The World Stands Still

when i'm with noah, the world stands still. a few weeks ago, noah's mom asked if i would like to keep noah with me for a couple of weeks. it was an overwhelming feeling of joy to know that me and my son could play and have time to bond without having to worry about the weekend ending. noah turned 2 years old, october 18th and loves trains, planes, trucks, horses, and guitars. he loves going to the park and playing on the playground equipment and slides. his two favorite times are going to bed and waking up. he loves looking at books together and stealing my pillow. its a time that nothing else matters... just me and noah. i love watching him wake up. he's like a flower unfolding and full of geniune smiles and love.

noah loves throwing rocks in the creek. there's a little park area just down the road from where we like to go and play. the water is crystal clear and noah is definitely in charge. he is so precious. seeing and hearing him be happy and laugh makes my heart pound out of my chest. it's the best medicine that a dad could ever take.

he's always busy and never meets a stranger. he says hey to everybody we pass. there's magic in the air when he opens his eyes in the mornin' and a calm peace that comes over me when i watch him close them at night. he like me to sing to him and it's beautiful to hear him sing along with me in his own words. he is so loving.

i love you little buddy, you make me feel wonderful!

just what i needed

wow, just when i think i'm going under, Jesus reaches out to me and says, take my hand. i had a few really bad days over the past few weeks but God has been in the midst and is holding my hand every step of the way. He never promised that we wouldn't have bad days but He has promised to be by our side and that He would never leave us or forsake us. Daniel prayed three times a day and still went to the Lion's den but found out that God was with him even in the bottom of the pit. Good things are in the works but even if things didn't change, God is still God and i know He still loves me. Its when we tie God to our good times that we fail to realize that He is God regardless of what we are facing. He's God on the mountain and God in the valley. And i've spent quite a bit of time in both of those places.

got up early, cooked some oatmeal and had everything ready for Noah before he woke up. he is so loving when he goes to bed and when he wakes up. well really, he's just loving all the time. i managed to get him to his school on time and i didn't cry today but there was a sad few moments just before i got him to his daycare when he got real quiet and looked at me without saying anything. he knew i was about to drop him off. but when i pulled up to his parking lot, he smiled and said train! then he said... us-go! that made me feel so much better.

Whatsoever things are lovely

Phl 4:7,8 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things

Terrie and Noah are definitely gifts from God. They both are so beautiful and so loving.
 
God has great plans for those who wait on Him. He desires to bless us more than we want to be blessed. It's hard to imagine just how much He loves us.

When God is in View

when God is in view, nothing else really matters. Peter saw Jesus and even though he was in the midst of a raging storm, he walked on water. as long as he kept Jesus in view, he was above the water. i can't see my future but God is in view and i've known God for a long time. i am completely satisfied in His care. He has a perfect record and has never made a bad decision. i know He plans to bless me and those that i care about. so i am looking up and looking ahead to whatever He has for me.

a friend of mine told the story about a cartoon clipping he saw. in the first picture was an egg beginning to hatch. the next picture, the little chick had pecked his way out of the shell and stretching his legs. the next picture showed the little chick in the midst of chaos. the next couple of pictures showed him looking to the right and then to the left, before crawling back inside the empty shell and closing in where he had pecked his way out. the moral of this story is that there was one place the little chick failed to look and that was up. when we look up, that is where we will always find our help. Psalm 121:1

God has always loved me and in His Divine mercies He has always surrounded me with people that love me. I am grateful to be where I am. I am thankful for what I have been given. I am hopeful for what the next few months will bring because my heart has been stirred with God's never failing promises.

now let me show you what i can do

nothing wrong with dreamin big... i think about that a lot. God has better things in store for us than we could ever imagine. He wants to bless us more than we want to be blessed. when we figure out that its only when we fully submit our heart, our faith, and our will to Him, that he will step in and say, "Now let me show you what I can do".

my noah will be 2 years old next month on October 18th. its been a little over a year since we lived together and believe me, its been the hardest thing i've ever done. it didn't seem like the right thing at the time, nor has it felt right being away from him, but i know God has a greater plan for me, for terrie, and for noah.

me and Noah took a trip over to mississippi this past weekend and stopped in at chick fil a for a little something to eat and some play time. he is so lovable and i am so blessed. every day that i have with noah is father's day for me.

is it just me being a dad or isn't he the most beautiful little boy in the world! he is such an instrument of God's love and Grace. there's nothing like a good dose of playing with Noah that makes you feel wonderful!

