Holding On Tight

…The Ideal place to build a log home would be in a country setting, possibly on a large parcel of land. Years ago, there was this movie called ‘The Wilderness Family’. It was about a young couple whose dream was to build their own log home, live off the land, and raise a family. One day, while sitting in traffic, the young couple looked at each other, smiled and said, “Let’s go and build that cabin.” So they rented a float plane, and got dropped off in a remote valley, ready to build their homestead. I’m not quite there yet. My ideal place to build a log home would be on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia. One of my favorite things to do there, is stay at one of the many B&B’s. I love to meet the owners, and hear their life’s stories. I’ve often thought, if I owned a B&B, I would call it, ‘Open Door B&B.’
Your heart is your door, an entranceway of sorts. You could be very receptive to the things of God, or you could be so closed off that you miss even the simple things. It’s as though you have a lock on your door. I’ve come to realize that it’s our choice, how we react to situations. For some people their entrance way is a path full of flowers leading up to a welcome matt. For others it leads up to a moat with a draw bridge, and nothing is going to penetrate my castle, my space, my thinking, my bank account, my my, my. Lord forgive me. As I am sitting in my front room, I’m looking out a window with see through curtains, barely able to make out what’s outside. Wondering, do I need to add curtains to my log house or leave the windows plain? I want to be able to look outside, at all the things His hands have made, and not be afraid of the unknown. Shirley commented the other morning, maybe in a log home we don’t need curtains. Have you ever had that “aha!” moment? This was mine. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to remove the curtains, to be transparent, to be who we are on the outside, is who we are on the inside. I am not saying we need to remove all of the curtains so that the world can walk by and see us exposed, but I think we need to let the world see our Faith. Working on this part of the house has made me realize I still have some work to do in this area, and I am thankful that I know this, and feel it’s a step in the right direction. I am not sure what lesson I will learn next, as I continue, but I’m excited to see where the Lord leads.
Job 8: 9-18 (Message Translation) For we're newcomers at this, with a lot to learn, and not too long to learn it. 10 So why not let the ancients teach you, tell you what's what, instruct you in what they knew from experience? 11 Can mighty pine trees grow tall without soil? Can luscious tomatoes flourish without water? 12 Blossoming flowers look great before they're cut or picked, but without soil or water they wither more quickly than grass. 13 That's what happens to all who forget God - all their hopes come to nothing. 14 They hang their life from one thin thread, they hitch their fate to a spider web. 15 One jiggle and the thread breaks, one jab and the web collapses.

Lord help me to hold on to all that is true, all that is noble, all that is from you. My prayer is that you hold on to His word with both hands. Log-On

A light unto my path...

…I was so looking forward to this day. The day that I get to add lights to my log house. Now that it’s here, I’m feeling just a little uneasy. When you think about it, it’s the light that dispels the darkness. Right now my mind is racing with thoughts of light. Turning a light switch on in a dark room makes it impossible for the darkness to stay. Try this: sit in a room that has a ceiling lamp. Now just relax, let the light be absorbed into you. I hope that doesn’t sound too weird. Now get up, walk down a dark hallway, or go into another dark room, and turn on the light switch. Now try the same thing with the lights off. Sit in a dark room, now get up, walk down the dark hallway, or go into another dark room and look for the light switch, and turn it on. I don’t want to influence your thinking, but when I sat in the room with the light on, and had to get up and turn on the light switch in the dark rooms, I almost felt comforted, like I had taken some of the light with me. I could also turn around and see where I had come from, or I could return to the main room and absorb more light.
I have always thought the opposite of light was darkness. The more I think about it, the more I feel its temptation. We are told to resist temptation and stand your ground. The more temptation leaves us, the more opportunity light has to shine. When we pray, asking God to help us, we expel the darkness. If your heart is real, and your prayers are sincere, I believe God honors that. Psalm 119: 105. "By your words I can see where I'm going; they throw a beam of light on my dark path." As you read His word for yourself my hope for you is that your spirit will absorb some of His light. Log-On

