Family

Last night we had our family Christmas for my side of the family. All my siblings were there and I was able to attend on skype. It was a very interesting experience, but I would have rather been there in person. I have the coolest family in the world. Every sibling is different and brings a whole new dynamic to a get-together. I wanted to add to the fun, but my jokes are usually pretty bad, and online on a phone, they are even worse. Oh well.
I experienced a first too in that they opened our presents for us in front of the camera. That was pretty interesting, although it was kind of hard because we cannot remember everything we received. We will actually get them next month when we are home for Sarah's sister's wedding. It was also interesting with giving presents as we had other people buy for us. My brother Dan did a great job and got everyone great stuff.
Moral of the story: Don't take being with your family for granted, even if it is a family reunion and everyone gets on your nerves.

The Perfect Person

I wonder what the perfect person would be like. Our thoughts on this topic show much about our lives. As I make this list of my perfect person, you will be able to see quite a bit into what makes me frustrated, what makes me happy, and why I click the way I do. For example, you will see dependability on my list. Why? Because I can't stand undependable people and so I try to be dependable.
The perfect person...

Loves all and condemns no one
Tries their hardest to have a non-biased view of the Bible, taking it for what it was meant to be
Follows the golden rule
Is kind to all
Patient, gentle, joyful (not a Debby-downer), merciful, considerate
Respects other opinions, but not afraid to share his when asked
Honest, even when it is hard or not convenient
Has good communication (prompt in their response)
Does not judge others by appearance
Dependable and reliable
Responsible
Frugal
Wise
Hard working
Tells others what they truly believe, rather than sugar coating everything (in other words, if there is something wrong with me, I would appreciate you telling me so that I can look into the mirror of God's Word and see if I need fixing)

So this list is more for me because I want to strive to be this person. (Because I want others to follow this list, I should follow the Golden Rule and try to be like this list). You may have to read that last sentence a couple of times for it to make sense. But basically I am striving to be perfect, although a knowledge of one's own imperfections should be added to the list as well. And I must include that we will never actually be perfect.
So what else can I add to that list, or what would your list include?

Dreams

So I have heard quite a bit over my life about chasing my dreams. This past year I read a book called the Dream Giver that talked about following our dreams. But it talked about having one dream and I wondered what happens if you have multiple dreams. Many people, including me, would say that my dream has been to be a missionary in Brazil and that is what I am doing. But what about other thoughts that come into my head. Do I pursue them all? I think that I know my answer, but I just want to hear what others will say.

Running

So Sarah has got me running consistently now. Really it is her who is the consistent one. This past Saturday she went out without me and didn't come back at the normal time. I went out to check on her and she was finishing her 9th lap, which was 5 miles! I was astounded, especially since we started with 2 laps just two months ago and she already quadrupled that. So yesterday I ran the 5 miles with her. I was thinking about it and I have always wanted to run a marathon and so I might try to soon since I am running with Sarah anyway.
Speaking of things that I have always wanted to do: My good friend Nathan made a list of things he wanted to do and put it on his blog. So I am going to put a list here of possible things that I would like to accomplish at some point:
-Run a marathon
-Flip a house
-Publish a book
-Have a good enough marriage to be able to speak on the topic
-Have kids
-Earn an honorary doctorate (that is a joke)
-I think that I would like to Pastor a church at some point if God would like
-Be involved in making a movie (I say make cause it would probably be unprofessional, but I would like to be involved in one).
-hit a home run in softball (it might just have to be an in the parker)
-be fluent in several languages

ok, well that is all for now. It ended up being less serious than I thought because I couldn't think of much to write.

Church

You know, I think that there will be a lot of surprises in heaven. One will be who all is there. On prefield ministry we traveled to all different types of churches and with our many other travels, we have seen all kinds of different churches. Even down here in Brasil, the churches are different. I think that we can have church in all different kinds of ways and still get the main point of worshiping God.
But I think that God had a great purpose in creating the church. He did not just create it cause it sounded like a good idea. He desires that we first of all glorify God. We do that so much in the church. But we also do that by following the idea of church in having fellowship with other believers. That fellowship glorifies His Name. One purpose of the church is to heal us when we are broken. We encourage others through difficult times in the church, and then when we go through hard times, we may be encouraged as well. I know people who leave the church when going through hard times personally, but that is the time where in the church they should be encouraged and be rallied around.
There is a lot to say about serving in the church as well. JFK's quote about the country is just as applicable with the church, "It is not what your church can do for you, it is what you can do for your church." We should all be servants in our local church!

