Ben's Blessing Blog

No, were not upset about anything, actually quite the contrary. My parents decided to purchase in bulk, and by bulk I mean like three large containers of beef right from the farm. Yesterday my family and I all went to a farm about 20 some minutes away with a lot of freezer paper and markers :). Once we got there we met up with four nice guys who were ready to start chopping meat and a half of cow hanging from the rafters. I think Hudson was a little surprised to see a cow in that position :P . As we decided the types of cuts we want the guys just kept on chopping and handing us the meat so we could wrap it all up and label it for later. 

Brother Ronnie sent an email out to some of us preacher boys and asked if any of us would like to volunteer to preach for this upcoming Wednesday's service since it will be the New Year (2009) and it would make it a special night to have a couple of us younger guys practice preaching. I am always thankful for an opportunity to practice preaching and so I told Brother Ronnie I would be glad to. However, I am more nerverous this time than at other times because Pastor has been giving us really good instructions on how to study the Bible diligently and to make sure that we are getting the correct purpose or intent of the passage. Though the task seems daunting I felt that the Lord gave me some great points tonight as I was studying and I am looking forward to digging deeper and putting the message together. It is amazing how it is possible that by diligent studying of the Bible the Lord can open our eyes to see thoughts and lessons which we never saw before. Some of the truths I've seen before just became so much more vivid and amazing as I looked into the passage even more. It is like putting a filter on a camera or using photoshop to enhance the shot. It is the same picture, same point, but the clarity all of sudden amazes.

You all probably remember the big video project that I had wrote about previously which drove me crazy :) It was finally finished this past Monday and I thought I would share the video intro with you. I thought turned out pretty cool :D I added the link below so you can check out. I may only have the video online for a short time.

Hey Everyone!

Well guys and gals, this blog isn't as "blessed" as most of the other blog posts. I'm praying though that I will discover the lesson which the Lord is trying to teach me and if you are "on praying ground" I would appreciate your prayers for me as well. I simply don't know how I made it through this week. Honestly, I had so much pressure from an unexpected overload of work more pressure than I ever remember having. I was physically shaking inside from the amount of work that got suddenly put on me and the deadlines that were for these last couple days. Somehow (God be praised) I amazingly finished almost all the work and actually have time to write this blog. 

However on top of this when I woke up to turn off my alarm I came to the startling realization that my room was flooded. I turned the lights on and found three to four inches of water covering the entire basement. Thankfully the two power surge protectors and other wires that were lying all over my floor did not send power through the water. Later when I moved my laptop upstairs and plugged in the power to my external hard drive I found that power connector that goes to my hard drive was fried because it was floating in the water, actually more like sunk in the water. Just so you know... That was very scary, because the large project I had due that was causing me the most stress was all in that hard drive and it was not backed up. I quickly drove over to staples then ran over to Radio Shack the whole time praying and found the power cord I needed. Again, Praise the Lord I was able to complete a whole bunch more of that project AND BACK IT UP =). All I can say is that the verse about not knowing what a day may bring forth is definitely true.  

 

As for my room tonight I do not know where I'm going to sleep because all of the carpeting needed to be removed from the basement because it was so soggy. I forgot the mention the cause of the flooding, yes, the rain, but the main reason was the guys who did the paving the other day at our house for the new garage got stone into the sump pump pipe and the water pressure became too much for it to handle and it just flipped the breaker and the water poured into the house. There was so much water in the basement. Tom Hammond found a salamander under my weight set. :) Most likely my sister will be posting some pictures so you will have to check out her blog because I'm still not up to date with posting pix on the blog yet :) I will someday, I promise :) 

There are some other issues that aren't resolved yet that are still weighing heavy on me which I can't write just yet. I look forward to writing how the Lord resolves them and then I'll probably tell you all :) 

Have a Good Day!

