Note to Self…

I find that my life is filled with ‘notes to self’ where I need to make

note to self regarding the often obvious issues of the day that I need to

address.

For example ...

-regarding elections.. NOTE TO SELF..’Friends don’t let friends vote for

pro-wrestlers for state governor.

- regarding marriage.. NOTE TO SELF.. ‘Be honest, but careful in the words

you choose to support your wife... and sometimes less is more.

With these two very real world common sense NOTES TO SELF.. let me continue

on this theme.


Old Testament.. NOTES

Adam.. NOTE TO SELF.. ‘Know HOW to multiply’

Adam.. NOTE TO SELF.. ‘a rib in exchange for pretty woman is a sweet deal’

Cain.. NOTE TO SELF.. ‘God’s ways are not PETA friendly’

Mr. Unicorn.. NOTE TO SELF.. ‘Don’t mix up RSVPs with the daily junk mail’

Abraham.. NOTE TO SELF.. Do not confuse ‘My wife and my sister.’

Abraham.. NOTE TO SELF.. ‘Do not confuse wife with maidservant.’

Sarah.. NOTE TO SELF.. ‘Men will always be men.’

Bob the Bull.. NOTE TO SELF.. ‘Beware of a Jew with a meat cleaver’

Sam the Sheep.. NOTE TO SELF.. ‘Always remember to FLOSS’

Spy #1.. NOTE TO SELF.. ‘Don’t hide out with prostitutes’

Guard Tower Sentry.. ‘Don’t Trash Talk those who are in Marching Bands’

Goliath – NOTE TO SELF.. ‘Beware of boys with sling shots that smell like

sheep’

Solomon – NOTE TO SELF.. ‘It is good to be married’

Benny the Baal Priest- NOTE TO SELF.. ‘Jewish Prophets tend to be Smart

Alecs’

Shadrach – NOTE TO SELF.. ‘Hot.. is the new Cool’

Larry the Lion- NOTE TO SELF.. ‘Don’t pig out at the salad bar, and have 3

large pops on all you can eat prophet night at the Old Testament Buffet.'



There you have it.. and today my.. NOTE TO SELF is.. Love God with all my

heart soul and mind and others as myself.. in all that I do. and Trust in

the Lord will all my heart and lean not unto my own understanding, in all

my ways acknowledge Him and He will direct my paths. the rest is trivial
pursuit.



Blessings

When your’e SMILING..

Today let me share the gospel message from singer songwriter Louis

Armstrong…

but do not be confused.. the cartoons are MINE!.. Louie plays tunes, and I

draw toons.

When you're smilin'....keep on smilin'.. The whole world smiles with you

And when you're laughin'....keep on laughin'.. The sun comes shinin'

through



But when you're cryin'.... you bring on the rain

So stop your frownin'....be happy again

Cause when you're smilin'....keep on smilin'

The whole world smiles with you





(instrumental break)



Oh when you're smilin'....keep on smilin'

The whole world smiles with you



Ah when you're laughin'....keep on laughin'

The sun comes shinin' through



Now when you're cryin'.... you bring on the rain

So stop that sighin'....be happy again

Cause when you're smilin'....just keep on smilin'

And the whole world gonna smile with


The great big world will smile with



The whole wide world will smile with you!



Thank you Louie.. thank you very much!









Ok I am right there with those of you who do not feel like smiling or

laughing all the time in a Ned Flanders-like oblivion to circumstances

around us. The only thing funny in your life right now may be your credit

score, or that big ol zit on the end of your nose.. BUT God is the answer (

sometimes in clearly miraculous ways ) to bad credit scores, zits, rocky

marriages, drink, food, and any other circumstance ever encountered by man.









So with this rock hard truth in mind.. today I choose to smile and praise

God for His love and Care in a world that so often is unloving, and

uncaring.



May God be so very real to each of you today. May His blessing and

providence be your comfort, and may we as believers be His hands and His

feet to a world in need.



SMILE, GOD LOVES YOU!

STOP THIEF!!

The return of Jesus is like a Thief in the Night as detailed in Matthew 24,

and I believe Luke 12. We do not know the time or the hour of our Lord’s

Return. so..

BE READY!

This is an integral message of the Gospels that Jesus will return and we

need to be followers of Jesus. BUT…

What about us believers who are ready.. BUT ..not ready?


It is like having unexpected family visit from out of town but the house is

a clutter and the guest room looks like a thrift store storage closet and

certainly not suitable for visiting family. The good news is they are

family, but the bad news is this clutter can be embarrassing… even for a

GUY like me.

I know I pass the 'first' READY test because I am a have accepted Jesus as

my savior,. BUT as far as my house in order for when Jesus comes back? I

would have to admit I sometimes have a 'bit' of clutter going on.

My Bible at times is HIDDEN under a stack of junk mail, and

my prayers fit in nooks and crannies of a busy day rather than an action as

natural as breathing.

The sad irony is.. my weary mind may instead decide to Veg-out in front of

the TV as I try to unwind from a busy day INSTEAD of being alone with God

praying or reading His word. This is not a guilt trip just a simple honest

observation.

BUT.. today is a great day to start anew, and clean the cluttered room in

my head and heart. I am rested and thankful for salvation in Jesus, and

thankful for a Heavenly Father who I can talk to through out my day.. and

so today I am ready. Peaceful, smiling, and thankful for a personal

relationship with the creator of all things.

There is but ONE GOD, and He loves me.

