Not Enough Hours In The Night

     The Hand of the Diligent Will Rule. But the Lazy Man Will Be Put to Forced Labor. Proverbs 12:24

And Whatever You Do, Do It Heartily, As For The Lord and Not to Men, Knowing That From the Lord You Will Receive the Reward of the Inheritance; For You Serve the Lord Christ. Col. 3:23-24 

        Sometimes when I'm at work and I have a long distance to drive. Sometimes it takes a couple hours or more one way. Chasing white lines doesn't seem like it's all that hard but it can be physically and mentally taxing at times. That's the life a truck driver. I personally haven't tried to drive over the road but from what I have gathered I would probably hate it. I spent nearly 16 years welding and I eventually got burned out building the same things everyday. Even though I admit the burnout happened years before God opened the door for me to move on to my current profession I still gave it my best.

        I've always been one to not miss work for anything. Seven out of 16 years at my first job I had perfect attendance. At my current job I've missed a few days due to sick kids and a hospitalization. What brought this to the forefront of my mind was on a long drive back from West Virginia today and old country song that is a blast from the past and a favorite of mine can across my Youtube Music App. It's by a country artist named Doug Supernaw. The song is called not "Not Enough Hours In The Night." My wife probably wouldn't like it because it's "too old" for  her liking but she chose to marry this country bumpkin. 

        What hit me about this song is the husband's desire is to spend more time with wife in contrast to what his job requires of him. As a husband and a dad the hardest job a man can have is balancing work and home. My wife probably thinks I like being at work more than being at home with her and the kids but that's never been the case. I was raised with blue collar parents who worked sick or well and I knew that one day I would have to figure out how much I could physically endure when being under the weather or there was other things I would rather do such as stay home with my Mama Bear. It's hard as a blue collar man who does try to serve the Lord and be the breadwinner. I feel like as the man it's my job to provide and it's the wife's job to help. It's not an issue of who makes the most money but the role of the husband to be the provider and protector and it's the wife's job to help. They aren't meant to do it separately but together as a team. A team of horses can't get very far working against each other. They have to pull that plow together and sometimes you have to lean on the other because one of you gets tired or wore down. Sometimes I'm fortunate that my boss says hey we don't need you in the early morning right away because we need to save you for something else and I get a couple extra hours in the night snuggle with my wonderful bride before work and maybe we can sit on the front porch and I can do my morning devotions while she has her coffee. I love starting my day that way but I know that if the Lord doesn't come before the my retirement day comes my plan is to that everyday together until the Lord calls us home. 

        I love going to work because it's how God makes it possible for me to provide for my family and the Bible says in 2 Thessalonians 3:10, "For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat." Sometimes I want to stay home with my family and it's hard especially when you've had a great time off on vacation or stay-cation. What should drive us all is out of the love The Lord Jesus showed us is to love our families so much that we can and do rush off to work and give it our very best as if we're working for the Lord Himself and hurry home to pour out the love Jesus put in our hearts for our family with our remaining time we have. The same enthusiasm we have for our favorite sports team should be nothing in comparison to our love for our Lord and Savior and our families. All too often it's the other way around. I get it because I love football and wife loves it too because she gets more time with me because I make homemade popcorn and she gets over three hours of uninterrupted snuggles. 

        So what I'm really trying to say is that get up and go to work and take pride in what you do as if Jesus Himself was standing there watching you and then go home to our families and love on them with them every remaining minute because we don't know how many minutes we have left. If you're reading this God isn't finished with you yet so get to work and then get busy loving on your families because life is too short not to. May God richly bless you.

https://youtu.be/us4D1H5EiZ4?si=VtUCmapbLaShbJ2M   

That's the link to the song that inspired this post.

