Won’t be doing ribs in the oven like I did yesterday, they were ‘okay’ but not much different than any of pork product.  They did not have that good smoky flavor.

One of the things I was ‘instructed’ to do was to cover them with foil during the cooking process.  I might try doing them without covering them so they don’t steam but actually bake.  It is not a priority and will only try if there is a really good buy on them sometime this winter – otherwise they will always go in the smoker.

A bit sunnier today, had plenty of rain last night and the forecast is more to come.  The coastal weather though is fierce and both rain and high winds are going their way.  If you are in a warm house with a good fire going with a window looking out to the ocean it can be the very best time to spend there – the fierceness of the weather has a ‘charm’ all to its own as you watch the waves crashing down on the rocks.

I have been at Depoe Bay – small community, mid-Oregon coast, that is right on the coast line with only a high wall between it and the ocean – parking my car on the side of the road next to wall during this kind of weather.  The wall is several feet above sea level, but in this weather the waves break and come crashing OVER the wall, drenching the road and everything on it.

But, it is beautiful.  So, I have mixed emotions, on the one hand I would like to be there, on the other hand I like where I am right now; hoping that everyone is safe that is there whether residents or visitors.

But, it is beautiful – or not.  After writing all this, I turned on the TV and found that the coast is suffering.

High winds – Tornado strength and while not “official” officials are saying it sure looks like it and will probably be declared once fully investigated.  Houses are being destroyed, trees uprooted, wires down LOTS of rain and hail - and it is just a foreshadowing of more to come that will be even worse.

We don’t see tornados very often in Oregon, but videos from citizens posted on the TV channels shure look like we have them right now.

Prayers are going up for these people.

“He has brought himself to this state; he has exposed his heart as a common road to every evil influence of the world, til it has become hard as a pavement.”  -- Richard Trench

Luke 16:15 And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.

Romans 12:2 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.

While studying and in my devotions this morning I read the above three quotes.  They dovetailed nicely with each other.

We become a person when conceived.  Once we are born we have certain abilities that make us unique.  As we grow we learn, some things by directly being taught, but much of it by ‘absorbing’ by watching and by the ideas by our parents, peers, friends, teachers, and others that come into our life.

At some point those lessons become part of our being.  We reject some things and accept others.  Often times we do not realize we are doing it, but it still happens within our hearts and minds.  When we are young we often don’t make choices on our own, based on sifting through information we are fed, we just accept.

That doesn’t mean that if we grow up in an environment where sinful and even criminal behavior is the norm that we are not held to God’s standard.  God still works on the young hearts and through their conscience lets them know that this isn’t right.

However, as we grow older we make choices; who to listen to, how to sift through the information and glean truth from within it.  We learn to apply what we accept to our own lives.

We then start concentrating on our personal goals – even if we can’t really define them.  We hone our talents and skills.  We look to study those things that help us improve ourselves to help make us into the person we want to be.

The basic training, the early education, is similar for most of us.  However, as we grow older we pick the education and training paths that allow us to perform at our best.

Of course we can change those paths, we can choose other means to earn a living or enjoy ourselves than when we first started.

When I was in high school I thought I wanted to be an accountant.  However, once I worked with one I realized that was not really my ‘thing.’

I was working in a grocery store and as I worked up the chain of command I thought that was my calling, to be a manager or district manager for the chain.

After I accepted Christ there was a time that I felt a calling into full-time ministry, however, God put up barriers and made it clear to me that He did not want me on that path.  I realized I could still serve Him regardless of what I did for a vocation.

Eventually, I felt that, while I was serving God, teaching and witnessing to others, I was not meant to stay in the grocery business.

I felt called to the law enforcement profession and served God in that profession for almost 27 years.  That was my ministry.

The training as a police officer was based on the same things I had looked at earlier in life, but needed to be more specific.

While retail is a good way to learn how to deal with people, and served me well as a police officer, I also learned how to deal with the criminal element, how to work as a mediator in some situations, and all the other things that go with dealing with people as a police officer not a store clerk.

Some of that was learned by formal classes, some of that was done by training, some was done by observation and some was done as I applied all that and learned what worked for me.

But I made choices.  Those choices eventually led me to be the Sheriff of my county.

Most of those choices were based on what I needed to do to become a good officer and a good executive.  I focused on those things that would improve my skills in those areas, even using some of the things I learned while working in the training at the supermarket.

We are going to become what we are going to become.  Sometimes those choices are determined by others, or at least influenced by them.  If I had not been promoted within the Police Department and given the opportunity to learn and grow I might not have been prepared for the Office of Sheriff.

Other things though are solely our responsibility.  What we choose to belief, what we choose to read, watch or how we live our daily lives.

We can go down the road and choose what the world offers us and our heart becomes as hardened pavement where we have shut off God.

We can go through the actions of ‘being a good person’ without really changing our hearts.  Our goal would not be so much to serve God as to make ourselves look better to others, or make us feel better about ourselves, but our heart and mind is not focused on what God wants.

We can be ‘successful’ in the world’s eyes without serving God and when we go before Him we find it was all for naught and in the process lost our salvation.

The Word of God gives us the blue print, the path that we are required to follow to serve Him.  The beginning of which is to make sure our heart is in tune with Him; that we are listening to Him and make our service to Him truly a service to Him, not just an act.

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.

And He will help us to do just that – but only if we let Him.

Later, Art :-)