2011

I started this blog back in January of 2011 as part of a homework assignment from my ISOM class. I didn't think that I could do it. Me blog? Yeah right. What am I going to write about. Once I started, things just started flowing out of me. Things that have happened to me over the course of my life. Things that God has been doing in me and through me. Now that we are closing in on the end of the year, I am going to take a look back.

This has been an up and down year for me and my family. Had a lot of good stuff happen to us, and some not so good stuff. The year started off  badly with our car breaking down in Nashville on a trip to see my brother and his family in Birmingham. January also saw me start my ISOM class. I had not been in a classroom in over 25 years so I was a little nervous. Did awesoeme in the class getting an "A" on my test.

My Dad passed away on April 1st. The first of many deaths in my circle of friends and family! We lost three people from our church family over the course of the year. A cousin and another friend passed away also.
I went jobless throughout the whole year. Applied to many places, went on a few interviews, and was only offered one job, but they had to take back that job offer because I didn't 'pass' there physical abilities test. So I leaned on God more so than I ever have during this past year. He is my strength. My encourager.

Good things happened as well. I finished my first year of ISOM. I only signed up for four classes orginally, but God extended me to all eight. So I passed all eight with straight "A's". I have been volunteering at our local hospital during this past year. Doing the Lord's work, helping out those less fortunate. Been selected to be on a special team for our church direction. Volunteered for a day at the radio station WBGL. Also was a part of the volunteers that packed food for Feed My Starving Children event here in Sycamore.

Celebrated another year of life. My wife and I celebrated another year of marriage. God has been so good to me and my family. Even when things didn't look good, or in the roughest of times, God was always there for me! He pulls us through our struggles. I have been told that if God brings you to it, He will bring you through it. Amen! So I am looking forward to seeing what 2012 has in store for me and my family! I will shake the dust from 2011 off of my sandals as I leave it behind and get ready to pick up the new year. God has big things in store. I believe. I BELIEVE!! GOD Bless!

Running The Race.

Here lately I have found myself weary of running the race that God has set before me. My knees and hands are so badly torn up and bloody from all trips and falls I have had during the race. Yet I still get up and continue on until I fall again. I know we all fall short of the glory of God, but I feel like I am falling shorter than everyone else.

Jeremiah 29:11 New Living Translation (NLT) ¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

I am really struggling with this verse right now. Is it God's way of being good to me by having me out of work for a year and a half? To have enough money for bills, but not enough for food or gas? How is this good? All of my credit cards are maxed out, I owe more money than I am bringing in and I can't even tithe to the church regularly like I am supposed to. This is God's plan for good? All of this kills me. It kills me not to be able to tithe like I am supposed to. It kills me to say all the time, "I'm sorry we don't have the money". Not that I am looking for a boat load of money, just enough to go to the grocery store and not have to count up every item we buy to make sure that we don't over spend. To be able to go to a movie with my family, to do something together as a family. Anything! But alas, God is keeping me unemployed. Now you know why I am weary of running this race!

I am not going to let satan knock me out of the race. I am going to keep moving forward, believing in God's word.

Romans 15:4 New Living Translation (NLT) ⁴ Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.

I will continue to pick myself up off of the ground, dust myself off and keep going. God is in control. He knows the whole situation and what to do about it! I'll just keep praising Him and glorifying Him! I have a network of great friends and family that build me up and encourage me when I am down. And for that, I am forever gratefull. Praise the Lord!

Planting Seeds.

My sister-in-law called me the other night to ask if our church had a large gymnasium or fellowship hall. I told her that we did. Then she asked me if I could maybe help her out with my nieces softball teams fundraiser delivery. She wanted to know if they could use our church to distribute the product to the parents. I told her that we could.

She told me the truck to deliver the product would be at the church around four o'clock Friday afternoon. I arrived at about 3:30, started some Christmas music on our stereo system and opened the doors. I was trying to set a festive atmosphere for people coming in and out. The truck arrived before anyone else did and they started to unload. I showed them where to go with the pallets. They had four total to unload. Shortly after people started showing up in a frenzy of action. From that point on it was non-stop.

My sister-in-law told me that she thought that it would last about an hour and a half. Sure enough, at about 5:30 the last pick up was out the door. Everyone kept thanking me for the use of the church. They told me that if it wasn't for us, they would have to had done this outside in the freezing cold. I told them that it was no problem and that I really enjoyed being able to help them out. I even helped some of the parents load their stuff in the cars or trucks.

So I don't know if anyone of these people here tonight will come back to our church, but the seed was planted that our church is available to help out when needed. We opened our doors for them and welcomed them in. Isn't that what a church is supposed to be all about? Helping out those in need. We are supposed to be Jesus' arms and feet. So hopefully that is what I showed them tonight with this little event. Praise the Lord for being able to do this and hopefully do it again.

Counting the Cost!

A little while ago while on one of our trips to ISOM, my friend and I were discussing the cost of following Jesus. We both had differing opinions of it. They were both good, but different. Let me tell you mine.

My explanation of counting the cost is, that once you give your life to Jesus and start to follow Him and His ways, you will lose some people along the way. Family, friends, etc. Your life has changed, you are no longer your old self anymore. Some people have a hard time accepting that. When they ask you to go out and do something that you used to do, but you no longer do it, that annoys people. Come on, let's go have a drink. I'm sorry, I don't drink anymore. Eventually they stop asking you and then you lose them as a friend. They stop coming around, stop calling, just disappear from your life. That's alright, they weren't much of a friend to begin with, if they can't stick by you. I would much rather have Jesus in my life, than someone who is a pretender! Jesus is the truth, the light and the way. My previous life before Jesus, I was headed for destruction! Now I have eternity as my destination. Praise the Lord!

This has happened on facebook to me. I started praising God and post scripture on my wall, next thing I know, "friends" are deleting me left and right, or blocking me. "Friends" whom I have known all of my life. People I have grown up with and would have thought better than this. People I would never thought that it would bother, but apparently it did. I also kind of think that going to school to be a pastor, some "friends" thought that I would start to judge them by the lifestyle that they led. Not my job to judge, that is God's! I just want to be a friend to them, witness to them and tell them what God has been doing in my life! I wasn't given the chance. They dropped me like a hot rock. That is their loss. I am not going to change what I have been doing just becuase some people don't like it. God has me here for a reason, and I want to share Him with everyone that I possibly can! Praise the Lord!

Demonstration.

We heard about this last night at church. How are we demonstrating the Holy Spirit at work in our lives. Let me tell you a story.

My wife, daughter and I went on a trip to visit my wife's Grandma in SD, one Labor day weekend. While out there, we went to a Christian book store and my wife bought me a Bible. Awesome right! When I started attending church again, I kept hearing the pastor say, "read your Bible everyday". Over and over again. No matter what church I attened. This message was constant.

I tried and tried to do it. I tried to read my Bible everyday. I tried right after I got off of work. Kept falling asleep. Tried reading it at night when my daughter was watching tv. That didn't work either. I kept getting distracted by the noise of the tv. I needed to read it in the quiet so I could understand and soak it in.

Every morning before work, I would wake up and then turn on the tv and watch mindless tv shows and sit there and flip channels until it was time to leave. Then one morning it happened. The Holy Spirit spoke to me. Why don't you turn off the tv and pick up your Bible. Wow, what a message. Thank You Jesus! I have been reading it faithfully everyday since. That was in May of 2008. My life has become so much richer because of God's word, than the sportscenter updates. Or the excercise shows, or news updates. All that stuff is of the world. I wanted a Biblical wold view. Only get that from reading and applying God's word. I praise You and worship you Jesus!

Tithing.

Tithing. It was a concept that I really didn't understand for the longest time. I had always had the belief that it was the church just looking for money. Seemed like they always had their hand out. Whenever I would attend a church, and they passed around the offering plate, I thought here we go again. Even as a new believer it took me a little bit to understand tithing and how it works. Then finally one day, God got a hold of me and changed my mind and softened my heart. He showed me that it wasn't the pastor just coming up with this stuff on his own. It was in the Bible. Several different places. It is a mandate from God! So I wanted to be God honoring. Read Malachi 3:8-10 to get an idea of what I am talking about.

So I was a single Dad not making much money. Paying child support and trying to pay my rent and all of my bills, the idea of giving money to the church willlingly, wasn't a very popular idea to me. Ten percent! Wow. I could use that money to go out to eat, or take my daughter to a movie. You know, do something selfish with it. How dare I take that money and give it to the church. Once God got a hold of me, it all changed. At first I didn't think that I could afford anymore money coming out of my account. Once I started incorporating it in my budget, it wasn't difficult at all. I loved giving to the church.

Once I started giving, boy did the blessings start coming from God! I got custody of my daughter. I got engaged. The house that we bought dropped $50,000 right into our price range. Needed a car, found one exactly in the price range we could accept. And finally, we got married in a beautiful outdoor ceremony in Iowa. The blessings from God are tremendous to say the least. In Malachi 3:10 it says to test God on this. Go ahead, you'll be amazed. Praise GOD for His provision!

Changed Attitude

As recently as five years ago, I had kind of a flippant attitude about abortion. I didn't really care one way or the other about it. When people would ask me about my feelings on the subject my answer would always be "it's the woman's body. She can do what she wants with it." If she wanted to abort the baby or give birth I really didn't care. Did not affect me in anyway. I could have not been more wrong on this.

