My Thoughts on Today's Daily Bread

Today's Devotional Reading: A Teachable Spirit
Passage Reading: Proverbs 2:1-9

Funny how the Holy Spirit puts thoughts in your man spirit about certain things. I was thinking about how in order to become a good leader you have to be a good student and today's devotion is about having a "teachable spirit". I remember years ago in a technology class how one instructor had a student in class that would back talk her throughout class and in a way I lost respect for the instructor. The nail in the coffin for me is when the student told the instructor, "You're not teaching us the right way."

It seems long gone are days when many (but not all) young people have no respect for teachers but I have to be honest this starts at home. It seems parents are trying to be friends more so than being what they are suppose to be...parents. This subject has been beat to death but it wouldn't have to be repeated over and over if grown ups would act as, well. grown ups.

Parenting is not easy, there is no perfect parent but in the end if a begins to act like a BFF instead of a child's guardian what we have are two big kids with no guidance.

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

~DarrenKeith3

Happy Monday....Devotion & Reflection for today

"Fearing people is a dangerous trap,
but trusting the Lord means safety."
~proverbs 29:25

Getting Your Life
Back on Course>>>more
from In Touch Ministries

Today's devotion hits on three things that is a must if we as Christians want the best from our Lord and Savior...

1. laying aside things we can not control
2. things we can control
3. maintaining our eye on God.

Sometimes we get things the first two intertwined. This year I keep hearing this in my mind and heart, "take care of what we can and God can take care of what we can not". If we can keep these two in perspective we are on our way of getting back on track with our lives.

With so much going on in our lives today we can sometimes muddy the waters and do not know if we are coming or going but Hebrews 12:1-3 from today's devotion reminds you and I who is in control in our lives always. One main important thing is that we have to cut things out of our lives that we know is doing us harm. Whether it's some music we should not listen to or people we have to let go it has to be done. I have to remind myself to step back and realize that God is not trying to keep me anything good. His main goal is for me to have a life free from "unnecessary drama" and that my friends is a very good thing. The last thing is maintaining our focus.

Throughout the scriptures we find that whenever someone kept there focus on God the end results good. He doesn't promise Followers of Christ Jesus a easy life because with some of the trials that come in our lives it makes our faith stronger, our love for Him greater. This is why we as Christians must start our day with pray and meditation, being open and honest with Him, letting Him know what we are going to face today, the people we will encounter, when to speak, when to listen, grant you and patience because situations are going to pop up throughout the day and we need that wisdom because we do not want to say something we will regret later down the road.

I pray for you today is that I hope everyone realize how much God loves you, how He wants the best for your life, and that we have to bend to His will...He will not bend to our will because His way will ALWAYS be the best way for our lives. Be Blessed, Be Safe, & have a Wonderful Day.

Praying For Our Children
from Christian Embassy Church

Prayerfulness

"I ask that my children would be committed to prayer, and not faint, lose heart or give up."

Luke 18:1

To hear Dr. Stanley's message for today or previous messages....click here.

Devotion and Reflections for Tuesday

Hearing Aid>>>more
from rbc ministries

I'm learning each day how to be obedient to my Heavenly Father. Being obedient is really simple, but it's not easy. Many things in life are simple but doing them...that's the hard part. Think about it, when we were young and someone wanted you or I to do something we knew was wrong, we could have said no...simple; but hearing the teasing and ridicule that would not have been easy. It goes for the way God wants you and I to live our lives and I'm going to be honest sometimes it's not easy because of my flesh wants what it wants.

By me working this 2nd job now has really opened my eyes on the tithing, on giving God His time through prayer, getting into His word, putting things in perspective. I'm so glad I am growing wiser instead of just growing older, that would be a very wasteful life. I have learned that whenever we try and manipulate our circumstances we're only manipulating ourselves in the end because we do not bend God to our will, we always bend to His, it's up to you and I when we will do it...sooner or later; I am learning to yield to the former because it takes too much out of me to keep trying do things my way.

I witness His grace in my life each and everyday. I'm learning to take responsibility for my choices in life each and everyday because again it's the best way, the less stressful way to go through life. I heard Pastor Paul Shepard say something that was so profound and it hit me like a ton of brinks.."people always say experience is the best teacher and that's not true many times because we do not have to go through everything to figure out if it's wrong or not". Growing up I didn't try drugs or drink for different reasons;

1. I didn't like the taste of liquor
2. Didn't like how liquor made me feel(got drunk and was hugging a toliet...one time is all it took for me.
3. A guy in our neighborhood had his drink "spiked" and the guy was never the same
4. My mother would kill me.

But there was plenty of dumb things I allowed myself to get into knowing the outcome would not be good, would set me back financially, I would have to work twice as hard to get back to where I needed to be and I guess that's what has really hit home with me this year. I am asking God each day for me not only to make wise choices but to follow through with them because I'm not old but I'm not in my late teen/early twenties any more, it's hard to bounce back from a set back, whether it's financially, from relationships we knew we should not have gotten involved in from the beginning, making friendship we know that will end badly.

