Top Deck

 

Well, the house we are staying in has this awesome top deck! It's on the third level of this great "beach house" which is in a really fun beach community.  There are pools, houses, walking trails, little shops, eateries, and of course....the beach!  On the top level of our house (the one we are staying in) there is this walk-out deck that simply screams to come out and plop down on the outdoor couches....enjoy what the Lord has created...rest...the burdens may be heavy but not when you relax out here! 

So, I sit outside in the mornings, I rest, I sip on my coffee and I sit with Jesus.  One cup of joe.....another cup being filled with Him.  With two little guys who get up at the crack of dawn, it makes the mornings a cinch to wake up and go outside to be with the Lord. 

A quiet time on the top deck - the breeze from the ocean, a bit of a calm before the storm of my hectic schedule approaching fast when we arrive back at home. May my time with Jesus continue to be so rich; may my time with Olivia and the boys continue to be so great, and may my time w/my extended family be cherished.

Top Deck....see you in the morning.

His Peace,

-ao

Making a Splash...

 

 

Having fun times at the beach.  We took the boys to a "splash pad" last night.....it was so much fun just letting Wyatt rock it out with the lights as the fountains would splash up when the lights came on.  It was night time and we enjoyed our time hanging as a family and playing in the water.....so much joy...so much wonder....

Thanks be to God for His love and providing us a chance to be on this vacation.

Blessings,

-ao

WHAT A STUD

  hey it's olivia typing here. i broke into andy's blog so i could share a picture and tell andy how much i love him. you are the best man in the whole world!

[The Wild Wild West] happy father's day

…from Olivia (on her blog)

 

Happy Father's Day Andy/Babe/Honey/Daggy/Daaaaaaddddaaaa....
We love you so much.
You are the greatest.
You are always available.
Always patient.
Always playful.
And silly.
And fun.
You are the best storyteller.
The best breakfastmaker.
You are their hero and mine.

--
Posted By Olivia to The Wild Wild West at 6/21/2009 11:44:00 PM

Dinosaur Fish

 

Yes, that's right.  Wyatt calls the blue gills and perch, "Dinosaur Fish" - he says we are catching little dinosaurs! He also gets so excited he almost can't see straight...when he's reelin in a fish!  We caught about 7 or 8 fish on Monday morning - it was the greatest!  Wyatt told me, "Daggy...you have to be paaathhents" - translation:  you have to be patient - "...when the fishes come...we have to wait for them to come and bite the worm on their mouths; and then, Daggy..we can REEL 'EM IN!!!"

We fished for probably 3 or 4 hours and when we left he asked why we couldn't stay and catch more fish so we could cook them on the stove and eat them! 

I think of the memories I have of fishing with my dad...my whole life it's been a highlight of the special things I have done. Now, to share that same experience with my son is like nothing else.  The joy we experience in those times is something that is made up of the ingredients of life and love that God put me on Earth for.  Good night - it is just the bomb.  I hope that we get to always do that....my dad, me, Wyatt, Boone, my brother and his Son....

It's just part of the fabric of who we (in my family) are.

Dang. It was good. 

Here's to the next time...

-ao

Is it a feeling...

 

What is it about Jesus?  Who is this man...that's what so many people wondered about Him when he walked on the Earth.  The truth is, so many are wondering the same about Christ today - they may or may not truly know it.  I believe that many people wonder about God....about Jesus Christ and the things He said and did.  I believe they wonder about miracles, about poverty, the ancient tribes in Africa, the homeless people, the rich, the famous, the murderers, the lonely ones, the ones without hope, the hookers, the officers.....the moms and dads...the husband who left for another, the mom who walked away....there are so many things to consider. There are so many scenarios to conquer or to doubt...which way to go - shall it be left or right, right or wrong, happy or sad!  Decisions, thoughts, and doubts - a labyrinth of mind games and pockets of hope and fears. It seems there are fingers pointing in all directions.

So, which direction is the right one?  Which is, as they say, True North ? 

