BEING THANKFUL PART 4: GOD IS AMAZING

 

     Well here it is! Part four! This final installment is the easiest because it's the biggest reason why we celebrate Thanksgiving. We celebrate it to give thanks to God! Not just for how He blesses us or what He does for us. We thank Him for being who He is!

 

     God is amazing! I can honestly say I can't live without Him. I am so thankful that God sent His one and only son Jesus to die on the cross for my sins. It's because of that old rugged cross that Jesus shed His blood that I can receive His free gift of eternal life! He died, rose again and now lives forever! Thanksgiving never gets any respect. Here in New York a local radio station started playing Christmas music on their station a few weeks ago. So many of us are in a rush to get Christmas started early. What ever happened to giving thanks to God. This blog is very short but an important one. I want to say very simply "Thank you God for everything! Thank you for never giving up on me, for loving me and for your will in my life. I love you God and I will always be thankful to you!"

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FRIENDS & FAMILY!!      

BEING THANKFUL PART 3: WHAT GOD HAS PROVIDED

 



      In my third installment of what I am thankful for (again, in no particular order) I would like to share about something we take for granted! I am grateful for what God has provided for me!

      Living here in this great United States of America I have to confess…we are spoiled. I have only visited one third world country in my lifetime in 1994. It was Mexico. I saw poverty at its worst. I actually was near an area in Mexico City known as the garbage dump where I saw people’s homes that looked like shacks. It made my childhood fort I built look like a mansion. My heart broke for those people and gave me an appreciation for how God has blessed me.

      Food – In my lifetime, I have never gone hungry. There was always food at my table from my childhood through my adult years to this very day. God has always provided for me.

      A roof over my head – In my lifetime, I have always had a roof over my head. Whether it was in Chatham, NJ; Smithtown, NY; my parsonage on Brooksite Drive or the various apartments I have lived in, I am grateful and thankful that there has always been a roof over my head and a pillow I could always rest me head on.

      A vehicle – Since 1984 since I bought my first car, a 1972 Pontiac Ventura that was an obnoxious green color, God has always blessed me with a car to drive. I think about the first ever car I bought brand new, a 1988 Mazda Pickup truck as well as the many mini vans I owned and now a 2007 Honda Civic that just reached 100,000 miles. God has always blessed me with great cars. Sure, they have broken down and I have had my share of flat tires and had an accident in one minivan in 2010. I am thankful for the cars I have driven that have gotten me safely to where I need to be!

      Jobs – Since 1982, I have always had jobs and I am grateful that I have ever been unemployed! My first ever job was at Sunken Meadow State Park. I have had many interesting jobs. A security guard, a messenger, floor refinisher, Chick Fil-A Manager, a limo driver and salesman for Tru-Green just to name a few. Today I am working 3 jobs and yes, it can be tiresome. I know God has plans for my life and right now I am waiting to see what that is. In the meantime, I am searching for just one job that pays well with health benefits and other benefits as well. I am grateful and thankful that I can pay my bills and supply money for my two younger kids.

     Psalm 107:1 says "Give thanks to the Lord for he is good; his love endures forever!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING A WEEK EARLY!!

BEING THANKFUL PART 2: FRIENDS

      In my second installment of what I am thankful for (again, in no particular order) I would like to share about a group of people who have stick by me through thick and thin…MY FRIENDS!

      I could go on and on about the many people I have had and still have as friends but this blog would end up being a book thicker than the book "War & Peace" so I will not go crazy (although I would like to). Since my childhood in New Jersey, moving to New York in 1973, meeting many amazing people at Northeastern Bible College, my amazing friends I grew up with at Smithtown Gospel Tabernacle, the friends I made working at Smithtown Gospel Tabernacle, the friends I made at both Chick Fil-A’s I have worked at, the friends I have made after I resigned from SGT and my awesome friends I made at the bible study I teach on Tuesday mornings. I am thankful for you and I also hope I covered all the bases! It is said that you always know who you true friends are during and after you go through a tough time. I can honestly say that is so true. I have had so many people who have stuck by my side, who prayed for me, who were my biggest "cheerleaders" who cried with me, laughed with me and gave me a listening ear. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

      Through the magic of this thing called Facebook, I am able to stay in touch with people I have not seen in thirty plus years. I have watched their children grow up. I have watched, for some of them, their hair get gray (just like yours truly) even though I have not physically seen some of my college buddies, friends and fellow classmates. I for one believe friends are so important. I have had in the past some "not so good" friends who God has basically removed from my life. They are considered people who were not supportive and were a negative influence to me. With all that said, I would like to say to all my friends how thankful I am that you are in my life and how grateful I am to you for your love, support, prayers and putting up with my jokes!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING A FEW WEEKS EARLY FRIENDS!!

BEING THANKFUL PART 1: FAMILY

      In the next four weeks, I would like to focus on what I am thankful for. It is in no particular order but is coming from the heart. In the past several years, I feel that the Thanksgiving Holiday has become "The Rodney Dangerfield of holidays." It gets absolutely no respect. This past week I was appalled when as I was watching television, a Christmas commercial came on. A young lady was brought outside with her eyes covered to discover someone bought her a brand new Lexus. Christmas music was playing during the commercial. Seriously? Why is it that as a country we ignore an amazing holiday like Thanksgiving and try so hard to push Christmas right after we go trick or treating? I worked retail in 2015 at Kohl’s and had to work Thanksgiving night. I was amazed how many people were there at the doors at 6 p.m. and came charging in like "The Running of the Bulls!" Trust me! Very soon you will see department stores opening the day before Thanksgiving and all day Thanksgiving day. It’s just my opinion!