Living God's way I am truly realizing is not restricting me from life, but freeing me to live a peaceful, thoughtful, very wise life. I have to choice...have trials, storms in my life with Jesus as my guide or toughing it out alone; I'm not a gambling man but my odds go up much to my favor with Christ Jesus. What about you?

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

Praying For Our Children
from Christian Embassy Church

Responsibility

"Lord grant that my children would learn to be responsible, for each one should carry his own load."

Galatians 6:5

other devotions to read:
Megafreeway or Narrow Way?
Praise Builds Courage
Back To The Bible

positive messages from OnePlace.com
In Touch
Enduring Truth
A New Beginning

tech news:
Looking For Popular Digital Cameras? Check Out Flickr
Six Notebooks That Don't Burn
Palm CEO brushes off Apple cell phone threat
When Beige Won’t Do

netcast shows & tech information:
KFI Tech Guy 284
FLOSS Weekly 15: Tarus Balog of OpenNMS
dl.tv 112

Weekend Devotion & Reflections

"Fools have no interest in understanding;
they only want to air their own opinions".
proverbs 18:2

Cleaning Out The Files>>>more
devotion from rbc ministries
messages: A must "listen to":
Dr. Charles Stanley's
How To Handle The Burdens We Bear - Part 1
How To Handle The Burdens We Bear - Part 2

This is one of the reasons why I am so glad I am a Christian, knowing God has forgiven me of my sins...past, present, future. Two of my favorite movies are Ray and Walk the Line. One thing that stands out to me about these movies are regrets, guilt. Ray Charles and Johnny Cash had past demons that kept haunting them, the tragedies that happened in their lives. Even though it was not there fault they could shake the fact they thought it was their burden what happened to their brothers. That is why so many people are on a road of self destruction. No matter how many times you tell how nice they look, how much of you enjoy their company, what joy they bring into your lives, those compliments fall to the wayside because of past memories, past regrets, past guilt. Many Christians do the same thing, my brothers and sisters in Christ say with their mouths that God has forgiven that but they still carry that "yoke" around their necks by themselves.

Once you truly give your life over to Christ Jesus, he is our advocate, he is our attorney, God does not and will bring up our sins no more and that is an awesome feelings. Knowing that Jesus comes along side of us, gives us new life to carry on each and every day gives me a pep in my step and smile to my face. They are things that's happened in my life I wish that never happened to me...some things I brought on myself, somethings I have no control over; things that were once a huge burden around my neck. This is where my moods swings would come into play. One day I would be happy, joyful, fun to be around...other days I would want to be all alone, mad at the world, all because I would dwell on how I was teased in school because of my stuttering, how I was dateless in high school, the names I was called growing up. That was my crutch, my safety place. I was a very unpredictable, miserable person to be around.

Then in year 2000 took a turn for the better. When I found out how much God loved me, what His gave up for me on calvary, the fact that how Christ wronged no one and went to the Cross to have His Father look away from Him for a moment because Christ Jesus took my sins, MY SINS...past, present and future to live a for Him and to have guilt free life? How can I not be a happy person. This does not mean that I'm Ned Flanders (even though he is my favorite character) everyday. Past regrets come to me but they do not stay. I heard pastor Greg Laurie make this statement last night while I was at work, "all Christians should wear a sign around their neck saying, 'Christians..Under Construction...work in progress'". I thought that hit the nail on the head. That is what I am everyday. I'm not perfect, I'm going to make mistakes, I'm going to say the wrong things every now and then but I do not have to hold on to those mistakes I will make in the future because I once I truly repent of my sins, God remembers them no more.

To people who are not saved, give it over to Christ, lay your burdens on Him and He will give you strength you can not believe. To be able to live your life knowing you are covered by the blood of Jesus is the best feeling in the world. Situations will come believe me but the load of past regrets, mistakes you make will not be a hindrance to your life, you repent with all your heart and truly believe that Christ died for your sins, the memories of past regrets will be there but not the weight of your mistakes. And to my brothers and sisters in Christ...for you and I to feel we are not forgiven is an insult to our Father. He would not have sent His son, His ONLY son to suffer the beaten, the humiliation, the suffering on the cross for you and if our sins could not be forgiving. We have made mistakes, we will make many more in our lives because we are a work in progress and it is a process we will go through until we see Him again. Jesus died for you and I to have a wonderful life here on earth, to be a example to others...yes we are flawed, we are sinners, we make mistakes...but those things are badges of honor because we let the world know, without Him...we are nothing; with Him, we are conquerors.

Be Blessed, Be Safe, and Have a Wonder weekend~

Praying For Our Children
from Christian Embassy Church

Perseverance

"Lord, teach my children to persevere in all they do, and help them run with perseverance the race set before them".

Hebrews 12:1

Humility

"God, Please cultivate in my children the ability to show true humility toward all."

