Halloween treat?

Our Daily Bread
It is Halloween in the United States.  I have mixed feelings about this holiday!  As a gay man, I don't celebrate it like a lot of my friends with lavish costumes and wild parties.  I like handing out Halloween candy to the little beggars in my neighborhood.

Just as some of our friends can be difficult to recognize in costume, Jesus was difficult to recognize because of the way he came to this earth and the way he chose to live his life.  He was not a royal born king of this world, rather a humble king of the spiritual world.  The latter was MUCH more difficult for us to understand!  He didn't LOOK like a messiah!  He didn't TALK like we thought the messiah should talk.  Shouldn't he be like Moses?  Shouldn't he be like David or Solomon?  Like many times in our lives, God had a different, better idea of what should happen.

Jesus came to earth to help the beggars that we are, not for bits and bites of chocolate and other treats, but for spiritual food that would help us to never hunger again!  Praise God!

Lord, thank you for the ultimate treat of Jesus!

Movie Monday
I didn't make it to the movies this week.  I spent a lot of my free time with a friend in the hospital.  We had some good visits.  He may get out of the hospital today.

Instead of a movie review, let's look at the movies that are coming out on DVD and Bluray.  Most of the big summer blockbusters are coming out now just in time for Christmas!  Woohoooo!  Here is a list of recent releases (some are just Bluray releases) and some upcoming releases:

Currently Available
Captain America: The First Avenger
Jurassic Park Trilogy
Winnie the Pooh
Attack the Block
Dazed and Confused

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

Bad Teacher

Batman: Year One

Tree of Life

Green Lantern

Horrible Bosses

Beautiful Boy

Fast Five

Upcoming

Cars 2

Crazy, Stupid, Love

Water For Elephants

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

Toy Story 3D

Trespass

Cop Land

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind

Tabloid

An Invisible Sign

Other Stuff
I visited my friend in the hospital after church yesterday, then went home for a nap.  I was tired.  Mens chorus rehearsal went well.  I will work on my music some more this week.

I talked with a couple of guys at church yesterday.  Got shot down for a date for the concert on Friday.  Oh well.  I am not going to worry about it.  ;-P

I am looking forward to handing out candy tonight to the little goblins in my neighborhood!

Let go, my friends!  God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms...

Attacks from a liar

Our Daily Bread
Ever had someone in your life that just couldn't seem to tell the truth if their life depended on it?  Satan is like that.  He will try to deceive you into damaging your relationship with God any chance he gets!  Yikes!  God knows this.  He will give us power, through his Spirit, to overcome the wiles of Satan if we trust him.

I have been going round and round with a friend that "adjusts" the truth to his own liking and convenience.  I have to admit that I have not been patient with him.  I have been too judgmental about the whole situation.  I also have to admit that I never realized that I over exaggerate at times and this is a form of lying!  I didn't like hearing that.  I am working on pulling the log out of my own eye while I am praying for this friend to take the splinter out of his!

Lord, I want to put on your spiritual armor to fight the good fight against Satan and sin.

Psalm Sunday
The psalm this week is Psalm 28.  Verses 3 and  4 go along with the devotional today!  How cool is that!  I try to remember these psalms each day as I remind myself to fight evil (Satan) and rely even more on the strength of my life, our God.


Psalm 28

Of David.
 1 To you, LORD, I call;
   you are my Rock,
   do not turn a deaf ear to me.
For if you remain silent,
   I will be like those who go down to the pit.
2 Hear my cry for mercy
   as I call to you for help,
as I lift up my hands
   toward your Most Holy Place.

 3 Do not drag me away with the wicked,
   with those who do evil,
who speak cordially with their neighbors
   but harbor malice in their hearts.
4 Repay them for their deeds
   and for their evil work;
repay them for what their hands have done
   and bring back on them what they deserve.

 5 Because they have no regard for the deeds of the LORD
   and what his hands have done,
he will tear them down
   and never build them up again.

 6 Praise be to the LORD,
   for he has heard my cry for mercy.
7 The LORD is my strength and my shield;
   my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
My heart leaps for joy,
   and with my song I praise him.

 8 The LORD is the strength of his people,
   a fortress of salvation for his anointed one.
9 Save your people and bless your inheritance;
   be their shepherd and carry them forever.


Other Stuff
What a football game last night!  I laughed!  I cried!  I screamed really loud!  Congratulations, Buckeyes, for a great win.  We will remember this one for a long time.

