CHRISTmas

Christmas is...


Divinity
+
Humanity

=

Christ

Charlie Brown

Last night, the boys and I watched "A Charlie Brown Christmas"
Two things I have observed in this classic.
One,the kids.They miss the whole mark of what Christmas is really about.
They would rather revel and mock Charlie rather than celebrate Christ and show "good will to their fellow man".
Two. Charlie.
Here this young lad,plagued with depression because no one likes him goes on a quest to find the real meaning of Christmas,
He finds it in the form of a pine twig.
His Christmas tree.
He found Christmas in that branch.
He saw Christ.
He saw the real purpose-the whole meaning.
The best thing was his friend Linus finally drove the whole point home.
He took the risk among his friends tell the Story.
And there,it was finally realized what Christmas was truly about.

DT

Here is a photo of Dream Theater.
As I said before these guys rock.
And they write very deep lyrics.
I like all that very much.

SNOW!!!!!!

Today we got snowed in! I ended up coming home early because a transformer went out at work.Keller had no school.I canceled therapy.
YEAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!
It's snowing! How ironic.
The first day of December.
So,we'll drink hot cocoa and decorate the house for Christmas.
My kind of winter day.
I anticipate a snowball fight.
And I am sure we'll be making a snow fort to .

MSG

Alright.I can't leave out the granddaddy of metal guitar(sorry Michael if I make you out to be so old...) Michael Schenker.
This guys still shreds.

Masterplan

Here is a picture of the guitarist for the German prog-metal band Masterplan.
They play alot of their stuff on Reign Radio and Trirock.
They are so cool.
This picture is why I love to rock.
Finis.

More Java Jive

"My blood type is Folgers"

Author Unknown

coffee prose

"Decffienated coffee is kind of like kissing you sister..."

Bob Irwin

Remembering

It's been a year since I started this thing called The Art Gallery.
A lot progressed in this course of time.
A wedding.
A work-related injury.
Watching my sons grow up.
My wife going back to school-doing awesome as she always does.
Leah.
My wife.My love. The one who understands me just about as much as I do.
She puts up with me in all the things I put myself through and all the stupidity I throw around in my foolishness.
She is there with me in my moments of triumph.
She's my wife.
with Thanksgiving passing by , I thank God for my wife for it was through her I discovered myself,loved me for myself inspite of me sometimes.
My family-your one of the greatest blessings God has given me.

Oh,yeah,I discovered how awesome of a band Dream Theater is-thanks Nick!
Let's make more memories-uh lets try to bypass the injuries okay?

Saturn's sinkhole

Here is a picture of a storm on Saturn.
I think it kinda looks like my tub as the bathwater is draining.
I think it's kind of cool being able to see storms on other worlds.
Or maybe Nasa was draining a tub at the lab-
Ah the joy of creating controversy.

Mistaken

How can I be alone when the world surrounds me ?
How can I bite the hand that feeds the strangers all around me ?
How can I know so many never even knowing anyone ?
If I seem superhuman
I must be mistaken...


-Dream Theater

Quote of the Day...

"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home..."
-Ken Olson,president,and chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp.

HAHAHAHAHAA-Oh man that was so funny I gotta catch my breath
HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

Star Wars Novel

I have just finished another Star Wars novel. I loved it!It was awesome! The story takes you back to the old Republic way before The Phantom Menace era. During this period,The Sith and the Jedi/Republic are at an all out war.Des,a young miner trying to escape a hopeless life discovers a power that leads him to the Brotherhood of darkness-the elite Sith order comprising of trained Sith Lords.Through his training,he discovers that the current order is flawed and he is the one to finally bring the Sith back to the two rule leadership-Master and Apprentice.

