My issue is not with trying to sound like a robot with no emotion. It is not in retreating to a cave where nothing can affect us. It is not that I think we should be fake or never stand for anything in order to not bother anybody. The need is not to become so tolerant that we never open our mouths, but that there are things that we should never be afraid or too timid to voice out. It is amazing how when people start talking about the need for change in church in order to reach an unchurched society, or returning to a biblical lifestyle that requires true repentance, then many times people get angry and offended. Living my whole life in the bible-belt, knowing how easy it is to play church and not care about God or his truth, I wonder why is it we can’t be open about our need for more of his holiness ,direction, & conviction. It is as if most Christians/people that attend church don’t want to admit we are in need of the Holy Spirit, the Bible, and the return to true Christ-like living.

This is a rant about something  I cannot claim to have it all together or be in perfect in controlling myself. I just know that there is too much to be truly offended about in the world we live in. The last thing we should be afraid of is to bring Christ into our conversations with each other. There will always be differences in ways we choose to worship and in running our churches, but to allow ourselves to not be able to talk about the only thing that matters, Jesus Christ, is spiritual suicide. Whether I always understand or agree with brothers or sisters in Christ about the conversation we are having, it always reminds me that there is more to life than the routine, temporal, day-to-day matters. There is truly life and death in the words we speak and often times choose not to speak. Grace to all…………………..

In this life, there is nothing greater or of more value than loving and serving Christ.  To know Him and be known by Him… that’s the good life.  The fact is, for those whom Christ has saved, we were not saved for us.  We were saved to serve because now we do not own the rights to our lives.  The rights to our lives were purchased on the cross, so we serve out of love, gratitude, and humility.  “For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed?  For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.  For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Rom 6:20-23. We do not serve some over bearing dictator who cares nothing about us and is using us to force his own propaganda.  Ours is a loving, gracious, caring King that allows us to be a part of His eternal plan and will.

The great thing that I have discovered is that not only have we been saved to serve, but God left us here on Earth.  The same Earth He created for us to enjoy.  Solomon tells us in Ecclesiastes that to waste our lives seeking fulfillment in sinful acts and cravings is vanity or foolishness.  They are cravings that can never be filled (believe me, Solomon tried).  On the flip side of the coin he also says that to seek righteousness through religious rules and laws is also vanity or foolishness.  You can always be just a little bit better.   The rain falls on the just and the unjust and the same end awaits them both… death.  His conclusion was to find fulfillment in this loving, great, caring God, whom we now know as Jesus Christ, and to be content with and enjoy the life you have (family, friends, church, etc.).  Because no matter how bad things may seem, you can still go outside in the fresh air and feel the nice, cool breeze on a sunny fall day.  You can still enjoy great music.  You can still enjoy a good cup of coffee, as long as you avoid gas station coffee that is.  And so much more.

We really do have a ton to be thankful for even if things are far from what we would consider perfect right now!

I’m so tired of hearing people push Jesus as some means to their earthly happiness.  “Get saved and all your troubles disappear”,  “Give and you too can have condos, jets, cars, millions in the bank, etc.”, “Pray a prayer and receive your free ticket out of hell, we don’t care how you live the rest of your life”.  It’s like we’re trying to con people into getting saved by promising them something the Bible does not.  Salvation does not mean freedom from problems.  You don’t “get” Jesus to “get” things.  You get God when you follow Jesus!  That’s what makes it so great!  “No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.”  1 Jn. 2:23.  There is no greater blessing.

God is not just a great big heavenly Santa Claus or some goofy-named sky ferry that bows to our every whim or agrees to our deals… ‘If I do this, God should do this or that for me’.  Who are we to think that God in some way owes us anything?  We are nothing without Him!  He already gives us everything we have, even life, so how can we expect something in return if we give to Him what’s already His.  That’s kind of like robbing a bank and then trying to return that money and expecting to collect the reward money for returning it (a simple analogy, I know).  That person would make it to the internet as Idiot of the Day.  Yet we do the same thing to God sometimes.  Yes, God loves us more than we could ever imagine.  Yes, He gives us everything we “need”.  Yes, He gives us the ability to provide for our families and so much more, but I think our Americanistic (I might have made that one up.. you get the point) view of love and blessing has distorted the way we view God’s love.  “…but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  Rom. 5:8. I guess that’s just not enough for us.  Maybe we think that whole cross routine was just a warm up act or something.

What if we get saved and things “get worse”?  What if our families and/or friends disown us or slander us because of our decision?  What happens if God, in His sovereignty, even ordains tough times for us?  Gasp!! Would God really do such a thing?  It doesn’t take too long of looking through the Bible or history books to see what happens to some of the most dedicated followers of Christ.  I mean God even asked Satan if he had considered His servant Job for testing and torment.  Not to mention what God told Ananias about Paul after his conversion But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”  Acts 9:15-17. Suffering doesn’t preach too well now-a-days.

The peace we have when we follow Christ is unsurpassed and supernatural.  We have eternal life with God in heaven as our promise, God will always love us, always provide for us, never leave us, and give us the grace and strength we need to be and do everything He has called us to be and do.  Peace.  Hope.  Joy.  Salvation.  That’s the abundant life!  I’m just so tired of people using Jesus to sell their crap!

