2 Barbarians & a Princess Beauty & the Beast

Hit Between the Eyes

2009-04-26T22:42:00.006-05:00

There is nothing like the feeling of going to Church on a Sunday morning and "POW" out of nowhere you get hit between the eyes with a message that not only rings your bell, it hits your heart. Today was one of those messages. Click here to hear the message
The last couple months I have been personally struggling in most areas of the my life. My relationships with Jesus & my family, problems at work, problems with health, problems just all around. After trying to blame everything but myself I have finally pulled by head out of my !!!. I realize I have been sitting on the side lines instead of being the game. Today message and the new Mathew West Song Going through the Motions opened my eyes and helped me to focus on what I should be doing.

Fireproof

2008-09-21T09:38:00.000-05:00

New Version of Foot Prints

2008-09-02T07:41:00.009-05:00

Imagine you and the Lord Jesus are walking down the road together. For much of the way, the Lord's footprints go along steadily, consistently, rarely varying the pace. But your footprints are a disorganized stream of zigzags, starts, stops, turnarounds, circles, departures, and returns. For much of the way, it seems to go like this, but gradually your footprints come more in line with the Lord's, soon paralleling, His consistently. You and Jesus are walking as true friends! This seems perfect, but then an interesting thing happens: Your footprints that once etched the sand next to Jesus' are now walking precisely in His steps. Inside His larger footprints are your smaller ones, you and Jesus are becoming one. This goes on for many miles, but gradually you notice another change. The footprints inside the large footprints seem to grow larger. Eventually they disappear altogether. There is only one set of footprints. They have become one. This goes on for a long time, but suddenly the second set of footprints is back. This time it seems even worse! Zigzags all over the place. Stops. Starts. Gashes in the sand. A variable mess of prints. You are amazed and shocked. Your dream ends.

Now you pray: 'Lord, I understand the first scene, with zigzags and fits. I was a new Christian; I was just learning. But You walked on through the storm and helped me learn to walk with You.' 'That is correct.' 'And when the smaller footprints were inside of Yours, I was actually learning to walk in Your steps, following You very closely.' 'Very good.. You have understood everything so far.' When the smaller footprints grew and filled in Yours, I suppose that I was becoming like You in every way.' 'Precisely.' 'So, Lord, was there a regression or something? The footprints separated, and this time it was worse than at first.' There is a pause as the Lord answers, with a smile in His voice. 'You didn't know? It was then that we danced!'

Ecclesiastes 3:1-4

Everything Has Its Time

1 To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven:
2 A time to be born, And a time to die;
A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted;
3 A time to kill, And a time to heal;
A time to break down, And a time to build up;
4 A time to weep,And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, And a time to dance

The Duck and The Devil

2008-08-29T15:34:00.003-05:00

There was a little boy visiting his grandparents on their farm. He was given a slingshot to play without in the woods. He practiced in the woods, but he could never hit the target. Getting a little discouraged, he headed back for dinner.

As he was walking back he saw Grandma's pet duck. Just out of impulse, he let the slingshot fly, hit the duck square in the head, and killed it. He was shocked and grieved. In a panic, he hid the dead duck in the wood pile, only to see his sister watching! Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing.

After lunch the next day Grandma said, "Sally, let's wash the dishes." But Sally said, "Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen." Then she whispered to him, "Remember the duck?" So Johnny did the dishes.

Later that day, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing and Grand! ma said, "I'm sorry but I need Sally to help make supper." Sally just smiled and said," Well that's all right because Johnny told me he wanted to help." She whispered again, "Remember the duck?"

So Sally went fishing and Johnny stayed to help.

After several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally's he finally couldn't stand it any longer. He came to Grandma and confessed that he had killed the duck. Grandma knelt down, gave him a hug, and said, "Sweetheart, I know. You see, I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing. But because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how long you would let Sally make a slave of you."

Thought for the day and every day thereafter: Whatever is in your past, whatever you have done -- and the devil keeps throwing it up in your face (lying, debt, fear, hatred , anger, unforgiveness, bitterness, etc.) whatever it is, you need to know that God was standing at the window and He saw the whole thing, He has seen your whole life. He wants you to know that He loves you and that you are forgiven. He's just wondering how long you will let the devil make a slave of you.

The great thing about God is that when you ask for forgiveness, He not only forgives you, but He forgets -
It is by God's Grace and Mercy that we are saved.

