A Choice – Free Will…

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Everything that we do in life is a choice. Even if we think that we don’t have a choice, we still do. Most choices are measured by difficulty. Some people don’t want to make waves and do what is expected. But that is a choice. On the other hand, some people don’t care how hard it is and pursue the difficult choice anyway. And some people decide not to do anything. Indecision is a choice also.

Inside everyone is a knowing of who you are and what you will become. It is intuitive in everyone. Now, we can just ignore what our heart is saying to us, but that is at your own risk. We are influenced by many things. Our parents have a large part of our decisions. Then our friends come next and finally the world around us. But that doesn’t excuse us of responsibility for our own action. Everything we do is a choice.

We have many emotions and they all come into play. The strongest emotion that we have is love. Love for ourselves and others decides many things in our lives. It is the one emotion that cause both joy and pain, sometimes at the same time. And it can cause us to make foolish decisions. Love can also bring us the greatest reward.

Despite every emotion and opinion from anyone, we have to make a choice in this world. We have to choose what we are going to be and what to say and do. And that choice is our own. It isn’t somebody else decision. We are always responsible for that choice. You can’t blame somebody else. It is all up to you to choose which way to go in life. Our choices are called free will.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

Do you think God grieves?

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All of our emotions come from God. There is nothing that we have that wasn’t giving to us by God. Of course free will came through a choice that we made. But emotionally, we have that same emotions that God has. So I ask you, does God suffer grief?

Grief is a powerful emotion. It can change the way we think and act toward people and God. When my mother died, I began to grieve. My grieving lasted almost 4 years. I carried it like a banner. I was consumed with grief. I could hardly function. I went through the motions everyday. I put on a halfhearted smile on my face that lied to most people. I said I was fine but could hardly find my way in life. It was one of the most devastating times in my life. If it hadn’t been for God’s intervention into my life, it would have been a death spiral for me. I am not saying that I don’t feel pain when I think of my mother, but grief doesn’t have a death grip on me.

I found three examples of God grieving over mankind. The first is when King Saul didn’t do what God sent him to do. God sent Saul and the Israelite army to utterly destroy the Amalekites. When Saul returned, the prophet Samuel was sent to talk to him. He said, Then came the word of the Lord unto Samuel, saying,It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: (1 Samuel 15:10-11). God grieve that He had made Saul king over Israel. The second is when Jesus went to Lazarus grave. Jesus loved Martha, Mary and their brother, Lazarus. Lazarus had died and Jesus and the disciples went to the grave site. And the scriptures say that Jesus wept (John 11). The third example comes from Revelation. Revelation is about the destruction of earth and mankind. There are vial, trumpets and seals opened. Each one is more devastating than the last one. It says in Revelation 8:1, And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. God grieved over the destruction of mankind.

So to answer my question, Does God grieve? The answer is yes. God grieves just like we do. We are the image and likeness of God.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

You can’t earn point with God…

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What is the difference between being good and living God’s way? Many people struggle with this question. They believe that if they are good enough they can earn they way into heaven. God set out a series of laws for Moses to show mankind what must do to earn heaven. God told them that if they break one law they break them all. God wanted to get mankind to understand that they can’t keep the law on their own. God was showing mankind that only way to solve their sin problem was through God’s mechanism. God set up a mechanism to solve they sin problem. It is called a blood sacrifice. For without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin (Hebrews 9:22). Even though God set up this sin mechanism, it wasn’t permanent. They had to repeat the blood sacrifices every year.

God’s sin mechanism required 2 things to be permanent. The first thing requirement is faith. You must first believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of them the diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). There is a time and place where you must come to believe in God. Having faith is a conscience choice in our lives. This is where we choose to believe God exists and He is sovereign over this world. When you choose to trust and believe in God, this is where He accepts us into the kingdom.

The second mechanism in God’s plan is the blood sacrifice. God had to get a perfect sacrifice to satisfy the law. This perfect sacrifice had to be sinless. There couldn’t be any spots or blemishes on this sacrifice. And so God sent His son to be a man and live a sinless life. Right before Jesus was cruxified, He was in the temple for 3 days to be examined by the priests and religious leaders. They found that Jesus was blameless and could be sacrificed to save mankind. It’s funny how they, the religious leaders all agreed in God’s plan for mankind. Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not (John 11:50). And so Jesus was crucified and shed His blood to fulfill scripture and satisfy the Law.

God raised Jesus from the dead and made Him King of kings and Lord of all. So understand, that we can’t earn our way into heaven. But God has already put into place the way into heaven. It is by faith in God and Jesus and the blood sacrifice. All we have to do is to choose God’s plan and we can enter into His kingdom.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

Updates

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Where do I start. I am sorry that I haven’t written anything new in a while. Although there is over 2000 blogs stored in the website. As you well know I write about one topic consistently. I try to make my blog as interesting as possible. And I want it to be uplifting also. Since I was a child, my favorite stories have been about two people in particularly. Both lived long ago and now reside in heaven. Those two people are King David of Israel, who is an archetype of Christ and Jesus Christ, Himself.

