Two steps forward and one step back...

Or is it, one step forward and two steps back. I am in the middle of a remodel project, and it seems that everything that I am doing has to be done over again each and every time because of some change that effects everything. By just changing a bathtub, I have had to change my framing, the flooring and a couple of other things to make it work.Life is kind of like that. By the choices that we make early in life, they affect us for a long time after as we keep having to fix things that were caused by those mistakes.I remember thinking that the decisions that I made as a young adult would not last forever. But how wrong I was, some of the decisions that I made still haunt me today. But thank GOD I did not do anything that really drastically affected my life like I have seen in the lives of others.So life is like remodeling a bathroom. It takes careful consideration, detailed planning and dilligent execution to make it all fit together and work.Now hand me that hammer, I got to make this thing fit...

Green Acres...

Is the place to be...

Farm livin' is the life for me...

Yep, got that song caught in my head. For that person who was singing that, I asked you please not to, because I knew what would happen.

Yep, I am driving home humming that theme song. So what to do? Watch the original Lone Ranger series on TV.

How different TV was back then. Everything was about honor and truth and justice. The Lone Ranger would only shoot to wound, not kill. Tonto was bound to his "Kimosabe" because his friend had saved him when he was a child and now Tonto returned the favor and became his side kick and friend.

You knew who the bad guys were, you knew who the good guys were and life was so much simpler...

Da Dada Dum Dada Dum dada dum dum!! The Lone Ranger, Hi Ho Silver AWAY!!

Our surroundings...

I witnessed a softball game yesterday that made me think about our surroundings. My daughter and her team had a home game scheduled, first of the season and we were talking about it during the weekend that it should be nice as the high was going to be in the 70s. Well it was around 10:30 then the tempature started to drop. By game time it was in the low 40s and the wind was howling out of the north about 20 miles an hour. Well you can guess it was a bit cold out there. Many of our girls were not prepared to play in cold weather, I heard over and over that it was not that cold this morning. We we played a sloppy game at the first, finally got into it in the last inning, tied it up and eventually lost in the 13th. Now here are my reflections on it.


1) Some of the girls were prepared for the cold. I don't know if they looked ahead or had stuff stashed in their car but they had the right equipment to play in the cold. As leaders of the Faith, we need to be prepared for everything and be aware of our surroundings, looking ahead and prepared for the things that might come.


2) Some of the girls ignored the cold, others did not. What I observed was that there were some girls who just forgot about how cold it was and played the game. What I noticed was these girls made the plays that they had to make, while the others that let the cold affect them failed to make the plays that they normally make. As leaders, we need to not let the conditions surrounding us affect how we perform. Conditions are going to change, that is part of life but our performance can still be at the highest level if we commit ourselves to it.


3) Strength comes in numbers. The first part of the game at least for our team it was every man (or girl in this case) for themselves. What I saw was that when they came into the dugout between innings, they were all individuals. Sitting or standing by themselves. By the 7th inning, when they came back to tie the game, they were so cold they started huddling together. It was pretty funny to see two or three girls all wrapped up in one blanket or sharing a coat or just standing side, by side, by side. All of the sudden instead of being a bunch of individuals, they were unified and I believe they drew strength from that. We draw strength from those around us, so when we are feeling down the last thing we should do is draw away from others, we should lean in and let them warm us up.

Chuck Norrisisms...

I am amazed at the things that I find funny that other people do not find funny at all. I was telling my wife yesterday these great ChucK (you have to spell his name with a capital K for KICK!!) Norrisisms that I thought were hillarious. My wife, well she looked at me like I was one of those special needs kids that ride the short bus...
I mean, "ChucK Norris doesn't fall in water and get wet, the water gets ChucK Norrised"
"the boogieman gets up in the middle of the night and checks his closet for ChucK Norris"
"Waldo is hiding because of ChucK Norris"
And my favorite.
"If you can see ChucK Norris, he can see you. If you can't see ChucK Norris, you may be just moments from Death!!"

So what is it that keeps a person's sense of humor from developing? Did they get to much Humorglanized milk growing up. Did they grow up around large eclectic plants? Did they not get enough kugs and hisses growing up?
I still think my wife's funny bone was broken when she was younger and it never got reset...
ChucK Norris probably roundhoused kicked her!

Greetings from Iowa

Wow,
It is flat, brown and not very pretty.
And it is a long way from home. But I am heading home today and am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed and being in my own home.
Got me thinking about home...
Home is where you feel safe, where you feel comfortable. Home is where you can be yourself and share yourself with others.
Home is where all the cares of life can disappear, where the heart can soar.
Home is a place of anticipation of which I am waiting for.

Washington DC...

I am in the nation's capitol this week working away. But how cool is it when you can see the Washington monument and the Capitol Building while coming over a bridge into town? It was way cool. All those things that you have seen on TV, in movies and to see it in real life is way cool. I am hoping to do some sightseeing while I am here. Hope to check out Ebenezer's coffee shop, it is an outreach of Mark Batterson's church in the DC area.
Got kind of weirded out though, I was getting a bottle of water at the store and noticed that they have first family water. Yep a bottle of water with the President and his family on the label. That was a little too weird, I guess they have to do all they can do as well in this struggling economy.

Are you Managing?

Many people are just barely managing in this tough economic time. There are layoffs, job less rates are increasing, people are loosing their houses, and loosing their jobs and financial worth... Sound familiar? It is all over the news every night.
But take a look around you. Do you see people not eating out anymore? We did last night in Tulsa and the place was packed. I ate out with my brother in Wichita and we had to wait 10 minutes for a table as the place was packed. I was in Sam's club the other day and there were a ton of people there and don't get me started on the number of people at Wal Mart.
I think the economic situation in this country is going to get worse before it gets better, so you need to start managing your resources now instead of later.
The Bible says the wise man stores up for winter where the fool does not plan ahead, or something like that. We need to make sure that we are planning ahead, so we don't become a fool at a later date...

Say what?

Have you ever wondered...
Why we drive on parkways and park on drive ways?
Why is kidnapping a crime but cat napping a luxury?
If you are traveling at the speed of light, and you turn on the headlights of your car, do the lights come on? I would ask this question, what did you do to your car to get it to go that fast?
If a tree falls in the woods, and no one is there to hear it, does it make any sound? The real question is who cut down the tree? And did he use an axe, a chainsaw or a rubber chicken?
Why is that old saying a penny saved is a penny earned. Didn't you have to earn the penny in the first place to save it? So would it not be a penny earned and then saved is the same penny earned in the first place?
Do some electric trains really blow smoke?
Why is a touchdown called a touch down? Players are touching down every play of the game and during the play and after the play. And a field goal? Why is it not just a goal like in soccer. Do they have to make sure it came from the field? I mean did someone kick one from the stands one time and they said it would not count since it did not come from the "field".
See when I travel I have a lot of time to think...
speaking of traveling, why is it when you take too many steps in basketball it is called traveling? You really did not go anywhere, you are still there to hear them yell at you.
America, now wonder we are so confused as a nation.

Being Blessed...

You know, GOD has a way of taking care of his kids. Now I don't want you to think that I can snap my fingers and a million dollars will appear. Yep still didn't work. But GOD can bless us in so many ways. I have over the last month, had people just hand me money and say, "GOD told me to give you this". We have had unexpected income come in, I got a raise in pay in January, and we got a check in the mail last night. GOD is good. But he blesses us with more than cash, I have tires on my car that have lasted way longer than they should have, we lost our gas furnace, but I think our electric bill isn't much higher than what our gas bill would have been. I just know that even when we don't seem to have anything, GOD still has given us even the little we have. So Glory to GOD, the provider of all of our needs.

