What About Love?

Our world is filled with words about love, or with the word love itself. Popular songs, greeting cards, romantic books, television programs, all proclaim love. But what is love really? We yearn to love and be loved but see few examples of real love. Real love is scarce, it is selfless, caring, sharing and even dying. The word love has been twisted in meaning and torn from context.

Truth and integrity are endangered species. We harbor ill feelings, we are unforgiving, we remember the bad and allow it to choke out the good. I don't see many examples of real pure love, and when I do it makes me cry. I am not always loving, I am not always patient and kind, I don't always reach out and touch someone to try to make the world a better place, sometimes I am self seeking and self serving. I wish I could say I was all those good things, but I would be lying to you, to myself and to God, so I'll just put it out there, it's the truth....I am not all I should be.

1 Cor. 13:4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8Love never fails.

The Greatest, The Prettiest, The Strongest

Everyone wants to be the greatest, the prettiest, the strongest. Sports heroes, coaches, politicians, doctors, lawyers, janitors, teachers, car wash attendees, fast food employees, waitresses, hairdressers, and barbers all are valued at different levels in our society.

We place value on what position someone holds, the amount of education they have, the medals they earned, the awards they have received, the car they drive, the house they live in. Yet, what would we do without the solid waste employees, the waiters and waitresses, janitors of our office buildings and schools who clean the toilets, and take out the trash?

I even watched these guys on TV the other day who wear scuba suits and go under the water and clean the drains in the sewage system and are paid very little. They usually come from much less educated families and live in a much lower class neighborhood, nonetheless when you look at what it would be like without them, they automatically gain phenomenal value. I think to myself there is no way would do that job for a living. Ugh!

Our children go to school and they also face labels, the cheerleaders and quarterbacks are in an elite group. Everyone wants to be popular or a part of the popular crowd. Even the boys who live with me want to be like the kid that has parents who pay for their child's tuition, but they aren't and they don't realize how much it will mean to them later in life because they had to work to earn everything they accomplish. I do see it in their eyes sometimes how proud they are of themselves when they accomplish small things.

The hispanic woman and her two children who clean the police department do not speak any english, they work for meagar wages, but they contribute to what kind of day I have. They are in the background of our lives going unnoticed, yet they hold very important positions and most importantly Jesus loves them.

I try to remember to reach out to them but I don't always. I try to show them the love of Christ. I have learned to speak quite a bit of spanish so I can communicate, and the lady asked me recently if I would teach her to drive and help her get her license. She has saved fifteen hundred dollars to buy a car.

There are so many opportunities to reach out and share Jesus with people and alot of times they are not the greatest, the prettiest or the strongest, sometimes they are just in the background daily touching our lives. barely make it from day to day. I am striving to open my eyes and notice things I might otherwise overlook. I am guilty of taking so much for granted. I am so blessed.

The Foundation is Critical

Tsunamis, earthquakes, hurricanes, torrential rains, landslides, forest fires, the list goes on. Trees snap like toothpicks, houses crumble, cars tumble like toys, people die, the fury from natural disasters come unexpectedly, the earth swallows whole buildings, and all that man has built comes to ruin in a few moments, leaving nothing but memories of what once stood.

Our lives are like buildings, some of us build on solid foundations, some of us build our lives on things temporary that will one day crumble and what will be left? Nothing but empty vacant buildings that will decay, our jobs will be held by someone else, the tropies we amassed will stand dusty, the bank account will be dry or left to someone else.

What legacy will we leave? Our life story is the dash on our tombstone between the date of our birth and the date of our death. On the day our soul is required of us and there is nothing left but God, what will be left? Genesis says in the beginning God.... It is also a fact that at the end...God....

When we partook of everything the world had to offer, was He only included when something went wrong. Did we take our lives for granted, mumbling because someone else had it better than we did? Because we didn't have the opportunities someone else had? Someone grew up in a brick home while we grew up in a frame house?

