No Camera!!!

I need to start remembering to bring a camera with me when Danae and I go on a hike.

Tonight Danae and I went on a hike through Garden of the Gods again, but we went off the trail a little ways. We had a wonderful time, and along the journey ran into some interesting creatures.

First we saw a gigantic spider. Not as big as a tarantula but it was still huge. It was just sitting there on its web. After that we saw a doe laying on the ground. It was only about 25 feet away from us at the time. It just sat there watching us. As we got closer it looked like it wanted to get up and run so we stopped and just watched it for awhile. Such beautiful creatures.

We eventually got to the end of the path that we had found and saw a lot of mountains and trees that were silhouetted in the darkness. God is such a great creator, isn't He? Creating all the animals and life that we know, and creating mountain ranges, and the moon and everything else. I don't see how it is possible for any intelligent person to not believe in a designer for our greatly designed planet and universe...

On the way out of the park (after wondering around in the darkness with just one flashlight for 20 minutes before finding the path back) we saw a couple of bucks (male deer, not money) eating grass near the road. So we stopped in the middle of the road to just watch.

Watching nature is just so amazing! A great reminder of the power that God has, just a single word and everything sprang into existence. Now that's what I call the big bang!

<(((><
Join our forums: Eternal Truth Ministry

Fellowshiping among believers

Today was an interesting day. Since I had to work the weekend I had the day off and spent a lot of it running errands with Danae. One place that we had to stop by was near a Christian bookstore that I like going to but have neglected to go by lately. It was great because we were able to have an uplifting and positive conversation with another Christian! That is getting so rare today it seems. Most conversations that we have with other Christians ends up being a knock down fight over doctrine because we don't use the right kind of Bible or something unimportant like that.

Why can't Christians fellowship with each other and lift each other up? I am not talking about those who live in sin, the Bible commands us to point that out to the person and tell them to repent. I'm talking about giving up some minor differences that we may have in theology and fellowship! The Bible warns against those that try to divide the body of Christ. How effective can a body be to help people if one arm is trying to rip the other arm off!

Well the conversation that we had today was great. We talked a little about doctrine and how church was going, what new things were happening in our lives and discussing some good, and bad books. We spent probably an hour or more there just talking. I think Danae and I both feel like we are just starving for that Christian fellowship. In the past we have gotten that from ETM but lately it has been dead. In the past few months, the only Christian that has been active in Biblical discussion (except for Danae and I) has been someone spreading false doctrine about Jesus Christ and salvation. We had to finally tell that person to leave and then we were joined by 3 atheists. It is completely discouraging and every day the thought crosses my mind of if God is wanting us to close down ETM and pursue our ministry elsewhere. ETM is costing me money and a lot of time just for me to feel bad after visiting! I have not had much time to combat the atheists arguments like I should, and even when I have had the time I just don't have the desire. I know the evidence is out there, and I don't mind researching it and posting it except for the fact that I KNOW that no matter what evidence I post, they will reply with something that discredits either the author or the evidence directly.

Talk about discouraging!

So bottom line about that whole rant is that Christians need to get together just to fellowship with each other. Build up one another in the Lord, don't do things to tear them down. If they need to be corrected for something that is obviously Biblically wrong (and not just a personal conviction) then by all means you must correct them, but if it's over a disagreement... there is a time and a place for that, but it is not every time you get together. Just fellowship! Christians should not be in constant battle with other Christians!

After we left the store and got something to eat we went to Home Depot to get some things. We had fun looking at granite counter tops and several other nice things that we could not afford until Malikai spit up all over me! After that, it was just gross and I wanted to get out of there. It starts out all warm, and then turns cold but the entire time my shirt was sticking to my skin and smelling and... yeah, it wasn't fun.

So after doing a few other things tonight we decided to go to the movies. We went to see Ratatouie, and since we don't have a baby sitter we brought Malikai along with us. Everything went great at first, Malikai just stared at the screen and I got my hopes up too high... Malikai didn't cry at all, but he did start his high pitched squealing so in order to be polite to the other guests I carried him out into the hallway for awhile. As soon as we were in the hallway he was quite and looking around a lot, so I thought it was safe to bring him back in.

