Joseph was/is the man!

So have you ever thought about how awesome Joseph (Jesus’ earthly dad) was? Think about it this guy was engaged to Mary looking forward to marring her and then come to find out she is pregnant! I don’t know about you but I would have an extremely hard time just looking past that. Not to mention there is the whole she got pregnant by an immaculate conception piece that would throw anyone for a loop. Finally you have the enormous pressure of raising Jesus. I mean come on would anybody have blamed the poor guy for hitting the road and not looking back?

Do you know what the best part is though… He manned up and stood next to his wife no matter the opposition. As a husband I can really learn a lot from such an unsung hero like Joseph.

1. Nothing is bad enough to leave

2. Roll with the punches

3. Put my desires to the side and lift up my wife

4. Be a man and make the best life you can

These are just a few things that are jumping out at me.

What do you think men? Women feel free to comment as well, what can we learn from Joseph?

Trying the patience!!!!

How many of you have kids that at times can just get on the very last nerve you have and then just dance a little jigg on it to the point you want to pull your hair out?  Oh that’s right mine are the only ones like that. The funny thing is they can be on the very last nerve I have and then in a matter of minutes do or say something that is so genuine or sweet that you can’t help but forget about all annoying things they had been doing. As a dad it is so important to learn to fight the right battles with your kiddos. I have only been a dad for a bit over 3 years and still battle with choosing the right things to battle.

I am so thankful that my FATHER is not like that no matter how annoying I get, how terribly I listen, or how many times I disobey His direct instructions He still loves and accepts me and all we have to do is ask Him and we are forgiven for all the crazy messed up things we do. Do you feel like you have done something to upset your FATHER, then tell Him you are sorry.

What Are we Chasing?

In this day and time it is way to easy to set out sights on things that don’t really matter, and chase dreams that aren’t really dreams but more like lust of the mind self indulgence. The “wouldn’t it be cool if” syndrome. Isn’t it amusing that as Christians we can still fall into this the same if not worse than those that don’t profess to be Christ-followers. My wife and I are at a bit of a crossroads in our lives right now and are in constant conversation as to which way we should go. Our careers are not where we thought they would be and of course there is the financial side of things as well, the list of wants (not needs, but wants), and so on. I think back to what the Bible says about these things and instantly feel ashamed that I have allowed myself to arrive at this destination and soon realize that we have taken our eyes of the Grand Prize and set our sights on the runner up achievement. As Christ followers it is so important to keep our eyes on Christ no matter what piece of eye candy catches our attention and tries to pull our attention off of HIM.

Do you feel like this is happening to you or am I the only one? Time for some transparency lets talk about the things that are pulling at us to loose sight of our finish line.

The Bible…Reading VS. Studying

So as some of you know I have been in school now for a bit over a half semester and learning tons of new stuff. One of the things that I have been learning is how to study the bible vs just reading. Reading the text is great and I will never encourage you or anyone else to stop reading but when you want to kick up the reading and really study the text here are a few things that will help make that journey happen.

1. Grasp the text in their town -What did the text mean to the biblical audience?

2. Measure the width of the river to cross– What are the differences between the biblical audience and us?

3. Crossing the Priciplizing Bridge– What is the theological principle in this text?

4. Grasping the text in our town– How should individual Christians today apply the theological principle in their lives?

This is just the beginning of studying the Bible in a whole new way, J. Scott Duvall and J. Daniel Hays put together a great little book titled “Journey into God’s Word” “Your guide to understanding and applying the Bible” published by Zondervan. I am becoming a big fan of this little book and recommend that you go pick it up.

Today is the day

So obviously it’s been awhile since I put up anything new and it’s been for good reason. I didn’t run out of content just ran out of time. Between being a full time dad, and husband, working at the church, and going to school full time among other daily things this has just gotten put on a back burner. Well hopefully things will start to slow a bit and all the topics that have been rumbling through head can start to come out. Anyway enough excuses just remain patient and we will see where this goes.

See ya for today but check back maybe this evening or in the morning and see if there is anything new.