Live Your Dreams

When your love is so strong that all you want to do is chase your feelings, chase your dreams, prove them to be true...but that calm quite voice inside is saying to me- don't chase your dreams, sweet one, live them.
"Have faith and Trust me"

Notes and Ideas from this Sunday's sermon

The deceitfulness of deceit is that the one being deceived has no idea that they are being deceived. Deceit isn't something you see. In fact, it's what you don't see that messes you up! That is why deceit is so terrible. If you don't know what you don't know, then how will you ever know it?

Deceit can make people believe things that are not true. Since they do not know the truth, they will believe anything that "seems" true, or whatever they just happen to like or think sounds good. But God isn't interested in what "seems" true, what you think you like or what "sounds" good. Taking a month off of work to go to Miami Beach sounds good. Forget work, leave the kids at home, don't worry about the bills and the pets. A month at the beach sounds good! But when you get back the truth is that your house will be a wreck, your kids and pets will be gone and starving and you probably will not have a job to return to (if you work for any type of corporation) and your bills will be twice as much with all your late fees attached.
We can't just live life on the fly. You can't just do things without thinking and more importantly praying about what you're doing and why you're doing it. Even if you know "why" you're doing something do you really know the inner motivation and purposes behind it? The deep reasons and goals?

1Peter 1:6-11
6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:

7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:

9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

10 Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:

11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.

...Note verse 9...

In the Holy Bible the father Israel's original name was Jacob, and he earned his new name in God - because God caught him in his craftiness, yet because of his intelligence and faith God showed favor on him, and He blessed him. God turns things that are bad into good- all the time. He makes all things new. I recently read somewhere that when God makes you a new creature- it doesn't mean the He makes a better version of the old you- It means He miraculously creates a new person out of the old, and I can testify to that because I am nothing like what I used to be. I am completely new, and He is still transforming me. In the article where I read this, the author also said that the butterfly is a representation of this miraculous transformation that happens in a born again believer's life. When a caterpillar goes into it's cocoon, it literally dies and becomes mush- and then a transformation takes place, and at the right and appropriate time, a beautiful new creature emerges, a butterfly! Butterflies are true reminders that our God is a miracle working God.

2Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

This is Great News!!! :)
This is post script, I just want to acknowledge that this message began and ended on two totally different topics, but since it starts with deceit and ends with a new creation, and a miracle and butterflies, I'm going to say it's all good and I pray my readers get the message and are blessed :) Praise the LORD!
Much Love and Respect to the church and my friends in the faith and love of our Lord Jesus Christ.


~

The Key of David

THe Key of David is this, God looks at the heart, not at the outward appearance of man (and woman). Samuel thought David was too little, but God said anoint him, and he became the greatest king there ever was. God sees what we cannot see. We look back, we look around, we forget to look up (to Him), and also, we forget to look ahead. A year from now, five years from now, 15, 25, 40 years from now... make plans people. Live. But don't forget about God, and don't forget to love each other. Do you know how happy God is when "brothers dwell in unity"? And not just brothers, but us all. Why did Jesus tell us to love our enemies? Why did He tell us? TO embarrass us? To make us small and imbecilic? No, He told us to do this because He did it and because he knows that nothing can conquer love. It is the ultimate answer to all of life's questions. Just Love

