Yackin

Because Kaite Asked

2011-02-03T16:16:00.003-05:00

Hi. Today has been a good day. There is a new ROM on the droid called Liberty 1.5 and it is fast, snappy, and awesome.

I've also got my code ALMOST working.

I think M. has a study tonight. Rob invited me over. I doubt I'll go.

I started a yearly devotional (on my droid) yesterday. 1 day down, 364 to go (thank goodness it's not a leap year!).

Bonhoeffer on fasting

2011-01-24T20:35:00.003-05:00

"...The contast between our behaviour and the word of Jesus is all too painfully evident. We forget that discipleship means estrangement from the world, and we forget the real joy and freedom which are the outcome of a devout rule of life. As soon as a Christian recognizes that he has failed in his service, that his readiness has become feeble, and that he has sinned against another's life and become guilty of another's guilt, that all his joy in God has vanished and that his capacity for prayer has quite gone, it is high time for him to launch an assault upon the flesh, and prepare for better service by fasting and prayer. ...How is it possible to live the life of faith when we grow weary of prayer, when we lose our taste for reading the Bible, and when sleep, food and sensuality deprive us of the joy of communion with God?"

Romans 1 conclusion thoughts

2010-11-04T22:29:00.003-05:00

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

People often ask, what about those who have never heard? I believe God reveals Himself through creation and through His character - so that when it comes down to it, there is no one who hasn't heard. It is not just a matter of having a conscience and violating it (although that is part of it) - but somehow, God reveals his divine nature and eternal power to people and they can choose to believe and have faith - or to reject and suppress the truth. We are ALL without excuse.

I'm going to skip a few verses here - because I don't feel like commenting on every single verse - and this is a family blog...

25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

Whenever we sin - every time we sin - we are exchanging the truth of God for a lie. Don't we understand that God's way is the best way and Satan's way is a lie?

And then Paul launches into a discussion of the dangers of that:

29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; [they are] gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 32 and, although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

Whoa. Just Whoa. Or Woe.

Wisdom says to stick with doing things God's way!

Lord, thank You once again for Your Word - and the truth that is found there. Help me to understand the power of Your words - that Your truth is what sets me free. Help me to live in the power of Your resurrection - that as You were raised from the dead so I should walk in the newness of life. Thank You for my precious wife and her birthday beginning in a few minutes. Help her to have an encouraging weekend with everyone home and for our family to continue to grow in You. Make us fruitful for Your kingdom - that You would receive all glory, honor and praise. May we lead many to righteousness - that is, faith in You.

Romans 1:11-17

2010-11-03T22:22:00.003-05:00

Well, it has been a busy day - Have not had much of a moment to journal, but here goes...

11 For I long to see you in order that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established; 12 that is, that I may be encouraged together with you [while] among you, each of us by the other's faith, both yours and mine.

I posted a question on Facebook based on this verse last night - if God could give you a spiritual gift, what would you like it to be?

I had several interesting answers. Tonight - in response - I posted this:

Romans 1:11 led me to ask this question: 11 For I long to see you in order that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established;
and I realized that we have the POWER of Jesus and His Holy Spirit to be a blessing to others - and that through Jesus, we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing (Eph. 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ). May God richly bestow His blessings upon you. Lisa, may you have a clue. Andi - Humility - (Which is simply acknowledging that all we have comes from God). Tanya - discernment (well spoken, by the way!), Paul - you have His forgiveness (well-spoken, as well!), Debbie - may you have peace that surpasses understanding (Phil. 4:6-7), Cheryl, may you have that peace NOW! and Doug - May we all be living sacrifices to/for Him. Press ON!

Again - is there anything special that we have (that God has given, of course) to impart to others? - and is there something lacking in us that needs to be imparted? The imparting is that they/we may be established.

13 And I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that often I have planned to come to you (and have been prevented thus far) in order that I might obtain some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles.

Paul lived to bear fruit. We need to make that our ambition.

14 I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. 15 Thus, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

are we EAGER to share the gospel? And do we show favoritism - or are we willing to share with whomever?

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

I can say that I am not ashamed of the gospel. It is the POWER of God for salvation to everyone WHO BELIEVES. It is not power for everyone - only those who believe.

17 For in it [the] righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "But the righteous [man] shall live by faith."

LIVE by faith. Every aspect of our lives needs to be governed by faith.

Father, increase our faith. Help us to be aware and sensitive to the leading of Your Holy Spirit. May we find His power in our lives - and the power of the gospel - that we might continue in faith - believing You for every aspect of our lives. Amen!

Romans 1:1-11

2010-11-02T18:37:00.002-05:00

Because I commented last night that I have my best quiet times while journaling, I decided to give Abby's method a try. So here goes!

Roma 1:1 Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called [as] an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,

Whoa! So much there already. Paul considers himself to be a bond-servant of Jesus. Those who know the OT history recognize that a bond-servant is one who has been set free, but out of his love for his master, he remains a servant. What do I need to change to consider myself a bondservant of the Most High?

Called as an apostle. -by Jesus Himself.

set apart for the gospel. Oh, that each of us would recognize our calling and commission - set apart to be an ambassador for Christ. In the world, but not of it.

2 which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures,

The gospel is not a new thing in the New Testament. It is the fulfillment of everything that was written before. God spoke through His prophets and gave us pictures - shadows - of the reality of Christ.

3 concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, 4 who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord,

Jesus proved He was God the Son by the power of His resurrection. That Spirit - that POWER - that raised Jesus from the dead - that Spirit of holiness - IS Jesus Christ our Lord

5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about [the] obedience of faith among all the Gentiles, for His name's sake,

and it is through Him that we receive grace and our mission to help everyone to come to faith in obedience.

How can we help people come to faith? Obedience of faith? Jesus says if we love Him, we will obey Him. I believe the main thing He wants us to obey is to come to faith in Himself. If we are sensitive to the power of the Spirit's leading, we will understand better how to lead people to a saving, obedient faith in Jesus.

6 among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;

THE CALLED. Not called, but THE CALLED. Paul was called - we are called. The called.

7 to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called [as] saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Called - as saints. Grace and peace - think about that - Grace from God/Peace from God Himself and the Lord Jesus Christ. We have God's grace. How awesome is that?

And yes - let's not forget - this is being proclaimed to the Italians - those beloved of God in Rome :)!

