??? Stressed ???

Everyone expereinces stress at some point and time in their life, but sometimes the stress becomes unbearable. Stress from everyday circumstances in life can take a big toll on us physically. Stress can cause major health problems and even kill. I did not realize it could be as harmful physically until it caused my sickness. Stress can be a killer, if you do not learn to manage it properly.
This day and age our lifestyles are very fast-paced, challenging, unstable, immoral and dangerous. "Perilous times"; 2Tim. 3:1.
God gave us a manual of solutions for life, and even for coping with stress. The Bible gives us information and guidelines to manage our life, life's problems and all of our everyday life events, good and bad.
In our world of today, stress is more and more common, making us feel more anxious and unbearable, with our everyday life and circumstances. Some of the most common stress triggers of today's society is unstable relationships, unruly and defiant children, lack of money and unstable economy, and health issues, this in turn adds to a feeling of unworthiness. We being worriers, we seem to worry over things that hasn't even happened yet, letting our mind terrorize us.
Another stress trigger is not being able to say "NO", and trying to please everyone. We have to know where to draw the line & say "NO". You cannot please everyone and when you try to, all you are doing is making yourself unhappy and raising your stress level.
God's instruction manual for life, provides the answers to living life, gives us hope and peace, and gives us the principles for coping and managing stress. When bad things are happening, coming at us from all sides, and seem unbearable, stop and focus on good things and God's promises. We must learn to control our thoughts if we are going to cope with and learn to overcome stress. "Focus on the positive";
Phil. 4:8.
When you can't change the problem and it seems unbearable, ask God to change the problem that is giving you stress, to give you strength, comfort and peace. Mark 10:27.
You can find comfort in dealing with problems and the stress if you can focus on other things. Comforting and helping others, dealing with a more serious problem than yours, can give you a self-satisfying feeling, comfort and joy, which in turn will help relieve some of your worrying and stress. "There is more happiness in giving, than receiving"; Acts 20:35. God promises to comfort us during bad times, if we would just ask and believe that He keeps His promises; 2Cor. 1:3-4.
God can and will bring peace to our troubled life if we will just ask Him, because peace is a part of God's fruit of the Holy Spirit and his plan for us. We just have to follow God's plan for peace; Gal. 5:22; which will change our lifestyle and change our heart; Col.3:15.
When we feel we have reached our breaking point because of a serious problem and the unbearable stress, there is still hope. God will provide help in coping and give us strength, to survive the problem and the stress, while making us a stronger person; 1Cor. 10:13. "What does not kill us will make us stronger". God gave Jesus strength when He prayed; Luke 22:44; just as He will do for us if we ask.
We wonder and ask "Why" we have to go through problem and stress, and ask "Why God" allows bad things, problems and stress to come into our life. We need to believe there is a reason for us to be tried and tested with the trials that come into our life. We must learn to trust that God is there with us, and He is working on us and our life, to shape and form us and our life into what He wants. Trials and tests are for our own good, even though we do not see it, understand it or like it. 1Peter 4:12-13; James 1:2-4.
God has big eyes to see everything and the whole picture of our life, where as we have little eyes and we only focus on the little picture of our problem. God has a reason for allowing us to go through stressful trials and tests. As soon as we realize and accept that the tests and trials is a divine purpose, then our stress level will lessen and eventually disappear. 1Tim. 2:3-4; 1Peter 5:10.
Let God know you are having trouble and you need His help, He will be there to help you. Let God know you need Him to help you learn the lesson He is wanting you to learn through this trial/problem. He will open your eyes and help you learn. Have faith, because He loves you and understands.
Romans 8:35, 38-39; Hebrews 4:15.
Trials, tests and problems are our lessons in life teaching us to be a better person, while removing the bad in us, but the stress is self-inflicted pressure of worry. Call on God and believe He loves you, and only wants the best for you.

Born to Win

We are all born to win, but as we grow up we tend to limit ourselves with our own limiting beliefs. When we feel as if we are missing something, we need to look at what information we are feeding our self, positive or negative.
To be a winner we must do a self-examination and have a complete understanding of our self. We must  realize our full potential and strive towards that. We must strive to express and activate all of our potentials and capabilities. When we examine our self, we must learn and understand why we do things the way we do. We may not like what we see about our self, so self-examination takes discipline and courage.
Society has programmed us to judge everyone and everything in life, as we grow up. This type of society programming bleeds over into our own life, without us realizing it, limiting our potential and our capabilities. Being a victim of society and our own limited potential and capabilities, makes us forget our personality, all because we choose the road less traveled, "our self-awareness".
Life is like a book and we are the writer of our own book/life, whether we realize it or not. We must not forget that we can always change our life story, at any given time, since we are the writer. We should look at our life's story and decide what our life story should be. We can always change our life story to win once we realize and accept that "we are born to win". Changing the negatives to positives in our life story is the difference between a winner and a looser.
We must define our own purpose in life, refuse to be any less than we can be, and not give up. We must identify our strengths and weaknesses. When we have a feeling that there should be something more, and a greater self-awareness, then our actions should be evidence of our drive to be a winner. Desire to win is dead, without positive action.
In God's eyes, we are already a winner. We can either see ourselves as a winner, or believe the deceiver that tells us we are a looser. The deceiver calls us a looser and a low-life, but God says we are a winner and royalty. The enemy says we will never be a winner, but Jesus says we have already won.
Which do you choose to believe, God or the enemy? What do you choose to be, winner or looser?

"WE ARE BORN TO WIN"

INDECISIONS

Sometimes the hardest decision is the decision to take your life the riens and making a final decision. There are a few ways to make faster and better decisions.
Don't over research. Stop asking everyone you know for their opion and what they would do. They are not you or living your life. One of the biggest problems is over researching the problem and looking for an easy solution. Only look at the important issues, information and factors, then make the decision based on that. Only gather information you need, not unimportant information.
Don't expect perfection. It is important to make the right decision; but if you never make a decision or put off making a decision then you cannot make progress and move forward.
Stop over thinking it. Over thinking it can cause indecision. Sometimes you must, ignore your heart, go with your gut and make a choice.
Set yourself a deadline. Open ended time frames are an opening for indecisions. With no deadline you could put off making a decision forever. Set a deadline & stick to it!!!

