Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Choose This Day...
I was thinking about all of the things that can corrupt my day and rob me of my time ... that precious commodity that we can never get back once it's lost. It's just like a fruit broker. His entire life is about managing fruit ... fruit that unless moved to market in a timely manner will spoil and rot and have absolutely no value. Well, that's what can happen to my time if I'm not careful and the thought popped into my head about who or what I am serving that's eating up that precious time. Am I focused on my spiritual growth and my good health, or am I focused on those things that have absolutely no value to the quality of my life? Interesting question isn't it? How much time will I sit in front of a TV screen just watching mindless entertainment or how much time will I spend in God's Word drawing closer to Him which then gives me the strength to face each of my daily challenges! Choose this day ... whom or what I will serve ... Every day is a choice to do what's right. I can either choose to focus on living a healthier life both physically and spiritually, or I can continue to just pass from one day to the next not knowing where my life is going. Is that what I want? Absolutely not! Choose this day ... Yes, I choose to follow Jesus, my Lord and Savior and I choose to ask Him to give me the strength TODAY to face each new challenge that comes my way. Joshua 24:15 reminds me that I must choose whom I will serve today ... As for me and my house ... we WILL serve the Lord! I think I better go work out!!!
Friday, February 24, 2012
It's Just Plain Hard ... But Oh So Rewarding!
Just over a year ago, we learned that our lives would be changed for quite some time as we were going to need to care for Patty's mom who's husband chose to abandon her down in FL Where they were living and go off with another woman. You see, Patty's mom is a cancer survivor but is unable to walk much more than a few steps and is not able to live alone without someone to help care for her needs. For quite a few months, we thought we were moving to Florida to move in with her but she lived in a 55+ park and we would not have been able to bring Becca with us. So after much prayer and deliberation we decided to bring her back home to Kenosha to live with us. What a blessing it has been for us to have her living with us and to have her as a part of our home and family! With that, however, comes many challenges, especially for Patty and I. My goodness, it takes a lot of work on both of our parts to find any kind of time to connect and spend some quality time just the two of us. Our house is small and Joann's room door is always open. Privacy is extremely difficult but we are still oh so blessed.
you see, I was spending the day with Joann today as Patty was out taking some time of to help her friend who just moved into their new home. Patty has been not only caring for her mom but also working full time and she really just needed some time to get out and relax and help her best friend for the day. So I chilled out with mom and spent the day with her
As we were sitting in her room having one of our lengthy conversations about life ... I began thinking about just how blessed I truly am. She can hardly walk any more and is in constant pain. She does get out now and then but it wares her out ... unless, of course, we're going to the casino ... then she perks right on up ... LOL ...But for most of the time she is in bed keeping her legs up to help with the circulation. Day after day she does the same thing ... turns on the news and just sits there watching ... almost mindlessly hoping that soon, this day too will be done. She's in her own prison within her body that refuses to give her much grace at all.
you see, I was spending the day with Joann today as Patty was out taking some time of to help her friend who just moved into their new home. Patty has been not only caring for her mom but also working full time and she really just needed some time to get out and relax and help her best friend for the day. So I chilled out with mom and spent the day with her
As we were sitting in her room having one of our lengthy conversations about life ... I began thinking about just how blessed I truly am. She can hardly walk any more and is in constant pain. She does get out now and then but it wares her out ... unless, of course, we're going to the casino ... then she perks right on up ... LOL ...But for most of the time she is in bed keeping her legs up to help with the circulation. Day after day she does the same thing ... turns on the news and just sits there watching ... almost mindlessly hoping that soon, this day too will be done. She's in her own prison within her body that refuses to give her much grace at all.
And so it was ... as we were sitting there talking, that I realized just how incredibly blessed I am. First off, she's my mother in law and for the most part we get along just fine ... That in itself is a miracle ... LOL. But more importantly, the Lord was showing me that Patty and I are obeying the 5th commandment found in both Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5 where it talks about us honoring our parents and by doing so we will live long lives blessed by the Lord. I began to think about all of the seniors who live alone and have no one around them to love them. They are just forgotten. Families don't have time for them any more so they get carted off to a nursing home to sit out the rest of their life and die! Thee is no way we would allow that to happen with either of our parents. Yes, we realized that even though these years are not going to be easy ... in fact they'll be hard ... but that's OK because the reward of having mom here with us is priceless. I am honored and oh so blessed that we are in the position to be able to provide her with the best care possible. I'm also thankful that my sweet wife Patty is getting some quality time with her mom which she hadn't had for so many years. Yes, it is just plain hard ... that's true ... but the rewards way surpass any hardship. Thank you Lord for giving us this opportunity to love Joann and to share your love with her in and through us. Some day, I know we will look back on these years and will see them as some of the best years in our married lives. We are blessed!!!
