I had a Stroke

Yesterday was a big two week anniversary for me. It was the anniversary of something life changing and something that has left its mark on me forever. Two weeks ago yesterday at 3:34 PM I had a stroke. Over the course of the next two hours it would be the first of at least two strokes that I would have that day. The tests would come to show that the strokes I had that day were not the first ones that I had. There was some damage that was visible in the MRI which is evidence that there was at least one (possibly more) stroke that left its mark on my brain. To make things more interesting the MRI also showed that I had had strokes on both sides of my brain unlike most people who only usually have them on one side. I have had stroke-like symptoms for the last year and a half--though none of the tests has ever shown that I actually had them. I have had several tests done MRI's, EEG's, CT Scans, EKG's, Echos, Sonograms, Ultrasounds, EMG, TEE, and none of them have been able to tell the doctors what was causing my numbness and loss of muscle strength--that is until now. Though it sucks to have had a stroke, now they know what is wrong with me and they can treat it. I am on blood thinners and most likely will be for the rest of my life, and with that comes the weekly blood tests or $20 finger prick to make sure my blood is thin but not to thin. Out of all of this I am more sure today than I was two weeks ago that God has a plan for my life, because what could have disabled me for the rest of my life has indeed left no lasting damage in my body function or brain processes. To not give Him the glory and praise for such a personal miracle would be just silly. He takes care of those who serve Him.

Note To Self: I Am OK

The more I learn about discipleship the more I love God and who He truly is. Two years ago I was chained to my need to climb the corporate ladder and see more zeroes on my paycheck. When I felt God saying it was time to leave my job--the only job I had had since I was 19--I admittedly started panicking. With each confirmation I received that I had heard correctly I challenged the idea even more. I had grown accustomed to the lifestyle that my job had allowed me to lead. I never had to tell myself no if I wanted something. When I finally said OK give me peace and I'll take the step--He did. A job that I loved I was suddenly filled with contempt for. When I thought about the money part of the decision, again I was accustomed to my lifestyle, I was almost instantly filled with peace. The words that gave me the peace that quieted my fears? "You were born in this earth to be the righteousness of God. My word says 'I have never seen the righteous forsaken or his seed out begging for bread.'" I know now that the reason I had to leave the job I once loved wasn't only because God was calling me, but because it was becoming something that I could have ended up worshipping and serving. I also know now that the more I stayed at that job the closer I was to bringing my life to an early end. I was literally working myself to death. It wasn't until I stopped working that my body was able to tell me just how ill I truly was. It had been living off of ambition and stress. When those two components were gone it was like the tape coming off a broken window pane. A little more than a year and a half of not working and just studying the word of God, and I am still learning my call and my direction I am to follow. I bless God because of His faithfulness, Love and provision. I love him and am truly indebted to Him for His life changing nature. My way to pay off this debt I feel towards Him? Offering my life to Him to with as He pleases. Two years ago I would have said I was nuts. Today I am OK with that. Even more than OK--I am excited. No income coming in right now. But that is OK too. I can honestly say that I have not missed anything. He has truly changed my priorities. The most awesome part about that for me is that the less I have, the more that I have been able to give--and give with faith knowing that my Father is going to take care of me. I know there isn't a need (past, present or future) that my father doesn't know about and that He won't be faithful to provide for. It is amazing to me to think that even if I don't have money or things to give, I will still be able to give something amazing away. Peter taught me that. Acts 3:6 was my lesson: "But Peter said, 'I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!'” I love the verse in The Message too: "Peter said, "I don't have a nickel to my name, but what I do have, I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk!" He grabbed him by the right hand and pulled him up. In an instant his feet and ankles became firm. He jumped to his feet and walked." I don't know why I am writing this today...Maybe for you or maybe it is just a message to myself that I need to read when I get it in my email today. If the second option is the reason then pay attention Mike and keep this message near the top of your email so you can reference it when you need to remind yourself that God is faithful, you are more blessed than you ever thought was possible, you are happier than you ever thought was possible, and of course, you are OK.

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
Mike

Saturday Morning Worship

I love worship music that moves me. It moves me when it says what I am feeling and helps me to say what I am feeling even better. I love it when I find that song I can play over and over and over and over and I just feel like I am sitting in the throne room of God. This is that song for me right now. It's from a guy named Coffey. Truly gifted and I know his career is gonna take off.

Holy Is The Lamb.m...

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
Mike

Healing the Body and the Heart

So often throughout the scriptures we see that Jesus had compassion on people. He allowed them to follow Him, and He ministered to them. He allowed them to interrupt Him, and He heard their needs. He allowed them to touch Him and take what they needed. There were times when He just simply spoke the word and the need (whether it was deliverance, healing, or forgiveness) was met. It wasn't His touch that healed their body or met their physical need or quieted their emotional distress, it was His words. There is so much we can do with our words; we can encourage, we can support, we can correct, we can edify and we can heal with our words. Then again there is only so much that we can do with our words; we can only speak them, they might help someone understand the point we are trying to make but they can never demonstrate the point we are making. If I tell you that I support you or that I forgive you, I might quiet your emotions but there is still something instantaneous lacking in our exchange. But if I say those things to you and then I reach for you and hug you, then I have conveyed physically what I have said verbally. When we take the time to touch we put a physical punctuation mark on our verbal statements. For some that touch is what it takes for them to understand what you have been saying. If I told you I loved you but didn't touch you, would you believe me? If I told you were healed or that I had faith your were healed but wouldn't touch you because you were contagious or had sores, would you believe. Sometimes touch is required for people to finally hear what we have been saying. Touch the untouchable. When we do that we do what our words can't--we heal the heart. When Jesus touched people and took time for people He healed their hearts because oftentimes they were the outcasts of society--the untouchables. Who are the untouchables around you? Are you ready to be His hands, to heal hearts?

Matthew 8:1-3--The leper only wanted the words to heal his body, Jesus said the words, touched him (an untouchable) and He healed his heart too.

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
Mike

Whirlwind Stop!

I imagine as a whirlwind gets stronger it gets bigger. I don't know for certain, but I picture it getting more devastating as it grows and needs more space to destroy. The headache that won't quit for me is often the result of the the mind that won't rest. When that mind that won't rest does not rest for days on end, the headache that won't quit needs more room to grow into and overflows in my neck and back. That's where I am at today. there is so much going on around me and only some of it is mine. I need to put it all down on paper and attack it one thing at a time. But then the war starts as the things in my head fight to see who is going down on the paper first and then to see which item is going to get crossed off first. I can't take it much more the whirlwind stops tonight. I need rest.

The Fog

Some days I feel like I am maneuvering through the fog. I don't know where I am going, the road may seem familiar, but I cannot be certain for sure if it is. Though I may have been down the road before I still move apprehensively not knowing if something new will be in my path. I travel uncertain of what lies in the whiteness that is in front of me, separating me from my destination. The blessing in moving through the fog is that I am moving at all. That I still get up and move through the fog without having to fight myself is a miracle in itself. That is progress in my discipleship walk, I think. Discipleship is allowing yourself to be led blindly to someone else's purpose for your life, at least the faith part is. Thank God for foggy days and the revelation that comes with them.

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!

