Top Ten Reasons Why Michigan Will Always Be Better Than Ohio State

10. More athletes from Ohio schools choose U of M as their college than Michigan athletes go to Ohio State.

9. More players have been drafted into the NFL from Michigan than Ohio State.

8. I would rather be maize and blue than a luckeye, suckeye, or #uckeye any day.

7. Tom Brady!!!6. Michigan has beat Ohio State 57 times, lost to them 42 times, and tied them 6 times.

5. Michigan has 42 Big Ten victories and Ohio State only has 34.

4. Michigan has been to the Rose Bowl 17 times and won 8; Ohio State has only been 13 times and won 6.

3. Michigan has 11 National Titles and Ohio State only has 4.

2. Bo Shembechler coached Michigan for 20 seasons with 234 wins; Woody Hayes could only achieve 205 wins in 28 seasons. Bo kicked Woody's ass!

1. Buckeyes are NUTS, need I say more?

GO BLUE!

Listening and Doing

James 1:19-25 says; Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for men's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you. which can save you. Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like the a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it - he will be blessed in what he does.
The first part of this verse says so much. When Jesus spoke, people listened. Even those who didn't like Him or agree with Him listened. So how do we listen in a Godly manner? How do we filter out verbal waste? How do we store beneficial information? When it comes to listening in a Godly manner, I choose to listen to my heart. I believe God speaks to our hearts and then wants us to process things to our heads. For example: I knew in my heart that I should help the guy that was sitting on the side of the road with a broken down car, but my head told me that if I did, I would be late to that meeting. We all make heart filled choices everyday.
Slow to speak. What does that mean? Should I speak slowly so that people can understand me. Yeah, maybe. But I was thinking more along the lines of processing the given information. Everything that you hear is either a form of advice, an explanation or definition, a rumor or a lie, or gossip. How we choose to process it is crucial. When my wife and I get into an argument, and she points something out about me that feels like it might have some truth to it, I always have to process it before I speak out. I have to check myself or self evaluate. If I choose to blow it off and it was true, then I am just living a lie. I've already lost the argument and now I'm just making false accusations to defend myself. And it's not about winning or losing. It's about arguing constructively and getting through the matter at hand. It's about being slow to speak and not letting dumb words fly off of my tongue. This ties in with being slow to anger as well. In the verse it states that: men's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. When is the last time anything truly good has happened out of anger? In my 39 years of life, nothing. If you are so angry that you can't even think straight, then something tells me you're definitely not going to be able to feel what your heart has to say. At that point, it's time to step back and cease fire. I have seen a lot of fist fights in my life and the angry man has always come out of it with a loss. Mostly because of lack of focus and concentration. He was out of control whereas his calm headed opponent was focused and able to strike more efficiently. I always tell my son (who has a lot of mood swings) that anger is a feeling that God gave us. There is passion in anger, and if we learn how to harness that energy, we can use it to our advantage. He is a soccer player and he hates to lose. He has come a long way with transforming is anger into passion filled energy to play the sport that he loves. I think that he will have a righteous life that God desires for him if he can continue to learn how to process his anger on and off of the field.
I wanted to touch on gossip real quick because I fell victim to this myself this past Tuesday. I was with my men's group and we were wrapping up for the evening with some thoughts on how we can serve our community. One of the guys in my group has been offering the idea of doing some demo work for our student ministries. I have had some differences with the pastor that heads up that ministry in the past and I have heard a lot of rumors about his status with the church. Mind you, all of these rumors are false, but still, I have been storing this information for a while now and somehow it came out that evening. I was spreading gossip. I simply threw it all out on that table for the men of the group to hear. Some of the guys were floored by this. They had no idea where it came from. They hadn't even heard any rumors until that point. My point is, I let my anger or hurt feelings get the best of me and I let that crap roll out of my mouth probably just to get back at him. I immediately felt convicted by God and condemned by the enemy. My heart told me that I had to apologize to everybody at that table and at the church for my false words. In my head, I could hear satan telling me that it was o.k. That I wasn't worthy of God's love anyway, so why not spread lies. I have come clean with everybody since that evening except with the children's pastor. I am still struggling with the "how to" on that one.

Father Son Time

This week I have been trying to engage in morning conversations with my oldest son, Dominick. He is the one that I struggle with the most because I don't know how to communicate with him. I can't let that be a barrier any longer.