Titus 3:2

other devotions for the weekend:

• In Touch
• Insight for Living
• Back to the Bible

audio messages from OnePlace.com

• The Alternative
• Living on the Edge
• Walk in the Word

tech news for Saturday:

• Wesabe: Personal Finances Made Easy
• 15-inch MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo/2.16GHz and 2.33GHz
• Tune Tech > A Tune-up for Your iPod
• AMD Slapped with Patent Infringement Lawsuit

tech netcast for Saturday:

• Windows Weekly 5: Shiny Happy Vista
• KFI Tech Guy 288
• dl.tv 112

local/national/world news:

• The St. Louis American
• The Chicago Tribune
• Internation Hearld Tribune
• The New York Times

"People ruin their lives by their own foolishness
and then are angry at the Lord".

proverbs 19:3

Devotions & Reflection for Friday

this piece, was supposed to post yesterday but I revised, revised and revised again because of the subject matter. I apologize for the delay.
The Dead Sea Squirrels>>>more
devotions from rbc ministries
great audio sermons to help you and I as parents:
Pastor Paul Shepard's
Raising Kids Right - Part 1a
Raising Kids Right - Part 1b

The devotion from today was kind of cute but will hit home to many parents. Children are a gift from God and they are amazing and it's very true, at a very young age children are like a sponge and soak up in their developing brain just about everything they hear or see. What you pass on to your children can be a blessing to you or a curse. In this day and age parents really do not believe that but it's true. We tell our children don't use profanity but if they hear you and I swearing all the time, don't be surprise if it's past down to them. As well as smoking, drinking, telling lies...that passes right down to them. Children are very smart, very intelligent, they do what we do many times, not what we say.

I knew at a early age I didn't want children because I knew in my early 20's what it would take to raise children and I could not give them; quality time, quantity time, health insurance, love, love and more love. My prayers are with parents today, especially single parents because you have a much greater challenge today. I am a 1970's child(born in 1965...to many in Vox that makes me as old as Duncan McCloud of the Clan McCloud) to me the last era of most parents really being involved with their children's lives. That was the last era that when a teacher sent a note home with you it wasn't going to very pretty once your parents saw it; it was the last decade when most teachers and parents worked as a team.

When I hear now how some parents jump all over the teachers first then ask questions later it makes me cringe. Some parents have the right to do so because not all teachers are perfect and lets be honest, some teachers should not be in our school system at all but most teachers are dedicated educators and are working on a limited budget as it is and to compound that with some parents who are not teaching their children manners and having respect for authority only makes the matter worse.

My wife and I have been married for over 6 years now and it's been challenging everyday because of the struggle between me and the step children. She was married for 16 years previously and her ex husband and I are like night and day. Where he ran the streets, I'm a home body for the most part. Where I try everyday to put God first...her second...me third, the ex husband always put his needs before her or the children. Their children are grown and out of the house but guess who they gravitate too? Maybe later in life they will realize their father did more harm than good but for now it's a everyday struggle between us because when deep down inside when you have on man figure who tried to be their "buddy" and another that's trying to set Godly principles and values in their lives of course they're going to gravitate to the former, it's human nature. Later in life they will realize I was trying to prepare them for life and not trying to be a dictator...time will tell.

Parents today have a very challenging road ahead, your choices in finances, friends, how you treat and communicate with your spouse is being watch very closely by your children. And with all this from the world teaching children it's okay to live together without marriage, it's okay to sleep around, it's okay to live by your rules and your rules alone, not having respect for authority. We can not shelter our children, have them live in a plastic bubble but when applying the Word of God, letting your children see that you and I are not perfect and seeing you and I apologize when we're wrong, treating people the way we wish to be treated will go a very long way in their lives. Will our children make some mistakes in their lives, yes...will they push against the principles we are trying to teach them...yes; but will they respect and love you and I down the road...YES!! It's better to teach, discipline, correct your children when they are young than try to raise them once their grown and you and I as parents will not have to live with many regrets if they do choice to go down the "wrong" road of life.

The book of proverbs gives a very good blueprint on how we should raise our children. If we go by those principles and our children still choose a path of chaos and destruction for their lives, you will feel less regrets because you have placed within them Godly principles and we must remember God has given all of us free will to choose our path in life. Parents that haven't taught these principles, does this make you terrible parents, of course not. My mother was a God fearing woman but I did not know anything about the book of Proverbs until I became an adult. We as parents do the best with what we know and what tools we have at the time, this is just another tool I am passing on to you because nothing is more hurtful than to have past regrets hanging over our heads and weighing heavy on our hearts.

Like I have written before, I do this out of love and I'm not trying to be popular, I'm trying to live God's way. I grew up on both sides of the fence and let me tell you, I will have to live with some of the choices I have made for the rest of my life and I can not take them back. I'm not perfect, we as parents are not perfect but doing things God's way will bring more joy than pain when raising children and less guilt in our lives.

Be Blessed, Be Safe, &
Have a Great Day

DarrenKeith~

Praying For Our Children
from Christian Embassy Church

Joy

"Heavenly Father, grant that my children would be filled with the joy given by the Holy Spirit".

