Blessed Are The Merciful

I'm usually a person who doesn't give others many chances. I expect things to be done right or expect to act in a certain manner. I have no patience when somebody messes up my order at McDonald's. I really assume people will do things right and learn from their mistakes. I guess I need to learn to be more merciful.

A long time ago I wrote about a girl I work with that showed up to work drunk and they let her off the hook. She has done it a few times in the past and it really irritated me a lot. I would've fired her on the spot if she would've come into my business like that.

So last week she came in two days in a row drunk. I couldn't believe they let her off the hook again. Except this time she has to go to rehab and prove her plea to get help. That is the only reason she kept her job, she pleaded for help. Addicts always know how to pull the wool over the other persons eyes. So the other person says OK and gives them another chance. Why? I try to understand, I am a person who would rather allow the that person to suffer and see what life is like when no one is merciful. I feel that is the only way the person can learn. Break it off and let them learn the hard way. I still believe in that concept. If you keep giving in, the addict is going to keep using you. That is their way of surviving the life they live. If you keep bailing them out of jail they will continue getting in trouble. Because they know someone will come to their rescue. I say leave them in jail and face their punishment and maybe they will learn their lesson.

Our world continues to show mercy to people who are addicted to things. It doesn't have to be a drug or alcohol to be an addiction. Power is an addiction. Look at North Korea's dictator. Again the man continues to defy international pressure against firing his missiles. He knows he can get away with it and he will just continue to to pose his threats until someone says "OK what do you want and we will give it to you." I say blow him up and things will be better for all of us. But that is not the right way to handle the situation, but it would end the problem.

Addiction is a problem for all of us. You may say, "I'm not addicted to anything!" But we all are in some way. Just sit down and think about it. I really hope my co-worker does get control over her addiction. She really has a severe problem and it needs to be dealt with. It's hard to be merciful some times but God is the most merciful of all. How many times have we gone to Our Lord and said I promise I won't do it again. And what does He do? He forgives again and again and again and again. Every day we say the same things over and over and he still forgives us. I need to be merciful. How about you?

A Hungry World

"And may you feed a hungry world through me."

This phrase can pierce your heart. It got me thinking. I know what I am supposed to be doing, but I am not doing it. We are to feed His sheep. Are we doing it?

Our world is hungry for understanding. It needs some kind of reasoning and healing. Our people our hurt and confused. We as Christians are not completely doing our Lord's work like we should. I am in that category too. There are many though who are doing their share, but there are many of us who are slacking in this department. Again I fall short in the Lord's work. And I am ashamed of it.

I work with many who know nothing about their Lord and are lost. Wandering around not knowing their purpose. Satan does play a large role in our procrastination. HE makes other things more important than doing the Lord's work.

We went to Little Rock today and landed in the Old Navy store. They had Flip- Flops for a dollar a pair. When we walked in the door I couldn't believe my eyes in what I saw. A store full of women with lots of these flip - flops in their hands. The lines at the register was almost at the back of the store. I was ready to go! A large crowd of women makes nervous. It was just Crazy! We stayed a little while, then Shannon felt it was a waste of time. Thank goodness!!!!!!!

But I thought about that situation the whole day. The "craze" that was driven by a pair shoes made out of foam, rubber and two straps to keep them on your feet was not God's intentions for all of us in that store. He had other jobs for us today, but Satan made it a top priority for us. What are we doing with His time?

I am focusing this blog on the topic of service this week. Serving others, our driven purpose for our lives and others. A lot of times I have service on my mind, but have no idea where to start or know who needs my attention. It's tough, but the littlest things can bring goodness to others. You don't have to go out and feed the multitudes like Jesus did. But we can serve the tiniest of groups and God will see our goodness to others. Our world is hungry. Don't think that people don't want your help because they do. We need to ask God where we can share His goodness to someone and He will reveal a lot of things you can do. I have had three ideas on my mind that would really be good, just haven't hit the motivation button yet. Look at your world around you and see the needs of others. Remember it's not our time we're wasting it's His.

Did You See God At Work Today?

I saw God at work today. I didn't realize it, but I did. As the day slowly turned into night I saw God surrounded by a campfire tonight. I looked at my son Brayden and saw a child healed by God. A couple of weeks ago I saw a different child. A child that wasn't himself who was sick and I saw a very scared child. And we were two very scared parents with no answers from the doctors. Tonight he went to his final cub scout meeting and was playing with his friends and throwing things in the fire to watch them burn. I looked up to the tree covered canopy and just looked at its beauty and was amazed that God had shown me his miracle. A healthy son.

If you didn't see God today then you walked into His creation blinded. His creation was a sight to behold. I saw it and I stand in awe! What a vision of beauty. God has never let us down. We tend to think he has because we are selfish and want the answer now.

I looked at that campfire tonight and was given a thought by Him. Fire is a basic commodity these days. With all the modern technology we have to heat with today. We don't realize how important it was back in history for people to use it to keep warm. God gave our ancestors fire so they would not freeze. Even then God was at work. He kept them safe and warm from the elements. To them it was a gift. Tonight it was a gift to me to see God has kept us from sinking in this world. Look at everything there is to look at in this world and realize it is God who gave it to us. It is a gift we don't deserve and never will. Yet through His love and mercy He felt he needed to give us these things so we can realize we are not alone. He is here and he is giving us every opportunity to see Him.

Every breath, He is working.

Every finger movement, He did that.

Every bird that sings, He did that.

Every leaf on a tree, He counted them and made them come alive.

Look and see he is working!

Waterboarding

You know I've been hearing a lot about this word lately. I didn't know what it really was. Now I do. It's pretty awful what they do to these detainees. But why torture these people. They don't care if they die. That is their whole plan. They are martyrs for their religion. They believe they will receive great blessings by killing other people in the name of Allah. They also believe they will receive 3,000 women when they get to their eternal destiny.

After watching 24 for the 8 seasons its been on. They want Jack Bauer arrested for his torturous ways of interrogating criminals. They talk once he tortures them. So I guess you got to do what you got to do to get the info you need. Really I'm not for torture at all. If our country whats to be respected, torture is not the way to go.

Cool Car & 2 Very Strange People

What Comes Between Us and God? Our Stumbling Block For Not Serving Him

Sin- a word, thought, or act against the law of God.