8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world

The FIRST thing Paul wants to do it to thank God because their faith is being proclaimed all over the world. Wow.

9 For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the [preaching of the] gospel of His Son, is my witness [as to] how unceasingly I make mention of you, 10 always in my prayers making request, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you.

Paul prays for them - a lot. How often do we pray for others?

The goal is to build into others - and as we do, we are each encouraged. As I think through the people I'm involved with, I have to ask - What spiritual gift can I impart? How can I build into them? Who has the greatest needs and needs to be encouraged the most? What spiritual gift are they lacking the most? Spirit, speak to my heart as I seek You.

Father, thank You for Your word today - thank You for the spiritual gifts You give and the POWER of Your Spirit of holiness to help us to know how to help others and to live godly lives for You. I thank You for Your church - may we be ones who proclaim You and may our faith be recognized as genuine. May Your gospel go forth in power! In Jesus' Name. Amen.

Month-old memories of HSLT

2007-08-19T15:24:00.001-05:00

HSLT rocked!
First of all, I was so impressed with the character of the 19 teens that went to HSLT this year. What a great group! For the guys, each guy had a turn as the 'Man in the Middle' - and each one was very open and honest about how God was working in his life and willing to share his struggles. This is the first step to making progress in an area.

During evangelism time, I got paired with another adult leader, John (mainly because none of the teens wanted to go with us). The first guy we talked to was walking down the beach with his wife. He had his ankle wrapped, so I asked him about it and we got to talking. He was Baptist but hadn't been to church for a while. We encouraged him to get back to church.

We then went out onto the pier. It cost a dollar to go on the pier, and $7 if you were fishing. The first guy we talked to was fishing - his family was out on the pier with him. He claimed he was saved, but hadn't been to church since he had been in Iraq. John was familiar with the area he was from (Johnson City, TN) - and may have actually had some relatives that went to his church! We encouraged him to get back to it.

While we were talking to him, an older guy walked by and I felt the prompting to talk to him. So I went up to him and asked him how he was doing..."fine, first vacation in 3 years!" "You're not retired?" "No, are you retired?" he asked me. Turns out he was almost 87 years old - and had been working real estate for the past 57 years. He told me how he had helped out various charities by doing auctions for free. He told me about his implanted defibrillator and how his wife was probably watching us from her hotel room. I asked him if his defib were to stop working and he were to die today if he knew 100% sure that he was going to heaven. He said, I don't think you can know for sure. So I asked, if I could take just a few minutes to show you what the Bible says about knowing for sure 100%, would you want to take that time to do that? Sure! So we went through a 'Do you know for certain' tract - and when I got to the point about asking Christ into his life, I asked him if that was something he wanted to do, and he said, SURE! He said, why don't you pray first and I'll repeat after you... so I prayed with him and I am confident that he knows for sure that he'll be in heaven - not based on anything he had done, but on the promises of God.

(Melissa says, at this point, she'd have just gone home!)

The next guy we went up to was just staring out at the ocean - John introduced us and I said, let me just cut to the chase - if you were to die today, would you be 100% certain you'd go to heaven? He said, yes. I said, how do you know? "I've never done anything wrong!" Nothing? Ever? Nope! You've never lied? Nope. (Except for right now!). Once I finally convinced him that we are all sinners and in the same boat...I asked if he would like to know what the Bible says about how you can know for certain. So we went through the tract and I got to the part about praying - and he said that he would prefer not to pray out loud. So I asked if he would like me to pray and would pray along with me. So I prayed for him - and told him that if he was sincere in his prayer that he could know for sure that God would answer that prayer. Praise God!

Two other significant events:
During our service project we went to Elevated Ministries to help them set up a kiosk and a desk - so while we were there I asked if they needed any computer work done. They said that their wireless router had not been set up yet. So I went to work on it, but did not get it done in the time that we had. I felt bad, and told them I'd try to come back next time. But as it turned out, we did not go back there - so the next day when we were getting our service project assignments, I asked one of the guys who was going to Elevated if any of his guys were computer guys - and he said that he was a certified network specialist. Yay! So he was able to get them set up and we were all happy.

The second significant event:
Wednesday night I was a little overwhelmed about how we would be able to implement all the things we had been learning. I was reminded of Romans 8:11 - where it says that the Spirit who raised Christ from the dead - that power - dwells in us. So that night I shared with the teens that verse and how we can't do it on our own but need the Holy Spirit to do the work in our lives. The next day, Kimball was leading worship - and I heard this line - "There's a power in His breath living inside us. The power that raised, raised, raised Christ from the dead." - and the rest of the song tells about how He has overcome. I about lost it when I heard this song - and asked Kimball later - Where has this song been? Why have we not done it before now? He replied, "About the time you were sharing that verse with your group last night... I was writing this song." And he was kind enough to sing it again Friday night at the closing worship. Thanks, Kimball!

If you would like to hear more of the testimonies from the teens who went to LT - click on the link on the title of this post (gracesummit.org/20070812.asp)

I may not post that often, but when I do...Look out!
Yack

What happens in Vegas...

2007-03-27T01:19:00.000-05:00

...isn't all bad :).

Shortly after we got to Vegas, we were approached by someone who asked if we had "gotten our comps" yet (for my kids' sake - comps are complimentary things that the hotels give out to keep their guests there gambling ;) ). We said no. The deal was, if we sat through a timeshare presentation by Tahiti Village, we could get two show tickets (Barbra and Frank - (for my kids' sake, Streisand and Sinatra 'impersonators')), two buffet dinners, and $80 worth of '40 for 20' slot play. The slot play is this - you have a chance (ha!) to win $40, $100, or $1000 if you hit a 'jackpot'. Along the way, you win more 'credits' that keep you playing longer. But once all your credits are gone, you still get to pick from a nice selection of gifts. Anyway, enough about that for now. This morning at 9, we went to Tahiti Village, and learned that for a mere $47,000 and some odd cents (in 96 easy MONTHLY payments of $787), you could buy the right to use a timeshare for 2 weeks per year. We enjoyed the presentation, and there wasn't too much pressure to buy. After the freebies, the best part was the bus ride back: The driver took us all over Vegas (returning people to their various hotels), and giving us a mini tour along the way..."and across Dean Martin Boulevard from NY,NY is a diner called the Wild Wild West, where you can get a breakfast combo for 1.99..." -- you get the idea.

