You know I can still clearly remember my daughter being born and looking to make sure she had all of her little fingers and toes.  I saw those perfect little lips and that perfect little body and if there could ever be a doubt that God is real it was dispelled in that moment.  They say that it's all going to fall apart as she grows into her teen years but I think I'm going to believe that she'll defy all the odds and miss all of that.  My children are the best friends I have in the world outside of my wife.  There's no blessing that could ever outshine having a family like I do.  There's no big internal conflict.  No dark secrets that we have to hide.  We are set in our purposes and are determined to do the best we can to follow God.  This has been a very special day in other ways too.  The people at the church have been so very kind to us...to Danielle.  Laurie and the Farrs have done so much for us to let us know they care and that's so awesome to us all.  My mom of course has gone overboard to make Danielle have a special day too and for that I can only say thanks but our gratitude goes way beyond what we could ever say or do.  Thank you so much everybody and God bless you!  Thank you God for doing the most of all and being the best!  Thanks for trusting me with the most awesome gift of all:  my family.

Zechariah has a way of ringing true to me on a very deep level.  I'm reading now in chapter eleven where it talks about where God asked Zechariah to become a shepherd as a prophetic demonstration.  Part of this demonstration required that he would make two staffs that he would name "Favor" and "Union".  These would represent the covenant of God with Israel and Judah.  It mentions how there were some evil shepherds that weren't doing their job so he got rid of them since they were no help.  Sadly after the shepherds were removed Zechariah found that the sheep weren't good at all...the sheep of course represent the people he is sent to minister to.  It actually says that the sheep hated him and he hated them.  Eventually Zechariah becomes so fed up that he says he will no longer be their shepherd and if the sheep die they die and those that remain he says can devour one another.  He continues and decides to break the staff called "Favor" showing that he had revoked the covenant with them...the people who were watching this whole thing recognized that it was significant it says.  It says at this point that he asked for his wages so he could get out of the business so to speak.  We see that he's given thirty pieces of silver...notice the amount that Judas got to betray the Lord.  He takes this money and throws it to the potters in the temple of the Lord...much like the wages that Judas threw back to the people who murdered Jesus.  Next he breaks the staff called "Union" and begins to play the role of a worthless shepherd and he abuses the sheep.  Later we see that the Lord promises a terrible fate to those that are worthless shepherds to the sheep...His people.  I feel a tremendous responsibility here as a minister...as a Christian.  There are many things that want to breed bitterness and cause any one of us to want to give up and walk away from Christianity but we must not do this!  You may not realize it but there's always someone that's effected by what you do...good or bad.  It might be a friend or someone at work or a stranger on the street or it may be your children...your husband, your wife.  We see the tragedy of suicide in this because it never seems to consider what the living who are left behind have to deal with.  Satan works to devalue us and put us in a place where we figure it no longer matters what we do.  God never sees it this way.  He is inside every Christian and He values everyone.  He has placed us on this planet to make a difference though we may not understand.  Hopelessness is a terrible enemy.  Bitterness tries to swamp our faith and paralyze us.  We can't afford to give in not just for ourselves but for the sake of others around us.  It seems that there's a brutal selfishness that wants to engulf the human race though there's every reason to continue the fight.  Many chose the wide path to go the devil's way but why not be the one that won't go that route?  This is not an easy thing to do but to turn away means death not just for us but for those around us.  My dad left the ministry and has not walked where he should for a long time.  He feels it doesn't matter...let me just say that from my perspective it means everything.  He helped to guide me down the path I walk now how ironic that one of the people that showed me the right path to walk won't walk it himself now.  I've watched as he becomes less and less relevant by his own choice.  He has few friends and less and less that he can do in the twilight of his life.  He can't see that he could do much good with his grandchildren...with is wife...with me.  I don't want this tragedy to repeat itself.  There's no surrender and no giving up.  Sometimes there's no pulpit...no huge crowd but isn't one person worth the sacrifice?  I think so.

One day Jesus was entering a village and ten lepers came crying out to be healed.  Jesus told them to go show themselves to the priest and as they went they were healed.  One of them came back when he saw that he was healed and shouted "praise God, I'm healed!".  he fell at Jesus feet thanking him for what he had done...this man was a foreigner and not a Jew at all.  Jesus asked, "Didn't I heal ten men?  Where are the other nine?  Does only this foreigner return to give glory to God?"  Jesus then said to the man, "Stand up and go.  Your faith has made you well." 

