In Honor of Mothers Day

Thanking my Lord and Savior and my Mom....
If it weren't for you 
I would not be here anyway
If it weren't for you 
I would not have a place to stay
If it weren't for you 
I'd have nothing to eat
If it weren't for you 
I would not have shoes on my feet
If it weren't for you 
I would not have truly known love
If it weren't for you 
I would not be blessed from above
If it weren't for you 
I would not i'd know no rhyme or reason
If it weren't for you 
I would not I'd have no time or season
If it weren't for you 
I would not want to be alive
If it weren't for you 
I would not have anyone on my side
If it weren't for you 
I would not have gone very far
If it weren't for you 
I would not be who I am because of who you are
and because of you, I send you praise every day
because If it weren't for you 
I would not be here anyway.
......Happy Mothers Day Mom.......

The Bridge

      How many times  have we heard the phrase coined "Be Careful of  The Bridges You Burn"? We saunter through our normal lives living at the Grace of God; taking our own personal risks.  Many times the roads we chose don't lead to where we expect them to.  Many times the roads we chose are filled with obstacles and despair.  For example:  In human relations between man and woman, sometimes we meet and love a person of whom we seemed to have known an eternity.  The hair that grows on the back of his hands is equal to the ones growing under my chin.  We think alike though we will never admit it.  Often times we can finish off each others sentences.  Yet, we have grown apart.  The good times and experiences that bonded us together have become memories afar in the distance. Somehow our minds constantly ponder upon the very things that keep us apart. Those feelings and experiences become spidery veins that trail along the foundation of the bridge and compromise its safety for usage.

     "For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ." 1 Timothy 2:5.  So who is the mediator between man and woman, sister and brother, friend and foe?  The scriptures say: “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  NO one comes to the Father except through me.”  John 14:6.    In the best of times the veins of deception, betrayal and defeat grow long and large and over a period of time grow an even thick.  They infiltrate the bridge and keep us farther apart from each other.
  
The Scriptures Say: 
     A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you that ye also love one another, By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if ye have love one to another ~John 13v34035~

The Scriptures Say:
      "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8   So should we release our fears, our anger and self doubt for there is a greater love than ours.  What then about the bridge, the bridge we must not burn?

 Crossing the Bridge or Staying Put

The Scriptures Say  

        "Here I am"! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." Revelation 3:20.  A query to for help and a answer that befits us all.

"Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." John 1:12 .  We are all still growing even in our adult life and it is important that we keep things in perspective.    Still the question remains, how will you cross the bridge if at all?  For assuredly you must admit you are not perfect nor is anyone else.  You must realize you need people in your life and may need to cross the bridge once fearlessly traveled once again to receive the answers you need.  This venture may change your life or you may have to change your life to venture forth.  In either case the decision is up to you to repeat a possible error or make a new one.  We must fervently consider the spider veins that have taken over the bridge.  The tangled weeds that are causing cracks in the moral fiber of our soul.  This vein is not only apart of the bridge and its surface, it alters the security and encompasses us as individuals.

 

         Is it a matter of being careful not to burn the bridge we so happily crossed in our life endeavors to succeed? Should we just be merry and experience our lives through and at the expense of others? 
I say to you that the answer is as simple as it is complex...However, the choice is ours to make but the decision as to how and what we pay for our actions comes from the Lord above.

Sister/Brother Know Thy Enemy

One might like to believe, we have not one enemy in the world,  However, Christian history has recorded we have at least one.  This character of no mercy has many faces.  Yet we try not to acknowledge its existence as not to give it the attention and credit it so desires and needs to create mayhem and destruction in our lives. 

So we examine our friends, our family and our neighbors, our bosses and associates, affiliates and business liaison's.  At times we question their integrity, and moral fiber is it like or unlike our own? What are signs or our mortal enemy?  What have I done to deserve such a foe?  This my friends is a dilemma even Jesus himself could not solve.  He knew who would betray him but he could not prevent it.  So I say again, who are your enemies?  Could it be a family member who doesn't want to see you climb above them? Is it someone who  is angry for something you did when you were a child and have long forgotten?  Is it a landlord,  co-worker, associate?  Do you have a superior who you believe just doesn't like you; the way you look, your attitude or your status with others? Is he someone who proceeds to wait for the kill or hones in with their criticism and annihilation?

