Category Archives: Misc.

Again…and again…yet again.

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When I was a kid, I fell constantly. As an athletic boy, I was ALWAYS the messiest boy out there. Whether making a sliding tackle or sliding into second base, I was repeatedly getting dirty. The tops of my knees are permanently scarred from all of the scraps. It’s not that I was clumsy or uncoordinated, but rather, I played with passion. Baseball was my best sport. I played third base. Making a diving catch was the highlight reel that played over and over in my mind…and sometimes, it really happened!

Even now, in my forties, I play softball. I feel like I played my best when I can slide. Oh, and just in case you are wondering, I always slide head first. I have more fun that way. =-) In fact, I need to wear pants (as opposed to shorts) so that when I do slide, the wounds are much less severe.

The picture is Pete Rose, not me. Pete Rose and Roy Staiger

The other kind of falling down is the kind that is not so fun. In baseball, sometimes you strike out. In soccer, sometimes the other guy gets past you. Maybe you didn’t get that promotion for which you were hoping. It might have been the harsh words you had with your spouse. Or, if things are really bad, you lose a job because of some bad choices. The gambling problem eats away your savings account. The affair you thought you never would have has become reality. You fell down. Mistakes were made and you fell down.

Now you have a choice. Get up or stay down?

If I did not have a personal relationship with the Creator of the universe, I would say that getting up is stupid or useless. Just get another job. Just file bankruptcy. Divorce is so common these days. Move away to another state. Yea…just stay down.

But I do have an ongoing relationship with the Almighty God and so I say get up. Yes, I fell down. But I am playing with passion right? So I am going to get up and keep going.

Whether you are down because of your own doing or something that has happened to you, make the choice and allow God’s grace to help you back up on your feet.

Here is what God’s word says about us when we fall down, “for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:10. When we fall, He is right there next to us.

He will help you get up. He is ready to brush off the dust. He will give you a pat on the back. He will tell you that He loves you. He will teach you something. He will remind you that His plan for you only works if you get up.

Take it from someone who has fallen way too many times to count, getting back up is always the best choice.

 

Noah 2.0

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Hello Friends!

So my last post was…it was bad. Not that I said anything I didn’t think was true but I just didn’t say much. No substance, just fluff. My goal today is two-fold:

1. to add some substance to the fluff 

2. to challenge anyone reading to open their own Bible and begin reading

 

1. In the movie, Noah, there were errors. In the ark, there were 7 people: Noah, his wife, his oldest son and his wife, his two other sons, and the bad guy.

The bible says that there were 8 people; Noah and his three sons and their wives. See Genesis 6:18.

2. In the movie, the wife of the oldest son gives birth to twins while sailing on the ark.

The Bible, in Genesis 9:1, God says to multiply and fill the earth. There were no ark-born children.

3. The last discrepancy I want to make is about the Watchers. In the movie, these creatures were angels that came to earth to be with humans. The couldn’t show their true selves so God clothed them in rock and stone. They looked more like something you would find in a Lord of the Rings movie.

In Chapter 6 of Genesis, there is talk of the Nephilim. This can be better read giants. But they were not clothed in rock and stone.

 

There were more examples but for now, that seems like enough. On to the application.

Noah and the Ark is a literal story. It really happened. Besides being an actual event, it is also a symbol of something that is yet to come.

God wanted to destroy the world because of all the wickedness that He saw. He also saw that Noah was righteous. The Ark saved all the righteous people and destroyed the wickedness.

When Jesus arrives on the scene many, many years later, He is also an Ark. Because of the sin that all humans are born into, God wants to destroy that sin. He is holy and just so He can’t stand to look upon that sin. Jesus is the Ark so if someone is in the Ark when the flood (judgment) comes, they will be saved.

 

So by faith, you and I can be saved today. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”

 

I challenge you to pick up your Bible and read the Noah account. Besides being a great story, it also gives us hope that God, who is loving and just, has made a plan for us. If you find yourself wondering or questioning, ask me or someone you trust. There is help and hope for you.

 

By the way, there is plenty of room for all of us. See you on the ark!

Noah, at least that was the name of the movie.

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My wife and I watched Noah last night.

I was excited because I am a big fan of the biblical story of Noah.

I was bummed because the movie didn’t portray the biblical story of Noah.

 

This movie was entertaining…if you have never read the real story.

But I have and the people responsible for making the movie missed it.

 

It would take another hour to cite all the examples of how the movie differed from the Bible.

But I only have two minutes.

 

I leave you with this. The Bible is absolute truth. It is never wrong.

Even if Hollywood makes a movie about the Bible.

 

So please, take time to read about the real Noah in the book of Genesis. It will do you good.

 

By the way, we had a code for a free Redbox rental. So the movie was free! Cool beans.

 

Thank you for your time,

 

Tim

32850 pounds.

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Have you ever laid landscaping block? I have. The picture here is not my house but it is very similiar to the project that my wife and I completed earlier this year.

wall_landscape_6

Because my brain works in odd ways, I thought it would be fun to total up the number of pounds that I lifted during this project. We purchased the blocks, capstones, and bags of sand from a local store. Here is a breakdown of the blocks and their respective weights:

1. 90 Large block, 70 lbs 

2. 30 Small block, 17 lbs 

3. 55 Capstone for large block, 56 lbs 

4. 20 Capstone for small block, 13 lbs 

5. 16 Bags of Sand, 50 lbs

 

But I didn’t move each block once. I figured that I had to lift each of these items 3 times. Once from the store to my van, another time from the van to the yard, and the final time, from the yard into its position.

So I did the math.

90  x 70 x 3 + 30 x 17 x 3 + 55 x 56 x 3 + 20 x 13 x 3 + 16 x 50 x 3 = 32850 lbs

When I hit total, I was astonished! That is a ton of work…wait, no! It is over 16 tons of work! How cool is that!

So what? Why is that worth writing about?

Let me tell you. I can never lift that much weight by myself. Ever. In fact, no one person could. It is simply too heavy. However, I can lift one block at a time.

 

I CAN DO ANYTHING, if I move one block at a time.

 

My prayer for today is this, “Dear God, help me to move one block today so that your will can be accomplished in me and through me, amen.”

120 seconds

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If you are reading this, I have about 116 more seconds to set the hook. Being my first attempt at blogging, I sure would like to catch something. The irony of this is that I don’t really like to fish. But if you are interested in hearing about a man-eating fish, keep reading.

Maybe golf or other sports will peak your interest, I won’t let you down. Since I love to play, I will also enjoy writing about it. Like the time I played college basketball…

Do you use bad words? I have and I want to write about them sometime.

Have you ever traveled to another country? I have and between the earthquake and the interesting currency, it was unforgettable.

What about God? I am not talking of a god within you but God, as in the God who created this whole amazing universe. There will certainly be stuff about Him as well.

And the book that He gave to us, the Bible, will be scattered in and through everything that I write as well. It is absolutely mind-blowing how one book can contain helpful and insightful information about ANYTHING that I am thinking, feeling, or experiencing right now.

Is my time expired yet? Image

 

It’s funny because I got out a timer so I could time myself reading this post. I don’t know if that makes me crazy, compulsive, or just particular. Whatever I am though, I plan on keep being just that. And that is really the essence of what this is all about. Take it or leave it, it is I.

So are you ready? I am. Come back sometime and check out what has been going on in my life. It just might be the best two minutes of your day.

P.S. You will have to read a future post to find out about any of the above mentioned items! =-)