Knowing Our Place In This World

I've neglected my blog for a while now. I partially blame this on Facebook, because I can make instant "posts" to what is affecting me in this world at any particular time. That one thing has severely hindered my will to write blog posts for a couple of years now. It's not that I don't have anything to say, I just say it multiple times a day, through a different outlet.

Saying that - some things require a different outlet, as a small comment window on Facebook, filled with blog post worthy ramblings will often go by unread, even if the content is spot on. People are just too lazy to read. But, that doesn't mean that God will not draw the attention and focus from those who He would have read the post, even if it is only one or two people.

I made such a rambling just now and knew that I had to put it in blog form, as my Facebook feed will go largely unseen. So here is my post, copied and pasted for the whole World Wide Web to possibly see, instead of my current 563 friends on Facebook alone. This is my heart right now, in light of the recent things happening in my world, in our world.

Sinners are going to sin. Period. It's not our "job" to call them out on it, it's our "job" to continue loving them. Period. This is the same as Christ's example of dining with tax collectors and prostitutes, because it was so radical in His day to do so.

I have friends who are sinners. I enjoy their company. I enjoy talking to them and building friendships with them. I may not have the bond with them as I do with a brother or sister in Christ, but there are bonds there.They do not agree with me on everything, and they still love me (like, some may call it because the term "love" is strong for some folks). I do not agree with them on everything and I still love them.

The world is our mission field. Our command is to "go, make disciples", not "go, tell people that they are sinners", although that topic will come up from time to time. God has placed each Christian within their very own, personal mission field no one else has your scope of influence, no one knows everyone in your circle, do not take it for granted.

The recent events in Kentucky have given me new perspectives. I am firm on my definition of marriage, because I know from God's Word what marriage is to Him- It is the earthly picture of Christ's love for His Bride, the Church and anything contrary to husband and wife is a distortion of that picture. But, the world is going to be the world. Those who do not know God are not going to follow God. That does not mean we cave or bend to the world, it means that we continue to stand on God's Word and show the world Christ's example. We do not say "yes, you're correct and we need to re-examine our stance in this time and understanding place in time" - We continue to say "This is what God says and even though I disagree with you I still love you, I still call you my friend, my brother, my sister, my mother, my co-worker, my son, my daughter, my boss, my server at the restaurant, my check out person at the grocery store, my tax collector, my banker, my ........".

We are salt and light to this world. We are to show how God has made us different. I have seen this example in others and have learned (discipled, if you will) into a better understanding of what Christ meant when He said those words. This doesn't mean that I condone any sinful lifestyle, this means I love my friends regardless, even when everyone else turns their back on them. This means that I extend my hand any time they fall and not say "I told you so". It doesn't matter the particular application, we are to simply be Christ to this world. Period. How that looks to each member of the Body will vary, but all will have the same goal - To glorify the Father through Christ.

I always stand on God's Word as authority, even in these dark days, with major issues in opposition to God here in the USA; especially in these days. I will not bend, I will not waver, but I will continue to love my neighbor just as Christ did.

I could go into the implications of standing firm for God, being called a "hater" a "bigot" ,etc. but nothing could be further from the truth. The reaction from the world should not deter or make us waver. Continue to love. Continue to extend your hand. Continue to be Christ, even to death if that is the final outcome, with the words of Jesus ringing true from your mouth, in hopes that some will be saved "Father, forgive them. They do not know what they do".

Allowing The World To Point You To Christ

I woke up with a thought on my mind this morning. I don't know if it is an original thought or if I may have heard it from someone along the way and the dark recesses of my mind only recalled it this day (I will do a search after I am finished writing this post and will let you know at the end of the post if it is an original thought or give credit to the originator).

"Everyone in your life is either pointing you to Christ or trying to discourage your relationship with Christ"

I'm going to have to break that down, because this thought, while often true, doesn't have to be. As Christians we love fellowship with the brothers and sisters that God has put in our lives; our church family, our pastor, our "blood" family, friends on Facebook and even some co-workers. When we think of those that point us to Christ we think of those people and rightfully so, they know Christ as well, our spirits bear witness to one another and we are greatly encouraged with interactions. So, the first part of the quote is a given. But what about the second part?

Along my walk with Christ there has come others that are seemingly there to try and discourage my relationship with my Lord. They, too, could be close friends, professing Christians, family members, co-workers or even the cashier at the grocery store. Sometimes they may call you a "fanatic" or "Jesus Freak" or "Holy Roller", but all in an attempt to try and make you look odd or weird because you actually follow what scripture says; that you love God and love people. This can get you down because we, as humans, still crave acceptance and rejection is not what anyone wants or desires. They offer worldly "fixes" to your problems and do not point to God. What do we do then? Usually lay off a little bit, maybe turn down the volume knob from 11 when around those people. But, I say "Why?". Why would we want to snuff, maybe the only Light these people might ever see? Why allow them to think that a relationship with God should be based on their views or any other view not found in scripture but is rooted in the world view?

I suggest that when these people are placed in our life that it is not coincidental. Instead of allowing them to manipulate our actions, words or deeds when in their presence that we do the same things that we do when we are within the walls of a church building - Praise God. Do not let an attack drive you from Christ, but let it fuel an increased dependency to run TO Christ. Take it as yet another reason to seek His face, to lift this lost person up that they may sing the same praises to God as you.

Remember that we are not fighting against flesh and blood, but against things in the spiritual realm. Most people are under the influence of this world and their views are based on the morality (or lack of) that is set forth by people. Now, I'm not saying all people are possessed by demons, but I do believe a lot are. I believe those that are not have been lulled into the creed of "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law", or more easily understood as "Let me live my life the way I want, you live your life, whatever feels good for you is perfectly fine", which I translate as "There are no absolutes and everyone makes their own truth about everything". This  of course, is not valid if you actually follow the Bible and God as Scripture reveals how a follower of Christ actually is.

Society says that all views are valid, until you start speaking in absolutes. This is self refuting because that statement is an absolute statement. This kind of thinking is better known as "post-modernism", which has infiltrated the "church" (lowercase c). I like to say it has infiltrated the perceived church, or what the world sees as the "church". Now that the World sees professing Christians say that we must question everything in the Bible, that the Word of God is invalid in some areas, that "sin" is not really sin and then see other's say that we must still follow the Word of God and actually still do, they are seen as "radical fundamentalists" or fanatics. I'd just say that they are actually Christians that are still seeking to follow Jesus Christ.

