Another one ?!?!?!

I knew something wasn't quite right about him, but I could never quite put my finger on it . . .

Reminder...

I am thankful for shoes

I am a little late for this, but I am thankful for shoes. Just out of curiosity, how many pairs of shoes do you own? I will have to go home and count mine . . .

Just when you thought you knew someone . . .

Steve Sabatino Class: Senior Hometown: Lockport, IL High School: Lockport Township Height / Weight: 6-2 / 190 Position: LHP Birthdate: 03/08/1990 Bats/Throws: L/L

AT NOTRE DAME: Two-year monogram winner will miss the spring following offseason Tommy John surgery ... enters junior season with a 5.00 career ERA and 6-7 record, plus 86 strikeouts, 54 walks and 112 hits allowed (.275 opponent batting average) in 22 appearances (19 starts) and 104.1 innings (12 hit batters, six wild pitches, 10 home runs allowed) ... in BIG EAST games, owns a 6.48 career ERA and 2-4 record, plus 40 strikeouts, 25 walks and 60 hits allowed (.299 opponent batting average) in 10 appearances (nine starts) and 50.0 innings (four hit batters, one wild pitch, eight home runs allowed) ... averaging 7.42 strikeouts and 4.66 walks per 9.0 innings pitched in his career ... another stellar pitching prospect ... one of the top left-handed pitchers entering college in 2009 ... can throw three pitches for strikes and fast ball touches the low-90s ... registered a 3.208 GPA in the fall semester of 2010.

Just Do Something...

I read this on the back cover of a book today....

It's time to try something new: GIVE UP!

Too often God's people tinker around with churches, jobs and relationships. worrying that they haven't found God's perfect will for their lives. Or - even worse- they do absolutely nothing, stuck in a frustrated state of paralyzed indecision waiting... waiting.... waiting for clear, direct, unmistakable direction. God doesn't need to tell us what to do at each fork in the road. He's already revealed His plan for our lives: to love Him with our whole hearts, to obey His word and after that, to do what we like. No need for hocus-pocus. No need to be directionally challenged. JUST DO SOMETHING.

-Pastor Kevin DeYoung -(Just Do Something)

Or as Oswald Chambers says "Trust God and do the next thing".

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sternberg - Just for you: 'Merry Thanksgiving'

You guys cannot believe how thankful I am for you. Fellow Knights to lock shields with, as I struggle to live a life that on one hand seems so simple, and yet I seem to make so hard. Thank you!

I need to state how thankful I am for the basics that I usually take for granted (90% of the world does not have all these):
- Water
- Food
- Shelter
- Toilet
- Transportation

I'll sign off with this amazing video about some really fast Turkeys:

Advent Ideas

Gentlemen;
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!
I know the turkeys not even cooked yet but I wanted to post some ideas that I was going to share with “the men” last year but just didn’t have the means to convey the ideas. Advent, Christmas, Year End Traditions I know you’ve got ‘em; good and … those chains to break… Well; I thought it’d be cool to have a spot where we could share the memorable “traditions” (traditions you strongly recommend avoiding or and those that have been inspiring) Now, just in case nobody wants to take the first step on the Ice; I found (literally) one of those “Life’s little Instruction Book” type books about Christmas. I’ve taken some highlights and then blended some of our family traditions to start off the list. Your mileage may vary depending on the make and model...so in no particular order or level of priority…
Advent Ideas
1. Offer to babysit new parents (or those without family support) so they can have a night out.
2. Help a child make red and green paper chains. Hang them all over their bedroom.
3. Call a nursing home and request names of residents who don’t often receive mail. Send each a beautiful card (signature optional)
4. Offer to get to together with someone who doesn’t have a big family (or the family is far away). (Our family often invites others to share Thanksgiving Dinner).
5. Write a letter to someone who had a positive influence on you this past year.
6. Make a promise to yourself that when you see someone taking a picture of their loved one or family; go to them and offer to take the picture so they can also be in the photo. (I’ve had this done and it is the best picture we have of the family and since then; whether on a trip, at a concert or the beach; I offer and it is a great feeling!)
Outdoors
7. Initiate a sledding day with homemade devices.
8. Start carrying an extra ice scrapper and give it to someone who might need one in a parking lot.
9. Stop and make a snow angel; whether you’re alone or with your teenager. Pull over and do it. (Remember dancing in Courageous??).
10. Remember to be courtesy and acknowledge courtesy with a wave in holiday traffic.
11. Shovel someone’s driveway and try not to get caught.
a. If you don’t get caught see how many times you can do it before they figure it out.
b. If caught don’t expect/accept payment or reward.
12. Take a basket of Christmas Goodies to a notoriously grumpy neighbor; being anonymous isn’t required.
13. Before going to bed every night of the Christmas Season; ask yourself; “whose life did I make brighter today?  And/or Did I make anyone’s life darker? If you did- make it better/right.
Gift Giving; i.e.: physical presents
14. Spread gift opening out over time.
15. Offer to hide the gifts of a friend with small children who might “snoop”.
16. Put pebbles inside children’s gift boxes to add some mystery sound effect to the gift.
17. Ask older children what they are giving for Christmas
18. If you Hide gifts (for your family or a friend) write down where you hid each of them!
19. If you’re disappointed; don’t complain or lecture, learn acceptance and forgiveness. Give them a clean slate in the New Year. (not limited to gift giving).
20. Purchase a special Christmas ornament each year for each of your children so when they move away they’ll have their own ornaments for their tree.
21. Throughout the holiday season, give your family the gift of a sweet disposition. (I like that one!)
Shopping
22. If you call a store; ask the clerk if they were helping another customer (before the phone rang); Offer to hold and wait your turn.
23. Be nice in the store and on the phone with a sales person; they’re often wearier than you are.
24. Don’t go into a store ten minutes before closing time. (As a former retail person; this is good all year long).
25. Trade places with someone in a line who looks like they’ve had a hard day.
Singing Fun
26. Go Caroling
27. Learn the second verses to popular Christmas Carols.
28. Make up your own silly verses to the Twelve Days of Christmas.
At Home
1. Although Clement Moore’s It Was the Night Before Christmas is part of culture it is fiction. Read Luke 2 with your loved ones on Christmas Eve. Taken further; don’t read the first story without reading Luke 2.
2. Set up Luminaries in the front of your driveway or sidewalk “just” for Christmas eve.
3. Offer to help wrap gifts for someone or help them set up their Christmas Decorations.
4. The “envelope” on the tree (posted earlier on this blog). Also it’s many variations.
5. Write to the men and women in the service (whether they’re deployed or state-side; either friends, relatives or members of your Church).
6. Don’t expect anything for Christmas; the Gift of Jesus should be enough.

Look forward to reading your responses,

Cheese

Pabama Tours...

The Bible says- Love Requires Risk

Good words from Rick Warren today.
Pabama!!

“Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’” (Luke 10:34-35 NLT)
To love your neighbor as yourself, you must be willing to take risks. Many times, the one thing that keeps us from doing for others is our own fears. Fear makes us unkind. The cruelest people are the most fearful people. Just imagine the fears the Good Samaritan could have had — they were all legitimate.
He could have said, “What if I go over and help this guy, but the robbers are still here? They’ll rob me, too, and take my clothes, my donkey, my riches.”
He could have said, “What if I go over and help this guy, and it’s a trap? He jumps up, beats me up, and takes all my possessions and leaves me by the side of the road?” or “What if he rejects my help?” (Jews and Samaritans were divided by race, religion, and politics) or “What if I get blamed for it?”
Today we might say, “What if he sues me?” or “What if I don’t know what to do?” or “What if I don’t know what to say?”
There’s one big fear we don’t like to talk about, but I need to mention it. We often don’t want to get involved in other people’s pain and brokenness because it reminds us of our own pain and brokenness. We have the pain in our lives pushed down, and we want to keep a lid on it.
That’s why we need to let God grow his love in us, so that we can love others the way God loves us. The Bible says, “There is no fear in love; perfect love drives out all fear” (1 John 4:18a TEV).
What are the things you fear that may be keeping you from loving other people? How did those fears start? Take those fears to God and ask him to help you trust him: “Because GOD will be right there with you; he'll keep you safe and sound” (Proverbs 3:26b MSG).

