Tweeting on Twitter seems to be the big thing right now. I have an account and some followers but I’m sure my followers don’t know I’m there because I never tweet. I do not have a Blackberry or the equivalent to use to tweet on the run. It seems you have to have something like that for it to be fun. By the time, I get around to getting something to twitter with, it will be out dated.

I was thinking about Twitter and tweeting today and imagined what it would have been like if Jesus had, had a Blackberry and a Twitter account. His tweets would probably have been something like this:

{ Note: If you don’t know anything about Twitter and tweeting you may noy understand this. Try substituting tweeting for Jesus updating His status, if you are a facebooker.

I just turned over some tables and whipped a few people at the temple.

Spent a few minutes with Moses and Elijah. It really messed with Peter.

Healed a blind man with some dirt and spit.

I love you!

A prostitute washed my feet with perfume and her hair. That stirred up the religious guys at the table.

I just called some religious stuff-shirts snakes and hypocrites.

Somebody just dropped a crippled man through the roof. I healed him.

Forgave a woman caught in the act of adultery. You should have seen those religious guys drop their rocks and walk away.

Peter just cut off a soldier’s ear. I put it back on.

Took Peter fishing. Caught a couple boatloads.

Found a soldier with real faith. I healed his servant without going to his house.

Raised a widow’s son from the dead.

I just called Peter Satan and told him to get behind me. Read the story later for more details.

Fed 5000 people with a kid’s crackers and sardines.

Going to the well to meet a thirsty woman. I’ll tell her about water that will quench her thirst forever.

Spent the night talking with my Father.

A mob just tried to stone me but I got away.

Going to the cross to die for your sin.

Just got up from the dead. Told you I would!

Will you follow me?

I could put hundreds more but you catch my drift. Some in our society seem to think Jesus was somewhat boring. I don’t think so! You may not be able to follow Him on Twitter but you can definitely follow Him. It’s an adventure!

Friendship is a valuable and rare commodity. Everyone needs at least one but some people have none. I am not talking about acquaintances or casual friends. We all have those. Friendship goes much deeper. A true friend is that person or people that you can reveal the ugliest part of yourself to and they are un-wavered in their love for you and acceptance of you.

Friends truly care about what is happening in your life. They are willing to get involved in the messiness of your life to offer encouragement and advice. They know when to just listen and offer a shoulder to cry on and they know when it is time to speak up.

Friends love unconditionally. We have all known those fair-weather friends that are there until you mess up. True friends love you no matter what. Friendship will stand the test of time. Like gold, it becomes more pure when the heat is on. They have the ability to love you even when they do not agree with your choices in life. They will not enable you but they will love you.

Friends forgive easily. Every friendship faces challenges. At times, things happen that require forgiveness for the relationship to move forward. True friends forgive and they do not keep a laundry list of wrongs.

*(Note from the author: Forgiveness does not mean that a person should remain in a friendship, where abuse of any sort is continues and the relationship has become toxic, for the sake of forgiveness. In such a case, forgive and remove yourself from the relationship. That is not a mutually loving , true friendship anyway)

Friends are not jealous. A true friend celebrates the good things that happen in your life. They do not begrudge the good fortune that comes to you but celebrate it as though it happened to them. They are happy for you when good things happen even when they know you do not deserve it.

Friends can be trusted. You can reveal the deepest hurts, disappointments, and mistakes in your life and know they are safe. A true friend can be trusted with your heart. They will not trample it or manipulate it. When they tell you something that may hurt, you can trust that it is out of pure love for you. When they compliment you, you know they are genuine in it.

Friends are not selfish. They are not in it only for what they get out of it. They would give you the shirt off their back if you needed it. They call just to check on you. When they ask how you are doing it is because they truly care and not a token question before they get to what they need. Friends give of time and attention without complaining. When you talk, they really listen because they love you as they love themselves. They will pray for you as if for themselves.

Friends love you more than they love you loving them. True friends will risk the relationship to tell you something about yourself that others would dare not say. They are willing to lose you as a friend to help you. They will say it with love, humility and at times with tears but never with arrogance. They will not flatter you. They will frequently share the positive things about you and be genuine in doing it. This way, when they have to share the negative, you know the motive is pure.

Those kinds of friends are rare. If you have one, cherish it and be that kind of friend back. If you do not have one, this may be helpful. The wisest man that ever lived said if you want a friend be friendly. Are we willing to be for someone what you want someone to be for you? Friendship is a relationship that requires two people mutually giving and receiving. Maybe you desire that kind of friendship from someone that does not reciprocate. You may have to let it go to find another. 

