Tag Archives: Friends

WHICH SIDE

17 Sep

He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. Matthew 12:30 KJV

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When tempests boil and turn,

This way and that,

Uprooting all you find sacred,

All you find worthy –

On which side of the cross do you rest?

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When your thoughts are so strained,

Facts threaten your hope,

Doubts threaten your faith –

On which side of the cross do you rest?

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When your family and friends,

Dwell on sorrows and pain,

Straining joy,

Stretching joy,

Quenching joy –

On which side of the cross do you rest?

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When you’ve let promise down,

To the ones that you love,

To yourself,

To your dreams –

On which side of the cross do you rest?

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Do you curse and cry out,

Blaming God in the dusk,

Screaming “why” in self-pity,

In pride?

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Or do you lay yourself down,

At the foot of the cross,

And rest in His promise,

His love?

✝

Written 6-20-1998

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WHEN

17 Sep

“But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.” Luke 18:16-17 KJV

 

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The Lord keeps showing me, over and over,

images of the little child that rests inside each angry man.

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The baby who first discovered his fingers and toes,

or laughed with glee upon his first sighting of a butterfly.

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The little boy who wiggled through his first haircut,

he was so proud.

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The little boy who brought home weed-flowers

for his mom to put in a vase.

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The cut-out crooked hearts

with “I love you, daddy” scribbled across.

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The little boy who wanted to be a policeman,

a fireman or the President.

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The little boy who learned to ride a bike

and could almost keep up with dad.

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The little boy who chewed wild grass

and dreamt of flying a rocket to the moon.

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The little boy who made a 100% on his spelling test,

but couldn’t quite figure out math.

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When did he turn into an angry young man,

bitter, distant and lost.

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When did friends become more precious than family,

no matter when, no matter where.

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When did Christmas cookies turn to alcohol,

Mother Goose to pornography.

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When did alcohol turn to drugs;

to live for, to kill for, to die for.

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When did skateboards turn to drive-by shootings,

picnics to funerals, love to hate.

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When did he become an angry young man,

falling deeper and deeper into sin, into death, into Hell.

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If you look close enough you can see that little boy,

through the dazed eyes of drugs.

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If you listen carefully you can hear that little boy crying out for help,

for peace, for love.

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If you hug him long enough you will feel the shield and barriers fall away

– long enough for him to know someone cares.

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And if you walk with him long enough you can guide him along the path

to find that little boy again.

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Written 3/21/95

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Pandemic 2020 – What Should You Do??

12 Jul

Coronavirus: What is a pandemic? - CBBC Newsround

 

So, I am going to share a little of my point of view. Folks are sharing posts saying that they believe the Rapture is almost here – I disagree. I firmly believe Genesis 50:20 – “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.”

Yes, these times have been hard and even a bit unfair – but God!!

* How many times in years past have you said that you wished your family was all together for meals? Able to spend time together playing games and just talking? This gave you that opportunity – did you take it?

* How many times have you prayed to God for more time to pray, seek, read the Bible and study? This gave you that opportunity – did you take it?

* How many times did you say that you wished you had time to try new recipes or start canning or make a bunch of different sorts of desserts? This gave you that opportunity – did you take it?

* How many times have you said (or thought) that you wish you had more time to connect with distant family and friends – send a card, send a letter, start a texting conversation? This gave you that opportunity – did you take it?

* How many times did you wish that you had time to start a backyard garden or repot house plants or start a new hobby that you have always wanted to start? This gave you that opportunity – did you take it?

I understand the oppression and depression that has come with this time of our lives, I really do – I fell right in with everyone else. I had to stop watching the news on TV. I had to block pages on my FB that was FB spamming all sorts of negative things. I had to tell myself to get out of bed and make a difference in this chaos!

What can YOU do? Get out a piece of paper. Make a list of all of the things that you wished you could have done in the past, but never had the time to do.

* If you don’t have the supplies for some of the, post a note on FB or the Online Yard Sales for supplies for – for instance – painting. Make a note that you needs inexpensive supplies – I bet folks will send them to you for free or for very little. You would be surprised at the number of people who will step up along side you – because – well – they are in the same pandemic as you !! Also, the dollar stores always have a small section of crafting supplies for really cheap – then as you get better you won’t mind spending a little extra on good supplies.

* Send an encouraging email – or MEME on FB – or a text message to someone every day! Doesn’t have to be the same person, just pray and see who God puts on your heart.

* Read a new book – lots of your friends will give you suggestions of great books to read, I have seen it over and over again lately.

* Bake that dessert!! YUM.

* Google a recipe for something you have always wanted to try – you will get a dozen hits! Read through to the ones that find your fancy and give it a shot.

* Build that tent fort in the living room and gather the family for story time or desserts or old fashioned kids songs or ??? Well, just take a nap!!

