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bneis81
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Name: Brian
Country: United States
State: Florida
Metro: Lakeland
Gender: Male
Interests: Natalie (my beautiful wife), Emma (my beautiful daughter), Bible study, soccer, golf, music, basketball, guitar, action movies, theology, piano.....
Expertise: Worship leading; sniping; working with teenagers; gator wrestling; bench pressing 400 lbs., squirrel hunting........
Occupation: Other
Industry: Other
Message: message meEmail: email me
Website: visit my website
AIM:  middy381
Member Since:
4/13/2006
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| MANY OF YOU KNOW THAT I HAVE A DATE NIGHT EVERY FRIDAY WITH MY WIFE, BUT YOU PROBABLY DIDN'T KNOW THAT I HAVE ANOTHER DATE NIGHT AS WELL. EVERY TUESDAY I DATE THE OTHER BEAUTIFUL GIRL IN MY LIFE.....MY SWEET EMMA! LAST TUESDAY'S DATE WAS A LITTLE DIFFERENT THAN NORMAL. IN ADDITION TO EMMA AND I, A FEW OTHER FRIENDS OF MINE CAME ON OUR DATE. WE CHOSE TO DO SOMETHING THAT I THOUGH EMMA WOULD LOVE......WE PLAYED "TIGER WOODS 2006". BEFORE YOU THINK, "BRIAN, YOU'RE A TERRIBLE FATHER", JUST WAIT.....YOU'LL HAVE MORE OF A REASON TO SAY THAT IN A MINUTE. AS WE STARTED TO PLAY, EMMA STARTED GETTING A BIT FUSSY. I DETERMINED THAT IT WAS BECAUSE SHE WAS HUNGRY, SO I GOT HER A BOTTLE. THERE'S JUST ONE PROBLEM....IT'S REALLY HARD TO FEED A BABY AND CONQUER THE WORLD OF GOLF AT THE SAME TIME. SO I DID WHAT ANY LOVING FATHER WOULD DO: I LAID HER ON THE COUCH AND POSITIONED PILLOWS AROUND HER IN A WAY THAT WOULD KEEP THE BOTTLE AT THE ANGLE IT NEEDED TO BE FOR HER TO EAT IT WITHOUT MY ASSISTANCE. NOW YOU HAVE A REAL REASON TO THINK WHAT YOU ALREADY WERE THINKING (BUT IF IT MAKES YOU FEEL BETTER, I SHOT A GREAT ROUND). IN SPITE OF MY POOR JOB OF FATHERING (WHICH I FELT TERRIBLE ABOUT AFTERWARDS) EMMA DIDN'T HOLD MY MISTAKES AGAINST ME. SHE STILL DID SOMETHING THE NEXT DAY WHICH I'VE GROWN TO LOVE. EVERYTIME THAT SHE WAKES UP, SHE LOOKS AROUND TO FIND NATALIE AND I BEFORE DOING ANYTHING ELSE. NO MATTER WHERE SHE IS OR WHAT SHE WAS DREAMING, IT SEEMS LIKE THE THOUGHT OF "WHERE IS MOMMY AND DADDY?" COMES TO HER MIND BEFORE ALL ELSE. WHEN SHE FINDS US, SHE THEN FEELS AT EASE TO WORRY ABOUT THE BUSY SCHEDULE SHE DEALS WITH EVERYDAY. HEY, EATING AND SLEEPING REALLY IS AN ALL DAY JOB!