You Are Who You Are

Today at church, the pastor was talking about God sending people to do His work, His Will, to carry out His command.
At one point in the sermon, Pastor Paul was preaching about how when God changes us, transforming us from our old self to our new self- he doesn't change "us". See, what He changes is our behaviours, our attitudes, our concepts, our beliefs.
Yes, that's a lot of change that takes place in a short amount of time. But I really want to focus on the fact that God doesn't want to change "us", meaning our personalities. We are who we are, and that is the reason God loves us. The Bible says that when God made man, He made man in His own image. That means, God is our Father, it's like, we all have the same Dad, and we all look like Him, just in different ways. So when He saves us from our "old self", it isn't our "self" he is trying to save us from, it's not out personality or character traits that he doesn't approve of, it's sinful behavior that He doesn't like. But that brings me to the next point, we as human beings, all have "natural" instincts. That some of us have problems with and this is where it gets dirty, this is where the testing begins, this is where God desires to do His great works in our lives. And everyone of us is different. We all have our own blend of personal habits, desires, likes, dislikes, and we all have the same life necessites to deal with also.
God desires to take us as we are, and show us that #1, He loves you for exactly who you are. Your smile, your hair, how tall or short you are, the color of your eyes, the sound of your voice, he loves every part of you. #2 He doesn't like to see you suffer. And, dear friends, no matter what capacity or what pleasure you might derive out of any type of sin in your life- it will never be God's best for your life.
Sin is not God's will for any one of us. It never was and it never will be. We have to have a clear understanding of what sin is, and what is natural and how to apply God's righteousness to our selves and lives to produce fruitfulness and to do His will. Just because we have natural instincts does not make those things in and of themselves "sinful". It is how we act on those things that makes them - and us, sinful, or righteous. Anger, sexuality, money, honesty... these are the top subjects that come to my mind. Everyone of these can be dealt with sinfully, or righteously. And our personality doesn't deal with these things, our personality is our display of how we deal with things. Whether we choose right or wrong- that comes from within. And if we really are serving God, we will want what is right... even if it hurts, even if it's not fair, even if we don't like it. Because we know deep down inside, that God wants what is best for our lives. And if He wants what is best for us, He will not lie to us. He tells us what to do: Love. When ever I do what He tells me to do,He proves Himself right to me- Every time. The more I obey what He tells me, the more He proves Himself true, the more He proves Himself true, the more I obey.
Its a win-win-win :) He is God Eternal.

Think about This

Humility is not shame. Shame and humility are two very different things. And, there is no shame in being humble. Yet, shame has to do with sin, and oftentimes pride. And there is no humility in pride.

I haven't had any commenters in a really long time... I would love some feedback on this. What do you think pride is? what about shame? What about humility, and humbleness? I will respond back to each reply... Thanks!! iAngel

Teach Me

I learn from myself. I think any wise person does. I'm not trying to boast, so I will rephrase my statement here, and say, I learn from the Holy Spirit- as He shows me my own self, as I grow in God. I grow and grow, I learn and I share.
My original idea tonight was to write about ministry, and how we strive to reach out to minister to people, but sometimes the ministry needs to begin inside our selves. Ministry to the self. Better yet, minister to God.
I am not saying at all not to reach out to people in need, please do. But seek the Lord for what He would truly have you do. We often do things, but sometimes, we wind up doing too much, and not listening to the LORD enough. I'm not saying HE can't use your works, or your charity, or your ministry, but let us not forget that God needs ministry, and so do we ourselves. We need one on one time with Him, where we can let Him into our heart and mind, because, the more we spend time with Him and open our hearts to Him, and talk to and listen to Him, the closer we get to Him, closer we are to Him. And when we are close to someone, we begin to resemble them, in actions, thoughts and ways.
When we spend time one on one with the Lord, in worship and when we take the time to listen to Him open-hearted, honest and humble, that ministers to His Heart. He loves spending time with us.
And His Word says when we draw close to Him, He draws close to us.

If Life is King then Love is Queen

If Life is King and Love is Queen
Then nothing should with hold the Dream
If God is love His Spirit a Dove
Then Come Lord Jesus from Above

Love Never End

when it rains it pours and we stay indoors
some people complain but I stay the same
we have to learn to accept what life brings
sometimes stuff happens that you can't change
and sometimes stuff happens that you can change

sometimes it takes courage to search the Lord's face
we need to surrender our pride and disgrace
it amazes me how the Lord's ways are higher
and the things I thought couldn't withstand the fire

I am amazed and grateful forever
that God saved my soul and gave me a Savior
to shine his great light to the depths of my soul
and tell me those things that I needed to know

He is gracious forever he is my confidant-friend
His word is the truth and His love never end

A Psalm...

So, I still sing my young daughter to sleep sometimes, and I have three or four or five songs that I sing (baby songs/nursery rhymes and one or two worship songs), but over the past couple of nights the LORD has been giving me a song and although I cannot play the music, I can hear it behind the lyrics and I wish I knew some people to tell it to so maybe they could orchestrate it, but the Words are like this:
You are My God, You are my King, You are my God and You give Life to everything
You are my King, You are my King, You are my Saviour and You deliver me
You are my God, You are my God, you give me Life and make me sing
Yeah~ Yeah~ You are my God
You are my refuge from the storm You keep me safe
You are my God, You are my King, You give me hope You give me life You keep me safe.

It's spontaneous and the words change as I sing it, the beat is upbeat but driven, kind of like a marching song (it has intent) but it isn't a march song. It's cool.. I just thought I would share...

Working for the LORD~!

