This week is a big week at the Bullard house. Last year we had our home gutted and had everything redone. It turned out amazing and has brought us much joy and will for years to come. Upon completion of the inside, we looked and felt like we wanted to address our backyard. That brings me to today’s blog.
We have been blessed to be in a home that had a pool when we bought it. We have definitely gotten our money’s worth out of the pool because we are in it several times a week when the weather is nice. However, the backyard is over 10 years old since the pool has been installed, and we want to update our backyard. We are having a covered patio area installed and having the concrete on our patio resurfaced. To resurface the patio the workers had to bring grinders to remove the top layer of the current patio. They worked a whole day just grinding away at every part of the patio, and if you understand concrete you know that grinding off the top layer will create a lot of dust. We have dust particles in our pool, all over our garage, some got through the French doors onto our wood floors—it was everywhere. Now, I could have gone out and said, “Stop!” but we would never experience the blessing of a new patio. So, in a few days we will be cleaning everything so that we can get back to normal.
Jesus looked into the lives of every one of us and said that our hearts are covered by sin and need to be resurfaced. It was because of His love for us that He came and willingly died on a cross for us. We all have sins that need to be forgiven, and the work that Jesus did on the cross is all that is required to find forgiveness. If we simply open up our hearts and accept Christ’s gift of forgiveness we will be saved. Now, in the process of forgiveness a lot of dust might be exposed. Things that need to be cleaned up like our language, the way we treat others, what we allow into our minds, and so on, but if you are forgiven you have overcome those things and through the power of the Holy Spirit you are free from them. It may take a while to clean up all the dust, but you will get it cleaned up and the new you will be a wonderful creation in Christ.
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
I Need Tami....
Every year Tami has to go out of town for several weeks because of her job. Luckily, all of her travel for the year is completed by the end of March. Every year it gets harder and harder to let her go because I like having her at home at night even if we’re not doing anything together during the evening. When she is gone I feel lost, and then at night when it’s time to go to sleep it just doesn’t feel right because she is not there. I’m thankful she has such a great job and works with great people, but I love my family and really like it when they are close by.
I have friends and family that I love and I’m committed to. I look forward every week to being able to spend time with them because they are such an important part of my life. They celebrate with me, cry with me, love me, support me, teach me, and so many other things. When I am away from my family I feel lost. My spirit is aware that it’s not getting the things it needs to stay strong and alive.
I have a Savior, His name is Jesus Christ. Every day I should be connecting with Jesus through prayer, meditation, and spending some time in the Bible. Every so often I find the pace of life getting out of hand, and I sacrifice those elements that are most important to my spiritual life. I know that Jesus is just waiting to connect with me, but He is not going to force me to do something that I don’t want to do. When I don’t connect with Jesus on a daily basis I find myself beginning to feel dry and empty inside. I begin to blame others or the church for my misery because I’m not being “fed,” as so many have said through the years. But I need to remember that the most important part of my being fed comes from the time that I’m alone with Jesus. For years I’ve heard that everybody else is to blame, but just as it’s important to make sure I’m close to my family, and as important as it is that I’m close to my friends and family, it’s most important that I’m close to Jesus Christ. Are you the one who will commit to staying close to Christ? What’s the next step you have to take to make that happen? Whatever that step is, do it today!
I have friends and family that I love and I’m committed to. I look forward every week to being able to spend time with them because they are such an important part of my life. They celebrate with me, cry with me, love me, support me, teach me, and so many other things. When I am away from my family I feel lost. My spirit is aware that it’s not getting the things it needs to stay strong and alive.
I have a Savior, His name is Jesus Christ. Every day I should be connecting with Jesus through prayer, meditation, and spending some time in the Bible. Every so often I find the pace of life getting out of hand, and I sacrifice those elements that are most important to my spiritual life. I know that Jesus is just waiting to connect with me, but He is not going to force me to do something that I don’t want to do. When I don’t connect with Jesus on a daily basis I find myself beginning to feel dry and empty inside. I begin to blame others or the church for my misery because I’m not being “fed,” as so many have said through the years. But I need to remember that the most important part of my being fed comes from the time that I’m alone with Jesus. For years I’ve heard that everybody else is to blame, but just as it’s important to make sure I’m close to my family, and as important as it is that I’m close to my friends and family, it’s most important that I’m close to Jesus Christ. Are you the one who will commit to staying close to Christ? What’s the next step you have to take to make that happen? Whatever that step is, do it today!
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
The Thermostat Battle
Have you ever had a battle over the thermostat? I’ve done it for years at home because Tami loves freezing me out of our house whereas I like having a nice moderate temperature. Tami is 68-70 and I’m at 72 in the summer and 70 in the winter. We’ve learned how to function in our house with this system because whoever is by the thermostat changes it to what they want.
Now, the battle of the thermostat is also at the office, and today it had me laughing. As most people know, I do not handle cold weather well, so I like the office at 72. But I can function fine if it’s a little warmer.
