Good morning and happy Friday. I had a really bad day yesterday. I mean the worst in a while. All work stuff and just a bunch of mess. To the point of just leaving and calling it a day and if it was more than that then so be it. After I got home and got some things done at home and away from the problems of work, my day got better. Watched the Heat win and it got great. Came in today and feel better and moving on. But it got me thinking about how as I got away from the thing causing my problem the better I felt. And even to a point of facing it again. What if we do this with all our worldly problems and dealings with God. Move away from what pulls us down and closer to what picks us up. I hate that I keep losing the sight of that and fell into the traps of this world. I acted horrible yesterday and am making amends today to those who saw me act very un-Christian like. Satan won a match and I chose to let him. I know God is there with me all the time, but like the good Father He is, He is allowing me to grow through my mistakes. Learning to move closer to Him when the world moves in on me. Thank you God for all you do for me. In love always. <>< 

Good morning and happy Thursday. How come we're so amazed by stuff that happens?  That when something seems so coincidental and the toast landed butter side up so you can still eat it, we just stand in amazement. "How cool is that"? "How great is that"?  When the right person with the right tools shows up to put the radiator hose back on. Why are we surprised?  We'll say something like, "Man I can't believe you came by just now as I needed some help. Must be my lucky day". You know you've said it in some form or another at some point. When do we get to the point of saying, "Thank you God for sending this person at this time to help me". And say it out loud so the person helping knows it too. They may be the reason you broke down in the first place. It may be you they needed to run into. Thank God always. For all the things good and what we might see as bad. You just know what work He is up to your life and someone else's. In love always. <><

Good morning and happy Wednesday. I met a lady yesterday that really put  thoughts in my head about who and what God brings into our lives. She is a very bitter woman about her divorce and what the "Protestant" church said to her about it. She grew up and has gone back to being Catholic. Nothing wrong either way. It has nothing to do with it. The point is she is blaming everything and everyone for her suffering and too proud to take a job of anything below what she "wants". She's been divorced since 1989. Now you can feel my frustration as she would not hear the advise she was asking me to give her. So if she is not listening to me when asking, do you think she is hearing God when He talks to her. It's really a sad state and would ask that you pray for her, Geraldine. But the point is, how many of us are not hearing God and looking for the other answer we know He'll give us? She has been bitter and unhappy and unforgiving for a long time and missing the fact she has been all over this country and seen a lot of things and met a lot of people. Missing her blessings while in her misery. It doesn't mean the blessings come only when you're going through something. It's when we let the something rule our lives instead of God. Seek first His Kingdom. Be still and hear Him lead you to the next place He has for you. Go there or do that with a grateful and loving heart that serves Him. In love always. <><

Good morning and happy Tuesday. I love the end of a sports season. When the finals are on and those who's teams didn't make pick one to root for in the end. Then all the fans of the two teams start calling them "bandwagoner's". The hard part is when you've been a fan and they just catch you up in it and you're a bandwagoner too. But wait I've been a Heat fan for a while now. My daughters little dribblers team was the Amarillo Heat. Maybe it's because I haven't shown I'm a fan all year long. Maybe I haven't been living the Heat fan way. Hows your spiritual team doing this year?  What team, of the final two, are you pulling for? Do people see you as a bandwagoner because it's the thing to do now? Are you living your teams fan way?  You get what I mean? We choose sides sometimes when it's down to a smaller choice. We really like one more than the other and God is who we want to be with, but people who haven't decided yet see you as a bandwagon fan of His because you're not really wearing a team jersey or acting like that's your team. We are all guilty of it. That's why there is grace in a true loving God. There's always a place on His team for all of us. We have to decide to join. And by the way, God's team wins. Should be an easy pick. Go live like your team is in the super bowl and everyone knows you've been a fan a long time. In love always. <>< 

Good morning and happy Monday I hope that everyone had a great day with their dads or being a dad or remembering a dad. I hope also that we all remembered all of ours Dad. He never goes without thinking of us. It's easy to not think of anyone from time to time when we are as busy as we let ourselves get. But to be a dad; strong and proud of his family. Quietly soft as butter on the inside and wouldn't be able to stand it if his kids didn't at least call to say hey. But to spend the day with them and their kids if they have em is beyond anything for the big tough guy. Now how do you think God feels when we ignore Him?  Maybe ignore is too strong, how bout forget?  He loves us so much that He forgives us, but one day He will not and all those times we wished we could have back to make it right. Just make it right now. Just surrender. Let it go and follow Him now and have no regrets later. Let go of the doubt. Let go of the lack of trust. He's your dad, trust Him the way you do your Earthly dad. I love you Dad; both of you. In love always. <><

