Focus: A Defining Poem

Focus

Focus is the...

                       intensity of the mind

                       energy of the body

                       will of the spirit

                       and the commitment of the soul

to start, work, adapt, align, and finish

that which God places before us.

For the basketball player, he...

                                                   understands the game plan

                                                   prepares his body to endure

                                                   stares the opponent in the eyes

                                                   never stops fighting until the end...

To start...is to play,

To work...is to perform at your best,

To adapt...is to tweek the game plan, if needed,

To align...is to be a team player,

To finish...is to never stop trying until the end.

For the husband, he...

                                    understands his responsibilities

                                    prepares himself to accomplish

                                    repels that which tries to destroy

                                    never stops loving

To start...is to love,

To work...is to never stop growing,

To adapt...is to be able to receive criticism,

To align...is to allow the wife to grow in her role,

To finish...is for the relationship to become better every year.



At the End of the Day I Must Ask, "Did I Do?"

As this day comes to a close and my eyes lids grow heavy, I come to realize that this day can never be changed. Everything I did today is permanent and cannot be erased. My actions and what I say may be forgotten, but God knows what took place.
How did I do? What could I have done better? Did I burn any bridges, or did I establish new ones? This day was for the majority, about Kip. His check for two weeks rent did not go through. Just another indication that his life is still spiraling out of control. He wants to sit around and analyze why he has no motivation for anything, when all he needs to do is...do. As the Nike ad goes, "Just Do It!"
He did give me cash at the end of the day. But his life is like Patrick's in that he is reactive instead of being proactive. Along with the cash came a note he wrote which read:
"Hey,
I'm sorry for the confusion. Thank you for caring for me. I don't plan on quitting. It's surprising how simple Just Do It is. And yet I have such a hard time doing. I lack commitment. So I start by staying committed when things become usual to me. I get bored and my interest wonders off. I haven't found my cliche yet, but I want something that sets me on fire. I love you both. This is a struggle of my life. Maybe this (struggle) will be what breaks the Cain for good. I still yearn for success and influence, but my mind is like a puzzle with scattered pieces."
What Kip hasn't come to learn is that anything worth having is worth fighting for. Nothing, even the perfect woman, will have "boring" days. But working through things is where the reward is.


He's young and has had a rough time of life, but it's time to start fighting. May he learn and understand that.
Good Night, Moon. Good Night, Lord!

Thank God or Thanking God?

Why do I always seem to want to sleep late when I have to go to work, but wake up early on my days off?
I was sleeping so well this morning. I felt as though I had been sleeping in a cocoon for days, having to fight my way out through layers of soft yet tough webbing in order to rise up. But I fought through the webbing, and began my morning rituals.
On one hand, I ought to be ashamed of my attitude. I should wake up, "Thanking God!" On the other hand, I felt I was "Thanking God". I appreciate that I have a warm bed to sleep in that feels so good with a roof over my head, and propane in the tank. Isn't my Lord happiest with me when I enjoy the things He provides for me? I am warm and secure in His arms today!
"The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms." - Deuteronomy 33:27

Bible Studies - Genesis Chapter 1 (31 Verses)

This chapter is the one that states God as Creator of all. Not only did He create all things, He designed all things. He designed how they would work; some things constant as the sun rising and lowering every 24 hours; some things we can't see with the naked eyes like the building blocks that make other things or that control things such as atoms, amoebas, and DNA.He designed nature to be a certain way so that "the cycle of life" is a harmonic beauty to behold. For example, the flower attracts the bees that help pollinate the flowers wich help the bee produce honey that others eat as food. The plant is eaten by an animal which also eats the seeds which, when the animal deficates helps to fertilize the seeds into new plants.Everything in nature is in God's sweet harmony of function.
The first item He made is light. Realize that this is not the item which conducts to make the light, such as electricity or a light bulb, or even a star. Light is that item which is being produced. If you were an inventor, would you not produce first what would help to build other things? Even for those that live in darkness?
Everything that God created seems to be for us; Mankind. I say this because we are te last thing created. Were we the last because something had to be last or were we last because all other things were made for us?
He also created living things where they could reproduce and multiply by themselves.
Man. He made man in His image to be like Himself. But God said like ourselves, as in plural. When God speaks as ourselves, wo does that include and entail? God is used in the singular when He is creating on different days, so it's not gods! So for whom is God speaking of? Could it be the many titles He holds?; Creator, Sustainer, Lord, etc., in which He should of said, "to be like myselfs instead of ourselves?" Let us hold this question's answer until further scriptures are read.
What is the image we are to hold? Is the image, "masters over all life?" I believe this is the image we are to portray.God is Master over the fish in the sea, birds in the sky, all livestock, wild animals, and small animals."
A thought: Do the animals for which we are allowed to be masters give us a mirror image of how God masters over mankind?...those who live by the sea, those who live in the mountains, everyone else, those that are wild, and tose that are weak?
Verse 28 is the first time we see the word, "bless." The verse states that "God blessed them and told them..." So what does this word mean? What goes in to being "blessed" by God? I would say ere the word means "approval", God's best wishes...His love and joy.
Our first command comes in this same verse. We are to reproduce. But not only reproduce, but fill the entire Earth and subdue it. Subdue means to "bring under subjection."
Verse 29 looks as though we started out as vegetarians as we were given seed-bearing plants and fruit to eat. But it also looks as though the animals and birds were vegetarians as well.
God was proud of what He made as everything He made was excellent. After each day of the six days of creation, He would see that it was good.

Worry: My Duty or My Burden?

I hear the ringing of the wisdom of my mom today. "You never stop worrying about your children." She knew what she was talking about. The problem with children is a parent worries about them more as they become older. Why? Because they are no longer under your control. They are now old enough to take care of themselves.
Yes, the perfect parent teaches the child the best they can, lets them go into the world, realizing they will make mistakes, but has the faith that they will eventually land on their feet. I am not the perfect parent. I worry about them.
But what does worry add to any situation?  That's what the Bible says about worry (yes, I am paraphrasing a bit).Yes, worry adds nothing, but in my heart I feel as though worrying is my duty as a parent.
My faith is in the Lord. In Him, I trust. He will do what is best.
Verse of the day: "Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it."Amen.