Muddycamo

Awesome!! very interesting. From one horse lover to another THANK YOU. you might want show everyone what a red roan looks like and gray all grown up (white). nice pic of a brindle, those are very rare. Ido believe the bible is describing a palomino.

Fun-ny

That Father was awesome, he gets my vote for "Father of the Year". The only thing I would of done different, I would of used a shotgun, it would of done a better job with visual effectiveness.

We need more parents like him. GO DAD!!

six more weeks of winter......define winter because i'd call this spring. I truley hope for a measureable amount of snow that sticks around awhile GO PHIL!

So I would like to discuss my reading with a few of you. I will post what i read and explain what i got out of it and pose some questions for further understanding and/or opinions. Please remember I am still drinking milk and not quite ready for meat yet.

Thank you

Proverbs 19

1 Better is the poor who walks in his integrity Than one who is perverse in his lips, and is a fool.2 Also it is not good for a soul to be without knowledge, And he sins who hastens with his feet.3 The foolishness of a man twists his way, And his heart frets against the Lord.4 Wealth makes many friends, But the poor is separated from his friend.5 A false witness will not go unpunished, And he who speaks lies will not escape.6 Many entreat the favor of the nobility, And every man is a friend to one who gives gifts.7 All the brothers of the poor hate him; How much more do his friends go far from him! He may pursue them with words, yet they abandon him. 8 He who gets wisdom loves his own soul; He who keeps understanding will find good.9 A false witness will not go unpunished, And he who speaks lies shall perish.10 Luxury is not fitting for a fool, Much less for a servant to rule over princes.11 The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger, And his glory is to overlook a transgression.12 The kings wrath is like the roaring of a lion, But his favor is like dew on the grass.13 A foolish son is the ruin of his father, And the contentions of a wife are a continual dripping.14 Houses and riches are an inheritance from fathers, But a prudent wife is from the Lord.15 Laziness casts one into a deep sleep, And an idle person will suffer hunger.16 He who keeps the commandment keeps his soul, But he who is careless of his ways will die.17 He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, And He will pay back what he has given.18 Chasten your son while there is hope, And do not set your heart on his destruction.19 A man of great wrath will suffer punishment; For if you rescue him, you will have to do it again.20 Listen to counsel and receive instruction, That you may be wise in your latter days.21 There are many plans in a mans heart, Nevertheless the Lords counselthat will stand.22 What is desired in a man is kindness, And a poor man is better than a liar.23 The fear of the Lord leads to life, And he who has it will abide in satisfaction; He will not be visited with evil.24 A lazy man buries his hand in the bowl, And will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.25 Strike a scoffer, and the simple will become wary; Rebuke one who has understanding, and he will discern knowledge.26 He who mistreats his father and chases away his mother Is a son who causes shame and brings reproach.27 Cease listening to instruction, my son, And you will stray from the words of knowledge.28 A disreputable witness scorns justice, And the mouth of the wicked devours iniquity.29 Judgments are prepared for scoffers, And beatings for the backs of fools.

My understand of Proverbs Ch 19

1) a person should be sincere and honest instead of trying to keep up with the "jones'" 2) Take time to learn and be open to new ideas 3) trying to do it your way instead of God's way will get you nowhere fast 4) more isnt always better 5) becareful of your words and actions, you will be held accountable 6) it's easy to be greedy 7) **need help here** 8)study and learn and seek goodness always. 9) **goes with 5** 10)**need help** 11) do not make assumptions or jump to conclussions, forgive others 12)**need help** 13) Continual dripping of what? 14) God will give you help if you follow him 15) Following christ does not equal picking daisies in the lower 40. 16) If you keep the faith and believe in God you will have life 17) Give to others, pay it forward. 18)**need help** 19)**need help** 20) seek god's counsel and direction 21) You may make plans, but God's supercede yours 22) kindness fills others, while lieing leaves all empty 23) in Christ's love we are safe from evil 24) a lazy person will not seek the truth nor teach the truth 25)**need help** 26) Honor thy mother and father 27) if you stop seeking the truth, you will stray from the author of truth 28)**need help** 29)**need help**

What do you get from this chapter?

Can you help me understand some of the verses marked **need help**?

Do I need to revisit any of my understandings thus far?

I find it interesting and disheartening at the same time, that God felt he had to repeat himself so many times, but using different words to get across the one message of "Through God there is bounitful life and without him you will perish"

cute

One Sunday morning, the pastor noticed little Alex was staring up at the large plaque that hung in the foyer of the church. The plaque was covered with names, and small American flags were mounted on either side of it. The seven-year old had been staring at the plaque for some time, so the pastor walked up, stood beside the boy, and said quietly, "Good morning Alex." "Good morning pastor," replied the young man, still focused on the plaque. "Pastor McGhee, what is this?" Alex asked. "Well, son, it's a memorial to all the young men and women who died in the service."Soberly, they stood together, staring at the large plaque. Little Alex's voice was barely audible when he asked, "Which service, the 8:30 or the 11:00?"

