Voice from the Midwest

Time to vent for our country

2009-08-13T06:57:00.000-07:00

The time has come for Americans around this country to stand up and demand that our voices be heard without the threat of future retaliation. This country was formed with the promise of freedom of speech and the right for individuals to speak their minds, even if it is unpopular.

I demand the right for ALL people to speak and ask questions. We have the right to disagree and the right to share our opinion. Let's defend the right of those around us, because if they lose their rights we will some day lose ours.

I have been watching the way that the press describes the people who are asking questions in these town hall meetings where those who disagree with health care reform are unamerican, racist, and out to destroy the president. While I did not vote for president Obama, he is none the less my President. I pray for him and his family each day asking God to use him and guard him daily. I do not agree with his plans and question why we have to push bills through without reading the bill. What happened to the promise that we the people would be able to see the bill for 5 days before the president would sign it? Why, congress, would you vote on a bill that you have not read, how do you know what the effect the bill will have on our lives if you have no idea what it really says?

I am not a member of the GOP nor am I am plant, I am just a citizen that is concerned about the direction of his country. If you believe that this country is a great place, granted with its issues, than stand up and defend her for all we are worth!

How

2009-08-06T22:40:00.000-07:00

I sit here tonight trying to figure out many things in life. I have hit one of those moments that call us to REALLY think through life, and I am sober! I say that only as a half joke, because many times people hit this point only after a good amount of drinking and they start to wax philosophical. Many of you might not find this post of interest, but I need to blog it so here it is...

How is a question that I am really struggling with...
How do we love, how do we show love, how am I supposed to love as a husband, as a father, as a son, as a friend, as a child of God?
What does that love look like in action?
How will I know if I am loving the way I have been created to love?
How is it that a word that sounds so simple can get so complicated in our lives?
How in the world does God expect us to understand this thing called love?

As I ask these questions a scripture verse comes screaming to mind... "there is no greater love than a man lay down his life for another". (John 15:3). Is that the answer to all of the questions above? I understand that Jesus is the ultimate example of the love of God in our world, but can I be like Jesus... NO, but Jesus can live in me...
If I am to lay down my life to another lets see what the question look like with that as the answer
How am I to love as a husband... lay down my life for my wife.
How am I to love as a father... Lay down my life for my children.
How am I to love as a so... lay down my life for my parents.
How am I to love as a child of God... lay down my life to God.

What does that look like in action? I guess that it means that I put the "needs" of others to the head of my to-do list. I am to make sure all that my wife needs, and I am able to provide, is given. Now we need to be careful here and realize that this does not mean that I ignore my own needs, what I need to do there is trust that God will keep his promise and meet all the needs in my life.

Let's look at the question I started this post with... HOW. How do I love and how do I show love... I love by allowing others to be the priority and allow their needs to be the driving force of the moment. I love by trusting God with my heart even if doing that at the moment may scare me to death, I trust God with all my mind, all my strength, all my soul, and with all my heart. This action allows God to love through me in ways that I cannot love on my own.

It all boils down to trusting God... to meet my needs, cause if God will meet my needs I am free to allow others to needs to come first!

God please help me to trust you to meet my needs, and allow me the blessing of being your hands and feet by meeting the needs of others in your name. AMEN.

Lost the focus and pray for its return

2009-06-02T22:45:00.000-07:00

As I lay awake tonight I am struck at the amount of change that the world is under. We live in a country (USA) where many of the fundamental aspects of our country seem to be at risk. In fact so many things are changing that it is easy to lose focus on the goal that God has planted in your heart.

With this in mind I need to confess that I have spent way too much time looking at the signs of the times, (not a bad thing to do, as we are told in scripture that we should know the times) the mistake that I have made is that I have allowed the concern for the future to cloud the vision of what God has called me to do. I have been called to help set the captives free, to help restore sight to the blind, to bind wounds and help people to find the freedom to REALLY live. I am not talking about surviving, but living each day as the greatest gift you have ever been given, as it just might be the last day you are given.

