Still Waters

Psalms 23:2 states "He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside quiet waters." (NASB)  Other translations will say "still waters", but however it is translated it describes a peaceful place, a place of rest.  

I have no still waters right now.  My emotions are raw with fear and anger and almost everything makes me want to lash out or break down in tears.  (See my previous post for background on what is happening.) And things are not getting any better.  She has been in a facility for a month now and she has learned to play their system so well that her insurance is thinking of discharging her due to not having any behaviors.  No medication, no progress in therapies, no changes whatsoever and to be sent home to do the same things again.  Nope.  I have two other children and a wife to protect.  

I am so angry at the people who said that they were going to help.  Angry at the hollow words spoken on admission of promises not kept.  Sad and scared of the possibility of more trauma to our other children and ourselves.  Overwhelmed at the fact that I cannot change this situation that we are sitting in.  

We do not know the future.  We cannot say for sure what is going to happen and we cannot lean on our own understanding.  We are trying to trust in the Lord, to walk down the paths where He leads and go through the doors that he is opening.  

I know that God is a good father.  I know that He wants what is best for us and our children and that He intentionally gives us what He does.  That is why I am trying to not allow this fear and anger get the best of me.  Since He is intentionally good to us, I will intentionally worship Him.     

This is my song for today: Intentional by Travis Greene

May these lyrics bless you as you hear that "all things to work together for the good to those who love God" (Romans 8:28 NASB)

How long, O Lord?

Do you ever feel like David did?  

"How long O, Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me?" Psalm 13:1 NASB.

There are times in life where we feel that God is far away.  That He is willfully apart from us.  Honestly, I have to admit that I am going through one of those times right now.  And it has been going on for a while.  I do not know how to stop it or if this feeling is ever going to stop.  

My wife and I have a biological child and we adopted a brother and sister sibling group.  We wholeheartedly believe that this was what God called us to do.  Even before we were married we felt the call to adopt on our hearts.  So after much prayer, preparation and planning, and five years of waiting we were placed with two children.  Feeling that this was the road that He had planned for us, we embraced the whirlwind.  

Now it is two years later.  And during those two years we have had four good days with our adoptive daughter.  Four days where the weight of the trauma of her past was lifted and she was a happy and whole child.  Four days in which we could see what she could become if she wanted to.  Those were good days.  Those days raised our hopes, and our cares vanished for little while.  The pressure of us as parents having to find the right formula to help her was gone.       

Then day five hit and everything crumbled and our hopes also.  Those good days freaked her out, and she backslid into a whole host of other problems to include now being on medication, and as a family we have 7-8 therapies a week. We have found out the the medication is not helping with her ability to choose what is good for her.  She is willfully choosing to not choose the good.  This has been going on for months now.  This is where I have the problem with waiting.  

We have given her over to God.  We/I understand that we cannot fix her and the more that we try and deal with her psychological problems, the further we are at being her parents.  I have started to see a problem to fix, not a child to parent and love.  This cannot go on.  We have started to look at residential treatment facilities where she can go and work on her, and get the internal foundation that she needs to be stable.  We will visit her, attend family therapy sessions and be there to love and care for her when she gets out.  

I hate the waiting and I truly hope that God will sort this out soon.  I am down, like David, constantly crying out to God to intervene and to bless us with an answer.  Darkness hangs on me like a shroud that I cannot throw off and it overshadows every move I make.  I have started to second guess my decisions hoping that they are the right ones.  It makes me ill to know that I cannot fix it myself.  If this was my fault I could change things like parent different, pray harder, or will it into existence.  But I can't.  And it hurts to know that she does not want to be better.  

The waiting for God to move, the unknown answers that I do not know, the anticipation of something that needs to happen that I cannot see happening, irks me. I am not God, nor do I want to be.  At the same time I want to fix her and I can't.  

I truly hope that one day soon I can be like David at the end of this chapter where he states, "I will sing to the Lord, for He has dealt bountifully with me."  Psalms 13:6 NASB.

I want her to choose Him.  That way He can deal bountifully with her.    

How do you remember?

There are times in life where we do not need to forget what we have been through.  Where we can see that God has been with us, and blessed us. Through our struggles or maybe answered a prayer that we have been praying for years.  The memory of the great thing the Lord has done for us fades unless we set up a memorial.  Memories, no matter how good, will fade with time.    

That is why we have photo books and the fond memories that pop up on Facebook of things that we shared years ago.  It is also why we keep our kids kindergarten art work.  These allows us to remember what they were like at that age.  