So many times I hear kids complaining because they didn't have the latest and the greatest toy, or didn't get to go the school someone else went to, or they had to work their way through college, it seems all I ever hear is about me, my, myself and I. We have so very much to be thankful for. The things we put so much importance on are things that might make life more enjoyable while here on earth and they are important, such as education, careers, a home, vehicle, friends, but...without God they mean nothing.

I am so blessed, I haven't been rich in the world's sense, but I am rich. When I found Jesus and began to build on the Rock then I became rich. I have so much to be thankful for, and the thing I am most thankful for is my salvation, then I am thankful that He has opened my eyes to the truth. I am only passing through here and yes I want to be comfortable and I enjoy driving my Mazda 626, but look at Job, he knew what was important, He knew where all those things came from. When everyone around him was complaining and pointing fingers, Job kept the main thing the main thing. I mean even his wife told him..just to curse God and die!! But did he blame anyone, no He understood, God placed him where he was. He may not have anything left, but God but that was all he needed. God was what was important. Job Got IT! He understood that all the things we enjoy, including life itself came from one place...God..

In the Beginning God...in the end God....Oh Lord please help me to understand this like Job did. If ever I am tempted to complain about anything remind me of how Job handled his trials. Help me to love you more, to desire you more, open my heart and my mind, my ears and my eyes so I may see more clearly.

He's My King!

The Bible says my King is a seven-way king... He's the King of the Jews; that's a racial king... He's the King of Israel; that's a national King... He's the King of Righteousness... He's the King of the Ages... He's the King of Heaven... He's the King of Glory... He's the King of kings, and He's the Lord of lords. That's my King. Well... I wonder, do you know Him?... David said, "The Heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows His handiwork. My King is a sovereign King. No means of measure can define His limitless love. No far seeing telescope can bring into visibility the coastline of His shoreless supply. No barrier can hinder Him from pouring out His blessings. He's enduringly strong... He's entirely sincere... He's eternally steadfast... He's immortally graceful... He's imperially powerful... He's impartially merciful... Do you know Him?
He's the greatest phenomenon that ever crossed the horizon of this world. He's God's Son... He's a sinner's Saviour... He's the centerpiece of civilization... He stands in the solitude of Himself... He's august... He's unique... He's unparalleled... He's unprecedented... He's the loftiest idea in literature... He's the highest personality in philosophy... He's the supreme problem in higher criticism... He's the fundamental doctrine of true theology... He's the cardinal necessity for spiritual religion... He's the miracle of the age... He's the superlative of everything good that you choose to call Him... He's the only one qualified to be an all sufficient Saviour... I wonder if you know Him today?
He supplies strength for the weak... He's available for the tempted and the tried... He sympathizes and He saves... He strengthens and sustains... He guards and He guides... He heals the sick... He cleanses lepers... He forgives sinners... He discharges debtors... He delivers captives... He defends the feeble... He blesses the young... He serves the unfortunate... He regards the aged... He rewards the diligent... and He beautifies the meek... I wonder if you know Him?
Well, my King... is the King... He's the key to knowledge... He's the wellspring to wisdom... He's the doorway of deliverance... He's the pathway of peace... He's the roadway of righteousness... He's the highway of holiness... He's the gateway of glory... Do you know Him?
Well... His office is manifold... His promise is sure... His light is matchless... His goodness is limitless... His mercy is everlasting... His love never changes... His word is enough... His grace is sufficient... His reign is righteous... and His yoke is easy, and his burden is light. I wish I could describe Him to you, but He's indescribable... He's incomprehensible... He's invincible... He's irresistible.
Well, you can't get Him out of your mind... You can't get Him off of your hand... You can't out live Him, and you can't live without Him... The Pharisees couldn't stand Him, but they found out they couldn't stop Him... Pilate couldn't find any fault in Him... The witnesses couldn't get their testimonies to agree... Herod couldn't kill Him... Death couldn't handle Him, and the grave couldn't hold Him. Yea!!!, that's my King, that's my King.
Father... "Thine is the Kingdom....and the Power....and the Glory... Forever"... and ever, and ever, and ever, and ever. How long is that? And ever... and ever... and when you get through with all the forevers, then... AMEN!... AMEN!

