Thank you God for another day. Thank you for sending Your son Jesus to die for us and save us. Thank you Jesus for dying on the cross for our sins even though we don’t deserve it. It is amazing that You would die for us knowing that we would continue to sin against You but You love us that much that You did it anyway.
Thank you for giving us Your word that You were coming, that You were here and that You will be coming back. Thank you for giving us the people that wrote Your word down for us to read and study to help guide us through this life.
Thank you for giving us life. From our first breath to our last. From conception to death. Thank you for the miracle of life. Thank you for all the miracles around us every day, from the big miraculous ones to the ones we don’t even notice.
I pray that people will come to You today. I pray that You will give them what they need. Peace, patience, perseverance, hope, healing, grace, goodness, faith, forgiveness, love, compassion, acceptance, answers, self-control, joy or anything else I pray God that You will help Your people.
Thank you for my wife Kim. Thank you for the person she is TODAY. I pray that she puts You first in her life. I pray that when she reads Your word that she understands it, relates to it, and lives her life by it. I pray that when the devil comes in her life that she will remember the lies of her past and listen for Your truth. I pray You will heal her back so she can live without pain. I pray for her salvation and that her story, our story, will bring others to Your kingdom.
Thank you for my daughters. Thank you for each of their unique personalities. I pray that each of them choose to follow You and live their lives for You. I pray that they are listening to You in the choices they make. I pray that they choose joy in You instead of happiness of this world.
Thank you for my job. Thank you for the opportunity it gives me and so many others to provide for their families and hopefully give some back to You. I pray that we get as many employees as You want us to have. I pray that we will be a good Christian company and stay in business for many years to come. I pray that we will make a profit by treating our employees, customers, and anyone else we talk to every day the way You want us to treat them.
Thank you for me and the way You have made me. Thank you for everything I have had to go through to get me where I am today, everything that makes me the person I am today. Thank you for the dead-ends, the u-turns, the wrong turns, the curves, the straights, the hills, thank You for every road I have had to travel to get to You. I pray that You my God, my Jesus, my Lord and Savior, Holy Spirit, that You take over my life. Fill me with You. Teach me how to live like You, be like You, to forgive and love like You. I pray that when You speak to me that I will listen. I pray that You lead me God and that I will follow. Give me words to speak that will bring others to You. I pray that today You will use me to change one person today. Thank you for healing my knee.
Have you ever had a band or singer that every time they released a cd the songs were exactly how your life was going at that time. Oleander was that group for me.
Their first major cd was February Son in 1999. At this point in my life I was 29 years old, had been married for a year and was already seeing the signs of a divorce in our future. We had been together five years, had a four year old daughter and we married when she was three. The first five years were good. No complaints, then we got married and I don’t know what happened. We fell apart. We quit doing things together. We started going out with our friends instead of each other. I would take Kayhla to the pool and she would stay home when before she always went to the pool with us. Knowing what I know now maybe I would’ve tried harder but at the time all I thought was this isn’t working. I’m not happy and neither are you. Let’s not waste our life living like this.
Their second cd, Unwind, came out in 2001. I had been single for a couple years and was getting tired of the dating scene. It seemed like a lot of dates but no relationships. I was okay with it somewhat since I was basically a single dad because I had Kayhla most of the time. Kayhla’s mom would also call at the last minute on days she was supposed to have Kayhla and cancel so I would cancel my plans. A lot of dates didn’t like that but Kayhla always came first. Anyway, no one wanted to stick around.
As you know 9/1/1 happened and I worked with someone who I thought was pretty. It made me think of how short life is so I rushed things. We started dating but she was not my type. She smoked, nothing against tattoos but she had many and I had never dated anyone with tattoos, she had the mouth of a sailor. Everything was totally opposite of me. Still, like a fool, I married her. Basically we dated, got engaged, married, built a house, got a divorce all in 15 months. I called off the wedding three times before we got married but she always talked me into going through with it. Then after we got married I said this wasn’t working, we should have never got married and she would talk me out of it. Finally she cheated. That was just the reason I needed to get divorced. I was stupid. Word of advice kids : when 99 out of 100 people tell you not to marry someone, don’t marry them. I thought I could change her but I know now only God can change someone. However, I am thankful to God that I went through this because God did use it for my good. I learned so much from this experience. Little did I know how God would use this experience to help me in the future. Their third album, Joyride, came out in 2003 at the end of this disaster.