Spelling

So since I have arrived in Brazil, I have become aware of two different things with spelling. First, I am bad at spelling Portuguese because I don't use the accents right. Secondly, my English spelling is in quick deterioration. I am quite nervous about this as I think spelling has a lot to do with how someone is perceived. I am very grateful for spell check that works on this blog, gmail, word-of course, but am nervous about the other places where I don't have that luxury as well as misspelling my there's, here's, and other words that have different spellings and meanings.
Oh well, at least I am aware of it. I will probably start sending the update email to my mom in the US to edit it before I send it out. But for now, I will just keep trying my best.

Almost a bad day

Well, we almost had a bad day yesterday, but it was really good. We started out early to get to town in order to register for our CPF's, the Brazilian social security number. As we got out of the taxi, I could not find my wallet. I turned around and the taxi driver had hesitated pulling away, but I caught his attention as he started driving. Sure enough, my wallet was in the back seat. Close call.
Yesterday evening, we had one of our language school teachers, Fabi, over for dinner. Sarah and Fabi left after their classes were over while I finished up my class. Sarah had a couple bus numbers in mind to ride home, but they were both wrong. So when they got on 614 she started to have problems. First, she had a 20 real bill, (equivalent to 10 dollars) and the guy on the bus did not have change and so would not accept it. So Fabi had to pay for the ride. Then, the bus turned before Sarah thought it should have. So they were freaking out inside the bus because they did not know what to do. It turned out ok though cause the bus still went pretty close to the house. So they made it home safely.
Then they were cooking dinner and the gas stove was turning on, but not lighting and they could smell gas. Sarah turned on the top of the stove and all the gas lit up. Sarah said she could feel the fire all around her and both Fabi and Sarah screamed, but it was over quickly.
We had also been having some problems with our gas heater. I couldn't get it to work. Well, Jon Trott, another missionary came over and looked at it and said, "oh did you know it was turned to off?" And then it worked and I felt retarded. But at least the gas is working now.
But it was a great day because we got our CPF's, had a great lunch downtown, had a good day in class where one teacher told me how good Sarah is doing, and had fun having Fabi over.

Soccer

The days leading up to our departure from the states I was very excited about playing soccer in Brasil. At last I could play soccer just about every day I am here and make great contacts with people and get good exercise consistently. But then I didn't play soccer for two weeks. People don't play that often here in south Brasil. But finally I played last Sunday and this Sunday. I walked over to the park where I only seen games being played on Sunday afternoons. A group of younger players let me play on their team and I had fun. Then yesterday I played again. Once all the older players left, we were able to play for about an hour straight. I had a lot of fun and even played alright. I am hoping that I can be a positive influence in the lives of these kids. It is neat to see how that being a foreigner you have so many more opportunities to talk. They have asked me all kinds of questions and I have been able to ask them some. I am hoping to get into more serious subjects at times. We will see.

Burglars

Yes, that is a very scary word, especially when you are in a different country. I mean, they don't even have 911 down here, so what would you do if someone were in your house in the middle of the night? Well, last Friday night, at 2:30 in the morning, I was asking that same question. You see, it sounded like there was someone walking on the top floor of our house. We live in a condominium, meaning that our house is connected to another house. The other house is under construction right now, which means we get woke up often from pounding and stuff. Well, this night I did not really consider anyone to be working and so I figured they must be in our house. So I got up, turned the light on in the bathroom, and used it so they might be scared and go away. They didn't. I could have sworn that I heard them walking and even pulling on drawers downstairs.
So I went out to the hallway and turned on a light and stood there for a while making a few noises to let the burglar know I was there. I also figured out what I would use for a weapon; the iron, or a big piece of glass from a broken picture frame. After a while I closed the door and laid in bed for a while. I think I finally fell back asleep by 5:30. As soon as it was light out, I walked around the house and saw that nothing was gone. I had in fact imagined the whole burglary. We live in a condominium with an electric fence around us, as well as a gate with a security guard. So I think that I will just try to ignore those noises next time. But I still have something in our room just in case the burglar does come.

And the eggs made it home.

Today we needed some groceries. Today we rode the bus to and from school. Today the bus was really crowded. Today we did not get to sit down. Today we had eight bags of groceries on the bus ride home. Today we made it home safely with no broken eggs, bruised fruit, spilt milk.
And we just laughed...

Churrasco!!

