God's Take on Things

God’s Take on Things

10/15/12

One area that humans have no problem in agreeing with God is that man has dominion over what humanity decides.  This is a given in the eyes of man but still does not rule out the concept that God is in control of what happens to humanity overall.  Man decides what man will do or not do, who will rule over the physical man and even where man can live, yet man still has not the capability of changing the will of man.  It has baffled so many people over the years when things just do not go the way that humans believed that they should go.  There is only one answer for this and that is God.

Every human on the face of the earth has the desire to be right and to believe that everyone should agree with our respective opinions at all times.  This belief has been demonstrated throughout the course of human history and no doubt will continue until time ends.  Humans have the knack of knowing that they are right and that everyone should listen to them.  I know I have had those tendencies in my thoughts and to be honest I have said those words before, just as all of us have at some point in our lives.  But even though we might be right on some occasions everyone still does not listen to us and chooses to make their opinions about circumstances. 

We have witnessed many people demonstrate this concept while talking with others who might not agree with their opinions and then get upset when they do not “convert” to their side.  It is built into our nature to be right or to believe that we are right no matter what the evidence may show.  We argue that our beliefs or the beliefs of the party or organization that we believe in is accurate and the truth.  It is common now-a-days to have a group argument concerning who won a debate, which is laughable in my opinion.  When we do this exercise in correctness it further isolates us into confined blocks of slavery in which we then cannot interact with others when in time of need.

Certain groups of people that have won a victory of some sort have a tendency to rub the others’ noses into the ground over their defeat.  Now, do not get me wrong when the time comes for some sporting events to celebrate a victory I am all for that but in this instance I am talking about a victory when everyday life choices are being made and the overall emotional stakes are the greatest.  And from the beginning of this message I must say that Christians have proved themselves to be the worst offenders of this cause and it has now come full circle but this time it is towards Christians during this present time.

Christians have been led to believe, from and by them, that when they have enough faith in a process that God will allow this process to be completed in the manner for which they see it.  In many cases this is a true statement but we must look at the fact that non believers have the same concepts and ideas that have the exact same results.  So, does God take precedence over another or does He favor one over another?  It is true that God loves a pure and honest heart if we believe this then we must conceive that both sides of the aisle have done a pure and honest deed.  In other words, neither group is in control of the overall plan but only God has that authority to make those decisions which affect our lives in the long run.  Whether we like it or not he above is a perfect example of God’s timing and His Will and not the human’s.

Whatever occurs within the world is according to the appropriate and divine will of God and nothing else.  When we humans believe that we won something in this world we must consider the bigger objective and that God actually had a plan for that moment and we just fell into that plan accordingly.  Our existence is according to His plan for things and humanity revolves around that plan and there really nothing that we can do to change that plan.  So we all must realize that the plans and beliefs that we all make have a purpose, a greater purpose in a huge plan that we cannot or do not have any control over; pretty big concept huh, but that is why God is in control and not us since we humans cannot even tell the truth about our governmental budgets.

I have no idea who all reads my messages nor do I know your beliefs towards God and His divine plan for our lives and the world, but I am now going to address the Christian readers of this message.  You might not like what I am about to say and you might not agree with what I am going to say but you do owe it to yourself to understand that this message comes from God and He wants you to know what He is saying.  These words might be coming to you from my computer but they are words from God and they need to be understood and known by you so that you may know how to correctly and righteously respond when the time is needed.  Also, the non believers feel free to read the remaining portion of this message as well, it will allow you to understand some things that will be occurring down the road.

When you read the Bible and really read it you will know that there are times that God allows things to happen to His people.  Most of read these words and stop for a second and say something like “wow, they really must have made God mad” or “how can God allow that to happen to those people?”  These statements and questions are legitimate ones but we are seriously overlooking a major issue here and that is how long did God give the people to change their ways and how many warnings did the people ignore before God had to pass judgment upon them.  There is a process that occurs before God performs this act upon His people, remember He is not up there with a big eraser.  How many decisions did the people make to provoke this type of decision by God and why didn’t God listen to the people that prayed to Him for passing judgment?  But there comes a time when God’s people cannot find one righteous soul amongst the inhabitants of the land and we will not talk about the leadership of the people.

Our prayers are heard by God and every tear that we shed will be remembered by God.  God does not ignore the people that call out to Him for help and guidance during times of need.  God also hears the prayers from those who cry out to Him in good and decent times as well.  But we still have to remember that God’s plan is not our plan and that sometimes His ways do not seem right in our eyes.  It is not that He has abandoned us or has ignored our words and concerns but it is because that His will and plan cannot change and certain things must play out in order for His will to be completed.  So, Christians be prepared to witness things that you might totally agree with and that go along with your beliefs, but on the other hand you must also be prepared to witness events that seem like God has totally disregarded your prayers and has allowed the enemy to win during the important times in history.  Many believe that the Church will be spared hard and difficult times, why don’t you ask the people who attended the churches during Emperor Nero’s tenure or during the Emperor Diocletian reign, since you cannot ask these people questions why don’t you read about them and then you will understand that things do not always go according to your beliefs and the way that you think they should go.

We know that the election of 2000 did not go in favor of some people, but it served a purpose in God’s perfect plan.  We also understand that World War II was a horrific experience that the world had to endure for decades but it too served a purpose in God’s perfect plan.  And to bring it home a little bit, your weeding also served a purpose in God’s perfect plan.  Our actions have a great significance to others and the majority of the time we have no clue what it is achieving, but God does and He understands humanity perfectly and He must complete His plan for us, no matter what we believe, do or say about it.  This also states that God is in control of everything that occurs on this earth, yes we have freedom of thought and we can make our own choice to accept or deny God but in the end and we stand to account for our actions we will then see God’s plan for us and for humanity.

Do not be disheartened by the rhetoric that the world tries to display to your eyes, but be aware of the real issues that are at hand in which serves as a danger to the world’s current existence.  Listen to those who bring up the real concerns that are facing the people of the world and not the platform slogans which tickle the ear instead of addressing the real conditions of the people.  Rest assured that God will show you the truth of these false things if you honestly and openly trust Him in the answers that He provides.  Discard the emotional status of the day and use your heart to weed through the irrelevant trash that has the majority confused.  God wants and desires you to see what has become of this world and He also will guide those who dare to heed His advice.

