First Buck!

This is a friend of mine named Loran Richardson, he is a youth pastor at a church called New Freedom Church in Webb, Alabama He was able to harvest this buck on Saturday it weighed close to 175 lbs Nice buck!

I wanted to take the time to brag on him because of what he has been able to do as a youth pastor. He has served with integrity and with hard work and faithfulness and with God's favor has done some great things there. In fact he sponsored a city wide worship event this summer that had multiple church and multiple denominations attend and help participate. Matt 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. I can see since he has been faithful in the things of God, God is blessing him in many areas. I am lucky to have him as a friend and what makes it all that more special is that he is only 24 yrs old. I love seeing the young people serve God. I see people like him as special because in his generation the people are a different sort of people, He is like Caleb in the fact that he has a different kind of spirit. He continues to be a great source of joy to me.

In Alabama they have an over abundance of deer that he can hunt for, but he is about to come here to Texas to do some hunting and I am getting excited about it. I am hoping some of his good fortune will rub of on me. I can honestly say that he is a righteous man and has stayed true and I think the reward shows in his life by his fruit. Good job and congrats Loran. If you want look him up he is at www.newfreedomchurch.org The church that he serves at is an awesome church as well. Check them out and enjoy.

What Christmas means to me this year.

This has been a long and difficult year as well as a deeply rewarding year to me and my family. It started off with my wife having to be on bed rest so she would not have a miscarriage and trust me that was not fun for her. I had to help her with the things she could not do and for a person who is used to doing something herself it is hard to rely on someone else to do it for her.

Well, God is good and delivered her through that time and the baby came. We named him Jonathan David King Because he had been prophesied that he would be a Gift of God which is what the name of Jonathan means, David after my spiritual Father which means Beloved of God and King because that is our last name and I feel is appropriate because we serve the King of all kings.

Financially this has been the hardest year I have seen as an adult but God is good and just to save and he has. Let's keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. Heb 10:23 He has always provided even when I began to doubt.

I have seen a relationship with my father and my brother be restored and fall away again. They are leaving and moving back to Florida because they don't like living here and find it hard to fit into our lives because of our faith differences. I am one that believes that just the minimum is not ok. I feel like if I carry the Cross brand, I should ride for the Brand (an old cowboy saying.)

I nearly lost my wife for the second time due to a ruptured appendix. She had been walking around for two days with it being ruptured and fortunately God stepped in and kept her protected with a deposit of fat that plugged and sealed the rupture so nothing leaked out.

My son just turned eight months old and and he is making me prouder everyday. So this year I plan on sitting around the table and giving a long testimony of the things that I am thankful for this year.

I am also in the middle of planning for a new church plant that is to be called "Impact Church" in Nacogdoches, TX. The word Impact means to have an impact or effect on; influence; alter. I always have liked being a impact player in sports or business and I can't wait to be an impact player for the Kingdom of God in Nacogdoches, TX. It is the hardest time of my life but also the most exciting time of my life. A new beginning and unfortunately an ending of what I am doing now. I wonder sometimes what it will be like to be away from my church family and friends but I get reminded that Pastor spoke over me at a staff retreat that I am about to shoot out of the starting blocks and that they would be there to cheer me on. He also told me that I would be a long distance runner, and this is how my race will be run always looking down the road looking for the Son to rise and never stopping nor giving up. That is my charge, something different, something new, I am sure glad I have the assurance of God, because without it I would run away screaming.

God you are Awesome, I love you and can't wait to see what you will do with us this next year with all the changes that are coming for me and my family.

Love you, Stan

Toys for Tots rejects Jesus Doll

Here is a little article that I thought funny. In a time where the world needs Jesus and the only person that could make the Marines obsolete, they turn down the gift. I guess I can understand to a degree, but how sad is it when we can not spread the truth, and how strange it is that we can not give away a represenatation of the person who Christmas was all about. What do you think?

LOS ANGELES - A talking Jesus doll has been turned down by the Marine Reserves' Toys for Tots program. A suburban Los Angeles company offered to donate 4,000 of the foot-tall dolls, which quote Bible verses, for distribution to needy children this holiday season. The battery-powered Jesus is one of several dolls manufactured by one2believe, a division of the Valencia-based Beverly Hills Teddy Bear Co., based on Biblical figures.
But the charity balked because of the dolls' religious nature.
Toys are donated to kids based on financial need and "we don't know anything about their background, their religious affiliations," said Bill Grein, vice president of Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, in Quantico, Va.
As a government entity, Marines "don't profess one religion over another," Grein said Tuesday. "We can't take a chance on sending a talking Jesus doll to a Jewish family or a Muslim family."
Michael La Roe, director of business development for both companies, said the charity's decision left him "surprised and disappointed."
"The idea was for them to be three-dimensional teaching tools for kids," La Roe said. "I believe as a churchgoing person, anyone can benefit from hearing the words of the Bible."
According to the company's Web site, the button-activated, bearded Jesus, dressed in hand-sewn cloth outfits and sandals, recites Scripture such as "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again" and "Love your neighbor as yourself." It has a $20 retail value.
Grein also questioned whether children would welcome a gift designed for religious instruction. "Kids want a gift for the holiday season that is fun," he said.

Gay liberals being critical of religion.

I came across this article and it was like a good kick in the head. I got hit twice because I am a war vet from the first Gulf War and now I am a Pastor. With out voicing my OPINION about this I wanted to put this out there for discussion and see what people had to say about this subject.

OK just to start it off I think Elton John has a very one sided gay outlook on this and I am not one for wanting to call someone on the carpet without reason but in this article he say's "there is a general lack of leadership in the worlds religions," I for one think that is a load of cow chips because he is living a very immoral life as a homosexual and if has not listened to religous leaders about his life style, he surely will not listen when it it concerns a world view that is not tolerant to his personal views.

Let me know what you think.

Religion should be outlawed because it lacks compassion and promotes hatred of homosexuals, gay pop star Elton John said in an interview.
The singer was speaking in a special "gay edition" of The Observer newspaper's Music Monthly Magazine, where he shared his views on subjects ranging from being a music icon to Prime Minister Tony Blair's stance on the Iraq war.
At a time when religion is the subject of fierce debate in Britain over the right to wear the Muslim veil and other faith symbols, John complained there was a general lack of leadership from spiritual leaders.
"I think religion has always tried to turn hatred towards gay people. From my point of view, I would ban religion completely," he was quoted as saying.
"Organized religion doesn't seem to work. It turns people into really hateful lemmings and it's not really compassionate. The world is near escalating to World War Three and where are the leaders of each religion?
"Why aren't they having a conclave? Why aren't they coming together? I said this after 9/11 and people thought I was nuts. Instead of more violence why isn't there a meeting of religious leaders?" he said.
"It's like the peace movement in the Sixties. Musicians got through to people by getting out there and doing peace concerts but we don't seem to do them anymore.
"If John Lennon were alive today, he'd be leading it with a vengeance."
John complained that too many people were protesting online to take to the streets, highlighting the effectiveness of the February 2003 march against military action in Iraq that mobilized millions around the world.
With spiralling violence in Iraq, such opposition to Blair's backing of the United States had "come back to bite him on the ass," he added.
On homosexuality, the 59-year-old -- who sealed a civil partnership with his long-term partner, the Canadian film director David Furnish in December last year -- said he was happy to be viewed as the "acceptable face of gayness."
He also vowed to continue his fight for gay rights and
AIDS' charities: "I can't just sit back; it's not in my nature anymore. I'm nearly 60 years old after all. I can't sit back and blindly ignore it and I won't."