Nope, I was wrong, again he started making a lot of noise. Even if I put my finger in his mouth, he would chomp down really hard while making high pitched noises! So I had to leave the movie altogether. I did get my money back and then I proceeded to go to Borders book store in the mall. There I found a copy of the book that I am reading and sat down to read while Danae finished the movie. It didn't take long for Malikai to start crying, but I didn't care so I let him cry himself to sleep while I continued to read.

After the movie Danae and I decided to go for a drive (we were going to go for a walk but it was raining). We drove way up into the mountains behind Garden of the Gods park. It was really cool, but the shocks on the car probably didn't like the dirt road. We went a little ways up, and we saw a sign that said "No shooting next 18 miles". It was at this time we decided that we wouldn't make the end of the road (it was a quarter till 11) so we started to look for a place to turn around. It was shortly after the last sign when we came to another sign that said "shooting range 2.5 miles". Hmm, a shooting range in an area where shooting is not allowed.. I bet that is a fun place to go! Reminds me of another similar, contradicting sign that I saw today. At the pet store it said "No refunds after 5 days" and then later down it said "No refunds for checks before 10 days". So if you write a check, you are not allowed to get a refund I guess...

I was going to write some more tonight, but it is late and this is long enough, so I think I will sign off now.

May the Lord be with you as you go through your week, and may you focus on His will in your life instead of your own wants and desires. Seek first the kingdom of God, and all other things will be added....

<(((><
Join our forums: Eternal Truth Ministry

Simpsons Version of Me

I'm not a huge fan of "The Simpsons" anymore, for reasons I'm not going to get into right now, but my wife did come across this funny site where you get to design your own Simpsons like character of yourself. So here is my shot at it.

Other than the unibrow I don't think it looks much like me. I couldn't find the right hair style, my hair is kind of long (not in a ponytail though) but also balding up top...

Those of you who know me, does this look like me at all?

Hmmm, I think I will go make one of these for Danae now.. see what she turns out to look like when yellowed.

Those of you would would like to make one of these, check out SimpsonsMovie.com. If you do make one, post it in the comments section here so we can all see it.

But for now, you can watch me take a walk around Springfield...



<(((><
Join our forums: Eternal Truth Ministry

Bread from Heaven

John 6:24-27
24 when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. 25 And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You come here?” 26 Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.”

This passage takes place just after Jesus feeds a multitude of people with just a few loaves of bread and some fish. They went seeking after Jesus after this only because Jesus met a physical desire that they had. The people wanted to eat! So Jesus fed them. They didn't really care about who Jesus was or why He was there, they liked hanging around a guy who would give them a free meal that tasted good!

In a lot of churches today this is the attitude that people have. They want to be fed, but they don't care about the spiritual food or spiritual bread of life that is in Jesus. They just want to go to church because they can get a free meal out of it. I'm not talking just physical food here, but any need or want that the person has. Many times people just go to church to appease their conscience, because they feel that it is the right thing to do. Or they go just to hang our, or because there is free coffee before service. But these people are going for all the wrong reasons.

The purpose of going to church is to be spiritually fed by the Word of God. If the person does not go for this reason then they will not be fed, and if the church pastor doesn't make the Word of God the center of the church then he will not feed them. While the church body is getting fat on physical food and good feelings, they are spiritually starving.

How sad that these people who came up to Jesus, their creator and God, the only one who could forgive them of their sins, and all they wanted was some physical bread! How they were so close yet they missed the main attraction! It is like going to see the president of the United States, when you have a back stage pass to dine with the president personally, but after you come and get your T-shirt saying you were there, and a cookie, you just leave. How often do the people of the world focus on such minor things and miss the great reward that is freely available to us. Instead of a cookie you can have a full 7 course meal and a personal relationship, but they just don't care...

John 6:28-29
28 Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

I wish more people would have the attitude of "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?" We all should be asking what we can do that we may work the works of God. And Jesus' response is so simple... Believe in Jesus. Not just believe that Jesus existed... even the demons believe that; but believe IN Jesus, put your faith and trust in Him. That is the only way that we can do the work of the Father, because without Jesus in our lives, following God is an impossible task.

