Time - the thing we need when there's alot to do, but have none of. The thing we have lots of when there's nothing to do. The thing we can never seem to get a hold of no matter how hard we try.
So I'm sure some of you are thinking, what is with this guy? He doesn't blog for a while, then belts out 2 books in one night then doesn't do anything for nearly 2 weeks. I'm telling you it's all about time and how little of it I seem to have. VLI has been going great. We finished up an intensive last weekend that was about 12 hrs. Absolutely insane! Information overload. I'm running on very few hours of very uncomfortable sleep and have now moved from a futon to the floor due to the back pain I would wake up with. Combine that with 9-10 hr. days, constantly trying to pass emissions, attempting to remember what I need to do for kids church, college group, and trying to do some studying for VLI and you wind up with a burned out, runny nose guy who is not feeling very good. I have been having constant headaches for the past 2 weeks I'd say. Advil has nearly become part of my diet it seems.
Well I'm sure I could think of more depressing stuff, but my head already hurts. Good stuff, hmm let's see..... Red Sox won the World Series? nah don't care too much about that, let's see. Oh, Micah and Chrissy had a baby boy. Joshua Daniel Killough. 9 lbs. and 33 hrs. of delivery. When I saw him I was speechless. Absolutely the coolest thing I've ever seen. I was praying so much that Chrissy and the baby would be okay. When I left the house I was singing my own song heading west on the 202 praising God. What an incredible experience it is to hold your own flesh and blood. My brother's son. Wow!! There are no words on earth to describe how I felt. All I could do was shout, and that's what I did while driving home. I hooted and hollered like a crazy man. Going to take some getting used to, but I thrilled.
Lord, thank You for the blessing of Micah, Chrissy and Joshua. Thank You for bringing her and the baby safely through the delivery. Please heal her and give her all the rest she needs. Let her recovery be speedy so she can get back on her feet. Bless them as they have blessed us and help them in raising their son.
Friday, October 29, 2004
Thursday, October 14, 2004
Leaders
This current election has had me do some thinking. I saw a trailer to a film titled Celcius 41.11 (http://www.citizensunited-interactive.org/C41.11/) that had a clip of someone holding a sign that said something to the sort of: Say no to war in Iraq! Then in smaller print it said: Unless a democrat is President. So what does that tell you about the left side? I also saw a leftist bumper sticker on a car that said "Know Peace, No Bush". The homosexual on who's car the sticker was on didn't have a clue. You can't have peace without war. The two coexist in tension with each other. The fallen nature of man kind has made it so that there are people out there who are power hungry megalomaniacs and will stop at nothing to gain what they want. This often means war. This brings me the to the title of my blog, Leaders. They are made not born and great leaders were not typically made during times of peace, nor did they always bring peace. The greatest example of course is Jesus. He specifically said in Mat.10:34 "Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." He turned over the money changers tables in the temple and rebuked the leaders of religious law with a fury never before seen amongst men. Israel was captive to the Romans, but Jesus didn't come to lead them out of physicall captivity, but spiritual.
Arguably on of the greatest King who ever lived, and certainly the greatest Hebrew King was King David. He never knew peace during his reign. He was always at war. Nations gathered against him, and he cried out to God, and God delivered them. He wasn't great though because he was a mighty conquerer, it was because he was a man after God's own heart.
Another great example of a great leader is Winston Churchill. He rose up, gathered Britain around him and defied the Axis powers. At the same time during the same war would be President Theodore Roosevelt who led the U.S.A. through WWII and helped the Allies defeat the wicked Nazis and their Japanese compatriots.
In the examples mentioned above save Jesus, all of their successors enjoyed times of peace. Solomon built the temple and many other things as well as a large female household. Britain and the U.S.A. rebuilt and helped Europe rebuild. Now President Bush was forced to be in the position he's in. He didn't ask for 9/11 to happen, it just did. He didn't runaway from it and pretend it didn't happen. He didn't get to inwardly focused. He grabbed the reigns and handled the situation with great poise and command. He gave the terrorists and the countries who hide them a chance to surrender, and if they didn't he promised that they would face war of a level that they have never before known. What happened? He fulfilled his promise. War is never easy, but it is a necessity when nations rise against nations or hide those who would intend to harm a nation. President Bush stopped the senseless slaughter of millions more people by ousting Saddam from power. Control is now being slowly restored to the Iraqi people. Kerry has done nothing to support the war. He has said that he would pull out which means that our Iraqi friends would be faced to rebuild alone and would eventually the country would erupt into civil war. We would then find Islamic radicals even worse than Saddam in power and doing everything in their power to destroy America. Great leaders are made not born. They handle situations with poise, and control. They stand up for what is right and will not let other nations decide their future for them. They avoid war if possible, but will not be used as the worlds floor mat. George W. Bush in my opinion has done a great job in some areas and could do better in others, but the one thing that shines like a lighthouse on a foggy night, is his character and his unwillingness to waver on what he believes is right just because pop culture says other wise. Kerry has none of the above qualities, he's a user, an abuser, would sell his own wife if it would get him the White House. He is dishonest, unloyal, unpatriotic, and above all things he does not love justice and mercy. His character reeks of the things of the world instead of the things of God. His wisdom is that of the world, whereas Bush seeks the Lord and reads the Bible searching for wisdom. May God Bless President Bush and grant our country the benefit of being led by him for another 4 yrs.
