Everybody has big ideas. They want to achieve something worthwhile in their lives. We look at impossible task and say that I can do this. The strange thing about that is that most people if they stuck with it they would accomplish the task. But like great ideas, there are people around us that say you can’t do this. You don’t have the money or the education to accomplish that goal. If you listen to negative people, you will never accomplish anything.

In a business plan, you start with a one year plan. Then you go to a five year plan and change as your business grows. And if you are energetic and are willing to persist in the plan, it will work. The difference is if you will be persistent in your endeavor.

Counting the cost starts when you are young and see the world and your future as open and waiting for you. Then you begin to build your way to your goal. First is your education. It doesn’t need to be formal. You can work your way up to a goal. If you are persistent. Then as new avenues present themselves, you can take advantage of the opportunity. Always being mindful that you take one step at a time. Complete the task in front of you, then move on to the next one. Always counting the cost.

Everybody learns as the grow into an opportunity. You may not have the resources to move on to the next task. But through persistence you can achieve you goals. Never think that just because you don’t have all the money in the world to do what you want, doesn’t mean that you are not successful. Success is not measure in money. And don’t let people convince you that only money gauges success. Monetary success will come with your persistence.

Count the cost in everything. But be persistent in you education, social relationships, business adventures and family life. Never let people convince you that you can’t accomplish your goal. Strive for excellence in everything. And guess what will happen, you will succeed.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

A lack of Confidence can be express several different ways. It is low self-esteem, indecision. Doubt and unbelief. It can manifest itself in different ways also, like sensitivity to criticism, social withdrawal, hostility, excessive preoccupation with personal problems, depression, anxiety, anorexia, smoking tobacco, alcohol and drug abuse. We can overcome a lack of confidence by the right support, mindset and change in behavior.

Today everything is about taking one step at time. And it is the same with overcoming a lack of confidence. The first step is seeing the truth about oneself, identify the wrong conditions and situations in our lives. It is called coming to one self. Seeing where you are and acknowledging the truth you are in the wrong place. The second is being aware of what got you there, your thoughts and beliefs. What got us there is believing lies over the truth because we wanted what we wanted. The third step is challenging what you know to see if it is the truth. Challenging our wrong headedness. Then the fourth step is to change our mindset.

It is said that to change a habit, it takes 30 days of not doing it. So if you are in the habit of cussing while you are talking, don’t curse for 30 days. See what happens. Now for addictions, it will take a bit longer than 30 days, but it is achievable. The beginning of everything is you seeing that you want to change and not live the life that you have.

My life as a young man came to a head and I was in a death spiral. I kept on doing what I knew was wrong, because I didn’t see any other way. I knew that if I didn’t change I was going to die, both a physical and spiritual death. I went to a parochial school. It was a good education, but I didn’t believe what they said about life. I was going to find out myself. This is where I first got into trouble. I didn’t get arrested or get addicted to alcohol or drugs. But alcoholism was coming close behind me. I was miserable. I didn’t see at first a way and became embittered. I was angry at everyone.

Finally, a friend ask me to join the business. It was selling merchandise. I wasn’t the greatest salesman in the world, but I could hold my own. We meet every morning for coffee. He managed a cafeteria.

Each morning, he and another man would talk about what Jesus had done for them. I didn’t join in in the conversation. For about 3 months, they talked together never directing the conversation towards me. But God was speaking directly to me. I saw what my life had come to. I knew that I needed to change. An a way to change was being presented to me. I had to come to myself first and understand where I was and in need of help.

Then one morning in September 1978, they asked me if I would like to go to church with them the next Sunday. I immediately said yes. When I arrive at their church, it was like I was in a foreign land. People shook my hand and greeted me. We sat down, then the singing began. When that was finished, the pastor came up and began preaching. All the time I was watching the people. I was raised in a church when you didn’t say a word the whole time. In the middle of the pastor’s sermon, he stopped turned the people and said, hello. It was an expression that I used. I never heard anyone say it like that. I turned to the pastor and heard this voice say to me, what more do you want. I didn’t know at the time that it was God Himself. But knew that this is where I belonged and He would help me change for the better.

