If you are a music lover or have faced adversity and obstacles in your life, you will be inspired by Scott McIntyre’s great book – “By Faith, Not by Sight”. As the first blind finalist on American Idol, Scott gives a behind the scenes glimpse of the popular reality show. How Scott was enabled to work through a life threatening disease was truly inspiring. He succintly states that the key to his success with this statement, “My reality has always been driven by faith and not by sight.” I greatly recommend this highly inspiriing book.
Are we paying attention?
We all thought that 9/11 got everyone’s attention. We thought the hurricane that hit Haiti got everyone’s attention. We thought the earthquake, nuclear plant catastrophe, and tsunami that hit Japan got everyone’s attention. What does it take to get your attention and keep for longer than a few days, weeks, or months? God has been trying to get our country’s attention – he’s trying to get the country back to its founding principles and beliefs. I feel that our founding fathers are rolling over in their graves to see what we have become.
Personally I feel that if we as Christians and Americans do not repent and turn from our sinful ways, We can say goodbye to the freedoms that we all hold dear. We need to realize that it is a priviledge to live in this free land of ours. We’ve got to stop taking for granite our freedoms. If we aren’t careful, we could loose all that we hold dear. Let us all bow our heads and pray – seek the face of God – ask for forgiveness for our sins and for the sins of our country. When we repent and seek his face, he will hear us from heaven – he will forgive us – he will heal our land. Let us join together in prayer before it’s too late.
Out Live Your Life
You really can’t judge a book by its cover. I found that out when I pick up this book by Max Lucado. It is a great book that challenges the reader to make a difference in our own lives and the lives that we touch. Lucado challenges the reader to live outside their boxes and to realize that, though we may be “common folk”, we can change the world around us with the help of God. God works the best through those who are humble, ordinary, willing vessels, those who know that it is God doing the work through them and not on their own. I’ve been called an out of the box person. At first I questioned that statement but it’s a good thing to be out of the box – God really needs those who will step out when Jesus says, “Follow me.” That’s when the fun starts. That’s when we start moving and impacting our world with the love of God. God is seeking those who are willing to reach out and live our lives being guided and used by God and not worrying about what people think or say. God wants and needs those who are willing to step out of the box that we tend to envelope ourselves so that we aren’t risking anything for God. We need to out live our lives used and transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit.
More Thoughts, Reflections, and Wonderings
There have been so many times that I have questioned whether or not God is in control of the happenings of this world and even in my own life. Why is it so hard for us as Christians to really trust God and develop a truly intimate relationship with the Almighty God – the Great I AM? Is it because we can’t fathom that we as Americans Will never have to suffer like those in other countries? Are we so naive to think that because we have so much freedom in our land that we think we should be immune from tough times, pain, illness, persecution? We sure have that wrong. When did we become so egotistical to think that this will never happen to us – we’re Americans – we have liberties that were granted to us by the God that the founders of this country founded this great country based our Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and By-Laws upon? We need to wake up, America! Didn’t we learn our lesson from 9/11? We need to fall down on our knees and cry out to God for repentance and that God will once again shine His love, grace, and mercy upon us! The so called silent majority needs to stand up and fight for our freedoms before they are all gone!
God, be merciful to me a sinner! Be ever so merciful to this great land that we live in! We worship and adore you! We bow down before you! We call upon you to heal this land and grant us forgiveness for being disobedient and not putting you first and foremost in our lives, cities, counties, states, country! We call out for mercy! Touch us! Heal us! We worship your almighty name! Help us to be more like you! We praise your wonderful and holy name!
