To me, what I have done seems natural, the way it was planned for me, in my life. I am not saying it is the right way or the wrong way. Just that it is my way.

I believe we all are created, by God, with our own individual purposes. Only He knows what the true purpose behind all of our lives is. I am not going to sit here and judge someone because they are not living the way I am.

If someone feels it’s natural to love someone of the same gender, if someone decides for whatever reason that they should have an abortion, if someone has sex before marriage, if someone has children out of wedlock, or if someone chooses to use birth control married or not…I don’t feel I am the person who should decide whether they are wrong or right.

I read my Bible every day. The message I get when I read the Bible is that God put different people on this earth for a reason known only to Him. I also believe that Jesus was sent here to save us all from sin…regardless of what sin we commit, as long as we believe in Christ we WILL be saved.

I believe we WILL be saved if we have sex before marriage, love someone of the same gender, have an abortion, use birth control, and even for judging those who do the above…AS LONG AS WE BELIEVE THAT JESUS CHRIST IS OUR SAVIOUR AND THAT HE DIED FOR OUR SINS (ALL OF THEM).

When I read my Bible, I learn to love others regardless of their beliefs and actions. Jesus loved us all, He died for all of us because we are ALL Sinners. I don’t believe we have the authority to tell others what they are doing is wrong. There is only one judge and I am not it.

Matthew 22:36-40
36″Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37Jesus replied: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

I love you guys,

He painted a sign advertising the 4 pups. And set about nailing it to a post on the edge of his  yard. As he was driving the last nail into the  post, he felt a tug on his overalls. He looked down into the eye of a little boy.

‘Mister,’  he said, ‘I want to buy one of your puppies.’ 

‘Well,’ said the farmer, as he  rubbed the sweat off the back of his neck, ‘These puppies come from fine parents and cost a good deal of money.’

The boy dropped his  head for a moment. Then reaching deep into his pocket, he pulled out a handful of change and held it up to the  farmer.

‘I’ve got thirty-nine cents. Is that enough to take a look?’ 

‘Sure,’  said the farmer. And with that he let out a whistle. ‘Here, Dolly!’ he called. Out  from the doghouse and down the ramp ran Dolly  followed by four little balls of fur.

The little boy pressed his face against  the chain link fence. His eyes danced with  delight.

As the dogs made their way to  the fence, the little boy noticed something  else stirring inside the doghouse. Slowly  another little ball appeared, this one noticeably smaller. Down the ramp it slid. Then  in a somewhat awkward manner, the little pup  began hobbling toward the others, doing its best  to catch up….

‘I  want that one,’ the little boy said, pointing to  the runt. The farmer knelt down at the boy’s  side and said, ‘Son, you don’t want that puppy.  He will never be able to run and play with you like these other dogs would.’

With that the little boy stepped back from the fence, reached down, and began rolling up one leg of his trousers.

In doing so he revealed a steel brace running down both sides of his leg  attaching itself to a specially made shoe. 

Looking back up at the farmer, he said, ‘You see sir, I don’t run too well myself, and he will need someone who understands.’ 

With tears in his eyes, the farmer reached down and picked up the little pup. 

Holding  it carefully handed it to the little boy. 

‘How  much?’ asked the little boy. ‘No charge,’  answered the farmer, ‘There’s no charge for  love.’

The world is full of people who need someone who understands…

I love you guys,

The other day, someone at a store in our town read that a Methamphetamine lab had been found in an old farmhouse in the adjoining county and he asked me a rhetorical questions, “Why didn’t we have a drug problem when you and I were growing up?”

I replied, I had a drug problem when I was young: I was drug to church on Sunday morning. I was drug to church for weddings and funerals. I was drug to family reunions and community socials no matter the weather.

I was drug by my ears when I was disrespectful to adults. I was also drug to the woodshed when I disopeyed my parents, told a lie, brought home a bad report card, did not speak with respect, spoke ill of the teacher or the preacher, or if I didn’t put forth my best effort in everything that was asked of me.

