Good morning and happy Monday. When the chief priests met at the Sanhedrin to hear the case against Jesus, they already had their mind made up, it was just about how to convince others outside of them to crucify Him. They told lies about Him to get their way. They were so hung up in the letter of the Law, they could not process the new covenant Jesus brought to them. They had lived the old way too long and could not except change. They refused to see Jesus for who He was. How many of us does this apply to? How many people do you know that are so set in their ways they can't make a change for something that's better? Life saving and life changing and still can not change no matter what and justify their claims as well. The date on the calendar is different, but the same things are happening today as they were when they hung Him on the cross. I say that because from here we look back and can't imagine how or why they would do what they did or how they could not see Jesus as their Messiah. Well, it happens still today and people still refuse to let Him in their hearts. One day though, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess to God as King. It's never too late. And He's still there waiting. In love always. <>< 

Good morning and happy Friday. I never realized how easily distracted I can get because of a habit. I leave work and drive the same way home every day. Just before leaving I need to make a stop by a store on the way. I just talked about it and walked out but visited on the way to the truck with someone else and completely forgot to stop by the store. I was almost home when I realized it. It's because of the habit I have of doing the same thing over and over again. Without thinking of what I should be doing, I just go along doing what I always do. Not good if I have some really bad issues. How routine are we making our Lord? Usually I sit at home in the same spot to write down the things He has put on my heart, so today I left early and went to work and done it differently. I'm gonna get out of this routine place I let myself go so that I can think more about what's going on at the moment. I don't want to make my worship and my relationship a habit in the way that I don't put much thought or myself into it. Conviction will do more for us than we know, and I know I've done just that in my daily walk. So today I'm gonna walk the long way and around the way and all kinds of other stuff and thank God each time I do for letting me know what I was doing. He doesn't want us wondering off from Him. He wants us close, but by our choice. He's already chosen us, now we need to choose Him. It'll be a little different today but it should be a great awakening for me today. So take a different way when you can and see God in a new light. Don't make Him a habit you just go through the motions with. Live for Him everyday. In love always. <>< 

Good morning and happy Thursday. We have an old wall clock that you have to wind with a key about every two to three days if you want it to keep good time. Every once in a while I forget about it and days turn into more days and then I look up and there it is, stopped. I usually find the date hand on a date two days ago. I didn't even notice it had stopped and that familiar sound of it tick tocking was gone. It really needs more attention than I give it but surely I can keep up with it every couple of days. Not really, it was stopped this morning. I know it's a small thing but I'm very anal about clocks and time in the house, (OCD),so it's higher up my list than on most peoples. But it made me wonder how much I neglect my God. I often I take Him for granted and just know He will be there and don't worry about putting in some time with Him. Well, I study a lot and talk in the mornings with Him and lead a singles group and a Sunday school class, I'm doing okay, right?  That's not it at all. It's not bad but I'm missing the point that I study about. He's about relationship and I have to do better at mine and His. He's doing His part and I'm failing at mine. One day the clock won't be ticking at all and I'm gonna wonder what I've been doing that let me forget to keep it wound up. We can get caught up in doing a whole lot of good things and neglecting to spend time, good quality one on one time, with God. Hell will be full of good people who do good things. God will bring Home those He knows. Make more time for Him, just Him and nothing else. Not just the fleeting moment between the last thing and the next thing. I'm gonna stay on top of my God clock and make sure it doesn't come to a stop anymore. In love always. <><

Good morning and happy Wednesday. I've been watching the Hatfield's and McCoy's series on the history channel. I'm amazed at how each side is able to justify killing the other. It just goes to show you what side your own helps you to see your point of view. It's always easy to make a good argument for something you believe in. You have conviction for it. You know it to be true that way until someone comes and shows you another way. Welcome to the 21st century of knowing a bunch of ways to find peace and harmony in a cruel world. People didn't and don't buy into Jesus and who He is and what He did. But never has anyone found the evidence to prove different either. They have a lot of theories though. It's easy to write history from here back. It's different when you write it as it happened and it still stands firm. But it's about the side you're on and the perspective you have that help decide your own point of view. There were people who stood behind the cross and those in front of the cross. Some saw the horrible things done to our Lord and saw in His eyes the pain. Some saw the back of cross and some nails through the wood. To get the whole picture you have to move around to see what's really gong on. What is your view and your justification for what you do in life? Have you moved around and asked others and really considered their ideas? Are you in a good place and have seen from other sides? Which ever the case, if you really go to hunting the answer, you'll find it all comes back to Jesus every time. His side and view are all that matter when it's all done. In love always. <>< 

