A Sad State of Affairs...

I know how to worship..

I know how to Praise God...

I know what to say and how to say it just right so it pulls the cart the way I need it to go..

I know how to sing the songs and dance the dance...

I know how to laugh and cry at the right time...

I know how to clap and say Amen....

but in all I Know the one thing I've lost

I treasured the most

was how to weep before God in His Presence...


Just a thought...

Randy
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We are Getting Settled In... And Thank You...

We met with the Pastor of the Church we have been visiting here and told him we would like to become members...

It is a good growing Church and the Boys are happy going...

We are still looking for a Home here and there are plenty to choose from...but just finding that "perfect" one is fun.

Michelle is sending out resumes and has had some interviews but she won't take the first thing to come along... She wants something she can get in to and enjoy....

I appreciate all the Visits here and the comments... it is encouraging...

Please when you visit take the time to send me an email or comment... I appreciate you stopping by...

Remember to Be Encouraged...

Randy...

Negatives are Things you never Show your Friends....

Everybody say Cheese!!

When the picture is right there is a desire to share your captured moment in time with everybody. You get the pose and the camera just right with the focus sharp and angle correct. You get the great moment frozen in time by the speed of the shutter and the tell-tale click of its opening and closing and your picture is captured.

You take it to your local pharmacy or camera shop to get the pictures developed and the expected minute comes when you excitedly open the envelope to experience the moments you shot with your camera. The pictures came out beautiful and you can't wait to share them with your friends and family. But in the back of the envelope there are some strips of film called negatives. They are the captured moment that produced the beautiful pictures you now see. They are the imprint of the photo that birthed the beautiful colors and landscapes in your picture but you never share the negatives with your friends. The negatives are never displayed in your photo albums or on your walls. They usually lie dormant for years either being lost in the shuffle of life or in a box somewhere in the attic only to be forgotten in time while the beauty of what they produced still hangs on a wall or studio or in a photo album to be enjoyed by all for the ages.

Why can't we allow the negatives in our lives just to be lost or forgotten to?

Why is it we constantly pull the negatives out to show our friends? Why do we take a frozen moment of time in our life and pull out the fuzzy, small and not easily seen moment instead of realizing the bigger picture? I don't want to be constantly displaying the negatives in my life when there are far greater pictures to be seen. The blessings of God though mixed and can be misunderstood at times are often our greatest achievements in life. Overcoming the obstacle of the negative and turning it into the beauty of life that can be shared with friends over and over again. The small things we take for granted everyday may be giants to others with disabilities to overcome. Don't take the negatives for granted because many times out of the negatives are born the beautiful pictures we share with others. And when the time comes put the negatives away and forget them because they are never things we should show our friends.

Be Positive today and dwell on Good Things...


Philippians 4:8 (The Message)
8-9Summing 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. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

Be Encouraged...
Randy

Blood...Death...and Perfume.....

The Blood ran into the dirt until it was saturated and caked but the blood kept coming and wouldn't stop until it was a river that flowed through the camp. The constant flow coming from the tabernacle of animal skins and altars as the heat of the day soaked the carcasses of burned animals with its waves that kept coming.
The stench of death permeated the air as people came in and out of the Tabernacle's entrance. The blood came from animals that were sacrificed for the sinful condition of the people in the camps. There had to be a constant flow of blood for the sins of those who were the people of the Lord.

In the mist of the morning fog as they would bring their sin offerings with the stench of the cattle, doves, goats out of the swirling dust there was the Tabernacle. It stood there in the middle of the camps, a beacon of hope for the souls of the Israelites. The exterior was animal skins, dried and dyed and when someone walked around the tabernacle there was the stench of sweat, animals and death but when one stepped inside the doors they were met with a perfume that caressed the senses and calmed the soul. It was myrrh, cinnamon and cassia with oil that when applied would bleed into what ever it touched until it blocked out the stench that was without the walls. It was the Holy Oil made with explicit direction from God that was used to anoint the insides of the tabernacle. The walls, the ceiling and all the stations including the Ark of the Covenant were to be anointed with this sweet and savory perfume. Even the priests were anointed with it. It completely blocked out the smell of the death and the stench of the dead outside the walls of the Tabernacle. It was a type then of what we call the Holy Spirit today.

When the Holy Spirit of God comes into our lives it completely bathes us and washes our souls and it scents our spirit with the sweet smelling perfume of God. It completely blocks out the sinful stench of death and sin that’s in this World. I also love walking into the Tabernacle of God which now we call the Church and smell the sweet perfumes of anointing that reside there as people come together and worship God lifting holy hands anointed with same anointed oil that ushered man into the Glory of God.

Today the final sacrifice of the blood that was shed flowed down the cross into the earth soaking the ground with crimson and in its place today we are filled with the Anointing of God's Spirit: The Holy Ghost...

I want you to be encouraged today and take refuge that there is a place of anointing and position of anointing that I encourage you today to find and it will be sweet and precious in your life blocking out the stench of sin and death... and if you are filled with His Spirit rejoice that the precious oil of anointing flows in you this moment and YOU SMELL BEAUTIFUL to God from it!!!

Just a Thought...

Randy

Forgiveness is The Golden Rule....

