Hazardous Living

Wednesday's Today in History

2007-01-31T14:31:00.000-08:00

Private Eddie Slovik

Edward Donald Slovik (February 18, 1920 – January 31,1945) was a private in the United States Army during World War II and the first American soldier to be executed for desertion since the American Civil War.

Although over twenty-one thousand soldiers were given varying sentences for desertion during World War II – including forty-nine death sentences – only Slovik's death sentence was carried out.

Slovik was born in Detroit, Michigan. As a minor, he was arrested several times; the first time, when he was twelve, occurred when he and some friends broke into a foundry to steal some brass. Between 1932 and 1937, he was caught for several incidents of petty theft, breaking and entering and disturbing the peace. In October 1937, he was sent to jail and paroled in September 1938. After stealing and crashing a car with two friends while drunk, he was sent back to jail in January 1939.

In April 1942, Slovik was paroled once more and obtained a job at the Montella Plumbing Company in Dearborn. There he met his wife Antoinette Wisniewski, whom he married on November 7, 1942. They went to live with her parents. Slovik's criminal record had led him to be classified as unfit for duty in the U.S. military ("4-F"), but, shortly after his and Antoinette's first wedding anniversary, Slovik was reclassified as fit for duty ("1-A") and subsequently drafted by the Army.

Slovik arrived at Camp Wolters in Texas for basic military training on January 24, 1944. In August, he was dispatched to join the fighting in France. Arriving on August 20, he was one of twelve reinforcements assigned to Company G of the 109th Infantry Regiment, U.S. 28th Infantry Division.

Wednesday's Today in History

2007-01-17T17:54:00.000-08:00

James Cook

Captain James Cook FRS RN (October 27, 1728 (O.S.) – February 14, 1779) was an English explorer, navigator and cartographer. Ultimately rising to the rank of Captain in the Royal Navy, Cook made three voyages to the Pacific Ocean, achieving the first European contact with the eastern coastline of Australia, the European discovery of the Hawaiian Islands, and the first recorded circumnavigation and mapping of Newfoundland and New Zealand.

After service in the British merchant navy as a teenager, he joined the Royal Navy in 1755, seeing action in the Seven Years' War, and subsequently surveying and mapping much of the entrance to the Saint Lawrence River during the siege of Quebec. This allowed General Wolfe to make his famous stealth attack on the Plains of Abraham, and helped to bring Cook to the attention of the Admiralty and Royal Society at a crucial moment both in his personal career and in the direction of British overseas discovery, and led to his commission as commander of the HM Bark Endeavour and the first of his three Pacific voyages in 1766.

Cook accurately charted many areas and recorded several islands and coastlines on European maps for the first time. His huge achievements can be attributed to a combination of excellent seamanship, his superior surveying and cartographic skills, courage in exploring dangerous locations to confirm the facts (for example dipping into the Antarctic circle repeatedly and exploring around the Great Barrier Reef), ability to lead men in adverse conditions, and boldness both with regard to the extent of his explorations and his willingness to exceed the instructions given to him by the Admiralty.

After Cook and his crew departed, a storm damaged the Resolution, forcing a return to Kealakekua. Suddenly wary, the natives could not understand how a god could have allowed this to happen. Their respect for Cook waned, and relations between the Hawaiians and the foreigners grew tense. A misunderstanding led to a fierce battle, and Cook was killed by angry natives.

Cook died in Hawaii in a with Hawaiians during his third exploratory voyage in the Pacific in 1779.

Friday's Yearning for the Infinate

2007-01-12T12:59:00.000-08:00

Waiting in Silence

James 1:2–4

"My soul waits in silence for God only" (Psalm 62:1). Some of the best times in prayer are wordless times. I stop speaking, close my eyes, and meditate upon what I have been reading or upon what I have been saying, and I listen inside of myself. I listen deeply. I listen for reproofs. I think of myself as a home with many doors. As I am meditating—and often it helps to close my eyes so I won't be distracted—I unlock doors and open them as I wait. It is here that the Holy Spirit invades. Then, I take circumstances before Him and I listen with doors open.

