Livin4Christ83's Xanga

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 23:42:53 GMT

Whatever ill-informed person said that Christianity is boring was sorely wrong. I wish I could dictate posts to my site as they run through my head throughout the day. So many things have happened lately that have spiritual implications.

Before I get to that, thanks for the great comments you guys have been leaving. I have enjoyed each of them and hopefully will be able to properly reciprocate in the not-too-distant future. However, my time will be limited, because I'm leaving tomorrow for the next nine days.

First, Jennifer and I will be going to Houston to attend an Institute in Basic Life Principles, which is (thankfully) just 10 minutes from my grandparents house. We'll stay with them until Monday morning, when we will travel to Livingston to meet up with a group from our church for youth camp. I'm so looking forward to a time of relaxation and Bible study!

When I posted Saturday night, I was getting ready to wind down for bed. Little did I know a little later someone would show up on my doorstep....intoxicated. To make a VERY long story short, he made it home safely, I took his keys and we all lived happily ever after....if it were only that easy. *rolls eyes*

In other news, some strange things have been happening around here. I'm not one to say the devil is behind every bush, but there have been plenty of reasons to go "hmmm," lately. Things like laptops going haywire, truck wires being sabotaged, mowers going down, trailers being stolen, plumbing backing up, taxes being bungled (that cost me a few hundred bucks), windows being broken, fuel line leaks (gas was literally dripping down the front of my engine) and so on and so forth - all in the last five days. Sometimes it's hard to tell what is spiritual warfare and what is just your imagination, but your prayers would be greatly appreciated.

To be honest, all this has made me very optimistic about going to the IBLP and youth camp. I believe God is going to move and if all these diversions really are the enemy trying to keep us from going, he has another thing coming. I have a lot on my mind right now with many decisions looming ahead and I'm looking forward to quality time with the Lord for clarity, direction and refreshment. Thanks so much for your prayers and I'll see you all in 10 days!

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 21:44:35 GMT

*huge sigh* Well, here I sit. It's been a really long week and I'm tired even though it's not even 8 p.m. here. I happen to have five animals crowded around me, too. I've only been here a week and Jennifer has already added THREE cats to our family from various rescue missions. Right now I have the usual Mittens and Buffy, along with one of the new kittens.....

This is one of the new guys, who loves to cuddle, sitting with me now.....OK, OK, I admit it. He's really cute!

I've been told by more than one person that my site is hard to read, because (a) the font is too small, (b) the background picture and (c) my posts do no have a solid background. When I load my site I show to have all my posts with a solid background, meaning they are much easier to read. If you have a second, please let me know what you see! (this one should have a black background with white writing.)

I remembered that I promised I would post pictures of my new place when I moved in last year. Well, I never did, so now that I'm moved out I figured it would be a good time to go ahead and do that. lol

My room...

The desk where I talk to all of you....Those are organized piles you see!

Here's the walk-in closet, which I really enjoyed....

Today we went to the wedding of a friend of ours. That makes the third one already this year. Must be something in the water. Here is Jennifer with the bride, Katie...

Here is Katie's sister, Kristi....

That's enough for now. Hope you guys have a blessed Sunday!

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 23:10:54 GMT

Well, life has been an interesting mix of events here lately. The one constant is the breakneck speed of everything! At a time like this, there is only one thing to do: commence with a bullet post.

* The trip to Houston two weeks ago went very well. Chris Davis did not start, but he did get a 9th inning pinch hit appearance, after which he later scored - thankfully giving me something to write about! It was a unique experience for me, sitting beside his mom when he got his first Major League hit. She was so proud.

* In a miraculous turn of events brought about by God, my parents inherited my grandfather's house and land a couple of weeks ago. This is a major blessing! One of my uncles had been living on the property, but he ended up getting married and moving to a nearby town to live with his new wife.

* The aforemention turn of events resulted in my relocation. Yep, I moved again. Only this time, I'm living with my siblings. Because of church, work, school, etc., they needed to stay in Longview, so we're all sharing a house. Pray for me!

