How is your Holiday Festive???

Helen and I took the kids to Mike's Farm last night to take part in the hay ride and spend some quality family time together. We waited about 2 1/2 hours for a 30 minute hay ride to see their Christmas lights. It was worth the wait... I maintained my festive Holiday spirit through out the wait. So much that the kids have been asking me.... Dad are you maintaining your Festive, all day today. So amidst all the shopping, cooking, cleaning, decorating and such.... Hope you are maintaining your Holiday Festive and remember why we celebrate.....


BTW... Watching " How the Grinch Stole Christmas on ABC family.... Jim Carey was good in this role.

What does it mean???

Peace on Earth, Good Will toward Men.....


What does it mean to have Peace on Earth. We hear this phrase and many like it during the Christmas season. But have we ever really stopped to think about what it means. It seems a contradiction in terms when you consider that our country has its brave men and women in uniform involved in 2 separate armed conflicts. Peace, is it a place or a state of mind? The more and more I think about it, it has become a state of mind for me. Can I have peace whether things are smooth or whether I am in the midst of a raging storm.

May your state of mind this Christmas season be one of Peace on Earth and in so doing/being may it provoke us to have good will toward all men.

P.S. Make a point to say MERRY CHRISTMAS to all you see instead of Happy Holidays. Its almost like people are afraid to say it anymore.

Top Christmas gifts for Dad!!! Old School edition

1. Brut 33 cologne- As bad as it sounds.
2. Socks
3. tie
4. Something that looks like an ashtray that you made in class

These are some of the things I can remember giving my father as a child. Man, he really got hosed. Thankfully I don't have to face the same problem that dads from the '70's had to face. Because God saw fit in His great wisdom to invent BestBuy. It is single handled my favor store in all the known universe. Plus I have the extra bonus of having a December birthday. I will be 38 in case you are wondering. My bride gets mad at me cause all I want for Christmas is gift cards from there. The way I see it, you use less wrapping paper, it takes up less space under the tree, which if you have ever seen my mother-in-law's house on Christmas Eve, then you know this is a good thing. In my mind it is a win-win situation.

MUSA Out!

The great debate...

In keeping with my new found inspiration for Christmas. I thought I would let you in on a little publicized, yet hotly contested battle that goes on in my house about this time of year. The great Christmas tree war. You see, my lovely wife is just CRAZY about Christmas. She would start decorating and preparing in August if she could. But I digress, for you see every year that we have been married she has gotten to decorate the tree any way she wanted. For the most part, that has been fine with me, except for one sticking point: THE LIGHTS! When I was a kid we decorated our trees with the multi-colored lights and mismatch ornaments. We even had a multi-colored star that lit up on the top of the tree. And as many of you know, my wife is very precise when it comes to decorating, especially at Christmas time. She likes the white lights and matching ornaments. The color schemes have varied only a little since our first Christmas. The main themes usually being gold and burgundy and some shade of green. I thought I would have had some allies when we had kids because I was able to successfully bring them over to my side of this fight and push for the multi-colored lights. I was sad to say that my Helen was a Rock unto which our watery assault beat in vain. She has stood fast and held true to her decorating prowse. Will I ever get my wish, who knows. But it is not for lack of trying.

My mother-in-law tried to extend an olive branch on my behalf and she bought me a 3 ft tall fake tree with the multi-colored lights on it. It was displayed in a less than prominent place in our apartment, Helen won again. Fortunately all is not lost, because where I have failed on the lights I have gained ground with the mis-matched ornaments. My secret weapon.... The kids. Did you know that kids make and collect all kinds of crazy ornaments and then have the nerve to want them on the tree. I feel like a field general positioning his troops for the final assault. Helen doesn't stand a chance.

P.S. Don't tell her I wrote this.


MUSA Out!

How smart do you have to be...

.... to be a dumb ass??? I say this in all sincerity. In life there will be times that you will look back and say, If I would have done this or said that then I could have avoided all the crap and trash that followed because of a wrong decision or worst yet, no decision. So since it was a banner week for me last week. I hereby crown myself Dumb ass of the week. This title will be available to all of you who have made silly mistakes in life.

MUSA Out!

The plans are set in motion!

For those of you who thought this Christmas thing with me wouldn't last well shame on you. Because at this very moment (well not exactly but close enough) my plans for being formed and things are being set in motion that will forever change Christmas at the Fuller home! Dramatic isn't it??? Well maybe forever is a little too strong of a word, how about making a significant impact in my family's holiday cheer. Stay tuned, more excitement is on the way.

BTW- Helen just got Hip Hop Abs in the mail. Yes this means I will be doing them with her. If you have seen the info-mercial then you know what I am talking about if not then check out this site. Many of you are thinking by now, will there be pictures of yours truly sweating to some pop and lock routine, or can we expect some of these moves to be unveiled during church one Sunday..... Hmmmm NO!

I have no pride left, this is the final humiliation. In the words of that great '80's rapper, "Don't hurt'em Hammer!"


MUSA Out!

Long time no see....

Yes I know it has been a long time since I last typed out a blog or anything else. I am truly sorry that I haven't subjected you to my rantings and writings. Football and the other parts of life have been all too consuming these last 2 months.

With that said, Today is Oct. 30 and in 2 days it will be November. The beginning some of the craziest times of the year. I have decided now before the silly season gets really silly to make a significant effort to enjoy the holidays this year. That goes from shopping to, helping decorate the Christmas tree, to doing other holiday related activities with my wife and children. In times past I have just put my head down and tried to mow through, well not this year. I plan to be fully engaged with as much holiday cheer as possible. I know my wife will be licking her chops once she reads this, but such is life.... Bring it on!

What I have planned thus far is very simple. I want to watch the Grinch with my kids and enjoy to 40 days of Christmas that they show on the ABC family channel. Full of all the great animated stories that I enjoyed as a kid. From Rudolph to The Little Drummer Boy to Frosty the Snowman. I will keep you posted.


MUSA OUT!

News of the Day Part 2

From one of the biggest to the Smallest. This baby was born in Germany. With Life Chain coming up this week I thought it would be appropriate to give a little glimpse into the miracle of creation and the will to live. So tiny but yet still a baby.

MUSA Out!

News of the Day!!!

Thought the mother from among my readers would find this interesting to say the least. Child birth at its best! A mother in Russia gave birth to a "LITTLE" girl!

All I can say is "WHOA"

MUSA Out!

You know the old saying....

When people ask you how you are doing or how things are going and we respond nothing to complain about.... Usually the end of that statement is something to the effect that nobody cares or it wouldn't do any good if we complain because nobody is listening. Well I am here to say that the one thing I hate the most is complaining, it drives me crazy. Well life at my house as been quite busy which has prevented me to one degree or another to continue to post on my blog on a regular basis. For that I am very sorry. I think I am losing my zeal for blogging just a little. But I think that is due to my previous statement. But back to my reason for this post. Complaining is a pet peeve of mine. I would have to say that is the one thing that will put me a bad mood fairly quickly. I understand that things happen that are beyond our control, and I also realize that I am not beyond doing my own share of bitching and moaning. I would like to think I keep it to a minimum, Helen can tell you for sure if that is true. I guess complaining people at least to me are always fairly negative about most everything and I don't want to be around those types of people. I would just assume to surround myself with folks who tend to be positive and as least try to see the bright side of things. That's it.....

Musa Out

The fun part of parenting!!!

Yes I know it has been a while since my last post and for that I am deeply sorry. Life has still moved on and quite well without some of my daily rantings. So on with the show. Caleb and I had another opportunity to have some quality father/son time. For those of you that have only girls... well what can I say.

We talked alot about school and how things were playing out in his classes. The fun part of this was I only had to ask one or two questions. Caleb did the rest of the talking. It was awesome! My son had opened up to me with more than one or two word answers. We laughed and talked about which parts we should keep to ourselves and not tell his mother... We cracked jokes that were actually very funny and I got to share about some of my own life experiences that I hoped would make sense to him.

So in the end, we really only fail as parents if we give up. Do you want to be the hammer or the nail?

Enough Said!!!!

APPALACHIAN STATE 34 MICHIGAN 32

Nice long weekend!

I don't know about you but, 3 day weekends are great. I have an ever shortening list of "honey do's" and some extra computer work to do over the weekend. The Boy has his first football game tomorrow and I am very excited to see him get after somebody. College football started officially yesterday but the Mountaineers don't tee it up until tomorrow at High Noon. Can't wait for that one either. Man this is without a doubt my favorite time of year.

