Trey Morgan.netTrey Morgan.netA blog about our daily walk with God and it's challenges to be who God wants us to be. Articles
30 MINUTE WORSHIP - GUARANTEED
2008-04-29 16:39:00 The big sign outside the church building reads, "30 Minute Worship - Guaranteed." It's a new concept of church for busy people. They advertise, "It's all about the quality, not about the quantity." They offer worship for 10 minutes, the word for 12-15 minutes and response for 5 minutes for those that don't have much time.Have we become so busy that we now need a worship service that lasts the same length of a tv sitcom? Are we so time starved that we now can only do a Sweet Half-Hour of Prayer? What's next, drive thru church where you don't even have to leave your car?I'm actually not sure what I think about this. Here are a few questions still swirling around in my head that I'd love your opinion on:My concern really isn't with the church's offer of a 30 minute service. In fact, I love the fact that a church is trying something new to reach out to people who don't think they have time for God. But I think it says something about our society when we can't give God more th...
A FEW PICTURES FROM DALLAS
2008-04-27 14:02:00 The Dallas Cowboy's new one million dollar stadium. Can't wait to go watch them play there. Here's more about the stadium. The boys spent quite a bit of time by the pool. Here's a surprise, Lea chose not to swim, but rather shop. As for the look on her face, I'd just told her, "Now shop all you want, but don't spend any money on shoes." :) The Rangers actually won the game breaking a 7 game losing. Cooper spent a little time at the Wiffleball batting field. 18 hotdogs, 3 large drinks and a $6 bag of cotton candy made the evening perfect! More About: Pictures
TAGGED AGAIN!
2008-04-25 15:15:00 Thanks to my ex-buddy Gilbert (kidding), I’ve been tagged, again!Here are the questions that I'm supposed to answer... What I was doing 10 years ago: I was living the dream, baby. I was getting to preach every Sunday, minister to a great community of people, I was married to a smoking hot wife and I was watching some amazing boys grow up. Oh wait, that's what I'm still doing today. YES!Five things on my to do list for today:Finish 3 lessons for a weekend at the Lakeside Church in Mansfield, Texas.Pick up shirts and hats for the T-ball team I'm coaching. (I live such an exciting life). Apologize to my secretary for missing Secretary's Day this past Wednesday. No one told me that Secretary's Day had been changed and is now being called, "Administrative Professional Day." What's up with the name change? Can we not just have secretaries anymore? Do they have to have some fancy title? Next thing you know the good people who clean the church building will no longer be called cust... More About: Tagged
YO DAWG!
2008-04-24 15:31:00 Cooper is so blessed to have Mrs. Steed as his Kindergarten teacher. She does a great job and Cooper loves her. Mrs. Steed has her class write a story nearly everyday about things going on in their lives. As for Cooper's stories, we're never quite sure what he's going to write about. This was his paper from Monday (with her note of encouragement on it) ...For those who can't read Cooper's 6-year-old writing, let me tell you what it says... "On Friday this week I am going to Dallas to watch the Texas Rangers and the Dallas Cowboys. And I am going to stay with Aunt Mel. They are cool. Yo Dog! I like to say, 'Yo Dog!'"Yo Dog? I'm not sure where he's picked up "yo dog" from, but I'm thinking that he may be watching too much of Randy Jackson on American Idol. Have a great day and may I be the first to say to you today, "Yo Dawg!"
