I used to hate it when my grandparents or parents broke out the “I remember when talks.” As I grew into my 20’s it became more tolerable, in my selfish little world. Into my 30’s it became more interesting as the remembrances and changes became more evident. By my 40’s it was nostalgic and at 57, it has finally come full circle. Not only am I the one saying, “remember when” but I really value the generation that came before me and the remembrances they have shared with me.

Here are a few of my own “I Remember When” favorites:

• I remember when we went to church Sunday Morning, Sunday Afternoon (RA’s, Training Union and Youth Choir) and Sunday Night (warmed over Sunday Morning), Tuesday Night Visitation and Wednesday Meal and Wednesday night Prayer Meetings. For the record, I like the 2017 church schedule much more than that gauntlet.
• I remember when gas was 20 cents a gallon and the sky was falling as the news started saying that some day it would be more than a dollar a gallon. I also remember that gas stations were known as filling stations and a guy, in uniform, came out and pumped your gas, checked your oil, cleaned your windshield and collected your payment (in cash). They also could repair your car. I filled up my truck last night at $2.19 a gallon, pumped it myself and paid for it at the pump. Those predictions proved right. I thought $2.19/gallon was a good price.
• I remember my first Little League team receiving a t-shirt and cap. everything else was up to you. Most of us played in jeans where our mom had ironed on a patch at the knees. And we wore sneakers as cleats. Cleats were unheard of for a few more years. I like seeing young kids with uniforms, cleats and under eye black. It’s pretty cool. But the price for a kid to play baseball or softball is enough to take out a second mortgage.
• I remember when we honored the Office of the President of these United States and the man sitting in the Oval. I fear those days are a distant memory that will never return.
• I remember when there were no cell phones or pagers. If you needed to call someone, you needed a pay phone. You could drop a dime in it and dial the number. I’ve yet to decide if this is a better world with iPhones. What a dumb statement, of course, we are better! Maybe…
• I remember when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon as the first person to ever do so. I was watching it with my Pop in Daytona Beach, Florida. It still blows my mind that we did that. Especially considering that my watch has more technology than the Apollo flights had. We watched it on a black and white TV, with rabbit ears.

I could go on and on, but here’s the point. You cannot stop change. We live in an ever evolving world. I believe that we must embrace change and set our course on how to utilize that change for the glory of the Divine and the enlargement of His Kingdom.

I’d love to hear your “I remember when stories.” Just reply to this post below.

Peace, AChuck

Trump, Russia, Healthcare & You by AChuckAllen

I’ve not hidden the fact that I voted for Donald Trump. I still believe that he can get the job done. But O My Stars! How many ways can we screw up this Russian deal, and how in the world could the healthcare issue be that complicated? I saw a poll yesterday that put the Russian Issue well behind Healthcare, terrorism, immigration, jobs and the economy! And yet, we can’t seem to get out of our own way when it comes to either healthcare or Russia.

For anybody that might care what I think about this political malaise  that has our country suffocating under the stupidity of political gain, personal wealth, grandstanding and back biting, here are a few thoughts to ponder on this Monday:

• Mr. President, I’ve pleaded on a previous post – Please step away from Twitter! I think you continue to propagate the media frenzy around the Russian investigation. Just Stop! Most of us are bored out of our minds with the Jeff Sessions, Special Prosecutor,  he said, she said garbage. Stop fueling it. Own it! If you, your family, or your staff met with Russians – Own it and put it behind you!
• If the Affordable Care Act is so complicated that the Senate, the House, the President’s Cabinet, POTUS and everybody else associated with healthcare can’t figure it out, why have we heard the party of elephants ramble on about repeal and replace? Those statements must have been politically expedient rather than realistically achievable. Republicans! If you lose the House and the Senate in 2018, it’s your fault! Stop pandering and pouting about what the other side of the aisle has said or done and work it out! Why not go the opposite direction and let the free market handle this, across state lines and provide a single payer system that qualifies folks with catastrophic and chronic illnesses.
• Keep trusting General Maddox and let him get your military ready to cope with North Korea. That nut job running the rogue state of North Korea is capable of all measure of stupid! And turn our troops and technology loose so they can get dirty and kick Isis and all of its cousins in the mouth!
• We have a businessman in the Oval Office – Run the business of this economy, before it crashes and burns again. If we spent the same energy ensuring that tax reform, business friendly regulations, and trade deficits as we do booking time on Fox News, MSNBC or CNN, we might get something done.

