When things go wrong

Have you every had a week when it seems like every little thing is going wrong. You try to get things accomplished and something gets in your way. The more you work at getting a task completed you fall further and further behind. That is the kind of week I have been having.  Circumstances get in the way. We think that we can control the circumstances and then we realize that basically nothing is in our control with the exception of one thing. That one thing is the choices we make. Once we have made that choice we try to reason out why we did what did and then we complain about the circumstances we are facing. Step back and take a look a your circumstances and then give God the Glory. He will carry us through and help us make the right choices if we will only put our faith and trust in Him.

 Come, let us bow down in worship,

let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;

for he is our God    and we are the people of his pasture,

the flock under his care.  Psalm 95:6-7

Rejoice Always

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.  1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

How can you be joyful and pray all the time?  How can you give thanks even in bad times?  It isn't easy but with God's help and strength we can do anything.  Just like the beauty of the Desert Candles, that only grow after a winter with lots of rain, will our soul overflow with joy when we have Christ living in us.  Stay in His Word, Seek Him, and Praise Him.  Yes even in the bad times we can give God the glory and praise because it could have been worse.

Lighthouse

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:14-16

There is an old Southern gospel hymn that was one of  my Mom favorites.  That song is "The Lighthouse" and she often sang it in church.

And I thank God for the Lighthouse
I owe my life to Him
For Jesus is the Lighthouse
And from the rocks of sin
He has shown a light around me
That I could clearly see
If it wasn't for the Lighthouse (tell me)
Where would this ship be?

My Mom was a lighthouse for God and taught us kids to let our light shine.  To live a life that no one could question, to be a lighthouse no matter where we are and no matter what the situation is around us. 

Love One Another

1 Corinthians 13

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.  If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.  If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

  Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.  For we know in part and we prophesy in part,  but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears.  When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.  For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.  And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

There is an old song written by Burt Bacharach that goes like this:

What the world needs now is love, sweet love

It's the only thing that there's just to little of

What the world needs now is love, sweet love

No not just for some, but for everyone.

We all need a little more love in our lives.  We all need to love those around us.  We don't have to like what they are doing but we do need to express the love of Christ to everyone.

Happy Anniversary Brad & Mary Beth

Happy Anniversary to you,

Happy Anniversary to you,

Happy Anniversary we love you.

Happy Anniversary to you.

You two have a great day as you celebrate your lives together.

Happy Anniversay Nellie & Roger

Happy Anniversary to you,

Happy Anniversary to you,

Happy Anniversary we love you,

Happy Anniversary to you.

You two have a great day as you celebrate your lives together.

Taken for Granted

 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.  John 6:35

Have you ever been taken for granted?  I know I have been on several different occasions.  People expect you to do something without asking and then for you to continue doing it with no questions asked.  How many times have we done the same thing to Christ?  We go to church on Sunday morning, asked for forgiveness for the things we did during the past week and then Monday morning comes and we start doing the same things over again.  We take Christ for granted every time we do this.  There has to come a time in our life when we except responsibility for the choices we make and learn from our mistakes.  The first step is to stop making the same mistakes, seek forgiveness and then choose to live a Godly life.  Be the example and show Christ living in you daily!