Dominick is ten years old (eleven this December) and he is quite different than me when I was ten. He enjoys soccer, reading, video games and time spent with his best friend, Nate. Occasionally, we'll throw a ball together, other than that, we don't do much together. I decided to have some casual conversations with him this week just to find out what is on his mind. Of course, school is the main thing of concern. He is always very nervous at the beginning of a school year (what kid isn't), but after he is there for a couple of days, he is the king of his world.

This past weekend, I decided to go for a mountain bike ride and invited him to go with me. He immediately hesitated because he thinks with his head more than his heart. He evaluates everything and computes danger levels in his head. His heart doesn't even have a chance. The trail is a four mile intermediate trail. A lot of switchbacks, a couple of climbs, and a lot of exposed roots. Nothing too serious. I talked him into doing two miles and then we would turn back if he wasn't comfortable. He made it about a mile and a half into it and he was "Done". He worked his little ass off. He wrecked once and ran into one tree. We turned around and took a couple of short cuts to get back to the parking lot. All together, he did a little over two miles. I was very proud of his efforts, but more than that, I was proud that he followed his heart and he trusted me enough to take a chance and try something new. It was a lesson in patience for me and it gave me the opportunity to affirm him in something that I know we can both enjoy doing together. Now I just have talk him into going again.

My Computer "Crashed"

So, I just got my computer up and running again after being without for two weeks. Right after I posted my last blog on "Sex & Pornography", I tried to download xxxchurch for myself and my computer completely crashed. I don't know if this was directly related to that website or what caused the crash. As crazy as this may sound, I believe it was spiritual warfare. I have actually lost blogs before, that were tools for God against the enemy, and had to totally rewrite them from scratch. It comes as no surprise that my computer would completely crash after writing my last blog "Sex & Pornography" and then attempting to download xxxchurch to hold myself accountable; this was a huge step of faith for me. I have learned on my walk with Christ, that the enemy isn't just going to roll over and die when you speak out against him. The poser will fight harder to condemn you. He will stop at nothing, and yes, he can do his work in the material world too. During my downtime from my computer, I heard God ask me, "What will you do with your time now to Honor Me"? After some serious self-evaluation, I realized that I was putting too much time in on my computer blogging, facebooking (or as I call it - wastebook), and surfing the net. It has become a huge distraction from God. Therefor, I will not be wasting any more time on facebook and will only be writing blogs when I am inspired to. Surfing the net is no longer an option, it is a dangerous place to be for a bored man. After consulting my computer guru friends and contacting Dell, the problem was diagnosed as a crashed hard drive. This means all of my files (business, 100's of pictures, AutoCAD) were lost. I am hopeful that some may be recovered, especially my pictures, and I am thankful that none of my online files were harmed. I want to thank everybody for their comments and support. I look forward to blogging about my human experiences and to receiving all of your replies. Until then....

Sex & Pornography

First, allow me to set the mood in order to best describe this experience. I was sitting on the couch, still in my morning shorts and t-shirt, doing my morning ritual of checking facebook and reading blogs. My eight year old daughter, still in her pj's, and my five year old son were sitting right next to me. I was reading one of the blogs that I follow when I decided to explore what some of his followers were posting. I clicked on an image of a face and what popped up on my screen was like a sword had been shoved into my heart. Two naked women, laying on top of each other, having a sexual experience. My daughter looked over and saw the screen and I felt like my world had crashed. I couldn't turn it off fast enough. I closed the screen and just sat there, wondering what entered my daughter's mind. I felt devastated.

This is where I expose myself and share my common struggles with the world. I have been addicted to pornography since I was a young teenager. I was never taught what the beautiful design of sex was meant to be, by my parents or anyone else. To me, it was a secretive, dark, and dirty world. The pornography took me places that I could not describe. What I was learning from the pornography was that this is how women wanted to be treated. I never had a girlfriend while I was growing up and did not have sex until I was twenty three years old. I confused sex with love and scared away most women that I had met. I had lost all respect for women and even myself. The bible describes pornography as lust instilled by pictures. The book of Ezekiel shares a story of two adulterous sisters, Oholah and Oholibah. Ezekiel 23:14-17 tells us Oholibah carried her prostitution even further. She saw men portrayed on a wall, figures of Chaldeans portrayed in red, with belts around their waists and flowing turbans on their heads; all of them looked like Babylonian chariot officers, natives of Chaldea. As soon as she saw them, she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea. Then the Babylonians came to her, to the bed of love, and in their lust they defiled her. After she had been defiled by them, she turned away from them in disgust. This is one of the oldest recorded stories of pornography in the Bible. It has been around since the fall of man, and will more than likely still exist until Jesus returns to take us home.