Folks in the Bible did not have picture books or Facebook to remind them of the good times.  They had oral histories and physical markers in place where the awesome work that God had done on their behalf to remind them.

These are paraphrased from the Word.

Jacob set the rock up the he used as a pillow and blessed it and named the place Bethel. (Genesis 28:18-19)  

Joshua told the Israelites as they crossed the Jordan on dry land that one man from each tribe should lift a stone on their shoulder and carry it to the other side. While on the other side they placed the stones in a pile in Gilgal, to remind them that they passed that way through the Jordan on dry ground.  (Joshua 4:4-5, 20-22)

While Joshua was still in the riverbed, he placed 12 stones on the place where the priests that were carrying the Ark were standing.   (Joshua 4:9) 

Here is one more example and this one applies to my family personally.  

After defeating the Philistines in battle, Samuel placed a stone between Mizpah and Shen and named it Ebebezer saying, "Thus far the Lord has helped us.".  Ebenezer means 'Stone of help'.  (1 Samuel 7:13-14)

We are getting a puppy on Saturday and we are naming him Ebenezer.  We will literally be raising a stone of remembrance, a stone of help.  He will also be a physical testimony to others of what God has done for us that we can share with them as we get the funny looks about his name.  

We are naming him this for specific reasons.  To remind us of the struggles that we have been through the past months with adopting our children and getting them help.  To remind us that God was, and is with us during the loving interactions and hard won battles. To remind us that it will not always be this way, and that His love will never change. 
    
I challenge you to go out and place some stones with your family.  Use it as an opportunity to tell your children what God has done for you in the past.  Do not tear it down after and you will be surprised at how long they will remember what it means.  You could also take a stone and write a word on it to have in your or your kids pockets.  Words such as "strength", "faith", or "prayer" could be a reminder of how God is working in our lives.       

Rough roads

I really like driving.  It is one of the things that I feel I am good at.  I grew up driving in a hay field when I was 8, while my dad threw the hay bales in the back of the truck.  I did that for many years and finally transitioned to the country dirt roads that we had around our house.  

What has struck me over the past couple of days is how life is like those dirt roads.  I have found that sometimes we are on some long washboard roads that just shake and beat you to death; the vibration just wearing us out.  The day to day life that just grinds us down.  The thousand little things that we do during the day that seemingly have no consequence, while at the same time can build up over time.  

Maybe we are driving at night and we hit a huge pothole that came up too fast to miss.  The jarring impact only lasting for a short time yet it can leave us forever changed, whether it be  losing a job or putting a child in residential care.  These may come and go quickly, however, while we are in their midst they do not feel short. In the grand scheme of God's plan they really are a bump in the road and we are changed for just for experiencing with them. 

Sometimes roads will be so dusty that we cannot see what is behind us even as we focus on where we are going.  And we could feel that if we stop, that cloud of murky, grey-colored air will catch up and descend on us so that you will not be able to see where you are going.  Funny thing about us stopping is that the dust cloud goes away after a while.  The dust settles, no longer obscuring our vision.  

Then there are the times where God shows us that He is taking care of us, where He has come and used a road grader to smooth out the washboards and fill in the potholes.  Then He sent some rain, just for us, to wash away all of the dust.  We can look back and see where we have been and have a clear view at where you are going.  Knowing that God put us right here, right now, for what we are experiencing, is a huge blessing.  

I may be feeling nostalgic about those country roads, but feeling as I do now, I will not be able to look at them the same way again.    

Answered prayers

We have been having a hard go of it lately.   In one of the previous posts, I talked about starting something new and the devil attacked.  He started nit-picking at first and moved on to bigger things from there.  For the past little while I have been trying to keep my head afloat, to keep the kids somewhat civil, to take one problem at a time and to fight my own battles.  

As some of you know, that does not work and I quickly became overcome by the weight of all of the difficulties that we were facing.  Parental, financial, relational, and work related, I was buckling  under the pressure leading to my short temper and explosive ideas and words in my head.  It was not a good place to be.  I think that most of us has been in a similar type of situation before.  

What I was trying to do to fix these situations and problems was not working.  No man is an island and we are not meant to walk this world alone, so when I opened up to my wonderful wife about these issues and shared my feelings I started to feel better. She has a great listening ear, but our  real help comes from the Lord.  Over the past few days He has sent people to help us in almost all of the ways that we need.  From a place for our daughter to go to get help to yesterday a check coming into our account 3 days early.  He is taking care of us and He is showing us His love in very obvious ways.  