About five months after my wife and I started dating, the church we atteneded had a religious confrence there. It was called the Eagles Wings Confrence. It went from Thursday night all the way through to Sunday's service. We both worked during the day, so we decided to attend the Thursday night service. The special speaker that night was Lou Engle. He stepped up to the microphone and changed my life forever!

He told us that he had this whole sermon layed out ready to go and then God changed his plans. He was told that he was going to speak on abortion instead. I thought "great, here we go again. Another politcal agenda." Could not be any further from the truth. He spoke from his heart and was very passionate about the message. He made me look at abortion in a very different way. I saw a baby in a mothers womb much differently now. He made me realize that a fetus was a real live person. Growing and breathing, you know 'ALIVE'. WOW. That was powerful. My attitude changed in a moment of time.

I now champion against abortions. I am 100% for life. My wife and I attend banquets and support a local center for this exact cause. I can not believe the way that I used to think about this. Almost unfathamable. Then I read in the Bible how Jesus knew us before we were even born.
Psalm 139: ¹³ You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb.

Praise God for our children. They are a gift from Him! I pray that the woman out there who are thinking about doing this to their child, well get the correct and true information. I pray that they choose LIFE!!

What does God want?

I have been to the theater twice to see the new Christian movie *Courageous*. It is very well done and very emotional. It is about four men and their calling to be better fathers, husbands and men in general. Having a daughter myself, one of the lines in the movie really got me to thinking about that. "What does God want from me as a father?"

I sat there kind of dumbfounded. I provide for my daughter. She has a roof over her head, food on the table and clothes to wear. I thought that was enough. It's not! God is calling me to be much more to her and to our family.

I am to be the spiritual leader of the family. I am to be the protector and guardian. I am to encourage. Support her in whatever she attempts to try. I am to be a role model. Living my life in a Godly way. To lead by example. Open arms, open ears, and an open heart. To be a comforter. To help her on her spiritual journey. Man, the list goes on and on. One thing for sure, I do not want someone else doing this in my place. Not my church and certainly not our school system. It all starts at home!

So I have decided that I am going to be a man of courage. Who will stand up for my family? I WILL. Who will lead this family spiritually? I WILL. Who will protect them? I WILL. Who will encourage and comfort them? I WILL. I take full responsibility for this family. For everything that happens to them, I shoulder it all. It's my job, no one elses. I WILL BE COURAGEOUS! For me and my house we shall serve the Lord!

Water Baptism.

My daughter and I were both water baptized yesterday at church. That is the full immersion in water. We were both baptized by the sprinkling of water on our forehead when we were younger and didn't have a choice. Our parents made that choice for us. Now that we are both saved and at the age of accountability, we wanted to do it because we chose to.
It was awesome that it happened on the same weekend that I took my final ISOM class for the year. I am going to ministry school, and yet had not been water baptized. I have been an elder/board memeber at my church for over a year and a half and still hadn't been water baptized. I felt like something was missing. I knew in the back of my mind that I needed to get baptized. I didn't feel right representing the church and studying to be a  minister and knowing that I hadn't been baptized as an adult yet.

So our pastor's put it in on the church calendar, and asked anyone interested in doing it to let them know. I signed up right away. Then I asked my daughter what she thought about it. She took some time to think about it and then said yes, that she wanted to do it also. So we did. I have never been prouder of my daughter. To make that commitment to Christ of her own free will! Awesome! PRAISE THE LORD!!

1 Peter 3:
²¹ And that water is a picture of baptism, which now saves you, not by removing dirt from your body, but as a response to God from a clean conscience. It is effective because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Cardinals Baseball and My Dad.

I am a St. Louis Cardinals fan, and I have my Dad to thank for that. He was born in Southern Missouri and after he and my Mom were divorced he moved back down there. So I have been a fan since pretty much from birth.

My Dad, my brother and I went to a few games in St. Louis as we were growing up. It was always fun watching the Cardinals in Busch Stadium with our Dad. Every little boys dream, to go to a big league game with their Dad. Mostly though, we would watch them on tv during the summer when we were down there. We knew all of the stats of all of the players. We had our favorite players and would watch to see how well they performed. My favorite from back then was Ted Simmons who was their catcher. I was the catcher for my little league team, so it all just kind of fit. I also liked Lou Brock, whom the Cardinals got via a trade from the hated Chicago Cubs, my brothers team.

So my Dad and I celebrated the Cardinals world series championship in 1982 over the Brewers. We celebrated every playoff apperance since, up until this past spring. In March, my Dad became very ill. On April 1st, he passed away. The night before he passed away, we watched the Cardinals on tv. It was their opening day of the 2011 season. It was just like old times. He was able to sit up in his hospital bed and watch right along with us. He couldn't talk to us, but with his hand gestures we could tell what he wanted. He interacted with us. He was happy when the Cardinals did well. We finished watching the game and told him our goodbyes. We told him that we would see him in the morning. We didn't know it would be the last time that we saw him alive. I thank GOD for that night. For God giving us another night to be like the old times with our Dad.

This fall the Cardinals made the playoffs on the last day of the season. It is kind of bitter sweet to me. I am excited that they made the playoffs, but I don't have my number one fan to share it with anymore. So I am praying that the Cardinals win the whole thing this year and I am going to dedicate it to my Dad. He is sitting in the ultimate Sky box seat right now. Looking down and rooting on his beloved Redbirds. Praise the Lord for the creation of baseball. For a Dad and Son to be able to bond over something like that, incredible! I miss it, but I sure loved the time that we had and shared in the ups and downs of their seasons.

Spending Time With God.

I went to a men's conference a couple of weeks ago. I attended two breakout sessions. One on marriage and the other one on how to be more spiritual. The instructor of that course said some very interesting things that I had never thought of before.

He stated that there were three things that you needed to do to be more spiritual. One is to read your Bible everyday. Ok, I have that one covered. Two. Pray everyday. I have that one covered as well. I pray continually throughout the day. Three. Spend some alone time with God. Hmmmmmm, I don't do so well with that one. The instructor said that you have to do this. It is essential to your spiritual life. He said that you have to get alone, all by yourself, just you and God. Talk to God and listen to God talk back to you.

When I go hiking by myself, I consider that my alone time with God. We have some pretty good conversations. He has revealed and showed some stuff to me. I love just walking along the path and enjoying His creation. The beautiful wildlife. The beautiful trees and landscape. I just listen, or at least I try to. I usually end up talking to God. He God, check out these beautiful leaves that are changing color. Oh yeah, I forgot, you created them. I usually thank Him for the sights and sounds that I am enjoying. Then I pray while I am walking and thinking.

I brought along a Bible this last time and I sat and prayed and read the Bible for about 30 minutes or so. I didn't directly hear from God, but He did reveal this passage to me.

Psalm 37:⁴ Take delight in the Lord,and he will give you your heart’s desires. ⁵ Commit everything you do to the Lord.Trust him, and he will help you.

This was huge for me, because I am praying about a situation, and God knows my hearts desires about it. So I am going to let go and let God do His thing.  Praise Jesus for everything we have!

On The Verge.

Eleven months ago I went hiking at Starved Rock. I went to one of the canyons there and watched something unfold before me that I thought was a message from GOD. I watched some of the falling leaves block a stream of water from the waterfall. I watched as the water finally built up enough pressure to breakthrough the pile of leaves, and start flowing again. I watched this happen twice at two different locations. I thought that GOD was revealing to me that I was going to have a breakthrough of my own. I didn't know what or how, I just felt like I was going to.

I feel like I am on the verge of that breakthrough now. I have had a second interview with a compnay here in town. I have been out of work for over a year and some change now. So that is promising. I am one class away from the possibility of being a certified pastor. That is also promising. See now you know why I feel like I am on the verge of this breakthrough. I knew when I went hiking that I was going to take the ministry classes. What I didn't know, was that GOD was going to double "my" plan. I had originally signed up for just four classes. GOD increased me to the full eight. See I had "my" plan, but GOD had other plans for me.

So I don't know if He is going to call me into full time ministry, or get a job and work part time in ministry. I'll leave that up to GOD to decide. The job that I am interviewing for is only a seasonal job. Maybe this is GOD's way of saying work for a short amount of time while I get you ready for the next step.

I'll just praise and worship GOD while I am waiting. It is hard to be patient. We all want things done in our own time. Have to learn and to let go and let GOD.

Galatians 6:⁹ So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.

Movie Extra

They are filming an independent movie here in DeKalb county. It stars Dennis Quaid and Zac Efron. There is no title for the movie, yet.

About three weeks ago, they ran an ad in the Daily Chronicle for extra's being cast for the movie. They were having an open casting call. It was on a Sunday and it was raining. We had a family re-union to go to first. After we left the re-union, we drove by the theater were they were having the casting call. People were lined up around the building, a really long line. My wife just said to go home and we'll think about coming back later. The casting call went until 6:00pm. We decided to go back and see what was happening. We arrived at 5:45, there was no line and we were able to go right in. They took our info and took a picture of us. Off we went, not thinking to much more about it.

A week and a half later, I get a call from the casting agent asking me if I would be interested in being in a scene. I said sure, I would be interested. She told me that it would be a church scene, being shot in DeKalb at the Lutheran church. She told me to be there by 1:00pm. So I arrive and fill out my release, get all signed in and wait. We finally saw some action around 3:15 for some of the extra's to be used. Finally they come and get my table. I thought that we were being called into the sanctuary, but we went outside instead.

