2.12.09 Airheads, Proverbs 12

"A person who talks sense is honored; airheads are held in contempt."

Proverbs 12:8
There seems to be a lot of talking heads, but people don't seem to be saying anything really important. However, many think they are making sense. It is rampant (myself included). There is an interesting dynamic when God gives wisdom in a matter. It seems to resonate with people. When we listen to God through prayer, we learn something about ourselves and others. Communicate God's love and if necessary use words.

This example happened to our family. I was at evening business meeting when my wife frantically called to tell me the house was flooding in the kitchen. A faucet hose had broken and she didn't know how to shut the water off and she and my girls were panicking. She could get under the sink, but the hot water was too hot to grant her access to the turn knob to shut off the water. When she called me, I really didn't know what to do until I remembered that we have a shutoff valve outside the house that controls the water flow to our entire home. Within minutes, she had the situation under control and the girls (who had been praying) were relieved to have avoided the impending flood and damage to our home (me too).

Here is the real message. The only reason I knew about this valve was because some of the neighbor kids, playing a practical joke had shut off the water years before. After calling the water district, the repairman diagnosed the problem. What we the thought was an evil prank years before helped us to avoid major damage to our entire house. Because I make it a point to answer my wife's call anytime she calls, we were able to stop the damage immediately and fortunately she was home to catch this situation in time. I pray over our home daily and it is amazing to me that God provides answers, years in advance. He said nothing, but we clearly understand how much he loves our family.


"Talking Heads"

Proverbs 12:16 - "Fools have short fuses and explode all too quickly; the prudent quietly shrug off insults."

I have been guilty of having a short fuse. I am a Marine afterall. I have experienced the wrath of a drill instructors who have a short tolerance for mistakes and boneheaded moves. Unfortunately, I developed that habit as well when it came to the mistakes of other people. In the military, the mission mindset is critical. In daily civilian life it may not be so critical. So, I have learned to be a little more gracious and forgive where needed. We should be slow to anger, but we must also realize that it is okay to have a holy anger and moral outrage when it comes to the things that must change.

On Mission, On Assignment, and in the ZONE!

Andy Valadez
e-mail: Andy@TeamMarketingDynamics.com

2.5.09 Lovely as a Rose, Proverbs 5

"Lovely as an angel, beautiful as a rose—don't ever quit taking delight in her body."

Proverbs 5:19


I have a picture on my desk of my wife when she was two months old. The picture serves as my reminder, that I am to care for her all of her days. The picture makes me smile and reminds me of my own daughters when they were the same age. She looks so delicate, innocent, and unaware of the hard life ahead (I chuckle). I feel very fortunate to have her in my home and together we have grown older and still appreciate each other through our years of battles, victories and celebrations, and sad moments in our lives. These days, they have been very fragrant and life has been so blessed as we watch our young children grow and explore their world. We hope they see the love and appreciation we have for each other, although it isn't all roses. There have been thorns along the way.

I wear my deceased father's wedding ring on my index finger as a reminder of the sanctity of marriage. My parents divorced when I was 22 (I am 43) and my mother gave me my father's ring a couple of years ago, several years after his death in 2003. I was shocked to know that my mother still had his ring.


"Addicted to Pornography"

Proverbs 5:20 - "Proverbs Why would you trade enduring intimacies for cheap thrills with a whore? for dalliance with a promiscuous stranger?"

I recently read a book "Every Man's Battle" by Stephen Arteburn and it challenges men to control our eyes and our heart. He referenced this constant battle that men must fight. We are visually stimulated and our tendancy is to give in. Dwelling on impropriety is a distraction. I am not going to get preachy here, but a sign of spiritual maturity is being able to dart one's eyes away from sexually oriented thoughts and visual stimulus. However, there are really few prohibitions when those thoughts are about your own wife and you and she are free to love. That is the beauty of marriage, it is relatively guilt-free.

On Mission, On Assignment, and in the ZONE!

Andy Valadez
e-mail: Andy@TeamMarketingDynamics.com

2.1.09 In the Battle, Proverbs 1

"Start with God—the first step in learning is bowing down to God; only fools thumb their noses at such wisdom and learning."

Proverbs 1:7
You may never have to fight for your faith, but you might. When you are in the battle zone (spirituall or physically), your faith means everything. There is a saying in the military "In a firefight, there are no atheists." Their is saying among Christians, "You are strongest when you are on your knees." Meaning that God is ready to accept your petitions, hear your prayers, and is ready to dispatch his power on your behalf.


"More Love, More Power" (awesome song)

Proverbs 1:24 - "Look, I'm ready to pour out my spirit on you; I'm ready to tell you all I know. As it is, I've called, but you've turned a deaf ear; I've reached out to you, but you've ignored me."

I have been guilty of ignoring God. I've gone many years not attending church, gone to church, but didn't read my bible or pray as often as I should have. In these times, as a parent and husband and servant, I find that I must hear from God daily. I must make time for him through out the day. He has to impress upon me the things I cannot give, but through him I am able to perform all tasks he requires. I don't feel alone in the battle, but prepared to face the enemy and encourage others along the way. Lock and load.

On Mission, On Assignment, and in the ZONE!

Andy Valadez
e-mail: Andy@TeamMarketingDynamics.com

11.19.08 Indescribable, Proverbs 19

"It is not good to have zeal without knowledge . . ."

