DOUG DUGGINS

I think this is great from a 6 year old. I am bias though.

Here's a look at the outside of the new East Worship Center. I think the stucco work looks great. I am so excited and can not wait to get into the bigger area for adults and kids. The space is going to be awesome. Watching God fill it up will be even more awesome.

What my boys learned today:

I was watching an interesting show on Discovery Health the other day that I just can’t get out of my head. It was about a woman who weighed 637 pounds and was getting gastric bypass surgery. Most doctors wouldn’t do this because of the complications, but a doctor at Duke did anyway. Afterwards there were many complications. During one of the interviews with her doctor, he said that she was malnourished. This lady weighed over 500 pounds at the time yet she was malnourished. This is not something we would typically associate with someone that size. But check out the definition of malnourished:

“Affected by improper nutrition or an insufficient diet”

There were so many complications after surgery she just couldn’t eat enough food to stay nourished and healthy. Sure she was loosing weight but it was also killing her. She ended up on a feeding tube to force feed her the nutrition she needed. After months of recovery she was able to come home for good and was well on her way to many more years of a more fulfilling life.

Anyway, this made me think that so many of us who call ourselves Christ followers are also malnourished. Our daily time in prayer and our personal study of God’s Word is improper and insufficient. I am talking about myself as much as I am talking to others. Check out this survey, I read on tonymorganlive.com, of Christian business owners and leaders:

· 31% were dissatisfied with their relationship with God.
· 30% were dissatisfied with their prayer and devotional time.
· 68% indicated they’ve been very or moderately stressed in the past 6 months.

Wow I know exactly how they feel. When I am dissatisfied with my relationship with God, my prayer time and my personal study time I feel stress in all areas of my life. Many of those who work and serve at the church are guilty of this type of improper nutrition. We act like we have it all together but we’re really just as stressed out as most other people and it is killing us. Check out what Paul says to Timothy about this:

If you explain these things to the brothers and sisters, Timothy, you will be a worthy servant of Christ Jesus, one who is nourished by the message of faith and the good teaching you have followed. 1 Timothy 4:6

If we are to be good, worthy leaders in our church, in our home, in our workplace, within our network of friends and in our communities we have to be nourished by God. We have to find ways to reduce the stress in our life and increase the amount of proper nutrition from God. I think for many of us we have to make the decision to put the feeding tube in and force ourselves to spend the proper time in prayer and a sufficient time studying God’s word. We need to turn the TV off, turn the DVR off, turn the computer off, turn the Xbox, PS3 or whatever off, turn the phone(s) off, turn the kids off, turn the spouse off, turn the job off, and just focus on our relationship with our Creator. Because if that relationship fails then the all of our relationships and everything else fails.

For me I need to do many of these things including TV, DVR, computer, get up way before the kids, go to bed way earlier, just to start. Believe me this will be a force feeding. However, I know that my life will be more fulfilling as a result.

What do you need to turn off so you will not be a malnourished Christ follower?

Tonight I was letting the boys have some computer time. They beg for computer time. It blows my mind that they are not even 5 years old and use the computer without any help from me. All I do in open the internet and go to pbskids.org (a great site for small kids). Then I set the timer and leave the room. They point and click and play whatever games they want to. Did I mention they’re only 4 and a half?

That makes me think back to my first time using a computer on my own. I was a freshman in college and needed to write a paper for English 101. So I was 18 my first time. I am sure many of you kids reading this were much younger than I was your first time using a computer. At the same time some of the more mature readers may have been a little older.

This may not seem fair because the younger generation has had more opportunities at a younger age to use a computer. But that will not be an issue for much longer. After all Apple has been around for 25 years now.

Maybe you are a computer whiz. I would like to take a survey and hear your story. When was your first time using a computer by yourself? Leave a comment or send me and email and I’ll post it for all to see.

I know coming from one of the pastors you would expect to hear that but I really do. Even if I didn’t work for High Rock I would attend here.

Last night we had a Baptism and Lord’s Supper service in Kannapolis. This was an amazing night. We baptized 6 people, took communion together and then had a time of sharing.

If you have never been to a communion service at High Rock then dang, you don’t know what you’re missing. No one can explain to you how God’s Spirit fills you during this time. Then we also had 6 people announce to the world their acceptance of God’s gift of salvation and commitment to follow Jesus. That kind of stuff never gets old. The time if sharing makes my heart melt because of the kind words that are expressed and the evidence of changed lives standing and thanking God for this group of believers we call High Rock. Also, that never gets old.

Do what you have to for our next Lord’s Supper and Baptism, at any campus, just don’t miss it. I promise you will not regret it.

Or at least that’s how I felt I looked earlier today. The kids (3 under 5) and I ran a few errands this morning. One of the places we went was Auto Zone. We needed some wiper blades for the mini Van (the most practical vehicle for families with small kids). So when we walk in the associate asked me if he could help me find anything. I had noticed some wiper blades already but wasn’t sure what size because the owners manual didn’t give a replacement part number (I hate that), so I said sure. Gave him the info and choose a part. He was feeling a ton of pity on me so he even went and got the replacement blades for me. While I was keeping the kids rounded up he was ringing me out and as I paid him, he asked me this question “Do you need any help putting these on?” I felt like I must have looked like an idiot. Maybe I was for taking three kids into Auto Zone by my self. But here I am with a 4 year Mechanical Engineering degree, years of experience working with mechanical systems, and love changing the cars oil myself. This guy doesn’t know me so he couldn’t have known.

It made me think that all too often we think of God as an idiot. I know no one would ever say it out loud. But every time we choose not to include God and allow God to lead every area of our life that is exactly what we are saying. Even though God has all the answers, the experience and the perfect plan we often choose not to allow him to do what only he can do, fill our lives with joy and peace. Maybe we think that we got ourselves into this mess and we need to get ourselves out. Or we can just handle it on our own, or it’s too small for God to worry about. Or maybe we just don’t like what God has planned for us.

If we really knew God then we would never think this way. In Jeremiah 29:11-13 God promises us that he has a plan for us and it will be perfect, when we talk to Him and ask for help he will listen. However, we must seek God with ALL OUR HEART.

What do you need to wholeheartedly seek God with today?