think good thoughts ...

People will be more impressed by the depth of your conviction than the height of your logic.

My son forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: so shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.
Proverbs 3:1,4

perspective on love ... from a 6 year old!

'Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.'

Chrissy - age 6

think good thoughts ...

Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.

For His merciful kindness is great toward us; and the truth of the Lord endureth for ever. Praise the Lord. Psalm 117:2

think good thoughts ...

Wisdom is the wealth of the wise.

For the value of wisdom is far above rubies; nothing can be compared with it. Proverbs 8:11 TLB

think good thoughts ...

No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of anyone else.


Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to his edification. Romans 15:1,2 NAS

think good thoughts

A professional is someone who can do his best work when he doesn’t feel like it.

To win the contest you must deny yourselves many things that would keep you from doing your best.1 Corinthians 9:25 TLB

think good thoughts ...

Wisdom is the quality that keeps you from getting into situations where you need it.

I would have you learn this great fact; that a life of doing right is the wises life there is. If you live that kind of life, you’ll not limp or stumble as you run.
Proverbs 4:11,12 TLB

Skynyrd Tribute Weekend 2009

Skynyrd Tribute Weekend 2009

I wanna’ thank Charlie and Nadine for, once again handling the logistics of the Skynyrd Tribute Weekend 2009. They’ve been organizing these events for years without complaint because their focus in on the music and the legacy of Lynyrd Skynyrd and all of the Southern Rockers who have “plowed the road” and given us some of the most genuine, plain speaking, homelike music that’s ever been written! These events are free to all of us but that doesn’t mean there aren’t expenses at every turn - and - it’s like livin’ on a farm - there’s always work to be done! From all of us to Charlie & Nadine (Southpaw & Wailer) we all appreciate the sacrifices you guys willingly make in order for us to have a safe, comfortable family reunion together and it was GREAT wasn’t it! With pure motives; Charlie & Nadine have done more to preserve the Southern Rock tradition than anyone I know of in this city. You work so hard to make sure our heartstrings stay tied together!

If I could sum up the “Christian faith” in one word, that word would be: “others” - Charlie and Nadine have a true heart for “others.” In fact, that’s why we all save our pennies and travel the miles every year; it’s to be with “others” ... we all have a heart for “others.” No matter what’s goin’ on through the rest of the year, we come together in Jacksonville to share ourselves, our hearts, our joy and sorrow and everything that keeps us movin’ forward. We live to be a part of someone else’s dream; to strengthen each other in love and laughter. It’s not about me, and it’s not about you it’s all about “us” ... it’s about what we do for each other and what we all mean to each other - that’s why we come together for these weekends under the “umbrella” of God’s love. It’s about the music and carrying the torch to the next generation. From 1977 to 2009 Skynyrd has lost a lot of members – that means we’ve lost them too. Some of us knew them personally and some of us may have just gotten an autograph but we’ve all been influenced by Skynyrd music.

The Skynyrd Tribute Weekends are “easy to feel” but hard to explain; ya’ just have to be there, right? (spoken like a true hippie!) Lifelong love and friendships have developed from these rockin’ weekends and the really cool part is, as long as we’re around we’ll keep comin’ back for more ... because there’s always more! Like any family reunion we were “missing” some friends this year but for those in attendance this was a memorable weekend.

With each passing year we know there’s no guarantee that we’ll see the same people next year so we’re twice blessed every time we reunite. When the weekend is over and we travel home, we’re all a little “richer” because we go home with more love and more friends than we had before. We go home thankful for one more memory to “tuck away” in our heart. We all “add” something to each other’s lives that wasn’t there before. We all walk away with something better than before. No matter how good or bad life’s been treating us, we have each other and it can always get better!

AND how ‘bout a round of applause for Kymystry! Thanks guys, for lettin’ me sit in and jam!
I’m humbled to be able to play music and perform “with” my friends “for” my friends! It was great to see familiar faces and such a pleasure to meet new friends. We’re gonna’ be friends for a long time, ya’ know? I’m thankful to be associated with friends like all of you. Thanks again Southpaw & Wailer … until next year … Cya...

HeartStrings are tied....
Barry Lee Harwood

think good thoughts

Character is not made in crisis it is only exhibited.

I have set the lord always before me because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
Psalm 16:8

think good thoughts

From John Maxwell’s Newsletter:

Aligning Opportunity

The unrelenting release of full passion, strength and abilities is amazing in the life of a leader. Yet, it rarely happens that passions, abilities and opportunities all line up at the exact same time.
Often times someone's passion is high, while their abilities are low or the opportunity isn't right. Or, perhaps, the opportunity arrives, but they find themselves sapped of strength and passion, even though they possess the ability.
Passion is in most leaders - sometimes in the form of ambition or inspiration.
Abilities are developed over time - via experience, life and learning.
Opportunity arises less than passion and abilities - it is about timing, and being in the right partnerships or business.
Lining all three up can seem almost impossible. Therefore, I propose the following:
Hone your passion to be a consuming, all-time fervor while you work on your specific abilities and strengths to serve OTHER people versus simply serving your self. In doing this you will find your opportunities happen more often, and, because you are focused outwardly you will worry less about missing opportunities and naturally step into them with ease and grace. Opportunity will then find you rather than you having to search for it.