Lovely, absolutely lovely

THE POSITIVE SIDE OF LIFE:

Living on Earth is expensive,

but it does include a free trip

around the sun every year.

How long a minute is

depends on what side of the

bathroom door you're on.

Birthdays are good for you;

the more you have,

the longer you live.

Happiness comes through doors you

didn't even know you left open.

Ever notice that the people who are late

are often much jollier

than the people who have to wait for them?

Most of us go to our grave

with our music still inside of us.

If Wal-Mart is lowering prices every day,

how come nothing is free yet?

You may be only one person in the world,

but you may also be the world to one person.

Some mistakes are too much fun

to only make once.

Don't cry because it's over;

smile because it happened.

We could learn a lot from crayons:

some are sharp, some are pretty,

some are dull, some have weird names,

and all are different colors....but

they all exist very nicely in the same box.

A truly happy person is one who

can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

Wow, thank you for more than you know.

Excuse me for coming in on the tail end of this-much debated topic.

Many of you have a much greater Biblical knowledge than I, but I can witness what God has done in my life on the topic:

I know I was saved at a young age. I believe it was a Vacation Bible School and I could not have been more than 9 years old. I clearly felt the presence of Jesus. I know I believed. I was filled with light and warmth and even as a youngster it changed the way I looked at things and lived my life. Yes, I felt born again. Yes, there was a renewing of my mind and spirit.

Later, in my teens, the death of my mother and the lure of drugs drew me into a sinful lifestyle. At one time, I even called myself an "agnostic." I openly stated no one could know for sure God existed.

But, even I was living that sinful lifestyle, the still small voice of the Holy Spirit was there saying, "You know this is wrong."

Eventually, everything came crashing down. I was camped in a tiny tent in South Dakota when a tornado passed over me in the middle of the night. There are no atheists in fox holes and there are no agnostic hippy druggies in pup tents under a tornado at 2:00 AM in Murdo, South Dakota. I prayed that the LORD would save my miserable life. I made promsies about quitting drugs and going to church.

As I drove my motorcycle past the Stuckey's Truck Stop with its missing roof, eastbound on I-90, I thought to myself, "Man, there is no way you're going to keep those promises you made to God."

And I numbed the nagging feeling I had with more drugs.

One day shortly there after, after a night of drinking and drugs and throwing up, I looked in the bathroom mirror and saw a piece of garbage.

I could no longer run from the lies or cover them over with dope.

Within two years of the promises I made in that pup tent, I was sober and attending church.

That was 28 years ago and the LORD has not stopped changing me every day.

So, is my security in Jesus eternal? Absolutely! The Bible says so.

Hebrews 13:5

Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

As far as I can find, God never says "I promise.." in the Bible. Oh, many times His promises are spoken of. Everything God says is true. Everything he says, He will do. He does not have to say, "I promise" because everything he says is most certainly true. There is no need to assure us that this particular statement or intent to act is anymore likely to happen than another. God does everything He says He will do.

Now the hard question: In my witness above, was I saved once and always saved? Or, when I denied God existed with my mouth and my actions were not those of one living in gratitude for salvation, had I given up my salvation? Let's say I had died in that tornado BEFORE I called out for Him to spare my life. Does being saved mean going to heaven when you die? Would I have gone to heaven? I belileve the answer is "yes." Remember, in my heart I knew what I was doing was wrong. Even when I called myself an agnostic, in my heart I still believed. I only claimed to be an agnostic to numb the guilt of a lifestyle I knew was wrong and justify it. It was a lie and my heart knew it.

I will concede this fact: Had I died in that tornado and stood before Jesus, I would have had some esssplianing to doooooo. We are accountable for our actions.

Consider the thief on the cross:

Luke 23: 40 But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”

There it is: The thief had lived an ungodly life. But he admitted he was sinner, believed Jesus could save him because of who He was, and confessed Jesus as Lord. And, unlike us, he did it before Jesus rose from the dead!

Now, does this mean we have no free will? That God makes us be saved whether we want to or not?

Not at all. Consider Jonah. God called him to witness to Ninevah. Jonah didn't want to and ran in the opposite direction. Did God pick him up and deposit him in Ninevah? No, God "persuaded" Jonah to do the right thing with three days in the belly of a great fish. (Please, please let's not go down the fish vs. whale debate.) Is being persuasive a negation of free will?

Even David excersized free will with Bathsheba. We are not puppets with God pulling the strings. Adam and Eve proved that.

But, if God has a plan for your life, remember His promises are always true. Prepare to be persuaded.

When I was doing drugs, I thought it was good. I thought it was fun. I believed lies. God dropped the truth right in my lap and, like a wet St. Bernard, there was no denying it. (Okay, not so much a Biblical reference.)

God's omniscience does not negate our free will.

So, why would God allow me to believe the lies of the drug culture? Why would my soul be put at risk? Was my soul ever at risk?

