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!

Everything Glorious

Just listening to a song by David Crowder, "You Make Everything Glorious".. In that song he says 'you make everything glorious and I am yours..so what does that make me?'

We don't use the word glorious much in our conversations, so it seems a little odd when you hear it. One definition of glorious is "Characterized by great beauty and splendor; magnificent."

God is glorious. And God makes everything glorious, and I am His... so what does that make me?

Valuable is His sight.

You are a Child of the King, Now Act Like It!

Remember who you are, and Who you belong to. Those words ring in my mind. Maybe because so many times in my life , I have not acted like that was true. The video above is Dave Robinson, who was my son's youth leader and this was at a high school graduation lunch. The key little phrase he says is, "now act like it". You could miss that if you weren't really paying attention. But to me, that phrase is so powerful. If you are a child of God, you are eternal.. Now act like it!. You are a royal priesthood, now act like it! You are more that a conqueror, now act like it!....Don't let the cares of this temporary world get a hold on you. You are an eternal being. You will live out eternity somewhere. If that somewhere is heaven for you, act like it!

Everybody wants to go to heaven

Have ever heard the song? "Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die". If you haven't look it up on the net. It is an old song. There are scary and contemplative things in that thought. If I truly believe what God says and I am a child of God, and I believe going to be with Jesus, then that is what I should want, why are we scared to die? I don't know. I think it's our old nature, begging us to hold on to this life with all we have.

Another thought occurs to me that is even more true. Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to make Jesus Lord. Oh, we want Him to be our Saviour, and we cry out, "Save us, God". But be our Lord? Does that mean I have to get off the throne of my life and let you sit there? What will you want me to do, if you are king of me?

We don't want that.. Do you know what that would look like? We would no longer be able to fuss with the guy who cuts us off in traffic. We would no longer be acquiring wealth, we would be giving it all away. We would no longer be buying cars that cost $20,000.00 dollars when a $10,000 car would do , and we would give the other $10,000 to God.
Wow, that would be different. If God was our Lord, not just our Saviour.

What leaves you broken -- makes you better

But in the end, what leaves you broken -- In the end, makes you better.

I was just hearing that song by Plumb, over and over in my mind.. There is a lot of truth in those words. What breaks us, usually leaves us better. Makes us stronger. If we determine to use it that way.

Mother Teresa

Do I see the world differently than most? I guess so. I don't love talking about people who have doubted their faith. I guess it hits too close to home. I don't doubt my faith, but I question many things that God does.

It seems people are rushing to say that Mother Teresa was a hypocrite, while everyone else is rushing to defend her. I can't do either. Only God knows the true condition of her heart when she died.

I do not agree that we should so adamantly propose that she was a true Christian, by the standard God set.

I believe there is quiet a lot of data that shows that she was a great woman, full of compassion, but may not have been redeemed, only God knows.
She often prayed the Rosary and encouraged others to do so. That is largely praying to Mary.
She often spoke of praying to Mary such as

"So let us ask the help of our Lady! She is a Mother full of grace, full of God, full of Jesus. Let us ask her to be our Mother, guiding us and protecting us. ... It is true that we are already being helped by our tremendous devotion to Mary. She is our patroness and our Mother, and she is always leading us to Jesus. She has shown us so many beautiful ways of bringing Jesus into the hearts even of Hindus and Moslems and Buddhists by bringing her presence and her love into their lives" (Mother Teresa, Be Holy, p. 75).

So what can we say about her? She was human. She had doubts. She was a sinner. Like me.
Was she a sinner saved by Grace, like me? I don't know.

She was a great humanitarian, deserving of great thanks for all she did. She helped so many people and gave so much of her life to the poor. We could all learn a lot from that.


You can research her life on the web, and certainly there are many lies told about her on the web as well. But the evidence to her true beliefs seems there to me.

One such place is http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/motherteresa.html

The question still remains for you and me. What will we do with Jesus?

Anniversary Time

Yep. 21 years! I can honestly say it is good. It is hard. It takes a strong commitment. And it takes a vow.

We have grown together. Intertwined like an old vine and a tree.

God has had mercy on us.

My advice to others? Focus on God and doing what He wants. Ask God to bless your marriage. Try not to be "needy". In other words, try to sincerely 'want' your spouse instead of 'needing' them.. Needy people are hard to live with.

Keep trying to make it better! Go to marriage seminars while your marriage is good, so you can weather the times when it gets tough.

Interwined

Fishing

My friend Steve Kaminsky and his daughter Natalie fishing at the river.

