Bill’s Front Porch

Dolan and I were just talking about this verichip thing (check out Axegrinder when he gets it up) and the subject naturally came up about evangelism.  You may disagree, but I think we are on the verge of Jesus’ return.  We talked about that and about the fact that it might be time to stand on the street corners with signs and preaching.  The story that Jesus told about the rich man asking Abraham to send  Lazerus back to warn his family came to mind.  Abraham said that even if someone came back from the dead, they still wouldn’t believe (kind of prophetic).  I wonder if it is time for more drastic evangelism, or just to get more believers involved in what we were supposed to be doing all of the time.

There have really been some great jokes and some thought-provoking comments.  That’s what great about a front porch, you can talk about funny topics, tell jokes, etc, and then go to very serious subjects like witnessing and our role in the world!  How great is that?

I heard an advertisement about “Backyard Burgers” (which are wonderful by the way) and I didn’t hear too much except the phrase, “back yard neighbors are best.”  That got me to thinking about growing up and how we all (adults included) used to talk over the fence, play from yard to yard, and just have a ball together.  I remember in the summer that I couldn’t wait for it to get evening so everyone would come out and it was like a huge block party every evening.  I don’t know about your neighborhood, but we don’t do that in mine (maybe that is why the front porch theme).  I don’t think that I am alone in those memories, did you all have the same experiences?  And is that the way your neighborhood is now (is mine just anti-social?).  I mean, everyone is friendly, but we don’t “hang out” together in the evenings.

Just wondering.

I have decided that I’m going to form my own country!  I (of course) will be the ruler of this new country and I already have some laws that I will enact.

1.  EVERYONE must be a believer.

2. No one will be able to work after 5:00, on weekends, or before 9:00 in the morning.

3. Only 4 nights a week are permitted for church functions, sports functions, etc.

4.  All families MUST eat supper around the table (no television, eating in your room etc.).

These are some laws that I could think of off the top of my bald head.  Any others that we need to add? (Anybody want to join my country?  I have some high-level cabinet openings!)

Bill

I have decided that I’m going to form my own country!  I (of course) will be the ruler of this new country and I already have some laws that I will enact.

1.  EVERYONE must be a believer.

2. No one will be able to work after 5:00, on weekends, or before 9:00 in the morning.

3. Only 4 nights a week are permitted for church functions, sports functions, etc.

4.  All families MUST eat supper around the table (no television, eating in your room etc.).

These are some laws that I could think of off the top of my bald head.  Any others that we need to add? (Anybody want to join my country?  I have some high-level cabinet openings!)

Bill

Alright, we have been really serious, which is great, but you can get too serious for too long a time to be on a front porch!  One thing I remember about the porch is the laughter!

With that in mind, here is one of my favorite jokes (it’s the only one I can remember!).  Two men were setting up a bungee jumping tower in a very small town in Mexico.  There thought that they could make a lot of money going to somewhere that had never heard of bungee jumping before.  The higher the tower, the more people came to watch.  When they were finished, one of them decided to test it out.  He jumped and when he came back up, the first one coulcn’t catch him, but he noticed he had some bruises.  This happened several times, each time the man bounced back in worse shape.  Finally his partner caught him.  He asked, “What happened?  Was the cord too long?”  The man responded, “No, the cord was fine, but what is a “pinata”?

Hey I really have enjoyed reading your blog and everyone’s comments!
Can I make a suggestion about a topic?
Really I’m just kinda curious after reading about everyone’s favorite
verses.  I was wondering what person from the Bible everyone identified
most with…currently or throughout their life in general….who ever they
see similar character or personality traits in. 
anyway like i said reading the background on their favorite verses and even
through the other things everyone has shared i’ve just been curious about
that.  I’d put it as a topic on my own blog but i don’t have people reading
mine - that’s deliberate!  LOL  i’m not that brave yet!

I hope ya’ll have a good weekend

D

I was reading Dolan’s “about” page on axegrinder (you need to go there if you haven’t been!) and he had his life verse on it. That made me think about what other people’s life verses might be. I would love to hear them if you have time. Share what the verse is and, if you can, tell why it is important to you.

My verse would be Col. 3:17. It states, “Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.” The reason this verse is so important to me is that at the very beginning of my walk with Christ, I was seeking His will in something that I was struggling with. My understanding of seeking God’s will was a little immature and so I thought I could just open the Bible and He would open it to the place He wanted me to read (don’t laugh, I hadn’t been a Christian very long). Well, God honored that anyway. I kept opening to this verse, but didn’t understand it. A few months later I went to my pastor and asked him, he opened his Bible to…(you guessed it) this verse and explained it to me! This verse is not only a verse I go to when I need to re-orient my life, it is also a verse that helps me remember that God uses whatever means that we can understand. How great is God???!!!!

Bill

Okay, I have a confession to make.  Because BellSouth messed up my order, I am not officially “Broadband Bill” yet.  I have to wait another 48 hours!  I’m on the porch under false pretenses!  Does this mean I can’t be on the porch yet?  One of my great memories of front porches was with Karon also (no skunks, Deanna) at a church in Oxford, AL.  We sat for hours many nights swinging on the porch swing and talking (I spit many a sunflower seed off that porch!).  How ’bout porch swings?!  Were they great or what?!

Bill

Okay, so I am sitting on this porch, in a rocking chair (of course!), with a large glass of lemonade listening to the birds and enjoying the sunshine!  What a great vacation!  I was looking at the great graphic that Dolan added to this and began thinking of my friends and what they mean to me.  I know that this is not earth shattering, but it occurred to me how incredible it is to have Christian friends.  I know that most of you on the porch are believers, although non-Christians are certainly welcome (it would add some other viewpoints), so you know what I am talking about when I say that the blood-bond that we have with other Christians is almost beyond words.  I see people that are literally delighted to do things for others.  The joy on their faces reveals the joy in their hearts when doing for others.  The bond of weeping with those that weep and rejoicing with those that rejoice is a precious bond.  Thinking back to the time before I became a believer (it has been a long time) I know that this quality was never there, and it is something that you can’t describe if you haven’t experienced it.  Like, how do you describe the color yellow?  You just have to see it.  Does any of this make sense?  Anyone know what I’m talking about?  Anyway, I just want my “blood relatives” to know that I love you and I am thankful for you (even the ones that I don’t know yet)1

Bill

As this is my first blog, and Dolan was kind enough to set it up for me, I wanted to relate to you my vision for this site.  I hope that this ends up to be like the front porch of years past.  I remember sitting on the porch and all the adults would be sitting and talking.  There were no rules as to when you could change subjects, nothing that you couldn’t bring up (as long as it was appropriate for mixed company), and no one was ridiculed for holding a certain opinion.  Laughs were abundant.  It was a time to get to know each other and to express your opinion to people who really cared.

 That is what I want this site to be.  No one may even look at it but me, but that’s okay.  If I have to sit on this porch alone, the day is beautiful and there is a wonderful breeze, and I’ll enjoy just being here and talking to God.

Bill