"Repentance doesn't mean Forgiveness"

Repent has lost its true meaning down through the ages. Humans have left out, added to, and adjusted the true meaning of repent, to suit themselves.
Repent came from 2 compound words, before the time of Jesus.
1.  Metanoeo - "Meta" means change; "Noeo" means thinking... "change thinking".
2.  Metamellamai - "Meta" means change; "Mellamai" mean emotions... "change emotions".
Repent means to change your thinking and emotions. When you change your thinking and emotions, then your behavior and actions will change.
As sinful humans there are 2 very important factors that has been left out of the meaning of repent; "Jesus" and "Faith". Asking forgiveness with a sincere heart, turning away from and stop repeating the wrongs/sins, we as sinful humans cannot do any of this without forgiveness from Jesus and without His help, and without faith it is meaningless. You cannot "repent of your sins and be saved" without forgiveness from Jesus and without faith. We are condemned because of our unbelief. Repentance is the changing of our mind/thinking, changing from unbelieving to believing.
When we become sorrowful of the wrongs/sins we have done, then we need to ask the person we wronged for forgiveness, but without asking Jesus' forgiveness and having faith, then that is worthless and meaningless words and emotions.
If you have done nothing but repent (ask forgiveness) of your wrongs/sins, you are NOT saved. Salvation comes by faith in Jesus. Believing is Salvation; unbelieving is condemnation. John 3:1. Feeling sorrowful for your wrongs/sins, does not save you from condemnation.
If you hurt/wrong someone and you go to them to apologize, ask their forgiveness for what you did to them, you expect them to forgive you. If after you get their forgiveness and you turn right around and do the same thing to them again, then that was insincere, meaningless and worthless words and time, plus a slap in their face. If you go ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins, but do not have faith, do not believe in him, and you continue to repeat the sins, then that was meaningless, worthless words, wasted emotions and just another slap in Jesus' face, and making a mockery of Jesus dying on the cross for your sins.
Repenting is more than just asking forgiveness. It is having a sincere heart, feeling sorrow for your wrongs/sins, changing you thinking and emotions, turning away from doing wrong/sin, believing in Jesus, and having faith.
Don't get me wrong, NO one is perfect, except Jesus. We are human and we will probably sin everyday, whether with our mind/thoughts, heart/emotions, eyes, ears, mouth or body/actions, no matter how hard we strive not to sin. The sincerity of our heart, when we ask for forgiveness and turn away from committing  wrongs/sins is very important in receiving forgiveness but you still cannot receive forgiveness and be saved without believing in Jesus and without faith.
People seem to think they have to clean up their life before they can go to church, to receive God's forgiveness and be saved from condemnation. WRONG!!!  We cannot do this ourselves because we are sinful humans. You have to confess your sins, ask God's forgiveness, believe in Jesus and that he paid the price for your sins when he died on the Cross, have faith and believe, turn away from sin, then God will help you one step at a time to clean up your life.
If you are not willing to do, commit to and believe in the complete true meaning of repent/repentance, then don't waste people's time and God's time, by insulting them and insulting God, with your ignorance of the true meaning of repent, and with your meaningless worthless words of asking forgiveness (repenting). Educate your self on "True Repentance" and then ask God's forgiveness and to be saved from condemnation

2 Cor. 5:19.                        1st John 2:2

Heb. 10                              John 3:1

Romans 10:9-10

Self Pity Addiction

Why people had rather wallow in self pity and always having a pity party is beyond me. Why people do the pity party instead of the happy dance, has me bum-fuzzled.
Some people play the role of a victim, so they can justify their self pity party and feeling sorry for them self. Everyone goes through some self pity, at one time or another, but it doesn't seem to last long, and then there are others who continually thrive on their self pity. These obsessive self pity people thrive, enjoy and are addicted to this self pity and feeling sorry for them self thoughts.
This, self pity and feeling sorry for them self, can be overcome and the addiction broken, but you must first want to end this thought process and this behavior.
Occasional self pity is not a problem, but obsessive self pity is an unhealthy problem, for you and the ones around you. Obsessive self pity, feeling sorry for yourself and playing the role of a victim, is an unhealthy pattern of thinking. This unhealthy pattern of thinking can lead to depression and lack of motivation. Self pity takes away a person's enthusiasm and positive actions. A person who thrives on self pity is content with feeling sorry for themselves, instead of making positive changes.
The person, who thrives on and continually stays in the self pity mode, is actually a very selfish and self-centered person. Their focus is all about them self; ME, ME, ME.
A obsessive self pity person can always justify their reasoning for being a victim in their mind. They feel they are a victim and the world should feel sorry for them. They have an obsessive nature of self centered thinking, and always playing the victim role in their heads. Anxiety and depression can also a factor in their self pity party.
Self pity is an addiction and an endless cycle. Self pity is a kind of  escape from reality, it feels good to the person pitting them self, and it lets them obsess about them self (self-centered). Self pity feeds on its self, continually revolving and an endless cycle. The self pity person will isolate them self creating a feeling of loneliness and isolation. That is just another reason for them to pity and to feel sorry for them self, even though they chose to isolate them self. Self pity is also associated with low self esteem and lack of enthusiasm, followed by depression and negativity.
There is a solution to overcoming self pity but you must first be ready to solve the problem, by admitting you have a problem. It takes desire, determination, positive thinking and work to fix the self pity problem. You must be aware of your thought patterns, stand firm and not allow that self pity thought pattern to take over, and work at mental and physical self-improvement. If you find that you feel you can not do this own your own, then you may need to seek professional help.

Follow Your Heart, NOT!!!

"Follow Your Heart", is what everyone tells you to do when you are trying to make important decisions. BAD, BAD, BAD ADVICE!!!
The heart is very deceitful, unstable, evil and extremely dangerous! Letting your heart guide you is like trying to cross and eight lane highway during rush hour traffic while wearing a blindfold. Your heart is leading you straight into the path of problems and destruction. Your heart is like a cup of coffee, it starts out burning hot and eventually it gets cold, it can burn you and then leave you cold. Our hearts fuels the flames of our fleshly desires, causing us to make irrational decisions, causing us major problems and eventually destruction.
Our heart blinds us from the real truth, of the consequences of our actions/decisions, covers up obvious problems, disguises the bad by portraying it to be something good, and blindly leads to failure and disappointment.
No matter how much we think our heart is full of love, it is also evil. That sounds contradicting but it is true. The Bible is full of God's Words warning us of our evil heart and the wrong way our heart will lead us. Our hearts are wicked and deceitful, beyond cure, and there is nothing we as humans can do to cure or repair our evil hearts.
Stop and think of all the decisions made by our hearts and look at the problems and disaster it led us into. We cannot trust our feelings, emotions or the desires of our heart to guide us in the right direction for our life. These are feelings and desires of the flesh, which are deceiving and evil, that will lead us down the wrong road into hardship and problems. We all want to follow our hearts but we must NOT do that because our heart is evil, deceitful, and full of fleshly desires, with NO regards to the damage it causes us in our life.
When our heart leads/guides us to commit any act against the will of God, such as theft, adultery, slander, gossip, lust, abuse, etc., then we know that is the evil in our heart leading us down the wrong road. Our hearts being deceitful above all things, is why you cannot trust it to lead/guide you in life. The tugging of the heart or the strong desire you have could be the evil fleshly heart urging you to make an ungodly decision.
God warns us, in the last days, that more and more people will follow their own evil fleshly desires, their own ungodly ways, and their instincts into destruction and hell, just as so many are doing today.
While the world and the little voice in your head/heart tells you to follow your heart, God warns you not to listen to either, because that is the way of evil and to destruction.
We do not have to be in the dark or wander aimlessly and blindly through life, not knowing which way to go or how to trust we are making the right decisions. God gave us His Book of instructions, "The Bible full of His Word", to compare our heart's desires with His will for us and our lives, so we can know that we are not making the wrong decisions and going down the wrong road. He tells us to follow Him and obey His Word, and not our deceitful hearts.
There is NO indication in the Scriptures that tells us to let our feelings, desires or our heart lead/guide us. We can only know that we are going down the right road or making the right decisions, if we know God's Word and His instructions for our lives, and follow them. Trust in His Word and let it be your guide for making the right decision and going down the right road in life.
Our hearts cannot be cured or repaired from the evil fleshly deceit, but there is a way to get a heart transplant for a new heart. Only God can give you a NEW heart, one you can trust in, one that hears and follows God's Word!!!

