Do You Ever Long To Go To Heaven?

As Christians we must all long to go be with Jesus at sometime. When I look around and hear of so many people suffering from cancer, and other illness, I want Jesus to come soon and take all of his people home. That is very selfish of me, because there are a lot of people who are lost in this world, and are going to die and go to hell if we as Christians do not tell them about Jesus. I have good friends who are getting prepared to go overseas to tell people of the love and saving mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our pastor just came back from a mission trip where he said hindu priest are actually coming to know Jesus as their personal Savior. He told us about people weeping for others to be saved. How long has it been since you or I have done that? All of us get caught up in our own lives and forget what Jesus told us to do, and that is to tell others about his love. I miss my Mom and Dad every day, and I know they are in Heaven. The excitement of seeing them and other relatives and friends again makes me long for Heaven. I forget that it is not about me, or you actually. It is all about Jesus, and how he gave his life for us. It is about how he conquered death by rising again on that third day. It is about him suffering for my sins and yours on that cross. When we do go to Heaven one day it will not be about us being reunited with our love ones, it will be about us worshiping Jesus, and praising him for what he has done for us. The biggest problem with the world is everyone, including Christians, are more concerned about ourselves instead of others. I am ashamed to say that when I am tired, hurting, whether physically or mentally, I think about Jesus coming back for us because I am being selfish. As I was going to Church tonight I know for a fact there are people right there in that little town who are lost and do not have the peace of God in their lives. How can I sit here and long for a place where there will be no tears, no pain, only joy with Jesus when people, and relatives of mine are lost and if they die tonight would face eternity in hell?God forgive me for being selfish. Lord give me guidance to tell others how to be saved, how to have eternal life with you in Heaven. Lord guide me to tell them of your amazing love, and the peace they can have in their hearts even in this time of turmoil. I pray that you will put me in the right place at the right time to be a witness for you to a relative of mine that I am very concerned about. When we are missing our loved ones, and longing for Heaven with Jesus, I pray all of us will put self away, and allow Jesus to use us for the purpose he has called us for. That is to spread the news of Jesus, the wonderful love, and saving grace of Jesus. As Christians help us Lord to bear the burdens of this world with your strength through prayer, and reading your word. Let's not be selfish, let us all be busy for Jesus!

Not Feeling Secure!

I had joined facebook a few weeks ago, and was enjoying seeing what friends were doing in their everyday life. I had also connected with some friends I had not spoken to or been in touch with in a long time. My youngest son had told me he didn't feel good about this, but I felt it was OK. All was going good until this morning. I got a friend request from someone I did not know, and to be honest he was a very scary looking man. I thought all of this was private to only the people I had ask to be my friend, or they had ask me, but when you take the little quiz, or join a group on there,then your profile is opened for everyone to see. I was surprised when I received the invitation from this person. He said our name was rare and we might be related. I hit the icon ignore, but a few minutes later the request came again, this happened 3 times. My oldest grand-daughter had been asking her Mom and Dad if she could have facebook, because so many of her friends had it. Her Mom and Dad did not allow her to have one, which at first I did not understand, but when I look at what happened this morning, I am sure I see why they were so opposed to her having the facebook. I am not sure she would have not allowed this man to join her facebook, as he was saying he thought we might be related. A 12 year old does not see the danger that I was reminded of this morning. When you have face book, you use your real name, and a lot of personal information is revealed on your profile. You really think all is OK because you know the people you are friends with, but are we ever truly safe online? Just this morning I saw on the news about a 16 year old girl who had befriended a man in Puerto Rico by means of her xbox. Seems you can play against others from everywhere on this game box.She believed everything this man had told her, and at 16 bought an airline ticket and is there now. Her parents were leaving today to go get her. Are parents aware of this? I know the internet has some wonderful features. I know you can gain lots of information that was very hard to obtain years ago, but I also see a danger, a real danger to young people who are not monitored. I also see a danger for lonely people who just want someone to talk to. You know there was a time when I was not reaching out to God for comfort in the problems of this world. I was looking for someone to talk to. I am so thankful that God reminded me through the Holy Spirit talking to me, that he is always there for me. He never leaves me, all I have to do is just open his word, read, and pray. I write in this journal but I only allow the people I have invited to have access to read it. I try to never put real personal information in here, and especially my name or exactly where I live. I just want to caution all of you who know me and read this, be careful online. If you have children please monitor their accounts online, and make sure they are not talking in chats, or in instant messages to people they may not know. Unfortunately our world is full of people who hurt the innocent, and our children are the most vulnerable of all. God bless all of you!

