One of the more beautiful aspects of an Ozark Mountain spring is the gorgeous dogwood trees. Dogwoods are prevalent in Missouri and in the spring they blossom with flowery peddles that pepper the local woods with striking white flowers that impressively contrast the deep greens of the foliage. Below are a few photos that I recently took from a local Neosho, Missouri park on an afternoon break from work. Unfortunately, due to lack of time, I was not able to take photos of a large cluster of trees that were in the park, but I was able to focus on one tree that is quite beautiful. Praise the Lord for his wonderful creation order -- it illustrates grace to our soul and serves as a constant reminder of our heavenly Fathers handiwork.

I have experienced the great joy of laboring in various tasks the past few weeks on my return to Missouri. Many hours have been spent in my day-to-day graphics design work, construction projects on my parent’s home, laboring in the scriptures, and various other menial tasks. The sheer range of projects that I have been tackling has sparked my interest in a study of the scriptures in regard to the work that is set before us to accomplish on this earth and the bigger purposes and ultimate joy behind it.

In Ecclesiastes we see a depiction of Solomon as he is distressed in his labors and refers to them as vanity. Yet, by the end of the book he concludes that we must take joy in our labor and give Glory to God in it. As is well known, The sentiments expressed in the book of Ecclesiastes reiterate what all men experience in regard to work, as well as many other aspects of life, at varying times. And as an aspect of the fallen nature of man, the scriptures tell us that we will undoubtedly experience toil in our labors. This is a reality that every man must come to terms with; he will always feel the burden in the toil of his labors, yet at the same time he can be content in it. That is why every man must look to the scriptures for guidance and encouragement.

Below are some of my favorite passages (I may add more to this list later) regarding our day-to-day labors as men. These scriptures continue to be a blessing to me as I learn to be diligent in my own work. I am adding these verses to my blog as a quick reference for myself and hopefully it will benefit others as well. This is also a forethought into my study of work/labor in the scriptures.

Exo 20:9 Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work

Psa 128:2 For thou shalt eat the labor of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.

Pro 10:16 The labor of the righteous tendeth to life: the fruit of the wicked to sin.

Pro 13:11 Wealth gotten by vanity, shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labor shall increase.

Pro 23:4 Labor not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom.

Psa 127:1 A Song of degrees for Solomon. Except, the LORD build the house, they labor in vain that build1129 it: except, the LORD keep8104 the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

Pro 10:16 The labor of the righteous tendeth to life: the fruit of the wicked to sin.

Pro 13:11 Wealth gotten by vanity, shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labor shall increase.

Pro 14:23 In all labor there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury.

Pro 21:25 The desire of the slothful killeth him; for his hands refuse to labor.

Pro 23:4 Labor not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom.

Ecc 1:3 What profit hath a man of all his labor which he taketh, under the sun?

Ecc 2:10 And whatsoever, mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any, joy; for my heart rejoiced in all, my labor: and this was my portion of all, my labor.

Ecc 2:24 There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat, and drink, and that he should make his soul, good in his labor.This also I saw, that it was from the hand, of God.

Ecc 2:18 Yea, hated all3605 my labor which I, had taken underthe sun: because I should leave, it unto the man that shall be, after

Ecc 3:13 And also that every man should eat, and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labor, it1 is the gift of God.

Col 1:29 Whereunto, I also labor, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.

1Th 1:3 Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;

For those of you wondering, (realistically, probably no one cares) I am still here and still blogging. I have been out of town and extremely busy this past week. The Lord has allowed my time to be occupied with a lot of work as well as some very interesting home improvement projects on my parent’s house. My week has been very blessed.

I have several photos that I need to post regarding the many projects that I am involved in but I am limited on what I can post because someone unfortunately left his digital camera at the office. For now, this is a quick ‘hello’ to show that I am indeed still alive :)

Miss Rebekah Glorianna (Four years of age.)

“Why don't they pass a constitutional amendment prohibiting anybody from learning anything? If it works as well as prohibition did, in five years Americans would be the smartest race of people on Earth.”

Below are several valid comment questions posted in response to my first blog post titled, Preliminary Thoughts on Marriage. Below is the readers questions as well as my response to the posed questions:

Anonymous said:

Mark, Great Blog! I am enjoying reading your post each day!!

