Living Hazzardously

Little pieces of our journey with Jesus

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Think positive

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Do you remember the line from a long time ago? In the movie “Charlie and the Chocolate factory”?… if you remember it, sing it with me… “THINK POSITIVE…”

My oldest son played the part of Grampa in the high school play back in Bell Plaine… For many years that is exactly what I did, I just had positive thoughts, replacing the negative with the positive. It actually works well. 

BUT, there are times that positive thoughts simply means you are not looking at the situation realistically. Sometimes, a good old fashioned dose of pessimism is exactly what the situation calls for… Sometimes, there isn’t a really bright side. Sometimes, the negative is what you need so you can make corrections. Sometimes reality is a perspective that is not so jolly and positive. Sometimes, change is probably for the best.

For the most part I look at the world with a perspective that my cup is actually full. Because half with water and the other half with air, is actually full.

Think about that, it’s always full of something and to me, that’s “opportunity”… maybe to grow, maybe to move, maybe to withdraw, maybe to engage?…. One thing I know for certain, God has always provided better for me when I have moved in faith to his calling… listening to that still, small voice, hearing God’s words clearly and then stepping out, when it’s time.

When I was growing up, my father taught me many hard lessons. When he wasn’t screaming profanities and breaking stuff that he would later blame us kids… He would collect and store even more “stuff” in the hoarder house,  on the north side of MPLS. One thing I did learn is how to work, how to value work, how to never give up and how to never quit… If I didn’t learn these lessons, there was a swift reach for that wire coat hanger, i felt it across my backside to remind me what the best choices are for me. 

I learned these and many more lessons in life and then put these lessons into practice. It wasn’t all bad and it taught me a great deal of self discipline. I remember a quote, I think from Ben Franklin, could be wrong, but it went something like this… “Most folks are afraid of opportunity because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work”. So to me, the world looked like one big opportunity and I was never afraid of digging in and getting dirty… This has served me well for over 50 years now… and that has been good… but now….  My body hurts… When I say “hurts” I mean it hurts in ways I don’t understand, in places I didn’t know existed and from things I have been doing my whole life. It’s like I have been betrayed by father time and he is getting a good laugh out of watching me struggle. Time is nobody’s friend, when it comes down to the brass tacks.

So back to the Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory… change is necessary from time to time, some change we make ends up with bad choices, we should be quick to adjust and change. Correct our trajectory. Yet others are seasonal and we may be there longer, we may get comfortable and compliant. Sometimes we just fight with God until that one day, we finally give in and move away… it can be very painful, but I have found if we stop fighting the change as soon as we know its time, things go much better. The sooner we can get back to serving God the way he has asked us to serve him, the better. Rest in the wisdom of the Lord and not on your own understanding. Things just go better. Putting off all bitterness, seek first to understand and then to be understood. 

I realize change is needed, I know I can not keep going forever, I just pray the Lord sends the right “younger man” to us, so that he may learn this business and take it over. If not, I have a bunch of equipment to sell, give away or toss out… one day, but I am not quitting yet. I have realized I’m not able to replace two furnaces in one day like I was doing only a few short years ago… nowadays? I take breaks! Never did that before. I take a lunch break too! It’s oddly refreshing. I only work 6-8 hours before calling it a day (sometimes)… I retreat to my home where my faithful foot massager is waiting for my daily dose of “ohh that’s a new pain!”

Change in life is the one thing that never changes.

So I say good bye to that which was and say hello to that great new tomorrow, with open arms, no regrets, no bitterness, only joy filled anticipation of what God has in store for us… as in Jess and I… 

God bless you all this day. We love you all and hope your next change is not filled with pain, but a joy that surpasses all understanding. C

Raw and uncensored.

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My life was so often like the pro-wresting matches of the 1980 era, It looked raw, uncensored and spontaneous but in reality, God had me right where he wanted me, learning the lessons of my mistakes and experiencing the troubles I would one day put into use for HIS will.

Every once in a while when I start to write, I decide it might be a bit too raw, too uncensored… I start to write, I stop writing… Some days I write to only myself, my own therapy or maybe to not forget.  I don’t write to feel sorry for myself but I do write to remember the pain I have gotten through, and sometimes I write to help myself process… Other-times I just need to put it on paper (or a screen) to just slow my brain down and see what I am thinking, then I can look and say to myself: yes that was painful or yes, that was who I was…

To truly help another person, I believe you first need to be able to relate to that person, to understand at some level, to have empathy. I believe you first need to be able to feel. I have lived a lot of pain, caused a lot of pain and helped some to get past their pain, but I don’t believe I am done, at least not yet, I have many more people I can help, so onward I push, forward I move, listening to the prompts of God, following his lead. 

