Saturday, January 29, 2011

WORK?

A man once asked hIs friend,  "How many people work in your office?” The friend replied, “Oh, about half of them.”

Robert Frost wrote,  “The world is full of willing people; some willing to work, the rest willing to let them.”

I once viewed a film clip of a TV reporter who followed a street beggar to a nice home and ask him why he didn't throw away his cardboard sign an get a job.  The man replied, "Begging is my job.  If you think it isn't hard work to stand on that street corner all day, in all kinds of weather, you are crazy." (Self employed?) I'm sure he had a state tax number.

I think we have a “work ethic” crisis in our country today and I share the concern once expressed by Paul Harvey when he said, “When everyone gets on the wagon, who is going to be left to push?”

Paul was certainly concerned in II Thessalonians 3:9-10 when he said that as Christians, we should have a strong work ethic and be an example for the world to follow. As a matter if fact, he says that if we don't work we shouldn't be allowed to eat.
Now there's a novel idea that would bring our the welfare protesters!

Sunday, January 16, 2011

TODAY IS A BEAUTIFUL DAY


( I did not write this but I thought it was so good that I decided to share it as a blog)
A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: "I am blind,
please help."
There were only a few coins in the hat. A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat.

 He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.
Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy.

That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were.
The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, "Were you the one who changed my sign this morning?   What did you write?"
The man said, "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way."
I wrote: "Today is a beautiful day but I cannot see it.."
Both signs told people that the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind.

The second sign told people that they were so lucky that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?

Moral of the Story: Be thankful for what you have. Be creative. Be innovative. Think differently and positively.. When life gives you a 100 reasons to cry, show life that you have 1000 reasons to smile. Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear. Keep the faith and drop the fear.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

WHAT ABOUT THE LAW?

The Ten Commandments of the Mosaic Law on a mo...Image via Wikipedia
I recently read some comments about the laws under which we live in this country. (And world)  Some expressed the opinion that we had too many.  Others said that the problem was not only the quantity, but quality of the laws.
All of this discussion got me to thinking.  (You can tell I'm thinking when rust comes out of my ears and idle chatter comes out of my mouth)
 
I certainly agree that we have more laws than we need. There are only ten laws needed and they are found in the Bible at Exodus 20: 1-17. They are called the Ten Commandments. If all of mankind dedicated themselves to obeying these ten laws, there would be, “Peace on earth and goodwill toward men.”

We are free moral agents and each of us can make our own choices concerning these laws, but they were here in the beginning and they will be here at the end. To try to discredit or destroy them is as futile as trying to destroy an anvil with a rubber mallet.

Character, ethics, or morality is not legislated. It is embraced, and it is embraced within the context of the Ten Commandments. We are all imperfect beings and subject to failure, but the closer we live to these ten laws the closer we live to the divine purpose that God meant for our life to have.
THAT IS MY BLOG, AND I AM STICKING WITH IT! 
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Thursday, January 6, 2011

THE PURPOSE OF THE PATTERN

Русский:Вышивка крестом
I remember one year when my wife, Jo Anne, sat by the hour cross stitching Christmas stockings for our grandchildren. She has also produced some beautiful cross stitched pieces of art that hang in our home.


But have you ever seen the back side of cross stitching?
Why is it that on the back side there is a stitch for each stitch on the front, and even though the colors are all there it is still void of beauty and in such disarray?

The answer is in the purpose for the pattern. You see, the purpose of the pattern is for people to see the beauty of the artist's creation when viewed from the proper perspective.

Our lives are like that.
Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.”

Being called according to His purpose simply means that everything that happens in our lives, the good and the bad, are woven together by God so that viewed from the proper perspective, the world sees the beauty of His Holiness.
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“Lord, today I want my life to be viewed by those around me from the proper perspective.  Please don't let them see all of the ugly mistakes, poor judgements, and bad decisions I have made.  But let them see the result of your grace that takes those and produces a puropse that can glorify you.
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