Christ Animated

Be prepared. That's the motto of the Boy Scouts of America. I used to be in the scouts, a long time ago. Preparation. Of vegetables - rinsing, scrubbing, cutting off stems and bad spots, removing seeds and membranes, chopping for use. The bell peppers we love to use in cooking are not usually the star of the dish. They are a small part of it. But they are important. Just ask anyone who hates bell pepper. If they get a bite of one, it's like me finding that someone snuck sour cream or mayo in something I was looking forward to eating. I want to be prepared. I want God to shape me in preparation for whatever He has yet in store for me. But I don't want to be "prepared" - the shearing, pruning, cleansing process hurts. And I don't get to be the star of the final offering - that's not my place. I'm just a part of what He's doing. And that's a pretty good place to be.

How many times have I moved in my life? I'm not sure about birth to about age 3, but I know that it involved at least a couple of moves. I've lived in the following places, though, I know. Booneville, MS Burnsville, MS Corinth, MS Chunky, MS Hattiesburg, MS (2 locations) Petal, MS (2 locations) New Orleans, LA Summit, MS Many, LA (2 locations) Chunky, MS (2 locations) Decatur, MS Hickory, MS Boyce, LA Brookhaven, MS So. I've lived in at least 14 towns/cities. In four of those, I lived at least one month in one location before moving to another in the same town/city. Our most recent move took place in Stage 1 this past weekend. Stage 2 is coming up tomorrow and the next day. In Stage 1, my wife Donna, daughters Britain and Jessica, and son Tobie, with help from a friend named James, moved several items into storage in Alexandria, LA, before Donna and I packed up our car (which we got fixed just hours before leaving!) and headed to Mississippi. Jess stayed ...