BTW... Helen and I were talking and she informed me that Caleb took a bold stand in his class yesterday on abortion. I am very proud of him, that he would take a stand for the unborn without his mother and father having to be there. We have talked with him at length about how important it is to be a leader and to stand up for what you believe in especially if it is not the popular opinion. Just when you think things aren't sinking in... WOW, good seed as been planted in fertile soil and it is bearing fruit. It reminds me again that I no other vocation except to raise Godly children for the next generation.

Oh yeah.... Did I mention I love football!

Musa Out!

I love football season....

Now before you stop reading... There is a reason I titled my latest blog this way. First is because I love football, but more important than that is for 3 nights a week I get some great time to spend with my son. I am not coaching his team this year which has been a mixed blessing. On the one hand he is getting a chance to learn from someone other than his daddy, and on the other hand I have really not had a chance to see how he is progressing because I am still coaching one of the other younger teams in our organization. I get to watch him get after his opponents has a father and not a coach... Big Fun for me.... Putting all that aside Caleb and I get about 30 minutes a night after practice to just talk, cut up or maybe even hold hands on the drive home.(this one is still a little weird for me... but he is my boy and I love him) We were talking tonight about the Lord and Caleb shared with me how he couldn't understand how God wasn't restricted by time. I tried my best to explain it to him as I understood it, you know how God is outside the limits of time and space, I even referred to the scripture about a day being a thousand years to the Lord and a thousand years is like a day to Him. The point is, that we had a conversation about something that had some spiritual and practical significance. First we were talking about the things of God and second I had another opportunity to spend time with my boy and talk to him and listen to what he had to say. I had become more aware of how important these car rides home from practice were when a couple years ago Caleb brought up how much he liked riding home with me from practice because it gave us time to be together.... and it wasn't even football season when he said this. In the context of that conversation he told me that it was some of his favorite parts of football season. I would have to be a complete moron not to take advantage of that kind of quality time with him, especially if he remembers it to that detail.

Jumping Ship!!!

I feel like a man without a country... well not really but I thought it sounded good. I am torn about what to do. I am considering jumping ship from blogger and going over to wordpress for all my blogging needs. Pastor B says wordpress is so much better. The problem is that all my college friends are on blogger while all the people I attend church with are on wordpress. So I need some reasons to stay put or something that will put me over the top and jump to wordpress.

Random thoughts...

In no particular order, some of my thoughts of the past few days, weeks and months.

1. Windows Vista is looking more and more like a Mac OS.
2. Olympic workouts are the best weight loss plan. :)
3. "Water Sucks.... Gatorade is better!"
4. I prefer my fried chicken cold.... right out of the frig.
5. Being a night owl I often speculate how much sleep I will get if I go to bed... right now!
6. As my wife Helen said, I am a glass half full kind of guy, but I prefer a bucket, because it holds more water. ( I mean Gatorade)
7. My favorite snack is provolone cheese, salami and french onion dip. Don't knock it till you try it.
8. No matter how hard you try... You are like your parents and your kids are just like you. Comforting thought Huh??? Big Smiles!
9. Dogs have masters... cats have a staff.... That why I hate cats!
10. Sometimes the keys to success are locked inside the vehicle.
11. I have a Master's degree in Sarcasm.
12. A great comedian once said...." You can't fix stupid!"
13. True Love is being able to kiss your spouse in the morning before they brush their teeth!
14. On that note... Is there anything better than spooning on a rainy day.... I don't think so!
15. Kids can drag out bedtime for an hour if you let them.
16. Don't sweat the small stuff.
17. I have not yet been promoted to my highest level of incompetence.
18. Sometimes in life you can be the hammer or the nail... which do you choose?
19. Home improvements shows... Not just for the ladies anymore.
20. My wife is PHAT! Pretty Hot and Tempting!!!

Musa Out!

It's time machine time!

In yet another shameless attempt to increase blogging traffic, I began thinking of some more favorite child hood things. Great TV shows come to mind here, so in no particular order.... here we go!

1. BattleStar Galactica-- If you loved Star Wars like I did as a kid then this one is a no brainer!
2. Buck Rogers-- Same as above
3. Miami Vice-- OK I was close to being a teen when this one was on TV... But the plastel t-shirts that Crocket wore were the bomb!
4. S.W.A.T-- More early 80's or late 70's, it wasn't on very long but boy it was cool
5. T.J. Hooker-- William Shattner, how can you go wrong.
6. G.I. Joe- even though no one died in the major battle scenes, still a great cartoon.
7. Air Wolf-- Cool helicopter

First day of School!

Tomorrow is the first day of school for my kids, and while I can hardly believe the summer is over for them it got me wondering and remembering just what it felt like when I was their age. The mix of excitement and dread, another year older and "more mature". Starting school was usually pretty fun for me. We had open house tonight for them and as I watched Caleb interact with his classmates it made me laugh out loud. One because he will be in the 7th grade (wow let me catch my breath) and because it is still an awkward time. He is still trying to figure things out for himself and I can still see the shy little boy come out in him from time to time. The funniest thing to me is to watch how he acts around the girls in his class. Now Caleb is 115 pounds and he is solid, but just about every girl is taller than him. To make is worst they are almost as tall as me..... Talk about Amazons.... whew! I guess what I am getting at is that even though my boy is quickly becoming a young man, I am still in awe of the fact that there is still something innocent in him. In this day and age, I think that is something to behold. Believe it or not I am looking forward to his teen years. I will have the most unique opportunity to help guide him through some potentially difficult years. I am looking forward to it... My girls may be a different story but we will worry about that a little later. Anyway he will be 12 on Sunday and I look at it as the mile marker from childhood to young adult. I can't wait to see what develops.

Child's play

After not having much to say this week and watching my wife sit in the next room and watch "High School Musical 2". It got me wondering what kinds of things we watch and or do that should by all accounts be things our children would be doing. Now I am not talking about watching a kids program with your children. For example our kids had gone to bed one night and I had control of the remote and I could have watched anything I wanted yet I found myself watching Kim Possible.

I am still a cartoon junkie at heart: I mean Tom and Jerry, Bugs and the like. I would still like to see some Mighty Mouse or perhaps some Fat Albert.


BTW... I had not been too old to play with Caleb's army men when he wasn't around... Not the little plastic ones, no sir I am talking about the 12 inch fully poseable G.I Joes.... Yeah man.. Only has old as you feel Baby!!!!

Fat Man Challenge!!!

Inspired by my friend Kevin over at DTOTB, I have decided to begin my own personal FAT MAN CHALLENGE!!!

At present I am weighing in at a robust 263 pounds (as of yesterday morning). It is my desire to lose about 30 lbs. My wife as decided to enter this with me and shoot for the same goal of 30 lbs. She has already lost about 25 lbs so far and she is looking GOOOD!!!! Way to go Hoddie!

Any way if you want to join us then leave me a comment complete with the total amount you want to lose and what you are doing to achieve your goal. You don't have to post how much you weigh now if that is too personal, but it would help so that we can share in the encouragement. I will have weekly updates every Monday to keep you up on the progress.

Hope you will seeing less of me in the weeks and months to come.

Ties that bind us together...

Tonight we had a opportunity to spend some quality time with 2 of my former roommates and their wives from college. Over dinner we talked about those long ago days of how we became friends and laughed over stories that we hadn't told since the last time we saw each other. We shared about our children and the things they were all into these days. Unfortunately we didn't have a chance to find out a great deal about what God was doing in each of our lives but none the less it was time WELL spent. I felt like a 20 something all over again. The amazing part of it is, is that it was like we just saw each other last week instead of several years ago. People that I would go to war for in a heart beat and that would do the same for me.

Let me encourage you to look up those people that were milestone relationships in your life. Find a way to reconnect and see what God would do. Those people weren't in your life by accident. To my friends Adam and Anthony, it was time well spent and greatly appreciated.


MUSA Out!!!

A little help requested...

Since I have not had much to say lately I figured I had better post something before I get out of the habit of blogging all together. So with that in mind try this on for size. I am looking to increase my dvd collection very soon. I have some great movies like "The Italian Job", Batman Begins, and National Treasure. I also have all three Jurassic Park movies as well as the first two Spiderman movies. Some titles I am considering:

1. King Arthur
2. The Shooter
3. Spiderman 3

Need some more suggestions...

Almost forgot.... We just got as part of a house warming gift- One Night with the King and Facing the Giants. Looking forward to watching both of those films.

Hit me with some of your favorites from your own collection

Musa Out!