I was matched up with some people and were supposed to be a "family". I was standing on kind of a hill and the director asked me to step down onto the sidewalk because I was too tall. I am standing on the sidewalk and the director moves me again to a different location. So I move and take my new position. Once again I am too tall. So the director moves me again. He asks me to stand next to this guy and I am like ok. I am so focused on listening and paying attention that I don't even notice that the person who he has moved me next to is Dennis Quaid. I mean I am standing right up against him. Shoulder against shoulder. Standing about three feet away from us, is Zac Efron. WOW! So we are supposed to be having a conversation with Dennis and the woman who plays his wife in the movie. We wrap that scene and then we move into the church. Shoot some stuff inside and then they release us. I kind of hang around for a little bit, talking with some of the movie's production people. I am standing there and lo and behold Zac Efron comes walking down the stairs right in front of me. I ask one of the crew if he would mind taking a picture of us. He said that sure he would. So I ask Zac if he would take a picture with me. He said sure, so we had a picture taken together. All in all a good day.

One More Class.

I am one class away from finishing my first year of ISOM (Illinois School of Ministry). If you would have told me last year at this time I would be were I am at, I would not have believed you. Ministry was never a part of my plan. But GOD's plan is much different than mine. I am glad that I am obidient and went to school. It has been very fullfilling, to say the least. The fellowship with other people going through the same thing is an amazing thing. Being able to bounce ideas and thoughts off of each other. Love it.

I need to be clear about something. Just because I take these classes and pass all the tests, doesn't mean I'll be a pastor. I still have an interview process to go through. They want to make sure that this is a call from GOD for my life. So I have the oppurtunity to get certified to be a pastor. I really feel like I am called to this. I feel that if I wasn't it, GOD would have put a stop to it, long ago. I don't think that He would have kept me going, if He didn't plan on using me. We shall see. Like I said, GOD's plan is different than mine.

We recently had a family reunion, and each of the leaders of the families got up to tell what has been happening in thier lives and thier childrens lives. My Mom went through everyone in our family, but she forgot to mention about my schooling. I was like it's no big deal. Then she stood up and asked me to tell everyone what I am doing, by going to ISOM. It made feel really good that she remembered, because it is very important to me. I am not trying to brag about what I am doing, I just wanted to share what GOD was doing in my life! So I praise GOD for my family. My immediate and extended family. I love them all. May I show the love of Jesus to them when they look at me or talk with me!

Prayer

I have been volunteering at our local hospital since November 2010. During this time, I have come to meet and get to know some of the "regulars". People I see everyday or every other day. Especially the ones that need rides up to cardiac rehab. If I see them come through the front door and I recognize them, I jump right up and head over and get them a wheel chair.

For the past several months there has been an older couple that I have been assisting to cardiac rehab. I push the wife in the wheel chair and her husband walks behind. They are a very nice couple and I really enjoy helping them out. I love when I see them come through the door, because I know that they are going to make my day a bit brighter.

Last Wednesday (August 24) I noticed the wife come through the door, but she was without her husband. I asked her where he was, and she told me that his back had been hurting and he couldn't make it today. She told me that he was a bricklayer when he was younger and now he was suffering the consequences of that proffession. I told her that I would pray for him and his back, to get better. She sat upright and asked, "you would do that for him"? I told her of course I would. I told her we could all use a little more prayer couldn't we.

So for the past week, I have prayed for her and her husband. For God to heal his back.

So this past Wednesday (August 31) I saw the wife coming through the door and I walked over to get her a wheel chair, and guess what? Lo and behold here came her husband. I asked him how his back was feeling and he told me not the best, but he was going to give a shot at working out. I told him that I had been praying for him. He thanked me and he appreciated it, and off they went.

I guess the point of this story is, to be persistent in your prayers. If God doesn't answer right away, he will. All in His time, not ours. I thank God for this couple and for the ability to be able to pray for anyone that wants it. Praise GOD!

Two More Classes

I have two more classes to complete, then I'll be a liscenced minister/pastor. If you would have told me a year ago that I would be where I'm at now, I would not have believed it. Me a pastor? Yeah right. Good joke right?

It was gently expressed to me about this time last year that I look into taking some classes to further along my study of the Bible. I thought, hmmmmmm, that would be interesting, so I signed up to take four classes originally. After my first class was finished, I thought to myself "I could see myself doing even more than the original four". So after my fourth class, I asked the regestration person if I could continue to come even though I had only signed up for the four classes. She told me that I could and I didn't have to re-register. Awesome!

So now I am starting my seventh class out of eight. It has been a real blast so far. The fellowship with all of the other people doing the same thing that I am doing is incredible. We only meet once a month with a three and a half hour overview of the  material on Friday night, and then on Saturday morning, we take our test and then have classroom application.

I never ever in my life thought that I could ever attend a college class. I really didn't like high school to much, so the thought of doing more classes didn't really excite me to much. After the first one, I thought "I can do this". And I have. Philippians 4:13 For I can do everything through Christ,^c who gives me strength.

God has something big instore for me. I just have to be patient. I believe this is the first step in his plan for me. Jeremiah 29:¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope

So I continue on. I believe that God has called me to this. I shall wait and see where it goes from here. Praise GOD!!

Salvation

As some of you may or may not know, my Dad passed away last April. It was very difficult to go through, but GOD helped me through it. The thing that made it a little easier was the fact that I knew that he was saved. I knew where my Dad was going when he passed. I knew that I would see him again someday in heaven. I knew all of this because I had some family members tell me. Then I recieved a box of photos when he passed. Inside the box were two pictures of him being baptized. Full immersion. That solidified it for me!

I would like to have that same feeling when other members of my family come to the end of their lives. I would love to think that they are all saved and are going to see Jesus in Heaven, but I am not so sure of this. It saddens me to think of eternity without all of my family there with me. So how do I have this conversation with them to make my concerns known? Not to pressure them or try to force them into a relationship with God. I don't want to push my beliefs down their throat but I want them to know Jesus.

My pastor asked a question at church the other day. He asked if it is harder to talk with a family member or a stranger about Jesus? The obvious answer is a stranger! They don't have any idea of who you are or where you have come from. Whereas your family remembers where you have been and how you used to be in your BC (before Christ) days! Maybe I am afraid of being judged. Maybe I am afraid that they will not think that my new life is for real. All I can do for proof is to live out my faith. Show them by the way that I live.

So my prayer is that all of my family will come to know Jesus. Commit their lives to him and be saved. Live by faith and believe that Jesus died for their sins! Look forward to a lifetime in eternity! How awesome would that be?!?  Praise the Lord!

Done!!

I am done with Facebook. At least for a while anyway! It was a great tool to use to get back in touch with some family and friends that I haven't seen in awhile. It was a great tool for when my Dad passed away. To get the word out, and get things situated with long distance family! It also has been a good tool to use to witness for Jesus! But now it feels more like an idol to me. I feel like I have to check in every couple of hours to see what the latest buzz is. I am constantly thinking about signing in and browsing around! Seeing what's up with this person, or that person. It has gotten to be to much.

I am going to start putting my efforts into being a much better husband! A much better father! A much better student! Less time on the computer checking on everyone else, and start spending more quality time with my family and my studies.

For those of you who do not know, I am going to school to be a pastor. Yes you heard me correctly, a pastor. I felt this call of God late last summer, early fall. I started classes last January and all I need are three more to get my license. One more year of eight classes and I can be a certifed pastor. Another year to take ordained classes. Then you have to be invited to be ordained.

I am surprised at the lack of support for my decision to take these classes. Oh my wife is on board 100%. It's just other people whom I thought would be very excited for me, but seem not to be. Unfortunately I have had to lose some *friends* along this new path. Friends who seem to be stuck in the past. I have moved on in my life, to a much better place. The unwillingness to believe is unreal! I don't make fun of them for still sitting in a bar 25 years after graduating high school, so don't make fun of me for the direction I am taking.

For forty years I was a huge sinner. I was a drinker, a party'r,  a fornicator, a liar, looking out for myself and didn't care who got hurt along the way.

Three months after my 40th birthday, God came a calling and pulled me out of all that junk. Praise the Lord! I am saved and living for Jesus everyday now. Some people just can't grasp this. I pray for them. That they can have what I have. Everyone needs Jesus! He is the answer to every problem, every situation. Praise GOD!!

God's Timing!

God's timing is incredible. Everything happens in His time, not ours. I want to share a story with you that happened earlier this week.

The church I attend has a member that hasn't been there in a few years. I have never met this person, but have heard her name a few times, for as a congregation we still pray for her.

The other day at the hospital, a woman came to check in and I overheard her name as she was saying it to the receptionist. It was the woman's name from church for whom we continue to pray.

I started pushing her wheel chair towards the elevator, praying that God would give me the boldness to ask her if she was the same woman. He did! I asked her and she said yes, that was her name. I asked her if she attended the same church.  She said that she had, but had not been there for a very long time. I asked her about our pastor, and again she said yes, he was the same one!

I told her that our church was continueing to pray for her. That she had not been forgotten about. That we still cared about her and what happens to her. She thanked me and told me that she was going to call our pastor and let him know about meeting me.

That night at our service the pastor came up to me and told me that she had called. He told me that she became emotional when she mentioned meeting me, because I was a complete stranger to her, but yet I told her that our church still cared about her and prayed for her.

So I praised GOD for having us cross paths that day. I praise Him for giving me the boldness to ask the question and then giving me the words to speak! To me it was no big deal, but to her, it was wonderful!

So God's timing is amazing. He had me at the right place at the right time that day! That is one of my prayers when working at the hospital; to be able to talk about God and Jesus to everyone! I am working on it. I still have a long way to go, but I am getting there. All the glory to GOD!!

