Pretty cosmic sounding.

Quotes for the day:

"I felt like last week we had a car that could have won the race. It feels incredibly good to have everything go right and all the stars align for us and be here in victory lane", said Matt Kenseth after winning the NASCAR AutoClub 500 at California Speedway on Sunday where sleek cars and powerful engines are crucial.

"Daytona was such a hard race for us"..."but today the stars lined up, and here we are", said car owner Jack Roush.

Pretty cosmic sounding.

I wonder if they got calls from the world's observatories verifying that the stars really had lined up for them.

I just figured they worked hard, got it right, didn't make major mistakes and were out in front at the end of the race. I can't imagine they fret at night about whether the alignment of stars is going to be in their favor or against them the next day. I would feel defeated before I even tried!

I will put my faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. How about you? Have you trusted Jesus today?

Thank you XM satelite radio for broadcasting the race. I got to listen!

Getting smarter, but relative to what?

Tonight begins the first night of five away from home. I have an opportunity to attend a class related to my job, so how could I pass it up? :-)

The week long class will end Friday morning with a test. So you guessed it! I will be spending my nights studying!

Kind of reminds me of the days at the university... well not really, we have a time compressed schedule. Four days and then a test, not three or four months with many tests and a final. Those were the glory days? NO! I kind of like the time I am in now...

I took a big step! I called my sister in Gautemala! Wow! She has lived there for two and half years now. Yeah, I am a great brother! Maybe one of these days I will call my brother-in-law in Germany? That would be fun. Let's see, there is a time difference, surely if I am awake, he is awake too??? Just kidding Rick, I won't call you at three or four in the morning!

NASCAR, ST. LOUIS CARDINALS, BLUES HOCKEY

Nascar
Even though I don't have time to follow sports or motor sports, once every few 'decades' I am somewhat aware of them. The NASCAR season is underway with it's first race on Sunday, the Daytona 500. The cars in the race are fitted with restrictor plates on the carburetors so they won't go too fast. Too fast? Hmmm... I guess cars that can reach 220+ mph at this track have a likelihood of flying into the grandstands. Kind of makes you want to watch now, yeah? So, I read that they will race, in a pack, inches from each other, for nearly four hours. And America will watch because they practice bump drafting on this track to get the edge on other drivers. Spin outs and wrecks. Definitely worth watching? Maybe I will have time to see some of it!

Elliot Sadler (car 38), who placed 13th in the Nextel Cup Series in 2005, won the Gatorade Duel 1 today, while Jeff Gordon (car 24) who placed 11th in 2005, won Duel 2 today.

Baseball
The Major League Baseball season is nearly here. The St. Louis Cardinal's first home game will be Monday, April 10. I thought, hey, it would be nice to go to the first Saturday game on the 15th, in the new stadium. So I looked for tickets. Nosebleed and bleacher seats started at $35.00, yikes! Today I looked and they have been reduced to $30. The seats I thought were desireable are more around the $100 range. Sorry Cardinals, I know it has been several years since I have been to a game (I am savoring the Ozzy days!), but I think I will spend my $70 to $200 doing something else fun. I just can't bring myself to spend even $30 on a bleacher seat. I don't remember baseball tickets being so high. Ever since the baseball strike, I have had a hard time picking baseball back up as a fan. I never went to see Blues hockey either because I thought the ticket prices seemed a little steep. See! In my first sentence I implied I wasn't huge sports fan! Now the cat is out of the bag. The tv will never replace seeing it live, but I can deal with just watching it on tv once in awhile. :-)

Actually, my wife has seen to it that I get to go see some of the sporting events. We have been to a minor league hockey game, to PBR bull riding (way cool), and to car racing, and we used to go to Busch stadium to watch the Cardinals every so often. There may be other events we went to, but I am not recalling them right now.

Silvio Berlusconi, Napoleon, and Jesus Christ

Recently Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi compared himself to Napoleon. Now he says, “I am the Jesus Christ of politics”.

Why is he the Jesus Christ of politics? “I am a patient victim, I put up with everyone, I sacrifice myself for everyone.” Has Berlusconi just prophesied his death? Will he die on behalf of his countrymen? If so, will he be a victim or a savior?

I never thought of Jesus Christ as a victim. And I probably never will. Do you think Jesus was a victim?

John 10 : 14 - 18 (AMP)

14 I am the Good Shepherd; and I know and recognize My own, and My own know and recognize Me-- 15 Even as [truly as] the Father knows Me and I also know the Father--and I am giving My [very own] life and laying it down on behalf of the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep [beside these] that are not of this fold. I must bring and impel those also; and they will listen to My voice and heed My call, and so there will be [they will become] one flock under one Shepherd. 17 For this [reason] the Father loves Me, because I lay down My [own] life--to take it back again. 18 No one takes it away from Me. On the contrary, I lay it down voluntarily. [I put it from Myself.] I am authorized and have power to lay it down (to resign it) and I am authorized and have power to take it back again. These are the instructions (orders) which I have received [as My charge] from My Father.

