Completely and Utterly Ruernt

This . . .
Sometimes something happens to a person
that ruins them in a good way.
Maybe an apple pie made by your grandmother.
It was so good, that it ruined you from ever
enjoying any other apple pie as much
as those made by your grandmother.
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That . . .
In the south, this  word is sometimes pronounced ruernt.
"I used to be able to sleep on the ground just fine,
but my wife bought this feather bed and now I'm ruernt.
Can't sleep on the ground any more . . .
I am ruernt, completely and utterly ruernt."
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This is That . . .
Salvation comes from God,
thru Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit.
No religious institution or church can do anything
apart from the power of God.
A power encounter from God is needed.
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That's what happened to my friend Rick.
He was completely strung out on drugs,
complely lost and completely without any hope.
But then, he had a powerful encounter of the Holy Spirit.
He was completely saved, healed and set free . . . in a moment.
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That is what all of us need.
An encounter with God;
That changes what we believe about Him;
That ruins us; That makes us know His love;
That makes us realize our sin and our need of a savior;
That causes us to respond with repentance which leads us to
love Him with all of our heart, soul and mind.
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This is my prayer for me, for you,
and all of our family and friends
Oh, that we would all be ruernt by the power of God.
Completely and utterly ruernt.

Puke Green Polyester Spandex Suit

This . . .
I just bought a bag of oranges.
They were a beautiful color of orange and Texas ripe.
So I thought.
Actually the plastic bag was tinted beautfiully orange;
The oranges were green when I took them out of the bag.
The bag should have said . . .
Texas greens - not ripe at all.
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That . . .
I'm not much on government regulations,
but here is one I wish they would insist on
If a can of some thing has no salt added,
it should have to have a puke green label on it and say,
DON'T BUY THIS! IT HAS NO SALT ADDED!
And it tastes PUKEY!
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This is That . . .
“You are the salt of the earth; but if the
salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?
It is then good for nothing but to be thrown
out and trampled underfoot by men.
Matthew 5:13
Don't want to walk around wearing a
puke green polyester spandex suit.
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Many Have Said Yes, But Did Not Do It

This . . .
Had a great time in KC this past weekend at
the IHOP Prayer and Prophecy Conference.
Met my son Elliott's fiance, Megan for the first time.
She is absolutely delightful. Beautiful inside and out
and a wholehearted believer in Jesus.
Also went to a football game with a high school friend
and watched her daughter march in the band.
It was a very refreshing and really fun evening.
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That . . .
It was impressed on me at the conference to search
God for the next step.
Not  the grand scheme,
but just the next first step of what God would have me do.
The answer was the same as what he most often tells me and
anyone seeking to know what He would have us to do.
Almost a cliche if I know what that word means.
Read the Bible and Pray.
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This is That . . .
Now I read my Bible and pray already, but God would say to me,
" I know you do, but seriously now . . ."
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In 1982, God invited Mike Bickle to be part of a
young adult movement that would touch the ends of the earth."
His immediate response was, "YES, Lord!"
Then God said to him,
"Many have said yes to me, but did not do it."
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Here I am saying yes again.
Don't want to be one of the many who
said yes, but did not do it.
Help me Holy Spirit.

Intercessional Missionary Farmers

This . . .
The shoe bomber is threatening to starve himself to death in prison.
All righty then.
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That . . .
What if instead of saying the southeast, we said the eastsouth?
Or the eastnorth? Try saying Blue Valley West North
Just saying it that way creeps me out.
Gives me the ebeejeebies.
,
This is That . . .
Going to KC this weekend for a conference at IHOP.
Looking forward also to meeting
my son Elliott's finance, Megan Mayo.
She is in KC right now, but will soon join Elliott in Vermont.
They're going to get married and be
Intercessional Missionary Farmers.
As I used to say in my hippie days - Far Out!
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To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul

This . . .
I went to exercise at the gym after work today.
There was a lady there working out,
and at about twenty til six she asked me,
"Do they close at six?"
"Yes they do", I said.
Her response,
"Darn, I won't have time to finish my workout!"
So she left.
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That . . .
The first time I became aware of Psalms 25,
was when my daughter, Tarah, shared it with me.
I was hurting. She was lifting me up by sharing
this prayer to bring water in the midst of a dry land.
Fond memories of Tarah and me and Jesus
driving across Arkansas in her Saturn.
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This is That . . .
To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul.
O my God, I trust in You;

Let me not be ashamed;
Let not my enemies triumph over me.
Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed;
Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause.

Show me Your ways, O LORD;
Teach me Your paths.
Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
On You I wait all the day.

Remember, O LORD, Your tender mercies
and Your lovingkindnesses, For they are from of old.
Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions;
According to Your mercy remember me,
For Your goodness’ sake, O LORD.

Good and upright is the LORD;
Therefore He teaches sinners in the way.
The humble He guides in justice,
And the humble He teaches His way.

Shaking

This . . .
Hank Williams, Jr. was obviously comparing
President Obama with Netanyahu.
Boehner should be livid.
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That . . .
I run a print shop.
Someone called today and asked, "Do you do printing?"
I said, "Yes we do."
Then they asked, "How much is it?"
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This is That . . .
Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
John 1:29
I've been meditating on this one.
Yes, Jesus died on the cross for the remission of sin.
That's a powerful truth, available to all who believe,
but there is still sin in the world, and this scripture says
that Jesus is going to take it away.
God's plan is for Jesus to take away (remove) sin from the earth.
How's He going to do that?

Crankin' It Back Up

This . . .
So I was thinkin' about re-activating my "This is That" blog.
I thought, what if 25 people were to ask me to start blogging again.
Would I do it? I think so.
What if ten people asked? Probably.
What if only one person asked me to bring back "This is That"?
One did, I would, and so I am.
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That . . .
I like to remove my credit card really slowly.
It just seems like the right thing to do.
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This is That . . .
IHOP worship leader - Justin Rizzo

I Like This

Irish Selah from Justin Rizzo on Vimeo.

After 40 Years . . .

This . . .
OK this is pretty funny.
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That . . .
I played in a State Basketball Championship Tournament
40 years ago.
Got new socks for the first game - we won.
So I didn't wash the socks and wore them for the second game.
We won again.
After two wins, no way was I going to wash those socks.
We won the championship game 52-50.
It was an undefeated 25-0 State Championship season.
I tied the socks in a knot and have
kept them for forty years . . . never washed.
.
So I had the socks out looking at them the other night.
After all these 40 years, the sweat from that
state tournament was still in those socks.
Left them beside my bed.
>
This is That . . .
Mom washed them.
Had them neatly laid out on the bed.
What a great (but funny) mother I have.
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Jerry James' First Basketball Game In Life

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This . . .
When I was little, I didn't have a basketball goal.
I made a small goal out of hangers and yellow yarn,
and nailed it up above the garage door.
I used a really light half size ball.
There was a flat roof over the garage,
and the ball wound up there quite often.
I would climb up the clothesline pole,
get the ball and climb back down.
I did this over and over and over.
.

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That . . .
I didn't realize it, but our neighbor across the street
was watching all of this take place, day after day.
He was a retired doctor??? and never seemed very friendly,
so I was suprised when he came over one day
and asked if I would like for him to put a goal up for me.
Well YEAH!
He took me to his garage and showed me a real
goal with a real backboard. Unbelievable.
Wow, this standoff neighbor was becoming my best friend.
I was so thankful, and even though I can't even remember his name,
I will never forget that wonderful act of kindness.
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This is That . . .
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Love thy neighbor.
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Acts of kindness are a really good thing.
On December 3, 1964 I wrote on a calendar . . .
Jerry James' first basketball game in life!
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Colby High School All Class Reunion