I have a prayer journal that after my bible time in the morning I write down a prayer that is on my heart.  Yesterday morning it was for God to help us.  I confessed my own selfishness, thinking that I could handle this on my own.  I asked for increased faith, and I asked for a way out of this hole that we were in.  Yesterday afternoon, God showed up in a big way.  

This morning, as I was flipping through my bible looking for my bookmark I came across Psalm 120:1.  The verse in the picture above.  It says, "I took my troubles to the Lord; I cried out to Him, and He answered my prayers."  I have that verse highlighted, underlined and starred.  There is no telling how many times I have read it, heard it preached, or seen it on a poster, coffee mug or card.  But today it was a fresh smack on the back of my head.  Gibbs style.  (We are NCIS junkies).  

We need to take our problems, cares and worries to the Lord.  As 1 Peter 5:7 states, "Cast all your cares on the Lord, for He cares for you".  He does.  He wants to be allowed to handle them.  

Whatever you are going though right now, God has the shoulders big enough to take them.  He loves taking care of His children.    

Flashlights

Have you ever used a flashlight outside at night?  The only thing you can see is in the beam of the light.  Everything else is dark, mysterious, or maybe even dangerous.  You have to sweep the light back and forth to keep from stumbling over rocks or logs.  It can be a little scary.  Especially while you are moving up a mountain to go hiking or hunting.  

How much easier would it be to flip on a light switch and make the same trek when the sun is up and you can see everything.  All of the obstacles in your way you can easily walk around or see the edge of the cliff and move accordingly.  It is amazing what you can do when you can see in the light.  

This life is in a world full of darkness.  Jesus is the light.  We can see the world through His light, but sometimes it still looks like we are using a flashlight.  He allows us to see what He wants us to see.  Mostly only a few steps at a time.  This builds up our trust in Him.  If He were to let us see everything that we were/are going to go through, we probably would not do it.  I know that I would have stopped in my tracks and said, "Nope, that way is too hard, I'm going this way".  While He is giving us pieces at a time we are building faith and strength.  And while we may slowly be reaching the end goal, there is an end goal.  We are not just floundering in the depths for no reason.  

My wife and I have adopted two children and we have a biological daughter.  I can tell you that the road of "normal" parenthood is not easy and when you throw in kids that you do not know, that bring in their own problems and generational curses, life gets really interesting.  All of the help that we have given them and the time that we invest in all of them, all of the love we share for them and the pointing them to Jesus is just the beam of light.  It is up to God and them to make their own path.  

Most days I want to be able to see where God is leading us.  That way I can get there quicker by bypassing some of the pitfalls and detours.  But those are what help us grow.  And grow we do.  Slow and painful growth is still growth.  

How do we grow in faith, how do we raise our children, how do we eat an elephant...slowly but surely, one piece at a time.  We use flashlights, not light switches.    

Trying Something New

This is a video of a creek I found out at a foster/adoptive dads' retreat in Colorado that I attended a few weeks ago.  One of the main concepts that I learned was that we need a group of individuals, a band of brothers if you will, who are in the trenches with us.  No matter what the trench is, whether financial, spiritual, parental or anything else.  It is wonderful to understand and know that we are not alone.  It lifts the weight off of our shoulders that we placed on ourselves.  It gives us a breath of fresh air to understand that we are going through the same thing.  

In sharing these burdens, we can not only find help, but we can help others.  We can take part of that weight by either being a mentor for them, or mentored by them.  

The number of dads at the retreat really surprised me and the level of sharing of experiences and situations allowed me to understand that I am not alone.  We are not alone.  Just knowing that empowers me to continue to breathe easier.  I can better understand some of the behaviors at home and I can come up with better ideas on what to do.  

Brothers, we need fellow men beside us to help us in these trenches.  Brothers, strangers, friends or whoever, we need to be able to call on them in our own time of need.  We need to be willing to ask for help and to go when someone asks us.  And to go and help in a non condescending, know-it-all kind of way, but with compassion and love.  

Before this trip I thought I was alone.  Yes my wife was with me but I felt that I needed to the the stoic wall that never swayed too far left or right.  I learned that doing that was making matters worse.  While I was on this trip I found a group of men that I can confide in, gain wisdom from and fight this fight with.  And they felt the same way that I did.  I was able to ask questions about their journey and they were able to give some perspective to mine.  I can call or message and just see how they are doing with their families. It is wonderful to know that we are not alone.  We cannot do this alone.  