There are a multitude of things to take note on here in this scripture.  One of the things that sticks out to me is the uncomfortable familiarity the nine lepers had with religion where they arrogantly felt they didn't have to return to Jesus to thank him for the healing.  This familiarity that bred contempt them thrives in the church today.  This is an age of catch phrases and 'super prayer' that sell large numbers of books and draw large audiences on TV.  Somehow in our 'knowledge' of God we've felt that now we can find formulas of confession or prayer that will give us the things we've felt we deserved.  Some of our desires haven't even changed that much from the time before we knew God in the first place.  We have often come over to Christianity under the impression that God owes us and that we just need to find the loop holes in the bible much like a lawyer to get the things we feel we want.  The whole problem with this thinking is it suggests that we didn't really need God in the first place nor did we really feel He knew or knows what's best for us.  We never left the throne and gave that to God.  This continues on the theme that I've heard from God endlessly lately.  We have got to leave the place where we don't allow Him to be God at all.  We cannot afford to harbor anger against Him.  It's not that we can't ever feel angry or hurt...Jesus expressed these things.  We see that he flogged people that were abusing the temple for their own profit and that he wept at the loss of Lazarus.  The question is will we do right in spite of these things?  The bible says be angry and sin not but doesn't suggest we shouldn't be angry.  There's a process for these things but we so often turn to unhealthy measures to get what we feel will bring healing.  God shows His mercy over and over in spite of our wrong thinking but we don't return praise to Him where praise and worship is do instead we feel we 'earned it'.  Truth is most of us have not earned either the good or the bad that has come in life and we certainly don't understand it.  We have not humbled ourselves enough to admit we don't understand it all but none the less we trust and believe in God to do what's best for us.  Christians are the most emotionally constipated people in the world in that they so often are completely out of touch with both God and themselves.  They know how they're 'supposed' to act but don't know how to express what they really feel.  They have lost contact with God and never seem to ask themselves why the voice of "God" sounds so much like their own voice.  Perhaps the voice we thought was God was just our own voice promising what we felt we deserved or wanted.  Maybe in all the noise of our own voice making empty promises we have forgotten what the still small voice sounds like and is really saying.  We have fallen into the category of the nine lepers that isn't interested so much in praising God and having a change of heart but rather feels that it's about time God did what He was 'supposed' to do so we could get about living life as we saw fit.  This is dangerous ground indeed.  I've wallowed on these slippery slopes many times in my life.  I've harbored grudges and not wanted to admit anger with God or others.  It's time to be honest about these things...honest with God.  Time to straighten out the mess by acknowledging that we don't belong on any throne...that's God's place.  I don't want to live as a leper...I've seen the horrible conditions of these people while I lived in India...they were often rickshaw drivers...decaying as they brought people to their destination and they did this for mere coins.  We must allow the Lord to stop the decay...stop the death and give in to Him at last.  There's no hope in our own plans.  Our views of happiness are carnal and therefore dying even before we get it.  God's promises are yes and amen and eternal.  There's no loophole in His word nor is there success apart from Him but who is willing to really let Him take control?  Who dares return to Him and give Him the praise He's worthy of?  What if we don't know it all?

Today I was reading in Luke about some interesting things.  There's a couple of things that caught my eye today.  One of these things was the scriptures that mention leaving the ninety-nine for the one.  It's interesting to see how God views things and values things as opposed to man's ways.  Most of us would figure that if we lost one thing we'd be glad for the ninety-nine and let go of the one lost object but God is not at all like this.  He is actually extreme in that He says that the kingdom of God rejoices over one sinner repenting more than the ninety-nine righteous that never left in the first place.  Honestly this always bothered me.  I really believe that the most valuable thing to God is a true heart felt change.  Not just staying in the church but never really being committed or saying the right things but never really making up your mind where you stand with Him.  It's disturbing to see the attitude of the prodigal son because it so closely mirrors the way we are.  We contantly come to God with our hands out.  We come up for prayer to get what we want.  We attend church to appease our concience.  People often attend on Christmas Eve and Easter even if they didn't attend any other time.  It's not about a change of heart it's kind of like saying we take a bath once a year wether we need it or not!  The prodigal son had a real change or heart where he finally realized it was better to be with his father and live as a servant than be out on his own doing what he wanted to do.  The father we can see was waiting for this change of heart.  It wasn't just a physical return that he was waiting for but an attitude that humbly accepted what the father had for him.  This is a change we all so desperately need.  How about instead of coming to God with our hands out we come before Him with our hands raised in worship?  Here we are as Christians and there's all these questions about where we really stand.  We secretly...and sometimes not so secretly despise the church and resent God for the things that have gone wrong in our lives.  He sees all of this.  Just attending church or not attending church won't make it go away.  Where are we at?  God loves us so much that He gave all for each and every one of us.  He left everything to give us this chance to change not just our physical location but to change our minds.  He is worthy of praise.  He has not done wrong by us.  Blaming our parents, blaiming God or our other various circumstances has led to us forgeting who the source of all things good is.  The prodigal son realized that he was nowhere without his father.  Isn't it time that we as the children of God stop blaiming everyone else and repent at last?  Time to come home.