Arguably on of the greatest King who ever lived, and certainly the greatest Hebrew King was King David. He never knew peace during his reign. He was always at war. Nations gathered against him, and he cried out to God, and God delivered them. He wasn't great though because he was a mighty conquerer, it was because he was a man after God's own heart.
Another great example of a great leader is Winston Churchill. He rose up, gathered Britain around him and defied the Axis powers. At the same time during the same war would be President Theodore Roosevelt who led the U.S.A. through WWII and helped the Allies defeat the wicked Nazis and their Japanese compatriots.
In the examples mentioned above save Jesus, all of their successors enjoyed times of peace. Solomon built the temple and many other things as well as a large female household. Britain and the U.S.A. rebuilt and helped Europe rebuild. Now President Bush was forced to be in the position he's in. He didn't ask for 9/11 to happen, it just did. He didn't runaway from it and pretend it didn't happen. He didn't get to inwardly focused. He grabbed the reigns and handled the situation with great poise and command. He gave the terrorists and the countries who hide them a chance to surrender, and if they didn't he promised that they would face war of a level that they have never before known. What happened? He fulfilled his promise. War is never easy, but it is a necessity when nations rise against nations or hide those who would intend to harm a nation. President Bush stopped the senseless slaughter of millions more people by ousting Saddam from power. Control is now being slowly restored to the Iraqi people. Kerry has done nothing to support the war. He has said that he would pull out which means that our Iraqi friends would be faced to rebuild alone and would eventually the country would erupt into civil war. We would then find Islamic radicals even worse than Saddam in power and doing everything in their power to destroy America. Great leaders are made not born. They handle situations with poise, and control. They stand up for what is right and will not let other nations decide their future for them. They avoid war if possible, but will not be used as the worlds floor mat. George W. Bush in my opinion has done a great job in some areas and could do better in others, but the one thing that shines like a lighthouse on a foggy night, is his character and his unwillingness to waver on what he believes is right just because pop culture says other wise. Kerry has none of the above qualities, he's a user, an abuser, would sell his own wife if it would get him the White House. He is dishonest, unloyal, unpatriotic, and above all things he does not love justice and mercy. His character reeks of the things of the world instead of the things of God. His wisdom is that of the world, whereas Bush seeks the Lord and reads the Bible searching for wisdom. May God Bless President Bush and grant our country the benefit of being led by him for another 4 yrs.
8 Hour days???
So, this week has been quite long, but on the same token, rather enjoyable, sort of.
Things I haven't enjoyed: failing emittions testing again. I finally broke down and took my Scout into the shop. I found out that the gov. raised the emittions standards this year so all of the things that I have done to pass in the past wouldn't work. I reduced the jet size on my primaries, advanced the timing, leaned the fuel mixture out and ran octane boost with high octane gas through the engine. Nothing worked. Aargh!!! It's been almost a week now and my truck still isn't back. At work I got moved to a new area because one of our welders quit and they needed to move another welder into his area to pick up the slack. Well they put me in the area that was vacated and I seemed to inherit a crappy welding machine. I wasn't too happy. I think I was more concerned that because I moved into this vacated spot that I would assume the duties of the previous tenant. He welded stock items all day long and did boring stuff. I on the other hand get some cool custom projects, the owners and bosses are always having me do custom or prototype work for new products and various personal stuff. I really enjoy this type of work because it's not monotonous. Yesterday I was trying to dial in this welder and had it set when my floor manager came up to me and told me to just use the newer machine I was using before. I expressed my confusion to him because he early stated that welding machines needed to stay put and I was going to use the one in the area that I'm moving to, but I guess he changed his mind. Now one of the less experienced guys are using it which kind of makes me feel bad cause I was starting to get used to it. The guy using it now doesn't seem to mind or have any problems with it so more power to him I guess.
