Thanksgiving

As I sat and contemplated all the things I am most thankful for this season, I decided that beyond a doubt my sweet wife was the one person for whom I am most thankful! I knelt down and gratefully thanked the Lord for the wonderful qualities that He placed in his little handmaiden, Anita. I decided to thing about each one and list them so I could give specific THANKS for each endearing trait. I call it my “THANK YOU LIST.”

FIFTY THINGS ABOUT ANITA TO BE THANKFUL FOR THIS DAY:
1. She always thinks of others before herself.
2. She is very compassionate with anyone suffering.
3. She is 100% loyal to God and to her husband.
4. She is a true servant of Jesus.
5. She waits on her husband and comes to his beck and call.
6. She has a servant’s heart toward all our family and guests.
7. She has a sensitive spirit to the direction of the Lord.
8. She is always fair and impartial, even to those she loves.
9. She is the true personification of the lady in Proverbs 31.
10. She is very industrious.
11. She has a keen business mind and makes good decisions.
12. She is super thrifty with money and shops for the best bargains.
13. She is extremely attentive to her looks and dresses beautifully.
14. She carries herself in public like a queen.
15. She decorates the home better than a professional designer.
16. She thinks “out of the box” and comes up with ingenious ideas.
17. She is so fun to be around.
18. She loves to travel and see new places and things.
19. She is a highly developed detective and nothing gets by her.
20. She has landscaping skills that would put a gardener to shame.
21. She always remembers everybody’s birthdays with cards & gifts.
22. When treated ill by others she always forgives them.
23. When she is angry she never stays mad over a few minutes.
24. She never carries a grudge overnight.
25. She always tries to be a “peacemaker” when there is trouble.
26. She never complains about her own aches and pains.
27. She is always interested in others and makes them feel so.
28. She is the best conversationalist in a group of people.
29. She knows how to draw people out and find out about them.
30. She makes people feel good about having known her.
31. She is “drop dead gorgeous” and beautiful on the inside too!
32. She is always considerate of other people’s needs.
33. She is very loving to her husband and family.
34. She never acts like a job that needs to be done is a “chore.”
35. She is cheerful and happy acting every day.
36. She is NEVER bored with life or anything in it.
37. She knows the secret of making friends and keeping them.
38. She is very cute and playful at times.
39. She is the kind of person that EVERYBODY wants to be around.
40. She is a “free thinker” and makes her own decisions.
41. She is not intimidated by others.
42. She will give the shirt off her back to somebody in need.
43. She is one of the most generous people there is.
44. She is a faithful “tither” to the Lord’s work.
45. She shows her deep dedication to the things of God.
46. She continually strives to grow spiritually every day.
47. She has good taste when it comes to cars, homes, and things.
48. She is always supportive of her husband no matter what he does.
49. She always honors her husband even if she disagrees.
50. She is absolutely the GREATEST WOMAN EVER BORN!!!

SUMMER FLOWERS IN OREGON

We took a drive around the Portland area and were thrilled with the beautiful floral displays!

FABULOUS TRIP TO ALASKA

This was one of the most fun trips ever!

