27 minutes late....

Carol and I got to do something very cool this morning. Please read about it here. It was worth being 27 minutes late to work - even if I have to take personal time to do it.

I want to thank those who emailed me yesterday to find out about my post yesterday. Yes as you can tell I was a little ticked and to be honest I still am but I am better now and will continue to keep this under prayer.

This afternoon, Carol, Kyle and I and a great family we love are headed to the cabin for the weekend. I hate that I am going to miss church on Sunday - with the k-5 party, a great message from Pastor Jimmy and getting to see everyone - I will be big time ready to get back on Sept 7th- Which is a special day all in itself being we are having a Baptism that day at the 11:00 service. AWESOME!!!

I am thankful to a family who invited Kyle to go to their church services on Wednesday evening for bible study, supper, music and crafts. Its 2 hours long and its a chance to get our kids together. I appreciate that them for asking, for thinking of Kyle and loving my son enough to have him share time with their daughter and son. The 3 do make a fun bunch and to be spending time in church! Awesome!

I wanted to share something today that I have been thinking about for a few days now.

Let me share a story about this picture. This is taken on the property of a church in Mill Spring NC and it is backdropped by the mountains. It is such a wonderful and beautiful spot. A place for folks to come and visit with a loved one long passed and enjoy the scenery. See those who don't know Jesus end up there in the ground near those stones but the folks who put their trust and hearts into Jesus - will be over that mountain, living with all the loved ones passed and with our heavenly father. Jesus said- that we cannot serve 2 masters. We either serve people or we serve Him.

Friends, you may be a person that puts high value on your friendships - above even family. But let me share with you that people change. We all have differentt demands and they change at every moment. We can't please everyone. People all want different things. When living this way~ you end up all over the place, like a juggler and how long can you juggle? Eventually it all comes crashing down. Some may have friends who just need all the time - they base that friendship on performance and not acceptance. They will never be happy - meet their expectations and guess what - expectations go up and thus around it goes again. They are waiting for you to drop the ball on them. People pleasing, nothing wrong with making people happy, but to live for that is destructive.

Focus your life on pleasing Jesus. Please Jesus and those in your life will also be pleased. If you see the mountains in the picture and not the graves then you are looking at it in a great perspective.

I recently read somewhere that they want to see the small things in the rainbows, the sunsets and sunrises. Friends, let me tell you that God reveals those beautiful things in such vibrant, humble and majestic colors that you cannot see on your own. All things will take on new meanings and people will be seen differently with Jesus in your heart.

I remember talking with my friend Joe last Christmas while heading to the Salvation Army for the Angel Tree program. There was a sunset that evening and we just were amazed at the beauty of it. Joe has brain cancer and each and every day is a blessing on this earth. A chance to see a sunset differently that anyone else. A chance to thank God for creating that sunset. I shared my story with him about my near death experience back in 1999. I too know that awesome wash me over feeling looking at something so incredibly beautiful. We are so small and God is so big. It was a time shared that I will never forget because we both got to see a sunset differently than those who don't know Jesus.

I will stop at this spot this weekend and I will have a few dear people in mind. I want you to know I will be praying for you. Praying that you too will also get to see the sunset differently and that you will see the mountains in the picture and not the graves. Are you one of those I will be praying for? Email me, if you want me to......

