The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid? When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident. One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the Lord. Hear my voice when I call, O Lord;mbe merciful to me and answer me. My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, Lord, I will seek. Do not hide your face from me,mdo not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, O God my Savior. Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me. Teach me your way, O Lord; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors. Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence. I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. (Psalm 27:1-14 NIV84) -Always chasing His Glory

It is at these moments that we as parents shape them.  Being a parent is a awesome responsibility.  I don't mean that in Dude, that is AWESOME kind of way.  I mean it inspires awe.  It shakes you to your core.  It should...  I think that this is why so many run from it, but that is another topic.

We don't do a lot of co-sleeping in our house.  That is not exactly true.  We don't let them sleep in our bed.  But we have spent many a night in their rooms.  When they are sick, or scared, or lonely we go to them.

I think God works with us in much the same way.  When we are gripped by fear, concerned about the unknown, or just lonely, he comes in and sits next to our bed.  Maybe He puts His head on the pillow or drapes His arm over you but He makes his presence known.

So there I was on the floor next to her bed with my head on her pillow.  As she drifted off to sleep I prayed this Psalm over her.  This was the word that I shared at our church's pray service tonight and I hope that it encourages you the way it did us.

Psalm 27

The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid? 

 When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. 

 Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.

   One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.

 For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. 

 Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me;  at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the Lord.

 Hear my voice when I call, O Lord;mbe merciful to me and answer me. 

 My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, Lord, I will seek.

 Do not hide your face from me,mdo not turn your servant away in anger;  you have been my helper. 

Do not reject me or forsake me, O God my Savior. 

 Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me.

 Teach me your way, O Lord; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors. 

 Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence. 

 I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. 

 Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. (Psalm 27:1-14 NIV84)

Welcome to Day 5 of the 30 Day Trial Challenge

Today I am focused on these 4 tasks in my quest to become the type of man that I want to spend the rest of my life with.

Carpe Diem
Today is all we ever really have. Did you know that? I have had this conversation with my god-children many times. They, and just about everyone else, focus on the things in the past that they have no power over and dreaming about the things in the future. What we fail to look at is what we need to do today to get to the future that we imagine. If we don’t work NOW than we will never realize the dreams we have for ourselves. One of the maxims that I follow is this, “I must do the most important thing possible at any given moment.” There is a reason that this is call the champions creed. Today is the most preious commodity that you have. You will never have today back. So whatever your hands find to do; DO IT WITH PASSION, ENERGY, and EXCITEMENT! So what did I do to seize the day? Today I took the opportunity that God gave the Men of Living Hope Church and allowed Him to speak a work to them. Take a look at Joel 2:12-32. It is a powerful example of how God tells us if we use our time for the most important thing than he will answer. It was an awesome time in the Lord. DUDE!

Change Focus
So I was planning to stay after church today and continue the work that we are doing but I was lead to go and move a TV to my grandmother’s house in Baltimore. My original plan was to move this TV and entertainment center on Monday but my cousin, my daughters and my parents went and delivered it. She was so tickled. It has been a while since she has had a TV room in her house. She has a TV in her kitchen, which is in the basement of her house, but now she has a nice size TV in her living room and a chair for her to rest in while watching it. It was so good to be able to bless her this way. She is amazing and I want to give her the world. So how is that for changing focus? Is there anything that you are focused on right now that you needs\ to shift from so that you can be a blessing to someone else? Remember today is all we have and tomorrow is not promised to anyone. Be a blessing today

Have Purpose
Do you have a purpose? What drives you? What wakes you up in the morning? My purpose has driven me hard sometimes and other times it is a subtle reminder to stay on the right path. Are you in a time of passionate purpose or quiet purpose? For me now is a more quiet time of purpose. I know what God has for me but now is the time to sit under another leader and be a servant. I am using skills that I have been trying to grow out of. Luckily for me I enjoy nerd work as I call it. Now is also the time to help my bride in the achievement of her dreams as well. This has changed over the course of our marriage and I think that we have begun to understand this rhythm. So I have been working on a writing assignment that will help me once the time has come for me to go full bore at this again.

Embrace Change
Being married with 2 little girls means that change is woven all through the tapestry of my life. From sun up to sun down today has been about change so I hope that I have navigated it well. Flexibility is one of the keys and the other is love.