John 6:30-40
30 Therefore they said to Him, “What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”32 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.” 35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. 40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

Here is another crazy thing.. Jesus just fed thousands of people, with a couple of loaves of bread, with 12 baskets left over, and they still need a sign? Wasn't that enough of a sign? They are seeking something similar to bread from heaven, or manna, but what Jesus has, is true bread from heaven, the bread of everlasting life which is only found in Him.

Jesus made it clear and easy to have eternal life, to have our sins forgiven, to have a relationship with God, we just need to follow Jesus! So simple, yet so many people refuse to follow the simple task. They would rather lead their own lives and eat the bread of this world, which only fills their belly for a short time. And when their spiritual lives are starving, they try to feed it with false religions, which is like trying to drink ocean water when you are dying of thirst. All you are doing by drinking ocean water is satisfying your tongue, but your body is still dehydrated and dying.

If Jesus, being God, came not to do His own will, but the Father's will, how much more should we being humans focus on doing God's will in our lives instead of our own? Jesus only wants the best for us and to keep us, but He is loving enough to leave that decision in our own hands. If you are not a Christian, you can be, come to the cross of Christ and give Him all of your sins and follow Him. If you are a Christian, are you living your life by YOUR will, or by God's will? Are you living in sin still, trying to hang on to that which temporarily satisfies, or did you give all of your sin up to Jesus so that He can satisfy your spiritual needs eternally?

All through the old testament God shows how much He hates sin... do why on earth would we want to continue in it? God hates it, it destroys our relationship with God, and it destroys us and those around us, nothing good comes from living in sin.

There is only one source of life that we can get and that is through Jesus Christ who died on the cross and rose again that we might partake in the life giving bread of heaven.

John 6:39-40
39 This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. 40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

<(((><
Join our forums: Eternal Truth Ministry

Veritology

Today was the third attempt at having a Bible Study based on The Truth Project series by Del Tackett. For the first time people actually showed up! We had a very successful tour of what truth is, even if we did start late.

2 Thessalonians 2:9-13
The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 13 But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth,

The enemy of truth is a lie, and it is by believing in the lie that we are led astray. Jesus Himself says that He is the truth, and that it is only through Him that we are saved. The Bible tells us that it is the truth that sets the captives free.

Do you want to know the truth? What real truth is? Then follow Jesus, the ultimate authority on truth.

Romans 2:8
8 but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath,

2 Timothy 4:3-4
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.

In a time where so many churches and "Christians" are being led astray by false doctrines and false teachings, we need to study the one and true Word of God, and only by studying what God says can we know the truth and be truly free. Only obeying what we want to believe will not do us any good.

This may be just some rambling, but they are some good verses that I wanted to bring to your attention.

I will post more on ideas that I have later, but for now, study God's Word and obey it, for that is the only way we will guard ourselves from false doctrines and not be taken captive by the lies of the world.

No Compassion for Jon

I went to take that test on C# today, and did about as well as expected. I got a 41% overall, which is not bad since I have had a total of about 3 1/2 days of experience. The test did show me what areas I need to work on learning, things like integrating with SQL databases and using it to create websites. I think that once I learn those I will do pretty well.

The end result though is that Robert Half Technology didn't think that my skills in C# met the criteria that Compassion International wanted. They want someone who has a few years of experience, not just a few days. So the chances are that I will not get the job, but it's all up to the will of God. If it's God's will that I work there then I will, if not, then I would rather be where He wants me than to move away from His will just to do what I think I want to do.

From what I have heard, programming in C# is a somewhat rare skill, so I will be pursuing the knowledge until I know it really well or hate it and decide I would not want to do it for a job. I would love a job programming, but sometimes it does get annoying when you can't figure out why something is giving you an error. I think the frustration level is minimal though compared to doing something that I like doing. Why do I like to program even with the frustrations involved? Mainly I think I just like seeing a creation that I make being used. I don't feel like what I am doing is useless because I can see the results of it. There is that reason, plus I just love to make things.

With the test out of the way I can finally take a break from studying and get some neglected house work done. The upstairs toilette needs some parts replaced, along with about 15 other projects that I need to do around the house. Plus we have a Bible study that looks like it I will finally be starting up this Friday night, so that involves helping Danae getting more house work done than what normally needs to be done. After that I plan on relaxing with a good movie for the night, and maybe read some more of my book. I have so many books that I have been wanting to read, there just isn't enough time for them all.

