Today I Found...

Today I found Grace in awakening.

Today I found Hope in a sunrise.

Today I found Beauty in my every day walks.

Today I found Love in the eyes of my children and the voice of my wife.

Today I found Strength in a run.

Today I found Wonder in the future.

Today I found Comfort in The Book.

Today I found Peace in the darkness.

Today I found Myself...

Thank you Lord for all of your gifts.

Belief

It’s not a coincidence that my weight loss over the last 6 months coincides with much growth and strengthening in my faith. Many times in my life I have tried to regain my health and fitness and failed but this time it’s different. This time it was not as difficult and has never seemed like a “chore” but more like a life style change. This change could not have been achieved with out help and support. The help comes from the Lord our God who walks every single step of this journey with me and the support comes from my wife who like God has always believed in me. Having someone believe in you is empowering and with that empowerment you feel like you can accomplish anything! I think that some times I take for granted the belief in me that my wife possesses and in realizing this feel as though I have almost disrespected her by not living up to my fullest potential. Same can be said in our relationship with God. We tend to forget that no matter what we do or where we go God will not only believe in us but will be right there by our side every step of the way. Thank you Lord and thank you Christie! I love you!

Choices

Choices, we all make them. We make them every day. Some as menial as what to wear or even what show to watch on tv. Some seem menial but actually affect the rest of our lives. I think that a lot of the choices we make are not fully understood until it is too late, partly because we (or at least I) don’t spend enough time thinking about them before we make them.

Food is a tough choice for me but a choice that I have to make every single day. Here is the problem, in the past I have made bad choices when it came to what and how much to eat. These choices really have affected the rest of my life, not only my life but my family’s life too. I was recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. This is something that will affect my family and me from now on. Since my diagnosis I have begun to make better choices, and am on the road to taking back control of this part of my life.

With our faith, we have the same problem. We make choices every single day that will not only affect the rest of our lives but I truly believe these choices also affect our family and their future too. If I choose to over eat and not exercise, what am I teaching my kids? If I choose to ignore God and his plans for us, what am I teaching my kids? Here is a perfect example of how growing my own faith has also affected my children and their faith. A while back I felt the need to start praying before our evening meal. I am not sure why but that is how I felt led at that time. Now my wife has worked with the children on praying so this was not something totally new to them, just new to this time and place. We have said meal time prayers in the past but usually something generic and the same every time. I wanted to start using this time to pray for whatever/however each of us felt led. Not long into this process, it was the children leading the evening meal prayer. How cool is that!

I heard something a while back that fits both problems/solutions in my life and I want to share it with others. We need to start thinking about the ultimate and not the immediate. The ultimate goal is to live a long and healthy life and spend an eternity with the Lord. This should influence every single decision that we make no matter how big or how small.

I choose to start this and every day to make better decisions in my life, not only for my health but for my faith.

Thank you Lord for opening my eyes to the mistakes that I have made. Help me find the strength to stay the course, not only for me but for my family and most of all for you.

Do we live for today or do we live forever? It’s your choice…

How many times can I fall?

How many times can I fall?
As I watched my now 5 year old son ride his new bike this weekend, I started asking myself this question. This was his first attempt at his new “big boy bike”. Even though it has training wheels he manages to fall over about every 5 minutes, each time picking himself up and getting right back on the bike. I had to wonder to myself, how many times can he fall before he gets tired of getting hurt and gives up?

Psalm 18:1-3 “I love you, Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I have been saved from my enemies.”

How many times can I fall?
I have come to realize more lately that I fall every day. This is a tough realization for me because I am not one who likes to “fall” or fail. I have a tendency to be a bit of a perfectionist. As a Christian you have to realize 2 things. Number one is that God never fails, and number two is that we fail God all the time. So, I fall a lot. God wants me to live in a way that glorifies his most holy name in everything I do and some times this can be a little overwhelming. I make mistakes. I know this, but so does God. The question is this; “how many times can I fall?”

Psalm 18:16-19 “He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support. He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.”

How many times can I fall?
This is a prayer that I tend to say quite often; “I give myself over to you oh lord, body, mind and soul. Make me the vessel of your word, to show the world by my actions that you are the one true God.” I pray this prayer and yet I fall every day… but not near as much as I used to.

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

My son never quit riding his bike, at least not of his own accord. I had to practically drag him into the house, and more than once he tried to sneak the bike in with him. He was never going to give up, no matter how many times he fell. The bike is something that brings him great joy and for that reason he will stick with it. We are the object of God’s joy and he will never give up on us either.

Revelation 2:5 “Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lamp stand from its place.”

So, how many times can I fall? Evidently as many times as it takes as long as I get back up and get on that “bike” again.

Could God be a 4 year old boy?

I am a father of 6 boys ages 3,4,6,13,21 and 25. By no means do I have it all figured out! I have been raising kids since the age of 18 and I am still learning as I go. Every one of my children is as unique and different an individual as you could imagine. They are all night and day from one and other. As much as they are each their own special mold, there is one age that they all most resembled one and other, the age of 4. At 4 years old each boy has been a carbon copy of the other. Here are a few things I have learned about 4 year old boys along the way.

No mater how loud or how quiet you speak they will hear it if they want to.
Always check their pockets before you put their cloths into the wash.
They will eat anything once.
Never let them go outside unattended before church.
No small animal is safe with a 4 year old boy.
You can never satisfy the curiosity of a 4 year old.
Baseball, basketball, football and hockey are all outside games.
There is never enough food in the house.
4 year olds shoes are made from inferior material.
Lizard tails only come off by accident.
A 4 year old can get tooth paste out of a tube that a 1000 pound gorilla couldn’t
It is a physical impossibility for a 4 year old to pass a puddle without ascertaining its exact depth.
4 year olds can smell candy from a mile away.
4 is much too old to be taking naps.

They can be a lot of fun at that age and yet such a pain in the butt. I have learned so much over the years from my 4 year olds and it amazes me the parallel between the lessons I have learned from them and the lessons that the bible teaches us about the love of God. Unconditional love, acceptance, forgiveness, trust, lack of fear and flattery through imitation are just a few of the things that I can name off the top of my head.

God loves us unconditionally and proved it even though he didn’t have to. He sent us his son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”. He made the ultimate sacrifice for us! It that is not unconditional love then I don’t know what is. 4 year olds, they are mad when you send them to bed but are all smiles and I love you when they wake up.

Acceptance by God is pretty easy to see. Ephesians 1: 4-5 “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, make us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions- it is by grace you have been saved” God accepts us no matter what we have done. We are his children. 4 year olds never judge us for what we are or are not, in the eyes of a child we are perfect.

Forgiveness from God is yours for the asking. 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Forgiveness from a 4 year old is also yours for the asking and in my 25 years of parenting has never been denied.

God trusts us to carry out good works in his name. Ephesians 1:10 “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do”. We were placed on this earth to glorify God. A 4 year old will trust us to care, feed and cloth them without ever giving it a 2nd thought.

The bible teaches us that with Gods love we have nothing to fear. Psalm 23:4 “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” As a rule, 4 year olds are fearless! It is the age that they are fearless to a fault! If by chance you find something that they do fear, dad is the “go to guy” and can handle pretty much anything.

Flattery through imitation. Genesis 1:26-27 “Then God said, Lets us make mankind in our image, in our likeness… So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” I don’t know a single 4 year old that doesn’t imitate his dad so you had better be careful what kind of example you are setting for your children!