Posted: under "A Slice Of Life", Inspirationals.
Tags: advice, anxiety, Bible, care, Christian, depression, direction, forgiveness, God, gratitude, guidance, guide, heart, hope, inspiration, instruction, journey, joy, life, listening, Lord, love, map, path, peace, promise, psalm, purpose, road, scripture, strength, stress, thankfulness, time, travel, trust, understanding
The Bible gives timeless advice and direction on how to live a godly life
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My granddaughter has a Nintendo DS. My grandson had a PlayStation, but he broke the screen. Now he wants to play with her Nintendo DS all the time. I have warned both of them against this. They don’t share well. If something happens to her Nintendo DS, she’s going to be upset and he’s going to have to pay for it. Despite my warnings, she continues to let him play with it.
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This morning she was looking for her Nintendo, and discovered that her brother had taken it to school which, of course, is not allowed by me or the school. So, the tears started falling because now she’s afraid it’s going to get taken away.
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I warned them that no good would come of this, but they didn’t listen. Now, he’s broken two rules—mine and the school’s—and she is in tears.
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Isn’t this scenario similar to our Christian walk? The Bible provides us with a roadmap to life. The Book of Psalms and Proverbs, in particular, are filled with timeless warnings, instruction and guidelines for living fruitful, fulfilling and godly lives. But we don’t listen, or we bend the rules to make them more accommodating. Then, when we don’t heed the instructions or warnings in the Bible, we cry foul and wonder what went wrong.
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After a morning of my granddaughter’s tears and turmoil, I found myself searching Scripture to get me back to my place of peace, and I found what I needed. Psalm 85:8 reads, “I will listen to what God the Lord will say; He promises peace to His Read More
Apr 07 2010
Posted: under "A Slice Of Life", "When You're Down to Nothing God's UP to Something", Inspirationals.
Tags: accident, advice, age, aim, air, anger, babies, baby, beacon, beauty, belief, bell, bells, Bible, blessings, bliss, bouquet, breath, bridge, brilliance, burden, cancer, candle, candles, care, cemetery, challenge, check, Christ, clerk, cloud, clouds, cold, color, colors, comfort, Comforter, companion, concentration, couple, courage, creek, cross, cure, dad, depression, destination, divorce, doctor, drugs, encouragement, era, exam, experience, eyes, faith, family, father, feeling, feelings, fire, flame, florist, flowers, focus, force, friends, friendship, funds, gas, gem, gems, genuine, ghost, glory, goal, God, goodness, grace, gratitude, guidance, gynecologist, hair, hairstyle, happiness, healing, health, heart, highway, history, holiday, holidays, home, House, husband, ice, inspiration, Jesus, journey, joy, King, language, laughter, learning, lesson, letter, life, lifestyle, lifetime, light, load, Lord, love, mail, man, marriage, Mathematics, might, mind, moment, money, mountain, noise, obituary, ocean, others, pain, partner, path, perfection, period, phone, physician, power, prayer, promise, quiz, rain, rainbow, reading, Redeemer, rivers, rose, roses, Savior, sea, shape, shapes, sheep, shepherd, size, smiles, son, sound, source, specialist, spouse, spring, stream, strength, stress, struggles, sunshine, surgeon, surprise, teaching, test, thankfulness, Thanksgiving, thorn, thorns, thought, time, tips, torch, touch, travel, treasure, trials, tribulation, trip, triumph, triumphs, truck, trust, truth, vacation, value, vehicle, victory, voice, water, weight, wife, wind, woman, wonder, words, worries, worry
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The Blessing Of Thorns
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Sandra felt as low as the heels of her shoes as she pushed
against a November gust and the florist shop door. Her life had
been easy, like a spring breeze. Then in the fourth month of
her second pregnancy, a minor automobile accident stole her
ease.
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During this Thanksgiving week she would have delivered a son.
She grieved over her loss. As if that weren’t enough, her
husband’s company threatened a transfer. Then her sister, whose
annual holiday visit she coveted, called saying she could not
come.
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What’s worse, Sandra’s friend infuriated her by suggesting her
grief was a God-given path to maturity that would allow her to
empathize with others who suffer. “She has no idea what I’m
feeling,” thought Sandra with a shudder.
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“Thanksgiving? Thankful for what?” she wondered aloud. For a
careless driver whose truck was hardly scratched when he rear-
ended her? For an airbag that saved her life but took that of
her child?
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“Good afternoon, can I help you?”
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The shop clerk’s approach startled her.
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“I….I need an arrangement, “stammered Sandra. “For
Thanksgiving?
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Do you want beautiful but ordinary, or would you like to
challenge the day with a customer favorite I call the
Thanksgiving Special?” asked the shop clerk.
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“I’m convinced that flowers tell stories,” she continued.
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“Are you looking for something that conveys ‘gratitude’ this
Thanksgiving?
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“Not exactly!” Sandra blurted out. “In the last five months,
everything that could go wrong has gone wrong. ” Sandra
regretted her outburst, and was surprised when the shop clerk
said, “I have the perfect arrangement for you.”
