HOT Blog

Robbie and David McCollum

So as many of you know, I’ve been doing this acoustic gig now for a few weeks with my buddy David McCollum at Upscale Pizza in Fayetteville, GA.  The gig has been going quite well as we have continued to see an increase of people week after week.  Anyway, the first week we played there I was driving to the gig in my Ford Ranger, loaded down with equipment, including a couple of music stands.  I’m driving down I75 south and I look up in my rear view mirror just in time to see a big black blob fly out of the back of the truck!  I quickly realize that it’s both of the music stands!  For a split second I’m thinking that I have no choice but to just keep driving.  But then my common sense kicks in and I pull over.  Then my common sense leaves me again as I back up in the emergency lane !  (Yea real bright Robbie!)

I’m watching cars weave around these solid steel, music stand, road blocks that are pretty much laid out in the middle of the freeway.  I have all three of my children in the truck with me and they are flat out panicked!  I keep praying that no one hits these things, but all for selfish reasons – neither one of them are mine!  Forget causing a massive multi-car pile up and people potentially dying!  No, I want to retrieve my music stands in tact.

So as I approach the point where I am basically right beside them a car hits one of them ever so slightly.  I’m thinking, “Whew!  Still salvageable!”  Then just as I’m getting out of the truck two giant dump trucks driving side by side come flying by.  One of the trucks is ever so slightly ahead of the other and plows one of the stands, and slings it straight in front of the other truck that also plows the sucker down!  Risking everything, I wait for a moment for no cars and quickly dart out into the freeway and grab what’s left of both stands.  I get back to my truck and am shocked at how massively mangled one of them is!  I put both of them back into the truck (this time taking the necessary time to secure them down) , get back in and continue on my way.

By this time I’m very frustrated and thinking, “I’ve got to replace two music stands!”  Then Gabriel says, “Those two monster tucks didn’t even try to miss that stand!  They meant to do that!!”  I couldn’t help but laugh at that point.  Chalk it up to another lesson learned.

So here are a couple of photos of the pancake, flattened music stand.  The other one by the way ended up being salvageable.

David’s Music Stand

Mark 14:3-9, John 12:1-8

There are times in our lives when our hearts may be convicted to do something radical for our Lord that may be considered absolutley absurd to those around us.  In this passage we see a woman (Martha’s sister Mary) who did not hesitate to break out her most precious purfume imported from India and annoint Jesus’ head with it.  Some sources suggest that this oil (Essence from nard) was equal to a year’s worth of wages!  Let’s try and put that into today’s perspective.  If we reason on the low side of things and say that the average individual’s income is $30k per year, we get a better picture of how large Mary’s sacrifice was.

But then we see Judas’ response to what Mary was doing.  He was very indignant and scolded her for doing it.  He tried to disquise his selfish, greedy motive by saying that she could have sold the perfume and given the money to the poor.  However, we know that Judas was a thief who was in charge of the disciples funds. (John 12:6) 

Where are you right now?  Are you ready to poor out your life onto the crown of Jesus as Mary of Bethany and sacrifice what is most precious to you for the sake of honoring and worshipping Him?  Or are you still pretending to to follow Jesus with selfish motives of what blessings you can get paid back as Judas? 

As the Life Application Study Bible puts it, “The essence of worshipping Christ is to regard him with utmost love, respect, and devotion and to be willing to sacrifice to him what is most precious.”  Our spiritual life and success can not be measured by the world’s standards, but only what God pours through it.

It is obvious that Jesus new what Judas was doing in taking money from the treasury for his own self, but he never did anything about it. (John 12:6, 6:64)  He simply knew that Judas’ judgement would come in due time.  Many times He will allow us to continue doing whatever it is we are doing even though it is against His will.  What we deserve will come.  However, the unfortunate thing is that Judas ended up committing suicide rather than seeking God’s forgiveness. 

We can not ever expect God to do great and marvelous things in our lives if we are constantly robbing blessings from “the treasury”.  What are you doing now?  What are your inner motives and intentions?  Now is the time to poor our hearts and souls out for the sake of gospel of Jesus Christ and stop seeking our own satisfaction.

Robbie ready for skiing

Yesterday the New Vision Youth group and I (along with Christi and the boys) arrived at Snow Shoe Ski Resort in West Virginia.  This place is awesome!  We are on top of the mountain in the resort and it’s like a small village right here on the mountain!  Shops everywhere!

Christopher Lee

This was the first time I have EVER snow skied and I was pretty amazed at how quickly I caught on.  I did quite well if I have to say so myself!  The visibility was very short as we were pretty much in the clouds the entire day.  But that just made it all the more intense.  Within about a half hour I was blasting down the beginner slopes though!  After lunch, pastor Alan says “Come on and follow me!  We’ll only go down the beginner slopes.”  Now keep in mind that the “beginner” slopes here at this place can be pretty steep.  So we’re cruising along and at times I’m thinking, man this is getting pretty steep!  Well, at some point I begin sailing and all of a sudden I find myself soaring past Alan.  By this time I’m getting a little nervous.  I’m trying to continue “s”ing to keep my speed down but it just aint working!  I get all the way to the bottom and see the end, and I guess I got a little too happy I was at the end and lost control.  The next thing I know I am tumbling head over head, ski’s flying in the air, goggles flying in the air, and me hoping I don’t fly off the edge of the slope into the rocks!  He then comes skiing up to me to make sure I’m ok.  Once he confirms I have no broken bones he breaks into hysterics.  “That was an intermediate hill!” Ha ha!  Real funny as I’m picking my shame up off the ground!

Christi, Gabriel, and Christopher Lee

Christopher and Gabriel finally got up enough courage to start trying it after lunch.  I was very proud of them.  They gave it their best for about 45 minutes before the slopes closed for the day.  They just stayed on the flat surface but seemed to conquer the fear.  At the end of the day Christopher said, “That was the funnest day of my life!”

Gabriel Lee

We are now down for the night but have another big and long day of fun awaiting tomorrow.  We’ll meet for a worship service where I’ll lead a few songs on my acoustic guitar and then listen to Alan for a half hour.  Then we are back to the slopes!