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Who’s in control anyway?

Who is in control. You? or God? or someone else? If it is you, then you are probably missing out on the great adventure God has in store for you. I had a conversation with a friend the other day that reminded me of a struggle that we all face in our walk with God. It is something that I am personally experiencing now more than I have in a long time.

My friend was pondering if being self employed would give him more of a sense of being in control than being an employee where he has little say in determining the direction of the company. He wondered if it was merely a perception or a reality. Good things to be thinking about and yes, I believe it to be a perception, provided we are submitted to God’s direction.

I recall a conversation I had with a friend about … sheesh, 30 years ago. At the time I was walking very close to God and felt that the closer I got to him, the more out of control I felt. As I matured, and got more skilled and able to control things myself, my direct dependence on God decreased. That sense of “out of control” diminished. I did many things in my own power, my own motivation, with my developed skills all the while thinking I was depending on God. Of course, as things do in life, this would go in cycles. The same pattern remains although I believe I’m getting more consistently closer and dependent on Him.

The more dependent I am on God, and the more I trust in him, and the more I live that life that says, “Plan so big that if He doesn’t come through it’s gonna fail”, the more “out of control” it actually feels. It is often like being on a steep icy slope sitting on a sheet of cardboard. Absolutely out of control in the fleshly sense, but all the more in God’s hands to control and direct. It is an enormous walk of faith to fully trust him and let him push you from side to side as you hurtle down that slope. Without God, it is an enormous risk. With him, an absolutely incredible journey and a wide eyed nail-biter for sure!!

I am currently on that absolutely out of control slope, fully trusting God is directing. Scary? Yah, most of the time. Fulfilling? Absolutely. Never dull, and always a challenge. Secure? Seldom. Remember, we exchange our freedoms for security. The more secure you desire to be, the less free you will be. I am freer than I’ve been in years and it’s growing daily. Would I trade it for anything? NEVER!! Best of all, God speaks when we are abandoned to Him and he speaks in very deep, very personal ways. I have in the past 8 months, just lost it and wept at a sudden touch from God. That hasn’t happened since I was a very young believer.

Life is an adventure… RentABus  and take some friends!!

The ICBus, AC Model – First drive impressions.

I had the opportunity to drive the new ICBus AC Model for the first time this week. I have driven a lot of different bus models from a lot of manufacturers and while I do sell this bus, I can say objectively that I was impressed. The bus I drove was very plainly equipped, short version with a wheelchair lift. This series bus is available both as a commercial bus, the AC and a Type A School Bus dubbed the AE.

I’ll list in bullet point form.

• The IC Maxxforce7 engine drivability is very similar to the Duramax that was available in the now extinct Chevy C5500. It was quick to accelerate and had lots of power while being just a little louder.
• Torque of this engine was superior to the Duramax, and somewhat reminiscent of the old 7.3 Powerstroke. Hills were encountered and the speedometer needle didn’t budge. It is a high torque engine and runs great.
• The Allison 1000 transmission performed flawlessly as Allison always does. This is the same transmission used on the former C5500 chassis.
• The air ride driver’s seat was perfect. I would prefer it reclined a little more, being 6’1″, but it was acceptable. Unlike the Ford F650 pogo action air ride seat, this was actually a safe and comfortable place to sit when riding through the bumps.
• The new bus body was built very well. It was squeak and rattle free. The fit and finish was very good. As any bus owner knows, exterior caulking is always an ugly thing on buses that have about 6 months of age on them, as the caulking tends to turn grey and black. They have added attractive trim pieces to conceal nearly all the caulked joints to avoid this future ugliness.
• Get more info from me at Cumberland ICBus

More to follow.

Jerry

A Mighty Fortress

An amazing hymn of great truths. I trust you have a great day with this great power behind you!