Friday the 13th...

It is Friday the 13th and this new movie called, "Friday the 13th" is coming out...

Well actually it is not a new movie, it is like "Friday the 13th part 33". I remember when the first one came out. Me and some buds were staying up all night watching movies and one of them pulls this one out. Now I hate scary movies, I got scared of the cartoon "The Legeng of Sleepy Hollow" and the headless horseman as a kid and just don't like them. But watching this movie with a room full of guys turned out pretty funny. We started telling the poor fools to look out when they did stupid stuff to keep from getting killed. So I thought on this scarry night I would enlighten you so you can make it through the night.

10 Rules never to break if you are in a scarry movie...

1) never go off by yourself...
This is a recipe for disaster. Usually it is the big, strong, tough guy or gal who says, "you guys stay here, I will go get some help". That is Stooooopid. The bad guy is waiting for you to leave the group so he can kill you all alone. Remember the banana that leaves the group gets peeled!

2) Never go investigate a sound in the basement...
If you hear something in the basement, DO NOT go down there! Especially if the light does not work when you flip the switch. Go and shut the door and deadbolt it! Under no situation are to go to the top of the stairs; open the door and say, "Hello, is anyone there?". That is a sure sign you are about to be killed. And if the light does not work when you try to turn it on, run away! There is nothing worse than getting killed by something you can't see.

3) Never investigate a sound outside an open window...
If something is moving outside the window, go across the room as far away as possible from said window and cower in the fetal position. That thing moving by the window is waiting for you to open it and stick your head out to look so it can grab you. Don't be stoooooopid. Send your dumb friend to check it out first!

4) For those romanticly involved...
When there is a serial killer on the loose, it is not the time for the two of you to go off by yourself (remember rule #1) and get all mushy on each other so you don't hear the bad guy walk up on you. It is like a blue light special in the mind of a killer, "Two for one special over on aisle 4!!!"

5) Never try to reason with a killer...
Don't grovel, don't try to talk them out of it, they are insane, that is why they are killing people you moron!! When face to face with the killer, run away as fast as you can, you might be able to outrun a killer but you will never convince them to not kill you, that is what they do!

6) When running, look out for sticks...
Granted if you run away there will be something that trips you up so you fall down to give the slower killer a chance to kill you. Look out for rocks, sticks, logs, canoes, dead bodies, and other things laying around that will trip you up. And if you fall, make sure you don't break something, if you breaks something, that is a sure sign you are not getting out alive!

7) Never go outside and say like... anything...
Do not go outside and start gabbing when there is a killer in the area. Walking around saying stuff like, "is anyone out here?" or "I am calling the police", that just leads the killer right to you. If you go outside, be like a ninja; stealthy and don't make a peep and you might just get away without the killer noticing. Going out and yelling at the top of your lungs is a good way to get dead!

8) When frightened, as hard as it is do not scream...
Oh, this one gets them all the time. Adrenalin is pumping, they are all keyed up because out there somewhere is a killer. So they are making their way through the woods, or the old spooky house, or the amusement park when all of the sudden, WHAM! Something moves or something gets knocked over and you scream at the top of your lungs. Usually it is a cat, who is not in cahoots with the killer, but the cat knows he can't get away with killing you so he alerts the killer to your presence to accomplish his fiendish task.

9) If you find a weapon, hold onto it...
It is kill or be killed baby. If you find a gun, make sure it has bullets in it and that it works. If you find an ax, for heavens sake hold onto it, don't just use it to bash open a door and then lay it down. Get anything that you can hold, shoot, fire, throw, burn, bash or mash that might deter a bad guy from making you his next victim.

10) And the most important rule...
If you get invited to a party, at a place where there are known serial killers residing in the area, just say NO! Find something else to do that is less risky. Something like paragliding, or surfing with sharks, or eating glass. When your girlfriend says, "lets go to this spooky old haunted house where 75 people were killed by some serial killer who has yet to be caught", grab her by the shoulders, and use her as a human shield to get out there in one piece. She may not appreciate it then, but she will the next morning when she reads the news about all the people who did not heed these rules.

Have a great night!

Modern Marvels...

Remember Dick Tracy and his phone wristwatch? Dick was the detective back in the comic strips started back in 1931!! A cell phone wristwatch back in 1931, AMAZING, but now we are like, "hey Dick, does it have GPS? Does it play MP3s? Does it have a calander and day planner? Does it make Lightsaber sounds (for all you Iphone people)? Oh, it just makes and recieves calls? (eye roll) that's nice.
Dick Tracy had it going on in 1931, but today, those things are old news.

Have you thought of the modern marvels that have happened in your lifetime. I am just over 40, born in 1968 and since I was born the following things have come to pass.


1969 - Smoke detector and ATM - ATM fix everything!! (for $1.50 for non account holders)


1970 - Digital Music - whaaa? Its been around how long? Kind of like developing the cart before their was ever a horse to pull it.


1971 - Waffled Running shoes - Yep the originator of Nike started making running shoes out of waffle iron. I am sure his wife was as upset about it as ours are when we use their stuff for a "project".


1973 Cell Phone and the MRI- To look where no man or woman has looked before and to call from where no one has called before.


1978 - GPS - where are we? Well let me look at this little screen right here.


1978 - In vitro fertilization- giving babies to those who could not give to themselves.


1979 - Sony Walkman - your music, with you in a encyclodedia size case.


1984 - DNA fingerprinting - much better than regular fingerprinting.


1987 - Prozac - now everyone can feel... groovy.


1998 - MP3 Player, a new way to listen to old music.


2002 - Wireless Metropolitan Network, allowing long range users to connect to a computer network and get more work done for the same amount of money.


That doesn't count TV Remote and the microwave oven (1955), Jet Ailiner, the laser beam and super glue, still sticking people's fingers together for 50 years now(1958), Pacemaker (1960) cordless tools, industrial robot (1961), Computer Mouse and LED's (you know that really small yet brite lights) and the first computer game "Spacewar"(1962) see there were nerds back then too, Unmanned aireal vehicles (remote controlled planes and such for military use, why do they get all the neat toys first) and the music synthesizer (1964), Kevlar Bullet resistant material (1965) which all were developed before my birth.



So my question is, what can we expect in the next 10-40 years? Imagine the possibilities.
Watches that tell time, make calls, do GPS, MP3s and keep our calanders, but will also monitor our vital signs, tell us when we need to get the doctor BEFORE we get sick, and allow us to search the internet without using a stylus, a mouse or a finger.
Eyeglasses that will not only get darker when the sun is out, but will magnify, zoom and enhance the images that we are viewing.
Cars that drive themselves? And get good gas mileage or run on water instead.
Houses that are interactive, make meals, wash clothes and vacum the floors for us.
It is beyond comprehension what might be available to us in the upcoming years. So imagine what we might be talking about in 40 years from now... just a thought.

What will you die for?