S.M. Lockridge

The Truth About Relationships

Recently my daughter and I were talking. I asked her how she would feel if I were to go hang out with her friends and we just talked about all the things we knew about her. I said, "what if I never called you and you wrote me letters and I never read them?" "What if I never stopped by to see you or have lunch with you, how would you feel?" "What if I just hung out with people who talked about you once in awhile and they told me all about your life and how you loved me, but I didn't even bother to take the time to go to your house?" She then replied, "I wouldn't like it, I would feel like you were ignoring me or maybe you didn't love me." I said, "well God revealed to me recently if I am not reading His letters and spending time in His word that I am doing just that."

I am just hanging out with others who know Him or know facts about Him and listening to sermons, but I am ignoring Him. He doesn't even have a chance to speak to me one on one, cause I am too busy doing what I think is right, but it is wrong, not wrong to attend church or hang out with other Christians, but wrong in the sense that I am not spending personal time with Him, allowing Him to speak to me individually.

I once heard a preacher say when we feed off of only what God has given to others it could be stagnant water. That we have to go get a drink of fresh water from the well. We have to allow HIM to give us a drink of the water of life, instead of being lazy and letting everyone else spend the time with Him and then listen to what they have to say instead of talking to him and allowing him to talk to us personally.

The truth of the matter is...I make time for what is important to me. I say it is important, but is it really? How important is it to me to hear from Him? How important is it to me to stop and take time to read His letters? Not only that, He wrote the letters to help me find the truth, to show me a better way, to communicate His love to me. When I stop to read the Word, I am amazed at how He does talk to me through His Word and I feel so refreshed and usually when I take that time, I can't stop reading.

So what is a relationship anyway? Can I have a relationship with someone if I never call them, never read their letters, never spend time with them? I don't think so. I have been so busy with the cares of this life that I haven't always taken the time to stop and do what is most important. Recently I have been spending alot of time in His Word and I hear His voice so clearly. I am enjoying this time so much, I can't wait to get alone and spend some quiet time just so I can hear His voice.

"THE FUTURE"

Physics, mediums, card readers, fortune tellers...have you seen the commercials daily bombarding our televisions. I was thinking of how I see these ads and I know they are false, I know they can't tell the future, but what about the minds of our children and other children who don't know the truth. Is a seed being planted there? Do they know these people can't tell the future?

The future is unknown, it is a vast uncharted sea. Life is a journey and along the road there are roses, thorns, bumps, valleys and mountains. There are joys and sorrows and lessons to be learned. Sometimes we think we have it all planned out, but tomorrow's story is only known to God. He alone knows and understands what tomorrow holds for each of us. He is in control and He will not let anything come our way that He knows we can't handle. As I seek Him, He is leading me into a deeper understanding and I feel more secure in every area of my life than I ever have.

As we travel this journey into tomorrow, sometimes we get these totally unexpected joys, sometimes we lose loved ones and have unbearable pain, sometimes we plan and then tomorrow comes and we never accomplish the plan. Sometimes we move mountains and sometimes we are in the valley of despair. The comfort I have in all this is that God is in control. I may plan, but His plan is greater. I go through life and He is leading me, He is growing me, He is using me for a greater plan. I rest in the fact that He is there and that is all that matters. He will pick me up if I fall. He alone can make the crooked paths straight and He said if I trust in Him and acknowledge Him, He will make my path straight.

