Lessons From Psalm 51

I just got finished reading the book "Thr3e" by Ted Dekker. It's an awesome book by the way, and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys an edge-of-your-seat thriller that doesn't let go of you until the last page.

In the book, Ted explores man's good side and his evil side and the struggle between the two. Today, I was reading fromk Psalm 51, and I recognized this struggle within David. This Psalm had been written after David committed adultery with Bathsheba. You can feel the torment within his soul as the weight of his sin lay heavy on him.

I learned several lessons from this Psalm that I would like to share with you.

Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. Psalm 51:1-2 (NLT)

#1 David recognized God's love and mercy. He knew that he served a God that was good and that wanted him to succeed. God was not some bad guy holding a lightning bolt, ready to strike him down at any second if he made a wrong move. David knew that his God loved him and wanted to free him from the burdens of sin.

For I recognize my shameful deeds-- they haunt me day and night. Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just. - Psalm 51: 3-4 (NLT)

#2 David accepted full responsibility for his sinful actions and did not try to pretend that he did no wrong. David's eyes were open to the realization that he had goofed up. He knew that it was against God he had sinned. He didn't try to play off his sin or make excuses as to why it was ok to do what he did. He broke a commandment that the Lord had put into place, and he was ready to accept the judgment and punishment that God saw fit to give to him.

For I was born a sinner-- yes, from the moment my mother conceived me. But you desire honesty from the heart, so you can teach me to be wise in my inmost being. Psalm 51: 5-6 (NLT)

#3 David was aware that he was born into sin and was completely honest with God about it. He understood his sinful nature and tendency to want to gravitate towards things that were harmful. However, he was honest about his shortcomings and recognized that God looks at a man's heart when he judges him. Total and complete honesty straight from the heart is what David possessed, and it is the very thing that helped him find favor with God.

Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me-- now let me rejoice. Don't keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt. Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me. Do not banish me from your presence, and don't take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me again the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you. Then I will teach your ways to sinners, and they will return to you. Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves; then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness. Unseal my lips, O Lord, that I may praise you. Psalm 51: 7-15 (NLT)

#4 David knew that God was the only one who could cleanse him. Within this Psalm, David pleads to God to blot out the stains of sin, wash him clean, purify him, and renew his spirit. Never once does he imply that he can do any of these things on his own, nor does he ever ask anyone but God to do these things for him. David knew who had the power to forgive and to save. I especially like the part where he asks God to "make me willing to obey you." It may seems strange, but I often have to ask God to help me serve Him. Sometimes I find it quite difficult to stay away from sin and the things of this world. I have to ask God to help keep me on the right track as I go forward each day. Thankfully, God does forgive me. He does cleanse me. He paid the price for me. He loves me, and he wants me to succeed. Though there may be judgment and punishment involved at times, God only corrects because He loves me. He wants to keep me on the straight and narrow road.

Before Jesus came to the earth and sacrificed himself for all of mankind, David unserstood who his Savior was. He knew that in order to to lift the hwavy weight of the sin from his shoulders, he would have to be honest with God, confess his sin, take correction and consequences, and then be willing to let God change him and bring him back to where he needed to be spiritually.

I learned a lot through this passage of scripture, and I hope that you enjoyed hearing my thoughts about it. Any comments are welcome. Thanks for reading. God bless each and every one of you!

I Think I Remember What It Feels Like To Write

This is me just writing a short post so that I can get back in the habit of writing. With so many ideas running through my head for novels, short stories, and other works of fiction, you would think that I could get something new crafted. However, planning a wedding, exercising, and working take up a lot of my time now. So, I guess something had to get shoved onto the backburner, and it ended up being my writing that got shoved back.

My hope is that after the end of the year when the dust settles and I get back from my Disney World honeymoon that maybe then I can have more time for blog reading and writing and time to craft some awesome fictional tales. If it doesn’t happen, at least I can say that I had a fun run during the times that I did write, and at least now I will be married and on my way to starting the family that I always dreamed of having. Sacrificing writing for love and companionship is not a bad exchange. In fact, I am happier than I have ever been because of that love and companionship.

Thank you to all of you who still follow my blog despite me not being able to follow yours as often as I would like. Sometimes it just helps to know that I still have my writing friends out there supporting me and cheering me on even when I have set aside this hobby for other life events. God bless each and every one of you!

Two Amazing Grandparents

I just got back from Iowa. I went with my fiance Jamie to meet her grandparents. I must say that I had a wonderful time with them, and I can see how both of them have been such a strong influence on Jamie's life and how both have helped influence her relationship with God.

