The area I live in is mostly agriculture. There are more farmers then that. You can see tractors drive through town on any given day. The industry in our area is mostly tractor and combine sales and service. It is a nice little town. 5 o’clock traffic last for about 5 minutes. We live not too far from a larger city in which I work. But getting back to the farmers of our area, they work the land. They work the land all year long. Not only do they plow and sow crops, they harvest them also. But in the off season they work the land to prepare it for next year. It is a good life for many people. The land has been handed down through many generations. These farmers have to be concerned about what they put into the ground. If they want a certain crop, they just can’t plant anything. There is a state government experimental station located in our community. It help the farmer with many aspects of farming. People are grateful for this service. Sowing seed has become an art form. They find the right one and sow at a certain time of year. There is even a federal government service to chase away the migratory birds that come to eat the seed sown. Just think about the farmers from 200 years ago, what they had to go through to get a crop. There is a life lesson in the work that the farmer does. He sows seeds to produce a favorable result. If the farmer sows his seed on the side of the field, it will not produce a crop. Then there are the weeds to contend with. You see God’s word is the seed of life. And where the seed falls and grows is just as important as receiving God’s word. God says, that man shall not live by bread alone, but by ever word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. What kind of crop are you producing?
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There are many sounds in this world. In fact if there is no sound at all people will stop to see what is wrong. Everyone and everything needs to express themselves to be heard. Why do you think this is so? And what we actually hear is an echo. Sometimes the sounds around us get to be so much that we hunt for a place that is quiet. When I write the blog I need the least amount of distractions as possible. Usually my cat needs attention when I start to write. And she will rub against me until I pet her or push her away. Recently I have felt an unction or a calling out to me personally. I know that I am not the only one who has heard this calling out. It is like hearing your name called but no one is talking. It is because it is not audible. It is in your heart. Most people don’t understand that you heart can hear. And for the most part it hears better than you ears. Your ears hear the echo, but your heart hears the message. What is the message that is being sent out to the world? It is not hard to understand the message. Most people have heard it and are responding. The message is this world is ending and if we don’t do something it will end faster. Then we as a people will no longer have a place to live. That is only half the message. The other half is that Jesus is returning. That is the part that most people don’t want to hear. But it is true. And when He returns the old world will be destroyed and the new will arrive. And that leaves no place to go for the people who don’t know Jesus. Because when it happens the world we know is over. The only real solution to the problem is to get to know Jesus. And it is very simple to do that. Call unto me and I will answer and show you great and mighty things which you do not know. This is what Jesus is saying as He calls to you.
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Every year families gather together for the Christmas season. All wanting to be with their family and share the food and fellowship. My family, aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers and my mother and father would gather at one of the three sister’s home for Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. As we got older, wives, sweethearts and children were added to the occasion. It filled our homes with laughter, loud talking, and the smell of food. We are nine first cousins, all guys, and we played baseball outside. Mom and her two sisters planned these events every year without fail. When they started it included their aunts and uncles and my grandparents. Our celebration has dwindled to just my immediate family. Our lives went in different directions. We are scattered across the country. My whole family can be hard to take sometimes but they are my family. I love them very much. The only sister left is my aunt who is ninety-five years old. She doesn’t recognize a lot these days. I went to visit her in the hospital and began to laugh and she said I know that is Crain. Jesus came to earth to give us hope and joy to live this life. We remember once a year the birth of our savior, but look around and see the people. They need for the joy and hope brought to us by that little baby. Jesus came for people. It is the only thing that will leave this earth and go to heaven. Stop looking at this world and see the signs of the times.