Good things: VLI is going well and I just finished preparing a sermonette for next tues. mentoring class. I'm using John 15:13 as the foundational scripture on which I build the rest of the sermon around. Hopefully it'll go well. At work we got a break from 10 hr. days on tuesday and were told that we'd be on 8 hr. days until further notice. This means an extra hour of sleep and I get off an hour earlier. For some reason though I haven't left work any earlier than I would if I were working 10's though. I've been working on a grinding rail for the Gilbert Vineyard Drop in Center http://gilbertdropin.blogspot.com/2004_10_01_gilbertdropin_archive.html. I finished the structural aspects of it today. The rail is finished and ground up and the stands are finished as well. I still may grind down the edges to try and make a semi smooth transition so that in the event that someone does hit them with their board, that they will have a better chance of not biting it. I suppose things are going well, but I guess I'll see how the rest of the week turns out.
Lord be with me and help my attitude at work to improve regardless of my situation or what I am doing. Help me be a light to the world in which I work, and help me to be raging fire. Not an ember struggling to survive. Give me grace and mercy for the things that I do throught the week that are not reflective of who You are and look more like the things of the world. Forgive me when I sin and help me to walk in the paths of rightouesness. I thank you for and praise you for keeping me free from the lusts of my flesh. May I continue to surrender that to You and walk in obediance to Your will so that my flesh will continue to die. Guide me, direct me, and let me know Your thoughts and Your ways. Give me more dreams and show me visions. Then let me know the meanings behind them. I bless You and lift You up. I love You and only You. May my heart be Yours and only Yours.
Things I haven't enjoyed: failing emittions testing again. I finally broke down and took my Scout into the shop. I found out that the gov. raised the emittions standards this year so all of the things that I have done to pass in the past wouldn't work. I reduced the jet size on my primaries, advanced the timing, leaned the fuel mixture out and ran octane boost with high octane gas through the engine. Nothing worked. Aargh!!! It's been almost a week now and my truck still isn't back. At work I got moved to a new area because one of our welders quit and they needed to move another welder into his area to pick up the slack. Well they put me in the area that was vacated and I seemed to inherit a crappy welding machine. I wasn't too happy. I think I was more concerned that because I moved into this vacated spot that I would assume the duties of the previous tenant. He welded stock items all day long and did boring stuff. I on the other hand get some cool custom projects, the owners and bosses are always having me do custom or prototype work for new products and various personal stuff. I really enjoy this type of work because it's not monotonous. Yesterday I was trying to dial in this welder and had it set when my floor manager came up to me and told me to just use the newer machine I was using before. I expressed my confusion to him because he early stated that welding machines needed to stay put and I was going to use the one in the area that I'm moving to, but I guess he changed his mind. Now one of the less experienced guys are using it which kind of makes me feel bad cause I was starting to get used to it. The guy using it now doesn't seem to mind or have any problems with it so more power to him I guess.
Good things: VLI is going well and I just finished preparing a sermonette for next tues. mentoring class. I'm using John 15:13 as the foundational scripture on which I build the rest of the sermon around. Hopefully it'll go well. At work we got a break from 10 hr. days on tuesday and were told that we'd be on 8 hr. days until further notice. This means an extra hour of sleep and I get off an hour earlier. For some reason though I haven't left work any earlier than I would if I were working 10's though. I've been working on a grinding rail for the Gilbert Vineyard Drop in Center http://gilbertdropin.blogspot.com/2004_10_01_gilbertdropin_archive.html. I finished the structural aspects of it today. The rail is finished and ground up and the stands are finished as well. I still may grind down the edges to try and make a semi smooth transition so that in the event that someone does hit them with their board, that they will have a better chance of not biting it. I suppose things are going well, but I guess I'll see how the rest of the week turns out.
Lord be with me and help my attitude at work to improve regardless of my situation or what I am doing. Help me be a light to the world in which I work, and help me to be raging fire. Not an ember struggling to survive. Give me grace and mercy for the things that I do throught the week that are not reflective of who You are and look more like the things of the world. Forgive me when I sin and help me to walk in the paths of rightouesness. I thank you for and praise you for keeping me free from the lusts of my flesh. May I continue to surrender that to You and walk in obediance to Your will so that my flesh will continue to die. Guide me, direct me, and let me know Your thoughts and Your ways. Give me more dreams and show me visions. Then let me know the meanings behind them. I bless You and lift You up. I love You and only You. May my heart be Yours and only Yours.
Tuesday, October 05, 2004
Davidic covenant
Ok, so there is no Davidic covenant. Atleast not to this David. None the less I like to think that a vision my mom had some time ago is sort of a promise of things to come. The vision was simple yet intriguing, she saw me with my wife and kids. Never saw who my wife was, only the back of her head. Interesting.
