New Look

I am redesigning my blog page again. New template, photos, etc.... Looking for some cool Apps or widgets if anybody knows of any. Also, I would appreciate any suggestions on font types and color as well (keep in mind, Blogger.com only offers 6 fonts - wish there was a way to get more).

Walkabout

Remember in the movie "Crocodile Dundee", when Mick Dundee would wander out in the Aussie wilderness just to get away for a while. I don't know if he planned the trip at all, he just went. He was at home out there, he was one with the land. When he went, he called it a walkabout.
Last weekend I went on a walkabout. I drove up to Michigan just to go. I hadn't planned much about the trip. I knew that I wanted to be on a lake somewhere and I wanted to hike. I looked on the map and decided that Saginaw Bay was my destination. I also thought I would be going alone on this trip until I realized my oldest son would be coming with me. I was praying a couple of weeks ago and I heard God say "Take Dominick". I immediately answered, "But God, this was supposed to be my time to get alone with You". Then I heard Him say again, "Take Dominick". So, I asked Dominick if he would like to join me and he eagerly accepted the invitation. I quickly warmed up to the idea of taking him because we haven't had many opportunities to spend some quality time together. The boy is almost eleven years old and has yet to have been camping, so I knew this was a must.
We arrived at the bay around five o'clock on Friday. After surveying the area, I discovered that it wasn't what I had in mind. We were in a somewhat populated area with a small RV/camper park located in the center of it. I wanted to be more out in the wild. I wanted trees right on the lake. I realized that I really did want a view of a Great Lake, I wanted something smaller, more intimate. So we mapped out an area further south and decided that we would drive there in the morning.
The next morning we headed south and ended up in a little town called Hell Michigan (we've been to hell and back). I thought this was ironic since this was originally supposed to be a trip for me to get alone with God in the wild. I thought, maybe He has something to show me in Hell. So we went. We found a park called Half Moon Lake and decided that this was our destination for the day. What we found was amazing!

We discovered close to fifty miles of hiking/biking trails that had views of three different lakes.

This is Half Moon Lake. We came across it about two miles into our hike and we had it all to ourselves.

I am glad Dominick was wearing his bright yellow hat. There's hunters in them's there's hills.

We crossed engineered bridges . . .

And we crossed some not so engineered bridges.

There was no shortage of obstacles to cross over.

When we returned to the truck, I taught Dominick how to carve a stick he found with a knife that I gave him. He is making his hunting spear. What a future warrior this guy is going to be.

This was by far, one of the best weekends I've spent with my oldest son. I learned so much about him. I got to be a dad to him. I connected with God and He affirmed me in my role as a father. I will remember this walkabout forever . . . and I look forward to future trips.

Preaching

Here is another short story that I read and thought that I would share. This one caught me in a place of strong conviction. The author's name is Orel Hershiser.

Show and Tell

I'm not one to wear my faith on my sleeve. Christians can do a disservice to unbelievers by being obnoxious or judgmental. I'm a chapel leader and have been since my second year in the minors. People know where I'm coming from without my having to harp on it all the time. I know that the message of Christ offends because it calls sin sin and says that we are all sinners. There's no way to soften the truth. It's jarring and can alienate people until they begin to realize that it's true. My pushing it down everyone's throat will not make it any easier for them to investigate what it's all about.
I just tell people about God naturally, when opportunities arise or when I'm asked. It's amazing how many people notice when you tend to be straight. If you're not a carouser, not a womanizer, not foul-mouthed, not a gossip, it gets around! . . .
We're far from perfect. We fail. There are people who may think we are insincere or who think we're judgmental. I can't defend myself against people who say I'm phony. Only my family, my true friends and I know who I really am inside. I'll have to answer for that someday. I can only do and be what I think God wants me to do and be. I never want to embarrass Him or bring Him shame. (Author: Orel Hershiser)


Well, lately I have been one to wear my faith on my sleeve. I have been "announcing" my Christianity. I have been obnoxious and incredibly judgmental. Thank God for my true friends. Thank God for their courage to have that Matthew 18 conversation with me. They love me and hold me accountable.
Everything in this short story hit me so hard that I found it hard to breathe. It is who I was when I started this walk with Him and where I long to be again. I used to be noticeably "straight" and people used to question me about it all the time. But lately, I have been standing on my soap box preaching, and as one friend called it, pushing Jesus down people's throats. I don't want to do that. I just got so caught up in the moment of building my own kingdom, that I lost sight of who I was and what I stand for. I have missed the mark completely and now it's time to re-focus.
I am thankful for my friend's (Tim & Joanne Urmston) and my wife for calling me out on this. I am sorry to those that I have offended lately. I regret being judgmental. I don't really like being obnoxious. And I NEVER want to embarrass God or bring Him shame!

