I have been having problems with the template on this blog and have decided to switch this particular blog to wordpress.com. For those that are interested go here:

http://embracinggod.wordpress.com/

Thanks,
Scott

Scripture Search:
I woke up this morning thinking that it would be appropriate to have a Scripture verse for the Community Wide Thanksgiving Dinner. I could think of a few, but what I noticed as I was searching was that most often when giving thanks to God it was because of deliverance. Throughout the Old Testament it shows our mighty God continually making a way for deliverance and ultimately through the Deliverance of His son on the cross. This is the thing that I am most thankful for today. I no longer have to bear the punishment for the things that I have done wrong. Christ paid the price so that I may be with Him. That is good news and I am plenty to be thankful for.

And I leave you with this Scripture:
7 My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing, yea, I will sing praises. 8 Awake up, my glory; Awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake right early. 9 I will give thanks unto thee, O Lord, among the peoples: I will sing praises unto thee among the nations. 10 For thy lovingkindness is great unto the heavens, And thy truth unto the skies. 11 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; Let thy glory be above all the earth.
Psalms 57:7-11 (ASV)

Now here is a strange question: "Where is your wicker basket?" Why do I ask? Well simply because of a dream. I usually have some Doozies, but this one was one that I really enjoyed and would have liked to go back to sleep for. Simply for the fact that I went to heaven. The dream started out with something happening and all the sudden I was needing to board a plane to heaven.

I must have died. Well I got my boarding pass, which looked something like a compass and had to go to the ticket booth - which looked something like a passport terminal. There was a nice gentleman that was getting his ticket and after he left, he realized that he forgot something and got back in line. Three people were ahead of him. Each taking longer than normal and the man was getting very frustrated and angry. By the time he got to the ticket counter, he found out because of his attitude that he was going to have to take another flight. I guess you have to check your attitude before you get on the flight to heaven.

Then all the sudden the scene changed and I was on the flight. I remember looking back and seeing a rear window,Kind of like a cars rear window and I was going vertically up towards the sky. It was like the earth was moving away from me. It put a knot in my chest - you could say that it scared me to death. Well if I wasn't dead already anyway. On the way, we were going on all sorts of roads and all of them looked like mother of pearl slides that went in all kinds of different directions. Kind of like the MC Escher painting of the stairs. Then finally we got there.

Next thing I know is that I was being told to go to an area to put my stuff. I had a backpack full of stuff that I must have brought along with me. I am not sure what was in the bag all I know is that it was everything that I had. I guess they were telling me that, that I didn't have to carry around my baggage anymore. I had a place to stay. A gentleman told me that I had the area 23S which happened to be right accross from my Pastor - Dr. Young in 22G. The area with the designated spots remided me of the spa and sauna area that Chaundra and I used at the resort in Lost Pines recently. I looked at the little hole in the wall and wondered to myself is there like a whole room in that little hole. After all we were in heaven and anything was possible. As I looked it was a little wicker basket. I was supposed to sit my backpack in it and start enjoying heaven.

This is when I woke up. Darn that waking! I was going to get to find out what heaven was like and I didn't get my chance. So the moral of the story is: "I don't know! After all it was just a Dream!" Just kidding, I think that it was saying that we don't have to carry around our burdens anymore. God made a way. We pack our bags, but He has a place for them. So if these burdens are like sin, we won't need them anymore. So I will leave you with some scripture:

22This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement,[a] through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. -Romans 3:22-26

So I guess I will ask the question again: "Where is your wicker basket?" Is it your back? Are you carrying around your burdens or sins? Or is it in a hole in the wall where you don't have to carry them around anymore? God made a way! The flight is ready, you just have to get on board. The ticket is Jesus and just like the compass he will show you the way. All you have to do is believe in him and the sacrifice that he gave to get us to God. I hope you have your ticket.

And this concludes this episode of "What Scott Dreams." Turn in next week for another exciting epi... well maybe your never know. God Bless!