God's love cannot be earned.
We don't have to earn it.
People get confused when they sin, or maybe if they are unbelievers and they think- because of sin, that God doesn't love them. But according to the Bible, God loves us all, the good and the bad, the righteous and the unrighteous. He loves us when we are good, and He doesn't take His love from us, when we sin and mess up.
There have been times when I have said to the Lord, " you must not really love me; you won't give me what I want. If you loved me, you would give me what I want, and what I need".
God loved me, and He loves me. I didn't see (perceive with understanding) that Just because God loves me, doesn't mean he's going to give me anything and everything I want, think I need or demand from Him. He is much smarter than that.
I have realized, we can't earn God's love, because He already loves us. BUT, we CAN earn His favor, and we CAN actually earn Blessings.
We earn His Favor and His blessings by a few principals and ordinances established BY God Himself, and the Bible guides us in how to do this.
And, it's real easy.. the concepts are, anyways ;)

1. Obedience
When we obey the commandments God has given us, He tells us He will bless us. When we obey Him, he is pleased and he therefore blesses us, because He wants to reward us. If and when we disobey him, he does sometimes punish us- and even though He doesn't reach down from heaven and give us a spiritual spanking (and sometimes he actually might, sin in and of itself is a form of punishment of it's own. And disobedience is sin. Anything we do that is not in accordance to God's Will, is disobedience and if we are not obeying His Voice (His Word, His commandments), then we are in essence living in rebellion, and not under God's protective covering. (Deuteronomy 28, Matthew 5 )

2. Faithfulness
When we put our Faith into God, that is actually a form of obedience. It is us, taking our thoughts (our hearts and minds) and AGREEING with what God has already said. When we agree with God, we are giving Him that authority and lordship - His proper place in our LIVES- and when we put our faith into His- AWESOME things happen! Many times people can look around too much- look at other people's lives and see how happy they are and we can easily lose sight of what the LORD is doing in our own life, and then we start to doubt or begin to compare and complain about what we don't have or what we're going through- But everyone has trials and everyone has tests. When we re-focus on the Lord and look to Him, the Author and Finisher of our FAITH, and hold fast to His Faith (He has faith y'all- I would say HE is Faith), when we do this, nothing is impossible and nothing can stop God from pouring out His Blessings on us! (Psalm 18:25, Matthew 17:14-22, 24:36-51, 9:1-7)

3. Righteousness
My definition of Righteousness, is obeying what God says is right. Because many people go around and think, I was good to that person, or I did a good thing when I paid the change that person was short of at the store counter, or I was nice when that person was mean, etc etc, but, I believe God's Righteousness goes deeper than that. Those little things are good, and valuable, but, there is a transformation in the heart that occurs when we compare our ways to God's ways, and truly UNDERSTAND the differences, and why they exist. And when we obey God's righteousness, and because His righteousness is based on HIS TRUTH, our obedience therefore is to glorify HIS Cause, His Truth, HIS Ways, HIS Heart, HIS Words, not our own. Some people also get caught up in thinking it's all about them (when they do what God tells them to do), and God does want us to be happy and He wants us to be blessed, but obeying God glorifies HIM, not us, because We didn't come up with all this stuff, HE did. It's His Truth, HE IS the Truth! He deserves the honor, He deserves the Glory, HE deserves the praise~! HE is WORTHY of it all! He is God, we are just His servants, His ministers, His messengers (angels <3). He honors us, for the Word says He honors those who Honor Him, yet there must be order because without Him, there would be none of this... you see. (Mark 10:18, Psalm 18:30)

4. Patience
I know patience is a virtue and it is a Fruit of the Spirit, but I feel the need to mention it as a vital attribute to "earning" hence receiving God's Favor and Blessing, because the Bible tells us, Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD will deliver Him from them all. Sometimes we have to wait. Sometimes we have to go though things, and it isn't always a "test", sometimes the natural process of circumstances in life create situations where we just have to wait on God to bless us. Like a farmer yielding His crops. He knows they will come up, He knows what He planted and He knows he did a good job, he knows his reward is coming. He just has to wait! As it is with us... we do what He tells us, We have faith (with hope and with works and without works) and we have His righteous truth in our hearts and minds, and eventually, as we wait patiently, God will begin to produce the Blessings and Rewards His Children have earned. (Matthew 13:31&32)

Favor means we resemble Him.... We remind Him of Himself... HE loves it when we do ;)
That's another message in itself, ;) for another time!!
Be Blessed!

