I used to beleive that I was of no particular value, outside of my family circle.
I'm just a normal person; I struggled with drugs and alcohol and mental illness, I used to smoke cigarettes, I managed to get myself into a sticky situation and ended up homless--more than once--and when I lost my father, I nearly lost my mind as well! I have a couple things I can do well, but I looked at that, and in the mirror, and I used to think, Nothing Special.

I used to think that.
Then God showed me that I can encourage other people to get past drug and alcohol abuse--if I can do it, anyone can.
He showed me that my courage and His Love restoring me to mental health is something others need to know about.
I can tell people that they CAN stop smoking, they CAN get beyond being Homeless, they CAN recover from losses so great they seem to get knocked flat without the will to get up again.

I can, because He lives in me, and He didn't just get me through the struggles of my life just so I could be restored and live loved and happy.
He got me through those things so that I could show others it CAN happen!

So...what have you been through? What has your life taught you, that you can teach others?
What value lies in you, that you can use to show the goodness of God's Love? What gifts, gained through living life, make you special?
I encourage you to find them, and then share them.

The only constant is change, perhaps you've heard that one?
Or the one that my mother told me time and again, This Too Shall Pass. No matter what I was going through or how sad I was, my mom assured me that this too would pass, as everything does.

Nothing remains the same; everything, eventually, changes.

Everything, tat is, except for The Lord.

He is I Am; He is the same today as He was yesterday, and when tomorrow comes, He will be the same still.
And He loves me the same today as He did yesterday; no matter what I do or don't do, even if He is displeased with my actions, He still loves me...I can't change that, and He won't change that.

How awesome is that?
And The Word that He laid out for his centuries ago is still true today; our understanding of it may change as we grow, but the words He gave, through the authors He chose, will always be The Truth.
We can always go there and find Him, in His Word. Because that is part of who He is to us, and that remains the same.
I have changed a lot over the years, and when I married even my name changed; God has many names, and He plays many roles in our lives as Christians...but they all remain the truth, as He is The Truth and The Way...and He always will be all that He is to us.
Daily.
Awesome.

The Reason for the Season...it sounds so...made up and commercialized to say that He is the Reason for the Season. But the truth is, the real reason we celebrate Christmas is for Christ.

But the stores and the tv specials, and the gimmicks and the gizmos, they so often take the Christ out of Christmas.

As a Christian and a writer, and a Christian Writer, I want to take a moment and write something special about Christ, to put Him back into the holiday that we have as a celebration for His birth.

The Lord was born into life as a child, and then a man to show us the way Home, but not as easily as here, follow me...but Here, people, Follow Me through death on the cross through baptism, and then walk a good life on the Earth telling others about Me, by serving others and loving people into Redemption much the same as I did. He said, take up your cross and follow Me through persecution, to show the world that you'll go through anything to stand up for one thing: Christ.

At this time of year, when it becomes about giving...can you give...? Can you give Christ to a hurting world through how you live before man?

I want to try harder than ever before, through prayer and such simple things as smiling, and being kind; I pray my words may inspire you, Reader--Christian--to inspire others in the ways of Christ.

Merry Christmas

Let me welcome you to my new website, and my new outlook, I am still going to continue the adventures of our favorite little monkey boy, but I am also promoting my new book, the truth about Me, in an autobiography and I am working on a book of photography and devotions that God is giving me a little at a time.

The Lord has done so much for me, I want to share it with the world. I am starting here, but He alone knows where I'll end up!

I finally finished it!

I started this autobiographical book about 5 years back, earnestly working on writing the story of my journey from being hopeless and homeless, to where I am now, saved by grace, and happily married to the love of my life.

It took a long while to write, partly because I lived life and worked while I tried to find time to do this project and do it well; also partly because it was hard, sometimes, to pour over the details of my past.

Why would I do it, then, you may ask?

Because I feel that God asked me to.

Jesus did soemthing mighty miraculous in me, through me, for me---He raised me out of the pits of depression and totall hopelessness and He raised me up to a level of joy that I can only describe as....well, awesome!

How did He do that?
It's in the book.
What did it take?
It's in the book ( just a hint---it took not a miricale, but many of them!)
What now?

That I don't know for sure; I do know that God wanted me to find a way to share with many about what He did for me....and I have...now I am waiting for His next move, and expecting greatness.
:)