I sat the other day, on the floor with my two daughters, the youngest smiling and cooing at me while the older was copying my every move and sound. For some reason one of my earlier posts came to mind, "The Minutes Pass By." And I realized, that if my time came soon what could I say or leave for my two girls? They are too young to understand if I tried right now, so I decided to post this and let family print it for them if I am called home. So as you read this, please don't let another minute go by without telling someone how much you love them.

To my Daughters,

I love you girls, I just want to start out by letting you know that. You two have changed me, made me better, whole, complete. As I watch you interact with the world, I am in awe at your innocence and your amazement at things I tend to take for granted. The wonder and amazement at seeing your first snow, The happiness that comes from seeing a smile from someone you love. You two amaze me, you are so beautiful. Don't ever let this world dictate to you what beauty is. God made you who you are, and you ARE beautiful.

I watch you guys and the openness you have with people, I hope you never lose that. The world needs more of it, people opening their heart to others. There will be some out there that will take advantage of it though, so please be cautious. But know that not everyone is like that, there are some out there who need someone to let them know they care. Always be kind, and polite, you never know what that person is really going through. Often something much deeper than we are able to see is happening.

I know there will be times when you hurt. Feeling like it is just better to close your heart to others. Please fight this for all your worth. There is beauty in helping others, to being open with others. Let the hurt or broken heart heal, learn from it, learn to look past it, and you will find that if it's done right, there is beauty to be learned in our hurts as well.

Don't let this world determine what "success" is for you. Success is being content with what God has for you. Find that, and be content and know that your dad thinks of you as one of the most successful people alive. Not a whole lot of people today are capable of realizing this. It's such a sad thing, you will never find happiness in the amount of money you make or possessions you have.

And finally, ALWAYS be respectful and loving to your mother. She is such a wonderful person, and wise beyond her years. I know a time will come when you think you don't need her advice, but please listen anyway. She has taught me so much about loving and living, and I know she can do the same for you.

I have been blessed beyond measure with my family. I don't feel I deserve it at times. The word love just does not do justice what I feel for you two. I am the luckiest man there ever was, I have loved and been loved by the greatest women in the world. My Daughters....

I have thanked God for you everyday, since the day you were born, and I will continue to thank Him long after I am called home.

I love you with every ounce that is me.
Rev

I've often wondered how many people stop and think how much of a difference they can make to someones life. A kind word, a soft look, a simple smile of understanding. I was surfing the web and came across this old song I thought was perfect for my blog. We often think of angels as Heavenly beings sent to bring messages from God. But if we will open our hearts we can bring messages to people from our Heavenly Father as well. Are you willing to listen?? To all the angels that stopped and helped me in my walk of life, Thank you. Are you willing to be someones angel? I believe it's simpler than we think if we just take time to try.... Till next time, Rev

Someone sent me this in an e-mail, I thought it was really good. Tell me what you all think.

God's Coffee

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the coffee. When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones.
While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups... And then you began eying each other's cups.

Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of Life we live.
Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us." God brews the coffee, not the cups.......... Enjoy your coffee!

"The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything."

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God

If only we could learn to do this more, what a change that would bring!!

Till next time,
Rev

This post is an answer to a question someone asked in a private comment. I've thought long about this, and finally this came to mind, I hope it helps. So here it goes......

In all our lives we see people facing struggles everyday. Some might seem small, to the point of wondering *Why are they worried about that?* And others will exasperate us at how huge this problem is. But no matter the issue, I think it's always important to try and help them any way possible. This person asked me what would I do if I knew someone going through a hard time that I didn't understand, what would I say?
How could I encourage them?

A long time ago, I knew this teenager who was pretty cool. I'll call him Tom. Anyway, he was only about 3 years younger than me, and something about us, we just clicked and became good friends. One morning he stopped by (we lived just a few houses down from me) and asked if I would come over later to play some ball. I had some important things I had to take care of, but I LOVE TO PLAY BALL, so I told him I would be over in a couple of hours.