~God~

God's Presence is Peace~
God's Heart is Love~
His Thought's are Great
His Touch is Healing
God's Words are Comforting, and True~
~God's Eyes are Watching...
His Ways are Holy, Right and Always Good~


~Blessed are the Pure in Heart, for they shall see God~ (Matthew 5:8)

Having Faith in Faith!

Why do we hold on to emotions as if they are our identity? If we followed the commandments of Christ, of God, and obeyed the Words of Christ and did what God and Christ told us to do, we won't lose our identities- but shed the things that hold us back and keep us from our true identity in the LORD. Emotions like unforgiveness, anger, lust, fear- they can almost comfort us at times, but they are pollutants to our souls (and minds and even our bodies). They are familiar to us all too often. And they keep us from all that God has for us; unless we pursue the Truth and Obey God's and Christ's words:
Forgive
Be slow to anger
Love ( as a command)
Be brave, courageous
Everything God tells us to do, is a powerful command - a choice - a descision we make on our own free will. To control our free will. (self control!! :)
It is like black and white - no grey.
We either love, or we hate... but that's not right, there also is complacency. That place in between right and wrong.
Like the "lukewarm church" in Revelation 3.
God is pleased with what? Our faith. I have learned that yes, believing is one method of faith, but there are times when we have to apply our faith THROUGH our beliefs to continue the path that God has for us.
What I mean is, we know we have faith because we have believed, and we know what we believe. THEN, - HERE's the kicker!
WE have these beliefs for a specific reason, and a particular plan.
And that is where I am taking us to... We have to boldly pursue our faith in Christ to accomplish all that God has given to us. We have to apply not only our faith now, but we must also apply our beliefs to our faith!
And to our lives and relationships.
It kinda adds up like math. We know that if we take two, and add two we have four. Same with God's principles. We know that if we obey his commands and DO what he tells us, we will be blessed. He is ALL Knowing. He already knows what will happen when we do what he says! We have to TRUST Him, Trust His Commands, Trust His Word, Trust His Voice...Just TRUST that when we do what He instructs us to do that we will be pleasing to him. We will be doing his will. And we will be glorifying him on earth.
That is what he created us humans for- His Glory. And he tells us how to do it through His written word in the Holy Bible. And the Holy Spirit who comes to us to remind us, and Jesus Christ as our example, visible by our faith and the testimony we have been given.
Our egos - pride- fear of losing our "identity"- our self-serving self-centered thoughts- those are the things that hold us back from forgiving. That egotistical way of thnking is what keeps us from letting go of anger... What are we losing when we let go of ego and really truly forgive someone? What do you really lose? Nothing. You GAIN God's approval. You usually gain a soul. You gain your own mental and emotional freedom and true Peace. You gain and you give Love.

We are taught by the world to serve our emotions, but GOD teaches us to serve HIM!

We are his workers, we are his beloved children. We are his chosen people. He is our Father, and we should honor him by keeping His Word!
Have Faith in Your Faith!

God is God, and God alone!
And He is Good! Amen?! Amen!!!!

Why do people fall into sin?
Some reasons are:
They don't believe in God, or keep His promises in their heart.
They quit being thankful/grateful for what they have, and seek things outside of His will.





Forgiveness of sin does not mean that the sin is ok. It means that it is understood that the sinner has need for God in thier life.

Everyone needs God in their life.

Speaking is Believing

Today I woke up and it was like there was a dark cloud looming right over my soul. I did not really want to get out of bed... I picked up my "God's Promises for Women" book and read a few pages and started to think to myself.. "yeah, right... then why am I dissappointed now?"
I almost opened my mouth to complain. I almost started pouring out some comlaints to God... I almost started to tell Him how long it feels like it takes for Him to keep His word, and how miserable I am alone, and how come, if He loves me so much, why won't he just do what I ask?
But
I didn't say a word. I know that if I open my mouth and start speaking like that, then I will REALLY start to have a bad day. So I didn't say anything. I got up and got out of bed, and here I am.
I am not going to sit here and write this like I have some immeasurable amount of strength to fend of the horrible attack of depression on my own. No, I'm not going to lie. I logged onto Facebook and read a post one of my beloved pastors of Praise Chapel wrote, and it he said, When we praise the LORD, satan flees. When we worship our God, darkness is overtaken by Light. (He didn't word it exactly like this, bt this is how I agree with what he said), and it is true.. when we focus on how good our God is and how much He has done for us, and how much HE really loves us, the dissappointments shrink, the darkness dissipates, and the tears, they dry up and usually a smile appears on the faces of those who know His love is true!