There is only one power in this world that will change our lives for the better. That is God Himself.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

In the beginning when God set up the earth, He made the sun and the moon. God design the sun to provide light and as He said to rule the day. Then God made the moon

to provide some light to rule the darkness. God set up the sun and moon for man to be able to measure seasons, minutes, hours, days, months and years. This was the beginning of time. Then God also uses the sun and the moon to tell the end of time. The sun will be darkened and the moon will turn to blood before the great day of the Lord.

God has used the sun and the moon to be able to tell us many truths about ourselves and the world. The Light and the darkness and two different sides of this world. God has always been concerned with man’s well being. God promised a savior and called Him the Dayspring. He also called Him the Light of the world, differentiating the light and the darkness, day and night.

Man has always used time to direct his life. The very first measurement of time was the sundial. It’s very simple, you put a stick straight up in the ground and the sun will cast a shadow each hour of the day. The ancient Egyptians used the star constellation, Orion’s Belt, to built their pyramids, some 4500 years ago. In the 5^th century BCE, the Mayans had a calendar that is still in use today. It consists of 3 different calendars, the Long or astrological calendar, the divine or religious calendar and the civil or solar calendar. Then there is the Hebrew or Jewish calendar, which is a lunisolar calendar. It was made in 3721 BCE. The Jews use it still today for everything, agriculture, business, or religious activities. Let us not forget our Gregorian calendar. It is a solar calendar based on a 365 day year, except on every 4^th year, it is 366 day year. There is a leap year because there are 365.25 days in a solar year.

Life is determined by time. This is why time is one of our most precious possessions. Before the great flood, which occurred about 5000 BCE, people would live 500 to 700 years. After the flood, people were only living less than a 100 years. Today people basically live about 70 years. It seems that time is running out.

During Jesus’ time, He often would talk to the Pharisees. One day He was speaking to them about what they could see in the sky. He said, you see in the morning that the sky is red and know that a storm is coming. And in the evening, you see that the sky is red and know that the storm has passed. He said if you can discern the face of the sky, why can’t you discern the sign of the times?

Can you take a yardstick or a measuring tape to measure time? How can you know what will happen tomorrow? How much time do you have left? Where is your life going or coming from? How can you measure the time left in your life? Are you gambling on your life expectancy? Is it just a roll of the dice or is there a better way? Time waits for no man. It is coming to a conclusion soon. So, what is there to do?

Measuring time means looking at your life and sizing it up. There was a Babylonian king that took the cups and plates from the Jewish Temple and used them for his banquet. Then God wrote on the wall of the banquet hall, you are out of time. That king died that night. Are you waiting for God to give you a sign that your time is up? Are will you do something about your life while you can?

From the beginning of time, God has always made a way. From Adam down through today, that way has always been there. In the 5^th century BCE, God wrote how man can assure his life in this world and in the world to come.

2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

How can two people walk together unless they are agreed. This is an Old Testament scripture that was true when it was written. And it is true today. God and Adam walked together in the cool of the evening in the Garden of Eden. When God gave Noah an assignment, he agreed with God and they walked together. Enoch agreed with God and they walked together on earth then God took him home.

When Solomon became king of Israel, He asked God to help and agreed to follow God’s path. Then God gave him the world and the world agreed to follow Solomon. Although many people have tried to rule the world, there has only been one person to do it. That is Solomon, king of Israel. He is an archetype of Jesus, who is coming and will rule the entire world from Jerusalem.

In the New Testament, God says, Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? How can a believer agree with an unbeliever? A person chooses what path they will walk on. If you have chosen God’s path, then why go back to the world and walk their way.

God also said in the New Testament, that if any two believers agree upon anything, it will be done by our Father in heaven. The power of prayer is in the agreement of the believers. Agreeing takes on a different meaning when it is applied in prayer. There are many examples of agreement and non agreement in the bible. But it shows us that agreement is what God has what for man all along.