I wanted to comment here on one thing you said....
"Young men should ask themselves, am I willing to marry a beautiful young lady who, with time, will unavoidably be a less attractive, older and ever aging woman, who will show the affects of many years of childbirth as gravity sets in? (If the Lord blesses with children).

My question here would be, by whose standard does a woman lose her attractiveness, and why was the young man looking at her physical attractiveness to begin with? Would love to hear your insights!

My response:

Hello anonymous,

Thank you for your kind words. I hope first and foremost the Lord is honored by any word that I write or speak. I will do my best to quickly and accurately answer your questions:

Attractiveness can vary from person to person and even be unbiblical, as is the case with different forms of perversion. To be attracted to something doesn’t make it biblically-beautiful. So, it is important to make a distinction between beauty and attractiveness. Beauty is spoken of in many ways in the scriptures, the beauty of holiness, the beautiful of land, the beauty of a woman, the list goes on. It is not wrong for a young man to admire the beauty of a woman or to recognize that it is indeed beautiful to him, and the same thing can be said about different forms of beauty. The scriptures tell us that the strange woman, mentioned in Proverbs 26, was beautiful and that the young man was to avoid lusting after her beauty. She was a wicked woman but even as a wicked woman the scriptures recognize that she was beautiful to the young man because she was made as a woman. We must also recognize that the scripture makes varied distinctions as to the beauty of a woman and testifies that Rachel was beautiful and Leah was "tender eyed", (Genesis 29:17). One important thing to consider is that admiring beauty and comprehending that it is legitimate is a separate distinction from lusting after it, or applying some form of expectation to that beauty, and losing attraction for it.

In my blog post, I was stating that young men need to avoid applying expectations to the natural beauty of a young woman, as it is fading in nature. That doesn’t mean a man will be less attracted to his wife on varying levels of beauty, nor does it negate the fact that the youthful physical beauty of a woman will lessen with time. Just as mans natural beauty will lessen, or anything else that is subject to the sinful decay of this earth.

If a biblical mindset is applied in the heart of a young man when choosing a bride, then, as you put it, attractiveness will not change in the heart of a man toward his bride. And as the scriptures tell us, it is perfectly legitimate for a young man (or anyone) to admire the God given natural beauty of a young woman, as long as it is viewed through the grid of scripture.

(also, I don't know if you are a young woman, but if you are, I would suggest talking to your father about this issue.)

After reading a very interesting blog post on Caleb Hayden’s blog, I began to do a bit of study and came across the following article written in 1901 by Herman Bavick, titled: Creation and Development, which was (oddly enough) published in The Methodist Review. The following excerpt is quite telling of our modern times:

He who fully accepts the theory of development in the sensual, observable world cannot dismiss it at once and without explanation when spiritual phenomena appear. Even though provisionally a small domain is then set aside for faith, this domain is bound to become ever smaller… One fortification after another must then be sacrificed, one line of defense after another be abandoned, and one concession after another be granted. There is no immovable conviction in these conservative dualists, no strength of faith, no enthusiastic courage. And hence, they are ever bound to lower the flag before the radicals, who have the courage of their convictions, who shrink from no inferences, and who, beginning and continuing without God, are determined also to end without God. Hence these are the men of the future. Conservatives and liberals die out, but the radicals and socialists are to be leaders in of whatever of the old Christian world-view consciously or unconsciously still remains in our laws and morals, in our education and civilization.

This simple quote from history shows an astounding observation of where our culture has fallen today. As the church began to separate the world of science and religion, and viewed the role of the theologian as the informant of the human soul, and the role of scientist as the informant of nature and humanity, culture began to see a rift in the understanding of how God and His creation order are to be defined. Christianity conceded the premise that the church is to speak to every area of life and that we as Christians are to take every thought captive to submission to Christ -- this includes our own thoughts and the thoughts that have been carried forward throughout history. Today we see the result of these radicals and their philosophy of death as it continues to permeate our culture. In the last two years we have seen the denial of the acknowledgment of our creator God in the public sector, the perversion of the covenant of marriage, and the redefinition of the standard for human life. All the while, conservatives and liberals alike have debated the most articulate way to subdue the forty nine to fifty percent majority vote count when it comes election season, while the radicals (I’ll also define them as consistent liberals), have continued to press their clear agendas. All the while, the church has allowed their Christian worldview to be redefined by cultural relativism. The body of Christ needs a wakeup call. As my good friend Caleb Hayden said on his recent blog post, the church today needs more counter-revolutionaries.