BenH

Good News! We didn't forget the boys at home again :) Seeing the
Childrens church sing this morning at church reminded me of the
missing munchkins story. Thankfully both boys were singing in the
group and weren't missing. :)

BenH

The last week has actually been a little discouraging, but as I said in last night's blog I am so thankful that Jesus does hear His childrens prayers. Recently I finished some fairly large projects I two of my clients combined owed me $660 . The one client is in another country and after the project was complete he told me he would pay me that upcoming Monday because of a problem with his account. Well, it got discouraging after more than a week later he still hadn't paid and told me he was in the hospital. I was glad he at least responded so at least I knew he wasn't hiding from the payment. But, then about another week to two weeks later still I got nothing from him, no word at all. Then on top of that the other guy wasn't paying me. Then I got this headache, lost my voice, had another client telling me he wanted his huge project done in half the time and I have homework due next week and two other deadlines for projects were looming over my head. Ya, so I kept coming to God and asking Him to please just have these two guys pay so it takes at least these two things off my mind. Well, Finally the guy wrote me this morning out of the blue and said, "I'm going to send you half the payment now". He then told me how rough his life was and that he broke up with his girlfriend. I then thought, ahh I know why the Lord delayed having this guy send me the payment. He was waiting for this occassion that I could tell Him how when I have problems I can take them to the Lord. He told me that his problems have caused him to be depressed. I gave him the link to the What Standard video which he told me he watched and thought was very good. The Lord always has his purpose. I thought it would be the obvious purpose to just get me the money :p . The Lord's timing made that whole waiting period seem like nothing. I could go for a witnessing opportunity like that any day. 

Hey everyone, God is been good to me and helped me through this rough day. I'm thankful that I know God loves me and He listens when I talk with Him. There was so much work on todays platter and it would take me forever to explain it all. I just finished a small graphic though that I thought looked kinda cool and I don't think he would mind if I showed it to you since it would be promoting his business :) I'm putting together some lower-thirds for his videos that I edit. If someone has some creative idea with photoshop feel free to use the text below and send me your idea, maybe I'll steal it, lol. Have a Good Night Everyone!

I just finished a book titled, "Love not the World" by Watchman Nee...
Unfortuantly he did use the wrong version, but neverthless it was a
good book and I learned some good stuff from it. I've included the
last paragraph of the book below which I feel sums the lessons in the
book up quite well.

"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world." You
have an anointing from the Holy One: live by it! Give yourself to God;
live for him wholly and utterly; see to it that, where you personally
are concerned, the things of this world are scored off Satan's books
and transferred to God's account. For "the world passeth away, and the
lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever."

       I think everyone to one degree or another has the desire to be independent. To feel that you are in control. To think that if you desire something then you can push for it and there is no need to fear anything opposing you.... When you have the option between a course of vegetables and water or else some beautifully laid out meal, would anything stop you from choosing the meal you want. Well, in the case of Daniel, he was given the choice between two contrasting options. His thought process when deeper though than what he wanted though. The thought probably ran through his mind, "wow, a blessing from God! I can't wait to eat". However, he remembered that when he was back in Judah he had purposed in his heart to not live after the world. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. He knew that God was everywhere beholding the evil and the good and his choice was important. Every choice a child of God makes is important. If your a Child of God, do not make excuses for why you sin. If you making excuses then obviously you are not fearing the Lord. The fear of the Lord will affect the choices you make. 

Sawadee Krab, I borowed this book called "How to Learn Any Language"
from my churches Mission Resource Center and it was awesome. I think
it will be helpful in many areas of life not including trying to learn
another language. The guy go wrote it had some great lessons on
memorization techniques. I anxious to start testing out these ideas. I
recommend this book if your thinking about learning any language.
That's my blessing for today. Have a great one!