So remember over the next few months or years that God has listened to His people and know that God is always in control no matter what humans try and do to each other.  The world can be cruel and unusual in its dealings but even the world is still subject to God and shall be for eternity.  It is imperative that we understand and remember what is right and what is wrong and never compromise that sharp line, for when we do cross that line the consequences can be devastating.  Trust God always and keep His guidance close to your heart at all times and never forget that He loves you and that He is in control.

DLB

Seeing Is Believing

Seeing Is Believing

10/10/12

All of us would agree that eyes are one of the important organs that our body has been blessed with.  The ability to see allows us to become mobile, it allows us to protect ourselves, it allows us to enjoy entertainment and we can list hundreds or thousands more reasons of why eyes are important to our existence.  However, many of us forget that our spirits have eyes as well which allow for the eternal portion of our life to see the existence of another world that continually surrounds us with danger.  It is our spiritual eyes that function as recognition instruments, along with our spiritual ears, to protect us from the attacks that our enemy hurls at us on a constant basis. 

Humans depend upon all of our senses for us to function properly in this world.  Most of us can get by with the majority of our senses and of course there are some of us that do not have the privilege of being able to use all of our physical senses.  When this process occurs it may hinder our steps a bit but for the most part the human’s physical capabilities still remain without many limits.  Modern technology has made huge advancements in helping those with disabilities and it is exciting to see these strides take shape for future usage.

We all know that our eyes play a major role in our abilities to complete daily tasks and as I mentioned in the paragraph above there are many in this world that do not have the privilege of eyesight.  The eyes are an amazing organ which allows us to actually see other objects that are around us, coming towards us, going away from us, things and objects displayed on a television screen and thousands of more objects in various conditions.  Most of us wake up in the morning and open our eyes and look out our windows and begin our day following a normal routine, and if we did not have the capability of sight our everyday drills would drastically be altered.

When we lived in California, I spent my 3^rd through 5^th grades in Salinas.  It was a great little city but at the same time it had its dangerous side to it as well.  I remember that I was in the 4^th grade and my teacher was Mrs. Gump, yes that is her real name.  I liked her a lot and I actually learned a lot that year.  I remember that I was placed at the back of the room when school began which I had no problems with this seating arrangement.  As school progressed my grades began to slip a bit and I noticed that I could not really see the board very well.  Mom and dad did not believe me when I told them that I could not see.  Now, in their defense….this is me we are talking about I had already acquired my sense of humor and my mind was very active so I do not blame them for not readily believing my stories.

As my 4^th grade year progressed, my grades continued with the same downward progression instead of a steady upward climb.  I had now been moved to the front of the class but I knew I was still having a hard time seeing.  Parent / teacher conferences were approaching and I knew that my parents were not going to be happy with my grades since they were still on their slow downward slide.  My nervousness increased all the way up to the evening of the big event.

Now parent teacher conferences were a lot different back when I was in school to the tune that we had to go to school all day of the meeting and then we went to our “come to Jesus” meeting after school hours all together.  The teachers were all there and all of us had plenty of time to talk things through with everyone involved.  So, you can understand how things could be a mighty bit tense.  When it was our time to be with my teacher, my parents began to ask why my grades were dropping and my teacher defended my behavior in class, my willingness to participate but she had a problem with my eyes and she mentioned this to my parents.  We all agreed that I should have my eyes checked out to eliminate this option.

A little while later it was time for the eye doctor and all of the torture that he would put my eyes through.  I was nervous because I had never really been to an eye doctor before so my memory kicked in with my past experiences in medical clinics.  I had an agreement with doctors and nurses and that was I did not like them and that I did not care who heard me say that during my examinations.  So, what profession did I end up working in?  Anyway my eye exam went on as planned and the results were astonishing to me and my parents.  It was conclusive I could not see my hand in front of my face clearly and I needed glasses.

Now I am not telling you this aspect of my life to make my parents look bad or to have anyone feel ill to them in any way.  The point of my words is that at some point in time during a person’s life it may become necessary to get some help in seeing things clearly.  My parents were wonderful during my raising and in my opinion did a fabulous job in keeping me from getting into too much trouble along my journey.  My eyes were the problem and they had to be corrected enough in order that I might see my way clearly once again.

My glasses came in and I remember my parents receiving the phone call stating that my glasses had arrived at the store.  They set a time and date for all of us to come down and get them.  Once again I had no idea of what was going to occur, even though my dad did his best to tell me what was going to transpire.  We arrived to the office and I sat in the waiting area chair while mom and dad filled out some more paperwork.  A few minutes after they had completed the paperwork a lady came and asked for me and my nervousness returned.  Mom and dad both went with me into the little room and the doctor and his assistant then joined us shortly.  The doctor asked if I was ready and I agreed that I was.

After I had put on my glasses and looked around the room a bit something clicked in my head that told me that I could see once again.  The doctor asked me how they fit and if I could see clearly.  He then told me to look at the eye chart across the room and to read off the letters as far down as I could focus.  My eyesight was almost back to perfect once again after the reading of the chart letters.  The doctor and my parents began talking a bit and I continued my tour of the exam room marveling at the things that I could see.  And as the minutes passed by I realized more and more that it had been a while since I saw this well.  It also came to my attention that now I had no excuses for making bad grades.

Even though the glasses made it to where I could see perfectly again, I still had some adjustments to make with some things like making sure that I did not bump into a wall or step off a stair without making sure that I was at the proper place when I approached these objects.  Even though I could see again there was still a period of adjustment that I had to get used to before I could actually feel comfortable in every situation.

That period of my life occurred when I was in the fourth grade and to this day I continue to wear glasses.  I do have contacts and I wear them as well but I would not trust myself to cross the street if I did not have my glasses on or my contacts in my eyes.  Throughout the years my eyes have continued their course of worsening but with the modern technology and new eye ware options, I still am not even close to having major problems with my eyes, and I thank God everyday for this.  But I do realize that I must have my glasses on at all times when I am awake and for me to function properly and that if I did not have my glasses on my face I would be totally lost.

How often do we forget that our spiritual eyes need to be corrected and sharpened on a continual basis as well?  We can read many books and stories with our physical eyes but it is our spiritual eyes need to be corrected by the one book that retains our sharpness against our enemy.  We may understand many things about the spiritual world and how it operates and functions but that does not exclude us from continually studying God’s Word and fine tuning our eyes to every possible attack from our enemy.

See our eyes are very important in our defense against the everyday tricks that the world brings upon us, so why wouldn’t we keep our spiritual eyes just as sharp?  When our spiritual eyes are not sharp we miss many blindsided attacks that come our way or we cannot see the attacks approaching others to warn them of impending danger.  As a parent would we not warn our children of danger if we saw it coming towards them?  So why would we ignore the one opportunity to sharpen our eyes to combat these tactics?  When we see things with this clarity then we can believe everything that is thrown at us to be a true attack and when we know our enemy’s tricks his schemes are easily defensible.