Sunday Rockin Chair Thoughts Pt 11 November 8 2009

Pt 11 - taken from "The Wall" - writings by Barry Lee Harwood

Everyone has a comfort zone; we need comfort zones. Some people hoard their comfort zone while other people share their zone. Our comfort zones are custom made like a fence around our property and - depending on our upbringing and our perception and perspective of the truth - change daily. From time to time “life” (so called) dictates that we need to leave the comfort of our comfort zones and for most folks that makes life downright uncomfortable. The human response is to fight to stay in our comfort zone! At the root of “the fight” is fear. We know that fear can cause a “fight or flight” response. Of course there are some people who love to come out of their comfort zone – they’ve made an art of coming out of their comfort zone – they’ve made a living by coming out of their comfort zones! Most people, however, protect their comfort zones and fight for their right to stay within the boundaries of their zone. Being forced to come out of our comfort zone causes “the rub” between individuals; at the root of conflict is fear – find the fear and you solve the conflict.

People can become afraid of trying to make their dreams come true because it requires coming out of their comfort zone and that means (here comes that “C” word again) “change” … but if we want something different then we have to do something different. Somehow we have to be excited about change or, we’ll never change and if we don’t change; life and time will pass us by. Excitement and enthusiasm can override fear – faith can move the mountain – our comfort zone can expand and we have more room to walk in love. We have more reason to walk in love. We can also play it safe and stay in our comfort zone; but we’ll wither on the vine.

Routines don’t require as much effort. It’s a whole lot easier to do nothing. It’s much less confusing to stay in a rut – create your own status quo – compromise your ambition and make excuses as to why there’s no hope for the future. It’s so much easier to fail because there’s no work involved; it takes zero effort to do nothing! You can “point the finger of blame” and “change the remote” with the same finger; now that’s talent!

The only way to have something you’ve never had before is to do something you’ve never done before. Fear is the most complex emotion that exists and if we “give in” to it, it can be a powerful weapon against us. Fear is like a flat tire. Fear is having faith in the wrong thing. Fear believes a lie instead of the truth. It’s like a virus on a hard drive; fear will make you hurt your own self. Fear will cause you to “play it safe,” never step out on faith and you’ll miss your dreams altogether. Remember, we have to become oblivious to impossibilities … dreams don’t come to us, we have to stretch to reach them and we have to work to make them come true. The work involved in making dreams come true brings joy to our lives because when you know why you’re here it relieves the pressure. What pressure – the pressure of not knowing the purpose of your visit to this earth!

Right now I’m the best “me” I’ve ever been. Is it because I’m just lucky, or because I have such a great history of success? No. It’s because I have such a profound history of failure! I learned how to succeed by learning how to fail! I learned how to fail by learning “who I am” in Christ Jesus or, more accurately, who I am “without” Christ Jesus. I learned that compassion is the connection; I learned to love; I learned to walk in love - I learned how to use faith and I learned that faith works by love. I also learned that I could re-set the clock and start over when I fail because I’m forgiven and the past stays in the past where it belongs … and is forgotten. I learned that failure is not the end of the story as long as my motives are pure. Sounds like I’ve learned all there is to know; are you kidding me? I’ve learned a lot but I still learn something new every day and, as the saying goes, “it’s what you learn after you know it all that really counts!”

The Bible says to “delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” In other words, God will give your heart “the things” your heart should desire; the dreams your heart will “see.” God’s dreams are pregnant with the power to make them come true, just like God’s written and spoken Word.
No doubt, there is a dream in your heart; a desire to fulfill your destiny. God planted dream seeds in your heart before you were born and now’s the time, now’s the place and now’s the hour to scale the wall to freedom and make dreams come true for you and yours. It’s what we learn after we “know it all” that really counts! Where is God in your life … where do you go for comfort …where does your joy come from? It all comes down to a dream … ya’ gotta’ have a dream … ya’ gotta give the gift.

think good thoughts ...

God always gives His best to those who leave the choice with him.

Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation.
Psalm 68:19

Sunday Rockin Chair Thoughts pt 10 November 1, 2009

There are no new trials and situations out there! Problems are common to everyone. Friends, family and strangers; we all face the same challenges everyday. I’ve been through changes that you haven’t – you’ve been through changes that I have yet to face. We’re all at different levels of ignorance so we all have the ability to both teach and learn from each other based on our life’s experiences. We can’t force our will on anyone. We can’t “make” another human being change so sometimes we have to walk away; sometimes we have to walk alone. My daughter has a motto: “F.I.D.O”. An acronym for “Forget It and Drive On”! If there’s nothing you can do about it at the time then … F.I.D.O.
We can’t ever let “bad news” and “negative spins” throw us off our game. We can’t be afraid of the evil in this world. Fear is “faith in the problem” instead of faith in the solution.
F. E. A. R. is an acronym; “False Evidence Appearing Real! Fear is the most complex of all emotions. Fear can be fuel. We should negative thoughts, negative words, negative people, places and things as stepping-stones to get to where we’re going. Anything that says, “You can’t” will be your breakfast. Anything that says, “You won’t” will be your lunch and anything or anyone that says “you’ll never” will be your supper. Use adversity as fuel for the fire that drives you on. Use trials and situations as oil to keep the engine turning smoothly. Your dream has to be bigger than your problems. God put the dream in your heart but you are the contractor who has to build it. Keep hope alive because hope is your blueprint for the dream in your heart. God’s Word and faith in Gods Word provides all the building material you need for the job. You gotta’ be able to “see” the invisible to “do” the impossible and if you can dream it you can do it!

