Seeker of Light

I Guess I'm a Geek

2024-08-08T10:14:00.025-05:00

Last night as I was finishing up my shift at work, a young man, who is a Senior in High School, told me he is learning Python programming language. He ask if I knew what that was. So, I guess I'm a Geek because I do know what that is. His question spurred a conversation about my experience with computers and programming. A subject I am well versed in and love to discuss.

I asked him if he knew binary, asci, or DOS. He did know what binary was but didn't know what DOS was. So we talked about DOS for a while. DOS is an acronym for Disk Operating System and both IBM and Microsoft branded it in the early years.

One of the interesting memories I have is programming fonts in the early eighties. It was needed for publishing early childhood teaching courses at a Christian school I was working at. I was the tech guy doing layouts for pages that were reproduced on a printing press.

The ball and stick font hadn't been available in typewriters or on the computer. Actually, I had never seen a computer before that and when the director gave me one to use I proceeded to take it apart to see what was in it.

This raised her eybrows a bit, to say the least. I remember her saying something like, "Do you know how much that computer costs?" I said, "I can put it back together." She said, "You better. and it better work!" So I did and it did work. If you can call a flashing little green neon dash on the screen working.

The directors son and I created the font for our use and installed it into Word Perfect. It was a laborious process of plotting pixels and manually drafting letters and then

That was the beginning of my computer career. Some 50 years later I have a vast amount of experience under my belt.

I remember buying a luggable Compaq computer with a 6 inch green screen, two 5 1/4 inch floppy drives and a keyboard that became my workstation for several years. I learned how to program DOS batch files and write in Basic so I could teach my son different subjects. I also programmed music lessons with words, music and a bouncing ball for him to sing along to.

So I looked up some information about operating systems and programming for those curious about the origin of such tech things. Here is what I found.

The origins of computer operating systems (OS) can be traced back to the early days of computing in the 1950s and 1960s. Here’s a brief overview:

1. Batch Processing Systems (1950s)IBM 701 and 704:

Early computers like these did not have an OS. Programs were loaded one at a time, executed, and then the results were printed. The operator would then load the next program.

General Motors and IBM (1956):

The first "true" operating system was GM-NAA I/O, created by General Motors for their IBM 704. It was a simple batch processing system, automating the sequence of jobs (loading programs, executing them, and unloading results).

2. Early Time-Sharing Systems (1960s) Compatible Time-Sharing System (CTSS) - 1961:

Developed at MIT, CTSS allowed multiple users to interact with the computer simultaneously through terminals.

MULTICS (1965):

Also developed at MIT in collaboration with Bell Labs and General Electric, MULTICS was a more sophisticated time-sharing system and is considered the precursor to Unix.

3. Unix (1969)Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie at Bell Labs:

Unix was developed as a simpler alternative to MULTICS. It introduced many concepts still in use today, like hierarchical file systems and simple, modular utilities that can be combined in scripts.Unix later inspired a wide range of derivatives, including Linux and BSD, which are the foundation for many modern OSs.

4. Mainframe and Minicomputer Operating Systems (1960s-1970s)IBM OS/360 (1964):

One of the first operating systems to manage hardware resources effectively, supporting a variety of programs and tasks simultaneously.

Digital Equipment Corporation's VMS (1977):

Designed for their VAX minicomputers, VMS was influential in business and technical computing.

5. Personal Computer Operating Systems (1970s-1980s)CP/M (1974):

Created by Gary Kildall, CP/M was a popular OS for early personal computers.

MS-DOS (1981): [This is where I fist started programming.]

Microsoft developed MS-DOS, which became the foundation for early IBM PCs. It was later replaced by Windows, which started as a graphical interface for MS-DOS.

6. Modern Operating SystemsWindows (1985): [Built on top of MSW-DOS]

Microsoft introduced Windows as a graphical operating environment, which eventually evolved into a full-fledged operating system with Windows NT and beyond.

Mac OS (1984):

Apple's Macintosh introduced a user-friendly graphical interface. Mac OS eventually evolved into macOS, based on Unix-like systems from the NeXTSTEP OS.

Linux (1991): [This worked good for servers I had at the Tech Center]

Created by Linus Torvalds, Linux is a Unix-like OS that is free and open-source. It has become widely used in servers, embedded systems, and as a basis for Android.The development of operating systems is a reflection of the evolving needs and capabilities of computing technology, from batch processing and time-sharing to multi-user, graphical interfaces and beyond.

Programming languages have evolved significantly since their inception, with the earliest forms dating back to the mid-20th century. Here’s an overview of their development and usage:

1. Early Mechanical Languages (19th Century)Ada Lovelace (1842-1843): [Way before my time!]

Often considered the first computer programmer, Ada Lovelace wrote an algorithm for Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine, though it was never built. This algorithm is considered an early example of a programming language, albeit for a hypothetical machine.

2. Assembly Language (1940s)ENIAC and Early Computers (1940s): [Still before my time.]

The first computers like the ENIAC were programmed using machine code, which is the most basic level of programming directly in binary. Assembly language was introduced as a human-readable representation of machine code, using mnemonic codes and labels instead of binary.Usage: Assembly languages were used to write programs that controlled hardware directly, offering more readability and manageability than pure machine code.

3. High-Level Languages (1950s)FORTRAN (1957): [Started when I was born]

Developed by IBM, FORTRAN (FORmula TRANslation) was the first high-level programming language, designed for scientific and engineering calculations. It allowed programmers to write code using mathematical formulas instead of needing to manage hardware details.

COBOL (1959): Created for business data processing, COBOL (COmmon Business-Oriented Language) was designed to be readable and understandable by people without a deep technical background.

LISP (1958): Developed by John McCarthy, LISP (LISt Processing) was one of the first languages used for artificial intelligence research and introduced many concepts still in use today, such as recursion and symbolic expression processing.Usage: High-level languages abstracted away the complexity of hardware, allowing programs to be written more easily and ported between different machines.

4. Structured Programming and Language Expansion (1960s-1970s)ALGOL (1960):

ALGOL (ALGOrithmic Language) introduced structured programming concepts like block structure, which influenced many later languages.BASIC (1964): [I used to program on a Tandy PC with Basic.] Designed to be easy for beginners, BASIC (Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) became popular in schools and with hobbyists.

C (1972): Developed by Dennis Ritchie at Bell Labs, C provided low-level access to memory but with the flexibility of a high-level language. It became widely used for system programming, including the development of Unix.

Usage: These languages emphasized structured programming techniques, improving code readability, maintainability, and reusability.

5. Object-Oriented Programming (1980s)Smalltalk (1972-1980):

Smalltalk introduced the concept of object-oriented programming (OOP), where data and the methods that operate on that data are bundled together into objects.

C++ (1985): Bjarne Stroustrup developed C++ by adding object-oriented features to C. It became widely used for large-scale software development.

Usage: Object-oriented languages made it easier to model complex systems and reuse code, becoming dominant in software engineering.

6. Scripting and Internet Languages (1990s)Python (1991): [They are still teaching and using this in school.]

Created by Guido van Rossum, Python emphasized readability and simplicity, becoming popular for a wide range of applications, including web development and data science.

Java (1995): Developed by Sun Microsystems, Java was designed to be platform-independent, running on any device with a Java Virtual Machine (JVM). It became a standard for enterprise applications and Android development.

JavaScript (1995): JavaScript was created by Netscape for adding interactivity to web pages and has since become a crucial part of web development.

Usage: These languages were designed for rapid development, ease of use, and cross-platform compatibility, which were essential as the internet and web applications grew in importance.

7. Modern Programming Languages (2000s-Present)

C# (2000):

Developed by Microsoft, C# is used primarily for Windows applications and has similarities to Java.

Swift (2014):

Created by Apple, Swift is used for developing iOS and macOS applications, emphasizing safety and performance.

Rust (2010):

Developed by Mozilla, Rust focuses on memory safety and concurrency without sacrificing performance, becoming popular for system programming.

Usage: Modern languages focus on safety, concurrency, and developer productivity, addressing the challenges of modern software development.SummaryProgramming languages have evolved from low-level machine and assembly code to high-level languages that abstract away hardware details, enabling more complex and powerful software development. Each generation of languages introduced new concepts and abstractions that made programming more accessible and productive, reflecting the changing needs of computing over time.

I hope this helps some of you who have actually read and enjoyed this historical review up to this point. If so, please comment and follow me for future geeky stuff.

May God bless you this day as you seek him in all you do.

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Our Recent Turn in Life

2024-08-06T09:50:00.001-05:00

These past few months have been rather interesting while I have been on leave from work. It's been a definite turn in direction for our life. God is good and He has protected us and brought us through a new year of events.

My wife has several medical issues that have been dealt with and caused her to go on disability. She has not been able to return to work since before the first of this year. Between diabetic wounds and a diagnosis of cancer in her leg we have spent many hours in surgery, recovery, wound care, home care and Doctor visits. We are still doing recovery and wound care but, we are making progress.

There is a treatment for wound care called hyperbaric oxygen treatment which is a process of sitting in a hyperbaric chamber—an enclosed space filled with high-pressure oxygen— and breathing. This allows your lungs to take in more oxygen, thereby increasing circulating oxygen in your bloodstream. This was prescribed for her as a treatment for her wounds.

We drive 37 miles to the hospital wound center each morning so my wife can receive this treatment. The treatment takes about 2 hours with 1/2 hour on each end for prepping and dressing. Everything about the chamber is pretty high-tech and includes the option of video or audio for my wife to watch or listen to. Some days she catches up on sleep. This treatment will last till September 18th. It reminds me of a diving decompression chamber since it is pressurized and must be regulated going in and coming out.

None-the-less, we get up at 5:30am and return home about noontime. Once we are home we start an infusion treatment of antibiotics to address a staph infection in her toe. We did this once before for 6 weeks but staph is hard to deal with and we have had to repeat the process for 8 weeks this time. It requires a PICC line being installed in the arm and the introduction of fluids for clearing the lines and the application of the antibiotic fluid. This takes about an hour every day.

Included in our daily regimen is the changing of bandages on my wife's leg and feet. She had two surgeries for a mass that formed in her leg last year and then was diagnosed as cancerous. Her second surgery was on June 10th at Baptist Hospital in Memphis. This was performed by a sarcoma cancer surgeon. He is a specialist since this type of cancer is tricky to remove. He was able to remove all of the mass but of course this left a pretty hefty incision which he nicely stitched up. We are still seeing quite a bit of weeping from the incision as it slowly heals. We change the dressing every day.

The week of July 15th we had a scare as the surgery incision became infected with cellulitis and we ended up in emergency at Magnolia Hospital Monday morning. This progressed into a hospital stay the rest of the week. Cellulitis is a common, potentially serious bacterial skin infection. The infection happens when a break in the skin allows bacteria to enter. We were able to get this under control with more medication and then Friday she was released to go home.

My wives feet represent a different challenge since she has to walk on them to function each day. It's somewhat better now as it has been in the past. Prior to our meeting she went through a trying time of life with an appendectomy's which led to a staph infection and the amputation of her right little toe area. This required her to recuperate and sent her into a series of wound treatment years for ulcers that formed in both of her feet.

She has suffered the need for orthopedic shoes, inserts, a medical boot, offset "duck shoes" (that requires a walker for balance), required wound care visits and daily bandaging of her feet, all while trying to earn a living by standing and walking in a retail sales environment. Until the beginning of this year when she had to take medical leave and disability from her job. It's been a painful and trying few years.

So, now I have to say that in and through all of this process my wife has an awesome testimony of faith and perseverance in trusting the Lord for healing and comfort. She publicly prays with other patients when ever we are attending appointments. Her friendships with so many past customers leads to meetings and more prayer and testimony as we travel to appointments, in the hospital and in the parking lots of grocery stores. God has used every one of her ailments to bring honor and blessing to so many people, known and unknown, and given so many others the blessings of praying with and for her. I'm not trying to put her on a pedestal because we know and confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is the provider and spiritual supply of her very life.

Our exact future is not known but we do know that through it all we are blessed with the life of our Lord and Savior. God is good all the time. We love our life in Him and know He is eternally with us through it all.