All that to say that we all have the temperatures that we like for the room we are in. In the same way, there are temperatures that we like in our spiritual lives. Some of us like it hot—bring on the heat and challenge me—while others are happy with where they are and don’t want to feel the heat. I’m not really comfortable with confrontation, but I understand that the Bible is very confrontational. I have to see myself as a sinner, I have to see how I’ve fallen short, and when I do things that are sinful or destructive I need to be called out and challenged by either the Holy Spirit or by a Christian who loves me. I hope you know that I love each of you! I love you enough to do the tough thing, to call you out if you are living in rebellion.
Now, the battle of the thermostat is also at the office, and today it had me laughing. As most people know, I do not handle cold weather well, so I like the office at 72. But I can function fine if it’s a little warmer.
All that to say that we all have the temperatures that we like for the room we are in. In the same way, there are temperatures that we like in our spiritual lives. Some of us like it hot—bring on the heat and challenge me—while others are happy with where they are and don’t want to feel the heat. I’m not really comfortable with confrontation, but I understand that the Bible is very confrontational. I have to see myself as a sinner, I have to see how I’ve fallen short, and when I do things that are sinful or destructive I need to be called out and challenged by either the Holy Spirit or by a Christian who loves me. I hope you know that I love each of you! I love you enough to do the tough thing, to call you out if you are living in rebellion.
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
A Trip to the Dentist
Since last October I have been going through the process of having a new tooth implant put in. What I thought would be a short process has turned out to last months. I think that the end is in sight, but I’ll find out in two weeks. So what does that have to do with my blog today? Well, today I had to go and have more work done, and I’ve come to enjoy going to see my oral surgeon. Oral surgery has come a long ways from when I was a kid and it is not a bad experience to me.
They begin by giving me laughing gas to relax me. I’m the type of person that gets talkative when I start to relax, so I become very chatty with the nurse assisting the surgeon. After I inhale the laughing gas for about five minutes, the doctor comes in and asks how I’m feeling, knowing full well that I’m feeling pretty good by now. Then a large cotton swab with a numbing agent is placed on my gum to numb it before he begins injecting the numbing medicine to numb my mouth. By the time he is finished with the numbing injections he could repeatedly punch me in the mouth and I’d never know it. Good stuff! Lol. Now I’m ready for the dental work to be done.
After about 15 or 20 minutes the work was complete, and I never felt one bit of pain or discomfort during the entire process. As he was working on me today I was thinking that this dentist could do anything he wanted to the inside of my mouth, and I’d never know it until later in the day when all the numbing medication started wearing off. I’m in a state of totally trusting that he has my mouth’s best interest in everything that he does during this procedure.
That brings me to the lesson that I learned today. As I go through life I can become numb to things in the world that go against what the Bible teaches me. I can begin to fall into the lie that the Bible really doesn’t mean what it says because it was written during a different period of human history. And when I begin falling into that lie I find myself living a life that is not pleasing to God. I can’t allow myself to become numb to the truths found in the Bible but instead must resist the attempt of society to redefine my faith. It may be uncomfortable because people are going to think you are a Christian fanatic, but you’re not here for the approval of man. The only words I look forward to hearing when this life is done will come from Jesus Christ: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant!”
They begin by giving me laughing gas to relax me. I’m the type of person that gets talkative when I start to relax, so I become very chatty with the nurse assisting the surgeon. After I inhale the laughing gas for about five minutes, the doctor comes in and asks how I’m feeling, knowing full well that I’m feeling pretty good by now. Then a large cotton swab with a numbing agent is placed on my gum to numb it before he begins injecting the numbing medicine to numb my mouth. By the time he is finished with the numbing injections he could repeatedly punch me in the mouth and I’d never know it. Good stuff! Lol. Now I’m ready for the dental work to be done.
After about 15 or 20 minutes the work was complete, and I never felt one bit of pain or discomfort during the entire process. As he was working on me today I was thinking that this dentist could do anything he wanted to the inside of my mouth, and I’d never know it until later in the day when all the numbing medication started wearing off. I’m in a state of totally trusting that he has my mouth’s best interest in everything that he does during this procedure.
That brings me to the lesson that I learned today. As I go through life I can become numb to things in the world that go against what the Bible teaches me. I can begin to fall into the lie that the Bible really doesn’t mean what it says because it was written during a different period of human history. And when I begin falling into that lie I find myself living a life that is not pleasing to God. I can’t allow myself to become numb to the truths found in the Bible but instead must resist the attempt of society to redefine my faith. It may be uncomfortable because people are going to think you are a Christian fanatic, but you’re not here for the approval of man. The only words I look forward to hearing when this life is done will come from Jesus Christ: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant!”
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Celebrating Life!
