How do you see yourself?

I think 8th grade

Now, this may seem somewhat obvious but, 

How you see yourself matters.

1st or 2nd grade

I really shouldn't speak for anyone else so I won't, but I don't consider myself at all unusual or different than anyone else really. Having said that, this may sound familiar.
When I was a kid, I remember thinking of myself as having a problem with my weight.
Now as I look back through pictures, I don't honestly know why I would have ever thought that about my self.
But I did. and it affected the way I lived.

Like most other kids back then, I played basketball constantly! We had a neighbor who had a basketball goal and a concrete driveway!! It was a big deal to us! I was actually pretty good underneath because I was the tallest kid in the neighborhood, but I was killer from the foul line!!

We had a grade school team. I never even tried out. I really didn't think I would make the team but I was at least as good as anyone else there. From MY vantage point, I couldn't see it.
The way I see myself influences how I live my life.
My best friend was Joe. Joe was quite athletic but I had no problem keeping up with him! On bikes or  playing basketball we were dead even. I remember him asking me once why I didn't try out for the team. I said I just didn't think I was good enough. From his perspective I was fine but he wasn't the one who needed to be convinced.
Many years later, after getting out of the Air Force I did put on weight which soon got out of control.

Me with my grandson

A couple of years ago I attended The Encounter in Nashville, TN at the insistence of a close friend.
This is a life changing 4 day event. (Straight from the website; "Through a number of activities, you will have the opportunity to explore, understand, and move beyond what keeps you from experiencing the life you desire."
One of these activities is called "Feedback"  (I experience you as...)
I gave feedback to everyone and I receive from everyone. I was sweating this out. I knew some of the things I was going to hear would be things like "you don't take care of yourself" or "Lazy"...
Well, nobody said anything even remotely like that! I was shocked!!
One girl, with whom I became close friends, Krystal, who sat beside me throughout the event said to me "You're like a starving baker, you feed encouragement to everyone else and you yourself forget to eat"
That brought me to tears. It was typical of the feedback I got that day...from total strangers.
It was really surprising how people I never met outside that training room experienced me. I really would have never imagined that people see me this way. Pretty unanimous too!
What if they were right? What if my perception of myself is flawed?
I began trying to be more conscious of the way viewed myself.
After a while, at a bible study I began a journey to find out how God sees us!!
We are the joy set before Jesus...Hebrews 12:2
He rejoices over us with singing!!... Zephaniah 3:17

This is only 2 verses!!! I could go on all day!!!!!

Today, I saw a very special commercial for Dove soap.

I was moved to tears as I saw women (true of men too) awakened to the possibility that they are beautiful

and I remembered my experience in "Feedback".

 I want to share it with you here. Please watch and enjoy!!

So, how do you see yourself?

J.O.Y.

There is an acronym for Joy that I want to share
J- Jesus
O-Others
Y- You

But the greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.                                                                                                                              Matthew 23:11-12

It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”                                                                                                                              Matthew 20:26-28

Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;Philippians 2:3

Proverbs 28:29...really?

It's so easy to get caught up in religious themes without realizing it.
I used to post a scripture every morning. Usually it was something that spoke to me during my morning bible/coffee time. There would sometimes be 20 or 30 people either "like" or "comment" on the verse each day.
One day as I read some of the comments, I wondered if people are actually reading them or just responding to a bible theme.
So I posted something like Proverbs 28:29 God will not give you more than you can handle.
If you would like to look up Proverbs 28:29 you will see that it doesn't exist. Verse 28 is the last verse in that  chapter.
Yup, it's a lie! It's a misquote of 1 Corinthians 10:13 and I hear people say that ALL THE TIME!!!!  DOZENS of people just fell right in with comments like "Oh, Danny, Thank you so much for posting this, I needed to hear this today!!!"
Finally someone popped in saying "Danny Parkhill you know good and well that's not in the bible!!!!" Hahaha!!! BUSTED!!!

It happens all the time! They just jump right in without bothering to think about it.
For example, would you quote such nonsense to the parents of a dying child? No you wouldn't.
But people use stuff like this all the time because they just don't know the person of Christ Jesus
In a lost, broken and hurting world, religion doesn't cut it. Never has, Never will. But Love Never Fails!

In my life, I have found real and lasting peace comes from a relationship with Jesus as I allow Him to use me to effect the lives of OTHER PEOPLE.
It's not about ME!!!
How can I help you get to know Jesus?