One of the most prominent sayings in my life aside from the serenity prayer is: “HURT PEOPLE, HURT PEOPLE” when a person is hurting, they are so much more likely to hurt others, it takes a great deal of wisdom, maturity and life experience to rise above the pain we hold in our lives and close to our hearts so we don’t continue to hurt others. But the real question is how! HOW DO WE GET THERE? Is it from being hurt so much and so deeply that we become numb? Is it from will power to just move past? Is it from the advice of others to, as the Bob Newhart skit said… “Just stop it, or I will bury you alive in a box”

I think it is by the grace of God that we can even start in the direction to help others, we kind of need to surrender, and find purpose and value in our new goal of helping others. Or maybe you are like I was… only interested in myself? I used to think of myself a lot more than I thought of others (and to be honest, I still do), and when I did I usually started to think “Poor me” and anxiety would set in. I have found that when we dedicate ourselves to helping others become better rather than sitting and stewing about our own lives, we become happy. Or at the very least we become less depressed, that’s a good start.

Today I am distracted by other thoughts, thoughts of a new grand baby soon and what I am going to do as I get older and my body keeps telling me I cant continue at this pace any longer, like I used to… I was reminded of that this past week while installing a 4-head Mini-split system…

I was feeding the line through a header, around a corner and up through the floor of the closet, today my arm aches from pushing on one side of the wall, going to the other side and pulling, twisting and sending it through the floor, then getting down off the bucket I’m using as a ladder (a ladder won’t fit into the space I am working) and going up the flight of stairs to straighten out the copper tubing we call a line set, so I can repeat the process again at least 50 times (well maybe only 40). That was done three times with three different line sets, the fourth was much easier…today is my third day of recovery. The two man job, done by one man, is hard on this old man.

I love my job, I have never worked a job I love more than owning an HVAC company, but its hard work, I wish so often I could find a younger man to teach this trade to, but it seems, I am one of many business owners that have given up on trying to teach their trade to… a replacement. It just doesn’t seem worth the bother anymore as most younger guys don’t want to work, earn a living and take pride in a skill… they seem more interested in working for the minimum amount of time, then trying to get unemployment… My apologies for sounding like a disgruntled business owner and perpetuating generational divide, but as a Gen X, well, lets just say, we all seem to be feral. 

Let us not forget our past, or else, we will be doomed to relive it!

One of my biggest missions as Jess and I run Sam’s Place is to provide the guidance that others may need to live the most productive life possible for each person at Sam’s Place. I am certainly not perfect, but I do believe that with the Lord’s hand on my shoulder, we can make a difference for some, just not all. 

Circling back to my writing, I realize that what I write about may seem low, sad and somedays happy and joyfull, but I always want my messages to be filled with hope and not despair. I want my message to you to be one of future success and not one of past failure. I want my message to be filled with expectation of goodness in your life rather than a message of doom because of what you are going through. You see, I believe if God can do for me what he has done and continues to do for me, he can help, save and prosper (for his glory) any and everyone, if we can just learn to help others on our own journey. 

So on this beautiful Sunday morning of pre “labor-day” weekend I hope you find the joy and excitement we feel in our home as we expectantly wait for God’s miraculous hand in our life. 

Matthew 9:35-38

English Standard Version

The Harvest Is Plentiful, the Laborers Few

35 And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

Have a blessed week all, C.

PS. If you have not yet had a chance to donate to Jess birthday fundraiser, today would be a good day to do just that. Either on Facebook at Samsplacebf or our website Samsplacenorth.com every dollar donated is matched one for one. We are a 501c3 charity, so all donations are a tax deduction for you.

Relax said the night man

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“We are programmed to receive

You can check out any time you like

But you can never leave”

Yesterday Jess and I talked about the doctrine of eternal security (salvation), basically… its the doctrine of once saved always saved… once you have been saved you are always saved or once you choose to be saved, you can choose to give up salvation…. Losing salvation, that’s a scary thought. 