I have been reading through several books by RJ Rushdoony tonight. (One of my favorite writers and scholars.) I came across this very insightful quote that puts into perspective one of the most defining problems that can be found in the lives of men in our modern culture. Men that are talented, articulate, and impressive in their God given ability, men that have immense patriarchal potential, yet they are completely useless because they lack the faith to properly take-hold of those abilities and live and proclaim them in righteousness. Much of this is the result of pornography, a reality that everyman must face in our culture. It is unavoidable that a man will come in contact with it on almost a daily basis as our culture has been given over to sensuality and nakedness. The below quote should be quite sobering and provide insight into the harsh veracity of our modern age. The below quote, and setup quote by Miller, should also provide us with a glimpse as to why so few men actually achieve their God given potential as it relates to their ability to act in roles of leadership:

“A quote by Miller:

I am only spiritually dead. Physically I am alive. Morally I am free. The world which I have departed is a menagerie. The dawn is breaking on a new world, a jungle world in which I lean spirits roam with sharp claws. If I am a hyena I am a lean and hungry one: I go forth to fatten myself.

Miller is now tame fare compared to those who have succeeded him. His successors have not equaled his honesty. Neither condemnation nor suppression of Miller and his heirs will suffice. They simply voice the essential faith of the modern era. Nor is the answer simply a new elite. We have no lack of education and intelligence today. The ingredients and men for leadership are all around us, but the faith to motivate them is lacking. Until it is forthcoming, under-ground man will continue to work his will, and pornography will be one more facet of cultural decay.”

Below are a couple photos taken in my new office at the Bollinger Production Studio. It was wonderful to get everything setup and working today. The Lord has greatly blessed me with more than enough work to keep me busy. I am also blessed to be able to set my own hours and work in any part of the country — which is a blessing from the Lord as well, as I hope to return to the great state of Texas someday.

This photo was taken the night before I departed from Texas — one of the more difficult moments in my departure. It was both difficult and blessed. Knowing that I would see my ‘second family’ again made it that much easier, but when little Faith Evangeline began to cry and say such things as, “you’re my friend.... I don’t want you to go... ”, It really made saying “goodbye” that much more difficult, and made me put an extra measure of emphasis on “I’ll be back, Faith” :)



It is these little moments of arrival and departure that fill our lives with hope, as our ever loving and gracious Father directs the providential times in between. Both arrivals and departures etch in our memories the love that we are blessed to have in the lives that joyfully greet us when we arrive, and cry tears of departing love when we go away. Praise the Lord for both, such moments should make us a grateful people.

“It is not the critic who counts, not the one who points out how the strong man stumbled or how the doer of deeds might have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred with sweat and dust and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, if he wins, knows the triumph of high achievement; and who, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat.”

Our culture has limited the very essence of what it is to be a man. And the chief proponent of this limiting can be found in the body of Christ. The church today views manhood in the context of a man being able to act as a provided – nothing more, nothing less. Additionally, the church also reserves roles for certain men that are “called to the ministry”, and are somehow considered set-apart from other men who can limit their life-roles to simply acting as a provider. Thus providing an excuse for the majority of men to shun their responsibilities. This is a false and ultimately impotent view of manhood. One could spend hours pointing out the many causes of such actions, the feminist movement, our cultures obsession with sensuality etc., but for now I want to provide an overview as to some of the very key roles that every Christian man is called to fulfill and how they all coincide:

I. Generational Sonship
Men need to view their own lives and legacies as a representation of their fathers. Even if it manifests itself in a small way, men must view their work and life calling in the construct of their fathers, and building upon that. Ask yourself: How can I carry on and build upon my father’s legacy? How has my father influenced my life for both good and bad, and how can I take the good that is there and exalt my fathers strengths by performing and building upon that foundation, all the while avoiding the bad influence? This is the first foundation that must be in place for a man to even consider building upon additional roles in his life. Without the proper view of his father, just as Christ came to serve his father, everything else is pointless. (For now I will not delve into the issues of men without fathers. Although the scripture has much to say about them.)