My little Ford Festiva!!

And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

So it's my wife's birthday 1997. I'm stoked because we had a date!

I was working in a brand new job in Mt Vernon, IL and was just feeling blessed!

It was payday so I filled up the car and headed home. I was excited because I got out of there a little early and was really needing some Tammy time.

I was doing drug and alcohol testing for a hospital and everything about that job was new to me. I had been a medic for several years at that point but this paid much better. Tammy and I hadn't been married long and had just bought a house (it was a fixer-upper) so the extra money was good!

So I get home and went inside to change clothes and I hear a noise in the driveway. AWESOME!!! Tammy got off early too!!! So I go ahead and change and notice she doesn't come in. She was probably letting a song on the radio finish...A few minutes later...Hmmm...Long song! I go to the window and pull back the blinds and....WHAT!!!! The noise I heard was the car catching on FIRE!!!!

I wish I was making this up but I'm not. My Ford Tempo was fully aflame! We found out later that the fuel pump was prone to spark and that it had been recalled. I had inherited it from my mother after my dad died.

Mom told me there was a recall but didn't remember what it was on at the time but thought it was for a faulty door lock or something...

Just to sweeten the pot, we had just switched our insurance to liability only like 2-3 weeks earlier to save a few bucks. Well, you live and learn or you don't live long right?

On the upside, If it were any other day, I would have still been in the car but with the kids as well and If I hadn't just filled the tank, it would likely have blown the car and the front of the house up! A half full sealed gas tank full of gas vapor can do a lot of damage! God was definitely looking out for us!

 So I pick up the phone and call 911. The dispatcher says she already knows and that 4-5 of our brand new neighbors had already called YAY!!!…great way to meet the neighbors!

So they show up and put what’s left of my car out. I’m a little panicky at this point because I NEED a car to make the 40 minute drive to work. Tammy works 15 minutes away but in the opposite direction.

I’ve got a pickup truck that quit running about a year before but nobody could ever figure out what was wrong with it. We only knew it had to do with the computer and electrical system and that it would be very expensive to fix.

Tammy made it home and we had a good cry and decided we would go out anyway.

The Tempo was our second car. I drove it to work so we wouldn’t put as many miles on her Camry. We had a pretty decent date even in light of our little disaster.

The next weekend we’re at church. I’m really nervous and edgy and I still haven’t figured out what we’re gonna do when my friend Andy walks up. The conversation goes something like this:

Andy: Hey Danny, you remember that little Ford Festiva of mine?

Me:  Umm…yes…

Andy: You like it?

Me: Umm…ya, it’s ok

Andy: It gets really great gas mileage you know…like 30 miles to a gallon!

Me: (slightly agitated) Ya, good to know Andy

Andy: So, you like it, right??… because God told me to give it to you.

Me: (extremely embarrassed) Andy stop it! Look I’ll figure something out!

He looks puzzled and asked what I meant by that.

The FIRE Andy, the FIRE!!

Andy: what fire?

Me: Come on Andy, quit playing!

~Our little disaster made the newspapers so SURELY everyone knew by now~

Andy: “For the last 2 weeks or so, in my daily prayer time, God kept calling you out by name and telling me to give you my car. So I want to give you my car. Now, what fire?”

Andy knew NOTHING of the fire!!

Well, we both just sat there and thought about what God had done.

I got the little Festiva at about 150,000 miles and drove it to well over 250,000 miles!!

It was extremely reliable and VERY good on gas! It’s EXACTLY what I needed!

God had been in the process of meeting my need at least a week and a half BEFORE I had a need.

This isn't my car but looked a lot like it

Stained Glass

A few years ago I was working at Herrin Maytag on the dryer line with a good friend. We were talking about God and who we are in relation to Him.
This was, by the way, typical of the type of conversations we’d have. 
Those of you who know me know that I'm an identity guy. It’s about who the Bible says we are in Christ Jesus. 
I’ll post some random thoughts on that later.

This conversation was a little different. This had more to do with our place in the body of Christ. 

