The Amish

One of our trips while we were in West Virginia was the Amish country in Ohio. I have always had an interest in this culture. It seems to be a simple life they lead. They don't allow anything in their lives that is technologically advanced. No electricity, cars, Internet, television etc... They plow their land by hand and horses. Everything they do is old fashioned. It would be a tough life for any of us to live. Yet, they seem to do it very well.

Their children seem very behaved and seem to have no trouble living like they do. Some Amish have indoor plumbing and some don't. We toured a house that was very old fashioned. It had plumbing but no mirrors. They had a baby doll laying on one of the beds. I have one pictured above. None of their dolls have faces. The reason is they do not believe in graven images. My wife asked me why. Probably they feel that if they had mirrors or if their dolls looked like Barbie they would maybe become self absorbed by their image. They would not be living the life they are taught by worrying about what they looked like. I can see that. They believe that thinking of self is an evil that doesn't serve their family or their community needs. So, I wonder. Do they not no what they look like? I know they can't not no what they look like. There are many things that cause a reflection. Glass windows, looking into a stream of a river. They have to know. They don't have cameras and really don't like for people to take their pictures. Strange!

So, one thing that bothers me about the Amish is that they don't pay taxes. That kind of irritates me. Another thing that bothers me about them is their "Shunning." Once their children becomes a certain age they have the right to go out and experience the world. Anything goes. Drinking, sex, parties and anything that goes against their religion. But, the part of this that is not right is the shunning. If the child decides not to return to the Amish community to live, they shun them. They are forgotten entirely by their family and the entire Amish community. I mean complete abandonment. It's like moving into the witness protection program in our community. No contact with anybody. No forgiveness!

To me that defeats the whole life style they try to live. In Christianity, that is the base of God's love for us. We must forgive others like he forgave us through his Son Jesus. So if the Amish don't forgive a person who decides to choose the world instead of their life style is not following the life God has laid out for us. That bothers me.

But, I sometimes wish I could live a life without modern advances. I don't really want to go to that extreme though. They do say most children that leave and get a taste of this evil world normally come back. I guess the shunning does work in some ways. It is an interesting way of life. I like it because it allows me to see how things were back in time. I will choose this way of life any day, I'm not big on plowing my own fields or not being able to watch Sports. I think I will follow the route I'm on right now.

It Was Good To Go Home

I was in great need to go home to West Virginia. It had been a year and a half since I have seen or stepped foot on WV soil. I had a longing to be home. I really miss all my family and friends there. One of my main goals was to go to Pittsburgh and raid the Steeler store. I just bought a couple of things there though.

We did make it there and got to tour the Steelers stadium, which was awesome! But, I really needed to go home and see the people I have loved and grown up with. I really missed everybody up there. I don't know anybody in that town anymore. The only people I know are those who attend church with me there. They are the ones I really miss, especially my family. I feel I miss out on a lot with them.

So, I was glad to see them and talk to them.

When I grew up in Wheeling, WV. I always thought why anybody would spend their vacation there. Now I know. It's home and always will be for me.

As we arrived back in Arkansas. The first thing I noticed was the southern draw. I escaped it at least for a week. It was kind of good to hear it again. It's amazing the differences between the North and the South. Where we live, it's a very Christian town. So, there is a lot of good going on down here. A lot of church going people here mixed in with a lot of non church goers. Where in the North there's not a huge Christian environment. I sometimes wonder why? People here seem to be a little more kinder where in the North people are nice but don't have a great ability for personal communication. People here in the South will wave as they pass by you. Where up North you don't see that. It's weird!

I've noticed also, that it's hard to build a close friendship with people here in the South. They seem timid. Yet, in the north I've always had close personal friends. I guess they're not as timid. Again, weird?

Words that differ form the two regions. People in the south say "How y'all doing?" Northern people in my area say, "How yun's doin?" I prefer "Yun's" over "Y'all" any day. Southern people say, "Ya doing alright?" Northerners say, "How ya doin?" When I first arrived in the south back in 1994 someone asked me if I was doing alright? I was confused. I thought they thought something was wrong with me. Then I realized I was in Bizzaro's world and they meant something else. The south is strange to me this very day. I love the North and always will. "Yankee for life!"