DISTRESS, DEBT, DISCONTENTED

VICTORY OVER THE THREE DEADLY “D’S”
I SAMUEL 22:1-2
1. David, therefore, departed from there, and escaped to the cave, Adulam (which means ‘the place of rest’);
2. And every one who was in DISTRESS, and every one who was in DEBT, and every one who was DISCONTENTED, gathered themselves unto him; and he became captain (Czar) over them: and there were with him about four hundred men.
The Bible teaches that King David in the Old Testament was a type of Jesus (his descendant) in the New Testament. David was anointed King as a young man, but many years would pass before he was able to take the kingdom and sit upon his own throne. Jesus was anointed King and many years have passed before he will finally sit upon his forefather David’s throne.
While David was waiting for the time to come when he could occupy his throne, he encouraged the misfits of society that were in DISTRESS, in DEBT and DISCONTENTED, to come to him and find rest. The old King Saul of the present government establishment had no regard for these kinds of people. They were a burden on his society and he didn’t really want them. Those broken under too much STESS had to be cared for; those in DEBT had to be supported; those that were DISCONTENTED had to be dealt with as “rabble rousing rioters.” The establishment did not want them!
In the New Testament, Jesus said a similar thing to the misfits of society, “Come unto me all of you that are weary of life and burdened down and I will give you rest.”
The only way that David could help these troubled people was to become a Czar (captain, prince) to them. The Hebrew word Czar is used for David and his coming son, the Messiah, Jesus Christ. It is a term that means a Prince or Captain that holds complete dominion over all kings and all other leaders. Revelations 1:5-6, says that Jesus Christ will be made “the Czar (Prince) of the Kings of the earth.” In other words, these stressed out people wouldn’t go any place or do anything without finding out from David if it was OK. This total obedience was the only way he could radically change their lives. He saw them as successful and as leaders in the land even though they looked upon themselves as failures. When they allowed David to take control of their lives, he methodically delivered them from DISTRESS, DEBT, and DISCONTENTMENT, and helped them see themselves as successful leaders of society and not dismal failures. When you read the stories in II Chronicles, you will find that every one of those misfit failures that came to David were promoted to be the leaders of the nation when he took his kingdom and sat upon his throne!
God sees us not as we see ourselves. We see ourselves as not being “up to par” in many areas. God looks at us as the finished success that he is methodically constructing. We are his work in progress. If we will allow Jesus to become the Czar (Captain) over our lives, he will give us complete victory over the three deadly D’s.
The first “D” is DISTRESS. Doctors sometimes tell patients that they have to get away from stress or it is going to destroy them. That is crazy! Nobody can get away from stress. There is stress all around us—stress from the economy, stress from the work place, stress from relationships, and countless other things. The secret is to live in the stress but not become DISTRESSED (full of pressure, anxiety and worry). In Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, found in Matthew 5:25-34, he uses 228 words (more than any other subject) trying to show us how to overcome being worried or stressed out. He uses examples of plants and animals that don’t worry about where they live or where their next meal is coming from in order to show us that the loving heavenly Father cares for us even more than these, and if we recognize him as our Lord then he is going to supply all of our needs. Research has shown that becoming distressed with worry breaks down resistance to all diseases, retards our potential, and slowly destroys our very life. Jesus says, “I have come that you might have life, and a more abundant life!” John 10:10
The second “D” is DEBT. In the book of Proverbs God says, “The borrower becomes the slave of the lender.” Our loving Father doesn’t want any of his children to go through life being tortured with the weight of debt and being enslaved to the banks and lenders. Debt causes people to have to get extra jobs. Debt causes both husband and wife to have to work. Debt and the handling of money is the number one cause of marital problems. Debt is destroying our nation and our society. God wants his kids to lead carefree lives of love without owing anybody money. In the New Testament God says, “Owe no man anything, except love.” In Malachi 3:8-10 God promises to help us get out of debt and to bless us unbelievably if we will quit robbing him of his tithe (10 percent) of our income. If we will stop robbing God and pay our tithes and offerings, he says, “Test me and see if I won’t open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing that will be so great you won’t even have room enough to receive it!”
If we become faithful in giving God his 10 percent, he will show us how to budget the other 90 percent, and give us ideas for “clever inventions.” He will show us how to make money with less effort and send money to us from surprising sources.