The Guarantee

…As with any product, there are many variations, as to what accessories are included as standard equipment, and what are options or luxury items. Most log home companies offer a shell package where all you get are the outside walls. Some offer a lock-up package, which includes roof, doors, and windows, then the owner takes over and hires the sub trades. Plumbers, electricians, finish carpenters, are brought in to bring the home to completion. Isn’t odd that Jesus was the son of a carpenter? A sub trade.
I think by now if you have read some of my past blogs, you know where I’m going with this. Our bodies, in a way, are much like a log shell waiting for the sub trades to come and complete us. We are all made pretty much the same, but some of our options are a little different. Maybe you have blue eyes, or your skin color is a different shade. Some shells are blessed with different talents, but really we are all the same shell. We all want a guarantee when we purchase a product. We want assurance that it lives up to what it’s supposed to do. If the product comes with instructions, that they are easy to understand, and when the item is put together it’s complete, with no parts left over...Whole. Did you know that the word of God comes with a guarantee? It’s not a guarantee that you will be wealthy, drive a big car, or live in a fancy house. It’s a guarantee that says, “If you search for me with all your heart, you will find me.” There are many good books on the market. Books on how to get inner peace, books on spiritual growth, books to help you grow… all good tools, but don’t let these books overshadow the original instruction manual, The Bible. Ephesians 1:14. The Spirit is God's guarantee that he will give us everything he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. This is just one more reason for us to praise our glorious God.
Wholeness to me means peace. There is a peace that passes all understanding. My prayer for you is that you find His peace.
Log-On

…It’s Friday morning. I spent much of the morning detailing; adding moldings and trim around the door and window openings. I’ve also started to add some color. My first choice was green for the trim, but the more green I applied, the more I didn’t like it, so I’m am going with blue. I’m so surprised in the amount of time that this stage of construction has taken. It feels like after the major construction is over we have to deal with the smaller details.
Samuel l6. 7 But God told Samuel, "Looks aren't everything. Don't be impressed with his looks and stature. I've already eliminated him. God judges persons differently than humans do. Men and women look at the face; God looks into the heart." (The Message)
The bible says that we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. We are instructed to live one day at a time, not to worry about tomorrow, that tomorrow will take care of itself. We all have different gifts to build up the body, and if we withhold these gifts the body suffers. Years ago I believe I was given a word for the church we were attending at the time. The word was to worry about nothing, pray about everything. We are called to pray at all times, to pray in every situation, and expect God to answer our prayers.
Have you ever gone ahead of yourself in things that you needed to do? Maybe you weren’t too proud of something you said, or something that you needed to make right. A promise you made, that you still need to keep. I believe our hearts can grow cold if we let these moments pass us by. So many people struggle to hear Gods voice, I think we hear fine, the struggle is in doing what He says. Somewhere in our lives we left things unfinished. It could be as simple as writing a letter to someone and thanking them for the encouragement they gave you, or visiting your mom and giving her a bigggg hug, or calling an old friend and sharing your heart. It’s funny how sometimes we have to be reminded of the simpler things of life. I’m so looking forward to the day when I start to add lights to my house, but for now I have to take stock of where this building is at, and complete what needs to be done. My prayer is that each one of us would take stock of where we’re at before we move on. Log-On.

The Gift

… Have you ever picked up your camera because you needed that special picture? It really shouldn’t come as a surprise to me anymore but it still does, that the Father of the universe wants to bless me. As I’ve said in earlier blogs this isn’t about dreams or log houses, it’s about going deeper and hearing God for yourself. On an earlier blog, I needed a picture of our church building. Since our church doesn’t look like a church, and it has many functions, the picture I needed to take would be special. Did you know that God gives good gifts to his kids? As I’m standing, thinking, do I take a picture of the people in the congregation, or a picture of the building? Just then my son walks by holding his sons hand, and my spirit is moved, and my thoughts turn to a Holy Father. A proud father, a strong father, holding his child’s hand, and the child being so comfortable, as there is almost a oneness to their stride. This isn’t the picture I had come for, but it’s the one that impacted my spirit. God wants to walk with us, all we need to do is reach up and take his hand.


Psalms 25:4-5 Show me the path where I should walk, O LORD; point out the right road for me to follow. 5 Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you.

