tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-369640872024-03-13T14:08:54.626-07:00Jason KeithI love the bride God has blessed me with. And I love the blessing of being a bride to my God. I hate traffic.jay5inhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03985054569275865051noreply@blogger.comBlogger69125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36964087.post-15376494682051606762012-02-12T14:00:00.000-08:002012-02-12T14:00:27.874-08:00Cultural Crisis of Men<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Darrin Patrick<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Church Planter: The Man, The Message, The Mission<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We live in a world full of males who have prolonged their adolescence. They are neither boys nor men. They live, suspended as it were, between childhood and adulthood, between growing up and being grown-ups. Let’s call this kind of male <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Moy</i>, a hybrid of both man and boy. Moy is juvenile because there has been an entire niche created for him to live in the lusts of youth. The accompanying culture not only tolerates this behavior but encourages it and endorses it. (Consider magazines like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Maxim</i> or movies like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Wedding Crashers</i>.) This kind of male is everywhere, including the church and even, frighteningly, vocational ministry.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Moy may be a frightening reality in the church, but he is the best thing that ever happened to the video game industry. Almost half (about 48 percent) of American males between the ages of eighteen to thirty-four play video games every day—for almost three hours. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The average video game buyer is thirty-seven years old. In 2005, 95 percent of computer game buyers and 84 percent of console game buyers were over the age of eighteen. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Halo 3 </i>grossed over three hundred million dollars in the U.S. in its first week, and more than one million people played <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Halo 3</i> on Xbox Live in the first twenty hours. Astonishingly, 75 percent of American heads-of-households play computer and video games.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It may be troubling to look at how Moy spends his money, but it is appalling to see how he relates to women. One needs only to follow Moy to “da club” to see what he thinks of and wants from the opposite sex. Again the stats tell the story.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There are 9.7 million Americans living with an unmarried different sex partner and 1.2 million Americans living with a same-sex partner. Every second $3,075.64 is being spent on pornography, 28,258 Internet users view pornography, and 372 Internet users type adult search terms into search engines. Every thirty-nine minutes a new pornographic video is created in the United States.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In the United States, 1.3 women are raped every minute. That results in seventy-eight rapes each hour, 1,872 rapes each day, 56,160 rapes each month, and 683,280 rapes each year. One out of every three American women will be sexually assaulted in her lifetime. The United States has the world’s highest rape rate of the countries that publish such statistics. It’s four times higher than Germany, thirteen times higher than England, and twenty times higher than Japan.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Unfortunately, many young women today have given up trying to find Mr. Right. They are coming to the stark reality that they are probably going to have to settle for Mr. So-So. Moy is good at selling himself as a man, but the reality is that he is just a “man wannabe.” Moy typically doesn’t like absolute truth, but he proves its existence through his continual devolution into junior-high behavior and its accompanying consequences. It is a transcultural reality that assuming the responsibilities of husMoyd and father makes a boy into a man, but Moy doesn’t like responsibility, so he extends his adolescence as long as humanly possible. And by delaying having a family, which is the rite of many cultures’ progress into manhood, Moy is able to set his focus squarely and supremely on himself.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As Moy puts off adulthood, he also puts off marriage. Why bother with a wife and a mortgage when you can live in your parents’ basement, play video games all day, participate in adult sports leagues at night, and barhop every weekend? Hymowitz notes that in 1970, 69 percent of twenty-five-year-old and 85 percent of thirty-year-old white men were married; in 2000 only 33 percent and 58 percent were, respectively. And the data suggests this trend is not slowing. I think this is one of the reasons young men love watching mixed martial arts. They project themselves onto these “superheroes,” men who are everything they are not: incredibly disciplined, courageous risk-takers who have the genuine respect of their peers. It’s as if watching real men in danger taps into the brain chemistry responsible for what we call masculinity. Curiously, the testosterone and adrenaline that encourage men to seek danger and risk are rarely tapped into for honorable purposes like lifelong marriage and parenting. Instead Moy settles for virtual reality and virtual relationships.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Some men cease fondling themselves, the game controller, or the TV remote and actually participate in adult sports leagues, including the child playground game kickball.18 Perhaps one major catalyst for young men’s love for recreational sports is that it replicates the kind of challenge and competitiveness sorely lacking from their own personal, professional, and spiritual lives. One author called team sports a “civilized substitute for war,” which would explain why so many men only seem to come alive emotionally on the inside and feel connected socially on the outside to their fellow “weekend warriors.” It has become mainstream to be an adult boy.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The masculine journey from boyhood to manhood lies largely in the transition from engaging physically by inflicting pain to engaging emotionally by absorbing emotional pain and persevering through it. Boys must learn how to use their physical strength more passively than actively as they progress to manhood and become what David Gilmore calls “real men.” Real men “give more than they take . . . are generous, even to the point of sacrifice.” Being a man is about being tough and tender.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I have three beautiful daughters who have not only stolen my heart but seem to walk around with it and toss it back and forth between them like a plaything, all the while taunting me with the fact that I’ll never be able to get it back from them! But I also have a son, Drew, and because of my keen awareness of and pastoral interaction with the cultural influence of Moys, I know that my work is cut out for me when it comes to raising a godly man. As with all of us dads with similar aspirations, my only hope is the Holy Spirit. So I recently wrote a little prayer that reflects the kind of men we need. Drew and I pray this prayer together almost every night. It is a prayer for him and for me:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">God, make me a man with thick skin and a soft heart.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Make me a man who is tough and tender.