Jer. 17:9, The heart is deceitful above all things, and beyond cure.
Matt. 15:19, For out of the heart comes evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immortality, theft, false testimony, slander...
Ezek. 36:26, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you...

DO NOT FOLLOW YOUR HEART'

FOLLOW GOD!!!

THANKFUL OR UNGRATEFUL?

Do you know the real meaning of THANKFUL? Thankful means: to feel gratitude; glad or relieved about something. Ungrateful means: not feeling or showing gratitude, thanks or appreciation; not agreeable or pleasant. Are you THANKFUL or UNGRATEFUL?
No matter how bad we think we have it, when we are going through rough times, there are still things we should be thankful for. Life is a gift, NOT something you can barrow or buy, so be thankful you're alive!
Do you have your sight, hearing, voice, and the ability to move and walk? There are many people who are handicapped, blind, unable to hear or speak, and crippled, so see you are blessed and have a lot to be thankful for if you have all of your health.
Life is a gift, it is NOT owed to you, and you should be thankful every morning that you wake up. You could have died in your sleep, because no one knows when their time will end, so you need to give thanks every morning you are allowed to wake up to another day.
If you are blessed with healthy child/children, you have a reason to be thankful. Think about all the parents whose child has cancer, or some other life-threatening disease, or the one with a crippling disease, or even the parents who has lost their child to death. So be thankful for your healthy and alive child/children, and don't forget to pray for the less fortunate parents in the world.
We often take the house we live in, the food we eat, and the bed we sleep in for granite, not giving it a second thought. There are many people in the U.S. today that are now homeless, to NO fault of their own, but because of the failing economy, loss of jobs, or because of the death of the bread-winner of the family. If you still have a home, food to eat and a bed to sleep in, you have more than alot of people, to be thankful for.
There are many people these days with no job and out beating the bushes looking for work, where ever they can find it. While some people who have jobs, sit and whine and complain, about the pay and their duties at their job. Hello... It is a job NOT a vacation!!! You need to realize you could be one without a job. Be happy you have a job and bring home a paycheck. A small pay check is better than NO paycheck. Be thankful and happy that you are blessed with a job at all, and remember the ones who cannot find work.
Are you one of those who go to fuel their vehicle and complain about the price of the fuel? "Shut-Up and be happy you can afford to put fuel in that vehicle", is what I tell my husband every time he goes to fussing about the price of fuel. There are many people who cannot afford to fix their old vehicle, or afford to buy a vehicle, and couldn't afford to put fuel in a vehicle if they even had one. So shut-up or learn to walk, if you think you should be getting it at a discount or for free. In all reality you should be giving thanks and be thankful that you have a vehicle and can afford to put fuel in it, and you are not having to walk.
Be thankful you are not the one living hooked-up to a kidney machine, or the one taking treatments for cancer, or the one that was only given a few months to live.
Be thankful it is not your child in prison, or your child overseas fighting a war so the U.S. can remain free and keep the fighting overseas and out of the U.S.
Be thankful you are not the one standing there watching your house burn to the ground, along with everything you own.
Be thankful the wreck you witnessed isn't you or one of your family members.
Be thankful you are the one sitting inside a restaurant eating and not the homeless person you watch walk by.
Be thankful for your parents and you were not one of the children living in an orphanage.
Be thankful for the grocery stores and that you don't have to raise your food in a garden, milk a cow for milk and slaughter animals for meat.
Be thankful for having electricity and running water, and that you don't have to use candles and go to the creek or well for water.
Be thankful you will be able to spend your time and the holidays with your family and friends, and you are not the one sitting in a nursing home or somewhere else all alone.
Stop whining and complaining, the world and God doesn't owe you one thing, so be thankful.
Life is a gift so be thankful you are alive, and be thankful that you are blessed with what you have!!!

REWIND, ERASE, RECORD

Have you ever noticed how our minds never stop, it is always chattering thoughts to us, and it is usually useless and random messages?
This constant chattering says things such as, "I am hungry; I am to fat; I am ugly; I don't feel good; That person is pretty; They always have money; I wonder where so-and-so is today; I am worthless; I am lonely; etc.". This mental chatter is a large waste of energy and takes away our focus on the positive and important things about ourselves and our lives.  It constantly feeds negative messages into us.
We need to learn to discipline our chattering minds to keep it from feeding us negative information and rambling about useless garbage. If we are always hearing our minds chatter to us, sending us false and negative messages, lying to us, we will continue to go around and around with a negative outlook on life, believing lies about ourselves and our life.
We must train our chattering minds to SHUT-UP, unless it is going to tell us positive things about our self and our life. Like the saying, "If you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything!" That is what we need to teach our chattering mind to do. Our undisciplined mind chattering is our enemy, trying to keep us down, broken, unhappy, depressed, confused and setting us up to fail.
This chattering mind will constantly repeat negative messages about us, over and over again, until we start to believe it deep down inside of us. Once we hear these negative messages about ourselves and our lives, over and over, we not only start to believe them, but we forget that we are the one that is saying these things to start with. Because we forget how these negative messages got there in the beginning, we start to believe them.
We can discipline/change this chattering negative mind into a great life changing tool, with a few simple exercises. Our mind is like a tape-recorder, that records everything we think, see, hear and feel. It will rewind and replay, over and over, everything negative that it records. This recorder seems to skip over or erases the positive things that we know and believe about our self and our life, replacing it with negative/lies.We have to constantly feed ourselves positive messages until we have erased all the negative.
If we have a negative thought such as "I am ugly", then we have to replace it by saying, "I am beautiful" but you have to say it over and over, until you start to believe it deep down inside, without a doubt. You have to erase the negative messages with positives ones like, "I am beautiful; I am the right size; I am happy; I am loved; I love myself; I am independent; etc.".
Negative will destroy positive, and ruin our positive messages. Just using the word "NOT" is bad and causes negative feelings. Example: "I'm NOT upset", can cause that negative to take over and run negative all through our mind and body. Reverse that negative statement into a positive, "I am fine" or "I am clam", which will feed you positive messages.
Our chattering mind/thoughts produce actions, whether good/positive or bad/negative. When the mind is chattering positive messages, the actions are positive, but if the messages are negative then the actions be negative.
I challenge you to test what I have written, for one week. What do you have to loose? Nothing!
When you wake up in the mornings, look in the mirror, tell yourself that you love yourself, that you are beautiful, you are loved, you are the right size, you are smart, you are special and important, etc. Feed yourself positive messages, over and over and over. Do this all through the day, repeating positive messages to yourself, about yourself and about your life. Then before you go to sleep,  repeat positive messages to yourself, about your self and about your life. Do this constantly, day and night, replacing every negative thought/message with positive. You will eventually find yourself thinking nothing but positive messages, without having to put energy into it or having to focus your attention to it. That is when you will find yourself believing, deep down inside, positive messages about you, and the negative will be gone/erased. You will begin to see a positive change in you, your thoughts, your actions and reactions, and your life. One week of positive will erase so much negative. See if what I say is true.
"You are not what you think you are, but WHAT YOU THINK IS WHAT YOU ARE".
A negative chattering mind is the devil's workshop/playground, evict him with positive!!!

