Remember...

The goodness of the Lord to you.

The goodness of the Lord to others.

The times He met you in the midst of "it".

How He brought you through "it".

His numerous blessings.

Every time He has answered your prayers.

Every time you thought He didn't answer your prayers, but later realized He did.

He has promised to complete the work He began in you.

He has promised to never leave you or forsake you.

He has promised to always love you.

He cannot lie.

Remember Him.

Oh Yeah...

yesterday was my birthday.

Trust

Trust, Trust and Trust Again
is all that i can do
i put my all into Thy hands
do as Thou wilt do...

God Bless You...This Night

God bless you as He finds you
as this day turns into night
as you tuck your kids into their beds
and turn on thier night lights

God bless you in the silence
or in the din of the t.v.
or in the pleasant conversation
or (sadly) in the animosity

God bless you in the covers
as you lay there and thoughts stew
and as the sleep dust hovers
may indeed, God bless you

God Bless You...This Afternoon

God bless you as you're driving
and weave the morning mess
God bless you on your arriving
& as you sit down at your desk...

God bless you this afternoon
as you finish up your meal
and wish you could take a nap
for your waning zeal

God bless you amidst the papers
or among the hammers and the nails
or about your many students
or the milk pails

God bless you on your ride home
and as you share your meal together
and as you chase a thousand ways
God bless the ties that tether...

God Bless You...This Morning

God bless you in the morning
as you first begin to rise
and you put your feet down on the floor
and rub the sleep from your eyes

God bless you with your coffee
and as you eat your toast
as you ponder your busy day
and what thing you should do first

God bless you as you get the kids up
and they complain and gigle
God bless their little arms and legs
as you dress them thru their wiggles

God bless you with the car keys
and as you shut the door
and sit sighing as you start it
remembering some undone chore

Into Every Life Some Books Must Fall

or, "there's more to life than books, but not much more"

there i was...sitting at my desk...day dreaming, er, doing some work...and, all of a sudden, with no warning, the book shelf behind me comes crashing down...all over the floor, all over my desk, on top of my head...ouch!

the book on top of the pile, you ask?

"preaching that connects".

hmmm...

i guess i ought to "let them have it" this week! LOL!

Not What We Want...But What We Need

i want patience...
God makes me wait.

i want peace...
God allows conflict--that i might work peace.

i want $ so i don't have to worry...
God says "trust Me and you don't have to worry"

i want obedient children...
God tells me to "teach them obedience by being obedient to Me"

i want fulfillment...
God says "give to others"

i want a beautiful wife...
God said "ok...i'll give you that one"--don't take her for granted.

i want an exciting life...
God says "follow Me".

i love it that i ask for what i want...
But that God gives me what i need.

For the Record (and my apologies for complaining)

the "Love isn't Blind" comment really meant nothing other than what it meant in the romantic sense...

but it did prompt some thoughts.

dealing with other people's sins is tough business.

we have to balance between:

pride and humilty.
personal feelings and God's word.
the person's ability to hear and our responsibility to share.
our understanding of the situation and how the situation really is.

all the while we have to watch out for :

the tone of our voice.
the tone of our attitude.
the words we use.
the words we don't use.

(please forgive the vagueness of the following):

my wife told me recently of a situation where someone we know was, in our opinion, going far above and beyond what most christians would go in dealing with a particular situation.

i know for sure that, if i was in a similar situation, i wouldn't handle it half as well as this person did.

this person is a "saint" in this situation! we've been shocked at people's expectations of him/her and each time he/she "out does" them! he/she's been Christ in action! selfless...loving... gracious...kind...

like i said, i've been impressed.

finally...far down the Jesus road...this person finally said enough! this isn't fair...and i don't have to take it! if you want to do that, you can do it. but i'm done and i won't--nor do i feel i have to. etc.

i don't think this person was out of line for doing so.

i do, however, think the people who have continually asked him/her to do the things they have asked him/her to do are out of line.

so, now, one of these people visit this person...concerned for their salvation, no less!

push.
push.
push some more.
push.
push.
push again.
push a little harder.
push.
push.

and now,

"you know, i'm very concerned about your behavior...you haven't forgiven people..etc etc".

somewhere...we need to find the balance.

"ARG! Where's Me Glass Eye??"

well the i was reading a book about pirates to the kids...

anyway...

about "turning a blind eye to sin"...

how do we deal with sin in another person's life?

what do we say?

when do we say it?

how do we say it?

inquiring minds want to know...

From a Journal Entry: 10 Nov 95

"love isn't blind...
it just sometimes chooses not to look"

Have you seen it?

"But there is something I'm looking for:
a person simple and plain,
reverently responsive to what I say."
Isaiah 66:2

I Have bad news and Good News

the bad news:
Romans 3:23

The Good News:
Romans 6:23

If i Look at a Reflection of My Reflection, Will Things be Downside Up?

Sometimes i think God is backwards. He does everything completely opposite to the way they should be done. His principles are not what come naturally to me...they even contradict my desires and inclination. most noteable, His ways fly in the face of my desire for self preservation.
i say curse! He says "bless".
i say save (well, spend!)! He says "give".
i say mine! He says "theirs".
i say hate! He says" love".
i say no! He says "yes".
i say yes! He says "no".
i say alone! He says "community".
i say avoid! He says "confront".
i say confront! He says "leave it to me".
i say sin! He says "here's a mirror, pal".
i say later! He says "now".
i say now! He says...

well, you get the idea. this proverb sums it up:

"one man gives freely, yet gains even more; another with holds unduly but comes to poverty" (11:24)

and it seems much of my life is spent trying to get in synch with God and what He is saying and what He is doing.

i want to be backwards like God is...

Did He Mean Everything?

"Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One who invited us to God. The best invitation we ever received! We were also given absolutely terrific promises to pass on to you—your tickets to participation in the life of God after you turned your back on a world corrupted by lust."
2 Peter 1:3 (the msg)

everything.
everything we need.
everything we need to live.
everything we need to live our life.
everything we nned to live our life in a way that pleases Him.

He gives us everything we need.

not a little.
not a lot.
not "some".
or even most.

not "just enough to get you by".
not "just enough to get you in".
not "spare change".
not "just a little something i was saving on the side fer ya".

everything. all. total. complete. fulfilled. entire. the whole shebang. b-i-n-g-o.

that's what it says. it says it right there. i see it with my own eyes. you see it with yours. we can read it alone or we can read it together. it is there for us to read and believe.

to believe. to believe. to believe.

it is there for us to read and believe.

Know Your Enemy?

corn. creamed corn. popcorn. frozen corn. fresh corn. canned corn.

corn on the cob. mixed vegetables (with corn). corny jokes. kettle corn.

big kernels. small kernels. white corn. yellow corn.

boiled corn. roasted corn. shepherd's pie (has corn). corn fried rice. corn. corn. corn. corn.

well, not the corny jokes, anyway.

Some Folks Look for Answers, Others Look for Fights

SSIA

Man takes his cane to a waterfall
Has a visionStarts talking baby talk
Understood by a girl in Peru
We read about it in the daily news

Lines of poetry
Revealing mysteries
Still some can't swim
Jesus walked on the water
He turned the water into wine
He went down to the drunkards
To tell them everything is fine

You R loved
You R loved
You R really loved

I cannot decideWho should die or live
I do my best to forgive
Falling backwards in the eventide
Listening at the riverside

You R loved
You R loved
You R really loved