EXCELLENT TRADE

Last Tuesday, as President Bush got off Helicopter One in front of the White House, he was carrying a baby pig under each arm.
The "squared away" Marine guard snaps to attention, salutes his Commander in Chief, and says, "Nice pigs sir!"
The President replied, "There are not pigs, they are authentic Arkansas Razorbacks hogs. I got one for Senator Hillary Clinton and one for Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi."
The "squared away" Marine snaps to attention, salutes and replied,"Excellent trade, sir!!!"

THE OLD WAYS

While there is nothing inherently righteous about the "old ways", we're finding that there are blessings involved in getting back to simpler times.......for His glory.



THE OLD PATHSI liked the old paths, when Moms were at home. Dads were at work. Brothers went into the army. And sisters got married BEFORE having children!

Crime did not pay;Hard work did; And people knew the difference.

Moms could cook;Dads would work;Children would behave..

Husbands were loving;Wives were supportive; And children were polite.

Women wore the jewelry; And Men wore the pants. Women looked like ladies; Men looked like gentlemen; And children looked decent.

People loved the truth, And hated a lie; They came to church to get IN, Not to get OUT!

Hymns sounded Godly; Sermons sounded helpful; Rejoicing sounded normal; And crying sounded sincere.

Cursing was wicked; Drinking was evil; and divorce was unthinkable.

The flag was honored; America was beautiful; And God was welcome!

We read the Bible in public; Prayed in school; And preached from house to house To be called an American was worth dying for; To be called a Christian was worth living for; To be called a traitor was a shame!

Sex was a personal word. Homosexual was an unheard of word, And abortion was an illegal word.

Preachers preached because they had a message; And Christians rejoiced because they had the VICTORY! Preachers preached from the Bible; Singers sang from the heart; And sinners turned to the Lord to be SAVED!

A new birth meant a new life; Salvation meant a changed life; Following Christ led to eternal life.

Being a preacher meant you proclaimed the word of God; Being a deacon meant you would serve the Lord; Being a Christian meant you would live for Jesus; And being a sinner meant someone was praying for you!

Laws were based on the Bible; Homes read the Bible; And churches taught the Bible.

Preachers were more interested in new converts, Than new clothes and new cars. God was worshiped; Christ was exalted; and the Holy Spirit was respected.

Church was where you found Christians on the Lord's day, rather than in the garden, on the creek bank, on the golf course, or being entertained somewhere else.

I still like the old paths the best!

PLEASE READ!!!

This is Political and I wasn't going to go there but I had to post this- Please read if you have not seen it before- a different Slant on the Little Red Hen!

Once upon a time, on a farm in Indiana, there was

A little red hen who scratched about the barnyard
Until she uncovered quite a few grains of wheat.

She called all of her neighbors together and said,

"If we plant this wheat, we shall have bread to

Eat. Who will help me plant it?"

"Not I," said the cow.

"Not I," said the duck.

"Not I," said the pig.

"Not I," said the goose.

"Then I will do it by myself," said the little red

Hen. And so she did. The wheat grew very tall

And ripened into golden grain.

"Who will help me reap my wheat?" asked the little

Red hen.

"Not I," said the duck.

"Out of my classification," said the pig.

"I'd lose my seniority," said the cow.

"I 'd lose my unemployment compensation," said the goose.

"Then I will do it by myself," said the little red

Hen, and so she did.

At last it came time to bake the bread. "Who will

Help me bake the bread?" asked the little red hen.

"That would be overtime for me," said the cow.

"I'd lose my welfare benefits," said the duck.

"I'm a dropout and never learned how," said the pig.

"If I'm to be the only helper, that's discrimination,"

Said the goose.

"Then I will do it by myself," said the little red

Hen. She baked five loaves and held them up for

All of her neighbors to see. They wanted some

And, in fact, demanded a share. But the little

Red hen said, "No, I shall eat all five loaves."