I am very happy I was able to go north for my vacation though. This week I will be writing about my vacation and some things I have noticed about the north. I hope you will read it. To those back home it was nice to see you all again. You will always have a special place in my heart. Know that you are missed and loved. May God bless us all!

Vaction Hiatus

We will be on vacation this coming week. So my blogging will be halted during that time. If anybody really cares. We will be heading to West Virginia to visit family. I will be making a visit to the city of champions. That being of course Pittsburgh, very excited. My favorite city!

So until then may God bless you all and have a safe week.

Our LIving Shepherd

If you think our shepherd is not living. You are greatly mistaken. It's hard for us here to be able to visualize Christ by our side, but he is. We always feel that our living here is for us to do. Many live like they are the only one living their own lives. They feel that every decision is theirs. They feel that nothing or nobody is there to guide them through life. So every bad decision they make, they either blame themselves or somebody else. Their life is empty!

We as Christan's have a shepherd who will lead us if we allow him to. Yet, many of us fail in this also. I know a lot of times I feel it is my own will that will get me out of a bad decision. I bring it upon myself to be the decider of my life. Then I wake up and realize Jesus is right there to give me his guidance for my life. In life I have found that when I give it all to Jesus, things become better and less burdensome. He becomes my shepherd that he longs to be.

We all remember when the magic 8 ball was invented. We all wanted to ask a question or make a request. And then when you turned it upside down a little triangle in blue would show an answer. Many times it was what we wanted, but the answer never really came true. We've all asked the magic 8 ball a question and many of us really thought it would give a real answer, only to find it would never come to be true. There is no magic 8 ball or magic wand to make things the way we want them. Even with having Christ, things don't always become the way we want them. He will give us the answers in his own terms. Some answers may have to be tough for us to handle and a little more patience, prayer and faith on our part may be needed. In Christ he will comfort us until the real answer comes to us. Or he will provide us understanding of why we didn't get the answer we longed for. As Christians we can't be disappointed. We must ask him for understanding and be thankful for whatever solution he provides for us. He knows what he is doing. Any solution should suffice us and we must go to him constantly to be given hope in this world.

As our shepherd he will go after any sheep that is lost from the herd. He will keep us in his fold. He knows when we are lost, yet we sometimes have to let out a distress call or in our terms it would be called a prayer. He will seek us out and make us as complete and comfortable as only he can. Being a Christian is a great thing to me. I am thankful for my parents for laying a Christian foundation throughout my life. I am grateful for the people in my church back home for teaching me word of God. They have given me something to hold onto. I am eternally grateful to them.

I hear and see people every day looking to material things as their primary goal in life to satisfy them. Material things can't and never will be a margin for satisfaction. They are a dead end in life. Christ is a long road to travel. Offering wonderful things along the way, that will give us understanding and honest truth. Christ is the true highway to true life and love. Please travel the road to Christ in life and you will come to complete understanding and satisfaction in life. Because he is life. You won't need to take anything with you on the trip. Just a willing and open heart to fill with his unending gifts to a great life. I would leave your magic 8 ball at home you won't need it, true answers are included as part of the trip.

Peace Be Still

Mark 4: 39-40 Jesus stood up and commanded the wind and said to the waves, "Peace! Be Still!" Then the wind stopped, and it became completely calm. Jesus said to his followers, "Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?"

This passage says a lot about the power of Christ. I can't imagine being in that boat and not having any fear. That is exactly what the disciples felt that night also. Freaking out about what to do and about what was occurring. It's hard to have faith when the boat in our life is rocking. Everybody is feeling their own personal boat rocking and feeling like it is going to sink. Where is our faith during these tough times in our lives?

It seems to shrink when the waves of life are slapping us back and forth. In my life I have noticed that my faith may not increase but has toughened up though. As we continue in daily life, there is always something bad that is going to happen. It seems the more we face, our belief increases and we become tougher in our faith from wavering. Christ is continually saying, "Peace Be Still!" Our lives become stronger as we approach the throne of God in prayer. Let the peace of Christ come to you. Allow him to come into our lives and become our solution for all of life's junk. We have to let him come into our hearts, he can't solve our problems unless we allow him in.

