My Dad

I am thankful to God for my Dad. He worked hard to provide for his family. He worked offshore and so he was only home every other week. And we looked forward to it. He was faithful and loving to momma and they are still married. In fact it was 50 years this past December. He was a steady figure in our family, if that makes sense. He was even tempered. It surprised me the one time I saw him get angry. And that wasn't until after I was grown. And I don't blame him, I may have reacted the same way. In fact at around the 7th or 8th grade when you are trying to determine who you are, I saw this and heard how others talked about him and I decided I wanted to be like my Daddy. Of course as boys we want to be like that, but I remember making that conscious decision on the school bus one day. Why do I remember that, I don't know. I was trying to decide what to do for a living in high school and my dream had been to join the military and the time came to join and choose a career field. I had seen my dad help out a neighbor by going under their house and fixing a pipe. Guess what, I decided to become a plumber in the air force. My Dad has had a BIG impact on my life. And I am greatful for that, except the lack of hair he left me with. Of course that ran on both sides of the family. But I have a Heavenly Father who is greater and who I want to pattern my life after. As a father, neither me or my dad can come close to our Heavenly Father. But our children get their view of God from their earthly fathers. Oh, no pressure there huh? If we are abusive our children will see God as abusive. If we are loving they will see God as loving. If we are distant, they will see God as distant. And I could go on, and I hope you get the picture. Though we will never be Jesus, we are the picture of Christ to our families. Are we living up to that? Thank you Daddy for loving us and doing all you did for us. Thank you Father God for all you do for us. And thank you for giving me a Daddy who never left or was abusive.

Be Careful what you say.

Be careful what you say and how you act. The other day I was at a McDonalds and ordered the same ole thing, the same ole way I always do. All the other McDonalds understand and get it right without any questions. But on this day I ordered it and I got the question of grilled or crunchy. Well what I ordered came with a hamburger patty. I ordered the same thing again with a coke. I got a puzzled look then I think I got the question, what sauce. I say, I think because there was no eye contact and mumbling. I said no sauce. She looked puzzled. So I made the same order a fourth time with a drink. OK, I paid for it and stepped aside yet she didn't give me a cup. I asked for the cup and she said I didn't order a coke, I said I did, she said I didn't. Frustrated I said never mind. I really could have acted in a very bad way. As I turned around there was someone I knew from a local church that I knew. Glad I held my tongue. Be careful, someone is watching you. This may not make sense to some who might read this. But you would understand if you were watching me and knew I was a Christian and began cursing and making a scene. You might say, I don't want to be a Christian if that is the way they act. We need to be self controlled so we don't turn people away from Christ.

Warning Signs of Abuse

In response to another blog, I promised to post the following information. I have copied a list of warning signs of abuse. Read and ask the questions. I copied them from the Center for Relationship Abuse Awareness Center. The site has a load of abuse. The site also lists an 800 number for help. 800-799-7233. If you need prayer, just email me your name, you can use an alias. email is mygodsbeengood.blogspot@live.com
http://www.stoprelationshipabuse.org/index.html

Warning Signs of Abuse

The following questions ask you about your relationship. If you are not currently in a relationship, these are signs or "red flags" to assist people in identifying a potentially abusive person.

• Do you feel nervous around your partner?
• Do you have to be careful to control your behavior to avoid their anger?
• Do you feel pressured by your partner when it comes to sex?
• Are you scared of disagreeing with your partner?
• Does your partner criticize you, or humiliate you in front of other people?
• Are they always checking up on you or questioning you about what you do without your partner?
• Does your partner repeatedly and wrongly accuse you of seeing or flirting with other people?
• Does your partner tell you that if you changed they wouldn't abuse you?
• Does your partner's jealousy stop you from seeing friends or family?
• Does your partner make you feel like you are wrong, stupid, crazy or inadequate?
• Have they ever scared you with violence or threatening behavior?
• Does your partner prevent you from going out or doing things you want to do?
• Are you expected to do things to please your partner, rather than to please yourself?
• Do you feel that, with your partner, nothing you ever do is good enough?
• Does your partner say that they will kill or hurt you or themselves if you break up with them?
• Does your partner make excuses for behavior, for example, by saying it's because of alcohol or drugs, or because they can't control their temper, or that they were "just joking"?

You do not deserve to be abused. Create a safety plan or call someone to talk about your relationship. You may also want to contact the police or a local domestic violence center or call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at (800) 799-SAFE.

