A PRAYER FOR OUR CHILDREN

Wife and I also add a line that the children will always get caught doing things wrong. Our son says it works.... he never gets away with anything.

Blessed is the peace and composure of my children for they are taught of the Lord. Psa. 54:13-17
My children hearken unto God and He teaches them the fear of the Lord. Psa.34:11
My children are Blessed. Duet. 28:11
I am redeemed from my children being taken captive. Deut. 28:32
I and they are redeemed from the curse of the law. Gal. 3:13-29
I have God’s promise of salvation and redemption for everything in my life
Pro. 11:21.
My seed shall be delivered. Psa. 107:20
He sent His word and healed my family, body, soul, and spirit. My children shall rise up and call their mother Blessed. Psa.31.
All of my children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children. Isa. 54:13
My children will be saved according Acts 16:31.
I confess that my children will not be promiscuous. There will be no out of wedlock children. They will not use tobacco, drugs or alcohol habitually. They will not steal nor be slothful. They will not be an abomination to the Lord through thought , action or deed.
In Jesus name ...... AMEN !

MERRY CHRISTMAS !!

A very Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night. God loves you all and so do I .

alan

That time of the year

With the onset of Christmas coming once again, I am always amazed at how our girls respond to it. They are more into the spirit of it than they are the gifting of it. Don't get me wrong, they love to get presents too. But they are just glowing with anticipation of the traditions we have.
This will be our fourth Christmas together and they have learned all the things that make the holidays what they should be. Like hearing the first Christmas songs, putting out the decorations, trimming the tree, putting the outside Christmas lights out and reading and hearing about the baby Jesus.
Our first year was interesting in that they had only been here about eight weeks and could speak little English. Where they came from if they got any presents it was a food item or tooth brushes. They got out of the country a couple of times and had a great time at the host families homes but much of what they brought back to the orphanage with them was lost, borrowed or stolen. Christmas did not have the warm feelings of family and friends. Only one of the girls ever received one of the Operation Christmas Blessings gift boxes. It turns out that they don't have enough of them to go around so they try to distribute them through out the country as best they can.
During our first Christmas together I decided that we would give each one of them enough money to buy each other gifts. Wife and I decided we would give them $50.00 to do it with. When we set them down and tried to explain it they got very agitated and couldn't say enough English for us to understand. We called a Friend who spoke fluent Ukrainian and told him what we wanted to do and would he explain it to them. After about 40 minutes of speaking to each of them he told us they didn't understand what they were to do, they were afraid the others would not like the presents they got them and they would only do it if they could go with at least one of the others. They went and found some things for each other and on Christmas morning we recorded them as they opened the gifts. This past summer we dug that video out and played for them. The older two could understand most of what was said but the two younger ones didn't understand any of it. They have forgotten their native language.
We are Blessed to have all the kids with us and be able to share with them the abundance that the Lord has provided us with. It is our hope that they will learn to trust in Jesus for all their needs and look for His coming.

The Second Beatitude Mourning For Comfort

I have some funny bloopers that have found there way into church bulletins over the years.

Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.
The Pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the congregation would lend him their electric GIRDLES for the pancake breakfast next Sunday Morning.
Low self esteem support group will meet Thursday at 7 to 8;30 PM Please use the back door.
The Pastor will preach his farewell message, after which the choir will sing Break Forth Into Joy.
Next Sunday Mres. Vinson will be soloist for the morning service. The Pastor will then speak on It’s a Terrible Experience.
Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our church and community.
Potluck supper: prayer and medication to follow.
The choir invites any members of the congregation who enjoys sinning to join the choir.


