on John 10:2-4

Note: I'm currently reading through a 30-day devotional book called The Art Of Listening Prayer, by Seth Barnes. True to form for me, the 30 days so far have not been consecutive, but I'm trying! Anyway, through this devotional I'm learning more about what true conversation with God really is, and how to still ourselves to hear His Voice. It's not an easy thing for me--in fact, I confess that I'm struggling with the concept. As I wrote in my journal this morning, I understand the mechanics behind God's actual speaking, but I struggle with the trust and patience required to actually hear Him. Still, He is teaching me amazing things so far...and I'm recognizing that listening really is an art to be practiced.

This first post is an entry from my journal. I will follow with others as I am on this journey. As always, thanks for reading.


"...a shepherd enters through the gate. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they recognize his voice."

Sheep don't understand English (I don't think), so it's impossible for them to know what the shepherd is saying. So, how do they "recognize" his voice? They know the tone, the inflection, the volume, the accent of the one speaking. They know all this intimately from spending time with him. Out in the wilderness, with no one around, no distractions, no noise, the shepherd's voice becomes clear and loud. They can't help but listen. Through weeks, months, even years of listening to his voice, the sheep know their shepherd.

Although we may not always audibly "hear" God speak (in fact, this is a rare occasion), we recognize His voice--the tone, the inflection, the volume, the accent--by spending time with Him. Like anything, the more time we devote to this, the better we hear. Simple things, such as a gentle prodding, a "feeling", a stirring in our soul, even circumstances that align themselves in such a manner that we sense His shouting at us--these are all actually God speaking! And though we don't always hear the actual words, His voice leads us! The questions for me, for us is: Will we follow?

we're waterlogged...but fine

So, just a quick update from my post yesterday, since so many of you have been asking. We're fine, thankfully. The water is still high in many areas of Viera, but appears to be receding quite a bit in our neighborhood. Which is good, because it's back to work for me in the morning.

I remember not too long ago posting that I was almost hoping for a Hurricane to swing through, because I was looking forward to some time off of work. How foolish of me. Right about now (well, actually, a day or two ago) I am ready to get back to "normal" and see the sun again. This has been the strangest storm I've ever seen and has done more damage than any Hurricane I can remember (in our area, at least). So much rain...we're well over 20 inches.

Yep, I'm glad to see Fay truck on outta here.

As promised, here are a few pictures I snapped on one of my walks around the neighborhood. No, I didn't have a boat. Yes, I got wet.

on Tropical Storm Fay...

OK, Fay never made it to Hurricane status...but it sure as heck feels like it.

As most of you no doubt know by now, Tropical Storm and Pain-In-The-Rear Fay made landfall in SW Florida early Tuesday morning, then swept north-northeast across the state, where she plopped her drenching rain and gusty winds right on top of us. To say the last 36 hours or so have been an adventure would be putting it mildly. We've literally had constant rain and gusting wind since around noon on Tuesday, and, even though the storm is moving north at a raucous clip of 3 miles an hour, it shows little signs of letting up.

Currently our concern (with most of Brevard County) is flooding. Luckily I came home from work early this afternoon, or I would have never made it in the neighborhood. Not 2 hours after I walked through our front door, 2-3 feet of water covered our street...making it impossible to leave lest we stall the car out. I took a walk this afternoon (pictures soon, after I dry out) and found that we actually have it pretty good. Turns out there are many places in our immediate vicinity--meaning our exits--that are under waist-deep water. And, unfortunately, it looks like we're in for continuing rain tonight.

Which means we may seriously have to think about sandbagging the house and, somehow, evacuating. Ugh.

Hopefully I'll have more--and better--news in the morning. Stay tuned.

on Fay, the Lakeland Revival, and Fantasy Football...

As I write this, we’re keeping a wary eye to our south, where Tropical Storm (and soon to be Hurricane) Fay is churning across Cuba. At least that’s what the infidels want us to believe! Just kidding. Anyway, looks like we may have a windy, wet week ahead. I wouldn’t mind a day or two off work (if it’s paid, at least), so I’m not complaining too much. True to form, the media hype is already starting. The first three minutes of tonight's news included a story interviewing a family in Orlando who was cautiously boarding up. I mean, don't get me wrong--better to be safe than sorry--but let's not make this out to be another Katrina. And, of course, since I cleaned the garage out tonight in anticipation of storing the patio furniture in it so it won't blow around...there's no way that thing's coming anywhere near here.

On to a few other things:

- I would be remiss if I didn’t mention this item of news. If you didn’t read it earlier in my blog, I commented—pretty harshly, I might add—on the whole Lakeland thing. I’ll stand by my comments at the time, and just remind everyone that, along with a passion for the deep things of God comes great need—especially in this day and age—for discernment, as well. Whatever happens, though, Todd Bentley needs our prayers. A failed marriage is never good, and is against God’s will, so, no matter what my opinion is of the man, I am praying that he and his wife can reconcile.

