blog o’ Kickrick

Hi! Good morning..yeah I know  once again  where have I been..most of you didn’t even notice  hehehe. Well the good thing is Bible Versticks are done..yes I said done..I think…waiting for a little feedback from some trusted friends. But after months of reviews and play …enhancements..revisions..prayer..they are done!

So what does that mean to you..my readers? (I say that by faith that there are a few of you) well buy the sticks doggone it! As far as the blog..probably nothing  Hehehehehe…well okay in theory  I will have more time to keep up the blog. 

The last month or so I have been picking up nails.  yes nails..as I walk and run around the  subdivision where I live. I have probably picked up well over 100…averaging about oh..4-8 per day.   We have had a couple really high wind storms in the last year..and many people have had new roofs repaired or replaced. Nails have dropped everywhere in the process.  A lot of them wind up on the road near the curbs around the complex.  You know, perfect  for when you pull in your driveway or  on the street.  I run on the edge of the road so I end up seeing a lot of them or kicking them and they go flying. I have to slow up from my breathtaking speed…where everything is a blur to me -  stoop down and scoop em up.

Small thing I know..but it does take more time especially when you are trying to focus on walking and running. I mean… you don’t want to run into parked cars you know! Why do I do it? Well, we’ve had 2 flat tires in the last month from yep…nails.

It’s not for the kudos,  no one’s giving it up for Brad…what a great guy picking up those nails! I doubt anyone sees me do it…or if they do they probably figure I collect pennies or something strange. Look…lok, there’s the weird dude stopping again there in the road to pick up junk! Well… I just don’t want someone else to have a flat tire.  You know, walk out in the morning and be stuck ……it’s a hassle and it could be dangerous on the road.  It also costs some money to repair. It’s an inconvenience that can be avoided easily if I continue my quest of spotting nails lurking out there.

My thoughts turned to God..how many times has He gone before us …clearing the path for our day.  We usually think of blessings and protection in terms of things we know of..saw, heard..experienced..close calls etc. Or in blessings, things given to us, things we can hold and touch,  etc.  But I think even bigger blessings are those things we don’t have a clue on. God protected us and we don’t even know it.

Something didn’t happen that could have caused harm or cost us money to repair or buy…it’s the unseen things that I think we need to thank God for in faith…believing we are surrounded by angels and His Spirit going before us and walking beside us.

My guess is no one will know that I saved em a flat tire or worse..and that’s cool by me. It just FLAT out feels right doing it. Imagine how God loves doing things like this….invisible things for His kids.  The little things and catastrophic things too..nothing is too big or small for our Dad.

Don’t forget to thank God for the things you know about but even more so…for the things you don’t!

Good morning

We are in the midst of moving our offices to another larger location.  Of course internet access is key…  and with wireless you never really know if you are going to hit a dead spot…yeah I like those cell commercials too.

Well- I was really asking for trouble..I switched internet providers AND moved at the same time! Uh huh…not real smart…livin on the edge.  Well I got my desk set up …everything connected and come on…come on…pleaaaassseeeeese…….NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO…..NO internet connection!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

After trying some things..okay lots of things…taking a cool off break..trying …breaking…then finally YES…I’m connected!!!!!

I thought -  you know…it doesn’t matter to God if we are in the basement, on the 2nd floor, main floor, 10th floor…inside , outside or somewhere in between…there are no dead spots…God says wherever you go…there I am!” We don’t have to sit there in fear and anxiety wondering if He knows where we went..knows where we relocated..wonder if He can find us.  I  always loved the story of Jacob and Esau, particularly when Jacob fled Esau in the wilderness. Jacob discovered God for himself in a place he never knew him. Such a rich. rich passage for teaching…Check out Gen. 28:15

And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.

Is that cool or what?     Gotta love the KJV there…thought I would break it out for you! Are you impressed? hehehehehe  some things just sound cooler that way.

Wherever we go…He is with us! and He will continue to do that thing He called us to do in us!

