Please watch...
Oh Lord...search my heart, bring me ever to the realization of who You are and who I am...
~ V
Construction Zone
So, yeah...under the suggestion that my site might be too 'visually' dark, I'm going to be window shopping for a new layout for my blog. I kind of like this one...although technically it's still dark, but who knows. A change was WAY past due and it might take me awhile to find the right look, if you know what I mean. So, be honest and tell me what you think???
~ V
Family???
Talk about my family? Dare I? I mean, honestly...there are good, bad and ugly moments and while I KNOW all families experience these, I've honestly avoided all but the funny because we're still relatively newly married (two years this June!), we're still growing together as a family and well...I've just not been sure how my better half would feel if I openly and honestly BLOGGED about a frustration or a 'not-so-happy' moment...I would never want to hurt her...even inadvertently. So, generally I've avoided talking about such things. But thinking about this has caused me to realize something...I tend to avoid blogging altogether when something 'family' related is on my mind. Not sure what that means, but it just came to mind (see hon? I can ramble too! :)).
With that said, I DO feel like I've just recently awoke from a long sleep. Prior to a few weeks ago even Lisa would look at me and tell me, 'You just don't look happy.' And honestly...I wasn't. I wasn't unhappy in our marriage...I wasn't unhappy in my job...and even though there honestly are times of frustration with the kids, I wasn't unhappy in our family life either. Time flies and I feel I've nothing to show...I hate that I'm diabetic and feel ashamed for the financial strain it puts on my family. So, those are the things that have been on my heart...and you know what? In typical Vince Howard fashion, I haven't placed any of it at the foot of the cross. Why do I continue to do this? You'd think I'd learn by now...
What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.
Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer.
Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge, take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do your friends despise, forsake you? Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In His arms He’ll take and shield you; you will find a solace there.
Oh how that line rings true...O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer...
So, with Christ's help...I'm picking myself up. Who am I kidding! He's lifting me out of the pool of self-defeat that I've thrown myself into and He's washing the stench of self proclaimed failure from my feet.
~ V
With that said, I DO feel like I've just recently awoke from a long sleep. Prior to a few weeks ago even Lisa would look at me and tell me, 'You just don't look happy.' And honestly...I wasn't. I wasn't unhappy in our marriage...I wasn't unhappy in my job...and even though there honestly are times of frustration with the kids, I wasn't unhappy in our family life either. Time flies and I feel I've nothing to show...I hate that I'm diabetic and feel ashamed for the financial strain it puts on my family. So, those are the things that have been on my heart...and you know what? In typical Vince Howard fashion, I haven't placed any of it at the foot of the cross. Why do I continue to do this? You'd think I'd learn by now...
What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.
Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer.
Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge, take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do your friends despise, forsake you? Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In His arms He’ll take and shield you; you will find a solace there.
Oh how that line rings true...O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer...
So, with Christ's help...I'm picking myself up. Who am I kidding! He's lifting me out of the pool of self-defeat that I've thrown myself into and He's washing the stench of self proclaimed failure from my feet.
~ V
What's your pleasure?
I feel like I've really not written lately. Yeah, I've put out some perfunctory posts and some silly ones, but I really haven't connected and posted something with any substance for quite some time. So, I want to know what some of you would like to hear me talk about?
So...what's your pleasure?
~ V
So...what's your pleasure?
~ V
A Praying Day...
Today marks the 59th observance of the National Day of Prayer. Created in 1952 and signed into law by President Harry Truman. Prior to the nation's founding, the Continental Congress issued a proclamation recommending "a day of publick humiliation, fasting, and prayer" be observed on July 20, 1775 During the Quasi-War with France, President John Adams declared May 9, 1798 as "a day of solemn humiliation, fasting, and prayer," during which citizens of all faiths were asked to pray "that our country may be protected from all the dangers which threaten it". On March 30, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation expressing the idea "that the awful calamity of civil war, which now desolates the land, may be but a punishment, inflicted upon us, for our presumptuous sins", and designated the day of April 30, 1863 as a day of "national humiliation, fasting and prayer" in the hope that God would respond by restoring "our now divided and suffering Country, to its former happy condition of unity and peace". He went on to say, "...it is the duty of nations as well as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions, in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord."
