I am sitting here at my computer trying to write, but looking out of the window at the gorgeous weather we are having. It is clear skies and 51 degrees at 9am in the morning. I live in the deep south in America and 51-degree weather is rare. It only happens every so often. I have a touch of spring fever, though it is the end of October. I guess you would call it fall fever. Now I want to write and say something clever, but my brain is stuck in neutral. I have my favorite cup of coffee and am comfortable in my business chair. So, the business of writing is totally eluding me. I want to jump start my brain and all it says to me is chill. It is like fighting on 2 different fronts. It can drive you crazy. My body is talking to my brain and won’t let go. I already have been out of the house. I had errands to run earlier this morning. So, I was up, bathed and dress, out the door, when I had to come back in and get a coat. It was 46 degrees outside. People up north would laugh at that temperature. But in the deep south, hot weather is what we have most of the year. Even for Christmas, it’s normally hot weather. So, our blood is thin and cold weather chills us to the bone. So, I am sitting here thinking about what I could write about. Then all of a sudden, I remembered, this is the day that the Lord has made. And I will rejoice and be glad in it. Praise God for His mercy and grace that He gives to us.

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Procrastination is putting off doing things until tomorrow. Things that you can do today. I know about this state of being. Unfortunately I know it well. I would work long hours and come home tired. And all I wanted was to sit down and relax. There was something to do at home. It needed my attention right away. But I didn’t do and somehow it never got done. Some of these things were very important. It concerned either my wife or children. And I regret it to this day. Over the years I have learn many lessons the hard way. Instead of just doing what I needed to do in the first place. If you let regret pile up it becomes very hard sometimes. When I first started with the Lord, I was excited to be busy in the kingdom of God. I wanted nothing else than to be doing God’s will in my life. As I added responsibility to my wagon, it became a wagon train. I had to learn to let God take the load for me. I couldn’t do it myself. Nor did I want to pull the load myself. God says that He will not give us anything heavier than we are capable of carrying. Why carry the load yourself? I have seen people crumble under the load. Some it destroyed them. This is not what God wants. Our lives are meant to be joyous and fruitful. We are meant to be an honor to God and His mercy. How can we be an example of kingdom if we are crushed by life itself? God says cast your cares upon Me, for my burden is easy and my yoke is light. So why wait for life to destroy who you are, let God help you and live accordingly.

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Your heart is a peculiar thing.  It can beat a million times and just keeps on going. If it is interrupted you can die. It seems to last forever but doesn’t. It controls the rest of the body. Without it you are dead. And it is the most neglected part of our body. It causes more diseases than anything else. So why don’t you protect it more? Most people relate your human heart to your spiritual one. As if they are interchangeable. I’ll tell you a truth, they are related to each other. What happens to your spiritual heart does affect your human heart. Have you ever lost a true love? The pain in your heart is spiritual but you human heart hurts like hell. They are tied together just like your body and your spirit. Your spirit is who you are. Your mind, will and your intellect are spiritual. This is what is the image and likeness of God. Your body is made from the dust of the earth. Remember, dust to dust, ashes to ashes, is how your body will go. Most games and TV shows have killing and violence. It always shows the people not being affected by all of it. This is a lie out of the pits of hell. There is nothing that we do that doesn’t affect our lives. And in turn affects our heart. So how can you stop the pain? You can’t but you can slow it down. Because of sin in this world there is pain. That will never change until the very end when Jesus arrives to reign and rule over this earth. But what you can do is to give your spiritual heart to Him. And allow God to take you on this journey that He plan for you in the first place. There are ways to protect yourself and Jesus is His name.