I have been thinking the past couple of months of what things or sin that is keeping me from being complete in Christ. We all know the big sins or what we call the big sins are. Yet God doesn't see any sin greater than any other one. All sin is equal to him. He doesn't rank them, He sees them all the same. I often worry about things I may do or say and really get worried about doing them. I do my best to try and keep a tight reign on my words and my thoughts every day. Yet I can't be perfect all the time. But there are so many things that keep us form being close to Jesus. We sometimes don't even realize what they are.

One of my biggest things is worrying about money. I just don't know why I do. But I do. It's constantly on my mind. I'm tired of it. Money is our God here on earth. It keeps us from doing our duty for God. Every day we go to work to get money. We have to pay our bills and keep food on our tables. I don't worry about not having money for material possessions. I don't have to keep up with others. That's just not my thing. But I worry about not having enough to pay our bills. I worry something catastrophic may happen and not having the money to pay it. Like something in the house breaking down. I don't want to have to use the credit card to pay for it. It's just another trick of Satan to keep us from doing our duty for God. I sometimes wonder if God wanted us to create money. I really don't think this is a blessing of God. Yet many preach this as a blessing of God.

Did Jesus have money? The only time I remember the Bible telling of Jesus having money was when he pulled the coin out of the fishes mouth to pay taxes to Caesar. That is the only time I can remember. I may be wrong but it is the only time. So if Jesus didn't have money, why do we have to have it? I know! We don't want to be out on the streets and having to look for food to feed our family. Life is tough. Maybe we should have more faith in God.

But there are so many things that Satan puts in front of us to keep us away from the Lord. TV is one. I wish I didn't have one. If it wasn't for loving sports so much I wouldn't need it. There is nothing worth watching on it anymore.

I need to make a list to see what is keeping me from serving my Lord. We all need more time to be with God. More time to tell our children about the importance of serving Christ and others. Our world is so into making us seem that we need this and that to be satisfied. We come to realize that it will never satisfy us one bit. We are having a severe separation anxiety attack daily. Many don't realize that to be with God in His presence is the only way to be satisfied. So we are wanting more to fill the void of not being with God. We don't realize that we are longing for God to be in our presence. Until we see Him in His glory then we will be completely satisfied. Until then we will reach for other things in this world to try and satisfy us. Satan will try to fill this thirst for God with many sinful things to keep us from Him. We need to stay grounded in God and tell others who are lost that the sinful things here on Earth will pass away. But God will never pass from us. Let's not worry so much on our need for satisfaction and get right with God and tell Him how sorry we are for looking to other things to keep us satisfied.

Our children need us as parents to not be so possessive of material things. We need to tell them how our Father in heaven can satisfy all our needs. To Him is where all our praise should be, not by what we possess. Don't make a name for yourself, make name for him. Let's focus on Him not ourselves. Let's be humble in all we do. Make a list and see what is keeping us all from living in the Lord.

Prayers Have Been Answered For My Son Brayden

Wednesday morning we woke up to the normal acting Brayden. I have never been so happy in my life than this moment. When you see your child go from healthy to just not being his normal self it's alarming. We have had three days of grace from God. I have been so excited to see him just behaving like he normally does. I enjoyed hearing him back in his room playing with his toys and I also enjoyed him fighting with his brother and sister. But the fighting was short lived.

It is fearful to see your child go through the sickness he went through the past couple of weeks. It was very frightening to us. We had no clue what was going on half the time. Our prayers and the prayers of many allowed God to do His thing. He heard us plead for his mercy and just make things the way they used to be and He did. I'm thankful so very thankful for His healing power. I will tell everybody how great our God is. Won't you?

Patience With God

When things go wrong they can go wrong quickly. As the saying goes, "When it rains, it pours!" When things are going good, bad things can happen fast. It seems this the way things have been for most of us here in Arkansas.

But we have been patient here in waiting for answers to our prayers. As I had mentioned my son Brayden has had two very bad weeks. But he has had a goodnight so far. He started to have a little panic attack tonight but I talked to him and told I have had them and so has his Mom. I told him you just have to remember God is helping and you have to remain calm and breath. So I ask for your continued prayers for him.

I remember someone saying Satan attacks us most when things are going good. He wants no good in our lives to happen. But when things are going bad what is the first thing most of us do? We pray. Then he makes us impatient on waiting on the answers. If we stay strong in our patience God will answer.

Bad things happen to us all. I consider this part of suffering in Christ. We must take on the sufferings and know that is part of living in Christ. Yet at the end of the race we know something better is going to happen to us. Everyday compete in the race for eternal life. And at the end of the race hopefully we stayed strong in Christ and he will show us our trophy room. Take on the sufferings of life no matter what they are, and remember to be patient with God. Because He has been patient with us. Really patient!

God's Grace And Mercy In Times Of Great Need.

As we approached the visitation of the girl tonight who was murdered by her husband. I didn't know what it was going to be like. I thought there would be a lot of crying, but there was very little. The family has shed their tears and are shedding them right now.

I was amazed of how strong they were. I sat there and just really felt I was missing something. I know I wouldn't have that kind of strength. I would probably have not showed up. I can get very emotional about things like death. As I walked around I just knew I was seeing the mercy of our God. He kept those in deep sorrow calm and allowed His grace to be shown. A lot of people poured into the heritage lobby tonight. They had one thing on their mind. To comfort the hurting and give them love. It's such a shocking event. It just blows my mind. That's God for you. He still amazes me every day I live.

I am strongly against murder. I don't know why someone would ever do such a thing. I feel it is the unforgivable sin. To take God's creation and decide to end it for yourself is hideous and deserving of Satan's pain. But God doesn't look at it like that. He is a forgiving God as long as the person who did it ask for His forgiveness. Amazing!

If someone did that to that to one of my children I would ask the judge to put me in the same cell with the one who did it and I would give them what they deserved. I'm just like that!

Her husband was released from jail and allowed to go home to his parents in Atlanta. No monitor and his passport was not taken away. He has been charged with 2nd degree murder charges. The judge is foolish and has no regard for the family of the victim. The world makes no sense does it ???????????

Visitation Tonight.

I really don't like the scene of death. It just bothers me a lot. I'm sure we all feel the same. When I usually attend a funeral (which has been a long time) I often think where that person is. I wonder sometimes if they are watching their own funeral and visitation. Probably not. But where are they? It's a question we just can't answer. Somebody once said that death is the only chapter man cannot write. So true.