As for my other trials, I am putting a check in the win column for healthier choices because I did not eat a bunch of junk. Even though I dod not think that I ate enough. As far as my cash only trial I did use my debit card in order to buy the cable and clips for running the cable wire in grandma’s house I am being reimbursed so that is the same as cash right?

I hope that you survived another Sunday. GOD is so good and I am glad to be in Hs family.

Go Go Go

P.S. Trying to post from Microsoft Office 2007 was an Epic Fail. So I had to use the blogger interface anyway.

I know why you're here, Neo. I know what you've been doing... why you hardly sleep, why you live alone, and why night after night, you sit by your computer. You're looking for him. I know because I was once looking for the same thing. And when he found me, he told me I wasn't really looking for him. I was looking for an answer. It's the question that drives us, Neo. It's the question that brought you here. You know the question, just as I did.During the last Men of Zebulun meeting, my churches men's group, I shared about how powerful questions are. They can either build up a belief system or tear it down. Early in the Bible Satan used questions to challenge the belief system of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:1-5 Message), The serpent was clever, more clever than any wild animal God had made. He spoke to the Woman: "Do I understand that God told you not to eat from any tree in the garden?"

The Woman said to the serpent, "Not at all. We can eat from the trees in the garden. It's only about the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, 'Don't eat from it; don't even touch it or you'll die.'"

The serpent told the Woman, "You won't die. God knows that the moment you eat from that tree, you'll see what's really going on. You'll be just like God, knowing everything, ranging all the way from good to evil." Satan knew that he wouldn't be able to attack their belief in what God had said directly. He started the discourse with a question, "Did God really say..." This allowed the conversation dwell on a topic that didn't need additional discussion. God said should be the end of it but by focusing on it the trap had been set. Adam and Eve, notice I put Adam in there too, spent time on a subject that had been closed by God and succumbed to temptation.

In the Matthew Jesus uses words to challenge, inspire and motivate. (Matthew 5:43-47; 6:25-26 Message)
Power in Prayer

Jesus was matter-of-fact: "Embrace this God-life. Really embrace it, and nothing will be too much for you. This mountain, for instance: Just say, 'Go jump in the lake'—no shuffling or shilly-shallying—and it's as good as done. That's why I urge you to pray for absolutely everything, ranging from small to large. Include everything as you embrace this God-life, and you'll get God's everything. And when you assume the posture of prayer, remember that it's not all asking. If you have anything against someone, forgive—only then will your heavenly Father be inclined to also wipe your slate clean of sins."Get Busy Loving Everyone> "You're familiar with the old written law, 'Love your friend,' and its unwritten companion, 'Hate your enemy.' I'm challenging that. I'm telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.Why Worry> "If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don't fuss about what's on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.This morning I ask you to use your words to create a vision for you and your family. Here are some questions that will help to trigger your thinking. Have a great week.

When you dream, how grand is the vision you create? If you had NO LIMITS, what would you envision for yourself and your family? What really big and meaningful dream would you like to visualize achieving next?Go Go Go

That leads us to tonights lesson: Psalm 140:

Rescue me, O LORD, from evil men; protect me from men of violence who devise evil plans in their hearts and stir up war every day. They make their tongues as sharp as a serpent's; the poison of vipers is on their lips.

Selah

Keep me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked; protect me from men of violence who plan to trip my feet. Proud men have hidden a snare for me; they have spread out the cords of their net and have set traps for me along my path.

Selah

Here David is talking to the Lord about His enemies. He is specifically asking for God's protection from two types of attacks by the enemy. First he is asking God to protect him from the evils desires of his enemies. David is asking God to preemptively stop His enemies. Don't even let their plans take root. Next he asks for protection from their actions. David knows that sometimes the plans of the enemy will come so he asks that God would protect him from them.

The rest of the Psalm is David worshiping God in the midst of his enemies. He knows that God is able to save Him. He sings so his mind is clear about how God will protect him. God doesn't need a reminder of His Power and Majesty.

O LORD, I say to you, "You are my God." Hear, O LORD, my cry for mercy. O Sovereign LORD, my strong deliverer, who shields my head in the day of battle- do not grant the wicked their desires, O LORD; do not let their plans succeed, or they will become proud. Selah

Let the heads of those who surround me be covered with the trouble their lips have caused. Let burning coals fall upon them; may they be thrown into the fire, into miry pits, never to rise. Let slanderers not be established in the land; may disaster hunt down men of violence. I know that the LORD secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy. Surely the righteous will praise your name and the upright will live before you.