Mike

Loving the Right Way

I was reading in Philippians chapter one this morning about loving each other. In The Message version of verses 9-11 it says it so well that I am sure I will be thinking about it all morning.

9-11So this is my prayer: that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well. Learn to love appropriately. You need to use your head and test your feelings so that your love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush. Live a lover's life, circumspect and exemplary, a life Jesus will be proud of: bountiful in fruits from the soul, making Jesus Christ attractive to all, getting everyone involved in the glory and praise of God.

You know it is great to love people and to be all lovey and stuff like that in church, but is it sincere or is it the sentimental gush that Paul mentions here. I understand what it is saying to use your head and to test your feelings so that the love I share is sincere. Reading that this morning has me going mentally through each of my relationships with people and testing my feelings. Is my love for that person sincere or is it a basket full of sentimental gush? It is truly my heart's desire to be able to say that I love people sincerely and intelligently. I want to be able to say that not only do I love much, but I love well.

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
Mike

Walking Through Philippians

I am reading through the book of Philippians tonight. I have read through this book times before, but tonight there is just so much that is jumping out at. I love how faithful God is. It always seems that I am in a spot in my life where I am crying out for a good word of comfort or direction and He always takes me to His word and gives it to me. I mean I can have read the passage over and over and over again a hundred times before and then read it when He leads me and it is like I am reading it for the first time thinking "I didn't know this is what it said!" He really is faithful to meet me right where I am at.

One of my favorite verses is in the first chapter of Philippians. 1:6 (NLT) "And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns." I like it in The Message version as well: "There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears. "

I like the verse in the NLT because it uses the word "finally." The word finally, to me, represents the fact there was a process involved in the undertaking of some task that had to be completed. To me it gives justice to the fact that most processes involve work that sometimes includes struggle. I know that the work that Jesus has begun in me has been a struggle at times, especially when it involved me changing. Change is not an easy thing for me, especially when I had to learn to redo things in my life after I had been decades doing them the wrong way. I had to learn to trust my destiny and life to someone else that I couldn't see. If that doesn't involve struggle then I am not sure what would.

I like the verse in The Message because it has a more celebratory feel to it. It tells of a "flourishing finish" to the work that Jesus has begun in us. When we have accomplished all that we have been called to accomplish, or we have been found faithfully working to accomplish what we have been called to accomplish when Jesus returns we will be greeted with a "flourishing finish" to our work--a celebration for a life time of work that has been successfully completed. I also like this version because it is more definitive in the words it uses to describe the author's certainty of the fact of Jesus' faithfulness to watch over His work in us. "There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind..." sounds more secure in the knowledge of a fact than simply "I am certain..." To me the first method of explaining certainty is more emphatic than the second.

Beyond the wording of the verse in the two different versions, it is one of my favorite verses simply for what it says. It says that Jesus has made an investment in our lives, and just like any good investor, He is going to diligently watch the investment to make sure it accomplishes what it is supposed to. His investment is going to achieve the purpose He had planned for it. It is exciting to me to think that Jesus believes in me that much and that He cares about my success in His kingdom enough to personally watch over what I have been called to do. When I stumble He doesn't sell all the shares He has invested in me, but rather He redirects them to get me back on track to make me profitable again.

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
Mike

My Sunday....Downtown Disney

We celebrated my niece Rebekah's Birthday this past Sunday at Downtown Disney. She celebrated with all of her cousins at Libby Lu and then walked Downtown Disney until it was time for lunch at The Rainforest Cafe. I was lucky enough to be able to share the time with them and my Canon Rebel XTi. Here is the little video I put together from the pictures I took that day. Enjoy--we did!!




Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
Mike

Matthew 18:3 Revisited

I just finished a post with Matthew 18:3. I think it was more of a mind clearing than a post. I needed to get that all out of my head before I could post what I was really thinking on that verse. Here it is in the NIV :3 "Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven." And now in The Message(v2-5): "For an answer Jesus called over a child, whom he stood in the middle of the room, and said, "I'm telling you, once and for all, that unless you return to square one and start over like children, you're not even going to get a look at the kingdom, let alone get in. Whoever becomes simple and elemental again, like this child, will rank high in God's kingdom. What's more, when you receive the childlike on my account, it's the same as receiving me. "

Think of a little child. Innocent. Pure. Trusting. Loyal. Naive. Ignorant. Those last two descriptors aren't meant to be to mean spirited--they are meant to be positive and in the same light as the first two adjectives. The innocence and purity of the whole becoming like a child thing really isn't as hard as it may seem. Dedication, will power and self discipline can all lead to those things if they are applied to our lives. The parts that seem almost unattainable are the trusting, loyalty, naivete, and ignorance. How is that we are supposed to become like a child in these situations. How do you unlearn hurt, pride, anger, and fear? How do you learn to trust when you have been let down so many times before? Beyond that, how do you learn to trust someone and something you can't see? How do you unlearn the outcomes to situations you have played out in your life time and time again? How do you rely on someone to take care of you when you have fended for yourself for so long? These questions are the battleground that has to be crossed before someone can become like a child again.

The Message version breaks it down nicely. It says we have to become "simple and elemental" again. Childhood broken down to its elements. That's tough. I can tell you I would love to be there completely. I would love to be at that point in my life right now. I am ready to resign from being an adult. Just when I think I have reached that point though, something comes up in my life when I feel the need to become the navigator and all mighty in my life again. I feel at times like a hypocrite because it is almost as I know what it says in the Word and I can preach it and believe it for you, but when it comes to me I always miss the mark. It's normal, I know. But I am not one for normal I want to be extraordinary. Really at this point in my life I just want to know God is in charge and be content with it. I want to be able to resist the urge to take control back because I don't feel things are going the right way or going fast enough for me. I want the childlike faith I know exists in me to be the only faith I have and live. Pray for me and I'll pray for you because I know I am not the only one.

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
Mike

Right Now..

I have been accused of being childish on more than one occasion. It was probably well deserved as I have often wished I had some of my childhood and childlike instincts back. It was good to be a kid. I didn't have to deal with all this yucky adult stuff that I am facing right now. Paying bills, finding the faith to hold on to the dreams and calling God has given. Finding the faith to believe that what seems impossible is indeed possible. At least when I was a kid I knew what I was going to be when I grew up. I find myself now at 31 asking myself what I am going to do with the rest of my life. Rather I find myself asking God what He is going to do with the rest of my life. When He speaks is usually when I need that childlike faith to believe that it will all come to pass. Being a kid was great. I knew I was going to eat but didn't have to worry about where the groceries were going to come from. I knew I had a place to sleep but didn't have to worry about the mortgage that had to be paid to make sure I could have that place to sleep. I flipped on the light switch and the lights came on, I didn't think about the light bill being paid. I had new clothes to wear but didn't have to wonder what was going to be sacrificed in the budget that month to be able to have the money to buy the clothes. I want that kind of faith and trust again. In a way this is a testament to my mother, the single woman that raised three kids alone in a middle class neighborhood and kept us in the lifestyle we were always accustomed to. We knew money was tight at times but I don't think we ever really knew just how tight it was or the sacrifices she made for us to have what we had. I want to be a child again. I need that faith. I know it will all be OK because it always is. But this time I want to feel it.

"Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of Heaven." Matthew 18:3

Some Days...

Some days I just want to crawl back into bed and hide under the covers. Not because I am depressed or upset or going through some other form of emotional distress but because I am a Christian. I know that seems like a horrible thing to say, but sometimes it is true. Being a Christian in itself is not what makes me want to hide it is some of my brothers and sisters in Christ that make me want to hide because of their actions and words. I speak love and think love. It has taken me a long time to get here for me to be able to that. I was always about justice before I was about mercy. I think it is better to extend a hand to someone to help them or welcome them than to preach at them and tell them how horrible of a person they are. I saw this video this morning when I was going through my RSS feeds. It is from MMI. I will not say that I agree with abortion or that I think it is the right thing to do, because that is farthest from my beliefs. I will say though that this video upset me and made me a little angry. Maybe it was because of the content and I think it was partly because it was a little kid that was the center of the video. I felt like I was a little kid again having my gifts exploited. Anyhow, here is the video. Try not to want to go and hide.

glumbert - Young Preacher

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
Mike

Ignored and Overlooked

Ignored and overlooked. As a kid on the playground none of us wanted to be the last kid picked for the team. None of us wanted to be passed over or passed by. We wanted to be a part of the action that was going on around us. We wanted to be a part of the group--to have something to belong to. We had a need for association. As we have grown up, has this need changed or diminished? Maybe to a degree it has, as we are more selective of the groups that we look to associate ourselves with. Thinking in terms of society, I still can't imagine one of us that wants to belong to a group that either of those two labels applies to. Overlooked for a promotion because of our gender. No that's not good. Ignored in political realms because we don't have a high voter turnout percentage. That's not a good feeling either. How about ignored because we are in prison for committing crime or worse yet crimes. What if I was in prison because I committed the same crime over and over and over and got caught each time--should I be ignored or overlooked? I don't have a job right now because I am sick. What if my life was reduced to holding a sign on the corner because I have exhausted all my other means of support? Would you ignore me because it was my fault? Ignore me because you have your own problems? Overlook me because I am overweight so I must be eating somewhere? One of the things I have heard most from people who have AIDS is that the thing they miss most is being touched. Would you let someone who is sick with AIDS die without being hugged simply because their disease carries a stigma just as big as its death sentence? Overlook them because of what they did to contract the disease? Pretty tough questions. These are roaring through my mind right now. Especially now. I don't have a job. I am not made of nor was I born into money. Yet I have so much more than I need. I have the luxury of deciding what, when and where I will eat. I hear God calling again. I know He is going to move again in my life soon. I feel it.

Matthew 25:37-40 (The Message)"Then those 'sheep' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?' Then the King will say, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.'

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
Mike

Looking To Get Away

I am looking to get away for a couple of days. Not because I am burnt out or fed up or anything like that, but because I am longing for silence. I feel my insides yearning for quiet and alone time. I love my family, but we love a busy life. There are times in my day when I am alone and the house is quiet but in that quiet time there is too many distractions that I am familiar with. I need a break. I need a mountain to climb or a garden to escape to with no distractions of any sort. I want to be quiet and just be able to listen to what God is saying to me and to my spirit.

Steve Harvey In A New Light...

I used to listen to Steve Harvey when he had his morning show on the Beat in LA on the way to work. I was always impressed when he started his show with praise to God for the day and an encouraging word to those who were locked up. I found this video of him and it just brought back those memories. How amazing would it be if Jesus got this kind of ovation everywhere He was talked about?




Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
Mike

Man's Two Best Friends

I have had this picture in my collection for a while. I absolutely love it. I don't know either of the subjects in the photo but I think this is a real cool picture. I know I want another dog, but I think I am starting to want a kid too (just for moments like these).

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!

Mike

Chameleon Christianity?

In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul describes how he became "all things to all men." This has become a passage that has stirred up some controversy in the church. Controversy because some use it as a right to make the church look more like the world in an attempt to "by all means save some." I have no doubt that the Paul was trying to make a point about ministry in these verses. I have not cleared up my own personal theology as to what that point is however. I can understand that it might mean that he adapted to the culture of the people he was ministering to. Maybe taking up their habits of dress, study, speech. But if we are to reach the current culture does that mean taking things like rap music and putting words like Jesus and God in it and calling it christian? Is there a line that should not be crossed when "becoming all things to all men?" This is just something that is going through my head right now. I found this video last night; it is pretty straight forward and it is most likely what started my thought process along these lines this morning. Enjoy.





Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
Mike

Broken...And It's OK

I was going through my files to see if I had a picture to help me describe brokenness. I did. It is a picture of me. I am learning more and more about myself lately. I am learning all the masks I had to wear and chose to wear. I am learning to take them off. I am learning that underneath it all I am broken. What I am learning even faster is that it is ok to be broken; in fact we are called to be broken in our discipleship walk with Christ. Like the fish and the loaves. Blessed. Broken. Given. That is my quest, my highest goal each day.

Be Blessed. Be Broken. Then be Given.

Mike

New Categories

I am starting two new tag categories for Measurement of Mike: Need a Pick Me Up and Reasons to Laugh. I am doing so because both of those apply to me; and since it is my blog its ....well...you know. So I thought I would find some funny videos that actually made me laugh or at least make me smile. Enjoy them!

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!

Mike

Gym Flatulence

What a great way to start off a video series that is intended to make me smile a little today than with a gym fart video.






I used to have a fart machine when I was a manager of a Walmart Store. I used to take it into new associate orientations and management meetings. I absolutely loved it. Real or a bad joke, this video made me crack a smile. :)

Don't Scare a Brother...

The title says it all....

Reason #82328372837 Not To Get Married

This is one of about a billion reasons I will never be a security guard in a cemetery....let alone one that has to do foot patrols at night! Are you kidding me?!?! Who does that?




I imagine I would be one fast fat boy running too, if granny ghoul was calling me over!

Classy Upchucking

Way, way, way back in my worldly days I had a moment where my friends at the time said I received the award for the classiest barfing session. Had I not been bent over in a bush and in a small group no one would have ever known what I was doing. :) This reminded me of that . . .




Of course I wasn't on TV speaking in tongues at the time either. ;)

Diamond In the Rough

This absolutely blew me away. A great way to leave a series of video posts.



Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
Mike

Question of the Week

It is so easy to let our first impression of someone be the only lasting impression we will have of them. Sometimes though this first impression isn't the best impression and we run the risk of losing out on a great person in our lives because we stop at the flash picture of them. Imagaine what we might be blessed with if we went beyond that first impressiona nd kept looking for somethign to like in everyone we met. Then imagine what our outlook on life would be if we not only applied this to the people we met but also to the situations we face in our lives. The question for the week is this: "What if you looked for the good in everyone and in every situation?"

Lets not just use this as the question for the week but lets choose it as a quest for challenge this week.

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
Mike

Quote of the Day

"Better to light one small candle than to curse the darkness."
- Chinese Proverb

Quote of the Day

"One isn't necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential. Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can't be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest."
- Maya Angelou

Quote of the Day

"The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails."
- John Maxwell

Quote of the Day

"There may be peace without joy, and joy without peace, but the two combined make happiness"
- John Buchan

If I am Me...?