Resurfacing the Highway of my Life

2024-07-13T17:15:00.001-05:00

I have not posted anything here the past 4 years. Why? Well, I have experienced several major events that consumed my attention and I decided to wait to post about them. Some of those events were: Curtis Sargent training for discipleship, Covid-19 lockdown and my Covid infection, Rotor cuff surgery, Eli's Wedding, 26th Anniversary trip to Jamaica where my wife left our marriage, Heart surgery three weeks later, then Cardio Rehab and then Zach's Wedding, four months of Men's group therapy for abandoned husbands, Started a new job at Domino's, Joined the gym for Physical cardio and weight training, signed divorce papers, started working on remodeling some homes in the village, took a trip to SD for my mom's birthday in January and afterwards met my future wife (Lynn) on a dating site, medical tests for health checks, continued to get to know Lynn and got married again in November, then moved into a new home with Lynn, spent the last year sorting and building a new home space, visited and found new church home and became the caregiver of my wife for cancer treatment and staph infection complications.

So, there have been many events to consider and there have been so many emotional and physical changed in my life that I felt it was time to return to this blog and record some of the most important feelings and thoughts. But first, I need to share my thought about the highway.

Recently the state has been resurfacing Highway 64 from Selmer to Rose Creek Road. While I drive this route at least 5 times a week I began to see how this process is a lot like my life. I felt it was prudent to take in these observations and write about my thoughts and reflect on the analogies of this well driven road's changes as they compare to my life.

In retrospect of the past 3 years and all that has gone on I feel this is a great comparison of my life to the road construction. Probably because a lot of my time has been spent in remodeling and reconstruction of carpentry projects as well as the reconstruction of my life through loss of my family, divorce, and remarriage.

The beginning of the road reconstruction on Highway 64 meant the old surface had to be removed which caused a lot of traffic problems and it was very ugly. It was hard to understand what they were doing.

It feels like that was my life from 2019 till 2022. So many things happened that felt like a stipping away of my life to the bare surface of mere existence. Nothing in my life felt familiar. It was a wiping away of what I knew and was and had been comfortable with. A family and wife was stripped away from me. There was nothing left that was as it was before. All I knew and desired before was a family life with my wife and children. For things to remain the same. Yes, there were some pothole, so to speak, but I felt we were able to fill in those holes and smooth over the rough patches as long as we were willing to work together.

Unfortunately, that was not the case. Road construction has to have a plan that everyone adheres to in an organized fashion. First things first, and so on. That order has to come from the engineer who is designing the project. I believe that engineer is comparatively God in our lives. But then the road workers have to hear, see and follow the plan of the engineer.

In very short order of time I was alone. So then there was one. Me and my God to be prepared for what there was to come. I didn't know what to do or think. It was a stripping away of everything I knew and felt. A nothingness of emptiness and hopelessness.

That's what the road construction crew did to the highway. They removed the road as I knew it. All the bumps, potholes, smooth areas and familiar areas of the road were removed and hauled away. There was nothing left but a scathed road surface that was abrasive and barren of real road surface.

My life was empty of everything and brought to the bare surface of nothingness. There was a time of navigating a rough road, the pain of heartache, both physically, emotionally, spiritually and intellectually. I wasn't sure of what that road of life was going to look like in the end but I just knew God had engineered a new life, although different from the past and I could trust He was able to make it good. He knew exactly what had to happen to effect the change that was going to happen and how to make the very best for living.

The first stage of the road reconstruction, after demolition, was a primer coat and it was rough and had lots of sharp edges on it. Lots of traffic had to navigate around warning cones. Excess tar was on the road that was picked up by my tires and deposited along the sides and underbelly of my vehicle. People's driving in front of me was hazardous as they slowed down to almost a stop in a crawl. Everyone was on the lookout for bumps Sharp edges. It looked ugly it was hard to understand what was going on when there was a pause in the reconditioning of the road because it looked like they just stopped and didn't finish the work that they were supposed to be doing. There was a new primer surface on the roadway, but the shoulders were still untouched and the stripes looked like someone just used a spray can of white paint to show somewhat of a division between the lanes. Nothing was finished or how the engineer's product should look like a normal divided highway.

This was so much what life felt like for me during the time of separation and divorce. So many questions about what was going on and no clear answers about the reasons for WHAT was going on. No communication or explanations. Just a removal of all that was before on the road to life as I knew it. Two sons were now married and another left to live with his mother. Minimal communication and no hope of reconciliation. Lots of warning signs that indicated a rough road with detours and traffic delays.

The second phase began with the placement of a much thicker smoother surface being put down on the inside lane. It appeared as the finished product. It was much smoother with all the stripes and lines in the right places. Unlike the first where it looked like a drunken sailor had tried to paint lines on the road. There was now some semblance of reordering this highway. There was a hope for a new finished roadway that would carry traffic along it's path in a normal and comfortable fashion.

This was a reminder of how God brought me to the hope of a new life together with my new found friend and future wife. Hope was growing in that God's plan was not just a patch or stitching of a surgical incision down the front of my chest. It was a process of healing and a renewing of my mind and soul. There was someone out there that loved God and had a life given to her who was woven into the fabric of His master plan.

So was it with the next stage of reconstructing my life. God really had engineered not only my life but was demonstrating the re-engineering of another persons life. There was a recognition of the Life of Christ inside of her and a knowing that God had rescued her from the destruction she had survived. Her life had been under construction as well. Her road had been stripped down to the rough surface as well.

As time goes on, the road will be completed and restored to the new smooth surface it was intended to be. The stripping will be reapplied and clearly define the lanes on the road. The interchanges and the shoulders will be completed and traffic will be able to sail down the road without detours or obstructions. The road crews will be gone and the process of construction will not be remembered. It will be lifef as normal again.

So many things about this construction project parallels my life. It's hard to see what God's doing sometimes but I know and we trust that God knows what he's doing. We just have to be patient. We have to drive that route in the condition of this everyday and know that it won't be like that forever.

As my newly surfaced life becomes the norm again, I am thankful and rejoicing in the work of the Lord. He has joined me to another life like mine which will continue to grow in the joy of the life we have been given. With each other and for each other. Both of us seeking the will of God every day. God is so good to us. We are blessed with the love of God smoothing our way over the old rough road of the past. All obstacles removed and opportunities renewed to serve Him in new ways.

The road construction is finished now and we have a new, smooth road that feels comfortable and enjoyable to drive. I can set the cruise control and sail on down this new road now. Alot like God is providing for me now as time has brought about a much more normal life in that the old has become new. Sure there are circumstances that pop up and situations that have to be delt with but you know what? God has everything under His control and I don't have to be stressed or worry about how things are going to work out.

I am planning on blogging more about some of the things God has brought me through on this blog site but I will also be writing about some of my pizza adventures from work. You can see that blog here.

Wishing you all the best in your journey with Jesus as your pilot and the Holy Spirit as your navigator. May God bestow many blessing upon you and yours for your travels in life.

Are You Exposed by the Light?

2019-10-02T08:00:00.002-05:00

I was reading a devotional this morning and these verses came up. It speaks about improper thoughts and deeds.

I know I can be pretty intense sometimes, when advising my children and others around me. My words can be piercing and rough. I don't mean to be harmful, but when I read verses like these, there is a "fear of God" that is stirred up in my soul.

Ephesians 5:1-13 New International Version (NIV)

1 Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. 3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. 4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.

5 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.[a]

6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. 7 Therefore do not be partners with them.

8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord. 11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.

12 It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13 But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light.

These verses are intense. Note the highlighted words.

"there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality or of any kind of impurity, or of greed"

"Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place"

"No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God."

I think about all that goes on in this world and it seems hopeless to avoid the temptations and influences of the world around us. If you watch any television broadcasted information you are assaulted with all of these yellow highlighted things above.

So, do I stop watching television? Do I stop going to the movies? That might be necessary, if it is causing you to sin. We might want to ask ourselves, "Does this please the Lord?" If not, we should head what the apostle Paul is warning us about. "7 Therefore do not be partners with them."

Does my mouth, the words that come out of it, honor and demonstrate the life of God that lives in me? If not, I may need to look more closely at my thoughts and behavior. They need to be exposed to the light of God so I can see clearly what pleases Him.

Friends, I am no different than you in letting my guard down and calling it relaxing. I can go there as quickly as any other person can. But what am I going to do about that? Am I going to continue to offend the Lord of my life and keep doing what displeases Him?

I need daily reminders of what God is asking me to do, how to live a pleasing and righteous life. I need the grace God has for me every day so that I can walk and function in His Spirit. I need the illumination of His written word to judge my thoughts and deeds. I need the kind and exhorting words of my friends and family to help me see what is true and honoring.

What about you? What are you going to do with this post? Will it affect you to look closer at what God expects and change you behavior? If so, my prayers are for you to be filled with the Spirit of the living God and strengthened in your inner man.

If you are not influenced by my words or the words of Paul, then you may want to read this post again. Open up Ephesians 5 and read it again, pray God will enlighten your mind and the eyes of your understanding.

May you be blessed and moved to actions that change your thoughts and deeds, to honor our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Doug

Things I Learned from Curtis Sergeant

2019-08-07T15:06:00.000-05:00

MetaCamp May 20 - 24, 2019

Tara and I attended a Disciple Making Camp called MetaCamp this past May with our good friends Paul and Lorie. The instructor was Curtis Sergeant.

Now you may or may not have heard about Curtis and the MetaCamp experience from someone else or on the Internet. You certainly haven't heard about it from me ... yet. If you keep reading you will. If you aren't interested in enriching your Christian life and gaining the insights to some awesome gifts (tools) then click here.

If you are interested but don't want to read through my blog post you can just go to Curtis's website and explore for yourself. Or if you have gone through a MetaCamp course, please leave us a comment about your experience. We would love to read about your experience.

Tara and I are a part of another awesome group of believers called Rose Creek Village. It is a community of people who love God and want to dwell close to on another. We live and work together daily with like minded individuals called disciples. (people who want to practice obeying God and serving others throughout their life) We have chosen to live this life because we want to grow and learn all we can from God and His people. Disciples are people who are sold out to King Jesus and Kingdom Life.

So when the opportunity to learn more about being a disciple came up, we said, "YES, we want to go." We were off to Alabama for a week of immersion in the Word and finding ways to richly develop our longing for obeying God. Little did we know what we were in for!

MetaCamp was a dream come true. We were somewhat overwhelmed with the vast vision of so many people going all over the world to serve in God's mission field. So many more we don't know of but continue to meet every day through the providence of God in our lives. We were also overwhelmed with how little we really know about all God has for us in this life we live.

You would think that by now, after knowing God for almost 40 years, I would not find too much that I am unaware of. Not the case. Who is like our God?! How small am I?! How little do I know?!

Curtis opened the door to a life of extreme (Immediate, Radical, Costly) obedience and a deeper relationship with our King and Master, Jesus. There is so much more that I need to consider for living this life in Christ. There is even more I have yet to understand.

I would encourage you to consider spending a week at MetaCamp. If you think you can do that, check out the 3/3 Manual to see what is covered in the training. If that is too much to think about right now, you could check out the online course called ZUME that he offers to people interested in learning how to be a disciple worth replicating.

Either way, it is worth investing your time to see what God has for you with what Curtis has to offer. I believe you will not be disappointed. Discover a new vision and a refreshing new way to be what God has designed you to be.

Please feel free to share this post, ask questions or leave a comment about your thoughts on discipleship. Thanks for reading all this way. Click on the links above for more information.

Baptism and New Beginnings

2018-07-04T10:59:00.000-05:00

Revelation 21:1-5

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said,

“I am making everything new!”

Recently, I rededicated my life to Christ and the Church here in Rose Creek. I desired to have a new beginning. I wanted to be fully functioning in the church. I wanted to be completely surrendered to Jesus in all of what he expects of me as His Disciple and a part of His Body. I didn’t want to be drifting in a sea of unreality or laying on the shore like a beached whale, gasping for air and life. I felt my life needed a new start, I needed to draw a line in the sand and go forward.

So, I was baptised into Christ and the Church.

My earnest desire is to be fully immersed in this Body, the Church, and all God has for me here. I need a new vision to see and follow inside the church here. I believe that starts with an act of submission, namely baptism, and the laying down of everything that needs to die. I need a cleansing of my mind, will and emotions. I want to look at everything in my life that doesn’t line up with the will of God and be rid of it. I need that cleansing and renewal of the Holy Spirit to enable me to walk in righteousness towards God and His Church.

And the Church received me, prayed for a fresh renewal of the Holy Spirit to fill me and empower me to walk uprightly in the Lord.

In and through all of this, I need to walk in wisdom and truth every day. I want to possess and utilized a clean mind and a sound heart. I need to, and I desire to lead my family into all the righteousness of Christ, into following Him and obeying his commands. I need and want to be the example for them to pursue God's will without any selfish and personal gain, reputation or interests. I need and want to be the father all my children need, so they can to learn how to worship and obey our Heavenly Father.