Back to the subject at hand, sorry for the rabbit chasing. Christian! Don't let this world discourage you from a true relationship with God. Seek people that can be a mutual edification between you and them, plant yourself in a true Church Body that loves and seeks after God in all things. Ground yourself in the Word of God. Purge yourself of as much of this world as possible. Seek Jesus Christ. Let the World be a constant reminder of how much you need God, in every step you take, every breath you take, every word you say. Let those that could be discouragement instead be another reason to praise God and call upon Him. Use this world as encouragement, to seek God instead of something that will drag you down and cause spiritual decline.

Seek God in all things. Praise God in all things. Speak of God in all things. Live to God in all things. Allow God to use you to further His Kingdom. Do not conform to this World and allow it to mold you. Let go and let God.

(I just did a fast search and did not find anyone else that had said the original quote of this post. This thought has been building in me over the past few weeks as a current trial has been developing. I have seen God greatly encourage me through the Body, I have heard worldly advise and I have seen attacks from people that claim to have the same Spirit residing in them as I do. I have let the latter affect me, but no more. I know my God is faithful and my God is able. I know that God fights for me and I know that all things He allows in my life are for my good. He has placed His yoke upon me and is carrying my weight  He is directing my path and He is ordering my steps. I have His promises that He will do only good for this situation, that I am not being punished for anything because Christ bore ALL of my punishment on Calvary. I need only trust that He is working all things for my good and just follow His lead. He is in control and I rest in that.)

Allowing The Body To Be The Body

Do you put a blindfold over your eyes when driving down the road? Do you tie your hands behind your back when having dinner? Do you bind your feet when going swimming? I didn't think so. Then why can't we allow the Body of Christ to work as God designed it to?

So many times we (and by "we" I mean "me") want to handicap the Body. I make excuses and have false reasonings  but what it comes down to is sin. God has been gracious to us, His children, to place us into the universal Body of Christ, but it actually goes further than that. He has placed us within local bodies, that must be given the opportunity to function.

I am learning this through a trial that is in my life at this moment. I have no control over anything, which is scary for me. I am a "fixer", I like to know what's going on and I try to figure out all the tangents that my puny mind can think of. Know what? Most of the time I am wrong and things work out differently, so my worries have been for naught. Of course scripture has a lot to say about this and I "know" these things, but only on the occasions that things are out of my control do I learn the lesson all over again. Why can't I seem to remember this in my daily life? Why can't Matthew 6:20-34 sink in without a trial?

Why can't I share my burdens with the rest of the body so they can come along side me in prayer? Why do I feel the need to deprive the plan of God to allow His body to function in the way that He designed? The short answer is, of course, sin. The long answer includes pride, our stubbornness or maybe even just not wanting to burden someone else with what we see as "our issues". I think it is the latter for me as I hear others who are striving and asking for prayer I "feel" that it wouldn't be "fair" to encumber them any more than they already are. Know what I'm finding out? That the saying "Misery loves company" should actually be "Needs need company".
This is wonderfully summed up in Galatians 5:13-14:

For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Then Paul goes on to tell us in Galatians 6:2:

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

It really doesn't get much plainer than that. We are to actually take the burdens of others as our own and "bear" them along side. No prerequisite that we are to not have any burdens when someone else does, nothing about not wanting to impose on anyone else, just the admonition to "bear one another's burdens". What does that look like? I can speak from experience that it looks just like it sounds. We all have our "problems" and we all come along side one another and pray, seek God, comfort, hold up, lend a shoulder, cry together, whatever it takes to "bear one another's".

God has been so good to His children. Even in what looks to be a challenging time He has shown His grace and mercies. He is teaching me some things through a current trial, actually re-teaching my stubborn self. I will be sharing in the near future the trials that are before me and my family and ask for you, others in the Body of Christ, to bear our burdens and to function as He designed. He works through His people and He loves to lavish Himself on us. What may seem daunting is nothing for the One who created the Universe. Even if we can't see the end, you can believe that is a sure sign that you should immediately turn it over to Him.

Still learning and still asking for prayer.


Matthew 6:34:

Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

A Country In Mourning

I continue to mourn the lives lost of so many many children. What a horrific thing to lose so many children so brutally. My heart weeps each time I hear of their young lives snuffed out so quickly. No hope of defense. No hope of safety.

With the events this past week in Connecticut my heart is very heavy. My eyes well with tears thinking of this each time I hear a news report, each time a person mentions it. I can't imagine the horrors these children faced. I've fought myself on drawing a contrast to abortion and up until now have been successful. I've not said anything because these families, in grief, lost their dear children in a very different way than abortion.

These families got to know their children. They saw that these lives are viable and that the embryo that grew within the mother's womb was a life. A living person was conceived and was born, lived, and was taken, brutally. Abortion is the same, except the mother, father and the rest of the family never got a chance to know that dear child. They never had the opportunity to kiss their cheek, they never got to hear them cry because their diaper was full, they never got the chance to watch them play soccer, they never got the chance to hear them sing or to even see them smile. Their precious lives were snuffed before any opportunity of life.

 How great the horrors of Sandy Hook and how great the horrors of the abortion clinics across the United States. 20 children were heartlessly gunned down Friday and the nation cried together. Our President gave, what I believe to be, a heartfelt speech on the atrocities of that day. For once, since President Obama was elected, I saw a commonality with him. We cried together.

/>Thinking of that day and the days since, the memorials, the tears, the news stories, I hear wounded people searching. What I don't see is the same wounds for those that never even got the chance to attend school. Since Roe v. Wade America has grown callous toward human life. In the name of convenience or any other false rationale we murder children by the millions. The difference? That killing children by a medical procedure is "legal". I do not want to discount or even remotely lessen the crimes at Sandy Hook, but want to use that to emphasize how depraved our society has become. It is so hard to not see the hypocrisy of our President, of the media and of the others that rightfully condemn the actions of the gunman, but turn around and say killing other children is a choice. It's just doesn't make sense. A few years earlier the media that condemns this shooting would have championed the "healthcare choice" of the mother to kill this same child in the womb. Can they not see the irony in that?

