Three sons left home, went out on their own and prospered. They discussed the gifts they were able to give their elderly mother. The first said: "I built a big house for our mother."
      
      The second said: "I sent her a Mercedes with a driver."
      
      The third said: "You remember how our mother enjoys reading the Bible. Now she can't see very well. So I sent her a remarkable parrot that recites the entire Bible. It took elders in the church 12 years to teach him. Mama just has to name the chapter and verse and the parrot recites it."
      
      Soon thereafter, their mother sent out her letters of thanks.
      
      "Milton," she said, "the house you built is so huge. I live only in one room, but I have to clean the whole house.
      
      "Gerald," she said, "I am too old to travel. I stay most of the time at home so I rarely use the Mercedes. And that driver is so rude! He's a pain!"
      
      "But Donald," she said, "the little chicken you sent was delicious!"

A devotional that touched me deeply today

Hope Is Faith Waiting for Tomorrow
by John Ortberg from Know Doubt

Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists. — C. S. Lewis

We all are hopers. We are creatures who cannot stop wishing. We are four-leaf-clover collectors. We wish on the evening star. We tell stories about genies coming out of a bottle to grant three wishes.

After a turkey dinner, my cousin Danny and I used to grab the ends of the wishbone from the turkey and break it in the belief that whoever got the longer piece would get his wish. Where that came from I have no idea. The bone didn’t do the turkey much good.

We teach our children to make a wish before blowing out the candle. When my children were small, they loved the movie Pinocchio; especially they loved a plucky, chirpy, irrepressible character named Jiminy Cricket. If you go to the Magic Kingdom at Disneyland, the "happiest place on earth," you can still hear him sing, "When you wish upon a star... "

We all hope.

There is even an anonymous online wish list where people by the thousands record what they’re hoping for — some of the entries are funny, some are scary, and some are heartrending. "I wish to be rich in the immediate future." "I wish to be very happy because every aspect of my life is going fantastically well forever." "I wish my wife would die." "I wish it wasn’t pancreatic." Many of the wishes are followed by the word please. We just can’t help ourselves.

George MacDonald has said, "Anything large enough for a wish to light upon, is large enough to hang a prayer upon."

We all hope, but hope comes in two flavors: hoping for something and hoping in someone. Now, when we are hoping for something, we are hoping for a particular outcome. "I hope I get that job. I hope I get that house. I hope I get that girl. I hope I get that girl and she gets that job and we get that house." Sometimes the thing we hope for is life or death: "I hope this depression lifts." "I hope it’s not cancer." But one day it will be. If not cancer, it will be something else.

One day — and this is the truth — every thing we hope for will eventually disappoint us.

Every circumstance, every situation that we hope for is going to wear out, give out, fall apart, melt down, go away. When that happens, the question then is about your deeper hope, your foundational hope, your fallback hope when all your other hopes are disappointed.

The difference between hoping and wishing, says writer William Sessions, is the presence of strong desire. In the movie The Shawshank Redemption, the two central characters, played by Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman, have a running argument about hope. Morgan Freeman has learned to manage disappointment by giving up hope. "Hope is a dangerous thing," he says. "Hope can break your heart." To Tim Robbins, though, to quit hoping is to start dying. And the final line of the movie, as Morgan Freeman has left prison and headed for the blue waters of Mexico and the reunion with his great good friend, is "I hope..."

Hoping can break your heart. That is why we carry one big hope, the secret hope you don’t even dare to breathe: that when you have lost the something you were hoping for, and it might have been really, really big, there is a Someone you can put your hope in.

The whole testimony of the Scriptures points to this one Man, points to a God, not because He will be able to give us this thing or that thing we were hoping for — because that’s always going to give out eventually — but because He is the one we can put our hope in. And without hope, as Pope John Paul II once said, there is no faith.