As long as we keeps our eyes and hearts on God we can walk through the valley of the shadow of death with no fear.

Good Night All

-God's Man

This reminds me of when her sister made the jump to sleeping all night. She and I used to get up and watch concert DVD's. I remember that her favorite was the Kirk Franklin concert from his Rebirth album. He performed this at Lakewood Church in Houston, TX. She would always be asleep by the 10th song. It is funny the things you remember. It is so hard to believe that 5 years have passed.

This morning God lead me here to Dueteronomy:

“These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”- Deuteronomy 6: 6-7

A funny thing happened at church last Sunday. Well it isn't really funny as it is awesome. While it is a serious matter I am overjoyed by this. My oldest gave her life to Christ!!!

It totally came out of nowhere. It started with her not wanting to go to her Sunday School Class. Normally I would force the issue, especially on Sunday's that I am singing. However this Sunday I let her stay with my in the Sanctuary and she participated in the Praise and Worship. Then once we began to take communion she got this weird look on her face. Her mother and I have tried to set an atmosphere of praise, worship and study. We are not perfect... Well I am sure about myself. My wide is pretty awesome though.

I asked her if she wanted to take communion, she said yes. I told her that to take part she had to accept Jesus into her life. I explained what that meant and asked her if she still wanted to do it. She said yes so we prayed together and she asked God to come into her heart. We jumped down from the stage and got the communion elements for her. Then we prayed again and we talked about what it meant to be saved. Then she took her first communion.It was awesome. I got back on stage to finish the worship set and my heart was bursting with excitement.

Later that night we were winding down and get a call from one of my friends. He says his wife, who is on the worship team, was telling him about what happened during service. Their daughter, who is friends with my oldest, asked about being saved. This lead them to talk with her about it and in the end she also gave her life to Christ. He said to give my daughter a hug, tell her how happy they were for her. He told me that what we do is never just for us. We all effect each other.

I just wanted to share that with all of you.
Have a great morning!

-God's Man

Happy New Year to everyone who has stuck around during my beginning of the year hiatus. I thank God that in the pruning that has taken place in my life He is still encouraging me to do this. He has even given me things to work on here. This is one of them.

I am a night owl. I have been for a long time. I got it from my mother, who for as long as I remember slept very little. It could also be that I come from a family of farmers. Who knows God made me this way and I like it. So since I am up most nights I also get the privilege of taking care of night time feedings for my children. Now for some having your sleep broken every few hours does not sound like fun, and it isn't, however it has given me a lot of opportunities to listen to God.

Now that isn't to saw that I always take those opportunities. I am a nerd and the internet can get distracting at time. Stumble, twitter, digg, blogger have sapped some of these times and my love of Video Games can also get in the way. God has a way, however, of making His presence felt and I have never come away drained because I spent time with Him.

So with all of that being said here is what God woke me to tonight

Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies. -Philipians 4:7-9(msg)

As someone who reads lots of self-help books I immediately notice a major lesson that many of them try to teach. You hear about the law of attraction and they make it seem like it is some new concept but like it says in Ecclesiastes there is nothing new under the sun.

No Worries

We are told in verse 7 not to worry or fret. We are also told to substitute our worries with prayer. By doing this our worries will be replaced by the wholeness of God's presence. You can't focus on your worries and God at the same time. When God steps in your problem melt away. His Love and peace totally overshadow any other issues.

Fill Your Mind

I have a friend who says that whatever is taking up space in your mind better be giving you good returns or start charing rent. What he means is captured in the second part of our passage. You have to fill your mind with things that strengthen you. If not you will get a bunch of squatters living in your mind that will weaken you.

Have you ever noticed that you do not have to plant weeds? However to have a lush lawn you got to work. God is telling us how to have a fruitful mind, body and spirit. What you take in is going to come out. If you pour in the good, the pure, the righteous, that is all that can come out.

The Question

So tonight ask yourself what are you focusing on. Are you thinking, "on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious"? Are you focusing on, "the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse"? If not that you should, "Put into practice what you learned... what you heard and saw and realized."
And when you do that, "...God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies."

Selah

-God's Man