What it comes down to is a need for the Gospel. Just as everything else in this world does. Christians need to stand up for life, they need to proclaim the Gospel and they need to be the voice for the voiceless. In a place in time that humanity has so collectively turned their backs on God there still is Hope. God is longsuffering with us. He knows how black our hearts are and He waits for us. But, He will not wait forever, He is returning one day (soon hopefully) and Christians need to be diligent in proclaiming His Name to all they come into contact with. God can and will use people to make a difference, that is His mode of operation that He chooses more than any other. He has commanded Christians to be the salt and light in this dying world and we must do that.... daily.... every minute.

Rise up followers of Christ and proclaim His Name. Shower this dark world with His light that He shines through you, the Light, the Christ.

The Scope Of Your Influence

God has graced me with, what I think is, a good job with a good benefits package that includes vacation time. This week is vacation time with the first 2 days were spent watching our sick grandson instead of sending him to daycare which was a great time. Yesterday and today have been chore days, which makes me think this is not really a vacation after all, but it is good to not be bogged down with “work”.

This morning, before venturing into chore mode, I came across a video of Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty/ Duck Commander fame. I was first introduced to Phil and his family via the Duck Dynasty TV series and first heard of the show in my Sunday School class. One of the teens in there said they were watching it and said that they were Christians, so I had to check it out. Now, let me be upfront, I have never been duck hunting in my life and only been any kind of hunting one time, for rabbit, which I felt bad afterward and never went again. I have the luxury of not having the need to hunt, but would and will if the need ever arises, so I do not think hunting is “wrong” and is actually quite “right”. If you watch the video series I post at the end of this posting you will hear just how God designed us as hunters.

During the video I heard a little about hunting, which is to be expected, but then heard a LOT about God. It was awesome and I soon began to realize that God had given these men favor, through hunting, to preach the Gospel. Their scope of influence is broad now, thanks to a love for hunting and God's working in their lives to put them in the a large scope of influence. This got me thinking about my scope of influence.

While my “world' is not as broad as the Robertson family has been given, my task is the same – Preach the Gospel to everyone I come into contact with. This means my job, when I go shopping, to my neighbor, to the mailman, the UPS man, the counter person at McDonalds and in my own home. Just because these men have been given a larger “audience” doesn't mean that we are to have a large audience to proclaim the Gospel. Everyone's audience is given by God for specific reasons. My audience could never be the same as Phil or Jase Robertson as I know nothing about hunting, but not a single Robertson can have my audience or your audience. And please don't misunderstand my use of the word “audience”, which is not meant in an entertainment since, but in a “who God puts in my life who hears my voice and who I can tell about Him”.

So I ask anyone who may happen across this posting, who God has put in my scope of influence, to look around you. Look at the opportunities that God places in your life everyday to tell of His glory. You don't have to keep asking “God please give me the opportunity to....” because He already does, they are already there. Turn that prayer into “God please allow me eyes to see the opportunities you have already given to me, to share your Gospel, to share your love”. I guarantee you He will and while you may never get a reality TV show you will be partaking in the Great Commission of making disciples.

I encourage each of you to watch these videos and see how God has placed hunting in their lives in order to share the Gospel. If you are a Christian you will be greatly encouraged. As you watch pray and ask God to show you the opportunities that you may have to do this same thing, in the scope of influence He has placed before you.  

Phil

(6 videos, about 10 minutes each)

Jase

(Almost and hour long, but great)

Becoming The Perfect Husband

(This is my latest post at the Treasuring Christ  website. Please take a moment to look over the website. There are many great resources available there.)

If you take a look at my avatar you will see E 5:25. Not that you may have noticed it before, or if you have you may have just thought it was the number on the back of my favorite sports player’s jersey or something similar. The fact is that means Ephesians 5:25, a verse that gripped me a few years ago and refuses to relinquish its grasp.

Ephesians 5:25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her........

Please continue reading at he Treasuring Christ website

Weighty Matters

Last year, here on my blog,  I chronicled my journey on my way to losing 60+ pounds. Over a 10 month (+/-) time frame I had many people telling me how good I looked, asking me how I was losing the weight and just over all being a cheerleader for me. I appreciated those comments, but when my new “look” had become old news the support dwindled.

It was October or so of last year, while on a business trip, that I decided that I was going to “splurge” for the trip. That set off a chain reaction that had me gaining back a lot of the weight I lost. How much? I have no idea, because I refuse to weigh myself. I’m disgusted that I allowed the weight to come back and I’m disgusted that I lost the will to jump back on the wagon and keep the weight dropping. I succumbed to food again and had dove full force into the old eating habits that I once had.

What was different during the time that I had begun to gain the weight back was that others never mentioned my weight gain, as they had my weight loss. I’m sure it was because they thought I would be embarrassed by the comments or didn’t want to hurt my feelings, so I don’t fault anyone, but I do wonder why I only had a couple of people ever mention my weight gaining.

I do think that it may have made some difference in my perceptions. If I had known that others were noticing, then I may have stepped back and reevaluated what I was doing. During the time I have gained the weight back I was not being held accountable by anyone. I depended on myself to “saddle up” and muster up the will power to stop eating the food that held me captive, but always put it off. “What’s another Swiss Roll going to do?” or “What is one more trip to the Pizza Inn buffet going to add?” Which I determined wouldn’t be a lot. And that is probably true, a single Swiss Roll or a single dinner at Pizza Inn would not have made much of an impact, but it was deeper than that. It was sin.

