Why Lord?

I know I haven't written in such a long time.

Now is a really good time for me to start again.

I am on vacation with my awesome wife, granddaughter and her friend. We have been planning this trip for nearly two years. You see, we have a deal with our grandkids that between their junior and senior years of high school they can plan a trip and we will take them on it. Well, this is Hannah's Senior trip. We had planned a whirlwind three week vacation out west seeing Arches National Park, San Fransisco, Alcatras, Yosemite, Sequoia, Zion, Grand Canyon, and home. The trip was going great until we got to the mountains of Colorado. On the down hill run on I-70, the truck lost power, I could tell we were down a cylinder and she just stopped.

That started a chain of events that just has me puzzled.

To shorten the story, the truck needs to have a NEW motor. The cost will be in the thousands. I mean REALLY in the thousands. SO, here we sit between a rock and a hard place. It is cheaper buying a new motor than a new truck, but this whole thing was just not in the plans. While we are waiting on the replacement, we are continuing the trip. God is amazing and he has a way to humble us. We have rented a car and are back in a TENT camping without our beautiful fifth wheel. We are roughing it. (It's really not that bad). We have seen Alcartaz. The Arches National Park was replaced with Rocky Mountain National Park as we waited on the diagnosis of the truck. THAT was a great swap. We have plans on seeing all our sights and hopefully the truck will be done when we are ready to come home.

But, I am struggling. I believe in a wonderfully powerful God who sacrificed everything for me. He gave his son that I might live forever with him. Stephanie and I are devoting our retirement to serving him through motorcycle ministry. So, WHY would the Lord allow this to happen?  The money we spend on fixing the truck would have been used for our ministry plans. So, why would the Lord, who is completely in charge of our life's plans, allow this to happen?  He has helped us all along this trip of retirement, to get us to ready for service. We have motorcycle ministry scheduled all summer with the fifth wheel. We have a trip to Peru, and more service before the end of the year. WHY LORD?

But, you know what?  We are safe, Hannah is getting her trip. Sure we were a little inconvenienced and sure we are having to spend money we didn't plan to spend. But REALLY that's it. It is not that big of deal. God will still use us, he will provide whatever resources we need and I have to stop feeling sorry for myself. It seems trite, but it is JUST money. We have it, God has blessed us with it and we will spend it so we can serve him.

Today I spent the afternoon with Stephanie, Hannah and Kallee exploring Yosemite. This is my go to place in this world. I just love this place and the wonderful beauty GOD HAS CREATED. Seeing Half Dome, marveling at the MERCED RIVER, seeing El Capitan, and the meadows of Yosemite Valley are CLEAR PROOF of an amazing, all powerful, God. I can not let any small setback keep me from serving this wonderfully powerful God. THE GOD. THE ONE AND ONLY GOD.

Dear Lord, I LOVE YOU. I am so blessed with the life you have given me. I praise you today just as much as I praised you the first day of this trip. I am in awe of you and the sacrifices you have made for me, the greatest is the sacrifice of your Son JESUS. Please forgive me for my lack of faith. Please forgive me for me weaknesses and the sin of doubt. You are MY LORD. You are my redeemer and I will trust you until the end of my day.

We have to fix this!

I haven't written a blog post in a long time. Most of you know I have dedicated this blog to my thoughts about study of the word of the Lord. My love of the Lord has not changed. My love of His word has not changed. My love of pursuing God will never change. But I think I am going in a different direction with my writing. I really don't know if or HOW it will continue beyond this post. I need to let the Spirit of the Lord move me. I think he is moving me right now.

We have to FIX this!

Just like a lot of Americans, I am caught up in the debate about immigration and building the wall. I have to admit I want us to build a wall. I think it is so important for us to protect our country. I love this country. Yes, I love the things it stands for, God, Liberty, Freedom, and love of mankind.  I love that we have found a way, for more than 200 years, to make ourselves better. We have debated and literally fought each other to make this country free for EVERYONE. So many men have sacrificed everything to maintain our basic liberties, the freedoms of speech, press, religion, and the right to bear arms. They have fought to keep this Republic safe and to guarantee freedoms for so many other countries around the world. We also have people, entire groups and countries that want us to die. We have fought them and their only goal is to eliminate our way of life. This weighs so heavily on many Americans that we just want to close ALL our borders and effectively isolate ourselves from the world.  I think we have lost our way and right now we are at a significant turning point. Something has to change.

Our Immigration System is completely broken. Our country has always been so open to others searching for a NEW life. We have always been the land of opportunity. Immigrants have rushed to our shores to pursue a dream of a better life. I love this part of our country's heritage. Our society is so inviting to others around the world. We are STILL unique in the freedoms we provide. But, along the way in the past two centuries, we have lost our way. Our perfect REPUBLIC has been turned into a government control by bureaucrats, money, power, and privilege. IT needs to return to the people. ALL the people. Politicians mascarade themselves with calls of duty and honor, when in fact they really only know selfishness and personal gain. We have such a diverse population, that we still will have major challenges even if we snatch our leadership away from the political elite. But I believe we can do it. But, for now, I have some advice for the politicians in charge:

- Build the Wall - We must use physical walls, personnel, technology, and laws to make sure people entering our country do so the RIGHT WAY.