Captain Schmuck here!

Yup, a double post today, deal with it.

I was thinking how 'rough' my day was . . .
http://www.gfa.org/news/articles/saved-from-her-own-family/?cm_mmc=GFA-_-Email-_-377991-_-111115%20Digest%2084%20(1)

Finally - Something I Am Good At!!!

I was talking with Oswald Chambers at lunch, and I found something right up my alley:

Shallow and Profound

Nov 22, 2011

Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God —1 Corinthians 10:31

Beware of allowing yourself to think that the shallow aspects of life are not ordained by God; they are ordained by Him equally as much as the profound. We sometimes refuse to be shallow, not out of our deep devotion to God but because we wish to impress other people with the fact that we are not shallow. This is a sure sign of spiritual pride. We must be careful, for this is how contempt for others is produced in our lives. And it causes us to be a walking rebuke to other people because they are more shallow than we are. Beware of posing as a profound person— God became a baby.
To be shallow is not a sign of being sinful, nor is shallowness an indication that there is no depth to your life at all— the ocean has a shore. Even the shallow things of life, such as eating and drinking, walking and talking, are ordained by God. These are all things our Lord did. He did them as the Son of God, and He said, “A disciple is not above his teacher . . .” (Matthew 10:24).
We are safeguarded by the shallow things of life. We have to live the surface, commonsense life in a commonsense way. Then when God gives us the deeper things, they are obviously separated from the shallow concerns. Never show the depth of your life to anyone but God. We are so nauseatingly serious, so desperately interested in our own character and reputation, we refuse to behave like Christians in the shallow concerns of life.
Make a determination to take no one seriously except God. You may find that the first person you must be the most critical with, as being the greatest fraud you have ever known, is yourself.

Turkeys - Part 2

We've moved from a cartoon turkey in part 1 to well...another kind of turkey pictured here....:)

Well, God shown His power again this past Saturday to lead the PABAMA families to other families in need!  An absolute awesome time at church enjoying the famous "Pancakes by Dyk Sabatino" and meeting the wonderful families of the group.  How great to see the spouses and kids! Thanks to the organizers for that!

God delivers again:
We took to the streets of Muskegon to deliver meals that were so graciously prepared by so many people. Thanks to all who did so much in donating $, making the purchases, making cards, making bread and pies!  God has used you all in awesome ways!

A total of 12 fully-stocked banana boxes were loaded with all the fixins and delivered to families that we pray felt like they were directly touched by the hand of God, perhaps for the very first time!

And then we lent our hands in a different way....in raking and picking up leaves (and other stuff) for a woman whom we never met but whom God has always known.  We swooped in with our kids in tow to transform a yard in a matter of minutes.  A blessed time!

There were some pictures taken of this event and they will be shared shortly.....

Tooth Brushing Time??

Our small group is currently studying the book of James using Max Lucado’s Life Lesson’s series workbook. Somewhere in the past we got a copy of the book but never used it. We ordered books for the group but I figured I might as well use the old one; it’s in it’s 33 printing copyright 1996 but when the new books arrived; some chapters had revisions, and additions while taking who sections out. I still thought I could use it but after this week; there are just too many differences now. The catalyst was when I made the comment that; the best part of this week’s lesson was the concept of Addition and Subtraction. And I got (wait for it Scott) crickets… ok; they felt differently this should be some interesting discussion. When we get to that spot the newer version didn’t have it. Here's the section:

“According to Gallup surveys, confirmed by other polls taken over the past fifteen years, 33 percent of aqll Americans over the age of eighteen indicate they are evangelical or “born again” Christians. That translates into 59 Million Christians, or one in every three adults, who experienced a turning point in their lives as they made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ.” (Quotation continues)