THOUGHTS  produce  ACTIONS

ACTIONS  produce  HABITS

              HABITS  produce  LIFE-STYLES

"For as a person thinks in their hearts, so is he/she..."

Proverbs 23:7

No Half-Ways or Grays

I have been dogged, cursed, judged and trashed because I try to live my life by the rule there is no gray areas in life, just black or white, right or wrong, and NO in between. It doesn't bother me like it once did, because I have realized that the people who do these things to me are the very ones who are trying to cover up their bad character and behavior. Them trying to trash me, is their way of trying to get others attention off of them and onto me, so others do not see just what kind of person they truly are and the wrongs they are committing in their life and to others.
To me it is like the saying; either you're pregnant or you're not, no in between. You are either right or wrong, there is no in between. White/Right or Black/Wrong!!! NO gray areas, just as there is no place between Heaven or Hell!!!
There is no way you can be faithful while being unfaithful. It is impossible to tell the truth while lying. Some use the expression of telling half-truths but there is no such thing; either you are telling the entire truth or it is a total lie; no half-ways on either.
You cannot be committed and uncommitted at the same time, because one cancels out the other. It is like putting dirty clothes on a clean body, dirty cancels out the clean, and vice-verse. You are completely clean or completely dirty.
If you lie, are unreliable, untrustworthy, destructive, wasteful, etc., then how do you expect others to have any respect for you or trust in you? How do you expect others to see you as a good person when you have nothing but bad characteristics and bad behavior?
Negative characteristics and behavior tells just what kind of person you truly are, no matter how good of a game you play, or how much fertilizer you throw around, or how much you blow your own horn. When it comes down to the nitty-gritty, actions speaks louder than words, and exposes the real truth about you. Long term  evidence is the  proof of everything, whether good or bad.
It is like trying to take a pile of dog crap, place it on a plate, cover it with chocolate cake icing and trying to convince everyone that it is chocolate cake. It may look like chocolate cake and smell like chocolate icing but it is still dog crap! There is NO way to change it into a real chocolate cake, and the truth will eventually come out, no matter how hard you try to convince people or lie about it.
When someone gives you a song and dance about being broke, can't pay their bills and in dire need, what is their words telling you, but what are their actions truly telling you? Yes, some people may need help every now and then, and there is nothing wrong with helping them, but is their need constant? Are they making every effort to find a job? Are they thrifty with what money they do get or are they wasteful, lazy and just looking for a free ride? Actions are the proof of it all, and words are just air blowing into the wind.
If you are in a room and you have the light on, everything is visible and you can see and move around with no problem. Turn the light off and it becomes dark, unable to see and unable to move around without stumbling. That is the way life is. When you keep everything out, in the open, and in the light for everyone to see, you seem to be more conscience of the things you say and do. But as soon as you try to keep things hidden and keep things in the dark, you start to say and do things that you know is wrong and a lie, while trying to deceive others, you are deceiving yourself. If you wouldn't do or say things in the open for the whole world to see and hear, then you know you are wrong, and trying to keep things a hidden and in the dark, which is destroying you, your life, your integrity and the good characteristics inside of you.
If you are ashamed to do what you do in the open for the whole world to see, then why are you doing it? It doesn't matter how small or how great it is, it will eventually come to light and be exposed. So if you don't want to be exposed and come out into the light, then it's simple; "Don't Do It and Don't Say It".
There are NO gray areas, No half-ways, No in-between!!! There is only  Truths or Lies, Faithful or Unfaithful, Good or Bad!!! Just as there is Heaven or Hell, and no place for In-Between or Half-Way People!!!

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Matthew 6:22 "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.
Matthew 6:23 But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
Luke 11:34 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body also is full of darkness

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Ephesians 5:11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.

The Power of Forgiveness

When someone hurts us or commits a wrong against us, forgiveness is the farthest thing from our minds. When someone hurts us, we want to hang on to anger, resentment, and the idea of getting revenge, but we will be the one to pay pay by not forgiving.
If we do not learn to forgive, then we will loose our peace, gratitude and joy. When we hold on to resentment, anger, bitterness and vengeance, then there is no room for peace, hope and joy.
Forgiveness has to be our decision and we have to be ready to let go of all the resentment and thoughts of revenge. Once we make the decision to forgive, we will find that the bitterness and anger will release it's hold on us, so that we can focus on more important and positive areas of our lives. Forgiveness can lead us to understanding, empathy and compassion.
Forgiveness doesn't mean that we are denying or ignoring the act or the person's part in hurting us or justifying the wrong done to us. We can forgive the person without excusing the act/wrong done to us. Forgiveness is for us, and to bring healing and peace into our lives.
Forgiving allows us to let go of the bitterness, anger and grudges, and allows compassion, kindness, peace and joy to enter into our lives.
Unforgiveness allows anger and bitterness to control us and infect every area of our lives. It can cause us to become anxious and depressed, and feel that our life is missing meaning and purpose. Holding on to unforgiveness will keep us stuck in the past, and stop us from enjoying the present.
Forgiveness is a decision of committing to forgive; to realize the value and importance of forgiving in our lives.We should look at the act/situation of the hurt/wrong done to us; our reactions to it; how it has affected us, our life, our health and well-being. When we are ready to forgive, we must release our role as a victim, then we will be released from the control and power of the situation/wrong and the offender has over us and our life.
Forgiveness can be very hard, especially if the person doesn't admit their hurtful or wrong deeds and feels no sorrow for their actions. We may need to look back on times we have hurt or wronged others, and they forgave us. Forgiveness has the positive power to increase our integrity, peace and well-being.
Forgiveness may or may not lead to reconciliation, but even if reconciliation is impossible, Forgiveness is necessary.
Forgiveness is not for getting others to change; or change their actions, behavior or words. Forgiveness is about how it changes our life, by bringing peace, happiness and healing. Forgiveness takes away the control and power of that person, and no longer gives them power over us or our life.
If we are the person who has hurt or wronged someone, then we need to be the one to ask for forgiveness. We need to admit our wrong, do it with a sincere heart, tell them of our sorrow and regret for our actions, behavior and/or words; and specifically ask for forgiveness, without making excuses.
We cannot force someone to forgive us, that is their choice and their right. All we can do is acknowledge and admit our faults and mistakes, ask for forgiveness, then learn from our mistakes and do not do a repeat performance. We need to commit to treating others with respect, empathy and compassion.

