Prayer Request..

Hello Friends!

I just wanted to let you know about a special prayer request I have for all of you. I spoke to one of the Wal-Mart Stores near Sugar Grove about transferring. They are looking at having an opening that would be very similar to the job I had last time I worked with Wal-Mart. If this were to work out it would be a wonderful opportunity. It would mean day time hours, a promotion that would cancel out the overnight differential I currently receive and I think it would be a lot more fun than the job I have now! The position they are considering to create would be ICS Team Lead for 2nd shift. It will be at least a week or so before the personnell manager is able to speak to the store manager about me and this position.

Along with this we do have a meeting with the DOM and IBSA on the 30th about the opportunities in Sugar Grove. We would continue to ask for you to pray for wisdom and guidance. We are also specifically asking God to open and close doors to show us the right path.

The light at the end of the tunnel is not a train......... its Jesus!

A friend recently reminded me of one of my more infamous catch phrases for my students. In honor of this I thought I would share a song that in many ways better express my little saying


God's Wrath on America????

If you have ever thought that God has ever truly poured out his wrath upon the US then you have a rather finite understanding of what it means for God anger's to burn against a country or people. The amount and severity of the destruction described in Lamentations 2 gives us a rather clear picture of what happens when God pours out His wrath. I do not think we have ever seen this kind of total destruction. Let us hope that we never have to experience God's wrath in this way.

Remember that God has not abandoned the people of this country. He is still with us and desires all of us to follow after Him.

Uniqueness

Did you know??

  1. That President Obama's inauguration was only the 55th such event (not including those due to presidential deaths/resignation/impeachment)
  2. Only .0000078% (7.8 X 10-8) of all Americans who have ever lives have ever taken the Presidential Oath of Office.
  3. Only .0000000094% of the population has ever been exactly like you.
Most people know that according to our DNA no two people are like. Sadly, fewer and fewer realize that Scripture has always taught us this same basic principle. We see the uniqueness of man's creation in the early chapters of Genesis, in Psalm 139, and in Jeremiah 1. I hope that you will take comfort in this incredible fact. God loves enough to not only create you but to make you 100% unique.

Abandoned

The book of Lamentations is one the most passionate books in all of Scripture. Contained with in its pages are some of the deepest expressions of sadness, bitterness and horror that has ever been written. The vast majority of us today cannot even begin to understand the level of distress found in these pages because our cultural and religious context is too far removed from those of the ancient Hebrews. The fact of the matter is though that what we see in the book of Lamentations is a series of poems that systematically and passionately express the feelings of at least one Jew (traditionally believed to be the prophet Jeremiah) about the complete destruction of Jerusalem. As we read these words what is that we can learn or apply to our modern context?

As I have read through chapter 1 one of the themes that jumped out at me is the idea of abandonment. It is repeated over and over again in this chapter that Jerusalem has nobody that she can turn to in the hour of her greatest need. The reason for this is that those whom she called her friends where basically friends of convience and not the kind of Godly friends she should have had. In the end Jerusalem had to learn the hard way about whom she could always rely on. In the end the only whom we can all rely on is God Himself. This is not to say that we should not trust others or that God does not surround us with people to support us and being sources of encouragement. What this means is that we should be so depended on them that when they do fail us that our entire world is destroyed. If we get to that point with people then we have essentially made them into idols and have placed them between us and God. God will not stand for this and eventually He will remove this people, friendships and relationships from our lives.

So are you one of those people who feels abandoned by God? Does it feel as though you are all alone in this world? IF you are then let me assure you of a couple of truths that I know. First, God never abandons His children, though it may seem like it sometimes. Second, Christ himself dealt with these same feelings when He cried out on the Cross "Why have You forsaken me?" Third, it is not wrong to feel as though You need to have people in addition to God. God created us as social beings and as such there is a part of us that needs to be around others, its just how we are made. Fourth, seek after Him and be willing to fully accept whatever it is that He shows you and provides for. We must learn to be content in the places and situations that God places us. If we are seeking after Him with everything that we have (mind, body, soul, etc..) then He promises to answer us and show us his way.

3 Year Old Wii Sports Master

So our soon to be 4 year old has quickly started mastering two of the games on out new Wii Sports.

This is Aiden's first par which he got with a chip-in from just off the green.