Regrets!

I would love nothing more than to say that I have lived my life with no regrets. Unfortunately that is not true. Even as a believer, I have still had some regrets! I am not going to go through all of them. I do not have enough space or time for that. But I will tell you a few that are still with me today!

One day back in high school, our girls basketball team made it to the second round of the state playoffs. My Grandpa and I made plans to head out and see them play. Then one of my friends called with a *better* plan. Or at least I thought so at that time. So I made an excuse not to go with my Grandpa. I have regretted that decision ever since! When he passed away a couple of years later, it really hit me. I could have spent some quality time with him, but I went with a friend instead!

My ex-wife and I divorced when my daughter was just five years old. I was very angry at the situation and I took a lot of it out on my daughter. Her mom would do something to make me mad, and I would punish my daughter for it. No matter what it was, she would be the one to suffer. Finally I had enough, and I prayed to GOD that I would stop this behavior towards her. It was slow in coming, but it happened. I kept asking her to forgive me and you know what? She did! I felt so relieved. If she can forgive me for the way I acted towards her, then I know that GOD can forgive me for what I have done towards Him! Praise GOD!!

I rededicaed my life to the Lord in 2007. I felt like I was way behind on everything Christian. I felt like I didn't know how to pray correctly. I didn't feel like I understood the Bible correctly. I was having issues! One morning at church, our youth pastor was going to be speaking that day. We were going to be doing communion after the service and he asked me if I would pray over one of the elements. I told him no! I didn't feel like I was ready enough to do that. That decision has bothered me to this day! I could not believe that I told him no. How is that being obidient to GOD? So I have regretted that as well, and still do!

It has taken a couple of years, but I have been given a second chance at praying over one of the elements of communion. I wasn't asked before hand. My name was called out and guess what? I stood up and just started praying. What a relief! God sure has done a work in me since that day of saying no! I will probably always regret that day, but God has a way of working things out, for His glory! Praise the Lord!!

Senior Citizens!

I have to be honest with you. I have been kind of hard on senior citizens during my life. They always drove too slow. Pull out in front of you on the road. Took too long at the checkout at the grocery store, etc, etc!

GOD has been working on me about this! During the last four years, from when I rededicated my life to Jesus Christ, He has been working on me. I have been slowly made aware of my misconception about them. I have come to realize that they are some of the sweetest and most appreciative people there are!

Then GOD did the ultimate thing to me, regarding seniors. I am now volunteering at our local hospital. I work at the front desk as a greeter. People that come in, I help direct them, or show them to their destination. My main portion of the job is to take the seniors up to the cardiac re-hab facility. I push them in wheel chairs. I help them with their walkers, their oxygen tanks, whatever they need help with. This is my absolute favorite part of the job. I love these people that go up to re-hab. The most thankful, most appreciative, kind and funny people. They are like a close knit family up there. I love being apart of it. I love being able to help them out. I love being there for them. I thank GOD for these seniors everyday! Praise GOD for this position at the hospital!

Soaking Up!

My wife made an interesting comment to me tonight. She told me that I was becoming quite the reader lately. That is a true statement. I have been reading a lot of books lately. That got me to thinking about that.

When I was younger, I was an avid reader. I could read a book from cover to cover in one sitting. As I got older, and started driving and working, my reading of books waned, dare I say it even stopped completely. Oh I would read the newspaper everyday, but that was the extent of my reading.

When I started my ISOM (Illinois School of Ministry) classes in January, I had to read a text book and take tests from the pages that I had read. I started soaking that information up. I realized that if I am going to be a pastor, I want to be one of the most informed. So I started picking up other materials to read. Other Christian books, to help along my journey towards being a pastor.

I'm not talking like other educational books. I mean like Christain authors like Corrie Ten Boom, Toby Mac, and even Albert Pujols! I have been reading these books to see how great God has been in their lives. It gives me encouragement to see what God has done for them. The struggles that He has pulled them out of. The bad situations, the horror of certain situations. God was there amongst it all!

I read my Bible everyday! I get up early in the morning to do so. My day just isn't right, if I don't start it that way! Besides the Bible, I am reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan, and the Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman. I want to be well rounded with good Christian influences, when I start my ministry!

Of course I am going to rely on God to give me the word, to deliver to the people. I would just like to have some other information to fall back on. Other stories to tell about how great God is!

I praise You Lord, for these Christian authors and the work that they are putting out! GOD Bless!!

Facebook Morphing!

Two years ago, when we first got our laptop, I heard about this thing called Facebook. I decided to check it out. My class from high school were having a reunion and in the email they sent out, it said that Facebook was a really good way to stay in touch with old classmates etc! So I checked it out. I nosed around a little bit and thought that it was interesting, so I joined. My wife was like "what! You are not the Facebook type." So the addiction began.

I added friends quickly. People from school whom I hadn't seen in many years, Classmates that were either ahead of me or behind me in school. It didn't matter. Soon to follow were family members, and then people from church. This went on and on, in fact it is still going on.

At first I posted very little. I just kind of watched other friends posts and then comment on them. Then one particular dangerous weather day on my way to work, I posted and thanked GOD for getting me to work safely. The response to that post was very positive to say the least. Well that got me started on posting more and more. Everyday I would post and thank GOD for getting me to work, or whatever happened to me that day. The responses kept getting better and better.

Then my Facebook page morphed into almost a daily scripture passage. I would pick out something that GOD had layed on my heart from the Bible and post it on Facebook. That was very well recieved!

So now, my Facebook page consists of Bible passages, uplifting messages, uplifting video's and prayer. I may make an occassional misstep and post something that isn't really me. Usually someone will call me on it and I'll re-think what I have posted and either remove it or appologize for it. I am not perfect by any means. Unfortunately I have had a few "friends" de-friend me because of my postings, and that is too bad. If people don't want to see my posts on my faith and beliefs then that is their choice. I will not change what I am posting. I am being a light to my Facebook world. I am spreading the Gospel to as many people as I can. If people don't like it, than they can de-friend me. I am not ashamed of the Gospel and I am certainly not ashamed of Jesus Christ! I praise Him for being able to do this. I praise the name of Jesus Christ for whom everything is accomplished! PRAISE GOD!!

Tired

I applied for two jobs in the last week or so. Today I recieved the rejection emails from both of them. I am getting tired of sending out resume after resume and getting nothing in return. I have been unemployed since June of 2010 and I have had probably a total of five interviews in that time span.

Every job I apply for, I am a perfect fit for it. They are for the same postition that I held at my other job. Yet no call, no interview. Today's rejection email was especially painful, because it was at a place that I have been volunteering at for the last 8 1/2 months. I thought that this was in the bag. I have been doing essentially the same responsibilites volunteering as I would be doing for the job. I have already had my immunizations for working with the public, I know my around the hospital, etc. They didn't even offer me an interview. I am not saying that they should hire me, but at least grant me an interview. All of the time that I have given that place, and doing all of the things that they ask me to. I took it as a slap in the face! I may just give up my volunteering gig there.

Jeremiah 29:¹¹For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

I have been standing on that verse for the last year and change. It is getting really hard to do now. I am getting tired of getting nowwhere! I have a lot to offer a job. I feel like my talents are just going to waste sitting at home! I sure hope that Bible verse is accurate! I have been and will continue to trust in GOD!

Foregiveness!

God's foregiveness is wonderful isn't it! I am reminded of this all the time. I have been hearing a lot of stories lately that remind me that I am forgiven.

Some people in my life have been making some bad choices, and then their parents have to bail them out. This happens time and again. I keep thinking to myself "when are they going to cut them off, and say no longer?" Then I am reminded of God's foregiveness. I think of all the times that I have made a wrong choice and had to have God get me out of it. He does it over and over, and never stops loving me. He gives me chance after chance to get it right. Praise GOD!!

I used to get some serious road rage going (I am getting better, but it is still there) when people would make a stupid move. Driving extremely fast or slow. Switching lanes without signaling, etc, etc. I would start to yell and complain, and then God would reveal to me that I used to do the same things. Uh-oh, convicted! By God's grace, I was forgiven for those offenses. So I needed to do the same to the other drivers. Not my job to judge. Praise GOD!

God is working on my patientence with people pulling out in front of me. People speeding. People doing all kinds of dumb things, which I was once a part of! God has forgiven me and he expects me to do the same!

I thank God for his forgiveness! Everyday! I do not want to be cut off from Him for something stupid I did! I want to live for Jesus and walk in His way everday! That should be everybody's goal in life!

ONE YEAR!

One year ago today (not actually the date, but it was the Friday before Memorial day), was my last day of working for my company. They had decided to close us down and move all operations to the East coast. I didn't know what to do. I had never been out of work before. Now I have been without a job for over a year now.

So the other day I started to reflect back on this past year of unemployment. What I have accomplished, how I have grown, the impact of it all. At first I thought it was cool to be off of work over the summer. I could enjoy my time off and spend the summer with my daughter. We took a family vacation to see my in-laws in California. We went hiking. I coached her softball team. Had all kinds of fun. Then summer gave way to fall, and my daughter went back to school, and my wife was working. I was at home all by myself. I thought what could I do, to get out of the house. I started volunteering at our local hospital! What an awesome position to work. The woman who interviewed me, told me that I would get much more out of this than I could ever imagine. You know what? She is right! This job is so fulfilling!

