Thoughts of Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day
I heard on the radio that the American spends on an average of $150 in gifts on this day. It is estimated that in America, we will spend up to 9 BILLION dollars on this day. I must confess that I was one of those guys. In my 20's and 30's, I would spend way more than $150. Balloons, candies, hotel rooms, Flowers, etc. I recently looked up on Flowers.com and the average price for a bouquet of roses ranges anywhere from $125 and up. This is the Valentines Day SPECIAL. On any other day, they range from $35- $55. OUCH!


In our 40's, Kim and I got married. I remember buying roses for her on Valentines Day. They were $75. She looked me in my eyes and said "As much as I appreciate this, don't buy roses on Valentines. The prices are ridiculous." I remember saying, "Oh wow, but I always do that". But she said, "On this day, don't try to show me how much you love me, I see it all year round." I want to make it clear, I am not saying not to buy your spouses flowers. (Because, I will!) Just keep everything in proper perspective.


On this day, I hope we are not trying to go out of your way to make her feel special. Because this should just be another day that we make our wives feel special because they are. EVERYDAY! So here is some advice, have flowers delivered the day before or the week after Valentine's Day to your spouse. The note should say "I don't need a holiday made up by man, to tell me when to send you flowers." Thank goodness God doesn't wait for a day to show us how much he loves us. Because he show us His love EVERYDAY!
John 3;16


God Bless,
E

Treading Water

June 5, 2014

Passion thoughts:

As non-believer, it's like drowning in water. You're swimming and everything seems to be ok. Then the water gets deep and you start treading water. But after a while the water rises and it begins to over take you. You quickly realize that you could drown. You find a buoy in the water and now you feel that all will be ok. But how do you get back on dry land? So you jump back in the water, you start panicking and try desperately to reach for a life preserver. No buoy in sight. No life preserver in sight. "You can only tread water for so long...."

As a believer, we live a Christ lead life. But we get comfortable. Life is good. God is good. You feel like "YOU" have everything in control. But you don't realize you're in quick sand. Quick sand is a slow death. You could be standing on it and not realize that it's slowly pulling you down. Days, months, and sometimes years go by and you slowly keep slipping down. Then one day you realize that your shoulders deep in quick sand. Bankruptcy, divorce, problems at work, they all seem to over power you. Yea, it seems like this came out of the blue but you never realize that you've been in quick sand for a very long time. The more you struggle the quicker it seems to take you down.

Both instances are the same for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He is our life preserver. He saves you from the rushing waters of life and puts you on safe ground He reaches deep into the quick sand and pulls you out of the sinking sands. In both instances, it is up to us to realize that without HIM we can't survive the struggles of this life.

"Acknowledge HIM in all your ways and HE will direct your path."

Hope

Hope

On this Christmas Eve, I remind all my Facebook friends that it is all about Hope. Thousands of years ago, we were given the the best present. That ONE present brought us HOPE. This coming year Kim and I pray to our Lord and Savior that He fulfills some of our hopes. For Ryan and Monica, HOPE for a beautiful and healthy Katalina. For Eric, Jenn and Lil E, HOPE for a foundation to a bright future that his new position will bring. To Erik, Jess, Chloe and Cailyn, HOPE for a bright and safe new year and.... For our good friends Steve and Angie Colkett, HOPE for a promising and prosperous year that their new jobs (FAITH) will bring. To all our family and friends in Pa and Fla, that we all cling to our blessed HOPE. Growing up, my beautiful mother, constantly reminded us of the HOPE of the return of our Savior. So I finish this be wishing everyone a Merry CHRISTmas. Because He is the reason for the season.

Fatherhood

Thoughts from the sky....

Being a dad is very fulfilling but also very challenging. 15 years ago, I was presented with the biggest decision of my life. I remember being torn and ripped inside and out. As I placed the boys on the plane to go back to PA without me, I remember thinking what kind of father does this to his boys. For years I had to learn to deal with my pain and guilt (at times, I still do). Throughout all those years, I never knew what to say. I never knew how to feel. All I could say was, "Jesus, help me get though this." For years, I made weekly trips, weekend trips, and even day trips just to see the boys. Eric's football games, Eric's prom, Ryan's basketball championship, Ryan's football games, Ryan's prom, Ryan's ski trip for his birthday, Ryan's graduation... I tried to stay close to the boys. We flew them to Florida for holidays, weddings, and summers. Somehow, I survived those years and so did they. 

Friends

Thoughts from the sky...
James 2;23. Is there a person or persons that you'd like to meet. In my life, there are a few. Michael Jackson: I always thought he needed a sincere friend and I could be that friend. Marc Anthony: In my 30's, I was told that I looked like him. I thought it'd be cool to meet him one day. We could become friends. In my "more wiser" years, now I look at someone like Denzel Washington. I get the impression that he is a very wise and insightful person. These are people that I would probably never get close enough to meet. Never get close enough to know let alone be a friend. But in Christ we have a friend. Think about it, the Creator of the Universe, considers me to be his friend. It leads me to think about "who am I that He would be mindful of me. That He would hear me when I call." "That He is always thinking of me." IN SPITE OF ALL I HAVE DONE. Simple AMAZING! James 2;23. I am truly a friend of God!