Our Stuff

I was just thing about what items in life I can't live without. I wakeup check my e-mail sync my iPod and turn on pandora every morning. I may sound lame but, those are the things that start my day. Sometime I say I can't live without those things but, I know I really can. It just makes things that much better. So, what are those things that you can't live without?

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Image!!! What do you see?

Why is image so important in our world? Can it determine the plan that is set for your life? Can it get you that job you always wanted. Can it get you that person you so desire in your heart? Is it an idol, that makes every step that moves you towards the next level or that new experence? Where is your image determine and what makes you strive for the image you give?


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Dating

Dating in the Christian community is one of those weird things. We don't want to be legalist but, you also want to be God edifying as well. I have been blessed to be with one women my whole life. Not most people can say that. As parents (not even being one yet) we want to raise our children as God would like but, in this world it is becoming ever increasingly hard. Emily posted a great debate about dating and how people feel about it and so it has inspired me to go in depth as I can before I have to go to sleep. Dating the final frontier love, heartache, sadness, joy, pain, hate. These are all of the emotions that we go threw during the process of dating. What does scripture say? Man will leave his parents and cleave to his wife.(Short Version) Not hookup, shack up , and breakup. Yeah yeah yeah maybe you can keep your hands to yourself not likely lets be real about this. Our problem with the idea of dating is that the "C" Church has said nothing on this topic. Therefore the longer it remains silent the more we will have nonbiblical assessments on how to date in a way that help us look for a husband or wife instead of a fun time. Here is the real problem we have no understanding of how to respect people. Sure we do. I'm and adult they are an adult I know how to take care of myself and so do they. That is a load of crap. You don't see them as God sees them. They are an image bearer of God made in the same likeness of you. You also are an image bearer of God. Until you know that and understand that dating will just be some thing that you do. Until you can look across that table and say to yourself and that person I'm looking for a husband or wife you are wasting their time. The idea of being friends and just hanging out is a lot easier when you are getting to know someone. Dating is so fake. You get dressed up put on makeup full knowing that if you are together over a year from now you won't be working that hard to look good. Maybe on a special occasion but, for the most part you will end up letting lose and being the real person you are. That is how the world has gripped you and has manipulated you to doing that things that it says is acceptable. Instead of knowing your scripture and saying I can live my life counter cultural of what the world says. More next it's time for bed.

Great Day

It is Easter Sunday. What a great day to be in the house of the Lord. Just joking. Yes, a great day to remember what life is really about. Life is not about me but the one who saved me, Jesus Christ. On this day God's plan was in complete fulfillment when the stone was rolled away and my saviour walked out of the tomb/grave. I am so thankful for all of what had to happen so that I could have access to the God of the Universe. On this day I live my life everyday so that I am most glorifying to God. Let me know what Easter means to you.

Back Home Again

Man I had a great weekend. The NYC was great. I did enjoy spending time with my family. It has been a long time since I spent some quality time with my mother and grandmother. On the way up to Jersey we stopped at my sisters school and had dinner at a Italian restaurant with some good home style cookin’. We went to Chinatown a did like most tourist do and by knockoff merchandise. It was fun bar-daring with locals for prices. What I love the most about being in New York is all of the diversity. The cultures, the food, the smells and the people. Everywhere you turn there is someone that looks different from the next person. Asian, Hispanic, Eastern European, to me. Everyone is different. For lunch we went to the restaurant called Havana Central in Time Square. It was the first time that I have tried Cuban food and man was it great. I had an Oxtail stew with yellow rice in black beans. I decided that I was going to try something that would never order. I was very satisfied with my food and so was everyone else. I would recommend this place to anyone. After having lunch we walked to Central Park and took pictures and enjoyed the scenery. By the end of the day we went back down to Chinatown to get anything that we did not pickup earlier and then headed home. Sometimes I think about moving back. Just joking. There are some things that I miss but, for the most part I will stay wherever the Lord calls me. My goal is the to get back there every two years Emily will need some new purses by then. All jokes aside I had fun and enjoyed myself.

Trip to Jersey

Friday we planned to take my mother back home to Jersey after a two week stay in Ohio. After taking the same trek to Stamford, Connecticut last week for work I thought that the same drive would stink, but it turned out that it wasn't so bad. I had a chance to see my sister's college on the way to Jersey. We enjoyed a delicious family style Italian dinner before heading to Jersey.

