Good morning and happy Tuesday. I was watching "The Bible" on the history channel yesterday, what an amazing job they did. The thing I like most about it is you get of see my favorite thing about the Bible, the people around Jesus. The looks on their faces when something is said or done. That reaction to Him that can't be helped. One that stuck out was the leper moving through the crowd announcing himself unclean. It was no coincidence he walked right into Jesus. Here in a nut shell is the love story of God. A man no one else will even consider to be next to much less have compassion for, Jesus touches and heals right away. And then the expression of gratitude he felt and how he knew someone loved him, was beautiful. We, as a society still cast people under ourselves. Not intentionally for the most part I think, but we do. I hope that the leper saw himself in a different way and did not treat others the way he had was treated before he met Jesus. What about us? Are we treating others the same way they treated us before we met Him? Are we not still grateful for what He has done for us? This guys life was changed forever. Never to be the same again. I hope that his life went on professing Jesus as Lord and not fall into the trap of the world where it only lasts for a little while then it's forgotten. We have all been given a miracle in our lives. We have all been healed of a disease of some kind. Why are we not screaming His name from the mountain tops or in the workplace or the home? Have we forgotten what was done for us or is it just that we want more than where we are today? I doubt that the leper went on to be a millionaire or very successful in his life, more than he was that day. But I would be willing to bet he lived a happier life than many of us will ever know. We have to find the root of our gratitude for what's been done for us. Never let it go and never forget it. Keep it in the front of our daily lives and see just how happy you really are from now on. In love always. <><

Good morning and happy Monday. This is one of my favorite older songs from my turning point in life. I've cried over this one many times. It's just the first verse. Well worth listening to. Its called "Still Here Waiting" by Todd Agnew.

It's cold outside
Or is that just the chill I feel inside from standing here
Steeping in my shame
I can't deny
I'm surrounded by the very thing You freed me from
That's why I can't come home

Chorus:
I don't know where I turned around
From chasing what I always found completed me
More than I could dream
I don't know why I can't remain
Safe here where I always came to meet with you
And You always met with me
And You're still here waiting

So how many times have you found yourself right there. See this picture in your head about this song. A meeting is scheduled between you and God, and you don't show. You've done your thing your way instead. You forgot or whatever. I just can't help be see God sitting there heart broken, but nonetheless still waiting. In the chorus we're singing about not knowing why we did what we did. Why we can't just stay right there with Him. Why do we leave the calming ever peaceful presence of God? It's the question of the ages. At some point we make a conscience decision to turn around and walk out of His light and into the darkness we came from. Is it because we're more comfortable there with all out things hidden away from judging eyes of others and even God. Well, we can't hide from God and who cares what everyone else thinks. That was easy to say but it's very hard to do. We've got to find a way to make this happen so that we can live the life He has planned for us. And just like the songs says and the image in your head sees; He's still there waiting. Go to Him. No excuses about not being able to go Home. Ask Him for His forgiveness and then receive it and go live a life working as hard as you can to stay there with Him. In love always. <><

Good morning and happy Thursday. Listening to some music like I do, I heard an oldie that really got me to thinking this morning. The Bee Gees; " How deep is your love". So, you know where this goes. How deep is your love? What is at the deepest end of the pool? Who's in the pool? What's in the pool? Is God at the infinite non stop end? Whatever occupies our hearts is what directs our lives. There are a few hideously ridiculous reality shows of moms living their lives through their kids. Their kids are what occupy their hearts. So even what seems to be a good thing is really pretty bad when you look at it. My kids and wife and family all have a place in my heart, but I can't let that be the driving force of my life. God has to be first, period. Everything else falls in behind that. So we have that down and we list it as the way we feel, but is it how we live? Is it really the order of our daily business of living? I struggle here all the time. This doesn't mean we don't tend to the business of family needs and things like that. It means are we living our lives so everything we do goes through the filter of God first then into action. Or are we just firing from the hip and doing it our own way. Please don't take this to the extreme because a lot of what we do is daily routine stuff that God leads us through anyway. By knowing how much we want out own kids to do the things we know is best for them, we should be able to understand what God is trying to do for us. His love is so deep it cannot be measured, ever. He wants the best possible life for each of us and to be His instrument of leading the lost back to Him. By going to Him first, we then can go about our day knowing what He wants from us to do for that day and for whoever crosses our paths. It's simple really. If our love for Him is so deep that we can't ignore it at all, then we are better able and more likely to be doing His will. See what's in the deep end of your pool and if you find it's not God, fix it and fix it fast. You can't really swim in the shallow end. In love always. <><

Good morning and happy Tuesday. We've been reading the minor prophets in Sunday school. Yes Sunday school. Those are still around in some places. The minor prophets are those books at the end of the Old Testament. What I'm learning from them is how well God spoke to the people of that time and then it transcends into our time. Many warnings are given to the people of Israel about their evil ways. And what I find in those people is what I see in us today, a longing to hang on to things of this world that we can see and touch. We hear the warning and change for a little bit but go right back to the way we were. I think some of that is because we don't really see the end that is "near". I can see those people sitting around saying "Oh they've been saying that for years". So they go back to what they were doing. How many of us know someone who died all of sudden. That "end is near" just showed up. By reading those warnings and applying them to our time, we should be able to go about life following Him much easier. But like many people, this is the first time I've read these books. What an eye opener. God is real and alive and working in our lives today and giving us the same warnings He did back then. We have to be better than they were and heed them. Why would we not want to live the life the Creator of all things has for us? I believe we can see what is happening to our country as we stop hearing the warnings of our Lord. It happened to Israel and it can happen to us. Speak out to your friends, family and neighbors. We have to get this ship righted. It's not too late. But don't get caught waiting around. In love always. <><

Good morning and happy Tuesday. How well do you think you would do in prison? Not a night or two in jail, some of us have made that, I'm talking about locked away and not sure if you'll see the outside world again. We've all heard of a "jailhouse conversion". Some will just wish for life to end because they can't make it. Some will adapt to the life of the inside, acclamation. How many of us would be able to reach the world outside or even those inside and care about their salvation before the needs and wants of themselves? How does that even look; Caring about others before ourselves while locked away for no telling how long? Paul, who used to put the Christians in jail, or worse, was now a Christian in jail. He wrote most of the New Testament we read today from behind bars. He loved Jesus so much that he wanted everyone to know Him the way he had come to. Whether he died or not was of no concern to him. Whether he was free or not did not matter. He loved The Lord and The Lord loves us. While Paul knew it was highly likely he would be put to death, he did all he could to reach out to those he could; others before himself. Oh well Bryan that's easy he had Jesus on his side. He had Jesus helping him back then. Really, read that again and see if you don't come to the same conclusion that I'm about to tell you. (Pause for effect here). So do you. He is always on our side. He is always there to help us. He gave us the Holy Spirit to stay with us the whole time. We have no excuse for not doing what Paul was writing about. We've all been called in some way like Paul for something to do for His Kingdom. Be open to be reached and ready to reach out. God is the same today as He was yesterday and will be tomorrow. So what He did through Paul He will do through us as well. His work will be done, with or without you. I pray that it is with you, and He's never without you. In love always. <><

Good morning and happy Monday. Well, I've been up since about 10 o'clock yesterday and it's now 8 o'clock the next day. I'm tired. But I saw a beautiful sunrise this morning. Then all of sudden I just felt refreshed. It's the bodies clock resetting itself to thinking it should be up. It got me to thinking about how everyday we are, or can be, "refreshed" by the grace of God. The darkness of our lives is gone and put away by the all powerful light of The Lord. No matter what our darkness is and how far it's taken us away from the light, we're still able to be saved and renewed by the grace of God. Just as powerful as the sun is on the horizon, is the power of the grace of God. Bright and illuminating to reveal all His glory so that we may see Him, and come to know Him. I love seeing all the signs and wonders God shows us each day. He is still just as alive today as He was way back when. We just need to take the time to see Him. In love always <><