I need to be the best husband to my wife that God desires me to be, leading and guiding her with wisdom and gentleness, considering her needs and providing a safe place for her. I want to love her as Christ loves His Bride.

I want my life to be used of God and sanctified in the doing of his will every day. I want a consistent mindset and spiritual outlook on every aspect of service to others in the church. I need my desire renewed to care for all who God puts before me, especially those of the household God.

I need to be led by the Holy Spirit in all matters of this life and not to grieve Him with my actions or thoughts. I need to be completely filled up and accepted into the Church by the outpouring of the Spirit, enabled to see, hear and act in accordance with His will. I need to be set free because where the Spirit of the Lord is there is Liberty.

I want to be of one heart, one mind, intent on that one purpose of following Christ with all of those who desire to believe in and walk in the Life of Christ.

As always, there are others who may feel like they need a new start. Even if you have been a Christian for a long time, there is an opportunity to begin again and re-dedicate your life to our King and Lord Jesus Christ. There is no shame in doing that. Your life may be like mine was. You may be feeling the weight of the past, of things gone wrong or things left undone. You may have fallen into sin somewhere in your walk and fallen into the ditch of despair. There is hope and salvation available for you. You have a choice you can make. You can do something different.

Don't know what or how to change things? That's ok. There is one thing you must do immediately before you do anything else. STOP! Stop doing what you are doing. Repent. Confess to the Lord what you have been doing, or not doing, and ask Him to change you. Cry out for His rescue and salvation. Weep, wail, holler out for Him to cleanse you and make you new. Seek Him with all your heart, mind and strength. Don't let go of that desire to be changed and cleansed from all you have done against Him. I spent a long time meditating on the cry that David made to God for his sin. This is one passage that is dear to me in many ways. One of my favorite musical artist (Keith Green) put this to song years ago. It always brings me to tears when I hear it.

Psalms 51
Have mercy upon me, O God,
According to Your lovingkindness;
According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,
Blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
And cleanse me from my sin.

For I acknowledge my transgressions,
And my sin is always before me.
Against You, You only, have I sinned,
And done this evil in Your sight—
That You may be found just when You speak,
And blameless when You judge.

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
And in sin my mother conceived me.
Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts,
And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Make me hear joy and gladness,
That the bones You have broken may rejoice.
Hide Your face from my sins,
And blot out all my iniquities.

Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from Your presence,
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
And uphold me by Your generous Spirit....

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,
A broken and a contrite heart—
These, O God, You will not despise.

I believe God has spoken to me through the heart of David. His repentant heart and humility is where I began to plead for God to see me and make me new again. I need to know the joy of His salvation and clearly see Him walking before me, every day, so that I can follow Him as His disciple.

“I am making everything new!”

There is a new beginning for everyone who believes in the name and power of Jesus Christ. His mercy is plenteous and His grace is abounding. He will always fulfil His promises to those who honestly come to Him in all humility and sincerity for salvation and life everlasting. He has a new beginning for you, too.

Here is another song by Israel Houghton about Moving Forward in Christ as He makes all things new. Just click here to hear his song.

I Need a Factory Reset

2018-05-23T16:29:00.000-05:00

In the computer industry there is a process known as a Factory Reset to wipe clean the hard drive and install over with a fresh and clean set of operating software. This process allows you to be rid of anything that has developed in your file systems which can cause your computer to act erratically. It solves all the problems of missing, broken and mis-configured software elements. Once this reset is completed your computer is restored to the originally created environment it came with from the manufacturer.

However, there is a catch to all this Factory Reset process. You have to be willing to sacrifice all the information you may have created or installed after receiving your originally configured device. Cell Phones and other devices have this same capability. Unless you back up your personal information before doing this you will have to "start over" with your device. 

The saving grace of this is that you have a fresh, clean, and like new computer again. Everything runs and operates like it was intended to when you first got your device.

Now, think about this process in terms of your spiritual relationship with God. There is a process of Factory Reset that can be done in the spiritual realm. Jesus called it "being Born Again". John records an account of Nicodemus coming to Jesus and finding out there was a way to start over. He is a bit confused at first because he cannot understand how this actually happens. (They didn't have the computer technology we have today.) So, after a few exchanges of thoughts Jesus tells him that he must be born again in order to see the Kingdom of God. He wanted to be saved and see the Kingdom of God.

This encounter with Jesus shakes Nicodemus to the core because he comes to realize that everything in his past and present must be forsaken. He must repent of it all and start over with a new set of eyes, ears and heart. Everything will be wiped clean and he will be starting over fresh. He will be programmed to operate as a disciple of Jesus Christ and receive power from the Holy Spirit to enable him to follow the instructions of Jesus. 

On top of all that, he doesn't yet know, but will discover he needs to be baptized and enter into a whole new relationship with the Church that will be born out of Christ. He will have a completely new life inside of Jesus and the Church.

This analogy came to me as I am contemplating a reset in my own life. My life has become clogged with things that were not designed for it to operated correctly. Don't take this the wrong way. I am not a heathen or unbeliever but I can sure act that way and have to the point of needing a reset in my own life. I need that fresh and clean process of starting over with Jesus. I need that touch from Him and the Holy Spirit in order to be cleansed new again.

Over 30 years of learning and experiencing the Christian life as a person who does believe in God and His Son Jesus Christ, acknowledging Him as Lord and Saviour, going to church, living in a Christian community, sitting under the teaching of several men, years of Bible reading and studies, and most of all, trying to figure it out but forgetting that it is not what I really need. Why? Because most all of it has been done by myself, in my own strength and understanding. 

There is a clarification that needs to happen here. I need salvation from myself and my ways. I want to repent from my ways, thoughts, and desires and give all of that up for disposal in the reset process. I need my operating system wiped clean and start over again. If not, I am heading for a hard drive crash. There are already indications that this device has suffered damage. It has been hacked and taken hostage by malware and viruses. There is no longer any anti-virus corrections that can be applied to fix this. I need a factory reset.

I know this is kind of a cute and light feeling blog post but I am really serious about needing this touch from God. I don't want to be this way anymore. I am done with where I am. I'm not where I need to be and I know what it is going to take to be right. There is a lot of hard work involved with this process and I don't know everything that is gong to need to happen, but what else do I have to look forward to if I don't?

As I am going through this process myself, I can't help think there are others that are in the same condition. I would ask you to consider where you are at in your walk with God. Are you really obeying Christs commands and living your life as a disciple of Christ? Are you in honesty and sincerity living the life that honors God and demonstrates the love of Jesus? Are you pretending you are letting God control your life while all the time actually being the one in the drivers seat?  Are your thoughts and ways His thoughts and ways? Are you one with Him and the church?

If you are thinking you are or wondering if you are I would ask that you pray and ask God to reveal who you really are and what you are really doing. You may find out you are not as holy and righteous as you think you are. You, too, may need a Factory Reset.

Merry Christmas means Life Everlasting

2017-12-17T12:26:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas

“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder, and His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace… and we shall call His name Immanuel” (God with us) Isaiah 9:6, 7:14

During this Christmas season, we remember all the blessings God has given us throughout the year and look forward to the turn of the New Year with renewed hope of receiving the continual grace He pours out on us. “Christ in us” is our hope of glory. A glory that can only be realized in the faith and the service of our King Jesus. We worship and thank Him for the everlasting life He gives us.

This year was certainly a walk of faith, not blindly but in the reality that life happens all around us every day. Some of those circumstances were hard to bear, some were delightful and full of joy, others were the day to day movement of our lives in and around friends we are close to, those we work with and those we met for the very first time. Through all those days, God was with us. He comforted us through sorrow. He filled us with joy of new life. He celebrated with us the joining of lives together. He was with us in our travels, in our moments of silence and as we met together to express our faith through worship and prayer.

Many times, we were not even conscious of God being with us and working His Life in us. None-the-less, He is faithful and sustains us every day. He fulfills His promise to us made centuries ago through the prophets and writers of the Bible. Today, we have Jesus, the living Word, proving to us His Life is real, through the power of His Holy Spirit. As we breathe, He provides life worth living. He guides us into truth and love for one another. He establishes His Kingdom in us by revealing Himself through spiritual eyes as we turn to Him and bow our knee to His throne.

Join us this season in worship and praise of the only King worthy of laying down our lives for, King Jesus Christ our Lord. May your Christmas time be filled with joy and laughter in celebration of the His birth. May you be filled with the love and hope of His everlasting life because He has promised, “I am with you always, to the very end of the age”. Matthew 28:20

Our love to you, from Doug, Tara, Zach, Eli and Andrew.

Wake up Sleeper

2017-07-09T11:57:00.000-05:00

Does it seem to you that the end of all we think matters in our life is upon us? I feel it closing in on us and it seems that the whole of humanity is asleep. Am I asleep as well? Am I dreaming that everything is OK and life is just a bowl of cherries? As I eat my cherries am I even looking to see if the cherries I am eating are ripe, sweet, sour or rotten?

And what about the church as a whole? Are we all doing the same thing? Are we in reality of what we are doing and saying? Has the influence of the world and it's deceptive ways crept in to pollute our lives? Are we so caught up in the pleasures of this life that we are blind to what is going on around us?

Jesus warned his disciples to be aware and know how to deal with such a matter. It must have been an issue then as it is today. People really haven't changed in their passions and desires. The things they are most passionate about are those that bring them pleasure and delight. So we find we are not any different in nature, just in the elements we are involved in.

Jesus tells his disciple in Matt 13:25-30, “He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but WHILE HIS MEN WERE SLEEPING, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.” Leonard Ravenhill has a good YouTube presentation about this.

The Apostle Paul gives us the remedy to that life of unawareness and sleep induced unreality in his letter to the Ephesians. They must have had the same difficulties in walking out the Christian life as we do today.

He says: "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.

Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret.But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,

"Wake Up Sleeper and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ."

When I lived in Dallas there was a radio personality that would come on the air and abrasively begins with a bugle call of "Assembly", and the words, "Ya' know what makes me sick?". Then he would begin a couple minute rant about some subject that he believed was "un-American" and crime worthy. After ranting and raving he would end his spiel with the music of "The Washington Post" march playing in the background while he shouted, "WAKE UP AMERICA!".

I remember this because it always reminded me of verse in Ephesians, "Wake up Sleeper". I don't condone Earl Pitts's views or recommend following his show but it is representative of the "WAKE UP" call we all need to hear. We don't like hearing our alarm clock go off every morning telling up to wake up and get out of bed but we do get up, go to work or do whatever it is that we need to do. So why is it so difficult for us to recognize the warnings we see in the Bible? or the words of a prophet? or the exhortations of a brother or sister?

There is a definite time when we do wake up and honestly have to look at what is going on around us. Maybe it's an every day occurrence (it should be) or maybe we have spiritually declined into a slump that just needs a big jolt of energy to bring us into reality. The point is, once we have woken up we need to do something, not just go back to sleep and think everything is going to be OK.

Following Christ as a Christian or better yet, as a Disciple of Christ, requires action on our part. It requires us to actively be involved in the lives of other disciples and other people God brings into our lives. It requires learning to hear God and being aware of our surroundings, looking for where God is and what he is doing, all the time. It's not a job but a love motivated passion for the relationship we have with our loving and passionate Father. We love because He first loved us!

Judging Ourselves - The Return to Light

2016-07-29T10:34:00.001-05:00

Three years ago I was in a slump and couldn't figure out what was going on with me. God saved me from myself during that time. But as time marched on I slipped back into a state of being that I have been struggling to get out of, again. What is wrong with me??? What is it that I can't seem to see, that returns me to this place of ugliness and darkness? More importantly, how do I get out of the darkness and return to the light?

I must really be a bonehead and bordering on stupidity to fall again for the lies and deceits of the enemy of my soul. Was I even paying attention? Did I see what was going on or not? How many times do I need to be bonked on the head to realize when there is a low doorway I am trying to go through, I need to duck to go through it? It's like looking at the chopping knife, knowing it is razor sharp but reasoning I can move my hand in time before it comes down and chopping off my fingers.

My blog post from three years ago was helpful in getting me to see what was going on again. Click here if you want to read that blog post first.

I have been in the slump again. These are the bogs of despair, selfishly wandering around looking for anything that will fill the void of self-realization and self-satisfaction. Plunging into the depths of of the mire of self-loathing, judgement and resentfulness towards others. I had slowly entered into the realm of sin against my brothers and against God himself. I needed to be saved from myself again.

