Esther is amazing to lern about exspecialy if u hear it from Beth Moor. I have even watched some of her teachings (outstanding)Now i know why dad likes the Esther study so much!

Manufacturing Humility

Esther 5:9-13
Haman went out that day happy and in high spirits. But when he saw Mordecai at the king's gate and observed that he neither rose nor showed fear in his presence, he was filled with rage against Mordecai. Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home. Calling together his friends and Zeresh, his wife, Haman boasted to them about his vast wealth, his many sons, and all the ways the king had honored him and how he had elevated him above the other nobles and officials. "And that's not all," Haman added. "I'm the only person Queen Esther invited to accompany the king to the banquet she gave. And she has invited me along with the king tomorrow. But all this gives me no satisfaction as long as I see that Jew Mordecai sitting at the king's gate."

During my second tour to Iraq, my ego was Haman sized. I was a combat veteran with inexperienced leadership, and I had just completed the Instructor Pilot course. I had medically evacuated hundreds of patients without a single accident. I was the Pilot in Command of several high profile missions in Iraq, and had coordinated several mass casualty situations. Nobody was going to tell me how to run my team or fly my missions. I should have known that pride comes before a fall.

One night my team was dispatched to fly a simple blood run, but I did not have a good feeling about the mission. I looked for every excuse to avoid the mission, but could not find one so we proceeded out to the aircraft. I was thinking about the marginal weather, and about the large power lines along the river near our destination.

I was clearly distracted and failed to notice that the engine inlet covers were installed. Both crew members cleared the engines, and my co-pilot started the engine torching it in the process. Everyone on the crew took responsibility for their part of the incident. My statements to the accident investigation team placed me at odds with my chain of command, and my Pilot in Command orders were pulled for 30 days.

My ego was instantly crushed, and the situation was equally miserable for those around me. God used that situation and several since to humble me. Since I returned from that tour, I started reading my Bible every day, and I am not the same man that I was before.

Romans 12:1-2
So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

Jesus is the epitome of humility. As I learn to be more like Him, I can see that my relationships with those around me are better and my marriage has grown stronger. Jesus, help me to be the man, father, and husband that you want me to be.

Confident Leadership

Esther 5:1-3
On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the palace, in front of the king's hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the hall, facing the entrance. When he saw Queen Esther standing in the court, he was pleased with her and held out to her the gold scepter that was in his hand. So Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter. Then the king asked, "What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be given you."

In her dire situation, Esther took the time to get dressed up and present herself as the Queen of Persia. This was her only opportunity to separate herself from the competition for the King's attention. Because she dressed for success and approached with confidence, she was spared.

Desperation is a quality that is easily sensed by my employees and customers. Even when I am broken and desperate, I must be prepared and present myself as a confident leader.

Romans 8:31
If God is for us, who can be against us?

Philippians 4:13
I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

No Fear

Today's Bible Study with Beth Moore was amazing, and it placed into words the lessons that I have been learning this year. Esther 4:11-17 / Hebrews 6:10-12

Last April, the fear of bankruptcy was overwhelming us and we were days away. Our two large projects were delayed due to the economy, and things were very bad. We were more than 120 days late on our bills and facing foreclosure. My natural reaction was to look to myself for a solution, but I only came up short.

Satan should not have pushed me so hard, because it forced me to play out the entire scenario in my head. What was this fear of bankruptcy? What is the worst thing that can happen? We give up a bunch of stuff, move in with my parents, and start over. Once I thought it through, faced the fear, and no longer let it have control over me, I was set free.

Within a week of really giving it all over to Him, I was called by a company in San Jose to come build a prototype system which turned into 7 months of work. We tithed on every check, were able to get caught up on our bills, and bless others in the process.

Courage is looking fear in the face, accept the reality of the danger, but deny it's power over you.

We are once again facing that same opportunity to demonstrate our faith. Since our projects in Tanzania have been delayed, we are running out of money, and the future looks bleak. Instead of looking to my own abilities, I will stand on God's promises and not be afraid. Our family has been bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus, and satan has no power over us.

If we let fear control us, we can protect ourselves right out of our calling. It is our human nature to chose the safer path than to choose the faith filled path to our destiny. Take that step of faith into your calling so that we may stand in front of The King and declare that we served Him with NO FEAR.

The Gilbaugh Climb

The Gilbaugh Family left the military life and the safety of a recurring paycheck for a life of adventure living by faith. The following words sang by the famous philosopher Miley Cyrus summarize our adventure and the purpose for this blog.

The Climb lyrics
Songwriters: Alexander, J; Mabe, J;

I can almost see it
That dream I am dreaming
But there's a voice inside my head saying
"You'll never reach it"

Every step I'm taking
Every move I make feels
Lost with no direction
My faith is shaking

But I gotta keep trying
Gotta keep my head held high

There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be a uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb
The struggles I'm facing
The chances I'm taking
Sometimes might knock me down
But no, I'm not breaking

I may not know it
But these are the moments that
I'm gonna remember most, yeah
Just gotta keep going

And I, I got to be strong
Just keep pushing on

'Cause there's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be a uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb, yeah!

There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Somebody's gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb, yeah!

Keep on moving, keep climbing
Keep the faith, baby
It's all about, it's all about the climb
Keep the faith, keep your faith, whoa

© HOPELESS ROSE MUSIC; VISTAVILLE MUSIC;