thanksgiving

Well, another Thanksgiving is here. I am thankful I am not cooking the turkey this year, I really didn't want to mess with it this year. As a matter of fact, I do not think I am going to eat any turkey this year either. Imagine that...no turkey. Now ham on the other hand...I will eat that. :)

Couple of things I just wanted to drop...

My son just not obeying today...just basically snubbing his nose at me. Frustrating. Then it hit me. I wish it hadn't really, but it did. The words in John 14:15...

"If you love me, you will obey what I command."

So this is how God feels when I am disobedient...sort of. Much more enhanced I am sure. How can I get so bent out of shape when my sons are disobedient when I do the same thing to my Father? If that isn't a slap in the face.

This morning as I am lying in bed awake...just praying to the Lord. Thanking Him. Thinking about what if I am the one to pray at my brother's house over the Thanksgiving dinner...what would I pray? Then it turned into...if I am thinking about what I would pray in front of other people...why can't I pray that right now? It isn't about what I pray in front of other people...it is what is in my heart and what I talk to the Lord about myself. When no one else is around. It is just me and Him. A relationship. That is what a lot of people do not get about Christianity...and that is a fault of ours because we have not explained it well enough I guess. It is not about religion, it's about a relationship.

OK...the things I will leave with...the things I am thankful for...in no particular order.

My kids
My wife
My brother
My house
My job
My church
My friends
My life
My faith
And most of all, my savior, Jesus Christ.

Be thankful...be thoughtful...

-r

long time

Hey there...long time, no post. It seems that is what I write every time I update this blog. I stink at keeping it updated. I should see it as therapeutic , right? Whatever.

I am supposed to be getting a lesson ready for my small group this Sunday night and I haven't even started that. I am so pathetic. :)

Life has been going on...boys are getting bigger, I'm getting bigger! :) I am starting to get back into the exercise routine...it is hard though getting up at 5am to do some exercise before going to work. It will payoff in the end though, right? I should feel better too, right?

Nicole is running the half marathon this Sunday...here is a link: Tulsa Route 66 Marathon

Anyhoo...my life is pretty boring on the details. When I think of something better to write, I will. Until then...upward and onward.

-r

misc

Sitting here in the good ol' Days Inn in Nevada, MO...listening to my Pandora station called Project 86. If you haven't checked out Pandora...you have to...imperative. I also found about another site like it called last.fm, but I haven't done anything with it yet. Just caught the link on another guy's blog.

Nevada, MO...bet you are wondering why I am here in this booming metropolis. Home of Cotty College...an all girls college. That's not why I am here. :) I am here installing another Cisco Unified Communications Express system for a client that has a branch office here. Ate at a place tonight called Cherry Street Cafe. Pretty good food...I had some kind of Tortellini that had some basil sauce with walnuts and such. It was good. It was in a building that used to be part of a historical hotel. Nice. It seems that the town closes around 7-7:30 though...weird. There were a couple of places that were open, but not much. We drove around and checked out some cool old houses after dinner then came back to the hotel...by about 8:30pm! :)

I have been traveling around a lot lately...Memphis, Shreveport, Dallas...it's been fun. For the near future though, it seems that I will be staying in town. Still installing the systems, but not out of town like recently. I like to travel and see places, but I do miss the family when I am gone. It is weird going to bed at night not having kisses from the kids and wife...

Well...I have some reading to do. Going to close down and take care of that before I get some rest. I really am going to try and keep this updated on a more timely basis. Riiiiiggghhhht.

-r

blog-o-rama

Here I am sitting in my favorite coffee house...studying. :(

I just wanted everyone to know that it is a beautiful day outside...and I am studying. Bleh!

At least I had some good coffee!

-r

checking in

I thought earlier this evening...hmmm...maybe I will have time to blog tonight, the wife is away doing the bunco thing.

Then I catch up on a few issues from work. Then...let's blog. First, I haven't checked the blogs I used to read in a while...think I will do that.

Now, I am here...and I need to go to bed. I'm tired. So much for blogging. I will leave this tidbit though:

Check out this book. I am actually listening to it, but it is good stuff so far.

The Slumber of Christianity by Ted Dekker

Thanks for listening...reading. Whatever.

-r

life

Sorry no posting lately...life has been going on and not in the virtual world here. Just life.

This past week I have had two friends lose a parent to cancer. Of course, it brings up more memories of my mother dying of cancer in 2005. Cancer sucks.

You know everytime I think of blogging and what I am going to blog about, I really don't have the time to do so. It is aggravating at times, and then I also think...priorities. What are my priorities? Am I spending time on the things I need to? Case in point...I made sure I spent some time in the Word this morning before I logged onto my computer. If I don't do that first, I end up spending too much time on the computer and then I cannot open my Bible and opening my Bible and studying or just reading is more important in the scheme of things than getting on my computer to browse or post to the blog or whatever. OK, I am rambling. :)

Anyway, I read Romans 8:28-39 today and was doing a little study on it. Comforting passage of scripture. When things are just not going well...you are suffering through things, like a death of someone or sickness or whatever, this is a passage to check into. God has good things planned for us, sometimes it is just hard to remember that in the midst of things. Another good scripture is just before that one in Romans 8:18. It is all perspective.

Gotta run...