Jesus, is known as "The Great Physician." These days doctors don't make house calls, we have to go see them and we have to tell them our problems. Then they can give a solution to our problem. Same with Christ, yet he already knows what is ailing us, we still need to go to him in prayer and allow him to examine our lives and allow him to come in and give us a solution to our problem.

Our storms here in Arkansas are very dangerous a lot of times. Sometimes they contain tornadoes, which I am not a huge fan of. The many times we have had to go to the basement because of the sirens going off. Meaning a tornado has touchdown somewhere close to us. Our nerves are rattled and we are very fearful of what may happen. I sometimes wonder as I recall the many times we have faced such a situation. What it would be like for Jesus to stand and knock on my door and hold up his hand and say "Peace Be Still!" It would be amazing, to see something like that just become calm.

He can do the same thing with us. Calming storms in our lives and our world is what he is about. We must believe and remain faithful and we shall overcome with the power of Christ. Amazing!!!

Finally! Crocs Are Dead!

The company that brought these things into the shoe market are in debt. The "Croc's" are going to be history! God, has answered my prayers all day and he finally has answered this prayer of mine. I didn't actually ask a prayer for these things, but he says he knows all our thoughts and this one just happened to be one. When the medical field started wearing these things I just thought that was nasty.

Then every redneck wore them religiously, it ticked me off. There is a customer that comes in that wears a pair of these and she is a redneck. They are four times the size of her feet. It just irritates me when she comes in, plus she is very mean too. I just want to buy her some shoes that fit and don't look like she has walked through a sludge pond. I'm mean, but I just don't like these things and I'm glad they are on their way out.

Life; How Do You Balance It All Out?

How do you maintain sanity? Everything lately has just been coming at me like a freight train. I'm trying to figure out how to juggle it all. Family, work, the house and finding time to go to church. I work for Lowe's and they have really of late kept me from attending church. I hate it and I hate them. But I am not a quitter, I will stay in the game.

Even now while I am trying to write this Cayden my youngest is crying and wanting to sit on my lap. So I am writing with a three year old right now in my lap. Very difficult! But I am adjusting to it.

I pray to our Lord all the time and ask Him to please give me an answer to all this caous. Yet, there is still no answer. But I will be patient with him because he has been very patient with me.

The other night when I came home from work I was very stressed out. I couldn't get myself to calm down. So I finally ask God for some assistance and immediately I became calm and forgot about all the crap at work. It was useless to allow myself to be worried about work and everything else in life . When the only thing that mattered was my walk with him. That's all that matters. So I have decided to stick it out and I'm going to try something new. I'm going to write a book. Don't know when, I do know what is going to be about. I pray I can do this and that God will write through me. That's what he has been doing through me the past couple of years on this blog. I really feel he will do this through me in another way. Nothing I have written has been through my own accord. It has been God all along.

I have been feeling this pressure for quite some time to write a book about arrogance in our world. So now I need to figure where he will begin in me to write something. I might start next week and I might not start till I am 60 years old, but I will write this book some how.

As I read about the night the disciples were in the rocking boat it makes me feel comfortable that Jesus had all things under control. The boat was swaying and tossing about. The disciples were totally freaking out with great fear. Then we read that Jesus was asleep and thought nothing of the great storm. He was more alarmed at his followers and their lack of faith. He said with great might "Peace Be Still." And it was. Christ has it all under control. He knows all about this Earth all to well. He came as a human being to feel our pain and to take away our pain. We all need to go to him and ask him to come into our lives. And he will say "Peace Be Still." And it will be!

Who Is To Be Blamed For Our Sin?

I don't know what or who you blame bad things or painful situations on. But I usually took the blame or fault upon myself. I often thought who else would I blame? I made the decision and I always felt it was my fault. So now as I grow older and maybe a little more wise in my life. I feel the blame is all Satan's.

I know we have a brain and if our lives are laid upon the foundation of Christ. Should we still blame ourselves for the stupid decisions we make? I really feel we should take some of the blame, yet Satan is at his best when we are weak. He can slide in at just the right time.