God has really been placing on my heart to create a ministry to support foster and adoptive dads.  Because we need help and we need to know that we are not alone.  My wife and I really want to minister together and I think that this is the way.  So prayers please as we jump down into the trenches, to help others along their way.  

Stay tuned. 

Who is He to you?

If we want to know God more deeply and grow closer to Him, we have to learn who He is.  And I think that we not only need to know who He is, but who is He to you?  That is a personal question that I cannot answer for you, but I can tell you a little about who He is to me.  I was raised in a church my whole life, but it was not until I was about 21 years old that I started to have a relationship with Him.  In doing so, I have found deeper ways to know Him more.  

He is my God, my Savior and my redeemer.  He has blessed us through trials and hardships.  He has given me direction and guidance.  He supplies us with His armor to withstand the lies of satan.  This is something that we are teaching our kids right now.  

He is my rock, my fortress and my strong tower.  The one who allows me to lay beside still waters and rest.  He is my all in all and His mercies are new every morning.  I thank the Lord for this because it allows us to start the day fresh.  My sins from yesterday do not have to be repeated.      

He is my good father and wants what is best for me.  He cannot be explained or totally understood.  He is all-knowing, all-seeing, everywhere, at every time.   He is sovereign, the beginning and the end. 

To me He is my friend.  The one who I can turn to and be helped with my problems or sins.  The one who uplifts and sustains me and never lets me down.  He is closer to me than my wife and children.  And like David said in Psalm 27:4, I cannot wait to "dwell in His house all the days of my life."

John 14:6, "Jesus answered, 'I am the way the truth and the light.  No one comes to the father except though me.'"  

So how do you get to know Him and see how He can change your life?  Make time to spend time in His word.  Ask your pastor questions.  Invite an older member of you church over an talk with them.  Either one would possibly want to be a mentor.  YouTube videos from Dr. Tony Evans, Billy Graham or others are great to watch.  A bible commentary can also help you learn new things and dig deeper into His word.  

If you cannot do them all, please start somewhere.  

Why?

Yesterday driving home I asked myself two questions.  Why do I write these and what do I expect to happen with them?

The why is hard to explain.  Well, no, not really.  The why is God.  God has placed it on my heart to write these posts.  When He lays something on my heart, I cannot sleep until I get at least a few words on a page or in the notes section of my phone so I don't forget it.  Okay, but why?  Why does God want me to write them?  I feel that God wants me to write them for His glory.  

I do not play politics.  I am not a "yes man", nor am I a man who stays quiet when something needs to be addressed.  Sometimes I rub people the wrong way.  Some people don't like me.  And that is fine.  But when I see something that needs to change, I speak up.  That is who I am.  That is how God made me.  I feel that men (myself included) need to be better.  I feel that men need to be better for themselves, for their wives and children.  I feel that men need to be better for God.  That is why I write these.  That is why I want to get these into the hands of as many men as I can, so that we will be better.  And through God be the increase, to Him be the Glory.  

I do not write well.  I mean if you have read any other of my posts you know that.  I have my wife look at these before I post them.  She is the one that helps with editing and polishing it up a little.  And I thank her for that.  But God is the one that uses my fingers to say what He wants me to say.  He wants us to be more than we are.  He wants us to climb mountains, to show our children that it can be done.  He wants us to learn how to pray better and, to be overcomers, and giant slayers.  He wants us to be a different breed and to be set apart in this world.  I want to turn the world on its ear with you, for Him.  

The other question of what I expect to happen with them?  Everything.  God can use these for His glory and through Him all things are possible.  I have no idea where He is going to take them.  If no one reads them, I would still write them.  If one person gets the tiniest seed planted because of them, praise God.  If one man becomes a better husband or father then it is all worth it.  

I am a country boy from central Arkansas.  Other than to my wife and children, immediate family and a few friends, I am a nobody.  If God can use me, He can use anyone. 

Pray it boldly

We all know that prayer is an important part of our lives.  However, most of us do not pray like we should.  Our prayers have become watered down, hurried statements for what we want, myself included.  We have turned them into half-hearted, desperate words that we expect to be answered right away.

What happened to our prayers?  Prayers like Elijah praying for the drought and it happens or for rain and it rains.  Look at his prayer in 1 Kings 18:36-39.  36 "And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the profit came near and said, 'Lord God of Abraham Isaac and Israel, let it be know this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have I have done all of these things at Your word.  Hear me, o Lord, hear me, that this people may know that Your are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.  Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench.  Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces;  and they said 'The Lord, He is God!  The Lord, He is God!'"

