Stories and other stuff

I'm seeing God do some pretty amazing stuff in my life.  I mean that.  Stuff I would have never thought possible, in fact.  But that's God!  He can, and does frequently surprise me. This happened to me yesterday:  I was sitting at a stoplight and I hear that still, small voice ask me, "What do you see?"  I wasn't really looking for anything at that particular moment, but I started looking around and noticed this on a license plate:  HELOVESU Nothing will make your day like God telling you He loves you.  That really made my day! I'm seeing prayers answered in others' lives, too.  My friend had an answer to his prayer about some opportunities God put in front of him and I think that's cool, even if it's only temporary.  I'm seeing Him answer mine in ways that maybe I didn't intend, but nonetheless, answered in the way He intended to. This prayer challenge thing I'm taking has really changed me.  And I just can't even find the ...

I was blessed to give the sermon today at Ogden First Baptist Church.  It will be beneficial to read Matthew 26:36-46 before you read the message.  At our church, the Scripture reading immediately proceeds the sermon.  I hope it's a blessing to you.   I’m so excited to share with you this message today.  As is the case, it’s not MY message.  In fact, last Sunday at 10:15, right before I got in the shower, I had another message in mind.  I had the supporting Bible verses picked out and everything.   But I got a different direction from the Holy Spirit, and  by 12:15 last Sunday I understood why:  Steve talked about a lot of what I was planning to say. A few minutes ago, we prayed together, what is commonly known as the “Lord’s Prayer”. We just heard from the Gospel of Matthew, another of the prayers our Lord Jesus prayed, not once but three times: Father, if it be possible,let this cup pass from me; nevertheles...

So, there I was is a common phrase among aviation types; it's often followed by the words "at 30,000 feet".  It's a story starter for something that usually involves the sudden onset of calamity and usually has a satisfactory ending. So, there I was, laying on the bed, talking with God and discussing something about His changing plans.  God does that sometimes, I think, but for reasons I never understand.  I'd earlier made a comment while mopping the floor abut just once having an answer to a prayer that I expected. But the thought that the Holy Spirit shared with me is this:  What fun would that be? I'm two weeks into this prayer challenge and all I can say is WOW!  Before the start of it, I'd asked God what He was up to in my life.  That's kind of a prayer, by the way, and all He would tell me was that He wasn't gonna tell me because I wouldn't believe it. He was right. I'm having coffee with a friend tomorrow.  That's proba...

I was kind of excited this morning.  I was invited to have coffee with some of the guys at my church so I got up early, got ready, and joined them at  9 at our local McDonald's. I was so not ready for this. Want to know who has coffee at McDonald's at nine?  Old guys.  The place was full of old guys having coffee or breakfast.  Most of them were alone. I had a good chat with the guys, but I have to admit to wanting to set up an online date with a twenty-something young woman afterward.  But, as my whatever the hell she is to me these days said last night, what would we have to talk about? I feel it most days physically. Back is junk, shoulder is worn out.  Knee and ankle have been repaired surgically.  But I don't see it in the mirror.  I still see me, with that same zest for life, albeit with much different attitudes.  I'm so not ready for old. Of course I'm kidding about the 22 year old.  I have enough problems and that'...

Hoo, boy!  Where do I even start today's post? I'll start with yesterday.  I've been asked to deliver the sermon at old Ogden First Baptist on Sunday.  And like usual, I had what I wanted to talk about and God had some other ideas.  I can tell you honestly that I've re-written this message more than any other, and they're not my own ideas. The idea for the theme came to me as I was getting ready to take a shower before church yesterday.  I had my Bible verse all picked out and was ready to go.  By the time I was out of the shower, I was scrambling to find the verses in Matthew for the new topic. I like this idea better.  It fits more with lent and it fits with where I'm at today, which is, kind of at a crossroads not of my own making: What do I want and what does God want?  Right now, I have more questions than answers. Anyway, I'm taking a prayer challenge and I'm so glad I am, because I have a lot of answers about the things I notice h...

If there's one thing I'm guilty of, it's that I tend to hoard instruction manuals.  Every now and again, I have to go on a purge binge to clean out manuals for things I don't have anymore.  I keep them because you never know when you're gonna need them. I had a wood working project today.  Someone asked me if I could fix something for them, and it turned out that, yes, I could.  I have a lot of wood working tools and today I got to use a couple of the infrequently used tools, like my jig saw, my tabletop belt/disc sander, and my table router. I haven't used the router for a VERY long time.  It had been so long, I had to get out the manuals for the table and the router just to change the bit.  Fortunately, I not only knew where the router table was, but the tools and bits were right where I put them.  And the manuals were right where they were put as well.  A quick read, some figuring out, and viola' I was able to round the edges of the boards ...

It's snowing.  Fortunately, I own a snowblower.  I started it the other day when it was warmer.  It fired right up.  Today, though, it did not, in part I think, because it's much colder than it was and it had old gas in it. Fortunately, my snowblower has electric start and I have extension cords to fit it.  Unfortunately, the last time I tried to start it with the electric start, the starter turned but did not engage the flywheel. I make a living fixing stuff, so I looked it over when it was warmer, and noticed that the starter bolts were loose and one was missing.  I was able today to tighten up one of the bolts which held the starter in place so it would turn the motor over and after a couple of attempts, I had an operating snowblower. I helped out my neighbor who was doing it the old fashioned way.  But things being what they are, I had to get gas for the thing.  Ethanol gas is bad for small engines so I had to take a road trip to get gas...