HB Shauna (and more)

Happy Birthday, my friend Shauna. May Jesus richly bless you this year of your life.
To you, I present the lyrics that had me weeping on my way home from work...

"Consuming Fire" by Tim Hughes

A while back, our church in Watford, England was going through a season of really calling out for more of God. One Sunday our associate pastor was speaking and kept using the phrase, "There must be more." That struck me. We've seen glimpses of God’s greatness and glory, but there is still so much more to discover. I went home and started writing the song. It's a cry for God to fill us anew, to deepen our passion for Him, to do all that He wants among us. It’s a cry for more.

There must be more than this
O breath of God, come breathe within
There must be more than this
Spirit of God we wait for You
Fill us anew we pray
Fill us anew we pray

Consuming fire, fan into flames
A passion for Your name
Spirit of God, fall in this place
Lord have Your way
Lord have Your way with us

Come like a rushing wind
Clothe us with power from on high
Now set the captives free
Leave us abandoned to Your praise
Lord let Your glory fall
Lord let Your glory fall

Consuming fire, fan into flames
A passion for Your name
Spirit of God, fall in this place
Lord have Your way
Lord have Your way with us

best i ever had

Heard this song on the radio, and it made me think that if I just capitalized the "Y" in the word "you", this woudl be a really beautiful and meaningful song to me...



"Bargain" by The Who


I'd gladly lose me to find You
I'd gladly give up all I had
To find You, I'd suffer anything and be glad

I'd pay any price just to get You
I'd work all my life and I will
To win You, I'd stand naked, stoned and stabbed

I'd call that a bargain
The best I ever had
The best I ever had

I'd gladly lose me to find You
I'd gladly give up all I got
To catch You, I'm gonna run and never stop

I'd pay any price just to win You
Surrender my good life for bad
To find You, I'm gonna drown an unsung man

I'd call that a bargain
The best I ever had
The best I ever had

I sit looking 'round
I look at my face in the mirror
I know I'm worth nothing without You
In life one and one don't make two
One and one make one
And I'm looking for that free ride to me
I'm looking for You

I'd gladly lose me to find You
I'd gladly give up all I got
To catch You, I'm gonna run and never stop

I'd pay any price just to win You
Surrender my good life for bad
To find You, I'm gonna drown an unsung man

I'd call that a bargain
The best I ever had
The best I ever had

update

Haven’t blogged much lately.

Been a lot going on.

Work is picking up, getting a little busier. Looks like one psycho at work is after my job; but, I leave that in God’s hands, He protects the blameless. I am getting pretty tired of getting blamed for things I did not do, and for getting accused of things behind my back, though…

Waiting for the judge to rubber stamp my divorce papers.

Moved my parents last week. The move went well, and they seem happy with it. A short move, just down the hall. Got to see my sister and my niece, too.

Been doing lots of gaming, Icewind Dale. I had great plans to blog all of my adventures in that mystical land at http://www.ward-of-gorion.blogspot.com , but…reality got in the way of that. Mainly, I was so busy adventuring, that I got way behind in my retelling of my adventures, to the point where it would have taken me a month of Sundays to catch up. Oops…my bad. Anyways, I just finished the game (as in, like, just five or six minutes ago), after taking about 8 tries at finishing off the end bad guy I finally managed to take him down (mind you, he killed five of my party members, and my sixth and final member was one hangnail away from death as well). An awesome game, truly awesome.

Watched a few movies lately, nothing too exciting.

Been spending my time watching Creflo Dollar, Joel Osteen, and Charles Stanley on television, good pastors/ministers who love God and have a heart for people.

I received a videogame I have never played before in the mail a week or more ago. Looking forward to playing it soon. Neverwinter Nights – The Ultimate Collection. It includes; the award-winning Neverwinter Nights, two hit expansion packs (Shadows of Undrentide and Hordes of the Underdark), game modules from the developers of Neverwinter Nights, Bioware’s Aurora Toolset for easy module creation, Neverwinter Nights:Kingmaker expansion including three complete adventures, and all patches and updates. This collection encompasses over 100 hours of solo gameplay.

