Reflections from Monday's Devotional

Devotional from Our Daily Bread: Gossip-Free Zone
Biblical Passage: Proverbs 25: 8-18

I know this is going to sound bias and I'm going to sound like a male chauvinist pig so I'm getting that out of the way right now but I often tell people that the only women I enjoy working around are geek women. With geek women gossip is truly at a minimum. They care about their appearance but I have never heard them tear down another woman, well at least while I'm around. They are not into dumb shows like Desperate Housewives, Girlfriends, Sex & the City, The Starters Wife (while USA Network airs that show I will never know), Tyler Perry movies...yes I said it.

Gossip is something I have heard men and women do from time to time and it's very easy to get caught up in it. Gossip is one of those subtle sins that before you know it you're right in the middle of that mess. You don't think you get caught up in it? Have you ever read PEOPLE, US, Star magazines? Have you ever watch any so called Reality shows?

*my hand goes up slowly

It's amazing so many things that are positive that surrounds us and many times we are drawn to the negative. There is the Travel Channel, Discovery Channel, TLC, National Geographic Channel, heck for me The Weather Channel is productive (they play some of the best smooth jazz when showcasing "The Local on the 8's"). Do you own a mp3 player? So many positive podcast are out here from pastor Greg Laurie, Paul Sheppard, Dr. Charles Stanley, David Jeremiah, Tony Evans, the late Adrian Rogers & Dr. J. Vernon McGee, Michael Yousef, James McDonald...and these are national pastors and I'm sure that there are local pastors in your area that great teachers of God's word. You have some great music podcast (mine included...hint, hint), great tech shows and yet we sometimes get sucked into the gossip abyss.

I love the book of Proverbs. If you ever want sound, no nonsense every day advice this is the book to read a chapter a day. So much is written about gossip because God knows that is where the majority of all problems begin...word of mouth. If we want our children, our grandchildren gossiping or talking ill of people we as adults must lead by example when it comes to what we read, what we watch, what we say. Let's begin to make our home, our speech a "Gossip-Free Zone".

Be Blessed, Be Safe,
& Have a Wonderful Monday

Christian Podcast to check out:
Thru the Bible Questions & Answers - Dr. J. Vernon McGee
Broadcast for Saturday, November 08, 2008

Tech Podcast to check out:
Windows Weekly 82: Pocket Paul
Hosts: Paul Thurrott with Leo Laporte

Reflections from Friday's Devotional For 07 November 08

Our Daily Bread: Waiting
Biblical Passage : Psalm 70 (New Living Translation)

There are so many ways to approach this subject on patience. I thought I was a patient person but then a situation comes up from time to time and I see I have a long way to go. There are some things I can just sit back and wait and other things I wish it would come and be over with (like the election...thank goodness it is over). It's amazing when waiting on God to respond to certain things in my life I want him to act "right now, CHOP, CHOP!

But I realize I am on His time table and not the other way around and deep down I know in the end it is always in my best interest. I think back on past relationships that I knew "man she is right for me" and now I look back and say, "Thank you Jesus for not answering that prayer." I have to get this through my head day in and day out which is so true each day I am on this earth, God ways are not my own ways plain and simple. He knows what I need in my life, what I need to pursue, what I need to avoid but it's up to me that when I go His way that I learn how to realize that while I'm waiting, God is working.

Now waiting on God does not mean I just sit back at do nothing. This means I keep doing what is right for my family, for myself and just know that God is working it out in my favor and I'm not going to lie that is not easy to do many times but if I don't want to start from zero it's best to do it His way. The next time you read about Abraham or about Jonah read how when they did not do it God's way and not have patience how many times that they were placed at the very starting point where they began. I have had those kind of situations and let me tell you, the older you get the less fun that is beginning all over again. You begin to learn that doing it God's way, the right way saves you so much unnecessary grieve.

Not being patient, doing it your own way will work for you for a little while but when it falls apart, it falls apart hard and your ways breaks in sometimes a million pieces and sometimes you cannot put it back together again and in the end you are left with the three famous words many hate to say and go through, "shoulda, woulda, coulda". Learning not rush God is a lesson that will save you heartache in the very end...but being a Follower of Christ we already know this right?

RIGHT!?!

Be Blessed, Be Safe,
& Have a Wonderful Friday

Christian Podcast to check out...
Love Worth Finding - Dr. Adrian Rogers
Are You Fit to Be Tied?

Tech Podcast to check out...
TWiT - net@night with Amber and Leo
WeadWiteWeb

Reflections from Thursday's Devotional

Our Daily Bread Devotional: Serve Or Die
Biblical Passage: Mark 10:35-45 (New Living Translation)

You hear this all the time, "If God is a loving God, why does he allow suffering in the world?" Straightforward question and here is the straightforward answer: God has given HUMANS, yes, You and I, domain over the world. It's amazing how we forget things like this. We want to do want we want, live anyway we want to live but when trouble hits the world or our little part of world we want God to wipe the slate clean.

God has blessed us all with a very solid blueprint on how to handle things in the world...the Holy Bible. I have to be honest, whenever I have wholeheartedly obeyed God I can not say He has ever forsaken me. But I have to keep telling myself when I live God's way I am on his time table, not my own. I may get upset with him wondering why doesn't He move in my life when I want Him to but I am old enough now to know that many times I get myself in certain situations that has caused me grief. I was the one that went right when God told me and has taught me to go right. When you get real and honest with yourself it humbles you and you begin not to play the "blame game" so much which many Christians and non-Christians do now.

I'm I saying that all Christians have this "oh whoa is me" attitude? Of course not. But we have to get to a put that we as Followers of Christ can not disobey God and assume that we can treat Him as our own Genie in the bottle and wipe our mistakes away. He can do that but what would he have learned from our mistakes? There is the other scenario...there are things that popped up in our lives that we have no control over and it will bring us heartache and at the time it hurts like heck and we have every right to asked God why. Job asked God why, Many prophets in the Bible as God why. In the book of Psalms King David asked God why time and time again but what I have learned to ask God now is not "why" but "what can I learn from this situation." Now that I have learned that very important key it stops me from being a victim to becoming a conqueror.

We must come to the realization that God has put us in charge of the world. It is not God that fail people, we fail people but every day we have the power to correct this mistake when we wake up each morning.