The Heart

…The Fireplace: it’s the focal point, it’s where things happen. If I close my eyes I can almost see myself sitting in a big, old armchair drinking a cup of coffee, and reading a good book. Or just being quiet and listening to the fire and feeling the heat. Because of the massive size of the logs, the heat from the fire is retained in the logs, giving the home a warm, friendly feel.
When designed, a good designer takes special attention to where he places the fireplace in a log home, so that maximum heat penetrates the rest of the home.
Fuel is the heart of the fire in the fireplace. Heat you can feel, but you can’t touch. Flames give character as they dance and move, as if they were reaching upwards. If you don’t add fuel, the fire will go out. If you were to keep a small ember going, you could add more fuel and reignite the fire. Why is it that when you walk into a room and the fire is lit, you get drawn to it? Maybe you hold your hands out to warm them, and rub them together, or you turn your back to the fire to warm your back. People with passion, people with a dream, draw me in. I love to hear their stories. You can almost feel their excitement, like heat from a fire as they share their passion. They started with a thought that turned into a dream. As they added more fuel it turned into reality. You may have a dream that if you were to add fuel to; such as schooling, volunteer, serve an apprenticeship, put the time in; who knows what could happen, who knows what would get ignited? On my blog profile I stated that one of my favorite movies is the final Rocky. It’s a movie about heart; having something inside of you that needs to be taken care of, going the distance, and finishing well. Leavin’ it all in the ring.
Heart, a word I have never really been comfortable saying, is not that organ that beats inside of us, keeping our bodies alive. It’s more that part of us that we can’t hold, but you can feel it. We all want to feel GOD’S presence, to hear from Him, to know the He walks with us, to be passionate about the things that are pleasing to Him. The Bible says we’re to have a heart after the things that please God. What is that, and what does that look like? At times I’ve shared my heart with my daughter. It’s usually a lesson, or a promise from some experience that I have felt God saying something to me. Sometimes, not all the time, I tear up, and she can see how much of what I am saying means to me. I believe it’s moments like these, she see my heart. The other morning we were having a chat, and a cup of coffee, and as she started to tell me something that has impacted her, I could see how something inside her was moved, something in her spirit, and as she shared her heart, she started to tear up. She paused, looked at me, and said, “I get that from you”. The Father’s heart. We are called to have a heart after God’s own heart, it’s loving, always forgiving, always wanting the very best for us, it’s excited for us when things work out, and sad when things fall apart. My own heart has been encouraged, as I have tried to share some of my thoughts with you, and I am thankful for that. I am also wondering if it’s time for some of us to get back in the ring?

Jeremiah 15:20 They will fight against you like an attacking army, but I will make you as secure as a fortified wall. They will not conquer you, for I will protect and deliver you. I, the LORD, have spoken!

It,s Just a Building

…It wasn’t that long ago that people lived in log homes, grew their own food, had some farm animals, and were basically self-sufficient. My son commented he wished he had grown up in the Sixties, because the music back then was better. Sometimes I wish I would have grown up in a different era. I wonder what it would have been like to live off the land? Hard work I’m sure; rewarding probably. I’m sure they took the time to rest, go to church, be with family and friends, or just enjoy a day away from work. But the world has changed. I think we have given that away, and lost something in return. With the pressures of life, high mortgages, the fast pace we are all moving in, it’s difficult to find a place to be still. Church isn’t about the building; it’s about the people, it’s about a sense of belonging. It’s about coming together as one, and giving thanks as we worship. Our church service this week was a worship service-Super Sunday. Our God is a God of second chances, and I am so grateful to this body of believers. As I look over the congregation my mind is reminded of some of the people that have prayed for my family, and I rejoice in my spirit. Sometimes we can leave a service with a word, a thought, or maybe a conviction. Today I was so grateful to Graham and the worship team because I got to leave with a song, ‘Our God’: “And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us?” Monday. I’ve sanded the dark look away. It took longer than I had hoped it would. Wow! All I can say or feel at this time is, “Lord you know my heart, and I will search for yours.” There’s a real darkness that wants to remind us that we aren’t good enough, that we fail more than we win, that sin leaves it’s mark on us. But we need to press in to all that God has for us. I think its o.k. to be reminded how far we’ve come, and give praise and thanks to where we are. Hebrews 12: 1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. My prayer, as you read this verse is that you take out your Bible and read the remaining verses. Log-on.