These prayers are not "Well, you know Lord, maybe if you could..."  These are fierce prayers.  These are emphatic statements saying "This is God and I am His servant, this will happen".  But guess what?  There is a God and I am His servant.  We that believe in Him and on Him and through Him are His servants.  If you want something or need something claim it in prayer.  Pray for your family and spouses.  Pray for your children and their friends.  Pray for your finances and pastors and do it boldly.

Praying for your children is one of the best things that you can do for them.  I love what Mark Batterson writes in his book "Praying Circles Around Your Children".  He states, "Prayer is not about our agenda for God at all; in fact, it is about God's agenda for us".  How do we know how our children will turn out?  We pray for them.  We speak life over them.  We boldly tell satan that he cannot have them, that they belong to God and are for His glory.

Want to know how one persons prayer can change the world?  Let me reintroduce you to a mother that is often overlooked in the bible, Hannah.  Hannah was not a mother yet when she prayed to have a child.  But she was praying so hard outside the temple in 1 Samuel 1:14 that Eli the priest thought she was drunk.  Hannah soon had a son and she named him Samuel.  Samuel became the prophet that anointed David as king.  Through David's lineage comes Jesus.  One persons prayer.  A mother's prayer.

I have a new found passion for prayer.  I believe that through prayer our needs are met.  Even in the conversations that God and I have I can feel how close He is.  I have found that the more we pray and listen to His voice, the easier it gets to hear Him.  And when it is easy to hear Him, it is easy to act on what He wants us to do.  On Sunday, I had the impression to talk to a lady during church but I do not get a chance.  Then out in the parking lot, my wife and her strike up a conversation.  In the car later before we pull out of the parking lot, I tell my wife that I had the feeling that we should talk with her and she said that she had the same impression.

I fully believe that our prayer life is a mussel and the more we exercise it, the stronger it gets.     

Pray boldly   

Use the bellows

Breathe fresh life to the flame.

If you remember from the last couple of posts, there are three things fire needs to burn.  Fuel, oxygen and a heat source.   Do you know what a bellows is?  It is a tool that is used to blow on a fire.  It allows fresh air to be pumped to the flames, allowing them to burn brighter and hotter for either heating metal or to allow fuel you just added to catch quickly. Some people will bend down and use their mouth to blow on a fire to get it going, but folks with a beard (like me) might singe a few hairs and opt for using the bellows.  

So what does this have to do with furthering Gods' Kingdom?  Just like a physical fire needs new air to allow it to burn brighter and hotter, our spiritual lives need the same.  This new air or new life can come from inside sources and we have touched on that a little last time.  But what are some outside influences that strengthen your love for God?

I personally feel recharged looking at His creations in nature.  Seeing all that He has made and shows to us.  Mountains, rivers, forests and wildlife are all here for our enjoyment.  All of them declare that He is God.  He made all of it for us to look at and to reflect on Him.  I love to ponder His ways while sitting still hunting or on a mountain trail with the family.  

Looking up at the stars on a clear night and seeing all that He has done in the heavens shows a portion of what God is capable of doing.  Yes, doing that can make you feel lonely, but try this next time.  While you are looking up think about how no one else on earth has the same vision of what you are seeing.  Even if you have someone right beside you, they are not seeing the same thing at the same time as you.  Only you and God have the same perspective and that is really cool worship experience.  

Worship service is a good one.  Letting the music and vocals flow over you and reaching into your soul to bolster you up and breathe life back into you.  Hands raised or not, being around others doing the same thing, worshiping God with an open heart strengthens us and encourages us to go on.  

Even while having coffee with a friend a word of encouragement can also have a wonderful effect on your personal outlook.  See what it says in 1 Samuel 23:16, "And Saul's son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God".  A wonderful example of iron sharpening iron.   In Acts 23, Barnabas encourages the church at Antioch.  23:16, "And when he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all of their hearts."  Never underestimate a kind word.  

These breaths of fresh air can allow us to burn brighter and hotter for God.  Helping us to become a lamp for others.  As such we cannot hide our light.  We need to let it shine, so we can help people.  Matthew 5:15 says, "Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.  Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house."  Do you see how that works?  We take encouragement from other people and outside influences and we give encouragement to the ones around us.  

Getting and giving encouragement not only feels good, but it gives blessings to the ones that we receive it from and whom we give it to.  Fanning the flame in us so we can go out and fan the flame in others.  Be the bellows, the encouragement that allow others need to go out and live a life for God.  