VISITOR IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT
2008-04-23 14:26:00 It all started as a strange dream. Someone was tickling my neck and back with a piece of grass. I'd brush brush it away and a few moments later they'd do it again. Finally after the forth time of brushing them away I woke up enough to realize that it wasn't a dream.I looked at the clock and knew since it was 3:30 a.m., that it wasn't Lea tickling my back and neck. It was at that moment I felt it again, but this time I knew immediately that it wasn't a dream, a blade of grass or Lea. Instead there was something in bed with us. Something big. I immediately swatted at what I now knew was some sort of critter that had climbed in our bed. In the total darkness of the night the beast felt enormous. I immediately thought to myself, "I've got to get me a deer rifle or machete to keep next to my bed?" Never should a person be attacked in the safety of their own bed. Ever.I knew I had to protect my family, so like any other man, I began to holler out in the dark, flailing my arms about ... More About: Night , Middle , Visitor
10 SIGNS YOUR CHURCH MAY BE DYING
2008-04-22 14:22:00 I visited with a man the other day that was very concerned about the church where he was attending. His exact words were, "We're dying. Some don't care, and the others don't know what to do about it!" He and I got to talking about some of the signs they were seeing that pointed to their church dying out. The following are a few we talked about, and of course I've added a couple that are a little tongue-and-cheek. So with the help of my friend, here is "10 Signs your Church may be Dying ." It does nothing to reach its community.The only thing that seems alive in worship is the greenery at the front of the auditorium.The song you sing most on Sundays is, "Tis so sweet to Rust in Jesus."Worship is quiet because there are no children.Its only conversions come from baptizing its own kids.It is concerned with look and not action.It is happy just being comfortable.It is out of touch with the 21st century.It is all about money, buildings and budgets.It is all politics.Can you add any to ...
STUFF I'M THINKING RIGHT NOW
2008-04-21 13:47:00 I'm thinking that I love Sundays. Yesterday was an awesome day. God was worshipped, the church building was packed, visitors were present and the singing was fabulous. Now, if we could just figure out a way to get the preaching to improve. :)Some religious blogs are, "...too immersed in the spiritual realm, blah, blah, blah."I'm thinking that I don't know how or why my blog was reviewed over at Blog-Search-Engine.com this week, but I sure appreciate their kind words. I thought it was cool that TreyMorgan.net is currently being listed as a feature blog. I did get a chuckle out of the part that said some religious blogs are, "...too immersed in the spiritual realm, blah, blah, blah."I'm thinking that the testosterone was thick Thursday night at the For Men Only Garage Bible study. I had 14 men show up and a few call and say they couldn't make it, but would be there next week. We're studying about Samson and learning from his mistakes; how to be real men. I did have a couple of M... More About: Stuff , Thinking
REDNECK EVANGELISM?
2008-04-19 16:52:00 There are plenty of bad church signs out there, but this "Get'r Done" sign made me laugh. I also like this one and this one! This is not a church sign but I fell over in the floor laughing when I saw this one.Have you seen any funny signs or bumper stickers? More About: Evangelism , Redneck
THE MOST POPULAR BIBLES
2008-04-18 14:19:00 I'm sure you know that the Bible is the best selling book ever, but did you know that the Bible is also the world's most shoplifted book. "King John" Dobbs has been talking about Bible translations this week and it got me thinking about, "What's my favorite translation?"According to Bible sales, the top selling bible translations look like this ... New International Version New King James Version King James Version New Living Translation English Standard Version Reina Valera 1960 (Spanish) Holman Christian Standard Bible New American Standard Bible The Message International Children's BibleI like preaching from the NIV because that's what most people here use, but much of my personal reading is done from the NLT. I still have and use my old "wide margin" Bible with all my notes in it. One thing I have still yet to purchase a ESV which many of my preaching friends love. If it were up to me to say what is the best Bible translation ever? I'd say it would have to be the one you'... More About: Popular , Bibles
FOR MEN ONLY
2008-04-17 18:15:00 Tonight I'm starting something I've been wanting to do for awhile. Tonight at 9 p.m. I'm having a men's only bible study, for men and about men.And where should men have a Bible study? And where do real men study the Bible? Only a manly place will work for men. If we’re going to learn to be MEN like the Bible teaches us to be, we can’t have meeting in a flower shop, fabric store or a Hobby Lobby. But a Bible study in a garage sounds like something men could do! So, tonight I have about 14 men from church and from the community who have committed to coming to this Bible study in my garage to learn how to be better men. Very simply, Samson will teach us why strong men fail. And as a Christian man, a husband and as a dad I don't want to fail.We’re going to be studying a book called, "The Samson Syndrome." The book will deal with many of the topics men struggle with today like lust, boundaries, ego, foolish risks, intimacy, etc! The book will cover Samson’s life and what we...
