Satisfaction

"One of the most important discoveries I have ever made is this truth: God is most glorified in me when I am most satisfied in him. This is the motor that drives my ministry as a pastor. It affects everything I do.” - John Piper


Are you truly and fully satisfied in Christ? Is your everyday walk left as a reminder that you are truly satisfied in Him? It doen't mean that everyday you will be happy with your realationship or with life. It does mean you know that His presence is there and that God is with you. Can others tell? We are chosen to be in ministry. Hand picked by Our Father to fulfill his calling. It is not to glorify us,but God. Let our everyday actions be a reminder not to just us, but to others to show how full satisfaction in Christ can affect your life here. I love you guys.

Update

I went to the doctor this last Thursday and found out that the disk that has been giving me issues since the surgery, is going to have to be fused. It means they will go in and remove the disk, then replace it with bone. I admit that is was pretty depressing finding this out. In fact I cried part of the way home, and then most of that night on through the next day. I finally figured out that I had been saying God was in control of this for almost five months, but was not reassuring myself that he was. It was like a mask. Not to let anyone know that I was this upset, I had this mask on. I called a dear friend of mine (Brian) that Thursday night and broke down. I mean like a baby. We talked and prayed and cried, and by the end of our conversation I felt a little relief. I got my Bible and asked God just to speak to me and show me what was going on. Well, I opened up and immediately it was on the exact peace of Scripture I needed.

Jesus Heals Blind Bartimaeus

46 And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. 47And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" 48And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" 49And Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." And they called the blind man, saying to him, "Take heart. Get up; he is calling you." 50And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 51And Jesus said to him, "What do you want me to do for you?" And the blind man said to him, "Rabbi, let me recover my sight." 52And Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well." And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way. - Mark 10:46-52(ESV)


God was showing me that I was looking at this trial all wrong. You see this whole time I have said I was praising Him. But I wasn't. I was focused on when was this going to be over and done with. You see when we are suffering, we don't think about praising God. We don't always stay focused on Him. I had been selfish and was on a poor me pity trip. Admit it we all get on them sometimes. Anyway, God showed me that I should not be focused on "how much longer is this going to be, or why me". He was showing me instead that I needed to be calling out to him continuously, just as that beggar had. That my focus needed to be on the here and now. That my heart had to be open to what He needed to show me in this present time. If I focused on when it was going to be over with, I would miss the whole point now. In verse 48, it says when they tried to rebuke him and silence him he called out even more. That's what needed to be happening in my life. When those doubts and the "how much longer" gets in the way I have to call out more more than ever. Third day sings a song called "Call out to Jesus", and it makes perfect since now. Sometimes we need that trial to show us how much we need God. We are not in control, and when we realize that it makes it easier for him to work and reveal His plans for us. That was the perfect picture for me. I know now were my focus will stay. Sure there will be rough days, but God has shown me to focus on Him here and now. Thank you Father. He knew about all of this before the day I was born so I have to know His sovereignty through this.

Thank you all for your prayers and please continue to pray. I will try and update a little more often. God Bless you all, Ben

Grace

A quick update for today. I have had some increase in pain the past few days, resulting in what seems to be a whole lot of nothing. For some reason or another my back pain is increasing to the point of the past two days to were it has been before the surgery. At first I though everything was fine, but the level has not changed. I have contacted my doctor and am waiting for a call back from him. Hopefully we will know something else. Anyway, I wanted to share a little about what has been on my mind this week. At church on Sunday, our Pastor finished up 1Peter and did a little overview of it. He spoke about the suffering that goes on in this world. He told us how it goes on in one way or another all over. The one thing that he stressed is that through our suffering we receive Grace. That through our worst times when we feel we feel we are hitting rock bottom we receive the most grace. It has been on my mind all week. The past several months have went through my mind this week. I know that God is showing me that He is in total control of this and that everything will be okay. He has truly blessed us and has kept us a float (it has been all Him). Remember that sometimes it feels like we have to hit rock bottom before we can see how full grace is in our lives. In the end we are truly blessed. My mom has often reminded me of Job and how much he lost, but how much faith he had, and how in the end he was blessed double. I know my God has a plan and it will be revealed. Please remember all that you have read and that what ever your struggle is, if you truly and I mean truly turn it over to God that he will show you what his will is for it and will be able to reveal his Amazing Grace. Our eyes and ears are the most open when we are in need. So watch and listen.