Everyone at some point in their life has asked God the question, “Why?” Some have used it to question the very existence of God, while others have drawn closer to God because of it. Habakkuk is a prophetic book that was written on behalf of these people. Most people when they think of prophecy they think of "Foretelling" of the future. While this is an aspect of prophecy it also means to forthtell. In other words it has a message for the day it is spoken and it might have a future meaning as well. Mostly it is more like a proclomation of some sort. God rises his people up to warn and turn them back to Him. While most prophets called the people to God, Habakkuk questioned God for the people. He could not understand why the poor were afflicted and mistreated. He could not understand why a nation more wicked than Israel would be used to judge God’s people. His question of “Why?” shows us that we can be true to God and still question Him in our doubt.

Well who was he:
Gleason L. Archer states, “The name Habaqquq is an unusual one of uncertain meaning; possibly it signified ardent embrace, from hābaq, embrace (Eiselen in ISBE). Some have suggested that it was a name of a garden plant which the Assyrians called hambaqūqu, but which cannot as yet be identified.” [1] However, even with the Assyrian conquest of Israel, it does not seem to make sense for a Judean prophet to be named after an Assyrian plant. Judea was never conquered by the Assyrians and while they may have had some influence, it doesn't seem to fit well. What does make sense is the use of his name with the idea of embracing God, especially in a time this was needed the most.

Little is really known about Habakkuk himself. There is some speculation that he was from the tribe of Simeon, and some have suggested he is a Levite. Clyde T. Francisco stated, “According to another such work, Lives of the Prophets, he was a man of the tribe of Simeon who fled upon Nebuchadnezzar’s advance to take Jerusalem (587) but returned after the fall, dying two years before the return from captivity.”[2] Bel and the Dragon places him in the tribe of Levi. The Jewish encyclopedia online states, “The title to the Septuagint text reads: ‘From the prophecy of Habakkuk, the son of Jesus [Joshua], of the tribe of Levi.’ There was in existence, probably, a work ascribed to Habakkuk; but of its nature nothing is known.”[3] If more than one source had put his heritage with a specific tribe, historians would have more clues about his genealogy. While Bel and the Dragon and Lives of the Prophets are not canonical books, they may shed some light on Habakkuk’s origins. Either way, we cannot know for certain.

Another reason that people have placed Habakkuk with the tribe of Levi is because of the musical aspects of chapter 3. Frank Boyd states, “From 3:1 and 3:19 we gather that he may have been a Levite participating in the music of the Temple.”[4] Robert Pfeiffer, uses the musical aspects of the chapter as an argument against Habakkuk’s authorship of chapter three. Pfeiffer does not believe that chapter three should be attributed to Habakkuk, because he was a prophet and not a musician. By stating this, however, he has limited the abilities of people to be able to do only one thing with any excellence, and that is a fallacy. Who is he to say that someone cannot be a king or a prophet and be musically inclined as well? The argument just doesn’t work.
So what does this mean? It means that we don't really know that much about him and we cannot know for certain without more evidence. Most of what we know is based off of speculation. The one thing that I do know is that he wrote this book. In Chapter 1 verse 1 of Habakkuk, it states: "The Oracle that Habakkuk the prophet recieved." I also know that he had a heart for his nation. Why else would he be questioning God about wickedness and injustice. I do know that he had a heart for God as well, after all he waited for his answer and didn't give up that God would speak to him on the matter. He also showed this in the third chapter as he was giving thanks to God even with knowing the destruction that was coming on Jerusalem.

Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us. Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. -Habakkuk 3: 16b-18

I know that he is every man/woman. Meaning that he is just like you and me. He couldn't understand why things were the way they were, just like many times we have asked this same question: "Why?" We can be comforted in the fact that God loves us even in our Doubt. We can be comforted with the fact that God loves us when we ask Him questions, and He is willing to answer us if we are truly seeking an answer. We can be comforted in the fact that even in our times of trouble, He cares! We can be comforted in the fact that He is a just God and when things don't seem fair, He has a plan. We can be comforted in the fact that if we are being disciplined, that He will see us through it. God does Care!


[1] Gleason L. Archer, A Survey of Old Testament Introduction (Chicago: Moody Press, 1974), 355.
[2] Clyde T. Francisco, Introducing the Old Testament (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1958), 138.
[3] Crawford Howell Toy, "Bel And The Dragon," Jewish Encyclopedia, 2002, http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=561&letter=B/ (accessed April 26, 2008).
[4] Frank M. Boyd, Old Testament Studies, ed. , Joel Through Malachi (Springfield, MO: Gospel Publishing House, 1988), 153.

