cup of joe

Our local pizza joint has all types of pizza's-pepperoni, sausage, greek and the ultimate supreme. The supreme has every ingredient in the shop on it all mixed together. As I was reading a proverb the other day I came across the words: "wisdom is supreme". In Proverbs 4 we are instructed to lay ahold of God's Word, keep the commands and get wisdom and understanding. Don't forsake wisdom for wisdom is supreme. I immediately thought about that supreme pizza. What makes it different from all the rest is that it has everything. That's what separates wisdom from knowledge and understanding: wisdom has got every ingredient and it all blends together to make something delicious: a great life and a great pizza.  Why do we need the supreme? Because without God's wisdom we look pretty silly. I was reading some famous people quotes the other day which illustrate my point. Let me share a few... "Smoking kills. If you're killed, you've lost a very import…

We're all aware that Memorial Day is a day of remembrance, but Congress has also established an exact minute of remembrance. The National Moment of Remembrance Act,which was adopted in December of 2000, encourages every citizen to pause each Memorial Day at 3:00 p.m. local time to remember the brave men and women who died serving this country. In addition to any federal observances, Major League Baseball games usually come to a stop during the Moment of Remembrance, and for the past several years, Amtrak engineers have taken up the practice of sounding their horns in unison at precisely 3:00 p.m.

Today, and every day, take time to pray for the families of those that gave their lives for the freedom we enjoy today. Minutes, moments and monuments all remind us of the sacrificial love that makes this nation great. 

🇺🇸Honor 🇺🇸Celebrate 🇺🇸 Remember

Facts...indisputable truths...I love to know the facts. There are so many opinions and ideas out there that make the facts so refreshing when you get them. I especially like to know things that are true that make me laugh. I like happy facts. Let me share a couple: * If you fake laugh long enough, you'll actually start to laugh really hard.  * Rats laugh when tickled (wonder who figured that out?) * The Beatles used "love" 613 times in their songs.  * Butterflies use their feet to taste (favorite food- toe-fu:)  * When you were born, you were, for however brief an amount of time, the youngest person on the planet.  And now a little more seriously, here's how you can use the FACTS to be happy. Just follow the FACTS:) F orget the past A ccept your mistakes C ry and move on T hank God S mile always Hope you were able to smile just a bit today!

Your unfailing love is better than life itself; I will praise you as long as I live,  lifting up my hands to you in prayer. You satisfy me more than the richest feast.  I will praise you with songs of joy.

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him,rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.   Colossians 2:6-7 I pray that YOU are a fully devoted follower of Christ. If so, you must always try to live as one. Continue to LIVE YOUR LIVES in Him. What does that mean? Look at the scripture closely and we can see some of the amazing benefits of living in Him. You must be rooted in Him. The deeper the roots, the stronger the life. You deepen your roots through developing a relationship with Him. That relationship grows through prayer. You nourish the roots by reading His Word. Try taking a few moments at the start of each day to read the Bible. By becoming more deeply rooted in Him, two things will happen. You will be built up and strengthened. He will lift you up when your down and help you out when you feel helpless. His power will become your power. His strength will be your strength. B…

Have you ever noticed that little phrase at the bottom of the mirror on the door of your car? It says, "objects in mirror are closer than they appear". It says that because when you look at whatever is behind you in the mirror, the image is somewhat distorted and looks like it is not that close. Looking closer you see that it's right there behind you! Sometimes when I look at what I am hoping the Lord has for me, it feels like this mirror. The image is distorted a bit and it seems out of focus because its not close enough to me. What I need to see are my dreams and visions through His eyes and not a rear view mirror. He has plans for me...hope and a future. My expectations should not be distorted at all when my trust and my hope are in what He desires. I need to look to Him-fix my eyes on Jesus who writes the future and delivers it. What I am seeking is most definitely closer than it has ever been. Time to turn away from the rear view mirror and look forward to what is …

My victory comes from Him...He alone is my rock...my salvation...my fortress I will NEVER be shaken #nevershaken

God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.He comforts us in all our troublesso that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and  salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer.2 Corinthians 1 There are so many things about life these days that are uncomfortable. In tough places and dark spaces, we need encouragement to find our way out. God has connected us to the people in our lives for very specific reasons. You are surrounded by others that need you to bring hope, peace, joy and comfort. You may feel like this isn't possible because you are dealing with some of your own drama right now. Again, people are all around and God has placed them there. C…

