I recently read a book by one of the professors that taught at the Art Institute of Atlanta where I attended and graduated. Unfortunately I had never had the luxury of being in one of his classes but had heard outstanding things about him concerning web design.

In Designing For Emotion Aarron encourages us to design for people and to go even as far as to design our website as if it were a person. Giving your website an appropriate and realistic persona can increase the enjoyment of people in their web experience. It’s emphasized through the book that people should not feel that they are using or interacting with a computer but rather a person. He sites several examples such as Mail Chimp, Wufoo, and many others that have implemented designs and techniques that promote positive emotional responses. These sites are not unique in their products but rather their experience and have created a solid and growing user base because of them getting “real” with their web product.

There is a lot more to learn from this book then what I’ve stated. What I’ve said is just what impacted me the most. There are many other points well supported that cover things such as aesthetics, creating surprise and anticipation, Interaction patterns much more.

I’m not going to give a star rating on this book. But, I would definitely say it is a must read for anyone who is interested in creating experiences that are going to make an impact and wants to create a more thoughtful and enjoyable designs or web product or anything for that matter..

What I suspected occurred but after adding some more tests to the line up I was amazed to find plain ol’ javascript (the stuff that jQuery is built on) ran about 40-50X faster in some browsers depending on what browser you were testing in. This really makes me question about how heavily dependent we are all on jquery and other libraries for some tasks.

Here are some pros and cons I could boil it down to.

jQuery Pros

• It is easier to write and you don’t have to know that much to learn how to use it.
• It is consistent across all browsers for the most part.
• After the initial jq script download your js files stay pretty small in weight and in length

jQuery Cons

• heavy library initial file download (I know most gzip it so it compress 20k or so)
• It chugs compared to plain javascript.
• some time work arounds have to be in place and you can become lazy and dependent.
• It’s Well documented and tested.
• the quickest way to type a command isn’t always the fastest speed wise for example http://jsperf.com/jquery-selector-perf-right-to-left/59

javascript in nude Pros

• No middle man so your talking straight to the browser or server.
• A lot quicker then jQuery
• You understand more whats actually going on (as a developer)

javascript in nude Cons

• Lengthy to write and heavy in file size.
• browser support inconsistencies for different parts of js. (end up killing 1 bird with 3 stones type of deal… jQ does this for you)
• Tons of research from many sources.
• super lengthy production time due to buggy-ness of multiple browser support.

That being said you could mix the two but that gets kind of messy. Especially when you are making HUGE scripts or applications. But is it worth the pay off? maybe. User experience wise. Yes! Development Time. Not so much! So really it comes down to your resources..

1. How much time… sometimes money do you have.

2. How knowledgeable or willing to research is/are the developer(s) building your script there are many things that make a script chug not just a library.

3. are you ready for a long term relationship because maintenance is going to be crazy if you go the js nude route.

it’s kind of a hard choice because 1 developer’s preference vs 10,000,000+ users experience can really make a huge impact on the whole product. makes you wonder how fast your heavily dependent js app would run if you went with js in the nude as opposed to your library of choice.

Here are some things I think that keep people coming back for more.

1. They give people what they want. As with any good site serve’n up content google is an all you can eat buffet rich in information. Usually brought to you in this order.

1. I. Relevancy
2. II. Highest Bidder
3. III. Popularity

It’s does get annoying sometimes of all the high bidders in the un-organic results at the very top of the list. But at least google is keeping them relevant and I think people make an exception because of this and don’t mark it against google. A lot of times when a site is popular it ranks higher and sometimes it is because this site may be an authority on the subject you are searching on and more then likely is very useful. But not always the case.

2. It’s so easy. type in whatever you’re thinking (and if you communicate like a normal human being) you will more then likely find what your looking for. “Georgia Weather…” , “how to build a website…” , “Why’s my pee orange?”. No offense to those of you googlely challenged.

3. They are more then a search engine They really do a good job of linking their products seamlessly into their search engine with out negatively affecting what they do best. They become a part of your life with out you realizing. Google maps… gmail… google hosted code… and any other app or service you use that is owned or run by google. I think this goes back to Relevancy providing OPTIONAL side products that are relevant to people.

There’s a lot to learn from google (not that they know it all). Some of the applicable items are:

• Firstly providing something of HIGH relevance to the person while at the same time not letting your high bidders crap up your site.
• Making your products and site so easy to use that people are able feel natural or effortless to access what they came to get from you.
• Providing optional RELEVANT products or services that they don’t feel like they HAVE to be a part of… by not shoving it in their face and telling them they need it… especially when it irrelevant.

A lot of this applies to life to not just building websites. ( ;

So a few weeks ago I saw a similar job board here

I e-mailed the site and asked them how they did it. All they told me was that they were using a plug-in and some custom coding… I already new that!!! lol. So they weren’t giving up their secrets of how to create a free job board.

So my search began. After a couple weeks I was finally able to find a solution at some random site… which I forgot to document I found it here… but that’s o.k. I will still share my secrets with you… (Don’t download their files just instal TDO Mini Forms and then follow the directions.)

The solution required using TDO Mini Forms. This plugin allows you to set up a form that allows any member or non member to create a post depending on the settings you set of course. Once the post is created all you have to do is change the status to published and the post is live.

So my process went something like this.

• Install WordPress 3.0
• Instal TDO Mini Forms
• Modify 2010 (the wp theme) loop.php, functions.php and other tweaks
• Style it in CSS

I was up and running. Check it out here SportsTrainingJobs.com.

Capabilities:

• Non-Member Users can posts jobs.
• Jobs are seperated into categories
• Search function targets only job posts

I wanted to experiment with jquery 1.4.1 so I started building a tool tip and just kept going with it. A few things before we get started.

DOWNLOAD THE DEMO AND FILES

• Uses the wonderful jQuery 1.4.1
• It does not use code in the bottom of your content
• hoverIntent (not the jquery plugin) NEW
• can set feature to stay open
• Can utilize JSON to insert code snippets for fancy tips NEW
• It use the rel and rev attributes
• works in all the popular browers (even ie6) NEW
• Can add plain text to the rev attribute.
• It’s w3c valid
• It’s SUPER easy!

Here are some examples:

Top Left
Top Right
Bottom Left
Bottom Right
Center Right
Center Left

OMG WAIT…

I forgot to tell you… You can put just about anything you can code into this tool tip (I tried an iframe and it worked great!) It is pretty powerful for a tool tip eh?

Live Links
Or Dead Links
Here is an img
Here is a vid
(you can link images to a tool tip too)

DOWNLOAD THE DEMO AND FILES

The Tricks

Basic Use

• add rel=”mytip” to any link you want the tip to work on.
• Just add your text/code to the rev attribute.