"Forgive and you shall be Forgiven"

Matthew 6:14

DING-DING-DING....Wake-Up Call

When we are over loaded with problems in our lives, it can throw us into a feeling of despair, it can be paralyze and debilitate even the strongest of us.
The pressure of problems coming at us from all sides can cause confusion, uncertainty and doubt; being persistently harassed can also make us feel that we are being struck down and persecuted.
While our life is filled with the feeling of despair, we must not not give up.
Suffering and sorrow is a part of life, but knowing this doesn't make it any easier when we are going through deep dark trials/problems.
During these dark times of despair, we may get angry and bitter, but we have only ourselves to thank for our situations/problems. God is not punishing us, just maybe it is our wake-up call.
Our self-destructive behavior can put us on the path to a life of misery and despair. We can stray from the right path onto the road of self-destructive behavior, and into problems through contented faults; self-satisfied; smarter and better than thou attitude. These bring nothing but cause self-destruction, misery, problems and despair.
When bad things and problems come into our lives we are very quick to blame everyone but ourselves, and jump to declare the unfairness of it all, without considering what part we played to cause these bad events to come into our lives. Stop and think: are we living a reckless and unhealthy life-style; the unwise use of our money and time; trying to justify our wrong behavior; putting our selfish desires before others not caring of the events and pain your actions will bring to them.
If we would look back at a time before the problems and the feeling of despair began, we could see that we may have been getting taps on the shoulder, warning us of our wrong behavior and selfish choices. But because we are so determined to do what we want, when we want, no matter what the cost or who it hurts, we ignore the shoulder taps of warnings. Most of the time because of our selfishness and our self-destructive behavior, it takes bad events, problems on top of problems and the deep dark feeling of despair to get our attention and wake us up.
Suffering can bring us to our knees, open our eyes and make us honestly examine ourselves and our behavior, even when we don't want to face the truth about ourselves and our behavior. When we get honest with ourselves and about our self-destructive behavior, then and only then, will the answers come, along with help.
As long as we continue in our selfish and unhealthy life-style, our self-destructive behavior with no regards for others, the problems and the deep dark feeling of despair will continue. The more we continue to be rebellious and deny our part in causing the problems that we brought onto ourselves, the worse it will get and the longer we will remain in the problems and the despair. You do not spend years digging yourself into a hole and expect someone else to pull you out of it over night or for it to all go away while you do nothing to help yourself.
We need to take the wake-up call and face the fact we are the cause of the messes we get into and why we have the problems we have.We need to realize where we are lacking in common sense and learn from the lessons of our bad choices and experiences we put ourselves through. Then maybe we would not need more wake-up calls.
Correction is needed when we choose to take the wrong road and get off onto a bad path in life. A wake-up call forces you to rethink your priorities and the choices you have made and make in the future. It will remind you of what really matters and is important in life.
Do you take heed to the warnings of the shoulder taps or do you have to get a dramatic wake-up call?

Seasons of Life

There are seasons for everything and a purpose, that includes our lives, just as there are four seasons we see here on earth. "To everything there is a season and a purpose".
Spring is a season of optimism and rebirth; new beginning of the plants and new life on earth. Springtime represents a new beginning, a new project/event, and a new attitude of life. Age wise it symbolizes "youth".
Summer is a season for pleasure, happiness and relaxation. Summertime is a time of activities and vacations. Age wise is symbolizes early middle-aged.
Fall is a season of maturity and the preparation of a cycle ending. Fall is a time for the trees to bear fruit and a time to harvest what you have sown. Age wise it symbolizes late middle-aged.
Winter is a season of rest. It is a time of empty and barren. Age wise it symbolizes old age.
Everyone goes through seasons in their lives; good and bad times.
When we start a new relationship, or a child is born, or a new job, or buy a new house or car, it is like springtime. We get optimistic and excited with the newness and discovering every new aspect of new events in our lives. This is the season of spring in of our lives.
Then our summer season comes around, the new relationship or new job goes from the excitement of spring into a season of happiness, pleasure and relaxation. The newness of our spring time events; a new baby or new house or new car; becomes a summer season of a happy and pleasurable time, and we start to feel more relaxed and comfortable. This is the summer season of events in our lives.
As our season of fall comes to our lives, we find ourselves being  more mature in our relationship, a more dependable co-work, more capable as a parent, accustom to our new house or new car. Fall is also a time that we may find ourselves preparing for the ending of a cycle of our lives, such as: the relationship failing, the job coming to a dead end road, the baby becomes a preschooler, the new house or new car becomes worn with age. Fall season of our lives, just as the leaves fall to the ground from the trees.
Winter season with its winter storms, comes to our lives. This is a time we find ourselves feeling an expression of barren and empty. Our relationship ended, the loss of a job, the baby grows to adulthood and leaves home, the new house is destroyed by a tornado or fire, the new car blows an engine or is totaled in a wreck, this is the winter season of our lives.
As devastated as our winters may be, we must face the fact that we cannot stop the seasons of our lives, just as we cannot stop the four seasons of the earth's cycle. We must continually prepare ourselves before our winters come so that we can handle it and not let it disable us and destroy us.
Spring is the time of renewing and rebirth; accepting Jesus as our Savior, beginning a new life in Him and discarding our old life, being a new baby feeding on the milk of God's Word and learning to crawl as a baby Christian.
Summer is the time of pleasure and happiness, growing as a child of God and in serving Him, and relaxing in the security of knowing you are a child of God. The time we are learning to walk in faith and feeding on the solid food of God's Word.
Fall is our time of maturity, when we start bearing fruit from God, just as the trees bear their fruit in the fall. Fall is for preparing for the end of another cycle/season of our lives as we prepare to enter into our winter season.
Winter season may be a time of barren and empty for our earthly season but it is a time a mature Christian should shine. When we face winter; trials, temptations and problems; we may feel barren and empty but this is the time we should be showing our true faith and loyalty to our Savior, knowing He is going to turn our winter into spring. Spending our winter season in thanksgiving, prayer and praise; resting from trying to solve our problems and let God fix them. How we prepare for and spend our time during the spring, summer and fall will determine how long our winter season will last.
If we spend our spring, summer and fall seasons ignoring God, constantly complaining of the bad in our lives, never happy with what we do have, and not giving thanks for the blessings we have, then get ready for a long hard winter when it comes. Why should He rescue us from a winter storm when we didn't acknowledge Him during the good seasons of our lives?
If we would spend our good seasons preparing for our winters; praying, praising, witnessing, fellowshipping, serving and loving God; then He will be there to rescue us during our winter storms and to shorten the length of our winters.
If we did not have winter seasons then we couldn't have good seasons of spring, summer and fall. If we didn't have bad times then we wouldn't have a clue of what good times are, everything would be stale and the same, day in and day out.