"Excess profits!" cried the cow.

"Capitalist leech!" screamed the duck.

"I demand equal rights!" yelled the goose.

The pig just grunted in disdain.

And they all painted "Unfair!!" picket signs and

Marched around and around the little red hen,

Shouting obscenities.

Then a government agent came, he said to the

Little red hen, "You must not be so greedy."

"But I earned the bread," said the little red hen.

"Exactly," said the agent. "That is what makes

Our free enterprise system so wonderful. Anyone

In the barnyard can earn as much as he wants. But

Under our modern government regulations, the

Productive workers must divide the fruits of their

Labor with those who are lazy and idle."

And they all lived happily ever after, including

The little red hen, who smiled and clucked, "I am

Grateful, for now I truly understand."

But her neighbors became quite disappointed in

Her. She never again baked bread because she

Joined the "party" and got her bread free. And

All the Democrats smiled. 'Fairness' had been

Established. Individual initiative had died, but

Nobody noticed; perhaps no one cared ..... As long

As there was free bread that "the rich" were

Paying for.



Bill Clinton is getting $12 million for his

Memoirs. Hillary got $8 million for hers.

That's $20 million for memories from two people,

Who for eight years, repeatedly testified, under

Oath, that they couldn't remember anything.



IS THIS A GREAT COUNTRY, OR WHAT?

HAVE I LEARNED SO LITTLE?

WOW! Would you look at that post below. Except for a couple of lines about God, it might as well have read- ME ME ME< ME ME blah blah blah ME ME ME ME Oh Jesus Yes! ME ME ME ME ME!!!!! BLESS ME! ANSWER ME< HELP AND KEEP ME!!!ME ME ME ME ME!!!!

I know enough by now to know it's not about ME. It's about everyone. I know that by now in my walk with the Lord I should not have to pray- "THY WILL BE DONE." I should know by now what God's will is in most situations- because His will is His Word and I should know His Word well enough by now to be able to walk: and keep walking as long as I see the lighted path. And when the path gets dark I should immediately STOP and await instructions. Or look right, left, or behind until I see the Light again. Which is the right path- or Righteousness. And that by God as well. He made me righteous- having a "Right Standing" in Him through the Blood of His SON---- THE WORD made Flesh- JESUS CHRIST.

Walk in the Light while the Light is still with us! He will lead you -- and not astray! His will is wide- Permissive and Perfect- but stray too far and darkness comes. When??? Only you will know- by listening- ACTIVELY LISTENING to that still small voice deep inside you!--you conscience- your gut- your hunch- your karma- your, "I just knew that was the right (or wrong) thing to do." Everything but Luck, Chance. You make your own Luck and Nothing is by Chance! Hard to believe. Not really. A Flower, a Cat, a New Born Baby-- those are hard to believe-- especially that they happened by LUCK---- or CHANCE!!!

Think about it- look for yourself- start with the Bible in the New Testament and use Science if you want and Disprove God. Careful though- many, MANY who have tried it before have come to believe in God, the Creator God, the SAVIOUR GOD!

SO MANY TOPICS----- SO LITTLE TIME

Well,

I said that I journaled daily- or almost daily and have for years and was going to start doing it online. I am wondering where to start or what to post and then I thought- Hey- I'm just gonna journal.

I came across these in a Book on Recovery- probably familiar to all. But since we are all recovering from something- or will be at one time or another (something we didn't even know we had probably)- I'm gonna post these and we'll go from there.

From "The Twelve Steps & Related Scripture"- A Spiritual Journey
(Used with Permission as Group Book- RPI Publishing P.O. Box 1193 Julian Ca. 92036

STEP ONE: We admitted we were powerless over the effects of our separation from God- that our lives had become unmanageable.

I know nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. (ROM. 7:18)

Lord,

Help me manage my time better so that as I blog and journal it does not take away from my family time.

Amen.