Please be assured that I have never heard an audible voice. It isn't that kind of answering. It's a listening down inside. It's sensing what God is saying about the situation. His promise is, after all, that He will inscribe His law—His will—upon our hearts and our minds.

It's like what you do when you're in love with a person. Isn't it true—the deeper the love, the less that has to be said? You can actually sit alone together by a fireplace for an hour or two and say very, very little, but it can be the deepest encounter and relationship you know anything about.

Those who wait upon the Lord will gain new strength according to Isaiah, but remember: the key is waiting.

There's a sense of stability in trusting the Lord. That's how we wait silently and with a sense of confidence. When we wait for God to direct our steps, He does! When we trust Him to meet our needs, He will!

God tempers us and seasons us, making us mellow and mature when we
wait on Him.

-Charles R. Swindoll-

Friday's Yearning for the Infinite

2007-01-05T21:25:00.000-08:00

"His ways are everlasting."-Habakkuk 3:6

What He hath done at one time, He will do yet again. Man's ways are variable, but God's ways are everlasting. There are many reasons for this most comforting truth: among them are the following-the Lord's ways are the result of wise deliberation; He ordereth all things according to the counsel of His own will. Human action is frequently the hasty result of passion, or fear, and is followed by regret and alteration; but nothing can take the Almighty by surprise, or happen otherwise than He has foreseen. His ways are the outgrowth of an immutable character, and in them the fixed and settled attributes of God are clearly to be seen. Unless the Eternal One Himself can undergo change, His ways, which are Himself in action, must remain for ever the same. Is He eternally just, gracious, faithful, wise, tender?-then His ways must ever be distinguished for the same excellences. Beings act according to their nature: when those natures change, their conduct varies also; but since God cannot know the shadow of a turning, His ways will abide everlastingly the same. Moreover there is no reason from without which could reverse the divine ways, since they are the embodiment of irresistible might. The earth is said, by the prophet, to be cleft with rivers, mountains tremble, the deep lifts up its hands, and sun and moon stand still, when Jehovah marches forth for the salvation of His people. Who can stay His hand, or say unto Him, What doest Thou? But it is not might alone which gives stability; God's ways are the manifestation of the eternal principles of right, and therefore can never pass away. Wrong breeds decay and involves ruin, but the true and the good have about them a vitality which ages cannot diminish.

-C.H. Spurgeon-

What has touched you this week?

Wisconsin Badgers

2007-01-04T19:00:00.000-08:00

GO BADGERS!

Capital One Bowl Champs , beating the Razorbacks to finish the season 12-1!

Wednesday's Today in History

2007-01-03T17:31:00.000-08:00

Curse of the Bambino (1920)

The curse of the Bambino was an urban myth or scapegoat cited as a reason for the failure of the Boston Red Sox baseball team to win the World Series after they sold Babe Ruth, sometimes call the "The Bambino," to the New York Yankees. The flip side of the curse was New York's success - after the sale, the once-lackluster Yankees became one of the most successful franchises in North American professional sports. While some fans took the curse seriously, others used the expression in a tongue-in-cheek manner. Talk of the curse effectively ended in 2004, when the Red Sox came back from an 0-3 deficit to beat the Yankees in the 2004 American League Championship Series and went on to sweep the St. Louis Cardinals to win the 2004 World Series.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

2007-01-01T09:18:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 2007
Happy New Year to y'all out there reading this blog! Sorry for the lack of entries latley, life has been a bit chaotic and has not allowed me to be be apart of blog world. But now that the holidays are coming to a close, I will be able to get back to being a part of this world.

I Made It Back

2006-12-24T12:41:00.000-08:00

Back In Wisconsin

Thank you all for the prayers and encouragement for my journey home to Lacrosse Wisconsin. I made it back last night (12/23/2006) at 5:30 p.m. just having had a disaster free 1100 miles trip! I made it just under 16 hours, and spent a bit over $200 dollars in gas! I want to thank Jonathan Moorhead for writing my "Yearing for the Infinite" on Firday, it was a very challenging message and I hope that y'all enjoyed it as much as I did. I send out Christmas wishes to everyone that reads this blog!

