Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread

Do you dislike your job? If you said yes, you would be with about 80% of Americans who say they don't like their current place of employment. Many of us today dread the sound of an alarm clock because it signals another day at a place we don't want to be. Some of us (myself included some days) stay up late wanting to savor every moment of freedom before their 9 AM lockdown. Lets face it is often like lockdown, we sit in our cubicles, offices, and work sites staring outside dreaming of the moment when we have finished serving our time and we are finally let out to once again live as free men and women

Sound like you, sound like what you might be thinking this Monday morning. I know the weekend just ended and with the indigestion of to many nachos in our belly and the excitement of wining the big game still in our minds work is the last place we want to be.

I am hoping to give you a more positive outlook. Today my family went grocery shopping, we prepared a meal and we thanked the lord. We thanked him for our provision. Give us this day our daily bread. We may not say those exact words but we paraphrase. We say lord provide for my family, lord take care of my finances, we call out Jehovah Jireh (the lord provides). It occurred to this weekend as my pending sentence approached that I am not a condemned man, come 9am I am not trapped, come 9 am I am provided for. Every time I wake up and go to work I see an answer to my prayers. Every day I see the miracle of God's provision in action. This week I encourage you to go to work positively, it is an answer to pray. Live the Adventure.

More Pasta Please

It seems God presence is on me in this season. For I find him even at the restaurant. This Sunday I had the pleasure of having lunch with my wife at the Olive Garden. I have just recently broken a twenty one day fast and in the process my stomach has shrunk I can consume less than I did before. This to my advantage as I wish to keep the weight I lost off. Any how, since I eat less than I did before and because the Olive Garden is not the most economical place to have lunch, my wife and I decided to share a meal. Since we were only purchasing one meal we went all out. In addition to the bread they bring out we ordered an appetizer and a salad and pasta. It was a good ole fashioned three course Italian meal.

Well of course it was Sunday and the lines where long. So I was hungry when I left church at noon, I was famished by the time two o’clock rolled around and we were finally getting a table. As soon as we sat down we ordered our food. Within minutes they had brought out a huge bowl of salad and our appetizer. I attacked the food. I began to devour the breadsticks, inhale the salad, and demolished the appetizer. After about ten to fifteen minutes had passed and my feeding frenzy had subsided the pasta finally arrived. The pasta was my wife’s choice and it was delicious. While I can not properly spell the name, the dish had the most amazing chicken, shrimp and beacon. It went down smoothly with a creamy cheesy sauce. MMMM! However to my dismay after just a few bites I was full. I could barely eat another bite. The most delicious part of the meal and I couldn’t eat it, I had wasted my appetite on appetizers, bread and salad. The cheap stuff, the stuff that almost tastes the same at home. I was devastated. I complained to my wife, she laughed and happily consumed her portion and mine. “You should have waited” she said with a smile and a laugh as she took another forkful of pasta and I looked at her enviously. As I watched my wife I laughed and realized I should have waited. It occurred to me that my lunch and life where much the same. We have such a hunger for life too often we waste our time, energy and effort on the cheap stuff, the stuff that doesn’t matter and when its time for the good stuff its to late, we have already spent what we have and others enjoy our portion. These last few weeks our pastor has encouraged us to a life of discipline. I want to encourage you to the same. It is true that in a disciplined life there is much sacrifice, however what is sacrificed is the appetizer, the salad and the breadsticks. You may not always be full however when the time is right there will be plenty of room for the Pasta. Don’t be like me be like my wife, wait for the pasta. Live the adventure.

While You Were Sleeping

I love my son. Its amazing the things that parents do for their children. Raising a child is true hard work, it is rewarding but none the less hard. Its only my been my first month so I am sure the true challenges lie ahead, however these past few weeks have not been with out their difficulty. My son is such a whiner ( he takes after dad). No matter how tired that boy is he refuses to fall asleep until he is in the exact position and location that he wants to be. My wife and I are quickly discovering that the position he prefers is in my arms or hers, if he wakes in the middle of the night and discovers that he is not in his parent's arms he will scream until he finds himself there. So in the wee hours of this morning I found my self walking around the house rocking my son back to sleep. I seemed to walk around for about 30 minutes before he dozed off, I rocked him a few minutes longer just to make sure he went into a deep sleep and would not be easily aroused. In this time of additional rocking I had revelation. When Elishah awakes he would have no idea how much work went into keeping him asleep. As he slumbered he had no idea his dad was still awake, walking him around. Furthermore for many years Elishah will comprehend the efforts that go into raising him. In fact most psychologist tell us that children have no idea that world does not revolve around them until they are about 8 it takes a few years for them to fully realize it. Even as a teenager Elishah will not fully appreciate his mom's and I's efforts. I did not realize my parent's hard work until my twenties and think that I may only be truly comprehending it now as I take on those responsibilities myself.

