Tis the Season...

Well, another Holiday season has come and is -- almost gone. Wow! So many things have occured this year. So many life changes and challenges, too. Some good, some bad, and some too painful to think about. Yet, we do have hope for the coming year! Jescel and I have been through a lot and we long to find a better balance of sweet-ness to all of the sour-ness we have experienced. Thank God for His patience, protection, and provision in 2007... and for all of our friends here in Miami (and elsewhere) that help us to remember that we are not alone!

God Bless all of you and thanks for including us in your lives.

What's Next?

Hey there, it's me...

Here's a new blog! Even my wife has been wondering when I would write a new blog entry. Well, I haven't exactly been inspired to write much lately. Jescel and I continue to receive news of events happening with her father in the Philippines, and now with our helper, Marilyn, that has been taking care of him. We had been hoping & praying for a lengthy break from any troublesome news, but last night we found out that Marilyn's father called and wanted her to return home. Apparently her mother is feared to be near death, as her health has been rapidly deteriorating for some time. We are worried for her mother and her family, and since she had to leave suddenly we now have to be concerned about Jescel's Papa, too. Unless we can find someone to help us, Papa will be alone in the house. While he can do some things for himself, he does require help with certain things on a daily basis. It is just not something that we want to think about - The possibility of something else negative happening to Papa, especially after Mama went home to be with the Lord as well as Papa's subsequent surgeries, etc... It really seems like it's one thing after another, truly.

In my mind, I cannot even bring myself to think about dealing with another major life event, like the phone call(s) we received last night. I am really struggling with these things. I am a guy, and I am the one that "fixes" stuff. If it were money issue, I used to be able to work a little overtime. If it were a time issue, I could try to get away from work early. If it were something that required physical strength, I could roll up my sleeves and get to work.

Things have definitely changed. The "overtime" is not there, the "time" itself seems to be slipping away, and "rolling up my sleeves" doesn't seem to help as much as it used to. Basically, as I told Jescel last night, I am at the end of myself at this point. I can't fix these "life" things. I think that we're both at the end of ourselves, wondering whats coming next for us.

Sans Budlight...

BEFORE


AFTER

....AND I don't even need a beer..... way to go... I just wish I could do this more often!

Being Equal

Come on... Stretch out your wretched, broken, and withered hand and I will heal you!

Sounds weird coming from me, huh? Yeah, for sure. But coming from Jesus, it was perfectly normal--if you knew that He was EQUAL to the Father God.

Just yesterday, my wife asked me if I knew about some new religion claiming that when a person accepts Jesus, then that person becomes a god themselves. In fact, if we are literally then sons or daughters of God, then there must be no other rationale but to claim deity for ourselves, right? I think we all have heard what happened to the Angel of Light, Lucifer, when he tried to claim this very thing for himself and was evicted from heaven along with the other angels that believed the same stuff. Even the angels have a free-will, for they too can decide to follow God's plan willingly, or not. Maybe they were just being revolutionary in their thinking. God's ways were so "old-school" and they decided they could improve on the agenda. Yes, yes, yes! They had a better idea for the way things should be -- more so than God!

Well, God decided otherwise. Instead of tolerating their new agenda, God kicked them out of Heaven. So God's obviously a "hater" now for not accepting their "better" way of thinking, acting, and behaving, which is basically contrary to His purpose and design for them. God is so wrong fordoing this! How could He do such a thing, does'nt he know who Lucifer is? Dude, Lucifer is a god too, so you better give him some "r-e-s-p-e-c-t" now. Yeah, right! Like the book of Revelations doesn't tell you how things are gonna end.

