And I don't know why. This guy makes me believe in his policies and ideals and I don't even know what they are. I don't think if asked I could give you an educated idea of what he stands for.... besides change of course. I'm almost positive this guy could read the menu at Applebee's and I would sit a listen attentively.
The weird part is I like John McCain. Not this guy that has been riding around in this campaign, the other one. You know the McCain that is a little nutty and doesn't spend all his time pandering for votes. Just plain old John "What you see is all there is and all your going to get" McCain.
Anyway. Good luck Obama! I will be cheering for you..... and if anyone can tell me why, I will be that much happier.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Lesson learned
For those that have known me over the last year and one half there is one truth that can be spoken, A LOT has changed in the last year. Now, I know there are some that would take this at face value and this is what this post is about. This goes much deeper than what you can see.
The last year has had its share of ups and downs. I have felt financial pressure like I haven't experienced in the last decade (that is how long I have been in NC). I have been completely changed and challenged spiritually having been saved in March of last year. I have been tested emotionally and blah blah blah.... I could go on here but you should get the point.
The real lesson has kept itself hidden right up until about 5 minutes ago. My small group is getting ready to take a break, maybe for good, and I was thinking about what may be our last meeting. Then *Bam* I get this idea in my head that almost knocks me to the floor. I will give you the end result of this idea first and we will work our way back to it.
"God is all I need"
God gave me this lesson and I will tell you how I know that. I got an idea so big it filled my heart and I couldn't speak it back to myself. Talk about trying to follow greatness. How do you take the thoughts and words of God and make them your own? And, yeah that is an awesome feeling, in case you were wondering.
This last year has shown me a new side of myself. I used to be so caught up in the "ME" before. I was so focused on the new car and the big house and the 6 figure jobs. I wanted success and things that made me seem so great to everyone around me. I wanted to buy happiness. The worst part is I convinced myself that as long as I didn't look down on people that didn't want the same things I wasn't being a jerk and these materialistic qualities were fine.
Over the last year I have faced all the struggles that I mentioned early and yet I never once went without. We always had food, we always had the power on, we always had everything we needed and a bunch of stuff we didn't. We always had each other and God put all these things in my life. He didn't give me a 64 inch plasma or a PS3, instead He put a whole new bunch of people in my life that didn't care if I drove the best car or had the biggest house. They saw something else in me, something bigger, and luckily I started to see the same thing.
I don't want the biggest salary any more. I don't care about having a new car. I don't get to buy everything I come across and it doesn't bother me. I want different things these days. I want to minister to other people so they can have a powerful and meaningful relationship with Jesus. I want to be a better father and a better husband. I want stronger friendships and relationships. I want more things for others than I do for myself. I want to be able to affect peoples lives in a positive and impactful way and the lesson I have been taught in all of this.... God is all I need.
He hasn't let me go without, even during the hardest of times. God has let me stand on him when I needed and let me fall when the time was right. He has done all of this so I would know that He is all I need; and I get it now. I have been given the gift of caring about others and not just caring about what others think. During all of this I haven't needed anything but God. He has placed everything in my life that I had to have during this rebuilding and I know this now looking back.
Thank you to my small group for being there during this time. I love all of you soo much. Your being in my life for the last year has been a blessing and I mean that with all of my heart. You have been more for me then I could tell you, even when you didn't know it. I would also like to say an extra special thank you to Kirsten. Your time has been my gift and I love you! You never gave up on me even when I was at my best being against you and I will have a place in my heart for you for all of my life.
Finally I would like to thank my wife, not because it is what you are supposed to do at the end of something like this. She has always supported me no matter what I wanted to do and no matter how crazy it seemed at the time. She has always believed in me and honestly believed that I could do anything and everything if I wanted it and made me a better person every single step of the way. If you don't have a person like her in your life I feel a great deal of sadness for you!
I will end this with one final thought. Lean on God when you need Him and when you don't. He uses every single opportunity in your life, good and bad, to build you to more than you thought possible..... just ask anyone that knew me a year ago.
The last year has had its share of ups and downs. I have felt financial pressure like I haven't experienced in the last decade (that is how long I have been in NC). I have been completely changed and challenged spiritually having been saved in March of last year. I have been tested emotionally and blah blah blah.... I could go on here but you should get the point.
The real lesson has kept itself hidden right up until about 5 minutes ago. My small group is getting ready to take a break, maybe for good, and I was thinking about what may be our last meeting. Then *Bam* I get this idea in my head that almost knocks me to the floor. I will give you the end result of this idea first and we will work our way back to it.
"God is all I need"
God gave me this lesson and I will tell you how I know that. I got an idea so big it filled my heart and I couldn't speak it back to myself. Talk about trying to follow greatness. How do you take the thoughts and words of God and make them your own? And, yeah that is an awesome feeling, in case you were wondering.
This last year has shown me a new side of myself. I used to be so caught up in the "ME" before. I was so focused on the new car and the big house and the 6 figure jobs. I wanted success and things that made me seem so great to everyone around me. I wanted to buy happiness. The worst part is I convinced myself that as long as I didn't look down on people that didn't want the same things I wasn't being a jerk and these materialistic qualities were fine.
Over the last year I have faced all the struggles that I mentioned early and yet I never once went without. We always had food, we always had the power on, we always had everything we needed and a bunch of stuff we didn't. We always had each other and God put all these things in my life. He didn't give me a 64 inch plasma or a PS3, instead He put a whole new bunch of people in my life that didn't care if I drove the best car or had the biggest house. They saw something else in me, something bigger, and luckily I started to see the same thing.
I don't want the biggest salary any more. I don't care about having a new car. I don't get to buy everything I come across and it doesn't bother me. I want different things these days. I want to minister to other people so they can have a powerful and meaningful relationship with Jesus. I want to be a better father and a better husband. I want stronger friendships and relationships. I want more things for others than I do for myself. I want to be able to affect peoples lives in a positive and impactful way and the lesson I have been taught in all of this.... God is all I need.
He hasn't let me go without, even during the hardest of times. God has let me stand on him when I needed and let me fall when the time was right. He has done all of this so I would know that He is all I need; and I get it now. I have been given the gift of caring about others and not just caring about what others think. During all of this I haven't needed anything but God. He has placed everything in my life that I had to have during this rebuilding and I know this now looking back.
Thank you to my small group for being there during this time. I love all of you soo much. Your being in my life for the last year has been a blessing and I mean that with all of my heart. You have been more for me then I could tell you, even when you didn't know it. I would also like to say an extra special thank you to Kirsten. Your time has been my gift and I love you! You never gave up on me even when I was at my best being against you and I will have a place in my heart for you for all of my life.
Finally I would like to thank my wife, not because it is what you are supposed to do at the end of something like this. She has always supported me no matter what I wanted to do and no matter how crazy it seemed at the time. She has always believed in me and honestly believed that I could do anything and everything if I wanted it and made me a better person every single step of the way. If you don't have a person like her in your life I feel a great deal of sadness for you!
I will end this with one final thought. Lean on God when you need Him and when you don't. He uses every single opportunity in your life, good and bad, to build you to more than you thought possible..... just ask anyone that knew me a year ago.
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