Friday's Yearning for the Infinite: The Lord’s Supper - Remembrance and the Neglected Element of Hope

2006-12-22T18:04:00.000-08:00

Of all my years of faithful church attendance, I have never once heard a pastor incorporate the element of hope into the Lord’s Supper. Yes, we are to remember the body and blood of the Lord Christ in his suffering and death, but do we stop there?

During the so-called "Last Supper," Jesus refrained from drinking wine and said, “But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom" (Matthew 26:29). Can we really neglect Jesus’ words when we celebrate the Supper? Would Jesus have us to simply remember His death and not look forward to that which his death purchased? Is the designation "Last Supper" a misnomer?

It is my persuasion that the Lord’s Supper should not be only a remembrance of Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross, but also a foretaste of the Messianic banquet. Thanks be to God for giving us hope through his death.

Wednesday's Today in History

2006-12-20T11:45:00.000-08:00

Louisiana Purchase 1803

The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition by the United States of more than 529,911,681 acres of territory from France in 1803, at the cost of about 3 cents per acre; $15 million or $80 million francs in total. If adjusted for the relative share of GDP, this amount would equal approximately $390 billion 2003,* or about $1800 per hectare.

The French territory of Louisiana included far more land than just the current U.S. state of Louisiana. The lands purchased contained parts or all of present-day Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota west of the Mississippi River, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, New Mexico, northern Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, the portions of Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado east of the Rocky Mountains, the portions of southern Manitoba, southern Saskatchewan and southern Alberta that drain into the Missouri River, and Louisiana on both sides of the Mississippi River including the city of New Orleans.

The land included in the Purchase comprises 22.3% of the territory of the modern United States.** The purchase was an important moment in the presidency of Thomas Jefferson. At the time, it faced domestic opposition as being possible unconstitutional.

*The relative value in U.S. dollars - Economic History Services
**http://encyclopedia.tfd.com

FINALLY GRADUATED!

2006-12-19T12:36:00.000-08:00

Goodbye Dallas, Hello Wisconsin

Today is my final and last day of seminary here in Dallas! I have finally graduated with my masters, and now ready to move on to the next phase in life. I will be moving back to Wisconsin to begin my new job on the 26th of December. It has been a difficult and faith building experience here in Dallas, and I would not have done a thing different. In fact I am sad to be leaving all the friends and families that I have come to love here in Dallas. But as sad as I am to leave, I am just as excited to start this new phase in life! God bless y'all in Dallas and hello to y'all in Wisconsin!

Friday's Yearning for the Infinite

2006-12-15T09:47:00.000-08:00

I am going to reformat my Fridays posts to my favorite Devotional message that I read during the week. I would like it if you would leave a comment letting me know what your favorite devotional or scriptural reading for the week was.

"Underneath are the everlasting arms."-Deuteronomy 33:27

God-the eternal God-is Himself our support at all times, and especially when we are sinking in deep trouble. There are seasons when the Christian sinks very low in humiliation. Under a deep sense of his great sinfulness, he is humbled before God till he scarcely knows how to pray, because he appears, in his own sight, so worthless. Well, child of God, remember that when thou art at thy worst and lowest, yet "underneath" thee "are everlasting arms." Sin may drag thee ever so low, but Christ's great atonement is still under all. You may have descended into the deeps, but you cannot have fallen so low as "the uttermost"; and to the uttermost He saves. Again, the Christian sometimes sinks very deeply in sore trial from without. Every earthly prop is cut away. What then? Still underneath him are "the everlasting arms." He cannot fall so deep in distress and affliction but what the covenant grace of an ever-faithful God will still encircle him. The Christian may be sinking under trouble from within through fierce conflict, but even then he cannot be brought so low as to be beyond the reach of the "everlasting arms"-they are underneath him; and, while thus sustained, all Satan's efforts to harm him avail nothing.