I had a flight yesterday and each time I think of flying I think of dying... yeah I know. You are more apt to be killed in an auto accident than in an airline crash but I think it is the situation on a plane that you have no hand in your future. You are giving all control to someone you have never met, don't know a thing about, and would not be able to pick out of a lineup. So anyway, I was thinking if this plane goes down, where will I go. Now as a Pastor you would think that the answer would be obvious, right? Well I have not received a letter from GOD saying I was accepted as of yet so I still am not in until I cross the threashold.
So I started thinking of dying, and then we made it into the air and then I thought about what people are willing to die for. I started thinking of the great people in history and I decided that they all shared one thing in common. They were willing to die for their cause. They were willing to put aside their own lives for the purpose for which they strived. Now I don't think that we have to go out and get killed to make our place in history, but I think we have to be willing to die to make our place in history. So what are you willing to die for? Wealth? Fame? Recognition?
Many people are giving their lives for the topics I have listed. But at what gain? Wealth that will surely go away? Fame that fades with 20 pounds of weight? Recognition that recedes when you are no longer relevant?
So when making your choice on what you are willing to die for, make sure you make a choice that will make a difference, be remembered and last forever.

Listen...

I learned a lot from my Grandfather. Well, he was not my real Grandfather; he married my Grandma when my mother was somewhat still young, so he was really my Step Grandfather which makes the things he taught me even more important since he taught me out of love and not out of duty. Anyway, I was thinking the other day that of all the things he taught me the most important one was this, to listen.
NowI am a horrible listener. I love to talk, finish sentences and tell stories. But way back when my Grandfather and I would go check on the cows (he had a ranch) we would be walking and all of the sudden he would stop and then say "listen". And that is exactly what we would do. I would turn my hearing on and try to figure out what he had heard and identify it. We would hear coyotes howling, calfes bawling, and on occasion someone shouting from the neighboring pastures when we focused on just hearing what it was out there to hear. It always amazed me that when we stopped what we were doing and just listened, all the things that we would hear that would go unnoticed most times.
Sometimes I think we need to slow down and just listen. Who knows what might be going on all around us that we never hear and might like to know about...

Music...

I have always loved the guitar. My mom gave me a picture the other day when I was around 8 with a guitar in my hands. I had forgotten that I ever had that guitar. Now I really never learned to play guitar back then, other than "Home on the range" but I do remember being so proud of that guitar back then. Now I went through a time where I did not have a guitar. I played trumpet, barritone, tuba in band in high school, but after school the music dried up. Then one day my wife and I became friends with some people and he kindled the musical fire back into me. It was like turning on a heater that had not been burned for a while, that smell of burning dust was horrible for a while but I got better and the fire returned. Then I got into the guitar. First I started just messing around and then got into the Bass Guitar, then started playing chords on my Dad in Laws old electric. And then I got my first acoustic and started playing in front of people. I was looking at that old picture and saw the same happiness I feel every time I pick up a guitar and strum a few chords. Now I am delving deeper into the music, writing and even playing one of my songs in church. It is a humbling experience, but exciting as well.
I remember an old song called "American Pie", it was popular back in the 70s where it spoke abou the day the music died (the deaths of Richie Vallens, Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper for you music historians). When I saw that old picture of me, I saw the day the music was born, lived through the days when the music died and was reborn and am enjoying the life that music has brought.

Just one mistake....

Remember this guy?

Yep that is Michael Phelps, 8 time gold medalist during the 2008 Bejing Olympics. The most decorated olympic athlete of all time. A man with amazing willpower, drive, determination......

who is now banished from the sport of swimming for a picture of him with a marijuana bong.

All it takes is one little mistake...

I am sure that the people at the party were probably all friends of his. I am sure they were having fun and he never intended for anything bad to happen. I am sure he probably never thought in a million years that the person who was snapping camera phone pics would ever let a picture of him see the light of day. But it happened, and the picture showed up in a newspaper.

All it takes is one little mistake...

Now I am sure Michael is a great guy and he will survive this. But I am sure there are MP posters coming down in bedrooms across America since this has happened. While Mom and Dad where watching the olympics pointed out the all american boy with his mom and sisters whooping it up in the stands cheering him onto victory pointed out to their own kids, see you can do anything if you set your mind to it. You might not be an Olympic athlete, but if you work hard and apply yourself, you can achieve great things. Do you think Mom and Dad are telling little Johnny to make MP his hero today?

All it takes is one little mistake...

MP had endorsement deals from lots of companies. This is a young man who was making 7 figures (that over a million dollars to the unknowing) to be MP. Now some of the endorsers are sticking with the young man, because of contract obligations or other situations I am not sure, but I know that a few are pulling the plug on him because of this situation. You will not be seeing MP on the Frosted Flakes anymore, Kellogs has dumped him. I am sure his agent's phone is not ringing as much as it used to. I am sure others will follow suit when his contract expires they won't renew costing him millions of dollars of income and still others will dump him quietly when the fuss dies down.

All it takes is one little mistake...

I guess what I am saying is, it is what it is. A mistake made by a young man who will pay (literally) for the rest of his life for it. One little mistake that will change his life considerably.

So be on your guard, be viligent as one mistake can cost you so much more than you bargained for.

Shoe Shine...

I got my shoes shined today at the airport. I have always walked past these places and saw the smug men and women sitting up high in the air while they have their shoes spiffed. Well today I had a little time and walked right past. The lady said it would be $6, now that is kind of high for a tight wad like me but I decided to live a little. So I climbed up on that perch and the shoe shine lady shined my shoes. I tried to look smug, and look down my nose at all of the people who walked by. I tried to look important, wave a little as the people walked by and wondered what I did for a living to be able to have my shoes shined by a professional. Well I was disappointed, she finished and other than the new luster on my shoes, nothing changed, it was still the same old me. People did not ask my autograph, stare at me as I passed by, or anything. Nobody noticed, what a waste of $6. But at least my shoes look nice.

Stimulate the economy

I have decided to stimulate the economy myself since no one else seems to know how to do it.
So here is my suggestion...
Each person in the US no matter of age needs to write a check to the US Government for $3500.00. So my family of six needs to write a check for $21,000.00. With each American giving his $3500.00 we will have 800 Billion dollars worth of money to stimulate the economy. Whoops no, that is what the government is proposing right now. Yep this 800 Billion stimulas plan in reality is going to cost each American no matter of age $3500. Now I know that there are some people who don't pay taxes as they don't make enough money, so some of us who do pay taxes will have to take their part. And of those who are under the age of say, 16 who have no income will need us to pay their part until they can begin paying on their own debts. What you say, we aren't having to pay for this stimulus plan, the government is paying for it. Well last I checked the government was up to its eyeballs in debt, so they don't have any money so they are spending money that they plan on getting later, like taking out a loan except it is you and me that is paying the bill. So what do we get with our deposit. Well we get the same thing that we have always got, not much back. No I love this country and it is the best thing going, but I am slowly seeing our spending going out of control and someone needs to step in and save the US not the US saving everyone else.
Now for my stimulus plan, you know that $3500 that every American would need to pay to cover the $800 Billion dollar stimulus plan? Well instead of giving the money to the bankers who can't manage their business, the wall street execs who while going broke spend over a million dollars remodeling an office (you can't make this stuff up!!), give it to the American people. Those in financial crisis with mortgage lenders screaming at them? An American couple would be able to hand $7,000 to their bank and ask them to work with them. Those with a few kids could, like me, hand over $21,000 and indeed pay off my house. I mean no payments everything done, owned. But instead I am stuck with a policy that is going to make me pay off my house and the foreclosed houses of bad banking deals at the same time.
It makes me wonder, if common sense was so common, why doesn't anyone have any of it?
Rant over

Inner Beauty...