- I’ve taken the plunge and joined two fantasy football leagues for the year. Actually, I hope to be in three, the third being a team in the new college version at CBS Sports, but I have to wait to see if there’s a spot available. Anyway, I tried this whole fantasy thing a few years ago, and failed miserably, probably because I just didn’t put any effort into it at all. This time around, I’m actually doing some research and getting informed. In fact, one of my teams is being built via live draft, so I’ll be chatting online with the other managers while putting it together. I’m actually excited about doing this, and we’ll see how it goes. As long as I don’t get stuck with any of the Dolphins’ quarterbacks, that is. Actually, Chad Henne looked pretty good tonight against the Jaguars (sorry, Scott). Oh, yeah, it’s the pre-season.

- I’m posting really late tonight because I stayed up to watch swimming in Beijing (Phelps’ record 8^th gold medal!) and then the first half of the Saddleback Civil Forum. I will most definitely be posting more about this event in the next couple of days. I was very intrigued by it, and, although I’ve only watched the first half so far, it has not disappointed one bit. In fact, I’m more impressed than I thought I would be. This is what we who are Evangelical Christians should be doing—dialoguing with and asking honest, open questions of our candidates and their opponents. I love how Rick Warren opened it up tonight:

“We believe in the separation of church and state, but we do not believe in the separation of faith and politics. We’ve got to learn to disagree without demonizing each other and we need to restore civility in our civil discourse…”

I couldn’t agree more, and I’m thrilled that a Christian leader is actually leading the way. Like I said, more on this soon.

- I can’t help but believe that Russia’s recent invasion of Georgia will hurt their National Championship, and maybe SEC Championship, hopes. Time for Mark Richt to rally the troops. Just kidding, Scott.

nice job, irs

So, here I am this lovely Monday morning sitting on hold with the IRS. So far it's been almost an hour. The reason for my call? I just want to chat. Well, not really. We still haven't received our "Economic Stimulus" check. Sure, we got the notice in the mail that it should be sent by July 4, but when the middle of July came and went, well, I made a call. Had to get on the phone early (they open at 7am) to just get in the queue, and got in after only 5 minutes. One of their helpful, cheerful agents (that was sarcastic, by the way) told me that the check was "hung up" but that it should be sent by the end of July. She had no other details other than that. I wondered at the time how she could have the information on the fact it was "hung up" but not know why, but, whatever, we needed the money, so just send it to me.

Anyway, here we sit on August 11 and nothing still. I don't need to tell most of you that, on a single income, a $1000+ check is a nice bonus and, in our case, we've been counting on it. Especially since they've told us to expect it. So, on the phone I sit.

Still waiting...

I'm struck by the irony that, had I been this late paying my taxes, the IRS would have been all over me...with interest and penalties, to boot. I wonder why it doesn't work the other way? Hmmm...

9:48am: Success! I'm on the phone with a very helpful and nice (seriously) Miss Blackledge, who says our delay is due to us owing, despite the fact we paid in full. It's a shame her position will be eliminated once Fair Tax is passed, but I digress. Supposedly she is "releasing" the hold on our check, and it should be here within two or three weeks. Sigh. We'll see.

At 10:02, my call is done. I miss the charming hold music.

random Saturday post...

No witty banter to start out today's post. Just a few thoughts on a Saturday morning:

- We managed to catch a few minutes of the Opening Ceremonies for the Olympics last night. For those of you who missed it, I really don't have words to describe it. It absolutely blew away any expectations I might have had and was absolutely spectacular and literally breathtaking (so I guess I DO have words to describe it). Seriously, if you have the chance and can find it on tape, watch it. We just watched the last 30 minutes or so, but were treated to the lighting of the Olympic cauldron--performed in one of the most impressive and awe-inspiring ways I could ever imagine--and the massive fireworks display. As they were closing for the night, though, NBC showed clips from earlier in the ceremony, and it made me disappointed that we had missed that part. Anyway, I flipped on the TV this morning to find the beach volleyball competition. Who knew? And further, who knew that Sweden had a beach volleyball team? Isn't that a bit like the Jamaicans having a bobsled team in the Winter Olympics? Oh, wait...

- College Football kicks off in a mere 3 weeks. Not a moment too soon, I say. My Cardinals are fading in both the NL Central and Wildcard races, so I need something else to focus on. Yes, I'm aware that the NFL preseason is here. And, true to form, I'll probably manage to watch the first 5 minutes of one televised game each week. But, I mean, honestly, does anyone watch one of these all the way through? Yeah, it's football...but, like the Arena league, it's heavily watered down. I can't believe there are actually betting lines on these games.

