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MEN! If there is one thing I can encourage you to do well…it is this.

LOVE YOUR WIFE WELL!

So many husbands once they have ‘caught’ their wife, no longer pursue her. They think ‘she’s fine now….she got what she wanted…ME

Well, sort of.

She does want you, but she wants the you she was DATING, and fell in love with.

Not the bum who sits on the couch and watches sports 24/7.  Or the guy who has replaced her with hobbies, and other interests.

She wants to be romanced. She wants to be #1 on YOUR LIST.

Guys!!! listen…you set the tone for your home.  BE A LEADER!!

I know guys who have been married for 30 something years, and do they love their wife? SURE THEY DO…does it seems like it from the outside? Sometimes?

If your married and you never look at her and say ‘i love you’ that’s a problem.

Tell her that she is beautiful… how about, ‘The most beautiful women you’ve ever seen!’ ?

Tell her these things in PUBLIC. GLOAT ON HER IN FRONT OF OTHER PEOPLE! Sure she might act a little embarrassed but you know what…down deep she is THRILLED that you’re doing this.

Send her flowers just because it’s Tuesday. Catch her off guard.

TAKE HER ON DATES. YES actual dates, (the things you used to when you were young and horny)
Who knows maybe if you show some interest maybe she’ll show some back!!! …BUT don’t do those things EXPECTING something in return.  Do it because you LOVE HER!

Take time AND PRAY WITH HER, show her what it means to be a spiritual leader.

All I’m saying to my fellow husbands is #MANUP and pursue your wife.

Don’t let your marriage grow cold and stagnant…but rather throw some life into that thing, and let her KNOW she is wanted.

Have a GREAT WEEKEND!

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. – Eph 6:12

Something that is very necessary in our culture but, seems for some reason to fall short, are men who are not willing to confront their own weaknesses, and allow Jesus to use them, and those weakness for His purposes, and glory.

So many times men moan and complain about those weaknesses, and use them as a crutch, and an excuse not to do anything, and as a result it cripples everyone around them.

GUYS! Stop running from those weaknesses, and confront them.

Do battle with them. Don’t play around with them. BATTLE THEM!

We are not fighting some little backyard bully, we are waging war against the devil himself. And the ONLY way we beat him is in the power of the spirit!  How do we do this?

Follow this blueprint:

Ephesians 6:10-18

It’s time to do something.

GET OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE!

Romans 8:15

15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

Sometimes there are moments in your life when you have an over abundant fear of something. And there sometimes might be RISK involved when facing that fear…

Fear of a new job
Fear of the unknown
Fear of trying something and failing
Fear of a relationship
Fear of ________________________

God is our dad! He’s there with us the whole time! We have no reason to be afraid!

Last summer we swam ALOT! We were at the pool at least 2 times a week. The kids LOVE the water.

My boys looked at me and said “Can we jump off the diving board into the DEEP WATER?”

I said “SURE!!”

So…we took the LONG walk down to the other side of the pool where the diving board was, and where the DEEP WATER was….
As we walked both boys grab my hands, and I noticed as we got closer the tighter they squeezed my hands. They both said “dad, I’m a little scared…” I said “it will be OK. I won’t leave you guys! I’ll be in the water.”

I told them I’d jump first…so I dove off into the water first…I DID NOT DIE…I stayed out a few feet away from the diving board…first boy got on the board.
I yelled out: ‘the water is fine…come on in.’ He took a deep breath tightened his goggles and JUMPED!!! I swam beside him back to the wall. 2nd boy walked up on the board…shaking….I yelled out again ‘the water is fine…come on in buddy…” He JUMPED as well…and into the water he flew. I swam with him to the wall too…

As we walked back I asked them “what made you overcome your fear of jumping. They both said “YOU WERE IN THE WATER…SO I WAS NOT AFRAID!!! ” WOW…that was a gut check, and tear jerker. And it got me thinking…

Sometimes there is risk in our lives…but you know what?…

Our DAD is with us. Jesus is walking beside us the whole time. We should never have a spirit of fear. So make the jump. Our dad is calling out to us and is saying “Come on in…the water is fine… I WON’T LEAVE YOU!!!”

Be encouraged today!

The boys got pogo sticks for Christmas and we broke them out…I un-packaged them for the boys, and let them play…then I hear “dad come here…”

So I walked back and found the boys doing this…

They are pogo jumpin’ crazies.  I said “AWESOME” and started to walk away….then they screamed out…. “DAD…WE WANT YOU TO WATCH US!!!”