It's such a sad visitation we will attend tonight. This is the girl Micah who was shot by her husband and then he dumped her body by the river. Very ignorant and shameful. People have said to pray for him and his family because they are sad too. That is very hard to do, but it is something God would want us to do.

I ask for you to pray for the Rine family as they say goodbye to their daughter in the next few days. How sad it is to say goodbye to someone so young. I hope her husband realizes how many people he has effected with his stupid decision. He thought one bullet would kill one person. One bullet killed her and thousands of those emotionally who loved and knew her. We need to all think about our actions before we act on them! God bless us all!

What A Bad Week.

This has turned out to be one of the worst weeks ever. My son Brayden is still needing prayers. The medicine he had a reaction with is still giving him troubles with hallucinating. Everyone keeps saying that it will eventually wear off and he will be alright. I hope and pray for a full recovery. I humbly ask for your prayers also.

Last night a friend of mine from back home who resides here in Searcy. His daughter came up missing. It was said that she went for a walk around 8 pm and never returned. So everyone here in Searcy started to pray for this family. When I got home from work my wife met me at the door to tell me some very bad news. Her husband shot her and murdered her and dumped her on the bank of a river in Bartlett, TN. What a horrible man!!!!!!! I hope he gets what he deserves. I wish I could talk to him and tell him what I thought. As a Christian I pray that he is forgiven. As a human being I hope he rots in a cell for life. I could hardly sleep last night. I thought about what my friends are going through and how great a loss this is for them. Why didn't the idiot just walk away and not harm her? I have no answers!

I got passed over for a promotion last night at work. They were on their way to give to me, instead they gave it to a girl who complains about her job and doesn't work with a flip. I am still upset about it, but God may have other plans for me. Let's all pray for a better week.

Please Pray For My Son Brayden

Our son Brayden has been in the hospital all weekend. He had a severe reaction to a bladder medicine he was taking for a UTI infection. He was hallucinating and seeing things all night Friday. He had another reaction this morning that was almost like a seizure. Please pray for him and hope that he comes through this. Please pray that I don't doubt in my prayers. i believe God is on the case and HE needs me and my to be faithful. Thank you Clint

The Negro League & Their Fight Against Racism

This afternoon I watched a special on the MLB Network. It was about the history of the Negro Baseball league. I thought it was very interesting to watch. I am a person who dislikes the very thought of segregation. I believe it is an evil past of our country and really saddens me that something like this ever happened.

The players who were still alive to do this documentary told of how special this league was to them. They believed they were deserving enough to play in the Major Leagues, but the whites felt they weren't. How shameful those white people were. It's embarrassing to be a white person sometimes when you hear of how evil and cruel our race was to another race.

The old timers of the Negro League tell of how they were mistreated as baseball players. Especially on road trips, they said they would go three or four days without a shower because the hotels would not allow them to stay anywhere because of the color of their skin. They mentioned how they would go to a restaurant to eat they had to enter in the back door and get some handouts.

As they went to the deep south to play games they would be treated terrible. One night they were in Georgia to play a game and the Sheriff of that particular town told them there would be no game tonight. He said the field they would be playing on would be the sight of a KKK rally. In my mind those white people were idiots and disgraced their own race. I hope they repented later in life. Those who played in the Negro League were tough and really deserve great respect because of all the hatred they faced.

I literally hate racism! I really feel for all who were hated for the color of their skin. I feel no remorse though for any white person who ever beat, hanged or mistreated another person for the color of their skin. They will get their due penalty one day.

I know there is still racism going on today, but we have become more loving in this generation and have come to not look down on someone because of their color. Yet living in the south I hear things that really can set me off. And it disturbs me greatly! Live life with all no matter what our outside differences are. Christ would.

A Prayer And A Psalm For A Friend

Nothing was going right for me today and it all just added to the clutter in my life. I thought I was having a bad day until my wife gave me some good news and some bad news. A friend of ours is both rejoicing and mourning at the same time. I won't give you the details but I will say God is a good being who knows exactly what He is doing. We try to tell Him what to do in our prayers and ask for more than we deserve. Yet He gives us more than we shall ever need, and we still beg for more. But I will pray for my friends at this moment in time. And thank Him for what he has done for all of us today.

I found a Psalm that is just right for us all today.

Vindicate me, O Lord,

for I have led a blameless life;

I have trusted in the Lord

without wavering.

Test me, O Lord, and try me,

examine my heart and my mind;

for your love is ever before me,

and I walk continually in your truth.

I do not sit with deceitful men,

nor do I consort with hypocrites;

I abhor the assembly of evildoers

and refuse to sit with the wicked.

I wash my hands in innocence,

and go about your altar, O Lord,

proclaiming aloud your praise

and telling of all your wonderful deeds.

I love the house where you live, O Lord,

the place where your glory dwells.

Do not take away my soul along with sinners,

my life with bloodthirsty men,

in whose hands are full of bribes.

But I lead a blameless life;

redeem me and be merciful to me.

My feet stand on level ground;

in the great assembly I will praise the Lord. Psalm 26

Who I am : )

I believe every day we all try to think about our life. How others feel about us. How we can make our mark in this life. How we fit in this world and how we got here. I think about my life a lot. Sometimes I wonder what people think of me. I don't think a lot about what people think of me. Sometimes I just really don't care. I believe it is my life and I will lead it to the best of my ability or however God wants to lead it.

Many who read this don't know me or don't have a clue who I am. I thought I would share some things with you so when I write you don't think I am a hypocrite or some kind of nut. :)

I believe in learning something new every day. Doesn't matter what. Just anything. I believe in moving forward and not falling behind. Even though a lot of times I am falling behind.

I have failed at many things, but I have never quit anything. Even though I have thought about quiting a lot of things, but I just hung in there no matter what.

I have high expectations in myself and others and in a world that lacks those high expectations. So sometimes I can really be rough around the edges about certain things I write about. A lot of times I can be very soft in my writing about things it just depends on my mood. And then sometimes I can write in anger about things. If you are consistent reader you probably know that. I have gone off on subjects that have really urked me. I guess it's those high expectations I have.

