All my life I have been interested in patchwork quilts. Some have been very simple while some are very complicated. It is taking some material that has been discarded and using it again to make something beautiful and practical. Today we don’t look at old cloth as something of value. But at one time woven fabric was priceless. There was very little of it and the cost was very prohibitive. So people would save old shirts, dresses or pants and reuse them. They would take this mismatched group of fabric and create a very practical and beautiful work of art. It was in the form of a quilt. Usually the quilt was something that the women in a family got together and made. It started as making a quilt for a wedding gift. It would take many man-hours of work to complete a quilt. Depending on the design of the quilt is depending on how long it took to make it. You couldn’t go to the store and buy a quilt. Many people just couldn’t afford to purchase it anyway. So this was a real gift to a couple just starting out. Today they are real works of art, even the ones from 100’s of years ago. And they are very valuable. I have always wanted to do this work. It takes time and patience to complete a quilt. It is the same with God. He takes the old discarded parts of our lives. He sews them back together in a way so that we look and feel like a work of art. Then we become something of beauty and very practical. Or I should say we become functional. Let God create in our lives that beautiful and practical patchwork quilt. Then people will admire and value your life. All you have to do is ask.

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It is French for left and right. The word droit not only means right, but correct, straight, careful, skillful, nimble, able and expect. The word gauche not only means left, but clumsy, awkward, ungainly, left-handed and sinister. That is an unusual meaning of a word. It really isn’t if you knew where the word came from. We use the words gauche and adroit in English as well as French. There are many words that are in both languages at the same time. America is called the melting pot of the world. There is many words from all over the world that are used in American English. But getting back to the two words, gauche and droit. Left and right are used everywhere. Our hands are left and right. Does that mean that our left hand is sinister? Or that our right hand is an expert? Or could we say that our left hand is ungainly or awkward? Or maybe is the right hand that is handsome? How can you tell which is which? Do they look different from the other? The words don’t mean that our hands have any ability one way or the other. They are just hands. But it does speak to which way our heart is going in. You have to go back to the original meaning of the words to understand what they mean. The words come from the bible and are referring to the two thieves that hung on the cross next to Jesus. The thief on the right asked Jesus to be with him when He entered His kingdom. Jesus said today you will be with Me in paradise. The thief on the left just cursed he way into eternity. The thief on the right became righteous and the thief on the left became sinister. Which are you? Will you ask God today and become righteous or will you curse your way into hell?

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Jesus turned to Peter and asked him, “do you love Me?” Peter answered I love you like a brother. Then Jesus asked him again, do you love me? Again, Peter said, I love you like a brother. For the third time, Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him. Peter was hurt that Jesus would ask him three times. But Peter knew what Jesus wanted. And Peter said to Jesus, I love you as God loves you. Jesus feed my sheep. Jesus was showing Peter that you needed the love of God to work with people. Only then can you see the people as they really are. The love of God shows you the wounds, the hurts, the betrayals, and all the pain people suffer. It is necessary to begin to work with people. I have walked up to people and asked them a question about their past. Something specific. They ask how did I know that. I would tell them God told me. And this would begin a discussion about God. Loving people isn’t temporary. It isn’t love, cut and run. That is nothing and it will drain your life away. The love of God is permanent. It never goes away. God love man, even if he chooses to go to hell. God will love you no matter what you do. This earth is temporary. It will disappear in the end. There is nothing permanent on this earth, except us. but we are walking through. Jesus said, greater things shall you do because I go to my Father. The love of God will change everything you do on this earth for the better. Love like God does to make this a better world.

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To receive a kind word from someone. When people actually speak to us about what we have done or said. This means more than most people think. Our lives are always out there. People look at things we do, even when we don’t see it. Sometimes we don’t want them to see what we are doing. But people are out there. Now they are with cellphones with cameras recording anything and everything. It is just nice to have someone appreciate what we do. Friday after work I was coming home and stopped to get supper from a favorite place. This young woman waited on me. She was efficient and friendly. She didn’t say an awful lot to me. She was working hard at getting it right. So I spoke to her and encourage her. Tears came down her face as I spoke to her. She appreciate someone acknowledging her hard work. My wife and I went to a wedding yesterday. It was a lovely service in a 200 year old church. Afterwards at the reception, I went to the priest and told him how much a appreciated his sermon. He spoke to the young couple’s heart and blessed me also. You never know when someone will do something that will touch your life. When it happens, say something to the person who did it. Everybody is always ready to cuss and fuss at someone for stupid mistakes. Try encouraging someone and see what happens in their life. Being a blessing is what we are supposed to do here on earth. Take time to watch a sunrise or sunset. They are always beautiful and know the God is in heavens there encouraging us.

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Years ago, I was working for a Christian Radio station. I went to a grocery store and there was a people from the local TV station interviewing people. Our wonderful Congress had done something questionable and the people were at an all-time low. They pointed the mike and camera at me and asked if I still believed in America. I said, Patriotism doesn’t die just because our government does the wrong thing. This is our home. If we lost it, where would we go? Believing isn’t affected by circumstances. We believe and trust in the people of this country. It is the only way to stay strong. Governments come and go. If we lose faith in ourselves, our country will fall. Even our money is based on faith of the people. We may be attacked, but history has shown that America comes together and is strong as ever. Today is Veteran’s Day. A day set aside to honor the men and women who served our country. My military family history dates back to the militia in the 1600’s. Young men and women who left their homes to defend a way of life. Some never came back. When the men and boys lined up at Concord, they were carrying squirrel rifles. Today, I am proud of my sons, who served in the military. So, show your patriotism and put up a flag in honor of the service given freely to our country.

