Praying for Dad and praising God for him!

Just wanted to let you all know to keep Dad in your prayers, he is in the hospital because of a possible TIA, yesterday evening.
They can't test for it since a TIA by definition is a stroke that resolved it self shortly after accruing, leaving no traceable evidence of damage.
They are keeping him for observation and testing since the risk of another TIA or stroke is 50% more likely in the next 24 hrs following the TIA.
Our prayer is that is wasn't even a TIA and that he'll be released soon with a clean bill of health and this is all just for precaution sake!

Holiday Cleaning & Decorating

My sister Lyndsae is offering house cleaning and decorating services for the holidays!
If you could do with a good cleaning and/or a boost in your decoration department or know someone else that could, please let us know!
Thank you for spreading the word this holiday season!

HGMM Prayer & Leadership/Discipleship Accountability Group

Do you have a desire to grow in your personal walk with the Lord? Do you feel like you're the only one making the hard choices and committing to follow God, even if it means you'll be different? Do you have a desire to be used by God and serve Him daily?

It is helpful as Christians to gather together and pray for one another, encourage, listen and share what is going on in the lives of fellow Christians! Some of us find ourselves standing alone with friendships or accountability in our Christian life. Our schedules are busy and finding time to make it to a fellowship, bible study or church service, if available, is rarely possible as well as sometimes intimidating!
Because of all of these reasons and the broad reach of people that HGMM(Higher Ground Ministry Mission) touches we believe we are being led to start a prayer and accountability group via conference calls twice a month! The calls will be on the 1st and 3rd Friday evenings of every month, from 7:30 to 8:30 PM CST.
The first 30 minutes will be a time of prayer and sharing with one another and during the second 30 minutes we will go through different Discipleship/Leadership books! You will not need to own the book in order to join in on the discussions as they will be held in a way that all attending will be able to easily join in the discussion. Outlines on the chapter for each week will be available though a link to an (online or outline) folder, for anyone to download that is involved in the calls. Recordings will be available of the discussions online for those that are unable to makes that week!

Our first call this Fall will be this Friday, Nov 18th at 7:30-8:30 PM CST and we will be working through the book "Good to Great in God's Eyes" by Chip Ingram. To join us just call our conference dial-in number: (712) 432-0900 code: 434913.

I am looking forward to sharing this time with each of you that can make it!

Why You Need to Fail - by Derek Sivers

Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action

Understanding how to influence those around you!

Academy Transforms Boys into Men

Academy Transforms Boys into Men

What Guys Think About Modesty - (Modesty Part II)

The Door Backwards

Correct Horseback Riding Position.mpg

The warrior is a child

Kim Boyce - Not Too Far From Here

Biblical Manhood, Part 1

Biblical Womanhood, Part 1 of 8

The "Christian" Dating Game: Part 2

The "Christian" Dating Game: Part 1

Update: UT Tyler engineering student dies in shooting accident - CBS 19 - The Eye of East Texas News -

Update: UT Tyler engineering student dies in shooting accident - CBS 19 - The Eye of East Texas News - 

A Walk of Faith and Love

HGMMPromo.wmv

Paul Washer - LISTEN TO THIS!!!!

Homeschool Dropouts

Was My Brother in the Battle

Security vs. Insecurity

By: Brystol Reckner

There are two types of responses to insecurity! Those that can’t take praise, though they crave it more than anything. They won’t stop putting themselves down and saying they are not worthy of praise, but at the same time hoping others would disagree with them!

On the other side there are those that can’t stop praising themselves long enough to allow another to do it for them! They deeply desire the praise that they themselves prevent by their own pride!

Insecurity is often caused by the lack of expectance and praise from as little as one person in their life and often a person from early on in their life! They strive to please that person so hard and in their own eyes fail!

What is the solution to this problem, how does an insecure person overcome their insecurity? This is a lot easier said than done and is truly a work of God in their life. We so often know the truth that will set us free from the bondage that we fall into, yet we choose to remain a prisoner to it because we cannot see it, or if we see it we can’t admit to ourselves or others that it is there! Even if we get as far as seeing and admitting it we often continue to try in vain to work out our own righteousness and problems for ourselves, instead of allowing it to be God’s holy and glorious work in us!