So when prayers are unanswered and another day comes, I know that He knows better than me and He is allowing this thing to continue for a reason. Perhaps I am being strengthened or maybe the person or situation I am praying for may need to go through what they are going through. All I know is...God sees the whole picture, I don't. He knows what needs to be done and He sees and He is aware. All I have to do is remember is He knows tomorrow's story before tomorrow ever gets here. He is in control and He alone has complete understanding. The answer to my prayer may not come in the way I expect. Sometimes it might hurt, sometimes it might seems endless, but one thing is for sure, He holds the future, no one else does.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

1929-1968
"At the center of the Christian faith is the affirmation that there is a God in the universe who is the ground and essence of all reality. A Being of infinite love and boundless power, God is the creator, sustainer, and conserver of values....In contrast to the ethical relativism of [totalitarianism], Christianity sets forth a system of absolute moral values and affirms that God has placed within the very structure of this universe certain moral principles that are fixed and immutable."

"At times we may feel that we do not need God, but on the day when the storms of disappointment rage, the winds of disaster blow, and the tidal waves of grief beat against our lives, if we do not have a deep and patient faith, our emotional lives will be ripped to shreds. There is so much frustration in the world because we have relied on gods rather than God. We have genuflected before the god of science only to find that it has given us the atomic bomb, producing fears and anxieties that science can never mitigate. We have worshiped the god of pleasure only to discover that thrills play out and sensations are short-lived. We have bowed before the god of money only to learn that there are such things as love and friendship that money cannot buy and that in a world of possible depressions, stock market crashes, and bad business investments, money is a rather uncertain deity. These transitory gods are not able to save us or bring happiness to the human heart. Only God is able. It is faith in him that we must rediscover. With this faith we can transform bleak and desolate valleys into sunlit paths of joy and bring new light into the dark caverns of pessimism." (Strength to Love, p. 51

GODLY ROLE MODELS

Recently a Pastor in our small town was featured in the small town newspaper. Details of his indescretions from twenty years ago were revealed. At first it was shocking, I heard the gossip and stayed out of it. Somehow deep inside I felt the Holy Spirit say, we don't know everything, we don't know the circumstances, we are not to judge. Not always do I hear this voice telling me this, sometimes as I read, I just pray for the person, or dismiss it as to the liberal news getting on their bandwagon again, and sometimes my heart hurts because we belong to God and when we stray from Him, we hurt the body. We often don't think of how our actions are going to affect not only our family but there is a much bigger picture. Twenty years have past and this family still suffers and the victim too, her family, her child, the consequences of sin.

As I was thinking about all these things, several things developed. One thing was this Pastor and his wife stood before their congregation and confessed he had an affair twenty years ago that produced a child. His wife had forgiven him long ago, he paid child support all these years, he even performed the marriage for the daughter he fathered about four years ago. He asked his congregation to make a decision as to whether they wanted him to step down or not. They surrounded him and prayed for he and his family. They forgave him and there were lots of tears.

With all this being said, again I mention "Godly Role Models" and King David is a man who comes to my mind. He was God's man. He was described as a "man after God's own heart." In this I believe the lesson is ......even great people who try to follow God fall to temptation and sin. Godliness does not guarantee an easy and carefree life. The record shows Davids infractions of lust, adultery, murder. He repented and God brought him back as a great leader, yet he still suffered from family problems, he still was lifted in pride at times and he faced the consequences of his actions.

I've learned alot from David, such as his sorrow for his sin, his humanness, his repentance, his life is much like mine...my family isn't perfect and yes everyone in it has sinned. So now what? I don't take David's life for granted. Some of the lessons I learn from his life are even though I strive to be more like Him, I will never achieve it until the day we are face to face because I have sin nature and although I do try my best to lead the way God would have me to, my family will still struggle and they won't be perfect.

I must daily repent, turn away from sin and run to God as fast as I can because honestly the only real peace that I have is in Him. When I am in His arms, when I am walking close beside Him, He keeps me from falling as often and when I do fall, He picks me up, I hate the way sin sneaks it's way in my life, I pray I recognize it when it looks so pretty and is so neatly wrapped up, I pray I see it for what it is before I become a victim, before I fall again. I want to be purged and pruned, I want to be a clear reflection of Him. I find much peace in knowing He is not finished with me yet. Oh how I want to be more like Him.

