Movies,Telephone Poles and Football

You may be wondering about this article's title and how these three things are related. Here's the answer. They all came from the Lord. Yep! Everything good and wonderful comes from Him. Why do we love movies so much? Well, maybe it's because we all love a good story. The whole idea of story telling originated a long time ago. Jesus loved to tell stories. He taught with stories and parables. He lived a storied life and so do we. Life is our story. Movies are a by-product of the image of God that is deeply imprinted in every human being. Every person from every culture loves a good story. Movies are just a hi-tech way of telling a story and it all started with God.

Telephone poles were built to carry lines of wires for miles and miles so that we could communicate with each other from a distance. Our desire to communicate is from God. We love friendship and family and there is an inbred need to communicate with them. Telephone poles are another by-product of the creativity given to us by the Lord to keep us in close contact. We think that we have done all this and on the practical side that might be true but the driving force behind our desire to communicate is the Lord.

Football is not important to the Lord but the relationships and teamwork that is displayed in this sport came from God. I'm sure that God is more excited about the players encouraging each other and building strong relational commitments. The binding together of love and commitment are deep from the heart of God.

As you can see in these few examples, all that we have built and created that is good came from the motivations and talents that God gave to us. He wanted our talents and abilities to reflect things that were important to Him. Stories,communication and commitment in relationships are all important to God and so movies,telephone poles, and football are all a result of the goodness of God.

Thank You Lord!

Times,Seasons,Eternity

I remember in my youth that I always seemed to have an eye for the future. I had the sense that I was preparing myself for something that would inevitably blossom much further down the road. In my middle years there was time to reflect on the past and at the same time future goals were still there to be had. As I enter my senior years I begin to feel a squeeze on what's ahead. My mother is approaching 90 years old and her conversations pretty much revolve around the years that have passed and that is understandable. Time on this side of eternity is measurable to us because most of us do not have a firm grip on eternity. It's too nebulous and not much fun to think about because for the most part even the experts are clueless.

I almost have to stop and reason with my finite little mind about what is really going on in the world around me. There are patterns in life and someone clearly designed those patterns. The four seasons are a clear indicator of the cycles in our nature as well as the seasons in life. There are principles of life and death that encompass the whole animal kingdom. Everything has been set neatly in place to perpetuate all of creation. I rely upon these visual aids to reinforce my belief that God has also created a progression into eternity for mankind as well. We will never be able to hide from the fact that there is a beginning and ending to life on earth. I remember as a little boy thinking about how long it would take me to become an old man. It seemed like an eternity to me. I'm not an old man right now but the reality of aging is certainly sinking in fast. I've done a few things to preserve my youthful look. I've never dyed my hair. It's been gray to white for the last 20 years. I figured that when I turned 60 that I would look the same and everybody else would look different. Ha! I was right! That's one small consolation anyway.

The merging of your beliefs with your timeline becomes more and more significant as life goes by. I can't imagine the fear that exists in folks that do not know the Lord. I know that some people are so hardened in their heart that they cannot even see their own eternal demise but the majority are still out there wondering a bit about what is to come. We cannot avoid the inevitable and we cannot determine our own fate without some serious thinking. God in His mercy gave us this incredible freedom to pick and choose as we participate in His life creation. As I look back over my history, everything can be measured by the choices that I made. There was a definite cause and affect to all of those. God gave me the privilege of choice and I am grateful for that. My choices made me significant. Our choices make all of us significant. God would have it no other way. He just wants us to choose Him in the process and that choice has eternal significance for sure.

Merry Christmas!

Whether you have been naughty or nice, it doesn't matter. You can still have a Merry Christmas. Who's keeping score anyway? That will drive you crazy. I was naughty once about ten years ago but I have forgotten about all that because of my impeccable record of being nice over the last decade. Yep, it's really not that hard to live a perfect life if you are oblivious to your flaws. That makes you a legend in your own mind anyway. You can roll along in life thoroughly convinced that you are a-okay. I have been guilty of keeping score of my own life at times and it can be very punishing. That kind of self-awareness is not good. It doesn't permit you to receive the grace of God. It doesn't allow you to live in the freedom that God provided for you through Jesus.