Servanthood vs Dictatorship

3 John 1-14
1 The elder, To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth.
2 Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.
3 It gave me great joy to have some brothers come and tell about your faithfulness to the truth and how you continue to walk in the truth.
4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
5 Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, even though they are strangers to you.
6 They have told the church about your love. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God.
7 It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans.
8 We ought therefore to show hospitality to such men so that we may work together for the truth.
9 I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will have nothing to do with us.
10 So if I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, gossiping maliciously about us. Not satisfied with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church.
11 Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God.
12 Demetrius is well spoken of by everyone, and even by the truth itself. We also speak well of him, and you know that our testimony is true.
13 I have much to write you, but I do not want to do so with pen and ink.
14 I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face. Peace to you. The friends here send their greetings. Greet the friends there by name.

This a story about three very different men but noteworthy enough for God to tell us about them so we can understand the difference between servanthood and dictatorship. In the Christian world we have what is called the Five Fold Ministry- Apostle, Prophets, Evangelist, Pastor, Teacher and it is easy for people to loose sight of them being servants to the flock.

I have always seen the five fold ministry as being fingers and the flock as being the palm of the hand. When in operation the fingers work in unison with the hand to get the work of God done here on this earth. I think it really holds true when you take your fingers and close them back up to the palm, they work together to protect and to serve the hand. We are to serve the bigger part of the body not take precedence over the body.

The first man was a servant named Gauis who was a treasured friend of the Apostle John. John had said that he had heard about his love through the service of the Brothers through the people he had served and was proud that he was walking in the Truth. John had commended him for his faithfulness to hospitality toward the Brothers when came through his area doing the work of the Lord. They would come to his house and he would serve them with the Love of God through hospitality. Most of the people he did not know, but he worked not for fame nor fortune but through the spirit of servanthood. He knew the commandment that he was to love his neighbor, and he also knew that he was doing something more important than serving himself. Gaius was not a man to complain about serving these men of God no matter how late they showed up or how long they stayed, or how much they ate and drank he counted it all Joy. I am sure that he put out a lot of his own money and time serving them without much compensation other than the joy of being a servant of God.

The second man was Diothrephes who John stated always wanted to be first(not a good sign). He had given in to pride, jealousy, and slander. He had taken over the church and would not listen to the eldership of the faith, he had begun to slander them, and would not receive any of the brothers. He had started trying to stop others from serving and receiving the Brothers in Christ and would go as far as even throwing people out of church for being servants to the needs of the Brothers. Can you imagine that? It was so bad that John himself stated that he wanted to come and have a talk with Diothrephes, talk about being humbled I sure would hate to have to be in that room when that went down. The bottom line was that his pride had disqualified him as a leader and needed to be confronted with the Truth.

The third man was probably a Pastor or teacher named Demetrius. In verse 12 Demetrius was being introduced as man that is well spoken of by the people and even the Truth itself. My study bible says that if Truth could speak it would speak on Demetrius's behalf. He was probably the man that carried the letter from John to Gaius which would also serve as an approval of him to preach and teach the Truth. Certainly Gauis opened his home to receive him as a respected man of the faith. I think that is a pretty high praise from John himself.

John had showed us three different types of people one a True Servant, one a thug/dictator, and one a Minister of the Gospel. It also shows that when good character is revealed, it is noticed and when bad character is shown, it is also dealt with. I think the relationship between John, Gauis, and Demetrius is exactly the same relationship we need in the church today.

May we always have Fathers of the faith that commend us, watch over us, correct us, and approve of us.
May we always have servants that serve and may we always have leaders that are proven trust worthy through time.

Sir, Please shut up!

For a man who tried to build himself as a war hero in the last presidential race, "U shore aint got know cents!" I am a War Vet myself and what you think is a lack of education I call Patriotism, what you call stupidity I call Honor , what you call ignorance I call Loyalty.

Let me tell you one thing sir, and I use that term loosely, I have never been so embarrassed by a member of my Gov't as what you did this week. I do realize that you are not a man of Honor, nor are you a man of Integrity. The comment you made, or should I say tried to make, shows that yes even after the clinton/lewinski ordeal we went through there is still a new low that I did not think possible to sink to, and fear not you found it.

You are a man who should be living a distinguished life as an Elder Statesman. You should have more intelligence or at least decency to understand that our Men and Women in the Armed service are doing something that is good, decent, and honorable. They are trying to bring stability and order in a part of the world that needs it badly. Please remind me who was it that came in and started working on making sure that schools were built, power was available , and water was running, well it sure was not you. Who is laying down their lives to defend a people from pure evil, I will give you one guess and yes you guessed it right, it is not you. Who is standing Guard tonight in a cold check point defending his brothers in arms while you and your wealthy wife live in the lap of luxury in a nice warm house that most of us true Americans will never be able to afford.

That sir, which is a term you do not deserve, takes true nerve to criticize the American Service men and women for doing what they thought they should be doing which is defending our moral responsibility of defending the world from terrorist.

I also would like to know how you would be able to look at a wife, a mother, or a child who has lost a loved one in the service of our Country and tell them, "Well Bless your heart, your loved one died because he was too stupid to go to college and get good grades."

Sir, which I use sarcastically, I understand your wife is French if I am not mistaken, I am sure that France would open up their arms to receive you as a citizen so please leave and don't even worry about getting your passport stamped because quess what even the custom agents are defending our Country or on second thought go ahead they may need the practice of doing a body/cavity search. Sir, which you are underserving of being called. Have made a complete fool of yourself and everything America stands for, good day and good bye.

Stuck in the rut!

Here it is one week before the start of rifle deer season here in North Texas and there is a cold front coming in. It makes my imagination run wild of visions of being hunting and the rut kicks into full gear. Big monster bucks coming out looking for love in all the wrong places. Generally deer are very timid creatures that almost will never come out into the open, but in the rut they have one thing one their mind and do you want to guess what they are thinking about. They have one thing that they can think about and one thing only. In deer language it means "let's par-tay!"

Enough with the kidding around, What happens is that the Bucks get so intent on the does that they are not concerned with anything else around them. If you are lucky enough to ever to be able to watch a buck chase a doe you will notice that he has thrown caution to the wind and has given in to the desire to do what they were created to do and that is to thrive and reproduce a strong new generation of deer so that they will ensure survival of deer as God created them.

