All joy...all pain... let me look to YOU!

What a time of the year this has been. Not only for me and my family...but for my friends also. The holiday season is a time for giving thanks....sharing with family and friends...fellowship! But this isn't always the case. This time of the year can be a very difficult time for many people...me included. I do have the most wonderful friends right now....I feel more connected...and closer to my friends now than I ever have at any other time in my life. I care more for these friends than I have ever cared before. As I think about each of my friends I realize that they are all going through different seasons from one another. Some are in a season of great joy....some sorrow....some physical pain....some emotional pain. Some are getting closer to God...while some seem to be drifting away from Him. There are a couple verses that comes to mind for each of my friends....

Psalm 105:4
Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.

Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose.

You see...in every situation in life... be it good or bad...happy or sad... always look to the Lord our God because in all things God works for our good. I know that many times we have to wonder what good can come of our situation. I'm here to tell you that you can use the experience of such a hard time to minister to someone else. In both good times and bad times we gain a personal knowledge of the situation that can be used by others. So I say to my friends.... Look to the Lord and his strength in all things because God works for our good according to His purpose! Amen!

May you all be blessed...

A CHALLENGE....

Ok...a couple days ago I decided to try a little experiment. I have the website I like to go to where people post little funny sayings and other will rate them with a little "thumbs-up" or "thumbs-down". A lot of these posts are rather 'nasty' in nature. Graphic and explicit. So I decided to go the other direction and post scripture....just to see the response. Most of the posts get a little vote traffic on them. 4 will like...6 will dislike or maybe 7 like...2 dislike. Well as of writing this blog the first scripture I posted is currently 38 like and 164 dislike. The second of these posts is currently at 30 like and 138 dislike. Why do you suppose this is? This site is set up so you can only vote once on a posting. I find this to be rather exciting! What a wonderful field to sow seeds. There was a series of posts following my second one that debated the actual existence of God Himself. WOW! There are so many out there that are under the control of Satan! They are so blind to the Word! They actually try to quote scripture and can't. They say such foul things about our Father...but I really don't find this overly offensive. For as Jesus said as he was crucified

"Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." ~Luke 23:34

I know that they are under the influence of Satan and they agonize over the Word of God. I am positive that these seeds will come to harvest...someone will seek Jesus. It may not be directly because of these scriptures I post...but they will begin to work inside and allow God to do His work.

The reason I titled this blog "A CHALLENGE..." is that I challenge you to find a forum like the one I found... where you can post scripture and see the feedback from this post. Don't be afraid to defend the Word. It can change someone's life... and it can be good practice to face doubters in real life.

Be Blessed....

Slivers....and thorns

Today at work I was handling some metal support tubes that have been machined...and they sometimes have little metal burrs on them that will get stuck in your hand. Very painful! But they did remind me of a Children's Sermon that I did at our church....and I just feel led to share it with all of you.

This is a story of a lion and a mouse.... One day a lion was walking through the jungle... doing king of the beasts things. When suddenly he stepped on a thorn and it stuck deep in his paw. The lion ROARED with pain. He painfully walked towards home roaring with each step. All the jungle animals stayed clear of the lion because they were very afraid. Unable to get to his home the lion finally laid down on the ground hoping the pain would quit enough for him to continue. As he lay there... a little mouse, searching for food, came up to the lion and saw the big thorn in his paw. Without hesitation, the little mouse grabbed onto the thorn and pulled with all his might. A sharp pain shot through the lion and the he jumped to his feet. Looking around to see who he was about to devour for hurting him...he sees this little mouse standing there holding a thorn. Realizing this mouse just pulled the thorn out of his paw...the lion lifted the little mouse and thanked him. The lion was so happy he could just lick that little mouse. The lion put the little mouse on top of his head and paraded around the jungle telling all he saw what this brave mouse had done.

I had a lot of fun telling this story to all the little people at church... I played the part of the lion. HAHA! So...this leads me to todays related scripture.....

Matthew 25

⁴⁰"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

⁴⁵"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

You see...the little mouse saw that the lion was hurting and knew what to do. The lion passed many other animals as he tried to get home. Only one knew what to do and did it....the little mouse. The mouse didn't know how the thorn got into the lion's paw...and he didn't need to know. The mouse just knew he had to get the thorn out. There are many people out there in the world with a pain, a problem, a concern..."a thorn in their paw". God puts you in certain places at certain times because you may be the only person who can help a person with a "thorn in their paw". You don't need to know how the thorn got there but you will know how to ease the pain. Granted, some people go around roaring like the lion but we must approach them ...and with caution and respect we will be able to ease their pain. For what you do for the least of the people around you...you also do for Jesus. But, what you do not do for the least of the people around you... you do not do for Jesus. I pray that you learn to see these golden opportunities to serve Jesus....to be the little mouse for someone else for God placed you at that place at that time for a purpose. Now, to flip it over...I also pray that if you are hurting...you realize when someone is put before you by God to help you...to be YOUR little mouse. Praise God in both instances!!!

Be Blessed...

Snuggie?...

The subject for today's entry is similar to something I referred to in my very first entry... about coats for dogs! I was assaulted on two fronts with this subject yesterday... 1st was by a friend of mine who happen to send me a picture of a Snuggie for dogs. Now...I find the whole idea of a Snuggie to be very humorous. But to have an actual Snuggie for your dog? hahaha... OK...2nd wave of the assault came from a dear friend of mine who 'suggested' that I write a blog about Snuggies... when I say 'suggested'...I really mean 'demanded'. 8~)
For your enjoyment...I include the picture my friend sent me... hahaha ...thanks Howard!