While I was there, her grandfather told stories of how angels had rescued him from near death. He also shared his testimony of how he got saved. It was beautiful and nearly brought me to tears, though I wouldn't be able to re-tell his story here with the same beauty.

Jamie's grandmother amazed me when we pulled out an old hymn book. Jamie's sister would randomly choose a hymn title from the book and ask her grandmother what the lyrics were. Her grandmother could repeat all of the hymn's lyrics from memory! It was as if she was a human hymnal. This amazed me, and it blessed me. I am back home now, but I will never forget my experience with these two people. Both are living examples of how blessed one's life can be if they choose to dedicate it to the Lord and His works. I pray that when I'm in my 80's that I too can look back and see where I have spent my life passionately serving the Lord and glorifying Him in all that I do.

What Will I Do For Others? Hmmmm...Let Me Give This Some Thought

It seems like when I get active with one area of my writing then another area gets left behind. That’s the case with my blog. I’ve been doing a lot of writing for FaithWriters lately, so my blog has been neglected. I have also neglected to read other blogs, and I apologize for that. A lot of it has to do with time restraints (which this blog post is partially about).

Oh and one last thing before I get to the subject at hand. I posted the third episode of my video blog, and I don’t think anyone got the update. If that is the case, be sure to scroll down and check it out. I read some fan mail and answer some questions. :)

What I really wanted to talk about is not my video blog or my lack of posting. I wanted to bring up an observation. At my work, there are various whiteboards scattered around the different offices of IT. Each week, an identical question is posted on each of the boards, and anyone can go to any of the boards and write down an answer. Some of these answers are humorous and some are very serious depending on the personality writing them. At the end of the week, the answers from each board are collected and then a list of answers is e-mailed out to everyone in IT.

Well this past week’s question was “What are you going to do for someone else in 2009?” I bet it wouldn’t surprise you to find out that this question got the least amount of responses out of any question so far. Out of the few answers given, one person wrote “Nothing.” I’m sure they were just trying to be funny, but this actually saddened me. What saddened me those most though is that I didn’t respond to the question! I walked past the boards many times, stopped and thought about the question, and never put an answer down. Why? Well the sad truth is I really hadn’t thought about what I would do this year for someone else, and perhaps that was the problem with most of the people who read that question.

I do a lot for various people in my life throughout the year, but do I ever really stop and plan to do something special for someone? Do I ever stop and think about helping a complete stranger or someone else who I might not normally help? Do I find myself being “too busy” to step out and fill a need that someone has? These are questions I had to ask myself, because without answering these questions, how can I possibly answer that question posted on the board?
We are all caught up in a fast paced world where we grab our coffee and jet out the door. How many of us set aside time to purposefully do something for someone else? I can think of many examples of people who do that very thing. My friends Joanne and LauraLee from FaithWriters are always taking time out of their busy schedules to visit my blog and other people’s blogs and leave encouraging comments and feedback. They also take time to contribute their own thoughts and words of wisdom for others to read. My mother is always taking time out of her day to aid my elderly grandmother and to make sure that her family is well taken care of. My fiancé Jamie devotes much of her time to children’s ministry at her church and to reaching out to teenage girls.

There are so many ways to contribute to the lives of others, whether it’s helping the homeless, sponsoring children in other countries who need food and clothing, or just being there for someone when they need a shoulder to cry on and an encouraging word. We can all contribute something, and we can all consciously do it. I’m not talking about just “accidentally” stepping into helping, though that is never a bad thing. I’m talking about actually sitting down and making a list of people who need our help and making a conscious effort to aid them. This is something that I am going to have to force myself to take time to do, because in all honesty I really feel stretched thin right now. However, God has put it on my heart to think about this, so that next time a question like “What will you do for someone else in 2009?” comes up on a board, I will be able to list not only one, but many things.

Be encouraged today and keep on walking with Jesus! Thanks for reading! God bless all of you!

The Just Joshing Video Blog - Episode Three (Take Two) - Josh Answers His Fanmail

If you subscribe to my blog, you may have received an e-mail about episode three of my video blog, and then came here to realize that the post had been deleted. That's because I decided to make a more fun episode for you all to enjoy (or use to help you fight insomnia). In this revamped episode, I read and answer some of the fan mail that I receive. Enjoy!

Fiction Fridays - "Meet The Cooks - Episode Three - My Dictator Drives A Prius"

It's Fiction Friday today, hosted by Patty Wysong at her blog Patterings. Be sure to go there and check out links to more great fiction.