Megan Colvin Update 3-13-10

We went to visit my wife's coworker/friend that I mentioned in a previous post last night at LSU who was suddenly taken ill and was put on the vent and then on the heart lung bypass machine to get oxygen in her blood and try to save her and her unborn child. Unfortunately she lost her child, but she is improving and is just on the vent right now. Though she could not talk, she was able to interact with us. It is amazing how much talk someone can do with their eyes. She has a long ways to go and after being released from the hospital will need to go through rehab. God has done a wonderful work in getting her this far. We always believe God is in control and answers prayers. We are currently praying for a full recovery and are also praying for this young families finances. As you can see she is very young and have two small children. Her husband Michael is a wonderful husband, father and person. He has not worked these 3 weeks she has been in the hospital. So as you might know their finances will be stretched quite thin. I am posting a flyer below for a raffle to raise money for the family. I had never heard of this before, but Whirlpool has "donated" this washer dryer combo above to Polks furniture to raise money for the Colvin Family. Your prayers and donations are appreciated.

I want to be what God has called me to be

I don't want to be a good enough Christian.
I want to be the Christian God has called me to be.
I don't want to be a good enough father.
I want to be the father God has called me to be.
I don't want to be a good enough husband.
I want to be the husband God has called me to be.
I don't want to be a good enough son.
I want to be the son God has called me to be.
I don't want to be a good enough friend.
I want to be the kind of friend God has called me to be.
I want to be what God has called me to be.

My Sweety is Home

Well I tried to post this the other day from my cell phone, but I guess since I got a new phone, I will have to refigure out how to do it again. But anyways, Praise God, my wife came home from the hospital Tuesday afternoon. God still answers prayers. He is good all the time. We have some medical issues we will have to address after we get back from vacation in April, we trust God will be right there with us. Thank you for your prayers and kind words during this time in our lives. God bless your day.

When The Unplanned Happens

Well I just got back from the hospital. My wife is spending a second night there and since my daughter is spending the night at her Grandma's the house is quiet and empty. So I have the TV on in the background playing Contemporary Christian music. You know Saturday we had our plans for the week. Sunday morning my wife wasn't feeling well, but decided to go to church. She didn't feel up to going to my parents house for lunch and just wanted to sleep. So I left her and Pamela here and went an visited. I had plans to teach at church that evening. But plans were about to change. My wife, Jerri, decided she needed relief from some pain. When she says she needs to go to the emergency room, it is time. They ended up admitting her and doing tests. Tonight she is still there. But my point is, you never know what is going to happen in the next couple of minutes. What will that next phone call bring? What will happen on your next drive? What does that next cough mean coming from your child's room. Is it the start of a nightmare? You know, I grew up in a time, that if the phone rang after 10 o'clock at night, it was an emergency. My wife is a nurse and she had a young nurse come to work after working for 3 weeks she was getting sick. She was about 12 weeks pregnant. And she had some flu like symptoms. She ended up at Willis Knighton and a couple days later her oxygen levels dropped, by that night she was at LSU on a ventilator and sedated. Her husband and family were in shock when we arrived. By the next day she was on a heart lung bypass machine. This has been more that 2 weeks, now she has lost the baby and is off the bypass machine and back on the ventilator. And seems to be slowly improving though it is still up and down and day by day. If she continues to improve it will probably take her the rest of the year to recuperate. Some of you have read some of my reports on Wesley Harty. His family was thrown into turmoil in an instance. You know when these things happen, you seem like you are just along for the ride and you have no control over what is going on. A few years ago my world seem to come crashing down in an instant. I really had no control of what was going on. Oh I tried some things, but I was just along for the ride with the doors locked so I couldn't get out. But you know this was my mindset. A few years before this happened, I fell in love with God. He became my strong tower, my support, my strength. Can I say this, if you are truly saved, learn how to lean on God everyday. Almost like a pitcher practices for the day he can enter the game, one day we will enter the game. On this day, I entered the game. And quickly I found that I didn't know what to do. I was lost. The only thing I could think of was to fall before God and cry. If I had not been walking with God, I would have done something stupid. But this was a long ride. I found I could not see 6 inches ahead of me. Darkness had fallen. I found myself wandering around walmart or home depot, since there was only loneliness at home. God was my main friend. I had a good friend who was pastoring a different church but we had served together and I dare say he is still my best friend. I would confide in him and we would pray. But God was my strength. I determined not to abandon Him, I knew He would not abandon me. Even if things didn't work out the way I prayed. One night as I was praying and telling God just how much it hurt, in my spirit I heard Him say, "I know and I love you. Hang on just a little longer." Wow! you see, God was doing a work in my life and wasn't finished. It is just like baking a cake. you don't take it out halfway through the process or you end up with a half baked cake. Yuk!. If I had abandoned the process before He was done, then I would be a half Baked christian and be more danger than good. So I drew closer to Him. I can't say that my prayers were answered in the way I prayed. But God has truly blessed me from that experience for His good and for the good of others. Look, learn to walk with Him now, the Bible says those times will come. When those times come, draw close to Him. He loves you more that you will ever know. Dark times can be the best of times. If you ever need prayer and it is private email me. I don't need to know specifics, I just need to know you need prayer. If you are not sure of your salvation I would be glad to help you find peace through salvation. Oh, and I believe God is in control with my wife's health. God Bless. email address. mygodsbeengood.blogspot@live.com