Over the past few years I have really found out who God really is. He is not a record keeper of my wrong doings, but a God of great love yet a God of judgement though. I have complained about where I live and have said some rude things about my town. But life can't always be perfect! I am still adapting.

I am a person who has become very grateful for every day. I love my wife and my three children very much. I couldn't live without them. Even though they can be way over dramatic sometimes.

I used to a very sinful person in years past. Living for the moment and not really giving any thought to my Christian life. All I thought about was myself. I know better now.

I really love to defend the under dog. I don't like rich people who hoard their money. I believe the person who has little is much better off than those who have a lot. I read a book who says to always become better than you were raised. Not me I will always be blue collar and I will always defend the blue collar people. Those are the people I was raised around and those are the people I will always stand by.

I love everybody I come in contact with in my life and that will never change. If they don't like me or think I am an idiot I don't care. I will still love them because God loves them. Rich, poor, black, white or Hispanic they are still people. Even if they have a handicap license plate and drive slow in front of me I will honk my horn and not be mad too long. :)

I am a forgiving person. If you make me mad or offend me I won't hate that person or hold any bitter feelings. I'm sure I have done the same thing to someone else before. My temper only lasts about five minutes and then its over.

I don't plan anything for the next day. I just see what it brings to me. Why plan when interruptions happen all the time. Or your wife will always change your plans. She likes to plan a month ahead of time. I don't!

I am very good sleeper. No problems at all. I don't worry about anything. But I do feel bad for those who can't sleep, I really want to help them with that. It's so easy to go to sleep. I don't understand why people have trouble with it.

I don't understand why people want to do the evil they do. I just want to have a conversation with them, and ask them why they do what they do. Osama bin laden. I just want to talk to the guy and see if I could get through to him.

I don't tolerate arrogant people. I'm going to write a book about our arrogance. It is definitely a problem with many of us Americans. Read Finding Calcutta and you will get a real good lesson about humbleness.

I know the Bible says not to love the world or anything in it, but I love a lot about this world. But I will be ready to meet God one day. I have some pain and weird things that I feel and go through almost every day. I try to figure out why? But I believe God gives me things for some reason. When my back is in great pain or I have back spasms. I realize that there will be a place of great healing. Where the pain that you and I go through will not be anymore. Every pain makes me think of Heaven and its pain free, worry free and tearless policy. How great will that be?

I am thankful for who I am. God has blessed me in many great ways. I may be in debt and not perfect but I am warrior for the Great Almighty. In Him I will stand forever. Will you stand with me?

Taking Christ's Cross Lightly

I often am guilty of taking the death of Christ to lightly. We believe it happened and that He suffered great pain through the beatings and the nails. I remember watching the movie 'The Passion Of Christ," and it really brought me to tears. Someone had finally shown the reality of his death and a realistic view of the pain He had gone through. There is no way any man can bare the pain that Christ bore for us all. He literally went through Hell pain wise. Yet we still miss an important fact of His Crucifixion.

When we read the verse in the Bible where He screams "My God why have you forsaken me?" We really don't give a whole lot of thought to the depth of despair He felt when He was forsaken out of the bosom of the Holy Trinity. The perfect circle was broken. Christ felt a lonesome pain that man has never known. A feeling that none of us could ever bare. Christ was left by His Father. He was forsaken by the Creator of the world. His world became dark and alone. God turned His back on his Son and left him. Christ went to hell for us, to bare all our sins that we may be saved from death. Do we ever stop and think about what it would be like to be denied or left by our God? For he is the one that holds our lives together. I believe we would have a complete loss of life. No meaning to be living. An emptiness that we couldn't bare. Some will feel that pain one day as they enter hell and are cut off from the vine of the Living God.

I now understand why many say Christ had a broken heart. To have God turn His back on you and be that alone would completely devastate us all. Christ bore so much on His cross that we will never ever comprehend what really went on between heaven and hell. What we do know is that he did it for us. We didn't deserve such great love like that. Some Christians give up something tempting during the days of lent, like smoking or sweets. I think that is mocking the cross of Christ. I think that is weak minded and foolish. I believe we need to give up a lot more than that. I believe we all (including myself) need to really stop and focus on our sins and try to be the best possible people we can be. We have all taken the Cross of Christ way to lightly. We need to understand the price that Christ paid for us all to be free from sin and the price of His love.

It's time we all get it together and really love Jesus, and stop making excuses for not loving Him.

Suffering for Christ

" The sufferings we have now are nothing compared to the great glory that will be shown to us." Romans 8: 18

I know there are many people in this world like this guy in the picture. Many are just to the point of just giving up. They just don't know what direction to go in right now. They thought their job was secure, and "BOOM" their jobs were gone. I feel no security anymore in the job market. The past three or four have been rough. But I suffered for a little while and prayed a lot and remained faithful till God opened a door for me.

Everybody wants to know what the answer is, and if I could talk to every person in the world right now I would tell them to pray, be faithful, truly believe in God our creator and don't use Him as a scapegoat. Truly believe He is the answer and when He answers don't run away from Him and forget Him, remain in Him always. But we can't talk to the whole world at one time or any other time. Many would think I am crazy, for suggesting to speak to an invisible God. Like that works, Uh...... it did for me!!!!!!

I am reading a book titled "The Reason For God." Great book! I am reading it for the second time because I just couldn't capture everything this guy says. The author interviewed a few New Yorkers about their belief in God. Many said they couldn't believe in a God that allowed suffering in His world. They obviously have never read the Bible, it has a lot of suffering in it. Especially the Crucifixion of Christ. Suffering for God is our reward for loving God and His Son. Suffering builds character. It increases our faith and makes us stronger. It draws us closer to God in prayer and faith in Him. I believe I finally found my reason for loving a higher power in my times of suffering. I was in a rut and couldn't find my path to follow. So I gave it to God and he had been taking care of me the whole time. I knew He was, Satan just clouded that view of God from me. I'm sure there will be more suffering in my life in the near future. But I will be prepared for it. He will build me up for my future sufferings and he will be right there in the middle of it all.

So if you have just lost your job and are just clueless in what you are supposed to do, get on your knees and give it all to God in prayer. Cry if you have to, there is no shame in crying over your problems. Get it all out and step back up to the plate and take your swings at the world. Not every pitch is going to be a home run, but at least your beating the world down with every swing. Get out there and do something and show Satan you won't allow him to win you over. We are the children of God we can't lose. We are Sons and Daughters of the Most High, what can man do to us.