Update and Other Great News

As you all may have already noticed, I updated the blog site. I have been kind of inconsistent the past few months on blogging. With the surgery and all and all the Dallas trips to the doctor, I have let it slip a little. Well that's all gonna change. My back is slowly progressing, and now I am just really tender and sore. Melissa accidentally put her knee in my back when we finished praying together tonight and that irritated it.(At least I hope it was an accident ha ha). I am moving around a little better, just not that fast. The doctor said I should notice a difference within the next week. Right now I can't tell if the pain that I do get is from the L5S1 disk that they could not get or the fact I have 5 incisions that are 7 inches deep. I did play a little guitar last night and that lifted my spirits some. You can easily get down and out when a situation like a back injury that takes this long to heal occurs. I love to play for the Lord (although I am not that great). The exciting news that has really been encouraging is that I received my acceptance letter from The College at Southwestern. I have been accepted to start in the spring although Melissa and I had planned on me starting in the fall of next year. There is the possibility of an online class maybe in the spring. I really have not given that much thought because I tried the online thing about 3 years ago, and it did not go that well. I passed but barley. Through all of this (the ups and downs), God has continued to remind me of what the Psalmist says in Ch. 94:22 - "But the LORD has become my stronghold , and my God the rock of my refuge". Those are strong words to me, because no matter what has been thrown my way this year ( two staff infections and back surgery), GOD has still been my Rock. He has brought me through these trials and shown me that He is my security, nothing else. So many times we think finances and material things or jobs are what keeps us a float. Let me tell you what I have learned the past 7 months. God is what keeps us a float. It takes humility to admit that. God had to take away all those things I thought was most important this year to show me who and what should be most important to me. Sometimes we hit rock bottom even when we think we are doing right. The good news is Our Lord and Savior is there through it all with us. Remember its not about what you have or how good life is here and now. Its about who you are serving and how you life will be in eternity. That is one of the biggest things I have learned this year. I love you all and hope you continue to visit here. I truly hope this has hit home to some in some way. To God be all the Glory. Amen

Home in Abilene

Praise the Lord, I am home. I got home Thursday night and it has been a tough time. I had my surgery on Monday and it went well. They were only able to get to my L3L4 Disk. I was told my bone growth is different and that I was only the fourth person out of five thousand that the doctor has ever had this problem with. I know that in time God will heal want he wants healed. I want to thank you all for the kind prayers and other help you have provided. To my Uncle Doug and Aunt Star I want to say thank you so much for your hospitality. You both have been so kind for allowing part of my healing process to be in your home. To Mom and Melissa, your support and being there with me makes me so grateful the Lord has blessed me with a wife and mother like you. Brenda and Mandy thank you so much for the meals provided, they were wonderful. For everyone else who was there in prayer for me I say thank you so much. Most of all for my Creator I love you and thank you for your mercy you have on me. I love you all and will be posting more this week. God Bless, Ben