It's Kennedy's turn

Tribute to my 2nd Child... The thinker, whose name means "helmeted one" and full of grace. They are growing up way too fast! I love you Kennedy!

Aroma of Christ

Think about your sense of smell, the things you can detect with it. How certain favors and scents can invoke certain responses in our minds. I was taking the garbage out to the dump and today I struck a little more by the foul stench that came from there. The first thing I thought of was what does my sin smell like to God. Probably not much different than that trash dump. We were created to be the fragrance of life and the aroma of Christ to a lost, dying and stinking world: 2 Corinthians 2:14-15

14But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. 15For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.

How awesome is that, that God the Father and creator of the Universe would consider us to be the aroma of His Son. What does that mean???

When Helen gets out of the shower she smells like the scented soap she uses and the lotions that she applies afterward. Those scents are pleasing to me ( very pleasing), but that is beside the point. She smells good and I like to be near her when she smells good. Conversely, I have no desire to stand next to a garbage dump for any extended period time.

Basically it means that to God we smell like Jesus. What a sweet smell that must be to our Heavenly Father.

So let us consider how we can become the fragrance and aroma of life to this world and in so doing we will draw all men unto Christ because we smell like Him.


MUSA Out!

video tribute to the BIG DOG!

I figured since everyone else is using video in their blogs, that I should give it a shot. And since football season is right around the corner I felt it only appropriate to share a few of Caleb's football photos with you. I will be following with tributes to the girls as well. Since he is the oldest he got to go first. If you can't tell, I am a proud papa!

Moved to the bottom of the page...

Finished!!!

Has I drove into work this morning I was listening to a song called "At the Cross". It was arranged by Reuben Morgan. The part that impacted me was the bridge in which it simply states:

"You tore the veil, you made a way when you said that it is done!"

Think about it, all that was needed was done when He stretched out His hands and died on that tree. At that moment the veil was torn from top to bottom. From every thing I know about that veil, it was a thick piece of material, not likely to be torn by accident or by the hand of man.

What did this give us? It gave us access to the Holy of Holies. It paid all our debts in full. No other sacrifice was necessary. My debts and yours were cancelled when He said it was finished. I thought about how many times I have reminded God of my many shortcomings and failures. I was thinking about them again this morning until this song came on my Ipod. He simply said to me Johnny, I have taken care of it. It is finished. Let it go. I cried out to the Lord in thanks and praise for what He had done for me. I declared back to Him what He declare to me.

It is finished, it is over and done with. No more sacrifices are necessary. In a nutshell, I was reminded that I was free because of the finished work of Christ. God is GOOD!


MUSA Out!!!

Happy Anniversary Hoddie!

13 years of marriage excellence!!!

Yes I said excellence... Not necessarily perfection but excellence. In that time we have had 3 wonderful kids, 3 dogs, 3 apartments, 2 houses and 7 cars. We have lived debt free and paycheck to paycheck. I have had 6 jobs, some good and some not so much!!! We have attended 2 churches and had 1 real family vacation. We have purchased 3 couches, 1 washing machine, 3 mattresses and 2 computers. That is a snapshot of our married life by the numbers.

The highs and the lows, the imperfections, the disagreements, the plenty and the lack, the grace and patience are all rolled up into these 13 years of marriage excellence. I would do it all over again in a heart beat with you.

Happy Anniversary Helen!

Remember these words from our wedding day!

But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me."

I LOVE YOU

Praise and Worship!!!

What are some of your favorite Praise and Worship songs/artists?

Right Now My favorite is Israel Houghton- basically anything by him.

Failure

What is your reaction to it??? How do you respond??? I am a failure, once again. One more time I have allowed the little foxes to tear up my vineyards. No excuses, no exceptions just the facts. So what will I do now. Will shame and seclusion be my best friends or will I allow redemption and forgiveness to come along side me and lift me up? God is still good and I know He wants the latter. I have heard it said and have said many times myself that failure is a result of giving up the fight. So in hind sight I guess that I have only failed if I give up. This just the feelings of the moment.

MUSA Out!!!

Hanging on and looking to right the ship!

An interesting question...

Kennedy asked me the other day a very good question. She wanted to know why God created the Devil when He knew that the Devil would one day betray Him and try to take over. Helen and I thought about it for a minute and I honestly did not have what I considered to be a very good answer. My answer basically consisted of an "I don't know" which was followed by "You can ask God when you get to heaven" and finally the best answer: Maybe the Devil had free will as well, because he, like us is a created being, and it maybe all of God's angels have free will to choose whom they would serve. Those angels that sided with the Devil had a decision to make and they chose poorly. But it does raise an interesting question. Do the angels have free will like us? And did the Devil have free will to choose to disobey God and foolishly believe that he could overcome the creator of the Universe?

Just one of those things that make you go Hmmmmmmm!

MUSA Out!!!

Say It with me.... GOD is GOOD all the time and all the time He is GOOD!!! Sometimes we need to remind ourselves of this simple truth. If need be, we should practice in front of the mirror so that we can see the words forming in our mouths and know that it is us actually saying it. So go into your bathroom and practice.... Go on, I will wait for you!


MUSA OUT!

One bite at a time....

How do you eat an elephant??? See above. Something that seems insurmountable can be defeated and over come if you exercise patience and perseverance. There are still some areas in my life that I have not totally submitted to the authority of God completely. I draw comfort in writing this because I know that I do not ride in this boat alone. Everyone reading this has some mountain to move in their lives, so be of good cheer and let me share with you what I believe the Lord is doing with me. While I was enjoying the series on New Beginnings in church today I believe the Lord spoke two words to me. They are simply win today. If you stop and think about it, it makes perfect sense because we are directed in scripture not to worry about tomorrow and that we should take care of what is in front of us-TODAY!

So I have made a list of the top 3 things that I want to be better at. Before you start there are more than 3 but I limited myself to these because I believe they are the most pressing things that I need to work on in order to move to another level in Christ. I can not effectively conquer these challenges if I try to take a long term over arching view. It is just not how I am wired. But I can take it one day at a time and make a concentrated effort to be better today and hopefully climb this mountain one step at a time, one day at a time and eat this elephant one bite at a time. It is now 12:00 am, Time to go WIN TODAY!

MUSA OUT!

???

I have had nothing of note to write for the past few days.... That being said, I feel I need to jot down a few thoughts if for no other reason that to just get them out.

I love my family, my immediate and extended and church family very much. Don't always like them, but that is the beauty of family. I am bound to these people for life. I will take both the good and the bad, the pleasant and the nasty. My pastor has often said that if you are looking for a perfect church that we aren't it and even if you found it that you shouldn't go because you would mess it up.
I have taken an oath by covenant, by birth and by my word to remain true to my family. It is a commitment that should be reaffirmed everyday.

This is just my thoughts for the day....

Marriage challenges

As I listen to my XM radio pumping out the 90's hits, I have discovered that during the course of my marriage to my wonderful wife, that there are certain things that we shouldn't do together.

As I type she is up stairs ironing the curtains for one window. Yes I am hanging curtains, and if the amount of trauma I just endured to hang this one window is any indication of what's to come, I am in big trouble. So this leads me to my point. Obviously, at least to me, cooperative home decorating is something we should never ever try to do together again. It seems that there is missed communication all over the place, which is leading to frustration and high anxiety. Fortunately, I think we have worked it out to the point were we should be able to finish the family room without too much difficultly. Pray for me... and Helen. :)

Well she is back, so I must go.... But I must say she looks mighty cute standing on that ladder. Maybe all is not lost after all...... Do I hear the Olympic theme music in the background.... We shall see.

Change

It is late and I should be in bed fast asleep but instead I am sitting at this computer typing out this post. It may be a good thing because my allergies are acting up and it seems to be a good thing to give Helen a head start on sleeping before I join her and start sawing logs.

Things are always changing, aren't they? I mean sometimes it takes major life upheaval for us to notice, but change is a part of life. Just the other day I was looking through some old pictures of my children with amazement because it was difficult to remember them at those ages. Change is one of those parts of life that has a way of being exciting and feared at the same time. It is something that will happen whether we want it to or not, we can't control it, but we can control how we respond to it. It is simply my desire to be prepared the best I can for when those changes come, so that I will be able to take them with grace and humility whether they be good or bad. The one thing I find in an ever changing world is that my God is the same yesterday, today and forever. And that in Him there is no shadow of turning. He holds true every time.

MUSA Out!

WE MADE IT!!!!

