Sabbath Photo Session

Quotable Quote from Joseph

in the midst of his therapy training he learned the following:


You can only help someone along emotionally as far as you have attained.....

Thoughts from the Sabbath School Lesson

This is taken from Monday, November 20th lesson, Referring to God's promise to give Abram a son.

Quote that I was thought was note worthy

Reminder God's mercy and grace don't cancel the call to faithful obedience (Romans 5:20-6:2)

Next Holiday Predictions

Sitting on the phone with my friend Joseph this Thanksgiving day in the year of our Lord 2006, we were chatting about predictions (targeted calculation....wish list if you will) of our lives for next year this time. So no further ado....

10. New Job working in international development
9. A trip abroad....Hopefully paid for by my company
8. Meaningful relationship with someone of the opposite sex (.ie a husband)
7. A New Car...Passat
6. 4 rooms furnished (which kind of contradicts with Dave Ramsey...but a sista's got to have furniture)
5. adherence to the Dave Ramsey Total Money Make Over
4. I would like to add biking to my weekly exercise routine (which will eventually led to a triathalon)
3. "Look-Good-Naked"...this is Joseph's motto for a healthy lifestyle
2. To be more active in my church
1. More mature walk with the lord

My Financial Break-Thru

I have been listening to Dave Ramsey the last few days and he gives steps for your financial breakthrough. I have listed them here for your convenience. His website is http://www.daveramsey.com/

Here are the steps:

Steps 1-6

1. save $1000
2. become debt free, start with your smallest debt first
3. 3-6 months expenses saved
3b. save for a house
4. Retirement
5. save for college for Kids
6. Pay off the house early

Photography Session #1

Today I made a plan to get back into photography for just the fun of it. It has not been fun for me a in while but today I pushed myself to get back into it. And these are a few of the pictures from that. I have a ways to go to get back where I was and beyond but this is the first step. I took pictures around my neighborhood. I was trying to capture symetry.

Quote of the Day

This can be applied to any part of life......

I left to leave.................


Feel free to interpret

Quote.....2

it is not perfection it is progress.

per Joseph

Sabbath Lesson for Me #9

Today I went to my church West End SDA Church

Pastor Calvin Preston spoke. Worship started off a little loud. The praise and worship team I believe was a little disoriented as to what Praise and Worship is for. It ended up being more of a concert in my opinion. However Pastor Preston was awesome. His sermons' key text was Genesis 13: 10 -12. It speak about Abraham and Lot going into different directions and how Lot pitched his tent toward Sodom. As you continue reading thru Genesis Lot begins to dwell in Sodom (Gene 14:12) and then Lot is at the Gate of Sodom (Gen, 19:1) signifying his prominence in the land and by the end of Genesis the angel of the Lord tells Lot to leave for God is going to destroy the city. The title of the sermon was pitching your tent toward Sodom.

It really spoke to me. The devil strokes us into sin. He does not just out right tempt us. He strokes us nd before us we are further from God then we ever thought we would be. Father help me not be stroked by the devil. I saw the devil do that to me this week however I claim victory over devils attempt to make me lost and stray away from God.

When you pitch your tent toward Sodom you loose. At the end Lot was not happy, his children loved Sodom and even his wifes' heart was there and she was lost, his spiritual life was gone and he was much poorer than when he first pitched his tent. Satan will not leave us until he breaks us or we break his hold by the word of God that strengthen us.

Father my greatest desire is to be saved. I want to experience true peace, companionship and love that I know only comes from a relationship with you. Please make me whole. Amen

Joseph and Richard

This is my best friend Joseph and his partner Richard. The video includes pictures of their recent trip to Brazil and their ski trip to Lake Tahoe.

Sabbath Lesson for Me #8

Well yesterday day (Sabbath) I went to West End the church in which as of last week I am now a member. Pastor Preston spoke. It was a great sermon.

The Title: Why does God not answer our prayers (key text Psalms 80:4-7)

He also gave the powerful accounts when God answered the prayer of his people as found in Joshua 10: tells the story of when Joshua asked God to allow the sun to stay up so they could finish fighting the Amorites and God did and II Kings 20: tells the story of Hezekiah pleaing that God would spare his life and God did and added 15 years to his life. When men and women pray to God hears and longs to answer for our good. I serve an awesome GOD.

He listed 5 reasons why God does not always answer our prayer:

1. We have the wrong Spirit (Luke 18:9- 13)
2. We fail to forgive others (Matthew 6: 14,15)
3. We regard sin in our heart, our pet sin, we defend our pet sin (Psalms 66:18)
4. We fail to submit to Biblical teachings (Proverbs 28:9)
5. Our prayers are inconsistent with God's will (Luke 22:42)

Father my prayer is that it is not important what I desire but you know what is best for me. I submit my life to Your will!!!

if you want to hear the sermon rebroadcast click on the link below and click on October 28th sermon.

http://churchpond.com/cp05/ptv_westend_rebroadcast.htm

Question

what does being in love look like?