"This picture was the picture of my life. Knowing but not doing otherwise. Continuing in my sin and calling it something other than sin. Imagining myself as righteous in my mind but destitute of the truth, carrying around a sour and troublesome attitude that wanted to satisfy my own desires."

"Being reminded of how I first came to salvation I had to repent of my sin. Sin was what it was and I had to call it what it was and deal with it the way that sin has to be dealt with."

More recently I have been spending time looking at the why and what got me here and talking to brothers about what they see and asking for help to recognize what I need to do. When a person is lost and sinking in the bog mud, they need someone to find them, throw them a rope and help pull them out. Darkness starts to close in all around them and they can't see the dry land to walk on. Everything is confusing and they can't find their way out.

Thank God for men that are willing to do get dirty in order to find me and pull me out. Even though they get muddy and wet in the process, they are willing to do what ever it takes to help me get out of the slump. Why? Because they love me and they are my brothers.

Yesterday, I talked with a wise man of God (he would deny such accolades and say he is only in third grade). He that told me to stop looking at myself, stop feeling sorry for myself, grab hold of the truth that God loves me and he has promised never to leave me or forsake me. I took his advise along with the advice of several other men that love me and want to see me free from the mire of sin and death. In fact I believe the prayers of those men are what has destroyed the strongholds of the enemy and unblocked my mind so I can be free.

A dear sister was talking about the "why" of doing what we do in regard to creating an inside relationship with others. What I came to realize is that I had forgotten the "why" of what I was doing as well as the "why" of who I am in Christ and His Church. My "why" had become my satisfaction and my way. The real "why" had actually become lost and replaced with bitterness and resentment for not getting my way and not doing what I wanted. I became an island and separated from the rest of the church. I was not able to see or hear what God was telling me to do. I was becoming very unloving and cold-hearted, bitter and uncaring.

Why should I be in the church and submit myself to leaders and others around me? Why should I pursue the interests of serving others rather than myself? Why? Why not just go the direction I want to go? Why is everyone seemingly critical and judgmental of me? Why?

Because I have my understanding darkened and I am drowning in my selfish thoughts and ways. I've forgotten why I am here, what had drawn me to the church in the first place. What else do I know to do that will benefit me in regard to having eternal life and finding joy in this life now? I'm certainly not going to find it outside of Christ and the Church. I tried that and it was disastrous. If Jesus Christ is who he says He is and the Church is the foundation of His life and truth, then I would be foolish not to do everything I can to embrace all that Christ has said to do.

If Jesus is not who he says he is and the Church is not the foundation of His life and truth then we are all lost and deceived. My life is meaningless. I am unworthy to be His and in His church. I am lost. My life is a huge waste of time and energy.

He said, I am the way , the truth, and the life. His way is my light and life. But when I forget who I am and loose sight of the "why" I start wandering around the dark recesses of my mind and analytical thought processes; I slip away from what is real about me. My perspective narrows and everything becomes blurry around me. My focus shifts to me and what I believe is important for me. Me, me, me.

Thank God for His divine intervention and his loving kindness. He has not left me to my own devices but instead has captured my attention to focus on the reality of Christ. Jesus, who gave himself for me, who paid the price for my sin, who promised life everlasting, who leads the way in living a real and purposeful life. I want to honor Him and be with Him as my Savior, Lord, and Friend. I want to honor him by submitting to him and obeying his words because of my respect and love for what he has done and who is is to me. I have repented to God.

It's not that hard to do what is right in His eyes once my eyes are uncovered and I see what He is doing. Once I give up kicking and crying for my own way He is right there to show me why and what to do. It is much easier to see how to love myself and all those around me. It becomes my real nature which God birthed in me through faith and obedience. I am his and I have chosen to relinquish the past, present and future to Him.

The best is yet to come. What do I have to fear but to lose sight of Him and slip into darkness again. And that will not happen when I am connected to those who walk in His ways and love me with the love of God. I choose to stay connected, working at seeing my brothers everyday with spiritual eyes and a heart that beats for my Lord.

The work continues on each day and the work that I desire is to rest in His ability to do all things in me, for me, to grow in grace and love for Him and his Life. Thank you Lord Jesus for not giving up on me and never leaving me alone. Once I was lost and blind but now I see. May I never forget that you, Lord Jesus, are my life, not my circumstances or anything I could imagine otherwise.

The Presence of God

2016-04-17T01:29:00.000-05:00

If you love somebody, what you long for more than anything else is that person’s presence with you. Photos are a comfort. Telephone calls, emails and texts are nice. Letters are good. Skype and FaceTime are great ways to communicate. Yet nothing can compare to actually spending time with them in person. That picture in your pocket is just a representation of the real thing. There is a feeling of the presence of my wife and family while I am here in Kenya because of all the memories I have of our lives together and a connection with them through the Spirit of God. I know I will see them again when I return to the states and our lives will be joined together again. We will be able to touch one another and communicate directly to one another. We will be in each others presence.

What Adam and Eve lost in the Garden of Eden when they sinned was the presence of God. Even more than possessing the law, the distinguishing feature of Israel was God’s presence with them. The temple was not primarily a place of sacrifice but a place of God’s presence. The exile was such a disaster for the people of God because they were away from God’s presence.

God promised to be in the midst of his people again. This promise was fulfilled with the coming of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. He promises to be with us. With the coming of Jesus and the coming of the kingdom of God, God came to dwell among his people. Jesus is ‘Immanuel... God with us’ (Matthew1:23). Jesus taught that the kingdom of God is both ‘now’ and ‘yet to come’:

The Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom of God would come. Jesus answered, ‘The kingdom of God doesn’t come by counting the days on the calendar. Nor when someone says, “Look here!” or, “There it is!” And why? Because God’s kingdom is already among you’. We are citizens of the Kingdom and God is on the throne of His Kingdom. We don't see the throne or the visible Kingdom but it exists none-the-less.

One day Jesus will return. Then everyone will see, ‘For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other’ This will be the day when the Son of Man is revealed in all his glory, then we will see him face to face (1 Corinthians 13:12); and ‘we will be with the Lord forever’ (1 Thessalonians 4:17). We will experience the visible presence of God forever.

Right now God’s presence is not visible. People focus on eating, drinking, marrying, buying, selling, planting and building, spending their resources upon themselves. (see Luke 17:27–28). None of these things is wrong in itself. They are part of regular, ordinary life. The problem in both Old Testament and today is that most people do not listen to the warnings. Jesus urges us to be ready. Our lives should be lived in the expectation of His return, doing what He desires us to do.

Unfortunately, whoever tries to keep their life will lose it and whoever loses their life will preserve it. If we are always trying to find ways of getting the most out of life for ourselves – the most money, highest work position, best reputation, most popular – we will miss out. If you lose your life in denying yourself and serving Jesus, you will actually find life in all its fullness.

As we live in this time between the first and second coming of Jesus, we shouldn't forget to thank God for all his blessings. Of the ten lepers whom Jesus cured, only one came back ‘praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him’. Shouldn't we be thankful for what we have received and let our lives exist in contentment with the abundance or riches he has given us? Shouldn't we be living in joy and praise for his loving kindness?

It is easy to be like the nine lepers who forgot to thank Jesus. We need to cultivate an attitude of gratitude – taking time to thank Jesus for answers to prayer, his constant love, his forgiveness, his kindness and especially for the promise of God’s presence with us. Yes, He is not physically and visibly in front of us to do thank, eye to eye, but our Father knows what we need and he provides what we need. We can be in the presence of God through His Holy Spirit and walk in that presence.

Sin is what takes us away from the presence of God. Therefore, God warns us to avoid idol worship, dishonoring families, theft, leading the blind astray, injustice, sexual immorality, murder and bribery. We forget or choose to do those things that dishonor Him and we disobey God. We turn to serve the idol of Self and self gratification.

God says if his people fully obey they will enjoy all his blessings. He promises to bless our homes, families, work and other activities.Obedience is not to be an occasional event; it is to be a way of life. There is a big difference between people who are willing to obey God daily and those who are willing to obey only in order to get out of trouble. God certainly shows people how to get out of trouble, but He showers blessings on those who decide to live wholeheartedly for Him and make obedience to Him their lifestyle. Our lives are not for our pleasure but for His pleasure.

I will be returning to my home and family soon and I am looking forward to seeing my wife and being with my family. I am hoping they will be as excited to see me as I will be to see them. When Jesus returns for his bride will his Bride be ready? The real question in my mind is, "How excited will the Bride be to see her Husband? Will the Body of Christ be rejoicing in the return of its head and King or will there be a reluctance and a fearful expectation of His return?

May we all be so in love with the "love of our life" that we do everything we can to show our appreciation and obedience to Him each and every moment of the day. The time is coming soon. He deserves our complete gratitude for giving us His life and His Love. We should be looking forward to running into the arms of Jesus and embracing Him, giving ourselves to him completely and submitting ourselves to Him in everything. It is the best gift I can think of to say "Thank You" to my Lord. May his return be soon and our wait be joyfully exciting to see Him face to face.

Portions of this article were used with references listed below:

Bible in one Year - bibleinoneyear@htb.org.uk

Confidence or Arrogance?

2015-04-06T12:57:00.000-05:00

I have had people say that I am arrogant. It really bothers me when they say that. I struggle to find out if that is true and I want to know if there is something in me that makes me look arrogant on the outside.

What is in my head that makes me think that way or come across as Arrogant?

I found an article that addresses that on differencebetween.com that I think helped me understand what happens.

Confidence vs Arrogance
Between the two words Confidence and Arrogance, a number of differences can be identified. Trying to make this difference between arrogance and confidence can be very difficult for many people. This is because of many similarities between these two concepts. In fact, there are people who think they are just being confident, but never realize that they have crossed the thin dividing line between confidence and arrogance. Simply confidence can be understood as the trust or faith that a person has to someone, something, or of himself. Arrogance, on the other hand, refers to the exaggeration of a person’s importance and abilities. This highlights the basic difference differences between confidence and arrogance. Let us take a closer look at these two attributes to help people become more confident without becoming arrogant.

What is Confidence?
Belief in one’s abilities leads to confidence. A confident person is one who knows he has certain areas of strength. A confident person feels confident from inside; he does not necessarily pour out his knowledge or competence. Though they are also human beings, and they too feel good when told they are better at some things than others, and they too find gratification in validation, but they are not dependent upon this gratification. They try to be of use with their talent, and they succeed at the task at hand because of their ability. Unlike an arrogant person, a confident person is aware of both his strengths as well as areas of weaknesses and accepts them gracefully.

What is Arrogance?
When paying attention to the term arrogance, it can also be interpreted as a belief in one’s abilities. But this is a rather exaggerated version. The difference between Confidence and Arrogance lies in the fact that this or that ability is used to look down upon others. Arrogant people can be seen at all places. They are those who think less of others or someone in their surroundings. These are people who can be seen correcting flaws of others or showing them the right way of doing things. An arrogant person is more interested in being proven right than being happy. In a discussion, they go all out to prove they are right by dismissing other’s arguments. To be proven right is the most important objective for such people, even if this comes at the cost of reducing other’s status or making them feel lesser. Unlike a confident person, an arrogant person is dependent on validation. Thus, the difference between a confident and an arrogant person is not on abilities, but of having a calm control over oneself. An arrogant person tries to belittle others by displaying his abilities while a confident person displays his abilities only in case of genuine need. There is a school of thought that arrogance stems from a sense of insecurity, and a person is arrogant to compensate for areas of weakness that cause distress for such a person.

Arrogance breeds superiority, and often an arrogant person becomes unbearable to have in one’s life. This is why, it is difficult for arrogant people to make long lasting relationships. On the other hand, a confident person is not competing with others all the time and having a confident person as a friend or partner is a comfortable position to be in.Even the body language of an arrogant person is different from that of a confident person. There are an excessive swagger and a commanding posture and demeanor that is a result of arrogance. Confidence, on the other hand, gives a pleasing personality and an open posture that is liked by most people. ( www.differencebetween.com )

I believe that sin has a lot to do with our attitudes and the mind is the first place the enemy attacks us in order to cause us to sin. Following the wrong thoughts leads to a sinful act in the end. I want to be found faithful and not practice sinning. I know I am not going to do everything right so when I sin, I know there is an advocacy for me in Christ. That brings me to Proverbs 28:1 "The wicked flee when ho man pursues but the righteous are as bold as a lion." I want boldness and not arrogance. Gill's exposition seems to define that well.