Oleander didn’t release another cd until 2013.
I married Kim in June of 2005. Yes, it was kind of quick (1.5 years) after my second divorce but I had dated some people and I’ll admit I was shallow. I dated girls for how they looked and I know not all beautiful women are beautiful on the outside and not the inside but it seemed like that was all I was dating. Kim was different. She was beautiful inside and out. From 2005 until the end of 2012 I thought we had a pretty solid marriage but that marriage was rocked at the end of 2012 and going into 2013. Kim turned ugly inside and did things I never thought she would do. God worked us through those issues and we stayed together and now our marriage is better than it has ever been. Remember how I said God would use what I went through in my second marriage to help me later. This was it. If I hadn’t gone through and learned what I did from the second marriage, Kim and I would be divorced right now. That’s how God works. He takes the bad in your life and turns it into good for His glory.
Oleander then released their fourth cd, Something Beautiful, in April 2013. Right when I was ready to give up on our marriage.
If you can take the time to listen to the songs. You will see how they related to each of those times in my life.
Do you have anyone that always comes out with a cd that matches your life? If so, I would love to hear about it.
I love how God uses the simple everyday things in my life to show me how that relates to my faith. In training Kylie and Brinley for their first 1/4 marathon, God once again has shown me how training them is also reminding how my walk with Him is going.
God’s smile ?
First off, as I posted earlier in It’s All About Me – A Child’s Version, training Kylie didn’t go like I – key word is I – thought it would go. I had a plan all set out that week one we would do three runs and do x amount of miles each time. Week two we would do three runs and increase the miles to x each time and on and on. Kylie and Brinley are both experienced at running 5k’s. Kylie is more experienced but both have done many of them. Each week Brinley would always surprise me at how she just did what was asked of her and never complained. This is Brinley’s personality. She is easy-going and just goes with the flow. Kylie was always complaining, I have to walk, my ankle hurts, my side hurts, etc. and it was very frustrating to me. I knew she could do better but for whatever reason she wasn’t in it. Kylie is also stubborn and set in her ways but she can also be determined and easy-going also. If she doesn’t want to run, she won’t. But when she does, look out.
What a beautiful day God gave us.
This reminded me of my walk with Jesus. As I am training to be a better Christian I let my stubbornness and my set ways get in the way. I know I can do better and I know I can do more than I am doing but for whatever reason I take steps back. Today I can go all day being in the light and praying and feeling like the Holy Spirit is in me and I feel overwhelmed with joy. Tomorrow I can say but God, I really don’t feel like praying today. God I really don’t feel like talking to others about You today. I know I can do better because I have done better and I love how I feel when I am filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit but yet I say I can’t, I don’t, I won’t when I should be saying yes I can, yes I do, yes I will.
I think only one week we did what was planned. I think we only had two weeks where we ran three times and we only were up to five miles the Monday before the race, and that was just because soccer practice was canceled. Race day morning I was just hoping they would be under one hour and thirty minutes and not walk half the race. As we were talking to the girls Kylie said it isn’t about our time, all that matters is that we finish. This reminded me of how many times God has said go and I said God, I am not prepared. I am not ready yet God. Give me another week or two to read more about you. Give me more time to memorize some Bible verses. God I can’t start that because I can’t finish it. I forget that God is in control. When I don’t know what to say, He will give me words to speak. Christian life isn’t about being perfect, it is about obeying God and doing the best with the abilities He has given you. He will do the rest. It isn’t about how long it takes or where you start, it’s about how you finish. The first thirty years of your life might have been terrible but don’t let it define the next thirty years. (check out Joyce Meyers story.)
During the race the girls were so awesome. One time at mile two Kylie said she needed to walk so we walked about ten seconds then we ran. We stopped at three water stations (mile 1.5, 3, 4) for less than ten seconds at each and the fourth one at 5.5 they grabbed the water but kept running. I remember Kylie asking when is the next water station. I would tell her how far we had to go. We ran with the 1:20 pace group which was an average of 12:13 per mile. I thought it would be great if we could stay there but I thought we would drop back some. Remember I thought we would be closer to 1:30.
