Beating the Wind

Peace on Earth…God’s will toward men…all men…”For God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.” John 3:17

Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me…I love listening to this old Vince Gill Christmas Song.  My daughters grew up singing it and it is truly a family favorite.  I was listening to this song this morning and really feel the need to be as transparent as possible, as I write this blog.  So I ask my self the question…have I allowed Peace on earth to begin in my life?  

Peace on earth…this is something many say they want and desire but peace often seems so illusive.  This problem is partially because of our 21st century North American belief system.  Many people have found that they can have temporary peace without having anything to do with a Holy God.  Our perspective of peace has changed and we find ourselves running hard after the American dream always believing that the “dream” will bring true peace.  We are searching for the peace that surpasses all understanding.  The problem is, is that many times we are searching for peace in all of the wrong places.  Do you ever wonder what God wants from you?  Ask your self this question and ponder your answer.  God wants us to totally trust in Him and realize that He has our best interest at heart.  He wants us to know that He is true peace.  Trusting God is an activity that many people struggle with.  In being completely honest with you as I write this post, I just have to tell you that total trust is an area in my own life that I have struggled with over the years.  

I want peace, I really do, but sometimes my personal selfish agenda overrides His (God’s) leading in my life.  When I allow this to happen, I can tell you by the many painful experiences I have experienced that this is always the beginning of major problems for me.  
True peace, it requires trust.  We are to trust in the Lord with all of our hearts.  I can remember reading this passage of scripture and thinking how trite this seems.  I always wanted to totally trust God but must admit that I sometimes felt that there had to be more to this trust thing than I was understanding.  I wanted to do much for God and in doing for Him, I was hoping that true trust would develop which would lead me to real peace.  This is an exercise in futility.  

Trying to develop trust drove me deeper into a works relationship.  I felt that as long as I was doing, I had trust…but when I was not doing…my confidence would be sapped and I would experience doubt and despair and I would get caught on the merry go round of life that truly is not so merry.  The only way to cure the problem (so I thought) was to do more for God.  I had allowed my relationship with my creator to be based on what I could do for Him.  I don’t exactly remember what changed all of this…but I can tell you that I was tired of doing….I wanted peace with God.  It was during this time that I realized that He did not need me to accomplish His will.  I then realized that I was created to worship Him which helped me to realize and understand that apart from Him, I am truly nothing.  The bible teaches “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom….When I revered God for who He is and recognized my own insignificance, I found peace.  Perfect peace comes from a real and dependent relationship with the creator of the Universe.  He loves me…in spite of me.  I cannot do anything to make Him love me more…and I cannot do anything that would cause Him to love me less.  He knows all of my inadequacies and weaknesses, He knows that I am going to mess up and yet He still loves me.  My hope and peace come from Him and this my friend…develops trust.  I cannot do it without Him.  If you are searching for peace, I want to invite you to stop doing so much and step into His arms of grace…I love you all<><

A great video staring children, giving their perspective on the Christmas story. Found this while perusing youtube…Great Job!

The Marshmallow Test from Jérôme Magron on Vimeo.

this is so cool, I feel for the little guy that did so well. What would you have done?

