No Hope in Emotions!

 There is no hope in emotions or being emotional. The recent death of Robin Williams, RW, has left the world with an open jaw of unbelief. How could a man so funny be depressed? How could a man of such talent be pushed to the edge? How could a man so loved take his own life?
 It is said that suicide is a call for help. If it is, it is a call that is never placed. When I was 16, my cousin age 19, took his own life. 37 years later I still wonder "Why?"

 Let's face facts; This world is a mess! Murders, rapes, robberies, kidnappings and now a group of religious freaks, (the Islamic State or "IS" as it's known this week), is moving across northern Irag, hacking men, women & children in half with swords and guns if they do not convert to their satanic religion! The world is seeing  "wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet." Matt 24:6 coming true before our eyes.

 Many people live life following their emotions. They are like a ship at sea with no sail, being blown around by the winds of the world, (Ephesians 4:14) There is no hope for people who follow their emotions. Jesus says to follow Him. He has a path for you where you will not stumble, (Proverbs 4:12-19). You will become a child of God, part of His eternal family, (1 John 3:2).

 That is hope. 

 Knowing our future, assured of the promises of God, safety in His hands. God does not promise a trouble free life, He tells us that trials will come our way, (James 1:2-4). But He will give us the strength and a way through all those trials, to overcome them. Yes, it may be difficult, horrible and painful but it will only last a short time. Afterwards we will be with Him forever!


 Stop being part of this crazy world, become a child of God. Know your future. Discern the evil presence in this world. Ask God for wisdom, (James 1:5). Be a light in this dark world, (John 11:9). Resist depression - be thankful for all God has given you. Throw off the emotions that can choke the life out of this world!!!

Sitting with Job!

Hello All,
 No, I don't have steady income yet. The title reflects a Bible character not an employee's desire. Each day is new for us all, God intends it that way. But also each day gives us time to reflect on the previous day or days of our life.
 As I great each day I start with prayer & time in The Word. This puts everything in perspective, then I check out the news. Oh My Goodness!! I want to crawl back into bed. This world is on a steeper decline each day. The words of Paul in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 ring true everyday! Perilous times are here! Men, meaning all mankind, does love themselves over anything else. They love money! Their boasters! Their proud! Their blasphemers! Their disobedient to their parents! Unthankful! Unholy! Unloving! Unforgiving! Slanders! Without self-control! Brutal! Despisers of good! Traitors! Headstrong! Haughty! Lovers of pleasure rather than God! And the world just can't see it. I see many of those qualities in myself, I hate my flesh and cannot get away from it. It is a second-by-second, minute-by-minute battle that rages every day! Every new day! And yet I sit quietly, trying not to burst wide open with rage!
 The reason I can sit quietly is due to The Helper, The Holy Spirit. He guides me, calms me, directs my path each day. How do people cope without knowing God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit? (well, "alcohol & drug abuse" is now understood). Trying to find comfort without The Comforter? I could do a lot of extra work and "copy / paste" web links to point out the troubles in this world, but I don't want to be another "news website". That's really all they do, post links to what someone else is reporting. Yet the decline is out there for all to see.
 The best path for me is to focus on the 190 lb. mass that I have been given. Take care of that first and don't concern myself with everything else. That's a tall order. I have a difficult time with Paul's list inside myself, much less trying to change the world, ("impossible" is now defined too). So I sit like Job did.
 Granted, I continue on with life. Seeking income with abilities I have been given. Encouraging other's to stay the course. Praying for the needs of others. Reading & studying The Word, (always some new fact / truth pops off the page and smacks me!). Knowing that in eternity, all this will seem so trivial and short lived. Knowing that one fact is a tremendous comfort.

That's how I cope!!!!

Stay the course that you are on! It will get worse before it gets any better, but the trials will be short compared to eternity in Heaven and on the New Earth!!! Chew on that today!!!!

Quiet Times!

 It has been awhile since I last posted, so here is an update.

