Men's Fraternity Week 22

Men’s Fraternity
Week #22 – Forgotten Discipline of Perseverance

Introduction

Reject Passivity

Accept Responsibility

Lead Courageously

Seek the Greater Reward – God’s Reward!

Hebrews 12:1-3
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.

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[from the video we learn the following: stay focused – don’t coast – finish the race]

Four Commands

1. The First Command is to divest! Hebrews 12:1
• Divest means to “remove from” or to “strip down.”
• Sin clings closely because:
• Denial - refusing to acknowledge the reality of the situation.
• Projection - acknowledging the situation but denying responsibility for it.
• Minimization - acknowledging the reality, even the responsibility, but denying the seriousness. “It’s not that big a deal.”
• Sin will always:
• take you further than you want to go
• cost more than you want to pay
• keep you longer than you want to stay


2. The Second Command is to run! Hebrews 12:1
[The command to run indicates that we must take action. Endurance is patient fortitude. Gut it out! Until there is action, there is no belief or conviction.]

3 Levels of Belief
• Public belief - What we want others to believe about our convictions.
• Private belief - What we sincerely believe until we are tested. Then we give up.
• Core belief - Beliefs backed up by reality, determined by your actions. They define how you live.


3. The Third Command is to focus! Hebrews 12:2

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.


4. The Fourth Command is to consider! Hebrews 12:3
• Consider how Jesus lived.
• Instead of asking “What would Jesus do?” ask “What DID Jesus do?” The bible is filled with specific examples
• I look most like Jesus when I am falsely accused and say nothing.

”In God’s Garden of grace even broken trees bear fruit.” - Rick Warren

Discussion:

What sins easily cling or what are the weights in your life you feel you need to lay aside? Be ruthlessly honest. Why is it so hard to do this?

What does it mean to “fix our Eyes on Jesus”?

Review Hebrws 12:1-3 and discuss the responsibilities God gives you. Discuss every detail given about Christ.

Men's Fraternity Week 21

Men’s Fraternity
Week #21 - Review

Introduction

1 Corinthians 16:13
Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.

Hebrews 2:1
Therefore we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.

Discussion:

When your alarm goes off in the morning do you immediately shut it off and get out of bed, or do you hit the snooze button? How many times do you hit the snooze button?

• The effectiveness of the alarm is in direct correlation to how much you don’t want to hear it!
• We are going to review the journey we have taken through the 33 Series and ask ourselves – Have I pushed the snooze button?

I. Man and His Design

1. God’s call to Every Man!

Philippians 2:5-8
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God something to be grasped, [Rejected Passivity] but emptied himself by taking form of servant, being born in likeness of men. [Accepted Responsibility] And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. [Lead Courageously] Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name. Invest Eternally


2. Four Faces of Manhood

Acts 13:36
For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep.


• King - Righteous Energy
Proverbs 20:7
The righteous who walks in his integrity—blessed are his children after him!

• Warrior - Courageous Energy
1 Corinthians 9:26-27
So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

• Lover - Relational Energy
1 Thessalonians 2:7-9
But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us. For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.

• Friend - Connecting Energy
Proverbs 17:17; 27:17
A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.
3. Seasons

Psalms 90:12
So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.

Transitions between stages of Life.

• Spring: 0-20 - Identity
• Summer: 20’s-30’s - Learning and Growing
• Fall: 40’s-60’s - Influence
• Winter: 60’s-beyond - Sage


4. Man and His Story

Psalms 34:4, 6
I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.

Events and Experiences that have shaped your life!


• Look back to make peace with your wounds.
• Father wound
• Mother wound
• Loneliness wound
• Heart wound
• Dealing and Healing of Wounds.


5. Man and His Traps

Jeremiah 2:13
for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.

Looking deep into our heart idols in our lives and the traps we get entangled in.
• Control idol
• Significance idol
• Comfort idol


6. Answering the Alarm

Ephesians 5:14-16
Therefore it says, ‘Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’ Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.

The way we are designed by our Creator is that we are built to live for something greater than ourselves. We are wired to outlive our life!
• Discover the Transcendent Cause – Reject passivity.
• Leverage your influence now – Accept responsibility/Lead Courageously.
• Invest for eternity - Make an eternal difference in the lives of those around you!

Discussion:

Why is it difficult for us to hear and respond to the early warning alarms God puts in our lives?

What alarms sounded off in your life through this series?

As we reviewed our 33 Journey of these past weeks, where have you seen yourself pressing the snooze in your life? What do you need to wake up instead of pressing snooze?

Men's Fraternity Week 16

Men’s Fraternity
Week #16 Battle Plan Modeled


Pastor Brian likes to begin our sessions with short videos, today he showed this one:



Review

Our “Battle Plan”

• Admit the Struggle.
• Identify the lie.
• Replace with the truth.

