Tired.

I'm tired. Tired of what you may ask. I'm tired of being labeled a hater, a hypocrite and a bigot. Tired of being accused of being hard hearted and closed minded all because I am Christian. Yes, I believe in Jesus, and I believe that the Bible is 100% accurate and without error. Just because we have differing opinions and beliefs doesn't mean that I hate you, or won't accept you. How many times have you ever seen me spout hatred or tear someone down because of their lifestyle? I am not the judge, I leave that up to God. My job is to point people to Jesus. Not to block the way. I have several family members and friends who live an alternate lifestyle. I do not treat them any differently than I do anyone else. I love them all the same. As a Christian pastor, I will not water down the Gospel when I preach. I will not change it or alter it to not offend someone. The Bible is God's word. A book on how we are supposed to live our lives. We can't pick and choose what we believe and what we don't believe. We either believe all of it, or none of it! I will never be ashamed to speak the name of Jesus. So, I am tired of being tired. We as Christians need to stand up for Jesus. Proclaim His name louder than before. We need to stop worrying and let God do His thing. All the praise and glory to God!

Get to Versus Have to.

I have been hearing a lot of people grumbling/complaining at work and other places of things that they have to do. They have to mow the lawn, do laundry, pay bills, go to work, etc, etc. I say, have to! I thank God that I get to do all of that and more. Having a lawn to mow means that God has provided a house for us to live in. Doing laundry means clothes have been provided. Paying bills means that I have the money that God has provided for me. Going to work to a job that God once again has provided for me. God's provision is amazing. We never go without. He supplies our needs. Not going to lie. We have been to the point of how are we ever going to be able to afford this. God always supplies a way. We look back and say "wow, that was God." There is no other explanation. One last thing. Every morning I wake up and I get to read my Bible instead of feeling like I have too. I get to pray and commune with my God. What a way to start my day. Getting to be in touch with my Savior first thing in morning! For that I give thanks and praise! Thank You Lord for loving me so much that I am able to do all of these things. For You!

Godsend!

2004 Dodge Grand Caravan. 166,000 miles. Doesn't sound like much does it? Well, let me tell you what a Godsend this vehicle has been to our family. We had three drivers in our household with only two cars. My daughter and I were sharing a car during the school year. It wasn't perfect but it was working. We had our eyes and ears open to anything that might become available to us. We had something specific in mind, just looking for the right deal to come along. Well. We found it. I was going to a visitation for a friend the Friday before Memorial day, when I passed by "The Van." I was thinking to myself, that looked really nice. My wife and I attended the funeral on Saturday and we drove by "The Van" once again. She was intrigued as well. So, on our way home, we stopped and looked at it. Got the phone number off of the for sale sign and made the "call." We arranged to test drive it on Memorial day. A good friend of ours went with us to be an extra set of eyes and ears. Test drive went very well and we made on offer on "The Van." They accepted and the Thursday after Memorial Day we became the new owners. It's been two and half months since we bought "The Van" and let me tell you where we have been with it. We have been on a camping trip to Iowa with it. Loaded down with camping gear, and family. The van handled awesome. We have been on a nine hour drive out to Yankton, SD to a cousins wedding, and you guessed it. The van ran just fine. Most recently we drove to Orlando, FL. We put over 2,600 miles on "The Van" and everything went smoothly. The only thing that went wrong on the trip were the bugs that splattered against the windshield and front of "The Van." So since we have bought the van, we have gone on two long trips and one camping weekend and the van was everything that we had hoped for and more. The only repairs we have had to make to it were a new battery and a drainage problem with the air conditioner. I praise and thank God for providing us a vehicle that is reliable, functional, comfortable and in our price range. Thank You Jesus!!