So what is the point? The point is that God loves us like we love our children, we are his sons and daughters. If he loves me like I love Elishah then much insight can be taken from the fact that Gods relationship with me is similar to my relationship with my son. This being the case if while Elishah is un-aware, while he is sleeping I am still awake laboring to ensure his comfort, safety and well-being than while I remain unaware God is still laboring ensuring my comfort, safety and well being. It fills me with awe and gratitude. What happens behind my back to ensure my destiny, what things are taking place to ensure that I complete the adventure? I do not know the answer and assume that this side of heaven there is much I will not know, however I find comfort and security in knowing that though I am unaware God is laboring for me. Thank you God! Live the Adventure.

Half Empty or Half Full

Is the glass half empty or half full. The answer is based on your perception, how do you view the glass as half empty or half full. Luke 11:33 states the eyes are the lamps of the soul, if the eyes are good then the whole body is full of light like wise if the eyes are bad then the body is full of darkness." If you eyes perceive the world as being dark then your world is dark if your eyes perceive the world as light then your world is light. If your glass is half empty you are constantly focused on what lacks in life, if your glass is half full your focus is always on what you have in abundance.

Let me share with you briefly. This last year has been the most miserable in my whole life. I have never felt so low and so hopeless nor have I ever felt it for such long periods of time. Why? Situationaly life has not been good, there are many things that did not go right, however situationaly I have been through worse. I can give you several examples of years where my circumstances have been far worse. In case you didn't know I have been to war, real war, with fighting and bullets and bombs. Their were nights without sleep, weeks without showers, days were food was short, I was separated from those I loved and devoid of any creature comforts. Can you imagine how disgusting it feels to spend your day in temperatures averaging 130 degrees Fahrenheit only to go to bed with out a shower on a warm cot, to make matters worse your night would be plagued with tiny insects making a buffet of your flesh. I am not kidding these are what many of my days were like yet in all this situational lack I remember having high spirits and good times. As far as circumstances are concerned last year did not even come close yet I was miserable. How is this possible? Some where along my adventure my eyes went bad, I stopped seeing how full my world was and started seeing it as "half empty".

I tell my youth every time we meet the "Christ came that they may have life and have to the full" I say life is an adventure. True life to the full can only come with good eyes. We must constantly check how we are viewing life, are we seeing it as half empty or half full. Live the adventure.

20/15 Vision

Ever heard of 20/15 Vision? It is one step above 20/20 vision, it means what you should be able to see only at 15 you can see at 20/20. As a young child I took create pride in always being able to achieve 20/15 on my eye exam.

Lets go to another person with excellent vision. Mary. Mary was the mother of Jesus. Mary was not married and impregnated by the holy spirit. This puts Mary in a difficult situation. Good Jewish women did not have sex before they were married, to not be a virgin and not be married would at the least make you a reject and the scum of the earth in Jewish society, at worst it would have got you executed. So Mary a godly woman is now walking around pregnant and un-married. She suffers the stares and the mumbling as she walks by, she suffers being ostracized from her friends, she suffers the doubt and mistrust from her parents. She is treated as a sinner although she is a saint. Yet in Luke chapter 1 verse 49 she says "The Mighty One has done great things for me." So wait a minute you live your whole life godly trying to please the lord, and in doing his will you end up being the recipient of everyone's scorn and all he leaves you with is the "I got impregnated by the holy spirit" story and your saying the lord has done great things for you.

