Posts (page 2)

Today during worship, I was able to focus on The Lord and entering in, instead of the sound system problems.
That was a good thing, as it is a very important part of the experience of leading others in worship.

Keeping focus on the reason why we do what we do is one of the hardest parts of the task of leading worship.

Knowing God, knowing His heart and being able to express that is awesome.

I find my blood pressure going down each day. I hope that I find that right combination of medications that will work.
It is my understanding that it will take quite a while or a number of combinations to find out which will work best for me.

I have always taken my good health for granted. I suppose that I now have to watch all of the things that I do and eat and how I take care of myself.

It is all very disturbing. But I do not put my faith in medicine or doctors. I put my faith in the Lord God Almighty.

*New Year's Wishes *

*May you get a clean bill of health from your dentist, your cardiologist,
your gastro-enterologist , your urologist, your proctologist, your
podiatrist, your psychiatrist, your plumber and the I.R.S./ATO.

May your hair, your teeth, your face-lift, your abs and your stocks not
fall; and may your blood pressure, your triglycerides, your cholesterol,
your white blood count and your mortgage interest not rise.

May New Year's Eve find you seated around the table, together with your
beloved family and cherished friends. May you find the food better, the
environment quieter, the cost much cheaper, and the pleasure much more
fulfilling than anything else you might ordinarily do that night.

May what you see in the mirror delight you, and what others see in you
delight them. May someone love you enough to forgive your faults, be blind
to your blemishes, and tell the world about your virtues.

May the telemarketers wait to make their sales calls until you finish
dinner, may the commercials on TV not be louder than the program you have
been watching, and may your check book and your budget balance - and include
generous amounts for charity.

May you remember to say "I love you" at least once a day to your spouse,
your child, your parent, your siblings; but not to your secretary, your
nurse, your masseuse, your hairdresser or your tennis instructor.

And may we live in a world at peace and with the awareness of God's love in
every sunset, every flower's unfolding petals, every baby's smile, every
lover's kiss, and every wonderful, astonishing, miraculous beat of our
heart.*

*Happy New Year to All*
 

What are your resolutions for 2007?

I'm gonna beat this nagging headache. I will continue my weight loss program of eating less and walking more. My spiritual hunger will be fed by more intake of God's Word. I will get my blood pressure to drop into the proper range.

The thought came to me the other day that I rarely take the time to just be still and listen to the voice of God and discern what He is trying to tell me. Sure, I pray and read the Word, but often I am so bombarded by media, cellphone, laptop (x2) that I actually don't take the time to be still and know that He is God.

So here is my list of things that could happen when I'm still...

• I could relax in His love.
• I could find things that He wishes that I would do.
• I could appreciate the love that is around me.
• I could lower my blood pressure.
• I could find the source of these nagging headaches.
• I could work through the issues that I have about trying to be noticed and probably find that all I need is Him.
• I could hear the plans He has for me.

My only hope is in You. I long to hear Your voice. Lead me in Your path.

What were your New Year's resolutions for 2006?  How did you do?

My New Year's resolutions were to lose weight, exercize on a regular basis & change jobs. All of those things were accomplished by the middle of the year. Boy am I glad!

I recently heard a message from the Pastor of the church that my son & daughter in law attend. His quote of the day goes something like this...

It's not the worst thing to have tried and failed. The worst thing is not to have tried at all.

As I reflect on the end of the year and where I am in employment and in life in general, I have come to a couple of conclusions.

1. A few years ago I tried to become police dispatcher and succeeded to some degree, but I left after not completing all of my certifications. Why? Because I was just too slow at performing the tasks required to be really good at the job. Did I try my hardest? Oh, yes I did. Did I fail? Yes again. Do I feel bad about that? Sometimes, yet I do believe that God is in control and led me away from that job to another and then finally to where I am.
2. I look at the lives of my sons Derek & Colin and see that, even though they grew up in a house that had their brother Christopher hogging most of the emotional and physical attention of their parents, they both turned out to be good men. I think that their natural inclinations towards being gentle with others who are in distress is a great thing. Both are highly creative and tend to march to the beat of a drummer previously unknown to the masses. Have I failed them in some ways? Sure. Have I tried to give them the tools to be Godly men? Yes. Did I fail in that? No, they will serve our Lord for the rest of their lives because they maybe saw something in me that drives me to want to serve God all of my days. Are they loving, caring guys? You bet.
3. I'm now in a job that probably best suits my capabilities. I have to be a self starter, the deadlines are not harsh, but are timely. I like the people that I work with, in coming back to a company that I worked with for a decade, it sometimes feels like a comfortable pair of shoes to be back here. In quite a different capacity, with more responsibility, yet with the freedom to do things the way that I would like them and the opportunity to treat people the way I would have like to have been treated by one of the "bosses".
4. This last year my relationship with Terry took a surprisingly pleasant turn. There was substantial growth in understanding my needs and her needs. We took a class on relationships and found some very interesting and wonderful things about each other. I have come to appreciate her so much more and I attempt (and fail mostly) to find things that will please her and just do them without any fanfare. The more I can become proficient in the execution of these tasks, the more I will truly be a servant husband as the Lord wishes me to be.
5. My health. In this past month or so, I have had a very serious upturn in my blood pressure, headaches that I thought would never go away, trips to the hospital and doctors & blood sucking labs. I pray that God will use these trials that I am going through with my health to improve me as His man. I pray for my healing; that it would be swift and perhaps I would even find out the cause of some of these problems.

In all things will I give thanks to my Father in heaven, that He would bring me to be the man that He wishes me to be and that I will do the things that pleases Him. I wish to hear His voice and sing His praises with clarity, love & joy.

What were your top 5 TV shows of 2006?

1. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.

2. Everyday Italian on Food Network

3. CSI - Las vegas is the best

4. NUMB3RS

5. NCIS

What are you thankful for?

I'm thankful that while we don't have everything we want, we certainly have everything that we need. God has blessed us greatly and for me that it something to be very thankful for.