I attended a church workshop yesterday.  It was nice.  I met some new folks.  I saw some folks I met here and there.  I saw a guy that I would love to date IF he wasn't partnered already.  Oh well.  He feels the same way about me, which is nice.  It was a good day.

I thought I had a flaw in my plan for the day when I tried to drive to the OSU Hospital.  They had several exits closed off for the football game.  Yikes!  I had to circle around a little, but got to the hospital OK.  I found a quick way out of the mess after I left my friend's room.  We had a good visit.  He is not sure how much longer he will be in the hospital.  We will see.

I stopped by Target to pick up my Halloween candy. I really enjoy handing out candy on Halloween!  That will be my Monday night activity.

I worked on cleaning the house some more.  I am making progress.  I still need to do some vacuuming and dusting.  I found some major cobwebs around the house.  Yikes!  I will catch all of those with my Swiffer Duster this afternoon.  ;-)

Looking forward to church and mens chorus today.  I hope you have a great day as well!

Let go, my friends.  God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms...

How does your light shine?

Our Daily Bread
I saw a commercial for a wireless carrier that emphasized fast results for their network.  The commercial had a Boy Scout starting a camp fire in less than a second.  Results!  Does your light shine like a pleasant glow that people want to walk towards or does it burn like a bonfire out of control that people want to run from?  We can sometimes be so focused on the results we want to achieve for God that we don't really show God's love in the process!

In my younger days, we used to call it "Bible thumping".  A concerned Christian would push a "sinner" so hard as if to thump their heads with his Bible to get through to the sinner!  Where is the love?  hehehe

IMHO and according to the devotion, we are to live God's love and tell God's message.  No thumping involved!

Lord, I want to be a witness for you in all the right ways.

Simply Saturday
I had a nice evening last night.  I visited a friend that I hadn't seen in several months.  He has been sick all of this year.  He is finally starting to recover a little bit, but has some major life changes to make after his illness.  We live close to each other, so I reiterated how much I want to visit more often!

I came home to work on the house.  I got the laundry washed and dried.  Need to fold it and put it away.  I got some cleaning done.  I need to dust and vacuum and do some cleaning on my master bathroom.  I keep the house pretty neat (except for my office), so the place wasn't a disaster area.  ;-p

I am attending a church workshop today about telling my story.  It is for folks that are willing to tell their life journey to folks that don't want to hear it!  hehehe  Seriously, this is part of the Reconciling Ministries group in the Methodist church.  Should be an interesting day!

I plan to visit my hospital-bound buddy on the way back through downtown.  He might be transferred back to Dayton in the next few days.

I will work on the house again tonight around watching the football game.  Go Bucks!  If we can win this one, it will be a big step towards winning the Big Ten Championship!

Let go, my friends!  God will be there to catch you and hold you in His loving arms...

I will wait upon the Lord...

Our Daily Bread
Some days I feel like the authors of the devotionals are watching me, and then changing the devotional to exactly what I need to hear each day!  I know that sounds a little paranoid, but it sooooo uncanny how often the devotional is EXACTLY what I need to hear!  Today is no exception.

The devotional is about not trying to understand God and his greatness.  Not trying to understand his plan.  We are just supposed to let go, and let him hold us in his care!  Does that sound like the last line of my blog entries the past few weeks!  God has been working on me in this area.

I have been questioning why some things have been happening to me.  Questioning God's timing.  Questioning why I can't seem to move on in my life since I feel some things holding me back are actually from God.  As usual, I am being painfully frank.  I feel like I know who my special man is, but God hasn't told him yet!  Why not?  Why can't we be together now?  I have been trying my best to let go and let God on this one.  I really have.  From what I read today, I need to quit crying like an unweaned baby and rest in the Lord.  Understanding is not necessary.  Obedience and faith without reservation is necessary.  I will do my best to let go!

Lord, thank you for the important messages you bring to me and remind me of each day.  

Foodie Friday
Haven't been cooking much.  Haven't had time.  I thought I would remind you of the neat cooking sites where I found the Halloween treats last year:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipes/holidays-and-events/halloween/main.aspx

http://www.marthastewart.com/275177/our-favorite-halloween-recipes/@center/276965/halloween

http://www.bhg.com/halloween/recipes/

http://www.foodnetwork.com/topics/halloween/index.html

Enjoy!

Other Stuff
I visited my buddy in the hospital after work last night.  He had a better day and some good news.  Very cool!