I was in a very down and hopeless mood the other day after all that has happened this past week. I drove around for a few minutes and put in a CD by Wayburn Dean titled "Immeasurable." Did it hit at the right time, tears came to my eyes and I just felt the love of God wrapped around me. The words to some of his songs are put just right. I thought about God's goodness in my life how good it is to be a child of The Most High. Then two days later I was back in that rotten mood. The past two days at work were just horrible and I was getting worked up about the whole situation. I asked God to deliver me from this stress. I don't get stressed really about anything. When it happens, I go overboard and get very upset at people. But he released me by allowing to not to care about it so much. I thought why am I worrying so much about something so stupid, if it doesn't get done somebody else can do it. I am a child of God, what can man do to me. Boast in God, and remember he will do whatever for us.

Our world's financial and job loss situations can only be solved by us taking up our cross and giving it all to Him. Be faithful through your suffering and consider it an award from God and remain in His love. Then you can do all things through Him.

Seeing The LIght At The Other End.

My family and I had a rough time last week and this week has turned out to be another rough one. WE had one child in the E.R. last week and she is better now. Then my wife went to use our debit card at Taco Bell and it was declined. Come to find out somebody had stolen our debit card number in "ROMANIA" and charged at least $300 dollars and another $300 and put our account in the negative. So I got a little upset,and all I could think about was finding this person and wringing his neck. So now it is in the process of getting fixed and we will get our money back. But I am still angry about it.

So today our oldest child went to the E.R. with a bladder infection. I humbly ask for your prayers for him I hope everything is OK with him. Then tonight at work, there was way to much for me to handle. People just don't do the work they are supposed to do. So it was left to me to get it all done. So the manager and I are going to have a talk tomorrow. I started to get stressed out about all this, and then thought my problems are really not as bad as others. So I will not complain anymore.

I took this picture the other night. It's a flower off our Camellia bush. It blooms every spring and it never lets me down. I look at this picture and it makes me think how wonderful our God is. Through all our tragedies and trials that Satan throws at us he will never win. A little flower of God's Holy beauty took me away from our disastrous week and made me think about how God will renew all things for us all. We may go through hard times, but the sun will always rise to give us another day of His wondrous grace. Stand tall during the evil trials of life and God will show us the path to follow.

God is: Love, kind, merciful, patient, eternal and never far away. May we love God at all times. Our world talks about bailouts. For all of us who follow Christ know he will be our bailout for all eternity. Thank you Lord for all that you give us and giving me the strength to see the light at the other end.

Communicate Your Problems.

This week has been a very good week. We had a good time with my parents visiting from West Virginia. They are great people. I realize how blessed I am to have such loving Christian parents. As we get older we come to appreciate our parents more and more. I remember a time when I didn't want them to tell me what to do or even be in my business, but now I realize how important it is for them to everywhere in my life. Being 900 miles away from them I realize I don't see them much and how much I do miss them. I hope my children will feel the same way about Shannon and I. I hope they realize how much we love them and how important it is for us to be in their lives every day.

As you go through life and live day to day it is important to feel the love of your family. I have recently heard how families don't get along and how a wall of anger has been put between families. I realize that our world has a lack of communication and selfishness in it. Many families have split apart because of hurt feelings and hatred. We fear of talking out our problems and things never get solved. I have no fear of approaching a person with a problem. If our world would step up to the plate and communicate our problems and say we're sorry. Maybe we would have less split families and less divorce in the world. Christ would always put himself last and others first. His love would prevail over anger and He would communicate to all. Show your love to others especially to those closes to you, your family. Love one another!

Macy's 6th Birthday

Today is a special day. Macy turns 6 today. She is so precious to me and Shannon, a true blessing from God. I never knew she would be so special. Everybody knows macy, because she is very outgoing and just loves everybody, especially the little boys in her class. UH-OH!

She is a rascal though! She loves to irritate her brothers a lot. Driving them completely nuts. She can hold her own though, she can fight back very well. This picture cracks me up. It was taken the other day. If you have seen the movie "Finding Nemo" you'll remember that Nemo was to be a present for this dentist's little niece. She was very rowdy and rough with all her pets. Macy follows her example very well. Her little cat "Shelby" takes a lot of abuse from all three of our children, but Macy gives her the most love. She carries the cat around all the time like a football. I tell her the cat is going to bite her if she continues to be rough with her. She doesn't care though, Shelby is her best friend. She carries her around so much that she is covered in cat hair, which drives me insane. I hate cat hair!!!!!! The other night I told her to change her PJ's because she was just smothered in hair from the cat. She said she didn't care. My eyebrows touched, but I let it go!!

Macy is something else, she loves to laugh and be completely rotten. She is always up to something. I had inherited a huge box of retired "Beanie Babies" the other day. I taped the box shut and figured she wouldn't get into it. When I got home from work she had opened the box and found a bunch she had liked. You can't hide anything from her. I love her dearly though, and I am so blessed when March 30th rolls around. I think of the day she was born and how awesome it was to welcome her little soul to Earth. We are truly blessed, and I know God will make her a great and kind warrior for His will. Thank you Lord for a true blessing in Macy.

Can't Sleep?

For some reason I can't go to sleep tonight. It's 12 am here in Arkansas and I guess I have a few things on my mind. I have had trouble with my back today. A few years I was tossing ball and I threw it a little hard and pulled this muscle in my chest. It has never healed. So now I have come to find out I have a rib out of place and when I do any heavy lifting it fires up and I have back spasms. I need prayers for healing of this problem.

I did take a nap today which always keeps me from sleeping some times at night. But I never have any trouble sleeping ever. I guess it's just one of those rare nights. I worry about my job right now. I do a lot of heavy lifting and it can really irritate my problem in my rib area. So I hope they can move me to another part of the store where I don't have to do as much heavy lifting. I have been in the garden center business for 17 years and have done a lot of damage to my body. I have tried to seek other opportunities in other areas of work, but I continue to fall back on and return to this line of work. I pray for other things to do, but nothing ever seems to come my way. Tonight I ask that God will bless me and the many others who want to seek other areas that they may come soon. Thanks Clint

This Is From God, You Can't Teach That!