OH BOY!!!! We have finally moved into the new house. We closed on Wednesday and while Helen was away at a teacher conference. I had some family over to help paint the downstairs. We moved in today and boy am I glad that is over. Special thanks to all my movers.... Pastor B a.k.a Gold Medal Spooner!, Super Don Printy, Mike Capace and his kids, Brett Ham, Christopher and Big Chris and of course Grandpa!

Job well done... Thanks for every thing. If you want pictures then Check out my wife's site, whenever she decides to post them!

To Honor or to ask?

I have decided today that I am going to try something new. I am going to try and honor God instead of asking Him for the things I may need. We have all gone to Him with a laundry list of needs, but just for today I am going to "try" to ask for nothing and instead I will give Him Honor and thanks and praise. I will let you know how it works out!


MUSA Out!

Kill'em with kindness

I don't know how long I have felt this leading but for the last week or so whenever I have been on the phone or dealing with someone as a customer, I have been pressed to be very polite. I know it sounds a bit kooky but consider this, treating someone else with kindness is a great way to show that you respect them and value what they are doing. I have also found that by showing some heart felt kindness and patience is one of the best ways to get people to give you discounts or wave certain charges and fees. Dealing with the Knots and her injuries has afforded me several opportunities to show some kindness and genuine respect for those people that I have come in contact with. So take the time to show some kindness and be polite. Follow the golden rule and see what develops.

MUSA Out!

8 Facts about me.... I guess

I was tagged by my Wife so here we go.

1. As a kid I use to bite my toe nails.... Very flexible as a lad I was
2. My mom used to steal the eggs off of my plate while at the breakfast table because I hated eggs and feed them to the dog. The cool part was that she was fast enough to do it with my dad sitting there and he never noticed.
3. Back in the 70's in Charlotte I was taken off the bus because the bus monitor thought I was on the wrong bus because I was black and that bus when to a "white" neighborhood that we lived in. My mom was waiting at home and when I didn't get off the bus she came looking for me and when she found me at school she let that teacher have it... Both barrels!!!
4. I kissed Kevin a.k.a Cubbie on a dare from Big Waxy. Whoa I needed to do something manly right after..... Christina (his wife) can have him! It was quick and painful! See what peer pressure can do!
5. As a kid I put my hands through 4 glass screen doors without cutting myself. Apparently I was in a hurry to get outside and hitting the handle was optional.
6. As a toddler my Nanny was German and she spoke to us often in German so when I got home I would also speak to my parents in German. I was a well rounded youth.
7. I once threw cinder blocks into my neighbors pool... just because. My dad was really mad, but I didn't get a spanking, in part because he might have killed me. I was grounded for several weeks though
8. The Log story.... More on that one later.

MUSA OUT!

G2

The ground plus gravity is and will always be UNDEFEATED!!! Courtney found out the hard way today by breaking both, yes both arms in a valiant attempt to master the art of swinging with no hands. Apparently she was high enough on her back swing for gravity to interject its dominance over her as she slid out of the swing and came crashing to the ground with her arms folded underneath her. We knew right off that the right one was broken but to our surprise we found out that after X-rays, the left one was broken also. Yeah.... Happy Happy Joy Joy! God is good because my little girl made it through like a champ. She even managed to give her dad a couple of her special "Courtney" looks when I was making jokes to lighten the mood.

So tomorrow is Friday and I wait in eager anticipation for what the day will bring. One thing for sure, what ever it is, it was already on God's calender and He has already made preparations for what is to come.

MUSA OUT!

Weeble Wooble Faith

What????

You would have had to been raised in the 70's to know what a Weeble Wooble is. The tag line for this toy used to be Weebles wobble but they don't fall down. That should be us. Helen as a great post today talking about Holy Spirit leading us into places to have our faith tested. But I want to look at this a little different. We are supposed to have faith like little children and considering that the Weeble Wobbles are toys I think it fits perfectly has an example of how we are to respond to adversity and trials that come our way. You can knock a Weeble down but has soon as you do it bounces back up straight again because it is weighted on the bottom. In other words it has a good foundation and it is because of this foundation that enables this "toy" to pop up again. Unfazed and standing tall. You can throw them across the room but they will always end up being upright. Well you could say this is silly because it is just a toy, and you would be correct. It is just a toy, but it is doing what it was created to do. God created us as well and He put much more effort into crafting us. Are we doing what we were created to do?

Ephesians tell us to stand:

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

You can weeble and wobble and even fall, just make sure you are grounded enough to pop back up. A righteous man can fall 7 times but he had better get up 8.

Pick and Choose!

Which do you prefer???

1. Coke or Pepsi
2. Krispy Kreme or Dunkin' Donuts
3. Mcdonalds french fries or Hardee's or Burger King
4. For You Married Couples- Spooning or sleeping back to back
5. Chips Ahoy or Oreos
6. Domino's or Pizza Hut
7. 24 or Heroes (if it is not 24 then don't bother to answer)
8. CSI- Las Vegas or CSI- Miami
9. PC or Mac
10. Road Runner or DSL ( if you are still using dial-up, please turn in your computer now!)
11. Bugs Bunny or Tom and Jerry
12. Football ( that's it, you only get one choice)
13. NIV or NKJ or the Message bible or something else
14. Thanksgiving or Christmas
15. Pringles or Lay's
16. Hamburgers or Hotdogs
17. Night Owl or Morning Person
18. The mountains or the beach
19. Dogs or cats
20. Right handed or Left

Answer one, answer all or add your own!!!

K.I.S.S.

Keep It Simple Stupid!!!

God spoke three things to me this week... In light of the fact that Father's Day is Sunday, I find this a good time to share this.

3 things:

1. Have a pure heart
2. Serve your wife
3. love your children

I can look at these points and say that these are the important ingredients to being a successful man, husband and father. I would elaborate on them but as you can plainly see, the title is all about keeping it simple.

Part 3

Great Inventions during the 70's and 80's

Reese peanut butter cups
Mello Yello
Kit Kat Bar
Sprite
Kool-Aid

Childhood Reflections Part 2

As requested.... Favorite T.V. Shows from the 70's and 80's


1. The A-team
2. The Dukes of Hazard... yeah black folks watch Bo and Luke do their thing!
3. Saturday Night Live
4. T.J. Hooker- For those who don't know, it is William Shatner as a Cop.
5. Hill Street Blues... My dad let me watch it with him
6. Magnum P.I.
7. Cosby Show
8. Happy Days
9. Love Boat
10. Airwolf


Don't feel like you have to abandon the toy post just yet...

Childhood reflections!

I decided to take a different turn with my latest post and it will require some help and insight from all who pass through here. I would like share with you some of my favorite toys from my childhood. Now remember I grew up during the 70's and 80's so nintendo and X-Boxes weren't an option. So it got me thinking about putting together a sort of top 10 list of toys that I played with. So here we go!!!

1. Micronauts- Don't know how I found them but they were my absolute fav.

2. G.I. Joes- Not the 12" tall ones with the Kung-Fu grip, but the 4" tall ones.

I would conduct football games on my couch with them and my Micronauts.

3. Star Wars Men- Not as much fun as the top 2. Not fully poseable, only draw back.

4. Fisher-Price adventure people- Great vehicles that I could use to play with the top 2 once again.

5. Classic army men- enough said

6. Hot wheels/matchbox cars- Tough to decide which was better, depends on what kind of cars they were producing.

7. Six-Million Dollar Man action figure. Just plain cool

8. Stretch Armstrong- Great toy until I poked a hole in him to see what made him so stretchy.

9. Evil Knevil Stunt set- Included motorcycle, ryder and launcher. Great for jumping stuff inside and out.

10. Legos/model airplanes and the like.

What's in a name?

I would have gotten back to the post on unity but my Bride stole my thunder and she wrote it much better than I, so if you want a great read on the unity of the body of Christ check out her blog.


So what's in a name??? Well let us consider Jacob, whose name means supplanter and deceiver. He had little difficulty living up to his namesake when he was growing up. Only after a powerful encounter with the Living God did his name and countenance change. So this leads me to my children. When we were praying about what to name our kids we desired first to give them strong names, but also names that would help mark their destiny. Caleb Alexander was our first born and his name means bold/brave defender or protector. When we found out that we were pregnant with him we had not yet reconciled with Helen's family because they did not agree with interracial marriages. It was our hearts desire that through Caleb's birth that he would be the reconciling force God would use to reunite our family. God was very faithful. Caleb is the bold defender of the faith that we declared over him as a baby and part of that is preserving unity. Kennedy Ann means Helmeted one and full of grace. The Lord spoke to me concerning her that she would be a rebuilder of broken walls and lives. She is very tender hearted and compassionate towards her friends and family. As the helmeted one, she is a warrior and very thoughtful in all she does. Courtney Chase means King's Court and hunter. The Lord spoke to Helen while she was at a T.D. Jakes conference about her name. As a worshipper she must go into the presence of the King. A hunter must know when to pursue their prey and when to wait and as a worshipper you must know when to press in and when to be still and wait.

