Warmer, earlier today, didn’t cool down much last night.  I am going to try Carla’s new acquisition tomorrow.

She found a stainless steel steam juicer.  It extracts the juices with the use of steam instead of grinding.

We have one that is aluminum and have used if for years.  We got to talking and as near as we can figure we obtained it in either ’68 or ’69.  It is therefore almost fifty years old and still going strong.  The only thing we have had to replace is the hose from the container where the juice goes in.

We have used it on several fruits – but we have never used it for tomatoes since it is aluminum.  I want to try tomatoes in the new one and see how it works.  Once we have the juice we can reduce it down to other consistencies for sauce, etc.

Will let cha know.

Romans 12:1-2  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

² And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

“but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind”

How we act is an action of will.  Now, admittedly, we do have some ‘inherent’ responses to outside forces.  While some will weep and cry, others will attack; while some will try and woo the enemy by flattery, others will call them out.

Part of that is hereditary, part is by the way we are raised, part if by experiences that some things work for us while other things do not.  We all have a personality and that too enters into our thinking and acting.

We can rely on those actions because we find they work for us – but they very well may be detrimental to our walk with God.

We cannot use our ‘natural’ actions as an excuse for not changing.  For instance “I have a temper because I am (of a certain nationality or belong to a certain family) is not acceptable to God.”

I am an emotional and impulsive person; I often act out of that emotion and impulse.  When I took the psychological test for the Police Department (several of us took the test after we joined the department.  We were selected by the Chief and Asst. as officers who depicted what they wanted in their officers in future hirers) the Psychologist pointed out to me that I was impulsive and that could be a problem in the field.   However, it proved to work for me (most of the time) and I find many officers are impulsive, they react quicker and in a dangerous situation that can be good – however, it can also be bad because we don’t always think things through and see the total picture.

Training helps with reacting to a dangerous situation in the correct manner.  Experience helps an officer evaluate a situation analyze and make a quick decision – most of the time that proves to be the correct decision, but not always and that can lead to problems if they are wrong.

Over time I learned how to step back and evaluate my course of action better.  There were times that I would have acted quicker but experience, training and a determination of making sure I reviewed my options allowed me to do a better job.

I learned that there were times I had to follow my instincts and take immediate, aggressive, action – this occurs when someone is in danger and quick action is necessary to protect them (or yourself.)  But most situations can be given a little more time to determine the best avenue/action to take, and often we can resolve the situation without the use of a more aggressive action.

I can remember the time when our shift was watching a house where a party was going on.  One of the neighbors called complaining, that there were juveniles drinking.  I happened to drive by and saw a high school kid I knew with a bottle of beer in his hand tipped up to drink, standing on the front porch.

He saw me and booked inside.  I Radioed I had a juvenile at the party, running, I jumped out of the car and chased him – through the house.  There were dozens of people inside, during the melee the juveniles broke out of the house, many out the back door – through the complaining neighbor’s yard, busting down his fence. 

I had gone well into the house, because people were scattering, cases of beer were knocked over and the brew spread across the floor, people were knocked down and slipped and slid on the floor.  I looked around and found myself surrounded by a couple of dozen angry party goers.  Not a good situation.

Back up came quickly though and things quieted down.  After checking id’s we found all the minors had escaped.

The next morning I was called into the Chief’s office.  Seems the original complainant was not happy with my police response “I was better off not calling in!  The actions of your officers (meaning me of course) caused those kids to break down my fence and damaged...” you get the picture.  No reprimand, he just wanted to know what happened.

We call that the ‘John Wayne’ style of police work where, instead of waiting for backup and planning an assault, we just barge in.  It wasn’t necessary then, and often not necessary now, if I had taken the time to meet with our officers on duty and called in a couple more agencies, we would have been able to make arrests and nail the provider – not to mention not placing myself in danger of their reaction, and had it been a violent one several people – myself included – were at risk of injury.

The changes I made in my enforcement style and later in my management style were done with an act of my will.  I either had people tell me how I could do better through direct evaluation or training, by studying better techniques or by experience I learned to be a more effective Officer.

I didn’t always like someone telling me I needed to change (and not always were they right,) but when I listened to good advice, studied and practiced good techniques I did a better job.

“but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind”

Paul – and therefore God – makes it clear that it is up to us to willfully renew our minds.  To focus on things of God and not those things that are ‘natural’ to us as we walk with Christ.

We have to set aside our normal reactions if they are not going to benefit God; especially if they bring disgrace upon Him.

We do that the same way I learned to change my approach in Law Enforcement.  First of all we need to realize that what we are doing is not what we should be doing to more correctly demonstrate Christ in us.

Then we need to listen to others that know what kind of response is appropriate.  We study, we train and we practice correct behavior and strive to not resort to past bad responses to current situations that drag us back.

We NEED God to help us with that; and He will. 

Psalm 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:

²⁴ And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

We can learn from others, they can help tell us what needs to be done, but until we know that our heart is right with God, until we control or get rid of things that interfere in our testimony we will still be under the control of our past.

God shows us things – when we open up and let Him – which we may never have realized about ourselves.  We may look upon them as minor, but they affect with our relationship with God and therefor with our service to Him.

It is not an easy process and sometimes He shows us things we either are afraid to change or enjoy the thing too much and don’t want to change; and we struggle.  God is patient, He understands us – He created us after all and knows the power satan uses against us – but He does expect us to yield to Him.

Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:

²⁴ And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

That is my prayer this morning and all mornings, that God can show me my faults and help me overcome them.  It seems that I have quite a few – but I have the desire to listen to Him and change.

Later, Art :-)

From the ColumbiaRiverGorgeous
May Our Good Lord Bless and Keep YOU....’til we meet again
Dad :-) to some, Art to the rest of ya!
Art :-) and Carla Labrousse
The Dalles, OR USA
http://www.fromcrg.com/index.html