I say this, your enemy is not any of these people above mentioned.  Your enemy is ignorance. It is the one thing that can destroy a land and all that endure within.  Ignorance and negativity is the enemy in our lives.  Ignorance saps our strength it attacks our  bodies, our minds and our ability to do positive things.   Thomas Edison built a massive  Lab in West  Orange New Jersey in his late sixties.  This lab was  a true love of his life The complex was comprised of fourteen buildings greater than three football fields in size.  In these buildings would come prototypes, manufactured products he shipped to his customers.  In December 1914  his beloved lab caught fire.   Most people would have been crushed to see a lifelong dream destroyed.  Edison did not.  He was quoted to say "I am sixty-seven, but not too old to make a fresh start".  "I've been through a lot of things like this."  And rebuild he did.  Edison worked for another seventeen years after the rebuilding of the plant. Had he let the enemy get in his way or take over his dream, he would have lost his lab forever. 

Proverbs 16 verse 3 says  " Commit thy works unto the Lord  and thy thoughts shall be established" 4 "The lord hath made all things for himself yea even the wicked for the day of evil", 5 "Everyone that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord":  6, "By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil" So 7" When a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him. 8 Better is a little with righteousness then great  revenues without right. 9  A mans heart deviseth his way but the Lord directs his steps.


Stand tall, be positive, don't quit for "There is no defeat except in no longer trying. There is no defeat save within, nor really insurmountable barrier, save our own inherent weakness of purpose ~Elbert Hubbard~

If It Were Not For The Love Of God: Earthly Concerns, An Act of Kindness, Spiritual St...

If It Were Not For The Love Of God: Earthly Concerns, An Act of Kindness, Spiritual St...: "'To whom much is given~ much is expected', This reigns true whether we accept it or not. Universal law has it so defined that 'what we..."

Earthly Concerns, An Act of Kindness, Spiritual Strength

"To whom much is given~ much is expected", This reigns true whether we accept it or not.  Universal law has it so defined that "what we sow, we also reap".  In today's time and retrospectives I reflect upon not only how important it is to know our weaknesses but also how critical it is to know our strengths.  We only get out of this world what we individually put in.  Living today is a personal  experience.  I believe we live to help others.  It is a part of the master plan to give. When I  look in the mirror I must admit that sometimes I am not completely happy with what I see.  (Besides wanting to  slim down a few pounds) I wonder, could  I be doing more and am I using the talents and gifts given me through the grace of God to help others to their full potential?  As a people we are always growing, learning new things and adapting to life's circumstances.  I can only hope and pray that my existence and efforts contribute to this world in some way that helps make some other individuals life easier.

In life, tragedy befalls upon us, natural disasters happen, lives are lost.  People are vulnerable to the laws of nature and there is very little we can do to change it.  But we can make the lives for each other who are here better.  We can help by serving and assisting others.  It is not always about "getting paid" for seemingly what you do will eventually make its way back to you anyway.  Matthew 23 vs 10-11 says"10 Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master,  even Christ. 11 But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.

In our school we are celebrating acts of kindness.  Any child observed doing an act of kindness gets a raffle ticket and it is entered into a box at the end of the day.  In the morning the students act of kindness is acknowledged over the loud speaker by the Principal in the main office of the school.  All information is recorded about each student and a photo of each student will be displayed on the "Acts of Kindness" bulletin board that of whom practices or displays a kind act.  The campaign will end with prizes being awarded to those who pull  winning raffle tickets from the box. However, it is not the act of receiving the award that is the greatest lesson.  I believe the greatest lesson is the personal feeling of having done something good for the good or another .  Though this is not a requirement to place in te lesson plan...it should be a requirement in life be a good servant.

As  the character who played Forrest Gump said "Life is like a box of chocolates~ you never know what you are going to get".  An act of kindness surely promotes good karma and when ever it returns it is most usually needed  and indeed welcomed.   I conclude with  Ephesians  3 vs 14- 21 KJV...

Strength Through The Spirit
14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named 16 that he would grant you according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his spirit in the inner man; 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length and depth, and height; 19 and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.  20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us. 21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages world without end. Amen

Walking in Prayer

     Sometimes we wonder what is in store for our lives.  We toddled through adolescence and we meandered about as young adults.  Now here we are in the world of major responsibility.  We walk out of our parents homes with the thought; "If I go back, it will only be to visit".  How many of us thought that we were on top of our game.   As we climb the the ladder to success, we realize it isn't quite as we seemed to believe it was.  Then maybe again, it is exactly as we thought it to be.  "Hmmm" but are we really up to the challenge that life has prepared for us?  Nevertheless, life happens. We secure a place to live and then the bills come rolling in.  Oh the woes of not paying that credit card on time.  Now we enter the world of oriental noodle soups and boiled tap water instead of patronizing the usage of the leading brand spring water.  We negotiate our bills like we negotiate our lives "a little at a time".  Keeping ourselves ever mindful of the days that are not so plentiful and how those days seem to be at times more plentiful than the days that are. 