In the meantime, a friend of mine had been going to ministry school. He mentioned it to me one day, that he thought that I might be interested in going as well. He sent me the link and I checked it out and decided that he was right. I would be interested in going. So I enrolled, recieved my study materials and dove right in. The first class wasn't until January. So I had some time, since it was on November. I had originally did the pick four classes. You take four classes and recieve a Bible certificate. After I finished my fourth class, I knew that I wanted to finish the course and keep going. Is this what GOD has planned for me? Is this why I am still unemployed? If I had a job, I would not be able to attend classes, because the start at 6:00 pm on Friday evenings, and they are a two and half hour drive away!

So I have been sending out resume after resume. I have had about 4 interviews in the year that I have been off. GOD keeps on closing those doors, but He is keeping the ministry door open. Hmmmmmm, doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this out. Unfortunately, this isn't paying the bills. I hate being on unemployment, and I really hate having my wife carry the load of providing for the family. It's a man thing. I have pride, not the sinful kind of pride, but I have pride in taking care of my family. I feel like I am unable to do that, being unemployed. I mean I do the laundry, dishes, mow the yard, snow removal in the winter, vaccum, etc, etc. You get the idea. None of that is putting  money in our bank account. So I have learned to trust in Jesus! He will provide for us, just like he always does! He has something big in store for my family! I just have to wait patiently! Praise GOD for his provision, and everything in my life!

God's provision

For the last month or so, I have been in kind of a down mood. I just lost all of my joy and happiness. I have been laid off since June 1st, 2010 and haven't had any luck finding a job yet. For the first time since I was laid off, I didn't think that we were going to be able to pay our bills. That is a frightning feeling, let me tell you! As a result of this feeling, I was cranky towards everyone. My wife, my daughter, my friends, etc, etc. I didn't even feel like posting on facebook anymore.

Then came the dreaded Friday, payday! I sat at our desk and opened the check book and started paying the bills. I paid bill after bill, and the balance did not go down as much as I thought that it would. Praise GOD! When it was all said and done, we were way ahead of where I thought that we would be! I thought that we wouldn't even make it, and we paid them all! We even had some left over! Praise GOD!! He provided for us, just like He always does! I don't know why I even doubted Him! He kept giving me reminders during the week, to remember to put my trust in Him!

That Friday afternoon after all of this went on, My friend and I had to head out for our ISOM classes. The trip down there was awesome. Our conversation in the car is nothing short of amazing. The class I had over the weekend and the instructor that taught it, really lifted my spirits even more! I came home on Saturday on fire. Ready to get back to being the joyful, happy person that I am. The Sunday morning service at church, put more fuel on my spiritual fire! I am re-ignited for GOD, and I am rejoicing about it!

I praise GOD for it all. He pulled me out of my doldrums, put me back on solid footing and told me not to worry. He has everything in control! Praise GOD for that!

Explaining Sin!

Our daughter came home from school the other day, and told us something interesting. She told us that she explained sin to a fellow male student while they were waiting in a line. Apparently said student said a certain cuss word in front of her. She proceeded to tell him that using that kind of language was a sin. A friend of hers backed her up when she told him this news.

He asked her if she was one of those "whacko's" who go to church. She responded with a resounding YES! She told him as a matter of fact, I am a Jesus Freak!! My wife and I are both like "SWEET". That's our girl. Standing up for her beliefs and morals and not backing down! Awesome! We are so very proud of her. It's nice to know that we are raising her right and although, sometimes it seems she isn't listening, she actually is! Far to many students I know, would have just blown it off and went on their way. But not our daughter. It's awesome that she is standing up for what is right.

I told her to go in the next day and give him this Bible verse;
Ephesians 4:²⁹ Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.

May our daughter continue to be a light at her school. May she always have the boldness to stand up for what is right. A lot of adults could have learned from her boldness. I pray that we adults have that kind of attitude to do what she did.

We love our daughter very much! She is definately a gift from GOD! I thank GOD for her everyday, and I praise Him for her heart to do what is right!

Conversation

My job for the last six weeks at the hospital has been to work in the Out Patient Services area. I am supposed to make sure that people check in at the front desk for an appointment in Out Patient Services. If they don't check in, I send them back to the front desk to do so. If they don't check in, they will come over, have a seat, and no one will call them because they don't know that they are there. So it has been my job for the last six Monday's to make sure that doesn't happen.

Yesterday, while manning my post, a woman came toward me with a big smile on her face. I told her good morning, and she said the same thing back to me. I asked her how she was doing, and she said "ah, just ok". I told her that she had a big smile on her face, that counted for something.

After her appointment was over, she came up to me and started up a conversation. I have a button on my uniform that says "I Pray". She asked me about that. I asked her if she wanted the long story, or the short story? She told me to tell her everything, so I did. I told her that I was given a button at Christmas time that said " Merry Christmas, God with us". Well since it was after Christmas, I couldn't really wear that anymore. I told her I went on a search for a new button to wear, and that is what I came up with. I told her that I found a pack of three buttons, but this is the only one that was good enough to wear on my uniform. She then asked me where I found them at. I told her the name of the store and how to get there.

She then proceeded to tell me how wonderful it was to meet a fellow Christian working at the hospital. I said to her, if I had to guess, I would have guessed that she was a Christian, just from the smile on her face when she first came in. The Jesus in me, recognized the Jesus in her! I told her that I volunteer there for the Lord, first and foremost. She said "GOD bless" for doing that and giving of my time. I told her thank you, and that I really enjoyed doing it. She then told me her name and that she had to get going. I wished her a great and blessed day!

Once again, I love being able to talk about GOD, Jesus, my faith, in a public place and not have to fear any trouble for it. I praise GOD for my boldness to do so. I will continue to do so as long as I work there. All the glory to GOD!!

My Daughters Heart

My daughter had been saving up her money for an I Pod Touch for over a year. She was saving her birthday money, her allowance money, money from wherever she could get it. She was focused and determined to get this device! I really admired her restraint from spending it on something else.

Our youth group from church went to a Momentum youth convention. My daughter was in that group that went. We gave her some spending money, for food and what not. They were only gone for two days, not long at all.

She came home and told us how she divided up her meal money, so she could give some to the offering taken up at the convention. Praise GOD for her giving heart! That wasn't the best part. Not even close. She proceeded to tell us that she had commited all of her I Pod savings to the Speed the Light missions ministry. What? Where we hearing her correctly? She was giving away all of her savings! Every last cent! Praise GOD again! She was giving up what she wanted, so that someone else could benefit! My daughter is twelve years old!

So the story got around to our family and friends, about her giving her savings to a mission ministry. When black Friday rolled around, a few places had the I Pod on sale for really good price. We didn't know it at the time, but we had family in line at several stores in a couple of different states, waiting in line to make sure that she got her IPod! This brought tears to my eyes, that my family was so moved by my daughters generosity, that they were willing to stand in line for however long it took to get her the IPod! Praise GOD!!

He honors your willful giving! This is the kind of attitude we are trying to maintain. Giving is better than recieving! I praise GOD for my daughter everyday! What a gift from Him she is! To GOD goes all the glory!

Facebook

I know this may seem silly to some, and I know that Facebook will not see this post, but here goes.

I am thankful for Facebook! There I said it. I know that it is kind of like an addiction, a time sucker, but I am still thankful for it. Let me tell you why. When my Dad went into the hospital before Christmas, one of my cousins from down there by him had friended me. I accepted and we began having conversations for the first time in over eight years. She was a Christian now also, so we had a lot more in common. I had mentioned that my Dad (her Uncle) was in the hospital. She told me that she would stop by and see him. So she did. Without Facebook, that would not have been possible. I did not have her phone number and had no way to get ahold of her, or any of my other relatives.

When my Dad got sick a month ago, the same thing happened, except with a different cousin. I contacted her through Facebook and told her what was going on with him. She took control. She would head over to the hospital and give me feedback on what was really happening! Again, I thank GOD for Facebook. Without it, none of this would have been possible.

Finally, when my Dad got sick the last time and was dying, I got ahold of my family via Facebook and let them know what was happening. Same thing happened. Both of my cousins got ahold of thier parents and other siblings and spread the news. People started heading for the hospital to be with family.

Again, all because of one post on Facebook back in December, all of this happened with my family. I thank GOD that I am able to stay in contact with them most of the time! So thank you Facebook for being in existence! For keeping people in touch with one another! I am forever grateful that I was able to let my cousins, aunts and unlces know about what was happening with my Dad!

I praise Your Holy name Jesus!!! You are good!!!

Proof

When my Dad got sick a few weeks ago, I was concerned with only one question. Did he know Jesus? Was he saved? Did he know where he was going when he passed on? I guess that is three questions isn't it. I contacted one of my cousins that lives down there close to him. I asked her to go see him and ask him those questions. She reported back to me with a resounding YES! Amen! I was filled with joy, and happiness!

While visiting him in the hospital just before he passed, I was able to witness everything that she told me. He was saved, he did know Jesus, and he did know where he was going for eternity. Everytime we asked him if he wanted us to pray for him, he nodded his head yes. He would squeeze our hands in response to questions about heaven and Jesus! Praise GOD for all of this! He was in control of the situation.

So we had the visitation followed by the burial, then we headed for home. Before we did that, we stopped at my step-mom's house. She had two boxes of pictures, one for me and the other one for my brother that she wanted us to have.

A couple of days after all this, I opened up the box and started to go through the pictures. A lot of our old school pictures were in there, as well as other ones that we had taken through the years. A lot of great memories were relived by looking at those pictures.