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This . . .
Grandma mowed the grass today.
She did an excellant job, it looks great!
No, wait a minute. What was I thinking?
That was me that mowed.
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That . . .
Somethin' wierd is going on in the WalMart parking lot.
The past couple of times I've been there,
someone has moved my car while I was inside.
I mean it's just not where I parked it,
so I have to wander around trying to look like
I'm not lost while pushing the button thing
to make the lights blink.
Whoever is doing this . . . it's not funny.
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This is That . . .
My 40 year high school class reunion is this week
I've been waining nostalgic. Kind of fun . . .
no wait again - I hate it.
Makes my heart hurt.
I'll be heading for Colby, Kansas on Thursday.
It's been 40 years since I have seen most of my classmates.
YIKES. I hope everyone remembers to wear clothes.
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Is it something? Or is it not.

/
This . . .
Trust in the Lord with all your heart.
Lean not to your own understanding.
Acknowledge Him in all your ways,
And He will guide your path.
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That . . .
Is it something?
Or is it not something?
God knows . . . that's good.
I don't . . . that's frustrating.
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This is That . . .
Set my feet high on a rock,
and establish my coming and going.
Do that God.
Do that high on a rock thing.
I think my furniture would look pretty good up there.
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Basketball, Bean Bags and The Backstroke

This . . .
I remember playing basketball with my boys as they were growing up. I had an uncanny skill of making amazing shots and it was fun amazing them.
I'd be going by when they were playing and I'd say,
"Here you go, one shot".
Then I would stand on the sewer manhole cover about thirty feet out.
I made more than I missed. It was called, "The sewer shot".
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That . . .
I went thru a time of letting them win.
Then they got better and I got older.
One day, Nathan beat me one on one - straight up.
I gave it all I had and lost a bit of pride,
but gained a measure of pride as well.
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This is That . . .
My son Elliott is here visiting this week, and he brought a backyard game of the bean bag variety. In days gone by, I would beat him near every time at stuff like that.
I think I might be related to a bean bag.
We went for the best out of two games for the world championship.
Long story short - I am not the world champion.
Bummer.
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My daughter Tarah was never very competitive.
She was on the swim team and did every stroke beautifully, but didn't care much about winning or losing.
I remember her racing the backstroke once.
She finished in the middle of the pack, got out of the water and asked me,"How did I look?"
"You looked beautiful", I said.
And she did.
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Carts, Ladders and IHOP

This . . .
I went to Walmart with my daughter-in-law Amy one time.
When we got back to the car with our stuff, I didn't take the cart back to the cart place. She said that putting the cart back was one of her pet peaves.
One of my pet peaves is not putting the cart back.
My Dad always said that if you took the cart back to the store, you would make the "cart guy" lose his job. He didn't want the guy to lose his job for lack of work.
What do you do when confronted with two opposing pet peaves.
I took the cart back to it's proper spot, because making Amy happy is very important to me.
Sorry mister walmart cart guy, hope you can find another job.
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That . . .
We have had a wooden 12 foot ladder at the shop for a long time.
Back in 1980 it was falling apart.
Good friends Max and Dora came to visit Mom and Dad.
Max is a longtime carpenter, and so he fixed up the ladder pretty good.
I started using the ladder for taking pictures about 25 years ago.
Football teams, reunion groups, graduating classes, etc.
Many, many photographs have been made from atop that ladder.
Everyone around would always ask if that ladder was safe (it was pretty wobbely)
Many times, several concerned for my safety would gather around and hold the ladder, saying things like, "Oh, My!"
We used that same ladder today to take a photo of the MHS Football team.
Taylor climbed to the top and took the picture, I held it steady at the bottom and said, "Oh, My!"
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This is That . . .
The International House Of Prayer (IHOP) began 24/7 Praise, Worship & Intercession on September 19, 1999 in KC.
They will celebrate their ten year anniversary on the week-end of September 19 next month.
I am hoping to be able to go,
to review their 30 year prophetic history, ten years of 24/7 worship and intercession, and to hear the vision of what is yet to come.
It is all about Jesus . . .
His love for us and His plans to come rule and reign over us and the planet.
I want to be ready and help others to be ready as well.
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The Biggest Day