As I get older I the thought of marriage runs through my mind more often, probably because nearly all of my friends are either married or soon to be. I'm one of very few hold outs. Never had a girlfriend (by choice) and avoided the whole dating thing like the plague. However in light of this vision I see hope. Sometimes I get a little over zealous and I take a simple kind gesture or friendly chat with a attractive young lady and read more into it than there is. I kind of see myself relating to Abraham in this sense. God promised him a son. He didn't say when, just that he would have one and would be the father of many nations. Now Abraham believed God, but was under the impression that God would give them a child under natural circumstances. They would have a son within child bearing age. As Abraham and Sarah aged, they decided that God must have meant that they would have a child through a maidservant and raise it as their own. So Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham and she gave birth to a baby boy. It is important to take note that this was a practice that was completely acceptable during that time. Families stayed together most of their lives so it was important to have a male descendant to pass on the inheritance to. If a male child could not be conceived, a back up plan was to use a maidservant. This was the wisdom of the world. God would not have any of that. He told Abraham that Hagar's son was not the one who the promise would carry through. Instead God waited until it was physically impossible for them to have children and then He supernaturally intervened and gave them a son who's name was Isaac.
Now the question is, what is this leading up to? Well, the wisdom of the world would suggest that I seek out this future woman that God has for me. That I should date or go with friends with the intent of trying to "hook up", but God doesn't use the wisdom of this world. He doesn't do things the natural way, for He Himself is not natural, but supernatural. He will use natural things to bring about a supernatural experience, but that is tangent in which I may explore later. In Abraham's case they tried things the culturally relevant way and ended up have a serious effect on the course of history. Hagar's son would also become the father of many great princes which in modern times would be the anti Semitic Arabic nations surrounding Israel. If this is what happens when we try to fulfill God's promises by human means, then I want none of it. I don't know when God will show me this person, but I trust that His timing is perfect. It's still hard to wait especially when there are so many great women of God out there, but every time I see them I take heart in the knowledge that if they are great, but not for me, how much greater will the one that God has for me be. Someone once said, the enemy of best is good. Never settle for 2nd best when you can have the very best.
Lord I trust in You and You alone. Your timing is the right timing and Your ways are higher then mine and the ways of this world. Even though I do not fully understand why You do things the way You do, I take heart in knowing that everything that I go through is something that You will use to mold me and form me into who You want me to be. You said through Paul that everything works out for the good of those who love You through Christ Jesus. I believe that, and am waiting on You. Help me not to look around me and become discontent with where I am in life and where You have me, but to be glad in all circumstances and to recognize the reasons why I am where I am. Speak to me and reveal Your heart in me.
As I get older I the thought of marriage runs through my mind more often, probably because nearly all of my friends are either married or soon to be. I'm one of very few hold outs. Never had a girlfriend (by choice) and avoided the whole dating thing like the plague. However in light of this vision I see hope. Sometimes I get a little over zealous and I take a simple kind gesture or friendly chat with a attractive young lady and read more into it than there is. I kind of see myself relating to Abraham in this sense. God promised him a son. He didn't say when, just that he would have one and would be the father of many nations. Now Abraham believed God, but was under the impression that God would give them a child under natural circumstances. They would have a son within child bearing age. As Abraham and Sarah aged, they decided that God must have meant that they would have a child through a maidservant and raise it as their own. So Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham and she gave birth to a baby boy. It is important to take note that this was a practice that was completely acceptable during that time. Families stayed together most of their lives so it was important to have a male descendant to pass on the inheritance to. If a male child could not be conceived, a back up plan was to use a maidservant. This was the wisdom of the world. God would not have any of that. He told Abraham that Hagar's son was not the one who the promise would carry through. Instead God waited until it was physically impossible for them to have children and then He supernaturally intervened and gave them a son who's name was Isaac.
Now the question is, what is this leading up to? Well, the wisdom of the world would suggest that I seek out this future woman that God has for me. That I should date or go with friends with the intent of trying to "hook up", but God doesn't use the wisdom of this world. He doesn't do things the natural way, for He Himself is not natural, but supernatural. He will use natural things to bring about a supernatural experience, but that is tangent in which I may explore later. In Abraham's case they tried things the culturally relevant way and ended up have a serious effect on the course of history. Hagar's son would also become the father of many great princes which in modern times would be the anti Semitic Arabic nations surrounding Israel. If this is what happens when we try to fulfill God's promises by human means, then I want none of it. I don't know when God will show me this person, but I trust that His timing is perfect. It's still hard to wait especially when there are so many great women of God out there, but every time I see them I take heart in the knowledge that if they are great, but not for me, how much greater will the one that God has for me be. Someone once said, the enemy of best is good. Never settle for 2nd best when you can have the very best.
Lord I trust in You and You alone. Your timing is the right timing and Your ways are higher then mine and the ways of this world. Even though I do not fully understand why You do things the way You do, I take heart in knowing that everything that I go through is something that You will use to mold me and form me into who You want me to be. You said through Paul that everything works out for the good of those who love You through Christ Jesus. I believe that, and am waiting on You. Help me not to look around me and become discontent with where I am in life and where You have me, but to be glad in all circumstances and to recognize the reasons why I am where I am. Speak to me and reveal Your heart in me.
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