In Matthew 5:25 it says, Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.

How can two walk together unless they be agreed?

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

The acquisition of information is to give us knowledge and understanding and is considered power. The power to control our lives, the power to control our surroundings and the power to control other people. This statement is written on the walls of the U.S. Air Force Academy. Knowledge is power. The bible says that people are ever seeing and never getting enough. Or ever learning and never being satisfied. Knowledge for knowledge sake is a worthless endeavor.

Understanding and knowledge have to be put into practice for it to mean anything. The bible says that anyone who knows to do good and doesn’t do it, to him is sin. When you put knowledge and understanding into practice, it becomes experience. When knowledge and understanding become experience, it then becomes wisdom. When knowledge, understanding and experience become wisdom, then it becomes discretion. Discretion is a way of living your life so that people can trust you. Being trustworthy is a life long ambition. And if you lose your trustworthiness, it is very hard to get it back.

So, how do you use this knowledge and understanding? It is used in the betterment of mankind. Helping each other is the goal our lives. In each of us has a basic instinct that compels us to help one another. It doesn’t matter who or where you are from. Our lives are intertwined with each other. If you don’t reach out to another person, you are cut off and alone. Our heart reaches to find a connection with another person, whether we are conscientiously aware of it or not. It is always there.

The Age of Information gives us all that knowledge at our fingertips. So, what do you do with it? Is it so important that we keep our nose to the phone that we miss everything that is going on around us. Or do we look up and use that knowledge in the pursuit of helping mankind.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

joseph1637.com

I have talked about time before. Time was given to us by God so that we could measure how long things would last. Time measures seconds, minutes, hours, days, months and years. It measures the seasons and the movement of the stars. Time also measures birthdays, holidays and any given season special to us.

It’s funny to us that ancient peoples built there lives around the movement of the sun and moon. But it’s not so funny when you realize that we do the same thing. I have some very nice watches that I loved to wear. Many people don’t wear watches today, because they use their cell phones to tell time.

God not only gave us time to measure things by. He also talked about being careful about the time we were given (Psalm 39:4-5). Time is finite and we have only a certain amount of time. The Past is gone. We can’t change it or do anything but learn from it (Isaiah 43:18-19).

Did you know that our future isn’t guaranteed (Proverbs 27:1)? No body knows when our lives will end. When we are young, we think we will live forever. But this isn’t true. We have all attended funerals for people from new born to over a 100 years old. Our time is finite. We are each given a certain amount of time. Once that time has been used, we are gone from this earth.

God does talk about a time that He does guarantee. And everybody has that time for themselves. You will never guess what that time is? That time that God guarantees is Now. Now is the accepted time. That is what we have. We live in the now, not the past or the future (2 Corinthians 6:2).

So, what are we to do? Now is just a moment in time. World changing events have happened in a moment. Things can reverse themselves in a moment. Again, what are we to do with Now? God talks about that very subject. He says that we are to live as if this was our last day on earth. That way we will accomplish what we need to in this very moment (Ephesians 5:15-16).

Time is finite, because all the time that we have is Now. So, I would hope that you use your Now wisely.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

joseph1637.com

There are both good and bad consequences to the things that we do. We want to believe that what we do won’t affect everybody or anything else. But our lives are intertwined with other people. All we have to do is to look at Abraham. His sin of taking Hagar as a wife is still with us today. Her children are the Arab people. And they believe that they are the true descendants of Abraham. But God didn’t give them the land of Israel.

The consequences of our lives are very evident. Who we are and what we do show up in our lives. But the real consequence of our lives is that we don’t have the power to change anything. So, what do we do?

We can do anything and everything to try and change our lives. But that’s not what’s gonna work. There is only one person that has the power to change our lives. That person is Jesus Christ. It is easier than you think to get to know Him. But you have to go to Him to meet Him.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com