This reminded me of all the times I have asked God how much longer God? I can’t keep going through this. I can’t take this anymore. I am so tired. God answers with just a little more. Hang in there and you will get your water. Just keep going, put one step in front of the other. But God, I want this to be over now. God says just a little longer, you are almost there, don’t quit. I am not done molding you yet. You will overcome this and be a stronger person. But God, I can’t keep up with this pace. Yes you can. I am here with you.
Also during the race the other runners were amazing and so encouraging. Way to go girls. You girls are amazing. How old are they? Wow, I couldn’t do this when I was ten. Look at those little girls, if they can do this I can. Keep going girls, you are inspiring the rest of us. There were also families on the sidelines with young kids that said look they are doing it, maybe you can do it next year.
This reminds me of all the people in my life that are encouraging me. The ones that tell me I am doing what God wants me to do. The ones that thank me for writing, that I am encouraging them in their walk. You don’t have to make miracles happen to encourage others, just do what God wants you to do with the abilities He has given you. Thank you to all that are encouraging me.
Between 4.5-5 miles the girls were laughing and telling jokes. At one point they were laughing so hard I don’t see how they kept running. I encouraged them to keep at it. Make it fun. If telling jokes gets you through these last two miles then tell away. At mile 5 I told them that at mile 6 we can leave the pace group if they are feeling strong and finish before them. They surprised me with their answer. Remember they only ran 5 miles once during their training so I thought they would be getting tired now. They said let’s go now, we feel good. So we said goodbye to the pace group and took off. The girls were still having fun and were touching all the cones in the roadway to “get that extra power.” Whatever it takes. Around 5.5 miles Kylie said she felt like she was getting blisters and was breathing harder. I asked her if she needed to walk or keep on going since we only had one mile to go. She surprised me with keep going. I honestly expected her to say walk. Around mile 6 she looked back and said we are way ahead of the pace group now and smiled. As we approached the finish line I started to run faster because I wanted to take a picture of them crossing the finish together. Well they took off with me. I went a little faster and then they went a little faster. I said oh so this is how it’s going to be then let’s go. They both started laughing and sprinted across the line. I slowed down to take a picture from behind because I knew I wasn’t going to get in front of them and have time to turn around and take a picture. Mile 13 for the half, 6.45 for us. .1 to go – look where the pace group is Dad.This is how my walk with God is. I try to be serious and make sure I have all the right words and all the right songs but that isn’t what God wants. He wants us to have fun and enjoy this life. I also have to remember that to get where I am going, I need to leave the comfort of where I am. Maybe I am hanging out with the wrong people. Maybe I have just gotten comfortable and don’t want to get outside my box. God tells me to go. Tear down these walls. You can do it. The devil gives me a setback or I do something stupid and give myself a setback but I have to keep going. I may be hurting but I know I have to keep moving forward to get to that finish line. I know when I get there and I see my loved ones that have gone before me and meet Jesus face to face, I will be smiling and laughing as I cross that finish line, just like these girls did when they finished this race. Official time 1:17:22 (11:49 pace). Awesome.
I am so proud of Kylie and Brinley. I had high expectations going into training but lowered them before the race. They did so much better than I thought they would. They had fun, they laughed, they talked, they encouraged others, they finished strong. I wore my Run for God shirt and had people look at it and ask me about it. It gave me the opportunity to share a little. The girls doing this showed others that they can do this also. You just have to go out and do it.This reminded me that God has high expectations for us. We might not have high expectations of ourselves but God has made us for a purpose. He believes in us and loves and accepts us as we are. It isn’t to dwell on our mistakes and failures and have a life the devil wants us to have. God has given you an ability, go out and use it. God will show you what to do with it, you just have to be willing to go out and do it.
Then we celebrated their achievement with our friend Deanna. Don’t forget to celebrate your achievements in your walk with God. All glory goes to Him.
