We are Moving!!

We are excited. We are in the process of launching a new site and we are moving the blog as well. We will no longer be posting here but rather at our "soon to be launched" NEW SITE. You can find it here.

We hope you will re-subscribe or subscribe if you haven't already. We expect some fun and amazing things in the coming months.

When you subscribe you will receive the blog updates to your email so you don't have to remember to come and visit. It is a neat way to keep in touch and stay up on the going's on around here along with monthly doses of encouragement and inspiration.

Thanks for all the blessings you've given us so far. Hope we see you at the new site.

Mini E-book "Quitting Your Way to Success"

Exciting News!!!

The e-book download for the teaser edition to "Quitting Your Way to Success" is now available! Hope on over to our Lulu.com store and download your free copy of the book today!

Go HERE!

We are very excited about what is to come with the completion of this book in Early September! Stay Tuned!

Not all bad times are bad

In strength training, muscles are built by tearing them and then resting them. While they are resting, they are building stronger muscles because of the scar tissue that is being built around the tearing that has been done. Spiritual strength is similar – the bad times will create character as we apply God’s principles rather than reacting out of our flesh – not all bad times are bad! Have you ever had a time in your life that you thought was the worst – only to find out later that it was a very important growing time in your life? God can and will use anything if we let Him.

In 2 Kings 14 we read about a king that was not the best king Israel ever had but I was surprised by what God did through him:
“In the fifteenth year of Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah, Jeroboam son of Jehoash king of Israel became king in Samaria, and he reigned forty-one years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord and did not turn away from any of the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit. He was the one who restored the boundaries of Israel from Lebo Hamath to the Sea of the Arabah, in accordance with the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, spoken through his servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath Hepher.”

The kings of Israel are always listed as having done right in the eyes of the Lord, or having done evil. And often the ones that are called “evil” are also referred to as making Israel sin. In this case – the king was called evil – and yet, in this dark time of having an evil king, God did what only God can do – He caused something good to come out of it. Right in the middle of bad leadership He restored land and He fulfilled a prophecy spoken by Jonah.

Maybe things look bad – maybe you are in the middle of the darkest part of your life. God is still capable of bringing to you restoration of loss and fulfilling His promises to you. Just because it seems bad, doesn’t mean that it handicaps God from doing something miraculous! And while He is doing something miraculous He is also building you some strong spiritual muscles. You are looking pretty amazing by the way!

“No Good Deed Goes Unpunished”

From Jesus healing the sick on the Sabbath to Moses protecting his people by killing the Egyptian, there permeates a theme in life that for every act of kindness and for every attempt to be as Jesus to others there is an equal push back from the enemy of that Savior to attack the perpetrator of the action.
At the very heart of Christianity is the mandate of self-sacrifice and putting others before self. Nothing is as assaulting to the soul as having given oneself completely for the other only to have that rejected or disdained. I think about how David served Saul and married his daughter and yet Saul wanted to kill David. The accusing spirit raises its head against the actions that are in line and motivated from a heart that loves Jesus.
In America we have a justice system that some would say doesn’t work very well – but it is a system nonetheless, that has a punishment for an offense lined up. We usually feel better if we see someone pulled over for speeding. We sleep a little better when they catch the person responsible for the shooting – then the research to find out why they would do such a thing begins. We want to know who they were and what made them tick and who their parents were, how they did in school, if they had friends, and why no one stopped them. And justice systems should be in place. But what about the smaller offenses – the ones that effect our lives? The ones that are simply against us? No law has been broken but we would feel better if someone were to set that person straight in regard to our motives, our call, our honor. Jesus has something lined up for that scenario:
Matthew 5:43-47 “You have heard it said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you; Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you. That you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers what are you doing more than others? “
Sometimes people just aren’t nice – sometimes they think you aren’t being nice. Jesus’ system is: love on them anyway – pray for them, bless them. And, as with a lot of things in the Bible, it goes against what comes naturally to us! But when applied, there is a reward, and you will be like your Father in heaven. So, if your feathers are a little ruffled – or a lot ruffled – calm down, comb out the feathers by praying for the one who has offended you – apply the system that Jesus gave us and by the end of the day you may be looking more like the Father - which is a reward all by itself. It’s better than dieting and you can have quicker results as well – how is that for a New Year makeover!

Experts

If someone has done something for a really long time – like being an electrician for 43 years, we would consider them an expert. We would trust their expertise when making an important decision in regard to making our home safer or updating our appliances so that they met safety standards. We would ask them all the questions we could think of in regard to their area of knowledge so that we would know how to proceed to success in that area as well. It is 2011, and this month I will have been alive for 43 years, but I do not consider myself an expert in living. In fact, the older I get the more I feel like I don’t know what is going on! This morning I read this, “If people want to follow me, they must give up the things they want. They must be willing even to give up their lives to follow me. Those who want to save their lives will give up true life. But those who give up their lives for me and for the Good News will have true life.” Mark 8:34-35.
I’ve heard that since I was a child – it still doesn’t make since to my flesh. But my spiritual man understands every year even more that the things we grow up thinking we have to have or have to be are not nearly as important as our inner man being what God wants it to be. That the high cost of being a disciple of Jesus is worth the price. That said, I’d rather be turning 43 this month than 23! The life lessons I’ve learned and the perspective change that God has given with age is far more valuable than youth. I would rather be a novice at living than an expert at youth because then every day is a surprise.