Thanksgiving Day!

Thanksgiving Day has come and gone. I ate much more than usual but managed to keep my carbs down. I just had a small breakfast of 1 egg, bacon and cheese. About noon I made a meat and cheese tray with celery and pickles. My wife and I snacked on that and sampled the cheese ball she made. I made some stuffed jalapenos to take to our friends house and A'Lisa made green beans with almonds, sugar free cranberry/orange relish, cheese ball, cheesecake, pumpkin bake and real whipped topping.

At our friends house we had the stuffed jalapenos and cheese ball with celery for appetizers with a small glass or two of white zinfandel. About an hour later we had dinner and I avoided all the high carb/sugar laden stuff. I simply had dark meat turkey, cranberry relish and green beans. For dessert I had cheesecake and pumpkin bake with whipped topping.

I was pretty stuffed after dinner and then we played this game called "Apples to Apples." It was lots of fun. Usually I don't eat after 6 pm, but when I came home I ate a few more jalapenos and had another small slice of cheesecake. Now back to my normal routine!

Thanksgiving

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:17

This is Thanksgiving week 2008. There is so much for which to thank God. We live in exciting times because we can see the handwriting on the wall and we know that the return of Jesus is imminent. Thank God that we still have our freedom in America and that we worship Him without government interference. Thank you Lord that you set your plan for mankind into motion long before anything was even created. Thank you for revealing yourself and your plans for us through your Word. Thank you that you love us and you knew that we would rebel against you, so you planned for our redemption.

Lord Jesus, thank you for your willingness to humble yourself, take on the form of a man, live 33 sinless years and become obedient to the point of death on a cross. God made you to become sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in you Jesus. Thank you for being our substitute, paying the price that we owed for the penalty of our sins. Through you we have redemption, the forgiveness of our sins, abundant life now and eternal life with you. Because of your sacrifice we can come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain help in time of need. Thank you Lord for enduring the cross, scorning its shame, and now you sit at the right hand of the throne of God, ever making intercession for us. Now God has exalted you to the highest place and given you the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Thank you Father for my spouse who is the perfect complement for me, thank you for our children and our extended family. Thank you for our Christian friends and even those we desire to become part of the family of God. Thank you for health and strength, for the activity of our limbs, for the experience of our senses. Thank you for the beauty of the world around us, the sun, moon and stars, all of nature and the beautiful colors we experience each year. Thank you for food, clothing, shelter, material blessings, for our jobs and the ability to do our work for your glory. Thank you Lord for giving us a future and a hope. We eagerly await the day when the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise. Then we who are still alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Our hearts are filled with gratitude because we are called, chosen and kept by the power of your Holy Spirit. All glory, praise and honor is due to you O God our Father, in the matchless name of Jesus our wonderful Lord and Savior, Amen.

Sedulous Sunday

Yesterday I wasn't feeling well but was scheduled to preach at the Lutheran church in Liberal, so I fulfilled my obligation. We were done so early that I attended the service at my home church afterwards. A group of folks invited us to lunch at Pizza Hut, so we went with them.

I should have ordered the regular chicken wings but I ordered the boneless wings and was shocked when the brought out the order. They looked like big chicken nuggets with lots of breading. So I picked off as much breading as possible and just ate the meat (there wasn't much meat left after taking off all the breading)!

Then we traveled to Dodge City to see Christian comedian Ken Davis. This was sponsored by our radio station so I needed to attend. He was so funny that I was cracking up and that would make me start coughing. I spent two hours laughing, coughing, crying and snotting and went through two handkerchiefs!

I really overdid it yesterday and today I was so tired. I went to work for just four hours, recorded my two shows and cleaned off my desk and now I'm back home. My lungs hurt from so much talking but I am getting better. I'm taking Baxin, Mucinex, Echinacea/Golden Seal and all my vitamins. At least I can rest my voice for the remainder of the day!

One Way

During the Jesus Movement of the '70s, the "One Way" sign became a popular icon. "One Way" bumper stickers, posters and lapel pins were everywhere, and the "One Way" slogan for a time became the catchphrase for Christianity. Christians knew that Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven. "One Way" seemed to be an unshakable belief that all Christians held in common. That was then...this is now.

