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A group of alumni, firmly established and successful in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.

Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the coffee.

When all his old students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking, expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it's normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it's just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups... and then you began eyeing each other's cups.

Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of life we live.

Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us.

The happiest people don't have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything. Remember that God provides the coffee, not the cups. Enjoy your coffee! "

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.

Leave the rest to God.

What God Fearing Means to Me!

What does it mean to be a “God-Fearing People”? Are we to fear God so much that we are afraid to approach Him? St. Paul has advised us to boldly go to the throne. (Hebrews 4:16 -approach the throne of grace with confidence). If we have FEAR of God, in the sense that the FEAR is so terrifying, then we can not “boldly go to the throne” or even believe that God is loving. Here is my explanation as to what “God-Fearing” means to me:

God has blessed me and my brothers with two wonderful parents. They both are firm as to what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior. My father could just give us a look (not mean, not terrorizing, not hateful), but a look that told us he was the father and he knew what was better for us more than we did and we better not cross that. My father has never raised a hand against me or my youngest brother, but I did see him, only once, whip my oldest brother. That was all it took for my brother to change his behavior. My father never had to do that again. I believe that it was true for my father on that day, the saying, “It hurts me more than it does you.” My father did not like to do this sort of thing, but it was necessary at the time.

My father worked a lot. He made sure that his family was taken care of. He was always very loving to us. There were times that he would take us places and we would do things together. We always had a wonderful time. When I was a child, he use to let me stand on the tops of his feet and we would dance around the room. I loved him very much. He rescued me once from my mother’s old wringer washer. (A wringer washer was an old washing machine that the inside tub did not spin to wring the water out of the clothes. Instead, the wringer part was two rollers slipped together and the motor turned it and you used a stick to push the clothes in between the rollers to wring the water out.) My mother was washing clothes in the basement and when my mother left the basement, I decided to wash my doll clothes. When I used the stick to push the clothes in the wringer, the stick got stuck and I was holding on trying to pull it out. Before I knew it my arm was stuck in the wringer. I started screaming as loud as I could. The wringer just kept turning and turning on my arm. My daddy heard me and jumped the flight of the stairs. He did not run down them, he jumped from the top to the bottom. When He reached me, he unplugged the machine, popped the wringer, and got me out. He held me for the rest of the day. He was certainly my hero. I loved him with all my heart and I knew that I could trust him.

My mother cares deeply for her family. She was always very supportive of my father and they loved each other very much. I never saw or heard them argue. They seemed to have this magical way of working things out. My brothers and I are very thankful for that.

My mother always did wonderful things for us. She had beautiful dresses made for me. Easter was a special time for that. She would also let me invite friends over to spend the night. She would always join me and my friends. She told us some wonderful and funny stories. She would let me and my brothers invite our friends over when it snowed. We would go sleigh riding and she would make cookies and hot chocolate. She loved having our friends over. She is a wonderful mother.

My mother also had a way of letting us know that she knew what was better for us. She set no uncertain terms for using the “Rod of Correction”. I tell you, she did not have to use it often, but when she did, we knew we had better straighten up. At one time, when I was misbehaving, she had me bring her a switch. I thought that I would bring her a twig in hopes that she might find humor in that. SHE DIDN’T. I had to go get another one and it better be a good one. I did and got my little legs switched. I knew not to defy her.

My parents were not abusive people. They did not look for reasons to whip their children. They did not enjoy it. They would sit us down and tell us why they had to do that and that it was our responsibility to do what was right in order to live in a good world and to make a better world.

This was how my parents were taught to correct their children. Back then NO ONE was yelling abuse. And I tell you, that way for my parents was used in a loving way. It got our attention and we knew to listen. God says, “Spare the rod, spoil the child” and my parents truly believed that.

Pr 13:24 - He that spares his rod hates his son: But he who loves him disciplines him diligently.

Pr 22:15 - Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.

Pr 23:13 - Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.

Pr 23:14 - Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell

Pr 29:15 - The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself brings his mother to shame.