Be Blessed, Be Safe,
& Have a Wonderful Thursday

Christian podcast to check out for today...
Conclusion of: Dealing With Detractors- Paul E. Sheppard
net@night 73: WeadWiteWeb- Amber MacArthur and Leo Laporte

Reflections from Monday's Devotional

Reflections for Monday

RBC Monday Devotion: God’s Catalog
Bible Gateway Passage: John 17:20-26

I love this devotion for Monday. It sums up how we are to represent Jesus Christ. It makes me wonder what do we as Followers of Christ have to do to make non-believers see that being a Christian is a wonderful life.

One thing we should do as Followers of Christ is that to get across that we do not try and keep up with the "Jones" when it comes to material things. I am not saying we cannot have nice things but I think many times as Christians how we go about obtaining them is another matter. We now have this "have to have it NOW" attitude and not saving little by little is now a thing of the past. Have you noticed how many get into debt? Little by little. We have to get the attitude and discipline back that our parents and grandparents had. When you true want something, you have to sacrifice to achieve it. Still enjoy and appreciate what you have at the moment while at the same time striving for your goal.

Another thing we as Followers of Christ feel we have to do is blend in with the world. Christ Jesus wants us to be a shining light for Him. We are in this world but we are not to become of this world. We have to know when to act and when to just pray. Many times we as Christians allow ourselves to be sucked into the way the world lives and once that happens our creditability is gone. We have to know when to jump in, when to let go, when not to get involved altogether because it's easier to be pulled down than to pull someone out of the abyss. Our job is to plant the seed, another will come along and "water" the seed and God will take care of the rest.

Reading the devotion for this morning makes me realize I need to do more in regards to my prayer life, how I carry myself and cutting away from things on the web that has slowly taken me away from being a better disciple for my Lord and Savior.

Be Blessed, Be Safe,
& Have a Wonderful Monday.

Christian podcast to check out for Monday: Thru the Bible Questions & Answers
tech podcast to check out for Monday: TWiT 167: More TWiT Than You Require

Reflections for 28Sept08 Sunday

reflections from ODB "Showing Up" & the passage for today

The really great thing about the devotions from Our Daily Bread is that it breaks it's meaning down in reference to understanding God, Jesus Christ, how to communicate with him that a child can understand. This morning devotion [Showing Up] hit a cord with me this morning. When you pray you have to do it every day, even when you do not feel like it. You have to keep that line of communication open with God because if you don't you find yourself making excuse after excuse not to pray. If you don't do this then you begin to treat our Lord and Savior like a "genie in a bottle going to him only in emergencies.

That is what I have been doing and I'm being honest with myself. I have allowed myself to think of God's word as a chore and not a pleasure and that is so wrong. What he has done for me I can't begin to measure and at times when reading the devotions and God's word I find myself struggling to read it and sometimes feel myself rushing through Bible and that is not right. It's amazing how I have become so lazy in reference to reading His word because when I am really honest with myself I find so much peace when reading God's word, applying His word but yet many times I do not feel like doing it. There is no excuse for me NOT to do this and from this day forth I have to hold myself accountable for my action. I can't use the excuse of not reading because I'm too busy. As a person told me years ago. You and Bill Gates have the same amount of time in the day (24 hours)...it's what you do with them is what counts".

As the writer in the devotion from today says,

"The writer Nancy Mairs says she attends church in the same spirit she goes to her desk every morning to write, so that if an idea comes she’ll be there to receive it. I approach prayer the same way. I keep on whether it feels like I am profiting or not. I show up in hopes of getting to know God better, perhaps hearing from Him in ways accessible only through solitude."

Today is that day for me. I will go to bed at the proper time, spend time with God, write when I feel like it or not. I have to put things in order because if I want to be my best, if I want to know the will of God for my life, I have to use the tools that have been blessed with because it is so true...if you don't use them, you will lose them.

Be Blessed, Be Safe, &
Have a Wonderful Sunday.

Great podcast to check out today: Thru The Bible Q&A w/J. Vernon McGee

RBC Devotional & Bible Passage Reading for Today

RBC reading: End Of Construction
Passage reading: Jude 1:20-25 (New Living Translation)

No matter when I read God's word it brings me warmth and hope. This passage this morning let's me know how far I need to go but how far I have come in reference to God's word. Goodness knows I am not perfect but knowing that when I gave my life to God I have piece of mind most days.

I say most days because living this life is not easy but many times when I am stressed it's because of my own doing and not following His word. I am trying to get back on track when it comes to reading God's word, tithing like I should...just allowing God to "be the architect" of my life. Whenever I have turned it ALL over to Him things go smoothly and if the road is bumpy my Lord lets me know it will pass. Deep down I know this but I have been slipping and now it's time for me to get back on track and I will...day by day.

Be Blessed, Be Safe,
& Have a Wonderful Day.

Christian podcast to check out: Thru the Bible Questions & Answers-Dr. J. Vernon McGee
Wisdom reading for today: Proverbs Chapter 14

why do we still use twitter?

Sitting here early morning ready to post a link to share with all 200+ people in my twitter neighborhood and I'm getting the message I get at least twice a week, "Something went terribly wrong" or the new one, "Over capacity". Twitter has been around a little over a year now and it seems instead the quality of the application getting better it has become worse. Maybe the people over at twitter did not think it was take off as fast? Maybe people are trying to use it for what it is not? A while back I wrote a post on twitter and the other social networks and how i finally realized what is was and how to use it, or so I thought. Soon I became obsessed with twitter and more I used twitter the more I realized how time after time twitter was not stable. I mentioned yesterday how twitter is like this girlfriend that treats you like dirt but you keep allowing her in your home...this is what twitter is most of the time. Why do we keep coming back to it? It's not like we do not have other apps to use that are more stable. Heck, Pownce does not cap you at 140 characters, Jaiku is very stable but I guess us Americans are a glutton for punishment. Here is my "little two cents about twitter (again)...

what twitter is...
Twitter is a application that is really hard to explain to people. It's one of these web based programs that either you like or you don't. What I finally get about twitter is that it's a place to jot down a quick thought, a cool site that you have come across (what cool about twitter is that when you put the link in there most times it converts it to a tiny url). What I really dig about twitter is that the more your twitter neighborhood grows the more you can reach people in reference to sharing a blog post, a cool music site, or if you are funny as heck (like myself...I am so funny...really, I make myself laugh at least once a day) you can jot down a funny line or two and share with the twitter world. Like I said, twitter is hard to understand if you do not use it but it is truly a great social network tool to use because when using IM you just do not want to say, "hey! check out this link! Okay, buh bye." Twitter allows you to throw it out there and go about your business. You can use it from your computer or from your mobile device and from what I am seeing many people do this on a daily basis and I think maybe that might be the problem.

