Ten Guidelines

Ten Guidelines From God
Effective immediately, please be aware that there are changes YOU need to make in YOUR life. These changes need to be completed in order that I may fulfill My promises to you to grant you peace, joy and happiness in this life. I apologize for any inconvenience, but after all that I am doing, this seems very little to ask of you. Please, follow these 10 guidelines.

1. QUIT WORRYING: Life has dealt you a blow and all you do is sit and worry. Have you forgotten that I am here to take all your burdens and carry them for you? Or do you just enjoy fretting over every little thing that comes your way?

2. PUT IT ON THE LIST: Something needs done or taken care of. Put it on the list. No, not YOUR list. Put it on MY to-do-list. Let ME be the one to take care of the problem. I can't help you until you turn it over to Me. And although My to-do-list is long, I am after all... God. I can take care of anything you put into My hands. In fact, if the truth were ever really known, I take care of a lot of things for you that you never even realize.

3. TRUST ME: Once you've given your burdens to Me, quit trying to take them back. Trust in Me. Have the faith that I will take care of all your needs, your problems and your trials. Problems with the kids? Put them on My list. Problem with finances? Put it on My list. Problems with your emotional roller coaster? For My sake, put it on My list. I want to help you. All you have to do is ask.

4. LEAVE IT ALONE: Don't wake up one morning and say, "Well, I'm feeling much stronger now, I think I can handle it from here." Why do you think you are feeling stronger now? It's simple. You gave Me your burdens and I'm taking care of them. I also renew your strength and cover you in my peace. Don't you know that if I give you these problems back, you will be right back where you started? Leave them with Me and forget about them. Just let Me do my job.

5. TALK TO ME: I want you to forget a lot of things. Forget what was making you crazy. Forget the worry and the fretting because you know I'm in control. But there's one thing I pray you never forget. Please, don't forget to talk to Me - OFTEN! I love YOU! I want to hear your voice. I want you to include Me in on the things going on in your life. I want to hear you talk about your friends and family. Prayer is simply you having a conversation with Me. I want to be your dearest friend.

6. HAVE FAITH: I see a lot of things from up here that you can't see from where you are. Have faith in Me that I know what I'm doing. Trust Me; you wouldn't want the view from My eyes. I will continue to care for you, watch over you, and meet your needs. You only have to trust Me. Although I have a much bigger task than you, it seems as if you have so much trouble just doing your simple part. How hard can trust be?

7. SHARE: You were taught to share when you were only two years old. When did you forget? That rule still applies. Share with those who are less fortunate than you. Share your joy with those who need encouragement. Share your laughter with those who haven't heard any in such a long time. Share your tears with those who have forgotten how to cry. Share your faith with those who have none.

8. BE PATIENT: I managed to fix it so in just one lifetime you could have so many diverse experiences. You grow from a child to an adult, have children, change jobs many times, learn many trades, travel to so many places, meet thousands of people, and experience so much. How can you be so impatient then when it takes Me a little longer than you expect to handle something on My to-do-list? Trust in My timing, for My timing is perfect. Just because I created the entire universe in only six days, everyone thinks I should always rush, rush, rush.

9. BE KIND: Be kind to others, for I love them just as much as I love you. They may not dress like you, or talk like you, or live the same way you do, but I still love you all. Please try to get along, for My sake. I created each of you different in some way. It would be too boring if you were all identical. Please, know I love each of your differences.

10. LOVE YOURSELF: As much as I love you, how can you not love yourself? You were created by me for one reason only -- to be loved, and to love in return. I am a God of Love. Love Me. Love your neighbors. But also love yourself. It makes My heart ache when I see you so angry with yourself when things go wrong. You are very precious to me. Don't ever forget......

Thanks to my friend, Jennifer Smith, for letting me post this on my blog. I really felt convicted and challenged after I read it and I hope you do to. Blessings!

Cold Sunshine

Ahh, sunny Florida! When you go to a state to the south of you and it takes several hours to even reach it's border, you can expect it to be warm, right? Not this time. This trip to Florida turned out to be quite a bit colder than we bargained for. I guess it really is winter all across the country. This trip was quite the trial for our bodies. We remembered how much Satan tries to do to stop us from doing our godly duty. We started out the trip with Jordan being sick as a dog (no offense intended for dog owners) and barely able to stand up, much less sing a whole concert. Although we didn't know if he would make it through the day, God reminded us how good He is and gave JHouse the strength to perform the first 3 concerts with no worries. God is good! The bug hit us again, however. After Miami, we had a day off in which we drove to Tampa and spent the night. Thanks to Dan and all the folk who hooked us up there. We were pampered by all the gracious folk who put us up in their homes while we were on the road and to those folk we say a heart-felt thanks! Unfortunately, as JHouse got better, Zach "Z-dub" Wilson got sick. He was the only healthy one when we left Nashville Wednesday. It was interesting to see that he turned out to be the only really sick one when we got home. God is still good! He helped Z-dub to get through 2 grueling concerts and he is feeling better daily. Praise God! We had some "repeat customers" at a few of the concerts. We're so glad you think we're cool enough to want to see us twice in a week. I know there was one guy who followed us from Gainesville to Miami which were back-to-back evenings and about 6 hours apart from each other. We also had some folk meet us in Clearwater who saw us in Gainesville, and a few wonderful people who had seen us in Tampa last month came to Winter Garden. We got some real troopers here! I think Gainesville really likes us. I've spoken to a few people on my "myspace" site (myspace.com/rbrannon) who are coming to the big cd release/dvd shoot/ benefit concert in Nashville next month and they're from Gainesville too. That just makes me smile! I hope to see lots of you there. I also hope to see a bunch of my favorite people in Texas next weekend. I'm looking forward to it. I expect to see people I know at Abilene and Seminole. If you know me and you live anywhere close to Redwater (Texarkana), I expect to see you there too. Remember God is good all the time, and all the time, God is good!!!!!

Good Times in Alabama

So we went to Tuscaloosa, Alabama on Wednesday. We had such a good time and didn't want to leave the next day to come back to Nashville, but almost every good thing comes to an end. I say "almost" because I can think of one good thing that will never end...chocolate!!! (just kidding) We were hosted by Byron Sommerdahl, who put the acappella.com site together. He's a great guy and a humble servant for the Lord and we appreciate him and his hospitable church family. The concert was a lot of fun. We did a short worship set in the middle of the concert and found out that the University Church of Christ in Tuscaloosa is one singing church! They really sang well and God was truly glorified. We even set off the fire alarms in the church building. That was fun. Afterward, Byron took us to the Cypress Inn for some of the best catfish and smoked chicken I've ever eaten (and I know about some catfish and smoked chicken). We stayed at a luxurious hunting lodge complete with pool table, ping pong, 48" plasma tv and all kinds of other amenities. We hope to visit Tuscaloosa again soon. Next stop, Alpharetta, Georgia and then back to Florida.
By the way, our upcoming album went to mastering this morning. We are so excited about the release of this album we can barely hold it in. I urge you, if you can find a way to make it to Nashville on March 11th, please do so. The "Quiet the Stones" concert at the Madison Church of Christ is going to be on fire! We're anxiously awaiting the day when we can hand people copies of our voices together for the first time. Hope to see you there!

Psalm 100