      Okay, so now that I got that off my chest, let me share with you what I am thankful for in installment number one….MY FAMILY

      I am the lone family survivor still living in New York on Long Island. I drive on the Long Island "Disstressway" 6 days a week. I am here mainly because my children live here and hope to one day leave for greener pastures (unless of course the Lord opens a door for me at a church). My family all live in Pennsylvania. My Mom, My sister, brother in law and my 3 nephews. My brother, my sister in law and my nephew. Being on staff at SGT, I only really got to see my family during Thanksgiving and around Christmas time. Being a Pastor I work on Sundays obviously so getting off for holidays was always rough. Since I resigned at SGT, I have had more opportunities to see my PA family, although not as much as I would like to. So with all that I said, I want to share that I am very grateful for my family.

     My Mom: I am thankful for a godly Mom who prays for me and supports me through thick and thin. She told me if I ever need someone to talk to she is always there. Thank you Mom for your love, support and prayers. You’re the best!

     My brother Mike, sister in law Monica and nephew Jared: I am thankful for my brother who I will have to say has always been my best friend. He is also a huge help as he is a CPA and has helped me with taxes and the challenges of the IRS. I am thankful for his wife Monica who is a big support to Mike. Since I resigned at SGT I have been privileged to get to know my nephew Jared more. Not seeing him a whole lot I know he really didn’t know me but now when I walk into his house he gets excited when he sees me. That blesses my heart!

     My sister Paula, brother in law David and my nephews Josh, Seth and Zach: I am thankful for my sister who may not realize it but always says the right thing to me. So does her husband David. I know they pray for me and are always encouraging. I am also grateful that I have gotten to know my nephews and wish I could see them more. I know the three of them will do well in life!

     My two youngest children Tyler and Kassie: I am very proud of my kids and know they will go far in life. My youngest daughter Kassie wants desperately to be an actress and is praying for her next big break. She is amazing on stage and is presently in 3 plays! My son Tyler has come a long way as I know he struggled in school but he too loves the theater and does an amazing job. He also has a great sense of humor. My prayer for my two oldest children Jordan & Kaylee is for reconciliation. I am not giving up and I’m praying for a healing in our relationships.

     Well, that’s my installment for the week. Until next time!

EXERCISE

 

     As a kid I loved sports and loved playing hockey, football, baseball, basketball and playing tennis. I loved riding my bike as well. Like any normal kid growing up on Long Island, I dreamed of hitting homeruns like Reggie Jackson, throwing a touchdown pass in the Super Bowl like Kenny Stabler, making a save as a goalie in the Stanley Cup Finals like Eddie Giacomin or scoring a basket like Walt Frazier. I even had the dream of being a professional tennis player but my dreams were shot when I tried out for the High School Tennis team and got cut. The reason? My tennis racquet broke! How embarrassing! If my Dad bought me a Wilson racquet instead of the K-Mart one maybe I would be a Wimbledon Champion? Well…let’s just go with definitely not! However, I learned at a young age the importance of exercise and taking care of your body, even though I was always a tall, skinny kid!

      In the past eight years, I have become a big proponent of exercise. It started for me in the spring of 2011. With my busy schedule as a pastor and trying to support my family, I didn’t even know what a gym looked like. The extent of my exercise was shooting baskets with the preteens on Wednesday nights, playing indoor soccer with them and my favorite, playing hockey. The rest of the week I did absolutely zero. My biggest weakness was drinking soda. My favorite beverage besides coffee was a Pepsi. I would make frequent stops to the SCS Teachers lounge for my daily dose of Pepsi Cola. This once skinny kid was starting to gain weight! I got up to 244 lbs! It wasn’t until someone who I respected called me "Big Daddy" that I had my wake up call. Although they were trying to be funny, I didn’t take it that way so I decided to do something about it. Never in a million years did I ever think I would have a weight problem (especially those of you who knew me before 1992). It was time for me to get exercise! But how? When would I have time to run to a gym? It then dawned on me that my best bet was to go running. But where? How long? Was I insane?

      It all began for me on a beautiful June morning. I decided to wake up at 5:30 a.m. before the kids were up and were getting ready for school that I went for my first run. I ran from my back yard through the church parking lot and around the baseball field once then back home. I thought I was going to die! When I made it to my back deck I thought I was going to pass out. I realized I had to start somewhere! As motivation on my laptop I created an exercise file I called "Big Daddy" as motivation. I was determined to lose weight! One day at church I mentioned to a guy named Andy about my new running fascination. He and a guy from Island Christian Church who was also a fellow children’s pastor named Phil joined me. After a few years of running I was up to running a little under 7 miles! Of course I was always in the rear when we finished since Andy and Phil are much younger than I am. I was able to get my weight down to 215 lbs. It felt great and running gave me a lot of energy during the day. We even ran in the winter! One time it was 10°!

      After I resigned from Smithtown Gospel Tabernacle I went into a depression and worked crazy hours so for about 2 years I did very little by way of exercise and trust me, I felt the distance. When I worked for TruGreen in 2015, we were required to knock on doors so I walked about three miles a day! Again, being very busy I was not able to join any gym. As a prize, because our TruGreen Company in Yaphank, NY won the sales competition, I won a bicycle! When I moved to Port Jefferson Station later that year, I started riding my bike. I also joined a gym, Planet Fitness. Today, I try to exercise as much as I can. Although I don’t go for runs much, I do go for walks along with going to the gym, I occasionally ride my bike and I also purchased a Simply fit board.

      I believe we should all take care of the bodies God gave us. I am a huge fan of exercise. I realize that I am certainly not an amazing athlete and I don’t plan on looking anything like Arnold Schwarzenegger in his prime. I do feel that exercise gives us energy every single day. There are some days after working a gazillion hours that the last thing I want to do is either go for a walk or go to the gym. But I realize that I do need to take care of the body God gave me.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK EVERYONE!!