Do You Believe In Being Used?

Continually Improving
Continually Improving

The Lord has been known to use people to help spread his message, to help those less fortunate, to spread love where there is hate, to comfort the broken-hearted.

Do you ever feel like he is using you? This was difficult for me to comprehend until He started, noticeably, transforming my life. He put the opportunity in front of me to become a public speaker, in 1998.

It was neither an opportunity sought, nor wanted.

But it was, indeed, an opportunity.

A huge opportunity. A once in a lifetime opportunity.

And it created in me a confidence I’d never known.

And provided an education money could never buy.

To teach is to learn twice.

To teach, and to write, is to learn thrice.

And in the past three months, I humbly submit to you the growing fruits of this labor.

Three-quarters of a million hits
.

How? Why? Where?

I suspect divine providence.

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Couldn’t Do It

Couldn't Do It
Couldn't Do It

Couldn’t watch TV yesterday.

This isn’t a stretch for me because I rarely watch it anyway.

But I hear about it on Facebook, Twitter and emails.

And it comes as no surprise. Humanity always wants to help during disasters.

Haiti.

Devastation. Suffering.

Faith. Hope.

What good does God do when disaster happens?

You have an answer, right?

The End Was Imminent

We Will Miss You, Carter
We Will Miss You, Carter

Imminent. Looming. Threatening.

This is what we thought October 2008, just over a year ago.

Our beloved Canine Son, Carter, a nine-year old Yellow Lab, was very sick.

Our Vet spotted an unusual sore in the roof of Carter’s mouth during his routine annual exam two months prior.

The sore ate a hole in the roof of his mouth at an alarming rate – what seemed literally overnight. In hindsight, maybe we panicked.

We honestly thought that Carter may not see another weekend and we quickly made arrangements for “one last trip” to our favorite Family vacation spot, Sanibel Island.

We talked with our son (eight) about death. We talked about our favorite Carter memories. We talked about what we’d miss the most about Carter.

We said goodbye to Carter.

The Lord works in mysterious ways.

Carter is still with us. He still struggles with the complications from the hole when he drinks and eats, but overall, it’s a miracle he’s still here.

Tomorrow, the gift that visit brought us.

Pray Without Ceasing

Life is hard for many people this time of year. Add to that unprecedented times, and we have an overwhelming number of people who are struggling in one way or another right now.

And I mean struggling at a greater intensity than many generations can recall.

It sure seems that way to me.

Can you imagine being Tiger Woods right now, or President Obama, or even the Pope?

Can you imagine being the average American who can no longer put food on the table, when a year ago they could quite easily?

I worry about a lot more than I used to. So, now more than ever, the phrase, “Pray without ceasing“, has a special meaning.

And also a special obligation.

Is Today The Day?

Is it?

Is today the day you do the thing you’ve been wanting to do, but haven’t found the courage?

Do what you fear and the death of that fear is certain.

If not today, when?

Seriously. Carpe diem. 🙂