Your Language Will Determine Your Destiny

By John Kubicek

"Your words become your thoughts.
Your thoughts become your behavior.
Your behavior becomes your character.
Your character becomes your destiny."

The above came from the website, NoCussing.com. In the last week, I wrote two commentaries about this at johnny2k Is Home. That all came about when watching the news last Saturday (1/24/09), and was able to record what I put up on my youtube channel:

I then followed that up several days later with my diatribe about Glenn Beck using coarse language on his new show at Fox News and his "Swear Jar"..

However, today, I saw something on youtube.com like I've never seen before. While it was disgusting and vile, the youtube video that I saw seemed to be telling me about the fruit on the tree, and will probably show the truth of the title of this piece, "Your Language Will Determine Your Destiny." Somehow or another, somebody was able to collect a few "out-takes" (?) from various news sources. The people on this video, "journalists," better hope that their mothers never, ever watch this video that I will only give you a link to (see below). Sailors would blush! Should you go to the following link, you will quickly understand why I didn't embed the video here:

WARNING: The following video, should you click on the link, contains extreme obscenities. It is only provided here, that should you want to know more about people you may have respected at one time, you will see the bad fruit on the tree:

THIS IS WHY OUR COUNTRY CAN'T WAKE UP OR GET THE TRUTH!!!

I actually grew up at a time when cussing and obscenities were looked down at. The people that used that kind of language were not considered to be very decent people. Well, at least, that was the way I was taught. But then, I hit the upper grades in elementary school: Recess and trash talk. Then, when I started my high school job at a gas station, and summertime jobs while in college, foul language was all I ever heard. I suspect it was the same for everyone else growing up in the 60's and 70's. It was way more than many of us were used to. And then, the stint in the military? Forget about it. There weren't too many words uttered that didn't start with an "F". The sad thing, it has only gotten worse through my life, from the 80's until now.

It seems that people are no longer ashamed to say these words, let alone embarrased to hear them. People that use that language now assume it doesn't bother anyone. There is no more remorse; on their part, anyway. And what are we to do?

First of all, I can tell you something that I recommend doing. And I have found that it is difficult to do, even with a very conscious effort; don't be one that uses that language in any situation - even when you are alone. Yes, that's not easy, especially for those that commute to work... It's very difficult sometimes to hold back! However, I have personally challenged myself to make an effort to not even THINK in those words.... no matter how mad I am at people that change lanes without signalling.... Okay, it is just called doing what we can to CONTROL anger, to control our speech by controlling our thoughts. No easy task, in these days. Just think... continue to think: SELF-CONTROL. And seriously, "Your Language Will Determine Your Destiny".

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A Red,White, and Blue Christmas - Year Around

By John Kubicek

That annual pressure from the holidays, Christmas especially, is about to end. You may soon be just paying off the last of the credit card debt from your Christmas spending spree. In fact, for many of us, our annual Christmas "giving program" may be something that we make payments on throughout the year. And guess what? There is another segment of our society that also pays with their lives, limbs, and time lost from being with their families - year around.

The people that give year around, and that pay for that giving - year around - are our military forces. Many of them had to spend the Christmas and New Years holidays overseas, in Iraq or Afghanistan, or where ever they are stationed; obviously, unable to come home to spend time with their families.

"A SONG FOR OUR TROOPS" (Christmas Letters)


While that video displayed our love for our troops, especially during the holidays, the next one is all about displaying our love, year around, anytime:

A Red, White, and Blue Christmas, Anytime - For Our Troops!

Doing it all for the glory of God

~ Guest Writer ~

By rjw

Recently, I offered to submit a contribution for an upcoming issue of Generations. I had in mind an accounting of a recent and difficult trial in my life that the Lord is still bringing me through. For several weeks I toiled to produce something, but I could not put down in few enough words the accounting of what occurred in my life. The text of my story did not allow enough space to include God and what He had done for me. For days I pondered over what I wanted to say and how to say it. The truth was, I had writers block and I could not write what I wanted to contribute.