The Word of God is the only way for our spiritual eyes to be sharpened and spiritually corrected in such a manner that all of the information that crosses their path will provide a defense against present and future attacks.  These attacks can come from any direction and at any time and really has no limits to which they can occur.  The Bible is the one sacred word that contains all of the pertinent lessons so that we may live abundantly through God in perfect peace.

The only way that we can maintain this corrected vision is to put on the Word of God on a continual basis, a basis that forms a foundation within our spirits that shines a spiritual light in front of us which allows us to see what is headed our way.  Put on your spiritual glasses by opening the Bible and earnestly reading its words and allowing these words to penetrate your spirit so that God may provide the necessary adjustments that He desires for you.  Do not play with the “teenager syndrome” where popularity and good looks take precedence, but wear your spiritual glasses constantly for even when you are trying to impress someone, your eyesight still needs to be 20/20. 

God is like a parent and it is His desire that every child of His sees clearly the path that we are on.  He provides us with the ability to have a conference with Him each time we open His word.  God provides a way of assuredness through His words that steady’s our hearts and our lives through the spiritual guidance of what we see.  And if His word is constantly before us there will be nothing that shall be able to hinder us in our spiritual life nor will be ever be blindsided by a surprise attack from our enemy.  Return to His word and place His words in front of our eyes again and the spiritual lights will be turned on so that we may truly see again.

DLB

Put the Cricket to Sleep

Put the Cricket to Sleep

9/30/12

Ever wonder why God uses weird objects or sounds to get through to our hearts?  Over the last year I have learned that God uses many non conventional methods to get His message across to us; well, to me that is.  This message will be no different since the example that I am going to use is a cricket.  But I guess when you are deaf to God’s voice or intentionally ignoring Him then He has other option than to use other means of getting our attention.  And since He so brilliantly created the human mind, He can use this portion of our body to get His message across.

Growing up in the South I endured many long and hot summer nights.  Most of my growing up years was spent in different parts of the South so I had my share of different regional noises that I contended with on a daily basis.  Many different animals and creatures filled the air, water and ground and one of them that stuck out in my mind was the cricket.  A cricket is a small little creature but it can make a noise that is distinctive yet elusive at the same time.

Whenever we were playing outside and the evening hours rolled around the sound of crickets began to fill the air.  Our ears would pick up these sounds and it would set off an internal clock saying that it was close to getting time for dinner or if a rain had just past that it was time for the humidity level to begin to rise higher.  The sound of a cricket was a constant around the south and since winter was only a few weeks in length, on average, crickets would shine almost the entire year.  At these times the sounds that crickets made did not bother us since we had other things going on to occupy our minds.  However, the cricket continued to make his noise even though we were really not paying attention to him.  The vibrations that we caused while walking around allowed the cricket to believe that he needed to signal his musical codes to us so that we would know where his presence was located.

In the south and probably other places a cricket can be used for a couple of things, one of them being bait for fishing and the other main thing was to capture them and put them in a jar and watch them for a couple of days.  I am not going to mention the many other uses for crickets because of the grossness that some may find in other people’s habits.  I remember we used to go down to the local store and buy a whole bunch of crickets, put them in a metal container with holes in it and then take them down to the local pond or lake and use them for bait.  Fish loved them and it was almost guaranteed a catch when you used a cricket for bait in a pond.  On the other hand there were many nights that I would sit by my bed and watch the activities of the cricket that I had captured that afternoon.  It is amazing of what they do when their surroundings were changed and could not jump freely around the grass.  I never really thought about having them “tied” up in a jar but I would always release them the next morning however, the night before the captured cricket would let loose on with his music and would not stop for quite a while.

Some nights I would lie awake and listen to the crickets outside.  Their music was soothing to listen to and I would find myself trying to count how many different crickets that were outside just by the location of the sounds that they made.  I have no idea of how close I came to an actual count but I remember I would not get too high since the next thing I would remember would b mom waking me up an telling me to get dressed for the day.  Early mornings was another time that crickets would make their presence known and I could find myself opening the window and listening to them sing for quite some time as well.

Then you have to place the cricket noise into the annoying category when they decide to find their way into the house.  There have been countless number of times that we have sat down to eat dinner, read a book or watch television and as soon as the proceedings begin a cricket will fire up his legs and begin his calling for other friendly species.  This noise is ok for a while but after a bit the noise begins to creep into your ears and then rattle your brain enough that you have to get up and find that little noise maker.  Well, as you can imagine, only because you have done the exact same thing in the past, we have to get up and make total fools of ourselves trying to catch the culprit that is hiding next to the wall or in the corner of the room.  We take about five minutes to catch it and then go to the door and place it outside in his natural habitat once again.  But how many times do we complete this task and then get settled back down to our business and another cricket starts in with the same musical notes.  It is a process that in some places of the world does not stop and can become quite annoying rather quickly.  The remembrance of these creatures in the yard and my lost number count of them would sometimes become deafening so that my sleep would be abated.

Ever wonder how many times God has performed this ritual within our lives and how many times we have ignored His voice when He is trying to get our attention?  God never begins speaking to our spirit in a loud manner, but it is always in a soft tone which is soothing and gentle.  It is always direct, concise and pointed to what is needed for that time and His voice never seems to be in question.  Yet many times we have ignored His voice or simply not heard it for reasons that have crowed into our lives.  It is a common routine that our lives are jammed with the activities of the day and we continue to have these activities when we arrive home from our day which then translates into a major annoyance factor when God tries to speak to us “when we have a moment”. 

How many times have we heard His voice, recognized it but told God to hold on a minute while we complete our task, which could take us some time to complete.  What makes us believe that our lives have become so important that we can continue to play in the park with our friends and even though we hear the crickets in the background, we ignore them while we deem what we are doing is more important.  It is funny because we know that when the crickets come out and they begin to make their music that it will not be a one night thing or it will not be just for a few hours, “cricket season” lasts for a long time, so why do we continue to believe that God’s voice will fade away into the background in the same way?

God is funny in that He will continue to try and get our attention even though we continue to try and ignore Him.  He is like a parent trying to call their child home when they have been gone from the house for some time.  When their current methods do not work they try something a bit more drastic or louder, God acts in the same way.  The magnitude of noise that a few crickets portray into the night air can seem like there are hundreds of them in one small area; their noises elusive to our ears but effective at the same time.  God’s voice will never go away from us even if we have never heard His voice speak to us before it is something that we never forget and we will never ignore either.