* Get that Bible out and a good Bible Study (hundreds are online) and a good “read the Bible in an year plan” – And Get Started!!

* – Your Turn: Put suggestions in the comments below – be “G rated” please.

What are you waiting for. What if you find out that there are actually wonderful things you can do while locked in at home. Yes, it is scary at times. Yes, financial burdens can be overwhelming. Yes, it isn’t always fun being alone.

SO WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?!?!?!?!

I am praying blessing over you. I am praying an enhanced imagination over you. I am praying peace over you. I am saying “Seize the time!” Refuse to live in fear. Refuse to live in depression. Refuse to live in oppression. Make every day count.

Feel free to share!

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CONFESSION

4 Apr

“For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy

unto all them that call upon thee.” Psalm 86:5

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Forgive me, Lord, for my doubts.

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Forgive me, Lord, in my pain and fatigue,

Your voice was distant and faint,

I thought You didn’t care.

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Forgive me, Lord, I forgot the blessings,

Of yesterday in the crisis,

Of today.

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Forgive me, Lord, for not recognizing,

How very precious I am to You,

You showed me again and again,

Buy my self-esteem couldn’t receive it.

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Thank you, Lord, for continually calling my name,

Calling louder and louder,

When my ears were turned away.

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Thank you, Lord, for the friends and warriors,

That You sent to my side,

When I was to weak to fight.

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Thank you, Lord, for forced rest,

When my body was in desperate need,

But I refused to rest.

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Thank you, Lord, that I am Your daughter,

And You are my Father,

And nothing can ever change that.

 

Written 6-14-2002

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Friends

29 Sep

“A man that hath friends must show himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.”   Proverbs 18:24

 

When I was happy,

You rejoiced with me.

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When I was troubled,

You listened.

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When I was sad,

You shared my tears.

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When I saw despair for tomorrow,

You reminded me of yesterday.

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When I saw hopelessness,

You turned my face toward Jesus.

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Thank you for being . . .

My Friend.

 

 

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Written 4/22/2002

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The Effects of Our Consequences

30 Jan

Dominoes

“And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.  Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.” 1 Corinthians 12:26-27 (KJV)

Behavior – Consequence – Effect

We make choices every day; good choices, bad choices, inconsequential choices – just choices, or so we think.  “I’ll do what I want, it’s my life.”  I’ll do what I want, it’s my body.” It is your life, it is your body, but it is not a separate and disconnected entity.

Drugs, alcohol, sex, violence, thrill seeking, the momentary pleasures that grasp a life and start a domino chain of destruction that spider webs into the lives of countless people you never even consider.  Then there’s suicide, the final decision a person makes that they feel will end the pain in their life, and in that moment of final silence, it devastates tens, hundreds, maybe even thousands of people.

Choices.  Addictions.  What happens to the person caught in the addiction trap?  At first it may be fun, pleasurable, then consuming, overwhelming, controlling, and then . . . . . our choices lead to consequences.

People begin to avoid you, your work product begins to fail, if you ever get up and go into work.  Your family, as much as they love you, begins to avoid you.  Spouses leave, keeping you from being with your children.  Your friends, who have always been there for you, refuse to talk to you.  Those who completely trusted you are no longer there.  The respect you had earned disappeared.  Still you spiral down and down and it’s everyone else’s fault, so you say.

If you are fortunate enough to be stopped by law enforcement and given the chance to get clean of those addiction, given another chance at life, given another chance of proving you can be that original amazing person, it will take years.  Years incarcerated, years working twice as hard as others to earn back the trust, the respect, the joy of reuniting with friends and family.

As you fight to regain back what you once had, do you see the effects of your consequences on others?  Do you recognize the emotional battle your family and friends fought as they watched you fail, struggle, grow, fail, struggle, grow?  Do you see their tears and the guilt they feel, wondering if there was something that they could have done to have kept it all from happening?  Do you see the money and time and emotion spent every month to be sure that you have a way to stay in touch and have a few treats.  Do you recognize the nights they spend in prayer and tears, hoping and believing that when this part of your journey has completed that you will find your restoration and not be tempted to give up the struggle to fight back to wholeness and fall back into the temptation of an old lifestyle.

I suspect that you may recognize the consequences of your behaviors, but have you taken the time to understand the wide spread effects of your consequences on so very many others?  Family.  Friends. The kid next door.  Co-workers.  Police Officers.  EMTS.  Nurses.  Prison Guards.  The person who found you near death, or worse, dead.  The person you hurt in a violent rage.  The person you killed in a car accident you don’t even remember having.  The person you stole a precious family heirloom from, to sell for that next “fix.”  The person you pulled into you addiction whose life is following your same path now.

Please hear my heart, in love.  Lord please let my words change the path of someone, many someones, who do not recognize what the consequences of their actions could be, and what the effects of those circumstances will be.  Turn them back.

Behavior  –  Consequence  –  Effect

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