Did you hear that?

It was going to be the normal routine this morning.

Alarm at 5:15.
Coffee at 5:17.
Dog out at 5:18.
Bible & Reading at 5:19...that's what I expected for my typical Monday.

Crazy though...this morning it woke me like a lightning bolt. 4:50am and TOTAL QUIET!

I laid there and seriously thought this must be a dream. No wind, no birds, no AC unit, no Gary England.. Just QUIET..

I laid there a little longer and enjoyed the sweet sound of tranquility.

It wasn't twelve hours earlier we were seeing pictures of our dear Oklahoma friends in Woodward with lives turned upside down. Here I was.. Shhhh..

I finally got up..got my coffee..took the dog outside and literally sat there in awe.

The same God who tosses the wind, storms and birds is the same one that brings stillness, peace and sanity in my life. And I have plenty of "storms".

Seemed like a message to me...and I heard it in the stillness this morning..

“Be still, and know that I am God!..." (Psalm 46:10a)






•• from an undisclosed location..

What's in your BLACK BOX?

The pic on the left is a version of a "black box" or flight data recorder.. Not sure why it's called a "black box".. cause it's orange, right?

Anyway..the gist here is this box will record multiple parameters of flight data (~48) and around 30 minutes of conversations and noise from the cockpit of the aircraft..

So, officials look for this orange (black) box to find details of what caused "the crash", as it were.. Not a fun tool, but a necessary and helpful one for the rest of us..

I've seen over the last few days that they have found the black box from that plane that crashed off the coast of South America a while back..DEEP in the ocean.. sad to recall such a tragic end for so many lives.

But..it got me thinking..what would my black box reflect???  Who is Jay's pilot anyway?

Would my "flight data" and "parameters" of how I lived my life be indicating: peace, joy, honor, humility, trust, compassion and love?

Or would my "flight data" indicate personal traits like: pride, boasting, jealousy, greed, lust, hate?




Might be time to review "the parameters" over the last few years of what you've been saying, thinking, doing..

NOTE TO SELF:  Review Psalm 139:23-24

That is, before they crack open my box..

-from an undisclosed location

He did what?

Not that I am one of those bankers that likes to wrangle with regulators.. but good grief guys.. ordering a bank to remove all things Christmas from that little bank in Perkins, OK!  Over the top for a bank regulator..

I had heard about the "issue" at this bank on Thursday morning.  Here is a link to the article. When I heard that a bank regulator had issued a decree during an official bank exam to "remove Christian verses and Christmas symbols" from the bank website and the bank proper... I ABOUT PASSED OUT!  Rest assured though, we will see more of this type issue down the road.

There is no doubt in my mind that the one thing we need MORE of is everything biblical in business.  (ooh.. did I just say that?)

In my simple little mind here's why ... when people tell me their personal stories of poor decisions with money, marriages, debt, children, not paying the IRS, cheating their employers, lying on a loan application, etc...  The singular thing they'd like more than anything else is PEACE.  And I know where mine comes from..

I have no agenda, no salvation quota, no get rich quick plan.... I just know that the financial peace we've experienced, the harmony in our family, finances and employers comes from a singular source - JESUS.

So even if you take my manger scene and verse off my computer and the Bible from my desk..  You can't get to the source of my peace!