Why have we abandoned what believers once all agreed to be absolutely true? It's because in our quest to be relevant, we have actually failed to see where the contemporary world is going and why.

The dominant worldview today is called postmodernism. That means reality is whatever you imagine it to be. What is "true" is determined subjectively by each person, and there is no such thing as objective, authoritative truth that governs or applies to all humanity. "Truth" becomes nothing more than a personal opinion, usually best kept to yourself. Postmodernism seems driven by a broad-minded concern for tolerance. But the postmodernist belief system has an utter intolerance for biblical Christianity.

According to a Barna poll from 2000, about one out of four born-again Christians believes that it doesn't matter what faith you follow because they all teach the same lessons. A June 2008 report by the Pew Research Center revealed some interesting stats: 57 percent of the evangelical Christians surveyed reported believing that "many religions can lead to eternal life." In a March 2008 broadcast Oprah declared to millions of viewers, "Jesus can't be the only way, there are many ways to God."

Technically, all roads do lead to the same place. Ultimately we will all stand before a just and holy God. The question is, will you stand before Him as Savior or as Judge. Proverbs 14:12 states that "there is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." Therefore according to scripture, all roads paved and walked by men lead to spiritual death, i.e., eternal separation from God. Revelation 20:11-15 says that only those whose names are written in the Book of Life will have eternal life. So all roads do lead to God, but only one road leads to eternal life.

Why don't we think this way in other areas of life? In boarding a plane, we want to make sure we are on the right plane to our destination so we do our research, ask questions, and make sure we are boarding the right plane. We want to make sure we take the right medicine so we ask questions, do our research, and listen to people who have spent years studying medicine. In areas of nutrition we realize that there is healthy food and unhealthy food. Not all foods are the same. There are right ways and wrong ways to handle money, to conduct our relationships, and to drive our cars down the road. Isn't it possible that there is a right way and a wrong way to view spirituality?

Jesus Christ said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father but by me." These are not popular words in today's culture. But then again, Jesus Christ was not seeking to win a popularity contest. He said it because He knew it was true. He backed up his claims by many miracles and by rising from the dead. The evidence for these facts is recorded not only in the Bible, but also in the historical works of Josephus, Clement, Polycarp, Ignatius, Tertullian and Origen.

Although many claim that Jesus does not differ much from other religious leaders such as Buddha, Jesus' claim to be God in the flesh singles Him out of the crowd. Buddha, Muhammad or Confucius never claimed to be God. But Jesus' did and His claims were not spoken in a vacuum. They were backed by His credentials. He fulfilled a host of prophecies given by the Hebrew prophets concerning His virgin birth, His divinity, His atoning work on the cross and His resurrection from the dead.

Besides this, Jesus substantiated His divine claims with a perfectly sinless life, compassion for the downtrodden (which was often expressed through His many healing miracles, including raising the dead), His genius and authority as a teacher, and His unsurpassed insight into the human condition. It is no wonder that people worshiped Him. After His resurrection, Jesus appeared to His disciple Thomas, who had doubted the reports that His master was raised from the dead. When Thomas saw Jesus, he cried out, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus accepted Thomas' worship.

There are those who say, I believe Jesus was a great teacher, a prophet, a good man ... but not God.
You can't have it both ways because He claimed to be God.
So that only leaves us with three possible choices:
either He is a liar, lunatic or Lord.

Maybe He was a liar: He knew He wasn't God, but He convinced others that He was. This would make Him a vicious liar.

Maybe He was a lunatic: He thought He was God, but He wasn't. He was insane.

Or just maybe He was the Lord God: He was who His followers claimed He was – the Son of God, sent to Earth to redeem man from his sins; God in the flesh. Think about it.

Creation Festival: The Tour

This was an interesting weekend. I was hardly at home at all. We spent Saturday shopping for the food to prepare for Creation Festival. A'Lisa agreed to cater the event. There were 9 Christian rock bands, roadies, managers and volunteers. We probably fed 100 people. Some of the music was pretty good, but these bands appeal to a much younger audience!

