Category Archives: Following Christ Has Changed My Life

October 7, 2013 · 10:01 pm

Watch Out for Worm Infested Apples

imageI saw a most disturbing sight today while driving on a highway. A motorcyclist drove while standing up on the foot pedals of his motorcycle.  Yes, I did say he drove his motorcycle standing up.  I have never read any motorcycle driving manuals, but I am sure that would be a major no-no.

Wow, that guy is taking such a crazy risk!  Is he trying to commit suicide?  I thought.  What if the car in front of him had to make a sudden stop? I saw this motorcyclist in the same area of highway that I had to come to a sudden halt about four years ago when I hit a deer. Continue reading →

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Filed under A Broken Childhood, Child Abuse and Neglect, Following Christ Has Changed My Life, Inner Sruggles and Heartache, Life Lessons, Loss of a Child, Writing and Author Stuff

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October 4, 2013 · 11:19 pm

We Are His Hands and Feet

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Matthew 22:36-40

Jesus was asked,

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

Jesus surprised them all by replying,

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.

This is the first and greatest commandment.  

And the second is like it:

Love your neighbor as yourself.  All the

Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Continue reading →

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October 1, 2013 · 11:16 pm

I’m Busy, Busy, Terribly Busy; No One is Busier Than Me

It was just another ordinary day in a city of Galilee, named Nazareth; when the young girl, Mary, had a most unusual visit.   Luke 1:26 -38

The angel Gabriel came to Mary, who was legally pledged to be married to Joseph. Gabriel told Mary she was most blessed among women and that God had found high favor with her.  Of course, Mary was “troubled at his saying”, and wondered, as any of us would, what is going on?

“No worries,” Gabriel said.  God would place a baby boy in her womb, she was to name Jesus.  He would be the Son of the most High. The King to reign over Israel forever.

Mary said “How shall this be,  I am a virgin?” Continue reading →

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September 24, 2013 · 11:30 pm

Not a Believer of Coincidences

imageI have never been much for believing in coincidences.

The Bible says that God directs our steps and knows just how many hairs are on our heads, so it is hard for me to imagine Him leaving things to chance.

My son, Jonathan, entered a drawing for a professional photo shoot a couple of years ago and won.  Funny thing, Jonathan was always entering contests and seemed to have a knack for winning. He won a beautiful flat big-screen TV from a drawing also before that.

The photo shoot was taken in Spring of 2011.

Just months later, on September 24, 2011, Jonathan was killed in a motorcycle accident at the age of 27. Continue reading →

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September 12, 2013 · 11:30 pm

The Acrobatic Fish

“Mommy, Mommy, look! That fish is walking on the grass? Look, Mommy!” My young son yelled.

“A. Fish. Is. Walking,” said my oldest daughter Rachel, twisting her face into a puzzled look.

Hannah ran over to me in amazement of the unbelievable sight.

“Mom! The fish’s walking on his head!”

I was puzzled by their statements. My eyes traced my daughter’s pointing arm to the patch of grass on the other side of the running creek, about twenty feet away. There, as plain as day, was a strange sight.

A seven inch sunfish, head down, tail straight up, moved up and down along the grass as if it was walking on its head. Continue reading →

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September 6, 2013 · 12:47 am

Just Do It

The month of September will forever be imbedded in my soul as a much different month than the rest of the months.
It is a month of grief and rejoicing all tied into one tight giant knot.
  • Grief because God prompted me to visit my 27 year old son, Jonathan, the Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of the fourth week of September nearly two years ago, to deliver a book I ordered as a gift for him.

It was a great novel about police work.  I knew he would love it because he loved to read and because he was a police officer. It was a sort of peace offering, as we had been at odds with each other for quite a while and I wanted it to stop, but didn’t seem to convey it the best or it wasn’t received or something.  Always something got in the way.  Anyone who has had an extremely unfriendly divorce and terrible relationship with their ex knows what kind of havoc that can bring on the relationship between a parents and their children. Continue reading →

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September 4, 2013 · 1:20 am

Must Think First

image“Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” Jesus said.

What a relief, it is the Master!  Peter thought. Everyone on the boat thought it was a ghost they saw walking towards them on the water, but he knew better.  He knew it could only be Jesus.

“Lord, if that is you tell me to come out to you on the water.”

“Come!” Jesus said.

A chill ran through Peter’s spine.  Jesus was telling him to walk out to him on the water!   Peter was aware of the other disciples shocked silence as he swung his leg over the side of the rocking boat.

No problem!  He thought.  He was sure of all the disciples; he was the one with the deepest connection and the strongest bond!  He would even die for Jesus!

After all, hadn’t it been only his name Jesus had changed from Simon to Peter.  Solid-as-rock-Peter.  And hadn’t he been the one that correctly declared that Jesus was the Messiah, The Son of the Living God; when Jesus asked him who he thought Jesus was? Continue reading →

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August 31, 2013 · 1:29 am

Shine on!

imageWhen we look at the bright glistening ball in the sky at night, we forget that the moon is a huge hunk of grey rock that does not have a light of its own.  Its silvery glow comes from the sun’s brilliant rays reaching the face of the moon which then reflect off, giving us a nightlight in the sky.

There are some nights that the moon brightens up the whole landscape around us.  It is especially spectacular when there is snow on the ground.

Sometimes we only see a quarter-moon, a half-moon, a three-quarter moon, or that sliver some call God’s finger nail. Continue reading →

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August 24, 2013 · 1:37 am

Living in a Warzone

I have never been one to watch too many fantasy movies but was encouraged to by the way “Waking the Dead,” a book by John Eldridge, uses these as analogies to help readers understand the struggle we all live under.

John Eldridge, does not encourage readers to watch fantasy movies. He encourages us to wake up to the understanding that spiritual war is all around us and gravely affects our everyday life.  The last thing the enemy wants from a Christ follower is success or to have anything good we attribute to God.  He wants to keep us in a struggle so that we are not living up to our God-given potential, but instead we are as frustrated, disappointed, depressed and discouraged as possible.

I rented the Hobbit.   Have you ever seen it?

As I watched it, I envisioned the dwarfs as the Israelites and Thorin as King David back in Old Testament times and King Jesus now and in the future.  There are numerous attacks by forces of evil.

The way the forces of evil are depicted in the movie, I can clearly imagine this is what the invisible spiritual warfare is like all around us, but the majority of us remain as unaware to it as Bilbo, though we are indeed deeply affected. Continue reading →

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August 21, 2013 · 12:19 am

True Love Never Fails

1st Corinthians 13:1-13

The Love Chapter

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If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing.

 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud  or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.  It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Continue reading →

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