1. Jesus’ Example

1. Just like Adam in the Garden of Eden, Jesus was tempted by the great liar himself, satan.

Hebrews 2:18
For because he himself (Jesus) has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. [And because Jesus was human we will suffer when tempted the same way He did.]

• There is a suffering we face when dealing with temptation.
• Jesus can identify with the suffering we face in times of temptation and help us.

Hebrews 4:15-16
We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

• We need to have confidence in the grace and mercy of God to give us the help we need.

2. Jesus’ Model for us.

A. Jesus tempted with the deep idol of comfort

Satan: ”If you are the Son of God command these stones to become loaves of bread.” Matthew 4:3

Lie: Satisfy your needs through your own means.

Jesus: ”Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4

Replace with Truth: True happiness comes not in immediate gratification but in self-sacrifice to benefit others.

B. Jesus tempted with the deep idol of significance.

Satan: ”If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will command His angels concerning you, and on their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” Matthew 4:6

Lie: Proving his significance through effort of power and performance.

jesus: ”It is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Matthew 4:7

Replace with Truth: Understand your place and God’s authority.

C. Jesus tempted with deep idol of control.

Satan: ”All these [kingdoms of the world] I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Matthew 4:9

Lie: Happiness comes when you are in charge.

Jesus: ”Be gone satan! For it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve. Matthew 4:10

Replace with Truth: God is the focus and the only one we serve. [The things we are in charge of end up being in charge of us.]

”Our chief enemy is the lie that says sin will make our future happier. Our chief weapon is the truth that says God will make our future happier. When my thirst for joy and meaning and passion are satisfied by the presence and promises of Christ, the power of sin is broken. We do not yield to the offer of sandwich meat when we smell the steak sizzling on the grill.” John Piper

Discussion:

How do the two passages in Hebrews help you when you are dealing with temptations in your life?

Remember that all idols over-promise and under-deliver. Discuss what idols are out there today that we as men are getting duped by? What are they promising? [Everywhere we look are advertisements promising that if we drive a certain type of car or drink a certain type of beverage etc we will be happier, more successful, more attractive to the opposite sex. Many promises that never deliver.]

Proverbs 28:13 says, ”People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them they will receive mercy.” Discuss amongst yourselves why we want to conceal and why we are reluctant to confess our sins? What is the truth conveyed here?

Ephesians 5:11, 13 says ”Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness but instead expose them… When anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible.” What is the truth that we need to acknowledge here?

1 Corinthians 14:20
Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.

What is the challenge for us when we read this vese?

Journal - A Sad Day

Well, as some of you already know, last Tuesday, September 17th, we suffered the loss of a dear, dear friend: my truck, which Joni fondly referred to as “Destiny”. Yes, it was a tragic day. My 1999 Ford Explorer, which I have owned since 2002, met its end going up 2nd Avenue in Kearney.

First let me assure you that no humans were injured, but there was a rather violent collision that took the lives of two perfectly good American automobiles. I was driving up 2nd Avenue on my way to work Tuesday morning and just as I was entering the intersection at 33rd Street, a red car darted out in front of me. Of the two, I think my truck had more momentum going for it and was hardly moved from its original path, but I let it veer off the street onto the grassy lawn of a business that stands at that corner. The lady had been coming south down 2nd Avenue and was making a left turn at that intersection. There was a school bus on my side also making a left turn so that it was blocking her view of me, and my view of her. I never even saw her until she was right in front of me.

A sad day

After bringing my truck to a stop and turning the engine off (yes it was still running, what a trooper) I hopped right out and approached her car from the passenger side. I saw that it was a rather old lady inside, which gave me a moment of dread, but as I spoke to her through the passenger window she seemed okay: she was able to look me in the eye and tell me that she was okay. By that time a man had come out from a house nearby and together we got her out of the car. We decided to go ahead and do that because her car was full of the smoky gas from the airbags and she was clearly not seriously injured. I went back to my truck and, after digging around for a minute, found my phone and dialed 9-1-1. I told the operator that the lady didn’t think she needed an ambulance but the operator told me that someone had already called in the accident and the ambulance was on the way. Before I could even disconnect the call the ambulance was there as we were just a couple of blocks from the hospital.

So long Destiny

So anyway, some policemen were on the scene pretty quickly and began asking their usual questions. The lady decided to go to the hospital after all to get checked out and I subsequently learned from her insurance agent that she was fine. Then we were just standing around waiting for the tow-trucks. While we were waiting I took out my phone again and started taking pictures because I didn’t really know what else to do. Also, I suspected that would be the last time I ever saw my truck.