While we were waiting to catch the initial Tahiti Village bus, a woman asked if we were going to be in Vegas for another day (which is usually a pitch for one of the timeshares) - she continued, "Because I have two 24-hour bus passes that expire at 5:00 today and we are leaving for the airport right now!" So after the timeshare presentation, we took the 'Deuce' (F.M.K.S, a double decker bus that runs up and down 'the strip') to the furthest point south that we wanted to go and walked back up the strip looking at hotels and shops and stuff all day. Then we came back for our buffet dinner (incidentally, we walked the whole way back - probably over 6 miles just along the strip alone - not counting all the walking we did in the hotels!), played our free slots, picked out our free gifts (Leather duffel bags on wheels), and called it a night. Not a bad day!

Zion Day 3

2007-03-24T23:41:00.000-05:00

We had another awesome day. We hiked over 7 miles - 3.5 on the Pa'Rus Trail, then the Middle, Upper, and Lower Emerald Pool trails, then the River Walk trail (which we did Thursday). Look for today's photos under the _ZionDay3 folder at http://photos.yahoo.com/jmyackley (just click the title of this post).

Yahoo photos should work now!

2007-03-24T10:22:00.000-05:00

So far we have __ZionDay1 and _BryceBack2Zion

Brrrrr-icey Bryce

2007-03-23T23:26:00.000-05:00

We traveled up to Bryce Canyon today. We knew there was a chance of snow due to some rain moving up from Arizona (now there is a phrase you don't hear too often - "But it's a dry rain"???). Well it brought a wet snow - but thankfully, we were able to get some pictures before it moved in. When we went to the second viewpoint, it was so foggy (cloudy?) that we couldn't see a thing. By the time we got to the third viewpoint, the snow was moving in. Nonetheless, we had a fine lunch on the way back to Zion. (We split split pea soup and an open face turkey sandwich and mashed potatoes). I am sooo thankful that I listened to my wife (now there is a phrase you don't hear too often! - to be clear, I am always thankful when I listen to my wife - husbands (those other guys) just don't listen to their wives often enough!) - when she noticed that Bryce is typically 20 degrees cooler than Zion - so we ended up staying at Zion instead - and we love our room at the Pioneer Lodge and the weather here is sooo much better!

Again, click on the title (should link to http://photos.yahoo.com/jmyackley - then navigate to folder _BryceThenBack2Zion

Enjoy!

Zion Rocks!

2007-03-23T00:23:00.000-05:00

Unbelievable. Click on the title (Zion Rocks) to go to my photo album - go to the ZionDay1 folder.

A Room With a View

2007-03-22T23:40:00.000-05:00

This was our view from the Boulder Station Hotel and Casino - Room 1210. We were on a Non-smoking floor - but I think that was considered to be a suggestion rather than a commandment...- we even saw someone smoking in their room WHILE THE CLEANING PEOPLE WERE THERE! I wish it were like the Amish Door - they have a rule - if there is evidence of smoking, you will be charged a $50 cleaning charge. Our linens smelled like smoke - eventually Melissa had to get up and get her Grapefruit Spray to spray her pillow so she could get to sleep!

Twas the night before the night before Christmas...

2006-12-23T21:42:00.000-05:00

Life is good. I am blessed beyond belief.

There. Who says I don't post on my blog?

Why I believe what I believe

2006-04-25T11:58:00.000-05:00

When I was about 13, a friend of mine said, "I believe Jesus was a good man, and a good moral teacher, but I don't believe he was God the Son." This got me thinking, because I had always taken it for granted. Over the next year, I considered this and prayed that God would give me understanding. In the back of a neighbor's Bible was a list of prophecies written hundreds of years before Jesus was born that were fulfilled in Him. Many of these prophecies Jesus had no control over - and at first glance, even appeared to be contradictory. For instance, Micah 5 says that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, and yet another passage says that He would be called "out of Egypt" - which seems contradictory until you see how it played out. Even at His crucifixion - a prophecy (Psalm 22) proclaims "They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots." - Well, which was it? It doesn't make any sense until you get to the crucifixion scene and see where they divided his garments among themselves, but his robe was one piece, and instead of tearing it, chose to cast lots for it. Many more examples can be found at PropheciesFulfilled. Isaiah 53 is another group of prophecies whose fulfillment amazes me. As I read these prophecies and their fulfillment, I realized that the probability of them being fulfilled in one person was too great, too inconceivable to not be true.

Then there is the "SIN" issue - and here is where Christ provides the ONLY answer. When we sin, we are separated from God. From the beginning (and I don't claim to understand this) - the penalty for sin is the shedding of blood - as is the REMEDY for sin. When Adam and Eve sinned, God clothed them in animal skins - an animal had to die as a result of their sin. When Cain and Abel offered their sacrifices, Abel's offering (a sacrificed ram) was acceptable to God and Cain's offering (the fruit of the land) wasn't. I know, I know, it hardly seems fair, but that is how it is. In the same way, we cannot atone (make good) for our sins on our own. In the Old Testament, a lamb was sacrificed for the sins of the people. At Passover (still in the Old Testament) a lamb was sacrificed and its blood was sprinkled over the doorway and the angel of death 'Passed Over' that house - bringing salvation to those who trusted God enough to follow His instructions to put the blood of the lamb on their doorposts. So it is when Christ came, He was the 'Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world' - He was the fulfillment of the Old Testament sacrifice and the Old Testament Passover. He lived a SINLESS life, and proved that his sacrifice was acceptable to God by defeating death and being raised from the dead. But we must trust God enough to do as He says, and to 'apply' Christ's sacrifice to the frame of our hearts. We must 'receive Him' - John 1:12 - to those who received Him He gives the right to become children of God. When we believe: Ephesians 1:13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance...
Now, having said all that, another thing that convinces me is the peace He has given me in my heart of hearts. I know I can trust Him with my life and I desire to do all that He asks me to do. Yes, I still sin, but 1 John 2 says that Jesus is my advocate - he pleads my case before the throne of God and says, "I've paid for this one."

Sorry this is so long - it is not a trivial thing to say why one believes what one believes!