I was talking to a pastor a few months back and he said something that really hit me hard, he told me in the most dogmatic way “The doctrine of eternal salvation (once saved, always saved) is the worst of all doctrine and this doctrine has sent more people to Hell than any other doctrine there is… 

I’m not sure how this doctrine can send me to hell if God has chosen me and none can snatch me from his hand… but on the other hand, If I have chosen salvation, then I can give it back up, after all, I choose to accept God as my savior so obviously i can “un-choose”

I know this is a hard one to talk about, it’s been a point of contention for about 2025 years in the church (actually it goes back to creation) and although many great men have made dogmatic statements declaring one or the other, somehow this topic is still not settled in the church at large… WHY??

I will simply state what I have discovered after many long conversations. This is a matter of deep reflection and many hours of study, but I challenge you to do the work yourself and not lean on simple commentaries and “wise” men’s explanations. 

Did Jesus die in my place so that I may be saved from the punishment I have earned (death)?

Did Jesus actually die for the forgiveness of my sins or did he potentially die for the potential forgiveness of my sins?

Did Jesus die once for the forgiveness of my sins or does his death only cover some sin, so that I need to earn forgiveness from the rest?

If Jesus died for some, but not all of my sin, how do I figure out if I have earned salvation for the remainder of my sin?

How do I figure out how much sin Jesus covered vs how much I cover? 

If God is loving, how can he send anyone to Hell?

If God is Good, how can he not punish a guilty person for the crimes they commit?

Is God really the one that can make the determination as to my punishment? 

Shouldn’t I be able to determine what punishment is the correct level of punishment for my own sin?

Did Jesus die for all sin?

If Jesus paid the price for all sin, why doesn’t everyone just automatically go to Heaven?

If you open the book of Ephesians, you can read this letter Paul wrote to this church. It becomes very clear, very quickly that Jesus died for those he chose, and not all people… Jesus chose… well maybe Paul got it wrong or maybe we misinterpret Paul’s writing due to “Style”

Romans 8:29-30,  1 Timothy 2:4, and pretty much all of Ephesians is clearly written about this… but, is there anywhere that Paul’s influence is not involved that we discover God’s sovereignty in justice and forgiveness? 

The website “GOT ANSWERS” correctly describes it this way: 

https://www.gotquestions.org/God-is-sovereign.html

God’s sovereignty is one of the most important principles in Christian theology, as well as one of its most hotly debated. Whether or not God is actually sovereign is usually not a topic of debate; all mainstream Christian sects agree that God is preeminent in power and authority. God’s sovereignty is a natural consequence of His omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence. What’s subject to disagreement is to what extent God applies His sovereignty—specifically, how much control He exerts over the wills of men. When we speak of the sovereignty of God, we mean He rules the universe, but then the debate begins over when and where His control is direct and when it is indirect. God is described in the Bible as all-powerful and all-knowing (Psalm 147:5), outside of time (Exodus 3:14; Psalm 90:2), and responsible for the creation of everything (Genesis 1:1; John 1:1). These divine traits set the minimum boundary for God’s sovereign control in the universe, which is to say that nothing in the universe occurs without God’s permission. God has the power and knowledge to prevent anything He chooses to prevent, so anything that does happen must, at the very least, be “allowed” by God.”

The idea that God is sovereign usually only arises in conversations around personal choice. It seems we want to believe we have control in some things but then blame God for things that don’t go how we want? 

I leave you with this incomplete study of God’s divine choice: 

Do you believe God sends any person into hell that doesn’t actually want to go to hell? God gives these people exactly what they want, to be apart from God…. nobody goes kicking and screaming into hell, they all go willingly, just as nobody goes to heaven kicking and screaming, they all go willingly. 

Can a dead man save himself or bring himself back to life?

Can a dead person choose anything?

Can Jesus choose whom he chooses? 

All great questions, so how does a person get saved? If they can’t save themselves? 

If God chooses you, can you decide to go against God’s will and “unsave” yourself?

All I know is this, when I was unsaved, God saved me, I don’t know why, I just know he did… I know it was not my doing, yet I can still be held accountable for my choices. Does this mean God saw I would choose him so he chose me? That’s just not logical, he had to save me because I was dead with sins all around me and he fixed that. Please don’t misunderstand, I still sin, but now… I feel guilty for sinning, I feel remorse for being involved in the torture and murder of Jesus… and yet, he forgives me.

Back to the Hotel in Cali… 

“Last thing I remember, I was

Running for the door

I had to find the passage back

To the place I was before

Relax, said the night man

We are programmed to receive

You can check out any time you like

But you can never leave”

In the light of what Jesus did, these lyrics can mean something very different now.

Have a blessed week and thanks for reading my blog today. C.