Good morning and happy Tuesday. I hope you had a great Memorial Day. It's good to reflect on memories. It can help with the present. We have lots of mantras from war and such; remember the Alamo, more recent; Never Forget. Gone but not forgotten. Have we forgotten what was done for us a long time ago. I don't think so, but I do think we set it aside and call on it when we need it. It makes us not look very loyal to those who don't believe it anyway. How do you show your praise to God? How are you giving Him glory? Are you taking it in as your own?  Reflection on our lives helps us with how we deal with today. When we look back and see how good or bad we were giving Him the glory, then we can do a better job of it today. Besides the fact it keeps us ever mindful of what has been done for us. Jesus felt pain and anguish for he souls who would not receive Him. That the wrath He was about to bare is what would come to those who remained lost. Remember the soldiers and fighting men and women of our nation; never forget them. Be thankful for them, but never ever never forget what was done on Calvary for you and me. Look back just enough to keep a better path going forward. In love always. <><

Good morning and happy Friday. Thankfulness. Be blessed today and be thankful for it. Give God glory for all He does and has done in your life. Be thankful for the freedom we enjoy and take for granted. This weekend thank the men and women of our military for their sacrifice for our country so that we can give thanks to God. It's a long three day weekend. Take the time to enjoy it and rest and give thanks. Don't save it till November. Be thankful everyday. Let it be humble thanks. Thank you all for listening to these rambles everyday too. God puts things on us and we just have to say them to somebody. Thank you for being "it". I love you. In love always. <><

Good morning and happy Thursday. Have you ever read the Ten Commandments? Do you know all ten?  Do you think you can live a week and not break one of them? Ever wonder why God made the rules so hard to live? Yet they seem easy enough really. I can go a week or two and not kill anyone. But there are some others that I don't know if I get through a day without breaking. The bar is set real high for a reason. So that we quit trying to do it alone. We need help. We need God in our lives so that those things are doable. We need Him. That's the whole idea. We are His to do whatever He wants. But He wants us to willingly choose Him. Making us love Him, which He can do, is not love at all. It's our choice to love Him or not. When we reach a point of maturity in our lives and start to see God better, we begin to understand all that rules and needing Him to live by them stuff. We begin to see with His eyes. We see people's hearts and not their shirt. It's our choice to be there though. Choose God. In love always. <>< 

Good morning and happy Wednesday. How much stuff do you have? How many things do you have?  How many toys? Are they yours? Do you own them? Sure, on paper and in this world we do. People always say the poor talk about possessions and the rich because they don't have anything so they point to others to feel better. Might be true for some. Did you know Jesus and His disciples were homeless and poor? Had no food or jobs for three years? The example He was living for us was to rely on God and He will provide. It doesn't mean to sit around on your butt and do nothing. It also doesn't mean that the one with the most toys is doing better than everyone else. I have gotten to that place in my life where I've seen God give and take away, and then give right back. He truly is in control of all of this and when we come to see it, we will be much more willing to follow His will. Fear drives our need for things. Fear drives our failures in life because we believe those things. With God there is no fear. To be like Him is to be fearless. But we're human. We can't be totally fearless. No, but we can be a lot less fearful than we are. That comes with our relationship with the Father. Knowing I don't "own" this stuff and it's His to take when He wants leads me to another place. A place of dependence on Him. That's what we have to come to. He's got this. It's His anyway. Enjoy the blessings of life and the things He has blessed you with. Just don't let them own you or He will remove them from you so you can focus better on Him. In love always. <>< 

Good morning and happy Tuesday. My patio has needed to be cleaned off for a while now. Just not enough time in a day or week sometimes. It's been a good busy though. Lots of stuff going on and a little neglect in an area that doesn't have to be tended to today. Well, the patio is pretty clean without me lifting a finger. As a matter of fact, with the mowing of the jungle back there, I added to the mess. We had a nice rain last night. Real heavy drops here too. Patio is clean and fresh. Just needs a touch up. God shows up in the small stuff of our lives just like that all the time. He knows the whys behind something like why the patio isn't done. He knows why the things at work are going the way they are. He knows why the marriage is at the place it is. He will move on our behalf when we are doing what we can. Sometimes it's just simple perseverance. He needs to know if you can go the distance in the bigger race He has for you. If not, you will be doing laps to get into shape for it. None of this is new, it's just how and when we recognize it in our lives. We are quick to let others know that God will get them though it, but blind to the fact when it's happening to us. The people I know that have that kind of faith and trust blow me away when they're running those laps. Nice a smooth and an easy pace. Do what has to be done and Trust God to be God. It has helped me live a better and more peaceful life. And to see other struggling in the same water lets me know I'm doing it right. What to do with those struggling is another day, today it's about getting our faith in line so we can help those others. Trust God to help you. Have faith that it's going to be ok. Because when it's over, you'll see that He was right there with you all along. In love always. <><