BenH

The devil actively is pursuing every Christian to cause him or her to
be entrapped by the things of this world. Pleasure in this life will
never come close to the glories that are prepared for them that Love
the Lord. The devil knows that and will provide us activites and
trinkets to love. We obviously cannot be seperated from the things of
this life. God set is in this earth for a purpose, however the devil
wants to distract us from this purpose. As a diver cannot stay under
water forever and an airplane cannot remain in the sky so also the
Christian cannot remain in the world. In all three cases the once the
mission is complete in their abnormal places they must return to
reality. Those who are saved have a mission, a mission to share the
good news to this world. The concern and love for others who do not
know or do not understand the good news should be always on our mind
and plans. We have a mission, a mission which the devil wants to
distract us from. If a diver stays to long in the water he will drown,
if a plane remains to long in the atmosphere it will also be
destroyed. Our life as a Christian is only temporary in this world,
real life is in heaven. We will use the means necessary to complete
the mission, but understand that our mission is not to remain and
continue to sustain ourself in that place, but to finish the mission
and move out. This world is only temporary, don't focus your life on
making your stay comfortable, but use the tools in this life to
complete the mission, to speak to more people. To let everyone know of
real life! Make sure the devil will not trap you.

This was a great challenge I learned from my devotions this morning. I
hope it was a challenge and blessing to you also!

BenH

Some people think it weird that I use the word munchkins to refer to my little brother and his sidekicks. Well, I think thats what they are, mischevious munchkins. Last night one my family brought one of Hudson's friends over to the house because we needed to watch him till church because his mother was at work. The boys were having a great time together. We had supper and then it was time to leave so my dad told the boys to meet us in the van because we were all going to ride together to church, so the boys did what they were supposed to and got in the van. Meanwhile, Nina and Selena needed to leave early for church and Titus hopped in with them in one of the cars. Since my parents and I didn't see who got in the car we just assumed that everybody else was with them and so we took the other car to conserve gas and left for church. 

Today was a very special today. As some of you remember I told you about my neighbors who have been saved. Well, today Amanda Lagan was baptized at my church and it was so exciting to hear her salvation story. I wish I could have posted it on video. It was very exciting. I just got back from having a wonderful time of food and fellowship at their house with their friends and relatives.

In addition to that blessing my group was able to sing at my church the song "Open my Eyes". I thought the song was very pretty and EXCELLENT words. There are so many songs out there that have phenominal words that really encourage me in magnifying God. I praise the Lord for music. I've added the clip of us singing on YouTube so you can check it out. Have an Awesome Day!
BenH
P.S. Check out the new blog look, :) Yes, that is me as a little guy. I looked a whole lot cuter when I was small :P

I finally finished a big project which was not easy to complete! :)

If you would like to know what it was, then watch the video I created about it last night! Thanks for watching!

BenH

If you own a iPhone or an iPod Touch please jump on iTunes next week and help support future updates by purchasing this application from the App store for $4.99
Thanks so much! :)Benjamin Hall

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang/played a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty 
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort 
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping - in my unsaved days
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie - Does my own count :)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching - Boring
63. Gotten flowers for no reason - I always have a reason :)
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Made a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

My bud has returned... Okay, to be more specific my earbuds have returned :) I thought for sure I must have misplaced my earbuds and left them at some other place though I couldn't for the life of me remember where. I did pray about it, but they I couldn't find them for about 3 or 4 days so I pretty much gave up hope of ever finding them. I really didn't want to fork over $30 bucks for a new pair, so I resolved that I was going to be headless for awhile. Headsetless that is.

BUT, the blessing is that while my brother Titus was trying to help me work on a project he went to grab something and he found my headset tucked away. I still don't know how they got there. I am just so thrilled that I got them back now!!! I'm enjoying listening to some music right now as I type this bloggy up on my phony. I am smiley :)

Have a Wonderful Night Everyone!!!
BenH

Paul Washer really has some pointed messages of truth. I just saw this one recently and had to share it with the rest of you. I hope it is a challenge and encouragment to you all. 

BenH

My friend Nat video taped a new Thai friend of mine (Berm) while he was singing in Thailand and I just heard it now and I thought the song and his singing was awesome. I had to share it with the rest of you. I love to hear people who sing from their heart and sing it out loud for everyone to hear. I hope that you will find it a blessing, I'm definitely blessed :) Have a Good Night!

