Category Archives: Steps Along This Journey

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What God Gives Me For Christmas

For Unto You (that's me and YOU!)

For Christmas, God gave me a gift!  A one time, yes you can have it gift!  I accepted my gift from God, and this has led to daily gifts.

Not just a present to open one day a year, but gifts given daily.  Gifts from a God to a little ole me.  Now that’s what I call a Christmas experience!!

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord  Luke 2:11

First things first.  One step at a time.  The first Gift from God that I accepted was His Son Jesus.  You see, along with choosing this gift, I chose to make Jesus my Saviour, my King.  I willingly decided that I will follow His teachings, read the Bible and follow His directions.  I accepted God’s Gift of Love into my life when I was about 10 years old.  I eventually accepted His desire to lead and guide me when  I was in my teens.  I FINALLY accepted His gift of wanting a TRUE LOVING RELATIONSHIP with me when I reached my 50’s.   (I’m a slow learner with a stubborn streak. aka a human being)

After receiving and accepting God’s Gift of Love, (Jesus), into my heart, I was given another gift.  I didn’t ask for it.  I really didn’t know about it, much less how it worked, or how to use it.  Didn’t matter.  There the gift was right there in front of me…..  With my name on it……. I opened it……. It said “Forgiveness”!   I realized I had been forgiven for what I had done wrong….. and I learned to forgive others.

There were other gifts that began to appear…….. peace, comfort, joy.  I realized that this Christian way of life was truly filled not with just words, but with a daily walk with an omnipotent, all powerful God.  And……each day there was another gift.

UHOH!  Confession time!!  I have a confession to make.  There were many days that the gifts given to me from God weren’t opened.  Some small gifts, some large……. and for whatever reason, I chose not to open them.  Seems strange that I would choose NOT to open a gift.  Honestly it appears that I was either selfish, doubting, stubborn, “in a bad frame of mind”, lazy, or just plain human stupid.  Somehow, some way, I decided not to open that day’s gifts.

But the gifts would keep coming.  No matter how bad, disrespectful, selfish, or I’ll say it like this……….no matter how bad a sinner I was being, there would still be another gift waiting for me to open.

So,……. if I can make my decision making, my thought process, my everyday walk in life line up with what Jesus wants and has in store for me, then these presents and gifts are mine on a daily basis.  Wheww, that’s a mouthful.  What I’m saying is this.  Follow Jesus.  His gifts to you are there every day.  You are the one making the decision to OPEN them.

Every day, there is a new gift from God.  Not because of you, but because of Him.  Each day another gift of abundant life, a closer walk with Him, a prayer (that goes both ways).  Each day a new beginning.  Each day is a gift from above.

What about you?  Are there too many gifts from God that you haven’t opened?Are there too many gifts from God just waiting for you to accept?  Yet, you won’t open them.  Why is that??

Look in the mirror in your home and you’ll honestly see why you don’t open God’s gifts to you.  Hey, go right now.  When you look in the mirror you’ll see the problem.  Nothing to be ashamed of.  You are just plain human stupid. (I should know.  I’ve got a mirror too…….in my house, in my car, mirrors everywhere).  We see our own human stupid weaknesses.  Other people are sometimes quick to point them out as well.  We aren’t good enough, we don’t understand, we don’t deserve, we can’t, we can’t, we can’t.  See, plain human stupid thinking going on right there.

Do you want to get rid of the “stinkin’ thinkin’ ” that keeps us from opening God’s gifts to us each and everyday?

First things first.  One step at a time.

For unto     _____your name_____    is born this day a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.  There, that’s the first gift opened.  Now be watching for all the other daily gifts given to you.  And tear into ’em.  Now that’s Christmas!!!  Wishing you a DAILY Merry Christmas!

See Ya!  Dan Ainsworth  wilderness preacher

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Detour Ahead

But God asks to go along? What's up with that?

Hey! You and I are a lot alike.  We plan our trip, make plans for today, even make a plan for the rest of our life,……..and then there it is.  Detour ahead!!

Detours????? That usually means wasted time.  Why am I having to take a detour anyway?  Is the bridge out ahead? (well,  I won’t be so upset if I find that out.)  Is it because of road construction? (and all those orange barrels that go along)  Is it for no reason at all? (meaning there is no reasonable explanation.)

But, this detour is a little different.  It’s a lot different.  It’s concerning a path that my life must take.  A detour that many of you are on.  The detour of a financial difficulty, a health problem, a season of waiting, a detour that you didn’t plan on taking but you HAVE TO GO in order to keep traveling on your journey.  Problems, problems…….yet someone is asking you can they come along.  Who wants to go with you on this detour from your plans and journey?  God.

It never dawned on me until the other night.  I was listening to The Noble Heart campfire conversation online.  John (shout out to John) was talking about his father passing away a few days ago. I can so relate to that.  He expressed that he felt like his life was being taken on a detour.  But,…….. then he said this.  He sincerely felt that God was asking him if he would allow him (God) to go with John while on this detour.  I was sensing the same thing in my detour of life.  I never truly thought on this, but God asks to be invited into our everyday lives.  You ever thought about it that way?   Have you ever sensed that God wants to be in your (each and every day) life?

Think about this with me.  We are traveling with our loved ones down the road and there is a detour.  But what if when you hit the detour you suddenly stopped, made everyone get out, then when you finish the detour, you load everyone back in.  Doesn’t make sense does it.

