New Year's Resolutions...

People make New Year's resolutions every year to begin January 1st. They look at the new year as a fresh start. So what is so special about January 1st other than causing us to stress out? Nothing and we should never wait until the new year to make changes. Everyday should be a new beginning for us to change things that need changing in our life. People who make New Year resolutions are often disappointed in themselves because they fail and when they fail they quit trying. Those who say they will quit smoking or lose weight but later give in to the temptation feel a hopelessness that causes them to feel depressed. So what do you do? Make a commitment today to change what you know you need to change. If in one week you fail, start over and try again. Try for two weeks, then three and so on. Make goals that are realistic. If you need to lose weight, set a goal to lose 10 pounds in a month, not 100 pounds in 6 months.

The key to being successful is to keep trying. Don't give up!

Merry Christmas...

Merry Christmas to my family and the friends I have met through this blog. I pray you have a wonderful Christmas!

Jack Donovan

Thank you Lord...

Thank you Lord for coming to this world. Thank you Lord for living a difficult life while you were here. Thank you Lord for understanding what I go through because you went through it first. Thank you Lord for living a spotless life and being a great example for me. Thank you Lord most of all for dying for me even though I am not worthy. Thank you Lord for your unfailing grace.

"Merry Christmas"

Winter blues...

There is a disorder (seasonal affective disorder -SAD) that affects people during the winter months. It causes depression and anxiety.

Fall and winter SAD (winter depression) - www.MayoClinic.com

Symptoms of winter-onset seasonal affective disorder include:

• Depression
• Hopelessness
• Anxiety
• Loss of energy
• Social withdrawal
• Oversleeping
• Loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed
• Appetite changes, especially a craving for foods high in carbohydrates
• Weight gain
• Difficulty concentrating and processing information

This post is to offer encouragement to those who suffer during the winter months. In addition to SAD there are those who suffer because of their circumstances and lack of common necessities (things many of us take for granted); they are the homeless. I am asking you to pray for these people that God will send someone their way that will be able to help them.

Here is a Scripture verse for anyone who needs encouragement:
"Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10

Thirty-two years...

Tomorrow, December 4, 2008 I will be married to my lovely wife for thirty-two years. We have had our ups and downs like many couples but I can honestly say I love her more now than I ever have. My wife Carla is the mother to my two wonderful children and now she is the grandmother of my two sweet granddaughters. As I get older I realize just how blessed I am.

Marriage takes commitment and sometimes it can be very hard. I often reflect on the earlier years of my marriage and wish I had been a better husband then; it makes me sad but I can not change the past. I can only do my best in the present and try to create the best possible future for us. I often wish I could provide more for Carla; a larger home, a newer car and trips to places she has dreamed of going to. I believe she deserves anything I can give her and more. But being a public safety employee since 1979 I know I will never be wealthy.

In spite of my desire to provide more I can see we are just where God wants us. Sure I can still do better but as a Christian I am growing and trying to always walk through the doors Christ opens for me. I want to help others.

I do not know how good your marriage is but in order for it to last for 30, 40, 50 or more years you must be committed. You have to learn how to forgive and realize that satan does not want you to be successful in your marriage. Satan is the enemy, it is not your spouse no matter what happens. You will have disagreements but if you try really hard they will make you stronger. Take everything that happens in your marriage as a learning event, be it a good or bad thing. Allow God to honor his promise that all things work to the good for them that love the Lord. Pray for your spouse, ask God to bless them. Ask God to help you to be the husband or wife that is pleasing to him.

May God bless your marriage. I will be praying for you!

What if you offend?

We all make mistakes and we will offend someone. It's not if, it's when and what we do to make amends. The first thing we should do is admit our mistake and ask God for forgiveness. Next apologize to the person we offended. This can be very tough sometimes but we must do it. God will help you. Ask him for wisdom and guidance. Confessing our sins against God and our brothers (and sisters) is the beginning of a transformation of our mind and soul. Confessing will help to bring you peace.

I will be praying for you. I ask you to do the same for me. God bless you as you continue on this journey to be more like Christ.

Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD "— and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah Psalms 32:5

Happy Thanksgiving...