I saw part of this show the other day. The premise is they are trying to measure a person's true beauty. Is beauty only skin deep? Well that was what they were trying to prove or disprove. What I have found is that beauty is measured not only in physical appearence, but also in our actions, our attitudes and our relationships with other people. Sister Teresa was not one who would ever grace the cover of a fashion magazine, but to the lepers and homeless in Calcutta, India she was the most beautiful woman they ever saw. I think we should strive to be that kind of beautiful, the kind where the inside outshines the outside every time.

A winter wonderland...

I don't like the cold, I can do without snow, but what do I see outside my window?

Yep Snow and Ice.

Didn't Foreigner used to have a song like that? "You're snow and ice, willing to sacrifice our love" (it actually was "your as cold as ice...) but I had a bud that always sang songs wrong.

And I have to travel tomorrow. I live in the south so I don't have to put up with this mess!!

Praying for a heat wave!!

Welcome to...

What a place. Large city with a small town charm, no wonder it is the country music capital of the world. I saw more guitar cases coming and going out of that airport, it was like a maffia hit man convention was going on!!

They had a Gibson guitar cafe in the airport, all sorts of memoribilia of country legends and at every food court they had a small stage with monitors, one even had a baby grand piano for people to set and play. Made me wish I had a guitar, I could have set up and embarrased myself and made some extra spending cash!!

What got me was on the radio there was a church that was under fire for not praying for the President. Seems they used to pray for the President, and now they are deciding to not pray for the President. Seems to me that when we find ourselves in a situation not to our liking that we should pray more, not throw a fit and take our ball and go home.

I would encourage you, wether you are liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican or Independent, wether you lean right or left or have just passed out. Pray for all of our elected officials that they will rely on the only ONE who has the answer to every question and the supply for every need.

Be Blessed

A historic Day...

Today is the day when we receive a new president. And I have never in my life seen such interest in this specific day when a new president takes the oath of office in all my life. Now I realize that because of his race, it is a historical moment in the history of the United States but the fanfare that is coming with it is a little discouraging.
We are in the midst of a recession, our financial deficit keeps growing and growing and I have no idea what it will cost for all the pomp and circumstance that will go on today, do we need to add to the debt? Do I think we should cancel the party? No, but I do believe that with everything that is going on, we should be looking to the main issues that are facing our country today and maybe use a little discretion? Yes?
But let me get to the point of my post... It is definately a historic day for our country. The election of an African American president means that indeed anything is possible in this country. But what I am concerned about is the bar has been set so high for our incoming president that I am afraid that he will not measure up to the expectations placed upon him. I know many Americans believe that when he steps into office that every issue and problem facing this great nation will evaporate and will be fixed with a stroke of the pen. Can I bring a little reality to you today, that is not going to happen. I am afraid that the millions of people who are standing on Pennsylvania Avenue today may be standing there in a few years demanding the promises of change that they never saw come to pass. For America to change, Americans must change individually. They must make the decision that change is good, and embrace it. Wishing for someone esle to change your life is like wishing that you will loose weight without diet and exercise, if there was some magic pill we would have it by now. So as we look on this historic day, if you are wanting change, then begin with yourself, today is the first day of the rest of your life.

JESUS and sports...

I read an article the other day about GOD'S role in sports. Now do I think that GOD has an interest in who wins the Superbowl or any other game for that matter? No. But I do believe that GOD has an interest in those involved in the game. Kurt Warner and the St. Louis Cardinals ( I still won't call them the Arizona Cardinals, have you ever seen a cardinal in Arizona?) are going to the Super Bowl. Now Kurt does not make any bones about his faith and his trust in GOD but a lot of people make an issue of it. They like to say that GOD guides his passes, that GOD moves that blitzing defensive end a little further out so he can't be sacked. But I really believe that the only thing GOD is contributing is in the makeup of Kurt Warner himself. You see, Kurt believes, and believing is a big part of succeeding in sports and life. Kurt believes that if you prepare, study, work hard and do your best that GOD will bless it. I agree with him, he does not promise us everything if we don't do our part, but he does promise us that when we do things according to his commands that we will see the blessings in our lives. People say that making a Super Bowl is GOD's way of blessing Kurt Warner. Let me put it this way, without ever making the Super Bowl GOD has still blessed Kurt Warner. He has a job that many would kill for, making a ton of money playing a kid's game. He has a wife that has stood beside him when he was a failure and got cut from the Packers, who stood beside him when he said he wanted to play Arena ball in Iowa, and who stood beside him as he was bagging groceries at the HyVee when everything did not work out. He has already been blessed of GOD, beyond what we all and he probably deserves. Kurt Warner is in the Super Bowl because he worked hard, got some breaks and mainly because Kurt BELIEVED that he could make it to the big game.

You go Kurt, I am cheering for you.

Just keep a knocking...

I was reading a friends blog (funny on the internet I have never met him but I consider him a friend, there must be something wrong with that...) about Luke 11. It is the story of the man who goes to his neighbor's house to borrow some bread because a guest showed up unannounced and the man had nothing to feed him. Well the neighbor was already in bed and had locked up his house and told the man to go home. But the man was persistant and kept knocking, and JESUS said that the neighbor would eventually give the man the bread because he knew that he would not get any sleep because of the guys knocking and that he would give him the bread not necessarily out of friendship but because his reputation would be damaged if he did not help his neighbor in time of need.

Well he brought out a point that sometimes we quit knocking too soon and leave before GOD does something great in our lives. I have seen people come to church once or twice, and unless GOD did something miraculous they did not come back. I have seen people come and pray once and just expect GOD to give them what they prayed for and never pray again for it. I have seen people attempt to make a deal with GOD and because things did not go according to the way they thought, they quit on GOD all together.

I do not want to be the guy who knocks and knocks and finally leaves the porch and says, "well I guess it is time to move on." And then moments later the next guy comes to the door and knocks just one time and the door is opened for him and the owner of the house says, "I heard you knocking, it just took me a moment to get to the door".

I think that there are times when we give up to early and we need to persevere a little longer and just keep on knocking on that door.

Fighting?

Not that kind of fighing. Not like Rocky and Appollo Creed.

Fighting with your words...

Take a look at the picture. How many of us would want to hurt any human being like the one getting hit? I mean if I am in the ring, well, I will swing for the fences, but in just a spat or an argument sometimes our words hit as hard as that right cross.

The damage done is sometimes irreparable and can cause serious injuries to a person's trust, loyalty and commitment. We are studying in our small groups on how to fight fair. So I thought I would drop a few rules; kind of like the referee at the beginning of a boxing match.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Referee: OK guys and gals, I want a goood clean fight.

No rabbit punches (which means you have to take time to listen and quit swinging all the time. Listen to the other side, evaluate what they have to say and then form your opinion. Don't just swing, swing, swing).

No hitting the back of the head (which means when the fight is over, don't throw that last cheap shot in to get the last word, don't feel like you have to land the last blow to win the fight, especially if it is a cheap shot when the others back is turned).

When I tap your shoulder when you are in a clinch, let go and back up, without throwing punches (which means, if it starts to get physical, take a step back, regain your composure and let some space come between the combatants).

In case of a knockdown, go to your respective corners (which means if one of you falls down, the other should not jump on them with both feet, that is being a bad sport).

And NO LOW BLOWS (ouch! which means you can't dredge up something that happened 20 years ago, or 10 years ago or 5 years ago and throw it in the face of the other fighter, that is definately hitting below the belt and that type of foul is usually done by the person losing the match and in trouble).

Referee: Understand?

Fighter #1 - (nods)

Fighter #2 - {grunts}

Referee : OK! LETS GET IT ON!!!

DING! DING! DING!

;-)

Who do you look like?