The Upcoming Week

As I sit here today preparing for the upcoming week have have been in much thought. My surgery on my back is tomorrow morning at 9:00a.m. . I will go in for preparation at 8:00 a.m. though. I have been thinking about all of this a whole lot more the past few days. I believe it is normal to get a little jittery as the days get closer. Nervous? A little. I know that God has everything under control, and that He will show the doctor what do do.
I feel today as if I am the child in this picture, that I have no control over this. I know that is good because our minds tend to make the wrong decisions when we put it before God. I feel that His hand in on me and that all of this will be okay. He will wrap His hand over mine as I go through this 2 to 2 1/2 hour procedure. I know that He is Lord over my life and that what He Will's is all up to Him. I am thankful that he showed me a doctor that is so skilled and of knowledge, and to give me the trust I need to let someone go into my body to make these repairs. So all though I have this sense of nervousness I do know that God is in control.
Over the past 2 1/2 months I have learned that you cannot take life for granite. It can change in the blink of an eye. You can go from being as healthy as an ox, to having to depend on others. Your wants begin to go to the back burner while you have to focus on the needs. The paycheck you depend on and think you cant go without, God will show you how to live on one income with much less. He has shown me that money is not everything. That is something so easy to say, but until you experience learning that no one really knows. He has shown me that with turning it all over to Him things work out a lot better.
In conclusion I just ask that you pray for my family and I this week . We will be leaving about 3"00 a.m. in the morning to go to Richardson for the surgery and Melissa and my mom will have to come back tomorrow night . I will be staying in Burleson after the surgery Monday with my aunt and uncle until Thursday when I have to go back to the doctor. Please pray for the doctor and the God's guidance with his hand's. Pray that as Melissa gets back into town that she is able to focus on things without worrying to much. Pray for my boys and that they are okay and help there mother while I am up there. It only sounds like a short week, but our family is pretty busy during that time. Anybody knows with a four and six year old what all goes on. Also be praying for me as a job opportunity has popped up and I would appreciate it if everyone would pray as they get ready to decide who will be up for interviews. Last but not least, please be sure and pray for a quick recovery. I will be blogging this week (once the medicine wears off a little). I will have my phone on me too. I have access to a computer were I am staying so you can email me also. I will be posting on my blogs about post operation stuff so you can just check in here. Thank you all and God Bless, Ben

The Tough but Priceless Road

“The way to Heaven is ascending; we must be content to travel uphill, though it be hard and tiresome, and contrary to the natural bias of our flesh”

- Jonathan Edwards

Who ever said life as a Christian would be easy? Who would even think that?

"Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" 2 Tim 3 :12 (ESV)

Paul warns Timothy that anyone who follows Jesus Christ will face suffering of some sort. That is as plain as it gets. The world does not accept Jesus and does not accept any that accept him. The reason is because the world is of sin and Christ is blameless and holy. Until they see that without Jesus Christ there is not other way, they will continue in sin. They will also continue to persecute those who live a life in Christ. Christians will face abuse, neglect, they will be poked fun at, cursed at , etc. The one thing we have to remember it is for His Name and His Glory! All that we go through on this earth is seen by our Creator. He has our place secure for us in heaven. We just have to persevere while we are here and spread his Glory. Let those know who we stand for and why we do.

1 Corinthians 4:11-13 - To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, and we labor with our own hands. When we reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we entreat. - (ESV)

Paul is telling the apostles that this is what they are facing. He is telling them that following Jesus Christ is not an easy walk. That you face these things. In that, we are no different in facing persecution. Standing strong is what Paul is telling them. In doing that, Christ guides us through everything else.

When we are cursed at, we bless that person. When looked at wrong, we look back with a smile, when punished, we forgive. When done wrong by someone, we do right to them. As we are called to by as Christ, we are to do as he would. We are saved only by God's Grace and shouldn't we show everyone else that we are grateful. When knocked down, we are to get back up and continue on that path chose for us. Our flesh may say otherwise, but we have to remember that the Spirit is what we are called to listen to not our flesh. It (our flesh) is in this world, and gets caught up in the world so easy. Many out there believe the walk with Jesus is an easy one, but it is total opposite. It is tough and is tiresome. God gives us the Spirit and fellow believers to stay accountable. The road we are traveling now may seem so long, but is only a spec in the eyes of our God.The Lord encourages us all to persevere and push forward, and when we get to that finish line we are looked upon by Him saying "Well done faithful one"............

Prayer Request

Dear Friends and Family,

I sit hear tonight in a lot of thought. My mind seems like it is wondering all over the place. It seems like it is going 90 mph, yet so much more is to be thought about. Many of you have been keeping up with my injury, so I figured I would just blog about the latest. God answered our prayers about getting a diagnosis for my injury. It is called " Internal Disk Derangement". Two of my disk are affected by this currently. What I do understand is that the gel in the disk is coming out and the disk is tearing down. My L-5 is already to a 5 on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 is the worst. The L-3 is a 7 on a scale of 1 to 10. Anyway, we have decided to have a small surgery where the doctor is going to go in and remove the gel that is out.

He did state though that since my pain has escalated in the more recent weeks, that it may be worse even to the possibility of being plum broke down. If so then they will have to go in with a more extensive surgery.