There are two major reasons we fail. The first is … “trying” and the second is … “not trying!” That brings “fear” into play here; fear of the unknown. Fear stops “motivation” dead in its tracks. We become afraid of “change” and “change” is life’s compass. Do I hit a home run every time I step into the batter’s box? No. Do I strike out every turn at bat? No. Does either uncertainty keep me from batting? No. What guarantee do I have that I won’t fail? Hebrews 11:1 is a good place to start. I can say with certainty that I know I can succeed. What evidence do I have? I have faith; faith is my evidence! My faith is the vision that I see in myself. I “see” myself hitting a home run. I step into the batters box with hope. My faith is proof that I can hit a home run so I swing at the ball with courage. Faith is like a muscle … the more you exercise it, the stronger it gets and the stronger it gets the more you want to use it because it has the strength to get the job done with less effort. There’s a mountain between me and where I need to be. Faith can move that mountain so I don’t waste time and effort climbing or going around it. When you experience faith “moving a mountain” out of your way you’ll never be the same.

Jesus referred to “ye of little faith”. The word “little” means “weak”. “Weak faith” considers the problem. Peter “stepped out of the boat” with strong faith and he walked on the water until his focus shifted to the wind and the waves - he “considered the storm” around him – his fear of the storm changed his perception of the truth and he sank into the water with weak faith. Fear and faith cannot occupy the same space at the same time. The Bible says Abraham was “fully persuaded” meaning there was no doubt – no fear – no unbelief. Impossible? No; it just takes practice and commitment. Building strong faith is no different than when I learned to play guitar. I practiced every day and when I achieved notoriety for my ability – I kept practicing! It’s amazing to me that after all these years of playing guitar I learn something new every time I pick it up and play it. Peter had strong enough faith to actually walk on water. When he took his eyes off of the dream he still had faith; it just wasn’t strong enough to keep him on the water … you might say his faith was watered down! The storm became bigger than his faith. His focus shifted to his five senses and what his eyes could see rather than looking through the eyes of faith which “see’s” the things that we hope for but are not yet manifested. It was dark when God said, “let there be light.” The light was “in God” - God’s faith “saw” light in the Universe - Gods faith was released by His words and then, there was light. Some people become afraid to try because - in their mind - they already “see” themselves failing; or they “think” there’s a possibility of failure.
Proverbs 23: 7 says “As a man thinks in his heart so is he”. Thoughts create reality in our mind - faith is the substance of the things we hope for in life. If our thoughts stay focused on faith; we walk on the water. Even though the storm is raging all around us; we walk on the water. Even though the 120 mph wind and the 50ft waves are very real; we walk on the water and we walk right on through the circumstance. The storm will come to an end and we will outlast it. Faith is our proof – faith is our title deed to the desires of our heart. Faith activates all the resources of Heaven and at the same time keeps the “spiritual outlaw” in the dark because the outlaw is carnally minded; his power lies in the realm of the five senses. Faith operates beyond and outside the sense realm. If we put our faith in the information received from our five senses we’ll sink. If Peter would have listened to his five senses – he would have never stepped out of the boat in the first place!

We’ve all heard “I’ll believe it when I see it.” But faith says, “I see it because I believe it.” I “see” myself crossing the finish line before I put my running shoes on; I “feel” the banner across my chest as I cross the finish line before I even put my feet in the starting blocks. I “hear” the crowd cheering me on before I set foot on the track. I “see” it, through the eyes of faith and that is my substance and my reality. As I said, we have to be able to “see” the invisible to “do” the impossible; to hit the home run. Failure draws just as much attention to us as success. We “become” successful or we “become” a failure but what we allow ourselves “to become” is our choice. Falling down is no problem … staying down becomes a problem … to us and everyone in our lives. Our ego can handle success but our pride cannot handle failure. Fear sets in and we wig out! We can be poor or we can be powerful but we can’t be both at the same time … the choice is ours to make. Life is a journey, not a destination.

So many people become content, complacent, weary or just plain indifferent. They pull over to the side of the road and never go any further. They see no need to move on and so their dreams - along with their life - die slowly; like suicide in slow motion. Their purpose is never fulfilled. Their “gift” is never given. Their talent and ability … never exposed. “Big deal; so who care’s?” I DO. You have a gift for me … you’re a courier for a deed that may change my life. You’re a blessing. You’re a lighthouse that let’s me know where the rocks are. You’re a compass that gives me direction at just the right time and keeps me from turning on the wrong road … so where are you?