FOLLOW THE LEADER!

Do you ever remember playing that game. It used to be one of my favorites and of course I usually blindfolded my followers and of course when they blindfolded me, I usually peeked. Lol.... But when I think about it now, I know I didn't even understand really what follow the leader meant. It was just a game...it held no real meaning for me. But now, leadership means alot to me.

All of us are either leading or following someone or something. That is something to think about. We need faithful, ethical and effective leaders, without them we tend to wander. When our leaders aren't living up to their obligations, they set an example and we tend to follow those examples or think it's okay to do this or that.

Even as a parent, I am leading. I am not proud of all the examples I have set. I wish I could say I am the perfect parent, the perfect leader, but I am not. The choices I made told my children it was ok to do this or that, when in reality, I failed to lead in the way God would have me lead. I know there is no such thing as perfection, but I am daily renewing my committment to lead, to follow, to obey, to submit my will to Him. Sometimes I did it right thankfully. I was willing to submit to God's leadership and obey His voice and when I did, there was victory!

I look around me in the world I live in and I have noticed great leaders are rare. Men and women are being appointed or elected to positions of leadership, and they falter or fail to act. Others like Sadaam have abused or are abusing their power to satisfy their egos, crushing their subjects and squandering their resources. I mean how many palaces does one man need anyway. That is what I would call truly being self absorbed, thinking of me, my, myself and I, us four and no more.

Being in the ministry has afforded me the opportunity to learn first hand what it means to be a leader and the responsibility of that position. One of the best tests of my leadership is in replacing myself, training someone else to take my position in the event I am unable to continue. I and you are a part of God's chain of ongoing work in the world, we are modeling ourselves after another and others are patterning our lives after us. Thankfully we have a wonderful Pastor who truly I feel tries to model himself after Christ. I recently became even more thankful that we have him as a leader, he studies the Word and knows the Word. You can quote him a verse out of certain books of the bible, such as Romans and he can quote you the verse before it and after it. So right now he leads as our Pastor and we follow.

Anyway, on to what is happening in our life right now. Recently my husband and I decided it was time to take a break, so we are taking three months off from the boys Ranch. Thankfully we were able to do so, because we have trained our followers to be leaders and we can take off and know the ministry is in good hands.

We still have two boys at home whom we are leading and ministering to, but the rest of the time we are putting ourselves before the Lord, we are immersing ourselves in His Word and prayer and asking for His direction. He is answering, I have been in a time of refreshing and He is pouring into me, I hear His voice and it has been so good. I seem to have this unquenchable thirst for the Word. If I leave my bible in the car, I can't sit there and not go get it, I have to go get it, I have such a desire right now, just to be still and sit at His feet. I needed this time, to be alone with my Creator. I want to not only be a good follower, I also want to be a good leader and I have to be willing to submit in both cases.

Thanks to all of you who read my blog and who encourage me, I hope in some way I encourage you too.

"SIN"

Like a minor cut or an abrasion that becomes infected when left untreated, sin grows and poisons the whole body. It's like a little pet we keep in a cage and from time to time, we get it out, we feed it, water it, pet it, love it and it grows a little every day.

It might just be gossip, you know how people love to pull you into those conversations at work. It could be a thing you don't even notice at first, something you are allowing that seems so innocent, maybe it is what I recently heard of as emotional dating. You know...that person at work that you love to be around, he or she looks good, smells good, notices you when you come in, the one who isn't your wife or husband....oops! Whoever said, a little dirt won't hurt!!!

We think to ourself "we got this." We got it under control. We think we have it conquered, but it continues to grow and eventually it devours us, it sucks the life out of us, we took that small step away from God, we didn't think anyone knew, but HE did, He knew, He saw, He wept.

Incomplete obedience. I will probably never obey completely, but I do know the difference. I want my kids to obey me, respect me and honor me and I try to remember that with God, my Father. He loves me sooo much, I can't believe it or understand it. It is still all about grace and mercy...nothing I can do can earn it or deserve it, yet freely He has given, freely I have received.

