Closing down Xanga

I will be updating through facebook, and will be closing down this xanga site within the next few weeks.  Look me up on facebook! www.facebook.com

One day while calmly sitting in the back of a very large room, my name was rang out from the large speakers. I stood, walked to the front of the room, climbed a few steps and found myself observed by over 200 people. Not knowing what would happen next, but knowing I can trust God not to give me a task greater than we can do together, I waited. Someone asked if I would assist with a visual demonstration of trust. To this day I still wonder why I said, “Sure!” Receiving very brief instructions, I learned what I had to face. With a 6’ 2” frame I was to mount and stand atop the shoulders of a guy only 5’ 6” and show he could support me! Now heights are not a problem for me in a safe environment, but this stretched my definition of “safe”! For the lesson to be effective for the audience (and for me), I had to remain calm doing something I’ve never done before, all in front of a live audience.

Scary! Imagine standing on an elevated stage with 400+ eyes glued on you as you climb up and allow your life to rest on the shoulders of another person. My heart pumped fast as I viewed the room from this new position. J Just when I thought I had fulfilled my mission and could descend, I received another instruction: fall backwards as flat as possible into the waiting arms of six people. I folded my arms across my chest, closed my eyes, and slowly began the fall….Gaining speed, thoughts bolted through my mind like lightning. While the outcome was unknown, I chose to believe that God would help me through it somehow. The floor was getting closer…faster! In just a matter of seconds it was all over. My head rested just six inches from the floor, suspended from the arms of those six people. I was safe.

God is the Alpha and the Omega, he has seen the beginning and knows the ending. He knows what is best for us. Do you trust Him? If God didn’t ask us to “free fall” as I was asked in the scenario above, we wouldn’t discover the measure of His strength.

“Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him” (Matthew 7:9-11).

If we are able to trust people, how much more can we trust a holy God! Can we trust God as a good Father to give good things that may challenge our faith, but will not harm us if we trust Him? I hope you find the answers to these Questions Encouraging!

Hickery dickery dock the mouse ran up the clock.... you might ask yourself.. why in the WORLD would a mouse run up the clock? well tonight it ran up to change it! So if you don't have a trained mouse to move your clocks forward.. I would suggest you do it yourself tonight before you climb into bed

SO If you have to do it yourself... BE ENCOURAGED!!! you don't have mice in your house! 

Redeeming the time,for the days are evil

Winter has Struck! After surviving the snow and ice storm I managed to get some sleep in preparation to head out to the buckeye state to promote the Basic Seminar and visit with families. I must say I have enjoyed the short time here with the host family, meeting new friends, and learning things as I go. One night I was sitting in a chair helping one of the younger kids with a knoted up wad of string that needed to be rolled into a ball so he could continue the rope he was making. Since I like to look at things from an analagies perspective, I began to ponder what I could learn from this little project. It takes Way more effort to untangle a line than it ever does to tangle it. I watched as Cory and I teamed up and made progress. I wish we could say we got it done, but the pizza arrived to quickly. What did I take from this? Well sin if not corrected quickly will only get worse. If Cory fixed the yarn while the knots were loose and little it would have taken less effort to untangle. 2nd. the yarn in and of it self is worthless unless it is transformed into something useful. I got to thinkin about what he was making, a rope. Now this particuler rope maynot have been much help by itself. but while visiting I had an opportunity to see rope at its best. A van got stuck in the mud in front of their house. It took 5 men pushing and with a lot of effort only to see the van was still stuck. But when we took a rope and attached it to my truck and with little effort and no help from the men the van came out of the mud with ease. The rope that was used was a  much thicker rope, it was made of several strands braided together to add a greater strength. So when needed it had the strength to accomplish the task. Our lives are like a piece of rope. Sometimes our relationships with people can feel like a tangled mess, depressing, un fulfilling or just hard to work with. How ever, having godly friends are like a rope that gives strength and purpose. Those are the kinds of relations we need to have with our friends and family. The kind that glorifies God and furthers His Kingdom on this earth. SO with that.. BE ENCOURAGED!

The King shall joy in thy strength, O Lord; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice! (Ps.21)

 God gives strength to the weary, shelter for the homeless, direction for the lost, help for the hurting. the list can go on and on.. Go ahead, you think of one..ok,  two..... See! ...That wasn't to hard.   If you stop and think of all the Lord God (Yahweh) hath done for you. The Bible says the world cannot come close to holding the books that can be written about God. Wow! what a thought. to give you an idea, I heard that if we put the whole worlds population in Florida. they would all fit in the Jacksonville city limits. Now just amagin the books!

There is much to Praise God for. David is rejoicing in this chapture and is praising God for all he hath done. Studying Davids life you see his love for God, his hardships, his Faith, and his lack of faith. the good and bad in him. But yet God called him "a man after Gods own heart" David wasn't perfect but he was forgiven. Although David didn't like the sin in his life. He kept short accounts with God and knew that if he confessed and turned from his sin. God would forgive and forget his sin. 

 I was thinking.. David had enemies. Some were visable and others spiritual .Always trying to bring him down. He had emotional rollercoasters, times of failier and dispair, and yet many of the Psalms talk of how he praised the Lord. God is right there for you, No matter what you are facing. Keep moving forward, forget the past. Satan (our enemy) loves to get us to think we are failiers and not even try to get back up.  but I challenge you to Press On  for the Lord. Forgeting those things which are behind and look to the future.  God has a plan for you and purpose. Now all you have to do is trust him and walk forward. So with that.. Be Encouraged!

an update on the seminar, thank you all for praying! there was close to 47 and 13 first timers. there was a couple of Amish attending the full week! word can spread and lives can be changed if we learn to take and apply scripture to our lives.  Be thou exalted ,Lord, in thine own strength: so will we sing and praise thy power. (Ps.21:13)