Maybe Evan Williams wanted to take this venture slow because Blogger was a huge success (which he sold to Google), Odeo is still hit and miss so to speak so maybe with Twitter he wanted to scale this slow. I think maybe after SXSW (South by Southwest festival) it really blew up and now he's playing catch up. I only have a little over 200 people following me but people like Leo Laporte, Robert Scoble, John C. Dvorak, Kevin Rose, Merlin Mann and yes even presidental hopeful Senator Barack Obama have thousands of people followers...now times that with the people that are joining each day (even some companies have thrown their hat in the ring in reference to using twitter to benefit them) and I can see why this network is down more times it is up. Maybe it may need to have Twitter pro accounts like Pownce, I'm sure we could cough up $15-$20 a year because most people spend more than that ever week on coffee alone (thank goodness I don't drink coffee anymore). I don't think that would be hard to do and maybe when businesses wish to use it he could charge them as well. One thing I can say is that the more twitter is down, soon or a later people will begin slowly moving away from this platform to find a more, stable place to use.

what twitter is not...
I think many people (I include myself in this category) began using this as kind of a chat room and I truly believe twitter is not made for that and maybe the problem lies there. Maybe people want to use it in this fashion...sort of like getting to know a person yet before giving them their IM handle. It's like, "let me test the waters with you here and if you are not too annoying here maybe we can take this to phase II and you can chat with me in real time via Instant Messenger." Sometimes I have seen tweets that may going on for about 3-4 tweets (again, I have been guilty of this). I have come to realize that if I have something in large volume to convey I need to go to my blog and write and it and then post a link to via twitter. I found myself needing to step back really far from twitter because I was spending more time on twitter than writing on my blogs. Once I stepped back from twitter I truly see what twitter should be used for and I appreciate it more. If I need to say something that is going to go on more than two tweets...write a post. Maybe some of us "Twitters" need to step back from it and see what exactly how it should be used because since I did this, and believe me, it was hard because as many times I would check to see if someone replied to my tweet or to see if my neighborhood has grown it was tiresome. But again, this is not twitter fault...this was on me.

Another thing is that sometimes people get hung up on how many people they can have in their neighborhood and some of these "tweeters" are nothing but bots and maybe there lies the problem as well. Maybe they could have something where if a person has not updated in a month or so their account will get suspended. I know this, people really dig twitter and I don't think it's going away but if something is not done to rectify this problem it will begin losing members.

In a Nutshell...
So, here it is in a nutshell in reference to twitter. Twitter is a electronic bulletin board really where you can post quick thoughts, links to other sites and blog post in a 140 characters. The reason for the 140 character is for people who are mobile so that is cool. Jaiku, Pownce and now friendfeed is on the block so the question to Mr. Evan Williams what are you going to do about this problem. Why do we still use Twitter with all of it's flaws when we could begin fleeing to other platforms? Some of us don't like change, some people are not fair weather friends, and many people have made friends through twitter. We are loving your product but even loyalist will get tired of putting up with a platform that is down more than it is up. We are hanging in here with you Evan, let us know what we need to do and many people that use twitter will do it.

Nice piece of information

I have become a person that have a habit of not being on time and that is NOT a good thing. So imagine my surprise when checking out GoogleReader and I come across this nice gem of information in reference to being on time. Being on time is very important and shows people that not only are you punctual but that you consider their time as valuable as well which in the end is a "win-win" situation for you.

from download squad

There must be something in the water this week. While the biggest new media acquisition story of the day has to be CBS buying CNET for $1.8 billion, big companies are swallowing up smaller ones left and right. Media company Comcast is buying social networking site Plaxo for something like $150 million, while Ask.com is shelling out an undisclosed sum for Lexico, the company that runs Dictionary.com.>>> more

reflections for Friday 18 April 2oo8

Forgiven!>>>more
devotion from rbc ministries

This one word is so hard to do at time and so hard to believe at times and I guess it's according which side of the word you are on. Sometimes we hold people hostage with this word, sometimes we have so much guilt that we can't believe we are set free when someone says, "I forgive you." I have been on both sides of that word and to be honest neither side feels good. I have hurt, I have been hurt, I have carried the guilt of the hurt I have afflicted on someone and sometimes it's hard to let go of it.

But then I always remember what Dr. David Jeremiah says whenever I know I have went to God and asked for forgiveness but I still carry the "weight" of it. Whenever I get into one of those, "I know God is forgiven me but I just can't forgive myself" David Jeremiah's comment, "If your Heavenly Father has forgiven you and forgot it what gives you the right not to let it go...are you God?" and that shuts me down and makes me let it go. One thing my queen always says, "It's okay to be convicted but not condemned" because Christ Jesus has already paid that huge price for me. Knowing this in my heart I have no right and no reason to carry that burden with me because His blood has insured me that I can never be taken out of the loving arms of God.

Now, as I have always made it clear...does this mean I do not pay a consequence for my decision? Yes I have to because God is not a genie in a bottle, whenever I get myself in a mess I can just "wish" myself out of that situation. Adam and Eve paid for their decision, Abraham, Sarah, Moses, King David, King Solomon, Peter, Paul...I can go on and on because in the end God forgave them for their sins but God could not violate his own laws and principles. For me, the more I realize this the more I try and not make decisions that I know will hurt not only myself but my family in the end.

The wonderful love of God lets me know that when I come to him with a open heart, pride set aside, and ask for true forgiveness, He gives it to me and will forget it. I may have to still deal with the consequences but I would rather receive his chastisement than His wrath. In the end I try and be a wise man instead of a clever man because the older I become, I don't have time to keep coming up with ways to get out of situations and you realize day in and day out, time is too precious to waste.

Be Blessed, Be Safe,
& Have a Wonderful Friday/Weekend

"For every thing that lives is holy, life delights in life."
~William Blake(1757-1827), America: A Prophecy

great audio message for Friday...
The Struggle With Unforgiveness
Dr. Charles Stanley-In Touch Ministries

reflections for Monday o4.14.o8

When In Doubt--->more
devotion from rbc ministries

One of the most cool things about being a follower of Christ is that my Heavenly Father covers all questions of life for me...even when I doubt. Yes, I said the "D" word.

This devotion is a great one and I will keep a couple of this in my wallet along side the bible passage as well. We as Christians have doubts from time to time and again God knows because he created us. No, not to doubt Him and to be honest we would not have doubt but we live in a fallen world so we at one time was separated from God but through the blood of his Son we have that connection again, but again we still have human emotions, love, hate, sorrow, sadness, anger, doubt.