So, that’ll be my next gaming experience, I believe. I also have the still-unopened Baldur’s Gate 4-in-1 boxset, which I am looking forward to going at as well. I have tentative plans to blog about both of these experiences at http://www.ward-of-gorion.blogspot.com (my “all-things-Baldur’s-Gate” fansite, devoted to the greatest game ever created, Baldur’s Gate, all of the games that followed in the BG series, plus all the computer-based video games created by Black Isle Studios and the Bioware Corporation), so check that out from time to time to see what is new in my PC-life.

I was sad to learn that Michael Sweet’s wife, Kyle Sweet, passed away from complications from cancer, on March the 6th 2009. As I bill myself as “the other Stryper brother”, it should come as no shock that I am a huge Stryper fan, both of the music, as well as the message behind it. My thoughts and prayers go out to the Sweet family, especially to Michael and his children.

Other that that, not too much to say right now. Economically, times are tough right now, so I have no extra money to spend anywhere anymore. Watching lots of hockey, of course, gearing up for the playoffs where I hope my Pittsburgh Penguins make a long run.

Oh, I shaved my hair all off yesterday, so i am bald again. i have a rather nasty scalp condition right now, so i have to wear a hat wherever i go, but hopefully now that the hair has been removed i will be able to get my scalp to clear up.

Slainte! And God bless.

D. Sweet

RIP

R.I.P. Kyle Sweet. The Stryper community grieves with you, Michael Sweet and children.

Real-lation Ships

Trust and Respect.

Trust and respect are two things that a relationship must never lose. If you do not work to maintain your relationship by keeping these two vital cogs functional and active, you are bailing with a thimble in a sailboat with no hull and you are hoping to sail to the other side of the world. Facts are facts, you are never going to get what you want.

Oh, there are other things that are important to relationships. Romance, and communication, for instance. But, if these things slip, they can be rebuilt. Trust and respect are harder to build, and so they are more important not to lose.

A relationship has to be daily maintained. It has to be watched over and guarded, and groomed and cared for.

It is amazing the amount of people that I know, who are in hurting or unfulfilled relationships, with little to no chance of things ever being better. They get trapped, because they do not know what to do.

To be honest, you need to build a relationship on the correct things, and then maintain it daily. Doing things any other way, is relationship suicide.

Too many hurting people, too many trapped people, too many people with no hope. Too many people who have not built their relationships in the way that God sets out, and so have suffered greatly for it. I am constantly amazed at the amount of people that i know who sit and tell me that there is no romance in their relationships, no sex, no physical contact, no peace, no love, no affection, no trust, no respect, no hope. These people have lost (or never had) trust and respect in their relationships, and they have crumbled into ashes all around them. But still they hold on, becuz they have nowhere else to go, no other hope for themselves.

It' s sad.

Me, I want to do it differently this time. The right way.

God's way.

rant?

So, this afternoon i am sitting in the drive thru lineup at Tim Horton's. It is a nice spring day, and my window is rolled down.
A woman in a vehicle two behind me calls out to this elderly couple who has just exited Tim Horton's and are getting into their car. She implores the elderly gentleman to make sure that he teaches "my generation's men" to open doors for their women, becuz the men do not do that anymore. The elderly lady says that her husband has had 92 years of practice.

This dialogue exchange both saddened me, and angered me.

Women do not seem to understand that they have all of the power in relationships. But they have exchanged everything that they want, for cheap pleasures.
If women want men to treat them with respect, then, quite honestly, and excuse my bluntness, but the women need to learn how to keep their legs closed and how to act like ladies.
You stop giving men what they want (sex on demand), and they will learn how to treat you the way that you want them to. As soon as you give them what they want without long-term commitment (marriage), then men stop working to respect you; they just lust after you.

This does not excuse men, and they way that we treat women. But when women decided to reach for sex-on-demand and the quick-fix of "make me feel good now", they lost everything they actually wanted from men.

I want a woman, one who honestly WANTS to wait until we are married. And i want to learn how to treat her the right way, over the dating and courtship period of time, so that our married life will thrive and flourish. I want to do things God's way, the right way, the good way, the only way that works; and I want a woman who wants the same thing.

I've tried it the other way. Even with my best intentions, it did not work.
Only God's way works.
That is why He is God, and I am not.

RIP

Former NHL player Walt Poddubny dies Saturday,
03.21.2009 / 11:21 PM / News Associated Press

THUNDER BAY, Ontario (AP) -Former NHL player Walt Poddubny died Saturday, the Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal reported. He was 49.