So, I sat on a bean bag exhausted from the day….and watched them jump…all they wanted was ME!  They wanted my attention and to say “That was a crazy wicked jump buddy…” and they would laugh and slap  high fives…it took 10 min. of my life to do that.

Was it worth it?

Yep!

As a result they were confirmed as men…in the fact that the questions were answered.  ”CAN I DO THIS?” “Am I strong enough?”  Answers: YES YOU CAN!!!  YES YOU ARE STRONG ENOUGH!!

Why is there such a massive debate over traditional worship music over praise and worship music?

People will say ‘it’s about worship…hymns express worship better than praise and worship music…and vis-verse.

I get the core idea. It’s comfort. People like comfort, and things that they know.

Nevertheless the issue still stands.

And the sad thing is that is causes people to get REALLY angry.

There are moments that I sing a hymn and it feels as though Jesus literally walks in the room. Then there are times it’s just another song…

Then there are times that I sing a praise and worship song and the same thing applies…JESUS just showed up. And then…I’ll be singing a praise and worship song, and there is nothing. Just another song.

Why is it that so many people get so excited and awestruck in worship when they sing “In The Garden” (hymn) but if “The Revelation Song” (praise and worship song) comes on they automatically bristle up, and say ‘This song is no good.” and likewise someone will say ‘I HATE those old songs…”

The thing is that BOTH camps are horribly wrong.

The thing is that WORSHIP MUSIC IS NOT ABOUT YOU!!!!!!

It is our response to our Savior, and there are moments that a hymn fits the moment, and God speaks through it, and your heart is blessed. Then there are times that a praise and worship chorus melts the heart and shows you a glimpse of who Jesus is. There is no set magic to one style of songs.

Shame on both camps of people who say ‘this is the ONLY way it should be done.’
#1 Stubbornness of age
#2 Ignorance of youth.

BOTH CAMPS need to learn to step out of their comfort zones, and look at the music as an avenue to worship Jesus.

I wanted to write something very fitting…and this song (Colored People by dc Talk) is the only thing that kept running through my mind.  And this part of the lyric was the sticking point.

Ignorance has wronged some races
And vengeance is the Lord’s
If we aspire to share this space
Repentance is the cure

God has created us all…and for anyone to judge someone by the color of their skins is just downright sinful.  We need to understand that God looks at the content of a man’s heart…NOT the color of his skin.  So you know what….So should we!!!

for we walk by faith, not by sight. – 2 Cor 5:7

Each day there are trials that come our way, but God has called us to trust in Him, and not lean on our own understanding…I think these photos illustrate this idea…it looks as though you are walking on air…but there is a foundation to walk on.

God is calling you to step out and walk with HIM!

How are you trusting God today?

We have a sign that hangs over our living room, and it says:

“We may not have it all together, but together we have it all.”

**More crazy photos HERE

That’s just the thing…family is not perfect.  I know we watch TV and we think that things should go a certain way, but 9 times out of 10 they don’t.  That’s just the way it is.

And I think that alot of the reason so much frustration happens in the home is we think certain things should go a certain way, and when they don’t… our selfishness blows things out of proportion.

But that’s just it.

Family is going to be messy…reguardless of where you are in life, or social status it’s gonna be messy!

But you know what?

I would would not trade anyone in my family for the world.

God created the family…sin entered into the family….and what we need more than anything is Jesus to make it whole again.

My hope is that we would strive to run after God in all areas of our family life.

When we do this as a family unit everything flows quite nicely!

Here is another GREAT guest blog by my brother David Gordon.  Great thought!

I know that living in the time we live in every day comes with its own set of worries and trials but we need to keep our eye on Christ and remember that He is in control of our lives. Jesus teaches on this very subject in Matthew 6:25-34 If you can read the prior verses because I will only be touching on a few like Matthew 6:25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?” and Matthew 6:34 “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

Now Jesus is not telling us to go live a care free and reckless life, but just not to worry about the things that we cannot control. Don’t be stressed about anything, I know that that’s a hard one to cope with because I stress out over the smallest of things. In a recent study over 11 million Americans suffer from unhealthy levels of stress, unhealthy meaning some people having heart attacks and strokes. So just remember God is in control of your life and when a stressful situation comes about look at it as an opportunity to learn something.

What are some things you worry about??