I have been told that everyone has a twin. I mean not a biological twin but someone that really resembles someone else. They look so much alike that sometimes people will pass themselves off for the rich and famous.

To walk a few feet in someone elses shoes must feel pretty good. Can you imagine if you looked like some movie star? I was once mistaked for Christopher Reeves (before the accident that took his life) when I was in Atlantic City. The guy at a cafe says, "hey your that dude!". I replied, "Huh, what dude?" And the man says, "you are that Superman guy in the movies!". I kind of laughed and said, "No, you got the wrong guy." And he comes back and says, "Its OK, I won't tell anyone. I know you just want to eat in peace." And he did leave me alone the rest of the morning. But I could feel his eyes on me and the eyes of everyone in the kitchen on me till I left and said goodbye. I was so uncomfortable that someone was going to come and ask for an autograph and what I was going to do if they did that I did not enjoy my breakfast. Now I have no delusions that I look like Superman, of course back then I was somewhat buff so who knows. But that man saw me as Superman and in his eyes I was that famous Superman dude.

You know it gets me thinking of what we really see in people. We see the rich and famous and think it must be great to be them, until we walk a few feet in their shoes or set on their barstool through breakfast. I think we should wait to pass judgement on how great it is to be them.

JESUS loves me this I know...

for the Bible tells me so?
I have been debating about posting this for some time. I know many people who do not feel that JESUS loves them, and some who do believe that JESUS loves them do not believe that GOD cares for them at all.
Well I was doing some reading the other day and came to a heavy realization.
GOD loves me just as much today, as he did when I was not living for him. GOD doesn't love me any more today that I pastor a church than he did when I first gave my life to him. He does not love me any more less than when I was doing my best to ignore him than he does know when I know him more.
Isn't that Whacked?
You see we try to put GOD in a man suit. You know make him out to be like us. But GOD is not like us. You see we really do not believe that we can "love" anyone that we have not met. And if we were truthful, out "love" is conditional. Which I mean that if you treat me well, if you are nice to me, if you do things for me, I might "love" you. But if you cross my path wrong, if you treat me wrong, if you disagree with me, I might not "love" you. GOD is not that way. He loves us even when we don't love him. Try that for a while, loving someone who does not love you back... yeah GOD is definately not like us.
Now to the JESUS versus GOD love thing. Many feel that JESUS loved them because he died for them. But we need to realize that GOD the Father, is the same as GOD the Son and GOD the Holy Spirit. They are the triune GOD head one and the same. So GOD the Father actually died as GOD the Son on the cross of Calvary, giving up himself for his creation. Confused yet? Yeah I know.
But just as JESUS loved mankind and was willing to give himself up for it, GOD loves us just as much. Even when we are yet no in his "family" his love for us is the same.
Oh that we could treat the brothers and sisters in the Lord the same way. Love unconditional with no strings attached.
For all of those that might read this, I want you to know that I will do my best to love with the love of Christ. Even if I haven't met you and even if you have been ugly to me, I will choose to love.
Be Blessed!

Recession

Recession. You know how everyone has been talking about a recession. Well I have not seen it. Everyone is talking about how people are saving money? Really, it seems to me that everyone spends what they bring home every week. Everyone is talking about how the housing market is bad and you can't sell a house and if you do have to sell you will sell at a loss. Well I know someone who bought a house four years ago, and it sold for 15% more than the purchase price back then. Everyone is talking about how the unemployment is out of control and I can show you just about every fast food joint and contractor are trying to hire people.

Now I know that we live in an area that see very little ups and downs, not like the two coast. But I also know that some people around here have common sense.
Like they live week to week, paycheck to paycheck but some do put a little money aside every so often just in case. They hav all bought houses but most have bought within their means, not buying a house three times too big for them with a mortgage to match. And most in this area are willing to go to work if the need arises. McDonalds is not below us if we have a mortgage payment to make. Digging ditches is fine if we can feed our families.
I guess what I am saying is that recession is like that bald spot growing on my head. It is there, it is not pleasent, but it doesn't really affect me to much other than I wear a hat a lot more now...
we do what we have to do.

Take care of it...

I was working on a song the other day and pulled a guitar down off the wall to get some chords. It was a guitar I bought to be a "beater" guitar. You know the one that doesn't get to stay in the case, gets thrown in the car, thrown on the floor, thrown down the stairs. It was inexpensive as guitars go and since it was "cheap" I felt no remorse at taking it apart, doing some modifications and adaptations on it. Now let me get where I was going.

I took that guitar down, plugged it in and it literally sang in my hands. Now I would say it was singing a step low and a little off of pitch, kind of like my singing, so together we were perfect. I was amazed at how well that little guitar played. Then I remembered the work I did on it. I took a cheap inexpensive guitar and made it into a player.

I can tell you, if you will take a little care and work a little on the small things in our lives, who knows what we may find out about ourselves. We might actually be a gem in the rough, which only needs a little care and effort to turn into a shining jewel.

Fun Fun Fun...

Took a little family vacation and just getting back into the swing of things. We took an entire week of and planned on doing.... NOTHING. I just hate it when you go on vacation and you have more things to do than when you are working. Got to be here, gotta do that, and on and on. I come back more frazzled than when I left. It is so good to just go and do nothing. Although I will say that time does seem to move faster when you are doing something, but it moves pretty fast when you are doing nothing as well.
Went to the Dixey STAMPEEEEEDE!! as well as to TITANIC. Man that was a big ship for its time. I did get to find out a lot that I did not know and no I have not seen the movie. But what was amazing was the arrogance of all the crew and the people on board. They were CERTAIN that this ship was unsinkable. They took a path through an ice flow where most ships avoided. They were warned of icebergs in the area and the radio operator told them to stay off his channel. And they were going 17 knots through the ice flow in the dark of night and did not have time to turn in the 30 seconds it was from the time the lookout saw the berg and impact.
Amazing how people can ignore the warnings in so many things of life...

The Econmics of GOD

I preached this a couple of Sunday's ago.
GOD'S economics are not our economics...
The economics of the good ole USA are in the toilet right now. We are seeing bailouts from the government for the banking, financial and the auto industries. We are seeing others lining up to get their handout as well.
I started looking at the economics of GOD, GOD does not do financial bailouts. He does bless us but he will not bail us out when we just show up with out bad money management and demand his help.
GOD will allow us to go through times where we are financially challenged because of our own bad decisions. When we make bad decisions, we have to pay the price or we won't learn out lesson.

I just wonder what we are teaching these that are responsible for the well beings of their companies, are we teaching them to manage their resources or are we teaching them that no matter what they do, someone will be there to bail them out?

Christmas

Wow, Christmas is almost here... I love Christmas except for...
the shopping lines.
the mall traffic.
the holiday music that starts in June.
the Christmas displays that go up on Easter.
the insistent commercials that I give my wife a Lexus as a gift or I am a schmuck.
the reruns of "A Christmas Story", "A Wonderful Life", and "Rudolph".
People running around with Elf hats on.
Christmas sweaters with stockings and ornaments on them.
cold weather.
shedding trees.
getting all the Christmas stuff out.
putting all the Christmas stuff up.

But I love...
spending time with Family and friends celebrating the birth of a Savior!

Hard things...