What this devotion is saying to me is that when we are by ourselves sometimes, when we are going through something that is so heavy on our heart we tend to ask God, "Where are you? Is this pain worth me going through? What's the deal?" and it's okay to have questions like that for our Heavenly Father because one of the most import things is that He wants that closeness with His children. He wants us to know that He is there for us every step of the way and that He ALWAYS sees the end results of what we are encountering certain situations.

Now this is not to say that God puts us in harms way for His amusement because He is not like that at all. There are things we go through to make us stronger and if we were truly honest with ourselves most times we go through certain "valleys" in our lives because of the choices we have made and not being obedient to God's word. I said "most" not all. What about those who have been raped, molested? I would never say God planned something like that because again God does not plan evil for our lives and He does not tempt us "just because." I can say this for myself...

Being a child of molestation and ridicule growing up because of my stuttering it has made me the man that I am. I try to be a man that is more compassionate when it comes to children that are talked to harshly. There is a difference between "disciplined" and just plain meanness toward a child. When our grandchildren are over I make sure they are a gift from God, they are blessed with certain talents, gifts to make this world a better place. I make sure that they check out their surroundings, be very observant, and try to instill in them that "words" do matter and that life is precious because if you teach them to love and respect themselves they will see others in the same light.

My pain has also taught me that when I come across someone that has difficult with their speech to have patience, compassion for them because I know how hard it is when you want to say something and the words cannot come out fast enough or you stumble and stuttered. It's makes life unbearable at times and you dread to have someone call on you to speak or to read out loud. I am so thankful that God has taught me how to deal with stuttering and how to put myself in their shoes when it comes to speech because some people will stutter and stammer over their words for the rest of their lives. Coming up with those two blows against me you know I cried out to God "why me?" How could he allow someone to violate me that way and how could he allow me not be able to speak like other children? You talk about doubt, it was there in Spades.

But I am older, and I am wiser and I realize God did not allow me to get molested because that was his plan...that evil act was done by that person because of their own free will and I know in the end God will deal with that person in His own way , His own time. God did not want me to be laughed at when it came to my speech because like I said earlier, when Adam and Eve allowed Satan to become the ruler of this world imperfect crept into this world: disease, evil thoughts, evil acts, jealousy, murder, greed and so forth. My stuttering allowed me to fight for me find a way to overcome it and to be able share with the world that it can be teach you that words are truly important and that in a weird way to let you know, "yes, words do matter.

When doubting God it does not make you less of a follower of Christ, but a better Christian because it will draw you closer to Him and you will want a closer relationship with your Heavenly Father and in return you will become a brighter light for Him in the end. So ask away..He's always willing to listen and help you through your rough patches in life.

Be Blessed, Be Safe,
& Have a Wonderful Monday

great messages for today:
Never Try to Catch a Falling Knife{Part I}{Part II}
A New Beginning-Greg Laurie

Thru the Bible Questions & Answers-o4.12.o8
Thru the Bible-Dr. J.Vernon McGee

"the fountain of content must spring up in the mind, and he who hath so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness by changing anything but his own disposition, will waste his life in the fruitless efforts and multiply the grief he proposes to remove."

~Samuel Johnson(1709-1784)
The Rambler

image:allposters.com

reflections for Wednesday o4.o9.o8

The Oyster Man>>>more
devotion from rbc ministries

Today's devotion and Bible passage speaks volume to my heart and spirit. It allows me to know that I do not need to be perfect in order to have Christ in my life or to share his Good News. Sometimes we a Followers of Christ get to a point where we begin to nit-pick others who has just giving their lives to Christ and forget sometimes where we were when we realized that we truly need God to help us in this fallen world.

It's so cool to know that of myself I may not be a scholar when it comes to words but God has given me other gifts when it comes to sharing His goodness, His love, His commandments for one's life. This does not mean I do not study His word, pray and have a close relationship with Him but this also means I do not look down upon others who's speak is not adequate or smooth flowing. Knowing God and sharing His word for me is to spread it the best I know how while continuing studying, meditating on His wonderful instructions for my life. Isn't it funny how Jesus Christ chose his disciples who not well known, well educated when it came to studying the scroll but had common sense work wise, street wise and did not go around saying that they were Christ but won people over by telling others how Christ Jesus changed their lives. I am learning every day that I am not perfect, never will be perfect. I can not speak for others when it comes to Jesus Christ but I can speak for myself when it comes to letting people where I was and where I am now because of knowing the Christ loved me when I was at my lowest.

This does not mean that all came to Christ when they were down and out. To many, I looked liked I had it "going on" so to speak, I did not smoke or drink, I gave up the night life long ago but in the inside I was and empty shell. Had mood swings because I truly did not love myself. I was lonely, I felt that I needed someone in my life to make me feel whole. I may not have ran the streets but I was still living outside the will of God by having sex outside of marriage, living with a woman. I thought I had the best of both worlds but every day more and more I was realizing it was a lie. Once I broke off that relationship, alone in my apartment, I cried out to Christ saying, "If I never find someone I am okay with that as well, I'm just tired of living this way." Those days were not easy but allowing God into my life each day made me realize that no person can make me feel whole the way his Son can.

Being a follower of Christ is not smooth living all the time because as passage says, "Satan is the God of this world[this is the cause by Adam & Eve...God gave us dominion over this earth and my forefather and mother gave it over to Satan in the garden and God can not violate His law once He has put it into place.] Being a Christians does not mean you have to be perfect in order to serve him. It takes work on our part every day and we will make mistakes and that's okay because when you are sincere about God, He knows at times we will "zig" when we are supposed to "zag". God's love us where we are but will not leave us where we are.

Be Blessed, Be Safe,
and have a Wonderful Wednesday.

Beginning today I will be linking this site and podcast whenever I post here...

MoneyLife article...
Impulsive and compulsive spending
MoneyLife podcast from today and yesterday

great message for today from In Touch Ministries
Things That Cannot Be Shaken

reflections for o4.o7.o8 Monday

Why? Why? Oh, Why?>>>more
devotion from rbc ministries

This question has been ask by Christians and non-Christians, "Why does God allow suffering in our lives?" I'm not going to sit hear and say I have all the answers but I can tell you how I take disappointments in my life now. Even though times I may not like it, I may not agree with God's way of maturing me but I can say in the end it has made me a better person.

First and foremost I now step back and ask MYSELF, "Could I have had a different outcome if I would have chose a different path?" I say this because many times I could have had a better outcome if I would have listened and obeyed the Holy Spirit. I'm getting to the point now that I have to be honest with myself because most of the times I have brought this on myself and I have to take responsibility for my actions. Noticed I said most times because lets be honest, many times we do not want to do it God's way because (1) we do not like to admit we are not always in control (2) pride...plain and simple.