Good morning and happy Thursday. Have you ever been on a diet because you're just a little overweight? Have you ever tried one of the new fad diet crazes? Supplements or anything like that? Do you know what the doctors say is the best diet you can be on to lose weight? They say to eat right and exercise, simple as that. We all know that, we just find it too hard to do it. There's too many ways to get other food a lot easier. All the junk food we want is just right at a window. We don't even have to get out of our cars. This is the same with our spiritual health as well. Everything else is just too easy to reach for and get. And we all know what we're supposed to do and it's the easiest thing to do, we just don't do it. Our daily time with God and studying His word is the best way to achieve the best spiritual health possible. The "weight" of this world that is lifted off of us is so much better than we could ever know. Why is it we can't just exercise and eat healthy? Why is it we can't just follow God and be everything he wants us to be? Those are the simplest of things we can do to be healthy in mind, body, and spirit. With the end-of-the-year coming, and resolutions still to be made for next year, let's start practicing now and do all these things we promise we're going to do and do them well. In love always. <><

Good morning and happy Friday. Well for about two days now, between dreams and conversations, God seems to be telling me about doors. See where this fits for you. A long hallway/corridor type place with lots of doors all around. You can't tell the difference in the doors. One looks like the other. Nothing special about any of them. Which one do you choose? So as I walked around and just randomly tried them, some were locked and others hard to open. The ones that opened, I could not tell what was inside. Then as I got tired of trying the doors with no success of moving forward, I began to talk to God. When I lifted up my tired hanging down in self pity head, I could see the doors now looked a little different. Some were dark and not very appealing, while others were ornately fashioned. But then right in front of me, and had been the whole time, was a very plain and simple door. It opened with ease and smoothness, but I could not see beyond the threshold. Knowing, by the feeling I was having, I stepped inside the unknown. There before me now laid the road to heaven. All the things I had ever imagined God could do was now in front of me. This road to travel is the one He had for me to follow.
We have to stop searching on our own, or believing we are alone. We have to come to God. We have to take the step first into Him before He will reveal His plans for us. There will be more doors and more leaps of faith, but now that you know what it took to get there, those decisions should be easier as you go. Satan will come hard after you but as long as you continue to look forward into the face of God, you will never be taken. Chose to follow Him. Take the first step into the unknown. This is how you know your heart is ready to follow. This is faith in God to take care of you just as He promises. Find the door today by asking God to reveal it to you and prepare yourself to go where He sends you. In love always. <><

Good morning and happy, I'm not gonna say it, Wednesday. Question; do you hate your family and friends? Strong words for someone to ask don't you think? What could I possibly mean by that? Why in the world would I ask that? If you know the answer, then you know why I asked. In Luke 14:25-35, Jesus tells us that is exactly what we are to do. Whoa. Hold on wait a minute, really? Yes He does. So let's look at it. First the word "hate". It doesn't mean the same then as it does now, at least not the way we use it. Part of our problems today. It really means "loved less". I hear the ooohs now. This is how the Bible gets twisted and used against us. Take a verse out if it's context or without knowing the meaning of ancient words and phrases. That is why it is so important to read and learn your Bible. So, with that, let's see what He is saying. Love your family and friends and self less than Me. Put Jesus first and above ALL things in your life, including yourself. The verse that is the parallel to this explains it. Matthew 10:34-39. But if we don't read we don't know. Jesus said at the end of Luke's words. "He that has ears to hear, let him hear." We have to study the words of our Lord. He is our only way to the Father and so why would we not try and learn from Him. Sorry for the harsh words at the start, but I hope it got your attention. It did mine when I read them today. I think it's great the way Jesus teaches us. Study on this passage of Luke. It's a very interesting read. Love God first above all things. Not how anti-Christians would use that verse is it? I love you, but not more God. In love always <><

Good morning/afternoon and happy Friday. I hate gettin old. I love the wisdom gained from failed trials and things gone through but the old things like aches, pains and poor vision, I can do without them. But this morning all I wanted to do was see. My eyes were tired and the little dogs were in my lap and I couldn't read or watch a movie. My eyes just wanted to close. And while they were open they couldn't focus enough to see very good at all. Most days the inevitable would have happened, take a nap. But I have things to do today and really need to get going. So I made myself go get in the shower. Man there is something to be said for the refreshing feel of water. Then God showed up, now that I can "see". I think we can find ourselves in the same thing with God. So tired and run down, that as we try to see Him we can't focus, not even able try really. We get that way because of satan. And he does not want you to get that rest. Not tonight or any other night. Loving God and following God are two different things. Loving Him is easier than following Him. It takes work and rest in Him to make it. Sometimes we have to make ourselves move to Him. Sometimes we have to be washed by the water. Move toward Him today. Get as close as you can. There you will find rest and focus. In love always. <><

Good morning and happy Tuesday. So, everything worked out. The trial you're going through is behind you and you've seen God do His thing. He's the one you prayed to and asked others to do the same on your behalf. Everyone has gone to relax mode because the crisis is over. The prayer hotline has cooled back down. All is good. God is good. So what changed? Why do we stop praying and giving thanks and celebrating our Lord? Why are we so quick to forget what just happened? How do we forget where we were, what we went through and, with knowing who saved the day, slip back into a place of complacency? Christians point out the EC ( Easter, Christmas ; emergency crisis )Christians all time, but are we any different when we are not acknowledging Him everyday with all we are. Love the Lord your God with all heart, with all your soul, with all your strength Deut 6:5. It's not just when it's good for us, it's all the time. All the time. I believe a lot of trials we go through are of our own making because we take a little time for ourselves and forget about God for a little while. He brings us around through a reminder of how we can not do anything apart from Him. Try as we may, we can not, as the world will have and is teaching us to believe, do this life on our own as our own. We have to lose our sense of self. That we can do it alone and without help. The fact we know God should be enough to take care of that, yet we fall down. Self reliance is futile. The world wants us to stand on that. When we do, the world, commonly known as satan, wins a battle of the souls. He's not getting mine and I hope He's not getting yours. I'm not going to fall for his trap again, yeah right. So this is a daily, hourly, by the minute, second choice for us. Stay as vigil as you did when going through the last time you fell. All the time, always. Don't let the devil win another time. In love always. <><

Good morning and happy Friday. No need for a camel on this day. I was asked a question yesterday that sat with me most of the day. "Why are you doing this? And what made you want to do it? ". The discussion was about my adventure God has for me in the "Paid In Full" ministry that we're getting started. It's going to help those in need; elderly, poor, and kids somehow someway this is going to happen. So as I'm out handling a minor problem with a window decal, and she asked me that. Not to be ugly or anything just wanted to know. It got me to thinking about it. Why don't we help? I think inside us all is that desire to help someone. We all want that at some level. Last night I was blessed and touched by hearing a man, who you need to look up, "Doc" Hendly. He decided to help kids get water. Simple. Get them some water. Read his story to see how big our God is. My daughter texts me last night after that speaking event and wants to know what she is to be doing with her life. She doesn't want to go through the motions of life and never accomplish anything for someone else. Makes a dad proud by the way. But that took me back to question of why I'm doing it. Why wouldn't I? Why won't you? I know many of you are doing great things for a lot of people. But if you find yourself wondering about this, pray. Ask God to guide you. Why would we not help anyone in need? This lady who asked wants to help too. She just doesn't know how to. I don't either, but God equips us as we take those first steps. He needs to see that we're willing to follow Him on this journey He has before us. When you surrender your will to His, you will taste new life in a way you can't believe. On my own I would have messed all of this up completely, but I'm not in charge of this and certainly not leading it. As God chose people to use in the Bible, it was always the least likely ones. I guess I'm a least likely. And from some in my past that know me, they would agree. When your kids are hungry you feed them. When God's children are hungry we are to feed them. I'm sorry this is so long but this is God's deal. Look inside at what you are passionate about and go help with it. You'll get your tools as you go. In love always. <><

Good morning and happy Thursday. WWJD. We've all seen that and used it and told someone it for some advice to a situation, but how do we know what Jesus would do? We know our family and friends well enough to say "I know what ______ would do if he/she were here". So do you know Jesus that well? Or are we just assuming we've read enough about Him to know? We're wired to be like Him from the get go, but somewhere along the way the world gets inside us and there it all goes, right out the window. So we think differently than He does. He tells us all through the Bible that His ways are not ours. I think the question of WWJD is a very good one. One we should ask before we do anything. But we have to be close enough to Him to know the answer. We also have to be submissive enough to do what's right and to except an answer we don't want to hear. Jesus asked God for another way to save us in the garden. He may not have liked the answer, and He really probably already knew it, but He surrendered His will to God's will. So before we go throwing WWJD around so carefree and easy, we better be ready for the answer. You see the reason Jesus wanted another way was because He would be out of the presence of God while He became our sin in the cross. He wanted to stay close to Him and never be away from Him. Is that where you are today? Because if it is WWJD is a little easier to figure out. Spend time with Him often and get to know Him more than anyone else and see then what happens to the answer of the question. I double dog dare ya. In love always. <><