Today is a day of celebration because we are celebrating life: the birth of a new granddaughter who by God’s grace will bring us years of laughter, joy, and wonderful memories. Haven Grace is planned to come into this world at noon and she will be welcomed into two families who will love her and spoil her. Yes, there will be the tears from falling and skinning a knee, or the times when we will worry because she doesn’t feel well, but I know there will be many times we sit back and just watch her as she enjoys growing up. My biggest prayer for our new granddaughter is that she is healthy all of her days, learns about the love of Jesus at an early age, and asks the Lord to be her Savior. We are so blessed to have two beautiful granddaughters – PaPa and MiMi are proud grandparents!
Just as we are ready to celebrate this precious new life coming into our family…we are celebrating the life and legacy of Tami’s grandmother, Velma Lebsack. Last week the family was informed that Tami’s 98-year-old grandmother was not doing well and is not expected to be with us much longer. Tami and I made a trip down to Granbury to see her last week along with the rest of the family. We are going to grieve when she passes away, but not in a bad way. Our grieving will be because we will miss her… but we will also be celebrating her life, as she has left a wonderful heritage and legacy for her family. Grandma Lebsack has lived a full and wonderful life that is worthy of celebrating.
I met Grandma Lebsack when Tami’s dad came to pastor the church that I grew up in. He was an only child, so once he accepted the position as senior pastor of the church it didn’t take long for his retired parents to make their way to South Bend to check out the new home. Her grandparents always sat in the same seats whenever they would visit. They stayed in a small apartment that the church had on the property, so it was easy to run into them. Both Grandpa and Grandma Lebsack were preachers… so I often had the opportunity to listen to her preach and teach. She was an amazing preacher and teacher. She was loving, easy to talk to, a great listener, and an unbelievable baker. Once I got into the family she taught me how to make her famous cinnamon rolls!
After Tami and I got married, when Grandpa and Grandma Lebsack visited us they would take over the kitchen and cook for us. I’ll never forget the time Grandma came to watch our kids when Tami and I took a vacation to celebrate our 20th anniversary. She was a widow by then and in her mid-eighties, but she didn’t hesitate when we asked if she would watch Krystal and Caleb (15 and 10 years old). The kids loved her and the church helped out, but it was a special time when Krystal and Caleb really got to know their great-grandmother. When we returned, Krystal made us promise that she’d never have to ride with Grandma driving a car ever again (another story for another time – ha!).
I could go on and on about Haven Grace and Grandma Lebsack, but I was just reminded of how quickly life comes and goes. Celebrate every aspect of it because you never know what tomorrow holds. And celebrate it by passing down the faith that has been passed down to you. Grandma is a spiritual pillar of our family and that same faith she has was passed down to a son, his daughters, their sons and daughters, and now to the fifth generation of children. What a great legacy!
Just as we are ready to celebrate this precious new life coming into our family…we are celebrating the life and legacy of Tami’s grandmother, Velma Lebsack. Last week the family was informed that Tami’s 98-year-old grandmother was not doing well and is not expected to be with us much longer. Tami and I made a trip down to Granbury to see her last week along with the rest of the family. We are going to grieve when she passes away, but not in a bad way. Our grieving will be because we will miss her… but we will also be celebrating her life, as she has left a wonderful heritage and legacy for her family. Grandma Lebsack has lived a full and wonderful life that is worthy of celebrating.
I met Grandma Lebsack when Tami’s dad came to pastor the church that I grew up in. He was an only child, so once he accepted the position as senior pastor of the church it didn’t take long for his retired parents to make their way to South Bend to check out the new home. Her grandparents always sat in the same seats whenever they would visit. They stayed in a small apartment that the church had on the property, so it was easy to run into them. Both Grandpa and Grandma Lebsack were preachers… so I often had the opportunity to listen to her preach and teach. She was an amazing preacher and teacher. She was loving, easy to talk to, a great listener, and an unbelievable baker. Once I got into the family she taught me how to make her famous cinnamon rolls!
After Tami and I got married, when Grandpa and Grandma Lebsack visited us they would take over the kitchen and cook for us. I’ll never forget the time Grandma came to watch our kids when Tami and I took a vacation to celebrate our 20th anniversary. She was a widow by then and in her mid-eighties, but she didn’t hesitate when we asked if she would watch Krystal and Caleb (15 and 10 years old). The kids loved her and the church helped out, but it was a special time when Krystal and Caleb really got to know their great-grandmother. When we returned, Krystal made us promise that she’d never have to ride with Grandma driving a car ever again (another story for another time – ha!).
I could go on and on about Haven Grace and Grandma Lebsack, but I was just reminded of how quickly life comes and goes. Celebrate every aspect of it because you never know what tomorrow holds. And celebrate it by passing down the faith that has been passed down to you. Grandma is a spiritual pillar of our family and that same faith she has was passed down to a son, his daughters, their sons and daughters, and now to the fifth generation of children. What a great legacy!
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