Friend, Not Foe

I was reading my Bible (men's study version) this morning and I came across this short story. I found it to be very interesting and would like to share it with you. It was written by W. Phillip Keller.

Friend, Not Foe

So many people are of the opinion that because God is an infinite being He is beyond our human comprehension. They have the notion He is someone distant, far removed from us, who may be appealed to only in great extremity across spans of space.
The truth is just the opposite. He is our Father, our Friend, and can be our Companion on the path of life. Such an association becomes the most cherished relationship in the world. But it can only become such if we begin to understand God's character and the wondrous ways in which He deals with us . . .
Most human beings have despised and rejected God simply because they never grasped who He was and what He was like. They saw Him as a foe, not a friend.
This explains why Christ called out in profound pathos - while the iron spikes tore through His hands and His feet - "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing" [Luke 23:34]. It was the intense heart-cry of our compassionate, caring God giving us Himself, sharing with us His own life, in a superb act of selfless self-sacrifice.
This caliber of divine love eludes us mortals. We are, for the most part, so selfish, so self-centered, so self-preoccupied, we recoil from those spike-torn hands extended to us in mercy, compassion and deep longing. We simply refuse to believe anyone truly can care for us with such pure motives.
Yes, across the terrible, tortured, tragic centuries of our human history mankind has rejected God. They have assumed always that like themselves He was at heart a tyrant, a stern and unjust judge, a formidable potentate to be feared. All because they seldom understood Him. They knew nothing of Him in intimate, firsthand communion. - (Author: W. Phillip Keller)

I was in the book of Galatians when I came across this story. The timing of this story and how it applies to my life amazes me. Even though I've been pursuing the Lord for the past ten years now, I have not really considered Him my friend until the past year or so. I have spent so much time trying to please Him and gain His favor that I have lost sight of my relationship with Him. He is my Father, and I am His son. He loves me just the way I am and just longs for me to be with Him. He calls me Friend.

SOZO

Sozo is a church-based ministry framework of helping to heal individuals (both inside and outside the church) of the effects of wounding and sin, and of delivering people from the snares and presence of the demonic through finding past and present lies and points of access, removing them, and establishing healing, blessing and obedience in their place; and of restoring individuals to relationship with God and a more fruitful and fulfilling walk.

Prayer and deliverance ministry have been around since Jesus demonstrated His power on earth as he healed (sozoed) many that came to Him. The term "Sozo" is a Greek word from the New Testament that means to save, make whole, heal, to be whole, rescue from danger, and deliver (basically, to save in every imaginable way!).

Last week, I received my first Sozo. I have to admit that I did not know what Sozo meant going into this. My wife did it and she shared how awesome her experience was, so I figured that I would give it a shot. I have been in a great place lately in my relationship with God, but I have still have my common struggles. I still have have self doubt. And I still lose my faith when I don't get my way. So, I figured this Sozo thing (remember, I still didn't know what Sozo meant) would be a good place to get some answers.

The Sozo team that was praying for me was consisted of three people, in which I knew two of them. We sat down in a small room at the church and one of the leaders asked me why I was there. I shared a short story of how my life has been the past several months since I returned from my mission trip to Honduras. I said that I just want to "officially" hear from God, that I am doing what He wants me to be doing. I wanted to know if I was a good husband, father and son in His eyes. I wanted to gain some insight as to where he wants me to be in the coming years (spiritually and physically).

For next couple of hours, I spent my time answering questions that were asked by my leaders, but answered to God. I asked for forgiveness and I forgave. I was given visions of my childhood, which in itself is a miracle just due to the fact that I don't remember much of my younger years. I saw Jesus in every vision. I saw that He has been with me every step of the way in my life. I also dealt with those painful struggles that I can't seem to get past. I gave them to God and was given a new respect for the word "freedom" in my life. I was also healed. PHYSICALLY HEALED, THANK YOU JESUS! I have had a bad knee for years. One of the leaders placed their hand on my knee just to pray out demons and I felt an incredible warmth in my knee. After the Sozo, I noticed that my pain was gone. I was relieved, for that knee had really been hurting for the past couple of days. Still today, the pain is gone.

I was confirmed and affirmed in the roles of my life. As a dad, as a husband, and as a son. And not just a son to my earthly parents, but as a son to my True Father. I heard Him say that He is still doing work in my life. He is still preparing for something great in my future. To this, I feel unworthy. But He loves me anyway, and He has to get all of this crap out of my life and taken care of before I can move on.