IT'S EASY TO WAKE UP AND START THINKING ABOUT THE MANY TASKS THAT WE NEED TO ACCOMPLISH THROUGHOUT THE DAY. MANY OF US LEAD BUSY LIVES, AND IT'S NATURAL TO LET THE BUSYNESS DOMINATE OUR THOUGHTS. I'M DEFINITELY GUILTY OF LETTING THIS HAPPEN TO ME! I WONDER HOW DIFFERENT MY DAYS WOULD LOOK THOUGH IF I WERE A PERSON THAT LONGED FOR MY HEAVENLY FATHER EVERY WAKING MOMENT. KING DAVID WAS A MAN WHOSE THOUGHTS WERE FIXED CONSISTENTLY ON GOD FOR A GOOD PART OF HIS LIFE. WE GET SOME INSIGHT FROM THE SCRIPTURES INTO HIS SPIRITUAL HABITS THAT LEAD HIM TO THIS. IN PSALM 63 HE SAYS, "O GOD, YOU ARE MY GOD; EARLY WILL I SEEK YOU". AND THIS WAS HIS MINDSET EVEN IN THE MIDST OF A DESERT AS WE SEE FROM THE CONTEXT. YOU CAN IMAGINE THE PROBLEMS HE FACED THERE THAT COULD'VE EASILY GRABBED HIS ATTENTION FROM GOD. I'VE COME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT I'M GOING TO ASK GOD DAILY TO GIVE ME THE DESIRE TO SEEK HIM FIRST AND FOREMOST EVERY SINGLE DAY THAT I LIVE. I WANT TO BE SOMEONE WHOSE EARLY DESIRE FOR GOD SETS THE THOUGHT COURSE FOR HIS ENTIRE DAY ON GOD'S GREATNESS AND GLORY. I'M ASKING GOD TO FIX M MIND ON HIM THE MOMENT I WAKE. I CHALLENGE YOU TO DO THE SAME. EVERYDAY, LOOK TO YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER BEFORE LOOKNG TO ANYTHING ELSE!
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| LAST WEEK THE FURY OF THE TERRIBLE STORM ERNESTO KNOCKED OUT OUR POWER FOR A FEW HOURS. I'VE NEVER EXPERIENCED 10 MPH WINDS LIKE THAT BEFORE. I WILL ADMIT THAT THE LACK OF POWER WAS KIND OF NICE FOR A WHILE. NATALIE, EMMA, AND I WERE SITTING THERE IN OUR HOUSE JUST TALKING BY CANDLELIGHT AND ENJOYING THE PEACE AND QUIET YOU RARELY FIND IN OUR BUSY WORLD. IT WAS PEACEFUL AND QUIET THAT IS FOR A SHORT WHILE UNTIL I HEARD A TERRIBLE SHREAK COME FROM MY WIFE. AT THAT MOMENT NATALIE JUMPED ON MY BACK, STARTED PULLING MY HAIR, AND CONTINUED TO SCREAM BLOODY MURDER IN MY EAR. SO, I QUICKLY RAN TO RETRIEVE MY BOW-STAFF FROM THE CLOSET TO DEFEND HER LIKE ANY GRAND MASTER NINJA WOULD. BUT, AS I WAS RUNNING, I FINALLY REALIZED WHAT CAUSED NATALIE'S REACTION. I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT....A DEADLY COCHROACH THE SIZE OF A VERY SMALL FINGERNAIL HAD CREPT UP BESIDE HER AND WAS ABOUT TO EAT HER ALIVE. LUCKILY SHE GOT AWAY IN TIME. IF YOU HAVEN'T REALIZED ALREADY, NATALIE HAS A SMALL FEAR OF BUGS THAT CAUSES HER TO OVER-REACT A BIT. THE STRANGE THING WAS THAT SHE EVEN ALLOWED IT TO GET THAT CLOSE TO HER. USUALLY, SHE SPOTS THESE THINGS ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE ROOM AND HAS A SLIGHTLY MORE MILD REACTION. IT THEN HIT ME......THIS ONE GOT SO CLOSE BECAUSE WE WERE IN THE DARK!
I HEARD RECENTLY ABOUT ONE OF MY OLD FRIENDS WHO HAS FALLEN AWAY FROM THE LORD. I WONDERED HOW SOMEONE WHO USED TO FOLLOW HARD AFTER GOD HAD FALLEN INTO SIN HE NEVER WOULD'VE DREAMED OF COMMITTING. MAYBE YOU KNOW SOMEONE LIKE THIS......OR, MAYBE THIS IS HAPPENING TO YOU RIGHT NOW. YOU WONDER HOW IN THE WORLD SOMEONE CAN GIVE INTO SOMETHING THAT ONCE DISGUSTED THEM. THE ANSWER IS THIS: IF YOU SURROUND YOURSELF WITH DARKNESS, SIN IS NOT AS OBVIOUS AS IT WAS WHEN YOU WERE IN THE LIGHT. THE APOSTLE JOHN CHALLENGES US TO "WALK IN THE LIGHT AS HE (GOD) IS IN THE LIGHT". WE'RE TO PURSUE TRUTH AND RIGHTEOUSNESS AND NOT LET SIN AND DARKNESS INFILTRATE OUR MINDS. WE MUST CONTINUALLY ASK GOD TO TAKE THOSE INFLUENCES AWAY FROM OUR LIVES SO THAT WE CAN SPOT SIN AND STAY FAR FROM IT. THE MORE DARKNESS WE'RE EXPOSED TO....THE MORE DESENSITIZED WE'LL BECOME TO IT. SO, CLING TO TRUTH, WALK IN THE LIGHT OF IT, AND BE VERY AFRAID OF THE DARK!