Author Unknown

Leo lost his first tooth

2008-08-19T09:14:00.003-05:00

Leo lost his first tooth yesterday at school. He bit into an apple and it came out. He was so excited. The school gave him a little blue treasure chest to keep the tooth in. When the tooth fairy came last night she left $1.25. I have had mixed reviews on the tooth fairy's pay scale. I have heard that some people pay $.25 to $10. I went out to the internet to see if there a standard. One of the website I found said the going rate for a baby tooth was $1.00.
Click here to see.
I am curious to find out what everyone else to paying?

Sad Day

2008-08-14T21:12:00.002-05:00

Today I went to one of the saddest things anyone could ever experience, the funeral of a child. My co-worker's 16 month old grandson died Saturday.
I walked into the lobby of the funeral I saw him and expressed my condolences. As I walked into the area where the casket was sitting I saw that it was open. I didn't even get into the line to walk by. I stepped off to the side where they had a room full of his pictures and toys. I stopped for a minute and saw a pair of footed zip up pajamas, at that point all I could imagine was losing one of my children and the pain. I decided at that it was time to leave or I was going to break down. Even though I know that child is in heaven with our heavenly father, my heart breaks for the family and the people left behind. I hope that I go home to the Lord before any of my children.

Getting Married

2008-07-12T14:30:00.001-05:00

I was informed by my 5 year old son that he does not want to get married and never wants to leave home. My 4 year old daughter countered with she would like to get married now. After I picked my jaw up off the table and started breathing again, I told her that she could not get married until she is 30. I also told her that all men were scum. After this conversation I decided to started putting $10 a week aside for bail money. That way my wife can bail me out after tossing boys off our front porch. But after figuring up the total amount that I would have to save between now and when she goes to high school I would only have enough to toss 3 or 4 boys. So I decided to put it in God's hands since he is the only one who can help in this situation.

I have a new prayer that I pray every night.

God grant me the serenity to accept the man my daughter will marry,
strength not to beat him senseless if he hurts my daughter,
and the wisdom to teach her the right man to marry.

If I wait till high school to teach her the right man to marry it will have been too late. The time to teach is now. Everyday, reassuring her that she has value and teach how she should expect to be treated. I have also started to pray for the man that one day she will marry, even though I do not know this man. I believe God will bless him and prepare him for her.

I found this on the internet and thought I would share it with other fathers.

Application for permission to date my daughter

Tee Ball is Almost Over

2008-07-01T23:54:00.004-05:00

We have our last tee ball game tomorrow night. If it wasn't for all the parents that helped out then there is a good chance I would have eaten a few 5 and 6 year olds. Don't get me wrong I had a blast coaching but if I tried to take on all 10 players by myself they would have eaten me alive.
Moral of the story: Coaches don't feel bad about drafting parents to help.
Next up soccer season again!! I love coaching soccer in the fall.

Is Jesus the only way to Heaven?

2008-06-24T20:43:00.007-05:00

Unfortunately, according to a survey done last year 57 percent of evangelical church attenders said they believe many religions can lead to eternal life.

Click here to read the article.

If you also add Oprah's statements and endorsement of a new age belief that there is more then one way to get to heaven, there is a lot of misinformation in the media today.

Click here to watch a video on Oprah's beliefs.

I am a firm believer in John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

We are taught from a very early age to treat others the way you want to be treated. Every where we go we are taught to be tolerant of people, customs, and cultures. But that does not mean we compromise what the bible teaches us in the name of tolerance. It is not our place to judge the world, God will handle that in the end.

Burning Your Ship

2008-06-22T11:11:00.005-05:00

My friend Doug blessed me with a wonderful book called "Point Man: How A Man Can Lead His Family" by Steve Farrar. I have not read the entire book yet but I just finished a part where Steve discusses when Cortes came to South America in 1519 he burned his ships so there was no retreat and his men were forced to focus on succeeding, there was no other option. I imagine it in this way, My wife and I landed on a deserted island and the only way to survive the island (marriage) is to rely on God and each other. But the problem is if I have not burned my ship, and focus on God and my spouse, I think about climbing on the ship and leaving. Have you burned your ship when it comes to your marriage?

