Sad Days...

The past couple of days have been rather sad days. A very dear friend of ours has gone home to be with the Lord. I can't really say we "lost" her though. To say you lost something would imply you don't know where it is. Even though we are saddened, we can rejoice and praise God for we know exactly where our dear friend is. She is rejoicing in heaven.

So now we find ourselves asking the big question... Why? Why did the Lord decide to bring this mighty woman of God home after recently being healed of Cancer? Why, after this family has suffered so much in their lives this past year did God add this to their suffering?

As Christians we are taught to have faith and that God has a plan for our lives, but as humans, we have to question why situations happen. These are questions we will never know the answers to until we are brought home to be with God.

It is also at times like this that we realize we don't know how much time we really have on this spinning rock and how much the people in our lives mean to us. So my question is not why did this happen, but why did it take the departure of someone close to put these things into perspective? This question is more directed to myself then anyone.

I am going to try and make it a point to not dwell on the little things the devil throws in our way to trip us up. Instead, I am going to focus more on the blessings I have in my life. I am truly a blessed man. God has blessed me with the perfect wife for me, great children, a wonderful church family, a good job, and to many more blessings to list here.

I pray that I don't lose sight of these things in the future. I also pray not only for comfort for this family, I also pray comfort and strength for those that have been blessed to be apart of our friend's life. She truly was a wonderful mighty woman of God who would do anything she could to help someone out or just be there to comfort them with an encouraging word.

In all of this sadness, I find it comforting to know that our dear friend is in a much better place then we are and that some day we will all see each other again.

She will be missed dearly...

Lifting My Lid...

I have been reading John C. Maxwell's "The 21 Most Powerful Minutes in a Leader's Day" and I have to say, it is an excellent book.

The reason I mention this is because today I read about Lifting Lids. He refers to "Lids" as the challenges and opportunities we face each day of our life.

He goes on to talk about the challenges or "Lids" that David faced head on instead of hiding from them like Saul did.

This comes at an interesting time for me because I have a "Lid" that I must lift. Everyone that knows me, knows, that I am more comfortable behind the scenes. I am not one for public speaking at all.

Yesterday I was told that I have to give a presentation on our company's new website. Now, I know more about our website then anybody else so I am not afraid of the topic.

My fear or "Lid" comes from having to talk in front of a group. I would rather do anything else then speak to a large group. To make matters worse for me, the group will be made up of Executive Directors, the President of the company, and most likely the Chairman of the Board.

So, before I read today's reading I was thinking how am I going to get out of this. Now, I think I am ready to lift this "Lid" and move on to the next challenge they throw at me.

To learn more about the book I am reading, click the title of it in the right column.

In God We Trust

Or do we? We see this phrase on every coin made from the US Mint. But do we really believe it?Do we really trust God with everything in our lives? I know I don't put my trust in God always. So why is that?

I find for me personally, it is easier to tell others to put all their trust in God than it is to actually do it myself. Yes, that makes me a hypocrite. I am aware of this, and this is something I pray about daily. I pray that I can let go of everything in my life and allow God to take care of it according to his plan.

So what does it really mean to trust God completely? As of right now, I am not really sure. For me I think it means to come to a final realization that I can't do this on my own and that God is in control of everything. I do know one thing. By me not trusting God with everything in my life I am robbing myself of his true blessings for my life. I am also robbing God of the ability to pour out his full blessings on my life which in turn would allow me to live out my live according to his plan.

So I guess what I am saying is if you are doing the same thing, not trusting God completely, join in praying with me that we would start to allow God to work the way he wants to in our lives.

The week in review

I am taking an idea from my beautiful wife and I am going to post a week in review...

We wrapped up our marriage retreat and it was awesome. It was one of the best retreats so far. I am a very blessed man that I was able to spend time away with my wife.

My work week was rather uneventful. Although, I will say I am addicted to the internet from a social aspect. I am convinced that the social web and web 2.0 are the future of the internet. I will be posting things on this as time goes on.

I went back to the doctor on Friday morning. He went over the results of my first sleep study. There was nothing new there except he told me the level of sleep apnea that I have. I have mild to moderate sleep apnea. Yea for me!

So Friday night I went back for me last sleep study for a while. The goal of this study was to get me used to the CPAC machine and determine the level the machine should be set. Unlike my first study, this one wasn't as eventful. I will say that the sleep tech this time was very informative and he actually went over the numbers of my last study.

The only eventful thing that happened was... At some point in the night I woke up so disoriented, I actually pulled the mask off and started to pull one of the sensors off when the tech walked in and asked me was I ok? It was at that point I remembered where I was. The only thing I can think of is that I finally was in such a deep sleep that I wasn't used to that feeling.

The good news is the sleep tech told me I did spend a lot of time in a very deep sleep.

Well until next week.... Don't take any wooden nickels.

Book Review

I set several goals for myself for this year. One was to get into better shape, and I am working on that one.

Another goal was to read more. That being said, I have finished my first book of the new year. Well to be honest, it's the first book I have finished in about three years.

The book I read was "The Husband" by Dean Koontz. When I did read a lot I was a big fan of his work. So, I thought this one would be a good read.

For the most part it was a good read. There was a lot of action throughout the story coupled with several twists that you couldn't see coming.

The ending, however, was less then stellar. There was a big lead up to the ending.... and then it was over. Not much excitement in the final pages at all. I don't know if Mr. Koontz was tired or facing a tight deadline and cut some corners or what.

I would recommend the book though. Just don't expect a great ending.

Stay tuned for my next review.

I felt the burn...

So I have been involved in this new fitness program for three weeks now. As of last night I officially felt the burn. Or at least I felt something so painful I can only assume it was the burn.
We started doing things a little differently last night. Now we are doing three sets of 15 with one minute of cardio in between. For anyone that may think that isn't hard, I dare you to try it.

I have lost a total of 5 pounds so far. So I only have 25 more to go. My goal is 190.

I am going to stick with this though. I mean how much harder can it really get. Honestly I don't want to know the answer to that question.

Until next time, drink as much water as you can. After all, it will cure what ails you.