It's Hard to Hear when you don't listen

I am at Emerald Isle, North Carolina this week and it is beautiful here. I love the ocean, but I couldn't tell you why. Maybe it's just the vast, flat, view. Maybe the sound, ( I can't hear the sound as good, since my left ear is not working).. Which reminds of what I am seeking. What is God trying to teach me through this ear problem? I think it is something, I just don't know what. Maybe I need to learn to listen more than I talk. I'm sure that would be something I could work on. Not that I talk a lot, but that doesn't mean I listen either. Listening is more than hearing. Listening requires us to turn off all those thoughts that come in to our brains the minute someone else is talking to us. We have to cut off the music we constantly hear in our heads , so we can hear someone else. You know what I mean, as soon as a conversation starts, we typically start to think "now how can I say something clever too?" It happens without our control. We have to learn to turn that off, and really listen to the other person. I could learn that. Maybe.

Deserve it?

What do we deserve? Webster defines deserve as "to be worthy, fit, or suitable for some reward." Wow!
When we pray, we often ask for all sorts of things.. such as, 'please help us get enough money to buy a boat..' well that might be extreme but you get the point. 'please do this and please do that, please give us health and safety and more..' Sometimes, we don't even say 'please'.
I think we need to start praying by saying, "God, You know I don't deserve your love and attention, as you know my heart and you know my secret thoughts".. Would it change your prayers?
God gives us so much and He does hear our selfish prayers, but often He gives us mercy instead of what we deserve.

Can't Hear!

I have been suffering lately with an illness of sorts. This past May, I had a run-in with a bad respiratory infection. That led to a bout of bronchitis, which then led to a strange problem with my left ear. The "Eustachian tube" which connects the ear to the throat, (and equalizes pressure), got blocked and my ear feels like it has pressure and will not open up. This has been going on for 4 weeks now. Fun stuff!.
God uses all these minor aches and pains to do work in us, if we will just listen. ( I wish I would have listened when I had a chance). SO what is God teaching through this?
I'll let you know.. when I figure it out.

compliments

Psychiatrists tell us it is not the other person's compliment that makes us feel good; rather it is our own belief that the compliment is valid.

You really like me!!

Sometimes when our boys got older, (even now) , I long to really 'feel' that they like me. As teenagers, they are not likely to say such things. In fact the older they get, the less often it is heard. I sometimes want to feel like Sally Field when she got her second Oscar Award. She stepped up to the microphone and blurted out, "You like me. You really like me!"
Oh how us dads, want to hear that without asking for it. But we have to be on guard not to need it so bad, that we are willing to do "ANYTHING" for it. It is so tempting to just give in to those sons many requests , just to try to make them "like me". This is not your goal. You must do what is right for them. Often this will be the very thing that will prevent those words from being said, at least temporarily. How often our Father in heaven has to endure that same feelings. How often He disciplines us and he knows that it will hurt. We don't usually run to Him, telling Him how much we love him during those times. But also , how often have we seen His work in our lives and realized He did "those things" because He loves us. Our Father knows best.

Seeker

What do you want? What are you seeking? What wisdom do you want? What are you saying to yourself about it?
People who want something, want to learn something, have to start by saying, " I am ignorant"..about this. This is the way to start, then seek it! Study, learn , ask questions..
This is how we find God. I am as sure as I can be that when a man ( or woman) decides in their heart that they want to get to know God, they will soon find Him. But first they must realize they "don't know him"... I am so sorry for the 30, 40 , or 50 year old person that is too proud to seek Him. They are too proud to say, "I don't know Him, but I want to".. God is as close to them as the breath it would take to say those words. But He will not force His way in, He needs a seeking heart to ask .

What are you seeking?

PAIN

Pain either destroys a person, or develops a person
pain either strengthens your faith , or sidetracks your faith.

How we deal with pain can be something to teach young boys. Life will consist of pain and pleasure. Often, the pain is where we grow the most, closer to God and closer to man, closer to God through increased prayer and faith, closer to man by learning the powerful characteristic called "empathy".
See Bruce Wilkinson - secrets of the vine

conscience go to sleep

Do not let the conscience go to sleep... not being used... it is important that we teach our kids to be aware of right and wrong and to think about it.. sometime this is painful because our selfish selves would rather just push the thing out of our mind... so we don't have to think about it. this could make the conscience go to sleep... and be oblivious to all the right and wrong going on in front of us on a daily basis

This is a thought . Forgiveness can be one way... You do not need the other person to reciprocate the forgiveness.. 5 people you meet in heaven