This assurance of support is a comfort to any weary but earnest worker in the service of God. It implies a promise of strength for each day, grace for each need, and power for each duty. And, further, when death comes, the promise shall still hold good. When we stand in the midst of Jordan, we shall be able to say with David, "I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me." We shall descend into the grave, but we shall go no lower, for the eternal arms prevent our further fall. All through life, and at its close, we shall be upheld by the "everlasting arms"-arms that neither flag nor lose their strength, for "the everlasting God fainteth not, neither is weary."

- C.H. Spurgeon-

Wednesday's Today in History

2006-12-13T09:47:00.000-08:00

The Battle of the River Plate

The Battle of the River Plate (December 13, 1939) was the first major naval battle of World War II. The German pocketbattle ship (heavy cruiser) Admiral Graf Spee which had been commerce raiding since the start of the war in September was found and engaged off the estusry of the River Plate in South America, by three smaller Royal Navy cruisers, HMS Exeter, HMS Ajax and HMS Achilles, the last of the New Zealand Division. In the ensuing battle, Exter was severely damaged and forced to retire, while the other ships recieved moderate damage. Ajax and Achilles then shadowed the Graf Psee which entered the neutral Uruguayan capital Montevideo. After a tense period, the captain of the Graf Spee, Hans Langsdorff scuttled the ship rather tham forcing the overwhelming superior British force that he believed had assembled.

Ethan Andrew Lehman

2006-12-12T12:08:00.000-08:00

Let us welcome the newest addition to the Lehman family! Born on Friday the 9th of December, 2006 at 1245 pm to Andrew and Elissa Lehman; Ringing in at 10lb - 21in! So put your hands together and give a warm welcome to Ethan Andrew Lehman!

Friday's Yearning for the Infinite

2006-12-08T16:17:00.000-08:00

Hold Your Tongue!

“Do not go about spreading slander among your people ... Rebuke you neighbor frankly so that you will not share in his guilt.” Leviticus 19:16, 17

Gossip emits a threefold poison; for it injures the teller, the hearer, and the person concerning whom the gossip is told. Whether the report is true or false, we are by this precept of God's Word forbidden to spread it. The reputations of the Lord's people should be very precious in our sight, and we should count it shame to help the devil to dishonor the Church and the name of the Lord. Some tongues need to be tied rather than a loose. Many glory in pulling down their brethren, as if thereby they raised themselves. Noah's wise sons cast a mantle over their father, and he who exposed him earned a fearful curse. We may ourselves one of these dark days need forbearance and silence from our brethren, let us render it cheerfully to those who require it now. Be this our family rule and our personal bond-DO NOT SPEAK EVIL OF ANY MAN.
The Holy Spirit, however, permits us to censure sin, and prescribes the way in which we are to do it. It must be done by rebuking our brother to his face, not by railing behind his back. This course is manly, brotherly, Christlike, and under God's blessing will be useful. Hundreds have been saved from gross sins by the timely, wise, affectionate warnings of faithful ministers and brethren. Our Lord Jesus has set us a gracious example of how to deal with friends in sin in His warning given to Peter, the prayer with which He preceded it, and the gentle way in which He bore with Peter's boastful denial that he needed such a caution.

Wednesday's Today in History

2006-12-06T13:15:00.000-08:00

13th Amendment

This amendment completed the abolition of slavery, which had begun with President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. The Emancipation Proclamation had only applied to slaves being held in areas that were in rebellion against the United States at the time of the Proclamation. Slaves in areas then controlled by the Union were not freed until this amendment took effect (However, some states where slavery was formerly legal had changed their constitutions in the meantime). The Supreme Court has ruled that the Thirteenth Amendment does not prohibit mandatory military service in the United States. Interestingly enough, the 13th Amendment makes the use of the "chain gang" or other methods of involuntary servitude by convicted criminals constitutional in the United States, as long as the methods of enforcing the servitude are not "cruel and unusual" (floggings, beatings, etc.). The Thirteenth Amendment also prohibits specific performance as a judicial remedy for violations of contracts for personal services such as employment contracts. Offenses against the Thirteenth Amendment were being prosecuted as late as 1947.*

*United States v. Rowe, 73 Federal Supplement 76, as cited by Traver (1967) The Jealous Mistress. Boston: Little, Brown.