"One to embody the power,one to crave it..."
Des finally becomes Darth Bane and overtakes the order and wipes out the ruling factions to bring the Sith back to where it was.In this book,Bane makes Palpatine and Vader look like a bunch of pansies.The Sith Lords of the old era were just plain evil.
Reading the book,it gives one an idea of how a person with the best intentions to survive can meet devistating and dire consequences if you trust yourself and lean on decisions that can toatally alter a life regret.
Bane lived a life that knew nothing but hate-pain abandonment.He was beaten by his father-repeatedly.He never knew his mother.He wound up on a mining colony enduring horriffic labor.In all this he then recognized that he had "abilities" He then got hooked up with the Sith army.And then his journey down the dark path began.
"Peace is a lie.."
Do you know how many people tread a dark path looking for good intentions to redeem themselves only to end up in a catalcysmic ocean of pain, sorrow and evil?
"For they being ignorant of God's righteousness,and seeking to establish their own righteousness,have not submitted to the righteousness of God."
Romans 10:3
The world is filled with people looking in the wrong places for redemption.For a sense of belonging.Using personal tragedies to fuel angst instead of birthing triumphs.
Beware of the path of destruction.

Quote of the Day

"The march of Providence is so slow and our desires so impatient;the work of progress is so immense and our means of aidingit so feeble;the life of humanity is so long,that of the individual so brief,that we often see only the ebb of the advancing wave and are thus discouraged. It is history that teaches us to hope."

Robert E. Lee

Tut,Tut

Yesterday,I went with Jean,Leah and Keller on a field trip to the Field Museum at Chicago.The trip was sponsored by the Coal City Public Library.I had alot of fun. It was so cool..The museum had the King Tut exhibit going on.The show was cool.If you grt a chnce,go see it. The only bummer is thst you got to see his great granmothers casket and not Tut's.Although they had a cool holographic display of each level inside Tut's tomb down to his mummified remains-cool.We got to see some of the other exhibits to.There was these two LARGE Inuit totem poles near the entrance hall and they had a Inuit Native chant and dance by the display for the public that was cool to.All in all, it was a cool trip.
Oh,I just forgot,Kel and I went to see the Native American exhibit.that was awesome.We got to walk inside an actual Pawnee earth lodge.They're actually very homey inside.It's incredible to see how intricate and detailed ancient workers were on their stuff ! I am amazed how accurate they're measurements were on the tools ,weapons and furniture they constructed.
A good time was had by all.

Being Used Up

This is going to be a big one.
The idea just came inti me at about-oh 1:43 in the morning.
Being Used.
Finding your purpose in this life.
In Toy Story2,That theme kind of runs behind the scenes in the movie's plot.
Woody gets damaged and then begins to fear that he will cease becoming Andy's plaything and end up being discarded forever decomposing on a landfill.
In the end,Woody is saved,restored and comes to the conclusion that he is not afraid of whatever happens.
Woody will be there for Andy as long as it lasts until he is no longer played with-he is not afraid.
Not afraid to be used up-to the end.
It didn't matter what outcome he would face.He was going to endure with Andy and Buzz and the other toy friends by his side.
Woody found his vision.His focus.
In my class on Wednesday nights at church,we looked at Romans chapter 9 .In that passage,the apostle Paul is addressing the Jewsish Christians on questioning God on who receives and who should receive.
who has the right to serve,
Paul stated that it is not our place to question who receives salvation and mercy for Christ died once and for all-all meaning Jew and Gentile.
Mercy for all-that's how God planned it.
Salvation for all.
Yet the Christians in that early church felt they had the right to advise God in that area.They got stuck in the law missing the boat and God used Paul,one of their countrymen to knock some sense into their mindset.
" can what is made say to the one who made it,"Why did you make me like this?"
(Isaiah 29:16)Isn't the potter free to makedifferent kinds of pots out of the same lump of clay?Some are for special purposes.Others are for ordinary ones."
Discoverer's Bible NIV
Who are we to question or advise God on wether we should be used in this manner or for any rate,to be used at all.
We were created for His purpose-to glorify Him in our lives no matter how hectic or mundane it can get.
No matter what situation or circumstance befalls us.God can use us,
No matter what the future holds-God will use us to the end.
To question the Maker of the Universe,Creator of mankind,earth water and sky-Job tried to advise God but failed.
God in His divine wisdom knew what is best for Job at the time and eventually was blessed more than what he had before-interesting-he was scraping his boils with a piece of broken pottery.
No matter what,God loves us and wants to use us for whatever purposes He sees fit-in the end it brings Him glory and joy.
When we're injured,He doesn't leave us abandoned or discards us-He uses our infirmaries and shortcomings to achieve His purpose-look at Moses,Jacob,Esau-men with flaws yet God completed His plan for them to the end.
Be like Woody,let God use you until the end
To Infinity and Beyond.