"To everything there is a season and a purpose".

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under Heaven:

A time to be born, a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silent, and a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.



Up or Down?

The CROSS points upwards to Heaven, like an arrow pointing upwards to the way we should strive to go, Up not Down, Heaven not hell.

The horizontal section of the Cross is shorter in length, than the vertical section. When the Cross was placed in the ground, the bottom end was buried to ensure that it stood tall and straight, pointing up towards Heaven. Even tho you cannot see the bottom end that is buried, you can see where the Cross is coming up out of the ground/dirt.

When I look at or think about the Cross, the 3 nail holds where Christ was nailed to the Cross, they remind me of the Trinity; The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit.

The Cross, to me is much more than 2 sections joined together to form a Cross.

The horizontal section shows me Jesus stretching out His arms, inviting me and you to come to Him, and His love for us. The shorter horizontal section also reminds me of just how short our time is here on earth, compared to God's time and the time of eternity, that is never ending.

The vertical section reminds me that if there was no body (vertical), no God, then there would be nothing and no place for the horizontal section (the world and man-kind) to come from. There has to be a body (vertical) for everything or there can be nothing.

Think about it; if trees didn't have a trunk/body (vertical) and there would be no places for the branches (horizontal). If we didn't have a body (vertical) then there would be no place for our arms (horizontal). 

Stand up and stretch your arms out wide. If you would look into a mirror or look at your shadow, you would see the image of a Cross.

When I think of the base of the Cross, I am reminded of the Cross coming up out of the ground/dirt (horizontal), just as Adam was created from the dirt/ground (horizontal). But when God breathed life into Adam, he stood and became vertical like the vertical section of the Cross.

The horizontal section of the Cross reminds me of the short time we are here on earth, and the ground's horizon, in which we will be layed horizontal into our grave, the ground in which man came from.

Once our physical body is laid horizontal for the last time (physical death), it is because of the vertical Cross, that we will NOT remain horizontal in the grave/ground.

Think about your cross and which way is it pointing; upwards to Heaven, or downwards to hell?

And he that taketh not his cross (your body, mind, heart and soul), and followeth after Me, is not worthy of Me.

Matthew 10:38

"Toxic Means Poisonous"

Do you have a friend that puts you down but they expect you to build them up and pick them up?
Do you have a friend that drains the life out of you; mentally, emotionally and sometimes financially?
If you have a friend who makes fun of you, makes snide and cutting remarks to you and about you; they are always draining the joy and life out of you; mentally, emotionally and financially? With a friend like that who needs enemies?
In any relationship there has to be an equal balance between you and the other person. If one person's needs get fulfilled while the other person's needs are being minimized and ignored, then that is a toxic friendship.
Friendships, whether good or toxic, spread throughout all aspects of our lives, having a big impact on our love relationships, our families, our children, our careers, our physical and mental health and even our finances.
Friendships are an important part of our lives, but only if they have positive characteristics to contribute to all areas of our lives. But friendships can also be destructive and toxic to us and our lives as well.
A toxic friendship is unsupportive, draining, unrewarding, smothering, unsatisfying, untrusting and unequal. A toxic friend will stress you out, use you, belittle and abuse you, they are unreliable, and gives nothing back to you and the friendship.
While a toxic friend may not show all of these characteristics, they still display their nasty belittling behavior constantly. There is a difference from the constant nastiness and them just having an occasional bad day, while taking it out on you.
A toxic friend is someone who, after spending time with them, makes you feel bad about yourself; they tend to be critical of you; they make snide remarks about you (as if they are joking); someone who drains you mentally, emotionally and financially. They are not good for you!!!
You cross the line when you go from helping a friend in a time of need, to helping a friend who is always  needy but never trying to help them self, and who is destroying you and your friendship for their own lazy selfish personal gain. "You cannot help those who will NOT help themselves."
If your friend is asking for help and support, that is different than someone who is asking and expecting help and support constantly and who is always needy, draining and hurting you with no concern for you, your family or your friendship. These signs clearly tells you that the person you call a friend is NO friend but a very toxic person and nothing more than a user, and only out for their own personal gain.
Women tend to be more toxic than men when it comes to friendships. So when your friend turns nasty and always needy, and stays that way, it is time for you to step back, examine the friendship, look at it with an objective mind and start taking control of the friendship. Weigh it out from an objective view point and you may find it is in your own best interest to end that friendship.
You know there is a problem with that friendship when other nontoxic friends and your family points out the bad you display when you are around your toxic friend or after you have spent time with that toxic friend. You should realize that this toxic friend is harmful to you when you are always in a bad mood after spending time with them.
Toxic friends have a way of making you feel trapped in the friendship and that you owe them your friendship and your loyalty as a friend. The toxic friend will make you feel as if you cannot remove yourself from this toxic friendship. When you feel trapped, that you are being taken advantage of and used, and that you can't fix the problem, you should know without a doubt that your toxic friend is controlling and manipulating you, your life and your friendship to the point of destruction. They are using you so why do they care if they destroy you and your life, they are getting what they want.
The feeling of being trapped in this friendship could have to do with the fact you have been friends with this person for a long time, or the friend constantly gives you these pitifully sad needy stories, or they have made you think they have no other place to go or no one to turn to except you, so they have gained control over you and makes you think you have to help them and stand by them. Sorry, but this is just another manipulating and controlling way to trap you into giving them what they want, fulfilling their wants and needs, and to use you for their own personal gain, instead of them getting off their lazy selfish butt and helping themself. Why should they help themself when they can conn a sucker into to supporting them and giving them a free ride? "User/Looser is all they are or ever will be!!!"
One sign that your friend is toxic, is when you see that this person doesn't mistreat, use or abuse other people, the way they do you.
By staying in a toxic friendship, you are allowing your firend to use and hurt you, but even worse is the fact that you are hurting yourself and others around you that you love and care about.
Your people pleaser personality, your desire to help others, you wanting to be liked by everyone, you wanting to get along with and be friends with everyone, and you not being able to say "NO", opens you up to attract users, loosers, abusers and toxic people. They know they can play on your sympathy, manipulate you and control you. "You are known as an easy target/mark."
You will pay a price for allowing these type people into your life, especially when you have a toxic friend that leads to a toxic friendship. The longer you are around a toxic person the more toxic your life will become. Even tho you want to be a friend and help your toxic friend, be there for them in time of need and for them to be able to rely on you, stop and think, are you really ready to be used, abused, mistreated and pay the price for keeping this person in your life?
You need to set boundaries for yourself in every area of your life. Start taking better care of yourself, make you and your self-care the most important thing in your life, instead of pleasing your toxic friend. You need to take care of yourself because NO one else will!!! You need to learn to say "NO" when someone asks for something that you do not want to give or asks you to do something you don't want to do, and call them out when they are mean to you, critical of you, using you, trying to manipulate or control you.
Talk to your nontoxic friends and your family about your relationship with your toxic friend. People who are not toxic and not involved in this toxic situtaion can give you an objective opinion, point out how they see this toxic friendship is affecting you, your children, your family, and other relationships in your life. Get ready for them to tell the truth and they are only doing it because they care about you and what this toxic person is doing to you. Be ready for them to tell you that you need to end it and cut all ties with your toxic friend, for your own sake and well-being.
Your toxic friend may need professional help; mentally, emotionally, and to mend the damage and get back on the right track with their family. A toxic person usually causes toxic relationships with their mate, children and family, not just with friends. Say to her, "I know you are a good person but maybe you need to seek professional help." Being a good friend means that sometimes you have to point out their problem, instead of ignoring it and continuing to allow them to run-a-muck and intoxicate everyone they come in contact with.
It is difficult to end any type of relationship and it does hurt, but sometimes it is nessacary for our own best interest; mentally, emotionally and financially.
As time goes on, the toxic friendship will continue to become more and more toxic. You will eventually have to end this toxic friendship, and realize you cannot be friends with them at all. As difficult as it may be, sometimes you have to cut this toxic person completely out of your life.
You need balance in every relationship, whether with your mate, your children, your family, your friends or your co-workers. You have to have balance for it to be a healthy relationship. In every relationship each person needs to be happy and feel good about themselves and the other person.
You want to feel good about spending time with your friend, not dread the gloom they bring with them, or the drained feeling of being used by them, or the ridicule they throw at you with their snide and insulting remarks.
Everyone wants to receive affection and support in a friendship. If you have a friend who is always in need, always in trouble, always wants to talk about themself and their problems, then there is NO balance in this friendship and there is NO room for you.
There should be some kind of balance in the friendship, which you should be getting your needs met as well as your friend. If not then end it fast, once and for all!!!
Remember: Toxic means poison or poisonous, even in friendships.