It is BCS Bowl TIME!!

2006-12-04T20:13:00.000-08:00

BCS Bowls

Tostitos Championship Bowl: Ohio State (12-0) vs. Florida (12-1)

Rose Bowl : USC (10-2) vs. Michigan (11-1)

Sugar Bowl : Notre Dame (10-2) vs. LSU (10-2)

Orange Bowl : Louisville (11-1) vs. Wake Forest (11-2)

Fiesta Bowl : Boise State (12-0) vs. Oklahoma (11-2)

Capital One Bowl : Wisconsin (11-1) vs. Arkansas (10-3)

For times and locations, click HERE!

P.S. Sorry to all the Auburn Tiger fans out there, maybe next year, maybe.

Disaster in Dallas

2006-12-03T03:13:00.000-08:00

Several times a year, it seems that the people of Dallas Texas and the surrounding areas, become paralyzed in the mind due to bad weather conditions. According to the

local radio stations, by 8:00 A.M. on the morning of November 30th 2006, there had already been reported 3 semi's that had flip over on the highway which also resulted in several additonal accidents piling up and 3 major highway closings. Last year (2005), 93.3 the bone radio station reported that there were 3000 accidents that occured in the metroplex area by 10:00 A.M. The people of Dallas Texas cannot grasp the idea that rain and cold eqaul ice which means that driving 90 MPH is not a great idea especially over bridges! Well this year again proves that you can't fix dumb, because there were several hundred accidents that occured in a very short time when the ice and snow came. You would think that in a 167 years of this cities existence that people would have learned. GUESS NOT!

Friday's Yearning for the Infinite

2006-12-01T09:22:00.000-08:00

Give Thanks Always

“Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness, and His wonders to the sons of men!”- Psalm 107:8

If we complained less, and praised more, we should be happier, and God would be more glorified. Let us daily praise God for common mercies-common as we frequently call them, and yet so priceless, that when deprived of them we are ready to perish. Let us bless God for the eyes with which we behold the sun, for the health and strength to walk abroad, for the bread we eat, for the clothing we wear.
Let us praise Him that we are not cast out among the hopeless, or confined amongst the guilty; let us thank Him for liberty, for friends, for family associations and comforts; let us praise Him, in fact, for everything which we receive from His bounteous hand, for we deserve little, and yet are most greatly blessed.

Friends, the sweetest and the loudest note in our songs of praise should be of redeeming love. God's redeeming acts towards His chosen are for ever the favorite themes of their praise. If we know what redemption means, let us not withhold our songs of thanksgiving. We have been redeemed from the power of our corruptions, uplifted from the depth of sin in which we were naturally plunged. We have been led to the cross of Christ-our shackles of guilt have been broken off; we are no longer slaves, but children of the living God, and can look forward to the period when we shall be presented before the throne without spot or wrinkle or any such thing.

"Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy name." Let the new month begin with new songs of Praise shouting of the Glory of God.

Wednesday's Today in History

2006-11-29T12:48:00.001-08:00

Constitution of Japan

The Constitution of the Empire of Japan（大日本帝國憲法), more commonly known as the Imperial or Meiji Constitution, was the fundamental law of the Empire of Japan from 1889 until 1947. Enacted as part of the Meiji Renewal, it provided for a form of constitutional monarchy based on the Prussian model, in which the Emperor of Japan was an active ruler and wielded considerable political power, but shared this with an elected diet. In 1947, following Japan's defeat and occupation at the end of the Second World War, the Meiji Constitution was replaced by a new document, called simply the 'Constitution of Japan', which attempted to replace the imperial system with a form of Western-style liberal democracy.