Advanced Use

• to set the width and location would look like this you can set all, some, or only one of these values: rel=”mytip [width:500px; height:300px; center right leaveopen get]” possible values here
• using get will cancel out the rev tag so make sure your id=”tip1″ has the same value as your JSON object ie ‘tip1′.
• to leave the tab open and insert a .closebutton just add leaveopen in the brackets
• you can add classes and attributes like you would in normal code.
• You can change the offset from the mouse in the JS
• You can modify the span wrapper to auto include something more if you want to do something fawn-cay.
• You can change the css on the .mytip class

experiment… what can you not do? Let me know your feedback or if you find some bugs. PLEASE because I don’t want to pollute the web.

Blessings,
Richard Lee

DOWNLOAD THE DEMO AND FILES

I decided to try and create a custom tool tip and it worked out pretty well. I had to utilize a funny attribute to make it work (the rev attribute… WHAT??? that’s what I said. go ahead check w3c ( ; )… But it Does. I just need to work on customizing the positioning. so if the browser isn’t wide enough or to pop out to the left instead of the right etc.

I am using a Google hosted jQuery 1.4 take a look below.

This is some Anchor Text Hover over it

you can make the link do nothing too! but I have a tip! just set the href to #

This is out it works

You must be careful with quotes ” ” you must make sure you use ‘ ‘ instead of ” ” use the opposite of what you are using for your attributes.

It works in all the browsers as far as I know… (I haven’t tested in chrome or opera though)

With this solution all you have to do is set the rel=”mytip” and then put whatever you want in the rev=”" attribute for your tip. It requires jquery 1.4, the code I wrote to make it happen, and then a .mytip class for css

you can view the source below this sentence to cut and paste the .js and .css (all of it i’m linking to googles jquery)

Blessings,
Richard Lee

1. It is easy to learn. WordPress is like learning to ride a bike, you can learn the basics and start off with training wheels and also learn how to do some cool tricks as you become more familiar with it’s capabilities. There is a wide spectrum when it comes to the capabilities of web users. Some people are afraid to touch a keyboard… some people are afraid to let others do things for them. WordPress is great for both! Because of it’s popularity there are a countless number of tutorials and resources that teach people how to use their WordPress blog / cms. If it is support you want, have no fear… there is plenty of it.

2. You can maintain it yourself. Have you ever wanted to make a lot of changes to your copy and you had to call your web guy… every other day. Well guess what? Not any more! you can maintain your own site with ease; not to mention you don’t have to pay the web guys for correcting your typos any more either, or to add a new page. WordPress empowers you to be more independent you can be as independent as you feel comfortable being with wordpress. You can upgrade, install plugins (enhancements for your website), and manage your content all on your own! WordPress has made this easier for you to do.

3. It’s Very Flexible. If you just want a blog, a website with a blog, or even a website without a blog… wordpress is a great choice. Also from a developing standpoint it is a lot more efficient and effective for achieving these goals. You can even incorporate some e-commerce features utilizing plugins that will help you sell your products. You can do just about anything you want.

4. Free plug-ins (enhancements) galore. There are thousands of 100% free plug-ins that allow you to do many things some of which are: easily displaying YouTube and videos, creating payment buttons for PayPal, a booking calendar, rotating testimonies in the sidebar, receive mail from forms filled out on your website, SEO ehancements, run polls, social networking tools / facebook / twitter… The list goes on and on. Best of all they are easy to integrate!
See all the WordPress plug-ins here

5. Its SEO Friendly. Who has a website that doesn’t want to get found? It is important for people to find your website! WordPress is extremely Search Engine Friendly there are a ton of features and plug-ins that you can utilize to help people find your website via the search engines. You can easily customize meta tags and title tags with out having to delve into the code. You can customize your urls / permalinks to include your key words. I worked for an SEO firm for a little while and we used wordpress for all of our sites. When I asked the owner why we used wordpress he said, “WordPress has always stomped the search engines… always has… always will”

WordPress is great I have been using it for over 2 years and it continues to get better! I encourage anyone interested in creating a website to use WordPress. If you are interested in a custom wordpress website please feel free to contact me.

I decided to remake my website yesterday and it took about all day after testing and debugging. I didn’t even have a concept I just changed the background and kept making changes until it look right. No planning, no compositions, just going with it. I really like the results and I feel it is more alive than my previous skin. I’m glad I stuck with my current layout because it took forever to code this site and I am really please how the make over went.

I don’t think this would qualify really as a redesign because I feel like you change the layout and recode a lot in a redesign. This is why I think it qualifies as a makeover because it is the same site/layout just with a different look.

Here is a how the previous site looked. I had a to dig around for a picture I should have just taken one before I started making changes but I guess I didn’t know I was going to do the redesign until about half way through lol.

(Click to Enlarge)

3. Ease of Use – It needs to be easy to use and to integrate into your website. (I have left websites because it looked sketchy on their e-commerce. Generally if your site stinks and so does your e-commerce solution I don’t buy from you plain and simple may sound mean but I can afford to take the risk.)

4. Protection – What happens when there are faulty charges or orders, or somone rips you off… Will there be reimbursement etc? (check out how they handle these things)

5. Security – How does the e-commerce company claim to protect / encrypt transactions and your sensitive information. Can they prove it?

There are an array of things to look out for concerning safety with your’s and other’s money on the web. Recently I ordered a product and the company double charged me for it, I find out it is their e-commerce solution and it seems to be a pretty popular situation and they are a pretty popular e-commerce company both with big companies but also with complaints about charges that are questionable. (It’s called DigitalRiver.com if you were wondering). Working as a web designer I want to know who your e-commerce solution is and if they are reliable… because you CAN get charged now a-days for just typing your cc info before you push any buttons some companies start processing ASAP and seem to give you a way to stop in the process but really they have already determined to charge you even if you cancel.

My point being I have been receiving much business from an audience that I wasn’t necessarily targeting for an array of reasons. A main one being I didn’t feel like I could compete with the local businesses search engine wise, Google mainly, so I didn’t think anybody would be able to find me. Well they did find me but not the way I thought.

There are some freelance companies that I use to bid on projects through and people tend to search on those databases and then contact me directly and they live with in a 20 mile radius. There is a lot of local business. I am trying to make my site more findable to local companies in Marietta Georgia or in Metro Atlanta area so that I might get more local business seeing that I have been getting a lot of it lately.

One thing to take away would be. market locally, and globally… Remember David and Goliath, it’s not about your competition it’s who you trust.

