The Sailors Family

There, I said it….although it is probably because I do not know what I am doing!  Look at my post!  Any help out there?  

Tags: 116, 39, 49, 54, 77

OK, so most of you that visit my little hole in the web know that I am going to Nicaragua and you’ve probably been praying for me to find my once found but then lost Passport. Well, it has been found. Wow, what an awesome blessing! I want to thank the academy for voting for me, for mom and for dad, I want to thank the fans out there…if it wasn’t for you I would not be here today. I want to thank Joe D. Joe D..ok..so enough of that. But really, praise the Living Lord. Jesus did a miracle. What you need to know if you loose or need a Passport within 2 weeks of your travel (thanks to my friend Ron, who inadvertently helped me, although in the end I did not need his assistance; oh and go to his site www.moreron.com)

Anyhow, if you go to the Gov Site then they will tell you that you have to have all this paperwork (well either one require the paperwork) including the original birth certificate, 2 forms of identity, ds 21 something or 64 yadda yadda…big hassle for sure..and here is the kicker. You have to appear on an appointed date at one of their regional offices. Me being in NC the closest one is in Washington DC. Doah.. But, Ron got his passport through Passport Express. These are good people. What they do is take power of attorney and do it all for you. You sit at home and go to work and the Passport (even and emergency one) will show up in 10 business days for a little under $400. yup..ouch. Same paperwork applies.

So, tonight I am up at 1:45am…unusual for me and just finished the work I would have done earlier if I had not been looking for my passport and birth certificate (which is the other part of this story..I couldn’t find either) but both are now safe. Funny thing is…I had a rough day. I was hard on my self. Felt a lot of condemnation, even self medicated a little with eating fried food and drinking a soda late (paying for it in other ways) when I should have been going to God for comfort. After Kryssy and I looked tonight for hours I really had a sense we were going to find it. Kryssy was disgusted and frustrated and at her end right when I began to feel good about it. Within the next hour I had found the birth certificate and 22 minutes later…bam..passport. Lesson… put important documents in a safe (known) place. I learned mine!

Onion Ring’s Recipe 1 Large Onion cut into 1/4 rings; 1 1/2 cup of Bisquick; 1 Beer; 2 Tbls of Hot Sauce; 1 Tbls of Garlic Powder; S&P to tasteFryer or Cast Iron Pan w/4-5 oz of peanut oil; mix Bisquick with Beer and other ingredients until a batter is formed. Should be thinner than pancake but not runny. Place rings in batter and mix well. Do not put too many rings in oil at a time. It will burn. Watch closely and turn. Let drain well on towel and S&P as you like.

Tags: Passport

I love London Broil.  Ingles always has awesome deals on it…just this past week they had them buy one get one free or something! Anyhow, it’s a big piece of meat and some folks are very intimidated by big pieces of meat.  Don’t be, this is a fairly easy piece of meat to deal with. 

London Broil   

1-2lbs cut of London Broil, Salt and Pepper, Olive Oil, Greg’s Glaze (optional)

Instructions:  Set London Broil out and let it come to room temperature.  Salt and Pepper to taste (I heavily pepper it) and drizzle with Olive Oil.  Turn broiler on and put cast iron skillet in oven and let it heat up.  Oven time to pre-heat will vary but most likely 5-6 mins should do.  Be ready for lots of smoke but do not be alarmed.  I hope you have a good hood.  Place meat in cast iron skillet.  Skillet should be as close to broiler as possible.  Let cook for 8 mins then turn and let cook for 8 mins for med rare to med.  Take out and let rest for 5 mins.  If not glazing, cut against the grain in very thin slices.  

Glaze:

1 TSP of Honey, 2 TBLS of balsamic vinegar, Red Pepper Flakes to taste, 1 Shallot Diced, 3 Garlic Cloves Minced , 2 TBLS Worcester Sauce, S&P

As soon as steak comes out brush glaze on.  If you would like to, use it as a steak sauce.  This glaze works well with chicken, pork and salmon.       

