Our hope is in the Lord…

Happy Thanksgiving weekend. I hope the past few days have offered you some time to slow down a bit and reflect on the many blessings we enjoy every day.

In the Campbell household, we’ve been eating a lot of food, watching, and playing football (both types) as a family, and then crashing on the couch at night to watch movies and eat more food.

I’m hoping heaven has a similar schedule 😊.

Sometimes it takes a few days of relaxation to catch up on rest and reset for the days ahead. And since Christmas is around the corner, Thanksgiving is the perfect holiday to catch our breath before we plunge into the busiest month of the year.

However, R&R is not an option for many. There are some who are battling a terminal diagnosis or other dark valleys in life such as financial or legal struggles. Rest and relaxation aren’t an option when our minds are plagued with anxiety over the difficulties of life.

What are we to do when thanksgiving seems like an insult and the future appears tragic?

This Sunday, we will complete our sermon series in James. One of our long-time NLCC elders, Mike Chirveno will be preaching from James 5:12-20 on the topic of prayer that prevails.

In the midst of incredibly difficult times, God has given us the survival tool of prayer. It’s not magical and it doesn’t always produce the results we long for, however prayer draws our hearts to our Father and provides opportunities for us to experience supernatural grace.

There is much more to cover in these verses, I sure hope to see you at 8:00, 9:15 (Full KidCity available), or 10:45 am, or you can watch the Livestream on YouTube (Like and Subscribe) or Facebook at 10:45 am. Additionally, we are also publishing our sermons on Spotify.

I hope to see you soon,

Troy

Smoking hot…

A few days ago, Sophia had an outdoor soccer scrimmage at night and the temperature was in the low 20s. She wore several layers of shirts and sweatshirts, gloves, and then shorts. Go figure :). Her final weapon against the ridiculously cold weather was toe warmers.

She had decided to wear two pairs of socks and put the toe warmers in between her socks. All of this pre-game preparation took place in our car with the heat turned up to “break a sweat.”

When the time came for the scrimmage, she ventured out into the tundra and for an hour and a half…. and pretty much dominated 😊!!!

As soon as the scrimmage was completed I noticed her walking over to me in her socks, which is odd because I expect this from the boys…but not Sophie…I was like….  “do you have some shoes to put on?”

And then she blurted out… “my toe warmers burned my feet.”

What?!?

Sure enough, she showed me her white sock and it was literally burned….like smoking and almost flaming burned…burned to the point of blistering burned…

The toe warmers were an attempt to stay warm in a very cold environment and they worked for a little while, but eventually, they stopped working and even made matters worse. The only real solution to the problem of cold weather is to fix the climate…and since we have no control over the weather, we are left with imperfect solutions.

I think this is similar to how you and I function in this world. We are eternal beings who are hard-wired for eternal satisfaction…and yet, we attempt to find eternal satisfaction with imperfect solutions … this never lasts…and sometimes makes matters worse.

This Sunday, I look forward to continuing our series from the book of James, “Faith that Works” with a sermon from James 5:1-11 entitled, “Steadfast and Longsuffering.” We will discover that our longings will never be filled with riches and our only option is to be patient, establish our hearts, and stay focused on eternity (James 5:8).

And on a practical note…I wouldn’t use toe warmers in a soccer game…😊.

There is much more to cover in these verses, I sure hope to see you at 8:00, 9:15 (Full KidCity available), or 10:45 am, or you can watch the Livestream on YouTube (Like and Subscribe) or Facebook at 10:45 am. Additionally, we are also publishing our sermons on Spotify.

I hope to see you soon,
Troy  

Falling…

This past Sunday night, I was able to take our three boys to the KC Chiefs game against the Tennessee Titans.

We won! (Well not me and the boys, but our team 😊).

It was a blast watching paratroopers land on the field for Military Appreciation Night (We are grateful for all who serve our country)…cheering with thousands of others in a sea of red…and seeing our favorite player make a game-changing catch 😊!!!

During the 4^th quarter, we were intent on the game. I had my arms wrapped around Ian to keep warm and Isaiah and Dallas were next to me….

All of a sudden, a woman from the row above crashed into Dallas and he was thrown over the row to the ground….time seemed to slow way down….my mind was processing how there was a woman laying at my feet and Dallas was smashed into the seats in front of us….

Within seconds, a few of us were able to help everyone back up…and although shaken, everyone was ok.

The woman it appeared had consumed a few to many drinks and lost her balance. She felt terrible about it and apologized profusely to Dallas. After some initial frustration towards the woman for being irresponsible, I told her it was ok.

Can you imagine if she had started blaming Dallas for being in her way when she fell over the seats?

Seems outlandish….or does it?

Too often, I do something to cause conflict and instead of admitting my fault, I attempt to justify my faults.

This Sunday, we take on Part 2 of James 4 in our sermon series, “Faith that Works.” We will study James 4:11-17 and discover that conflict is fueled when we prioritize ourselves and justify our faults.

There is much more to cover in these verses, I sure hope to see you at 8:00, 9:15 (Full KidCity available), or 10:45 am, or you can watch the Livestream on YouTube (Like and Subscribe) or Facebook at 10:45 am. Additionally, we are also publishing our sermons on Spotify.

I hope to see you soon,
Troy  

Thanks bro…

Our dog is an awesome dog…she is also whacky…and very absorbed with her “ducky.”

A while back Leigh-Ann bought her this toy “ducky” and she loves it. In fact, I don’t think it’s an overstatement to say Gratzi’s life revolves around her “ducky.”

During the day, she brings it with her everywhere, dropping it just long enough to get some food or a quick drink.

Last night, she dropped her “ducky” and it rolled under the couch where I was catching some Thursday Night Football.

She whined…and whined…until I got down on my hands and knees and reached under the couch to get it.

When I finally retrieved it, I held it out for her to take and she offered me her paw…as if to say, “thanks bro.”

This morning, Gratzi was laying next to Sophia and her duck was just inches away between her nose and paws. Sophie grabbed her face to play with her and Gratzi wanted none of it…in fact, she pressured her face away from Sophie so she would not lose sight of her “ducky.”

We each concluded this relationship between Gratzi and “Ducky” has become idolatrous…😊. And it has affected her relationships….in fact she is pretty much ignoring all of us and focused only on her “ducky”…I think she needs professional help.

In life, there are times when we neglect our relationships with God and others because we become infatuated with fleshly desires. And even though it might not be a “ducky” it could be nearly as embarrassing.

This Sunday we will study from James 4:1-10 where we will learn that all conflict starts with fleshly desires. So, it may not be a “ducky” for you, but it could be something similar that captures your attention away from God.

There is much more to cover in these verses, I sure hope to see you at 8:00, 9:15 (Full KidCity available), or 10:45 am, or you can watch the Livestream on YouTube (Like and Subscribe) or Facebook at 10:45 am. Additionally, we are also publishing our sermons on Spotify.

I hope to see you soon,
Troy