God is A Mighty Warrior

"Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me. Take hold of buckler and shield and rise up for my help. Draw also the spear and the battle-axe to meet those who pursue me. Say to my soul I am your salvation." -Psalm 35: 1-3

God is a mighty warrior who fights for us against all kinds of evil whether spiritual or man made. He defends us and acts as our rear guard. As you run along the path, a fearless and awesome warrior guards you against all who pursue. There is impending violence foretold by the drawing of spear and battle-axe. Woe be to the enemies of the Lord. They will meet with bitter blows for contending with God's chosen ones.

"Say to my soul I am your salvation." We are not alone in the fight. He is ever present and available to defend us. How many times do we take on a battle in our own strength that He intends to fight for us and end up falling prey to an enemy conquerable only through Him? In the spiritual realm, we have a very real foe who attacks us at every opportunity. Recognize the attacks when they occur and take hold of God's power in battle. Let us continually call on the name of Christ to fight for and defend us as we "press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:14)"

Listen to God Almighty by Chris Tomlin and Mighty To Save by Hillsong United for soundtrack.

Winter Wonder Run

I went for a run this past week while it was snowing and found this great spot for some pictures so came back and set up a tripod to get a few good shots. Running in the snow is fun and quite beautiful if not overly cold.

Pursue Wisdom Like a Beautiful Woman

"Blessed is the one who finds wisdom and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called blessed." Proverbs 3:13-18

"Prize her (wisdom) highly and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her. She will place on your head a graceful garland; she will bestow on you a beautiful crown." Proverbs 4:8-9

Proverbs often refers to wisdom as she or her. There is a definite parallel between wisdom and a beautiful woman. (by beauty, this refers to true beauty not something superficial) When a man pursues a beautiful woman, his thoughts are constantly dwelling on what he can do in order to spend more time with her. If a man pursues wisdom in a similar manner, the end result is a life guarded with the insight, knowledge, and immeasurable riches beyond worldly wealth that comes from her.

The book of Proverbs is chock full of wisdom for numerous subjects. Seeking God's wisdom is crucial for a life fully lived and set apart to Him. Ask and He will direct and guide you. "For the Lord gives wisdom from His mouth come knowledge and understanding." Proverbs 2:6 But just as a man needs to spend time with a beautiful woman to get to know her, so he needs to spend time gaining wisdom through reading the Bible, meditating on its truths, praying, and seeking Godly counsel from others with wisdom based in experience.

If you'd like a good place to start, read the chapter number in Proverbs that corresponds to the day's date. There are 31 chapters in Proverbs and you're sure to find something good regardless of the day.

Now Go Get 'er!

Drew Brees Interview

Here's a great interview with Drew Brees, quarterback of the New Orleans Saints, sharing about his faith in Christ. It's awesome to see athletes of this caliber sharing publicly about their relationship with God.

The Man Who Fears the Lord

"Who, then is the man that fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way chosen for him. He will spend his days in prosperity and his descendants will inherit the land. The Lord confides in those who fear Him; He makes His covenant known to them. My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only He will release my feet from the snare." Psalm 25: 11-15

This passage strikes a chord with me. I want to be a man who fears the Lord. How rich and deep a life for this type of person. How awesome for the God of all the universe to confide in me and do His work through me. Let my eyes be ever on You.

Daily Audio Bible

A neat podcast that I found on iTunes is the Daily Audio Bible. It is structured so that if you listen to it everyday, you will listen through the entire Bible in a year. It's nice if you like to exercise with an iPod or other mp3 player to be able to listen to scripture. The podcast covers a section in the Old Testament, a section in the New Testament, a Psalm, and a short section in Proverbs. Brian Hardin is the reader of the passages and offers some thoughts on the passage each day as well. There is also a website where people can discuss the daily reading and see prayer requests from others as well. The website is: DailyAudioBible.com.

Submit Yourself: A Living Sacrifice

"Submit yourselves, then, to God..." James 4:7

This does not mean make plans and then submit them to Him asking Him to make them successful. It does mean lay yourself in front of Him and ask Him to guide you and lead you in His plans.