Reflecting on the roller coaster of weight loss (this time), I have seen how it does parallel sin. I see that I need support, both while I am doing “good” and winning the battle. But, more importantly I need the support when the battle is beating me. I need to be held accountable for the sins in my life. I need people to point out that I treat my wife lousy some times, that I raise my voice to often at the kids, that lust runs rampant, food becomes an idol and laziness just breeds more laziness and excuses. I believe this is part of bearing our brothers sins/ burdens (Galatians 6:1-2, Romans 15:1, Proverbs 27:17, James 5:13-20, Ephesians 4:25)

We are weak creatures. We often times act from the flesh rather than from the spirit. We forget that these bodies are dying and that we are just passing through this world, en route to our true home. We tend to think “now” is time to feed this flesh of our selfish desires, to sin and sin big. We push God to the side and say, “Let me take it from here, I’ve got it under control now”. This is why we need each other. We need to lovingly come beside our brothers and sisters in Christ, our wives and husbands, or children and parents and help carry them, help them see points of sin that they may not even realize is there or may be saying as I did about eating, “I’ll do better tomorrow”. Sad thing is that tomorrow usually does not come and sin is not dealt with and things get worse. The weight piles on and the sin kills.

I just ask that we each look at our motives. Look inward and ask yourself why we do not lovingly tell someone that you have noticed sin in their life. It is actually one of the most loving things you can do for a Christian. I am not saying to become a fruit checker and try to be someone’s Holy Spirit, but allow God to use you and work through you for the sanctification of others and also for yourself. Confess to one another, become accountable to one another, be open for rebuke and be open to give rebuke. I do not hold anyone other than myself at fault for my sins or my weight gain, but I do know that if someone would have lovingly told me that they noticed the pounds coming back, or the snack cakes in my lunch or the PB&J’s that I ate on a regular basis, I probably would have heeded their words and snapped out of my self deception. The same goes for my sin. If someone confronts me and says, “ I have noticed ……., let’s pray together about this and allow me to help carry this load with you” it would make me step back and actually see things I have allowed to blind me.

Just a little food for thought….. Pun intended.

I'll Do Better...... Tomorrow

It seems I've fallen into a trap. A self placed trap of laziness, of procrastination. I have largely shucked my "duties" of keeping this blog active for any length of time, other than the "Year in my life through pictures" series that I started on my birthday in 2010 and completed on the day after my birthday in 2011. The "Year in my life" series started out as a great idea, to chronicle a year of my life from a personal level, one picture at a time. It is a great concept, on the idea level, but on the practical level it became very tedious to me and I felt it as a chore rather than something edifying. I would not change the fact that I did it, but in doing it I was kind of jaded at writing (attempting to write) a blog with any consistent pace. So, I stopped pretty much, except for the occasional post here or there to vent or if some world event was unfolding. I became something I really never have been, a procrastinator.

I've usually fared well with tasks at hand. Maybe that is why it became an issue, it was a task to write a post, so I just put it off until later. Sadly the "later" never really materialized and I became a blogger backslider and forsook the very site that I know God has used to His glory. It has to be His work, because I lack many things that are normally required of writers:
1.) Knowing how to actually write
2.) Knowing proper sentence structure
3.) Being entertaining
4.) Ability to spell words correctly
5.) Knowledge to share

See, the only thing I had going into this blog was the desire to see God glorified, to edify brothers and sisters in Christ, to challenge the lost and to vent on occasion to what I saw going on in my world around me. Through the blog I planned on chronicling the quest for a new church home that never really panned out because God saw fit to place my family in the perfect church family. Then over the years I got apathetic and clammed up for not any one reason or another. For that I am sorry, to anyone who has ever read a post here, to myself for stopping and mostly to God for developing a spirit of procrastination.

I am going to look at this "revelation" as another way for me to seek God. It seems like these seemingly "small" issues are what God uses in my life as catalysts to ready me for "bigger" things. I will seek Him for what to clunk out on the keyboard and when. I will seek to glorify Him in what I write. I will seek Him in all aspects of my life on a higher level. These "small" things need tending to in "big" ways. I simply want to tell of the love the Father has for me, for you and for the world. I want to see the false teachers silenced. I want to see sinners repent. I want to see God glorified above all, in all and through all I ever do.

So please partner with me in prayer as I seek the Lord on how to proceed. I know it will be with regular postings as that is a current burden, but other than that I will not speculate. Well, and a new look to the blog which is easier to read. I also ask that if I write anything that goes against the Word of God that you call me out on it, be Bereans and question me. I am nothing apart from Christ and I am probably the most fallible person in the blogosphere, so please help me if you see I need it. I will readily apologize if I am wrong and correct anything that is wrong. I have done this several times and have gained much from doing so.

I cherish your prayers. I cherish your opinions. I cherish your input. Please send them all my way. -Jeff

In Search Of Christmas

Over the past couple of years there has been a struggle inside of me around this time of year. What is that? About Christmas. Why is that? The commercialization? Not really, but that does play part of my thought process during the Holiday Season.

I had a great talk today with dear brother in Christ, Whitt Madden, about an article that I posted on Facebook yesterday about Christmas. This article pretty much summed up a lot of what has been going on within me lately. To put it frankly, I am torn. I am battling 43 years of instilled holiday cheer with Christmas as it really is, where it is rooted and what it has become.

To sum up the battle in a few words - Christmas did not start out as a “Christian Holiday” (Holy Day), it began as a pagan festival in recognition of the sun’s position during the winter solstice. The Roman Catholic church did not like this and began to “Christianize” the festival and pull the congregation back from the worship of Saturn, the sun god. I will not rehash what is common on the web with all that was added or “Christianized” in the process, but much of it is still seen this day in same or slightly changed forms (Yule log, tree, etc.) Fast forward to our day and society has thrown Christmas back to pagan rituals with worship of money, giving gifts, receiving gifts, decorations, family get togethers, and so many more rituals that now begin even before Halloween.

So, what is Christmas this day and age? It is not a reverence to a sun god, but it is definitely still not reverence to the Son of God and His birth either. It is a mish-mash of Roman Catholic traditions (Christ-Mas, being the most obvious) and the love of “me” (what can I do to make me feel better (give gifts,, etc), what will I get this year, how pretty can I make my tree, how many people can I feed, how many people will come to my house, and on and on). But Christ is nowhere to be found.

Am I ready to throw in the towel for Christmas? Not entirely, but to continue in how the world “celebrates” Christmas, yes. I have seen both sides of this argument played out last year and starting to see it this year. In the one camp are the staunch “You better not be celebrating Christmas - it is pagan and you definitely can’t be a Christian and celebrate Christmas - you are a heretic” contrasted with the other camp “I love Christmas time of year, family, fun, giving, singing, mistletoe, Christmas tree up before Halloween, spiced cider. Oh, and Jesus too” camp that thinks the other camp is nuts for calling them nuts and back and forth. Ughhhhh. Alas, I fit into neither camp, but somewhere in between.