My advice would be to pray, be patient and be friendly. The Bible says we reap what we sow. Sow lots of friendly seeds. Some will blossom into friendly acquaintances, some into casual friends but a couple seeds will blossom into the kind of deep friendship that is rare but true. Sow the seeds of friendliness, water it with prayer, and wait. True friendship does not happen instantly. It has to have time to grow. It will face challenges. If it makes it through the challenges, it will blossom into a wonderful friendship. May God turn your seeds of friendliness into a wonderful harvest of casual friends and a couple “True to Heart” friends!

From childhood, I was, taught by my parents to respect God and to respect people. We were not a church going family though. I remember spending many weekends in States across the south at the softball field. The company my dad owned sponsored a semi-pro fast pitch softball team so we traveled a lot. His company also sponsored a racecar that Brad Teague drove so we went to many races. My childhood was, filled with adventures, which meshed well with my adventuresome personality.

My High School years were full of adventure too, many of which were of my own making that involved some unwise choices. Those were the wonder years. It is a wonder that I am still alive. One thing I always loved was that my friends always loved to hang out at my house. Mom always saw to it that there was a welcoming, comfortable, fun atmosphere at the house for all of our friends.

When I turned 18, I decided it was time for me to become a man and move out of the house. I got my own place. It was not what I thought it would be. When the parties were over, everyone went home and I was lonely. Some kids that lived next to me told me one evening that someone had died in my home and that the people that lived there before me said they could hear chains rattling in the night. Here I was 18 and becoming a man and I was scared spit less. I would lie in bed listening as every little sound was magnified and in my mind had become the sounds of the booger man. I moved back home after the first month. Those kids are, probably still laughing to this day.

It was after High School that I discovered a real problem. My drinking had gotten out of control. I was no longer just drinking to party I was drinking alone almost everyday and had become addicted to speed. I could feel myself spiraling out of control. I never thought it would happen to me. I was one that liked to live on the edge but I had the feeling that I had fallen off the edge.

One guy I partied with was found dead in a ditch by his house after a party one night. Another had been admitted to a rehab facility after an overdose on another night. Yet another went to jail after selling drugs to an undercover officer. I could easily be next. I started to ask myself how I had gotten in such a pitiful shape. I vowed on several occasions to stop the drugs and drinking. The problem was it did not last more than a few days and then I was right back where I started.

Something happened that really got my attention. I had a cousin that was 16 years old when she died of leukemia on my 21^st birthday. She was a follower of Christ and that interested me. Though I knew little about what that meant, I started to learn more. I had learned the basics when I was younger. I knew that Jesus died and rose from the dead but I really did not know how that related to me.

I became very troubled about my need for Jesus in my life. I thought about it all the time, even when I was drinking. I needed what my cousin had but I was not sure I wanted to or even could give up the lifestyle I had adopted. My lifestyle was dangerous and adventurous. It was fun with the exception of when it wasn’t. Yet it was killing me. I had a friend we called Hoss that reminded me on occasion that I was going to hell. I would usually laugh him off but deep inside I was scared. I was afraid to die because I had a sneaking suspicion he was right.

I could not figure out what was going on in me but I kept feeling strangely drawn to Jesus. Why would he even want me? I also had noticed that for some odd reason, I was getting to know more people who were actually Christians. That was unusual seeing that my usual crowd was not into Jesus. My friend that had overdosed and almost died came back to town telling everybody that he had Jesus in his life. I was getting mega doses of Jesus but I had not done anything different. It was almost as though Jesus was stalking me.

I had gotten to know a guy that I went to school with who was somewhat older than I was. Most of the people I ran with were somewhat older than me but he was different. You got it, he was a Christian and he played and sang gospel music. This was starting to freak me out. I now was fully convinced that I had a stalker and His name was Jesus.

There was a local radio station that played gospel music and I knew they played songs by the guy I had gotten to know. I decided to turn the radio on in my hippie van one day and see if I could hear him. I definitely got more than I bargained for. As soon as I turned the radio on, the DJ preacher introduced a song by none other than this guy. It was crazy. As I listened to him sing about Jesus, I started to cry. Would Jesus really forgive me for all the terrible things I had done? Would He really come into my life and make me new? Was that even possible?

As I went down the road wiping tears, the next thing that happened totally freaked me out. After the song the DJ preacher said, “I feel like Jesus is drawing someone to him right now and the person I am speaking of is driving down the road right now. Jesus wants you and you want Him. Just pull off to the side of the road and invite Him into your life.” I thought, “How crazy is this” as the tears poured. Could this really be happening? Now?