King David lived 3000 years ago. He ruled Israel for 30 years. He was a righteous man, not a perfect one. The bible says that he had a heart after God. He played music that pleased God. David tried very hard to live the way God wanted him to. God gave him everything When sin came into David’s life, God wouldn’t let him build the temple in Jerusalem. That task fell to his son Solomon. Solomon became the greatest king in the history of Israel. Solomon was the only man to rule the earth partially. When Jesus returns He will reign and rule over the entire earth. David raised his son Solomon to believe and trust in God. Solomon didn’t raise his sons to believe and trust in God.

Jesus Christ lived on this earth over 2000 years ago. He came for one reason, Jesus was God’s sacrifice for man’s sin. Not much is know about his early years, but Jesus grow up in Nazareth and apprenticed in his father’s shop as a carpenter. But during those years Jesus attended a Yeshiva in Nazareth. He begin a Rabbi (Pharisee). And at the age of 30 began his ministry when He was baptized in the River Jordan by John the Baptist. Did you know that John the Baptist, son the High Priest Zechariah, was Jesus’ first cousin. Which actually made Jesus the last recorded Levitical priest and the first recorded priest after the order of Melchizedek in the bible.

I studied the word of God for fifty years and my knowledge of God is relative to how big God is. I learn everyday. The only time that I will know everything is when I enter heaven. The update that I am talking about is that Jesus is coming. Don’t give up hope. He will return and we will go home.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

Grief..

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There isn’t anyone that doesn’t suffer grief. It is universal in it’s pain. People sometimes suffer years with this pain. It is never the same with anyone. Some people can express their grief and let it go. Some can’t. Grief is a natural express that we all go through. In biblical times, there were people who were hired to express the grief of losing a loved one. Today it is much simpler. After a funeral, the family will gather to eat and fellowship with the bereaved family. It helps, but it doesn’t fill the loss of a loved one.

I have lost most of my family and now I am the oldest one. I have a younger brother and a few first cousins. It is as life was designed, that the older ones would go on. But it still leaves that hole in my life of all the loved ones that have gone on. The pain of grief isn’t as much as it was. That is healing as I live, but there still is a hole there.

I was listen to some music, when I ran across this piece. This piece of music was written in 1933 by a blind composer. He name was Joaquin Rodrigo. He wrote this piece of music after the death of his first born son. When I first heard it, I could feel the hurt in the music. It is very good and express his grief for his child. The name of the music is Concierto de Aranjuez, the Concerto of Orange Juice. I put a link to the music below. Listen and heard one man’s expression of grief.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

Writing Blogs…

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I have written over 1900 blogs. Some have had thousands of views and comments. As I look at the most successful blogs, they have been about fluff. I have talked about time, space, duty, honor, integrity and many other stories. But it seems that if I talk about what I believe in most, no one wants to read it. Stories about life are fine. They will get you from point A to point B. But they don’t solve the basic issue of life. And what is that all important issue of life? It is who you are and where do you belong.

I wandered in life for 30 years. Not realizing that I had solve the issue when I was 8 years old. I didn’t want to believe that the resolution was that simple. So I did my own thing for about 30 years. I ran into walls pivoted and ran into another wall. I kept seeing how dissatisfied I was with my life. I wanted success, but never being able to grasp it. The reason was simple. I was reaching for the wrong things in life. Instead of solving the problem, I was creating more.

A friend saw through me and invited me to join his Amway business. I did join seeing the opportunity. We would meet early in morning at his cafeteria for coffee and business. I would get their early and listen to my friend and other businessman discuss how they solve the issues of life. I listen for 3 months until I realized that I had made this decision and walked away. He showed how I could get back to place that I wanted to be. I am not a religious person. I don’t have dogma’s or doctrines that don’t make sense. What I do have is a relationship. That relationship has given me peace and courage to live my life correctly.

My people don’t want to hear the name of the person who saved my life from destruction. But I have a relationship with the one person who is able to keep me until I go home to heaven. And His name is Jesus.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

Having a Merry Christmas…

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For most of my life, I have worked in retail. I liked the work because I came in contact with people. All throughout the year I would see people shop for sporting goods or food. One year they decided that I would be a door greeter around the Christmas holidays. It was interesting to interact and watch people as the holidays got closer. First was Thanksgiving. People began to shop for food and decorations for Thanksgiving and Christmas. People smiled and greeted me warmly. There wasn’t a grumpy person among them. People would ask about Black Friday deals. I usually had flyers about the deals. Thanksgiving was about food, family and friends and also football. It was a happy time of year.