I don’t even know where to begin. I guess I will start with being honest. I think about dad now more than when he was here. I feel guilty for not visiting more the last year or two when his health was deteriorating. I felt frustrated that he didn’t take better care of himself. He had the opportunities. I didn’t like seeing him that way knowing he could’ve avoided some of it. I was disappointed for the times him and mom were supposed to come up to visit and something would happen and he wouldn’t come up. That’s visits we will never get back. The times I didn’t go down are times we will never get back. Lessons learned too late. We never know when your time is up, take care of it during the living years so you will have no regrets.
Ok, enough of that. My dad wasn’t perfect but he was what I would call an old school dad. He did what he had to do to provide for his family. He wouldn’t go to the store to get femimine products, which I don’t think is a big deal but.. got to laugh. As I mentioned in the fathers day post he missed alot of us growing up. He was on the road as a truck driver and he played drums on some weekends when he was home. All to provide for his family. To top it all off, he didn’t have to be. He wasn’t our biological dad but he was our real dad. He adopted us when we were little. He didn’t have to be any dad at all but he was a great dad. I have my work ethic from him. Probably have a little of my stubborness from him also. He was always caring and always gave his unconditional support. I always knew I was loved and that he wanted the best for me. I always knew even when I messed up, he was still there- with a belt or with a hug. Either way, I learned. I turned out okay, can’t say the same for my brother. lol. I reckon he is okay too if I have to be honest about it.
Things I learned from my dad: 1) strong work ethic 2) unconditional love 3) unconditional support 4) be honest 5) don’t listen to others about what they think of you because what matters is what you think of yourself- self-confidence and self-esteem (things I have written about) 6) believe in yourself because he believed in me 7) stand up for what you believe in 8) take care of your health and your body, you only have one 9) don’t miss out on something over anger or your pride 10) the choices you make determine the life you live 11) strength- strength to hold on and strength to let go. He had quadruple bypass surgery when I was in college and then with everything else I didn’t think he would last as long as he did but he was one tough guy that I looked up to and admired. I love you dad.
See, I learned good and bad from my dad. We all have good qualities and bad qualities. You can learn from everyone so give everyone a chance. They may be in your life for a minute or a day or a month or a lifetime, but you can learn from them.
Tonight, whatever you drink, raise a toast to my dad. Remember the good and the bad but remember the love most of all. Then raise a toast to other loved ones that have left this world for a better place. Then raise one more toast to the loved ones in your life. Appreciate they are here. Love them every minute because the next toast may be in remembrance.
There are so many songs. I made 3 cd’s to help in the grieving process and I can’t put 60 songs on here. Maybe I will do a 3 part series….
The Living Years by Mike & The Mechanics – Dad picked out his own music for his funeral and I was ok until this one played. I tried to be tough but I couldn’t on this song because I know how true it is.
Drink A Beer by Luke Bryan – I had just got this cd and was listening to it on my way to my hometown for the funeral. First time I had heard it and it hit home at the right time.
Drive Your Truck by Lee Brice –
Best Seat In The House by LoCash Cowboys –
If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away by Justin Moore –
Welcome Home by Michael W. Smith –
Knowing What I Know About Heaven by Guy Penrod –
I Have Just Begun To Live by Blessid Union of Souls –
One More Day by Diamond Rio –
Save A Place For Me by Matthew West –
That Home by The Newsboys –
Clouds by Montgomery Gentry –
Alone In This Bed by Framing Hanley –
It’s So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday by Boyz II Men –
What Is Heaven Like by Robert Rogers – if you want to hear a testimony, listen to his. He was at our church once and brought me to tears. Wow.
This past weekend we went back to my hometown to visit my mom and to go to my dad’s grave. Friday will be two years since he left us for a better place. I don’t go home enough. Lately, it’s been like once or twice a year. It’s hard since I work Saturdays and everyone else has school or work on Monday so we go down, it’s a two hour drive, on Saturday night just to come right back up Sunday afternoon. We were able to run the hills of my youth, skip some rocks in the creek, and explore.