This year we didn't expect to go to the Fair at all but thanks be to God (and Mr. Farr!)we were able to go.  The kids always really look forward to it.  We drive by it every time we head out from our house and as they begin to build the rides everybody asks when we can go.  We have begun to build a tradition to go with Kathy, Tim and Steve Camposan.  Sadly this year Steve wasn't with us but Kathy and Tim made up for him and were so much fun!  This year my oldest daughter wanted to ride everything so Kathy and Tim went with her and it was great!  We enjoyed the over priced food and Gabby actually got her own bracelet so she could ride on anything she wanted to and she actually loved it!  I know that this might not seem like a big deal to some but I know when God blesses us in a special way.  August is tough for us because we have Danielle's birthday and then I have to order all the kids school books at pretty much the same time.  This makes money pretty tight but God always seems to do things like this for us in such a great way.  My dad worked at the Fair too so he helped us get some good deals on things and I am so appreciative of that.  A blessing is twice as awesome when it makes you grateful for other people too and that's just what happened this year.  I genuinely feel the care of other for my family and I and above it all I feel God walking so wonderfully in the role of Father to us all.  Thank you!

I have still been reading Joel Osteen's book and taking everything I can from it to try and bring my life into a better place with God.  Sometimes I read it and can hardly take it.  I think that cynicism has taken root in some areas and there's other places that I've just not been right with God and that's being dealt with.  I want to do right and I truly believe that the biggest hindrance to that isn't even the devil but myself.  This story in Joel's book really blessed me so I'm going to put it here...I highly recommend Your Best Life Now because there you can find more than one story that's good so check it out. 

I heard a story about a wealthy man whose friend was a builder.  This builder was down on his luck and hadn't had too much work lately, so the wealthy man felt sorry for him and decided to help him out.  He gave him a set of plans and a check for $300,000.  He said, "I want you to build me a new home.  I don't have time to bother with it.  I'm turning it all over to you.  You make all the decisions.  I trust you.  If you do a good job, I promise to pay you well."

This builder was so excited.  He could finally start making some money.  But he got to thinking, If I cut a few corners here and there, maybe I could pocket some of that $300,000.  So he went out and bought the cheapest concrete he could find.  He had the cement mixer water it down so it would stretch further.  He saved four or five thousand dollars right there.  Excited, he went out and found the cheapest lumber he could find.  Some of it was bent and warped and crooked.  He didn't care.  It was going to be hidden behind the walls.  Nobody would ever see it.  He did the same thing with the plumbing, the electrical work, and so on, cutting corners and saving money.  When the house was completed , he had saved $40,000, which he discreetly deposited in his own bank account.

He called his wealthy friend to come take a look at the house.  The purchaser was quite impressed.  On the surface, the home looked beautiful.  he never guessed that the builder had cut corners, compromising the integrity of the whole house.  T

The builder was ecstatic as he noted the pleased expression on the owner's face.  He couldn't wait to se how much he was going to get paid.  After all, he knew the owner was a very generous man.

As the wealthy man walked to the front door, he turned with a twinkle in his eye and said to the builder, "You know, I don't really need this home.  I already have a a beautiful home.  I was just trying to help you out and do you a favor."  he handed the builder the keys, and said, "Here, my friend.  This is for you.  You've just built yourself a brand-new home."

That builder nearly passed out.  He thought, If I had known it was going to be my own home I would have built it a whole lot better!

The truth is, wether we realize it or not, we all are building our own homes.  We may cut corners here and there, but it's not hurting anybody but ourselves.  those poor decision will weaken our foundations, causing us all kinds of problems in the future.  Everything may look fine on the surface, but what really counts is what's going on within the walls, behind closed doors.  What do we do when nobody is watching?  Are we watering down our foundations because of a lack of integrity?  Are we cheating people here and not paying taxes over there, compromising right and left?  What kind of materials are we putting into our own homes?

I don't know about you but that story cuts me like a knife.  I've not always done right nor has anybody but this brings to light the fact that we can't give into the compromises life offers.  If we've screwed up it's not to late to tear out that old stuff and work to a better "building".  God's not a task master or trying to be hard on us...this is our building after all.  He wants us to have the best we can have.  Give us the strength, God to do the right thing even today.  Let us not get hung up on where we've screwed up and stop doing right today.  There's always hope to start fresh.  I'd rather have to start over than have a mess of a house later.