God’s soothing voice now becomes like a sounding clang to our spirits, a sound that we know that we should respond to but continue to ignore hoping that whatever God wants with our life goes away.  We even change our current thinking and habits believing that He will not speak to us any longer since we have “changed” a little.  But His voice continues to rattle our cage and the noise of the bars is so loud until we have no choice but to stop and ask God what He wants.

God then once again begins to speak in His soft and gentle tone to our spirits which only He can after such a hard chase for what seems like forever to us.  God only wishes to protect us from as much danger, frustration and hardships that He can but we must stop and listen to His voice when He calls us.  Yes, we hear His voice and ignore it every child does this to their parents at some point in their life but we need to understand that our parents, as with God, only wish to make sure that we do things correct as possible the first time around.  And if we do not pay attention to things, their voices get a bit louder and a little stern with words but their love for us does not change.  I also understand that not every child has the opportunity to have parents that love them, or for some tragic reason they do not have parents any longer, but we all should remember that God is everlasting and that He shall never leave us while we are on this earth.

A quick funny to the closing of these words, I have to admit that God has made it clear that He wanted me to quit procrastinating and get this message done.  I have had the topic and all the necessary notes that accompany it ready for a while now but last night as I was lying in bed I was closing my eyes to go to sleep and a cricket began to sing somewhere in our bedroom.  We have never had a cricket in our bedroom before, our bedroom is on the second floor which would pose many obstacles for a cricket to get up to that level but there was one there and as soon as he began to sing, I knew exactly what God was telling me to do. 

This morning when I went into the office to begin my day a couple of thoughts ran through my mind which had nothing to do with my task at hand, and low and behold a few moments after those thoughts were completed a cricket began to sing loudly in the back corner of my office.  Once again God was reminding me of the mission that was needed for me today and the importance of these words to someone in the world for this moment in their lives.  It is easier to listen to God from the beginning and now wait for Him to have to get our attention by using His other methods.  His soft and gentle voice is good enough for me, or at least I hope that my spiritual ears are in tune enough with His voice to recognize it when He is trying to get my attention.  There is nothing wrong with placing God number one in your life, in fact it makes things a whole lot easier for you and the people you call your loved ones.

So if you want the cricket to stop singing, go find him and capture him and place him close to your heart and then place him back into the appropriate place.  In the instance of God capture His voice and place it back into the center of your spiritual ears and heart.  His voice will guide you and steer you away from many heartaches down the road.  He will also give you kind and helpful words to live by and to give to others when they are hurting.  Also reflect on the cricket’s sounds that he makes so that you will tune your spiritual ears to the notes that he offers.  God loves you and wants to be the center of your world, let Him it will be a good thing J

DLB

What War?

What War?

 9/26/12

Sly talk from forked tongues always has a special ring to it, or that is the way that it is supposed to be taken.  We mainly attribute this type of language from politicians but it is becoming a common dialect from the average crowd that we encounter each day.  So it is necessary to send out spies to the outskirts of our territory to find out what is really happening.  The usage of spies has been a practice ever since man has been at odds with his fellow man but if one does not believe his own spies then what good work have you accomplished?  Knowing the enemy is an important component in our defenses however we must first recognize the threat that presses towards us.

Most of us have heard in the past few weeks about the tensions that have come into the public eye concerning Iran and Israel.  In short this tension is just the tip of the iceberg that will one day soon show itself and then things will really becomes interesting and if you do not believe me just read the Bible and then pick up the newspaper and your evidence will be self sufficient.  The Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad reiterated these tensions this week when he referred to the destruction of Israel and everyone who stood with her.  No matter how you feel about him and his country’s stance you must acknowledge the fact that he understands who his enemy is and he knows what he and his country have to do to combat their enemy.  Now, we all know what will happen if he and his country decide to try and complete this act but right now that portion of the story is not where I am leading towards.

Another example in history that I will dwell upon concerning this subject took place during World War II and it involved a man by the name of Joseph Stalin.  Most of us know that Stalin was the leader of Communist Russia at the time of WWII and was part of the struggle against fascism.  Communism against fascism is another entire subject that fascinates me but this too is not my subject.  In this case Stalin understood the implications of Germany’s advancement across Europe and what it possibly meant for the country of Russia in the coming years.  Stalin actually signed a pact with Germany making them allies at one point, which served its purpose for Germany but largely the meaning of the treaty was ignored by Russia.  Yet for some reason Stalin continued to wonder what was going on in his newly found friend’s domain.

It is recorded in history that Stalin did not trust Germany and all of the plans that they had for Europe at that time.  Stalin sent thousands of spies into other parts of Europe to gather information about Germany and other countries that he believed could pose to be a threat to the security of the nation.  These spies reported back on an hourly basis with information that could prove to be the salvation of that country in the near future.  Stalin received these reports from almost every spy that he sent out, which this information came from all global directions and not just from the direction of Germany.  Yet Stalin chose to ignore most of the information sent to him and made his own decisions concerning the protection of his country.

The fascinating portion about this part of the story was that Stalin actually recalled the majority of his spies to Moscow and had them immediately imprisoned for bringing false reports to their leader and then charged them with treason.  Then had the spies exiled to far away prisons, brutally tortured for months at time and afterwards executed in the name of the State.  After all of these spies had done for the country and all of the warnings that they presented to their leader, in which said leader was actually shocked when Germany invaded his country and came very close to overrunning the country within a matter of a few months. 

The question that I pose not only to Stalin but to humanity as well is why would someone sign a treaty with another person, group or country and then sit back and watch others fall to that party and not think that you could be next?  This is a classic sign of self assurance to an extreme and no one that takes a breath of air should ever find themselves in this situation.  Because once you have found yourself in this situation you have been taken advantage of and you are then facing the consequences of your inadequacy in leadership and scouting abilities.  Humans have a tendency of doing things to protect ourselves but to complete this portion of the task and then ignore the results is ludicrous. 

Even if you take the position of not believing in God, the protection of our immediate surroundings is a natural response to life.  Look beyond the above examples and take notice of all the missed opportunities to protect their surroundings due to the lack of surveillance of what others are doing.  This is a God given ability for us to complete and all of us need to heed this warning and we need to take off the rose colored glasses and place our prescription glasses back over our eyes.