I was reading from My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers today where he says: "Have you come to your last days really? You have come to them often in sentiment, but have you come to them really? ...Do you agree with God that you stop being the striving, earnest kind of Christian you have been? We skirt the cemetery and all the time refuse to go to death. It is not striving to go to death, it is dying, "baptized into His death."

I find this challenging in my own life to truly submit myself to Him and die to self seeking after His desires and plans rather than going through motions and rote Christianity vis a vis as a living sacrifice.

Man Cold

A man cold is a very serious condition. If you or someone you know acquires a man cold, please seek immediate attention.

Christmas Songs at the Plaza

The Sunday before Christmas I went down to the Country Club Plaza and played Christmas songs on the sidewalk in front of Barnes & Noble while wearing a Santa hat. It was a lot of fun and I actually made $23.85 in tips. The cash money song seemed to be Feliz Navidad. Occasionally, people would start singing along. It was interesting to see how some people deliberately tried to not make eye contact and others cast a sideways glance into my guitar case to see how much in tips was there. I was able to connect with some kids and get them to smile and sing or dance along which was a lot of fun.

Facing Your Giants

Facing Your Giants by Max Lucado

In Facing Your Giants, Lucado examines the life of David and the literal giant Goliath as well as other figurative giants he faced such as being persecuted by Saul, warfare, family issues, and others. The book, like most of Lucado's books, is uplifting and encouraging to those facing tough circumstances in life. Whether it be sickness, career difficulties, relationship problems, or something else, he provides encouragement and helps the reader examine the life of David and how he worked with God through some of his own giants.

Multiple versions of the Bible are referenced and at times can seem as though they are chosen specifically to fit what Lucado would like the passage to say. This is not to minimize the scripture references but translations closer to word for word such as the New American Standard and King James are used minimally in favor of versions such as The Message and the New Living Translation.

Lucado definitely has a gift for story telling and uses this to provide visual imagery and possible thoughts the characters had during the Biblical stories of David. Some of this is interesting and provides a new perspective on familiar stories but the reader would do well to keep in mind that some of this imagery is Lucado's personal interpretation of the stories and not gospel truth.

A study guide is located in the back of the book which would serve as a good resource for further reflection or even as a group study.

As a whole, I found the book to be encouraging and thought through several difficult "giants" I've faced in my own life while reading it. Facing Your Giants would be good for anyone facing difficult circumstances to gain encouragement and inspiration through learning about the life of David.

If you found this review helpful, please let Amazon know at this link.

Christmas Lights

These are some pictures I took of Christmas lights in North Kansas City as well as a home close to where I live. The picture of the house is currently posted on KansasCity.com.

How to Eat a Gingerbread Man

How do you eat a gingerbread man? Is it head first, leg by leg, the arms or do you prefer the more torturous (for the gingerbread man) method of picking each individual eye and button off? Maybe you lick the icing or just gobble down the first thing that comes to your mouth. Whatever your method, we here at the Wisdom of Dre salute you and your holiday cookie consumption. Remember: there's no wrong way to eat a gingerbread man.

If you choose to eat, please do so responsibly, excessive consumption of cookies has been known to cause weight gain. zero based caloric formula 1 cookie= 1 mile walked/run

Thanks to www.debbie-gray-illustrator.com for the gingerbread man illustration.

Global Warming

I'm not convinced

Kansas City Board of Trade

On Friday, I took a field trip to the Kansas City Board of Trade where they trade Hard Red Winter wheat commodities. This is the image you get when you think of the stock market and see people in a pit on TV waving hands frantically trying to buy or sell. This is a hub of trade for a large quantity of wheat trading that occurs in the United States. There are a few other trading exchanges for wheat as well, but this is a major one.

The majority of trading is done electronically via computer these days but there is still some that happens in person. As trades are executed, they're recorded and the price of wheat changes as a result whether up or down. The electronic boards in the background track the prices of wheat that is scheduled for delivery during various time frames. Some traders are just trying to make a margin on trades or speculation and some are hedging risk so that they get a guaranteed rate to buy or sell at. It was very interesting to see the market in person. The last 30 seconds close of the market was fairly rapid and exciting as well.