Recently a friend of mine showed this video to me. It is a sad thing, but at the same time shows (I believe - including me) "how and what" many of us Christians believe about sin. The video talks about how this kid stole his grandmother's SUV because he was mad at her. We get so mad at God at times and "get back" at him by doing something that we shouldn't, or at times just out of flat rebellion we sin. The boy in the video said that "it was fun to do bad things." We all know how sin can be fun for a season but someone can really get hurt - mostly we hurt ourselves. The sad thing is that he was asked what kind of punishment he should get and he replied "maybe a weekend without video games." WOW a whole weekend. Yet this is what we want life to be like many times. We want to get off easy or have no punishment at all. I believe God is gracious to us at times but he also says, "Pride comes before the fall."



This is the times that we live in. We watch evil everyday and wonder why God doesn't step in and put a stop to it. We see murder on the news, violence on TV, Pornography is too easy to access, Spouse and Child abuse. We see and ask questions just like Habakkuk. "Why do you make me look at evil and injustice? Why don't you do something? The real questions is do we really want Him to. He may just use the same kind of tact that he did with Israel. Would be ready for something like this?

I have been out of the loop for a little while and want to start getting back to this study, but I thought this might be something to discuss in the meantime. To be honest, it has been easy to get out of my study habits and this is what happened this time. Now I need to get back to the questions at hand. Why is Habakkuk important to our day and time - one answer is, "I think we are living in perilous times and we wonder why God doesn't seem to do anything about it." He will! We just don't know what and how he will deal with it.

This last semester I took an Old Testament Survey class at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. It was the second class and was on the poetry and prophetic books. One of the assignments I had to do was to write a paper on something that related to the class. So I chose the Book of Habakkuk. It is interesting that a book that when I said to some people I was going to do a paper on him they asked, "WHO!" However I found the book very interesting and it has aspects that many people would gain from reading it.

The name Habakkuk actually comes from a word very similar to the Hebrew word for "embrace." However, they are really not sure about its meaning, but they do have a consensus that this is the right meaning. I thought that since my Blog name is "Embracing God" that it would be a good study to put online for those who would like to know more.

Habakkuk is actually broken down into three discourses and I will discuss these in other Blog posts, but the interesting thing about Habakkuk is his willingness to question God about the evil and suffering in the world. It is said that this book is very similar to Job in the fact that it faces God with evil and suffering in the world. It is called Theodicy and is a question that many people struggle with. For some tragedy brings them closer to God, while for others it takes them further away from Him. That is why a study of this book is so important.

The book itself is not only about Theodicy, but also it is about God's sovereignty and human doubt. God has a reason for everything that happens, and to touch on it would take many posts to do it justice. The study theodicy is a book in of itself with many theories. I will touch on some of these, as necessary, but want to concentrate on the book of Habakkuk for now.

Dr. Chen, my professor, stated that you cannot fully understand the prophetic books unless you know the history of what was taking place at the time it was written. Unfortunately there is a lot of contention about the date on most of the books, but with a thorough study, a researcher can find an agreeable date of authorship. I will discuss the Authorship, History, the (3) Discourses and some of the critical views as well. Hopefully those who study it along side of me will also learn to better embrace God and strengthen their walk with Him as well.

I have never been an advocate for the prosperity gospel or the health/wealth theology, but something struck me recently as I was adding photos to facebook.com. I was looking at all the things that I have had the opportunity to do. Go to Israel, spontaneous trips with my wife, Florida, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and even Wyoming. I have so many great memories that I realized that I have an abundant life. Scripture states that:

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that theymay have life, and have it abundantly. - John 10:10

I have to admit that my life has been really good. I think that it all comes down to perspective. I didn't see this until I started to organize some of the pictures of just Chaundra and I. We have had an abundant life, Christ has afforded us to have a wonderful life. I think it all comes down to what and who you believe to be giving this life to you. The bible itself is a testament of redemption - essentially curses for those who forsake God and blessings for those who follow Him. I believe that the blessings that he is talking about come from that relationship with him and this verse is located around Christ’s death:

I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. - John 10:11

We can have life because the Good Shepherd laid his life down for us. I don't really think that we truly know what life is. I think that that is where all the trouble lies. Scholars say that Adam didn't die right away so what God said doesn't make sense. "In the day that you eat of this fruit you shall surely die" (Gen 2) He ate it but still lived for a long time. I believe that God was looking at a spiritual life not necessarily the physical one.

