Walk the Talk
I’m so glad, Father, for the stillness of this early morning hour. The only sounds I hear are the occasional vehicle zooming by and a lonely jet high above the house. These are the external things I hear, but most importantly, is that I hear Your voice within. It calls out for me to join You. I sense Your pleasure that I am here. Bless me, my Father. May I clearly hear what you have for this day. Amen.
1 Peter 2:12 (<<click here)
Lord, we often hear the phrase “walk the talk.” Nothing communicates more loudly the condition of our relationship with You than the way we live out our lives in the world. I can think and write down all kinds of things in our times together – challenging things that require action! – but if I don’t “walk my talk,” what good is it?
The thirteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians is well read (especially at weddings), but the first couple of verse of this “love” chapter fits well with what Peter is saying here.
“If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing.” vs 1,2 NLT
May my actions, Lord, speak more loudly and clearly than my words. May the life I lead before the world be a reflection of Whom I belong to and Whom I serve.
(Dec 6th, 2016, Tue, 5:14 am)
Sept 21st, 2025, Sun, 3:07 pm
Apologies
I am away from home and neglected to bring the charge cord for my laptop. At this point, I have no way to post my blog, and will not be able to do so for a few days. God bless, and I will be back!
Levels of “Badness”?
Father, beyond any shadow of a doubt, I know I am cherished and loved. But I also realize that I have done nothing to earn that from You. You first loved me before I even knew to love You back. My sin separated me from You, but because of the sacrifice of Your only beloved Son and because I accept Your forgiveness, I can come into Your presence and I can live a life of victory over sin and death! Praise Your holy Name!
James 2:10-11 (<<click here to read the passage)
Why is it, Lord, that we have this bad habit of labeling sins, putting them on levels of “badness”? We have this tendency to think, “My sins are not as bad as your sins!” Sin is sin. And as this passage proclaims, if you’ve broken one law, it’s the same as breaking them all. There are no degrees of wickedness.
Jesus, You even said this while you lived amongst us. Matthew 5:21-22 tells us, “You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment. But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment.” Later in verses 27 and 28, You equate looking at someone with lust with adultery. If we break one law, we’ve broken them all.
Now we’re not to just throw up our hands and give up. Through You, we can be victorious! But, as I said earlier, we have got to stop comparing ourselves to others. Someone else’s sin, no matter how heinous, is in no way worse than mine. Sin is sin. There is no such thing as little sins and big sins. Hating others because they are really bad sinners makes us guilty of sin as well (hate as an expression of our anger = murder).
Lord Jesus, help me to deal with my sin. Help me not to condemn others but, instead, to pray for them that they may turn to you as well.
(Aug 24th, 2016, Wed, 7:18 am)
June 9th, 2025, Mon, 7:39 am
A Christmas Break
This time of year is taxing – physically, mentally, and even spiritually. When we are weary, the devil doubles up on his attacks, wanting us to fall.
So, as I am want to do, I will take a short break from posting until sometime after the beginning of the year. I am going to take time to recharge and spend time with family, which, as Massey gets older, is something Karen and I cherish more and more.
So, for my last post of the year, I thought I would share our Christmas letter (2024) that we traditionally send out with our Christmas cards. My apologies to those of you who will already have read it, but to all, a most Merry Christmas!
♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦
Christmas greetings from the Fowler household!
It is hard to believe we are almost at the end of 2024! While some things remain the same, many things have changed over the last few years.
After one major back surgery about seven years ago and in an attempt to put off an even bigger one as long as possible, Karen has officially retired after 27+ years of teaching. We are very grateful that, at this point, she is able to manage her pain overall, and she is enjoying retirement.
We’ve had difficult transitions, too, in that Karen’s dad passed away a week shy of his 90th birthday in the spring of 2023. And then, her mom passed in May of this year. We still mourn our loss but rejoice in their gain. We look forward to a great reunion someday!
