Good morning or afternoon depending on where you are today and happy Thursday. Time, seems to be one of our most valuable commodities. It's a rare thing. Not much of it around; or at least not enough for most of us. Who invented time? We can't blame God for it. He has all the time one could ever imagine. How much time do we give away you think ? It's what it's for really, is to give it away. How much do you keep for yourself? It's not a bad thing until you run out with none to give when it's needed by someone you love. I'm a waster of time. I waste a lot of time as my wife who will read this can attest to. The problem I have is I'm not giving my time to the ones I should be. My wife and family obviously, but what about friends and people in need. And then most importantly how much am I giving to God ? Of all the things we can give Him, our time is one of the most valuable. Time in His word. Time in prayer and time in listening to our Father guide us. I'm sorry for wasting time. I hope to do this better. We're all a work in progress. Surround yourself with like minded Christ following people and spend time with God and fellowship with family and friends. Use you time wisely. In love always. <><

Good morning and happy Wednesday. I was watching my little dog nuzzle and paw and work pretty hard at getting his blanket just right before he laid down in it. Working that hard just to get comfortable, crazy. How many times has your sleep been bad because you couldn't get comfortable. And it's not the comfort we need, it's the rest. But to get to the rest we have to be comfortable. A song that comes to mind says we "yearn for peace and rest". Why? We sleep all night. Took a nap during the day. We should be plenty rested. But I bet your not. I know I'm not. Is it because I can't get comfortable? Is it because I let life take over instead of letting it go? And I don't mean let it go as in being irresponsible. And just what is rest really? We don't know how to find quiet time from the world. We don't know how to take that time to find comfort in who and what we are. We don't know how to use that to help us find rest. So my suggestion is this; find that place where you know God has met you before and stand there in His presence. This is the place we all walk away from and have no idea why. Shut the world off and listen to Him speak over you, the words of His peace and there you will find rest. The kind of rest you have never had before. Only God can give us true rest. We need that rest more than we know. We kid ourselves that we're ok we got it under control, In this day of instant gratification, we don't how to be patient. It takes a little work to get the blanket just right to find that rest we so desire and so desperately need. In love always. <><

Good morning and happy Tuesday. So we all know the story of Mary. We hear it this time year around Christmas. But what about Joseph? What about the man named Joseph?The angel of the Lord came to Mary one time. He came to Joseph four times. Joseph had a very big role in the bringing up of Jesus. He had a huge test of faith in continuing on with Mary. How would it go over today if a man's promised wife was to come to him and say she was pregnant with someone else's child? It wouldn't be so hard to believe in this day and time as it was back then. But it was a big deal to be betrothed to someone and to be carrying a child. There was a lot that Joseph had to endure. We really don't hear much about Joseph in this whole story. And I think that's why I'm so drawn to it. He was a man really working behind-the-scenes. I've never heard of the hail Joseph Or heard a prayer to him at all. And I think that's just the way it should be; doing the very best you can do when God calls you to do it. Never making a big to do. Simply being faithful and steadfast in what God calls you to do. Today I would simply ask that you just be still and know that He is God. He has great plans for you and your life, and they may not be the headliner of the big show. But they may be just as important as anything that's in the marquee lights. Keep the faith and follow God's plan. In love always. <><

Good morning and happy Monday. Darkness; the absence of light. By itself darkness doesn't exist. At at least in the sense that you can't make darkness darker or less dark. That can only be done by using light. Either by adding it or taking some away. Darkness is at the mercy of the light. Did you know that the human eye can see a single candle flicker from nearly thirty miles away? Light has power. Jesus came into the darkness of this world and gave it light. He has given us that light by dwelling within us. Just like a candle can be seen from so far away, your light of Jesus can be seen as well. Jesus said that no one lights a candle and hides it under a basket. It is to be set out to light the room. We have been called to shine our light. And now, more than ever, is the best time to do so. The world is losing light and becoming darker. We have have the power of Jesus within us to change that. Let your light shine in the world of a loved one or friend or stranger today. This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine. In love always. <><

Good morning and happy Friday. I'm going to be using pictures in these posts from time to time. So here is the first one. I hope it works out like I want it to. This is picture of a part of a picture. A picture we are all very familiar with. There will even be one at the end of this post. Like, comment, share; very simple and to the point tool to express a felling. So a lot of us profess and try hard to live a life God will be proud of. We love to talk about Him when the time is right for it. We stand up for Him when it's necessary. But is that what we're called to do? If your life was put down on facebook as a post how many friends would "like" it? And I mean the whole real truth of our lives. How many would comment on it? How many would share it ? What would be the best thing, is that no one would like it because of some of those "things" and no one would comment because they've done the same and for sure no one would share it; except for the One who bought it. At the high and expensive cost of His blood we have been bought and paid for. With all the mess we've made of our lives and the best we've done to fix it and make it right, only He can do it. So how about this; we all like and comment and share the Good News of Jesus with our entire "friends" list. How about sharing this simple little message today? Find a place to start and start. Choose to like His life and share it with everyone you know. In love always. <><