In the middle of the stack of pictures, I came across three that stopped me right in my tracks. They were pictures of my Dad being baptized, as an adult. Full immersion water baptism! There it was. Proof that he was saved and knew Jesus. Up until that moment all I had to go on was my cousins word that he was. It was like God was cementing for me the truth that he was saved! Those pictures were in there for a purpose, and there was a reason that I got that box of pictures. I needed to see those pictures.

I praise GOD for those pictures, and for me finding them. Now I know for 100% that my Dad was a saved man! I knew that he was by the way things went in the hospital, but this really cemented it for me! Praise GOD!!!

My Dad

My Dad passed away on April 1st, 2011. He passed away peacefully in his sleep, after removing him from his life support. That was the hardest decision I have ever had to make, let me tell you! Jesus gave me the strength to make that choice. He made it possible for me to let him go and be free. Jesus gave me a peace about the whole ordeal. I was not anxious or worried at all about what would happen to my Dad. I knew that he was going to a better place. Jesus was calling him home, and I was alright with that. It is kind of fitting that he passed away on April fools day, because he was quite to joker and prankster himself. Kind of one last thing on the family to tell us everything would be ok.

My Dad had many, many health problems. He was a mess, inside and out. The moment I found out that he passed away, I knew that he was healed and whole. He was walking again. He was using his arm again. He had his eye sight back. He was with Jesus. How much better can that be! He knew where he was going and he was ready to go. He kept on staring at the ceiling in his hospital bed, focused on something. I asked him what he was looking at, and he shook his head no. I asked him if I would understand what he was looking at, and again he shook his head no. He kept trying to get out of bed, not the usual way of putting your legs over the side and trying to get out that way. He was trying to climb out straight up. He kept motioning with his arm and his legs, that he was trying to get out straight up to the ceiling. He saw the angels waiting for him. He saw Jesus standing there with the open robe, ready for him to come home!

I have many, many fond memories of my Dad, but I think that my most memorable one, is that he was saved! He was going to Heaven. That was really important to me! I really leaned on Jesus during this whole ordeal, and He gave me the peace and comfort of knowing that my Dad was going home to be with Him! With out Jesus in my life, and with out accepting Him as my savior, none of this would have been possible! I would have been a wreck and blaming God, instead of praising Him! I praise You in this storm. Jesus you are my rock, my fortress, my strong tower, and my strength!

I thank you Lord for my Dad's life. Take care of him until I see him again! GOD bless!!

God's Protection

I had posted a video of a band from the '80's on my facebook page. The band was Styper, whom I like very much. My cousin then made a follow up comment that made me think about what God has protected me from and I didn't even know it.

My cousins comment regarded a car accident that I was in with a friend of ours. We were just out cruising and listening to the car stereo. The funny thing is that we were listening to Styper as we were driving around. We were at a stop sign, waiting to turn left onto the highway. I saw a car to our right, and a set of headlights to our left. The car on the right did not move, so I thought that we had a lot of time to pull out (wrong). The headlights that we saw on the left were that of a construction semi truck. We started to pull out and the truck slammed into us and ripped off the front end of my car. My friend hit his head on the rear view mirror and broke it off and it fell into his lap. He had a headache. That was the worst thing that happened to us. We got out and started walking around the car. The driver of the truck stopped and came running, expecting to see us dead. He was amazed that we were still alive. All the praise to GOD for protecting us in that time of need. I wasn't even a believer at that time, and he still put His arms of protection around me and my friend. He saved us from being hurt really bad!

I have been in numerous car accidents where I should have been killed, or at least hurt very badly. I always came out of them with nary a scratch. I give all the glory to GOD now. He was and always has been looking out for me. He knew what he had planned for me, that long ago. It has taken me a very long time, and many wrong turns, to finally come to Jesus and accept Him as my personal savior! But I did. I can look back now and see all of the things that he has done for me without me even knowing about it. Praise GOD!

All of those car accidents I left behind a tangled, crumpled, pile of metal. But GOD kept me in one piece! I never had a scratch, broken bone, or any kind of trauma! Praise GOD! I don't deserve to be alive, but Jesus made sure that I was! He must have big plans for me. I have no idea of what they are, but He will reveal them to me in his time! Amen!

Peace!

My father has been in and out of the hospital since last December. Every time I get the call, it seems like he going to pass away at any moment. He has always pulled through every time. I realize that after I get off of the phone with my step-sister or her mom, after having been given the update on what is going on with my Dad and the decisions that we have made regarding his future, God has given me peace about it. I am an emotional person and I fully thought that I would be a wreck about all of this. I am surprised at it myself. Yes, I am saddened by his failing health, but if the end were to come soon, like I said, God has given me peace about it!

I went down to surprise my dad and his wife this past weekend. The plan was for me to travel to Dad's after I left ISOM on Saturday afternoon. I drove the additional 3-1/2 hours, checked into the hotel ,and went out to dinner with some of my cousins who I haven't seen for a few years. I came back to the hotel and proceeded to get ready for bed. Then my phone rang. It was my step-sister calling me at 12:30 am. to inform me that they had taken my dad to the hospital and the situation looked bleak. They wanted us all to head down there as soon as possible. I informed her that I was already in the area, as I was going to surprise them in the morning. There went that plan. So I head over to the hospital to sit with my family and help support them. They finally let us go back and see him. When we got back there, I thought that he was at death's door. It took my breath away to see him like that.  But again, I felt a peace about it. I didn't feel anxious or nervous, just calmness! Sure enough, my dad slowly began to get better. All of the prayer was working, amen! They moved him up to ICU and were monitoring him for other symptoms of what caused the problem.

I sat with him for about 4 hours on Sunday, and with each passing hour, he was getting slightly better. Not out of the woods yet, but getting better. I was supposed to go home on Monday after check out at the hotel. Check out time was at 11:00 am. I went down to the desk and asked them if I could have a late check out. They said sure, they would extend it till 1:00pm. So I went over and sat with my dad for another couple of hours. The nurses said that he was still stable and still slightly improving. I prayed over him, held his hand for a little while, and then he pointed his finger towards the door, as if telling me it was ok for me to leave. I left there encouraged. If he were getting worse, I would have never left for home.

All the while I was praising GOD for giving me peace about what was happening to my dad! I lean on GOD for my strength, especially in situations like this. He is my strong tower. My comforter! Whatever happens is all a part of GOD's plan! All the glory to Him! Amen!

Overwhelmed

Let me start off by saying that "I love being a Christian"! Ever since I gave my life over to Jesus, I have been blessed beyond belief. I have always thought that I was a good person and treated everyone the same. When I gave my life to Jesus, my outlook on people changed. I saw people differently (in a good way). Especially my family. If they ever needed me, I tried to be there for them. I wanted them to be able to count on me for help. People I met on the street. I started to have more compassion for them. Started to be even more friendly with them. Go out of my way to do something nice for someone. I noticed that I would stop to help someone on the side of the road with car troubles. I would stop and help anyone if I could. I was feeling and seeing the changes that the Holy Spirit was doing in my life. I try to let the light of Jesus shine through me and out of me on to everyone else. It is really an awesome feeling, let me tell you.

I never really understood the full aspect of how I was treating people until my birthday last Sunday. My family went way out of their way to be overly generous to me. Not that they haven't before, but this time was different. The kinds of cards I recieved, showed me that I as affecting everyone around me.

Then on Sunday afternoon, after we came home from lunch with friends, I sat down and opened up my Facebook page. I was astonished! Overwhelmed actually! I had almost fifty people posting on my wall wishing me a happy birthday! I nearly cried. I had no idea, that many people cared enough about me to wish me a happy birthday. I mean they took a moment out of their busy day to wish me a happy birthday. Praise GOD!! He is working in me and through me to reach other people. I praise Him for that!

I am blessed to have the best family and friends anyone could ever ask for! That's not because of me. It's because of Jesus, in me! Hallejuah!! All the glory to you GOD!!!

Compliments!

The other day near the end of my shift volunteering at the local hospital, an elderly woman came up to me and told me that I had a wonderful smile. I thanked her and told her that was nice of her to say. She said to me, that every time she comes in for her appointments, she always sees me smiling and treating everyone nicely! I told her that I absolutely love working there and helping people out. She said that she could tell. You can't fake happiness on the job. If you love what you are doing, it will show. I thanked her again, and we parted ways. She headed out the door, and I went in to punch out for the day. As I was walking to my car, I got to thinking about that conversation with that woman.

She saw me smiling and being friendly to everyone yes, but what she actually was seeing, was Jesus shining through me to everyone around me. I am happy at my job there because Jesus put me in that position. I am happy and smiling all the time because I have Jesus in my heart, and I let it show. As I was thinking about that woman, I wondered if everyone else saw the same thing. If I was projecting the same image of Jesus to everyone?

I have a dentist office I go to every six months for my check ups. One hygentist there is always telling me how smiley and happy I am. I always thank her, and tell her whats not to be happy about. I am alive, I am relatively healthy, I have a great marriage and a wonderful daughter. God has provided all of this for me! Because of Jesus pouring his light into me, I am trying to shine it out where ever I go. Thank God for being able to do that!

My life is not mine, it is God's! I live for Him and Him alone. I try to do His will for me. I try to be obidient for Him. I am not perfect, but I am trying! Praise GOD!!

Fire Insurance

This last Sunday, my wife and I went to her home church in Iowa (the one she attended before moving to Illinois and marrying me). We were able to see some of her old friends and people that I had become friends with also. We saw the couple who DJ'd our wedding, the Pastor and his wife, and so on. One couple had an 8 month old son (who is very adorable), that is the first time we meet him. Nice to chat with them and catch up on old times. The husband is the associate Pastor there.