1 Thessalonians 1:6

other devotional readings for Friday:

• Turning Point
• Harvest Online
• In Touch Ministries

audio messages for Friday:

• Conclusion of: Raising Kids Right - Part 1
• How To Handle The Burdens We Bear - Part 2
• Everyday Jesus

tech news for Friday:

• Expectations, tempers rise as PS3 debut nears
• Extended Warranties Unwarranted, Except For Apple's
• Open source, from Apache to Zimbra

tech podcast for the noggin:

• Security Now 66: Vista Security
• TWiL 2: The Blogger in Question
• MacBreak Weekly 15: Jack is a Mac

national & world news:

• Boil-water advisory hits millions in Vancouver
• Military may ask $127B for wars
• Letter from China: Growing Chinese trade with Africa a threat

Wednesday Devotion & Reflections

Truth That Transforms>>>more
daily devotions from rbc ministries

"Has belief in Jesus’ resurrection changed your life? Are your goals and priorities different than they were? Are you kinder, more patient, more forgiving? Ask God what He wants to do in you, and then cooperate with Him in that change."

That's the last section of the devotion from rbc's devotion for today...Has belief in Jesus changed me...yes, yes it has.

It has made me much more patient when tolerating people, especially at work. Many of work in a work environment that people are constantly gossip, backbite, lie, step over one person to receive recognition from their supervisors. It can get hectic, frustrating, bitter at times but when you have Christ in you live He has you zoom in what's really important...going in, doing your job to the best of your ability, getting the heck out of there because now you are living for Christ, not for approval from your co-workers, your boss. If you are doing what you supposed to either you will get recognized or God will open another door for you to move on, I have witnessed this in my life time and time again.

It has made me much kinder...It's amazing. I have being blessed in the sense where no matter where I have worked God has blessed me to be surrounded by kind people. I have learned that when Christ is the focus in your life, some people will think you are peculiar but for the most part, kind people will gravity to you and let me tell you, it is an awesome feeling to be surrounded by people where you can share how you feel and not worry about your business being circulated around the office as the latest gossip. To be have a close co-worker to talk with in time of need is a true gift from above.

More forgiving? I have grown in this area(but I'm still a work in progress...I can't lie) I have become more forgiving, hold less grudges and I wish I would have learned this concept years back because it is true...it only hurts you not the person that has wronged you. I have spoke many times that it's okay to voice your opinion when you have been wronged. You do forgive them and if they are sincere with their apology, praise God. If they continue to wrong you, you take the matter to them in a loving way and if that doesn't help, you forgive them, you pray for them then you have to deal with them as the old folks say, "with a long handle spoon".

Forgiving someone does not make you weak, does not make you a doormat. Having a unforgiving heart delays you from reaching your goal, it keeps you from God showing and giving you His best because you and I will keep dwelling on he or she that has wronged you and I. It's like driving on the highway and your head is turned looking out the back window you will not move forward.

Has my goals changed? Yes, yes, yes. It's amazing when I ask God what is His goal, His plan for me everyday and I am obedient to His will how it is less stressful because He is in control. When I constantly call upon Him to guide me my day is better. Situations pop up, plans change but I I'm less to get upset, or throw in the towel because in the end it's for His will and His way always turn out to be the best way in the end.

My belief in Him has brought me closer to Him and my eyes are less focus on how the world views me because in the end if I'm doing His will, He will make my enemies respect me, whether they want to or not.

Be Blessed, Be Safe, & as always
Have a Great Day.

Praying For Our Children
from Christian Embassy Church

Generosity

"Lord, I pry my children would be rich in good deeds, generous and willing to share".

1 Timothy 6:18

other devotions for you today:

• Insight For Living
• Harvest Online
• In Touch Ministries

messages from OnePlace.com

• A New Beginning
• Enduring Truth
• In Touch

tech news for Wednesday:

• Harmony and discord in open source
• Court Shutters Spyware Outfit, Freezes Assets
• New Sony PS3 not in synch with older games

tech netcast for Wednesday:

• net@nite 2: Bring Out Your Dead
• KFI Tech Guy 299
• NerdTV - Show 13 - Judy Estrin

for headline news>>>click here

Devotions & Reflections for Monday

Fathers--A Loving Fact
or Unbelievable Fairy Tale?
click here to hear broadcast
from FamilyLife Today/Oneplace.com

God's word never grows old, the more you read His Word, the more you get out God's life principle. When I listen to the same teaching from OnePlace.com I get something new out of it each time. I'm listening to FamilyLife Today from an earlier broadcast. Dennis Rainey is interviewing a young man of Christ Jesus, Donald Miller(the author of To Own A Dragon). Donald talks about not having a father and this really hits home with me. I thank the Lord He has always had His hand on me even when I didn't realize it and was being rebellious.

Three times I remember seeing my father, once when he took me on his bus route, once when I went over to his home in St. Louis(he remarried) and I remember being served cabbage and I said I didn't not like cabbage and he hit me in the head with a large spoon(I grew to love cabbage...I told my grandmother, his mother, years later...she was not pleased what my dad did to me). the the last time, seeing him in the casket.