There are 2 passages that stand out to me;

Romans 12:4-5 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function,  so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another

    Prince Of Peace Akiane (puzzle overlay by me)

1 Corinthians 12:27 Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.

Being an effective part of the body of Christ means that you pursue a relationship with Jesus Christ. 
Each of us has a part to play as part of the body and we were created with just the right tools to be that part. Each is equally important and none are disposable. 
Deciding that your roll isn't important means the body has a missing part. It’s like a puzzle with a missing piece. No matter how beautiful the puzzle picture, with even 1 piece missing it is incomplete.

OK, back to the conversation.
My friend said “you know Daniel J., we’re like pieces of stained glass.”
Then he just stood there and smiled. At that moment, God put this picture in my head of a stained glass window with the sun shining through it! Then over the next few moments He explained what it all meant. God’s perfectly pure white light has always shone brightly with us or without us. Because of His great love for us he makes his light beautiful by shining it through us.

Elizabeth Goudge

Each of us is like a piece of stained glass. Created similar, yet vastly different!! (Psalm 139:14)

Some are blue, green, red, yellow or any other color imaginable. Gods pure light hits us and explodes into a rainbow of rich vibrant color that takes your breath away! 

Each of us is flawed. (Romans 3:23) Irregular, cracked and even broken pieces are used. 

WallStreet Journal

When the Master Craftsman
(John 15:1-8) has an odd shaped space to fill, He may even decide to take you and break you into just the right piece He wants!

None are colorless either because we’re stained!! 

But look what a loving master craftsman can do with a bunch of broken pieces of broken, colored glass!!!

You are not allowed to think that you have no value!(Romans 5:8)Nor are you allowed to view anyone else as less valuable than you.
(Matthew 23:11)

I've not looked at a stained glass window the same since!! 

By the way, I’m the red one!!

Need Prayer?

The "Need Prayer?" Booth

Benton, IL

Last summer I embarked on a great adventure called the "Need Prayer? booth. It's changed the way I view Christianity. Let me start from the beginning...
A couple of years ago I was joined to a private Facebook group and among the people posting there was a man named Todd Volker. Todd is from California and was posting pics of these prayer tents. Curious, I looked them over and read the descriptions with the photos. Well, I was riveted by stories of salvation, deliverance, healing, encouragement and so much more! I found myself back there time and time again checking for new reports...I didn't have to wait long!!
When a person humbles themselves to the point that they will approach a total stranger and reveal the thing in their life that needs prayer the most, the stage is set for the Holy Spirit to move in POWER!
I knew I was going to have to do a booth myself.

The "Need Prayer?" booth is a wonderful tool. Here's how it works. 

Copied and pasted from Facebook

How to do a “Need Prayer?” Booth

What is a Prayer Booth?

A Prayer Booth is a public offer of free prayer to anyone in need. It is staffed by a few people from local Christian churches, and is usually located on the street or in a community area. It is an effective means of outreach in the public arena whereby believers can demonstrate love and care for the community. In our setting we put up banners that say “Need Prayer?” on an EZ-up type portable shelter in various locations in the city, such as empty lots on busy streets, farmer's markets and swap meets. Drivers or passers-by stop and ask for prayer.Our goal is that people will experience the love and power of God as we pray for them. It is our experience that they do!

The Purpose of this guide

We want to provide you with the information and tools you need to start a Prayer Booth ministry in your own town or city. We want you to be successful from the start, learning from our victories, as well as our mistakes. We are confident that if you will take the step to offer prayer out in the community, you will see God bless people in tremendous ways, and witness firsthand His Kingdom breaking into this present age.