Coming home from Baltimore

Yep, I had my truck for 11-and-a-half years and we covered about 75,000 miles together. In all that time and all those miles she never let me down one time. Oh, I had the usual flat tires and dead batteries, but she never broke down on me or left me stranded anywhere. I remember the trip to Baltimore to pick up Joni and Adam and bring them back to Dallas where I was living at the time. That was a trip of about 2,700 miles round trip, and the return trip was with a U-haul trailer hooked up. My truck ran like a champ all the way. Joni called the truck “Destiny” ever since. We drove through a lot of rain on the way back too come to think of it. There were several trips from Dallas back home to Nebraska over the years, and of course that final trip when we moved up here in 2009. In 2011 and 2012 we made more trips to Omaha than I can remember to see my eye doctor. For a while it seemed like we were living in that truck.

Okay, I know I’m making a big deal out of dumb old car, but gosh darn it I really loved that truck. I really am thankful that no one was hurt. I know God doesn’t want us getting too attached to our earthly possessions but I suppose I needed a reminder of that. Each night before we go to bed, Joni and I read bible studies and passages from the bible. That night our bible study focused on how we should be willing to give up what we have. If you’ll indulge me for just a moment, I’d like to share the closing remarks from that study:

RESPONSE: Today I will live in the realization that people are more important than things.

PRAYER: Help me, Lord, to not be tied down by my possessions but be open to sharing what You have given me with others in need.

The main point was really more about sharing, but I think it applies pretty closely to my situation as well. I know I get too attached to my things sometimes and I should learn to be a little more fluid and flexible. That is something I’ll have to work on I suppose.

Matthew 6:19-21 19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. ESV

Hebrews 13:5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you. ESV

Journal - Complications

On Thursday morning, the day after we came home from Omaha, I awoke and knew right away that something was wrong. My right eye was watering a lot, and when I took off my shield, I could tell that my vision was not as good as it had been on the first two days after surgery. It was blurrier, and there were lots of funny shapes and patterns in my vision: light spots, dark spots and sparkly areas. This was a little bit alarming of course, but I didn’t let myself get too upset about it because I knew we were going to see the doctor that afternoon.
At 3pm, we were at the Kearney Eye Clinic for my appointment. Dr. Feilmeier didn’t like what he saw. The pressure in my right eye was dangerously low; the reading they got was 5. Normal eye pressure is 15, with anywhere from 10 to 20 being acceptable. Doc asked me again and again if I had bumped my eye or strained myself in any way, but I really hadn’t. I guess there’s no way to know for sure what happened, but he surmised that I may have slept on it just right (or wrong) and even with the shield on it had put pressure on the eye causing a leak around the cornea graft.
Whatever the case may be, it was something that would require close monitoring. Doc said we would need to go see him in Omaha on Friday. He said there was a good chance that the eye would stabilize overnight and nothing further would be required. But if the pressure was still very low on Friday, we may need to go back into the operating room to see what’s going on.
So on Friday, we got up early and headed for Omaha once again, arriving at Dr. Feilmeier’s office at about 10:30am. They took us in right away, and before too long the doctor came in.
Dr. Feilmeier spent quite a bit of time examining my eye, poking and prodding and studying. The pressure was still low, and my vision hadn’t improved from Thursday, but he was unable to find any leaks around the graft at all. He even had a glaucoma specialist come in and take a look. Eventually, they both agreed that the graft looked good and there was nothing much to be gained by further surgery. Whew!
And that was about it. Dr. Feilmeier went over all the rules with me again: no touching the eye, no lifting of anything more than 5 pounds, keep it shielded at all times, and drops drops drops. I already had three different eye drops that I was using at regular intervals throughout the day, plus one pill twice a day. At this time, Doc added one more drop, and some steroid pills, not Prednisone this time but something I’ve never heard of. Steroids help to keep inflammation down which is why they are such wonderful healing drugs, but I also know that they can reduce your body’s ability to fight infection. I asked Doc about that because infection is a very real concern and something I have had a lot of problems with in my eyes. He said this was a very light dose and I didn’t need to worry about that, so I won’t. Anyway, we will still need to keep a close eye on things, so he made us an appointment for Monday (yes, back to Omaha again) and we were on our way.
We made it home in pretty good time, arriving back at about 2:30pm, and we spent the rest of the day relaxing.
Today when I woke up, I looked around and felt like my eye was a little better. Still not as good as Tuesday and Wednesday, but better than Thursday and Friday. It’s not quite as blurry, and most of the patterns and sparklies are gone, although not completely. I’ll be hoping for a good report on Monday. He’ll probably still want to check up on me before November 18, his next visit toKearney, but maybe we can at least wait a whole week. But hey, it’s all in God’s hands anyway so that’s all right with me.

