A view about manhood

From July 16th through the 19th, I was listening to comments from James McDonald (Walk in the Word) from Exodus chapters 3 and 4. Little did I know that there was direct purpose behind these comments preparing me for something unexpected. The comments dealt with God choosing Moses for a specific task. Moses comments from Exodus 4:10 were "Please Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue." Moses didn't know why God would chose him as His spokesman. The point is that it doesn't matter who we are apart from God, or what we do for a living- all that matters is who God is. He is all knowing, all powerful, and always present God. I had worked for Schmidt Builders Supply for over 30 years until July 19th. On that day I found out that this day would be the last day Schmidt would be open for business. I was in unbelief for an extended period of time. This hit me har...

Growing up, I struggled with patience. I always wanted it (whatever it is) and wanted it now. Over time, I have been able to overcome this struggle. It still rears its ugly head ever so often- too often for my comfort. I even chose where to live in relation to my place of employment based on the number of stop signs and stop lights. If your keeping score- two stop signs on the way to work and none on the way home (and no stop lights either way). If you struggle like I do I have an idea. If you think setting at red lights are a waste of time (but also want to uphold the authority of law), every red light you come to stop as you normally would but turn right when your patience wears thin. This will take care of the red light patience problem but will create a new set of problems. You'll need to plan on never getting where your going- or at least be extremely late.

The following is from Phillip Cosby (American Family Association of Kansas and Missouri): On May 4th the Kansas Senate voted to stop the Community Defense Act (CDA) from becoming law in Kansas. Ignoring the House of Representatives overwhelming vote in favor of CDA, the Senate with a 17-22 vote rejected the CDA. The Senate decided that protecting Sexually Oriented Businesses (SOBs) trumps protecting all Kansas communities. Missouri legislators did protect their communities last year. But in Kansas, for two years in a row now the Kansas Senate refuses to heed the evidence, the court rulings and the common sense logic of the majority of the people in Kansas who support CDA. We owe Sen. Steve Abrams a big thank you. Senator Abrams of Arkansas City showed great courage in forcing a vote on CDA today. Yesterday, Senate leadership opposed and ruled to deny a vote on CDA but Sen. Abrams found a way to get their name on the line and procedurally, forced a vote. See how your S...

Most people relate this in terms of money. Money has been a huge issue on most people's minds-mine included. I'm using the term today in terms of time. When we reached daylight savings time, my expectations were that I would have time to catch up on some chores around the yard. Today begins another week of not getting home before the sun goes down. This cycle will probably continue another 4-5 weeks. Well at least I have weekends, but at this point are over half committed. Like most people,  I need to set priorities on the activities I'm involved in and cut some out. I need to look at my motivation for doing them and use that to figure out what gives. Do I do them because they "need" done? Do I enjoy what I'm doing? Or Do I really love what I'm doing? If I'm doing them because they need done, is there someone else that could take care of this and would love doing it? If I could cut these "need to" items out I would get more joy out of life. I...

Envy is an interesting word. It is usually used in a negative manner. Dictionary.com defines it as: a feeling of discontent or covetousness with regard to another's advantages, success, possessions, etc. I wish I had a house like my neighbors. My job isn't as good as his. Why would a good and loving God supply us with such an emotion? Let's say you see someone demonstrating the love of Christ in their life. You see a joy in their life that you wish you could have. Could it be we were created with this longing for something better because God wants us to be filled with that same joy? A supernatural joy like nothing in this world?

Most non-Christians consider it to be a crutch. Most Christians on the other hand take offense to the question. If you think about it, it is a crutch. A crutch as defined by Websters (a support typically fitting under the armpit for use by the disabled in walking), would make this question false. I put forth here that Christianity is indeed a crutch, which I would describe as simply a support, and that the question that should be asked is - "Do you need a crutch?"  The answer to this question should be in all cases should be yes. We all need something for a support. It could be a saving faith in Jesus Christ or it could be alcohol or a similar substance. Jesus Christ is the only "crutch" that has no permanent destructive side effects.There are "side effects" but these (pain and suffering for example) will end.

            I have a great job. I manage a lumberyard for a living. Our main customer base builds single family homes. One of the best things about my job is seeing people complete their projects and someone out there having a beautiful home to live in. This constructive process is very fulfilling. We also supply materials to hospitals, churches, and schools. We supply material to many constructive businesses. This also brings joy.             Another part of my job grieves me very deeply. It involves people that use these God given resources at the expense of others. It may be someone working around the law to get something for personal gain at others expense. It could be someone building a business that will hurt other businesses.   These businesses can also be a cancer on the community. These people blindly use these materials for their own gain, not thinking about wh...