Power over the Grave

Hosea 13:14 "I will ransome them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: oh death, I will be thy plagues; oh grave I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes. 

Jesus gave his life as sacrifice for us! His death freed us from our destruction. His resurrection destroyed our horrible destiny and gave us a chance to walk streets of gold. Give him thanks for paying a debt he did not owe! Give him praise for fighting for you!  

Paul the apostle said "my righteousness alone is like a filthy rag"! Without him we are nothing. Jesus gave his life for you expecting nothing in return except you serve him. He could have called on angels to pull him off the cross but he suffered and died so you wouldn't have to. See with him we will never die, this body will pass on but our spirits will pass into glory for ever!   

Gaining the World

If I gain the whole world and have not God what have I really gained? 

Obviously we all need money. But what about after this life. See money can buy a lot of things but one thing that money can't buy is salvation. I'm all for bettering oneself, but in the midst of success we can't forget what's most important. 

In the Bible the book of Matthew 16:26 say "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?". I'm not saying one can't have riches and be saved at the same time by no means. But better saying that in the midst of riches don't forget what matters most. Which is our soul because without salvation without Jesus what would money be in the end. I believe it was Randy Travis who a song which said "it's not what you take when you leave this world behind you but it's what you leave behind you when you're gone".   

It's not just money that can pull our hearts away from God but also the time we invest in our careers education and even our families. Now you're probably thinking wow this man's crazy but I don't mean that those things are bad at all. Only that in the midst of everything that we have going on in our lives we have to remember what's most important which is Jesus Christ. If there's one thing I can promise you it's that mom and dad brother sister your career your bank account none of those things can get you into heaven. Making that journey is totally up to you!

See a lot of people say that money is the root of all evil but that's not so. The Bible says that the LOVE of money is the root of all evil. It's the things we put before him in all actuality becomes our God. That could be anything a family member, a job, a hobby, and sometimes even just yourself. I say this from experience, because when everything is going great and all your needs are supplied sometimes it's just easy to forget about him. But if all those things are taken away what have you anyways. 

I'm saying all this to say just check yourself. Ask yourself when's  the last time I gave God thanks, when's the last time I just gave a little time to worship him, maybe even read his word. And if you're not going to church or you just haven't been in a long time just go. I'd like for you to come to my church, but if not I would just ask that you just go somewheres, anywhere!

Crazy Drivers Down South!

Let's face it, down south when it gets cold people drive stupid!

Thank God the coldest weather is just about past us. I really don't understand what people are thinking whenever they know the roads are iced. We can have all the weather warnings, and all the news we can handle but people still don't listen. They literally drive the same speeds as the always do. 

The last time I was home (I work away from home) my wife and I went to visit my parent in Texas, and we literally seen at least twenty vehicles stranded on the side of the road. All I could think about was all the life's that where put in danger because of people carelessness. It's as if people take to the streets not knowing the dangers that could and and did happen. But we all know that's not the case. The truth is most people just don't care.

I guess I'm saying all this just to say keep your eyes open. Drive as if everyone else is driving wrong. That way you stay a little more attentive to what's going on around you. Because I can promise you one thing old Joe that's late to work isn't thinking about your saftey! 

Offshore Crew Change

Its that time again! Crew Change day in out in the Gulf Of Mexico.

Some people drive to work. Some people walk to work. I on the other hand have the opportunity to fly to work every two weeks. I'm an Offshore Oilfield worker, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Most people imagine the oilfield as a scary place where a bunch of crazy rednecks work. Well the redneck part it definitely true for the most part, but thats what honestly makes it so much better to work out here. Also, the fact that you can make a crap load of money!

Even though its nice being out here (in the Middle Of the Gulf)  when its time to go its just time to go. If your like me its never easy having to leave your spouse being. Especially if you have children, which my wife and I are expecting in the next couple months. Even though it hard we have to make a living somehow.

Nothing sounds better than the Dispatcher calling out "Helicopter 20 minutes out". If you have never flown before your missing out. Its a way better experiance than flying in an Airplane. Pop in my ear plugs, strap myself down, and just sit back and injoy the ride. Once the blades start tuning all I can think about is my family! Whenever we lift off you get that few seconds of rush, and then your in the clouds thinking to yourself about all the things your going to do on your days off. 

Requiem of a Dream?

Trust me when I say this story is really out there. Some people say that Albert Einstein had some of his greatest ideas in his dreams. Unfortunately for me that is not the case.  So I guess somewhere between the time you fall asleep, and the moment you "kinda" realize you're in a dream is where i'll begin.  

I'm looking out a window (all in my dream) in this creepy house of which i've never seen before. All of a sudden I begin to see the Enterprise coming toward us. Yes from Star Trek. In the room is my family and friends, all essential personnel for an important dream! The Enterprise comes down and Beam transports people and begins to depart. Now about the time the Enterprise leaves the clouds start forming into this dark and gloomy formation. At this point i'm petrified because, whatever was coming we were obviously left behind to face it. 

In a frantic motion we all start running, to where i'll never know. Whenever we got outside things began to come together. Nanomites! Yes from G.I Joe. It was eating up everything in its path. At least its not zombies! I think everyone can agree that those dreams typically are the worst. Running from something that can't die, thats not for me. I'm more along the lines of being in that "happy place", as long as KISS isn't there trying to mess my hole in one up. Over your head if you never seem Happy Gilmore.  

So before i can end this weird story which has no impact whatsoever on anything, i want to say thank you to the one or two people that actually read this far. I usually don't dream this far out there, so i figured why not tell some. 

Before leaving on my dirtbike, which i checked to make sure had a license plate, i grabbed all the essential items one needs to survive "in a Dream". My iphone (obviously) , my favorite jacket, some clean socks, and last but not least a full size SCBA. As we all road away like it was the end of a pilot episode of my memoir my alarm struck.

Rogue Co-Pilot Seeking Asylum

In a world where traveling through airlines feels like escaping from a maximum security prison, its not just the people next to you that we have to worry about. cnn  

So basically the Pilot of  Ethiopian Airlines has to take a brake and use the restroom. Whether or not the pilot really new the guy, it just seem wild how this happened. The Pilot leaves the cockpit and as soon as he enters the restroom his co-pilot just locks the door. Now if I was a passenger i wouldn't even have realized what was going on. This is like Grand Theft Auto taken to the extreme! I cant even imagine what was going through the Pilots mind as he tried to return to his seat. 

Now this co-pilot (who remains unnamed) takes control of the Boeing 767-300 holding 202 passengers. Driven by the fact the he felt threatened in his country, he changed direction and headed for Geneva Switzerland looking for some sort of "asylum". So if you where going on vacation your trip just became very interesting, headed to Rome to explore an Italian culture i think not, more like the Giant Fountain, and ST.Pierre Cathedral. 

So in the end the man sees his elaborate plan has fallen, but in stead of just giving up and walking into custody he kicks the window out and slides to the ground on a rope. I guess he was thinking if he walked out the cockpit all the people would have killed him. Plus what better way to really leave a mark in history in this situation than the Rogue CO-Pilot who pulled a Tarzan stunt just to escape from a plane surrounded by armed policemen.