Reflections and Wonderings
The recent death of diva Whitney Houston has stunned the world – much like the death of Michael Jackson shook people up. The untimely deaths of relatively young people who are seemingly at the epitomy of their lives and careers shakes the world and has the world asking, “Why?” “They had so much going for them.” Along with comments like, “They had such a troubled life.” It seems like everyone becomes an expert and jumps on the condemnation band wagon. Their lives are disected, analyzed, memorialized, and scrutinized – looking for a tidbit, a juicy morsel, some shocking piece that draws attention to the provider of the information and causing a negative light on the person’s life. It seems like we’re not happy unless we are downgrading someone else, disecting the lives of others, trying to shock people with information – it seems like we need to make others look bad so that we “look good”. It saddens me to when a person loses the battle of life no matter who they are or what they’ve done or how they lived and died. Everyone flocks to get the scoop, the dirt on anyone who is a public figure that has stumbled – made a mistake – no matter how long ago the offense happened. Why is it that we want to find the worst in people? Why don’t we focus on the good points, the strong points, the points that bring out the best in the individual and the best in those who are around them?
The Bible says, “Judge not or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Matthew 7:1-2) “Do not judge and you will not be judged. Do not condemn and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven.” (Luke 6 37) “I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes, He will bring to light what is hidden in darkenss and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.” (I Corinthians 4:3-5)
We must be careful of judging, criticalness, and finger pointing. No one is completely innocent. There was only one in all of history that was innocent and pure – that was Christ our Lord and Savior! No one here on earth can say where someone’s soul has gone when they die – only God knows and in His time the truth will be revelaed.
As a Christian nation we should be on our knees praying for God’s guidance and strength. We are to be praying for our nation’s leaders that they make godly choices and decisions. It is so easy to finger point and criticize those who are in leadership – we should be praying for them instead! As a nation, we are at a crossroad – are we going to return to the God of our nation’s founders? Or are we going to continue down the path that we are on sliding into becoming a godless country? In times past, Christians have silently stood by and watch freedoms and liberties be taken away from us. We though to ourselves that God would never allow this or that to happen. He doesn’t want to allow these freedoms to be stricken from our laws and taken away from the people of the country. But He may not have a choice if we don’t take action and become obedient to His Word and take a stand for godliness and godly reverence.
Are we going to continue to be silent and watch the destruction of our freedoms and our country? The choice is ours to make – where do you stand (or kneel)?
One Hand, Two Hands
This is another great kids book by Max Lucado. “Oh, the things we can do because we have hands! Wipe tears. Give a gift. Write Grandma a letter. With hands and a hug, we make people feel better.” This book is written so that the littlest members of our families can know how that they can serve God – even when they are real little. This book also shows little kids how they can serve their Heavenly Father just like their parents and other older people in their lives. Gaby Hansen provides great illustrations for this book. This book is a must for anyone who has little kids in their families!
The Butterfly Effect and The Boy Who Changed the World
I recently had the privilege to read two new books by New York Times Best-Selling Author Andy Andrews. I had read another one of his books “The Noticer” that I really enjoyed. I was intrigued by the titles of these new books. What message could he be trying to get across to the readers? Both of these new books are an easy read but they have a deep message - every thing you do in life matters.
“The Butterfly Effect” has the following words by Andy Andrews on the back of the book, “Every single thing you do matters. You have been created as one of a kind. You have been created in order to make a difference. You have within you the power to change the world.” The book opens with a series of questions, “How significant is my life? Do I make a difference? When I move . . . when I act . . . when I do something . . . does the universe notice? Do I really matter?” Back in 1963 a man by the name of Edward Lorenz presented the hypothesis that “a butterfly could flap its wings and set molecules of air in motion, which would move more molecules of air, in turn moving more molecules of air – eventually capable of starting a hurricane on the other side of the planet” to the New York Academy of Science. Much to the shock of the then scientific community this theory was proven to be authentic, accurate, and viable. Soon thereafter the theory was accorded to be a law – “The Law of Sensitive Dependence Upon Initial Conditions”. Andrews goes on to tell some other stories from history that further provide evidence of the butterfly effect.
The book “The Boy Who Changed the World” Andrews tells the true story of Norman Borlang who developed super seeds for corn, wheat, and rice. These seeds were sent all over the world and produced crops that has fed millions of the world’s hungry. The question is who should the credit go to? Norman? Or Henry Wallace the Vice President of the USA who commissioned Norman to do the research? Or what about George Washington Carver who took the boy Henry on many nature walks and taught him about the possibilities when using one’s imagination and science and dared to ask the question “What if”?