It is not really a problem at all now- but when I satrt my Nursing clinicals- Hopefully this fall- working full time and School full time??-- well this may turn into 4 or 5 steps!!! LOL. I'm working 12- 14 hours every weekend and 12-14 hrs. one weekday to make my 38-40 hour average week and I have not been Worshipping at all corporately - anyone who reads this at all -well, you will help me in that regard. If you know others who may benefit from a short daily devotional- send em' by!

If not- then I will at least have a few less notebooks around the house to keep up with! I can't always read what I wrote 12 years ago anyway! :-) My sincere prayer is that if ONE and only ONE person is Blessed and Mainly that GOD is GLORIFIED and the Name of Jesus Lifted up---- ======== SUCCESS !!!!!!!!!!

GOD'S GRACE

Subject: Pretty Deep............. Think About It!



A holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said, Lord, I would like to know what Heaven And Hell are like.' The Lord led the holy Man to two doors. He opened one of the doors And the holy man looked in. In the Middle of the room was a large round Table. In the middle of the table was a large Pot of stew which smelled Delicious and made the holy man's mouth Water. The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They Appeared to be famished. They were Holding spoons with very long handles That were strapped to their arms and Each found it possible to reach Into the pot of stew and take a spoonful, But because the handle was Longer than their arms, they could Not get the spoons back into their Mouths. The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering. The Lord said, 'You have seen Hell.' They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the Same as the first one. There was the large round table with the large Pot of stew which made the holy man's Mouth water. The people were Equipped with the same long-handled Spoons, but here the people were Well nourished and plump, laughing and talking. The holy man said, 'I don't understand.' It is simple' said the Lord, 'it requires but one skill. You see, They have learned to feed each other, While the greedy think only of themselves.' When Jesus died on the cross he was Thinking of you! Only 7% of the people Who read this will share it with others. 93% Of people won't forward this! HAVE A BLESSED DAY AND PASS IT ON!!!!!

THE AMERICAN FLAG

Between the fields where the flag is planted, there are 9+ miles of flower fields that go all the way to the ocean. The flowers are grown by seed companies. It's a beautiful place, close to Vandenberg AFB. Check out the dimensions of the flag. The Floral Flag is 740 feet long and 390 feet wide and maintains the proper Flag dimensions, as described in Executive Order #10834. This Flag is 6.65 acres and is the first Floral Flag to be planted with 5 pointed Stars, comprised of White Larkspur. Each Star is 24 feet in diameter; each Stripe is 30 feet wide. This Flag is estimated to contain more than 400,000 Larkspur plants, with 4-5 flower stems each, for a total of more than 2 million flowers.




When you receive this, please stop for a moment and

say a prayer for our servicemen.
Aerial photo courtesy of Bill Morso n Soldiers' Prayer??
For our soldiers....Please don't break it
!

GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS

OH, HECK YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


A United States Marine who had completed missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, was attending some college courses between assignments. One of the courses had a professor who was a vowed atheist and a member of the ACLU.

One day the professor shocked the class when he came in. He looked to the ceiling and flatly stated, "God, if you are real, then I want you to knock me off this platform. I'll give you exactly 15 minutes."

The lecture room fell silent. You could hear a pin drop. Ten minutes went by and the professor proclaimed, "Here I am God. I'm still waiting ."

It got down to the last couple of minutes when the Marine
got out of his chair, went up to the professor, and cold-cocked him; knocking him off the platform. The professor was out cold.

The Marine went back to his seat and sat there, silently. The other students were shocked and stunned and sat there looking on in silence.

The professor eventually came to, noticeably shaken, looked at the
Marine and asked, "What the hell is the matter with you? Why did you do that?"

The Marine calmly replied, "God was too busy today protecting
America 's soldiers who are protecting your right to say stupid crap
and act like an asshole. So, He sent me."

