Do you have a plan?

Well, it's that time of year again.  Time to start your One Year Bible Reading Plan.  Do you have a plan?  Do you follow it?  In the last 4 years, I have only finished it once.  My wife, the other hand, is very faithful.  She has finished hers every year since Pastor Bret proposed it from the pulpit at South Hill Church Community  in December of 2007.  Here is her One Year Bible:

Looks pretty well worn but she won't let me buy her a new one. She says that this one has a lot of character.  Smart girl, that one I married.

Here is a picture of my One Year Bible:

Looks brand new, huh?  It's not. It's four years old...  OK, it's not. It's brand new but you get the point.  My Bible should look more like Kathy's because she makes the time each day to hear from God. I still try to do that osmosis thing where I pray and go to church and hope that I pick up some tidbits along the way.

Let me tell you that it does not work.  John Stone dropped a tidbit in his sermon at Bethel Church today that talks about one way that the Enemy tries to deceive us is through ignorance.  And not ignorance in the ways of the world as we are all pretty skilled at that. The ignorance he was referring to dealt with God's plan and the best way to overcome that lack of knowledge is to spend time learning about that plan.  Plus God gave us a roadmap to the plan. For as little as 15 minutes a day, you can strengthen your relationship with your Creator; draw closer to His Son Jesus and gain some insight into His plan and your role in it.

I'm definitely making it a priority for me in 2011.

So let me ask you... do you have a plan?

In Memoriam...

2010 was a difficult year for the us as we lost three special people in our family. In early January, we lost my brother Russ to lung cancer.  It was especially difficult for me as Russ and I were estranged the last few years of his life due to his decision to live in addiction and my decision to live in sobriety.  I say that I don't beat myself up about it but sometimes I still do...

We got a chance to talk the last week of his life and I asked him if he had any questions about eternity.  He said he had made his peace with Jesus and I cling to that hope.  He is missed by the family.  I love you bro!

Early in February, we lost Kathy's Grandpa Roger.  He was an amazing man and his life brimmed over with Christ's love and compassion for his fellow man.  After finding out that my grandfathers had passed away when I was very young, he told me that he would be my grandpa now because a young man needs a grandpa... That's the kind of man he was.  I miss you Grandpa Roger!

Shortly after Grandpa Roger's passing, I picked up the genealogy bug and started tracing back Kathy's family's tree.  Lisette gave us a book of pictures and I was breathless at the beauty of Grandma Jacqueline as a young woman...and the amount of dark hair Grandpa Roger had! 

 

Jacqueline Frenette - 1935





Roger & Jackie Wedding Photo



Near the middle of December, Grandma Jackie suffered a stroke and was hospitalized. She had a DNR in place and it was her wish to spend Christmas with Grandpa Roger.  She got that wish on December 19 as she passed into the loving arms of her Savior Jesus Christ.

I heard a prayer in an old movie one time that said, "Dear God, our loved ones are now in Your care and bask in Your glory. You take delight in their praise and we are left alone to grieve..."

It sounds sad but grieving death is part of living. And knowing that we will be reunited in Heaven softens the grief but the pain remains.

We look at the loss of a loved one with human eyes and sometimes cannot see the big picture. Only when we focus upon the big picture can we begin to see the joy of eternity...



I got a case of the blahs...

So it's 48 hours after Christmas and I got a case of the blahs. The weeks of hope and excitement and expectation and then the day arrived.  And then it was gone.  Now I've got the week off and nothing to do.  My kids call me a workaholic because I keep checking my work email but I've got things going on at work.  Kathy is at work this week and I'm home with the girls....

Tomorrow I'm starting my 2011 Bible Reading Plan and work outs.  I've gained over 4 pounds since 12/15 and I'm sure my blood sugar is through the roof. Hopefully a combination of those two will shake these blahs...

If you don't have a sense of humor, stay out of airports...

I love travel. I love airports. I love the fact that people think because they can afford to fly, they are somehow better than every other person on the plane.  Don't they know that these people can also afford to fly?

I also love that people think that rules on airplanes don't apply to them.  We had this dude yesterday on the plane than decides he needs to go to the bathroom... about two seconds after the pilot says we are number one in line for takeoff.  He unbuckles, gets up and heads toward the back of the plane.  The attendants are shouting at him to take his seat. The plane is making the turn at the top of the runway and picking up speed. He yells at them that he really has to go.  The attendants give each other that look like "Let's abort this thing" and as one is reaching for the radio, he plops down in a seat.  We take off as scheduled and he is trying to explain to people around him that he has to go pee-pee and it's perfectly safe to be walking around during takeoff.

We barely clear the ground and start to bank and he gets up again and heads to the lavatory. The attendants are shouting at him but he makes it to the lav and close the door.  Then we hit the turbulence. Heavy turbulence like you sometimes get in the Midwest in summer.  It lasted about 2 minutes and it was rough.

I sure hope he washed his hands when he was through...

Sad Inside

Struggling today as a parent who desperately wants their kids to experience the peace of a relationship with Jesus Christ. Talked via email with one of my kids who said they just don't trust churches... Funny, I don't think Jesus ever commanded us to trust churches, only trust Him. I tried to explain that to my daughter and her reply was "Same thing".

It hurts me to see them struggle and ask Kathy & I for guidance and then they reject the first advice we give them. It's not like throwing money at the problem will solve it. Heck, we've tried that and they are still miserable. Don't get me wrong. On the outside, they are fun loving and jovial, but deep down, in the hollowness of their eyes, I can their pain. Hopefully, someday they will get it.