Hope is faith waiting for tomorrow. Faith requires belief, and believing is what we do with our minds. Faith requires commitment, and committing is what we do with our wills. But faith must also have hope, and hoping is what we do in our hearts.
Much love, Dennis



　

God's recipe

I've used this before but it is worth 3-4 posts.  Church Gossip

ildred, the church gossip and self-appointed arbiter of the church's morals, kept sticking her nose in the other members' private lives. Church members were unappreciative of her activities, but feared her enough to maintain their silence.
      
      She made a mistake, however, when she accused George, a new member, of being an alcoholic after she saw his pickup truck parked in front of the town's only bar one afternoon.
      
      She commented to George and others that everyone seeing it there would know what he was doing.
      
      George, a man of few words, stared at her for a moment and just walked away. He didn't explain, defend, or deny; he said nothing.
      
      Later that evening, George quietly parked his pickup in front of Mildred's house... and left it there all night!
...............................................................................................................

This is about the best thing
I've ever read as an explanation.

Sometimes we wonder,
'What did I do to deserve this?' or
'Why did God have to do this to me?'
Here is a wonderful explanation!
A daughter is telling her Mother how everything
is going wrong, She's failing algebra, her boyfriend
broke up with her and her best friend is moving away.
Meanwhile, her Mother is baking a cake and
asks her daughter if she would like a snack, and the
daughter says, 'Absolutely Mom, I love your cake.'
'Here, have some cooking oil,' her Mother offers.
'Yuck' says her daughter..
'How about a couple raw eggs?' 'Gross, Mom!'
'Would you like some flour then?
Or maybe baking soda?'
'Mom, those are all yucky!'
To which the mother replies:
'Yes, all those things seem bad all by themselves.
But when they are put together in the
right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake! '
God works the same way. Many times we wonder why
He would let us go through such bad and difficult
times. But God knows that when He puts these things
all in His order, they always work for good! We just
have to trust Him and, eventually, they will all
make something wonderful
God is crazy about you.
He sends you flowers every spring and
a sunrise every morning.
Whenever you want to talk, He'll listen.
He can live anywhere in the universe,
and He chose your heart.

Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are
here we might as well dance!
Much Love, Dennis

My Mother In-law

Care for Your Mother-in-law

A man, his wife and his mother-in-law went on vacation to the Holy Land. While they were there, the mother-in-law passed away.
The undertaker told them, You can have her shipped home for $5,000 or you can bury her here in the Holy Land for $150.
The man thought about it and told him he would just have her shipped home.

The undertaker asked, Why would you spend $5,000 to ship your mother-in-law home, when it would be wonderful to have her buried here and spend only $150?

The man replied, a man died here 2,000 years ago, was buried here, and three days later he rose from the dead. I just can't take that chance.
 
 
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If you would have told me 15 years ago that I would spend 30 minutes every day studying the Bible, I would have called you a nut.
I've grown in my relationship with Jesus from my current circumstances. Believe it or not, the last 10 years have been very good for me. I was a Christian before my accident, but I would have never experienced the growth that my accident led me through. My mother in-law has laid hands on me several times during prayer and helped me to understand scripture when I was at an impasse.

Right now I'm asking for prayer for her. She has a class reunion this Friday and Saturday and is really wanting to attend. Darla has a very bad infection in her inner ear and sinus, causing a considerable amount of pain. She has been to the doctor and is taking antibiotics plus pain relieving ear drops.

Lord God, please remove the pain and infection causing the pain so that she can attend and enjoy her class reunion .
I pray this in Jesus name, Amen




 

TOOLS

Top 10 signs that you are in the wrong church:

10. The church bus has gun racks.

9. The church staff consists of senior pastor, associate pastor and sociopastor.

8. The Bible they use is the Dr. Seuss version.

7. There is an ATM in the lobby.

6. The choir wears leather robes.

5. The worship services are B.Y.O.S. (bring your own snake).

4. Communion is a two-drink minimum.

3. The pastor regularly attends meetings in Las Vegas and Atlantic City.

2. The ushers ask, "Smoking or non-smoking?"

1. The Women's Quartet are all married to the pastor.

[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[]]]]]]]]
I'm a big tool guy. Kind of like "Tim the Tool Man Taylor" on the TV show.
 
https://youtu.be/0V9YZ7C88iU

I really enjoyed working with my hands and having the correct tool for each project. I can remember being frustrated in my late teens and early 20s because I was trying to get by using homemade tools. I was unsuccessful or sometimes very slow to accomplish specific tasks. As time went by I was able to accumulate enough tools to make jobs easier and faster.