This is a direct quote from American Idol tonight. The newest judge said of the last singer, "This is from God, you can teach that!" I'm glad to see God was praised for his ability to bring talent into the soul of a young girl on national TV.

Talent is something that is directly produced by God. I often wonder why some people are blessed with great talent. We all have a talent, but some are just born with great talent that can make you have goose bumps. The singing voice is a talent that just leaves me in awe.

I sat in church Sunday morning and was just filled with great joy. You can't beat the a cappela singing of College Church. When the church building is full it's just amazing. I sat there and stopped singing and closed my eyes so I could get the whole effect, it was amazing. I often wonder how wonderful the singing in heaven will be. I think I get a taste of it every Sunday at worship.

There are so many people past and present that have brought me great joy by seeing, hearing and reading there ability to deliver their great talent. My new phrase won't be they've got talent. It will be "That is from God!" Because He is the creator of all the worlds talent. Talent is here for a reason. When it used for the right reasons it is great. But when used for ignorant and perverse reasons then that person has misused and missed the point of their talent. Talent is another reason for us to give God the praise He deserves. I believe if we had no one to entertain or inspire us then we would get very bored of this world. If talent is used for Godly reasons it is a motivating experience for us all.

Many claim to have a talent, and I believe we all have one or many talents. But to use it for the wrong reasons is shameful. God has given it to us for a reason, so use it wisely and thank Him for blessing us with such a heavenly gift. Talent is God given, you can't teach that!"

2009?

Over the past few months of 2009 things haven't been really great. I have know idea what is coming next. It started well for me when the Steelers won the Super Bowl. But lately the news has been awful. How many plane crashes have we had? Too many to count. Our economy seems to be getting better and then again it's not, it seems to change every day. Gas prices are going up and then they go down. What is the real situation? I don't know, none of us seem to know.

I read a story a few minutes ago that really bothered me. It's about two brother that owned a car dealership in Pennsylvania. The high gas prices and the credit crunch finally took a beating on these two brothers. They had owned this dealership since 1960. It was a very well known place in that area. On February 17 th one of the brothers had gone to the dealership and set a bunch of cars on fire and then had a heart attack and died right beside the burning cars. The other brother had gone missing a few weeks later and was found dead in a wooded area, suicide is believed to be his cause of death.

The dealership had laid off most of its workers and fell into debt because of not being able to pay for their idle inventory.

We hear all the time about big chains businesses closing and people losing their jobs and going to live in their cars and the streets. I really think were going to climb out of the hole we dug ourselves into. I know economies can hit bottom and then redefine themselves. It's going to be OK!

I saw the pictures of the families that recently died in that plane crash in Montana. The children were so cute, and I just couldn't bare such a great loss. Such a horrible tragedy. Do we have a positive outlook on this year? I try to. It's hard but as I watch less and less of CNN and the other news stations I feel positive. As long as I don't hear their negativity I'm alright. But we definitely have had a rough start to this new year.

With this drug war in Mexico and how it is moving onto the U.S. it just keeps going on. I wonder what's next. I hoping good things, and nothing less. I think we all need to hear some good news, right now. Every night read my Bible or some type of Christian book and it makes me feel better about things. It's the only positive thing we really have anymore. It's necessary to keep reading positive things to keep the negativity out of our lives.

Prayer has always been a staple of mine, to give all my requests to God. A lot of times prayer is not just a moment to give thanks or make requests, but just to think that I am talking to our Creator gives me great relief. You can talk to a friend or family member and you hope they truly understand your situation. A lot of times it doesn't really help or satisfy our needs. Going to God and letting it all out is true assurance that you are talking to somebody who understands and can honestly help.

I think we are in the age of where we need to build our relationship with our Lord. In times of distress and negativity he is our answer to all our problems. I think it is time for our world to take up their cross and give our hearts to the Prince of peace. We need to believe that our God is not just a supreme Being, but a loving Father who needs our love and wants to help. He is there for us all day, he never sleeps and never turns away from us. I believe if those brothers would have stopped and looked at the clouds and gave their burdens to our Lord things would have been alright. Satan gave them no option out, he covered their hearts and made them take things into their own hands instead of putting themselves in to the loving hands of God. It's time to come home, and feel the love that Christ offers us. Times are bad, but with Christ things are great!

Are We Humble?

Yesterday in Bible class we made a list on the board of temptations. These are some that made the list: lying, arrogance, complacency, addictions and haughty.

There were more, but these were the ones that brought about the most conversations. Mine was arrogance. I can't stand arrogant people. I try not to think of myself as an arrogant person. But we all have something in us that can cause us to be a little arrogant. A lot of times we don't even realize we are coming off as being arrogant. Satan though can make you some thing that we might personally hate and become like that. He's slippery though, and tries to make us any way he pleases.

I really get miffed when people come across as arrogant though. I like friendly people though. People that are down to Earth and just love being who they are. That is who I really get along with and feel comfortable around. I don't like being around uptight human beings who won't relate to others of certain status. I believe we are all equal and I won't ever shun anybody for any reason. Not to long ago our family went to Chili's and were waiting for our table to open up. There was a middle aged couple there. So I sat down with them on the bench. They had three mentally challenged kids with them. I just sat down and one of the children sat down beside me. He got really close to my face and I got a little intimidated. But I didn't know how to react. So I turned to him and said hi. His father and mother were worried and probably paranoid about how I might react. So I shook his hand and started talking to him. Most people would've got up and moved and I thought about doing that also. I believe God allowed me to overcome my fear that night. I'm glad he did, I think his parents were relieved too. I'm not bragging about what I did, but it was a moment of discomfort that I overcame. Arrogance can come in many forms though, I could've been arrogant and got up and made a strange face but I chose to overcome my fear and be kind.

I've heard certain people make remarks about people before and I just can't see Christ ever doing that. We can't ever think we are better than anyone else. From the homeless to the most high powered person in the word we are all here for God's purpose.

Another form of arrogance that bothers me, is the cool guys with their loud trucks and motorcycles. These trucks with the loud pipes and stereos are just little boys trying to prove themselves in public. If they knew what I thought about them they wouldn't feel so proud in their big boy toys. Boys will be boys and some stay that way. Our world is a cage full of people trying to prove themselves. For what? Status I guess! Respect! Where does that lead us, absolutely NO WHERE!!!!!!

