Life Blogs Archives - Page 15 of 21 - GraceAndWorks

Back in the early years of my sales career, I did a lot of traveling. I remember one winter when I was traveling Kansas, Nebraska, and Colorado. It seemed like every day when I got up to go to the next town, I encountered icy roads. This story took place in the late 1970’s.

In late October/early November, we had an ice storm and then it snowed on top of the ice. The winter was cold and stayed that way for several months. Well the roads were horrible. It had gotten so bad that there were pot holes in the ice. Travel was slow and treacherous. I had to go slow and watch every thing I did as I was driving on these roads. Besides the rough pot holed road, there were other drivers to worry about, curves to navigate, the worry of sliding off the road into the ditch and getting stuck. It became a long, tough several months of navigating those awful driving conditions. However, every day I continued to do my job, and at the end of this horrible winter, I had gotten done what was needed. It was a struggle but a successful few months.

As I thought about this story, I realized life can be the same way. Every day we get out of bed, we have a journey to travel. Sometimes it’s like the icy roads, full of potholes, curves, other people to work around, Satan to worry about, and the thought that we need to stay on the right path, though it may be slow going, so as not to end up in the ditch, stuck in the muck of life. These can be horrible times, however, even though it may be a struggle for a while, you will find the same success at the end of the “Storms.”

God says that He will never forsake us and that He will never leave us. If we believe in God and have the proper Faith, we can navigate the path of life much easier. Let the Bible be your guide to stay on the right path as you travel down the icy roads of life. So, grab your Bible, talk to God, and have a good journey!!

I’ve never had the opportunity to climb a mountain and at this stage and age of life, I don’t intend to!! However there are many that have and many more that want to and will. There are knolls, hills and mountains. For  this blog we’ll deal with mountains.

There is special equipment that is used and warm clothing to be worn. You need picks, ropes, harnesses, spikes or cleats on your boots so as not to slip, warm clothing, and good instruction from someone with experience. As you climb, you will encounter steep terrain and will need to secure yourself with ropes and harnesses in case you slip and fall. Once you have reached the top, you have a feeling of great accomplishment. It was in the valley where we prepared ourselves for the journey to the top.

Life has the same mountains to climb. You will encounter disappointments, short comings, job loss or failure, family struggles, low self esteem, depression, and sickness. As you climb the mountain of life, you will need special equipment. Books for learning, friends to stand by you in times of trial, advisers for your professional life to keep you on track, and family to lean on when things seem bleak. Use them as you would the ropes and harnesses in climbing the “Other” mountains. I’m not sure we ever reach the top of this mountain of life, but, we can keep striving to be the best we can. It’s in the valleys that we learn to cope and prepare ourselves for the obstacles and climb.

You will also encounter valleys to learn in and mountains to climb in your Christian life. However things seem to be much simpler in this climb. The only special equipment you will need is the Bible. When you are in the valleys and need help, God’s word is there for the instruction. As you climb the mountain of Christian success, when you get in trouble, instead of picks, ropes, and harnesses, just grab a hold of God. He is there for you whenever you need Him. Here, you will reach the top of the mountain and that pinnacle is Heaven. Grab your Bible and talk to God and have a good journey!!

Today upon a bus, I saw a very beautiful woman

and wished I were so beautiful.

When suddenly she rose to leave,

I saw her hobble down the aisle.

She had one leg and used a crutch.

But as she passed, she passed a smile.

Oh, God, forgive me when I whine.

I have two legs; The world is mine.

I stopped to buy some candy.

The lad who sold it had such charm.

I talked with him, he seemed so glad.

If I were late, it’d do no harm.

And as I left, he said to me,

“I thank you, you’ve been so kind.

It’s nice to talk with folks like you.

You see,” he said, “I’m blind.”

Oh, God, forgive me when I whine.

I have two eyes; the world is mine.

Later while walking down the street,

I saw a child I knew.

He stood and watched the others play,

but he didn’t know what to do.

I stopped a moment and then I said,

“Why don’t you join them my dear?”

He looked ahead without a word.

I forgot, he couldn’t hear.

