Welding and the Bible? How do they go together?

Good morning fellow Bloggers.  I grew up in a family owned business where my grandpa and my dad were both welders.  They also taught me the trade through apprenticeship.  I learned a lot over the years about proper heat, the importance of how certain materials bond each other together and how others can be easily separated if you apply enough heat.

Without getting technical, welding can be done many ways and with many different types of materials.  The end result (if done properly) is either creating or strengthening a very strong bond between two otherwise unconnected things.  I have no idea why this came to mind, except to say that it motivated me to speak about human nature and how we can strengthen our bonds with each other and how we can empower and edify our relationship with God.

I can't tell you how many times in my apprenticeship where I ruined a weld (bond) between the pieces I was trying to join with too much or even not enough heat.  It brings me to this morning for example.  I overslept my workout (currently on day two) and made my friend wait an extra half hour to start the workout.  He simply said, "A late start is better than NO start at all."  I have known this man for many years and am reminded constantly why God placed him in my life.  What if he added a bit too much heat and said something like, "Bill, you really have to be more responsible and be on time for our workouts!"  or  even more heat,"If you can't be on time, I will just start without you and maybe you need to figure out if this is something you want to do."  Maybe that would weaken the bond we have and not serve the lifting up of a fellow brother who is struggling with a new change, like waking up at five a.m.

17 


Proverbs 27:17 states, "As iron sharpens iron,
    so one person sharpens another."

I immediately though of the iron sharpening iron verse, because I grew up in trade shops and I even saw men working on metals and creating swords with a forge.  This involves heating and shaping metal into the shape you desire, then super-cooling it in water and then repeating the heating, pounding with a metal hammer and cooling again.

I am reminded that we will all have "heat" or things that detract us from cultivating and strengthening  our relationship with Christ.  Will we allow it to weaken our earthly relationships with the people we surround ourselves with each day?  Will we allow the heat of life to pile on stress and force us to make unwise decisions?  I feel that when the heat of life is on the rise, it is a perfect opportunity to lean heavily on God for wisdom, discernment, perseverance, and grace to guide us to a path that strengthens relationships and bonds with Him and with our friends and family.

Lord - my prayer is that you will reach into the lives of anyone who reads this or anyone that is struggling with something and help them realize they are made in your image.  That they can come to you anytime for guidance.  That you are always there and they don't have to go through struggles or solve them on their own.  I praise you for the gift of being in your family and allowing me to talk openly about the Gospel.  In Jesus name - AMEN.

Recharging my Spirit in Him daily,

Bill Blanck

Losing Weight ... Pause ... U Still There???

I am blessed in that I am reasonably healthy (all things considered).  With that being stated, I was recently in the hospital for a suspected stroke and it was diagnosed as inconclusive TIA (mini stroke).  It has been hard for me to accept that I had some sort of stroke, but it also got me back on track and re-dedicated to watching what I eat and making wise choices about food.

The entire ordeal really scared me, because both my father and grandfather had disabling strokes.  I am acutely aware that I a extremely out of shape and need to get serious about that portion of my self-care also.  I have found that when my body gets to around 220lbs or more - my knee hurts all the time.  I have lost 20 pounds by watching my food choices carefully and am now down just below 200 pounds.  Could I lose more - maybe?  It seems like I always hit some sort of wall when I get to around 200 pounds and can't seem to push through that barrier.  I am also concerned about hurting my knee when I return to the gym this coming Monday with my friend Jurrell.  What I can say, is that we are taking it easy and methodically each day we will work out.  Jurrell seems to have worked out a nice 20 min workout plan and occasionally a 45 minute plan.  They say you eat a whale, one bite at a time.  In the past I have gone in and over-done it and then gave up due to frustration.  I don't want that to happen again.  My plan is to continually offer my fitness to God in prayer and ask for wisdom, discernment and perseverance to honor His Creation.

I really have no excuses except laziness.  I set my own schedule and can fit exercise into my day whenever I want.  Plenty of people don't have that luxury.  I am also going very early in the morning and with an accountability partner, which will keep me from skipping a session and possibly help with my late-night insomnia.  My friend told me he was a night-bird also, but when you get up at 5am and hit the gym at 530 every day, it is not very hard to go to sleep at 8 or 9 pm.

My other fear is centered around eating.  When I switched to a low-carb diet, it makes me hungry all the time.  I fear that when I work out, I will be even more hungry and may not continue to make wise choices.  BTW - eating healthy is hard and it is compounded by the fact that it is expensive.  Then again, what price can you put on your health.  We were created in God's image and need to honor Him by taking care of the body He created for us. 

I welcome your comments and contributions to any topic that I share.  May God Bless you and Guide you every day.

Recharging my Spirit through Him daily,

Bill Blanck

Go figure ... can't sleep again

A close friend of mine challenged me recently with the following quote:  "you are either a content creator or content consumer - which do you want to be?"  Those words have inspired me to start contributing to my blog again.  Instead of picking one topic like Spiritual Formation (which is what I designed the site for) I will post the rambling  sand insights from a new business owner, who also happens to be a husband and a father; as well as a seminary trained pastor.

The blog started off well.  It was originally based on spiritual formation.  Unfortunately I found myself considering posting things on the topic that I wasn't even personally involved with in my own life.  That led me to stop posting.  My friend also inspired me in our recent conversation by mentioning his recent journey with his personal care and getting into shape.  His original goal wasn't to start some sort of movement or following, but it just kinda happened that way.  I have often felt like I probably don't have anything worthwhile to contribute to blog readers.  I now realize that I am just a man, going through the same things other men and women are experiencing and maybe we all just need to be transparent share our thoughts and experiences with each other.  You never know who God puts in front of a comment and if it may have some sort of impact in their life.

Topic # 1:  starting a business is very hard.  It is no wonder that the success ratio of people who enter into the financial advisory services industry is very low.  If you can stay positive and use discernment with the financial choices you make, AND last your first three years, you will likely stay in the industry and retire from it as well.  A very high percentage don't prosper enough to last past the first year and that number only decreases slightly for the second year.  All that being said, after much prayer and discussion with family and friends, I feel this is where I am being called.  I have the opportunity to meet great people each and every day (or evening) and help them to be better stewards of their time, talents, and finances.  I love meeting with people.  On the other hand, getting appointments is very hard work.  I don't love calling strangers and friends on the phone.  I am a social extrovert - but I am also pretty shy and even nervous approaching people via the telephone.  I value my friendships and am constantly concerned about damaging those personal relationships in any way, shape , or manner with my job.  We all know what it is like to be approached by people selling things to friends and I constantly pray that God's hand be on everything I do and in my daily interactions with people.  There are so many things to learn:  what to invest into the job, how much time to invest into marketing myself, how to be respectful of people's opinions and not take denial personally, all the unforeseen expenses that come with owning a business, and so on.  I am also trying to teach my children the value of working hard, but balancing work and family and ministry appropriately.  I figure that there may be many people who are currently going through similar experiences right now and I welcome you comments and feedback.  Think of this blog as a sort-of sounding board or "think-tank" for those of us having similar experiences.  As the Scripture says in Proverbs 27:17, "As irons sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another."

I will keep my posts reasonable in length, so for now I will close today with my life verse from Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord.  Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Recharging my Spirit through Him daily,

Bill Blanck