Plus I left that place. I went to college and didn’t look back. Left everything and everyone I had known. The only people I kept in touch with were my parents and my brother. I didn’t even keep in touch with aunts or uncles or nephews or nieces or grandparents. I know, I was and am a terrible person when it comes to keeping in touch with people. I know many people think I quit caring or didn’t care but that’s not the case. Being an introvert I just don’t reach out to people. I don’t do small talk well. It doesn’t mean I don’t think about you or pray for you or check up on you on Facebook or something.I used to climb this tree when it was smaller. Don’t find trees like this in your front yard in the suburbs.
I also have always been a family guy first. I would rather spend time with my family than anyone else. When bad times come I don’t reach out to people for help. I always try to deal with things myself. Usually by shutting down or ignoring it until I boil over. Yes, I know that isn’t healthy and I am trying to learn. I don’t like to bother people. I always think they have enough going on in their own lives that they don’t have time to listen to me. I have found out that I was wrong. Everyone hear that- I admit was wrong. Doesn’t happen often though. (If you know me you just smiled because that’s how I act.) There are people that will take the time to listen and help when they can. It’s up to me to reach out. I have a long way to go.Last year she couldn’t skip a rock, this year she could.
Of course city girl liked the exploring but she worried about the ticks and the poison ivy.
Anyway, back to my small hometown on the Ohio River. I love living ten minutes from anything I want to do now but sometimes I yearn for a slow down small town life. I know technology is great but everytime I hear my children say nothing is on I wish they had three channels, that you had to get up to change the channel, with an antennae hoping you can get a good picture when your favorite show is on.(and we had no DVR) I wish they knew what it was like to have three grocery stores in the entire town, not three within a block of each other. I wish when they say they are bored that they knew what it was like to be in my childhood. We had Atari and my first game was Pong. Talk about boring. I used to throw a tennis ball against the steps of our house for hours to help my hand eye coordination for baseball. (Never knew which way it would come back at me after it hit the steps.) Our town didn’t get a pool until I was a teenager so we explored the creek by our house. We caught crawdads and minnows for fun. In the winter time I played Nerf basketball in our small hallway and played baseball cards, in that same small hallway.My old room – plenty of room for me growing up
I didn’t have a cell phone with games, an ipod with games, a XBox, a Wii, a Kindle with games, etc. Basically everything I could ever want at my fingertips. I didn’t have a phone I could facetime, text, share pictures, etc. If we had a friend that lived 30 minutes away, we had to pay long distance to call them. If we wanted pictures, we had to buy film, take pictures, take them to get developed, wait 2-4 days for them to come back and hope we took some good pictures. No instant delete, retake, or anything of that. If we wanted to share them, we had to go to someones house or have them come to ours. If we wanted to text someone, we wrote a letter then waited a week or so to get one back. If we wanted to see someone when we talked to them, we actually had to be in the same room. Can you believe that? At least our TV was color. Well, the one in my bedroom wasn’t. Yep, black and white with bunny ears. Oh the horror!
But things were better back then. I didn’t have to worry about keeping up with all the news and gossip of my friends. I didn’t have to worry about watching 20 different shows to make sure I could keep up with what everyone else was watching. Our entertainment was each other. I’m the cute one on the left.
But things were better back then. Playing outside was normal. I could be gone from morning until darkfall and my parents didn’t worry if someone had kidnapped me. I just simply told them where I was or would be. But now you worry about where your kids play, you can’t go 30 minutes without looking for them, or checking them on their phones GPS. We were also more active then. Why, because we played outside all day. How did we fit six kids in our backyard to play baseball, football, wiffle ball, etc?. It looks so small now. But we played outside. Childhood obesity has tripled since 1980.
But things were better back then. Kids were kids. They weren’t ADHD or ADD or allergic to gluten or nuts or … Kids today are being prescribed more medicine and being more medicated than my entire generation has been.
But things were better back then. I received presents twice a year, on my birthday and Christmas. That is how my kids have been raised, with maybe a very seldom exception.My parents didn’t feel they had to cater to our every whim to please us. My parents knew we loved them regardless of the gift giving or brand named purchases. They let us make our own mistakes no matter how painful it was for them. They allowed us to accept responsibility for our actions and deal with the consequences. Most of all, they were more present for us, playing less of an enabler role and more of a supportive role.