So, what about us? Are we really reading the Bible as the Word of God as His Truth and adapting our minds, wills, behaviors to what He says, or do we honestly believe that we can be little, "mini-me" gods and change things that we don't agree with? We go to church, sing hallelujah and praise God and each other, yet somehow we discredit ourselves and prove our religion to be worthless by the motivations of our hearts and our actions. After all, can't we see that what God said in His Word so long ago was for somebody else, and couldn't possibly apply to my life today. Maybe God is a"HATER" as much today -- as He was in the beginning. Maybe it's just that you don't agree with God's Word, since it causes your flesh to burn at the thought of Him requesting that you conform to His definition of a "CHRISTIAN" and not your own. Go ahead, re-write the Bible to make yourself feel better; Disagree with God so you can live your life anyway you wish; You can live for you, for your "dreams", to build your own "tower of Babel" if you think that God will tolerate this. How are we ever to reach our schools, cities, or communities for Jesus if we not even willing to conform ourselves to the standards that God has revealed to us?

So many Christians hang onto things that should also be filtered through the Word of God and through the renewing of our minds in light of the new creations we should be after becoming Christians. Even key aspects of our different cultures that we prize and value must be held up to the Light of God's Word and be filtered accordingly. What! You're telling me that I have to stop being latin, filipino, indian, german, etc... NO! But the life that God desires from you should transcend even your own culture.

Within your own culture, Jesus desires to renew your whole life so that you could most effectively glorify Him, right where you are! But are you like Lucifer? Do you think that you have a better way, or a better plan than God's? Are you being deceived? If you are, and don't know it then you would say "no". That's deception; Your perception has been altered to make you think everything is alright. Is everything alright, is the flesh and the spirit in agreement in your life? Do they ultimately line-up with the Word of God, for this is the litmus test. Of course, if you've decided to EDIT how, when, where and to what areas of your life the Lord has access to, then maybe your'e not the person you think you are.

We attempt to make ourselves EQUAL with each other irregardless of position, authority, or design. We simply don't like even the appearance of someone or something higher than us on the foodchain. People preach EQUALITY at the expense of purpose. As humans, we are created equal in our essence. By God, we were created male and female --for a purpose. As Christians, we also have a different purpose, but that does make any of us gods, nor does that mean that we should assume we can claim authority to nullify the Bible whenever we claim a new purpose for our lives that, by our own declaration, supercedes the divinely inspired Word of God! In other words, if you don't believe it, then admit it. If you can't ask God for wisdom in these matters, then don't expect revelation. If you think that your opinion is worth more than God's, then go and live like the rest of the world, if that's really what you want to do. So, who is really "HATING" now, us or God?

All things KWAN...

So, here in the Philippines... People are speaking in their native tongue (of course), which is mainly Cebuano or Visaya, and I find myself with a mystery. THE WORD, "KWAN" or at least I think that's how it's spelled? I started hearing that word after arriving here, so I asked my wife what that word meant. She vaguely stated that "KWAN" was the english equivalent to "like" or "kind of". Jescel also stated that it was a "filler-word used here in the Philippines". Ok, got it. At least I thought I did until Mr. "KWAN" began popping-up all over the place, in almost every other sentence.

Now, I have reached critical-mass and consider all things to be "KWAN". I even am beginning to make my own KWAN-like sentences. For example, I could ask my wife, "What did you do to yourself today? You look so KWAN-derful!" or "Hey, would you like to buy some fruit? Today, they are having a sale on KWAN-telope", or perhaps even "Don't try to live life too fast, just live KWAN-day-at-a-time". I don't know what the real meaning of the word is, but I know that I am gramatically challenged at this point and may require help from my filipino friends to shed some light on the meaning(s) of KWAN. Anyone???

For now, God Bless.

Strike 2! Another Disparaging Comment

Lifted from my wife's blog...

Even before the outrage over the Desperate Housewives' racial slur on Philippine medical schools could even subside, another American TV show made a very objectionable comment about the Philippines. In my opinion, this is even worse than what was said in Desperate Housewives in that, the disrespect was towards one of the Philippines' former lady Presidents.

As you can see in the video clip above from the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, a segment which was supposed to answer the question, "Is America ready for a woman President?" was featured. In it is our former President Corazon (Cory) Aquino's photo (along with 3 other women leaders from other countries) was shown with a word "SLUT" written across it, and the voice over saying "Corazon Aquino faced down dictators"....