Then came Black Friday. I was there at the front of the store were everything was stacked up on pallets. One year when they opened the doors at 6am, people came in like a stampeded herd. Then they started throwing TV and other large boxed items at each other to get whatever they wanted. I jumped up on the register counter just to get out of the way. Today is different. You have to get a ticket to get an item or buy it online.

From Black Friday on the mood changed. People were not smiling any more. They came into the store grumbling. I greeted them with a smile and they mumbled under their breath. Only one time did they actually curse at me. But the smiles were gone. The mood had changed. Because you can literally go bankrupt buying gifts for every person in sight. We, our family, decided the we would pull names to buy a gift for the adults. Anyone could buy gifts for the children. This saved a lot of money. We also made pastries and pies for neighbors and other people.

Christmas is a special time of year. It is a time to think about family present and past. It can be a very lonely time if you aren’t surrounded by people who love and appreciate you. And of course, there is Santa Clause. He actually was a real person. Nicholas of Myra, Turkey. He would give food and clothes to poor people in his parish. He was Bishop Nicholas of Myra and Bari, Turkey. He lived in the 4th century. Saint Nicholas is a patron saint in the Roman Catholic and the Russian Orthodox churches. His example of caring for people is a goal we should have not only in this time of year, but whenever the need arises. You want to get out of the Christmas slump. Start giving to people who can’t return the favor. Help someone in need and watch what happens in your life.

I want to wish you and your family a very blessed and joyous Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

Christmas Season 2025…

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We are in the Christmas Season. That time of year where we begin to think about different things. What we think about depends on how old you are. We all look forward to presents, but if you are a child, less than 12 years old, it is toys and more toys. Today is my birthday and being 15 days before Christmas, my parents decided to make my birthday about clothes. Christmas would be reserved for toys. My younger brother’s birthday was on December 5th. I can remember some of the toys. One Christmas I received a set of pistols and holster from the TV show “Have Gun will Travel”. I still have one of the pistols.

As I grew older, Christmas became about family. All my family, parents, brothers, aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents would gather at our home for the Christmas meal and fellowship. All the men were in the front room watching football. All the ladies were in the kitchen cooking the meal and talking. All the cousins were outside playing. All my first cousins are boys. Growing up we played on the same football and baseball teams. Of the 9 first cousins on my mother’s side, there are only 6 of us left. With most families, my family lives across the country. My sons and there families join us for Christmas. But I miss 30 to 40 members of my family filling my home. My grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles are all gone. We are now the older generation.

I miss my family terribly. What we did for Christmas was to make memories that would last a life time. Make sure that you and your family make memories that last. Because once the time slips by and you don’t, you can’t go back.

I pray that you and your family have a blessed Christmas.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joeseph1637.com

The Mouth Speaks…

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I have known people who could not close their mouths. They would speak none stop. Then I have known people who would not speak at all. You could not drag words out of them. Most people try to be in the middle of all this and speak moderately. There was a survey done on how men and women speak. It said that men used about 10,000 words a day. While women used about 30,000 word a day. I don’t know where I fit in all that, because I like to speak to people. I talk to strangers just to start a conversation. Maybe it is just culture of hospitality or need. I learned long ago that if you listen to people, they will tell you their story. It usually takes about 10 minutes for people to tell you their life’s story. It is interesting.

3000 years ago, King Solomon said in book of Proverbs, that life and death are in the power of the tongue. It is true we can lift someone up by the words that we use or drag them down. You know what I’m talking about. A kind word can encourage a person to go on. Or angry words can destroy people. It all depends on what is in your heart. You see words come from your heart. Whether we mean them or not. I have spoken many words that cut like knives. And at the time I meant it.

The bible says out of the abundance of the heart the speaks. This means that what you say is what you believe. Even casual words or jesting still comes from your heart. That brings up a whole other issue. The issue is knowing what is in your heart. The bible also says that as you believe so are you. Facing who you are is one of the most difficult things you will ever do in your life. What I am talking about is seeing yourself truly. Your words, your heart and what you believe are one and the same. There is no difference between your words and your heart. So recognizing what come out of your mouth is seeing who you are.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

Disconnect…

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Did you know that the most common thing in the world is a cell phone. Everybody has a cell phone. Most people use it like a second ear. I have seen more people drive with a cell phone struck to their ear. I always wonder what people have to talk about. If that cell phone gets disconnected they pitch a fit. It is a convenience for most people. Lately I have seen and felt a disconnect between people. People are talking to each other but not communicating. I tease my wife because she likes to speak in French. For every English word spoken, there are ten French words spoken. My wife likes to talk. Computers take so much time just to browse. Video games take hours of time to play. We have so much time in our lives. There isn’t any more time to have. Once the time goes by it is over. It will never come again. What is important to you? What do you hold more precious than anything else? What do you want out of life? I left a good job so I would have more time with my children. I did it because they were more important than the job. The bible says where your treasure is there will be your heart.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637.com

Joseph1637@juno.com