Sometimes we say the wrong things or say things that we don’t mean. But we can always be sure that God says what he means.
"Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted".
God asks us to do some things that completely opposite of what our flesh tells us is right.It goes against our instincts. Jesus said if you want to be great you have to be humble. If you want to be a leader you have to become a servant. He tells us that we will find joy through mourning, freedom through surrender, liberty through confession. Didn’t Jesus talk about an abundant life? Dosen’t He want us to have joy in our lives? This would seem to opposite of what we have learned.
Blessed are those who mourn is a foreign concept to us:
Real men don’t cry, they are always tough, John Wayne, Rocky, Van Sandt
The marlboro man you know the type where the defendant showed no emotion when they read the jurer’s answer. On the other hand Jesus said show emotion. We are to laugh with those who laugh and weep with those who weep but there is more to this, it’s also about sin. In the Bible we see many times where someone mourned over someone else. 1Sam. 15:35 Samuel mourns over Sauls sin, Nehemiah 1:4 Nehemiah mourns over the condition of Jerusalem, Psa. 51 where David is mourning his sin with Bathsheba, or Luke 22:62 where Peter weeps bitterly after denying he knows Jesus.
Will Rogers was known for his laughter, but he was also knew how to weep. One day he was entertaining at the Milton H. Berry Institute in La. , a hospital that specialized in rehabing polio victims and people who had broken backs and other extreme physical handicaps. Rogers had everyone laughing, even patients in really bad condition, but suddenly left the platform and went to the mens room. Milto Berry followed him to give him a towel and when he opened the door he saw Will Rogers leaning up against the wall sobbing like a child. He closed the door and in a few minutes , Rogers appeared back on the platform as jovial as before.
But what are some of the enemies of mourning? What are some things that keep us from mourning??
One of them is pride.
If you want to learn what a person is really like, ask three questions: What makes him laugh? What makes him angry? What makes him weep?
What we need today are people who will anguish not people who anger over things that happen . The kind of anguish that Moses displayed when he broke the two tablets of the law and then climbed the mountain to intercede for his people or the kind of anguish Jesus showed when he cleansed the temple and then wept over the city. The difference between anger and anguish is a broken heart. It’s easy to get mad at someone else’s sin but it’s not easy to look at sin, ours or somebody else, and weep over it.
In Psa. 34:18 it says " The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and saves such as has a contrite spirit." In Psa. 51: 17 " The sacrifices of God ar a broken spirit: a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." Or in II Cor. 7: 10 " For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death."
We should mourn over the sin of pride. Pride says Oswald Sanders is a sin of whose presence its victim is least conscious. There are three tests by which it can be soon be discovered:
The test of precedence. How do we react when another is selected for the assignment we expected, or for the office we coveted? When another is promoted and we overlooked? When another outshines us in gifts and accomplishments.
The test of sincerity. In our moments of honest self- criticism we will say many things about ourselves and really mean it. But how do we feel when others, especially our rivals, say exactly the same things about us?
The test of criticism. Does criticism arouse hostility and resentment in our hearts, cause us to fly into immediate self-justification?
Basketball coach Pat Riley in his book The Winner Within tells about the 1980 World Championship Los Angles Lakers. They won the NBA championship that year and they were recognized as the best basketball team in the world. They began their 1980-1981 season considered likely to win back to back championships. But three weeks after the season opener, Magic Johnson tore a cartilage in his knee and would need three months to recover. The team and the fans rallied and the rest of the team played their hearts out. They determined to make it through that period without losing there ranking. They were winning 70 % of their games when the time began to draw near for Magic Johnson to return to action.
As his return drew closer, the publicity surrounding him increased. During the time outs the public announcer would always say " And don’t forget to mark your calenders for Feb. 27th. Magic Johnson returns to the lineup of your World Championship L.A. lakers." During the announcment the other players would look up and curse. They’d say " We’re winning now, whats so great about Feb. 27th?" As the day approached fewer and fewer things were written about the players who were putting out so much effort. All the media attention was focused on the one player who had not done a thing. Finally, the night of the 27th came, and as the crowd came through the turn stiles they were handed a button that said "The Magic is Back!" At least fifty photographers crowed the floor as the players were introduced. Normally only the starters were introduced, but this night, even though he would be on the bench at the start of the game, Magic Johnson was introduced with them. At the mention of his name the arena was rocked with a standing ovation. Flashbulbs popped like popcorn. Magic Johnson was like a returning god to the crowd that night.
Meanwhile, the other players who had carried the team for those three months and who were totaly ignored, were seething with jealousy, resentment, anger, and envy. They barly won that night against a bottom of the bucket team and eventually the moral of the entire team collapsed. The players turned on each other. The coach was fired. They lost out in the first round of the play-offs and had what was to become the worst record for that team.
Riley said" Because of greed, pettiness, and resentment, we executed one of the fastest falls grace in NBA history. It was the disease of me".
Pride is the alcoholic who wont admit the drinking problem, the woman who refuses to talk about the abusive situation she is in.
And God tells us if we will confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive.
Another enemy of spiritual mourning is apathy. It’s the attitude of it’s not that bad I’m not like Hitler or Sadam Husien. You see we justify it by looking at other’s. We think that that if we feel good about ourselves God will feel good about us too. But God does not care about that, He wants us to be broken before him and weep over sin. Max Lucado writes:
" Many know they are wrong. Many deny their weakness. Many know they are wrong yet pretend they are right. As a result they never taste the exquisite sorrow repentance.
Or maybe it’s our country? Have you ever mourned the sins of our nation? Have you ever sat down and thought about the wrongs we have done , as a country, against others? Even if it was against you? Many of us will moan about things in this country but will not mourn. The difference between mourning and moaning is about contrition not complaints.
We have to sorrow over our sins, sorrow over the lose of a loved one, endure all of life’s hardships. Those of us who can not feel our brothers and sisters pain and grief will not feel the comfort that only God will provide. We gain strength through the hard experiences we have in life.


















