Added feature to this blog site

I've just added a "Bible verse of the day" to my blog down below the archives on the left hand side. The code came from http://www.biblegateway.com which is really great site for looking up Bible verses, as it has many different translations/versions online.

My latest entry...over on my other site

Check out my latest entry over on my other blog. Just didn't feel like copying and pasting the whole thing over here. The link is over to the left under my links...

My Amazing Girlfriend Janet

Well...hello again after another long absence. What can I say? Life is busy. Actually tonight I'm posting an email that my girlfriend Janet wrote about the past weekend's events down in Atlanta, GA. I think it pretty much speaks for itself...


Over this past weekend, I was fascinated with the Atlanta fugitive story. Like many other people, I was simply amazed at the fact that a potential felon was able to rampage through a courthouse and then escape into the city. But my interest in the story only intensified when Brian Nichols was captured. I simply couldn’t hear enough or read enough about Ashley Smith, Brian Nichol’s hostage.

Why has Ashley Smith’s story been affecting me so much? Because every time I hear her story, I think to myself...she was “mistaken!” (See lyrical reference below). On Friday night when I heard the story of what Brian Nichols had done, I thought he deserved to die. I was definitely sitting in judgment of his actions. I didn’t see any good in Brian or the situation. I certainly couldn’t see God in the picture at all.

Ashley Smith could imagine that God might have spared Brian’s life in order to glorify God in prison. She could also see that God could use her life to glorify Him. And Brian Nichols heard, saw and felt God through Ashley Smith. She can’t even begin to know how the whole story could make an impact. How often do stories about honest, simple faith in Christ hit the national news? Ashley’s story has been repeated over and over. The media seems to be in disbelief and it seems that people are so “hungry” that a story like this captivates our attention. And who can blame us? It is utterly amazing that the widow of a homicide victim would be held hostage by a murderer, that she would speak the word of God to him and then convince him to surrender. That is God at work! Only God can put those people together and use a seemingly impossible situation for His good. Hopefully this story will cause unbelievers to stop and listen!

After the events of this weekend, after years of uncertainty, I finally have a solid opinion on the death penalty. Absolutely no! I don’t like Brian’s actions and of course I know innocent people died by his hands. But Brian is a child of Christ. And if Brian stands up and takes responsibility for his actions and has a true change in his heart, who are we to decide the value of his life? Who are we to judge a man’s life by a few of his actions when God will judge us all in the end? Who are we to determine what is truly in another’s heart? There will never be a day when a person in prison can’t have a change of heart for we do not ever know how God is moving in their life. It is only due to our human limitations that we often believe that people can’t change. But God knows that He can create change on any day, at any time, in any place…even prison, in anyone…even a murderer.

It is so easy to look back in my life when things were so painful and now see that God was using those events to bring me closer to Him. It is easy because the events, although painful for me, were not as ugly or horrible as murder. This past weekend, I was not successful in my Christian walk…I was definitely “mistaken” but not in a good way… because I could not see past the ugliness to realize that God was there. This past weekend, I could not imagine that God would use a murderer to bring people to Him.

Similar to many stories that came after September 11^th which served as a reminder to us of God’s mercy, God has now used this murderer and hostage as another reminder of His limitless grace. I was reminded that God can use any person in any circumstance (no matter how terrible) for His glory. How incredibly humbling for me. How incredibly awesome is God!?

Mistaken - Written by Warren Barfield

I shouldn’t have to tell you who I am
Cause who I am should be speaking for itself
Cause if I am who I want to be
Then who you see won’t even be me
Oh the more and more I disappear
The more and more He becomes clear

‘ Til everyone I talk to hears His voice
And everything I touch feels the warmth of His hand
‘ Til everyone I meet
Sees Jesus in me
This is all I wanna be
I wanna be mistaken
For Jesus
Oh I wanna be mistaken

Do they only see who we are
But who we are should be pointing them to Christ
Cause we are who He chose to use
To spread the news
Of the way the truth and the life
Oh I want all I am to die
So all He is can come alive

‘ Til everyone I talk to hears His voice
And everything I touch feels the warmth of His hand
‘ Til everyone I meet
Sees Jesus in me
This is all I wanna be
I wanna be mistaken
For Jesus
Oh I wanna be
Oh I need to be mistaken
For you
Oh I wanna be mistaken

May He touch with my hands
See through my eyes
May He speak through my lips
Live through my life
I want Him to
I want Him to live

© 2003 Warren Barfield Music /Creative Trust Music (ASCAP) (admin. by The Loving Company)
All Rights Reserved.

Is it any wonder that I love her like I do?

Starting another blog...only at this site

Hi to all. I'm simply starting a new blog at this new site. I've had a blog at xanga.com for several months but decided to repeat it here. My plan is to copy all of those previous posts to this site and then to post to both. We'll see how that goes...