“For only 3 payments of $19.95…”

People live their lives looking for the get rich quick idea. Some have made it while others have not. I mean there are some really good ideas that people use every day. Someone came up with the idea of the paper clip, the post it note, the dvd recorder, the ipod, the pda, etc. etc. etc. These are just things on my desk that somewhere someone has made a mint off of because of their popularity with the world today.
I too, have come up with a product that will definately make me one of the wealthiest people in the world.
Now you are probably asking yourself, how could I possibly know that this product will make me so rich? Its very easy. Its something every person in the whole world wants. Every company needs more of this. Every person needs more of this. The demand will completely out weigh, the supply of this product so I will be able to charge what ever I want for this product.
The only problems with this product is that its very expensive and its depletable so once its gone, its gone. There is no returns on this item.
So now you are thinking, what is this product and where can I pre-order mine of Amazon. com?

Its………Time.

We can put a man on the moon, build skyscrapers hundreds of floors in the air, fly around the world but yet we cant add a single second more to a day.

This weekend, Steph and I went to see her family in Franklin, TN. We got to spend TIME away from the house, TIME away from our responsibilities of Maggie and TIME away from day to day worries. Sunday morning, we went with her family to Brentwood Baptist Church. God reminded me that He can speak to you any TIME, even when you are out of town.
The pastor, who I have never met, never seen, never heard of and I have never been to this church before, spoke directly at me like he had been reading my email and my blog.
He spoke about being connected to God and that when you are connected the the power source that God is, your light will shine.
Lately, I have been so consumed with work, keeping busy at home and how bad my work environment is, and not understanding why God has me where I am, that, as the pastor said, I have become disconnected from the power source. My light, has gone dim. I have taken my focus off of God, and put it into what can I do for me.
Sunday was a huge reminder that there is a God, and He has a reason for having me right where I am. Yes, my job isnt the best place in the world for a christian, but maybe thats why God has me right where He does, to use me. The problem as I was reminded Sunday, is that I am disconnected from the source and my light isnt shining. I have let too much come between me and God, that I dont have the power. I let too many things consume my TIME when I should be using that time to read more, to study God’s word more, to grow stronger so that no matter how dark it is in my office, I will be that light that others see.
TIME is available, its just expensive. Expensive, not in a monetary sort of way, but in a sacrifice way. In order for us to “Have More Time,” we have to “Free Up Time.” Instead of watching TV every night, maybe I could watch less and have a quiet time. Instead of working from home on the internet, maybe I could update my journal. While I am getting ready in the morning, instead of waiting on the weather, maybe I could put in a CD to put me in a worship state of mind. Instead of complaining about my job, I could pray more and be thankful that I have a job, when others do not.
So, I will grow stronger. I will use my TIME for this purpose. I will have the power that no matter what adversity or darkness comes over me, I will have the power of God, to shine through me.

“When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with you above the storm
Father You are King over the flood
I will be still and know You are God” – Still by Hillsong

Dear God,
What an incredible weekend. What an incredible feeling to know that even when I am not close to home, You are close to me. You reach me whenever You need and regardless of wherever I am. Thank you for reminding me that no matter how dim I feel right now, the power is “Still” there. Regardless of how bad my day goes or how much stress is put on me, You are in control and You only want the best for me.

Keith

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Ok, the plan is….

Passion – Webster’s defines passion as a strong liking or desire for or devotion to some activity, object, or concept. I have been thinking a lot about this lately. What drives people to do, what they do? Michael Jordan’s passion was basketball. He became the best basketball player he could be and eventually became a basketball icon. Tiger Woods has a passion for golf, Wayne Gretsky had a passion for hockey, Dale Earnheardt has a passion for racing, and so on and so on. These are all sports figures who loved what they did so much, they made a career and a life out of their passion.
I have many people who are close to me who you just know what their passion is. Steph, my wife has an unending passion to teach. Not a skill that I posses or desire, but one that she has worked very hard to achieve and is almost to the point of reaching her goal. She will be living her passion as a teacher very soon. Other close friends of mine have a passion for music. One continues to practice daily to achieve perfection. The other works every day to take his passion outside. He works to perfect his passion by performing with others, not practicing at home. Both of these are working toward their passion, just in different ways.
So, what is my passion? Someone told me recently I am tring so hard to find where I fit in, I am like a fish out of the ocean. I wanted to work with youth at church. Now I am doing it and I feel like I dont fit in. I wanted a new job in property management because I thought I was good at managing. I wanted to play in a praise aband but never took lessons. Truth is, yes I wanted to do all of these things but they have all since passed. I am stil trying to fit in with the youth, but that will take time. I am still trying to learn the piano but I can think of every excuse in the book not to play. I looked for another job, but didnt find one immediately so I stopped looking. That person made me see that these are not my passion, these are just things I want to do. That person, my wife, made me see the forrest in the middle of all of those trees.
I love working with computers. I love doing web sites. I do both of those now for the pure enjoyment of doing them. Drawing was once something that I liked doing for the enjoyment of doing it also. Everything that I drew had cars, trucks, motorcycles, everything with wheels. Blake has this in him also. I love it when he comes up to me and shows me a new picture he has drawn.
So I went to college to learn to do CAD (computer aided drafting) and suddenly my hobby, became my life. It became my career. That job led into another area, design. I loved designing HVAC systems. They became like a creation out of my head. That job led into project management. Now, I not only designed the system, I got to see it from the creation to completion to operation. One of the biggest thrills that I got was going to the first job that I designed from the beginning and seeing it in place. I looked up at the ductwork and it was EXACTLY where I wanted it. It was the right size, right materials in the right location. It was PERFECT and I told someone to put it right there. I had such an overwhelming sense of achievement that can never be expressed in this journal using mortal words. It was incredible.
I think that is how God is. He created us from the point of conception, to creation, to operation, and finally to completion. Imagine, God, when we were first thought of, planning our entire lives from beginning to end. He knew what each of us would do every minute of every day. He knows when we hurt and He provides for us in need. I imagine He was with each of us, like I was in that building that day. He had created a life from the images in His mind and now, it had the right number of fingers, right number of toes, and right color of hair that He planned for each of us.
He also had a plan for us. We may not know what it was until we get to heaven, but each of us has a plan, a passion. My passion is computers. My job today lets me work with computers every day. I design websites, I get to do some CAD drawings but now I have moved on to more web based design and I am so blessed to be able to have a life doing what I enjoy doing. Its not the most perfect job, but its the one God has given me for now