Eagle, Chicken or Buzzard; Which Are You?

The eagle is the "King of birds". They are a symbol of strength, beauty, authority and freedom.
Eaglets are born with their mouths wide open and looking into the sun. They have an enormous hunger and constantly cry for food. Both, the male and female eagles are involved in feeding their eaglets. When we realize the fact that we are children of God and accept God as our Father, we have a hunger for God's Word and a need to be fed constantly.
Eagles are the only creature who can look directly into the sun. They have 2 sets of eyelids, which allow them to hunt for prey while flying directly towards the sun. When we fall into trials and temptations we need to fly directly to the Son, Jesus Christ, who is the light.
In order to fly one must be strong. The eagle's strength is in it's food. Eagles feed only on freshly killed prey and does not eat anything dead, rotten, toxic or contaminated, as the buzzards do. Just as we should only eat on the living Word of God, nothing dead or rotten, like gossip, profanity, pornography, self-will, rebellion, etc.
Eagles cannot digest everything they eat, like bones and hair. These things accumulate in the craw, hindering their ability to fly free and soar to great heights. They must expel the bad things so they hit their beak against a rock until the hindrances come out. We should do as the eagles and take our hindrances to the "Rock", Jesus Christ, until they are expelled from us, so that we may soar to great heights. We, like the eagles, must check what we take in to avoid hindrances and contamination.
Eagles have strong vision when flying in the sky. When an eagle sights his prey, he narrows his focus on it and sets out to get it. No matter what the obstacle, the eagle will not move his focus from the prey until he grabs it. In the same manner, we need to narrow our vision/focus and grasp the revelations that come from God's Word for our lives. We have to tune our ears to God's voice, be positive and obey. Have a vision, stay focused, no matter what the obstacles, and you will succeed.
When a male eagle takes interest in a female eagle, the courtship begins. The female eagle will test the male eagle, in which he has to pass before she will trust him. He has to pass the tests to show her that he will be a good father, a good husband and committed to her. If the male fails the tests she will chase him away. Only after the male eagle passes the test will she marry him.
The marriage ceremony of the eagles takes place 10 to 15 thousand feet in the air, locked together by their talons (holding hands) and both screaming with joy. Eagles are totally committed to each other, once they are married, and stay together for life. In good times and bad. in sickness and in health; only death can separate them. What a wonderful difference this would make if we could make such a commitment to our mate and to God.
After the eagles marry, they choose the proper place and build their home high up on a rock. We should learn from their example and build our homes on the "Rock", Jesus Christ.
The male eagle builds a strong nest out of thorns and sticks, for protection and security. Once the nest is completed the female eagle will lay her eggs in the nest. While she is preparing for birth she pulls down feathers from her breast to make a soft and warm bed for the eaglets.
After the eaglets are born not only do the parent eagles bring food to them and feed them, they also bring string, shiny objects and pieces of wool for toys for the eaglets. This is an unbelievable show of good parenting by an animal, that we as humans should learn from.
The eaglets grow strong and bigger, the mother eagle knows when it is time to prepare the eaglets to learn to fly. The mother will start the process by making the nest uncomfortable, she stops bringing them daily food and stops covering and protecting them from the storms. Just as God teaches us to grow up by allowing storms, adversities and problems, come into our lives. We have to admit, most are brought on by our own choices of being rebellious and defiant.
Eventually, the mother eagle will throw the eaglet from the nest. If the eaglet jumps back into the nest it gets pricked by the thorns. If the eaglet starts falling towards the ground, the father eagle will swoop down, grab the eaglet before it hits the ground and killed, and bring the eaglet back to the nest. This will happen over and over until the eaglet realizes he can fly. The uncomfortable changes in the nest prepares us for the changes in our lives. The parents role teaches us that the parents active participation leads us to success. This thorn built nest teaches us that when we are to comfortable, it prevents us from experiencing life, not developing and not learning to fly. The thorns of life come to teach us to grow, get out of the nest (out on our own) and learn to live. Remember, when problems come our way, God is teaching us to fly. We should not grumble and complain during trials and problems, because we are learning to fly to greater heights.
God will come to our rescue before we hit the ground and are destroyed, just as the father eagle rescued his eaglet. Strive to be obedient to God's Word, through every problem, trial and temptation, and God will teach you to fly. Through our trials and temptations God will teach us to over come, be a victor and to fly, just as the eagle.
Eagles do not reach their full potential until they learn to handle their adversities with no fear. An eagle's destiny is to be an over comer not a survivor, a victor not a victim. God wants us to reach our full potential, be over comers, develop our wings of prayer and praise, sharpen our vision and understanding, to grab hold to His Word and destroy the strongholds of evil.
When an eagle realizes that he is weighted down and cannot fly to great heights, he pulls out loose feathers from his body. We must pull out and turn away from the sins or anything in our lives that is keeping us weighted down and stops us from flying higher. We also need to spend time with God, being fed His Word to renew our strength.
The eaglet is always being watched and protected by the father eagle during the training to fly. We should know and trust that we are always being watched, protected and under God's power while we are learning to fly. There is no situation or problem that the Father cannot bring us out of as a victor and not a victim.
The eagle understands wind currents, stands on a rock and waits for the right wind to take off in flight, where he can glide and let the winds move him forward. We need to learn to stand on the "Rock", God's promises and wait for God to tell us when to take off and fly. We should acknowledge God in everything we do and know when God is leading us, not satan.
Eagles love storms, while other birds run and hide from it. Eagles get excited about storms because they use the storms to reach higher places. Once the eagle finds the storm winds, he uses the raging storm to soar into the clouds and glides, resting his wings. We must learn not to fight the storms in our lives because the storm is not our enemy. We should learn, when our storm comes to face them in prayer, study the Word and spend time in fellowship with God.
Content to a fault, self-satisfied and unconcerned people, who accept problems and act like victims, are like chickens. We, like chickens, have undeveloped wings and cannot fly. We know God's Word in our minds but do not have a personal relationship with God. We chickens have fed on worldly scraps that have made us fat and lazy, instead of feeding on the living Word of God, which teaches us to fly and win the battle.
God compares Himself and His children to the eagles. He protects, feeds and teaches His children, as the eagles protect, feeds and teaches their eaglets.
Eagle is in the Bible 32 times and 32 represent God's covenant. God desires to reproduce Himself in us while showing us His covenant through the life of the eagle.

