barn bash ( a week after)

barn bash continues to grow in many ways, not just in number but also in quality. we had an amazing time this year and are excited to see all the good things continuing to happen after all is said and done. we had over 1500 hundred peole at the event this year. we pumped up the evangelism side of things and had two known people accept Christ for the first time.

forgive and forget

a few weeks ago at a bible study the leader gave this quote "one's ability to forgive an offense is key to one's ability to forget." i am not sure what i think of this quote. sure i think it is great on the surface. sure we should be able to forgive and i think it is important not to continue hashing out the past by continuing to remind yourself of what this person did to harm you. but i wonder if we can possibly forget?

i think everything in life happens for a reason. our reaction to that circumstance will either build us and make us stronger or hurt us and make us weaker. i have also heard for years not to forget history or we would be doomed to repeat it. now i now this might not be a biblical concept, but why should we continue to allow ourselves be susceptible to making another mistake.

forgiveness of course is a biblical concept. first Christ forgave us and in ephesians 4:32 "forgive each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." and psalm 103:12 "as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." and i know this is referring to God forgiving us, and i know it says that he forgets our sins. but how can we as a human forget. is it possible, and if it is possible do i want to forget. shouldnt what we just went through be important enough to remember so it doesnt happen again.

this has been my mind since i have heard this, and at this moment i am not holding onto a grudge, and have forgiven those who have wronged me. at this moment i cant say that i actually remember one either. but i would like to hear from you. what do you think about forgiving and forgetting?

crazy broom lady

i have driven by the same spot atleast 2-4 times a day for the last year. maybe it was that i was in a hurry and did not notice, maybe i was listening to whatever music was playing on my cd player, maybe i am just not as observant as i thought i was.

last month however i noticed her for the first time. her hair was matted and gray. her clothes were dirty and unkempt and she had a broom in her hand. she was sweeping the sidewalk. my first thought, well isnt that nice, someone taking pride in the sidewalks of pulaski. it was a couple days later that i noticed her again. this time she was standing on a bench about 10 feet from where i had seen her the first time. another time i was driving with some teens they referred to her as the crazy broom lady. i asked if she was there often. they laughed and said all the time. they said she has chased many cars off with her broom.

she has been on my heart lately as someone who obviously needs help. i am not sure where she lives but i do know where i can eventually find her. i am not sure if i will ever go up to talk to her, but it sure does show the need that is right here in our own small community.

but it brings me to this. i probably drove by her a multitude of times and never noticed the need. now that i notice the need i am not even sure that i want to do something about it or even if i would now what to do with it anyway. maybe she really is crazy and is off her medicine. but how many times are there needs in front of us everyday, people whom need help, and lives that need transformation. today i read in psalm 119:82 that "my eyes fail looking for your promise; i say when will you comfort me?"

so many people are asking this question, without knowing who they are asking it to. others might know who they are asking but are asking the wrong person. others might be speaking to God. but they feel there is no answer in sight. maybe we are the answer God is trying to give them.