Thanksgiving: Day 17

DAY 17: I’m thankful for the trials of life because- as hard as they are - they bring about perseverance, character and hope! (Romans 5:3-5)

What are you thankful for? Leave a comment here to share with and encourage others!

Thanksgiving: DAY 16

Day 16: I'm thankful for the simple pleasures of life like a cup of hot coffee on a cold day and the laughter and humor of family & friends!

What are you thankful for? Leave a comment here to share with others!

Thanksgiving: DAY 15

Day 15:  I am thankful that each day is a new day full of hope, new opportunities and potential to try and make a difference in this world and that each “yesterday” is behind me!

What are you thankful for? Leave a comment to share this with others!

Thanksgiving: Day 14

Day 14: I'm thankful for the people in my life who care enough to see past "1st impressions" or "perceptions" to discover who I really am!

What are you thankful for? Share a comment on this blog to encourage others!

Thanksgiving: Day 13

Day 13: Thankful for God's provision. Very blessed today in more ways than one!

What are you thankful for? Leave a comment to share and encourage others!

Thanksgiving: Day 12

Day 12: I'm thankful for the encouragement and faithful prayers of my friends and extended family who continually bless my family and I!

Thanksgiving Challenge: DAY 11

Day 11: I’m thankful for the tremendous sacrifice, integrity, and service of the men and women of the armed forces! Thank you for protecting our freedom!

Thanksgiving: Day 10

Day 10: I’m thankful that each day, (whether bad or good) is truly a gift from God – a gift that I'm striving to use wisely!

What are you thankful for? Leave a comment to share and encourage others!

Thanksgiving: Day 8

 

DAY 8: I am thankful that when I am broke - I'm still richer than most of the world's population!

Thanksgiving: Day 7

DAY 7: I am thankful that when I sometimes (or is it often?) feel like a loser, an idiot, unworthy, unloved, unimportant and more that I know those feelings are all a pack of lies because I know who I really am to my family, my friends, and most of all who I am from God’s perspective!

What are you thankful for? Leave a comment to share and encourage others!

Thanksgiving: DAY 6

DAY 6: I am thankful for our church home and church family. It's a blessing to be somewhere we can worship, serve, grow, be encouraged, challenged and build new friendships!

What are you thankful for? Leave a comment to share and encourage others!

Thanksgiving: DAY 5

DAY 5: I'm thankful for the love of God and the Love of my family!

What are you thankful for? Leave a comment to share and encourage others!

Thanksgiving: DAY 4

DAY 4: I'm thankful to still have a job in an economy where many unfortunately do not!

What are you thankful for? Leave a comment to share and encourage others!

Reference Books for Sale: Hillsboro/Portland Metro Area

Hate to part with these but really need sell these great references as I look to better support my family budget. 

Please let me know if you're interested in purchasing any of these resources. 

I will add more to this listing as I purge my current resources.

John MacArthur Study Bible (NASB) - SOLD!

C.H. Spurgeon's Complete Sermon - 10 Volume Set - Mint Condition: $100 (Retails for $190-$200)

 Matthew Henry Commentary - 7 Volume Set - Mint Condition: $75 (Retails for over $100)

Exhaustive Concordance for the New American Standard Bible - Mint Condition: $50 (Retails for $80+)

Thanksgiving: DAY 3

DAY 3: I am thankful for my wife who does so many things for our family and I including but not limited to getting up earlier to drive me no matter the weather to the MAX Station so I can get to work each day!

What are you thankful for? Leave a comment to share and encourage others!

Thanksgiving: DAY 2

DAY 2: I am thankful to have a roof over my head and a furnace to keep us warm!

What are you thankful for? Leave a comment to share and encourage others!

A Thanksgiving Challenge: DAY 1

It’s November 1st and there are 23 days until Thanksgiving and I wanted to put out a challenge to you.

I’d like to challenge you from today until at least Thanksgiving to think about, write down, and share with others what you’re thankful for! 

These could be things about God, your family and other relationships, or whatever you’re thankful for!

We all need to cultivate an attitude of gratitude and thanksgiving and this challenge isn’t just an exercise but it’s truly an opportunity to get your minds on things above and around you.

It’s an opportunity to be encouraged and encourage others as you share what you’re thankful for and hear what they’re thankful for! It's an opportunity to focus on the positive and get away from dwelling on the negative!

Just think about how many things you'll have listed and be able to look back on as you've written down what you're thankful for!

Are you up for the challenge?

I sure hope so and hope to hear some great things from you if you share them with me!

To kick it off - Here’s what I’m thankful for:

Day One: I’m thankful for my family and friends whom I’m blessed to know!

Check back here in the days ahead as I’m going to start posting what I’m thankful for here and hope to hear from you here as well regarding what you're thankful for!


Blessings,

rlk

Clergy Appreciation Month: Pastor, God has chosen you!

It's Clergy Appreciation Month and Here's a little something I put together for all my pastor friends as a thank you for all you do!

Let's not wait to thank our pastors one month out of the year! Let's thank them and show our appreciation all year long!

You'll want to turn off the music that plays on this site by scrolling down to the right and pausing the player under the Tunes section so you can hear the audio that goes with this simple video.  

Blessings in Christ,

rlk

(Duration: Less than 3 Minutes long.)

The Well

Scripture:
Read: John 4:7-14

The Well  
by Randolph Koch
 
Each day we draw from one well or another and just like the woman at the well we seek to quench our physical, intellectual, and spiritual thirst from one source or another - whether the right or wrong wells.
 
Jesus reminds us through His conversation with the Samaritan woman that our thirst cannot ultimately be quenched or satisfied apart from Him. 

The world would have us believe otherwise like the commercials that say "stay thirsty my friend" as they use that to try to get you to purchase more of their beverage - a beverage that wouldn't even quench ones physical thirst really! :-)  All other sources or a cheap substitute to the real "Source" The Well that truly satisfies.

We all need reminders of where we draw our strength from and we need to assess each day - "what well or wells am I drawing from today? 
 
I heard this great song appropriately named "The Well" by Casting Crowns and you can hear it via this Spotify link or another online source. I encourage you listen to this song, read John 4:7-14 and then assess where you are. 
 
Song Link: http://open.spotify.com/track/17vJ8PfHJ0hcqqO4nJ9ES3 
 
You're either going to stay "thirsty" or you're going to find the right well and have your thirst quenched and we need to daily draw from the right well, the well that Jesus offers you and I!
 
Questions to Get Started with:

1. Are you thirsty? Is your day-to-day life seemingly dry?
2. Whose well are you drawing from each day? 
3. Who or Whose well should you be drawing from each day?
4. Do you think you can do life on your own without help from God and others?
5. What changes do you need to make today to drink from the right well? 
 
Blessings,
rlk

I'm Still Here...

Hello Brothers and Sisters,

I can't believe it's been over two months since I last posted! 

So, don't know who regularly follows-my little blog but I wanted to make a brief entry to let you know that #1 I'm still here and #2 I'm making some efforts behind the scenes to begin regularly posting again.

I'll be posting some devotions, some articles by myself and others, possibly a quick update from a short vacation my family and I took last month, and sharing videos of music that has been really inspiring me lately. 

Hope all is well for you and that you're resting in God's grace and love for you. 

Keep your eyes peeled, hope to post something new very soon. 

Blessings,

rlk