I am so thankful for brothers like Whitt that God has placed in my life. He has had very similar convictions as I have (as well as others around me too). After speaking with him today I think he had the most Christ centered reaction to Christmas I have ever heard - let it be about Christ and His glory. How novel is that? Instead of giving electronics or toys that will be forgotten or broken in a few days or weeks, give that money to Cure International and watch God work through that gift to show Christ to someone in need of medical attention. Do not give a gift that does not point to Christ, either directly or that will bring people together in the Name of Christ. Some things could be bibles, hand made devotionals, donations to Cure, donation to World Vision to buy livestock for families in impoverished areas, donation to Heart Cry Missionary Society to support indigenous missionaries across the world, donations to your local Church or ministry, giving your time to Christ based missions to show the love of Christ to others. So many ways that can make an eternal impact FOR the Kingdom rather than temporary splashes that will be gone tomorrow and have no impact whatsoever.

At Whitt’s website, Be The Domino, he is a few days in to a series called “Give This Christmas Away”. I highly suggest that you check out this series and let the heart of this series impact you. Go to God and pray how He would use you to give Him away this Christmas season instead of an iTunes gift card or blu-ray player or even a baby doll. Give a gift in someone’s name to a Christ based ministry, give that person a card and inscribe in it how that the money normally spent on the superficial is now being placed in the hands of God to do the Supernatural in someone’s life. Who knows what eternal impacts can be made from Christ focused giving this year and years to come.

I know that my focus on Christmas has evolved and is continuing to be sanctified and brought into a more Christ focused view. I will not, however, be calling anyone a heretic that continues to “celebrate” as I always did nor will I be confused over the other extreme in pointing the finger back and calling people “scrooge” for shunning the “pagan rituals” of this land. As all other aspects of my life I wish to glorify the Lord in this, especially since the Holiday was given His Name.

Everything Is Better With Bacon

Day 353 in my "Year In My Life Through Pictures" blog series

Mmmmmmm bacon. I purchased this behemoth bag from, you guessed it, Sam's Club today. It is a much better deal than I have been paying at Kroger, as I have been consuming my fair share of Bacon these days. It happens to be one of the enjoyable things that I can have on my diet. I know it doesn't seem right to be eating bacon on a diet, but a low/ no carb diet is one that allows for it.

I found the other picture on the internet a long time ago. It mixes two of my favorite things, bacon and Diet Coke. I'm not sure that I would actually like this, but I'd give it a shot. Sadly this is just a parody product. but there are many other bacon products out there. Wendy's has the Baconator burger, which has a pile of bacon on a cheeseburger. Then here recently a restaurant had a bacon promotion and even had a bacon milkshake. I've also heard of chocolate covered bacon, which actually sounds kind of good to me, mixing the saltiness of the bacon with the sweetness of the chocolate. But, then again, I have weird tastes anyway.

Nothing really monumental in my life today. I have recently started praying for folks I know through the day, at least more than I have been of late. I occasionally had someone cross my mind and I would say a quick prayer, but I am working on actually purposefully bringing people to mind and praying for specific things in their life. It is hard to do at work a lot of the time because my mind is preoccupied with thinking about work stuff, but I do get moments where I just go through motions and am then able to recall specific things that I need to be praying for. God delights in our prayers, not that He needs them, but He wants us to bring our requests to Him. I do often, but not nearly often enough. Hopefully He has been working on me and this is not something I am manufacturing, in praying for my brothers and sisters and my family. I also hope that they are praying for me, which may be the way God is working on me.

Memories Of My Dad

Day 351 in my "Year In My Life Through Pictures" blog series

I found this picture of my dad today - he's the second from the right on the bottom row. I was blown away at how much my older brother resembled him at about that same age. So, I guess that means as my brother gets older he will start to look like our dad did later in his life.

I really miss my dad. I was just really getting to know him better when he passed away a little over 6 years ago. It's not that we had a bad relationship or anything, but I never really knew him as a person until later in life. I knew him as Daddy and that he was the lawn mower, mechanic, car driver, bread winning, auction going man of the house when growing up. He and my mom divorced when I was 18(ish). I think they waited until my brother and I had both graduated high school, for whatever reason. I know it was a rough time on him (and my mom too), but I never placed blame on either one of them and still do not. I know it was a mutual thing that their marriage did not work out.

Six years later, after his death, I really wish I would have talked more spiritually with him. At the time I was still lost and still looking at my prayer as an 8 year old as my reason for salvation and not to Christ. There is no telling what I would have said to him anyway, probably that he needed to pray a prayer or something, which is all I ever knew at the time. It was, however, the time in my life that God was really starting to work on me, starting to open my eyes to a lot of the false things I had been taught throughout my childhood that carried on into adulthood.

My wife was kind during the time that my dad was in the hospital following the stroke he had just prior to his passing. She allowed me to stay with him for hours every day, foregoing my duties as a husband and dad and for that I am thankful, that I was able to spend time with him. He wasn't able to speak during that time, but he was awake. I remember looking into his eyes and seeing the pain from not being able to control his body any longer because of the damages of the stroke. I could see also that he was scared and probably knew he would never be the same. He never was the same and his health started to deteriorate fairly quickly. He was forced out of the hospital and into a nursing home where he died a day or two later, with my aunt by his side. Oh how I miss him now.

If I have one thing I am sorry about it is that I never was able to share the gospel with him. As I said, at the time God was working on me and I did talk to him about God and about salvation, but was always to intimidated to go further than I did. Why? I have no idea, but I do know that I would now. I would give him the fullness of the gospel, no holds barred, not withholding any of the greatness of our Savior from his ears. I would make sure that he knew his standing before God and that he needed a Savior to stand as his Advocate. Now, I can't do that. I am left without knowing if my dad was a Christian or not. I do not know if my frail words or anyone else shared with him while he was in the hospital and if he truly trusted in Christ as his only hope for salvation. I pray that he did, in his way, as he lay there without being able to talk or communicate.

