OPINIONS!

Opinions. Opinions are like 'bungholes', everybody has one. I think that the Cardinals are better than the Cubs. The Packers are better than the Bears. The Blackhawks are better than the Redwings. These are just a few of my opinions, and I'm sure some of you may have different ones. You know what? I don't care if your opinion differs from mine. If we all had the same opinions on everything,how boring would that be? Just because you believe different than me doesn't mean I hate you. I am not going to go and start a fight with you. Not going to burn down your house, or vandalize your car. I respect your opinion, and we can agree to disagree. I don't what happened to make everybody get all offended if you had a differing view from theirs. If I don't like a certain thing, all of a sudden I am a racist. Or a hypocrite. Why can't we just all understand that not everyone is going to agree with you, and I'm alright with that. And that's just my opinion.

Feeling Thankful.

As we prepare to enter Thanksgiving week, I am remembering everything that I am and have been thankful for. First of all I want to thank God for the gift of life. To be able to live and breathe everyday,to be able to open my eyes and get out of bed every morning is something that I don't take for granted. I am thankful for the family that I was born into. I love them all to death. I couldn't imagine having a better Mom. My childhood was awesome to say the least. You'll never see me go on one of those talk shows trashing my parents or my upbringing. I wish more kids could have had a childhood like I had. I am thankful that I was spanked when I did something wrong. To show me that there are consequences for my actions. Helped make me a more responsible adult. Thanks Mom! Thankful that we never went hungry. Always had food on the table. Thankful that we ate together every night as a family. It might have been 8:00 or later, but Mom made sure that we all ate together. That is something that I still maintain to this day. Thankful that I had clothes to wear everyday. Thankful that we were finally able to find a size 13 shoe long before they were common place. For the cars that I drove and were provided to me. To be able to go to school and get an education. To get a strong work ethic. Again, thanks Mom! For a job that I go to everyday to help support my family. Thankful for a roof over our heads. The house that The Lord provides for us to live in. I am so thankful for my wife and daughter who faithfully serve The Lord! (Joshua 24:15) Thankful for my ever loving wife, who loves my despite my flaws. Who supports me and my ministry unconditionally. Who makes this house a home. A daughter who never got into trouble. Always received excellent grades in school, and is now in college. Thankful that I married into an amazing family who accepts me the way that I am. This post could go on forever and ever with everything that I have ever been thankful for. I think that you get the idea. To sum it up, I am thankful for my faith, family and friends, and everything that goes along with all of that. Most of all, I want to thank God for loving me unconditionally. For my salvation. For pulling me up out of the muck and mire that I was sinking in. Thank You Jesus!

Iron Sharpens Iron

Iron sharpens iron. Proverbs 27:17(NLT)17 As iron sharpens iron,so a friend sharpens a friend. I have heard this a hundred times. I have experienced it many times as well. But nothing like I have the last few months at work. I work with a woman who is a fellow Christian. She and I share what God has been doing to us and through us, almost daily. Our stories are incredible and almost identical. It's like God is confirming we are right were we should be. Well this morning it dawned on me. Like it never has before. I realized that we talk all day at work about our faith in Jesus and how we are supposed to spread the Gospel around to other people. To show the love of Jesus outside our workplace. This morning I realized that we both had stories that had happened over the weekend and then over the last two days we have been sharing them with each other. Bam, Iron sharpening iron! We are building each other up, to go out into our little world and share the Gospel of Jesus. He fills us up, so we can go out and empty ourselves to someone else. Then come back and fill up again, and repeat. I love how God is using us, both at work and outside of work. I thank God everyday for having this friend at work to talk with and to sharpen each other.

Stretched Again

A little while ago, I posted about how God was stretching me out of my comfort zone by having me talk with people that I normally wouldn't talk too. Well today He did it again. I went to get the oil changed in one of our cars. I left the house wearing a University of Evangel hoodie. I got to the shop and pulled my car in and then proceeded to the waiting area. There was another woman sitting in there already waiting for her car as well. After a couple of minutes went by, she asked me if I attended Evangel. I told her that I did not, but that our daughter did, she had just started going there in the fall. The woman then told me that a friend of hers had graduated from there and absolutely loved it. The atmosphere, the professors, everything. I told her that our daughter was feeling the same thing. She loves being down there. After we had talked about Evangel, she told me some stuff that is going on with her family. Her husband had been laid off and finally found a job. In Indiana. She only see's him on holiday's, for right now. She then told me that she is a school teacher, and that she commutes to work from Sycamore. She also has some health issues and she probably would not be able to finish the school year. She is trying to sell the house so she can go and be with her husband and then facing illness at the same time. This all took place in the span of about ten minutes. Then the time came for her to pay, so she got up and went to the counter. Right at that moment I heard it. The voice of the Holy Spirit saying "Pray for her." I heard it over and over until I finally got out of my chair and asked her if she would mind if I prayed for her. She said that would be great. So we walked outside and stood next to her car, and we prayed. Prayed for healing, selling of the house and reconnecting with her husband. After we finished praying, she told me that she had prayed that morning asking for God to send someone across her path today. I told her, here I am! Then I told her that she was an answer to my prayer that I pray everyday. I pray that God would use me in a mighty way, and that He would give me a divine encounter. So He stretched me again out of my comfort zone. I have never, ever prayed for a complete stranger, in a public place, just after meeting them. And on top of that, it was a woman. I have no problem with that, but I know that some people have a difficult time accepting man/woman praying together alone. The Lord knew that, so He made it so we would be outside, in complete view of everyone. When I came back in to pay for my oil change, another woman sitting there asked me if we were praying. I told her that we were, and she thanked me for being there. I told her it was Gods timing, not mine. It was all Him.

