In The Midst Of A Miami Storm!

When I first lived in Miami from 1991-1993, there were always trials & tribulations for me before &/or after significant spiritual moments in my life but we have a choice as to how we respond.

"While we may not be able to control all that happens to us, we can control what happens inside us." — Benjamin Franklin

A few years ago I found a folded up piece of notebook paper with SCRIPTURES hand written in cursive.  I wrote those verses 20 years ago after a second car of mine was stolen within a year.  At that time, a friend had driven down to visit me in Miami & I had all my clothes in my car as I was going to do laundry that day.  I also had all my Christian music, pictures from my various mission trips, etc., as I sometimes was asked by coaches to lead BIBLE studies or give a devotion on the spur of the moment.

Basically, I got a flat on I-95 as I travelled home from Miami Senior High School to North Miami-Dade County.  A flat tire shouldn't have been a big deal but I had a flat the day before & did not have time to get that repaired, so I made my way home & my buddy drove me back to where the car was.

Unfortunately, my car was gone in less than the 20 minutes since I had left it.  All of this happened shortly after the devastation of Hurricane Andrew & I vividly remember the majority of people crying & screaming that they had worked their entire lives for their homes/things & now it was all gone & they didn't know what to do.

However, there were a few people who thanked the LORD that they still had a relationship with JESUS & their families were safe.

I often thought to myself, "It isn't too hard to be thankful in situations like that!" 

Word of advice, be careful what you say or think as the LORD may test you to see if you are able to handle losing all of the things you call dear in this world.

Now I had to get my bicycle fixed in order to pedal the 20+ miles to work the next day as it had been damaged in a hit a run accident when I flew over my handlebars & slid across the pavement on my knees.

That night was horrendous for me but I wrote out SCRIPTURES in cursive on the front & back of a piece of notebook paper as I knew that I had to read those truths over & over, even if I didn't feel like they were true at the moment.

I know that ALL of the BIBLE is TRUE . . . but I didn't feel like it was true at that moment. 

What's the difference? 

Feelings are never wrong . . . they are as many say, "It is what it is."

So, even when I am feeling frustrated & vexed, I am making the choice to believe that the LORD is still in control & HE has a plan for me.

Please believe that those SCRIPTURES I wrote so long ago, would encourage me & you whenever we are discouraged & in the midst of an emotional or mental or physical or spiritual storm!

Why do I believe that something like that is possible?

The day after I wrote those SCRIPTURES, I was asked to go to the bleachers on the practice fields at Miami High to be in charge of detention so that any students who were late to class or disciplined by their teachers would be punished by sitting out in the hot Miami sun.

Wouldn't you know that 3 of the toughest, most disrespectful students spent a couple hours out there with me. 

One of them asked me, "How are you doing today?"

I replied, "I'm not doing too well as my car was stolen yesterday." 

This student look puzzled & said, "Quit teasing me, your car was not stolen." 

I replied, "Yes it was.  I wouldn't joke to you about something like that."

What happened next is something that I will never forget. 

"There is no way that your car was stolen because you are the same today as you were yesterday. How is that possible? You should be angry & mad but you're the same as you always are. How do you do that?"

I sure didn't feel the same as I had spent many hours crying out to the LORD!

As tears began to well up in my eyes & my hands began to tremble, I asked them if they really wanted to know why I am different, they should read this & I pulled the folded up piece of notebook paper out of my pocket & gave it to them.

They sat down to read & as they did it was all I could do to keep myself from uncontrollably sobbing as there were 3 young people who were reading GOD's WORD with the desire to understand the truth.

Who cares if I had to have another car stolen?  

At that moment, I began praying for the HOLY SPIRIT to open up the minds, hearts, souls, & spirits of these students to understand that our HEAVENLY FATHER loves them & cares for them.

They never would have listened to Billy Graham or Martin Luther King or Tony Evans or whomever you think is one of the best evangelists/preachers/teachers in the world!

