Walking with Jesus

I just read Olivia's latest blog and it got me thinking... It is in me to fight. I want to see righteousness prevail. I want to see truth proclaimed. I want to see evil opposed . I want to see the lies of the enemy uncovered and laid bare. As I walk I see so many people who are blind. They are being led down the quaint road to destruction. They don't know it. They believe they're ok . Sure, they aren't perfect, but neither it So-and-So. At least they're better than You-know-Who. But, So-and-So and You-know-Who aren't the standard; God is. It's His glory we were created to reflect. We don't. We need Him. We never stop needing Him. Whether we're completely separated from the Lord or have been walking with Him for years, we never stop needing Him. The same Grace that saves us, sustains us. The same Spirit that draws us in, leads us on. The same Jesus who calls us out, calls us forward after Him. The God who makes us, makes us more like Christ. This is

Today at work our store received a forward of an Amber Alert. The email provided a picture and told of a 13 year old girl who had been missing from her Philadelphia home for two weeks. It made me angry. Here we are waiting and praying for our Elora and people are stealing children all over our country! Personally, I believe kidnapping deserves the death penalty. The Bible commands the death penalty for kidnapping (Exodus 21:16) It ranks it with murder (Exodus 21:12), bestiality (Exodus 22:19); adultery (Leviticus 20:10); homosexuality (Leviticus 20:13), being a false prophet (Deuteronomy 13:5), prostitution (Leviticus 21:9), witchcraft (Leviticus 20:27), killing an unborn baby (Exodus 21:22-25), and rape (Deuteronomy 22:24-25). The image of God is so sacred that He takes trespassing on that image deadly serious. I've since discovered that the email was a 2 1/2 year old hoax! However, it got me thinking about how precious life is. While this situation was faked, thousands of othe

Lonely is a cultured man in a time without culture. He walks among the dazed and lives among the distracted. Constantly, he knows himself to be out of place. He thinks with either compassion or contempt on those around him. If he is a kind soul, not too deeply affected by the stain of pride so often associated with that attitude which so soon takes the place of true gentility, then he considers those among whom he spends his life with compassion. If, however, he is of the more common sort and has only an arrogant wisdom regarding the lack of sophistication and complexity of interaction that his peers lack, then he is most to be pitied. He, being so far above others in his own estimation, can never appreciate the beauty of those simple lives, which it is the duty of true dignification to esteem. He, the antihero, is lonely because his pride will not allow him to know the company of others. The other, the heroic wanderer, is lonely in a deeper, more meaningful way. For, he

Today, my heart hurts. It hurts because we felt like we'd found our daughter, and we hadn't. It hurts because my sweet Olivia has had to relive the pain of 3 failed pregnancies and years of waiting for God to fulfill this promise. It hurts because I'm ready to be a dad, to change diapers, to tickle toes, to 'nuggle', and to see Olivia look proudly at me as I hold our daughter. It hurts because I miss Natalie, Malachi, and Rachel. It hurts because sometimes things hurt, and this is one of those times. Today, my heart hurts, but my soul must rejoice in the Lord. I must rejoice because God's wisdom is greater than mine, and He loves me. I must rejoice because I feel closer than ever to understanding and knowing my wife. I must rejoice because even if this little girl wasn't Elora, I know she's out there somewhere and we're going to find her. I must rejoice because it's not up to me to make it happen; this is God's promise to keep. I must rejoi

Here's a great article from yesterday's USA Today. I particularly liked the "Stepford wife" comment at the end. Feminist Template Obliterated by Kathleen Parker

A few days ago, my wonderful bride, Olivia, “hijacked” my blog, and wrote the sweetest, most honoring blog entry about me. It blessed me so much! I can’t even begin to say thank you for the things she wrote, but it meant the world to me for her to do that. I’ve never had another person love me the way Olivia loves me. We’re not perfect, and we’re definitely still learning, but I’m blown away to have been given her as my wife, best friend, lover, and support. God is truly faithful! It occurred to me this morning that there was a time in my life when I would have been really bothered by the fact that Olivia “broke in” to my blog account and used it. In fact, I might have been so bothered by it that I missed the blessing she gave me by doing it. But, I suppose it is evidence of God’s great work in me that I wasn’t bothered at all. Not a bit! In fact, it’s taken several days to even realize that I might have been bothered by it in the past. I simply don’t think that way anymore. (Ple

I am hijacking my husband’s blog. I am not sure how he is going to feel about it, but I am willing to take the chance. I want to write that Bryan is one of the most amazing people I know. He loves me so much and I have never felt so loved by another person than by him. He makes mistakes, I make mistakes and we sometimes do and say really stupid things when we are mad, but the fact is that we really love each other and want to grow in the Lord with each other. Bryan works so hard. Even though he is not exactly where he wants to be in his career, he still keeps going. He could cut corners and not do the best job for the companies he works for, but he doesn’t. He does what he says he will do and does it perfectly. When Bryan comes home he doesn’t grab a drink and sit on the couch. It would make sense if he did. He gets up so early and then comes home and works a second job as well. Again when he gets home from the second job he will help me with dinner if I have not made it yet, clean up

Today we learned that the thesis of the letter to the Hebrews is “Don’t give up!” I’ve heard that the thing Jesus said in the Gospels more than any other idea was, “Fear not!” (10x’s) or “Be not afraid!” (9x’s) Paul said we wrestle “against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, and against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Ephesians 6:12) We’re at war. It’s all around us. Sometimes it’s obvious: East vs. West, Liberal vs. Conservative, Muslin vs. Jew, Muslim vs. Christian, Tyranny vs. Freedom, Doctor vs. Disease, Nation vs. Nation, Neighbor vs. Neighbor, Person vs. Person… Sometimes it is not obvious at all: Me vs. Myself, Flesh vs. Spirit, Life vs. Death, Legalism vs. Licentiousness, God vs. satan… Sometimes, we spend so much time rambling through life that we fail to recognize the battle raging around us. At other times it’s all we can see. In the same way, sometimes I feel compelled to write, but I don’t know what to say. At other times I