The Lighted Path

I apologize for the lack of updates around here recently. It seems like all myself and the family are doing is going, going, going. I think that we have been out and about more than we have been at home. I am not complaining, it is just that I get side tracked easily and when I have something to write about by the time sit down to write it, it's gone! I am going to try really hard to make notes throughout the day and force myself to set aside some time to make a post. Now that I got that out of the way, let's talk about some changes going on in my life right now that are awesome. I do not know if I had mentioned this at all before but my wife, myself, and another couple have take on the roles of youth advisors for our church's youth group. We have done so much more with this group since the beginning of the year than has been done with them in a long time. This has been such a great experience for all of us and we decided that they deserved their own youth room within t...

Good morning everyone.  Just wanted to make a quick post to say hello and to also say thanks and praise the Lord that today is forty days since I have had a cigarette!  I have said it again and again and again, I could not have done this without God's help and guidance.  Constant prayer and reliance on the Lord have made this, by far, the best quit that I have had.  I am not trying to be cocky about it, but I feel that I do have the right to be happy about it. Time to go get ready for church and enjoy what is looking to be another beautiful day given to us by God.  Not that everyday He has given us isn't beautiful, I just like the sun...and the Son as well ;-)!  Take care everyone, may your day be filled with many blessings... GOD BLESS!

Good morning everyone.  I can not believe that another weekend has come and gone and now it is back to the daily work grind.  I really wish that the work week would fly-by just as quickly as the weekends do! I am quite surprised that I am not that sore this morning after participating in the 2011 Quakertown CROP Hunger Walk .  I think we did a 3, maybe 3.5, mile route, and I would have to say that about a mile of it I had my son on my shoulder's!  The Lord blessed us with a truly beautiful day and our church had an excellent turnout this year.  My wife Holly is actually our church's coordinator.  She did an excellent job in the weeks leading up to by getting walkers and keeping everyone motivated and pumped up for the event. I leave you with a music video entitled "Raise Your Voice" by K.C. Clifford .  It gives a little insight into what CROP Hunger Walks are about and their cause.  Thanks, everyone and GOD BLESS! "Truly I tell you, ...

Yesterday was a day of a milestones for me.  The first milestone was finishing up day 40 of my 90 day reading plan for reading through the bible.  Each day you read between three and five chapters of three different books; one from the beginning, one from the middle, and one from the end.  For instance yesterday's readings were from Joshua, Ecclesiastes, and Acts.  I can not believe the difference in myself an the impact on my life that has come from the reading the Word daily.  The past few weeks at work have been really trying and when I start to get upset I look at the Bible sitting on my desk, pray for those upsetting me and pray for calm and the frustrations leave me.  I then refocus and reflect on Colossians 3:23  and remember who my Boss really is. The second milestone of the day was reaching 28 days of being smoke-free!  Twenty-eight days ago I can honestly say that I did not think that I would see this many days of being smoke-free (wel...

Good Monday morning everyone.  I wanted to make a post about World Communion Sunday last night after my family and I returned from the service, but I was tired and knew I needed to get up early today for work.  Let me give a brief, very brief, background of World Communion Sunday for those of you who may not know what it is. World Communion Sunday  is celebrated the 1st Sunday in October by churches around the world, regardless of the denomination, to commemorate and reflect on the meaning of communion and significance of Jesus' last meal with His disciples before paying the ultimate price for us and our sins.  For " while we were still sinners, Christ died for us " (Romans5:8 TNIV). In the Brethren denomination, which is my denomination, we do not celebrate communion every Sunday like some other Denominations do.  This is usually saved for certain Sunday's of significance, weddings, and or other special events.  In our church we celebrate World Commun...

Good morning everyone!  Wow I can not believe that October is here already!  I guess it is time to wake up   and enjoy the fresh start that comes with each new month.  My 30 day challenge is over, and I must say that while I did not hit my goal af averaging a post a day, I am quite pleased with ending the month of September with a total of 24 posts.   I was only 6 off of the mark and that isn't too shabby considering the poor performance of posting the previous months.  While the challenge is closed I still plan on continuing to try and make a post a day and so far I am off to a good start ;-) The month of October is quite important to me as both my birthday and my wedding anniversary fall in this month.  October 2nd is my birthday, this year I turn the big 32 , and October 19th is my wedding anniversary.  This year my wife Holly and I celebrate our 9-year   Anniversary!   Where does time go?  I know through out the course of thes...