Whoa, if I tell you about churrasco down here, you may start raising your support for South Brasil. The day after we arrived, another missionary treated us to churrasco in his home. Some American cities have Brazilian churrascarias in which plates cost up to 50 dollars for this steak buffet. Gauchos have perfected this grilling over coals of sausage and steak and we are now tasting their years of experience. To top it all off, meat is much cheaper down here and so churrascos are much more feasible.
A churrasco pit sits in our laundry room awaiting these delicious meals, that is, as soon as I can figure it out. My first experience of being head chef for churrasco happened on Tuesday. We rushed home and I tried to start the coals. First mistake: no lighter fluid. Every time Sarah walked in to check how I was doing, my head was surrounded by smoke as I looked down into the flameless pit. I said, well, if we were smoking this meat, we could do it here. Second mistake: I didn't have enough coals or arrange them correctly. Once I piled them up better, dumped some cleaning alcohol on it, and gave it time, it started to heat up. Which by that time, I had told Sarah to fix something else. So we had steak over the stove, rice and gravy. Turned out good. We did keep one piece of meat though. In churrascos, you are supposed to use fat salt, or ocean salt, and put it on the meat, and then at some point knock it off. I never got to that point. So the meat was really salty. Third mistake: we had brought the wrong meat anyway. We bought the meat before we received advice from anyone. The same night I facebooked a Brazilian who gave us some advice and invited them over to show me the Brazilian way of doing it. I am looking forward to that day. But for now I have a story I have been able to tell people.
And we just laugh...

Gotta love potting soil

So Sarah has started decorating our patio with flowers and it looks great! We bought flowers last week, but needed potting soil. So we went to BIG, the Brazilian version of Walmart, here in Porto Alegre. Since the potting soil and other items were a little heavy to walk and take a bus, we decided to take our fist taxi ride here (I say it like it is a roller coaster or something fun like that, it's not). I mean, it wasn't too bad, it is just that I forgot our address. I knew how to get home, so I thought we would be fine. Well, the taxi driver obviously took advantage of my being naive. He took us the opposite way in a big circle. I was a little disappointed, especially since it cost more money, and if you know my frugal self, you know I hate spending money. Anyway, we finally made it home and brought the potting soil to the back. As I set the bag down, I noticed the exact same bag of potting soil under our churrasco pit!
And we laughed...

Sermon on the Mount

So I was really excited yesterday to have an English Bible study here in Brazil for Sunday school. There is a couple from Texas working for John Deere, a couple from New Zealand working as an international school teacher, and a couple other Americans. Jon, an ABWE missionary, led the Bible study and is doing a series on Matthew 5-7. He gave us a printout that had a chart on it. The Beatitudes each had some characteristics to it and if you go down the list, it could be compared to leading someone to salvation. I had never seen that before. Poor in spirit represents moral failure explaining that we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. Then mourning represents repentance showing that we are understand our guilt and then desire to turn from sin. Gentleness or meekness shows humility and an attitude of willingness to learn God's principles in life.
After salvation, we will hunger and thirst for righteousness and a relentless pursuit of God's righteous standards (even though we can never meet them). The rest are godly characteristics like mercy, love, others motivated, peacemaker or reconciler, and then mentions those who will be persecuted.
I had never seen the Beatitudes in that way before and it was really neat for me.

Anger

What is accomplished in anger outbursts? I have struggled with a bad temper since I was young. I believe that it is getting better, but I know that I still have my spurts. I was in the airport yesterday in Atlanta and watched a mad chew an airport worker out about another worker standing by. He called the lady a witch as she walked away and then proceeded to rip his tag off his luggage, throw it on the ground, and walk off. Whenever I witness blow ups, I feel like I witness immaturity. Am I wrong? Are there times to blow up? I know Jesus blew up in the temple one day with righteous anger over people using the temple of God wrongly. People may take advantage of you if you never blow up, but it seems that much more gets done with a soft answer that turns away wrath.