Good morning and happy Monday. Yeah I said that. Every day is new day.
For this is a day The Lord has made.
The phone rings and they give the test results and it's not good. Really not sure how long you have to live. What do you do? How do you live out your days? I bet if it was Sunday and you might not make it through the day, Monday would be a great day if you got up for breakfast and work. I know that we really don't just hate a day, but it's just a small reminder of how short life is and how we should be in appreciation of every breath we take. So back to the question. How do you live out your last days? Think about today and ask your friends and then ask yourself and them this; why aren't you/we living that way now? We're not promised the very next breath we take, much less the next day. Our lives have become so busy and you know that's true because the excuse we have to why we didn't make it to or go to something is that we were busy with something else. This is truly one of satan's best weapons. He has a lot of em and we've discussed a few here before but this is the most widely used to reach even the busy church lady. She's working so hard for the church and doing all the good stuff but so busy with it she may be missing her family things by doing the good things. Both just as bad for us. Live like you're dying. Tim McGraw sings that song. Wonderful bible study done on it. Listen to it and let's change the way we live our daily lives. In love always. <><

Good morning and happy Friday. Enough said. Anyway, today is my oldest daughters birthday. It sure makes me feel old for her to be 22. Yet other friends of mine my age are grandparents already, not ready for that yet. But as I look back at the years of my daughters life I'm reminded of where I was in mine. It wasn't a bad place but it certainly wasn't in the light much. I can honestly say that when she was born, my life took a whole new direction. There are a few people along the way that helped to polish me up a bit but that has to be the main course changer in this river of life of mine. The view I had after that was now through a different set of eyes. Eyes of a father. The love and care I now had for this child would slowly mold me in a way I couldn't see. That love of a father for his kids is being lost today by the way side. It's not the same anymore. It saddens me, because this is the love our Heavenly Father has for us. We all need to know it and to feel it. The good part for those without an earthly father loving them, the God of Heaven loves us all the same all the time. He is truly a God of love. But make no mistake that if you go along trying Him, you will feel the sting of life. Just like every good dad, bad behavior has consequences. But it's the love part that I can see as I reflect on my life as a dad with two kids, now four, and one already in Heaven that I get how much He loves me. He really does love me. The screw up, the teen on the wayward side of things, the young adult lost in the worldly world of satan. I've never been too far away. In fact, the furthest I've been is one step away. Thank you God for my children and the tool they are to show your love for us. Thank you for always loving us, no matter what. In love always. <><

Good morning and happy Wednesday. Yeah you know what day it is. Anyway, this morning, after a long night at work, I woke up to tragedy. My heart sinking in my stomach and then also a feeling of pure amazement of caring. I had several texts and PM's about the train wreck this morning. First, my brother works in that direction and was actually at work but not involved. Thank you Lord. Prayers though for those who are injured as I know all of them. But on the flip side I was blown away by the number of people who had checked on me, either through me or my wife. It feels good to be cared about. It's humbling to to know that people care. This is what God wants us to do for each other. This is the feeling we should all have all the time, knowing that we are loved. But as said here before, God loves us just like that. Why do we forget or need an event to take place to remind us? I envy those who really get it every day, all the time. That never take it for granted. It's a place in my relationship with God that I am trying so desperately to get to. To feel that love, like what was felt through concern today, is amazing and uplifting. God gives us this all the time. I don't know if it's because we don't trust what we can't see or because we're afraid to surrender to what is right. Either way, there is nothing greater than the love of God. To know how we, as a whole, turn on Him so many times and hurt Him in so many ways and yet He still loves us like we can never love another. I hope and pray that we can get to that point of knowing and accepting His love for what it really is. To be able to bask in His love and wake every day with that feeling of knowing we're loved more than we know. In love always <><

Good morning and happy Tuesday. So to conclude with Jonah. He's prayed that God save him and guide him and basically going along with the plan. So he preaches to the Ninevites and warns them of their ways. Keep in mind Jonah wanted these people eradicated from the earth. He couldn't stand them and thought their behavior and ways should no longer be tolerated. After the sermon, the Ninevites repented and returned to God. So what does ole Jonah do? Celebrate? Jump for joy? No, he goes and pouts outside of town. How many times do we feel like someone deserves one thing and then something really good happens for them instead and we got all miffed over it? Why would a heart full of love feel that way? Hate and love can not abide within the same heart. As we grow closer and more mindful of the ways of God, we should also be pushing our ill feelings of people out as more God comes in. It's a process, but I'm so thankful God is patient with me. But more so I'm thankful He's patient with all of us so that we can all turn back to Him. Jonah should have been so excited for these people who were lost and now returned to God and His ways, but instead he's pouting. A man who had just been in the belly of a fish and knows that God caused and calmed the storm that got him there is still not grateful for what He's done with these people. Thankful and grateful. I'm thankful for a lot of things. I'm grateful for our God's ability to forgive and to show mercy and grace where it is not deserved, because if He didn't, none of us, certainly me, would not make it or even have a chance to make it. Be a willing servant of The Lord. Be a useful and grateful tool, ready and willing to be used by the God of the universe. Even to save the one you like the least. Celebrate the victories won in the name of The Lord every day. In love always. <><

Good morning and happy Monday. Everyone knows the story of Jonah in the whale. I heard a sermon on it yesterday that reminded me of a few things we do today that Jonah was doing then. God told him to do something. Jonah tried to run from God, as if. But think about that for a minute. Jonah tried to run from God. We know today that that is impossible. How close was Jonah with God to believe it possible to do so. How personable was God to Jonah? I think he knows he couldn't, but the fight or flight in him told him he could. They have a close relationship for that thought to be possible. We think we can hide things because we're not close to God and therefore He doesn't enter into the equation. So then Jonah is on a boat going the opposite direction he was told and huge storm threatens to sink it. Jonah knows God has found him and the storm will go away from the ship if they throw him off of it. Have you ever been caught by your parents at that party you shouldn't have been at? If you leave the cops won't be called and you alone can face the punishment for your actions. Jonah is busted and then in only God fashion swallowed up by a whale. Alone for three days and nights he has no hope but one, God. That's the same for us too. And when he's let out of the fish he's on the beach of the very place God was sending him to start with. Why do we force God's will on ourselves instead of surrendering to it? This story of Jonah has so many things to offer us about ourselves today. Tomorrow we'll finish up this wonderful story and see if we see ourselves in Jonah some more. For today, hear God's voice. Listen for it and follow His direction. He has only the best of things for you. It might be a little rough along the way but some how it is always worth the ride. It may also not be for you that you endure something. It may be for a complete stranger or friend. But it will be worth everything to see the life of someone else changed to see the glory of God. I want everyone there. All of us. No one left behind. Do your part today to do what God is calling you to do. Don't get swallowed up. In love always. <><

Good morning and happy Thursday. I'm not sure who God is talking to today, but I know they will hear this. A few years ago I was going to a meeting in Pueblo Co. and the radio doesn't work out in some parts. So listening to a cd a song came on. "You're Still Here Waiting". Well it's been in my head all night and it's message is today's. It's about how we find ourselves feeling ashamed of what we have done and feel out of the light of God and can't go back to Him. The devil does this to us so we won't. It's an old message, one that's been heard before but it needs to be kept going. We have never walked too far or sinned too much for God not to meet us right where we stand. If we've taken a million steps from where we were before with Him, it only takes one to come Home. Just turn around. Just turn around. JUST TURN AROUND. He has walked with you the whole way and He's standing there waiting right behind you. He doesnt want you to have to walk back down that road again just to get back to Him. As He walked along in His Holiness, the path was made clean. Your past is gone and He's waiting for you to have a new road ahead. The choice is yours and yours alone. So when you begin to make that turn to God, the devil will ring your phone, send you a text, ring the door bell or alert you to a new email. Don't answer it. Go Home. We have found ourselves feeling ashamed of what we've done to hurt our Father. Don't let the devil have that victory in your life. Just turn around and go Home where you belong. You feel it deep inside and you know it's right. Just go Home. Everything will be made right. God can do anything, and He's bought us all with the price of His Son's life. You're not a cheap trinket. You're a valuable jewel, worth the blood of the King of Kings. Do not let anyone tell you different. If you find yourself just a few little steps from where you know you should be. Just pray and go back inside the House. We're all sinners, all of us. None better or worse than the other. It's easy and hard at the same time, depending on where you are to admit our shortcomings but it must be done. You will be stronger and it will be easier and life does get better, not perfect but better. He's still there waiting. In love always. <><