I pulled my van off to the side of the road and cried, “Jesus save me!” I did not know how to pray so I just asked for what I wanted at that moment. After I cried out to Jesus, it felt like a thousand pounds lifted off me. I knew at that moment my sin was forever, forgiven. The heavy weight of sin and guilt was gone. It was the most awesome thing. I knew I had, been made new. Don’t ask me how I knew, I just knew. I reached under the seat of my van and pulled out the bottle of Jack Daniels, and threw it out the window. I got the roach from my ash trey and threw it out. I got the bag of speed and threw it out too. I just had a feeling that I would not need that stuff anymore.

The next weeks and months were unbelievably different. I talked to Jesus all the time. He was for sure my Savior but He was also my best friend. It was not long before my entire family had opened their lives to Him. Then, one by one, several friends did the same. I prayed for 5 months for God to send me a Christian girl and He did. She is now my lovely wife. We now have three children who know Jesus too.

Since I met Jesus, I have not always made wise choices. I have done things that I am not proud of but one thing I know for sure, I am a forgiven man. I am, loved by Him and I am valuable to Him. I am forever grateful that He even allows me to serve Him. I am who I am today because of Him. The life of a follower of Christ is not easy. There are struggles and difficulties but there is peace and joy as well. I am weak but He is strong. I love Him!

I will one day spend eternity with Him in heaven, not because of what I have done but because of what He has done for me.

If you do not know Him personally, now would be a great time to call on Him.

My thoughts and prayers are with those of you who have young children going back to school. As I prayed for you today, my mind went back to my own “back to school” adventures with my kids. I will share one such adventurewith you.

I remember vividly when our oldest daughter Nikki started school. It was quite an adventure and a very emotional one at that. Nikki always loved to learn. When she was old enough to sit and watch Sesame Street, we could not pry her from the television. I thought then that it would be a breeze when it came time for her to attend school. That would not prove to be the case.

It was approaching time for school to start and it would be her first year. Carla and I tried to make it sound fun. We made a fun day out of going to purchase school supplies and we tried to build it up as positive as possible. Nikki was never convinced. She let us know she was not excited about it but we shared with her that there was no other option on the table.

The first day of school came and Carla and I were sick about sending her. Taking Nikki to school was probably the hardest thing I had ever done to that point in my life and she did not intend on making it any easier. She did not want to go and everyone within a mile of us knew it. It was obvious to me that Sesame Street could not help at this point. Where was Big Bird when I needed him most?

Nikki made the first day seem tame as the days went on. She seemed to pick up steam with her refusal to go to school over the next few days. Her resolve was strengthening and mine was weakening. She almost had me convinced that she didn’t need to go. A book could not contain all the reasons she came up with for not going.

It was nearing the end of her first week. She still cried as if we were the most abusive parents in the world for making her go. On this particular day, we got her dressed and ready for school, which was a major challenge in itself. I took her out to the car kicking and screaming. On the way to school, she begged me not to make her go. I tried to reason with her but I knew it was useless. When we pulled into the school parking lot, I got out and reached in to get her. She jumped into the back seat out of arms reach while still begging. I was in tears at this point. I went to the back door, opened it, and reached in to get her when she bolted like a rocket to the front seat.

This went on for a few leaps when I finally caught her by the waist. I can only imagine what it looked like for onlookers as I ran from the front car door to the rear, over and over trying to catch her. As I started to pull her out, she grabbed the headrest and held on for dear life. I had to pry her little fingers off to get her out of the car. Finally, out of the car, we walked into the school. She had her legs and arms wrapped as far around me as she could with her fists clenched onto the back of my shirt. She was still begging and crying as if she would never see us again. I was crying but trying to hold it back as best I could as we walked into the room. The teacher tried to talk to her and gently pull her from me but it was not going to happen. She clung to me with all the strength she had, which was much more than I knew she had.

I walked out of the school with Nikki still clinging to me, got in the car and drove home. When I walked in the front door with her, I told Carla that if Nikki were going to go to school that day, she would have to take her. Then I walked straight to my bedroom, laid down on the bed and cried like a baby.

In the days ahead, Nikki finally accepted the fact that she had to go. I shared with her that since she had to go she might as well have a positive attitude about it and enjoy it. I am glad to say that she finally took my advice and became an excellent student. She graduated from High School and is now working and going to college.

I want to offer a word of encouragement to all you parents out there. Your weeping will turn to joy. You will one day look back on these days with fond memories and even laugh about some of the things that are so painful right now. Hang in there!