Malikai is getting bigger by the day. Even Danae was mentioning today how he looks so much bigger inside the cage (aka play pen) than he did last Friday when we set it up. Malikai has also started to crawl a lot more, making his way past any toys that we put in front of him to any type of dangling thin wire hanging out of the wall or TV. He really knows what he wants and he goes for it. He is an amazing baby, and very cute, just can't wait until I can start doing more with him (like skiing!). Oh yeah, as soon as he turns 5 years old I will be hitting the slopes with Malikai. Speaking of skiing, I am going to make it a point to go at least 3 times this season. I didn't get to go last season even though I had tickets already paid for because of having a new baby and everything. This year I will make it out to the slopes!

Well, that's about all the new information that I have for today. Check back soon for more updates!

Console.Write("Too Much C#!");

For the majority of last night and all day today I have been slaving over the computer and the book "C# for Dummies". Luckily I enjoy programming enough that it doesn't bother me to spend all day learning something new. I defiantly have a basic understanding of the language now, so now I just need to get in a lot of practice before I take the test on Wednesday.

Unfortunately I had to miss a men's breakfast at church this morning, I really want to start getting involved in my church more and a Bible study with other men is a great way to do that (especially when food is involved). But it is a necessary sacrifice to make for me to try and pursue this new career. I really hope that all the hard work and long hours pays off.

Today we started to put Malikai in his play pen while I was working, and he seemed to enjoy it a lot. Being able to move around without us constantly grabbing him and pulling him away from things. (At the very least I enjoyed it!). He is enjoying his toys a lot more, especially the talking and singing stuffed dog that he has. If it is behind him, every time he kicks it and it makes noise Malikai tries to look behind him at what is making noise. It really does look cute when he does it.

Well, I need to get back to programming and learning as much of C# as I can. Please pray that I do good on the test on Wednesday, and that my comprehension of this programming language will exceed my years (days) of experience with it.

Crash Course

Hello again everybody and welcome to another edition of Jon's blog "Making Disciples".

Many of you may be wondering why I titled my personal blog Making Disciples, well, yes I am going to be writing blogs that are intended to help build up Christians in their walk, to motivate them to follow Jesus and give up their lifestyle of sin.

Honestly, these blogs are coming. I have one in draft right now, but as they require more time to make, I will not be making them as often as my personal blog.

So, about my day today. Today I met with the person from Robert Half Technology about that job with Compassion. It seems like I fit the job description very well, but I am missing a couple of key skills. So this weekend I have to take a crash course on how to program in ASP and C#. Fun stuff. I started with $50 worth of "for idiots" books and trying to find a copy of Visual studio. Luckily I did not find visual studio because when I got home I searched the net and found Microsoft offers a 30 day free trial of Visual Studio. That's great news since I bet this is an expensive program.

So now I am trying to install all the software so I can get started on learning my programming. I have until Wednesday when I get to take a test on these programs and the results (if positive) get forwarded on to Compassion International to see if they want to hire me. Since these are the key skills that they are looking for I have to learn them quickly and be somewhat proficient at it. I am highly counting on my previous programming experience to speed me along this journey.

So my weekend plans have completely changed, can I learn all of this by Wednesday? Stay tuned to find out (AND PLEASE PRAY FOR ME!) :)

Visual Studio has finished installing so I had better get to work.

Following the Directions

So yesterday at work we got in a shipment of lockers for our shop. We had been waiting for these for about a year now and finally got them!

So we go to put together the first set. Whenever I put together furniture or anything else, I always read the instructions (gasp, a guy reading instructions???). Well, in the process of putting together the first of these lockers, 4 guys (myself included) jumped right in, someone grabbed the instructions and briefly looked through them and then started to put together the locker.

Step one was to attach one (and only one) side to the back, then do the shelves, then the other side. Well, try to get 4 guys to do that one step at a time. Being the instruction following person that I am I tried to do it just like the instructions say... but I think I was the only one following the directions. Well, while a bunch of guys started to jump in, it didn't take long before we had to undo what we had done, in order to do it correctly. (I will admit that this first mistake was my fault....). So the amount of time that we saved by jumping in and just going at it, was lost because we had to undo what we did and do it the correct way. If we had not done this, then the locker would not have been able to be put together properly.

