Stear into the wake, but set your eye on the prize

"6.But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
11But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 12Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you 14to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.
17Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life." 1st Timothy 6:6-19 (NIV)

That says so much at one time, but really sums up what we should seek in this lifetime. We come into this life naked and we shall go out the same way-with no material value. It is so easy to get caught up in all the other distractions isn't it? Satan loves to throw us off track from God with all the temptations where we're the weakest.

Set your eyes on the prize and cling to the spirit of God as you sail through the waters of life and love.

We may need to follow the wake of those who have gone on before us, but how we sail and our life journey ultimately is left between God and the individual sailor!

Choices

"A person should be like a watch-open-faced, busy hands, well regulated and full of good works. " Roy Zuck

That is a pretty good illustration, wouldn't you agree? it is so important to keep growing and going, as long as we are alive. Everyday is an opportunity to grow in our relationships with others and God. We will never know how many days we have left before our time on earth stops.

My father called last night and told me that one of my first fishing buddies in Michigan has advanced lung cancer. You or I may never take another breath, because every breath is given from our creator and sustainer. Tell me what would you do today if today was your last day on earth?

Now go tell those people you love how much you love them. Share the important stuff, do the necessary things you'll want to be remembered for and live like it was your last chance. Dance like nobody is watching! Live,Laugh, Love and Give everything you give from your heart!

Will the choices you make today bring health and happiness to God and others, as well as yourself? Make the most of what you have, give it to your heavenly Dad!

"If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance (and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe.
Command and teach these things. Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching" 1 Timothy 4:6-13 (NIV)

You and I will be changed in the twinkling of an eye. That is why it is so important to know where you will go when you die.

Seven ways to build a Better You

1. Show Appreciation

2. Reach out and connect with other people

3. Work on the Relationships you have.

4. Follow Jesus-The best Role model you'll ever have.

5. Smile often

6. Focus on Positive People

7. Build your inner circle with the people who inspire, truly love and care about you and others with a sincere heart. Never forget, you must love others in order to be loved.

What kind of people do you want to attract? I guess that depends on where your heart really is. Just remember that life is short and it goes by so much faster than you imagined, so make the most of what you have and be glad while you're here doing it!

Proverbs 21:1-8 (NIV)
1 The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.
2 All a man's ways seem right to him, but the LORD weighs the heart.
3 To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.
4 Haughty eyes and a proud heart, the lamp of the wicked, are sin!
5 The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.
6 A fortune made by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a deadly snare.
7 The violence of the wicked will drag them away, for they refuse to do what is right.
8 The way of the guilty is devious, but the conduct of the innocent is upright.

Everyone needs a place to meet God Alone

"Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where Nature may heal and cheer and give strength to the body and soul alike." John Muir

I totally agree with that statement, so often I find I need sheer solitude with God instead of haughty, noisy crowds. Sometimes I simply need to be alone and ask God, "What should I do now?" Sometimes He doesn't respond quickly, and I become frustrated, but often as I'm walking and waiting He simply responds through simple examples in nature. Pray for me as I seek God's guidance in so many things.

"Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.
He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." Isaiah chapter 40:28-31 KJV

Back Off I've got Gas!

I guess we've all had the misfortune of having someone in front of us who lets out a gut wrenching smell, that is so potent you swear you're gonna die. Someone almost always says, "Lord have mercy what did you eat to smell like that?"

The one with so much "Flower Power,"notoriously, turns around with a ghastly grin or at our house a hearty ha-ha-ha. If Michael my son is around he almost always adds, "Was it as good for you as it was for me?"

I love to hear him laugh, I always have. Every since he was a baby he could light up a room with his hearty laugh and smile. His smile and laugh have grown with him over the years. Honestly, I treasure Michael, Heidi and Neva more each passing year. When the three of them get together, there is so much laughter, joking and farting going on we all have a ball. I'm really looking forward to the next time we can all be together again.

Love beyond the surface

"Love one another with brotherly affection [as members of one family], giving precedence and showing honor to one another." Romans 12:10 (Amplified Bible)

I have been amazed at how easy it is to get to know people at Athens Tech. The people in the Athens area seem so friendly and kind. This is a great area to live!

More than ever, people want and need to know we really care about them. Love is like an awesome boomerang, the more you genuinely give to people so much more returns. Deep fellowship requires more than, "Hi how are you?" Find people you can really listen to and help. Cautiously, expose yourself to others, look for the real friendships in life. Remember you are the "salt" of the earth; we need to share with, and love both believers and nonbelievers. No one was created to live alone.

One of the greatest problems in the church, (The whole body of believers, not just a certain building or group.) is the fact that there is very little real fellowship. No, we shouldn't air all our problems to the four winds for everyone to know and see. However, we all need at least someone, or a small group of friends we can share deep thoughts, problems and joys with. As we share our hearts and lives we can build each other up, encourage one another to grow and press on. Love the way God created you to love, genuinely. Does that make sense?

Please ask God to give me wisdom

29 God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore. 30 Solomon's wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the men of the East, and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. 31 He was wiser than any other man, including Ethan the Ezrahite—wiser than Heman, Calcol and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame spread to all the surrounding nations. 32 He spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five. 33 He described plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of walls. He also taught about animals and birds, reptiles and fish. 34 Men of all nations came to listen to Solomon's wisdom, sent by all the kings of the world, who had heard of his wisdom.

1 Kings 4:29-34 (NIV)

I wish God would bless me with this much knowledge. Wouldn't it be great to be as wise as King Solomon? If by chance you didn't have the right answer, there were scholars in his court who could solve the problem.

Going back to school isn't as easy as it sounds. Frankly, all the new ways to do old math problems, at what seems faster than the speed of light, is very overwhelming. English class is very enlightening. However, yesterday I doubted my grammatical skills more than I trusted them.

I learned that I probably was too aggressive in the way I wrote my last book. If I offended any of you, I didn't mean to, please accept my apology. I've always been a direct person; but I'm also a very affectionate person. I never want to be too aggressive, or over powering, but I'm afraid I may have been.

As my readers, will you please help me? When I'm too much of anything, please let me know. I'd rather know and change than go on hurting anyone. I really appreciate the English teacher pointing that writing technique out.

Thank you so much, for your patience and love for me despite all my rough edges and flaws. God still has so much to do with me; maybe that's why I'm still on this earth learning. God Bless you with lots of Christ's perfect love now and always. May He grant us all the wisdom we need to grow in Him and help others do the same.

"being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

Philippians 1:6 (NIV)

Yeah Hey, there's still hope!

:) Kathy :)