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I first heard this expression in an old movie about General George Armstrong Custer. General Custer graduated at the bottom of his class at West Point. He was always in trouble. But when he graduated, and the American Civil War started, his superiors saw something in him. The first action he commanded was covering the retreat of the Union Army at the First Battle of Bull Run. He rose through the rank quickly. His men loved and trusted him. He led from the front in every action. You see, General Custer believed that you always run to the sound of the guns. His courage and bravery were beyond compare. Great military leaders always believe that you faced your enemy head on. King David ran into the thickest part of the battle. This display of courage isn’t limited to military men. There are many people who show this courage in their lives. The almost 300 firemen that ran into the burning World Trade Center and lost their lives. All the First Responders that risk their lives on a daily basic. The last and most videoed display of courage was the shootings in Las Vegas. Policemen ran in the middle of the shooting to rescue the people caught in the crossfire. Let’s not forget the fireman who fought the fires in California. Courage and bravery are virtues to be honored. It doesn’t mean that they are perfect. But it does mean that they should be respected and honor them for their courage. Courage runs to the sound of the guns.

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The only bone I have ever broken was my big toe. That little member of my body hurt so much that I couldn’t speak for the 1^st half hour. There isn’t much you can do for a broken big toe. You can’t put a splint on the broken bone. All I could do was to put my foot up. It took about 6 weeks to heal. And at certain times, it still hurts. I can just about image people who brake multiple bones. It doesn’t matter what is broken, it always takes time to heal. And depending on the wound, it may take a lifetime. The healing process is a very necessary part of our lives. Wounds that are never treated lead to all sorts of problems as well as death. I have a friend who was a marine grunt at Khe Sanh in Vietnam. He lives in town near me, but he never came home from Vietnam. He is what you call the walking dead. He hasn’t let go of the hurt. Healing begins when you finally let go of the pain. There is no easy way to be healed. You really have to walk through the pain. I know that when I finally let God begin to heal me, I had to turn over to God the wounds and the pain. Which meant that I had to relive the incident. But then God took it away, not to be remembered again. To be healed God goes through your heart and pulls out everything that you have hidden in your heart. Sometimes, things that you don’t even remember. God doesn’t want anything to stand in the way of your relationship with Him. Jesus was beaten with 39 stripes to provide our healing. And by His stripes I am healed. Thank God.

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This is a virtue that everyone needs and literally no one wants. To obtain patience, you must go through a trial. Sometimes the trial is severe and sometimes not. But at any rate, it will test your endurance and stickability. Today is the Me generation. I want it now and hurry up about it. There is no waiting or anticipation. When I came to the Lord, I was in no condition to fend for myself. I had to rely upon God’s good graces. He lovingly took me step by step to become a whole person again. God held off my patience trial until I was healed enough to contend with it. It took about 2 years before it started. I thought I was doing very well until this woman named Peggy came into my life. She was a church member and a few bricks shy of a full load. And that is being kind. She started in on me the first day. Her insults were barbed and flung at me. She was very adept at insulting people. It very much reminded me of me. I went to God in prayer. God reminded me that she was sister in the Lord and to do her no harm. God said you are to pray and say out loud, that she is a blessing to me. It took a while for the prayer to work. Although, the prayer wasn’t for her, it was for me. Finally, the prayer worked and my heart was changed. Peggy became a blessing to me. Unfortunately, her problems were severe and didn’t get resolved. She ended up back home in Mississippi. God changed my heart and I had a lot more patience with people. When you pray asking God for things, be sure you understand what you are asking for. Prayer covers a multitude of sins.

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Last night I was discussing with my son, the latest conspiracies. There is an app just for that. I guess if you wanted to find any subject, there would be an app for it. Anyway, back to conspiracies, with my son it started with the shooting in Las Vegas. He didn’t believe the police report and started digging into it. There are a multitude of theories out there, from aliens to leaders in America. I told him that you couldn’t believe these people on the strength of what they say. The culture today is lie as much as you can. Just look at the news media and their reports. It can drive you crazy just trying to keep up with it. I began to tell him how, he personally, can tell the truth from the lie. At first, he wasn’t interested in what I had to say. But as I explained it to him, he began to see the truth. The most deceitful thing in this world is the heart of man. We can’t look with our eyes and see the truth. Therefore, man can’t fix himself. It takes the intervention of God. There is always some truth in every conspiracy. This is what makes them believable. But for the most part they aren’t true. The only real truth in this world is the Word of God. And this is what I told my son what he had to know to protect himself. You see, as the bible says in Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (KJV). The Word of God will clean out your heart, for you to clearly see the truth.