Submitting my will to God

I love it when I'm in the presence of God. Its easy to get sidetracked trying to figure out God's will for our lives when in fact if we can find our way into the presence of God and stay there long enough, God will reveal His will to us. Is is just me or do we all seem to try to make things happen? How many times must I make myself learn the lesson that I have no power to make things happen. It's in God's hands and the lesson I have to learn over and over is to submit my will to His will. Submission is sometimes confused with making sure I do my part. What I mean by this, is that I do not want to fall into the category of floating downstream and just going with whatever happens and calling that God's will. I know that God's people follow the cloud that leads them thru deserts, rivers, and mountains. There's quite a bit of struggling on our part but as long as we stay under the cloud, God will provide our every need. He will guide us through all of our trials and we will enter into the Promise Land to enjoy all that He has for us. Yeah, it's easier said than done. Sometimes we are just too quick to judge the Israelites for their foolishness in the wilderness. But aren't we just like them? God delivers us, we worship Him, we eventuall take Him for granted, He allows trouble to come our way to remind us who we are and who He is, then we pray for His deliverance, He delivers us, we worship, and the cycle continues... wow don't know where all that came from but let me get back to what God is doing for me.

My life crashed a few years ago when I allowed myself to get confused about where I was standing. I thought I was on solid ground and all the while I was drifting out to sea. Paul said, I Corinthians 9:27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. All the while that God was blessing me in the ministry that He so gracefully gave me, I was involved in a great battle of my soul, mind, and body. Someone once told me that mountains are not always diminished by earthquakes but in more cases they eroded over time by wind, rain, and the sands of time. It's almost like the devil continually throws pebbles at you, not enough to knock you down but just minor damage that you overlook and say to yourself, well, is that all you got, i'm still standing, still preaching, still praying. little do we understand that this minor damage is his masterplan to attack us little by little eroding away the mountain that God has blessed us to preserve and maintain.

All of a sudden, we shake ourselves like Samson and understand that we have lost the source of power that allows us to do great things for God. We shake ourselves again and again until we lose all hope of ever being that person who we were. It's a time of soul searching and it's very heart wrenching to look back at how many things we traded away during our time when we were out at sea. It reminds me of when Paul was on the ship in the midst of a hurricane, he said in Acts 27:19 ...we cast out with our own hands the tackling of the ship. sometimes in order for us to say alive, we have to cast out everything we own. it's a terrible feeling to be at sea, in the dark, in the storm, without hope, and now without anything but the clothes on our back. but these men were assured by Paul saying that he had heard from God and God had promised that He would save them. hmm.. guess i needed to write a few lines huh?

spent $350 dollars last week on getting my truck fixed. i didn't like that but God blessed me with some overtime hours at work that will help me get caught back up a little. I'm getting to work some overtime hours in the kitchen and i have to say it is truly refreshing to be in the company of such a great team that Eric has in the kitchen staff. My first day was awesome, he let me do prep work involving preparing several hundred pieces of french toast, bacon, and sausage. then i helped prepare 120 salads. tonight i worked again doing prepwork and got to work with a knife... woo hooo! yeah it felt really nice. i sliced and diced my way through cucumbers, tomatoes, and cilantro.

last year i started working in the grounds department, for the past few months i've been working in the IT department, and now i'm beginning to get to work some in the kitchen. it's all good, and my desire is to become a MOD. don't know what God has for me but it would be wonderful to work here and live on campus. It's ok to dream big because God can do anything and for now, besides having a family, my dream is to work here and live here.

planning on going to alabama this coming weekend to see my beautiful little boy. he's almost two and i love him "this much!" (arms stretched out as far as i can reach)

things that make me smile

noah loves driving and playing in my old truck and its definitely at the top of my smiling list. this pic is june 2010 and noah is 20 months old. he loves to wear a cap and is full of energy every moment he is awake. he is truly a joy that makes me want to live. every trip i make to see him, i think about the zac brown song, hwy 20 ride. when i'm not with him, i think about him constantly and its my desire to establish myself spiritually and financially so that i can hopefully be with him everyday and every
night.

Terrie is an excellent mother to Noah and is a full time student at Alabama Southern. We are both striving to do the right thing in our lives. One thing is for sure, we both agree that Noah is the most beautiful boy in the world!

this boy loves to eat and in this pic he's got a buttermilk biscuit that he helped me make. he loves to pretend cook and when i'm visiting, i always let him help me in the kitchen. he is so smart and lovable.

this expression is priceless! it looks like he is telling me "I got this driving thing under control"

here's a picture of noah with his glow worm and in his words, the"good book"

he loves seeing motorcycles so i got him this battery operated 4wheeler. the first day he rode it, he stayed on it till it got dark and we had to pry him off of it. he loves riding and calls it his tractor.

here's another one of those priceless expressions. he looks like he's in deep thought about what we can do next. he loves the outdoors and never seems to run out of energy. i love him so much!

this is his control room spot, he likes being in control of the radio. he'll turn it wide open and then look at me a grin, and start dancing and moving his head back and forth. yeah, that makes me smile...

he loves watermelon, can you tell?

noah has the "brushing your teeth thing" down to a science. thank's mom for keeping us both on the right track with our brushing skills.

it overwhelms me to see how much he loves me and i want to be a good father to him. i know God has a master plan and it's not for me to wonder why things are the way they are, but its my job to follow him and wait for him to open the door. there's no doubt in my mind that there's a better day coming for me and i will always cherish each moment i get to spend with my son.