Jim Preisig

Do You Remember Miss Lillian Carter?

Since he’s still around, most folks remember Jimmy Carter. Although not popular as a president, his standing among presidents seems to be on the ascendency.

 

Whatever you think about President Carter, it was his mother, Miss Lillian, that I really liked. She had a disarming southern charm, and an incisive wit.

 

One time a reporter was pushing Miss Lillian on her son’s reputation for honesty. With a measure of challenge the reporter asked, “Miss Lillian, do you mean that he (Jimmy) never told a lie?”

 

"Well, I reckon he might have told a little white lie now and then," she replied.

 

The reporter pounced: "Do you mean that white lies are okay? Just what do you mean by a white lie?"

 

"Well," drawled Miss Lillian, "Do you remember when you came in this morning and I told you how glad I was to see you...?"

 

What white lies do you tell? Ever wonder why? Is it to avoid a deeper truth?

 

Come to The Summit this weekend and we will explore what it is like to live in truth!

 

Speaking the Truth in Love

Speaking the Truth in Love

 

One of the keys to living within God’s love and grace – and living richly – is to live in the truth. I still remember when I read The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky and stumbled over this quote. Read it carefully, as I believe Dostoevsky is touching upon profound, biblical truth. He wrote:

 

"The important thing is to stop lying to yourself. A man (sic) who lies to himself and believes his own lies becomes unable to recognize the truth, either in himself or in anyone else, and he ends up losing respect for himself as well as for others. When he has no respect for anyone, he can no longer love, and in order to divert himself, having no love in him, he yields to his impulses, indulges in the lowest forms of pleasure, and behaves in the end like an animal, in satisfying his vices. And it all comes from lying, lying to others and to yourself."

 

What would it mean to live in the truth?

 

What would change in the way we live? Love? Or experience life?

 

Please join me this weekend in worship as explore speaking the truth in love.

 

Liar, Liar

Remember the Jim Carrey movie, “Liar, Liar?”

 

It follows the life of a fictional attorney who seems to lie instinctively – about everything. The plot twists around his relationship with his young son, to whom he lies routinely. As can only happen in the movies, this attorney is blessed/cursed with the inability to tell a lie – to the judge, to the traffic cop, to his wife, son, and faithful secretary. The results are hilarious. The premise is provocative.

 

What would your life be like if you spent a full 24 hours without telling a lie. No fibs, no white lies, no seemingly innocent half-truths.

 

What would that be like for you?

 

More tomorrow, in anticipation of worship this weekend!

A Note from Les Norman to The Summit Church

Received this wonderful note from Les Norman and had to share it with you...

 

Jim,

  I wanted to extend my heartfelt thanks for including me in the baseball series at The Summit!  It was truly amazing, and I have to tell you, God is working in such a mighty way since then....the emails, handshakes, cards....even one of my assistant youth baseball coaches shared his story of his father wound!  To be but a small piece of Kingdom work is overwhelming....I am UNDONE before our Lord!

  You and the staff at The Summit are nothing short of extraordinary!  There is a love of Christ that permeates the soul!  I have never been made to feel more welcome, more LOVED while speaking, than I did in those 5 services!  Thank you for your commitment to Christ, each other, and the lost world waiting to hear that not only are they not losers, but they can have eternal victory in Christ!

  Your gifts to my family and I were very generous.  I am humbled by that support; thank you very much for thinking of us in such a kind, and big way.  Can't wait to come back with handshakes, hugs, and to hang out with the on-fire followers at The Summit!

Prayers Abound!

The Norman Family

So How Was Mother’s Day?

On Mother’s Day at the Preisig home, the emphasis is on anything that might bring delight to MaryAnn, since the rest of the year she works tirelessly to bring delight to us.

So, we made a splendid luncheon with artichoke appetizer, sautéed scallops, green beans, baked potato, salad; all capped off with a homemade cherry pie compliments of Tim Pundt. In short, a feast! (For Father’s Day we have steak, but that’s another story.)

 

What followed was a sweet Sunday afternoon nap. Ah, now that was delightful. There is nothing quite like the satiated feeling after lunch and a nap.

 

After the nap we dashed to the Rio Theatre off Metcalf to see The Sapphires. It was a great movie. If you haven’t seen it – do so soon.

 

Then we sat and read, tuned in Netflicks to watch West Wing reruns, and called it a day.

 

At the close of it all, MaryAnn concluded that it was one of the best Mother’s Day on record. Really, it wasn't anything extravagant - it was just for her.

 

Why does any of this matter?

 

The truth of the Gospel is that when you bring joy to someone else, the joy and blessings abound!

 

So what did you do for Mother’s Day?