Homecoming Anniversary

2006-04-10T22:18:00.000-05:00

A year ago today, my mentor and good friend Dennis Knable went home to be with the Lord after a short and challenging battle with cancer. About 4 months ago, John Lile (on the right) joined him. 10 years ago, they helped to found the church that we (Grace Summit) merged with. They were two of the most humble men you could ever hope to meet - ones who saw their lives as an offering to the Lord. They were great husbands and fathers and friends. I have a lot more that I could say. I miss them. Saturday night, I was thinking about Dennis's blessing to his family the night before he went Home. How he blessed them and told his grandson how he was destined for greatness. I was setting my alarm for the morning and flipped the radio on and Steven Curtis Chapman's "With Hope" song was on. That was all it took. I probably wept for a good ten minutes. I hugged my wife tight and told her I love her. Life is too short for anything less.

The portion of the GraceSummit sermon I mentioned below

2006-03-30T12:48:00.000-05:00

From March 19 Sermon
...
5. Then the fifth, commit to sharing the good news. Once you know the good news, you share it with other people. I've already shared this with my small group - but about 12 days ago (March 7) I heard that a friend of mine, Brad, was in the hospital and that the doctors had given up hope. That day, I went to visit Brad. I prayed that God would give me the right emotions to meet their needs the most. There was a sign on the door - Immediate family members only. I went to the nurses' station and said that I was really hoping to see Brad. She said that he had requested no visitors and asked if I would like to write him a note. Before actually thinking it through, I said, Sure.. Think about that a second... have you ever written a note to a dying person? It is a tough thing to do. So I stood there for a few minutes and thought. So finally I wrote about the times we had shared together - how helpful he was with my system and how I always enjoyed our talks. At the end of the note, I mentioned that my one regret was that we never had the opportunity to play golf together - because we often talked about golf. But in the middle, I wrote - My Dad was in a similar situation a few years ago, and a couple of scriptures that really helped to refresh his heart and mine -

John 5:24 - He who hears my word and believes on Him who sent me HAS eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.

HAS eternal life. That is a present-tense verb - when you put your trust in Christ, you HAVE eternal life - it is not something you can lose. Because otherwise, it would not be eternal life that you have. There are other scriptures that support this more strongly.

The other verse I shared was from 1 John 5:13 - These things I have written to you who believe on the name of the Son of God that you may KNOW - and I underlined the word KNOW - that you have eternal life. And you know, those aren't necessarily preachy verses - and I don't know where Brad is coming from - whether he has been a churchgoer all his life or not - but I do know that those verses are true and give hope to a dying person. And can make him think - that if he has not put his faith in Christ, that he CAN KNOW that he could have eternal life. As it turned out, Brad's wife poked her head out the door and invited me in - as Brad was awake. I was honored to talk to him. He was very aware that his days were numbered = he even said that they were making arrangements. I mentioned something about the verses and he mentioned -something about hope = yes, there is hope for something on the other side.

As I was leaving - I told him that we would pray for him and his family. When the nurse came in, I did have the opportunity to talk to Brad's wife - and I told her a bit about Dennis and Linda - and what an inspiration Linda has been to us. We talked about how hard it is going to be - she will have two of her children with her - and for someone who is not yet 50 to be losing a husband and father like that = that is a tough thing. And again, Linda has been such an inspiration to us that I want to honor her by mentioning that. As I walked out - I said, See you on the other side = and that was my prayer for him.

My point is this - we need to be looking for opportunities to be sharing these truths. And not just in deathbed situations. What a hopeful verse = How many of your friends know for sure they are going to heaven? 1 John 5 - I write these things that you may KNOW you have eternal life. A lot of people I talk to say, Isn't that presumptuous? No, it is not - the Bible says right here - he who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son does not have the life - I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may KNOW that you have eternal life.

Remembering Brad Truett

2006-03-27T17:20:00.000-05:00

My friend Brad went home to be with the Lord this morning. He was 49. For those of you at Grace Summit, he is the coworker I spoke about at the end of the sermon on March 19. When I had heard that he was dying, I went to visit him (this was on March 7). You can read about that visit at the bottom of the GraceSummit link.

This morning, I googled his name, and found this - from the March 12 bulletin of the Clarkston Free Methodist Church:

"Brad Truett—friend of the Mujais family, accepted the Lord as his Savior this week. Please continue to pray for Brad as he endures pain and suffering from cancer. Pray that God would relieve Brad’s pain as He sees fit."

I called the Clarkston church and they connected me with Stephanie Mujais, who shared with me her side of the story. When she heard that Brad's cancer had returned in early February, she called him and talked about the Lord. She is a cancer survivor and really felt burdened to share with her former childhood neighbor. This was an answer to prayer of some other believers who had prayed that others would share with Brad. On March 3, she came to see him and Brad wanted to talk to her about God and heaven. He told her he wanted to be forgiven - and she explained how Christ died for our sins so we could be forgiven and prayed with him. Praise God for this sister who felt God's prompting and shared the Good News!

Thanks to all of you who prayed for Brad. Please continue to pray for his family as they go through this challenging time.

Yackin: OK, Swift...

2006-03-24T13:16:00.000-05:00

Yackin: OK, Swift...: "questions questions questions lets see hmmmmmm ok maby you know the answer to this one. Is it wrong to pray to marry and if so why?

Hmmm - my first thought was, it is always good to pray before you marry someone. :-D

At 10:30 PM, swift0014 said...
like the marry mother of Jesus in case that wasnt clear
"

Okay - praying to Mary. I guess the first question is, Why would anyone WANT to pray to Mary. The Bible says that we have direct access to the Throne of God through Christ. Hebrews 4:16

Also - 1 Timothy 2:5 "For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus."

There is only one mediator, Jesus.

Also, Mary, although she was an honored woman to be chosen to be the mother of Jesus, and she is blessed among women (Luke 1:42), she is not Deity, nor omniscient, to be able to hear the millions of prayers that have been offered to her.

Also, when Jesus was asked about how to pray, He said to pray to the Father. Never in Scripture is there an admonition to pray to anyone but God. Some argue that it is like asking a friend to pray for them - but the problem is, it is not like asking a friend to pray for them. Deuteronomy 18:11 forbids "calling upon the dead" - and when it did happen in the Bible (Saul called upon Samuel), it was NOT a good thing, even though Samuel was a great prophet of God.

What are the bigger issues here? Some believe that the Deity of Christ makes Him unapproachable and it is easier to approach His mother. Well, that is a misunderstanding of the nature of Christ and His grace and mercy. We are to pray to Christ/God alone, to find mercy and grace in our time of need. He alone saves us. He alone intercedes for us. Thoughts, anyone?