I never really knew him and he never really tried to get to know me, my mother never married again, even though his mother had to pay child support for him because he was not man enough to take responsibility for his action. Some of things Donald got involved in it jolted my memory to some of the mess I got into coming up as a child. Donald recall breaking into people homes taking lose change when he was in junior high, I remember breaking out windows in people's home, breaking into their homes, throwing rocks at people cars, I have been shot at with pistols as a youth, I have been shot by a young and to know how God has had His hand on me and carried me this far and has molded me into the man I am today.

It makes me so angry that even today how men create life and then just walk out of their lives, it's inexcusable. I never had a positive, Christian male roll model until my early 30's (Mr. Cleo Horton). God has brought me through so much and this is why I blog the way that I do...God put me here to be patient, to be kind, to be understanding toward people because that was never given to me coming up. I didn't have a traumatic childhood but it wasn't the best childhood either.

I may not have a physical father to teach me life principles but I had a Heavenly Father that not only taught me about life, but He taught me to keep my heart open to receive and give love. This is why I could never go back into the world, He has giving up so much for me to spread His Word, His love, His message to let people He has your back no matter what.


Be Blessed, Be Safe,
& Have a Great Evening

Praying For Our Children
from Christian Embassy Church

Purity

"Create in my children pure hearts, O God, and let that purity of heart be shown in their lives".

Psalm 51:10

devotions for this evening:

• Turning Point
• Harvest Online
• In Touch Ministries

spiritual messages from OnePlace.com

• The Alternative
• A New Beginning
• In Touch

tech news for Monday:

• How quickly will businesses adopt Vista?
• Japanese Queue for PS3
• Microsoft CEO Sees Wireless Zune Challenging iPod

tech netcast for Monday:

• TWiT 76: Too Zune?
• KFI Tech Guy 299
• dl.tv 111

headline news>>>click here

Friday Devotions...Happy Friday Everyone

One Problem; Two Views>>>more
devotion from rbc ministries

I must be getting a little bit wiser as I get older. I remember a time when I would whine, whine, complain about our government, how police would were not doing their jobs, how things will never change. I'm only 41 years old but I have seen things come back around once or even twice a little over four decades on this earth. What do I mean?

The situation with gasoline hit us around when President Carter was in office. I remember when we had a democratic White House and Congress back in the 80's and it seems it may be coming to that again. But what is different about me now is that I pray for our leaders, I ask God to let me see both sides of the spectrum. Now I'm quicker to bow my head or get before the face of God and ask Him to have our leaders use "His" common sense instead of their own.

I was having a conversation last night at work and I was reminded when my wife and I lived in one neighborhood where our next door neighbor would not reign in her children, would not take care of her yard, her oldest son sold drugs from the home and traffic would come through day and night. Everybody on our block would complain but we were the only house on the block calling the police. We tried to organized to have the neighbors sign a petition to have the police department, our local officials to respond but no one wanted to join the cause. Now to all fairness the police had people watching the home and sometimes the wheels of justice turn very slowly sometimes and it seems at times no good results was coming from this matter. Me, I think if more people would have gotten involved the results would have been different. The police officers may have figured, "if your neighborhood block doesn't care, why should we?"

Two lessons I learned from that situation: One, try and go to the neighbor you're having problems with and work the situation out(and we did on numerous occassions) and if that doesn't work try and get other involved when the matter does not get better and Two, go and bow before God, ask for Him to give you wisdom about the situation, pray for the neighbor who was given my wife and I problems, pray to lead and direct the local officials, officers to handle the matter and make sure your(meaning our) house was in order. We ended up moving to a better neighborhood but God came through because we found out that the next door neighbor that was giving us and everyone on block so much grief that the local officials served her with papers that she had to sell her home and vacate area because of the drug trafficking that was so heavy coming from her home which meant that the neighborhood now is much better for our former neighbors. God moves in His on time but when He comes through, He comes correct. :-)

In our present day we have another situation at hand, the votes has been counted, we have a Democratic congress. I truly believe some good will come of this but I'm being a realist and some bad is about to come as well. As I have said before I'm a Christian but I am not a Republician and as I commented on Lo's post yesterday;

"I see Joe Lieberman is back in office, he ran as a independent and it hit me, I'm a Christian, but I'm not a Republican...I'm against gay marriage but I am for affirmative action...I am pro choice but I'm for the death penalty...I'm against the war in Iraq but I support our troops. What does that make me?

A person that strives to do the right thing instead of pleasing everyone."

I am a Follower of Christ Jesus which means I will not let any political party, no race try and paint me into a corner. If it doesn't line up the word of God...end of discussion. I used to hear old folks say this back in the 70's and now I find myself saying this...we are in the last days. I have seen so many things and situations come back around again. Am I shouting "gloom and doom...no. But now that I am a little older, a little wiser(I hope) I go to my Heavenly Father much more when it comes to matters of my heart and the hearts of our top officials in local and national government, try and get people envolved and gripe a little less because in the end it is in God's hand.