Quote of the Day

"I'm Barf."
"Half man,half dog."
"I'm my own best friend..."

"Barf"-Spaceballs

Back for more

I am so pumped!It's official!George Lucas says they are going to do an animated series based on the Clone Wars era. Weeeee!!!!!!

You know,that means more action figures and lightsabers-cool!

Sharpe rules!

If you get a chance check out the Sharpe series on video or dvd.You can probally get it at your local library-there's a plug Leah hope you like that.
anyway the series is based in Bernard Cornwell's historical fiction series centering around a man named Richard Sharpe serving in the British army during the India/Napoleonic wars era.
It rocks!I just started reading the series this summer.Bernard is an awesome writer.Sean Bean is great portraying Sharpe in the series also.
If good historical fiction is your game,then Sharpe's the name.

Fun,fun,fun...

Here is some summertime fun Keller and I had.
We got out his Revolutionary War soldiers I got some sticks and we made a cool little battle layout complete with a fort.
Too cool.
In the computer age, you never outgrow playing with toy soldiers!

Reflections

I like fruit.
Not all kinds of fruit-granted but alot-you know the basics
Apples,bananas,oranges ,grapes etc.,etc.
I observeed the other day some pears ina bowl with other fruit,Apples and some oranges together resting comfortably waiting for one of us to extract them to insatiate our hunger.
Then I saw it.
A Danjou pear was reclining or had been reclining next to an orange.i picked it up and noticed that the skin of the pear had begun to take on the color of that orange-a most amazing sight.
The orange's color began to rub off onto the pear.
I then noticed the pear did the same thing after being next to an apple for awhile.
Humans are like pears.
We begin to take on the color(identity) of those we ally ourselves to closely.
Good or bad, the image begins to tatoo our color.
If we hang next to bad fruit,we then turn bad ourselves.
Good fruit, we become good.
If we stay close to Christ,His image will take hold upon us in that its not us so much but Him people begin to see.
His image begins to rub off on us.
We become transformed into His image.
Our lives are changed because of His reflection on us.

Quote of the Day

" Hey!Who turned on the heavy?"

Patrick Starfish from SpongeBob Squarepants

Radio Plug

In my previous blog,I quoted lyrics to a song by a band some of you have never heard of.If you have access to internet radio my two favorite stations you should check out are:

ReignRadio at reignradio.com
TriRock at classicgod.com

The Choice

If you happen to notice when you leave a comment,just below the box is a space that has the line-"choose an identity". In our lives,we make choices everyday.Some are signifigant choices,others are as common such as breathing0thats just natural.
Choices.
We make choices to live or die.
We can choose to follow God's will or follow our own.
To live or die.
I have said in my class that everyday we wake up and make a sub concious decision of wether or not we live for God the moment we crawl out of bed.
For some , it is the choice of do I believe that there is a God?
Should I take this route to work?
Do I wear this shirt or this blouse?
My identity?
Do I identify myself in Christ or not?
I have to choose this everyday.
There is a song by Saint-a Christian metal band that has a song titled "The Choice"
You can choose to walk away..
Or you can choose to disobey...
You can choose to throw your life away...
God or the devil,God or the devil...
Choose Your Identity.