What you need

1. A heart to reach out into the community. You will be praying for some people who would never enter a church to get prayer, so it will take some of us out of our comfort zone. This is where Jesus did most of His ministry, so let’s go where He would go.
2. A location. You have two main options: Street locations (free), or marketplace booths (a weekly fee).
   1. Street Locations: If you have church members who own a business locally where there is parking, that might be a place to start. You will need good visibility to traffic for your signs or banners, and a place for cars to pull in and park. Sometimes you can find an empty lot on a busy street to locate your booth. You might be able to obtain permission if you can contact the owner, but often it is easier to just try it out and see if anyone objects (they seldom do, unless it is causing traffic issues). Locations near hospitals are especially good, as you will get some action from the patients and family members.
   2. Marketplace Booths: You can also do a Prayer Booth at swap meets, downtown “open markets,” as well as other public events like farmer’s markets. Check with local officials for rules and costs. While the disadvantage is the cost of the marketplace, the advantage is that you will have more exposure to foot traffic, and will likely get to pray for many more people. The best locations are those where you can set up weekly, as consistency in key (you will even get to pray for the other vendors and staff as you build relationships).
3. Signs or Banners. We use “Need Prayer?” and it seems to work well for us to communicate what we are doing. Some other ideas might be “Free Prayer” or “Get Prayer Here.” Keep it simple and clear. I don’t recommend that you put the name of your church or ministry on the banner. We use a “A” frame “Sempo” sign on the sidewalk in addition to three 2’x8’ banners hanging from a EZ-up that all simply say “Need Prayer?” It is critical to have good “signage,” and this is the most costly part of the Prayer Booth start-up. (We started out cheap with hand-made signs, but found that the professional banners will last for years and look much better). The E-Z up is necessary not only for sign hanging, but to shelter you in sun and rain!
4. Some folding chairs. Get at least four, preferably with a padded seat (you will be sitting for a while).
5. People to pray (and train). You want to recruit people who want to pray for others in the community, or are willing to learn. You don’t need an army, but you do want a few like-minded people who will go with you. (More on this later under "Co-Op")
6. A journal to record the prayer exchanges (more on this later).

Guidelines (do’s and don’ts)

1. We are offering (advertising) prayer, so that is what we should do with people. Many who stop for prayer are in crisis, and they are being vulnerable. There is nothing worse that the old “bait and switch,” so we don’t want to use this for any other purpose than our primary objective - prayer. By this we mean that we don’t preach at people when they come, and we don’t see this as an opportunity to recruit them to come to our church. Our goal is that people will experience the love of God when we interact with them.We ask them what they need prayer for and then we pray. If they ask about our church later and want more information we might give them a card (if they are not in a church currently), or if they seem ready to make a decision to follow Christ we would offer to lead them in a prayer of commitment, but we let them indicate their interest. We never push people or pressure them – prayer is the main thing we are about, and we trust that God will reveal Himself through the prayer exchange. We want people to feel loved and accepted. After that, we try follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.
2. Some people want to know who you are and what this is about before they let you pray for them. We usually say something like “We are Christians from (fill in the blank) Church here in town and we are here offering free prayer to anyone in need.” We will then introduce ourselves by name and ask the person’s name. We then would ask “how can we pray for you today?” or “what would you like prayer for?” As they are explaining their story, we are listening to them at the same time we are listening to God. Some people will want to tell you their life story, but you only need a place to start. You want to spend more time praying than talking (with most people you have a 3 to 10 minute window), so get into prayer by saying something like, “OK (say their name), let’s go ahead and pray now – Father, I thank you for (say their name) and for bringing them here for prayer today…”
3. We usually don’t lay hands on the people we pray for because we want to be sensitive to how they feel about being prayed for out in public. One exception to this might be if you are praying for physical healing, and then you should ask permission first. We train our prayer people to pray with their eyes open so they can observe any response the recipient may have and to see “what the Father is doing.” Most prayers last only a minute or two. We then ask for some feedback from the person being prayed for, such as “what were you experiencing as we were praying?” This helps up evaluate what was happening and may focus us on a new direction of prayer. A decision may need to be made at this point if additional prayer is to be offered. If so, this second round of prayer should be brief. We generally follow the Five Step Healing Model.
4. We let the person know when they can receive prayer again or give a report of an answer (see section on consistency).

Guidelines for the Marketplace

While the street corner or parking lot "Need Prayer?" Booth has the advantage of people coming up specifically for prayer, at the marketplace many are walking by and wondering what this booth is all about. There is a need to engage people as they stop and look, or even slow down as they stroll by. (Some will come right in and ask for prayer, but many won't). It is as good practice to stand at the edge of the booth and say hello to these people, and begin a conversation. An easy way to do this is to say "Hi, my name is (fill in the blank). What is your name? We are Christians from (local church name) and we are offering free prayer to anyone who might need it. Is there anything we can pray for you about?" At this point about 80% of the people will say something like, "No thanks, I'm OK." At this point we have found the key phrase is to say "OK, how about a blessing? Would it be alright if I just prayed a blessing?" At this point most (again about 80%) will say "OK."  There is something about offering a "blessing" that allows you to pray for most people! At this point we go into our prayer that they would experience the love of God right there in the market place. If they said yes to the prayer and gave a request we pray that too.