I think that as Christians we could learn a lot about our faith walk by watching deer. The Apostle Paul spoke in Phil 3:12-14 "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Just as the deer are pressing on to take hold of the goal and to win the prize so should we be in such a state of mind that nothing will sidetrack us and hinder us from doing what we were created to do and that is to Worship God without any distractions and to reproduce a strong generation that will in turn chase after God with same desire to be near their creator. That is what God wanted from man before the fall of Adam in the garden. I believe God was deeply hurt when that happened and I also think that he is over joyed when his children want him as bad as we want to breath and I am sure that in that, we achieve what GOD created us for and that is to be with him.

May we all stay stuck in the Rut. Happy hunting

Deer Season is finally here!!!!!!!!!!

Praise the lORD! It is almost deer season! I am a hunter and love to see the change of the weather knowing that deer season is right around the corner. I really don't ask much in life but my hunting is one thing that I can do that relaxes me like nothing else can. Unfortunatly, when I go hunting I don't need to harvest a buck every year, but it is the time out in nature seeking after God that I need more than any thing.

It is an awesome experience to be able to go to the deer camp and sit in my tree stand with no distractions, I feel like I am drawing closer to God every year because I find that I need him more and more every year. To me it is like I am having Revival with in my Spirit just like some denominations schedule a yearly revival meeting at their churches so do I in the East Texas Pineywoods.

I find as a new dad wanting to be a Godly father to my son, there is more and more that I don't know about being a father. I find that I am so desperate for God, even to the point that I can not stand to be without him and his direction for my life, and that is when my soul cries out in a desperate need of God.

A couple of weeks ago my Pastor wrote about when a deer is running from something it will have a strong desire for water to the point that is the only thing on it's mind. I know that as a hunter here in the south that this is true because when the deer's body is under a high degree of stress it produces something called Lactic acid which can help the body produce emergency energy in case of a need for a quick get away, but when the body produce too much over a long period of time it can start turning back on the body and can slow down a deer to the point of exaustion or even death, unless it gets to water and and is able to drink. It has a way of resetting the metabolic system of the deer which causes the deer's body to start healing itself.

I find that I am like that deer under extreme physical stress longing for that water except for me it is God that I long for. With out him I will die because my body was never made to take the stress of this life with out him. He is my Savior and my friend. Psalms 42:1-2 As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?

As the writer of Psalms 42 asked God "When can I meet with you?" we need to get out and spend time with God. Ask him when can we meet I bet he want tell to get your people to call his people so you can do lunch together some other time. He is there for you when you are ready to spend time with him.

Please take the time to pass down these two legacies to your children.
1) As being a hunter
2) Being a Hunter for Christ.

Blessings and happy hunting

Standing alone

Today I received an email from a man that I consider to be one of my spiritual sons. He asked for forgiveness for a few things which was between us. Not realizing that I still love him and miss him. He recently got married to his long time girl friend and moved away to train for the Olympics. I am so proud of him and all he is trying to do. I am watching from afar hoping he will let me back into his life again and to be able to speak the Truth to him.

The biggest thing that came up between us was that I wanted to see him step up and be what God called him to be as a leader and he was just not able to see himself as a leader but someone outside of the group looking in. Just like in this picture if you are standing alone it makes you an easy target for the enemy and allows the enemy to keep you from achieving all that you can for the Kingdom of God.

In the military we used to say that "better sense is the better part of valor", and that "the only hero's that we knew of were dead men." We used to try and teach our men not to be dead hero's but alive men who did their jobs that saved the lives of a lot of men, that is called team work. So remember before you allow yourself to wonder too far away form the herd ask yourself why are you making the decision to be separated from the group and what good can become of it.

For the young man that wrote me today, I will not mention his name but, I love you and miss you. I will pray for you and your marriage and remember you always have a place in my house and my heart.

Blessings,
Stan

Unshakable Faith

When you see the caption it talk abouts an intense time, but I have found when you are out in the deep end of the water you will always have intense moments but remember "If God is with us who can stand against us. Don't let the threat of danger stop you from doing what God has called you to do.

True Faith

Here is a real heart breaking story of how Jesus Christ will help you and walk throught the the hardest times that you can have. The Amish people are usually very peaceful people who tend to keep to themselves so they can stay away from the sin in the world and live quiet and productive lives. Here is a clip from a news article that blew me away. See how a mother of one of the slain children can forgive the shooter simply because Christ forgave us. Our hearts and prayers are with the families of all the school shooting victims this week.


‘They honestly have forgiven’
Meanwhile, Rita Rose, a local nurse and midwife who delivered several children in the Amish community, told NBC’s Ann Curry that the mother of a 13-year-old girl who died has forgiven Roberts.

“She holds no ill will toward the shooter. She’s very forgiving. Christ forgave us, and we in turn forgive, and they honestly have forgiven,” she said. “Even last night, there was no anger toward the shooter.”

Rose described the teenage girl, who she did not identify, as “just beginning to blossom; she was very sweet.”

She added that the tragedy would likely strengthen the religious beliefs held by the Amish community, despite talk from outsiders that the lack of a phone or other modern amenities might have averted or cut short the tragedy.

“There’s two things that happen to your faith,” she said. “Either you let it go and get bitter, or you grow stronger — and we’ll grow stronger.”

Honesty does not mean always mean Integrity!

Several years ago, in Long Beach, California, a fellow went into a fried chicken place and bought a couple of chicken dinners for himself and his date late one afternoon. The young woman at the counter inadvertently gave him the proceeds from the day—a whole bag of money (much of it cash) instead of fried chicken. After driving to their picnic site, the two of them sat down to open the meal and enjoy some chicken together. They discovered a whole lot more than chicken—over $800! But he was unusual. He quickly put the money back in the bag. They got back into the car and drove all the way back. Mr. Clean got out, walked in, and became an instant hero. By then the manager was frantic. The guy with the bag of money looked the manager in the eye and said, “I want you to know I came by to get a couple of chicken dinners and wound up with all this money. Here.” Well, the manager was thrilled to death. He said, “Oh, great, let me call the newspaper. I’m gonna have your picture put in the local newspaper. You’re the most honest man I’ve heard of.” To which they guy quickly responded, “Oh no, no, don’t do that!” Then he leaned closer and whispered, “You see, the woman I’m with is not my wife...she’s uh, somebody else’s wife.”

I hope you were able to laugh at the story but there is a ring of truth to it. Honesty does not always mean integrity. Men take care that you do not become like Mr.Clean. Remember that being named Mr. Clean does not make you clean only the Blood of Christ can make you clean.

Living a transparent life.

Recently we have had some controversy going on about a football athlete that has come to play for our local professional football team. There were and still are some rumors flying about that he may or may not have tried to commit suicide. I for one am tired of hearing about every move this particular man makes and wish the news media would allow him to settle in to what he is supposed to be doing here and that is playing football.

This morning I sat watching the news and saw him trying to explain what happened. He tried to explain that it was a mistake and that the police report was wrong, because it said that he admitted that he was trying to hurt himself. He stated that is was all a misunderstanding of what happened and their was no reason to be alarmed. His publicists states that he has twenty-five million reasons to be happy referring to his three year contract of course.