It was our desire that the names we gave our kids would add to the blessing and calling on their lives. I have seen many of the traits associated with their names come to bear fruit in their lives, but I have also seen the exact opposite. I have recognized that even at these young ages there are spiritual forces waging war against their destinies and purposes in life. The Lord as since reminded and quite frequently lately that I am to continue to guard over those blessings that we spoke over our children when we named them.

So we have named our children to be a Protector, a rebuilder and a worshipper. Where they go in life only God knows, but we have laid a foundation that was given to us by God and the responsibility to watch over it.

What do your kids' names mean? What has He said to you concerning their names? I want to hear from you, but even if you don't comment at least I got you thinking about it.

It's a Woot Off today people....

Make sure you keep checking Woot.com for the infamous "bag of crap" It is the most prized thing to behold on Woot. Once you see it you must go and buy it. It only costs $6.00. You don't know what you will get but everything in the bag will be worth at least $6.00. A co worker of mine got an answering machine from his "Bag". You must register and have a login account but it is free. It is also rumored that a guy got a "Bag" and in his was a flat screen TV. Big fun and plus you can get some good deals on other items. We bought our answering machine with 4 cordless phones from there for $50 bucks. Have fun and good luck!

What is it worth???

Unity.... What is it worth??? In the face of a common enemy what is it worth? We are not called to agree on ever single detail of christian doctrine. But we are called to unity in the faith. So what is it worth? What would you give to have it? Would you consider it like possessing wisdom? Worth more than gold or silver. Is unity more important than protecting our "turf" or even having our feelings hurt?

More to come!

Stand in the Gap!

News Flash!!! Did you realize that prayer changes things!!!! How many times have we as Christians looked for solutions to our troubles in the natural without going to Jesus in prayer. Often times making the situation worse because we were looking for a fix with our flesh. Guilty as charged here! God is always looking for someone to stand in the gap, to fill the breach that was created. I used to think that was somebody else's job. I am realizing that it is my highest calling. To stand in the gap for my kids, there can be no greater purpose for me. God has charged me to be a buffer for them against the schemes of the enemy. When I leave my post unattended then it becomes easier for the influences of this world to creep over the walls.
I have never really considered myself a "prayer warrior". Don't get me wrong, I know how to pray with authority, but it has not been a way of life for me. God has moved this to the front burner for me. Maybe it has been there all along and I finally turned the stove on.... Either way I may never have to go to war in the natural, but I can go to war daily in the spirit. So this is where God has brought me to. I glad He did. I don't just want to be a prayer warrior, I want to be a prayer assassin. Cutting off the heads of demonic forces before they know what hit them.

Now if you will excuse me... I have to go a stand my post. There are some gaps that need filling!

Comments

Comments are now open to all who wander through here.

You guys help me welcome another blogger to this online rap session. Mr Todd Osborne. He is a good friend and fellow warrior. Go visit him and say hello.

What is unseen?

I hope I will not be in some way stealing from the Kevin T. thunder with his excellent posts on the plagues of Egypt, but something has gotten me wondering.

I have often wondered why the Israelites were so willing to trade the unseen promise of freedom for the known bondage of slavery. When applied to my own life it makes imperfect sense. As humans we have a natural desire I think to gravitate to the comfortable and routine, even when that routine means slavery. If you really think about it, the Israelites had more faith in their oppressors than their Heavenly Father. Maybe it is because they had more experience dealing with the Egyptians and that just seemed easier to digest than having to learn to follow God whom they could not see. And who up to that point seemed(at least to them) unwilling or unable to help them. I would dare say that even the most seasoned sailor still experiences some anxiety when leaving the safety of the harbor for the open sea because it still represents the unknown. To truly be what God has called us all to be, we must at some point leave the security of the harbor to set out for deep water. That means leaving sin, old mind sets, habits and the like behind in order to embrace a new level in God. Are you willing to pull up your anchor and unfurl your sails? Can we let go of the past in order to see what is up ahead? Can we have faith enough to believe that God is going to work these things out in our favor if we will just trust Him? Is He asking any more of us than He did of the Israelites when they left bondage? In case we have forgotten, God is in the business of making the broken; whole, the poor; wealthy, the sick; well and the bound; free. If He did it for them He will do it for us too.

Where is your passion???

I was challenged this weekend after C's visit. She asked a simple question. What am I passionate about? It took me a while to answer and when I finally did, it was kinda of matter of fact. She also challenged me to see if there was enough evidence to convict me of that passion. So C this one is for you. I have decided to become who I was born to be. I don't know how or really what steps to take, but I am setting my face toward that thing which God himself created me for. I am a warrior. I always have been. I can operate fine in a crisis, but true warriors don't. They are prepared for battle at all times. That is where I am lacking. So call me out in the street if necessary on this one. The wounds of a friend can be trusted.

Rumors of my demise have been GREATLY exaggerated!!! I'm still here. Let us continue on in this fight!

Dented and Dinged

No warrior comes out of a fight without having the evidence of battle on him. As I struggle to write these words I am thinking of my owns battles, the ones I am currently fighting and the ones yet to come. I am not in a good mood right now. I have taken the day off because my kids are out of school today. Remembering the words of my earlier post about soft words keeps ringing in my ears. It is not my children, they have been great today. It is their daddy... Right now as I type I am also willing my spirit into a place of worship that will remove this heaviness that has decided to try and attach itself to me. The song that keeps playing on my Itunes is called None But Jesus. The bridge to this song says: All I delight is in You Lord, all of my hope and all of my strength.

That is what I am holding on to right now. Pray for this warrior!!! thanks........

Got It Covered?

I am still learning what it means to be a good father and husband... I don't think I will ever get it completely right. Some days are better than others and at other times it is a moment by moment kind of thing. The Lord spoke 2 things to me concerning my kids. First was that "a soft answer turns away wrath,But a harsh word stirs up anger." There have been way too many times that I have chosen the harsh word instead of the soft answer. Kids being the sponges they are, absorbed what was given and when the right pressure was applied those sponges let out their own wrath on each other. I will also confess that the people I work with were more likely to receive a greater amount of grace from me than my own children. It has convicted my heart tremendously this week. I have tried to make a conscious effort to give the soft answer and extend to my little ones, daddy's grace.

Second the Lord spoke to me, Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. As a family, we sat down Sunday night to have a family meeting. I read those 2 scriptures to my kids. I confessed that I had allowed my words to stir up anger in them. I also told them that because we are family that we should let our love for one another be stronger than any offense we might have against each other. Just like Jesus covered our sins with His love we should do the same for each other. We prayed together and I really believe that they "GOT IT!" It also reminded me of the friendships that I share with many of you from our college days. It was a rare thing if we didn't call somebody on the carpet for something stupid we may have been involved in. And even though we probably didn't handle it right, we always knew that we were for each other and that we only wanted the best for one another. Allowing that love to cover our many failings is what made so many of our friendships so powerful. "Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses." That in a nut shell at least to me is covenant love. A willingness to speak the truth even if it may hurt and then turn and allow that love cover whatever has tried to bring shame and guilt. Thanks!

Peace be still?

Job 34:29 says... When He gives quietness, who then can make trouble?

Strong words from a book about a man whose peace was rocked to its very core. I find daily that I must fight to keep some sort of peace. Whether it be between my 3 children or between Helen and me, or maybe on the job. There is an all out assault on my peace. Sometimes I wonder what must I do to achieve a lasting peace. Will it only come once I have breathed my last breath? Unfortunately it is so. What peace am I struggling to maintain? Peace of mind, peace in my spirit, just to name 2, but what I am realizing, is that I must wage war in order to keep the peace. You see the enemy continues to prowl around seeking whom he may devour. One of the things he looks to devour is our peace, because if he succeeds in consuming our peace then chaos in sues and we lose our perspective on what is really important. I love movies and one of my favorites is a movie called "First Knight" with Richard Gere and Sean Connery. In this film Sean Connery is playing King Arthur and they are faced in a difficult choice about whether or not to go to war. Arthur's adversary is openly provoking war with Camelot but he has the audacity to say that it is Arthur who is threatening this fragile peace. Arthur's response is great, in which he says " There is a peace that can only be found on the other side of war." There are many in our nation that believe that war ( any war) is wrong. They say that we should be able to settle our differences through diplomacy. Can I just tell you that the terrorists have no interest in peaceful negotiations and neither does Satan. If that be the case then why would we ever desire to try to reach some sort of compromise with him when we know he is bent on our destruction.
So bottom line, if you want peace in your life, the only way to have it is with victory! Don't try to appease your enemy thinking that will buy you peace. You want peace. You had better pick up your weapons of war and take it. Cause it won't be gained any other way.

