Miracles and a Need for Prayer

Do you believe in Miracles? I have witnessed a few in my life. The most memorable occurred almost 14 years ago. My wife was pregnant with our first child and had eclampsia really bad. To the point the doctors explained to me that if they didn't deliver my son soon my wife would not make it. They were probably right since my wife started having convulsions during the C-Section. However tests the day prior showed that my son's lungs were not fully developed and his heart was dropping off at times from the stress on my wife's body; he more than likely would not survive. Praise God, on that point they couldn't been more off the mark. As a matter of fact, other than being really small (3 lbs 4 oz) he was perfectly healthy (lungs included). That was Father's Day 1996. A few weeks later after my wife had recovered and my son had gained enough weight to be released, we went home, July 4th to be exact. That my friends, is my definition of a Holy God answering prayer and providing a miracle. I do not know why He does not answer all calls placed to Him; but I do know everything He does has a purpose. I can ask all I want but I know the answer, " My grace is sufficient". Another miracle occurred yesterday, my wife's cousin yesterday fell 30 feet from a silo and landed on his feet. He spent much time in surgery with rods being placed in his back and other things. He will be in a wheel chair for at least six weeks. His surviving the fall in itself is a miracle, the second is that he is not paralyzed at all. The road to recovery will be long and that is where my request for prayer comes in. If you wouldn't mind, offer a prayer up for Kyle, I would greatly appreciate it.
Other than that life is pretty much the same. In two weeks I will be having a little surgical procedure of my own. Being the funky guy that I am, it appears I have a nerve in my foot that wants to tell my brain that my foot is always hurting. So after a couple of different approaches to cure it ( steroid shots and then another type of shot for weeks on end) with out success, the next step is surgery. The bright side is I will get a little time off work ( not really the way I want to take a vacation). Well until next time, never be discouraged by unanswered prayer, for He always answers, it just may not be the answer we were looking for. It just may be, "My grace is sufficient". He has a plan, is in control and loves you. I assure you, I know it's not always easy, but trust in Him. I always find "Praise You in this Storm" by Casting Crowns reassuring and reaffirming. Give it a Try

Great Night

The concert was great, so many people gathered together, lifting their voices as one to give praise to Him. Caleb and Will (Chapman (Steven Curtis Chapman's sons)) opened, followed by Tenth Avenue North and then it was Casting Crowns. Just a great night that will always have great memories. While we were there, Mark Hall, gave a presentation about the great things World Vision is doing and asked audience members to partake and help a child in need. This has been done by the last few concerts I have gone to but I have always stopped short because we already sponsor a child through compassion international. Last night though it layed heavy on my heart, so I made a quick phone call to the wife and we discussed it. At the end we ended up sponsoring a little girl from Africa. Why do I write this? As Mark brought up last night, it is a great way of not only showing the love of Jesus but it is also another tool that will assist you in raising Godly children. If you think about it, as you correspond with this child, you are showing your son and daughter the importance of reaching out to the orphans, the poor, and the joy of giving a person hope. That they are not alone in their struggles, that there are those that care, and are trying to do something for them. So if you want to learn more you can go to www.worldvision.org or www.compassion.com. To wrap all this up, the concert was great and below you will find some pictures. The first is the Chapman brothers, then 10th Avenue North, and last but not least, The Crowns. Until next time, may the Prince of Peace be your encouragement and strengthen you to accomplish His purpose for your life.

Pre Concert Post

Okay, I know it seems like I fell off the face of the earth but that is not possible because the earth is round, not flat. As I mentioned in a earlier post, I really have no excuses nor apologies. When not at work I try to spend time with the family. Yet there are times the work day gets to me and I need a few minutes alone to decompress. At any rate, life at work has been a little hectic but thankfully I have a loving family to come home to and spend weekends with. Lately, with the weather getting nicer, we have started the hobby of geocaching. If you have never tried it, I highly recommend it. What is geo-caching you ask? Essentially it is a modern day treasure hunt. Instead of using a map, you need a gps (or a smart phone gps capable). You plug the coordinates in off the geocaching website and you are off. They come at all levels of difficulty and are world wide. Just go to www.geocaching.com to learn more. We have had a lot of fun doing it as it is a great way to spend family time together, with the exception of some form of GPS there is no cost, and it is even educational for both your child and you. I included a picture at the bottom of this post of one of the caches we found (it wasn't easy).
Let me move on to the title of this post though...Pre-concert post. Tomorrow morning my eldest son and I will embark on a three hour road trip to see Casting Crowns. It will be our second Crowns concert so I am sure we will enjoy it. The original reason we decided to go is that they were touring with Kutless ( who I have have wanted to see for along time and yes my son likes them a lot too). However, half way through the tour they switched over to 10th Avenue North, which is good but I was looking forward to Kutless. The important thing is that I am spending time with my son, especially at this stage in his life, I believe it to be an important time. If you think about it, being a Dad (or Mom), is the most important job that can ever be entrusted to you. Your actions (or inactions) have consequences that do not stop at that person. As a Marine I am entrusted with much responsibility (which I do not take lightly) yet it does not come even close to the responsibility and duty that God has entrusted to me in raising my boys into responsible God fearing men. Often we let things often get in our way from doing our job the right way. It may be a hobby, the computer, your job that you get tangible pay from, or a plethora of other things. There are couple of songs that drive this point home: Busy Man (Billy Ray Cyrus) or American Dream (Casting Crowns). If you have the opportunity, listen to them both and you will find them pretty sobering. Well, I should wrap this up, I still need to pack for tomorrow. Until next time remember, work for the things that matter. Here are the geocaching pictures. Do you see the cache? The next picture will reveal it.