Reminiscing about God's Protection.

After attending my first Stryper concert last Friday night, and listening to their music this past week, I began to think back on an event that happened almost 30 years ago. In 1986 or '87 my friend and I were involved in a horrific car accident. We were at a stop sign waiting to turn left onto Route 30 in Big Rock. I was driving. I looked both ways before proceeding out into the intersection. The large construction truck that I thought was far enough away, wasn't. I pulled out and he hit us broadside, on the drivers side. He tore the whole front end of the car off. If I would have been a little earlier in taking off, he would have hit me directly on my door, and I probably wouldn't be here writing this post. I looked over at my friend and he had a little blood coming from his forehead. I was freaking out. I looked at him to see if there was anything else wrong, when I saw the review mirror laying in his lap. He had head butted the mirror and broke it off, that is how come he was bleeding. He seemed to be okay everywhere else. We both were able to get out of the car, much to the drivers surprise. He thought that he had killed us. I can imagine why. He was driving a construction semi and we were in a little Chevy Chevette. An ambulance was called to check us out. We were fine, but the people who had witnessed the accident actually had to sit in the ambulance. How ironic, right!! All I remember doing is thanking God, whom I didn't really know at the time, for keeping us from being killed. I 100% attribute this to two things. 1. God wasn't finished with me or my friend just yet. He still had great things planned for us, (Jeremiah 29:11). 2. I also attribute our protection that night to us listening to Stryper's 'To Hell With The Devil' cassette. That's right, I said cassette. Remember it was in '86 or '87. So this iconic band and this cassette, cd, album, whatever you want to call it, has a very special place in my heart. There are many times that I can look back and see God's protection before I was a believer, but this one of the most serious ones. God is so GOOD!!

Hands and Feet of Christ.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to volunteer at a radio station sponsored event. It was named 'Single Mom Saturday.' It's an event where single moms can schedule an appointment at a local car dealer to get their car vacuumed, washed and oil changed, for no charge. We had a team of about 20 volunteers along with the dealership owner and his employees. From 8 till about 12:30 we washed, dried, vacuumed and changed oil in 19 cars. The owner donated all of the labor and supplies for the oil changes. The radio station provided everything for the cleaning of the cars. I was on the washing and drying team. I had never met the other guys before, but the way that we worked together, you would have thought that we worked together for years. Yesterday was another example to me of why I don't understand how people can bash Christianity as not being caring or loving towards others. Every single mom that checked in was met with a smile and a hug. Their children were greeted warmly and like family. Every car that came through the line was covered with prayer by everyone working on that vehicle. If a mechanic discovered something else wrong with a car, the owner or the station would provide the necessary materials to repair it without additional cost to the mom. A bald tire was found, a new tire was purchased. Light bulb burnt out, it was replaced, etc, etc. If anything major was wrong, another appointment was set up to come in and get it fixed at a cheaper rate than usual. With every car that I helped wash and dry I couldn't help but think about these verses in the Bible. Matthew 25:35-45. We were being the hands and feet of Christ that morning/afternoon. I am so thankful that I serve a God who is full of love and compassion. I am thankful that He has given me a servants heart. So thankful for this radio station for all of their community outreaches that they do throughout the year. Thankful that there are still business owners out there like the one that owned this dealership. May God bless him and his business. So blessed to be a part of this day. May these opportunities continue to come up and God use me in a mighty way!

God Spoke To Me......Once again!

A few weeks ago my mom, step-dad and cousin all flew out to see my brother and his family in the D.C. area for a visit. I was asked to pick up my step-dad from Midway on Monday as my mom and cousin were going to fly home a couple of days later. I said sure no problem. As I was getting ready to leave, I received a text message saying that his flight had been delayed about 25 minutes or so. I thought no big deal. I had to stop in Aurora to attend a visitation for a cousin that had passed away. So I am in the funeral home talking with some family members and I decide that I had better get going. I get outside and receive another text saying that his plane would land about 7:05. I thought "great, now I really have to hurry." After having plenty of time and now I have to hurry to get there. As I start to get onto the toll way, it starts pouring down rain. All the way into Midway, it rained. I didn't feel like driving around the airport till he came out, so I went and parked in the cell phone lot. I entered the lot, went down a little way, and backed my van into a spot. And sat and waited, and waited, and waited. Then I felt it. The first pangs. What could it be you ask? That's right, I had to go to the bathroom. So I kept looking down the same way that I had come in and saw nothing. I'm like "great, nowhere to go." I knew that I couldn't hold it until I picked him up and started for home. Then The Lord spoke to me. He said "Keven, do you remember the story in the Bible about the fisherman?" "The one where they were having trouble catching fish, and I told them to cast their nets on the other side?"(John 21:4-6) I said "yes Lord, I remember." He said "then look out the other side of your van." So I turned and looked out the right side of the van and what did I see? A bank of about five or six port-a-potty's. They were about 100' away. I almost started crying. "Thank You Lord!" I repeated that over and over again. I was so very thankful and grateful that He spoke to me and told me where to look. The cool thing about this is this. Yes I need to hear His still small voice but, this is the second time He has spoken to me over my VERY loud music in my van. See He can speak to you anywhere at anytime. Over loud music, sitting all alone in quietness. All you need are the ears to hear. I'm so thankful that He has provided those ears, and everything else. All praise and glory to Him!