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I have friends that are in Haiti helping in any ways they can. They got a report that an orphanage called Hopital Espoir (Hospital of Hope) is currently trafficking children. They are selling off young innocent children as slaves. This is so disturbing and heart wrenching. I just wanted to make everyone aware that is going on in the midst of the destruction and devastation that Haiti has just endured. There is currently good people and hopefully authorities on the way to put an end to this cruel behavior. Please Pray for their safety and for the children. Will update with any further news.
God reign your mercy down on these heartless child traffickers!!!!
Had an awesome weekend. Was reminded of how big God is and saw his presence at a church I visited. I went to www.lifechurchga.tv in Oakwood Ga. The pastor at life church is Ken Joslin and he is truly authentic and on fire for God. The worship pastor is Philip Cox and he is amazing. I went down to visit and speak to Ken about a youth pastor there. My wife was also very impressed and excited about the direction the church is going. My son Talyn was even calling it his church by the time we left. I am praying for God's guidance and direction. As I was driving home with a thousand thoughts dancing in my head, I couldn't help but be amazed at how much God has blessed me and just how Big He is. I'm not sure what might come of this, but luckily God knows and He will guide me. Please keep me in your prayers as I seek the will of God.
I went to a great Bible study for men this morning at Biltmore Baptist. First off, if your not familiar with Biltmore Baptist or haven't been there since Bruce Frank has been the pastor, I highly recommend you go. You need this in your life. It is absolutely miraculous what God is doing with this church and through pastor Frank. The music is simply amazing and Bruce Frank is the real deal. Two Sundays ago was our families first visit. 15 Minutes into the service I was thinking man this is like going to a concert, was I suppose to pay money to get in. Don't take that the wrong way, it is just an amazing weekly tribute and lesson honoring God. The theme of the mens bible group this morning was finding your purpose in life. Pastor Bill Cleminson led the lesson and brought a great message. In order to find your purpose in life, you have break yourself down into your truest form.
1. The first step in this process is realizing that God put you here on Earth for a very specific purpose.
2. The second step is to find your gift, what comes naturally to you.
3. The next step is your desires, what are you passionate about.
4. The final step is listening to God and seizing the opportunities He places before you.
Finding your purpose in life can be very challenging, but it will be worth the wait. If we obey God and carry out his will, our lives we will be blessed. Be patient, Use your gifts, Listen to your heart, and seize doors that God opens.
God Bless!!!!
I must admit that it has been extremely difficult waiting on God's will for my next career path. Patience is not one of my stronger characteristics. However, I am working on this trait and making progress day by day. I think that God demands our patience and displays an omnipresent nature of patience with us. In the past I would have typically ran out and had a job within a week or less of being unemployed. Not always the best way to handle a career choice, but mandatory in some cases. Luckily for me God blessed my derailment with a few months severance, which provides time for me to be patient on God's calling. The job market is very rough and tumble these days. I heard someone say the other day that the economy is tuff that democrats are having to stick their hands in their own pockets. As narrow as the path of patience is, it will lead to comforting and rewarding places. I have to constantly remind myself that all good things require time. God doesn't want everything to be cake walk for us. If this was the case then Jesus wouldn't have taught the disciples in parables. He would have just hit them with the truth. God wants us to be patient, listen to his voice, and be led by our heart. God didn't design this journey in a nice little box with a bow. He gave us control, a conscience, a heart, and his word and the Holy Spirit to guide us. Be patient, wait, and listen to the voice of God.
God Bless!!!!!
I have been doing a lot of thinking since I got the happy new year good luck your fired bomb dropped on me. This unemployment thing actually feels much better then it sounds. However, it is not the ideal situation for the pocketbook. Events that will alter your life require you to have porcelain heart. You have to make a decision and open your heart to important decisions and life altering experiences. If you don't expose your heart then the vigor and zest of life is totally sucked out of you. Many people choose to live life like that, but there miserable existence permeates there surrounding with a negative funk. Many senior citizens choose to live life like this. They have hardened their heart so much they don't want any one else to be happy either. In order to be truly happy you have to get all the way down to the core of your existence and what makes you happy. Once you do this you must take out the trash. Forgive and forget all the negative experiences that have shielded your happiness. Refocus on the positive circumstances, relationships, and blessings that define your life. We have all had less than perfect lives, we're all human. If you haven't emptied the garage out of your life, act now. Once you do you can move closer to the life you always desired and your relationships, attitude, and zest will be restored. Many people have locked away and carried emotional baggage since childhood. If your parents weren't there all the time, or mistreated you must forgive them and move on. i can relate to this and took me up until my early twenties to quit feeling sorry for myself. Everyone always thought I had the most desirable and perfect childhood growing up. Unless money and materialism are the definition of happiness then this notion is far from reality. I'll admit I was spoiled growing up with name brand things thru the later part of life, but my life was also deprived of time with my parents. I can count the times on one had that my dad was at one of my ball games or a PTA meeting. my parents came from nothing and worked 90 plus hour weeks to try and make a better life for themselves. Luckily I got the advantage of having to grow up fast and interacted with more adults than children. If I had it all over to do again I would appreciate more time with my parents, but I wouldn't change anything. My life circumstance define who I am and have ejected me into a beautiful life of happiness. I am truly blessed and thankful for Gods grace and mercy. I know many people that sit around and wonder why they are the victim of failed relationships. The answer is very simple, they aren't happy with themselves and until they are, they can't be happy with anyone else. If your parents left emotional wounds in your heart then get over and move onto a life of happiness. If you haven't forgiven your earthly parents it will hinder your relationship with your heavenly Father. If you maintain a porcelain heart than you have a fighting chance to embrace life by the horns and enjoy the ride. There will come a time in your life when God will break and shatter your heart, send you on an emotional roller coaster, and then reel you back in with a new respect for this journey. I hope you have a porcelain heart as your compass, God as your light, and the Bible as your map. This trinity will transcend you to a blessed and happy life.
