Unstoppable

Tonight’s movie was “Unstoppable” with Denzel Washington. It was about a true story about an unmanned runaway freight train in Pennsylvania. The heroes were an 27 year veteran engineer and a brand new rookie conductor. It took them both using all the gifts and courage they had to stop the train. As Bud said toward the end, it was a prophetic picture of this new generation that is bringing the Kingdom of God to earth. It will take a combination of the old and the young; or as I like to call it the Joshua’s and the Caleb’s. We need both to do all that God wants to do. We have to join together in the dreams of God. The hearts of the Fathers have to be turned to the sons and the hearts of the sons to the fathers.

That is what was promised and prophesied by Malachi. That time is now, and there is a call for the fathers to put down their prejudices about music, long hair, tattoos and all the other stuff that really defines this new generation. If we can do that and truly begin to call the sons and daughters into their destiny then, I believe, the sons and daughters will come alongside and allow us to partner with them in the dreams of God. But it is going to take the Fathers and mothers to make the first step. That first step is to begin to call out the gold and destiny that is hidden deep within sons and daughters that have been searching for a God of power, love and acceptance.

For too long we have been accepting only if someone looked like us, thought like us and voted like us. Look at the average church. It is very homogeneous. The same type people gathering around the same ideas. When people start gathering around God and His love, then we will begin to see conservative lawyers and tattooed bartenders in the same church. We will be celebrating His love for each of us instead of celebrating our likeness. Shoot, we might even disagree politically and still be able to love each other. Now that would be a miracle in itself.

The Kingdom of God is multi-cultural. It will have all types, shapes and sizes of people who have embraced the love and acceptance of Jesus. They will have one thing in common. They all love Jesus and know Him as their Lord and Savior. But beyond that there will be many differences, probably too many to even count. But right now it is hard to find many churches where that is a possibility. I know that over the past two years, I have dealt with so much prejudice in my heart that was nothing but a spirit of religion and separation cloaked in “righteousness”.

So we as fathers need to be willing, no we must take the first step. We must ask forgiveness for all the fathers who have placed their own values and mores on the next generation. We need to ask forgiveness for not loving with an unconditional love. We also need to be willing to embrace new things so that we can learn to join with others in their dreams, even when those dreams are not our own. That is our calling and it will be a great generation that will come forth and rock the world.

Well, that’s all for tonight. I have an early wake up tomorrow and I really need a little sleep. So it was a good movie, and a great dinner again.

Double Header

I think I am supposed to be semi-retired. I think that means I have a part time job and also get some retirement income. Well, Delta messed that up when they declared bankruptcy and took away most of my monthly pension. They did help me though when they hired me back as a contract instructor. I’ve written how much ai am blessed to have this job and I truly am. It’s just that weeks like this make me think that something is wrong with this picture.

I was off for the first five days of the month. I got to go to VA and see Lisa and the girls. But I did work yesterday and then today I worked two shifts. Now two shifts are not two eight hour shifts, but tow periods in which I didn’t teach, but acted as a Captain in the simulator for four hours at a time. Both periods were training a first officer right before his check ride, and both were pretty stressful, so after eight hours in the box, I am pretty wiped out. I got off at 7PM and got home a little after 8.

That in itself wouldn’t be so bad, but I have to be at work at 6:30 in the morning for another simulator and then I have an afternoon meeting. So it is a “double, double header. “ But then I work Friday, Saturday and Sunday. So it will be eight periods in six days. That’s enough to make ne think that I am working full time. When you add school into the mix, I can understand why I am so tired tonight. But I am really just getting going. It’s days like today that I sometimes feel like not doing this anymore. But I do enjoy it, and the pay is pretty good too. So, I will continue as ling as I feel that I can be a good instructor.

I did have time to stop and get chicken. It’s marinating for “Dinner and a Movie” tomorrow night. I don’t know what we will see. I have “Sherlock Holms” from Netflix. It’s pretty good; I saw it when it came out last year. But I’m wondering if it might be time for a Jason Borne series. Whatever it is, I’m sure we will have a good time. I watched my first TV tonight in about three days. I think I have watched an hour until today all week. Part of that is Lisa didn’t have TV. Tonight I did get to watch Blue Bloods and a back episode of Fringe. These are two of my favorite shows and it was good to have a little down time.

Life is sometimes about just getting through the day. But this morning for about 45 minutes before I left for work I sat in His presence. I was listening to “Facing the Wall” and just soaking in the presence of my Papa. His love for me was with me through the day. It is so great, and He is so happy with me because I know Him and love Him so much. It is a good tome to be alive, even on the days you have to pull a “double header.”

