels today and that we will learn a lot.

Have a great day!

Ritchie