- Speaking of the NFL, I'm officially tired of Brett Favre. Sorry, I understand he wants to play again, but the fact is this whole mess he's put the Packers and their fans through has greatly tarnished his legacy. Yes, he's a Hall of Fame quarterback. But that doesn't give him license to hold people hostage and force his former team to make the kind of decision they had to this week (trading him to the J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets). Favre should have retired a Packer, on top of his game. Now he'll join a long line of players who, instead of walking off into the sunset, have been dragged from the game kicking and screaming. Don't want to retire? Fine. But don't say it, sit around until the week before training camp opens, and then change your mind. Have some integrity. Of course, the flip side of this is, to clear the way for Brett, Chad Pennington is now a Dolphin. So, um, I guess that's good. At least we now have a QB I've actually seen play.

- We are officially in a "relaunch" phase for our business. Many of you have heard us talk about Ameriplan before, but maybe not known fully what it is (probably because we've not shared enough about it). We're going to fix that in the coming weeks. I'm approaching this as if we were opening a "bricks and mortar" storefront--having a "Grand Opening", inviting everyone we know to check us out, marketing like crazy, etc. Bottom line is we've saved literally thousands of dollars using Ameriplan's great health and dental plans and we not only believe in the product, but the company, as well. I've been praying for a second income for some time now, and I really believe God is showing me that this could be it. Not only that, I truly believe this is the key to financial freedom for us. I will be starting a new blog in the coming days to offer information, share our stories, and keep my readers updated with Ameriplan and the healthcare industry in general. But for now, you can check out our websites here and here. If you have any questions, please let me know. You can always call or email...I'd be happy to talk to anyone more about the business and/or product!

California Vacation 2008: Days 7 and 8

We spent much of our morning on Tuesday sleeping in a bit, relaxing, and trying to repack for the flight home. As I said, after camping for three nights, it feels great to get into an air-conditioned room with a bed, and I know we all needed the sleep! Anyway, after a lazy morning we all took off for San Francisco. The plan was for Becki, Jacob, and I to return the rental car at the downtown location we rented from and meet Trevor, Heather, and the girls at Pier 39. On the map, this didn't look like too bad of a walk--maybe 1 or 2 miles at most. However, after dropping the car off, walking down the block, and turning the corner, we were met with 3 blocks of streets that had to be at least at 80-degree angles uphill! OK, I'm exaggerating about that last part, but not by much. We managed to claw our way to the top, though, and, thankfully, there was nothing but a gentle downward slope all the way to the Pier from there.

We saw quite a few interesting sights on our way. Seems we were making our way through Chinatown. Not the touristy Chinatown street, either, but a true Chinese neighborhood, complete with authentic sights, smells, and tastes. I think we were pretty pleased with ourselves for traveling "off the beaten path" and getting away from the tourist mindset. On a side note, I've never seen the words "Dim Sum" outside of so many shops in my life.

Anyway, we finally hooked up with the Peacocks and, after stopping by to visit the sea lions, had lunch at Boudin's Bakery, a famous sourdough bakery. After lunch we headed over to look at a couple of WWII ships--including the submarine, the USS Pamapnito, which Becki and I had toured previously--and then made our way into a huge hall full of old--and still working--amusement machines. Apparently this is some kind of exhibit they are showing off for a while, and you can play all of the old games. We had a lot of fun going up and down the aisles, stopping occasionally for a game of baseball or skeeball. All pretty interesting stuff. From there, we walked about a half mile to Ghiradelli Square and indulged ourselves in (what else?) plenty of chocolate.

At this point we were planning to visit Chinatown (the tourist version, anyway), but, being that it was already evening and we were pretty wiped out, we decided to head back to the hotel. This presented a slight challenge, though, as we were now car-free. So, while Trevor drove his family back to our hotel in Redwood City, we jumped on BART and took the train to San Francisco International Airport. Not more than 45 minutes later, Trevor very graciously picked us up and, after a late stop at the always delicious In 'n Out, we arrived back at our rooms, ready for bed.

Wednesday morning came pretty early, but thankfully we were completely packed up and ready to go, so we were able to grab a few minutes extra sleep before our 11am flight home. Our flights to Atlanta and then Orlando were pretty uneventful (yes, we had seat back entertainment for the long flight, but, alas, the live TV wasn't working. And, of course, they weren't about to offer us free movies!) except for early on, when we flew over Yosemite, which was suffering through a major forest fire just outside the park entrance. The rising smoke presented a stunning picture that Becki was able to snap, and it was really interesting to see this perspective from a place we had been in just a few days ago.

And that, as they say, is that. Our vacation is done for this year. We had a blast, as we always do in Northern California, and it was made all the more special by spending a lot more time with friends and family. Thanks for reading all about it. Hope I didn't bore you too much! Well, back to reality, I guess...