II. Future Patriarchy
If a man truly desires to be a standard-bearer in a dark and wicked land, he must view himself as a future patriarch from an early age. He must view his time, his desire to learn, his relationships, his community, and in essence his life as striving to be a leader in his own household, in the shepherding of the church flock, and the protecting of the flock from untruth. Every endeavor that a man sets his hands to accomplish must be viewed in the greater role of Biblical leadership. This is very much lacking in our day and age, and as a result, we have men that are not prepared to give an answer to every man of the hope that is within them.

III. Dominion Building
Genesis tells us to rejoice in our labors but to first view them as dominion works that have a bigger purpose behind them. Labor that will first bring glory to our creator God and grow the Lordship of Christ over all the earth. Different men will have different roles in this area. Some are called to serve other men, some are called for specific life works of their own. Ultimately, all men should strive to put themselves in dominion work situations that will allow them to have a full-orbed flexibility relating to their many God given roles. Man was never created to just hold a job for the benefit of drawing a paycheck. Man was created to view his work as holy calling to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ and to use the resources and time that has been given to expand the kingdom work.

IV. Church Shepherding
As a man is established in his God given roles as a faithful son, patriarch, and a dominion builder, he should desire to shepherd others in the body of Christ through the preaching of the word and the edifying of the body of Christ. All the wisdom and knowledge that a man gains from viewing his life as a future patriarch will culminate into a practical outworking by expounding wisdom to others in the body of Christ. This manifests itself in the roles of deacons and elders.

V. Marriage
As a picture of Christ to the church, on an experiential level, this is the most profound and important relationship-constituent that a man will be given on this earth. This defining relationship will affect every other God given role that a man has been called to fulfill in his life. It is not to be taken lightly but it is to be gloried and reverenced as a wonderful blessing sent from our Lord. If the first three roles that I have mentioned, (Gerational Sonship, Future Patriarchy, Dominion Building), are not in place, then this role is not yet needed and should ultimately not even be thought about until the other roles are first established in a mans life. Remember, marriage is not for the pleasure of man, it is intended for the glory of our Lord and savior and the work that a man has been called to carry forward on this earth.

VI. Fatherhood
After the Lord has established the foundations of Generational Sonship, Patriarchy, Dominion building, and marriage, then comes the ricochet of all the foundational roles that have been established; The setting in motion and the passing of the generational torch. A man must view his children as the means in which the Lord Jesus Christ will be honored through his household from generation to generation.

These are the roles that every man has been called to fulfill. In a society that limits mans role to provider, there are many challenges for men as we break out of the conditioned mold that we have been placed in and view our lives in the full scope of what we have been called to be as men after God’s own heart. It is inevitable that a man must condition his mind to the word of God and be prepared to constantly compartmentalize from role-to-role as we live out our lives on a daily basis. This is a challenge, but it is a glorious challenge that every man should whole heartily embrace. Future generations depend upon how men of this generation act in fulfilling these multi-faceted roles.

After reading a couple of blog posts on the issue, hearing a recent sermon, and most importantly to me, talking to young men that just don’t “get it” regarding the issue of marriage, (young men whom I do not know very well but have spoken with briefly on different occasions), I have begun to examine a few practical aspects of marriage that I believe are often overlooked by young men when it comes to choosing a bride. It amazes me how many guys really just miss the boat on this issue and have never really thought through it, or if they have thought through it they forget everything they know to be true as soon as a possible young lady comes into the picture. And as much as I would like to say that I have had perfect clarity of thought on this issue, I have also failed miserably in past years to think through this issue to the degree that I should.

I have a burden for young men regarding the issue of the responsibility required for marriage and making sure that they are not being distracted by the wonderful idea and blessing of marriage and forgetting the harsh realities — even as blessed as those harsh realities ultimately are if viewed in the context of the word of God.

Granted, all the biblical qualifications need to be in place for a young man to even consider a young lady, and granted, if a man is seeking a bride for the right reasons he will view her as a helpmeet suitable to complete his life work. But, on a very practical level, I think young men often times convince themselves that the scripture is their only motivating factor when in reality they may be blinded by their own emotional needs and desires. I am only going to address small and very specific areas of the entire picture of the covenant of marriage that I believe are quite often overlooked by young men as they think through the possibility of marriage.. If young men are willing to think through these specific areas and examine their motives, they will ultimately begin to see the practical aspects, view them from the grid of scripture, and move forward to the true heart of the Biblical marriage.