Some Things are Worth Redeeming and Restoring…

The car had set in the back lot behind the weather worn barn for the last 40 years. It had begun its life brand new and it was extremely beautiful and people admired it both near and far. But its life was cut short when things started to go wrong. It had some problems like engine failure and something was wrong in the wiring and its beautiful life was cut short. And then it was towed out to the back lot and it just sat there collecting dirt and rust.

Then one day a visitor stopped by and said he happened to notice the old car underneath the junk that had been piled on top of it. He asked the man,” How much for the car?” The man said, "That old piece of junk?"

He said, "I bought that car brand new and I couldn't tell you about the problems it's given me?"

The man who was interested said to him, "Did you ever fix the problems?"

He said, "Naw... I never had the time to really look into it".

The man said, "I'll give you two hundred dollars for the car."

The owner said, "I'll give you Fifty dollars to take it!" and laughed. He said, "If you want that car I'll give it to you for free if you'll just haul it away".

The man who came smiled and said, "It's a deal"

He backed his trailer in and began to clear everything off the car time had put there. Over the years things had begin to pile up on top of it and anything that was discarded was put on top of that "old" car. Over time the weight of what was on top had pushed it to the ground. The man who bought the car took great care as he began to move everything on top. He didn't want the car damaged more than it was. He worked diligently and quietly somewhat angry that the man who owned before never realized what he had. To that man this was just a used up old car that had caused him problems in the past and wasn't any good for anything in the future.

It took the man over ten hours to remove everything from on top of the car and when he was thru he sat back and just looked at the car. It sat there windows rolled up tightly and had very little rust actually. Apart from some dings and scratches from the junk on top of it, it actually still had much of its previous splendor. The sun just happened to be going down and the front fender caught the gleam and reflected its beautiful rich light blue color into the new owner’s eyes. His heart skipped a beat because he knew he had found a treasure. He got back to his place later that day and unloaded that "old" car and rolled up his sleeves and went to work.

A year later the Barn Owner was walking down the street and saw a beautiful gleaming car setting in the town square parking lot. There were a number of folks walking around it and admiring it. He was shocked at the condition and even more shocked when he realized that he had one just like that car. He walked up and stood admiring its beauty.

"Had one like that myself", he said to no one in particular. A voice behind him said, "Really".

"Yep, but my car went out of business years ago and I told some sucker to haul it away and it wasn't good for anything"

He then turned to the man behind him and was shocked. It was the same man he had given the car to.

"Yes" said the man, "It's the same car"

"But how?" said the shocked man.

"You see, when I pulled all the junk you had piled on top of it over the years I begin to understand what had happened. The car had just shut itself up and the windows had been left up and protected what was inside but you had put so much junk on it on the outside you begin to lost sight of what it truly was worth and when you looked at it all you saw was the junk on it and forgot what was underneath".

"I took the car back to my shop and it took me a good year to restore it back to it's original condition but that year really paid off because of the way it looks now"

"But, but", the man sputtered,” the engine and the wiring were so bad"

"Your problem", said the new owner,” was that you never took the time to look and see what the problem was. You see the year you put it behind the barn we had an extremely rainy season and somehow water had got into the engine and caused some of the parts to rust thereby causing the car not to run. I took the engine completely apart and cleaned the parts and put some new parts on and put it back together, installed it in the car and it started right up and here it sits completely restored and useful once again".

I will let you draw your own conclusions to the story I have written..
But sometimes Life is like this car...

We use people until they have problems and then we send them out
behind the barn to sit. And we began to pile "junk" in the form of words until they get so "weighed down" they can't or won't move. And every time we look at them we see the "junk" and not their value..

Maybe we need to look at some folks who we have considered not useful... and SPEND THE TIME to redeem them and restore them pulling all the "junk" off we put on them and take time. Many of these folks would come out shining like Gold... and Very useful in the Kingdom of God once again.

How do you see Scars?

What purpose do scars have?

Wounds are caused by a myriad of factors whether physical or emotional and for a while will constantly be an irritant in our life until they are healed...

Then after healing there is still evidence of the wound called a scar whether on the body or in the mind...

The Scar will be either a teacher or a reminder of what happened to us...what or how we look at the scar will be up to us...

We can look at scar and see healing or we can look at the scar and see the one who wounded us...

I choose to see the healing... for often wounds that don't heal become infected and cause much more damage...but at times the reason wounds won't heal is because of the lack of proper care by ourselves...we allow them to get out of control because we didn't take the time to care for them and allow the blood to heal them...

Has the blood of Jesus healed your wounds or have they become infected?

If you carry scars you are fortunate because at one time they were open wounds that have now healed...

The blood is what fights infection or disease and brings healing... I say much more as our own Savior was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquity and yet as a Sheep before his shearer was dumb he opened not his mouth...

I pray that God would help me to keep my mouth shut in the midst of my wounding and allow me to praise him for the scars I now carry...


Be Encouraged...

Randy

Made it to the OKC...

We made it...finally...

We left California last Saturday but got a later start than we wanted....We had to put some new tires on the trailer... Thank God we did...the old ones were starting to crack...

We got to Barstow Ca later that evening and spent the night...

The next morning we got an early start and headed the Oklahoma way...
We drove 20 hours straight and got to Amarillo Texas @ about 2:30 in the morning...WOW~~~

We arrived in Oklahoma City on Monday in the afternoon...

More to come....

Randy....