Glass Recycling

If you're interested in recycling glass in Kansas City, a new glass recycling company has opened for business. It is called Ripple Glass and they will have collection sites at quite a few locations around Kansas City. Their website is www.rippleglasskc.com. The website has a drop off location finder by zip code as well at this link.

Greeting Cards

Have you ever been looking for a greeting card and can't find one that really fits what you're trying to communicate? I think it should be socially acceptable to purchase an alternate card and make customizations. For example, for a wedding, purchase a Happy 1st Anniversary card and marking out the 1st and changing it to 0th. Or a Happy Birthday and changing Birthday to Wedding. Or perhaps you want to congratulate someone on weight loss. Purchase a Sympathy card and change it from "So sorry for your loss" to "Congratulations on your loss"

Life of Pi

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

I listened to this book on CD and found it to be well done. The book is broken up into three parts. The first section focuses on the life of a boy named Pi Patel and his life as the son of a zoo owner in Pondicherry, India. Much of the book discusses philosophy, religion, and zoology. Interestingly, Pi follows Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam much to his parents and respective religious leaders' bewilderment.

As the first section ends and the 2nd begins, his parents sell the animals of the zoo and make plans to move to Canada. Their journey across the Pacific begins aboard a ship that also includes the zoo animals. After a short time at sea, the ship sinks and Pi finds himself in a lifeboat with an assortment of animals such as a zebra, a hyena, a rat, some cockroaches, a chimpanzee, and a tiger. The assortment of animals fight it out in sequential battles until finally only the tiger and Pi are left. Pi proceeds to live with the tiger on the life raft and uses his knowledge of animals gained from growing up around the zoo to survive. He learns to fish, and make fresh water with distillers and has a tenuous mutual existence with the tiger in which he actually provides food and water to it and manages to stay alive. The elements, hunger, thirst, and lack of sleep are constant companions and result in a very difficult existence for him. After roughly 7 months at sea, he lands in Mexico and is rescued.

In the third section, we learn a second version of the sinking of the ship and his subsequent journey across the ocean through an interview of Pi by some men from Japan.

The first section can be a bit tedious at times but provides good context for the second and third. Good explanation of various animals and zoological information is provided as well as a relatively good overview of 3 major world religions.

The second section is outstanding and causes one to get involved with Pi and his travails hoping for him to make it through. On more than one occasion, I found myself sitting in the car after arriving at a destination to listen to a little bit more of the story.

The third section is very short and gives a bit of a change in direction from where the reader expects it to go. After getting to the end, I was interested in re-reading it to pick up on symbolism throughout the book.

One element of the book that can throw one off is the use of two narrators, an "author", and then Pi himself. An unnamed author, not Martel, is an actual character/narrator for some of the chapters. I'm not certain why Martel chose to use this style as it seemed a bit of a distraction rather than adding significantly to the story.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and recommend it as an unusual but fascinating story.

If you found this review helpful, please let Amazon know at this link

Fall Colors

This weekend I went hiking close to Smithville Lake, Missouri and got a few pictures of the fall leaves. I also took some pictures of the stunning fall colors in North Kansas City, MO.

Master Your Money

Master Your Money by Ron Blue
Ron Blue's "Master Your Money" is a very good resource for learning to manage finances from a pure technical perspective as well as from a Biblical basis. He shares well honed financial expertise grounded in years of professional financial planning and accounting practice.

The book walks through the basics of determining where you are financially and then developing goals and intermediate steps towards reaching those goals. Fundamentals of budgeting are covered with attention given to increasing cash flow margin to allow for funding of long range goals such as paying off debt, making investments, starting a business, paying for children's college, and giving away large sums of money.

While Mr. Blue definitely takes the approach the debt should be minimized and very thoroughly evaluated before even considering, he does not take quite as extreme an approach towards no debt as Dave Ramsey. He also offers a bit different perspective on term vs. whole or variable life insurance.

A couple sections of the book which I found to be outstanding were the discussion on giving and estate planning. He offers lots of wise counsel on what to think about when developing a plan for passing on assets to the next generation. His insight on giving and going through a process of prayer to determine what God would have the person give is excellent as well.

If you found this review helpful, please let Amazon know at this link

Vibrato

Vibrato is kind of like ketchup. Used well it enhances the song. Used too much and one forgets that there's a tasty burger underneath.