It is like in the days of the prophets. The word means foretelling and forthtelling. It had a double meaning (contains a message for that time and also for a time in the future.) Isaiah and the sign to Ahaz in 7:14 - a child would be born of a "Almah" (Hebrew for = Young woman, Virgin). The word had two meanings. If you know anything about history, the first was for a sign to Ahaz, otherwise it wouldn't have made sense to him; and the second was the virgin birth of Christ.

Back to the aspect of abundant life! The death that God had mentioned was a spiritual death and a physical death. We experienced a spiritual death upon the age of accountability and eventually a physical death in what we call life. God breathes new life in us when we ask him to become Lord in our life.

But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. - Romans 10:8-10

I don't have abundant life because of what I have! I have abundant life because of Christ and the price that he paid! I have abundant life because I choose the people, friends, and family that I spend my life with. I have seen many a poor and rich unhappy because of want or have in their life, but I have seen life with those that have chosen the relationships that they have and make them the priority.

On my way home from work tonight I was thinking about the concept of Hell. Why was I doing this? Just for the ... well you get the point. Actually I was thinking about an article that I wrote on Bat the Idea on Atheism in America. It is amazing that with how wonderful God's creation is that people can look at the complex design of the world and the way that it works together, and deny a creator. I know that evolution has a strong case for people like this, and that they tend to trust what the scientist have discovered. Unfortunately, science can be just as wrong as any other study that is done.

Well back to the concept of Hell. Atheists believe that there is no God - as if you didn't know that. Why Hell? Because the concept of Hell has more to do with the separation from God then from the eternal punishment that is generally talked about concerning it. Essentially God is granting them their request - they don't have to put up with HIM for all eternity. Hell is the complete separation of man from God. To some that would be a delight, at least for now. I think that when they get the chance to see what they are going to miss out on, that is when the real suffering will begin. He gave them the choice in life to choose Him and He gave them the evidence that they need to find Him. Most people will not believe in God or not follow Him for the simple fact that they want to do what they want to do. Sin is fun, at least at first - we just don't like the consequences. Hell is a consequence of rebelling against a Holy God, and when we don't accept His Lordship in our lives - complete separation will be the consequence.

I am looking at it like this:

Example: Someone calls you up and says that "I have a Billion dollars set aside and all you have to do is pick it up at a specific time." You decide that it really is just hoax and decide not to pick it up. Next thing you know a camera crew is at your door asking if you got the message and did you pick it up. This is when you find out that it was really true and you just gave up a Billion dollars. How much would you be kicking yourself when you found out that you lost it just because you didn't pick it up.

I think that refusing God will be a billion times worse than this when we finally see Him. That is what Hell is really about. The gnashing of teeth, may be as simple as "UNNNNNNNNNNNN! I cannot believe I gave that up!" Enough that it wears our teeth thin. I don't wish this on anyone, but I cannot convince everyone about God's truth. I just need to tell them and let them decide for themself. Hopefully they will choose life and not eternal separation.

I was thinking today that we as Christians have gotten into the habit of speaking Jesus name in all of our prayers as if it will make sure that we get what we want. I was praying on my personal journal blog and started to write down, In Jesus Name, AMEN, but something made me stop and think for a moment. I want God's will to be done and I don't what to fill like I am conjuring up some sort of result just because I say the right words.

I understand why we use the formula at the end our our prayers. Scripture states in various places that: John 14:13-14 "And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it." Also, John 15:16 "You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you."

When you look at other scriptures that are talking about "in my name" they generally have to do with God getting the glory out of the outcome. For Example: Mark 16:17 "And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." or another example Mark 9:41 "For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward." or concerning children: Mark 9:37 “Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me.” It all comes down to how does God get the Glory.