Yep…no dead spots, no signal fade or obstructions, interference…always a strong signal from God’s end …whither we goest!

The inside of a mountain,,,hmmm,  Yep …these are the questions I field on the way to preschool.  I never thought about that one. I tried to give a really good answer and got tangled up as usual.  I ended up taking Seth to class…still stumbling through it and handing him off to the teacher telling them they needed to address his question ..hehehehehe. I asked a mom of a kid in my son’s class on the way out to the car…she said quickly …”tell ‘em it’s dark”  I told her that was a cop out! Another said “looks like dirt”…nah…too easy…cop out again.

You see…quick answers aren’t the ticket to being energized…renewed in your mind. Stop going for quick.. easy.. obvious…stop and think a moment. It will be fun for you and your child.  The key is thinking and musing with God’s help…come up with new information…seeing something differently you never paid attention to  or thought about…look at something differently..ask some questions to yourself …your kid and God…have fun with it!

Another one was what does a platypus eat and what continent do they live on?  I quickly hit  the internet upon returning home after the drop off. I found out so I could dazzle him on the way home. I also got a new gem to amaze him..and make him proud of  “dat” (how he says dad)  I found out male platypus have stingers on their back legs for protection. He liked that one.

My favorite game we play is “what lives in those woods?” We pass a state park/reservoir on the way to school.  Once we get past the question of what is the difference between a woods and forest..another one I trip up on and hand off to his teacher,  hehehehehe.  We each name an animal that could possibly be found in our area…fortunately platypus can’t..I don’t want to be stung.

My point is this…think like your child..look through your child’s eyes not yours to add some spark to your life. To energize your routine. Look around like he does and be amazed again at God’s creation.  Question things you pass everyday and ignore. Muse and contemplate what if…just for fun. Give some silly names to things.  Slow down and take it all in with your kid. And then again…apply it to your classroom. Dont worry about if YOU like the activity…will they? If not..change it up!

Take a walk with God and ask Him some stuff…see things though his eyes too…between looking through your child’s eyes and looking through God’s eyes…wow..talk about being renewed and excited! Try it..come on…you’ll have to slow down…you’ll have to look around…..try it..I dare you not to smile….okay?

I love having a 5 year old. Wears me out sometimes but it’s worth it. Because though I get worn out  physically sometimes – mentally I get renewed and energized. Your thinking has to change- the way you view simple things  every day things has to be altered…and thats a good thing.

here is the challenge for you. Instead of going into your classroom tomorrow or next week with the same ol’ attitude. See it through your child’s eyes. Will he be excited? What would be cool to them? If your child was in our room (and maybe they are) would they say whoa…cool…look at this..I dont wanna leave.  What can you do just a little bit above and beyond “acceptable” to putting a smile on  a kid’s face. Try something different…add some life…some sparkle…some craziness.  I challenge you to not just get your lesson done today to say you did! Go out to a garage sale and pick up a cool activity or two..I dare ya

I was talking the other day about a classic passage in James 1 (below) and how God just wants us to ask.

He wont get mad…he wont be irritated…BUT look at what follows – when you ask for wisdom…act on it! Don’t go back and forth- don’t say okay God, thanks for the input- I have several others to talk to! Often what God gives us in contrary to what the world would advise. And, in those cases, it is tough to take God’s wisdom and follow it, but that is what He requires.  Too often we just take God’s word or His Spirit prodding as just one of the options we have. When we go back and forth, as James says, we are unstable and indecisive.  God loves when we take Him at His WORD and chart our course, our plan according to what He tells and shows us.

Right now I have many directions I can go with work and projects.  I am asking God for his wisdom and to order my steps. Conventional wisdom is pushing me one way but it might not be God’s way.  You know what…it gets back to time with God in the morning BEFORE we begin doesn’t it?

James 1  – If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. ⁶ But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷ Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. ⁸ Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.

mornin’!

You know, several weeks ago I started out in Proverbs talking about wisdom. And I have gone off on some trails but I am heading back there.

