He's Crafty?

Well, after a great weekend that included a family Thanksgiving get-together complete with plenty of fun and laughter, and way too much food, today marked the beginning of a new project.

Our friends, the McMillans, are coming for a Thanksgiving pow-wow this weekend. (Really, they are more like family because our bond is just too strong to classify them as just friends.) They have 5 kids and one on the way, and when Jaden and the kids get together, the sky's the limit on what their imaginations will dream up. They have been planning this whole W.W.I/W.W.II soldier thing and have really been burning up the phone lines trying to coordinate everything. PTL for unlimited long-distance!

One day last week, Jaden got off the phone and announced that he was in charge of coming up with the "weapons" for everyone to use. He was going to try to whittle and carve the "rifles" out of tree branches. Quite an undertaking for one person of any age, so I told him I would love to build some toy rifles for everyone. Hey, any excuse to pull out the power tools works for me! I got him to tell me what they wanted the guns to look like and did my best to draw something on poster board that would resemble a military rifle.

This afternoon, I traced the design on the lumber, pulled out the scroll saw, and started trying to follow the line. After a little bit of effort (and changing to the right kind of blade) I was able to get 2 of the "guns" roughed out before dark. Only 4 more to go! I'm having a blast doing this and I can't wait to see their faces when they get their surprises. Yes, Jaden is the only one who knows...they still think he's whittling and carving branches! I love it! Here's a picture of the rough work.


I'll keep them coming as everything progresses. In the meantime, I want to challenge you to find something you can do for someone and surprise them. They'll enjoy it and you will too.

How Welding Can Cause Horrible Dog Breath

Yesterday, I was talking to a friend of mine when, out of the blue, I got in trouble. I'm not even sure how it came about because it happened suddenly. Now, I'm not going to try to remember the conversation word-for-word, but the gist of it was something like, "You said on your blog that you were back. I've been checking for new posts...WHERE ARE YOU?" The truth of the matter is, I'm here but I've just been lazy when it comes to posting. How is that for honesty?

I can't say that I have a boring life. Actually, it's quite the opposite. Living on almost 150 acres means that something is pretty much always going on. For instance, I just finished building an awning for my parents. Not having welded for almost 20 years, I was a little nervous about tackling something like that. The last time I welded, I used a traditional stick welder. Those are the ones that use welding rods in order to create the weld. This time, I had a new wire welder that uses a roll of thin wire that is fed through the handle and eliminates the need for rods. I've never used one before and I hoped against hope that I would be able to catch on quickly so I could do a job that would look good and hold together. Not only was this going on their house, I also knew my Dad was going to have to climb on top of it in order to put the roof on it. I had made gates for our cattle lot in the past, and they had held up to some pretty severe torture. One time, a bull decided he didn't want to stay penned and chose to go up and over one of my gates. The metal bent, but the welds held firm. Of course, the consequences of a bull breaking a gate is not the same as your own Dad falling 8 feet. How awful it would be if he got up there and the welds weren't right! Thankfully, I was able to pick it back up quickly, the welds held firm, and my parents now have an awning over their back door. So, where does the horrible dog breath fit into all of this?

Well, we were finished with the frame of the awning and we decided we needed to get it up before it rained, so we hooked up the flood lights and kept working after dark. My parents have a huge boxer named "Big Mack" and he was really enjoying the fact that he had company. He was running all around us, stopping occasionally to have his head scratched.


My Dad had to go find a tool, so we stopped to take a break. I sat down and rubbed Big Mack's enormous melon head for a couple of minutes, then he got up and took off to the darker part of the yard. I was talking to my Mom when Big Mack came trotting back up. I noticed he was wheezing terribly and he was drooling like someone had filled his jowls with whipped cream. Then, he started shaking his head and acting weird and I got really concerned. I was reaching out to try to calm him down, but just before I touched him...it hit me. It wasn't a revelation or a sudden flash of inspiration. It was a FUNK! Skunk funk!

I pushed him away before he could contaminate me. It's funny how fast our feelings of sympathy can turn to feelings of self-preservation, but I've never experienced that kind of stink before. Mind you, I smell skunks all the time because we live out in the country and they are everywhere. I've even killed them before and have had to carry them away, but I have never smelled their "perfume" as strong as I did on Big Mack. It burned my nose and throat! I couldn't even imagine what Mack was going through, but I knew I didn't want that nasty smell on me! I grabbed a light and the shotgun and caught up with my Dad who was already looking for the skunk. He saw it but it ran off before I could get there with the gun. Dad managed to get it the next night, and it was huge! Poor Mack! Our thinking was that Mack went to bite the skunk and took a shot of musk right in the mouth, because that was the only part of him that stunk.

That's how welding and really bad dog breath fit together. The awning is still standing and so is Big Mack. The skunk is gone and the bad breath has too. All-in-all, life is good and I'm looking forward to my next welding project, but if we work at night, Big Mack is going inside!

A Little Encouragement

Sometimes it seems like life won't give us a chance to get ahead (or even catch up, for that matter!) I thought I'd share this devotion with you, in case you're feeling overwhelmed.