The cause of death wasn't known. The newspaper said a person close to the family said Poddubny collapsed at his sister's house, where he was living.

Drafted 90th overall by Edmonton in 1980, Poddubny played 11 NHL seasons for the Oilers, Toronto, the New York Rangers, Quebec and New Jersey. He had 184 goals and 238 assists in 468 games and topped the 30-goal mark three times.

After finishing his playing career in the American Hockey League with the Worcester IceCats, Poddubny coached the Anchorage Aces in the West Coast Hockey League.

He returned home in 2003 to spend time with his children and was involved in coaching and hockey celebrity appearances.



Rest in peace, Walt. I remember your playing days with fondness. I hope you met Jesus before you passed, and that you are with Him now.

fitting

these lyrics have been sitting on my desktop for a few weeks.

i was going to blog them, but somehow it never seemed like the right time.

looks like this is a fitting time...


Hole Hearted - by Extreme


Life’s ambition occupies my time
Priorities confuse the mind
Happiness one step behind
This inner peace I’ve yet to find

Rivers flow into the sea
Yet even the sea is not so full of me
If I’m not blind why can’t I see
That a circle can’t fit
Where a square should be

There’s a hole in my heart
That can only be filled by you
And this hole in my heart
Can’t be filled with the things I do

Hole hearted
Hole hearted

This heart of stone is where I hide
These feet of clay kept warm inside
Day by day less satisfied
Not fade away before I die

Rivers flow into the sea
Yet even the sea is not so full of me
If I’m not blind why can’t I see
That a circle can’t fit
Where a square should be

There’s a hole in my heart
That can only be filled by you
And this hole in my heart
Can’t be filled with the things I do
There’s a hole in my heart
That can only be filled by you
And this hole in my heart
Can’t be filled with the things I do

Hole hearted
Hole hearted
Hole hearted
Hole hearted

enough

March 22



He is able...to run to the cry of...those who are being...tested.

Hebrews 2:18 (AMP)



Jesus was angry enough to purge the temple, hungry enough to eat raw grain, distraught enough to weep in public, fun loving enough to be called a drunkard, winsome enough to attract kids....radical enough to get kicked

out of town, responsible enough to care for his mother, tempted enough to know the smell of Satan, and fearful enough to sweat blood....



Whatever you are facing, he knows how you feel.






This was from my daily devotional that comes in the mail from Max Lucado.
This really touched me. It touched me deeply, to know that God truly knows and understands how i feel. And that is why i can trust Him to have my best interests at heart, and to guide me into good things. Thank You, Lord. I will follow You.

the truth about this life

I have always thought that the movie The Matrix is perhaps the perfect analogy for the life of a Christian.

You live this life, and you think you know what it is all about. You make all your decisions in your life based upon that assumption.

Then, you get saved. And over time, you see things differently. You realize that there is a whole other world that exists, one more important and much more real than the one you have been living in.

Now, the choice is yours. Do you go back to your cushy life in the fake world, or do you join the struggle in the real one? Do you go numb, or do you go all in?





This world is a sick and evil place. It is black, it is despair, it is immorality heaped on top of immorality. It is everything wrong that could ever be, all in one place at one time. This world is the pinnacle of the devil's manipulations, and to the righteous believer, it shows.

We are sick. We, the believers who populate this planet, we who are suppposed to be the salt of the world, the light in a dark place, the amabassadors for the King of Kings...we are sick. We have given up long ago. We have given ourselves over to this world of evil, rather than live as true children of light. We spend our lives trying to self-soothe our own hurts with the balm of the world. We have turned our backs on God and His kingdom, and embraced the garbage pit that we live in wholeheartedly.

We should be ashamed. When we should stand up and be counted, we turn tail and run. We do not know God for Who He is, although we call ourselves by His name. And we believe that God is okay with this, that this is the way that things are supposed to be.

We are deceived.

Look at the world around you. See for yourself how much more difficult it is today to get saved. Too many distractions, too many lies, and not enough truth. We Christians have dishonoured God's Word and devalued it, and until we repent of this and stand up for God's reality over Satan's lies, we not only are doomed ourselves, but we doom those around us who need Christ.

Lord, forgive us. Lord, change us. Lord, start with me.

memories lie still

I think that one of the worst things about marriage (or relationship) break-ups, is not knowing what to do with the memories.