Think about it. You love your children no matter what. They really don't have to earn that. You just do. They make mistakes. They even sin but you are there to help get them back on track and then move on. The love is consistent though. It doesn't leave when your child screws up and they don't have to earn your love back. There may be consequences to the errors that they make but that has nothing to do your love for them. Life is the sowing and reaping of all the decisions that we make. We are all a work in progress and God loves us no matter what.

That is a cause for great merriment and joy for all of us. He loves us no matter what. That's hard to fathom if you are keeping score on your own life. Rest in this. You are not a completed work as yet. You are all that you can be at the moment. God loves you as you are and will help you through the things that you struggle with. Our greatest enemy is too often ourself. As for living a perfect life, give it up. Forget about about it! God loves you with all your imperfections. He wants to be your Heavenly Father on a regular basis.

This isn't an Im okay, your okay philosophy. It's an I'm okay because He made the way kind of thinking and we can all rest in what Jesus has done for all of us. I wish all of you that kind of peace this Christmas. It truly is the peace that passes all understanding. It's Jesus. He brings us all back to the heavenly father.

He is the Way, the Truth and the Life

Merry Christmas!

Under The Influence

A lot of things shape our lives. We don't know it at the time but in our early childhood years we are under the influence of the world around us. Our parents, friends, school teachers, neighbors and relatives all play a part in how we think. We create a set of values based on these relationships and then we saunter off onto adult life armed with what we have learned in our youth. My father never seemed to give me a lot of advice but what he did give me I used later on in life. I remember in my early teen years when he told me that getting through life and being successful had everything to do with "guts and determination". He must have told me that 100 times during those years and lo and behold when I got out on my own I became a very driven young man. I really think that my ability to sell the music industry on my talent was some of the reason that I had success in Nashville.

My dad also used to tell me something before I went out on a date. He said, "remember son, your mother was a lady." I really didn't understand where he was coming from for awhile but it soon sunk in that he wanted me to respect the girls that I dated. Those two bits of advice stuck with me a long time. Even though I could have used a few more, I often heard my fathers voice when I was working a job or going out on a date. After all these years I still find that to be kind of an amazing phenomena. It is clear to me that God gave us fathers to guide us and give us values. Some of us are better at it than others but the influence is there both positive and negative. I would think that you could probably look at a society and see that the root of its success or failure has been determined by the values of the moms and dads. That is powerful. That is a great responsibility.

There comes a time in life when we come out from under the influence of our family and find that the tables have turned and that it's now our turn to influence our own children. It's on the job training for sure. God had a plan. You can see his image written all over fatherhood and family. If we are going to be under the influence this holiday season, I recommend at least a pint of "Abba", the fatherhood of God. Earthly fathers can only do so much.

He Made His Mark

Year after year, you will hear just about the same things about Christmas. He is the reason for the season is pretty much worn out and the media battle over whether we should use the term Christmas or Happy Holiday is getting old as well. The insignificance of all that is clearly recognizable by most. It's like the effort to keep God on our money as a battle worthy to be waged. I don't think so. All these things are trivial as compared to the real important things in life. I guess that is our human nature. We like to appease our self with these minor confrontations that cost us very little.

The one constant about Christmas that has remained throughout history is that Jesus made a statement to mankind. We all get a chance to interpret it with our own thoughts and judgements. There seems to more of an uneasiness about the birth of Christ in America. We have changed. We want everybodys religion to be okay and sometimes at the expense of abandoning our own and so we drift more to the Santa Claus side of Christmas. It's easier. I have to admit, it is becoming more and more difficult to view Christmas as a religious holiday. It can be particularly perplexing if you are trying to make this one day out of the 365 a day devoted to God and the birth of His son. It's a hard thing to do in one day with all the stuff that we have going on.

We can always rest assure that Jesus made an everlasting impression on this world and so we should really be at peace during Christmas. We don't have to do anything. We can't add to what He did anyway. The story is beautiful and far reaching. The world recognizes that something significant happened when Jesus was born. He made His mark in about 3 Years and the world is still wrestling with what actually happened. There are some things in life that you can explain or prove scientifically. The birth of Christ is not one of them. His coming was a profound message to the world. His birth was a statement of the divine providence and Holy will of God. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and we are left to deal with that.