What Are We Doing?
I had an interesting experience at the YMCA a couple of days ago that has bugged me ever since! A man that I know somewhat saw me and asked me where I had been as he hadn't seen me in awhile and I explained that I usually swam in the afternoon ... this happened to be an early morning visit ... way too early ... LOL. In any case, I was amazed at how quickly the conversation turned to Kenosha First Assembly and all that the church isn't doing. It really upset me and I interrupted the guy and told him that I was sick and tired of hearing all the negative crap that people had to say about church. Doesn't the Bible tell us that we are to pray for our leaders? Are we not supposed to pray for those in authority over us? When things don't go the way we think they should go do we just get up and leave? What kind of people have we become? I see WE because in the past I have been just as guilty. Negative comments and complaining is like a nasty cancer that just spreads all over and does absolutely no good. You see, I think we forget that our pastors are accountable to the Lord for their choices and actions which include Sunday morning services. Who are we to tell them how the morning services should be run? Sure, there are things that have made me sad and certainly there are things I miss so much such as our musicals but I'm not a part of the leadership team. Being a pastor or leader comes with incredible responsibility to make wise choices that will honor the Lord and win souls to Christ. What our leadership team needs more than anything else is a body of believers to have their backs and to hold them up in prayer ... asking that the Holy Spirit guide their every step. That's our responsibility.
I say all this because I'm mainly talking to myself. I will not engage in any more church bashing or negative comments about our church or our leadership team ... I'm just going to walk away. I love our church and I'm going to make it a priority, with the Lord's help, to remember to pray every day that the fountainhead of blessing never runs dry ... and even though I'm just one person ... it only takes a spark to get a fire going! I'm ready for revival ... and that revival starts in me!
Thursday, February 9, 2012
A Vertical Relationship
Have you ever just felt utterly overwhelmed by all that's going on in our world today? My goodness, some days I wish I could just tune it all out!
As I have been focusing on my life these past few months, and most recently these past few weeks, I have thought much about where my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ fits. Ouch ... There are so many opinions from all kinds of different people ... read that, listen to this, do this devotional, pray for 30 minutes ... and on and on ... In fact just today there was a huge uproar about Ellen and her gay lifestyle being the spokesperson for JC Penny. You're probably wondering how in the world I brought this rabbit trail into the middle of my thought but there's a reason behind it all.
It saddens my heart so much to see the hatred that "Christians" have for people who have a gay lifestyle. I wonder what sin is in their life? It amazes me that we can spend so much time judging others according to "our" standards but we don't bother to look at our own lives. Do you really think the Lord categorizes sin? I don't ... I think He hates it all. I have had many gay friends in the past and have worked with many others and let me tell you ... they are some of the kindest people I have met. Now wouldn't you think the kindest people would be those of us who claim to be Christ followers. In fact, in the Bible it tells us that the unbelievers will know we are Christians if we love one another ... shoot, we can't even do that in the church body because we are too busy looking at what others are doing. It so saddens my heart.
So as I have been thinking through all of this and talking to Jesus about it I began to look at my own relationship with Him. Am I looking around at all the folks around me and judging them as well because they don't fit into my box called "Christianity"? Something like, "how could you even think God could love you and save you if you're gay?". As I thought about my own sin in my life it made me sad to think how mean I can be to others without even realizing it. Maybe if I would begin to look at my relationship with Jesus as a vertical one, I'd stop seeing what everyone else is doing are start learning to become more like him each day. And what does He tell us to do ..... LOVE! Love is weaved all over throughout God's Word. Hmmmm I wonder what He's trying to help us understand.
You know, our family watches Ellen's show every evening on our DVR .. Not only is she incredibly hilarious, but she's one of the most generous people I have seen. Now think about this with me. Why in the word would she want anything to do with Christianity when she is treated with such disrespect and hostility? Why would she even have a desire to hear about this "loving" God who forgives us our sins and saves us? Why? It hurt me so much today watching her show and hearing what the million moms are doing because Ellen is a spokesperson for JC Penny. Love that ... The Lord loves Ellen ... In fact, He loves all of us sinners ... but the only way Ellen would ever truly understand God's incredible grace and mercy is if she experienced it from us!!! Remember, we are His hands and feet. We are not here to judge but to love. It's about respecting people where they're at.