Moments in Time

…Dreams don’t always come true. Reality, life, call it what you want, has a way of coming to the surface, and sorting itself out. I have often wished I had known my own dad’s dreams, his thoughts, what his hopes were; but that wasn’t to be. He died when I was 25, and we never got to have that conversation. Maybe I am too open with my dream. Dreams don’t always come true. It’s the memories of our loved ones that are true; it’s the songs they taught us, the hugs they gave us, their moment in time we got to spend with them. Today I stained the logs. It made the house look darker than I had hoped; a look that I am not happy with. It was kind of discouraging; to a point of what’s the use? I have spent all this time, and there seems to be heaviness over the project. But there is something inside of me that needs to complete this task. As I sit sipping my morning coffee; trying to pray, and hear in my spirit where I am at, and what lessen I will learn. Somehow I feel at peace. We are all stained. We all have sinned. We all have past stuff we would like to forget. Sometimes I need to be reminded how far I’ve come; how much I’ve been forgiven.
It’s a new day. I still think the stain gives the house an overall dark feel. Sometimes my own spirit has a darkness, almost a heaviness that I don’t like. We are called to be transformed, to renew our minds, to share each other’s burdens. So I open His blueprint. It’s funny, I feel like I’ve had a conversation with the foreman. What a strange thought. I get some advice. Simple, why don’t you remove some of the stain? Sometimes we can get so caught up in the problem, that we don’t see the simple solution.
So I did some sanding. I removed some of the dark stain – and I press on.
Romans 12, 1:2 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice -- the kind he will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask? 2 Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.
I would like to encourage you as you read, that God is in the business of transforming lives. My prayer for you is that you don’t give up, and miss out on the way he will transform your life. Log-ON

The Covering

The site been chosen (us)…the foundation is in, the walls are up, the door and window openings are cut out. Now is time to think about the roof. The roof of a log house has two functions. First is to keep the inside dry; second to protect the logs from the elements with an extended overhang, or covering. God’s Holy Spirit is given to each one of us at birth. It sits in our very core like a seed sits in the ground, waiting for just the right time when it breaks free. The young shoot struggles to the surface where it can find fresh air, sunlight, and nourishment to grow. There is an accuser. All he wants to do is pile on more dirt, more darkness, more rain than we need, to drown our spirit. His main goal is to stop you from being all that God has called you to be. You could be a young person looking for direction as you try to find your way, or a young couple learning to raise a family. Maybe you’re a grandparent reflecting on a life that has past. Wherever you are on this journey, you still need to break free. We still need to push upwards as we grow. There is a covering when we are in God’s will. There’s joy,
contentment, laughter, song, dance and even tears. There’s also a peace that passes all understanding. As I struggle in my spirit with the roof, and how it relates to this house, I can see how I still need to grow. My prayer and hope for you as you read some of my thoughts is that I have encouraged you to go deeper and grow. Phil 4 :6-8 6 Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. 7 Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. 8 Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious - the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. (The Message)

Design

A need to fit… Log homes are designed in such a way that allows for settling and shrinking of the logs. Because of the high moisture content in each log, allowances have to be made over doors and windows with gaps. These gaps allow the logs to settle and not crush the doors or windows. As the years go by in a log home, the logs learn to find their fit. It’s been said that you can hear the logs pop and crack as the moisture evaporates.
Overtime, as the logs settle and find their fit, the home becomes a much tighter and stronger structure. During construction, metal threaded braces which support the building are placed in critical locations. It’s the owner s responsibility to adjust these supporting rods as needed.
We are designed with a need to fit in somewhere. It could be on a sports team, a career path or profession, or even a church. There is something that is added to each one of us that we need friendship and acceptance.
To put it another way, All We Need Is Love. Have you ever noticed the confidence you see in newlyweds? There’s nothing they can’t do, they’re in Love. Or an athlete in top form in the game he loves. There’s an assurance that he could conquer any opponent. Love is such a small word, but it’s the greatest gift you will ever get. There’s the love between a parent and a child, the love two people have for each other, or the love in your heart for a cause. Love to each one of us may seem different, but I don’t think it is. Love in a way is surrender to whatever we give our heart to. It should come as no surprise that Christ’s Spirit is standing at the door, the door to your heart. He is knocking. He is waiting. He is waiting for your will to surrender. To open up and let him in. All we have to do is believe.