A mighty fortress is our God, A bulwark never failing;
Our helper He a mid the flood of mortal ills prevailing.
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe — His craft and pow’r are great,
And armed with cruel hate, On earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing,
Were not the right man on our side, the man of God’s own choosing.
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He — Lord Sabaoth His name,
From age to age the same, And he must win the battle.

And tho this world, with devils filled, Should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph thru us.
The prince of darkness grim, We tremble not for him — His rage we can endure,
For lo, his doom is sure: On little word shall fell him.

That word above all earthly powe’rs, No thanks to them abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours Thru Him who with us sideth
Let goods and kindred go, This mortal life also– The body they may kill;
God’s truth abideth still: His kingdom is forever.

Mother’s Day

A celebration of my wife, and the mother to our daughter.

You tube video

The pictures say it all, and this is the reason I’m building RentABus

Jerry

Build on Sand? or Rock?

I had the great pleasure this past weekend to take my wife and little girl to the beach at Gulf Shores, AL. It was our 2 year old girl’s first experience at the beach. She ran into and from the waves squealing with excitement. She loved to watch her mother and I attempt to build sand castles in the sand, so she could immediately smash them down amid her giggles. We would dig holes and build near the water, where occasionally a large wave would come in, soaking us and washing away our grand buildings of sand.  She loved to watch them wash away and be flattened.

As I reflect on this experience, I cannot help but see a parallel to real life. When we attempt to build out of poor materials, or on a sandy foundation, the enemy is quick to come along and smash it down. Waves easily flatten what we have attempted to put together with poor choices and poor foundations.

5 years ago we began construction on the home we now live in. It seemed to take forever for the foundation contractor to get done. The painstaking detail and labor done with little visible progress was painful to endure. We wanted to see a house! That said, we also understood that the foundation had to be as perfect as humanly possible with no detail missed. We are anchored to the rock on a monolithic poured concrete foundation and built our log home which is enormously heavy. I certainly do not want to test it in a tornado, and empathize greatly for those that have been through one, but if any structure can survive one, this is it.

The details matter.

I once worked for a man that would routinely tell his receptionist to tell certain callers that he was in a meeting, or that he was out. It was a lie and indicative of a bad foundation.

I read recently an account of an incident that took place in a high powered meeting. A big business investor, let’s call him Donald,  was seriously considering buying a smaller business that very day. They were gathered in the board room, he and his assistant along with the VP of the business that was about to be purchased. As they were waiting for the President to enter the meeting, the secretary entered the room. She informed the VP that Mr. “Smith” was on the phone, looking for the document that was to have been sent to him. The VP told her that he forgot to send it and to tell Mr. Smith that he sent it yesterday via a 2-day delivery, but then to send it overnight to him immediately.

Shortly the President arrived to join the meeting. They reviewed a plethora of reports, financial statements etc and all looked good and that the business would be a good investment to buy. Donald then asked for a few minutes alone with his assistant. The President and VP departed the room. He asked his assistant for his feedback and assessment. The assistant replied that everything looked good on paper and that in his opinion it would be a good investment. Donald then reminded him of the brief incident prior to the meeting with the secretary, to which his assistant didn’t really take note. Donald then said, that if they would lie about that type of thing, there was no reason to believe anything in the reports and statements they just reviewed were not also lies. They departed and did not buy the company. A crack in the foundation with great consequence.

Matthew 6:24-27 says “

²⁴“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: ²⁵and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.²⁶“But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: ²⁷and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

I choose daily to build my life and RentABus on a rock. Join me and build your own legacy!!

Cost and Comfort: Van vs. Bus

As often happens, some are considering whether or not they should RentABus this summer or if they should rent 2 vans. It might make sense in some cases, but for reasons of safety and comfort, to RentABus is a preferred choice.

You can do the math to make the comparison. Compare renting 2 15 passenger vans, to renting a 26 passenger bus for a 3 day 500 mile trip. Aside of safety, comfort and liability reasons, merely the cost of renting a bus is less than $200 more.

VanVsBus

A few dollars is worth it.

Jerry