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| LAST WEEK I FOUND MYSELF IN A RATHER AWKWARD SITUATION. IT WAS FRIDAY NIGHT AND I WAS SO EXCITED TO GO OUT ON A HOT DATE WITH MY WIFE. I FINISHED PRACTICE WITH OUR JUNIOR HIGH SOCCER TEAM AND WAS IN A HURRY TO CHANGE BEFORE NATALIE ARRIVED TO PICK ME UP (IT'S OKAY FOR THE GIRL TO PICK YOU UP FOR A DATE IF YOU'RE MARRIED). SO, I RAN INTO THE FIRST BATHROOM I FOUND. ON MY WAY IN I NOTICED A GROUP OF GIRLS, STANDING OUTSIDE THE BATHROOM, GIGGLING TO THEMSELVES AND LOOKING IN MY DIRECTION. IT TOOK ALL THAT I HAD TO KEEP FROM GIVING THEM A "Z-SNAP" AND YELLING, "GET UP OUT OF MY GRILL, GIRLFRIENDS". WELL, I PUT THEM BEHIND ME AND PROCEEDED IN. AS I TURNED THE CORNER, I NOTICED A BARRAGE OF PINK IN THIS PARTICULAR RESTROOM. EVERYTHING FROM PINK BAGS, TO PINK SHOES AND SOCKS WERE THROWN ABOUT ON THE FLOOR. MY FIRST THOUGHT WAS THAT THE BOYS IN THIS SCHOOL WERE INCREDIBLE PANSIES. A HALF-SECOND LATER I REALIZED WHAT I'D DONE. YES, I'M THE LOSER WHO RAN INTO THE GIRLS BATHROOM. I RAN OUT OF THAT RESTROOM (WHICH, I'M VERY THANKFUL, WAS VACANT) ONLY TO HEAR AN UPROAR OF LAUGHTER COMING FROM A GROUP OF GIRLS THAT THOUGHT FOR A SECOND THAT I HAD A SERIOUS IDENTITY COMPLEX.
I THINK THAT MANY PEOPLE WHO CLAIM TO FOLLOW JESUS CHRIST HAVE A SPIRITUAL IDENTITY COMPLEX. THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST HAS HAD A CERTAIN STATE OF MIND ABOUT WHO THEY ARE THAT HAS LEAD MANY OF THEM TO A LIFE OF HOPELESSNESS AND DEFEAT. I'VE HEARD SO MANY BELIEVERS SHARE STORIES ABOUT SINS THEY'VE STRUGGLED WITH FOR YEARS THAT THEY'VE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO OVERCOME. IN MANY, IF NOT ALL, OF THOSE CASES YOU CAN SEE A COMMON THREAD......THEY DO NOT KNOW WHO THEY ARE IN CHRIST! I'M TIRED OF HEARING THE STATEMENT FROM MY OWN MIND AND ALSO THE LIPS OF OTHERS, "I'M JUST A WORTHLESS SINNER, SAVED BY GRACE". THE TRUTH IS THAT WE ALL WERE COMPLETELY WORTHLESS AND INCAPABLE OF DOING RIGHT AT ONE POINT IN OUR LIVES, BUT THAT IS NOT TRUE FOR THOSE WHO'VE COME INTO A RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST. NOW WE ARE "A NEW CREATION IN CHRIST" (II COR. 5:17). THANK GOD THAT WE'VE "BEEN SET FREE FROM SIN AND HAVE BECOME SLAVES TO RIGHTEOUSNESS" (ROM. 6:18). WE MUST CONTINUALLY REMEMBER THAT GOD IS NOW WORKING IN US, ENABLING US TO LIVE IN LINE WITH HIS PLAN FOR OUR LIVES. KNOWING THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO GIVE INTO TEMPTATION IS A GREAT START TO OVERCOMING IT. THE SPIRIT OF GOD IS AT WORK IN OUR LIVES, EMPOWERING US TO LIVE A LIFE THAT IS PLEASING TO HIM. THE POWER OF KNOWING WHO YOU ARE IN CHRIST WILL SET YOU FREE FROM LIVING A LIFE OF DEFEAT. SO, PUT YOUR IDENTITY COMPLEX BEHIND YOU! REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE IN CHRIST!