Someone said one time in Bible class that Satan strikes right when things are going good for us. When Satan sees us at our most spiritual point in our lives, he's poised and ready to strike. That is so true. Really he strikes at any time. But for him to see us at our closest to God, he despises it. He wants nothing Godly to come out of our lives. He wants us to be his victim.

The picture above really gets me. It makes me feel relief. To know that Jesus has become human to do what we couldn't, makes me rejoice. It makes me put the blame at the foot of the cross, and Christ erases it all. WOW!

I try not to judge anybody. Including myself. There are a few people I am thinking about right now. I see there selfishness destroying others around them. Dividing a family! It kills me and I am in great division right now. Who is to blame? Satan is a major factor right now, but I also believe another person is to blame for dividing up the family. It angers me, yet I don't know nothing else but to pray about the situation. This person needs to "bow" up and become the person they should be and put their selfishness aside and rid their life of Satan. I do blame Satan for this whole situation and hope the party responsible repents and does what they need to do, people are hurt and God can heal all involved. Let's get the world and Satan out of our lives and focus on the real reason we are here. Serving God, Christ, the Holy Spirit and serving others. That is our reason for being here. Not to party and live life to the fullest, but to serve a higher power!

Michael Jackson?????

I wasn't going to write about Michael Jackson, but how can you not. I grew up listening to him most of my life. He was larger than life then. Thriller came out when I was in 5th grade. Everybody was singing it. I remember people wearing the diamond studded glove on one hand and others wearing the red jacket that he wore in the video. I never wore any of that junk. I thought it was stupid, but I do remember learning how to "Moon Walk" though. I was so excited when I finally figured out how to do it. Now I think it's dumb, but back then it was the cool thing to do.

I'm not going to rake the poor guy over the coals, like everybody has over the years. I don't know if he molested any children or not. That is for God to judge. I feel we should not judge anybody for their actions. Our actions are of equal value in the sight of God. I don't tolerate the actions of those that do such things to children, but if God sees my sins as equal as theirs. Then all I can do is forgive them. Ok, Enough of that!

I don't know why MJ acted the way he did. But I believe the price of being famous will make you freakish. Always trying to fit in to the eyes that are on you is tough. That's why you should never push your children into the life of being famous. It will mess them up bad! I think we should all push our children into the light of Christ and show them the value of being a servant. We're teaching our children in the wrong ways sometimes, me included. I don't want my children to be star struck by these people that are a bad influence. I don't think there is any value in famous people and their lives, including sports figures. The real heroes are in the Bible and in your church.

So Michael rest in peace and may we not remember him by the negative things, but for the entertainment you brought us over the years.

Jesus, The Fountain Of Life

John 4:13-14 Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give will never be thirsty. The water I give will become a spring of water gushing up inside of that person, giving eternal life."

I took this picture at a restaurant in Heber Springs on Father's day. I never thought it would take as good as it did. Little did I know it would make a blog. But I think it has a lot of meaning, after you read this verse it does.

The setting of this passage is Jesus talking to the Samaritan woman at the well. He surprises the woman by him just talking to her. She was a Samaritan and he was Jew. Since they were not to talk to each other because of their beliefs. But it shows that Jesus is for all. For all, who are thirsting for something more than this planet and its hollow ways. Jesus asks for her a drink, and she is surprised by the question from him. Yet, she is surprised by all his knowledge of her life and how many husbands she has had over the years. As Jesus tells who he is, she is astounded and runs back into town and tells everyone about her little chat with the Christ. Wouldn't you? I would've never left his side. I would have been asking more questions.

Jesus the water of life and for life. I remember last week when it was so humid and hot and I had to work out in it. I just couldn't wait to get home and feel the cool air of our house. I couldn't wait to get something cool and refreshing to quench my thirst. When I did it was great!!!!! But the next day I was right out there again feeling the same way. Thirsty and hot. It was 118 degrees in the sun for 10 days straight. It was awful, but I took it on and cooled off as much as I could. Yet it didn't last very long, as I returned back into the heat again I felt the need again.