As I sit here I ask that you all will please continue to pray for my family and I. My beautiful wife has been so supportive, and if not for her in my life I wouldn't be what I am today. Besides my God, she is next in line. This time has been a time of Humbleness for me. It has been humiliating at times, but I know my Lord and Savior is right next to me through all of this. He is sovereign and has had a plan for all of this long ago. He didn't just look up one day and say "Oops, Ben messed up his back ". He has a reason for all of this and is already showing some of them to. We are blessed to have a merciful and sovereign

As my family and I pray over the next few months I ask that you all will stand beside us and be in prayer with us. This will not be an easy time and your support will be greatly appreciated. I love each and everyone of you and thank you for all you have done.

The prayer request we have is that God will have His Will in all of this. He has the ability to do whatever He wants with this, But not for my sake I ask............Only His!

Ben

The Beauty of Christ

As I sit here tonight going through picture of old and new, I ran across this one. This picture was taken earlier this year at my house. This one has a story behind it so I am going to share it with you.

The roses in this picture have bloomed every year for the past five years that we have lived here. My wife or myself have never watered these bushes. Every year though, they seem to get even more beautiful. In May right before I got hurt, we came home one day and I told Melissa to grab the camera and take this picture. You see that day I noticed something in particular. The branch that lay right there in front of these beautiful pictures represented us (humans). We are dead in sin and lost. We don't realize how awful we look to others or God. We wander through life as a dead branch waiting on the next place to fall. In fact some of us only focus on the next time will will fall or mess up. This picture shows though that the roses (Christ), can cover up and take away that dead look. That with Christ he can turn our deadness into beauty. You see I feel like that day God showed me that He can make anything look beautiful when we step back and trust in Him. The beauty of Christ covers that of us, and makes us pure in the eyes of our Father . We should step back today and thank our Lord and Savior for His love and mercy that He has for us. He has chose us (dead branches) to cover in the beauty of Him (the roses) to share live eternally with our Father.

Being Comissioned By God

What I want to talk about tonight is a passage of Scripture I have been looking into this week.In Isaiah chapter 6 something came to my attention.
1In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3And one called to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!"
4And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5And I said: "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!"
6Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7And he touched my mouth and said: "Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for."
Isaiah’s Commission from the LORD 8And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me." 9And he said, "Go, and say to this people: "'Keep on hearing, but do not understand;keep on seeing, but do not perceive.' 10 Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears,and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed."11Then I said, "How long, O Lord?"And he said:"Until cities lie waste without inhabitant,and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste,12and the LORD removes people far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.13 And though a tenth remain in it, it will be burned again,like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump remains when it is felled." The holy seed is its stump.
(Isaiah 6:1-13)ESV
This is a clear picture of how we should view our salvation. The first is that God reveals Himself and his glory to us. Through seeing God and his glory we are made aware of our sin and must confess that we are dead in that sin. God has then forgave us and sanctified us for him and his kingdom. That is not the end though. If you read in 6 :8-13, then Isaiah is commissioned to spread God's Word. Even when others will not listen. He tells Isaiah people will not listen, but you continue to preach It.You see being forgiven is not the last step in our receiving salvation. We are called to spread the Good News. If we are not telling others about Jesus Christ, then we are not fully doing our job as a Christian. It is not only a pastor or missionary's job to share the Word of God, but us all as disciples of Jesus Christ. Matthew 28:19 , Jesus tells his disciples to go out and make disciples of others. He is commanding this not only for those to be brought into his kingdom, but that this Good News will continue on until every nation has heard the name Jesus Christ. The next time you think you are not of knowledge or ready to share the Word of God, remember the Lord equips you with his message and will give you the people he wants you to share it with. God Bless

A true house of God

“Wherever we find the Word of God surely preached and heard, and the sacraments administered according to the institution of Christ, there, it is not to be doubted, is a church of God.” - John Calvin

Freedom

“It cannot be emphasized too clearly and too often that this nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religion, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ. - Patrick Henry [May 1765 Speech to the House of Burgesses]