I got to church in time to do some reading before choir practice.  I got most of my D1 reading done.  I will continue reading and review stuff until next Wednesday.  Choir practice was fun as we started Messiah rehearsal.  We plan to sing the Christmas portion on December 18.  Woohooo!

I plan to visit a friend after work.  He has been sick for a long time now, but finally got to settle in at home.  That will be nice.  I need to work on laundry and house cleaning after that.  I have a workshop for church tomorrow.

Let go, my friends!  God will be there to catch you and hold you in his arms...

Be careful, little tongue, what you say...

Our Daily Bread
There is a contemporary Christian song that has a child's voice singing "Be careful little eyes what you see".  The points of today's devotional are be careful what you say and what you hear!

It is easy to get caught up in talking about someone.  It is not always easy to tell when talking about someone out of concern becomes gossiping about the person.  The point of today's devotional is to stop even if you THINK you might be gossiping.  Eliminate any doubt!

Also, gossipers wouldn't have much to say if there weren't people to listen.  The devotional suggests being more disciplined about NOT listening to gossip.  Don't even be associated with it!

I am thinking and praying about this devotional, asking the Spirit to cleanse my tongue.  There may have been times where I have slipped from "being concerned" to "gossiping" without realizing it (or not wanting to realize it!).

Lord, I want to follow the guidelines you gave us for relationships, including loving others as myself and not gossiping!

Technology Thursday
The technology world is sooooooo boring right now!  Many of the tech articles are on three topics: what Apple is going to do next, what Google is going to do next and what new phones are coming out trying to dethrone the iPhone.  Is the iPhone the perfect phone?  Nah.  The iPhone 4S is a great phone now and a great device.  I am looking forward to a 4G iPhone next  year.  I think Apple will do it right compared to the Android devices that have a battery life of 45 seconds on a 4G connection.  My HSPA+ speeds on the ATT network are OK for now and I get good battery life!

I am going to look for a new laptop during the holiday season.  I saw some good deals and discounts through my work discount site.  I think I can do better.  I don't know how much I will use it, so I don't want the top of the line.  I also don't want an entry level laptop either because I would probably throw it against a wall if it was too slow.   ;-p  Not really.  I am spoiled...  I will post my laptop purchasing guide next week.  I wrote it a few years ago.  I recently updated it for a friend.

Other Stuff
I had a nice visit with my acquaintance at the hospital last night.  I went to church afterwards to pray and for my D1 class.  We had some spirited discussions in class.  It was fun.  I had to stop by Kroger on the way home to pick up some milk.

I plan to visit my acquaintance again today after work, do some reading, and then attend choir practice.  I get to rest some Friday night.  I need to clean my house sometime.  I feel like I am done with the landscaping for this Fall.  I might grab a few more perennials if I catch them on sale.  I did so much work already, I am satisfied.  It will be nice to see how things look in the Spring!

Let go, my friends!  God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms...

In God's time...

Our Daily Bread
I have to apologize.  I am impatient sometimes!  DOH!  hehehe  When I am driving.  When I am in line at the grocery store.  When I want to look at directions on my iPhone.  Waiting for the special man in my life.  Oh well.  I try to be patient!

The devotional today talks about how God's time is not always our time.  We can see delays and things not going as we planned as inconveniences instead of opportunities from God.  I have actually been patient and looked for these opportunities a few times in my life.  ;-p  They can be amazing.  God can use you to speak to someone who needs a kind word.  Make someone smile who had a hard day.  Call a friend that needs some encouragement.  Or, call your best friend to vent about your week!  I have done them all!  Sometimes I just wait and listen for God to speak to me.  How cool is that!

Lord, I want to be patient so I can act on the opportunities that you send my way -- even if I might be late!

Witness Wednesday
Deliverance...
I thought a lot more about the first part of Exodus over the weekend.  I kept thinking to myself how much I am like the children of Israel in that period.  They kept romanticizing the past life in Egypt.  The food tasted better (they actually HAD food...)  hehehe  They had water.  They didn't have to walk around the desert.  They didn't have to fight for their lives.  Blah, blah, blah.  None of those complaints were really valid.  God promised them an exciting new life of freedom and blessing if they only served him.

I kept thinking about how I romanticize some of the unhealthy things in my life.  Wow, that box of Hohos was the best yet!  Wow, that guy was the nicest guy I have ever gone out with! (not by a long shot).  I decided that I will do my best to stop that!