YOU SAY- GOD SAYS!! Handy TOOL

HANDY LITTLE CHART - God has a positive answer:
YOU SAY
GOD SAYS
BIBLE VERSES

You say: 'It's impossible'
God says: All things are possible
(Luke 18:27)

You say: 'I'm too tired'
God says: I will give you rest
(Matthew 11:28-30)

You say: 'Nobody really loves me'
God says: I love you
(John 3:1 6 & John 3:34 )

You say: 'I can't go on'
God says: My grace is sufficient
(II Corinthians 12:9 & Psalm 91:15)

You say: 'I can't figure things out'
God says: I will direct your steps
(Proverbs 3:5- 6)

You say: 'I can't do it'
God says: You can do all things
(Philippians 4:13)

You say: 'I'm not able'
God says: I am able
(II Corinthians 9:8)

You say: 'It's not worth it'
God says: It will be worth it
(Roman 8:28 )

You say: 'I can't forgive myself'
God says: I Forgive you
(I John 1:9 & Romans 8:1)

You say: 'I can't manage'
God says: I will supply all your needs
(Philippians 4:19)

You say: 'I'm afraid'
God says: I have not given you a spirit of fear
(II Timothy 1:7)

You say: 'I'm always worried and frustrated'
God says: Cast all your cares on ME
(I Peter 5:7)

You say: 'I'm not smart enough'
God says: I give you wisdom
(I Corinthians 1:30)

You say: 'I feel all alone'
God says: I will never leave you or forsake you
(Hebrews 13:5)

PASS THIS ON. YOU NEVER KNOW WHO MAY BE IN NEED

JOURNALING WITH GOD

I have journaled off and on for about 17 years- a lot of them daily. It has been a Spiritual journey using My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers. I am Going to go back through my journey and stay true to what Full-On was when I first posted back in 2005. I must stay true to what God called me to do- which is to teach. I teach by Examples- Experientialy. Totally by precept and example- which makes some posts really easy and fun-and some so hard it's difficult for me to write them down.

All of the good lessons from life and God I learned in the Dessert. The Hot wilderness where Paul went before He even started preaching. He spent three years there before he almost single handedly wrote the New Testament (a little stretch) and it was where Jesus went for 40 days prior to starting His earthly ministry as Fully Man and being tempted by Satan.

So needless to say when I came across some topics I had no desire to experience what I need to to learn the lesson. I have taught for 17-18 years. Adult Sunday School and Small groups. I have led leaders seminars in Spiritual Gifts and even have been blessed to have preached 2-3 times as a lay pastor and have taken formal classes in basic Ministry, Experiencing God, Love is A Choice, Blah blah blah blah blah.

All of that not to let you think I'm great or in any way knowledgeable about God. I realize after all that time that I still know NOTHING!~ This is not false humility because God called me to Himself and Gifted me to teach. I am just that slow when it comes to learning Spiritual Truths. I'm talking about LEARNING them to the point that they become part of you and your lifestyle- Not just head knowledge.

If I post anything that blesses you or helps you- esp. if it helps you avoid a pitfall- I am truly Blessed. I pray I do nothing to cause you to stumble as I take teaching Very Very seriously and realize the consequences of teaching in error.If you see me err- (Should anyone ever read this) call me on it because I need to be held accountable to what I say.

I will disappoint many of you (or both of you- :-) ) but it will be honest and truthful as I have learned that my Lord does hate hypocrisy. Which is wearing the false face. It is so easy to hide behind this screen and I challenge everyone who ever reads one word of this to prove and test the teachings for yourself only using The Word of God as your filter. Do not take at face value what I say if it goes contrary to what you have been taught or to the Word of God!

I truly want to share this and Magnify and Glorify my Lord. I will sound very conceited at times because some of the lessons were so tough I have know way to write them truthfully without it sounding like I may be puffed up or patting myself on the back. I hereby state that anything positive or noteworthy is Only to Glorify and draw you closer to one person.