“This information should grip us with terror. It means that the greatest revival in history has so far been impotent to change society. It’s revival without reformation. … It’s a change in belief without a corresponding change in behavior…. The American gospel has evolved into a gospel of addition without subtraction. It is the belief that we can add Christ to our lives, but not subtract sin. It is a change in belief without a change in behavior. It is spiritual experience without any cultural impact.” .. The proff of religious conversion is to demonstrate that we have both added a relationship with Christ and that we have subtracted sin (repentance) … And we multiply proof to a weary world by what we do - our deeds, our obedience. What we do must confirm what we say, Our deeds are the proof of our repentance. A changed life is one that has added Christ and subtracted sin, that attracts a world weary of worn-out-words. Obedience is the proof.” How easy it is to ask God to “re-enter” our lives when we’ve slipped- but we don’t take action to remove the “stuff” that has pushed him out. Just like the weight conscious person; who say’s I’m doing good but still haven’t’ lost weight; “I keep track of everything I ate at meal time”, when the truth would be to write down everything they put in their mouth at meal time and in-between.”

Advent is coming; (remember the old song; “Christmas is coming the geese are getting fat’? It’s on the Muppet Christmas CD…)… anyway; advent; a time when we all get busier. Sometimes it’s hard to get it all done because there just isn’t enough time but one part of my problem is in the past I wouldn’t let something else go. I wasn’t using my time wisely. Now; I’m not saying to examine how I spend every second of my life; and I’m not against breaking the agenda / routine to be a blessing to someone (wife; children, friend in need); I have to attack the innocent minutes. What’s a minute? I use to think that too until I didn’t pay attention to my two minute timer on my tooth brush; I told myself “it was just for a busy time” but my hygienist noticed that I had not dedicated myself to two minute brushing. If I didn’t change; I’d have even more fillings which would eventually affect my smile; then everyone could tell… I knew a guy who actually had himself convinced that he could brush poorly but then ten days before his checkup he would brush just a little bit better and he thought he had the hygienist fooled. Are you trying to fool the hygienist or yourself? I read a book to help people who want to write but have a full time job and family responsibilities; in that book; one way to “find the time” was to keep a note pad and jot down your ideas for plot and character…. while you’re standing there brushing your teeth! OK; maybe that’s extreme but Advent’s coming; I urge you to look for those “innocent minutes” in your life and maybe; prayerfully and carefully help someone else who admits they have trouble with time management or discipline; to get their work done, or read the bible. Because this fall I finally admitted I’m one of them; I had to be a subtraction and addition Christian and use the time better. So how are you brushing your teeth?

Cheese

All In

I have decided to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus;
No turning back, no turning back.

Though no one join me, still I will follow;
Though no one join me, still I will follow;
Though no one join me, still I will follow;
No turning back, no turning back.

The world behind me, the cross before me;
The world behind me, the cross before me;
The world behind me, the cross before me;
No turning back, no turning back.

Happy World Toilet Day!

Everyone, Happy World Toilet Day!

We have 2 toilets, clean and functional, and had thought about adding a 3rd!  2.6 billion people don't have access to proper, clean sanitation.  (That's about 1 in every 3 people.)

They are easy to take for granted, I haven't spent a lot of time admiring my toilet.  (It has gotten me out of some serious troubles, but that's another story).  Check out these pictures at the bottom of this blog to check out some of the lucky ones who don't fall inside the 2.6 billion.

Enough Said.....

Turkeys - Part 1

Wow, as always, God showed up, and he showed up big!

- 7 men showed up at Meijers
- Shannon closed her lane, and let us checkout 15 separate times.
- This saved us $9/turkey & we have $ left over to start the Christmas fund!
- 7 men drove around at 10pm, praying for the Spirit of God, and the love of God to be delivered along with 6 Thanksgiving dinners.  It was powerful.
- No one can beat Sara Riemersma's card making skills!

If you weren't there, be sure you are next time.  I say this every time, but it is so true:  You don't want to miss these food runs.  For me growing up, serving God always seemed like a chore and boring.  But we had a TON of fun, and I can't sleep since I am still riding the high!  Who ever thought serving God could be so much fun!!!  See you Saturday, there are 12 meals bought waiting to be delivered, and a yard to rake!

