Thoughts and Reflections

It is another cool and crisp winter day As I go out to warm our “modern sleigh” In preparation for what we have planned This day is surely going to be grand For my love and I are going to sneak away In order to gather the finishing touches for the holiday. As we head down the lane, it begins to snow Softening the light and bringing a romantic glow The light glistens and gleams off of the hoar frost laden trees Reminiscent of a horse drawn sleigh painted winter scene   Stealing a glance at the love by my side My joy for this day is greatly magnified. We spend the day going from store to store Without you as my companion, it would be such a chore We pause for a moment and stop for a warming treat Conversation is light and as our eyes do meet Once again, trapped by thy gaze so tender and sweet. A pile of parcels accompany us on the way home The day is ending; there is no more time to roam I turn...

At some point in life, you have to learn to forgive those who have hurt you ( Eph. 4:32 ). Whether they are family, friends, co-workers, class mates or church family... it does not matter. We all make mistakes and cause hurt and pain to those that we love. How often do we end up holding onto a bitterness toward another and not even realize we are doing so? What does bitterness come from? Hurt feelings? Yeah, sure your feelings have been hurt, but a root could be built upon pride in some regards. We get hurt by the actions or words of others and say nothing. Why? Because we falsely believe that they should already know what they have done. Really? Is that how we are meant to go through life? Are we really to expect everyone to read our thoughts and just know that they wronged us or hurt us?   I am not speaking of anyone else or placing accusations on anyone. I am speaking of myself in a lot of ways. Being part of the human race and knowing that scripture states that no tempta...

I really do not know what to title this post. Honestly, this may be a continued work in progress. But then I am a work in progress... we all are. This is just a start of something. What will it become? Where will it go? What will the final outcome be? I do not have the answers right now. Maybe this will be all that comes from this... We shall see. There is a rage that is building inside me At a time when I should be keeping my mind on thee Why does my flesh battle me so? Away this rage I am wanting to throw Anger at the state of life I find myself in Mind is returning to the pain I have within A focus on self always causes me such trouble Allow God to work, force myself to be humble Lord, I cry out to you for salvation from my flesh Mind, will and emotion does the wicked one want to possess The battle seems contained to this mortal realm But the spiritual matters are what are at the helm The wicked one wants to see me brought low “Another deterred from ...

I started writing this just for some fun. However, I am working at looking for the spiritual applications of my many a wandering thought. This one was not to hard to do. We all have our own opinion of ourselves. Some are heady and think themselves better than others. Some go the other route and think themselves worthless and of less importance than those around them. All I can say is that in God's eyes you are priceless. He has a great plan for you. Think yourself better than others? He will work at getting you to humble yourself and submit to His will for you. Think you are worthless, He will work in your life to help you see that you have a great value. We must not pride ourselves in any way. All we have is because of God and His working in our life. A Symbol of Love This space is so dark and confining To be released from this prison I am pining I begin to formulate a daring plan Building strength to escape has already began I plant my feet and push with all...

The blows come hard, oft, and fierce Through my soul they do easily pierce I begin to recoil away from the blows Pain from the strikes continually grows I begin to respond and plan my own hits but in my heart this action does not fit Why do they come from a source so dear? What is the reason to attempt to cause fear? The buffeting continues but in my mind I pause Is there not truly a just reason or cause? I think of my Lord and what He wants to do I remember my Saviour said He would see me through He said that He wanted to work in my life This work was guaranteed to bring my flesh much strife In love this work was going to be done Oft for me it would not be much fun The reason of course is to remove the layers of corruption My recoiling from this heat would cause an interruption I remember the love of the one who allowed this event Do I have a right for my anger to vent? I see the truth and choose to humble myself Reach for His Word sitt...

So I have been contemplating a verse in scripture recently. Well, to be honest i have thought about it before, but never to the extent i did this past week. In Job 23:10 it says: But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold My thoughts were this: Lord, why did you say through Job that we would come forth as gold? I look at the trials in life as pressures. When I think of it this way, I think of diamonds. They are created through the application of a great deal of pressure and are also of a great value. As I contemplated on this opinion of mine, I was "presented" with this reasoning. Well, lets look at a diamond. Yes it is of great value and it is created through a great deal of pressure. a lot of outside force is needed to compress it and create the gem. It is then put through a time of forming where the jeweler cuts away those parts that are not quite good enough to remain. The value is then determined by the c...

The other night my daughter was coloring some pictures. She came to me and asked for some "empty pages". In other words, some blank pages. I was then to close my eyes and not peek as she drew me a picture. I said I would not look and went about doing what I was doing. After a while I came back into the living room to find her very upset and wadding up her picture. She had "ruined" it and was not happy with it at all. There was the beginning of tears and some anger towards herself over the whole thing. My mind instantly went to the thoughts of scripture. Such as  James 4:11 and Proverbs 18:21 . I knew that her mind was going the wrong way and I wanted to correct it. I took the picture and looked at it. I saw another "work of art" from my 5 year old. I saw the time and effort she put into it. I saw a picture of herself and her dad. I began to gush over how great the picture was and how much I liked it. She pointed out the "crooked smile". That...

Super Bowl Sunday!!! Actually, I normally would be excited to watch the game and all, but this year I was not concerned at all with the events of this yearly tradition. Dare I say, this yearly act of worship towards an idol in many lives. Yeah, I say idol because how many skipped out on church just to watch the "Big Game"? How many chose to view an event that within a few hours, days, or month's will have no effect on the outcome of their life? How many looked to the immediate pleasure of the flesh over the eternal ramifications of their choices? But I digress from what I wanted to post about today... For month's now, my youngest daughter has been resistant to going to her Sunday school class or even junior church. I for one have been showing frustration with this from time to time, but have "given in" and allowed her to stay with me. It has been a learning process for the both of us. Sunday morning was an example from the Lord that I may have never se...