OK, Swift...

2006-03-09T17:18:00.000-05:00

Swift0014 writes:
"i still really want a list of things you feel are important in a relationship (from a male perspective)"

Okay - I started this a few days ago, but have not had much time to work on it.
On the lighter side, it is important to have someone that you really enjoy being around - which sounds simple enough. When I think about MrsY - I REALLY enjoy just being around her. She "gets" my jokes - and I get hers. If I had to explain my jokes to her, our relationship would become tiresome :))).

It is great to have someone you can team up with to work on projects - especially when it comes to spreading Christ's love to others. To be a team it is good to have someone who complements your weaknesses (read my profile :))

As a guy, I feel it is important to take the lead in the spiritual aspects of a relationship: to pray together, to initiate in Bible-reading and devotions, in going to church, and being active in telling others about Christ. Similarly, it is important to take the initiative in staying within proper boundaries before marriage. When you maintain those boundaries, you establish security and trust which are critical in a relationship. Also critical is honesty - being honest about who you are. (I know we always try to put our best self forward in a relationship - but eventually, she has to see the real you, "warts and all" as they say").

Of course, this is not an exhaustive list, but it should make for some good talking points :)

Press ON! - Thanks for your patience!
Jeff

Thanks

2006-03-02T16:55:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to thank everyone who commented on the last post - and especially Swift for starting it and continuing it. I think there are some valuable things for all of us to think about and I appreciate the honesty and the willingness to dig a little deeper. Way cool: as I was listening to WCRF this morning (which I don't normally do), a show came on and the text for the day was Psalm 73 - and the hosts commented how it sure is easy to feel like we feel sometimes! They must be reading our blogs! :-D
Press ON!
Jeff

Theoretical Question

2006-02-15T12:36:00.000-05:00

Swift0014 asked this question in the comments of my previous post:
Theoretical situation: you're a redeemed child of God that is surrounded by doomed wicked sinners who make it near impossible to think the way you're telling people to think; these people not only make you think wrongly but make it seem better to live a sinner's life. Answer?

Let me start with some Scripture from someone who felt EXACTLY like you feel:

Psalm 73 (Asaph)
1 Surely God is good to Israel,
To those who are pure in heart!
2 But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling,
My steps had almost slipped.
3 For I was envious of the arrogant
As I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

(skip a few - but Asaph lays out how the wicked prosper)

13 Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure
And washed my hands in innocence;

(wow, it sure feels that way sometimes, eh?)

16 When I pondered to understand this,
It was troublesome in my sight
17 Until I came into the sanctuary of God;
Then I perceived their end.
18 Surely You set them in slippery places;
You cast them down to destruction.
...
24 With Your counsel You will guide me,
And afterward receive me to glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but You?
And besides You, I desire nothing on earth.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
27 For, behold, those who are far from You will perish;
You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You.
28 But as for me, the nearness of God is my good;
I have made the Lord GOD my refuge,
That I may tell of all Your works.

John 10:10 says that the devil comes to steal, and kill, and destroy. There is a battle, and if you are not aware of it, it is easy to be deceived into thinking that the way of the sinner is better than the Way of Life. However, when you are aware of the battle, it is easy to see the Truth - that Christ came to give us life, and to give it abundantly.

In what way is the sinner's life better? Let me pick a few choice sins and see if the sinner's way is better:
Lying:
Pros: It gets you out of a situation
Cons: It gets you out of a situation, temporarily. I once knew a guy who lied so much he couldn't keep his stories straight! If you tell the truth, you never have to worry about keeping the story straight. And it always works out better in the end (have you ever seen an episode of I Love Lucy? If she had simply told the truth at the beginning, it sure would have saved her a lot of trouble later!)

Cheating on a test: you may get a better grade, temporarily. But who is it really cheating? You. Better to do the work and learn the material and earn the grade. You'll feel better about yourself and be smarter as well!

Drinking
Kind of a trick question - in that drinking, in itself, is not a sin (unless you are underage and it is illegal!). But it often leads to sin and a lot of other problems. Getting drunk IS a sin. But is it really all that much fun? I don't think so. (And those who get sick from being drunk don't think so!). Better to keep a clear head and enjoy the good things God gives in moderation.

Sex
Another trick question - in that sex, in its proper context, is a gift from God and a picture of Christ's relationship with the church (Eph. 5:31-32). But those who abuse the gift outside of its proper context may seem to be having fun, but it leaves them empty and unfulfilled. They lose the perspective (and joy) of giving themselves fully to their spouse (either current or future!). When you have only had one partner, she is always the best you've ever had! Doing things God's way brings joy and peace and contentment and the true expression of love. Doing things any other way (be it real or imagined or even looking at inappropriate things on the internet or in movies) brings discontentment, brokenness, and drives a wedge between you and God and you and the one God has chosen for you.

When it seems like the way of the sinner is better than the Way of Christ, that is an indication that it is time to spend time reading the Word and praying. It is okay to tell God that the way of the sinner looks appealing, but ask Him to fulfill the desires of your heart in a righteous way (or to remove those desires if they are not from Him!). It is also good to have another brother in Christ with whom you can be open about your struggles - who will love you enough to tell you when you are heading the wrong way. (2 Tim. 2:22).

Feel free to comment or ask other questions!
Press ON!
Jeff

Church Stuff

2006-01-20T16:20:00.000-05:00

I spoke at church a couple weeks ago Wake UP!. Since then, I've been challenging some of my friends to see their hearts as refined and made new. I think it changes our whole outlook when we are tempted. Are you more likely to get victory if you see yourself as a redeemed child of God or as a desperately wicked sinner? (provided, of course, you are a redeemed child of God!).