The Presence of God

We all say we want to see the Kingdom of God released in our cities and neighborhoods. We want to see crime decrease, abortions stopped, the poor find jobs and the sick healed. Every Christian I know says they want these things. But what are we doing to make it happen? How are we cooperating with Holy Spirit to see real change come? Can we have the Kingdom of God without His manifest presence in our midst? Sure, God is present always, everywhere. But that is the omnipresence that the scripture talks about. What I am talking about is the manifest presence; the presence that is so strong that you can hardly stand; the presence that releases a new level of anointing. How can you truly have the Kingdom without the presence of the King?

We had that presence last night in the healing rooms. We have that presence in the healing rooms at RiverStone. We strive to have that presence at our services. But we need to learn how to individually stir up that presence so that when we go into the mall or to Target, that presence goes in with us. We have to learn to cooperate with Holy Spirit and stir up His presence within us. When we learn to do that, then truly wherever we go, the Kingdom of God will manifest. That’s what I want, but how do we do it?

First and foremost we have to believe that is what Holy Spirit wants to do. We have to know that He wants to partner with us no matter where we are. We need to be so in tune with His Spirit that no matter where we are we can see and understand what He wants from us. For some of us, we are getting close. We are “practicing His presence” in all areas of His life. We are learning to cooperate with Him in different areas of our lives.

Part of cooperating with Holy Spirit is to make Him feel comfortable in our lives. We need to lead our life aware that He is always with us. We have to be willing to risk so that He has room to work. We have all the gifts, but most of them are in embryonic form. They are there and can be used, but they haven’t been developed in our lives yet. “The gifts are free, but maturity is expensive.” I was reading this in Spiritual Java this afternoon. It is so true. We have all the gifts available and sometimes they manifest in great power, but most of the time they are embryonic unless we practice using them.

Practice requires that we risk, and most of the time, we are too proud to risk being embarrassed if we fail. This pride will keep us from reaching maturity, It will keep us from really releasing the Kingdom. What if you knew for sure that if you prayed for five hundred people to be healed from stage 4 cancer and they all died that on the five hundred and first person, they would be healed, and then even more healings would take place. Would you be willing to do it? Would you be willing to fail five hundred times? Well for one thing, you would not have failed. It’s not you who heals, but God. What you are doing is excursing the giftings that are available. Sometimes it’s only a matter of faith and risk, other times it’s a matter of practice and persistence. We have to be willing to risk and take chances.

I for one, want to be known as someone who is willing to risk in order to see the Kingdom advanced, and even more importantly, His presence released wherever I go. What about you?

"It was a Dark and Stormy Night..."

How many stories have you been told or read growing up began that way. It sets the tone for fear and dread. Well, it is a dark and stormy night right now, but there is no fear here. There is no dread or sense of impending doom. No, in fact it is quite the opposite. I feel excited and full of purpose and energy tonight. I think it has to do with all the potential I saw at school tonight. It was a groundbreaking occasion. The second year students held the first healing room that has ever been held at Bethel Atlanta. It was fun, and the presence of God was so strong.

Being a veteran of the healing rooms at RiverStone I was excited to see that it went much like the RS rooms went. Because of space, we had the soaking area in the same room as prayer, but it worked just like the model I was used to. Because we didn’t have that many people, we had more time to pray for people. We say a great number of healings tonight and it was very exciting. But the most exciting part of all was the overwhelming sense of His presence. It was so strong and got stronger as the night wore on. In fact, as I think about it, more people got healed toward the end than at the beginning. It was a good first start.

We are going to do it again next week, and we think that there will be more people come. Tonight we prayed for a lot of the first year students who were sick. But word will get out and we will be much busier next week. We are breaking ground. The plan now is for second years to have a healing room on the last Monday night of every month. That is exciting. It’s one of the things that I wanted to see started at Bethel Atlanta.

Then we had worship and then we went back downstairs and we talked about situations that arise in ministry that you are never taught how to deal with in school. It was a very enlightening and fun discussion. So the night went well. If I had left at 9:30 I would have beaten the storms, but I was wrapped up in the discussion and didn’t want to leave. So I was fifteen minutes late, and I got caught in the storm about fifteen minutes from home. I know, I was warned, but I’m still glad I stayed. Especially now that I am home safe.