Proverbs 28:1 The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.The wicked flee when no man pursueth,.... Through the terrors of a guilty conscience, as in Cain and others; who fear where no immediate cause of fear is, are frightened with their own shadows; and as Gaal was with the shadow of the mountains, he took for an army of men, as his friend told him, Judges 9:36; they are chased with the sound of a shaken leaf, and fancy men are at their heels to destroy them, and therefore with all haste flee to some place of safety; see Leviticus 26:17;but the righteous are bold as a lion; which turns not away from any creature it meets with, nor mends its pace when it is pursued, but walks on intrepidly, and oftentimes lies down and sleeps in open places, and as securely as in woods and dens, being devoid of all fear; hence the heart of a valiant man is said to be as the heart of a lion, 2 Samuel 17:10; see Proverbs 30:30; so Pindar (z) compares a courageous man to a lion for boldness.

Now righteous men are as bold as this creature, or more so; some of them have stopped the mouths of lions, and have dwelt securely in the midst of them, as righteous Daniel: and all righteous men are or may be as fearless as the lion; fear God they do, but have no reason to fear any other; and many of them are fearless of men, of their menaces and reproaches, or of anything they can do to them; since not only angels are their guardians, but God is on their side, and Christ has overcome the world for them: they are fearless of Satan and his principalities; they are delivered out of his hands; they know he is a coward, though a roaring lion, and when resisted will flee from thorn; yea, that he is a chained, conquered, enemy: and, though they are afraid of committing sin, yet are fearless of the damning power of it; Christ having bore their sins, made satisfaction for thong; for whose sake they are pardoned; and whose righteousness justifies and blood cleanses from all sin: they are fearless of death; its sting being removed, itself abolished as a penal evil, and become a blessing, and is the righteous man's, gain: they are fearless of wrath to come; Christ having delivered them from it, and they being justified by his blood: they are courageous as the lion in fighting the Lord's battles with sin, Satan, and the world, and in enduring hardiness as good soldiers of Christ; knowing their cause is good, that Christ is the Captain of their salvation, their spiritual armour is proved, and they are sure of victory and of a crown They are "confident" (a) as the lion, as the word may he rendered; they are confident of the love of God, of their interest in Christ, of the grace of God in their hearts, and that all things work together for their good; and that it is, and always will be, well with them, let things go how they will in the world, and so are secure.

They are bold and undaunted, both before God and men; before God in prayer, knowing him to be their covenant God in Christ, having in view the blood and righteousness of Christ, and being assisted by his Spirit: and they are undaunted before men; if the righteous man is a minister of the word, he speaks it boldly, as it ought to be spoken, fearing the faces of none, knowing it to be the Gospel of Christ, the truth, as it is in him, and the power of God to salvation; and if a private Christian, he is a public professor of Christ, this word and ordinances, which he is not ashamed to own before all the world; in short, the righteous are bold in life and in death, and will be so in the day of judgment; and it is their righteousness which makes them so, from which they are denominated righteous, even not their own, but the righteousness of Christ.

So I ask of you to please help me when you believe I am being arrogant and tell me what you think. I don't want to act that way but I want to be walking in light. I need your help to do that. Together we can fulfill the purpose of God in being together, unity, and functioning in the love of our Lord Jesus Christ.

If your feel like you have been acting in arrogance then I ask you to take time to look at your situation as well. It may be shocking to see what others see but it will help you to know, so you don't get deceived by sin. Walking in the light is much safer than stumbling through the darkness.

THE GOSPEL of ACCOMMODATION

2015-02-19T13:51:00.001-06:00

THE GOSPEL of ACCOMMODATION
by David Wilkerson

Accommodate means to adapt, to make suitable and acceptable,
to make convenient. A gospel of accommodation is creeping into
the United States. It's an American cultural invention to appease
the lifestyle of luxury and pleasure. Primarily a Caucasian, suburban
gospel, it's also in our major cities and is sweeping the nation,
influencing ministers of every denomination, and giving birth to
megachurches with thousands who come to hear a non-confronting
message. It's an adaptable gospel that is spoon-fed through
humorous skits, drama, and short, nonabrasive sermonettes on
how to cope-called a seeker-friendly or sinner-friendly gospel.

To begin with, those terms are unscriptural. The gospel of Jesus
Christ has always been confronting-there is no such thing as a
friendly gospel but a friendly grace.

This new gospel is being propagated by bright, young, talented
ministers. They have come upon a formula which states you can
go into any town or city; and if you have the right formula, within
a short time you can raise a megachurch.

If you are a young man and have certain skills, you find those
skills and a part of the city that would best suit you. You move
into that area, poll it, and find out what the non-churchgoers want:

Then you go to your computer and design a gospel that will not
confront but will shoot out the desires and the needs of the people.
After you have gathered a handful of people, you keep interviewing
them to find out what they want; then you design your message
to help people cope with their needs. The program you design is
intended to make the church comfortable and friendly for all sinners
who wish to attend.

This gospel is fast becoming the most prosperous and flourishing
of all religious movements. Thousands attend these churches. The
pastor is the CEO, and it becomes a business. They make no
bones about it: They are following Madison Avenue tactics and
can make a success of it. Their formula for quick church growth
is cleverly packaged and is being sold especially to young ministers-
those who want to be a part of the big boys and what's happening
on a fast track. They want it to happen quickly.

Paul's Warning

Paul warned of the coming of another gospel and another Jesus
(2 Corinthians 11:4). He warned the church that it's really not
another gospel but a perversion of the true gospel of Jesus Christ.
If you hear any other gospel, he said, let that preacher be accursed.
In other words, no matter how pleasant, how pious, or how sincere,
if the message is not the death of sin through the cross of Jesus
Christ, let it be accursed.

I tremble when I read in the Scriptures that in the last days Satan
is going to come right into the church posing as an angel of light.
He's going to take ministers who, at one time, had the touch of
God, and he's going to transform them into angels of light to
become his tool of deception. That's frightening. It causes me
to fall on my face before God for such false, deceitful workers
transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. No marvel,
for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore,
it's no great thing if ministers also are transformed as the ministers
of righteousness whose end shall be according to their works..."

-Source-

http://enrichmentjournal.ag.org/199901/078_accommodation.cfm

Blogger Footnote:

You don't have to be in a mega church or even in a large church to experience the effects of a comfortable and convenient gospel. It has no power because there is nothing for you to do except sit back, relax and enjoy the show.

Your daily life can be so effective in expelling all the unwanted doings of the gospel of Christ by doing nothing. Just go to work, come home, watch your favorite TV shows, eat, drink and be merry. Just show up for a meeting on Sunday morning and maybe Wednesday night and you are done. The rest of your life is yours to do what you want to do. Just take care of you and don't worry about your neighbors.

We had best take a moment to survey our lives and lifestyles. If you have no other mission than to take care of you then you are going to be very sad when that day comes for recollection of your life. The question is. "What did you do for me and my kingdom?" Jesus says that "Those that do the will of my Father" are the ones entering into his kingdom.

It's your choice. God will not force you to do anything. I hope your choice is the wise one.

A CHRISTLESS PENTECOST?

2015-01-30T09:00:00.001-06:00

Azusa Street is well know for the times of revival in California. In this age of Christianity I have to consider what it will take to shake us out of the complacency that seems to be washing across our churches. Do we need this type of revival again?

"A CHRISTLESS PENTECOST"!!
-Frank Bartleman

Frank Bartleman was an eyewitness to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in 1907 at Azusa Street, Los Angeles. He has been characterized as the Reporter of the Azusa Street Revival. Nearly 75 years ago, during the outpouring, he wrote a tract warning of a Christless Pentecost. He warned:

We may not hold a doctrine, or seek an experience, except in Christ. Many are willing to seek power in order to perform miracles, draw attention and adoration of the people to themselves, thus robbing Christ of His glory, and making a fair showing in the flesh.
The greatest need would seem to be for true followers of the meek and lowly Jesus. Religious enthusiasm easily goes to seed. The human spirit so predominates the show-off, religious spirit. But we must stick to our text - Christ.

Any work that exalts the Holy Ghost or gifts above Jesus will finally end up in fanaticism. Whatever causes us to exalt and love Jesus is well and safe. The reverse will ruin all. The Holy Ghost is a great light, but focused on Jesus always for His revealing.

Where the Holy Ghost is actually in control, Jesus is proclaimed the Head - the Holy Ghost, His executive.

In another place, Brother Bartleman warned: The temptation seems to be toward empty manifestations. This does not require any particular cross, or death to the self-life. Hence it is always popular.

We may not put power, gifts, the Holy Ghost, or in fact anything ahead of Jesus. Any mission that exalts even the Holy Ghost above the Lord Jesus Christ is bound for the rocks of error and fanaticism.

There seems to be a great danger of losing sight of the fact that Jesus was all in all. The work of Calvary, the atonement, must be the center for our consideration. The Holy Ghost will never draw our attention from Christ to Himself, but rather reveal Christ in a fuller way. We are in danger of slighting Jesus - getting Him lost in the temple, by the exaltation of the Holy Ghost and of the gifts of the Spirit. Jesus must be the center of everything.

-Frank Bartleman authored one of the best Revival books ever written - called 'Azusa Street'.

The Three Rings of Love

2014-12-23T13:13:00.002-06:00

The Three Rings of Love

My wife and I wear matching wedding rings which we had designed for us before we were married years ago. They are not as shiny and new as there were before. I actually had to have mine enlarged as my fingers got fatter. Can't imagine how I grew so much in that ring finger.

The rings are each made from a different type of gold. The two outer rings are 1/2 the size of the inner ring. Each ring holds a significance to us to remind us of who we are and what keeps us together. We wanted a memorable way of being reminded and so we put some thought into the construction of the three rings of love.

Ring # 1 is made of white gold. Ring # 3 is made of rose gold. Ring # 2 is yellow gold. Ring 1 represents the husband. Ring 3 represents the wife. Ring 2 represents our unity. Since ring 1 and 3 are half the size of ring 2, out unity is twice as big as we each are individually. We are made for each other and together we are transformed into the unity of our marriage.

There is much more to these rings and the symbolism of them separately and together.

Separately, Ring 1 represents me, the husband. The individual strength of the husband to care for his wife, lead her and love her with all he has. It is a much harder metal than the rose ring, Ring 3. Ring 3 represents my wife. Her softness and tenderness is a quality of the rose gold metal and shows her willingness to be led and shaped by her husband. Ring 2 is representative of God. He stands between us at all times. He is what brings us together as one. We must go through Him to touch the other. Ring 1 and 3 are completed by ring 2. He is the middle ground between all our doings and goings.

Without God we are not united. He himself is made of three. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. each part of God is also represented by the Three Rings of Love. There is unity in of the three into one love for His creation.

Ultimately there is only one ring made of three parts. Just as God is made of three, we are made of three. Body, soul and spirit. We are made complete only by the life of God dwelling our spirits and making our spirits alive with His Life. Without His life there is no hope for eternal life. So our spirits must be renewed, born again.

My wife and I wear our rings differently. I wear mine with the white gold ring farthest out and she wears here with the rose gold ring farthest out. Each of us wears the representative ring of the other closest to our hearts. Where we want to be in each others life. We want to think of the other as more important than ourselves.

So as the years move on in our marriage, we have come to find new and renewed symbolism's in our three rings of love. Today we have three children together. Each is a reminder of unity in not only our marriage but in our family. Our sons are a part of us and will always be in the image of us. Just like we are the image of God. Body, soul and spirit. Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Husband, Wife and God. We are made one. The Bride and the Son become one in this marriage of love.

Now we live in a whole new way. We are united with the church. Each member is a unique individual of the whole. Many lives, bound together by God into the representation of the Bride of Christ. So we have another symbolic representation of those three rings of love. We are one with God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, filled with the Life of His Spirit.

Since this is the season of love and we symbolically celebrate the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ, it seems only fitting to look at those three rings of love in a fresh way. Look for the love of God in the eyes of those around you this year. See that God loves each and every person you know or meet.

There is a ring of love that God asks each of us to wear. We are his children and we are desired of our Father to be in fellowship with him. He desires to receive from us the relationship of trusting and grateful children. He has given His all for us. He asks us to love and obey Him. His kingdom is in us and on the earth. He reigns forever and ever. He is now our King.

Merry Christmas

How to Donate to Your Favorite Missions or Non-Profit for FREE!

