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.