It gets better as Mary comes into term Rome decides to take a census, so she is forced to travel on a camel across the desert as a pregnant woman. My wife is pregnant and in term pregnancy she is not comfortable on our bed I can not imagine that Mary was comfortable on a Camel. If things could not become any worse she goes into labor while the only hotel for the night is booked. She is forced to give birth in a stable, not a warm bed, not a hospital bed, not in comfortable birthing center but in a stable. As I have been educated in birthing process I have seen how nasty birth can be, its bloody full of fluid and she is doing this in a stable. It stinks, its cold, there may be animal manure around on the floor is full of hay which is absorbing every bodily fluid that comes out of her, the hay sticks to her as she is trying to move about. It would be a bloody sticky mess. Then to make matters even better her newborn, whom she knows is the son of God is placed in a manager, a feeding trough for animals. I can tell you that as we become term my wife has cleaned, sanitized and decorated every environment that our child will touch, and Mary had to place her son in a manager. At the end of the night after Mary is visited by a few Shepherds the bible says that Mary "treasured up all these things."

I have to admit that at this point I might have been angry, I might have been bitter, I am carrying the son of God and this is the best that I can get a stinky stable and a manager, yet Mary treasured all these things. Why do you think that is? I think its because Mary had 20/15 vision. She could see farther from where she was then most. She realized that all these things were just minor inconveniences, they were war stories of an incredible adventure. She knew her destination was to be the mother of our savior. Ever taken a family vacation, I am talking about the ones taken in the car, you know the one's where its like 34 hours and you have four of you and all your luggage all stuffed in into a small sedan. Your knees ache, you are tired and groggy but you can't sleep, your going insane from boredom and you little sister is driving you crazy. Yeah that kind. They are miserable and tiring yet we do them again and again, why, because journeys are always difficult but destinations are always awesome. That's what Mary had in mind she realized that her journey was on the way to an awesome destination.

The bible says that with out vision people perish, that's because if you don't know where you're going than the focus is no longer the destination but the journey and journeys are miserable. If the journey is what your focus is than your life will be miserable and with out hope, will become angery and bitter and quit. You will make your destination what ever road side stop offers you some marginal comfort but you'll never be satisfied. Who wants to live their life at a gas station, lives are lived at destinations. With this in mind I encourage all of you to have a destination in mind. Prepare a vision statement for your life. I know for a fact that's what I am going to do. I am going to spend a greater part of the rest of this year creating some solid vision statements for my life, so that I have destination in mind, so that I can have 20/ 15 vision, so I can see farther the most and maybe just maybe I will be able to achieve more than most. Live the adventure.

Scared Stiff

Can I be very honest with everyone? Today I am scared; I am quite literally shaking in my boots. Its one thing to say "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" it is another thing entirely to actually have to do it. I am scared because today I come up against something that I can not do in my own strength. I lack the skill, I lack the experience, I lack the wisdom, none the less it is mine to do and no one else can do it. I really wish God would just take this away from me. I wish that I would wake up one morning and it would all be over. But it won't. The bible says we are "Co-heirs" with Christ, that means we get to co-inherit heaven with him, it also means we get to co-heir in his battles with him. It means some times God doesn't rescue us, sometimes he helps us fight our way out.

Let me take you the first chapter in Joshua. Moses has Just died. Joshua is now in charge of leading Gods people into the promised land. It is not as easy as it sounds, it is not a short walk across the Jordan and then over the hill into a beautiful and fruitful valley. It was a very long walk across treacherous terrain filled with hostile peoples, some in fortified cities, with armies greater than his own. Now Joshua had been in skirmish or two in his life but this was all out war, not to mention he was leading the Israelites. For those not familiar with the story the Israelites complained and wanted to quit several times before they finally got to the promised land, they were not what you would consider a hardened soldiers. So Joshua has just been put in charge of a nation and its destiny which by the way involves a massive war that will be fought by a bunch of potential quitters. Do you think he was scared!?

The lord speaks to Joshua just before they enter the promised land. He says two things I want to note. One "Be Strong and courageous" (he says that twice) and "Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go". So do you think he was scared? I do, I don't think God says things like that to people who aren't scared.

So what is the morale of the story? The morale is Joshua won and the people inherited the land. Despite his fears he won, despite what he lacked he won. Maybe your like me this morning maybe you are faced with an obstacle in which you in your own strength can not overcome. As is the case with me and with Joshua that obstacle, that battle is not going to go away, you are going to have to face it. In that situation the words that were spoken to Joshua are also spoken to you and me. Be strong and courageous do not be terrified, do not be discourage for the lord your God will be with you wherever you go. Remember Joshua won, after many scary long battles Joshua won and so will you. Live the Adventure.

