He paid my debt...

As we near the Christmas holiday let us remember our Lord's humble birth as well as His great sacrifice. The Lord has been on my mind all day today. I am so thankful for His many blessings. Today I went out for lunch with my lovely wife. As we were finishing up our meal our waitress dropped off our check. Moments later she returned and said "someone has already paid for your meals". My wife and I were very touched that someone would do this. As I pondered this act of kindness I was reminded of another debt that was paid in full. Christ, the king of all kings gave of His life so I could live. He paid the ultimate sacrifice for the sin in my life. I was not worthy of this but He did it anyway. He loves us... Thank you Jesus.

Why?

Why does all this bad stuff happen to me? Why can't I catch a break? God when I pray, do you even hear me? I know I am not alone when it comes to questioning God. Often I feel like I know what's best so when I pray, it's just a matter of waiting for God to answer my prayer the way I want it to be answered. Sometimes He does but many times He does not... So I wonder WHY? Did I do something wrong? Does God want me to suffer? I prayed for that mountain (in the bible) to be moved but, nothing happens! Why, why, why...

Ever since Adam and Eve sinned and were removed from the Garden of Eden, God has been answering the prayers of His people. Many of those prayers were/ are answered but many are not... immediately anyway. When we pray we want the answer now. God does not operate on our time table. He always knows what's best for us and He always answers our prayers. Even when we do not see the answer, God is still working in our lives.  It all boils down to this, do you and I trust God?

God is our father, we are His children. God is all-knowing, we are not. God knows the future, we do not.  So when we pray we must trust God to answer our prayers by doing what is best for us.

Enter Blair...

Just like 2013, 2014 ended with sadness. My dad died in December 2013 and my step mom died in November 2014. Even though 2013 and 2014 had brought my family some storms involving death, illness and injuries, something very special occurred early this year (2015). Enter Blair... this young lady who we believe is 3-4 years old is now is my newest granddaughter. God has blessed my family with a wonderful little girl that has so much love to give. Her young life has been difficult at best with unfortunate circumstances forcing her to live in an orphanage in Uganda, Africa. She now lives with a new mommie (my daughter), daddy (son-in-law) and sister (my first granddaughter Ava). After a trying adoption process... Blair is now home; we love her so much.

Reaching for God

God, where are you? I need you! How often do you call out to God but wonder if he hears you? God does hear us and has not forsaken us but still often we feel abandoned from Him for one reason or another. Even Christ felt abandoned from His heavenly Father once. Remember when He cried out "My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?"(Matthew 27:46)? On the cross when Jesus took the sins of the world upon Himself, His Father could not look on Him so Christ felt alone.  When we reach out to God sometimes our sin can separate us from Him too. The good news though is when we reach out to the Lord seeking forgiveness He always hears us. You see more importantly than anything else, whether it's our need for help with finances, relationships or even our health God is most concerned with the condition of our spiritual lives. Because of Christ's death our sins can be forgiven and God's grace will show favor on us. 

What else can cause us to feel forsaken? Well first remember we will never be forsaken by God. So if we feel this way it is just that, a feeling and a lack of faith in God. My faith wanes too my friends and my actions help me to trust Him more. When I start to feel this way then I generally need to work on my relationship with Him. What do I need to do? Pray more, read the Word more and do more for God's Kingdom.

2013 Ended in Sadness... but, I am Blessed!

2013 started as any year with anticipation and hope for personal improvement. As time went on I found myself dealing with issues at work that caused much stress. These issues/ problems had nothing to do with the county I work in but ones that still had negative affects on the agency. After a few months the issues were resolved. Life is better...

Forward to October 15th (which by the way is the anniversary date of when I started my career working in emergency services ~ 34 years), my wife Carla had a risky surgery on her back (one of two needed). The doctors had a lot of difficulty performing this surgery. They decided against performing her second surgery and referred her to a neurosurgeon at another hospital. Then on November 20th she had the second surgery; she is still recovering. Carla suffers from many health related problems. I won't list them here but please pray for her. I will say this, Carla is a fighter. She exercises and continues to live life. If you didn't know she had health problems you wouldn't know by looking at her. She is a beautiful woman that loves her family and the Lord!

Forward to December 2nd, my daughter in law (Brooke) and granddaughter (Ella) were in a horrible accident. Shortly after dropping my grandson (Grayson) off at the babysitters, Brooke who is a school teacher lost control of her vehicle, hit a telephone pole and then a plank fence. Two planks of the fence went through the windshield. When my wife and I received the dreaded phone call it was the worst news possible. Praying on the way to the hospital, My wife, Jamie (my son, Brooke's husband and Ella's dad) first went to the room where Ella was located. Thank the good Lord she was OK, only minor scratches. Next Jamie and I headed to see Brooke. She had serious facial injuries and an injury to her right eye. As of today Brooke is doing but better and it is becoming less noticeable that she was even in an accident. She still has no vision with her eye but there is nerve damage and we are hopeful and praying. Thank you Lord for protecting my family.

