Nino's News

These are the days of grace.
These are the days of Elijah.
These are the days of our lives!
And what amazing days they are!

I know God is in control of all things. Nothing goes unnoticed in "these days." But oh the drama...secrecy...joy...frustration...fun...pain...and on and on and on...

My mother recently forwarded to me an e-mail with the subject being "Christian One-Liners." I opened it, read it and laughed at a few...some were just plain goofy. But the truth in some seemed too deep! Some examples that made me chuckled:

Don't let your worries get the best of you, remember, Moses started out as a basket case!
The good Lord didn't create anything without a purpose, but mosquitoes (& fire ants & flies) come close.
Forbidden fruits create many jams.
God loves everyone, but probably prefers "fruit(s) of the spirit" over "religious nuts!"
Some minds are like concrete, thoroughly mixed up and permanently set.

Now the others:
Many folks want to serve God, but only as advisors.
Opportunity may knock once, but temptation bangs on your front door forever!
A lot of church members who are singing "standing on the promises" are just sitting on the premises.
If the church wants a better preacher, it only needs to pray for the one it has.
Quit griping about your church...if it was perfect, you couldn't belong to it.

And finally, one that made me laugh and then it stuck with me...People are funny, they want the front of the bus, the middle of the road, and the back of the church.

I am that people! I want comfort! I want to sit on the front so I can get out first! Same would probably be true for church (except that I work there and thus have a "reserved" seat in the front.) And when it comes to the middle of the road...always! It's safest there! I'm not at risk of being too close to oncoming traffic or of falling off the shoulder down the steep ledge that may or may not exist. Plenty of parallels in our Christian walk!

These are the days...

This was kind of an everywhere blog...any thoughts?

Thanksgiving week. Right now I'm in San Angelo visiting my brother and his family. Then we will head on up to Abilene to spend T-day with Ali's folks. I really want to get better at keeping this blog going on a more consistent basis, but I find it a challenge to get to it each day! I've been reading proverbs each day (the 23rd one today)! And doing so out of the message. There is lot of amazing information there. I think what catches my eye most often is the difference between the rich and poor...I know that I am a "rich" man based on where I live, what I live in, what I drive, what I eat, etc. But I also feel that I know "poor" compared to others around me. I need humility! Teach me Lord to seek you out and to find true wisdom and knowledge.

I think my favorite dish for T-giving is the dressing (I'm also one of those wierd types that like the cranberry sauce out of the can...the jello looking one!) Anybody else have a favorite dish?

I'm going to try to get on tomorrow and think through some stuff regarding church!

In a 24-hour period I've heard two people refer to this particular poem. Three weeks ago, I used this poem while talking about Saul's conversion experience. Here is a little bit from this somewhat lengthy poem:

THE HOUND OF HEAVEN
by Francis Thompson

I fled Him, down the nights and down the days;
I fled Him, down the arches of the years;
I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways
Of my own mind; and in the mist of tears
I hid from Him, and under running laughter…
…Still with unhurrying chase,
And unperturbed pace,
Deliberate speed, majestic instancy,
Came on the following Feet,
And a Voice above their beat—
"Naught shelters thee, who wilt not shelter Me."…

… Now of that long pursuit
Comes on at hand the bruit;
That Voice is round me like a bursting sea:…

…Whom wilt thou find to love ignoble thee,
Save Me, save only Me?
All which I took from thee I did but take,
Not for thy harms,
But just that thou might'st seek it in My arms.
All which thy child's mistake
Fancies as lost, I have stored for thee at home:
Rise, clasp My hand, and come."

Halts by me that footfall:
Is my gloom, after all,
Shade of His hand, outstretched caressingly?

"Ah, fondest, blindest, weakest,
I am He Whom thou seekest!
Thou dravest love from thee, who dravest Me."…

Someone wrote about this poem: "The name is strange. It startles one at first. It is so bold, so new, so fearless. It does not attract, rather the reverse. But when one reads the poem this strangeness disappears. The meaning is understood. As the hound follows the hare, never ceasing in its running, ever drawing nearer in the chase, with unhurrying and impertubed pace, so does God follow the fleeing soul by His Divine grace. And though in sin or in human love, away from God it seeks to hide itself, Divine grace follows after, unwearyingly follows ever after, till the soul feels its pressure forcing it to turn to Him alone in that never ending pursuit.
(The Neuman Press "Book of Verse", 1988.)

Life change happens when we believe in God's power to change lives! I want and need that, anyone else?

Seems like it has been awhile since I typed anything. My thoughts today come from Ephesians 4 & 5...living as children of light. It seems for months I've had a war raging within my mind. There is the part of me that wants desperately to follow after God and act & be in such a way that shows this. The other part of me gives in to unwholesome talk and crude humor. I don't want to laugh at the jokes, or make them, but this part of me takes over. And yet, I know I can turn from it, it's a choice, right? (Much like my choosing to not drink carbination). But what I am finding is that my choice is not always in keeping with the notion of "what would Jesus do".

The simple truth is that I have been taught to put OFF my old self (my pre-Jesus self), which is being corrupted by my deceitful desires; But instead, to be made new in the attitude of my mind, and to put ON the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

What does that mean? For me, watch the way I talk. Letting nothing foul or dirty come out of my mouth. Saying only what helps, each word being a gift.

Lord, keep convicting my heart in regards to my speech and help me today to see each word I speak as being a gift that will help.

For ten days now I have had poisen ivy! My arms, stomach and lower legs have looked kind of gross. So I've tried to wear long sleeve shirts and jeans most of the time. The itching has finally subsided but at its peak, there was nothing better than scalding hot water!! Oh, that felt so good! So why do you need to know this? Well, some things I've learned by having poisen ivy that I'd like to share:

1. I know what the three leaves look like now and I will certainly flee next time.

2. Either I'm highly allergic to it and it just went wild all over me, or it's just a myth that once it is in the break out stage it will no longer spread.

3. I'm much more mature when it comes to the temptation of scratching it at the age of 34 versus how much I gave in when I had it last at age 13.

4. My children's faith has strengthened because of praying that my "disease" would go away. It did!

5. I would gladly get it again to keep my wife and kids from experiencing the pain involved.

Not to much depth in the learning, but I gained something. Anybody have any poisen ivy stories?