Still Havin' Some Fun

Well, it has been a few days since I have stopped to update the countless masses who read this thing.  :o)  I do apologize for the delay in my posting.  How do you write and post pictures about rest and relaxation? 

We did see some pretty good rains and and some minor flooding while in the St. Louis area. However, we survived and were able to get out of town without much delay. 

 

Yesterday afternoon we arrived in Branson, Missouri, to stay a couple of days.  

This morning we visited a man named Jack who has a motor home for sale.  Jack and I have become friends over the course of this year.  He told me today that from the second time we spoke on the phone he was convinced that we would be the next owners of the motor home.  He has, since that time, taken his "for sale" sign down and turned away potential buyers until we are in position to buy it.

Today we toured it and took it out for a drive.  I look forward to fulfilling the will of the Lord through the use of this vehicle.

You can see a few pictures of the motor home by visiting our website at: www.theapostolicmessage.org and then go to "about us" and click on the "our dream" link. 

 

Here is a picture of Kayla playing inside the motor home today...

And then a picture of Addie for good measure...

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The Gateway...

Today started out much different from most all other Sunday mornings.  Usually we get up early, get the family ready, and then head out to get to Sunday School on time.  Yes, this morning was different.  After we finished our breakfast, I got a few practice holes in on the golf course.  

Then we set out to go see the Gateway Arch along with some other sites.  We all experienced the tram ride to the top and back down again... so from now on, we can say we have ben to the top of the monument.  It was, I guess, monumental for us all...  

We finished the day with a great meal from The Old Spaghetti Factory just a couple blocks from the Arch, on First street.   

Here are some of the pictures of the day.

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Just Havin’ Some Fun!

I decided today that I would temporarily change the pace and purpose of my blog to reflect our spring break get-a-way.  So, beginning now and running through Easter Sunday, you may want to check back each evening to see and read the happenings of the day in the Wells’ lives. 

We kicked off our trip today with a group of friends at Lambert’s Cafe in Sikeston, MO.  Great food with great people and quite a few throwed rolls! 

Here are some of those friends...

Then we arrived at the Timber Creek Resort just south of St. Louis. 

Taking a short round of golf with one of my favorite little buddies, my older daughter, Kayla. 

Tune in tomorrow night for another blog episode or blogisode.... 

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The Power of Perhaps

Several years ago, having just started my first real job at a major communications company as an engineer, I realized that my education was not really what got me the job. 

I studied hard and enjoyed most of my coursework on my way to my beloved degree.  I thought I had learned enough to run a space station or single handedly operate the world's communication networks; however, after the first two weeks in my small six by six cubicle, I came to the understanding that I knew practically nothing at all about anything.  With my brain feeling like a ball of wet spaghetti, I pondered why I spent so much time learning things that had absolutely nothing to do with anything.  It took a great deal of on-the-job-training for me to be the engineer I was expected to be. 

Somewhere along the way I figured out that higher education is not about teaching people everything they will ever need to know about their chosen field of study.  Rather it is dedicated to teaching people to think on a higher level.  A person who graduates with an Associates has proven his or her ability to "think and perform" on an Associates level of education; likewise, a person who holds a doctorate has proven a much higher level of thinking and performance. 

Harvard, Yale, Rice and other schools of high regard are dedicated to a single purpose. While most think of money, that must be number two. More importantly, these institutions are focused on the task of teaching people to think.  If an individual can be taught that perhaps they have not seen everything, then it is possible they can imagine that there is more. 

We as humans have learned that we will only go as far as we can imagine ourselves to go. The scientist works hard to expand his thinking to allow for more opportunities and possibilities, while the attorney will try with everything he has to see every possible angle of his case.  The inventor tries with all his might to think beyond the invented to find a place of possibility. 

Just as we understand the only way to move forward and expand our horizons is to allow an environment for open thought and the next new great idea, we see the opposite mindset will condemn us to settle for much less than is possible. 