That morning, after I closed my computer, I began to prepare for my day. I told the kids to get dressed, brush their teeth, make the beds, etc.... and did all of the same myself. I could not get that image of the two naked women out of my head. It doesn't take much for lust to invade. Lust is always lurking. Author Charles Swindoll writes: No one is immune. You're not. I'm not. Lust is no respecter of persons . . . It's alluring voice can infiltrate the most intelligent mind and cause it's victim to believe it's lies and respond to it's appeal. And beware - it never gives up . . . it never runs out of ideas. Bolt your front door and it will rattle at the bedroom window, crawl into the living room through the TV screen, or wink at you out of a magazine in the den . . . Lust is persistent. If it's knocked on your door once, it will knock again. And again. You are safe just so long as you draw upon your Savior's strength. Try to handle it yourself and you'll lose - every time. That morning, I lost. Instead of running to Jesus and putting myself in the Word, I went back and read that young ladies blog, knowing exactly what I was looking for. In her personal description she claims to be a simple girl who is addicted to sex with the same sex, and is in love with Jesus. Immediately, I was completely side tracked. Not so much as interested in exploring her bisexual photos, but confused and intrigued by her comment. How is this lifestyle simple? How can one openly admit to their bisexuality, blatantly live in it, and still be a follower of Christ? What kind of mixed message does that send? And then I remembered, God loves us all, unconditionally, right where we are at. Her sins are no greater than mine, and I am a follower of Christ. I blatantly went back to her blog site looking for trouble and instead, was reminded of Christ. She is God's daughter and He loves her. It is not my place to judge or condemn her, I am not God. I began to pray for her. I prayed that she be able to leave her bisexual lifestyle and that she would be able to have one as God designed it to be. The design that God created in Genesis. So the Lord caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, He took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and He brought her to the man. The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, for she was taken out of man." For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. (Genesis 2:21-24). I truly believe that one cannot be fully connected to God and experience everything that He has to offer if they choose not talk with Him wholeheartedly. It is impossible to serve two Gods for their is only One. You cannot serve money, idols, or even sex; and expect to be able to serve God at the same time. This is why I struggle with the blatant and poor choices that I make or anyone else makes for that matter. I prayed for her, but the damage had been done. I lusted for her in my mind and that is the same as adultery in God's eyes. It is disrespectful to her and to my wife. It hurts two of God's daughters, therefore, it hurts Him.

A few years ago, I attended a seminar at my church, and the topic was sex and pornography. The speaker's name was Gene McConnell. Gene travels around the nation to some of the darkest places and teaches the gospels to hookers, strippers, and prostitutes. He commits his life to saving women from a destructive life style. A couple of girls that he has reached out to even travel with him to testify their discovery of Christ and how He has changed their lives. Gene's mission is very difficult and very dangerous. You have to be a spiritually strong man not to fall prey to the very thing he speaks against. It was Gene McConnell that introduced the phrase "Every woman is a daughter of God" to me. It has stuck with me ever since. I first heard that phrase at the same time that I received a daughter of my own. I felt helpless, because I know that there will come a day when my innocent little daughter will be looked at sexually, and there is nothing that I can do to prevent it. I pray for my little girl every day and ask God to keep her on a righteous path and that I can be a good example of what a Godly man looks like to a young lady. That is why my heart broke when that image popped up on my computer screen. I wonder if she was thinking "What is my daddy looking at"? I wonder if she will always remember that image and if it grow into a weed in her soul. My world was crushed.