     Our parents made it seem so seamless and easy.  They paid the bills and provided us with food shelter and a few wants and needs.  So now, who will provide the necessary aid we need  as we stick our feet in the mud and try to feel our way through the rocky roads of achievement?  Well my darlings, God only knows.  Studies have shown that a person who believes in a higher source greater  than themselves has an easier time making adjustments and dealing with day to day stresses.  That's right,  today prayer is in.

New Prayer Study

      The newest prayer study is a meta-analysis that takes into account the entire body of empirical research on intercessory prayer (17 major studies). The new study showed that according to American Psychological Association Division 12 criteria, intercessory prayer is classified as an experimental intervention that, overall, shows a small, but significant, positive effect.¹

Rich Deem  http://www.godandscience.org/apologetics/prayer.html

     As I wake in early morning hour, I pray a prayer of thanksgiving for all that has been provided for me and mine.  I acknowledge my inability to face all of life's tribulations on my own.  I ask to be forgiven for those I have trespassed against along the way and I pray to be in a position to help others as I help myself.  I admit that in all of my knowing, in all of my education and in all of my life's experiences, I do not know it all.  It is not my position to judge or become a critic for a man whose shoes I have not walked in.   As I finally negotiate my way out of bed; into the shower and out of the house to work, I thank God I am able and that I have a job.  While I am walking to my automobile, I walk in prayer.   Silently in my mind I ponder; if that prayer influences my life only a little bit, it is far better than none at all.  Surely, the heavens know, I am truly grateful for the blessings I have already received.

What's Love Got To Do With It?

 "What the world needs now is love sweet love, it's the only thing that there is just too little of, what the world needs now is love sweet love, no not just for some but for everyone" sung by Burt Bacharach and the Posies.  I truly believe that no truer words were ever spoken.  Love is a topic that has been sung about and written about millions of times over.  Yet somehow the message is not utilized enough.  According to Matthew 22:verses 36-40 in the New International Version of the bible,  you should : “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’^{[a] 38} This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor,.1 Corinthians 13 vs13 says: an now abideth faith hope and love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

I can not speak for the world and surely this blog is only a matter of my own personal opinion.  However,  as I reflect upon my life experiences I can honestly say if not for the love of God, I would not be here today.  If it were not for the love of God, I would have been a soldier in a army headed for defeat, a wayward child running down a path of utter chaos and mayhem.  Many days he has awaken me from a comfortable and pleasant sleep, helped me out of my bed and prepared me for the day.  Those days when I did not want to go to school or work those days when my bones wretched in pain. If it were not for the love of God, I'd have no one to comfort me in my days of loss or sorrow; no one to understand the inner desires of my heart.   People can and will disappoint you.  Family,  friends and relationships can be fragile and you may never even see the betrayal coming down the track until you are hit from behind by a trusted or dear one you love.  I may not always understand Gods reasoning, nor all that he does in my life. Yet  I look forward to each lesson he has to teach and each story he tells through me. I am grateful for the people that he has arranged to come into my life. His examples speak in truth.  Only those who believe in him truly profit from his labor.  He first loved us and gave his only begotten son so that those who so ever believeth in him shall not perish.  God is more than worthy of my love and affection, he is a able God; a rock in a higher place than I,  in him do I trust.

Sooooooo...."What's Love Got To Do With It" one asks? Love has everything in the world to do with it.  It's the motion in the ocean; it moves the waves in the sea, it brightens the day and lights the night.  It sings a melody that eludes a deafening silence yet., it is quiet and still when you need to hear yourself breathe.  It's the smile on a the face of person who was thought not to have anything to smile about.  It's the heart of a mother, father, grandmother and child. If you  have ventured out and loved just one other person, you have made a difference in a life that will touch many others.  Having a pure open heart, and giving it to others has greater benefits then one could every hope to receive.  Love is a guiding light and is as necessary as air is to breathe.  Simply put, no life is ever complete without the presence of love.