Rick Burgess and Bill "Bubba" Bussey host the wildly popular Rick and Bubba Show, a drive-time radio broadcast that originates in Birmingham, Alabama. Animators once made a cartoon out of their two characters and invited Rick and Bubba to provide the voices. Rick was the voice of Rick, and Bubba, the voice of Bubba. Bubba, however, couldn't seem to please his producer. He suggested that Bubba change inflections, volume, and other details. Bubba grew understandably impatient. After all, he was voicing himself. He turned to the producer and objected, "If I am me, how can I mess me up?"--as told in The Cure for the Common Life, by Max Lucado

Take away point:

Be yourself. So many times we are faced with people and circumstances that try and fit us into the molds they want us to be shaped like. We have been called to be who God wants us to be. No one knows us better than us, except for God. As long as we are walking in His direction and following His voice we will be all we ever need to be.

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!

Mike

Hearing It Again for the First Time

"The only mistake is not to risk making one"
--Max Lucado, The Cure for a Common Life

Risk is never something that is on top of my list to undertake in a day's time. I never wake up and roll out of bed wondering what risks I am going to take throughout the day. I don't plan risks in my life at all. If anything I try to avoid taking risks at all. If there are risks involved in any of my day to day business, I do my best to manage them. I try to control all of the unknowns and be prepared to deal with any situation that arises from them. The hard part of all this though is that this is not possible with the walk I have decided to take with Jesus Christ. being a disciple and trying to live by what we have been taught often times means following the leader into realms uncharted and unforeseen. It means doing things that often are not in plans I had for the day or even for my life. I often wonder sometimes as I am doing my best to follow the plans that God has for me, how much I would have accomplished for Him and His kingdom had I started followed long ago when I heard the call. I wonder sometimes what I would be like if I had simply flowed with the risks instead of becoming better at managing them. I am learning that one of the good things about following Christ and taking the risks that come with that walk is that failure is almost never an outcome unless I try and take over the lead. He has called us to do His will and accomplish His purpose for our lives, which means that His glory is dependent on our success. If we fail where does His glory come from? If we remain in His will and tuned to His call then, no matter the risk, we can't fail.

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
Mike

Can You Hear ME Now?!?

This has been an interesting week for me in terms of what God has been teaching me and asking me to do. It is amazing what will happen when you get so frustrated with waiting and you open your mouth to say,, "God whatever it is you want me to do just tell me and I will do it!" Amazing because it brings to life that age old adage about being careful what you wish for, because you just might get it. When you open you mouth like that, it seems that is when God chooses to speak back to you and it is not always what you want to hear. It is almost as if He waits until you are so broke down and there is almost nothing left of you to get in your way and then He moves you. After reading that back to myself, I guess that is a pretty smart plan after all. I mean why use somebody when they are not broke down and there is too much of themselves to get in the way of His plan.

God is calling me in a new direction. It is kind of weird though because it seems like He never really used me in the old direction I felt Him calling me in. It was almost if He was testing me to see if I would or even could hear what He was asking me to do. It must be great to be God. (I will leave that one alone. No need for Lucifer being kicked out of heaven Part II.) In this new direction I am excited and a little intimidated at the same time. I guess that is good because I am excited enough to want to take on the challenge that intimidates me. The funny part of all this was how God had to tell me. He took me into 2 different places in scripture dealing with my new calling. Then a book I received in the mail was all about stepping out and accepting the call that God has placed on our lives. And I guess I was still saying "God are you sure?!?" I picked up a book that I could never get into when it was given to me 2 years ago because I needed something to get me through a 2 hour doctor appointment my mom had. God stepped in again and used this book to speak to me as it dealt with finding and doing what God made you to do for His glory.

I might be a little hard of hearing, but I finally heard Him. And together we will press on.

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!

Mike

Free....To Be a Slave

This morning I was wandering through the book of Galatians, just wondering what the Lord would say to me through His word. Usually He is faithful to bring it up pretty early with me as I am reading because I think I am developing a touch of ADD when reading :) But that was not the case--it wasn't until t he 5th chapter that the words popped out at me.

Galatians 5:13-14
13For you have been called to live in freedom—not freedom to satisfy your sinful nature, but freedom to serve one another in love. 14For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

We have been called to freedom--not freedom to do as we please or live our lives the way that we want to, taking pleasure in all the pleasurable things of this world; rather we have been called to be free to serve each other in and through love for one another. Paul is addressing the Galatians here and he is specifically talking to those who are falling back into the bondage of the law. They were craving the law and to be a follower of it--so he met their need and summed it all up into one statement for them--Love your neighbor as yourself.

That is a powerful statement. I know there are people out there who suffer from depression and self esteem issues, but I don't fall into the category very often. I happen to love myself. I love myself almost too much sometimes. I have had to battle with selfishness since my high school age when I discovered myself. I have been selfish with my time, my energy and even my words. So to tell me that I need to love everyone else as much as I love myself is quite a big statement. Can you imagine the possibilities of loving someone as much as yourself? Or if there is difficulty in that area of self love and appreciation for you, then can you imagine loving someone else the way that you want to be loved? That is an awesome thought.

Today was a particularly good word for me. For two days God has been speaking to me about changing the course of my ministry and has laid some big ideas on my mind. This is the second day in a row that He has taken me to a place in His word that deals with what He is talking to me about. I'm listening God!

Love someone today in a way that you want to be loved!

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
Mike

Quote of the Day

"It's the friends that you can call up at 4 A.M. that matter."
--Marlene Dietrich

Quote of the Day

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more."--
Melody Beattie

Attitude Adjustment

1 Peter 4:1 "1So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer, too. For if you are willing to suffer for Christ, you have decided to stop sinning. "

I have thought about sacrifice and discipleship together ever since I was touched with the desire to take a discipleship walk with Christ and become a student of His teachings. It only seems logical that sacrifice would become a big part of the discipleship walk because you are undertaking someone else's plans for your life as opposed to your own. Naturally in this situation there are going to be things that you would want to be or do that do not fit in with the lifestyle you have decided to undertake and you will need to sacrifice these things for the sake of remaining true to your decision to become a disciple. When I read this verse this morning something else came alive in me.

I have always known in the back of my mind that discipleship would also entail some sort of suffering. My idea of discipleship has always been of the idea that the decision to become a disciple is self imposed; therefore all the parts of my life that I would need to lay to the side or sacrifice for the sake of remaining faithful to my decision would be my choice as well. I saw that line of thought this morning in a new not so positive light. When I make it my decision to sacrifice something in my life I am in essence still retaining control of my life and not completely resigning that control and decision making ability to the One that I am following. It was almost as if I decided how I was going to suffer on this walk. Christ did not have that attitude when He came to earth to walk among men. He came and did what He was called to do.

We need to have the same attitude that Christ had when He came to suffer for us. His suffering was selfless and love oriented. Peter says that when we take on this attitude we are in essence making two decisions--we are deciding to follow Christ and be led to accomplish what He has called us to do, and secondly we are deciding to stop sinning. Discipleship to Christ is the complete resignation of control of your will for your life so that you can become as Christ-like as possible and move in the direction He has called you to move in to accomplish what He has called you to accomplish. Being willing to suffer along this walk with Christ is adjusting our attitude from being selfish (no longer chasing after the desires of the flesh) to being selfless (being anxious to fulfill the will of God, and not your own, for your life).

