What is the big deal!

The title of this blog should be linked so you can read the article in question, but just incase here it the link HERE
I realize that this is probably a very debatable subject; truth is though I do not understand the over reactions. My subject J. Crew. For those of you who have not heard or read the article yet; let me fill you in. J. Crew has put out an ad that shows a mother spending some time with her child; that has painted toes. No big deal right? So, why all the talk? The child is a boy and his toes are painted pink. There have been several articles over this, but the only ones I have read are on Foxnews and Yahoo. There are those that say that this ad is horrible and is a danger to the child. I have this to say... What?! Their whole argument is about gender identity and that she is pushing her son to be something that he might otherwise naturally not be if encouraged in masculine activities. Who is to say he is not. You cannot make assumptions off of one photo. Anyways I think that the negative views are crock and they are grasping. Is it that his toes are painted? If so, they are saying that every man out there that goes and gets his nails manicured has gender identity issues. Or, is it that the toes are painted pink. So, every man who likes the color pink or wears a pink shirt has gender issues? Pure grasping is what I see from them. I say this for several reasons, first of all when I was a child the only sibling I had to spend my play time with was my younger sister. My sister and I spent great deal of my play time with her playing with toys that were defiantly not for boys. Such as Barbie dolls, my little pony and dress up. I will tell you this none of that made me have gender identity issues. In fact it helped to reinforce who I was. For those of you who know me I am not some small dainty guy walking around lol. I also learned things such as braiding hair and applying nail polish. What I see in this picture is a mother having a playful time with her little boy and honestly I believe it is very healthy for a boy to spend time with mom doing feminine things. Now I have to say if the picture showed a father with his daughter getting dirty, playing in the dirt or some other masculine activity there would have been nothing said. A boy playing with dolls, playing dress up or painting toe nails does not cause them to be gay or have gender identity issues. All the times I spent playing with my sister as a child just helped me in the long run. Most of all since I have 3 little girls! I swim in estrogen every day. But, as a father I am able to do things like paint toe nails and braid hair. I say to these people give it up and stop criticizing people. If they want to point fingers at gender identity issues point at all the dead beat dads out there that walk away from a woman with a boy or the father that never has anything to do with his boy child. Anyways that is my rant for the day; I am just tired of people putting down others, who cares if they turn out a little different than the norm. Let people be who they are and rejoice that they at least know who they are; the world would be so much happier. Someone identifying with another gender better or being gay does not make them a bad person.... it makes the human and everyone is different.

Been A While

Okay, it has been a while.. okay so it has been a long while..< roles eyes >. I have not fallen of the Earth, yet, but I have been spectacularly busy. So, all of it has not been so spectacular. It seemed the holidays got here went as quickly as they came and the new year hit and BOOM! Yup I got busy. School,life, kids, wife and friends. I regret to say that one of those has now fallen of my list (school), yeah I think that I just need a break from that for a while and focus on some of the things I enjoy.
While this blog will continue to focus on God and faith, I am going to be expanding it to cover much more. How much more? Life! Kind of vague I know, but it will be fun. Some of the things you will see on here are some of my crazy philosophical ideas, our snakes and their breeding, also our breeding of rats and mice, book reviews and things happening in the life around us and in the world. Yeah it is going to be interesting!
I do hope everyone will enjoy this new approach i am doing; I also hope that it will bring more comments and discussions.

Satan and Demons Lecture

This is the second part of my teaching series over Angels, Satan and Demons, Heaven and Hell

Lesson On Angels

This is the first part in a four part lesson I am doing with the youth group at my church. The four parts will be "Angels" "Satan and Demons" "Hell" "Heaven"

I am linking the first video in the series to the title of this blog click on it to take you there, however you can follow the link to my Youtube page and see the rest right now it is in 6 parts. The last 15 is still missing since my video ran out at that point. I will be rerecording this here shortly from my office. So enjoy watch al pass on to as many as you can. Don't forget to comment!

Question: How do you help someone that won't talk, other than prayer?