After talking with him for a few minutes, I remembered an adult Sunday school class that he lead one day. The topic of his sermon changed my life forever. I have always believed in God, and thought that going to church on Sunday was good enough. WRONG!! He taught us that to be a Christian and to follow Jesus, was a 24/7 deal. He taught us that most people go to church on Sunday and on Monday they go right back to the way they were living before. He called that "Having fire insurance". To be a true Christian, you had to follow Christ not only on Sunday for an hour, but for the rest of the week and for all of the remaining hours.

I felt convicted! I was going to church, being nice to people, and I thought that was enough. After his sermon, I found out that it wasn't. I needed to live the Christian life everyday! I couldn't just go to church on Sunday and then on Monday thru Saturday do what ever I wanted, and then go back to church on Sunday and all was well again. I needed to live for Jesus everyday. I needed to pray everyday! I needed to read my Bible everday! I needed a real relationship with God!

So I changed my whole outlook on things. I started treating everone the same way. I looked at people differently. I looked at situations differently. When anyone would ask for help, I would be the first one to jump and help. I didn't take things so personal anymore. I just let go of things and let God take control. I have been much better off since!

So I praise God for this young man's sermon on "Fire Insurance". It changed my life! All the glory to You God!

Reaching Out

I have a Facebook account. At first I didn't know what to do with it. I wasn't your typical Facebook type of guy. I started finding old friends on the website, and old friends would find me. It was really cool to get back in touch with people I haven't seen or talked to in years.

Then one day on my way to work, the roads were really bad. Snow packed and slick. I made it to work safely, thanks to Jesus for keeping me protected. I logged into Facebook and thought about what I might post. I decided to post something about how God had protected me while on my way to work that morning.
The response I received from that post was very encouraging. So I decided to take even further the next day. I started posting everything that God had done for me and my family! The blessings He has poured down upon us. His protection over us. His provision for us on a daily basis. The responses kept on getting more and more encouraging. Friends kept telling me how they looked forward to my posts every day. I am not saying this to say how great I am, but rather to show how God was using me, to get His message out to everyone!

Then after about a year or so of my faith based postings, a friend reached out to me. To pray for him and his father, and his family. His father was dying of cancer, and he wanted to know if I would pray for him! I told him that I sure would. His father passed away about a week later. Because of God using me on Facebook, He opened the door for my friend to reach out to me to pray for him. He saw my posts and knew that I was someone that he could come to for prayer.

Another friend reached out to me for another reason. She had been abused by her husband and she wanted to know if I would pray for her. I told her that I would. Again because of posting on Facebook, another friend was able to feel comfortable to reach out to me, to pray for her.

The most recent one was this evening when a cousin of mine instant messaged me on Facebook and asked me to call her right away. I logged off and gave her a call. She was telling me about a situation going on in her life and how the devil was attacking her very aggressively. She asked me to pray for her! Of course, I told her.

I pray that God will take care of all of these situations in my friends and families lives! Again, I am not blogging about this to show how great I am, but to show how God is using me and my Facebook account to reach people. Some say that I have a Facebook ministry. I don't know about all of that, but if I am able to help someone because I am on Facebook, then praise God! I am just posting what He puts on my heart! If it wasn't for God, I probably would never post on Facebook. You never know how He will use you if given the opportunity.  All the glory to God!!!

Answered Prayer

This morning I recieved a call from my ex-wife. She was crying uncontrollably. I asked her what was wrong, and she proceded to tell me that she couldn't pick up her daughter this weekend. She said that they had a restructure at work and all of the people who had made the prior schedules were no longer there. She has had the same schedule for the last 2+ years. Under the new system, she was only going to get one weekend off a month, and she wasn't sure when that weekend would be. I told her that was terrible. She kept apologizing to me about it, but I told her I felt bad for her because she wouldn't be able to see her daughter only once a month. I tried to say the right things and calm her down the best that I could, but what can you really say in a situation like this.

I hung up the phone and immediately started to pray. I prayed for her, her job, her boss, everyone that would be involved in this decision. I prayed that GOD would give her peace and comfort to deal with the news she had just recieved. I prayed that GOD would give her boss some wisdom and compassion for the situation. I just prayed that the whole thing would just work out. I left it all in GOD'S hands! I laid it at His feet.

About two hours later I recieved another call from my ex-wife. She was unbelievably calm. She then told me that she had a talk with her boss, and that it was all just a big misunderstanding. She did have this weekend off, she would be able to see her daughter, and that things were still the same. PRAISE GOD!!! I believe that my prayer was answered immediately! I didn't get anxious about the situation or angry, I just started to pray and trust GOD! He came through like He always does! All the praise and glory to You GOD!!

BLIZZARD 2011

This past Tuesday into Wednesday, we had a blizzard here in Northern Illinois. Haven't had a storm like this in over a decade! Weather people were calling for over a foot to a foot and a half of snow, with wind gusts topping 60 mph! White out conditions, very low visibility while driving were common. Roads being blown closed because of drifting snow, also very common.

Wednesday morning, our daughter's school was cancelled. My wife could not make it to work either. At about ten o'clock in the morning, I decide to go out and have a look around to see what I needed to get done, so we could leave the house if we needed to. I get all of my snow blowing gear on and headed outside. I pushed the button to open the garage door and it only opened about six inches and stopped. I did this about three more times, then finally had to help it up by hand. When it went up, what I saw I could not believe. The snow drift was about half way up our door. Almost three feet of drift. No wonder the door didn't want to open!

So I borrow my daughter's camera and proceed to take pictures of the fallout from the epic storm. Our backyard is un-navigable! Drifts almost to the top of our privacy fence. Our LP tank is completely covered, except for the lid that covers the dials. So I get out our snow blower, pray to GOD that He gives me the strength and edurance to get this all done. I start the blower and proceed to work on the drift blocking our door.

I was out there a little over two hours, and with the help of my wife, we got it done! From start to finish, it didn't look like the same driveway! I had to blow it twice; once to knock down the big drifts, the second to get down to the pavement. With each pass or swipe of the snow blower, the snow was being removed and placed someplace else. Praise GOD for our snow blower!

That got me started to think about Jesus and the removing of our sins. With each passing day of being a believer of Jesus, He makes us more and more like Him. The Holy Spirit takes away our temptation to do evil. We have to repent and ask Jesus for forgiveness for our sins.  He washes our sins white as snow.

Funny Story

My first day of working at the hospital as a volunteer. I was training with a lady I know who attends our church. We had a patient who had checked in to the out patient service! The call came over to the desk, that this person was to be taken to a room for a direct admit.

So my trainer and I were the two that answered that call, to take the patient to a room. We went to the out patient, got the paperwork and started heading down the hall, to the patients rooms. While we were walking, this patient asked us how much we were being paid. My trainer and I answered back, that we didn't get paid anything. He was like " I would like to get an application for your job, how much do you get paid"? Again we replied that we did not receive a wage, that we were volunteers.

He could not believe it. "No way" he said. "How much do you get paid"? Once again we both replied "nothing, we are volunteers". We even showed him the back of our id badges that stated volunteer. He then asked us "why do you do this"? We both replied in unison "we do it for the Lord"! "We are being the servants that He called us to be". He replied back "well that's cool". So we asked him, as we wheeled him into the room, "do you still want that application?" To our surprise (not really) he said no, that he was good!

This was my very first day. I am thinking to myself, "I am going to love working here." And I do! The comments from the people that we help, make our whole day! I am not doing it for myself, I am doing it for the glory of God. That His light may shine through me, to other people I come in contact with throughout the day. I love working in a public building, being able to share my faith, talk about God and pray with out fear of retribution! I praise God for that! God has me there for a reason, and that is to spread the Good News around. I have no problem doing that. After all, what are they going to do? Fire me!!
God Bless!!!

Practical application

My first class at ISOM was Relationships and Ethics. My home Pastor taught the class, and it was awesome. He told us that every time we meet someone it was an oppurtunity for relationship. So this is where the practical application comes in.

On Friday morning of ISOM, I had to work a shift at the hospital. I was supposed to work from 7-9. When I woke up to take my shower and get ready to head out, I noticed that I had a minor pain in my gums. I went on to work, and then went home and finished getting ready for our trip down to ISOM. Met my friend at his house and we started out on our four hour trip to Carlinville. The whole trip down, I noticed that my mouth started to hurt a little more. After our class was over, I asked my friend if he had any Advil. He told me that he did, so I took some, to see if that would help. I thought that I just had a scratch or a cut inside my mouth. We woke up Saturday morning to go to breakfast and I noticed that my mouth was hurting even more. So I asked for some more Advil. He was like "man, whats going on"? So we finished our class and headed for home. The whole drive back, my mouth was hurting more and more. It was hurting so much by the time I arrived home, my wife and I were looking for an immediate care that was open. Unfortunately, no place was open. I gave my dentist an emergency call, and he prescribed some anti-biotics and to call in Monday for a follow up. The next morning, when I woke up to go to church, my mouth was hurting like it never hurt before. I went to a walk in clinic and was told that it was a dental problem! Although, the doctor did prescribe some pain meds.

So after church and after all of the football games, I logged onto Facebook. I posted something on my wall about being in such pain from my mouth, that I hoped to get into the dentist the next day. I am friends with my hygienst on Facebook. She emailed me right away and asked me if I wanted her to contact the doctor for me. I told her that I would like that very much. She emailed me back a little while later and told me that they had an emergency opening at 8:00 in the morning. I did not have to call, just show up. She took care of everything for me. Plus she instructed them to take good care of me. I ended up having an absess and needed an emergency root canal. All is well now, praise GOD!!