I preached it to a guy named Paul I met at the Downtown Canton Skating Rink. I let him try out my skates. Afterwards, we talked for a bit and I asked him where he was on his spiritual journey...he said, "I'm a Christian, but I haven't been going to church." I asked him if he had any kids and he said "3 step-kids" - and that his "old lady" had a bad attitude. We talked a little about the battle between the flesh and the spirit. He said he really wants to do right - but when he thinks about going to church his flesh doesn't want him to. I encouraged him to get back in the Word - Gospel of John, Romans 7, etc - and to be a spiritual leader in his family by serving his family. "What does that mean?" It means when your "old lady" is trying to get the dinner on the table that you ask her how you can help, or just pitch in. It means cleaning up the house without being asked or told. It means doing the dirty jobs that no one else wants to do. Jesus was the greatest spiritual leader of all time - yet he was the greatest servant of all. And then he might find that the "bad attitude" his "old lady" has can turn into a good attitude. He kept saying - "this is really radical" or "this is powerful". I also encouraged him to find a brother with whom he can find encouragement on his spiritual walk.

testing 1,2,3

2005-11-29T19:04:00.000-05:00

This is my first post using pocketblogger. I am sitting at the girls' dance studio. In a little while we are going to church to hear a pastor from Africa speak.

Noel, noel, no No-it's too early-el!!! My Letter to 95.5 The Fish - who started playing Christmas Music Today (Nov. 14)

2005-11-14T19:58:00.000-05:00

Update: I got a letter from Sue Wilson explaining their philosophy. After she explained it, I accepted it and I hope it works out - basically, the idea is that some people really like Christmas music - and that by getting a jump on it, it might gain some listeners who didn't normally listen. Not a bad plan, as long as they don't mind losing the rest of us in the meantime!

I have always loved your station. I have sent you letters PRAISING your style of reaching out to people in a way that Christian stations never have...

I hope you get a good response - I really do - BUT...

When I heard you had started Christmas music, I said to myself, I guess I'll be listening to other stations (gasp!) until after Thanksgiving.

Then I got home to find out that all of my daughters, and my wife - who are AVID FISH listeners - had said EXACTLY THE SAME THING!!! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE reconsider! Put a poll on the website! Ask the listeners! OK - I see the poll on the website - but there is no way to indicate that IT IS TOO EARLY!

I decided to take a little poll myself - I called my next-door neighbor...

I asked, Hey, what do you think of the Fish's "All Christmas Music" - Her first response was,

"I can't stand it! I turned it off. It is just too early." When she realized I was typing, she said, ummm - let me retract that - "I normally LOVE the FISH - but I won't be listening until after Thanksgiving."

So I called the next neighbor..."What do you think of the Fish's All Christmas lineup?"

"What is up with that? - WAAAAY too early," he said. "Maybe if they mixed up their lineup a little it would be almost tolerable." I asked, "did you change the channel?" Reply: "Yes, absolutely."

So I called the neighbor on the other side...

"It doesn't bother me" (Wow, I thought, I found a neighbor who agrees with them...) and then she said, "I usually listen to WCRF." Then she said, "I had the Fish on before work this morning and they weren't playing Christmas music yet. I thought it was a little strange last year - that's probably when I got hooked on WCRF"

Ok - so this informal poll of 4 neighbors

Too early: 100%

Of course, the really cool thing is that all 4 of our households NORMALLY listen to the FISH (or other Christian programming). How cool is that?!

Press ON!
Jeff From Green

Pumpkin Carving

2005-10-30T18:49:00.000-05:00

Well, here are this year's models. First is Boo (from Monsters Inc). I found the pattern at http://www.carvingpumpkins.com/kids/miscdisney/boo.html
It took me a little more than an hour to carve:

The second is Wallace and Gromit. I was in a quandary about what to make my pumpkin - I asked "What's hot right now?" and Abby said, "Wallace and Gromit!" - So I owe this creation to her! This is the first time I have created my own pattern off of a photo. I taped the photo to the pumpkin, punched holes, traced lines, and figured out which portions I wanted cut all the way through and which portions I just wanted shaded (by peeling the skin off). Shading really gives it a 3D feel.

Here is the picture that it came from:

I should post some from prior years.

Until next time!

Sharing Some Grace Summit History

2005-10-28T11:17:00.000-05:00

Life is good.
Today I talked with Diane M. at SBC about advertising Grace Summit in the Yellow Pages and Smartpages.com. I shared with her a bit of the history of Grace Summit and how we merged with Grace Covenant 9 years ago - and how humble the Grace Covenant families were and what a great merger it has been. She said, "What a neat story! You could write a book." I even told her the Post Script about Dennis's family being very involved in our association now (one son a pastor, another leading worship at college...), and about his Going Home - and a bit about Linda's story and what an example of grace and perseverance she has been to us. Again, she said, "You could write a book!" I said, "Maybe a newspaper article" - and she said, "you ought to call Terry Pluto." I told her how Terry actually knew Dennis, through the prison ministry and Terry coming to share with our Men's group. Maybe if TheRockCleveland merges with this other church... the saga continues.

I went back and read a bit from our anniversary service last November. After I had shared about our history, Dennis talked about our Present:

"Our church life is so important to us. Our church life is the expression of our relationship with Christ. When we look back, we realize - what we do affects our lives. We live about 70 years -- it may seem small in the corridor of time, but it is all we have. We look at our church - and the segment of history here - and we can be thankful. Look at the lives that have been changed- the circumstances of other circles have been changed by what has happened here. The reason that has happened is simply this: There have been many people committed to The Cause. We have been placed on the track of the Lord Jesus and have stuck to it. By the grace of God, our wheels haven't come off that track. We have hit some bumps, but we have stuck to the task. Commitment - how you affect your own life over the long haul and the life of others. How others go out and affect other circles...

We are unique - when you look at our church - whatever portion of life - in most organizations, 20% of the people do 80% of the work. Except in this church - we wouldn't make it if only 20% did the work - it is a lot higher than that - we have a very high participation. Because of the commitment level of YOU!"

Thanks, Dennis. I needed that encouragement today.

Proud Papa, more skating, good talk

2005-10-20T12:00:00.000-05:00

Ok, my peeps (ha) have been complaining that I haven't been posting (thank you, Linda and Dory...)

First, let me say how proud I was of my girls who started a job accompanying "Reach Out and Dance" in Wooster yesterday (it is like a Dance Outreach into the schools). They worked really hard over the past couple of weeks to prepare music - to be sure to keep a strong beat for the classes. Apparently they did a really good job - their piano teacher called me yesterday to let me know he heard glowing comments from the director. Again, I couldn't have been more proud! Great job, girls!
Tuesday night, Melissa gave the girls "Ebeneezer" stones - reminders that God has done a great thing. It really has been a "God-thang". It is just sooo amazing to see Him work like this. (For example, we really sought the Lord about which piano teacher to switch to- Ted - and he is the one who lined this gig up). We were also encouraged with his concern for the girls if it wasn't a good fit - he told them, "If it's not a good fit, it is no reflection on you - you are really talented apart from this, so don't get discouraged if it is not." Thankfully, it IS a good fit!