Note: So while the return of the Lord is as unexpected as a Thief in the

Night, he is NOT a thief but instead family. When Jesus comes again it will

be a great day, and I plan to be ready.

Finally, remember the Lord’s Return will be a surprise.. no one knows the

day or the hour of His return.. like a thief in the night..

My Childish Ways!! versus Childlike Ways!!

Matthew 18:3 And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and
become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

I Corinthians 13:11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought
like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish
ways behind me.

You are only young once, but you can stay immature indefinately. - Ogden
Nash

Ok the first two statements above are gleaned from our Bibles.. the last
quote was from Ogden Nash an American poet known for his sense of humor.

I think if I got a tattoo, the Ogden quote might be the tattoo for me as my
penchant for putting my foot in my mouth while trying to be funny AND the
fact that I am over 50 years old and still enammered with turning wrenches ( mechanicing ) seems to define me.

That or maybe a tattoo that says.. Quick Wit & Slow Mind.

Childlike and Childish are two entirely different approaches to life.

Childlike is the freeing trust in God that gives us peace beyond any
circumstance, and not a blind faith that Christians are smirked at for
having.

Childish is in my opinion a path more traveled in this society shouting ..
I WANT! and I HATE YOU!..and CHARGE IT! This is a ME society that operates
with indifference and naivety contrary to the two greatest scriptures of
perspective to Love God and Care for Others.

I am not a child, and I should not reason as a child but as an adult. The
chasm between the mind sets of Naïve and Trusting is great. Trusting is a
good while naïve.. is well.. naïve.

So today is a good day again to embrace a childlike faith. The last 16
months in particular I am prayerfully learning to claim the scripture Trust
God with all MY heart, lean not unto my own understanding, in all my ways
acknowledge God and He will direct MY paths.. Pr. 3:5-6 Both when life is
rocky AND when all seems well.


Let me close with one of my favorite cartoons based on
readings of Max Lucado.

1. I can’t wait to Wake Up!, and..

May God bless and use each of us this day in great ways. May you enjoy
life, laugh hard, and leave the worries to the Father!

Thoughts about Heaven !!!

I am 51 years old and the reality is I am most likely.. well OVER HALF WAY
TO HEAVEN.

I live in a society where making the monthly mortgage payment is not a
given anymore. So this glimpse of Heaven where my credit score is good, my
mortgage is paid in full, my joints don't hurt is welcome. In Heaven there
is no financial debt, debt of sin, and all other earthly blooper moment is
drowned in a sea of God's grace. When I have these glimpses of Heaven, my
shoulders relax, my mind is peaceful and I smile.

Unfortunately I know as I finish this blog and return to the challenges of
my day my body will hurt, I will get tired, maybe cranky, and there still
will be RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC. Bills will need to be paid, tempers will flare,
bad things will happen to good people, and good people will not always be
good. In summary the HUMAN CONDITION will continue.

But praise God for this spiritual journey, and for the love of our creator.
A love so great that He has always been involved with man to the point of
sending his son Jesus to save us... and then.. SOMEDAY HEAVEN.

Heaven is not an exclusive club of the rich and famous or the few and far
between Mother Theresa's. Praise God for the saints, but Heaven is for all
who believe. Let's today fall in love with this truth. Let's not lose sight
of a God who loves us, and in response love Him and care for others like
never before, THEN.. someday Heaven.

Easter Fun

I enjoy the fun my wife and I have shared with our kids over the
years, coloring eggs, hiding baskets, and all the other fun Easter
traditions, BUT I do not confuse this light fun with the Passion of the
Cross.

The Holy week of Jesus with all the cornerstone pieces of the salvation
message MUST be remembered and honored or we miss the point of Easter.

Now we live in a society where schools have Good Friday off, but don’t call
it Good Friday because that would be ‘too Christian’ and disrespectful of
all the other religions in our diverse society.

Happy is the Nation is who’s God is the Lord.
We should be celebrating the Truth of the Easter message
including Good Friday and quit apologizing for it. My fear is we are as a
nation slip sliding away on the slopes of compromise and are on the cusp of
falling far as just another nation and no longer regarded as a Christian
nation, and will suffer the consequences of these choices.

Two things I know :
1. I AM JUST A MAN and not a prophet, so what the HOOT do I know
anyways, and
2. If we are falling as a nation, God will take us back. So let’s as
individuals prayerfully be faithful and unite as a ONE CHURCH (of many
denominations) but with the ONE PURPOSE in honoring our God by loving Him
and others as ourselves. Then as ONE CHURCH let’s start a revival to become
again ONE NATION under God (not multiple gods) with liberty and justice for
all.

BUT I DIGRESS.. and while my point is serious point is made on honoring the
salvation message of Easter, now let me segue gracefully like a Peter
Cottontail down the bunny trail (or a Norwegian bull in a china shop) to my
secular Easter of bunnies, chicks (the birds, not the girls), colored eggs,
chocolate, and baskets.

May God bless each of you this Easter with safe travels, good family fun,
and a great time of celebrating our Risen Lord.

Easter Blessings

what would happen if we treated our Bible like a cell phone ?

I wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phones?

What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?

What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?

What if we flipped through it several times a day?

What if we used it to receive messages from the text?

What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?

What if we gave it to kids as gifts?

What if we used it as we traveled?

What if we used it in case of an emergency?

What if we upgraded it to get the latest version?

This is something to make you go...hmmm...where is my Bible?

Oh, and one more thing. Unlike our cell phone, we don't ever have to worry about our Bible being disconnected because Jesus already paid the bill!