And so with that, I'll close asking you all to pray for me as I focus each day on becoming more and more like Christ. I pray that each day I will remember that my relationship with Christ is vertical and then from their it become horizontal to such a hurting world.
As I have been focusing on my life these past few months, and most recently these past few weeks, I have thought much about where my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ fits. Ouch ... There are so many opinions from all kinds of different people ... read that, listen to this, do this devotional, pray for 30 minutes ... and on and on ... In fact just today there was a huge uproar about Ellen and her gay lifestyle being the spokesperson for JC Penny. You're probably wondering how in the world I brought this rabbit trail into the middle of my thought but there's a reason behind it all.
It saddens my heart so much to see the hatred that "Christians" have for people who have a gay lifestyle. I wonder what sin is in their life? It amazes me that we can spend so much time judging others according to "our" standards but we don't bother to look at our own lives. Do you really think the Lord categorizes sin? I don't ... I think He hates it all. I have had many gay friends in the past and have worked with many others and let me tell you ... they are some of the kindest people I have met. Now wouldn't you think the kindest people would be those of us who claim to be Christ followers. In fact, in the Bible it tells us that the unbelievers will know we are Christians if we love one another ... shoot, we can't even do that in the church body because we are too busy looking at what others are doing. It so saddens my heart.
So as I have been thinking through all of this and talking to Jesus about it I began to look at my own relationship with Him. Am I looking around at all the folks around me and judging them as well because they don't fit into my box called "Christianity"? Something like, "how could you even think God could love you and save you if you're gay?". As I thought about my own sin in my life it made me sad to think how mean I can be to others without even realizing it. Maybe if I would begin to look at my relationship with Jesus as a vertical one, I'd stop seeing what everyone else is doing are start learning to become more like him each day. And what does He tell us to do ..... LOVE! Love is weaved all over throughout God's Word. Hmmmm I wonder what He's trying to help us understand.
You know, our family watches Ellen's show every evening on our DVR .. Not only is she incredibly hilarious, but she's one of the most generous people I have seen. Now think about this with me. Why in the word would she want anything to do with Christianity when she is treated with such disrespect and hostility? Why would she even have a desire to hear about this "loving" God who forgives us our sins and saves us? Why? It hurt me so much today watching her show and hearing what the million moms are doing because Ellen is a spokesperson for JC Penny. Love that ... The Lord loves Ellen ... In fact, He loves all of us sinners ... but the only way Ellen would ever truly understand God's incredible grace and mercy is if she experienced it from us!!! Remember, we are His hands and feet. We are not here to judge but to love. It's about respecting people where they're at.
And so with that, I'll close asking you all to pray for me as I focus each day on becoming more and more like Christ. I pray that each day I will remember that my relationship with Christ is vertical and then from their it become horizontal to such a hurting world.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Pressing Forward
I woke up this morning thinking about the goals of my life. Imagine that ... I have spent so much time focusing on my past failures ... and so needless to say it felt good to think about the future for a bit.
There are a couple of verses I would like to share with you from: Philippians 3:12-14 from the New International Version says:
"12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
I was on the treadmill last night trying to put one step in front of the other and thinking how far back I have come since I put all my weight back on and suddenly, as I was listening to my worship music it was as if the Holy Spirit brought the above verses to my mind. I started thinking about what I was doing at that moment ... I was pressing forward! You know, I'm so good at talking about what I need to get done but it fascinates me to see how much I really do get done vs how much I just talk about it. Last night I was doing something about it and it gave me a new kind of strength from within to keep fighting through the pain. Have you really ever sat down and done a study on Paul's life? There was absolutely nothing glamorous about his life. In fact, it was quite the opposite. He suffered incredible persecution like we could never even imagine. It's so easy to read about the things he went through for the cause of Christ but to then try and comprehend the pain and suffering he went through to spread the good news of Jesus is just incredible to me. He says in verse 14 that he presses on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called him ... to be in heaven with Christ Jesus. But the verse that really hit me was 13. He says Brothers and Sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it ... his goal ...but one thing I do; Forgetting what is BEHIND and STRAINING toward what is ahead!!! I can't even tell you how many times I have read those verses. Seriously ... and what do I do? I so easily focus on my past failures rather than truly understanding the GRACE I have been given and focus on today and the future ... setting goals with the idea that I want everyone to know and experience the GRACE of Christ Jesus like I have received. It's my hearts' passion.