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Make me tough so I can handle life.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Make me tender so I can love people.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">God, make me a man.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">All of this is to say that we have a couple of generations of males who were not raised by men, and the result is a prolonged male adolescence. In a culture where the influence of godly men is desperately needed, this void results in a legitimate cultural crisis. We are not going to solve it by ignoring Moy and hoping that he eventually grows up. We are not going to solve the problem by simply telling women that they should take up the slack. We might solve the problem by modeling biblical manhood and calling adult boys to forsake their youthful lusts and become the men that God is calling them to be in the context of the local church. This call should come from godly men and women sitting in the pews and, specifically, from the pulpit of God’s church. The models should be men of God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>jay5inhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03985054569275865051noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36964087.post-64847943068824965612011-07-03T14:23:00.000-07:002011-07-03T14:23:49.801-07:00The Gift of Trials<em>If the trials of many years were gathered into one, they would overwhelm us: therefore, in pity to our little strength. He sends first one, and then another, then removes both, and then lays on a third, heavier, perhaps, than either; but all is so wisely measured to our strength that the bruised reed is never broken. We do not enough look at our trials in this continuous and successive lesson which is beyond the power of any to teach alone. -H.E. Manning</em><br />
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<em>And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. <br />
2 Corinthians 12:9-10</em><br />
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I try to not be disappointed when I hear children of God laughingly say, “Don’t pray for patience!” as it is the all-encompassing kiss of death upon the joy of a child of God. I know they simply mean that fruit of the spirit comes with a high price, but I wish they would consider they are also implying they by no means are willing to pay that price.<br />
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As I pray for depth of character, be it wisdom, patience, fortitude or strength. I should and must realize the means by which those traits are possessed. They are not endowed, for endowment engenders shallow disregard, but rather they are wrought - wrought by impasse, strife, temptation and hard tough terrain. We should not disregard the truth and pray for the end without accepting the means. <br />
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<em>My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.</em><br />
<em>James 1:2-8</em><br />
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Why can you rejoice in trial? You know the end of that trial, or at least you should. Consider this passage in context. Is James really going to say in one breath to rejoice in trials that produce patience, but if you ask for wisdom it’s going to be delivered on a silver platter, or it will be in the next puddle you fall into? This is why James establishes the need for single-mindedness. Know that your prayer will produce a trial, and when it does have faith, and you will receive from the Lord what comfort He desires to work into your life.<br />
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<em>Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. </em><br />
<em>2 Corinthians 1:3-6</em><br />
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Are you called to minister? Know then that you are called to trials and sufferings. With what else would you comfort the people of God? By what other means would an oil be beaten to feed the flame of the lampstand which is the church? (Revelation 2:1)<br />
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Just like the children of Israel it may be in your affliction and trial in which you are equipped to do the work for the kingdom of God. You see Israel went into captivity in Egypt a nomadic people skilled in herdsman ship and short term farming. They left with the skills of blacksmiths, carpenters, tradesman, scribes, masons and more. They left their captivity with everything they had need of.<br />
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<em>Now the children of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, and they had asked from the Egyptians articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing. And the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they had need of. Thus they plundered the Egyptians. </em><br />
<em>Exodus 12:35-36</em><br />
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<em>And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. </em><br />
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<em>Romans 5:3-5</em>jay5inhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03985054569275865051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36964087.post-59144645216893277372010-06-22T20:51:00.000-07:002010-06-22T20:54:19.838-07:00The Silent PsalmistThere are sixteen months of the Psalmist’s life in which you find no song. They are the months that David was living in a land not his own, under the rule of Achish king of Gath. It does seem so odd that David, who led the nation of Israel against a Philistine of Gath name Goliath, would at some point in his life pledge allegiance in the same streets the giant ran as a child.<br />
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What lead to his compromise? First, David started looking in the wrong direction, “David said to himself…” (1 Sam 27:1) Then, David questioned the promises of God; “… I will perish.” Remember even Saul affirmed the prophecy that David would be king (1 Sam 24) Then he acted on his own flawed logic “There is nothing better for me to do…” David thought shallow, moved quickly and invested deeply.<br />
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There was no song because David became complacent in Gath with the false since of security that comes with sin. There was no song, because he gave over the authority of his life to a king that God had given him victory over when a giant fell. There was no song because the land of compromise became the home of David’s family, his men, and their families. There was no song because he lived a life of duplicity. David would fight the Israel's other enemies on one front, appearing against Israel on the other, and kill anyone who could testify of the truth.<br />
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David lost his identity as the enemy called him friend. He lost his purpose as he tried to convince the king that he would fight against Saul and the children of Israel. And he fell into depression upon finding the enemy had destroyed his home while he was chasing after a battle he had no business fighting.<br />
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The parallels are striking. When comprise begins by looking in ourselves for our answers and direction we logically lose our identity in Christ. When we continue by questioning the Word of God we lose our purpose. And as we invest in the flawed reasoning derived from the previous mistakes we will trade true treasures for destitution and depression.<br />