There's some scriptures that you can read a thousand times and then a part of it that never really stood out to you before can jump right out of the page and catch you by the throat and demand attention.  Acts chapter seven had a verse like that in it today.  I guess this is what is meant when the Word is said to be a living two edged sword...different every time you read it and sharp enough to cut right to the point every time!  The verses that are talking about Moses really grabbed me today because it's talking about the time he was in hiding after murdering an Egyptian that was abusing his people.  The people didn't understand why he did this and when he tried to help them they accused him of murder so he had to run away.  Moses is left as an exile with no apparent way he could ever amount to anything.  Here he is in the middle of the wilderness no longer a son of royalty but rather an outcast and a murderer...looks pretty hopeless.  It's in this place that God manifests to him in the burning bush and it says that the place was made holy and Moses was required to take his shoes off...this really grabbed me.  I've been to a lot of countries that build a temple and they require you to remove your shoes and show respect for their deities but God makes it clear that where ever He even in the wilderness...even in our wilderness is holy.  I found this amazing.  I seldom feel that the place I'm at is very holy but that's because I don't feel God here with me all the time...the bible says He never leaves us nor forsakes us so He's here but circumstances often dull our awareness of Him.  He's still here and what's more he makes the place you're in holy.  From where you're at He can make all the difference in the world.  It was from a desert wilderness that God commissions Moses and sends him out to be one of the greatest people in history.  He had that curiosity which caused him to go to the burning bush and see what God was up to.  This same situation is here for us today.  Christians carry the burning bush with them wherever they go because the bible says we're the temple of the living God.  We don't have to wait for circumstances to clear up or to be 'good' enough to make anything holy.  God lives within us and provides Christ's forgiveness past, present and future and He makes His home within our hearts...now that's holy!  The challenge is to refuse to see today as the rest of our life...today is just today and it doesn't say what God will do for us tomorrow.  There's lots of things that are impossible with man but the bible says nothing is impossible with God.  I can handle that!  Is this another average or below average day or is it sacred ground?  I believe that's up to us.

Ever look up and see that things aren't quite as dark as you may have thought at first ?  Seen that maybe the clouds are nothing compared to that silver (or gold) lining ?  Have you ever been amazed at God's ability to cut through the depression life can sometimes bring ?  God's much nearer than we sometimes feel .  He adds the spectacular into our ordinary .  The question is will we even take the time to look at it ?  So many times we languish and feel that we're all alone but there's always someone else that been there before or is there right now .  Take the time to look up and see that God does care, He does love us and He does want to make a difference in our lives .

I am reading in Zechariah today and found a scripture that I love so much.  It's talking about Satan making an accusation against Jeshua.  The Lord stands that and says that He won't accept the accusation because He's chosen Jerusalem and because of that He rebukes the enemy.  This is a very beautiful illustration of our righteousness today under the new covenant but it's written in the old testament!  It's not about what we can do but it's about God's decision to accept us and throw the devil's accusation back at him because we're now chosen.  It goes on to say that Jeshua has a filthy robe...which it says represents the sins that he's committed and the Lord Himself provides a new robe that's described as fine and new!  Isn't this a beautiful example of what Jesus has done for us?  The question remains what will we do with this new status before God?  Will we boldly enter into His presence and worship Him as He deserves or continue to act as though we don't have a robe of righteousness and are still lost in sin?  The biggest tragedy of this world today is not that we haven't been given right standing with God but rather that we make daily decisions to act as though this is not the case.  I mentioned before how powerful being available is...it's a greater thing that ability.  The scary thing is it's quite easy to be in the presence of God and ignore the benefits.  It's more than a physical availability though that's certainly required as well.  It's about a consistent availability of the heart...giving God access to our heart any time we can.  I believe that when the bible talks about praying always it's talking about making yourself available to God.  I don't mean to de-spiritualize this terribly but let's look at it this way:  if the lottery is available for you to partake in do you have better chances not buying a ticket or going there and buying a ticket?  It's not about luck with God but certainly being there making yourself available to Him as often as you can makes you more able to hear the opportunities He's offering you.  We get so hung up on our mistakes and our hopelessness but He's offering hope and making a light before us on His perfect path and He doesn't leave room for us to use our lack of right standing with Him as an excuse because He provides His own right standing for us!  What an amazing God!  Temptations come and go but He remains the same.  We make limitations for ourselves.  If we had that commitment to God that we did our vises I dare say we'd be real power houses in the kingdom of God.  Your children can't hold you back, your husband can't, your job can't...nothing can separate us from the Love of God!  The love of God isn't a pat on the back and Him saying go in peace while not helping you.  It's an open window to the blessings of heaven which includes all we need to succeed in life and be pleasing to Him.  Our cynicism against these facts has crippled not only us but others that could have used an encouraging word in times of need.  The world doesn't need one more cynic, one more backslidden Christian.  The world needs Jesus Christ to be lifted up that they might be drawn to God.