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How many of you have a brother? How many brothers are close to each other? How many of you have a friend that is as close to you as a brother? Family is family and they are blood kind. But that doesn’t mean that they are close to each other. I have known some families that wouldn’t talk to each other. I know some families that live next to each other all their lives. Mom and her two sisters were very close to each other. We would always have Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter at one of their houses. We continued this until unfortunately mom and her two sisters died. Now that we don’t get together, we miss the fellowship we had with each other. But that didn’t make us close to each other. I love my brothers and their families. But sometimes I just wanted to be alone. When I was a young man and looking for acceptance in my life, I didn’t find it in my family. My family still loves me, but their love is brotherly. It was never like God’s love, wholly committed. I was looking for a girlfriend that would love me wholly. But that didn’t happen. There were several reasons why. At one point in my life, I was totally unlovable. I was so angry and bitter that people steered clear of me. I wanted the peace of knowing that I could love someone with my whole heart and they would reciprocate that love. I searched for a long time, until a friend introduce me to the only person who would. His name is Jesus. He loved me when I was unlovable. And He had never stopped. As much as I have be a pain to Him, He has never stopped loving me. This is what I was looking for all my life. And I am not alone in this for Jesus loves everyone that same. All you have to do is call on His name.

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Everyone has a purpose. There is no one that doesn’t have a purpose in this life. You may not have found what it is yet. But there is one for you. I learned long time ago that my cat has a purpose. I was full of myself one day and declared that my cat was just a ball of fluff. I was immediately corrected by God telling me that my cat has the life of God in it and has a purpose on this earth. I began to see my cat’s purpose. My cat serves her purpose to the ninth degree. She never stops. She will be who she is until she dies. Now that is dedicated. Her job in life is to bring comfort and consoling me. I have seen my cat sit by my dog who was shaken violently because of the lightning. She stay with her until she had stopped shaking. She was performing her purpose in life. How many people do you know that are as selfless and dedicated to God and His work as my cat? It is easy to get lost in this world. To find yourself wanting what the world has. But it is an illusion. It will all disappear in the end. It is just temporary and has little value. What is more permanent? What can I put my hands on and hold on to? When we go on to the other side of life, heaven or hell to be specific, we can’t take anything but ourselves. So what can we have that is permanent? There are several things that you can have and take with you. Let me spell them out. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. These things are permanent in your life, if you accept them. So what is your purpose in life?

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There aren’t a lot of things in this world that are hard to handle except fear. My oldest son and our family went to a 4^th of July firework display, when he was about 4 years old. My wife was holding him, it was nighttime, and the sky was dark. When the first aerial firework exploded, he became afraid. He turned and held my wife close. I saw the fear and talked to him. I asked him who made the night. He said God made it. Then I asked him, would God make anything that would hurt us. He said no. The fear left him as fast as it came and he watched the firework display. If only we could get rid of fear that fast all the time. Fear is insidious. It creeps in silently and most times unaware. But once it takes hold, it binds us into slavery. There are so many examples of fear in this world, I don’t know where to start. One is road rage, another is violent protest. Fear will make you do things that you wouldn’t normally do. God said He came to set us free from fear. He did this so that we can actually choose to serve God. Our life is strewn with potholes. Some are big and some small, but if we fall into those traps, we may never come out of it alive. The only way to get rid of the fear is to face it head on. It requires a lot of courage and God’s help to be free. It is an achievable goal. God says that we are held in slavery by the fear of death. But He also says, for whom the Son set free, is free indeed. Choose life and be set free from the fear of.

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What does time look like? What shape does it come in? How can you define the shape of time? What are the expressions of time? Time can be compressed. Time can be expanded. Time has sand. Time had seeds. Time has space. Time has a yesterday. Time has a tomorrow. Time can’t stand still. Time has always been used to tell you where you are in the universe. Time waits for no man. Time is relentless. Time continues through forever or infinity. Time can be slowed down. Time can be sped up. Time has consistency. Time is the most important element in our lives. Then can you tell me why you waste most of your time on nothing. There is a limited amount of time given to each of us, no more or no less. Once it has been used it is gone. It vaporizes into the universe. Yet people consistently throw time away. It is more valuable than gold or silver. It is the only thing that will get us from here to there. And when you run out of time, you are gone forever. Again, I will ask you the same questions. Why do you waste the time you have been given? Make no mistake, you were given this time at your birth. You can’t change it or exchange it. You can throw it away. You can end your time on earth, but you only have so much and that is it. There are absolutes in this world and time is one of them. Man can’t do anything about it. The only thing that you can do is make sure you use your time wisely. Because as they say once you are gone, you are gone and your time has ended.

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Anyone who has lived for any length of time has wished for a gentler and simple life. When we were kids, we were always wishing to be adults. Because we could do the things that adults do. We thought that be adult would give us freedom from our parent’s rules and regulations. That drive to freedom modeled our lives into the people we became. Never once thinking of the responsibility that our parents carried. We never saw that burden, because our parents never wanted to show that side of adulthood. So we were starry eyed and wishful about being our own boss. When I grow up I can do what I want. No one is going to tell me what to do. What people never said was that as you get older more responsibility must be carried. When we reached adulthood, we found out that there are more rules and regulations. It comes from everywhere. We begin to carry a larger load. Until one day the load buries us. That gentler and simple life seems to evade us although we long for it. I felt that way and was disappointed with everything. I felt that everything was taken from me. Then I reached out to the only person who change anything in my life. I discovered that Jesus was the only person who loved me just because I was me. My parents loved me, my brothers loved me and family and friends loved me. But no one was willing to accept me for me. Jesus helped me to become the person that I was always meant to be. In the process I discovered the gentler and simple life that I always long for. It is there for anyone who is willing to accept that way of life. It is in Jesus’ name.

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