I pray that the Father of glory, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, would impart to you the riches of the Spirit of wisdom and the Spirit of revelation to know him through your deepening intimacy with him. I pray that the light of God will illuminate the eyes of your imagination, flooding you with light, until you experience the full revelation of the hope of his calling—that is, the wealth of God’s glorious inheritances that he finds in us, his holy ones! I pray that you will continually experience the immeasurable greatness of God’s power made available to you through faith. EPH 1:17-19 TPT
Prayer has had many seasons in my life. There were days when I just couldn’t put words together and I would weep uncontrollably. There have also been other times when I didn’t even feel like having a conversation with God. I was angry and hurt and I wanted to blame God and others for my pain. I am so grateful that in times when I came at the Lord like that, He always understood and in His gentle lov…

I've seen and heard many things over the last few days: special Mothers Day poems, merchandise and a variety of Momisms. Momisms are those things that only a Mom can say. Some of the favorites that I read were "you're going to put your eye out with that thing!" or "look at me when I'm talking to you!" And the infamous one we have all heard, "you'll understand that better when you have kids of your own". The latter rings very true for me personally. As a father of three children, I find myself reaching way back in my memory to try and grab ahold of some of those wonderful words of wisdom that came from Mom. I wish I would have wrote some of them down! I'm sure she remembers every one of them! Mom's have learned how to endure pain for the joy of something greater. Though I was 6lbs 15oz. of incredible joy, she probably had to bite her tongue a few times:) Still Moms always have compassion and always believe the best of their childre…

Have you ever lost anything? Yours keys? A favorite pair of jeans? Your phone? One of the most discouraging things we face is having something and then losing it. It's frustrating to forget things but the older I get the more I see that forgetfulness taking ahold of me. Have you ever opened the refrigerator and forgot whether it was to get something out or put something in? That's crazy isn't it? The Bible talks about the gifts God has given us and the calling He has placed on our lives. They are beneficial, precious and a huge part of our personal success in this life. And what God said about those gifts and that call in Romans 11:29 was that they would never be withdrawn from us. The gift and calling of God is irrevocable. You can't lose the gift of God that's in you! It's yours forever! So today take comfort in the assurance that what God has put in you is there to stay. You aren't going to lose it. In fact He wants you to use it.  And know this: He wil…

Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. Proverbs 12:18
I am trying to be more disciplined about the words that come out of my mouth. I must admit that I can be guilty of saying things that can be damaging to others; "like a sword" the scripture says. Perhaps you have had those moments too when you thought to yourself, "did I really just say that out loud?" The text today also says that our words can bring healing. Jesus sent His word and healing manifested. Arms, backs, colds, even cancer can be miraculously healed, not by a mighty preacher, not even by an emotional service. Our words bring His presence. Try an exercise on your own today by watching what you say. How much of your conversation is critical and negative? Replace the piercing words with some positive ones and see God's supernatural healing come to your family, your business and your life.
Proverbs 25:11 A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of…

“Enjoy life. This is not a dress rehearsal.”  Let me share a couple random thoughts about this quote. First, I don't like dress rehearsals. I would rather just do the performance once in costume and not have to go through all of the "dress up"! To me it’s just painful to go through all of that for a "practice" session. Second, could you imagine what life would be like if we got a second chance because this was only practice? I love "do-overs"! Made a mistake today: do-over! Said something you wish you could take back: do-over!  The point of this quote is that we should take seriously the seconds, minutes, hours and days of our lives and spend our time carefully. Once it's spent, it's gone. We don't get to "dress up" and run through this once and then the real thing. This IS it! There are no do-overs. I think that is why the Lord wants us to acknowledge Him so that He can direct our paths the first time. People grow tired and bored a…

There is a time for everything, a season for every activity under heaven. Timing and seasons are very important in God's Kingdom. Too often it seems that we can be a bit impatient because the value we place on time doesn't match the way God sees it. We think that if our situation doesn't change in a day or a week that we will die.  Dramatic isn't it? After that period of time ends and we are still very much alive, we set a new timetable that is still out of sync with God. God's timing is always perfect. What I am trying to do is release my need to control the time and let things happen the way God desires. He sees things from a different angle than I do. I believe that He can get my life and my destination to connect in the best possible way for me and at just the right time. And in doing so, He gets all the glory! So what are you waiting for? Who are you waiting on? Are you still trying to control the timetable? That will only lead to frustration and disappointme…