The End

You know, I've heard alot of talk cocerning global warming from Al Gore.
Stupid.
Leave it to a politician to prey on our hearts and minds about something that cannot be reversed.
The End of mankind.
End of History.
It is a common theme for a hopeless people to dwell on ways to save their lives and existence through soapboxes like this.People that have not any hope fpr the afterlife concern themselves with prolonging life.
Earth is running down.
The universe is running down.
The human race is not ready to face its own motality.
If we save the Earth,we'll save our lives.Scriptures teach us that our lives are like a vapor.
Perhaps if we focus our lives on what we do now in the present state,better would our souls be prepared for the future.
I heard it said of one survivor of WTC that he now because of that tragedy,he loves his kids now more than ever-he takes advantage of every minute of life that is given to him.He is prepared now more than ever to face his eternity.
Look, I believe strongly in being a good steward of this world we're in-heck I am a composter-it makes so much sense. We are called by God to look after the earth-from Adam to me and you.
it doesn't change the earth's fate-we can however change our fate.
Hope.This old world will pass on and Christ is preparing a new one-no war,no disease,no global warming,no hate,no sin.
That is a future we need to focus on-the unshakable Kingdom.
We can shape our future generations with that kind of mentality-if succeeded,our end would be more glorious.less fearful andominous.
If your future lies with the hope of Christ,the end won't seem so harrowing because you are part of a eternal Kingdom-better than this world-FOREVER!
Don't take my word for it.Search the Scriptures yourself.
And don't listen to some dork who can't even quote Scripture correctly.
Like a politician he wants to use a topic such as global warming to strike fear to promote his own political bandwagon.
Even so,come quickly Jesus.

Of Morgul blades and skin infections...

We are making progress as of today.I was able to get my brace off my arm.
The arm is free-yet inspite of its atropy.
I am continuing my therapy and next week I will see the doctoer on my progress.
But you know,sometimes a bad thing can bring a good thing into fruition.
Tuesday,it was my usual day to go to therapy.My incision had been inflamed and painful.So, I showed my therapist and she told me to hold off on therapy and promptly got me hooked up with my doctor,who just happened to be in the office .
It was infected.So,he wrote me a perscription for an antibiotic and at the same time he asked how long the brace has been on -six months.He then told me that he thought it was time I had it off.I'll still be on light duty though.
Seeing the doctor got my brace off -thanks to an infection.
A bad circumstance can produce a positive result.And yes, the infection is beginning to clear up also.
Man it was hurting so bad (the wound)I thought I was stabbed with a Morgul blade

Moving...yeah yeah we know...

Just realized my last two blog titles had intertwined themselves.Interesting.

Moving right along

Things are progressing quite well .It seems I am approaching the final quarter of this whole process.I will see the doctor on the fifth of September and go from there.If all goes well,I will wrap up the rest of September with resistance therapy to get my arm back into shape.It has been quite a ride and I won't mind getting off of it soon.

Moving Along...

I started therapy last Friday.
I have been doing these little dorky exercises-4 times aday.
Dorky-like "dusting the table"moving your arm,rested on a towel upon a table for five minutes.
But I'm doing them.I have been told if you do these on your own like your supposed to,the time and pain of therapy will go much smoother and speed up the process of healing.
So I'm in the zone.
It's funny though, that these little exercises are what it takes to introduced all my muscles and ligaments back to proper working order.
Little,giant steps.
More therapy to come today.

Small Steps

Went to the doctor Wednesday.I have tp now wear a controlled brace.Hey, it's like having a robotic arm-COOL!Eat your heart out Anakin Skywalker-hahahah!! Still a little limited in activities though.I did go back to work.I managed to be able to play my bass guitar so that is a plus.Lookung forward in the next few weeks to get beaten up at therapy.The doctor wants to keep it braced up because he wants to let the tendon heal for a good six weeks.Healing.

The Gargantuan Day(big)

Today I go see the doctor for my follow up exam and see where do we go from here. MYy sleep patterns has gotten all messed up because wee, Ihaven't been very fatigued so Idon't get alot of sleep so I'm awake most of the night reading watching a movie or History channel.
The thing that bites is having all of this time off and having limited abilities.
I think I'm ready to go back to work.
Ithink I'm ready to get my right arm back thank you very much.
But still it was kind of nice having time off.
Wait and see.

P.S. I had coffee at Starbucks the other day with a good friend boy it was sure nice. Hadn't had Starbucks in a while

Healing...

It's Monday.
The arm is a little sore.But I'm still plugging along in the healing process.
Trusting God.
Trusting in Him although the wrappings are still on.
Trust in the unknown.
That is the test.Finished a new StarWars novel last night. A good one.Getting a lot of sleep.So, I keep on healing...to be continued.

Cookies and juice,cookies and juice...

