Louder Than the Voices

 Happy Saturday! I said we would spend a couple of weeks in James 2:14-24 and here is our second week. Thanks for being patient with the week off, Last Saturday morning started with leaving the RV a little before 5 and of course, ended with a balloon ride of a lifetime. 💓 I am going to stick a little better to our HEAR method this week. So, without further ado; James 2:14-24 14  What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?   15  Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food.   16  If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?   17  In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 18  But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.   19 ...

 Happy Saturday! and Happy 58 years on this earth to me. I wish I felt better but I am grateful that God brought me home safe and I got to sleep in my own bed last night, even if it was with several needy cats. I wanted to run 3 mile this morning but I can tell you, that isn't going to happen. I have put in 36 miles this week and so with my head cold, or sinuses or whatever is going on, I am giving myself permission to just get the things done today I need to get done and doing a lot of resting in between. I don't remember being this tired in a long time. I came home with new insight on several tech issues and I have signed up for about 20 hours more classes that needs taken just to keep me caught up with what is going on in the world around us so I can keep my promise to my boss not to let us get behind in technology. This AI thing is the most double edged sword thing I have seen come out of progress in a long time and trying to learn how to use it to the fullest and at the sa...

Happy Saturday morning!  This week, we are finishing off the passage in James about treating everyone the same. As I said early on, this hits very close to home because of my job. I try to stay out of politics here, but when we started being told we could not discuss equity, it was a blow. I will be very frank. We see a lot of people in our offices that are beaten down by society, and that makes them beat up on themselves. Have you ever really thought about the fact that you not treating someone with the respect you would like to be treated with could be their final straw? We see so many suicides in school kids anymore. I remember the days very well of being made fun of at school, and being bullied. There were people who I think really lived to get to call me fatso. I had an escape though, I could come home and get away from it, I always hope people grow out of being that "better than you person" but unfortunately, you see some of their actions on Facebook and see them making...

Happy Saturday!  Hope you all had a wonderful week and are getting a good start to a wonderful weekend. It is a working day for us. I have things that need done around here, some things to help my mom with and some things at the office today and of course, all those Saturday things like cleaning house and groceries. Hopefully, the guys are going to get a new mailbox put up at Robert's as apparently, the mail lady refuses to deliver mail to the old one.  We are heading into a really busy month of August. I have important meetings on Monday and Tuesday, we are trying to do job interviews, I have a trip to Carlinville Wednesday and an outreach event Saturday. I leave, with Andrew in tow, next Sunday for a week of tech learning, home for a few days then go to the Lincoln Balloon festival, then home for a few days and head to Detroit for the National Community Action Partnership conference and by the time I get home, it will be Labor Day weekend and the month of August is gone. And...

 Hope you are having a great Saturday! I got to do something new last night and go out to a sound bath on a very secluded pond and watch the stars. Would you believe I saw THREE shooting stars while I was there? I wish I would have remember my bug spray but other than that, it was very cool. I did sleep in though and I have a busy day and a busy weekend so here we go on our Bible Study for today. We are on part 2 of a 4-part series. Today we are looking at James 2:5-7 So, we will jump right in using our HEAR method. 5  Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?   6  But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court?   7  Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong? Verse 5 Highlig...

 Happy Saturday morning! Hope it has been a good week for you. It has been a lot of ups and downs for me, but the big lesson I have learned this week was the realization that my week went exactly as God planned it. That has stuck with me a lot and left me trying not to question why too much. I feel I have done pretty well sticking to my goals for eating and working out. It is a little harder when I am taking so much time off because I make a list of so much to get done that I don't want to spend time driving to Effingham or going for an hour run. I do know I make up for it because I am moving more all day and not sitting at my desk, but it still gets off. When fall comes, I won't be able to take the time off so it isn't a long term issue by any means. We are finally moving to Chapter 2 of  James and I have broken this into four parts because it is so very important to me. These verses not only deal with my person livelyhood, but with things I have encountered all my life. A...

 Happy Saturday again! Wow, these weeks are going fast. I believe someone said it was just 24 Fridays until Christmas this week. How can it be? Didn't we just have Christmas? I am super excited because today is LIHEAP sisters day! I have been looking forward to this day ever since we planned it a couple of months ago. These three people are on my short list of people I would do absolutely anything for and I know they would do the same and just getting to spend the day together and relax and visit helps heal so many things, there has been a lot going on in our Energy Assistance world and these girls understand it first hand, so we can vent and they get it. Even though Nancy retired and Jen is working in Energy in a different capacity, we still get each other very well. It is going to be a great day! I wanted to get my day started right though so up super early so I can get a run in as I know us, we will be doing a lot of riding and a lot of sitting so I want to get my body up for th...

  Happy Saturday everyone! Hope you had a wonderful and safe 4th of July. My guys don't care for fireworks so last year, my mom decided to go with me even though she doesn't like the loud noise from it. When we go to Olney though, we sit in the Walmart parking lot and the booms aren't as bad. She really enjoyed it last year, so I was tickled she felt up to going again this year. I make us each a big sugar-free decaf iced coffee and we put the top down and just sit in my car. This year was just as great and I love spending time with her that isn't just going to a doctor.  I am getting a really late start this morning and still very pulled in what I am doing today. My original plan was to work in the attic again but I honestly got the sections I planned on getting done this weekend done yesterday. I slept through my alarm and so I am not getting the start I had hoped. Andrew is going to be at my mom's today working on a project with Robert and so I am thinking very st...

 Happy Saturday from St. Louis! I love quick getaways and was really excited when it worked out that we could go to the Muny and get a little mini vacation in. Things didn't turn out as planned and the rain ran us out of the play but we got Ted Drewes, so the night was saved, lol.  I am looking forward to our plans for today and hopefully they all go well.  This weeks Bible Study takes us a little further into James Chapter 1. We are looking at verses 19-21 this week. 19  My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,   20  because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.   21  Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. So, using our HEAR method, Verse 19 Highlight = everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to beco...

 It is Saturday once again. It has been another busy week but I look back and lots has been accomplished. My living room and dining room are still all messed up because of the attic project but I know that is to be expected. My plans for today is to get a quick run in and then work on the next 6 rafters of stuff, and hopefully have it all sorted by 3 and then use the spare bedroom to store everything that is left down here to take back. I have never had sections in my attic the way I wanted to, and I am going to try very hard to do that this time. I am hoping it keeps being as easy to get rid of most stuff as it has been so far. I am just sick of the clutter. The verses today remind me that clutter isn't good in any area of our lives. It stands in our way from letting us be the best version of ourselves for Him. You go up in my attic and it is hard to walk through because of the messes. You almost have to crawl over stuff to get to the one thing you want. My goal is, by the time I ...