Sometimes my sons asked me why I watch a certain movie. The movie doesn’t have much to do with my beliefs. I tell them that there is something there. I see in that movie something that speaks to me. I am very cautious about just watching anything. The bible says that the eyes are the windows to the soul. It is how we receive input from this world. The bible also says to guard what you see. It is most important not to damage our hearts. I was a music director for a radio station and listen to many albums. I like music, especially Contemporary Christian. When I listen to albums, usually there was one song that stood out of the crowd. It was funny because the song I liked usually wasn’t the song picked by the music company. I played their music and listened to mine. It is always about what you perceive. People see things and know it is wrong and do it anyway. Do what is right because it is right and not because it is convenient.

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I went to a fast food place to get a hamburger. There was a father and son waiting on their order. The boy was 1 years old. I asked. He was cute with his little shirt and shoes. He was at the front door looking out at all the people. Then he was next to his dad waiting for his food. He had no fear of anything. He was walking around looking at all the new things in his life. This is the joy of wonder. Somehow we have lost the joy when we became adults. There is no more curiosity in the world around us. It seems that there is nothing new for us to discover. Where did it go? Why did we lose it? Can we every get it back? For the past several years I have being taken pictures of clouds. The most interesting ones only occur before a storm hits. I have seen many unusual cloud formations. They were different colors and shapes. I have become interested in clouds because my life was about the same thing. And I didn’t like what I was looking at. Did you know that a sparrow is about 30 shades of brown? A blue jay has about 25 shades of blue on it. God created this world for us. He put everything in place. For God so loved the world that He gave.

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My life is like a tale being told. I was born into a family eventually of 6. I was reared by a conservative mother and father. I went to a private school. I was taught religion. I attended church all my life. Then I graduated from high school. I went to college and then served in the military. When I came to myself I didn’t know what to do. All the preparation didn’t prepare me for life. I wandered around for years. Wondering what I was supposed to do. Until one day I met the Lord and my life changed. I finally knew who I was and what I was supposed to do. I began by reading the bible and studying. I found out that I was a son. A child of the living God, who loved me and care what happened to me. As I grew in the Lord, I gained strength and courage. I began using the word of God to do the work I was called to. People’s lives were changed. People would walk up to me and tell me how I helped them in time of need. I have always been amazed at what God has done through me. And on top of that, God gives me the reward for doing His will. I have the best of both worlds in the here and now. As a Tale being told.

Crain Blanchard.

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My cat loves to sit in the kitchen window facing the backyard. She watches for anything that moves, especially birds and squirrels. Calli is a beautiful orange calico cat. She has one ear that is bent over. She is healthy and has learn many things from us. She knows how to open doors. We found her as a kitten, starving and abused. It took a long time for her to trust us. We also have a small dog named Olivia. She rules the house. No animals can come into the house without her permission. We brought Calli to Olivia. She took one look at the kitten and began cleaning Calli like she was one of her puppies. Calli began to follow Olivia wherever she went. Olivia became her mother. They play hard sometimes. Olivia has taught Calli how to hunt and ponce on prey. Olivia is afraid of the lightning and thunder. She begins to shake uncontrollable. Calli sits beside Olivia and calms her down. They have become a surety for each other. What kind of surety do we have in this world? Who is looking out for us in this world? Where would we go to calm our fears? Jesus became our surety through His death and resurrection. All we have to do it to go to Him and ask for forgiveness.

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When I first started with the Lord, I was happy to be alive. I was learning about God and His kingdom. Studying the word of God, praying and sharing my new found faith. God woke me up one morning with a scripture in the book of Mark, chapter 10. The scripture talks about James, John and their mother coming to Jesus to ask a favor of Him. They asked if they could sit at His right hand and His left. Jesus answered, you don’t know what you are asking. He further said that it wasn’t up to Him, that those seats would be chosen by the God Himself. Jesus went on to say, but you can be baptized into My baptism. He turned to me and said you can be baptized into My baptism. I knew what He was saying to me. Jesus’ baptism was death. At any time or place my life could be required for the kingdom. I couldn’t give an answer right then and there. I had to think about this decision. For 3 days and nights all I thought about was death. I knew I didn’t want to die. But I wouldn’t receive the blessings of God through His plan if I didn’t. But I didn’t want to die. I had to make a choice. What was I going to do? I counted the cost. And I finally make my decision. I say yes to God. That was almost 40 years ago. And my life is still required by the Kingdom of God.

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The end of the beginning is the beginning of the end. It’s kind of like the tail wagging the dog. But the statement is true. The hot topic these days is global warming. The earth is heating up in more ways than one. They say if the polar ice melts the oceans will rise 200 feet. That means I would have to move to Arkansas or there abouts. Where I live is only 25 feet above sea level. I like the mountains, but everybody and their brother would move to. Have you seen all the TV shows on the end of the world? With the coming of global warming, more scientist have said that the world is coming to an end. Duh! You know when God talked about this very thing, after the flood. He told Noah that the earth would never be destroyed by water again. Next time it is by fire. That is about 5000 years ago. Jesus was talking to His disciples. They asked Him when was the end of the earth and the beginning of the kingdom of God. Jesus replied, (Matt.24:4-8 KJV) “Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.”