Young men should ask themselves, am I willing to marry a beautiful young lady who, with time, will unavoidably be a less attractive, older and ever aging woman, who will show the affects of many years of childbirth as gravity sets in? (If the Lord blesses with children). This sounds very simple and obvious, yes? And yet it frustrates me when I speak with young men who have never even considered this and have blinded themselves to the fact that they are interested in a young attractive girl that will never age in their one-sided and deluded minds. This ultimately gets to the heart of beauty and the fading nature of beauty and that true beauty only comes through an unconditional love that can only come from Christ. It is a simple thought, but young men need to consider it and reexamine their interests through the scriptures.

Young men should also ask themselves, am I ready to take on the responsibility of (possible) numerous other human beings, who will start as children without discernment and will eventually end up as adults that will either be strong of faith and character, or weak and feeble — depending on the care and nurture that they are given by their fathers leading hand? (As well as the grace of our Lord.)

Am I, as a young man, willing to be entrusted with the souls and training of a human being as it relates to the God given helpmeet that is in my life? Or, am I a young man that is blinded my emotional desires to wed and is unwilling to commit to the hard, life long task of shepherding children with my bride at my side? Many desire to be blessed with lots of children, but few young men think about the overwhelming burden and curse that children will be unless they as fathers are completely submitted to the Lord Jesus Christ in the determination and training process of the souls that have been entrusted to them. And yet still amazing to me is the fact that very few young men actually think through this to the degree that they should.

Finally, young men should ask themselves if they are truly ready to shepherd the emotional wellbeing of a dear young lady who will be their bride. A dear sinful young lady who will without doubt fail repeatedly – just as you will fail as a husband. And are young men really willing to work to maintain that close communication in love with their bride that can only come through the Lord Jesus Christ? And yes, it will be hard work. And as a young man, are you ready to constantly labor in the scriptures and set your heart to Christ and the work that you have been given? With the realization that if you fail to do this your marriage will ultimately be crippled and you will have cut off the most important resource you have as man on this earth, your bride.

These are just a few very basic and practical questions that I just named, and yet most young men have never even broached the subjects in their minds as it relates to choosing a helpmeet suitable for them, or they have thought about them and as soon as a young lady comes into the picture they completely forget what they know to be true.

We know marriage is a blessed institution given by God, but as young men that are easily driven by emotions, we must obey what we are told in Titus 2, to be sober minded. We must also realize that apart from the grace of our heavenly father, every man will fail as a husband and a father, regardless of his ability to examine the factuality of a possible marriage relationship.

I plead with young men to truly examine their motives. Think about these simple and practical issues that I have just mentioned, run them through the grid of scripture in your mind, and examine your heart to see if your motives are pure and upright before your Lord and savior. As men, we cannot allow ourselves to fall into the trap of living in a false reality and setting a haze of whimsy before our eyes that will ultimately destroy us as men if we do not look at the “cold-hard-facts” and filter them through the word of God.

Every young man should look forward to the bride that the Lord gives to him and be encouraged and patient until the time that he is able to rejoice in the bride that is set apart for him. Marriage is blessed, and marriage is deadly serious. It should strike a holy God-honoring reverence in the heart of any man that considers asking a young lady to follow him. If it does not, then you risk dishonoring the wonderful bride that the Lord has reserved for you.

I am very blessed to know several young men that are thinking in these terms and I very much look forward to the day that the Lord allows me to be united with the wife of my youth. I also know that if I, like other young men, am to lay down my life for my bride, I better be thinking soberly or it will ultimately fail to bring honor and glory to my first love, our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ. I exhort every young man to do the same.

Now that I am back in Missouri I thought it appropriate to make the time to showoff some of the God-ordained beauty of this Midwest state. Below are a few early misty-morning photos taken from my family’s fatherland domaine.


The front yard


The back yard


The distant Ozark Mountains (You can sort of see them through the trees in this poor photo.)