So, all because of one post on Facebook and my relationship with my friend, I was able to get into the dentist right away and get my problem taken care of! Praise GOD! I was thinking back on our class at ISOM about relationships, and I thought that this was the perfect example of it! Here we are just learning about it, and here it is, making a life application right away. Praise GOD!!

Reflections!

I ran into an old high school friend last week, while out running errands. I haven't seen him in over fifteen years. While talking with him, I found out that he is a Christian and also the worship leader at a local church. He invited me to come to one of their services. I thanked him for the invite, but I would not be able to attend, as I am an elder at our church! He was very happy for me, as I was for him! We told each other that it was nice to see each other again after so many years.

While driving home and still thinking about our conversation, I started to reflect on my high school years. I am friends with many of my classmates on Facebook. I'll take a guess and say that at least over three quarters of them are saved and Christians! Praise GOD! My class in high school was one of the hardest partying classes ever. I mean, we were in high school in the middle '80's. It was sex, drugs, rock and roll, and MTV! I mean it was heavy metal concerts on the weekends. Kegger parties, etc, etc.

So while I was reflecting back on those days and comparing them to the way we are now, praise GOD for changing our hearts and attitudes! Thank You Jesus for taking control of our lives and for ever changing them for the better. To serve You, worship You, praise You, to live for You! Nothing short of amazing! I pray that God will continue to change and save even more of my classmates lives. There are many more out there, that need to know the truth about Jesus and His saving grace; His tender mercy, if you repent and turn your life over to Him!
God Bless!

Helping hands

I am not posting this to say how great I am, or to brag about what I do. I am just trying to show by being obidient to the Lord, what blessings he will pour down on you! Trust me I am and continue to be blessed!

A few months ago, our youth Pastor headed up a group of people from our church to help pack up food for starving children around the world. The orginazation was called Feed My Starving Children. My wife and I were a part of this wonderful group of people. Our shift was two hours long. We had probably 10-15 people at our table. We had people pouring the food into bags, people bagging and weighing the food, people sealing the bags, people putting the bags into boxes and finally people putting the boxes onto a pallet. I was in charge of scooping out and pouring into a funnel, the soy and rice part of it. I was at the end of the production line. I have never had so much fun doing some thing so worthwhile in my life! Just knowing that every scoop of food you put into a bag was going to feed six children, somewhere in the world, AMAZING!! I think that the final count for people for our shift was something like 247. We bagged up over 280 bags of food that shift. Praise GOD! The total number of meals we provided over the course of the weekend was somewhere in the neighborhood over over a half million meals! Praise GOD!! The people from the Sycamore, DeKalb area turned out in droves. What an awesome event to be a part of.

A sister church in Chicago was collecting toys to distribute for Christmas. This church was broken into and all of the toys were stolen from them. They put out a call for help to our church. We started a toy drive and put a collection box on a table in the foyer. We had a list of suggestions on the table as well. We had to empty off that table three times, becasue it became so full of everyone donating items. Praise GOD! We collected the toys up to Sunday December 19th. Our youth Pastor and I, delivered a van full of goodies the following Monday, to our sister church in Chicago. The look on that Pastors face when he saw all of the toys and stuff, PRICELESS!! The people of our church are an amazing and very generous group! Praise GOD for all of them!

I have been layed off since June of 2010. I was ok during the summer becasue my daughter was home with me. We could do all kinds of things together. When she went back to school in the fall, and my wife was at work, I was at home all by myself. So I started thinking "what can I do, to get out and do something?" I recall, as I went to our local hospital with my Pastor to pray for a friend who was having a procedure, seeing a member of our church volunteering there. That started a thought process in my head, that maybe I could volunteer there also. A few weeks passed, but the thought persisted. So I picked up the phone and called to inquire about being a volunteer. I was asked to come in for an interview and then asked to come for orientation. After all of this, I started volunteering at the front desk in early November. The head of the volunteer department told me that I would get much more out of this, than I could ever imagine. You know what? She was right. The comments I hear from the people that I serve, make the whole thing worth it! Praise GOD!!

ISOM

ISOM = Illinois School of Ministry!

My father in law was out visiting in August. He is a Pastor out in California. We were talking about God and the Holy Spirits leading. I was hearing some things, but wasn't sure exactly what it was. He told me to and talk to my Pastor, so I did. He told me to get away by myself someplace and pray for some revealation from the Holy Spirit. So I went hiking at Starved Rock a few times, by myself, praying.

My friend from church is

 attending ISOM. He had been going since early in the year of 2010. While I was praying, I got the curiosity of asking him about ISOM. So I did. He gave me the link for the ISOM website, so I could check it out myself. I looked at it, researched it, and asked questions about going there. So I printed off the paper work I needed to enroll. I sent in all the forms and payments. A little while later, I recieved in the mail, my information packet. I was accepted! In this packet contained my student id, info on how to get to the school, some more general infromation.

I was excited about this! Was this the breakthrough that God had showed me while down at Starved Rock? I prayed some more, for more revealtion. The door keeps opening for these classes. I am not intending on being a Pastor, but if it is God's will, then so be it! Maybe this is the reason that I am still unemployed. If I had a job, I wouldn't be able to get off of work in time to go to class. The classes are one weekend a month, and start on Friday night and finish on Saturday afternoon. They are down at Lincoln, Il! That is at least a two or more hour drive for me. My friend and I are also able to be roommates together while we are down there. Plus my Pastor is teaching the first class. So I am praising God for all of this. I praise God for having the time off to be able to go down there. I praise God for having someone I know to room with. I praise God for having my Pastor teach the first class. If this all works out and I do become a Pastor or minister, I'll praise God for that also. If it does not work out, and I just get more educated with the Bible, then I'll praise God for that too!

So this weekend is my first weekend of ISOM! I am very excited to see what God has planned for me!
God Bless!

Alabama

My wife and I planned to take a trip down to see my youngest brother and his family in Birmingham, Alabama. We planned on leaving the Wednesday before the new year holiday. My Mom had already left with our daughter and two other granddaughters, the Sunday after Christmas. My middle brother and his family left to go down the same Wednesday morning that we were planning on leaving. So my whole immediate family was already down there waiting for our arrival. I picked my wife up from work, which helped us save over an hour of drive time. We stopped just south of Louisville for the night. We got up the next morning and headed out. We stopped just south of Nashville for lunch. We came out after finishing lunch and guess what.........Car would not start.

We tried and tried to no avail. We head back into the restaraunt, to seek out a phonebook. We call a local garage, the guy tells us we can get you in right away. We tell him that we need it towed. He gave us a number and set up the tow. The tow truck arrive in about 45 minutes and we had it towed over to the garage. We fully expected to get it in right away, but the guy told us that a lot of stuff had come up during the time from our call to him and finally getting there. He told us it would be about an hour before they could even look at it. Great! Ok, fine. God give us the patience to wait here for them to look at it. They finally got around to inspecting it, and told us that they could not fix the problem. They thought that it was the timing belt. We needed to take it to the Hyundai dealer. Great! Now we had to call back and have the tow truck come and tow us to the dealer. Another 45 minutes we had to wait. God just help us get through this! I am leaning on You to help us.

So  while waiting for the second tow, I thought that I would go settle up with the garage for looking at our car. He had originally told us it would be $90.00 to even look at it. So I go up to the counter and tell him I want to at least take care of his part. He told me that he wasn't going to charge us a thing for looking at our car ( Prasie God). In my head I was thinking "that's what happens when you are patient and don't lose your cool!"  So we get the car over to the dealer, finally! They proceed to tell us that they will not be able to look at it until the next day. WHAT!!!! Ok Jesus, more strength please! We are supposed to be in Birmingham by this point, our whole family was waiting for us to go out to dinner together, to PF Changs!

So we decide to rent a car and finish the drive to Birmingham. We get down there at about 8:30 in the evening. We went straight to the restaraunt to meet everyone. By the way, it was delicous! The next day we get a call from the dealer about our car. It is the fuel pump and it will not be fixed until Tuesday of the following week. Again, WHAT!!! Jesus, Jesus, help us in this storm! So we formulate a plan. My wife and daughter would ride home with my Mom, and I would stay behind and take the rental car back and pick up our car on Tuesday! It wasn't ideal, but it was the only way. So my wife, daughter and I were seperated for four whole days! It was bad! So I call the dealer on Monday to check and see if everything is still on track. The service manager told me that it was and that he would see me tomorrow. He said that it should be done around noon. So I leave Birmingham around 9:00 Tueday morning, to get to Nashville at noon. I pull in the dealer parking lot and there sat the car, all done. I went in and paid for it, unloaded the rental, took the rental back, got a ride back to the dealer, jumped in our car and off I went. I pulled in our garage about 10:30 Tuesday evening. Thirteen and a half hours after leaving Birmingham. Praise GOD!

So I guess the point of this post is that, although our car broke down far from home, and that me and my wife and daughter had to be seperated for a bit, God provided for us. We broke down in a major city! It happened while we were parked and not driving! The garage was a block away. They had a Hyundai dealer and it was only a block away. They had a rental car company. There was a car available to us. I Had my brothers house to stay at the extra days, instead of a hotel. Finally, God provided safe travel for me all the way home! No snow, rain or deer. Praise You God, for Your protection over me, Thank you Jesus for getting me back to my family!