What does a father to a daughter really look like? A good father respects his daughter. A great father loves his daughter. A righteous father prays for daughter. A Godly father will protect his daughter. He will play with her, take her on dates, affirm her that she is beautiful, love her unconditionally, discipline her honestly, and teach her respectfully. A real man will step up to the challenge and raise her as if God were raising her on His own. A real man will love his wife and treat her with respect in front of their daughter. He will kiss his wife, and be playful with his wife and pray with his wife in their daughter's view. So many women who have strayed from the path end up in places of pornography and prostitution. They have gone searching for something that they were never taught about or affirmed of when they were little girls. They will accept anything that looks like love to them because they have no sense of right from wrong. And if they can distinguish between right and wrong, they will choose the wrong because it is easier, more exciting, and it hurts the least when something does go wrong. Years will go by and souls will be damaged to the point of no return. The only way back is through Christ, and even then, their hearts may never trust another man again.

Here is something very important to remember. God does not condemn, but He does convict. It is the work of the enemy to hold you in place of condemnation. That place is filled with guilt, shame, loneliness, and unforgiveness. God forgives us and then convicts us to learn from our mistakes to make better choices the next time. And there will always be a next time. I wouldn't be blogging about this if there wasn't. The one thing that I will testify to, is being in a group of Christian men that meet weekly and that will hold me accountable for my actions. They build me up instead of tearing me down, despite my poor choices. Proverbs 27:17 states, As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. That is what those men do for me. That is what true authentic friendship looks like in Christ.

"Seven Promises Of A Promise Keeper" (multiple authors) and "Every Man's Battle" (by Stephen Arterburn & Fred Stoeker) are two good books to read if you are looking for some incite on sexual purity. Promise number three in the Promise Keeper's book is: A Promise Keeper is committed to practicing spiritual, moral, ethical, and sexual purity. This was the most important promise that I have taken and tried to apply to my life. I have not lived up to it as I thought I could. I have failed miserably, but I'm not going to give up. The prize is worth too much to me and I will strive for Him with every breath that He gives me. One of the things that I picked up from Every Man's Battle is about the eyes. Men were wired by God to see beauty with our eyes. Our eyes are also our weakness. If we see an attractive woman, we can't help but stare at her. It draws us in. We then begin to look at her lustfully. The longer we look, the stronger that image is burned in our mind. The next thing you know, we are undressing her (if she isn't already undressed) and one thing leads to another.... The book teaches a method about bouncing the eyes. If you notice an attractive woman, and you know that you have weakness with lust, then immediately look away before a detailed image is processed in your mind. Women don't understand this concept because they aren't sexually stimulated in the same way. They aren't aroused when they see a naked man or one in a speedo. The ignition switch for women is tied to touch and relationship - not the guy's body. I would suggest reading all of both of these books if you are looking for some Christian based answers.

In closing, I just want to mention some important things to remember:

1. God does love you, unconditionally, right where you are at!!

2. Sex is a beautiful thing that God created.

3. God designed sex for one man to share with one woman in the covenant of marriage.

4. Pornography is addictive and it can shatter families and marriages.

5. Adultery is a sin, but Jesus wants to give forgiveness for it.

6. God wants us to learn and grow from our mistakes.

7. Men need to have a group of male friends (preferably Christian) that will hold them accountable.

Here are some helpful and spiritual website links:
www.xxxchurch.com
www.promisekeepers.org
www.everymansbattle.com
Or you can Google Gene McConnell for several websites containing his message.
Also, get in the Word. Read the Bible daily. And if you want to read about sex in the Bible, read Song of Songs. It's beautiful and the way it was intended to be.
Peace and Blessings!

Waiting

I have spent my whole life waiting for something. When I was a kid, I couldn't wait to get my first bike. When I was a teenager, I couldn't wait to get my drivers license and to graduate from high school. When I did graduate from high school, I joined the Air Force. Of course, once I joined, I could not wait to get out. Then along came Ann Lauer, and I couldn't wait to marry her. After a couple of years of dating, we got married. Together, we could not wait to have kids. We could not wait to get that big house. We could not wait to excel in our careers. We could not wait........ I'll bet, that even in the womb, I was waiting for something. I wonder if I will spend the rest of my life waiting for something.

Is it just me? Am I the only one that feels this way? Am I the only one in a constant state of waiting? Am I that impatient or is it a content issue? Maybe if I were more content with what I have and who I am, then I wouldn't be waiting so much for the next big improvement.

Currently, I am waiting to sell this house we live in, and I can't wait to get rid of it. We bought it because we felt led to live in it and all of the doors opened for us during our purchase. That has been three years ago. It has never felt like a home to me since we moved in. I thought it would. I thought that it would be cool to live in a big house with all of the fancy trim and every other creature comfort man could possibly want. Truth is, it isn't that cool. It is quite the opposite. It is impersonal. It is not cozy. I feel lost in it. I can't wait to get out of it.