WHAT I DREAM FOR THE CHURCH
2008-04-16 15:17:00 Yesterday I talked about my vision for the church in Childress. Let me continue those thoughts today with a dream I have for this church.About a week ago I did something I usually don't do. I looked to see what the men serving communion were wearing. This used to be an issue years ago. I'm glad we're passed it. I had a woman a few years back mention that "so-in-so" was not wearing proper clothes while serving at the table. She also mentioned that one of the young men could have used a haircut. Finally, she closed with, "And there were some people talking during communion." I had heard her complaints many times before and I'd been very kind and gracious to her, but that morning for some reason, she caught me at a weak moment. "It's obvious," I told her, "if you have that much time to look around and take notes of who is doing what during the Lord's Supper, then you are not focusing on the things the Bible says that you need to be focusing on!" She took it remarkably well. I tri... More About: Church , Dream , The Church
WE NEED VISION IN THE CHURCH
2008-04-15 17:40:00 Vision is believing it CAN be done! And, we must have vision to see the great things God can do through us.In Numbers 13 we're told of twelve spies who went into the promised land of Israel to see how to conquer the land for Israel. Ten spies didn't have any vision but two of the spies did. The ten visionless spies said, "We can't take the land, because the people who live there are like giants. We are like grasshoppers compared to them." God called their opinion an evil report. The two spies with vision, Joshua and Caleb, said, "Let us go up at once and possess it. The Lord will give us the land; the Lord is with us; don't be afraid." I find it interesting that we remember the names of the two spies with vision, Joshua and Caleb, but we don't remember the names of the ten that were visionless. Walt Disney's brother used to say to him, "Walt, you will never amount to anything; everything you dream of is too big and costs millions of dollars." Old Walt didn't do so badly did h... More About: Church , The Church , Vision
MEN NEED MEN
2008-04-14 16:25:00 Is it just me or do women seem to make women friends easily? Men aren't so lucky. Men seem uncomfortable having close friendships with other men. Oh, men can golf together, fish together and play cards together, but don't ask men to pray together or encourage one another spiritually. Men are much more comfortable just watching the game and exchanging high-fives when the team scores. But sadly, most men have missed out on spiritual blessings because of their inability to make close spiritual friendships with other men.A man needs brothers in Christ who know him authentically and who are committed to spur him on towards integrity and becoming all that God created him to be. The bottom line fact is that an isolated follower of Jesus is extremely vulnerable to the temptations in today’s world and to the enemy’s schemes. When men choose to go-it-alone spiritually, it's tough. “And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly t...
ACCIDENTS, AIM & HOUSE FIRES
2008-04-11 14:48:00 Cooper took a nose-dive on the trampoline last night into the metal side railing. He looks a little rough with his nose and right eye all swollen up and very sore. We've raised all 4 boys on the old trampoline without even one injury to this point. I think our odds have been good. It did take me quite a bit of begging before he let me take his picture. This was his happiest face. I should have taken it last night right after it happened. Wow! (Don't tell him I put it on my blog.)There are some pretty awesome things going on at the Childress church. We've got the Australian AIM team coming to work with us for the next four months. They've had to come back to the States a little early from their Australian mission field. They wanted to finish out their mission term, so they'll be working, ministering and helping with the church here in Childress for a few months. It's going to be a win/win situation for everyone involved. They'll bless us, and at the same time, it'll be a bles... More About: House , Accidents , Fires
LOST
2008-04-10 16:43:00 LOST is on tonight! Lots of people love the award winning television show Lost . The people of Oceanic Flight 815 have almost become household names. Lea loves loves the show too. I've tried hard to watch it with her and keep up with what's going on. Still the show has so many questions and so few answers. I've finally found a video that makes sense of how I feel about LOST! Who knows it may help catch you up with what's going on too? (Thanks to my friend David for pointing this video out to me.)Are there any television shows you just can't get into?