I live in an area that has experienced some of the greatest job loss that has been experienced in a generation. with 20%+ of the population out of work there are many people looking for a sign of hope and a reason to be encouraged. Some looked to Politics thinking that a change of leadership would bring the hope and change we need, but it has and will continue to fail no matter what party is in office. The hope that we need has been promised, but we will not find it in an earthly creation, we can only find it in the greatest gift ever given, JESUS.

I have allowed the urgent nature of the changes to pull my focus off of helping people to meet Jesus and discover a relationship that can and will change lives. My task is not to prepare for the end by some master plan, but to introduce and help the people around me to start the greatest journey they will ever take... a walk with Jesus. I need to remember that God has not called me to come up with the plan to save the people around me, God has already taking care of that, my job is to be faithful in the call I have been given.

My job is to love the people around me without judgement or reservation. I am called to love people even when they are really hard to love or when they refuse the love I offer. I am to show them the love of God at work in me as an example of what God can do in them, if they are willing to allow God in their lives. From this time forward I ask that God will keep me focused on the mission and the goal with total obedience to God's call and Word. May the Spirit burn in me so brightly that everyone around notices a difference and wants to know what is different about me.

This is a task that I ask for your prayer for me, and for your part in the mission of Jesus Christ. Will you join me in helping the world to find real hope and a change that can be counted on? We need to show the world that no matter what happens around us we have no reason to fear for God is with us ALWAYS!!!

Thinking about marriage

2009-05-06T09:41:00.000-07:00

As I prepare to do a premarital counseling session I am struck at how little we really think about the marriage we have been blessed with. If you are like so many out there you give very little thought to the relationship you have entered into, outside of the occasional thinking of you gift. What I am talking about is the actual decision to be married that we must make each day.

When we decide to be married it means that our thoughts and desires are not for ourselves, but for our spouses. We take a step back from what the world says we should do, look out for #1, and listen to what God says, look out for our spouse. It is My job to make the path as clear as possible for my wife to achieve her dreams, because her dreams are in essence my dreams.

My goal in life should be, and is, to have a wife that knows how passionately she is loved and knows how deeply I care. Today I make the decision to be married to Amy, now may my actions speak much loader than my words.

I am soo Glad

2009-04-30T08:30:00.000-07:00

I am so glad that I am not in control of the weather. Have you noticed that no matter what the day is like someone is ALWAYS complaining about the weather? I wonder if God gets tired of hearing all of the people grip and complain.
God may I spend more time thanking you than I do gripping about so event or something I do not have.

Walking the Walk and Taking Care of Trash

2009-04-21T07:07:00.000-07:00

If you were in Wakarusa during the Maple Syrup festival you might have seen some of the people, who call Front Porch ministries home, cleaning up the streets and changing the trash can liners. We were asked to do this as a way to raise funds for the ministry and as a way to serve others, plus it was a great two days to walk around and be outside.
As I was walking and changing trash I thought about how this was just what God has called us all to do in our daily lives. We have been called to put our faith into action by serving others, no matter how gross that task may be at times. There were many trash bags that I would have rather left for others to do, but knew that was not right. In fact how many times in our daily walk do we leave a messy task, such as confronting a person who’s words or actions are hurting others, or reaching out to that less than lovable person in need, for others so that we don’t have to get “dirty”?
God has called us to get down and get dirty as a way of loving people by serving them where they live. The way that we treat the “least of these” is the way that we treat Jesus… “…Anything you did for the least of these here, you also did for me.” Matt 25:40
Where is God calling you to take care of the “trash”, those people others have cast off, and how is it that you will respond? I would like to encourage you to allow God to show you Jesus in the eyes of the least of these, and in so doing you will truly be walking the walk of faith.

The difference

2009-04-14T05:14:00.000-07:00

Have you ever noticed how easy it is for people to criticise others and their actions? God has called us to live each day with a righteous abandon. That means we are to live each and every moment like it is our last, and it might be your last.

My challenge is to be the one taking the risk to REALLY live and not merely survive each day. Take the chance of being real with the people around you rather than putting on the "happy face". Yes people will look at you differently and they might even talk about you, but you will be living.