Forward to December 6th, after breaking his hip my father (age 84) spent weeks in the hospital. In a lot of pain his health started to decline. He could not do his therapy much and after being transferred to a rehab facility eventually got pneumonia. We became encouraged because he started responding to the treatment for the pneumonia. Unfortunately my dad was not eating well. He was transferred to another rehab facility but it didn't help and he was dying. Per his wishes we brought him home. We had a hospital bed, oxygen and other equipment to care for him as well as home healthcare nurses. After a few weeks my dad went to see the Lord. I miss him.

So yes 2013 was a tough year; there were other issues but they seem like nothing compared to the end of the year. 

Forward to January 11, 2014, it is a new year. I thank the Lord because in spite of resent bad events I feel very blessed. Brooke and Ella are here and still in my life. Carla survived a surgery that many doctors had said was extremely risky; they were concerned because of her health problems that she could become paralyzed or hemorrhage and die during the surgery. 

Yes I am blessed!!!

Prayer Needed

Carla had surgery on her spine to help with the pain from a condition called Arachnoiditis. She is on her 4th day since the surgery. She is still in a lot of pain. She has 27 staples in her back that won't be removed until December 6.

My dad (84) who broke his hip a while back is not doing well at all. He is not eating and has lost a lot of weight. We have fixed his home living room like a hospital room. We have contacted home health. If he stayed where he is he was going to die. We are hoping coming home and eating home cooking will help; it is his only chance. This decision was made after talking to his rehab center's staff, his doctor's office and praying. He is very depressed where he is and wants to come home; today he is...

Please remember Carla and my dad in your prayers. God bless!

I Love Florida... I Love Kentucky...

We live in Kentucky and just returned from vacation in Florida. I really love Florida and have good reason to do so. I grew up in the sunshine state; I was about 1 month old when my family moved there from Kentucky. So, I had more sand in my shoes than clay.  I really enjoyed my early childhood years in Florida except for a major hurricane (honestly for me it was an adventure), the passing of my mother when I was 5 and the assassination of President Kennedy.

When I was 9 years old my dad, brother, sister and I moved back to Kentucky (my dad remarried). Most of the time I was in Kentucky I talked and dreamed of moving back to Florida. In 1977 a few months after I got married, we were living in Florida. So nice, so many palm trees... so HOT! We adjusted to the climate change, I eventually got a wonderful job on a great fire department in Sarasota, we had 2 beautiful children and met a lot of fantastic friends.

After 13 years on the West Coast of Florida we moved back to Kentucky. Now 24 years later I often think about what it would be like living back in Florida. Most of my friends live in Florida and the greatest fire department in the world is there but ... they are not looking for a few good (old) men.

So how would I like moving back to Florida? This year something has changed... when we flew out over Florida and I looked at the land below I saw a sparse dry flat terrain. Then as we were over Kentucky, everything was lush, green, hilly or mountainous and actually beautiful. Florida with the exception of the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean has a man-made manicured beauty while Kentucky has a natural beauty.

Now even without this new revelation I would never leave my children and grandchildren and move to Florida. I realize just how hard to please I am sometimes. I know that even though I'm happy with Kentucky right now, come this winter when we have ice and snow I would love Florida more again. 

The Lord wants us to concentrate on important things, not where we live or what we own. These things are nice but our relationship with Him and our families is and should be number 1. When we put God and our families first everything else will fall into place and we will be happy no matter where we are.

Unbelief...

How are you today? We all struggle like the disciples did. One difference is they walked and talked with Jesus. They witnessed His miracles. So I guess it's OK to have some unbelief, right? Nope, we need to work on this. How? Our faith will strengthen as we trust the Lord. Sounds easy doesn't it? Not convinced, think of your relationship with someone you love. As that relationship grows and you begin to truly trust that person your "faith" in them grows. If either one of you hurts the other, the trust/ faith in them fades. One big difference with our Lord is He will never hurt you. So if the trust/ faith seems to vanish it can only be our fault. You are not alone, I struggle often. Let's pray for each other.

In life's journey, you are never alone...

In life's journey you are never alone. God is near; He will come as close as you let Him. There was a time when God actually talked directly to man.  There was a time when God actually walked among men. Now we live in a time where God's Spirit desires to live in man, to help him, to love him and to give him peace. Still we have a free will to accept or reject God. The troubles of this world are not God's fault but the results of our free will.

Burnout or something else...