They had never been to a church & they sure wouldn't have read these SCRIPTURES out of a BIBLE . . . but they were reading the WORD of GOD.

I had spent many nights crying out to the LORD, asking HIM to do whatever it takes to make the young men & women understand that JESUS is our SAVIOR & HE is also our LORD.

I believe that the only time the HOLY SPIRIT gives people who don't yet have a relationship with JESUS discernment & wisdom about SCRIPTURES, is when they are seeking the truth!

These young people were reading BIBLE verses to understand why I was the same today as I was yesterday.

Let me tell you, I didn't feel the same at all.

But guess what?

"JESUS CHRIST is the same yesterday & today & forever." ― HEBREWS 13:8

They weren't seeing me at all!

They saw JESUS in me & HE never changes!

May the truths of these 11 SCRIPTURE passages that I wrote on a simple piece of notebook paper many years ago, once again encourage me & may they also be a blessing to you, if not now, then sometime in the future when you are frustrated & feeling down.

"The LORD GOD is my strength; HE makes my feet like the feet of a deer, HE enables me to go on the heights." — HABAKKUK 3:19

JESUS replied, "You do no realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand." — JOHN 13:7

When HE heard this, JESUS said, "This sickness will not end in death.  No, it is for GOD's glory so that GOD's SON may be glorified through it." — JOHN 11:4

"Grain must be ground to make bread; so one does not go on threshing it forever.  Though he drives the wheels of his threshing cart over it, his horses do not grind it.  All this also comes from the LORD ALMIGHTY, wonderful in counsel and magnificent in wisdom." — ISAIAH 28:28-29

"O house of Israel, can I not do with you as the potter does?" declares the LORD.  "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in MY hand." — JEREMIAH 18:6

"MY sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow ME." — JOHN 10:27

"Sing to the LORD, you saints of HIS; praise HIS holy name.  For HIS anger lasts only a moment, but HIS favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning." — PSALM 30:4-5

"GOD is not a man, that HE should lie, nor a son of man, that HE should change his mind.  Does HE speak and then not act?  Does HE promise and not fulfill?" — NUMBERS 23:19

Although the LORD gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them.  Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice saying, "This is the way; walk in it." — ISAIAH 30:20-21

"I know your deeds.  I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut.  I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept MY word and have not denied MY name.  I am coming soon.  Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown." — REVELATION 3:8 & 11

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the ROCK." — MATTHEW 7:24-25

May we all be filled with the JOY of the HOLY SPIRIT, the LOVE of JESUS, & the PEACE of our HEAVENLY FATHER!

GOD has commanded us to be strong & courageous!

"Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law MY servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your GOD will be with you wherever you go." ― JOSHUA 1:6-9

Whether we believe it nor not, there is a spiritual battle going on & we must be equipped to be victorious!

"Finally, be strong in the LORD and in HIS mighty power. Put on the full armor of GOD so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of GOD, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the SPIRIT, which is the word of GOD. And pray in the SPIRIT on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." ― EPHESIANS 6:10-18

We are able to stand in spite of whatever the devil may throw our way & in standing, the LORD is glorified because there is no earthly reason why we should still be filled with faith, grace, hope, joy, love, & peace.

Recently there have been moments of tears that almost overwhelm me.

"There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than 10,000 tongues. They are messengers of overwhelming grief & unspeakable love." ― Washington Irving

Be encouraged in the midst of trials & tribulations though as satan is not omnipresent like our Sweet Heavenly FATHER, so he has to choose his battles carefully & he will only spend time pestering people who are making a difference in the spiritual lives of others or are destined to do so!

Count it all joy!

"I pray for you, that all your misgivings will be melted to thanksgivings. Remember that the shadow a thing casts often far exceeds the size of the thing itself, especially if the light be low on the horizon & though some future fear may strut brave darkness as you approach, the thing itself will be but a speck when seen from beyond. Oh that HE would restore us often with that 'aspect from beyond,' to see a thing as HE sees it, to remember that HE deals with us as with sons." ― Jim Elliot

An amazing passage from the book "Shadow of the Almighty" was shared with me as I was preparing to live overseas to serve the LORD however HE so desired & it's by Jim Elliot who also wrote the last quote. This is from a letter written to his future bride when he thought getting married might get in the way of what the LORD's plans were for both of them!

