Making Pain Work For You
There is one thing that you must accept in this life. Pain, heartbreak and tragedy will touch you at some point. We are not afforded permanent insulation from the undesirable sting of loss while we make our way through life. We are a fallen people living in a fallen world next to other fallen people. …
She Still Teaches Us
Most of you never met Deborah Samples; she is my mother in law and she lives in Heaven now. After a devastating auto collision in June of last year, she went home to be with the Lord in the first week of July. A quiet and simple woman, she loved her husband, children and grandchildren…
You Need To Be Okay With That
Last night I inserted a quote into the Wednesday night message that obviously resonated with the flock as much as it did with me when I first read it. I came home to find emails from those present for the Wednesday message who desired a copy of the quote. Brennan Manning’s words below have as…
Beyond 1 Day For Love
From where does most of the pressure you face originate? Is it really outside of you or does it actually come from within? We are learning that there is very little we can do to fully control outside circumstances which have the ability to cause inside stress and anxiety. Scripture has much to say about…
A Lesser Change Of Scenery
When the moving vans pulled away from our new home last Thursday I realized that a four-month process had come full circle. The Lyles had been relocated from the hustle and bustle of the Mall of Georgia area to the quiet outskirts of suburbia off of Spout Springs Road. God has been gracious to us…
Jeff Is Going A.W.O.L
God has been good to the Lyles and today we will be fully embracing one evidence of that goodness. Today the movers are coming and our relocation to Flowery Branch from will finally be complete. After a 2011 which was filled with heartbreak and tragedy, we welcome the fresh start and though God is the…
When You Find Yourself In Trouble
Trouble. Nobody wants it. When it comes, nobody welcomes it. Everyone likes to see it go away. Trouble. We have trouble with people, trouble with money, trouble with our bodies, trouble with our emotions. There is political trouble, international trouble, cultural trouble, relational trouble and military trouble. My sweet little girl got in a little…
Untested, Unbelieved Promises
Each Monday I arise from bed and find myself in need. Typically a long week is stretched out before me and I’m usually wrestling with the flickering desire to pull the covers back over my head and sleep until Thursday mid-morning. Knowing that I have no realistic option other than beginning the work week, I…
The Folly Of Foolish Toads
Walking into my office this morning, my attention was drawn to an object perched right outside my door, directly in the light from the streetlamp. As I took a few steps closer I realized that I was looking at a large brown toad who was enjoying the predawn moisture from the sidewalk as he must…
Surviving Ambush
It was time for a sabbatical. For the better part of six months I had been battling ministry challenges and was arising daily to find myself beleaguered and struggling in my fight to serve with joy. Biting the bullet, I cleared my schedule for a week in August of 2009 and headed for the countryside…