(This is not saying to correct with hate in your heart or by loving and enjoying beating a child. This is abuse. There is a difference.)

My parents chastised us as children and we feared that as we were growing up, but it never caused us to hate them or resent them and it never caused them to hate or resent us. Instead we knew that they loved us and they certainly cared for us. Their chastisement caused us to be better people.

My brothers and I love our parents with all our hearts and we often thank God for giving them to us. Although we loved them, we also feared them and respected them. You see, my parents loved us enough to care what kind of people we should be that they were willing to chastise us and cared enough for us to SHOW they loved us in many wonderful ways.

My parents also taught us that we have a loving and caring God. He created us and we are His. They also taught us that God will lovingly chastise his people that do not obey His word. He is our Father; we are his Children. By fearing His chastisement, has caused us to be “God-Fearing People” and in looking at Him as our Father, helps us to respect, love, and honor Him. By fearing the Lord will help us to be better people, to live a better life, and to help make this world a better place.


Copyright © Brenda L. Stevens

DESIRE HAPPENS!

You see, you want. Then what?

Agnieszka Tennant | posted 3/29/2007 08:33AM

There are times in the lives of most Christians when a vital force inserts itself into our consciousness and demands to take over. We see someone, and we crave.

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The EPOCH Commentary

“Evangelical Perspectives On Current Happenings”

AMERICA'S QUADRICENTENNIAL: AN

"OBSERVANCE" NOT A "CELEBRATION,"

A VICTIM OF "POLITICAL CORRECTNESS"

400 years ago, on April 26, 1607, three small sailing ships, the Susan Constant, the Discovery and the Godspeed, landed at what is now known as Virginia Beach. They had been at sea for just over 3 months, and the minister assigned to the voyage, Robert Hunt, declared 3 days of fasting and prayer. Then on April 29 they stepped ashore, and their first act was to erect a cross as they claimed this new land in the name of God.

A few days later they traveled up what is now known as the James River, and there they established Jamestown as the capitol of the new colony, and "began thereon in the name of God to erect a fortresse." One of the colonists, Richrd Hakluyt, wrote concerning their purpose, "Wee shall by planting there inlarge the glory of the Gospel, and from England plante sincere religion, and provide a safe and a sure place to receave people from all partes of the worlds that are forced to flee for the truthe of God's worde." In those few words he set forth the principles upon which the future United States of America would be based to provide a safe and secure haven for all who would seek to worship God according to His word.

Robert Hunt, the first minister of Jamestown, prior to his untimely death just about a year after landing, conducted regular church serrvices and daily prayer meethngs. It was upon the principles established by those hardy colonists that this nation was founded, and grew to become a world-wide symbol of freedom, a nation built upon these truths, that "all men are created equal, and are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights."

The 400th anniversary is surely something to celebrate, but through the intervening years something has happened to the original American ideal. In earlier years, each anniversary of the founding of the Jamestown colony was celebrated: the Centennial, the Bicentennial, even the Semiquincentennial (250th) . . . but this year the officials in charge of "Jamestown 2007" have banned the use of the word "celebration," and have substituted the word "observance." They have admitted to being ashamed for what was, in their minds, an "invasion." The new Virginia Governor, Tim Kaine has declared that the previous celebrations "did not tell the whole story." To make sure the revisionist story is told he appointed a panel including Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and Otis Moss, who said that America needs to fix "the propaganda of history," and that the Jamestown colonists were guilty of "a holocaust and lynchings."

In other words, America's 400th annivrsary celebration has been made subservient to the present day cult of "political correctness." The nation's liberal media has been quick to join in the denigration of these Christian founding principles. The New York Times in speaking of the swampy land where Jamestown was built, described settlement as "a town which disappeared into the mud," and the Virginia Gazette wrote, "For a whole year or more we shall celebrate the fact that a bunch of British buffoons who knew nothing of what they were doing colonized a swamp for the sake of Christianizing Indians."