Burn bright so we can help others burn bright.

Coax the Flame

For when the spark does not fade...

There are three things needed for a fire to burn.  A heat source, fuel, and oxygen.  

Building a fire is sometimes an exercise in patience.  Once you have the spark on the tinder, it takes just a breath to bring it to life or to extinguish it.  That is a metaphor for life right there.       

Sharing the gospel is kinda like building a fire.  There must be a source of heat from somewhere.  That can be a spark from hitting two rocks together, striking a match, the sun and a magnifying glass, or another fire.  With the gospel, that source of spark is you.  It is me.  It comes from inside you.  It comes from the Holy Spirit that cries out to be shared and it will not be denied.  Jesus said in Luke 19:40, "I tell you", Jesus said, "if they keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out".  

Next, you have to have the fuel.  We have to want to be used as a light for this world.  There are multiple ways to do this.  You can share with one person at a time.  Maybe you can spread the Word by throwing out Facebook posts.  That is great.  Someone is going to read them.  Perhaps you have a captive audience at work where you get to share the gospel at lunch.  I have the ones that read this.  No matter who your audience is, if we do not open our mouths the Word will not be spread and someone will miss out on blessings.    

Last of the three is oxygen.  This allows the fire to keep going.  If there is no air, the fire goes out.  This is when you share the gospel with people and they listen.  They hear you and they want to know more.  That is an amazing feeling.  It makes you want to go and reach more people.  You are literally on fire for Jesus.  But the opposite happens also.  People do not want to hear what you are saying and sometimes outright reject the message.  That can take the air out of you very fast.  

So what are some of the struggles when sharing the gospel with others?  It may be that the fuel is damp and does not catch right away.  In those times gentle patience is required when no sign of catching is visible, so as to not put out the spark.  

Sometimes it is like a dry leaf that ignites very quickly, but then dies out just as fast.

What is needed though is where our fire catches quickly but burns slowly.  Which is easy to say, hard to find, and harder to do.  And more often than not we meet people who have willful ignorance of Christ and no desire to change their lives.  We can also meet people who accept Christ, change their lives and join everything the church has to offer.  Then like a dry leaf they burn out just as quickly and leave.  

Once in a great while though, there will be a few who start off slow, burn hot and long, and ignite others along the way.  These are the ones that this world needs.  Which type are you?
I want to be the one that starts slow and ignites others.  But I have difficulties as well.    

My difficulties with talking to people is literally talking to people.  I have difficulty with going deeper than surface level and opening up to have meaningful conversations.  I love the Lord and I want to be able to have the ability to create lasting relationships with the ones that I share Him with.  Even in these posts, I can tell when I re-read them that I could go so much deeper than what is there.  Talking about personal experiences, struggles and how God has helped me/us overcome them will help not only me, but also someone who might be going through some of the same things.

That being said, I am going to try and get out of my comfort zone.  I want to share deeper messages with you and communicate what God has placed on my heart better.  Let's get to work.  

Strike a spark
Coax the flame

Hard to believe that building a fire can help further God's Kingdom.  

Strike a spark

What gets you excited?  Sports, a beach, solving a problem, hunting season?  No matter what it is, you did not always have the desire and longing to go and do.  Someone had to show you what it was or what it could be.  Someone had to strike a spark of adventure with whatever it is.  They took you fishing, or to a baseball game.  They took you camping or to the hardware store or wherever. 

That little spark that went off inside of you gave you a longing to go back and do it again and again.

What is one thing that you learned to do and were really excited about in the moment or season and then stopped?  The spark faded and died due to either time or money constraints.  Or the lack of someone to go with you.   

We are told in Proverbs 27:17 that "As iron sharpens iron, so one brother sharpens another".  Have you ever hit two pieces of iron together?  You get sparks.  And "where two or more are gathered in My name, there I will be also" Matthew 18:20.  Sparks flying everywhere in the name of Jesus is what we should be aiming for. 

We have to be willing to step out of our comfort zone and start talking to people.  That is how we grow as men of God.  We do not start to have a passion for things we have not tried.  The first mission trip that I have ever been on was a few years ago when my wife and I went to Peru with our church.  That was the spark that led me to be here. 

Yes, it can be difficult.  But you don't get sparks without friction.  And that friction helps us grow.  Growing is never easy, but it is good. 

Go strike a spark.         