To God be ALL the Glory!  Pabama!!!

Now that's talking Turkey!

A story from a turkey dinner recipient last year:
(We have the potential to deliver 18 this year!)

''leaving the recipients feeling as if Jesus himself stopped by and dropped by groceries or money or clothing or whatever - in the middle of the night and they have no one to thank but Christ himself.  Last year when Melvin and I were at our worst place in hell, had lost our home and were living in a temporary rental house, we had no idea how we were going to feed our family the next meal, let alone Thanksgiving dinner.  One morning, Melvin was getting ready to leave for his job.  He opened our front door and yelled for me to come downstairs.  There, sitting on our porch was a bag full of canned food, stuffing mixes, pie fillings and a turkey.  There was single piece of paper attached to the bag that said, "For your Father knows what you need before you ask him." Matthew 6:8.
We fell to our knees and though we knew someone had to have put this bag on our porch, WHO? and HOW? 
We were left that morning with no one to thank and praise but the Lord our God in Heaven and we worshipped Him in all His glory right then and there.


Now THAT IS PABAMA!!!!

EpicParent.tv

Hey Guys,
Here's a post today that is pretty cool.  Some stuff you've heard about no doubt...and perhaps some new things.  I even made a plug for the Resolution book in the comments section....for a chance to win some free stuff!!  Remember, the EpicParent blog is linked at the bottom-right of this PABAMA blog!  It's worth checking often!
http://www.epicparent.tv/5-must-have-parenting-products-3/#comment-2929

-Mitchem

Friendships Part 2 - Be intimate

Intimacy

Perhaps the greatest inhibition to deep friendships among men is this scary "I" word: intimacy. What man doesn't get slightly clammy and light-headed at the mention of the word — especially when the object of intimacy is another man! The word itself has been so associated with femininity that it seems to be the direct opposite of manliness or masculinity.
And yet, the Scriptures hold out plentiful examples of deep friendship between men without even the hint of the feminization of men. In other words, the problem with intimacy between men is in our heads, not rooted in reality.
The most powerful example of deep friendship evidencing this kind of intimacy is not the friendship between David and Jonathan, but the friendship between God and Moses. Exodus 33:11 records this striking assessment of God's relationship with Moses: "The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend." This description is powerful because the "face to face" nature of it, its intimacy, is embodied in that one word at the end of the sentence: "friend." Somehow, even if we've never thought of it, we know the intimacy meant to be conjured by this word. We know that "face to face, as a man speaks with his bank teller" or drive-thru window attendant or co-worker doesn't carry the same force. When our Lord called his disciples "friends" (John 15:13-15), could he have meant anything less than intimate affection and care?

Friendships - Choose Wisely

Godliness is perhaps the essential ingredient for building lasting, deep, God-ward relationships between men.
Without godliness, the temptation will be toward worldliness, sin and hostility toward God. Proverbs warns, "Do not make friends with a hot-tempered man, do not associate with the easily angered, or you may learn his ways and get yourself ensnared" (Prov. 22:24-25). The Apostle John pens another strong warning. "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world — the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does — comes not from the Father but from the world" (1 John 2:15-16). For this reason, the Lord commanded the Israelites to put to death their "closest friends" who secretly enticed them to worship false Gods (Deut. 13:6-10).
Friendship either powerfully strengthens or corrupts our worship of God. So godliness in our deep friendships is essential. Consider carefully the psalmist's declaration, "I am a friend to all who fear you, to all who follow your precepts" (Ps. 119:63), and the wisdom of Proverbs 12:26, "A righteous man is cautious in friendship, but the way of the wicked leads them astray."

All In - Not Lukewarm

'So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth' - Revelation 3:16

Matthew Henry's Commentary includes:  "If religion is worth anything, it is worth every thing"

I have to overcome my fears, none of this is about me, it's all about God.

I am 'All in'.

Toe Dipping?

It's time for me to be 'All in', I've been 'Toe-Dipping' long enough.