The importance of consistency

One of the most critical elements of doing a prayer booth in the community is to do it on a consistent basis. You might have some success doing a one time event, but the real fruit from this ministry is based on being present in the same place at the same time on a regular schedule. We find that a weekly schedule works well, as people remember that you are at a certain location on a specific day of the week. People will see you as a regular presence in the community, and that commitment will communicate your earnestness to be a blessing to that community. We have had countless people remark that they had driven past the prayer booth several times on that day of the week (some for months before stopping), and knew they had to stop this time to get prayer. God has been knocking on there heart every time they have gone past. We also see return “customers,” as people come back on future weeks or months to report what God has done or to receive more prayer. The only way that will happen is if you are at the same location at the same time in the future.

Prayer Exchange Journal

We use a simple journal to record the date and place of the prayer, the name of the person prayed for, and a brief summary of what was requested and prayed, along with any results. This serves several purposes, the most important being that if the person returns at a later date you can see what was prayed (and a reminder of their name!). This also communicates care to the individual, as there is a record of their last visit.

Doing a Co-Op

Some groups or individuals find it difficult to commit to being at the booth every week. Because weekly consistency is so important, we have found that one way to maintain this is to Co-Op with other groups or churches. We have one booth that we rotate in four different small groups within our church (home groups, bible studies, singles ministry, etc…) once a month. That way they get to participate in the outreach, but only have to commit to a monthly time slot. We also do another booth at a street fair where we rotate in different churches each month. Each church sends 3 to 4 people on their assigned month (they can rotate in 3 to 4 people every 90 minutes if they have more that want to get involved). We train each group as they come in the first time so that we have continuity in our ethos (loving people, not pushing, praying that they will experience the love and power of Jesus, etc…). This is a great way to build unity among the churches in a city as we share the privilege of blessing those who God sends us in the streets.

Going fishing

When people ask about coming out to pray for people at the prayer booth, we always tell them to be prepared to wait (Especially on the road side venues). The best analogy is that of going fishing. You usually don’t go fishing for 30 minutes. You spent at least part of a day on a fishing trip! We set up the tent and put out the signs, and then we wait for God to draw the people in for prayer. In a 3 hour session we average between 2 to 10 prayer exchanges at the road side and at times you may wait for over an hour before you get someone. (At the marketplace you will tend to get many more). Be prepared to spend some time with “a line in the water” and enjoy the experience. Some days you get a few bites, and some you get many. And every once in a while you get to bring in a whopper! (Salvation, major healing, deliverance, etc…).

Sample Prayer

We try and tailor the prayer for the individual based on need and spiritual condition (trying to determine that in a one minute interview is a challenge), yet there are elements of the prayer that remain consistent regardless of who we are praying for. These elements are:

1. The love of God for that person.

2. The call of God for them to live in that love.

3. A request that they experience God’s presence in that very moment.

If we were praying for Sandra with the request for a job, the prayer might go like this:

“Heavenly Father, I thank you for bringing Sandra to the prayer booth today, and giving her the courage to stop and let some people prayer for her. Lord, we ask that you would provide the right job for Sandra and to open a door that no one can shut. I thank you that you care for her so much, and that she is your beloved daughter, whom you love. I ask that she would experience your love and power right now in this place. Give her a greater revelation of your purpose for her life, and let her know you are for her and with her always. I pray this in Jesus name, Amen.”

Note – If we have a team ( 2 to 3 is recommended), each can take a turn praying, but we are conscience of keeping it brief. We pray God’s love and power for them regardless of whether they have indicated that they are a follower of Jesus or not. We are dependant on the Holy Spirit to draw them to get prayer, and we are also dependant on Him to reveal the love of the Father.

The follow-up question

This step is critical, and should not be skipped if at all possible! Ask this or a similar question:

“What were you experiencing while we were praying for you?”

This gives them a chance to put into words the work of the Holy Spirit in that short time we prayed for them (they might not even recognize this as the Holy Spirit!). You will often be surprised by what they report! It can range from simple statements like “I felt peace,” or “it was nice,” to more profound responses like “I felt tremendous heat on my body,” or “It felt like God was here!” Some who have not been followers of Jesus have said things like “I felt God say to me that I need to start listening to Him,” or “Something happened inside me today that I’ve never felt before – I don’t know what it is.