It is ok to send out your proverbial spies in the surrounding land but be sure to listen to their warnings when they return with the requested information you asked for from the beginning.  Even when they return without any pertinent information take that as a warning sign as well.  What makes us believe that humans have changed enough for us to believe that others will not try and harm us?  The danger signs are all around us and it really does not matter what are that you are wanting to gather information, everything is set in motion for a reason and it is our responsibility to seek out which is bad and to defend ourselves against these attacks.

Switching gears here and going to place this back on the spiritual side of things.  I have stated this many times and I will continue to state it many more times in the future, we are God’s prized possessions and it ultimate creation and His enemy is out to destroy us by any means possible.  God has His spies looking out for us and they are doing their best to communicate the dangers that they are seeing before us.  However, the information that these spies, along with our own spies, are giving to us we are ignoring and discarding as rubbish.  We believe that we are currently in a safe position and are not being attacked at the present moment.  This may be a true statement in your life but listen to me when I tell you our enemy may not be actively attacking you but I guarantee you that he is stalking you and watching you for an opening within your armor.  And when he sees this opening or weakness, he shall strike you and he does not care what effects that strike has upon you. 

The only way to combat these attacks is for us to send out our own spiritual spies to locate the enemy and to see what is happening around us.  God will inform these spiritual messengers in order that they may relay the appropriate information to our spirits so that a mountable defense can be taken.  But in order for us to understand this information we must return to God and to restore His ways within our lives for if we do not we will be subject to any and all lies or false beliefs that see are told.  This is not the time that we begin to take needed information and ignore it because we do not like what it is telling us.  This is the time that we should be doing the opposite and fortifying our spiritual defenses.

We cannot afford to sit back and rely on old treaties for our protection and with this I am directly mentioning the attitude that most Christians have concerning their salvation.  They are sitting back in their seats and waiting for Christ to return for them, well I have news for those people you are going to be sitting there for a long time and while you are sitting there you and your controlled and secure world is going to be subjected to attack.  Then you are going to act just as Stalin did when the enemy hits you with a full forced attack and then to be honest you will then begin the blame game.  Get your spiritual eyes off of the treaties and get them back into the war which is vastly approaching your realm.

Our enemy knows its target and his target is you!  Our enemy constantly watches our spiritual movements and thinks about his plan of attack 24/7.  He is not interested in your physical condition since he already knows that it has its own death sentence coming but it is the spiritual life that is at stake.  The spiritual life of eternity is what is at stake which is the goal of both spiritual kingdoms.  One comes from the creator of all life and the other is a mockery of life with separation and death as its reward.  The potential of your spirit is limitless if allowed by God to act through it but on the other hand if God is not allowed this freedom the war will be devastating to you in ways that cannot be imagined.  All of us have missed signs that our spies have given us, but it is the utmost importance that we keep our spiritual eyes and ears open for the information that is given to us at all times.

DLB

Give God A Chance

Give God a Chance

9/22/12

How many times in our life have we rushed to conclusions about an event that is occurring in our life or how have we made a decision about life after a major event has finished overwhelming us at another point in our life?  We humans love to accomplish this type of task on an hourly basis and then give no recourse when we are proven wrong in our decision or judgment.  If we only could sit around and wait upon God like we are supposed to and to listen for His voice for guidance and direction, the answers may not always be the way we would choose but they would always be the correct ones that protect us for our future.

It is football season once again and this time of year always strikes a chord within my heart since unless I am not feeling well I get an opportunity to travel to a local High School game and watch athletes play the game that they love so well.  When I was growing up most of my upper high school years was spent in Texas and everyone who is familiar with Texas understands that football is king and to some of the people there a religion.  Diehard fans watch every play on the edge of their seats and cheer and cry with the kids on the field after the game.  Concessions are sold and clothing is bought and one cannot forget the other aspects of the game including the band, cheer squads and even the mascots.  All of this wrapped up into a three hour presentation once a week becomes a centerpiece for those of us who have kids representing a local school.

Then there are people like myself who go to the games in which I have no ties with nor do I know anyone else in the stands.  I revert back to the love of the game I once played and watch in envy as the boys and girls go crazy in support for their team.  For many years now I have watched these kids both in winning and in losing cheer for what they believe in and in no certain way no matter what the score is at the end of the game still are proud of their team.  However, there comes a time that we humans become disconcerted with our team and begin to doubt their abilities and then decided to up and leave the game before the final whistle has blown.  This action eventually leads to us not even going to the games any longer and then not even recognizing the team is playing that particular sport.  Our faith and belief are now gone.

I have had this message in my list of things to do for almost a year now and as I was scrolling through the list God said that it was time to finish this one.  I do not understand why He gives me titles for a message and then all of a sudden “Wham O” it is time but for some reason He knows all and I am an obedient servant and I try to do my best for Him.  So, for whom ever this message is for….God knows your needs and He wants you to understand that He loves you and that He is there for you!!

Modern technology is a wonderful thing and I love to sit in amazement and think about how the internet has changed the lives of so many all over the world.  I graduated high school in 1986 from a small southeast Texas town called Nederland.  Being a short, white boy living in Texas I had no chance of becoming a football star or even regular player but that did not keep me from trying my best to keep up with the big boys, which meant that I had to do things harder and better than what my body could actually produce and now I am feeling the price as I continue to stiffen up.  The internet has not left out the sports aspect of things either in fact there is a website now that I can watch almost any sport live as it occurs and not even have to leave my desk.  This also applies to high school sports as well and of course there is always the local radio stations as well who broadcast these games as well.

One of Nederland’s big rivals is a town just up the road called Vidor.  Vidor is a very famous town being defined by its segregation rules and hatred of any minority group that dared to enter its city limits.  This belief has eased a bunch over the years but I can only imagine that some roots are still planted within the confines of that society.  I was listening to the Nederland vs. Vidor game on the internet one night last year and I was doing my best to keep the faith with the Nederland team.  It was very obvious that Nederland was struggling with their game and that Vidor was executing their plays more efficiently.  I listened to the entire first half of the game while at the same time mentally seeing the boys play on the field and since it was the same football field that Vidor played on when I was in school, I came to the conclusion that I had a pretty good idea of what the field conditions were at the time.

At half time I got up from my desk chair and went upstairs to the kitchen and grabbed me something to eat and drink.  Quietly I was thinking that I should not waste my time with this game and that if I hurried I could find another game on the internet to listen to.  Bonnie came into the kitchen and asked how the game was going and I kind of grunted a bit which told her everything that she wanted to know and then she responded that there are two halves to the game and not to give up just yet.  I ignored her of course and continued to fill my mouth with food and then took the trek down the stairs to my office and plopped back into the desk chair.  I placed the food on the desk along with the cup into its rightful spot in front of me. 