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Thankfully we know that upon seeing his home empty and in shambles David cried unto the Lord, and the Lord heard him. How many songs of victory, songs of sustenance, songs of peace, could have been sung had David looked to the Lord the first time around?jay5inhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03985054569275865051noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36964087.post-52147938853012434342010-06-22T20:36:00.000-07:002010-06-22T20:36:35.398-07:00Tokens, Tools & Trophies<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small;">In 1 Samuel 6 the Ark of the Lord is returned to the Israelites by the Philistines. The heathen nation was growing weary of the diseases plaguing their cities.<span> I find it f</span>itting that even the world can tell the Hand of God when they see it.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small;">What really stirred me though was the slaughter that occurred in Beth-shemesh. The men there violated the commandments of the Lord (Num 4:20) by looking into the Ark.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small;">The slaughter was so great that they ended up praying the same prayer as the enemy - that the Ark of the Lord would be taken away.<span> You see </span>Israel had only wanted to use the Ark as a means to victory in battle. It was a token, a tool, a trophy if you will.<span> </span>God couldn’t allow his people to get to a place where they thought His power was only good for their desires.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small;">Perhaps that is why many find it hard to live for God today.<span> Their desire for God ends at the need they wish for Him to fill. </span>God has never been interested in taking the place of a good luck charm.<span> </span>He calls for “transformation” and a “living sacrifice” (Rom 12).<span> </span>The world has a bit of a different view.<span> </span>The following quote from Wilbur Reese comes to mind…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">“I would like to buy three dollars’ worth of God, please. Not enough to explore my soul or disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal a cup of warm milk or a snooze in the sunshine. I don’t want enough God to make me love <i>my neighboor*</i> or pick beets with a migrant. I want ecstasy, not transformation. I want the warmth of the womb, not a new birth. I want a pound of the eternal in a paper sack. I would like to buy three dollars’ worth of God please.”</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">I want the Lord in my life.<span> </span>Be His call sacrifice, service, joy, victory, defeat or sorrow – His will and His glory is my chief desire.<span> </span>I want your presence at work in my life.<span> </span>I want to be completely yours. You see there is another tale of the Ark of the Lord. This one found in II Chronicles 5. The priests brought the Ark into his place... the proper place. And when they did "the glorious presence of the Lord filled the temple."</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">When we place the Lord in His rightful place. His glory and power are revealed. Let Him be revealed in you.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">*I believe the original quote reads a black man. I wrote this for a group of brethren that I felt might be offended by the quote in it's original form.</span></span></span></div>jay5inhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03985054569275865051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36964087.post-52855631183287679892010-06-22T20:23:00.000-07:002010-06-22T20:23:54.325-07:00Where Your Treasure is...Matthew 6:21 is a very well known and often quoted passage: "Where your treasure is there will your heart be also."<br />
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However I have recently seen it in a different light than I previously had. I don't know if I only heard it preached as such, or if the roadblock has been in my own mind. Regardless, I have most often heard the passage used reciprocally - as some sort of biblical litmus test... Show me where you spend your time and money and I will show you what you love or cherish.<br />
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Though that application could be considered and for that matter affirmed I am convinced Christ was speaking in a much more instructive sense. You see in both the two verses prior and two paragraphs further Jesus is very directive. Using imperative statements such as "store up..." and "seek first his kingdom..."<br />
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You see we too often, especially in a Western culture, follow after our heart. We seek to do what we love or what we want rather than what we <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">know to do. Christ was assuring us that if we invest our treasure, our heart will assuredly follow.</span><br />
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<span class="goog-spellcheck-word">Invest your treasure. Your time, your energy, your talent and absolutely your MONEY in that which is Godly regardless of how you may feel about it. Your heart will follow.</span>jay5inhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03985054569275865051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36964087.post-34574274830478124312009-09-12T19:45:00.001-07:002009-09-12T19:45:18.913-07:00Amos 4<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 13.5pt"><font face="Times New Roman">"I also withheld rain from you… Yet you have not returned to Me," Says the LORD" (v7)</font></span></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 13.5pt"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 13.5pt"><font face="Times New Roman">Five times God tells of trials and tribulations He has laid upon His people and then laments…"Yet you have not returned to Me."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We often see the loaves and the fishes as a reflection of God's grace and His goodness, and they are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>However we many times do not consider that "God also hath sat the one over against the other" (Eccl 7:14)</font></span></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 13.5pt"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 13.5pt"><font face="Times New Roman">Isaiah 26:9<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">b</i> says, "... for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness." and remember Hosea 5:15<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">b</i> "...in their affliction they will seek me early."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Sometimes our trials are a reflection of God's goodness and mercy because they bring us back to Him.</font></span></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 13.5pt"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 13.5pt"><font face="Times New Roman">When the Israelites went into captivity in Egypt they were nomadic herdsman and farmers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>However when they came out of bondage they had "such things as they required." It was in the years of captivity they acquired the skills and trades a nation required.</font></span></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 13.5pt"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 13.5pt"><font face="Times New Roman">If the rain has been withheld from you, or there is mildew in your garden, or you don't have any bread to eat, consider you might be in the middle of the goodness and grace of our Lord – return to Him.</font></span></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 13.5pt"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 13.5pt"><font face="Times New Roman">Jason Ouellette</font></span></p> jay5inhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03985054569275865051noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36964087.post-91226912904691618432009-09-09T09:00:00.001-07:002009-09-09T09:00:08.437-07:00Go Fish<DIV><SPAN class=850004915-09092009><FONT face=Arial size=2>When those who are called to fish don't fish, they fight.