I was reading in James the classic verses there – often referred to – If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. ⁶ But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷ Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. ⁸ Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.

I like what the NLT says- “Our generous God”  He wants to help but look at the qualifier – ASK!  I remember seeing my 5 year old..Seth, I had heard some noise in the kitchen, so I though I better check. I found him standing on a box, trying to climb up the pantry shelves in search of a granola bar.  I told him that he better get down, that wasn’t really safe. He said, “I knew you were working, I didn’t want to bother you”. Well, I assured him that I was more than heppy to get it for him, all he had to do was ask me – I would LOVE to find it for him.

You know sometimes we think we are bothering God, that maybe our requests is relatively small.  We need some help – some direction, some knowledge -  but we dont want to bother God- we’ll figure it out ourself.  The point is- and I will talk about the rest tomorrow – God WANTS to give us wisdom – He loves to! But sometimes we wait so long to ask..we  search around..climb around…look in the wrong places, sometimes in unsafe places..and God says – JUST ASK!

I am still in Ephesians musing on establishing who God is each day in our hearts and minds. Eph. 1:21..man isnt that awesome..to know again that Jesus is above all rule and authority..and power…not just now but forever. I think actually -think on this- that we actually accept that he will rule forever- eternally – IN FUTURE…BUT we don’t quite let the NOW..the PRESENT..sink in..this present age not just the world to come! Think on that!

All things are under His feet…your situation..my situation, my finances..my health..my kids, marriage, life, plans and problems..nothing overtakes him though at times we are overtaken and overwhelmed. But again at those times, in those times to see God and Jesus for who they are   FOR WHERE THEY ARE..up above all!

Look at Eph. 1:23 – Jesus fills all in all..in AMP who fills everything , everywhere with Himself. Who makes everything complete!  .isnt that sweet? Now all we have to do is take the cap off to let Him flow in ALL..in our life, everywhere..to let him pour out into all parts of our day.

You see again, God is eternal.never changing, yesterday today, forever, the same but we in effect have to take the cap off -  forget the child proof caps that irritate us trying to get them off at times..forget the safety packaging and all the little fail safes that irritate us to no end .

Just twist and let Jesus flow..let Him fill your heart, your mind, your whole self, and to see him..let your eyes be filled, your vision of Him high above on the throne..let Him complete you and overflow your emptiness -Take the cap off!

God didn’t make it hard, just spend some times in worship and fellowship with Him and the cap will come right off without frustration – Take it off, let him fill all in all.

You know in Isaiah 6

He saw who he was and who HE was…think on that- each central to our life…we lose sight of both dont we? At any given time during our days   many times a day  we lose perspective..we lose protocol..we lose priority..order.

Sinful man- lowly..finite..on earth

Holy God- High above all…eternal ..supreme  and dont forget this..full of love and mercy

and our best interest in mind

We get full of ourselves and dont feel we need anyone..we get self righteous at times…then we swing to helplessness and worthless for anything..neither are right..truth..

Isaiah got it right…and we need to get it right..see who we really are IN GOD..in his sight..not as world or peers see us…daily manna encompasses provision and insight..introspection..who we are  in HIM…where are we going…is what we doing accurate? are we in step with His plan? Can we do it better as a father..worker? leader…husband..pastor..friend?    God realign me..cleanse me..what is it YOU want me to do? Here I am send me!

Im not talking about going in for a daily beating to a mean God…Im talking about entering into worship and meditation time..DOWN time…with a Holy loving   God..our DAD…our Father ..to gain perspective of us and HIM..to set Him on the throne and see him as the omnipotent omniscient  Omnipresent God…who can help us in time of need and also in HIGH times..when things are going “perfect” ..we need to still see Him as above us and keep Him in control of our ego. .Yeah..we need God in good times too we need to praise and thank Him..we still need to stay in step ..

I think what is sorely missing these days is down time from technology…to sit  in front of our Father…and allow Him to show us things about ourselves to hone us and refine us..to make us more efficient..what better way to start our day..and all through the day..daily manna..its not just for breakfast anymore!

