I went to check out Dave Ward’s new store front today. Buddy Brew Coffee is located on 2020 W. Kennedy Boulevard Tampa, FL 33606(813) 258- BREW (2739)
The first time I went to see what Buddy Brew was all about is chronicled in this post. It was very pleasant to sit a spell and chat.
Born and raised on the fine continent of America I am very happy with the Representative Republic as it was meticulously assembled by our God fearing founding father. I am not for creating dependency on a massive central government and I detest the socialist direction our current admiration is quickly developing in our nation. I do not want the “Fundamental Change” Obama is actively pursuing as you read this post. America will cease to be who we are if we compromise our constitution and our bill of rights.
There are two heroes who are in agreement with my principle and values. Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck are amazing. They are so right so much of the time I am inspired by their programs.
One of the most compelling aspects of what they do with conviction, humor and optimism is the singular fact that none of our opponents ever directly challenge their carefully researched facts. Make no mistake, if these two champions were not being as honest and factual as they are their many enemies would have long ago been able to discredit them. The truth is they are so breathtakingly aware of what is happening in this country and so versed in the universal common sense that made this country the leader of the free world that the cowardly liberal progressive never dare debate them on the facts. They simply label them arrogant, racist, hate mongers and are attempting to criminalize their dissent in order to one day silence them. A true leader is one who welcomes debate and dissent with the knowledge that if his principles are right they will prosper.
If you do not already listen to Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck you should. Your eyes will be opened to what is really happening in this country. I have listened long enough to find that they have been right on. Listen for a while and decide for yourself.
Thank you Rush and Glenn for your willingness to speak out no matter the cost.
What do we do in this world? We are the church of Elohim the creator cosmos living on this little planet we call earth. He is larger than the universe and we are so very small. Is it true that if we only had lots of money to pay our debts and expand our buildings we could change the world for Jesus?
What does His word say we must do to please our merciful Father in heaven. If His word is true here are a few passages that might be helpful.
He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread: but he that followeth after vain persons shall have poverty enough. A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent. To have respect of persons is not good: for for a piece of bread that man will transgress. He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him. He that rebuketh a man afterwards shall find more favour than he that flattereth with the tongue. Whoso robbeth his father or his mother, and saith, It is no transgression; the same is the companion of a destroyer. He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife: but he that putteth his trust in the LORD shall be made fat. He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered. He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse. When the wicked rise, men hide themselves: but when they perish, the righteous increase.
(Pro 28:19-28)
And he set judges in the land throughout all the fenced cities of Judah, city by city, And said to the judges, Take heed what ye do: for ye judge not for man, but for the LORD, who is with you in the judgment. Wherefore now let the fear of the LORD be upon you; take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with the LORD our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts.
(2Ch 19:5-7)
God is not affected by our titles and accomplishments. He is not impressed by our wealth. He does not seem to give the rich more or less attention than the poor. He stays the same no matter what our successes but our social status and the spoils that come might change our attitude toward Him.
Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men: Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free. And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
(Eph 6:5-12)
Do we please men or God? Do we do the will of men for profit and position or do we do the will of God and become servants of those who do not have the means to compensate us for our labor.
My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called? If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
(Jas 2:1-10)
Does God ask up to be rich or to be poor or does he ask us to ignore the very idea of rich and poor and simply rely on His provision while loving our neighbor as ourselves?
During my time in churches I once would sit and listen to a pastor whose name was Jeff Parrish. One verse he would often pray and that was always challenging to me is found in psalms. It was a verse he seemed to return to time and again.
Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
I understand this verse better and better as time goes by. I am the creation of God and His child and I am a disobedient one. I do have wicked ways that God reveals and cleanses from me. I am as blind in my own way as others are in theirs. I am in constant need of Gods leading. The entire chapter put it into context.
Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men. For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain. Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee? I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies. Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
(Psa 139:19-24)
Here is what we do bothers and sisters as those we love come and go. We will not be redeemed with gold or silver but by the precious Blood of Christ.
Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear: Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God. Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.
(1Pe 1:13-25)
Thank you God you are teaching me to Love! There is no greater JOY!
The bees have been with us off and on for about 8 years. If you build a bird house apparently they will come. I have grown to love the bees and it is comforting to know that even if I am napping they are hard at work. Bees are one of God’s most inspiring creations!
This video was recorded with a Canon SD960. It is proving to be a great compact pocket camera!
Met a family from church at a sanctuary of theirs in the Ocala National Forest. They camped over night at the Juniper Springs Park and I showed up in the morning to canoe the run.
It was four hours of absolute fun in about the best natural surroundings you can get in creation.
The water was a crystal clear delight and we canoed and swam for mile after mile.
Very happy to have been a part of this great time of fellowship. We all die so it is very important to live in the meantime. Not just all by our lonesome either but with our brothers and sisters.
You should check out the springs for yourself. It is about a 2.5 hour drive from Tampa and will cost you $5 per person entrance fee and about $30 to rent a canoe.
By the time your finished paddling you will be ready for a nap!
I had the pleasure of visiting the home of some church friends this evening . Scott Avriett of First Priority Tampa Bay was describing his call to reach schools with the message of Jesus
Everyone had a great time of fellowship !
One of the onions in the mobile garden is going to seed. I have not harvested it intentionally to be witness to the amazing blossom that is emerging day by day.
The blossom looks like an onion full of tiny onions.
It is pretty much amazing and makes me realize afresh just how amazing the mind behind it is. God spoke the onion into being on the third day! I thank God for onions which I like to eat in many different receipts.