How should one feel about the past, when it finally has become the past? Once it was the present and the future, but when it suddnely and painstakingly becomes the past, what do you do? How do you handle it?

Photos are the worst thing. I am addicted to photos. I love having them. When i was growing up, i always hated that i did not have photos of the friends that i had as a child and a teenager. When our lives parted and they went their own way, i did not have photos of them that i could look at; there was no real way to share those memories with anybody else. So when i became an adult, with a family of my own, i took lots of photos.

When my first marriage broke up, i eventually got rid of almost all of the photos i had. Many years later, i regretted that. Many years too late.

Now, i have thousands of digital photos of my time with my second wife and her daughter, and i do not want to look at any of them.

I also, thanks to the person i fell in love with last summer and got badly burned by, have some files on my computer, ones that i do not want to get rid of, but ones that i cannot even get myself to open, they are to painful to look at, too painful to deal with.

Years and years and years, many years of my life, taken from me. Memories that i do not want to face. Photos that i cannot look at. Poetry and other writings that make no sense now, they only bring pain and regret.

Lord, restore to me the years the locust have taken.

I have a bright future, but I am a man with no past (to speak of).

1, 2, i pick you

Awesome!

I just got my package that i ordered from Creflo Dollar Ministries in the mail today!

I got the book, "Before The Ring: Determining Who You Are And What You Need In A Mate" and I got the two CD series entitled "Choosing A Mate". The first CD is Choosing A Mate, and the second CD is Making The Right Choice.

I cannot wait to dig into these! And how ironic, that they come in the mail the same day that i get my final divorce papers in to the courts!

i also received a card, with another offer on it that sounds intriguing. A CD series entitled Creating A New Beginning. The write-up on it says..."It's never too late to start over. God is not finished with you yet. If your life is not where you want it to be, make 2009 your breakthrough year. Whether you want to change physically, emotionally or spiritually, there's no better time to start than now. The past is behind you. God is giving you a fresh start."

All that God is teaching me this last year or so, it is all about believing what His Word says about me, having a positive attitude, pressing forward towards the mark, honouring God's Word, and becoming the man that God has called me to be. It is truly an exciting time in my life. I want to say that God is preparing me to use me, but i do not want to imply that God does not already use me, because He does. It...it is just an exciting time for me. I have so many expectations of the good (great!) things that God is going to accomplish through me, and in me, in the next few years. God is so good to me. And I am so blessed to have been saved by His blood.

happy

happy St Patrick's Day!


Slainte m'hath, Slainte m'hor!

(and, yes, I CAN pronounce that, correctly! can you?)

me likey!

I liked Max Lucado's devotional the other day...



God has...all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us.
Ephesians 2:7 (THE MESSAGE)



God knows everything about you, yet He doesn't hold back His kindness toward you. Has He, knowing all your secrets, retracted one promise or reclaimed one gift?



No, He is kind to you. Why don't you be kind to yourself? He forgives your faults. Why don't you do the same?...He believes in you enough to call you His ambassador, His follower, even His child.



Why not take His cue and believe in yourself?

His faithful servant I would be...

Hey there. It is 10:18pm, and I just got back from Kelowna. My daughter and I went to see the movie “Coraline”. She loved it. It was a bit dark and creepy for my tastes, but I did appreciate the cat in the movie a lot. I’ve started to ask God that the next special woman in my life, could she please be a cat lover? My daughter left her stuffed puppy in the movie theatre by accident, and is scared she has now lost it. I have prayed and asked God to return it safely to her.

Well, I was thinking as I was driving home, while worshiping along with my favourite album (FFH’s Worship In The Waiting)…

Y’know, some people might not understand what happened between Melanie and me. I accept that. People are people, and they see things differently. But, here is something that I do know, recognize, and realize about that situation…

God sent me into Melanie’s life (and she into mine) for a reason. Above all, that reason was what first got me interested in her – that Godly spark within her. She has an unanswered call on her life, and the first (and most important) part of that call, is her salvation. I prayed for Melanie, fervently. I prayed for her salvation. I told God I would gladly give up everything, if only he would save her. And, in the end, that is exactly what I did; I lost her, I lost the chances of her love, the chances of her friendship, I lost everything where she is concerned. And, I can only hold on to my faithful belief that God is going to save her, and is going to change her life big-time.