The difference between those that live and those that criticise their actions is the same as a farmer telling the pig that the bacon is not good enough!!

God made you better than good enough so live and enjoy this day to the fullest!!

The day after Easter

2009-04-13T04:35:00.000-07:00

Have you ever noticed how much of a hurry our world seems to be to get "through" Easter. It seems that we cannot get away from the day fast enough. People rush off to school and work and forget about the awesome gift we have been given in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

My prayer for each of us today is that we find time to slow down and walk around the tomb again, all the time remembering that it is empty and because of that we can live to the fullest.

May the face of the risen savior shine in you and through you all the day long.

Remember to slow down and really enjoy the day we have been given, we are not promised any more time that what we are living at this moment.

A divorce Proposal

2009-04-09T07:02:00.000-07:00

This is not original to me. I found this and just wanted to pass it on to see what you think of the proposal. While I would never want to split the country, there are days where this idea sounds great.

Dear American - i.e. - [liberals, leftists, social progressives, socialists, Marxists, tree huggers, et al]: We have stuck together since the late 1950's, but the whole of this latest election process has made us realize that we want a divorce. We know we tolerated each other for many years for the sake of future generations, but sadly, this relationship has run its course. Our two ideological sides of America cannot and will not ever agree on what is right so let's just end it on friendly terms.So let's just smile and chalk it up to irreconcilable differences and go our own way, no fault. Here is our separation agreement. I think we can agree here:Our two groups can equitably divide up the country by landmass each taking a portion. That will be the difficult part, but I am sure our two sides can come to a friendly agreement. After that, it should be relatively easy! We suggest using the latest Red/Blue map as a beginning point. Our respective representatives can effortlessly divide other assets since both sides have such distinct and disparate tastes, so here goes.

We don't like redistributive taxes so you can keep them. You are welcome to the liberal judges and the ACLU. Since you hate guns and war, we'll take our firearms, the police, the NRA and the military.

You can keep Oprah, Michael Moore and Rosie O'Donnell (You are, however, responsible for finding a battery-biocorn-diesel vehicle big enough to move all three of them).

We'll keep the capitalism, greedy corporations, pharmaceutical companies, Wal-Mart and Wall Street.

You can have your beloved homeless, homeboys, hippies and illegal aliens. We'll keep the Alaskan hockey moms, greedy CEO's and rednecks.

We'll keep the Bibles and give you the mainstream media and Hollywood .

You can make nice with Iran and Palestine and we'll retain the right to invade and hammer places that threaten us.

You can have the peaceniks and war protesters. When our allies or our way of life are under assault, we'll help provide them security.

We'll keep our Judeo-Christian values.. You are welcome to Islam, Humanism and Shirley McClain. You can also have the United Nations, but we will no longer pay the bill.

We'll keep the SUVs, pickup trucks and over sized luxury cars. You can take every Subaru station wagon, Volvo, and VW you can find.

You can give everyone health care if you can find any practicing doctors. We'll continue to believe health care is a luxury and not a right.

We'll keep The Battle Hymn of the Republic and the National Anthem. I'm sure you'll be happy to substitute Imagine, I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing, Kum Ba Ya or We Are the World.

We'll practice trickle down economics and you can give trickle up poverty your best shot, or trickle down debt.

Since it often so offends you, we'll keep our history, our name and our flag. And we'll keep the southern state's flags as they were.

Would you agree to this? If so, please pass it along to other like minded liberal and conservative patriots and if you do not agree, just hit delete. In the spirit of friendly parting, I'll bet you ANWAR's reserves which one of us will need whose help in 5 years.

Global Warming, can we please talk about this??

2009-04-06T08:15:00.001-07:00

I am asking that we please either have a good discussion of the facts or please set the global warming "facts" to rest. We when live in a time period where the globe has not warmed in the past 8-9 years we really need to discuss the issue again.

I really want to have people look into this issue rather than allowing people to shove issues down our throat. You need to do your homework or people will lead you by the nose to anything they want you to believe.