Sorry for missing a few days

You know I want to continue in a vein of thought…in watching American Idol it becomes apparent that people want to worship something…they boo..they cheer, cry, support strongly people they look up to..often times waaay beyond what is healthy. What I have been talking about is putting God in a place of worship, reverence and awe…in a place far above all the “crap” here on earth.  We don’t  look up to,  idolize, revere someone we see as  “common”.  God has to be placed in His rightful position..above all…on the throne..worthy of all our praise, worship, confidence and trust!

Look at Ephesians again 1:20-23 AMP   talking about what God’s power and what He did  for Jesus   -  ²⁰Which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His [own] right hand in the heavenly [places],

²¹Far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named [above every title that can be conferred], not only in this age and in this world, but also in the age and the world which are to come.

²²And He has put all things under His feet and has appointed Him the universal and supreme Head of the church [a headship exercised throughout the church],^(A)

²³Which is His body, the fullness of Him Who fills all in all [for in that body lives the full measure of Him Who makes everything complete, and Who fills everything everywhere with Himself].

now does God or Jesus sound common?  Uhhh…don’t think so…The power to raise dead to life…far above every power and authority…a name above all names…has placed all things under His feet…  filled all things with himself  …everlasting…eternal…now and to come forever…

I got to say..if that doesn’t build your faith and give you someone to worship…geeesh..what could? Yep I think I am going to hang with Jesus …who else would you want to start out your day with…hold onto as your day develops….. and talk to as  you drift off to sleep??

You know I have been skipping around as my thoughts run different directions. I have been going back and forth from Ephesians to Isaiah to Proverbs.   Isaiah had that fresh glimpse and revelation of God and His holiness..supremacy if you will…and it changed his whole mindset at the time..I mean he had been serving God and delivering prophecy…but wow…seeing God in His Holiness on the throne…

Let’s learn from that- start your day that way ..see God as God and not just a peer or someone here on earth …He is God…no matter what happens or a king or leader dies…He is eternal and above all forever..The only way He can be unseated from His throne and position in your life ..above all…is for you or I to pull Him down ..how do we do that? how do we unseat Him from His authority and power …we stop worshiping him and seeing Him as that..we reduce His power  in OUR life ..fear and unsettledness..despair comes in then because we let it…

God doesn’t change but we do and depending on the situation we pull Him off the throne..we render Him powerless in our lives..

I get tired of the God allowed that to happen in your life..bad happens and God gets the credit for it (or discredit really) He gets blamed for stuff..NO- WE allow it by our choices and thinking…we allowed it into our lives not GOD!

anyway..thank you for that rant…

Back to wisdom…Look at Ephesians1:17 ^AMP[For I always pray to] the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, that He may grant you a spirit of wisdom and revelation [of insight into mysteries and secrets] in the [deep and intimate] knowledge of Him

Insight into HIM! what better wisdom than that ..intimate and deep secrests of our God! THE GOD

and in Message Bible  I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength!

wow  how cool! if we really get a glimpse as Isaiah did..a vision…if not just in the eyes of our heart…what a difference  and a new (literal) light that puts on our day to start out…!!!!  Look at it in AMP…

^{AMP  18}By having the eyes of your heart flooded with light, so that you can know and understand the hope to which He has called you, and how rich is His glorious inheritance in the saints (His set-apart ones),

^{AMP  19}And [so that you can know and understand] what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for us who believe, as demonstrated in the working of His mighty strength,

where am I going with this? I am talking about morning worship first thing…seeing God for who He is   ..above all and above everything…He is god and your immediate plight and circumstance NEVER change that though our thinking clouds it at times!

seeing  Him for who He is and you relative to Him..for who you are… your need for Him daily…for wisdom for hope for strength  for marching orders for the day.. that’s daily manna…going to Him each and every day .

more tomorrow

I have manna more thoughts to share with you