There’s a poem that goes like this:
Two frogs fell into a deep cream bowel,
The one was a wise and cheery soul,
The other one took a gloomy view,
And bid his friend a sad adieu.
Said the other frog with a merry grin,
I can’t get out, but I won’t give in.
I’ll swim around till my strength is spent
Then I will die the more content.
And as he swam though ever it seemed,
His struggle began to churn the cream.
Until on top of pure butter he stopped,
And out of the bowel he quickly hopped.
The moral you ask, oh, it’s easily found
If you can’t get out, keep swimming around!

PASSION

Nehemiah 1: 1 - 11 & 2: 1 -6
Passion : How to obtain it.
Passion has been described as " extreme, compelling emotion creating enthusiasm and desire concerning our God and His Kingdom". We need to possess such passion, knowing it comes from a daily relationship with Jesus. Once we have a hold of this passion we can rest assured that Satan, our flesh and the world will work together to destroy it.
You might call it the unholy trinity, and it has tremendous success against us through pride. A mans position in life can make him weak towards God. We find our passion diminishes. Historian Thomas Carlyle once wrote " Adversity is hard on a man. For one man who can stand prosperity, there are a hundred that will stand adversity." Most us can handle demotion better than we handle promotion. It is through advancement that a godly man shows himself strong.
Nehemiah possessed godly passion and maintained through position advancement. He advanced three times as cupbearer, builder and then as governor.
There are three truths that can be gleaned from this that we can use to help ourselves.
Truth # 1 : Knowing and loving God must be the chief pursuit of every man’s life.
It takes will to love.
Truth # 2 : A man’s relationship with God must always be the highest priority.
Not your job, money even your wife or kids.
Truth # 3 : The question is not What is my purpose in life. It should be Who is the purpose for my life.
To maintain godly passion you must not focus on who you are, but focus on whose you are.




2
Passion : How to maintain it.
Mark Twain wrote " Great things happen when you don’t care who gets the credit". Or maybe we should say it this way, Great things will happen to those whose chief concern is that God alone gets the credit.
Nehemiah possessed and maintained his passion for God despite the lure of power and luxury. He had three characteristics that show how we can put it in to practice.
1 - Humility - Nehemiah reads like a book about what I did except in chapter three. He doesnot mention himself one time. He could have, after all, in ninety years he did what no else could, he built the temple walls in 52 days. He was able to mobilize a nation to complete the project. Instead he chose to be as one of the servants and worked with them.
2 - Epowerment - John Maxwell wrote " Th peoples’ capacity to achieve is determined by their leaders’ ability to empower them." Nehemiahs zeal was contagious. In chapter three we see Levites, temple servants, goldsmiths and merchants all acting as one , all working together to build the walls.
3 - Encouragement - " I could live for two months on one good compliment" Mark Twain. Studies agree that there is real power in encouraging others. This act will bring better results than silence or hollering or be critical. Nehemiah saw this and treated them with words of encouragement and was able to produce great results for the Kingdom. How is your sight when it comes to your loved ones, fellow employees and even the cashier you dealt with today?
The glory of God must be our first concern. WE must be liberal with empowering others and helping them achieve the things they want. We must also be liberal with our praise towards others. Always look for the good in others.

