Life and Death

This is not original, but I liked it and wanted to pass it on...

We are all caught between life and death.  Making the choice to live every moment is intentional.  It doesn’t just happen.  Live on purpose...so that your life will matter.   Thomas A Kempis said ” It is vanity to wish for a long life and care little about a well spent life.”  That’s how we should spend our days here on earth.

I love the last line of IN CHRIST ALONE… “No guilt in life, no fear in death, this is the power of Christ in me.  From life’s first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny.”

That is how I choose to live.  From first cry to final breath, Jesus please direct me and guide me until I see You face to face. (JIM DRAKE)

Cold

It's cold outside. It's been cold for a while now. It's winter in Missouri so it's supposed to be cold. But for some reason the cold has been more cold to me lately. Not only am I physically cold but as this month rolls along toward another February I think I'm getting emotionally cold. I've been thinking this week about what we were doing this time 3 years ago. Bonnie, the girls and I were in Williston, ND talking to First Baptist Church about possibly joining them in ministry.We were well received. The possibilities were exciting. The environment was going to take some adjustment for us with the extreme cold, snow, etc. It was a fun trip for the four of us. On the way home we took a little detour through the Badlands and on to Mt. Rushmore. It wasn't crowded there. It was very cold. We had fun walking around the monument. Not sure Kayla had as much fun as the rest of us. A little too much walking for her. We were excited to be there though because "National Treasure 2: The Book of Secrets" had just been in the theaters and we were trying to find where they did some of the filming. We had been blessed by dear friends at FBC, Paris with some extra cash, which made this side trip possible. We stayed at a nice hotel with an indoor pool. Our room was right by the pool with entrance to it from our room. It was very cool. We were talking and praying about the possibility of moving. The girls didn't like the idea but were willing to go IF God called us there. Kayla was pretty sure God was in it. Alicia was hoping He wasn't. I am so glad that God gave us that last trip together. I miss them a lot right now and I suppose with February quickly approaching again that this is normal. I am still not a huge fan of this new normal though. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to this roller coaster. I'm not a huge fan of roller coasters to begin with but this is worse than riding Space Mountain at Disney. If you've never been to Disney, Space Mountain is an indoor roller coaster in the dark. You can't see where you're going or what is coming up next.The first time you ride it is the freakiest but then you get use to it and you can anticipate what's coming. There doesn't seem to be any "getting used to" experiences in our new normal. Especially when it comes to the emotions. The comforting thing about all this is that God is with us. He sees the big picture and He says He'll never leave us or forsake us on this journey. 


This Mark Schultz song is needed now:
And even though I'm walkin through
The valley of the shadow
I will hold tight to the hand of Him
Whose love will comfort me
And when all hope is gone
And I've been wounded in the battle
He is all the strength that I will ever need 

And He will carry me 

The First Blog of the New Year

Here's my first blog of the New Year. Don't get too excited ,I really don't have much to say. I'm still recovering from a great vacation spent with family and friends. I have no written down resolutions. Making wise choices or better ones shouldn't be done only during the first week of a New Year. This is a daily renewing of our minds. This renewal involves more than just thinking about it, it involves action as well. We are all guilty of the GOOD INTENTION syndrome. I want my intentions to be more than this though, I hope. As the famous line from High School Musical goes...WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER. We are supposed to lift each other up and encourage and even prod if necessary. God bless you as you draw closer to Him this year. Remember as we draw near to God, He has promised to draw near to us!