Road Kill In Mississippi

OK, I guess you are wondering why I have chosen to write about road kill. Well, the other day I was going down the road and I saw a dead possum on the road, the funny thing was this possum was smiling at me. It was so flat that it looked like it had a grin all across its head, and its eyes were wide open.I laughed so hard I could not stop. Yes this is a little gross, but when you live in Mississippi road kill is an everyday thing. I do not ever remember running over anything myself, but I have seen raccoons, possums,rabbits, squirrels, deer of course,skunks, coyotes, fox, armadillos, and birds of all kinds. I happen to be a person who loves animals but have you ever seen a coyote close up? They are a very scary looking animal. Huge teeth, and real long noses, even though the rest of the body looks more like just a dog. Some people from other states seem to think people from Mississippi actually eat all of this stuff. I for one do not!!! I try to avoid contact with any part of the Road Kill if possible. I mean sometimes you have no choice but to let your tire touch some of it. I hate seeing most of the Road Kill in Mississippi, but some it's OK by me. You know like the skunks, and coyotes. If you live in another state and would like to see more Road Kill, just send a stamped addressed envelope to anywhere in rural Mississippi, and we will be glad to help you out!!

I Wanted To Go Home!!

Yesterday afternoon my oldest Grand-daughter was taking guitar lesson at the church. I took the other 2 outside as it was a beautiful afternoon. I stood there and watched them running all over the Church yard, and memories began to come very quickly. Our home was on the corner lot right beside the Church. I had played all over that Church yard, the creek that runs beside it, and up and down that sidewalk that runs from one end of the town to the other. As the warmth of the sun hit my face, tears began to flow down. For the first time ever, I wanted to be a little girl again. I wanted the house that was my home, where I grew up to be in that empty lot. I wanted Daddy to be sitting on that front porch and I wanted to turn around wave, and hear him tell me to be careful on my bike. I stood there in that vacant lot, which is now owned by the Church, wanting my house to be there. I wanted to see Mommy telling me to help her get the clothes off the line again. I wanted to see her walking down that road coming home from work in the cotton mill. I wanted to see my brother and Daddy leaned back in the straight chairs on the porch talking, or see them out in the yard pitching ball. I wanted to sit on the porch swing with my Mommy again, as she brushed my hair. I wanted to see a Sunday afternoon ballgame going on in the big Church yard across from our house, where everyone played, of all ages. I wanted to see Mommy waving at me as I went up that sidewalk back to school after coming home for lunch. I wanted to go HOME, just one more time! Yes, I so enjoyed watching my girls running, playing, and jumping. It really made me think about the wonderful times I had growing up there in that small town. But it made me sad to think the house is gone, Mommy and Daddy are gone, the neighbors I grew up with are all gone. I have become the old, and all that is left of HOME is memories. Live each day as it is your last, because quickly they will pass. Live each day letting God be your guide, because all the matters is his love, and what we can do for the Lord. I guess I will always want to go home just one more time, but I am blessed to watch my girls and remember as often as I can.

Being A Woman!!