So...I hate sin, I hate it when I allow sin in my life. Sometimes I can see something in my life I need to deal with and then other times, it is too late, I already let the cat out of the bag and am suffering the consequences. It may not be a big thing, but it's the little foxes that spoil the vine.

It's enough that I know it is there, it tears me to pieces. Sometimes a movie will come on and I will hate it and not be able to watch it, then other times evil comes kind of seductively, and I give in. I have noticed the times I am really in the Word and in prayer are the times when I am stronger about turning away, but if I neglect those things and get busy with the affairs of life, I can get caught up so easily.

Paul the apostle said, the thing I ought to do, I don't and the thing I do, I hate. I wish I could talk to him sometime. I would say "you were one brother who was real!!, you put it out there, you were transparent!"

Sin is the reason for the rapid decline in our morals in America. Our leaders have fallen prey to it, sports heros, movie stars, music. We must beware of compromising with wickedness. Please don't think this post is legalistic or condemning, I don't mean it that way at all. I am constantly aware of how it is only His mercy and grace can save and set us free and how there is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. We are the righteousness of God in Christ, He REDEEMED us, He paid the cost. That is why I want to strive to live it. His love motivates me to seek Him and to be aware of sin crouching at my door...I am gonna open up the door and yell GIT when sin comes knocking, cause I know how it affects me, I know how it affects my family.

Do I focus on it all the time, no mostly I focus on Him, on how He loved me so much, How He is so faithful, He gave me a standard I could live by, He gave me a plumbline. He knew if I did certain things or allowed certain things they would hurt me, just as I want my children to obey to keep them out of harm's way..I am sure He gets joy when we obey, He was trying to protect me when He gave me the rule book, He showed me how to win at the game of life, so I am smack dab in the middle of it and I am going to score as many points in this game as I can. Hallelujah!!!!

Rules, Fouls, Penalities

Rules, fouls and penalities are a part of any game and are regulated and enforced vigorously by referees, judges, umpires and officials. Every participant knows that boundaries must be set and behavior monitored or the game will degenerate into chaos. Playbooks are written, coaches are on the sidelines, players either participate or sit on the bench.

In the world we play many games, sometimes it is a sport such as basketball, baseball, soccer or even hockey. We have players who go out a hundred percent and do whatever it takes to win, we have players who just get by and we have players who sit on the bench.

In God's family we have the same scenarios. Sometimes we go out a hundred percent, sometimes we are apathetic. Sometimes we are willfully disobedient, we are rebellious, we hide our infractions, and it seems we succeed. Sometimes it seems no penalities have been called, no whistles are blown and might seems right. Self exalts itself once again and the old man resurrects himself in our lives. Although all the rules have been broken, it seems we have succeeded, but we haven't, penalities follow and thankfully so does Grace.

In any game, when rules are broken, the team suffers. It is not all about me, although sin always demands a payment, it is about those who don't know, it is about our families, our co workers, our friends, and but most of all it is about God. In Genesis, it says, In the beginning, GOD....that is where it starts and that is where it ends. Life begins with God, thus a biblical worldview, it starts with Him and everything in life should be viewed through this worldview..

We allow the world to reshape the truth... to tell us the latest study says this is okay or that is okay, when His word says it is not okay. It is about obedience, being a free slave, living it because we believe it, because love motivates us to live it out, to represent the family. I want to be a Forward on this team, a quarterback, even a coach, I don't want to sit on the bench and I don't want to be the one who gets a penalty or a foul, I want to score a touchdown, a basket, or a goal, and yet I know I won't always do so and He loves me nonetheless. Not that anything I do is worthy of anything except it brings glory to Him. I want to live on purpose, but I don't always.

God help me live it out, shout it out, I find no greater joy than living for Him and following His playbook. I want to be an MVP, Most Valuable Player, just because of what He did for me. I love Him! I truly want to know Him, the real Him, not facts about Him, not opinions, but know Him...for to know Him is to love Him. I am so happy I am on His team, I used to be on the opposing team, but I crossed over from death to life!, and man am I ever glad I did!!!