- Create a path for citizenship for ALL illegals in the country right now - That path needs to include extensive background checks AND rules if they violate significant laws in a 10 year period of time, such as murder, armed robbery, drug trafficking, or similar crimes, they are sent back to their country. This system won't be perfect but it is necessary.  There will be backlogs, there will be those that BEAT the system. But, we need to go back to being a country that provides opportunity for those that dream of a new future.

- Set up a BETTER system to allow those interested in coming into our country PERMANENTLY for the right reasons to have a path where they can prove their loyalty to this country.  That should include getting jobs, paying taxes and following our laws, We need to do a better job tracking them during this time period. This is going to take MONEY and PEOPLE to make sure this is done. Harshly deal with those that violate the rules and SEND THEM BACK if they do not follow our laws and immigration policies. Instead of abolishing ICE, we need to expand their ranks and duties to make sure those that enter follow the laws and rules. WE CAN BE COMPASSIONATE, CARING, and A COUNTRY OF LAWS.

- HARSHLY deal with those that come into this country illegally. NO EXCEPTIONS!!!!!!!! That includes families or individuals. WE MUST BE A COUNTRY OF LAWS but we MUST DO THAT WITH COMPASSION.

Our country is the greatest in the world. We need to set an example for the rest of the world. We are COLLECTIVELY ignoring the problem and turning it into a political talking point.  WE NEED TO FIX THE PROBLEM. WE NEED TO GET TOGETHER, COMPROMISE, AND TRULY SOLVE THIS PROBLEM.

Full House

“So his master said, ‘Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭14:23‬ ‭NLT‬‬
http://bible.com/116/luk.14.23.nlt

As we get close to the Holidays we get to spend some extra time with family. It will be a lot of fun and, at times, CHAOTIC ! It doesn’t really matter though because I wouldn’t trade that chaos for anything in this world.

Serving the Lord can also be somewhat chaotic and at the very least challenging. But we want a FULL HOUSE. We want to take our message of love, forgiveness and peace to everyone. We want to share the grace of the Lord and hope he brings. We want people to turn to the creator of the universe so that all will be members of the family when we reach our final home! Praise God for our heavenly family and our earthly family!

Praise God for the American Farmer!

“You take care of the earth and water it, making it rich and fertile. The river of God has plenty of water; it provides a bountiful harvest of grain, for you have ordered it so. You drench the plowed ground with rain, melting the clods and leveling the ridges. You soften the earth with showers and bless its abundant crops. You crown the year with a bountiful harvest; even the hard pathways overflow with abundance. The grasslands of the wilderness become a lush pasture, and the hillsides blossom with joy. The meadows are clothed with flocks of sheep, and the valleys are carpeted with grain. They all shout and sing for joy!”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭65:9-13‬ ‭NLT‬‬
http://bible.com/116/psa.65.9-13.nlt

Praise God for the gift of Farmers!

These are some perfect verses for this time of year. It is harvest time and my mind always wanders to the wonderful farmers I know. I can only imagine their stress and strain this time of year. The battle with the weather and the struggle of a season of potential disaster that has lurked around every corner is nearing an end. The final results of their labors will reflect in the crop yields. I know so many great farm families in our area. I greatly appreciate the efforts of these wonderful people and pray an extra blessing for their families. I have never gone without food and that is not a testament to me as much as it is a testament to our farmers. I don’t know the long hours of harvesting trying to beat the rain. I don’t know the financial impact of a combine or tractor going down at a crucial time. I don’t know the sleepless nights worrying about the rise and fall of the ag markets. Very few of us know of the dedication and hard work of the ENTIRE farm family. All we see is the final product and most of us take that for granted. So, I just want to say thank you! We love you and ask Gods blessing and favor with you during this season!

Praise God for the American Farmer!

God Speaks

'For God speaks again and again, though people do not
recognize it.'Job 33:14 https://my.bible.com/bible/116/JOB.33.14

We have to listen to the Lord. He is always speaking to us. He speaks to us in dreams,
visions, and through other people. Yet, when was the last time you listened for the voice
of God? Our Vice President was harassed because he claimed to hear the voice of God.
That is just so sad.

We need to be in tune to the voice of our creator. We need to be aware he wants to provide
HIS wisdom and guidance in our circumstances. We just need to be listening. We can
become more in tune with his voice through worship, reading his word, meditating, and
praying continuously. LISTEN TO THE LORD, for he is speaking. We need to stop, be
quiet, and listen to the Lord. Do it right now. Hear his voice. Enter his presence.