There were rumors that he was depressed because of a break up with his girl friend and was not being allowed to see his daughter, and with the news coverage that he gets it would be hard to have some down time to recover after a personal loss of a relationship like that.

I am not passing judgment on him but I do see a person who his crying out for help. Sometimes we put up fronts so that people can not see the present living conditions of where we are living our lives. I saw this picture and thought how we as people usually live in a house trailer while we try and keep up our appearances and ride around in some flashy vehicle.

When we try showing a different life and not showing who we really are people will always attack you wanting to know what is going on and they will not stop till they find out something that they think you are hiding. It is better to live a transparent life style so that people can see right trough us and know what is going on.

In John 1:46 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false." Nathanael apparently live a very transparent lifestyle so that there was not "misunderstandings" about him. I see that as a wonderful compliment from the Lord about him at that time. I know that you may not see the connection between the two situations but it is there. We as men have to realize that we are human and we have our faults but it is ok to show when we are hurt and need help. We are not called to be Supermen but called to be men that are super.

Remember there is only one that will never let you down and that is Jesus Christ. He is our Hope of Glory, anything less is just hype and that always fails.

T.O. we love you, but more so Jesus Christ loves you. I am praying that you can receive the love and comfort that only he can give you.

How a Hunter tells the weather.

This is for all the hunters that go hunting regardless of the weather. It is the most accurate and up to the minute weather forcaster available, enjoy.

In case you can't read the sign...

1. If the rock is wet, it is raining.
2. If the rock is swaying, it is windy.
3. If the rock is hot, it is sunny.
4. If the rock is cool, it is overcast.
5. If the rock is white, it is snowing.
6. If the rock is blue, it is cold.
7. If the rock is gone, your in a tornado.

Sign of the times.

My mother in law sent this to me and I got a kick out of it hope you enjoy.

YOU KNOW YOU ARE LIVING IN 2006 when...

1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave.
2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.
3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 3.
4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.
5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses.
6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.
7 Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen.
8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.
9. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your coffee.
10. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. ;-D

Get up!

Have you ever had a bad fall and your dad or someone of importance tell you to get up and dust yourself up and get back in the saddle and not let it get you down. Well here are some ways to help you get up. Enjoy

1. Wake Up! Decide to have a good day."This is the day the Lord hath made;Let us rejoice and be glad in it."Psalms 118:24

2. Dress Up! The best way to dress up is to put on a smile.A smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks."The Lord does not look at the things man looks at.Man looks at outward appearance,but the Lord looks at the heart."I Samuel 16:7

3. Shut Up!Say nice things and learn to listen.God gave us two ears and one mouth,So He must have meant for us to do twice as much listening as talking."He who guards his lips guards his soul."Proverbs 13:3

4. Stand Up! For what you believe in.Stand for something or you will fall for anything."Let us not be weary in doing good; for at the proper time,we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good..."Galatians 6:9-10

5. Look Up! To the Lord."I can do everything through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13

6. Reach Up! For something higher." Trust in the Lord with all your heart,And lean not unto your own understanding.In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path."Proverbs 3:5-6

7. Lift Up! Your Prayers."Do not worry about anything; insteadPRAY ABOUT EVERYTHING."Philippians 4:6

How Texans think.

A Texan was stopped by a game warden in East Texas recently with two ice chests of fish, leaving a river well known for its fishing.
The game warden asked the man, "Do you have a license to catch those fish?"
"No, my friend, I don't have a license, they are my pet fish."
Warden: "Pet fish?"
Texan "Yep, every night I take these fish down to the river and let 'em swim around for awhile, then I whistle and they jump right back into this ice chest and I take them home."
Warden "That's a lie because fish can't do that!"
The Texan looked at the game warden for a moment and then said, "It's the truth. I'll show you. It really does works."
Warden "Okay, I've GOT to see this!"
The Texan poured all the fish back into the river and stood and waited. After several minutes, the game warden turned to him and said, "Well?" "Well, what?" said the Texan. "When are you going to call them back?" "Call who back?" "The FISH!" "What fish?"
Moral: Texans may not be as smart as some, but we ain't as dumb as most. You smart ones have a good day.

Motherly wisdom

I OWE MY MOTHER:

1. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE. "If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning."
2. My mother taught me RELIGION. "You better pray that this will come out of the carpet."
3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL. "If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"
4. My mother taught me LOGIC. " Because I said so, that's why."
5. My mother taught me MORE LOGIC. "If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me."
6. My mother taught me FORESIGHT. "Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident."
7. My mother taught me IRONY. "Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry about."
8. My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS. "Shut your mouth and eat your supper."
9. My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM. "Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!"
10. My mother taught me about STAMINA. "You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone."
11. My mother taught me about WEATHER. "This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it."
12. My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY "If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!"
13. My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE. "I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."
14. My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION. "Stop acting like your father!"
15. My mother taught me about ENVY. "There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do."
16. My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION. "Just wait until we get home."
17. My mother taught me about RECEIVING. "You are going to get it when you get home!"
18. My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE. "If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to get stuck that way."
19. My mother taught me ESP. "Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you are cold?"
20. My mother taught me HUMOR. "When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me."
21. My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT. "If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up."
22. My mother taught me GENETICS. "You're just like your father."
23. My mother taught me about my ROOTS. "Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?"
24. My mother taught me WISDOM. "When you get to be my age, you'll understand."
25. And my favorite: My mother taught me about JUSTICE. "One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you"

The day the whole world changed. Remembering 9/11

There are few things in life that are worth remembering where you were at when something happened, such as when JFK was shot, when Ronald Reagan was shot, the day you got married, the birth of your children, and many more things that are of a major importance in the world in which we live.

I have Sept 11, 2001 eternally burned into my brain because of what happened. I remember the day like it was five minutes ago. I remember being at work and being told of what had happened and going back to a t.v. and seeing the second plane flying into the other tower. I remember that the anger swelled up inside of me and I wanted to see an unleashing of destruction upon the people responsible. I wanted to see them wiped off the face of the earth. Surely that was our right, right?

At that time I was a Bible College student working to recieve a Pastoral Studies degree time, and I remember my faith being questioned about what had happened but I was reminded of 1 Peter 5:8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. I knew at that moment that I had to quit playing around and get to doing what God was calling me for. At times it takes something very dramatic to wake us up and make us realize that there is a real enemy and a real danger. I am thankful that I did not know anyone personally that died as a result of the attacks but I do know that our lives are affected greatly though.

To the families that lost loved ones I am so sorry that you had had to experience a loss like this due to the ignorance of the terrorist that did this. My prayers are for you and my heart goes out to you. I pray that God gives you the comfort to help you through your trials 2 Cor 1:3-5 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.

We will never forget what has happened and we should never forget the people that are sick with all sort of illnesses from working at ground zero. You all are heros aand we owe you the gratitude of the whole U.S.A.. Thank you for your sacrifice. We love you.