That Person is the Saviour of the World- the Son Of God- Jesus Christ. I believe He is the Son of God- born of a virgin, sent to earth as fully man and fully God. I believe He died a physical death on the Cross and bore each and every sin committed past, present and future on Him that dark day. I believe He was buried and on the Third day He rose defeating death and gave all of us the chance for eternal life. I believe He is the Way, the Truth and the Life and that there is no other name on Heaven or Earth by which we must be saved. I believe the Word of God the Holy Bible is inerrant, and inspired by the Holy Spirit. It is the only book and indeed is the Living Word- Jesus Himself as revealed by the Holy Spirit who is in Spiritual Control of believers on Earth. I believe in a physical Heaven and Hell and that if you do not choose Jesus as your Lord and Saviour- repent and FOLLOW HIM- & Make Him Your Lord: that the consequence will be eternal separation from God. I believe the opposite is true if you do accept Him in that He will change you physically, mentally and Spiritually ( nowon Earth) as soon as you accept Him, and you will be a new Creature- Old things will have passed away and all things will be come new. He bought us with His Blood- He redeemed us- paid a ransom for us- with His blood. We are Blood bought and Holy Spirit sealed and He is faithful to the end and will never leave us or forsake us!
There is more more more but this is what I believe personally because of My PERSONAL experience and a change in my life. I have no other proof than that nor do I need any. God Himself will confirm in you if what I am saying is the truth or not. It is totally up to Him and the Holy Spirit to do the work in you and your heart. I am merely planting a seed and watering it occasionally. God will determine when and if you get Harvested and by whom. If the truth sets you free here- GLORY TO GOD! If it takes a while and someone else is able to reach you more effectively- GLORY TO GOD! all that matters is that you hear the truth and decide if you think it's worth following or believing.

I'm leaving everything up to God. If there is never a post on this Blog it doesn't matter- I'm not doing it for me- I'm just being obedient to what I believe God will have me do. If you have even come close to reading this far- something other than my clumsy style has kept you. I teach greatly with Word and in Person because God enables me to do that! He does it through me. HE Gifted me to teach that way- Writing is a different matter. I'll have to totally rely on Him to draw people here. It will get better and shorter and more concise as I go along.

Join me and your life won't ever be the same that I know. Because there is only one way to go with God and that is--

you guessed it

FULL-ON FORWARD:------ IN JESUS NAME

John W. McElveen
April 20, 2007 Starting at 1:00 am Friday morning.

A great link will be the Bible Link on my side bar. You can look-up scripture-search anything you like with this awesome site. There are about every translation know to man in every language!!! I am going to try to learn how to post directly to the Scripture on that site and enable us link to and to do searches as well. It will take me little time to learn how to do that and if anyone has any suggestions to make it less time consuming please please please let me know.



This is OUR journey. Together. Join Me?

OK- I have a link on the right side for BIBLE GATEWAY.COM- I have some code that will allow you to search from this site but it takes you to the site and you have to navigate by back-arrow back here. So it's just as easy to go to the site and open it in a new window and tab back and for!!

SORE THROAT

My beautiful wife is sick in bed with a terrible sinus infection. They cats must've given it to her. She is still ABLE TO TALK! Why oh why Lord couldn't it have been STREP THROAT!! Just kidding--. We are still seeing Positive Strep, and occasional "FLU" (this late in the year and a terrible vomiting and diarrhea thing that is running "Pun intended" wild through our community. I work in an Urgent Care).

Our legislature just passed a law (well it actually just passed the House) and will be sent to the Senate floor- stating that it is not illegal for Abortion cl incs to REQUIRE the woman to look at her Ultrasound before the abortion. Ultrasounds are required to determine the gestational age (how far along she is)-- Ultrasounds have always been required but the patient always had the right to say no to seeing the Ultrasound. This on the heels of the Supreme court deciding 5-4 in a heated debate to STOP- certain phases of Partial Birth Abortion- this is the one where the (fetus-child) is delivered and the skull had to be crushed- I apologize for not knowing how many weeks along that is.