The third “D” is being DISCONTENT. Discontentment comes from the failure of our plans. Many scriptures in the book of Proverbs address the need of asking God for counsel and instruction in our plans. God wants us to succeed in our plans and visions for the future if they are in alignment with his will for our lives. The ideal thing to do is to find out from God HIS plan for our life and once we know that plan we can pursue it with no fear of failure. When we pursue plans that don’t work out our lives can easily become filled with discontentment. In Proverbs 3:5-6 God shows us three steps to finding out his direction for our life and any plans we have. Once you are sure God is directing your visions and plans, don’t quit even if you seem to fail. Generally God will allow many frustrations and some failures to build and equip you. Even with setbacks and failures, do not become discontent or it can destroy what you would have eventually accomplished.
Some years ago a farmer discovered a gold nugget while plowing his land. He dug day after day looking for the gold vein that was the source of the nugget. This continued month after month and year after year. Finally after twenty years of failing to find the vein, the farmer became frustrated with his failure to find gold. Becoming discontent he decided to sell his farm. The day after escrow closed, the new purchaser of the farm commenced digging at the exact spot where the farmer had quit. He only dug one more foot until he hit one of the largest gold veins ever discovered in America! The farmer became discontent and quit only one foot from the incredible riches he was seeking!
What would you attempt in your life if you knew God was at your side and it was impossible to fail?
Many years ago, a young man had a burning desire to serve America and help with the great problems our country was facing. Everything he attempted seemed to fail but he would not allow discontentment to stop him from pursuing his goals.
In ’31 he failed in business. In ’32 he was defeated for a seat in the state legislature. In ’33 he failed in business for the second time. In ’35 his sweetheart and the love of his life died. It affected him so badly that in ’36 he had a complete nervous breakdown. In ’38 he was defeated for State Speaker of the House. In ’40 he was defeated for elector. In ’43 he was defeated for U.S. Congress. In ’48 he was defeated for U.S. Congress again. In ’55 he was defeated for a seat in the U.S. Senate. In ’56 he was defeated in his bid for Vice-president of the United States. In ’58 he was defeated for a seat in the U.S. Senate again. In ’60, after 30 years of continual defeats, he was elected PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, becoming our greatest hero-ABRAHAM LINCOLN!!
When Jesus comes and takes his kingdom and sits on his throne, all of us misfits that have come to him at the “place of rest,” will be appointed as the kings and priests over all creation including the trillions of angelic beings in the heavens. Daniel, speaking prophetically of the end time said, “The Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints (followers) of the Most High; and the time came that they possessed the kingdom…And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole HEAVEN, shall be given to the people of the Most High.” Daniel 7:22 and 27
In the Book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible, God tells us again about his great plan for our lives:
“Jesus Christ is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the Czar (Prince) over the kings of the earth. Praise unto him that loves us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood. And he has made us kings and priests unto God and his Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen! Revelation 1:5 and 6
BE FREE OF DISTRESS, DEBT AND DISCONTENTMENT. GOD HAS GREAT PLANS FOR US…NOW AND IN THE AGE TO COME!!

FREEDOM FROM DISTRESS, DEBT, DISCONTENTMENT

This Sunday I preached at the Abundant Life Center in Toledo, Oregon. My sermon was "Victory over the Three Deadly D's." They are listed in I Samuel 22:1-2 in the Bible--as Distress, Debt and Discontentment. We saw a wonderful response and a number of people were greatly helped.

INCREDIBLE CHANGES ON THE NORTHWEST COAST!

We woke up this morning to snow all over the ground! This is the second time this year. What makes this so unique is that snow has never come this late...it is almost May! By 11:00 AM it was so warm out that you didn't need a jacket. Then in the late afternoon without warning we had a hard hail storm!! Jesus is coming soon!

CLASSIC CAR TRIP

Anita and I went on a Classic Car Road Trip with the Oregon Club. About a dozen of us went on the trip for 3 days. It was fabulous! We visited little towns near the Columbia River in Oregon and Washington, with museums, old houses, and an observatory. We got to see wild turkeys, bison, deer, peacocks, and other assorted animals. We traveled at times on dirt and gravel roads and stayed in old hotels and ate at unique restaurants where few tourists ever visit. Most of the group was our age. We made wonderful friends and had one of the most fun times we can ever remember!