A Day in my life

I spent the day trying to keep a 20 year old breathing. I am a nurse. Is it my fault she could not breathe? No. Is it my fault she was scared? No. Is it my fault she had leukemia? No. Did I do all I could for her? Yes. But, Where was God. She is 20 years old. She has so much to give yet. Did God want her home with Him for some reason? What was the lesson to be learned here. He always does things for a reason, I just cannot always see it. She fights for every breath as I give her these wonderful drugs that are to help her breath easier. But she does not. The panic comes. The family is anxious. After all she is only 20. They do not want her to struggle like this either. We pray. We ask God to come to earth and heal her. She struggles a little easier now. Will she make it through the night? I do not know. Only God does.

Love Languages

It is written in a book somewhere that we each have our own love language.
If your spouse does not speaks yours, then your love tank is left empty.
If you do not speak your spouses, then their love tank is left empty.
If you do not feel loved, then you really are empty.

Learn your spouses love language.
Educate them about yours.
See the fun in having a full love tank.

Vroooom!!!!!!!

Listen

Listen....
You hear that?????
Quiet.....
It is quiet now!!!!!
The kids are back in school.
New schedule.
New lunch boxes.
New food.
New clothes.
New shoes.
New notebooks.
New pens.
New pencils.
New Quiet.
They are growing up so fast.

Enter In

Matthew 7:13-27 13) "Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14) For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few. 15) Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16) You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? 17) So, every sound tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears evil fruit. 18) A sound tree cannot bear evil fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19) Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20) Thus you will know them by their fruits. 21) Not every one who says to me, `Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22) On that day many will say to me, `Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' 23)And then will I declare to them, `I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.' 24) Every one then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock; 25) and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26) And every one who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand; 27) and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell; and great was the fall of it."

A Thought

Your quote of the day forAugust 4, 2005
"It is easy to forgive others their mistakes; it takes more grit and gumption to forgive them for having witnessed your own."
– Jessamyn West

War?

Can a Christian support President Bush’s declaration of war on terrorism?

In light of the recent terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center and President Bush’s subsequent declaration of war on terrorism, many American Christians have been thrust into a serious debate. Can they be consistent in their personal faith and still support retaliatory military action?
The difficulty lies in the struggle to find the balance between the individual prohibition against vengeance, and the national responsibility of a government to execute justice for its citizens and with other nations. Many have misapplied Christ’s call to forgiveness in interpersonal relationships ( Luke 17:3-4 ) and love for enemies ( Matthew 5:44; Luke 2:27 ) to matters of national and international conflict.
We must grapple with at least three primary issues regarding this complex matter.
First, we need to recognize the difference between an individual response and a governmental response. Paul clarified in Romans 12:19-21 that individuals are prohibited from taking personal revenge on those who have harmed them in some personal way. Vengeance is God’s exclusive right. As individuals, we are called to "overcome evil with good" ( Romans 12:21 ).
Second, we need to acknowledge God’s mandate for human government to be the guardian responsible for the preservation of order in a society. Government is to be the protector of the people as an "agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer" ( Romans 13:4 ). Immediately following the prohibition against personal vengeance in Romans 12:19-21 , Paul contrasts the God-given directive for human governments to execute justice and punishment against those who violate the law:
Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing ( Romans 13:1-6 , NIV).
The Bible advocates a healthy fear of punishment as a deterrent against those who would perpetuate a pattern of evil against a society. This is the divine mandate for the use of force to bring evildoers to justice, whether they are a government’s own citizens, or foreign adversaries.
Third, and finally, we must understand that when God established the institution of human government to maintain peace and order in a sinful society, He also gave government the responsibility for the use of deadly force. Paul emphatically states that human government is given the power of armed force ("the sword" in verse 4) for a specific reason. The Bible makes it clear that sometimes it is necessary for a government to use lethal force to deal with a pattern of wickedness that refuses to respond to reason. While it would be wrong for individuals to execute vigilante justice by taking matters into their own hands, the government is given divine authority to execute justice for the benefit of preserving order in a society threatened by evildoers.
With these biblical guidelines in mind, we can see that it is consistent with God’s mandate and it is an act of responsibility for President Bush to order an attack on an identifiable enemy (those who are responsible for the terrorists attacks on US soil). This action is both a form of punishment for what has been done and a deterrent to future attacks.
Soul Journey 2005