Well, good morning and happy Thursday. I hope that you had a happy New Year's eve and a great start to a happy new year. With all this white moisture we've had over the last couple of days, it really got me thinking about how many snowflakes it takes to cover a pasture. We've all heard the old thing about no two snowflakes being alike. With that being true, is there any individuality among them. Or, are they all formed to serve a single purpose. In the field, no one ever sees a snowflake; not very many of them at all really. But as the snow melts, they form into one stream and flow towards a common goal. Along the way vegetation is watered, animals drink, and some simply flow on and never seen or used at all. But even those that don't seem to be used at all, had to be formed and used along with those who happened to be used. It takes all of us working as a community of people that God created, to further his kingdom throughout the world. There are places some will go and reach people of all kinds with this Good News. There are places in our own homes where we can make a difference. We can be a snowflake that turns into a water droplet that waters the life of someone with the Good News of Jesus. Or, we can simply flow away and never be seen or used at all. The choice is ours to make. No one may ever see what we've ever done in this world, but the effect that we have can impact by simply choosing to serve our Lord can leave a lifelong impression that can never be measured. Don't feel like you have to make a big splash in this world, just jump in the water. In love always. <><

Good morning and happy Tuesday. Fall is here and the corn fields are tall. With my job I pass by a lot of these fields. I see them start off as just a bunch of rows of dirt and then the seedlings sprout. From there it doesn't take much time until it's a pretty tall plant. So with this expertise in watching corn fields grow I've noticed something, the weeds that grow in them. When they're young plants and not too tall there are a lot of weeds that sprout up. The farmer sprays em and they're gone for a while and then a few come back. But as the plant becomes more mature, the weeds are fewer. Sounds like a great parable, but what I noticed is this; the weeds are still there just harder to see. The plant is hiding the weed. As we begin to follow Christ and make that decision to do so, we usually have a lot "weeds" with us. His blood wipes them out but being the imperfect beings we are more weeds show up. But as we become more mature in our relationship with God things in us become more apparent. We are either standing out alone in full view so our weeds can be seen or we huddle together so we can hide them among the cover and safety of others. So close no one can see our weeds. We need the comfort and support of others and the community that it brings. But we need desperately to be alone with God and have our weeds sprayed. It's become too easy to just stay comfortable in the fold. Whatever weeds are growing around you today, I pray you will step out into the light of Jesus and let them be taken away. None of us are without them. That's why we need Him, the Great Farmer and Redeemer of our lives. Don't hide the weeds of your life among the tall plants so they are not seen; expose them and let them be removed. In love always. <><

Good morning and happy Monday. I wanna be God's dog. Stay with me now. A friend of mine had a sick dog. Mine was sick at the house while I was gone at the same time. Between my friends and my wife's conversations about our dogs being sick and the worry we had for them, God shows up and brings this to light. Now I wanna be His dog, not because of the care I know He'll give me, that's a given. Think about your dog, if you have one. They love you so much and they can't wait to see you. They miss you when you're gone. I know this because of the videos my wife sends me of mine pouting while I'm gone. Even the ones abused by people can still have a love for us that goes beyond understanding. Now that sounds like the love God has for us, and it is. But what if we were the dog and had that kind of love for Him; can't wait to see Him, don't want to be away from Him? What would that be like? So the picture is this, the Master at home in His chair and the ever faithful and loyal dog at His feet as both are happy to be with each other. I wanna be God's dog. I want to love Him and desire to be with Him the very same way my dogs are with me. I already know how much He loves me. And if He takes care of the animals of this world as good as He does, how much more will He care for me? I owe Him my love and my loyalty. In love always. <><

Good morning and happy Tuesday. Have you ever read the story that went around about the grandpas hands? How when you see them you can tell how hard they've worked. A scar that has a story to tell about a fence being built and so on. I look at hands a lot just because of that story. Got me to look at my own and remember and day with hand saw. A window in the back door when I was little. Our hands can tell a lot about us that we may have forgotten. Then I think about the most amazing hands ever, Jesus'. They touched the faces of little children. Healed the sick from many ailments. Brought to life the dead. Amazing hands with amazing stories all over them. But the most amazing thing about them is they were stretched out on a cross and had nails driven though them to save us all. They took what we should've, because He loves us so much He doesn't want us to have to go through that to get to Him. There are no set of hands anywhere that have done so much for so many. And as I see a scar on mine from a tooth of another man I hit, I think about His having only love pour from them. I am so undeserving of this love, and yet He offers it freely to us all. All the power in the universe is in those hands, and they are stretched out for us to take hold of and walk with Him forever. Thank you God for loving us so much that would let your son's hands tell an amazing story of your love for us. In love always. <><

Good morning and happy Monday. So who's been praising the rain we've had here recently? Duh, everyone. And just about everyone is thanking God for it. What about that air you took in to your lungs this morning? I know that I'm terrible about letting God know how much I appreciate all He does for me. I don't have a problem telling anyone else thank you. Someone helps out with something we're just quick to say thank you. I'm so sorry Lord for all the times I've just taken you for granted. We need to be more aware of the things He really does for us. Just like every drop of rain. Not just some of it, all of it. Not one drop fell without His permission to do so. If that's the control He has of all things, not some, all things, then there's nothing we should not be in gratitude to Him for. Stop after you read this and go to Him and thank Him for everything in your life. The good, the bad, and ugly. Because despite our best efforts to ruin our life, He's making good come from it as long as we are wiling to follow His will. Thank you Lord for caring about each one of us, not just some, but all of us. In love always. <><