I turned the sound back up and began to listen to the announcers give the rundown of the first half stats of both teams.  It was quite clear that Nederland had dominated the field of play but in almost every drive mistakes had cost them a score or had forced them to settle for another type of lesser score.  I shook my head and opened up another window on my computer to look for another game.  As I was sitting there a few more game options appeared and I looked at them with close intent and then made up my mind to change the channel if Nederland did not change their game plan soon after the beginning of the second half.

The second half of the game began and it was obvious from Nederland’s first possession that things had not changed much and I once again debated about changing the channel to listen to another game.  I decided against this change because of my loyalties but groaned with every failed series that both teams put into play.  The third quarter ended with hardly any excitement and with the fourth quarter approaching I made the decision to listen to the game until something happened, for either team.  A few minutes into the fourth quarter and Nederland decided to actually do something with the ball on offense and took the lead within a few minutes of the 4^th.  However, Vidor quickly answered with a touchdown which placed them back into the lead and my hopes for a victory by Nederland went out the window once again; by quickly I mean that the Vidor player ran Nederland’s kickoff back for a touchdown which this was the reason that I had lost hope with the team.

 

More stalled drives from Nederland proved to be the proverbial nail in the coffin and it was now time for Vidor to close out the game by running the clock down to end the game.  Every person who has been to any type of sporting event or has watched a sport on TV has witnessed this type of action unfold before their eyes.  It is always painful for the team who is behind in this situation because the players are just begging for one more shot to win the game.  At this point I realized that all was lost and my loyalty to my old team went out the window and I clicked on the close button as Vidor took possession of the ball which I believed would be the last series of downs before the game ended.

I hurriedly opened another window and began listening to another ball game which was closer and it seemed like the end result was still in doubt.  I finished listening to this game and then looked around for a few minutes to see if another game was still on or if any post game show was on.  Most everyone’s games had been over and the stations signed off so I closed out the entire program and went to one of the news agencies and began to look to see what was happening in the world.  Not much was happening in the news so I decided to turn off the entire internet and head to bed.  At no point during this time did I ever dream about finding out what the final score of the Nederland game had been, I was sure that they had lost and really did not want to confirm my beliefs.  So, I made my way away from the computer and went to bed.

The next morning I woke up and performed my normal routine which included the locating of all of the high school football scores from the local area and then I include the ones of my “homeland” of Texas.  I located the local scores and really found no surprises and then quickly refreshed my memory of next week’s local schedule to see which game I was interested in attending.  While I was thinking about some of the interesting games were coming up and figuring out which ones I wished to attend, I made my way over towards one of the Texas newspapers which I knew would have the previous night’s scores present.  I began scrolling down the list of the sores and found some that caught my eye including some of the old district teams of the Beaumont area.  Then I came across the Nederland score and was floored.  I could not believe the score and I immediately went to the top of the page to make sure that I had the correct date and year for the results.

After verifying that the correct dates were present I scrolled back down and looked at the score once again.  Nederland had won the game but I could not believe it until I read the column about the game.  After reading what had happened in the last minute of the game I became frustrated with myself and started asking why didn’t I stay with the game and listen to it till the last play.  Vidor had committed a turnover and Nederland took the ball down the field and scored the go ahead touchdown which gave them the victory.  And I totally missed it because I could not stay around and finish out what I had started.

I pose the same type scene with God to you and then ask you how often do we attribute this type of action towards God?  Many times we have jumped the gun where God is concerned and have gone on with our ways without listening to His final words of advice.  We humans like to believe that we know what the outcome of events will be by just watching the majority of the unfolding scenario and then make a final assumption of that scene at another place when the scenario ends.  I have found myself doing this many times in my life and to be honest I have done this with God just as many times, and if you are honest with yourself you have to admit that you have done it to God s well.

God has His own timing and His own answers for our lives.  By our own admission it is difficult for us to stand and wait patiently for His answer because most of us have the attention span of a Nat in this situation, I being one of the greatest offenders.  See, God understands us and He knows our patterns and He does His best in trying to make us realize that we are not in control of things that go on around us.  We have to give God a chance to complete His timing within our lives and the best way we can do this is to give Him our timeframe.  God cannot operate on our time only His divine time allowance can He supply us with the adequate knowledge that we need to function and to make correct decisions.  And when we allow God to perform this miracle in our lives, then we have automatically given up control of our lives to Him and all of our physical rights we have abandoned into His authority. 

God then can transform our spiritual rights back into our lives and place them in the proper order which is first in our lives and not second or third as we like to place them.  When we allow God to complete this we will be able to see the difference from the answers He gives us from those that we want to have.  And when we are receptive to His advice and timing, the best for our lives are at hand and we can be assured that our lives are walking in sound communion with the one and only true God.  The only way to obtain this lifestyle is for us to repent and to allow God to restore His presence back into our lives.  No man or government will ever satisfy our needs like God will, both physically and spiritually.  Do not turn god off because you think that He is “slow” to respond.  It is at this time that we need to realize that He is actually waiting on us to place our lives back into the proper alignment with Him so that our perfect answer may be revealed to us.

DLB

Finding Food

Finding Food

9/20/12

It has been a very long and hot summer here in my part of the country.  Many animals have suffered this season due to the lack of precipitation over the past year.  Yet God has blessed us with enough rain to allow the animals and our gardens survive a while longer.  The question that looms over our head is what kind of fall and winter are we going to endure and how much moisture will we receive over this time period.  The seasons likely will not change much but I cannot help but wonder how conditions will be if God does not provide.  It becomes imperative that we work hard and be diligent with our means of food for our bodies but how many times have we not included our spiritual needs for food as well?  Many of us have ignored the provisions that God has provided and it is our responsibility to partake in our food’s sources as well.  For if we do not include both the spiritual and physical aspects of our lives become weak and subject to attack by our enemy.

I was on one of my many excursions across the parking lot in between the hospital buildings a few days ago and I noticed a bird that had landed close by me and began to walk across the asphalt.  All of us have heard the old adage that the early bird gets the worm and seeing something hanging from this bird’s mouth as it crossed my path brought that saying to my mind. 

The bird was just walking as fast as he could to get across the drive with his head held high as if to say look at me and what I have in my mouth.  It was obvious that the bird was proud of his accomplishments with his catch.  With a passing of a few seconds the bird then approached the curb in which he quickly jumped onto the sidewalk and continued his journey towards the nearest bush.  He then promptly went underneath the bush and disappeared from sight.