Why Not Me!? Why Not Now!?

If we go the first chapter in Luke we find the story of the parents of John the Baptist. His parents are Zechariah and Elizabeth. Zechariah was priest and the bible says that both Zechariah and Elizabeth were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lords commandments and regulations blamelessly. The bible continues to say "but they had no children because Elizabeth was barren and they where both well along in years."

Now I put these two statements together here for a reason. Israel at the time a theology known as the "Retribution Principal" the principal was quite simple, it stated: That God blesses the righteous and curses the wicked therefore those who lived blessed lives are obviously righteous and those who do not lived blessed lives must be wicked. In other words your suffering was your fault you brought it on your self due to your own sin.

How horrible it must have been for Zechariah and Elizabeth. They not only had no children they also had to deal with the fact that they were looked down upon by friends and neighbors who believed in the retribution principal. Elizabeth dealt with the women taking behind her back; Zachariah had to deal with all of his priest buddies trying to figure out what his secret sin was. Think of their Sabbath services, they are sitting in the pew as rabbi teaches on how God blesses the righteous and punishes the wicked. Not only would people look down their nose at them while affirming their own righteousness they must have been asking themselves the question "why me?" They must have been frustrated to say the least, to say the worst they may have had moments of anger and bitterness towards God.

Ever felt like these Guys. Maybe you don't have people taking behind your back but maybe you suffer, maybe you suffer despite the fact that you live righteously, maybe suffer though you keep the commandments and regulations with out blame. Maybe you sit in your pew frustrated. Maybe as you hear the preacher talking about the promises of God and how they are available to those who believe you sit there and ask your self "why me" why am I not getting the blessing?!

It can not be emphasized enough that the kingdom of God is more like an army than a family. Let me explain that a little. In a family if children are good and they follow the rules they are more likely to get better gifts and more privileges from mom and dad. It must also be said that in families that rewards can come at fairly regular and predictable intervals. These times might be in holidays, birthdays or right after report cards. In the army soldiers who are good are asked to go through more difficult training and to go on the more difficult missions, in essence the better you get the more difficult and more dangerous your life can become. Also in the army there are no regular intervals; periods of rest, relaxation and reward are based on the needs of the army. Some soldiers (especially the good ones) must go on long difficult missions

Such is the case with Elizabeth and Zachariah, the bible says they where off in years. They had suffered the results of being barren for a number of years. Their mission was difficult; however they gave birth to John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus Christ. There timing of reward was based on the needs of the Lord's army, if John where born to early or to late he would have been of little impact. Also if John had not been born in such a miraculous way it may have diminished evidence of God's hand in his birth.

So if this is you. If you are following the Lords commandments with out blame and yet continue to suffer than take heart. The reality is John the Baptist's parents where highly favored among the lord, they were some of his best soldiers that's why he chose them for such a difficult mission. Such is the case with you. Your are one of his best soldiers. God appreciates what you are doing. Live the adventure.

Does Size Really Matter

Does size really matter? I am referring to size the of your obstacles, or the size of your problem. Does it really matter. I was reading about the Israelites the other day they where in captivity. They were slaves in Egypt and they have been for the last 400 years. God sent Moses to them to tell them that he was going to free them from Egypt and send them to a land flowing with milk and honey. Sounds good right, sounds good to me I will take milk and honey over captivity.

So I am going to make a long story short the Israelites got to the promised land....Well they almost got there. You see they were about a two weeks journey from the promised land and God tells Moses to send some spies into the land to see who lives their how strong they where, and to see what the land was like and if it had a good crop.

So Moses selects 12 men, 1 from each tribe and he sends them out. What they find there is awesome. The grapes where so big that to carry one cluster they had to carry it on a pole between two men. 1 Cluster between 2 men that is crazy. The land was everything God said it would. Oh yeah there was one little catch, the sons of Anak where there.

Sons of who? The sons of Anak, to keep it short the sons of Anak where a race of Giants. Goliath was a son of Anak. Goliath was 10 1/2 feet tall, it gives you guys an idea of how big they where. So these guys where huge. I must ask again does size matter? To the Israelites it did they went back to the camp and said and I quote "We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit." Then came the but. Here is another quote ".
But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there." Then they said "We can't attack those people; they are stronger than we are." They began to chicken out. Why? The sons of Anak were to big. Does size matter.