Hebrews 12:1-2
“1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.”

This is wise advice for us both spiritually and physically! Whether it’s growing in God or getting our budget organized, we carry things that weigh us down and cause us to give up before we reach our goal! Physically, there are tons of things that can happen to throw us off track. In the middle of reorganizing things, the phone can ring, then we realize it’s time to run an errand, and on it goes until the day is done, we’re exhausted, and we think, “I’ll work on it more tomorrow.” When tomorrow comes, we get the feeling that it’s too difficult, and the desire to see it happen starts to fade. Before long, our motivation fades and we don’t endure.

The same thing goes on spiritually, too! We start with a great joy and excitement for our relationship with Christ, and our determination level is high! Then, just as we’re making great strides, something from our past gets thrown in our face and we begin to weaken. Instead of stripping off the weight that slows us down and trips us up, we start to lose that determination and quit trying to “run with endurance the race that God has set before us.”

Whether it’s physical or spiritual, the key to overcoming is to get rid of the weight and keep our eyes on Jesus! He went through so much for us and has become our shining Example of endurance. Remember Philippians 4:13! It’s a great reminder that we can do everything through Christ because He gives us the strength to do it! You Can Do It!!

I'm Baaack!

I can't believe it's been more than a month since my last post. Is that some sort of a record? Do I get a prize? When I saw the date from that post, I had a flashback of what's been taking place over the last month and I can't believe that so much can happen in a short span of time.

I won't go into all of the details because some of them concern others, and I don't want to hurt anyone. Let me just say that serving God and doing the right thing, according to His Word, isn't always the easiest thing to do. The Bible sets a standard that Christians are supposed to live by. When we think God's standard doesn't apply to us, it can cause problems for so many others. There comes a point when it must be met head-on and stopped...and it must be done in a Godly manner. The sad part is, it's just as hard being on the side that is having to administer the discipline as it is to be on the receiving end. Just to clarify, this time I was on the administering end. A very big OUCH!

Yessiree, it has been a very goofy month, but now I hope to catch up on this thing. How many times have I said that? Hmmm. I wonder if there's an award for that, too!

An Eyewitness Account Of God's Power

My Mother almost died in the middle of church! I've wrestled with sharing this because I know it's controversial and some people might have a problem with the truth, but I've come to the place where I can't keep it inside any longer. I want to encourage you to read it all the way through with an open heart and mind because it is absolutely true...and I have at least a half dozen witnesses to back me up!

Sunday night, June 21st, we were having a great service and our Youth Pastor was delivering a powerful message. From my viewpoint on stage, I noticed that my Mom seemed to be struggling with her sugar level. She's a diabetic and has to be careful when she takes insulin because her sugar level tends to plummet and she has to grab something to eat in order to keep it from hitting the bottom. I saw her trying to discreetly eat part of a candy bar, then my Dad got up and went to the fellowship hall to get some water for her. After a little while, I saw her lean over and I thought she was getting something else out of her purse. Wrong! She had passed out in my Dad's lap and the Pastor and his wife, who were sitting right in front of her, turned around, laid hands on her and immediately began to pray in the Spirit. Becky was working the sound and she came hurrying up, and others who were around them surrounded her and began praying, too. The Youth Pastor immediately asked everyone to begin praying and what came next turned out to be a battle for life itself!

Pastor knew that there was a fight coming and encouraged everyone to persevere and press through. We prayed and it seemed like she would start to come around, but just as suddenly as it happened, she would take a downward turn and head back to unconsciousness. They brought milk mixed with sugar and she could barely even drink it. With each sip we had to remind her several times to swallow it before she would get it down. I had come down and was sitting next to her, trying to hold her up and keep her awake, but it wasn't helping. I have seen her go down before but never like this. Her body normally responds, but this was different. In one of her rallying moments, she turned and looked right at me and I could see death on her face. She turned back and leaned over on Dad and closed her eyes. Becky was behind her and couldn't find a pulse, which set her off. She began crying out to God as everyone around began praying in the Spirit. Finally, her hands began to move and she rallied once again, but it faded as before. Like I said earlier, it was a fight for life! We were literally fighting death itself. The fight probably went on for 30 minutes or more until one point when Mom was laying over on Dad. She began speaking in tongues and praying in the Spirit. Pastor looked at her and said, "The Lord just spoke to me and said to tell you, 'Woman, ARISE!'"

As soon as he said that, Mom stood to her feet. She didn't struggle to get up! She stood up solidly, raised her hands and began to rejoice in the Spirit. Her faculties immediately returned to her and she was alert, back in her right mind! After several minutes of praying and rejoicing in the Holy Spirit, she sat down and was fine. She walked out of the sanctuary that night instead of being carried out on a stretcher, and it was all because of the power of our Almighty God!

