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I was Thinking....About how Things are..

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March 17, 2024 As I think about how things are, I am super excited to see God’s people on the move. They are reaching out and reaching into the community demonstrating God’s love for His people. We are coming up to Palm Sunday and Holy Week. Can you imagine the excitement of the children. The excitement of the men and women there. Word about Jesus had spread and reached Jerusalem. Can you hear the people “is this the One, the Messiah that Isaiah talked about?” The children cheering Hosanna!! Hosanna!! Waiving palm branches while the men and women lay their cloaks down worshipping Him. All the while the city leadership is becoming more and more enraged. Jesus broke all kinds of cultural norms. He did not gather an Army and march in as a conquering king. He humbly (which was not a cultural norm for city leadership) came the week before His death to teach, heal and continue to proclaim the Kingdom of God. He was tortured and made to carry His cross, the very cross Jesus woul
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I was thinking about....FREEDOM

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July 3, 2023 Episode 22 I was thinking…About FREEDOM. This being the 3rd of July, the only obvious thing to be thinking about is FREEDOM! Even though today is a Monday and the 4th is on Tuesday, there seemed to be a lot of activities going on over the weekend and that has made me wonder why is it, we only seem to be worried about freedom once a year. Are we truly thankful for our freedom? People will cook out, go camping, go fishing, watch hot air balloons and watching fireworks. I’m truly surprised that with the way society is going (its “wokeness), the freedom to celebrate freedom has not been taken away. There is one freedom that nobody can take away and that is our freedom from sin. I love how Galatians 5:1 says, “Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you.” (The Message). The cool thing is, anyone can have this freedom. Romans 10:9 tells us, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and b
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I was Thinking...About Criticism

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April 10, 2023 Episode 21 I was thinking about….criticism vs critiquing. I believe this is a fine line that people walk when events are going on and that people get these two things mixed up. I believe defining the two is vital in this personal discussion. to critiquing: give an opinion or judgment about a piece or work, book, movie, etc criticism: the act of giving your opinion or judgment about the good or bad qualities of something or someone Hey guess what, these two things are very, very similar!! If not the same. The act of giving your opinion or judgement….. that is not a bad thing to do, especially when people ask for it. “Good or bad qualities” this is where things get sticky like fly paper. We forget the good and only focus on the bad while we try to disguise it as good. I found a “simple definition of criticism” “the act of criticizing and especially of finding fault” that is rub for most people…. Finding fault. I’ve seen it where events have been done and p
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I was Thinking...Jesus' Call upon our Lives

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Episode 20 June 27, 2023 I was thinking…about Jesus’ calling upon our lives. I believe many believers (aka followers of Christ) have the idea that Jesus’ calling is only for Pastors, missionaries, etc. Yes, Jesus does call men AND women to full-time ministry yet Jesus calls all of us to “make disciples of all nations,” (Matthew 28:19). This call is not JUST for the pastor, missionaries, etc. This is for all people. How do we follow this call? We follow the call by following the leading of Jesus. Jesus tells us in the Gospel of Matthew, “the harvest is plentiful, yet the laborers are few.” It is interesting that a couple of verses before tells us, “When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” (Matthew 9:36). Throughout the Gospels it tells us that Jesus took compassion on them. We are to follow His leading. To continue on in Matthew 9 “Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers i
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I Was Thinking... About Home Ownership

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February 5, 2023 Episode 19 I was thinkink....About home ownership. Ever since I proposed to the most beautiful woman, I began dreaming about owning a home. We rented when we moved to Mississippi, then the Lord called us to full-time ministry and moved to Colorado Springs to go Nazarene Bible College (Which sadly is no longer there). After NBC we went to Kansas and RENTED as I was working on an M.Div. Then we began pastoring and either RENTED or lived in the church parsonage. Then when I went into the Army we either RENTED or lived on base. The dream never died and I wanted to buy a house but we never pulled the trigger. It wasn’t until after I retired we were able to purchased a house. The process of owning a home was super painful….pages after pages after pages (and even the same pages again and again). What a happy day that was, because I was able to provide a home for my bride. Yes, we lived in many houses, but this is our home. What a happy day!! The relief I felt
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I Was Thinking...About Dogs and a Cat

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  January 17, 2023 Episode 18   I was thinking…about my dogs and a cat .  Yes, I said dogs, all Five of them.  As I sit back and watch them interact because it is very interesting to see the hierarchy of the animal world.  Seeing the puppy and watching the puppy’s energy, ignite the house and older dogs. Making the older dogs play or at least annoying the older dogs.  They all have “Their Spot” and do have difficulty sharing from time to time, but it seems, no matter what they are family. Walter Showing Molly Downward dog   Seeing the two older female dogs sitting at the foot of the stairs “prodding” the puppy to scratch at the door and bark so they can come in is hilarious!    Then add a cat to the mix.  OH, the drama we get to watch unfold and as the drama unfolds, to watch who the real “king of the jungle” is and the power that Salsa has.  As he walks through the sea of dogs he’ll stop and look around as if to dare them to mess with him.  He’s trained them well since they were puppi
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I Was Thinking....About Feelings

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  January 13, 2023 Episode 17   I was thinking…About feelings.  Yes, I said feelings.  😊    I do have feelings!  I just have difficulty showing them.  Why is it it’s so easy to get our feelings hurt?  How do we over come getting hurt, angry, frustrated, Etc.?  I was thinking about this while I steam cleaned the carpets at the church and let me tell you that the carpets at the church really needed cleaned!!  What do you think of when you think of carpets?  It’s a place that you walk.  Things rest upon it?  It holds things (dirt, water, etc). It takes a beating!   Compare that to feelings.  Don’t our feelings take a beating?  Can’t someone race through different emotions in a short amount of time???? When we engage with other people throughout our day we stack different emotions on top of each other just like a carpet collects the junk and crud that falls on it as well as the weight of other items resting heavily on it.  Don’t we do this?  Don’t we do this?  Allowing the junk of the day
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