"Dearest Betty, I charge you in the name of our Unfailing Friend, do away with all waverings, bewilderment, & wonder. You have bargained for a cross. Overcome anything in the confidence of your union with HIM so that contemplating trial, enduring persecution or loneliness, you may know the blessings of the 'joy set before.' 'We are the sheep of HIS pasture. Enter into HIS gates with thanksgiving, & into HIS courts with praise.' And what are sheep doing going into the gate? What is their purpose inside those courts? To bleat melodies & enjoy the company of the flock? No. Those sheep were destined for the altar. Their pasture feeding had been for one purpose, to test them & fatten them for bloody sacrifice. Give HIM thanks, then, that you have been counted worthy of HIS altars. Enter into the work with praise." — Jim Elliot

How can I do anything but praise the LORD after such profound words were shared with me so many years ago?

"Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Hallelujah!" — PSALM 150:6

I shall continue to praise the LORD through the storms that are sure to come.

"The storms of life are sure to come but a world without them would not be the same. As thunderstorms are necessary for flowers to bloom & trees to grow, they also light up the sky in a truly awesome light show. Yet, the sun shall break through the clouds, causing that which has just been watered to grow. May the SON break through all of our storms, causing us to shine & grow!" — BPK 

"Ready for the Storm" by Dougie MacLean

It's now Thursday October 23, 2014 & my wife & I are living in Key West, Florida exactly 18 months from when I originally posted this on my blog.

Rain, rain, & more rain has been falling throughout the Florida Keys the last few days & will probably do so for at least a couple of more & that is why I felt an urge to not only share "In The Midst Of A Miami Storm!" again but also to add a bit more which I pray will bless at least one person. 

"LORD make my way prosperous, not that I achieve high station, but that my life may be an exhibit to the value of knowing GOD." ― Jim Elliot

I hope & pray that the precious children that my wife & I were blessed to care for now understand the value of knowing GOD!

We did not not shove the gospel down their throats but we tried to live our daily lives in such a way that the house we all lived in became a "HOME!" where our sons & daughters not only felt safe physically but enjoyed being there despite their horrific circumstances because they felt joy & peace.

The first several months we were house parents at the FKCS, we would work 6 days & then have 3 days off as the respite house parents would be at the home.

However, they were eventually let go & I worked 5 months without a day off until I went to the STL for my Mom's funeral.

That left my wife caring for our children until I came back but that only lasted a couple of weeks before I had cervical surgery & 2 days later lumbar surgery which I only did so I could be more active physically with our sons & daughters.

I returned to work at the FKCS less than a month after my surgeries & that same day my wife & I were told that the FKCS no longer wanted us to be house parents.

That was extremely difficult & stressful & if I ever needed a hero, that was the time!

There is a man who was murdered 10 years before I was born & if I would call anyone a hero in this day & age, he would be it!

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." — Jim Elliot

Edward McCully, Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Peter Fleming, & Roger Youderian were speared to death on Palm Beach in the jungle of Ecuador in 1956.

"FATHER make me a crisis man. Bring those I come into contact with to decision. Make me not a milepost on a single road. Make me a fork, that men must choose one way or the other when facing CHRIST in me." — Jim Elliot

May the FATHER, JESUS & the HOLY SPIRIT be working in us & through us causing "Another Hallelujah" on a daily basis to be echoing throughout heaven as our lives profoundly touch yet another person with wisdom & understanding.

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Is My Life Meaningful?

Everyone in this world longs to be loved even if they don't admit it, yet very few people seem to trust others enough to be vulnerable & make their lives an open book.

"To be trusted is a greater compliment than being loved." ― George MacDonald

When our lives are filled with pain & frustration, that is when we need to trust the most!