To the Israelites it did. In fact the whined and cried and moan until God got so sick of them he sentenced them to wander the desert for 40 years. In fact that generation that whined and cried none of them entered the promised land God told them he would not allow them to enter until "everyone of you lies dead in the desert."

Here is the moral of the story God calls every single one of us to something awesome. Just like the Israelites, we all have a promised land to enter. Also just like the Israelites there will be sons of Anak which stand in your way. They will be big huge problems, things you don't think you can beat. However size doesn't matter. We must remember God called them to promised, it was their destiny to live their and rule over it. We must also remember our destiny's are our God ordained mission. we used to have saying in the army "mission first" that was your first priority the mission. God is looking for warriors people to go and expand his kingdom, people that want the promised land, and people that are willing to fight for it. That particular generation of Israel didn't so they got to hang out in the desert. It wasn't all bad they were provided for and they were safe, very little war takes place while they are in the desert however there is not a more mediocre existence than wondering the desert. If you want the best of God, the promised land you have to be willing to stand up against your own individual sons of Anak. God can get you through it, with him you will succeed but you have to be willing to fight to step out on faith and Live The Adventure.

SHOOT EM UP BANG BANG

I have a confession to make, I am an action guy. Want my top 4 movies try the 4 Die Hard movies. Long drawn out elequent and poetic diaglogues do not impress me, give me a one liner. Here is some dialogue from the t.v. "According to Jim" That I can relate to:

Wife: "I don't want to see a movie where something gets blown up"

Jim: "If something doesn't get blown up it ain't a movie"

You know what else I love Action Video games. My favorite video games are those in which youre surronded by a thousand bad guys and each level there just becomes more and more of them. I love to see just how far I can get and how many bad guys I can kill.

I think we can learn alot from the action video games and the movies. The hero never gives up, never quits, never thinks its impossible. There are no odds in which he is not willing to come up against. If he is going out he is taking as many bad guys as he can with him and saving as many as he can with his own life.

As christians we would do well to live this way, never give up and never quite and never be afraid to battle the odds. In addition you know youre life will eventually end so take out as many bad guys as you can and save as many good ones ( I am talking of removing demonic strong holds and saving lost souls remember our battle is not against flesh and blood. So don't kill anybody). Live the adventure.

MOOSE DISCLAIMER: Jake Godlewski does not support violent video games that endorse or condone violence done to the innocent or criminal activity AKA: Grand Theft Auto is bad so are games like it.

I'M A VIRGIN!!!!!

When is the last time you have heard that announced with pride from the roof tops. When was the last time you have seen a man puff up his chest and say "yep, never had sex" or a guy wearing a bright yellow bracelet that says VIRGIN. I have never seen it nor heard of it. Lets be honest, and I am talking mostly to the guys, virginity is not something we wear with pride. Its more like an embarrassing cumbersome burden that must be carried until marriage. The sooner we can legally get rid of this burden the better. I mean you're not even a real man until you've had sex. Those who have not had sex are quasi-men, semi-manly, kinda of manly, but not really manly, right.? I disagree.

Who do we consider men, who are the toughest of the tough, the bravest of the brave, the manliest of the men? How about Army Green Berets, or Navy Seals, or Pro-Athletes? Most men would consider these among the toughest of the tough and the manliest of the men. What makes them the most manly?

What makes them the manliest is the fact that they are conquers, they kick butt and take names, they do what few can. In fact of every 100 aspiring college athletes only 3 will become pro, out every marine who enters seal training less than twenty percent will be able to complete it, out of every 100 candidates for the Army's Green Berets only 7 will dawn the coveted green beret. These are sobering numbers but they are what make these men the best of the best, the toughest of the tough and the manliest of the men.