 Having relocated to AZ and starting up in the private sector again, we've had our share of set backs.
 To start with, we weren't aware of "rejection Tuesday" or "rejection Thursday" or even "rejection Friday", but we are now. These are special days when we are informed "thank you for your recent application to our company, however....." It can really get you discouraged fast. But not to worry. My wife is writing a children's summer "Day Camp Program" and she will be flying back to east to train the staff at a camp. So her being hired now would not be a good thing. God knows better than we do.
 My return to Contracting is finally taking off. After passing the need Trade Exam & AZ Business Exam I am now filing my application for my KB2, (Residential & Small Commercial) Contractor's License. Should have it within 45 days.
 Finding a new church has been interesting. After visiting 3 area churches we have started attending one on a regular basis. I've gotten into a men's study group and also have been helping out at the weekly men's prayer meeting. A solid, Bible teaching church with uplifting worship too.
 So what is really happening? Well, not having a steady income after 4 months can be discouraging, but I know that God is in control. Hence, the title of this post! I am doing much more Bible reading than usual, more Bible study than usual and more time in prayer than usual. All good things. Being quiet and letting God speak to me.
 How am I sure it is Him speaking to me?
 I've learned that God does not use a lot of words. He speaks clearly. He speaks precisely. He speaks directly to the heart. So even though I don't understand the wait, I continue to wait on Him.
 I know that soon I will be busy working and won't have the extra time to spend with my wife, enjoying the house, the backyard, going out to practice shooting my bows & guns, exploring the area around us. So I also continue enjoy the slow time I have. It really is a gift from God!

 Downtown

Road trip to Sedona

God IS Real!!!

 Well it is official, I am back in USA. We, (my wife & I), with the help of 20+ young people from summer staff, (a blessing for sure), loaded up a Uhaul truck & Trailer in 5F temps on January 3rd and departed Canada on January 4th. For a recap of that journey, visit pete n hollys world for the details.
 Arriving in a new area and a new city can be a daunting task. We really don't know anyone here, but we decided on this area because of economy, weather, opportunities, proximity to family and interests. So we started our first day unloading the truck with the help of In-laws, (my in-laws & my brother-in-laws in-laws). A great amount of work was done, the truck was emptied and returned and unpacking and settling in began.
 Neighbors Glenn & Sally came by on Friday to say hello and invited us to go to their church on Sunday morning. We accepted and had a wonderful time and received a timely message on why worry is sin.
 Monday came and we set off to the Motor Vehicle Division, MVD, to obtain driver licenses and also import and register our two vehicles. Well, after 3 hours we only completed 25% of those tasks. I had taken the written test and gotten my DL, but the truck had an incomplete VIN sticker on the door panel so we would have to return on Tuesday for a "level II" inspection. We also needed to have our car inspected and so we returned Tuesday with both vehicles.
 Now to be honest, I start each day with prayer and some of my prayers are for God to give me some connections here and also remove obstacles from our path each day. So we arrived at 8 am to the inspection center and were second in line behind another couple who had been waiting since 7 am, (they were incorrectly told that inspections started and 7 am). As we waited for the MVD Official to arrive a conversation started and we discovered that we  are "brother-in-Christ" so "Mark" gave me a short list of good churches in the area to check out. The inspections started and we went our separate ways through the gov't maze. Fifteen minutes later Mark came to me and gave me his business card and stated that if I ever need some help, questions answered or assistance of any kind, don't hesitate to call. Guess what? He is a Contractor in the area, same field that I am going back into. We made small talk and parted. A connection had been made.
 While I was getting the truck inspected, Holly went and stood in line to start the process on our car. My name is on the title so she was praying that the truck inspection would end before our number was called. Her prayer was answered as I entered the waiting area with a "Passed Inspection" form in my hand. Moments later our number was called and we arrived at "John's" window. Now "Richard" had dealt with us the day before and had gone through ~ 1 hour of instruction on "How-to import a Canadian registered vehicle 101" so we were a bit disappointed that we had a different person. But remember, God's ways are not our ways.
 John began with many questions and sought assistance from his supervisor, who also needed assistance from her supervisor. John had been hired at the MVD just 8 months ago so this was new territory for him too. As time ticked on, we talked with John and discovered that another "brother-in-Christ" had been placed before us. He asked us where we were attending church and, (wait for it), the church Glenn & Sally took us to was the same church where John attended.

At this point I knew that God's hand was guiding the sequence of events before us.

 With calmer, assured attitudes we worked through the system and $68.75 later, both vehicles now have AZ plates on them. (side note; we had to pay over $500 to Canada to register our vehicles there!).
 Needless to say, I walked out of the MVD with great encouragement and hope for our future here in AZ.

What a morning!

What a great God we have!