The Gift Of Life

God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well.--Voltaire

Yesterday is the torn wrapping paper. Today is the present. Therefore, today is today’s gift:

Remember before you utter a word – someone can’t speak.

Remember before you begin to eat – someone is hungry.

Remember before complaining about your spouse – someone lost theirs.

Remember before complaining about your parents – someone doesn’t have theirs.

Remember before complaining about your children – some have never had the pleasure having their own.

Remember before complaining about your job – there are some who are homeless without money.

Remember before you drive – there are some who have to walk.

Remember before you clean your house – someone doesn’t have one.

Tomorrow is a gift not opened. What you do with today’s present will determine the biggest gift given:

LIFE- live it, share it, enjoy it, embrace it.

We cannot change the past. We can change the future by embracing our past, forgiving our self and others. Your life can only be journeyed once. Become aware of how you think. Don’t worry about the future or this year and what is to come. When making a New Year's resolution do some deep thinking. Set yourself up for success by embracing change as hard as it maybe. If it is too hard then simplify what your desired goal.

Maybe look at something different to do than in recent pasts.What can I do to contribute to society and those around me? What could I do better to reach out to those who are hurting? Life is different when the focus is on others. Life... It's a gift! Ready to give?

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thess. 5:23). 

Happy New Year!

By Faith, 

The Gift - Reconcile

“Life is a gift, and it offers us the privilege, opportunity, and responsibility to give something back by becoming more” – Anthony Robbins

He was a very sick boy; lying there in the hospital with eyes closed. The boy’s parents stood nearby with his mother on one side and his father on the other side of the bed. His mother’s hair seemed to be unkempt from restless night of sleep by the boy’s bed. White tissue crumbled in her hand and a slow motion to capture every tear that flowed from her eyes. The father was dumbfounded and angry and didn’t know how to handle her or his emotions.

You see this story may be sad. Perhaps you could relate to them and their emotions. Ever had a painful moment? I lost my mentor in 1999. My grandfather was a great Christian example for me. There wasn’t a day and it was confirmed by my grandmother, that he didn’t read his bible. It was painful to see a man full of life, now gone lying motionless in a casket.

The boy’s parents were with their son because he had a rare disease. He was only 11 years old. His parents usually fought about the finances because of hospital bills. They would argue about the boy's care. Communication between them wasn’t the greatest. Yet, both stood firm. They both loved their son very much and it was too much pain for them to bear.

Mom’s face was down on the bedside praying, “Please God just one more day.” The boy’s father was pacing the floor trying to figure out how he could help his dying son. Both parents were together in the same room after a year of separation. The parents couldn’t take being around each other. Yet the last three months in the hospital seem to bring them together for one common cause, their son.

A gasp for air as the boy slowly awakened from his sleep. Upon seeing his parents, he smiled. He looked at his mother and slowly turned and looked at his father. Smiles were exchanged like small gifts which lay under the Christmas tree. He reached out with both of his frail hands. One hand extended to his mother and the other to his father.

“Mother” whispered the boy. “Father” as he motioned with his little fingers. The boy took mom’s hand and his father’s hand and laid it upon his chest and all three were holding hands. “My heart is weak, but my heart is big on love for you” the boy softly spoke. Mom’s eyes swelled and tried to hold back the tears. She knew what was happening and he continued to tell them “I am sorry; my sickness has caused you both such pain and heartache.”

Father busted with emotion, “No, my son you didn’t” and he continued wiping the tear that streamed down his cheek. Both parents were holding hands tightly with their son's hands on top of his chest. Then their son breathed in a deep breath and shared these words. “I love you deeply and I do not want either one of you to be mad at each other anymore after I die.” 

Both parents in unison said, “We won’t be.” The boy went on to say, “Mom, I love you and I want you to love dad. Dad, I love you and I want you to love mom.” Squeezing both parents hands, “I want you to be together when I die and I” The boy gasped again, “I love” and from the last word uttered, “you”. Slowly his eyes closed and lying there motionless, he passed into heaven.

The story doesn’t end sadly. The boy’s heart lived on with another and the parents reconciled and had another child. I believe we often forget just how much we need to set aside our differences and come together. There is a reason we have to celebrate life and death.