Here is a video of Avery Jane singing Away in a manger

I am so thankful this morning…my eyes have been opened and I finally understand why I am so screwed up. Had I not gotten up early yesterday, I may have missed the little news tidbit and continued to wonder where my aggressive and competitive attitude came from. This news article I read has kind of explained to me the reason why and given me opportunity to ponder what might have become of my life had my childhood been different. I am a child of the 60′s and 70′s who grew up in a middle class home in the suburbs. For the most part lived and led a pretty normal life. I have always enjoyed the Christmas season. In my childhood, I especially loved the childrens Christmas specials that came on our family television year after year. I particularly liked a certain presentation called “Rudolph the Red nose reindeer”. I have always thought how amazing it is that the unlikely under deer (I mean underdog) who in this story seemed to bumble relationships and struggle with social interaction because of a malady he was born with. I loved the story line because the unlikely and awkward character of Rudolph…becomes the hero. I talked with my youngest daughter who is almost 20 years old and she agreed that it was a great story because in it we see the downtrodden becoming the hero. She thinks and I agree that Rudolph is a story of triumph. I guess the barbaric way in which I was raised her must have rubbed off because she feels the same way. I can remember vividly as a little boy, watching with anticipation and would find my self cheering for Rudolph as Santa stands perplexed at the deteriorating weather conditions…until…he finally realizes that this social misfit, this self proclaimed outcast, this Red Nose Reindeer is the answer to his biggest problem. Because of Rudolph and his bright red nose, Christmas is saved and not only does all of the toys on the Island of Misfit toys get rescued, the children of the world will get a visit from Santa and receive presents. I see it as the classic good winning out. It is a win win situation right? Not hardly, according to Dr. George Giuliani, a special ed professor at Long Island University in New York. Dr. Giuliani feels the treatment Rudolph receives from jolly St. Nick and his merry band of reindeer is tantamount to bullying. I must have missed something here…I am not certain that we watched the same show…are we talking about the classic children’s television special, that has aired every year since 1964? Are we also talking about cheesy animation and a very simple story line. What I see when I watch is a character that overcomes and adapts. I can understand Dr. Giuliani’s premise but whole heartedly disagree with his opinion. Parents should engage and equip their children and teach values. Parents have a responsibility to help children understand what is right and what is wrong. Children’s movies are not the problem, the problem is that the home has been fragmented. A lack of involvement by caring and loving adults in the lives of children has caused us to lose prime teaching opportunities. Our problem is that we live in a broken society. The home in 21st Century America has been destroyed in to many communities. I am very aware that bullying takes place, it has happened to children in my own family. But I do not believe that children will manifest this behavior by simply watching a Classic Christmas Special. Bullying is a learned behavior that develops over time. When allowed to continue, the level of violence increases. Parents have to watch for signs in their children and quickly be ready to deal in the event they are being bullied, or even worse…if they are bullying. I am almost certain that in 1964 the writers and creators of Rudolph did not have bullying in mind when they wrote this wonderful story. So yesterday afternoon, I sat down with three of my beautiful grandchildren and watched Hadley, Avery and Ben as they watched Rudolph…I watched their faces especially when the teasing of Rudolph was taking place. The look that I observed was one of disdain for the teasers and complete admiration for Rudolph. I think the story is great…I believe it teaches that we can overcome any obstacle and that everyone matters. I am thankful that my 29 year old daughter has taught these values to my grandchildren.

By the way…if you are interested, you can purchase an e book written by Dr. Giuliani called “No bullies at the North Pole” for $9.95

Peace…

ABC News Article

Saw this and thought of Calvin the Wonder dog…had to send it to my daughter Ash…

An amazing day…

I hope and pray that this day finds you well. It is a cold and rainy Nor easter morning here in North Florida today. I want to take a moment and tell you about one of my morning’s last week. It was a day like many other days as I was stirred from my sleep by the twilight that the North Florida sky brings on most mornings. I could tell by the colors coming through the door that it was going to be a gorgeous day. I quickly got out of the bed and got dressed and made my way to the docks at Fleming Island Marina for a look at the day that was before me…what I observed is something that is totally indescribable with words…it was the kind of view that required a moment of silence…I snapped the picture…trying to take in all the grandeur of the moment. I silently thanked God for allowing me see and experience such a wonderful sight. I hope that you enjoy this picture as much as I enjoyed experiencing the morning. Peace…

The way to upgrade your mind, is to download scripture…

Priorities…I like to think about priorities and processes. I realize that only by careful planning can I accomplish all that is required of me. So I try to plan and schedule out my week in away that will allow me to accomplish the priorities that I have deemed necessary. Someone once told me that the person that controlled my calendar, controlled me. When I heard this, I decided that I wanted to be the person that controlled my life.
Recently, I sat down with a group of wonderful college students and we talked about our spiritual priorities. I asked them about the distractions the keep them from spending time with God. We came up with a complete list so I wanted to share the list with you this morning. I feel the list is not exclusive to college students, it really applies to everyone.

Distractions that keep us from spending time with God.