Photobucket



Next he moved on to bowling.
Photobucket
Yes you saw that correctly. He bowled a 139 with 3 strikes in a row (frames 6-8).

The he moved back to golf just to prove his last round was not a fluke
Photobucket

Notice this time he got a birdie on hole 1 and a par on hole 3.

Next on his list of games to master are tennis and baseball. I figure at this rate they will be mastered by the end of the week! :)

Unsettled

Have you ever had one of those days when you just feel unsettled and you can't seem to put your finger on why?

Today was one of those days with me. In the past I used to just allow myself slip into a sort mini-depression and just waste the day away. What I have learned is that these days are usually ones in which God is really trying to get a hold of me and He keeps me unsettled until He gets His message across to me. So I was able to get away to a quiet place here in town to try and spend some uninterrupted time with the Father. As I have sat here reading His word and listening to praise and worship music I have started to come to some realization and I thought I would share them with you.

First, I must be the example. If I want my wife, my boys, my sheep and others to act in a certain way then I must be willing to be their example. I have been especially thinking about this in terms of worship. There are so many times that I just want to worship God without abandon yet something stops me. There seems to be this sense that people are watching and that they may not approve. I know in my head that it shouldn't matter but for some reason it does. I do not want my boys especially to ever be at this point. I desire them to worship God without regard for those around them. I want them to have such a deep and passionate worship. For this to happen I must be willing to be worship this way myself. I have been reading through some of the Psalms lately and so many of them simply say that we must Praise Him!!!!! There is no limit to the ways we can praise Him and there is no limit for the reasons why we should praise Him! So why don't I? Why don't I find more ways to praise Him?

Second, I must do things differently. I must change. Yet how is the question that remains for me this day. Maybe God will show me but the message that I am hearing from Him is that I must change. I must run towards Him in such a way that I have never done so before. I must rely on Him in ways that I cannot see now. I must rest in Him in some way that is new and different. I must find more ways for me to become less so that He can truly become more within me and my life.

Well my friends there is yet another small glimpse into my usually bright and shinny world. I hope you have enjoyed your stay. Y'all come back now ya hear!

Tagged

So my wife tagged me on her blog and I decided to play along.
These are the instructions she gave:
1. Go to your photo folders and open the 4th folder.
2. Choose the 4th photo.
3. Explain the photo.
4. Tag 4 other people!


In this picture we were setting up the Christmas decorations and I think Anthony was trying to be a Superman/Santa superhero or he might just have been cold.

I am not sure who to tag but lets try Kelly, Holly, Amber H. and Amber C.

Sinking Sand

A friend of mine wrote a great pose and I wanted to share it with the world. So here you go.

Denise's Sinking Sand Post

One Question

Why do you think God named the stars (See Psalm 147:4)?

New Ministry Update

Many of you have been praying diligently for us as we are seeking God's direction and His new place of ministry for us. In light of this I wanted to give you an update on some things.

First, we are moving closer to finalizing the place and job description for our next ministry assignment. We are at the point where we are trying to make sure that all of the various people who will be involved in the ministry are on board and are looking in the same direction. What this boils down to is that we hope to have a firm placement place and ministry within the next couple of weeks. Of course, God could always change things.

Second, Angie and I are looking at going to MSC Support School in Atlanta. This is something we really need to be able to do as soon as possible but there are so many details to work out for us to be able to attend this school I am not sure how it is all going to happen. Some of the specific issues we need worked out are:
  1. Finances. We need money for travel, lodging, food and school registration.
  2. Me to be able to get off from work
  3. Aiden's birthday is the day after the school and so planning something for him could be potentially stressful
  4. Other scheduling conflicts and issues
Angie and I value the prayer support that so many of you have given us over the years. We look forward to rejoicing with you when we see how God will answer the prayers of His people.

Depression

Depression is one of those things that churches have traditionally swept under the rug and hoped it would just go away. Sadly it was said or thought by many in churches that if a person was truly born again and had a solid relationship with God then they would never be depressed. Thankfully this trend has started to change and many churches are starting address depression in honest and real ways. In doing this I hope that we will always seek after Scripture when we seek to deal with the issue of depression.

While it may sound trite and overly simple prayer is still one of the greatest weapons in the fight against depression. There is no greater prayer in Scripture about depression than that of Psalm 142:7. If you are someone who deals with depression then I would encourage you to make this prayer become a part of your battle.