Quote of the Day

"The idea is not to see through one another, but to see one another through."
--C.D. Jackson

Idle Hands...

We have all heard it before..."idle hands are the devil's playground!" When we have nothing to do, or rather when we are doing nothing, then we are more susceptible to doing just anything. What I am trying to say is that we need to be focused on something. If we are not focused then we run the risk of doing anything to keep ourselves busy. When we are not grounded in the word of God or in finding His purpose for our lives then we are in danger in doing something that is not in His will for our lives. We need to strive to do the work that He has called us to and to live the lives that we are ordained by Him to live; otherwise we are just keeping busy and not accomplishing what we we are purposed for. The other way I read that old saying is this: "The devil loves idle hands." he loves them because if they are idle then they are not working against him. They are not furthering God's kingdom and therefore are not working against the kingdom of darkness.

2 Thessalonians 3:6
6And now, dear brothers and sisters, we give you this command with the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ: Stay away from any Christian who lives in idleness and does not follow the tradition of hard work we gave you. 7For you know that you ought to follow our example. We were never lazy when we were with you.

Paul tells this church to stay away from the Christians who have become idle and don't follow the tradition of work that they were taught. Being a christian should not be easy--in fact it should be the hardest thing that we have ever done in our lives. It requires us to make the hugest sacrifice we could ever make in our lives; we have been called to lay down our very lives in the advancement of the kingdom of God. Being a disciple of Christ is not something that can be done part time. It is not something that can be done passively or in a group. Being a disciple of Christ is not something that you are sucked into or a title that is automatically given. It is a very personal decision that we have to make on our own. Each of our discipleship walks with Christ is different as we are all called to accomplish different things for the kingdom of God.

The people who sit idle in the pews of the church today are a problem. The lack of activity they demonstrate is a hindrance to what the church has been called to do. Their lack of participation in the kingdom calling is more that the brothers and sisters on the front lines doing the work of God have to pick up. It only makes me wonder if they cannot hear Jesus calling "follow me!" or if they are simply ignoring it. Idleness is contagious. We can catch it by surrounding ourselves by infected people until we simply just become one of them. We can also catch it by working ourselves into weariness and burnout if we focus on those around us who are inflicted with idleness. Paul has it right when he instructs the church, those who are actively pursuing the calling that God has placed on their lives, to just steer clear of the idle.

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
Mike

Quote of the Day

"If love is truly a verb, if help is a verb, if forgiveness is a verb, if kindness is a verb then you can do something about it."
--Betty Eadie

Question of the Week

If you could determine the last thing you see before your own death, what would it be?

The Purpose

I am reading through 1 Timothy today. I have a lot of questions that have been going through my mind lately and it seems that God is answering them one by one. This morning these words popped of the page at me: "The purpose of my instruction is that all the Christians there would be filled with a love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and a sincere faith." (1Timothy 1:5 NLT) This spoke volumes to my spirit. It confirmed in me a need to preach and teach discipleship. My heart hurts for the people that are saved and then allowed to fall by the wayside and fend for themselves in terms of spiritual development. I know that each person that comes to meet my savior is called to a specific purpose in His kingdom and they need some guidance and help find out exactly what that is. Sometimes people get so concerned with increasing the number on the souls-saved-board, that they allow these new converts to get lost in the new life they have just taken on. Our goal should be to help these new brothers and sisters in Christ "be filled with a love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and a sincere faith."

Father let me help advance Your kingdom with a pure heart, a clear conscience and a sincere faith in you.

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
Mike

Quote of the Day

"If I have the heart that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it."
--Mahatma Ghandi

Quote of the Day

"What we'll remember when we are old are the things we did for others."
--Will Rogers

Put In My Place--Biblical Style

17You have wearied the LORD with your words.“Wearied him?” you ask. “How have we wearied him?”You have wearied him by suggesting that the LORD favors evildoers since he does not punish them. You have wearied him by asking, “Where is the God of justice?”

I know we all have done it. We see the horrible things happening in the world around us and we wonder where God is. We wonder why He hasn't stopped those bad things from happening to the innocent people--the good people. I know I do. I often wonder where the justice is when I see people get away with horrible crimes and actions. That bothers me. Well actually it frustrates me. It seems sometimes like the evil in the world prospers more than the good does. I was thinking about this hard the other day and this was the verse that God led me to. It would seem that I am not the only one who gets frustrated and tired of seeing what I see, but God also gets tired of people questioning His ability to be sovereign and to the only Judge. Reading that the first time put me in my place. reading it the second time made me officially whooped and repentant. God is God and God alone. He is sovereign over all things to do with them as He wills when He wills. 'Nuff said!

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
Mike

Measure of Life

I have been struggling with the measurement of life for a while now. This has been kicking around in me since I have started this blog. There are so many ways to measure a person's life in the eyes of the people that lived around them. There are many more ways to measure life even by those people who did not live around the person. The reason this is coming to the forefront of my mind is that I am going to another funeral tomorrow. I didn't know this person, the only definition of this person that I will be able to get is the one that is presented in the eulogy tomorrow. I have heard about people who have written their own eulogies and have even had their memorial services while they were still alive. That to me though is telling people how you wanted to measure up and not how they measured your life. I am not quite sure how I want to be known after I have died. I am not quite certain of the mark that I expect to leave on the world after I am gone. I want to be so many things, but can I be so many things and be good in all of them at the same time? Or will the quality suffer for lack of focus? I do know one thing about my death and memorial service--I want it to be a celebration. I want people to understand that the sadness and grief over death of a loved one is a selfish emotion. Though they are normal emotions, I don't want that to be the focus of the service. I want my service to conclude with a standing ovation of a life well lived and a purpose accomplished. I want people to applaud the fact that my spirit is no longer restricted by time, age and sadness and all of the things that come with them. I want them to celebrate the fact that I have arrived in my final home and I will forever be in the presence of my God, my King and My Father.

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!

Mike

A Daily Dose of Inspiration

There are days when I need to start my day out with a good quote or a real positive thought to get me started in the right mindset. I read my Word in the morning and that takes me to a good place, but sometimes it leaves me with questions and I am left racking my brain for meaning or interpretation. So I set up some emails to post to the blog on a daily basis to deliver the quotes here. If you enjoy them let me know. If not them shoot me some quotes that have lifted you up when you needed that boost.

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
Mike

Proud Moment

I am not all that close to my extended family. I am now just getting reacquainted with some of them. It is a shame on what I have missed growing up and into my adult life in terms of my paternal side of the family--there are some real great people there. One of the people I am extremely privileged to know is my cousin Dana. I am not the kind of person that lavishes compliments on a person or extends my trust to a person just for the sake of doing so. I do these things after I get to see a person and their life. My cousin has gone through some tough times in life, like most of us she has made some bad decisions along the way. Where some people might forever see those mistakes or the consequences she paid for them as the definition of her life she chose to re-define herself. This past Tuesday, my cousin Dana walked across the stage in a high school gymnasium and received her high school diploma. She went to a school and earned it and just didn't to take the test for a GED. Some might be quick to write that off as no big deal but to me it is. That takes determination and dedication at her age to accomplish that. Some people look at others lives as a measure of their mistakes. I don't anymore. I see that one of the measures of a person's life is the determination to never stop growing and to never stop changing. My cousin proved that when she walked across the stage last Tuesday. I have nothing but respect and admiration for her. It was truly a night I was proud to be associated with that side of my family.



Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!

Mike

The 100th Post...MOVE!

It has been kind of rough for me lately emotionally and physically both. If I let it, I think depression could have gotten the best of me these past few days. It is hard sometimes to know you are following God's will for your life and sometimes not see the rewards for the work you are doing. It is hard sometimes to not be as active as you want to be and to feel like you are always in the holding pattern waiting to take off. As I was venting this morning to God, He reminded me of the first sermon that I ever preached.

Gen 13:14-18
"14After Lot was gone, the LORD said to Abram, “Look as far as you can see in every direction. 15I am going to give all this land to you and your offspring as a permanent possession. 16And I am going to give you so many descendants that, like dust, they cannot be counted! 17Take a walk in every direction and explore the new possessions I am giving you.” 18Then Abram moved..."

God has given me promises for my life. He has told me specifically what I will be doing. And turn by turn I have followed His directions. Sometimes though when things don't quite seem to be happening fast enough for me, I start to get stagnate and the waiting gets the best of me. I imagine the promises that He gave to Abraham were a little hard to believe at first as well. But God told Abraham to look as far as he could see in every direction and what he saw would be His. In one version Abraham is told to walk the length and breadth of his land. He is basically told to inspect it, to get to know it, to claim it. Abraham could have just waited till all of this was accomplished before he did anything about it. He could have waited to see if would come to pass before he put any effort into it. But he didn't do any of these things. the first part of verse 18 says that "Abram Moved..." He received his direction from God and he took action to receive the gift God had laid in front of him.

I think so many of us sit and hold on to promises God has given us when we should be out there moving. We should be inspecting, claiming and owning the gifts that He has placed in us. We need to walk the length and width of the promise God has given to us and claim ownership of the talents that He desires to use for His kingdom. When it is so easy to sit and wait, wondering where God is and when He is going to use us or move through us, I think we should consider the possibility that He is waiting for us to move. He is waiting for us to take ownership of what He has given to us.

There is a lot of opportunity in the kingdom of God to move. If you don't know your gift or calling or purpose in the Kingdom of God, still move. Move in prayer. Move in encouragement. Move in helps. Move in sharing the word of God. Move. Move. Move!

Habakkuk Is Still Speaking

This past week I have been reading through the minor prophets. I have gone back through some of my notes and one thing that is sticking out is in the book of Habakkuk.

Habakkuk 2:2 "Then the Lord said to me, 'write my answer in large, clear letters on a tablet, so that a runner can read it and tell everyone else.'"

I try to write things down if I think I am going to have the tendency to forget them. When I am going through some rough times I am not going to be sharp enough to remember all the good things that God has promised me. The first things that come into my head are not going to be all the reasons why these hard times will not last forever. I am sorry to admit that, but it is true. That is why I am sure that God had Habakkuk write down what He was going to say. When God promises restoration or judgement we need to remember that something has to be gone through to have the need to be restored. There is always an outcome or an end to a situation and for those of us who believe in the grace and goodness of God, we know it will always be for our betterment, He always has our best interest in His interest. I am going to start a promise book. Where I fill it with the promises of God, spoken through the bible or from those who speak encouragement into my life. When the rough times comes, it will help me focus and have faith in the outcome and maybe make it a little easier to walk through, knowing the ending.

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
Mike

A Reminder to Love

This email was sent to me by a friend. It is absolutely a prayer that reminds us to think more like God and see situations and people through His eyes and with His love. I truly believe we come across people and situations in our lives solely for the purpose of adding them to our prayer list or at the very least to pray for them at that moment. I pray that as you read through this, you will be able to identify with it and it will touch you as it did me.

Heavenly Father, Help us remember that the jerk who cut us off in traffic last night is a single mother who worked nine hours that day and is rushing home to cook dinner, help with homework, do the laundry and spend a few precious moments with her children.

Help us to remember that the pierced, tattooed, disinterested young man who can't make change correctly is a worried 19-year-old college student, balancing his apprehension over final exams with his fear of not getting his student loans for next semester.

Remind us, Lord, that the scary looking bum, begging for money in the same spot every day (who really ought to get a job!) is a slave to addictions that we can only imagine in our worst nightmares.

Help us to remember that the old couple walking annoyingly slow through the store aisles and blocking our shopping progress are savoring this moment, knowing that, based on the biopsy report she got back last week, this will be the last year that they go shopping together Heavenly

Father, remind us each day that, of all the gifts you give us, the greatest gift is love. It is not enough to share that love with just those we hold dear. Open our hearts not to just those who are close to us, but to all humanity. Let us be slow to judge and quick to forgive, show patience, empathy and love. Amen.

I am not big on "pass it on" letters, but in this case how can we afford not to remind people to love everyone, not just those we want to? If you send this to 5 people, then you have a chance to touch 5 people. Working for God on earth doesn't pay much......butHis retirement plan is out of this world

Be blessed and Be a blessing!!
Mike Aguilar
Empty Vessel Ministries

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” (Matthew 5:6)

My Boy Habakkuk

I opened the book of Habakkuk last night because I had been feeling the urge to read it. I mean a name like Habakkuk as the title of the book it must be God right? It most absolutely was God! It ministered to me in what I am going through this season in my life. I will write more later but what has touched me the most is this:

2:14 For the time will come when all the earth will be filled, as the waters fill the sea, with an awareness of the glory of the Lord.

That is so amazing to me. That verse just echoed in my spirit all night last night. So prophetic.

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
Mike

No More Smiley For Me

Today is the first day that I am officially with out a job. I have worked for the same company--The world's biggest retailer since I was 19 years old. I worked my way up the ranks until I was pretty high in the store level and making a more than decent living. I allowed myself to be worked until I was sick. Months at a time with out a day off working 16+ hours a day. My body finally said no more and I had to go out sick. The timing was a blessing because my mother also got sick at the same time and I have been able to spend time with her as she is getting better. I received a letter two weeks ago from the corporate office not thanking me for my service or checking on my status but rather it notified me of my administrative termination. It seems that I am too sick to go back to work and they no longer have a need for me. They also have no desire in paying for my recovery or even admitting that I am indeed sick. I know all things work out for good and I stand on that. I thank God for the time I have had to regain my sanity and to truly see the corporate giant the company swears it is not. Even so, Lord I pray according to your will, Bless them and all they do.

Here is to today as the final day of being able to identify with them. And more importantly here is to tomorrow which is the first day in following a new plan and new direction that my Father God has for me.