Gods Peace -

Lonnie~

Increasingly Frustrated

Let me vent with you just for a few minutes today. I am increasingly frustrated today and honestly -well I wont say........
BUT WHY?
Well there are 2 reasons but let me start with this. Giving advise to someone.... Do you have someone in your life that you can speak with honestly - advise them in their life? Would that same advise work for, say, your daughter or son when she/he is of this age? Would that conversation actually take place? Would that same advise be given with their parent there with them? Probably not - so why would you give advise and examples to a young person who is finding their way, lost in the world, willing to maybe expand on the freedoms of being underneath the parents rule for the first time in her/his life by experimenting or doing something she/he would not normally do? - WHY on earth would you steer them in directions that could be bad for her/him?
I talk to "MyKids" just as if I am talking with my son Kyle. I talk to the kids here at the university just like they were my kids. I give them the best advise I can give them ... I try my best to show them Jesus and that my door is always open for them to come in and sit down and really talk. It is frustrating to be really honest. I remember telling my pastor about a year and half ago that when the time comes for me to move on from stage in life that I wanted to serve at the church full time... I wonder sometimes why I have not already excersized that option.
What do your children see when they look at you? Do they see a person that is living their life trying their best to be like Jesus? Or do they see your running over poeple, always getting what you want, using people mean just to get what you want from them or living for more, more, more?
What are we teaching kids today? I mean really - They learn about Jesus through their parents. If they don't see Jesus in us - then chances are they won't see Him at all. We are creating a "Give Me Generation".
How do you start your day now that school is back in swing? Screaming, hurrying, yelling, fighting over finished homework? Most kids today have maid service, they don't have to do much in the home - minimal responsibilities but yet they have cable tv in their room, $400 cell phones with blackberry contact so they don't miss a friends email or IM - always connected on the internet with no regard to safety and hiding behind the monitor. Cell plans that cost $100 a month and they can't seem to stay within the 100,000 minutes a month plan. Life would end if the internet connection went down or the cell didnt have 2 bars. You email them, call them, text them and you get no response back or maybe if you are lucky a 1 line text through the phone. If our kids are the center of everything we do and the center of everything we give - where does Jesus fall into their lives? He will have NO place in them!
So many parents I know just keep their kids busy to keep them busy. Running them to scouts, soccer, fallball, football, to the mall - run run run. Family values like sitting down at the dinner table hasnt happened in years, or at best once a week/month. Movie nights as a family have been over since Jr. was 8. Is all this worth giving up a relationship with Jesus Christ over? What do you think upsets you the most about your teenagers or young adults? Is it their attitude? Selfishness? Lack of respect for others? - or - is it their character?
Deep down maybe that is just what it is ... their character - who they really are. Are you modeling that character for them? Is all this worth given Jesus the chance to shape your teenagers character?

Carol and I have a good family who goes to our church and with all the rain the area the last few days, many folks are in shelters from being flooded out of their homes. The children in this family held a meeting - they voted and came to the parents and made the announcement. They wanted to open their home up to a family who had been flooded out. Parents jaw dropped.....Man - that is awesome and this family is on the right track. This family knows Jesus - the parents model Jesus in their lives the BEST they know how to do. God is fitting into their childrens lives by watching and learning from their parents.
Kyle bugs me to stop and see the seniors at the Heritage Home almost every time we drive by there. You see he knows that when we stop and visit these folks - it makes them really happy, to have a visitor, to spend some time with them. He knows we are serving them but we are also serving Jesus. What we do to others, we also do to Jesus.

We cannot just run our homes to keep our kids happy. We have to learn to be the teacher and respond as apposed to reacting. We need to look for those teachable moments - build our children up - and learn about Vitamin N.
Vitamin N? What is that? "Vitamin NO" - it needs to be part of our childrens lives. They need to take part in the running of the home and not get everything for free. Are we raising our kids to live in a hotel or do we want our children to grow up in a home?
I want "MYKids" to have the ability to make good decisions. To care about others by serving them and putting others first. To see Jesus in not only me but also in their parents. Kyle is now at the age where he askes what he should do when he has to make a decision. We give him the same question back - letting him decide - praise him for good decisions and explaining those lessons learned when he chooses poorly.

Ephesians 6
Children and Parents 1Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2"Honor your father and mother"—which is the first commandment with a promise— 3"that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth."[a] 4Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

Parents, we have a tough job with raising kids. Without the guidance of our heavenly father - the lessons we learn and teach our kids by being Christ like - we have no chance. I don't even want to imagine the outcome - but I bet you know someone right now who is on the verge of that cliff. It might be down the road just a bit but you can see the footsteps on the path.

heavy hearted today....
Lonnie~

Serving ... What does it mean to you....

Would you be willing to share here or through email (lrbatema@gmail.com) what it means to you by serving at your local church?
How did you get started, why you continue to serve, how has it changed you and what has God taught you in the process....... that would be great. Anything you wish to share would be awesome. It can even be serving others if that is your thing.......

Thanks~
Lonnie

A new day ....