Sometimes God allows things to happen in my life because as the devotion says, sometimes we have to be matured in certain situations, certain trials because in the end it will make us a stronger Christian for His kingdom and we can also be there for someone who later down the road might be going through something similar. I am learning that when God is allowing something to happen in my life that may bring me pain I am learning when God allows this heartache it's only chastisement and not His wrath because if it was the latter I would have no where to turn because in the end I do not want him to turn me over to my own ways of living.

I remember being in the world and when this situation or that situation did not go my way I would cry out to Him and back then I thought I was being punished by God. But in essence God was trying to get me to come back into his loving arms because now that I look back they was nothing for me out in the clubs, trying to sleep with every woman I encounter; as the ol' folks would say to me, "there's nothin' out there those streets for you boy!" Having to go through trials and pain even as a Christian is not a fun thing to feel but saying to myself, "I don't understand why this is happening in my life at this moment God, but I know in the end it is for my own good." I have also learned that God will sometimes but rarely give me the answer to my "Why's" but he gives me the answer to my "What" questions. Many times God will flip the script and begin to ask me "Why" questions which I do not have the answers. I have stop asking why when my eyes were open in reference to reading the book of Job. If you noticed God never really answered Job questions but in the end Job understood what God was trying to bring out of him character wise and he[Job] also realized that God was with him throughout his ordeal. Painful for Job yes...did it make him a better person in the end...yes.

As a follower of Christ, next time instead of asking "why?" ask God, "What are you trying to have me do or learn from this situation?" The answer may just surprise you.

Be Blessed, Be Safe,
& Have a Wonderful Monday.


audio message for today...
Separating from Unbelievers -- Part 2
John MacArthur{Grace To You}

Reflections for Saturday o4.o5.2oo8

Words Of Life>>>more
devotion from rbc ministries

"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."
~John 6:68

For me that passage sums it all up for me every time I get discourage. After truly getting to know Christ Jesus on a daily basis, "where should I go?"I know life is not perfect, I know life is not fair, I know things will not always go my way but at the end of the day and at the end of my life, who else will be there for me?

The words of Jesus Christ is truly like a sword. He tells me about myself, what I need to improve myself, what I do and do not need in my life, what I need to hear, what I need to say because in the end, God may not leave me but he has given me the choice to life or death(spiritually wise). It's amazing how sometimes devotions just flow from one day to the next for me and then other times devotions and Bible passages and verses seem to have no mean for me at the time and then out of the blue when I think it doesn't apply to me it's there when I need it. As I read this devotion it reminded me what I have been going through all this week: allowing "too much of nothing" information wise filter my thoughts and how I have decided now to truly watch what I allow into my thought process.

Getting back to the point in my life where first thing in the morning I want to gravitate to God's word instead of hopping on the computer and see who has read my post or downloaded my podcast is a good thing for me. I know that without Him, I will worry of non-sense and in the end it will rob me of precious time with him, with my queen. Praying, getting on my knees when the Holy Spirit tells me to in the end only helps my walk with Christ Jesus because in the end having a peace of mind is ultimate gift. One thing I can say time and time again, Jesus holds no punches when it comes to telling you the cost when it came to giving my life over to him but that is a true friend...he tells me what I need to hear instead of what I want to hear. I can walk away from him if I wish in the end...

"Lord, to whom shall I go? You have the words of eternal life."

Be Blessed, Be Safe,
& Have a Wonderful Saturday/Sunday

Wisdom for this morning...
Thru the Bible Questions & Answers - Dr. J. Vernon McGee

Reflections for Friday o4.o4.2oo8

What Should I Do?>>>more
devotion from rbc ministries

Experiencing Inner Peace>>>more
devotion from In Touch Ministries

Both titles of the each devotion I experience every day and I believe many other do as well. I have to admit, I have let my walk with God slip and now I am getting it back because I have found that when walking with God I am able to experience inner peace and I go from "What Should I Do?" to "I Know What I Must Do". When following God's plan it is sometimes necessary to not allow so much of the world to influence your decisions. Just this morning while watching MSNBC I noticed how the reporter when speaking the Rev. Al Sharpton how she kept gravitating to the negative and how he[Sharpton] and to keep pushing it back the positive. Isn't it amazing how the world is drawn to the negative like a moth to the flame but then turn around and ask, "How come it's so much bad in the world?"

This I know why it's evil in the world because of my fore-father and mother: Adam & Eve. Once they tasted the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil sin came into our world and the trick Satan tries to do day in and day out is for everyone to concentrate on the negative in the world. I am not saying to look at the world through rose colored glasses but to realize that many times the decisions we make for our lives plays a huge part of what we will experience much in life. We need to be caution but not fearful, we need to know when to speak and when to listen, we need to learn how to say no, and most important, we need to know that we cannot please everyone or live by people's standards. It's hard to do sometimes because of what we have been through in life but the more we look to our Heavenly Father the more we realized how to handle certain situations, what we can change in our lives and what we cannot change.

I am learning this day by day because I struggle with this but as I write this I am realizing that when I struggle with what God's want with my life it is me that is wasting valuable, precious time because deep down I know he wants the best for me and I have to constantly seek Him and obey Him because I know in the end He knows what I need and how I will handle success and failure. The more I force myself to seek His goodness the more breakthrough I will have when it comes to decisions and having that peace within. I say force because when you let your walk slip from God, Satan will fight you tooth and nail to stop you from seeking God's goodness for your life and that is what I am struggling with now but I see good news ahead because God has allowed me to see what he[Satan] is doing and as long as I wake up each day that is another day I have the chance to draw closer to my heavenly Father.

Be Blessed, Be Safe,
& Have a Wonderful Friday/Weekend

I do not follow Dr. James Dobson that much but sometimes he has pretty good segments from time to time that need to be shared with the world and these are to programs that everyone should take heed to in reference to finances

from Focus on the Family

• Let the Buyer Beware 1
• Let the Buyer Beware 2

Reflections for Thursday o4.o3.o8

Right Place>>>more
devotion from rbc ministries

Have you ever read a Biblical passage and every verse that you are acquired to read speaks to you? I mean ever verse is like it REALLy spoke to you? Reading the acquired reading for this morning (Proverbs 16:1 thru 9) did that for me. We are supposed to make plans, we are suppose to prepare for our future but sometimes things do not map out the way they that they should and we sometimes get bent out of shape...okay I get bent out of shape at times but in the end isn't it funny how they work themselves out many times. Now I not talking about just going through life and having a "what will be, will be" attitude, that's not good. I'm talking about sometimes how we may have planned something one day and got their a day early but you end up meeting someone you haven't seen in years and have a chance to catch up on old times. Or you may have left out of the house 5 minutes late thinking you are going to be miss out on the best opportunity of a lifetime only to find out if you may have left out on time you could have been in accident once you past a section of a road you normally travel.

