Ouch, that’s going to leave a mark!

So, in light of my daughter’s recent blog about age (http://withthankfulhearts.blogspot.com), I thought I would share a conversation I had yesterday. We are doing some remodeling at our church. The latest phase involves gutting the original building (built in the mid 1850s) for a new Sunday School room and offices. I was curious as to the progress and visited the site where several Amish men were finishing tearing out all the old partitions, walls, and ceilings.

When I entered the building, I stood in amazement because the room, which originally was the totality of the building’s first floor, was now entirely open. It was easy to visualize the original purpose, a sanctuary with pews and a podium. This room had not been open like this for several years. After a new sanctuary was built in the 1970s this room was divided into several smaller rooms for various purposes. As I marveled at the original setting the following discussion with the Amish workers took place.

Me: “This is wonderful, why don’t you guys just leave it like this?”

Amish fellow: “We have been looking at the construction trying to decide how old this building is.”

Me: “Well, I remember this being all open like this before the new sanctuary was built. My wife and I were married in this room.”

Amish fellow (with a twinkle in his eye): “Really, you were married in this room? Was that when the building was new?”

Other Amish workers: “Ha. Ha, ha, ha, ha. . . . “

Me: “Ouch, that’s going to leave a mark!”

Amish fellow: Big smile!

So . . . in a matter of a few short hours I have gone from WAY, WAY, WAY old to absolutely ancient and getting ready to celebrate our 150^th wedding anniversary! My, time sure does fly by when you are having fun.

It's Time . . . .

It is time for a new body. This vessel that I call home has too many miles, dents, broken parts, and no warranty left. It is time to trade it in on a new model, one that is free from heart issues, back issues, pulled hamstring muscles, arthritis in places that should not have such a thing, hair where it should be, no hair where it is not needed, eyes that see, a digestive system that works, and a mind that can remember what happened two minutes ago.


My new body is already picked out and waiting for me. Jesus has designed and created it perfectly. He is just waiting until I complete the journey that I am currently on before He delivers it to me. I can't imagine what it will be like when, as recorded in John's first epistle, I will have a perfect glorified body just like my Lord. John says it this way: ". . . .we know that when He appears, we will be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." (1 John 3:2) That means we will be like Him in every way. Our bodies will be glorified -- no more pain/sickness/physical suffering; no more sin nature with its spiritual struggles (Talk about the ultimate weight loss program!); no more emotional and mental stress, no more limitations by time and space! WOW, how exciting is that!


Yep, I am definitely looking forward to that new body. In the meantime, until the wheel totally fall off of my current ride, I am pressing on in the journey set before me knowing that He is the Master Mechanic and He will keep this old vessel going as long as He has work for me to do this side of glory. PTL!

Happy Father's Day, Abba!

Again today I stand in awe at the fact that I can call the Almighty God, the Creator of everything, my Father! It is only because of Him -- His great love, His abundant grace, and His unselfish sacrifice -- that I am able to do so.

Thank you Abba Father for choosing me to be one of your sons! Thank you for the gift of Jesus Christ who died on that cross in my place (for my sins) and is risen and seated at your right had as my Advocate. What an amazing Father you are!

Not only did my Abba Father choose me but He has abundantly blessed me over the years. He gave me the heritage of an honest, moral, hard working earthly father for an example. He blessed me with a God honoring wonderful wife who has supported me throughout the years. He has allowed me the privilege of watching four incredible children grow and mature into God fearing individuals who are, with their exceptional Godly spouses, raising my grand children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord!

Abba Father, you have indeed blessed me beyond all my expectations and I am eternally grateful. Thank you and Happy Father's Day!

My Continuous Battle With Those Pesky Weeds. . .

Today I continued my annual battle (raging war) against weeds. Especially the dreaded Canadian thistle – those things drive me crazy! Mowing and “kill everything” weed sprays are in my arsenal and both have helped in lowering the population of the thistles. However, as hard as I try, those pesky things still seem to evade my efforts at total eradication. Even if I get every last one killed or cut on my property, the wind, or the birds, or the four footed creatures great and small re-infest my “clean” earth with seeds from my neighbors property! It is a losing battle, I cannot win, everyone and everything is against me.

Perhaps I am battling something bigger than my little piece of this earth. Just perhaps this plague with which I struggle is all Adam and Eve’s fault!

“And to the man He (God) said, “Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it. It will grow thorns and thistles for you. . . .” (Genesis 3:17-18, NLT)

Can you imagine how pristine and beautiful the Garden of Eden was before man was kicked out on his ear for disobeying his Creator? No Canadian thistles, no milk weed, no dandelions, no burdock, no weeds! Wow, sounds like heaven!

So today, as I continued waging a fierce frontal offensive against the invaders of my property, God whispered, in His not so subtle way, into my inner most being the spiritual truth behind the physical war in which I was engaged. Our conversation went something like this.

God: “Yo, Dude!” (He calls me that on occasion.)

Me: “Ahhhhh, yes Lord.”

God: “You know this battle you are fighting?”

Me: “Yes Lord.”

God: “First of all, quit blaming Adam and Eve. You would not have done any better. Believe Me, I know you.”

Me: “Oh, sorry Lord.”

God: “Second, these physical weeds are not the real battle. What about the “weeds” that are in your life?”

Me: “Ouch.”

As I meditated on our conversation, the comparison of physical weeds and spiritual sins became more and more obvious to me. While the Scriptures are clear that Jesus paid the price for the ultimate consequences of sin in a believer’s life (eternal death), the Word is also clear that every believer has a responsibility to battle against and wage war against the sins that try to grow up in that believer’s life.

