We all do it, we look back and think of the "good old days". Memories of past times that are far enough in the past that all we remember are the good, fun parts. We gloss over the hard times, even looking at them as better than they really were. These last few months I have done this alot, looked back at the past and thought things wern't really that bad, certainly not compared to what I have been going through. I've even thought, that if I could just go back and "fix" the actions that led to my current predicament, that would be so great. But would it really? In the natural it would be, but what would I have to sacrifice to do that? My salvation, that's what I would be giving up. When I hit rock bottom, I finally turned to God, finally repented and welcomed Jesus into my heart. To go back and "fix" things would undo that and I don't know if I would have ever come to God on my own. So, now when those thoughts enter my mind, I rebuke them right then and think of what I have gained through Christ and I praise God.
The past is best left right where it is, in the past.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
My Hero
If you asked me who my hero was and I was not allowed to pick a fictional Star Trek character, I would tell you that my hero is my wife. She is truly one of the best things that have ever come into my life (the other being our son). She is beautiful, talented, strong-willed has a never give up attitude. She almost always seems to know the right course of action and given enough time can usually come up with a solution to whatever situation we seem to be in. I could not have asked for a better woman to spend my life with.
During the Storm
I was listening to "Praise You In This Storm" by Casting Crowns yesterday and it occurred to me how easy it is to praise God when everything in our lives is going well. When things go sideways, well that's another thing entirely, but it shouldn't be. When we are in trouble, or things don't go the way we want or even asked God for them to go we have a tendency to move away from God. Sometimes we even blame God for the circumstances that we have found ourselves in. In these times, when we need Him the most, shouldn't we be praising him and moving closer to him and not farther away? It's during these times that our faith is tested the most, it's easy to praise God when things go well, but when our lives don't go the way we want that's when we find out just how strong our faith can be. At the end of Joshua 24:15 Joshua says "But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." You probably noticed that he said we will serve the Lord, period nothing else. He did not say "we will serve the Lord" as long as things go well, as long as I don't have any problems or trials or difficulty. He just says "we will serve the Lord". It's a wonderful thing to praise God when all is well in our lives but when things don't go the way we want them that's when we really need to start praising God. God will never give up on us the least we can do is not give up on Him. I'd to close this entry with another of my favorite verses that seems appropriate.
Isaiah 41:9-10
9 I have called you back from the ends of the earth,
saying 'You are my servant.'
For I have chosen you
and will not throw you away.
10 Don't be afraid, for I am with you.
Don't be discouraged, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you.
I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.
Among others, I read these two verses every day because when the storm comes, I also have difficulty remembering that God is in control of the storm taking what was meant for our harm and using it for our good. No matter what happens, how bad things may seem to be getting, keep praising God and keep believing in Him. He believes in you after all and really what do you have to lose by praising Him during the difficult times?
Isaiah 41:9-10
9 I have called you back from the ends of the earth,
saying 'You are my servant.'
For I have chosen you
and will not throw you away.
10 Don't be afraid, for I am with you.
Don't be discouraged, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you.
I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.
Among others, I read these two verses every day because when the storm comes, I also have difficulty remembering that God is in control of the storm taking what was meant for our harm and using it for our good. No matter what happens, how bad things may seem to be getting, keep praising God and keep believing in Him. He believes in you after all and really what do you have to lose by praising Him during the difficult times?
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Take the First Boat
Have you ever heard the parable of the man in the flood? A man is trapped in his house by rising flood waters and a boat comes along and offers to take him to safety. The man says refuses, saying "I know God will provide" so the boat leaves him there. The waters continue to rise and now the first floor of the man's house is flooded and he is trapped on the second floor. Another rescue boat stops and they also offer to take the man to safety. Again, he refuses, saying that he believes the God will save him so the boat moves on. The flood waters continue to rise and now the second floor of his house is flooded and the man is now stranded on his roof. A helicopter comes and they offer to take him to safety and once again the man declines the offer because he is sure that God will save him. The helicopter leaves and eventually the man drowned. When he reaches heaven, he says to God what happened? I believed that you would save me. To which God replies "I sent you 2 boats and a helicopter, what more did you want?
