I Am NOT Just a Number

All through the Bible, God's people continually found themselves in bondage. They were constantly slaves to foreign countries who would rule over them. In Deuteronomy, we find them recovering from their slavery to the pharoah of Egypt. They were now following Moses, a converted man with a past... he had a criminal history to include: A one-time fugitive with an anger problem, who had murdered a man, and fled the country. Now this man, Moses, who had turned his life around was leading millions of people to the promised land... proving God can use sinners to do great things... but after 40 years of almost walking in circles, the people mumbled, complained, grew weary... they now felt in bondage to the dryness of the desert.. God had not fulfilled his promise to them.. in their timing... so they had built idols to other gods... in hopes of faster results... only to find that their agendas... did not mesh with God's... they had to learn to wait on God... we hate waiting 5 minutes a...

When's the last time you were desperate? Do you remember who you called and how you were treated on the phone? Were you blown off? Or has anyone taken the time to stop from whatever they were doing and listened to what you had to say? This is not a customer service class but it is imperative that we give each other our ear... How many times a day do I answer the phone to hear a desperate cry for help? I never know the intention of the caller... only their voice... a simple plea... Problem solving is my specialty and sometimes they get my best... and on bad days sometimes it is a struggle... We come in contact with hundreds of people a year.. many a day... when a person walks away from you... what have you left them with? what part of you do they take away... My dream is that when I am laid to rest... many will say that they were loved... that I cared for them... that I encouraged them... and brought a smile... that though I am far from perfect... I pointed them at any time to Chris...

If you've ever sat in an emergency room, and watched the eyes... of those entering the "room of horrors"... via the whisssshhhh of the sliding glass doors.. You can see the fear... of what’s to come.. Of what has occurred.. the lack of control... the tears in the eyes of a child... or the anxiety of a parent... a slow moving aging woman clutching tightly to the arm of a man whose loved her for 60 years... it takes ur mind off of ur own pain... for even a second... It’s a haven of sorts for the hurting... a place u run to in times of desperation... the dreaded phone call... late nights... the sound of constant dripping.. And the never-ending steady beep that is more annoying than a Smash mouth song... but is a reminder that one is breathing... Most of us are lucky.. that hospitals and emt's are minutes away... waiting for us to fall... crash... break... and though we hate going... to see a doctor... it is the first thing we do the instant a tragedy occurs... we call 4...

Headlines across our country state that today, March 23, 2010, is a historic day. It is a day where our elected president, Barak Obama, and his cohorts have much to celebrate . In such a time of change, when fear and the lack of control set in, we search God's Word for answers and guidance down this untrodden path. We can look to the book of Numbers where organization becomes a necessity. In fact, God orders Moses to conduct a census. In this census, the objective was clear and that was to count and register all the males over 20 that were qualified for service in the military. The people were segregated by tribes and the counting began. Big government had stepped in and the count was completed. One tribe was left out, the Levites. These men were to not serve in the Israeli army but were assigned as security agents for the tabernacle. They were enlisted to serve, but only for the Lord's house. Each tribe (12) in all were given a role. How did Israel respond to this demand? Num...

She sat at my table. Eyes rolled back .. Slow speech. soft breathing.. her usual smile taken hostage by a mixture of prescribed and unprescribed pills found hidden in a dusty medicine cabinet. expired no doubt.. she repeated words and fumbled her way through sentences.. just a child... and already captured by the allurement of dull colored "candies".. on a quest.. to capture her soul... He stood in my doorway... a young man... barely 20.. his eyes like wildfire.. his skin a color i cant describe in words.. id watched him grow up.. marry... and lose it all.. i saw him walking.. the dark shadows of the neighborhood.. his eyes hidden by a hoodie... always looking down.. he was an honest boy.. who lost his way.. he no longer spoke.. nor smiled.. head down.. always on foot.. looking for the happy fix to fill his unquenchable thirst... 40 no doubt.. a loner.. a man with everything to hide.. the truth was never visible.. the only obvious.. was misfortune.. and sadness.. and a painf...

Over the past week, how many times have we spoke evil of another? I have been guilty this week of "idle speech" or empty gossip and this is a despicable trait. Like a swarm of locust, gossip can swoop into a deserted heart and destroy all the "green" and beauty leaving it barren. Be angry, and do sin but speak the the truth. Do not let the sun go down upon your wrath. (Ephesians 4:25-26) This chapter goes on to say that no "rotten talk" should come out of your mouth except what is good about someone and building them up. What gets in our way?? jealousy, envy, insecurity, and impatience.... we forget our assignment... to walk worthy... I am often taken wrong... the confidence i seem to advertise is many times "cover girled" with insecurity... It leaves a bad taste... bad impression... and when you live your life around what people think of you... this can become a damaging concoction... Also, when we gossip, we may be masking our own fear... fea...

Off with her head!!!.... the queen of heart shreaks... she is only feared.. and never loved... a sad commentary for those who follow in her footsteps... even the rabbit's foot finds no peace in the red painted rose garden... at the end of the day.. when the spoiled queen lays down to rest... her only connection with her enterouge is a fake mirage of devotion bound by the fear she imposes on all those who grace her presence... Alice, a small seedling, in a world of green and black and red... falls in a hole...after running... from every challenge she faces... its all she knows... is to run... but the clock is ticking... so little time... so much to accomplish... so many decisions... she must grow up so fast... she like many of us... loses her way... But she finds peace in a mad man... strange how life brings us to the table of a mad hatter and a hare... and a field mouse... and it gives us the directions we need and the knowlege we yearn... to guide our path... there are so many jab...

Temper Trap is the name of an Austrailian alternative rock band but is also a description of what happens to many of us in our daily lives... We lose our temper... Many times this happens because we feel cornered, belittled, insecure, in pain, aggravated or what have you... but spewing out a verbal lashing for something miniscule is undeserving to those served... Instead of screaming all the time... we need to learn to be still... and handle our own insecurities and not take it out on those around us...but...what if the person on the receiving end of our lost temper are not "innocent victims" but suspect.. in laying a trap for us to lose it... when you live with someone for so long... we learn which buttons to press.. Psalm 37:1-2 "Do not be agitated by evildoers...For they wither quickly like grass and wilt like tender green plants"... this is easy to quote..but in the moment when the teapot is boiling... the sound of screaming steam is hard to silence... Get off t...