After 33 years working in emergency services I've seen a lot, probably too much. I've seen people hurt from stabbings, shootings, abuse, assault... from minor to fatal wounds. I've seen people burned from sunburn to completely burned up. I've had brothers and friends serving the public who were injured or died and those who couldn't handle it any longer, commit suicide. I've seen tragic accidents be no respecter of persons by killing the young, old, rich and poor. I've seen mothers and fathers scream and cry from the death of a child and had to be the one to tell them they were gone. I've seen cars, planes, boats, businesses and homes destroyed. I've had people die in front of me. I have been there when there was one, two or many deaths at one time. I have seen hate in just about all forms. I have seen evil displayed in ways that I could not have ever imagined. I have been injured myself, burned, spit on, screamed at, hit, had to fight to survive, fought emotional and political battles. I have tried to explain to those that did not understand what we do or why we are even needed. I have had to justify my job and to be honest, it grows old. Most in emergency services if they are healthy retire somewhere between 20-25 years on the job. Some work longer or stick with it because they desire to continue beyond the odds and keep trying to help. Some are forced to work longer out of necessity because of the cards they were dealt in life.


I have been a been a paramedic, firefighter, fire officer, Emergency Management Director, worked in rescue, law enforcement and homeland security. I have worked in small towns and communities to larger cities and counties. I have been elated on my job and have been heart broken. I have been so excited for the future and burned out, ready to quit. I have been on call so long that I almost forget what it feels like to not have to make plans for someone to cover for me if I want to go somewhere or do something outside of work.


Now don't feel sorry for me because thousands of men and women do this very same job. But... imagine if you will how Christ felt and still feels because he did so much more than any of us. He loves the murderer and the murdered and the abused child as well as the abuser. He actually hurts more than the parents who lost their child because He is the father of both. He is fighting the evil in a fierce battle that only Heaven's elite forces can see. We are here for a short time. I want to do well while I'm here but I fall so short. I get angry, frustrated, I sin, I doubt, I just fail! One thing though, I will never be perfect even if mankind expects me to be. I am covered by the grace of God, the blood of Christ and that's all I need. God loves me and He's got my back!

Update on Carla...

I would like to thank those who have been praying for Carla. Her health has not improved but her desire to live life to the fullest is as strong as ever. She has applied for disability and has been denied twice which in itself boggles our mind. The ones that make the decisions ignore the opinions of her specialists and want her to go back to work. She is physically unable. With her numerous surgeries, her loss of vision, her inability to use her hands for more than a very limited amount of time and her not being able to sit very long at all, I just do not understand what they are thinking? Then we see so many on disability abusing the system that have not worked hardly a day in their lives. 

Please continue to pray for her. She is getting discouraged but even so fights her disease and the system that fights against her. I do not want her to work again and I would never ask her to do so; besides she simply cannot. It is too hard on her and she deserves to enjoy life. I know God is in control and these challenges make us stronger. Looking at Carla and how she deals with her personal issues sometimes I think I am the weaker one. 

Thanks again for your prayers. God bless each of you.

My Gift From God...

As I sit here typing before 5am I am thinking of my wife and how blessed I am. She has always been there for me. She is a loving mother and grandmother who would do anything for her family. She takes care of the home, cleans like nobody I know and works until she is ready to physically drop. But now she is in pain, she has many health problems that the doctors say there is no cure. It breaks my heart.  She has recently had to quit her job and I am glad she could. You would not know by looking at her that anything is wrong but I see her suffer. Please pray for her.

God I ask you to intervene.

Thank you for your prayers...

Christmas Time...

Christmas, families coming together, children laughing, a time of joy for many. Christmas trees, lights, presents, music, excitement in the air, yes it's Christmas. The birth of Jesus, the savior of the world, the giver of peace, the hope for a lost world, the reason for this Christmas season.

But wait... so many are sad, hurting, not feeling the excitement or the joy. They have forgot the reason for the season because we have forgot them. "We are the hands and feet of Jesus," but yet we wash our hands and walk the other way.

Show some kindness today whether it is just a smile, a helping hand, a dollar or a meal. God forgive us and help us to be more like you.

God is in Control...

I have been singing since I was a small child and playing the guitar since I was 13. The Lord opened a lot of doors for me and through those doors I went. I was able to sing and play for many years. I felt blessed and that the Lord was using me. But, for the last few years I feel like my guitar playing is suffering a major slump and the opportunities for me to sing have dwindled to nothing. I have become discouraged and wondered what's going on??? Years ago I made a commitment to sing for the Lord, so was King of Kings done with me? I've been spending a lot of energy trying to figure out what I am supposed to do.

Today the Lord revealed to me through the testimony of another person that He has everything under control. He wants me to spend more time with Him. Read his Word more, pray more and worship Him more. He will take care of the rest. God is in control...

Small Town Politics...

