I just realized that today is the 19th anniversary of my being baptized in water.  July 27th was the 19th anniversary of my miraculous salvation in Christ.  Many people do not remember these moments in their lives but for me it was a life-changing and life-saving event.

God miraculously intervened in my life of sin and set me on the path to a new life.  Delivered and set free, God chose to call me into His life.  Thanks be to God!  Who knows where I would be without Him.  It is often that I think of my life before and after Christ.  I am so thankful that Christ has given me a new life and I am overwhelmed with gratitude.

This 19 year journey has had many ups and downs.  Good times and bad but God has seen me through them all.  God is amazing!  I celebrate what He has done for me, but most of all what He has done in me.  I never regret following Him and I am humbled that He has called me to preach the Gospel!

Are you satisfied in your spiritual walk with God?

Psalm 65:4 says, "Blessed is the man You choose, and cause to approach You, That He may dwell in your courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house. Of Your Holy Temple."

Notice how it says that blessed is the man God chooses. God has chosen man to dwell in His presence. In our walk with God, we should not be satisfied until we find His presence. He has chosen us to dwell with Him, to commune with Him, and sup at His holy table. I get worried when I do not desire to spend time in prayer; it bothers me sometimes when I don’t want to pray. God draws us to His presence because He wants to be a part of man’s life.

The Psalm also says, "That he may dwell in Your courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house." When we find and experience God’s presence, we will be satisfied, but not to the point that we will never need to come back. Once you experience His presence you will be longing to be satisfied all the time. The only way to stay satisfied is through daily communion with the Master. We will be satisfied with the goodness of His house, meaning that nothing of this world will fulfill our longings, only His goodness.

Have you ever seen a poor elderly grandmother, that barely has a dime to her name, yet she has more joy and happiness than anyone you know? She has been satisfied with the goodness of His presence. In your journey, seek to find God and experience His presence. When you do, you will never be the same and He is waiting for you!

We had a great time on vacation but we are glad to be back home.  We packed in alot of great things while we were in Kansas City.  One of my favorites was the Jesse James Farm, once owned by the family of the infamous bank robber, Jesse James.

I have always been fascinated by the stories of outlaws (maybe I shouldn’t share that).  Jesse James was one of the outlaws that I liked to read about as a kid.  I found it interesting at the James farm how they somehow felt his life of crime was justified and when he was killed for bounty, his family considered it murder (note the inscription on his tombstone).

One interesting thing to note was the cunningness of his family and how they were sharp dealers and integrity was never a strong point.  His mom sold rocks supposedly off of his grave and she would replenish them with rocks from the creek.  She also sold his pistol to historians on quite a few occasions.  She would sell it to one historian and then buy a new one that he had never touched and sell it as his pistol again and again.

I wonder where Jesse got his criminal traits from, hmm?

We have been on vacation together for a few days now.  Our family has had some time to spend together, the most we have had in quite a few weeks.  Whenever we have a lot of togetherness, there are always some interesting times with Josh and Hannah.  Hannah’s interesting things I can publish and Josh’s I can’t because he is of the age of consent and information is held to protect the guilty.  Not to mention he would probably hurt me to share some of the details, however, I will talk for cash:)

So here are a few of our “Hannah-isms for the week.

Friday night, Hannah and I were sitting on the couch and she was really affectionate.  She was hugging me and kissing me on the cheek.  She looks at me and says, “I love it when I love you!”  That was her attempt at self-appreciation and you can read between the lines there.  In essence she was saying, “I am actually being nice to you.”

On the way to Kansas City, I was flipping through the radio stations to find a Christian station.  I stopped on a Jazz station (I love Jazz) and listened for a second, when out of the back seat Hannah yells, “No change it!  I don’t like that music,” 

I flip to another station and the next one lands on a classic rock station.  Screaming guitars and something that sounds like Led Zeppelin is playing and I change the station.  Hannah screams again, “No, turn it back.  I like that song!”  Sonya and I looked at each other and agreed we are in trouble.

Last night at World’s of Fun (similar to Six Flags), Hannah was getting off of the worm ride.  It was a small roller coaster.  Sonya was taking her to ride it again, when Hannah exclaimed, “No, I don’t want to go back on that one.  It doesn’t go fast enough.”  That’s My Girl!

The other day Josh and I were driving through town when we came to the intersection of 28th and Oak street.  There were some modifications to the stop sign that a vandal had made.  The words Don’t and Believin’ were added to the sign to make it read, “Don’t Stop Believin”.  I don’t know if they were referencing the old Journey song or if they were making a spiritual statement.  I hope it was the Journey song because it is not good to make spiritual statements while doing illegal actions.

I snapped this picture and went away, not only with the Journey song in my head but also a challenge in my heart.  When things get tough, don’t stop believin. 

Someone suggested to me that we should write scripture verses on the floor of the sanctuary before the new carpet was laid.  I forgot about that until last night about 9:30pm.  I began to think of what I could write on the floor that could Scriptures we could stand on at RFA.  This morning, I came in a little early to write some verses that I pray often for our church body.

Did you know your life is valuable to God?

God chose you and created you for a special purpose, for this time and this season. He has chosen you for marvelous things. He has set you apart to be a vessel of honor for His use. Many people really do not believe this. We look at other people that God is using and think God could never use me that way. The distinct difference between you and them is one word, SURRENDER.

This morning I sat listening to the song I Surrender All and thought about all of the many people who do not truly surrender their lives to God. God has a plan for every Christian. In fact, you have a special gifting that He is waiting to use, but you have to surrender. The prophets of old were told that they would be used to go to the children of Israel, however, if they didn’t surrender, they wouldn’t have fulfilled God’s plan.

God told Jeremiah, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations." (Jeremiah 1:5)

Jeremiah was in God’s mind a long time before Jeremiah was even a thought. Jeremiah thought of all the reasons why he couldn’t do this work for God. He said, "I cannot speak for I am a youth." Jeremiah then says. "…the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth." All Jeremiah had to do was surrender. You are special to God. He is awaiting your step of faith to declare that you will do whatever He has planned for you. You may not know specifically what God wants. Maybe you do, but the key is that you have to surrender, and then you can be used.

Pray with me, "Dear heavenly Father, I surrender my all to you. I lay down my will, my life, and my dreams and ask you to use me for whatever you want. I give you all of me. Show me your ways and your purpose for me. I will do it. Equip me and empower me to do your work. In Jesus name, Amen."