As I began to think back to July 4, 1776, I started to imagine myself standing around these men that we call the "Founding Fathers". I realized how Godly they were and how their faith was so strong, that they knew this country was nothing with out the leadership of their Creator. They knew that without the grace, power, Spirit and wisdom of God this nation would not be born into a great country He intended it to be. God had to bless them with faith to believe that they would become mighty leaders of a country that was just in it's early stages of independence. The one thing that gets to me as I read some of there quotes is that it was not about them. God, through them, planted the seed that would one day follow His son Christ. They focused on the equality of one another and the freedom in this nation to worship. That is what kind of people these men were. In a society now days when it is all about us, what we want, what makes us happy, we have deceived ourselves. The United States of America was about the humility of men and the compassion of our Lord and Savior to worship Him and serve Him freely. We are a blessed nation, we do not have to worry about serving him openly here as some countries are struck down for that type of thing. To were we can go to a coffee shop or to corprate worship, there are people in other nations as I speak having to hide in some one's home to worship in His name.Think about that folks. The Lord intended for this nation to be a influence to other countries. Are we really doing that? Are we showing that by being free we serve as much as we can? Is our focus on his Son the way it should be? We cannot expect the others to straighten up if we are not doing it ourselves. Remember these men and our Creator. Remember the quote at the top. Remember as that flag waves, what it was built on. It is owed all to Him. Folks, I hope your day is blessed. I hope it is filled with wonderful fellowship with family and friends, but take a moment today and just that our Lord God that he has blessed us with a free nation. Thank Him for the men He used to build this country, and lastly thank Him for the men and women who have fought to keep this nation free. God Bless

Seek the Lord with all your Heart, Mind, and Soul

He who lives without prayer, he who lives with little prayer, he who seldom reads the Word, and he who seldom looks up to heaven for a fresh influence from on high -he will be the man whose heart will become dry and barren.
-Charles Spurgeon

Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually! -1 Chr 16:11 (ESV)

The Storms in Life

As I sit here today, I recollect on the storms we all face in life. Some of them big, others are small. The one thing that hits home is how do we handle those storms spiritually? I often wonder how many times do I face a situation with all of my strength. I wonder just how much more will I face before the day is over. That is by far the worst way of looking at it. To us citizens in this country today, we are very spoiled on going through times of trial. We tend to think when we get home or go to sleep all will be better tomorrow. We take for granite that we have that bed to sleep in, or that warm bath to take, or the medicine to make us better from a sickness. We know it will be there, just as we know our God is there for us to call on. Notice what I said at the end of that sentence "for us to call on". The times we really call on God is when we need something.We praise Him when things are great, and forget to do that part when we are in our storm in life. We just ask for what we need, and tend to skip past praising Him. We praise Him when the problem is resolved. How often to we do that? Casting Crowns recently released and album in which one of the songs was "Praise You In This Storm". In that song that is exactly what is being preached. They are explaining how there hearts are torn but that God has not left there side and for that they praise Him in the storm. I believe God never leaves us, He is always right there, but wants to see how long will we "praise Him". We will never have to suffer the way some do, more especially how Christ did. There are people in other countries suffering because of the name Jesus Christ. People are dying for the name Jesus Christ. People are being abandoned by loved ones because of the name Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is there only hope friends. Jesus Christ is being praised by them as they suffer. Beaten, abandoned,mocked,shot at on a daily basis, and most of all killed while praising our God during it. Folks I know each of us has some storm in our life, but God will never send more than we can handle. Question is our we going to praise God even during our suffering. Psalm 146:2 says "I will praise the Lord as long as I live". God is the same God all through out Scripture and into today. Will we sing praises to Him even in our storms in life? I pray you take a some time today to just thank God for all He does in our lives. Sing Him a praise. He showed us His love in John 3:16 by sending His son to take the ultimate suffering for us to be alive in Him. Just take a moment to realize that. I love you Father

A True Sevant

I have to tell you all about a wonderful woman in my life, "my wife". As most of you know about my back injury and how it has affected my life recently I have to boast about her so just read and enjoy. Being told by doctors not to even "lift a laundry basket", it has been quiet frustrating. You always take things like bending over and picking things up for granite. With the limitations I have had my wife has gladly helped and picked up where I have to fall short of. She has not once complained about it either. She has been so supportive and kind during this time of trial. Her heart is so big and I am very thankful to her. She is there physically, emotionally and spiritually for me. She is there to pray with me when I need prayer, and is there when I need that motivation. She told me the other night (I had a pity trip) that "God has always been there with us and has not let us down". We all need that advice when we are down. Today I would just love to lift up my wife to the Lord and say Thank You. She takes in sickness and in health to a whole new meaning for me and I am grateful. I just wanted to share this with you all and say today look at your spouse or someone you love and say "thank you" and "I appreciate you". Those little words go along way. To a true servant, Melissa, I love you and thank God that He blessed me with you. God Bless