His Plan

Going Deeper…When a builder starts to build a structure, the measurements are easy to find, because he is looking at the overall floorplan. How many doors and windows the structure will have, how high the walls are going to be. It's not until he starts to add stairs, and cabinets, and inside moldings, does he have to look deeper into the blueprint to find these smaller measurements. This is where the intimacy part comes-Going Deeper.
God knows my heart. He knew me before I was born. We are saved by grace and not by works, and we will not be made complete till we are in Heaven. I have found through the years the more I look for these small measurements, look deeper into His plan, the more I have come to realize, how wide and long, how deep and high is his love for me.

Ephesians 3, 14:21 When I think of the wisdom and scope of God's plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, 15 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. 16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit. 17 And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God. 20 Now glory be to God! By his mighty power at work within us, he is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope. 21 May he be given glory in the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever through endless ages. Amen

Whats around the corner?

Lessons Learned …When I started construction I never dreamt that it was going to turn into a lesson about the spirit and not the building. Spending time building has taught me so much about faith. There were many times I wanted to quit, but each time I wanted to quit I felt that the Holy Spirit had something to teach me. I was taught about prayer, how God longs for us to spend time with him and talk to him. I was taught about patience and rebuilding, when I had to take the log walls apart many times. I was reminded many times of Bible verses that somehow seemed to fit and come to mind when I was at different stages of construction. Somehow there was something in side of me, a need to keep moving forward, that what I was working on had value, and as the construction nears completion, to finishing well. I’ve come to realize that God, the Father of the universe, longs to be in whatever we are in, you could be a skateboarder, a cabinetmaker, a youth worker, a housewife and mother, or even a Grandad with a big dream. We are not clones, we all are different, with different gifts. We are all part of the same body with the same Holy Spirit living in us. Each one of us is at a different stage of construction that doesn’t make us less or more of a building, it just means that we are a work in progress. I jokingly commented to my daughter one day, “ It’s taken me a lifetime to get to this point.” Whatever stage of construction you are at, that’s the stage where you are meant to be. There are some stages that just seem to take longer. You might even have to redo a section that doesn’t feel just right. Are you proud of what you have made, what you have become? This old house of mine with all its mistakes, with all its flaws and shortcomings needs Christ to make me whole. He cleans me as white as snow, sets my spirit free to dance, to worship, to give to love. Somehow all of this means nothing if my own family can’t see a faith in me that’s real.

Isaiah 1 18:19 "Come now, let us argue this out," says the LORD. "No matter how deep the stain of your sins, I can remove it. I can make you as clean as freshly fallen snow. Even if you are stained as red as crimson, I can make you as white as wool. 19 If you will only obey me and let me help you, then you will have plenty to eat.

Clean up

Expectations…Today I need to meet with the master builder, have a cup of coffee, and go the over project. It feels like it’s been a while since we sat down and examined the house. There’s still a lot of work to do on the house as it nearing completion and I can visualize the finished job. Even though things are looking good I am feeling a need to keep pressing on, not to be content, that this has been a good thing, and time well spent. Sometimes when I have a project I am working on I tend to do several things all at once: hammering, sawing, gluing, and painting. Not to mention the clutter that comes from the pieces of logs and saw dust. Clutter in your life can be anything that wants to confuse you; steal something of innocence that is in your spirit with lies. Clutter in your life can be time you give to the wrong project, and in doing so we lose something very special. Today I feel grateful that I can spend the time cleaning up and reexamining this house. When we clean up the job site we get a fresh start, a new outlook on the days work ahead of us. Sometimes there is a real temptation to plough ahead, and in doing so, build walls in the wrong place, or close off doors that were meant to be open and for our good.
Lamentations 3:21-26 (NLT) 21 Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: 22 The unfailing love of the LORD never ends! By his mercies we have been kept from complete destruction. 23 Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each day. 24 I say to myself, "The LORD is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!" 25 The LORD is wonderfully good to those who wait for him and seek him. 26 So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the LORD.

Ps 149:3 Praise his name with dancing,accompanied by tambourine and harp

Blessings all around… Have you ever been blessed or have you ever blessed someone? What a nice feeling. This past weekend I was given 6 tickets for a Gospel Blues Festival. So this seemed like a good time to take some time off from working on the log house, listen to some worship music of a different style, and spend some time with friends. The sun was out, the corn on the cob was free, the butter was flowing, as we took in a day of blues music with Local musician Jim Byrnes and a harmonica legend Darrell Mansfield. Nothing like a day away to give you a new outlook on any project you night be working on. We all need to get away sometimes, recharge our batteries, maybe even change our attitudes.