I can’t tell you how it saddens me when I hear parents say I want my kids to have a better childhood than I did. Were all our childhoods that bad? If that was the case and our kids want their kids to have better childhoods, everyone will be living in mansions and have a separate house just for the toys they played with once. What have we become?
But things were better back then. We played in the dirt. We got dirty and bloody and icky and gooey. We didn’t have antibacterial hand sanitizers thrown in our face every five minutes. We got less sick. When we let our own immune system fight germs, our immune system gets stronger. When we are constantly applying antibacterial this and that, the germs get stronger. The same thing has happened with our food. Stronger pesticides equals stronger bugs, the super bugs.
But things were better back then. Children today are being poisoned at an alarming rate. With all the junk they add to foods, all the feed they feed the animals, steroids, antibacterial, pesticides, GMO’s, etc. Is it any wonder our kids are reaching puberty at 8-9 years old compared to 13-14 just 30 years ago.
Looking back, my hometown and back then were some pretty good times. Even if I only got presents twice a year and had to walk to school barefoot uphill both ways in three feet of snow.
P.S Look at my mom’s paintings. Isn’t she talented?
Back by Colt Ford (feat Jake Owen) –
Back When by Tim McGraw –
Where I Come From by Montgomery Gentry –
Meanwhile Back At Mama’s by Tim Mcgraw (feat Faith Hill) –
As I was out on a ride today, I noticed trees that had fallen, most of them were big trees. It came to my attention the age old question, if a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?
In October, 2011 two giant sequoia trees fell in the Sierra Nevadas. The trees had been around for 1500 years and appeared to be perfectly healthy. The forest service thinks that a wet winter caused the ground to be too soggy to hold the roots, which are relatively shallow. These trees can live to be 4000 years old so these two trees were what we would call teenagers.
These trees that have fallen, especially the big ones, remind me how any one of us can fall at anytime. We could be doing all the right things and then fall for one of the devils lies. We could have a great marriage then hit a bad spell where we start to fight with our spouse then someone else smiles at you and you cross over to the other side. It could be someone hurt you so you turn to food for comfort. It could just be that you think you are so big and tough and smart that you wouldn’t ever do anything that bad then you stepped right over that line. These fallen trees also remind me that their is a time for everything. That it doesn’t matter how rich, how poor, how healthy, how sick, how big our house is or how fast our car is that we will all die, but only a few of us will live again in Heaven. How deep are your roots? What will you do with the time you have on this earth?
This also reminds me of the story of David. As a young teenager he conquered the giant Goliath, who thought because he was so big that he was invincible. Then David falls for Bathsheba, who was married to one of his generals. Not only does he get her pregnant but he conspires to get her husband killed to cover it up. The one who is considered to be after God’s heart falls.
I also see trees that have fallen but are still being held up by healthier trees. At first I thought of this as the bad people in our lives who are trying to hold us down. The ones who are trying to pull us down with them as they fall. Then I thought maybe it’s the other way around. Maybe it’s the healthy people that are trying to hold the bad people up. The ones that won’t give up on you, that will use the last of their strength to help you stay alive. I pray you have people in your life that will be like that for you when you fall. Trust me, we all fall at some point. I pray you have people that will guide you back, lift you up, help you get back on the right track.
I also see the dead trees. The ones that are still standing but are totally dead. No leaves. No green at all. Not even the birds will build a nest in them. This reminded me of all the people that are just dead inside. The ones that are wandering aimlessly, the ones that don’t know who they are or what they are doing, the ones who look in the mirror wondering why they are even here. The ones that don’t believe in anything. They are here just to exist. They easily go whichever way the wind blows, not worrying about the consequences of their actions.
Don’t believe for a second though that I don’t see the hundreds of trees that are full of life, growing, providing for others that are around them. It is easy to see the few dead trees and forget all about the good ones. Don’t give up. Keep growing. Keep living. I see you. I appreciate the shade you give, the shelter you provide, the food you provide, the air you give, the beauty you give this world.
What about the one tree in middle of a field? No other trees around but it provides shelter for animals. Protects them from the sun. This reminds me of Jesus, the only one we need to protect us from the harms in this world.