When God Laughs

 "For I know the thoughts and plans I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11

     It's my ninth Father's Day and I must say if I thought the life I'm currently living was God's plan I would have laughed about it 20 years ago. My plans were nothing like this but if you want to make God laugh tell Him your plans. Most pastors and evangelist go to college and seminary somewhere. Well being a husband and a dad isn't for the weak of heart. We all live through the seminary of life. It has its ups and downs. My wife and I have been reminiscing about what I was dressed like when she first saw me. Looking back I think you actually thought I was cute even though I dressed like a goober doing improv skits at church during VBS. Come to find out my old Sunday School assistant told the associate pastor at the church of my ability to tell Bible stories to kids and make it entertaining and full of truth at the same time. If my old assistant hadn't told the pastor about me my now wife would have never met.

Why do I tell this story? God has a plan for all of us. We don't know what it is or understand what it is until God reveals it to us daily. This life is a daily walk (Luke 9:23). Pastors may go to seminary but life is often the best seminary. Moses spent 40 years in Sinai Seminary, The Apostles walked with Jesus for 3 1/2 years and one of them betrayed Him, David was a boy when he was anointed king but was chased and persecuted by King Saul until he died in battle, and Abraham was a idol worshipper that God chose and was willing to sacrifice his son upon the altar and because Abraham trusted God it was accounted to him as righteousness. Enoch walked with God for 300 years and he never saw death because God called him up to Heaven. God uses life to teach and transform us for the life He has purposed us for. I don't fully understand everything about God showing us His plans. I do know that the hardest job is being a husband and a dad. The only thing that's harder is being a step-dad.

When I met my wife she had a seven year old son. I told her on our first date that if things were to work out I would be willing to step in and be his dad and love him as my own son. She nearly cried when I said that because no one else had ever been willing to step up to plate to take on the role. It's not an easy role and the relationship between my son and I has had its share of struggles but deep down we love each other and I'm glad that I get to call him my son. Crazy thing I was actually married one other time and my ex-wife claimed that she was pregnant and had a miscarriage after she left me but she had a D and C done without telling me. The child she was carrying would be around the same age as my eldest son now. So God gave me a son to raise and I didn't know it yet. Through all my trials, failures, triumphs, and victories God has worked out everything in His perfect timing and will. 

God uses us to accomplish His will. He has a purpose and a plan for all of us and at the end of the day His will get done. The longer my wonderful bride and I are married the sweeter our love has become. Henceforth my in-laws now live with us and we help look after them and they babysit for us a lot. We have become a tight knit family. Being a husband and father is the highest of callings because the first institution God created was and is the family. 

We don't set out to be mediocre husbands and father's so this Father's day remember what God has called us to be. So love your wives and kids like Jesus loves us like we're commanded. To my wonderful bride I love you and thank you for loving me. To my kids I hope you realize how much your daddy loves you. May this remind us all of what we are called to be in Him.

Remembering Your Life's Purpose

And Jesus came and spoke saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Matthew 28: 18-20

Sometimes in life you get busy and easily distracted. It's hard to believe 15 years ago, I never missed a Sunday morning service, a Wednesday night, and my life revolved around serving God in church. I never would have started work day without communing with God. It was the same as breathing to me. Well when you make the devil angry doing the Lord's work he doesn't like it. He's going to be pulling overtime to get out of the fight. The devil wants to get you to start sinning but if he can't he's gonna find another way.  The number one I think the devil likes to get us is make us busy. The late Dr. Charles Stanley once said, "If you are too busy for God, you're asking for trouble." Martin Luther said on a normal day he said he would pray for two hours. On his really busy days he would pray for three hours because without God's help he would never get anything done. 