Be Blessed, Be Safe and Have a Wonderful Weekend everyone. :-)

DarrenKeith~

Praying For Our Children
from Christian Embassy Church

Self-Esteem

"God, help my children develop a strong self-esteem rooted in the realization that they are Your workmanship".

Ephesians 2:10

devotions for Friday:

• Turning Point
• Harvest Online
• InTouch Ministries

audio messages from OnePlace.com

• Enduring Truth-Pastor Paul Shepard
• A New Beginning-Pastor Greg Laurie
• In Touch-Dr. Charles Stanley

tech news for Friday:

• Is There a Flash Memory RAID in Your Future?
• The Dress Code Is Relaxed, but the Courting Is Intense
• PlayStation 3 launch due in Japan

audio tech information:

• The iLifeZone
• Security Now 65: Why Is Security So Difficult?
• NerdTV - Show 6 - Dave Winer

local news>>>click here

national/world news>>>click here

Thursday Devotions and Thoughts of My Own

Life’s Storm-Tossed Sea>>>more
devotion from rbc ministries

Do you worry? Do I worry? Yes I do God's know our heart so their is no need of me putting on a front. Do I worry as much a I used to...no. This is because the more you lean on, just in and live by God's principles and commands you sleep much better.

When I used to live outside the will of God I found myself living by the way I wanted to live, spending money knowing that money was needed elsewhere, saying things I know I would live to regret or making promises I know I could not keep. Giving things away I know that I would need down the road. Then would get upset with God because He did not come through for me. Pleading for a miracle when knowing deep down it would not come to pass because of the way I was living. I hit rock bottom in latter part of 1997. I was living with a woman I was not married to and I knew she and i fell out of love with one another. I knew deep down she wasn't the one for me and I wasn't the man for her but wasn't man enough to tell her. We dated off and on for 7 years, living together off and on but we both knew it wasn't going anywhere. I was afraid of being alone, I was behind close to 3 months in the rent(I was trying to take care of everything on the meager salary I had, trying to be a man but was a scared little boy inside) and everything was spinning out of control.

I told her I didn't want to marry her because I knew I wasn't the man for her and she wasn't the woman for me. She was furious because she felt I wasted her time(and by right I did...we broke up, we made up, we broke up...that should have been a hint to me, right?). She moved out and I was stuck with everything. The meager job I had I just lost, the car I had...repossessed, me and mother was and never have had a great relationship and I was determined not to move back home to Madison, Illinois because it was more depressing there and I fought so hard to get away from there. Was I worried, every night and day.

But then I cried out to God...not for a miracle, this time it was different. I was tired of living the way I was living. I remember praying to God, "If I find someone good, if I don't, that's okay as well. I know I'm not living right and I'm tired of trying to do things my way. I'm tired of running and going around in circles". A big weight was lifted from me that night. Did someone with a big check come and wipe out my back rent and give me a brand new car? That would be great wouldn't it but no it did not happen that way.

I called my landlord(I prayed before I spoke with him) asked Him could he work with me. Told him my situation and God had mercy upon me because he had every right to evict me from his property but God touched his heart to give me a chance to work through this ordeal I put myself in...yes I put myself in because I could not blame no one but myself. I applied for a hotel job in December of 1997, received a call in early January 1998( I had the 3rd shift). I caught the bus but God shined down upon me again because the bus dropped me off in front of the hotel where I worked so I only had to catch one bus...left that job in a month to work as a contracted security guard at a large company, worked there for two years where I met my wife (a year and a half later we married). She had been there around the same time but we never noticed one another. I was living one day at a time. Some days were good, some were bad but one thing was different, I worried less because this time I was in partnership with my Lord and Savior. Did I slip up from time to time...yes because I'm human but God had my back so the bouncing back was much quicker for me because I was learning from my mistakes.

I'm been married for 6 years now and there are rough patches we go through from time to time but this time I am better prepared, a much better communicator, and much stronger in the Lord. I know that by doing His will, being in covenant with Him because He will not do everything for me because God is not my bellhop. I try to live according to His Word each and everyday. I sleep better now, because I know with Him, I would not be here sharing this with you today. This is my way of sharing how God has turned things around in my life and how He can change your life as well. One thing I come to realize, the same way I dug myself in that "hole" is the same way I got out that hole...one day at a time and by allowing God to lead and direct my steps and I had a inner peace I can not describe.

Be Blessed, Be Safe, & Have a Great Productive Day.

Praying For Our Children
from Christian Embassy Church

Respect

"Lord, help my children to show proper respect to everyone, as your Word commands ".

1 Peter 2:17

other devotions to read:

• Turning Point
• Harvest Online
• In Touch Ministries

audio sermons from OnePlace.com:

• In Touch
• Enduring Truth
• A New Beginning

tech news for Thursday:

• Microsoft: Windows Vista is done
• Dell Preps Quad-Core Blades
• What the Democrats' win means for tech

tech netcast for Thursday:

• MacBreak Weekly 14: Hey, Macarena!
• KFI Tech Guy 289
• dl.tv 110

local news>>>click here

nation news>>>click here

Monday Devotion & Tech News...Good Morning Everyone

The Cross’ Impact on Death>>>more
from In Touch Ministries

I don't think about death the way I used to, I know I'm getting older, I know I can't do the things I used to and I know I'm going to die someday. What I don't worry about is where I'm going once I die. It's amazing when I was younger how I wondered about other planets, other dimensions, wanting to live forever. I don't want that anymore because of my belief and love for Christ Jesus.