You know why does life have to be so hard sometimes? Why can't everything go the way that we would like it. As a church we have had to make some hard decisions and it doesn't always set well with a lot of people. As administrators we make decisions that affect not just ourselves but those around us. As people we make decisions that affect our day to day activities. Oh how I wish I could be wise like Soloman. Sometimes I feel like I have no business making decisions that really impact peoples lives. But then I realize that EVERY decision we make affects others around us. If we decide to be arrogant and rude, well we can put people around us in a bad mood. If we decide to be deceitful and pridefull we can cause people to loose hope. If we decide to be happy and joyful we can light up a room. So when it is so easy to see what we need to do, why don't we always do it?

Speaking of eating...

Man I am good. I know, that is so vain of me. But I made some pancakes this morning and then made cheese omelets for everyone in the house. I used a little bit of the pancake batter mixed in with the eggs, ala IHOP and they turned out great!!
There was nothing left when everyone got done!!
You know there are times when you go to cooking that you get to see the look on peoples faces and you feel all warm inside...

You are what you eat...

I was remembering my childhood the other day and how I hated some vegetables that my Mom wanted me to eat. It was not an option not to eat them, you had to set there till you did, that was how it was. I remember that slogan, "you are what you eat" and I thought of that today. We all know that fast food is not the healthiest thing for you. So if we are eating fast food all the time we are going to have problems. This country has a serious issue with overindulgence. You see we just can't help ourselves. We consume, consume and consume until we find ourselves in a real health problem. Now I am guilty as most, eating healthy that is, but there is another real problem that we have in this country and it is a perfect analogy of overeating.

Just as what we put into our mouths affects our cholesteral, our blood pressure and our waist lines. What we allow into our lives affects us even more. It seems that everywhere you look their is something on TV, in a magazine or online that we really should not allow into our lives if we don't want to have trouble. Not every housewife is a "desperate housewife", I have lived lots of place and never have I been in a neighborhood like that. Now I have never watched the show but I can tell you all the characters, what issues they are dealing with and what is going on just from the commercials that saturate my other programming. Turn over to some other station and you will find that every teenager is sexually active, which makes the young person who is not wonder why everyone else is. Go online and find some provocative picture that has been touched up to the point that the person on the screen is not real, and we have unrealistic expectations from the opposite sex and how they should look and behave. Take a look at the political situation swirling around Illinois with their governor being brought up on charges, so we hear all of the negatives and we decide that everyone is that way in politics. You see what we take in everntually becomes part of our lives. If you are watching violence, I think you are going to be prone to become violent. If you are consumed with things on TV, they will affect the way you view those around you.
We all need to go on a diet, and not just from the Big Mac...

Three Gifts...

The gifts given by the Wise Men, got me to thinking about a few things.

First, we always believe that there were three men. But I really believe that there must have been more than three. First figure that these guys traveled probably around 500 miles across the desert. They must have had at least part of an army to protect them on their journey especially when I bring up point two. So it wasn't just three dudes on camels who came to worship the Christ Child, but probably a party of 500 or more who came to worship him.

Second, we always see the figures of the nativity clutching a small chest as a gift. Can I tell you no man in his right mind would bring a small gift to an earthly king let alone the King of Kings. If you brought a gift to a king, and the king deemed it unimportant, he would have you thrown out on your ear or worse. I believe that these men brought more than a small chest of gold, frankenscense and mrryh. I believe that they brought a vast quantity of precious gifts to the Christ Child. The KJV version called them "treasures", now I think that three pounds of gold to be a good thing. And at todays rate, three pounds of gold would be worth $43,000.00. Now if you found three pounds of gold in a shipwreck, would it be called a treasure? I don't think so, treasure is used when the amount of wealth is exceedingly great. The last sunken treasure ship yielded an estimated $500 million dollars worth of treasure. Now that is what I call a treasure.

So when you see the three wise men, think on these points, that there were more than three who risked their lifes and fortunes to come and worship the Christ, and they brought "treasures" with them as a gift to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

The inevitable...

yep, tax season is coming. Nah, I really haven't been thinking of taxes but of the other inevitable. You know the end of life as we know it. Now I believe that we just did not end up here on this earth by some random coincidence. I read this week about scientist that believe that some organic matter might have hitched a ride to earth on an asteroid and deposited the puzzle pieces of life here. Now I saw a few space movies and doesn't there tend to be a little heat when you enter the atmosphere, and would that not burn up the organic material? Well they are still thinking on that aspect.
So with that said I do believe that we are more than just a physical being. Yeah, I believe that we have a soul and as I do not believe in re-incarnation as I have never thought I was someone famous. All people who believe in re-incarnation never were some nobody in a past life, they were always a King or a Queen or someone famous, I would have been a baker or something silly. Anyway; I believe that when this physical body ceases to work that our soul is released from this vessel of flesh, and escape pod for you Star Wars geeks. Now the Bible tells us to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. That is way cool. We don't have to wait for a trumpet to sound, (unless we are still alive) and we don't have to sleep within the earth but we get to be with the Lord immediately.
So I started to think of those that are left behind. What will it be like to be in heaven and know that there are others that are still here on earth? Then I read the passage, that to GOD a thousand years is a day. So being the math geek that I am, I did some figurin'. 1000 years = 24 hours - so putting a little algebra to it, we can get that for every hour in GT (GOD time) would amount to 41.66666666666666 YEARS in our time. So lets say I die at 40, my wife is 40 as well and she live to be 81 (40+41.6666666=81.66666) I will have beaten her to heaven by ONE hour GT. So about the same amount of time it takes her to get ready when we go out I will have beaten her to heaven by. Barely enought time to steal some closet space before she gets there. Look at my kids who are still relatively young. If they live to be around 80 I will have beaten them to heaven by TWO hours. Yep about the amount of time it takes them to wash the dishes as they argue who is going to wash and dry (actual dish time is 30 minutes with an hour and a half of arguing time).
So when we look at life, it is as the Bible says; a vapor... at least in GOD time...

Brrrr part deux (that is 2 for those non French!!)

Well it is quite cold in Chicago as well. High today was 14, that was without the wind chill and well Chicago is not called the "Windy City" for nothing. It was icey, snowy and just plain "yuck" all day.
Enjoying some relaxing time working with me and the wifey, will get to fly home tomorrow and check out the football games and talk about feces, obnoxious bodily functions, and funny embarrassing stories with the "after hours" gang. Good times good times!!!

Brrrr.

First snowfall of the year. It has suddenly gotten cold in MidWest. Isn't is amazing the weather patterns we have here. It was around 60 on Thanksgiving day, then it was around 45 on Friday, then in the mid 30's on Saturday and then it snowed on Sunday, is going to be in the low 40's today and then in the mid 60's tomorrow. Wow what a week, it is like living in Lake Tahoe, where you can golf in the morning, ski in the afternoon and go for a swim late afternoon. Crazy...kind of like that "Day after Tomorrow" movie, everyone around here is looking like this.

Maturity...

Maturity is something that we all should do, but it is something that we all do not do at the same amount, or during the same time frame.

I have been exposed to a lot of immature people in my life. Talking about bathroom tendencies, explosive bodily functions and vomit tend to make a person seem immature. But I have seen some mature young people and some really immature older people. Although older people have grown accustomed to discussing bathroom tendencies, explosive bodily functions and vomit in their old age the stories just aren't as funny as those who have not experienced all these instances for almost 40 years of life. I mean there was this one time in San Antonio where I had these burritos... I digress; excuse me. And for the people in the hotel room next to me that night I ask your forgiveness as well. I hope you eyes have healed up since that horrific experience.

