Amazing response when people are against you!

The Apostle Paul wrote the following words from Prison (Philippians)

Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.
 It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. 

I highlighted "stir up trouble for me" because that phrase stopped me in my tracks. Paul was so focused on preaching Christ that even those who would preach Christ and it would hurt Paul, that was good? Even if their motive was poor, Paul rejoiced!

Wow! Not sure I could respond the way he did in the face of direct opposition.

Learning the basics

Jordan is my 5 year old son. He is playing Tee Ball and I am coaching the team. It is hilarious to watch these 13 little guys figure out how to play baseball.

Baseball is one of those games that requires hard work and attention to the basics. There is a great deal of skill, but the foundation is clear. ALL baseball players start out learning how to catch and throw the baseball. They also learn how to swing a bat! Fielding will always be fielding and batting will always be batting.

Sure, things change but when we lay a foundation it allows for greater success at the next level. Today, I am reminded that just reading my Bible (foundational for me) gives God a chance to speak to me. After all, reading my Bible is just that...reading my Bible. It's a "basic" part of my life.

What about you today? Have you forgotten some of your basics? Perhaps it's time to go back to the beginning! Enjoy the journey and the good foundations that you building.

Immigration issues

Not sure where you stand on the issue of Immigration, but it seems to me that if you want people here legally that you have to establish why people come here in the first place.

If being in the USA is better than their home country, then people will figure out HOW to get here. If being in the USA illegally is "costly" to the individual then they will more likely come through legal channels.

So, what does it take to cause enough pain to ensure proper immigration? That's the question our National leaders should be working on.

If we offer FREE healthcare at any emergency room then why not risk coming ove the border? I want to share this Country with others, but I don't want to "GIVE IT AWAY FOR FREE".

Once again, let's get to the bottom of why people come here. After that, let's figure out the pain threshold (financial or otherwise) that makes becoming a citizen of the USA a better choice than being her illegally. Then, let's act! Got it National Leaders? I get it, but do you?

Come to Prescott

I live in Prescott, AZ. It's a mountain community with a downtown area that's second to none. The old Courthouse on the square could be easily found in small towns like Carthage, Missouri, but it's right here where we live.

I am not paid by the city to promote Prescott, but I love our city and most of all I love the interface of outdoor adventure and small town living. From my home, I can be on a mountain bike trail, at 2 miles. You will love the weather and the 5,500 foot elevation helps beat the heat in the summer.

I challenge you to find a better place to bring your family to vacation and have some fun. Hope to see you here someday. Love trails? Check out this map.

Family extended

Last weekend my family drove over to Hemet, CA (about 5 hours away) to meet up with my wife's family. The purpose was to celebrate Aunt Nancy's "unnamed" birthday. It was just two years ago that we met for a family reunion at UCYC! Well, instead of getting together at funerals only, they decided to meet for any occasion they could. So, Nancy's birthday was next and here we go.

Enough with the details, here is what occurred to me. Sometimes we love being related to our family (by blood or by marriage) and then there are "those other times"! You know, family can push each others buttons in amazing ways. No family is exempt all the time so why not try and make the best of it!

After all, we celebrate a common purpose and name! In this case, I am part of the LeGros family because I married Lori LeGros almost nineteen years ago! Now, they (the LeGros family) has a choice to make. They can either love me and accept me or not, either way I am in the family. We are only negotiating how welcome the environment is. Does this sound familiar? Is there tension in your family at times? Sure there is!

What will you do about it? Are you willing to be honest and accepting? Are you willing to offer forgiveness if necessary? All these skills and more are vital if your family is going to healthy.

So, to my other family, Andrew, Sunshine, Jennifer, Dean, Debbie, Todd, Ashley, Chad, Dick, Carol, Jim, Charlotte, Scott, Shelly, Kaitlyn and Ben. I love you all and thank you for making this "outsider," feel like and "insider". Knowing all of you makes a huge difference in my life.

Two options that WE have, what about our leaders?

Budgets are managed in my household, likely yours as well in two ways. 1) Make more money, 2) Reduce our spending. If you are having trouble in this area, my family went through a Dave Ramsey seminar a few years ago and it changed everything.

Since most us are on a "fixed" income, meaning that we are not in jobs that have incentives, we are forced to work on item number 2- Reducing our spending. One of the the best parts of going through the Ramsey Financial Peace University was how we learned to live on less.

In Arizona, we are facing huge losses in our educational system unless a 3 year sales tax is passed. I hate more taxes, but I can't imagine loosing so many parts of my children's education. So, it might need to happen. However, I am more passionate about REDUCING OUR SPENDING. That's my frustration with our Government leaders who are not really making hard cuts in spending.

In my family, we made hard choices and gave away some things we enjoyed in order to get out of debt. It's time for our National leaders to do the same.

Marketing, Rhetoric and General Motors

The GM CEO was announcing that they have repaid the 5 Billion dollar loan w/ interest back to the US. Sounded very good. Wow, they are back or are they? Look at the following....

The U.S. government still owns 61 percent of GM. The automaker is counting on a public stock offering to allow the U.S. government to begin recouping its remaining $45.3 billion investment. The Canadian government's $8.1 billion stake, which equals a 12 percent ownership interest, also could also be unlocked if GM sells shares to the public. From Yahoo.com

I like GM. I loved my Chevy truck (used to own) and we love our old Suburban. I want the company to do well, but I was a little bummed out that the message from the commercial indicated that they were all paid up and it's just not true!

Rhetoric is powerful, especially when put on television. If I had not checked, I would have assumed that GM was completely out of debt! Good progress...YES! But paying back $5 billion when you still owe $53 Billion to US & Canada is only a step in the right direction!

For me, it's a reminder to accurately as I can represent myself and the camp. How about you? Is your yes really yes? is your no really no?