God Bless!!!!!
My best friend Joey Davis's girlfriend Brittany sent me an awesome quote for inspiration and encouragement. Thought there might be someone else who could benefit from the quote so here it is: "so many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more dangerous to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun." I actually think that more people should take this quote to heart and live by it. Don't let anyone tell you not to be a dreamer or wild at heart. Our God is a big God and doesn't think in minuscule square box's like society. His boundaries are endless, magnificent, and saturated with everlasting grace. God has no boundaries or limitations. Like S M Lockridge says: "My King is the King of KIngs, the Lord of Lords, the Alpha and Omega, the Highway to Holiness, and the Pathway to Peace. Break free from conforming to the world and limiting yourself to the political and capital cage that confines modern day society and Corporate America.
God Bless!!!!!
It is mind blowing the amount of support that I have received after loosing my job. I think I currently have at least 20 or 30 people that have called to console and let me know they will be praying for me. This is an incredibly awesome feeling that I have so may friends that care so deeply. It is time like these that a friendship is so vitally important and uplifting. I still have no idea what God has in store for me, but luckily He does. I will continue to pray, network, and search for the door that God is opening. I would also like to offer my support to anyone who needs. My cell number is on my facebook page. Please don't hesitate to call if you need someone to talk to, guidance, or if I can help you in anyway. I also appreciate all of you who follow my blog, it is an escape for me and hopefully an entertaining spiritual segway for you.
Thanks and God Bless!!!!
Sitting here reflecting on my day yesterday. I woke to a text from my boss telling me come see him when I got to work. I went to his office after arriving and got the infamous "close the door" greeting. I had mentally prepared myself for the excitement of a
"Corporate America new year" pep rally. However, I did leave my pom pom's in the car. As I shut the door my boss said Dustin I don't think your a good fit for Farm Bureau and I don't want you on my team. I said I'm sorry you feel that way and after a few more words we shook hands and parted ways. At first I was somewhat mad and confused until I reminded myself that God had a different plan for me. God will not shut a door without opening another one. Although I wasn't prepared for an Apprentice flashback of Trump's "You're Fired" it was God's will. Can't wait to see what he has in store for me. I am also overwhelmed and reminded of the true friends I have as so many people have reached out and offered support and prayer. I haven't really decided what to do next, but I'm leaning towards writing a book, or joining a rock band. The rock band is probably not the best idea seeing as how I would probably get booed singing the national anthem at a chess tournament. No in all seriousness my next career choice will have to come from God. Don't get me wrong I'm not gonna sit at the house and pray that a job finds me, but I will pray for guidance and clarity in my search and decision. These are the kind of decisions I used to make blindly without prayer or solidification from God. I would not recommend this approach. i don't know what it is but as scary as being unemployed is, there is this sense of absolute freedom and adrenaline pumping excitement of a new experience. Ironically, I read an article today about how employment dissatisfaction is at an al time high. The editor speculated over a multitude of hypothesis to dissect this frightening statistic. Well as a civilian who has just parachuted out of Corporate America, I will enlighten you. The only reason that workers are unsatisfied is because managers have become compulsively greedy and disloyal. Most managers, owners, and CEO's have lost sight of what's important in life. And just in case you haven't either, it isn't money. What's important is God, relationships, morals, ethics, responsibility, loyalty, and respect. If these were still the characteristics that defined Corporate America we would not be in a recession or lost society. If AMerica would get back to their roots and heavenly Father the world would be a better place. I hope you don't run into any Trump impostors this year and I wish you all the best in twenty ten. It is gonna be a great year and God has big plans for us!
God Bless!
I ran into an old coworker name Claudio Nunez at Skyland Automotive last week. Claudio is a great guy, the kind that asks the type of questions that convince you that he really care and isn't just trying to make small talk or stroke your ego. I worked with Claudio when I purposed to my wife Meghan in Dec of 06. Claudio asked about her and my my son and then hit me with an intriguing and thoughtful question. He said Do you love your wife as much as the day you asked her to marry you. What a great question that most people don't ever ask. The type of question that makes you rip your heart open and sends your mind into a frenzy. Questions that deal with the heart require real the use of a different part of the brain. I replied no, I love her more than the day I asked her to marry me. You see this brilliant euphoric unexplainable gift called love, is simply a choice. I truly love my wife because I choose to and I choose to work on our relationship and pray for it. I also got to see what true love was when God sent his son Jesus to die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. Like us, God had a choice. He chose to send his son through hell on earth to die for us. Luckily death couldn't handle him. I think too many people in society think that love is the type of natural occurrence that happens in the utopian land of Hollywood. They think that feeling you have in the first two weeks of dating will last forever if you find the right person. News flash, it doesn't. The perfect person doesn't exist. Love is the hardest act that we live out on this stage called life. It does not come easy or gentle or agreeing, it is the hardest thing you as a human have to deal with. It is so strong it has destroyed peoples lives, while giving others new life. Moral of the story here is love is a choice. If you are smart you will realize this and love God and his children. He is the only one who knows are heart. At the end of the day I have a growing love for God and for my wife and son. My love for God and my family brings peace to my heart, joy to my life, and comfort as I lay my head on my pillow at night. Love makes the angels in heaven sing and the stars shine bright. Love is a choice, choose love.
God Bless!!!!!