Humbleness is the keys to life and eternal life. I would like to talk to some of these millionaires and ask them how their money makes them feel. I wonder what some of the answers would be. I think there would be some answers of arrogance I'm sure. If you know someone who is full of themselves and rely on making themselves something.Tell them the story of Jesus. The greatest story ever of true humbleness. I really hope my story and your story will become one of humbleness. I'm working on it! Are you?

Do They Think We're Stupid?

Yes, do they think we're stupid? As I continue to read about these idiot's of the bailout corporations. Like AIG, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. I just can't believe they think we're stupid. That they ask for a bailout because they stink at running their companies. They show their smug faces in front of congress and ask for billions of dollars because they we're nothing but a bunch of cheaters and greedy thugs who cheated and lied to people. And now they want to give their lousy executives millions of dollars in bonuses. WHY???????????? My money is going to these creeps and to their already over puffed bank accounts. I am beyond angered, I am to the point I would like to send them all to prison and see them cry themselves to sleep and really see what the criminals will do to them. I have no remorse for these scammers and hopefully God does, but I don't.

I really hope the government can stop them from handing these bonuses of greed out. The government has no right to be an angel either in this situation. They have been stealing our money since the beginning. But somebody needs to set these guys straight. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

An older gentleman came into Lowe's the other night and was talking about how GM has cut his retirement in half. And I really am not mad at him, but those workers were way overpaid and didn't deserve a $100 dollars an hour. Come on, nobody is worth that much an hour not even a doctor. Satan has made us feel we are worth something in this world. That the almighty dollar makes us important. The more money we have the better we are and feel. UNTRUE! He has lied to us and the truth lies in our God. Goodness and love are what makes you important to God. We will all lose our material things, but the representation of our lives and how we love our fellow people is what is important. Greed I hate it, and so does our God. It's time for our world to change. Stop believing in our possessions and start redefining our lives in God. Write your Senators and tell them the truth, don't hold back. Tell them contracts can be broken and no bonuses for these crooks. Thank you

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Next to Christmas St. Patrick's day is my other favorite holiday. I love the green, the shamrocks, and being of Irish blood. Being from the northern part of the country I am used to being around a lot of Irish people. We love this day very much.

As I read about St. Patrick tonight, I found out that he used the shamrock as a model for the Holy Trinity. I never really thought about using it as an example for Christianity, but I guess you could. Three leafs united as one. The same with the Trinity of God. The Holy Spirit, the Son and the Holy Father united as one. The Holy spirit is our guide here on Earth, the Son is our Savior and intercedes for us and the Father holds all things together. The Trinity amazes me and also comforts me at all times. I am thankful our Lord decided to gives us the The three united as one. The Trinity shows that God is a God that works in unity and also wants us to be a part of that unity. It's a true team effort, with no arguments and no division. It the only complete circle that will never divide itself.

Don't we wish we could work as a complete unit. No Democrats or Republicans. No conservatives or Liberals. No Black versus White. No right wing or left wing. Nothing but complete agreement. No fists in the air aimed at each other, just an ever binding handshake. Projects groups would have no slackers and no one would have to pick up the slack of the slacker.

Heaven will be like that, everything will work the way it was meant to be. Complete unity guided by the light of the SON! No more decisions. They have already been decided. No more judgement of others, for all will do their work the way it was meant to be done. The circle of God cannot be broken ever. Will that ever be a relief for us all. Completness. Decide tonight what your decision will be. Will you choose a broken circle or a complete one. I choose the unbreakable circle. It makes sense! So the next time you see a clover remember the complete holiness of the "Trinity of God."

Madoff's New Home

Wouldn't "stink" to be Bernie Madoff tonight. He has moved from a $7 million dollar penthouse to a 7 1/2 x 8 foot cell. He is only allowed outside every other day and while he is out there he is locked in a cage. To me that is not worth all the theft and the many lives he has ruined.

Can you imagine the burden he is taking with him to that cell. He said he was sorry for all that he did, but is he really? I don't know him but I know deep down inside his mind he will wake up to reality. Maybe he will offer up a prayer for himself and hopefully for the others that trusted him with their investments. At least he plead guilty for what he did, of course it was plain as day that he really had no other choice. He said he knew this day was coming. Then why didn't he stop? If he knew he was in the wrong why didn't he just stop and come clean? The fear of being caught is a horrible fear, especially when you are in to deep to get out.

I feel sorry for those who got ripped off by his company. I hope many will get back some of their money. We need to realize money is just paper with some drawings on it. It can't buy you happiness and it doesn't make you any better in the sight of our God. Some times it can be a quick reliever of worries when you can't get your bills paid, and by a great miracle something comes in to pay them. But it is just paper and nothing more.

I hope Bernie comes to realization that what he did hurt a lot of people and hope he prays for God's forgiveness.

Help for a Friend

We heard some very bad news about a close friend of ours today. Michelle is the young lady that cleans our house a couple times a month. She is a single mother of two children. Her trailer caught on fire the other day and burnt completely to the ground. Leaving them with nothing but a few family pictures and a few articles of clothing.

Michelle has been cleaning for us for about 6 years and we have grown to know her very well. She is a very good Christian lady who loves her children very much. I have always been wishing the best for her. Her life recently has hit some rough spots over the past couple of years. She has just recently went through a divorce and her husband left because he was immature and selfish. I would call him a JERK to his face if I ever saw him on the street, but that is just my opinion. She really needs your prayers and help at this moment in time. She has a teenage daughter and a 2 year old boy that is just as cute as a button.

Michelle is one of the most hard working people I know. She cleans a lot of houses here in Searcy plus drives to Little Rock three days a week to work the night shift at Baptist Hospital. She really makes me feel lazy some times, but she does a good job in everything she does. I just really hope God will put her in His favor tonight and always.

If you would like to help by sending donations of toddler clothes or money or even a gift card it would be much appreciated. I really want to use this blog for other ways than just me saying what's on my mind. If you want to send a donation to help you can send to my address.

Clint Singer

906 Fairway Drive

Searcy, AR 72143

I would love to see what this blog can do to help others out. I will give an address where she is staying if you would like to send it there. Helping out others has become my motto for this year. I have enough while others don't. Thank you for whatever you decide to do. May God Bless our giving Spirit. Anything I receive will go directly to the family, you can trust me on that.