Sabbath Lesson for me #7

I went to Berean SDA Church today. Pastor Carlton (Buddy) Byrd who is now the senior pastor spoke. It was good. I took away from the sermon how I may have failed some people who have entered and left my life. As a Christian I am to be a light in darkness. Not a flicker but a strong lasting light continually in communion with God. I feel sometimes I have become dim and in a sense compromised on what I believe. I must ask for forgiveness from those that I have done this with. They suspected that I was different and I was nothing but. Father forgive me for not reflecting your glory to led others to You.

I closed on my first home day. It was an interesting day. I started it by going for a short run and then I walked by the house to sit and look at it to make sure I wanted to buy. I could still back out and only loose $1000 compared to what I am going to pay for the house. I felt good about it and then left for the closing at 11:30 this morning. My mom came with me and she was a means of support and questions. I was thankful to have her. A few glitches came up but they were smoothed out thankfully. So by 1:30 I was the proud owner of this beautiful Victorian style house in the historic West End. I am thankful to God. This is what I wanted a house in the west end that did not require a tremendous amount of work, was affordable and a place I would be proud to call my own. I am excited about the many friends that I will get to share my home with and being apart of such a great community!

Quote.....................

Some things are just better passing thru

per Jackie per Elton John

thoughts by Leonard Nimoy

I have learned to want what I have.....


I value love because I have been lonely

Because I have tasted frustration I value fulfilment............

Sabbath Lesson for me #6

Well I went to West End today and it was good but I got lessons all day and not all of them happened in church. However the pastor did bring out one in a list of pointers to make one more intentionally focused;

pointer: Take the time to figure out what you really want

I ask this question on two levels of my life that are currently in a state of ughhhhhhhhh my personal life and my career.

For my personal life I know what I want I just have to come to terms in my mind that I do not have to fast forward the situation to get it. If it is attained to fast I will not appreciate the value of what it took to get there. Father allow me to have peace in being still.


For my career. I have invested tens of thousand of dollars in an education that I am not allowing to make a return. The whole Michigan/Tanzania situation did throw me but I need to get back in. Father return to me the passion and motivation that seems to be buried in me under a lot of hurt. I feel you giving it to please allow me to see the sunrise.

Summer Reading Update

Well I did finish reading Angels and Demons however I have not touched Gilead and I am only still half way thru The Miseducation of the Negro. I give myself till the end of July. Well shall see. Angels and Demons was really good. It is actually more controversial to me than the DaVinci Code. I think if that was made into a movie the Catholic Church would really pulls its strings at the highest levels to put a stop to. Maybe it has.........

He's Just Not That Into You

This is the title of a book writtejn by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tucillo. I finished reading it in one day is was that good. It is written in a Dear Greg format where he addresses the issue in the letter. The following are some of the many pointers that I got from the book that I have trully grown from a resort of reading. I actually checked the book out of the library however I feel I will definitely have to go buy it to have in my personal library to reflect on again and again.

1. Deal with men as they are not how you'd like them to be.

2. Don't you want the guy who'll forget about all the other things in his life before he forgets about you? page 26

3. Calling when you say you're going to is the very first brick in the house you are building of love and trust. page 27 You should be dating a man who's at least as good as his word. page 28

4. Men are never to busy to get what they want. page 30

5. Meeting someone you like and dating him is supposed to make you feel better no worse. page 32

6. Why should you feel honored for getting scraps of his time. page 40

7. The reason it's so painful when someone disappears its you have to face the fact that the person you loved had probably left you a long time before he grabbed his coat and scrammed. (key to me) page 113

8. But I guess the hope is that when a guy no longer wants to communicate with me and doesn't have the manners or courage to tell me that to my face, he's given me all the information I need. (this spoke to my heard deeply based on a current situation I an trying to see myself thru)page 115


One keep point the writers make in the opening pages (page 8) is that the reason we allow our shelves to go thru such drama is because every relationship we admise burst with a greatness that we hope to have in our own life. and the more you value yourself, the more change you'll have of getting it.

THe Fourth of July

A friend of mine referred me to a speech given by Frederick Douglas about his feeling about celebrating the United States Independence - commonly called the 4th of July. I must give this speech context. When the United States started celebrating the 4th in 1776, African Americans were slaves and thus were not at liberty to enjoy the so called independence of fellow whites.

The following is an excert from a speech Frederick Douglas gave on July 5, 1852 titled 'The Meaning of the 4th of July for the Negro.'

What, to the American slave, is your Fourth of July? I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciation of tyrants, brass-fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, are, to Him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy-a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. There is not a nation of savages. There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of the United States at this very hour.

Go where you may, search where you will, roam through all the monarchies and despotisms- of the Old World, travel through South America, search out every abuse, and when you have found the last, lay your facts by the side of the everyday practices of this nation, and you will say with me that, for revolting barbarity and shameless hypocrisy, America reigns without a rival.

For the complete text of the speech please visit the following website:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h2927t.html