What can I say? It's 10:09 AM and we be doin' fine. Trusting for more open doors to go through. Liney and I are still zealous and praying together in 2011.
Man, and it looks like there's some extra nice weather outside in Dallas today. Love that. Liney is home painting a room a medium shade of blue today so she is happy and joyous at the same time. We hope you are doing well too!
Been workin' on paying our taxes again. Fun. NOT! But it's that time of year again. We've been out hiking some too lately. I really want to get back on my mountain-bike soon. Really enjoy that. And even more than mere exercise outdoors, we would love to serve God in some new areas this year reaching more people needing some edification.
Our kids, like all American kids today it seems, need some prayer. Thanks in advance. Our second son, Nathan ..after some hospitalization following four tours of duty as a sniper in Iraq.. has unfortunately been diagnosed with the highest form of Bi-polar that there is. He indeed had some major problems starting in his teen years, but we never knew all that. Thank God there are some meds that address his condition—we pray he just remains on them. Many people with this do not.
I not sure what you might be dealing with where you live, but please know that no matter how you feel, up or down at times, and no matter what is going on around you there, that you are highly valued and very important to God, who is indeed by your side. We don't have to do a thing to be in His presence—we already are. He's omnipresent. It might not always be the easiest place to shine for Christ where you work and live (not sure), but Jesus Christ can help you as you continually yield to His Spirit, and He indeed has a good plan for you. Sounds kind of cliché I'm sure, but please don't give up hope because things can change ..even overnight in amazing ways at times.. if you and I will only trust the Lord and obey.
I just heard the latest U.S. unemployment figures. Still not good. Man, I think it's the right time for this Nation to get back to the God of the Bible in repentance, confession, humility, and faith ..and to turn back to His principles that work.. that made this country great in the first place. Like me, do you ever ask yourself, what is it going to take to get our attention? It has been 20 months, after all, since the national unemployment rate last stood as low as 9.4 percent. In December joblessness was down from 9.8 percent in November, but here are some current aspects to take into account...
* As Bloomberg News reports, unemployment ballooned to 9.8 percent in November because the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics undercounted 70,000 jobs that were added to the economy that month and in October as well.
* The 103,000 jobs added in December fall well short of the median job growth of 150,000 positions forecast in a Bloomberg News Survey that preceded the release of Friday's employment data.
* If you wonder why joblessness dropped four-tenths of a point in December, the Economic Policy Institute says look no further than the 260,000 Americans who left the labor force last month.
* The EPI analysis also reveals that the workforce "participation rate" is now 64.3 percent -- "a stunning new low for the recession."
* The upshot, again from the EPI: "Incredibly, the U.S. labor force is now smaller than it was before the recession started, though it should have grown by over 4 million workers to keep up with the working-age population growth over this period."
* Finally, this, the Labor Department says 8.9 million Americans are still employed involuntarily in part-time jobs, 2.6 million displaced workers were not counted in the report because they had not looked for jobs during the four weeks covered by the monthly employment survey and another 1.3 million people have simply given up hope of finding a job.
Hey gang, it's easy for the Lord to provide for His people and He does want what's best for us. Just put Him first. If you've been suffering some and part of that is your own fault ..or not your fault at all.. I am so sorry about all that. There's no condemnation in Christ.
We love you and God loves you even more! Come as you are and change. Listen, He's more concerned with where you are headed, than where you came from.
You already know that all have sinned and in addition, God took out all His "mad at" on Jesus on the Cross so to speak (He wasn't really mad at His sinless son, but Christ got treated as if He were the sinner).
My point? God ain't mad at you or me, though He still intensely hates sin for how it severely destroys so many lives and people groups. We need to hate sin, and Satan too and not be involved in any works of the flesh. Sounds religious, but it ain't. This is just very practical-speak for a nation in our condition, that are led by the type of people leading our government.
My other points? Your life does matter to Him and His Kingdom, no matter how you feel! And the Lord can bring good out of any bad if we serve Him (see Romans 8 in the Bible).
My following points? Please be encouraged to love the Lord, to seek Him and His will, and then to hang tight with Jesus Christ going the distance with Him. Why? Because, "God is love, and he (or she) who abides in love abides in God, and God in Him" (1 Jn. 4:16, nkjv). Just immerse yourself in a simple, candid love relationship with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit - and yeah, simply abide there! Find a Bible teach church to worship with.
I do wanna be uplifting for you, without bein' preachy. Sorry if I'm coming off that way. But I just love how God the Father and God the Son do not have a hard laboring complicated type of kinship, nor a business partnership, nor some cold or robitic legal kind of friendship, nor some competing dictatorship (you know how ruthless those can be), nor a mandatory, forced, or egotistical fellowship, nor an obligatory guardianship.
No, but They (the Members of the Trinity) enjoy a simple, straightforward, loving relationship. How do you spell harmony and order? That's what they have always known. Yes, and we can also keep it simple with them too.
Their union has existed since long before the earth and all the stars were formed! God doesn't change. It's way cool to me that we can be welcomed into such an awesome eternal sphere of a ministry partnership too—a union of grace and unconditional love because of the blood of Jesus applied by faith, not works. It happens when we are born of God's Spirit, and as we continue to walk in His Spirit. Go for Him. Sincerely, kurt
