There is a presence

There is a presence
a presence that will make you smile
this presence will make your heart burst
this presence floods your soul with joy
this presence will tingle your skin
this presence is real
this is the presence of God
this is what happens when Jesus enters the room
the blind see
the cripple walk
the deaf hear
the people rejoice
the children dance
the men shout
the women sing
when God comes near to you
your heart will change
your wants will shift
your needs will be satisfied
your mind will be renewed
Jesus died
Jesus was raised
With him is life
Without him is death
There is a presence
The presence of God.

Irony

Slice of life

Sometimes becoming a teacher is ironic. I find myself wanting so badly to be done with my senior year of school. However, then I think to myself, "I am wanting to be done with school so I can get a teaching job and never leave school again", isn't life funny.

Circumstances

Circumstances

Circumstances come and go in our lives. They can be good or bad.

Don't the good ones make us feel good and the bad ones make us feel bad?

Have you ever been having a great day then something happens

To you and you all of a sudden get thrown into this horrible mood?

Define to yourself why that happens. Are we being controlled by our circumstances?

Who gave our circumstances power over our moods, power over our hope, power over

You.

Are we just puppets constantly controlled by the deeds that happen in our lives,

Or are we supposed to be powerful? Are we supposed to be empowered by God?

"How" we cry out. How can we have power over our circumstances?

You ask and Jesus will give you peace in every circumstance.
Act now. (2 Thessalonians 3:16) "Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all!"

Learning the ways of a real man

What I have been learning about real men.

Real men cry,
Real men listen,
Real men are free,
Real men are unbound,
Real men share their feelings,
Real men are gentle with their wives,
Real men show love, honor and respect,
Real men are calm and stand firm when it counts,
Real men look fear in the face and command it to leave,
Real men let their yes be yes and their no be no,
Real men know they can speak life or death,
Real men worship with a fervent passion,
Real men shine the light of God,
Real men control their tongues,
Real men seek Jesus above all.

What Do I Expect When She's Expecting?

This week I would just like to announce that my wife is pregnant!!!! This has been one amazing week. It has been a crazy mix of emotion but amazing nonetheless. I never would have thought 3 years ago that this would be happening to me. You see in September 2011 I spoke to my wife for the first time. Earlier that summer I noticed her at church. She plays the piano for worship on sundays. I saw her and said to God, "Wow God I could really see myself marrying that woman." That is right when I saw the ring on her finger. It flashed in my eyes and I about fell back into my seat. I was shocked. "NO!!" I thought to myself "She is taken". So that day I put that spunky 5'3, blonde haired, blue eyed beauty out of my mind. Yes I will admit I was checking her out at church, and during worship for a matter of fact. However, God knew my heart and I was just looking for a woman that knew who she was and who He was. In my opinion there is no better place to find the right lady than at church. Anyway, after a couple months that beautiful girl kept popping back into my mind. Finally I asked my friend who she was and he said, "oh Deven? Why do you want to know? You like her." I did not deny the fact that I was very interested in her, but she did have a ring on her finger. My friend, then laughing at me, decided to inform me that her ring was not an engagement ring or a wedding ring but a purity ring! She was not married she was just saving her purity till marriage! I was very excited and a little embarrassed about my small mistake. Well then it all happened. By this time she was in California at a ministry school, so my only chance of contact with her was on Facebook. I struck up a conversation with her and we haven't stopped talking since. I met Deven Renee McBride in person at our church Christmas party. We started dating December 30th, 2011, we were engaged May 18th, 2012 and she changed her name to Deven Renee Fiorito on August 25th, 2012!! Now we have a baby due September 29th, 2014! My Father in Heaven is a good God, and through Jesus I am a very blessed man! I cannot express my excitement and gratitude for this life. Praise the Lord I am gonna be a daddy!

This week was good to me.

This week was really good for me
My wife and I went to Anthony Lakes to Ski.

We had a great time and even shared a chili cheese fry,
When we got home our legs we so sore we almost had to cry,
But it was worth it all when we were bombing runs, feeling skis shake and praying not to die.

We had another little surprise the day after that I cannot share as a matter of fact,
But when I can, I will, and that will be a glorious act,
We are still praying it is true and not just false alarm,
Yes, we want this to be true so we can hold it in our arms.

Now, today is an interesting day because I am happy that MLK did what he did,
Yet sadly, I am not studying him or learning his ways. Honestly I am just putting a lid
on my homework. I hope someone is writing about him and what he said.

I thank Jesus for my life, because of Him I have been set free to find and know real love,
I thank Martin Luther King Junior for following Jesus showing all what it means to really love.

Darkness Only Overcomes When the Light is Turned Off.

Darkness Only Overcomes When the Light is Turned Off. 





I want to talk about lies this week. Lies are what break us from truth. Lies can take a beautiful woman or man and make them feel like a fat, worthless, stupid individual that will never amount to anything worth living for. Truth is what sets us free from all of that. Darkness only overcomes light when the light is turned off. Love is light when it comes to lies. Lies say, "ugly", Love says, "beautiful". Darkness says, "be scared of me", Light says, "come to me". Love is the driving force of who we are when we serve people in a non-selfish, non-egocentric way. Love is when we correct the lies and call out the beauty. Love is to bring out the best in the people around us and lead them to truth.

How Truth Can Set Our Students Free

I want to tell everyone a story about a young lady who I was instructing in a summer math class. This student was smart, creative, and very energetic. She was going about her math as usual but I started to notice she was struggling with some new content. As she struggled I could see her posture and whole countenance change. She went from being bubbly to being sad. Her shoulders began to droop and her head finally just rested on the table not moving for a few minutes. I knew in my heart she must be struggling with lies about herself. We all struggle at some point in our lives and for many people math is that "some point". So, I went over to help her. I asked her what the problem was and she said she was just to stupid to do math. She said she could not do math and she knew it. Right there I knew some how lies were getting into her head and she was believing them. At this point I said, "Who is telling you that you are stupid? I know you are not stupid you are very smart."  She answered with this statement, and it broke my heart, "Everyone says I am stupid. Even my math teacher says I am not good at math, and he knows I cannot do it." I then knew I could combat these lies with Truth. Truth sets us free, remember? So, I told her again that I knew she could do math, and I told her how smart and intelligent I knew she was. I then took out a whiteboard and gave it to her, and told her to write down the words "I am Smart". There was major hesitation when I asked her to do this. She "knew" she was dumb, and even simply writing out the words "I am Smart" felt like she was lying to herself. When we think lies are truth is when we have become deceived. Nonetheless, Truth will always reign supreme. She finally wrote out the words and she felt great doing it. Over the course of the summer this young lady started telling herself she was smart, and she started to believe it. I am sure you can guess the rest of the story, but math started clicking in her head as she began to realize and internalize this new truth. In the end truth came through and the lies were shot down.

Summary/Practical Application

Lies will take hold of a person and trap them to the point where is feels like there is no escape. As teachers we need to bring the Truth to our students. Many students will come to our classrooms filled with lies telling them they are worthless, stupid, and no good. Teachers need to be combating those lies not agreeing with them. So I challenge you in your teaching career to call the greatness out in your students. Tell them they are smart, encourage them, speak life into their situations and, most importantly, shine light into their darkness. Love your students selflessly and show them you are their biggest fan. Remember that truth sets us free and Light overcomes darkness.