“Insecurity in expecting from people what only God can provide.”

After recognizing and admitting to ourselves, God and others. We must then transfer our expectations that we have laid upon those that have fail us and transfer it to the one that cannot fail! This I find cannot be done in our own strength, but only after we identify what the core root of the insecurity is, and then yield our rights to having those expectation fulfilled by others. Learning to trust in our Savior who is the only one who can truly love, embrace and except us unconditionally, just as we are! Become content with His over powering love will our hearts find true freedom from the insecurity that imprisons our lives! Once our eyes are truly off those that we feel we can never please and we are able to except God’s love for us, then and only then, can we find true freedom!

Why is this important? I’m sure there are numerous answers to this question, but one I have found most recently is that insecurity will hinder or prevent forward motion and growth in our life! Think of it, if I ask you to stand on top of a horse, if you accomplish this feet it will require great trust and balance on your part. Why because of the insecurity of this position, though in a short amount of time I can get most students to perform with little training or time invested! What good has this accomplished by having done this? So they are standing there on top the horse by them self, but if the horse shifts its weight or begins moving forward the child will quickly and almost involuntarily return to their original seated positions! So we’ve gain little, due to the lack of security of this position. Though it is possible and you may even have seen riders running around an area at break neck speed standing on top of their horses. Why is this? Because they have learned the lessons in order to master the balance and security that it requires at this speed!

So why have a gone through the effort of pointing this out? Because I believe it can be used as an illustration of our lack of ability to move forward and accomplish anything in our life if we are insecure! Insecurity must first be overcome, before we can lead out and accomplish the goals and tasks the Lord has in store for us! This is not accomplished without risk and pains when we lose are balance. But that is okay without risk there is no growth! Trusting God makes the difference between insecurity, in making a difficult decision and maturity of knowing your secure enough to make the hard call. The harder we lean on God, the more stable we will become! Only a secure leader can be a servant leader.

Where are you going? Are you secure? Are you a servant leader? If not, why not?



Nick Vujicic's Inspirational Talk-Life Without Limbs 1 of 4

Wait

~Wait~

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried:

Quietly, patiently, lovingly God replied.

I plead and I wept for a clue to my fate,

And the Master so gently said,

"Child, you must wait."

"Wait? You say, wait!" my indignant reply.

"Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!

Is Your hand shortened? Or have You not heard?

By faith, I have asked, and am claiming Your Word.

My future and all to which I can relate

Hangs in the balance, and YOU tell me to WAIT?

I'm needing a "Yes", a go-ahead sign,

Or even a "No" to which I can resign.

And Lord, You promised that if we believe

We need but to ask, and we shall receive.

And Lord, I've been asking, and this is my cry:

"I'm weary of asking! I need a reply!"

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate

As my Master replied once again,"You must wait."

So, I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut

And grumbled to God, "So I'm waiting...for what?"

He seemed, then, to kneel

And His eyes wept with mine,

And He tenderly said, "I could give you a sign.

I could shake the heavens, and darken the sun.

I could raise the dead, and cause mountains to run.

All you seek, I could give, and pleased you would be.

You would have what you want~

But, you wouldn't know Me.

You'd not know the depth of My love for each saint;

You'd not know the power I give to the faint;

You'd not learn to see through the clouds of despair;

You'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there;

You'd not know the joy of resting in Me;

When darkness and silence were all you could see.

You'd never experience that fullness of love

As the peace of My Spirit descends like a dove;

You'd know that I give and I save, for a start,

But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart.

The glow of My comfort late into the night,

The faith that I give when you walk without sight,

The depth that's beyond getting just what you asked

Of an infinite God, who makes what you have last.

You'd never know, should your pain quickly flee,

What it means that, "My grace is sufficient for thee."

Yes, your dreams for your loved one

Overnight would come true,

But, Oh, the Loss! If I lost what I'm doing in you!

So, be silent, My child, and in time you will see

That the greatest of gifts is to get to know Me.

And though oft' may My answers seen terribly late,

My most precious answer of all is still, "Wait."

Now as I sit, pondering my fate,

I trust that the Lord will help me to wait.

~Author: Unknown

Joni Eareckson Tada Hour of Power Message: May 3rd 2009.