Have you ever tried praying and actually waited for an answer? I have been lately. Our whole family has been praying for God to sell our house. I know what you're thinking, "How can God sell a house"? Why wouldn't He be able to, He is in control of everything. Besides, we got a great deal from DivineRealtors.com. We felt strongly inspired that He was giving us the go ahead to put it on the market, and that He would be in control of it. We did, and somehow, that feeling went away. For me anyway. This is where that patience thing comes into play. You see, what seems like an eternity to us, is just a blink in God's timing. Check out 2 Peter 3:8-9. It says "But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance". That pretty much sums everything up. I wish it were that easy. I am still impatient and I am still waiting for something to happen. I guess waiting on God is a good thing though. I think that He likes it when we are waiting for Him. It acknowledges His importance to us.

So, what are you waiting for?

Freedom

What does freedom mean to you? Is it freedom from something, such as freedom from guilt, stress, persecution, judgment, temptation, and ultimately death. Or, is it freedom for something, such as the right to choose or the right to live?

What image does freedom bare for you? Is the image of a flag, or is it the Cross?

I love (not really) all of the bumper stickers people use to get their point across; Pro Choice, Abortion Kills, and (my favorite) Support Our Troops - Bring Them Home. This is the one that really gets under my skin. How is that supporting our troops? Didn't they have the freedom of choice to sign the dotted line stating that they would defend our country if the need should arise? I served my country for ten years and proudly had the opportunity to be a part of Operation Desert Storm back in '91. I know that there is a lot of debate as to what it is that we are at war for, but that's not the topic here. The point is, I joined the military of my own free will, fully understanding that I could die. Bringing our troops home is not supporting them! Praying for their safety and for their families is! There is always going to be a war. War is biblical: Deuteronomy 20:5-9, Judges 3:1-2, Psalm 27:3, Ecclesiastes 3:8, Ezekiel 38 & 39, and Revelation 12:7. The sooner we get used to this concept, the sooner we can get our priorities straight on how to support our troops in their freedom of choice.

Freedom has to have it's boundaries. I recall a message that my good friend Tim Urmston gave at church one Sunday morning. Tim is a football nut. He played in high school and in college. He now coaches our local high school team. He shared a story of a game that was scheduled one snowy day. The field was covered and you could not see any yard markers or boundary lines. And to make it more interesting, the referees had not arrived yet. So, the parents decided that they would act as the coaching staff and the refs. It didn't take things long to get chaotic. Luckily, the refs finally arrived and began marking out all of the boundary lines with their feet. Rules were established and they were able to play the game of football the way it was meant to be played. Tom Landry (famous football coach) even wrote, "We often resent rules because they limit what we can do. Yet without rules that define a football game, you can't play the game, let alone enjoy it. To live and enjoy the freedom we have in America, we have to live by the rules of society. To live life to the fullest, we need to understand and abide by the rules God spells out for us in the Bible. God isn't out to spoil our fun; He knows that life without limits results in anarchy and misery. You can't enjoy true freedom without limits".

I had a dream last night. Jesus was walking towards me. As I was watching Him approach me, I looked down and I realized that I was in shackles and chains. The closer that He got, the heavier I felt burdened and shamed. I noticed that He was carrying something that looked like a key. As He reached His point and stood right next to me, I closed my eyes and bowed my head because of an immense light that blinded me. He spoke to me and said, "Open your eyes my son". I opened my eyes and the room didn't seem so bright anymore. When I looked at Him, I noticed that His hands were now empty. I immediately looked down and saw that my shackles and chains were not only loosened, they were gone. True freedom, that can only come from Him.

John 8:32 says "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free". The truth being spoken of in that verse is He Himself, Jesus. Do you know Jesus? Do you want real freedom? Do you want freedom from all of the things that I mentioned at the beginning of this blog and for the most important thing: the right to truly live? Take some time to get to know Jesus and you will discover freedom.

Living In Mediocrity

Mediocre - 1. of only ordinary or moderate quality; neither good or bad; barely adequate. 2. rather poor or inferior.