But think about this.  When we are on a detour because of finances, health, bad situations at school or work, we tend to TRY to handle it by ourselves.  We literally make everyone get out (including God) as we charge into the detour and all its expected frustrations and wasted times.  Detours give us unexpected problems, unexpected time delays, and well, they just get us out of our plans and routines.  Bummer, now I’ve also gotten rid of all my passengers on this detoured trip.  Double Bummer!!

In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.  Proverbs 16:9

Back to that God asking me…… and you.  Do you ever sense our God asking you if He can be with you everyday?? (even in and especially during detours in your life?)  Do you ever wonder why an all powerful, all knowing God wants to be involved with a human like you?  Difficult to explain, I know. But I sense that it’s because of His Love.  At the most difficult times, we humans tend to focus on the detour and all it’s problems on our plans.  We then make everyone “get out of the car”.  Silly humans!

I’m going to let my Lord and Saviour go with me on this detour.  He will no doubt show me some things as we travel together.  Hmmm,… maybe even see and experience some things on this detour that wouldn’t be seen on the normal usual road.

Good luck on your journey (and those detours that will come).  Remind yourself there is an all knowing,all powerful, omnipotent Being that wants to tag along.  This detour may be just the thing needed for the two of you to truly get to know one another.

See Ya!  Dan Ainsworth wilderness preacher (On a major detour in life, with God right there with me!!!!)

 

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Dealing With Woodpeckers

When Your Heart's Being Torn Apart From the Inside

Woodpeckers!!!  A devil’s bird for sure right?  This destructive bird has not only come to my log home, but is actually INSIDE the house!!!  He is physically destroying a 2 by 6 piece of lumber.  Not a log, mind you.  Not a piece of wood on the outside of the house.  Nope, He flies into my house (windows are not installed yet).  C’mon bird.  You know there is nothing in a kiln dried factory machined piece of lumber.  No bugs to eat there.  No place to construct (or destruct) a hole to live in.  You are just using your talents and abilities to destroy.  I’m a big outdoorsman, a nature lover, and have a love for animals (and birds),  BUT,…… I have to stop you from destroying me and my log house from the inside out.

In today’s society, we hear a lot about how we must all get along,….. how we need to be tolerant.  I need to be tolerant of your beliefs, your way of life, your activities, your opinions, and your way of living your own life.  At the same time, you need to be tolerant of me.

Hey, just because I like Mississippi State football, or hunting, or eating cake mix raw, or that I refuse spicy foods,….. you have to be tolerant of me!  OK?

Or, because I am a believer in Christ, you can’t ask me to be tolerant of you and then you proceed to tear apart my Christian way of life.  If you want tolerance and acceptance and open-mindedness from me,…… well, shouldn’t this be a two way street from you too?

Back to ole woody woodpecker.  I’m tolerant of this creature.  I will actually put out a special bird feeder for him.  To make a bird feeder for woodpeckers (and lots of other birds as well), Take a log, drill lots of holes in it, and put peanut butter and suet in the holes.  They go crazy over this type of feeder.  I personally get a kick out of watching them.  Hard to understand that I love to bird watch (including woodpeckers)?  Well, you’ll just have to tolerate me tolerating the woodpeckers in my yard.

Here’s where I draw the line.  When the woodpecker that I tolerate at my bird feeder comes into my home and begins destroying me and my log house, it’s game on then.  Tolerance and acceptance does not mean that I allow you to destroy me (even if it’s just one peck at a time).

I’ll set up an owl decoy.  This usually works and scares them off.  A rubber snake set up in the window can deter them from staying.  A picture of a cat, wind chimes, blowing pieces of sparkly paper,……. and finally the BB gun.

How did I get rid of this particular woodpecker?  Well, remember I said that he was coming inside the house?  I installed the window through which he was flying in.  I also removed all labels from said window.  Shined it up until it was spotless and you could see through it like it wasn’t there at all.  I pictured this bird flying back to his area of destruction, except this time he’s got a big headache from flying into a pane of glass that wasn’t there before.

Can you picture that?  Bam!!  Woody woodpecker crashes into glass!  Dazed and confused, he flies off never to fly into that window again.  ‘, scuse me for a moment,………  bahahahahehehohohaha(snort) hhahahaaaa(snort)(cough)agghhhahah(gag)(choke)hohohehehhehahaha.  That’s funny I don’t care who you are!  I also laugh at videos of squirrels on bird feeder, or dogs and especially cats falling down!!!!  Got a problem with that?  Then you need to be more tolerant of us folks that enjoy a good laugh.

 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.  2 Timothy 1:7

This subject of being tolerant is a sticky subject I’ll agree.  This world needs more understanding (from all sides).  The world needs more love (God’s Love).  I have chosen to tolerate.  I will tolerate to the point of being uncomfortable (with myself).  But Christ living in me is (my window).  I will see the world through Him.  I will see the world as He sees, and He will also protect me.  This relationship with Jesus Christ that I have is very personal.  It’s not just looking at the window (Christ), but it’s allowing the “window” to let me see a view of the world as He sees it.  It’s also allowing “the window” to protect me from the world (cold, wind, storms,……… and woodpeckers!)

(Window where woodpecker formally came in)

See Ya!!  Dan Ainsworth wilderness preacher