The Week Long Sentence

You know I sit here tonight and just give praise to our Lord and Savior. He is so gracious and yet so mysterious in how He works sometimes. My two boys finished vacation bible school last Friday. Yep, it was their very first one and O ' how I am so proud of these kids. All week I would ask them what they had learned and they would just say "to obey God" and then would sing the songs they learned through out the week. Well I found frustration getting the better part of me as I continued to ask them what they were learning. I have to admit Friday came around and I asked them the same question and got the same answer. I thought "Lord they went all week and they learned some cool songs and a sentence to obey you". The Lord showed me a whole new point of view later that night. My youngest Garrett heard my wife and I talking about Acts were John and Peter were together and Peter did the sermon to the people telling them to "Repent". Garrett mind you is four years old came in and interupted us and began telling me how Peter stepped out of that boat and stood on water with Jesus. He explained plain as day how he had his eyes on Jesus and that when he took them off that he began to sink. My son went on to tell me the whole story . The next night we read the story of Jonah to them and my oldest Zachary,when we got through was able to tell us why Jonah did what he did and what he did. I am amazed. You see my boys learned alot at vbs last week and since they have been able to tell me. We to are called to get into the Word of God and spend time with Him, because if we don't we are not doing that one sentence they brought forth to me last week everyday. You see the boys were telling me everything I was needing to hear last week. So often we miss the little things God is trying to tell us. We are to approach Him in that manner these kids have, with that innocence and like a sponge. We are all to as Peter was to and keep our eyes on Jesus. I hope this has helped you a little today and remember what we are called to do "Obey God". God Bless

Humility: True Greatness

"This is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit." - Isaiah 66:2 (ESV)

God clearly states that He is drawn to the humble and very much opposes the proud. These two, humility and pride, absolutely cannot coexist. C.J. Mahaney goes in and explains how our heart and mind has to be humble. He explains how pride is one of man's biggest down falls, and how that very well had have been the the first sin before the fall of man with satan and his pride. Think about it, his prideful sin is what got him cast out of heaven therefore with our pride we have today what makes us any different. We as Christians struggle with this fault on a daily basis and Mahaney goes in and explains how to help and to turn it totally over to God. He explains how we need to start and end our every day confessing to God we cannot make it through this world without Him. Letting Him know our dependence is totally on God. We need to all realize that we did not chose God, but that He chose us therefore we are all under His authority. To me that should humble each and everyone of us, that our Lord and Savior chose us. We all could have been looked past but by His grace and mercy we were not. This book explains in very much detail the way our hearts and attitudes should be daily, not just towards God, but to our brothers and sisters in the body and to those who are not. How can any of us minister to someone about the Gospel when we are not pure and humble?Remember the cross people, that was an act of humbleness by Christ. This is by far a book that needs to be read by all. God Bless !

Shawn McDonald CD

I purchased this CD about a week ago and would like to highly recommend it. Shawn McDonald has come so far in such a short time. His lyrics are very strong and it reaches so many. You can tell his heart is defiantly strong for the Lord. His testimony is like no other. Anyway this album is "live" and his songs featured are "Pour Out" which is one of my favorites. "Gravity " is probably his most current hit. I think one of the better tunes also for parents and kids is a lullaby called"Hush". To me it hits in both generations because my son Zach loves that tune. It hits me because it tells me of my Father in heaven and his protection over me. The deep lyrics in this song not only expresses our love and faithfulness to our children, but most of all God's love and faithfulness toward us." Free" is also featured on this album. These are just a few of the songs that I really enjoyed on here along with the rest. So if you are out and about and need some good strong music but at an acoustic level this is the one. God Bless !

I'm Back!!

Whats up, I joined this a while back and realized I should start using it. I can keep family and friends updated online about everything new in life. So God Bless and start checking in every once in a while.