In today's circumstances I'm using different tools for completely different reasons. When I need help with Bible verses, understanding and searching for particular topics, I use a website called Bible Gateway. They offer 30 different versions of God's word and the ability to simultaneously show up to 5 side-by-side comparisons. I can search for topics, phrases or specific words. They even offer a tool that will read aloud the written word. Thanks to God for tools like Bible Gateway that helps me accomplish the jobs that I have today.

Much love, Dennis

A.D.

An older preacher told the story of a young minister interviewing for his first pastorate. The Pulpit Committee had invited him to come over to their church for the interview. The committee chairman asked, "Son, do you know the Bible pretty good?"

The young minister said, "Yes, pretty good." The chairman asked, "Which part do you know best?" He responded saying, "I know the New Testament best." "Which part of the New Testament do you know best," asked the chairman. The young minister said, "Several parts." The chairman said, "Well, why don't you tell us the story of the Prodigal Son." The young man said, "Fine."

"There was a man of the Pharisees name Nicodemus, who went down to Jericho by night and he fell upon stony ground and the thorns choked him half to death.

"The next morning Solomon and his wife, Gomorrah, came by, and carried him down to the ark for Moses to take care of. But, as he was going through the Eastern Gate into the Ark, he caught his hair in a limb and he hung there forty days and forty nights and he afterwards did hunger. And, the ravens came and fed him.

"The next day, the three wise men came and carried him down to the boat dock and he caught a ship to Ninevah. And when he got there he found Delilah sitting on the wall. He said, "Chunk her down, boys, chunk her down." And, they said, "How many times shall we chunk her down, till seven time seven?" And he said, "Nay, but seventy times seven." And they chucked her down four hundred and ninety times.

"And, she burst asunder in their midst. And they picked up twelve baskets of the leftovers. And, in the resurrection whose wife shall she be?"

The Committee chairman suddenly interrupted the young minister and said to the remainder of the committee, "Fellows, I think we ought to ask the church to call him as our minister.

He is awfully young, but he sure does know his Bible."

I have really been enjoying the miniseries called A.D. It is on Sunday nights at 8 PM CST on NBC. I think this would be a good miniseries for everyone.


For many years I assumed that A.D. meant After the Death of Jesus. It came to mind one day that if BC was Before Christ and A.D. meant After the death of Christ then there was a gap of 33 years. It didn't take long to find that A.D. actually had a different meaning. A quick search of Wikipedia revealed the following:
Anno Domini (AD or A.D.) and Before Christ (BC or B.C.) are designations used to label or number years used with the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The term Anno Domini is Latin,
translated as "In the year of the Lord", or "In the Year of Our Lord": It is occasionally set out more fully as "Anno Domini Nostri Iesu (or Jesu) ti (In the Year of Our Lord Jesus Christ").

A.D. The Bible Continues. Here is a short clip from one of the episodes.
https://youtu.be/B8NqbrQ0LCk
I urge you to check it out.

Much love, Dennis
 

　








　



　



　

God endorses laughter

When I read my Bible sometimes I find myself snickering.
Like that time when the main event at Mount Carmel brought out 450 idolatrous prophets on one side…

and Elijah, all alone, on the other.

You remember the story (1 Kings 18). Baal vs. Jehovah. Big altar, prayer for fire. The One who "answers by fire" Will have the one true God.
From morning until noon the prophets of Baal called on their "deity". Those guys got so anxious that they "leaped about the altar which they made."