A Snuggie... for those of you who have never had the pleasure of seeing the wonderful commercials... is basically a blanket with arms. The reason for the arms is so you can stay nice and comfy but yet have the freedom to accomplish things...like read a book, answer the phone, hold a child, etc... without having to struggle to get your hands free from under a regular blanket. I just love the commercials...they crack me up. I try to find reasons to us a Snuggie comment or status update on Facebook. Never fails to get a laugh from somebody. So...I was at work this morning trying to think of a way to use this Snuggie subject in a blog entry that relates to scripture.... Well... as usual, the Spirit of God helped me to understand what a wonderful metaphor this little sleeved blanket is to understanding Him... I will start with a scripture then go on from there...

2 Corinthians 1:3

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort

This is such an awesome scripture.... isn't it? ...the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort. Praise be to God! You know...no matter what situation you are in...whether you are on top of the world...or hitting rock bottom... God is always there to comfort you. I know that sometimes it doesn't feel like it. Sometimes you may think that you have been abandoned ... forsaken. This is so untrue. If you look to God in every situation you will find His comfort....all because of His compassion and His grace. I personally have been where I thought I was at rock bottom...and He found me there...broken and helpless. It was then that I realized the love of God for all of us. He delivered me from the worst situation that I ever known...but he wouldn't do anything until I sought Him first. After I reached for Him... He put a series of events into motion that can only be described and miraculous. That wasn't the end tho...I learned to seek God in all situations...and praise Him in all situations. I am here to tell you that this single act can bring such comfort to you when you need it most. This comfort and compassion is there 24/7. So how does all this relate to a Snuggie?... Well, I'm glad you asked.... A Snuggie allows you to be comfortable but yet unrestricted. You do not feel like your hands are tied as you do while under a blanket. Have you ever been nestled down under a cozy blanket watching a movie only to have the phone ring? Remember how much you had to struggle to hurry out from under the blanket to get to the phone? God's comfort is very much the same. When you have God's comfort you have the freedom to accomplish anything... to move outside of your self imposed "comfort zone". You can try new ministries knowing that God is there to guide you ... to catch you... to comfort you. Your hands are free to do the work of God. So many Christians want to wrap themselves up in the comfort of God but they are using an old blanket. They find their "comfort zone" and just stay there. God wants us to grow...to expand out horizons in His ministry...to use our hands and reach for others all while being in His comfort. Praise God...for He is the perfect Snuggie!

Be Blessed.....

IN THE HEAT OF BATTLE....

Ahhhh... Sundays... I love Sundays. Especially during football season. What can I say? I love the NFL! Go Vikings!!!!...haha. I get to start the day off going to church...taking part in an adult Sunday School class, then to worship with one or the funniest pastors I have ever known. After church I work on my final rosters for my various Fantasy Football teams. But all this has one thing in common...the heat of battle!

James 4:1

[ Submit Yourselves to God ] What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you?

Whether it is a football game or your Christian walk...you are in a battle. In both cases you have a collection of individuals that have the sole purpose to stop you in what you are trying to accomplish. In football...you are trying to reach a goal...the endzone... and the opposition is trying to keep you out of it. They do all they can to stop you in your tracks. Still the football team runs play after play sometimes on a long sustained drive...sometimes they try to strike quickly. Either way the opposition is attempting to stop them. The same goes for your Christian walk.... you have one goal...heaven! And the opposition...team Satan...is trying to stop you! This opposition will do everything in their power to stop you in reaching this goal! They will lie...try to persuade you to sin... whisper in your ear to make you think ill thoughts of others...keep you from the wisdom of God. So, like the football team, you must run play after play in a long sustained drive to eventually reach the 'endzone' called Heaven. Some Christians have terrible things happen to them and they reach Heaven in a quick strike fashion... but praise be to God... for they have SCORED!

Have a BLESSED day....

AND SO IT BEGINS.....

I guess I must start with the question....Why am I doing this? I am not a man of many words... I don't write well... I don't even know if I will have enough subjects to talk about on here. I'm going to give it a go anyway. So... to answer the question of 'Why?' ... I don't really know. I am hoping that it will help my grow in my own understanding of myself as well as help other to maybe understand me better also. I have a feeling there may be a few people out there that believe there is no understanding me...haha! I have no idea where this journey will take us... like Robert Frost's road less taken. I do know that there will be entries that will make you laugh... make you think... may even make you cry. Most of all... make you consider Jesus. In most of these blog entries I will base them on a scripture. I am learning the importance of using scripture to help understand the situations life puts you in....the good and the bad. So lets start with a scripture that talks about the beginning...

Genisis 1:1
¹ In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

I think about this first verse in the bible quite often.... I look around at everything and think how this has all been created by God. How we wouldn't even be here if He wasn't 'The Creator" of everything. All this business about a big bang and everything created by chance... too impossible. I can't help but believe that there is an intelligent design to our world. And that Designer is in charge of all that happens. The good and the bad. I bring this up to talk about our purpose to being here. Have you ever thought about why you are on this earth? Is it to just exist ... then die? Seems kind of a waste of time doesn't it? For all of you that have pets I will use this analogy to help make my point. For this example...lets use a pet dog. To have a dog you first create an environment for that dog to live in. You get a bed for your dog... you get food for your dog...and bowl for it to eat and drink out of. You get toys for it to play with. Some even get coats for the dog to wear so it can go outside....I have yet to figure that one out!!!...haha. You get all this stuff for your dog for what reason? What purpose does this dog have? Does it do the dishes for you in return for your provision? Does it clean your house? .... No..it does none of these. What is it that you desire from this dog? Answer: For it to love you....to worship you. This is the very same purpose we have....to worship God... to love Him. I'm not saying that we are like pets to God...we are much more than that. We are companions...his children. All He wants from us is our love..and to worship Him...honor who He is. So look around... see all that God created. Let the Spirit fill you with a sense of awe!...and worship Him today!

God Bless you all...