* If you had any doubt, miracles DO still occur....I got a 95 in my summer math class!

* Thanks for all the great responses to my last post, although I must admit I was a little confused when I went back and wrote it. Something had (obviously) tipped me over the edge that night and I set to writing while very tired. While it was still all true, I read it the next day thinking it to be quite a convoluted mess! Glad you guys were able to get something out of it....

* Next week our ad will be running in the paper for winning "Best of East Texas" in lawn care service. Here's the picture we took yesterday in the nice "Dependable Lawn Care" shirts my sister made for us....my mom was standing on one of our trucks to take this!

Quote of the Day: "It is easy enough to be pleasant when life flows by like a song. But the man worthwhile is the one who will smile when everything goes dead wrong." Ella Wheeler Wilcox (no clue who she is, but, hey, I like the quote.)

Saturday, July 05, 2008

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 00:06:01 GMT

Wish I had time to tell you about the million things that have happened in the last week. I didn't have time to post, but when something is on my mind, I have to start writing. This is what came out, so I thought I would post it......

For some reason, God has seen fit to put a lot of needy people in my life. No, I'm not even kidding. I mean A LOT of needy people. I find this quite odd considering that, of all the spiritual gifts, mercy is the one I have the least. I'm getting plenty of opportunity to improve that here lately. I often find myself fighting the urge to call people on the carpet for their ridiculous actions. (Mind you, I'm not exempt by any means...I regularly chastise myself, too.)

Anyway, back to needy people. I find it strange that so many people would rather wallow in self-pity, self-absorption and self-inflicted pain instead of living the victorious Christian life. We are more than conquerors! (Rom. 8:37) People seem to forget that no weapon formed against us shall stand (Isaiah 54:17). Sadly, it seems like quite a few weapons are standing against many believers today. Why do people have to get so up tight when a person doesn't call them back or forgets a birthday or doesn't invite them to something? Good grief, let's act like adults here.

I'm sorry people, but this is time for one of my classic "get over it" statements. Proverbs 19:11 says a person of good sense will overlook an offense. I wouldn't expect unbelievers to do so, however, you would think more Christians would get the picture. We are called to keep the peace (Romans 12:18) among ourselves and "avoid foolish controversies," (Titus 3:9) because they are "unprofitable and worthless."

The reality is that regularly being offended speaks volumes about a person's pride problem. It's not about you! Far too many people think the world revolves around them. NEWSFLASH: It doesn't.

I recently heard a sermon in which the preacher was talking about this very thing. He pointed out how often people leave a church because they got offended. He said we should just tell new members right up front: "Welcome to __________ Church. We love you and we guarantee you that you will be offended at some point while you attend here."

In case you're wondering, this post is not directed at anybody in particular. I'm just sick and tired of Christians eating each other alive with petty arguments, disputes, etc.

We're all human; we all make mistakes (I'm at the head of the list!). Please remember that next time someone "offends" you and try exhibiting some 1 Corinthians love (as in the longsuffering kind) to your Christian brother or sister.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 08:48:26 GMT

I love my life. It really is unfair how much fun stuff I get to do and get paid for it!

Last night I found out that Chris Davis, the guy from Longview I've been following for the last few years in the Texas Rangers organization, will be making his Major League debut tonight! Chris' dad called me in time for us to get a story in today's paper (which means we beat the Dallas Morning News, texasrangers.com and everybody else. ) and it just so happens the Rangers are in Houston tonight....Therefore, I will be able to attend his first game! I was a little worried that he would be called up when the team was in New York or somewhere far away, but God worked it out just beautifully.

What is really ironic about this is that we have gone to a Houston Astros game the last three years and we decided we just didn't want to give the time, money and effort it would take to put it togther this year. However, if we had gone, Thursday, June 26, was going to be the game we wanted to see! Wow, God is so incredible.