For me today is a time to begin getting out of my own way. It's really cool how you can come across so many messages that tell you that it's time to take a different approach to situations. Last night before going to bed I finally had a chance to listen to brother in podcasting show (Clarence of "DoYouKnowClarence?") and he hit the nail on the head or as my queen says it, "You hit the nail on the head with the hammer."(I love it how she says the whole thing out like that, it's so cute). From what I took from Clarence's show is that we have to real with ourselves, we have to see ourselves for what we truly are and where we are at that moment so we can finally realize how our Heavenly Father sees us and for me when you do that you can begin focusing on how to improve yourself. I too have had those conversations with myself that I'm being interviewed by Tavis Smiley or Terry Gross, having my face on CNN chatting it up with Anderson Cooper or talking to Keith Olbermann but sometimes we live in that world and not take care of what we need to do in the present.

These 9 verses from Proverbs speaks volumes to my heart today. It tells me yes map out what you need to do for that day but don't get upset if it doesn't work out the way that you planned. We may say with our mouths and may be sincere when it comes to doing some things but God knows what in our heart what we are really seeking. The verses says to me, before my feet hit the floor thank God that he has given me another day to see to bring glory to him. Don't envy boastful people because in the end God knows what is best for them so keep living the way you need to live.

I have to really begin reading a chapter a day from Proverbs because just think if I truly read a chapter a day and followed out what the almighty says how far ahead I would be in this game called life? If just 9 verses from just one chapter woke me up spiritually like this just think what the rest of the book can do for me?

Be Blessed, Be Safe,
& Have a Wonderful Thursday

two great messages to get you started today...

"DYKC?™ #19 — No Other Gods, Before ME"
from DYKC

The Struggle With Temptation-Pt. o1
from Dr. Charles Stanley

Reflections for Monday Morning o3.31.o8

Finding Jesus>>>more
devotion from rbc ministries

It's amazing when I finally settled down and allow Jesus into my life. I know what the title of the devotion means but to honest Christ Jesus was never lost from me. It was one of those things where I finally stopped being a knucklehead and began allow true joy in my life. Once I stopped doing what DarrenKeith wanted to do and realized God has always wanted the best for me the for living became smoother. Noticed I did not say "easier" because it doesn't and there non believers ask, "why follow him[Jesus Christ]

I follow him because when I did not, I worried about what would happen to me when I died, worried about what people thought about me, wondered if I was good enough, did not love myself so my mood would swing from one end of the spectrum to the other. When I tried to go life alone I did not know if I was coming or going many days. Again some people will say, "there are other religions that can make you feel whole." For me I beg to differ...I tried other ways and in the end I realized that for me that of all of the religions Jesus Christ told me the truth about myself, what he gave up for me, how the road would be tough at times but in the end he would be with me no matter what I encounter.

One thing I truly love about God is that he tells you why we are fallen and how to reconnect with him. There is no mystery on why his Son is the only way. I am learning that when I get out of bed first thing in the morning that by giving thanks to Him and asking Him to direct my footsteps, to give me wisdom, discernment, and insight on his word it's a step in the right direction for me. For myself knowing that I am sinner and that nothing I do: my good deeds, how I treat people will not get me into heaven and to be honest by doing it God's way is the best way.

When allowing Christ into your life your restriction on some things in life is not to keep you from the good life, it enhanced it 100 fold because when you really think about it, life is more full when you have a road map to tackle your journey than going along blindly in life.

a wonderful message I heard from Dr. Charles Stanley yesterday was right on point for me and I have to share it with you in reference to getting back on track when it comes to Christ.

Intouch Ministries w/Dr. Charles Stanley
When Your Fire Goes Out
When Your Fire Goes Out(Pt. o1) Audio
{right click to download audio}

Be Blessed, Be Safe,
and have a Wonderful Day.

reflections for Sunday o3.30.2oo8

The Richness Of Humility>>>click here
devotion from rbc ministries

I love how God's word can put me back in my place, get me back on track when it comes to projects I have begun, especially when it has come to my blogs and podcast. This devotion kicks me in the butt to let me know that I started my music podcast to showcase 1) quality music 2) to be able to share music from different genres 3) that I have a way of now sharing my taste in music and not get ridicule for it.

Sometimes I can find myself feeling sorry for myself and then I have to realize when it comes to my podcast that is a hobby for me and not a paying job and God lets me know that to keep my priorities in perspective. God has to remind that when I keep my thoughts, my mind, my focus on Him, that is when opportunities will open up for me. Granted he is not going to do it for because this is a covenant, he[God] is not my "genie in the bottle" but at the same time I must remain humble in the process.

This devotion has reminded me that when I listen to music, when I share music with the masses that is really my outlet, the way I relax. He lets me know instead of griping about rather or not anyone appreciate what you do be thankful that you have know how to bring it to the masses, that you have the tools and equipment to bring to the masses, that you have the voice to say how you feel when it comes to music, that you have a spouse that does not look down upon you when it comes to putting your podcast together, that you have a spouse that doesn't make fun of you when it comes to your taste of music, that if only one person checks out your podcast that's okay. The main thing is that when you do what you do that it does not bring shame to His name...that is the main thing. When I look at it in the frame of mind, I am truly blessed.

I have to keep this concept when writing my blogs or recording my podcast...

“It is amazing what can be accomplished when we don’t care who gets the credit.”

I'm not going to lie, time to time we all wish to be acknowledge for what we do but as Christ Jesus has taught that when you receive human notice that is your reward and I am learning that it only last for just a moment. I have to always put God first, my queen second, me third. Whenever I have followed this order things have always come out good and whenever I begin thinking, "do people really appreciate what I do?" or begin to over analyze things it blows up in my face.

When I think of doing right by others God rewards me...when I think that what I am doing I should receive credit for it brings me to sorrow because pride is creeping in and as the author of today's devotion states..

Pride and grace cannot dwell in the same place.

Two great messages that also help me put things into perspective by the wonderful Dr. David Jeremiah from Turning Point

• Courage When Friends Disappoint You(Pt. o1)
• Courage When Friends Disappoint You(Pt. o2)

translation=get over yourself DarrenKeith.

