Gotta Love IT

It has been a real growing experience for me lately. With the birth of Keira came less personal time. It has been taken a while to get used to, but I feel we are finally starting to get a hold of it. One of the things that has changed is that I have been forced to use my time wisely. I used to just kind of do things when i wanted, but now Lindsey and I have to plan ahead to get that personal time-running, playing guitar, relaxing, reading, etc. I now go to bed earlier and wake up earlier. This allows me to have real quiet time in the morning before any munchkins wake up! I also use part of my lunch time to play my guitar. I know this all probably seems weird to you if you don't have any kids, but someday it will make more sense.

On top of all this I have been reading and memorizing and praying more then I have in a long time. I love knowing the seeds God has put in my heart are growing, my understanding and closeness is increasing, and that I am being productive with my time-which allows me to spend more quality time with my daugthers as well! Gotta love the kids!

YOUTH CONVENTION IS LESS THEN 24HRS AWAY

I can't believe it is already here! Steph, where did those 14days go? Well I am very excited to see what God is going to do this year. All of the teens have constantly been in my prayers for this trip. But not only for this trip, because for some it is going to be the beginning of the journey. But or all that this would be a part of the growth process. That this would help spur them on to new depths in Christ.

God, I thank you for this chance to spend the next couple days with some great teens. I know some will be coming with the idea of only having fun. Others, hoping to encounter you, being some what scared and not knowing how to let go of hurts, pains, sins, the past, etc. There isn't alot I can do of myself...Please reveal yourself to these teens in a way they have never encountered you. Take them deeper, draw them closer then they have ever been before. Change them forever. Thank you for what you are about to do...

Random Verses from Prov

I have been reading in Proverbs lately and I absolutely love this book. There are so many one liners that leave you saying wow! Here are some I came across the last few days:

Lazy people are soon poor; hard workers get rich.

The wise are glad to be instructed, but babbling fools fall flat on their faces.

Lazy people are a pain to their employer. They are like smoke in the eyes or vinegar that sets the teeth on edge.

A woman who is beautiful but lacks discretion is like a gold ring in a pig's snout.

To learn you must love discipline; it is stupid to hate correction

Worry weighs down a person, an encouraging word cheers a person up.



There are so many more but I don't have the time to type all of them. I have to read these over and over to soak them up. One more...

Whoever walks with the wise will become wise; whoever walks with fools will suffer harm.

Read up, they are a great source of wisdom!

Represent

This last week(Sunday Night) I had a great time with some teens studying the Bible. It was great, we read, we prayed, asked questions, we joked, but we focused on God( to be fair, we also watched scenes from Nacho Libre..."I'm concerned about your salvation and stuuuufffff). It was a great conversation.

One of the verses that caught my eye was Phil 1:27...."conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ." WOW. The weight of that verse takes a little time to set in. As a Christian, I carry the name of Christ everywhere I go, in every action and every word...I am a Christian. Do I treat my wife in a manner worthy of the name of Christ? It am the best dad I can be in a similar manner? When people see me, and talk to me, do they understand by my words and my actions that I represent Christ, or do they see something else? Tough questions worth reflecting on.

I understand that I will never be perfect, but that is part of the gospel of Christ...that is also no excuse.

In your work, or classes, or the hallways...when others take short cuts, or cheat, or lie.. do I respond in a manner worthy of the Gospel of CHRIST?

It has hit me this way...as a Christian I stand for certain principles, and values, and beliefs(...i.e. treating others the same way I want to be treated, faithfulness to my wife for life, not gossiping, standing for truth and not lying)...so when I find myself in a situation that I am tempted to compromise and take an easy way, or a short cut...It helps me to remember...as a follower of God I don't cheat, I don't lie, regardless of how much harm it will do me bc I live for God.

Anyway I am rambling, and asking way to many questions that don't have answers, until next time.

Thanks to my lone reader!

Great Gain

There are a few verses that have been stuck in my mind for a while bc of the financial times in which we are living. I just wish I would have taken them to heart before, I could have avoided foolish financial decisions.

"1Ti 6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.
7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.
8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.
9 People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction.
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
11 But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. "

Great gain is not gaining great big things, or newer or shinier, but pursing Godliness and being content with what I have. Easier said then done with my shop NBC channel showing me with the utmost urgency my need of a new laptop computer....Or Big screen TV, or Ipod Touch, etc. It is everywhere. Paul tells me what to do about it though...FLEE from all this!

So.....here.....I go..........can you tell................I'm running...............................

That was refreshing

I really enjoyed the time this last Wednesday to just worship God. Man that was refreshing just to focus again on him, and nothing else. I really enjoyed it bc Kyla is getting old enough to jump around and try to sing as well. That reminds me of one of my top priorities...to show my daughters God's love and introduce them to Him. So from a parents point of view, it was creating a memory that I will not easily forget.

Now on to something that is on my mind. I (we) have talked about doing this youth center thing for a long time now, and it hasn't moved forward to quickly bc of the lack of available operating space that would be suitable for such an endeavor. So in the spirit of moving forward I have an idea, but first I must present it to the proper people for approval. Here is my timetable....the proper people are leaving in a week for a missions trip so the time to do this will not be until this proper person returns...end of march... so the the first week in April I will seek approval for the new idea, then probably the board mtg, then hopefully in May/June we can physically start preparing a place for the teen center...with the opening at the start of school in August.

I can't wait

I know Steph if you are out there you have the exact number of days until youth convention...how many now? I was thinking about convention 09 wondering how it is going to go, trying to anticipate any problem people(W), going over room assignments, and I started thinking about past youth conventions and looking at some pics. I told myself, "self I miss youth convention, I miss the late nights, the long van rides, the stinky guys, the barbecue hawiian chicken pizza...I can't wait to go again this year"

As I continued to appreciate past visits to Hershey I realized that it isn't so much convention that I look forward to, but rather the time with God. I miss those times. The only reason besides looking for a bf or gf to go to convention is to focus soley on God. That is what convention is. And that is what I miss.

Time with God.