I had made a commitment to get my contribution to Generations submitted within a certain time frame. I wrote, deleted some, then rewrote a little more without any result. Frustrated, I asked God a simple Question; “What am I doing wrong? What would you have me say, Lord?”

His answer came to me very quietly. Quiet as it was, His answer was very clear. I was focusing too much on the details of my recent trials. Too much print was being devoted to my problems, while too little space was devoted to the Lord. Additionally, I realized that I was glorifying myself through how I had suffered through my problems, while I failed to humble myself in giving God all the glory for what He was doing to handle everything.

1 Corinthians 10:31 reminds us: So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

What I have learned, what God has taught me, what I believe Him to be inspiring me to say is the following; Whether I am writing a submission for Generations, or in all else that I set out do in my life, I am to do it to glorify Him.

I must learn to kick my pride to the curb through humbling myself. I understand that whatever I do, all of my actions and thoughts are to be done to Glorify God. This is such a simple lesson, yet it is also such a gargantuan task for me as just a mere man.

In my business dealings, personal relationships and in all of my deeds and thoughts, I must do all things in such a fashion that glorifies God, not me. The task before me is monumental which I will undoubtedly foul up from time to time. I know that over time, placing God before me in all that I set out to do will become easier as it becomes habit.

Thank God I have the saving grace of Jesus, that when I fail, He is forgiving and loving enough to let me have another chance in honoring and glorifying Him in all that I do.

Miracles Do Happen! But, are prayers always answered?

By John Kubicek

I saw a clip today that I had to post here. Some good questions were asked.

And I was very intrigued by Huckabee's answers.

While this post and the video bring up some great questions that we all have, I was very impressed by the way Glenn Beck spoke of this incident on his Friday show. The question of whether it was a miracle, I believe, was answered affirmitively and conclusively. Yet, that second question, "But, are prayers always answered?" may be one that sticks with you.

There seems to be times when we can easily identify miracles. However, not knowing why the miracles happen when they do, and maybe when we feel they don't happen when we need them, is a question that's way above our paygrade, as the above video suggests. And sometimes, we may not even realize the Lord has answered our prayers - in His own way. That is why, when I pray, I make sure to ALWAYS include the part that I am so very thankful for all He has done for me!

It is good that life always provides us with the twists and turns. The times when we have the most doubt and fear are when God teaches us the most, assuming we allow it. The rougher our lives get, be assured, it is when God is teaching us the most!

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Ladies and Gentlemen, Brace Yourself For Impact

By John Kubicek

Maybe... just maybe, "Ladies and Gentlemen, Brace Yourself For Impact" could be the sweetest words you will ever hear. At least at that point, you get the final chance to repent, to say your prayers, or even think of all of the things that you missed doing, or wanted to do, in your life.

And I know, for those that have a terminal illness, there may be too much time to think about life. And there is the other side of that coin, where we are given no chance to "change our lives." There are those times when fatal circumstances can happen in a heartbeat. You know, like when they say, "he never knew what hit him," as they investigate a scene of a head-on collision...

No, it is not my intention to be morbid this morning. Not in any shape or form. What I mean to be saying is how amazing it could be when the Lord gives us a few moments to reflect on what we've learned in life. We get a chance to think about what we value.

And believe me, please, just know that the words, "Ladies and Gentlemen, Brace Yourself For Impact," won't necessarily apply to an imminent plane crash. For those of us that feel that we are getting a warning shot over the bow, we really, really want to know what the Lord wants us to do in our repentence. We are getting that feeling more and more, and I guess it is a great thing to focus on it a little while.

So, now, ask yourself these questions: Are you ready, should you find out that you will be in for a long terminal disease? Are you ready should you hear the words, "Brace yourself for impact?" And most importantly, would you be ready if you were to assume room temperature with no advanced notice?

To find out how you would deal with whichever scenario comes your way, have you ever spent any time evaluating your life?

And, is it coincidence that this story would come to you today? We saw a miracle yesterday, with the safe landing of a large airliner on the Hudson River... Just hours before that incident, as I was driving home from work, I was close to being involved in a major highway collision. No, there was no coincidence. God kept me around to write this post today. Was it meant for you?