5 things you can do today to make your site a little bit more findable
(You could probably knock this out in a day or two)
1. Write your content then go back through and make sure you included key words in the content and headings that you know people would search for that are relevant. (just sprinkle them through out don’t pour them on… you can get penalized)
2. Use Key words and relevant text in the ‘title’ tag of the page, in your meta data ‘key words’ and ‘description’, and in your markup your ‘title’ and ‘alt’ attributes.
3. Create a Google XML Sitemap and submit it to google through webmaster tools… and Verify your website while your at it.
4. Submit your site to Yellow pages type sites, directories
5. Submit your site to other search engines mainly yahoo and msn.

There are a lot more in depth things you could do but at least you now have your foot in the door and are more findable. ]]> http://www.tdesignonline.com/working-globaly/feed 0 http://www.tdesignonline.com/buddypress http://www.tdesignonline.com/buddypress#comments Tue, 31 Mar 2009 02:10:59 +0000 richard http://www.tdesignonline.com/?p=921

WordPress has come out with buddypress it’s basically facebook. I recently interviewed with a company that was interested in creating an application like this for their clients. I hope they pick this up instead of trying to create their own app. I’m excited because clients are always wanting to create facebook like solutions and now I can help them create those with buddypress.

In order to use buddypress you must first install a version of wordpress MU. This is not your regular wordpress and you will probably need to download it and upload it manually (it’s not in your fantastico deluxe for those of you who install through your host) Here is a link to the wordpress MU… and here is the link to buddypress… have fun!

I am installing it soon and going to give it a test run and hopefully will be able to start offering it to my clients.

Her site is based off of wordpress so all the content is stored in a database on her host. Well I was visiting the site just to take a peak at it some more and I saw in big black letters: “Data Base Error…”. I have seen it before and it wasn’t a big deal the host was just having a problem and later on during the day the site was able to connect to the database the content was viewable.

I thought I would take a look on her host and check out the databases and see if I could fix it just in case something accidentally got broken or just to get a better idea of why this was happening and maybe I could fix it quickly. Soon enough I spotted exactly why it was happening because there were no databases! The ones we had stored 20+ pages of content in were mysteriously gone. Whether she accidentally deleted them some how, the host crashed, or it got hacked (which is very unlikely) it was all gone.

So my message to any one using a content management system or any application that draws from a database. You need to back it up regulary whether it be daily, weekly, or monthly depending on how often it is updated. Updating wordpress only take several minute depending on how much content you have.

To back up your content in wordpress 2.6 – in the admin panel go to manage then export.
To back up your content in wordpress 2.7 – go to tools then export.

But just as it is important to be ready for negative things and prepared to encounter them. It is also extremely important to be proactive and even more ready to the the things the Lord has called you. This is why this temptation has fallen upon you in the first place to distract you from what you were made to do… Have a relationship with your Creator, your God.

Ephesians 2: 1-10
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

I am starting to see I should approach each project the same and really think out the time and worst case scenarios before I make a commitment. I could end up eating a lot of hours as I have on a recent project. There is a difference between being competitive and just plain out cheap and quoting a low price in order to get the job. We will definitely learn our lessons on these types of commitments and the importance of considering what we are going to have to sacrifice.

This makes me think of a verse that has to do with really thinking about the price of be a Christ Follower.

Luke 14:28-30
“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’”

Jesus is sharing that people will have to pay a great price in order to follow him and it’s not going to be “fair” but it will be worth it. The sacrifice is not doing what you want to do any more, but dying to yourself and really surrendering your will to God.

A lot of times as a Christ follower we want the heaven and blessing part but are not willing to suffer the persecution nor are we willing to surrender our will to God’s will. It is important to consider and think about the price and the reward. Some may feel discouraged at first but if you think deeper the reward of Jesus is more than worth it. True followers take the persecution and will surrendering part but it is only by His spirit that we are able to stand firm and reap the benefits.

If you want to see it in action go here:
URL: www.tdesignonline.com/clickheat/
user: guest
password: myguest

So why see what your users are doing? Do you want to make the most out of their visit and make your content as accessible as possible? Then you will make it easy to find… by eliminating wasted space and or items or links that no one is even using. ie. My lighter box button at the top of my sidebar is moving to the bottom… why? no clicks. It’s not something that is usable at the moment maybe on another page or for someone who already knows about it otherwise it is wasting a valuable screen position.

If you don’t think usability is important maybe you should reconsider… God thought it important to make your body usable and the environment that you live in able to be manipulated and usable by you! It wasn’t by accident nor millions of years of evolution that your fingers are able to grasp around objects and your Brain is more powerful than any computer know to man. God made stuff we could use and if we love others like wise, we should make things that benefit and are usable too.
(created in His image) ( :

• Functionality:
• + Fading Transition
• + Screen Navigation (Next, Previous, Close, or the Actual Image)
• + Key Board Navigation (Left & Right Arrow, Space, Esc.)
• + Loop Through Images (after last image goes back to first image vice versa)
• + Insert Onscreen text descriptions below the image via link title attribute text
• + Insert title of the image via thumbnail alt attribute.
• + Customizable
• + NEW OPTIMIZED VERSION – brought to you by Frédéric MADSEN

I started searching for a light weight light box script that did not rely on a script library or frame work in order to help it function. I was not able to find one at the time that did not rely on a library… So I made my own. I have an economy host that does not support gzip so any large scripts I use my users will have to download them which can cause multiple seconds of page display delay.

The idea was obviously derived from light box2 and it works essentially the same way in all modern browsers ie6, ie7, ie8, safari, chrome, and firefox.  When JavaScript is off it degrades gracefully in that the photo is still accessible the experience just isn’t enhanced.

The Light weight File Sizes
8 kb – lighterbox.js
3.2kb – load.gif
0.9kb – lighterbox.css
0.3kb – overlay.png
0.2kb – prev.gif
0.2kb – next.gif
0.2kb – close.gif

It’s around 14kb – total!

The orignal “light box 2″ with scripts alone is 190kb…ouch. Remember your users are downloading multiples scripts on your server and every kb here and there adds up and people start leaving your site/content because your site is the one with the loading bar always half full. lol one script isn’t that big a deal but several scripts add up. Then there’s g-zip that’s another story.

Here is an example of How Lighter Box2 works.

below you will see the script along with several examples of how you can pick and choose to include or not include titles and descriptions.

Text works too…

1. The first thing you will do is download LighterBox2 Original and take the folder you extract from the zip file and drop it in the root directory where the files your users will be browsing are (where your index.html file is or index.php whatever you are using).

Also Try out the NEW even MORE OPTIMIZED version LighterBox2 brought to by Frédéric MADSEN (Succesfully tested on Chrome 5/6, Firefox 3, IE 7/8/9, Opera 10 and Safari 4/5)

* 4 files instead of 7 (-40%)
* 6.03Ko instead of 12.3Ko (-50%)
* JavaScript file less than 100 lines, 94 lines instead of 195 (-50%)

Also feel free to check out his other links w3c.html5.free.fr and My Tool Tip JS

2. Next you will insert a link to the Style Sheet right before the closing head tag like this


<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="lighterbox2/lighterbox2.css" /> </head>



3. then you will insert a link to the script right before the closing body tag like this. (It doesn’t have to be exactly before the body tag just make sure it is below the content where you are using the script or else it will not work.)


