Thankful enough?

I was thinking about all of the blessing in my life the other day and had this thought: Am I thankful enough? My conclusion... not possible!

There is no way for me to ever be thankful enough for all my blessings. Here's just a few:

1. Jesus (who died for my sins)
2. Awesome wife
3. Awesome kids
4. Great family
5. Great friends
6. Great job
7. etc....

That's just a small portion and I can't be thankful enough for those I listed so I'll just focus on the first one and I think you'll see my point with regards to the rest.

Jesus died for my sins long before I was even around to commit them. How can you ever adequately thank someone for giving their life so that yours will be saved? Perhaps die for them? But Jesus doesn't need me to do that; He is the One that was, and is, and is to come. He is God and He loved me enough to give His life so that I can have an eternal life with Him someday. I can never be thankful enough for that. It's just not possible.

The rest is really just an extension of that. Jesus is God and God is the creator of all things. My wife, kids, friends and family, job are all things that are a part of His creation and that bless my life. So He gave is life for me and everything that I am, that I have, and that I know is because of Him. He gave me life, saved my life, and has blessed my life. How can I ever be thankful enough? Again, it's just not possible.

But here's the good news! I get spend the rest of my life living in His blessings and thanking Him for them. A lifetime of "thank yous" will never be enough, but what a joy to live a thankful life... a lifetime giving Him thanks for who He is and all His blessings.

So, are you thankful enough? Give it some thought and...

Enjoy the ride!!

Life goes on...

Ain't it the truth?? No matter what we do the world just keeps on spinning. Even when we'd rather it stop, even when we shut down, life goes on....

In my life, I'm never more aware of this than when there is something happening with my ex wife's family that I am not included in. Of course, I always get to hear about it because my kids are involved.

Now, don't get this twisted. I'm not longing for what was, or what might have been. That's not the case. I love my wife and I love my life. I believe that God brought us together and I know that we are blessed. What I'm talking about here are the consequences of past actions, mistakes, etc... that continue to this day. I miss my ex's family and it makes me a little sad, at times, to miss out on their lives.

Currently, my ex's mom is in the hospital. She had a heart transplant 8 years ago and her body is rejecting the heart. They're treating her and she should get through this, but it can be difficult to be on the outside of the loop. Sure, I know the important details, but it's not the same as visiting her, even though I could. None of my ex in-laws would have a problem with that, it's just that I feel I need to let them have their time to deal with what's going on without adding any tension to the situation. I did get to talk to her on the phone and she knows that we're praying for her, so I feel like I've done all that is appropriate to do.

That said, it brings to light the idea that life does go on and it will go on without you. Take it from me, because this type of situation makes me feel that while I'm living my life, another part of my life is going on without me. That's a consequence of divorce. While there is no doubt that my life is blessed; I've got a wonderful wife that I love deeply, great kids, a great job, and a great church, it's times like these that I am reminded of the effects of my past sins.

I pray that you can learn from my past mistakes. Don't make all the same mistakes yourself, learn from mine. That, for me, makes all the pain and heartache that I've suffered worthwhile. I thank God that He's helped me learn from my past so that I will have a great future. Remember, life goes on - with or without you. I'd suggest that you hang on and...

Enjoy the ride!

A grand new adventure

God is so good. I avoiding blogging about work because I was miserable and I've heard horror stories about people losing their jobs because HR departments are monitoring their social networking activities.
Anyway, I've been miserable for a few months now and really didn't know what to do. A couple of weeks ago a couple of prospects came on the radar, one of which was very intriguing, the other was the same job with a different company.
Well, God gave me the push I needed to make a change when I was terminated last Tuesday. Unfortunately, the more intriguing job looked to be a couple of months away and I really didn't really want to stay in marketing and go with the other company. Fortunately, God lined everything up and I'm now working at the more intriguing job. I've gone to work with a great friend at his Martial Arts studio. Top that with the fact that it's a Christian business.
The business is called Arts of Defense Martial Arts. It's a mixed Martial Arts facility(MMA); meaning we offer various MA programs starting with Tae Kwon Do (that's the main program). We also offer Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, MMA (ATT certified), and Kickboxing.
Keep an eye out for further posts - I'm looking forward to letting all of you know what's going on with this new adventure starting with a visit from our Head Instructor, Carlos Machado. I'm definitely going to...

...Enjoy the ride!!!