Alright!Praise God! My surgery went very well.The said the tendons were already forming scar tissue so he took care of that to.The incision was at least an inch wide.I remember talking to the anastesiologist-(try that word for spelling bee-ha ha!)about where I worked and then I remember waking up in post op- man that's good stuff.Then wheeled me into a reclyner in another room and got me cookies and juice-and-coffee!You gotta understand I had NOTHING since nine p.m. the day before so they were awelcome sight.
Cookies and juice,cookies and juice!...
That was the going joke Leah and I were using while we were WAITING for the doctor to arrive.
She was hungry,I was hungry,It was after one.
So I adopted that as my focus-my goal-cookies and juice,cookies and juice!
Well,here Iam at home-healing.Praise the Lord.
Oh,in case I miss anyone,thank you for your prayers!

Reunion

I just found out that I had an old friend found my blog.Cool ,way cool.Chuck and I go way,way back-dare I say a galaxy far,far away-nyuk nyuk nyuk.
It brings me to think of it like in Return of the Jedi.The "old"gang(Luke,Han and Leia etc.) were reunited to rescue Han Solo from the clutches of Jabba the Hut.Narrowly escaping impending doom upon themselves and Han, they escaped, got Han and went on to help bring the Empire to its knees.As the "expanded universe" will atest,These guys stick together through the worst no matter what threat befalls them and the galaxy.It goes beyond the blood ,sweat and tears they shed.
They suffer together.
They triumph together.
That is what God desires for us in our relationships with each other.
He desires this with us.
Intamacy.
Not the mushy definition we get too accquainted with,The deepness closeness,that hundreds of miles can't obliterate.
That kind of intimacy.
Abraham had it.
Noah.
David had the heart of intimacy.
How we treat our friends,our spouse, our kids can reflect how we are toward God.
This is something God is still working on me and I haven't always mastered.Most times I've screwed up royally.
But I am a project under construction-not done-yet.
In the meantime,welcome back Chuck!

Under the Blade

Friday,I'll be having out patient surgery for my gimpy right arm. A ripped tendon is the cause.I'm thankful that I'll be getting it done so it can heal sooner.It's been quite the challenge.The body of Christ is the same way.When one part suffers,it sets the whole system off balance.That's why we need each other.Why we laugh together,cry together.Worship together.
Suffer together.
I'm praying for a speedy recovery and yet remaining patient upon God .
That's the challenge within itself.
They'll be putting me out for this 45 minute surgery.Man,the last time I was under anaesthetesia-or whatever you call it was third grade!I'll feel like Alex the lion getting hit with all those tranquilizers in"Madagascar".Awesome movie-the penguins were the best thing for me.
Yes Rico-KABOOM!

The Gimp

Well, here I am sitting atthe pc.I either strained or ruptured a ligament at work in my right foreman. So I am trying to type with one arm. Not too bad though-althogh the splint and the sling are driving me nuts;the arm doesn't really hurt at all except if I jerk a little then it tightens up a bit.I feel the healing process has already begun and God is not finished with it yet.I will see the doctor today to get the final analysis-but for now I am the gimp.

Snickers

What is Art's favorite candy bar? Give up? It's Snickers. The ultimate,the one and only-Snickers.Someone at work was selling candy for their kid's sports team and I, being the sympathetic and supportive one donated a buck to indulge in candy bar bliss.Mind you,I don't have a Snickers every day so it was worth plopping down buck.The Snickers candy bar is an example of perfect harmony.You got your chocolate.You got your peanuts.You got your caramel all wrapped up in a rectangle of candy ectasy.Now if Starbucks could only make a Snickers latte-ok now I'm pushing it.In the same way.God is like a Snickers bar. Here, you have God the Father,next God,the Son-Jesus and God the Spirit-The Holy Spirit-Amazing isn't it? Three in One.Perfect in every way and they really satisfy.Next time you eat a Snickers consider my point and realize the concept of God being three in one is not that difficult to understand.

Snickers

What is Art's favorite candy bar? Give up? It's Snickers. The ultimate,the one and only-Snickers.Someone at work was selling candy for their kid's sports team and I, being the sympathetic and supportive one donated a buck to indulge in candy bar bliss.Mind you,I don't have a Snickers every day so it was worth plopping down buck.The Snickers candy bar is an example of perfect harmony.You got your chocolate.You got your peanuts.You got your caramel all wrapped up in a rectangle of candy ectasy.Now if Starbucks could only make a

The Tell-Tale Knife...