So, frustrated by the loss in time, everyone picks up the pace a little. Before we had one side fully put on, both sides were partially attached (someone working on each one) and the shelves where all put in place. Then, we noticed why we were only supposed to attach one side. You attach one side and attach the shelves to it so that when you go to put the back screws on, the other side panel was not attached so you could easily hold the screw with one hand while putting the nut on the inside with the other hand. Well, with both sides attached, what was an easy one person job just became a two person job, with one person trying to reach inside the cramped dark locker.

So by avoiding the instructions, we had to undo what we did, and had to required two people for a single task instead of one person.

Isn't this how life is with our instruction book, the Bible? As long as we are following what the Bible says, things seem to go easier, but when we rush through our day without referencing our instruction manual we end up having to redo things, or get set back in our personal or spiritual life. Often times not following God's Word requires us to seek assistance from others to overcome our mistakes and to walk closer to the instruction manual.

God gave us the Bible for a reason, shouldn't we read it and follow it on a daily basis?

A Bit of Ranting and Blabbering

Even though I don't plan on writing a blog every single day, I do feel like writing another blog entry today, even though I don't really know what to write.

For the most part my day was just like every other day. Waking up at 4 A.M. and making the hour long trip to work. This makes for a really long and tiring day at work, especially when I am tyring to go all week without soda. (need....caffeine....)

Throughout the day I made a few 5 minute trips to my website http://www.EternalTruthMinistry.com to see what has been going on, but sadly, it has been the same as the past several months. For the most part there has been no participation by Christians. The main purpose of the website is to be a witness to others and build each other up to be disciples of Jesus. But instead all that we have been doing is arguing with atheists and other "Christians" that hold really wrong doctrines. Why does the only discussion have to be about arguments and debates? I got tired of those months ago.

I want Christians to come on and speak with each other to lift each other up and share what we have learned about the Lord so that others may benefit. I didn't think that this would be too much to ask of a person who loves the Lord and loves teaching others to just participate sometimes. Why do Christians have to avoid such things and just focus on themselves?

This is probably just me ranting but it does get annoying and really depressing, putting a lot of time and effort into something that people don't care about, and those that might care a little bit are only out to destroy Christianity. I shouldn't get this depressed about it, since it is The Lord's work, I felt God called me to create this ministry so I know that He will lead it. Unless the time for our website has gone, but until God shows me that I will keep it going. Unless, maybe this is God telling me to just end the website... I don't know for sure.

Anyway, in the meantime ETM will stay up and running.

In better news, a few days ago I got an email from a hiring company that saw a resume that I had posted and they feel that I am qualified for a position that they had. I'm always interested in keeping my options open so I looked into it, but was turned off by the 3 - 6 month contract with a chance of permanent hiring. I replied to the person offering the job and gave a courteous reply saying that I was not comfortable taking a job with out a guarantee.

I got an email back the next day, so I was still considering the job, but didn't know what to reply. Until today, when Danae called me saying that this company was still trying to contact me. So I decided to give the guy a call, and I'm glad that I did. The job that they want me for is a web designing job for Compassion International. The pay is a little bit better, working a lot closer to home, in a better environment, where I will not have to be afraid for doing something like sharing the gospel message with a co-worker. It will be an interesting journey, but one that is not to be taken lightly, but taken with a lot of prayer.

So if you think about me pray for me and my decision please. There are a lot things to consider, including benefits and other things more than money or distance to work.

This is enough of my ranting and blabbering for the day. Tune in again for another exciting blog from Jon!

First Blog

Well I have finally broken down and gotten a blog. After trying a few other blogging programs for my last website I have decided to stick with this site. It seems pretty well made and easy to use, so here we go.