THE MARRIAGE CHALLENGE
2008-04-09 15:18:00 I have been challenged today by a new study and I'm committing today to be a 5 to 1 husband!Statistics on marriage scare me, but the Studer Group has released a new study on "Compliment to Criticism" ratio. They've told us from their studies that people in general need 3 compliments given for every 1 criticism said to them. While that didn't surprise me, this did: Their reports also showed that in marriage if you have a 5 to 1 compliment to criticism ratio, the divorce rate in that marriage drops from 50% to 7%. DID YOU CATCH THAT husbands and wives? We are now learning how to beat the old statistic that says that 50% of all marriages will end in divorce. How? Give 5 compliments to your spouse for every 1 negative thing you say. When you take on the 5 to 1 plan, the divorce rate in your marriage drops to 7%. I like those odds! My goal is to become a 5 to 1 kind of spouse, and I plan on starting today. Before the day is out I will give Lea five genuine compliments. I'm sure she'... More About: Marriage , Challenge
I DON'T NEED NO STINKING CHARLIE HORSES
2008-04-08 14:44:00 I'm a runner. I love running for exercise. Late yesterday evening my running buddy Zach and I ran a 3-miler on a beautiful West Texas spring evening. Because it was late, I didn't do a very good job stretching when I finished. Unfortunately, I paid the price for not stretching at about 3 a.m. this morning when I was attacked by a killer Charlie -horse. Nothing, I mean nothing, will remove you from bed and a deep sleep like a Charlie-horse. I got up immediately, grabbed my right calf and started jumping up and down, arms flailing, feet moving and leg cramping. I have no doubt that had it not been dark in the room, Lea would have seen my dance and thought that I was either dreaming that I was Michael Jackson or that I had just got the Spirit! I hate Charlie-horses. Have you ever done a 3 a.m. Charlie-horse dance? More About: Horses , Stinking
7 WAYS TO RUIN YOUR KIDS
2008-04-07 18:27:00 LIE FOR YOUR KIDS. When a parent writes their child a note to school saying their child was sick or had a doctor's appointment, and really they just over slept .... YOU are teaching them it's OKAY to lie. Don't you get it? Don't lie to help cover up mistakes for your kids.DON'T GIVE THEM ANY RULES. Just let them do what they want. AUTOMATICALLY THINK EVERYONE IS OUT TO GET YOUR CHILD WHEN THEY GET IN TROUBLE. Your child is perfect, how could they ever do anything wrong? Surely it's the school's fault that your child got in trouble. When I was a kid, if I got swats at school (yea, hard to believe), I got swats when I got home as well. Now days, when a child gets in trouble at school, the parent thinks it's the school's fault, the teacher's fault or the principal is picking on my child! Have you ever thought that your child might have done something wrong?NEVER DISCIPLINE YOUR CHILDREN. Discipline is overrated. Want more on disciplining children? Click here!PULL STRINGS TO G... More About: Kids , Ruin
WHAT KIND OF CHURCH MEMBER ARE YOU?
2008-04-03 17:31:00 It seems that there are 3 kinds of people in our churches today: Risk Takers, Care Takers and Undertakers.Risk-Takers: These are the people who are willing to try something different to reach more people with the message of Jesus. Risk-takers aren't worried about being traditional, only being scriptural. Risk-takers are willing to go outside their comfort zone to reach others. God has actually created us to be risk-takers (Matthew 25:14-30), but sadly, there are many more who are comfortable with simply burying their talent. We need more risk-takers in the church today!Care-Takers are just satisfied doing what they've always done. They don't want anyone stirring the water or shaking things up. They are simply much more comfortable just leaving things the way they always have been. When proposed with new ideas of reaching the lost, Care-takers often use the phrase "But we haven't ever done it that way before!" Care-takers never want to be stretched spiritually, they just want ... More About: Church
RAISING BOYS
2008-04-02 17:03:00 Raising four growing boys has its own unique challenges. The house is never short of things like body-noises, sports talk, strange smells, their buddies and other "boy" things. And poor Lea, with raising four boys, it makes everything in our home exactly opposite of what Lea is. Lea is quiet, and they are anything but quiet. Lea smells nice, and they smell like boys. Lea is neat and tidy, and the boys are a little on the messy side. She has manners at the table, and the boys don't (they're learning).Trying to teach them to be gentlemen when they eat has been a challenge. Some of the phrases we regularly have to say at the table are, "Don't eat with your hands;" "Don't eat until we pray;" "Don't talk with your mouth full;" and "You don't say something is nasty that you don't like, you just say you don't care for it!" All part of raising boys.We have always made eating supper together as a family a priority. Not long ago, we'd just sat down to a nice supper. Lea had the table... More About: Boys
TULSA SOUL WINNING WORKSHOP
2008-04-01 14:26:00 I was in Tulsa last week for their Soul Winning Workshop with my two oldest boys (Taylor and Parker) and Ryan, the kid I call my fifth son. (Zack, in the blue AIM shirt, is a new friend who's headed to Scotland.) While I was gone, Lea wrote a couple of posts for me (here and here). What an amazing wife I have. Not only did she post, but did you notice she did what looked a lot like a "Top 10" list. You know me, I love top ten lists. Once again it goes to show you, I married up! What an amazing experience I had last weekend at the Tulsa Workshop. I heard some fantastic lessons on prayer, and the praise and worship was what I imagine heaven being like. It was a good chance for me to refill my tank spiritually. I met a ton of old friends, bloggers and a bunch of people who read my blog. There is nothing more cool, and at the same time, more humbling than someone you don't know coming up and saying, "Hey, I read your blog!" Here are a few of the bloggers I visited with ...Shane Coffma...