The rite of passage has begun again.We let Keller buy himself a pocketknife. He wanted to have it for the Royal Rangers "Jamboree" campout.He completed the knife safety course at Rangers.He thought he was ready until he cut himself.Yeah,he cut himself.He snuck it outside to practice cutting wood with it.So he came in bleeding pretty good(it wasn't that bad).So now he cannot use it without our supervision and we are keeping it for him.
Sometimes God gives us tools to get the job done.Many times we cut ourselves becausewe think we know how to handle and use when we need more guidance and training in it.Alot of times if I read a certain passage of Scripture over and over,I get something new out of it.That is the coolest thing about God's Word.Yo're never too old to be trained to know how to use it .

Plankeye

Today I am not reclining at work...ha ha ha.I'm here at home recuperating from an ordeal at work yesterday, I was cutting on a saw when some sawdust got caught in my left eye. After washing it out several times I thought it would eventually get better.I was wrong. The eye remained swollen and still throbbed.It felt as if there was still something in my eye besides my eyeball.So I called my workplace and informed them that I wasn't going to be there because of the situation. we all finally found a eye doctor to see-guess Thursday is a bad day ,Iwent.It turned out that I did in fact scratch my eye-heck he even found a speck underneath the scratch!He then (the eye doctor) told me that I may have also triggered a reaction to the saline I used to wash my eye out with that caused alot of my discomfort as well.With some medicated eyedrops,I finally made it home.Took a nice long nap.and I already feel much better.
This reminds me of a parable Jesus used to describe hypocrisy.The one about taking the log out of ones eye while having a speck in your own.But i told Leah how amazing it was that a few specks of sawdust could create such angush and pain.Not only that but the material I used to wash out the specks caused a reaction-sometimes the way we deal with removing sin in our lives don't work and we become more miserable than when we got dust in our eyes.Something to think about.Thank God I feel better.Keller told me he prayed for me-five times in the course of this trial-thanks Keller! Your prayers are finally answered!

Transgression

Alot;alot of things have transpired since I have last written.Today I have read over Psalm 32. It is a psalm that David wrote after his repentance.It was like his way of saying -wheeewwwww!!!I'm glad that is over with.If you've read the accounts of david's transgressions,you come to the realization that he paid a high price for his sin.But, now that sin has been pardoned by confession and repentance David now can rest in peace and be filled with joy. A relationship has been restored between him and his Creator.A reason to shout for joy. As in verse 10 it states that those who trust in the Lord-His mercy shall surround them.It is ajoy to be forgiven.

New Stuff

Wow! Alot of cool things have transpired since I last wrote in my blog.My sister and her family just bought a house down the street-a new one yeahhh!!!! I started this last week some new training at work. I will be operating a computer-controlled routing machine. It's pretty cool and everything is going pretty well. I also got my feet wet learning to do cad design. The boy's bedroom is just about finished-it looks cool!And spring has finally arrived.

New Stuff

Wow! Alot of cool things have transpired since I last wrote in my blog.My sister and her family just bought a house down the street-a new one yeahhh!!!! I started this last week some new training at work. I will be operating a computer-controlled routing machine. It's pretty cool and everything is going pretty well. I also got my feet wet learning to do cad design. The boy's bedroom is just about finished-it looks cool!And spring has finally arrived.

Here we Are...

Oh yeah.I'm on vacation-nananannanana!!!!
It's nice to out your life in low gear or neutral for a awhile and catch your breath
Realize there is more to life than just work.
This I will definitely enjoy.
finis.

The new Addition

As you know, my Bunn died.
But this week, a new Bunn arrived
Bunn rhymes with FUN.
I was so overwhelmed with joy I wept.


Yeah, right.If I did in fact wept,I think I should seriously get some help-you think?
It's just nice having a new coffee maker.Thanks God!

The Force...