Like a child

Child in Your arms- Ryan Stevenson

Listen to the link above, then read on. 

Mark 9:36-37 says, "He took a little child whom He placed among them.  Taking the child in his arms, He said to them, 'Whosoever welcomes one of these little children in my name, welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me'."

This is a story that we all know.  And as we read through the gospels, Jesus talks multiple times about needing to have faith like a child and taking care of children.  But it is the child in the verses above that I would like to touch on. 

We do not know where the child came from.  We do not know their name or what nationality they  were.  We can guess that they were part of the crowd that was always following Jesus, but that is not stated.  It is also not known if they knew Jesus.  But the trust that this child shows is astonishing. 

Just think about being small, called into a group of grown men, to then not only be talked to, but you are picked up and held in the arms of a stranger.  That would be scary.  I am now feeling self-conscience just thinking about that.  But the Word does not say that the child ran away in fear, or did not come when called because of distrust. 

I believe that this child came in perfect trust and possibly even longed for the comfort and closeness of being personally held by the Savior.  I long for that also. 

Jesus also states in the next chapter of Mark that, "whosoever does not accept the kingdom of heaven like a child will never enter it."  Do you remember accepting something with perfect trust and certainty just because someone told you something?  That is what Jesus is saying here.  We have to be comfortable trusting Him completely. 

We have to be a child in His arms. 

Priorities

Priorities are where we put our time.  The things that we want or "have" to do throughout the day.  These could include any number of things to do, people that we associate with or places we go.  When you think about it, you could find that you have so many things that you have to get done in a day that you do not have enough time.  List the ones that matter the most and do those first.  You could also find that you have very few and they are easy to remember and get done.  It is all personal to you. 

Most of the time you will find that you have things to do inside those priorities.  Little points that help you do what you need to do.  Cleaning the house could include, doing the dishes, laundry, sweep, etc. 

But what about having manliness God's way?  Becoming a man of God needs to be the #1 priority of not only today's men, but also our sons that we are raising.  But once you make this your top thing to do, satan will hit you with everything.  Tempting you to change your mind.  Putting up roadblocks to try and sidetrack you.  This priority is a choice and must not be taken lightly.  But it is necessary for our future.  To change things and turn the world on its' ear. 

I absolutely love Jeff Voth.  He is the founder of Cavetime.org and a pastor in Oklahoma.  He has written 'Cavetime' and 'The Sling'.  (I encourage you to visit  Cavetime)  In 'The Sling' he lists out five stones that every man needs to do to become closer to God.  These priorities are in addition to just attending church. 

They are:
Show Up- Show up everyday, taking time with God
Worship- A few minutes of uplifting music out loud or in your mind.
Prayer- Not just praying, but also listening for the response from God
Word- Diligently reading and researching the Word of God
Community- Iron sharpens Iron

Doing these will not only bring you closer to God, but will change your attitude to the world around you.  Your children seeing you do these will instill in them the need to, and probably spark some good conversations about it. 

My priorities are God, family, work, self.

What are yours?

Jesus is a mountain man

How many times did Jesus go to the mountains to pray?  The gospels say different numbers and I believe that not every time He went to the mountains is recorded.  But have you ever wondered why Jesus went?  

I believe that He went for the solitude He found there.  The physical struggle ending in the peace and beauty of what God had created.  Talking to God, pouring out His heart about the struggles He had faced and the ones yet to come.  Sometimes He brought His disciples with him.  Can you imagine what they were thinking as Christ took them on a journey up into those rocky places and the amazing feeling of being taught by Him in that solitude?  That would be wonderful.  

Just as Jesus sought solitude upon the hills, David sought it in the cave.  But sometimes we do not have a cave or a mountain to climb.  Sometimes we have a stream to sit beside or an open field.  Sometimes we have a car ride into work or a desk or armchair before everyone else is awake.  Those can be our places of solitude.  And in those peaceful moments we can hear God speak to us, just as He has with Jesus.  It is not easy to wake up before everyone and get in some personal quiet time with Him.  And more than likely it will not happen every single day.  But the quiet place, where you can find solitude is where God will meet you.  When you find it, you will know.  

Have you climbed your mountain today? Have you met God where you are?  It is not too late.  

  

Y'all get thirsty?

Imagine a ground so dry that it is cracking.  A dry lake or river bed that looks to be falling apart.  That is longing for rain.  That blessed resource that will heal the ground and make it whole again.  

Have you ever been thirsty?  I mean really thirsty?  Parched tongue, scratchy throat, hoarse voice thirsty.  It is not fun.  Going on a journey, can make you thirsty.  

