Well Done!!!!!

Cue the music of DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince.

 

It has been a minute since I last blogged about anything.  I sure some folks have written me off and that’s ok. 

Well I posted this on my Face book yesterday and it simply says that “Well Done is better than Well Said”…… Why because talk is cheap.  People respect action a lot more than words.  IF our words aren’t backed up by action then they ring hollow and weak.  Why are people afraid of bullies???  Most of the time its because of what they have said and not from what they have done. 

Look at our leaders…. They often promise much but deliver very little in terms of results and that leads to mistrust and uncertainty among those who follow.  Parents who are successful are the ones who are able to communicate with their children but there comes a time when it must be followed with action.  IF we don’t then we run the risk of raising undisciplined kids who don’t respect us.  The bible is specific in this instance when it talks about faith without works is dead.  Our faith (words) must be put to work (action) to be truly effective. 

Bottom line: if you say you are going to do something DO IT!!!!

 

Remember the first words you want to hear from the Lord are ” Well Done, good and Faithful servant”

Its only Money…. Right?!?!

I found this site linked to one of my favorite message boards and I thought it was kinda interesting.  It puts into perspective just how much money a trillion dollars actually is……. ENJOY!

Teachable moment

As I write this post Caleb and I have just returned home from watching Madea goes to Jail.  Let me say that it is not a movie that would be appropriate for children under 13 because of some the subject matter.  It provided a very teachable moment for Caleb and me to have a good conversation. 

One of the main characters was a street preacher whose ministry was to prostitutes and junkies on the street.  Needless to say she was a tough women and very unorthodox in her approach to preaching the gospel.  Part of her ministry was to give out condoms and clean needles to those people on the street.  Yes it seems crazy and out of line for what a christian should be doing.  But all she was doing was meeting the people where they were and building a trust with them that no bible thumper could ever possibly hope to build.  She was a radical christian not because she was giving people the tools to hopefully keep them a little safer while they indulged in a destructive lifestyle, but because she had been freed herself and she was not willing to let them suffer the same fate.  She knew that her words would not bring the change needed in them but it would be her actions demonstrated in love that would bring the desired result.  The question is are we that radical?  Am I that radical?  I asked Caleb that very question, and talked about how important it was to be real, something that a lost world can look to without judgement and say that is something I want.  This street preacher decided to love those prostitutes without condition or condemnation.  She demonstrated what the power of God’s love can do when given with no strings attached.  Real and radical…..  I have some work to do!

Sometimes Technology is good!

I know it is not a new site on the net but Facebook has become one of my daily stops while surfing.  I have found people there that I haven’t seen since high school and college.  Former teammates, roommates, best friends and girlfriends, they are all there.  People who have come through my life at one point or another to leave a mark on my life.  I can say for the most part reflecting on those relationships is mostly positive.  My kids asked me once if I had a lot of people that didn’t like me when I was in school.  I told them that I didn’t recall having  a lot of enemies because I tried to get along with most people I came in contact with, but nothing is 100%.  The point is,  that people don’t become a part of your life by accident or some random act.  I believe the people that I have had to opportunity know and form friendships with played a great role in who I am today.  I was glad to have them call me friend, and I hope that I made an impression upon their lives as they have made on me.  I was thinking today during lunch that we see people every day that in that moment it will be the ONLY time we ever cross their paths. 

Random…. Maybe but sometimes I think about things like this and it makes me appreciate those people who are and were a part of my life.

Good Intentions!!!