Are we getting soft in the Supreme Court and in our Country. Remember George W. is a man of faith and prayer, and his replacement of Sandra Day O'conor with a conservative New Justice caused this vote to finally swing. Are we on the way to reversing Roe v. Wade? Dang- I've always wanted to type that in a sentence! God forbid that we should turn back to GOD! Or in GOD we trust, or Thank God it wasn't cancer, or pay Insurance claims because it was an ACT OF GOD! Or allow GOD to damn it! (I NEVER EVER USE THAT TERMINOLOGY-no I'm not perfect but you do have to draw a line in the sand somewhere!)

If you are old enough to get pregnant you are old enough to raise a child. ANY CHILD be it a Downs syndrome baby or healthy twins! Special cases will always exist: IE. Rape and special circumstances. But to get pregnant without using protection 3-4-5 times and use Abortion for birth control- I think not! You will get paid for having a baby and paid well. Some people have babies for a living. Heck the more they have the more they make on Medicaid and Food Stamps and Wic-and lick and all the other programs developed to keep people from wanting or NEEDING to go back to work! I love our country- but from the Medical side of the system it is totally fractured and in Intensive Care.

We have beautiful 70, 80, 90 year old people with minds full of stories and memories and knowledge that a have a very deep FAITH that have to decide between electricity and medicines each month because of greedy Companies, Insurance, Oil, Pharmaceutical etc. The same drug over each border-Canada and the United States of MEXICO-- (ahem- something in my throat)...OK OK OK.

I rambled- I chased rabbits- I opened several cans of worms-- but did I say anything?
Where do I stand on the issues? CAREFUL-- I "CLAIM" to be a Christian. Indeed I am: but some of you may find a much more tolerant and lenient Southern Bible Belt Teacher in moi. Because having been forgiven much I must forgive a lot in return. Not MUST but I do. God's grace is for everyone. Especially the young mother who in a "Momentary Lapse of Reason" gave in to societal and peer pressure and got pregnant. Should she be allowed an abortion?

Churches say no. I say Who am I to judge? Is not taking a stance taking a stance? Yes. Its saying most of us are to apathetic and lazy to think things through before we open our yaps! And we DON'T VOTE and then Bitch and Moan.

Tired and wife calling..will finish up over next several years!

Love to you all,
God bless- and this I mean!!

John

Virginia Tech

I was not going to post anything about this because
1. It was too painful. I am a Paramedic and I'm overwhelmed by the scope of what happened.
2. I don't have a clue as to what to say.
3. I don't have the abilility to express it if I did.

so I want to share a link to someone who just posted on my page--the first ever.

PIRATE. (Link at bottom of post)

Please visit this link and check out what he wrote concerning this tradgedy. And the responses are beautiful from all who posted comments on his blog. What sensitive and loving people. I am proud to share a Planet with you guys. If nothing else, we have albeit for a brief and horrifically tragic moment- been UNITED IN LOVE without ANY of us thinking about anyones race, gender, etc. etc. etc--those things are so petty when we all experience something of this magitude.

I NEVER thought we would let 911 (World Trade Center) go. To a degree we haven't. But time seems to heal and cause even the most horrible things to fade. I think it's self protection for those of us who did not experience it firsthand. I could not begin to even think of understanding the fear, anger, rage of Parents, family and friends of Columbine, 911, Va. Tech. So I thank each of you and all who posted on My Space and Face Book--all who maybe said a prayer for the first time in a long time for someone you did not know. I have to say that even though I do not know you- I LOVE YOU> I can say that in all honesty! Through Christ who first loved me--I can LOVE YOU> Only through HIM is this possible.

Love in Christ,

John

And I was not going to say anything! Wow--thank you Pirate for opening this dialog for me!!!
It really helped me!!! Blessings my Brother!

http://piratewriting.blogspot.com/

GOD in the DETAILS?