Last evening thoughts

Well, tomorrow Sarah and I leave for Brazil. I have had many random thoughts, mixed emotions, busy days, and great conversations these last few days. I have had fun convincing people that we are not dying, just leaving the country for a few years. No, it has not been that bad. I have not cried as much as I thought I would. Maybe it is because I am so excited, or cause I am trying to be strong for Sarah, or it could be the result of being cold-hearted, haha. Well, hopefully not that last one. There are several things that I think of that make me cry on the spot. For some reason, whenever we pray as a group I start to tear up. Tonight we said goodbye to Emma and Luke, our neice and nephew. That was hard for me because I am not going to see them grow up. I love playing with them and they seem to enjoy it too and I cannot bear the thought of them not knowing who we are in a couple years. The last thing that really makes me want to cry is how many people have been there for us, praying, supporting, giving much more than we deserve, and their overall love and care for us. We are undeserving of the many friends and family that we have that care so deeply for us. There are so many that would give us the shirt off their back and then thank me for the opportunity to give it. One cannot ask for better friends than that. So if you are one of those people, know that I am shedding tears here thinking about your love and being so grateful to God for you.

Interpreting the Bible

I have come across so many different interpretations of the Bible lately that I thought I would write about it. I took a class on it in college called hermeneutics. I really enjoyed the class because I learned a lot about the practice of interpreting the Bible, but especially because the teacher told us plenty of examples of times where we use a verse to back up our argument when that is not what the verse means. I have heard that a lot in the Christian ranks.
We need to take a humble approach when studying and understanding the Bible. We all have presuppositions as a result of how we were brought up. And it is easy to say, well this is how I have always known it, so it must be true. We must humbly come to the Scriptures and study to see what passages are really saying. To understand what the author and God are trying to communicate, we must study the background, context, who they are writing to and why, the culture and customs, and also the language. Unfortunately, humans did the translation of the Bible and words change meanings as well.
One must also be careful where resources are found for interpretation. Scholars are humans too, and many disagree, soooo..... someone has to be wrong in their interpretation. That is why it takes much time in study before we become sure of a meaning, and then even still, unless it is a major proven doctrine, we must not be dogmatic about its meaning and label everyone else as liars.
Well, there are other thoughts on my mind for this post, but if it gets too long, I will lose the 3 people that visit my blog.

"Putting Christ back into Christian" article

There is no doubt that the church today has declined in her commitment to Jesus Christ. Members do not show up regularly, Pastors are caught in scandals, and we are caught wondering where the lack of faithfulness is from. Although, there are many reasons for this, three have caught my attention. The first problem starts right at the root, and that is our doctrine of salvation. We have made salvation too easy in that we have handed out a prayer as though God gave out tickets to heaven for us to pass to all those around us. We have not thoroughly explained God’s plan for salvation, but instead have made the entrance exam a no-brainer for the lost. We encourage each other to make wise decisions not based on emotions, but when it comes to salvation, we have found that the easiest way to convert the lost is through the emotions and then wonder why we never see them at church. The second problem is a lack of discipling new believers. The last few decades we have had Sunday School for that, so what need is there for small group (2-4 people) discipling? The problem is not the available teaching, but the lack of ability to integrate discipleship and accountability. Once we utilize a better system for discipling we will not see the fallout rate we see now. Thirdly is an overall deficit of integrity in leadership which flows down to the followers. Between our Christian pride, materialism, bad influence, scarred testimonies, and no desire for personal holiness or understanding of the lost, we have not been effective in displaying Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world. We need Believers who are on a mission to put Christ back into Christian!

Illogical beliefs dealing with the beginning of time

So there is a debate that is highly illogical. The creationism versus evolutionism debate contains arguments that are not within the realms of logic. Creationism teaches that there is a God who created the world in six days using the power of His voice. He creates land and sea, animals, birds and fish and ends with creating man. He breathes into his nostrils the breath of life and man is given a living soul. It takes a lot of faith to believe that all could happen.
Evolution takes much faith too. First of all, there is nothing but some sort of mass and it explodes and there is a universe with a bunch of stars and earth. But there is no life for a long time until all of a sudden, lightning strikes a mud puddle and boom, life is formed. Millions of years pass by and we all of a sudden have hundreds of species of animals that evolved from the first living organism. One species cannot make another species according to science, yet that is how we have so many different animals. Anyway, I could go on and on, but I think the point is made that there is not much logic involved in this argument. Both evolution and creation take much faith. Personally, I believe in creationism, but I do understand that it takes much faith to believe in it.

Joy

Man, I am a slacker sometimes. I let the smallest things rob me of my joy. Rejoice in the Lord always is a pretty clear verse, but one I struggle following. Our sufficiency should be in Christ, not in circumstances. I was bummed the other day when someone said; hey, you should smile back there. I do not know what my face looked like, but it must have been pretty ugly. Life is so much easier when we relax and have a good time and trust in the sovereignty of God.