Claims Without Conduct

Cause and effect, faith and works, reality and proof, talk and action, truth or lies. Have you ever thought about how everything has a cause and effect?

I heard someone say lately...Christians talk about Jesus being the answer, they try to get you to believe in God, they even want you to go to church with them, but their lives don't show any true change or evidence they really believe in this Jesus they profess. They profess to trust God, but cling tightly to the world and its values. Their lives contradict the very Gospel they preach.

We don't realize sometimes the things we do and say...people are watching us, they are hungry to see a difference in our lives. It reminds me of the song...

Your life is the only Bible that some people are going to read,
Even when you are not aware, you're always planting seed,
People everywhere have their eyes on you,
To see if what you preach is what you do.

Anyway it goes something like that. I guess you could say seeing is believing, as the saying goes, "I don't hear what you say, I see what you do."

I pray today..."Lord help me to represent you, because when you are lifted up, you draw all people to you."

Ignorance is Bliss!

18 For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief. Eccl. 1:18

Tonight I was talking to my daughter and she gave me the title to this post. We were chatting about how the more you try to understand why things happen the way they do, the more you realize how powerless you are to change any situation and the more sorrow it brings.

I mean, you have parents who try to live Christian lives and show their children the right way and what happens, they rebel they go the opposite of what they know God would have them do. Then you have parents who live ungodly lives and never teach their children the right way and they live their lives for Christ. You can't predict the outcome of things. You can lead someone the right way as we try to do with the boys we take in our home and you have some who hear and some who don't. Why is that? Because I have figured out that God's ways are not our ways, His thoughts are not our thoughts, He is working out His plan. In a small way, He has shown me He is aware when things seem to be going wrong. He is aware when our children stray from the path they should walk, He sees what they are doing and Yes, it grieves Him more than it does us, yet He allows it for His purposes.

Even in situations where things don't seem to go right when we are taking care of our elderly relatives, or when we are doing everything we could to get a promotion at work and the person who is always goofing off gets it. Perhaps, there are other things you can think of that don't go right no matter what you do. Well, as I said in a previous post...only He is faithful and true, He is the one who is in control. I am not in control of anything, but man am I ever glad He is.

As I read that scripture tonight, Eccl 1: 18 For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief. I thought of how God has even shown me how I am not faithful, I am not true and that is why He sent Jesus. I love the fact that He made a provision for me to be able to come to Him, cause what would I do, if I had to trust in me and my wisdom...God Forbid. I know nothing but Christ and Him crucified. He sees the whole picture, so I am going to trust He is aware of all things and is working out His plan.

God bless all of you today and as you struggle with life, remember He is there, He knows, He understands, He is amazing and He is working everything out for our good, even though sometimes it might be painful and sometimes it may be joyful. We can rejoice for He is in control.

What Can I Do?

The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it. - Albert Einstein

Have I put my heart on ice? How can I see what is going on in our world and not weep? I read the headlines, yet I don't always have empathy, I stand by and listen, yet I don't always feel. Is that right? Is it a protection because I would be weeping all the time, or am I cold?

I am caught up in my own little world, I go about my business day by day, yet there are people in my neighborhood who are lost and I have the message. The nursing home in town is full, yet no visitors have come to see eighty percent of the residents, why don't I go down there? I've thought about it, but I haven't. Every town has the poor in it. I have been to a classroom and seen the child who was unkept, his pants were too short and his hair was dirty, maybe I could do something. What about the grocery store, I've seen them. I am opinionated, I think I know, yet I don't, I wonder if I knew the whole story, if it would change me and the way I think. Once in awhile something touches me in a way that I have to fight back the tears, but more often than not....my heart is on ice. I have really been examining my heart, my self and asking if there is something else I should be doing. I guess if you read yesterday's post, you know I feel like I guess I really need to take inventory and ask myself...why I am not weeping daily. Why am I not praying for our land, for our country like I should. His Word is written on my heart, yet sometimes I know I am cold, I sometimes can read about things going on in the world and it touches me and sometimes it doesn't, it should at least move me to pray, I think.