Friday's Yearning for the Infinite

2006-11-24T11:06:00.000-08:00

Walk the Walk

walk in Him - Colossians 2:6

If we have received Christ Himself in our inmost hearts, our new life will manifest its intimate acquaintance with Him by a walk of faith in Him. Walking implies action. Our religion is not to be confined to our closet; we must carry out into practical effect that which we believe. If a man walks in Christ, then he so acts as Christ would act; for Christ being in him, his hope, his love, his joy, his life, he is the reflex of the image of Jesus; and men say of that man, "He is like his Master; he lives like Jesus Christ." Walking signifies progress. "So walk in Him"; proceed from grace to grace, run forward until you reach the uttermost degree of knowledge that a man can attain concerning our Beloved. Walking implies continuance. There must be a perpetual abiding in Christ. How many Christians think that in the morning and evening they ought to come into the company of Jesus, and may then give their hearts to the world all the day: but this is poor living; we should always be with Him, treading in His steps and doing His will. Walking also implies habit. When we speak of a man's walk and conversation, we mean his habits, the constant tenour of his life. Now, if we sometimes enjoy Christ, and then forget Him; sometimes call Him ours, and anon lose our hold, that is not a habit; we do not walk in Him. We must keep to Him, cling to Him, never let Him go, but live and have our being in Him. "As you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him"; persevere in the same way in which you have begun, and, as at the first Christ Jesus was the trust of your faith, the source of your life, the principle of your action, and the joy of your spirit, so let Him be the same till life's end; the same when you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, and enter into the joy and the rest which remain for the people of God. O Holy Spirit, enable us to obey this heavenly precept.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2006-11-23T09:09:00.000-08:00

Just want to say Happy Thanksgiving to all of you who are reading this!

Wednesday's Today in History

2006-11-22T08:32:00.000-08:00

John F. Kennedy Assassination

The assassination of John F. Kennedy, the thirty-first President of the United States, took place on a Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas, USA at 12:30 P.M. Central Standard time.
Kennedy was fatally wounded by gunshots while riding with his wife in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza. He was the fourth U.S. President to be assassinated and the eighth to die while in office.

An official investigation by the Warren Commission was conducted over a 10-month period, and its report was published in September 1964. The Commission concluded that the assassination was carried out solely by Lee Harvey Oswald, and employee of the Texas School Book Depository in Dealey Plaza. This conclusion initially met with widespread support among the American public, but polling in recent years shows a majority of that public now hold beliefs contrary to the Commission's findings.* A later official investigation by the House select Committee on assassinations (HSCA) was conducted from 1976 to 1979, and it concluded that Kennedy was assassinated by Oswald "probably....as a result of a conspiracy." The assassination is still the subject of widespread speculation, and has spawned several number of Kennedy assassination theories.
*www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/11/20/national/main584668.shtml

The Family

2006-11-18T21:46:00.000-08:00

Let me introduce you to my family. We are a family of seven and continue to grow yearly it seems. To start off mom (Annette) and Dale (Dad) have been married for 32 years and have raised 5 kids in that period of time. The currently reside in Onalaska Wisconsin where they have lived the last 30 years of their lives.

The oldest kid of the family is Sarah. She is 29 years old and is married to a great guy named Sam. They have been married now for three years and live in the community of the Twin Cities, Minnesota. They are the first ones to bring into the family a grandchild/ nephew. The little man's name is Oliver. He is just about 7 months old and just started to crawl.

The next in line is myself (Jared). I am 27 years of age and currently residing in Dallas Texas where I am earning my masters at Dallas Theological Seminary. I was born in Stillwater Minnesota and then moved to Onalaska Wisconsin where I lived the majority of my life. I attended the University of Wisconsin Stout, where I graduated with a B.S. in Engineering. After leaving Stout, I moved over to New Zealand for 6 months to hang out and learn more about myself and who I was in God. From New Zealand I moved back to Wisconsin where I started a career with a company named Mac Donald and Owen Lumber. After a year of working there, I decided that I would like to go to seminary to pursue further knowledge and a deeper relationship with the Yahweh. I am still here today and will be graduating here in December of 2006.

Next in line is my brother Andrew. He is 26 years of age and currently living in Milwaukee Wisconsin with his wife Elissa. They are expecting their first child within the next month, which would now be the second grandchild/ nephew and his name is Ethan. Andrew is currently studying to be a doctor. He is in his second year of the long 8 year haul. He and his wife Elissa have been married a year and a half.