Elijah became amused at their antics and started mocking them, possibly the 1st recorded case of talking trash: (Jacob Diesselhorst) "Call out with a loud voice, for he is a god; either he is occupied or gone aside, or is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and needs to be awakened" or Baal may have "gone to the bathroom." "snicker snicker" Come on, :-) smile; it's okay.
 And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of Jehovah came, saying, Israel shall be thy name.
³² And with the stones he built an altar in the name of Jehovah; and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed.
³³ And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid it on the wood. And he said, Fill four jars with water, and pour it on the burnt-offering, and on the wood.

³⁴ And he said, Do it the second time; and they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time; and they did it the third time.
³⁵ And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water.
³⁶ And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening oblation, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, O Jehovah, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.
³⁷ Hear me, O Jehovah, hear me, that this people may know that thou, Jehovah, art God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.

³⁸ Then the fire of Jehovah fell, and consumed the burnt-offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
Much love, Dennis  

Growing Old Gracefully

 

While he was visiting, my father asked for the password to our Wi-Fi.
“It’s taped under the modem,” 
I told him.
After three failed attempts to log on, he asked, “Am I spelling this right? T-A-P-E-D-U-N-D-E-R-T-H-E-M-O-D-E-M?”

777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777

 

We are all growing older each day on this side of heaven. But for many of us we will spend eternity in a brand new body. No more aches, pain, stress…

We will spend our time praising and worshiping the God who sent his son Jesus to this earth with one purpose. To sacrifice himself for the sins of everyone who has ever breathed our atmosphere.
However, those who have reached the age of understanding the gospel must make a decision. We must choose between eternity with God in heaven or eternity in hell with the father of all lies.
We are, as Christians, are celebrating the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, [Good Friday-Easter Sunday].
Let's all invite someone to join us in Heaven where we will be forever young.

 

2 Corinthians 5 [NIV]
Awaiting a NEW BODY

 

 

5 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. ² Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, ³ because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. ⁴ For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. ⁵ Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

⁶ Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord.

much love, Dennis
 

 

 

 

 

 

church attendance

An elderly couple was attending church services .

About halfway through, she leaned over and whispered to her husband, 'I just let out a long silent fart. What do you think I should do?'

He replied, "Put a new battery in your hearing aid."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

My church attendance this winter has been sporadic. I have several reasons, (excuses) for my absence. Most of them legitimate. Weather, flu and other airborne viruses are at the top of the list. Some days I know that it's very hard for Cheri to get both of us suitable for the public. I am thankful that God provided me with a Proverbs 31 wife. I am always able to hear God's word on TV, but there is something about worshiping with others of like mind.
much love, Dennis

Proverbs 17: verse 22

 Happiness comes from your circumstances. When everything is going your way, you will be happy. Joy does not depend on your circumstances. Joy is a decision. Here is my  recipe for joy.

J is for Jesus, he should be your first priority

O is for others, they should be after Jesus

Y is for yourself, make sure that you keep Jesus-Others-Yourself in the correct order and you will find it is much easier to live with JOY in your life.

Lately, I have been guilty of putting myself at the top of the list. Seeking pity and compassion from others instead of keeping Jesus at the top of my list. I like to use the Scripture, Proverbs 17:22

A merry heart does good like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones. I have been less concerned about the first part and ignoring the part about dry, lifeless bones. I am working on getting things back in the correct order. With God directing my path I will have joy in my life.

Much love, Dennis

PC = BS

 

It frustrates me to see what our Constitutional Freedom of Speech has become in the name of Politically Correctness. Our Constitution guarantees freedom of speech. It does not say that we can be limited in what we say because it might offend someone. I know that we have laws concerning libel and slander. I'm sure that there are instances where libel and slander are used and those that use them should be held accountable for lies spoken or written. In today's world we find that our "Freedom of Speech Right" has many more teeth than it should have. The latest story that has bothered me is listed below. Am I the only one who believes that getting your feelings hurt is not a legal matter?