When Jesus walked the earth, He seemed to relish in asking those around Him questions. The questions that He often asked were explosive and far reaching with eternal implications. The toughest questions seemed revolve around who He was and the same questioning is going on today. No other man in history has caused so much investigation into His life. Yes, He made His mark. If we are at peace with Jesus and know who He is then we should understand the turmoil that folks have when they hear his name. His name makes a statement to mankind. His name demands a response from our heart because there was only one like Him.

Peace on earth and good will to all men.

I Meet Carlo

Our home had weekly gatherings with many young people. Our lives were captivated by our newly found relationship with the living God. He wasn't dead to any of us. He was leading us and moving in our heart. My phone was always ringing with requests for prayer or questions from those in our group. I was spending hours upon hours reading scripture. I even started paraphrasing the gospel of Matthew so that I could understand it better. I remember lying in my bed at night wondering what God was going to do next. The expectation was very high for all of us and we were so willing to embrace the world around us.

We heard of an older gentleman that owned a gas station on top of the hill in Follansbee. His name was Carlo. Apparently He had a gathering going on in his home of former church goers. His group was much older than ours. I remember Norma telling me that Carlo and his wife nancy were anxious to meet with me. I decided one day to introduce myself to Carlo and so I stopped into his gas station and ask for him. He was a very tall fellow about 6'4". He was in about his early 40's maybe. He started talking to me with a great deal of fervor. He seemed very passionate about what he was doing. He seemed very driven. I wasn't sure about Carlo. He seemed like he had a good heart and at the same time I felt like I was being recruited by him. It sounded like he didn't have enough young people in his group. That made us a target for him. That's what it felt like anyway. I was almost 20 years younger than Carlo and so he was an imposing figure to me. All I wanted to do that day was meet him but he seemed to drop every thing that he was doing to concentrate on me.

Eventually I broke from Carlo and headed home but my head was on overload. Was God speaking to me through this man? Was I supposed to help him with his need? Would it be a good idea for us to hang around with some mature Christians? All those thoughts were running rampant through my mind and yet all I intended to do that day was to stop by and say hello. I was confused some by the whole thing. I had these two feelings going on at the same time. I wanted to pursue the idea of getting together with Carlo's group and at the same time I wanted to stay away because I didn't want to interrupt the beautiful thing that God was doing with our fellowship. Uneasiness began to fill my heart for the first time since I came to the Lord. I couldn't see what was coming.The next part of my journey was going to be difficult and I had no idea. Lessons were soon to learned the hard way.

next up......

The Merger

Finding a Field to Work

The Workers Are Few- Matthew 9:35-38

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."

When I think of this scripture I begin to see wonderful possibilities. I begin to see my life differently. These verses clearly point out the compassion of Jesus and these verses also clearly identify the need for workers for the harvest. The fields that need worked are in the world around us. The church buildings that we sit in on Sunday are not the fields. The fields are out in our everyday life but too many of us are playing it safe within the framework of our American Church culture and so we do not have the time nor can we see the fields that we are to work.

The fields are hard and calloused and need turned over many times before they become fertile. The harvesters are called to break up the hard spots first. People are hardened to God because of sin and so the harvesters job is to love those around them but at the same time be prepared to dig deep when necessary. Could you imagine what would happen if we all worked our fields? The reason that we don't think in these terms is that we have transferred the callings and gifts of ministry to a chosen few. We think that church pastors along with their staff are the workers and that we are paying them to do the plowing.

One of the enemies of true harvesting is false conversions. I have recognized over the last 35 years that too many people have made what I call a "mental ascent" toward Christianity. They believe what they have read about God in the Bible and agree with all of its principles but have never been made alive in Christ. The act of of being saved is miraculous in nature. The old man dies and a new man is born. Their is a spiritual hunger in a newborn christian. That is a clear indicator of a real salvation experience. It's not played out in the mind. It's a change that occurs deep in the spirit.

We cannot go out into the world and work in the harvest without first being changed deep in our heart. If that has already happened to you then look at the world around you, where you work and where you play. The Lord will show you where you should begin to plow. Find some fellow workers and pray together before you go out into your fields so that you can rejoice together when the harvest comes.