Tags: 106, 47, 52, 61, 72, 78, 98

The following is plucked from an advertisement for Ransomed Heart’s conversation series (volume 3) The Good Heart.  I believe it intro’s well what I would like to share about.  Eldredge and the rest of the Ransomed Heart team has some awesome teachings on this subject.  Visit the links section of my site to go to their store to purchase the teaching above as well as others.  But for now read this: 

 

 

Is your heart good or bad? Can you trust that God will speak to you in your heart? That your desires can be from God? Scripture teaches that the heart is central to our lives. Yet, many Christians find it hard to even talk about matters of the heart; undoubtedly, they know the verse in Jeremiah 17:9 that says the heart is “desperately wicked.” So, how can we talk about loving God with all our heart? About living “from the heart”? … Because there is good news that has been stolen from the “Good News”: The  Gospel teaches that the work of Jesus Christ reaches even to the human heart. This may be the most important CD ever released by Ransomed Heart, because its implications are so far-reaching to so many areas of our lives–to our relationships, our calling, and our walk with God. We invite you to come and discover what God meant when he promised to set a new  heart within us (Ez 36:26) … and what Jesus offered when he talked about the “good and noble heart” (Luke 8:15).   

WOW…what would it mean to you if you knew your heart was good?  That the desires that feel evil, filthy or vile are not really you.  I really don’t want to teach about this but rather tell you my experience.  Well, teach a little..lol..anyhow:

 

I love my family and had an awesome childhood.  A great church family and wonderful parents blessed me.  My father was very engaged in my life and I had great friends.  Everyone wanted the best for me and as far as they could tell where doing the best for me. However, there was much that they or I did not know or where scared to share.

 

Sex for instance:  I was taught some good things, like it was meant for marriage between a man and a woman and for those that love each other.  But I was never taught that it was not sinful or bad; I was never taught that it was meant to be enjoyed and that those desires were natural; I was never taught, or I don’t remember being taught, how to respect a woman sexually or hold her up as the strong and awesome creation she is.  Now don’t get me wrong…I was never taught the opposite of those things..rather folks were just passive or scared to talk about it.

 

How about intimate things:  My parents were good at this.  They would

always encourage us to share our heart and disappointments etc….but that was the only environment I had for that…some would say that that is the place for such things and no where else..well read Acts 4 and Rom 12.. anyhow, I was never taught to seek those intimate fellowships..I always wanted it and I tried in various places but usually was shot down or ran off because of fear of exposure or moral dilemmas to change

 

And the good heart:  God bless everyone, I was only taught Jer 17:9… your heart is desperately wicked…you are only a sinner, saved by grace…you’re gonna mess up, you need an accountability partner to keep you in check 24/7 because your desires are evil and your flesh weak…wow…this was pounded into me through hymns, pastors, mentors, family, friends and teachers…and it’s false.  I know, might get your blood boiling on that one…sorry.

 

My heart is good.  

 

I’ve been made into a:  New creation (2 Cor 5:17)

 

Been given an:  undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.  (Ez 11:19) (Ez 36:26)

 

Also given a:  Noble and good heart (Luke 8:15)

 

I wish I would have known that my heart was good.  It would have changed my early life, which was full of doubt, confusion, condemnation, guilt and depression.  I was rescued.  I committed my ways to the Lord when I was 12.  I gave Him my life.  I have been aligning to Him ever since and it is an awesome thing.  

 

It is not dull or bad:

 

This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike “What’s next, Papa?” God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what’s coming to us—an unbelievable inheritance! We go through exactly what Christ goes through. If we go through the hard times with him, then we’re certainly going to go through the good times with him!  (Rom 8:15-17 Message)  (Thanks BT) 

 

Rabbit trail:  I’m so sick of people thinking Christian’s are dull or trapped by rules or the like…they have no idea the freedom they are missing out on…

 