Just like the physical weeds in the field, sins can look very attractive as they bloom and begin to grow. They are pretty and fragrant but they hide thorns and poison that will kill and destroy. They shade out spiritual growth if left to mature and as they go to seed they produce more and more corruption until there is no fertile ground left.

God has given each believer the responsibility, and the ability through the power of the Holy Spirit, to deal with these sins, these inner weeds, and to pull them out and overpower them with the Truth of the Word. As Paul says in Colossians 3:5 -- “. . . put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you.” This is not a onetime battle but a fight we must keep waging until the war is won and we hear our Savior greet us in Glory with the words: “Well done good and faithful servant.” If we let down and relax our offensive the “weeds” from neighboring lands will infest our soil again and begin to crowd out and destroy what is best.

Isn’t it interesting how the Lord can take the mundane struggle I am having with physical weeds and turn that situation into an absolutely amazing and convicting picture of the inner battle that I wage minute by minute against the fleshly nature that still resides within me? Again I stand in awe at how much He loves me, at how patient He is with me, and at how He is teaching me to focus more and more on Him. Thanks be to my God and Father! Amen.

The Blame Game

Since Adam and Eve mankind has had relationship issues with one another usually ending in finger pointing and blaming the other person for the issue. Case in point, in Genesis 3:11-13 after God gave specific limitations on what Adam and Eve could eat in the garden of Eden, they disobeyed and the following exchange (or something sort of like this) took place as they were confronted by their Maker:

God: "Ok, I smell forbidden fruit juice on your breath, what's going on here?"

Adam: " Ah . . . . golly Lord, I, ah . . . . oh ya, it wasn't me it was her, you know,

that female person that You gave me . . . she did it!"

Eve: "Hey, wait a minute here! Don't blame me, I couldn't haelp it . . . it was that

creepy snake who made me do it. I hate snakes!"

And so it started, from the first human relationship up to this very day, the blame game and finger pointing is mankind's escape of choice from taking any personal responsibility. If we can effectively shift the blame onto someone else, we protect our "innocence" and keep from having to face any consequences. Well, guess what? The only thing that's accomplished by this type of behavior are broken relationships and shattered lives.

Somewhere during my trek through this world I learned an important lesson and with it an important prayer. The lesson -- it is not about me! The prayer -- asking God to change our focus and allowing Himto make us what He wants us to be! The prayer works in any relationship: employee/employer; parent/child; brother/sister; friend/friend; and most importantly in a husband/wife relationship. If you use this prayer and allow God to use it in you, your relationship issues will no longer be a problem because you will no longer be focusing on the wrong issue.

Ready? The prayer is in two parts. Here is the first part of the prayer which is not, as I said, original with me, but I can attest to its effectiveness.

"Heavenly Father, make me what You want me to be;

not what I want to be,

not what I think You want me to be

and not what I think my wife

(husband/employer/child/parent/ friend/etc.)

wants me to be.

Make me completely and totally what You want me to be."

The second part of the prayer is equally as important.

"Heavenly Father, make my wife

(husband/employer/child/parent/friend/etc.)

what You want them to be;

not what I think they ought to be,

not what I think You want them to be

and not what they think You want them to be.

Make them completely and totally what You want them to be."

This prayer changes everything. No longer are we trying to blame others for our relationship problems, instead we are asking our Heavenly Father to show us where He wants to change and mold us so that the relationship will be on solid footing! Can you imagine what would happen in the church of Jesus Christ and it's witness to the world if we all took this seriously and really allowed God to make us what He wants us to be? Talk about showing the world the love of Christ in action! WOW!!!!!!!!!!!

Are you ready to quit the blame game?
Are you ready to allow God to change YOU?
Are you ready to see God work?

Let's pray . . . .

From Two to Twenty-two, God’s Blessings Continue. . .

Almost 44 years ago two people promised before God and witnesses “to have and to hold; for better or for whose; through sickness and in health; until death do them part.” Thus began the marriage of myself and my wonderful wife. Little did we know then how God would multiply our family with children and grandchildren.

Starting in 1969 and every two years thereafter until 1975 God blessed our union with four incredible children; three girls and one boy. What a blessing these four have been to us over the years! And the two became six.

Several years later our children began their search for life mates and our family again began to multiply. By 1998 we had four wonderful additions to our family. No longer did we have four children, but now we had eight God fearing, awesome children in our fold. And the two had become ten!

In Psalm 127:3-5, the Psalmist describes the blessings that come from children:

Children are a gift from the Lord;

they are a reward from Him.

Children born to a young man

are like arrows in a warrior’s hands.

How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them! (NLT)

In 1997 an amazing phenomenon began to take place, within four days in the month of February we welcomed the addition of two grandchildren into our family. Words cannot explain the absolute joy and wonder of watching your children have children of their own. In the years since 1997 nine more grandchildren have joined our happy growing clan with another on the way. WOW! At present count, the two have become twenty-two!

Solomon, in Proverbs 17:6, gives a wonderful word picture of what we have been experiencing as our family as grown.

Children’s children are a crown to the aged,

and parents are the pride of their children. (NIV)

Heavenly Father, only you could have foreseen how two could become twenty-two. What a blessing you have given to us as we have watched our children grow into individuals who desire to serve you What a blessing it has been to welcome four more children into our family who also desire to serve you. And now Lord, what an amazing blessing it is to see 11, soon to be 12, grandchildren being raised in the “nurture and admonition of the Lord”! We pray that you will continue to mold and shape each member of this family into the image of Jesus Christ so we can serve you to our fullest as long as you leave us on this earth. Thank you Lord!!! Amen.