Can we look at the effect of the historical lack of Sun spots and solar activity.
Can we begin to ask the questions from both sides rather than allowing one side to "claim the
ONLY absolute facts".
I really would love to have the facts from both sides rather than have the government telling
me that one side is the only truth and we must destroy our economy to stop something
that may not be true.

Anyone want to have a discussion on the issue?
Rob

Gold

2009-03-30T06:46:00.000-07:00

I have been listening to people talking about what they can do to save the money they have and in this market if you listen long enough the conversation generally comes to gold as a safe bet. They, rightly claim, that Gold has never been worth $0 and that it is a safe bet as we face a time of inflation. While all of that may be true It got me thinking of the real gold of life...

Gold, in my life looks like...

1. being the husband that my wife needs me to be
+ This means I need to love her more each day.
+ I need to serve her as a daughter of God.
+ I need to grow in my relationship with Christ.

2. I need to be the father my children need
+ This means I need to invest in them.
+ I need to serve them as the daughters of God (wow that changes how you raise girls
when you realize that they are God's children that I have the privilege to raise)
+ I need to work to make memories with them, not points with the boss!

My question for you is....
What is gold in your life?
Are you investing in Gold that will last for eternity?

A sign for the times

2009-03-26T06:31:00.000-07:00

Is this what the budget from the Administration looks like? I am sick and tired of another administration that made all these promises and than breaks them as fast as they can. Will America please wake up and pay attention to the things that are happening in Washington?

Are you Serious?

2009-03-23T07:15:00.000-07:00

"House adopts plan for 'volunteer' corps also requires new evaluation of 'mandatory' service for all"

Is one of the latest headline I read and found that I was getting sick to my stomach as i read that we are going to get a brand new policy that would "require" ALL people to volunteer. Now let that idea sink in just a bit and i hope that you see the sheer stupidity of that statement. Can someone please tell me how in the world you can have people acting as a volunteer as a mandatory act?

According to my understanding of the word means "The word comes from France, and can also be translated as "will" (as in doing something out of ones own free will)".

I am very concerned that if you look at the bill you see that people are not only required to volunteer, but there will also be four year campuses setup to help people learn the information necessary to become a good volunteer. I challenge you to go and look-up the Weimar republic and see what similarities there are with that government and direction that we have been on since Bush.

Please make sure that you are paying attention to the things that our government officials are doing in our name.

Interesting

2009-03-20T11:56:00.000-07:00

I find it very interesting how little animals find a way into our lives and hearts. Our family has been raising goats for the past 7 years and each of these little ones becomes a part of our family, even the ones that are destined to be tacos. When "bubby" died last night I watched my youngest daughter hold the goat until the very end (she did this last year as well). She cried, but also realized the need for the time to say goodbye to a friend. As she was doing this I watched my oldest daughter care for her sister and make sure that all of the background "stuff" got done, which included holding her sister until mom and dad could figure out what was going on. It was during all of this that I realized that Amy and I have done something right to have two awesome and pretty mature young ladies as our daughters. I guess that I got a small glimpse of the women that they will be some day, and the future looks bright if that is true.

My prayer is when these pretty mature young ladies act more in line with their ages that I remember moments like these.

Rest in peace, Bubby and thanks for all the love you gave us in the few weeks you spent in our lives.

Calling ALL Americans

2009-03-16T07:37:00.000-07:00

You know I am sick and tired of people arguing about political issues without knowing what this country's founding fathers set in motion. When you sit and read the constitution and the other documents that our founding fathers gifted us with, you will see that we are called to live with integrity and self-control. When you live with integrity that means that you are willing to take the blame for your mistakes, known as personal responsibility, which is a dying trait in America.

I am calling on people to take the credit and the blame for your actions. Lets stop blaming others for the way we turned out or the things that happen in our lives. May we all live as people who expect the best and are willing to do all we can to make the best a reality. That requires you to be real. TAKE a stand and be the person God created you to be as we stand shoulder to shoulder. I refuse to allow this country to fall into political games that cause nothing but harm. I want leaders who believe in what they do, not just try to get reelected.

