Frustration...

As I get older I find myself getting frustrated much more easily. I do not like this new trait of mine and wonder if soon I will be chasing children out of my yard and calling everyone under the age of 30 a whippersnapper. I know part of my frustration is caused by my 15 year struggle with migraines. I have a hard time relaxing when I'm in pain so much.

With this post I am reaching out for help. Please pray for me that God will heal me and also please share ways you have learned to take things in stride. I deal with a lot of stressful situations and have been doing so for the almost 30 years of my public safety career. In doing my job I have learned to cope with difficult situations. Those situations are not a problem for me, it's the day to day pressures that are a part of living in an imperfect world that tend to get me irritated.

Thank you...

What did you do with my Mother?

We were at church and my Mother started feeling bad. I was 5 years old and I remember this day as if it were yesterday. My dad took my mom to the hospital. My brother (7 years old), my sister (9 years old) and I went with my aunt. Later we arrived the hospital and were greeted by our pastor. He said she is gone. I thought about what he said. We drove away and saw my dad crying on the hospital steps. My next recollection is in the funeral home. My dad and I went into the viewing room. There was a casket. We approached it and inside was a female with blonde hair (my mom had dark, almost black hair). I asked why did they dye her hair? Later... where did they take my mom? She was gone...

Life is short. My Mother was there one moment and then gone the next. She was 27 years old. I use to think I would die before I turned 27. I thought it would happen, but it didn't. Even though God is not finished with me yet, there is no guarantee for tomorrow. We should live our lives as if today is our last. If we knew that we would die tomorrow, what would we do differently today? I bet we would at the very least make sure we are right with the Lord and we would spend the last hours with our family. Money would not be important to us, nor would be our "stuff".

I think we need to re-evaluate what is important to us. God and our family should be number 1. As a wise person once said... "there are many tomorrows but only one today". But, what if there was no tomorrow... did you waste today?

I'm sorry I failed you...

It was a typical day at the fire station. The claxton sounded and I boarded the fire engine and off we went, lights flashing and sirens blasting. On arrival we found a two story apartment building with smoke bellowing from it. My mission was, go to the second floor and complete a search for people. With a charged (filled with water) hose line my fire company started up the stairs. I was either in front or second as we approached the second floor. A baby crib was at the top of the stairs. Then it happened, something that firefighters never want to happen, the hose went limp. We lost our supply of water. The smoke was thick but I could see the crib on the stair landing, I grabbed it and told my men to go back down the stairs (later realized the crib was empty). You never want to go into a burning structure without your lifeline (a charged hose). As my head cleared the level of the second floor and I was half-way down the stairs the roof collapsed and blocked the second floor landing. When we got back outside, the fire engine pump operator was noticeably upset and started apologizing to me for losing water. I said, hey don't apologize, if you had not lost water causing our fire hose to go limp we would have not backed out and would have more than likely been killed when the roof collapsed.

He felt like he had failed us but God used him to save us.

Remember God is in control. We will never know how many times he has saved us from harmsway. Trust him, he has not and will not ever fail you!

Saint Patrick's Day...

As one of the earliest Christian missionaries traveling abroad to spread the Christian faith, Saint Patrick is important because he serves as a testament to the overall missionary legacy of the Church. His example afforded later Christian missionaries the opportunity to assess the best methods to employ when confronting pagan groups abroad. Perhaps the most significant aspect of Saint Patrick’s missionary efforts in Ireland was that he transcended the boundary between Church hierarchy and prominent Church Fathers in terms of the viability of missionary pursuits. Saint Patrick proved that any Christian could live out the Scriptural commandment to spread the word of God while “exalting and confessing his wonders before all the nations that are under the heavens." Patrick’s example would inspire later missionaries to undertake great missions to evangelize abroad in later years. (Wikipedia)

March 17, 2009 is Saint Patrick's Day. What does this day mean to you? Is it a day to celebrate a mans life or is it just an opportunity to party and wear green? There is nothing wrong with in my case remembering my heritage or wearing my favorite color green. But, I think so many times we celebrate holidays with fun being our primary focus.

Christmas = Gifts
Easter = Candy and the bunny
Saint Patrick's Day = Drinking and the color green

I guess I'm saying this to tell you something you should already know. Before you party take time to reflect on the true meaning of each holiday. As Christians, Christ should always be our main focus.

My encounter with demons...