Three hours later, as I approached his house, I saw the police pulling out of his drive, with their vehicle following right after, only the mom and little kids inside. I was shocked, but decided to see if he was still there. As I approached his front lawn, there he was, standing in his yard, face the color of a tomato, sobbing uncontrollably, fists clenched just as hard as he could. I wasn't sure what to do. Should I say anything? What in the world had happened? My first thought was I wanted to get out of there, this was not my problem, we could always play ball another day. But something compelled me to take a seat on his front porch. I know it was God leading me to do this, I would have never done this on my own.

As I sat there, I watched Tom swing his fists in the air, scream at the top of lungs, and show rage like I have never seen before. I was scared and worried about my friend, but what could I say? What could I do?

After about a half hour of this continuing, he finally dropped to his knees. I walked over and sat beside him in the grass, he quietly said, "You can go, I don't feel like playing ball." To which I repied, "I know, but I think I'll just stay." He started bawling again, swearing in between breaths, and I kind of figured out something had happened between his parents and he felt responsible. For three hours we sat there, me not saying anything, him leeting it all out. Finally he got up, wiped his face off and we went and played. He and his mom along with his siblings moved away not long after.

I ran into him by chance one day about 3 years ago, he was visiting relatives. We exchanged some small talk, and then what he said taught me something I had never thought of before. He said, "Rev, thanks for helping me back then, I never forgot what you did." I tried telling him that I didn't do anything. He replied, "You stayed, that was all I needed."

I never found out what exactly happened. I figured he would tell me if he wanted me to know. But you see, sometimes we can help just by staying. I've always remembered that, and it has helped numerous times in my goal to be nothing but a help to people. So my answer to you is, let them know that you will just stay if they need you to. Sometimes there are no answers. Other times people refuse them when there are. Thats when we just need to stay.

Till next time,
Rev

Why Bother Trying To Change The World?
Here are some stats I found that may surprise you.




www.franksfoundation.org
* At least 1 out of 4 girls and one out of 6 boys will be sexually abused by age 18
* At least 90 percent of all childhood sexual abuse victims know their abuser
* Only 25 percent of childhood sexual abuse cases are even reported; only 5 percent of those cases will even make it to court and of that, 50 percent of these children will be returned to their alleged abuser
* The average sexual predator will commit 117 assaults before even getting caught
* The re-arrest rate for convicted child predators is 52 percent
* One in 10 homes are involved in some form of childhood sexual abuse; this is a leading cause of teen suicide and child prostitution



researchmag.asu.edu/stories/abusestats
In homes where partner abuse occurs, children are 1,500 times more likely to be abused.

Between 1 million and 4 million women are assaulted by a husband, domestic partner, boyfriend, or other intimate each year, depending on the source of statistics.

Only about one-seventh of all domestic assaults come to the attention of police.

www.myfriendsplace.org
More than 1.3 million children are homeless at some time each year.



www.postgradmed.com
Every 2 hours, a child is killed by someone using a firearm

More than 10 million children witness domestic abuse in their homes each year

The United States has the highest youth suicide and homicide rate among the 26 wealthiest nations and one of the highest rates worldwide

www.urban.org
at least 2.3 million and probably as many as 3.5 million people experience homelessness at least for a short period.

www.inthesetimes.com
40 percent of America's children and youth remain in low-income families. Thirteen million are poor, and 6 million of those suffer destitution in households with less than half of poverty-level income. U.S. child poverty rates are two to 10 times higher than in Western Europe, Canada or Australia.

www.foxnews.com
Fifty percent of first marriages will end in divorce, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau (search) projections, taken in 2002.

www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/12/25/CHILDREN.TMP
Some 2.4 million children in the United States have a parent in jail or prison, says Bernstein, author of the 2005 book "Alone in the World -- Children of the Incarcerated.'' As many as 1 in 10 children in California are estimated to have a parent in jail or prison or on parole or probation

The way I see it, I owe it to my children to try and change this for them. And not just them, but children in general. We have to try and stop the cycles that keep going round and round. We have to make a stand and shout, "THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE!!!!" We have to show these women and children that they are worthy of the right kind of love....



To my two girls above, I promise I'll do everything in my power to help make this world better for you, I love you very much.

To all who might read this, we can do SO much better than this. Will you stand with me? Will you try for your children? What do we have to lose? My heart breaks when I read these stats, When I found these pictures. There are so many out there who need the right kind of love. Someone to show them they are worth something. Write me and tell me what you think.

Till next time,
Rev