Thanksgiving

Today is my 1st of 4 days off and let me say that it was fairly good. I missed Sarah while she was at work and the kids were...let's just say the average 1 1/2 and 2 year olds. because of thanksgiving i won't have karate this week but it will be good to give sarah some extra time on her own. Today ponder the name Jesus, what does it mean to you and your family? For that name is the very reason that the pilgrims first celebrated and gave thanks for the first time.

peace out
sam

thankful thursday.......

What is the worst thing you can imagine? Cancer, losing a child, going broke..... Today I wish to ponder this question, What is the worst thing to you? well for me it is to KNOW God's will and not being able to do it, worse yet, refusing to do it. the church decided to pay for my tuition and books for bible school, that is a huge answer to prayer. so I have transfered from not doing what God wants me to, to making a positive leap into His will.

So today I am thankful for a pastor who follows the holy spirit and is not afraid to lead the church. He just kinda told the board, this is what we are doing, like it or not.

He is so helpful in everyway possible. who would have ever thought that an "okie" named bill coons would turn out to be exactly what Grace needed.

Thank you Jesus for sending us the "perfect pastor"



what are you thankful for today?

Shalom be with you...lol


peace out
Sam

Disappointment

today, after checking my blog I realized that only ONE person (thanks Car) commented on my memories post, not even my wife!!!!

the Bible says that the love of money is the root 0f all evil. so I try to get rid of mine as soon as I get it. lol

the Indiana trip is coming up and my money has dissolved. I am so stressed and disappoointed that i can hardly breathe. how did we let money become such an overwhelming aspect of our lives, what happened to the days where if you made a couple thousand a month you were doing well? nowadays if you make that you are barely scraping by.

I am praying that I will get the money somehow to bring the girls here.

I HATE money!!!

freaked out by finances,
sam

Memories

This blog is dedicated to all the infamous memories that I have created. so please, I am begging you, share your favorite memory of me. Be it funny, embarrassing, outragous what ever it is please share it. I would like to get 10 comments, so this means that Sarah and Carly have to comment 4 times each!!!lol

Vent, vent, vent.....

You know, sometimes you go through life and wonder why people are butts. every once in a while you meet someone who is who they are no matter what. Chris and Carly are no exception to this. they have always been good friends, and great "Catch phrase buddies". all this aside, i dealt with some really stupid people today. and I sure understand why some people go off the deep end. and if it wasn't for Jesus and fellow christians that I feel accountable to, I would probably go postal.

I must apologize for making fun of a guy at work that has tourettes. he is so funny but it is so catchy. and sarah just taught maya to say "Your a fffff fffff fff fffrea ffreak fah freak". rofl!!!!!!


well i gotta go and get maya more kewlaid....ttfn

peace out
sam

What in the World???!!!

why has everyone been slacking on their posts. why has the only person who has encouraged me to blog been criticising my lack thereof? why do I find it so hard to do the Love Dare? The answers to these questions are not as nearly important as the answer to the following one. Why in the world is it sooooo hard to be a christian. Why is it so hard to resist the devil? I am in a spiritual rut that has lasted for years and I hoped that it would pass and I am sure that I need to more proactive about it........... any thoughts???

Failure

I hate failure. In fact, I would go so far as to say that failure gets me so mad that I feel it in the very center of my being. My attempt at the Love dare stopped when i had to make the list of things that were good about Sarah and a list of things that were bad. I couldn't bring myself to do it. so I have postponed the Love Dare until today......Lord willing I will make the lists when I get home.

wish me luck

carly, how is your dare going??

Peace Out,
Sam

Mercy renewed in the morning

you know every monday when i get up for work I think about how God's mercies are renewed every morning. a new day, a new way to look at difficulties, a new chance to see lost souls get saved, and another chance to show sarah how much I love her!!!!

yesterday I had to make 2 list about sarah, on of positive things and one of negative. and then I had to pick a positive thing about sarah and thank her for it.........I chose to thank her for the way she supports me in my ministry and when I ask for criticism she will be blunt but she is always loving when she says it.

so yesterday I filled the pulpit at Grace; in the am I preached on getting the Victory and in the pm I preached on JESUS: what manner of man is this.....i felt that the services went very well. rex gave me a book on how to put together a sermon; i appreciate the gesture but............i think sarah may have had an issue with it..

i have to get back to work now and how come i haven't had many comments....come on kiddo's get with it.

