FiveChildren

Yesterday was just one of those days, first my wife gets stuck , then there is so much busy work, that I get almost nothing accomplished. It was a tweener, somewhere between a good and a bad day. I have this inner desire to actually earn the money my company pays me, a work ethic my Father instilled in me. My Dad is an amazing man. When we moved to Colorado in 1975, he was in the Air Force. Two years later he retired. My sister and I were both in high school at the time, my sister was a senior and getting ready to go off to college. I remember nobody wanting to hire my Dad for anywhere near enough money (he was a retiree, and back then most employers discriminated against military retirees, as they had their retirement money and so felt they could pay them less). Knowing he had commitments, he went out and worked two jobs. Here was a man who was at the top of his profession (electronics expert, having worked on the best the USAF had to offer), working at a Total gas station at ni

Just as Luther was partially wrong when he stated "Man's will is enslaved either to God or to Satan, but it is never free", so Calvin is also partially wrong with his stance on predestination. I am not a Calvinist, nor am I an Armenianist(hope that is the correct spelling). Only the scripture is correct, and there are many verses that support both stances. So what we have here is a problem with mutual exclusivity by both doctrines. Let me make one thing very clear, I don't feel that there is anything wrong with any denomination (as my parents are Catholic, and I know they are saved). I don't want to give the appearance of bashing anyone's beliefs. What I am stating here and in my previous post are my opinions. I disagree with much of what is taught in many churches, denominational or not. I have been to a number of each, and left feeling far worse than when I went in. I believe in Gods' word, not in any particular doctrine. I'll leave it at that.

This is the first part of a multi-part post, I started putting it all together and realized it was too big for a single post. Part 1 is about Religion, Part 2 will be about Calvinism, specifically predestination. Beyond that, I'll see what remains and go on from there. A bit of background is usually helpful, and in this case, I believe important. I was raised Catholic. I left Catholicism when I was 18, and with one or two exceptions, I have never been back (I was however married in a Catholic Cathedral, old habits do die hard I guess). I have been for many years as is my wife, a Christian. If you spoke to my relatives and most of my close friends, confrontational is a word that might be used to describe me (among many other, much nicer, gentler words. OK maybe not). Generally, in regard to my beliefs, I am not that way. With this post, that is about to change. I would like to define one word for now, one that is important to this discussion: Religion - Websters and Britannic

Not much time to blog this morning, but this article is a great example of our soldiers bravery. I have always been, and will always be very proud of the men and women of our armed forces. Semper Fi!

Found this when going through one of my many drawers of stuff I haven't cleaned out yet. I feel that God has put this on my heart to share as I recover slowly (of course if you know me, you know I will push my recovery as fast as possible). What a great thing to remember as we go through this life on the narrow path. Thank you Lord for your wonderous blessings, as the song says, "I can only imagine". How to be miserable - Think about yourself.  Talk about yourself.  Use "I" as often as possible.  Mirror yourself continually in the opinion of others. Listen greedily to what people say about you.  Expect to be appreciated.  Be suspicious. Be jealous and envious.  Be sensitive to slights.  Never forgive a criticism.  Trust nobody but yourself.  Insist on consideration and respect.  Demand agreement with your own views on everything.  Sulk if people are not grateful to you for favors shown them.  Never forget a service you have rendered.  Shirk

So in my last post , I mentioned that I have two girls and two boys. You might ask, "How does that add up to the five you have in your profile?" Well it doesn't, you see one thing my father and I have in common (other than a shortage of hair on top of our heads, and the way we walk) is that we have both lost a son. My brother Matthew lived for only a few short hours, after having the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck, something they could not see back in 1959. My son Logan Daniel would have been 9 years old in a month. He was stillborn at 33 weeks. It was without a doubt the worst time in my life. I felt enormous guilt, as if I had not been a good enough father, or husband. I struggled with my faith, but ultimately found my bond with God much stronger.  I spent the better part of two years grieving, and along with my wife and three other children, felt a great loss. Even after nine years the pain is still there, but most of the edge has been taken off knowing h