Month: November 2017

Happy Thanksgiving to you all! We can trace this holiday to a 1621 celebration at the Plymouth Plantation where settlers had a successful growing season. The holiday was recognized nationally by proclamation from George Washington in 1789. We have a real connection with the investment of seeds to fruition from very difficult conditions to a day of perhaps too much indulgence. Do we remember the sacrifices of our forefathers giving themselves to enhance our lives? Did they possess an attitude of success? Yes! If they had failed, would we even exist today?

I watched an awesome movie called “Wonder” the other day that demonstrates the gifts one possesses to enhance another goes well beyond superficial attraction. I encourage you to see the movie yourself but be prepared to wipe your eyes often.

I believe God has given each of us certain talents or gifts. We are also given a free will to use those gifts or to hide them. We can invest our gifts for the enhancement of others or we can hide them and return them back to the master unused. Some of us never even try to realize our gifts due to fear of failure. Thank goodness those that who have forged a life before us did not have that failure mentality but went on faith to fulfill their dreams. 1 Thessalonians 5 says we are children of light and since we belong to the day, we stay focused on the gift of salvation. The story in Matthew 25 tells about the master giving coins to his workers according to their ability. Two workers invested the coins and was rewarded for their actions where one worker buried his coin in fear of retaliation thus missing an opportunity to prove his worth. Many of us are given gifts and use those gifts to the best of our ability but many of us hide away our gifts for fear of failure. The only way a person can truly succeed is to learn that failure is only a stepping stone to success. Don’t say the words “can’t” or “try”. Replace those words with “can” or “do”.

Use your talents and gifts to enhance your life and the lives around you then teach others to utilize their specific gifts to do the same and let us all grow together.

T

I think the use of a crystal ball to predict your future is close to thinking the tooth ferry will bring us money. Perhaps at a young age, we can pretend but as we get older, I believe we all eventually reach a maturity where we realize it takes a little more effort to fulfill our dreams. A crystal ball is used as a fortune telling object. In my opinion, this object is nothing more than a piece of glass. Would anyone use this object to plan their future? I believe there is a distinct difference between hoping for the future and relying on an inanimate object to predict the future. Hope is a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. Paul encouraged us in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 to draw on their hope of the resurrection for strength in time of mourning. We all know that death is inevitable. When that time comes, we can either embrace the moment with confidence that there is a life everlasting or end in fear there is no future. May we share the encouragement with Paul that we should not mourn as if it’s the end, but the beginning of a new existence in the Spiritual World. None of us have a crystal ball so it is absurd to not take action in planning for the future. Do you have hope?

Most of God’s creatures have a natural desire to plan or store for the winter but us humans are given a free will to plan or not. In Matthew 25:1-13 which I encourage you to read is all about preparation. In the parable of the wedding, some bridesmaids did not prepare for the long wait for the bride groom. When he arrived they were not recognize. The message is that we should plan ahead, stay alert and prepare for the inevitable. Why should we prepare if we do not believe? Thank goodness many of us do believe and can accept our everlasting future.

T

Have you ever considered the purpose of a flashlight? In many parts of the world a flashlight is referred to as a torch which is a source of light. Can you imagine living in total darkness? It is doubtful we would survive too long in total darkness. Energy is measured by the amount of work done. Darkness is the absence of light. As I understand the concept, light is a result of work done. A flashlight is merely a device that captures energy to be converted into light. Some of us live in darkness when all we need to do is develop a new attitude. It is all about attitude. We have the flashlight within our souls to make a difference not only to our lives but the lives around us. If the person who shot up a small church this weekend killing many, would have been given a new attitude towards life, can you imagine the outcome?

1 John 3 tells us that we are all God’s children. How can we consider the violence in the world coming from God’s children? Perhaps, it is better understood as the absence of God. If darkness is the absence of light, then evil is the absence of God. Since many of us believe that God sent his son who we call Jesus to be the light of the world, is it unreasonable to consider that we can change attitudes by turning on the light of Christ. Let Him be our flashlight in a dark world. Read Matthew 5 to discover the Blessed Attitudes that will help us turn this world from darkness to a shining light on the hill.

T