<script type="text/javascript" src="lighterbox2/lighterbox2.js" ></script> </body>



4. Lastly you will insert the “rel” attribute with a value of “lighterbox” on the anchor tags that you want to use lighterbox2 on and fill the “title” attribute with your descriptions that are linking to your larger image files like this, and for your thumbnails use the alt attribute of the thumbnail to store the title of the image.


<a href="images/bigPicture.jpg" title="Short description here" rel="lighterbox" >

<img src="images/thumbnailPicture.jpg" border="0" alt="us" />

</a>



YAY…Test it out!

If you find and bugs that I haven’t caught please let me know.

Blessings,
Richard Lee

You can also download
LIGHTER BOX 2!
NEW Both onscreen and keyboard navigation for galleries. Descriptions (AS MUCH AS YOU WANT) that will be displayed to the viewer… check it out.

I started searching for a light weight light box script that did not rely on a script library or frame work in order to help it function. I was not able to find one at the time that did not rely on a library… So I made my own. I have an economy host that does not support gzip so any large scripts I use my users will have to download them which can cause multiple seconds of page display delay.

The idea was obviously derived from light box and it works essentially the same way in all modern browsers ie6, ie7, ie8, safari, chrome, and firefox.. When JavaScript is off it degrades gracefully in that the photo is still accessible the experience just isn’t enhanced.

The Light weight File Sizes
4.4kb – lighterbox.js
2.4kb – loader3.gif
0.5kb – lighterbox.css
0.1kb – closebutton2.gif
0.3kb – overlay.png
7.7kb – total!

The orignal “ligh box” with script and all its friends are 16kb. So what? You wont say so what when your users are downloading multiples scripts on your server and every kb here and there adds up and people start leaving your site/content because your site is the one with the loading bar always half full. lol one script isn’t that big a deal but several scripts add up. Then there’s g-zip that’s another story. (with gzip compression on lighter box is like 1.093kb)

Here is an example of How Lighter Box works.
Text works too…

1. The first thing you will do is download the files and take the files from the folder you extract and drop them in the root directory. (not the folder but the files in the folder)

2. then you will insert a link to the script right before the closing body tag like this. (It doesn’t have to be exactly before the body tag just make sure it is below the content where you are using the script or else it will not work.)


<script type="text/javascript" src="lighterbox.js" ></script>

</body>



3. Next you will insert a link to the Style Sheet right before the head tag like this


<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="lighterbox.css" />

</head>



4. Lastly you will insert the “rel” attribute with a value of “lighterbox” on the anchor tags that are linking to your larger image files.


<a href="images/us.jpg" rel="lighterbox" >

<img src="images/ust.jpg" border="0" alt="us" />

</a>



YAY…Test it out!

If you find and bugs that I haven’t caught let me know please let me know.

If for some reason you can’t get it working, download these files and there is a test page in there and you can see how it is set up.

Blessings,
Richard Lee

These were pretty intense to consume all at once so I switched to mountain dew and eventually diet mountain dew in order to not consume as many calories drinking several of these a day. (I know to some of you this may not seem like much at all but it is the beginning of something bigger.) I am not consuming crazy amounts of caffeine daily but I am noticing how my body is becoming dependent upon it and just like any other drug that can affect the body it has severe affects.

I don’t think people realize how serious it is and they take it lightly because it is socially acceptable to consume large amounts of caffeine especially if you are a working person. I wanted to research addictions and I found this page which was helpful. I do not feel I am at a point where I have become solely dependent upon caffeine but I see my habits leading me down that road and not towards Christ.

It’s clear that I have been becoming dependent on flesh and a substance rather than dependent on God and only he can rescue me from such things so that I might be dependent upon him instead where I will not feel like I have to overwork myself and carry heavy loads.

Galatians 5:24-25 – And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

Caffeine Addiction Site

This is a video fom the site above this guy is very serious and he didn’t really realize it until he sat down and reflected.

Watch a video on caffeine addiction

So I have been learning more about who I am, my Identity. I am learning that I am not the bad things that people may think or say about me nor am I good things that people say or think about me. I may display those qualities from time to time but in no way does that limit or define me to only those qualities. I have knew this for a while but I am starting to have a better grasp on it. For example if someone says “you are a mean person”, that is not who you are but you may be tempted to think “am I a mean person? ” or if enough people say it in your life time you may be tempted to think and eventually agree that “you are a mean person.” Then there is the other side when we hear nice thing from people about our selves. Wow you are a nice person, or you are really artsy or some compliment upon your abilities. All of sudden we start trying to do more of what we got the compliment on and slowly we let this compliment define us.

Let say one day you stop being artsy or you don’t feel like being nice or that ability everyone has been complimenting you on is absent and you can’t do what you used to be able to do… where has your identity gone? It is no where to be found. My friend Clarence spoke about this the other day and I agree with him that my identity can’t be wrapped up in what I can accomplish or what I can not accomplish because at some point I will not have an Identity if these temporary little things are all that is defining me.

So where do I find my Identity? I go to the one who created me. My Identity is not my feelings and emotions, thoughts and mind, or personality which are a part of my soul . God already tells me who I am in his word. He lets me know the truth about me, that when all these things that I thought I was are gone there is a me that is even deeper a me that He knows, a me that was dead but he brought back to life. My spirit, the core of me who he created originally. It’s important to figure out who you really are and not let yourself get defined by the good and bad things in this world, but instead by the one who has already defined you

I realized for a while now that I have been very comfortable but in a bad way. I like where I am, not really seeing any problems here or there and like the Pink Floyd song says “I am comfortably NUMB”. But this isn’t good because I want to live a life that is fresh daily…not stale, stagnant, and moldy. What caused me to get in this condition as I searched It was revealed to me that I have been letting my desires rule me in a sense. If I feel like it I do it… and If I don’t feel like it and I have to do it then I have a very poor attitude.

I started trying to exercise a while ago to address some of the consequences of my condition, comfort. It did not work because I was modifying my behavior not my belief and perspective… and that belief is that if something is not horrible then why is there need for improvement.

What really was being attacked was my personal relationship with God, Jesus. I felt like I was alright and that there was no need for growth and so I had become stagnant and absent of any zeal or enthusiasm for the relationship and life in general. I had/have a desire to increase Our relationship but it was being drowned out by my other desires.