1 Peter 5:6-7 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. ESV

Hebrews 12:11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. ESV

Journal - Things Moving Forward

Well, I think I’ve got my Medicare all taken care of. My coverage actually began on March 1 and I really didn’t have to do anything as far as the medical coverage goes. I did, however, have to pick out a prescription plan. In fact, I’ve spent most of this month getting that prescription coverage lined up; applying for the coverage, then applying for additional assistance to help pay for it. Then I had to pick which plan I wanted from a list that Medicare provided. That involved making a few phone calls and asking some questions. You choose a plan mainly based on what pharmacies are available to you, but also by what meds you take, different plans cover different medicines. I was able to find a plan that covered the pharmacy I currently use, and that covered the prescriptions I currently use. Then I had to call Medicare to let them know which plan I was going with. It’s all official now, I have my prescription card, and my prescription coverage begins April 1. I’ll be able to get prescriptions for $6.30, and generics for $2.50. I know Medicare has its drawbacks, but that’s the best prescription coverage I’ve ever had. In addition to that, I’ve also been trying to get an appointment with an eye doctor. I had pretty much decided I was going to go with Eye Specialists of Nebraska in Hastings. I’ve heard some good things about them and when I looked them up online I discovered that Dr. Welch, whom I have also Heard a lot of good things about, was part of that practice. I called them up last week to see if I could get an appointment, but it didn’t work out. The receptionist, Barb, answered the phone, and I first asked if they accepted Medicare. Barb said they did, but the tone in her voice told me she wasn’t very happy about it. I’m sorry to say that there are health care professionals around that don’t think much of people on Medicaid or Medicare, and Barb is one of them. After she told me they do accept Medicare, the phone went dead. I called back right away and said, “I’m sorry I think I got cut off.” To which she replied, “Can I help you?” Anyway, Barb told me that Dr. Welch was the only doctor in the office now, I don’t know what happened to all the others. Also, I thought Dr. Welch was a cornea specialist, but he’s really a retina specialist which doesn’t help me. That was for the best, I couldn’t have handled dealing with Barb on a regular basis. So this week I called the Kearney Eye Institute. They have a cornea specialist that comes from Omaha once a month. The receptionist, who didn’t seem to have a problem with Medicare, told me I would need a referral from another doctor, so I called Dr. Halgren’s office in Omaha and asked if they could send my records. Halgren’s office called later and said they had done it, so this morning I called Kearney Eye Institute, and they said the records had been received. Then we made an appointment. Since Dr. Feilmeier (pronounced file-meyer) only comes to Kearney once a month, I couldn’t get an appointment until May 9. That’s okay, this is worth waiting for. So I’m all set. Maybe it will work out this time, and maybe it won’t. All I can do is make appointments and pray. The rest is up to God. Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow;, it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. NIV

Journal - The Plot Thickens

Okay, so we went to Brad’s house in Axtell today. The wheels have never made any noise at all since Joni cleaned them off with the hose yesterday, and they were perfectly quiet all the way to Axtell today. Brad went ahead and pulled off the front wheels to look at the brake pads and he said they look fine. Wow, what a relief! I’ve been wondering about my brakes anyway because it’s been 6 or 7 years since I had any brake work done on the truck and I didn’t really know how long pads are supposed to last. Anyway, that’s a big load off my mind.

Well, right in the middle of that last paragraph, my phone rang. It was the Lion lady’s husband returning my call from last Saturday. He had no idea who I was, just asked me if I was trying to get in touch with his wife. I reminded him that I’m the blind guy who’s been trying to reach her and then he remembered. He said she would call me but he didn’t know when, maybe tonight or tomorrow. Not quite the response I was looking for, but I’m glad someone finally called back. I haven’t yet received any response to my email from yesterday.

Oh, while we were at Brad’s, DJ stopped by. DJ is Brad’s daughter, my niece, and she’s just starting her second year at the University in Kearney. Every time I’ve seen DJ over the last year, she’s been trying to get a cell phone that she likes and that does all the things she wants it to. Today, she had a new one but she still wasn’t very happy with it. She’s funny. I like DJ though, she’s a good girl. And she plays the saxophone so that makes her pretty cool in my book. Also, Brad said that his oldest son, Daniel, got a job at the Baldwin’s factory in Kearney. Good news for Daniel because I’m sure that will pay better than Burker King where he was working before. Brad’s youngest son Taylor is in eighth grade this year and is playing quarterback on the football team like last year. Maybe Taylor will play for the Huskers some day, that would be awesome.

So the week ended on a high note. I sure needed that, it was a rough week. Once again, God has shown me that all my doubts and worries were for nothing. I thought I was going to end up with a huge repair bill for the truck, and it turned out to be fine. Okay God, I get it, you don’t have to rub my nose in it!

Hebrews 13:1-2 Keep on loving each other as brothers. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing, some people have entertained angels without knowing it.