Mad in Connecticut

I recently went out of town for my job to Connecticut. Some times I am worried about the placed that we lodge at. What worries me is that I never know where we are going to stay when we go out of town. The last place I stayed had the shower heads shot me in my chest. If I was one of the people from the lollypop gilled it would have been perfect. So, I had my suspicions where I would be staying. When I found out that we where staying at the Hyatt Regency I thought that this would be great. Comfy beds, nice pool, and cable TV. What I really was looking forward to is getting the Internet to check my E-mails and keep in touch with all of my friends and family. What I did not expect was to pay for the Internet. I was geared up to get online after a twelve hour drive in a van and get some stuff done. I went in the room opened up my laptop and sat down at this lovely marble desk and went to go online. I checked for a connection it goes straight to T-Moblie’s Hotspot. I said “ That’s okay.” I noticed a ethernet cable on the top of the desk and so I preceded to plug it in to my computer. Nothing. That is when I started to become a little irritated. I did some looking around and noticed that the modem was unplugged and so I plugged it in. Still nothing. I saw a book that had all of the services for the hotel. I seen a number to call about any issues that I would be having with receiving internet service. So, I called the number and spoke on the phone with this the gentleman for fifty minutes. He said that there was something wrong with my computer because I could not receive any service. I called down to the front desk to find out if they could help find a solution to this problem that I was having. Then he told me to receive any internet service that you would have to pay $9.95 for 24 hours of service. When I heard that I was extremely disappointed. I am at the highest end of the Hyatt chain and I can not get free internet service. I would think that a hotel with there status you would be able to receive such benefits as this. I just recently stayed at the Hyatt Place in Cincinnati and all I had to do you type in the code off of my room key and I was hooked in. This is just an example of how stingy company’s have become with there resources to provide the benefits that there customers expect for an enjoyable experience. It was not so much that I had to pay for WiFi, but it was the fact that I would have had to pay for wired service. I could only get service to 24 hours I was there for two days. What if I was there for a week? I would be paying 9.95 each day. What a load of junk. Maybe, we or I have become spoiled. I don’t think so. I can go to Burger King and get a happy meal and get free WiFi, but I can’t in my hotel. Something sounds a little sketchy.

Who are you?

What makes a christian? I have thought about this before. When I thought about this in a different way was when I was listening to a church history class. The instructor was talking about Justin Martyr and how in the 2nd Century the early church did not have the whole canon that we have. So, that makes me ask what did they believe? What we know as the Bible was not the order in the books we have today.
Did they understand penal substitutionary atonement? What was their understanding of the Trinity. They had to know the key truths. That Christ was and is God. That he was born of a virgin and die for our sins on the cross. That he rose on the third day and sits in heaven with God.
In a day where there is so many different versions of the gospel how do you come to grips with what is true and what isn’t? We have different views on Elders, Baptism, Spiritual Gifts, Election and a host of other things. How can we as christians say that we truly understand what we believe? I encourage anyone who is reading this to search out what God’s Word says and what does that mean to you. We must be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Does the Scriptures transform the person that once were before meeting Christ. In other word is you life different. Is the the holy spirit working in your life and changing you? Search deep into your soul and find out what God is doing in your life. Look for, search for, yearn for the moments in your life that God is working in and you have not seen previously. God is everywhere just because you don’t feel him does not mean that he is not there.

The Heart of Man

Here is some thoughts that I ran down one day and it worked its way into a poem.

Who can explain the heart of man
Hiding behind what he can not stand
Searching for meaning in the wrong hand
Who can explain the heart of man

Who can define the heart of man
It seeks to sin and not love
It not looking up above
Lost in the world and it’s fame
When it’s gone it’s all a shame
Who can define the heart of man

Who knows the heart of man
Living a life full of greed
Created for a bad seed
It lives a life amorally
Never searching for eternity
Caught in the lust of the flesh
Focused on life and not death
Who knows the heart of man

Who will save the heart of man
He came as a ransom for all
All because of the fall
Yes the fall, the fall of man
Yes it’s Jesus the Son of Man
He lived to die on a cross
He came us to save the lost
Oh the lost yes they’re lost
He told us all to the count the cost
Do you realize the price for sin
Neither did Adam neither do men
Who will save the heart of man

Now the time has come
For me to die for what I’ve done
I sinned through grace and sinned through love
Just to receive God’s grace from above
Only Jesus can save the heart of man
He did it on the cross the spotless lamb

My Dogs

My morning is starting out great already. I had to cleanup my dogs through-up. Nothing better than getting up at 3:30 AM and kneeling down on you hands and knees and cleaning your carpet with hot water and a rag.

The Day after Valentine's Day

So, I had so much fun yesterday. The best part was as we are looking for a parking spot downtown and Emily says, “That would be so romantic.” Not knowing that I had the carriage ride all planned out. I’m so glad that she didn’t look at me because I could not stop smiling about what I knew would happen in the next few minutes after she made that comment. Now it’s time to start planning out the next big event. Maybe? She loved it so, that means I’m out of trouble for a bit. If I believed that, I would not stayed married much longer.

Valentine's Day

It is a wonderful day I have been up since 2:30 AM because of the mindless brain is wondering about everything in my life that I have to do. What I really look forward to is having a nice romantic day with my lovely wife. I have a carriage ride through downtown Cincinnati planned than dinner at the National Exemplar and a relaxed evening at the Hyatt. So, I hope that she enjoys what I have been planning for weeks now. The really cool thing about planning this weekend was that I saw lots of different thing you could do and save some money by bundling things at hotels. You can tell I’m new at this hotel thing. I was born romantic. I know I’m funny.