What are you made of?

This is going to be a part two to the Choosing sides post. Do you know what God created you for? Yes we were created to worship Him, but on a deeper level, what were you made for? What is your calling, gifting, talent? OK I will go first.

I believe part of what the Lord has created me to be is an encourager of His people. I sing on our praise and worship team at our church and Pastor Abbye who leads our team says that I can go into coach mode while leading worship sometimes. When I do it, it makes it difficult for people to understand what I am saying and thus follow along. I guess I get a little too excited about what is going on in the service. If you ever saw it you would know what I am talking about. Anyway I am learning how to control this mode a little better. But getting back to my point. I am an encourager and I also am a coach. These two things fit together nicely. So if you will allow me, I am going to exercise my gift.... right now.

"I was made for war.... I was made for battle Lord" This is one of the verses to a song that we sing in church. I love this song because it puts me into a mindset to remind me that God has made me well able to overcome any challenge. When it comes to the spirit realm and our prayer lives, I believe we should be very aggressive. Did you realize that safe and subdued prayers will not advance the kingdom against the gates of Hell? I have offered up those kinds of prayers and have not seen things change in my situation, one because I did not believe it and two the enemy didn't either. He was not compelled to be removed from that area of my life. But when I press in and take on a warrior mentality things change. We also sing a song called "Battle cry". Sometimes we need to unleash our battle cry, and by this I mean let it be known from the rooftops if necessary. In doing so you let two people know what is going on. You let the enemy know that this is going to be different and that he had better be ready to get bruised up. And second you let your Father know that you are ready to use what He has already put in you.

It is time to cut off the head of the oppressor in our lives.

Choose Sides

Everyday we must choose sides... Will we be victims or victors? A victim is someone who is deceived or cheated, as by his or her own emotions or ignorance, by the dishonesty of others. A victor is someone who has overcome or defeated an adversary, a winner in any struggle or contest. (courtesy of Dictionary.com)

Based on those fairly clear definitions, we have a decision to make. There are too many times in my life were I chose to be a victim instead of a victor. I allowed circumstances and events to dictate my mental state. In doing so, I allowed the enemy to gain another foothold because I would not stand up and fight. How often do we forget that the fight is fixed on our behalf. Yes we all have trials and difficult things in our lives. But that does not mean we should walk around with the smell of death and our grave clothes on. It is a victim mentality that I believe is all to prevalent in our society now. People looking to make excuses for why they don't have the things they desire in life. Instead of finding a way to win we come up with a laundry list of who or what is responsible for us not reaching the brass ring. Can I tell you that victims never won a thing. They may have been able to reap the benefits of someone else hard work, but never on their own.

The Israelites were operating in victim mode when they reached the Jordan. Only Joshua and Caleb were in victor mode. We see the results of their fearful tendencies. We all can find our place at one time or another standing on that river bank saying we can't go over. But let me tell you, for you and me to truly walk in the anointing and power that God gave us we must change our minds from victims to victors. Regardless of our circumstances, we must declare victory.

I am through being a victim. Jesus called me to victory. Sometimes to get it you have to fight for it. " To the Victor, go the spoils"

C2 Challenge???

Well for lack of anything really really profound to say today, I have decided to issue the following challenge to all of the bloggers in our growing community:

If you choose to accept this mission!

The challenge is simply this. We need to reach out in our sphere of influence, along with some good detective work and track down some of our brothers and sisters who came through what used to be known as Campus Connection and get them blogging. Couple of examples of folks I am looking for.

1. Robert "Dwayne" McDonald
2. Steve Motsinger
3. Micheal Croce
4. Bryan Hall
5. Amy and Bryant Knowles
6. Tara Estes ( even though I believe she is married now)
7. Reed and Tab Thomas- Sorry Reed but only posting comments does not count :)
8. Adam Carr- Caroline this is your project because you are better at giving instructions than me.
9. Scott and Andrea Hix

etc.

You get the idea. Find those folks and lets reconnect with some of these great people who were a part of all our lives for a brief period of time on that mountain.

check'em out now: New Life Campus Ministry

Long Look Back!!!

When I think about the people in our ever growing blogging community, I am amazed how God fit us together in such a unique way. I feel as if I have known many of you all my life to the point I can't remember how we met. I recall meeting Waxy at Cubbie's house and not liking her at ALL. But then God did something super natural and He formed a covenant friendship between Waxy, Cubbie and myself. We would sit in Cubbie's room for hours and just pray and intercede. Those two people won't believe it but it was those times that they taught me through their example of how to press into God's presence. They were the ones who helped lead me into receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Thanks.

Rodney and Kim, I met through C2 and grew to love them even more on our Missions trip to Mexico. You guys were our partners in crime all over that country. APASCO RULES!!!
Kim even had the spiritual maturity to bring correction in my life and do it with love. Now all you know I received that word.... Right! NOT!!! And she was still gracious enough to accept my apology and year(or so) later. You got a good one Rodney!

RJ- A warrior in the natural and in the spirit. The perfect help mate to C and she is to you as well. Looking forward to going to war beside you my friend.

My Bride- What can I say that has not already been said. You are more beautiful to me now than when we first were married. You have spoken into my life more than I care to count. You love me with all my many faults. YOU are more precious to me than gold. Truly this man can call himself blessed because God gave you to me. LOVE YOU!

To all you numerous others friends who happened to wonder through Appalachian State ( 2 time National Champs) and intersect at a Church called Watauga Christian Center and be a part of Campus Connection, I say that I am blessed to know that God set me in the middle of a group of people who loved the Lord and desired to find His will for your lives. You blessed me then and you bless me now because I can look back, those many years ago and know that I am a better man because of those times/people in my life.

Spinning out of control

This whole blogging thing has taken on a life of its own for me. I am talking to people I haven't seen since college. I would have never thought that it would have grown like this. Funny how things work out...

Saint or Sinner

Donnie McClurkin has a song that he remade from another Christian artist whose name escapes me right now. The song is titled "We fall down". The chorus states "that a saint is just a sinner who fell down and got up".

I had a dream the other night that was quite strange and I did not realize the spiritual significance till later that morning. In the dream I was fighting these people/zombies with a sword. Some of my adversaries I was able to kill with one fatal blow. At times during the dream I was fighting multiple enemies, dividing my attention between them all but the result was the same. Defeat for my enemy. During those fights it became apparent that in some cases it required multiple strikes for me to defeat them. I don't recall ever receiving any injuries during my battles, but my final enemy during that battle did not come at me with an aggressive stance, but with beauty and cunning. I understood that this foe still needed to be defeated. I struck it multiple times in the neck expecting as before for its head to fall off. Unfortunately it did not. I had inflicted what could considered fatal blows but this foe was still alive. Holy Spirit revealed to me at this point that even though I have made progress in this area of my life, I have not yet cut off the head of the oppressor. I believe it serves as a warning and encouragement to me to not let my guard down for one moment.

So whether I fall or stand, run or walk, I will be the saint who was just a sinner that fell down and got up. Hope this makes sense. It is not often that the Lord speaks to me in dreams, but I felt it was significant enough to share.

There is a Friend...

Yes I know 2 posts in one night. Lots on my mind today. Need a place to express them. I am part of a writer guild at our church and I was looking over some of the things we did in a free write and this jumped out at me. My brother RJ is talking about going into warrior mode so this should fit quite nicely... I hope.

There is safety in numbers, never travel alone. A 3 fold cord is not easily broken. It is good to have friends because if they are true, they will walk through hell and back for you. We ask, how can I endure or how can I push on? If you want victory then you must take all other options off the table. Refuse to fail, refuse to be defeated. Find out what you are made of when your breaking point is exposed... Then go past it, exceed it and overcome it. Place me where the fight is the hottest and most difficult. I want the land where the giants walked... Bear down and break out for the through the dessert is the promised land and the weak will not get there unless they are willing to be transformed through the fire.

That is the kind of Warrior I want to be. I am not there yet. But I am headed in that direction.