Have you ever felt like everything or everyone around does not meet your expectations? Like your needs aren't being met? And if someone does something for you, it wasn't done the way you would have liked for it to be done?

Have you ever viewed yourself as "perfect" or better than others? That everyone around you is slacking or not giving their all?

Have you ever felt that when bad things happen to you, it is a personal attack on you from that person or thing? Like someone is always out to test your patience?

If you have, then you need some serious medication. But seriously, has any of this ever happened to you? It happens to me. Not all of the time. It comes and goes, almost like seasons; especially when I am in a bad mood or stressed out.
I was driving home from the gym the other day (exercising is my only real way to vent these days), and some lady came shooting out of a parking lot, into the street, right in front of me. She didn't even stop or look when she did it. So, I hit my brake pedal and swerved to avoid hitting her. She decides to stop when she realizes she is about to get clobbered, and then she throws her hands up and starts yelling at me. I don't know what she was saying, but I'm guessing it wasn't "How was your workout?" This has been happening a lot to me lately, even when I am driving through my own neighborhood.
I started to think about how people are doing everything half-assed these days. I feel like everyone around me is only putting in half of the effort at what they are doing. People not paying attention when they are driving. The guys at the gym spend half of the time trying to look pretty and the other half doing some lamo workout. I even feel like half the people that I meet at my church are only being authentic with me and showing their true selves. I know this sounds like a huge judgement call coming from me and it probably is. I am just stating how I feel or see things. But it doesn't stop with other people. Lately, I have even been putting myself on the stand. I judge the way I parent my kids. I judge my ability to be the husband that my wife needs me to be. Lately, I have even been judging my own work in disapproval. I feel like I live in a world of mediocrity.
How do we get to this place? What causes us to lose our focus, especially on what is important? Are we too distracted with our cell phones? It's amazing how many people try to multi-task and do this while driving, exercising or even pushing a cart through a grocery store.
What causes our defenses to go up when we do something that is wrong? Why do we immediately find fault in somebody when we have wronged them? Is it our level of perfectionism? I know that I'm not perfect, but it's o.k. to strive. Maybe our standards are just set too high and most, if not all, people can't meet them.
I really don't have any answers here, just a bunch of questions. I'm guessing a lot of people deal with this. What if we challenge ourselves with these questions. What if we stop settling for mediocrity and start striving to be more driven. I think the important thing here is to focus on one's self. Don't take it personally when something bad happens. Realize that no one is perfect. There has only been one perfect person that walked the face of the earth, and He died for you and me. Everyone makes mistakes, and when they do, they're not personally trying to test you.

What Consumes Your Thoughts Controls Your Life

I was listening to one of my favorite secular groups the other day and came across this verse. What consumes your thoughts controls your life. The group is Creed, and the song is "What If". I like this group because they are popular in the main stream of music and their music sends the message of God. I was listening to this song about two weeks ago and that verse has been sticking to me like glue. There are a host of things that consume my mind; selling our house, getting my work done, praying for those who need prayer, being a good father and a good husband. Those are on the top of my list. Lately, I have put a lot of time and energy into selling our house. It has caused a lot of stress. It has been controlling me. The other things kind of fall in order and sadly, praying and connecting with God is not consuming me right now. I know that if I put Him first in my life, then the other things will fall in place. I know that if I give it to Him, then there will be less stress. But it's hard to do that, give up control I mean. I am a fixer and a doer. I jump into things without much thought and do the job until it's done. If it's something I know how to do, or assume that I can do, then I don't ask for help. I'm sure this is a trust issue. My dad always said "If you want something done right, then do it yourself". This has become my way ever since he told me that for the first time. I apply this to everything in life; marriage, fatherhood, volunteer work...everything! I let things consume me and I don't reach out for help unless I absolutely need it, and sometimes it's too late. Do you remember what "consumed your life" when you were a kid? Was it sports, fashion, music, the opposite sex? What was it that defined who you were during your younger years? I wish I knew God back then. I would have realized that even when I became lost or confused, I could turn back to Him and give Him some of the control. I think that's the beauty of the gift of free will. He allows things to happen so we can turn to Him for His wisdom. If only we could all live our lives with consuming thoughts of our Lord and Father. How beautiful would that be? If you're starting to feel a little consumed, stop for a moment. Take a deep breath. Think of what's more important in your life. Pray and ask God for His help. Give Him some of the control and watch what happens.