What happens when the feelings over come everything else?  What happens when life gets in the way....and the "Dark night of the soul" shows up in our lives??  How do we get past a feeling of depression?  What do we do with our anxieties and our anger?  What do we do with this slave that lingers in a place where no one can go nor has ever seen - this true self?  Are we supposed to "get over it"?  Are we to simply move on and be better? Is better even relative?  You see, this is the stuff that crap is made of....from the pits..the pits of hell - rather, it (all the mess of lies that infiltrate our minds and attempt to penetrate our hearts) is not from the Lord.  Hear that again: It is not from the Lord!  It isn't. No, those do not belong in the same sentence; they are not a part of the breath of God.  When Jesus Christ walked in the upper room and breathed on His disciples, He was breathing the breath of life (the light and life of God) and the Holy Spirit upon them.  It was really Him.  Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man - the "visible expression of the invisible God" (-Colossians 1:15)

May we, somehow, never forget to remember that Jesus' love for us stretches as far as the East is from the West; His love and payment for us separates those that believe in Him from our sin as far as the East is from the West = forever...and ever!  Any time a feeling that is other steps or creeps in...it just is not from Him.  True North?  Happiness?  Hope and Peace?  Freedom?  Well, it exists.  They exist.....only in Him.  Those things not of Him or from Him are of no value.  The arguments at home, the thing you may be about to say in the midst of anger or in the midst of  frustration....or in a conflict that has not even happened....well, is it of any value??  The truth is that He is the value in our lives.  Jesus IS the ONLY true VALUE.  Everything else will fail....He is.  He was.  He will be forever.  Nothing can separate us from the love made known in Christ Jesus.  Forever and ever.

 

Is it just a feeling? perhaps the feeling is temporary. Jesus is not.  My faith in Him is not.  His being in me and me in Him:  not temporary.  The hope we have in Christ; the promise He gives...the infinite love and mercy and call:  Forever with the Father.  Pure in the eyes of the Lord.  To Hell with that which is not from Him.

All I need is in Christ...in Christ alone.

His Peace.

-ao

Wyatt brim.jpg

A good lot...

 

Last night we had our 2nd "Summer Five" - a bible study discussion we have at our house in the summers.  We meet five times (plus one or two) over the course of the summer and call it, "Summer Five"!  It has been a time of rich conversation and encounters with the Lord.  Jesus is in the midst of us and we always feel his presence - it has been an addictive thing for us in the summers.  It is for our friends who've graduated high school (at least one year removed) and up.....always a fun mix of people each week.  Last night was great.  We were in Colossians Chapter 1.

 

This a.m. I was in Psalms.  I read in chapter 16....

     "I said to the Lord, "You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.  -  Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure.  The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.  I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me.  I have set the Lord always before me.  Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken."

                                                                  - Psalm 16:2,5-8 NIV

Father, thank you for my lot.  Thank you that I am secure in you and your love for me.  Pleasant places is where you have landed me - because it's yours....Jesus I am yours...you are mine...my inheritance:  "every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms" -Ephesians 1:3

Thank you for counseling me, Jesus.  Thank you that you instruct my heart and I can depend upon you.

 

Today.  Thank you.  The lot you have given me is good...yes, Lord, it is good. 

Blessings.

-ao

A good day...

Today - a good day.  Breakfast with Ryan, my step brother.  Good conversation on the back patio - cool morning with the birds singing God's praises and the grass freshly mowed from yesterday afternoon...still damp with the morning dew.  Biscuits, bacon and sausage, eggs and coffee to drink.  We laughed.  We caught up - Ryan's first time in our home....been over two years and he's not been in my house - what kind of brother am I ?  We enjoyed our time together - I felt like we had no agenda, plenty of time, and were in the presence of the Lord. 

That is what I enjoy most about getting up early....the cool mornings, the quiet of the day as it begins to open the eyes of whatever this day will bring - there is a yawn and a stretch....the breeze blows and the trees whimper....the birds begin to spread the word that light is coming....the day is happening - God is doing His thing...and tell the bugs, tell the bees, alert the leaves at the tips of the moistened tree branches and tell the sky to open up as we all prepare for "the day the Lord has made.."