Who is worthy of our trust?

Our families?

Our friends?

What about GOD?

"Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known GOD." ― Corrie ten Boom

"All I have seen teaches me to trust the CREATOR for all I have not seen." ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

For 5+ years I've suffered daily as nerve pain ravishes my body making even the simplest of tasks excruciatingly difficult & there has not been one second since the car accident where I've physically felt comfortable.

"But GOD doesn't call us to be comfortable. HE calls us to trust HIM so completely that we are unafraid to put ourselves in situations where we will be in trouble if HE doesn't come through." ― Francis Chan

I thought living in Miami from 1991-1993 was a testimony of trusting the LORD completely but the intensity of living & ministering in Medellín, Colombia took complete trust to a whole new level!

There were times while I was walking through the most dangerous "barrios" that the HOLY SPIRIT prompted me to not go down a certain street.

How did the LORD communicate that to me?

Was HE speaking directly to me?

In "Discovering El Salvador!" in 1990, my sweet heavenly FATHER filled me with supernatural joy, love, & peace.

I could write for days on end about joy, love, & peace without ever conveying what they truly are & feel like because the supernatural is beyond our capacity to fully describe.

However, I can tell you that all the money in the world falls drastically short of the value of joy, love, & peace!

After being so profoundly impacted by the presence of peace in me while in war ravaged El Salvador, I now pray for the LORD to take away that peace if I should do or not do things that HE wants me to do.

So, as I walked through the most dangerous city in the world Medellín, Colombia ... I was filled with peace but if there was danger ahead, that peace would start to leave until I made the necessary adjustment to keep that peace from slipping away because let me tell you, once you've known peace, you are completely miserable when it's gone!

There may be people who think sharing what we know or learn is a bit eccentric.

"Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric." ― Bertrand Russell

We are in good company if we are thought to be eccentric as all the so called knowledgeable people thought JESUS was eccentric!

"Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself." ― Robert Frost

I refuse to be silent about what the LORD prompts me to share, even if it costs everything & several times through various moments of standing firm on my beliefs & the testimony of who JESUS is & what HE has done, has cost me dearly in the financial realm.

However, I am so grateful for the FATHER's provision to me even though to some it may appear to be meager.

Millionaires & even billionaires have committed suicide because they are so empty & lack meaning in their lives!

I am thankful for each meal. I am thankful for my loving wife. I am thankful for each & every person that has been a part of my journey.

Most of all, I am thankful that my FATHER not only created me but saved me through HIS SON JESUS CHRIST & daily fills me with HIS supernatural joy, love, & peace via the HOLY SPIRIT living in me!

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, & more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today & creates a vision for tomorrow." ― Melody Beattie

My life is full & I have more than I need which is why I strive to encourage others on a daily basis.

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." ― William Durant

We can be excellent in our daily lives because we can overcome whatever may come our way through JESUS & our faith!

"For everyone who has been born of GOD overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that JESUS is the SON of GOD? This is HE who came by water & blood — JESUS CHRIST; not by the water only but by the water & the blood. And the SPIRIT is the one who testifies, because the SPIRIT is the truth." — 1 JOHN 5:4-6

All of us experience pain emotionally, mentally, physically, & spiritually but it's up to us as how we deal with it!

"You can't avoid pain, but you can choose to overcome it." ― Paulo Coelho

You may be thinking or yelling, "Easy for you to say!"

Really?

In the last 5 years:

I have not slept for more than 3 consecutive hours.

There have been several sleepless nights each month.

I'm awoken by muscle cramps in my calves so painful that I scream!

Just moving my arm feels like someone is stabbing my shoulder with a knife & twisting it to make sure it hits all the nerves!

As I shared before, being physically comfortable is a memory to me that is fading more & more each day because lying down, sitting, standing, or walking are all uncomfortable.

The simplest of tasks is extremely difficult as my fine motor skills seem to be destroyed as simply clasping a necklace sometimes takes 10 minutes or I can't even hold onto a pen to write a check.