I am listening to a song by Holly Cole called "I can see clearly now".  You have probably heard the song by other artists.  I am finally letting God open my eyes to the things around me.  I can see clearly now (despite my eye problems!).  It IS going to be a bright sun-shiny day in my life because I have God in my life.  Wow!

So when I start to think about the past and romanticizing the old life I now say "I will NOT go back to Egypt! I will NOT go back to Egypt!"  Yes, things will be different.  I will not take one step forward and then two steps back.  I will NOT look back!

What thing or relationship or situation in your life is an "Egypt"?  Identify them.  Vow to yourself and to God "I will NOT go back to Egypt".  If I can do it, then anyone can!  ;-)

Other Stuff
I was very tired after work so I took a short nap when I got home.  I bounced up and went outside to work on the landscaping one last time this year.  I broke up the clump of hostas that my buddy gave me last night and planted them.  I relocated the decorative grass from the side of the garage to the back beds.  I raked the leaves on the street in front of my house.  Whew.  I also poured my two gas cans into my gas tank.  I started filling up three five gallon gas cans when I get a large gas discount at Giant Eagle.  I can save the discount on another fifteen gallons.  Woohooo!  The cans paid for themselves the first time I used them!  I have to admit that pouring the gas in manually is a pain in the patootey.  I save money.  I can deal with it.

I had a reasonable supper that was very tasty (turkey and veggies).  I picked up a box of high fiber brownies at Costco that are low in sugar.  They help me feel full in the evenings.  I have lost 15.8 pounds so far during my lifestyle change.  Woohooooo!  I will keep plugging along.  I would like to be at the 25 pound mark when I drive to St Louis for Thanksgiving.  I can almost fit in my normal pants again.  Double Woohoooo!

Let go, my friends!  God will be there to catch you and hold you!

Justice

Our Daily Bread
It is very difficult for me at times to "let things go" when it comes to justice.  If I see something that is unfair or someone not acting in the way they profess, I usually have to say or do something about it!  That is not always a good thing as I have learned over and over.  I don't always say things in love the way I should.  I guess I picked up some Bible thumping ways from my earlier life!    hehehe

Mordecai was a Jewish man who would not bow down to any man, only to his God.  The irritated Haman, who decided to get rid of Mordecai and his entire people!  Talk about vicious!  In a dramatic turn of events in the book of Esther, Haman was hanged on the gallows that he had built for Mordecai!  Isn't God amazing!

The lesson for me (and you) is this: fight injustice by doing the right things at the right time.  We are not judge and jury.  We are to use appropriate activism.  We are to pray for things to change.  God showed over and over again in the Bible that he hears the cries of the weak and indigent.

Lord, I want to be your light in the world of injustice.  Please help me do the right things at the right times.

Teaching Tuesday
I had a hard time reading the passages for this week.  The lesson is about the laws that God handed down through Moses.  The passages were from Exodus, Deuteronomy, Leviticus and Numbers.  ZZzzzZZZzzzzzzz Sorry, they were very detailed and very repetitive.  They still spoke to me though.  I can see where people get some of the rules and regulations today.

The most notable of the passages to me were the ten commandments and the greatest commandment.  We are all pretty familiar with the ten commandments.  We sometimes forget the greatest commandment, which is basically the first commandment with more details in Deuteronomy 6:5.  When all else fails and you don't know what to do, follow this directive!

Other Stuff
I had a busy evening (again).  I stopped by OP Gallo to get fitted for my tux vest and tux shirts.  They had some used shirts in stock, so I got a deal there.  The lady was very nice.

I stopped by a friend's house to pick up some hostas he gave me.  I will split up the rather large clump into three pieces for my back landscaping bed.  I will try to get those planted, the grass relocated and maybe a few more plants in the ground tonight.  The landscaping will officially be DONE for this year!  Woohooo!  ;-)

I visited a friend in the hospital.  We think the power of prayer is at work in his life as he may not need the surgery he was brought to OSU for.  Woohoooo!  We will wait prayerfully to hear the final word from the doctors.

I did some stuff around the house and on the computer before working on my D1 reading.  I will finish the reading tonight.

God is allowing me to be tested this week.  I had an "up" week last week.  God is allowing some more temptation and situations in my life this week to test my faith and "letting go".  I will write more about my new mantra tomorrow in Witness Wednesday.  Stay tuned!

Let go, my friends!  God will be there to catch you and carry you!