This . . .
A really cold, really good watermelon, is really good.
On my way home last night, I had a watermelon in the passenger seat.
My car kept beeping, warning that the watermelon didn't have a seat belt on.
Obviously, a watermelon is not a person.
What a dumb car.
On the other hand I guess an accident could cause the melon to projectile thru the front window and strike an unknowing person in the head.
Maybe that's what the car was thinking?
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That . . .
Try to think of the most important day or days of your life.
Being born is pretty big.
I received Jesus when I was five - really big.
I can think of several noteworthy days in high school, sports, etc.
The day I got married was certainly important.
My children's birthdays.
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This is That . . .
The biggest day for each of us?
Seeing Jesus face to face.
Looking into his eyes and realizing how loving, merciful and kind he is.
And then fully knowing our missed opportunities to live a life more devoted to Him.
I believe it will be a great and wonderful day, but also a day of regret.
Why didn't I live a life more devoted to Him and the desires of his heart?
I know how much He desires my heart to be wholehearted towards Him.
The minutes, hours, days, months and years go by.
Good intentions, but much time wasted.
Oh, that I would love Him more and more.
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What about you?
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Beer Summit

This . . .
I had a girl helping me print t-shirts today.
I figured out we were printing four shirts every two minutes.
So I said to her, "If we can print four shirts every two minutes, how many can we print in 40 minutes?"
She thought about it for a little bit and then said,
"Quite a few."
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That . . .
My mom had a pacemaker put in and the whole ordeal zapped her strength and caused a considerable amount of confusion.
She has been staying at Woods of Monticello in a medicare bed for the past couple of weeks to aid in her recovery.
I've been able to bring her home every evening for a few hours.
Last week I brought her home each evening just to help her.
This week I've been bringing her home each evening to do the dishes.
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This is That . . .
She's coming home on Saturday.

No Pants and A Pace Maker

This . . .
One of my favorite comments from the 9 yr. old
baseball tournament in Magnolia.
"Madilyn. (A two year old) MADILYN!
Madilyn . . . get out of the trash!"
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That . . .
I opted to stay in Magnolia at a hotel Saturday night
to save a two hour drive to get home,
and then a two hour drive back Sunday morning.
My room was directly across from the vending and ice machine.
It was about 10:oo and most of the 9 year olds
had stopped jumping on their beds
and had settled down in their rooms.
I was on the bed in my underwear
and wanted to get some ice.
I decided that a t-shirt was mandatory, but
I wouldn't go to the trouble of putting my pants on.
Just a quick dash across the hall, get my ice,
and right back. No problem.
So I got the ice bucket and opened the door to find
no fewer than seven moms sitting outside my door
quietly visiting, and now all looking up at me.
One of them said, "Do you need some ice?"
I wanted to say, "No, I need my pants".
But what the heck, I just carefully stepped over
each pretty young mother, got my ice,
then crawled back into my room.
"Come quickly, Lord Jesus!"
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This is That . . .
My mom has had a hard week.
When I got home from Magnolia Friday night,
she was unable to get up out of her chair.
All her strength was gone.
She was weak, winded and confused.
Come to think of it, so was I.
Long story short, I took her to the hospital,
they transferred her to the Ark Heart Hospital
and put in a pacemaker yesterday.
My sister Jeanette and husband Brian
are bringing her home tomorrow.
I am praying that God would take away any spirit
of confusion, and that she would have clarity of mind.
Please say a prayer for her.