I enjoy the variety of wildlife that either live on our lake or visit from the Atlantic Ocean or the Everglades but now I'm unable to throw a piece of bread more than 10 yards as it feels like someone is grabbing my arm & ripping it off as the burning sensation reverberates throughout my entire body!

So, how do I overcome all of that?

"The moment in which the mind acknowledges 'This isn't what I wanted, but it's what I got' is the point at which suffering disappears. Sadness might remain present, but the mind is free to console, free to support the mind's acceptance of the situation, free to allow space for new possibilities to come into view." ― Sylvia Boorstein

Does suffering ever truly disappear?

"GOD is calling us to live for the sake of CHRIST & to do that through suffering. CHRIST chose suffering; it didn't just happen to HIM. HE chose it as the way to create & perfect the church. Now HE calls us to choose suffering. That is, HE calls us to take up our cross & follow HIM on the Calvary road & deny ourselves & make sacrifices for the sake of ministering to the church & presenting HIS sufferings to the world." ― John Piper

So GOD actually wants me &  you to suffer?

How could that be?

What can we do to discover what is deep within us so that we may understand?

For me, writing has been a window into my body, mind, soul, & spirit.

"In the very act of writing I felt pleased with what I did. There was the pleasure of having words come to me, & the pleasure of ordering them, re-ordering them, weighing one against another. Pleasure also in the imagination of the story, the feeling that it could mean something. Mostly I was glad to find out that I could write at all. In writing you work toward a result you won't see for years, & can't be sure you'll ever see. It takes stamina & self-mastery & faith. It demands those things of you, then gives them back with a little extra, a surprise to keep you coming. It toughens you & clears your head. I could feel it happening. I was saving my life with every word I wrote, & I knew it." ― Tobias Wolff

It's amazing to me as I hated to write in school when I had to write yet now, I'm able to read what I have written & see where I was at that moment in time. To see where I had been, where I was, & where I hoped to go allows me to understand myself & any fears that I may have.

"Feed your fears & your faith will starve. Feed your faith, & your fears will. Can you imagine a life with no fear? What if faith, not fear, was your default reaction to threats?" ― Max Lucado

My faith in GOD the FATHER, GOD the SON JESUS CHRIST, & GOD the HOLY SPIRIT grows stronger & stronger as I trust in HIM no matter what miserable & painful physical condition I may be suffering because I have faith in HIS promises to me!

"We are closest to CHRIST when sharing the world's misery. You think JESUS came to remove our pains? Wherever did you get that notion? The LORD came, not to remove our suffering, but to show us the way through it to the glory beyond. We can overcome our travails. That is the promise of the cross." ― Stephen R. Lawhead

The love JESUS has for you & for me is more powerful than anything else in this world & can carry us through the most difficult circumstances imaginable.

"For all these years, you've lived under the illusion that, somehow, you made it because you were tough enough to overpower the abuse, the hatred, the hard knocks of life. But really you made it because love is so powerful that tiny little doses of it are enough to overcome the pain of the worst things life can dish out. Toughness was a faulty coping mechanism you devised to get by. But, in reality, it has been your ability to never give up, to keep seeking love, & your resourcefulness to make that love last long enough to sustain you. That's what has gotten you by." ― Rachel Reiland

I long to leave this world & be with JESUS in heaven where there are no more tears & no more pain & a new body but for some reason or reasons, the LORD has other plans for me.

So, what are those plans?

GOD hasn't revealed all of HIS plans yet but one thing I know for sure, HE has blessed me richly through several unbelievably & extraordinarily ultra-cool friends!

"I believe GOD allows special people to enter our lives at the right moment in time to help us on our journey. Some of those special people are in our lives just a moment & others remain forever. No matter how long we are together, the timing is always arranged by divine care." ― Melissa G. Moore

What do I want my relationships with my friends to be like?