Even if

When Rack, Shack and Benny were asked by the king to bow down before his image, they refused. They said that they would not disobey God understanding that their consequence would be to go through the fiery furnace. They said that they knew God could deliver them, but EVEN IF not they would still obey God. Faith is trusting in God enough to obey His Word. Sometimes I wonder if I have faith, but really I need to look at my obedience level. Am I obeying God and trusting His Word? If I am, then I am showing faith. And if I am not, then I need to be like the Centurion in the gospels who said, Lord I believe, help my unbelief. Our faith ultimately comes from God and we should never stop asking for it.

Putting Christ back into Christian

So, in case you have been reading this blog and do not know it, my friend Jeremiah and I just wrote a book. We are really excited about it. Here is a little about the book and the link to look at the first few pages of it:
Although many people in the United States today claim to follow Christianity, most do not practice it. This book takes a look at the reasons why and the ways Christians can correct the problem. The authors peer into Christians' views of salvation and discipleship to uncover solutions to the unchristlike actions of Christianity's followers. The book is a quick read that will cause the reader to examine their own practice of Christianity.
http://www.lulu.com/content/3146802

Contrarian's Guide to Knowing God

So I am reading this book right now by Larry Osborne. He really has me thinking so much about how I measure my own spirituality. Many times we have our own rituals we do that we think makes us spiritual. I have had the problem in the past of saying - reading the Bible + Prayer + Memorizing Scripture + Church = God's pleasure. As many times as I have said that these are helping me to know God better, is that the main goal. Or am I just doing all those for kudos bars in heaven?
My Pastor has been preaching on Worship the last couple of Sundays and I have really learned a lot from it. God wants our worship above our service. Our service and actions are just means by which we are worshipping God. So we must focus on worship above all else. "God is most glorified in us, when we are most satisfied in Him." -John Piper.

Holiness

I just posted a comment on another blog regarding holy living. I almost felt guilty for posting it. Is it wrong for me to challenge others towards holy living? Of course, I know it is not, but why do I have that guilty feeling? Does our Christian culture promote beating around the bush when it comes to tackling spiritual topics? I would say that our generation opens up more and it is seeping into the church as well. I hope that we keep opening up because the Bible is clear about Christians being accountable to one another. The more we keep each other accountable in striving towards holiness, the better off we will be. So onwards we go in challenging each other towards godly living.

What do I do?

People often ask me what I do during the day as a missionary. Well, the answer for that would vary a ton for each day pretty much. Prefield ministry consists of several requirements like reading, discipling, studying, reporting and more. Then in order to get meetings with churches, you must call, and call, and call. Don't ask me about how I liked that part. Then we travel and speak to churches, youth groups, camps, whoever we can get to listen (or at least pretend they are listening). I really enjoy meeting individually or in small groups with people for discipleship/mentoring. I really believe in the power of discipleship relationships and think that is a key ingredient missing in churches today.
I have also used this time to try to grow through reading and writing. I have read a bunch of books and am also listening to free Seminary classes online (www.biblicaltraining.org check it out!) I have listened to three classes so far and am working on a fourth. I have learned a lot through these classes. The books I have read have also sharpened me and given me many ideas for ministry. I have also written a lot. I started out with a document called "book" that has about three or four book ideas and thoughts in it. It is about 60 pages long. My current writing is in a book that I want to finish. It is about how we Christians do not have a good reputation, some of the reasons why, and then how we can change that. Right now I am at around 60 pages with a decent skeleton to work with. I hope that I can finish it soon and maybe email it to people or have it on a self publishing website where people can buy it individually, if they want it.

Field Prep Seminar

So what did we learn at Field Prep?
We learned so much I forgot half of it by now. All the steps to leaving were included, including a checklist of things to do before we leave. We have started working on that. The first three days were focused on language acquisition. We learned phonetics and where all of our sounds come from. I was confused. Sarah did a lot better than me with that. So maybe she will catch up with me on learning Portuguese. We will see. On the second day, the whole afternoon Sarah and I spent with a tutor for German to show one way of learning a language. I never thought that I could ever learn German, but after a couple of hours I could recognize specific sentences and then even say some sentences. The exercise was very encouraging for us as we saw that we had the ability to learn.
After LANCE we started covering all kinds of topics. We learned about cultural differences, security issues, doctrine of hell, spiritual warfare, how to do group decision making work (if you are in a company that has bad meetings and want to invest in how to make meetings productive, I can recommend someone to you). Intermissionary conflict is a big reason for leaving the field and so we concentrated on how to avoid and/or work around problems. We ended with chronological Bible teaching taught by Mark Zook, who made the video Eetao. Mark went into a tribe in Papua New Guinea, studied the language and culture for 2 ½ years and then started teaching the Bible starting from Genesis 1:1. At the end of three months, he arrived at the crucifixion and resurrection. At that time he presented the gospel and almost the entire tribe was saved. Mark challenged us regarding the use of chronological Bible training to fight syncretism as well as form a true Biblical worldview. Amazing stuff. If you would like some resources on that, just let me know and I can talk to you about it. It is designed to teach someone what the story of the Bible and to be evangelistical, but I think it is just as good for those raised in church and who are already saved.