Saturday we ate out at Golden Corral and it didn't agree with either on of us (I think we need to stay out of that place). A'Lisa was sick all night, up and down, in and out of the bathroom. Neither of us got much sleep. Sunday morning we left town at 6:00 AM and drove to Dodge City by 7:00 AM to prepare for the first meal of the day. It was only continental breakfast, so it was easy to prepare. We had sweet rolls, cereal and milk, fruit, juice, coffee and tea (this is what they wanted). I planned ahead and brought bacon and eggs to cook for myself!

Lunch consisted of grilled burgers and hot dogs. I made a big pot of chili and we prepared tossed salad to go along with it. One volunteer made 20 dozen cookies, and we had soft drinks too, so there were sweets all day long. My lunch consisted of a burger with cheese.

We contracted out dinner since they basically wanted a Thanksgiving dinner, turkey with all the trimmings. One of our friends cooked 9 smoked turkeys and we made the yams w/marshmallows, cornbread stuffing, gravy, cooked veggies and salad. For dessert A'Lisa made apple and peach pie, cake and we also had store bought pumpkin pies. I chowed down on smoked turkey and salad with ranch dressing.

Food was the topic of the day, so I used the opportunity to share my low carb lifestyle with many people. By the grace of God, I was able to stay on plan, despite being surrounded by high carb foods. We cleaned up, packed everything away and hauled it back to town. We didn't get home until 10:00 pm and got to bed by 11:00 PM. It's 8:30 AM as I write this, A'Lisa is still asleep and I probably won't go to the radio station until 10:30 this morning. What a weekend, I'm glad it's over!!

"Lord give me patience!"

"Lord give me patience, and I want it now!" Experience has taught me that patience is a virtue, but it's probably not a good idea to pray for it. God develops our patience through our troubles. "...when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your patience has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your patience is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. James 1:2-4

Turning your life over to Jesus doesn't make you immune to difficulties, hardships and troubles. Bad things do happen to good people! However we can have a positive reaction when troubles come our way, knowing that God can use the circumstances for maturity and spiritual growth.

Your problems are not your punishment, God allows these things because He is passionate about your spiritual development. God is not mad at you, He is mad about you! Somehow God weaves everything together, the good and the bad, to develop beauty, growth and character in our lives. "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them." Romans 8:28

God is teaching me to trust Him in the midst of life's troubles, because He sees the big picture and ultimately knows what is best! "We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next." Romans 5:3-5

Transformation

When you begin a relationship with Jesus, God desires to bring about a metamorphosis in your life. It's just like the amazing process the caterpillar experiences when it becomes a butterfly. The only difference is our change not merely external.

Dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice, the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:1, 2 New Living Translation

Giving our bodies to God as a living a holy sacrifice means total dedication. The words we speak, the things we do and even the thoughts we think should bring honor to Him. Considering what Jesus has done for us, it's the least we can do for Him.

Consider what your Bible says about your words:
"Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them." Ephesians 4:29
All of your deeds should be honorable: "...whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus." Colossians 3:17
Even our thoughts are important to God: "...we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:5

Don't let the world squeeze you into its mold and drag you down to its level of immaturity. God transforms our lives by changing the way we think. That's why it's critical to fill your mind with good things. "Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable." Philippians 4:8 It's easy to get sucked into watching the popular TV shows and movies, listen to the latest music or read the NY Times bestseller. When you have a relationship with Jesus, He wants you to fill your mind with things that are beneficial. Whatever we think about is what we will eventually act upon.

The Walk to Emmaus 10/27/08

I had a great weekend. I was a time of renewal, got a fresh perspective, made a lot of new friends, and ate a lot of food. I was surrounded by high carb foods the whole weekend but didn't succumb. They fed us three meals a day (sometimes 4) with dessert and constantly had high carb sugary treats available between meals. The only treats I had were 2 diet sodas, a sugar free lemon bar and 3 pieces of sugar free candy. However I did eat much more protein than what I've been consuming recently. The meals were self serve cafeteria style and it seems my eyes are still bigger than my stomach. I haven't stepped on the scales since I got home, kinda afraid of what I might see.

It was soooo good to get home and see my lovely wife (after four days with 60 men) and it was wonderful to sleep in my own bed. This morning I was very tired and wished I could stay home, but I'm back to work and my normal food routines. Hopefully I can quickly take off any excess weight I put on this weekend. (I wish it came off as quickly as it goes on!)