When I finally gave my life over to my Savior I love science but not as much anymore. I know where my soul is going now and it so much of a comfort because there is "what if" going on in my head. Many people think it's a falsehood to believe in God but when you have tried every other method and religion and still have a empty feeling, a piece of the puzzle missing so to speak, that's not a good feeling to have. But praying, reading, studying, a living God's word assures me that I have nothing to fear about death. Now, I not looking forward to it, on the contrary...it pushes me to live everyday out to it fullest because I want to please my God who gave up His precious son, who lived a perfect life, who only loved and received hate back at the end of his life, to give me everlasting life was my body expires from this earth.

I enjoy just learning more and more about Jesus and in return He has giving me a deeper desire to learn more about other things as well (science, technology) because I don't have worry about living for ever, by turning my life over to Christ I have already cheated death and nobody can take that away from me.

Be Blessed, Be Safe and Have a Great Work Week :-)

Praying For Our Children
from Christian Embassy Church

Gratitude

"Lord, help my children to live lives that overflow with thankfulness, always giving thanks to You".

Ephesians 5:20

devotions for this Monday:

• What's In Your Mouth?
• Osmosis and Inertia
• Be Prepared

tech news for Monday:

• Microsoft Responds To Vista License Concerns
• Taking Wi-Fi power to the people
• Used phones drive Third World wireless boom

netcast for your spirit today:

• His Purpose - Part 1
• The Alternative
• The Gospel for Busy People, Part 1

tech netcast for Monday:

• TWiT 74: Memories
• Engadget Podcast 092
• The Chris Pirillo Show

Headline news>>>click here

Weekend Devotions & Tech News

Wisdom for Good Health>>>more
devotion from In Touch Ministries

I had posed this question last week...why, as Christians when we are in the world, we eat right, exercise, make sure we look good but as soon as we give our life over to the person who made the above things possible we just let ourselves go? Not all Christians but many of my brothers and sisters in Christ begin to look homely, overweight, sluggish, we get the attitude, "if they love me they will just accept me for who I am." Wrong answer. I'm not saying go get yourself in debt just look good, smell good...heck no. There is a balance and we have the greatest blueprint on how to maintain a balance life...the Holy Bible.

Too many of Christians wait on God to do everything for them and we seem to forget it is a partnership, a covenant with God that we have with one another. Abram(before God changed his name to Abraham) told him to leave his pagan society to follow Him(Abram was from a pagan society and God ask him to make the leap of faith, I am so glad he made the choice to follow our Lord and Savior). God told Abram but did not force him to leave because remember God gave you and I free will to obey or disobey Him. The same went for Noah. We have seen great people in the Bible disobey our Father, Jonah, Samson, David, Solomon...the point is we have that choice but there are consequences for our actions as well.

We are in a covenant with God. Not only does he want our spirit to be one with Him but also our health. How can we witness to people if we look a mess? We have to watch we put in our bodies, we have to exercise because we may not want to believe it but we live in a shallow world. I'm not saying that's the only thing to focus on but we have to in the world but not of the world.

We have to be healthy not only for God but for ourselves: being in shape gives you a pep in your step, you spend less on clothing (I'm 6'4" 280lbs, believe me I have a hard time finding clothing now. I can't imagine if I was 325, 425lbs), you're better in the bedroom for your spouse; it's a plus all around to be fit. We have to stay healthy for the people in our lives because you're a inspiration to your spouse, your children. They, we, want you around for a very long time.

Our bodies are our temples, just like our the vehicles we drive; take care of bodies and our bodies will take care of us.

Be Blessed, Be Safe, and have a fantastic weekend. :-)

Praying For Our Children
from Christian Embassy Church

Wisdom

"Father, I pray my children would ask and that you would generously give wisdom to them as you promise".

James 1:5

Christian devotions:

• Make Space for Joy
• Good Out Of Evil
• Champions: Boaz

Tech News:

• Diebold Makes Fixes on the QT
• Test your science smarts
• The cell phone costs $1,275. In love yet?

Netcast to help you know:

• TWiT 72: Ready Clench
• NPR: Technology
• dl.tv 107

Christian audio to help you grow:

• With an Attitude of Love ( Part 3 )
• The Priority of Peacemaking
• Thru the Bible Questions & Answers

image: google image

Two Good (and fun) Things Coming This Week To The Web

Firefox 2>>>more
from CNet.com

Two good things are being released this month which to me that makes the web fun...Mozilla Firefox and Vox. Firefox 2.0 web browser has improved their browser and this is the reason I will not make IE7(Internet Explorer 7 now released) my main web browser. What make Firefox a cool browser is the features, the plug-ins, the tabbing (without this tabbing, I could not do my blogs as smooth as I do), the themes I can change, but it's the security that has always sold me on this open source product.