Let me tell you my friends that no matter what kind of tree you are, there is still hope for you. God has put all of us on this earth for a reason. He had His own son, Jesus, put on a tree for us to see that He died for all of our sins. We can be free. We are the Amazon, Borneo or the Boreal Forests. Millions of us all together, helping each other, providing shade and warmth, shielding others from the wind and rain, providing homes for others to find their way, giving out our fruits, our time, our wisdom of living many years. Yet there are others in this world that are trying to cut us down, plow through our lives, destroy our way of living to benefit themselves. They have no regard for the community we have built over many years of growing together. They just want to take us away for their own gains regardless of the consequences. They don’t care about the future, they want what they want now. We must stand strong. Stand together. Help others. Lift them up, show the dead inside the way to be alive in Christ.
Borneo Rainforest –
Amazon Rainforest –
Boreal Forest –
Maybe the real reason for global warming? There is hope. There is a net gain of forests in parts of the world.
Even though Christianity has declined in America, it is increasing in Africa and China. There will also be a time when Christianity will rebound in America. It is up to us to plant the seeds for the next generation to grow.
Oh, and for the question. Yes, God hears the sound when a tree falls. He hears and he weeps when one of His people choose to fall instead of live in His light. God hears.
The Giving Tree story –
Planting Trees by Andrew Peterson –
The Giving Tree by The Plain White T’s –
Where The Trees Stand Still by Bebo Norman –
Family Tree by Aaron Watson –
The Shade Of Poison Trees by Dashboard Confessional –
My Roots Go Deeper by Alathea –
Trees by Twenty One Pilots –
Shelter From The Storm by Bob Dylan –
Big Yellow Taxi by Counting Crows (since I already used the Joni Mitchell original in another post) –
March 29, 2015, a driver following his GPS drives his SUV off a ramp to a demolished bridge in East Chicago, Indiana. His wife died in the accident. The road was marked with orange barrels and signs saying road closed.
In 2009, a driver in West Yorkshire, England followed his GPS up a steep “road” that continued to narrow until he stopped- on the edge of a cliff with his car dangling over the edge. The driver got out safely and said he trusted the GPS to get him where he needed to go.
In 2011, three women in Bellevue, Washington blindly followed their GPS down a boat ramp and into a lake. All three got out safely but the car was submerged in the lake.
In 2011 in East Brunswick, New Jersey a driver came to a T instersection. His only choices were to go left or right. Instead he followed his GPS and went straight, straight over a curb and into a house.
These are just a few of the hundreds of articles out there about people blindly following their GPS. They don’t trust their own eyes, common sense, or warning signs. I won’t even begin to tell the stories of crashes cause by distracted drivers that were looking at their GPS instead of the road right in front of them, totally ignoring stopped cars, people crossing the street, stop lights and stop signs.
I know my GPS has many times told me to turn the wrong way on a one way street. Many times it has taken me off a main freeway onto a bunch of slow side streets just to put me right back on the freeway a few miles later. I could’ve saved so much time if I followed my common sense but I was in a new state and I didn’t know. I know now and when I go there and the GPS says to get off, I stay on the freeway. I can’t even begin to tell you how many times it will tell me there is a long delay ahead and I never see the delay. Did it get cleared up in the fifteen minutes for me to get there or what happened? Only the GPS knows I guess.
Did you laugh when you read these stories? Did you say I can’t believe they would do that? Did you say use some common sense people? Has anything like this happened to you? I ask, what about you? Do you use your GPS wisely? I’m not talking about the man-made GPS. I am talking about the GPS, God Positioning System, that God has given all of us.
How many times are we going through our lives and we do something we know we shouldn’t and we hear that little voice in our head saying don’t do this. This is wrong – and we do it anyway. How many times do we do it again when we know what a bad decision it was the first time. We simply ignore the GPS.
How many times has God asked you to talk about your faith, spread the Word, make disciples and we ignore God and keep quiet. I know I have done this more times than I would like to admit to. Fear. God are you sure? You want me to go clear over there to the other side of the room and talk to someone. Look at all those people in between us. By the time I get over there they will be gone anyway. We unplug the GPS.
Could you imagine being Abraham? I’m not even talking about sacrificing your own child here, that’s for another story. I’m talking about if God said “hey you, gather your things and head out. I won’t tell you where you are going or for how long you will travel but just go, and I will lead you.” Would you do that?