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Then the door’s small bell rang, and the shop clerk said, “Hi
Barbara…let me get your order.” She politely excused herself
and walked toward a small workroom, then quickly reappeared,
Read More
Apr 06 2010
Posted: under "A Slice Of Life", Inspirationals.
Tags: accomplishment, America, anticipation, belief, Bible, Christian, circumstance, control, destination, direction, earth, excitement, expectation, experience, faith, friends, God, guidance, heart, Heaven, home, humanity, ideas, inspiration, learning, life, Lord, love, money, plans, prayer, process, purpose, relationship, reservation, responsibility, scripture, sharing, smiles, thought, ticket, trust, understanding, vision, voice
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How many times have we picked up United States’ coins or currency and noticed the verbiage “In God We Trust?” As Christians what if we were required to have our foreheads imprinted with the words “In God We Trust?” Could we boldly wear that imprint, or would we be living a lie?
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Proverbs 3:5-6 tell us to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” Most of us like to think that we do that, but when the mortgage is due and God hasn’t answered our prayers by 5 p.m. on Friday, if we trust God, why do we need a Plan B?
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I have a friend who, whenever I share my ideas and thoughts with her, always asks: “And, if that doesn’t work, what’s Plan B?” She sometimes gets upset with me because I’m learning to live without a Plan B. Don’t get me wrong, I know that if I plan to take the Amtrak to Washington D.C., I can’t just sit in a chair and expect to arrive at my destination because I trust that God will get me there. There’s some human responsibility that needs to occur. It’s prudent and
Posted: under "A Slice Of Life", Inspirationals.
Tags: attention, belief, care, challenges, comfort, control, conversation, faith, feeling, friends, God, graduation, guidance, home, journey, laughter, life, Lord, love, Memorial Day, memories, nature, peace, picnic, protection, psalm, road, school, scripture, security, tranquility, trust
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I have a fond memory of the love of my life and me taking a walk in the woods shortly after high school graduation. We were attending a Memorial Day weekend picnic with some friends of his and we broke away from the group to take a stroll through the woods. I don’t recall the name of the park we were in, but I do know that I had never been there before. As we walked, talked and laughed our way through a pathway that was unfamiliar to me, I was engrossed in our conversation and was looking down. I remember feeling like I was in the one of the most peaceful and tranquil settings when suddenly, my friend stopped, stepped in front of me and gently pushed me back. I didn’t know why until I looked up. I was about to run smack into a large branch that was eye-level and probably would have rendered me unconscious.
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Shocked, I looked up at him as he asked, “Didn’t you see that branch?” I had not. I was not paying attention to where I was going. I was blindly following this young man that I loved and trusted. I felt comfortable and secure with him. I knew that he cared for me and that he would get me safely back to our group.
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That memory of trusting someone and feeling protected is not unlike our walk with God. In faith, we allow God to take control of our lives and lead us on journeys, through the unfamiliar pathways and woods of life. We put our trust in Him knowing that He will not
Posted: under Inspirationals.
Tags: angels, appreciation, blessings, direction, earth, family, friends, grace, gratitude, guidance, heart, Heaven, inspiration, Lord, prayer, scripture, soul, thankfulness, trust, understanding, world
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Just say, ‘Thank you, Lord.’”
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St. Peter was giving a newly arrived soul a tour of heaven. The two of them were walking side by side inside a large workroom filled with angels.
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St. Peter stopped in front of the first section and said, “This is the Receiving Section. Here, all the petitions sent to God in prayer are received.”
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The soul saw that the section was a very busy one with so many angels sorting out petitions written on voluminous sheets of paper from all the people of the world.
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They resumed walking until they reached the second section. St. Peter told the soul, “This is the Packaging and Delivery Section. Here, the graces and blessings are packed and delivered to the petitioners down on earth.”
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The soul saw how busy it was. There were a great many angels working in
Posted: under "When You're Down to Nothing God's UP to Something", "YUMMY FOOD FOR THOUGHT".
Tags: age, anxiety, appreciation, arm, arms, belief, blessings, bliss, body, brain, bridge, burden, cheer, comfort, courage, cross, depression, destination, destiny, direction, dream, dreams, embrace, era, exam, eyes, faith, feeling, feelings, food, glory, God, goodness, gratitude, guidance, hand, hands, happiness, heart, highway, history, hope, inspiration, journey, joy, land, language, legs, life, lifestyle, lifetime, light, load, love, man, map, memories, memory, mind, opportunities, opportunity, others, pain, path, peace, period, power, praise, praises, promise, promises, prosperity, quiz, rain, rainbow, relaxation, rest, road, service, sign, smiles, soul, sound, spirit, strength, stress, sunshine, test, thankfulness, thought, time, touch, travel, trust, voice, wealth, weight, wishes, woman, words, worries
DOORS
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LOOK BACK AND THANK GOD
LOOK FORWARD AND TRUST GOD
LOOK AROUND AND SERVE GOD
LOOK WITHIN AND FIND GOD
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GOD CLOSES DOORS NO MAN CAN OPEN AND
GOD OPENS DOORS NO MAN CAN CLOSE
Feb 09 2010