I was put into Melanie’s life, because God needed somebody there. He needed somebody to recognize that He was calling her, He needed somebody to converse with her about spiritual matters, He needed somebody to pray for her, He needed somebody to love and appreciate her just as she is, He needed somebody to share His love for her, and He needed somebody to be an example to her.

He could have used anybody. He chose to use me. Let me rephrase that last sentence. I did not choose for Melanie to come along, nor did I choose for my soul to get entwined with hers; God chose me. And, not because I was the best for the job, but because I was WILLING. God never demanded of me that I save her. God never scolded or berated me because she did not fall down at God’s feet and accept Him into her heart. No, God gave me the biggest of daddy hugs, and told me that I did good. Why? Simple; because I was faithful. God said “go,” and I went. I was scared, but I persevered. I was alone, but I hung on to God. I was frustrated, but I believed. And, I still believe. God has good things planned for her. I am no hero – I did not ride in, save her, shine my white-toothed smile, and ride off into the sunset with her. But, at the same time, I did something I have never done before, and I never would have believed that I was capable of; I loved somebody in spite of the way they treated me (particularly towards the end), I believed God even though that belief made me look foolish, and I shared His love with somebody who needed to hear it. I was faithful to God’s call. That was all that God asked of me – to be faithful, and to allow Him to do the rest. He used me, because I was willing to be used. I did not fail – I did what God asked me to do. There was no failure here, because God is still at work in her life – He is just no longer using me. The work has been passed on.

God is good. Thank You, Lord, for using me, and allowing me to be used.

I’ve got a lot in me to give. Most of it, is God.

my day of not knowing

So, I saw somebody today, just a few minutes ago. Somebody I haven’t seen since October of last year. Somebody I used to care deeply for.

I am not sure how I feel about that.

I was out running some errands. Just on my way home. Two blocks from my house, waiting to get across at the light, sitting in my car. Now, I am not much of a people watcher, truth to tell, but this shiny new blue car was in the intersection, waiting to turn the way that I was coming from. I looked at the driver, and kept staring at her. I was thinking that she was cute-looking…then I realized who it was.

I am not sure how I feel about that. How should I feel?

She looked the same as I remember her. Glad to see she kept her hair, didn’t go bald again like she was threatening to. She had at least one boy in the back of the car (it was a hatchback type of car), I couldn’t see well enough to know for sure if it was one of hers or not. There was a girl/woman with long dark hair sitting beside her, of indeterminable age.

Mel looked good. She looked happy, she was laughing.

Again, I am not sure how I feel about that. I know that one single snapshot of a person’s life does not tell you anything about how they really are doing. But, in her case, I guess I just figure that it is easier for somebody to find God and His love for them, when life is falling apart. So, in that case, and in that way alone, I sincerely hope her life destroys itself, so that she can find God’s love and God’s forgiveness.

She saw me, you know. She looked right at me. Did she recognize me? Hard to say. She didn’t look for long, so perhaps she didn’t. It took me about five or six seconds of staring at her to recognize her for who she was, so…who knows? If she did recognize me, she had no reaction. Mind you, accept for being unable to stop staring at her, I probably had no visible reaction either.

Mel is an area of vast confusion in my life. I do not know how I feel about her. I do not know or understand fully what went on between us, or what I did right and what I did wrong. I do not know if she was good for me, and I have some doubts now about whether I was good for her. I do not know if I ever want to see her again, or even if I should want to. She might destroy me. I might destroy her. It’s hard to say. Only God knows.

I was dreading seeing her. Because I knew that I could have no idea what my reaction would be. I should have known, that ultimately my reactions would be “confusion”, “not knowing what I am feeling, if anything”, and “general i-don’t-know”.

Once, once I thought I knew. But now, I know that I do not know.

“Sometimes I think I know, But I know better” – Atomic Opera


And, since I am in an AO mood…

October – by Atomic Opera

“Can you kiss it
and make it feel better
Can you kiss me
and make me feel
Can you fill
my aching need
Will you hold me as I bleed
Time will wait for me to fall
It's the original fall
I'm not everything that I need
It's not good to be alone
‘Cause I'm naked and ugly and scared
And I'm falling everywhere
I can feel my heart turn grey
‘Cause I love and hate you
I have everything
That I lack
As I push my heart to black”


Well, Lord…I saw Mel. And, I survived. I survived, knowing no more than before, feeling just a little more turmoil than before, and still not understanding anything about much of anything. But, I know that You love me, and that is my best starting place in life. So, I choose to say, “thank You, Lord, for loving me.”

dag-nabbit!