I'm sure many of you have heard this one before. What I am trying to say is when it comes, take the first boat. In my life (and probably yours) I have noticed little signs or hints or nudges, when something is wrong or there is something that I should do. I think many of us have a habit of ignoring these when we should be taking action. Before our audit we received many of these, from plots on TV shows to spots on the radio and as the time came closer they became more blatant. What did I do? I tried my best to ignore them, if I had taken action things would not have gotten quite as bad as they did. As a result, I am doing my best to watch for that sign or nudge and take action then.
Today was one of those times. Last night about 8:30pm our company's phone system went down and after a late night trip to the office (on a Fri night no less) it was determined to be the PRI Circuit (phone co). I called and after an hour and a half on hold they put in a service ticket, gave me a ticket number and told me someone would call. This morning, I checked and the phones at the office were still out so I called AT&T and found out that they had marked the trouble ticket "No Testing" which means they were not planning on testing the circuit, ever. After holding for an hour Friday night just to be told I needed to call a different department and holding for over a half hour with the correct department they mark the ticket don't test when that is exactly what needed to be done. When I woke up the next morning (Saturday) I called our office to check if the phone system was back up and it was not. I had one of those feelings or nudges, whatever you want to call them, that I should call ATT and check on the status of our trouble ticket. Now normally I would not do this, my attitude would be "I did my part, I called for service now it's their job" and I would not follow up on it. This course of action does not usually work out well. When I called, the automated system told me that the ticket was still waiting for a technician to pick it up, meaning it had not been acted on yet. So, I waited to be connected to a tech and when I did get one on the line he tested it remotely right away and then dispatched a technician to our office (on a Saturday no less). Without testing the circuit there would be no resolution to our issue and since we run a call center phones are a must have.
My point is this when God sends you a boat, take the first boat don't wait. Don't wait for something better, don't wait to make a wrong that you have committed right, don't wait for someone else to do something that you have to have done without checking on their progress. Do it when you get the sign or the nudge or feeling, don't wait.
I'm sure many of you have heard this one before. What I am trying to say is when it comes, take the first boat. In my life (and probably yours) I have noticed little signs or hints or nudges, when something is wrong or there is something that I should do. I think many of us have a habit of ignoring these when we should be taking action. Before our audit we received many of these, from plots on TV shows to spots on the radio and as the time came closer they became more blatant. What did I do? I tried my best to ignore them, if I had taken action things would not have gotten quite as bad as they did. As a result, I am doing my best to watch for that sign or nudge and take action then.
Today was one of those times. Last night about 8:30pm our company's phone system went down and after a late night trip to the office (on a Fri night no less) it was determined to be the PRI Circuit (phone co). I called and after an hour and a half on hold they put in a service ticket, gave me a ticket number and told me someone would call. This morning, I checked and the phones at the office were still out so I called AT&T and found out that they had marked the trouble ticket "No Testing" which means they were not planning on testing the circuit, ever. After holding for an hour Friday night just to be told I needed to call a different department and holding for over a half hour with the correct department they mark the ticket don't test when that is exactly what needed to be done. When I woke up the next morning (Saturday) I called our office to check if the phone system was back up and it was not. I had one of those feelings or nudges, whatever you want to call them, that I should call ATT and check on the status of our trouble ticket. Now normally I would not do this, my attitude would be "I did my part, I called for service now it's their job" and I would not follow up on it. This course of action does not usually work out well. When I called, the automated system told me that the ticket was still waiting for a technician to pick it up, meaning it had not been acted on yet. So, I waited to be connected to a tech and when I did get one on the line he tested it remotely right away and then dispatched a technician to our office (on a Saturday no less). Without testing the circuit there would be no resolution to our issue and since we run a call center phones are a must have.
My point is this when God sends you a boat, take the first boat don't wait. Don't wait for something better, don't wait to make a wrong that you have committed right, don't wait for someone else to do something that you have to have done without checking on their progress. Do it when you get the sign or the nudge or feeling, don't wait.
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