2014-12-21T19:31:00.002-06:00

Are you the type of person who wants to support missions, your favorite non-profit or some worthy cause? Do you struggle trying to write a check or set aside funds for donating? Do you want to but just don't think about it until someone posts a message like this? Do you want to but just don't have the extra money to donate each month?

Well, all those reasons for not donating can be resolved in a couple minutes by installing GoodSearch as your default search engine and GoodShop for your background donation interface.

Whenever you want to search a word, place, thing or anything else, GoodShop will pay a penny for every legitimate search you enter in. This penny goes towards your selected mission of cause. Every search earns a penny, every time you search for something. Think about how much that could accumulate each day, week, month and year. It's like taking a penny and dropping it in a jar every time you do a search. It just keeps adding up.

This background application is so easy to install and so easy to use. It doesn't take over your computer and it doesn't slow it down. It just sits there and becomes your default search engine for when you want to search for something. You don't have to do anything different.

So you may say. "I like Google or Bing or Ask or some other search engine." That's nice. But do they donate a penny every time you do a search to someone other than themselves? I can tell you that they do not. They don't care about your missions or worthy cause.

So, you may say, "I prefer to use Google search or Bing search cause it finds what I want." Really?! Are you that stuck on those search engines? And would you really not want to help someone else besides yourself and the big guys of the Internet search engines? GoodSearch's engine is provided by Yahoo and provides you with plenty of information to find what you are looking for. If you can't find what you're looking for then go do the same search on Google. The half-minute you spent looking on Goodsearch earned a penny. But you will find what you are looking for most likely as quickly if not quicker than the other engines.

Not interested in giving 5 minutes of your time to load GoodSearch or search on the only search engine that donates money to your cause? Are you really that self-serving and inconsiderate of others? I don't think you are, but you might be thinking that it's more work than you want to do.

When is the last time you got online and spent 5 minutes chasing Internet rabbits and didn't get what you really wanted or wasted time browsing your Facebook dashboard looking at posts from people till you fell asleep at the keyboard? You can't spare 5 minutes to perpetually help someone without even trying? It is earning your charity or worthy cause money and all you are doing is what you normally would do.

This process is really simple. And once installed you don't have to do anything different, just type in the search word or phrase and hit enter. The results are the same. Well, not really. You are earning money on GoodSearch and not on the other search engines.

How Goodshop works

Goodshop works with more than 5,000+ stores to provide the best deals and coupons and the top stores also donate up to 20% of their purchase back to your cause.
This really works! Goodshop has already raised more than $11 million!
Our supporters (Rose Creek Village Missions) will be contribute to our Africa, India and stateside mission projects every day. We use the money that’s raised for supporting the work that goes on in those places. We never take any donated moneys for ourselves. Every penny goes directly to missions.
We suggest you download and set up the background application from to www.goodshop.com for 1-click shopping access.
You can go right to the stores offers on the GoodShop site by simply searching for the store on Goodshop.com. Click through to the coupon page and grab that offer.
You can also shop your favorite stores, get the best deals at each, and give back to your cause ON THE GO, with the Goodshop app for iPhone and iPad.
You can automatically donate to your cause by installing the browser addon by clicking here. GoodShop Browser Addon.

Here are some examples:

So, what do you need to do to set up the GoodSearch or GoodShop interfaces on your computer?

How do I start raising money for my nonprofit or school with Goodshop?

Visit goodsearch.com and Sign Up then select a cause from the hundreds of thousands of participating organizations or add a new cause by filling out the application here.

Register and create a user profile which will allow you to keep track of your individual amount raised.

Use the Goodshop tab at the top of the homepage or go to Goodshop to visit our online shopping mall and browse through thousands of partner stores, including top brands in clothing, office supplies, gifts and more.

Click through to the store and shop as you normally would. You pay nothing extra, but a portion of all qualifying purchases will go to your cause.

100% of the donation amount displayed on merchant’s Goodshop page will go to the charity or school of your choice!

Take 5 minutes right now to go to GoodSearch and GoodShop and sign up. Pick the charity of your choice to support . (Rose Creek Village Ministries) is the one we support for missions. Especially the missions in Kenya. You can also go to the Kenyan site Stonehouse Ministries International and donate there, directly. With just a few minutes of your time you can be giving of yourself everyday, automatically, by using these interfaces. Why not start right away.

Thank you from all of my missionary friends and I for giving of yourself.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

The Woe's

2014-07-23T22:23:00.000-05:00

The word "WOE" is found in the major prophets, 24 times in Isaiah, 12 times in Jeremiah, 1 time in Lamentations, and 9 times in Ezekiel. In the minor prophets 2 times in Hosea, 2 times in Amos, @ times in Micha, 1 time in Nahum, 5 times in Habakkuk, 2 times in Zehaniah and 1 time in Zechariah. In the New Testament it is found 14 times in Matthew, 2 times in Mark, 15 times in Luke, once in 1 Corinthians, once in Jude and 13 times in Revelation. 107 times all together. You can find these by searching for the word "woe" in your favorite bible program. Or if you are "old school" you can look it up in the Bible concordance.

The word "WOE" means "ah! expressing grief or alas!, (in the sense of crying out after); lamentation; also interjectionally, Oh!: - alas" in the Hebrew language and "A primary exclamation of grief; “woe”: - alas, woe." in the Greek.

It's not a word that we use as an expression of joy and exuberance in a happy way. It is a word the proceeds impending doom.

Speaking of impending doom . . . Andrew Strom shared a good post that should get all of our attention. It is a picture of an impending doom we should be aware of. We are not in Kansas any more Toto!

"WOE to THOSE WHO CALL EVIL GOOD"by Darren Smith

I am sickened at the state of this country and truly sad that it's ata point of no return. The tide has turned and those who seekjustice and righteousness are no longer the majority. Now we areat the time to confess that we let America and what she stands forslowly slip away while we sought after comfort and prosperity andself fulfillment.

Our land has become a place of greed and self promotion, shallowand spiritless. I know as soon as I send this out many willsay to "remove me from your list" or call me unpatriotic, but I'mbeyond the point of restraint and holding back words because theyare controversial and offensive. Political correctness means nothingto me and I will not be quiet any longer.

Isa 5 is a perfect picture of America today - a nation that lost it'ssoul. We need to admit where we are and what we have becomeand quit walking in step with the false notion that we are a "justnation". I want to start with the gay issue that dominates our mediatoday. The very fact that you can't say that being gay is againstGod's Word is ridiculous, but now as a nation we call - in fact wepromote homosexual activity - call it good. Woe unto a nationthat calls evil good!

I don't hate homosexuals at all. In fact we reach out to them withChrist, but I cannot condone their behavior and I will never call itgood when God says it is wrong! Lets move on down the list ofindictments.

Abortion is considered birth control, not murder. Again - ournation calls it good for women to be able to choose whetherto have a child or to kill it. The argument is that a womanshould have a right to have control over her own body. Butthe very reason they use is faulty at the core. If a womanhas a right to choose what she does with her own bodythen why does this nation's laws have her arrested for beinga prostitute? Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying prostitutionis not wrong, but if you are going to hold the position that awoman has the right to control her body, then be consistentwith what you believe.

The sad truth is that abortion is a several billion dollar industrythat has bought our leaders and they have spent billionsspreading lies with their partners in the media to numb yourminds. Abortion is murder, cut and dry, and its effect on devaluinghuman life cannot be reversed. I have met and prayed with scoresof women that themselves were victims of abortion. I have nevermet one that was glad they chose to abort, yet as a nation wecall abortion good. Woe unto a nation that calls evil good!

We still say that we are a chosen nation, even though wehave the highest rates of drug use in the world, the highestalcohol abuse rates in the world, and the highest crime rates.Do you realize that you are more likely to be killed in Chicagoand many other major cities than you are in a war zone?
What we are seeing is the breakdown of society playing outbefore our eyes. The cheapening of life and the increase ofpeople with no compassion for others multiply at a mindblowing rate. Why? Because we call evil good and woe isbefalling us as we speak. Yet we as a people are too busyseeking comfort and entertainment to open our eyes. Weare far more concerned with sharing our opinion onFacebook, while we post selfies and try to make our lifelook interesting to others.

How did we ever come to a point where selfie could everbecome a word - much less an action - we take pride in?Jesus tells us to be selfless and not to promote our selfwith things. People should find us interesting, if we belongto Christ, because of our love and our actions. We are at apoint in our land where you can't hold a conversation with aperson because they can't look at you for looking at theirphone.

We celebrate bad behavior by making people famous and wealthybecause we like to watch their bad behavior on TV to entertainourselves in a righteous land. Could the Kardashions or Pdiddy orany others of the hosts be a role model? Would Jerry Springer orany of the other freakshows get any airplay?... Woe unto a nationthat calls evil good!

We celebrate greed in our nation by our fascination with thewealthy. Would you trust Donald Trump with your kids? Wegive the greedy a prominent position in society because ofwhat they have and because we are jealous and want or eventhink we deserve to have it too.

We have gone so far that we have modeled our churchesafter the world and the world's business plan - the bigger, thebetter, the more comfortable, the more holy we are. But truthcan't be found in this model, nor can courage, just moreentertainment. We even treat the rich better than others sowe can gain from them. Jesus said in Luke that you cannotmeasure a man by the abundance of his possessions. But westill do.

As a nation, we try to tell the rest of the world how to actwhen we are a total mess ourselves. We even export ourgreed as well as our false doctrines to anyone who will listen.I will close with this last point. If God's people would stand fortruth and justice, no matter what the personal cost, we wouldmake a difference. If men who say they are called to preachwould preach truth instead of feel-good humanism andprosperity, a fire would ignite that could not be contained.
What has brought us to this point is conforming to the worldinstead of conforming to Christ. There is no difference in themodern church and the world. They are one in the same. Themodern church just feels better about itself after hearing themotivational speech and the upbeat music a couple times aweek. A real preacher - preaching and living the Gospel - willcause a stir every time he speaks, instead of not rocking thecomfortable boat he is cruising in.

I really don't care if you think I'm too radical or that I'm unpatriotic.I cannot yield to this false system any longer. I will not defendthe actions of a nation and government that has turned it's back onGod, nor will I defend a church system that has done the same. I'mlooking for people who feel the same way and are willing to stand,take action and live the Gospel. We can't wait any longer to actbut nothing good comes without a fight. We need to networktogether and make a difference.

-PLEASE COMMENT on this topic at the following website-
http://www.revivalschool.com/

Spiritual Mechanics

2014-07-18T10:14:00.000-05:00

When the car breaks down you go to a mechanic to locate the problem and fix it. (Except for those of you who are mechanics or DIY's) He locates the problem and fixes it, then you are back on your way till something else breaks down. So goes the automobile industry.

Tozer takes a look at our spiritual lives in the same way. How do we fix the problems that arise in our spiritual lives? Individually and corporately. What happens when the breakdown becomes a point of contention and impending destruction of the church God is building? God takes measures to fix it.

History records the actions and words of the prophets for us. If you are not familiar with those records you can find them in the old testament. None-the-less, the people of God are still in need of direction and correction. God deals with his people because he cares about them. We need correction and direction to stay on course with his adventure in life.

We have access to the throne of God, salvation from sin and direction from the spirit of God at all times. What we decide to do with all that is up to you and I. When we refuse to follow God he corrects as his children. Nothing unusual about that process, I believe, since I do likewise with my children. He does it because he loves us. So, we need everything that God has for us and that includes fixing when we get broken or off track.

Consider reading Tozer's "Why Revival Tarries". It's a great book. Here is snip of the Foreword I received in my email today. You can find his other writings and information by clicking on the link HERE.

CLASSIC WORDS from A.W. TOZER
[-From the foreword to the wonderful book 'Why Revival Tarries']-

Great industrial concerns have in their employ men who are needed only
when there is a breakdown somewhere. When something goes wrong with
the machinery, these men spring into action to locate and remove the
trouble and get the machinery rolling again.

For these men a smoothly operating system has no interest. They
are specialists concerned with trouble and how to find and correct it.
In the kingdom of God things are not too different. God has always had
His specialists whose chief concern has been the moral breakdown,
the decline in the spiritual health of the nation or the church. Such
men were Elijah, Jeremiah, Malachi and others of their kind who
appeared at critical moments in history to reprove, rebuke and exhort
in the name of God and righteousness.