Moving from a vibrant city to a small town in the rolling hills of the bluegrass over 20 years ago was a big culture change for me. It was nice in the sense that people were friendly and the community really seemed to get along regardless of your political party affiliation. This is not the case anymore. We now have 4 political parties; Democrats, Republicans, the Tea Party and the Independents. None of them like each other and even though this may have been true for many years the attacks are more visible and vocal than ever before. The Democrats secretly in some ways love the the Tea Party because it has split the Republican Party. Reading editorials in our local newspaper and some facebook comments you would think that our town had no one over the age of 12.

Georgetown, Kentucky is the fastest growing city and Scott County is the fastest growing county in the Commonwealth. With that said we are still relatively small when compared to cities like Lexington and Louisville. Being small but growing fast does cause us our problems; our growth is more residential than commercial. So, our infrastructure is being taxed without the revenue to support it. Now one would think that we would remember our past of how well the county and cities worked together. We were able to achieve great things with this cooperative working relationship. In fact Scott County was known statewide for how well it's cities and the county worked together. Think of a marriage, when you work as a united team good things happen, when you don't... well you know the outcome!

So what does Georgetown and Scott County do? What do all of the political parties do in this county that just can't make each other agree to their point of view (which of course is the only way to do things)? I believe the first step is to stop where you are and remember the past! Your present actions are not working. You are causing a division in this county that is not healthy to it's future. Learn to work together. Remember two of the things you learned in kindergarten, share everything and play fair.

When I moved to this community I thought it would be peaceful but it has been anything but peaceful. I still have hope for Georgetown and Scott County but it's up to it's people and the ones they elect as their leaders.
I know this is a stray from my normal posts but it is something that weighs heavy on my mind. I really hate politics. The political party I am affiliated with has betrayed me but that's OK. You know I don't live my life for politics as many do; I love my family and I love my Lord.
“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5

I Need a Vacation...

Tomorrow morning we leave for Florida. Back to the place I grew up, back to the place where my children were born and back to where so many of my good friends live. This year has been a stressful year and it's only May. It seems like every year is in competition with the last to be more stressful. I don't know what's going on but sometimes I feel like my stress level is about to peg-out!
So what do we do about stress? Do we go to our friends? Sure, friends can help but they can also let you down if you put too much faith in them. Remember they are human just like you and they can get stressed just like you. Do we go to our church? Well just like our friends, the human side eventually comes through. Wow you say! This guy is depressing!! So what is a stressed out man/ woman/ young person to do? The bible says: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

We really need to trust the Lord more, rely on Him more and put our faith in things and people less; after all haven't we already tried that? I know I have...

Time for life...

Sometimes it just seems that my life is just flying by so fast that I hardly have time to catch my breath. There is an old saying that you need to "stop and smell the roses" and it is so true. The first twenty years of my life as I reflect on them took forever to pass. The next twenty passed a little quicker and the next ten just vanished. Now I find myself thinking about the years I have left and I don't want to waste them. None of us though are promised tomorrow or even today. Think about all the hours we waste on saying stupid hurtful things to our loved ones (and why, are we just tired?). Think about the hours and days we waste on TV or selfish things that steal time from our families or our walk with the Lord. Nothing is wrong with some "me" time as long as "they" don't forget who "me" is... Don't waste another moment! Watch your words! Love, enjoy your life...

Merry Christmas...

Only a few days until the world celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. I know many actually celebrate anything but his birth. It is a carnal celebration of lights, music, gifts and food. There is nothing wrong with these things as long as we take time to remember our Savior just like we take time to remember those in our families when they have birthdays. Then we should really take it a bit further to remember the Lord just like we would someone in our family who died saving our life. "Wait" you say, "I would never celebrate the birthday of a loved one who died; it would just be too sad!" I agree with you but what if your loved one rose from the dead? Christ did! He's alive!! His Spirit is here with us and when we celebrate His day, He knows it and He celebrates with us. When we pray "any" day He knows and He hears our every word. Remember Him this CHRISTmas...
Happy Birthday Jesus!

Have you ever wondered if we're missing it?

"It's crazy if you think about it. The God of the universe — the Creator of nitrogen and pine needles, galaxies and e-minor — loves us with a radical, unconditional, self-sacrificing love. And what is our typical response? We go to church, sing songs, and try not to cuss.

Whether you've verbalized it yet or not... we all know something's wrong. Does something deep inside your heart long to break free from the status quo? Are you hungry for an authentic faith that addresses the problems of our world with tangible, even radical, solutions? God is calling you to a passionate love relationship with Himself. Because the answer to religious complacency isn't working harder at a list of do's and don'ts — it's falling in love with God. And once you encounter His love, you will never be the same. Because when you're wildly in love with someone, it changes everything."

"With an urgency that seeks to awaken a sleeping church mired in the comfort of middle ground, Crazy Love gets to the heart of the matter and leaves you wanting more — more of the matchless Jesus who offers radical life for all." — LOUIS GIGLIO, director of Passion conferences

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