This is a drop in the bucket, but we must stop chasing shiny rabbit trails that sizzle in the media and get laser focused on the business of protecting our people and securing our economy. I know there are dozens of issues that have not been mentioned in this post – But come on Man! The present foolishness is proof positive that we are only a few years behind the economic, political, spiritual and moral decline we see across the UK and Europe.

Just stop it! You can say “this is part of the process,” or you can stand up and be the adult in the room that is willing to serve the country that gave you this opportunity…the opportunity that you asked for!

Peace, AChuck

Download Day 11 of 21 Days of Good Vibes:
21 Days of Good Vibes Day Eleven

Download 21 Days of Good Vibes Day 9:
21 Days of Good Vibes Day 9

DISCOVER, EXPERIENCE AND SHARE GOOD VIBES!

Seek a place of quietude and gratitude. Focus your heart and mind on the Divine, read His Word, learn His Word, express our gratitude, bring our prayers to Him, and engage in serving people in need. Here are today’s GOOD VIBES:

“My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name. On Christ, the solid rock, I stand; all other ground is sinking sand.” —Edward Mote

DAY NINE

Read Matthew 7:24–29
24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

Understand:
Edward Mote wrote just one hymn in his lifetime. From what we know of his life, “My Hope Is Built On Nothing Less” was just as much an anthem of his own testimony as it has become for believers all over the world. Having grown up knowing nothing of God or His existence, Mote first attended church and became a Christian as a young adult. While still a new believer, he was compelled to try his hand at hymn writing. Thus, Mote wrote from a basic, yet profound understanding of his salvation. Christ is the sole means of our salvation. Our hope is truly built on nothing less than Jesus.
“My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name. On Christ, the solid rock, I stand; all other ground is sinking sand.” from the Great Hymn On Christ the Solid Rock

I am grateful for these three things today:

1. _______________________________

2. _______________________________

3. _______________________________

Today’s reading taught me: _____________________________________________________________________________.

Today, I am praying for:

1. _________________________________

2. _________________________________

3. _________________________________

Today, I will serve: ____________________________________________________________________________________.

See you back here tomorrow for another DAILY GOOD VIBE!

If I Live til I’m 75 by AChuckAllen

I had the privilege of preaching a funeral for a friend’s father Saturday afternoon. I was significantly moved by the grandkids describe their Papa. I was touched as my friend described his dad, and I was honored to have been the fortunate pastor to preach, not only this man’s memorial service but his wife’s memorial service, just a few months ago as well. These two people spent many of their last years not being able to communicate as we think about healthy conversation. Illness and aging had taken them hostage. As a result, I couldn’t help but imagine how awesome their conversation must’ve been on that first night that they were in Heaven together. How awesome!

Since that service, I have pondered the realization that both of my parents passed away at 75 years of age. If the Divine chooses to keep me around until I am 75, I have only 18 years of life on this planet.

That may seem a bit of a downer, but I am motivated by it! So much so that I created a list of the things that I truly want to accomplish in the next 18 years. I will strive to…

• Eat, exercise and work with greater determination to live until I am 85, not 75.
• Pray with more fervency and intentionality, without ceasing.
• Limit the hours that I give to ministry and work to 60 hours each week.
• Spend every moment pursuing my wife with a never-ending love.
• Spend more quality and purposeful time with my daughters.
• Be the greatest Pop on the planet to my grandchildren (this is a very big deal to me).
• Shepherd Sugar Hill Church with passion, focus, and intentionality as we serve more people,  share the gospel with every person in our community, help every kid graduate from high school and end the curse of poverty in Sugar Hill.
• To create a transitional living community for single parents in the northern part of Gwinnett County.
• To write and publish at least one book each year.
• To become a much better friend.
• To be grateful each and every day for the overwhelming blessings of the Divine!
• To give away every dollar I can for the cause of Christ.
• To leave Sugar Hill Church debt-free, healthy and in the hands of leaders far more qualified and Christ-like than I am.
• To fish more, travel to the beach more and camp out more.
• Oh! and I really want to buy a motorcycle and ride it til I die!

Okay, so it’s a pretty significant list. But that’s the point! If I could do any or all of that list without the hand of the Divine, it wouldn’t be worth striving for. I would love to live a healthy life for about 30 more years, but my family history would beg to differ. I’m equally, and maybe more so, to celebrate walking on streets of gold as Christ calls me to my eternal home. Either way, I really want to leave a legacy of serving my family and my church like Christ has directed!

Don’t You?

-AChuck