Good morning and happy Wednesday. I just love my little dogs. They are so funny. But what they really are is loyal and loving unconditionally. Think about your relationships over the years, the good and the bad. They've had conditions of some kind. Very few have sustained themselves on the premise of unconditional. Not only do we do this with our friends and family, but we do this with God as well. "Oh God if you can just get me through this I will never do this again". Really? What does it feel like to be giving and loving to someone unconditionally and they don't reciprocate? Well, that's how we must be making God feel. But unlike us, He has a heart of true forgiveness. He forgets about it and does not hold it over you. Oh, the consequences of the choice you made will still be there, that's so you can learn from it, but God will get past it when you give it to Him and let Him. Our past is what we and others hold against each other. With that in mind, knowing my own past, I guess there are plenty of things to hold against me. That's the devils biggest and most powerful weapon against us. The crazy thing is, it's the easiest to defeat. God is God and nothing is more powerful than Him. He wants to fight for us, and does when we let Him. Say that again, when we LET Him. Yes, He's not gonna do anything on your behalf if you're not letting Him into your heart and surrendering your life to Him so that He can take care of you. The world can't see this and doesn't want to. That's why you'll be " persecuted for His name". To that I say, welcome Jesus freak. Unconditional love, so easy a dog can do it. Try it for yourself and see what happens. I dare ya. I double dog dare ya. In love always. <>< 

Good morning and happy Tuesday. What and why don't I hear the voice of God?  I've never heard heard God talk to me. I think people who say they "hear" God talk to them are crazy. How many of you feel that way?  How many of you have heard some of that? Do you have an answer? Yeah, me either really. I know that God speaks to us in many ways. It's when we have that relationship with Him, that we know what it sounds and looks like. Our conscience we hear say "don't do that", God?  Satan? Self?  How well do you know the voice of God? He talks to us all the time. It's not the big flash of light and burning bush with the booming voice either. He wants us in relationship with each other. We've talked about that before, but the relationship with Him is the most important thing we can have. It's everything. Without it we can't hear Him through the Holy Spirit who dwells inside us. In the same way Jesus did not want to be out of the presence of God on the cross that day, is the same way we should be feeling about our closeness to Him. It's a must. It's the very cornerstone of the life He has for us. When we leave our old ways behind us and put on our new creation, we have laid that very stone. The problem is we forget about it has we build this new place in our walk with God. The place we're building becomes our focus. We have to always go back to the core, the cornerstone of our faith in Him. Never forget what really matters and keep it out front, everything else will take care of itself. Lean in close to Him and hear God speak over you. Remember, there is nothing He can't do. Nothing He can't use to reach you right were are. It's never too late and we're never too far. Covet that relationship with Him and never let it go. He has never let you go, and never will. In love always. <>< 

Good morning and happy Thursday. One my favorite songs was on this morning when I woke up, well two actually. Casting Crowns came on twice in a row from the shuffle on my phone. So I really figured God wanted to me hear those. The first one was Glorious Day and the other was In the Middle. Just reaffirming that one day He's coming, Oh glorious day. But am I caught in the middle? The line that hits the most goes along with this weeks little theme. "With eyes wide open to the differences, The God we want and the God He is, but will we trade our dreams for His? Or are we caught in the middle?"  The middle of the road only gets us run over enough to hurt real bad. We're all there too. Swaying around like a drunk driver trying to get home. We're swerving all over the place. How do we hold the line? How do we stay close to Him and in the shadow of His protection? By knowing where it is. We have to live this life and with the dangers that are out there. That's how non believers see Him. They see Him in our daily walk. And if we're walking down the middle and not full on for God then that's what they see and realize they're ok right where they are too. We compromise all the time without really knowing it. People that know you're a Christian following Jesus watch more closely than you think. They want what you have inside but they're scared they don't make the cut. They're sin is too much to over come, so they look for reasons not to come over. Don't be that reason. Like all our mama's have told us, " Get out of the middle the street. You're gonna get run over". Ok, maybe that was just mine because I was in the middle of the street. Some times, most times, our dreams are not His for us. Surrender those dreams to Him. Pull over into the right lane and stay out of the middle of the road. Have the courage to live for Him, because He died for you. In love always. <>< 

Good morning and happy Wednesday. Why is it that Christians use words like weakness, humble, meek, afraid and surrender?  Think about that and let it sink in a minute. Non-Christians see that and think we're just that. It's easy to see how the world can twist things around and make it look like Christianity is crazy. So when you say or hear those words, what do you think? There is so much power in giving up control of our lives to the God who created all things. It means we're not trying to do this. We recognize and acknowledge the presence of God in all we do.  Through Him we have no weakness. Through Him we are stronger than any force on earth. The way the world sees us is not the way or what we need to be worried about. Our focus is to be on God. We are not to be worrying about what this world thinks of us. The more we get wrapped in this worldly way of thinking the farther we get form God. So choose to be all the things the world sees as weak and worthless, our Father in heaven has our back. I believe that's enough said. In love always. <><. 

Good morning and happy Tuesday. Seek God first, in all things. Seek His guidance and direction. Why would anyone ever attempt to do anything without knowing or having the knowledge needed to perform the task? How much more success would we have if we already had the outcome in our hands? How much more then we would we honor God by "knowing" what He was going to do rather than "trusting" Him to lead us where He needs/wants us? What if what we knew was not what we wanted? Would we turn away from God or try to change the will of God to suit our desires? I'm glad that I don't know the next second of my life. It's much easier to trust and have faith in God to what's best than to worry and labor over things we really can't change. Trust and faith in God though is not easy. It is but it isn't. We have to find ourselves on our knees. In our weakest moments we will find great strength and power. It's not our own but that of God's and the the Holy Spirit. I am weak but He is strong. In love always. <>< 

Good morning and happy Monday. We just got home late yesterday from a trip to the mountains. Absolutely gorgeous. I just love being there. But when we got home our little dogs were so happy to see us. There is not a welcome home in the world better than that of the family dog. Our newest one, Sophie, has now been under my feet the whole time. She's letting know I'm not to leave again. There is one welcome home though that is by far untouchable in comparison, "Well done good and faithful servant". Oh to hear those words spoke over us will be amazing. But even now, in this lifetime, we can have a part of that here on earth with us. When we invite Jesus into our hearts to take up residency, then the angels rejoice and sing as we come home to God. If we've been gone a while or a minute makes no difference, we're Home. God welcomes us Home in way we cannot imagine. The plans He has for us pick up where we are and move forward toward that final welcoming. Now along the way will there be bumps and valleys to be gotten through? Yes there will, but we have Christ with us, God with us as the Holy Spirit lives in us. We're never alone and always home, no matter where we are. God is always with us, it's us who's not always with Him. When we return back home it's always a wonderful, never leave again welcome. It's unconditional and it's nonjudgemental as to where you've been. Turn around and go Home. He's waiting with open arms. He misses you more than you'll ever know. In love always. <>< 

Good morning and happy Friday. There is nothing better to me than being in the mountains. Seeing all this beauty and majesty always helps me to remember who put it here. We as humans have done as much as we can to make things and create beautiful things, and we have. But there is nothing we've ever done that comes close to what God has done. Even in the smallest of details He has thought of it all. From tiny little flowers poking up from a crack in a rock to the mountain I'm staring at right now. What a beautiful world. We take it for granted sometimes too. I know I do. How often then do we take Him for granted? How many times do we just pass right on by Him in an effort to do it ourselves? It goes back to letting Him, no asking Him, to be the instrumental part of our lives. When we see things through His eyes we see the real beauty of life. The smile of cute little girl as she looks up at her mom or dad. A bird soaring high above on the winds. Don't you always feel good or just stop and stare at those types of things? It's because we're seeing the real part of the life God has created for us. It always seems like when you leave the bonds of the routine life we live every day, is when you really notice what He has done for us. Be sure and thank Him for all this today. Make sure He's at the center and begin to see the beauty even in our routine lives. In love always. <>< 