I have grown up in a home with a mother and father who are followers of Jesus. My parents are children of the living God. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. When you grow up in a home like the one I had you do not experience rejection, abandonment or emotion paralysis. God is faithful to those who put their faith in Him.
Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. (Heb 13:5-6)
There is no more crippling event in the life of a person than to be abandoned by those they hold most dear. As I have said it is not an experience I am well acquainted with in my own time but I have witnessed it a number of times. What I am realizing is the rejected will often times reject to prevent future abandonment and will over time become emotionally paralyzed. The initial rejection causes rejection and everyone gets to be rejected.
It is painful to see someone consumed with the hurtful events they have experienced. God is the only one with the answers. I will relate a thought I had last night that is a bit abstract but had some meaning to me. I will just type it out as it comes to mind.
Eyes are like windows and gazing is like a beam of light. I know when my gaze is not met by someone I love there is darkness. As I turn my head here and there the beam of my gaze crosses the beam of another’s gaze. I am very disrupted when a dear one avoids my gaze or when in my own heart I am unwilling to meet the gaze of another because of my own dark thoughts. Like beams of light faster than the blink of an eye vision is communication. After sight may come sound. Words to make the vision clearer or to hide the truth in the light of the eyes.
The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness. Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness. If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light. (Luk 11:34-36)
When anyone I know well and am in close communication with is rejected it either shakes them and causes them to doubt everyone they hold dear around them or it drives them to seek out those few who they are convinced will not harm them. It is understandable when they break the closeness to protect themselves but no less painful. When they will not be seen and will not listen you are shut out. It is within everyone's power to completely die to another.
Here is the word I live by that helps me to fight this selfish impulse to abandon people to save myself from pain or discomfort. It is only God who can do this work in His children and it is a work He is continually doing in this disobedient child's life.
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. (1Jn 4:18)
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. (1Co 13:1-13)
At the heart of all of this is the God given desire to family. To be loved for who we are and to be free to love without the fear of rejection. When someone is rejected they learn to reject. Sometimes this rejection causes the one you love to die enough inside they will not give you audience to hear what you have to say. Pray to God that you may know the truth and that the rejected will know the truth. The truth is freedom.
What I would say to the rejected is this: We will all die and this is why we must all learn to live in the now. We must not brutalize ourselves with what might be in the future. Live right now in the present circumstance with God as your guide. Do not take on responsibilities that belong to others. Know full well what your responsibilities are and give God the responsibility to heal those who have rejected you. With the Holy Spirit as your guide cast out fear and love those who have proven their love for you. Cast out the shadow of rejection and abandon the expectations you have locked to those you look to for healing and love them right where they are at. There is no circumstance that God cannot turn to joy. Parents show your children how a child of God can thrive even in the face of rejection. God will never reject or abandon us. We do not need to be destroyed by rejection. Parents teach your children.
My Faithful Canon SD800is unceremoniously died about three weeks ago. I picked it up pressed the button and nothing. No noise or lights no lens extending out from the body. Nothing.
Here is an image of the rig I had from a previous post. This camera served me very well from 130’ below the surface of the water in the Gulf of Mexico to the jungles of Ecuador it did a great job of bringing back images and videos of my adventures!
Here is the post mortem which left me with no indication of why it failed but with the utmost respect for the marvelous engineering necessary to construct one of these little wonders.
I also broke open one of the old batteries.
I plan on replacing it with an sd960.
The only real improvement will be higher definition video.
Either 6,300 teachers in Miami-Dade county are sick or Florida has a bunch of lying educators.
Governor Crist sign the bill already. Tenure is a disaster for education and has been for decades. If you are not performing well as a teacher there should not be a system that guarantees you a teaching job for life.
What is wrong with getting paid based on the success of your student to learn? The answer is nothing.
I do know that the system is so corrupt that teacher are often times hampered in their genuine efforts to educate children ,but that is no reason to guarantee teachers who are not effective their job with tenure, or pay them as much, or more than other teachers who are excelling.
Update:
I talked to a friend of mine who is a little more invested in this planet as he has a family. Although in principle my mind is the same on the matter I do think maybe I was a little harsh on the teachers regardless of their bad behavior. It is true that between the union pressures and the local and federal government they are in a very tedious position. The whole system needs to change and this is a start no matter how painful. The problem is the same as always. You cannot have pseudo-socialists systems in a democracy without the slow destruction of both approaches. you have got to choose and with a socialist administration, a democratic majority of citizens and a bankrupt nation the time to choose is fast approaching.
South Tampa Fellowship’s Pastor Craig Rees baptized his two eldest sons.
Little girl I know since before she was born was baptized!
Another great time of fellowship.
Come on out and join us for some fellowship! http://www.stfchurch.com/softball
When do we need Jesus? Now and then, again and again, maybe even all the time, how about from beginning to end? After that we will have Him forever because we will not keep putting Him away.
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called? If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
(Jas 1:22-27)(Jas 2:1-10)
Last evening was South Tampa Fellowship’s first Awana meeting of the new year and things were hopping. I have got to tell you yet again what a joy it is to be a part of a church like STF. This is the first year that I am official wearing the blue and red polo and as a helper in the older twos and threes I am finding myself delighted.
I am helping one of our super moms in this class which is called the lions. we had 11 little people two whom I met for the first time. This world is in such desperate need of honest to goodness, no strings attached, Christ like Love. Awana also focuses on the word of God and memorizing the word to transform the mind.
I have not recorded everyone’s image but here are the majority of those intrepid individuals who are speaking the Word of life into the lives of our beloved little people.
Thank you again for this rare group Lord it is an amazing thing to be a part of all this great fellowship!