Complaining Americans

So I don't like forwards generally, but I thought that the U.S. needs to hear this:

Very interesting perspective by Jay Leno...I hope you will all read to the end. Jay Leno puts it into perspective and makes us think about the pathetic negativity. That's right, Jay Leno!! Jay Leno wrote this; it's the Jay Leno we don't often see....

'The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some poll data I found rather hard to believe. It must be true, given the source, right? The Newsweek poll alleges that 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is headed, and 69 percent of the country is unhappy with the performance of the President. In essence, 2/3's of the citizenry just ain't happy and want a change.
So being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, ''What are we so unhappy about?'' Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 days a week?Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter? Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job?Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time, and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year?Maybe it is the ability to drive from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through each state?Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter? I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough.Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and provide services t o help all, and even send a helicopter to take you to the hospital. Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home.

You may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames thus saving you, your family and your belongings. Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or prowler intrudes, an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss. This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90 percent of teenagers own cell phones and computers.How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world? Maybe that is what has 67 percent of you folks unhappy.

Fact is we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever seen. No wonder the world loves the U.S. , yet has a great disdain for its citizens. They see us for what we are. The most blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain about what we don't have, and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here. I know, I know. What about the President who took us into war and has no plan to get us out? The President who has a measly 31 percent approval rating? Is this the same President who guided the nation in the dark days after 9/11?

The President that cut taxes to bring an economy out of recession? Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the book for succeeding in keeping all the spoiled ungrateful brats safe from terrorist attacks? The Commander-In Chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending you and me? Did you hear how bad the President is on the news or talk show? Did this news affect you so much, make you so unhappy you couldn't take a look around for yourself and see all the good things and be glad? Think about it...are yo u upset at the President because he actually caused you personal pain OR is it because the 'Media' told you he was failing to kiss your sorry ungrateful behind every day.Make no mistake about it. The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have died for your freedom. There is currently no draft in this country. They didn't have to go. They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a ''general'' discharge, an ''other than honorable'' discharge or, worst case scenario, a ''dishonorable'' discharge after a few days in the brig.

So why then the flat-out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent of Americans? Say what you want, but I blame it on the media. If it bleeds, it leads; and they specialize in bad news. Everybody will watch a car crash with blood and guts. How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the corner? The media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations. They offer what sells, a nd when criticized, try to defend their actions by 'justifying' them in one way or another. Just ask why they tried to allow a murderer like O.J.. Simpson to write a book about 'how he didn't kill his wife, but if he did he would have done it this way'...Insane!Stop buying the negativism you are fed everyday by the media.

Shut off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times for the bottom of your bird cage. Then start being grateful for all we have as a country. There is exponentially more good than bad. We are among the most blessed people on Earth, and should thank God several times a day or at least be thankful and appreciative.'With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, 'Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?' Jay Leno2007

Fruit of the Spirit

The fruit of the Spirit are the results of living a Spirit-filled life. If you wonder if you are walking in the Spirit, look at the fruit of the Spirit and see how they compare to your life. If God is controlling us by His Spirit, then they will be evident in our lives. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."
I wonder if someone were to say, "what are some characteristics of David Carrel," what the answer would be? If it would be the above couple of verses, I think that would make me pretty happy. But that is up to me and my life and how I allow Christ to live through me. And it is up to you for your life too.

The Domino Effect

We live in a culture that has not been following the golden rule. Instead, we do unto others as they have recently done unto me. One rude comment or action turns our hearts toward revenge against anyone and everybody. We are rude to whoever is near us for no good reason. Why not take some initiative today and reverse the negative domino effect that rudeness is playing in our society. Start showing kindness through good deeds today and see if our culture cannot change with just the start of one person. You!