Proclaimers of His Majesty

"For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty" ( 2 Peter 1:16).

Today I heard someone use the phrase "too close for comfort"; it was just after I had been contemplating the above verse penned by the Apostle Peter. As he continued, I began to ponder if it was not also true that we could get too comfortable because we are so close.

I live in the fabulous hills of Tennessee, snuggled between the legendary Civil War battlefield of Shiloh and the fabled Natchez Trace Parkway. About ten miles from my home is a naturally made land bridge and about thirty miles from my home is the birthplace of David Crockett, yet it has been years since I have visited any of these places. People travel for miles around to enjoy the beauty and history that surrounds me yet I am seemingly oblivious to it all.

A certain blindness comes from knowledge and familiarity. Unless we take the time to focus on something, it will never become a part of our life. Just because I own a beautiful flower garden does not mean that I have ever stopped to ponder the grandeur of the single rose.

As Christians, there is the danger of becoming comfortable with God.

As Christians we can get in a rut, we go to church, sing the songs, hear the sermons, read our Bibles, and pray our prayers, but none of it really makes a difference in our lives. Jesus told the Christians as Ephesus that this, basically, was their situation. They were doing all the things they were supposed to be doing yet Jesus says, "Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love" ( Revelation 2:4).

As Christians, we have something about which to be excited!

We need to let people know about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. While we are not in the position of Peter, where we can be eyewitnesses of his majesty, we certainly can be proclaimers of his majesty. We have a message worth sharing and that message is Christ's message.

We do not have to use "cunningly devised fables" or any other "heroic measures" when it comes to spreading the gospel. We have the power of God unto salvation if we will but use it to save those who are lost ( Romans 1:16). This power is the Bible and it is God's inspired word. "No prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit ( 2 Peter 1:20,21).

There is nothing more precious, more glorious, more majestic than the word of God that can save mankind.

A proclaimer of the gospel, God wants you to be one; your neighbor is dying for you to be one.

The Life of Ryleigh

Today is a special day.  The Butterfly Foundation is having it's annual walk from the high school to the town square in remembrance of Ryleigh Stegall and to raise awareness for the foundation.  Ryleigh's family started the Butterfly Foundation to help people in Wayne County who have children facing life threatening illnesses.  The Stegall family holds a special place in my heart and in my mind they are true heroes.  The following post was originally written on September 15, 2007 the day after Ryleigh died, I read it at her funeral and since then it has taken on a life of its own.  It remains the most read post on my blog by far with dozens of hits each month.  My intention is to "re-post" it annually in conjuntion with the Butterfly Walk.  Mitchell

Ryleigh Stegall's seven year battle with Leukemia ended Friday morning as she passed from this life and into the arms of God. Ryleigh's life ended quite similar to how it began, surrounded by family and friends, appreciative to God for blessing our lives with her life.

Anyone who ever spent time with Ryleigh found themselves captivated by her strong personality. She had one of those smiles that could light up a room. With all of the things about Ryleigh that made her special, ironically, it was her desire to just be a normal kid that truly set her apart.

Ryleigh leaves behind her parents, Steven and Michelle, her sister Keerstin, and her brother Chandler, a close knit extended family as well as an entire community who loved her. At some point all of those who knew Ryleigh will ponder the question of "Why?" Why did Ryleigh have to bear such a burden? Why did she have to go so young? Why did all the prayers for healing offered on her behalf go seemingly unanswered? I will be first to admit that I have pondered these questions. While I may not be able to answer these questions, even to my own satisfaction, I do know that God holds the answer. Ryleigh now knows the answer and her smile continues to light up rooms.

We may wonder, "What if. . ." What if she had never gotten cancer? What if God completely removed it from her body? One thing I do know is that no one who ever knew her could imagine what life would have been like without her.

Steven and Michelle never let the disease that robbed so much from their daughter's life define her and neither did Ryleigh. This attitude, this determination, is what defined the life of Ryleigh, it is her legacy to us. It is not what happens to you in life that defines you, but rather it is how you choose to live.

We would all do well to choose to live the life of Ryleigh.

Pride and Disappointment for the Lady Cats

The Waynesboro Middle School Lady Cats Basketball team finished their season this evening with pride and disappointment. At first thought these two emotions don't seem to go together, how can you take pride in disappointment?

The Lady Cats have a good team but, at the beginning of the season, no one expected too much from them. The problem was not a lack of athletes or even ability but one of age, the Lady Cats have only one 8th grader on the team making for a young, inexperienced team. They took a few lumps early on in the season but each game brought out their desire to win.