In more recent history, the idea of an annual National Day of Prayer was introduced by the Rev. Billy Graham, who suggested it in the midst of a several-week crusade in the nation’s capitol. Members of the House and Senate introduced a joint resolution for an annual National Day of Prayer, "on which the people of the United States may turn to God in prayer and meditation at churches, in groups, and as individuals."
On April 17, 1952, President Harry S. Truman signed a bill proclaiming a National Day of Prayer must be declared by each following president at an appropriate date of his choice. In 1982 a conservative evangelical Christian organization called the "National Prayer Committee" was formed to coordinate and implement a fixed annual day of prayer for the purpose of organizing evangelical Christian prayer events with local, state, and federal government entities. In his 1983 declaration, Ronald Reagan said, "From General Washington's struggle at Valley Forge to the present, this Nation has fervently sought and received divine guidance as it pursued the course of history. This occasion provides our Nation with an opportunity to further recognize the source of our blessings, and to seek His help for the challenges we face today and in the future." In 1988, the law was amended so that the National Day of Prayer would be held on the first Thursday of May.
Now today, in our history, just this year in fact, a federal judge from Wisconsin has ruled the National Day of Prayer, unconstitutional. On March 1, 2010 U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb stated: ‘In my view of the case law, government involvement in prayer may be consistent with the establishment clause when the government's conduct serves a significant secular purpose and is not a "call for religious action on the part of citizens." McCreary County, Kentucky v. American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky, 545 U.S. 844, 877 (2005). Unfortunately, (section) 119 cannot meet that test. It goes beyond mere "acknowledgment" of religion because its sole purpose is to encourage all citizens to engage in prayer, an inherently religious exercise that serves no secular function in this context. In this instance, the government has taken sides on a matter that must be left to individual conscience. "When the government associates one set of religious beliefs with the state and identifies nonadherents as outsiders, it encroaches upon the individual's decision about whether and how to worship." McCreary County, 545 U.S. at 883 (O'Connor, J., concurring). Accordingly, I conclude that (section) 119 violates the establishment clause.’
It saddens me deeply to see this blessed country that I SO love, turning away from that which made us the great and blessed country that we have been. Contrary to what many would want us to believe, this country was founded on Christian beliefs and values. If you don’t believe me, just read the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration contains five references to God - God as supreme Lawmaker, God as Creator of all men, God as the Source of all rights, God as the world's supreme Judge, and God as our Protector on whom we can rely.
The very idea that a government or President, through acknowledging the importance of prayer and humbling of ourselves in a National way, can or has caused ‘concrete injury’ to anyone, is beyond me. If I don’t like a book, TV show or movie, I choose not to read/watch it.
2 Chronicles 7:14 - If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
Pray with me, wont you?
~ V
In more recent history, the idea of an annual National Day of Prayer was introduced by the Rev. Billy Graham, who suggested it in the midst of a several-week crusade in the nation’s capitol. Members of the House and Senate introduced a joint resolution for an annual National Day of Prayer, "on which the people of the United States may turn to God in prayer and meditation at churches, in groups, and as individuals."
On April 17, 1952, President Harry S. Truman signed a bill proclaiming a National Day of Prayer must be declared by each following president at an appropriate date of his choice. In 1982 a conservative evangelical Christian organization called the "National Prayer Committee" was formed to coordinate and implement a fixed annual day of prayer for the purpose of organizing evangelical Christian prayer events with local, state, and federal government entities. In his 1983 declaration, Ronald Reagan said, "From General Washington's struggle at Valley Forge to the present, this Nation has fervently sought and received divine guidance as it pursued the course of history. This occasion provides our Nation with an opportunity to further recognize the source of our blessings, and to seek His help for the challenges we face today and in the future." In 1988, the law was amended so that the National Day of Prayer would be held on the first Thursday of May.