He Is Who He Says He Is

When I think of all the words that people use to describe God, they never seem good enough or big enough. I guess that the bottom line for me is not how I would describe Him to others but rather how He has revealed himself to me. It takes quiet times and places for me to sense God's whisper. I know that He is able to speak above the crowd but it's my inability to focus amidst the noise that prevents me from hearing God in busy places. There has been a subtle moving in my heart over the years that God is foremost a father and that he speaks as a father would speak. He loves me like a father would love me. That really helps me. I cannot fathom what it would be like to relate to a religious idol that measures my rights and wrongs and then daily reports back to me on my performance. That's where many of us get him all wrong.

I really believe that God is who He says that He is. He is Love. He is faithful and true. He is holy. He is creator of heaven and earth. Jesus gave us a clear picture of the heart of God when He is visited earth on our behalf. Jesus loved people and hated the religion that was being imposed upon them. I don't think that God has changed. I still think that He loves us but isn't too keen about the religious substitutes that have been thrust upon us. Those things get in they way of our relationship with him.

It's better if I just humbly approach God and ask Him to come and reveal himself. He is waiting for humble hearts and requests just like that. He wants what He created to return to Him. If I do that, He will come and reveal Himself and I will begin to know Him as He is. He is a father in waiting. I know that I could never be satisfied with an imaginary relationship. It has to be real and it can't be had by being dutiful or attending church services. The Lord quiets my spirit and allows me to call on Him.

He is who he says he is, we just need to invite him in and let Him take up residence in our heart. Come Lord, Come and fill us with your love and grace. Wow! What a Christmas that would be!

The Gifts That I've Known

Christmas is fast approaching and I feel different this year. I feel kind of like an extended Thanksgiving is on the way. Our family is trying to dial down on the adult gift giving because we have grand children now. We even decided to pick one person in a drawing and make them a hand crafted gift. That can be a bit taxing for those of us that do not have that kind of crafty imagination and talent but the effort put forth is different. It's better. It asks something a little bit more of us than just going to the store and buying a gift. When I think about of all the wonderful people that I have met in my life, I see them as gifts. They are gifts from the Lord. Gifts are not gifts until they are given and unwrapped. So many people have opened themselves up to me like a wonderful gift from God.

When God created us He must have had this giving thing in mind. I have the sneaky suspicion that God gets a major kick out of us loving each other. That's why I love the Lord so much. We live and we give ourselves to certain people all the time. That's our nature. That's His nature in all of us. Yes, we are tarnished and not perfect like Him but we want to love and be loved and that came from God. I look at the people gifts I've known in life and they have all helped me to survive. That's why isolation is so damning for the soul and spirit of humanity.

When I see my children and my wife and my friends as gifts then I am more appreciative. I want to enjoy all these folks more and more as time passes. They are so valuable and besides that, they are God's gift to me. To all of you that read my blog, I thank you. You have great patience and that is your gift to me. I love you all dearly.

What if?

Have you ever played the game of what if. What if cows could fly and birds had to crawl? You certainly would have to watch out for those cows that fly too low and I can't imagine a bird having much to tweet about if it had to get around on it's belly. What if God isn't thinking what I am thinking at all? Sometimes I wonder if many of us really interpret Him right. I know the Bible is the written word of God and we use that as our guide but I can't believe that God decided to stop talking to us once the Bible was completed.

What if God wants to talk to me today? How do I know when it's Him? I know what it's like to be spiritually deaf. That all started when I went out on my own trying to dedicate my life to God. I started an all out effort to improve my lot in the kingdom. I did all the religious stuff like reading the Bible and attending church. I walked the walk and talked the talk. You would have thought that I was right in the center of God's will by the way I gave myself to things like church planting and serving as a men's pastor. What if God didn't want me to do all that stuff? What if God never intended me to be enslaved to such a dutiful religious life. What if He just wanted me to be His son? Is that possible? That's way too simple, isn't it? No one would recognize me just walking around the earth as one of God's sons. I'm more valuable to Him than that, aren't I?

I guess that what I am trying to say is that no matter how noble our intentions are to please God, no matter how good or dutiful we become, it will never satisfy the longing that God the Father has to unite with us as sons and daughters. That is paramount to Him. It is the only reason that he sent His son on our behalf. He wanted to be reunited with His family. He could not abide with us in our sinful state and so Jesus removed the greatest obstacle between us and the Father. He removed the partition of sin.

