Not Just Fruity -- FRUIT-FULL

On a more positive note... ;>)

This morning, I had the privilege of hearing Tyler Tullos (our Jr. High pastor) speak at the noon service (wait -- that would be afternoon, right?). Now, I have heard Tyler speak in bits and pieces over the years and he is always witty and lively and interesting, but this is the first time I've heard him actually PREACH.

Can I just say, it was so awesome!!!

I came away from today's service so blessed and motivated; I truly wish I had thought to get a copy of the message.
Tyler gave the last message in the ONE PRAYER series and the prayer that he gave was:

LORD, MAKE US FULL
In a nutshell, the message was about the difference between being "busy" and being "full."
We can look at the things in our life as OBLIGATIONS
or we can look at them as OPPORTUNITIES.

I loved his analogy of sitting in traffic:
Hey, this IS Baton Rouge, after all, so you can't go anywhere
without sitting in traffic.
You can get all agitated and frustrated or
you can hang up the cell phone and talk to your kids.
It's all a matter of PERSPECTIVE.

Hmmm... seems to be a recurring theme on this blog.

You see, when we try to operate in our own power and strength (weak!),
we will fail or end up frustrated, or worse:
we will achieve our goals
but at a cost we never intended.

HOWEVER
When we sow into Christ and HIS power and strength,
we will find that everything we do can bring glory to the kingdom of God.
We just need to "grow" in 3 specific areas:

1) EMOTIONS (lemons) -- HOW WE RESPOND
to the lemons life deals us. Not to be a Pollyanna here,
but that whole "make lemonade" idea is pretty sweet. (pun intended)

2) WORDS (Papaya) -- The words we use
-- IN ANY AND EVERY situation --
should be positive and edifying,
whether directed toward others, at things, or ourselves.
(Betcha can't say "papaya" without smiling!)

3) ACTIONS (pineapple - the "ninja fruit") --
Our actions should reflect our inner attitudes
and these, of course, should bring glory to God.
God doesn't want us to be "busy;" He wants us to be FULL.

Finally (yes people, I'm wrapping it up), Tyler said:

When you DO become full in Christ, all you need to do is GIVE IT AWAY.
You do this by being Jesus to others around you.
And you know what?
When you give it away, you are making room on your "tree"
for more fruit in your life!
How cool is that?

Thanks for the awesome message, Pastor Tyler!