</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=850004915-09092009><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=850004915-09092009><FONT face=Arial size=2>When energy intended to be used outside is used inside, the result is explosive. Instead of casting nets, we cast stones. Instead of extending helping hands, we point accusing fingers. Instead of being fishers of the lost, we become critics of the saved. Rather than helping the hurting, we hurt the helpers.</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=850004915-09092009><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=850004915-09092009><FONT face=Arial size=2>The result? Church Scrooges. "Bah humbug" spirituality. Beady eyes searching for warts on others while ignoring the warts on their nose below. Crooked fingers that bypass strenths and point out weaknesses.</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=850004915-09092009><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=850004915-09092009><FONT face=Arial size=2>Split churches. Poor testimonies, Broken hearts. Legalistic wars.</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=850004915-09092009><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=850004915-09092009><FONT face=Arial size=2>And sadly, poor go unfed, confused go uncounseled, and lost go unreached.</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=850004915-09092009><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=850004915-09092009><FONT face=Arial size=2>When those who are called to fish don't fish, they fight.</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=850004915-09092009><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=850004915-09092009><FONT face=Arial size=2>But note the other side of the boat: When those who are called to fish, fish - they flourish!</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=850004915-09092009><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=850004915-09092009><FONT face=Arial size=2>Nothing handles a case of gripes like an afternoon service project. Nothing restores perspective better than a visit to a hospital ward. Nothing unites soldiers better than a common task or a relentless foe.</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=850004915-09092009><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=850004915-09092009><FONT face=Arial size=2>Leave soldiers inside their barracks with no time on the front line and see what happens to their attitude. The soldiers will invent things to complain about. Bunks will be too hard. Food wil be too cold. Leadership will be too tough. The company will be too stale. Yet place those same soldiers in the trench and let them duck a few bullets, and what was a boring barrack will seem like a haven. The beds will feel great. The food will be almost ideal. The leadership will be courageous. The company will be exciting.</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=850004915-09092009><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=850004915-09092009><FONT face=Arial size=2>When those who are called to fish, fish - they flourish. Go fish!</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=850004915-09092009><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>jay5inhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03985054569275865051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36964087.post-57392853688701833772009-09-05T10:45:00.001-07:002009-09-05T10:45:51.074-07:00Hosea 13<blockquote type="cite"><div><p><font size="2">The equivalent of this chapter seems similar to the parable of the prodigal son. The writing here seems to be something the father would be writing as he sits everyday on the front porch waiting for the son to come home.<br> <br> If there was such a letter, it possibly went something like this:<br> <br> Son,<br> <br> I have been with you every breath of your life. (vs 4) I have seen you when you rejoiced and comforted you in dark times. (vs 5) I was the one who saw you through every stumble, mistake and heartache. When you didn't know I was watching, I was watching. When you didn't think I cared or loved you, I've never stopped.<br> <br> But now, you have seen yourself great; you have believed in yourself more than the hands that have put in you the ability to be great. (vs 6) I knew before you left there was nothing but desolation waiting for you beyond the boundaries I have set for you. In your wanderings you have destroyed yourself. (vs 9) There is no way you can survive there so I know you will not be there long. (vs 13) The consequences of your actions are mighty, there is no denying that. (vs15)<br> <br> I sit here each passing second, longing to hold you in my arms. Longing to forgive you and bring you back into safety. I am daily, desiring your return; as I am the only one who can save you. (vs 9-10)<br> <br> Love,<br> Dad<br> <br> Men, have we ever kindled the anger of God because of our waywardness? Have we ever looked up and found ourselves in a state we thought was too far gone? Replace your name in the letter above where addressed to 'son' and read it again.<br> <br> Regardless if this letter is for us in our current state, we can all, always cling to verses 4 and 9: 4"Yet I am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no saviour beside me." 9"O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help."<br> <br> Tim Jacobs</font> </p> </div></blockquote>jay5inhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03985054569275865051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36964087.post-67327378832479398702009-08-09T20:46:00.000-07:002009-08-09T20:47:02.527-07:001 Peter 3:7<blockquote type="cite"><div><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">"Likewise, ye husbands dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honor unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered"</font></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">This chapter has given me so much to strive for in my young marriage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I like to begin at the end. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>"That your prayers be not hindered."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The way that we husbands deal with our wives is going to directly affect the way God deals with us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>So what do you say we get this right?</font></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">"Being heirs together of the grace of life" Peter reminds us often through his epistles that our motivation to show grace was met at Calvary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The fact that we are partakers of Christ's redemptive plan is reason enough for us to show grace to all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>OK, so I show grace but in relation to what?</font></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">"As unto the weaker vessel" Some commentaries feel this statement replies only to the physical difference between women and men.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I dare say not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The meaning of this statement is found in the previous statement and in the verses following.