 I'm having trouble with my computer, Try this link to view the video.
 http://youtu.be/xTmp119b878

Much love , Dennis



　

terrorist

                            The Woman of His Dreams         

A young man called his mother and announced excitedly that he had just met the woman of his dreams. Now what should he do?

      

      His mother had an idea: "Why don't you send her flowers, and on the card invite her to your place for a home-cooked meal?"

      

      He thought this was a great strategy and arranged a date for a week later. His mother called the day after the big date to see how things had gone.

      

      "The evening was a disaster," he moaned.

      

      "Why, didn't she come over?" asked his mother.

      

      "Oh, she came over, but she refused to cook."

 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jokes are good way to relieve stress. There are many passages in the Bible concerning anguish, stress, anxiety and many other types of worrying.

Philippians 4:4-7
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Anyone with a TV or computer can see what is happening around the world as well as here in the United States. It seems that chaos is the rule of the day. There are people being imprisoned, tortured and murdered because of their Christian beliefs.  I know that we are told to expect this, but it is still very disheartening to hear about it. I used to feel like I was insulated from evil people who would take my life just because of my Christian faith. Today everyone is vulnerable to the terrorist who think that they are doing good by cleansing the world of those who doesn’t believe exactly as they do.

I'm anxiously awaiting the day when there will be Heaven on earth.

Much love, Dennis

Creation and evolution

I've been doing some research concerning creation and evolution. According to commonly accepted scientific methods, both of them are still theories. I was going to present both sides and give people an opportunity to check out what I found.

I have decided, after some discussion, that I couldn't present both sides equally because I am fervently a believer in God's Creation and that the theory of evolution is hogwash. Now that I have that covered, how about some entertainment.

One day the zoo-keeper noticed that the orangutan was reading two books - the Bible and Darwin's The Origin of Species. In surprise he asked the ape, "Why are you reading both those books"?

"Well," said the orangutan, "I just wanted to know if I was my brother's keeper or my keeper's brother."

One day a group of scientists got together and decided that man had come a long way and no longer needed God. So they picked one scientist to go and tell Him that they were done with Him.

      

      The scientist walked up to God and said, "God, we've decided that we no longer need you. We're to the point that we can clone people and do many miraculous things, so why don't you just go on and get lost."

      

      God listened very patiently and kindly to the man. After the scientist was done talking, God said, "Very well, how about this?

      

      Let's say we have a man-making contest." To which the scientist replied, "Okay, great!"

      

      But God added, "Now, we're going to do this just like I did back in the old days with Adam."

      

      The scientist said, "Sure, no problem" and bent down and grabbed himself a handful of dirt.

      

      God looked at him and said, "No, no, no. You go get your own dirt!"

Much Love, Dennis

Prayer by Cody Anderson

I had planed for a blog post about evolution vs. creation today, but I ran across something that grabbed my heart.

I won't spend much time explaining what this is, because it explains itself. 
Cody Anderson has been serving as the senior pastor at Faith Center Fellowship in Meno, Oklahoma for 12 years. This is a prayer that can be found on his Facebook page.

Cody Anderson
"Let's Pray America:
Dear Heavenly Father..................may we learn to celebrate with those who are being blessed and weep with those who are going through difficult times.................discerning what true friendship is all about................and we pray for the families of the Malaysian Airliner that was shot down

.............we ask that You comfort the family members during these hours of anguish and heartbreak................and we pray this morning for those who are going to the border today to take food and other essentials to the children who are crossing our borders................showing mercy.............at the same time we pray for justice along our borders................knowing when the fence is down bad things can happen to us a nation.

..............we need Your help today Lord.............recognizing there is trouble on every hand in our country as well as those countries that we have committed to defend...........including the nation of Israel who is defending herself as Hamas continues their strikes against the land that we as Christians call The Holy Land.