"Be still and know that I am God."

I recently got an article published in a magazine called the "Christian Sportmen" so I thought I would share with you.
Blessings,
stan

It is the middle of August in North Texas and the only thing that a true sportsman here can think about is the opening of dove season on September 1st. The hunting fever as I call it is starting to run through the area like a disease unchecked. It is a time for Fathers to buy their sons their first Remington 870 pump shotgun or their first hunting rifle so they can share in a time honored heritage of hunting that we treasure so highly, that we long to pass it down to the next generation. Every father dreams of watching his son take his first dove, turkey, or deer as long as the son does not outdo the father. Even though there is a pride in watching them, there is also a competition between them. It can be an awkward thing for a father to watch his children become of age and knowing that they are not too far away from becoming adults themselves who will go out and start their own families. It is a right of passage to manhood and a circle that we pray will never be unbroken. It is also a symbol of our own desire to go out on a walk with our heavenly Father and do well so that he might look down on us with that same fatherly pride.

Due to waiting for the right person God had for us, my wife and I are just now starting in that direction to having children. Although we do not have children yet we do have two dogs that seem to be like our children though, and recently I learned the greatest thing that sometimes we need to relearn over and over from my dog Sam, which is a Welch Springer Spaniel that I found at the animal shelter. I remember the day I found him there as I walked into the shelter and all of those dogs there were going crazy barking and running around trying to catch your attention when low and behold there was this beautiful bird dog just sitting there looking all noble and proud, he was just dead calm while he was in the middle of pure chaos as only a bird dog can. Well he won my heart with that peaceful demeanor and after going back home and making a fool of myself with this crazy story about this dog to my wife, after taking her to go see the dog she agreed that he could come home with us, thus started a relationship that I treasure to this day.

He has a simple life here at our house. He keeps us company and gives companionship to our other dog Mitzy, (which is an entirely different story). For his and our entertainment he likes to play fetch with his squeaky toys and he takes a great interest in the birds in the yard by watching through the front door or off the front porch. I know that he will never win any awards for being a championship bird dog, but Sam is secure in our relationship because he knows that his master loves him, feeds him, fellowships with him, provides all of his medical needs, and will give him all the little squeaky toys that he can handle. The only thing that I as his master ask of him is to be happy to see me when I come home and sit there in devoted fellowship and let me pet him, (which is beneficial to both him and me).

When Sam wants attention he will come up to me and lay his head on my lap and he will stay there for hours or until I recognize him and give him the attention that he longs for. You may ask what does all this have to do with the price of shotgun shells at the store, well it don't have anything to do with that at all, but it is about a great relationship with God.

Two weeks ago we were having one of those worship times at church where the presence of God was so evident and strong I took note at one song we were singing that said "I just want to lay back on you and breath and hear you speak". Well I was reminded about Jesus' brother John when he rested back on Jesus and he just rested in him and was close enough to hear God breath, if you get close enough to hear him breath you will be able hear him speak. That day I was moved in worship but later that day I was still saying Jesus where you are so I can lean back on you. Well Sam walks up to me and lays his head on my lap and starts wagging his tail and low and behold the scriptures comes to me out of Psalms 46:10-11 Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Well the more I thought about it the more I saw my relationship with God was just like my relationship with Sam but reversed. There are times when I come home and if he does not meet me at the door I know something is wrong. He has probably had an "accident" or he has royally messed up something in the house. When that has happens the peace in our relationship suffers because he is hiding under the bed because of the shame that is upon him just like Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:8-10 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you? He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."

I feel that God was hurt that day to see the ones he so dearly loved trembling in fear before him because of the shame of disobedience had entered into them. I know that it did not take him by surprise, but it still hurt him because the relationship with his children was stained the same way the hurt and pain comes across me because of the breaking of the trust I put in him to take care of my house and to protect it. I know Sam will eventually let me down from time to time because he is not perfect because he is just a dog. I also have learned that like Adam and Eve he will hide under that bed not wanting to face me because he knows that he hurt me and brought shame into the relationship with his master and he don't want to see me hurt or upset. If left up to him he would hang his head and leave and never look up again and become a refugee from my fellowship knowing that he can never make it up to me.

God had to sacrifice his own son at Calvary to atone for the sins of man so the relationship could be restored John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Just as God made the first move to reconcile the relationship with man, I find it is up to me to make the first move to reconcile the relationship between Sam and I and because I love him I would give anything for that dog within my power to protect him and to keep him beside me, I am the one who comes down to where he is at and talks to him. I have to punish him for some of the things he does but there are times when he has accidents that are not his fault because maybe he is sick, or was left in the house too long. I have to remember that he will always feel guilty and will be in constant need of reassurance of our relationship. I try to be a forgiving master and that is when I see the greatness of God even in my weakness he is my Master and will lean down to find me and reconcile the relationship we have which I can not do. God wanted to walk in the garden and talk to Adam and Eve, even as I want to get in the truck and go for a ride with Sam. The next time your dog puts his head on your lap and wags his tail, honestly ask yourself if you have spent time in the lap of your master our Lord God.

May your hunting year be joyful and safe and make sure God shares your tree stand with you, and you with him. Stanley T. King Psalms 128:2

Check out my new "hunting dog"

July 1st
This is my new "hunting dog" called "BEAUREGARD" I got him from a Cajun that said he was trying start this new breed called "Gatorhoulas" I was skeptical at first till he told me that they were cousins to a Catahoula hound.

July 5th
I'm getting worried because he is supposed to be a fully trained hunting dog but I have not been able to get him to release the prey yet. Although he will fetch the game he just wants to play tug a war. He is a playful little pup, maybe a little too playful, I thought I was going to have to wrestle with him over the pig but we were able to come to an understanding I guess.

July 8th
I have I noticed that he has an attitude toward other dogs for some reason. When other dogs come around he wants to square off on them and fight them. I guess some dogs are like that though.

July 14th
I think today I am going to start leash training Beauregard. I can't wait to take him to the park. I think everyone is going to take notice of him. He will probably will catch everybody's attention. I will get back with you later on how it goes.

July 16th
Leash training did not go as I had hoped for. For some reason he kept fighting me when I tried to put on his leash. Anyhow I do think he is pretty smart because he knows what I mean when I say sit or lay down he does that pretty well. I am trying to figure out how to stop him from trying to fight with the other dogs because he just like to play a little rough.

July 20th
A game warden came by the house and started asking me if I had noticed anything strange because there were a rash of neighbors that have reported their dogs and cats missing. I told him thanks for the warning so I could watch out for my new dog.

July 28
I think I am going to train Beauregard to be a duck hunting dog. I took him down to the lake today with a friend who was training his dogs for the up coming duck season and boy he took to that water like he was born for it. He was a better swimmer than the other dogs because they apparently drowned they never came back. My friend sure is torn up about it.