So now I'm thinking, it is no coincidence that I ended up at Sozo. I thought I was doing something cool that my wife got to be part of. I had no idea of what it truly meant. Obviously, He did. He knew that I had to go through it to be healed and freed from sin and it's effects. I don't know that this was a one evening experience. I think that it took many years to get as messed up as I am, and think it will take a little while in return to get to that point. That point of being able to walk with Him to that next season of my life. That point of a more fruitful and fulfilling walk with Him.

Donuts With Dad

My son Dominick and I had donuts together at his school this morning.

It was "Donuts With Dads" day and I felt that this would be an important bonding moment for the two of us. We arrived right at seven (in the a.m.) and when we got there, the cafeteria was packed. Nothing but dads and students. Every table was filled and there was a line about a mile long to receive our single donut and a cup of juice. We made it through the line and found an open seat, so we grabbed it. I greeted one of the dads as I sat down and then began to try to connect with my boy.

As I was sitting there, I noticed a lot of kids grouping up and a lot of dads just sitting there, staring at their kids without a word to say. I even heard a couple of dads making fun of their kids at an attempt to make themselves look "manly" in front of their own piers. I began to talk to Dominick even more, but there was a huge sadness growing in my heart. I realized that a lot of those kids were actually me and my dad. I realized that my dad probably didn't intend to belittle me as much as he did, but it's hard not to when you're in the company of other confused and lost men. I try very hard to affirm my kids and build them up, but just like my dad did so many years ago, I get caught up in the moment and I chop them down. I usually catch myself doing this and I have to ask for forgiveness immediately. I love my kids and I love my dad, but one of my goals in life is to be the best father that I can be. My dad was a good dad, but no one is perfect, not even me. So, we sat, and talked, and ate our donut, and I loved every minute of it.

Of course, I did notice that Dominick seemed uncomfortable and quiet. That's when I remembered how awkward it feels hanging out with your dad can feel sometimes. Especially if it was with my dad . . . that guy was also a total goofball back then. I think Dominick might have been nervous that I was going to embarrass him or something. I guess I would have felt that way too. Maybe I am just like my dad . . . a total goofball. Oh well, us men turn into our fathers sooner or later. Dominick has so much to look forward to. My hope and prayer for him is that he can do a better job than me at being a dad someday.

Obtaining Wisdom

King Solomon had greater wisdom and knowledge than any one on this earth to this very date. His account from the book of Ecclesiastes (1:12-18) states:

Wisdom Is Meaningless

I, the Teacher, was a king over Israel in Jerusalem. I devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid on men! I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
What is twisted cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted.
I thought to myself, "Look, I have grown and increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge." Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.
For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.

Now, I don't think that God is condemning wisdom; in fact, the entire book of Proverbs (which precedes Ecclesiastes) teaches us how to obtain it. No, I think He is questioning our pursuit of it over Him, and whether or not we are using it to glorify Him. King Solomon spent most of his life chasing after material things and obtaining wisdom. Why would a king who had everything be so unsatisfied? Why did God grant him more wisdom and knowledge than anyone in all of Jerusalem? My guess is so that we would have the book of Ecclesiastes to teach us a lesson in wisdom.
I high lighted a few words that I believe are key in this lesson. First of all, King Solomon had it all. More than anyone on earth. He was the Donald Trump of his era. And yet, with all of his great possessions, life was meaningless to him. He described it as a burden and blamed God for putting him in that position. The king searches is own heart and in doing so, he finds God. God reveals that everything in life is meaningless without Him, and that life regulated by Him and His word are wonderful indeed. But why would great knowledge cause so much sorrow and grief? Well, I tried to put myself in King Solomon's shoes (or sandals), and what I came up with was this. I know everything. I know all that is good. All that is bad. I know what sins man does, and why he chooses to do so. I know that God is there and that so many choose to deny Him. Even I deny Him at times. I know why there is life and why there is death. Everything! I know everything under the sun.
Wow....that would be a burden. How much hurt that must of caused Solomon, to know so much, but there was nothing he could do as a man to correct the wrong. Even as a king, he could do absolutely nothing to correct the hearts of men. That would cause a lot of sorrow and grief. And then I started thinking about my own life and how I walk as a Christian or a follower of Jesus. As I applied the concept of my knowledge and what God wants from me, I realized that I'm not much different than Solomon (besides the fact that I am not, nor do I want to be, the smartest man on earth). I am a white American male which is sadly still a majority in this country. I have a big house, two cars, six televisions, a beautiful wife and three awesome kids. I've got it all by my standards. At the same time, I call myself a Christian. I think that I have a pretty good relationship with Christ. I love Him and I pursue Him everyday. But, as I roam the streets of my hometown (Cincinnati, Ohio), I see so much chaos. Homeless people, single mothers, racism, hatred, people choosing alternate lifestyles that defy God, pornography, alcoholism, drugs, greed, law breakers and even my own sins. Sometimes it's too much. Sometimes I let my guard down. Sometimes I let it get to me and with all of my knowledge, there is nothing that I can do to change the hearts of men. All I can do is have faith in my Jesus and know that He is in control. Maybe that's enough. Maybe one person will see that light in me and they will make a choice to make some changes in their life. Maybe that one person will seek God and find Him. Maybe that brings great joy to God to have one more lost child return to Him.