The Love Dare......

Day 1....say nothing negative....no problem.

Day 2....do something nice for your spouse....no problem.

Day 3....buy something for your spouse....Defiately no problem.

Day 4....call your spouse during the day to see how they are doing....no problem.

I know what you are thinking, Sam sure has this love dare thing whipped........well let me tell you, that is what I thought until i read Day 5.

Day 5....Have your spouse make a list of 3 things that you do that irritates, annoys, or aggrivates them....GINORMOUS PROBLEM!!!!

Noone no matter who they are likes to hear bad things about themselves. Furthermore, I get crazy defensive when someone says something negative towards me. this journey is one of, if not THE most difficult things I have ever undergone........ and it is only Day5!

I need help, I need comments of encouragement, I need to pills that will allow me to wake up the moment Gabriel gets fussy in the middle of the night!

Carly, is it this hard for you??? I just have to stay committed no matter how hard it is, my marriage is worth it!

Help Me Jesus!!!

peace out

sam

thankful thursday.......

today I am thankful for the Holy Spirit. I was asked to fill in this sunday at church and I really felt like I should come up with a new message instead of digging out an old one.......so I prayed all week and this morning the Holy Spirit came through and gave me one. I love it when you can feel the Holy Spirit move. so Lord willing, this sunday will be awesome. hopefully i we be used by God in a great way. well TTFN!



Peace out
sam

quick post

the best thing about the night time..........is definately when maya lays her head on my shoulder and reaches around the other side of my head and holds my ear. one of my greatest moments of the day is when i get a chance to visit maya on my lunch break. speaking of breaks, this one is over......i better get going. to all who read this post, let your spouse know how much you care about them today.

peace out,
sam

things are looking up!

today I (secretly...shhhh) started the love dare. I find myself looking for positive things to say. so on day one I decided i am going to do everything in my power to tame the tongue. this is a noble task only to be undertaken by the purest of hearts. Satan loves to get us christians to use our venomous vocals when ever possible. I would bet that the majority of us never take in to consideration how much our words define who we are ......out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

so things are looking up in the Shaffer household, well except for maya's constant defiance of any and all authority. sarah's evening job has tested me in ways I cannot explain. it isn't having the kids all evening that tests me, it is not having sarah around. I feel like our marriage has suffered and the more time we spend apart the more we drift away from each other. So I am praying that the Love Dare will quicken our marriage and renew the passion that first drew us together.

so to the 2 blogger friends I have, pray hard for me and my wife as we undergo yet another difficult part of our life.

peace out
sam

WORK WORK WORK!!!

Well here I am, it is 2:30 pm on Sunday and am sitting in the breakroom wishing I would have been able to be at church. Praise Jesus that this is the last Sunday I have to work for a while. Today I would like to spend some time talking about one of my favorite people, Maya Jane Shaffer. This little unbelieviably cute ball of sassiness has been starting to be quite onery lately. and even though maya has been not a perfect angel, I find myself becoming increasingly comforted during our evenings together. the fits, the crying, the "NO DADDA NAUGHTY!", every little thing that she does wrong pales in comparison to when she lays her head on me and says"I love you Daddoo". At that point I completely melt and just want to hold her and never let her go.

I am especially thankful for maya today because even though she was a complete brat yesterday when mommy took here to get pictures, I still (without hesitation) loved her and held her as if she were a perfect angel.

BTW.......Carly, thank you for always commenting on my blog. I am a horrible blogger and you post comments even more than my wife.





Peace out.

sam

thankful thursday

today I am thankful for the TRUTH!!!

truth and honesty are two of the best traits I have ever found in a friend. last night after i was done teaching a bible study, one of the men told my father-in-law that I should be the new pastor. I was floored. I have been praying for exactly that. I know that GOD knows what is best and He is always right on time. And GOD's TRUTH is so prevelant in my life and my work and my ministry that I feel HIM guiding my every step and every word. I am so thankful for Jesus, who is constantly teaching me humility ( last week I had to shovel horse manure out of the drain pits at work). I have learned to let my pride go and just let GOD lead. PEACE OUT!!

sam.

crap at work

I have been putting up with mega-crap at work. sorry it has been so long since my last post. I work with a bunch of guys who don't pull their weight and the one that does is leaving! anywho jesus will see me through and protect my sanity. I just have to remember to keep dancing in the rain!!

peace
sam