Wednesday, July 3, 2024

Birthday

 

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."  Jeremiah 1:5

My wonderful wife was was born today, back in 1978.  In addition to wishing her a happy birthday, I also wanted to write about how special each one of us is to our loving Father…

God knew each of us long before we were conceived or even born.  He thought about each of us and made us a unique creation in which He thought about us and planned for us.

If you are ever feeling discouraged, just remember that God loves you and has always thought of you as valuable to Him.  He has a purpose for each of us and we are all "appointed" by God to serve out our specific purpose.

Tuesday, July 2, 2024

Communication

 

Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.  Hebrews 12:14


Outside of my music sites, and "Yacht Rock Revue: Anchorheads" and my private record collecting group, "Heady Wax Fiends', I have really become disenchanted with most of social media and certainly with the national news over the past few years, in fact did not watch a second of the Presidential Debate last week. (Of all people in this country is this the best we can do?)   I am sure that people have always posted negative comments on Facebook since its inception, but it rubs me the wrong way when I read all of the negative comments, self-absorbed posts, and other 'crap' that people post, which truly should never have been repeated out loud in the first place.  I am especially weary of politics, political discussions and feel that it has sadly torn our country apart and divided people more than ever before.

I am convinced that most people wouldn't say half of the 'junk' that they are willing to write online if they were standing face to face with other people. This happens quite often at work now that most people rely on email as their primary source of communication....passive aggressive behavior is alive and well, folks! 

I don’t have any control over what others do and can only be held accountable for the things that I write or post.  After reading the above passage from Hebrews, I am reminded of all of the mercy and grace God has shown me over the course of my lifetime.

As Christians, we are to pursue holiness, which means that we are to do our very best to treat others with the same mercy and unconditional love that God has shown us.

It's hard, but we must seek God's guidance the next time we are feeling confrontational or short-fused.  The more we understand what our loving Father has done for us, the more we will want to live the holy life He desires for us to live.

Monday, July 1, 2024

Just The Two of Us

 

The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.  All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight, but the Lord weighs the motives.  Commit your works to the Lord and your plans will be established. Proverbs 16: 1-3

As our summer has kicked into high gear, it has become obvious that Alicia and I are in desperate need of quality time together.  Don’t get me wrong, as we both love doing stuff with the boys, but I think that we are both overdue to spend some time doing "adult" things like hiking, seeing live music, going to see a movie that's not animated or sci-fi/super hero genre, or going out on a dinner date; just the two of us.

Finding the right  balance in life always proves to be more difficult than it sounds.  For us to live up to our true potential and follow the plans God has made for us, we must seek to achieve balance in our lives.

Our first priority should always be to seek the Lord each and every day, though prayer, reading of the Word and worshiping on a regular basis.  I know too many people that consider Sunday their day of rest and will make up any excuse to not go to church.  I look forward to going each week and feel like something is off if I am out of town or miss a service.

Our next priority should be to spend time with our family and friends.  Married couples with children should always make time for each other.  A strong marriage will work wonders with your children…