"I crossed a line by making his family's personal business my own. But isn't that what friendship is? Isn't that what love is? It's more than caring & laughing & inspiring. It's about taking hurt & anger off people's shoulders & helping to carry the weight. It's more important to love people on the worst days than their best." ― Katie Kacvinsky

Instead of just trying to make it through another day, I hope to do more than just encourage, inspire, & laugh with my friends.

I don't want to see them hurting or angry or overwhelmed, but if they are, I want to love them in the midst of all of that.

It's amazing to me that I need all of that yet in giving it to others, I receive exactly what the LORD knows that I need!

Is that cool or what?

Another part of the plan for my life is obviously writing or I wouldn't have a blog.

Is there more to me writing than what I've already shared?

"Writing & reading decrease our sense of isolation. They deepen & widen & expand our sense of life: they feed the soul. When writers make us shake our heads with the exactness of their prose & their truths, & even make us laugh about ourselves or life, our buoyancy is restored. We are given a shot at dancing with, or at least clapping along with, the absurdity of life, instead of being squashed by it over & over again. It’s like singing on a boat during a terrible storm at sea. You can’t stop the raging storm, but singing can change the hearts & spirits of the people who are together on that ship." ― Anne Lamott

Why do I love to laugh or make other people laugh?

"I've found out why people laugh. They laugh because it hurts so much ... because it's the only thing that'll make it stop hurting." ― Robert A. Heinlein

I don't know if that's true for you or not, but I know that laughing in the midst of pain definitely eases the load on my shoulders.

Why has my blog been silent for so many weeks?

What has been going on within me?

If writing is my favorite form of expression, where has it been?

"Every child of GOD is not called by the LORD to establish schools & orphan houses & to trust in the LORD for means for them. Yet, there is no reason why you may not experience, far more abundantly than we do now, HIS willingness to answer the prayers of HIS children." ― George Müller

"Glory be to GOD who by HIS mighty power that is at work within us, is able to carry out HIS purpose & do super-abundantly, far over & above all that we dare ask or think, infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes or dreams." ― EPHESIANS 3:20

You may check out my prior post "We Are Together" for a hint about what has literally made everything else in life unimportant!

Do you know what it is?

If so, please tell me as there are several possibilities & combinations of things that may come next as there is so much need out there for those who the world seems to have forgotten about, especially right here in the USA!

Is there ever going to be a conclusion to this hodgepodge of ideas & thoughts?

There is an incredible quote that rang so true to me & finally captured how not only me but anyone who is faced with circumstances that drain them emotionally, mentally, physically, & spiritually is able to rise above them.

"Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it." ― Eckhart Tolle

How will accepting whatever comes our way help us?

"We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty." ― Maya Angelou

"What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the MASTER calls a butterfly." ― Richard Bach

"Death is a butterfly in it's cocoon waiting to fly." ― Maria Housden

There is freedom in CHRIST & that occurs when we accept all that is part of our journey, even when we don't see or think that GOD cares for us!

"Sometimes GOD allows what HE hates to accomplish what HE loves." ― Joni Eareckson Tada

Trusting GOD when things are going well for you is easy, the true test is to trust HIM when our lives are filled with what we consider are problems.

"HE uses our problems for HIS miracles. This was my first lesson in learning to trust HIM completely." ― Corrie ten Boom

Next time you feel frustrated or horrible or lack motivation, be courteous to someone by simply opening the door!

"The smallest good act today is the capture of a strategic point from which, a few months later, you may be able to go on to victories you never dreamed of." ― C.S. Lewis

It's absolutely amazing what one small act of kindness can do!

This brief video is a powerful testimony of just that, so go ahead & click if you dare to be inspired!

"Certain people have said that the world is like a calm pond, & that anytime a person does even the smallest thing, it is as if a stone has dropped into the pond, spreading circles of ripples further & further out, until the entire world has been changed by one tiny action." ― Lemony Snicket

My life & your life are meaningful, especially when we are filled with joy, love, & peace!

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Unknown Confederate Soldier's Prayer

I asked GOD for strength, that I might achieve,

I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey.

I asked GOD for health, that I might do greater things,

I was given infirmity, that I might to better things.