As a new parent, the first thing that I can think of to write about is my baby boy. I had to work last weekend so we were not able to go to church on Sunday. Instead we tried to go Saturday night after I got off work. Unfortunately we didn't get there in time, so we had to sit in the lobby with the other late arrivals. At our church they don't allow small children in the main sanctuary during services. After sitting in the lobby where they do allow children I can honestly see why they do that. It was so noisy with all the kids, and there were only about 10 or so kids out there. We could hardly hear the pastor at all. I'm proud to say that for the most part Malikai was completely silent. He was enjoying watching the people around us and sliding around the floor on his socks (I was holding him up by his arms). Except for this one time, when everybody else was quiet Malikai let out this really big and loud burp. It was really hard not to laugh at that.


Monday night Danae and I went for a hike in Garden of the Gods. We got there late at night and walked through the park in the dark. It was really nice and peaceful, just enjoying God's creation, the animals we could hear rustling in the bushes, the stars in the sky, knowing how complex the universe is and how everything works together to allow for life on this planet. The entire time we are walking through the path, Malikai is making weird noises, like he is talking the entire time without moving his mouth, just making the same exact noise, the only time the sound changed was when he was bounced from my walking with him. I guess he was enjoying being out in God's creation as well.

Besides that, Malikai is starting to move around a bit on his belly. He loves to scoot towards things, especially my computer or anything else that looks like a wire. Why is it that babies like wires so much? For the most part Malikai moves backwards, but he is starting to move forward more often now. Somehow he keeps getting to my computer and REACHING FOR THE Keyboard. And hitting the caps lock key ...(that was Malikai making it all caps and back to normal, not me). If you are wondering how he reached the keyboard, I'm using my laptop on the floor right now while watching a movie.

That's enough about Malikai for now. Right now I'm reading a book titled "How to Counsel God's Way" by Bob Hoekstra. The focus of the book is showing what counseling should be like according to the Bible. It really is shedding light on the problems with psychology and counseling today, even those that call themselves Christian counselors are more often than not just psychologists that use worldly counseling techniques and occasionally bring in the Bible. This has become even more apparent lately as I attend the counseling sessions with Danae. I can see how instead of focusing on what will help a person, bringing them to Jesus, counselors focus on bringing up the past and what the individual can do to help themselves. Bringing up the past more than likely is going to just make matters worse by rehashing old things that should have been done away with. Sometimes we do need someone to talk to about things that are bothering us, but counselors tend to bring up things in the distant past thinking that if we can somehow alter the effect that each event has had on us then we can become a better person.

Without Christ we cannot change ourselves for the better. It is only through His blood that we can be forgiven of our past, and only through His Spirit in our lives that we can change to be more like what God wants.

Another problem with modern counselors is that it tends to make the person being counseled gossip about others. Let's get the dirt on every person we have interacted with in our lives and see what influence that person has had on us or is having on us. Most of the time this information is not needed, it just gets the person being counseled to vent and gossip about the other.

Another important point to mention is that the goal of modern counselors, even most Christian counselors is to ease a persons suffering and help them cope with what they are going through via their own means. This may be interfering with what God has in mind for that person. A lot of times God uses events to strengthen a person and God wants that person to rely on Him and get closer to Him.

Our main goal through life is to grow closer to God and rely on Him, to deny to ourself and take up our cross. (Matthew 16:24).

I have a praise report to give today. Danae's dad was diagnosed with Diabetes over a month ago. Luckily he did the right thing and changed his diet to combat the diabetes without getting on medication. It was a tough battle to give up some of the food that he loved but he did it, and was able to control the diabetes strictly through diet and exercise. Today he went to the doctor for a checkup and they said that he is doing so well that he is no longer considered a diabetic. Also, because of his diet he no longer has high blood pressure and can get off all of his medication. God has a lot of healing power that He has given us through natural food, if we would just use it more instead of processed foods and high fructose corn syrup with as much sugar as we can get. Also if we would just show some self control in what we eat we could be so much healthier, and this is a great example of that. Something that I need to learn and take to heart.... or stomach... so I can be healthier. :)

Anyway, praise the Lord for healing, if it's natural or supernatural. I guess that is enough for my first blog. Tonight we are going to go back to Garden of the Gods for another hike with Malikai. Only this time hopefully before it gets too dark or too late so I can get plenty of sleep before work tomorrow.

Good night and God bless everyone.

- Jon
http://www.EternalTruthMinistry.com