Thoughts and Reflections

How often has this phrase passed over my lips as I stand looking at a situation I am not keen on dealing with. How often have we in some way or another said this phrase with the intended interpretation being, I would not have made that decision? Over the past few days, this thought has been on my mind. Looking for a reason that this has been on my mind, brought me to a verse.    Proverbs 16:33 The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD. We have no control over the things that come into our lives. We make decisions on where we will go to college, who we marry, where we work, what car we drive, where we go to church, or what we will have for our next meal. All with the impression that everything will work out according to "our plan". How many times do we see things falling apart and think "If only I had known, I would not have..." or maybe look at the success of others and wonder why we are not getting the same blessings. As ...

How often do we read Romans 8:28  and wonder how in the world the experiences we are going through could possibly be for any good? Too often we are looking at God and asking Him to answer a prayer to our specific desire. This desire according to Gods word does appear to be in line with His desires. We do not look at the big picture or see the other things that God is changing in our lives during this trial. In my previous post I talked about two possible paths in life that I have to choose from. I mentioned that my heart was leaning towards the one I believed was right. I still believe that there is nothing wrong with that path. However, As I mentioned in a "meeting" recently. I am standing at the beginning of this fork in the road and the light around me guiding my steps is not moving. I believe that this is the biggest frustration. The standing and not moving. But that is where God has me. Others in my life who are involved in the trial or are close to it are continuing...

You know, it would be a lot easier to post to this page if I had quick access and it would read my mind. Often I have ideas of what to write and well.... never get to it. Oh well, here is to hoping the posts I do make are interesting and maybe even helpful. Life is full of choices. Some are easy and do not really matter in the grand scheme of things. Others can be life changing... or so we think. The decision to stop and splurge for a cup of coffee might not seem "life changing", but who knows what that split second decision kept you from. A lot of times we never see the full outcome of that decision. Yeah, we can point to the cup of coffee and say that it is the outcome... but is that truly the only outcome? Why did you get the desire to stop? What prompted you to make a decision? The example I gave is not very deep. Often I make a quick decision to stop for coffee. Other times I just find myself heading in that direction. These are decisions that I have "control o...

There was a man in our church who would often ask you “Who is in charge of your life anyways?” There are time where hearing this was not encouraging at all, but you know what? I am glad he asked that question. Often I was looking for sympathy for my “hard life” that I was going through. Wanting to have a pity party and looking for others to invite. If it were not for that question, yeah I probably would have succeeded and not have been any better for it. There is not a single person out there that can say every dream they have had for their lives have come true. Sure, we can lie to ourselves and say it has been perfect. Sure, we can blame others for the problems that have arisen and say it is because of them that out “perfect life” did not come true. Too many times, we are living in our fantasy world cultivated by movies, books, and web page snap shots. Seeing the “perfect life” or perfect family or couple and allow it to cause us to become unhappy with our life. What a shame th...

April 2017... Time sure does fly. I knew I had not posted in some time, but to be honest... I was not sure I would ever post again. Life... we all are living one and none of us are controlling it at all. Sure, we wake up every day and go through the routine. But what happens when "life" has an unexpected event happen? That is when you truly see how much control you really have. It is at this point that you learn that all you have control of is your reactions to it and that is just barely. For some, even our emotions are "out of control". I stand here today and can tell you... There are times that only God has gotten me this far. A couple years ago, I was hit with a storm that has done nothing but destroy. It has gone on now for some time. Every time I think that it is beginning to "lift", the clouds get darker and the raging storm around me beats against me some more. Any man facing what trials I have gone through would probably quit. I know because, I...

Psalm 32: 7 Thou art my hiding place ; thou shalt preserve me from trouble ; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.   Maybe it is my personal failing in trusting God, Maybe its weak faith, or maybe I just do not listen to His quiet promptings to pay attention to his Word. Any way you look at it I do not receive words of wisdom often. Does this mean I quit looking? Does this mean I give up? No, of course not. This is one area in my life that I want to continue to grow and learn. That is why when I came across this part of scripture, my mind began to wonder. What does this mean? Sure, I know what preserving means. You can, dry, or prepare food for long term storage. It has been set aside for a later date when the season of the food is no longer here, but you want to enjoy it still. What I was not putting together was God preserving me, so I grabbed my dictionary and looked it up. Sure enough, my definition was there. But then I discovered more… ...

Romans 6:11-16 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body , that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin : but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you : for ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then? Shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? We are born into a sin filled world. We “take possession” of a sin filled body. We live our lives striving to fulfill the lusts of our bodies desires on a daily basis . It is when we come to the point of realizing ou...