I am in my 6th year of driving a school bus and am officially recertified to drive for another six! If I can make it that long, the kids I first drove as kindergarteners will graduate! I also continue to pastor but added a third congregation in 2023! I preach at each church every Sunday morning, but thankfully, they’re not too far apart. The newest one is South Vernon and is actually in Mt. Vernon, whereas the other two are rural.
My parents are doing pretty well overall, but at this point in life, they struggle with multiple issues. We are grateful that they are still a part of our lives. Prayers for them are much appreciated.
After diligent searching, Massey is now happily employed! He is a Research Engineer in Computational Fluid Dynamics at the George H.W. Bush Combat Development Center (BCDC) in Bryan, Texas as part of The Texas A&M University System. He loves being back in Texas and is doing very well. We are grateful for his time with us post-grad. He was an invaluable asset to us on many fronts. We rejoice with him but wish Texas wasn’t quite so far away.
So, with that, Karen and I have once more settled into empty nester mode, but life continues to be full. Though many aspects of our lives may be status quo, our love for each other is fuller, richer, and sweeter as the days go by.
Our sincere prayer is that you are allowing God to be a part of your lives. As you strive to fulfill His calling upon your life, may His love and compassion fill you, splashing over onto all those around you! Nothing is more important than what we do with what He has given us – for we are all truly blessed.
With a never-ceasing love! Thom, Karen, and Massey
Dec 24th, 2024, Tues, 1:47 pm
Something to Steer You in the Right Direction
Father, it’s been a beautifully hot day. It feels like summer is finally here! Thank You for the diversity of Your creation and all it has to offer. May we make the most of Your generous gift!
*****
Hey, it’s me live again! I appreciate your bearing with me as I’m taking the time to address another chapter in my life. Of course, what I’ve been posting is me; it’s just me from nine years ago.
We must be wary of settling into a status quo state of mind. Status quo is Latin for “existing state.” We understand that phrase to mean the current state of things: how things are now. It’s one thing for life in general to get that way, but it can become problematic if we allow ourselves to go down that path spiritually. Becoming dissatisfied with the status quo nine years ago is what got me going down the path of journaling and eventually blogging, but recently, I began to feel that dissatisfaction once more with how things were going – that existing state – and felt the need for a “spring cleaning” of my spirit, if you will.
There were things occupying my time and brain power that weren’t necessarily bad, but they were distracting and, most problematic, time-consuming. I was faithfully writing my blog and preparing each week for our worship services, but even that wasn’t enough to keep my head and heart steered in the right direction.
I started taking just a few moments each morning for some quiet time—just me and the Lord in the dark, quiet hours before getting ready to head off to work. I’ve developed an interest in podcasts, so I did a little digging and found one by BibleProject.
I’ve mentioned BibleProject before in MoreThanUseless, and they are amazing! For the entirety of this year, they have devoted their podcasts to studying Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, as found in Matthew’s Gospel. I began listening to it on the digital media service Spotify but soon discovered that BibleProject has a top-notch app! And so began my journey on this next “chapter” of my life.
I tell you this because, if you are so inclined, I believe you would find it truly rewarding to get into it yourself. BibleProject has all kinds of study materials readily available. You can access some things through your computer, but the app on your phone or tablet makes everything readily accessible! It’s available in Google Play or Apple’s App Store.
Here’s some direction if you would like to begin with their Sermon on the Mount series: Once you open the app, go to the bottom of your screen and click the “explore” link. At the top of your screen, you will find a Sermon on the Mount header. Touch the header, and then I recommend you listen to the first podcast, so touch that link and scroll to the bottom (they already have 25 episodes available to listen to!). You can go through those one right after the other at your own pace, if you wish, or as I have done, you can go back and forth with the playlists they have available – these include Scripture readings, videos, podcast clips, and other articles. One other note: the podcasts sometimes have links to other resources you can read or listen to.
Click here for a link to their website.
Click here for a short introductory video to the app…
…oh, and by the way, it’s all free! (though you can support them if you wish!)
June 17th, 2024, Mon, 4:03 pm