Let me share a few other numbers for you. 95% of all Americans have had sex before they were married, 54% of teens claim to have had sex at least once in their lives, 81% of the males in America have sex before age twenty. This is the thing we classify how manly men are by the obstacles they can overcome, the things they can do that others can't. According to these numbers in the struggle against premaritial sex 95% fail, the majority before they get out high school the rest shortly thereafter. The bottom line is staying pure is hard, in fact it is satistically harder to stay a virgin until marriage then it is to become an Army Green Beret or a Navy Seal, and just 2% less difficult than becoming a pro athlete. By these numbers I would say being a virgin makes you a certified butt kicker not a wimp. Take pride in purity you're achieving a feat few others can. Virgin is not an embarrassing classification but rather a title that should be worn with pride. Its right up their with Centurion, Spartan, Gladiator. I AM A VIRGIN!!!! scream it from the roof tops, puff up your chest and say "yep never had sex", dawn a bracelet that says virgin, your a certified butt kicker, you're the elite, you are doing what others can't. For the record I stayed a virgin for twenty six years, until I got married, and I am proud of it! Live the adventure.

Elisha Noah Godlewski

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce my son Elisha Noah Godlewski. He is not born yet but he his on the way. I think I might be the typical proud father, I like this picture because he is smiling. I remember leaving the Doctors office that day thinking "yep, my son can smile" as if smiling was some tremendous feet. I am also proud when he kicks or makes movement. Its not so much what he is doing it is the fact that my son is doing it. I also look forward to meeting him, this is a puzzling because I don't even know what he is like, in fact really I won't be able to socialize with him for about another twenty years. It doesn't matter though because he is my son and I am interested in him and proud of him for whatever. Doesn't matter what he is or is doing he is mine.

This leads me to my point you are gods, gods love is not based on performance or what you can do for him its based on one thing and one thing only, you are his, you belong to him. That's it, nothing you did or will ever do matters to him, he isn't attracted to your personality or your looks, he likes you for you because you came from him.

That's awesome. It gives us the freedom to screw up, fail, make bad decisions, say things that are stupid and know gods love isn't going anywhere because it was never based on that to begin with. Live the Adventure.

Wher have you been?

Where have you been, who is this. You mean there is something actually different than a picture of oranges up on the screen. Crazy. Okay so I have been gone awhile. In fact its been so long I had troube finding my own site.

The questions looms; where have I been and what have I been doing and why did I stop my blog. The very simple answer is I have been living the adventure in real time. This blog has been adamant in expressing one thing, life is an adventure and like all true adventures it has its very high high's and its very low, lows. In fact the reality of the situation is that in most adventures there are more downs then up, there is more time spent in grave danger and extreme hardship than there is time spent in the sweet moment of victory.

We have seen enough adventure movies to know one thing the sweet moment of victory is well worth all the hardships that the hero must suffer to get there. In the hero's sweet moment of victory we all marvel him and wish we where them and wish their story was ours. So where have I been, I have been one of the low lows, I have been is the scene in the movie where nobody wishes they're the hero, the part of the adventure we wish we could skip, but with out this part (the hard part) it would not be an adventure and the hero would not be a hero. While I am not a hero yet, I want to be, I want to man who stands at the end of the story in his sweet moment of victory. I want all you out there in blog land to be a hero as well. I encougrage you if youre down then get back up, if youre struggeling don't stop just keep moving, the hero that quits is not a hero. I am including a song in this weeks blog its an oldie but a goodie its words in this season of my life have rang truer then anything I have heard on christian radio, I hope it encourages you as it does me. Don't back down and live the adventure.

Do You Like Oranges

How many of you like oranges, I know I do. In fact my favorite Juice is tropicana with lots of pulp. Its almost like drinking a solid orange I love it. Let me ask you another question how many of you like hot humid weather. I don't ethier in fact I hate it. Its funny though oranges grow best in hot and humid weather.

I was taking a walk and saying my morning prayers. The first thing I did was thank God for the beautiful weather. I sure that I am not the only one, we all thank God for beautiful days. But the cool 75 tempatures do not bring florida oranges. The same is true with green grass, everybody likes green grass but how many of us curse the rainy day.

My point is this thank God for the good days, thank him also for the bad days because of the good things they bring. Live the Adventure.

Soldierz

I wanted to discuss the idea of soldiers. While within a given army all soldiers are belong to the same army, and that army has one collective mission. Each soldier generally has a individual mission that he must do in order that the army as a whole can complete its objective.

While I was in the army there where are a few different groups of soldiers. There are those which us combat guys deemed as Pougs. Pougs we said sat in the rear with the gear. These are typically your admin guys, supply guys, and your techies. These types of Soldiers you usually stay in the back far from battle, very far. They may be in the same country but they are miles from a gunshot. Often times they will be in air conditioned buildings, they are always nearby supply chains, having quick access to food, water, showers, beds. They lead the most comfortable and safe life that can be lead by a soldier.