So what do I do? Exactly what verse 13 tells me to do. I will press on ... I will press forward and I will forget about all the junk from my past and I will stop feeling sorry for myself. It's time to starting living on the high road ... I will do this by living each day to the fullest not only working on my spiritual journey with Christ but also working hard on my health. It doesn't matter that I started in 2006 and lost so much weight! That was then ... this is now. I'm starting over and the past is the past. There's nothing I can do about it.
In closing, I would like to share a devotional that I read today written by Sarah Young. It's in her devotional book titled Jesus Calling - Enjoying peace in His presence ... Published in Nashville, TN in 2004 by Thomas Nelson. This is on page 29 dated January 28
"I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS. These were the last words I spoke before ascending into heaven. I continue to proclaim this promise to all who will listen. People respond to My continual Presence in various ways. Most Christians accept this teaching as truth but ignore it in their daily living. Some ill-taught or wounded believers fear (and may even resent) My awareness of all they do, say, and think. A few people center their lives around this glorious promise and find themselves blessed beyond all expectations. When My presence is the focal point of your consciousness, all the pieces of your life fall into place. As you gaze at Me through the eyes of your heart, you can see the world around you from My perspective. The fact that I am with you makes every moment of your life meaningful"
Isn't that powerful! This is a wonderful devotional written in first person from Jesus to us. And as I read those words today it just renewed my faith and hope knowing that He does have my back and He does care about everything I do and say. He loves me so much. And the most beautiful thing is He loves ALL of us that much! No matter what we are struggling with we must press forward knowing that He will guide us and protect us every step of the way. God bless you my friends. You are loved!
There are a couple of verses I would like to share with you from: Philippians 3:12-14 from the New International Version says:
"12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
I was on the treadmill last night trying to put one step in front of the other and thinking how far back I have come since I put all my weight back on and suddenly, as I was listening to my worship music it was as if the Holy Spirit brought the above verses to my mind. I started thinking about what I was doing at that moment ... I was pressing forward! You know, I'm so good at talking about what I need to get done but it fascinates me to see how much I really do get done vs how much I just talk about it. Last night I was doing something about it and it gave me a new kind of strength from within to keep fighting through the pain. Have you really ever sat down and done a study on Paul's life? There was absolutely nothing glamorous about his life. In fact, it was quite the opposite. He suffered incredible persecution like we could never even imagine. It's so easy to read about the things he went through for the cause of Christ but to then try and comprehend the pain and suffering he went through to spread the good news of Jesus is just incredible to me. He says in verse 14 that he presses on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called him ... to be in heaven with Christ Jesus. But the verse that really hit me was 13. He says Brothers and Sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it ... his goal ...but one thing I do; Forgetting what is BEHIND and STRAINING toward what is ahead!!! I can't even tell you how many times I have read those verses. Seriously ... and what do I do? I so easily focus on my past failures rather than truly understanding the GRACE I have been given and focus on today and the future ... setting goals with the idea that I want everyone to know and experience the GRACE of Christ Jesus like I have received. It's my hearts' passion.
So what do I do? Exactly what verse 13 tells me to do. I will press on ... I will press forward and I will forget about all the junk from my past and I will stop feeling sorry for myself. It's time to starting living on the high road ... I will do this by living each day to the fullest not only working on my spiritual journey with Christ but also working hard on my health. It doesn't matter that I started in 2006 and lost so much weight! That was then ... this is now. I'm starting over and the past is the past. There's nothing I can do about it.
In closing, I would like to share a devotional that I read today written by Sarah Young. It's in her devotional book titled Jesus Calling - Enjoying peace in His presence ... Published in Nashville, TN in 2004 by Thomas Nelson. This is on page 29 dated January 28
"I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS. These were the last words I spoke before ascending into heaven. I continue to proclaim this promise to all who will listen. People respond to My continual Presence in various ways. Most Christians accept this teaching as truth but ignore it in their daily living. Some ill-taught or wounded believers fear (and may even resent) My awareness of all they do, say, and think. A few people center their lives around this glorious promise and find themselves blessed beyond all expectations. When My presence is the focal point of your consciousness, all the pieces of your life fall into place. As you gaze at Me through the eyes of your heart, you can see the world around you from My perspective. The fact that I am with you makes every moment of your life meaningful"
Isn't that powerful! This is a wonderful devotional written in first person from Jesus to us. And as I read those words today it just renewed my faith and hope knowing that He does have my back and He does care about everything I do and say. He loves me so much. And the most beautiful thing is He loves ALL of us that much! No matter what we are struggling with we must press forward knowing that He will guide us and protect us every step of the way. God bless you my friends. You are loved!
