To Be Blessed

Not sure if I have anything original in this, but just something on my mind lately...

As Christians, we are blessed in so many ways. There is some balance between God's promise of blessing (even wealth, health, etc.) to his people and the realization that there is no set distiction between the problems in life that Christians face and non-Christians face.

Here are the "for sure's" to the difference:
1. Christians realize who is in control. They know God is there and they begin to "see" more because they start to recognize what God is doing. For non-Christians, it will always remain confusing because God's ways are not our ways. That brings comfort in knowing no matter how bad things can be or get, we can know we are never "spiraling to the bottom" the way it can appear if you don't know God is in control.
2. Following Christ does not make us perfect and we will sin again, but we sin less if we stay close to God. Sinning less leads to less consequences and many problems in life are due to the consequences of sin.
3. We realize we are blessed because we quit taking personal credit for the things we have in life--from health and loved ones to possessions and wealth.

Now, it comes into play that some people believe our wealth, health, and other blessings have a direct correlation with us asking for it, claiming it, and the faith behind that claim. We know Job had it...it was taken from him at no loss of faith from himself, but it was also given back to him. Well, my statement to that is always that, although the wealth and "people" were replaced, the individual children could never be replaced.

As a people whose natural instinct is to be selfish, I believe God actually made this easier for us than we think. I believe most of what he asks us to do is actually FOR us. When we pray for someone to be healed, God's overall plan isn't going to change for our desire for that person to be healed. The prayer isn't for that person...it's for us. It's for us to get closer to God and to know him better. Don't get me wrong, his plan could be for us to get closer to him by him answering the prayer to heal that person. But, the healing would still only come as part of his plan and not a direct reflection of our faith. I believe a person showing a small amount of faith for the first time could see there prayer answered as part of God's plan, and the most faithful person in the world praying day and night could see their loved one taken home if it was God's plan. I believe prayer, witnessing, seeking wisdom...it's all for our benefit...because God will heal who he wants, reveal himself to who he wants, and carry on his plan with or without us. But, we know it is far better to allow ourselves to be his tool for those things because of the blessings we will get from it.

Our relationship is not about showing enough faith to change God's mind all the time. It's about his plan being in place--for us and those around us--and us trying to find our role in that plan because that plan is the best plan for us and that plan provides the most blessings. And by blessings, I don't think we can compare ourselves to others and see who is more faithful and who is more in God's will. We can only measure it against what we would be like without him.

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Romans 12:1-2

Give yourself to God and let him change you instead of letting the world determine who you are. Let him change you from the inside-out. And you will see his perfect will at work in your life. The closer you are to him, the less you let sin control you, the more you are in line with that perfect will. The will...the plan...is already perfect and doesn't need to change by our desires or faith. We just need to continually find it and stay in line with it.

cuttin' again

well, most have heard that Isha got a clean bill of health at the doctor, but as a precaution, the doctor is going to cut a little more off the edges of where the last chuck was he took out of her back in two weeks. Since this one is already clean maybe we can keep it this time!

i just called to say...

My dad calls me to tell me the dumbest little things sometimes, like "i just bought new wiper blades for the car" or something like that...and he's serious! Well, for my own humor, I return the favor by telling him the same kind of stuff. The other day, I called him to tell him that I bought 2 new tires for my truck. Before I could get it out, he informed that he had just bought a brand new pecan cracker. He said, "It cost $9...I think it's gonna be a good one." I just couldn't top that...

Who do you look up to?

Have you ever found yourself intrigued and in awe of someone? Perhaps it was a celebrity? Well, that's not exactly what I'm talking about. The best way to describe it is seeing someone who you want to become. We can be in awe of celebrities, but when I see a celebrity somewhere, it isn't really about them. It simply becomes a story i get to tell. I've seen some actors in Aspen skiing, some Christian singers at conferences, etc. I was there, and it was neat to see them, but the only thing I really got out of it was a story to tell.

This isn't what I'm talking about here. A better example of what I mean is for a medical student to meet a famous doctor that wrote a book about the field of study they are wanting to get into. This is where you are not in awe of them being famous, but you admire them for who they are and want to be like them or where they are. You find yourself with them and asking them a 100 questions. You just want to know the key to being who they are, where they are in a career, or in life.

As God humbles you, you will see the need for more of that. I have more and more people that I admire all the time. Amazingly, some of the ones I admire also seem to appreciate certain things about me. I believe this is the body of Christ at work. As I see humble, God-seeking people live their lives, I notice things in their lives that I admire. I want to be around them. I want to see what makes that area strong. Sometimes, I just want to sit down with them and a pen and pad and just interview them. What can or could I have done better? How did God show you that? Yet, something I might be good at seems so natural for me and not something to admire.

I admire people who think of ways to be a blessing to people. I admire people who are just self-less and easy to get along with. I admire people who have strong convictions and let those convictions mature, but don't compromise them for their own interest. I admire the guy who works hard for his family and doesn't use 'man of the house' to have a king persona. I admire people who surrender their own desires and become missionaries in other countries. I admire the couples that work as a team on everything. I admire the women who find their place in ministry in the world and at home at the same time. I admire people who can constantly put other people's desires and problems ahead of their own. I admire people who can walk past the same temptations I seem to struggle with all the time. I admire people who expose their faults and weaknesses and failures to me to help me be stronger and not make the same mistake. I admire people who have any of these things and act like its no big deal they are like that.