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Peter is reminding us that we must behave in a way that is not as easy for our wives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> That is why Peter</span> reminds us to show grace and that God will hold us accountable. In other words God holds us responsible to do that which He has given us the strength to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>So let's get to it…</font></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">"Husbands deal with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">them</i> (your wives) according to knowledge."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>There are two main contributors to our actions: what we know and what we feel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Women are emotional beings and men are rational beings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>As men we have a greater ability to separate our emotion from what we say and do, literally to act on what we know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Peter is calling us to do just that.</font></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">We cannot allow undisciplined behavior to affect the prayers that we pray during this season of revival.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>As men we must rule our home with the love and grace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> This world needs men that will </span>"seek peace and pursue it."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "not render railing for railing, but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called."</font></p> </div></blockquote>jay5inhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03985054569275865051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36964087.post-26538270940092059242009-05-10T14:34:00.000-07:002009-05-10T14:45:20.174-07:00Mother's DayWe had a wonderful service this morning. <a href="http://mclaughlinmelodies.blogspot.com/"> Sis McLaughlin </a>planned and orchestrated a great time of reflection on Mother's and issued a needful call "Back to the Basics". <br /><br />She really has a word to young mothers in our day. I felt the Holy Ghost in what she said about standing up for truth, discipline, parents taking authority and respect. It is so evident that she is a great example by her three children. They are Godly.<br /><br /><a href="http://dosolala.blogspot.com/">Donnie</a> sang "The Basics of Life" and he did great as always. That song brings back so many memories... I have been listening and studying some teaching by Chip Ingram on <em>Balancing Life's Demands </em>and some of what was said this morning dovetailed nicely.<br /><br />Life, mostly because of our misplaced priorities, has a way of running out of control. I know I truly need to stop seeking after what all seems to matter, and focusing on the things that I know do... Happy Mother's Day.jay5inhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03985054569275865051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36964087.post-6335678214706802642009-05-02T12:36:00.000-07:002009-05-02T21:13:10.190-07:00Same Kind of Different as Me<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPoMvwXbvddtFsgLp1QO9-n2iuxjgc62s0-59HqMexVK1WkEWoFyk24VCnqBQ-6-sBalqPyuFUGJV2u8Ihlmyk8mdxPLeEb3KAm821TAkUIhCEuWkYeZj8_0xknQe3pvFQtONM/s1600-h/same.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331445913513330754" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 133px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPoMvwXbvddtFsgLp1QO9-n2iuxjgc62s0-59HqMexVK1WkEWoFyk24VCnqBQ-6-sBalqPyuFUGJV2u8Ihlmyk8mdxPLeEb3KAm821TAkUIhCEuWkYeZj8_0xknQe3pvFQtONM/s200/same.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>If you know me you know I am always looking for a great book to read. I found one recently in a memior by Ron Hall and Denver Moore called Same Kind of Different as Me.<br /><br />One of the most poinient nuggets I have found in the book is Denver, who for all intents and purposes was a modern day slave on a cotton field in Louissiana, telling "Mr. Ron" about friendship.<br /><br />He asks about "catch and release" This odd behavior white folk have with fishin, where they catch a fish... appreciate it for a little while and through it back. In contrast "colored folks" they catch a fish... they take it home, show it to everyone they know, they are proud of it, and even use it to sustain themselves.<br /><br />Ultimately his protrayal leads to the him saying, “If you is fishin for a friend you just gon’ catch and release, then I ain’t got no desire to be your friend…But if you is lookin for a real friend, then I’ll be one. Forever.”<br /><br />I have been so blessed by friends that embody that statement. I know I certainly want to join them.</div>jay5inhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03985054569275865051noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36964087.post-40236800485852136892009-04-02T19:54:00.000-07:002009-04-02T20:09:23.185-07:00Have You Heard of This?...<a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.pandora.com"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320296018095402002" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 289px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 74px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpuIKDTWJxIYXzmSPCqWMJbcxSnFEHxlaFbKOL_VTk4P1147aZq9XitlYcnsxB1RyWKIVGQtnIcMQxuHjHHgi-LmC_5Bzpsm0o_Z3YvTwB-3ehfgt5DuTue4foavXK3uG6njBy/s320/pandora.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div>I love Pandora. Now I don't know all the legal ins and outs of the musical industry or how they would apply, but I am glad that somehow this technological masterpiece is navigating those murky waters. And even though I am probably light years behind the times. I haven't blogged in quite some time, so I thought I would share. </div><div><br /> </div><div>How It works: Apparently some scientists with little better to do decided that they would create a scientific way of measuring music. Using tonality, lyrical content, instrumentation and other qualities they designed the Music Genome Project. Pandora (Internet Radio) picks songs to play to you based on those similarities. You tell the computer whether or not you like the song it picks and it uses that information to find another song you like. And yes, it works very well! </div><div><br /> </div><div>Happy listening!</div>jay5inhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03985054569275865051noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36964087.post-12771036294044427152009-03-04T20:17:00.000-08:002009-03-04T20:28:46.349-08:00The More I Seek You<blockquote><p>The more I seek You,<br />the more I find You.<br />The more I find You,<br />the more I love You.<br /><br />I wanna sit at Your feet<br />drink from the cup in Your hand,<br />lay back against You and breathe,<br />feel Your heart beat.<br />This love is so deep,<br />it's more than I can stand.<br />I melt in Your peace,<br />it's overwhelming.</p><p></p></blockquote><blockquote></blockquote>I love this song. It seemed to be stolen from my heart tonight. As I was in the prayer room I felt Him put His arms around me and love me - welcoming me into that strong tower. Then Ryan Denard taught our C&C class and talked about mercy (God is really doing a work in that young man). It is so beautiful how the Lord loves us.jay5inhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03985054569275865051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36964087.post-37035060017031142572009-03-02T16:58:00.001-08:002009-03-02T16:58:38.138-08:00Davis Merritt Mathews<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6X9PGLpItUE3zrp_a8O1KzDLhuOuF3vC9ePvz-J2fX2z_7JMeVg19NeCixbz7hR1J0466jEqg4joq5qiSEuN8_pTO5adb8UeD_cBQhcSZaj5vp4Q1MygQHH0qMDYUilxvn1PY/s1600-h/photo-718141.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6X9PGLpItUE3zrp_a8O1KzDLhuOuF3vC9ePvz-J2fX2z_7JMeVg19NeCixbz7hR1J0466jEqg4joq5qiSEuN8_pTO5adb8UeD_cBQhcSZaj5vp4Q1MygQHH0qMDYUilxvn1PY/s320/photo-718141.