It's been a long day, I mean, a sweet day, really.

Valentine's Day in the U.S.A., gotta love it! We get to spoil our sweetie for a whole day! Give them cards with nice things written in them. Give them great smelling flowers. Give them chocolates. Give them stuffed bears. And feed them a meal that is a treat! It's our day to really shine for our gal!

I was thinking about how, after being married for nearly twenty-one years, I still 'burn' inside for my wife. The flames are alive. This is a good thing!

Luke 24 : 30 - 32 (KJV)

30 And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. 31 And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight. 32 And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?

(emphasis added by Honorbound_Men)

A heart and a miracle

Thank you Jesus, Thank you Jesus, Thank you Jesus! You are the great Physician Healer!

My dad suffered through a heart attack Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday morning before finally seeking medical help.

Initially they thought it might be his esophagus, as he has had a history of problems and pain with his. But after test results came in, the diagnosis was changed to heart attack.

While we visited with my dad Wednesday night, he went through another heart attack.

Before leaving Wednesday night, we anointed him with oil and prayed for and over him.

Fast forward five days.

He is recovered. The doctors are telling him the heart has completely healed. There is no damage. His heart is just a normal as a heart can be. He will go home today.

My dad is confessing with his own mouth "I have had a miracle, God has healed me".

And God has. On Thursday, the tests results were already indicating the heart was healing itself. And today (Monday, Feb. 13), this last test administered came back saying there was nothing wrong with his heart/cardiovascular system. Now they will take preventative measures to reduce the risk of another one.

Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!

Hosea 10 : 12 (The Amplified Bible)

Sow for yourselves according to righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God); reap according to mercy and loving-kindness. Break up your uncultivated ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, to inquire for and of Him, and to require His favor, till He comes and teaches you righteousness and rains His righteous gift of salvation upon you.

(emphasis added by HonorBound_Men)

A lamb in a large pasture?

Hosea 4 : 16 (The Amplified Bible)

For Israel has behaved stubbornly, like a stubborn heifer. How then should he expect to be fed and treated by the Lord like a lamb in a large pasture?

A lamb in a large pasture? That does not sound safe at all! Where's the protection of the shepherd? When I first read this verse, I thought "being fed by Jesus like a lamb in a large pasture? Sign me up!" I had envisioned a blissful paradise. But for the last day or so, I pondered it and decided this might not be a desirable situation. Then it started to occur to me that sheep are kept in smaller fenced in areas, where a shepherd could care for and protect his lamb from predators. So now I am thinking "I want to be closer to the Shepherd, close enough that when the enemy comes, my Shepherd can easily scoop me up and protect me. I want to eat the grass and drink the water that is closest to Him! I want to lay sleeping in the sun at His feet. I want to sleep at night snuggled in by His chest!"

John 10 : 27 (KJV)

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

My dad and his heart...

I got a call late this afternoon telling me my dad was having a heart problem and was being admitted to a hospital for tests and such. Prayed a prayer of faith for him. The back of Jesus was severely whipped and the Bible tells us that we have healing in our bodies because Jesus took those stripes. The Bible also tells us that Jesus took upon himself our infirmities and bore our sicknesses on the Cross at Calvary where He was crucified. Jesus went about healing all that were sick including the incurable. Jesus can heal my dad. So we say, "Dad, be healed in Jesus' name". My dad will come through this because the power of God will manifest itself in him!

reading in Hosea

Hosea 6 : 3 (The Amplified Bible)

"Yes, let us know (recognize, be acquainted with, and understand) Him; let us be zealous to know the Lord [to appreciate, give heed to, and cherish Him]. His going forth is prepared and certain as the dawn, and He will come to us as the [heavy] rain, as the latter rain that waters the earth."

I want to know God, not just know about him. Isaiah saw God and it scared him! In Isaiah chapter six (Amp), Isaiah says "...Woe is me! For I am undone and ruined...". Isaiah realized how pathetic he was compared to God, how unclean and unholy he was compared to God. Isaiah was offered and received forgiveness for his sin and responded to God's call by saying: "...Here am I; send me...".

Thankfully God sees us, the redeemed, through the applied blood of Jesus, and because of unmerited favor, we can have a relationship with Him! God wants to have a relationship with us. That is enough for me to respond! Jesus said: "...I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me".

Think about it!