(Berm is the third from the left)

It's the time to celebrate again, I have reached my #100 blog. I honestly never thought I would get this far. It took me awhile to start my blog at first because I do not like to start projects that I may not finish, it really annoys me. I'm so glad that I've been able to keep up with posting, I've found it quite fun to hear that other people actually enjoy hearing what I write about. It makes me  HAPPY =) ! I try to be cheerful as much as I can and when I get down, I have to remind myself to smile again. It makes a world of difference when I look at the bright things God has done for me.

This blog seems to contain a lot of B's in it :) As some of you know, yesterday was my birthday. Though the day was pretty much the same as usual, I had some time with my family at the end of the day which was fun. My family is great, we have a lot of good times together. My little brother, Hudson, is hilarious, he cracks me up so many times. When we got back from church we all gathered in the living room and I was going to open the presents they got for me. Hudson was SO excited for me to open the presents, he had already been counting them previously that afternoon and he knew there was exactly eleven. Three of the presents were from him. After opening the gift from my sisters which was a nice maroon shirt/fleece I decided to open Hudsons. I started opening the first little thing and he quickly said, "don't let Nina see, Nina don't look". Nina looked at him confused and Hudson then said, "I got you the same thing for Christmas." :) It turned out to be a magnet that he had got from Commerce Bank when he had gone on his field trip the other day for school. :) I started opening his next gift. As I was opening it he told me that it was hard for him to decide which one to pick for me. I finally opened the gift and found....... A book from his book shelf. :) Hudson has bookshelf in his bedroom which has a lot of the books that I read when I was young. So he decided to get one of those books off the shelf and wrap it, the second package was also a book. He got me Christopher Columbus, and Ben Hur. He quickly pointed out the reason why he had to pick the book Ben Hur :). I think you can figure it out. 

When I was in Thailand I forgot my toothbrush and toothpaste when I
went on the 5 day excursion out of Bangkok. So I ended up purchasing
new ones at a 7/11. It's one of the few items I brought back that has
Thai writing on it, but don't worry my Thai friends. I won't forget
y'all after I finish it all up :)

Hey Berm, I didn't know you designed toothbrushes :). It's a reminder
for me to pray for you whenever I see the name "Berman" on the brush :)

Have a Great Day Everyone in Bloggy World!

BenH

Today was simply exhausting. My cell kept ringing when I didn't want it to and I had so much Bible Institute homework to catch up on since I was Thailand. I was getting quite discouraged, and the thought kept running through my mind, "How can you be thankful for this?" 

This certainly is going to be one weird blog post.... I'll just leave it at that

Hey everyone I was able to steal a video copy of my testimony from last night. I messed up the beginning, but anyhow. For those of you that would like to see it, here it is :)

BenH

Well today I was able to share a testimony to my church about the trip
to Thailand. I was so glad to have the opportunity to speak. I had an
awesome time meeting with the Langes, Gaudets, Anne, Berm and Pookie!
I really am hoping to come back to Thailand. I just talked to a Thai
friend of mine the other day and we are going to try to have regular
conversations. I'm going try my best to help him and his wife learn
English and they want to help me learn some Thai. It sounds great,
hopefully it will all work out. Well, Im going to leave off with this
short blessing tonight, because believe it or not I kind of feel
tired. Have a good one y'all!

BenH

It's been a little while since I've posted a post. I am back from Thailand now and I will have to write more about it in an upcoming post, because I have something which I thought was interesting in my devotions. :)

Here it is, It's the story of Paul and his companion Silas and they were just cast into jail. After being cast into jail the jailor in this story was given a strict command. He was told to keep them safely. Upon having been given that charge it says he "thrust them into the inner prison". So Paul and Silas were busy getting cast and thrust around. As you all know there was then an earthquake at midnight and I find it interesting that the first words out of the jailors mouth are "Sirs, what must I do to be saved." There was no questions about the present situation, and he paid no attention to the other prisoners. There was not a prisoner in that prison house that night which had a fetter or a door closed on them. They all had the possibility of running away. However, you never hear of any of that. You simply hear the prison guard realizing that he needed salvation. How did he know of that term?