I have heard it said that the road to hell in paved with good intentions.   Not sure exactly what that means, but it some small fashion I think that it may refer to our desire to do the right thing.  But due to the circumstances  or  forces within or outside our control, it seems to derail those thoughts.  With that being said, we had a plan, a budget, an idea of how to better organize our finances and to be a better steward of what God has given us.  We have made some drastic changes to accommodate those ends.  Everything was in place to be ready to hit the ground running, right….. WRONG!  Which leads me to sometimes think that no matter how hard I try, things won’t be any different or better for me and my family.  There always seems to be a fly in the ointment or some hiccup to throw things off track.  My friend Todd said it seemed like Murphy’s Law and me were becoming best friends.  I guess I am wondering how many more hoops will I have to jump threw, or how many more times will I have to chase my own tail before I can say it is finished.  I guess there must still be some lesson that I am not fully understanding or willing to embrace that brings me back to what appears to be the same place.  It could be worst,  I could allow myself to get in a funk and bite every body’s head off.  Or I could except this as my lot in life to always get to the Jordan but never cross over.  Or I could continue to fight on and hold on till my break through comes.  So there it is.  Me in real time, not mad, not sad, not glad, still just looking for the light at the end of the tunnel.  Closer now than I was yesterday….. I think?!?!

Thank you Mr. President

While most are celebrating a historic day in our nation, I thought I would take the time to say thank you to the 43th President of the United States.  President Bush was not a “perfect” leader, but then when you think about it he led an imperfect nation.  Thank you Mr. President for your leadership during 9/11,  thank you for support of the unborn, thank you for support of Israel.  Thank you for keeping our nation safe during your time in office.  Thank you for your willingness to serve a nation that at times didn’t appreciate the decisions you and your administration had to make.  Thank you for not needing to be popular to do your job.  You have always been a gracious leader of our nation, especially in the face of your critics.  Enjoy your retirement and my prayers are with you and with our 44th President.  Farewell

Denied!

Well we are 7 days into our fast and it is becoming a bit easier.  We have learned to cook and eat some different things and that alone has been rather exciting and new.  It is amazing how much crap we pollute our bodies with and how much we “need” those things once we don’t have them.  I haven’t been hungry but I believe I can compare my circumstances to somebody trying to quit smoking.  The body is wanting something that it is used to having and in some respects is letting me know how unhappy it is.  Now the real question becomes, once I finish this fast and I am able to have what I want, will I return to those addictive foods?  One of my favorite passages from the bible is were the Lord is speaking to Peter and correcting him because he didn’t want to eat the food that was set before him.  Kill and eat was what He said to him, but Peter refused.  Now I know the passage was about a lot more than food,  and that it was about him ultimately going to minister to a group of gentiles.  Basically what I am saying this that I will probably kill and eat, but maybe I will be more conscious of what I eat.  We will see.

What’s Next?!?!

Since it is a new year and most like to look back, I figured I would take a look ahead to some things that will be happening this year.

1. I will turn 40.  Hmmm doesn’t seem possible
2. I will have a child in High School.  
3. Watching that child play High School football
4. I will have a daughter in Middle school.  Lord help me!
5. To be debt free!
6. All the unknown blessings and challenges that will come my way
7. 15 years of Marriage

Short list but I can’t know everything that will take place.  Just let it be known that this will be a great year in my life.

What is it worth???

I have been in a blogging funk and I really haven’t had much to contribute to the blogging community so I felt silence was the better option.  With that said, what is your most precious possession???

Well for me it is time.  Time is the true currency of our lives.  We trade it for everything we do.  Even money is traded for time.  We always say there is never enough of it to do what we need to get done.  We run out of it and wish we had more of it.  It never moves fast enough when there is some place we want to be and it moves too fast when we want to savor the moment.  We look for ways to save it but most of the time we waste it.  TIME!  Songs are written about and stories told about it.  It waits for no one and is always moving forward.  So we should be wise in how we spend it and who we spend it with.  We should make the most of it and enjoy every moment of it.

So with that I guess the blogging funk is over…. For Now.

3 to1

Here lately I have been feeling like for ever step forward I have taken 3 steps back.  To be more specific I feel like a one legged man in a butt kicking contest.  Trying to focus and improve my life only to be challenged on seemly ever front to prevent progress.  I am not deterred or swayed by what has happened, I guess I am just trying to figure out when will my break through appear.  I understand Jacob had to wrestle with God all night before he received his blessing.  Just wondering how much longer until dawn.  So there you have it.  Brief and amazing.  Remember this, when it comes to blogging if you can be brief and amazing, then just be brief.