August 2nd
Last night someone tried to break into the house and I guess Beauregard scared them away. He scared them so bad they left behind their shoes I guess they were trying to be quite and they left behind a pistol grip Mossberg 12 gauge pump shotgun. Boy I have always wanted one of those. I think I've found a new type of hunting- guard dog. I highly recogmend them and if you would like I will introduce you to the guy that sold me mine.

Signed

I. M. Looney.

The real truth about hair loss

Have you ever wondered why a man's hair loss always happens in horse shoe patterns? We now know why! According to a recent tabloid magazine the little man that lives in the laundry room that has been stealing your socks has sent his son out to do the chores and mowing the grass is his favorite chore. In fact when he was interviewed he said that he likes it so much that when he grows up he wants to be a professional crop circle artist. Enjoy.
Blessings

You know what I mean Vern?

Have you ever wondered how certain sayings get started? Growing up I used to hear them and say what does that mean? Sayings like
1) "I love you to death"
2)"if you are waiting on me your backing up"
3) "I can love you from a distance"
4) "I brought you into this world and I can take you out!" I also like the one about
5) "If you find a shiny penny pick it up and it will bring you good luck for the rest of the day."

I see life a little differently I guess. I would rather say
1) "I will love you till the day that I die"
2) "Look, I am going on ahead do you want to join me or stay behind?"
3) "I just don't like being around you.
4) "You are making me mad and I am about to fix your problem!
5) "If I find a million dollars it would make my day as well as a lot of other people because I can tithe on a million dollars and bless a lot of people as a benefactor.

What it all come down to is this do you want people to always wonder what you mean or are you willing to be direct and leave no doubt about what you say.
We have more relationships that fail we because we don't say what we feel and we don't feel what we say.

We need our Yes to mean a Yes and our No to mean No. I have found that when I speak up for how I feel about something I notice a huge change in my relationship with my wife and friends because we can get down to the root issues and deal with them and move on. Trust me the things that hurt the most are unresolved issues because they will reach up and bite you when you are least prepared to deal with it.

I did some pre martial counseling with a couple one time and after I finished the first session with them they had realized that they had nothing in common and broke up and quite coming to church at our church. Well you may ask what did I do to break them up and was that the right thing to do? Yes it was right, because they had realized that they had never effectively communicated together what they wanted or needed from each other so when I showed them how to communicate then they realized they were not right for each other. That was not meant to say that it was easy for them it hurt but they got through it. I still get picked on for breaking them up but I know it was not me that broke them up but was them being able to understand that their relationship was not built on communication which come through trust, but on something else that was not strong enough to stand the test of time.

The next time you feel like you don't want to take the time to communicate in the correct way just remember that "every pitch you do not swing at is one you never get back." Or "You can strike out by not swinging as well".

Blessings,

Winds of change

November 9, 1989 is one of the most important day's in all of history. That was the day that the Berlin wall fell. There was a lot of things that led up to it though. It was the beginning of the end of the cold war and the balance of communism was swinging back on itself. Communism was beginning to fall away through out the world because the oppression of millions of people can only last just so long.

Eventually when the desperation starts to take over, people will reach out to do the impossible. There were people that were so desperate that they would try to break through the wall and it's security perimeter only to die a sad death of being shot to death in cold blood. It was a revolution that was brought on by the oppression of the basic human rights to live, love, and worship.

I was stationed there as a young man in the military at that time and the excitement was in the air. The world was holding it's breath waiting to see what was going to happen. President Ronald Reagan had stood at the wall and had called for MikhaÃl Gorbachev to knock down the walls. That was not a popular thought in the Soviet world but no longer could the threat of violence hold people slaved in fear. There is a point when a person can no longer be threatened to keep them in control and in fear.

About that point in time a song came out by a group called Scorpion called "The winds of change" that held the embodiment what was going on at the time. The lyrics were a cry of a generation and spoke of what was happening not on in Europe but all over the world. Some of the lyrics went like this

"The wind of change Blows straight into the face of time Like a storm wind that will ring the freedom bell For peace of mind. Let your balalaika sing What my guitar wants to say,
Take me to the magic of the moment On a glory night Where the children of tomorrow share their dreams With you and me. Take me to the magic of the moment On a glory night Where the children of tomorrow dream away in the wind of change".

That generation knew that they did not want their children to be born into communism and that they wanted their children to be free to think and to dream and to share ideas. They wanted what I had already had and I did not realize what exactly I had. It took seeing other people starving for what I had to make me understand what I really had.

Looking back in time I thought that I would never see anything more incredible than that but I have. I have seen that the people of God have been oppressed and not able to live the life that God had intended for us to live because we were all being held captive in our own hearts with our on "Wall of shame" keeping us stuck in a world of oppression where we are starving and cold and living a life waiting to die. But when we get desperate enough to want to get away from that life we will be willing to risk our safety to break through the barriers that hold us captive. We can not be stopped from reaching out to the one who can speak for us.

As Ronald Reagan spoke as the leader of the free world for the people who could not speak for themselves, Jesus Christ was the one who laid down his life for us. He went to Calvary which was a dark place of death much like the Wall of Berlin, so that he could carry our death sentence away by the sacrifice that only he could make. Looking at the picture here you can see the Crosses that were on the other side of the wall calling us to please come to the savior because he has already paid the price with his life for your freedom. Always on the other side of slavery andTierney is freedom and Joy. Psalms 68 says that God sets the lonely in families, he leads forth the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land. Rest peaceful knowing that you will be singing when he leads you out, no longer living in a sun scorched land.

Ronald Reagan spoke for a portion of the world in one point in time, but Jesus spoke for the Whole World and throughout all of time. When you are desperate enough for that breath of freedom just cry out for Jesus and the "Walls of Shame" will crumble and fall. It did for me, and I can now say that there is freedom in my life now. This is one time when I can say that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.



Blessings.

Diary of hunter deer

Since hunting season will be coming soon I thought I would refresh your memory of what can happen at the deer camp.
Blessings,

Diary Of A Deer Hunter
1:00 AM Alarm clock rings
2:00 AM Hunting Partners arrive, drag you out of bed
2:30 AM Throw everything except kitchen sink into pickup
3:00 AM Leave for deep woods
3:15 AM Drive back home to pick up gun
3:30 AM Drive like crazy to get to the woods before daylight
4:00 AM Set up camp, forgot the stupid tent
4:30 AM Head for the woods
6:05 AM See eight deer
6:06 AM Take aim, squeeze trigger
6:07 AM Click
6:08 AM Load gun while watching deer go over hill
8:00 AM Head back to camp
9:00 AM Still looking for camp
10:00 AM Realize you don't know where camp is
NOON Fire Gun for help---eat wild berries
12:45 PM Rescued
12:55 PM Rushed to hospital to have stomach pumped
3:15 PM Arrive back at camp
3:30 PM Leave camp to kill deer
4:00 PM Return to camp for bullets
4:01 PM Load Gun--Leave camp again
5:00 PM Empty Gun on bug that is bugging you
6:00 PM Arrive at camp--see deer grazing
6:01 PM Load Gun
6:02PM Fire Gun
6:03 PM One dead pickup
6:05 PM Hunting partners arrive at camp dragging deer
6:07 PM Fall into fire
6:10 PM Change clothing, throw burned ones into fire
6:15 PM Take pickup, leave hunting partners & deer in camp
6:25 PM Pickup boils over due to hole shot in block
6:26PM Start walking
6:30 PM Stumble & fall, drop gun in mud
6:35 PM Meet bear
6:36 PM Take aim
6:37 PM Fire Gun, blow up barrel that's plugged with mud
6:38 PM Mess pants
6:39 PM Climb tree
11:00 PM Bear leaves, wrap gun around tree
Midnight Home at last, Falling on knees thanking God for safe delivery of situation.
Next Day Watch football games on TV, slowly tearing up hunting licenseinto small place pieces in envelope & mail to Game Warden.