Good morning everyone.  Just a quick reminder that the motion picture Courageous is in theaters NOW! My birthday is on Sunday, so hopefully at some point this weekend I get a chance to see this.   GOD BLESS!

Good evening everyone.  Well, I don't quite think that I am going to make 30 posts in the 30 days but hey...I tried.  What I do have for you this evening is another song that is very inspirational.  Today's song is  Jason Gray's  "I Am New."  The song is right in-line with what I am and have been feeling/experiencing this past month.  I hope you enjoy this song and the video as much as I do and it has an equally powerful message for you too.  Enjoy, and GOD BLESS! "I am not who I was I am being remade I am new I am chosen and holy And I'm dearly loved I am new"

Good morning everyone. I just wanted to do do this extremely uick and mobile post to let everyone know that I have been smoke-free for 21 days 4 hours and 20 minutes. According to my support site QuitNet , over the course of the 21 days that I have been quit in total I have not smoked 530 cigarettes and have saved almost $125! I am just so excited and thankful to The Lord because I really feel that this time is different and I owe it all to the fact that I have placed this quit attempt in the hands of Jesus . I finally realied that I was going to ge nowhere if I relied on myself and myself contol to quit... GOD BLESS!

Good Morning Everyone! It is so easy to get up on the wrong side of the bed on Monday mornings. No one likes to see the weekend come to an end. It makes for an exceptionally greater challenge when you are not really enjoying your job anymore either. Today I am going to make a conscious effort to remember and reflect on the post that author Brooke made over at Faith Blogs reminding us that "whatever you do, work at it with all of your heart, as working for the Lord, not human masters." ( Colossians 3:23 ) GOD BLESS!

Good morning everyone and Happy Sunday!  I just wanted to post up a few quick updates before I start getting ready for church.  Yesterday I made a post talking about how I wanted to have a different name for this blog.  So after some careful consideration no longer is this The Cornucopia of Goodness  but welcome to The Lighted Path.   I figured that since this blog is more or less focused on my continuing faith journey and my constantly developing relationship with God, that  Psalm 119:105  pretty much hit the nail on the head.  "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." I also updated the background to my blog.  Hopefully this freshens things up a bit.   GOD BLESS!

...no not my actual name, but a name, or title, or whatever it is called for my blog.  I googled "The Cornucopia of Goodness" and while I know that I do not post as much as I should and didn't expect to see my blog at the tops of the list, I was surprised to see a few other blogger blogs, not titled but containing, with cornucopia of goodness.  Most of them being food related.  I admit I do like food, maybe more than I should, but that is far from what I had in mind when I created this blog back in May.  I actually gave it the name because the initial focus of this blog was a little bit of everything that I like.  As you can tell, and as God and time changes people, the main focus now if on my faith and faith journey so I need to come up with a title a little more fitting... any suggestions???   GOD BLESS!

I do not know if I had mentioned previously that I was in the process of reading through the Bible in 90 days, but I have just completed day 30!  I would have to agree with the author of the blog  Giving it all up  who also is nearing the completion of a month into her Bible in a Year plan and said, "it seems that I have been reading for a lot longer than that!"   I feel the same way, but at the same time I realize what I have been missing out on.  When I first started the plan I feel behind a few days, and once I got back on track I made it a point to keep on it daily.  Reading my daily passages has become a staple for my mornings.  It is how I kick off each work day and on the weekends it is the first thing I do in the morning.  I think that if I were to even fall behind by one day, that I would feel off for that day.  I truly believe that this is why (and prayer too) my quitting smoking attempt has been so successful this time (18 days)! ...