The power of perhaps has fueled the search to move forward since the world began. Virtually everything that has been gained in this earth has come through the simple yet profound power of perhaps. 

My mind goes to a young man who was a son of a great king of the children of Israel, Jonathan. The heavy hand of the Philistine army had taken its humiliating toll. No mighty warriors were attempting to do anything about the dire situation. It was an unfortunate day. The Bible tells us that there were no swords to be found in all of Israel—except with king Saul and his son Jonathan. I cannot imagine how these men allowed this type of situation to overtake them; nevertheless, it had.  

Then seemingly out of nowhere the thought struck Jonathan:  Perhaps Jehovah will work for us today, and the Power of perhaps began to drive his every move.  At the end of that particular day, there was a great victory celebrated within the camp and the rule of the Philistines had been broken—by the power of perhaps. 

There is a power made available to us when we allow ourselves to ponder the concept of possibility.  It is not about our human ability to think, nor is it found anywhere else within us.  It is found when we allow ourselves to think that perhaps the almighty God could go to work for us.  Perhaps today God will work a miracle for me. Perhaps today God will provide for my need.  Perhaps God can change the course of my life.  Perhaps….

The Bible clearly states, we have not - because we ask not.  Perhaps he will provide if we can conceive within our minds that He will.  For my God's able to do exceedingly abundantly and above all I can ask or think... so perhaps he is big enough!

I submit to you today that the concept of "Perhaps" can be a powerful proposition in the hands of my God. 

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The Ministry of ‘The Rocks’

This morning as I awoke, my mind was upon the rocks of life and their ministry to us. Maybe I should take a moment to explain the concept of the unexplainable. 

In the animal kingdom we find birds that are designed by God to eat various seeds and grains.  The interesting thing I learned sometime ago was that these birds, such as chickens, blue jays, and doves, do not have a stomach that functions as other animals.  Instead, they have an organ called the gizzard. The gizzard works in a unique way with something called grit, and grit is simply dirt, sand, and small pieces of rocks. 

With regularity and strength the gizzard will squeeze and constrict the grains and seeds against this grit or rocks to produce a usable nutritional substance for the growth and development of the bird.  Without the rocks the nutrition of the seeds and grains would never be realized, and without those rocks there would be no development or growth in the bird's body. 

My mind goes to a man by the name of Abraham and his wife Sarah who desired to have a child so much, but somehow were unable to conceive.  The time spent throughout their early years was probably filled with much frustration and perhaps even envy of those who had as many children as they desired.  But on the other side of the miracle of conception and while they held their baby boy, it was the time they had spent without a child that made him that much more special.  It was that time of lack and frustration that I would like to term “The Rocks.” 

It seems that anything of value we ever gain in the Kingdom of God will be produced against the ministry of the Rocks.  Any victory worth claiming and enjoying will come as a result of a battle. The times we spend on the mountaintop will always be balanced with the struggle it took to get there.  

Any joy we have in this life will be a direct result of the ministry of the Rocks.

An interesting thing I found in my reading of the bird’s digestive system was... the rocks never digest. The rocks will pass on, but only to be replaced by other rocks. They never break down in the process of digestion. 

In life we often face these rocky types of situations knowing that we will never be able to break them down.   We will not be able to analyze or explain the whys surrounding our rocks. They come into our life for a season.  Then they pass without even the simplest explanation. 

It can be somewhat liberating to realize that I do not have to be able to understand what the trial was about, who brought it into my life, or why I had to go through it. The bird simply eats and grows as a result of the amazingly designed system it is blessed to have. 

I believe we would do well to take a lesson from the Ministry of the Rocks and allow God to develop and grow us as He sees fit. 

It is the times of discomfort and pain that bring the most peace and power on the other side. He says, “Be still and know that I am God.”  (from Psalms 46:10)

The following passage from the book of Isaiah comes to mind: 

 

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.”

(Isaiah 55:8-12 KJV)

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