Because, having been there, I am now better equipped to minister to those who are caught in the same lies. Because, having been pulled from the slimy pit, I can help pull others out. Because, what the enemy intended for evil, God intended for good! As for whether my soul was at risk, I do not know. Certainly my soul was ill. Was it ever in danger of hell? Only God can answer that.

And as for whether people who claim to be Christian and engage in non-Christian behavior are saved and back-sliding, being trained to minister, or have thrown their salvation away, I don't know that. Because to know that, I would have to know whether they were truly saved to begin with, and to know that I would have to see inside their hearts and only God knows the heart.

Yes, yes, Jesus says you will know the tree by its fruit and you will know his followers by their love. The world has gotten awfully good at producing wax fruit and artificial love. We can tell the difference, but it took me about a half-century to achieve anywhere near 50% accuracy.

Whatever the case, I know I was not put here to serve myself. I was put here to serve My Lord Jesus Christ and my neighbors. And, because of what He has given us in His Word, I can assure all those who seek the Lord that He will never negate their free will, nor let them slip from His hand.

Now that was wise and hit home, ty zimm

I find that my bible reading and walking the walk goes in cycles. For awhile i will read the bible voraciously, ask questions to gain knowledge, and consciously make decisions to walk the walk. Then i seem to stop reading, asking questions, and stumbling while i try to walk for a period of time.

Is this common among Christians?

Do you have suggestions or advice?

What do you do when you recognize your not spending time "God-wisely"?

1. I believe it to be common among Christians from time to time.

2. Candice gave you some very good advice.

3. The key word in your third question is "recognize", when you aren't using time with God wisely and you don't recognize it, you have a problem. When you recognize that you aren't spending time with God wisely, you can correct the situation.

Thank you everyone. That does help me. I'm not much of a schedule person, but i definately think i need to find a better way than what i'm doing. so...i will start trying some of your suggestions.

Law of Undulation, that's awesome!

I find that my bible reading and walking the walk goes in cycles. For awhile i will read the bible voraciously, ask questions to gain knowledge, and consciously make decisions to walk the walk. Then i seem to stop reading, asking questions, and stumbling while i try to walk for a period of time.

Is this common among Christians?

Do you have suggestions or advice?

What do you do when you recognize your not spending time "God-wisely"?

Yes it is common. I call it the "Law of Undulation"

It very often occurs when we try to do things under our power and not His.

I have found that one needs to set some sort of routine for prayer at least. South and I pray every morning before work, and every night before sleep. The evenings are the longer periods for prayer for us. Church, home group, prayer meetings and fellowship also help me to avoid the up and down syndrome

When you are in this position, try and read your bible for at least 5 minutes a day, and you will find that this grows in time as you get immersed in the word. One of my biggest failings is that although I do all of the above, reading my bible needs attention. I can do a study and then I am immersed, but am lax when it comes to simply picking it up and reading.

So you are not alone!

lol idiot box, now that's funny

Hey Mudpie

I have rules for myself.

I don't get online each morning until I've at least spent some time in prayer, and done a devotional if it is convenient (as in, if I can get to my devotional database).

I don't watch any TV until I've read some of the bible during that day.

Seems to help me put the right things first. And let's face it, we probably spent a considerable amount of time online and watching the idiot box every day, so those rules work well for me!

Love ya

I find that my bible reading and walking the walk goes in cycles. For awhile i will read the bible voraciously, ask questions to gain knowledge, and consciously make decisions to walk the walk. Then i seem to stop reading, asking questions, and stumbling while i try to walk for a period of time.

Is this common among Christians?

Do you have suggestions or advice?

What do you do when you recognize your not spending time "God-wisely"?

I love lifechurch.tv!!!!!! Pastor Craig Groeschel was blessed with a gift for teaching.

can't help it pre, you make me laugh

Last....

No lock-ey too much fun

I love being handed the baton LAST!

Did someone say......LAST!!!

The three stooges

I thought life was over when I would turn 19, of course that didn't explain why mom and dad were still alive, hmmmmm

Thank You Hmbld, I needed that laugh

sily brother.

I lack the persistence to claim last on that "other" thread, so I am still trying to get "last" here.

Neb, its all mine!

Happy birthday anyway, or anyday, ?

Well as far as I can tell this topic is still running and i'm last.

I know its late, but I agree ham is quick and easy for a newbie cook. Any of the holiday casseroles are good for newbies too. Get pre-made rolls and heat them up. There are many quick and easy desserts, or just buy a premade pie or cake.

You'll do fine, and yes check out the cooking section on the boards.

Good luck and Merry Christmas!

I understand. This christmas it's just me and the dog. I haven't lost any loved ones since i was 24, but I am unable to visit my family due to financial limitations. I may not have the best relationship with all my family, but I miss spending the holidays with them and participating in our family traditions.

I will sing happy birthday to Jesus tomorrow and remember why we celebrate his birth, but still a bit down and lonely. I will hug God and my dog tomorrow and be thankful for what I have and thankful for the families that get to share the holidays.

Interesting debate.