From a "Closet" Longhorn Fan

By John Kubicek

So, what does a college football bowl game have to do with Christian ministry? Or, maybe we should ask that question from a different perspective. Perhaps we could ask what Christian ministry has to do with a college football bowl game? From either perspective, I hope I'll be able to answer those questions.

If this blog post had to do with politics and religion, I wouldn't expect a large audience. Except for a person I know - a Longhorn fan - that went to sleep after the first half of the Texas vs Ohio State game, being that the score at that point was 6-3, in the favor of the Buckeyes, I would suspect that all of the Buckeye and Longhorn fans had the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl game on Fox tuned in last night. I did, but I did it the right way. I slept during the first half, and watched the second half. That was the way to do it.

It was an amazing game. That second half was something you don't get to see all that often. A come-back by the Longhorns, and just when you thought that they would put the game away, another comeback - this time by the Buckeyes. With a little over two minutes left in the game, the Longhorns marched 79 yards down the field for a touchdown - another pass from Colt McCoy to Quan Cosby - and went ahead by a score of 24 to 21.

I was very happy about the outcome, as Ohio State is part of the Big Ten, and were the last hope for a Big Ten win in the college football bowl games - other than the Iowa Hawkeyes. That is one of the reasons, admittedly, that I was cheering on the Longhorns. But now, I have another good reason. It was during the post-game show that I saw something wonderful that the ACLU hasn't yet found a way to eliminate from our lives. There was an exposure of the Christian culture, a display of the willingness to display what many Christians are all about. Commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, in a national venue, in the view of millions of people.

I remember back when Kurt Warner (a Cedar Rapids, IA native) took the St. Louis Rams to the Super Bowl, and won, and in his post game remarks, happened to mention how much Jesus meant in his life. And I've seen him continuously doing the same thing at every opportunity. How great! And how awesome it is to see the public display and words straight from a Christian mouth, coming from a superstar - and not get bleeped. No, the most bleeping I've seen in a while on network television would be the garbage coming from the mouth of a misfit, Kathy Griffin. This gives me hope!

The fact that Christian testimonies are able to still be aired in the sports venues should give all of us hope! It might also explain why I've loved the Chicago Cubs games that are aired on a couple great networks. There have been many testimonies I've seen from the likes of Carlos Zambrano and others, all aired without censorship from those networks. And there is where we have hope: Sports networks that have allowed the message of knowing the Lord in our lives to be aired.

So, I guess I should now allow you to see the things I saw following the game last night. That explains the first video. The second one is a video that came up in related videos after uploading mine.

A Tribute to the Texas Longhorns from Iowa (Hawkeye Land)

Seniors Praying - James Laurinaitis, Malcolm Jenkins, Colt McCoy, and Marcus Freeman say a prayer after the 2009 Fiesta Bowl

If I ever decided to move from Iowa, which would obviously be in an attempt to escape Iowa winters, I'd probably move to Texas. I would always be a Hawkeye, but if I was living down there in the Republic, I wouldn't have to be a closet Longhorn fan! Hook 'em Horns!

Can we trust Biblical prophecy?

From GotQuestions.org - The Bible has the answers.

Question: "How can we trust that Biblical prophecy can indeed predict the future?"

Answer: The main reason we can trust biblical prophecy is that it, like the rest of Scripture, was written — literally “God-breathed” — by the Creator of the universe. It is inerrant, perfect, and true. We must understand that before we can understand the role of biblical prophecy.

Biblical prophecy plays two roles. It foretells the future, and it explains what the positive or negative results of future events will be. Prophecy may announce events that bring joy and pleasure or fear and foreboding. When prophecy is ignored, it is usually because the hearers don’t like what they hear for one reason or another. Biblical prophecy is not usually general in nature. It normally is very specific as to how it will affect someone or something. But it is always dependable and worthy of our complete trust. We can allow prophecy to help shape our lives, giving us direction and guidance in serving our Lord. It should be a source of strength and instruction for us. Unlike what we hear called “prophecy” today, both in the church and outside the church, true biblical prophecy is always accurate and precise. What God prophesies always occurs. [Continue reading]

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