Proclaim this among the nations:
  Prepare for war!
Rouse the warriors!
  Let all the fighting men draw near and attack.
Beat your plowshares into swords
  and your pruning hooks into spears.
Let the weakling say,
  “I am strong!”
Joel 3:9-10

With God, with you guys, I am strong.

Pabama Knights, I am 'All in', he deserves nothing less.

PMV Located

PMV (Pabama Mission Vehicle) for sale right now on Craigslist!

‘Our God deeply longs for the people of this world to know him and entrust their lives to him.  But he will not compromise his truth, in even the slightest way, in order to win his bride.’ - Eric Ludy  (The Bravehearted Gospel)

Making Great Music!

I heard something yesterday
that made me think and I wanted to share...

Have any of you ever seen the commercial where the little boy slips away from his parents at a formal piano concert? Apparantly it is based on a true story.
http://www.values.com/inspirational-stories-tv-spots/100-Concert
The little boy starts to play on the piano. The curtain opens and the little boy is sitting on the stage at the grand piano. His parents realize that he is missing... Then the concert pianist walks out on stage and leans over the boy and says "don't stop". The he puts his arms around him and starts to play a melody around his awkward little tune. The result is an amazing song.

I think that is how God works with us sometimes. Isn't this at the core of Pabama? We just stumble out on stage and take action. We start playing the song to the best of our abilities. It may be awkward, it might not be graceful but it is from the heart... God comes around us and makes amazing music with our humble efforts....

Be encouraged! Make sure your heart is right and stay close to God. He will do great things!!

Sobering question I asked myself

Sports fans read on:

Take out a piece of paper.  Write down every detail that you can about the current Penn State 'scandal'.  Every quote, fact, name etc.  Did you do it?

Now, take out another piece of paper and write down everything you know about the Gospel of John.  Every verse (doesn't have to be exact), name, story, etc.

Which list is longer?

Apart from me you can do nothing . . .

'apart from me you can do nothing.' - John 15:5b

This seems like a good place to start . . .

I Saw God

I just got home from a great weekend with a bunch of teenagers.  We were up north at a Young Life camp - retreat weekend (Timber Wolf Lake).  I also went last year, and was reminded of some of the same realizations I came to a year ago.

#1 - I think we should all be more like teenagers (in some ways).  They are extremely passionate people.  During every song of our Club meetings, we were either jumping or swaying.  The energy and excitement that those kids have for life and for God was amazing, and catching.  Why don't I/we act more like that?  If we truly believe what we say we believe, then why are we not more excited and "pumped up" about it?  Just wondering....

#2 - the main speaker was a guy from "Winning at Home".  He was EXCELLENT and hit home with a lot of things that we have been discussing since the courageous movie, as well as overall Pabama.  His name is Doug Swink (he has 3 daughters, Dyk).  I was standing near him Saturday night and truly felt God nudge my to talk with him.  But I froze (my excuse was I didn't know what to say).  But God gave me a second chance.  I saw him again Sunday morning and said hi.  I told him I might be in touch with him.  So I checked out the website (http://www.winningathome.com).  He has some videos in the top right corner.  I don't know what to think about this yet, but I do feel like God is saying, "See, the Pabama Knights are not alone.  Use these resources."

#3 - Our kids will be teenagers before we know it (some sooner than others, of course).  I am not ready for that yet!

#4 - The last song we sang for the weekend touched me.  Of course we were all swaying, but the words hit home.  It is my newest favorite!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzfPHnoT0-0

What does God Want?

From one religious camp we're told that what God wants is obedience, or sacrifice, or adherence to the right doctrines, or morality. Those are the answers offered by conservative churches. The more therapeutic churches suggest that no, God is after our contentment, or happiness, or self-actualization, or something else along those lines. He is concerned about all these things, of course, but they are not his primary concern. What he is after is us-our laughter, our tears, our dreams, our fears, our heart of hearts.  Remember his lament in Isaiah, that though his people were performing all their duties, "their hearts are far from me" (29:13 italics added). How few of us truly believe this. We've never been wanted for our heart, our truest self, not really, not for long. The thought that God wants our heart seems too good to be true.
- John Eldredge 'Sacred Romance'

Spiritual Warfare - Yup it's real

Let's stretch our minds a little, shall we?  (Stick with me to the end, your action as Knights is requested!)