Mornings with Jesus.  The best.  There's nothing sweeter than time with Him...time to begin my day...time to keep my sanity - when I am not with the Lord and not with the orchestra of His creation, praising Him for the day - things are just not the same.  There is so much to tell  - so many stories...stories of friends, stories of Wyatt and Boone being best buddies, stories of Olivia and me taking these new products called Genesis Pure (www.genesispure.com/andyogle) and feeling different in a terrific manner! We feel great!  We are on our way to better health.  I will probably write soon to tell more of our Genesis Pure experiences and improved health.

For now, it's a good day.....a good day to soak in.  A good day to remember who's I am...to get a few things done, to walk in the light of Jesus and the life He calls me to live.  May I be reminded that I am His and presented as Holy to the Lord God.  Holy; He has made me like Himself -  because of the depths of His love.  The Cross.  The Resurrection.  Life abundantly in Jesus.  Forever.

His Peace.

-ao

A time to ponder...

I had my time with the Lord this a.m.  We were in Colossians.  I say, "We", because He is in me and I am in Him. He speaks to me through His word and I was in His word this morning - the book of Colossians.  I read.  I listened.  There were several things that I felt the gentle nudgings of God's Spirit in my heart and then one thing hit me a bit more than some others.

     "And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called, in one body.  And be thankful."

                                                            -Collossians 3:15 ESV

The Peace of Christ.  That is my hope and my prayer more days than not.  That His peace would reign....that He would rule in me...and in my heart - that I would trust and love and follow Christ in all my ways.  That all I do would be about Him and His love.  That I  would love Olivia and Wyatt and Boone in a manner that simply reflects Jesus.  That all I do and say to anyone and myself comes out of the overflow of Jesus Christ...in me!  For me, to let the "peace of Christ rule.." in my heart is to allow Jesus to take over.  However, it isn't as simple as it might seem.  It is a commitment, following Christ.  To allow His peace to rule means I must trust Him in all I do.  It is my hope for sure - it is my passion; but, I do not always submit my ways to Him.  He is my rule...the RULE in my life is in Christ, certainly.  So, shall I be guilted in time or lack thereof with Jesus?  Shall I be so excited I can not see straight that He rules in me and I have Him therefore I have eternity with God the Father and because of Jesus I have been redeemed...that my sins have been "set aside...and nailed to the cross" (Collossians 2)

There is no guilt in Christ.  He is my rock.  He  is my ever-present help.  I have been called to Him, by Him...and called to His peace - a peace that means "freedom from disturbance" and to be a part of the body of Christ.  It is freeing to remember this....to be reminded of His love and to be freed from guilt = faith in Jesus Christ.  He has set me free.  I will not give anything else a foothold because I belong to Him.  Perhaps there's something to this...perhaps this is a message that all might ought to consider??  I agree.

 

I was reading Don Miller's book, "To Own a Dragon" this morning and on one occasion, where he was backpacking in the Grand Canyon, he began a small journal entry.  In that entry he said this, "..If you can't buy a nice car for your family or anything, don't worry about it.  Just go into your kids' room and kiss them on the forehead, okay, 'cause there is all kinds of beauty and it doesn't have anything to do with having some stuff."  When it comes to the things that matter and the question of "Am I good enough?" - for you...or for me..or anyone asking, I believe it may be helpful to consider this quote.  Don Miller had been writing to himself in his journal - a note to encourage himself twenty years down the road from the time he hiked the Grand Canyon.  It was as if to say that being tempted to being relevant and successful is a bit of hogwash.  The true beauty in life is rooted in love.  Do you tell your kids you love them?  Do you give them kisses...or do you give them one hundred dollar bills?  Do you let them know they matter like nothing else?  Do you do the same to your spouse?  Do you simply love?  Or do you compare and wonder if you will be good enough? Rich enough?  Fast enough?  Eloquent? Good looking?  Status quo?  This list goes on....but something in Don Miller's note to himself struck a cord in me.  It is that I can have no fear - that the the joy in knowing Jesus Christ is that I can have no fear - that death has no final power on me and that nothing outside of love (which comes from Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith) really matters.

 

May your day be rooted in Love.

 

Blessings.

-ao