So be careful what you speak. You might actually believe it. See, if I had started complaining this morning, I would be believing that I was defeated. I would have been agreeing with the father of lies, and I would be having a really bad day right now, and would eventually miss out on the promises God has for me because I would have stopped believing in the faithfulness of my Promise Keeper.

Let's agree with the Word of God today.


1 John 4:4
(NIV)
4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.


1 John 5:4
(NIV)
4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.



Romans 8:31
(NIV)
31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Overcoming Blood

Fill my heart with your blood
That I might have the power to overcome
The entangled flesh –
The veins of life –
Flowing inside me
He died for my life.
I remember Jesus’ pain
His sorrows, grief
His undeserved shame
Now I am alive and life is worth living
Resurrection truth
The Power is for-giving
Forgive them, Father, they know not what they do
O, Holy Spirit, come reveal the truth
Revealing in me, my destiny
This prophecy of eternity
Love is the Spirit
Love is why
Mercy is goodness
I think I know why…
Father, open our eyes
Pour into us
Your Heavenly Spirit, God With Us
Emmanuel
The Kingdom of Heaven is nigh at hand
Jesus’ words ring true as I am
Lord, help me be, truly free
Opening my heart, to You and mercy.

Ashleigh Finton

The Answer is Love.

Do you ever question your beliefs? Do you ever question your thought life, and examine what you think, how you think and why you believe what you think?
I have learned that thoughts - our conscious understanding of ourselves, others and life- can be changed. They can be wrong, they can be right. And we all have them. We all think, and we all believe "something".
Our thoughts define our opinions, choices, beliefs, actions, and relationships.
I have been covered by the blood and saved by the grace of Jesus Christ for about 12 years now. I have read the Bible and I have gone to church. I have met people who also serve the Lord and study the Word of God and also go to church.
I have talked with men and I have talked to women, and one of the most important topics of life, as expressed in our lives and through the written Word of God, is the marriage relationship of man and woman.
From the book of Genesis with Adam and Eve, to the end Revelations, of Jesus Christbeing the husbandman and the church being his bride, I see God's evident desire to bring man and woman together as one.
I don't understand how people can think in thier minds- thought that are opposite or... off track with the Lord in this.
How can a Righteous, Loving God, create man and woman - with all our needs and desires and longings - and not take great pleasure and delight in bringing the man and woman together?

Now, what I want to address is people's (man's or woman's) thoughts and beliefs about marriage. I don't know what you think, or what you have grown to believe about mariage, but I can be assured that at one time or another every person has thought or believed something about marriage that was not right- meaning according to the liberty and grace and love of God, His Word, and His Will.
I have heard men say that according to the Bible, men shouldn't get married, because it causes trouble for them.
I want to dissect that thought, because, if marriage was wrong or if God's desire to bring man and woman together is bad, then why from the beginning of time has God done such a thing, and even when Adam and Eve sinned- God had mercy and forgivness for their sin? And His desire from the beginning was for them to be together, blessed, with Him, and living free in the garden of Eden..
BEcause HE loves us. We can't want to get married because we want sex or because Mr.Right is rich or because Girlfriend has a hot body or anything else. Marriage is something designated and designed by God, the LORD of everything and He made man to need woman and woman to need man.
It isn't fair for a woman to not see and meet the needs of the man God places in her life just like it isn't fair for a man to not see and meet the needs of the woman God brngs into his life. Needs being more then sexual. We need comfort, we need companionship, we need help and sometimes we just need a friend.
People (whether man or woman) alter- "pervert" - the Word of God and they manipulate God's truths into lies. (in their own minds)
Because if men and women were honest with themselves and each other, there would be a lot more love in this world and a lot less heartache.
Anything you think or believe that doesn't match the Word and the truth of God comes from the father of lies.
That is why we must not only read the Word, but we must obey the Word. We must study the Word and figure out how to apply it and where it takes place in our life- we have to let ourselves believe like children and sometimes we have to make ourselves believe and that is sometimes like moving a mountain out of the way and it can be done.... if you want it bad enough. What I mean is, if you are tired of feeling bad and sad or depressed or angry - only you can change your feelings, only you can say to that thing that is bringing you down to get out of your way- only you are responsible for how you truly feel and I think it is important to figure out what you really think- what you really believe because sometimes we go around thinking and believeing things, that aren't neccessarily true. Sometimes we think and believe things that aren't what God's Word says, and we need to weed out those thoughts, like Jesus says when the harvest comes, weed out the thistles and burn them and then gather the wheat into the barn. We need to heed our thought life and listen to what we tell ourselves inside our hearts and our minds and we should also listen to what we tell other people. We as humans like to think we are alright and right all the time, but we must take heed - and watch ourselves.
And I want to challenge anyone reading this, to examine your thoughts about marriage. Examine your thoughts about yourself and about the opposite sex. Think about what you believe... do you believe that marriage ends with two people bickering and cranky for the rest of thier life? Do you think marriage inevitably ends in divorce for everybody? Do you think men and women can never be faithful in marriage? I mean, examine what you think about marriage and if you have any beliefs that are less than holy, less than good, less than righteous, less than anything worthy to be praised, then you need to grow in truth- and you need to ask Jesus to renew your heart and give you childlike faith. God wants to bless people. People want to be blessed. I know plenty of men and women that would be and want to be godly loving spouses to a member of the opposite sex. We want to be good, and we want what is good. If you disagree with this then I would like to think there is something wrong with you! I think being and finding the right spouse is vital and I think also that no person on the earth is perfect as a human but if you can find someone to love and they love you in return, then that is all you really need. The Bible tells us that love covers a multitude of sin. I don't think that means go sin, but I think it means you accept a person for who they are, and they accept you. People are born into sin we cannot escape it- but we have been saved by Jesus Christ, and we can obey His commandment to love one another and this brings Him and us fulfillment. No one can have a successful relationship of anytype without love and forgiveness. Even with God. I wam honest here, sometimes I have told God I forgive him for letting certain things happen to me that I saw as unfair. Do I think He ever owes me anything or do I really think like that at all? I have... life hurts us sometimes and I have had my ins and outs with my Lord and my God, and yeah, I have been through some things in my life that made me angry at God. And if he ordained those things or if they were the result of sin, either way, I felt like for me to overcome my anger and for me to reconcile myself to Him, I forgave Him... He forgives me... I don't know if that will make any sense maybe one day it will. I don't know who I'm writing to, how many and all of you.. but just keep looking to Jesus Christ because He has the answers and he is the answer. His answer is love.
-Jesus-