Devotion, Laundry, Scripture, and Dr. Charles Stanley

This morning I did something that I have to admit I have not done in 2 months...get into God's word the way I should. This morning after Z went to work I made our bed, washed our dishes, grabbed the bag of dirty laundry Z separated last night, headed downstairs to our laundry facility and washed. Afterwards I came upstairs and opened the Our Daily Bread devotional book and read something that spoke to my heart, Honest Doubts. We all have them from time to time when it comes to Christ Jesus. As I was reading this it struck me that how come at times people can believe in life in another galaxy but can't believe Jesus Christ did not rise from his grave in 3 days? How come when it comes to worldly things we can believe whole heartily but when it comes to Christ "that's impossible" many will say?

Even before I truly gave my life to Christ, just looking out at nature, seeing images and pictures of our solar system for me it had to be a creator the did this? How our body is created, from the tiniest of insects to different birds, animals, reptiles, how can't believe this all just happened just by chance. For me it's amazing how we think we are so in control of our own lives and in an instant it can change. I mean at this moment while writing this I can just "drop dead". But one thing I am sure of is that if I do just "drop dead" I know where I will be...with my heavenly father.

Honest Doubts from rbc ministries

It amazing how many people believe that once you die that it. Many people may not admit it but I know it creeps in their mind at times what really happens to you when you die. And once you are gone just think, you're going for eternity and for me that is something I am not willing to take a chance but that my friends is for a very, very, very long time. And I will say this to my atheist and agnostic friends...what if there is a God and once you are gone and you have not giving your life to Christ, what then? Do you honest think there are "do overs"? He gives us that chance every day while we are six feet above ground.

We all have doubts from time to time, God knows this...he created us. We have doubts, fears, we feel anger, sadness but what I have grown to love about him that I can come to Him with anything and I do mean ANYTHING. People may crack jokes about most Christians but for me that's okay be being a follower of Christ gives me so much freedom to know that by honoring him, loving him, coming to him in time of sorrow and happiness he guides my footsteps on what to watch out for, who to let into my life, who to deal with a "long handle spoon" so to speak and who not to allow in my life period.

Maybe people think that when you accept Christ as your Lord and Savior that all fun is zapped out of your life? I beg to differ. My queen and I recognized that one of the first thing you received is "unnecessary drama" in our life. Now noticed what I said, I say "unnecessary drama", I did not say that our lives are drama or pain free. My way of thinking is that we all are going to have troubles in our lives from time to time but what is better. Having troubles that you did not cause on yourself and having a wonderful God to help you through those times are having those troubles plus situations that we put ourselves in...for me that's double the work and I hate to work for no reason at all.

Another cool thing today was reading Proverbs Chapter 26. I have to admit, I need to really begin reading a chapter a day. There is no excuse for me not to because the book of Proverbs alone is a wonderful guide for one's life. Chapter 26 is a really good read because it teaches you how to deal with foolish people. While reading that chapter I realized that racism has been the world problem since the beginning of time. It has been here and it will continue to be here. That does not mean I roll over and just accept it but at the same time I will not allow to be a victim of this act of hatred. We live in a fallen world. When Eve and Adam took of the forbidden fruit every known sin crept into our world. Proverbs 26 teaches you to pick and choose your debates, your battles.

One other thing I have not done in a while was to sit still and allow God to speak to me, rather just in silence, or through the wonderful podcasts I download from Dr. Charles Stanley. I would get on my beautiful wife's case about turning on the television and began watching the news and for the past two months that is what I have down when it has come to the primaries. Today was the first time I can honestly say in a while that I started my day on a positive note. No news from the television...just listening to God speak to me, washing the dishes, emptying the trash, washing, drying our clothes, listening to 2 wonderful podcast from Dr. Charles Stanley, "A Fresh Encounter With God". It's amazing how one can let God's goodness slip from you little by little and before you know you begin to think that you have drifted from him so far that you can not come back to him. That my friend is a lie straight from hell. This 2 podcasts has let me know that when I slip from Christ I should be convicted and not condemned. While the clothes were washing I went outside and just sat on a bench by the pond and just let Dr. Stanley's words refresh my spirit to get me back on the right track to what is really important...listening and obeying God. I have to be truly honest, when I have completely turned everything over to him I have allows come out on top. Listening to his sermon let me know I have allowed the wrong thing to run my life.

We all get into a funk every now and then but one thing I can say, it's wonderful to be able to come back into God's fold so he can let you see that when He runs your life he's not keeping fun from me but allowing me to have the best fun ever without having regrets down the road.

Be Blessed, Be Safe
and Have a Wonderful Day.

Messages from Dr. Charles Stanley

• A Fresh Encounter With God(pt. o1)
• A Fresh Encounter With God(pt. o2)

A Great Fresh Air Episode to Check Out

As you well know my love for music(no plug for myself I promise you) and how I try and bring you music, music insights, and how the music industry has change and yesterday NPR's Terry Gross showcased a music segment that is truly worth while listening to if you want to know how the landscape of digital music has played on you and I receive our music now.

The first half of the show Terry interviews Eliot Van Buskirk of Wired.com on how we now discover, listen and purchase our music. It's kind of sad that it has taken mainstream this long to realize that major music companies are not the main players in the music world any more. They hit on SWSX, CD Baby, Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails and as Eliot tell Terry that you can not lock down music because it only hurts the "law abiding" citizen (haven't John Coulton, Leo Laporte and others been screaming this for years?)

The second half of the show Dan Kennedy is interviewed in reference to what he thought was a "dream job" working in the music industry until he realize that in a nutshell the major music labels are behind the times which resulted in him being laid off from Atlantic Records when he was a Creative Development Director. This may be a podcast when you hear it, you say, "about time they[mainstream] is getting it but for me this is still a good podcast to check out and learn from because even though I follow music I can always learn something new...even if it's just a couple new music websites.

Fresh Air Thursday[march 13, 2008]show

• Terry's interview with [The Music Industry, Adapting to a Digital Future] Eliot Van Buskirk
• Terry's interview with [Dan Kennedy's Rocky Times in the Music Biz] Dan Kennedy
• The show as a whole
  

You can subscribe through the NPR site or through iTunes

This Is Why It Pays To Research

Yesterday as I reformatted my hard drive for my Vista laptop I began installing programs that I truly like. I have always and at one time I was praising this little "browser that could", TheWorld Browser {http://www.ioage.com} a while back. I mention how small and fast it was but then yesterday as I was installing it my AVG antivirus software popped up and declared it was a trojan horse {Backdoor.Win32.Hupigon.bajz} At first I was going to sound the alarms and put out a post advising not to install this program. I was feeling kind of down because I had recommended this browser but then after further researching I found this explaination on their {} website...