What about Moses? After wandering the desert for forty years God says
at which Moses replied,
We all say who am I God? Why should I go? Can’t you send someone else?
What about Jonah?
He was swallowed by a giant fish then he was given a second chance.
What about Noah? He could’ve said no God, people will think I am crazy building an ark. What if he didn’t build it to God’s specific directions.
What about Jesus? Jesus was betrayed by a close friend, falsely arrested, accused, tempted, condemned, beaten until almost dead, crucified on a cross, and died alone and deserted by most of His followers. Yet He was never lost!
What about you? Are you following where God is asking you to go? If you head that direction but then realize the road is full of potholes and obstacles, do you turn around or keep going forward? Do you tell yourself you know a better way even though God is telling you to go a different way? I truly believe that sometimes God will have us crash into a building if that’s what it takes to get our attention. Sometimes He will have us hit rock bottom just to get us to ask Him for help.
God has given each of us an inner compass. A sense of right and wrong. Morals. Some of us choose to ignore these things and do what we want to do. Some of us will listen to the man-made GPS and not the God made GPS. Some of us choose to sit on the couch and not go anywhere.
When you are lost don’t be afraid to ask for help. When you run into an obstacle, don’t be afraid to go through it. When someone is telling you to go in the wrong direction, don’t be afraid to ask what would Jesus do? We can’t live this life living blindly. God has given us a purpose and a direction. He has also given us free choice to follow our ways or His ways. What GPS will you follow?
How easy it is for us to follow this world and its directions but not God’s directions. God doesn’t see only where you are at, He knows where you are going.
Today is Kylie’s first day of school, her last year in elementary. How did that happen? She just started kindergarten the other day. Hard to believe how the time flies. I thought the summer disappeared when I blinked, she thinks it dragged on. Funny how the older you get, the faster it goes. Don’t wish your life away, enjoy every minute of being young.
What did you do over summer vacation? I don’t know why but I always disliked writing that essay every year. I think it was just for the teachers to see if us students remembered how to write and conjugate properly. This picture puts a new twist to my summer vacation with today’s social media world. lol
Ahh those summer memories of my youth though. The smell of the grass, sweat and dirt from playing baseball, water fun, tan legs. All that in one day then repeat the next day. I wouldn’t change the life I have lived for it has made me who I am today but I can’t believe when people say they wouldn’t go back. I would go back. No worries, no bills, moms cooking, just hanging out with friends. At least I would go back for the summer. Maybe not. That was then…and I am made new now.
My birthday is in summer so I have those memories also. Getting my license, driving across the “blue bridge” going to West Virginia because mom said I couldn’t. It had see through steel grates for the bottom and it was such a small two lane bridge you could actually give a high-five to drivers in cars going the opposite direction but I knew I could do it.
Summer nights. Fireflies. Kick the can. Rock concerts. Long walks. Girls. Mowing grass. Baseball. Basketball. Cruising. Girls. Parties. Water. Thunderstorms. Girls. Did I say girls?
My posts this week have been a little long and a little intense but they are what I believe in so I will leave you today with a short one full of memories.
Any summer memories you want to share?
Any of these songs take you down memory lane?
Any back to school stories to share?
End of the Summer by Theory of A Deadman –
Summer Forever by Billy Currington –
Beat This Summer by Brad Paisley –
Boys of Summer by Don Henley –
All Summer Long by Kid Rock –
Summer of ’69 by Bryan Adams –
Summer ’79 by The Ataris –
Summer by Calvin Harris –
Summertime by DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince –
Ain’t Runnin Outta Summer by Gloriana –
Crazy Summer Nights by Hope Partlow –
Dusk and Summer by Dashboard Confessional –
Endless Summer by Aaron Lewis –
Summer Nights by Rascal Flatts –
Out Of Summertime by Scotty McCreery –
Summer Nights from Grease –
Stone In Love by Journey –
Cruel Summer by Banarama –
Summer Breeze by Seals and Croft –
The Flame by Cheap Trick – memories for me summer after I graduated
My God, My Music, My Life 