Cold Weekend

We have enjoyed a beautiful fall season so far but it is about to change. We will have cold weather come into our area with frost. The garden is shot for this year and we are eating the very last little tomatoes that were on the vines.
Our girls are alreday excited about the cool weather. They are used to extremly cold weather with lots of snow but here we do well to see a dusting of snow once every year.
When they first came in 05' they were un-sure of what Thanksgiving was all about. Now they are excited about it and look forward to all the family coming to eat and fellowship. This year we will have 22 people at our home for dinner on that Thursday. Great food, great fun and maybe a little football.
God has been dealing with me about some personal issues I am having in my life. I know I have been called to more for Him than I have been doing . The things He is calling me to do are just hanging out, suspended, until I have dealt with these things. Please pray for me, I want very much to do God's will and not my own., ,

God Bless all who read this post ansd this blog.

WHAT A DAY !!

I am excited that the Presidential election is over. It seems like we have been waiting for years to have this vote take place. Barack Obama wins and has changed the course of American politics for years to come. I do not envy what he has to do in the next four years. If the economy rights itself in the next year he will look like the person who was able to influence the world that we are able to stop these things. If he doesn't he will be blamed for for just the opposite.
I will make a bold prediction here.... in four years we will have recovered economically, we will still have forces in Iraq, we will still have forces in Afghanistan and the medical system will be in a state of decline because of the Federal governments involvement. We will also not have done anything to fix Social Security. President Obama will voted out of office and blamed for all the problems left unresolved.
On a lighter side, today is my birthday! Hooray, Mexican dinner to celebrate and a special cake after church with my family. How old you wonder??
55 as of today, fifty five and still alive !!
Next year I will start to contemplate growing up. My wife says I act like a five year old. But I tell her it's a mature 5yr. old.

God Bless America, we need it more now than ever!!

World Champs !

I have waited a day to post this. The Philadelphia Phillies are the world champion' s this year. For me this is great. I have now seen the Phillies win two World Championships, 1980 and 2008. One thing I have noticed is that it is not the team that has the best record at the end of the season or the team with the best players. It is the team that is the hottest going into the playoffs that Win's it. This year the Phillies played as a team. When one of the star players was not hitting or pitching too well one of the others stepped up and did what needed to be done. Way to go Phillies !!!!!

Now.... let's see what the Eagles can do.

And..... Penn State # 3 this week. YO !!!!

share the wealth

This is something I found in email sent to me. I find it odd that someone else would want to take my hard earned money and give to others who don't earn it. Obama isn't the first one to come up with this idea. The democrats have been pushing it in one form or another for years.


Yesterday on my way to lunch I passed a homeless guy with a sign that read 'Vote Obama, I need the money.' I laughed; not at his plight, but the fact he believed Obama would actually improve his situation.
Once in the restaurant my server had on a 'Obama 08' tie, again I laughed as he had given away his political preference--just imagine the coincidence. When the bill came I decided not to tip the server and explained to him that I was exploring the Obama "Spread the Wealth" concept. He stood there in disbelief while I told him that I was going to redistribute his tip to someone who I deemed more in need--the homeless guy outside. The server angrily stormed from my sight. I went outside, gave the homeless guy $10 and told him to thank the server inside as I've decided he could use the money more. The homeless guy was grateful. At the end of my rather unscientific redistribution experiment I realized the homeless guy was grateful for the money he did not earn, but the waiter was pretty angry that I gave away the money he did earn even though the actual recipient deserved money more. I guess redistribution of wealth is an easier thing to swallow in concept than in practical application
As a Christian I am all about giving to others to help them. I think it is also important to help them to better themselves by teaching, training etc. so they can be productive. I do not think the government should be in the middle of these things. It creates a system that costs more to operate than it the help it gives. I like to read how much of the money I give to a charitable cause actually makes it to the need they are collecting for. Most are well up into the 90's but sometimes I 've seen them be as low as 30 - 40 %.
I wonder how much of the taxes allocated to diiferant things makes it to the need??

Socialism anyone ????

Sports

This past weekend was a very good weekend for me for sports. Penn State whipped Ohio State. This is a big game every year and of late Ohio was getting the best of us. How sweet it was !