What is wrong with American TV shows? And most especially, why is the Philippines suddenly becoming the topic of these very lowly and unpalatable jokes? True, Jon Stewart's show is based on political satire, and while that word "slut" could have referred to our former President's political choices (I don't know, I can only assume), it is still my opinion that the word choice was foul, done in extremely poor taste and terribly insensitive.

One can only think -- what if it was the other way around? What if some Philippine TV show made fun of any of the former or current American President? I am sure the Americans will not take it sitting down. I cannot even begin to imagine the very bad repercussions it would bring about our economy as a result of some derogatory remarks about an american leader....

Freedom of speech is a right that we enjoy. But like anything else, it comes with responsibility. Just because we have this freedom may mean that we are free to say what we want to anytime, anywhere, to anybody, but that does not make it right, or the right thing to do. The media should be especially aware of this being that they're supposed to be the vehicle for factual, accurate, and respectful information dissemanated to the people. When speaking of other people, we cannot even limit ourselves to the same behaviors or criteria that we use when we hire or fire employees. But just wait until we get off of work, and then we can say and do whatever we want, at least until enough people make a fuss about it, then suddenly were apologetic. Maybe we should all go to rehab?

Freedom of speech should be used responsibly, as I am certain that the founders of the United States had written it into the Constitution, and likewise many Armed Forces Personnel have put their lives at risk, so that the 1st Amendment (as well as the rest) could be used for higher and more noble purposes than we see today. What a shame.

Furthermore, I myself am not "into" politics. I may not like everything that Cory Aquino does or has done, nor do I agree with everything that Pres. George Bush is doing, but there is one thing that I will always remember -- that they are the HIGHEST LEADERS of the land and were ELECTED by their very own people. For this reason, I will have to pay respect to the OFFICE that they represent, even if I have to agree to disagree with something that they support.

We all have a voice, but we also have a responsibility to use that voice responsibly. We are accountable for our our actions and our words.

Opinions are like belly buttons - everybody's got one. Some people have really big one's that stick out, some have rings, and some even retract like they don't really have one at all. To make things so bad, there are some of us that have ugly, nasty, belly buttons that are infected and full of pus and we don't even cover them up, instead we wear it out for all to see no matter who gets offended.

Now my question is -- Which belly button are you?

Just today...

Just today, my wife and I shared a few minutes alone. I looked at her and while I knew she was a little upset at me for having one of my "moments" earlier, I thought of how I could break through and get a smile from her. I remembered that several weeks ago, I heard Glenn Beck on the radio asking simple & routine questions that a (are you smarter than a) 5th grader could easily answer. So, I figured since I was one step closer to the doghouse I would try the "intellectual" approach. I asked my wife the following question:

What are the names of 5 oceans in the world?

She replied:

1) The Atlantic Ocean,

2) The Pacific Ocean.... and are you ready???

3) Oceans 11, Oceans 12, and Oceans 13 (as in, the Brad Pitt, George Clooney series of movies)

We looked at each other in utter silence for a moment, then we broke out in laughter. I knew that this was really her filipino-brand of humor. My wife is very intelligent, but I knew that when she began searching her mind for the names of the other oceans, which most people could not guess by the way, and she hit a road-block it was great to see her ability to laugh at herself. This has been a great ability of the Filipino people to be able to take whatever circumstances life has given them and yet many are still able to find joy and hope in the small details of life.

I think that day-by-day I am becoming more like this myself, with the help of my loving wife, Jescel.

PS: Typically, I believe that we recognize 4 oceans: the Atlantic, the Pacific, the Indian, and the Arctic oceans, with the 5th one being debated,which is the Antarctic (or Southern) Ocean,FYI.

So Long, Mama

This is from a recent post from my wife's blog:

The dreaded time came so very fast - my mother's funeral. September 30, 2007 was the hardest day of my life. I sobbed as men carried my mother's coffin out of our house. This would be the last time that she would enter or exit the house, ever.