1. Finding time-because of busy schedules, time with God must be scheduled. Think about your day and your responsibilities. Finding time to spend with God is essential in our spiritual growth…Make it happen.
2. Finding somewhere quiet-This may or may not be important for everyone, but for many that I spoke with they had difficulties finding a place quiet where they could concentrate and focus on prayer, meditation and reading the word. I have learned to get up early, there are all kinds of quiet places around my house early in the morning. This may not work for you but I am certain that if you are diligent, you will find the perfect place.
3. Being consistent-this really seems to be a problem. I know that it may sound rigid, but I plan my quiet time. I have a busy schedule with lots of demands on my life. My time with God is essential, so I schedule it. I put it on my calendar first. In doing this it allows me to give priority to the most important task in my week so that I can be consistent. It requires looking at your week in advance but allows consistency.
4. Staying awake-for college students, this seems to be a real problem. What can I say here except…get some rest. Better plan your time. Don’t procrastinate other task so that it minimizes your time with your Creator. Jesus to us to “Seek first…” I have found by planning and spending time with God after a good nights rest is best for me. I spend my time with God first thing in the morning.
5. Keeping concentration-focusing seems to be a big problem for many people. I sometimes struggle with focus. In talking with these college students about their quiet time habits, this seemed to be a real and realized problem for many. This is a major concern for the people who struggle. You may be reading this blog and realize that you struggle with this problem, Here are some suggestions for you.
a. Concentrate on smaller blocks of scripture. Ask God to guide you, look at the passages along with your journal. Write down questions as you read.
b. Use a devotional guide. There are many quality devotional guides on the market that can help you focus on a specific topic. Look for a guide that will direct you to scripture that helps explain the passage. One of my professors told me the best commentary on the scripture, is scripture. I agree with this but I also realize that many times we need help understanding the scriptures. In a future blog, I plan on listing some quality devotional guides that will help
6. Knowing what to do-Talk to God, ask Him to guide. Again a devotional guide might help. I journal, so I go back through my journal and I am always reminded about the issues that I am dealing with. I write questions in my journal about the scripture that I read. Most of the time, God begins to stir in my heart and I just follow His lead. In those times where I do not know what to do, I just sit silently and wait on Him. I find peace sometimes in the solitude. God is always at work.
7. Having the desire-this is a heart issue. When I gave control of my life to God, the desire to spend time with Him became a priority. I look forward to my time with Him. I have been a believer for a long time and one of the pitfalls in this is sometimes I allow the business of life to rob me of the desire to spend time with God. Again, I have to make my time with God a priority. I realize that by making priority for the things that I love will bring the desire. Also, we need to seek accountability from others. Holding each other accountable allows us to be reminded about our love for Him. Making Him the top priority in our lives will bring the desire. We honor what means the most for us

I hope this list helps, I would be interested in you adding to the list…What distractions do you deal with?

Today has been one of the most enjoyable days that I have had in a long time. I have been blessed by being able to spend some quality time with my oldest daughter Emily. We are taking a little trip together and I am so thankful and happy knowing that she really wanted to spend this time away with me. As I look at the beautiful young lady that is sitting next to me on the airplane, the first thing that I realize is that time really is passing by at a very rapid clip. It seems like just yesterday, that she was a sweet little girl with bows in her hair and bruises on her knees. In watching and listening to her, I realize that I truly am blessed beyond measure…she is my daughter and that in its self is a great and wonderful privilege. But I realize that her being my daughter is not where the blessing is…she is also my friend. I thank God that she is my friend. I truly enjoy spending time with her and find my self looking forward to seeing her and hearing about the challenges that life brings. I love to hear the plans that she and Brian (her husband) develop to overcome these challenges. I am amazed and thankful at the young lady and mother that she has become. I feel this way about all of my daughters . They are each unique and special in very different ways. As I reflect on my life and the relationships that I have with my daughters, I am very thankful that God gave me a wife that knew exactly what to do in shaping the lives of three wonderful and godly young women. People ask me often how we raised such wonderful daughters…so I decided to make a list. I hope and pray that this list will help you as you raise your children…

1. We encouraged our children to fall in love with Jesus. We talked about Him and very much wanted to teach them precepts learned from the word of God
2. We encouraged our children to be actively involved in the local church. Church was a priority for us. We encouraged involvement in the church and for our daughters to explore and understand the spiritual gifts that God has given them.
2. We encouraged our children to dream. We talked about their dreams often, they believed (and still do) that the sky is the limit and that if they delight them selves in the Lord, that He will truly give them the desires of their hearts. .
3. We encouraged our children to ask questions. Questions bring clarity, we have always wanted our girls to know and understand how to deal with the challenges that life brings.
4. We encouraged our children to sing! At the top of their lungs…all of my daughters sing very well and now my grandchildren love to sing. Click this link to hear my grand daughter Hadley
5. We always held our daughters to higher standards. We did not place unreal expectations on our girls. We taught our daughters what was expected of them and what would not be accepted…and they never disappointed us.

4. We taught them to be decisive. My girls know how to make a decision…they know how to lead. In times of despair and chaos, I have confidence they will make a informative decision and stick with the decisions they have made. We gave them input into the family decisions.
5. We placed high value on family time, this has paid major dividends as they love to spend time with their own families, and still love hanging with their mom and me…

This list is certainly not exhaustive, raising daughters requires constant diligence and prayer. I hope the five simple things that I have listed will help. I would love to hear from you. Email me your thoughts on raising children. I would love to hear from you (Email Jeff)

We always encouraged our girls to dream and dance, to express them self and enjoy life…I love to just sit back and watch. Enjoy your children.

This is my seven year old grand daughter Hadley, she borrowed moms phone and not only made a video, she posted it to her dads youtube…this is awesome