Good morning and happy Thursday. When's the last time you asked God to come take your place in something you're going through? What? You can do that? I can't ask the God of the universe to take time out of running everything to deal with little ol' me. Yet, that is exactly what He wants us to do. Do you think the CEO of a huge company is gonna come down to the basement to help you deal with a mail room crisis? Of course not, but that's worldly thinking. We're not of this world. We are children of be Most High God. Now, would you ask your dad to help with a crisis you're dealing with? Absolutely. And we do it all the time, this calling on God for our troubles and on behalf of our friends as well, but do we really understand how willing He is to listen to us and our requests? Do you see your friends post and say a little prayer and call it good? I hope not. It's like calling your friend, yeah calling them, and letting them know of a need you have, for yourself or someone else. He desires our conversation. He desires our time with Him. The amazing thing is what happens to us when we do spend that time with Him. The Israelites couldn't even look at Moses when he came down from the mountain after being with God. Don't go through life's events alone, good or bad. In all things praise Him and give glory to Him. Because really, it's what He wants from us. Imagine all the people listening to the words of God together. What a wonderful world this would be. Spend some time with Him today and everyday. The world needs it. In love always. <>< 

Good morning and happy Tuesday. Humility; the world sees a humble person and assumes weakness and gullibility. Someone who is walked over and pushed around. How do it you see it? "We're 'Mericans, we don't get pushed around. We fight back and don't take nothing off no body". Sound about right with our country's attitude. It's good to a point but only to a point. I heard a man talk about another man in how much he would be missed at his job following his retirement a week or so ago. I know the man and how humble he is in his work and it was good to hear just how much he did for, and will be miss by,the people there. To know him you would not really know this. He's quiet an easy going. So how do we fight off this stigma of weakness? We don't. When we are weak we are strong. I never really understood that song as a kid. I get it now. It's not us when we are humble before The Lord and the world. Jesus is who fights for us. From our knees comes victory because we have chosen to not follow the ideas of this world but to follow the ideal God. Humility is arrived at through growth in our relationship with Christ. Through that relationship, we begin to see more clearly that the things we are fighting for have already been won by Him. We need to merely be willing to serve Him and to serve others. It's time to lower ourselves off the pedestal we put ourselves on and see from a clearer view of the tasks at hand before us. This is what He has called us to do. No praise or glory for us. This is not about us. It's about Him. Lets fight the good fight, for all the right reasons, humbly and faithfully. In love always. <>< 

Good morning and happy Friday. Why is it so hard to open a door?  Or, why is it we won't work as hard to open a door as we will to walk through one that is already open? I know we say that God opens doors for us when one closes. I'm not so sure He opens them for us. I do believe He leads us to them, but there is some work and effort required of us to do our part. Life would be so easy if all the doors He wanted us to go through were already open, but then what kind of Christ follower would we be if it was just that easy? When we make the choice to turn the knob and pull, yank, or just simply open the door, we're saying to God that we believe and have faith in Him to lead and guide us. Far too often we come to those spots and find it too difficult to make that decision and turn around and find an already open door and take the easy way out, just to find ourselves down a road we didn't intend on being on. I wonder how many wonderful blessings we leave behind those closed doors? Ones that would have changed our lives and others in ways we could not imagine. Just a little effort on our part instead of wanting and waiting on God to do it for us. I'm not saying that we do things for ourselves apart from Him to gain favor. Sometimes behind that door may be a little heartache and pain, but if is by God that we are there, it is for the greater good of the whole. I see myself in a hallway with many doors, some opened and some closed. I feel the Holy Spirit leading me to a door that is closed. It's hard to open and I can't find the key. I fall on my knees and ask God for His guidance and wisdom. Humbled before The Lord the door opens. The key to unlocking those doors is our willingness to surrender ourselves before Him. "Well done good and faithful servant. You may enter". Oh what a glorious day. Until then, when the door behind you closes, open the one He's brought you to. Do it with the fullest confidence in Him to be leading you to where He is. In love always. <>< 

Good morning and happy Monday. Many of you know of my love of music. Here's a blast from the past; Foreigner- " I wanna know what love is, I want you to show me. I wanna feel what love is, I know you can show me". Love, the most powerful emotion and feeling known to man. Today it also seems to be the least shown as well. Our Father God is the perfect example of what love is. He showed us love through His son Jesus. We feel His love through the Holy Spirit. He has done this for us for the very reason of filling that void He knew we would find inside ourselves, and that we would try and fill it with something else. Jesus felt all the pain of the cross. He felt all the hatred that was poured out on Him. He felt what we feel sometimes. He became our model of loving someone so much you would lay down your own life for them. I don't know too many parents that would not do that for their children, but would they do it for their neighbors child?  Love from God cannot be explained or felt to its fullest potential, not yet anyway. Would you as a parent, then, give your child to save your neighbor's child ?  God is our Father and He will and has done just that. Here's another oldie from Conway Twitty- " That's my job, that's what I do. Everything I do is because of you, to keep you safe with me. That's my job you see". We sing about it all the time. We long for it our whole lives. But are we giving it and showing it more than we are wanting it?  Go and show what love is. Go and let others feel what love is. That's our job you see. I love always. <>< 

Good morning and happy Wednesday. With all the recent tragedies and loss of loved ones I felt led to share a word God spoke to me on the way home from an old friends funeral in Denton.


The purpose of a life is not easily determined. A newborn who passes away; what was the purpose? Could it be that a person is born and raised and we meet and grow together and bond in a way that is beyond friendship, that their death is their purpose for my life. It happens to us all the time when a loved one or close friend passes away. We change the way we see our life and the way we're gonna live it. It's a huge feeling in the pit of your stomach that says; do it this way from now on. Is that the purpose of the life that has passed? Did God really put into motion a life born, lived and died just for the purpose of changing me at a crucial point? Yes He did. The little baby was born only for a few days before passing and has touched the lives of many people. A grandparent who dies late in their life that as they are dying the family is reflecting on their life and has a changing impact on a lot of lives. When those deaths happen, don't we begin to search for the meaning behind them and then make changes in our own lives. Well it happened a long time ago and it was very deliberate in it's purpose. Jesus was born and lived and died to change our lives. Death of our loved ones and ourselves are simply that again, as a reminder of what's been done for us by God Himself through His son Jesus. Don't let the purpose of a life lived be lost on our own idea of life. Let your life be changed by those who have gone on before us, but especially by the one who went first before us all. That's where all life is pointed to. Jesus' life was to die for us. You are born to die so others may change from your life lived. Not to take away from the actual life itself, changing others as it is lived. But sometimes the only way we see it is when a life is taken. In love always

Good morning and happy Tuesday. I know, it's been a while. How much do you really trust God? How much do really believe He has it all in control?  Then do your actions and behavior show it?  I've watched the sad story of a friend of mine losing his wife to cancer unfold over the last couple of months. It's been a battle for a few years though and I finally met this incredible women whose strength and faith in God has helped to inspire so many. She's the reason I couldn't sleep this morning as I think and pray for Tim, my friend. Together they walked the very questions asked before, and by their actions one could see so easily how much they trust and believe in God to take care of them. We read or hear stories all the time of the faith of someone and their trust in God in a difficult situation, but to see it being lived out firsthand is inspiring beyond words. I have not stopped thinking of you two since walking out of that door that day. I hear someone complaining about this or that and think of you being by her side as you say goodbye to the love of your life. We are such selfish people. We have allowed ourselves to be distanced from our Lord by this world. I saw the peace that only God can give you Tim. To truly know that God is God is how one feels that. Our pains here are insignificant when compared to an eternity with Him. Tears will be shed and hearts will hurt, but it's only for the time we have left here. Sheri will be missed, but her life here will not be forgotten. She is a pillar of what true trust in God really is. If you've never really seen it, your life will be changed when you do. If you have seen or do trust in Him fully, are you living it for others to see so they may be changed by the One you saves us all. Sheri, thank you for your life shared with all of us. Tim, continued peace and comfort brother. In love always. <>< 