Preaching at Bethel Friends Church 10/20/08

One of our board members invited me to preach at his church in Hugoton, KS yesterday. For some reason my stomach didn't feel too good in the morning, so I just had a protein drink for breakfast, but that made me feel even worse. Fortunately when it came time for the sermon I felt better and everything went well. After church his wife invited us to their house for dinner and I mentioned that I eat low carb. She explained that she had cooked a high carb meal and should have asked me first if I had dietary restrictions. (I never know what to expect when people invite us to eat after church!)

So we went to dinner at their house and they served chicken tetrazzini (which didn't have very much chicken in it), salad, rolls, tapioca pudding and sugar cookies for dessert. If I would have eaten that meal I would have been in a carb coma afterwards!! Once again she apologized and I prepared myself to just eat salad. I asked if she had any protein and she did have some deli ham, grated cheese and some pecans. So I managed to make a decent salad with ranch dressing.

I was grateful but not satiated and started to get a headache on the 90 minute trip home. We finally got home and I couldn't wait to eat something substantial. Before leaving for church I had baked a whole chicken, so I warmed up some of that and ate a chicken breast and the wings and about a cup of cooked cabbage. At the end of the day I had remained within my protein limit of 105 grams and had a total of 25 grams of carbs. In the future I think I'll keep some jerky or nuts with me, so that no matter the situation I'll be prepared to give my body what it needs!

Trip to Branson, MO 10/14/08

After a week of intermittent fasting we treated ourselves to a nice weekend in Branson, MO. Trees are just beginning to turn into their fall colors. The rolling hills and lakes were just beautiful. What a feast for the eyes and a welcome change from the plains of Kansas. A'Lisa obviously needed the break more than I did, it took her a while to de-stress. The weather was perfect, sunny and warm, about 80 degrees each day. I thought it would be cold but we actually laid out by the pool, soaking up some rays.

We prepared some meals at our resort and only ate out a few times. Overall I stuck to low carb foods, but I did eat some things that I normally wouldn't eat like frozen yogurt and sugar free cookies for dessert. We also celebrated the weekend with some Shiraz and Cabernet Savignon. That's the first time I've had any wine since going low carb three months ago.

Yesterday I fasted until I came home from work because I felt so bloated from the weekend. Today I feel like my body is getting back to normal. It's amazing how a few extra carbs can make a huge difference in the way you feel!

Heartland Beauty 9/15/08

Woke up to 45 degree temperatures in the Heartland of America this morning. The full moon gave way to bright sunshine and it's going to be a beautiful day. I had a busy weekend with the doctor's visit on Friday, taught a jewelry class on Saturday, then played with the Coffeehouse All-Stars. We served steak dinners at the coffeehouse Saturday night. What a nice to treat to eat grilled ribeye steak. Good stuff.

Yesterday after church we went to Liberal, KS. We took the plunge and went to a Chinese buffet. I ate hot and sour soup, shrimp, crab legs, steak wrapped in bacon, chicken wings, chicken satay and some green beans. I managed to get out of there without going over my carb quota. I must admit those carbs filled items looked good but I didn't succumb to the temptation. Today I get back to my regular routine.

Preaching in Ness City 8/11/08

I had a great weekend. Probably ate a few more than 20 carbs each day (too much cheese) but I'm back on track today. My wife keeps saying I'm shrinking but I don't have my scales yet to know whether I have lost any weight. When I got dressed for church yesterday I could tighten my belt three more notches. Obviously I'm losing inches. I feel much better these days and I don't have those bags under my eyes any longer!

We have had kind of a lo carb breakthrough in my household! I was invited to preach in Ness City, KS yesterday. It's about a two hour drive each way, so we had plenty of time to talk. While driving to church my wife said she is going to stop eating bread and sugar! This is a major turnaround! However, she is still reluctant to embrace my food plan. (Yet when we ordered food at the restaurant yesterday she told the waitress, "We're doing Atkins.") I'm just happy that we're making progress. That's an answer to prayer. She still labors under the assumption that fat makes you fat, even though she can see the evidence to the contrary in me. This is a time of growth (not physically) and learning for both of us!