Living Hazzardously

Little pieces of our journey with Jesus

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Victor not Victim

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Jess and I headed out the ⅛ mile driveway, Al slipped into the morning routine and started “bopping his head” to the sounds in his headphones, Groot settled down in the back of the car in his normal fashion… we turn right, accelerate, brake, accelerate, brake then turn left. As we turn left we brace for the impact with the “barrier”… we collide, head on! Three days a week or more, same drill. We don’t feel the barrier physically, but more like the music dies in Al’s headphones, the little “spinner” on the phones start to dance the standard processes and we are no longer connected with the world. 

Somedays I feel like we are living in the movie “Maze Runner”…

The gates open, we are well prepared, and we start running the maze of roads, mapping out until…   We can no longer map anything. Returning home before the gates close, locking us out in the maze overnight. We made it and there is no need to face the real terrors and fears of the world. 

I love living in a world where I can escape the constant “connection”… The monitoring. The always “knowing” phone. Listening, adjusting, changing my personal algorytm… Our advertisements! What Jess and I had just been talking about “the dogs need their shots” turns into getting ads about spending our money on the “best care for your fur babies”. If you are like me, I find great JOY in the quiet things, the calm of the trees, standing alone in the forest. The flowing waters that gurgle against the battle of cold snow and forming ice… robbing momentum from the waters relentless desire to reach the ocean. The waters never stop and reflect on how they are are “VICTIMS” of circumstance. The waters never call for the government to provide de-icing chemicals… its almost like the waters know they shoud never quit, never give up, victory is coming.

Even the distant buzz of the loggers working to provide the ever thirsty lumber mill industry with exactly what they need to continue the quest of construction. After hundreds of years, and still making timber into sticks, trees into pulp.

I seek victory! I seldom have a victim mentality but so often, I find myself in the constant battle of explaining “victims are self made”… I’m not saying that every situation doesn’t produce a victim, but if you wake up, and don’t make your bed, don’t watch the sun rise, dont find joy…. Well, its that much harder to find victory in the remaining hours of life. I don’t believe I am controlled by my emotions but rather God has given me the power to control my emotions. And if I have power to control my emotions, then it must be a decision to wake up knowing once again, I am the “victor”… so I choose to be victorious, even if all I do is make my bed, drink my coffee and see the sun rise from obscurity to magnificence. I can be a Victor in something, so can you!

I wake up, enjoy a half hour of calm, wait for the coffee to brew, sit down and listen to the sounds of my heart beat, the creaks of the house, the breathing of my dogs and the cool wind beating against the eves…. At ¼ past the hour, I rise to my feet and retrieve my loving bride, make the bed, start turning on the lights and settle back down for a bit of screentime while it’s still calm… 

The day starts to break again…

It’s not always easy to have a victor’s mentality, it’s not always easy to remember God’s goodness, its not always easy to remember I deserve so much less… Some days I struggle, and to be honest, I struggle much more often than I should. But knowing God chose me, and that I am not able to bring anything to God that is worthy of his goodness, well, that reminds me… I am wonderfully and fearfully made in the image of my GOD….. when I remember the fathers voice, I again turn to the victory, I put off the victim and realize everything good in my life is not my own doing but rather the gift of the one who is always providing those things I need. 

Victory is a decision to see the gifts I have been given, victimhood is oppression to “always feeling like I deserve better”… that destroys my joy…. Holding on to the good things, letting go of the bad things, choosing to be a VICTOR is choosing freedom and finding joy. 

Good Bless C.

The Electrician who Preaches

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We started attending Deer River Bible Church a while back. Pastor Steve and I started talking every week and we immediately discovered “we had a lot in common”. Jess and I scheduled a meeting with Pastor Steve so we could talk doctrine and verify how well our beliefs line up with DRBC. All went well. It just felt like we were home. As we continue to get to know DRBC, we share the story of Sam’s Place with everyone that gets caught in the coat room with us.

For the Community “Thanksgiving Meal” Steve asked us to share about Sam’s place. We had about 15 minutes of “Q&A format”. We are always eager and willing to meet a new microphone, especially when it comes to talking about Sam’s Place

Even though Pastor Steve was a licensed master electrician, I decided we could overlook that shortcoming and we would continue to become friends. (its kinda a tradesmans joke, I always think its funny)

Pastor Steve eventually asked if we would like to be interviewed for his new YouTube channel ps66.16, and so here we are, MOVIE STARS AT LAST!!

Although Jess and I have a combined story reaching only a few hundred hours, we talked for just under an hour. Pastor Steve now has his first YouTube video uploaded. I am honored to be part of glorifying our Lord. I am honored to meet this Pastor, connect with him on our shared passions and become part of the family at DRBC. Please watch this video. Although our story does have more detail than a video can present in under an hour, it gets some of the big points covered. We poured out our lives as we walked into Sam’s Palce and the front doors of Deer River Bible Church.

Steves YouTube channel and our Blog Post have the same basic goal, glorifying GOD and giving him honor and praise. 

Here is a Link, Please subscribe to Pastor Steves YouTube channel and as always, PLEASE subscribe to our blog https://livinghazzardously.com/

Thanks and God bless you all, C.

Why would I even want to go to Church

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Jess sings in her normal morning fashion, Al is only concerned with getting his second bowl of frosted flakes, Groot lays down with his head on my feet and Drax pants patiently as we wrap up our Sunday morning routine. 

I can feel the unrest in the streets, the decay of humanity. Humanity spirals toward a reluctance to worship and submit to the word of God… What shall I do, what shall I say? Shall I become complacent? Shall I become a target of society by embracing the will of God in my life?

What we need is boldness to speak truth… a powerful dependence on His word. A deepening desire to know the one true God… Not following our desires, our wicked hearts but rather desire transformation and a renewed life in God’s Image. 

Fellowship is now even more important than ever… desire to fellowship with others of “like-mindedness” is important but even more important than like-mindedness is the need to seek fellowship with those who are more mature in the faith… the faith? What is that?????

Faith is not just some churchy word for Christians, it is the basis for every single person to function, we all have faith in some-thing, some-one, some-reason… faith is the belief in that which is unseen… like gravity, electricity or wind… We know it’s there but if you try to describe what they look like, you would only be able to describe the effects, not the essence. 

Trying to describing God is the simular, I would be labeled a lunatic if I denied wind, electricity or gravity, in the same way if I denied God. 

On this cold winter morning, I prepare to go to church, not because I am looking to confirm my belief, but I seek to know the creator of… ME!! Of everything… How could I not go to church?

Akin to not going to church is like jumping out of a plane with no parachute because I deny gravity, or grabbing overhead power lines because I deny electricity, or stretching out the sail of a ship denying the wind will push me across the ocean… 

A foolish act is to not act at all. 

It’s time in our world to seek out truth. In a world of AI, we need something objective that we can use as a looking glass to measure what is truth and what is pretend. The longer we live without truth in our life, the harder it is to recognize truth… dont waste time, time wont wait for you. 

God Bless, C.