One wonders if we should send word to Her Majesty Queen Eilzabeth II, who is planning to come to America to join in the celebration ("observance") of the founding of the first permanent English settlement in North America, and the beginning of the American nation. And one wonders if the U.S. Congress should be chastised for having passed the Jamestown 400th Commemoration Commission Act in the year 2000. And perhaps President Bush should rethink that document he signed, proclaiming the year 2007 as the 400th Anniversary of Jamestown . . . the portion of that Proclamation reproduced here is indicative of the importance the President attaches to this 400th Anniversary of the initial settlement in what was to become the Unted States of America:

<>Four centuries ago, after a long journey,a small group of colonists stepped boldly onto the shores of the New World, and established the first permanent English settlement in North America. During the 400th anniversary of Jamestown, America honors the early pioneers whose epic of endurance and courage started the story of our nation.

<>Much has changed in the 400 years since that three sided fort was raised on the banks of the James River. Today we are a strong and growing nation of more than 300 million, and we are blessed to live in a land of plenty during a period of great prosperity. The long struggle that started at Jamestown has inspired generation s of Americans. Advancing the right to live, work and worship in liberty is the mission that created our country, the honorable achievement of our ancestors, and the calling of our time.

<>NOW,THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim 2007 as the 400th Anniversary of Jamestown. I encourage all Americans to commemorate this milestone by honoring the courage of those who came before us, participating in appropriate programs and celebrations, and visiting this historic site with family and friends.

<>IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this sixth day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand and seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-first.

GEORGE W. BUSH

The indisputable fact is this, regardles of what the liberal theories of political correctness would have us believe, America was founded as a Christian nation. The initial colony in Jamestown made its first act upon stepping ashore to erect a cross and to kneel in prayer. Thirteen years later when the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth they declared in the Mayflower Compact their goal of establishing a colony for the glory of God and the advancement of the Christian faith. In the Declaration of Independence, the founding fathers affirmed that their purpose was to conform this new nation to the guidance of God and to accept His will and plan for His people. The recently promulgated theory that America was founded as a secular nation is not true. In this year 2007 we should give thanks to God for the faith and determination of men of God who, in the Declaration of Independence, based upon their firm reliance on Divine Providence, pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor to establish this nation . . . and let us honor those Jamestown colonists who 400 years ago, despite all hardships, planted the settlement which grew into today's United States of America.

Afterthoughts . . .

A word from the Vatican: there is no question that since the days of the Reformation there has been a wide gulf between Protestantism and Catholicism on certain Theological matters, and this is not to suggest that gulf is not justified. But on certain issues the Vatican holds to positions in which Conservative Evangelical Christians can rejoice. This past week Archbishop Angelo Amato, who heads the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, spoke in no uncertain terms about evils which are presented by the media as "expressions of human progress," and listed among those evils abortion clinics, which he termed "slaughterhouses of human beings," euthanasia and same-sex marriages, linking them to "parliaments of so-called civilized nations where laws contrary to the nature of human beings are being promulgated." Amato is the second highest doctrinal official for the Vatican, and is said to be very close to Pope Benedict XVI.

SEX from Lustfulness?

by Marianne Coyne
Copyright © 2007 Marianne Coyne

Some people prefer to say that sex is really from lustfulness. I have to agree. It is the natural base response to the attraction to another person, the desire to reproduce, or the response to a lustful feeling within us. It's natural, that is from nature - every animal has sex in one form or another. There really isn't anything special about it for humans. Some prefer to say it is a gift from God. Is it? I suppose so, in as much as filling your stomach with food when hungry, or drinking cool, clear water when thirsty is a gift from God. But let's not make more of it than it is just so that we feel better about engaging in it for any other purpose than to have children.

But, on the other hand....even eating or drinking can be a holy experience. We can make a base need holy by our reverence toward it - we bring God to eating or to sex. Imagine sitting at a table alone or with family, food prepared on the table ready for consumption. You take a deep breath, relax, say a prayer of thanksgiving, preparing your mind and body for the meal. You may think briefly of all that it took to put the food on your table: the farmer's hard work, the rain, the sunshine, all who harvested, perhaps even the animal which gave its life for your benefit. You are grateful for all of these blessings. If your family surrounds you, you may enjoy quiet encouraging conversation, or laughter. We have the ability to bring the Divine into every natural act or need, making it a holy experience.