I had just written about God being in the Details and small things of life. We were taking the Cats to get them neutered and before leaving we prayed that all would go well with the surgery etc. God answered. I thought we would just drop them off and leave. We waited for almost an hour and they wanted to weigh them and take their temperatures. I don't know how many of you have put two grown male cats into a Cat tote- but it's like Peeing up a Rope whilst dodging razor blades! Not something you just wake up on a Saturday morning and say with a stretch---- "I think I'll shed some blood today and put the cats in a tote!"

Well- they weighed the cats (which they had done a week ago when they got their shots (at the first Bloodletting tote capade) and Faith's temp was 105.0 degrees. By human and Cat standards this is a very high temp. Almost seizure time; and we did not even know Faith had not been feeling well. They are new to inside and this hit him so fast we had no clue.

I believe if we had just dropped them off and they had put them in a cage overnight- that they wouldn't have found out about the fever until surgery time tomorrow! It may have made a world of difference since the Vet said we had caught it before dehydration set in - so we were able to take them home and give them oral antibiotics (BLOODLETTING BIG TIME) twice a day and reschedule the surgery (Future Bloodletting Event)!!. We could have griped and moaned about the inconvenience and the cost and hassle of rescheduling an extra trip.. yada yada- (I promise I will never use that again but I've always wanted to type it)...but I believe God became involved when we prayed and a process that the Vet had in place worked to possibly save our cats life- or at least keep the cost down to 32.00!!!!

32.oo dollars--can you believe that! Anti-fever medicine- One dose-
Antibiotics for 2 cats
A Vet exam for 2 cats
Peace of mind that they will be OK- $32.00

KNOWING THAT GOD IS INVOLVED IN OUR LIVES------ PRICELESS!!!!!!!!

Try letting God get involved in your life and go --FULL-ON-FORWARD!!!!!!

John

BOOGEY- like Humphrey Bogart

CATS

Taking the "Boys" to be TUTORED today. Actually neutered. They have been spraying in the house. Not cool -but worth the wait since we never thought we would have inside cats again since our Lab--Hope was so possessive. These two guys just announced one day they wanted in-- we opened the door- they beat Hopes' butt and they haven't been back out since!

Awesome - thank You God. Think you should thank God for allowing a dog that has actually killed a kitten several years ago-(one accidentally wandered through the chain link fence and into Hope's mouth)? Does the creator of the Universe involve Himself in such mundane details. I say yes! No detail is too small for the God that designed an antelope like animal to be able to swim with excellence because their winter coats have hollow hair shafts and helps them float. Talk about detail! It's been often said that "God is in the detail."

I believe He is as intimately involved in every aspect of our lives only as much as we allow Him to be. I consciously and daily ask Him to be the LORD of my life down to the smallest detail. I believe He goes before you in traffic, to work, in relationships as long as you allow Him and ask Him to do so. I don't believe He will ever impose His will on on you- we are FREE WILL agents and need to purposely choose to Love Him, Accept Him, Worship Him etc.

To choose requires action on our part. I just finished a book by Beth Moore entitled Believing God- (an awesome read by the way), and she talks about active participating Faith. There is so much about our walk through life that we can control, that we don't think we have any control over! Try it and see if activating God by asking Him to join you in everyday tasks and see if you don't start experiencing a whole and totally new dynamic in your daily life. What form will it take?
I have no idea. I don't know how much you believe, IF you believe etc. I do know that it worked for me personally, so if you want to be adventurous- try it!

God is so real to me and I just can't stop praising Him and thanking Him for the smallest of things in life, from finding a parking space: to the biggest things- Opening and closing doors for Nursing School like I mentioned in the previous post. I'd love to hear of anyone else's experiences of allowing God to lead in life. We can all learn from each other.