Journal - Memorial Gathering

Tonight, Tuesday, we had our second Memorial weekend gathering at Bobbi and Mike’s house. Aunt LeeDel, Uncle Butch, and Uncle Marvin were there again, along with Mom, Bobbi, Mike, Brandon, and Elliot. Me, Joni, and Adam were there of course, and Brad, Cindy, Daniel, DJ, and Taylor. Our surprise guest was Carly who is Daniel's girlfriend. That was kind of exciting, Daniel has never introduced a girlfriend to the family before as far as I know. As I mentioned before, Kyli wasn’t there because she left for her band trip early Tuesday morning, and Brenna had a softball game. I'm sort of feeling like I goofed on that. I feel like I should have gone to Brenna's softball game tonight. I’m still trying to figure out this whole "Dad" thing. I guess I don't have to go to every single thing she does. I guess that’s how it is with families, sometimes you have to choos. My heart was with her, though. There were storms in the area tonight, so I hope she didn’t get stormed on.

Anyway, we had a good time at Bobbi’s. Mike cooked hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill which is one of my favorite things about summer. There was potato salad and Brad’s famous macaroni salad, and ribbon jello which I love. For dessert there was brownies and Mom’s famous jello poke cake. After dinner we just sat around and talked while all the kids went outside to play hacky-sack or something. It was a fun evening, and also tiring. All those voices!

Tomorrow Uncle Marvin will be driving back to Texas, Aunt LeeDel back to Sioux Falls, and Uncle Butch back to Crete. It sure was good seeing them again, and I’ll be prayingfor safe journey's tomorrow.

Hebrews 10:24-25 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Journal - Widgets and Stuff

Okay, I’m falling a little bit behind on my updates. So where was I?

I already mentioned that I had finally figured out the big problem with my blog and not being able to post hyperlinks. Once that was out of the way, I was able to move on with creating my new book review blog. By then, however, I had changed my mind about the title. I decided I liked “Audio Book Heaven” better than “Critical Mass Media.” So I changed everything over again. That's actually pretty easy to do so it was no big deal.

Once I had my audio book reviews imported to “Audio Book Heaven", it was time to add some widgets. For those of you who are not bloggers, widgets are the little boxes of information on the right side of the screen. I never realized what a poor selection of widgets Blogger has. When I was poking around over at WordPress, I found lots of really useful widgets, but here at Blogger it's mostly garbage like "Cute Kitten Photo of the Day”, and “Mister T Quote of the Day.” I couldn’t really find anything that was very useful, so I started making up my own. At WordPress, there’s a widget that displays your most popular blog posts, based on how many hits each of your pages gets. Blogger doesn’t keep stats so that was impossible to do. Instead I just created a list of my own and linked the list to the ten posts I chose. Next I wanted a complete list of all my book reviews so viewers could pick any book off the list and read the review, table of contents style. Blogger doesn’t have anything like that either, so again, I created my own. I created a list of all my reviews and posted it on the blog like a normal post. Then in a widget, I linked to that post. Not quite what I wanted, but passable.

I’m still working on the affiliate programs. I can’t remember how much of this I already talked about. I tried to sign up for the affiliate program at Audible dot com, but I couldn’t manage their CAPCHA. That one didn’t even have a listen link. I emailed them about it and they referred me to Commission Junction, which is the service they’ve contracted with to handle the program. In other words, they gave me the brush-off. I emailed them right back and basically said look, you hired these people to handle the program and what they do reflects back on you, good or bad. So one of the Audible reps emailed me again and said she had contacted CJ to see what they could do. CJ said I could call them on the phone and they could sign me up that way. So I got signed up for the program. Then a few days later, I saw that Audible had denied my application. Yesterday I emailed them again to ask why. I emailed that same rep that helped me before. She asked for my account number and the URL of my site and she would look into it. I sent her that information today so I’m waiting to see what will happen. I haven’t actually signed up with Amazon yet, I’ve just had too many things going on.

I’m still thinking about running a blog over at WordPress, maybe a mirror of my book reviews. I really like what I’ve seen there. Oh, I almost forgot. I think I mentioned earlier how their widgets could only be added by clicking and dragging with the mouse. Well, I emailed them about that and the rep told me about a setting I could change to turn on the accessibility options. She said that would give the widgets an add/edit button just like the ones here at Blogger. Immediately after that, the rep sent me a second email saying that she wasn’t sure if my screen reader would get me to the accessibility options, so she had gone ahead and turned it on for me. How’s that for customer service? Anyway, WordPress has the built-in stats, good widgets, and it looks like you can set it up to automatically put an entry on your Facebook wall every time you post something. That sounds pretty awesome. Once I get things squared away here, I may give that a try.

Okay, I think that’s everything I wanted to mention. See you next time.

Hebrews 12:28-29 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our "God is a consuming fire."