Perfection

How do you define it? How do you achieve it? To whom do you ascribe this standard? I am in awe of how much I don't know about the Lord. My preconceived notions of what I thought was gospel and what actually is, has been blown apart. Which brings me to the title of this post. I can define perfection as being mistake free, without error or blemish. In my humanity I have sometimes placed that label of perfection on people I respected in the church. In my flawed thinking, if I could just be more "spiritual" like them then all my problems would be solved. Truth is, that was unfair of me to place such high and unattainable expectations on those people, because at the moment they failed to measure up, I was setting them and myself up a huge disappointment. It is my belief that we(I know I'm not the only one) have place these standards of perfection on our pastors and leaders in the church. And when they let us down it gives us the excuse to cut and run because we got our feelings hurt.

What makes me think that if I can't achieve perfection in this body that anyone else could. As church folk we have been real good at shooting our wounded. It is no wonder that the world doesn't want to be a part of the body. Why would anyone in their right mind want to be a part of something that is loving and encouraging one minute and shooting each other in the back the next. I admit it, I am guilty of doing the exact thing, which qualifies me to speak with authority on the matter.

So I have decided that as long as you and I can agree on Christ's death and resurrection and what that blood did for us, then the rest is not that important. I see through a glass darkly and I only know part of the story. There is power in my words and I choose to use them to speak life. God has convinced me that He knows what He is doing and that while He appreciates the advice :) He can handle it just fine. I am done making the gospel complex and unappealing. I am looking to the author, creator and finisher of my faith to perfect in me what I could not and would not do on my own. I hope this makes sense, I hope it brings comfort to all who read it. I've just made up my mind that it is time to start destroying the enemy and not those who labor beside me.

To be continued....

...And again I say rejoice!

Rejoice in the Lord always.... What does that mean? It has been a long week and I must say, 5:00 can't get here fast enough. Should I rejoice in that? Should I rejoice when we receive an unexpected financial blessing? Should I rejoice when someone gets healed or set free? To all those things the answer is a hardy YES! But what about the flip side? How about when there is no money to put food on the table or gas in the car? What about when a loved one is still lost in their sin. Or how about in the wake of the tragedy at VT? We, as Christians are commanded to rejoice in the Lord at all times and in every situation. The word rejoice means to take delight in, be glad or to be joyful. It also means to spin about. In other words when times are difficult we need to stand to our feet and rejoice( spin about ) praise Him with our bodies and make war in the heavenly realm. I have always been one who when things did not go my way, I would get into a serious funk and I would be difficult to be around. I am learning that at all times and in each challenge of life to rejoice and praise.

Sometimes God delivers us from the storm and sometimes He delivers us out of the storm. So we had better be prepared for both possibilities. Either way deliverance is coming.
Psalms 24:7-8

7 Lift up your heads, O you gates!
And be lifted up, you everlasting doors!
And the King of glory shall come in.
8 Who is this King of glory?
The LORD strong and mighty,
The LORD mighty in battle.

Broken

As I write this post, I find myself grieving for the families of the students killed at Virginia Tech yesterday. I must confess it did not sink until today. Senseless acts like this cause me to take stock of what is important in life. I look at my own kids a little different today. Wondering in part if they will be forced to experience something of this magnitude in their young lives. I don't want to create an atmosphere of fear in them. I want them to live with all the confidence that is in them. I also don't want to walk in a spirit of fear concerning them either. I trust and know that the Lord has them in His hands and that He will keep and protect them. I guess my prayers are for the families of the victims that God's will, will still be accomplished in the lives of those affected the most. I declare what Satan meant for harm and destruction, God will turn and bring about the salvation of many because of the actions of one man.

I know that the effective and fervent prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much. Could this have been prevented if more people were praying for our nation and its safety. I know I am guilty of not doing so. I know that I need to be much more faithful to pray and especially praying in the spirit. It is time to stand in the gap for this country, its leaders and especially our children.

Chiseled

This is a rare thing when you get a double post from me in one day so hang on.

There is a painting/drawing that I have only seen in the pages of one of Max Lucado's books. I may still have it. But it depicted an image of a Black male with his head down and arms by his side, above him there is a chisel, a hammer and the pair of hands holding those tools. If memory serves there are some sparks coming up has the refining process is going on in this man.

The point is, that is us. God is knocking off the rough and hard edges to make a beautiful sculpture. It would hurt considerably to be hit with a hammer and chisel but the point remains. God reminded me of this picture as if to say "Hey this is were I have you, it may feel uncomfortable for a while but the finished product will be worth it" Related to my early post, Stand Still. This sculpture is made of flesh not stone, so I have the option to jump off the sculptor's table if I choose. His word to me remains, Stand still!

Moving on, moving up!

Standing Still

Just finished reading my latest post for the 10th time. And yes I am still frustrated in my current place and situation. I can also still honestly say that I have not given back an inch of ground that God reminded me of on Sunday. I still wage war daily over my thoughts, deeds and actions to the point that I have begun to feel numb in the fight. Just a Warrior swinging his sword hoping to strike something, anything that will turn the tide. It is here that Jesus simply says Stand still. Lost for what else to do this seems like a simple request from my Lord. It becomes clear to me that by standing still, even though I am not advancing, I am not retreating either. Standing still and holding my ground, pausing for rest, recovery and when necessary a change in marching orders. What has me standing still and thus frustrated??? In no particular order.... My marriage, my ministry(God's call on my life), my children, my finances and my health. In other words am I doing enough to excel in any one of those areas. I can say that in times past when any one of those areas were out of sorts, it would serve as an immediate excuse for me to retreat into the safety of sin. The logic being if things weren't going right for me then this leap from grace won't make it any worse. All it accomplished was the addition of another hardened place in my heart that God would have to fix.

I am done with that mind set but the fight still remains because as we all know, the flesh does not give up that easily.

So I am standing still, armor on and sword at the ready. I am looking for my next set of orders from my Lord and waiting to hear the call to advance. This fight is not pretty or poetic. It is dirty and harsh. But I am still here and sometimes especially in times like these that is enough. I am fighting to win at any cost and my enemy will not win the day. Jesus has already proclaimed me victorious, I just need to raise my hands and remind myself.

H & C-- thanks for the encouraging words.

Frustration!!!

What is it? What causes it to raise its ugly head after a powerful encounter with THE LIVING GOD! It appears that the target on my back has grown a little larger. The enemy has marked me for defeat once again. But I am afraid that this time and in this season I must tell him HELL NO, NOT TODAY! I am incomplete, unfinished and still in need of repair. Yet this cracked and often broken vessel, God still chooses to pour Himself out of. Frustrated I want to rise up in anger and lash out at the world, but I can't, because I nailed to the cross yesterday. I desire to return to the pig pen of past sins and generational curses, but I can't, for I hammered them to a tree yesterday. My flesh wants to say I QUIT! But I can't for victory was already purchased for me. I am uncertain whether I have anything of value to offer a lost world. Not sure of what the end will look like or if I will even make it there. You could read this and conclude that I may be caring on like a man who has no hope, no promise of what is to come. But I do and that is what keeps me coming back ONE MORE DAY! That is all I need for God to show Himself faithful to me.

Pressure and time is what is needed to turn a lump of coal into a diamond. God has all the time He needs. Am I willing to endure the pressure and time it takes to become a priceless jewel. I can opt out and remain a piece of coal that is only good for being burned in the fire, or I can endure and become a precious stone to be worn in the crown of a King.

Redeemed

Is there anything too hard for the Lord? Is His arm too short or is His hand not strong enough to save? Today we had a powerful representation of the crucifixion of Christ. Our pastors had setup a 10 foot tall Cross made of old railroad lumber and they also had some addition pieces on the steps in front of the stage. Pastor Ron's message quite simply was that Christ took everything from our sickness to our sin, to our weakness and the generational curses spoken over us and nailed them to the cross. At the conclusion of the service we were given an opportunity to take a black piece of paper and write on it whatever sins or shortcomings that we wanted to be free from and nail them to that cross on stage or on one of the other pieces of lumber. Hammers and nails were provided and the congregation filed up to the front to nail those things to the cross at which time they would then take the communion elements that were there also and have communion. What freedom was given we may never fully know but I can assure you of this. Some things in my life and in the lives of others were put to rest and the doors were sealed as we declared it is finished.