There seems to always be a ripple effect to one’s actions. Your actions in some way or another has an affect on others. I guess the question that is proposed by these two books is – What kind of effect does your actions have on other people? Is it good or does it hurt?
Finding Purpose Beyond Our Pain
The authors of this book have done an excellent job in showing how to look past the pain and hurts that have been experienced in life and see how these experiences can be used as stepping stones ti build on. God has so much good things awaiting us on life’s road. Why are there experiences like these in our lives? Because there is sin in the world. God has given us all a free will to do as we please and make our own choices in life. It’s too bad that these choices are often based upon a false belief system – lies are believed ti be truth and truth is believed to be a lie. We have been fed a very convincing, but false, lie. Drs Paul Meier and David L. Henderson have done fabulous job of walking through the many types of pain that one can experience in life and showing, with God’s help, how to get beyond the pain and mature spiritually. “Pain is not the enemy!” This is so very true. Many times we fear the pain so we can’t seem to get beyond that point. Pain is inevitable in life. There are so many prizes and treasures that lie just beyond the pain that we don’t see because we fear pain. Adversity can be our ally and not the enemy. There are seven struggles in life and we can go through them and grow through them when we view them through the light of God’s purposes.
It’s about time!
It’s been a long time since I posted anything – again! Time just goes by just way too fast! I’ve had many thoughts go through my mind and that’s about as far as it gets. There always seems something else to do, some place to go, and never enough time for things that actually matter the most. Isn’t that the way it usually goes? That’s not the way way it should go though. I think that we’ve all been spoofed into believing a lie as being the truth. We have been fed a truck load of lies and swallowed them as being the truth. We’ve done this so long that we tend to think that the lies are truth and the truth as lies.
I’ve also found it amazing how we tend to blame everyone else for things that happen to us. No one is exempt from these allegations – we’ve all done it! What brought this to mind was the recent arrest of a 15-year-old young man on charges of murdering two of his neighbors. His mother stated that it was DCFS’s fault that he did what he did! How? because after he was released from a psychiatric hospital they didn’t make sure he kept up with his meds and appointments. What about his mother’s responsibility of taking care of her son? Why was DCFS involved anyway? Even our politicians blame the previous administration or the person who held the position before them. Blago even blames the prosecutor for the mess that he finds himself in. Whatever happened to ethics, accepting responsibility for our actions, truth, and integrity? We need to have leaders who will go against the grain and stand up straight and strong fo what is right and take responsibility for their actions. We need everyone to take a stand for what is right and take responsibility for their actions. God must be shaking His head at the way we act here on earth. We need to fall on our knees and repent! Then ask forgiveness of those whom we’ve hurt. It is then that we can stand and know that we have done the right thing and with God’s help we will stand for what is right, true, and of good report! No matter what we will do what is right and stand for the truth.
As Time Flies By
It’s amazing how time flies. This year feels like it just started and now a new year is upon us. The other day I ran into a friend who had recently retired. I asked her how she liked retirement. She said that she doesn’t know how she had time to work! It seems that the older we get the faster time flies by. We make plans for our days – all that we’re going to accomplish – only to find, as we crawl into bed, that we haven’t done anything (or very little) of what we had planned. It seems like another day wasted – gone by without a thought. Then when our head hits the pillow we remember all the things that we had planned to do, the things that we had resolved to accomplish, we are haunted with all the “I should have”, “I wish I had”, and all those condemning thoughts that invade our minds once the world around us has been stilled and quieted. We waste so much time pondering all the negatives in life instead of looking at the positive things that occured during that day. It’s important that as the day begins we commit that day unto the Lord. Then as we lay our head on the pillow at night we need to give all the happenings of the day to our Heavenly Father. It isn’t easy to empty our minds of all of the negatives but by committing everything to our Lord and Savior it is possible for all things are possible through Christ.
yadayadayadah