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It seems that my emotions change with the weather. I show a brave face all the time, but my emotions don’t. I can be a calm as the sea, and someone will aggravate me and then boom. I don’t show very many sides to my emotions. I want to present a united front in this world, but Lord have mercy. It is almost like a war that rages in my heart, good versus evil. I was raised by good people who that me to be kind and generous to people. And there are people who I would do anything for. And then there are people who need object lessons almost all the time. Because they don’t understand who they are and where they belong in this world. Then there are people who are hostile to me and what I believe no matter what. What do you do about all of this? Before I met the Lord, I was a wreak. My emotions were all over the place. It seemed that anyone could get a rise out of me. All they had to do was poke me with a stick. I had to learn to control my emotions if I ever was going to accomplish something in my life. God began to teach how to be patient with myself and others. It was a hard object lesson. But I had to forgive stupidity and go on with my life. Many people were affected by my actions. They saw something they rarely see. God had touched their lives. I was thankful for those people. But then there were the people it seems that no one can reach. Those I had to pray for and God began to help them. The longest I ever prayed for a person to get an answer from God was 22 years. The shortest time I had to pray for an answer for a blink of an eye. Use your emotions in the right way and if you need help all you have to do is ask God. It is amazing how it works in my life.
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My father and I had a difficult beginning. Because of things that happened in his childhood, he had problems relating. There was a time that we didn’t talk at all. And I regret that. When we did relate I was grown. We had 6 wonderful years of fellowship. He lived long enough to see me married and have my first son. It wasn’t his first grandchild but he treated him like he was. The reason I related to my biological father is because I connected to my spiritual one. When I came into a relationship with God, He began to heal my heart. This allowed me to relate and forgive my earthly father. My earthly dad smoked all his life. At the end he was smoking 2 packs of unfiltered cigarettes a day. The doctors told him quit or die. He quit smoking and lived 10 more years. Those years were for me. God had arranged that my dad would live long enough for our relationship to bloom. My earthly dad and I talked almost every day. If I didn’t call, he would call and ask if any was wrong. I tried to get my other brothers to do the same. Some did but not all. God healed my heart so I could open it and love again. For a long time I was hurt and angry. Most people would not want to be around me then. But as all things do, they change. And I have been changing ever since. God showed me what real love is about. What Jesus suffered and die for was me and you. Jesus did this because He loved me just as much as God did. With that love, I forgave my father and reconciled our lives to be able to know him before he died. My dad has been gone for 33 years and I still miss him.
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Today is a new day and will be different from yesterday. Change is inevitable. My second son likes to rescue animals. He rescued a golden retriever puppy. She was 25lbs when we got her. Just a mere 6 months old. They are very resistant to being trained. She learned some things but not others. It was frustrating so say the least. This is a dog with a double coat that sheds constantly. And she was in the house. I didn’t care for this at all. The dog was sweet and tried to please us. But with the cat and our other little dog, it was mayhem. We build a kennel for her outside. It had 4 foot fence around it, but that was easy for her to jump it. Then she would run everywhere including the street with cars. We put her in a 10 foot square cage with a roof. She stayed there while we were gone, but I didn’t like at all. Finally my older son who has a big dog took her to his house. He began to train her properly and with great success. He worked with her for several months and got her into a good routine. She doesn’t over eat and gets plenty of exercise. Our son asked us to take her this weekend so we did. To my surprise, she is well behaved and gentle even with cat. I never thought that dog would ever change. But she did. I know I am just like most people and hate to change. But change is inevitable. We must change or die. There is no in-between. I have only found one way to change that is too change my heart. I have only found one way to change my heart. You see only God can change your heart. He is the only one with the power to do so. And all you have to do is ask God and be willing to change. Life can be very enjoyable if we let God change your heart.
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In the beginning, man lived for hundreds of years. One man lived over 900 years. Then came the flood that destroyed most of mankind and man lived a shorter life. As man progress, life became shorter. During the Dark ages, man’s life was about 30 to 40 years. And most people died from violence or disease. Still life had never expanded more than 50 years. Then came the Industrial Revolution and medicine. The scientific endeavor to medically help man live longer is still raging. More money is pump into medicines than almost anything else. The pursuit of the miracle pill that will keep us alive for a long time is what the race is about. You know what is funny about all of this is the side effects of the new medicines. When they list all the side effects the last one said is death. So most of the new medicines can kill you. Well then how do you live a long life? You have to look at the people who lived a long life. And most of those were from about 6000 years ago. Most people don’t want to hear why those people lived so long, but here goes. The people that lived long were farmers, shepherds or otherwise lived in the country. Their lives were mostly free from stress. They ate healthy food. They got the proper amount of sleep. They lead a normal life with an extended family living around them. And most of them served God all of their lives. They lived their life as God had intended man to live. You want longevity in your life, then follow their example serve God and live.