Now today, in our history, just this year in fact, a federal judge from Wisconsin has ruled the National Day of Prayer, unconstitutional. On March 1, 2010 U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb stated: ‘In my view of the case law, government involvement in prayer may be consistent with the establishment clause when the government's conduct serves a significant secular purpose and is not a "call for religious action on the part of citizens." McCreary County, Kentucky v. American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky, 545 U.S. 844, 877 (2005). Unfortunately, (section) 119 cannot meet that test. It goes beyond mere "acknowledgment" of religion because its sole purpose is to encourage all citizens to engage in prayer, an inherently religious exercise that serves no secular function in this context. In this instance, the government has taken sides on a matter that must be left to individual conscience. "When the government associates one set of religious beliefs with the state and identifies nonadherents as outsiders, it encroaches upon the individual's decision about whether and how to worship." McCreary County, 545 U.S. at 883 (O'Connor, J., concurring). Accordingly, I conclude that (section) 119 violates the establishment clause.’
It saddens me deeply to see this blessed country that I SO love, turning away from that which made us the great and blessed country that we have been. Contrary to what many would want us to believe, this country was founded on Christian beliefs and values. If you don’t believe me, just read the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration contains five references to God - God as supreme Lawmaker, God as Creator of all men, God as the Source of all rights, God as the world's supreme Judge, and God as our Protector on whom we can rely.
The very idea that a government or President, through acknowledging the importance of prayer and humbling of ourselves in a National way, can or has caused ‘concrete injury’ to anyone, is beyond me. If I don’t like a book, TV show or movie, I choose not to read/watch it.
2 Chronicles 7:14 - If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
Pray with me, wont you?
~ V
Warmer Weather + Junk =
Spring has officially decided to stay and day by day it's getting warmer. With the combination of those two things and the deep seeded need in us to 'spring clean'...you know what that means...It's garage sale season!
I find it funny...here we are each spring, going through our closets and storage rooms, deciding what to sell, donate or simply get rid of and then we go off to buy stuff from other people who are trying to sell, donate or simply get rid of the stuff they've cleaned out. In the wake of 'cleaning out', it seems we just can't help but collect more. Garage sales truly prove that one man's garbage is another man's treasure!
And it's also funny if you have kids. They want to get in on the action too, so they go through their things and come out with a box mostly full of Happy Meal toys. They have grand dreams of buying PlayStation's and XBOX's with the riches they just know they're going to get and actually look at you confused and disappointed at the $2.50 you give them at the end of the day!
So, here I am today sitting at our own garage sale...have I mentioned that I HATE getting ready to DO a garage sale? The sorting, the folding, the pricing, the setting up, the tearing down...yeah, pretty much everything but the actual taking of other people's money. You see, it's NEVER a simple thing...you HAVE to go through every drawer, every closest and every box in your storage closet and look at each item and think...Hmm, I haven't seen this item in over 3 years and even tho it's sat unused in this box and up until now I've completely forgotten that I owned it, there MIGHT be a chance I might need it within the next 5 + years...Thank heavens Lisa and I are NOT like that...well, not to any extreme that is!
Now as I said, I'm sitting here at our own garage sale, typing this BLOG and watching people come and go between our neighbor's house and ours. Each year at this time our entire town does a city wide garage sale and people from all over the area come through. So far we've sold an old refrigerator, large dog kennel and our treadmill (so long New Years resolution!) and many other smaller items. I like to price items to move; I figure that if I took the time to sort through all of our CRAP, that means we don't want to keep it and it does me no good to spend this time just to put the stuff back into storage. The worst is this...putting stuff out to sell at your garage sale that you purchased from garage sales the year before...I have to admit that we're guilty of that!
One guy came up, said that he recently had a heart attack and needed the treadmill to help him in his recovery. So, I was happy to help him load the thing up in the back of his truck. Then there's the family who drove up with their black lab in the back seat. Sitting there with a stuffed teddy bear in his mouth...not chewing it mind you...just sitting there like it was his security blanket!
I'm thinking next time I'm just going to put a sign in the front yard stating 'Garage Sale, Knock On Door'. Then I'll have the 'Pickers' just go from room to room in our house and if they find something they like, they can ask and who knows...maybe I'll sell it!