Good morning and happy Thursday. TBT; throw back Thursday. Remembering a day or event "back in the day". It's good and fun, and sometimes funny, to look back at those times in our lives. It's those times, and a lot of others, that have shaped us into who we are today. God is the sculptor, we are the clay. A dumb lump of clay with no idea of what's ahead. God's already there though. So as we make decisions in our lives apart from Him we get some rough edges. When we look back and see where we were with Him and without Him, by our choice, it's easy to see the difference. I'm not saying it was all bad or all great but there is a difference. God is just as alive and active in our lives today as He has been in any time in history. Nothing has changed except us. Our choices to not follow Him. I've wasted a lot of life not doing so. I've seen and done things I wished now I hadn't. And if I was following His will and not my own I wouldn't have. Oh, but it's made me who I am today. Well yes, but we also don't know when Jesus is coming back to take us Home. So with that, we need to be sure we're found in His will and not our own when it's time. It could be before you finish reading this. Do all you can to follow along His path for you. That way when it's TBT later, it's a really bright and hopeful look back. In love always. <><

Good morning and happy Tuesday. So what kind of dog are you? What generation are you? What kind of element are you? What state are you from? Any one on Facebook has seen these and probably most of us have taken the quiz to see. I know it's in fun, but is there another reason too? A deeper one? One of wanting to know who, what, when, and where about ourselves. If you're one of those ahead of the game and know exactly all there is to know about yourself and have been honest in finding out, well this may seem silly to you. But it's a real issue for a lot of people. You feel something deep inside and know it's there but haven't got clue what it is. It feels good but scary because it's not a normal feeling. Some have tried all sorts of things to cover it and to fill the spot with something they know and can see or physically feel. Drugs, sex, work, play even, all kinds of things have been put there to make it go away. It becomes nagging the more you try to cover it. It explains to me some,why so many can fall so far away from life. So here's the next set of quizzes. Who's child are you? Who do you belong to? Who do you serve? Answer these correctly and you'll know what that feeling inside is and most important, who it is. The answer you already know but just need to be sure. He will not let you go and you'll never be alone. My favorite verse is Joshua 1:9. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.
The answer to all the questions is God. In love always. <><

Good morning and happy Monday. The hiatus is over and I hope to be back to regular broadcasts. So I was playing some solitaire on my phone the other day and I was really needing just one card to turn over so I could play out the hand. If only that one card would turn up. The game was looking pretty bad. I wasn't gonna make it. Then when I least expected it, bam, the card I needed. I played down as far as I could but still lost out because being the true solitaire player I am, I only go through the deck once. This sounds a lot like life. I turned forty seven on this time away. Life for me really is more than half over. What card am I looking for to win this game? What determines winning or losing at life? We all know the answer to that is not found in this world but in the eternal realm with God the father. Have you turned over that card yet? Are you waiting to play it? Do you know someone looking for it? It's time to move on towards the finish. The game has already been won. We just have to finish. You only get to go through this deck of cards once. Make sure you're doing it for Him. In love always. <><

Good minding and happy Thursday. I heard a story yesterday about a heart Dr that got me to thinking. The patient has a case no one will take, too high risk. A doctor in Milwaukee takes it and saves his life really. Now to the doctor, this may have been just something he's done before and didn't think much of it and was glad to be of service. To the patient, and to his family, it meant the world. They still know his name and everything. They said he may dead by now, which hit me. That doctor may or may not know how much of an impact he's had on this world with the people who's lives he's saved. I don't find it ironic at all that God had me hear this story about the rescuing and saving of a heart. Through the things we may think small, or not even think about again, we can repair the spiritual heart of people God puts in front of us. He does it all the time, it's a matter of wether or not we see them. Stop looking for the Big Bang in life that may only be fleeting, but for those small life changing moments of your time to show love to the world in a way Jesus did. Small, simple and we're still trying to do it His way today. Nothing flashy or complex at all. Simple pure love from the heart. In love always. <><

Good morning and happy Tuesday. Love has been the most common thing I've written here for all these years. It's the very core of the being of God. It is what He is, love. Think about how good you feel when you know someone loves you. There is no better feeling known to man than being loved. There is also no worse feeling than loving someone and it not being returned. How much do you think God loves you? Even the birds don't have to worry about being taken care of, so how much more does He love us? I love God, but am I returning it too Him. Not just by saying it. That's easy to do. Am I showing Him love by loving others the way He does? Do I hurt Him when I don't return it back to Him? I need my actions speaking for me much more than they do. If you find yourself in this same boat with me, let's get out onto the crashing waves and don't look down. Keep our eyes focused on God and we can walk all the way to Him. We say it to each other all the time, I love you. Today, and everyday hereafter, say it and mean it from deep inside with the love God has. Do our best to make that happen. With that, let me say from the very bottom of my heart, I love you. In love always. <><