Resurrecting The Champ

2008-06-15T14:30:00.000-05:00

I watched a great movie this week called "Resurrecting the Champ". If the Oscars gave an award for the best sub-plot in a movie this would win the award in my mind. Don't get me wrong the main plot is wonderful. The main story is about a sports writer (Josh Hartnett) who writes an article about a boxer (Samuel L. Jackson) who was once 3rd in the world but when things don't go his way he ends up homeless. The sub-plot is the story of the sports writer and his son. He has told his son that he knows all these great athletes like John Elway and Muhammad Ali but it is all a lie to impress his son so he will look up to him. The father goes to the son and tells him the truth, that he doesn't really know these guys. The son tells his dad that he loves him whether or not he is friends with famous athletes.
This put something into prospective for me in regards to my children. No matter what cool things I do, how much money I make, or what car I drive my kids love me because I spend time with them reading books, playing at the park, or paying attention to them. My wife reminds me that to children love is spelled "T I M E".

Click here to see a clip where the father and son run into John Elway.

Side note on "Resurrecting the Champ" The box at the video store said it was rated PG but the website said PG-13. Other then 3 cuss words in the entire movie and a few mild boxing fight scenes this is family friendly movie.

Click here to see the movie's website

Spiritual Journey

2008-05-26T22:29:00.005-05:00

We shared our Spiritual Journey in our small groups this week. We were supposed to draw a picture of what the journey looked like. Being the "I don't read instructions man" that I am, did it the wrong way. I used excel and made a graph. It turned out better this way because my 5 year old has more artistic talent in his right thumb then I do in my entire body.

Tee Ball

2008-05-22T21:19:00.003-05:00

If you could pay bills on being a tee ball coach, I would retire and coach every day. We had our 2nd practice tonight and I am not sure who had more fun the kids or me. I enjoy coaching at this level for several reasons:
1. Kids are there just to have fun.
2. Mentally we are at the same level.
3. Parents are not yelling at there kids for mistakes yet.
4. If I mess up coaching then it allows several years for other coaches to fix my mistakes.

I have a great team of kids and parents. I have at least 6 parents who love to join in and help. That makes all the difference in the world. If I tried to coach ten 5-6 year olds by myself, those kids would eat me alive.

29th Birthday

2008-05-10T23:31:00.005-05:00

Yesterday was my 29th birthday. I have always believed 2 things in regards to my birthday:
1. If I can get everyone to forget my birthday then I will never age and grow old.
2. Everyone born before me is old and everyone born after me is young. My b-day is the sliding scale that defines both.

I debated whether or not to post this next part but I am sure word would get out eventually. I was able to celebrate with a part of my small group from Grace Church. Steve, Isabella, Marty, Angie & my wife Olivia. Steve & Isabella are the most wonderful host and hostess, they are practically gourmet chefs and on top of that wonder Christians and Friends. (I have recently submitted paperwork to the state so they can adopt me.) I must confess I didn't want that to get out because I am afraid another small group will try to take them from us and I am a very overly protective and possessive small group member. WARNING I will fight for Isabella's cheesecake.

Soccer is over

2008-05-04T21:48:00.005-05:00

Leo (5) & Clarissa (4) finished their last soccer game of the season. It has been fun watching Clarissa go from refusing to play to only refusing to play half the time. The way I look at it is if she got on the field every game and ran up and down the field then it was a success. This is Leo's 3rd season and he has really developed good defensive skills. He loves running the other players down and kicking the ball away from them. He is a little passive when it comes to offense but it created a great balance on the team because another little girl was a goal scoring machine. Next up T-ball season.

How much house work do you do?

2008-04-06T19:06:00.004-05:00

A study from the University of Michigan found that men are doing more house work now then compared to the amount that men did in 1965. But men before we go patting ourselves on the back, the study states that women still do an average of 27 hours a week compared to our average of 16 hours.

Click here to read the Study

GO KU!!!!!!!!!!

2008-04-05T21:43:00.000-06:00

Casting Crowns Every Man

2008-03-30T16:45:00.004-06:00

Click here to listen to Every Man on youtube.com

I'm the man with all I've wanted
All the toys and playing games
I am the one who pours your coffee
Corner booth each Saturday

I am your daughter's favorite teacher
I'm the leader of the band
I sit behind you in the bleachers
I am every man

I'm the coach of every winning team
And still a loser in my mind
I am the soldier in the airport
Facing giants one more time

I am the woman shamed and haunted
By the cry of unborn life
I am every broken man
Nervous child, lonely wife

Is there hope for every man?
A solid place where we can stand
In this dry and weary land
Is there hope for every man?