~ V
I find it funny...here we are each spring, going through our closets and storage rooms, deciding what to sell, donate or simply get rid of and then we go off to buy stuff from other people who are trying to sell, donate or simply get rid of the stuff they've cleaned out. In the wake of 'cleaning out', it seems we just can't help but collect more. Garage sales truly prove that one man's garbage is another man's treasure!
And it's also funny if you have kids. They want to get in on the action too, so they go through their things and come out with a box mostly full of Happy Meal toys. They have grand dreams of buying PlayStation's and XBOX's with the riches they just know they're going to get and actually look at you confused and disappointed at the $2.50 you give them at the end of the day!
So, here I am today sitting at our own garage sale...have I mentioned that I HATE getting ready to DO a garage sale? The sorting, the folding, the pricing, the setting up, the tearing down...yeah, pretty much everything but the actual taking of other people's money. You see, it's NEVER a simple thing...you HAVE to go through every drawer, every closest and every box in your storage closet and look at each item and think...Hmm, I haven't seen this item in over 3 years and even tho it's sat unused in this box and up until now I've completely forgotten that I owned it, there MIGHT be a chance I might need it within the next 5 + years...Thank heavens Lisa and I are NOT like that...well, not to any extreme that is!
Now as I said, I'm sitting here at our own garage sale, typing this BLOG and watching people come and go between our neighbor's house and ours. Each year at this time our entire town does a city wide garage sale and people from all over the area come through. So far we've sold an old refrigerator, large dog kennel and our treadmill (so long New Years resolution!) and many other smaller items. I like to price items to move; I figure that if I took the time to sort through all of our CRAP, that means we don't want to keep it and it does me no good to spend this time just to put the stuff back into storage. The worst is this...putting stuff out to sell at your garage sale that you purchased from garage sales the year before...I have to admit that we're guilty of that!
One guy came up, said that he recently had a heart attack and needed the treadmill to help him in his recovery. So, I was happy to help him load the thing up in the back of his truck. Then there's the family who drove up with their black lab in the back seat. Sitting there with a stuffed teddy bear in his mouth...not chewing it mind you...just sitting there like it was his security blanket!
I'm thinking next time I'm just going to put a sign in the front yard stating 'Garage Sale, Knock On Door'. Then I'll have the 'Pickers' just go from room to room in our house and if they find something they like, they can ask and who knows...maybe I'll sell it!
~ V
Calling Your Wife Bub...
I call my wife 'Babe'...in fact, I call her that ALOT! I know most of you probably have a pet name or nick name you call your significant other...Babe is the one I use. Once I called her 'Baby Girl', but she quickly put the kabash on that for two reasons 1) I call my youger daughter that and 2) 'I'm not 10 years old' as she would say.
So...today I finished dressing and came out to the kitchen where she was doing something on her computer, I grabbed my lunch bag (yes...adults can have lunch bags too...) and said; 'Ok Bub, I'm out of here...' obviously I meant to say BABE...except that BUB came out instead. I knew what I said and, hoping that she was too engrossed in what she was doing, continued on with getting ready to leave. Three full seconds had past and I was silently rejoicing inside when she said, 'Bub??? I'm your Buddy???' to which I replied, 'Yeah, I was hoping you didn't catch that.' She said, 'Oh, I caught it alright! Since when am I your BUDDY??'
Yeah...nice...
~ (not your Buddy) V
So...today I finished dressing and came out to the kitchen where she was doing something on her computer, I grabbed my lunch bag (yes...adults can have lunch bags too...) and said; 'Ok Bub, I'm out of here...' obviously I meant to say BABE...except that BUB came out instead. I knew what I said and, hoping that she was too engrossed in what she was doing, continued on with getting ready to leave. Three full seconds had past and I was silently rejoicing inside when she said, 'Bub??? I'm your Buddy???' to which I replied, 'Yeah, I was hoping you didn't catch that.' She said, 'Oh, I caught it alright! Since when am I your BUDDY??'
Yeah...nice...
~ (not your Buddy) V
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