"Why can't I ever get what I want?"

"Why don't things work out the way I planned?"

"Why does everything I hope for always go wrong?"

"When is it gonna be my turn to get what I want?"

If you're a Believer, here's a question about your question: Who are you expecting to show up with an answer? Who're you expecting to explain why following I and planning for I and expecting things to work out for I just isn't proceeding according to I's expectations?

What do you think The Almighty would say about why He hasn't shown up, submitted and surrendered to I?

--

The Apostle Paul described himself as a slave to Christ after Jesus appeared and spoke to him on the road to Damascus ... and Paul was beheaded in Rome for his faith. Christ's own brother, James, doubted Jesus was the Messiah until Jesus appeared to him following the resurrection ... and in 57 A.D. the historian Josephus wrote that James was martyred for his faith.

Christ himself submitted totally and completely to the Father ... and Jesus's faith led him to Golgotha, where he was crucified and died for our sins.

Do your expectations include that kind of complete and total surrender ... or does your faith feel more comfortable making a partial, trial kind of submission ... and giving God a chance to prove himself by meeting your expectations and making a couple of big pay-offs, before finally making up your mind?

---

"Abba, Father," he said, "everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will."

- Mark 14:36

And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.

- John 14:13

On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.

- John 14:20

I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

- John 14:12

People are so disappointing.

Surprised to hear someone say that? Or do you find yourself thinking it all the time?

More next week.

---

Do this tomorrow.

"Lord, I surrendered completely ... so give me what I want."

Isn't that the way we expect God to work? As if The Creator is a day laborer we only pay when he shows up to collect on Sundays ... although we sure like to keep his number handy for emergencies? "Lord, this Tuesday I need you to clean out my financial gutters and put a fresh coat of paint on my relationship exterior."

Faith is not a game we decide to start playing in hopes of tricking God into joining our team, taking our side or to grant us wishes and give us things. Faith is about Surrendering and Submitting ... not about asking for favors, influence, short-cuts or safety & security.

No one is smarter than God. Neither you nor me nor anyone else comes close. And He recognizes lies, selfishness and deceit long before we get around to saying Amen.

I surrender.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?"

- Matthew 16:24-26

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.

- Romans 12:1

Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

- Matthew 10:39

"I need a friend who understands Women"

Really? So who're you gonna turn to when you need answers?

Me? Your horror-scope or your friend who's "a real player"? Maybe you'll look for advice from your friend with five divorces? What about calling your bud who's got three girlfriends (and a wife, too)?

Those are all bad choices.

Talk to the Creator, and listen to what He says.

In case you missed it

- from PerryNoble.com

A few thoughts on a great day at NewSpring Church…

Saw around 35 people surrender their lives to Jesus today…THAT never gets old!

Christianity is NOT merely a decision to be made but rather a lifestyle that is to be embraced.

If your life is boring, predictable and disappointing…you didn’t get to that place by following Jesus!

The problem with many people in the church is that they prayed a prayer but did not actually surrender their lives to Christ. (And Matthew 7:21-23 has some pretty intense things to say about those kind of people.)

We often overestimate what God wants to do in others…and underestimate what God wants to do in us! Fact is…He has a plan!

NewSpring Church Web Campus

Old Havana Foods

(Friday blog lite)

Regular readers may already be aware how often I make Picadillo, Ropa Vieja, Boliche, Garbanzo Bean Soup and flan de leche. It's not that those are the only things I know how to cook, but that those are the things I like best ... and same as a genuine Cuban sandwich from Ybor City, they're all impossible to find around here.

[Spanish Plaza, Ybor City]

Earlier this week I found the Old Havana Foods web site by accident, while doing an unrelated search. Old Havana Foods specializes in authentic, easy to prepare, stove-top foods from centuries-old Cuban recipes. Here's "The Julio Story" from their website:

At Old Havana Foods, we’re dedicated to bringing friends and family together for memorable meals. Back home in Cuba, getting folks around the table was a passion for great-grandfather, Julio. Spirited conversation, music and amazing food were always on the menu in his Old Havana kitchen.

In the late 1800’s, Julio perfected his original, slow-cook method for savory black beans - or frijoles negros– as it's known on the island. With his extraordinary sautéed seasoning, his Old Havana black beans became a neighborhood sensation.

Cooking was a passion for Julio, who developed a legendary variety of authentic Cuban recipes. On special occasions, he’d start early in the kitchen, working from scratch to produce his famous black beans and rice. Especially on Sundays, friends and family would crowd into Julio’s Old Havana home to enjoy his magical cooking. And he passed down his culinary secrets to a new generation.