In Star Wars, you have the Jedi-the good guys and then you have the Sith-the badguys.
Both derive power for their abilities from the Force. Jedi serve the Galactic Republic,The Sith,rely soley to perpetuate power for themselves.
Today at church, I heard a guest missionary talk about Christians being a force of good.
We see alot of the dark side in this world.
God is the Light.
We are the lightbearers.
We are a force of good in this world.

An old friend

Hey ,Ilooked out my window today getting ready for church. I saw an old friend.
Snow.Real,white snow.
Not the fake stuff,real snow.
It is so refreshing to see it again.It's like seeing an old friend you haven't met in awhile.
Thank you God for brining us some snow .You remind us once again what winter is about.What you invented it to truly be.

End of a Bunn

Tonight, a great coffee maker died. Actually it was a free Bunn coffee maker that was given to me after my other one died about Christmas time. Bunn's are great because they brew fast and hot.My last one I had almost ten years-I think. But here I was on my computer minding my own business when all of a sudden, a loud, grinding hummand then a flash . It was over.
This Bunn was gone forever.
This machine will no longer have the privelege of brewing java.
It will no longer have a role in making my mornings complete.
My days.
My evenings.
Friends.
Family.
Me.
Oh well, that's okay.They have more at Wal-Mart or at Target.
At least I still have my esspresso/cappacino machine.
You always gotta have backup.

Unknown Regions

There is a area on the Star Wars galaxy map that entails a region of space known as the"Unknown Regions". A mass of unexplored space .Unconquered. Untamed. To explore it would be uncertain to return alive or well-or return at all. It takes deep faith to go"where boldly no man has gone before".Sounds familiar huh? My sister is going through a time of uncertainty.Its trusting in God through the course of the trials to the end .I pray they will make it.
(This was a post I wrote a couple months ago. I had discovered that I didn't publish it by accident.)

The Beginning...

Okay. Now that I have that off my chest, I must attend to other things in my life. Take what I have learned from all of this and apply it to my life.Life what an adventure and I don't just mean the cool cereal. Starbuck's "Marble Mocha Marrchiatto" is I must say - SWEEEET! Sometimes life and fate give us a twist a turn.A time to break out of the norm and add, subtract or expand or maintain. When God is in the main part of those equasions, you can't go wrong.It's all good.

The End...

Today, I was part of the end of a church.It was an honor to have played a part at Life Point Church.Although my role was small, it meant alot to many people there.I wasn't always there every Sunday.With that, I am blessed.It is my prayer that every one that has attended Life Point takes what they have learned and experienced to other places of worship and to their world around them to all of those involved-thanks again for allowing me to be a part of this experience.Thanks PK.

The Sound of Silence

"Be still and know that I am God..."
Silence.
Do we ever hear it anymore?
Silence.
As you know I love hearing and playing music. I love music. Sometimes in the morning I will turn on to my favorite internet Christian rock/metal stations before work and my journey to work and back will involve massed quantities of music.That aside from the noise of work and then coming home to noisy trolls vying for my attention.It all sums up to a noisy day in my life.
Silence.
We have drowned our lives with every form of noise we could imagine. Home theater systems,car stereos, our cell phones,our X-boxes and fluctuations, our computers, our i-pods-the list goes on....
Silence.
It screams for our attention yet it gets no reply.
I've tried this the other day. I got ready for work with no music. It was quiet .I actually heard myself think!
If that be the case, imagine what we would hear God say to us if we only quiet our lives for a few moments...
That still,small voice would be audible.
We would truly hear from God.
We would know God better.
Our spiritual lives would prosper.
Our lives in general would prosper.
Try this, take off the headphones,turn off the TV or stereo,disable all your noisemakers for a little while and drink in the silence.
Listen to what the Lord has to say to you-today.
Silence.

Hypo-whatever...