Oh, God, forgive me when I whine.

I have two ears; the world is mine.

With feet to take me where I’d go,

With eyes to see the sunset’s glow,

With ears to hear what I’d know,

Oh, God, forgive me when I whine.

I’ve been blessed indeed, the world is mine.

God blesses us abundantly. I’m thankful for my family, my health, and my home. Mostly I’m thankful for God, who sent His only Son to die on a cruel cross that I might have forgiveness of sins. And, by simply obeying His commands, have a promise of a home in heaven.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING all. Have a wonderful holiday!!

Love him, hate him, or are indifferent, Democrat, Republican, or Independent, liberal, conservative, or middle of the road, we need to stand and unite with this administration. America united will succeed and prosper. All presidents have done things we didn’t like, things that left us shaking our head, and things that were good for you, me, and the rest of the Country. This administration with Donald Trump leading it will be no different.

If you post on Facebook, I don’t care what Hillary said or has said–she was voted out. I don’t care what President Obama said or did, he is done. I don’t care what some “Liberal” said or didn’t say, nor do I care what they are doing or not doing. I don’t care what some “Conservative” said or didn’t say, nor do I care what they are doing or not doing. I do care what President elect Trump is saying and doing because that affects you, me, and the rest of the Country.

If you are spreading what “he said/she said”, you are gossiping and that will cost you your salvation. If you are posting negative, hateful, media propaganda, you can’t have love in your heart and that will cost you your salvation. You cannot love and hate at the same time. God says, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” He also says, “If you don’t love your brother, you don’t love me.”

There have been good leaders and bad leaders throughout the Bible. There have been good leaders and bad leaders throughout the years of America as a nation. Is Donald Trump a good leader or a bad leader? We don’t know the answer, yet. I do know, if we don’t unite with him, he has no chance.

Soooo, STOP all the hate and negativity. Dwell on his positives and keep whatever you think is negative to yourself. He’s going to do good things, bad things, and things that will leave you shaking your head. It is what it is!!

There is change coming and we all get nervous when that happens. We don’t know what to expect because we tend to live in our little “Box” and are cautious to venture outside. Contrary to what most of us think, it is OK to venture out. Change can be good and refreshing, embrace it.

Ultimately, God is our leader and our salvation. Religious beliefs and freedoms are paramount to this nation and believe me when I say, “God had his hand is this election.” If you don’t believe that, you don’t know God and what He is capable of doing!!

Slam dunk is a term used in basketball when a player throws the ball through the hoop. It’s an automatic score. Or is it? Sometimes it bounces off the rim or is blocked by another player. No score–no slam dunk. We are getting ready to go to an interview for a new job. We’re dressed for success, did our research on the company, have our resume updated, showed up a little early. We’re thinking this job is a slam dunk. Now it’s time for the interview. It’s going well and the interviewer seems to like me. All information and questions are answered. Now I go home and wait for the call that says they want me. I’ve got this, I’m thinking this is a slam dunk. Or is it? I wait for nearly a week and no call. Finally I call them only to find out they had hired someone else. No score–no slam dunk. We’ve found that perfect house. Real Estate agent is wonderful and says we should have no problem with our purchase. My credit score is good, I’ve filled out all the paper work, down payment is intact, and I think all is good. I’ve got this, it’s a slam dunk. Or is it? I get a call from my agent and they sold the house to a cash buyer that offered more money. No score–no slam dunk. There are many examples we could use, but, I think you’ve got the point. Nothing in life is a slam dunk.

Our salvation is the same. We’re going along fine. Life is good and we’re doing the best we can. We read the Bible occasionally, believe in God and Jesus, once in a while we may go to church, we take food to the sick or the bereaved, we give money to our favorite charity, etc. We’re thinking we’ve got this, salvation’s a slam dunk. Or is it? God says, “Obey my commands AND I’ll prepare for you a place.” Wait!! I have to do what God says, and not just believe in Him and Jesus? Yep, that’s what the Bible teaches.

Some of those commands are:

A) Don’t spread hate, but, love one another.