So I have decided to go on a journey, one that I have not been on before one which the sole purpose is to seek God. Not that he will meet me because of my efforts but I will be denying a majority of my desires because I am serious and it is not something I am entering into lightly at all. the purpose of going on this journey is to be transformed, changed, a new person, a deeper relationship… though I know this doesn’t happen by my efforts… it is something I desire the utmost. Now that I have off of school I don’t have an excuse and I wont let myself take an excuse not to go.

I have been comfortable way to long and to any one who has gotten comfortable in a worldly way, it’s time to get uncomfortable in order to grow.

Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. (hebrew 12: 7-10)

This solution involves 3 simple chords in order to make your regular tv an internet tv! I have a mac book and if you have a pc I’m sure you can find a similar solution. Apple has a mini-dvi to dvi adapter (or vga if you wanna go that route.) and If you want to use your HD I reccomend getting the dvi to HDMI adapter which they might sell at your local electronics/apple store as well what will be helpful too is an headphone to audio solution for your surround sound or tv if you don’t already have this equipment. (so that is 3 chords for a full functional internet tv solution) which was $40-$50 total. If you really wanna get fancy you can purchase a wireless mouse and or wireless keyboard. this beats the apple tv which is running for around $230 not including tax and shipping.

The benefits of this solution are.

• Surf the web using your tv as a monitor.
• watch movies from netflix (try it out for a 2 week trial and see how you like it 8.99 a month unlimited movies you can stream)
• watch episodes of your favorite shows (you don’t have to buy them on itunes they stream!.. visit your favorite tv stations website ie. abc.com)
• but if you did buy them on itunes you can watch your podcasts and itunes stuff as well.
• if you are a designer possibly designing on there I’m not sure about the aspect ratio though and dimension distortion.
• play online games.
• record things from your tv laptop if you have a digital video recorder hooked up.
• share with others and not be huddled up on the corner of your couch with your lap top.
• it’s cheaper and more beneficial than buying an apple tv.

check it out it might be a better solution than even getting cable or sattellite you might be able to cancel that stuff. You might have to sacrifice a little bit of quality but who’s counting pixels anyway and has HD really affected your tv experience if your honest I think you will say “No, I get into the action just as much with a lower quality movie file than with the HD.” After the “…but it’s so cool wears off” I think you’d rather have the money in your pocket or at least give it to a better cause than overpriced media or an apple tv. Unless you have money to flush? I highly reccomend this easy, quick, and cheap digital tv solution. (If your hardware is different than what I’ve listed above you can surely find what you need on the web to make a home audio/video solution for your laptop or desktop computer at an affordable price.)

My first host was Freehostia (.com) this Host is great if all you are doing is hosting a plane (x)html site with out data base access (this is the host I had MySQL problems with). This was my first real host and the reason I chose it is because it was free hosting with ZERO ADS which is extremely rare and I recommended for any small site. If you are trying to do something bigger and have a more interactive site I recommended trying another host.
Price/plan: Free plan no ads

…Blue host, didn’t have any problems, good load times (for now) easy set up easy use. The only problem is you are locked into long-term plans and they do offer a 30day full refund if you don’t like it within the first 30days. The reason I left them is because I was sharing a server with 250 – 400 people they told me, and they said I was sharing 8gbs of ram with that many people so that meant worst case scenario I was only getting 20mbs of ram for multiples sites. I wanted something more dedicated. The only problem with economy hosts is they tend to oversell and it causes your site(s) to go s..l..o..w…. again great if you are hosting 1-5 simple (x)html sites or even dynamic sites with low traffic.
Price/plan: $160 2yrs plan (6.95 a month trick)

…Liquid Web, This host looks very realiable and probably is and I tried to used their virtual dedicated servers stuff and it was too much hassle. They have a great website and their very own servers and have various internet providers connected to them ensuring your accessibility through out the world. I highly recommend them IF you know what you are doing and have time to set everything up (It will take some time…) there lowest VDS was 60 a month so I thought I would try it out. I did and it wasn’t for me like I said too much extra stuff to do that I wasn’t ready for, they are lacking tutorials to use the service so it is definitely for the more experienced. I didn’t get a chance to try their regular hosting plan but I would still consider it.
Price/plan: $60/month virtual dedicate server

…Host Gator, again another economy host that I am currently with that I haven’t had any problems with other then my clients in Jamaica not being able to view add-on domains that I used for their website which really concerns me, so I might switch again later (tired of this host quest). They offer a ton of space like all economy hosts and make big promises as all econ hosts do. they are like bluehost above.

…Godaddy, Some of my clients are set up with godaddy and I like there reliablity it seems pretty fast. The user interface is confusing but you get used to it. This is a likely candidate for a future host for me after I see how it works out for my clients. They have a pretty good reputation and are big enough to make changes if needed. Also if you are hosting domain names with them then it is even easier to use. my clients are on there economy plans but one of my clients is switching to their virtual dedicated server plan and I will be the setting that up. (crazy)

…Christian webhost(.com) This is the web host I use for my church and they are extremely reliable and I haven’t had any problems with them. they are not as much an economy host because they are a little more pricey but you get what you pay for with them. A Great host for reliable hosting.

None of these hosts are perfect, every hosts has there problems if you look up negative reviews for any host you will find them… and the reviews do help you stay hesitant before clicking the pay button.  I asked around, searched the web,  It is seriously a hunt trying to find a good web host. Make sure you find a host with the least problems and visit many different sites when researching a host. Some things to keep in mind when looking for a host.

• pray about it… no really, pray about.
• High price does not equal high quality.
• Boasting of features a ton of space and a ton of bandwidth does not equal a good host either (your sharing that space with 200-500 people in most cases).
• Don’t get locked into a long term plan pay monthly.
• Know what you need and estimate growth.
• Make sure there’s a money back guarantee if they are a good host then they can gaurantee themselves.
• Do your research.

here is a direct quote about Daniel… “They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. Finally these men said, “We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.”

Obviously I am not like Daniel.. and my peers aren’t jealous and trying to bring charges against me… but my point is he was beyond reproach (they couldn’t find anything to accuse him of), he was trustworthy (He said he would do something and he did it which helped him develop this rep), He had integrity (he was neither corrupt or negligent) and Most of all he Trusted God! The man had Integrity and it began with God. He was promoted and had high ranking and that was because of God too!

When people look at me I’m confident they are seeing a very distorted version of whom I claim to be and what I claim to believe. When I take a look at my words, actions, and motives my conscience confirms what or who I am living for, what’s really in my heart. Lord fill me with your Spirit, Love, and Truth.