Good morning and happy Monday. Just got done reading a few news spot headlines and scanning through FB only to see nothing but bad stuff all over. It's the same all the time and has been for a while. I know that bad things have happened since Cain killed Able, but it really seems to be accelerating more quickly now. I wonder why? ( note sarcasm ). Since the Jews ignored the heeding of God they have been slaves and oppressed and not even a nation until not too long ago. America has been blessed by God since it was founded because it was founded with Him at the head; no matter how "they" try and distort our history. But ever since we have asked Him to leave our schools, offices, government, and lives, things just haven't been the same. I know people can see it but no one seems to be willing to admit it. Even those who don't believe in God know something is wrong and have a million excuses for it. None of which hold water when tested. This country is in need of a revival of its faith in God to deliver it. It has to be done with love for each other and fir those who do not see it this way. Love is all that remains. When Jesus died that was all that was left for us. Complete selfless love for each other. All the hate that these "Christians" pour out is not what Jesus had in mind as the nails were driven through His skin. Westboro and the hate mongers at protest rally's are not what we need. It's time, it's passed time to stand up and show some love to others and bring the purest of love back to our country.  I have lots of friends who do not see it this way, but I love them and I pray for them and I hope that they can see Jesus is real living through me. We're all sinners just the same and all in need of the same grace of God to be saved. No one is above or below another. Together we stand, side by side and together we are all in the same sinking boat of an America that's asked God to leave. So He has, but He's right there with us waiting for us to ask Him back into ours lives, all parts of it. As frustrated as I am getting, it's the peace Jesus brings that's has kept me sane. In love always. <>< 

Good morning and happy Wednesday. Ever feel like if you don't do it, it won't get done; or at least done right? It's one of my biggest issues I struggle with. It's not that I don't think someone else can do it, it's just I lack the trust to of them doing it. (Probably the way I want it done). I did a little studying for Sunday school class as we go through the book of Acts. Growing up I heard and sang a song about Paul and Silas. But as we have been reading Acts, I've been seeing Paul and Barnabas. Now at the end of chapter 15 Barnabas is replaced by Silas. We hear no more of Barnabas except for a few mentions. We are replaceable and disposable. We have to make the most of the time that God is using us for the moment He's using us. His plans will be carried out with or without us. He does not need us. We are not a necessity that He requires. That's what makes His love for us so beautiful, He wants us. He wants to use us so that we can be blessed by Him and the moment that we are a part of. I don't know about you, but I would rather be wanted than needed. With that though, are you ready to be used when He calls? Are you prepared to answer?  You will not always have the tools needed to do the task, but you can rest assured that if He calls you to it, He will equip you for it. He needs to see you step out in faith in Him before you get it. He loves us and wants no harm to come to us, so why would we think this was a set up for failure. Barnabas did great work for The Lord and continued to do so afterward as well, but his time was up and it was time for Silas to step up. It's not about us, it's about Him. In love always. <>< 

Good morning and happy Wednesday. When I see my girls and think of memories of them when they were younger, my heart swells. There is so much emotion when you see your kids. The good times and the painful ones as well. You begin to question what you could have done to protect them. Well, we did the best we could. But the stuff we feel when we know it could have been different. That " not in our control " feeling of them making a choice hurts to the core sometimes. We understand now what we did to our own parents now that we have our own to raise. Let me say now for all of us, I'm sorry mom and dad. But I need to really be directing that more heavenward though. I'm sorry God for the things I do and choose that hurt you. Just like all parents, He is there with us till the end. Shaking His head and eyes filled with tears as we miss another blessing He had for us if only we would listen to Him. How many times do you say that to your kids, "just listen to what I'm telling you"? What makes us any different than them by not hearing God the Father? Be still and be quiet and listen. Read that again only, with a stern voice, not in anger, but in loving frustration of a parent doing all He can for His children. There is no greater love than what we receive from God, and it's there for the taking. So when you look at your kids or just kids in general, feel the eyes of God upon you and know that He's watching over you. What a great comfort that is. In love always. <>< 

Good morning and happy Monday. In the beginning God was with us Himself. As time went on He stayed among His people throughout all their trials and oppressions. Next Jesus came to be with us. He came to show us the error of our ways and to show us the way home. When Jesus left us, He did not leave us alone. He left us the Holy Spirit, never to be left alone or without the guidance of the God Himself. With that said, it is safe to say that we are never alone in this world. Since the dawn of time God has tried to lead us and guide us in the right direction. The Jews didn't do so well at following along. Jesus came to help and they didn't do so well again, but this time the rest of us are allowed in. And like the Jews some have done well and others have not at following His will for us. Then there's today, it seems the further into this we go, the worse we as a people are doing at following the guidance of the Spirit. So the question for today is this; are you following the Holy Spirit or are you trying to guide the spirit to your will?  Sometimes it's easy to be confused as to wether or not we are leading or following. Looking back over history and knowing the promises of tomorrow, we should all be making sure we're doing all we can to follow the will of God in our lives. After all, He only wants the best for us, as any Father would. Happy Father's Day everyday. In love always. <>< 

Good morning and happy Tuesday. Sometimes when you feel the absence of God, like He's not talking to you or hearing you, it's probably that you have moved away from Him. What's happened to our longing for Him and to be in service for Him? We've become very self reliant and putting God in our lives as an add on. The Bible days are relevant to us today in many ways. So in keeping with that, look at the simplicity of their lives, God and family. Now we have our kids playing sports year round with games on Sunday even. Just a few short years ago when I was a kid that was unheard of. Even on Wednesday because church was on that night too. A poll was taken asking for your most favorite Bible verse. Guess what won? "God helps those who help themselves". Really?  That ain't even in the Bible. He will place Himself within us if we ask Him to live there. From there He will guide us and direct us to what should be our ultimate goal, Home and an eternity with Him. Along the way all things we do should point to Him and His glory. That nothing we've done has been possible without Him. "I am the vine, you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit. Apart from Me you can do nothing". Jesus. In love always. <>< 

Good morning and happy Tuesday. Just like everyone else in this country as we woke this morning to all the terrible news of the devastation in Oklahoma, my heart is heavy, for a few reasons. Many people are going to ask where is God in all this? How could God let this happen? Others will use this to condemn our society, by taking God out of everything this is what we get. Others will point to the end times and try and create panic among non and young Christians. Still others will simply point out there is no God. My heart is heavy for the obvious reasons; death of people and loss of homes and communities. But it's also weighing on me about how quickly death can come and in this case so wide spread that many may not have been ready to meet the Father. We are after all a lost people and this has become a lost nation. More and more people are living here not knowing or believing in God the Father. That should bother all of us. It's not too late to turn this around though. Those of you who know me and especially those who know my past can see change in direction is possible. But how did it happen? What took place and what is my role in it?  Well it didn't happen over night and it was just a few people who spoke God's word to me. They allowed themselves to be used by Him to reach me in a place some might not have gone. Oh it wasn't that bad where I was. For some it may have looked pretty good. Hell will be filled with a lot of "good" people. Every time we have a major event like this in our country, many different views spring to life. Be prepared and become the voice of Truth about the Father who loves us all, no matter what. Help others find their way home to Him now, before anything else can happen to them. In love always. <>< 

Good morning and happy Monday. I'm in a conversation with my youngest daughter who is getting ready to graduate from high school in a few weeks. She said there's a lot of stuff going on at school and people acting up and causing her some issues. "This is not how I thought my senior year would end up", she said. Is life ever how we thought it would be? Are you where you thought you would be when you dreamed of your life as a kid or teen? Why do you suppose it's never how we think?  Well, maybe just maybe it's because we don't know what's best for us or what we need to be doing for others. It's the second part that usually throws us off. God has plans for us, for and with other people. Our society today has become so self reliant and self sufficient, we have forgotten about other people in the world until they bother us. In the Old Testament days the people relied on each other for all kinds of things. They were communal people. The reason it took a community to raise a child is because the community did raise the children, together. We're losing touch with each other and all of our technology today is making it easier to isolate ourselves from each other. God wants us to be in community with each other today and with Him. It makes us a better and stronger person because when we are together we tend not be able to hide our garbage and so satan loses his tools against us. When we are alone we are vulnerable to our secrets. These are the tools of the devil. Don't try and make life what you think it should be. Instead be pliable to God's will and ready to be placed in the path of others so that we can build community, together. In love always <>< 

Good morning and happy Friday. Yesterday I was talking about selling out to Christ. Is He worth that? In my studies and reading I'm finding more and more how deluded and disconnected I am in my relationship with Him. Our culture is partly to blame but my willingness to accept what is preached and perceived versus' what is really at the heart of it all is more to blame. I've talked before about Jesus in the garden and as to why He was in agony as He prayed. It wasn't because He didn't want to go or afraid to go it was because He would be bearing the full wrath of God, which was ours to bear, and be out of God's presence while it takes place. If God is just, and He is, then if He's pouring out His wrath on Jesus for us, He must be mad at us. Why else would He have anger? Well it's because we're sinful and ugly. We don't deserve to be with Him. So the loving part of God that is so over used so that we can justify things we do, sends His Son to take it for us. Imagine standing below a dam 10,000 ft high and 10,000 ft wide and it breaks. Just before you are destroyed a gapping hole opens and takes in all the water. Jesus drank the cup of God's wrath for us, which we could in no way handle, and after the last drop, turned the cup upside down and said "It is finished". So does He deserve us to be sold out to Him. Absolutely. In love always. <>< 

