Time for Change

Most people don't like change.  We like to hold onto the familiar and traditions.  Some familiarity and some traditions are good and worth holding onto, but some call for change.  If we are holding onto the familiar, but it's keeping us from growing (for example: friends who still act the same at age 40 as they did at age 20) then we definitely need change.  Perhaps modern time has out-grown tradition.  A house wife always cut off the ends of her roast before she placed it in the pan to go into the oven.  One day her husband saw her do this and inquired as to why she did this?  She replied: my mother did it and so did her mother, it's like a family tradition.  He asked why did your mother and her mother cut off the end of the roast before placing it in the pan?  She said she didn't know she just followed suit.  She said she would call her mother and ask.  She asked her mother and her mother asked her mother.  Come to find out that grandmother cut the ends of her roast off to place in the pan because back then there wasn't a big enough pan made to accommodate a large roast.  What are you still doing just because mama and them did it?  Change is good, it brings balance to our lives.  I use to hate change, but I had to  learn change the hard way, but it blessed me.  Now I embrace it.  Recognize when it is a time for change and make it.

Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; (Isaiah 43:19A)

The Power of Love

Love is a small, four letter word with big power.  We must determine in our minds and our hearts to love God and each other.

Isn't it interesting how at such a blessed time of year tensions run high and so does crime.  This is the time of year, if not any other, that we should, and must love more.  We need to pray on our knees and not prey on man kind.  

Have you ever seen people act their worst when a love one dies.  Some funerals have been turned out by tensions running high.  Sure people are upset about losing their love one, but that is not what the fighting is usually about.  When loved ones gather together on such an occasion they should be united, encouraging each other to stand the test of time, you know - loving on each other, but instead they are fighting over the dead persons money and belongings.

Love is a function and not a feeling.  Love is an action word.  We like to say it, but nine times out of ten our actions don't follow through.  Most people don't know what real love is.  Real love is not selfish and doesn't hurt.

God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son, that who ever believed in Him should not die, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

Love God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind  (Matt. 22:37).  Love your neighbor as you would love yourself (Matt. 22:39). These are the two great commandments!

When we learn to love based on the above scriptures, the Word of God, then we will love the right way.

Charity is an Act of Love

Charity is an act of love, which allows us to do something that is the total opposite of our basic and selfish natures. We did not progress or get to where we are in life without the assistance of others. At very young ages, we display selfish tendencies and attitudes. As children, we show a "that's mine mentality " when it comes to objects such as balls, toys, and candy. Parents and teachers are constantly trying to instruct us in the principle of sharing; however, we struggle with this and may even have tantrums, if someone takes or tries to take something from us. Again, we did not get here on our own. Parents, siblings, teachers and others have had an impact on the lives that we now live. The goals we have been able to reach have more authors than just us alone. Family members, friends and coaches have all imparted something into the make up of our lives. Once we come to this realization and allow our egos to deflate, we then have the opportunity to have our hearts softened and think about others, who are in need. We should challenge ourselves at every opportunity, for it is right to care about others and to do whatever we can for one another. Looking back on the roads that we've traveled throughout our lives should bring to our memories many, many people that were a part of the successes and failures we have experienced. Let's be thankful about these memories and be willing to do the same for others.

Christmas Day Once Again

I was inspired to write about my Christmas day after I read my husband's blog.

I don't feel like any of my memories of Christmas were selfish because I was very naive.  I thought Santa existed until the age of 12 years.  I had no expectations about what I was going to get.  I was grateful for whatever I got.  We lived a modest (some would say poor) life.  Aunt Mamie, our Godmother, raised us, me and my sisters.  Aunt Mamie loved the Lord, and all His people, and these are the principles she instilled in us.  So Christmas was a concentrated focus of what we did and had every day.  Of course there were things that happened only for, and on Christmas, but it was the simple things that impressed me.  Aunt Mamie made brown sugar cookies and brownies (we would each get our own tin container full of these homemade, delightful sweets).  The Christmas tree would be six feet tall, and the house was filled with cooked food and baked goods smells, family, fun, new gifts, and love.  That's what Christmas was to me as a child.

Christmas for me as an adult has lost it's magic, but it's okay because that is just the natural perspective.  I know now that Christmas is not about you or me, but it is about the greatest gift that can ever be given to any individual - JESUS!  The gift that keeps on giving.

Christmas Day

When I think back on the Christmas mornings of my childhood, I still remember the excitement that it brought me. I couldn't sleep the night before, Christmas Eve, because, let's face it, I wanted to open my presents. That is all that mattered to me, nothing else. Did I get what I wanted and if not, how good of a Christmas was it? Wow, how selfish is that? I didn't take into account how hard my parents had to work to provide all the basic neccessities of life or just to make Christmas an occassion at all. After all, I was a child and really didn't know better. After I became a parent and realized what all the responsibilities were, it made me want to say thank you to my parents and apologize for the selfishness of my youth.
            Well this same thing applies when we think of the fact that Christmas is the birth of Jesus, and what he would eventually do for us. He died for our sins! He provided for our basic neccessities, so don't be so selfish thinking about your presents that you can't take time out to thank him for all He has done! God Bless You

Christmas

Jesus is the reason for the season, but He is also the reason we live each and every day.