Probably another reason I’m still on a high is the Cuban food and delicious Cuban coffee I had at the new Cuban restaurant today. I met a friend for an early dinner and it was definitely worth the drive. It was good to be with friends, and good to have that delicious coffee. Anyway it wouldn’t keep me awake even if I drank it right now. But it was sooo good.

Well, it’s late, and I work tomorrow, not early, but I still have to work. So this will be all until tomorrow. It’s hard to believe sometimes but God wants to use us more than we want to be used. He is so good.

Time Flies When You're Having Fun

Well, I am back home sitting in my rocking chair once again. It’s hard to believe the weekend is over, I just can still see Anna and Julia. It was an interesting weekend. On more than one occasion I found myself looking at the world through the eyes of a four year old. But the rest of the time I was chasing down a 15 month old who never stops and can always find something else to get into. She is so inquisitive, no telling what she is going to be like when she is four.

Today we went to the Norfolk Botanical Gardens. They are about a mile from the airport so it was the perfect time to go. It was sunny and around 65. But it was pretty windy, so it was still fairly cold. It is a beautiful site. It’s very big, with boat tours and a tram ride. We just walked through the gardens and saw a lot of it, but I’m sure we missed most of it. We were there for about two hours and the girls had a ball. I think Anna’s favorite was watching the turtles sunning themselves on the banks of the little ponds we went around. We also saw a bald eagle and it’s nest with little chicks in the nest. We saw the eagle. Of course we didn’t see the chicks, but there were many bird watchers with telescopic cameras and other equipment.

It was hard to leave the little ones. I know that Lisa has a lot going on with the move coming up so quickly. I really don’t know right now how I can help, but I’m sure a trip to Alaska in the summer is in the offing. The only bad thing about being gone today was that I missed church and outreach. It was such a beautiful day, I’m sure they had fun down at L5P. School is back in session tomorrow. It’s hard to believe that there are only four weeks left. It’s been a good year and I am going to miss it over the summer. It will be interesting to see what is next.

I listened to a message by Danny Silk on following Favor. We need to see what God has blessed us with and pursue those areas into greater blessing. As I look at my journey this year and last for that matter, I see that is really what I have been doing. I know that I have become a father to many. I know that I carry the blessings of the Father, and I am able to impart His love to others. I know that I have a prophetic gifting and that helps me speak life and destiny into other peoples lives. So what does all this mean, I’m not really sure except I know who I am and I know some ot the things that God has given me to do in these next years. How it all works out I’m not sure. Certainly I do know that I am called to the Sozo ministry and equipping and releasing this next generation, however that looks. But what I do know is that I have to take steps to position myself for Papa to move. The question, as always is what and when. Timing is always the key. But I have been taking some steps, and now it is a time of waiting and watching.

So, here I am, back home. I already miss the family, just as I miss those down in Florida. I’m not lonely. That surprises me sometimes. I enjoy other peoples company and have a great time. But I also enjoy being alone. It’s strange, and I haven’t really figured out what’s what. There are definitely areas in this “new normal” that I still haven’t figured out yet. But that’s no problem either. I am just enjoying the day. Today is all we really have. Sure, we live today with our eyes on the future, but we still have to live today. Yes, I wish that I could just live today like a four year old. But truly, who’s to say that I can’t. Interesting thought.

Roller - Skating Party

I don’t know how the mother did it. Pulling off a birthday party at a crowded skating rink is nothing but total chaos. I still don’t know how many kids were invited and who was at the party that Anna went to. You see there were at least five parties going on at the same time, and I could have just as easily walked up to another and had some of their food as well. No one would have known the difference. All the kids were either skating by themselves, or if they were beginners, they were with their parents. No one was around the party table except for enough time to eat and cut the cake. Like I said, it was total chaos. But everybody seemed to enjoy themselves.

The good news is that I didn’t fall and break an arm. The bad news is that you can forget how to roller-skate. I figured it would be like riding a bicycle. Wrong. I put my skates on and was ready to go out on the rink with Anna, but then I thought that I had better take a lop around the ring to make sure I could still skate. I found out very quickly how rusty I was. I didn’t fall, but I cam close and was very shaky on my feet. I knew that if I had an hour or so to practice it would all come back to me. But Anna was waiting and I had to make a decision. So I came back, accepting the fact that I would have to practice another day, took off my skates and went out on the rink with Anna.

That was probably the best decision I made all day. There is no way that I could have managed her even if I had been steady on my feet. It took both hands and all my balance just to keep her up. It was very tiring, and I’m sure she got very tired also. I had fun and although she didn’t skate by herself, she did get better as the day went on. Lisa and I took turns taking her around the ring, and after she had some food I took her out for one last time. She did much better. She will learn to skate soon enough. It will probably be ice-skating instead of roller-skating since she will be in Alaska. Who knows maybe I’ll get another chance to practice. I hate not having the skill that I used to have. It makes me want to go back just to prove that I can still do it.