Cowboys Week 7

Well, although it wasn't an impressive win, it was a win. And, I believe this Vikings team is better than their 2-4 record shows. They have a very good defense that forced some turnovers, but the Cowboys defense responded. Green played pretty well in Henry's absence again. He's started nearly every game...first for Newman, and now for Henry and seems to be playing good enough to not stand out as a target to pick on. Of course, with how little Minnesota throws, this isn't a week to measure him. I'm glad to see us grab a win and get into the bye week and let some people get healthy. Romo seemed to play through the hammy ok, but it was very noticable with his running style...and there were few, if any, rollouts called after that...which are his best plays. Owens got a 103 yrd, 1 TD day, and that was very important to keep him calm and quiet during the bye week. In a close game, Barber got twice the carries Jones did, so they are seeing who the better back is. Enjoy the BYE!

Stats of the week: Ellis, 2 sacks (glad he's back to form) Jackson 6/19 for 72 yds. (4 of the 6 completions went to RBs, so the Dallas secondary only gave up 2 catches all day including time in the prevent to end the game)

Basketball

Well, it's time to get ready for basketball. This is going to be a pretty busy season as well. I'll be coaching Alisha's 4th grade Lady Cats team and Drew's 2nd grade Wildcats team. The Lady Cats are coming off of an undefeated season and back-to-back championships. The Wildcats played their first season together at the Y last year and finished 8-1 for first place.

This season will be pretty busy because I'm going to be reffing as well...to help Bryan out and grab a little vacation money for this summer. I'll probably be riding in with him early on Saturdays and reffing until time to coach my two teams later in the day. Well, at least my teams know they won't have any early games!

...time to work with Drew on his wicked crossover...the only move I have to pass on!

Secondhand Relationships

There are things that everyone needs: direction, purpose, hope, etc.And there are things that different people need based on their personalities, strengths, and weaknesses: support, encouragement, a plan, a shoulder to cry on, a kick in the rear, etc.

God knows us better than anyone. I love my wife, and she amazes me at times with how she knows me and what I need when...even when I don't even know. But, there is only one person that is going to be right about that 100% of the time, and that's God. And He will provide it when we ask for it and when its time for us to need it.

If that's true, then why are there so many people out there without direction and purpose and in need of support and such?...even those that know God? Well, what kind of relationship do they have with him? Is it a personal relationship where they talk to him everyday, or is it a secondhand relationship where they here about him from other people? God can speak to us directly thru other people, don't get me wrong, but if our entire relationship with him is based on what we get from others, we won't ever get what we need. God cannot work in our lives as a "friend of a friend"...he needs to be your friend. Our relationship with him cannot simply be based on listening to preaching, teaching, and what others say about him. It cannot be just about what we've learned about him in the past or past times we were close to him. It is about what time did you have with him face-to-face today, this week.

If your needs are now...and they are...then the time with God, the relationship, needs to be now. If your needs are personal and specific to you...and they are...then the relationship you have needs to be personal and specific to you.

This blog is to me, but if helps you, then that's cool too...

Cowboys Week 6

Well...just as i said, our secondary is in no shape to match up to the Patriots right now. I was glad to see us with the lead in the 3rd, but i never had confidence that we could pull it off at this time. There's a lot that can happen with both teams between now and the playoffs. Here are the major differences between us and the Patriots right now:

Romo doesn't have the experience Brady does, but his experience does double between now the playoffs.
Our secondary is hurt with a starting corner out and one just returning not 100%. There is time to get healthy before the playoffs.
Our coaches aren't what Billichik is, but with Garrett on OC and hopefully Phillips as HC overseeing the defense, we will be getting better.

All these things can get better for us by the playoffs, and with the road to a championship being all about one game matchups, anything can happen. What could be better than for the Patriots to go undefeated and then lose the Super Bowl to the Cowboys...that would be great...I'm not callin' Vegas on it or anything, but I'll be rootin' for it. And there's still the Colts to not overlook in the mix.

Stats of the week:
Brady 31/46 for 388 yds, 5 TDs, 0 INTS; 75 total rushing yrds for NE; didn't take brain surgery to figure this out, but I told anyone who asked, "everyone says New England is only about .500 when Brady throws more than 40 passes, so the game plan must be to take away the run...we can do that, but I just don't think our secondary is healthy enough to stop Brady after that"...hated to be right...

Next up...Adrian Peterson, who ran all over the Bears' D...should rebound for an win and get into the bye for some R&R...