It's just my thoughts, but I think that many of the prisoners if not all had got saved. I believe that he had preached to them and revival broke out and they concluded their service with singing and when God shattered that prison open those prisoners knew it was not their place to run away and the prison guard realized by all the prisoners being there, there was a change in their life which he needed as well. These were all hard criminals in jail. They all would have probably ran away at a moments chance, but once Jesus came into their life they became submissive to their authorities. The first though to the jailor was that everyone was gone. Everyone including Paul and Silas returned to their jail cell. Obviously the jailor couldn't have got people in their to start fixing the doors right after an earthquake before all the prisoners left. In fact he took them to his house to get them cleaned up and probably didn't even have much security for the prisoners. They could have still run away, but you never hear of that. Paul and Silas returned back to their own cells and were later released

Paul and Silas made the best of out of their situations. That jail experience was very painful, they were cast into one prison and then thrust into an inner prison with stocks. The pain didn't silence them though, they started preaching salvation and I believe the prisons started repenting and once they began leading in songs the earthquake disrupted things, but the revival kept on going with the prison captain who had fallen asleep during the service then getting saved.

There are a lot of lessons to be learned from this passage. It was interesting to me to just think about the revival which most likely happened just because Paul and Silas were faithful to preach the Word. We need to remain faithful, you never know what may come out of it.

BenH

So far so good, we will be boarding in ten minutes! Have a Great Day
and pray for our safety! :)

I got this very funny email from Brother Nadaskay the other day because of our trip to Thailand. We will be flying Korean Air tomorrow afternoon at 2:00 PM

Have fun reading this, Hopefully this will not be the case :)

Korean Airline Rules

Attendant: Welcome aboard Korean Air, sir. May I see your ticket?
Passenger: Sure.
Attendant: You're in seat 12B. That will be $5, please!
Passenger: What for?
Attendant: For telling you where to sit.
Passenger: But I already knew where to sit.
Attendant: Nevertheless, we are now charging a seat locator fee of $5. It's the airline's new policy.
Passenger: That's the craziest thing I ever heard. I won't pay it.
Attendant: Sir, do you want a seat on this flight, or not?
Passenger: Yes, yes. All right, I'll pay. But the airline is going to hear about this.
Attendant: Thank you. My goodness, your carry-on bag looks heavy. Would you like me to stow it in the overhead compartment for you?
Passenger: That would be swell, thanks.
Attendant: No problem. Up we go, and done! That will be $10, please.
Passenger: What?
Attendant: The airline now charges a $10 carry-on assistance fee.
Passenger: This is extortion. I won't stand for it.
Attendant: Actually, you're right, you can't stand. You need to sit, and fasten your seat belt. We're about to push back from the gate. But, first I need that $10.
Passenger: No way!
Attendant: Sir, if you don't comply, I will be forced to call the air marshal. And you really don't want me to do that.
Passenger: Why not? Is he going to shoot me?
Attendant: No, but there's a $50 air-marshal hailing fee.
Passenger: Oh, all right, here, take the $10. I can't believe this.
Attendant: Thank you for your cooperation, sir. Is there anything else I can do for you?
Passenger: Yes. It's stuffy in here, and my overhead fan doesn't seem to work. Can you fix it?
Attendant: Your overhead fan is not broken, sir. Just insert two quarters into the overhead coin slot for the first five minutes.
Passenger: The airline is charging me for cabin air?
Attendant: Of course not, sir. Stagnant cabin air is provided free of charge. It's the circulating air that costs 50 cents.
Passenger: I don't have any quarters. Can you make change for a dollar?
Attendant: Certainly, sir! Here you go!
Passenger: But you've given me only three quarters for my dollar.
Attendant: Yes, there's a change making fee of 25 cents.
Passenger: For cryin' out loud. All I have left is a lousy quarter? What the heck can I do with this?
Attendant: Hang onto it. You'll need it later for the lavatory


