Tuesday, January 5, 2010
3:20 pm @ Austin Chase
“Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.”- Philippians 4:11-12
So I”m at Austin Chase because my new coffee shop that I go to (Cafe Noir) is closed due to plumbing issues so I'm here chilling. The thing that is cool is that I'm spending no money on coffee because I have a gift that the St. Martin's gave me. So I'm sipping on my Chai-Tea, Joanne has me hooked on this. So I'm chilling on my computer looking for a preaching job and Shar walks in with the kids and say's hi. She gives me a card for Cold Stone!! So again I don't have to spend money on ice-cream. In fact I hardly spent any money on my 3 weeks off. I have gift cards for Applebee's and Subway. I crashed The Ormerod's New Years party and Dan gave me a ton of left overs! I have 2 movie tickets also from the St. Martin's. They even bought me a shirt and tie!
I'm not trying to rub this in and gloat. My point is that God is taking care of me through the body of Christ. I'm living on humble means. And I return the favor, tonight I'm bringing dinner to Ben and Becky's place. I try to return favors as best I can, like putting in a water pump with St. Martin that takes 3 days and Marie shows up and just rips it out :) How do we learn to be content? Contentment as used in this passage is an attitude of the heart that comes from another spiritual practice called simplicity. Simplicity is an inward reality that comes from the security of our relationship with Jesus. We sometimes seem to have the desire of more. More possessions, more money. Odd that it seems the more we have, the more we want, and the less satisfied we are with what we have. Christians have the best thing going for them because Jesus meets the desire of our hearts. God wants us to be content with Him, and not to set our hearts on material objects that vanish in a blink of an eye. There are going to be times of pain and disappointment, but that should not be our focus on life. Instead of looking at a rosebush and wondering why it must have thorns, we should see a thornbush and be thankful that it has roses. Instead of going to bed at night and complaining about the next morning, we should get up and thank God for another day of life and service for the Kingdom of God.
Shalom
Hutch
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Focus
Saturday, January 2, 2010
8:10 pm @ The Hutch Hotel
It is a start of a new year. And every year 1000s of Americans pack the gyms to get in shape, then 2 weeks later they quit going. A ton of people decide to quit smoking or make decisions to better their life-style. I looked up the word New Years resolution to make this tribune sound professional. “A New Year's resolution is a commitment that an individual makes to a project or the reforming of a habit, often a lifestyle change that is generally interpreted as advantageous. ...”. Then I had to look up advantageous because I had no clue what that meant. Advantageous means favorable or for the best. So basically for redneck talk, New Year's Resolution is setting goals. 2 years ago in the beginning of January I decided to quit drinking. I had a few beers since then. But in 08 I was going strong. But now it has been a month since I touched a beer and smokes. And awhile back I decided to join a gym in Puyallup so I workout during lunch break. But there is one goal I haven't completed yet and that is to become a more stronger mature Christian...Which will take a life-time to reach.
“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”-Philippians 3:12-14
See if we reflect on our past mistakes, our sins then we will never move forward with success, we just stay back for the fear of falling again. Paul saw that he wasn't perfect, but he was not satisfied to cause him to sit and have a pity party. Too many people will get discouraged with the lives they are living and will just quit on God. Don't let your failures cause you to drop out of the race for Jesus! If you stumble, pick yourself up, clean up your wounds and run to the finish line. For most Christians our walk is a hit or miss proposition. Let me explain, we just kind of take it as it comes. If we succeed for Jesus, then praise His name! If we happen to stumble, we often say "Oh well, I'll try and do better tomorrow!" Not Paul! He wasn't content to sit around and wait for life to happen. He was busy making things happen. He was out there doing the best he could to be more like Jesus. He was trying to reach his fullest potential for the glory of God. Paul knew that God called him for a reason. He called him to carry out his duty before God. He also knew that successful completion of this goal would allow him to enjoy the rewards of God. By the way, things are still the same. Jesus saved us to do a job for Him and for the Kingdom When we do what God wants and we live our lives in the chase of the prize, then we too will receive the prize which is eternal paradise.
Shalom
8:10 pm @ The Hutch Hotel
It is a start of a new year. And every year 1000s of Americans pack the gyms to get in shape, then 2 weeks later they quit going. A ton of people decide to quit smoking or make decisions to better their life-style. I looked up the word New Years resolution to make this tribune sound professional. “A New Year's resolution is a commitment that an individual makes to a project or the reforming of a habit, often a lifestyle change that is generally interpreted as advantageous. ...”. Then I had to look up advantageous because I had no clue what that meant. Advantageous means favorable or for the best. So basically for redneck talk, New Year's Resolution is setting goals. 2 years ago in the beginning of January I decided to quit drinking. I had a few beers since then. But in 08 I was going strong. But now it has been a month since I touched a beer and smokes. And awhile back I decided to join a gym in Puyallup so I workout during lunch break. But there is one goal I haven't completed yet and that is to become a more stronger mature Christian...Which will take a life-time to reach.
“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”-Philippians 3:12-14
See if we reflect on our past mistakes, our sins then we will never move forward with success, we just stay back for the fear of falling again. Paul saw that he wasn't perfect, but he was not satisfied to cause him to sit and have a pity party. Too many people will get discouraged with the lives they are living and will just quit on God. Don't let your failures cause you to drop out of the race for Jesus! If you stumble, pick yourself up, clean up your wounds and run to the finish line. For most Christians our walk is a hit or miss proposition. Let me explain, we just kind of take it as it comes. If we succeed for Jesus, then praise His name! If we happen to stumble, we often say "Oh well, I'll try and do better tomorrow!" Not Paul! He wasn't content to sit around and wait for life to happen. He was busy making things happen. He was out there doing the best he could to be more like Jesus. He was trying to reach his fullest potential for the glory of God. Paul knew that God called him for a reason. He called him to carry out his duty before God. He also knew that successful completion of this goal would allow him to enjoy the rewards of God. By the way, things are still the same. Jesus saved us to do a job for Him and for the Kingdom When we do what God wants and we live our lives in the chase of the prize, then we too will receive the prize which is eternal paradise.
Shalom
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