The struggle in this world is it's always changing faster and faster. The fear of being left behind is a real concern because it's flashy advertising and the human desire to be liked and fit in. Mankind used to work only during daylight hours and now we start before the sun. Now with the way the world is it wants mankind to run itself into an early grave due to the lack of proper rest. We're so distracted by cell phones and social media platforms that we miss out. My wife always fusses about me being distracted by movies and TV shows playing in my ears while doing stuff around the house missing what the kids are saying to me or even worse when she says something. It's not bad things that often distract us but good things. A lot of good things keep us from the best things. I got into a habit of sleeping as much as possible because I have to be up early for work so showering went from mornings to evenings and breakfast was reheat and eat but the past few weeks God's like hey dummy remember Me? Whom you used to spend an hour with every morning? Remember your first love? If truly love God or someone you never lose that love, you only leave it. God reminded me that hey there is more important things than breakfast. Jesus told the devil in the wilderness when he went there to fast and pray, that man doesn't  live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:4) As important as breakfast is and physical nourishment spiritual nourishment is even more because the devil is like a roaring lion roaming about the earth seeking those he may devour. (1 Peter 5:8) Without seeking God in the morning and getting your mind and heart fixed upon God our day is more likely to go south in a hurry because our perspective isn't focused on what it should be. I know that if consistently you choose good things over the best things the devil can lead you astray and you become vulnerable to a multitude of sins. Then one day you wake and realize how far you have drifted away from God's call upon your life. God has called all of children who love loved Him and His appearing to walk with Him and share the love He has for us with others and why we have the hope we do. 

What did Jesus command us to do? Go and make disciples of all nations but what does that mean? My life verse comes from the "old man psalm" Psalm 71: 14-15 which says, "But for me I will always have hope, I will praise you more and more. My life will tell of Your righteousness and Your salvation though I know not it's measure." Our hope isn't in jobs, people, or things but in Jesus Christ. The author and finisher of our faith. I understand that when times get hard and nothing seems to go right and it's constantly one issue after the other we might get angry with God or sometimes anything and everyone and bitterness and hurt settles in. That's when the devil finds a way in. In Isaiah 50: 10-11 scripture says, "Who among fears the Lord? Who obeys the voice of His servant. That walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord and stay upon His God. Look all you who kindle a fire, Who encircle yourselves with sparks: Walk in the light of your fire and the sparks you have kindled- This you shall have My hand: You shall lie down in sorrow(torment)." When life is hard and nothing seems to make sense and you're frustrated and in darkness that God has allowed just remember what Dr. Adrian Roger's said, " Those of greatest devotion may know the deepest darkness." Remember if you have been living in His will and according to His word cling to Him and trust the Master's touch. The late Dr. Jerry Falwell said we will never get out of trouble because it is the basic need for spiritual growth. God comes in and takes over when we finally say Lord I can't handle this anymore. If we try to find our way out of the darkness when it's God ordained the Lord said we will lie down in sorrow. When we look to ourselves and not wait upon God to fix everything and make a way to endure the time of darkness. God doesn't give us strength for tomorrow. He gives us strength for each moment. That's why we need our daily bread. That's what God was talking about in Luke 9:23 , "If anyone desires to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow Me." It's a daily walk. It's like a parent with a child. He wants to lead us through this life hand in hand. After a near brush with death God showed me how vulnerable I am. I have had all kinds of tests done to determine what caused me to have a random blood clot go to my right kidney and cause me to lose it. Literally die inside me. A hematologist at the local Cancer center ran every test available and she said that she has no idea and the chances of it happening again are less than 0.01 percent. I pretty much figured out what God was doing. He's like wake up because I could have ended your life that day. I found out that I might be a tough man but God showed me how weak and vulnerable I was. That blood clot could have went to a different organ or I could have been behind the wheel of an 18 wheeler and wrecked from the pain. I don't feel worthy of the call God has put on my life. God has given us all gifts to love Him and others with. I once had a dream to serve the Lord in the same manor as Dr. Billy Graham. I don't feel worthy to do so because of my sins and failures. But the thing is neither did Isaiah. In Isaiah 6 He said woe is me but God made him ready. God has a calling for all of us. He called me years ago to preach and teach the gospel. I've never really been sure what He is leading me to but day by day I pray that I get there but it's my job to continue to seek and figure it out just the same as it is for you to seek out His will for your lives. I pray that we all become everything that the Lord Jesus is calling us to be. Thank you for reading. God bless you and your family. 