Listening to Steven Curtis Chapman today while I was driving around town getting a few things accomplished.

Dang it all, if Mr Chapman didn't make me cry (again) with the lyrics to this song...



When Love Takes You In - by Steven Curtis Chapman

I know you've heard the stories
But they all sound too good to be true
You've heard about a place called home
But there doesn't seem to be one for you
So one more night you cry yourself to sleep
And drift off to a distant dream...

Where love takes you in, and everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart
When love takes you home, and says you belong here
The loneliness ends, and a new life begins
When love takes you in...

And somewhere while you're sleeping
Someone else is dreaming, too
Counting down the days until
They hold you close and say "I love you"
And like the rain that falls into the sea
In a moment what has been, is lost in what will be

When love takes you in, everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart

And this love will never let you go
There is nothing that could ever cause this love to lose it's hold

When love takes you in, everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart
When love takes you home and says you belong here
The loneliness ends, and a new life begins
When love takes you in, it takes you in for good
When love takes you in...

my life improves again

So, things have improved for me the last few days.

And, considering that this year is already a million per cent better than last year was, that is a great thing!

Stuff is still up in the air at work. Our General Manager is reportedly on pins-and-needles, wondering if she is going to be let go. Rumours abound that we are NOT going to be moving into a new building in May of this year, and that the company that bought us (all Gateway casinos, and Lake City Casinos) last year is complaining that they paid too much for us and they want to get us back to making money so they can sell us all off; but this is all unsubstantiated right now, just rumours, it may mean nothing at all. There are also lots of union grievances being launched against our casino from staff who have lost hours, seniority, and positions. There is some talk being voiced that they may strike at some point, to get some job security – who knows.

On the good front, my computer is now picking up on the virus that I have when doing scans, and is working hard to delete files that are compromised, so things seem to be getting under control here.

Also, I had my yearly evaluation with my boss David on Wednesday. We sat down and went over my last year. David kept telling me I was being too hard on myself – I responded by reminding him that I had resigned last fall over everything I had gone through at work and in my personal life, and that I take these things very seriously, I do not pass the buck and blame others for my own mistakes and I take personal responsibility for what I do. Anyways, we had a good talk. There was really only one issue he had with me, and it was minor (and actually had more to do with this calendar year than last one). David says he has no worries with me, and thinks I am learning well how to be a Supervisor, considering I never did anything like this before. We went through my eval, through all the different sub-categories that I get marked in. I actually successfully argued to have him LOWER one of the marks that he had put down, as I told him that my personal difficulties last year definitely affected the work atmosphere and that I should be marked accordingly. All in all, it was a good talk, and a decent evaluation. David was very nice to me, considering how disastrous my last year was in so many ways. I basically got a mark of 800 out of 1000. The same as I got last year. Actually, if it had not been for my personal difficulties last year and how that affected the department I work in, I probably would have got a perfect score, which I have only done once before in my 5 and a half years here. So, that should get me a fairly nice bonus check in a few months – IF we still get bonuses, which we may not be. We’ll see. And, it should net me about a 29 cent pay raise as well. Hey, something is better than nothing! My evaluation, to me, isn’t about the pay raise or the bonus check, it is about evaluating honestly how I am doing at my work and finding out what I need to improve on.

Anyways, that is it for now. Not doing much right now, just playing video games and growing in my relationship with God. And praying that God brings that special woman into my life, when the time is right.

Slainte!

I Come Out Fighting...

Bring It On - by Steven Curtis Chapman


I didn’t come lookin’ for trouble,
And I don’t want to fight needlessly,
But I’m not gonna hide in a bubble
If trouble comes for me.
I can feel my heart beating faster,
I can tell something’s coming down,
But if it’s gonna make me grow stronger, then…

Bring it on!
Let the lightning flash, let the
thunder roll, let the storm winds blow;
Bring it on!
Let the trouble come, let the
hard rain fall, let it make me strong;
Bring it on!

Now, maybe you’re thinkin’ I’m crazy,
And maybe I need to explain some things,
‘Cause I know I’ve got an enemy waiting
Who wants to bring me pain.
But what he never seems to remember,
What he means for evil, God works for good,
So I will not retreat or surrender.

