I have moved to changecounts.com

Please come to the new site. I have moved my blog and changed directions as well.
the new site is changecounts.com.

Come check it out, it's getting better everyday, and will officially launch Jan 2008.

How to Encourage Your Kids

It's easy... Nah.. It is not easy. Because you want to tell them how to do everything, and in doing so, you have to tell them what they are doing wrong. This is a weird part of parenting. How do you teach them what they are doing wrong and still encourage them? It is hard. I think the most important thing is to Love them. The best we can do is to really love them, and sometimes that means being tough, but you have to add the line, ' you have such a great future ahead of you'.
You also have to tell them that you "believe in them"...
I think they know that you as a parent may not be their best friend all the time, but if you really love them, they will know.
Oh , and finally, don't live your life through them. They are different than you! They may not like to "fix things around the house", or "cook". They might not like football, or soccer, or whatever is your passion. They will have a passion of their own, see what God has put in them, and encourage the good parts.

A funny video... This guy may just be our only hope,, Right now, I am thinking he is the best candidate out there.

Compassion

See this letter from one of the kids we sponsor through Compassion International. She is 10 years old. She calls me "uncle" for some reason, and signs it, "your daughter"..

Let me encourage you to check out Compassion. It is a great organization and costs only 32.00 a month to make a difference in the life of child. Most of us have 32.00 to give, but we get so "selfish" with our money that we "claim" not to have any extra.

Click on the picture if you want to read the letter. I am not sure what kind of language it is, but it is like art to me. She writes to me several times a year, and I write to her.

Global Warming...nah

Read about what the founder of The Weather Channel thinks about "Global Warming" scam


http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2007/11/07/weather-channel-founder-global-warming-greatest-scam-history

Meet God Before You Meet Temptation

We all face temptation. I suppose non-Christians face temptations as well, but I am referring to the redeemed hearts among us. We who do not want to sin any more , yet do. Why can't we resist the devil? The bible says resist the devil and he will flee from you.. Seems resisting him is hard because he knows just where to hit us.

I think we have a better chance if we stay in the Word. Reading the Word, and reading Christian devotionals and commentaries cause us to be able to resist sin.

AW Tozer writes,
"We can seek God today and get prepared to meet temptation tomorrow; but if we meet the enemy without first having met God, the outcome is not conjectural; the issue is already decided. We can only lose."

Truth Telling - Bad Times are Coming....

Wow!. Not what you wanted to hear , huh? Well, I have to be blunt today. Bad times are coming. Death, disappointment, sickness, stress. These things are coming. If you are enjoying a calm time in your life right now, thank God for it. But all us have the bad times to deal with.
Are you preparing? Sure God will comfort you, but how well do you know Him? Can you imagine reaching out to a stranger for help during the bad times?
I always say this, ( and I always need to hear it myself) but seek God while your life is calm. Get to know the man called Jesus. He is alive and well. He can be found. He can be real in your life. He gave his word the Bible for us to read and "get to know Him". Make Him a priority now, while you are resting on a calm sea.
When the storms come, it is much harder to trust someone you barely know. Don't let Him be a stranger to you.

On listening to people instead of listening to God

What follows is a chapter from "The Imitation of Christ", by Thomas a Kempis.. A very good book!

Chapter 39
How Truth Instructs us in Silence
THE DISCIPLE. `Speak, Lord, for Your servant listens.'(I Sam 3:9) `I am Your servant; grant me understanding, that I may know Your testimonies.'(Ps.119:125) `Incline my heart to the words of Your mouth;(Ps. 128:1) let Your speech descend on me like the dew.'(Deut.32:2) The people of Israel of old time said to Moses, `Speak with us and we will hear: let not God speak with us, lest we die.'( Ex. 20:19) But I do not pray thus, O Lord; but with the Prophet Samuel, I humbly and earnestly beg, `Speak, Lord, for your servant listens.' Let not Moses or any of the Prophets speak to me, but rather do You speak, O Lord God, who inspire and enlighten the Prophets. You alone can perfectly instruct me without their aid, but without You they can do nothing.
The Prophets can preach the word, but they cannot bestow the Spirit. They speak most eloquently, but if You are silent, they cannot fire the heart. They instruct in the letter, but You open the understanding. They set forth the mysteries, but You reveal the meaning of all secrets. They teach your commandments, but You help us to observe them. They point the way, but You grant us strength to follow it. Their action is external; You instruct and enlighten the heart. They water the seed; You make it fruitful.(I Cor. 3:7) They proclaim the words, but You impart understanding to the mind.
Therefore, let not Moses speak to me, but You, O Lord my God, the Everlasting Truth, lest I die and bear no fruit if I am but warned in word, and not kindled at heart; lest it turn to my condemnation, if I hear Your word, but do no obey it; know it, but do not love it; believe it, but do not keep it.
Therefore, Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening. `You have the words of eternal life.'(John 6:68) Speak to me, Lord, and comfort my soul: order my life to Your praise, glory, and eternal honour.

Do you Sing?

I have a hard time understanding why some people don't sing in church. I can't stop myself, yet others seem to just stand with arms crossed, bored, and seem to be barely able to withstand the "singing' portion of worship.

For me, it's hearing the truth of God in song and having a chance to declare it out loud. I have to. The Spirit seems to demand it. Maybe that I feel God has saved me from so much, I owe it to Him to praise Him. I have to sing.

Sure, maybe some people around me would rather I didn't. But really, a person doesn't have to sing loud, but how can we stand and not even mouth the words?

I don't understand it. Is it that their hearts are still hard toward God? Or is it simply that we are all 'wired' a little differently.. Maybe some of each..

See it and Seize It!

How many times have we passed a person with car trouble and thought, "I should stop and help". Hopefully we haven't gotten too numb to at least "think" this. But most times we just keep going justifying our actions by saying, 'well they have a cell phone, probably already called for help", and " I'll be late if I stop", and so on. A while back, (last winter), I finally stopped making excuses. I saw a man walking a few hundred yards ahead of an old pickup truck along side the road. He was carrying a can ( obviously for gas). I went by, and thought 'it's 8 degrees outside, I hope he stays warm'. I then realized there was no gas station for miles. I turned around. I picked him up and took him to get gas, brought him back and waited till he was on his way. His name was Greg and he was a crane operator.
We have to fight the urge to be closed and stop thinking that 'someone else' will be the hands of Jesus.
I only tell this story from shame. I have passed by 95% of the chances I have had to help someone. We have to stop hoping they'll be warm, and start giving them our coat.
Seeing the opportunity is only halfway there. Seize it!