Journal - Email Blues

Okay, so I had another idea for my Blogger problems. I thought I would create a whole new Blogger account, completely separate from my existing account. I would then try the keyboard shortcuts in the new account and see if they work. That would tell me if there’s a problem with the current settings in my existing account, or if the problem lies elsewhere. It’s a long shot, but I’m running out of ideas.

In order to creat a new Blogger account, I need a new email address. Creating a new account with the same email will only attach a new blog to my existing account.

My existing email is through Google, a g mail account, so I went there to create a second email account. I went through the setup and provided all my information, but I got hung up on the CAPCHA. The Google mail CAPCHA has a listen link so you can hear the numbers and type them out. I listened to the recording and I could hear the numbers fairly well, although some of them were hard to understand. The main problem was the numbers were being spoken too close together. I would hear a number and type it rightaway. As soon as I typed the number, my screen reader would say it back to me. While my screen reader was talking, the next number was being spoken on the recording and I couldn't hear it. I tried several times but just couldn't manage it.

Next, I went to Mail dot com. Mail dot com is unique in that you can actually choose your own domain from a long list. First you choose a category that interests you like music. When you choose the music category, it gives you a list of domains to choose from such as “@matchbox20 dot com” or something like that. My favorite was the World category. Under the world category you can choose domains like "@rome dot com", or @paris dot com.” Anyway I went through the sign up process and got to the CAPCHA. Let me tell you, Mail dot com has the best CAPCHA I’ve ever seen. Or heard. When you click the listen link, you first hear a clear woman’s voice explaining exactly what you need to do. She says, “Listen to the recording and type out all the words you hear with spaces in between them. If you can’t make out all the words, don't worry. Just make your best guess." Then the recording begins. It sounds like a clip from an old movie. You can hear someone delivering a perfectly clear line of dialogue and all you have to do is type what you hear. No evil voices in the background trying to distract you by sucking your soul out through your headphones. I was very impressed. I got a new email account. The only problem was, I couldn’t log in to it to check for mail. Every time I try, I get a blank page that says "User name service." No links, no nothing, just those three words. Maybe it’s a temporary glitch. I’ll check back there later.

Finally, I tried Microsoft’s Hotmail. At Hotmail, you can choose from two different domains, “@hotmail dot com", or "@live dot com." I keyed in all my information and got down to the CAPCHA. Here, I had the same problem I had with G mail. The numbers came too close together. Also, Hotmail's CAPCHA does not return your cursor to the text box after you click the listen link. The other two did.

So that all took me about an hour and I accomplished absolutely nothing. That’s kind of how this whole week has been. I'm trying so hard to keep my Blogger blog, I really don’t want to have to learn a new system at Wordpress, but I'm just not getting anywhere. I haven’t completely given up hope yet, though.

Hebrews 10:36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.

James 1:2-4 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Journal - BCBS Blues, NCAA Pinks

Well.

On Monday I got a letter from BCBS saying that they have denied my application for insurance. Last week, they had asked for records from Doctor Hargrave. We mailed a copy of that request to her office in Dallas on Friday the 19th. The denial letter I got on Monday was dated the 19th. They asked for the records but didn’t wait to get them. They didn’t even mention the records, they said I was denied because of my pre-existing conditions which they have known about all along. Is it a coincidence that their denial letter was dated just two days before Barrack Obama signed the new health bill? No, I don’t believe in coincidences, as I have mentioned before. I don't really think there is anything in the new health bill that would have a direct effect on my case, but BCBS wasn’t taking any chances I suppose. Well, I kept saying that I wished they would make a decision, one way or the other and I got my wish. What's next? I have no idea. More waiting. I'll just have to wait and see where God leads me next.

That was the bad news. Now for the good news! Nebraska won their second round game against UCLA on Tuesday night! It was a pretty exciting game too. Well, the first half was, anyway.

UCLA struck like lightning in the opening minutes of the game and took a 13 to 4 lead very quickly. The Lady Huskers battled back, though, and tied it up at 15 before going on to take a ten point lead. The first half ended with a five point lead for Nebraska. UCLA came out fighting again in the second half and came to within one point, but it was all Nebraska after that. UCLA never gave up, they kept scoring points, but Nebraska was just too much for them. The final score was 82 to 70 or something like that.. Nebraska was hitting the three pointers again. They struggled with that in the first half, but started hitting them almost at will in the second. And not just one or two players, either, I think seven or eight different players hit three point shots.

With this win, Nebraska advances to the sweet sixteen, which is just a fancy way of saying there are only sixteen teams left playing for the national championship. Those sixteen teams come together in Kansas City this weekend. Nebraska is supposed to play Sunday night against Kentucky, but no time was set yet. This marks the first time a Nebraska basketball team, men’s or women’s, has made it to the sweet sixteen. Pretty amazing. Wouldn’t it be great if they won the national championship? Even if they don’t, I hope they can keep having this kind of success for many years to come. What a boon to the University and to Nebraska sports. Seeing any Husker team do that well really leaves me feeling in the pink. Wasn’t that a clever tie-in to my title?