The best thing that anyone can do for someone who does not initially open up (which is the case with most people) is to befriend them. This may seem like a simple act, but I assure you that this is not always an easy task. In each case that Jesus talked with someone He was able to connect with them in a personal way. He knew who they were and where they came from and what was important to them. This was the same in Paul's ministry to those he went to; he was always in a place for an extended amount of time. The thing that is most important is to be the example in each and everything you do, making sure it glorifies God. Take the time to get to know the people you want to help. Hang out with them, do things they are interested in as long as it does not compromise your faith and God. The reward will be great you will gain a friend and you may find out you were the one blessed. God relationship with us is a personal relationship and so should the relationships we make. I once read a story in a book about a person who was ministering (helping) to people and one of the people asked him with much concern; "If I never become a Christian will you still be my friend") We are called by God to lead people to the Most High God, we do not abandon those who do not understand our ways, we continue to be a light for them.

Your Grace is Enough

We sing the words “ Your Grace is Enough” but do we really believe what we are singing. Do we understand that His grace is enough, do we know that His grace is efficient for us as Christians? ‘But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”’ 2 Corinthians 12:9. There is a underlying truth here that we often overlook. As Christians in order for us to experience the grace God gives us freely; we have to be in a state of weakness. We as humans have this inherited idea to make ourselves look great as possible. We do all we can to fool the world around us and ourselves that everything is okay and we have no weakness. Most call this pride and this can be most damaging to the Christian heart. How can God work with a prideful heart, how can God bless you in your pride and lies? Paul understood this when he talked about God’s grace. Paul even says that he will boast about his weakness. Does this mean we walk around with our head hung down and have this defeated look on our faces all the time? Not at all! As a Christian you are a child of the Most High God. Walk with the joy He has given you. I think that a great example of this is Hezekiah; he was the King of Judah he could not walk around looking weak and defeated. He did not even act this way when Sennacherib threatened to destroy Judah. Hezekiah could stand strong against his enemy because he knew where his power and protection lay. Before the Lord Hezekiah was a different man in Isaiah 38:3 we are told that Hezekiah “Wept bitterly” before the Lord. A man broken, a man weakened, a man that knew where God’s grace was greatest. “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” James 4:6. What Paul is telling us is that God’s grace is made perfect in our humility. Humble yourself before the Lord, you have nothing to boast about. All that you have has been given to you by God. Paul tells us that God had put a thorn in his flesh to keep him humble. Stop trying to fool yourself and the world, accept God’s grace. For His grace is enough. Do as Hebrews tells us in 13:9 let your heart be strengthened God’s grace not by earthly things. We put so much value on what we have, what we are or what we can do; pride is what all this equals. You want value, you want to know what you can really do, you want to let yourself and those around you who you are? Humble yourself before God keep your heart humble and let God’s grace rain down on you. His grace is sufficient, but will you let it be efficient for you?

Giving the Honor

Wow what a great start to summer. There have been tons of exciting this happening around here this summer. As it is said ‘we have hit the ground running’. With summer in full swing, the hear sweltering and water bringing enjoyment; there is much to be thankful for during this time of year.
I know that it has been a few weeks since my last post, but I assure you that I make no excuses for the lapse in time, I have been having a great time enjoying the summer with my family and friends.
Throughout the year there are many times to be thankful for what you have and the things you receive. However there just seems to be something spectacular about the summer months. Besides the heat being brutal, giving everyone a sunburn at one time or another, the work that is needed to keep up a yard or the work you talked about getting done all winter. We endure all this during the hot months, but at the same time we enjoy all the opportunities that come along with summer. The days spent at the water parks, baseball games, a day at the pool and the awesome food that accompanies group gathering cookouts and dinners. We enjoy the vacations and the stay-cations that summer brings. So, how is it that we so often forget to give the thanks and honor where it is due. Everything we have and enjoy is because God has giving it to us. We enjoy the ability to work in our yards and tend our gardens, when they grow and produce good fruit we say “we worked so hard in keeping it alive” when in fact God is the one that gave the plants life and your ability to work your gardens. Give Him thanks and honor for that gift. You go on vacation and have a grand time and you may tell someone “ we had to save all year to make vacation happen this year” give thanks to God that you had the job to be able to save for your family vacation. The time spend outside by the pool or on the baseball field give God the thanks for the ability to be there and the family or friends you enjoy it with. Those cookouts you have on Saturday nights, give God the thanks for having a place to entertain and the give thanks for the friends that He has blessed you with to have in your life. Often we get so tied up in what we are doing and how hard we worked to accomplish something, that often God gets set to the back burner in honor being given.
Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
Take time today and give God the thanks and honor for what you have and the love that He gives you.