Skin Deep

I went to Florida to visit some of my family over the Christmas that just passed, and while we were there bought a sack of oranges. Ambersweets. Yum, they are the best! There were a few left when it was time to go home and I divided them with my dad and brought the rest back with me.
A day or two after getting back home (to my new home, Georgia), I was unpacking or something, and I found my baby daughter and she was chewing on a piece of paper. I don't know what her infatuation with paper is, but anytime she finds paper, business cards or notebooks within her reach, she chews it like its chewing gum. So, immediatley I take the paper from her and she cries and I feel bad, and I know I must do something to make her not feel bad for me taking away her "paper gum". And if there is anything this little girl loves as much as a fresh piece of paper, it's a fresh piece of fruit!
The Oranges!
I went and grabbed the last orange, because I had been saving it for her anyway. We sat down on the floor and as I began peeling the orange a thought occured to me. See, while I was peeling the skin off the orange the baby reached for a piece of peel to try to eat it and I had to tell her that "We don't eat the skin, baby..We eat the fruit."
It made me think how often do we as Christians, try to eat the skin of things, without considering what the flavor of the fruit inside? We see something, anything, that looks good enough to eat (with our natural eyes), and maybe it smells good enough to eat and it would make sense to eat, but if you taste it (the peel), it is bitter. And if you digest it, it would make your stomach hurt.
That is why we wait, we peel the skin off, and discard it to get to the fresh juicy chunk of fruit inside that is sweet and delicious, and oh, so worth the wait!
And so I guess sometimes it even takes Fruit of the Spirit to enjoy a piece of fruit in the natural. That is: Patience!

Speaking to the "Shooter's Mind", If bullies deserve to get shot, what does a murderer deserve as punishment?
95% of bullies were bullied themselves, usually starting in the home.
Does shooting and killing really justify your anger?
Does it really make you feel better?
Do youreally feel like you solved your problems?

Thus it was said of Old Time: When someone is rude to you, be nice to them. Kill them with Kindness. They will eventually see the meaninglessness of thier hurtful ways.

We need to teach our youth to use thier minds and thier hearts, not guns.
And we need to teach our youth to not be afraid of talking to trusted adults.
We need to Listen and Hear with our Hearts what is really going on in the world right now.

Things can change (for the better). WE have to change them. Rules don't change things. Thoughts and Actions change things.
Much Love~