I was drug to the kitchen sink to have my mouth washed out with soap if I uttered a profanity. I was drug out to pull weeds in mom’s garden and flower beds and cockleburs out of dad’s fields. I was drug to the homes of family, friends, and neighbors to help out some poor soul who had no one to mow the yard, repair the clothesline, or chop some firewood, and, if my mother had ever known that I took a single dime as a tip for this kindness, she would have drug me back to the woodshed.

Those drugs are still in my veins and they affect my behavior in everything I dp, say, or think. They are stronger than cocaine, crack, or heroin; and, if today’s children had this kind of drub promblem, America would be a better place.

God bless the parent’s who drugged us.

 

Have you been drugged? Are you drugging your children?

I believe that the good values we instill on our children do grow with them and that they use them, regardless, of what they see or who they are around when they are away from us. I also feel we must be consistent in our actions so that we don’t confuse them before we send them off to live away from us.

We must remember that we are our children’s parents before we are their friends. We should do things to protect them, even if they “hate” us for it, knowing that they will one day look back and realize why we said the things we did when they were younger.

I love you guys,

1Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.

The next morning while they are eating breakfast, the young woman sees her neighbor hanging the wash outside.

“That laundry is not very clean”, she said.
“She doesn’t know how to wash correctly.  Perhaps she needs better laundry soap.”

Her husband looked on, but remained silent.

Everytime her neighbor would hang her wash to dry, the young woman would make the same comments.

About one month later, the woman was surprised to see a nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband:

“Look, she has learned how to wash correctly.  I wonder who taught her this?”

The husband said, “I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows.”

So, how clean are your windows? I ask this because I know how easy it is to judge others before we even know what the truth is behind what it is we are judging.

I know, after reading this, I am going to clean my windows and try my hardest to keep them clean and ask that you attempt to do the same.

We must remember that we ALL have our faults and, sometimes, what we feel is someone else’s fault, really is our own as it was in this case.
Matthew 7:3-5 (NIV)
3″Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

I love you guys,

I was driving home from a meeting this evening about 5, stuck in traffic on Colorado Blvd., and the car started to choke and splutter and die - I barely managed to coast, cursing, into a gas station, glad only that I would not be blocking traffic and would have a somewhat warm spot to wait for the tow truck. It wouldn’t even turn over. Before I could make the call, I saw a woman walking out of the ‘quickie mart building’, and it looked like she slipped on some ice and fell into a Gas pump, so I got out to see if she was okay.

When I got there, it looked more like she had been overcome by sobs than that she had fallen; she was a young woman who looked really haggard with dark circles under her eyes. She dropped something as I helped her up, and I picked it up to give it to her. It was a nickel.

At that moment, everything came into focus for me: the crying woman, the ancient Suburban crammed full of stuff with 3 kids in the back (1 in a car seat), and the gas pump reading $4.95.

I asked her if she was okay and if she needed help, and she just kept saying ‘I don’t want my kids to see me crying,’ so we stood on the other side of the pump from her car. She said she was driving to California and that things were very hard for her right now. So I asked, ‘And you were praying?’ That made her back away from me a little, but I assured her I was not a crazy person and said, ‘He heard you, and He sent me.’

I took out my card and swiped it through the card reader on the pump so she could fill up her car completely, and while it was fueling, walked to the next door McDonald’s and bought 2 big bags of food, some gift certificates for more, and a big cup of coffee. She gave the food to the kids in the
car, who attacked it like wolves, and we stood by the pump eating fries and talking a little.

She told me her name, and that she lived in Kansas City Her boyfriend left 2 months ago and she had not been able to make ends meet. She knew she wouldn’t have money to pay rent Jan 1, and finally in desperation had finally called her parents, with whom she had not spoken in about 5 years. They lived in California and said she could come live with them and try to get on her feet there

So she packed up everything she owned in the car. She told the kids they were going to California for Christmas, but not that they were going to live there.