This feedback gives us an insight into what God has been doing in the prayer exchange. We need to be gentle at this point and not be too pushy. As we are led by the Spirit we can lead them to the next step with God (salvation, further healing, referral to a church if they don’t already have one, etc…). This is all done without putting any guilt or “you need to do this” being communicated. They must be willing, and cannot be pushed or coerced.

We also invite them to come back in the future (the importance of consistency) to report what God has been doing in their lives, or to get more prayer. They will often bring friends or family members in the weeks to come. This return serves to not only encourage us a pray-ers, but gives the recipients the opportunity to exercise the gift of thankfulness and gratitude.

Physical Healing

God wants to demonstrate his love and power through healing the sick. We have learned as we have prayed for more and more people to ask them if they have any physical or medical issues that we can pray for. Even if they have come to ask for some other prayer (a job, a crisis, or even to pray that their car pass the smog check!), we often ask if we can pray for any physical healing. We ask, “Do you have any health concerns or medical problems we can pray for?” This seems to be even more effective with those who are not yet following Jesus. A short, specific prayer for healing can often result in tremendous results. It just seems that there is a great anointing for healing on the streets! We have lately seen cancer healed, severe arthritis removed, and several back injuries fully restored, and that is just the tip of the iceberg. Ask people who come in if you can pray for physical healing (even if you don’t feel gifted in this area), and you will be surprised with what God wants to do. Go for it!

Summary

A Prayer Booth is a simple, yet profound way to do an outreach in your community. It is one of the many creative ways that God is giving the church to bring His love and power into the streets and the marketplace. Imagine the possibility of seeing hundreds of “Need Prayer?” booths in cities and towns across the nation and all over the world! What might God do if we follow Him by offering simple yet powerful prayer in this way? Is God calling you to take a risk and do this too? We can say with confidence that if you persevere you will see the Kingdom of God break in with love and power, as lives are changed, healed, and set free. In the famous line from The Water Boy, “You can do it!”

Contact Us

If you are doing a prayer booth, or are thinking of starting one up, please let us know! We would love to hear what God is doing, and would be encouraged to hear that you looked at this guide (hopefully it helped). If you have questions or comments as well, please drop us a line.

Visit our Facebook Page at http://www.facebook.com/NeedPrayerBooth

Or type “need prayer booth” in the search bar on your Facebook page.

We post our current schedule, give praise reports of answered prayer, and list testimonies of how God has healed, saved and set people free. If you haven’t already, check it out and “Like” the page so that others my see this ministry and catch the vision to do it in other cities around the country and across the globe.

This training, plus much more cool stuff can be found on www.RadicalMiddle.net

Here are some of the pics from other booths around the world!

Benton, IL

Gladiator Challenge MMA event at Soboba Casino.

Hawkesbury Valley Vineyard Church at Richmond in North Western Sydney, Australia

The Oasis Church in Pasadena, Ca just started at Victory Park Farmer's Market on Saturdays for 8:30am to 12:30pm. 

San Bernardino, CA

Customer Service

More often than not, customer service seems to be a lost art. Not so much with the local Mom and Pop type places. They still know what it takes to keep a loyal customer.

Seldom are the days when you can walk in to a store and be greeted by someone who's glad to see you, even if they're only pretending. Savor the flavor when it does.
Not true in all cases but for a vast majority of stores, this is true.

Remember when employees put in the time to get to know the products? I don't think I've ever gone into Wal Mart,  K Mart, Target... etc. and had a "knowledgeable" person help me select the item that's right for me. But, I don't think I've ever expected to either.
Best Buy does well with this. I've heard that Nordstrom is legendary for their customer service but I've not been to one...yet.
One of the things I really dislike in business is the de-valuing of people. Convenience is a poor substitute for customer service.
All to often, I'll go into a place and feel like I am here for THEM!
In my restaurant, I ALWAYS appreciated the fact that my customers could have easily chosen someplace closer and more convenient but here they sit. I was here for them not the other way around.

I just wanted to tell you about my experience with 1 particular company.



A few years ago I wanted to order some guitar stands.
I knew I wasn't wanting to spend a lot so I shopped around ordered from Sweetwater.
I'd never done business with them because I haven't really needed to, but, I have several friend who swear by them so I gave them a try.