By this being open source it's like having a 24 hour security system for your browser. A couple of other things they have added that is cool is the spell checker, this works great for when you're doing blogs and it's has a tool where you can add words to your personal dictionary as well. CNet gives this product 8.3(how they come with the .3 I have no idea) out of 10. My advise to you, load it on your system and use IE7 only for either your updates for Windows or when you truly have to use the "other" web browser.

Firefox is available for the Mac, Windows, and Linux, check it out.

The other good thing that is being released to the public is a blogging tool from Ben and Mena Trott from Six Apart, Vox. This Thursday they are taking of the beta and invite sticker and releasing it to the public. I have been using Vox for a couple of months now and let me tell you, this to me is the "Apple" of blogging for me. It really makes blogging fun again. From the quick, interchangable templates, to uploading audio, video this let's do what you have always wanted to do...write. I like Blogger, my main blog is with Blogger what I like about it is I can tweak it by adding different items to it but sometime you can get bogged down with just doing that...tweaking it. With Vox (which is my personal blog) I can write and keep going. Some people may not like because you can't tweak it like TypePad, WordPress, or Blogger but to my advise..enjoy Vox for what it is...a fun tool to get to writing. A big shout out to Ben, Mena and the entire group from Six Apart for coming out with this wonderful, fun blogging tool, the Macintosh of blogging.

My advise, download the latest Firefox, use Vox, open upten (I know "upten" is not a word but it's a fun word so bear with me, okay?)tabs on Firefox, load audio tracks on Vox and blog to your hearts content. This way you can listen to tracks from other "Voxers" and write at the same time...a win-win situation.

Be Blessed, Be Safe &, never take that special person in your life for granted.

other tech news: Hacker claims to have cracked iPod restrictions, Microsoft Offers Vista Discounts To Holiday Shoppers, World's fastest texter bested by computer

Christian reading for your soul: Commitment, Characteristics Of Great Leaders, How Could Someone So Persecute Jesus!

netcasts for your spirit and tech for your head: Replace a Critical Attitude . . . ( Part 2 ), MacBreak Weekly 12: Smokin', The Sounding of the Seventh Trumpet, NerdTV - Show 1 - Andy Hertzfeld

headline news>>>click here

photo: google image

Wednesday Devotions...We're At The Half Way Mark

Empire Building>>>more
from RBC Ministries

This devotion is really good, it speaks of how churches and we as Christians need to remember the most important reason why we were put on this earth...to invest in other people. This also implies to our homes as well. In this day and age we get so busy with work, trying to make sure our bills get paid, pleasing our spouse, making sure that there needs are met for our children (I didn't say 'wants'...some of those are good for children but in this day and age we have went overboard. I will save that for another topic) which are things that we need to do day in and day out but do we sometime just sometime pull our wife or husband aside and spend that 'quiet' time with them. Do you spend time in the Bible with them, pray together. I have been guilty of this and I have to do better.

Sometimes it is good just have that one-on-one time with a person, mentor them, really find out what is going on in their lives. You never know how much of a impact that might have on he or she. Our God is so awesome that He can deal with the entire world and also give us that individual quality time, it's incredible. Jesus Christ gave us a blueprint on how to master this task by spending time with the multitudes, His disciples, and alone time with God.

We have a lot on our plate at this day and age I know, but let's not forget that sometimes building up that one person in your life is just as important as 'feeding the multitudes' as well.

Be Blessed,
Be Safe, &
Have a great Wednesday.

Praying For Our Children
by Christian Embassy Church

Faithfulness

"Let faithfulness never leave my children, but bind this virtue around their necks."

Proverbs 3:3

other Christian readings for today: Parenting in a Godless Age, Good for Evil, Head vs. Heart

tech news for this morning: Microsoft releases 6 patches for flaws, Copy never: DRM 'glitch',Vista Mythbusters #7: How much DRM is too much?, Cruising along the EVDO superhighway

netcast for your heart and soul: Living With Regret, MacBreak Weekly 10, 60 Minutes Podcast: Bob Woodward, The Alternative

photo: google image

Almost There People, Friday Is Right Around The Corner. :-)

God Is Always Bigger>>>more
from Turning Point

We all need to be reminded of that from time to time don't we, God is ALWAYS bigger than our problems. All of us lose focus sometime and view our situation larger than our Saviour. What I have realized is that the more I get into God's word, be obedient to His word, the smaller my problems become. The less I read His word and disobedient to His ways my situations don't turn out so good.

I am not saying that we will not have your trials or walk through 'valleys' but knowing day by day that God not only has our back for today, but tomorrow as well. Have a great day today.

Praying For Our Children
from Christian Embassy Church

Kindness

Father, I pray that my children would be kind to each other and to everyone else.

1 Thessalonians 5:15

other devotions, wisdom articles: harvest online, intouch ministries, parent talk
podcast for tech and godly wisdom: dr. charles stanley, kfi tech guy

photo: google image