Good morning and happy Thursday, Friday eve for the optimist. Have you sold out, sold out fully for The Lord? During our lesson last night it really occurred to me that I don't really think I have. I don't think I know too many people who have. I have this image of me flying off the earth toward Heaven as I grow and mature in my relationship with Christ. It was harder at first and my trials and tests seemed too hard to break the bonds of gravity to move upward. As I get stronger in my relationship and could see that I was way above the earth but seemed to be in a holding pattern. Closer examination shows satan on the ground holding a few lines still tied to me. As I thought I was free of those things, which I am set free but true freedom comes only when I let them go and put them in the past forever. Jesus set us free, we have to decide to accept His gift. I may be just a speck in the sky from where I was, but what scares and bothers me most is that I really haven't let go of some things that keep me tied to the ground. That's all satan needs to reel me back down to him. Sure it will take a while but for him it may be worth the effort. So the question is, have I gotten to a point where now I'm just comfortable and not willing to work to move further on? When I meet and talk with young Christians, no matter their age, I see the fire that drives us off the launch pad toward the stars. How do we keep our fires burning so that we don't settle into an orbit of lifelessness and comfort not to be moved anymore? It's different for all of us, but for most it comes when we study and read the Word. Selling ourselves out to Christ, Jesus told the young rich ruler to sell all his things and give it to the poor and then he could follow Him. He's only telling us to let go of what holds us to this earth. To know that it costs us everything to follow Him. At least everything worldly. Join me in cutting loose of our strings that hold us back and keep us tied to this world. Remember, we're not of this world. In love always. <>< 

Good morning and happy Tuesday. For all practical purposes, Saul, later known as Paul, was a terrorist to Christians. He over saw the stoning death of Stephen and was on his way to Damascus to haul some more off to prison if not kill them. But along the way he had an encounter with Jesus. Forever changed, he went on to write most of the New Testament. I'm sure no one really ever prayed for his salvation and realization of who Jesus was. Not to ever excuse what happened yesterday in Boston, it just shows us that we live in a fallen world and there are many people in need of Jesus. Here in our own country and all over the world. The mission of the first followers of Christ has not changed at all. Living in the Bible Belt can some times dull me to the need of the message of Jesus to rest of the world around us. Pray for those families and for those who are responsible. It's what jesus would do. In love always. <><

Good morning and happy Friday. I'm so tired of the news these days. It's so full of violence and crime and hate. Facebook is becoming the same way. We don't have much control over the news but the social media is ours to make it good or bad. From the looks of some people's post, they need to figure out how move into another point of view. Jesus always saw things in a way that was different from what was popular of the day. We've become just the opposite and seem to just go along with what's popular or makes us "look" good on our page. I know sometimes its hard to find the good in people, but if we make that our habit in our dealings with folks, then it becomes easier. A very good friend of mine a long time ago taught me that, you just need to find the good in people and love on that part. Then the love will spread over to those bad parts and make em fade away. It can't help it cause love always wins. In not so many words that's exactly what Jesus taught us. He, Jesus, is love. The purest of love. When life and the news and Facebook start to pull us away from the love we know and are finding in others, refocus and change lanes from the road you're on. Find Jesus and talk to Him about it. He's a great listener and a healer of our wounds. Receive the healing. In love always. <>< 

Good morning and happy Good Friday.  So last night, almost two thousand years ago, Jesus was in the Garden praying. On this day He was beaten and whipped so bad, that as He was marched down the road with His cross on His back, mothers turned their children's eyes away. This is something they had seen before but obviously not this bad. Skin was torn from His back. His face was beaten so bad you could hardly recognize Him. All of this, He did for us. The punishment we were meant for is taken upon Him. The last sacrifice to God. The veil that separates us from God is torn and is no more. We have direct access to God Himself through this sacrifice. That is why we call it "Good" Friday. It's good for us. We are saved by the blood spilled on this day. As we look back on this day, we see the saving grace of God. On that actual day, they could not see it really. So tomorrow would be a day of great worry about what was to come. He's gone, the leader of this movement is gone. What do we do now? They lacked the kind of faith we have today. But they also saw first hand what our Lord endured for us. Please find the time this weekend to be prone on your knees with thankfulness for the sacrifice given to buy you back into heaven and an eternal life spent with God. We were bought at a very high, unrepayable price. We are worth that to Him. Honor Him now with a life lead to pay respect for what He did for us. Bare your cross proudly and live your life for Him as He gave His life for us. In love always. <>< 

Good morning and happy Monday. I don't about you, but I'm loving this Bible movie on the history channel. It's really made me look at how we see Jesus in today's times. To realize that our passion for Him is waning as our passion for religion grows. It's just like those days with the Pharisee. Seeing the people in the desert reminds me of how we are to depend on God for our daily sustenance, but instead we've become self reliant and self dependent. While we think we're getting closer to Him, it really seems to me, we're moving farther away. I've always said the devil is good at what he does and we're being lead farther away every day. We need to find our place in the desert and draw nearer to God. We need to show others the same thing. It's never too late with God. In love always. <>< 

Good morning and happy Wednesday. Be still and listen. Be quiet on the inside. Find a place to hear, to hear the still calm voice of God. He's saying "Cone to me". Just listen and you will hear. "Come to me. You've been filling your life with everything to fill a void in it. Come to me." I know you can hear it and feel it. It's because He made us. He placed Himself inside each of us. It's our choice to follow Him or not. It's not forceful or demanding, it's with love for what He knows He has for you. The life He's planned for each of us. " Come to me". Everything else falls short of the least God has to give. Lord I pray we all hear you. I pray that we all walk towards your voice and live not wanting or needing to find something to fill us. To you all glory and honor Lord. Thank you for the very next breath I have so that I may still come to you. In love always. <><

Good morning and happy Monday. Who knows your history better than you?  Who knows the things you've done that you want to forget? Yep, you guessed it, satan. He keeps a detailed record of the junk we've done and don't want anyone to know about. These are the very things he uses against us in a battle for our eternity. His only victory is the number of souls he can keep from being with God. He knows he loses the war, but he'll take any battle he can. As for us individually, this is his winning tactic. To bring our past and inequities up at the time when begin to look to God for the answers we seek. He makes us feel unworthy of approaching God and that we don't matter, so why bother. Now let that sink in a little as you answer this question. How many people do you make feel that same way by doing the very same thing? I've got my own list and I'm ashamed of myself. But that's a battle we lost, not the war. A simple retreat back to the arms of God and all will be ok. As much as we seem like pawns in a game, to God we're much more than that. To satan, that's all we are, and he uses us against others. Don't be a toy in satan's game, be the royalty you are in the House of the Lord. In love always. <>< 

Good morning and happy Friday. How does it make you feel when someone asks you to pray for them? Do you say you will and then don't or if you do is it a short quick prayer to say you did it? How are we as Christians treating our brothers and sisters in our prayer life? It used to make me feel uncomfortable when someone asked me to pray for them. Looking back I see God making me do it and getting me out of my comfort zone. Since those days I've found I have no more comfort zone, at least one that's a problem to deal with. Why are we so apprehensive to speak to our Father on the behalf of someone else. Is it because we'er forced into the light before the throne and we don't want to see ourselves as we are? We are to approach Him with boldness and confidence, not the arrogant kind, but the humble and serving kind. So when you're feeling that sense of being nudged in a direction that feels uncomfortable it's because it is and God is needing you to move. He's got work for you to do and you're holding up the works. When we can get to that place of transparency, prodding and nudging are no longer needed and like a grown up has more responsibility, so do we as children of he most high, to our brothers and sisters. We owe it to them and most certainly to God for all He has done for us. It's the least we can do. We should feel honor and blessed and loved when asked to move. It means we're being prepared to move closer to Him. It's good to tell people you love them. It's better to show them. In love always <>< 