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
Mike

Not the Best of Summers

This summer has not been the easiest in terms of heat. We have gone through a heat wave the last week that has kicked my butt. To top it off the motor in the air conditioner broke and so we have been using fans to circulate the hot air in our rooms. But just when we thought that was the worst to could get, the power went out yesterday. We sat in the living room, the coolest room in the house, with all the windows open, just staring at the fan hoping that power would be restored to it soon. It felt like that Arnold Schwarzenegger movie Total Recall where the aliens watch their air supply fan stop moving and they just sit there and stare at it. I would have left the house but I just gotten back from hanging out at Starbucks for a couple of hours and I felt bad for the rest of the family. So we just stuck it out together. I will say though I had to charge my cell phone to be able to use it for an alarm this morning so I was fortunate enough to have to charge it in my car where there was air conditioning. In my car I realized just how peaceful the world is without distraction like noise and just how beautiful the world can be when we allow it to only be seen through the light of nature without all the extra glare of the city lights.

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
Mike

Crazy Kind Of Love

I had the distinct privilege of going out with my best friend and some of her friends this past Saturday night. It was a real cool Hollywood VIP themed part with limo, red carpet, paparazzi and all. I decided these folks are cool as we had attended a wedding with them the previous week. I have known one of here friends for a while and I just met her boyfriend at the wedding. Watching them this past weekend makes me believe in the old saying that "true love is blind." There is a lot that I can say about this and I am already on my way to saying but I don't think I should. All I have to say is that if I ever trip up and find myself in love I want that person to love me the way these folks love each other. No matter what they look like they are the most wanted person in the room. It was a memorable and learning filled experience. That's all I am gonna say. Peace.

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!

Mike

Word Marinating

I came across this scripture last night as I was cleaning out some of my saved links. Right now it is speaking volumes to my heart. I will just let it marinate until it is done.

1 Samuel 14:7.

NIV "Do all that you have in mind," his armor-bearer said. "Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul."

MSG His armor bearer said, "Go ahead. Do what you think best. I'm with you all the way."

NLT “Do what you think is best,” the armor bearer replied. “I’m with you completely, whatever you decide.”

NKJV So his armorbearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Go then; here I am with you, according to your heart.”

Wisdom From a Cup

"A person's pursuit of goodness leads to greatness, but the pursuit of greatness leads to ruin. Pursue goodness and you will achieve good things.--John E. Kramer

Powerful Video Post

I saw this video last night and it was awesome. It is amazing how the arts can be used to minister to people on a completely different level. This is amazing! I hope it ministers to you as much as it did me!

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!

Mike

Singing....I think....

I am not a great singer. I am not one to criticize usually because it takes guts to get up and sing in front of people--even when you are a good singer. But I am a fan of embarrassment intervention--you know someone who steps in to make the blind and deaf aspiring stage performer aware by saying "hey maybe music is not your gift...." My question is where was this girls family or friend who should have intervened before her moment of fame was captured in perpetuity on You Tube? Can it really be that bad? Have a look for yourself:




It was that bad, huh?

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing--Stop a friend from doing this to themselves!
Mike

10 Good Reasons...

I am not a kid person, but there are definite times in my life when I start to feel a little longing to have a little me walking around. I am around my nieces a lot and as much as they can get on my nerves they can correct a thousand wrongs and melt my heart with a smile, a laugh or a nice thing said. Just when I am close to being worn down about my not having kids, I come across this article. It is what it is and I imagine it was written with a tongue in cheek spirit (although I imagine it doesn't have to be taken that way).

Enjoy the article here: 10 Good Reasons You May Not Want to Have Kids!

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
Mike

Midweek Video Distraction

There are a lot of things I would like to have over a hundred of....cars, computers, cameras, casas (had to keep the "c" thing going). But cats is not one of them. I think that anyone who has or even wants that many cats is a little out of this world (not in the good way). I happen to think that cats are gross, little blobs of fur who are way to emotional and temperamental. Here is a video of one of those out of the world people. Just the way they are fed makes me nauseous.






I don't know what else to say except never be this person if you have neighbors.

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
Mike

In Reference to the Bible...

"This Book will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from this Book."--D.L. Moody

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing
Mike

Death...

I have been doing a lot of pondering on death lately. One of my friends asked me to do a memorial service for someone special to her. I have never done one before. So that's where the death thinking comes in. I have come to the conclusion that death is actually a good thing (if you are a believer in Christ). I mean it is the finish line to the race that we are running. It is the doorway to our home in heaven. When God calls you home it is even more exciting than hearing your number called at the Italian deli where you have been waiting forever to get the best cold cuts. OK maybe I went a little far on that last one, but if you had the deli I have by me you would understand. I have had trouble working the phrase "A christian is better off dead" into my remarks without having it sound offensive. (Is it possible?) I know what I am trying to say but it doesn't just come across that way.

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing,
Mike

Sign Here

I was a nerd in school. I was a flirt and I loved all of teachers and they loved me. When I was in second grade one of the administrators leaned into my ear and whispered that I was going to be a "lady killer." When I asked her what that meant she told me I would figure it out when I was older. Well I don't know if that ever came true but I was blessed with the gift of charm that has gotten me both into and out of troublesome places. I was thinking back to my school years because it is the favorite time for all adults that live with children in their houses--back to school time. Occasionally my nieces would bring home papers that needed to be signed by their parents--spelling lists, test scores, progress reports, etc. I though that was great because it helps hold the kids accountable for their work and their progress in school. It must be a great feeling to carry home a piece of paper bearing a good test score or a positive progress report home to be signed by your parents. (I wouldn't really know--I forged most of my needed signatures when I was in school.) I can imagine that the paper must be heavy with pride in the backpack and the kid almost unable to contain the excitement and joy they feel as the recipient of such a good thing. Then just as I can imagine the joy I can almost imagine what it would be like to have to drag home a poor test score to be signed by your parents or having to have them sign a note that told of your poor behavior in class. Imagining your parents disappointment in your behavior and then having to receive any discipline that comes with the note that you had to bring home.

What if as adults we had to apply this principle to our discipleship walk. What if we had to take our completed days to God and have Him sign them for us? It would be awesome to be able to show Him your faithfulness and your dedication to the calling He placed on your life. What a great thing to be able to say that you are on track to complete all the tasks He has given you to do in your lifetime. We would be excited then to get God's signature on our days, because we wold know that He would be pleased with us. Now what if the situation was different. What if we had to show God our day and in it there was listed all the times we had the chance to use our gifts or our talents that He gave us and we didn't? What would it feel like if we had to show God all the time we spent being out of His will for our lives or just chose to be disobedient to Him? It wouldn't feel so good then, nor would we be so eager to take our days to Him to be signed off.

Now consider this. We do have to take our days to God and have Him sign them off. Whether it will be a positive experience for us or one that we missed altogether will be dependant on how we live out our days now. When we leave this earth we will be held accountable for the lives we have led on earth while we were here. We will have to answer for all the time we spent out of His will for our lives, for all of our compromises and all of the times we squandered the gifts He placed in our lives to be used for Him. Just the thought of that day pushes me into accountability mode.

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
Mike

Here is the song that put me into my current thoughtfulness:

Get this widget Share Track details

Friends of Faith

When I think of faith, I can't help but think of words or feelings that I associate with it. The first one that comes to mind is fire. When I have faith it is either feast or famine with me. When I am feasting in times of faith, I am on fire. I have an energy burning in me that can't be suppressed and makes me feel like I can be superman (leaping buildings, faster than speeding trains, etc., etc.) I have a passion that drives what I am doing and what I am called to do when my faith is charged and ready to go. I love that feeling. I can have any number of naysayers in front of me and my armor is impenetrable by their negativity. It is then that I know who my God says He is and I believe Him. Moreover, I believe who He tells me I am.