The funeral march began at 1:30PM. Joseph and I, along with our family and friends, marched behind the hearse carrying my mother's coffin on the way to the (Catholic) church. We were walking at the center of the roadway, proceeding at a snail's pace. Along the way, people passing us tossed peso coins (by the hearse) from their vehicles. This is a Filipino practice that has folkloric origins to it. People here believe that it is bad luck to pass by a funeral march while driving, and that tossing coins would break the curse and prevent the vehicle from having any accidents on the road.

At the church, we found out that we were the 3rd in line. There was another funeral mass going on inside, and another one waiting before us. Somehow, somebody was late. My mother's funeral was scheduled at 2:30PM but it finally started at 3:00PM. I was seated in between my father and my husband in the church, right at the pew where my mother used to love sitting when coming to the church. My father was teary-eyed as he shared this memory with me.

The mass was all in my dialect (Cebuano), so I was busy trying to translate everything to Joseph. The 30-minute ceremony was over before I knew it. The priest then asked the family members to gather around the coffin while he was blessing it with holy water and incense. I was staring at my mother, fighting the sob that was rising up my throat. One of my mother's sister started to weep, and when I felt my father wept as well, that did it - -- I couldn't hold my tears any longer and I broke down along with my family. My husband, who is usually reserved also cried along with us. He, too, is missing my mother.

When the mass was over, the funeral march resumed. This time we were headed to the cemetery. The walk was just maybe about 10-15mins. My steps were heavy. I realized that we were nearing the end of my mother's earthly journey. After what seemed like an eternity, we were finally standing in front of my family's burial lot. We waited until the men brought the coffin in front of my mother's tomb, her final resting place on earth. We were again given a few more last-viewing minutes.... This would be the last time that I would ever get the chance to stare at the face of the woman who loved me and cared for me for most of my entire life. That's when deep sadness overcame my soul and I wept so very much, wishing I could just have my mother back, but I know this is not possible. Inside of me, I was whispering "Mama, I hope you know how much I love you. I'm sorry that I wasn't here with you during your last moments." As I've said before in my previous blogs, this is my greatest regret and to be honest, I still am having difficulty coming to terms with this.

All of my family were weeping (again) with me. Joseph, too, "lost it" when he saw my mother's name inscribed in the headstone. Then I felt my father's hand go up my back and said to me, "that's enough, let her go". And so I said my final goodbye. "Buh-bye, Mama, so long. I will see you in heaven someday".

A minister from my (Christian) church did the committal prayer before they finally closed the coffin and pushed it inside the tomb. Indeed from dust we came and from dust we return. As Christians, our beginning and our end doesn't matter so much. What really matters is the in between -- how we lived our life and what legacy we leave behind. Both my father and I agree that my mother lived her life as best as she could. She gave her best to us as a wife and mother and we both are thankful to the Lord for her life. We will greatly miss you, Mama.

To all my family and friends, thank you so very much for all your sympathy, support and prayers. May God bless you all.

Being an answer to prayer...

I woke up this morning, again thinking about mama. I lied there reminiscing about some things that Mama did that at the time they happened, seemed ordinary or expected considering the circumstances(my wifes favorite word, lol). Mama has primarily seemed quite reserved and would always simply just take care of business and get things done ASAP. She wouldn't make much fuss most times, since it was her personality to "just do it". Anyway, I thought about how she reacted near the close of our wedding ceremony (Apr.20,2002) here in Cebu. Like most weddings, after exchanging our vows we greeted our family members and friends and guests, and then ...Mama and Papa! I remember them approaching us after the ceremony and I shook Papa's hand and expressed my gratitude for how good they had been to me (admittedly, I was nervous), but then I reached out greet Mama, and then...SUDDENLY, Mama looked past my seemingly usual greeting, grabbing me by my head and pulled me down towards her and kissed my forehead with almost superhuman strength and speed for a woman of her size and stature.