With Jesus it will last for all eternity. He will quench our thirst we search for. Our satisfaction is guaranteed in him always. While we are here on Earth we will face troubles. Even becoming or being a Christian doesn't keep us from troubles in life. We will suffer just like those who don't wear the name of Christ. But us having Christ in our lives will make it easier to deal with our troubles in life. Instead of trying to solve them for ourselves we can pray them away to him. Life is easier when Christ "The Fountain of life" is flowing through us. Accept Christ in your life and drink deeply- it will never run out!

Funny Newspaper Article

This is a funny article. You may have to click on the picture to make it bigger to read it. It's worth reading though!

Heaven

I just finished the book "90 minutes in heaven." Really a good read. His description of heaven was pretty much what I thought it might be. Over the past couple of years I have been thinking about the beauty of heaven. The after life is something we can't grasp and really have some descriptions of what it might be like. Yet we can't really get a feel for it though.

Don Piper's description told of a welcoming party waiting for him with great anticipation. He saw people their he knew and received hugs from them and claimed he had never felt such love, ever!

Here is a brief description of his time in heaven.

"In my next moment of awareness, I was standing in heaven. Joy pulsated through me as I looked around. And at that moment I became aware of a large crowd of people. They stood in front of a brilliant, ornate gate. I have no idea how far away they were; such things as distance didn't matter. As the crowd rushed toward me, I didn't see Jesus, but I did see people I had known. As they surged toward me, I knew instantly that all had died during my lifetime. Their presence seemed absolutely natural.

They rushed toward me, and every person was smiling, shouting and praising God. Although no one said so, intuitively I knew they were my celestial welcoming committee. It was as if they had all gathered outside heaven's gate waiting for me."

That is awesome! Think of all the people that have gone before you in death and think about them waiting for you outside of heaven's gate. Smiling and praising God. Smiling, that is something you don't see a whole lot. A smile, a real smile not a fake smile. A smile we will never really know until we reach heaven. A smile of completeness, happiness and pure fulfilled joy! I really have no clue of what that kind of smile is.

People praising God. We praise God every time we worship. We praise Him as much as we can. But earthly praise is nothing compared to Heavenly praise is it? Compete praise to our Lord is what we will be doing when we all get to heaven. He speaks of the music he heard and how wonderful it was. Music we have never heard on Earth.

He states he has never felt such joy and love ever. He was finally where he always longed to be, heaven. I don't know what you believe about this man's journey, but his description seems all to real for me. He was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident and he was gone for 90 minutes. You will have to read the book to see all that he went through during his recovery. It took him 2 years to finally talk about his journey to heaven. He was afraid to say anything about it, but after he did he helped a lot of people through his story. Nobody knows what God has planned for them. He will eventually show us the way or he already is showing us our Divine path, we just haven't opened up our hearts and our eyes yet to see it. Trust God with all you concerns and needs and He will open a door for you always. He did for Don.

God Is Looking From Above

I found this picture on a friends Facebook page. I thought it was quite awesome. It has a Godly reference to it. I looked at it for awhile and thought is this what our Lord is doing right now. Looking down and watching His world from above.

Three things happened today. Obviously, the passing of Farah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. I was wondering as I listened to the MJ stuff about his death. I see all kinds of people gathering outside the hospital. People calling the news stations and crying of his death. Kind of crazy! I did like MJ's music but I would never adore any star like many people are right now.

So it made me think of the "King of Kings." How fast did it spread about his dying on the cross? How much jubilation was there when word of his resurrection got out? Was it like this media craze that it happening right now. Probably not! Those things didn't exist then. Word of mouth was the best way then.

Michael Jackson was probably well known because of his ability to do what he did, but he couldn't save us from our sins or even perform miracles. What I am getting at is that Jesus is my hero and will always be. Not any star! So what do you think God is seeing right now? A world that is in disarray! Many feel losing a pop star is more important than praising God.

Then I think about his feelings toward the way we act. Especially this stuff brewing with North Korea. Korea angers me! How will this work out? If anybody intercepts this ship they will send missiles in the direction of that country. North Korea's leader is a heartless person who's soul has been devoured by Satan! So what is God seeing as He oversees this crazy situation? I'm sure He is in control of it all. He has an answer for it all.