Good Morning Everyone!  I am just waking up and I had an idea of something I would like to try and do here on my blog.  I will take a song that has me inspired at the moment and post the song, or if there is a video, post the video for it.  I am not sure how frequently this will occur, but I will try to keep up with this little feature.  I know what you are thinking, you are all thinking that I am just trying to up my post count.  That is partially right, but I would also like to share songs that have a strong, powerful, and positive message to me and hope that others may enjoy them as well. The first song that I have is  MercyMe's  "I Can Only Imagine" from their 2001 release  Almost There .  What an awesome day it will truly be when we can finally be face to face with our Lord and Savior,  Jesus Christ...GOD BLESS! "Surrounded by Your Glory, what will my heart feel Will I dance for You Jesus or in awe of You be still Wi...

I knew that I was behind, but I did not realize that I was 9 days behind on my 30 day challenge!  I mean this cheap little short post will make it seem like 8 days (15 posts for September) but I have completely let it slide.  I need to make a substantial post tonight.  I have had a lot of thoughts, it is just that when I get around to it I am either tired and it is bedtime or I forget what it was I wanted to write about.  I need to start carrying a notepad!   GOD BLESS!

Goid evening everyone! This is a quick mobile post to let you know that although I have fallen behind by quite some days in my 30 day challenge, I have not abandoned my blog completely. Not that I have been too busy to post, I have just been turning in with my wife earlier and having some us time. I also think that the quitting smoking also has played a part as well. Today is 14 days since I have been quit. I really am doing well and I know that this time is different because I am have been praying alot more and left it in God's hands not in my own. Well I am wrapping this up now because my thumbs hurt from typing! I will try to be back later with another post. Until then, GOD BLESS!

Over the past few weeks it is hard to explain what has been happening within me. I know that this year so far has been rough on my family in terms of our financial situation.  All of our student loans have come in, a good portion of which are still in forbearance credit card debt, down a car, and the list goes on and on and on.  At first I was fearful of what was coming to come of this, how we would make it, really just at a complete loss.  A few months ago after seeing sign after sign I realized what the problem was, and it was that I was lacking my trust in God the Father and the promises of His Son Jesus that there was no need to worry. 31  So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32  For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.   33  But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.   3...

Good evening everyone!  I know, I know, I am two days (posts) behind on my 30 day challenge, but give a fellow a break!  This is going to be just a short post, as I am about to head out to a church picnic.  I just wanted to write and say that I am really looking forward to seeing the movie  Courageous  when it comes out in theaters on September 30th.  Courageous is from the makers of the movie  Fireproof .  If you have not seen the movie  Fireproof  I highly recommend that you go and watch it.  It is such an inspirational film with such a powerful message behind it.   I am not a film critic, and I am not much for giving reviews/synopsis' on films, so I won't do so for  Courageous . What I can do is provide you with the trailer :)  Enjoy, and I will be back later.   GOD BLESS!!!

I know, I know...I have fallen behind on my 30 Day challenge. I am not too far behind so hopefully I can catch it up soon. I am past the point of feeling that I have let myself down. This month is the first month that I have had so many consecutive posts since I started this blog that I am quite pleased with myself actually. Just keep on bearing with me. Everyday I am trying to think of ways to makenhis blog a little bit better, a little less...blah. Don't get me wrong everything that I right is meaningful and true, but I need to incorporate more photos, videos, and even fonts. Again I say, just bear with me! If you happen to be reading this post an are trying to figure out what the title means, you are about to find out. When I say "One Week Down" I am just referring to my progress with becoming smoke-free. It has been one week since my last cigarette, and I am feeling really great! I can honestly tell you all that this time feels so much different. I know that the big...

I am really beginning to fall behind on my 30 Day Challenge! Ok so I am not that far behind, but my consistency is definitely falling off. If I am figuring this out correctly, I am still only one post off from hitting the 30 mark by month end. I really need to make sure that I make another post later on tonight. Yesterday was bit of an off day for the whole family. We had so many things that we were supposed to do yesterday, but we completely forgot about them. My wife and I had an argument yesterday early on in the morning which really set the tone for the whole day. The argument was, of course, over our finances. Not out how we are currently spending but rather our spending from the past. We both made some poor choices early on in our marriage but my wife still likes to beat herself up about it whereas I take the role of a forward thinker and not dwell on the past. It is no lie that money is the root of all evil, even when you do not have any! There was also mor to arguments than...