Then there are you combat arms guys or your front line soldier, these are the guys who are always near the battle, Where ever a gun shot is fired they are there. They are typically not close to any supplies. They often have poor food, no showers, and get little sleep. They are very uncomfortable and rarely safe.

Then you have the roughest of all soldiers, your special forces. These guys never sleep, they go into the roughest climates on earth, for days at a times, often with a small ruck sack. They bring no rain gear, no sleeping gear, very little food. There ruck sacks have room for mainly ammo and equipment. They are in small teams with little support, at the drop of a hat they are asked to go to the far corners of the earth and not tell friends or families where they are going or when they are coming back. They are elite and highly favored by their commanders, they are however rarely honored what they do is done is secret, if they get a medal their not allowed to tell you why or how they got it. Their great deeds and hard lives are lived in secret.

Who are you and where do you want to be. I must tell you that all soldiers no matter how rough or dangerous their role is play a vital part in the army, with out one of their missions the army as a whole would not survive, the army's mission would fail. I also must mention that no one is truly safe and that all units in the army face danger, some just more than others. I must say the army of God is set up the same way. There are those who's lives may be a little easier that doesn't mean their less spiritual or less saved or not as holy . It also doesn't mean that there better or more favored than you it just means there mission is different. We all have different missions and different burdens to bear. We must remember we are a team serving one purpose heading towards one goal, the kingdom of heaven. What ever mission God has chosen you for whether very easy, or very difficult it is your mission, bear it with pride. That's what soldiers do. Soldiers of God...Live the adventure.

Where else would you rather be

This is a special post as I write to you today from the E.R. room my wife is being treated in. Relax, its not serious. At 12:20 in the morning a day of pregnancy nausea where she couldn't hold anything down had taken its toll on the girl and she requested to go to hospital. I must admit that as I lay my hand on my wife's stomach to pray for her as we took the long sleepy drive to E.R. I became a little discouraged. Its 12:20 at night I know the hospital stay with will take us to at least three if not four. I loath aproaching the check in desk and telling them that I don't have insurance, I loath even more the exorbant hospital bill that will follow. A voice in the back of my mind says "have faith". Another voice quickly retorts; I am tired of having faith, tired of praying tired of believing when will I just get a brake, I always feel like I am ice skating up hill in a snowstorm, can't I do something, can't I go somwhere else.

Then I hear the voice of God, its always different from the thoughts in head, its louder yet more serene and it always speaks sense that you can't deny. He said "where else would you rather be" it took me but a second to realize I love this stuff. Don't get me wrong I am not looking forward to another bill nor a sleepless night but I look forward to what it brings. At the end of this there will be a child and God only knows how awesome he/she will become, the mighty things they will do. Its the same with life yes its hard especially right now but where else would I rather be. I am in the midst of the adventure God has sent me on how cool is that. What do I want to retire, sit on the porch and experience the easy life? You have got to be kidding me I want the adventure I want to see it and do it all, but no adventure comes without peril and sacrifice, child birth will be no different, nethier will the life I live. The greater the adventure, the more awesome the story, the more difficult the circumstance one must endure. There is only thing left to say...Live the Adventure.

Legacy

I have been thinking alot about what I want to be rememebered for. I remember a man that died while I was in Iraq. When he his fellow soldiers stood up to give testimony about him they all said one thing. "He was pretty good a sports". I do not want the defintive memory people have about me to be "he is good at sports". The fact is I am terrible at sports so I don't have to worry, but the point I am trying to get at is I want to be remembered for something deep, something that will impact lives, not something superficial. I want to be remembered for how I handled adveristy in my life, my reactions and responses to difficult times, I want my memory not to be an example in good times, but for what to do when times are not so good.
It is this desire that allows me to perserve some days.when I get frustrated or discouraged and just want to quit, or when the godly life seems to tiring and I want to go astray, there is always the nagging thought in the back of my brain when people hear my story and they hear this part what will they hear; how I perservered or how I quit, will they hear how godly I acted or will the hear how selfish I was? I must remember that every day and every moment even the difficult ones is my legacy in the making. I must ask with every decision I make how do I want to be remembered.
What do you want your legacy to be, remember every moment of every day is your legagcy in the making, how do you want to be remembered. Live the adventure.