The Philadelphia Eagles won on Sunday and the Phillies are one game, or is it 1/2 game, away from winning the world series. It has been a long time since Phillie won anything. The city will be nuts when they do. I know I'm excited about it !
As the elections draw near I have thought long about who I think is the best candidate. I am not excited about either of them. I still think Obama as a person is a great orator but is lacking experience to run the country. I saw the same problem with George W. but he surrounded himself with good people and managed to get by.
McCain has the experience but lacks the charisma that Americans like in their Presidents.
I don't care for either of the VP picks. One doesn't have a good grasp on world politics and the other should have retired years ago.
Which ever one wins will not have an easy time of it. Besides the normal Democrats versus the Republicans issues there are two wars being fought, an economy that is shattered, a health system that is out of control and the country's retirement system that is in jeopardy of collapsing.
It will take a lot of time and prayer to right any or all of these area's.

It is time for us as a whole to look inwards and upwards to find the answers. Only God can help us through the leaders we choose to guide our country. Please pray before you vote that God will show you the best choice. and don't forget.....VOTE. Many men and women have shed their blood and died for us to have this right !!

AFTER 50

Ten Things That don’t Matter Much after you turn 50…

10. Your investment in Health care insurance is beginning to pay off.
9. Your supply of brain cells is finally down to a manageable level.
8. In a hostage situation you are likely to be released first.
7. Your eye sight wont get much worse.
6. Your secrets are safe with your friends because they cant remember them either.
5. There is nothing left to learn the hard way.
4. People call at 9 pm and ask “ Did I wake you?”
3. No one expects you to run – ANYWHERE
2. Kidnappers are not interested in you.
1. I can’t remember the rest……………

IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL

This last week has been a test.
Last Monday evening Wife was out with one of our daughters playing around with the horse. As it was getting dark daughter got too close to the back of the horse and got kicked in the stomach. We spent most of the night between two hospitals to find she has a lacerated liver. She spent one night in ICU and then the rest of the week in a step down unit. She came home last Friday night and is on complete bed rest for two weeks. She is still in a lot of pain when she sits or walks.
I have been working night shifts for the better part of two weeks now and my body is not sure wheather to get up or go to bed. I have a few more of these shifts to go and then I will be back into my normal routine of working day 's.
My Fightin Phil's have made it to the next round of the playoff's. Next up are the LA Dodger's. No push over but a team they should be able to beat. And then the World Series !! YO !!
Our Church hired a new Senior Pastor this past Sunday. He came in for the weekend and met us at greet and meet and eat on Saturday night and preached on Sunday morning. We voted him in after the service.
He is young and full of energy and I believe he is the person God has sent to take us to the next level as a church body.
Pastor Tim Mills.. Welcome aboard I pray Gods hand on you as you lead us into a closer relationship with Him and as we reach out to others with the Good News of Jesus Christ !
And.... Penn State # 6 this week. Go Team !!!!!!

PHILLIES WIN !

I was born and raised in Levittown Pa. This is a suburb of Philadelphia. Having lived there for 21 years I have never gotten over rooting for the home teams. My two favorite are the Phillies and the Eagles. Today the Phillies are the Division champs again and look poised to go further than last year when they blew it in the first round of the play-offs. The Dodgers and the Cubs look good but I think the Philly's can pull it off this year. You just gotta believe !! Go Phillies Go !!!!
My favorite college team is Penn State. The only head football coach I know of there has been Joe Pa. Wow, what a legend he is.
I am excited about our church today. The board announced this morning that we will have a Senior Pastoral candidate come to meet us and preach next weekend. We as a body are ready for what God has for us at this time and ready to move on to the next level. The board has done a great job of keeping us together and focused on Jesus. The enemy would have liked nothing better than to have destroyed LifeChurch but God kept him away. A church needs a leader who hears from God and is able to translate the vision and direction of the church to the people. But through this all God used the board, especially the church administrator, Brett Chandler, to hold things together while He prepared us for our next leader. Thank God for Brett!! Amen !
Jesus Loves You !!