Dear God, thank You for creating me. You made me with 10 fingers, 10 toes, and exactly the way you had planned on me being. Thank You for my life. You have given me a soulmate who keeps me seeing the forrest when all I see is trees. You have a plan for me. Help me work every day to pursue that plan and to use the passion that you have given me to work toward the goals that you have for me.

Two, plus one equals three……

One of those weeks when things just don’t add up. Things happen that shouldn’t or people don’t react to the end result of those events. Things just don’t add up.
Then, fear, worry and doubt enter the picture, and the next thing you know is that 2, plus one, well, should enter three, but does it really?
Just because things aren’t going the way that I think they should, has math changed? Has the way things work out, the way we go about our daily lives changed, just because they aren’t working to what I think they should?
Two things in this life are constant and true. First….God never changes. He is always there. He will always get us through adversity. Everything happens according to His plan, the plan that He came up with centuries before I came about and determining how I think life should be. Life isn’t fair and often not understood at all but its all according to His plan. Second….I am not God. I have never claimed to be, but almost every day, I try to fix things that are not within my ability to fix. I try to fix things in my life and in the lives of others, so in a sense, I am trying to do God’s job and the last time I checked, I don’t think He needed any help.
However, through adversity, I am reminded that He is in control and that every time we are faced with adversity, we are given an opportunity. An opportunity to come out of the adversity stronger than we were before.
A very special person in my life told me “The closer you get to God, the more satan attacks you. Its when you aren’t being attacked that you should be worried because satan won’t attack you when you arent close to God…..”
That very special person, my wife, encourages me, prays for me and builds me up every day and I thank God for her.

However, in the midst of all of this turmoil in my life, 2 plus 1 still equals three. Steph and I have added one to our lives. Maggie, a three year old boxer mix came into our lives saturday. She is one really great dog. I will be putting pics up of her soon…..

Dear God,
Thank you, thank you for the reminder that you are trying to grow me. Help me to depend on you more and to realize that a valley in life, is not a bad thing. Help me to realize that when I am down, its time to look up and start the climb. Thank you for someone in my life to remind me of that, to encourage me and to pray for me. Thank you for daily reminders that regardless of what I go through, You are there.

You might be old if….

Today is July 6, 2006. The first day after my 37th birthday. For the first time that I can remember, I worked on my birthday. I spent it with family afterwards, but I went to work first. I realized last night just before dinner, enough was enough. The time for doing without thinking of the results has come and gone. It was time to realize that every action that I do, has a result. For example, if I spend too much, the result is I’m out of money, and can’t pay my bills. If I eat too much, I gain weight. If I work too much……..you get the picture.
I’m 37. If I lived to be 84, my life is half over. The average life span for a white male in Georgia is 71.46 years. That means my life is OVER half way done. Have I made a difference? Have I accomplished something earth shattering?

Not yet…..

However, I did realize that I need to make small “adjustments” in my life. I spend entirely too much time worrying about work, working too much, eating the wrong things, spending when I should be saving. The biggest realization was I don’t spend enough time with God. Sure I think about Him a lot, but don’t spend time with Him. I pray, but blessings don’t really count as talking to Him.

So……change #1. I went to Lifeway last night. Going in I had the mindset I was not going to buy another book that I would not read. I walked all over the store just killing time before dinner. Finally I looked over the bible studies. Stephanie had just finished reading Revelations, a book I don’t fully understand, so I thought I would get one on that. For some reason, I was drawn to the study on James, which I brought home with me. It was talking about wisdom from God, a continuation of the lesson in Sunday school this previous week. Bill did an amazing job talking about Job and the wisdom from God and it has stuck with me all week.
Change #2. Realize that everything that I do, has an end result. Is buying X worth not having Y? Is eating a 2nd helping worth feeling full all afternoon? Is working at home worth not spending time with God?

Oh no. I’m becoming an adult responsible for my own actions……Could it be true?

Dear God,
Thank you. You have brought me through yet another year of my life. A year that was full of changes. You answered my prayers and brought me the one. The one who encourages me, builds me up, yet lets me build her up as well. You taught me patience to wait for her and not settle for second best. You only want the best for us if we will just wait until its Your time, not ours. You not only gave me my own incredible family my entire life, but now you have given me another that loves me just as much as if I were one of their own. You truly do everything the bible says You would do, if we just wait. You have given me the very best in life and for that I am forever thankful. Guide me to be the christian husband, and family man you would have me to be and never take for granted the gifts in life you have given. Help me to always have patience and realize that the best is just around the corner.

Keith