Yes, even sex can be treated with reverence - and in doing so be enjoyed beyond one's expectations. Then it is called "love-making". This changes the meaning, the context, the reason why we make love - and changes what we bring to and take from the experience. It changes how we view the lover. The term 'making love' should be understood.

To 'make' means to 'create'. We are creating love - two people coming together with a holy aura, seeing the divine within the other, create something holy - Love. That is the Gift of God - Love.

I once read that while urinating, Benjamin Franklin was joined by one of the neighborhood dogs. As they stood side by side relieving themselves, Mr. Franklin was struck with the humility of his own base nature. Determined to spiritually elevate his position, in order to separate his act from the dog's, he decided that from then on whenever he relieved himself he would say a prayer.

It all comes down to choice. Benjamin Franklin chose to do what the dog couldn't - bring divinity and dignity to an otherwise base need. We can choose to keep sex as lust, where it will eventually lose its power to satisfy, or we can bring divinity and dignity to it, thereby creating a loving experience of mutual satisfaction which can last a lifetime. Only we have the power to choose whether or not we will be a true human being; the whole human being God intended us to be - in which our flesh and spirit come together to make the true perfect man; that is Anthropos.

Remember, what we commit ourselves to we become a slave to. Let us commit ourselves to the Divine. Let us do what God intended us to do, which is to bring the kingdom to dwell in this realm. May God bless you.

Big Mud Puddles and Sunny Yellow Dandelions

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take - but by the moments that take our breath away."

When I look at a patch of dandelions, I see a bunch of weeds that are going to take over my yard.
My kids see flowers for Mom and blowing white fluff you can wish on.

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In GOD We Trust!

We need to thank God that he has blessed America and we hope that He continues to do so.
Listen to the voices in the past. There is wisdom there!




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Christians and Unbelivers; Challenges and Rewards!

Discover the challenges and rewards Christians have faced in friendships with unbelievers.

Fight the "GOSSIP BUG"

Marian Liautaud suggests that those who gossip aren't necessarily doing so to be malicious. By gossiping we're looking for a shared connection with others. We all want to feel valued and like we're part of the "in" crowd—no matter what our age. Marian suggests concrete ways to fight off the gossip bug and nip it before it even gets started.




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The Horse that Helped Save a Fawn

By Bob Muth









This year we had a coyote den along the edge of our field under an upturned aspen. It seems only one pup survived, and they stayed around our field as it is full of ground squirrels.





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Installing Love

This is a very interesting way to learn a very important message. I know that I have reaped some absolutely magnificent benefits since installing this program on my system! I LOVE the Program! It keeps all things running smooth, and the Peace and Serenity programs working well!! I hope everyone will find the same and greater rewards from LOVE!!!



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Easter is a time of springtime festivals. In Christian countries Easter is celebrated as the religious holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the son of God. But the celebrations of Easter have many customs and legends that are pagan in origin and have nothing to do with Christianity.

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The Resurrection of Jesus Christ

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the very heart of Christianity. In 1 Corinthians 15 St. Paul reasoned, "If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. . . .We are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead."



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Jesus and the Sinner's Prayer!

"What must I do to be saved?"

It's a question millions of people have echoed since it first sprang from the lips of Paul and Silas' jailor. And like the prisoners' partially recorded reply, the answer usually given may be a bit truncated.

After all, that brief "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved" contrasts starkly with the detailed response Jesus himself delivered whenever he was asked about salvation.

Find out what Jesus said was necessary for eternal life as you read David Gushee's thought-provoking article "Jesus and the Sinner's Prayer," and see how this radical view of salvation could change the way you live.

Tired of dieting?

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SEE THIS!!!

I Looked Much Better......

He is the First and Last........

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