THE GARDEN OF EVEN

I have a little garden that I like call the garden of even, even though I don't do much to it , it still produces veggies. The tomatoes have done well this year and continue to give us fruit. The bell peppers however are a different story. I planted six of them last spring and they have brought forth two peppers about the size of a silver dollar. By mid summer I bought two more and they have given us about 6 - 7 good size peppers. The first batch never got bigger than about 8 - 10 inches tall. The last two have matured as they should needing a stake to hold them up.
We also have a rose garden that has done very well. There are six bushes that have produced many roses this year. I don't know the names of any of them but there is a pink one , two red ones, two white ones and one that has a salmon colored flower. One of these days I will get a picture of it and get it on this blog.
Tomorrow I start a diet. Last year I lost 43 lbs. from March through September. I went from 217 to 174. I held it off until this summer when I put about 18 of it back on. It's time to lose it or buy new clothes.
As they say, a waist is terrible thing to mind !

THE ORIGIN OF SIN

A common misunderstanding of sin is that it has a substance. But if it had substance, or a thing, it would have to have been created by God and would therefore in it’s essence be good.
The biblical view is that sin originated in an abuse of the freedom given to created beings equipped with a will. God did not create evil. Evil is a matter of relationship, not a thing. It breaks away from a relation of obedience to and faith in God and makes a decision to fail Him.
Sin, then, originated in the free choice of God’s creatures. When the serpent tempted Eve, he began with a question, “ Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’”” You will not surely die, for God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” By doing this Satan had Eve focus on the forbidden thing, her mind then started to reason that the fruit would indeed be good for her. Satan did not pick the fruit or force her to eat it. Eve then reasoned with Adam and he too ate of the fruit.
Adam and Eve brought upon themselves, then, the personal consequences of sin ( Gen. 3:16-19)
The first or original sin was Eve and the fruit.
The animosity that erupted between Cain and Abel is the first recorded example of the strained relationships that have marred society since the fall. This, in effect, was the first of all wars.

Ah ! The weekend again.
I have hopes of painting some of the outside of our home. Of riding the horse and getting our youngest to ride as well. She is a little frightened by his size and balks at doing more than sitting on him. Maybe this will be the week she goes for it.
Well the Repub's have done something that is different. McCain has taken Palin as his VP candidate. After listening to her speech the other night I am excited about the ticket . She brings a freshness to this Presidential race that has been lacking for a long time. Time will tell if she is the real deal or just a pretty face with a lot of energy.
I have never heard the word "change" used so much as it is being used during this election. It is a easy word to use but to really do it is quite difficult. Everybody wants to change but nobody wants to go through it. I guess they want everybody else to change " just not me".
Politics as usual.

exercise your spirit

Six Exercises of my Spiritual Walk

1) Every day offer yourself afresh to the Lord.
You have to wake up with joy, looking forward to what God
wants to do. Romans 12:1-2
2) Every day I will call upon the name of the Lord in prayer.
Don’t fake prayer, Psa. 86:3, Psa 145:2
3) Every day I will search out and feed on the word of God.
Ex. 16:17-18, Psa. 119
4) Every day I will die to sin.
Confess your sins. Ex. 16:19
5) Every day speak to others about Jesus Christ.
Testify every day about what he does in my life. Acts 5:40-42
6) Every day I will help someone who is in need.
Help someone by deed or encouragement. II Cor. 1:3-4

Daily excercise is good for the body, mind and soul !

The Son will set you free

I often wonder if I am really free?

If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (jon8:36)

As we go about our daily lives doing the things we enjoy, going back and forth to work, watching tv, listening to music, somewhere around the world there is a battle being waged that keeps our freedoms in tact. When we get up in the morning and check the sports scores to see if team won or lost, somewhere in the world is someone’s son or daughter is marching through a town to protect our rights and our liberties.

We are blessed as a nation. We live in a time when freedom is not just a dream it is a normality. We expect it just like we expect the sun to come up tomorrow. We have become blinded to the reality’s of what it takes to have this freedom. The foundation of this freedom is courage, strength and blood.

But in reality, this is just a token of goodwill in comparison to the freedom that we can find in Jesus Christ. Jesus is the key to freedom. Only Through Christ can we experience complete freedom. The British author John Stott says that through Jesus we are:
Free from the past and free from the penalty of sin.
Free in the present from the power of sin.
Free in the future from the presence of sin.