You ever hear people talk about" yeah, I used to go to church"or"No I don't go there cuz church is nothing but a bunch of HYPOCRITES!"You know what, nine out ten guesses they are right. Churches are full of people the are hypocrites-so what!? So is your workplace-right? You got know-it alls,you have your gossippers, your adulterers,pimps, drug addicts ,alcoholics,and backstabbers. Well, maybe you should leave your job.Yeah, the workplace. Don't go to work because work has nothing but hypocrites or maybe find a different job with less hypocritically forbid you would quit working because your workplace is filled with hypocrites-you need your job to survive-right.If our employment has such a high priority in our survival in this world, stop and think if our relationship with God any more important a place where we come together and worship God. It is a place where we identify with other people what our true identity is in Christ.It is a place where we find the answers to our questions and learn more about Jesus.People are not perfect. Our calling is to love,not to be perfectionists.Jesus is. Christians are not perfect-Wer'e forgiven.Church is a place where the abuser and the abused can come and find new life.Church is a place where our common threads of faith come together to create a cloak of worship to our God. We all come from different molds.We all come together with various loads and burdens. But in church, we can carry them all together and find Christ as our source of strength.Hypocrites.We all are in some way.But the identity of Christ in our lives help us all togther seek and find truth and meaning in our so-called lives. Ready for church?Sunday is just around the corner.

Love stuff

Alright! Get ready for another of Artie's wonderful, wild , and all powerful venting sessions ! Love. I'm really sick of hearing that in the church today. Don't misunderstand me. We need Love. We were created to be loved. We were meant to Love. The unfortunate truth is that we in the church has " loved too much " .The church today and its leader-now that is a scary thing in itself, has expressed that we need to love on each other. Yeah, I was sucker- onied on that to.Here is the gripe.. In the area of sin- oooh now I'm starting to bug some of you already- the church has "loved" too much and not disciplined enough. We've gotten wimpy because the enemy and the world don't want us to be powerful- it would cut out all there fun! Confronting sin in aGodly and loving manner is not a popular thing to do in the church today. God's Word gives us guidelines to do it the right way. Since people don't take His Word seriously, they don't do it right and it blows up in their faces.Listen, sin has to be dealt with. What if, at your job-say woodworking, your boss doesn't show you how to properly cut on the saw correctly by pointing out the wrong methods, you will end up minus a few appendages. God loves the sinner but He hates the sin. We need to love one another, but true love is also best displayed when we confront sin in a Christ-like manner. Christ loved the Pharisees enough to show them their faults. Yet many of them didn't receive it well.Nevertheless, Jesus still poured out His life for them. Knowing the cost of rejection, He still confronted their sin from time to time and then died on the cross for their sins-now that is love.Jesus took a risk to against the world order of religion.Jesus love man but He also had the guts to confront man's sin and finally gave His life for our sin.
If we follow Christ's example and be true to His Word, The church may lose a few stiff-necked people but will find countless more achieving victory and deliverance from the bondage of sin.

The right stuff

If you drink tea-not iced tea, you know that hot tea is good. Not just good but great with sugar and milk. I was informed that you can't add half and half to your tea-add milk. Why you say? The half and half curdles in the tea the milk doesn't and half goes great in coffee-not the non-dairy-YUK- stuff! But in tea,No. In life there are some things that are acceptable for the believer.there are some things that aren't and cause growth problems. In the church today, Christians are finding it difficult to find that happy medium in what is permissible and what is not. There is no "happy medium" . The main reason is people don't look to the Word of God for answers and direction in this arena. We either follow what His Word says or we don't. When we try to add our own stuff we end up with a mess. The children of Israel tried to save the manna when God told them to eat what was necessary and leave the rest-what happened? It rotted and turned rancid-unfit for digestion-why? Because they thought ahead of God and compromised-Disobedience. When drinking in the tea of life, using the right ingredients can make the experience more enjoyable.

VULNERABLE

Vulnerable. That word causes a shudder in most people. Vulnerable. It means that a person is open. Everything that is hidden is revealed. What was once secure territory is now open for infiltration. Vulnerable. We think of that word in a negative metaphor to someone or ourselves open to danger to exposure. Open to revelation of some deep, dark secret in our closet look at that word again in a more positive sense. Vulnerable. Being open to God. Open to exposure-the Holy Spirit. Open and vulnerable to God means revelation, it means being open to His revelation. Being vulnerable to God allows those hidden things to be revealed-things that cause death, not life- repentance. Being vulnerable to God means being able to expose oneself to His will,His direction. If we are to be vulnerable to anything in this world, it is to the sovereign will of God and not will of the flesh and the devil.