Now you can easily prepare artisan Cuban dishes – in your own kitchen! Using premium, all-natural ingredients, we cook it just the way Julio did – blending black beans with our famous Sautéed Seasoning (Sofrito). We start with sweet Vidalia onions, sautéed in extra-virgin olive oil, adding freshly crushed garlic, cane sugar, sea salt, peppers and a dash of savory spices.

I placed an online order, and yesterday FedEx (shipping is included for orders over $50) delivered my package ... which included a nice personal note as well as a complimentary CD of Cuban music and a reproduction 1913 Cuban postcard of La Loma Del Angel ... "The Hill of the Angel."

20 Minutes from Start to Delicious

But the proof, as they say, is in the taste: ¡Asombrar! ¡Maravilloso! ¡Delicioso! And Highly Recommended, especially if you've never tried Cuban food and have been curious what the excitement's all about.

Julian tells me Old Havana Foods has a variety of all-natural gourmet Cuban specialties planned for release in the months ahead ... and I can hardly wait.

Old Havana Foods

1417 Indian Grass Lane

Grayslake, IL 60030

1-800-513-1502

Lies we live by

You can have anything you want--if you want it badly enough.
You can be anything you want to be, do anything you set out to
accomplish if you hold to that desire with singleness of purpose.
- William Adams Brown

You can have anything you want -- if you want it badly enough. You can be anything you want to be, have anything you desire, accomplish anything you set out to accomplish -- if you will hold to that desire with singleness of purpose.

- Robert Collier

"You can have anything you want - if you want it badly enough. You can be anything you want to be, have anything you desire, accomplish anything you set out to accomplish - if you will hold to that desire with singleness of purpose"

- Robert E. Lee

You can have anything you want -- if you want it badly enough.
You can be anything you want to be, do anything you set out to accomplish
if you hold to that desire with singleness of purpose.

- Abraham Lincoln

Sometimes we find inspiration in a silly cliche, according to who we're told had said it.

MAKE Time for Praise

... as believers, we'll be spending a major part of eternity doing just that.

Mighty to Save

He Reigns

I Am Free

Jesus conquered the grave!

Shine your light and the let whole world see

We're singing for the glory of the Risen King.

Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.

For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

- Psalm 100: 3-5

After the snow stopped

A sailboat two slips down from me sank last night. Nobody knows the reason yet, although some folks thought the heavy snow accumulation through the past week must've had something to do with it. As of this afternoon, the marina's been unable to get in touch with the owner.

As I walked back to my boat I overheard another liveaboard say, "After you've lived on a boat for a while, you start forgetting that things can go bad in a hurry."

"I think you're selfish, deceitful, insecure, emotionally self-destructive and spiritually absent."

Imagine a friend had just used those words to answer your question, "What's your honest opinion of me?"

Now picture yourself jabbing your finger in your friend's face and demanding, "Mind telling me what all that's based on?"

What if your friend shrugged, looked you in the eye and said, "Based on the person you're dating."

-----

I made lots of painful mistakes in this area. More than plenty, thanks for asking. The reason I made all of those mistakes is because I pursued what I wanted, instead of asking God for discernment and then being absolutely certain of what He wanted.

I've become a big fan of God by paying attention to Him and have come to realize that beyond any doubt, across all of eternity, The Creator has never made a single mistake. Not one. He's never even had a bad idea. And if following His will and listening to Him means finding the person He intends and keeps me from making more painful mistakes, guess what? I don't mind that one little bit.

-----

A stubborn insistence on making the same mistake over and over again proves that person hasn't used their mistakes to learn WHY they keeping making the same mistakes. That person believes Pain and disappointment is inevitable and just something to "get over," like a sports injury. From playing the field.

The explanation behind long strings of bad relationships, broken romances and multiple divorces is usually the cliché "Don't I deserve the right to be happy?!" Against all odds, the cliché person is constantly looking for new solutions and answers, trying to figure out "What I keep doing wrong" ... and vainly trying to conform God's will to their pursuit of emotional "happiness."

Guess whose will is gonna endure?

The Bible doesn't teach that dating is spouse-shopping.

The Bible doesn't teach that great deals are waiting among all the junk in romantic yard sales.

The Bible doesn't teach "Starter Marriages" or endorse "Try Before You Buy."

The Bible doesn't teach "Trust God in all things except in thine crushes, or in thine flirtations and infatuations, or in thine romantic passions and Valentine daydreams."

God has never had a "bad day"

Not one.

He's never been surprised, caught off-guard or ever once been "off his game."

God doesn't get "rusty," tired, fatigued or worn-out.

God has never said "Today just wasn't my day," "I don't know" or "I'm not sure."

Maybe best of all, God's never said "I'm too busy," "You're not worth it" or "There's nothing I can do with you."