What if our returning to Him is the essence of Gods' will? What if God wants each and everyone of us to kneel before Him and admit to Him that we are clueless and that we need Him? What would happen? Maybe we would get to know Him as He really is? Maybe then He could set us on the right path. What if it was that simple?

What if?

In the World But Not of It?

There is a lot of room for error for every believer who understands that while we are in the world, we should never become like the world. Living in America is a real test for all who claim to be disciples of Jesus. I have often thought that America has to be one of the most difficult countries in the world to live a faith driven life. I know that we have a lot of churches but they are starting to look more and more like any other commercial enterprise. I know that a lot of folks have Bibles in their homes. I also know that the most dedicated in their walk with the Lord suffer from a wide variety of temptations and are often hindered by the business of American life.

I know that Jesus died for us because His Father loved this world but the Bible also admonishes us to not to love the world nor the things of the world. So here's the rub, how do you do that? I guess that we better start by asking the right questions. What is the world? What are the worldly things?

This scripture always helps me understand the aspect of "world" in terms of its relationship to Christ is John 1:10.

He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.

This scripture is a clear indicator that the world that God does not want us to become part of is the part of this world that does not recognize Christ.

Another scripture that helps me understand where I am in respect to my own relationship with the world is John 12:25,

The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

When I am deeply rooted in the world and loving every minute of it then I am living like a non-believer. The non-believer does not recognize the worlds alienation from Christ because the non-believers heart is deeply hardened to the things of God. The believer on the other hand struggles with his life in this world. The believer is in a constant battle to separate himself from the world and all its temptations. I understand this more than any other time in my life. I feel better knowing that I struggle. That tells me that I have been touched deeply by God and that my conscience and appetite for the world will always be counter balanced by the convicting of the Holy Spirit. I know that I sometimes wander into the wrong places but I also know that there is a limit to how far away I can go because the struggle in my soul begins all over again.

For all of you believers who struggle with your walk in America, be encouraged. You should be struggling because you have recognized Jesus and become a part of his body in this world and because of that you will never be completely comfortable while on this earth. In the world but not of it will always be our battle.

The Lion of Judah

The Lion of Judah has its origins in the Book of Genesis where the Israelite tribe of Judah had the lion as its symbol. In Genesis 49:9, Jacob refers to his son Judah as "young lion" while blessing him. The tribe of Judah was the most dominant of all the Israelite tribes and so the Lion of Judah represents the powerful ancestry of Judah to the Jews. They associate the term Lion of Judah with their tribe.

Christians see the Lion of Judah as Jesus Christ.

Revelation 5:5; "And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof."

Christians and Jews obviously have a different spin on Jesus Christ. Judaism and Christianity appear to be inseparable partners in the mystery of Christ. They both have the same heritage until the Christ child event occured that we now call Christmas. The Jews rejected the claims that this new child was God in the flesh.

Jesus first addressed the Jews with these words.

John 10:30, “I and the Father are one.”

That really set off a fire storm. They wanted to stone him to death because of His claim to be God. Over 2000 years since the arrival of Christ this mystery is still unsolved. Is their Lion the Christian Lion? The Jews are God's chosen but the Gentiles have embraced the Son. There must be a link between the Jews and Christians that is yet to be revealed. We are constantly bombarded with the news of the current events in Iraq and Pakistan. It seems to me that the most noteworthy news to Christians as well as the Jews is the news which pertains to Israel. When I hear about Israeli conflicts I get a sense of uneasiness down deep inside. There is a lot of scripture pointing to the Jewish nation as the center of end time events.

I often feel that behind all of our everyday living that there is something being played out of much greater significance. The Lion of Judah is a key figure in all of this and the mystery is still unsolved for many whether Jew or Gentile and the mystery still hinges on these words from Jesus, "I and the Father are one".

Christmas Shopping the Jesus Way

Christmas is a little over three weeks away and I have to admit that my thoughts about Christmas have radically changed since I was a child. I still love the lights and the Christmas tree. I still love to hear the story about the baby Jesus. I still hear all the rants about how commercial Christmas has become and yet few of us do anything about it. The expectations are so high and the disappointments can be very low. There seems to be a polarizing of happiness and sadness during Christmas. I loved Christmas as a child. My parents really promoted Santa and they got a kick out of the whole thing. It's so easy as a child. You do nothing but wait with great expectancy and all the while you are totally oblivious to all the effort being exerted to make this one day so special.