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It seems that the whole world is fussing and fighting about one thing or the other. It seems there is no peace to be had. If it isn’t the wars, it’s the disasters, floods, fires or storms. People want to live a secure life and to have some sort of peace in their life. If you look at the news, you won’t find peace at all and for the most part the truth either. I don’t watch the news only the weather. And if they become political commentators, I’ll stop watching the weather. There is so much confusion, angry and disappointment that causes people to be discouraged. So, fussing and fighting has become the order of the day. When I started in the Lord, years ago, the church was large and active. The pastor was a good preacher. The people were active in the community. It was a blessing to be in that church. Then the pastor and assistant pastor had a fallen out and the church split. Even though the pastor was my leader in the church, I never look to him as the answer. Many people thought, the pastor, he could walk on water. When the church split, their faith was devastated. Fussing and fighting will bring unbelief and doubt. And this will destroy your faith in God.  But the word of God is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. When you feel confused, feeling guilty, angry or condemned, it isn’t God. Though, you would want to fuss with God, there is no room in His life or yours for it. For God so loved the world, He gave.

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I would watch that cartoon faithfully. I would watch all the Saturday morning cartoon’s until mom made me go do my chores. I also liked the cowboy shows in the afternoon after school. It is funny that all those shows are about good versus evil. If you look at any show on TV today it is the same. But as I look at all the shows on regular TV and cable, there is only a handful that I will watch now. Television is a learning tool. It can teach you anything. And it does exactly that. Do you know why the entertainment industry is struggling? It is very simple. It is not about entertaining people. It is about teaching the masses their agenda. I subscribed to a news magazine for years. It is very good and informative. Then it was sold to an outrageous marketing group. They lost most of their subscribers including me. After the magazine was purchased by another group. They made a real effort to try to get their old subscribers back. They talked to me but I wasn’t wanting to get the magazine again. The damage was done. There is a movie coming out next week. It is a sequel back from a series that I have followed since I was a kid. The film was made 2 years ago. They have been promoting this movie for a year. There is toys, souvenirs, t-shirts, and every possible thing that you can buy. Do you know why they are doing this? That movie studio is trying to make money. They want to make up for all the losses they have suffered with the other movies they made. You know what the saddest part is, they won’t give up making the stupid movies. Why does it take disaster for people to stop and turn around? It doesn’t have to be that way. Ask God and you will receive all that you need to live this life. Just ask.

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Years ago, John Steinbeck wrote a book called “Of Mice and Men”. The quote from the book is “the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry”. It is a story about being human and how dreams sometimes work or not. I was always taught that you need to have a 1-year plan and goals in place. Then you need to have a 5-year plan and goals in place. And eventually a 25-year plan and goals to be successful in life. As the quote says, the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry. This is so true. Nothing is for certain. You train for success and try until it succeeds or not. It is like retirement; most people don’t think about it until retirement is almost upon you. Then what do you do? Life isn’t hap-hazard. There is a certain progression that takes place. If you take advantage of what you have been given, your life will work out with some reasonable success. My life came to a screeching halt and I didn’t know what to do. I wanted help but wasn’t sure who could help me. I looked all over to find someone and the answer literally fell into my lap. What I didn’t know was that God had planned it all along. Once I figured out who I was in Christ, I began to find out what the plan was and to follow. It was so much simpler to follow the plan, than to have to come up with one myself. This plan has taken me all over and through many stages. I have been trained and actually I am still in training. It is on-going, the work and the training. And my success rate has been far better than I could have ever expected. The reason is God is in control. And His ways are higher than mine. I trust and believe in the Lord.

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