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I have seen people motivated by so many different things. The silliest ones were people driven by blind love. They did things you would just laugh at. I have seen people motivated by greed that did things that were horrible. Everyone is motivated to do or accomplish certain goals in their lives. Each one was motivated by a driving force. For us to get off dead center, there is a good reason behind it. Whether it is for love or some other reason in our lives. Our driving force needs to be a correct choice in our lives. There is no mistake that it is a choice. And we are responsible for those choices. It is popular today to say, it was because of my father or mother or brother that I did this or that. But when it comes down to who did it, it is always you. No one can make you do anything. Yes, I have seen people coerced into doing things. But it was always a choice, your choice. Each person chooses what they know. It is more like monkey see and monkey do. I want this because they have it, or it is pretty and I want it. People learn from what is around them. Sometimes to their own destruction. When I think things out I usually can accomplish all my goals. But the driving force behind me has changed over the years. It can change from day to day or some can be with you forever. No matter what the force is you need to make your driving force a correct choice. Let the forces for good influence your life. For that to happen your will need a good moral compass. There is only one place to get what you need. It will never come from this world. The only place I have ever found in this world is God Himself. He is the only person who has ever genuinely cared for me. He was always concerned what happened to me and provide motivation to accomplish the goals that would help me. And all you have to do is to sincerely ask Him to help you.
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Absolute power corrupts absolutely. This saying has been proven over and over again. And yet man still tries to obtain absolute power through every conceivable way. About 100 years ago, a young man, destroyed by WWI, tried to conquer the world. What he did was to destroy a nation and kill over 130 million people. About 225 years ago, a young man tried to conquer the world and destroyed most of Europe. Over 2000 years ago, a young man took his soldiers and conquered his own country. Then he tried to conquer the world. His own friends killed him. Over 2500 years ago, a young man killed his own father to take control of the kingdom. He conquered many nations and died before he was 33 years old. There is nothing new about the pursuit of power. It was in the beginning when a brother killed a brother because he was jealous. The only absolute power is in the hands of one who is not corrupted by earthly things. That is because He created them. God is all powerful. Even one of God angels tried to take the power away from God. Jesus said that He said this angel fall from heaven like lightning. Unfortunately this angel fell on to earth. And has been a plague to man ever sense. God knows how power can corrupt man. So that is why we have to ask God to intervene. Because it is His power not ours. As we build our faith and belief in God, we can get closer to God. With our faith, God will answer our prayers and use His power to help man. Do you know why the world is in such a turmoil? The stage is being set for the return of Jesus. As the bible says, seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added to you.
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Why are we drawn to babies? Babies of all kinds, human or animal, are cute and cuddly. It seems that every young couple I know has a new baby. They are everywhere. Big one, little one, fat ones or skinny ones, babies are here to stay. Too bad they don’t stay little for too long. That precious smile when we talk to them or when they cry because something is wrong. Life for them is simple and uncomplicated. It is black or white because there is no in between. Then they grow up into whoever. And you wish you had a little more time with that baby that was a handful. My children are grown and I want babies. They were as demanding and selfish as anybody could be. They wanted what they wanted and when they wanted it was now. They were also helpless and couldn’t survive if we didn’t see about them. Yet we didn’t mind because we loved them with all their faults and good points. Love is powerful. It changes hearts forever. Once you love a person, you always will. It like an indelible mark on our soul. We can say that we don’t love a person anymore but it is still there. Hidden in the recesses of our heart. For good or bad, love will change the destiny of our lives. So why does thing happen to us? There is a very specific reason that we love and can’t choose who we do or not. It is funny that way that our heart will choose for us. We were made in the image and likeness of God. God loves far beyond what we do. But He is showing us what He does in our lives. We love people and babies. It is that much more that God loves us, unconditionally.
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