Blue Sky nothin' but blue skies do I see

Spending Time…
Intimacy and foundation somehow have almost come to mean the same thing. It’s all about taking an account of your life. God will not push his way into your life. You may have had a rocky start. Maybe your foundation was from a background that saw no value in reading the Bible, His blue print on how to live. You could be from a background full of emotional baggage, alcohol or substance abuse, low self-esteem, whatever. There is an accuser. All he wants to do is confuse you. Have you ever noticed he is not always there? God’s Words, His blue print – “I will never leave you”. His Promise – “If you search for me you will find me.”
These past months ‘Building’ has allowed me the privilege to spend time with the master builder in a way that has allowed me to grow and reflect on what is important to Him. Walls in a house where the foundation isn’t square can still be livable. Maybe you will have trouble closing the door, and keeping out the devil, because the door won’t fit in is opening. Or maybe the roof will leak and you will have trouble keeping out the storms, because the storms will come. Any house can be made to look like it is livable, where there are lots of problems with the over all construction. But a house built on a square foundation, where the work is done by a skilled craftsman, this house will stand.
Some houses need renovations, some more than others, but the owner has to be willing to let the Builder take over, to put their trust in Him.
I find myself more and more with a heartache, longing after the things that please God. I tear up when I hear injustice. I feel for people in need. Somehow it all gets so overwhelming, with all the need in the world. I know I can never out give God, but I can make a difference in one LIFE. There is a sacrifice on our part when we help people in need. You have to give of your time, your money, your things. Really it is all so little, when I think what he has done for me.
Today I had a moment of awe, a turning point, a gift of hope, where I have had to learn to persevere, to put time into something. God can speak to me. I believe that more and more, as I learn to give my life over to Him and learn to please Him. I know that if you let Him, he will reconstruct your life, and he will give you the tools you need to do the job. Today is Sunday so I need to get ready for church. I was so moved today by the worship and the way we were invited to worship our maker. This Sunday a word was spoken to tear down the walls, and it spoke to my spirit since I have been doing some of this in my own life, and oddly enough on the log house model. Pastor Steve has a way that draws me into whatever he preaches on. This Sunday was no different as he shared His heart, how the world impacts us, how he needs to be more sensitive to the needy. He shared an ache in his own spirit, to draw closer to God. Near the end of the message when he used the word foundation my spirit all most exploded. I can’t think of anywhere else I would rather be on Sunday.
Today isn’t my birthday but I feel that I have been given many gifts. As I look across the congregation, Ben is standing, worshiping. He has Amos in his arms. Fathers Love. Amos for the first time ran down the hall to me and gave me a Big Huggggg –Acceptance. I was also given a name today from Amos - Pappa. We think we will tell our grandchildren what to call us, but they call us what’s in their heart.
We are all children of God. We all want to feel the Father’s love. We all want to feel acceptance. Today I was also given a gift from God. I was given the gift of HOPE.
JERERMIAH 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.(NLT)
My Prayer for you as you read my thoughts is that you are encouraged to go deeper, if only in small steps. Log -On.

Foundation

The Starting Point ... A foundation is a platform, a starting point where we get to build our structure on. My starting point came when I answered an altar call when I was 19. I was on a date with my girlfriend and we were attending a mid week church service. I remember sitting next to her weeping uncontrollably, as the speaker invited anyone who wanted to make a choice in their spirit to accept forgiveness. I knew he was talking to me, and the more I resisted the offer, the more I cried. My spirit was at war inside of me, because I knew that what he was offering was what I needed in my life. Nobody forced me to walk up front that night. There are choices we all have to make, and I am so grateful that the altar call was extended just a little longer that night. The foundation is what keeps the house square and level for the builder. But sometimes we make wrong choices or we use materials that are second grade. We may even have to knock down some walls that have taken years to build, and get back to the foundation and rebuild. As I’m working on the log home I’ve had to take the wall apart many times, and get back to a level foundation, and start over again. In the excitement that I got when I first started building I didn’t look closely enough at the blueprints, so I started having trouble with the overall construction. Sometimes we lose the emotional feeling we get from an altar call. We think that this is the highpoint when really it’s the starting point. We get to choose the material we build with, and how this house is going to look. Your foundation can start today. It’s what you build your life on today that matters. You can be a new and different person.

are we there yet?