WOW - the sun is out now. Its been 3 days since seeing the sun. According to my weather station here at work on the roof - we got 10 inches of rain in 48 hours. We might have got most of that last night. As many of you know, many creeks and rivers were out of their banks, roads closed and homes flooded. Did take me 45 minutes to get to work this morning and once again - came into work wet and my shoes soaked. But, hey - I am not complaining - we needed the rain. I can do without the stack of firewood, 2 tarps, 2 potted plants, landscape timbers and a pile of mulch that is somewhere downstream now in another county or stuck up in the top of a tree somewhere! We did not get flooded and I can live with those answered prayers.
Work has been busy the last few days and have not had much time to post much but that doesn't mean I am not thinking about some things :) I am glad school is back in session here at the university... It feels like a college campus again and I am enjoying getting to know my 3 new students we hired. Should be a good semester ahead.
I am out of here...everyone be safe and enjoy the sun when it comes out. It's a new day...
Lonnie~

Sunday ,....

Man am I wore out. I am tired tonight and that is not a good thing with classes starting tomorrow, school starting for Kyle and all "MyKids" and new routines taking shape.
BUT - let me tell you it has been a great day and worth me being tired. We had a great church day today... a new worship leader leading worship today - Pastor Jimmy giving me 2 pages of notes to shape me and challenge me with.... Sunday school was crazy and awesome all at the same time. It is always fun serving with Carol, Mike and Lori. We had a good turn out at the 11:00 service and the kids decorated bags and filled them with school supplies to give to Sherry who leads our Ladies Bible Study and is taking these school supplies into the schools. AWESOME!

Tonight we kicked off our official Rock Group with style - back to school style - folks came and ate... swam in the pool and just enjoyed hanging out tonight. We have some new families that have got connected and this was their first time plugging in and we are just so excited to doing life with everyone. I got to show the last 2 years in a video slide show on the TV and asked everyone to think ahead 6 months and put themselves into those slides pictures. I have been up since 5 this morning but there is nothing like spending some time with the folks we love. Pastor Jimmy spoke about friendships today in one of his bullets - we become those we hang out with - Man I am liking that because our Rock Group families- we have some awesome folks....and that just raised me up a few notches :)

Going to hit it early tonight. Have to call my grandma tomorrow - touch base with "MyKids" on their first day of school and check on one of "MyKids" who is at the beach and missed her and her mom today @church.
I am done serving for today but praying for tomorrow - someone needs to hear about Jesus tomorrow. I am in..... are you?
Share Jesus with someone tomorrow and get out of that comfort zone - you will be amazed at what God wants to teach you.
Have a great day back to school tomorrow ......praying for all.......
Lonnie~

2 Special kids....

I wanted to share a few of "MyKids" today. Carol, Kyle and I got to spend some quality time with these 2 kids over the last few weeks - other than our time together at church. They come to us from different places but all through a church family. These kids are like my daughters and would do anything in the world for them.
Over the past few years, I have taken the time to invest in these kids - as well as many others - to just make a small difference in their lives. I am appreciative and grateful for their parents to trust me and let Carol and I invest in them. They are great kids and I look forward to sharing many more smiles over the coming years. God has placed these kids in my heart for a reason and I am not questioning why - I thank Him daily for them.
Carol and I were not blessed with daughters - but a wonderful son in Kyle - but our family is full of daughters like Hayley and Kaylee ..... and we love each of YOU!!!!!
Kaylee and Hayley - ya'll are welcome in our home anytime. We love you both and may God continue to bless our relationships and our times together. May many more smiles come and we look forward to each and every moment invested in you both.
Love and prayers,
Uncle Lonnie and Carol

Friday blues....

I tell you - the older I get the harder it seems to get going in the mornings ~ especially after a late night. Last night was our summer right of passage Kenny Chesney concert. It wouldn't be summer without seeing Kenny in concert here in Charlotte.

I was only approached 2 times last night with someone thinking I was Kenny - either they need better glasses or had 2 extra beers :) - but its a compliment being that Kenny is the real deal.

Here are a few pictures from last night - a great night, no rain, fans having fun with an evening of people watching and just plain ol'summer fun!

Kyle especially loves his music ... and has a few posters in his room. We are phone/camera challenged these days so we didn't have a great camera to work with. Hopefully we will resolve that soon - Carol takes pictures of everything so I am sure she will be happy about that. Missed ya this year sis! Kenny played one song last night that he honored a friend of his and spoke about faith and trusting God and that one day we will see our loved ones again in heaven. It was awesome........

I will be sleeping early tonight :)

Lonnie ~