I pray that God will allow TRUE leaders to rise and call on our elected officials to get real or get out, because we are done with the games. No more party loyalty, because I am an AMERICAN not a party member. Will you join me in standing up for this country?

The questions of life

2009-03-13T06:34:00.000-07:00

There are some questions that keep a person up at night and here are a few that have kept me up at night...

If there is infinite bigness is there infinite smallness?

Where do the socks go that the dryer eats?

What happens in the brain of a teenager?

If a man speaks in the woods and his wife is not there to tell him he is wrong.... is he still wrong?

I hope that these questions cause a few more in your mind... what I as k is that you please share your crazy question with me and others.

Not Really Important

2009-03-12T11:25:00.000-07:00

I am sitting here thinking about how I would normally be sitting and watching basketball all day for the next few weeks, but I cannot really get into it. Why? could be that IU is NOT GOOD this year, could be that I am maturing.... I know i thought that was funny as well.
I guess that God is answering my prayer (a prayer to make God the center of my life) by reminding me that there are many more important things in life. I know that relationships will remain a central theme, but I also wonder what else God will help me see as not really important?

What id God saying in your life?

One day at a time

2009-03-11T04:48:00.000-07:00

As I left the funeral home last night i was reminded of how very rich I am. I may not have all the money I would like, nor do I live in the house i would like, I have no land, nor do I have gold stashed in a safe place for later..., but what I do have is worth so much more.
I have a relationship with the Living God through Jesus Christ.
I have a wife that is all in the world to me.
I have two (three) awesome girls.
I have a loving mother, father, two sisters.
I have two new bottle feed goats living in my back room.
I have my health.
I have the day that I am living.
The stories of friendships gone by.

As I said goodbye to an old friend last night I was reminded that it was not really goodbye, but more I will see you later. I have no doubt that he and I will once again join up and tell stories that are only known to us, because they are not fit for the ears of others (or ours for that matter).

You know there is real power in stories. Think of the stories for your family and the way that the telling of a simple story can change the mood of a room. What are the stories that you need to share today and whose life is God asking you to brighten?

Take the time to share your life today, as it may just be the beginning of another story that will be told and retold years from now.

Go and live the life that God has gifted you with.

Parenthood

2009-03-09T10:20:00.000-07:00

WOW if I had known when I was "having fun"... Let me start another way... There are days I am glad that I did not know then what I know now... With that said i would do it all over again.

Parenthood has to be one of the hardest things you can do in life. If you do it "right" you end up with a free thinking individual who no longer "needs (which I translate as wants)" the help of parents in the making of decisions in life. I am thankful for the children I have and look forward to the days when we can look back on all the issues of the day and laugh.

With this in mind I ask that we all take time to pray for parents, our own, those around us, and even ourselves.

God may you allow those who are pents the strength and the wisdom to raise the children you have blessed us with. We know that you will never give us more than we can handle with your help, and God we need your help. Guide us to raise the children to be strong men and women who are passionately in love with you. Thank you for the privilege of raising your children. Amen.

Now may we go out and do the very best we can, and know that you will make mistakes, but we survived the mistakes of our parents and our children will survive ours as well.

Spring is coming

2009-03-06T08:14:00.000-08:00

As we all as a nation, community, family have come this far through a very rough winter where we have witnessed changes that are once in a generation. While you may still have a job, what do your investments look like? As we can see almost no one has been untouched by the economic crisis, but we are still here. In fact I would point out that no matter how hard we get hit, we are still here.

Dear God we ask that you bind our hearts together as we struggle from day to day with this gift of life. May we no longer see it as a winter to be survived, but rather as a Spring to be enjoyed in living. As we complain, make us thankful for our voice, as we receive our bills, make us thankful for the resources we have. God teach us to be happy with the life we are given, no matter the winter we live, for we know that Spring is a comin!

Take time today to make a list of all the resources God has blessed you with (hint: if you are honest it will take a great deal of paper to complete the list. Start with life and count the rest...)

Post how many you come up with and which are the greatest blessings in your life, so we all can celebrate with you?

The REAL need!