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308759615698493922" /></a></p>jay5inhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03985054569275865051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36964087.post-85142006429656587212009-02-24T17:58:00.000-08:002009-03-04T20:29:07.548-08:00C&CWe have started teaching on doctrine in our College & Career class. Tomorrow we will continue to talk about sin. More specifically on how it lies waiting at the door.<br /><br />The more I prepare the more I am reminded at how much I need to be cleansed. I don't ever want to find myself in a place where I refuse to repent: to plead and accept His mercy for my righteousness which is as filthy wrags...<br /><br />I love the old song so much. I wish the verses wouldn't paint the picture that only those far away from Him need to be washed...<br /><br /><blockquote>I want to be washed in the blood of the Lamb.<br />I need a cleansing from the fountain.<br />My soul is hungry. I've got this aching within.<br />I want to be washed in the blood of the Lamb.<br /></blockquote>jay5inhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03985054569275865051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36964087.post-54860378654126505542009-02-16T20:53:00.000-08:002009-02-16T21:05:00.244-08:00Ode to Chick-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">fil</span>-A<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303627424768382738" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 310px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 258px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK5lijsPOnan-aNh9KMM639fM7UroaXB-vxGlLnSufCfcTnJzmOpl4Fgku401x03XQDpus35aIeRmDwjzk1ooBSGptDd9BzeH2svvFtrB0hBUQ8b3fb19eMX835Hyg8hjZSgou/s400/chickfila.JPG" border="0" /><br /><br /><br />What does an ode have,<br />how is it written?<br />How can the World it tell<br />I love this chicken?<br />Chicken <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Mini's</span>, Chicken Wraps,<br />Carrot and Raisin Salads.<br />And of course the Original<br />deserves it's own <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">ballad</span>.<br />Sweet Tea so perfect and who<br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">doesn't</span> love the cows<br />The Chicken <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Biscuit</span> I adore.<br />My ode to Chick-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">fil</span>-A.jay5inhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03985054569275865051noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36964087.post-17734382217055773072009-02-14T20:41:00.000-08:002009-02-14T20:53:43.321-08:00<div><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDmC34VfJI4ztS4p4EweBfwLFwxC2wc9pd4wQGHcgxhH_2DpDIXklLSf686KxWwFd5HpLW6Gl_a65my3l-bJuKW1jo0ZqQP1HsY4xkKnfGpNn0xptliCL6EqrUe0o_x0q0RrZe/s1600-h/tmea.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302881888078801170" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDmC34VfJI4ztS4p4EweBfwLFwxC2wc9pd4wQGHcgxhH_2DpDIXklLSf686KxWwFd5HpLW6Gl_a65my3l-bJuKW1jo0ZqQP1HsY4xkKnfGpNn0xptliCL6EqrUe0o_x0q0RrZe/s200/tmea.bmp" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div>Every year on the week of Valentines Texas Music Educators Association holds their annual conference in San Antonio. Last year we started a tradition I think we wont soon abandon. Julie attended the conference while I worked and Friday afternoon flew down to be with her.</div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWwV-Hv0juohtbHJAhkuQU5n4tqC3tYXoubI25vWIG7fKpoVmh1eAkNX5r80SMNdw_RHZslmZ-6D1XS7HI7Vkz5Y2iQkqIH15uf9iMe2vYPRNvHrYvyR3IXKk0KgWZ6LsRtj8n/s1600-h/Doubletree.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302882049057584306" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 184px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWwV-Hv0juohtbHJAhkuQU5n4tqC3tYXoubI25vWIG7fKpoVmh1eAkNX5r80SMNdw_RHZslmZ-6D1XS7HI7Vkz5Y2iQkqIH15uf9iMe2vYPRNvHrYvyR3IXKk0KgWZ6LsRtj8n/s200/Doubletree.jpg" border="0" /></a>This year we did the same and it was such a blessing to me. We got a great rate on the Double Tree hotel where we ordered in room service and spent the night enjoying each other's company.</div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><div>In the Love Dare I found a list of 20 questions for your spouse and I think we got through 6. :) It is such a blessing to be married to someone that I can talk to. God is so good.</div><div> </div><div> </div><div>Afterwards we joined my Uncle David <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Ouellette</span> and his wonderful family and will go to church with them tomorrow and continue a great time. Julie even got to meet my cousins Candy and Darren Murphy who were visiting from the pitiful state of <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Illinois</span> :)</div><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302882183530469762" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 129px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoYmVYAPeEdzfBEjJYHQzHqg2M_jCUZ2xffmXCVld5yjHW99mFqMr5ZDUJuyZ-oAGQD-aKP_xZMsaAHf5oWWDRvHV1gqKZKQkoIm290idzRIOZ5-w3ezosawQ5j0KEaRDTd1uz/s200/lovedare.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><div>I will miss being at home and seeing God move, but my heart will be there. Happy Valentines!</div></div></div>jay5inhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03985054569275865051noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36964087.post-51041423034027579542009-02-08T20:21:00.000-08:002009-02-08T20:46:15.896-08:00<span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>Mario </strong></span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGqa6NMkyvXnb0bkEaX3Lqn3gAv1EZoOtzBbAq-9BkMQBurUZbAT-sGFUmZ1nCcZT3OqcBgE6tU5CzUXsDiSQZJ-8v2lMEtpN0WcJq59z0jCPqqCyiFqNHayG9YcWUIbpatL5d/s1600-h/mario.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300652733745595858" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGqa6NMkyvXnb0bkEaX3Lqn3gAv1EZoOtzBbAq-9BkMQBurUZbAT-sGFUmZ1nCcZT3OqcBgE6tU5CzUXsDiSQZJ-8v2lMEtpN0WcJq59z0jCPqqCyiFqNHayG9YcWUIbpatL5d/s200/mario.bmp" border="0" /></a>Every now and again life gives us pictures. Some are pictures that take our breath away; I will never forget pulling the car to the side of the road to gaze at the majestic Pikes Peak while on I25. Some pictures warm your heart; I almost kidnapped a little girl in Wichita Falls one day because she heard my name and greeted me with it so enthusiastically when I was walking away. Other pictures never cease to make you laugh; YouTube "woman falls through floor."<br /><br /><br /><br />I thought I would share one of those neat pictures with you. Some time around 1998 a man named Mario im'ed me. He had been searching profiles on AOL (if you can remember that world) and saw that I was studying Spanish in the United States.<br /><br /><br /><br />"Mario from Portugal" as I would come to know him said that he was studying English, and asked if I would like to be his email pen pail so we could both work on our foreign languages. I consented and for about three months I kept up a correspondence.<br /><br /><br /><br />But an interesting thing happened. I stopped emailing Mario quite some time ago, almost 10 years now, while he continued to email me. Every week or so an email will pop up in my inbox with the subject "friend" and Mario will tell me about his week (in much improved English) and sometimes throw in a devotional.<br /><br /><br /><br />I have discarded more of these emails than I have ever opened, and regretfully I respond so infrequently. However, if and when I do respond the next day Mario has replied right back. Regardless of my silence Mario types on.