I taught at church on Sunday on "how to change a bad habit." I think it turned out okay - I got some positive feedback.

Saturday I skated the "Bike and Hike trail" from Steels Corners (13.2 miles from Cuyahoga County Line) to the Boyden Rd (4 miles from CCL) marker. Then I turned around. I discovered that skating over dry leaves is not that big of a deal. There were a lot of little sticks as well that didn't really cause a problem. I saw 5 snakes on the trail! I did NOT like skating on Brandywine Rd. - two reasons - 1) I don't like the possibility of traffic - and 2) the huge hill I skated down (over the bridge over I-271) and then back up the other side. I actually got a ride coming back ("Could you please take me to the top of the other side of this valley?" - the guy had flowers for his wife, and said, "no problem"). I wouldn't have wanted to skate it back the other way.

Tuesday I did the B&H trail from Munroe Falls to Kent, then onto the streets through Kent (following the B&H trail) - Past Stow High School- then north past Silver Springs park and Fox den golf course - then on Young road. There the path turns to crushed limestone and was not skate-able. Bummer. I had hoped to do about a 20 mile loop. Nonetheless, I wound my way back to Silver Lake and picked the trail back up from there. There was a stretch of Rt. 59 that was AWESOME pavement - but it is too heavily traveled to try again.

MrsYack and I had a really good discussion last Friday morning. It is amazing how little misunderstandings, unchecked, can mount up to big misunderstandings. I feel much better now that we've talked through things. I guess that shows why it is important to "keep short accounts." Speaking of which...maybe I would post more often if I kept it shorter! That's all for now.

The Fall

2005-06-25T23:18:00.000-05:00

Today I skated around the 'hood. I was timing the last half mile (going downhill, and trying to go as fast as I could go...), when a Wayside Furniture Truck pulled out of Bob's driveway about 30 yards in front of me. I didn't really slow down that much because I figured I could fall in behind it. But once it pulled out, it stopped, completely blocking the road. I darted up Joe's driveway onto his sidewalk and tried to maintain rolling, but decided to lay myself down in the soft grass instead of kissing the sidewalk. It was a perfect fall - I was completely unhurt. Just then Bob pulls up. He asks if they hit me - I said 'no - just pulled out in front of me' - he asks how I'm doing, apart from the fall - to which I reply, if you're referring to The Fall (like, Adam and Eve) - apart from that, I'd be doing AWESOME. We talked for a bit - I was sad to hear that they miscarried this week. I was able to share a bit about my brother's situation - and he agreed that it would be difficult to go through such a thing without the support of the church family. We'll pray for them.

We had Lifegroup tonight at Mike and Lisa's. They had some extra friends over, some of whom just moved back to the area - which was really good. The conversation went really well. We are studying a book/workbook called The Insider.

Who am I?

2005-06-21T20:57:00.000-05:00

for what it's worth:

You scored as Cultural Creative. Cultural Creatives are probably the newest group to enter this realm. You are a modern thinker who tends to shy away from organized religion but still feels as if there is something greater than ourselves. You are very spiritual, even if you are not religious. Life has a meaning outside of the rational.

Cultural Creative

75%

Fundamentalist

56%

Romanticist

56%

Postmodernist

44%

Existentialist

25%

Materialist

19%

Idealist

13%

Modernist

What is Your World View? (updated)
created with QuizFarm.com

Great Day

2005-06-20T23:05:00.000-05:00

Today was such a beautiful day. Went to work (a little late), got some good stuff done, then subbed in the Timken Golf League. I putted 110% better than last week (Made a 15 footer and a 20 footer and didn't miss any of the stupid little ones that ruin my game). Whew. My chipping was lousy, but I can continue to work on that. Stopped by Panera and picked up a Cinnamon Crunch for tomorrow's breakfast, came home, ate leftover Cherry Raspberry Pie (Homemade by my wonderful wife) with whipped cream and ice cream. Mmmmm. Plus for lunch I had leftover Stromboli that she made for Father's Day. She is really good at making the holidays special. After the good food we had family devotions (we've started reading The Newsboys' Shine, Make 'em Wonder What You've Got) - So far, it has mostly talked about Being a light - Which we cannot do apart from Christ. And being a city on a hill - Christ is that hill. "Lead me to the Rock that is higher than I."

I should try to get to work early tomorrow...so I should have been asleep an hour ago!

Vacation Day two, Part 2

2005-06-08T08:50:00.000-05:00

I was hoping to not get the van e-checked, because I had it e-checked June 8, 2004, and it is valid for one year - but the current registration doesn't expire until the 15th - so it wouldn't go through. Oh well. I'll have to do it some time in the next week. I chose not to complete the process yesterday because we needed to get going.
We went out to West Akron - First we went to Barnes and Noble and looked for books. Melissa would like to get the Lucky Shopping Guide - but it was $30. We checked on Eldest - Christopher Paolini's sequel to Eragon - and discovered that it comes out August 23. Then we went to this new jewelry store and looked around - prices were similar to Wal*mart or Kohls. Then we went to lunch at Mariachi Grille. I had a huge lunch fajita. After lunch we went to Gabes (our only purchases;)). Then to West Point Market. It was interesting. Wouldn't buy anything there, but it was interesting.
Then we went to the Main Library and got several movies - of which, we watched Welcome to Mooseport and then O Brother, Where art Thou. O Brother was much different than we thought it would be - we thought it was pretty funny. I loved the whole Homer's Odyssey thang - I wish I had paid more attention in school! Now we need to get rolling with Vacation, Day Three...