B) Don’t forsake the assembly of the Saints–Attend Worship services

C) Believe AND be Baptized. Repent AND be Baptized.

D) Be humble and think more of others than we do ourselves.

E) Seek first the Kingdom of God. Everything else takes second place.

I’ve got this, it’s a slam dunk. Or is it? In the end, God’s Grace is what will save us. In the mean time, do what God says!!

I want to challenge everyone out there to read this. It may appear to be more of a rant than an actual blog. There are many things we can be obsessed with such as, drugs, alcohol, sex, jobs, sports, etc. Today I want to talk about the obsession people have with politics and this election.

Social media is filled with everything that is wrong with Hillary and Trump. Can we see some things that are good points instead of all the bashing? Oh, I get it, there is nothing good to post about either one, or it seems. To quote a friend, “These two are just bad, Heaven help us.” There is so much hate being spread right now, it just boggles my mind. I see shares how we need to get this Country back to God and then the very next post is something about hate on Hillary or Trump. When there is so much hate, how are we ever going to get back to God? We go to Bible classes to learn about God and His love, then go home and spread hate. I just don’t understand!! We tell the preacher what a good job he did with the sermon, then proceed to do as we want. I just don’t understand!! Where and when will the hate stop? I will venture to say that when this election is over, whichever candidate wins, people will nit-pick every thing done and continue to spread hate. “Heaven help us!!”

Throughout the Bible, there have been good leaders and bad leaders. It is what it is. I just hope that in the next 4 years there isn’t damage beyond repair. Then maybe we will have viable candidates to choose from. We can only hope and PRAY.

You want this Country to be a Godly Country? Stop spreading the hate. Instead of sharing political “garbage”, how about sharing a Bible verse. I post one every day. There is a new blog each Monday, mostly dealing with God and life. Share one of those instead of hitting the share button on negativity about Hillary or Trump.

God says that love is the cure for all things. STOP the hating and show some love!! In the New Testament, James tells us to look in the mirror and take stock of ourselves. Some of you will read this and say that doesn’t apply to me. Go look in the mirror and take stock to make sure.

When I lived on the farm, one of our main jobs was to build and repair fences. There were miles of barbed wire fences that were built around pastures. They were used to keep cattle in and other ranchers cattle out. We would dig holes and put round wooden posts in them. Then we would have to fill the hole back in and tamp the dirt so the post was solid. This was all done by hand as we didn’t have machine post hole diggers. Once the post was set, it was time to put the barbed wire on them. We would buy barbed wire on a reel and hook one end on a corner post and take the tractor or pickup and pull the wire along the line where the posts were. Once the wire was laid out, we had a stretcher that one end was hooked to the wire and the other end would hook around the post. We would stretch the wire tight and staple it to the posts. Most of these fences were three wire, sometimes four wire. We spent a lot of time building these fences and then they had to be kept up and sometimes repaired.

Other fences we had were chicken wire to keep the chickens in and other animals out. Around  the corral we had wooden fences. At times we used electric fences. These were primarily used for a quick fix. We used small round steel posts and one strand of wire hooked to a box that would send electricity through the wire. If any animal touched it, they would get buzzed with an electric shock. It worked OK, but, was not near as strong or effective as the barbed wire fence.

In life we tend to build fences to protect ourselves and to keep others out. Are they strong and stout like the barbed wire or are they a quick fix like the electric wire? Either way, we need to be careful, so as not to fence out someone that matters. We can become isolated from friends and family, if we’re not careful. Isolation can lead to depression and then we just pull ourselves into a hole and hide from everyone and everything.

One fence I haven’t talked about is the picket fence. Picket fences can be short and pretty, medium high with not much protection, or tall with protection for our pets and kids. What ever the case, they are for the most part pretty, white, showy, and friendly. If you are going to be building fences of any kind, these are the kind to build.

If you have built fences in your life of any kind, knowing God and having an understanding of His love towards us, will help us in having and showing that same love towards others. God so loved the world He gave His only Begotten Son. The Apostle John tells us that if we don’t love our brother, we can’t love God. Are you pulled into a hole protected by barbed wire or do you have the pretty, friendly, picket fences?