Speed is really a big deal for us in America. That's why I feel so uncomfortable whenever I slow down. I think something is wrong or something is left undone if I stop too long. Christmas doesn't seem to let you stop and the speed seems to crank up another notch. It doesn't feel like peace on earth and good will to all men. It feels more like the Kentucky Derby and when the race is over you are waitng for someone to throw a garland over your head and announce you as the winner. It's as if you have run the race but you are still looking for the reward.

If I could change any one thing about Christmas I would only make one correction. I would learn how to stop. I read a good friends blog the other day and he pointed out how Jesus would always stop at whatever he was doing to give you his attention. In other words, what he was doing wasn't as important as you even if you interrupted him. That is a totally selfless existence. What a beautiful way to approach life. If Jesus was doing his Christmas shopping, He would always be available to talk to a frustrated shopper. He would focus on the clerks and the sales people. He would love them and encourage them while they assisted Him. The shopping would just be the activity that connects him with people. If I could stop to love and encourage and enjoy people like Jesus did then I would be right in the true spirit of Christmas. Jesus never seemed to be affected by the lifestyle of the people that he would meet. He just met them where they were and loved them where they were but first thing that He had to do was to stop. That's my prayer. Lord, help me stop and be like you.

For God So Loved.......

Faith is Beyond Me

You have heard folks admit defeat when they are completely stumped and just don't get it and you will often hear them say, "it's beyond me." There are a lot of things beyond us and that is what makes life such a thrilling adventure. Watching an airplane lift off the ground for the first time was way beyond me as a little boy. Actually, I'm still amazed at the sight of such a huge piece of metal rising from the ground and getting lost in the clouds. There is such a sense of amazement and discovery in life when we get beyond us. When something is beyond me and I know that I don't have the mental or emotional capacity to understand it then I am left with a decision. Do I trust what I see? I ride airplanes and so I have come to grips with the fact that I don't have to be a rocket scientist to ride an airplane. In essence, I have put my complete trust in the rocket scientists and the aviation experts to build a plane that will safely get me to where I want to go.

Trusting seems to be the mainstay of faith. If I couldn't trust then I would never be able to get through this life. Trusting the airplane is relatively easy to accept because I have tangible proof every day about air travel but faith experiences help me to grow. They are like energy bursts that thrust me forward. Kids that grow up without some one to trust have a difficult time in life because they haven't experienced what faith can do. I remember my kids jumping off the side of the swimming pool and into my arms the very first time. They had that look in their eyes like, "okay, here it goes, dad will catch me." Two significant things happened when they jumped into my arms. They learned a little bit about trust and faith. I learned how to impart trust and faith.

The Lord says that faith and trust in Him is better than our own understanding and so real faith has nothing to do with our comprehension.

Proverbs 3:5,6

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Now here's the rub. If I am trying to understand God so that I can believe in God then I am missing that energy burst that comes from trust and faith. The Lord created us with the need for relationship. Looking for a partner in life has become a desperate search for many because there is a real void that needs to filled by that special someone. There is risk and vulnerability involved when we pursue relationships. Risk and vulnerability have been my pathways to faith in God. I never realized until today how many people lack an adventurous relationship with the Lord. Many folks seem to place their faith in people pretty well but when it comes to God they are too often looking for a concept or a formula. If you stop and think about it, that really makes no sense at all. It's obvious by the way He has made us that He is a God that desires relationship.

I can only share from my own experience and I can honestly tell you that if you pursue Him with all your heart, mind and soul that you eventually find yourself in relationship with Him. He will reveal Himself and remove all doubt about His person. You will find yourself inside an adventure thriller and it will be nothing religious like you may have imagined. God isn't into religion, He's into you. Believing in Him is beyond me and you. Let's go back to my story about the two things that happened when my kids jumped into my arms at the swimming pool. God does the same thing when we leap into His arms. We go for it in faith and He doesn't disappoint. He supplies the energy burst. The adventure begins and a whole new world awaits us.

Now, if I could just have faith in the Steelers to get a win Sunday