I must say, this is indeed a happy moment for me. This is the moment I am pleased to announce the blog launch of Dr. (someday) CS Hayden. The main theme in the life of CS seems to revolve around study currently, as he presses forward in attempting to make himself a profitable scholar, umm, I mean finishes his degree. I am quite confident that if you become a regular reader of CS’s blog, you will discover many close-up photos of CS, taken at bizarre angles, most of which point upward into the sinus cavities.

All kidding aside, it is a blessing to witness CS Hayden in the blogging world. Welcome CS!

Link:

http://www.cshayden.blogspot.com/

I was sent this photo yesterday, and as soon as I opened the e-mail attachment I was reminded of how truly blessed I am to know Beall Phillips. Aside from my very beloved mother, no one lady has had such a profound influence on my life. Loyal to her husband and his life mission, a faithful mother, a joyful and steadfast wife, Beall strives to encompass everything a virtuous woman should endeavor to be as she lives her life for the Lord Jesus Christ.

I am grateful that the Lord brought the Phillips family into my life, they are without a doubt my “second family” and are of great encouragement in every aspect of my life. To have Doug as a friend and mentor is a blessing sent from God, and to observe Beall at his side, always serving him with honor and love, is a wonderful example to me as to what I hope to have in my own bride as the Lord would allow that in my own life.

As young men, we should be grateful when the Lord allows us to see glimpses of wise and godly ladies in our lives, so that we may learn from these examples and shape our view of womanhood in the light of the scripture. This will not only allow us to see the bigger picture of Christ as He defines the church but it will also provide us with a great deal of practical knowledge when it comes time to evaluate a potential mate. Praise be to God for the example that Beall Phillips is to my life!


This photo was taken at the after church fellowship lunch on my last Sunday at Bourne Christian Assembly before I moved back to Missouri.

I took the liberty of memorizing this beautiful Longfellow poem this morning. This is somewhat apropos to my life at the moment and I very much appreciate the way the great Longfellow is able to summarize so much in such a short poem. I had memorized part of this poem several years ago but have never taken the time to put to memory the entire linguistic ballet:

Tell me not in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream!
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.

Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou are, to dust thou returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each tomorrow
Find us farther than today.

Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.

In the world's broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!

Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act, - act in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o'erhead!

Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sand of time;

Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o'er life's solenm main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.

Let us then be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.

Below is a poem that has great significance to me, and has held great significance in my life for twenty years. I first heard these poetic words in an audio recording at George Washington Carver National Monument when I was just four years of age. At the monument, there is a bust of Dr. Carver with an audio box and button that can be pushed to play the recorded poem -- which is taken from a speech given by Dr. Carver. Although Dr. Carver is not the author of the poem, it provides great symbolism as to the kind of man that he was, and reflects the life that he lived. I am often encouraged by these words as I go into the shadowed valleys of life. I have many fond memories of running up to the bust of Dr. Carver when I was just a small boy, reaching up to push play, and waiting for the voice of Dr. Carver to give his speech. Each of these wonderful memories helped define my life and have given me great hope for the future as the Lord continues to direct my paths. As the Lord Jesus Christ allows, I hope to pass on such memories to my own children.


Equipment:
- author unknown:

Figure it out for yourself, my lad,
You've all that the greatest of men have had;
Two arms, two hand, two legs, two eyes,
And a brain to use if you would be wise,
With this equipment they all began --
So start from the top and say, "I can."

Look them over, the wise and the great,
They take their food from a common plate,
And similar knives and forks they use,
With similar laces they tie their shoes;
The world considers them brave and smart,
But you've all they had when they made their start.

You can triumph and come to skill,
You can be great if you only will;
You're well equipped for what fight you choose,
You have arms and legs and a brain to use;
And the man who has risen great deeds to do,
Began his life with no more than you.

You are the handicap you must face,
You are the one who must choose your place.
You must say where you want to go,
How much you will study the truth to know;
God has equipped you for life, but He
Lets you decide what you want to be.

Courage must come from the soul within
The man must furnish the will to win.
So figure it out for yourself, my lad,
You were born with all that the great have had;
With your equipment they all began,
Get hold of yourself and say, "I can."

Now that I have returned to Missouri, it is time that I start blogging again. Please check back for updates to my blog as I will do my best to update it on a regular basis. This time I mean it :)