When I used the software I had to install apples x-11 user from the startup disc that came with my mac and also I had to install something called wine.  After I finally got it up and running I was viewing my pages through ie6 and picking out the bugs.  Then it started crashing and it wasn’t working and I had to close the app and restart.  I didn’t ever really get ie7 working properly but it was better then switching back and forth from the mac and pc constantly.  When using a trick I learn is, don’t minimize the ie6 browser just drag it off the screen and hit refresh later to much action causes it to crash/freeze up.  I reccomend it for quick tests and the desperate who don’t have access to pc’s.

Creating the blog was very easy and set up was a breeze, it wouldn’t take one of your web buddies but a couple of minutes to set one up for you and you can find a domain and hosting together for $10-30 dollars a year some where, depending on your needs. The site you are looking at now was a template that I downloaded for free out of their huge library of WP temps. I highly recommend using WP for anyone interested in starting a blog. If you would like some info or help about setting one up feel free to contact me. RichardAndrewLee (at) yahoo (dot) com I’m around… and I’ll give a little bit of my time for you : )

Many times I find myself sharing about web-design or giving advice on things that I am passionate about or have mini passions about like mac books or drinking coffee black or some pet peeves ; I can be pretty zealous when I talk about them too. I was cut to the core when I realized that I am an evangelist… for myself… for the web… for things thats could be gone tomorrow. Here I am selling all of these things to people, mini passions daily, and they are definitely buying it. So the type of evangelism you do shows where your heart is or isn’t. passion…

Galatians 5:22-26 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. NEW PASSION…

This hits me between the eyes..!CONVICTION!. If you could invert this passage I feel like I have been doing that. I’m very thankful I have a Father who cares and treasures my relationship with Him and he has made it possible for me to come back. thanks God, thanks Jesus, Thanks Holy Spirit. NEW PASSION..

I was listening to Ravi in the car (with my new Granny smith green ipod nano courtesy of my father in-law.) Driving my friend John home. On the way back Ravi spoke of how people don’t know how to be alone any more, alone with God, having time to think and really listen. When ever you are doing something if you have to have a radio on or the tv on just for background noise you may be one who doesn’t know how to be alone any more. When he said this it really stuck with me because I have been trying to come before the Lord in a secluded area just to seek Him and I really am thinking I have forgotten how to be alone without some type of electronic or entertainment.  We are talking just God, me, and the floor.  I was reading in Luke today and I came upon this after Jesus was around a crowd and healing etc… “However, he made a practice of withdrawing to remote places in order to pray.” (Luke 5:16 JNTP)

In other words ‘Jesus was consistent in taking himself out of interaction with people and the man made things of the world, and bringing himself in to a place where nobody else was or was likely to come, so that he could talk to The Father.’(RAL)  Wow I really do need to withdraw!  Sometimes I go into my closet but that isn’t enough, I hear my e-mail calling to me.  “Check me!’ My Cell phone Rings “Important Call!” My Electronics battle for my attention.  No they don’t I am just setting my self up for easy distraction, I am almost asking for distraction.  Please!!! entertain my mind I can’t sit still and quiet for even a moment without some type of entertainment or stimulation! If this is A.D.D. I think we all have it.  Sounds like a self discipline issue that the world has contributed to that can not be resolved by a pill.

I really want to seek the Lord and today I am going to find a secluded place in the wilderness until I am self disciplined enough for my closet. You may say I don’t have any secluded place near me!  Oh really, how hard are you looking or is it that you have to put effort into finding a secluded place outside of man made things.  C’mon You and I both know one is coming to mind plus If you aren’t as easily distracted as I am maybe you can just lock your self in your closet.  either way Meet God there.  Go! Leave your phone in your car! Be still and listen to HIM

The Lord says “Desist, and learn that I am God, Supreme over the nations, Supreme over the earth.” (Psalm  46:10 JNTP) In webster Desist is to cease to proceed or act, and synonym for desist is to “stop” Stop what? stop your day, stop your busyness, stop your self and think about God and His Truth and Speak to Him.

I went over to my father in-laws house tonight, he really is an interesting man. There is some crazy stuff going on with that side of the family right now and my wife is really handling it well, I admire her faith and trust. Having another child on the way I know we need to start saving up for our own place, It’s tough though finding the right job and all, especially when you are trying to step out on faith, a lot more trusting than the “I can do it!” attitude. After talking with my wife for quite some time I was laying in bed thinking of  purpose and such, what it is to really do what I am created to do.

Laying there thinking what to do with this life, I am thinking about what Jesus was telling to his disciples, those he was leading in the way of life.  How they all lost faith in the end before his death, he knew it, and he loved them still. (Falling away)   He was very clear in his instructions to the disciples what they were to do.  I find myself asking am I doing what He has asked of me, Am I living out of compassion for others, but most importantly am I putting God first in everything, mind, heart, soul. (2 things)

Honestly how can all this technology, preoccupations, and nonsense really be coming between me and my Creator. Do I really know Him? am I really seeking Him with all my being? Do I really want to have a personal relationship with my God?  If I am honest, my actions say “no” my heart say yes.  Why this division? this battle,I see this division, a choice?, Will  you take time to consider this for yourself?   Ignorantly we stumble along crossroads, a professing christian with a choice still, Christ chose me a long time ago might I inform you. But again I am still having the option to allow the holy spirit to move or to ignore and turn away.  (Still a struggle)

Sometimes when I turn away I’m not sure I do it with truly considering what I am doing, these are extremely serious instances, the Garden?  It is clear to me that I want to choose God but what are my actions saying? Am I divided? Am I truly thinking about the choices I am making or am I just mal-functioning, existing, lazy short-cuts, making choices by whatever I feel at the moment or what I feel will benefit?

My Creator, My God, My Father is waiting…Arms wide open…waiting for me to turn to Him. Embrace Him.  Let go of these frustrations, feeble plans, and things and just run into His arms…that is comforting and encouraging. (Prodigal Son)   It is because of the blood of Jesus, because God’s Son paid a debt I could not pay, so I am Free and I have a restored relationship with my God, my Creator, my Father.

Put God in charge of your work, then what you’ve planned will take place. (Proverbs 16:3) MSG

Do you ever try hard at something and work your little tail off to find out there was an easier way, better, and or more efficient way or end result.  Many times I struggle with submitting to the Lord my plans.  I start off thinking about what I am going to do, sometimes formulate a plan in my head then give it my best shot, some times I skip the planning part and go straight for the give it my best shot.  It never fails I learn a lot while giving it my best shot but many time I feel I the strive to accomplish something that I thought was necessary, cool, or important.  It wasn’t necessarily top priority to God, do you ever get consumed with a task even if it is something simple.

