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. <><