Bring it on!
Let the lightning flash, let the
thunder roll, let the storm winds blow;
Bring it on!
Let the trouble come, let the
hard rain fall, let it make me strong;
Bring it on!

Now, I don’t want to sound like some hero,
‘Cause it’s God alone that my hope is in,
But I’m not gonna run from the very things
That would drive me closer to Him.
So, bring it on...

Bring it on!
Let the lightning flash, let the
thunder roll, let the storm winds blow;
Bring it on!
Let the trouble come, let it make
me fall on the One who’s strong;
Bring it on!
Let the lightning flash, let the
thunder roll, let the storm winds blow;
Bring it on!
Let me be made weak, so I’ll know
the strength of the One who’s strong;
Bring it on!
Bring it on!




True life is a fight that takes place in your mind.
Know your enemy, know his tactics, and fight on until the fight is taken from you on that glorious day.
Know your God, know His power and His love, and fight on. Bring it on!

good...no, great...stuff!

So, I heard another wonderful sermon from Pastor Joel Osteen. I watched it first thing when I got up today.

What an encouraging word!

Genesis 18:14 – “Is anything too hard or too wonderful for the Lord? At the appointed time, when the season comes around, I will return to you and Sarah shall have borne a son.”

God has a plan, and God has a season, and that is the season of blessing and of harvest.

I am lining up with God’s Word, and God’s plan, and saying, “Lord, I believe.” I believe that this is going to be a great year, a year of supernatural blessing and abundance for me. Blessings that I do not deserve and could never earn are coming my way, because my God loves me and chooses to (and delights in) blessing me, He wants to give me the desires of my heart, He sees the deep inner desires of my innermost being and He longs to bring those things to fruition in my life.

Pastor Osteen told the true story of a little girl who wanted a kitten. More than anything else, she wanted to have a kitten. But her mom did not want the responsibility of having an animal in the house, so she kept saying no. But the little girl kept asking her mom, “Mom can I have a kitten?” feeling exasperated by the situation, the mom told the little girl, “Look, if God reaches down and gives you a free kitten, then I will let you keep it. But if God doesn’t give you one, then you can’t have one, okay?” So, the little girl immediately went out in the back yard, got down on her knees, and prayed to God that He would send her a kitten, while her amused mother looked on.

Suddenly, at the exact moment that the little girl finished praying, she looked up and saw a little kitten drop out of the sky and land in front of her in the back yard. The mother ran outside and looked up into the sky – there was no tree in their yard, nothing that the cat could have dropped out of – it simply seemed to have appeared out of thin air. As she gaped at the sky, her daughter picked up the kitten and said, “Look mom, God gave me a kitten, just like I asked for!”

It wasn’t until a few months later that they heard the rest of the story. A neighbour, who lived down the block, had a little kitten stuck in a tree in his yard. He was trying to get the kitten out of the tree, but it was just out of his reach. So, he tied a rope to the tree and to the bumper of his car, and slowly drove his car forward, bending the tree over close to the ground. But, before he could rescue the young cat, the rope slipped off the tree, catapulting (pun intended) the kitten 200 yards through the air, where it landed at the feet of the little girl who prayed the prayer of faith. The poor man thought he had surely killed this poor cat, but instead God used the situation to bless a little girl and to prove His faithfulness.

God desires to bless us. God desires to bless me. And He will. He is. I accept it, I believe it.

This year, I am believing for my financial situation to improve. This year, I am believing that my work situation will continue to improve. This year, I am believing that I will get established in a body of believers. This year, I am believing for some good and supportive Christian friends. This year, I am believing that God will use me in the lives of others. This year, I am believing that God will draw me to Himself, that He will lead me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake, that He will open my eyes to the wonder of Who He is and cause me to grow more and more in love with Him. This year, I believe that the woman God has for me, will be revealed to me, and it’ll be truly a match made in heaven. This year, I am believing that my daughter and I will grow closer together, and that I will see God becoming more real to her and more important to her in her life. This year, this is my year, this is my year to receive God’s good gifts into my life, and to be used of God. This is my destiny, and nothing is going to stop that from happening.

Is anything too hard for God? Is anything too wonderful for God to do?

I say, no. I say, “Lord, I believe.” He will do the rest.