Next thing you know your on to the next thing, then on to the next thing; without even thinking of God or really acknowledging your Creator and asking him what the best way or thing that should be done is. Like right now… I must be real in this moment…I am thanking God that he has revealed to me this truth that he wants me to succeed, but his plan has the right, best, and most fulfilling outcome.  I am aware of his presence even as I write and it is so much better when I remember he is here even now, I can actually feel Him and sense Him near me.  Not in the way you sense someone is near the is walking by, a more intimate near, an in my heart type of near, which overflows and I feel it in my mind and in my body, and sense it in my surroundings.

I am so thankful that my creator is so personal, he knows me by name, he has made plans to give me a hope and a future, plans to prosper me.  He has prepared good things for me to do today and forever.  He IS taking care of me and He IS near to me… and I hope that you are experiencing his nearness too right now ( :

Lord thank you so much that you have given me the gift of your self, as a Father, as your son Jesus, and as the Holy spirit.  I know I make my own plans but I really want to stop because your plans are so awesome because your love for me is immeasurable.  Thank you so much what a blessings It is to have you as my Father, my Friend, and my Counselor.  I love you, your son, richard.

Have you ever neglected a relationship and it caused a wierd tension, which resulted in a feeling that gives the hint something was wrong and it is painful.

Well, I have been neglecting my relationship with the Lord, “Doing my own thing” as many call it. I have fallen victim to busyness and when that left me empty I quickly ran to selfishness and neither of these satisfy. I am now at a place of honesty and much more sensitive because the Lord has showed me my pride and revealed to me that I am in need of being humbled. I do desire to be humble and completely humble. I feel like I have wasted so much time but all things work to the good of those who love Him. The Lord has used that time I feel like I wasted to teach me of His patience, His kindness and His Grace and Mercy and that I am not as “mighty” as I thought I was. I am reminded that I am always in need of His precious salvation. I must pause for a moment of gratitude.

He is my Father and I am His Son because he has forgiven me through His Only Begotten Son, Jesus. He restores our relationship so that I can live the Blessed life that he intended me to live, a life that will not end but will last forever. His Glory does not fade. He will never leave me and I never have to leave his presence.

5″And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

9″This, then, is how you should pray: ” ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11Give us today our daily bread. 12Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.[a]‘ 14For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Break Down Verse by Verse

“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. “

When I read this the Holy Spirit shows me that a hypocrite does receive what he wants and that is acknowledgement, to be seen, that is the reward he asks for and he receives it and only it. His Utmost Priority is not to speak with God but to be seen as if speaking to God, It comes down to an image thing which the Lord has interestingly enough been teaching me about lately as well. It is one thing to appear to be and another to be. Many times but not all times, when one tries to make an appearance it is because he is not and he wants to prove in some way that he is. It is the condition of his heart that determines this, his desire, his motive, purpose, and reason. Truth or Vanity. This Hypocrite may have had much pride and was concerned with status.

6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

It is the man who does it in secret because his heart has been transformed, His heart is seeking the Lord and desires to have a relationship with the Lord. This is the man that Jesus says the father rewards. He does what he does for God not for man: does it for The Creator not the creation. His Father not the crowd. It is done in secret not out of embarassment but out of intimacy and importance. Seek the Spritual unseen Father not the things of this world but Him who has plans for you and wants to use you to do great things. When we seek Him whole heartedly and get alone with Him on purpose than He will reward me…you.

7And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

The Lord knows you better than you know yourself, He knows what you are going through. You do not need lengthy lofty speeches to express to God. Simply speak in your Father. He is listening, He wants to comfort you but I needn’t use a multitude of words. There isn’t need to explain to God he knows, He Knows.

The pupil is the variable-sized, black circular opening in the center of the iris that regulates the amount of light that enters the eye. It appears black because most of the light entering the pupil is absorbed by the tissues inside the eye.

Proverbs 7:1-5 My son, keep my words, store up my commands with you. Obey my commands, and live; guard my teaching like the pupil of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart. Say to wisdom, “You are my sister”; call understanding you kinswoman; so that they can keep you from unknown women, from loose women with their seductive talk

When I thought about how I protect my eye, I thought about throwing my arms up, covering my eyes with my hands, blinking. I thought that it is a natural action to want to protect my pupil, that which monitors the amount of light that gets into my eye ball. If I didn’t not protect it as I have, I might be blind right now or have a distorted vision. We are told to protect God’s teaching in a similar way, when someone or something tries to poke our eye out, which we see reality with, we block it, similary when some one tries to contradict the Lords teaching or stand firm against it we must shield the blow, the hit, the attack. Though if you allow the hit, and let your guard down you will surely be taken over by a lie and blinded, but it is the Lord who gives sight and restores sight, and we should ask him to reveal to us if we are blinded by lies or if we are in need of healing, because we have strayed from His teaching, from Him who gives us site. And if we are seeing clearly he gives discernment, and would allow us to be alert if He is willing.

The Lord’s teaching is how we see reality, reality how Gods sees it and if we are to let lies/false teachings come into our vision, our view of reality will be distorted, or gone. We will be then relying on lies to get around because we aren’t seeing things as they Truly are.

Lord please reveal to me if anything has distorted or blinded me, and if it has I know you are the Almighty and if you are willing, will you please heal me that I may guard your teaching, and obey it. Amen.

Proverbs 6:20-23 “My son, obey your father’s command, and don’t abandon your mother’s teaching Bind them always on your heart, tie them around your neck. When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you wake up, they will talk with you. For the mitzvah is a lamp, Torah is light, and reproofs that discipline are the way to life

Psalm 119:143-144 Trouble and distress have overtaken me, but your mitzvot are my delight. Your instruction is righteous forever; give me understanding, and I will live

(Mitzvah is the jewish word for command, Mitzvot is it’s plural version) (Torah literally means teaching but is usually translated as Law)

I have been in great distress lately having many due dates with my school as well as trying to be a blessing as a husband and a father, while trying to keep up with middle school ministry and other roles things I do. Through the Lord I felt successful for a while but recently I have not been submitting as much and I have seen that this is when I sin, Satin may attack me and I let it slide, something will irritate me and I will handle it my own way instead of submitting to the Lord Jesus in every instance of the day.

I grow sometimes numb and miserable not knowing why, then I realize I have been in robot mode doing my own worldly thing and the Lord reveals to me, He blesses me with repentance away from sin, he rebukes me but encourages me in His Command, His Law, His Way Of righteousness that He has plotted out for me. I have been troubled not so much feeling alone but growing tired of the burden of this life, sometimes I try to take back the burden I once surrendered and I drain my self trying to take on the world solo. I know that I can do nothing and the Lord as been patient with me, I realize that it is only in him that I can do anything, but at the same time this isn’t enough. It is a good start but I must apply this and truly rely on him not just know the truth but walk in the truth, apply the truth, become the truth by letting it be lived out through me and submitting to the Father.