10 WAYS TO STAY IN LOVE FOR 20 YEARS (Part 2 - by Lea)
2008-03-31 15:25:00 After being married for twenty years Trey and I have learned a lot of things that worked for us and a lot of things that didn't. I've been sharing things with you that did work for us. Last Friday was part one of this post. It can be found by clicking here! Here are the other five... BE LIKEABLE: I think we all go through times in our marriages when we love each other, but we just really don't like each other. Thankfully for us, those times have been infrequent and temporary. Things like grouchiness, moodiness, negativity and annoying behavior can cause us to become unlikeable. Nobody likes living with someone who is unlikeable. Proverbs 21:9 & 19 say that it's "better to live on the corner of a roof or in a desert than with a quarrelsome and ill-tempered wife". Strive to be likeable.FIGHT FAIR: Disagreements are inevitable in marriage, but try to keep your attitude in check. Watch your words, tone of voice and body language. Don't hold grudges or keep bringing up each othe... More About: Love , Part , Years , Stay
10 WAYS TO STAY IN LOVE FOR 20 YEARS (By Lea - Part 1)
2008-03-28 15:53:00 Hello bloggers! Hopefully Trey hasn't built this up so much that you will be disappointed. I liked all your suggestions for my post. I especially loved the suggestion made by an anonymous person to post about "Ten Way's to Stay in Love for 20 Years " (and hopefully more)! Here are some things Trey and I have learned from our 20 years of marriage...WORSHIP & PRAY TOGETHER. Statistics show that couples who attend worship services together are less likely to divorce than those who don't. Praying together builds intimacy and communication by sharing you innermost thoughts together before your Lord and creator. READ THE BOOK HIS NEEDS HER NEEDS by Dr. Williard Harley, or better yet, take the 8 week seminar. We attended a training seminar and have led 4 of these 8 week seminars. I believe it is the best thing we have done for our marriage. DON'T SPEND MORE MONEY THAN YOU MAKE. Financial problems are the #1 cause for divorce in America. Living within your means and striving to be "d... More About: Part
LEA WILL BE POSTING TOMORROW
2008-03-27 13:54:00 I'm heading to the Tulsa Workshop today. I'm excited about the speakers, the worship, catching up with old friends and the chance to meet a bunch of fellow bloggers that will be there. I've been asking Lea to post for a long time. I think she got tired of me asking, so she gave in and said, "Yes." I didn't know what she was going to write about, but she used a suggestion from one of you readers. There were a lot of good suggestions made (except the one by my former friend David, about "Ten things the Church in Childress doesn't know about Trey - ha). As promised, Lea will post tomorrow and I'm excited. As for the topic? It will be on one of these following suggestions from you... Embarrassing Trey stories!How does Trey keep you number one in his life behind God.Top 10 joys and disappointments of being a ministers wife.Why I don't like putting up Christmas trees early.The stress of being a minister's wife.How do you stay in love with your husband after 20+ years.How to keep a... More About: Tomorrow
GUILTY OF BEING TOO GRACIOUS
2008-03-25 13:02:00 I love the bible study group that meets in our home on Monday nights. It's a time when we really dig deep into challenging thoughts and spiritual concepts. We've read through Phillip Yancy's book, "What's so Amazing about Grace?" What an amazing book! Last night our study dealt with this difficult concept:How do we treat people that we strongly disagree with over moral or spiritual issues? How do you treat people that are living their lives contrary to God's word?There are a lot of issues that have ended friendships and divided churches. Issues like...abortion,homosexuality,sin,instrum ental music,baptism,divorce,remarriage,the Holy Spirit,and the list could go on and on.So, how should we treat people that we greatly differ with? Is the answer in boycotts? Protests? Pickets? Church splits and divisions? Full page ads in the local paper to voice our disgust to the entire world?It doesn't require much work to be gracious towards someone you agree with, but it takes lots of grace ... More About: Guilty