My contribution this week is another episode of The Cook Family saga. For those of you who don't know who the Cooks are, they are a family of superheroes (similar in style to The Incredibles only much wackier), who I created for the FaithWriter writing challenge. However, the challenge no longer lends itself very well to these stories, so I am going to be sharing them with you on Friday Fiction. I am starting off here with episode three, but if you are confused, you can view the first two episodes by clicking on these shameless plugs, I mean links:

Meet The Cooks - Episode One - Iron My Son's Underwear

Meet The Cooks – Episode Two – Al Gore is a Hunky Beast

FaithWriter's Promo Featuring Joe and Linda Cook

So without further ado, here is this week's Friday Fiction...

Meet The Cooks Episode Three My Dictator Drives A Prius

Time again for another action packed episode featuring our favorite superhero family, The Cooks. This episode finds Spyder the Ninja infiltrating the fortress of the evil Emperor Shao Kahn…

Spyder the Ninja (a.ka. Linda Cook): “The Temple of the Discombobulated Monkey! Wow! Long have I waited to be able to confront Shao Kahn face-to-face and end his reign of terror. China will soon see freedom!”

Captain Treehugger (a.k.a. Joe Cook): “Linda, wait up!”

Spyder the Ninja: “Joe? What are you doing here? This is my mission! And where’s Dylan? You were supposed to be watching him while I was gone!”

Captain Treehugger: “Relax, Sugar Booger! Dylan is with my mother, and she is taking good care of him. You know how she always complains that she never gets to spend time with her grandson. I figured this would give her some time with the kid and me some time with my wife if ya know what I mean” *Wink* *Wink*

Spyder the Ninja: “You think this is a romantic getaway? I’m here fighting evil dictatorship, Joe! Not cozying up with you in a steaming hot tub!”

Captain Treehugger: “Speaking of hot tubs, I bet they have a few inside this swanky joint. Hehe.”

Spyder the Ninja: “JOE! ENOUGH! Go home and get Dylan! I don’t trust your mother to watch him properly while I am away. Her and the Emperor are good friends, and if she knew I was here, she would surely try to find a way to disrupt my mission!”

Captain Treehugger: “I don’t know where you get the idea that my mom is friends with a fascist dictator. They had lunch one time. He was visiting the states on a business trip and they went to Panda Express. No biggie.”

Spyder the Ninja: “Fine then! You keep that in mind the next time I go have lunch with Polluto!”

Captain Treehugger: “That’s different, Babe! You are happily married and my mom is a widow.”

Spyder the Ninja: “Yeah! A Black widow! Your poor father didn’t die from a ‘Mentos and Pepsi Accident’ like she said. She killed him Joe! I know she did! Now let me get back to my mission. I have to find a way to sneak into this place.”

Captain Treehugger: “I wish you would please let me, Captain Treehugger, help you out here. I mean since I happen to be here now anyways.”

Spyder the Ninja: “And what is Captain Treehugger going to be able to do? Fight off the samurai hordes with his amazing ability to instantly biodegrade plastic?”

Captain Treehugger: “Well, Linda, it looks to me like this fortress was constructed of 100% recycled waste! Perhaps the Emperor is going green and I can have some pull on him with my powers.”

Spyder the Ninja: *Sigh* “Whatever, Joseph. I’m scaling this wall with my grappling hook. If you insist on following me, then you are more than welcome to enter through the back door and take the stairs. No flying this time for you, Mister! The doctor said that you need the exercise. Oh, and don’t get in the way of me kung powing Kahn in the butt. “

Thirty minutes later, Spyder the Ninja found herself reaching the 150th floor of the Temple of the Discombobulated Monkey. Captain Treehugger’s hand was waiting to grab onto hers and pull her inside.

Captain Treehugger: “Come on in, Sweetie! Doesn’t this place smell great? I think its citron green tea that’s tickling my nose.”

Spyder the Ninja: “Joe! How did you get up here so quickly?”

He took the elevator instead of the stairs.

Spyder the Ninja: “WHO IS THAT? Did I just hear a voice?”

Relax, Linda. It is I, your friendly neighborhood narrator, giving the play-by-play of what’s happening on your adventures so that our readers can join in on the fun. Josh Janoski hired me. He also added your names before each of your lines so that people know who is saying what. Pretty nice improvements over the previous two episodes, huh?

Spyder the Ninja: “Um, that is just weird. I never knew we had a narrator. I’m going to have to have a talk with Josh about this later, but right now I have to deal with Kahn’s cronies who are coming at me!”