As I looked at this picture it just made think of how I would be sitting on the heavenly throne and seeing all that is happening in our world. How tough it would be to be in control of it all. How irritated you would be to see all that is going on. That is why I am here and God is God and can handle it all. It's my responsibility to bring God the praise He deserves. To bring about the best in people and tell them about my Hero. We can be in shock over someone popular dying or in shock over somebody threatening our world. Yet we can't worry about it all. Because God is watching and wanting us to go on with our lives and not forget him and not forget he is watching, hearing, saving, loving and forgiving us all right now. High above or right beside us he is on alert ready to defeat evil and cure our hearts. Praise God! He's done more than anyone has ever done here on Earth. Take him in and feel his love and show him to as many people as we can.

Did you get an email or a text today? How many people did you show it to? How many people did you send it to? Did you hear a joke today ? I did. I shared it with 5 people, I didn't share Christ with that many people today. I'm ashamed of it too! Last question. How many people did you tell about Michael Jackson dying? Me one! Still that is more people than who I shared Christ with. My score is not very good, tomorrow will hopefully be different. I hope! May God be first in our lives and other things last.

What Are Your Visions Of Heaven?

I've just started reading the book, "90 minutes in Heaven." I have been wanting to read for a long time, but I was skeptical. I always believed God doesn't reveal His heaven to anybody. I always thought it won't be seen until we die or until He comes to take us to Him.

I've always had my visions of what Heaven might be like. But they were nowhere near what He has planned for us to see. We just can't fathom such a glorious sight. We can have thoughts though and try our best to see it.

I often think of the pain many have suffered and are suffering right now. To think they will completely healed and have no pain at all. We will feel love like we have never have never felt before. The authors description of his 90 minutes in heaven is to well described to not be real. I just felt this overwhelming relief as he told of his experience. It's almost what I thought it might be and even more. I have no idea if he actually went there or not, but as you continue to read about the accident that false belief in his story really starts to become more real.

His description is so warming. It will make you think twice about what we are missing here on this planet. Love there is something we will never feel here at all. I long for heaven, I don't want to leave here until I accomplish God's work here first and then I will feel ready. God is so real. He is out there among us, don't deny it for one minute.

The author stated he felt so complete that he never worried about anybody back here on Earth, the light was so illuminating that it didn't bother him it just amazed him. The singing was nothing he had ever heard before. He couldn't tell where it was coming from but it just filled him. It was a constant singing of praise to God. I can't even imagine it!

As he entered a welcoming party was there waiting for him of relatives and people who have been an influence in his life. They hugged him and he said he has never felt so much love and their touch was so filling to him. Amazing!

Can you imagine how loving God is? Can you imagine being in his prescence? We know how excitement feels and what it's like to anticipate something good. But we will never feel the excitement here that we will feel when we stand in the light of the Almighty. I can't wait!

A Loss Of A Friend

I was given some bad news the other night about a friend of mine. My friend Adam had been sick for some time and I hadn't known it. He died Monday from a brain tumor and lymphoma. I hadn't talked to Adam probably in 12 years. He worked with me at Beckett's garden center then and we became good friends.

I remember one time we got bored there and climbed up on the tall peat moss stacked on pallets and try to push each other off the top of them. One of us would usually fall between the pallets and get stuck. It was fun. I'm sure there were other things we did to try and pass the time.

He will be sadly missed. I am still in shock about him passing, and I really am going to be praying for his Mom, Dad and his sister Elizabeth. May you rest in peace my friend and be comforted by our loving God.

To God Be The Glory, That's What He Desires

Sunday morning I could only attend Church for 40 minutes because of this unholy company I work for. But I was glad I was able to get that much time. So I came home and got dressed to go to work and sat down to eat something before I left. I turned on the TV and was watching the news. All they talked about was how Obama was going to try and solve the health care system and talked about the financial market and just sat there and argued about how each other disagreed on how things are not getting done.

So I thought, maybe they should instead give God the glory and praise, that He held this country together and hasn't allowed this country to go into another Great Depression. We don't know how to give God the glory and praise He deserves. That is what He wants. He gave His one and only Son on a cross, he wants praised for not wiping us off the face of the Earth and giving His precious son for us. When you are bailed out of a financial crisis or a major health problem don't just say it in a prayer, shout it out loud. Tell everybody you can about how God is alive and how he is healing still. When Jesus healed people they ran off and told all they could about the wondrous healing power of Christ.