John

DIRECTIONS

I have been trying to get into Nursing School for around three years now. I had a brief interruption when I had a triple bypass in April 2005. All went extremely well but now I can't seem to get back in school. I have finished all my prerequisites and am only waiting to start my Clinicals. I prayed and prayed and asked God for direction. Oh- LORD- open doors, close doors -, your will be done! Phooey! I want in school : period!!!!

I just received an answer from the latest one I applied to. NO! No financial aid available- and we won't know about Lottery Assistance until the Legislature meets in June. The school I have been attending has me a start date for 2010!!! Oh, and they said I would probably have to retake my Biology's- 210 and 211 (which are extremely hard) because it will have been greater than 5 YEARS since I took them!!!! AT THIS SCHOOL! And they are expensive!!

Oh, yeah--I changed my work schedule to work 12 hours EVERY weekend to go to clinicals and now I'm working every weekend for probably 3-4 years! LOL!! I so silly.

Well, I do believe in an ultimate perfect plan from God, so I must take it on Faith that the right thing has happened. All I can do is walk through all the open doors- (doing my part- ACTIVE FAITH- and rattling the handles of the closed ones- Trusting in God FAITH). But it is so hard to wait and be patient when you feel you have done everything possible and the doors keep getting slammed in your face. It will be interesting to look back and see how all of this plays out. At least I feel better having written it out.

God Bless you All,

John

PS: I know that not one single person will ever read this but me- but that's OK- it's for me anyway, and since I've journaled for 15-17 years in spiral notebooks- this is just a new format for doing a daily, weekly journal of stuff.

GOD IS GOOD

Life throws a lot at us. Knowing God, and knowing that He is on our side is very much a comfort. I don't know why Bad things happen to Good people, why there is Cancer in Children etc. But one thing I know for sure: When I accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour----Something changed inside me. It did not make all my troubles go away and solve all my financial problems. But it did give me a new Heart toward people. A softness I had never had before. More patience. Less judgement. More tolerance of others that used to drive me crazy. And a PEACE inside that I had never ever known before. A Peace or fullfilment that I had tried to find through drugs, alcohol, money and a hundred other worldly things. They all left me empty.

I am so far from being a finished work, but had I not let God start working on me, I would not be as far along as I am now. If you have never purposely (with honest intent) asked Jesus to come and live inside you...why not try it and see what happens. You truly have nothing to lose and everything to gain if indeed the Bible is the the Word of God-"the" Truth. What IF Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life? You need to do it sincerely- for God is not mocked-- in other words- you can't fool God!!

He knows if you really mean it or not. Then ask someone who goes to Church what theirs is like, and see if you can find one that fits you and your personality. Try not to worry about other people and say as I did for years' "The Church is full of hypocrites." Well, maybe--maybe not--but you are going to personally worship God with like minded believers in corporate Worship. Just go for yourself and don't worry about those around you. Se if through the service you can be ushered into the presence of God yourself!

These are only suggestions..You have to make the decision. I can only tell you that it changed a Partying, drinking, smoking guy into a better person. The Bible is not a book of DON'TS-- don't do this, don't do that or you will go to hell!

It is a book of DO'S!! Do this and do that, and life will be a little sweeter here on Earth--and a benefit is : that you will spend eternity in Heaven with a lot of really Happy people!

If life isn't going so great for you right now--maybe-just maybe you read this for a reason---Try it-- You'll like it!

John

Parallel Universe

In My Parallel Universe I am 54 in this picture and the Bass (Caught in Fla by my Dad) weights

just over 2 lbs!

If You turned on your headlights in a car travelling at the speed of light- would they shine on the road out in front of the car?

Parallel Universe

If you lived in a parallel Universe, would you have to horizontal park? In another sense when you'd say-- "We'll I'm besides myself on that issue! You are! Vuja De--the feeling you've never been there before, and probably haven't- but since it's parallel----it may have crossed your mind!!!