Are We There Yet? …Have you ever taken your children for a long drive on a hot summers day? Our long drives would be to look at a log house, or visit a company that builds log homes in their workyard. At the time the cry in our family car (a classic I might add…a 1988 Dodge Aries station wagon) was not, “are we there yet?” but, “not another log house Dad!” My daughter was so disappointed when the car finally died! In my research on different types of wood and corner styles, my personal choice would be red cedar, with a Scandinavian diamond notch joint system. Most Log Home Companies have a pile of logs in their yard off to one side. To me these logs look like reject logs. They have thick bark, twisted limbs, and large knotholes. This pile, the builder tells me is a special pile, that these logs are a work of art and are needed for that feature that only they were made for. You may be a little different. You might even have some years on you. Maybe your limbs aren’t as straight as they used to be, or your bark is getting a little thick. But you are that special piece that is needed, that special character piece in your family to bring some light. Or maybe you’re that one piece that is needed to bring some salt and flavor to your workplace or school. On my visits to some of these log yards I have learned how each individual log is made to fit perfectly with the log below it. I have watched how the master builder scribes a line the length of the log, transferring the shape of the bottom log to the new log on top. Then it is rolled back with the scribe line facing up. This allows the builder to trim the unwanted material. This process is done several times until the new log fits just right. As I have watched and learned over the years how a log house comes together, I have come to appreciate that this type of construction is really an art. Have you ever felt in your spirit that something didn’t fit just right? That maybe there was some work to do in some area of your life? It’s like someone is whispering in your ear, “You need to take care of that, you need to say something, you need to offer some compassion to that situation.” Only you know what the whisper is. Only you know what needs to be trimmed, what work needs to be done, to be restored, to fit Just Right.

Matthew 5:13-15
13 "You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it useful again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. 14 You are the light of the world -- like a city on a mountain, glowing in the night for all to see. 15 Don't hide your light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all. (NLTranslation)

Can you feel the Heat?

Holy Fire... There’s something about getting back to nature, clearing a piece of land, burning up the tree stumps, branches, and bits of twigs. There’s an excitement that something is going to happen as we watch the fire consume the unwanted pile. Sin in our life is the unwanted pile of memories, a history that runs deep, fear that we are not good enough. Our thoughts, the way we feel about other people, whatever that thing is that holds us back from doing the right thing. We all have things in our lives we not proud of. Things we need to bring to the fire, and watch them burn. Are you hot for God? I used to think that when you do church…things like getting baptized, going forward for an altar call, worshiping with your arms wide open, praying for someone, or having someone pray for you, that this was being obedient to the Holy Spirit, and it is. It’s also a physical act as if we were offering up a Holy Fire. We can add a new fuel to this fire and change the way it burns. We can add fuel of praise, kindness, time spent, helps, compassion. There is a lot we can add to this fire to make it burn clean. Funny thing, the man that helped me from Pearson’s Landclearing, explained to me how a fire burns. There comes a turning point in a fire, when, if you listen you will hear the rush of the oxygen as it is sucked into the middle of the fire. That’s when the fire is burning the hottest and the cleanest.
Psalm 19: 7 The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. 8 The commandments of the LORD are right, bringing joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are clear, giving insight to life. 9 Reverence for the LORD is pure, lasting forever. The laws of the LORD are true; each one is fair. 10 They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold. They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb. 11 They are a warning to those who hear them; there is great reward for those who obey them. 12 How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults. 13 Keep me from deliberate sins! Don't let them control me. Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin. 14 May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be pleasing to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.(NLTranslation)