Time of transformation

Hello, it has been a time of transformation in my
family this week. My father has sold his home in Florida and moved here to be close to his new Grandson. I have been doing a lot of shopping for him and found him a real nice 31 Ft fifth wheel RV to live in. It is beginning to be a very stressful time for me because I am spending his money for everything getting things lined out and it bothers me to spend a large amount of some one else's money.

I have not lived with or around my Father since I was fifteen years old and I have come to the conclusion that we are two completely different people. He stresses over everything and I don't stress at all, he smokes I don't, he is small and I am large, I am reaching out to do what God wants me to do and he just wants to follow after me, I am a leader and he is a follower.

Trying to find common ground is hard but I am not shrinking back from the challenge although I probably will buy some Tylenol. God has been faithful to me and I will not back out of this yet just because it looks like it is going to be hard to deal with. I am so glad that my son will have the time to spend with his Grandpa that I did not have. I want my family to be whole again. The pic is dads new camper. It has these things called slideouts that slide out to make more room in the camper to move around, so it transforms to make room so that you can live in the camper much like our hearts transform so Jesus can live in our hearts. Unlike our hearts the slideouts can only go so far but our hearts can keep growing for Jesus kind of like slideout with out limit. I hope that my heart can keep growing and make a mansion for Jesus. Silly I know, but please understand what I am trying to say. We all can take a little time to grow in God till the Day we move on be in his presence.

As a young pastor I know that my family must be in order and I know that God has delivered to me this opportunity so I shall go forth and make the best of this situation. I thank God that I am able to see this as one of the greatest things that has happened to me but if in the mean time you say hi to me and I snarl at you please don't take it personally my heart is sliding out and the hydraulic pump is out and I am having to manually slide it out a little at a time.

Blessings, stan

Looking back to the past.

Here recently I received a phone call from a director of a international Christian outdoors magazine called "the Christian Sportsman" letting me know that they published an article that I had submitted to them over a year ago. Well you could imagine my surprise when they called, I had almost forgot that I had submitted it to the magazine. When he told me that he had published the article which was called " Be still and know that I am God" I had to get back to my computer and reread what I had wrote.

I was surprised how much it ministered to me personally because I had wrote it in one the worst possible times in my life which I will not talk about right now, but I was amazed when I saw what God had done with my wife and I throughout that year. God had come in and healed a great loss in our lives and has blessed us with a new baby boy. He had taken our hurt and turned it around and gave us joy.

So when you look back at your painful times in your life, remember they come to pass not to stay. I have found God in my sad days and danced with him in my celebration days. If you want to see what God is doing in your present life and your future all you have to do is look to your past and see what he has done for you then and then you will see what he is going to do in your present and future life.

Blessings

Daddies little boy

After being gone for awhile, I thought that I would share with you why. I want to introduce you to Jonathan David King. Born April 11, 2006 9 lbs 14 0z. More importantly he was a Gift of God. I have spending time getting to know him and his personality. I am loving it and can't wait to go home every night and play and feed him. I am finding more joy than I ever thought possible.

Last year right after we found out my wife was pregnant a visiting pastor prophesied that we were going to have a baby boy and that he was going to be a "Gift of God". He kept repeating it over and over six times. That was on Sunday and on Wednesday we went to the doctors office and they were able to confirm through a sonogram that it was a boy. The name Jonathan in the Hebrew means "gift of God" so it was fitting for him. The middle name we gave him was after my Pastor David because he has been such a father figure to me in the ministry and in normal life. David means Beloved of God. With a name that literally means A gift of God, Beloved of God, King represents the servant child of God.

I know you are asking what has any of this to do with the price of tea in China and I am happy to say it has nothing to do with it but in the Kingdom of God it has everything with my Father in heaven. We have had some hard times trying to have children but we feel like God has spoken into our lives and has told us we were going to have children. It could have been easy to give up but I know what the Bible says about the promises and the faithfulness of God. In Hebrews 10:23 HIV says "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful".

I just want to let you know if you listen and search for the promises of God you will hear them and know that they will be fulfilled because "He who has promised is faithful". The Bible says that he is a respecter of no man with means that he will bless you as much as he would me or any other person. I have received great blessings from God that I don't deserve, so can you.
Be blessed in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Mountain man time

Have you ever been in a place in your life where you know that you have to go the mountain and spend some time away from all the stress and worries that everyday life puts upon you? I think we all have wanted to run away at times and just not deal with things and hope that the problems will blow away. I have found that problems are problems because they are real, whether we created them because we did something that brought them to life or we inherited them from situations that we are involved in. They are real and they have to be dealt with, sorry no wat around it. They never go they just grow.

The pressures that we experience as leaders of our families, at our Churches, and our work places have away of tearing you apart. We as men need to take the time to experience God on the Mountain, I think about people like Moses and I know that there had to be times where he really looked forward to getting away from the people and spending time alone with God being refreshed and revived within God's presence.

Jesus himself took time to get away and spend time with God in prayer. I have found this to be a commandment that sometimes can be a struggle for us men to deal with. I myself have a new born baby, a tired wife that has spent her whole day taken care of him, finances, and family issues that I am having to deal with at this present time that I find a little over whelming at times, sometimes I feel like shrinking away kind of like what Elijah did. Sometimes a cave looks pretty good don't it?

I am a man who loves to hunt and spend time in the woods releaving myself of the stress and worries that I have. I have learned that while I am out there, I am not just hunting for deer or elk but I am hunting for God to seek his face. The scriptures say's in Matthew7: 7-8 that if you seek you will find, knock and the door will be opened, ask and you will recieve. I believe that God is always waiting for us to seek him because he wants to be with us.

One of my favorite songs is by Paul Overstreet called " Wise men still seek Him" because it takes a wise man to know that he needs God for direction, wisdom, and strength. I have found that wisdom in the Book of Proverbs will cost all you have, but get understanding. It sure helps when you need God to show you his plans for you here on this crazy world

When you go before the presence of God nothing else matters at that time it is just you and God. You can be transformed through prayer to become like a GPS unit. Instead of being a global position satelite you will become a Godly Prepared Servant. in Proverbs 3: 5-6 say's Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowlegde Him and he will make your paths straight. See Picture.

