"Who Do You Know"

 "I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father." (John 8:38 KJV) 

  "Dear children, don't let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. Those who have been born into God's family do not make a practice of sinning, because God's life is in them. So they can't keep on sinning, because they are children of God. So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God." (1 John 3:7-10 NLT) 

 Before I get too far into this, I must confess, I am not a perfect person. As much as it pains me to say, I am terrible at controlling my temper, I enjoy a nice cigar with a couple glasses of wine, and I love watching movies, even if they might be a little, shall we say, less than righteous. That said, I know how to not let anything control me, and there is nothing I have in my life that I cannot go without; except maybe work! 

 If there is one thing that causes me the most aggravation, but at the same time, makes me feel alive, it is work. For as long as I remember, I have loved to work; any work, it really doesn't matter what, if there is a task that needs to be done, then I will do whatever I do to my very best. Most kids complained about doing chores, I made my chores into a game, a game called, "Let's see how good I can get this done!" 

 What is the definition of a Workaholic? Well, according to most, workaholics are consumed by work, but work is joyless. What a brutal and terrible way to live! However, the Word has it: ""Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it. It will grow thorns and thistles for you, though you will eat of its grains. By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made. For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return."" (Genesis 3:17-19 NLT)

 Maybe it is best to just accept that which you cannot change and focus upon those things which can be changed! The one thing I want more than anything to change is my temper! I don't even know who I am when it happens, but it just happens, none the less. Big things hardly bother me at all, but the little things, they seem to get under my skin and irritate the heck out of me. 

 If I had to point to anything that might be causing it to happen, I might point to stress. I am usually up by 3:00am and back to sleep usually by 10:00 or 11:00pm; so maybe I could point to the lack of sleep. However, if you really want to know, I think it is just life in general! I am so fixated on getting out of this place, it frustrates me beyond belief to practice making it through each and every day. 

 So there you have it; my life all spewed out and on display. And, what is most aggravating of all of that, is that I wouldn't want to have it any other way! I get to care for my beautiful wife, whom I love with all of my heart. I have the great privilege of providing for others, while doing something that I love to do. And most of all, no matter what might happen, I know Jesus will see me through to the other side!  

 Does that mean life is meant to be easy? Absolutely not! I expect that there will be troubles, because they are bound to happen, just as they do for everyone else. Both the good and the bad get the same sort of problems; but what makes the difference, is, Who do you know! I might not be perfect, but I know Someone that is...

"We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies." (2 Corinthians 4:7-10 NLT)