My prayer is this: "Father, thank You for all of the wisdom that You have given me. Thank You for loving me right where I am at. I know that I am going to let You down, but You never give up on me. Thank You for allowing me to plant seeds in the hearts of men. Thank You for nurturing those seeds and raising up more wise princes and princesses. I pray for the lost. I pray that they seek You Father, and that they find You O' Lord. I lift up this city to You and ask that You send Your Holy Spirit to be here with us. Guide those who ask for it. Protect those that don't know how to. I love You God. Thank You for loving me first. In Your Beautiful Name Christ, Amen".

Bachelor Party With Atomic Food

We took our good friend, Steve "I'm undignified" Nixon, to Quaker Steak & Lube for his bachelor party celebration. In my opinion, this is how a bachelor should celebrate his last days of being single; good friends, good food, good beer, good conversation and NO STRIPPERS!

This was only my second visit to this restaurant. My first was with my family and we really liked it. The atmosphere is man heaven. The theme is a rehabbed garage with cars and motorcycles everywhere and there is a ton of race memorabilia.

And then there is the menu. This is not a health food establishment. Nothing but good old fashioned American cuisine. Quaker Steak & Lube is known for their hot wings. The options are endless and the heat can't be beat. Since this was my second visit, I decided to go a little higher on the heat chart. I ordered the Arizona Ranch wings which are listed at 2,050 SHU (Scoville Heat Unit). So, what is SHU? It is the number of units of water that it takes to make a unit of chile pepper lose all traces of heat (0-999 is mild, 1,000-2,999 is medium, 3,000-29,999 is hot, and anything above 30,000 is insane).

Of course, this was a table of men. Our manhood needed to be tested. Our threshold for pain had to be challenged. So, I ordered a cup of the ATOMIC sauce which is listed at 150,000 SHU. Normally, you have to sign a release form when ordering the ATOMIC wings but our waitress was able to supply us with a cup of the liquid death without doing so. She placed the sauce in front of me and even the aroma of it could burn the nostril hairs. I lifted the cup and offered one hundred bucks to anyone who would chug it. They ignored me and all took a turn dunking the tip of a french fry into the spicy concoction. I watched them as they the chewed on the scorched potato, and payed close attention to their facial reactions. Like the man (dork) that I am, I took a drumstick and smothered it with the sauce. I chewed the meat off as quick as I could trying to get everything past my taste-buds. The sauce has a slow heat which is very deceiving. At first, I looked at the guys with the "I'm the man" look, and then it began to hit me. The back of my tongue felt like it had an actual flame on it and that continued down through my throat. My eyes began to flush and my sinuses were relieved of all mucus. And then the sweating began. It doesn't take much for me to break a sweat and this sauce made it look as if there was a storm cloud above my head. I was soaked down to the neckline of my shirt. The pain lasted for about thirty minutes, but I knew that wouldn't be the end of it. I still had to get this crap out of my system.

ATOMIC HOT WINGS WITH A SIDE OF JALAPENOS TO COOL THE PALATE.

