A little bit ago, I posted about Mary and how it must have been to be pregnant before she was married in a time when people were stoned for that sort of thing. I have also been wondering what it must have been like to be Joseph. Not much is really known about Joseph. We know that the Bible tells us that he was a righteous man and a carpenter, and not really much else. We also know that after seeing an angel in a dream, he took Mary as his wife and helped raise Jesus until at least Jesus was twelve years old and then nothing else is mentioned about him. But do we need to know more about him to understand what kind of man he was?

All of my brother-in-laws are carpenters, which affords me a certain unique perspective into the trade. Especially since I can barely hammer two boards together without hitting my own hand or aligning them correctly. In fact, it takes a great amount of skill to be a carpenter and fashion what really amount to sculptures out of wood from ordinary piles of two by fours. However, one of my brothers-in-laws, Raymond, is a bit different. Raymond worked as a carpenter all his life easily excelling at his trade to the rank of master carpenter. Several years ago, he ventured out starting his own business by getting his contracting license and now not only employs several people but also is one of the most sought after people in the whole area. My only complaint is that he is not close enough to us to build us our home.

But what is the difference between Raymond and other carpenters who swing a hammer. I mean all carpenters worth their nails can build a deck or repair a wall or raise a house, but what makes Raymond so different that he gains respect of his workers and garners a loyal following of his customers? I believe the difference is vision. Any carpenter should be able to look at a drawing or blueprint and determine about how much in materials is needed to do the job, but a visionary should be able to look at an empty back yard and see a deck. A visionary should be able to look at an empty lot and see a house. A visionary should be able to look at a small or run down house and not see an eye soar but the possibilities. This is the kind of man that Raymond is and why he is apart from the rest and why he is such a good contractor and businessman and one of the many reasons that I am proud to call him family.

I believe that Joseph was just such a man. After all, he had a dream in which he was visited by an angel. Now, I realize that it was not an ordinary dream, but it was still a dream and from that he got up and trust Mary. From that, he got up and believed that the baby was the Son of God. In order for that to happen, Joseph had to be a man of vision otherwise it would have been far too easy to dismiss the angel in the dream as nothing more then a fantasy. Think about the best most real and exciting dream you have ever had and then remember it was still a dream. The Bible tells us that it was a dream that the angel visited Joseph in and yet it changed him and I believe that was because Joseph was not an ordinary carpenter, he was like my brother-in-law Raymond, a visionary. In short, Joseph was the right man for the job, the job that God created him for.

In life, God calls us all to do things that he has created and called us to do making us the right man or woman for the job. When that moment comes, will we step up to the plate like Joseph did or will we shy away. Many times, just like Joseph, that moment may not be an easy one to walk through, but it will be the right one and remember that God walks through it with you.

I had a strange dream last night.

When I woke up and was lying in my bed this morning, I was thinking about this dream. How many times do we go through something that is difficult and want to take the easy road out when that may not be the right choice. It reminded me of a scripture that a friend recently shared with me to hold to while I was going through my medical issues.

None of us want or desire trials, but in life they come and when they come the Bible tells us to face them because as we go through them we will grow. Even Jesus face trials, and he didn’t walk away from them, but he faced them. And the devil knows when to hits us when we are at our weakest. After all, he went after Jesus after he had been fasting for forty days and forty nights and yet our Lord stood strong and he grew and was ministered too by angels. We too need to stand strong, use the word as our sword and remember that we do not walk this alone and know that we are growing.

Last night I had a dream that I believe God sent me to help me keep my spirits high through this time of finding another church.

I know this is basically the story of the ugly duckling, and the dream could have been brought on my the simple fact that we were just treat horribly and kicked out of a church, but I really think that the dream was send by God to keep my hopes up that our swam pond is come. There is a church out there where we will fit in and we will feel at home and we will be able to reach our potential in Christ and that excites me.