So now, rather than paying to go to an Astros' game, I get to go to one and get paid for it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

In other news, one of my math instructors at KC this week tried to matchmake me with her daughter. *sigh* I mean really, if a man isn't safe in the math lab, where else can he go?! lol

It was pretty funny, actually. I was sitting at the computer nearest her desk and we started talking about various subjects, my major, current occupation, etc. Well, she just blurts out, "Are you single?" I said yes and she starts talking about how wonderful her daughter is and she even brought out a picture. It was hilarious!

What was REALLY funny is that I knew her daughter! Remember a couple of months ago when I gashed my knee? Well, this woman's daughter just happened to be the one who cleaned the wound and assisted the doctor while he stitched me up. Pretty crazy, huh?

And before you ask, I'll just tell you. She's a nice girl, but she's not the one.

Monday, June 23, 2008

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 10:25:15 GMT

Just for fun....

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 00:15:44 GMT

"The vexation of a fool is known at once, but the prudent ignores an insult." Proverbs 12:16

You know, that verse makes so much sense, yet it is so hard to apply....

"The only valid test of love is obedience. Take one thing commanded and start doing it. Take one thing forbidden and stop doing it. Then we are on the sure road to knowing God. There is no other." Elisabeth Elliot

Friday, June 20, 2008

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 00:10:02 GMT

Perspectives

I got this from Chris, who got it from Brad (Hecalmsthestorm)...

Below is a list of how many deaths there were in each American war.

Revolutionary War 4,435

War of 1812 2,260

Mexican War 13,283

Civil War 364,511

Spanish-American War 2,446

World War I 116,516

World War II 405,399

Korean War 36,574

Vietnam War 58,220

Persian Gulf War 382

Iraq War 4091 (as of 6/4/08)

The total deaths for all wars for the US: 1,008,117.

Total number of years the U.S. has been in wars: 50

Average number of deaths / year during wars: 20,162

Average yearly deaths from ABORTION: 1.3 million

If you're looking for a good resource on this sad subject, check out www.abort73.com

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 23:32:05 GMT

"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory int he church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen."

Have you ever been so overwhelmed by God's blessings that you feel guilty? That's how I have felt this week. I'll try to hit these quickly...

* I found out from my journalism instructor that I will be the co-executive editor of The Flare (KC's newspaper) this fall semester. Aside from the obvious benefits of experience and fun, this means all my books and tuition are paid for as long as I am in the position! Theoretically, that could be for the next four semesters. If I get any financial aid, I can keep it for living expenses. Oh, and the editor gets paid an hourly wage as well.

* Friday I got a call from a lady at the Longview News-Journal who informed me that Dependable Lawn Care had been voted "Best of East Texas" in the "Best Lawn Care Service" category. This puts us on the map! It means some free advertising and instant credibility to increase our market share quickly.

You know what is ironic about that? We hired a guy (that makes four of us now) recently and then this week, we put a second truck on the road, so we are prepared to double in size! Is that God's timing or what?

* Before entering Kilgore College, they told me they would prefer me to get a GED (as opposed to getting an official statement from my parents that I had completed high school), so I did that last December. Monday I got a call to inform me that I was the valedictorian of the 07-08 GED class! This just cracked me up, because at first I didn't even know they had a graduation ceremony. Now I had to deliver a speech!

The lady said I actually had the second highest score of about 400 graduates in the last year, but the guy with the top score was already in the military. Does that make me the valesutorian?

Only about 50 students actually showed for the graduation, and I would say there was about 400ish in attendance. Since it was my first speech (it went about five minutes), I think it went pretty well. The first thing my always-supportive brother told me was, "Six points off for saying "uh" or "um" six times during the speech." lol

In addition to the normal diploma, they gave the valedictorian and solutatorian framed certificates...

Family photo...

Even though it was such short notice, Kristi made time to come to the ceremony...

"I will love You, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies." Psalm 18:1-3

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 01:04:35 GMT

"You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You." Isaiah 26:3

I so love that verse.

"If you fill your mind with His promises, God will fill your heart with His peace." ~ Woodrow Kroll