Cowboys Week 5

Well, there's nothing more to be said about the amazing finish of the game. The Cowboys looked horrible all game, but they did what it took to beat a weaker team on the road, so that's what counts for now. Coming up next is a home showdown with the high powered New England Patriots. I'm glad we did what we needed to do this week and saw some areas to improve on before this next week's game. Here's the key to beating Tom Brady and the Patriots: We must first stop the run and force Brady to throw the ball. He is not nearly as good when he throws 40 or more passes in a game. Then, our secondary has to do their job. Well, it isn't looking good there. We already know what the concerns are with Roy Williams in coverage. Hamlin is more of a strong safety himself too, so that isn't the best for us. Newman is ack, but we saw him get caught from behind on that interception return Monday night. And now, we don't know if Henry is going to get back or not for this week.

I'd love to go out and win this thing, but it looks like we don't have the healthy personnel for it, so we may let it go and hope to meet them again in the Super Bowl. But this is the NFL, and anything can happen, so let's hope for a miracle.

Let's not forget, we need to get TO more involved, and note that he was robbed on that force-out. His freakin' outside foot was inbounds, so why would they assume he wouldn't get the inside foot down if he hadn't been pushed...stinkin' refs!

Stats of the week: Nick Folk 1 xp, 4/4 FGs (47, 29, 37, 53) including the career long for the game-winner...twice...that's my fantasy stud!

Romo 29/50, 309 yds, 2 TDs, 5 INTs, 1 F...as people compare Romo to Favre, we must remember that by the end of the season, Favre will own the all-time TD record and the all-time INT record...it all comes with the territory of that style of play, so don't throw him under the bus...we knew what we were getting...and he'll be fine.

Ashamed

I bring this up all the time and I know others do too, but I just felt the need to blog about it a little today. I'm not sure exactly how the Holy Spirit is meant to work in us, and I'm not even sure he's meant to work the same way in each of us. However, I don't think he changes with time, so if I look at how he worked in me in the past and don't see that in younger generations, it bothers me. I don't want to be judgmental, but a "tree is known by its fruit."

When my parents moved me from all my friends in Ft. Worth right before my junior year, I became very rebellious. I bounced back and forth for those last two years of school on how I lived. After I graduated, I totally rebelled for a year. It seemed like much longer, but I did not attend church and was involved in a lot of sin. However, through those three years, I always knew what I was doing was wrong. My number one goal in all of it was to hide it. I didn't want to do anything that I couldn't hide from my parents and my friends' parents who were Christians. Now, I know I was hiding nothing from God, and I know that's the most important thing, but the look of guilt and conviction was all over my actions. I was guilty and I knew it.

Today, it seems like people don't have a problem with letting the world know what they do and how they act. They post it all over their myspace in the form of pics, comments, and blogs. They don't care who sees it and they don't even make their pages private in fear that their own parents might look it up. wow. When a person pleads guilty to a crime by reason of insanity or mental defeciency, they can only prove that by showing they didn't think what they did was wrong because they did nothing to hide it. I knew I was guilty, and I didn't want people to know about it. What does it say about those who don't try to hide it? Where is the Holy Spirit in their lives? Is there a new level of spiritual complacency or is the Holy Spirit not even in them? Did they answer a call to invite Jesus into their hearts, but fell short of "making it real" by not truly giving their lives to Christ by way of inviting the Spirit in? Or am I just being too judgmental about God's place in their lives?

That year after high school was the longest year of my life. I have so many scars and hauntings from it that I deal with to this day. I cannot imagine doubling it, tripling it, or more. So, my question is this...If these people were in the garden with Adam and Eve, would they even have put on a freakin leaf after eating the fruit? I have no doubt how I would have been ashamed and wearing the fashionable 100% leaf briefs. idk...maybe I'm being self-righteous...

Cowboys Week 4

OK, looks like the Cowboys are foreal! Although, a game against the Rams should give too much information, the dominance they showed tells a lot.

The running game looked good. Barber has gotten increasingly more carries over Jones until yesterday, but that was probably just due to the Cowboys being so far ahead. On the year, Jones has 51 carries for 176 yards and Barber has 48 for 306 yards. Sounds repetitive, but Barber is a good back...just not a full-time back and Jones is not a good compliment. He's the right style of compliment, so it's working for now, but he's just not good enough. However, the Cowboys rank 4th in rushing yards on the season with the help of Romo's 71 yards and poor starts by some of the league's top backs.

It was great to see Crayton have a big game-especially looking like a speedster that we weren't suppose to have with Glenn out. Glenn doesn't need to worry about his job yet, but this gives the team confidence to wait until he's really healthy and will stay that way for a playoff and Super Bowl run. The team has to keep TO (33 yds.) happy though. And, he does deserve credit as the Rams double-teamed him and sent linebackers and safeties following him all day which left witten, crayton, and the backs open.

We are 2nd in offense and points, 7th in defense and 11th in points against, so we aren't just too one-sided. We still need to get the secondary healthy, and it was good to hear Hamlin's name more. It was also good to see Ellis back in action which really gives us some depth with the young guys playing so well.

There is a little concern still about the special teams. Folk didn't have to attempt a FG yesterday, and we gave up a punt return for a TD. Romo or not, it was our special teams that knocked us out of the playoffs last season, so we don't need to overlook them and let the little mistakes continue.

Stats of the week: Greg Ellis - 1.5 sacks; Crayton - 7 catches, 184 yds, 2 TDsDepth, baby, depth!