Sounds very like the evening news, doesn’t it. That is because it is. This was spoken over 2000 years ago. And it is true today. Is it the beginning or the end for you?

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Tomorrow the promise of the future for us. What will happen tomorrow? Who will I become? Will I even recognize that person? Do you know that we are not even guarantied tomorrow? The only thing that God guaranties for us is now. Today is the day and now is the time for salvation. So our tomorrows are based upon the good graces of God. All the best laid plans of mice and men aren’t worth a pile of beans without God in our lives. So what are supposed to do? How are we going to live or survive this world? Man wants what he wants. The heart of man will strive to create something for himself. Even though it will not last past our lifetime. Man will continually strive to build or make for his glory. When you look at the grand scheme of it all, what man can do is no more than a joke. God didn’t design us to be alone. God’s plan is for us to be part of His plan. He designed us to accomplish His plan on this earth. The bible says that there is nothing new under the sun. What was shall be again. Why isn’t there something new? Why can’t we have original thought? God didn’t design us to be frustrated. God wanted us to live our lives in peace and harmony on this earth. He wanted us to enjoy the life His gave us. It is man because of sin, who thinks that he is god and can do anything. When Adam and Eve sinned against God, their eyes were opened and they saw that they could walk away from God. And man has been doing just that ever since. Tomorrow is guaranteed when we join with God and His plan for us. All you have to do is ask God for help. And He will answer you.

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We all look at the past as something cherished. Even if it was the most horrible time in our lives. We all compare our lives now with what we had. It isn’t fair because the past is gone and can’t be changed. No matter how good or bad it was, it will remain the past. The only thing that is real in our lives is change. It can be good for some and bad for others. But it will happen. God designed us that way for our benefit. He wanted us to have the opportunity to be able to improve our lives. Sometimes it looks like what we are doing is just useless. But there is a plan for our lives and it does unfold in our lives. Whether you can see it or not. It is funny to watch people who think that they can stop God or His plan. Yet people think that they are greater than God. They tried even to the point of death to do their thing. You have heard me talk about a death spiral. It is the last effort of someone or something to stop what they put into motion. There is only one person who can stop a death spiral. That is God Himself. God designed this world to the very detail of life. There is no one that knows what to do except God. We are the image and likeness of God. He wanted to share His life with us. Our spirit, who we are, will never die. We are eternal beings. That is where we get the idea and sometimes misguided that this flesh will live forever. This flesh that we wear will return to the earth where it came from. Our spirit will go on to be with God or not. That is the question that every person must answer in this life time. As we say, it is time to pick your choose.

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What I have to say is really going to offend some people. Before anyone can understand, they have to face the truth. Although, I will say man. I mean mankind, both men and women. The most low-down, backstabbing, lying, cheating, stealing worthless animal on this earth is mankind. There is no intrinsic value in man. Human beings have devolved into the lowest form of life on this earth. Despite the strides man has made in knowledge, they have become useless. All the animals on this earth, except for man, are doing God’s will. Man is the one who is destroying the earth, our home. There is only one redeeming value that man has. It is that God’s loves us unconditionally. God is trying very hard to bring us home. God works miracles to keep us alive long enough to make that decision. You know what is the saddest part of all this is, that most of mankind will not choose God. Have you ever figured out what the torment of hell is? It is that God loves those in hell as much as he loves those in heaven. But those in hell can’t share in God’s love, forever and ever, Amen.

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I have seen people pray and think that God didn’t answer them. I have never seen God not answer a just prayer. God may not tell you the answer but one will come. When I was younger, I had a roommate 1 summer. He kept asking God for answers and he said he hadn’t received any. That summer he was inspired to write 25 songs. He was a musician. Take a wild guess where the answers were to his prayers. This is the 3^rd story about God’s providence. This story is from the 1970s and 1980s. This story is about a young black man born in poverty. He went to a public school and excelled in basketball. His mother was raising him alone. She prayed that the inner city wouldn’t take her son away. The city was going to move the family into the projects. She knew that her son would have no chance to survive. She went to mayor of her city and asked if she and her family could stay out of the projects. The mayor knew who the young man was and agreed. Not only did he agree, he help this young man to get into a private high school. The only problem was this young man’s education was poor. He had to build his vocabulary. He had to learn 5 new words every day for a year just to catch up. He did. In his junior year, he led his high school team to the state championship. In college, he did the same. He was drafted into the NBA in 1981. He was the #2 pick in the draft. He went on played in the NBA. And final ended up coaching. Of course I am talking about Isiah Thomas. Without his mother’s prayers and God providing for his family, you would have never known about him. God takes what you have and uses it to provide for you and your family. It doesn’t matter what we think, God is always there and working in our behalf. It is part of God’s inheritance for His children.

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