Introducing Paul Potts...

Ok - Marc and Mariah played this for me tonight and I was blown away! Britian this summer is doing a show called Britian Has Talent. This guy is worth a watch...he is a cell phone salesman that aspires to sing opera. I think he is going to have a chance. You can watch all his videos on youtube.com and I will tell you in advance that he wins the finals (The UK version of the show is only a week long :) And seeing Simon speechless is always nice too.

1 Peter 2:12

"having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation" 1 Peter 2:12

I am sure that you are like me in the fact that you like to display certain pieces of your life. My refrigerator is a collage of those people that are dearest to me. I have pictures of friends and family around my house. Pictures of past missions trips. My cell phone background is picture of Gracie. They are a display of those things which I cherish and love the most.

Our relationship with God is the same. We are God's vessels that He uses as a display to an unbelieving world. We have been entrusted with the responsibility to let God be seen through us. To do this, we have to get out of the way. Our desires have to become God's desires. Our conduct has to become the conduct of God. When that happens, when people see God in our lives by our outward actions - God does a work in their heart.

Don't get confused by these verses. It is important for us to obey and equally as important for us to have our actions honorable. But our motivation cannot be driven by the response of those around us, good or bad. We must be guided by our desire to praise and honor God.

"You are the light of the world, a city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden." Matt 5:14

Does an unbelieving world see you or Jesus?

Great Friends + A Great View = A Fabulous Vacation

I just returned from a fabulous 5 days in the Smokey Mountains. The Ellyson's, the Sirkin's and myself set off to Pigeon Forge this week. First - I can't say thank you enough to Heidi and Michael for inviting me...it was much need. And, if anyone is looking for a relaxing vacation - I highly recommend a cabin in mountains! We had a great condo in Pigeon Forge that was just perfect.

The kids were fabulous and I greatly enjoyed watching their little minds work. Joshua was fascinated with the "big rocks" and he could have spent hours by the mountain stream throwing rocks in the water.

Lee and Micah take after their dad - they love living a little on the wild side. They would climb rocks, play at the edge of the waterfall and would keep us on our toes the entire time.

We had bought a scavenger hunt book that helped us find items along the trails we hiked. You received 50 points for a black bear. Well, on our hike to Laurel Falls we encountered the favorite part of our whole trip. A black bear and her 2 cubs - a whopping 150 points. We watched for a while from the road watching the cubs play and climb the trees and then we headed for the falls only to encounter them again very close to the trial. It was fascinating and definitely one of the highlights from the trip!

And, on our last night - this was the view from our room.

More on 1 Peter from Florida...