I would like to wish all the readers of this blog a very happy Thanksgiving. Your comments have encouraged me to keep writing. I pray you enjoy your holiday with your friends and family. Take a moment to thank God for all he has blessed you with. If you are hurting this holiday reach out to the Lord and ask him to help you. He will never leave you.

Happy Birthday Jackie!!!

I would like to wish my daughter a very happy birthday. Her birthday is November 26. I love you Jackie and I'm very proud of you. You are a wonderful daughter...

Jesus washes the feet of the disciples...

Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand." "No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me." "Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!" Jesus answered, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you." "For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean." John 13:7-11

Foot washing in church? It's not so common today and a big reason is a change in culture. Let us not look at foot washing but at what Jesus was showing his disciples. He was teaching them how to serve and he said one of the disciples was not clean (spiritually). Serving was the topic today in my church. The pastor did a great job with his sermon but I want to look at it from a different perspective and what I believe the Lord showed me today.

Jesus said: "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you." (The one who was not clean was Judas). I believe as Christians we should be clean (our spiritual body) as if we have had a bath that cleans the inside. The only thing that should need cleaning each day are the feet that walk through the dirt (evil) of this earth. Jesus will keep you clean from head to toe if you ask him. We should continuously ask Jesus for forgiveness; to wash away whatever we dealt with today and make us totally clean. The world has dirt (evil) everywhere; we need to avoid allowing what we walk on (through) to make our bodies (spiritual) dirty.

Jesus forgive me and help me walk in righteousness.

Why I blog...

Blogging is a great way to express your opinion, but this is not why I blog. Blogging is a way to polish your writing skills, but this is not why I blog. So why do I blog? For me it's a way to share my faith and try to answer some of life's difficult questions. It's a way for me to try to encourage others and give them hope.

The internet allows for a global outreach of blogging and I want to do something positive with this opportunity. I am amazed and humbled how this simple blog is read by people all over the world.

I pray this blog has touched you in some small way. Many of you who have commented on my posts have really encouraged me to continue writing. Thank you for reading "Storms of Life" and may God bless you in all you do.

Sad times in the City...

Today 9 employees lost their jobs here in my town, USA. Around 24 employees lost their jobs within the last two years. This is very difficult for these men and women especially the recent ones with the holidays very near. With this post I ask you to pray for our town and these employees who are now facing hard times. Pray for their families and pray that they will find employment quickly. Pray for the leaders of our community that God will give them wisdom. I will not go into the details here but people are hurting and need a touch from God.

Would you give 1 minute to pray for this need? I appreciate you and want to thank you for reading my blog.

God bless you and yours...

"No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you." Joshua 1:5

Trick or Treat...

The purpose of this post is not to get into a theological debate on whether or not "Trick or Treating" is evil. I'm sure you have an opinion but you will have to go to another blog if that's your intent. The idea that I want to talk about is giving and receiving. Give me some candy or I'll be mad and toilet paper your house. Should we give just to avoid making someone mad resulting in a negative outcome? Or do we give expecting something in return? Our society is centered on a mindset of whatever I give, should guarantee a good return for my investment (gift) in the end. "I'm not going to give them a gift this year for Christmas because they did not get me anything last year!!" "They only spent $20.00 on me for my birthday so I'm not going to buy them that $30.00 item that I know they want." What is wrong with people? When did we become so self-centered or selfish?

More than likely we have all felt this way at sometime in our life. Hopefully it was when you where a child and not yesterday. When I am able to give it leaves a warm feeling in my heart. Lord help me to give to others without expecting anything in return. The best way to get into that habit and way of thinking is to give to people when they least expect it. A month before their birthday (and then again on their birthday) for example.

Pray that the Lord will show us that is act of giving is better that the receipt of a gift. Who knows better about giving than our Lord who gave his all for us. Do we sometimes "Trick or Treat" with God? "God if you give me what I want I will serve you more; if you don't then I will pout and be mad." We have nothing to bargain with when it comes to God. He owns everything and he can do anything. God wants our love and he wants you to share the gifts he's given you. Let's start giving...

14.4 minutes...

