Tag Archives: God

Glowing wisps of light above a mountain valley and winding river
Haven Caylor-Brown's avatar

YHWH: I am

. Church, Jesus Christ Follower, Spiritual Fitness . , , ,

I did not think this up, but a clever preacher, Mark Flynn, preached a wonderful sermon one morning years ago from the Hebrew word, YHWH (to be, to exist, to breathe). God is the great “I am” which is the present tense of “to be”; God was, God is, and God will be. He is always “to be” because He is eternal.  In his sermon, Brother Mark was like , “Breathe while using these letters… Yhhhhh (inhaling) and Whhhhhhh (exhaling)”. Did you try it? Go ahead, I will wait….

I was dumbfounded and actually felt “being” as I was sitting and breathing and trying to breathe YHWH. Did you feel that way too? God gave Adam the “breath of life”, and we have it too. We know we can have it because Jesus Christ, God’s son, reminds us that HE IS as part of God with his words of “I am” . So, this isn’t a lesson on baptism, but just a few scriptures where we know we are connected to Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:38 Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit and Galatians 3:27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

When we dwell in Jesus the Christ we are a part of the “I am” , y’all!

The preacher today did not share all the Jesus “I ams”, but he did use the Exodus 3:15 YHWH and connected it to Jesus. Like the Apostle Paul told the Greeks who were traveling up on the Athens Acropolis and thinking about honoring the “unknown god” (they did not want to offend a “left out god”)… I’m paraphrasing but Paul said, “ I am here to preach about that God in whom we live, breath, and have everything else”. Paul then finished up by telling of Jesus’ resurrection as God’s son, our  “breathing, alive, savior”

This morning, my heart has been so full that I felt I couldn’t keep this to myself—I felt led to share a simple, beautiful way to experience YHWH on this peaceful Sunday. Each time I’ve returned to this gentle breathing exercise today, it has wrapped me in deep peace, softened my worries, and helped me feel cradled in His presence. Whether this is your very first time trying something like this, or you’ve practiced breathing and feeling YHWH’s nearness before, I invite you to come back to it with a peaceful, open heart, rest quietly in that presence, and then consider sharing what you experience so others can be comforted and encouraged, too.

Haven Caylor-Brown's avatar

Busy … from answered prayers

. Church, Family, Vols Football . , , , ,


Matthew 7:7  “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

The Caylor-Browns prayed and knocked, God opened the doors, and we are BUSY!!

Working through God’s answered prayers:

The house is wonderful, and we had to wait five months to
get it. God had the plan we just had to be patient. Boxes and bags abound. Sean is busy at the house while Carter, Ammon, and I are at our perspective schools.

I enjoy teaching high school Spanish again, and I am so
grateful God blessed me with my new school. I have zero unit plans or lessons plans from the past, so it’s all NEW and busy.

Ammon and Carter are getting their prayers answered by being
extra busy with public school Advanced Placement courses and honors courses. They really enjoy their clubs and football games so far.

The last and MOST important thing is using the gifts God gave us four to glorify Him, and He has guided us to a Spirit lead Methodist congregation. From May 30 until September 15, it was difficult being in Knoxville every Sunday. We had to move 20 years’ worth of Caylor-Brown collections to Knoxville while cleaning out and selling two houses , and the weekends were the only days we could transport the goods. So now that we have all our important things as well a “junky” things moved from McDonald Road, it’s time to GET BUSY serving our Creator here.

Happy Autumn, dear friends and loved ones. .  If you head to the Smoky Mountains going through Knoxville, spend a few days up here while enjoying a Tennessee Vols weekend, or simply want to visit this beautiful region of East Tennessee some weekend, give us a yell. You’re invited to our house. You can Text me or Sean, or you can send us a Direct Message on Facebook.

Love and Blessings to all

Haven


Haven Caylor-Brown's avatar

2022 University of Tennessee Vols Football Pt. 2 : Watching God Work

. Vols Football . , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Well, I was jogging when it hit me… God is showing His handy work with the UT Vols football team without a 2023 National Title. As I jogged in the cloudy, Sunday morning of November 27 ( My mother’s 82nd birthday!!) I was talking to God in the Spirit, and I was able to focus on the blessings my household, the Tennessee Vols, and the NCAA football world have received since Tennessee’s losses to the University of Georgia on November 5, 2022 and South Carolina on November 19.

Smokey
September 17, 2022 Vols vs. Akron
Joe Milton III & Hendon Hooker
Walker Merrill
Dylan Sampson
Squirrel White
  1. I/ We would have never known of the awesome friendship between Hendon Hooker and the talented Joe Milton III. Hendon cannot finish his college career because of his torn, anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), and his best friend has taken over the “star quarterback” position. Even the SEC announcers says they have never seen such a friendship between quarterbacks (lot’s of envy / jealousy I’m sure) . We need friends who love us and support us during the good and bad times, clap for our successes, weep with us in our sorrows, and put up with our crap. Joe Milton and Hendon Hooker have a special bond, indeed.
  2. During their previous 2022, eleven (11) games, I had absolutely no recollection of hearing names such as Walker Merrill, Princeton Fant, Dee Williams, and Dylan Sampson…. Okay, okay… and, Squirrel White (Love that name)!!?? The recent events have brought these young men “to the light”.  Sure we have heard the names Jalen Wright, Jabari Small, Jalin Hyatt, and Cedric Tillman all season, but God wanted us to see some other people in action.
  3. God wanted to show the flaws in the Vols’ defense. Will it be corrected by the playoffs and the bowl games? Probably not, but folks, if Heupel continues rolling like he has since January of 2021, the Vols defense will be crushing the opponents’ offense by the big games (Alabama, Georgia, LSU) October of 2023.

We are not going to the 2023 National Championship yet, but I am standing by what I wrote “…God will use this Vols team to glorify Him, and it WILL BE CLEARLY VISIBILE before the January 9, 2023 NCAA Football Championship in Los Angeles.” The team is glorifying God, but He, in turn, is showing us some “hidden talent”, a wonderful friendship, and a defense (yes, perhaps even a new Defensive Coordinator) that needs to improve. Our God is an awesome God, and “It’s Great to be a Tennessee Vol!”