I believe you and I are similar to the mother and the father in this story. We celebrate this week with such joy and blessing. A Savior was born. As he grew older He was on His death bed. Both arms stretched out, with one to heaven and one to earth. He brought us back to the Father to be reconciled.

It is a joyous time this year to reflect not on the gifts we receive, but the greatest gift of all. Life! We may not see why we are in the mix of a fix, but we can understand the gift of a Savior buying us back from eternal destruction. C.S. Lewis once wrote that, “Nothing will reconcile us to the unnaturalness of death. We know that we were not made for it; we know how it crept into our destiny as an intruder; and we know Who has defeated it.”

Let’s celebrate with each other in the joy of the season, so “have yourself a merry little Christmas”.

By Faith, 

We continue to F(orge) A(ttitude) I(n) T(rusting) H(im)

Fear - Letting Go of Control

 
 Fear is a habit, so is self-pity, defeat, anxiety, despair, hopelessness and resignation. You can eliminate all of these negative habits with two simple resolves," I can! and I will!" (author unknown)

It was a warm afternoon before “supper”. Supper is a country term for a city term called “Dinner”. I was on my grandmother’s farm near Hermleigh, Texas and like a typical 12 year old, I was running around the farm. There it was hidden in the grass and I almost stepped on it with my bare feet. I jumped at least 6 feet into the air and ran into the house.

“Spider!” I yelled. Now you have to understand Texas; it is true that everything is bigger in Texas. This spider appeared to be as large as a tea cup saucer. Okay, that began my fear of spiders, which later I overcame. I can now kill spiders for those ladies who are scared of spiders. However, tarantulas, like the one in Texas, are a different story. I let them live since they are an endangered species.

"Fearless" is living in spite of those things that scare you to death. ~Taylor Swift

We get behind the wheel of a car, bike, or we walk knowing we have control over our destination. Sometimes we do this without thinking of the consequences or we rationalize that nothing negative will happen to me. 

However, for some of us, we can get on an airplane and not have control of flying but know with confidence that we can get to our destination without the fear of crashing.

Fear develops in our minds and we choose our fears. We can develop them or address them. Some fears developed by a lack of understanding; some fears developed by threatening situations that can kill or hurt us. Some fears are developed by experiences.

Getting over fear is challenging and Dr. Dennis O’Grady (Psy.D) states there are five reasons that hamper change from his “Tools2Use”:

1. Fear of the unknown – the unspoken message “you will lose control”

2. Fear of failure – there is a chance to fail

3. Fear of commitment – Commitment forces us to answer tough questions

4. Fear of disapproval – Fear of rejection if others do not like the new change

5. Fear of success – fear of new demands

How do you handle fear? First, ask yourself and be truthful about where you are right now. Are you in a place that brings you to life? Are you allowing yourself to go where you want to be? Do you have the freedom and adventure for you to be who you really want to be?

There is a desire to have control in our life. We feel we must be in control in order to prevent being hurt. Sometimes, control is a positive and rewarding factor. Fear induces the need to control when something is happening in your life.

When something is out of our norm of life expectations we tend to want to control. This is a self-imposed and self-taught lie we feed upon every day. We believe we must be in control in order for our lives to be the way we desire and that implies we know what exactly is good and what is not good.

Control is important to us because we do not trust on the reliance of God that it will turn out just fine. Therefore, we must understand we cannot direct our steps (Jeremiah 10:23). We must look to the wisdom and counsel of the One (Proverbs 19:20-21) and allows his light in (Proverbs 20:27) in order for Him to make our paths straight (Proverbs 3:6).

Let go of trying to control things because you are in fear.  Sit back and have confidence that things will eventually work out if you let the control belong to the Creator and not yourself. It is a constant battle in not wanting to be in control when you enter into unknown realms of inexperience. If you feel the need to control, then prayer is the control of releasing life into the Creator.

When we are on our mountains of life where nothing seems to change, it appears as everything is okay and we feel so close to our creator. It is okay to be on the mountain tops as long as you remember to keep forging your attitude in him by shaping your attitude in trust and not wallowing in fear of the unknown.

By Faith,