............we ask that You send warring angels to encamp about that nation to defend her against the aggression of her enemies and Your enemies............remembering Your covenant with Abraham............and may we as Americans understand that You will bless those who bless Israel..............may we not forget lest we lose the favor of You Almighty God..............and we pray for the churches in Ukraine as they face major aggression.................we also pray for our Christian friends in Russia who are beginning to encounter persecution they experienced under the former communist regime...................and we pray this morning for pastors who are preparing to minister tomorrow in churches all across America.

..............and we pray that Christians will not overlook the incredible privilege that we have by going to Your house tomorrow to worship You without fear or intimidation..............and we thank You Lord for the coming revival in America.................with young adults coming out of obscurity to preach Your gospel.................no names that will shake this nation with a message of hope and salvation....................may the rain of Your Holy Spirit flood this land today...............in Jesus name we pray.................amen."
Much Love, Dennis

Independence Day

Pastor William, the old preacher, made it a practice to visit the local school one day a week. He walked into the 4th grade class, where the children were studying the states, and asked them how many states they could name. They came up with about 40 names.  Pastor William jokingly told them that in his day students knew the names of all the states.

One lad raised his hand and said, 'Yes sir, but in those days there were only 13 states.

On Friday we will be celebrating Independence Day. Here is the Wikipedia definition.
Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. 
Today, many argue the history of our great nation. I didn't have to go very far when looking for quotes from some of our founding fathers explaining why we needed to be independent from Great Britain and the restricted religious atmosphere. Here are some of those quotes.

"It cannot be emphasized too strongly that this great nation was founded -- not by religionists -- but by Christians . . . on the Gospel of Jesus Christ." -- Patrick Henry 

"Do not let anyone claim to be a true American who attempts to remove religion from politics." -- George Washingtion, in his Farewell Address. 


"May every citizen in the army and in the country have a proper sense of Deity upon his mind and an impression of the declaration recorded in the Bible, 'Him that honoreth Me, I will honor, but he that despiseth Me shall be lightly esteemed'" (I Samuel 2:20). -- Samuel Adams, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. 

"We have no government armed with the power capable of contending with human passions, unbridled by morality and true religion. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." -- John Adams, our second president, in an address to military leaders. 



"God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the Gift of God. That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever." -- Thomas Jefferson 

"The man must be bad indeed who can look upon the events of the American Revolution without feeling the warmest gratitude towards the great Author of the Universe whose divine interposition was so frequently manifested in our behalf. And it is my earnest prayer that we may so conduct ourselves as to merit a continuance of those blessings with which we have hitherto been favored." -- George Washington in a Sept. 28, 1789 letter to the Rev. Samuel Langdon 

"The teachings of the Bible are so interwoven and entwined with our whole civic and social life that it would be literally - I do not mean figuratively, I mean literally - impossible for us to figure to ourselves what life would be if these teachings were removed. We would lose almost all the standards by which we now judge both public and private morals; all the standards toward which we with more or less resolution, strive to raise ourselves." -- Theodore Roosevelt 

I am aware that Theodore Roosevelt was not a founding father, but his statement rings true in today's society.

There were so many quotes that I could have easily filled a book with them. It's easy to see what our founding fathers had in mind when they formed our Constitution. If they were to see what was going on in our country today they would be deeply grieved. If you are interested in more examples, they are easily found on the Internet. I am aware that not everything on the Internet is factual, but these quotes that I have given can be verified by other sources. You can also find people who want to discredit God from the history of the United States. There will come a day when they are convinced of God's hand upon our founding fathers. I want to leave with a quote from George Washington in his farewell address.

"It is impossible to govern the world without God and the Bible. Of all the dispositions and habits that lead to political prosperity, our religion and morality are the indispensable supporters. Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that our national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle." -- George Washingtion in his Farewell Address. 