Good morning and happy Wednesday. I love to watch UFC fights. I like to see warriors rise to the top. A lot of my pre game pep talks to my daughter involved the heart of a warrior. So it was no doubt that I would love the movie "Here Comes the Boom". Very predictable and all that corny Hollywood film stuff, but if you look beneath it all you see a lot of heart. Love for people and kids and the right thing being done for the right reasons. I can always get behind that. The heart of things, the center of it all. Our heart is very important to all aspects of our life and eternity. So to me a warriors heart takes on a whole new meaning than it did growing up. Same idea, just focused on other venues. Jesus is who we should have a warriors heart for. A never give up, fight to the death for mentality, but with more compassion to love and serve than to fight. Weird twist isn't it?  The heart and its emotions are a strange mix that if left for us to tend to on our own would surely lead us to destruction. That's why there's a God shaped hole there that only He can fill and if left to Him will be a peace and commitment like never before. But a warrior doesn't surrender, especially not his heart. It's about seeing the right things in life that need to be done for the right reasons that will allow a warrior to give up his life for others.  Now you have a true champion. And the example of this was done on Calvary's hill by the greatest of all time. His life for ours. After you've given your heart to Jesus, who are you going to give up your life for while you're here? In the warriors code there is no surrender, but surrender we must. Surrender today to the will of God in your life and be His champion for someone besides ourselves. In love always. <>< 

Good morning and happy Tuesday. I was just reading about a homeless man who had a diamond ring dropped in his cup by mistake. He held on to it until the lady returned to get it. At this point this story could go in a number of ways. Stop right now and think about how you think it goes. Yes it goes good, he returned the ring and then it got better. The lady's husband set up a fund for him and the wife helped him connect to a long lost sister in Texas who has brought him to live with her. Perfect ending to a perfectly wonderful story. Very worthy of the headlines it received. Here's what got me the most. When asked about his fortune and the way things turned out he said this, "What has the world come to when a person returns something that doesn't belong to them and all of this happens?" Now ponder that along with how you thought this story would go. If you saw him returning the ring and that's all, you saw the world as it should be really. If you saw him return the ring and then all the good stuff follows his good deed, you're seeing as the world does. This man had been in this state for nearly twenty years and he expected nothing for doing the right thing. He got it. He knows how it should be. He's blown away by how this is such a big deal in the eyes of others. Not taking away from the gratitude of the people who lost the ring. They are blessed and became a blessing. That's also how God wants us to be. The people directly involved are not who he is talking about. It's the media attention and exposure by others who think this is a huge deal. It's our perspective in things and for Christians its about us seeing through God's eyes, not the worlds. How great this would have been for everyone if no one knew about it, at least to the extent it got. A small light in dark room is seen by all. A bright light in small room is blinding. Think of all the big rooms we're in. Just be a small light of Jesus and see if the world isn't attracted to Him. Jesus taught us the simple things of life because they are the most powerful ways to reach some someone. This little light of mine, you know the rest. In love always. <>< 

Good morning and happy Monday. We all have made mistakes in our lives. We continue to make them now. The difference between then and now is that we know God better and have closer relationship with Him. When people see our trials and struggles that's one thing, but when they see us messing up and just flat out doing it wrong, that's when judgement comes from the world. Satan then launches full on with the guilt and unworthiness feelings so we will turn back to him. What a powerful message we send when we stand firm in the mess we made and claim victory in the name of Jesus. Who then can stand against us? As the world bears witness to this, you will also see one of two things happen. People will no longer want to be around you or they will want to know the God you serve. It's amazing to me, but not really, how God takes such things and brings people nearer to Him. We are walking billboards for Christ, so when we're doing something stupid and wearing a sign that says Christ follower, it's easy for them to turn on us. It's by the grace of God and the blood of Jesus we can stand firm, confess our sin, and claim the victory over satan. Who does that? Or who just let's it bring us down a little and then come around later after they've walked away in their own victory of not seeing God in our lives? The Egyptians gave their gods power by seeing a nation forget their God and seeing that, in their minds, He had abandoned them. By not honoring God, even when it was bad, they could claim victory and thus gave power to the other side. It's still true today. We each have an Egypt to be lead out from. Small or large it's ours to get through, and when we do, God is glorified. Stand on the rock of Christ today. Claim the victory He's already won. Live the life He's laid before you and let others see what life in the light really is about. In love always. <>< 

Good morning and happy Tuesday. I written many times after being at a funeral. Today is no different. He's my age and has two boys my youngest daughters age. I was one of his first friends when he moved here and never saw him again after he moved to another part of town. Now he's gone. It was a beautiful service that left me and I hope others there with some questions to answer. Have I done enough to let my family know I love them? Have I passed on enough to my kids to not forget what the lesson was? Is my faith strong enough? Strong enough to let God be in control of my life and of the people I love? We're  told to be prepared for that day, a day we don't know when will come. The answer to those questions come when we understand how deep our relationship is with God the Father. How close are you to Him today? When you can answer that e/question with a definitive answer you can take heart that everything else will take care of itself. Our lives are too short not to have the answers to these questions, find them somewhere, find them soon.  In love always. <><

Good morning and happy Monday. We are never promised tomorrow, not even our next breath. As I've gone back to work after this time off, I'm hearing more about people who have passed away while I was gone. One in particular struck me when I heard it. Since I've known him, he was always talking about the days of his retirement. He had bought a place on a lake and was fixing it up over the last years of his working days. I really liked this guy too and he was the kind that would love for you to come and stay a weekend fishing with him at his place. He didn't have but a few more years till his retirement when on the way home from work he was in a car wreck and killed. Most all if his life was spent preparing to retire. Now I'm not saying not to prepare for retirement. I'm am saying that you have to plan to go on to heaven also. Now Max was a bit older than me and his dying, as sad at is it, didn't feel quite close to home for me. But today my wife and I are going to a funeral for a friend my exact age. It just got close to home, again. God knows our time to the second. He knows the things He needs us to do. He's placed us in lives to have an impact and influence on others for Him and eternity. It seems we don't think about eternity much until someone passes on. It should be what we're working for today. As we get that "lake house" ready, we should be making sure our house we're in is in order first. The retirement years will come to many and most will be ready but will most be ready to stand before God and give account for their lives. Plan for the future and live for today. In love always. <>< 

Good morning and happy Thursday. Happy Valentines Day. Saint valentine was an early Christian who was in prison in Rome. Legend has it he performed weddings for soldiers forbidden to marry and to minister to other Christians. To me this is love. To give of yourself so that others can know our Lord. This day has evolved into a day for couples to express their love for each other. It's a wonderful thing, but I wish we were doing that everyday instead. Some are and do but most of us men folk don't do well enough at it. If you're one I the few, bless you and thanks for showing the rest of us up. But really, we need to show our love for each other more often and more so that others see how we love. Not only do we need to do this with each other, but we need to show it to our Lord and savior more and let that love for Him be seen by the world. The world around us watches us all the time. They are looking to condemn us or find what it is we have inside that makes us the way we are. It's the Holy Spirit inside that gives light to the world. That's a true Valentine's day gift. To give of what's inside so others can see and know Him. Give your love to others; this day and everyday. In love always. <>< 

Good morning and happy Monday. Man oh man God is good. Casting crowns has a song called "Already There". It's about God being ahead of us and us looking back and seeing how all the pieces of our lives fit together that we couldn't understand while it was happening. What's really cool is when you see it happen. I was getting Sunday's lesson ready and had a few of the main topics and ideas ready for class. As a lot of times we get ready to go one way and God needs it to go another. One of the groups brother was in town and visiting our class and church. Well, as I begin to head down the road I was going to, I suddenly started seeing what God wanted said and brought out, in what seems like a simple story of Peter walking out of prison with the help of an angel. As we talked it out we learned about Kirk , the brother's, situation. All that was going on in his life with his wife and the direction and trusting God to lead them. Man it was mind blowing how God showed up and let us all be amazed at His work. In both what was happening in their lives and what was happening at that very moment. We have to be pliable. We have to be ready to move in the direction God is nudging us at the time He says. No delay but with a sense of urgency. You would think that if an angel of God is helping you escape prison and death, that you wouldn't have to worry about anything. Yet the angel tells Peter to hurry and move. It's about being obedient to the Lord and doing what He says when He says. Kirk's anxieties and doubts and worries for his families direction were calmed and the rest of us got to see God do His work in a life right as it was happening. Amazing. We missed regular church as we continued to have our own church upstairs in a room with God. That's what church is any way right? Thank you God for all you do for us. To you be all the glory for this and all you do in our lives. In love always. <><