An Angel In My Bed...

...for 14 years!!  Karin and I just celebrated another anniversary.  Our next one is in November.  Yeah, we have two per year!  When we were dating and planning a wedding she lived in Torrance and my home was in Corona.  She worked in Culver City and I worked in Cerritos.  We both went to church in Long Beach.  The travel time was getting obnoxious and expensive (got a ticket going over 100 mph).  So, we eloped in September and had a church wedding in November.  Two anniversary's.  I thank the Lord for my bride.  She is kind, gentle, funny, compassionate, romantic, patient, giving, a great cook and generously understands my need to have "man time".  She doesn't nag, bicker, hold grudges, or want to control me.  She's a good mother and probably the the most loving grandmother in the world.  The best thing about Karin?  She's the most passionate Gospelot I've ever known.  No one loves Jesus like Karin.  I love her and everything about her.  There's been an angel in my bed for 14yrs.  I'm a "lucky" man.

~ A. Gospelot

Your Kids Never Really "Grow Up"...

I am the proud father of three beautiful daughters.  We had a lot of fun when they were little, and we still do.  Each one is special in their own wonderful way and I am proud of each one.  Collectively they have gifted me with eight grandkids and they are a joy, (when they're not doing something to make me crazy - which seems to become more frequent with time.  Honestly, I don't know if they're getting worse or I'm just getting nuttier!).  We try to get everyone in one place at one time once a year for a few days.  There are seventeen of us so that's no easy task (thanks Kim)!!  We just had our Family Fest 2010 and it was a great time.  Swimming, eating, golf cart rides, walks together, board games and, of course, sun-burning.  We have a wonderful family.  Not long ago I was at home home alone at 9:00 PM settling into a wonderful evening with Lawrence Welk when I got a cell phone call from my youngest, "Dad, I'm at Jessica's (middle daughter) and we need you to make a 'wings and yogurt' run - and hurry because they close at 9:30!"  And, of course, I "fly" and I "buy".  I said "absolutely not!", but I knew right away that I would deliver the goods.  I guess I really don't want them to ever "grow up"  if it means they'll stop calling, raiding my change drawer, eating my groceries, and letting me ALWAYS "pick up the tab" (I guess that goes for my ornery, hooligan, grandkids too). 

~A. Gospelot 

Thoughts On Driving, Tickets, and Traffic School...

I've been driving 40 years. "Back in MY day" driving was not like it is today.  I got a driving permit at 15 and a license the day I turned 16.  There are very few things more exciting than being 16 and driving...alone (i.e., no adults)!  Like many of my peers, I had managed to get 3 moving violations by age 17.  Today they'd revoke a license. But 40 years ago it was a visit to Juvenile Court with mom to get a stern "talking to" from the judge and mandatory .  Of course, today is much different:  You can't even get a license until you can prove you've completed puberty.  Harsh!  But, as a grandfather of 8, this seems like a good idea to me!  ;-) 

Yeah, I've had a few "moving violations" over the years.  My worst driving year was 1996:  Two speeding tickets within 6 months both for driving over 100 MPH...and on the EXACT stretch of the southbound 215 Freeway!  It's probably just a coincidence that both times I was driving my 1995 Camaro Z28 (right!). By the end of 1997 I was driving a Buick La Sabre that my girls nicknamed "The Pickle".

Got a ticket recently from one of those "camera intersections" in Los Alamitos.  Got the picture right in the mail along with a $500 fine!!  That's more than I paid for my first 100 MPH ticket!  But I got the last laugh.  The picture showed me talking on my cell phone when I was blowing through the red light, but they didn't cite me for that (HA!!).  Anyway, I opted for traffic school and took it online.  Wow, what a breeze!  I highly recommend this. Use to be mandatory to go to an actual class...all day...boring lectures...gross videos (a la "Red Asphalt").  Not today.  In just two hours and $21 later, I'm done!  I never read the 7 chapters, I just took the quiz at the end of each section and then advanced to the final exam. What a scam.   

Well, that's all.  No big spiritual lessons.

Happy driving...The Gospelot

 


  

   

Passion For Christ...

It was a painful movie to watch.  I saw it with Karin at the theater.  It was packed.  Gasps and sniffles could be heard from every direction.  When we left the theater it was a somber mood.  Very little conversation.  One thing for sure, no one who saw the movie ever thought of Jesus the same again - whether they believed Jesus was the resurrected Christ, or not.  Everyone was moved by Mel Gibson's "Passion of The Christ" 

This is "Passion Week."  A time we focus on the final week of Jesus' physical ministry on earth.  There was the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem and multitudes cheered, "Hosanna in the highest". Within a week the same crowd jeered, "crucify him!"

I am continually amazed that, whether cheered or jeered, Jesus "soldiered on."   How that Jesus is missional, men are moody.  How Jesus was driven by the Father's will, and how I am too often driven by whimsy.  How about you?

How should I respond to Christ's "Passion?"  My prayer is that the Holy Spirit will move me from whimsy to willful in my walk with Christ.  To be absolutely resolved that, whether "cheered or jeered" by this world, I will stay focused on God's will and purpose for my life.

His Passion was to DIE in my place.  My passion is to LIVE for His glory.

"Lord Jesus, I am grateful for your selfless sacrifice.  You have become my Savior.  Please help me become Your servant."  Amen        

Being A "Gospelot"...

Okay, I gave in. All my coolest friends have a blog, and now I do too. Welcome to GOSPELOTIC (more on that later). But, truth is I didn't need a blog to be cool because I've been cool since before Bill Gates launched DOS, seriously.

Here's some really cool stuff about my life (don't be hatin')...

• My job: I help earthbound spirits prepare for eternity by introducing them to the Creator who loves them.
• My wife: Karin is a beautiful and talented comedian, communicator, and now author.
• My family: A seriously dedicated mom, three beautiful daughters, three ugly son-in-laws, and eight brilliant grand kids (so far).
• My abilities: Teacher, musician (drums/guitar), and other secret ninja stuff.
• My travels: Nearly half of USA (including Hawaii), Canada, three African countries (and counting), Germany, England, Scotland, and France.
• More: I have 2 large tattoos, was in the Army, been on Safari, I've been scuba diving, flew 10,000 ft in a helicopter, and I am good friends with one of the most legendary musicians of our time who's played on over 300 gold records (seriously!).
  

All very cool, right? But the coolest thing about me isn't about ME at all. It's not WHO I am, but WHO'S I am...and I belong to Jesus Christ...God the Son.

But please - don't call me a "Christian," because that term has lost it's original meaning. No, I am a Gospelot...it's like a "patriot" (patri, "of our fathers", -ot, "of a mindset or condition") only for the gospel (or "good news") of Jesus Christ. Why? Good question!

Here are a few reasons...

1. Jesus left eternity and wrote Himself into human history to show me the love of God.
2. Jesus took my sin upon His perfect life to the cross where He died and settled my "sin debt" to God - IN FULL!!
3. Jesus came out of the grave proving that His death in my place was acceptable to God.
4. Jesus offered me His Name and gave me His very Spirit as a "down-payment" for a promised eternity with Him when my life here is finished.
5. Jesus has given me purpose in this life: Trusting me with a partnership to do "His stuff."
   

If you know Jesus, you know what I mean. And if you don't know Him, why not? Re-read #1-5 above...He did all that for YOU too, just ask Him!! That's why I'm GOSPELOTIC (like patriotic, only for Jesus)...to my very bones.

~A. Gospelot (For Christ)