Is there love that never dies
Is there peace in troubled times
Someone help me understand
Is there hope for every man?

It seems there's just so many roads to travel
It's hard to tell where they will lead
My life is scarred, my dreams unravelled
Now I am scared to take the lead

If I could find someone to follow
Who knows my pain and feels the way
The uncertainty of my tomorrow
The guilt and pain of yesterday

Is there hope for every man?
A solid place where we can stand
In this dry and weary land
Is there hope for every man?

Is there love that never dies
Is there peace in troubled times
Someone help me understand
Is there hope for every man?

There is hope for every man
A solid place where we can stand
In this dry and weary land
There is hope for every man

There is love that never dies
There is peace in troubled times
Will we help them understand
Jesus is hope for every man

There is hope for every man
A solid place where we can stand
In this dry and weary land
There is hope for every man

There is love that never dies
There is peace in troubled times
Will we help them understand
Jesus is hope for every man'

Problems with Math

2008-03-29T21:42:00.006-06:00

There was a boy who was failing math. His parents told him that if he didn't start getting better grades they would send him to the Catholic School in town. The next quarter he was still getting a failing grade in math so his parents moved him to the Catholic School. After one quarter at the new school he was getting straight A's. His parents set him down and asked "What has changed?"
The boy replied "Well, on the first day of school when I saw that guy hanging from the plus sign I knew they meant business."

Women, Want a Healthy Marriage? Marry Man Uglier Than You

2008-03-24T21:44:00.006-06:00

Psychologists who studied newlyweds found men who were better-looking than their wives were more likely to be unhappy and have negative feelings about their marriage. But men who were married to women that are better looking have healthier marriages.

This explains my wife and me.

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Happy Marriage, Happy Heart

2008-03-23T22:28:00.003-06:00

Contrary to popular secular belief it is healthier to be married then single.

Click here to read the article

There Is No More Toilet Paper

2008-03-20T19:58:00.002-06:00

You sit in front of the TV and watch the game. Your best guy friend walks out of the bathroom, “Hey, there is no more toilet paper,” he says as he grabs a hand full of chips.

“Thanks. You let it drop.

Now imagine the same scene only your wife walks out of the bathroom. “Honey, there is no more toilet paper,” she says and sits beside you.

“Thanks,” you respond without giving it another thought.

About sixty seconds later you hear her clear her throat.

“There is no more toilet paper.”

“Thanks sweetheart.” you respond as you focus on the game. It isn’t long before you hear deep breathing. Her jaw is clinched, nostrils flair. You wonder what have I done to upset her. You turn to look at her. She meets your glance with a glare.

“What is wrong, Hon?”

“Nothing” she responds.

“I know you are upset why don’t you just tell me?”

“Never mind.”

“Fine, if you’re not going to tell me then I am going to watch the game.” From this point it is all downhill, it just depends how fast.

The examples above show how a simple phrase such as “There’s no more toilet paper” can have two totally different meanings. When a guy says it to another guy it is a “heads up” or “watch out.” When a wife says it to a husband it means “put down the remote, and go down to the store.” If you have been married for more then 72 hours you have most likely had this experience in one form or another.

We men need to understand that our wives do NOT communicate the same way we do and no matter how hard we try, we can not change our wives. We have a choice; become very frustrated with wives or learn to understand them. Do not just listen to the words she says but what she means when she says it. A simple phrase is usually a request. Listed are a few examples and possible meanings:

Phrase	Possible meaning
We are out of ________	Please go get it
The car is getting dirty	Please wash the car
My back hurts	I have had a long day and a back rub would be great
The kids have been really busy today	I need help with the kids
I wanted to get ____ done today but I didn’t have time	If you get that done for me I would appreciate it.
I have a head ache	Sorry not tonight

If we can become more observant how our wives communicate. Then we can save ourselves frustration and aggravation. Just asked her, “Would you like me to run down and get some toilet paper?” We will be pleasantly surprised how much our wives will appreciate our being observant and how many fights we can avoid.

You may be thinking “Why doesn’t she just come out and say what she means” or “It is not my fault she can’t communicate clearly.” These thoughts are not wrong, but as men, we are accountable to God for our marriages. We can be right or righteous but not both when it comes to our wives. The choice is up to us.