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| NO PAIN, NO GAIN!WELL, LAST MONDAY WAS THE FIRST DAY OF PRACTICE FOR THE INCREDULOUS LCS JUNIOR HIGH SOCCER TEAM. I HAVE THE PRIVILAGE OF BEING ONE OF THEIR COACHES THIS YEAR. BEING PART OF THE TEAM TAKES ME BACK TO MY DAYS OF PLAYING COMPETITIVE SOCCER. ONE THING THAT I LOVED ABOUT IT WAS THE PHYSICAL SHAPE I WAS IN. MY COACH WAS CRAZY ABOUT CONDITIONING. HE SEEMED TO TORTURE US IN PRACTICE, BUT WE LOVED HIM FOR IT WHEN GAME DAY ROLLED AROUND. ANYWAY, COACHING IS DEFINITELY SHOWING ME HOW I'M FAR FROM BEING IN PRIME PHYSICAL CONDITION. BECAUSE I WANT TO BE AN ENCOURAGEMENT TO THE GUYS I'M WORKING WITH, I DECIDED TO DO THE CONDITIONING WITH THEM. I STARTED OFF PRETTY STRONG BUT SOON STARTED TO FADE. AS I FADED I BEGAN THINKING OF MY WORKOUT ROUTINE FOR THE PAST FEW MONTHS. IT HAS CONSISTED OF HOLDING EMMA, SETTING UP CHAIRS, AND PLAYING GOLF FROM TIME TO TIME. AS THESE THINGS CAME TO MY MIND, I WASN'T SURPRISED THAT I WAS STRUGGLING (AND BELIEVE ME I WAS....AN OVERWEIGHT 6TH GRADER WITH AN INHALER IN ONE HAND AND A TWINKY IN THE OTHER WAS YELLING AT ME TO KEEP UP). I DEFINITELY FAILED THE PHYSICAL FITNESS TEST I GAVE MYSELF THAT DAY.
CHRISTIANS FACE TESTS EVERY SINGLE DAY. THE TRUTH IS THAT HOW WE DEAL WITH THEM REVEALS THE SPIRITUAL "SHAPE" THAT WE'RE IN. BELIEVERS WONDER SO OFTEN WHY THEY CAN'T WITHSTAND GIVING INTO TEMPTATION. ALL THE WHILE THE ANSWER TO THAT LIES IN THIS STATEMENT: WE ARE WEAK AND WE GIVE IN BECAUSE WE DON'T DAILY PREPARE FOR THE TESTS WE WILL FACE. TO SUCCEED AND PASS THE TEST IN A WAY THAT HONORS GOD WE MUST COMMIT TO HAVING A CONSISTENT "SPIRITUAL WORKOUT". LAST WEEK MANY OF THE TEENS AT HERITAGE MADE A COMMITMENT TO READ GOD'S WORD THIS YEAR. I WANT TO ENCOURAGE ALL OF YOU TO STICK TO THAT COMMITMENT. THAT IS WHAT WILL ENABLE YOU TO PASS THE TESTS THAT COME YOUR WAY. REMEMBER THAT THE SCRIPTURES ARE A LAMP TO YOUR FEET AND A LIGHT TO YOUR PATH. WHEN YOU KNOW THEM, THEY WILL EMPOWER YOU TO STAND UP UNDER THE TEMPTATIONS YOU FACE AND REMAIN ON THE PATH GOD DESIRES FOR YOUR LIFE. SO, MAKE SURE YOU MAINTAIN A STRONG WORKOUT IN GOD'S WORD THIS YEAR.....WHEN THE TESTS COME, YOU'LL BE GLAD YOU DID!