Spiritual Warfare, it's something that most of my journey I would have pretty much written off.  I just never experienced it.  I did experience a speaking in tongues and an interpretation once in Holland, but at the time it seemed a little 'off'.  Other than that, no miraculous healings, nothing spectacular, nothing that could not be explained. 

The more I read the Bible, I understand that the spiritual realm is very real.  Satan is called the prince of this world, he is here, there is a battle.  It may be different in different areas.  I noticed the more I read that more I hear about Africa and the Middle East (some America too).  Miraculous things happening there, as well as distinct oppression.  I encourage you to read about it, it's different than what we see, but does that mean it's not real?  (Francis Chan checked the organization out, he found reality.)

http://www.gfa.org/news/articles/testimonies-of-gods-love-power/?cm_mmc=GFA-_-Email-_-377991-_-110920%20Digest%2076%20Final

What about Daniel 10?  

v12 Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. 13 But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.

v20 So he said, “Do you know why I have come to you? Soon I will return to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I go, the prince of Greece will come; 21 but first I will tell you what is written in the Book of Truth. (No one supports me against them except Michael, your prince.

An Angel was dispatched to answer Daniel, and was held up for 21 days by an evil prince, and only after Michael took over was he able to get to Daniel?  That's heavy stuff.  If we ignore that this is real, Satan has us right where he wants us.  (We can't be Toe-Dippers)

I have a prayer request from someone overseas, who is experiencing this spiritual warfare.  If you are like me, skeptical, no this is not someone raised Pentecostal, this is a good old, West Michigan, Dutch person.  (For security purposes we cannot but names of people or countries on the blog, but I would love to talk about it.).

When their parents visited them, they said you could feel the oppression and darkness that seems to be over the whole country, it's not like anything they had experienced in the United States. 

"There is definite spiritual oppression underway.  Her sleep is interrupted continually with what she calls spiritual battle.  More recently, she has heard voices outside her bedroom door, even though she is the only one in her flat.  She has frequent dreams that are terrifying and has been getting little uninterrupted sleep.  It may be due to the progress she is making with the people in her life, it may be Satan’s way of trying to discourage her and keep her weak, whatever it is, she is asking for prayer support during her night time hours, 2pm – 9pm our time.  Could you join us in setting the alarm on your phone or computer to pray a sentence prayer for her at a specific time each day?  Mine is set for 3pm and my prayer each time is that she would be surrounded by God’s power and his angels so that her sleep is uninterrupted and peaceful.  We know that He that is in us is stronger than he that is in the world.  Claim that on her behalf if you get a chance."

Knights, set an alarm, 2-9pm our time, say a prayer.  It's real, and we must fight!

Seeing God in his Creation

I just ran across this picture that I took from my boat this summer and I was reminded how God shows up in his creation. What an amazing God we serve!

Your Business is God's Business

Daily Hope - by Rick Warren

“God cares about honesty in the workplace; your business is his business.” Proverbs 16:11 (MSG)

God doesn't bless dishonesty. The Bible says, "The Lord demands fairness in every business deal" (Proverbs 16:11 NLT). That includes wages, sales, and taxes.
If you want God's blessing on your finances, you have to be honest. You can't rip people off. Profit made dishonestly always brings trouble ¬– always.
"The blessing of the Lord brings wealth, without painful toil for it." (Proverbs 10:22 NIV)
Have you ever known anybody who made money, and it just brought trouble? You will always reap what you sow. If you are dishonest with others, it will be returned to you. If you think you haven't been caught, understand that the clock is still ticking. You cannot mock God and get away with it.
Be honest with your finances: “It is the Lord's blessing that makes you wealthy” (Proverbs 10:22 TEV).

This is a great reminder.... I guess I should put that pencil back and stop searching craigslist on my work time.....
I know that this is a little more specific but it made me think about my work ethic and integrity as a whole. Am I being a man of integrity at work? Am I using my time wisely?? Resources???

"the clock is still ticking"....