Life's Little Lessons

 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled." Matthew 5:6

   One thing I've learned over the past couple of years is how to face or so I thought this world alone. When you spend over two years behind the wheel of a truck by yourself it's hard to make friends or make plans to do anything. For one I never know what time I'll be done with my route. It could be an early day and be done by 3pm or for me it could be a long day and be 7pm. For me usually I usually take longer than most because I was a welder for almost 16 years and if your weld fails it could mean someone's life and its hard to not strive for perfection for me. Granted taking pride in your work is important. Some of a man's identity is found in his work but we forget sometimes who's we are and whom we belong and that should be our identity.

  It's easy to become a loner and live by yourself even if you're married it's hard to talk to your wife/spouse about what's troubling you. For me especially I hate showing any signs of weakness or vulnerability. In my mind if she looks at me and sees that I'm not worried she might not worry as much. I have discovered that being strong and looking like a man of faith is different than being one. The devil never quits doing destructive things. The number way the devil loves to come after people who do love God and try to live for Him is to get them too busy. When you get so busy that God becomes second you're asking for trouble. The late Dr. Charles Stanley said, "if you are too busy for God you're asking for trouble." The late Jerry Falwell of Thomas Road Baptist Church said as young pastor in Lynchburg his dashboard would become his altar but sometimes he would have to pull over his car, take his shoes and go for a walk up a creek barefoot and get alone with God and commune with Him. It's definitely hard to do that but Jesus got up early while it was still dark to commune with our heavenly Father. I know that years ago before I was married and had kids I would spend 30 minutes to an hour every morning doing Bible study and prayer. I have found that it's easier to be lazy and get a few minutes extra especially knowing that you're facing a 12 hour day ahead.

    Last year God sent me a wakeup call and was like hey I just want to remind you of something. The scariest thing is it was smaller than a head of pin. It showed me exactly how fragile this big tough man is. I had just finished an overnight bulk route and was picking up a few empty pallets and shells when it hit me. I collapsed as if I taken a right hook from Mike Tyson. I went from being on my knees to being on back and I reached for my phone and my first was my wife. The pain was so intense I could barely talk. For those who know me say that's hard to believe.  All I remember saying is honey where are and how fast can you get to me? She said at least an hour because she had just picked up groceries. I was too embarrassed to call out to my coworkers on the dock who were calling my name looking for me. I thought this just a kidney stone or something you wimp. Get up and quit being a crybaby. Well one of my coworkers finally found me because of the flashlight on my phone. He's like Mark are you alright? Um I don't know but i need to get up and out of here. He went and found a couple warehouse and they helped me to drivers check-in room. After multiple attempts one of the supervisors answered and Hey Mullins what's up? I'm in a meeting. I said I don't know what's wrong but I need help. I need to go to the emergency room. Well the supervisors transported me to closest ER which is a 1/2 mile away. After being there for about 3 hours and a couple CT Scans the doctor walks in and says well I've got good news and bad news. The good news is it's not a kidney stone. The bad news is that's it's much worse. You have a blood clot shutting off the blood flow to the kidney and the organ is dying. I was floored. Never would I have thought it was that. The doctors said it was a 0.01 percent chance of this ever happening to someone in their 30's. At the time it only made me think about how glad I was that I wasn't driving when that pain hit. I would probably wrecked or been killed and probably someone else along with me. After spending five days in the hospital we were no closer to finding a cause. I honestly do believe it was divine intervention. I could have died multiple ways that day in October including the the transport ambulance wrecking with me in it. Yes they got into an accident that day on the way to hospital. I had to be transferred to another ambulance to get to the hospital. 

    I guess the main thing that I've learned through this whole ordeal learn to bend your knees before breaks your legs. God expects and deserves first place in your life. Not the leftovers. I'm not pretending to be an expert on the subject. A lot of people have to learn the hard way like me. I am grateful for His second chances. They seem to fix or make a lot  things better. Thanks for reading and God bless.