I know healing, tongues, and those type of Spiritual matters are offensive to some. Others believe that those are not for us today and it must be of the devil. Let me assure you that the devil was at work that night, BUT it was to do what he does best...steal, kill and destroy. I can promise you that the tongues weren't of him, neither was the healing. God is the One who gets all of the glory in all of this! The power of the Holy Spirit is still just as real and HERE today as He was on the day of Pentecost. There are those who look for the tickle, the tongues, the run, the jump, or the shout. That's NOT what the baptism of the Holy Spirit is for. To focus mainly on the manifestations of the Spirit is missing the point. The power is there to enable us to live a successful, powerful Christian life. The manifestation in tongues, prophecy, healing, or in any of the gifts of the Spirit comes as a sign that His awesome power is still at work and isn't to be used for our pleasure, but rather for the fulfilment of God's will on Earth.

If you have experienced a Pentecostal service that left you feeling judged, condemned, or entertained then please, don't discount the TRUE work of the Holy Spirit. If you have been taught that the work of the Holy Spirit is just hype, emotional overload, false-doctrine, occult or devil-inspired, I encourage you to stop and read God's Word. Don't read it through the eyes of the doctrine of man, but ask God to reveal the truth to you directly. I'm not trying to "turn you on" to the Holy Spirit, but I don't want you to click to the next website without an explanation of fact and a plea to avoid being judgemental. God still works miracles and the operation of the Holy Spirit is still real in our world today. My Mom is LIVING proof!

Prepare The Way!

I have to say that I am blessed! God has given me a wonderful family and has taken care of us in every way imaginable. He also allowed me to grow up in a Christian home, so I have spent my life seeing His mercy and grace in action. That type of exposure would normally cause someone to become desensitized to what's going on, but I find it's just the opposite when it comes to God's handiwork. I'm constantly amazed by His awesome love for us!

Please, allow me to share what's on my heart. As I look at what's happening in our country and in the world, I can't help but see how that relates to Scripture and the return of Jesus for His Church. The signs are there and I believe that our time here is running short -- probably shorter than we realize! In my humble opinion, these really are the Last Days! If that is true, it means that we are not far from seeing our Savior, Jesus Christ, face to face. Sadly, though, it also means that we are running out of time to share Jesus with our friends, family, and anyone else we meet who might not know Him and His saving grace!

All this has made me wonder. If we really knew how close His return was, would we change anything about the way we live? Would we stop watching certain movies or TV shows? Would we stop using certain language? Would we stay away from some of the places we currently go -- or start going to church more often? Would we make things right with people we have hurt or who have hurt us? Would gossip suddenly seem like the sin it really is, and would we be willing to go back and make things right from all of the gossip of the past? Would the vices we rationalize as being o.k. suddenly appear as ugly to us as they do to God? Would our focus shift from the insignificant things that bring us pleasure to the things that please God? Most importantly, would we have an urgency to share Jesus with as many as we could so they could have the chance to live for eternity with God in Heaven instead of separated from Him in the eternal torment and agony of Hell? What would it take to cause that type of urgency to rise in us?

There is a clarion call going out to "Prepare the Way of the Lord!" Just as John the Baptist went about telling everyone he could about the coming Messiah, we should be about the business of telling everyone we can about the return of the King of Kings! My exhortation is to pray for the Holy Spirit to bring revival; revival in our hearts, in our families, our churches and in any other area that God desires! How we need that outpouring, and I know it's coming! That will empower us for a great push to reach the lost before it's too late! We've got a mission and we're running out of time. Jesus is coming soon and we must grasp the urgency to Prepare the Way of the Lord!

The Best Laid Plans

The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray! My plan to keep this up on a daily basis have definitely gone by the wayside. Just playing "Captain Obvious" there. I've been busy, but not in the way I've been used to for the last few years, and certainly not in the way I thought I would be. That's not necessarily a bad thing. Let me explain.

I've become accustomed to getting up and being at work by a certain time. I would do specified tasks until a specified time, then I would go home. Since we have been back in Texas, my job description and schedule have both been fairly flexible and that has been tough for me to adjust to. When I say I've been busy, it hasn't all been "job" related, meaning it hasn't all been money producing. Of course, there is the farm which has various tasks and challenges that pop up from time to time. I'm also the Minister of Music at our church, and just preparing music for services and practice has been constant. In fact, I feel like I'm just really starting to get back in the flow of things and am getting a good foothold. I can honestly say that I know it's what God has called me to do, and I didn't fully realize how much I had missed it until now!

We've also had more opportunity to help with other areas of the church which is giving us a chance to fellowship with others and really form relationships that will help "iron sharpen iron," and I like that! Anyway, I could go into more detail, but it would take so much of your time to read it all. Let me just summarize for now and share more info later. I had my ideas about what was going to happen when we came back to Texas, but God always has higher plans. My expectations were high, but God has taken those to a whole new level...no, a whole new dimension! We are seeing Him do mighty things in people's lives. Our whole view and agenda has been altered and God is doing greater things than I could ever have imagined. I have a strange feeling that this blog will turn into a Revival Journal before too much longer! I don't say that lightly! I truly believe that we are about to see a move of God and we are called to be like John the Baptist and help prepare the way of the Lord!

He is coming back soon, I really believe that! We need to be ready and we need to tell others about Jesus while we still can. I'll share more later, but right now I need to get back to work on the other part of my calling, which is the earthly part that helps pay the bills. Be blessed!