Much love, Dennis

Designing Swimming Pools

I've been taking the online "Pool Studios" classes for about 6 weeks. Things started off really good, I was feeling like this project was going to be "A Piece of Cake". Around the 3rd week, I found out that "A Piece of Cake" was the wrong term. Progress was slowing down and at times I actually had to just get away from the computer and give my mind a rest. I do have unlimited access to software support through telephone, email, and training videos.

I am not the type of person who likes to ask for help, but I found a spot that I just could not figure out. I looked at the videos concerning that part of the project and they were pretty generic. I was needing some specific guidance and I emailed the support staff along with some pictures of what I needed to create. I was having trouble creating multiple roof lines on a specific part of a house that I was trying to duplicate. My answer was a little bit disappointing. They started off by saying roof lines can be very hard. (duh) He then gave me a CAD drawing of a house with multiple roof lines.

I needed to work backwards with that drawing to see how they were able to perform the task at hand. I have been deconstructing and deconstructing and deconstructing. Finally I think that I may have a breakthrough. I really should have known this project was not going to be "A Walk in the Park" because there are very few local companies that use this software to show customers what their house, pool, and landscaping can look like before any work is ever done. My friend, Ronnie Cue, uses this tool and makes things look so simple. He came over a few months ago to give me an idea of what is required to build virtual swimming pools. Ronnie is very talented and makes most things look simple or easy.

As I backed away from the computer this week I was thinking about my lack of progress. Psalms 23 came to my mind.

A Psalm of David.

23 The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
² He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
³ He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

⁴ Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

⁵ You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.

I was reminded that I should not expect “A Walk in the Park or a Piece of Cake”, but rather trials and tribulations. I am going to encounter days and seasons in my life that are character building. Just like walking through the valley in life, I will maintain a steady pace and push forward with my CAD training. I know that in time they will both end with success.

Much love, Dennis

God's Army

Army vs. Marines

Two Marines boarded a quick shuttle flight out of Dallas, headed for Houston. One sat in the window seat, the other sat in the middle seat. 

Just before take-off, an Army soldier got on and took the aisle seat next to the two Marines. 

The Soldier kicked off his shoes, wiggled his toes and was settling in when the Marine in the window seat said, "I think I'll get up and get a coke." "No problem," said the Soldier, "I'll get it for you." 

While he was gone, the Marine picked up the Soldier's shoe and spit in it. When the Soldier returned with the coke, the Marine in the middle seat said, "That looks good, I think I'll have one too." 

Again, the Soldier obligingly went to fetch it and while he was gone, the Marine picked up the soldier's other shoe and spit in it. The Soldier returned and they all sat back and enjoyed the rest of the short flight to Houston. 

As the plane was landing, the Soldier slipped his feet into his shoes and knew immediately what had happened. 

"How long must this go on?" the Soldier asked. 

"This fighting between our services? This hatred? This animosity? This spitting in shoes and peeing in cokes?"

I’ve heard it said that the only Army that shoots its wounded is the “Christian Army”. As members of the Army of the Lord, we should be more appreciative of our differences. Each one of us was wonderfully and uniquely created and equipped for a purpose. I know that I am preaching to the choir, but I believe that we are allowing the enemy, (Satan) to drive a wedge between the members of God’s Church. As with any army we have different factions equipped to perform specific tasks. We wouldn’t expect someone trained and equipped to drive a tank to crawl into the cockpit of a fighter jet and be successful. Neither should we expect cookie-cutter type Christians. We have been equipped differently and our differences should be celebrated because when we work together as a unit, performing the task that we have been created to do we are invincible. I really like the way that Romans 12:9-21 explains it.

Love in Action

9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”  says the Lord. 20 On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;

    if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.

In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

I don’t know how many Christian denominations there are, but I know that each one has their own doctrine. I can’t tell you which ones, if any, are entirely biblical, because doctrines although Bible-based are man-made and subject to error. I’m sure that statement could be debated by many. My proposal would be to focus on the things that we agree upon. 

John 3:16  For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  

Much love, Dennis