This event sparked my curiosity so I slowly changed my course and began to slowly walk towards the bush where the bird had entered.  I stopped shy of the bush and knelt down to take a peek to see if I could see the bird.  He was in the process of gulping down the worm when he noticed me looking at him but he continued his feeding frenzy like I was not there.  I saw what I wanted to see so I did not stick around any longer.  I slowly stood back up and continued my walk to the other building and at the same time God decided to speak to me about food and how He does care for the animals of this planet and how His caring for our food is just as important.

We have always taken the verse that God provides for the sparrow and how we can have the assurance that God will supply our needs as well.  It is very difficult for us to sit back and read about kids going to sleep hungry or people lining up in food lines to receive a single bowl of soup for their dinner.  These scenes have been watched and read about in foreign countries but it really does not hit home until you drive by a food bank and witness the line waiting for the doors to open for business.  These people have numerous reasons for being in these lines and each one of them could tell you a story for why they are there, but when you stop and think about it some charitable organization or church organization or some other manner those food banks are being supplied by humans.

Now, that means that someone or some company had to take the time to plant the seeds needed to grow those products, no matter what products they were.  Then those same people had to put forth the effort to nurture those crops and to supply the necessary nutrients for them so that they would grow into mature plants.  Then at some point those plants had to be harvested and then transported to the processing plant so that they could be placed into storage containers.  The final step is to ship that product to the designated stores or facilities that will then place into the public’s hands.  Why am I mentioning this process….I am glad you asked J

I give my parents grief sometimes about how “bad” I had it when I was growing up.  I tease them with some of my ideas of “how it was” and just how hard I had it when I was living at home.  In truth they were the best things that have happened to my growing up years and saw me through many trials and tribulations along my journey.  Mom and dad never made me sit down at the table and stare at my food until I ate every bite that was on my plate, but they did not allow me to waste food either.  My parents did tell me stories of how life was to them while growing up and how different it was from their generation to mine.  They did this not to make me feel bad or to see them in any different light but they did it so that I would learn that even though I had food on the table, someone had to work to produce that food and that I should be grateful for the things that I had to eat.

During their talks with me about food I really never understood not having food until I made my trip to Haiti with my father.  It was on this trip that I learned a lot about food and a lot about other things in life that we in western society take for granted on an hourly basis.  Referring back to the bird story at the beginning of my message, in Haiti I noticed that there were no birds at all.  I saw people going about with their daily activities and you could tell that they put a lot of time into their work, but these people starved each day and struggled to supply their food needs only once a day not even to dream about having two or three meals.  So, where were the birds that God promised to feed?  Even when there are no “birds” in the area we still can have the confidence that God still provides food for His people but that does not mean that times are always easy for us.

We as humans have been given the ability to produce the means necessary to provide for our families.  It is our responsibility to complete this task to the best of our abilities on a daily basis.  God watches our stewardship towards food and how we approach its concepts.  Not all of us really appreciate food and its necessity in our lives.  Yes we enjoy the benefits of food but for the majority of us in western society it would be beneath us to go out and grow the food we eat.  It would also be beneath us to work in another area other than our expertise to provide for the food that we need.  How much food do we waste on a daily basis?  The amounts would blow your mind and yet we refuse to find a way to provide for our world more efficiently.

How long will it be until God begins to abandon our blessings of food?  I do not believe it will be too much longer since we as humans have now reverted to boycotting food based upon personal beliefs.  Which this action really reflects upon how we are wanting our spiritual bread baskets filled and it really does not surprise me but at the same time it does make me wonder how much longer before God says “Enough!” and allows us to experience true hunger on both levels.  Yes, the two levels are tied together and many of us have failed to recognize this concept; stop and think about it for a bit if our enemy attacks our spirit it must be weak in some area and this is evident in a person who is spiritually unfed and weak in response to the enemy, and in some cases to weak or unaware to even fight back.  So, if the spirit is weak then the next logical area would be the physical aspect and if the attack on the spiritual food works, why change tactics?

There are many places in the world today that the spiritual food supply is far greater than their physical food supply.  My parents have been in many countries throughout the world and when they return this is a common theme that they share with those who listen to their words, the spiritual aspects of a person’s life far outweigh their physical.  These people have far more abundance of spiritual food in their lives than I have ever known simply because they have trust in God and live accordingly.  And you know something, even though these people do not have hardly a dime to their name they are the happiest people that I have ever met.  There is a reason for this and it is because they know what surrounds them and they know that they are under constant attack but they also know that their daily spiritual food supply is never going to run out since they seek that source on a continual basis.

Now, let me talk about the opposite side of the spectrum for a moment.  We in western society have been blessed with an abundance of food for quite some time.  Yes, there was a time that the food supply in this society was not as plentiful as it is today but this was supplemented by the spiritual blessings that God allowed us to survive and it was by God’s grace that our type of society was allowed to stay afloat during this time.  Yes, it was a difficult time but we as a society still looked towards God for guidance.  So, what is the difference today?  The difference is our attitudes towards God and our spiritual food and the direct conflict that we have with God.  If you have paid attention to the past few decades our society has been steadily sinking in its morality and its values.  We have been systematically walking away from God and living our own lives the way we saw fit.  Now, God understands this and He understands that we are self sufficient and that is what He wants for our lives but at the same time He does not wish that we ignore the source of our supplies which is Him.

Also, if you have been paying attention to the weather over the past few decades you will have noticed that the patterns of weather have changed dramatically during this time period.  The weather has not been as faithful for the crops and to the land which means it is more difficult for farmers to bring in their harvests and when they have been allowed to complete the harvest, it has been diminished greatly.  So the next logical step would be for the government to put in its two cents…oh wait, they have already done this.  So where does this leave us?  Back to the point where we need to search for sound guidance about food, which we are now looking towards the government for our direction and we are receiving nothing in return.  This lack of action will produce a situation in which one day we will wake up and realize that the food supply is no longer at the levels that we have become accustomed to.  So, who then will we turn to supply our daily bread and who will actually be interested in the sparrow?

It is very important for us to realize that our spiritual lives and spiritual food intake is just as important as our physical intake of food and it is just as important to understand that the two food intake pathways are equal in our lives.  We have made a turn and it time that we open our eyes and ears and to hear what God is saying to us concerning our spiritual lives.  He is warning us about our land, our spiritual land which feeds us.  This land is fed by God and His Word and it is our responsibility to cultivate this land within our spirits and to grow and to harvest His Word into our lives so that we may live abundantly when times get tough.  Our physical world will change and the things of our physical world will be different but our spiritual food must never dwindle by any measure for in times of difficulty our spiritual food will sustain us to make sound decisions on the physical aspects of life.