BenH

As many of you know, I am leaving for Thailand for eleven days with a
small group of guys from church. I am zoo excited, however, to get to
this day of being able to take off I have been working almost night
and day. I told the different clients I have that I will be gone and
so if they need stuff done they have to tell me now. All of a Sunday I
became swamped with work. It has been crazy wild, my desk looks like a
tornado ripped through an threw papers and hardrives all over. Oh, btw
I just got two new clients from other parts of the world, one is in
Cyprus and the other group is in the Netherlands. I plan to mail the
good person test DVD and a nice note to all the guys since they all
love my work. I love reading their feedback on Elance and in the
emails they send. Another project I finally finished this week is for
Sean Murroney (via the Mission Resource Center). You can see it on my
website portfolio. www.BenH-Productions.com

And yes, someday I will finally change my website from saying, "Coming
Soon" :)

I am so excited to go to Thailand and leave my computer behind. I'll
bring my phone along, so Ill try to send some occasional blogs when I
get some wifi access. :)

Well, since my final project was just completed and it's 12 o'clock.
I'm going to bed!!! :)

Farewell my bloggy friends!
BenH

The messages which Bro. Williams brought to LVBC were challenging and
were laid out so clearly. I've got a blessing which I'll mention at
the end, but I wanted to first tell you the message that most stood
out to me. The message that really challenged me was the one
concerning whether we are bearing the marks of Christ. When Bro.
Williams gave the picture of Christ bearing the marks for us really
pricked my heart of how unashamedly I ought I be bearing his marks.
The verse Romans 1:16 just came into my mind.

Oh, oh I thought my Pastor had such an awesome point about finances
tonight. He basically said that Christ gives us finances and we are to
direct that money into the locations he wants them spent. It's like
the three guys that took care of their masters talents, well, at least
two of them did. Thinking about finances that way really puts a good
perspective on things, because like stewards we are going to be
reaponsible for how we used the money given to us. A man ought to be
found faithful

Ok, the two lessons above are really blessings, however what gets me
the most excited is to see or hear of someone getting saved ...and you
know... what once again God knocked on our neighbors heart door and Mrs.
Lagans daughter, Amanda recieved Christ after completing the fourth
Bible study with my sister Nina. It was truly an exciting day.

Speaking of neighbors. The neighbors in front of us are moved out and
are putting their house on the market. Unfortunately, those particular
neighbors, though extremely nice to us through the years, have never
been interested in anything about the Bible. If you think about me
pray that we get some neighbors who will be receptive to the gospel
and we will be able to lead them to Christ. Please pray for the right
people to come along. Thanks!

Good Night Everyone!
BenH

Well today was definitely a day of excitment and answered prayer. In short, a BIG blessing :D . Some of you may have met our neighbors, the Langens, who have been coming out to church the last couple weeks. Well, today God did a work in Mrs. Langens life and she accepted Christ as her Savior today. She always felt that she was a good girl, but in order to be saved, you need to find yourself lost and today was that day. God was knocking on our neighbors heart door. I'm just praying that the family will all decide to join our church now. The kids are really sweet, specially the baby :) Seriously now, you've seen good babies, well this baby tops them all, she like never cries. I asked Mrs. Langen if she ever cries and I was told that she basically never does, she squeeks or something when she's hungry :) A very cute kid.... Just keep praying for the family, it would be great if they could join our church, they are such a nice family. Thanks for listening, or actually reading, my blessing blog. Have an Awesome Week and keep looking for and asking God to work in your life through these revival messages!

Isiah 44:22 - "I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee."

I don't want to harp on ya, but my fingers feel very calloused right now from the hours of playing instruments today at Macys. Last year just my sisters played, but this year my Mom decided to throw the whole group of us in. It was certainly fun because we have practiced for so many hours at home its nice to actually get out and play for other people. A lot of people took our business cards, unfortunately we couldn't pass out any tracts or sell any CD's because that was the rules they gave us, but it was really nice to see the friendly faces of people as the smiled and complimented us on how nice it was to see a family that has fun playing their instruments together. 