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Food for Thought
Wow, I'm truly amazed that it's been a year since I last wrote on this blog ... and what a year it's been! I have to tell you that I was actually shocked to reread my blog entry from January 10, 2011 because it talks about exactly how I feel today. Totally defeated! I wonder why that is? What is it that causes me to continually beat myself up for not achieving the goals that I have set for myself. Why do I hold so much in my head rather than typing it out on paper so that I can go back and reread previous entries like I did today? I can learn so much about myself if I would just do that. I have talked about writing this blog for three years now and I seem to do OK for a few days but then I just stop ... like so many other lofty goals of mine. And then I feel like I have failed something else. Well ... I'm tired of feeling this way and I'm tired of being so hard on myself. I'm the only me that I will ever have and I'm sick and tired of the way I treat myself! Where's the pride and dignity in who Christ created me to be? Starting today I will no longer relish in my miseries of the past but rather, I will thank the Lord for His mercies and GRACE which are NEW EVERY morning! He loves us so much and it hurts Him when I'm so cruel to myself. I really think it does.
And so it is that once again I will climb back aboard life's journey that's so full of adventure. Each morning I will wake up reminding myself of God endless love for me and my love for Him. My prayer is that His love will flow through me to others no matter what it is I'm doing. Even at the pool swimming, there's always folks to talk with and encourage. It's time for me to take the focus off of me and focus on Jesus because He has called me to just be me and allow Him to love others through me so that they can see and experience His love for them. My true hearts desire is to be His hands and feet ... to love and care for others and to share the good news of Jesus' forgiveness and unconditional love. Yes, He has me right where He wants me and I'm going to rejoice in the Lord each day for the opportunities He has given me today! Because I'm gong to Live Today Well! I'm sure they'll be some bumps and bruises along this journey but you know ... that's OK. I'm not going to worry about tomorrow. I'm focusing on today. And as my priorities get straightened out ... I believe my health will follow because He does love me and He does care about me. And the same goes for you my friend. It's time for the discouragement to flee because discouragement is not something from the Lord but rather it's the devil doing everything he can to get us to give up and quit. Hmmmm how long has he had me trapped in the same spot? I'm sick of it. It's time to speak life of ourselves dear friends. John 10:10 tells us that the enemy has come to steal, kill and destroy but Jesus has come that we might have LIFE and that more abundant! I'm choosing life ..... How about you?
Monday, January 10, 2011
A New Beginning!
Thank you so very much for taking the time to read my blog. I have never been one to be a great writer but it's something that I would really like to start doing more of. For one, I think it will help me understand my life so much better in regards to where I have been and where I'm heading with my life. The first 47 years seem like a lot of chaos and confusion but oh how I have learned so many valuable lessons.
I have titled this blog Living Today Well because one of the greatest lessons that I have learned is that I must focus on today and stop thinking so much about tomorrow. Too often I look at my past goals and wonder why I haven't succeeded. I realized that so much of my energy and effort has been geared toward the end result rather then focusing on today and living today well ... or living the best that I can today. Although it is good to plan and to set goals, the Bible tells us that we don't know what tomorrow holds or even if tomorrow will come. How many blessings have I missed in my life because I was so focussed on what lied ahead in my life rather then enjoying today to it's fullest!
And so it is with this new HOPE that I set out on my sixth year of this crazy journey. I had done so well my first year and then maintained quite well up until this past year. My knees became so soar that I could no longer swim. This caused me a great deal of depression and anxiety and I ended up going right back to my old habits of eating because it made me feel so good. But you know, the crazy thing is that I would feel good while I was eating but then I would feel horrible after because my body was hurting with all the extra fat I have been carrying around. Well, this past September, I had a double knee replacement surgery and I was in rehab for a couple of months. Here also I gained a lot of my weight back because I couldn't get up to exercise and frankly, I was bored out of my mind sitting in that nursing home. Oh, I had lots of good times ministering to others there but I also had plenty of time to be bored ... But, today was a new day my friends and today was my first day back in the pool! It felt so wonderful to be back to swimming which is what I love to do, even though my knees felt so funny in the water. I had a wonderful swim.
My hope is that I can journal my daily experiences here and I hope that you, the reader, will feel free to post on this blog. I hope that you will be encouraged to live your life well too and that you will find a renewed sense of joy in your heart.
I will be weighing in weekly and measuring monthly. Here are my current results.
1-10-11 362 lbs
Stomach is 61" around
Chest is 58" around
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