She expressed her happiness that her daughter and I were now married, as if she was able to realize one of her lifelong dreams for her daughter as well as to see the fulfillment or answer to one of her prayers as a mother. Wow! In one moments time dreams can come true, and prayers can be answered. I became the answer to a filipino woman's prayer for her daughter! Please don't think that I am exalting myself in the least, for I give all glory to the Lord, especially since I get to now have these things revealed to me at this time. I remember saying to others as well as to my wife, that,"you are an answer to somebody else's prayers, so live in light of that....". Perhaps that seems a bit arrogant, but to me that expression takes on a deeper meaning after this recent revelation. Mama and I are from different cultures and tried to communicate as best we could, but at times she would "run out of english" as she would say. It was on our wedding day, at the moment she grabbed me and in her desire to express herself and her passion and inexpressable joy in one of the deepest desires of her heart, an answer to her prayers for (herself as well as) her daughter had been answered and fulfilled in her lifetime.

She went beyond what was perhaps culturally acceptable or expected to embrace me in an attempt to express her joy in one moment through actions what perhaps spoken words could never do justice to. Why do I see that revelation now, at this time, after Mama has gone home to be with Jesus? How do I respond to this newer and deeper revelation that I became the answer to the prayers of Mama, and of course my wife, Jescel? All I can do is stand in awe of how the Lord works and how He reveals such things to His people. I am even more thankful to see how deep are the plans of the Lord, and how God can bless us in many ways, at many times, on many levels. It seems that I'm being blessed at this time, to truly see how much Mama was grateful to the Lord for whatever she received. Again, I write not to glorify myself, but to share with you the overflow of a grateful heart, for I am thankful to God that he reveals these things to me. Salamat sa Diyos! (Thank you,Lord!)

A Life well lived...

So, here we are, Jescel and I, in the philippines. its the 2nd day after we arrived, and we have been greeting people that have come to pay respect to the family since her mother's recent trip home to be with the Lord Jesus. its only monday here and with the funeral being held on sunday, i am sure many more friends and family will come --especially her mother's family from Pampanga, which is some distance from here. we are slowly finding out small details from others about the last few days of her life. jescel's mother was a very strong woman that sacrificed much so that jescel could have many opportunities that many here only dream about, yet for some never come true. her father and mother,we believe, thought it would be best that jescel not return home just before her (unexpected) passing. perhaps this was her (their) way of sparing her daughter the pain of seeing what cancer and the treatments had done to her physical body.

Her mother was as strong as she could be up to the very end, only wanting to spare Jescel from the pain of seeing/remembering her in this state of being. I like to think that I know my wife very well, but i know that mama knows her daughter even better than i do! And i know that God knows His great plans for mama, and little-by-little we are finding out that she REALLY came to terms with the fact that this was her time to move on to be with the Lord. mama surrendered to the Lord the rest of her life, and continued being strong even when it meant letting go -- of a life well-lived.

I have heard it said that its not how you start but it's how you finish, and i believe that now more than ever. Mama just lived a simple life, raising her family, lived one-day-at-a-time and gave especially when it hurt to give. she did this so that her daughter, her husband and family and friends could be blessed. the icing on the cake was that through these circumstances she had prayed to receive Jesus, which she did so now we know without a shadow of a doubt that one day we shall be reunited. death has lost its sting for those that have become a new creation in Christ.

we encourage our friends and family to press on, draw close to God today...and live a life, WELL LIVED!!!

In HIM,

with love...joseph & jescel

PS: love you 'MA!!!

I know who I'm voting for!

I finally decided who I am voting for in the upcoming election:

Our good friends the Logans have entered the 2008 Presidential election. ((Not really, but what if they did?)). Anyways, we like them a whole lot, so if they did run they would get our vote for sure! Love you guys! :O)

my dog, the bounty hunter...

Finally, a few days off to relax and what am i doing? Chasing our dog, Prince, around the house! I think that he planned this whole scenario... He's quite clever, actually. He said that if i could catch him, he would grant me three wishes.

1st wish: that he (my dog) would learn to do his "business" in the bathroom, like the rest of us...

2nd wish: that he would get a job and start pulling his weight around here...and

3rd wish: that he would ... (any suggestions???)

Does jesus really "roll" like that?