One of the great things in life is being able to sit down with a really good cup of coffee and just chill.  It’s so good to just relax with my wife, friends, or a movie and a good cup of coffee, provided that the coffee is in fact good.  If you’ve been around coffee for any length of time and some one has exposed you to something other than Maxwell House, Folgers, or the house blend from your local gas station… you know there’s a difference between coffee and “really good” coffee!  I’m not even saying that you should go to Starbuck’s and spend $5 – $6 on some fru-fru mixed drink that’s more milk than coffee.  That’s how it got the nicknames “Starbroke’s” and “Fivebuck’s”.  But a “venti” or 20 oz. cup of house blend coffee from Starbuck’s is well worth $2.25 in my opinion!  It’s also worth the extra money that you pay per pound at the grocery store.  So if you do drink coffee and you haven’t been exposed to something other than the norm, I’m not sure if you want to or not actually.  Because I can promise you that when you do experience the joy of a strong, smooth, yet not bitter cup of excellence… you will not want to go back, and it probably will cost you a few more dollars.

Lifeblood that Drives the Dreams of Champions (Will Ferrell video – hilarious!)

Traveling over an hour one way to some of my service calls gives me a lot of time to myself..  I’m the kind of guy that could easily go crazy in those situations.  I mean, there’s only so much mindless music one can listen to on the radio (Heaven forbid that a song you don’t like ever becomes popular… you hear it every 30 min.).  There are only so many times I can hear 5 different talk radio show hosts pound the same “hot topics” of the day.  And why does it seem like Aerosmith is on every stinking channel of my dial?  I think I even heard them on a bluegrass station the other day!  That’s why I am so thankful for the internet and my iPod.  Say what you want about the price of them vs the price of other inferior mp3 players, but I’ll pay for quality and EASY syncing!

There’s such a debate about the internet now and how immoral it is and should churches/Christians be using it or letting their kids use it and so on.  Yes, there is a TON of junk out there!  Yes, you shouldn’t get online without some type of filter on your computer.  Yes, parents should monitor what their children are doing online.  But the bottom line is that the internet is neither moral nor immoral it is amoral (just like money).  It all depends on how it’s used.

I’m thankful that right now I am able to download the music I like (without having to buy the whole sorry album), sermons from pastors around the world, audiobooks/audioBibles (being the audible learner I am), and podcasts that not only keep me from going crazy, but help me grow spiritually and gain knowledge.  None of which would be possible (or not nearly as simple) without the internet.

Do your brain a favor.  Get an iPod and download the stuff that will increase it’s effectiveness, not put it into a coma.

We all have them.  Those sometimes small, sometimes insignificant actions of others that for some reason bother us more than they seem to bother others around us.  Or maybe they do bother others around us and no one wants to say anything.  Well I do.  I’m kinda quirky sometimes any way so I may have a more than some people.  I’m sure I’ll have others to add to the list later as more peeves present themselves, but here is a brief list of some of my pet peeves.  Why do I feel the need to list them?  I must vent, it’s like therapy without the expense or loss of memory that comes with meds.  You should try it.  I’d love to hear your list as well.  We’ll vent together.  One big annoyed, angry, quirky community.  Any way, here we go.  Not in any certain order.  Except for number 1.  I think I’m good with this one being at the top.

• The “Smacker” – That person that absolutely refuses to chew with their mouth closed.  If I can hear you masticating your food from across the restaurant…  You have a problem, not me!  And also, your chewing gum cannot be THAT good!  It’s almost to the point with me that I’m beyond annoyed into disgusted and sick to my stomach.  No, seriously!
• “The loud cell phone talker” – It’s OK to speak in your normal volume.  Cell phones have been around long enough for the technology to develop that much.  That little mic sensor hole is just as good as the one on your home phone guys.  Not only do they get on my nerves in public, I also miss half the conversation when they call me because I’m looking for my volume key.
• “The slow merger” – Some people must not be aware that the “on” ramp onto the interstate is also called the “acceleration” ramp.  You don’t slow down and yield, you speed up and merge.  I’m convinced that just as many accidents on the free way are caused by people going too slow as people going too fast.
• “The non-passer” – If you are in the “fast” or “passing” lane…  YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE PASSING!  I can’t stand it when two cars are in either lane going the exact same stinking speed.  And for miles and miles too!  I’m not flashing my headlights just to make sure the high beams work.  C’mon.

I’m sure I’ll have some  more later.  These just seem to be the ones I encounter on a daily basis.

The reason I love my life so much is the fact that no matter how stressful “life” gets, or how stressful I make it…  I still have a gracious, loving God who forgives, guides, & corrects me when I need it.  I still have Heaven as my hope because of Christ.  I still have a beautiful wife (whom God blessed me with) that loves me despite all my short-comings.  I still have 2 great kids that always do something to make each day great.  I have a GREAT life!

I have to give all the credit to Jesus Christ because without Him turning my life around… I would have NONE of this!  In fact, I probably would’ve been dead by now!

The love of God has a great way of putting things into right perspective for us.  No matter how far we choose to walk away from Him at times, He’s always there, waiting for us to turn around, repent and throw our arms up in surrender so He can pick us up, clean us up and place us back on the straight, narrow, perfect  path that He has graciously planned out for us in His omniscience.  There is NONE like our God! I’m so thankful He doesn’t treat me the way I deserve to be treated.

I don’t see how people make it through this thing called “life” without Christ!