Now, I need to tell you what was happening at the time.
Tammy and I owned Rugged Cross BBQ. A little BBQ joint in West Frankfort, IL.
We had cashed in our 401k's to open the restaurant and it wasn't going well. We had been talking about just closing the doors. It was a very difficult time. I had taken a guitar and amp there and would sit and play so I wouldn't go crazy inside that empty dining room.
The day my order was delivered was a really hard day. I'd only had 1 or 2 customers all day and I was very depressed and really taking it personally.
My stands were in boxes which were packed inside a larger box to keep them together.
I unpacked and was walking the bigger box out to the dumpster and I heard something rattle. When I looked inside there was a handful of candy!!

This is gonna sound silly but I was so full of despair at the time and seeing something so simple...so...insignificant as...candy...became overwhelming! I honestly had tears in my eyes.
Someone had done something nice for me! Right when I needed it most!!
The next day a man from Sweetwater called just to make sure everything arrived OK and If I needed anything else just give him a call. I told him about the candy and what it meant to me!
He was probably thinking "Dude!! seriously man-up! it's only candy!!" We had a very nice conversation that really had nothing to do with anything concerning my order and he never tried to sell me anything else.
I felt like he cared about me the "person" not just me the "customer." They valued me and my business.

So fast-forward to last week.
I also do cooking videos on You Tube and would like to record my own music to use for them but I'd found a great source for royalty-free music. My source went away last month so I have no real choice. My mixer broke last year and I'd never gotten a new one.
I ordered an Alesis MultiMix 8 USB mixer. Great price great brand!! However, I got a call the next day from a young man from Sweetwater saying it was back-ordered. I switched and bought the one he suggested. It's a Yamaha MW10c and it was in stock.
It arrived today!!! This is PERFECT!!! Exactly what I needed!!

Oh yea...do you see it?!!

Sweetwater, You're a class act. Thanks!!

A story about my Dad

Loren and Sharon Parkhill
my Mom and Dad

I was adopted at birth by the most wonderful people you would ever want to know. They were Christians. The real ones who walked their faith every day.

In this post I wanted to share one of many stories about my hero.
I called him my dad.






I was probably in grade school, 4th or 5th grade maybe. Pop said "Danny Joe, get your shoes on and go with me" so on went the shoes and out the door we went. We got in the pickup truck and drove for what seemed like a really long time. I was really glad that dad and I got to spend the day together.
That wasn't at all unusual, see, we were a close family.

Driving down a country road Pop pulls into a driveway. There didn't seem to be anyone home but dad got some axes and chainsaws out of the back of the truck and walked around to the back yard. There, in the middle of the yard was a tree that had been blown down in a storm.
Pop said "come on Danny Joe, lets cut it up" so off we went!
He used the chainsaw and as he would cut, I would stack. I was on top of the world. I love being around my dad. We would take breaks and he would drink coffee and I drank water from the jug in the truck.

Pop like to work and he enjoyed doing things for other people. He was a coal miner and each summer , it seemed, the union would go on strike. While they were striking, Pop worked on a farm. He would take me  so I could ride in the cab of the tractor with him. I had really bad allergies so I would only ride until my eyes were so swollen I couldn't see very well, then Pop would call the farmer on the CB and have my mom come and take me home! I didn't care! Mom and Dad always made my sister and I priorities. We were important to them.

As we were finishing up the tree, I noticed Pop got very quiet and didn't smile much, like he had a lot on his mind.
We quietly finished and loaded the truck and left the wood, split and neatly stacked.
He was quiet most of the way home. Not mad, just quiet.

I asked who's house we had been to. He told me that it was the home of a man he worked with. The man had told him that he had a tree blown down in the back yard that needed to be cut down. He told me that he just decided to come over here and take care of it for him. I asked if the man knew we were going to do it. Pop smiled and said nope, this will be our little secret. He said "a few days ago his 2 sons were on their way home from college and were killed in a car accident." My dad said through his own tears " He is away burying his sons" "I love you very much Danny Joe" "I love you too pop."
 We drove the rest of the way home quietly.

Dad always knew instinctively how to love people. He never expected anything in return.
That day he did get something in return. A deeper love and respect from his son.
Dad went home to Jesus a few years ago and I really miss him.

Love you Pop!
Danny

Others may, You cannot

If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, 

and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes 

to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My 

sake will find it. 

                                                                    (Matthew 16:24-25) 

As I sit here and write this, I feel prideful but I need to share this with you.