The word Amen, in the hebrew language, means "Your will be done" in not so many words anyway. So I guess in the end what we are really saying is "In Jesus Name we pray, your will be done." I think that we need to get away from saying it just because we are trying to minipulate God into doing our own will, or for the matter, the reason "this is just the way we are supposed to finish our prayer, or they might not get heard,(Like he wouldn't hear it anyway)" or anything like that and realize that when we are praying in His Name, it is so he gets the glory. I am not sure exactly what I am saying right now, but it is a good place to start. Why am I saying, 'In Jesus name, AMEN!' in the first place? What is the motive behind my prayer? Is it just a forula? I guess we just have to realize when it comes to the end of the prayer - we need to realize that it is His will we want done. I don't know what are your Thoughts and comments?

I was recently talking to a friend about church. Actually the converstaion started out about whether alcohol should be permitted in the church and went from there. He stated that, "I don't get into all that religious stuff because I don't want to be called a hypocrite." At first I thought it was a weak excuse, and then I realized what he was truly saying. It is probably the only real reason that someone who does believes in Christ doesn't want to accept him as LORD. What it really comes down to is "If I accept Christ then I cannot continue to do the things that I want to do!" It is mainly just a flat excuse out of rebellion on the part of the sinner. This is an example of someone who does not have "The Fear of the Lord!"

I do however resent the fact that what he was saying is, "that all Christians are just Hypocrites anyway." I think that it is just an excuse, but also degrades the whole Christian faith at the same time. It is not that the Church is filled with Hypocrites. It is that the Church is filled with People (Sinners) who have been saved by grace and mess up every once in a while. We are all human. The only difference is in whom we are trying to follow. Are we trying to follow the father of this world, or our Heavenly Father, who sent His Son to die for our sins?

Every other religion in the world is about "man trying to get to heaven by what he does." This is however not what grace is all about. Grace is all about God coming to us to bridge the gap that we cannot fill on our own. It is like trying to jump the Grand Canyon. We can run as fast as we can and jump, but we are not going to get all the way across. Some people are good enough that they can jump a little further, but the fact is that we cannot do it on our own initiative. The only way to get across is getting the Help necessary. Only God can pick us up and place us on the other side. Jesus is like the bridge that connects each side. You just have to choose to take the bridge. Still some try to jump across - the problem is that they are not going to be able to make it on their own.

Essentially the Good News (Gospel) is that God prepared a way to get to him. All we have to do is accept His help. That means trying to follow His direction for our lives. Granted we all make some mistakes, but he will pick us up and dust us off and we can continue on our journey. It is not that Christians are Hypocrites, It is that we are Human.

If you are reading this and want to accept Christ, follow the information provided below and the contact someone that can help you in your new faith Journey.

How to receive Christ:
1. Admit your need - The need for a saviour to help you. (I am a sinner.)
2. Be willing to turn from your sins - essentailly to try and do right before God. (Repent.)
3. Believe that Jesus Christ died for you on the Cross and rose from the grave.
4. Through prayer, invite Jesus Christ to come in and control your life through the Holy Spirit. (Receive him as Lord and Savior.)

What to Pray:
Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and need Your forgiveness. I believe that you died for my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I now invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as Lord and Savior. In Jesus' name. Amen.

If you want to talk to someone or for Prayer visit:
Clear Lake Baptist Church

I have been struggling lately. In History of Israel we are currently studying the Kings of Israel. We already talked about Samuel the prophet, Saul, David, and Solomon. Dr. Chen stated that Samuel was the Prophet after God's own heart. That Saul was the king after man's heart, and that David was the king after God's Heart. Solomon was just half-hearted. Sometimes I really don't know where I stand. I am to be like Samuel and tell of God's word, no matter what happens. I know that I want a heart like David's yet feel that I probably am somewhere between Solomon's half-heart or Saul's want to please people. Four men, with very different kinds of lives and sins. Saul was a people pleaser, and prideful. David was an adulterer, murderer and he too was prideful at a certain point in his life. Solomon started well with the Fear of the Lord, yet finish poorly because his wives turned his heart away from God. I want my heart to be that of God's, but wind up screwing things up many times. My pride, and my want to be somebody hurts what I can do for God - because of the wall that it puts up, and the opportunities that I miss because I head to man's call before God.