Maybe God Doesn't Hate You After All

In Judges 10 we once again read how unfaithful Israel has once again fallen into the hands of an evil foreign power. In their distress they call out to God they say (and I am paraphrasing) "We have sinned against you, we have turned to worship other Gods, Help us. God replys "time and time again I have saved you and yet you still turn to worship other Gods, Tell you what cry out to your other Gods, Let them save you" Israel persists even throwing out their other Gods then It says remarkably in Judges 10:16

"Then they got rid of the foreign gods among them and served the LORD. And he could bear Israel's misery no longer."

He could bear their misery NO LONGER. No longer? You mean he was having a tough time dealing with it before, you mean he wasn't enjoying Israels misery even after they had betrayed him yet again? What? That doesn't make sense? Could it be that God does not delight in the suffering of people? Thats Crazy!

Crazy but true. The fact of the matter is God does not hate you, when you suffer he suffers, he hates seeing you in distress. There is a lot more we could take about in that verse but for now I just want you to let that thought simmer. God doesn't hate you, talk to him tell him your problems ask for his help, maybe you'll find that God can bear your misery no longer. Live the adventure

Knowing war

I was reading in the Judges 3:1-2

These are the nations the LORD left to test all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan 2 (he did this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience):

Why is it importan that a nation would know war. Ever seen this on a bumper sticker:
"No Jesus, No Peace"
"Know Jesus, Know Peace"
Let me submit to you another expression.
"No War, No Peace"
"Know War, Know Peace".
To establish a Kingdom takes a fight, so does keeping it. Obviously the country that can not war will be easily invaded. In addition a country that does not know war only has one option to keep its self secure, that is diplomacy. While diplomacy is a great tool for keeping the peace it has a great weakness, compromise. The problem with compromise is that you have to give something up, you give up where you stand on a certain issue so that opposing side will give up where they stand and war can be averted. A country that can not defend itself will always compromise the problem with always compromising is you lose what you stand for, you quite being who you are and believing what you believe and become what ever they want you to be. Thats why a country needs to know war, because sometimes we have to fight not because diplomacy hasn't worked because on some issues diplomacy is not an option. The same is true in christianity, we must know war, we must be able to defend our faith, there are some issues on which diplomacy and compromise is not an option. Live the Adventure.

Comparing Apples

An Interesting comparision. As I round the end these two books I am reading 90 minutes in Heaven and 23 Minutes in hell I am coming to an interesting comparison. The man who went to heaven describes his exeperience as unending joy that only got better as time went on, while the man who went to hell described his experience as unending fear,suffering, and hoplessness that only got worse as time went on.

I reminded of a verse ephesians 3:19 and to "know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." Its paul speaking to church about the love of Christ. What does being to filled to measure of all the fullness of God about. Its about not having want, if you are filled to the "measure of all the fullness of God" the you have the "fullness" of God and what does God want for, nothing he has everything. So when we know this love that surpasses knowledge we have everything we'll ever need.

I say this in my comparsion of hell because the man that went to hell had nothing but want, the man who went to heaven had so much he had want for nothing. All good things Come from God, This can be easily seen in heaven and hell. Where God is abundance, joy is in abundance, where God does not exist, joy does not exist. The bible goes to some lenght to warn us of hell, quite often this is used as a way of scaring people into becoming Christians. Don't get me wrong hell is a real place and if you're not a christian you will find your self in hell, However I don't think Jesus teaches on hell to scare you are force you love and serve him, I think he does it because he loves you and he knows whats best for you, and he knows that when you are with him you will have unending joy. His warning us of hell is completely selfless its based on his desire to see us live the lives more abundant. " I lay before life and death, I beesech you choose Life". Live the adventure.

Toothpaste?

We all get angry, for many of us when we get extermely angery we tense up we clench our fist, were not neccesairly going to hit someone, but their is just so much energy being built up it has to go somewhere. Tensing and clenching fist is a way to release that energy. Keep that in mind.

Now I want to share with you an analogy I once heard.Words are like toothpaste they come out of the tube easy once out its almost impossible to put them back in, when its said its over. So when you get angery I suggest you don't hold any tubs of toothpaste. Live the adventure