As I was taking Anna around and letting her almost fall, I thought of Father God. We must be like little children so often. He is holding us up, encouraging an giving us balance while we try to learn to do what He had called us to do. He could do it so much easier and faster, but He gets pleasure in holding our hands and guiding us. He loves hanging out with us as we give all the effort that we have, only to need his balance and direction to complete the task. As much as I loved hanging out with Anna and walking every step with her around the ring, He loves being with us so much more. It’s exciting to know that He wants to se us succeed and will keep us balanced and He won’t let us hurt ourselves too bad, he is right here watching and encouraging.

It has been a good day. Sunny but windy. I did get a run in this morning. It has been so good to see Lisa and the girls. Well, I’m heading back to Atlanta tomorrow afternoon. Lisa will be moving in June. Hopefully I will be able to make it back up here one more time before she moves.

Off to the Farm

Where there is a will there is a way. That’s always been the human spirit. I don’t think it is in scripture anywhere, but I’m sure that some rendition of it should be. Today has been a good day. I’m writing this fairly early for me because I don’t know whether we will try to watch a movie later. Right now Anna is watching “A Cat in the Hat” and Lisa is trying to get Julia to sleep. Good luck with that. Anyway when you are with kids all day you have to take the time when it makes itself available. But I digress, back to the will and the way.

Lisa has done a lot of research. I’ve read a great deal of it and it seems to make sense. What she has decided is that if the girls are going to drink milk, then raw milk is the best for them. I do know that it taste much better, and I used to drink it all the time when I was a kid. In fact, I remember the milkman delivering the milk in quart jars. The cream rose to the top, and the milk was so good. But like so many things in our lives, the government decided that raw milk could possibly be unsafe. They wanted it homogenized and then pasteurized and finally ultra pasteurized. But the only way to get people to buy the milk that didn’t taste like milk any more was to make it illegal to sell raw milk for human consumption. So, that is what has happened.

Every state has different laws, but basically it’s against the law to sell raw milk for human consumption in most, if not all, of the 50 states. In Georgia, you can sell raw milk as long is it is for the use of your “pets”. So everybody who can find an outlet can usually buy milk for their family. In Virginia it is totally illegal to sell raw milk for any purpose. But like I said; where there is a will, there is a way. Lisa has become part owner of two dairy cows. From each cow she gets one gallon of milk a week. So she gets two gallons of raw milk. She won sprat of the cow, so the government can’t tell her she can’t drink it. At least not yet. So today we drove out about 45 minutes to the farm to pick up her milk. She does this every week. We saw a lot of cows, but I didn’t know which one she has part ownership in. It’s fairly expensive, but it falls in with what she believes and I support her 100%.

That is only one way the government is interfering with her choices when it comes to raising the kids, but that is for another day. I think that is one or the reasons she is looking forward to Alaska. She knows there is much more independence there and less intrusion by the government. I know that she will fir in great up there. Shoot, she might even learn to hunt and fish. The farm was fun for the kids, especially Anna. We saw chickens, petted goats and tried to stay out of the mud. It was a cold dreary day, but the kids still enjoyed the diversion.

Then we went to target to buy a birthday present for one of Anna’s friends. We are going to a roller-skating party tomorrow afternoon, and I might skate for the first time in probably 20 years. I think the last time I roller skated was at Sprinkles rink in Kennesaw when Lisa must have been 10 or 12. Well, I’m game and it should be fun. I think I can still balance. It will probably be easier than ice-skating. I’m sure I will wind up doing that in Alaska soon enough. At least it will be indoors tomorrow. I don’t know when it will warm up here, but it sure hasn’t happened yet.

It’s been great being with the girls today. Julia has warmed up to me even more than she did at Christmas. Just having her in my arms snuggling her face into my shoulder is so cool. And Anna, well she is a treat. She is full of personality and has an answer for everything. Four is a good year. She is so full of self-confidence. I pray that her opinion of herself never changes. Right now she sees herself as God sees her, able to do anything through Him. She is so close to Him, and has no inhibitions about loving others. Watching her really makes me understand how we are to be as believers, and how far I still have to come to understand all that God has and feels for me. All of us should be able to spend time with a four year old just to realize how God feels about us and how much He wants us to accomplish.