Yeah, its official, I'm cool... I got my new rollin' with Jesus logo and now I'm chillin' with the Son. OK, not really...(read on)

It's really late... I'm surfin' the internet...and I came across a few websites that poke fun at churches, pastors, leaders, and even God Himself. Now, mind you, these websites are maintained by people that are at odds with the truths that we believe as Christians. A preponderance of demeaning frequently occurs towards the things that we, as Christians, should highly prize and value.

What I really mean to ask is, is jesus really your "homeboy"??? Afterall, some t-shirts try to proclaim such things so it must be true, right? Logically, another question begs to be asked, "Are we trying to fit Jesus into a "homeboy" sized box to make him more appealing to the culture, or to our friends?" Hmmmm...

I remember the time before I became a christian. I was going to church because I felt that I needed to be there, in order for me to learn more about God. My friends thought that was kind of cool that I was learning some new, spiritual things. Once God had become real to me, and I began the process of surrendering my life to Him, I began to become bolder and bolder for Him. Well, my so-called friends obviously noticed that I began speaking to them more and more about God and Jesus and about what He was doing in my life. Eventually, through different circumstances, most of my friends became distant and I found myself without many friends at all.

They didn't understand what was happening to me, nor could they. Those that do not have the Holy Spirit see the things of God as pure foolishness (1 cor 2:14) even though the whole time they are actually perishing in their ignorance, whereas those whom are being saved [we] know that it is the active and very real power of God working in our lives (1 cor 1:18). We simply weren't saved to see things the same way as the world and we certainly weren't saved to imitate or emulate them, for sure. You see, following Jesus doesn't mean that He's your "homeboy". Maybe we have differing definitions for the term homeboy, but nevertheless there needs to be this awe-inspired, level of respect worthy of His position and authority in our lives. Even the disciples at the very least valued Jesus as a prophetic teacher, albeit the Son of the Most High God!

Concerning the internet webheads that say such things, my first reaction was: How dare they do such a thing or say this and that about something that I value as a follower of Christ?! Of course, the next thing I thought was the ways in which I do the very same things. I realized that in my own life there are some ways that I've failed to honor God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit the way that I should -- OUCH!

Note to self: Definitely food for thought and room for spiritual growth.

The importance of FAMILY

Do you ever wonder why our families are so important to us? I mean really...According to evolutionists we're just evolved apes that have the ability to do cooler things, think way cooler thoughts, tie our shoe laces, and we're a little less hairy -- well some of us are, anyway.

But why do we place such an importance on our families, after all why do we need them after we are big enough to care for ourselves (i.e., gather our own food, clothing, and shelter)? Because that's how we were made by God. He's the one that placed us into the families that we were born into, and wired us so we would bond to and gravitate towards one another in extraordinary ways incomparable to monkeys -- Sorry to the folks at PETA that may disagree.

Now some of our "families" are far from ideal but the imprint for God's vision for the family remains. I have seen some that are crazier than mine and makes me want to run far away, as well as some that are close-knit that make me wish I could be adopted because the level of intimacy far surpasses what I have experienced in my own family life.

I am amazed by how entwined my wife and her parents really are. Yes, she married me and moved 13,000 miles from home to be with me here in Miami, but I know that part of her remains with her parents, even at this most difficult time. Both of her parents were recently diagnosed with cancer. Her mama was found to have breast cancer, had surgery, and was recovering then a little later her papa was rushed to the hospital and found to have colon cancer, spent many weeks in the hospital due to complications but is now up and about. Then we found out that her mama's breast cancer returned in her other breast along with other symptoms that bring her a lot of pain and is very uncomfortable for her.

Last evening, after speaking to her parents on the phone, my wife was distraught since her mama doesn't want to go for any follow-up treatments. Her mama feels that since nothing has worked so far, that she will simply wait to go to heaven when it's her time.

My wife and I talked, and then we cried about what to do, because although were far away we just don't feel that it's right to just give-up, you know. With her making 2 trips to the Philippines this year and all of the medical bills, our finances are very low right now. It's not simply a matter of money, but it's something that we must consider as we decide what we can do with regards to her mama's and papa's treatments.