<br /><br /><br />Now isn't that a neat picture?jay5inhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03985054569275865051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36964087.post-46714013323198176262009-02-05T17:09:00.001-08:002009-02-05T17:09:55.053-08:00Look Well<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">"The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going." – Proverbs 14:15</font></p> <div class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"></font> </div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">I feel like much of America has not looked well to our going.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I feel like we are economically headed in the wrong direction.</font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">In the Oval Office Barack Obama passionately railed on executives that make too much money in bonuses in a "time like this".<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Well though I could not agree more, what I don't agree with is the principle that he has any right to do anything about it.</font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">The government has no clue what the value of goods and services are in a free market, because they can't.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I no more want the government dictating what Steve Jobs or Gary Kelly make than I want to talk on a government issued phone or fly on a government issued plane.</font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Oh but of course the problem is those bonuses came from government issued funds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>And that just is the problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>When the government bailed out companies that were poorly managed and inefficiently run it could certainly not have expected those children to about face and behave properly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Furthermore, the fact that they had not the foresight to prevent such misgivings and poor conduct are proof enough they have no business in the market.</font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">And so today our fine looking president sternly warned congress of an impending irreversible economic crisis that would require a trillion dollar bailout.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>How misguided could we be?</font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Romans 13:1 urges us to "submit to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I think sometimes we as Christians forget that we are the established authority in our country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>God has ordained a country governed by the people.</font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">I know that I am praying for our country and it's leaders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I plead for you to join me. I also ask that we would "look well to our going" and take hold of the authority that God has ordained in us by being active in what ways we can.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></font></font></p> jay5inhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03985054569275865051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36964087.post-83200320509831446802009-02-02T21:00:00.001-08:002009-02-02T21:20:13.629-08:00<div><div>“A man with a testimony is never at the mercy of a man with an argument” </div><div><br /> </div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5298436530656809410" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 199px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkwHerHeCAiGICvFObJqfSbrp8Jt6ZkeyfnTEtP2gPUKL7D3JuQdkyWCWtyZZnM_WmF17MMxq2yttVrH2SfvjHwmw08cEss4qHk56mmDJiTxxKfcDsNrkyae75HAA-eMcJs_R5/s400/joseph.JPG" border="0" /><br />This anonymous author never argued with my brother. Seriously though, one of the qualities that I admire in Joseph James Ouellette is his unrelenting hold on truth. My brother is true to his Lord, true to his family, true to his church… he passionately holds to what he knows to be true. And speaking of passion, there are few who are spend themselves for the things they love and believe in like my older brother. I am so proud to follow him.<br /><br />And so since today is his birthday I thought I would follow his lead and share a few interesting facts and fun memories that you may or may not know.<br /><br />1) Joseph got REAL passionate one year in front of the Tabernacle at youth camp when a kid unloaded a packet of salt on his head. He literally (I am not exaggerating) picked the kid up by both cheeks and pinned him against the tin wall.<br />2) Joseph has not always been as skilled in the culinary arts as he is today, but yes he has always been adventurous in them. At the age of six or so he decided that he could cook on the gas space heater in our only bathroom and made chocolate chip eggs. Oh Joseph those tasted sooo bad. Thank the Lord you kept trying!<br />3) One summer while playing King of the Dock (kind of like King of the Hill, but on a wet slippery dock, (yes only boys…)) Joseph slipped and fell, hitting his head along his eyebrow and split open his skin very well. When we arrived at the Hospital in that small town, Joseph was very unimpressed with their presentation and fought my parents as to whether or not he could wait to drive all the way home to get the stitches sewn in civilization.<br />4) Perhaps his superior musical ability is somewhat akin to the fact that every week he would memorize his memory verse in a song. (Why didn’t I do that?)<br /><br />My brother has blessed me my entire life. As a toddler he taught me his school lessons to ready me for school. As a child he would hold me when I would cry. As a youngster he protected me from neighborhood bullies. As a young man he told me with tears in his eyes how proud he was of me for letting God use me. As a man he has lead our family through years of adversity and shouldered loads that I could not bare. Happy Birthday, Joseph. I love you.</div>jay5inhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03985054569275865051noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36964087.post-67667807971452914932009-01-25T12:42:00.000-08:002009-01-25T14:21:02.541-08:00<blockquote>"Most people overestimate what they can do in a day and underestimate what they<br />can do in a year" - Somebody<em><span style="font-size:78%;">a</span></em></blockquote><br /><br />I heard this recently and kind of latched on to it for a personal moto this year. Every now and again I get a day off of work and I always think of a thousand things to do on that one day of freedom. Sometimes I accomplish a great deal. Other days so very little.<br /><br />But in thinking on the above, I know that I can accomplish so much more in a year than was accomplished last year, or possibly even the previous two. To think in a few days 1/12 of 2009 will have already passed. I have accomplished a little of what I wanted for this year, but much more to go.<br /><br />This quote came to me this morning around the altar. I let my mind melt it into a spiritual mold and a thought was cast: I have often overestimated what spiritually occurs in one trip to the altar and underestimated what is done through my daily relationship and communion with God.<br /><br />I know that God has already spoken so much to me this season of life. Oh, how I want Him to continue. I want Him to find in me a lent ear, and a heart set to follow. I want to look back over this year and say WOW, look what God did in a whole year of days and hours speant truly seaking His voice spoken in my life.