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....