Jesus tells us not to call anyone father but the FATHER in HEAVEN, and though the first two proverbs can be taken literally and will benefit when taken literally as applying to your worldly parents, but we also know God’s Word speaks to us on several levels. I am looking at the spiritual meaning to these first two verses, He is our “spiritual father” the Church our “mother.” We are to obey the Father, God’sCommand as well as His son Jesus because Jesus and the Father are One and also One with the Holy Spirit.

But we are also not to forget the things that we have learned in the world from the Lord, we are to use them while first most keeping His commands “My son, obey your father’s command, and don’t abandon your mother’s teaching” So Apply our Father, God’s Word and what he Commands us in our personal relationship with him, but at the same time we don’t abandon what we have learned from the Bride of Christ, our mother, The Church, Christ’s body for if we are Christ’s Bride then we are one with Him and He with us. By applying this word we will benefit greatly and will know th e Lords Guidance, Protection, and Company. He will lead you in a way that is truly living, many think they are living but are not, for Christ is life, and unless you know Christ and His Commands, speak of Christ and His Commands, act of Christ and His Commands you have not been truly living.

Lord please allow me to do your will and not my own, I desire a heart that will be submissive to You and not to the flesh, Lord I ask you to remind me each day that You are my Heavenly Father, and that I would hear you and not forget. I ask Lord that you would use the things That I have learned and am learning in the world for Your Glory. You are The One, the one who my heart desires to please, I delight in the Law of Your Word, I delight in the Son who was perfect from birth, I delight in the day He’s returning to earth. Hallelujah. Amen.

“Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.”

This seems to be a weakness of mine, being considerate, and treating my wife w/ respect as the weaker partner. I tend to treat my wife conditionaly upon how she behaves and acts, instead of submitting to the Lord and letting Him pour His unconditioinal love through me. She is an equal heir with me of the Gift of Gods Grace and of Life, and Him allowing us to enter into His Kingdom and Glory, a sister/ sibling, a companion, she is loved the same by the Lord, Receives the Same Grace, Is not favored above or below me in the Lords eyes, but the Lord Loves us both unmeasurably, and unmeasurably the same.

We are called to love our neighbor as ourselves, and this encompasses submitting burdens/weaknesses of each other, the weaker partner we should submit to the Lord when we discover weakness and He is Strong in them. For it is the Lord who heals and enstrengthens not man. How can a broken pot fix itself or a House make itself more sturdy? (It is the builder, the Lord who heals and strengthens as he chooses)

It is not my witty mind or my righteous and high thought (that I am tempted to think I’ve achieved somtimes), that the Lord’s love is some how “achieved.” It is not by my “better” way which I can be tempted to think is the only way, the right way, and the good way all the time. If I allow my self to believe this I am deceived. For Jesus is The Way and in Him is the answer, cause, and reason for what is to be thought, said, and lived out.

I should hold my wife in the esteem that She is a child of The Most High and is unconditionally and imeasurably precious to Him, (just as I am) By treating her unfairly and lowly my actions display that I do not know this truth and therefore praying in deception my prayers are hindered, If I really knew the Truth and really believed in the Truth that she is my sister, my sibling, my equal heir (receiving the exact same inhertiance from God, unmeasurable) then my actions would be likewise and my prayers in Truth will be upright. I long for my mind to be renewed by the Truh Jesus, Please give me eyes that see my Wife as an equal heir and may my actions display that to her and may her heart receive the Truth of the Truth acting through me. Amen.

There are many in the world that do not believe that Jesus Christ came to earth in a body, let alone even has come at all. A person that does not believe in the Truth is the antichrist, meaning not for Christ, but against. We should be aware of this and watchout so that we are not swayed by lies and that we hold to the Truth that has been given to us and not expand or take away from it. If we are to stray from the teaching of Christ we can not, and will not have fellowship with the Father and the Son.

But if we stick strictly to the Teaching of Christ alone, we will have fellowship with both the Father and the Son. There is only one Teacher. If someone is antichrist and teaches contradicting the truth they should not be encouraged nor welcomed, by encouraging or welcoming them you are supporting evil and are a partner in the evil work. I think back looking for times when I supported in someway those who were not of Christ’s purpose, through promoting drugs, or sexual acts and things, and various other sinful acts and teachings, all which are hollow in the end and lead to death ultimately.

It is important to acknowledge false teachers for what they are, for if you let them remain, you might also be taken by their false teachings and deception. It is important to address this imediately with God, your conscience, others, and even possibly the false teacher. The truth will prevail, but the evil has been deceiving men for a long time by seeming to be good, or seeming to be true. There is that which is True and that which seemse to be true to the blind man, but to those who the Lord has given sight see plainly the pathway to destruction vs. The Way. May those who see, see, and those who are blind be led to His mercy so that they might be granted repentance and forgiveness by Him who is the Giver of all Good Things.

As i read this, i think about how i have treated my co-workers at the church… As co-workers not as brothers and sisters. Then i realized that the first place i thought about was work, maybe because brothers and sisters was plural and i my mind went immediately to larger group. But I realized my world i compartmentalized, not to mention i don’t treat my brothers and sisters around me as brothers and sisters.“Love each other as brothers and sisters”

Above this the verse speaks of being one minded with other Christians “All Christians” and sympathizing with them. I look up sympathize in the dictionary and find according to Webster it means 1.to be in keeping, accord, or harmony. 2.to react or respond in sympathy 3.to share in suffering or grief with a friend in trouble.

Then Peter talks about not retaliating or insulting because you are insulted, and he says not to do that, but rather pay people back with blessings, God has called us to do that, I realize that My world has been upside down I have been treating my wife unfairly, and those I am around as co-workers(instead of LOVING as brothers and sisters) I have been unsympathetic (instead of sympathizing) as far as like mindedness i’m not sure but i am sure i haven’t been like minded very much when i should be.

The Scriptures say… If you want to enjoy life and see many happy days, keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn away from evil and do good Search for peace, and work to maintain it. The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, and his ears are open to their prayers. But the lord turns his face against those who do evil.

as i read this i think and remember that i am incapable of doing that which is right on my own, I can’t, my “good deeds are like filthy rags” (trying to wipe my sin off to make me look better.) I have been relying upon my own righteousness instead of the Father God and Lord Jesus’. He has cleansed me and given me a new heart and the Holy Spirit to live in me, all this it seems i know but i stray so easily and get distracted by the wind and storm, all the things and busy-ness that is going on around me my busy-ness and not the Lords will and work. I know that the Lord will complete the good work he started in me, I believe this. I ask Him for the strength to repent from how i was living because i can not repent and turn away from the past unless the Lord strengthens me to do so. I am willing to be willing. Lord if You are willing allow me to turn from this to Your Truth.