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| REACHING THE GOAL!I REMEMBER ALL OF THE EXCITEMENT, HOPE, AND EVEN FEAR THAT COMES ALONG WITH STARTING A NEW YEAR OF SCHOOL. TO ME, IT ALWAYS FELT LIKE I HAD A NEW BEGINNING OF SORTS. ACTUALLY, THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL TO ME WAS KIND OF LIKE NEW YEAR'S DAY TO MOST PEOPLE......IT WAS THEN THAT I SET MY GOALS. I GUESS IT REALLY SEEMED LIKE THE BEGINNING OF SOMETHING BIG TO ME. I REMEMBER A GOAL FOR ONE OF MY HIGH SCHOOL YEARS WAS TO GET RIPPED, TONED, AND CHISELED. I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING, "MAN, BRIAN, YOU MUST HAVE STUCK WITH THAT GOAL BECAUSE YOU LOOK STRAIGHT UP DIESEL NOW". WELL, JUST KEEP READING!
I WOKE UP ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE SCHOOL YEAR DETERMINED TO DO AT LEAST 300 PUSH UPS EVERY SINGLE DAY. THE FIRST DAY WENT REALLY WELL. OVER THE COURSE OF IT I DID 350 PUSH UPS. I WAS SO PUMPED TO FOLLOW THROUGH WITH THIS GOAL. WELL, THE SECOND DAY OF SCHOOL ROLLED AROUND AND I WOKE UP EXCITED TO GET TO MY WORKOUT. I WAS EXCITED FOR ANOTHER 2 SECONDS.......IT WAS THEN THAT I TRIED TO MOVE. YES, I THEN REALIZED THAT I OVER-DID IT A LITTLE ON THE FIRST DAY. I COULDN'T EVEN BRUSH MY TEETH THAT MORNING. NEEDLESS TO SAY, I WASN'T VERY PLEASANT TO BE AROUND THAT DAY....ESPECIALLY TO THOSE I TALKED TO IN CLOSE QUARTERS.
THE NEXT YEAR I WENT WITH A NEW, "MORE SPIRITUAL" GOAL.....TO READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR. I FOLLOWED THROUGH WITH THIS GOAL A LITTLE LONGER, BUT EVENTUALLY MY DRIVE TO ACHIEVE THIS GOAL WAS STIFLED AS WELL. YOU, LIKE ME, HAVE PROBABLY FAILED TO REACH GOALS THAT YOU'VE SET FOR YOURSELF, WHETHER SPIRITUAL OR NOT. WELL, I CAN TELL YOU WHY I HAVE FAILED IN THE PAST, AND YOU MAY SEE THAT IT'S THE CAUSE OF YOUR PROBLEMS IN ATTAINING GOALS AS WELL.
WHENEVER I FAIL IT'S BECAUSE I RELY ON MY OWN STRENGTH TO ACCOMPLISH WHATEVER IT IS I'M TRYING TO DO. THAT SEEMS PRETTY "ELEMENTARY", BUT IT'S AS SIMPLE AS THAT. CHRISTIANS THINK THAT IF THEY HAVE A "SPIRITUAL" GOAL THAT GOD MUST BE INVOLVED IN IT. THE TRUTH IS THAT HE OFTEN ISN'T INVOLVED. EVEN OUR GOALS SET SUPPOSEDLY FOR CHRIST'S HONOR ALL OF A SUDDEN BECOME ABOUT OUR ABILITY TO ATTAIN THEM. WE SO OFTEN LEAVE GOD'S POWER OUT OF THE EQUATION. BECAUSE I'VE FOLLOWED THIS PATTERN SO MUCH IN MY LIFE, GOD HAS BROUGHT ME TO THE POINT THAT I KNOW I CANNOT REACH ANYTHING FOR HIS GLORY WITHOUT HIS STRENGTH WORKING IN MY LIFE. I AM TOO WEAK TO DO IT ON MY OWN. PRAISE GOD THOUGH THAT "WHEN I AM WEAK, THEN I AM STRONG". BECAUSE GOD HAS ENLIGHTENED ME TO MY INABILITY TO HONOR HIM IN MY OWN STRENGTH, HE HAS SHOWN ME THE WAY TO ACCOMPLISH GREAT THINGS FOR HIM BY LEANING ON HIS POWER.
SO, AS THE NEW SCHOOL YEAR BEGINS, DON'T GO OUT TRYING TO DO GREAT THINGS FOR GOD AND THEN FORGET ABOUT HIM IN THE PROCESS. ACKNOWLEDGE THAT IT'S ONLY THROUGH HIS POWER WORKING IN YOU THAT YOU CAN ACHIEVE ANYTHING WORTH ACHIEVING!
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