I don't believe we are to be a bunch of Introverts and keep God's glory to ourselves. Our God is a "consuming fire." His love and mercy can spread through anybody if we tell people about Him. Many know of a higher being, yet they don't know how to reach him or don't think He really does anything for us. As Christians we need to tell our story about how God has done and continues to do for us every day. I've been reading this book titled, "Glimpses of Heaven." It was written by a former Hospice nurse who tells about her patients (who are near death) and shares there stories about leaving and going to their Creator. The stories are "Amazing!" He's ready for us to come to him, but he wants us first to share His story and what a beautiful story it is. Give God the glory and give others His Glory also.

The Pittsburgh Penguins 2009 Stanley Cup Champions

Well it's finally over! 2 months of playoffs and more excitement than I almost could bear. But I am glad to see my team finally raise the Cup. The last time they raised it was in 1993 and now finally they have done it. So I can say I have had a huge championship year. The Steelers and the Penguins both have made this Pittsburgh fan extremely happy!

Forgiveness

I have been reading a book titled, "The Reason For God." It's my third time reading. There is so much in it, you have to read it a few times. I learned something new or found a new view on forgiveness. The writers definition of Forgiveness is: bearing the cost instead of making the wrongdoer do it, so you can reach out in love to seek your enemy's renewal and change. Or another definition: absorbing the debt of the sin yourself.

So basically we are doing the same thing Christ did on the cross for us, except He did it on a much greater scale. But I never really thought about this in great detail. When I forgive someone I just always thought it was just letting the sin go and forgetting about it. Letting by gones be by gones. Acting like it never happened. But acting like it never happened is where we are not like Christ. We can act like it never happened. Yet, we still remember it and we may act like it doesn't bother us but it really does still bother us. There are still things that have happened in my life that others have maybe said or done to me that I released them of the guilt by forgiving them. As it goes my memory doesn't fail me and I remember things and they bother me. I guess I really didn't forgive the act or sin the way Christ did. I didn't absorb it and take on the burden like I should have. Make sense? I hope so.

As we live life and are around other people we should be mindful that things are going to happen and people are going to wrong us and we too will wrong others. In order to forgive others we have to have the mind of Christ to be able to forgive others like we should. That being the way Christ did on the cross. He took it upon himself to take the burden of sin and absorb it instead of taking it out on the person who did it. US! The author of this book states this: We are absorbing the debt, taking the cost of it completely on ourselves instead of taking it out on the other person.

Instead of fighting over the wrong, we don't say anything about the sin or wrong doing and don't retaliate against the other person. By our forgiving Christian ability that God has given us we can be an example to others and they might be overwhelmed and want to change. God is amazing. How can anybody not believe in Him! Forgive and keep life happy for others and ourselves.

The Pittsburgh Penguins Are Going To Game 7

I am a hockey "FREAK!" And also a huge Penguins fan. Tonight they forced a game 7 with Detroit on Friday. I can't wait! I have not missed one Penguins playoff game thanks to the D V R. But it has been a long ride since April. I love it ! Go Pens!!!!!!!!

God The Artist

I just really can't fathom how somebody can look at this picture of this tulip and not know it was created by a higher power. As I grow older I'm starting to realize more and more of when Christ talked about those whose hearts are hardened. Satan makes many people in this world blind to the beauty of God.

He fills them with with foolish schemes to not allow them to seek God but themselves. They deny the existence of a true Living Creator. They just seek a world that just happened and deny a world carefully planned out by a wonderful artist. Over the years I have seen many different plants from being in the plant business. I can't believe how many there are. How many different varieties there are of each plant. No way can all that just happen. It was planned!

To look at the earth and not see it's beauty is a mistake.

If in the final day when the horns are blaring and we see Jesus in the clouds, what will be his final word to those who don't believe? They will plead for mercy. He may say you never read my word or stepped foot in my worship services. But I gave you my Father's work to see and believe, and still it was not enough proof. That is proof of a hard heart. We may not see our heavenly Father, but His beauty is all around us. Look and Believe before it is to late!