God actually uses this situation for His glory. He uses it to show me that everyone needs Christ and that a lot of Christians are intimidated in some way in telling their families about Christ, for whatever reason. I am not here to pass judgment on any of them in any way. This is what fuels me and has given me a stronger love for evangelism, because everyone has someone they love that is not saved. My hope and my prayer is that God uses me to reach the lost of this world in whatever way He sees fit. I may never know, until I reach Heaven, what impact God allowed me to have for the Kingdom.

I close this post with a request to each and every reader. Please talk to your loved ones. Seek God and ask Him to speak through you, without fear, to your family and friends. May the Lord use you in the process of the salvation of your family. Just be faithful and speak up, tell of His goodness, His Grace, His sacrifice, His patience and His love. Also don;t leave out His holiness and His hatred for sin first as they will not realize their need of saving if they do not know their true state before God. Sow the seeds of the gospel and allow God to water them.

Announcing The Birth Of Elliott 6-10-11

Day 343 in my "Year In My Life Through Pictures" blog series

So, one of those major things happened today. You know, the kind of "thing" that totally changes your life in every way. Matt and Emily welcomed baby Elliott into the world today. So that makes them, officially, parents and Chandra and I grandparents. Yeah, I know you're probably saying, "Jeff, you look so young. There is no way you can be a grandparent". That is true, but I will now be known as Grandpa, papaw, Pops, Granddaddy, Grandfather or something else that Elliott makes up for me. Whatever it is I will be fine with it, but I do kid a lot about just wanting to be called "Jeff".

Although I was not in the room when he was delivered, I was there during his first moments of life. The thought kept running through my mind of him thinking, "Okay, this is enough, put me BACK in there!" His world is now more than the comfy little apartment of Emily's belly. He is a wonderful creation of God, made in the image of God. We all are and we all scream and cry like baby Elliott has been doing since emerging from his dark, former home. Everything will be knew to him. The sights, sounds, smells, tastes and anything else that his senses perceive are all new to him.

Childbirth is what Jesus likened salvation to in John 3. Looking at this newborn baby just brings that to life for me. When God saves us we too experience things in a new light. The darkness that we were comfortable with is now but a memory and the Light of Christ exposes everything in our life. He exposes things and we begin a new existence. Our old self is dead and our new self has been born. We are no longer lifeless to the things of God and we seek nourishment from His Word. We need Him to sustain us and to supply our every need just as a newborn must have all his needs supplied by someone. That reminds me of Matthew 7:11 when Jesus says "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!" Amazing stuff right there. The Father pours out His love on us, even though we will never deserve an ounce of His mercy.

I'm sure that pictures will abound here and on Facebook of Elliott. This will not be the only time you hear about him. I'm sure I will learn much from the role of grandfather. I have already learned, "Here, he's your son, you change his diaper". Pretty good, huh?

Days Like These

Day 332 in my "Year In My Life Through Pictures" blog series

Today is/ was Memorial Day. So much more than an extra day off and a day to grill, even though both happened for me today. I also went to the movies with Chandra, Forrest and Allan, which is kind of an oddity for me as I am a cheapskate. I also mowed our grass, which is not a favorite pastime of mine, especially when it is over 90 outside, which it was today and is forecasted to be all week. Matt and Emily came out just in time to partake of the grillwork that Chandra had been doing while I was mowing.

It was a good day, not that I really have bad days, but in the sense that I had some moments with the family that aren't in the common/ everyday variety. God is continually blessing me, even when I take His blessing for granted. I must slow down sometimes to actually see His handiwork around me and get a clearer perspective of just how wonderful He is and how He directs my path. I may be a filthy wretch a lot, but thankfully He is my Father that will pick me out of the mud of sin, wash me clean and allow me to do it over and over again. I suppose if I didn't sin I wouldn't really see my need as badly as I do for His guidance and His grace in my life.

I pray for more days like this, with the family and with renewal of my spirit to see my Father more clearly. I can really see Paul's words with better understanding from Romans 7:19:
For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.

May the grace of God keep me in check and keep me focused on Him, for everything.

After The Flood

Day 326 in my "Year In My Life Through Pictures" blog series

My brother, his wife and his son came in for a few days from their home in Chattanooga. They came mostly to help our mom with getting cleaned up from the flooding. I must say my brother, nephew, our mom and my niece did an excellent job today and got everything taken out of the flooded room at my moms. They worked very hard to accomplish what they did today.

I had to work but went out when I got off. I was asked to bring my truck to get a lot of my NASCAR collectables that were stored in her room that flooded. I knew that some were going to be damaged, but did not know to what extent. Let's just say that most were and that not much will be salvageable as collectables any longer. If I had somewhere to display them I could clean the cars off, but the packaging is ruined, which makes them a lot less desirable. Actually it did make me feel dejected when first seeing the loss, but I started putting it into perspective. They are only diecast cars and other items, not someones home or family heirlooms. If I wanted to I could replace every last piece that was damaged, unlike the families that have lost much more. I then thought about the people of Joplin Missouri who were struck by a F5 tornado yesterday, nearly 120 lives were lost. My attitude has really changed about the cars that were flooded. It's not like I was doing anything with them anyway and also not like I should have gotten them out from under my moms nose long ago as well.

The picture is of the stripped room that was flooded. There is still a lot of work to be done. I sprayed the whole room with bleach water to kill the mold and any other germs that may have taken home in there. The walls will have to be stripped, the flooring will have to be smoothed out, the insulation replaced and all new walls and floor put in. It is no small task, but it will get done. That is much more than a collection of memorabilia, so another perspective eye opener. A rather large pile of my moms "stuff" lies on the other side of her road awaiting picked up by whoever the government contracts to pick it up. Some things will not be able to be replaced, some she will not want to replace and some should have been tossed years ago.

I do know that my mom needs prayer through this. She is feeling the effects of the stress and likes to get kind of antsy in her speech sometimes. Anxious is the word that come to mind with a bit of pride thrown in. So, please pray that she calms down and actually sees God through this. Pray that God puts people in her path and in her life that will show the love of Christ and help her in ways she never expected. Pray that she will see her need for an actual relationship with Christ above anything she has ever thought about. Just pray for her and those that are placed in her life in this time frame, including me and the rest of the family.