Vacation, day two - Part One - Racism Revealed

2005-06-08T08:01:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was day two of having the kids at Grandma Camp. First thing in the morning, I took the car to be e-checked. What a ripoff. While waiting in line to pay, a couple of interesting things happened. First, all the (older) folks around me were complaining about the whole process. Then, the young attendant, who happened to be dark skinned, called out to SmokerLady, who was lighting up...
Attendant: "Ma'am...Ma'am...Ma'am" - and I called down to her: "Ma'am" -
-she looks up from lighting her cigarette.
Attendant: You can't smoke in here.
So she puts her cigarette out.
Then the attendant was explaining to one of the older folks, "Your car passed. You'll need to take this entire form to the BMV when you renew your registr..." and the old guy says, "What? It didn't pass?"
Attendant: "It passed. You'll have to take this entire..."
Old guy: "You're gonna have to speak up - "
and I chimed in (giving a thumbs up): "It passed, it's okay"
Attendant: "Yes, it passed. You'll need to take this entire form..."
and then the old guy just blows up: "You're gonna have to speak up, @#$@#, some people can't hear ya know!"

After the attendant walked back out, one of the other older guys makes a comment about the "Floor monkey" and I said, "Come on, now"
Older guy 2: What - I'm not prejudiced, I just don't like black people!
Me: Aww come on - you can't judge an entire race...
Older guy 2: what do you know - you're just a kid - if you've ever been around them much...
(which I think is hilarious, because I am turning 40 next week - "just a kid!" Yesss!)
Smoker lady: Yeah, you've obviously never lived next door to any of them...
Me (finishing paying and walking out): Until you get to know someone...

Then I ran into SmokerLady at the BMV.
Me: you know, I have lived near some, and I've never had a problem...
SmokerLady: Yeah, well you've never had your identity stolen by one...
Me: I'm sure there are people of all races who steal identities...

Oh well, these people obviously have their minds made up about how things are. Hopefully I got them to think that you can't judge a person until you get to know them.

Ahhh Vacation, so to speak...

2005-06-08T07:49:00.000-05:00

My kids are at Grandma and Grandpa Camp (Pops and Meme's house) - So we are on our own. Monday, I sort of stayed home from work. I got called in late Sunday night - so I had a couple hours then...Then I got called before we left to take my mom to the airport - so I logged in and checked some things out. Then I tried to talk them through the problem on the way to and from the airport.

(it is so weird to go to the airport to drop someone off anymore - it is so quick, because you aren't allowed to go to the gate, so you just drop them off in front and that's it. Mom wanted to be at the airport about two hours ahead of time. I probably got her there 1.5 hours ahead. Then she called about an hour after she was supposed to leave saying she was still on the ground because of thunderstorms in Atlanta.)

After futilely trying to talk them through the problem, I realized I would have to go in. Earlier in the day, I had agreed to be a sub in the golf league - so I went in, found that neither unit was working (I won't go into it) - and went back to my office to get a spare - found the trailer locked and had to make 3 trips to the computer room to get the right key - and rushed to the golf course to make my 5:30 tee time. I played erratic golf, (great one hole, terrible the next), picked up 9 points for the team I was subbing for - and arranged to pick up 2 more units for the problem at work. Went BACK to work, picked up the units - tried to install them, discovered that NEITHER of those worked either - so I took them out of the crane and plugged them into a normal wall outlet and the worked fine! Called an electrician to check the power in the crane - he went and fiddled with something on top - and VOILA - everything started working. (The operators THEN told me that their radio hadn't been working right either - that may have been a handy piece of information to know!). Went home (about 10:30) and went to bed. And THAT was my first day of "vacation" - sooooo relaxing.....NOT!

I'm ba-ack

2005-05-05T22:40:00.000-05:00

Since my kids have started blogs where they regularly post, they've kinda' been on my case to add to mine. So here I am again.

Tonight I helped KT dissect a worm and a crayfish/crawdad whatever you want to call it. Quite the success, I might add. (All the good blogs share a little bit from the day...)

Regarding work...it is interesting to read my last post ("should resurrect the forecast model soon...") because it has been resurrected and is being regularly used. That is satisfying as well.

It is hard to believe that when I last posted, my good friend, mentor, and assistant pastor, Dennis Knable, was not even sick. Before Christmas, he experienced what he thought was a kidney stone. They found cancer - non-Hodgkins Lymphoma - on his adrenal gland. They thought it was stage 2, perfectly treatable. After a round of chemo, they discovered it had spread to his central nervous system. That appeared to be treated after a port was placed in his skull. 2 more rounds of chemo and the cancer was still growing. We prayed. And prayed. and prayed some more. I've never prayed for anything or anyone so hard in all my life. For whatever reason, God chose to take him home. I was honored, with 4 others, to speak at his funeral - over the past 9 years I've had the privilege of taking notes when he spoke at Grace Summit - and I pored over those notes and shared his own thoughts with the mourners. Dennis would have been pleased with the service.

There are many stories to share - how his daughter moved up her wedding (okay, well, got engaged and married in 7 days so he could give her away)...how Dennis blessed his family the night before he died - and told his 1 year old grandson how he was destined for greatness. How the nurses at Akron City planned a special lunch for Dennis and Linda on their 20th anniversary - served by the chef personally. Yes it is all very hard to believe.

Different Day...

2004-11-16T23:44:00.000-05:00

Work was different. I was not allowed in my office because of construction. I was reminded that the forecast model needs to be resurrected soon.

I skated 6 laps (8 miles) at Munroe Falls Metro Park. The pavement was a bit wet in spots, but it was good practice. I need to be doing my knee excercises.

Tonight was music practice - we are doing 3 sets during the church's anniversary service. The first will be MIDI stuff that I did early on. Second set, we'll have communion and do some transition songs (Knowing You (all i once held dear), Trading My Sorrows, We will Glorify) - the last set will be like current/future. Beautiful One (By the Tree), Bless the Lord (Deyo), and Caedman's Call's Warrior (new song).

I've felt a bit of a failure as a husband lately. Melissa wants to feel protected and taken care of - and I've had about 3 incidents lately where she has felt abandoned and forgotten - not the message I want to send. The most recent was leaving the gas tank of the Honda empty on my way home from work today. If I had known she was going to the store, I'd have been sure to fill it. Her comment was something to the effect of, "this makes a difficult thing that much harder." I called her before the last RealCHAT meeting (out to TGIFridays) to let her know that I was thinking of her and sorry about the gas thing - and she said it wasn't that bad. They had a good time out tonight.

I need to pray with her more and make sure I'm leading our family in spiritual things as well.

First thoughts

2004-11-15T23:18:00.000-05:00

I've often said that I do best when I am journaling. Of course, historically, no one has read my journals but me. It will be interesting (to me, at least) to see where this goes.