2009-03-05T11:33:00.000-08:00

I keep hearing politicians say "we have heard your cries and we will take care of you", but I ask is that their job? I would answer NO. In fact IO believe that it is the job of the community around us to help take care of the needs that arise in our lives. Many of us belong to various communities anywhere from work, to neighborhoods, to churches, gyms, and families. All of these communities are critical for the well being of our lives. In fact I would argue that they are the sources of the very care that our politicians claim that they want to offer us. When life gets tough and we cannot take another step it is your family, neighbor, friend, or church that is there to help you pick up the pieces, not a politician. When a death occurs who is it that brings the food to our door, who picks us up with a card or a phone call... These are the people we need to be turning to, not Washington.
The REAL need of each person is to have a place where you belong and can be yourself. A place where in the words of Cheer's, "a place where everyone knows your name and their are always glad that you came". It is my prayer that you have a safe place to belong and can be yourself. The best gift you can give the people around you is your time and your attention. Do not wait till the end of life and realize that you have wasted time trying to be something that you are not... BE YOURSELF! take time to reconnect with the people in your communities and listen to their stories. In these stories you will find gifts of life and reasons to thank God for every day. You will also hear the stories of need and have the opportunity to offer aid... remembering that at some point in time you will need the very aid you offer.

I ask that you never forget that God created you as a special gift to the world and you are of infinite worth. When you allow the real you to shine out it is a gift to all those around you, and much needed in times of crisis. I ask that each of us take time this week to ask if we are being REAL with people, or not. If not... why?

In Times Like These

2009-03-02T17:26:00.000-08:00

Today we experienced a drop in the Dow Jones that took us to levels that we have not seen since the Spice Girls were tops on the charts (wow what a high in music those days were). So when the rug seems to be pulled out from under us ever day, what are we to do? I have a couple of suggestions that include....

What would the world look like if we spent more time making memories and less time worrying about not making money in the stock market (which is really out of our control anyways).

What would the world look like if we awoke every morning thankful for life and spent less time focused on what is going wrong?

What if we took more walks with loved ones and spent less time online or watching the TV?

God has given us a great gift of life and the only real control we have is how we are going to spend the limited time we have. So have will you choose to spend the time God has given you? My prayer is that we will all love a little longer, pray a little harder, and live a whole lot more.

Saturday Morning Walk

2009-02-28T05:03:00.000-08:00

AS I walked to church today I realized just how beautiful the world is even as the cast majority of it sleeps. How many times do we take the time to really look at the world around us? An example... If i ask you to describe the tree in your yard, could you? Many of us would give some vauge description of what we think the tree looks like, but have we really looked at the tree?

While that might seem like a trivial thing lets move the question to something/ someone a bit more important... Could you tell what your children look like, or your spouse? Too many times we forget to really look at the blessings in our lives and just take them for granted. When was the last time you really looked at your family?

Try taking this little test...

What is the favorite color of each member of your family?
What is the first name of their best friend?
What is the one TV show they never want to miss?
What is the best book they have ever read?
Do the pray, and what is their biggest prayer concern?

If you are like me you will find that too many times we cannot answer these questions and more. Do we REALLY KNOW our families or are we living with memories of the people living right under our noses?

I pray that today you will take the time to see God in the little things of life, which means that you are going to have to slow down to notice them. Here is to another cup of coffee and a much slower day.

Rob

Life of Integrity

2009-02-27T11:35:00.000-08:00

I have been listening and watching the "leaders" in Washington and have been getting more and more frustrated with their actions. As I turned to yell about what I was seeing God showed me the many times I have failed live with integrity. I believe that God is calling me, and you, to do some very basic things in life and they include...

1) Know who God is.
2) Know who you are... in God.
3) Know what you believe... or others will lead you by the nose to what they want you to believe.

God is calling us to be the man or woman we were created to be by serving God, our spouse, our family, and our community, and make sure that we do so in this order!
If we want the country to change we must be the change in our own lives. No longer can we look to Washington for the change, no matter what party is in office, we must become the change in our own families and communities. That all starts with the answer of the three statements above.

Am I willing to sacrifice everything for my God, my spouse, my family, and my community?