Althought I struggle sometimes I always turn to God because the more I have trusted Him in my life the more I can see Him. I desire to see him in all aspects of my life. I also desire to be able to pass down a legacy to my son of being a hunter for Christ.
How about it are you ready for a mountain top experience? Let me know about your God moments.
Blessings

Study the instructions

Yesterday, I had the task to put together a new office deck we bought for the church. I was ready to get it going and get it put together, but was wondering how I was going to do it by myself. The instruction book said that it would take two people three hours to put it together so I was a little worried. I have learned one thing in my life and that is if the manufacturer gives you a instructions book READ IT!!! The instruction book is your friend, most men will not use it because they think they are smarter than 90% of the other people who bought that product and that is where you get into trouble. There is nothing worse than having three desk legs going in the right direction and one on the top of the desk, or having the desk drawers messed up by not having the rollers on right and breaking them in the drawer area in desk or having it collapse because you missed a support brace.

I think we have all pulled big pieces of stupid like that before so don't be offended when I say that we could all avoid the problems of life by reading the instructions. I took the instructions yesterday and spent lunch looking them over front to back trying to understand the big picture and the whole process so I could understand why I had to connect A to F and not to B. There was a definite plan that I had to follow and when I tried to deviate form the plans that is when I started messing up. It is a very humbling experience when you come to the point when you can say that the person who wrote the instruction book was smarter than yourself.

I have found out that the best instruction book I have ever found is the Holy Bible. God wrote it to be an instruction book for us to read and to follow so that we could build our lives that correct way. When you are reading the Bible you will notice that problems are easily avoided by reading the instruction book that God wrote for us. It is 100% reliable regardless of what the Da Vinci Code tries to say. People have tried to discredit the Word of God through out time to no avail.
The Bible will out live this and in a matter of time Dan Brown will be name that no one can remember, but the name of Jesus Christ will still be called on to set people free and bring salvation to to the lost. The knowledge of Jesus will give you life whereas the knowledge of man just brings death. Your choice. Blessings

My life as a Father

This weekend was a great weekend. It started out on Saturday morning by ministering at the men's breakfast at a restaurant that is an all you eat buffet. I was really enjoying watching the men eating but afterwards I questioned my wisdom in having it at a buffet because after men eat big meals they want to sleep. As you could imagine it was funny watching them trying to stay awake but it was still a good time and I got to spend time with the men that I love being around.

When Jonathan was born I had to miss a few men's meetings so this was the first one back since January. I missed being with my friends but I missed being with my son that morning even more. I can't wait till the time comes where I can go spend time with him as a man and just enjoy being with him in what he will like to do . When I went home I just sat down with him and spent time with him so I could share with him in his day. My life has opened up since I have him in my life. I am experiencing a deeper love than I have ever known you could have. Now I can see why God loves his children so much and can't wait to spend time with us. When Jonathan smiles at me my heart melts and now I see when we spend time in unselfish prayer God's heart must melt toward us.

Trust me the most moving thing you can experience is being married to a great woman like I am and having a child like Jonathan . God will entrust you with Children and it is an incredible experience to feel the love of the Father through your Family. When you see it in this light it makes you realize what a responsiblity being a man of God is. We don't have the option of failing. We are men of God we have to lead and love our families so get prayed up and let God spend some time with his child. Blessings.

A fruitful harvest

In the wilds of North America there are herds of large game animals such as the mighty and noble looking Elk. One look at them and you are carried away with wild imaginations of hunting and harvesting a prize bull and then having it stuffed and mounted on your wall in the den so you can recount of all the glorious details of the hunt. It is a physical and visible trophy of how you overcome adversity to achieve the goal, sort of your fruit of your labor. Most people don't realize that it is never just about the kill, it is all about overcoming the adversity of the hunt.

It is easy for a hunter to get what is called the blood lust where they are driven by one thing and one thing only and that is the kill. There is a difference between a responsible hunter and a beginner hunter that has blood lust. The difference between them is that a responsible hunter will no longer just shoot the first thing that pops up, but they will patiently wait for the right one that they are looking for and that may not be just a trophy animal. When you hunt you take on the role of a predator over these animals and it is our responsibility to help insure the health of the herd by taking out the weakest animals, the ones who are lame, diseased, or just not up to snuff genetically that are concidered cull animals. Culls are the animals that need to be harvested from the herd so that they do not endanger the health of the other animals. You need to keep them from comsuming large portion of the available resources such as food and water supplies that might be better used to preserve the more healthy animals.

Recently we have seen the release of wolves back into state parks where they have great herds of Buffalos and Elk and have notice a dramatic improvement of the health of the herds because the predators are trimming the herd back so that the stronger animals live and pass on the strongest genes. It is important to remember that this is the way that God created the animal kingdom because there always has to be a checks and balance system in our faith as well.

John 15:1-8 NIV
The Vine and the Branches "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciple.

There has to be a pruning of the sick and non productive limbs so that the the whole tree will be able to live and not die. There is a reward for the pruning because it is for the Glory of God, so you can be stronger and it will insure that your spiritual DNA is preserved throughout the generations so that even your children's children will be blessed because of the Godly traits that will passed down through your faithfulness.

Father's Voice

Hello everyone this is my first blog ever so please be patient with me as we go. I have recently had the most incredible thing happen to me, On April 11, 2006 My wife gave birth to my first son which we named Jonathan David King. They had to do a c-section because My wife had been in labor for 12 hours and were becoming worried and decided that it was the time to take action and help her along the way. They gave me my scrubs so I could go in and be there to support and be an encourager to her. They had given me some pretty strict instructions and I agreed to follow them to the letter of the law as they required. During the c-section I was like a deer in the headlights frozen with fear, anticipation, and a long to see my son. When they finally pulled Jonathan out of Caye they passed him around the room to a cleaning station where a nurse started the cleaning process. It is amazing how they handle babies at the hospital, they have a tendency to be kind of rough with them, so I am about to get mad but I had to remind myself that they are the professionals and I am just a bystander. I was torn between looking at my son and looking at my wife who was experiencing a great ordeal of discomfort and pain. Finally the nurse that was cleaning Jonathan asked me if I wanted to come see my son so I leapt across the room and stood by the cradle where he was screaming loudly. The very first words that I spoke to him was "Jonathan this is you Father, I love you", when I spoke to him he immediately quit crying and started looking at me. The nurse told my that I could touch him so I reached down and took his hands and held them and talked to him for about twenty minutes. While I was talking to him and telling him how much I loved him, something came to mind John 10:27 NIV My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I understood something then, Jonathan had never seen me but had been able to hear my voice through the womb and he knew it as being his Father's voice.
Sometimes we forget that while we are in the dark we are in the perfect place to grow and hear our Father's voice. He longs to come over to you and hold you and comfort you and the good thing is you do not have to even be cleaned up for him to want to touch you. We should always be looking for the time when we feel alone so we can listen for him to tell you that he is your Father and that he loves you.
If you are lonely and need God to touch you just wait and listen for his voice so he can comfort you in a way that only a Father can.