Then comes Nathan. He would be 20 years old, but do to very unfortunate circumstances he was a miscarriage. We still love him, and I myself look forward to the day that I get to meet my brother in Heaven.

Lydia is the next in line. She is 19 years old and attending school in Lacrosse to become a nurse. She is in her first year and doing well. Lydia also works at Caribou coffee to make the ends meet for rent, a car, and school.

The last in line is Caleb who is 16. He currently is a junior at Onalaska High School, and played on the 2006 MVC champian Onalaska football team as their starting nose guard. He is the typical teenage boy who lives in front of the TV playing some kind of game system. He works at a harware store called Menards, as a cart boy at this time with hopes to move up to sales in the hardware dept.

This is my family in a nut shell. Thank you for taking the time to get to know us!

Sublime Intimacy

2006-11-18T11:29:00.000-08:00

Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"John 11:40

Every time you venture out in the life of faith, you will find something in your common-sense circumstances that flatly contradicts your faith. Common sense is not faith, and faith is not common sense; they stand in the relation of the natural and the spiritual. Can you trust Jesus Christ where your common sense cannot trust Him? Can you venture heroically on Jesus Christ's statements when the facts of your common-sense life shout - "It's a lie?" On the mount it is easy to say - 'Oh, yes, I believe God can do it'; but you have to come down into the demon-possessed valley and meet with facts that laugh ironically at the whole of your mount-of-transfiguration belief. Every time my programme of belief is clear to my own mind, I come across something that contradicts it. Let me say I believe God will supply all my need, and then let me run dry, with no outlook, and see whether I will go through the trial of faith, or whether I will sink back to something lower. Faith must be tested, because it can be turned into a personal possession only through conflict. What is your faith up against just now? The test will either prove that your faith is right, or it will kill it. "Blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in Me." The final thing is confidence in Jesus. Believe steadfastly on Him and all you come up against will develop your faith. There is continual testing in the life of faith, and the last great test is death. May God keep us in fighting trim! Faith is unutterable trust in God, trust which never dreams that He will not stand by us.

Yearning for the Infinite

2006-11-17T23:06:00.000-08:00

Starting on the 24th of November, I will post a weekly blog that will appear on Friday's that will be presenting a mindful challenge for the weekend. The title of this weekly blog will be "Yearning for the Infinite."

What Are You Filling Your Soul With?

2006-11-15T16:27:00.000-08:00

“The Lord is my portion, say my soul” Lamentations 3:24

We see that in this verse it states that the Lord is my portion, not that the Lord is in my portion; but it is He himself that makes up the sum total of my soul’s inheritance. The Lord is my portion. Not just merely His grace, not His love, not His covenant, but Yahweh Himself. God Himself has graciously chosen us for His portion, and we have chosen Him for ours. It is true that the Lord must choose us first, or else we would never choose Him for ourselves.

The Lord is our all-sufficient portion. God fills Himself; and if God is all-sufficient in Himself, He must be all-sufficient for us. It is not easy to satisfy man's desires. When he dreams that he is satisfied, anon he wakes to the perception that there is somewhat yet beyond, and straightway the horse-leech in his heart cries, "Give, give." But all that we can wish for is to be found in our divine portion, so that we ask, "Who do I have in heaven but God? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside You." Well may we "delight ourselves in the Lord" who makes us to drink of the river of His pleasures. Our faith stretches her wings and mounts like an eagle into the heaven of divine love as to her proper dwelling-place. "The lines have fallen to us in pleasant places; yea, we have a goodly heritage." Let us rejoice in the Lord always; let us show to the world that we are a happy and a blessed people, and thus induce them to exclaim, "We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you."

Its Offical

2006-11-15T11:54:00.000-08:00

Well being that I seem to be the only one in the world without a blog, today, the 15th of November, I Jared Lehman am going to start one. I know that these blogs take time and effort to maintain, but I do promise that I will attempt to do my best to get addicted to it.