<br /><br />"... but the people that know their God will be strong and do great exploits" Dan 11:32<br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><em>a</em> Google revealed this quote was probably originally speaking of a year and a decade rather than a day and a year. I prefered the former, and regardless could not find an author.</span>jay5inhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03985054569275865051noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36964087.post-3900497933421309752009-01-20T11:38:00.001-08:002009-01-20T19:01:23.425-08:00<span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color:#006600;">"This Book is alive, it speaks to me; it has feet, it runs after me; it has hands, it lays hold on me." –Martin Luther<span class="Apple-style-span"></span></span></span></span><br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg86W1hJxn9elKAJfIjS9lykmoMfVdKOrqwnHmhh4H3rCKIm43VClQaoWYDUfhMX9uacFJnPfoVq9c3g3Ico9QyWF7nM9MfegvzEwqBNcKvUB6TOG5iN2QkGEI3SWDmhJyIj5HD/s1600-h/1peter.JPG"><span style="font-family:arial;color:#006600;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293573752456686690" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg86W1hJxn9elKAJfIjS9lykmoMfVdKOrqwnHmhh4H3rCKIm43VClQaoWYDUfhMX9uacFJnPfoVq9c3g3Ico9QyWF7nM9MfegvzEwqBNcKvUB6TOG5iN2QkGEI3SWDmhJyIj5HD/s320/1peter.JPG" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;color:#006600;"> </span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color:#006600;">Words seem so inadequate to describe the wonder of the Bible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Some men of the church have started a Bible study on Wednesday mornings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We come together and read, giving room for any or all to share their thoughts, encouragement, even frustrations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> E</span>very week we have found Him true again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We draw near to Him and we are met and ministered to by Him drawing near to us.<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 /><st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on"></st1:place></st1:city></span></span></span></span><br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color:#006600;"><st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Reading</st1:place></st1:city> through 1 Peter has truly laid hold of my heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It is devastatingly adverse to me to rejoice through struggle and trial, though wrongly accused or harshly spoken to, but oh the depth found in those pages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The truth and strength that I have been able to taste by just striving to fulfill His word.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>What a wonder!<span class="Apple-style-span"></span></span></span></span></span><br /><br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;color:#006600;">"Nobody ever outgrows scripture; the Book widens and deepens with our years" –Charles Haddon Spurgeon</span></span></span>jay5inhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03985054569275865051noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36964087.post-88026725795281880382008-12-26T23:06:00.000-08:002008-12-26T23:22:28.286-08:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5x8duvuUickQCK9dt6C3t1jK_k0IyUrukthHJ5JYSlSskDG44KKM74Mg6ziUV2W0eJ8KpqlNn0ooRsG4oCX-dxlb_1_VnL6OWK-NY90OCOq1bOa45KbMQ5I5EkBRto9_uK7ay/s1600-h/merry.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 154px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5x8duvuUickQCK9dt6C3t1jK_k0IyUrukthHJ5JYSlSskDG44KKM74Mg6ziUV2W0eJ8KpqlNn0ooRsG4oCX-dxlb_1_VnL6OWK-NY90OCOq1bOa45KbMQ5I5EkBRto9_uK7ay/s400/merry.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284366891664246850" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih17hzJeAXUxZIO8p7fptXonaqVpiCzf3oSBLoSxWroUQVwj0aYjURijSDcGWNx8PijZLhwBuRBVz7BHWFQhs7UXJeIlZ_n-IpHXp-N20bhiCEdMLdTq2-E0qhvSfRNz9lWwp_/s1600-h/DSC01316.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih17hzJeAXUxZIO8p7fptXonaqVpiCzf3oSBLoSxWroUQVwj0aYjURijSDcGWNx8PijZLhwBuRBVz7BHWFQhs7UXJeIlZ_n-IpHXp-N20bhiCEdMLdTq2-E0qhvSfRNz9lWwp_/s320/DSC01316.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284366749563641378" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgegWDPj_bYQX7S6QgxZtQ_PGlFBgHvNDGqiKK3n_MOeHr-eonsjPMpte3T3NCwQ9rHqShpxygPr29umIRynHxrVu-0TbZSCU9FX_qKW_jpJNFEzgOfTChVSkMWLDq_ciNuE1lb/s1600-h/DSC01317.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgegWDPj_bYQX7S6QgxZtQ_PGlFBgHvNDGqiKK3n_MOeHr-eonsjPMpte3T3NCwQ9rHqShpxygPr29umIRynHxrVu-0TbZSCU9FX_qKW_jpJNFEzgOfTChVSkMWLDq_ciNuE1lb/s320/DSC01317.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284365601662795650" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH-tuH_ePuiM7-hVn6yCggmxcATSpu_OCkhe2oI0jkDx3CGom0Vy2MA9f-3wCVLpxFK1ALZRYsjehXqEGmDKFVnfWo0sdhTKhoOa3TQ2VtgFldVkjIiduwCdhoqvzBR98pP9Rv/s1600-h/DSC01335.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH-tuH_ePuiM7-hVn6yCggmxcATSpu_OCkhe2oI0jkDx3CGom0Vy2MA9f-3wCVLpxFK1ALZRYsjehXqEGmDKFVnfWo0sdhTKhoOa3TQ2VtgFldVkjIiduwCdhoqvzBR98pP9Rv/s400/DSC01335.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284365130405574962" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIJU2SpJxDp2BiyYUeP6eYjfD8deW8E4boDcKdLB5jWJ884iKplTz4KTvTMFKXk5wTJVp4yLf6VdM29mmj8XayXnmchIZ-GaWLZNT3IOT8UsLZeXMZFfkfyY7Xee6lcXjXm7D4/s1600-h/DSC01326.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIJU2SpJxDp2BiyYUeP6eYjfD8deW8E4boDcKdLB5jWJ884iKplTz4KTvTMFKXk5wTJVp4yLf6VdM29mmj8XayXnmchIZ-GaWLZNT3IOT8UsLZeXMZFfkfyY7Xee6lcXjXm7D4/s320/DSC01326.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284364472297046386" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdkLZtDmO1IbjllMxguAZWcUirutRn3UUA2ULvSJ-ENvXaON-CKlfULVT_oMfIv3zQjkahzx6A_Hf53j-mA_8GdsJNxT5x40ZY0VZfm28ZAv67yXaqO0AZP62Bp_LNdO40If02/s1600-h/DSC01324.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdkLZtDmO1IbjllMxguAZWcUirutRn3UUA2ULvSJ-ENvXaON-CKlfULVT_oMfIv3zQjkahzx6A_Hf53j-mA_8GdsJNxT5x40ZY0VZfm28ZAv67yXaqO0AZP62Bp_LNdO40If02/s400/DSC01324.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284363457148903170" /></a>jay5inhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03985054569275865051noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36964087.post-34568753101197516062008-12-11T08:22:00.000-08:002008-12-11T08:36:36.061-08:00It has been quite some time.<br /><br />Yesterday I was blessed to have the day off, and though I was busy with much to do I enjoyed the respite from work.<br /><br />And soon I will return, but now I am enjoying a lazy morning by the fire and the beautifully lit Christmas tree. Around this time of year my mind and heart are flooded. How I love the memories of Christmases past and exciting are the ones to come with my family and friends.<br /><br />I hope all who read are having a wonderful Christmas season. A season of His love and tender mercy. A season of fireplaces, Christmas trees, warm wishes, hot chocolate, late night laughs, close-cutt wrapping paper, shopping, and Love.jay5inhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03985054569275865051noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36964087.post-76369371209367784962008-10-15T20:54:00.001-07:002008-10-15T20:54:06.341-07:00Through The Fire<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><p><object height='350' width='425'><param value='http://youtube.com/v/vCIvTVIFvTY' name='movie'/><embed height='350' width='425' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' src='http://youtube.com/v/vCIvTVIFvTY'/></object></p><p>This song has ministered to me so many times...</p></div>jay5inhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03985054569275865051noreply@blogger.com1