ONE-OF-THOSE-DAYS
2008-03-24 18:43:00 Ever have one-of-those-days? You know one of those days when nothing goes right?In sports it's not uncommon for players to have one-of-those-days where everything goes wrong. The baseball player strikes out every time at bat and goes 0-4 during a game. A reliable NFL quarterback can have games where he throws numerous interceptions instead of touchdowns. In college basketball a player might shoot 0-11 from the floor feeling like he let his team down. This doesn't just happen in sports. We can have bad days at work, at home, at school and other places too. I totally understand that everyone has those days when nothing works right, but why did mine have to come on Easter Sunday? We're talking Easter Sunday. You know, the Sunday when everyone actually shows up, when there are tons of visitors and when the place is packed. Easter Sunday is the one Sunday that every preacher worth his salt wants to bring their A-game. I don't know where my A-game was yesterday, but it wasn't anywher... More About: Days
THOUGHTS FROM A PREACHER'S WIFE
2008-03-21 12:54:00 I'm pumped. I can't believe Lea agreed to it. I've been asking her for a long time and she finally said, "Sure."What is it? Here are a few guesses from yesterday... Motorcycle? (Nope - My mom said "No" under the comments section). Lea starts her own blog? (Can't see her doing that).Put up the Christmas tree? (Awesome thought, but I know she'd say no). NASCAR? (As much as I wish ... nope!)A Baby? (Holy smokes, people, I'm too old!). Something to do with sex? (Nope, but I was a little surprised that it took till comment 14 for someone to think of it).Corny, yes, but I've been asking Lea for months to be a guest blogger on my blog. Okay, I know it's not as exciting as a baby or a motorcycle, but it is to me. Lea's personality is both quiet and reserved. She's not big on having attention drawn to her, but she's so full of wisdom. I honestly didn't think she'd ever agree to this. I've asked her if she could do something for us next week, and she said she would. I feel a lit... More About: Wife , Thoughts
A BIG ANNOUNCEMENT
2008-03-20 15:41:00 I'm pumped. I can't believe Lea agreed to it. I've been asking her for a long time and she finally said, "Sure." What is it? I can't tell you now, but if you'll come back tomorrow you'll find out!THIS IS HUGE!Woo Hoo! More About: Announcement
WHAT I AM THANKFUL FOR TODAY
More articles from this author:2008-03-19 13:50:00 Here are a few things I thanked God for during my quiet time this morning ... Today and everyday, I have a God that loves me and forgives me, despite my faults and screw ups. Psalm 103:11-13I'm thankful that I am rich in marriage. Money can't buy what I have. Lea is my soul mate and someone I can trust. I am minutes away from open arms at anytime during my day. She is my confidant, friend and lover. I have what all the Country & Western singers croon about. (And just think of it, my sweet wife only has ... me! Pray for her.) Proverbs 18:22I'm thankful that God has blessed me with four boys to raise. I look at them and swell with pride. God has given me the huge responsibility of raising them to be Christian men, husbands and fathers. It's a tall task, but one I'm honored to have. Psalm 127:3-5I'm thankful for a church that's not content to sit on their hands (or backside), but wants to reach out and serve a community and the lost. My church family has been such a blessing... 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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