Good morning and happy Friday. Well I I think I know how Moses and the people of Israel felt in that desert for all those years. Some of you know about my job situation and the four year wait to see if I get it back. Well just as we were topping the last mountain, it seemed, we find it's just the top of another in line. The hearing is now put off until September after really feeling like it was happening this month. I've learned now, after this long, to not ask why any more and just keep moving. I've learned some perseverance that I thought I already had. No, I have some now and have found a very content place in all this. I am frustrated a bit and would just like the answer, yes or no, so I can move on to the next thing He has for me. But right now this  may be the next thing He has for me. I'm just coming to realize it. When they walked around not knowing where or when, it had to be frustrating to trust. And there's the point. I'm really learning to trust that He has a plan for me and I need to follow Him to get there. Making choices on my own without His council will prove to be unfulfilling. Trust is a hard thing to learn. It's even harder to give into. Thank you all for walking it with me. Just like Moses, he didn't go alone into the desert, but he may have felt like it. Trust God to lead you to the best place you've ever been. He will take to the Promised Land. In love always. <>< 

Good morning and happy Thursday.  Ever notice how you can talk to your friends or people you know from work about stuff and even offer advise? Ever wonder why you can't seem to do that as easily with your family? It's because they know you. They know your past and that stuff you're saying to them seems hypocritical to them because they know what you did. We say we don't hold someone's past against them but try as we might we do. As they walk away we mention something from way back to the person standing next to us. I am so glad that God does not do that with me. He loves me in spite of my past choices. He guides me to use my past to be able to use it to help someone else. Because we know someone's past is the reason why we should be able to hear them speak to us. They've been there and know the way out. Accepting help and the Grace of God are the most foundational things to a new, better and peaceful life with God and our families. Just because of your past, don't be afraid to share what you know of Him and how a day on the cross saved you. In love always. <><

Good morning and happy Wednesday. "So how's things going? Everything good? Yeah just workin and getting by. Doin the family thing and stuff, you know". Sound familiar? Are our lives really making a difference to anyone outside our home? What will be said of you when you're just a memory? Who will know you when your gone and who will care?  It's not that it's important to leave a legacy, it's the kind of one you left. Tyrants have a legacy and people still talk about them. Mother Theresa was about the love of her Lord and we'll be talking about her for years. But the people she helped have felt her love for them and the compassion she had from Jesus to give of herself to them. When Jesus comes to get us I hope that He asks, "Where's Bryan?" and then I'm found over some place doing His work, right up to the end. I don't wanna be at the front of the line with eyes bugged out at the Glory coming. I want someone to know Jesus because I knew Him and He led me to them. As soon as we can focus our lives on Him, we will live for Him. When the trumpet sounds be in the field working for Him and the sound of His voice is your call to be done and go Home. I wanna live like that. In love always. <>< 

Good morning and happy Tuesday. We always seem to have to have proof of something. Archeologist dig to prove where we come from and how the Earth was formed. Scientist work in labs to prove a cure, disease, or other problems of the world. Yet we all love a good mystery and I think that's why God made us that way. So we would fall in love with the mystery who is God. He reveals just enough of Himself so we can know Him, but keeps us from some things so we dig into it and discover how deep His love for us really is. There is good in a mystery of not knowing everything about something. Sometimes God is simply protecting us from things or even ourselves. I love a good mystery and I love God. I love that I don't know everything about Him or about what is coming for me. It helps me trust Him more and to want to know Him more. I want my life to be proof of His love. It's come a long way already but there is still a ways to go. I can't wait to see what's around he next corner. Thanks for the mystery God. In love always. <>< 

Good morning and happy Friday. Nicodemus could not understand how a man can be born again. He was thinking in earthly terms. In the physical light of things. He was not grasping the spiritual realm of God. The apostles did the same as Jesus told of things to come. They looked to what they knew, the world they were in. Until we wrap out own minds around some of what God is and about, because we'll never get it all, we will continue to be of this world. We have to get our minds into a place of spirituality. The heart will lead if we let it, but our mind tries to keeps us earthly because it's what we know. Let your heart know Jesus and give it the authority to lead the mind to that place of spirituality.  Our time here temporary but we've tied ourselves to it like its forever. God is forever. He loves us so much and wants nothing more than for us to be with Him. But it's up to us. He's done all and is doing all to make that happen. Give your all. In love always. <>< 