Water is essential to living and your body knows when you need it.  Dehydration is a very slow, painful way to die.  Why would you do that to yourself?  

Your soul needs water also.  Spiritual water is more important than physical water.  Not only does spiritual water feel amazing to have, it will also quench the fires of hell inside of you.  You can tell when you do not have it.  You can tell when others don't have it.  The longing for something missing, trying to fill it with whatever is available but unable to do it on your own.

Jesus states:  "But whoever drinks of the living water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into eternal life"  (John 4:14 KJV)  What a wonderful thing to partake of.  And not just for yourself, but to share.  We cannot afford to be stingy with the gift of eternal life that we have been given.  We need to share it with others.  

Look at your neighbor, your co-worker, your friend or your family member.  Are they thirsty?  Can you share the good news of the gospel with them?  It is a hard thing to do, but think of the outcome.  

Y'all get tired?

 

I get tired.  Tired of fighting for a living.  Of scrapping by and longing for peace and rest.  Tired of fighting a system that was supposed to be designed to help children that are broken.  Tired of seeing men who need to be more for themselves and their families, but are unwilling to do something about it.  

There are so many things in this world that need to change.  However, there are only a few men who are willing to stand up and make those changes.  I want to increase that number.  I want to hold men accountable to what they are needing to do.  I want this world to be better, the men to be better and by extension, our children to be better.  

I know that we are tired.  Life runs us down and fills us with aches and pains at a young age.  But we have to press on.  We cannot leave it to others to do because it will not get done.  Delegating this type of thing will make the situation worse.  It is how we got here in the first place.  "Someone else will do it" is not the answer.  We have to step up and not only run the race, but finish the race.  2 Timothy 4:7 Paul not only ran the race, he states, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."  He finished the race.  Now it does not say that he finished it at a dead sprint, or even at the same pace he started.  But he didn't give up.  

Father, I thank you for all that You have done for the people reading this.  I thank you for the specific blessings that you have bestowed on us.  I ask a blessing to come upon all those who are tired and needing peace and rest.  I ask that we can become world changers and by our faith in You we can make the devil tremble.  In Jesus' Name, amen.  

Do hard things

There are some things in life that are necessary, but hard to do. Things that we do not like to talk about, subjects that we avoid or actions that we do not do even when asked.  Christ did hard things.  He did not shy away from them.  We need to take His example and model ourselves after Him.  

Talking to someone about the gospel is a hard thing.
Raising your children to follow Christ is a hard thing.
Showing up for church every Sunday is a hard thing.
Mentoring children who look up to you with your words and actions is a hard thing.
Taking a stand to defend something that you believe in is a hard thing.
Caring for the widows and orphans is a hard thing.
Honoring God with all that we do and say is a hard thing.  

Doing hard things make us better people, better men of God.  The journey that we are on is going to be full of hard things.  Hard roads, potholes, road blocks and other obstacles.  Some of those obstacles could be other people.  Coworkers, family, friends, or strangers that you are trying to help may not want your help.  We cannot give up.  

Christ has set the example for us, so we try and set the example for other people,  an example for our children and their friends.  And who knows, through our efforts, maybe this nation will return to God.  

Go and do.

Matthew 28:16-20

After we come and see, we must go and do.  

When Jesus was crucified and resurrected, He met with his disciples in Galilee.  What He said there we too often take for a suggestion, but it is a commission, an active commandment.  

Merriam-Webster defines commission as: "an authorization or command to act in a prescribed manner or to perform prescribed acts."  Have you ever wondered why the book right after the Gospels is called "Acts"?  

Matthew 28:19 Jesus said, "Go and make disciples of all nations...".  Go and Do.  As followers of Christ we also have this commission of bringing the Word of God to people who have not heard it.  Not everyone is supposed to be a world traveling missionary, or a T.V. evangelical.  But there is always something that we can do.  We can live it.  

In Matthew 5:16, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."  We can help by blessing and helping and teaching the people around us by the way that we act.  We can help those in need, visit the sick and the hurting, and teach our kids the gospel.  

Actions speak louder than words, and let's face it, action scenes are better than monologues.   Go and Do.  Go and help build something someone needs, mow a yard, pray in public at the restaurant before you eat, ask people to church with you, give out books that have helped you.  If God has called you, go and be a missionary, mentor a child, foster, adopt one if God has laid it on your heart.    

Our actions are loud.  Go and Do.