By Brad Campbell

Just a thought to help start your week.

This picture comes from a small “museum” of sorts in Vicksburg, MS.  Just as the label reads, the objects here are “Chunky Stones”.  Native American Indians would throw sticks to mark a spot and guess where the rolling stone would stop.  My little hometown of Chunky, MS, was given that name because of this particular game the area Indians would play.

You may feel as if you’ve been “chunked” out into the world in another brand new week, not knowing where you will roll or when you might stop.  Others guess or tempt or cause you to stumble and stop along the way, but the more you roll ahead, the further you can go and the more you can accomplish.

Don’t let the world around you dictate your stopping point!  Roll on.  Some of us are a little more “chunky” than others, but it just gives us more to roll.  Chunky – it’s a good place to be, it’s a good thing to be, and it’s the game of life.  You will never know how far you could have gone if you stop rolling.

Just a thought.

By Ryan Kelly

“They came to Jesus and woke Him up, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And He got up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and it became calm.” Luke 8:24

By Brad Campbell

Hi all. Just a thought to help start your week.
This sign is mounted in one of many displays deep inside the U.S.S. Alabama. It represents a generation gone by. So many things were different for our nation 50 and 60 years ago, but one thing remains. Bread is essential to life.

Physically, we must eat to survive. Of course, bread tastes much better with something spread on it, but the fact remains that we need bread to live.

One of the many names for Jesus Christ is the “Bread of Life”. He is essential to life. This Bread is the key to everlasting survival! His Bread, and His alone, can guarantee you salvation and a place in Heaven.

Bread. It’s a simple thing. But without it, society could not survive. The same is true for the living Bread. Without Him, there is no life. Share the Bread with a starving world this week!

Just a thought. 

By Ryan Kelly

One of my favorite movies is Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The reason is because of the scene at the end where Jones has to pass the test which is a “leap of faith.” Before him was a deep cavern with no bridge to the other side. Crossing the cavern was the only way to save his father, but there was no apparent rational way to cross. It seemed to him that crossing would be disastrous. 
Have you ever felt like this in your life? When you got to the end of your path and had no rational way forward, did you trust in God with your step forward?  

Hebrews 11:1 states, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Sometimes God wants us to have faith in Him without knowing a rational reason for our next steps. 

Sometimes the destination is less important than the journey there. 

We will face many trials, tests, and leaps of faith in life. They will happen. So, do you truly have enough faith in God for Him follow through and guide your paths?  

Are you willing to trust in God more than yourself?  

By Brad Campbell

Just a thought to help start your week.

When we were kids, we enjoyed pretending to be someone else or somewhere else.  To pretend opened up new worlds and experiences!  Well, this morning I received notice from my particular social media profile that my account had been hacked.  Actually it said that someone had set up a fake account and was “pretending” to be me!  My first thought was, “How absurd!”  Why on earth would anybody pretend to be me, of all people?

I snapped this photo on a side street in the town of Tours, France, last summer.  I’m not sure Hell has a kitchen.  After all, food is a pleasure, and Hell has no pleasure.  But anyway, either the experience in this establishment is one to dread, or the food is pretty hot. Maybe they’re just pretending to be “hot stuff”. 

Too many people play pretend even into adulthood.  We put on fake faces to cover our feelings.  We pretend to enjoy a terrible job.  We pretend to be happy when inside we are hurting greatly.  We go to church and pretend to be a Christian when we have never given our heart to Jesus.

Whatever you’re choosing to cover up today, it’s time to quit pretending.  Let the Father know your hurts, your thoughts, you feelings, and your disappointments.  He’s a real God. He will be real with you.  Be real with Him.  Or continue pretending to be the Christian you know you really aren’t, and one day you can let the rest of us know just how hot Hell’s kitchen really is.

Just a thought.

By Ryan Kelly

This picture is of St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans.  My family and I took a quick weekend trip to the city to see The Lion King at the Saenger Theatre and the Aquarium of the Americas.  The kids loved it!

I noticed something very apparent during our trip, though. The attitude of the people around us greatly affected our attitude at the time.  Here are some examples.

At the hotel, we were greeted by very friendly bell hops and attendants to check us in. This marked a very positive start to the vacation and put us in good spirits.  That night, we went to a restaurant where the waiter was pretty slow, but very friendly.  Despite the slowness of the service, his charming smile and friendly attitude made up for the service and still put us in a good mood and made the evening very nice.  In contract, though, we had another meal before leaving where the waitress was prompt and attentive, but she clearly had a bad attitude and an uncaring heart toward what she was doing.  This put a damper on the entire day and soured us before leaving.

So, why bring up this point?  It is because our attitude affects others.  You see, God created us to be social people.  Our spirit rubs off on others in either a positive of a negative way. None of us are perfect and we will all make mistakes.  But, when we have a kind, loving attitude toward those around us, it makes up for our shortcomings and encourages others. When we have a bad attitude, it also affects others in a negative way.

Paul tells us in Philippians 2:1-30, “So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

So, in whatever you do, think first of the impact you will make in someone else’s life and try to have a positive attitude.  I promise you that it will open more doors for witness and positive influence than a negative attitude ever would…

By Brad Campbell

Just a thought to help start your week.

You know by now, of course, that we have a new President, sworn in to office just a few short days ago. Regardless of your political stance, you must certainly realize the racial turmoil and enormous divisive nature of the past eight years. As we look forward to days ahead, we are reminded in God’s Word to pray for our leaders. Pray for those in authority. Pray for their decision-making processes. Pray for their safety. Pray for their families. Just pray.

Will God use President Trump to heal the hurts in our great land? I believe God can use any of us who allow ourselves to be used of Him. And we all desperately need to be used of Him.