For those of you who don’t live around here, my hometown of Gibbon, which I live very close to now, built a new school and began using it this year. Gibbon is a small town so they only need one school for all grades. The old school, where my siblings and I attended, and also where my parents and their siblings attended, and where my sister's kids have attended, has been standing vacant this year. I know they really neded a new building, but it’s sad to think of the old school just sitting there empty.

Now it sounds like someone may be interested in doing something with it, though. There is an email going around to everyone in Gibbon and the neighboring towns with a link to an online survey. The survey asks several questions about what kinds of activities or services the people around here might be interested in. Maybe they are thinking of using the old school for a community center or something like that. That would be awesome if they can pull it off, although it honestly doesn’t seem like there are enough people around here to support something like that. I sure wish them lots of luck in their venture though!

Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

Churches

I thought it might be interesting to discuss the churches that Joni, Adam, and I have been to, and how each one has impacted our lives. I grew up in the Baptist church in my hometown of Gibbon. It was the same church Grandma and Grandpa Howard attended, probably from the time they arrived in Gibbon, and the same church mom and her siblings grew up with. Joni was raised in a Catholic family, although she never fully accepted all of the Catholic customs. It was basically the same for both of us, we grew up with the church, but turned away from it as soon as we were able.

It wasn’t until many years later, when Astri was born, that we decided it was time for us to start going to church again. We were living in Dallas at the time so there were plenty of churches to choose from. Too many really, we had no idea how to choose one. Neither of us was interested in joining a Catholic church. I was interested in Baptist churches, but understood that they would be different than the Baptist church I grew up with. I finally asked Aunt LeeDel for advice since she is “in the know” about some of the different denominations. She recommended the United Church of Christ, so we looked up UCC churches in our area and found one only a few miles from our apartment.

This was in February or maybe March of 2007. I remember the time well because I was on a long medical leave from work because of problems I was having with my eyes. It’s interesting to think about that time because it was so miserable having such poor vision, but what I wouldn't give to have that amount of vision now.

Anyway, we visited the UCC church and we both liked it immediately. It was a very small church which was a big plus for us, and the people were very warm and welcoming. There were potluck dinners once a month and they followed many of the same practices that the old Baptist church followed so I felt very much at home there. After about a year, however, we began to feel like we needed something more. The pastor was not a powerful speaker and his sermons just weren't speaking to us. Also, Adam wasn't getting much out of it. There were not many kids in the church, and hence there was not much of a youth program.

Then, during the summer of 2008, another nearby church, Grace church, began sending a group to our apartment complex every Saturday afternoon. It was a youth outreach program where they would play games and learn bible verses and win prizes. Adam got involved right away and became very enthusiastic about it which was a little surprising because he isn’t the type to get involved in things.

So the summer passed. In September of that year, I lost my job and we definitely felt that God needed to have a stronger presence in our lives. Grace church had a Halloween party for the kids in the community, and we decided to go have a look. We met a few people, most of whom Adam already knew, and really liked the feel of the whole thing. After talking it over, we decided to visit Grace for Sunday worship. Soon after that, we said our good-byes to the UCC church. The UCC church had served an important purpose for us in that it was a comfortable place for us to begin our journey toward Christ. After almost two years there, we were thirsty for more and definitely felt God urging us on to the next step.

Grace church was larger than the UCC, but not intimidatingly so. There are mega-churches in Dallas, large enough to seat my entire hometown and still not be half full. Grace was small enough to have a church family feel to it, but large enough to support an active youth program. Grace had something for all of us, powerful sermons for Joni and me, and a good youth group for Adam. We were attending regularly on Sundays, plus Wednesday evening services and youth meetings, and we even got involved in a bible study group. We felt that we had found a church that we could be happy in for a long time to come. God had other plans for us, however.

And I see that this story is going to be quite a bitlonger than I thought, so I think I will finish this tomorrow. I hope you’ll come back for the rest!

Hebrews 10:25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Romans 12:5 so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

The Lord Helps Those Who Help Themselves

We’ve all heard that old saying, right? But what does it really mean? Does it mean that God will only help us achieve something if we are already beating our brains out trying to achieve it for ourselves? Or maybe He just wants to make sure we’re willing to put forth a little effort before He will help us through those last crucial steps. This topic has been on my heart for quite a while now, and it’s been kind of a tricky one for me.