Have I been saved so long that I have forgotten the joy of my salvation? Has my theology become so restricted and regimented that I believe there are some people that are beyond God's redeeming power? I must confess yes, I have looked at some in the world and thought they are beyond His saving grace and that they should be removed from public spotlight because of their actions. The thing of it is, is that Jesus died for them just like he did for me and to Him they don't look any different than I did before He saved me. I heard it said once that Christianity would be a fine religion except for all the Christians. I am afraid that I would agree. In many ways we have made Christ unappealing to the masses because they feel like they must meet a certain standard before they can be accepted into the Kingdom. God did not place that on us. It strikes eerily similar to the Jewish Christians requiring the Gentiles to be circumcised before they could really be considered a follower of Christ.

There was a time when I felt like the direction our church was going did not make sense, because it seemed as if we were abandoning some of the deeper spiritual truths for the basic salvation message. As a result many who had been in our church for years up and left because it was not what they wanted. Fact of the matter is, is that we who were more mature should have been able to feed ourselves. The more I look around our church the more I see new faces and I realize that God is bringing these people here and that the fundamental truth of salvation is what we really need.

The things that have dogged me for most of life, I nailed to the cross today and declared it was done. What are you holding on to, not letting go of, or not giving Jesus the opportunity to set you free from? One final note: Pastor Ron said today that "God had to treat Jesus like us so that upon his death and resurrection He could treat us like Jesus."

Power of Praise

Sorry it has been at least a week since I wrote on this blog but things have been a little busy... Now that the disclaimer is out of the way. Onward and upward.


I am listening to a song call "Mighty to Save". It is a powerful praise and worship song talking about our Lord's ability to save us from any and every situation.

Savior, He can move the mountains. My GOD is Mighty to Save. He is mighty to save.
Forever Author of salvation. He rose and conquered the Grave.
Jesus conquered the Grave!

Let God arise and his enemies be scattered! His enemies are your enemies.
There is something about praise and worship to our Father and changes the atmosphere around us. It causes devils to flee while simultaneously ushering in the presence of God. Praise and worship makes our problems small and magnifies Our God. Think about it, Saul was only comforted from the spirit that plagued him when David came before him to play his harp. The Israelites did not defeat the people of Jericho with their swords and spears but with the musicians, dancers and the people caring banners at the front of the army that caused those walls to fall.

What is praise and worship? Is it great music and gifted singers??? No, those can be a part of it. At its core, praise and worship is warfare. It is one of the best weapons in our arsenal to defeat the enemy. Remember, Satan was the chief, ace number one Worship leader in heaven before his fall. What better way to bruise his head than with the very thing he was the best at.

The best part of it is. We don't have to be in a corporate setting at church to experience the power of God in our praise. We can have His presence there, but how much more sweet is His presence when He meets us alone in our homes.

So my final thought on this post is simply this. When life and everything that comes with it starts to weigh you down both physically and mentally. Make time to unleash your praise on that situation and watch what God will do.

Pursuit

Did you ever wonder why everything that is good in life must be pursued, sought after? Our founding fathers realized this truth because they placed it in some of our country's founding documents. Remember the inalienable rights of " life, liberty and the Pursuit of happiness? Whether we want to admit it or not we can make no excuses for our lot in life because we are what we pursue. If I desire a great marriage then I will go after it. If I want a great career then I will chase it. Lots of money... I will find a way to hunt it down. Under this as well, if I desire failure, poverty and the like, I will pursue those things also. It just so happens the failure is easier to catch than success. The good things in life are difficult to attain because in some way they say to us how bad do you want us and what are you willing to go through to get us. Sadly many of us fall short because we are unwillingly to follow through. I believe we as humans have an incredible ability to attain almost anything we desire. The problem is in many cases we expect it to be given to us. We don't want to put in the work to earn it. Let's face it, we have become a society that in some ways seeks to find the path of least resistance. Unfortunately pursuing that path will not lead to happiness or all the other good things in life.
I coached my son's football team and the one constant thing I would tell them after a hard practice was that this game is not easy. If it was then everybody would play it. How much sweeter is the reward for something that was worked for, earned with blood, sweat and tears and pursued with ever fiber of your being.
Let us commit to not pursue the path of least resistance, but instead chose the path that though difficult leads to excellence, greatness and fulfillment.
The bible tell us to get wisdom and once we get it we must not let it go.

What are you pursuing?????

Nothing to Say

I haven't posted all week and that is partly because I really didn't think I had much to say. So let me say it... I went to work, paid bills, kicked the wife and kissed the dog-just kidding-I didn't kiss the dog :) Watched basketball etc. I basically just lived life. Did I live it to my fullest potential? Not even close. Will I look back and remember the past 7 days as a significant time in my life? NO
This week will go down in history like so many weeks have gone before. Insignificant and unremembered. Wow, John why don't you just have a pity party. I am not upset, depressed or anything like that. It just serves as a reminder to me that I should try to live every day as though it were my last. My wife has a plaque hanging up in our room that simply says: "You gotta dance like nobody's watching, Dream like you will live forever, Live like you're going to die tomorrow, And love like it's never going to hurt."

As I read over this post I think, not bad for not having anything to say!

Excuses, Excuses

What are they??? My excuses for sin. Was it disappointment? Rejection from some loved one? Validation for feelings of inadequacy? Could be all of things or none of them. Maybe it is just plain rebellion. Whatever the reason it does not matter. What matters is that they are not sufficient anymore for me not to do what God has created me for. It is part of our fallen nature to look for scape goats... Adam and Eve did it in the garden. They gave us a perfect example that is alive and well today. We don't even bother to get creative with our excuses to God anymore. Just trot out the same tired ones over and over again. Recycling them to fit whatever the problem area. We don't realize or care that we are trampling under foot the grace that God so freely gives. Now God's grace is not a blank check to cover our sin, but rather a way of escape when the temptation becomes to great. Jesus said He would make a way for us, not an excuse to fall short. We make excuses when we don't want to accept the responsibility for our actions. I have practiced defeat in my life for far too long. I want to practice victory.

New Season

It's a new season ... It's a new day... Fresh anointing is flowing my way.

These are the words to a great song By Israel Houghton. Today is a new day. Yesterday is gone. Today, right now I have the opportunity to forget what is behind me and press on. So that is what I have decided to do. FIDO ( Forget It and Drive On)!

My father told me once that we never stop growing up because we will always face new challenges that did not exist for us yesterday. I do not pretend to know alot of things but the thing I cling to, is that there is hope for me. God has brought me too far and watched me go through too many things to leave me hanging with the job incomplete. I actually prayed for my children this morning.(without their knowledge) I lifted them up and prayed for them as the bible says with groans and utterances that words cannot express. They are my most precious gift. Left unguarded and to their own devices they would eventually be consumed by this world. The bible says that when the enemy seeks to rush in like a flood that He will raise up a standard against him. I am that standard that will hold back the assault. I will declare again, devil will not have my children! As long as there is breath in my body I will stand against him who seek to destroy my kids. Awakened from Slumber and Ready to stand on the Wall!

Failure

What does it mean to fail? What are the implications... consequences? Tonight I discovered first hand what it means to fail as a parent. Yes I have made mistakes before and will again but tonight is something different entirely. I failed my son in one of the most monumental ways. I did not set for him the example that he needed to follow. I let him down. I am his father. When he sees me, he should see what it means to be a Godly man. He should see how a man is supposed to treat his wife and most important I am supposed to be his earliest example of God's love and direction. Because of my inconsistency he made a wrong impulsive choice. The curiosity of an eleven year old can be very powerful. By God's grace and mercy, my wife and I discovered what he had done before it went too far. Unfortunately in the process there was some measure of his childhood that was taken away.

We talked with him for over an hour, asking the questions that should be asked, and to his credit we received honest answers. In the end we prayed together, I asked that God and my son would forgive me for not being the Priest and head of my house like I should have. I committed to him, my wife and to the Lord that I would make it right.

As I write these thoughts I declare again that the enemy has NOT won anything here. He will not gain a foothold in the life of my son. I declare again, tomorrow is another opportunity for God to show Himself faithful to me and my family but it is just as much another chance for me to be faithful to HIM!

I have been shaken from my slumber....
"As for me and my house, we WILL SERVE THE LORD!"

My Declaration

News Flash.... Life is not fair! Bad things happen to good people. Evil will some times prevail in this world. But what is our response to be... Should we search for an endless supply of excuses and reasons why we failed, or should we take the high road and decide that no matter the difficulty, Our God is great. Yes, I have decided that all I need is one more day for HIM to show Himself faithful to me. With that in mind, I know I can withstand everything that would seek to destroy me and crush my spirit. This is my little corner of cyberspace. It is my hope that the things written on here will inspire and encourage all who stop by.