Proverbs 19:2

There is so much we do not know about God. We may have a zeal for him, but not truly understand his nature. He is indescribable, explosive, vibrant, fearsome, ever present, dangerous, and more. To be knowledgeable, we must seek him out and to study his ways, discern his activity in our world, and follow him. This journey never ends.


"Indescribable" live in the Netherlands with Chris Tomlin

Proverbs 19:11 - "A man's wisdom gives him patience, it is to his glory to overlook an offense."

From time to time, I remember my Uncle Steve, a former World War II paratrooper. He was one of the most patient men I ever knew. He used to tell me "Take your time, it will all get done, just take your time." He was diligent in his work, made time for breaks, and just always seemed at peace, never in a rush. So, I will remember him occasionally and "just take my time."

In our culture, we may be in a hurry to "blast" people for their failures. "Drop them like a hot potato" and cut off communication with people for a mistake made on their part. "Our time is valuable" we say to ourselves and to others, but we loose something when we get so impatient and discount people too quickly.

Some of my most valuable business relationships have taken years to build. A lot of water under the bridge before we have finally connected in a way that has built trust. You can find fair weather friends all day long, but bad weather friends are hard to find and hard to keep. You have to forgive a lot of people to be counted as trustworthy, dependable, respected, and esteemed and every now and then you might even be forgiven for your past mistakes. Be patient.

Want to see God, get a glimpse here: <Indescribable> (incredible 42 minute analysis)

On Mission, On Assignment, and in the ZONE!

Andy Valadez
e-mail: andy@marketingdynamics.org

10.3.08 A Help in Time of Need, Proverbs 3

The American Anole lizard (like the one that was trapped in my window - only younger)

This afternoon it dawned on me to release a lizard that had been trapped between the screen and the window outside of my office. I had seen it there for days, but thought he got himself in there and could probably get himself out. Well today, I didn't see him moving around, so I went to the sill to see if it indeed escaped. He/she had not.

The helpless lizard was at the bottom of the screen sill, between the window and the screen and looked very emaciated. I realized that I had to do something. I pulled out he screen and he scurried to get away from me (I was trying to help). He jumped to the ground and rested near a bush (maybe with the hope of having a second chance at life). I put the screen back on the sill and observed my lizard friend for a few minutes to see what he was going to do. I could see that after his rest (he was breathing very hard), he was on the hunt for nourishment and water. It made me think about how valuable life is and how God meets our needs via the effort of others (sometime, just in time). We all have a unique gift or talent and may not realize the life-giving power we offer to others via our profession or calling. What is easy for us, may be difficult for others.

I was happy for that lizard as I saw him find a drop of water on a leaf and he just seemed to enjoy his find. My little girl Kenna (5) was with me and was very curious about the whole thing. She wanted to hold the lizard and I had to explain to her that we didn't want to interfere with his his pursuit of life at this moment.

These verses stood out ot me today.

Proverbs 3:2 - "Let love and faithfulness never leave you; . . ."

What a great guide for life. Study the people you love, find a way to serve them and be faithful in your pursuits. There are many languages of love. Some are doing good deeds, giving gifts, love by touch, thoughtfulness, sacrifices, etc.

I thought about this today as I made dinner for my wife. For years, she had done this for me and I was anxious to rustle up some "viddles" for her today. As I made dinner, I thought about all of the things she likes (i.e., setting, seasonings, menu, and atmosphere). We had a great dinner with the family and she welcomed the opportunity to rest and relax.

What did we have? Baked breaded and spiced chicken, shredded cabbage and onion, with basil, roman tomato, and italian seasoning, baked and buttered yams, virgin olive oil and spice dipping oil for french crusted bread, and white wine. It was delish (only took me 20 or 30 minutes to put it together). Now to be more faithful in these pursuits.

Proverbs 3:5 - "Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding; . . ."

I am inspired to know, that what I think I know is only the beginning of my understanding and knowledge that God has prepared for me. There is so much more that God has planned for us. Unfortunately, there are way to many "intellectual elites and derelicts" who think they know it all and are stubborn to the understanding and the leading of the knowlege of God and his ways.

Albert Einstein was a Christian. Not many people know that, yet non-believers alike celebrate the genius of this man and fail to acknowledge that even Mr. Einstein, celebrated who God was.

Proverbs 3:7 - "Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil."

"Shun evil". Many people want to understand evil. They make idiotic attempts to justify why evil peoople do evil things, blaming society and religion or some other reason why evil people act the way they do. I love the idea that evil only prospers when good men sit and do nothing. Fortunately, there are good people in the world. Think of some of the ways evil is allowed to thrive in our culture? What can you do about it?

Proverbs 3:9 - "Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all of your crops."

Wealth comes in a variety of forms, just like the crops mentioned in this verse. You can grow thousands of unique crops from wheat, to herbs, to fruits, and vegetables to whole farms of trees, etc. The Lord gives wealth to the wise for his purposes. WE are called to recognize him with our increases.

Proverbs 3:27 - "Do not withold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act."

I have so many debts to settle. It is great to be able to provide that help, the pay back, or the resources one needs (when I really don't owe it). Too often people avoid helping others. We are to be consistently looking for ways to help other people. A great questions, "How can I help you today?" "What is your biggest need and how can I help you?" If you don't have a means to help someone, prayer goes a long way. Let them know that you will be praying for that need on their behalf.

On Mission, On Assignment, and in the ZONE!

Andy Valadez
e-mail: andy@marketingdynamics.org