Anyway, people mature at different rates, it is not a one size fits all. Now I realize that life experiences help with maturation but what I have a hard time with is those who should be mature and are not. Even in the Christian realm we have immature Christians. You know, those that seem to always be in and then out, and then in and then out. Up and down, like a pogo stick, that reminds me one time my brother was bouncing on this pogo stick and he had like this stomach virus and on one of the down bounces when he hit the ground some of him kept going... I Digress, excuse me and for his third grade teacher, well I am sorry for you as well. Anyway we have Christians who have not matured in the church. It is not a new thing, the Apostle Paul pretty much told some early church members to get off the bottle, called them babies and such. He was such a rebel rouser. Anyway people who mature gain a nature that does not allow the small things to overcome their lives. The chart I copied is a business model but works well in this instance as well.

Stage 1 - Firefighting - in our Christian walk this is where you have to make a life and death choice everyday. Do I do what I know is wrong and sin or do I live a godly life? Know anyone that has been there for a while?

Stage 2 - Stabalising - in our Christian walk this is beyond the firefighting but we are still setting boundaries for our life and getting on the even keel of life. I know many who never got through the stabalising part. They are like a teeter totter, one day or week are on top of it and the next they fell off and don't know what happened.

Stage 3 - Preventing - these are the people who see a trap and AVOID it. To many people I know see the trap and then keeping walking right into it. It is like those survivor man shows, remember the guy that keeps going up to wild bears and petting them will one day find a hungry bear. What is that old cliche? An ounce of prevention is worth a ton of something or another...

Stage 4 - Optimising - What you say is this. Well this is where you have finally arrived where you can walk the narrow path, without twisting an ankle every day, being eaten by a bear or falling into a trap. This is where you really start to do something that matters. You find your gift and you begin to make a difference. Sadly there are too many people who never get to this stage. That is why you see so few making a difference in this world.

Stage 5 - Excellence - Man, I want to be here but I am still in the Optimising part. I am still learning what I am really good at and letting go of what I am so so at. The problem is that I want to be really good at the so so stuff and the stuff I am really good at is not as fun as the so so stuff. Oh well, I still have some maturity to go. By the way, you ever heard the one about the lady who had a gas attack in the middle of church? Well, you had to be there...

Have a little Patience...

I was working this weekend and realized that I lacked patience. Yep, I am an impatient person.

Now I am not the guy at McDonalds yelling at the drive through window because it took three minutes to get my Big Mac. Nor am I the guy who is standing by the door waiting on the Dominoes guy telling him I am not paying because it took 31 minutes. And I am not the guy who stands in line at Wal Mart for five minutes and looks like I only had ten minutes to live and wasted half of it standing in line behind a woman who has fifteen cats and a fetish for cashmere sweaters. And I am not the guy who when he walks into the DMV gives that criminal look of incarceration once he enters the door waiting for his time to be served before he gets parrolled. But I do lack patience, usually with those that are closest to me. Those that I love the most, cherish the most, could not live without, those people I have no patience for. I have patience for a client who can't make up his mind, the auto mechanic who is moving at a snail's pace, the doctor who makes me set in a waiting room to wait, and then in an examination room to wait some more. I have patience with those people, but with those closest to me I have none.

Why is that? I don't have an answer but I have determined that it is wrong and I am going to change. So I will have patience with my loved ones, but the DMV gal, the mechanic, the Wal Mart Checkout lady and my Doctor had better be on their toes!!

Possessed or In need of help?

I saw this on the web the other day and I really feel for the poor guy. Here is the article...

Dear Prudence,
Genetic predisposition and a traumatic childhood have led me to develop debilitating mental disorders that I have spent years working to manage. I'm now at a functional place. My parents are divorced, and my mother's family has always been very supportive. My father's family, by contrast, sees mental illness as a stigma and has always disagreed with my approach to treatment. Recently, they invited me to my grandmother's birthday party. When I arrived, everyone was sitting solemnly around the living room, and the local pastor was there. He calmly explained to me that I was not actually mentally ill but possessed by agents of Satan and in need of an exorcism. I choked back tears as I explained to them that I did not need any demons driven out, and the evening ended awkwardly. Now they've invited me for Thanksgiving, and I don't know what to do. I don't want to alienate them, but my symptoms are part of a real disorder and can be treated by medication. How do I explain to them that while I do want to spend time with them, it's not the Middle Ages, and I don't want or need an exorcism?

—It's the Schizophrenia, Stupid
Dear It's the Schizophrenia,For Thanksgiving, please exorcise these people from your life. Spend the holiday somewhere else, preferably with those who love and accept you. Perhaps your mother's family is an option. If not, maybe you can make your own gathering with friends, or friends will extend an invitation to you after realizing you'll be on your own. And if you're too uncomfortable searching for a place to go, every city has shelters or nursing homes that welcome volunteers willing to serve Thanksgiving dinner. What your father's family did to you was appalling. You're very generous not to want to alienate people who believe you are possessed by Satan; I would have been tempted to threaten them with my pitchfork. I suppose at some time less loaded than a big holiday, you can get together with them to try to explain that you have a medical condition that is being successfully treated. But as you point out, this is the 21st century, and an unwillingness to accept that mental illness is just that—an illness—seems an act of willful bigotry not amenable to reason. Be proud of how you've worked your way to a satisfying life, and don't let people, just because they're relatives, do anything to undermine that.
—Prudie

Let me explain a few things. First I do believe that we can have demonic activities in our lives. Do I believe that people can be possesed? Of course; it is Biblical, but just as I believe it is possbile for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, (you have to use really small camel chunks and it takes a real long time) it is possible for a person to yield to spiritual influences in their life and be possessed. But not in all situations are their spiritual forces at work. Because of illness, inheritated traits and such there are many situations where people may exhibit signs of possession but not be possessed. I know in my life that there are days where I don't want to get out of bed... actually there are a bunch of days like that, but I am able to overcome them by sheer will and the fear of being unemployed. There are days when I want to be a hermit and not interact with people, live in a mountain cave and grow a real long beard, but I subject myself to society. There are days when I just want to curl up in a ball and cry... and I find myself a comfortable place and plenty of tissues. Does this mean I am "possessed"? No it means that I am human. And as humans sometimes we need help. I would have been more impressed if his family had brought the Pastor in to talk to this young man and help him through his problems, spiritually influenced or not...

When Tolerance is not accepted...

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=VziklUbtHAE
America is screaming for Tolerance today. You tolerate my views and I will tolerate your views, Right. Many claim that Christians are not tolerate of people today. Well I just saw a video that put that shoe on the other foot. We are all guaranteed the freedom of speech, and this poor woman comes to a Prop 8 rally and presents her side which she is free to do. Now I would like to ask this question, after viewing the video what would have happened if these people's views were reversed. Christians all over the US would have been cast in a negative light, it would have led the national news and been on the lips of every anchorman and woman on TV that the mean old bigoted Christians had abused and threatened a person who was just voicing their opinion on some legislation. But because it swung the other way no one has heard of it. I found out by another blogger and was shocked and shamed by the actions of the people around her. I would have been shocked and shamed had the people around her been against same sex marraige and were all wearing Christian T shirts and I am shocked and ashamed by those who aligned with Prop 8 and how they acted. Tolerance goes both ways, but that is not what is being exhibited here, Intolerance is being exhibited. I wonder if it will get around that all same sex marriage proponents are bigoted intolerant people?

What's my motivation?...