Elvis Presley was the King of Rock -N- Roll. He had the world in his hands. He was born in 1935, sold over one billion records, was nominated for 14 Grammy Awards (won 3) and made 33 successful films. He died in 1977, he was 42.

John F. Kennedy was the 35th President of the United States. He was born in 1917 and was assassinated in 1963, he was 46.

Both of these men reached the goals they had made for themselves. They worked hard to succeed and gave up much in the process. Life often opens doors for us but is it always best to walk through those doors. I know neither Elvis or President Kennedy believed they would die at such an early age. Both men sacrificed things that were important to them for what they felt was success. Their lives were filled with times of despair and anguish. We all suffer at times in our lives as well but the question becomes what is priority in our life. Is career the most important aspect or is it our health or our family. Do we put God first and if so what does that mean to us. I would say most people do not put God first in their lives. If you believe in tithing (giving 10% to God) do you only tithe your money? I have problems with this Old Testament law as I have spoken about before on this blog. If you do believe in tithing then what about your time; do you then give 10% of your time to God? Is going to church the answer? It helps but doesn't your true ministry to others and the Lord begin when you walk outside those church doors.

OK, back to Elvis and Kennedy. When they stand before God, it will not matter that they were a famous singer or the President. What will matter is, were they right with God. I do not know if they were ready to meet their savior or not. Only God knows this. Did they do as much as possible to win people to the Lord that were lost? Only God will judge this.

Peggy Ann Donovan was my mother. She was 27 when she died. She was a righteous woman and served the Lord with all of her heart. Because of her I serve the Lord today.

Do you give God your best effort in serving him or is it 10% or even 1%? 1% of your day is 14.4 minutes. Think about it... 14.4 minutes a day focused on God; I challenge you to start with 1% and see where God leads you.

God bless you!

The 2008 Presidential Election...

McCain/ Palin? Obama/ Biden? Who are you going to vote for (don't tell me)? Life is all about choices and this year a historic election is rapidly approaching. Do you make your decision based on personal values, the state of the economy, the war in Iraq, the life of unborn babies or something else. Do you listen to the rederic of campaign commercials, the content of debates or the history of the candidate and his ability to lead. I am so tired of the negative campaigning and I'm begining to wonder if there is an honest political person left in our country. How can some candidates who disagreed so adamately against the two current contenders now speak of how great of a president they would make. I see through this hypocracy but apparently some do not. This is a very important election. Pray for wisdom and really examine the person you support. Time will tell if the people have made a grave mistake in 2008.

Fall...

I love fall. After a hot summer the cooler temperatures are very welcome. The trees with their leaves exploding in a array of splendid color is just beautiful. But, after the leaves are all gone the tree is bare. Could you imagine if your life was exposed (like the tree) for all to see how you really are? You may not be hypocritical but people are not perfect so mistakes and bad judgment calls are made. It is by God's grace and his mercy that we are given chance after chance to improve. Ask God to help you each day and if you make a mistakes learn from them. God loves us and wants us to succeed in our walk with him.

Goodbye for now Misty...

If you follow my blog you will remember a while back I asked you to pray for Misty LeBlanc. Prayers from all over the world went forth on behalf of Misty. Misty peacefully passed away last night. My heart aches for the family especially Darren, her loving and devoted husband. I do not know why with all of the prayers offered that God did not heal Misty. It's not that there was a lack of faith because many truly believed she was going to be healed. I do know that God loves us and wants us to trust him in all things including things we do not understand. Please pray for Darren, his daughter Olivia and the rest of the family during this very difficult time.

ummm, God is great, God is Good....

"God is great, God is good, let us thank him for our food... amen". A simple prayer often taught to children. Now don't get me wrong, children know how to pray with faith, but we are all grown up and are we still praying the same way? God help sister Jones, she is dying, help my children, forgive me for being bad today... amen. Are we really serious with God? Do we wonder why our prayers are not being answered? Maybe, just maybe, our prayers are not coming with a fervency showing we mean business with God almighty. Almost all of the prayers I have prayed, that were answered, were when I was totally focused on my request to a point of desperation. God knows I'm serious and he sees my total dependence on him. It is then that I see God move in my life. God has never failed me. He still answers prayer today but we must seek him in a way that shows what we are praying for, is really important to us.