Christ free’s us from many things including guilt, fear and God’s judgement. We can only find true freedom by receiving Jesus into our lives as our personal Lord and savior. He’s the one who gives us freedom and and can set us free from bondage and strongholds.

weekend

This weekend was spent buying back to school supplies and catching up on yard work. We have five children ages 11 through 17. One boy and four girls. I took our son for clothes Thursday afternoon. Easy, seven pairs of jeans, seven shirts, shoes etc. and we were done. Maybe two hours counting the time looking at guy stuff in electronics.
Friday night and Saturday night we spent about six hours total looking for the discounted school supplies and some clothes for the girls. And it is only the tip of the iceburg. The supply shopping went well it was the clothes that seemed to get things bogged downed. Sometimes I wish they had to wear uniforms to school !
Allow me just a little rant here... why do they start school in the middle of August? Why does every teacher have to have some little special thing on the supply list? On e of the kids needed blue, black, red and Green ink pens. For what I dont know. As I was standing in the isle that had all (what a joke) of the school stuff I noticed ( after about 20 min.) that there were three other fathers with a list from some teacher looking like I was for green pens or some other thing. I blurted out with , What ever happened to just taking a notebook and a pencil to school? And maybe a pen! All laughed and the tension was broke. Until we got to the next isle and started looking for the special paper that they needed. With five kids you can imagine all the combonations of stuff we looked for.
Well, about 12 more trips to 8 differant stores and we should have it all wrapped up. Just in time for some other money sucking event to happen.
At church yesterday we had an awsome time. God showed up with the opening prayer and His prescence was felt through out the service. The music seemed to have more feeling and the singers were as tight as I've ever heard them. I play bass guitar with the band. They let me sing just not into a mike. My wife says this is good.
I love playing for the Lord. God gave me a little bit gifting in playing several instuments and I use it for Him and His will.
We attend LifeChurch in Birmingham Al. We are currently looking a for a Pastor to take over for recently departed Pastor. It is a hard wait but I know God has just the right person to take over. We pray God's will be done.
The yard work, we have almost three acres, took wife, myself and three of the girls and Jon about four hours to complete but the place looks great.

to go or not to go

We have discussed as a family and otherwise, about a trip to Ukraine. We want to do this for many reasons.
One is so the girls can see home again. I fear they will be disappointed when they see everything but it will be good for them. We also want to get pix of the old houses they lived in, the orphange, graves etc. We had most of this when we went in 05' to adopt them but one of the girls deleted all of the pix. Not once but twice.
Another is to do some work at a ministry called Crossroads in Kyiv. They minister to street children through food, clothes medical care as well as there spiritual needs.
God has placed a burden in my heart for missions but it is very strong for Ukraine.
All this being said we talked about a trip this fall ( no good with the kids in school), this Christmas, next March during the kids spring break and finally in the begining of June 09'. June gets the nod because it will allow us more time in Ukraine to see all the things we want to see and do.
So we are going to Ukraine. Cant wait. As I read other blogs of those who are there doing mission work I get excited about going. The girls are happy too but for differant reasons.

day one

This is my first post. These will be my views about what is happening in my world. My wife and I adopted five children. Our first, Jon, came into our lives via Foster care that we did back in 95'. He was available for adoption and we felt led by the Lord to do so. In 04' we met some orphans from Ukraine who were visiting Birmingham and that strated us on a road to adopting four girls from an orphange in Ivanciv Ukraine. What a trip that was. We went in Sept. 05' expecting to be home in four weeks and instead it took nine weeks and one day to get back.
Things are done differantly there than we expected but we did accomplish what we set out to do, that was to bring four beautiful girls back home to be a part of our family. And what a family it is !! A blending of cultures and idea's in so many directions that we cant help but sit down and laugh about some of the things that we go through together.
Last night was the horse. Yes, we have a horse named Austin. He is very freindly and two of the kids love him dearly and the others were neutral. Till last night. The horse hurt his foot a couple of days ago and it started to look bad yesterday. Well, by the time it was getting dark we had all five kid's out there helping to "doctor" up the horse. It brought us all together around the horse and allowed us to have a common purpose. One more step in the bonding of a family. Every body had an idea of what to do and how to help but mostly it was to love on the horse who seemed glad that it all happened.