Turkey Trot

I did it! I am now officially signed up for the Charlotte turkey trot on Thanksgiving Day. It will be an 8k run which is right at 5 miles. Not sure I have a goal, but it would be nice to finish under 1 hour. I haven't exactly been training for this event, other than walking regularly and the occasional jog. My brother-in-law Rodney will be running with me. For the record he is 22 years old, I am slightly older than that. :)

The good news is no matter how long it takes me to finish, I will burn enough calories to eat whatever I want for Thanksgiving lunch. Wish me luck and I will post some pics and my finish time on the blog. Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Land of the Giants

Isn't amazing how tall some people are? We literally ran into a "giant" this past weekend in Chapel Hill for the UNC basketball game. We had seats about 15 rows behind the tarheel bench. They were awesome seats and we saw many of the former players including Eric Montross. Eric was a star center for the 93' championship team and is approximately 7'0' ft tall.

He was sitting about 6 rows in front of us and my kids were fascinated with him. Stephen wanted to go get his autograph and during one of the time-outs he went down and Eric gladly signed his ticket. It was a big thrill for him and a great night for our family.

Seeing Eric, had me thinking about how big Goliath must have been in the Bible. David was a brave young man to stand up to him and took him down with a few rocks and a slingshot. May we have the courage to face our giants with courage and faith in God to lead us.

P.S. For those interested, Stephen's baseball team will playing for the his league's baseball championship on Friday night. Keep you posted!

Fall Baseball

As most of you know, I am huge yankees fan! This has been a great fall as the yankees just wrapped up their 27th world series championship. I also happened to win in my fantasy baseball league this year. I know to some of you that does not mean much, but fantasy leagues are pretty huge, especially in football. And then comes my two boys who love baseball enough to play another season this year of fall ball.

I decided to be an assistant coach on there two teams, which has been really interesting, challenging, and fun. Matter of fact on Stephen's team it has been a lot of pressure. You see, I am the third base coach which determines whether a players runs or stays at second or third on certain plays. Last night, I had the dreaded honor of getting my first player thrown out at home. I felt bad for the kid, and hoped we would not lose by one run.

As fate would have it, we were behind one run in our last bat to win. Did I mention - this was the playoffs? Anyway, I was redeemed as the first player up hit an inside-the park home-run to tie it and we won the game with a walk-off double. I think I was excited more than the kids were!! :)

So, with only a few games to go, Stephen is one win away from playing for the championship. Ben is still playing in the losers bracket with two wins to go to make it to the championship. Will keep you posted if we can pull the "Qualls hat trick" with a third championship this fall. Have a great weekend everybody and I still can't believe we are playing baseball in November.

If you live in the Pageland area, come on out to our Fall Festival at South Pointe Fellowship on Saturday. It starts at 4:00 and will include a trunk or treat, inflatables, all kinds of food, dunking booth, funnel cakes, and even a silent auction. The trunk or treat is for all kids 5th grade and under. It should be a great time for all families in the community for a safe alternative to halloween. For more info, visit our website at www.southpointefellowship.org

What will others think?

How many times have you asked that question? Often being in the "pastor bubble", I am tempted to make decisions based on what others will say or think of me. I used to give in to this line of thinking. I think it is natural for all of us to measure decisions we make based on that question. However, I believe it is the wrong question to ask and often leads us down a road that is unhealthy for us.

The question we need to ask ourselves is this: What does God think? You see, this answer should lead us in all of our decisions. You see, when you will allow the pressure of others to influence your decisions, you become a controlled person. You allow what others think of you to be your reason for doing or not doing things. Believe me when I say this - because I have firsthand experience! Now, I rationalized these things to make them ok in my mind and even fooled myself by justifying that they were good things I was doing. However, as I look back I was only hurting myself and those closet to me.

Today - my filter for decisions is based on God first. I fight the urge to succumb to what others think I should do and do what I believe God has called me to do. By prioritizing this; I believe I am a better husband, a better dad, a better friend, and even a better pastor in the eyes of God. It is not an easy road to get to this place, nor is it easy to stay in this place, but I encourage all of you to go for it. Quit trying to live up to someone else's expectations and live up to God's. This will take courage and not be easy, but it is worth it in the end.

Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters

I just started a new book this week by Dr. Meg Meeker entitled, "Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters". Having a daughter who just turned 11, this has been a very eye-opening read. As a husband, I realize the huge differences between men and women, but viewing that through a little girl's eyes is different.

Fathers play a huge role in the home today. Matter of fact, the lack of a father's presence is playing a major role in the rebellion of young people in our world today. Kudos to all the single mom's today who hold it together. Father's are a little girls first view of men in her life. I am my daughter's first love and our relationship (good or bad) will determine how she views boys in the future once she starts to date, etc.

I wrote Emma a note today and put it in her room. The note was very simple, but conveyed how much I love her and complimented her on how much her smile brightens my day and how I could not wait to see what God had planned for her life. I also shared with her that no boy or man would ever love her more than I do for the rest of her life.

I love all my children equally, but having one girl and two boys; it is important that I remember that their needs are different and how I communicate with them is different. I can not wait to finish this book and put more of these thoughts into practice.

Thoughts from Catalyst Part II

Chuck Swindoll had an awesome message at the recent Catalyst conference in Atlanta that I thought you would like to read. His ministry has touched so many lives. It was neat to see the person I had heard on the radio for so long. Here are the 10 ten things he learned during almost 50 years of leadership:

1. It is lonely to lead.
2. It is hardest at home.
3. It is dangerous to succeed.
4. It is essential to be real.
5. It is painful to obey.
6. Brokenness and failure are necessary.
7. My attitude is more important than my actions.
8. Integrity eclipses image.
9. God's way is better than my way.
10. Christ-likeness begins and ends with humility.

By the way - Christmas is coming early this week at South Pointe. Don't miss the 10:45 service as Santa "Qualls" is coming to town. See ya Sunday!