WOOSH! ←------------------That’s the sound of legs wrapped in black latex pants kicking the sweet and sour sauce out of ten katana wielding, samurai crazy men!

Spyder the Ninja: “Whew! That was fun! Now to find Kahn, He has to be around here somewhere.”

Emperor Shao Kahn (a.k.a. “Chef Shao” on the show “The Great Wall of Food with Chef Shao”): “No need to look, Spyder. I am right here.”

Spyder the Ninja: “Kahn! We finally meet! I just wanted to let you know that your chinese cooking show on Food Network sucks! I can make better wonton soup in my sleep!”

Emperor Shao Kahn: “Your words cut deep, Spyder Lady. But not as deep as the cuts you will take from my sword!”

Captain Treehugger: “NOT SO FAST!”

Emperor Shao Kahn: “Who is this?”

Captain Treehugger: “I am Captain Treehugger, defender of the environment and husband to that lovely lady you are threatening to slice and dice!”

Emperor Shao Kahn: “So I get two for the price of one today? Fabulous!”

Captain Treehugger: whispers “Um, Honey. Why is Shao Kahn’s mouth not in sync with his voice?”

Spyder the Ninja: whispers “It’s called dubbing, and all good Chinese action movies and stories use it.”

Captain Treehugger: “Hmmm…interesting. Anyways, Kahn, I think you are completely overreacting here. I see this evil lair you have built that is energy efficient. Don’t think that I didn’t notice the recycling bins you have outside for paper, plastic, and aluminum. I get you, man. I totally get you. Let me ask you something. What kind of car do you drive?”

Emperor Shao Kahn: “I just bought a Toyota Prius. Why do you ask?”

Captain Treehugger: “Very good choice, my friend.”

Spyder the Ninja: “Did you just call Kahn your ‘friend,’ Joe?”

Captain Treehugger: “Relax, Darling. I know what I am doing here.”

Little Mr. Jump (a.k.a. Dylan Cook): “MOMMY!”

Why it looks like Joe and Linda’s three-year-old son Dylan has decided to teleport into the fortress and join his parents.

Spyder the Ninja: “My baby! I knew grandma wasn’t going to watch you very closely. You need to go back home with daddy while mommy takes care of some business.”

Emperor Shao Kahn: “Not if I have my way!”

Oh no! Shao Kahn has snatched up the boy! What’s going to happen? I say that pretending to not know the outcome, but guess what? I know exactly what is going to happen next, because narrators get a copy of the full script. Too bad you don’t! Ha ha ha!

Little Mr. Jump: “Mommy! Mommy! Help!”

Emperor Shao Kahn: “Don’t either of you move or else this little boy that you cherish will die!”

Spyder the Ninja: “I would put Dylan down right now if I were you, Kahn. You don’t know who you are messing with.”

Emperor Shao Kahn: “Is that so? What is the little tike going to do to me? Sit me down and make me watch the Teletubbies? Hahahaha!”

POOF! ←-----------The sound of an evil dictator getting teleported to the frozen tundra of Siberia.

Spyder the Ninja: “I tried to warn him about the dangers of holding a child that can teleport, but do you think he would take time to listen? Of course not! He’s a man!”

Captain Treehugger: “Rats! I was just about to ask him his thoughts on solar panel heating! Oh well. Our work here is done. Whaddya say we go find Kahn’s hot tub and sit and soak for a little while, eh?” *Wink* *Wink*

Spyder the Ninja: “Whaddya say that perhaps you take the stairs this time and get some exercise? Lipitor alone is not going to save you, Joe!”

Captain Treehugger: *Sigh* Alright, Honey Buns. But do you think we could have some Wonton Soup tonight?”

Spyder the Ninja: After we get back from Siberia. We have a three-year-old to pick up. You flying, or do you want to drive the Prius?”

Looks like this adventure is not over yet! Join us again for another action packed episode of Meet…

Spyder the Ninja: SHUT UP ALREADY!

Um, to be continued…

Hot Or Cold? I Guess I'm Cold This Week

Well I really really really wanted to enter the Faithwriter’s writing challenge this week for the “hot and cold” topic. I had two great ideas, but I did what I have been doing a lot lately. I came up with good ideas but I couldn’t seem to get them on the paper. Good thing I have my blog to keep me writing during this dry spell. It’s not even a creative dry spell. It’s just a “I have my idea but I can’t seem to word it correctly on the page” dry spell. If I can manage to somehow write out one of the ideas I had, then maybe I’ll submit it for Fiction Friday tomorrow. I’m not making any promises though. :)