Why do you ask? Who cares? After all it’s MY weekend off. It’s MY only day to do what I want. So, what are you going to do? Find a foursome and go play golf? Maybe find a buddy and go fishing. Think maybe we’ll take the boat and go to the lake. Gather the guys and watch football all day? Sleep in and lounge around all day? Think I’ll settle in my easy chair and watch movies all day. Unfortunately that are some of the things people  will do on Sunday.

The New Testament proclaims the 1st day of the week as being the Lord’s day. It’s not YOUR day!! In Hebrews, you’ll find the writer saying, “Don’t forsake the assembly of the Saints.” Many times, it is just said, to not forsake the assembly. People must think that pertains to the assembly of buddies to watch football or the assembly with a friend to go fishing, boating or golfing.

So, maybe this Sunday we will go to worship service as God would want. We say we believe in God and we will do what He commands. What about assembling with the Saints and worship God? That’s one of His commands. While in Worship, we can sing songs of praise to His name (Also a command). We can approach God’s throne and offer prayers (Also a command). We can show God how much we appreciate what He gives us as blessings, by giving of our monetary means to further the work in His Kingdom (Also a command). We can hear a lesson from God’s word to make our life more productive as Christians (Also a command). We can fellowship one with another (Also a command). We can Commune with God and remember the Son He sent to this world to die so that we can have forgiveness of sin and have a home in Heaven (Also a command). We say we love God and we believe in Him, yet, we don’t want to give Him any of our time or make any effort to OBEY His commands. Why is that??

It’s Sunday, let’s go to Worship Services and honor our God.

If you like this, please feel free to share with your friends. Thank you.

All three of these can be absolutely devastating. They can destroy homes and all the contents. They can destroy automobiles. They can destroy entire cities. They can even cause your death. Warnings need to be heeded. Cities can be rebuilt. Homes can be rebuilt. Personal belongings, for the most part, can be replaced. Cars can be replaced. There is a difference however, especially with earthquakes. You see, hurricanes and tornadoes can be predicted whereas earthquakes, for the most part cannot be seen or predicted with much accuracy. Radar can detect hurricanes and can be used to tell how bad the storm is and where it is going to go. Same is true for tornadoes. We can know when the storm will hit, where it will be and the track of the storm. Earthquakes, however, cannot be seen, heard or predicted with any accuracy. Yet all three are VERY destructive.

Now I want to compare them to sin in our lives. As we stated, hurricanes and tornadoes can be seen, heard and tracked. Much of the sin in our lives can be seen, heard and tracked. As with hurricanes and tornadoes, we need to heed to the warning signs. If we don’t pay attention to the signs and warnings, sin can also cause death. Both physical and spiritual. Take refuge, move to a different place in your life and get rid of the “Storms.”

Earthquakes are a completely different story. They can’t be seen, heard or tracked until they have already done their damage. Some sin in our lives can be as devious. Sin will sneak up on you and cause damage before you can see, hear or track it. There are probably no warning signs and sometimes no way to move to a different place in life or take refuge. So, what do we do about it? Know and understand that God will get you through the tough, devious times (If you let Him). We can prepare for devastation by doing the things God says for us to do. Study, attend worship services with other Christians and know what sin is. If we truly know what sin is, we can divert the “Storm” to a different track and avoid the damage it may cause.

Take heed and be aware of the warning signs!!

Donald Trump, for the sake of the Republican Party,  needs to bow out or be eliminated by the party from running any further. If President Obama was advocating the same things as Trump is, everyone would be calling for impeachment. If President Obama was treating and talking about women the way Trump is, everyone would be calling for impeachment. Why is not everyone calling for an “Election Impeachment” by the Republican Party? This simply makes no sense to me!! The only way, as I see this, is for Pence to take over and have either Rubio or Perry as his running mate. I don’t know if this would be a winning ticket, but, it would sure be better than what is there now. Come on Republican Party do something!! I would hate conceding this election to Hillary Clinton if I were the RNC!!