Are you an eagle that is strong, beautiful, free and able to fly to great heights?
Are you a chicken that settles for worldly scraps, that makes you fat and lazy?
Are you a buzzard that feeds on dead and rotten food, contaminating you and others around you?

Lessons Learned or Not?

Years ago a man was trying to instruct and teach his son about the ways of life in which the man was raised by. This man was trying so hard to ensure that his son would be taught and raised properly so the boy would grow up to be a responsible, respected and productive adult. The man was constantly talking to and teaching his son with nothing but love and concern in his voice;
Son, if anyone tries to entice you, tempt you or encourage you to do wrong or commit a crime, turn and go the other way and stay away from them. Their ways are no good and destructive.
Son, do not accept being a simple or uneducated man. Always seek wisdom and knowledge. A fool hates knowledge and wisdom because it opens their eyes to the wrongs they commit.
Son, I am trying to teach you the wisdom and knowledge I have learned in order to help your life be full, long and prosperous.
Son, if you do not listen and learn, then if you ever chose to turn and go the wrong way, then you will be on your own. So when you face desolation, destruction and anguish because of your rebellion and hatred of knowledge then I will not answer you or help you.
Son, if you will listen to me, learn what I am teaching you and keep my rules, then you will know right from wrong and will be wise beyond measure. If you pursue wisdom, knowledge, understanding and righteousness then you can walk upright with justice and integrity all through life and you will stay on the good path.
When you receive wisdom and knowledge, and keep it inside of you, to follow and live by then you will have that secure feeling in everything you do. Discretion will preserve you and understanding will keep you going down the right path in life.
Son, do not forget the laws, wisdom, knowledge and rules, turn away from wrong doings and crime, and you should live a long peaceful and happy life.
Son, always keep mercy, kindness and truth in your heart and in your life so you should find favor, good understanding and high esteem in the sight of God and man.
Son, a happy man is one who finds wisdom, knowledge and understanding. In the right hand of wisdom is a long life and in the left hand is riches and honor. The ways of wisdom is pleasant and peaceful. Son, don't let them depart from your eyes; keep sound wisdom and discretion; they will be life to your soul and grace around your neck.
Son, the curse of God is in the house of the wicked; but He blesses the home and the life of the just. The wise will inherit honor and good.
Son, the words of a loose and wicked woman sounds as sweet as honey and as smooth talking as oil, but truthfully in the end she is bitter and as sharp and destructive as a two-edged sword. When you meet this type of woman, turn and run as far away from her as you can. This woman will lead you to poverty and destruction. She will destroy your wisdom, knowledge and integrity.
Son, choose you a woman who is good, moral, tender, gentle, loving, kind, pleasant and hard working. Only be ravished and loved by her always. Keep her, honor her, protect her, love her and only her, forsaking all others. Keep yourself clean and pure for her and for your own sake.
Son, listen to the wisdom that I am teaching you from my own experiences; listen to my understanding of what is becoming and prudent to you.
My Son, because I love you so much is the reason I am teaching you my rules, giving you my knowledge and wisdom, and trying to ensure you have a long and happy life. All because of LOVE.
Proverbs 1 - 4

WHY? WHY? WHY?

Why do husbands/fathers find the need to cheat instead of working on improving their family and their home life?
Why do wives/mothers chose to walk away from their children and their homes instead of putting their energy & focus on their children and improving their home life?
Why do people find the need to gamble instead of using that money for paying bills, buying groceries and providing a better life for the family?
Why would someone buy a 2 seat car instead of buying a practical vehicle large enough for the entire family to ride in?
Why do people turn to drugs or alcohol instead of facing their problems and fixing their problems?
Why do people turn to crime instead of getting a job and work for their money?
Why do some police officers, that take an oath to protect and serve, turn dirty and still continue to wear the uniform, when they should resign and serve time for their crimes?
Why do politicians pad their pockets instead of working towards bettering our USA?
Why do some preachers preach against sins then commits those sins behind closed doors instead of admitting their problem, resign and seek help?
Why do some so-called Christians go bar-hopping and partying on Saturday nights and then show up on Sunday mornings at church acting all saintly and holy?
Why do people commit suicide instead of facing themselves and getting help with their problems?
Why do people go the other way and turn their noses up when they see a homeless person instead of giving them a helping hand or at least a smile?
Why does a mother put on her makeup, jewelry, hair fixed and dressed to a tee when going out in public but her children with her are wearing wrinkled dirty clothes, faces nasty and hair a mess instead of taking pride in being a good mother and the appearance of her children?
Why would someone put all their focus on their friends, spend all their time the phone or playing on the computer instead of  giving their children that much needed time and attention?
Why do people beg, barrow and steal from the elderly who live on a fixed income instead of helping and giving to the elderly?
Why do people donate things, that should be thrown in the garbage, to the needy instead of donating good things to the needy that really need a helping hand?
Why do people commit crimes such as parking in a handicap spot (when NOT handicapped), speeding, illegal turns, etc. instead of being a model citizen and setting good examples for others?
Why do people lie, gossip, backbite, be two-faced, stir trouble and instigate hard feeling and anger instead of keeping their mouths shut & their nose out of other people's business?
Why do people spend their time and energy constantly complaining, grumbling, self-pity-partying and whining instead of using that time and energy to fix their problems and look at the things they have to be grateful for?

                                                          WHY? WHY? WHY?

I often wonder about these things and why people do the things they do. If you never wonder about these things then maybe you should start thinking about  them and the effects it has on our lives and the world today. 

In my search for the answers to these questions, the only place I have found good sound and explainable answers is in the book of our past, present and future, "the BIBLE".

"Evil prevails when good people do nothing." Another words, "when good people do nothing and turn their heads to the wrongs of their lives and in this world, then that is allowing evil to win".

Why do you do what you do, whether good or bad, WHY?