I'm a talker!

I have told all your people about your justice. I have not been afraid to speak out, as you, O LORD, well know. I have not kept the good news of your justice hidden in my heart; I have talked about your faithfulness and saving power. I have told everyone in the great assembly of your unfailing love and faithfulness. (Psalms 40:9-10 NLT)

I'm a talker and more importantly I love talking to people I don't know. That's one of the things I like to do on vacation and why I love traveling across the country. I really love speaking on behalf of the Lord. I get that opportunity through my CMA ministry and bike events. My lovely wife says I'm a talker, my daughters are talkers, it's genetic! I consider it a great honor to serve at our CMA booth and to speak to churches. I love to let everyone know, often through this blog, of the complete faithfulness of my loving savior. I am NOT afraid to speak out. I will put it on the line for Jesus. Praise God he has given me the desire and the gift of speaking for him. I am honored to serve the Crestor of the land!

I'm a talker!

For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge— (1 Corinthians 1:5 NIV)

I am such a lucky man and I have been blessed with the gift of gab. My wife, Stephanie, rolls her eyes when we go places especially when we go places just for fun. I love to talk to people, strangers, and people who don't know anything about me. I am not an expert at too many things, but I know enough about a lot of things that I can hold a conversation with just about anyone. I call it a gift from God. I'm not sure Stephanie agrees.

Here's my logic. In order to share Christ with a stranger , you have to build a trust. You can't build a trust without a relationship. You can't build a relationship with some common ground. You can't find common ground unless you find out someone's interests. You can't find someone's interests unless you talk with them. My grandfather, a Church of a god pastor, was the same way. He never met a stranger; neither have I.

I have been greatly blessed by the conversations and relationships that began with strangers. I praise God for this wonderful, fun gift. It is a gift I will enjoy using until the day I die!

Walking with God!

Psalm 48 (New International Version, ©2011)

 ¹² Walk about Zion, go around her,
   count her towers, ¹³ consider well her ramparts,
   view her citadels,
that you may tell of them
   to the next generation.

 ¹⁴ For this God is our God for ever and ever;
   he will be our guide even to the end.

Before I start, remember I ride a Harley. I love riding, sweeping turns, s-curves, and speed! But, I also enjoy a great leisure walk. I really don't take the time to go walking very often. But, when I do it is amazing what I can see. When you are traveling by four wheels or two, you just don't have time to appreciate all that is around you. My problem is, even when I go for a walk, I walk to fast to really enjoy it. I have developed such a fast walk, Stephanie says she feels like my little Amish woman. She is always walks about two or three paces behind me.

I need to slow down. When I do finally take a nice leisure walk, it is so therapeutic. I can take-in the trees, the grass, the animals, and the smell of the air. I can actually see things, not just the blur, as I speed by on my way to some scheduled event. God loves it when we slow down. He loves it when we can spend some slow/leisure time with him. WE need to spend quiet time enjoying his presence. We can't spend all our time just "Asking for stuff", we need to just chat quietly, thoughtfully, or not speak at all. God knows our heart. He knows we need quiet. He knows we need peace. He knows that he is the only real refuge in a crazy, hurry-up world!

Thank You Lord for providing us with peace. Thank you for quiet walks. Thank you for slowing us down so we can look at all you have created and blessed us with. You are great. You are awesome. We Love you! Amen!

Face to Face is best!

2 John 1 (The Message)

 ^12-13I have a lot more things to tell you, but I'd rather not use paper and ink. I hope to be there soon in person and have a heart-to-heart talk. That will be far more satisfying to both you and me. Everyone here in your sister congregation sends greetings.


I have a blog. I don't use pencil and paper much any more. Some people are very critical of this fact. Computers are replacing paper and pencil. I can type just about as fast as I can write with a pencil. If you compose as you write, it is so much easier to go back and reword on the computer. When I compose with pencil and paper, I go through a lot of erasers. What did we have before pencil and paper? I never had to use a quill pen. I'll bet that was a pain. I taught with chalk boards and then graduated to a smart board. (If you don't know what that is, google it!) Now the trend is to get away from textbooks and go to with online texts. I know this is also controversial. I'm not sure why. It is so much easier to get up-to-date textbooks if you don't have to wait every 4 years or so. Also, with the cost of textbooks, a computer is CHEAPER! My final comment, join the real world, dump your pencil and paper! BUT........................................................you also need to dump your computer from time to time in favor of face to face communication. People don't have Heart-to-Heart talks enough! This is going to sound like I am a hypocrite but, the computer isn't the ultimate answer to communicating (neither was pencil and paper).  Just like paper and pencil, you can't tell the emotion behind the computer. You can't get the sense of the heart of the communication. How many times have your emails been misunderstood? When we communicate by computer, we absorb the information with a limited filter. When we communicate face to face. We get to use all of our senses to filter the info. Some things just need to be said face to face. Like, witnessing. Your own christian testimony loses so much if it is just written. The power of your testimony is in your heart. You can't reproduce that on pencil and paper or on the computer. You can try. But, sometimes words are not enough. I'll admit, sometimes our tongue gets us in trouble. The pen or the keyboard can be equally as dangerous. Don't just rely on it to share. Face to Face, Heart to Heart is always best!

Dear Lord, you gave us marching orders to GO. Help us to realize that is a physical command. Help us to communicate your message the best way we can. Help us to use face to face and heart to heart talks. We need your words, we need your thoughts, we need your heart. Help us to be the best witness we can be. Help us to Go into all the world and share your wonderful story by every means possible. Amen.