The Lady Cats finished the year strong and were invited to the two premier invitational state tournaments for middle schools. The first tournament was the James C. Haile State Invitational Tournament in Murfreesboro, TN where the Lady Cats took second place out of eleven teams. This week the Lady Cats played in the T-N-T Statewide Middle School Basketball Tournament (T-N-T stands for Tops 'N Tennessee) and concluded their apperance in this tournament tonight with a loss to Waverly but not until advancing to the Final Four.

It was a bitter loss for the girls and their coach (who happens to be my brother, Jeff), who had aspirations of winning this tournament after their strong appearance last week. Time will heal the wounds of disappointment and I have no doubt that already the girls and their parents are contemplating with pride how far they have come this year.

I can almost guarantee that the hope filled phrase common in sports has already rolled off the lips of more than one of the girls and their parents, "Just wait till next year!"

Girls, I'm proud of you and can't wait till next year! (We will miss you Kelsey.)

What A Run!

Well, it's over. Tonight we lost to Portland which put us out of the tournament. But what a run we made!

Undefeated in the district, facing elimination after the first night of the state tournament, and yet these girls summoned the courage to continue their quest. As they all lined up along first base line to receive their parting gifts and just before having to go remove their banner from the fence, I walked the line, looked each of them in the eye and said, "I'm proud of you. You are a champion!"

In my book they are champions and I wouldn't trade a single one of them.

We are. . . Wayne County!

All is well in the softball universe, at least the Wayne County Softball universe that is. We bounced back admirably tonight following last nights trip to the wood shed.

Tonight we beat Decatur County 4-1 in a game that never was in question. It would have been easy for the girls to lay down, say they'd had a good time, and relish in the honor that comes from just making it to the state tournament. Not our girls, they came here to win and they showed it tonight. Our victory puts us among the top five teams in the state and gave us the reputation that we are not a team that gives up when up against the wall.

Every game we play now is an elimination game. We lose, we go home. The girls seem to relish the position we are in. Our battle cry has become, "We are. . . Wayne County!" An homage to the Thundering Herd of Marshall University who refused to give up in the face of adversity. While the heights we must climb are nothing when compared to that of those who carried the torch for a devastated Marshall team, we do have mountains to climb.

We are the smallest community represented here, we are the first team from Wayne County to ever earn a bid to the Dixie Youth State tournament in softball, and not many people have given us a chance. We refuse to listen to the reasons why we cannot win but instead we choose to focus on why not. Why not Wayne County?

These girls are special. They all have contributed something positive to each win we have notched in our belt this far, that is what a team does. We may be from a small town, but our desire to win is by no means small. We may be the first, but someone always must blaze the way.

So again I ask, Why not Wayne County? I can't think of a single reason why.

Tough Loss

We had a tough game tonight, however the score doesn't reflect our effort. Getting beat 14-0 is hard to swallow. But we hit the ball hard, it just so happened that Pleasant View had someone standing everywhere we hit. Our defense could have been better, we made several errors both mental and physical.

Tomorrow is a new day and we are in this to win! We play Decatur Co. At 6:00.

State Tournament: Opening Ceremony

The girls had a great time at the Opening Ceremony to the state tournament! We all enjoyed a meal with barbecue and all the fixings. Following the meal, the seven teams in the tournament were introduced to the cheers of all their supporters in attendance. All the girls received a poster with their team picture that commemorates the accomplishment of earning a state tournament berth.

This was a night that these girls will never forget. Tomorrow we begin our journey. Our first game is against Pleasant View, last years state champions, first pitch is at 6:00 PM.

On Our Way!

Since Reagan, my ten-year-old daughter, was four, she has played softball. I have been blessed each year with the opportunity to coach her team. We have always had fun and a little success along the way. We have won a few league championships and played on All-Star teams, but never made it past our local district tournament.

This year we've done it! Tonight we won our district tournament and earned a place in the state tournament. We not only won, we were undefeated, beating every team in the tournament.

I couldn't be prouder! These girls worked hard all year with this goal in mind. It was amazing watching these girls use their God given talents, they played so well that, at times, you forgot that they were all just nine and ten years old.

If you see these girls around, give them a pat on the back and wish them luck. They are true champions.

Here they are in no particular order: Reagan Skelton, Sam Skelton, Haley Morris, Madison Keating, Cristin Brewer, Cassie Mathis, Ashley Bumphus, Ashley Templeton, Mckenzie Rich, Mia Robertson, Maranda Keeton, and Shalayna Bratcher.