Enid Valentine

This . . .
is written by Enid Valentine.
Preserving A Generation.
http://babies-live.blogspot.com/
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That . . .
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WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT ME NOW?
By Enid
What do you think of Me when you fall into trials of various kinds?
What do you think about Me when your prayer doesn’t seem answered?
What do you think about Me when you can’t seem to overcome depression though you fast and pray and fight and fight?
What do you think about Me when your closest friend has forsaken you, when your father has abandoned you?
What do you think about Me when you’re still single after so many years?
What do you think of Me when you’ve lost your job?
How about when you couldn’t raise support or the mission field didn’t work out and you felt like a failure?
What do you think about Me when your pastor was exposed of secret sins?
What do you think about Me when the people you most loved and trusted were the ones who hurt you?
What do you think about Me when your adoption doesn’t go through?
What do you think about Me when your baby doesn’t live?
When your spouse abandons you?
What do you think about Me when you just faithfully press on and on no matter what, it just gets dryer and dryer, colder and colder; now what are your thoughts about Me?
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This is That . . .
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I’ll tell you what I think about you…
You are the ones I was dreaming about before the foundations of the earth were laid.
My dance over you began when you said, ‘yes’ to Me,
when you first said my Name, and I am singing over you even now.
My song is about that place in your heart that never gives up,
that never forgets, no matter how hot the flame,
no matter how fiery the trial.
As My eyes search the earth I see you standing at the foot
of that mountain, you are so small in comparison.
You continue to say yes to Me, although you
have no human ability to endure these things.
All you have is Me. Oh how you move Me!!
I know you are dust, I know you are looking through a glass darkly.
Don’t you understand how much it means to Me when you choose
to love Me, the One who you cannot see?!
I know that you cannot see Me, yet you love Me!
OH MY BEAUTIFUL ONES!!!
Believe Me when I say, you move My heart
by just choosing to love Me in the trials.
You could’ve walked away when you saw the mountain,
you could’ve given up when I didn’t come immediately,
but I choose to try your love, TO MAKE IT MORE VALUABLE!
Because I knew you’d come forth as gold.
You may not realize it because you sometimes feel weary,
but you’ve never given up. I count this as faithfulness.
I credit this to you as faithfulness.
This is what I think about you, My small ones,
standing at the foot of that mountain.
I see, I hear, and I know.
Not one single sigh has escaped My notice.
I promise, I promise, we WILL leap upon this mountain together,
though I tarry, I will come!
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“They that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength,
they will mount up with wings like eagles,
they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.”
Isaiah 40:31

Sleepin' for Lester Barrett

This . . .
Why did the chicken cross the road?
Because some goofball built a million dollar bridge.
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I spent the week-end selling t-shirts and
photographing a girls softball state tournament.
8 yrs old thru 16 yrs old. 32 teams.
A lot of girls. Really hot.
Go to http://www.taylorjamesdesign.com/
and click event login to see about 5,000 action photos.
The 8 year olds were particularly impressive.
They use a pitching machine.
One third base girl could continuely throw people out at first base.
One time the bases were loaded with no outs.
The batter hit a pop up to third.
Everyone ran. This third base girl caught the ball,
stepped on third (two outs) then threw the ball to first.
The runner got back by a half a step.
Almost an eight year old triple play.
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That . . .
Back in high school, I drove a tractor one summer
for a farmer (Lester Barrett) in western Kansas.
There were two tractors, I drove one and
an old farmer guy drove the other one.
He didn't talk much. Mostly just one word at a time.
First thing each day, "Morning".
When we would stop he would say,
"Hot", or sometimes, "Dirty" depending
on which he was thinking about the most.
As one tractor goes around it has a disc that
makes a mark for the other tractor to follow.
You just keep your right tire on that mark and all is good.
One morning I went to sleep and drove off into the middle of nowhere.
I woke up and got back in line,
but no way to hide this from the other guy.
When we stopped for lunch he asked, "Sleepin'?"
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This is That . . .
Jesus?