Where have all the flowers gone? Long time passing. It’s a song by the kingston trio from the fifties. It’s melodramatic but but it makes a point. What it’s talking about is the cycle of life. We’re born. We live our lives. Then we die. Is that all there is to life. We want more. We try to make more and see more. But death is inevitable. There is a point to life. God didn’t put us here to be frustrated with life. He wanted us to have a good life. Our efforts here are to make it home. You see this is not our home. Our home is heaven. I know many people are feeling the depression and let down after Christmas. Our families came together now they’re going home. And we miss the family that has passed on. Each of us has a specific function on the earth. We do our best to find out what it is. And i’m not talking about being a doctor or a plumber. Our purpose in this life is to make it home to heaven. It is a journey. We have to walk it out. And the only way that we are going to find the gate to enter to go home is through Jesus. For God so love the world that he gave to each and everyone of us. God bless you all Jesus name.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

I want to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. May God bless you keep you in this coming year. Also, pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

Six years ago I lost my younger brother. I thought I was doing good until I started hearing Christmas music. I began to cry when I heard specific songs. Usually they were the ones that mom and dad played during the Christmas season. We always had a wonderful Christmas. Our family would gather and share a meal, then open presents. As we grew up, we started bringing our girlfriends to get together. Then it was wives and children. Dad’s first grandchild was a little girl named Christy. Dad lived long enough to see my firstborn. Mom lived another 20 years.

This year has been difficult. My younger brother Bill’s wife died. Then my older brother Carson died. I thought I was handling the grief well enough to carry on. Then I began to hear Christmas music and cry. They were the songs I listen to when I was young. Christmas has always been a special time of year. I still remember the little 2 bedroom house we lived in. My 3 brother and I shared one bedroom. My younger brother Bill would sing songs and that would put us to sleep. I was 12 years old when we moved into a 4 bedroom house. And Christmas got bigger.

Christmas is about making memories with your family. It’s about doing things together, sharing a meal, going to a play or musical. You make memories so that when you are older, you remember the wonderful times with you family. Even though they are not there anymore. And no one can take them away from you.

The Christmas song that triggered my grief is “I’ll be home for Christmas”. I’ll put a link below for the song. It is an old WWII song that I still love today. It is about a soldier wanting to be home with his family for Christmas. I want to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

This is an excerpt from my second book, The Reality of Being a Believer. My first book, Prayer, is on Amazon. This excerpt is from Ch.10:Following God.

The command is to follow Jesus. I want to talk about commands. When non believers hear the commands of God, they usually say nobody is going to tell me what to do. But as believers we hear the commands of God and know that God is expressing His love for us. How many times did your parents tell you not to do something. And you did not listen to them. What they told you was a command. And you had a choice in the matter. God is not going to hit you over the head if you do not follow Him in this world. But the destruction will come because of us. We will choose to go to hell or not. God does not send anyone to hell. We have to choose it. Jesus showed us the way to follow and would give us a purpose in the kingdom of God. As we follow a plan begins to emerge to work in the kingdom of God. Then we will gather people to Jesus.

When Jesus said that we would be fishers of men, He added the details of how to do this. We are to gather people to Jesus through the things that we do in the kingdom. What things do we do? Jesus said to love God above all and love your neighbor as yourself. Everyone needs help. It does not matter in which area they need help. Have you ever walked up to someone and you felt their heart reach out to you. Whether they needed love or comfort or food or money. Their heart touched your heart and you knew there was something wrong. Most people won’t admit it, unless the situation is desperate. But if you listen to God and speak what He tells you, you can win a soul for Jesus. The list of things to do is very simple. Shelter to the stranger. Feed the hungry. Give water to the thirsty. Clothe the naked. Pray for the sick. Visit the imprisoned. Jesus said when you do these things to the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto Me. The opposite is just as real and final. Following God is personal. We have to choose to have a relationship with God. We can not follow any other way. We do not have the power or the insight to do what God has called us to. If we do not listen we will stray from the path.

Following God is not about the big things of God. It is about the little things that God wants us to do. God choose us to do the work of the kingdom. It is about loving God and our neighbors and caring for them. The little things of God are walking in the path that God chooses, following with Joy, living the life of God, seeing the darkness and not walking in it, becoming fishers of men, entering the path at the strait and narrow gate, sheltering the stranger, feeding the hungry, praying for the sick, clothing the naked, visiting the imprisoned, developing a relationship with Jesus, doing the will of the Father and being faithful in the little things of God. Then this path of God will lead us home to heaven and to salvation.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

Christmas is almost here. This year again has come and gone. We look at what is happening in the whole world and there is not much peace and good will toward man. But when has it ever been different. When Jesus arrived in this world, the Romans ruled most of the known world. Jesus came to bring peace and love to this world. And the world goes on as it does each and every year. So, what is the difference? The difference is that we have a choice to make whether or not we carry on with the same old same old.

My mom and her sisters saw the same world I see and they did something about it. We would gather at our house or either of my two aunt’s. We would meet for Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. It would be at one of the sister’s home. Our whole family would meet. The women were in the kitchen cooking and talking. The men were in the front room watching football and talking. The kids were outside playing. When the food was ready, we would all sit down and eat together. Our family was and is more important than any gift or holiday. We loved each other and showed it. Soon as we grew up, we would bring girl friends to our family gatherings. Then it was wives and children. You see our family was all boys. There were 9 cousins, my grandfather’s baseball team. All of our parents and grandparents are gone. We are down to 6 cousins and families. But we have all the memories that we made all of those years.

In this Christmas season, the difference is that we can unashamedly show love and care for our families and well as our neighbors. Jesus said to love God above all and to love your neighbors as yourself. In this Christmas season make a difference and choose to show love and compassion for your families and your fellowman. Joyeaux Noel et bonne annee.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com