My prayer for today is to find out what I am really made of. Can I have the Fear of the LORD? Can I have a heart after God? You would think that being in Seminary that I should have my act together, but I screw up all the time. Sometimes I wonder why I am even there, yet I feel the prompting of God.

I ask you Heavenly Father, to help me find my way in all this. I ask you to help me to be more like David in that I have the will to please you in all things that I do. I ask you to hear my prayers - I have been feeling like they are doing no good. I praise you with tributes that I don't know if I even believe. I started blogging because I wanted to feel like you hear me. I thought if I could just keep a log of what you are doing then maybe, I will feel as if you hear me and are answering me. This blog started off as something I was thinking to something I feel inside. I ask you to show me that you do hear me and help me see that. I ask you all this in Jesus Name, AMEN!

On Friday I had to go out and take pictures of a jobsite for a board meeting I have on this coming Wednesday. I grabbed the camera turned it on and everything seemed fine. So I headed down to the house I was supposed to get pictures of. That is until I got to the Jobsite and turned the camera on and it said to check battery. I didn't check it well enough before I left. I had just driven 20 minutes to find out that I had a dead battery. Upset with myself I was thinking that I was going to have to drive back to the office and then go back to the customers house. NOT LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT! So I thought, "Maybe I could pray and God would give it just enough juice to get the one real picture that I need." Well it didn't work. I thought, "well I guess I will just have to go back to the office."

As I was walking back to my car I realized I have the Charger in the car and there is a outlet on the back of the House. God is so good! He may not answer our prayers always like we think, but He does answer them. I was able to get about 15 shots of the house (Not just one but fifteen)- and I didn't have to go back to the office to do that. It is great that even the littlest of our prayers gets answered - Thank you Jesus, for answering my prayer!

My mother in law was in a wreck about 2 weeks ago. This worried me a little bit because she hasn't had a job for a little over a year now. The car was totaled - a car smashed into her side and dented in the frame. The praise comes from the fact that even as bad as she got hit - she walked out of the emergency room. This in of itself was a miracle. God has surely been looking over her. It was just a day later that she got a call to start work for probably about 3 months - Praise number 2. I pray that it opens up some doors for a future job opportunity. Then she got a call from a group that Valerie has been on a waiting list for, to help with home care, and she maybe able to get some benefits there. This was Praise number 3. Finally, Geico gave her the results of the car and they will be paying off the car and giving her a little to help with the expense of having to get another one. This is praise number 4. All in all I can see where God's hand is in all of this. He is watching over and taking care of her and meeting all her needs. Praise God in all he does - He is a wonderful God.

It is amazing how God works. I prayed for some things to happen at work last night, but I didn't get what I asked for. Sometimes it seems like my prayers are just going to the ceiling, but it always seems to work out. I know that God hears me. Maybe it is that I just haven't learned to ask for the right things. I am glad that sometimes God loves me enough to tell me no and do it his way. I don't know! We may not always understand why, but He knows best. I will just keep praying and watching to see what happens. I think that if I was better at looking at things that I would see a big difference and would see more of what GOD IS ACTUALLY DOING because I am not giving credit where credit is due.

It is hard in today's society to really go to God in prayer. I don't really know what to say most of the time, but I do know that He does hear me. I wanted a place that I could pray at and lift up praise to God for the things that He has done for me. I wanted a place to explore the love that God has for me and that I have for Him. I know that God has done alot for me. He sent His Son, Jesus to die on the cross for me. He raised Jesus to life so that we could have communication with Him. He has cleansed me as white as snow, even though I have done many things wrong in my life. He loves me for me, and will always do that even when I am not loving to Him like I should. He gave me a wonderful wife, wonderful family and friends, a home, and a job. He cares for me and feeds me. He has been there for me when I have been lonley or even when I am down on myself and feeling worthless. I want to follow His will and live my life in a way that honors Him. I want to embrace Him like he has embraced me. I want to Embrace God!