Can the dead come back and visit as ghosts? I believe the answer to that question is no. Once you die your spirit does not roam the earth looking for people to scare. So what about those encounters with the spooky images and noises some people refer to as ghosts? I believe there are two types of supernatural beings that are present on the earth. Evil spirits and/or demons and good spirits (not really a spirit) called angels. The Bible says one third of the angels were cast out of heaven with Satan. So those angels are around doing the devil's evil deeds.

When I was around 18 years old I had a scary and unusual experience. I was singing and playing the guitar in a Christian coffee house. The owner of the establishment asked me if I would pray with him for a young man who had come into the house. He said the young man thought he was demon possessed. I had recently seen the movie " the Exorcist" so fear swept over me. I reluctantly said yes. I put down my guitar and the three of us went upstairs to a room used for prayer. After I had been praying for a short time, I opened my eyes and looked at the young man. I could not believe my eyes. I saw two figures above his head laughing and dancing. Above them was what I can only describe as a very evil presence. The two figures started reaching for me. I was scared, shocked and doubted what I had seen; I closed my eyes and continued praying. After we were done praying the young man left and I started to tell the man that was with me what I saw. He stopped me and said he had something to tell me. He said he saw two figures above the young man and before they could reach over and touch me a dove landed on my head, opened his wings and they disappeared. I was beside myself. I explained what I saw and that his story validated mine. I believe the dove represented the Holy Spirit's protection on my life. I have had some other demonic type experiences but what happened at the coffee house years ago on that particular day tops them all. You may say that you find his very hard to believe and if you do I don't blame you because I doubted it myself. It took someone else seeing what I saw to make a believer out of me.

I believe there are spiritual battles occurring all the time, we just can't see them. I am thankful that God's Holy Spirit protected me that day and continues to do so. We do not need to fear demons or Satan. Demons fear the very name of Jesus. Let Christ fight your battles and you will live a victorious life.

Lord, keep me humble...

So there I am getting ready to sing before a large group of people and I lose my voice, my musical equipment fails or some other malfunction makes me look like a dork. When this happens I smile and say "the Lord is keeping me humble." A few years back I would have gotten very upset. The reason I got upset was that I worried people would not like my singing. Pride got in the way of my service to the Lord. If I am worried more about my performance and less about reaching others for him there is a problem. Every time I pick up a microphone or play my guitar I desire it to be for the glory of God. I want to see others turn their life over to him. I can either be a part of that process or be a hindrance to it.

Christians what is your motive? Is it to serve God or to serve and uplift yourself? Ask God to help you keep your motives pure. This is my desire and I pray it is yours.

Debris, debris, debris...

Kentucky was hit hard by a snow/ ice storm resulting in fallen trees, limbs scattered, and power lines down. Most of the power lines have been restored but the debris will be around for a while. When we have storms in our life they tend to cause damage as well. We may be able to repair just enough to keep us going but often there is debris (baggage) left that takes a lot of work to get rid of.

God help us to let go of the past and to focus on our future (with you). By your mercy we are forgiven, by your grace we are protected, by your love we will have everlasting life.

Disaster in Kentucky...

It has been a difficult time for people who live in Kentucky. Several inches of snow and up to an inch of ice blanketed the state causing thousands to lose electric, closed schools and caused numerous accidents. My heart goes out to those who are suffering from the frigid temperatures.

Many thanks to the emergency responders and the electric utility companies. Companies traveled long distances to come to Kentucky to assist local utilities in restoring the electric service. Most worked 16 hour days going well beyond the call of duty. Although the state has a long way to go to get things back to normal, much progress has been made. Kentucky's motto is "United we stand, divided we fall". The united efforts of many will return our state to it's pre-storm condition.

Pray for Kentucky; it's responders, utility companies, 911 Centers, nurses, doctors, road crews and the many others. Most of all pray for Kentucky's citizens.

Thank you.

It's cold outside...

Since Tuesday, January 27 I have been dealing with a significant snow fall and the results of a 3/4 inch ice storm. Much of our county is without electric thus causing many of our citizens to be without heat. We have set up a shelter but only a few have come to it. This is a lot like life itself. This world has it's problems; there is no doubt about that. People suffer from alcohol abuse, social problems, financial worries, their failures and many other things that cause them to lose hope. God has offered help to those who are in need. He has opened a "spiritual shelter" but most ignore it and stay in the cold. Their hearts are empty, they feel cold inside. Give God a chance, he will help you and will never abandon you...