Divine Appointments

I believe in divine appointments. I believe that God places people right where He wants them, in a moment of time, to connect and glorify Him. I believe that there are no coincidences in life. Everything happens for a reason, and everything happens because of Him.
That being said. I was praying this morning and thanking God for everything that He has done in my life. I was thinking of all of the people that I know. Friends of old and new ones too. And how all of these people have made an impact in my life. There has been friends for different stages (or seasons, if you will) of my life. Of course there are the ones from my childhood and high school days. After them, my military brothers and sisters. Then there was the friends that I made after the military, from work or college. Friends from our first and second neighborhoods (I would say third neighborhood, but we don't really have any here). And then there is our church. Our community of fellow "Jesus Freaks". These are the ones I love the most.
This is where the divine appointment comes in. I was trying to think of the reasons that I am close to the people who are currently active in my life. As I was doing this, I was amazed at what I discovered. God showed me all of the work that He has done and is doing in my life through my friendships. Not only do these people share the same God and common beliefs, but they speak into my life, they call me out, they hold me accountable, and they love me unconditionally. They were divinely appointed to be my friends.
This doesn't count out friends from my past. There was lots of growth and contribution from them as well. I learned about Christianity and observed how people worshipped God from past friendships. As I examined the reasons that I was privileged to know them, I saw how they were divinely appointed as well.
Every person that I have made contact with in my life has brought me closer to God, even the ones that don't believe in Him. I have to believe that God divinely appointed me to be an advocate for Him to the non-believers. To plant a seed that will, hopefully, fruitfully grow someday. That's a hard one because it is sometimes difficult to spend time with someone who has completely opposite beliefs than I do. I tend to judge and pity people who don't know Jesus, and that leads to my "preaching". Non-believers don't like being preached to, and actually, neither do I. So I have to remember to just do what Jesus would do, and that is love everyone unconditionally.
Who has God divinely appointed to be in your life? Have you ever examined your friendships, past and present? I would argue that everyone you know glorifies God in some way.

True Father

I've been reading this book, "Fathered By God" (Authored by John Eldredge), and I found myself totally broken by the time I got to the second chapter. The book is as simple as the title, how God is our true Father and how we, as men, cry out to Him to be present in our lives.
I have been spending my free time at my church doing some much needed landscaping. I have been pulling weeds, pruning trees, mulching, and planting flowers since the beginning of September. I thought this would be a good way to serve and give back to the church that has done so much for me. I have also been using this time to connect with God. To do some spiritual soul searching. To just listen to what He has to say to me. It has been an awesome time of reflection. During this time, I was reminded of how much I enjoy my new interest of reading books. So, I made a visit to my local book store and stumbled across the book that I mentioned above. John Eldredge is a wonderful author. I read his book "Wild At Heart" four times over the summer and even used it to encourage me when I went to Honduras this past April.
So, why was I totally broken by the second chapter? John has a wonderful way of setting the mood and describing what his childhood was like. He is not much older than I and has shared some similar experiences that I once lived so long ago. A time before computers and cell phones. A time when boys would spend their time looking for adventures in their own back yards.
John Eldredge's father was a traveling salesman. John would go on a lot of business trips with his dad across most of the western states. They spent their weekends camping and fishing. That kind of bonding is so important for a father and son. Boys get so much from their daddy's, just by hanging out together. It made me think of all of the simple moments I spent alone with my daddy and that is when I broke down. I put my book down and just sat in my car, listening to the rain hitting the roof, balling like a baby. I miss my daddy. I have since the day that I left for the military twenty years ago. We only live two hours apart, but I never get to see him because of the busy season of life that I am in as being a dad myself. After a few minutes of crying like a baby, I picked up my cell phone and called my daddy. As soon as he answered I blurted out "Hi dad, I just wanted to call to say that I love you and that you are a great dad". Then we talked for a few minutes, mostly to explain why I called and about my brother's new baby. When we were done, we hung up, and that hurt. Like I said, I miss my daddy.
That's where God comes in. Our dads that raised us as boys to be men can only "Father" us for so long. When we go out into the world looking for adventure, we have to seek God as our True Father. It is His job to get us the rest of the way. Sure, our dads will always be our dads, but there is only so much that they can do to enter us into manhood. The rest is up to our Father in Heaven, but He can only help us if we allow Him to guide us through our temporary time on earth.
I realized that I need to be a dad as well. I need to interact with my boys more often. I need to take them camping or fishing or throw the ball with them more often. Sitting on the couch watching cartoons doesn't really count. I need to teach them and prepare them for their journeys. I need to get them to the manhood stage so that when they do go out on their adventures, they'll know who they are, and they'll know that they have to start connecting with God.
I want my boys to have great memories of how their daddy spent time with them, but most of all, I want them to know that their daddy is man who loves God. Their daddy is a man that turns to God when he needs fatherly advice. Their daddy is a man who trusts and depends on the Lord to get him through all of life's trials.
If you are a dad with boys, how will you prepare them for manhood? What kind of adventures will you take them on? What kind of memories do you want them to have of your time spent together? What kind of memories do you have of your daddy? How did he prepare you for manhood? If he didn't, do you look to God as your Father? If not, why?