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=pwSOfW-9jXw

I love this commercial... street ballers getting down with a Sprite when all of the sudden Mr. Playground breaks into his proper English and says, "I played Hamlet at Cambridge, What's my motivation?"
Just goes to show you what you think you are seeing may not really be what it is. Many people are motivated by different things. Some are motivated by $$$, other by fame. Some are motivated by fear and others by the feeling sucess brings with it.
I was thinking about motivation the other day and how some people have it and others don't seem to have it.
I think that we are all equipped with a certain amount of motivation, but that only a small percentage tap into it. Many lack self motivation, others must be threatened to get motivated. But through it all what I have found is that we are all motivated from within. You just have to find that thing that eclipses everything else in your life, devote yourself to it and you will find all the motivation that you need.
Be Blessed.

The Smokey Mountains...

Well in my travels I was in Atlanta and decided to go see a customer up in Virginia. Well there was no good way to get there unless I drove about three hours so drive I decided to do. Well I ended up driving through a section of the Smokey Mountains. Now I have driven in mountains before but this was really cool, during the middle of the day the leaves were turning and the views were great.


But then I had to come back later and the FOG rolled in. Now I am not talking your basic fog, I am talking thick enough to cut FOG. They fog is so bad there that they actually have lights, not reflectors but lights imbedded in the road so you know when you are driving off the road and over the cliff on the side. This is not an actual picture but is a good semblence of what I was seeing as I white knuckled down that stretch of road.


Yep it was a little harrowing as I was hurrying to catch a flight. I was glad to be back in the lowlands and out of the clouds.

Where in the World is Pastor Pat?

I feel like Waldo as in Where's Waldo sometimes. So I put a little compilation together for you...

Well I was in Western Kansas the other day... yep flat land and no hills, scrub brush and prarie... but they do have some neat things.

Like WIND farms...

And then I went to New Mexico for a trade show... so I flew into Alburqueque and rented a car, and since I have a GPS unit on my phone I figureed I was good to go, right? Wrong!! Well I started driving following the directions until I got here...

Then the GPS said "you have arrived at your destination"... I was like "Uhmmm there is nothing here but a fork in the road!!" So I looked around and this is what I saw...

Absolutely NOTHING!!! I mean there is supposed to be a thousand bed hotel here somewhere!! Now I know why the wagon trains going across got lost as there is nothing to tell you where you are.

So kept going down this ONE LANE ROAD!! Hoping that I would see something that looked like a hotel, for you see I am a guy and guys don't ask for directions, that is why they made GPS!!!

So I drove for like 10 minutes down this road...

waiting to drive right up on some Indians ready to scalp me!!! Surely this is the wrong road I started to think but there was no where to turn around when all of the sudden I came over this little rise and see this...

I am SAVED!!! Civilization...

So there you go, that is where I have been and I will update the rest of my travels later...

Feelin' Blue?

How many times have you ever just felt Blue? You know, just yuck... well sometimes the world around us makes us feel blue, sometimes those closest to us make us feel blue. But I want to tell you that you are only as blue as you allow yourself to feel. I was reading this week about a Billionaire, yes that is with a B, who when he first started out went broke not just once, but around three times. He bought this business did great and then everything went wrong and he lost it all. Then he went and started another business and because he did not have enough capital it too folded. Then he went and started buying other peoples bad loans, yep people just like him who had borrowed money they could not repay and had failed in their endeavor. He bought up their bad debts, helped them work through them and made a truck load of money in the process. So if you are feeling blue, well get up and get going, don't let the situations of one day affect all the rest of the days of your life.

CSI this, CSI that...

What is it with CSI? I mean how many TV shows that deal with Crime Scene Investigation do we really need. Now you know that I only get five channels on a clear day so when I travel a lot of times it is TV Vegetation time. That means I have a remote in my hand and I endlessly surf for hours at a time. Well not really hours but I find myself getting board with stuff to early to watch a whole show and the commercials are so long... well I digress. So the other night I am in the hotel watching the Tube and I kid you not, every show that was on was a CSI show. First it was in Vegas, or Miami or New York or some other cosmopolitan town, and then it was a Military version, and then there was this discovery channel deal about dudes in the old west who were killed and how they were investigating how they died. And then there was this Mayan temple thing where they were investigating the bones of people who had been sacrificed. And then there was this National Geographic where they were investigating the tombs of the Pharoes and then there was this cop show where they investigate a murder scene because they have to catch a killer in the first 48 hours or the donut shops close or something. I mean really, what happened to Magnum PI, Starksky and Hutch, Berretta, the Six Million Dollar Man, The A Team, and all the good old shows that were different? Are there not any good shows on anymore that don't involve solving a crime? Those guys were really good about getting the bad guys BEFORE they committed the crime... I guess that is kind of backwards today...

Blah, Blah, Blah

I am so tired of hearing the talking heads on the TV tell me how bad my life is. It is all gloom and doom right now. I am hearing it from both sides of the aisle now, the Dems saying the Repubs have put us in such a hole we are going to take a while to dig out. The Repubs saying the Dems will only dig us deeper with their new found power.You know what. We had a man in church Sunday who was just in Zimbabwe Africa. Their unemployment is 80%, there are no jobs anywhere. Now I know we have unemployed people in the US, but lets face it there are jobs around if we are willing to work them. Their inflation has gone up 800% in the last two years. Now we have seen inflation, but not at an 800% rate. It is so bad there that parents are having to supplement the government paid teachers to get them to school to teach their children. The less fortunate have been reported eating cow dung to survive. Now I am telling you that is bad, but it is common place in the world we live in that people get by on a lot less than the average American is used to.So quit bashing my country, we still have the best thing going in the whole wide world. The United States is still the land of opportunity it always has been.GOD Bless the USA!!

Paul the Apostle

I am intrigued by this man... The Apostle Paul... what a hero of the faith. Did you realize that Paul was not one of the 12 who followed CHRIST all around Judea? Did you realize that he was called after the death of JESUS? Did you realize that after his Damascus incident, and being prayed for by a follower of CHRIST and received his sight back, he went? Where?

To the Synagoge to preach? Nope. On TV to be a televangelist? Nope. To Rome to confront the Emporer? Nope.

Paul went to the desert of Arabia. whaaaa? Arabia? Desert? Uhmmm I do not understand. Me either.

I mean the guy has a face to face encounter with the risen lord JESUS, gets knocked off his horse, get commisioned by the Lord to preach to the Gentiles, is stone blind, get his sight restored and goes out into the desert for THREE STINKING YEARS?

Wanna know why? He wanted to get a personal revelation of who CHRIST is. Is that not too cool? He did not go to one of the apostles who followed JESUS all around. He did not go to Peter, or James the brother of JESUS to get their opinion of who JESUS was. Paul went out to the desert by himself to find out who exactly JESUS was.

Made me think of my own faith, do I know who JESUS is or do I go on someone else's knowledge? Have I found out for myself or have I been lazy and just gone with what I have heard from someone? I think we all need to spend a little time in the desert to really figure out who JESUS is, who knows, he might just use us after that to reach a nation and eventually the world...

I've been everywhere man...

Remember that Johnny Cash song, well I've been to

Tulsa, Dallas, Addison, Atlanta, Memphis, Atlanta, (again) New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Jackson, Dallas (again), Tulsa and back to Dallas (again), Alburquerque, Midland, Odessa, Dallas (again), Tulsa and then back to Tulsa, Oklahoma City and Tulsa again. All in two weeks. I am pooped.

I was flying a lot but still got to see a ton of country. This was the resort in New Mexico, it is so far off the beaten path the GPS said, "close enough" and I could not see it. It is nesseled in a little valley out in the middle of the scrub brush.

Down to Hotlanta next week and St. Louis end of this. Work never ends.