Please forgive me if I sound boastful.

See, I have struggled with pride my whole life. Humility seems to be a far-off fantasy.

Over the last few years, I’ve prayed that God would set me free from feeling prideful.

Sometimes I get jealous when something good happens to someone else instead of rejoicing with them in their good fortune.

I’ve wanted to be loved without first loving. Trusted without first trusting and respected without first respecting.

Don’t misunderstand me, I’m not a dirtbag. I’m afraid.

I’m afraid of being rejected.

One of the most horrible things to me would be that I would die and nobody would come to my funeral.

God has surrounded me with people who know this about me and choose to love(and like) me anyway.

One of those people is a very wise and Godly man named Bill Raby. Bill hears God.

A few years ago he approached me after a bible study at his home and gave me a paper.

Now, Bill didn’t say “Danny you need to read this because it’s a lesson you need to learn”

Truthfully I don’t think that he even thought that. See, someone had given it to him several years before and God had reminded him of it and he passed it on to me.

The other day, while at my nieces getting my hair cut, God showed up, took the form of my niece and spoke directly into my heart. He gently and lovingly reminded me that it’s not about me or what I think. 

See, my niece has struggled financially for a long time. She has always looked up to my wife and I. We have always tried to point her to the cross and give her Godly encouragement. We have given her books to read and scripture to apply to circumstances, groceries and such.

 Well, while she was cutting my hair I was telling her about some things she could do to help bring in some additional money. Looking back on our conversation, I felt “judgy” and hypocritical but, true to form I just kept right on talking.

She stepped back to pick something up off the table, she turned and stood there, smiled and said

 ”You know uncle Danny, as I pray and read my bible, I have found that true success is knowing, Really knowing Jesus and having a relationship with Him. So that’s what I do and He takes care of everything.”

Have you ever wanted to crawl under the couch and hide? I just wanted to cry.

If I was the “Man of God” that I thought I was, that’s what I would have told her.

God has been gently and lovingly bumping my back on track ever since.

He reminded me about the paper bill gave me a few years ago. Now I want to pass it on to you.

Others may, you cannot.

If God has called you to be truly like Jesus in all your spirit, 

He will draw you into a life of crucifixion and humility.

He will put on you such demands of obedience that you will not be allowed to follow other Christians. In many ways, He seems to let other good people do things which He will not let you do.  

Others who seem to be very religious and useful may push themselves, pull wires, and scheme to carry out their plans, but you cannot. If you attempt it, you will meet with such failure and rebuke from the Lord as to make you sorely penitent. 

Others can brag about themselves, their work, their successes, their writings, but the Holy Spirit will not allow you to do any such thing. If you begin to do so, He will lead you into some deep mortification that will make you despise yourself and all your good works.

Others will be allowed to succeed in making great sums of money, or having a legacy left to them, or in having luxuries, but God may supply you only on a day-to-day basis, because He wants you to have something far better than gold, a helpless dependence on Him and His unseen treasury. 

The Lord may let others be honored and put forward while keeping you hidden in obscurity because He wants to produce some choice, fragrant fruit for His coming glory, which can only be produced in the shade.  

God may let others be great, but keep you small. He will let others do a work for Him and get the credit, but He will make you work and toil without knowing how much you are doing.

Then, to make your work still more precious, He will let others get the credit for the work           which you have done; this to teach you the message of the Cross, humility, and something of the value of being cloaked with His nature.  

The Holy Spirit will put a strict watch on you, and with a jealous love rebuke you for careless words and feelings, or for wasting your time, which other Christians never seem distressed over. 

So make up your mind that God is an infinite Sovereign and has a right to do as He pleases with His own, and that He may not explain to you a thousand things which may puzzle your reason in His dealings with you.  

God will take you at your word. If you absolutely sell yourself to be His slave, He will wrap you up in a jealous love and let other people say and do many things that you cannot.

Settle it forever; you are to deal directly with the Holy Spirit, He is to have the privilege of tying your tongue or chaining your hand or closing your eyes in ways which others are not dealt with.

However, know this great secret of the Kingdom: When you are so completely possessed 

with the Living God that you are, in your secret heart, pleased and delighted over this peculiar, personal, private, jealous guardianship and management of the Holy Spirit 

over your life, you will have found the vestibule of heaven, the high calling of God.  

By G.D. Watson