The Stem Cell War

I really don't know how to feel about this stem cell situation. I guess I need some opinions about this. I can be very upset with abortion, but I really can't get a feeling about the killing of embryo's. I understand they have to kill the embryo to create a stem cell, so I really just can't get a grip on the feeling that it is murder.

I know that embryo's are what many consider life and that they have the chance to become human beings. I know there is ways that they can do this in an ethical way by using cells from the skin. But that just isn't quite ready yet. I also understand the possibility of human cloning. I'm not for that.

As I watched an interview with Michael J. Fox today, I just hoped there is some hope for this research. Fox is getting worse by the day with his ailment of Parkinson's. I could see in his face, his hate for his sickness and hope for any possible cure. I couldn't imagine being in a constant rhythm of shaking like he tries to tolerate. Or even the chance of this research to heal cancer, Alzheimer's and the possibility for a person to walk again from a spinal injury.

We all know there is a cure for all sickness. It just hasn't been revealed to us yet by God. He has the cure in hand, it's just a prayer away. We might be one cell away from curing every thing that ails us in this world. It just hasn't been revealed yet, and maybe it never will be. Maybe when we are in the great conference room with God and he is telling us all the things we always wanted to know. Maybe then he will reveal the answers to us all. Maybe it wasn't one cell or a single embryo. He might just say the cure was "trust!" It might just boil down to a simple word of faith. He might say, "If you would've just trusted me and loved me the way I wanted you to, I would have revealed the cure. If the scientist's would have just prayed for the cure instead of trying to figure it out themselves I would have given the clue to it all." Noticed the words "WOULD HAVE!"

If we would have done it like he wanted us too, many things and prayers would be answered. That's why Christ came because we couldn't do it, he could. I believe the answer could be in stem cell research, but I think somebody needs to ask God to get the researchers to pray about it. Then maybe it might be the cure, until then it will remain a mystery and a religious conflict.

I'm Reading Church signs Again

This weeks posts are going to be about signs I see. I sometimes feel like I have nothing to write about. I had thought about not posting anymore or at least taking a hiatus from blogging. But others have told me they don't think that would be a good idea. So I decided to start reading signs especially Church signs. Last night I posted about a bumper sticker I saw yesterday. Tonight I will tell you about a Church sign.

Our town is like a small Jerusalem. There is a church at every corner. The town is a very church oriented place. Of course with Harding University being here, that helps a lot. So every church has a little tidbit of info on their signs. I ask God all the time if my blog helps anybody and it seems like it might. If you can help one person in the world of readers it is a great feeling. So here is the sign I read tonight.

"If God feels far away, who moved?"

So true. We always feel like God has disappeared and we blame him for it. When all the time it is us who have moved. We have decided to take on the world by ourselves. We feel it is up to us, because God didn't give us the answer we wanted. Our selfishness has taken over our souls. So we take the journey of life on our own. I learned that a long time ago, and still struggle with it today. Satan pulls us from God. He makes us feel it us who answers our own problems. That we can make it all better. Not true! In life the sun and the moon move constantly, God doesn't. We moved not Him. He is and always will be there in the same place. God didn't move, but only to draw us near. Love God, He is all that we have in this life.

Bumper Sticker For Thought!

I saw a bumper sticker today. It read "Who would Jesus bomb?"

It really made me think of how Jesus really was an awesome Savior. I don't think he would bomb anybody. We really should think more like Jesus, including myself. I'm glad I saw this today.

I Will Praise You In This Storm

I am listening to a song by a group called Casting Crowns. It is titled "I will praise you in this storm."

As the country continues to be delivered bad news of the economy, it can constantly bring all of us down. I really try not to listen to any of it. I feel it is just another scare tactic the press is using to get us fearful of things. I do believe we are in trouble in many areas, but I don't think it will completely fall apart.

There never seems to be any good news anymore. It seems to be the year for airplanes to be going down and money is being spent by our government that hasn't been paid for yet. It all seems like it is just another gimmick of the press and the government. They all have to get us fearful about something. Like the gas situation this past summer. Everybody started to get freaked out because of the Hurricanes and and everyone and their brother lined up at the gas stations because of the possible $5 gas. Or how about the hole in the ozone layer, nobody seems to talk about that anymore. Did it just seal itself ?

There is always something to fear about anymore. That is what we talked about in Bible class this past Sunday. The topic was temptation and how Satan uses fear as a temptation. Fear is one of his best weapons. We all do it. Now if you asked me what I am fearful about now, it would take a few minutes to answer that one. I really am not fearful of anything right now. There are some bills that might be on my mind that I am going to have to start paying in July. I really have no answer how I will make this payment, but I decided to give it to God and allow Him to give me the answer when the time comes.

I have learned to give God all my fears. I used to be terrified when it came to tornadic severe weather here in Arkansas. That is real. When the weather man says take cover you do, no hype just plain reality. One night I knew that there was going to be stormy weather with a great chance of tornadoes. I just asked God to turn it away from us. You know what, he did. There was a huge wall cloud with rotation that had been coming toward our town. I just kept watching the radar and gradually that storm turned away from our area and left me with great peace in my heart. Every time there is a chance of severe weather, I ask God to keep it away from us. So far we haven't had any tornadoes around us at all. We have had some close calls, twice last fall, but I just stood outside and watched that wall cloud go right over our house and just prayed. It worked.

We need to mindful of those who have lost their jobs because of many reasons. We need to praise God in the storm. We need to know that eventually the sun will break through the clouds. A lot of times we may have to weather the storm, but faithfully believing that he will give us safety through the storm of life. In the end he will give us an answer, the clouds will disappear and gives us the light of the sun. I have read some good books over the years by some very good Christian authors. Recently I have been drawn toward some really good books. They appeared to me at just the right time. They have taught me a lot, but no matter where we get our inspiration from there is nothing better to read than the Bible. It is our God speaking to us through His word. He asks us to knock and the door shall be opened for us, He asks us to not worry because he feeds the birds and clothes the fields with many beautiful things. He tells us that we are more important than the birds of the air and the fields. He will clothes us and give us the thing we need so just don't worry, just believe in Him, because he loves us more than anything on Earth.

When it feels like the world is closing in on us with its demands, then and there is where we should give him his well deserved praise. So praise Him in the storm and praise in the sun. He won't deny us.