Anyhow, to wrap up..because I have experienced the good heart first hand, I know that there is now “No condemnation for those that are in Christ” (Rom 8:1) It has freed me to sin like crazy..lol..got ya.. no, it has freed me to live life like John 10:10…more abundantly and to the full…It has taught me that obedience to God is a good thing.  He wants the best for me and has my best interest at heart because His heart is good toward me.  It has showed me that the evil one influences some of my feelings and some of my desires are from my old self (read Rom 7).  But that is not me anymore, I am a new creation and am a c0-heir with Christ. (8:17 any other translation)

 

When I lash out at someone, or my wife is ticked off at me and says something hurtful.  That is not her heart. Her heart is good toward me and mine toward her.  I can almost remove myself from the situation and see the truth, which makes the make up time so much better.  Because we know the truth that although we may disagree and might even be hurtful toward each other that in reality that was not our heart..but something else…

 

Go get the teaching above…and I’ll ask it again, what would it do for you to know that your heart is good?  The only place to start is with 

Tags: 10, 100, 101, 103, 109, 12, 13, 16, 20, 3, 44, 58, 62, 63, 77, 97

Take a look at this Steve Harvey Comedy Concert closing.. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=812bpt4w0LI]

Tags: 107, 115, 118, 76

It’s funny.  Cows love fellowship!  When I was in college, back in the internet dark ages, I communicated like crazy through the web.  AOL’s AIM through their ISP was today’s facebook or myspace without the space.  It seemed everyone was on there.  Then there was ICQ and YIM… all types of communication interface began to spring up (sounds like I know what I’m talking about…lol..) anyhow, from 97-00…that was where I was and where I met my wife.I’ll never forget it.  She said hello and I said blessings (posing of corse) but with some heart of truth behind it.  She said she jumped out of her seat and felt God say “this is the man you will marry!”  wow..thank God she did not tell me right then because I would have blocked her for sure.  Many of you know the story and if I tell it I will get sappy real fast so I will spare you…but i say all that to say this:”Community is a core desire of your heart!”  God placed it there.  Think about Father God!  He is not alone; He lives in a powerful and great fellowship…the Holy Trinity.  There is Father God, the Son-Jesus and the Spirit..facebook and other social networking sites provide us a way to be in community. However, for many, it does not move beyond the key pad.  I believe that the desire for community is also accompanied by the desire for contact.  Many of you have probably read Gary Smalley’s “The Five Love Languages.”  It talks about how one receives love etc.. like:  words of affirmation, physical touch, acts of service, gifts and quality time.  Physical touch is so important..    I personally feel like I am going through withdrawal if I do not get a hug from time to time.  Anyhow, on to facebook…I left the internet communication game a few years back..now, occasionally I would pop on AIM or go to the Andrew Peterson message board, but overall I was not around.  I was dealing with some major issues in my life: marriage, addiction, depression etc…facebook and this blog of mine has very much been a blessing to me.  It has been quiet some time since I have connected with many of my friends and folks I care about.  It’s great to be able to reestablish that fellowship and I am thankful to my pesterers!God is good!  If you are looking for a place of fellowship, whether in a Church setting, or a group of guys or gals to meet with and share life, I can help…let me know!  

Tags: 117, 33, 34, 35, 50, 51, 60, 69

This is a story from my buddy Chris Cartee about how New Wilderness has been so mighty in his life:

I want to share a chapter in my life that has truly been a turning point and why the ministry of New Wilderness Adventures has played a crucial role in this new chapter.I begin with a time about 6 years ago. I had been in a big argument with my wife on my way out to work. I felt as though my life was spinning out of control and I drove away from the house that morning and I just wanted to die, I almost crashed my van into the bridge over the Broad River. As my van reached 90 or better headed toward the bridge something stopped me and I began to cry out to God. I cried out “Father I need you to show up in my life, where are you?” I went on to my first visit as a home health nurse to a home in Forest City. I thought to myself, why am I doing this. I will not be able to help these people in the state I am in. I did not know these people at all and yet toward the end of the visit I felt something urging me to ask these people for help. The pt,s daughter said she had a friend that counseled with couples. I called this person and she said she would be glad to talk with my wife and put me in touch with a man named Mark Folk. When Mark and I met one of the first things he asked me was how did I think God saw me. I always assumed that I was only a sinner, always asking for God’s forgiveness and feeling as though I was always letting him down and that I was just a bad little boy. I was not in an actual prison cell with bars and guards that I could see but something much worse. I was a prisoner to fear, doubt, confusion and hopelessness, condemnation and guilt. Mark asked me to come to a meeting called “a band of brothers’”. I agreed to come; I was desperately wanting someone to tell me I was not a bad boy. Those men did more that just pat me on the back and tell me they would pray for me, no one said that if I had more faith I would be alright.  No one condemned me or even tried to fix things by giving me a list of tips or techniques. What they did do was come along side and fought for me. They walked through the battles and struggles that laid before me and more than that they help me to hear from the father in ways I never had. Mark sat and listened to me one day as I described the pain I was going through. He walked back in time with me to when I was 8 yrs old, a incident with my father had left me very hurt and wounded. I remember being punched in the stomach as he made his was down the hall to my room. My room was a mess and he was so mad that he broke everything in my room. I sat in the floor crying and I wet my pants I was so scared, I thought I was next. I was left sitting their for sometime , no one came and said I’m sorry, this was not your fault or help me clean up my room and fix the things that were broken, we never talked about it, I was left to come to my on conclusions about what had happened that day. Then Mark ask me” now what did that 8yr old boy conclude.” I concluded that I was a bad little boy and I deserved this because I was so bad. What makes this wound all the more deadly is that is was delivered by the most important person in a little boys life his father. I did not really realize it then but from then on I saw a father as someone to be afraid of , someone who would only punish you or scream at you. This agreement I had made about myself colored and clouded every aspect of my life from then on including my thoughts about God( my Heavenly father). Mark help me to see that it was all a lie by the enemy Satan to destroy my heart and crush my spirit at a young age. He knew that if I hated who I was I would never be who God had called me to be. Jesus told us to love the Lord thy God with all thy soul and all thy might and to love others as yourself. Satan had covered the bases their. I not only was afraid of God as a father but I hated myself and therefore could not love others. It has been a long journey to this point but I have forgiven my dad and God had healed that wound in my life by showing me the truth. The truth that I am a dearly beloved son, and my heart was a treasure and that is why he sent his son was to ransom restore and heal my heart. I am not that bad little boy anymore. I am a man, a man loved and treasured by God my true Heavenly Father. I never knew that was how God truly saw me and that through the death of his Son he was actually pursuing me (my heart). Isaiah 61 vs. 1-5. Jesus tells us why he came, It was so much more than I came to get you in line and save you, he said I came to set you free and heal your broken heart and give you the good news that through is death, resurrection and ascension what was lost has now been restored.This is why I am so very passionate about the work of New Wilderness Adventures, Mark will tell you it is not about the ministry at all, but about stories just like mine of men having their hearts healed and restored by God so they might really live. Live in their strength given to them by God to fight for the hearts of others as Jesus did. To fight for their wives and children and be the spiritual leader of his home.This is one of the main ways God has used New Wilderness adventures to reach men for Christ through stories and the outdoors. Remember we all have a story to tell and our stories continue on today. We would love to here your story.The core values of the ministry are to pray about everything, walk with the thirsty, consensus through a community of leaders that are committed to irreversible change. We craw, walk and then run. Humility, Love and Forgiveness. May God bless you and may my story bring glory and honor to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Chris Cartee (Wallace)

Tags: 16, 41, 56, 57, 77

Just want to give a quick blessing! I’ve been in need of a personal computer for some time. I’ve had my personal stuff and ministry stuff spread thin over 3 different computers; one of which just crashed. God has really blessed us and one of our donor’s purchased a MacBook for us. We are excited about the new possibilities for ministry and keeping up with family.  The MacBook is a powerful tool. I hope to be adding some video blogs now about Jack, us, the ministry and whatever else randomly appears.

God is good!

Tags: 10, 16, 46, 83