Going, Going, Almost Gone

Day 320 in my "Year In My Life Through Pictures" blog series

I guess the flood of 2011 is "officially" over, as far as the Ohio River goes. The City of Paducah removed all but 3 of the flood gates today. You can see by my 2 pictures today that the highest point that the water achieved was really high. I have a screen capture from when the workers were removing the flood gates from this location and had a dump truck parked in frame. I can transpose one picture of another and by doing that it showed that the dump truck would have been covered with water.

I think I will venture down to the flood wall soon to see the water mark and see for myself exactly how height the waters reached. I just know that I'm glad the river has given up its grip and many people can now try to rebuild their homes as well as their lives. One hindrance to that here is that FEMA has not granted individual assistance for McCracken Count Kentucky, nor any other county in Kentucky that I know of. Parts of Tennessee, Mississippiand Missouri down river have been granted individual assistance and help from FEMA, but not our immediate area yet. I rally hope it is soon, partially for selfish reasons as my mother needs to get her house repaired. We have no idea the extent of water damage yet under the floor. We do know that it was under her house for a few days and soaked into the floor in some areas which still had particle board as the sub-flooring. Throughout the other part of her house she had just had new flooring put down, including plywood and not particle board. But the floor joists may be damaged and that does not even mention the mold issues that may be flourishing around the house and in her storage room.

I do know that everything is in the Lord's hands and He will do what is right and what is good. This may not always be what we think is right and good, may be painful, but He has promised to always sustain us. This is a large trial for my mom ans she has been through several in the past few years. I do ask you to pray for her, that she will see God in this and not be focused on herself. Pray that FEMA steps in and does what they did in 1997, when the waters were nowhere near as high as they were this time. I love my mom and I don't like to see her as frazzled as she has been since being displaced. What she needs now is God and I know that He will be there if she turns to Him.

Flooding Our Minds With God

Day 316 in my "Year In My Life Through Pictures" blog series

My picture today is from the City of Paducah's Flood Wall cam. This cam has been up since the day after they installed the flood wall gates to keep the Ohio River out of the city. I actually contacted to city and suggested they do this, so that everyone around here (and across the world) could check in from time to time and see how high the river has gotten.

The river is on the downswing right now. You can see the water line on the flood gate in the mid-right portion of the picture. If not for these flood gates and this flood wall, the city would have been inundated with about 4 feet of water or more. The flood wall was actually an action after the 1937 flood that did much damage to Paducah and other cities along the Ohio River and Mississippi River.

At this time the flood waters are receding here, but down south they are rising. The Corps of Engineers are about to open a levee system in Louisiana to relieve flood waters. The thing is, it's going to flood a whole community with over 15' of water. These folks are frantically packing up anything and everything they can to save from the waters. It is a "needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few" type of thing. Similar to what they did at Birdspoint to relieve the waters beginning in Cairo Illinois, but also relieving the flood depth here and up river from us in places like Ledbetter and Smithland. That action alone is what spared my mom's house from being flooded throughout. The predictions were for the river to crest 3' higher than it did, before they blew the Birdspoint Levee. I thank God that they did for those around here, but still felt sorry for those that lost their homes in that man made levee breach.

One thing we can all learn from this, is that God does what He wants, when He wants. The rivers rise and fall at His commands. The rain falls when He tells it to and falls on the heads of the just and the unjust. Only us humans defile God and do what we want. Paul may be the chief of sinners, but I am not far behind him. I am so wretched sometimes, well, a lot of the times. I have many sins that plague me that I can't seem to shake. Some things left me early in my conversion, but others linger on to wreak havoc to my walk. I put these sin barriers between God and me, which is all a fabrication in my mind. I know the bible says that He casts our sins into the depths of the ocean, as far as the East is from the West, but my mind forgets that when I fall into my sin. I want to wallow in it and think of the wedge that I am driving, but it doesn't do that. It is actually selfishness that brings those thoughts, feelings of what I need to do to fix this. Fact is I can't fix anything. Why? Because Christ already has fixed it. My sins were already forgiven before I thought of them. Not that I have a ticket to sin, but I have a mighty God that is not like us and is able to see us through Christ instead of seeing us as we see ourselves when we know we have messed up yet again.

How great is our God! May we all be able to flow like the rivers and go where He commands without questioning that.

Ladies And Gentlemen - The Water Has Left The Building

Day 315 in my “Year In My Life Through Pictures” blog series
(I have been trying to sign in to blogger to post this for a while now. It is now 11:00 and it doesn’t look like I will be able to post it on the actual day 314, but it is because of the blog website. I guess it had to happen sooner or later)


I took my mom back to her house today by boat, possibly for the last time by boat too. The water has receded away from her house leaving an eerie brown coating over the ground. She said that it reminded her of pictures she has seen of disasters like Chernobyl and volcanic eruptions. The brown covering from the muddy waters of the Ohio River did make things look drastically different.

One thing we did talk about was the chance for rain over the next few days. Thankfully it is not a lot of rain forecast and I even told her it would be good to get rain right now in order to wash the silt from all that is covering. It would take a lot of raining again to raise the waters again, so the “little” bit that they are forecasting will be welcomed by me.

The flood waters did not make it into the main part of her house, but did do some damage in a converted garage are that was made into a storage room before she bought the house. That room was also housing the bulk of a NASCAR diecast and memorabilia collection that I had amassed over a few years time. Actually I am little sorry that it was damaged, but in all truthfulness I am not that upset about it. I am much more focused on her getting her home back into a livable state and getting back into her routine. Hopefully I will be able to help her out with the cleanup and repair of whatever needs to be done. I know that storage room will need to be stripped and scrubbed and the plywood will have to be replaced for sure. I’m not sure if the water reached the electrical outlets and if so that will probably require some work by a licensed electrician too. We still do not know if there was any damage to the underside of her house, which could be what would rack up the highest bills.

As it appears right now she was fortunate. There are many others that have a long hard road ahead of them recovering from this disaster. It is a time to come together and show the love of Christ and put charity to work. Not charity in a “I feel sorry for you” sense, but charity as in Christ loves me so much that I must allow that love to spill over into the desire to help out any that I can.

