My Way

 

God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.  Therefore submit to God.  James 4: 6-7

Our youngest son, Elijah, is growing up way too fast...he’ll be 15 years old this August and is a rising High Schooler!  As he is growing up, I must admit that he is also very stubborn and strong-willed.  Outside of sweets, he barely eats enough food to sustain life.  Years ago and before Door Dash became a thing, we enjoyed 'Taco Tuesday' together as a family.  While trying to help Elijah position taco so he could eat it without making too much of a mess, the hard taco shell started to break apart and all of the taco ended up on the floor, much to our Dorkie, Linus' delight.  Of course, Elijah refused to eat the taco and started protested dinner because the “taco was broken!” 

The same principle holds true to this day in our relationship with the Holy Spirit.  If a drowning man thinks he can help himself, he becomes dangerous to anyone who attempts to rescue him.  Until we surrender to God and give him full authority to reign supreme in our lives, we are not in any position to be helped either.  We may not realize it, but when we aren't following his lead, we are listening to ourselves and being disobedient.

To truly follow God, we must make his will our own and it starts by surrendering our own will!

My Father's Eyes

 

Take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your week knees.  Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong.  Hebrews 12: 12-13

We all model something to someone else.  Being a father, this has never been more apparent to me in all of my lifetime.  There are times that I set good examples for our children; other times, I wish I that could take back something that I have either said or done. After all, these two are going to be in our home for only a few more years is a becoming a hard reality because once they are off to college, I feel like we won't see them on a daily basis as much...

After 50 trips around the sun, I have really come to appreciate all of the wisdom, advice, and love that my father has given me through the years.  The Bible promises us the way we live our lives will influence others; it may be for good or bad, for Christ or the enemy, so ask yourself what kind of example you have been setting for others lately.

I hope that one day our two sons will look back and realize that I tried to set a good example for them to live by, just like my father has for me...

Amazing Grace

Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.  Romans 10:13

We celebrated our oldest son, Elliott's 18th trip around the sun this week. He's legally an adult now and a rising senior in high school...man, time continues to fly by at light speed!! I have noticed that the older he becomes, the more expensive the gifts are, right?  Elijah will turn 15 later this summer and he is already looking at used cars online as we approach his milestone birthday. 

I can still recall when my little sister got what seemed to be 'cool' gifts that I was always a bit jealous of when we were growing up.  My parents surprised her with a sweet Ford Mustang GT Convertible when she turned sixteen. One year, she was given a ATV/4 wheeler for Christmas from Santa Claus, and if I am being honest, I expected something similar or equally as 'cool' from my parents/Santa. 

To some extent, we are all childish with the gifts we expect to receive, but there is one gift that is given freely to each one of us-the perfect gift-the gift of God's grace. 

There is nothing you need to do to receive this gift other than calling the name of Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and accepting that His death on the cross is that which saves you from sin.

If you haven't accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, what are you waiting for? 

People Are People

 

The sun is glorious in one way, the moon is glorious in another way, and the stars are glorious in their own distinctive way; for one star differs from and surpasses another in its beauty and brilliance.  1 Corinthians 15:41

As our two sons continue to grow up (way too fast, I might add), the differences between him and his older brother are astounding.  For instance, Elliott, while a great athlete on his terms, is into music much the way I was at his age.  Elijah, on the other hand, likes music, but is a natural athlete, just like my younger sister was.  Elliott who celebrates his 18th birthday today, still only enjoys vanilla ice cream just like his mother; Elijah, on the other hand, will eat any flavor; but prefers chocolate ice cream, just like me. Point in case, we are each uniquely made and thankfully created by God to be different from one another.

To truly live the lives God intended us to live, we are to accept who we are as individuals and fit into His great plan rather than comparing ourselves with others and trying to fit into everyone else's plans.

Each of has been uniquely made to fill a need and we are ALL part of God's master plan.  Make it a personal goal of yours to find out what you are individually supposed to be and then succeed at being yourself.  It's okay to be different, in fact, God made you that way!