"The explanation for false alarms from security software
We have received reports from our members since yesterday, claiming that some security software (such as Avira Antivir, Kaspersky Anti-Virus and Filseclab) deleted TheWorld Spring and TheWorld 2.1 Final as Trojan (Backdoor.Win32.Hupigon.bajz) by mistake.

After contacting the official support and engineers from Kaspersky Anti-Virus, we solved this problem with a database update.

However, at the present time still some users report that Avira Antivir, Filseclab and F-Secure have misreported TheWorld Spring and 2.1 Final as Trojan. This phenomenon may result from such security software’s reference to the virus base of Kaspersky.

We think that with the update of the virus base false alarms will be solved.
Please believe that TheWorld Browser is a safe and clean product without any virus or Trojan inside!

Best wishes!

Regards
Phoenix Studio"
Even though Kaspersky Anti-Virus did not detect it AVG Anti-Virus marked it as a trojan horse. I will keep you all abreast throughout the day. On this.

to read the original forum click here

They advised the problem has been resolved but if you wish to wait a day or two to install that's okay as well because it is better to be safe than sorry.

Pressure Truly Shows What A Person Is Made Of

I have to admit I allowed myself to be duped...duped by the Clinton's. Maybe as some people say, "the less of two evils" applied with me when going with the Democrats. No, I'm not switching parties because how I feel about the Conservatives and especially with the first four years of the Bush Administration if they would have had their way it would have been "House Slaves" and "Field Slaves". If it is one thing I can give the Bush Administration credit is that Bush truly showed that if you are having problems filling your tank at the pump, buying groceries that is your problem not his. Now I am not one to have the government bail us out of everything because sometimes we as a nation waste a lot of money on things we do not need, can not afford and then want to blame the big bad corporation on our choices in some things in life. With me, you know what your getting when you deal with the Republicans but with the Democrats I am learning they are just as but and maybe worse.

Hillary Clinton has showed me she will do anything and say anything to win. After watching Tina Fey on Saturday Night Live basically campaign for Hillary and how the skits tried to say that the press is soft on Obama and tough on her because she is a "woman". As I am writing this post tomorrow (Feb. 26th, Tuesday) will be the debate with Barack and Hillary and I am going to try and stomach this debate because what I am seeing from Senator Clinton she does not handle pressure well and as my beautiful/better whole said, "she's no better than President Bush" and you know what she hit the nail on the head. This is her last hour and some people get better when the pressure is on and some do not...she[Clinton] does not. From her desperate showing at the State of the Black Union, her rant about Obama questions about her decision on NAFTA, her sarcastic remarks about his speeches, Senator Hillary is not sticking to the topics we need to have addressed, she's trying to attack him personally. I keep hearing about her "experience" but what does that mean? Let's be honest, we have had bosses with all kind of experience but made situations worse in the workforce, in our classrooms.

One thing I have learned from experience is when you are not happy with yourself, when your home life is not in order, some people allows that to spill over into their work area and that is not healthy. No one has not or do not want to address this but you do not think that ex-president Clinton's affairs with 3 women is not having an affect on her? Do you really think that he[ex-President Clinton] want her to win? My gut feeling is "no" and I also feel that I believe this is the one chance she has to prove to herself that she is important. I could be wrong but from her going from saying, "her and Barack or friends" to trying to tear him down and I know she thinks, "it's not personal...it's business" just has me thinking that if she get the nod for the presidential nominee she will not be getting my vote and here's why.

I'm tired of Republicans treating us citizens (especially African-Americans) like tools and I'm tired of Democrats coming around and thinking just because they are Democrats that equals automatic African-American votes. We as African-Americans should be tired of the 2-4 year "political booty call" and they act as if they are our "white knights in shiny armor."

What I have gathered from the Obama campaign is that the government is there to help you not to hold your hand 24/7 and from what I'm seeing from her[Clinton] campaign is that she is doing what every other Left Wing and Right Wing has told the American votes year after year...what we "want" to hear instead of what we "need" to hear. But the sad thing most people want to be lied to so when the deals falls through we have someone to blame. My advise to Barack is to keep doing what you are doing because when you teach hope and self sufficient you build confidence in themselves and we as one person said today, "we the people become the masters and the businesses are the servants instead of the other way around." Hillary Clinton wants to be our "savior" and Barack wants you and I to begin using common sense.

Senator Clinton, I see how you perform under pressure and what I see there is no way I would want you as Commander-in-Chief. From what I am seeing you are no better than President Bush...if situations do not go your way, you try and bully your way to the top. Word of advise...when you manipulate your way to any position it ends up blowing up in your face...ask the current Commander-in-Chief.

When Creating a Limited Account On XP Turned Out Well

When our desktop got a trojan horse virus I had to reformat the hard drive and this time I created a limited account for myself, my beautiful queen, our grandchildren. I'm not going to lie, running with the limited account on XP can sometimes be a pain in the neck but I have heard computer professional constantly advise doing this because in corporate America they do this all the time and I have heard Leo Laporte mention when surfing the web you really should do this unless you really know what you are doing when on the web. It came in handy this past weekend.

Our grandson loves the web. He loves going on Nickelodeon, The Disney website, YouTube from time to time and he finds games to play on the web so him surfing the web was no difference than any other weekend. But when my the wifey tried to open IE (Internet Explorer) or even her "My Documents" she could not open it. I tried time and time again and couldn't do it. I logged out of her account and into administration mode and IE opened up just fine so that means either our grandson did something or something happened when he was on the web. So what I did was ran my anti-virus and anti spyware first on wifey's files (no infections thank goodness), burned a couple of her files on CD, deleted her limited account and created another limited account for her...problem solved.

Now if I would have not created a limited account and left everyone in administration mode I would have had to find out why IE would not open, why I couldn't access the "My Documents" folder, it would have been a nightmare, and I would not have been a happy camper so creating a limited account, especially when surfing the web was a life saver and a lesson for me because this time I did the right thing and not being stubborning when it came to creating limited accounts. Are they a pain at times to use in XP...yes. Was it worth it this time, yes it was. In Vista it's much better when running in limited account mode because Macs has ran they computers this way for years now because with Macs you can not install anything without giving the password for your system.

My advise for anyone who has young people, if you want your system to be more stable and not worry about having to reformat your computer set up "Limited Accounts" for yourself and your children when surfing the web. It will save you heartache in the end.