Good morning and happy Monday. Can there be happiness in sacrifice? Even if the sacrifice is painful?  Can you let something or someone go, while wanting it or them the whole time, and still find happiness? We all know that if it's for the best and greater good that we can find it inside somewhere to be happy. So, what about Jesus on the cross? It was physically and emotionally painful to be there and still see how many would reject Him. To go through all that for us, to have so many turn away from Him. Yet there is happiness and great joy found in this most giving sacrifice of all. All those who have come to Him to be saved and have a place at His table in eternity. Are you breaking His heart by holding out til the last days? He sees you and He knows you and He died for you. He did that so we would have a way Home. Follow Him the rest of your days to gates of Heaven and throw your arms around His neck and say thank you for your sacrifice for me so I can be here. There is great happiness in sacrifice. Bring joy to others and yourself by giving of yourself.  It's worth any pain you may have to go through. In love always <>< 

Good morning and happy Friday. True friendship and blessings. Those two go good together. I was so blessed by so much love yesterday from so many people. It really is humbling when you think about it. But even with all the messages from people all over, the best ones came face to face. Where you see it in their eyes that they mean what they are saying to you. That's a blessing. We've lost that some but gained in other places, but I don't think Jesus wants to text me about my issues. He wants to be face to face so I can see it in His eyes how much He cares and see it on His hands how much He loves me. I love that we can reach around the world in just a few moments to comfort and show love to our friends and family, but I really love to give and get hugs. It's relationship, personal and meaningful. That's what our Father wants with us; a relationship. Deep and personal. It begins with prayer and honesty with Him. He knows it all anyway, He just wants us to say it and put it to the light so it doesn't hold us anymore. While you're praying, look deep into His eyes and feel His love for you take over your whole world. In love always. <><

Good morning and happy Thursday. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says that if we are in Christ we are a new creation and the old is gone. Have we let go of the old or are we still clinging to bits of it.?As kids we love to get presents. As adults we act like its ok but we really like getting gifts. We've been given a great gift of salvation but we don't receive it fully. We take a part of it and call it good. So there we are trying to walk in the partial new and clinging to the bits of the old. How does that picture look to you?  How then does it look to God?  Receive the full blessing of the new life offered to you. Jesus drank in the worlds sin so that we could have a way in. He did this for you and me. Are we just gonna let it pass and say that's not enough? No, none of us feel that way, but we're living that way on the inside. Hanging on to parts instead of wrapping ourselves up in the whole new life offered to us. It has to come from the inside and then it will spill out to the outside. Face the things you're a slave to from the past. Name them and own them, then sit with God in prayer and get rid of them. Receive this whole gift fully. In love always. <><

Good morning and happy Wednesday. Do you know what the word baptism means? Well, in the original form of the word it means immerse. I love what the act of baptism represents. To see us die to the world and be buried, immersed, into Christ, raised again to walk a new life. None of those things alone really stand by themselves as much. It takes all three to be complete. We are giving up ourselves and immersing ourselves into Christ. It's the only way we can walk a new life, is to be in Him and Him in us. I see people go through baptism because they feel like they need to do it, for the church or family. They need to do it for themselves and the Lord. We all need to then stayed immersed in Him. He's walked a perfect life. How much easier would it be for us to walk our new life with the one who's gone before us. He knows the ways of the world and the traps set out before us. Today, lean back into the waters of baptism, and go back to a deeper immersion than ever before. Re-baptize yourself into that relationship you had with Him the day you came up out of the water. Renew your fire and walk in your new life. In love always. <><

Good morning and happy Tuesday. We celebrate  a lot of things in our culture today, but sports achievements of our kids seem to rank in the highest place. Why do you suppose that is? Are we reliving our childhood? Or are we just wanting our kids to be the best they can be at what their doing? Not always does the best kid win but that's a part of life. It's a spring board to other success in life for some and a killing blow to others. But what is the prize is what makes the difference. When it's a life lesson learned and a character building experience, then you win. God is our biggest fan, and He wants us all to win. Again, it comes down to the real prize of the matter. As He guides us through this life and we learn to grow close to Him and follow His will, we win. But even if you get off the beaten path He's chosen for you, you can still win, you just don't celebrate for as long. God wants to see us doing our best at what He has set before us. Go full tilt and give all you have and you will see the game is just that, a game. In the end we all pick up our ball and bat and go Home. Play the game well. In love always. <>< 

Good morning and happy Monday. Can I just say God is good?  He's just and caring. I've given blood a hundred times. Saturday I gave some and miscalculated how long it had been since I had eaten. Needless to say, I passed out and then became sick. It was horrible. But family was there and God was there. Can't say without either of them I wouldn't have done so well. I'm still weak two days later but all is good. What does all this have to do with God being good and just. I had gone there to get my wife who was not feeling well from her donation. I made fun of her and kidded with her about it. Pretty much gave her a loving hard time. She got the last laugh. It just made me think about how no matter when you come to a life of Jesus the reward is the same as someone who's spent their entire life following Him. In our way of thinking its not fair. But in the realm  of a just God it is exactly that. And I'm so glad for it. It gives time to those who are in a struggling place. It gives time to wear away a hard surfaced heart. God showed me a bit of justice in a loving way. I didn't think so at the ER but it all turned out good. It's not about the amount of time with Him, it's about the quality of time you spend with Him. How are spending it with Him today? In love always. <><