I gave her my gloves, a little hug and said a quick prayer with her for safety on the road. As I was walking over to my car, she said, ‘So, are you like an angel or something?’

This definitely made me cry. I said, ‘Sweetie, at this time of year angels are really busy, so sometimes God uses regular people.’

It was so incredible to be a part of someone else’s miracle. And of course, you guessed it, when I got in my car it started right away and got me home with no problem. I’ll put it in the shop tomorrow to check, but I suspect the mechanic won’t find anything wrong.
Situations such as these help me to realize that we are being watched over. Especially in times when we need it the most. God is awesome and uses us to help each other in times of need. He doesn’t abandon us and we should all remember this so that we don’t abandon Him either.

I love you guys!

I have hurt a lot of people in my lifetime and will probably hurt others before my time is up. I have also been hurt by plenty of people, some of which don’t even know the extent of the pain they have caused me.
I have loved when I shouldn’t have. I have cried for the wrong reasons. I have scared people away due to my honesty and have drawn people close to me due to my lies. I worked hard to get to where I am, yet I am nowhere according to some. I feel I have a hard life at times but I know there are people who would love to live the way I do.

I have moved more times than I have fingers and toes but I feel stable. Others say I move too much and that it’s not good.
People question my beliefs and theories because they don’t make sense to them. I research others beliefs and theories and stick to mine in the end.

I know that we are all different. I know that I am my own person. I know that my purpose is not the same as anyone else’s. I also know that no two people think exactly alike.

What I think I am trying to say is that no matter what I do with or in my life…there is always going to be someone doing the opposite and visa versa. So, why do I spend so much time wondering what others are going to say or do, or how they are going to react to my actions? Does it really matter? Should I care? Should I change?

In all reality though, I like who and how I am. I like that I am different. I think that maybe others don’t understand how and why I do the things I do because they have never taken the time to see how I live. I believe most people just assume I am not doing well because I am not doing what they are doing or what they would do, if they were me.

I can truly say that I feel blessed with the way my life is and I am content with all that is going on around me. I wish there were a way to let others see that. But then again, I guess it shouldn’t matter what others think, say, or do because I am only here to please God. If I make Him happy that is all that should matter, right?

So, yeah…this is what I was thinking about today.

I love you guys.

I love you guys,

I am a strong believer in the phrase “Everything happens for a reason” and I know that we all have our own, individual, purpose, according to God’s will. Even still it is hard to deal with all of the sadness going on around me…especially with those I love and care for dearly.

The only thing I thought of that would bring me the comfort, encouragement, and hope I so desperately need at this time is God’s word.

As I was reading the Bible, I decided to compile some bible verses regarding death.

After reading them myself, I found more at ease as I realized there really is hope for all of us and death is not something we should be afraid of but something we should rejoice…for this is when we know our purpose is complete and we will not suffer anymore. This is when we know that we will finally be with Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 (New International Version)
13Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. 14We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.
Isaiah 57:1-2 (New International Version)
1 The righteous perish, and no one ponders it in his heart; devout men are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil.
2 Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death.
Revelation 14:13 (New International Version)
Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”
Psalm 116:15 (New International Version)
Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.
John 11:25-26 (New International Version)
25Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;
26and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
1 Corinthians 15:42-44 (New International Version)
42So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable;
43it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power;
44it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.
2 Corinthians 4:17-18 (New International Version)
17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Romans 8:18 (New International Version)
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
2 Corinthians 5:1-2 (New International Version)
1Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.
2Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling,
2 Corinthians 5:8 (New International Version)
We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
Hebrews 2:14-15 (New International Version)
14Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—
15and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.
Revelation 12:11 (New International Version)
They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.
If or when you go through a difficult time due to death or sorrow; I pray, in Jesus name, that these Bible verses bring you comfort, encouragement, and hope, the way they did me.

I love you guys!

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