I asked for riches, that I might be happy,

I was given poverty, that I might be wise.

I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men,

I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of GOD.

I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life,

I was given life, that I might enjoy all things.

I got nothing that I asked for,

but everything I had hoped for.

My unspoken prayers were answered.

I am among men, most richly blessed.

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A Letter From Your Heavenly FATHER!

Everyone longs to give themselves completely to someone. To have a deep soul relationship with another, to be loved thoroughly and exclusively. But GOD to a Christian says no, not until you're satisfied and fulfilled and content with living, loved by ME alone and giving yourself totally and unreservedly to ME, to have an intensely personal and unique relationship with ME alone.

I love you MY child and until you discover that only in ME is your satisfaction to be found, you will not be capable of the perfect human relationship that I have planned for you. You will never be united with another until you are united with ME -- exclusive of any one or anything else, exclusive of any other desires or longings.

I want you to stop planning, stop wishing, and allow ME to give you the most thrilling plan existing -- one that you cannot imagine. I want you to have the best. Please allow ME to bring it to you. You just keep watching ME expecting the greatest things. Keep the satisfaction knowing that I am. Keep learning and listening to the things I tell you. You must wait.

Don't be anxious and don't worry. Don't look around at the things you think you want. Just keep looking off and away up to ME, or you'll miss what I have to show you.

And then when you're ready, I'll surprise you with a love far more wonderful than any you would ever dream. You see, until you are ready and until the one I have for you is ready, I am working this minute to have both of you ready at the same time, and until you are both satisfied exclusively with ME and the life I've prepared for you, you won't be able to experience the love that exemplifies your relationship with ME, and this is perfect love.

And dear one, I want you to have this most wonderful love. I want you to see in the flesh a picture of your relationship with ME, and to enjoy materially and concretely the everlasting union of beauty and perfection and love that I offer to you with MYSELF. Know I love you. I am GOD ALMIGHTY, believe and be satisfied.

This letter was given to me by the most awesome youth pastor I have ever known, Paul Cook.

Does this letter really mean so much to me that I am now sharing it on my blog?

If you would have been at my wedding in Medellín, Colombia in South America, you would have seen and heard me read it.

REALLY?

Well, yes but no.

WHAT?

I did read the letter but I had translated it into Spanish!

WHY?

Everyone at the wedding spoke Spanish, not English.

Well, almost everyone. I had met a couple while attending the "Instituto de Lengua Española" AKA "Spanish Language Institute" in San Francisco de Dos Ríos which is on the southeast edge of San José, Costa Rica and they were also serving as missionaries in Medellín. Mark actually translated the entire wedding service for my Mom and Dad and did so with an English accent.

My only other English speaking guest was Denny from New Zealand whom I had met through the youth ministry I was serving in.

So . . . all of the guests of my wife Martha Luz were people from Colombia.

Mine were my parents from the USA; Mark from Middlesbrough, England; Olivia from Namibia in southern Africa; and Denny from New Zealand.

I not only had to go to another country to encounter my wife, but to another continent.

"He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the LORD." -- PROVERBS 18:22

"Among all the disappointments and perplexities which have fallen my share in life, nothing has contributed so much to support my mind as the choice blessing of a wife." -- John Adams

Our wedding service and reception were in the "Orquideorama" at the "Jardín Botanico Joaquin Antonio Uribe" in Medellín where Martha Luz and I had gone on our first date! During the reception, Rod Tate's CD "True Love Never Fails" was perfect background music and his song/video "Always and Forever" is amazing as well.

Medellín is located in the Aburrá Valley of the Andes Mountains and is known as "The City of Eternal Spring" because most days the temperature ranges from the middle 80's during the day to the low 60's at night with a record high of 91 and a record low of 50. 

Medellín is also known as "The City of Flowers" and the highlight of the "Feria de las Flores" is the "Desfile de Silleteros" which beautifully leave no doubt as to why 70% of cut flowers sold in the United States of America are from Colombia!

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