In short, cultivate our spiritual land and it shall provide the nourishment to sustain us when times get tough.  Continue our path away from this spiritual cultivation and we shall see many deprivations within our lives and we will become a devastated land, both in the spiritual side and in the physical side.  God is giving us another chance to choose Him and we really should make the decision to grasp onto this chance.

DLB

Being Alive

Being Alive

9/18/12

How many times do we wake up each morning and immediately think of the reasons that we are alive.  Many of us do not even give this concept a thought and just get out of our sleeping mode and begin our day without any hesitation.  Some of us do think about our day and its events but how many of us really stop and think about us being alive?  And when we do think about this concept do we actually give honor to the one person who gives us another opportunity to make a difference in our world?

No matter what part of the world a person lives in when it is time to begin their day each of them has a routine that they follow.  This routine most likely began when they were young and will continue until they cease breathing on this earth.  There is nothing wrong with this course and it is a normal occurrence that each person complete this task every day and it really does not matter what that person has planned for that day either, the pattern usually stays the same and varies little.

I too have this similar behavior each morning and I am going to give you a quick run down of what occurred this morning in my house as an example of how things work according to this pattern.  The alarm went off as it does almost every morning at its regularly scheduled time.

Shower time immediately follows and then a quick dress session with my house clothes until it is time to get my work clothes on.  I smell the coffee brewing as I come out of the bathroom and anticipate my cup as I am walking down the stairs.

The coffee is not finished by the time I get to the kitchen but that is ok because like my goofy self wills I stand there and watch the water pour out of the drip system and impatiently wait as the level of fluid in the pot reaches that certain level where the coffee will taste ok when you sneak that first cup.  I place the pot back into its slot and do not touch my cup just yet.  I get a small cup and fill it with water and then take my morning meds and return my cup to its regular spot.  Then I grab my coffee mug and then head down to the lower floor to the office.

Bonnie is usually up by then getting her routine started as well which usually includes ironing a shirt or two and making sure that everyone has clothes ready for the day.  She then goes back upstairs and begins to review the previous nights’ logs for work and makes sure that everything is covered for the impending duty day; she does this even when she is not working as well.  She then makes sure that the girls are up and going before she begins the breakfast option for our stomachs.  And of course we cannot forget the lovely animals that we have in the house that keep us constantly aware of what is transpiring at our feet.

I walk into the office and turn the music on, I have always loved music and it is one of the first things that I do in the mornings.  I then go to the computer and start my morning routine of finding out as happened during the night.  After the news I turn to my emails and receive further notes on my interests and then eventually head over to a social website for a few and see what other people have to say about their lives.  This is the time I say good morning to God and thank Him for allowing me to be in this world.

A few minutes later Bonnie usually says it is time to eat and I take my coffee mug up to the table and eat my breakfast.  A few minutes of chatting and making sure of the day’s schedule and it is off to change clothes and finalize my routine at the house so I can get into the truck and head to work.  Many times I am usually out of the house within an hour from the time I get up, but there are instances where this time frame gets altered a bit but this is normally the routine that occurs at the house.

The drive to work is usually short and sweet since it is only about one mile from the house to the hospital.  In winter there are a few variations to the start of the driving experience but for the main part it is a quick drive with not much activity around the area.  The hospital sign always greets me first as I approach one of the entrances to the hospital parking lot.  The parking lot is mainly empty at this time but it is a good indicator of how full the hospital is as well, and in today’s case I knew we were full.

A short walk into the hospital and take my badge out and then I am officially here and ready to get busy with my day.  My routine really does not change much here at work either and ever since I have set into motion this routine I vary little from it, I guess patterns are hard to break away from the house as well.  Controls and hospital emails begin my morning in my lab and then it is off to replace the needed inventory items on the instruments, see even my instruments have to follow a daily routine.  J

This is the short version of everything that transpires during my early morning routine but it gives you an idea of what goes on in my life shortly after I rise for the day.  Your schedule may vary in some degree but if you stop and think about things you will find that you follow a similar routine each day or evening whichever falls into your time category. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this because it is a normal human thing to have and all of us complete this in our lives at some point.

Today as I was returning from one of my early morning trips to the main building, I looked up at the Mesa and saw the sun reflecting off the mountain side as it does every day and I thought to myself that I needed to thank God that I am alive today.  I thank God for many things and I even thank Him for all the animals on a regular basis.  But as I stood there for a second I was actually trying to remember when the last time I said thank you for being alive.  I know that with waking up every day that I am alive but I usually do not use those exact words each time ”being alive” and for some reason today I felt like I needed to say them.  I have no idea why but there is a reason for everything I guess and this too will probably come to pass.  It may not be me but for someone reading this message at some point, but it is out there now and God will use it accordingly.

God never promised us that things would be a bed of roses every time we wake up.  Being human alone is tough enough without all of the daily pressures that we encounter within a few minutes after we wake up.  But being alive is a very special feeling in which many of us forget about and tend to ignore.  This is a feeling of being alive is our life, our livelihood in which we get an opportunity to witness things that are around us both good and bad.  Our life is a unique experience that no one else can imagine and we should be continually thankful for our existence.

As I continued my walk across in between buildings my right knee began to ache a bit.  This is not an unusual thing for me but it did make me laugh since my pain was immediately afterwards of my prayer of thanks to God for being alive.  As the morning went along one of my instruments ran into a problem in which a delay of patient results ensued.  Minor issues according to the grand scheme of things but it still had its trying effects on my life and could cause some people to doubt their existence.  In many ways I use instances like this to renew my understanding that even though my trials are limited to myself and to my immediate surroundings, I am so blessed in many areas in this world and I have no reason to complain about the minor issues that arise within my life.

God is good no matter what comes my way and I have no complaints about my live.  I know that I will continue to have trials and other problems that I will have to deal with but knowing that I am alive and that I actually have the opportunity to work through these issues brings about a special meaning within my heart that God has the confidence in me enough to learn from these instances and then help others to get through similar trials.  What trials you ask, I have no idea but always know that if you allow God to be in control of your life He will nurture that relationship and renew your life on a continual basis.  This process is very difficult to explain but at the same time it is very real, just ask anyone who is sloshing their way through it.

DLB