When my faith isn't charged up to capacity and I have left room for something other than faith to creep in, it is usually fear. Faith is the hoping for things not seen, the belief that they even exist or will come to pass. Fear comes in when I am left to my own senses and I am looking at a God situation--it is easy then to say that it is not possible, and I am not the one that should be undertaking such a calling. Fear prevails when I allow myself in front of God. That only happens when I feel I have bitten off more than I can chew or have been so busy serving God that I have forgotten to worship Him.

Father I pray that You will strengthen my faith and my passion for Your will through our time together.

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing.
Mike

The Beginning of the End

I was on the way to pick up dinner tonight when I saw it. I looked in the rearview mirror and there it was. I had one single solitary white hair in my beard. It is official. I am older than I feel. White hairs are just like ants. Where there is one there is more on the way. I had a good run being young. It was cool while it lasted.

Umm Can You Repeat That God??

I have been doing a little self exploration lately. I am planning on taking a couple of days soon to be away from my life of routine and just be alone. I am going to a place where I can be quiet, be still and basically just be. While I am out and away I want to meditate on the things I feel are what make me up. I also want to spend some time seeking direction from God on the parts of me that need to increase and develop more. One of the areas that has been heavy on my heart, and kind of heart breaking at the same time, is my faith. I think everyone would like to say that they are a spiritual giant in terms of faith. I mean why not, it is one of our spiritual foundations after all. I will be the first to say that I have faith. I have every reason to believe. I have seen some incredible, miraculous things in my lifetime that can only be attributed to God. Yet of all of the foundations of my belief in God, I would say that the one I struggle with the most is faith. More specifically I struggle with my faith as it relates to me. God can tell me He is going to heal someone or deliver someone or tell me to speak something into someone's life and it is all good. No problem there. I struggle when God talks to me about me.

God: Mike, you are going to do such and such thing (some off the wall, out of character, somebody-anybody-better-than-me-should-be-doing-this thing) and you need to prepare for it now.
Me: Umm can you repeat that God?!? Then can you follow it up with a sign or a wonder? You know who you are talking to right? It's me Mike, in Chino Hills? And that sign or wonder can you make it kind of big so that I know it's really You?

I know what I have been called to do and that the time is coming really close to now for it to start happening. I feel it in my spirit and in my heart--that longing feeling of discontentment with life as it is now. Sometimes I wonder if God really knew what He was doing when He called me. It's hard to remember sometimes that God calls us in our weakness and vulnerability so that He can demonstrate His God-ness. There would be no testimony or glory to give Him if I did something on my own that I could do on my own.

People say it is the first step that is the hardest. I am not sure that is true. The first step is an easy one. You are not so far in that you still can't turn around and say "just kidding." It is every step that comes after the first that is the hard and every step in succession becomes the hardest. It is so because with each step you go deeper into a plan or a purpose that may not seem logical to you when you are following God. You become deeper in involvement and deeper in commitment with each step after the first, making your investment greater. Often with following the leading of the Holy Spirit we don't know what we are investing ourselves in. We simply need to know that regardless of the way it looks and seems to other people, and even how it looks and seems to us, we are simply trusting in One that we trust with our soul and heart to lead, guide and use us for His purpose.

Weakness. Vulnerability. Trust. Father I pray that You grant me the measure of faith I need to work as You have called and strength I need to take each step after the first.

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing.
Mike

Wow Some People....

Some people are serious about their coffee at 5AM. I mean SERIOUS. There was almost a brawl over coffee in the Starbucks I chill in this morning because something wasn't made right--twice. The customer came with attitude and that set off the associate behind the counter and it was on!!! I don't think 5AM is the time to be anything but sleepy. I hope this is not the precursor to how my day is going to be.

Be Blessed and BE a Blessing!
Mike

This Is My Life...

I have been really introspective lately. I dont know why and I am not sure that I like it. Not that I dont like self examination, it's just that I know it leads to change and I am not all that big of a fan of change. I really listened to the words of the Switchfoot song some time ago and the words are stuck in my head..."This is your life are you who you want to be?" So that is my question I ask myself every morning and every chance that I get now when I think of some of the parts of my life that make me, well, me. I am going to take some time here and write about them as they come to mind. Not because I want anyone to read them , but obviously I don't care if anyone does because I am posting them here, but because I want to be able to come back to what I have written and see just how I am measuring mylife. This is the Measurement of Mike afterall! I think I am really doing this because I am growing out of my comfort zone and I know I am capable of so much more and called to much more than I am doing now. I dont know what I expect to find...yeah I do i just think I dont want to see it. Here I go....

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
Mike

Perspective

I heard this quote the other day, I forgot who I heard say it, but it has stayed with me since I heard it and this morning it is really resonating with my heart.

"To the world I am one, but to One I am the world."

What an amazing thought.
Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
Mike

I like Starbucks--Not This Much

I like Starbucks--Alot! I pass several of them on my way to various places. I am a regular at several stores--I spend alot of time writing in the ones near my house and I chill in one while mom gets her dialysis done. Never ever would I have ever thought to hit all of the Starbucks in my area in one day. This guy did though! I think he hit something like 171 stores in the Manhattan area. Crazy Caffeine Junky! That is just a cry for help. Check it:





Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
Mike

God--The Show Off

"There is a pattern that I see repeated throughout the Scriptures: Sometimes God won't intervene until something is humanly impossible. And he usually does it just in the nick of time." --Mark Patterson, In a Pit With a Lion On a Snowy Day

Isn't that the truth. Doesn't it always seem like God doesn't move in a situation that is rough on you until it seems there is no possible way out. It is almost like being in the deep end of the pool and not knowing how to swim and feeling yourself going under. You have gasped your last breath of air and have just about resigned yourself to the fact that this might be the last breath you will take, and then from no where someone jumps in and saves you. The bible says in Jeremiah that at just the right time God hears our cries for help and reaches down to save us. That is the hard part of this thing called faith. We have to trust that God knows exactly when that right time is. It would seem like the situations that help form our faith are the ones that are the roughest on us; the ones that push us beyond our known limits of endurance without completely breaking us to the point of no return. We come out of those situations with a deeper faith and trust in God than we had before we entered our rough times--that is if we maintain our trust in God and don't give up before we have had the chance to let God be God in our situations. I think the best part of being God must be the ability to show off when ever you want to. He lets us get to the point we are almost at our breaking point and then intervenes and puts everything back in its right place and restores order in our lives. I am Glad I serve a God like that. He allows me to get pushed out of my comfort zone and into situations where I have rely on Him for bigger and bigger intervention so my faith is built up and my relationship and dependence on Him increase.

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
Mike

Aquafina = Tap Water In A Bottle

=

I saw this while browsing the news and a sense of justification came over me! I have been saying for a very long time that bottled water from the big soda companies was a scam. The whole selling ice to eskimos thing comes to mind. According to new reports Pepsi is now going to put the fact that Aquafina water comes from a public source. Meaning it is tap water. The only place I would feel safe drinking tap water is in San Francisco where the majority of their water comes from Yosemite and needs very little processing to make it drinkable.

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!

Mike