The Finishing Touches

The kitchen remodel is progressing slowly but surely. We have gotten close to having the taping and sanding done on the new drywall. I am trying to make sure that everything is smooth and that we have no dips in the wall. I am taking my time to sand the walls each time I add some joint compound to the areas where it is needed to get the wall ready for painting. The problem with doing something like this is if you are not careful and don't sand properly you can leave a spot that is not done right. And anyone that has done this knows what happens. It will show up quickly when you paint. Then all the work you were doing to make it look good was futile.

Our lives are much like my kitchen remodel. They are not transformed over night or without a lot of work and effort. The nice thing is that we are not the ones who are doing the work on our lives. Only God who made us can change us to be the person He desires us to be. Just as the architect who designs a building knows what he wants it to come out looking like, God knows the plans and the purposes He has for us. He understands what it will take for us to get where He has designed us to be. Along the way He needs to take His time to add somethings while taking away something else. He is very purposeful in what He allows to come into our lives. He uses these things to shape us and transform us to become like His Son Jesus. Nothing that happens to us ever catches God off guard. He knows each step of the transformation and what it takes to complete it. Is the transformation process enjoyable and fun to experience? Most of the time the answer is no! But is it necessary? Absolutely! Much like a plastic surgeon that is correcting an injury requires some pain for the patient, we need to go through some if we want to end up like Christ. Life is just how God brings about the change He has in mind.

I really hope that by this weekend we will be ready to start painting the walls and then get our cabinets back up. Then it is time to start cleaning up the kitchen. The last part of the remodel will be to remove what wallpaper is left behind the oven and refrigerator. I can hardly wait to see how it looks after it is done. But even more importantly I can hardly wait to see how God will finish me. How is your life transformation going?

Physically Healthy - Spiritually Ailing

I have been going to the gym and working out since the middle of December and I have lost about 30 pounds. I run for about 30 minutes then work out on weights afterwards. I have toned up and strengthened my muscles since I have been going. I feel much better and I hope to find out if this is helping my blood pressure and maybe even my triglycerides level. As I was working out today I began to think about my spiritual health. The problem today is that so many are concerned about their physical condition and are trying to get healthy. They are changing their diets and what they doing. But many forget about their spiritual condition.

As the day approaches when Christ will return, it is important that people are ready for His coming. The sad fact is that most people aren't ready and even sadder is that they have no clue that they are in a serious spiritual condition. People are perishing spiritually all around us because they don't know. Then there are those who may be aware but don't care or think they have plenty of time to make things right with God before they die. They are not given any guarantee that they will have an opportunity to do so. No one knows what the future holds for them. God tells us that today is the day of Salvation. As believers,it is our responsibility to tell others about Christ and show them God's love for them. We need to show them the way to meet Christ. Much like the trainer's job in a gym is to show someone how to use the equipment available to them and how to exercise properly, we need to instruct those who are lost how to get right with God. Physically we are concerned about getting rid of fat and excess weight while spiritually the issue is sin. We carry it around from the time we are born till the day we die unless we deal with it through the blood of Christ. God is concerned about our physical bodies that is true but He is more concerned with our souls. We can leave this earth with bodies that are out of shape and maybe even broken and deformed. We know that God will bring the restoration to them. What we can't do is die in our sin and expect to enter into His presence for eternity. We have to be right with Him to enjoy that glory.

I hope that I will continue to lose some weight and even get more fit. Having a body that is in good shape is great but more importantly I want to keep myself spiritually fit but keeping my heart right with Him and to be obedient to His will for my life. How about you? How fit are you? Which id more important to you? Why not try being healthy both spiritually and Physically?

Don't Be the Frog!

Today I was listening to the news on the radio as well as on the TV and I heard some things that makes me realize just what shape our nation is in at this time. My mind went right away to a story about a frog that was put in a pot of water on the stove then was slowly boiled to death without even realizing it. He was placed in the water when it was cold and then the heat was applied slowly to the pot. He was dying slowly but never jumped out because he was not aware of the danger since the water was cold when he went in the pot. Today we are the ones in the pot not the frog!

This nation was founded on godly principles by our founding forefathers because they knew that was the only way this nation would have God's blessings on it. In the 200 plus years we have existed as a nation, those foundations have been slowly eroded away and other things are taking their place. The sad truth is that the erosion of these truths has been slow and unseen by most people. When someone does cry out to warn people they are called fanatics or religious nuts. Men like Francis Schaeffer and Dr D James Kennedy are two that come to my mind right off the bat. Many people just say that they were religious nuts that are out to shove Christianity down people's throats. Actually they were warning us that our religious freedoms were being taken away under our very eyes and that most of us were blind to that fact. All one has to do is look at where we were lets say 30 years ago. Things that would have never been tolerated before are being accepted as normal and even considered mainstream. Yet when a believer speaks out to share the truth they are considered abnormal and are not tolerated by those who oppose them. Our "water" has slowly been getting hotter and most have no clue. I believe that we had better stand up for our faith and our freedoms before it is too late. When there is no one left to speak up for us it is too late.

I think it is time for us to stand up and make our voices heard. We can guarantee that we will have no religious freedoms simply by sitting back and doing nothing. It is time for this "frog" to get out of the water and stop being cooked. Frog legs maybe tasty but not to the frog!

What's the Big Deal About the Groundhog

Today the big news was about a rodent named Phil or any other number of names people give them all over. Everyone wants to know only one thing. Did he or didn't he? You know? See his shadow. It is amazing to see how many people watch just to find out. This day holds for me other more important memories than if a ground hog sees his shadow or not. Today is also my father's birthday.Had he not died in 1975 he would be celebrating another birthday. But that isn't even important for me because something far surpassed that event. On Feburary 2 1969 my mother went to a faith healing service in a wheelchair and walked home on her two restored legs.

I have shared that miracle with many over the years about how God met my mother at the church and gave to her what she needed. You see she had been stricken with MS when I was really young and she spent a lot of time in the hospital and some rehabs. As a family we were divided up when she got sick. My oldest brother and sister were adopted to another family because they were older. My other sister was placed in one foster home while my other brother and I went to several others before we ended up in Gettysburg. While we were there in Gettysburg something happened that was to change our lives. She went to Enola Assembly of God on February 2 1969 and was healed of her MS and was able to walk. She actually started to walk but ended up running around the church and even jumped over the altar onto the platform. She received a healing from God in a mighty way. That was a great miracle as far as I am concerned. But guess what? God is still in the healing business. After all He is the same God today that He was back then. He hasn't changed. He hasn't forgotten how to heal or how to meet our needs. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He still desires to heal today. All you need to do ask Him and then believe he can and will do it. I know that some will say that He doesn't al;ways heal and that people die from sicknesses. True enough! But those who love Him receive the ultimate healing when they go to be with Him for eternity.

So if you ask me if I believe in healing you willhear my answer be "Absolutely"! I may not understand why God does what He does but I know that He is faithful to His Word and to His character! We can place our trust in Him no matter what circumstances we may be facing. What a great God we serve! In case you missed it, the groundhog did indeed see his shadow so its another 6 weeks of winter! Check the calendar and you will see the first day of spring comes in 6 weeks! What a wise groundhog!