A thousand or ten thousand ordinary priests or pastors or teachers
could labor quietly on almost unnoticed while the spiritual life of
Israel or the church was normal. But let the people of God go astray
from the paths of truth and immediately the specialist appeared almost
out of nowhere. His instinct for trouble brought him to the help of
the Lord and of Israel.

Such a man was likely to be drastic, radical, possibly at times
violent, and the curious crowd that gathered to watch him work
soon branded him as extreme, fanatical, negative. And in a sense they
were right. He was single-minded, severe, fearless, and these were the
qualities the circumstances demanded. He shocked some, frightened
others and alienated not a few, but he knew who had called him and
what he was sent to do. His ministry was geared to the emergency, and
that fact marked him out as different, a man apart.

To such men as this the church owes a debt too heavy to pay. The
curious thing is that she seldom tries to pay him while he lives, but
the next generation builds his sepulcher and writes his biography, as
if instinctively and awkwardly to discharge an obligation the previous
generation to a large extent ignored...

-A.W. Tozer.

Do Not Judge

2014-06-17T10:30:00.003-05:00

Very Simply put; "Do Not Judge!"

Beware of Criticizing Others

2014

Judge not, that you be not judged —Matthew 7:1

Jesus’ instructions with regard to judging others is very simply put; He says, “Don’t.” The average Christian is the most piercingly critical individual known. Criticism is one of the ordinary activities of people, but in the spiritual realm nothing is accomplished by it. The effect of criticism is the dividing up of the strengths of the one being criticized. The Holy Spirit is the only one in the proper position to criticize, and He alone is able to show what is wrong without hurting and wounding. It is impossible to enter into fellowship with God when you are in a critical mood. Criticism serves to make you harsh, vindictive, and cruel, and leaves you with the soothing and flattering idea that you are somehow superior to others. Jesus says that as His disciple you should cultivate a temperament that is never critical. This will not happen quickly but must be developed over a span of time. You must constantly beware of anything that causes you to think of yourself as a superior person.

There is no escaping the penetrating search of my life by Jesus. If I see the little speck in your eye, it means that I have a plank of timber in my own (see Matthew 7:3-5). Every wrong thing that I see in you, God finds in me. Every time I judge, I condemn myself (see Romans 2:17-24). Stop having a measuring stick for other people. There is always at least one more fact, which we know nothing about, in every person’s situation. The first thing God does is to give us a thorough spiritual cleaning. After that, there is no possibility of pride remaining in us. I have never met a person I could despair of, or lose all hope for, after discerning what lies in me apart from the grace of God.

http://utmost.org/beware-of-criticizing-others/

WOULD the EARLY CHURCH RECOGNIZE the AMERICAN CHURCH?

2014-05-22T11:07:00.002-05:00

I haven't been online to publish any blogs lately but I thought this article was worthy of consideration. Please respond as you consider where you are right now and what your part of the church is or needs to be.

WOULD the EARLY CHURCH RECOGNIZE the AMERICAN CHURCH? by Marcus Yoars

Would the modern American church even be recognizable to early
followers of Jesus?

By today´s standards in the American church, Jesus wasn´t cut
out to be a pastor, nor would His ministry be highlighted as a
model for church planters. Consider these facts:

Jesus had the greatest preaching, teaching and healing ministry
in history. Thousands came to hear Him, followed His every move
and lined the streets to get a glimpse of Him or simply touch Him.
Yet amid His rock-star popularity, He intentionally offended
religious leaders, challenged potential mega-donors and weeded
out casual followers with tough teachings. Not exactly the
textbook strategy you´d find today to grow your church, much
less your Facebook likes and Twitter followers.

After Jesus spent three and a half years ministering to thousands,
His church consisted of only 120 disciples gathered in the upper
room. And even that was a low turnout, considering He had
appeared to more than 500 people after His resurrection (1 Cor. 15:6).

But we know the rest of the story: how the 120 quickly became
3,120 and grew daily to where even unbelievers credited Jesus´
followers as those "who have turned the world upside down"
(Acts 17:6). The truth is, we know that Jesus´ divine church-
growth tactics surpass all others-with the proof being a global
church that, 2,000 years later, refuses to die while it works to
fulfill His Great Commission.

Why, then, do we in the 21st-century American church focus
on all the elements that Jesus didn´t? He focused on training and
equipping 12 disciples; we focus on growing our crowds and
spheres of influence, regardless of whether those people follow
Jesus. He preached an uncompromising message of truth; we
sugarcoat the gospel until we´re saccharine-high on deception.
He walked among His enemies in love; we ostracize our
enemies by blasting them for all their sins.

Indeed, most of the U.S. church is enamored with size over
substance and microwave growth over true reproduction. Research
shows that while 235 million people call themselves Christians,
only 40 percent of those meet regularly with fellow believers and
only a fourth (at most) read the Bible on a regular basis. It´s time
we discovered the marks of the real church, measured by Jesus´
standards rather than our own trendy metrics. So what are those
elements? Here are just a few.

1) Love. Jesus defined a premier characteristic of His church in
John 13:35: "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you
have love for one another." If we can´t even love fellow believers-if
we skewer each other over theological differences and cultural
preferences-how can we expect the world to want what we have?
Transforming the world with God´s love starts right where we are,
on the home front, as we learn to love each other as Christ loved us.

2) Prayer. Jesus was constantly communicating with the Father,
listening for His thoughts and seeing where He was already moving.
Luke´s Gospel shows that little happened in Christ´s life without
Him first praying. Why, then, do most church gatherings today focus
so little on prayer? In trying to be culturally relevant and seeker-
sensitive, we´ve conveyed that this essentiality of our faith-both
individually and corporately-is secondary. That can´t be if we want
to mimic Jesus.

3) Persecution. We in the West equate religious freedom and the
lack of persecution with blessing. Yet when you look for the most
powerful churches in the world, where the Spirit moves freely and
in fullness, you´ll always find persecution. It´s time we wake up
and realize that persecution galvanizes and unifies the body of Christ
like few other pressures. Remember, Jesus promised persecution to
those who truly follow Him (Matt. 5:11-12; John 15:20). When was
the last time you saw this promise fulfilled in your own life or church?

4) Power. Jesus also promised that His followers would do greater
works than He did (John 14:12)-a promise sealed by the gift of the
Holy Spirit to empower us. Wherever the early apostles and church
went, the miraculous followed. Though there have been seasons of
Holy Spirit revival in our nation, even charismatic churches today are
de-emphasizing such things as praying for the sick, demonic
deliverance or the prophetic. Making room for the Spirit´s
supernatural movement isn´t an option; it´s the mark of those
who truly follow Christ.

-Source-

http://www.charismamag.com/spirit/church-ministry/20299

Genuine Change

2014-02-26T10:04:00.000-06:00

Every day we are changing into the fashion of something that has influence in our lives. The world demands that we change into what is acceptable. Dress like the latest fad, listen to the coolest music, watch the latest movie or TV show, drive the latest model car, keep up with the newest electronics and so on and so on.

What does that look like for you?

What is influencing your life?

Whatever that influence is, it is changing us because we want to be like what we see and hear.

What do you see and hear?

David Wilkerson wrote about repentance being the first message that Jesus preached. (click here for his article) We have to ask the question, "Repent from what?" What was it that Jesus said after that? He said. "The Kingdom of God is at hand." So in order for us to enter into the Kingdom of God we would need to exit wherever we are.

Jesus called people to repent before He even called them to believe.Mark writes, "Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of thekingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdomof God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel" (Mark 1:14-15). Ref.

What is the Kingdom of God?

Is it a physical location in the heavenlies?

Is it a state of mind?

What does that phrase mean?

John the Baptist said the same thing that Jesus said later. He was ushering in the appearance of Jesus.

John the Baptist also preached repentance, to prepare Israel forthe coming of Christ. John´s message to the Jews was simpleand straightforward: "In those days came John the Baptist,preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, Repent ye: forthe kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 3:1-2). Ref.

John knew that there was a change needing to happen in the lives of the people of that day. They could not enter into the Kingdom of God unless they exited where they were.

People came from everywhere to hear John preach. And he toldthem in no uncertain terms: "The Messiah is soon to appear inyour midst, so you´d better get ready to meet Him! You may feelexcited that He´s coming, but I´m telling you, your hearts are notprepared because you´re still holding on to your sins. Ref.

John was not a softie when it came to telling people the way life was or what they needed to do. He said to the Pharisees and the Sadducees,

"Outside you appear clean and holy. But inside, you´re full of deadmen´s bones! You´re a generation of vipers, snakes, with absolutelyno fear of God [see Matthew 3:7-12]. Yet you have no concept thatyou´re even sinners. I warn you-you must deal with your sin beforeyou can believe on the Savior and follow Him. So, repent, turn fromyour sin and live in a way that reflects genuine change!" Ref.

So, he said there needed to be a change, a genuine change, not a half-hearted, wishing I was different, but maybe tomorrow attitude of the mind. He is talking about the "real deal". He is talking about repentance, which means to "go the other way", exit and flee where you are at.

The Kingdom of God is the place where God is on the throne and in control of His kingdom. His Kingdom is wherever He is and dwells. His Kingdom is filled with His subjects, those that recognize and submit themselves to His rule. They follow His orders and do the will of Him. They desire to please Him.

The kingdom of man is the place where man is on the throne and in control of him kingdom. His kingdom is wherever he is and dwells. His kingdom is filled with those who are subject to him and submit themselves to his desires and rule. Man's will is to do whatever pleases himself and subject those around him to the effects of his actions.

Until we are willing to exit the kingdom of man we cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. We cannot hold on to one and have the other. It is either our way or His way. It is not both. So, when John and Jesus said "repent" they were simply saying to go the other way. Go away from our way of thinking and acting to enter into the way of thinking and acting in regard to God's Kingdom.

Think about what you fill your time with and what interests you the most. Are they things that are in the kingdom of man? Are they interests that fulfill your desires to be consumed by you in regard to your desires? Do you think and do the things that satisfy you for the moment and then go on to the next desire?

If so, you may fall into that category of person that John and Jesus were talking about. You may need to consider a change. A genuine change. A change that departs from you and enters into God. You may be the person who thinks that you have it all together and are doing everything right but in reality you are the exact person John and Jesus were talking about needing repentance and salvation.

Just because you think you are saved and going to heaven, just because you go to church, Sunday school, bible studies or live in a Christian community or rub shoulders with Christians every day doesn't mean you are living in the Kingdom of God. It doesn't even mean you are saved. Unless there is a genuine change in your inner-most parts that motivates and leads you into the reality of God, the Kingdom of God, you may just be fooling a lot of people around you, even fooling yourself.

I leave you with the words of Jesus and John,

"The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent, and believe the gospel"

"Produce fruit in keeping with repentance."

What Does Your Daily Schedule Look Like?

2014-02-14T10:00:00.000-06:00

If your daily schedule isn't working for you, then maybe some old-school advise will help. I found this on the internet and appreciate the simpleness and wisdom of this schedule. It doesn't speak about which days to use it with but I can believe that it was most likely everyday. I'm not sure that "weekends" really meant the same to people in Ben's day as they do today. Certainly church goers were aware and invested in godly practices of worship but I can see where in other countries, people work every day of the week, without weekends off. Let me know what you think.

You can find the original post for this information on LifeHack.org at this address: http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/what-you-can-learn-from-benjamin-franklins-daily-schedule.html?ref=fbp&n=1

What You Can Learn From Benjamin Franklin’s Daily Schedule

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/what-you-can-learn-from-benjamin-franklins-daily-schedule.html?ref=fbp&n=1We like to see our forefathers as these mythical superheroes who were larger than life and accomplished more than we are capable of ourselves. Fact is, they’re just simple men and women, like us, who ate, slept, pooped, and thought, just like we do. One such man, Benjamin Franklin (the old guy on the $100 bill), kept a documented daily schedule which you can view below:

Benjamin Franklin’s schedule teaches us a lot of valuable lessons. Here are a few things you can learn from this founding father’s routine:

This is Benjamin Franklin’s actual daily routine. This is how he lived his life every day. Whether inventing bifocals, freeing the American colonies, or negotiating with foreign diplomats, Franklin followed the same routine as often as possible. This steady regimen provided the balance necessary in his life to accomplish all of those other great things we read about, and praise. If you aspire to have your praises sung like Benji, you need to find a balance.

2. All About the Benjamin's

Money and time are resources you spend to accomplish things in life; you spend one, the other, or both. Understand, however, that you must budget both. Your budget needs to be tangible and in your face. Remember when deciding whether to spend time or money that it took you time to earn that money. Your time budget, or how you allocate the hours in each day, is much more important than your financial one. Plan accordingly.