now how d,you reckon we,re gonna get there

DREAMS We all have dreams. Places where we would like to travel to, where we would like to live, who we would like to marry, to the number of children we would like to have. Dreams are what put man on the moon, Columbus to discover that the world wasn’t flat. Who would have imagined or dreamt that man would travel faster that the speed of sound. It’s so important to dream. I’m sure some of your dreams aren’t as big as these. For others your dreams are for your children, for their education, for the path they would follow, for that special someone God has picked out for them.
Not all dreams come true. For me, the only one that mattered was marrying my girl friend. Proverbs 18:22 “The man who finds a wife finds a good thing, she is a blessing to him from the Lord.” This blog isn’t about dreams or log houses, it’s about going deeper in your own walk. It’s a tool that has helped me, as I learn to hear God’s voice and grow. My prayer is that you would be moved to go deeper in your own personal understanding of his love. Find something that you have a passion for, and learn to hear God’s voice for yourself. If your dream is to climb Mt. Everest start with the local mountains, listen to nature, look up at the stars. Maybe your dream is to scuba dive in Fiji, then take scuba diving lessons. Or maybe you want to join the Power Team. We need to be prepared for all that God has for us.
I have always wanted to build a log house. There something about the way I get drawn into the beauty of this style of construction. It’s a dream that through the years has faded, till I started building a scale model of my dream log home. At times I felt that I was in the forest working on a real log home. I could almost hear the chain saw and smell the freshly cut logs. I could spend hours working on my model, totally losing track of time, till one day I started to feel guilty. Guilty, because what I was doing was stealing time from God. My spirit wasn’t right. Something was out of line, till I began to start my day with a Bible study. That’s when the construction took on a personal study and what I was reading was lining up with what I was constructing.
Some may laugh that I am only playing, but in my playing I have been blessed with possibilities. I remember as a young boy playing store with my two sisters. We would collect all the empty cans and cereal boxes to stock the shelves of our store, where we would play for hours. It was simple fun, not complicated.
God’s love isn’t complicated. Come.

25 Abruptly Jesus broke into prayer: "Thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth. You've concealed your ways from sophisticates and know-it-alls, but spelled them out clearly to ordinary people. 26 Yes, Father, that's the way you like to work." 27 Jesus resumed talking to the people, but now tenderly. "The Father has given me all these things to do and say. This is a unique Father-Son operation, coming out of Father and Son intimacies and knowledge. No one knows the Son the way the Father does, nor the Father the way the Son does. But I'm not keeping it to myself; I'm ready to go over it line by line with anyone willing to listen. 28 "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. 29 Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. 30 Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." (Message Translation)

What can I say, what can I do, but offer this heart of mine, completely to you.

Reflections

Second Entry

This has nothing to do with construction, or maybe it does. This morning I find myself in a thankful and melancholy, reflective state. Last night we celebrated our youngest son’s nineteenth birthday, with family. We celebrated by walking to the park, with his older brother, and our first grandson. There is something special about helping your grandson climb the ladder to the top of the slide, as your own children watch on. There is something more special as you watch your son and his son run down a grassy hill and play together. Later we celebrated with pizza. It’s good to hear the laughter and commotion. We are all so different, some more different than others. I am talking about myself-but we are still family. Later that evening, as I am holding my newest grandchild in my arms, I am singing to him the way my own mother sang to me, and then to her grandchildren, just as I sang to my children, and now my grandchildren. It’s been said many times that life goes by so quickly, but we don’t think it does till we are looking into the eyes of our grandchildren and singing songs that bring back memories. As a young father I never gave much thought to my actions, but now as I look back as a grandad, I am reminded in my own spirit the way I acted, the way I treated people, the way I lived life, as my own children watched me. It’s something we should never take lightly .The most important job you will ever have is the job of a father. Anyway, we are always constructing and building, and with God’s help, constructing good memories.

The First Entry

Thank you for your interest and the time you have already invested in logging on. My desire is to use the BIBLE as the blueprint for the house that we invest our spirit in, so that we would end up with a home that is pleasing to our LORD. This past year I have been working on a project in my workshop and many times felt GOD,S own hand, as he is the true master builder. It was almost as if I was in a construction class. Artists, writers, hunters, fishermen, and farmers, people just like you and me, all find a passion in what they love. The reason I want to do this, is so that as we explore together, a passion in us will come alive, as we open the door of our hearts and embrace the Holy Spirit. There is a cost to going deeper. Sometimes we see that coast a being different for each one of us but really we all want the same thing. Our spirit wants to be connected with his Holy Spirit.
Luke 15 28:29
But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building with out first getting estimates and then checking to see if he has enough money to pay the bills? Other wise he might complete only the foundation before running out of funds and then how everyone would laugh.

I think we all know someone who has run out of money, sometimes my own funds run a little low and I and I feel a need in my own spirit to return to the one who restores.

LOG HOUSE CONSTRUCTION

Is it better to make a log home from scratch or buy a kit ?

Happy Fathers Day

Hey dad,

Here's your fathers day present. I set up a blog for you....log on!