Republican or Democrat – it doesn’t matter. What matters is that we remain as One Nation, Under God. This photo, taken last summer at the American Cemetery in Normandy, France, is a picture of exactly why we are to stand together as Americans! Too many lives have been given to provide for your freedoms. And One Life was given to provide for your salvation!

Vote your conscience. Then, when the totals are counted – win or lose – pray for those who hold the elected offices. And pray that we here at home will remain faithful to lift them all up to the Lord. I believe God will bless American again. Let’s pray together for it to be so.

Just a thought.

By Brad Campbell

Just a thought to help start your week.

I went back to some “oldies” and pulled out this gem.  That’s me on the far left along with some of my cousins at our grandparents’ house one Christmas.  I enjoy looking back through the old pictures and seeing what things were like.  I don’t always remember the particular occasion, but I remember those people.

Looking back at our past can be fun.  However, it can also be saddening.  We remember those who are no longer with us, and we drag up memories of tough times or of sins that we have committed and wrongs we have done.  

What I believe we need to remember is that the past is just that.  It’s past.  It’s over.  The only thing I can do about my wrongs of yesterday is to beg the Lord for forgiveness and to plan to live my today and tomorrow in a much better fashion.

And that word “fashion” brings to mind a different kind of “fashion” as you look at the clothing we wore way back when.  Bell-bottoms may come and go, but I hated them the first time around.  Some things from our past may continue as uncomfortable memories, but use them as reminders of how great the future for the child of God will be!  Remember your past, and use it to plan a glorious future.

By Ryan Kelly

So many Christians will long for tomorrow. “If only I can get through (fill in the blank), I will be happy.” Meanwhile, you miss out on life with your kids, the love of your spouse, the beauty of nature, and the joys of helping and encouraging others. No matter where you are in life, there is abundant joy and happiness right where you are.

James 4:14 asks us, “Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” Why do we work so hard for tomorrow when our life on Earth is so finite? What goal should we have besides bringing glory to God through our faith?

We can do this today!

Don’t worry about tomorrow, but focus on the great opportunities in front of you today. No matter who you are, God has placed great things in your life designed especially with you in mind. Enjoy them, and praise God for the day that He has given you!

Paint us a picture of your family and how you interact with one another

Kelly and I live in Nashville and were recently married on October 8, 2016. We have a sweet dachshund/beagle mix named Bailey. We met on a dating app called Bumble, and realized we both attended Southern Miss at the same time, and even had mutual friends, but somehow never met. Looking back, we realize that was all God’s timing, because I know I was not mature enough back then to handle a serious relationship, and things wouldn’t have worked out. Kelly feels the same way. But now that we’re in our early 30’s, we have grown closer to God and as a result, He decided to put us together. It didn’t take us long to know we were “the one” for each other, either. We were married one year (almost to the day) after we met. As newlyweds, we are being intentional about spending as much quality time together during our first year of marriage as we can. This means that sometimes we turn down the invitations of friends and family and instead work on bonding together as one. We think that this will pay dividends in the long run. We are also blessed that our families live nearby and we get to see them at least once a week, sometimes more. The family life is something that we both believe strongly in; we both come from Christian families, and we found that common bond very appealing about each other when we were dating.

What does your average week look like? 
We both work full time jobs; Kelly is an assistant principal at a local middle school, and finishes at 4:00, and I am a legislative assistant for a state representative, and I get off work at 4:30. So we get home and have plenty of time together. We run errands, walk around our neighborhood, visit family, and attend church together. We eat supper together each night – Kelly cooks and I clean (well, most of the time). Saturday mornings we usually do chores around the house, run errands, and spend time with friends. Sundays are always dedicated to church and family.

How do you balance home life and work life?  
We are blessed that when our jobs are over at the end of the day, they’re over. The only exception is that Kelly is required to attend some football and basketball games, and during the legislative session I work later some days. For the most part, we don’t have to bring work home, which again is a blessing.
Being newlyweds, we don’t yet have children (which we hear is quite time consuming), but we’re hoping to start a family soon!

How is your faith displayed in a daily basis? 
The greatest commandment is to love one another. We believe in our everyday lives, the best way to display our faith is to sincerely love everyone we come across. That means smiling at strangers in the grocery store, having patience with coworkers, giving a helping hand to our neighbors, volunteering at the soup kitchen, etc. Those seemingly small acts of love can’t be underestimated. Beyond that, any chance we get to share the message of Christ with people, we certainly take that opportunity.

What is a significant opportunity that you have had to share your faith with others?
Kelly has a good friend who is a non-believer, and takes every opportunity to show Christ’s love in various ways. My brother struggles with faith, and I’m constantly praying for him and maintaining my relationship so that the seeds that were planted during his youth will produce a fruitful, faithful life one day.

Living in the South, just about everyone has had some contact with Christianity. Most folks know the basic tenets of the faith. I find that often they may have been turned off by a bad experience with a church or with another Christian. Sometimes they’ve just been deceived by Satan through modernism, scientism, relativism, or humanism. In any case, it’s a matter of showing how Christ’s love makes a difference in our lives. It’s something real, not just lip service. Our faith gives us joy, hope, purpose, and best of all – eternal life.

What are some of the greatest challenges that you face on a daily basis, and how do you overcome those challenges?
For Kelly, it is time – time to balance everything from work to family to personal and spiritual growth. To overcome these challenges, she prioritizes and is very intentional in regards to time management.

For Theo, one of my biggest challenges is staying positive about my career – making sure I’m making a difference and growing professionally. To overcome this, I read relevant articles, keep up with the news, try to learn new skills, and work on professional development.