I ask that you continue to lift up all of those with damaged houses and other property. Ask God how you may minister to these people and see where He leads you. It may be helping out someone clean their walls, to pray for someone in particular or to donate money or cleaning supplies to an agency that will adequately distribute to those in desperate need right now. I promise, He will lead you.

Prom For The Young 'Uns

Day 309 in my "Year In My Life Through Pictures" blog series

We went to the park this evening to snap a few pictures of Matt and Emily before prom. They were all having a good time, joking around, striking poses, just enjoying the time. Then they were off for dinner, then to dance the night away at prom 2011.

I do not remember much about my senior prom, after all that was 25 years ago. Then Chandra's prom 4 years later all I remember is taking pictures and eating at The Pines. I only remember where we ate because I got lobster, the first time ever for me and the last time ever. Just give me a $1 McDouble any day over a stinkin' lobster. It is like another lifetime when I look back at pictures from that long ago. So many things have changed, but also so many have stayed the same.

Over the years I have gained a lot of weight, I have lost a lot of weight. I have actually lost a couple hundred pounds in my life, but I have also gained more than a couple hundred too. Chandra is still just as beautiful and I love her more now than I ever have. God has grown us together, only after he took us a part for several years. To trace God's hand in our lives is really something to think about. What is really awesome is that our marriage is actually somewhat biblical now. I really never knew God's design for marraige, even after being converted. I only learned of my role as a husband after our marriage nearly ended. I was (and still am a lot of the times) only concerned about me. What she needed to do to make me happy, what would make me feel better, feel happy. Me, me, me was my focus, even if I tried to make her happy it was self centered so that I would feel good about me even more.

Only through the trial of possible divorce did God show us what He commanded of each of us. Do we have a perfect marriage? No, but we do seek Him and we do honor Him in our marraige. We still have a long way to go to be "perfect" in our vows, but as long as our relationship with God is moving forward, then our marraige can't help but follow. Ephesians 5:25 is my goal, even though I know I can never attain that kind of love, I still look at that as where I need to be. I fail miserably, but then again I fail miserably in many other ways too and God keeps picking me up, dusting me off and encouraging me to follow Him even closer.

What an awesome God we have that He would create marraige to show us His love for us. To model our marriages after His love for the church and the church's dedication to Him is overwhelming. Through it all I must continue to move closer to Him, so that He can help me be the husband I need to be. He would not command me to love my wife in such a way, then leave me alone to figure it out. He shows me daily how He loves me, now if I could only figure that out for me and my bride.

Flood 2011 - Still A Risin'

Day 305 in my "Year In My Life Through Pictures" blog series

Another day, another trip to my mom's house via boat. Her reason was to get some things out of the fridge that she didn't want to spoil, but I am fairly sure it was to assess the flooding first hand and see how high the water has gotten.

As you can see the water has indeed made it to the house and is on the porch. It still has about 6 inches or so to make it to the doors. Also if you look close you can see that we have taped the doors to keep the water out as much as possible. Also beneath the tape is caulking to try and fill the cracks and gap between the door and the threshold and door jambs. Anything we can try to keep the water out we will. Her storage room is flooded, it has a few inches of water inside it and is heading up the steps to make it into the main part of the house. I did not make it to that door in time to caulk and tape as it had already started seeping yesterday, so I did as much as I could with it. I caulked and taped the access door too that room, so maybe it will hold if needed.

In this I do have a couple of major questions - Where is FEMA? Why has the President not declared this area a Federal Disaster yet? In 1997 when the area flooded President Clinton was very quick to sign off on Federal aid. President Obama was asked by Kentucky Governor Beshear to declare the area a federal disaster on April 28th. Almost a week later and still nothing. The '97 flood had much less flooding, so what gives? Where are the Feds when you need them? Has the government ran out of money for aid unless you are an auto maker or a bank? It is really starting to get to me a little bit. I sent a email to the White House earlier, but my one little email will probably prove futile. I think a bigger movement needs to happen and I am thinking of how to initiate one. Any suggestions?

Well, that's about it again for another Flood 2011 update. Hopefully I can return to my regular old boring posts.

Welcome To Lake Guill, Courtesy Flood 2011

Day 304 in my "Year In My Life Through Pictures" blog series

It looks like I have turned my picture of the day postings into a Flood 2011 update series instead. I guess that's because the flood has had the most impact on me for the past several days. Today I got the call from my mom to come get her. So, at about 9:15 I left work to go get my mom and her animals.

When I was there yesterday the water was still across a small field behind her house and still on the opposite side of her street. Today we drove the boat up to her house and tied it off to her porch, I stepped from the boat to her porch. There was, at that time this morning about 8" of water up her house. It will take about another 6-8 before it gets into her house. We tried to caulk the doors and used heavy duty tape to try and seal the doors as much as possible. I have no idea if it is working or not or if the water has even gotten that high yet. I do know a storage room that is a converted garage, that sits at ground level, had a very little bit of seepage under the door. I think the door had a really good seal around it already, but I added as much caulking as I could anyway. That particular door had water about 4" up on it at the time, so I was quite impressed with the little bit of water that I saw.

Her whole yard is a lake now, as is her whole street and is pushing on being that whole area. There are many homes being impacted by this around here and in many other communities. Every person in this area needs prayers, so please join in with us. Also pray for those families impacted by the Bird's Point- New Madrid Floodway that was initiated with a blast 90 - 100 miles away that shook our house and rumbled for a few seconds. Very impressive of an explosion indeed. There are several families that will lose their houses in that floodway and while I know they have known this since they purchased the property in that knowledge and is noted on their deeds, but that does not mean they should not receive our sympathy and prayers. Their loss will be the gain of many others and I am sorry for their loss, but am glad that it will relieve the flooding in this area.

Once again I just ask for your prayers for everyone in this area. My mom seems to be handling things fairly well, even though she dropped her flood insurance when she paid her house off at the end of last year. Bad timing, but it is God's timing. He is in control of this flood and He is directing the waters. While it is heartbreaking I do know that God has it all under control and nothing is going to surprise Him.