Let’s start by taking a look at the phrase itself. “The Lord helps those who help themselves” is not found anywhere in the bible. I researched the origin of the saying, and found conflicting information. Some people attribute it to Benjamin Franklin in “Poor Richard’s Almanac” in 1757. Others give credit to a British philosopher, Algernon Sidney, who used the phrase in an article titled “Discourses Concerning Government” in 1698. Further research reveals that Algernon Sidney died in 1683, so who knows if that one is true. Yet another source credits the phrase to one of Aesop’s fables from the 6th century BC. The fable, titled "Hercules and the Waggoner", tells the tale of a man whose wagon became stuck in the mud. The man got down on his knees and prayed to Hercules for help. Hercules promptly told the man to get up and put his shoulder to the wheel because "the gods help those who help themselves.” It seems the phrase actually originated in pagan Greek mythology.

That’s all very interesting as a history lesson, but it doesn’t really help to answer my questions. As a Christian, I naturally understand that I must turn to the scriptures for answers. Here are a few passages I came across:

Exodus 20:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work.

Psalms 104:23 Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening.

Psalms 128:2 For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.

Proverbs 13:11 Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase.

Hebrews 6:12 That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

That certainly makes it sound like God expects us to work. He sure isn’t advising His people to sit around and do nothing, but in all honesty, I’m not completely convinced that those verses apply directly to the topic at hand. I do like that last one, though. Incidentally, there are more than two hundred verses in the bible that speak of labour. Let’s look a little further:

Psalms 27:14 Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.

Jeremiah 17:5 Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.

Psalms 37:7 Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.

Psalms 73:28 But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works.

Psalms 118:8 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.

I recognize a couple of those verses, I’ve used them in my blog before. Those verses make it sound like we’re supposed to trust God and wait on Him. That last one in particular seems very clear to me. Incidentally, there are also lots of verses that talk about waiting on the Lord.

I have read a few articles that I found on this subject and, surprise, surprise, opinions are varied. Some support one theory, and some support the other, and, depending on your interpretation, you can find plenty of scripture to back up either one. So what’s the answer?

Here’s what I know, or maybe I should say here’s what I believe:

I believe God does not want us to be lazy or slothful.
I believe that God does not want us to suffer needlessly.
I believe that God wants us to help others in need.
I believe that God wants us to have patience, and wait for Him to do things in His own time.
I believe that God will provide us with everything we NEED.

I guess what it all boils down to is faith. We must have faith in God to provide for us, and to lead us where He will. I think it’s okay for us to try to achieve results for ourselves, but let’s face it; if God is not ready for it to happen, It’s just not going to happen, no matter what we do. How will we know whether to work at it, or just wait on the Lord? That part, at least, is easy, ask God. If He wants us to do something, He will tell us. If he wants us to be patient and wait for Him to take care of it, He will tell us that too. It’s all about faith and trust.

Well, I’ve done a lot of praying about this, praying for God to instruct me, and praying for Him to open my heart so I can receive His instructions, and this is what I seem to be getting. Of course, I will continue to pray and will wait to see were He leads me next. In the meantime, I will put my trust in the Lord.

I’m going to leave off with some words of wisdom that Pastor Mike shared with me:

“..…Steven, the Lord is your help in time of need. No one knows what you need more than the Lord and He will indeed either give you the grace to stand up under your difficulties or He will remove the difficulty. Our responsibility is to seek the Lord and leave the results totally with Him. If He gives you the opportunity to have some medical procedure done that will allow your eyesight to be restored He will provide for that as well.”

Psalms 121:1-3 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.

Dream Diary - Patience

Hi there! Long time, no see. This will be a short post, probably. I have an interesting dream fragment that I wanted to put in the record.

In the dream, I was at the Baptist church in Gibbon, the church I attended in my youth, the church Mom still attends today. I was hanging around with my friend Joe Gangwish. Incidentally, Joe is the brother of Bobbi's husband Mike Gangwish. I don't remember what Joe and I were doing but I also vaguely remember Joe’s mom, Francey, being there. Anyway, they disappeared after a bit.

The interesting part began when I entered a certain room of the church, I think it was the parlor. There were several people sitting around a large table playing password. Remember that old game? It used to be a game show, too. Anyway, one of the people was a guy named Ron Sheets that I used to work with when I lived in Kansas City. I don’t remember what he said to me, but he indicated that he wanted my help with the game. He had a word printed on a card and he wanted me to help him come up with clues to give the other players. He held out the card and showed it to me, and the wordprinted on it was “patience.”

Now I wonder what that dream could possibly mean. I’m not sure if this matters, but the cards they were using were kind of like little gift tags, you know the kind that have “to” and "from" printed on them. The backs of the cards had some kind of Christmas design on them. The front had a Christmas design on the top half, and the bottom half had the hand-written password on it. I’m not sure what the Christmas tie-in means. Maybe something to do with how impatient I was feeling at Christmas last year.

So that was my dream. We are being bombarded today. There are chunks of ice falling from the trees and banging all over our roof. Kind of creepy.

Thanks for reading. Try to stay warm!

Genesis 40:8 And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? tell me them, I pray you.

Hebrews 10:36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.