Friday, July 15th

I read this scripture:

Proverbs13:12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.

I read this from a book called "Cry of the Soul" in Chapter 10, and it really brought it home how God gives hope. I think about my family, wife and son, my job, and school, along with other responsiblities, and I seem to take it on with a joy in my heart. However, when I read this, it hit why that is the case. God has given me hope in situations where I think if God wasn't in my life, there would be no hope. I would be stressed (and I am stressed now) beyond recognition. In high school, actually middle school, I had ulcers. I was sickly and in despair and turning to things that I shouldn't have been and my life was in a downward spiral. Now, though, things are so much better. I know it is because I turn to God for my troubles and relax knowing that whatever happens, it is for the good of God and his kingdom. That was my nugget.

Thursday, July 14th

What a long day it has been. My quiet time was short and brief today, mostly consisting of prayer and such. I have felt that things are starting to get a little out of hand in my life and really needed the time to reflect back to God and really let God take control. Maybe I have stepped up with pride and tried to take control and push God to the side. It sounds like that can be so easy to do, human nature to do so.

My wife and I had a D-Time with some elders earlier this evening and I really opened up with what's been going on in my life, my wife did the same, and our son, he was prideful and didn't really share much, except when he was hungry, he let us know about that. Anyway, I had some feelings and thoughts that were staggering up in my mind that I had briefly talked with my wife about, but I felt it was good to really get with them and talk to others outside of just me and my wife. I think this will need to become a staple in my marriage. I think we need to do more of that. Anyway, the night is short, so I will wrap it up and head off to bed. Love you all and hope to hear from you soon.

Wednesday, July 13th

Hello, all.

My QT for today was really interesting. I studied out Psalm 88. What I found interesting about it was how the writer was really in dispair and God let him "be." Usually, when you think of Psalms, you think of how in touch with emotions the writer is with himself. Psalm 88 is no different than that, however, when we also think of Psalms, you have a victorious ending to each Psalm. Well, with Psalm 88, I never really saw the silver lining on the proverbial cloud. God "let him be." And sometimes, I think that is how it should be. When we suffer, it is good to have friends and loved ones nurture us back to our true comfort zone, but then there are times when we need to feel our pain and really get real with ourselves. Writing this makes me think of the prodigal son story in the new testament. The son went out and had to hit bottom for him to really come back and get help. I think Psalm 88 may be more a prodigal son type story. Anyway, I would love to hear all of your thoughts. Below are the scriptures. Hope to hear from you all real soon.

Scriptures:

Psalm 88:1-18
1 O LORD, the God who saves me, day and night I cry out before you.
2 May my prayer come before you; turn your ear to my cry.
3 For my soul is full of trouble and my life draws near the grave.
4 I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am like a man without strength.
5 I am set apart with the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom you remember no more, who are cut off from your care.
6 You have put me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths.
7 Your wrath lies heavily upon me;you have overwhelmed me with all your waves. Selah
8 You have taken from me my closest friends and have made me repulsive to them. I am confined and cannot escape;
9 my eyes are dim with grief. I call to you, O LORD, every day; I spread out my hands to you.
10 Do you show your wonders to the dead? Do those who are dead rise up and praise you? Selah
11 Is your love declared in the grave, your faithfulness in Destruction?
12 Are your wonders known in the place of darkness, or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?
13 But I cry to you for help, O LORD; in the morning my prayer comes before you.
14 Why, O LORD, do you reject me and hide your face from me?
15 From my youth I have been afflicted and close to death; I have suffered your terrors and am in despair.
16 Your wrath has swept over me; your terrors have destroyed me.
17 All day long they surround me like a flood; they have completely engulfed me.
18 You have taken my companions and loved ones from me; the darkness is my closest friend.

Side Note:
just something for fun, but I am doing the "beat the streak" with mlb.com and found it really entertaining to do. There are some really cool prizes, but I am more into for the bragging rights. Anyway, check it out if you are interested.

Tuesday - 7/12/05

An introduction, if you will:

This blog is just stating my thoughts of what I get out of my Quite Times (QT) each day. I pledge to write each day I am home (not on vacation), and if I do go out for a time, I will post an brief update of what went on and then continue on with the days learning. Of course, any thoughts and suggestions would be more than welcome.

On to today:

I studied briefly on access and what it means to have access to good and bad things. With the WWW, I found that I have all sorts of access to things. Being that I am an addict, I found that addiction to sexual things, chemical things, and everything else in the world is at my fingertips. Now, in regards to spiritual things, God obviously wants me to use the things given to me for the good of the world, to the good of the my family, the good for myself, and for the good of the kingdom. I found that the access can also mean obtain, and when I discovered that, I found a scripture that really brought it home for me. I will always list scriptures at the end of the post (for future reference). Anyway, I found my study today to be real eye opening. So without further ado, here are scriptures I studied today.

Scriptures:

Ephesians 2:1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

Proverbs 18:15The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge; the ears of the wise seek it out.

Revelation 13:14"To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. 15I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. 19Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. 20Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. 21To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."

Proverbs12:2 A good man obtains favor from the LORD, but the LORD condemns a crafty man.

John 5:31"If I testify about myself, my testimony is not valid. 32There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is valid.
33"You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. 34Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved. 35John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.
36"I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the very work that the Father has given me to finish, and which I am doing, testifies that the Father has sent me. 37And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, 38nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. 39You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, 40yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
41"I do not accept praise from men, 42but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. 43I have come in my Father's name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. 44How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?
45"But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. 46If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. 47But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?"

Romans 7:14We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[c] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
21So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Ephesians6:10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Helpful Links

I thought I would include a list of websites that have an abundance of information, whether about addiction or just for fun sort of stuff. After the link, I will provide some information as to what the website deals with.

Addiction Journal

A scientific journal about addiction. Covers all the bases. Really good if you want to do extensive research. Has links to other sites, as well, if you are interested in researching something else. Really useful site.

The Sex Addict

This should be straight forward based on the name. This site is good for those wanting to do more on recovery. This would not be for those who want to have the addiction, as I have heard people in the world joke about.

Chemical Recovery

Great for those who are looking for a recovery group. Has links to churchs all over the world, so if you go on vacation, you should be able to find a church close by. Also has tips and helpful things for the recovering addict.

The 3X Church

A really great site. Has accountability software that is free for those who struggle with the internet pornography.

Recovery Man

Good site. Geared for the sex addict to get pointers on recovery.

Recovery Website

Good site. Geared for the one helping a sex addict to get pointers on recovery.

Books on Sexual Addiction

Yet another good site. This one has books for the recovering sex addict.

Sharon O'Hara

Just a website on sexual addiction. A good article and gives some pointers for recovery.

The Anti-Drug

Tips and tools for the parents to help keep their kids from drugs. Good education website.

NIV Bible

The Bible's website. The best concordinance.

Atom Films

A link to the Star Wars fan films. Entertaining website.

The Force is with You

Another website for fan films for Star Wars. What you can't find on the first link, then use this one.

Power to Choose

A link to the cheapest power bill in the state of Texas.

Texas Tomorrow Funds

A link to the options for school for your little one. Lock in low rates.

Beat The Streak

A website to MLB. Get in on the "Beat the Streak" contest, which is FREE! I wouldn't do it otherwise.

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