Sure there are other considerations like our monthly bills, our jobs, and our local responsibilities so we're not sure how everything will work itself out, but we know that we should press on and do for her parents the very best that we can do, and not give up on helping them in their time of need. So, please pray for my wife and her parents (and for us) as we have to make critical decisions regarding their treatment and pray also for the provisions that we need, whatever that may be.

Bottom line, our families are important and they deserve our best, whatever that may entail.... If that were not so, then God would've left you as an orphan -- Instead of granting you the opportunity to become a child of God!

Today was a good day!

Today was a good day! I got to wake up to the smell of my wife cooking one of her native foods, pancit(asian noodles). Then we got ready for church and we rode with our friend, Holly 'cuz her husband Kevin had to work today and we were glad to spend time with three Logan women. On the way to church, I looked at my wife and asked her what the spanish word for Sunday as ...Then it dawned on me, It's Domingo and were going to Flamingo (Road Church). Silly right? Yeah, a little bit...
Today, Pastor Troy taught about the tithe and he really pushed home the reasons we are to tithe. One of the most important things about the tithe, in my opinion, is that the tithe is a good indicator of your perspective and what you value in life. I guess it comes back to the willful and deliberate acknowledgement that what you have comes from God, and as a steward, there are certain expectations that are placed upon you by God as a kind of litmus test to see where and in what things you place your confidence. One day last week, I thought about my paycheck and that although I work hard for it, it comes from God --He made that possible. I am to give my tithe, the 10% of the firstfruits, which is non-negotiable according to scripture and yet I get to keep 90% -- What a deal if you think about it.
I guess, it's just how we choose to focus our perspectives that matters. You can either complain about the 10% you're supposed to bring into the storehouse, or you can rejoice that God has given permission for you to keep 90% for yourself. Sounds like a good deal to me.
Guess it's all in how you look at it, right?

Dogg Days

Dogs have it easy, dont they. They wake up when you do, and almost immediately you have to let them out or take them for a walk, feed them, pick up whatever they leave behind or have chewed up. I would imagine it's similar to having children only my dog is a lot less hairy than some of the babies I've seen lately (just kidding). One day (Jescel) my wife, and I hope to have a litter of our own, and now with Bob Barker in retirement I won't feel guilty about NOT having them spayed or neutered (joking). For now, I just get to deal with our dog, Prince, and his crazy but mostly loveable antics. He gets sooo crazy sometimes that I get sooo mad at him. I just give him this look and he knows exactly what I'm sayin' -- Yeah kinda like when I want to spend too much money on somethin' really cool and my WIFE gives me this LOOK and I know exactly what she's sayin', right honey? Anyways, maybe we just think dogs have it easy, right??? Later.

My wife made me do it!

Hey guys...Welcome to my blog... Ok, my beautiful wife didn't make me do it...Actually, she nudged me a little bit with remarks like, " If you dont write a blog, I'm gonna go to DSW and go shopping" and "I have a pocket full of credit cards and i am NOT afraid to use them", and my personal favorite, "Honey, you always talk a lot, why dont you give my ears a break and start blogging"....LOL .

Seriously, though... If you know my wife you know that she didnt say anything like that -- I kinda made all that stuff up. This blog thing may rekindle my passion for writing and maybe you'll find out something new about me that you didn't know or were afraid to ask.

For starters, the title of my blog is JOE 3:16, primarily because one day as I was being me... I thought about how I could apply John 3:16 personally to my life. You know the scripture that says , "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

What I wanted to do was place my name into that passage and imagine that if I were the only person alive, that God would've still sent Jesus to attone for all of my sins and that he had so willingly chosen to love on such a grand scale. I don't want you to guess how the verse would've read, but I imagined it something like this:

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, [so] that [joe] should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Sometimes, I will admit that I have a tendency to doubt that God could love somebody like me, but I'm so glad he does. Joe 3:16 may sound like its about me, but it's really not... It's REALLY about Him doing His thing in me!!!

Be encouraged...More to come later, Lord-willing!