3.Work Like It Doesn't Matter

You’ll notice nothing in Franklin’s schedule is job-specific; you can’t even tell what he does for a living. He drafted a simple schedule that any human being can follow. Even if you can’t hit the same hours because of work, family, and other obligations, you can simply shift the hours in the schedule. The point is to ensure a separation of work and self that’s much more important than church and State.

4. Make Time for Yourself

Nearly everything on Franklin’s list is selfish. The foundation of his daily schedule is himself. It’s only after he takes care of himself that he focuses on work and doing a good deed for others. If you’re not taking care of yourself, you’re likely not doing as much good as you think. You can’t disconnect from yourself, so make sure you keep you up and running at all times.

5. Life Is Easy

I know there are bills, stress, work, school, annoying bosses, coworkers, classmates, traffic, lines, and blah blah blah. I get it; it’s not like I live is some alternate reality that’s completely separate from you and your life. I’m 33, have no car, and sleep on a floor. I still smile because life really is easy. It takes hard work, but I treat my life like Ben Franklin does. By shifting my focus, I don’t think about the days I walk 20 miles or stay in bed because I don’t have much enough money to buy food. No matter what’s happening in my life, coping and succeeding are both a matter of routine.

6. Learning Something New Every Day Is a Goal, Not an Epiphany

I hear a lot of people say, “you learn something new every day,” when surprised by some random new fact. This always made me chuckle, because those people don’t say that every day. In reality, they’re learning something new 3-5 days a month. Benjamin Franklin made a goal to learn something new every day, and he didn't even have the Internet. Whether at school, home, work, or through friends, you have access to the combined knowledge of the human race at your fingertips. You should be learning 1000 new things a day, minimum.

7. Organization Is King

Budgeting your time and money is important, and organizing where everything goes is essential to sticking with that budget. At the end of every day, Ben Franklin put his toys back in their box, just like your mom made you do as a kid. This is because a messy work space is counter-intuitive to actual work. When you keep your things organized, you feel less flustered, and you’re less likely to make impulsive decisions.

8. Exams Are Mandatory

Question everything; just don’t over-think yourself or you’ll end up never doing anything. Franklin asked himself every evening whether or not he accomplished his goals. By keeping track, he holds himself responsible. There are no excuses. Be accountable for your goals. The cigarette you sneak, the candy bar you don’t tell people in your Zumba class about, it’s all hurting yourself and no one else. If even you won’t listen to you, who else will?

9. Peter Plan

Plans are essential to accomplishments, and Franklin’s schedule is the perfect plan. It’s detailed enough to begin following as a guide, yet basic enough to be easily adapted to a variety of situations and scenarios you’ll likely find yourself facing in real life. You never know what life will hand you. Don’t be so rigid in your plans that you do nothing, but have one like Franklin’s, so no matter what happens, you have a point to start over from.

10. Do Good, Give Good

Katie McCarthy has an amazing podcast called Give Good; in it, she profiles people who dedicate their lives to enriching the lives of others by seeking justice, providing charity, and helping others that need it. Listening to the podcast is a great way to see what others around the world are doing to contribute good deeds to the world. If you want to use Benjamin Franklin’s daily schedule as your own, and I highly recommend you do, find a way to do something meaningful for someone else.

HOW GOD RAISES UP A MAN

2014-01-22T08:19:00.000-06:00

It's been a while since we have posted anything here. This morning this stirred me to share with y'all. Take you time as you read through the brief account of Nehemiah. This time in Israel's history is especially important and it is today in our current state of the Church. Pay attention to God's method of healing and restoration. Ponder where you might be in your life and where your church may be as well. Is there power from God in your everyday life? Do you see His hand in everything around you?

GOD RAISED up A MANby David Wilkerson

In Nehemiah´s day, the walls of Jerusalem were in ruins, the citya literal pile of stones. And the church was totally backslidden,with no witness left. The wicked powers surrounding Israelpersecuted them severely, mocking every work they tried to undertake.

How did God respond in such a time of ruin? Did He send a well-trained army to help them? Did He send a palace guard to smitetheir prominent enemies? No, God raised up a man-Nehemiah.
Nehemiah was a man with God´s burden on his heart. He spenthis time praying, fasting and mourning, because he was brokenover Israel´s condition. He also continually dug into God´s Word,grasping prophecy and moving in the Spirit.

Although Nehemiah served as cupbearer to the king of Persia,he remained separate from the wickedness surrounding him. Inthe midst of all the sensuality, immorality and godlessnesstaking place in Israel, he maintained a holy walk with the Lord.

And, in turn, everyone who heard him preach was purified in soul.
Soon a revival of holiness swept the land. "The priests and theLevites purified themselves, and purified the people, and thegates, and the wall" (Nehemiah 12:30). The house of God alsowas purged, with everything of flesh cast out. Nehemiah sentworkers into the temple, telling them, "I want every piece offilth out of here. Don't leave anything that has to do withidolatry or sensuality" (see Nehemiah 13:8-9).

Beloved, this is God´s concept of revival! It is all about sweepingout every chamber in your heart that´s unclean and unsanctified.He wants no dark places left.

Where did Nehemiah get such spiritual authority, to causecompromisers to tremble, and to bring back godly fear to thetemple? The king did not give it to him. No church bishop gaveit to him. He didn't learn it from a Bible school.

No, Nehemiah got his authority on his knees-weeping, broken,wanting to know God´s heart. And because he was a man ofprayer, he was able to confess the sins of a whole nation: "Thatthou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray beforethee now, day and night . . . and confess the sins of the childrenof Israel . . . both I and my father´s house have sinned. We havedealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept thecommandments" (Nehemiah 1:6-7).

What I have learned of God so far in this journey of life is that power IS God's and belongs to Him. If there is going to be any power or spiritual authority it is going to be God's and His use of it greatly depends upon the willingness of a man to be broken and emptied so he can be filled up by God.

May we learn to spend our lives on our knees and let God raise us up!

The Wisdom Of Mothers

2013-12-18T21:49:00.001-06:00

It's that time of year again and it always makes me think of my childhood days. Those days were filled with memories of my mother and some of the things she would say to us kids. Sometimes they were profound things and other times they were just plain funny. Some were very memorable and I think worth recording and sharing with others.

I'm sure you have some of these "Mother Quotes" in your growing up memories. These are some that I found from a newspaper article. I modified a few of them for my particular memories although these are most likely the ones you mother used to teach you about life as well, Please use the comment section below and add the one or more that stood out in your growing up life. Here are some of mine.

1. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE. “If you’re gonna kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning."
2. My mother taught me RELIGION. “You better pray that will come out of the carpet.”
3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL. "If you don’t straighten up, I’m gonna knock you into the middle of next week.”
4. My mother taught me LOGIC. “Because I said so, that’s why.”
5. My mother taught me MORE LOGIC. “If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you’re not going to the store with me.”
6. My mother taught me FORESIGHT. “Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you’re in an accident.”
7. My mother taught me IRONY. “Keep crying, and I’ll give you something to really cry about.”
8. My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS. “Shut your mouth and eat your supper.”
9. My mother taught me about CONTORIONISM. “Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!”
10. My mother taught me about STAMINA. “You’ll sit there until all that spinach is gone.”
11. My mother taught me about WEATHER. “This room of yours looks like a tornado went through it.”
12. My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION. “Just you wait till we get home.”
13. My mother taught me about RECEIVING. “You’re going to get it when your father gets home.”
14. My mother taught me about MEDICAL SCIENCE. “If you don’t stop crossing your eyes, they are going to stick that way.”
15. My mother taught me ESP. “Put your sweater on; don’t you think I know when you’re cold?”
16. My mother taught me about HUMOR. “When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don’t come running to me.”
17. My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT. “If you don’t eat your vegetables, you’ll never grow up.”
18. My mother taught me about GENETICS. “You are just like your father.”
19. My mother taught me WISDOM. “When you get to be my age, you’ll understand.”
20. My mother taught me about ROOTS. “Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?"
21. My mother taught me about JUSTICE. “One day I hope you have 10 kids and they turn out just like you.”

Are You Making Your Spouse Miserable?

2013-11-17T16:54:00.001-06:00

OK, this list of ten things is certainly not all-inclusive but it definitely has the potential of helping your relationship with your spouse become better. Remember when you first met your spouse and there were things that you overlooked and thought quaint or mildly annoying? Well, with time, those little things can become big things (as all things grow with time) and those massive things can make you forget what is really important.

It's good to check periodically on the important matters of life to see if something needs to be adjusted and changed. That is growth and maturity. Without a periodic checkup you can become weak, sickly and die. Best not let your relationship get to that point. Take this 10 point checkup and see where you may be needing to adjust you thinking and your life.

10 Things Every Couple Needs To Stop Doing
NOVEMBER 9 BY AMY MORIN IN COMMUNICATION, RELATIONSHIPSMost couples develop some bad habits over time that can wreak havoc on the relationship. Here are 10 things every couple needs to stop doing before they damage their relationship.
1. Giving Your Partner Your Partial AttentionChecking email, texting, or watching TV while your partner is in the same room doesn't constitute quality time together. However, many people have difficulty unplugging and giving their partner their undivided attention long enough to hold a real conversation. Give your partner your full attention so you can truly connect with one another.

2. Skimping on the Compliments
You can never give too many compliments. However, as a relationship matures, compliments often begin to dwindle. Give your partner plenty of encouragement. Offer praise and genuine words of encouragement to help your partner navigate each day with confidence.

3. Keeping Score
Keeping score and trying to ensure that everything is fair can make couples argue more like siblings. Everything doesn't have to be fair in your romantic relationship. Trying to keep a tally of who has done the most or who has earned something will only damage your relationship. Focus on giving to your partner rather than worrying about what you’re getting.

4. Not Being a Person of Your WordYour partner needs to know you are trustworthy. Make promises that you’ll follow through with. Don’t say things that you don’t mean and don’t make promises you don’t intend to keep. Building trust, loyalty, and security in the relationship means that your partner needs to know you are a person of your word.

5. Talking More Than ListeningCommunication should involve listening more than you speak. However, most people focus more on getting their point across rather than truly trying to understand what their partner has to say. Focus on listening to your partner and developing an understanding of your partner’s point of view before trying to express your opinion. Listening to your partner can reduce a lot of conflict caused by misunderstandings.

6. Listening Passively OnlyListening should be an active process. However, many people treat it like a passive activity. Not talking doesn't constitute listening. In order to actively listen to someone, you should ask questions, nod your head, and seek clarification when you don’t understand. Get rid of other distractions and focus on what your partner has to say by showing you are actively trying to understand what is being said.

7. Making the Relationship Lower on the Priority ScaleRelationships often top the priority scale in the beginning but over time, a relationship can slip down the priority list slowly. Kids, jobs, extended family, and friends can all take precedence over the relationship if you’re not careful. The lower the relationship falls on the priority scale, the more likely the relationship will suffer.

8. Offering CriticismGiving too much criticism can break down a relationship quickly. Offering your opinion about what your partner doesn't do right or should be doing differently can create a wedge in the relationship. Offer feedback in a way that is tactful and diplomatic and make sure you are giving more positive feedback than negative.

9. Nagging One AnotherNagging is an annoying habit that can make a relationship become more painful than joyful. It’s okay to ask your partner to do something but avoid nagging if the job doesn't get done according to your time frame. Treat your partner like a responsible adult, not a child who needs parenting.

10. Trying to Change Each OtherTrying to change your partner will only backfire on you in the long-run. You can change yourself only. Focus on changing your own behavior and it may or may not lead your partner to change. Accept that you can’t force your partner to change and accept that your partner does not have to do what you want.

Well? How did you do? Got some thoughts about what you want your spouse to change so your life is simpler and easy?

I'm sure you do! Better read this again and this time look at you differently.

It's not all about you! It's about caring for your spouse and making their life richer and blessed by being everything you can be for them. Our lives are not about making our life easier and better by everyone catering to our preferences and wishes. It's about giving up our preferences and wishes and taking care of those that are around us. Not the other way around.

There are some simple things we can do to change the way we look at others. You can get started today by thinking about someone else but yourself and focusing on doing something for that person you live with everyday, or that person you work with, or anyone you might run into who needs a kind word or a helping hand.

Check out this link for another thought about the way you think about the world around you.

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/13-things-mentally-strong-people-dont.html