Good morning and happy Thursday. How many times growing up did we get told to not do things and still did them anyway? How much would you like to go back and listen to your parents and see how it turned out? Some of us are lucky and not much worse for the wear. Others weren't so lucky and have some scars of the past that we wish we're gone. Still others are locked away or dead from the choices they made back then. It's so hard to see the good and the benefit of doing things right when we want to do the wrong because it's fun or what we would rather do. As a parent now watching my own kids make immature choices and seeing the result can be eye opening to the way the Father in heaven is looking at His kids and thinking the same thing. Why didn't we listen? Why don't we now?  There is a common thread in it all that leans us toward the wrong choice. It's our lack of faith in God to do and be all He says He is. We think we can handle our lives as we live them. I pray for us to find total surrender to Him. That our life becomes driven by serving Him alone. All else will take care of itself if we get to that place. It's just so hard to trust that. Satan has us believing it's not possible. Stop listening to the world and listen to your heart. (thank you Roxette). The Holy Spirit dwells within us and will guide us if we allow ourselves to be lead. He will not make you, it's your choice. In love always. <>< 

Good morning and happy Wednesday. I'm borrowing from an article I read yesterday. It's a little long but worth the read. This is so true after seeing a friends angry and upset post yesterday. 

Tweeter gets 10 years in jail for insulting Islam

A court in Kuwait has sentenced a man to 10 years in prison for Twitter posts it deems insulting to Islam.  Hamad al-Naqi claims that he did not post the messages and that his Twitter account was hacked.  He was attacked in jail by another inmate and has now received the maximum sentence for his alleged crime.  In similar news, last April an Egyptian court sentenced a 17-year-old Christian boy to three years in jail for publishing Facebook cartoons that mocked Islam and the Prophet Mohammad.

That same month, Islamic extremists in India attacked a Christian prayer meeting, beating a 65-year-old widow and other women.  Closer to home, ABC's television show "GCB" (I won't print what the initials stand for) made headlines earlier this year with its depictions of Christians as hypocritical, manipulative and judgmental.  Many noted that similar denigration of Muslims, Jews, African Americans, or any other group would never be tolerated in our politically correct culture.  The show has been canceled, not for offending Christians but for low ratings.

Can you imagine the response in the Muslim world to a TV show belittling Islam?  Why do Muslims and Christians often respond so differently when their faith is insulted?

One answer has to do with their sacred scriptures.  Some Muslims believe that the Qur'an teaches forgiveness for those who insult Islam, citing Sura 7:199: "Cultivate tolerance, enjoin justice, and turn away from the ignorant."  However, Islam's holy book clearly calls Muslims to defend their faith from any attack or insult: "fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you, but do not transgress limits; for Allah loveth not transgressors.  And slay them wherever ye catch them" (2:190-191; cf. 9:12).  The head of the ruling Muslim council in Jerusalem recently stated that anyone who insults Muhammad, the Qur'an or Islam "has become an infidel and must be killed."  By contrast, Jesus taught his followers to "love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (Matthew 5:44).

Should Christians be more vocal in defending our faith?  Absolutely.  Peter defended both Jesus and his followers from slander at Pentecost (Acts 2:14-36).  But he did so reasonably and graciously, following the example of the One who prayed for his Father to forgive the very men who were crucifying him (Luke 23:34).

My wife often reminds those she teaches that we should expect lost people to act like lost people.  The next time someone demeans your faith, join the early Christians in "rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name" (Acts 5:41).  Note what came next: "Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ" (v. 42).  Neither should we.  

I love that. In love always. <><

Good morning and happy Tuesday. I can't stand going into the kitchen wanting a little something to snack on, to kill a craving or sweet tooth, and can't find a thing that sounds good. Lots of choices just not "the" right one. Nothing sounds good and then I settle on something and wished I would have had nothing at all. Every time a people or tribe is found, they are found performing rituals and ceremonies to a god or something. Never hearing the Gospel they know there is more that needs to fill them. We, humans, have an innate awareness of a greater power among us. Some of us are still searching for what will fill that void in our hearts. We search and search and have lots of choices and Satan has done his job well in providing many that sound and feel really good. He points out the bad in the ones who have found the Way so it does not look appealing to the lost. That's why we have to be better at being Jesus in this fallen world. We have to be able to help with the right choice one makes in the world. We have to have made the choice as well. Not just buy it and put it on the shelf, but use it and live it daily. That is part of the not easy part. Make the choice of Jesus and live for what He died for. In love always. <>< 

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. <><