Eternal Father,

Thou art good beyond all thought,
But I am vile, wretched, miserable, blind;

My lips are ready to confess,
but my heart is slow to feel,
and my ways reluctant to amend.

I bring my soul to thee;
break it, wound it, bend it, mould it.

Unmask to me sin’s deformity,
that I may hate it, abhor it, flee from it.

My faculties have been a weapon of revolt
against thee;
as a rebel I have misused my strength,
and served the foul adversary of thy kingdom.

Give me grace to bewail my insensate folly,
Grant me to know that the way of transgressors
is hard,that evil paths are wretched paths,
that to depart from thee is to lose all good.

I have seen the purity and beauty of thy perfect law,
the happiness of those in whose heart it reigns,
the calm dignity of the walk to which it calls,
yet I daily violate and contemn its precepts.

Thy loving Spirit strives within me,
brings me Scripture warnings,
speaks in startling providences,
allures by secret whispers,
yet I choose devices and desires to my own hurt,
impiously resent, grieve,
and provoke him to abandon me.

All these sins I mourn, lament, and for them
cry pardon.

Work in me more profound and abiding repentance;
Give me the fullness of a godly grief
that trembles and fears,
yet ever trusts and loves,
which is ever powerful, and ever confident;

Grant that through the tears of repentance
I may see more clearly the brightness
and glories of the saving cross.

Valley of Vision - A Collection of  Puritan Prayers and Devotions

Tis not for man to trifle! Life is brief;
And sin is here
Our age is but the falling of a lead,
A dropping tear
We have no time to sport away the hours;
All must be earnest in a world like ours.

Not many lives, but only one, have we,
Frail, fleeting man:
How sacred should that one life ever be,
That narrow span!
Day after day filled with blessed toil,
Hour after hour still bringing in new spoil.

~ Charles Spurgeon ~

As the soldiers marched across the field they looked at the oppenents
general advancing to meet theirs. Anger burned in their heart to that
man whom they thought intended to destroy their life. To the suprise
of this army, the opposing army began to call out to them join us or
perish. The call was rejected, but as the opposing armies got closer
this army suddenly realized that their fight was futile. The call from
across the field echoed again. Join us!

Some thought this proposal rediculous and continued to march, but this
soldier who now writes this blog decided to lay down his armes and run
to the other side. You see, the other soldiers had no weapons. They
simply marched behind their leader and asked him to fight on their
behalf. I was no longer under the control of the devil. Upon laying
down my arms and coming to the other side I was relieved from having
to fight with my flesh. I decided to live in the spirit. I was not
longer in control, the devil was no longer my leader. I became free.
Free from his opressing control to fight for his wicked kingdom. I'm
free from a certain death. I have recieved life. I am no longer in his
control I am out of control :)

I just finished having a great devotions with my brother and sister
on the book of Romans 8. It is an excellent chapter (not excluding the
other chapters) and it talks about being free from the law of sin.
Just think of the wonderful freedom we have from the law of sin. Some
think, ya your out of control. The life your living is boring, and
you'll just die and that's it. Nooo!!! That is not it, I'm living
under the control of the spirit of God. The God who is all-powerful.
Our victory is sure and secure.Thr life I used to live was death,
withless, I was bound for hell. Through Christ however, by joining his
side I am protected by his loving hand. Never do I want to live and
act like the world does. I'm finished with that life. For to me to
live is Christ.

Romans 8 has been great fun to study.

BTW- I wanted to thank everyone that stopped by the other day on Sept.
11. I had far more people on that day than I ever had on any of the
other days. Also, I appreciate your comments to my posts and your
emails. They are a blessing to me :) I throughly enjoy reading them.

In case you wondering... that last blog wasn't the exciting on that I
wrote about in the previous blog, though I am very excited about that
post. I still have a message I'm working on. It's been busy :)

Bottom line - if your not saved, get out of control of the devil and
make the choice to live for God. It is true freedom!

BenH