Psalm 40:8

I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart."

Faithful and True

Lately I have been allowing myself to be troubled and confused about alot of things, to the point that it has left me questioning and wondering if I am even doing the right thing. I was thinking today that as long as I can remember and as far back as I can remember I have felt God's presence in my life. As a child, I felt Him there comforting me, holding me, walking with me on my way to church. I was remembering how He is Faithful and True.

Then I started looking at our world. It used to be that you could trust our Law Enforcement and Church leaders, but now it seems they are the first to fall into sexual immorality or theft, dishonesty. I remember hearing the saying if you can't trust the law or the preachers who can you trust? The answer to that question is GOD. He is the only one who is Faithful and True.

We read the paper... a mother puts her 6 lb, 4 oz. baby boy in a sheet, then in a trash bag and throws him into a dumpster, another teenage couple go to a motel, have a baby and bury his body behind the motel. Then we have the man in Idaho who beheaded his wife, the DA who fought against pedophiles and was recently caught in a sting trying to have sex with a thirteen year old boy, when the officers went to serve the warrant he killed himself. Then the Judge who made arrangements on the internet to go to a different state to meet a little girl and her mother, so he could have sex with the eight year old. The Priests in the church who have been charged with molesting young boys, the Preacher in Dallas who was caught drugging female parishoners to have sex with them. Our children are engaging in sex at extremely young ages, they are patterning themselves after the latest rappers, rock n roll stars or gangsters, killing each other in the streets, selling drugs, getting high. Our homes are being burglarized, our vehicles broken into, our identities stolen, our bank accounts drained. We are never satisfied, it doesn't matter what kind of car we have, what kind of home we live in, we want more. We are running to the plastic surgeons to get an extreme makeover, we pay our sports heroes millions to play ball, and our teachers pennies. We have a homosexual man who killed his lover and made a pot of stew out of his body, recently a man killed his girlfriend, then put her body in a trash bag in the closet, people are screaming at each other at the top of their lungs, lesbian lovers fighting every week and calling the PD because one kicked out the other and they have no place to go. Young men and women living on the streets, having used so much METH, they stand in front of you and can't tell you their names, they pull on a strand of hair and pick at their face, staring off in the distance, breaking into a smile once in awhile, but mostly you see nothing behind the eyes, an emptiness, no feeling, nothing. Corporate scandels, tsunamis, earthquakes, the signs of the times. We are out of control.

As I pondered all of these things, the answer was so clear. We are unfaithful and untrue. We do things we know are wrong, we listen to things we shouldn't listen to, we watch demented sinful programs in movies and on televisions, we don't hate the things God hates and love the things God loves. We have put out the light or dimmed it. Maybe we don't actually have these things happening in our family, but we are our brother's keeper, we are His light in the earth. I recently heard a preacher say, you can't tell the American Christian from the world and it's true, we have compromised. Then I heard another preacher at three am the other morning, he said our preachers aren't opening the Word of God, they are coming out with the latest sayings, the latest technology and there is nothing wrong with using technology, but the Word should be first and foremost. We need to be preaching the Word. I have been to some of those churches. His sermon wasn't popular, but it was true nonetheless.

I guess I am sounding offbeat or something, I see alot working for the Police Department, but it hit me today that the answer is .....We are unfaithful, He never is.

I remember as far back as when I was a child and He was there, I felt His Presence and today I still feel it. I want to be faithful and true. I want to be more like Him.

A song came to my mind, that goes like this, ....Lord let us be a Generation that seeks,....seeks your face O God of Jacob, give us clean hands, gives us pure hearts, let us not lift our souls to another, Lord let us be a generation that seeks, ....seeks your face O God of Jacob.