What does being a woman mean? You know what identifies who we are. Most of all I think it is how we feel about ourselves. God choose to create me, he had a purpose when he did, and I was chosen by him to be a woman. I think the world of advertising and television along with the movies tries to tell us what we as women should look like. I feel that I should look like the woman God created me to look like. When I was younger I hated my freckles, no one else had as many as me I thought. I remember my Daddy always did what he could to make me feel better about them when I complained. He had a funny saying, "If you got freckles on your butt, your pretty". Well, I do not have them there, but that did always make me smile. As I have gotten older I realize that my freckles are just part of who I am. Just like my short toes, and my long legs. God made me to look exactly like he wanted me to. What I do with what God gave me is what is important. I can not always look back to my past and be proud of the way I have acted as a woman, but I can look back to the day God forgave me of my sins, and be the lady he wants me to be the rest of my life. When I was teaching a youth Sunday School class I used to tell my girls, if you do not want the boys to look at you in a certain way, then present yourself in the way God would have you do. I raised boys, I wanted to teach them that they should not look at young ladies as just sexy, or just their outward appearance, well it is hard to teach them that when the women are dressing a certain way, and acting a certain way. That is not what God intended us to portray to men. We are to be a lady. My Mommy was a good example, she always dressed apporiate, always carried herself as a lady. You know, what is wrong with being the woman who is proud of her man, proud to cook for him, proud to keep her home clean and presentable at all times for her family. I think it is horrible when kids can not take their friends to their homes because they are embarrassed. Now I do think children should be taught to pick up after themselves, but I, as a woman feel like my home is an expression of me. The Bible says that a man should love his wife as he does the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible also says a woman should be submissive to that Husband, well you know what, if that man is loving you like he loves Jesus, respecting you as he does him, he deserves your help, and to allow him to be the head of the home, that is what God intended. I like being a woman, but I like the woman I am now better than when I was 20 years younger. I have more respect for myself, and I see how important it is to be an influence on younger woman is this society. We can teach them by the way we dress, and how we carry ourselves. God made us to be Mothers, to me the most amazing job in the world. We were made to carry little babies inside of us, go through the process of giving birth, and then we were given the ability to have something I call Mother's instinct. I always knew when my kids needed to go to the Dr., I always knew when they were doing something they should not have been doing, and think about this, children love their Fathers, but now as my kids are grown, they will call and talk to Daddy, but most of the time it is, let me talk to Mommy. We are given a most wonderful gift by being a woman, how will the world see you as one? Will you be part of this sinful world, dress like you have no pride because everyone else does, or will you take a stand and be the amazing lady God intended you to be? Don't wait until your my age to realize the importance of how as a woman you portray yourself, start now!!

Getting What I Wanted!!!

I wanted to tell you the story of me getting a bench I wanted from K-mart one time. I had gone in to look at the garden things, the line from Martha Stewart. There was the cutest garden bench in the store. I knew I wanted it, and it was $120.00. I found a saleslady and ask her to help me get the bench. She left for a few minutes, came back and said we do not have any. So naturally I ask her when they would get some in. She left again, came back, and said we are not getting any, and this is the only one we have received, and it is a floor model so we can not sale you this one. I stood there for a few minutes thinking why would you have a floor model of something you are not going to have in the store, and not sale the one you have? I ask the lady again about buying the one on display, repeating what she had said to me about not getting any, but she just refused to sell it to me. There are not many things that I find that I want, but I think because this was such a mixed up case, I was determined to get his garden bench. I left the store frustrated, and on the way home began to think about how this made no sense to me. When I got home I decided to contact the cooperate office in Minnesota. I called them explained the situation, and that the people refused to sell me something that they never plan to get, so I could not get a rain check, and also that they would not sell me the floor model. They agreed with me that this was ridiculous and said they would call the store. I called the local store a little later and the main office had called them and told them to sell me the floor model with a $10.00 discount. This did not make the saleslady happy with me, but I hope they see the reason I did this. Sure it was something I really wanted, but most of all it was the principle of advertising with a floor model something that the store never intended to have in the first place. I am sure I was not the only person who went into this store wanting to buy this garden bench. I was though the only person who was determined to buy it. I am not sure if management, or the sales people in that department made the mistake of placing this bench for advertisement on the floor, but I say if they have it in the store, they should sell it. When I look back at this, I laugh at myself for being so persistent, but I still enjoy that bench when I go out to my front porch and sit.

Little Things!!! Bother You?

Do the little things that people do bother you? or have you learned to laugh at them? I read a devotional this morning about quirks. Do the people in your life have little quirks that identify them? I went into the bathroom this morning, and the water was running just a little. Over the years I have went in many mornings after David has gotten ready for work and found the water not quite turned off. I admit in years past I would get agitated from this, but now it makes me smile. It is part of who he is, and I love him. Just as when I go into the kitchen and all the cabinet doors are open, that is part of my David. I will admit that after our friend Rennie has picked at him about it for a while now, he closes more than he used to, but I have a good laugh now over things that used to make me angry. Why would I let having to simply close a cabinet door make me mad? I think so many times in life we look for the little things people do, or don't do that is different from ourselves. What if God did that? What if he looked at all the little things we do? I thank him that he loves me for who I am. I think I can love David through the little things if God can love me through mine, don't you? I do little things too that I know bugs David and other people in my life. I thank God they can see past them and love me for who I am. I hope all of you will look past the little things that your spouse, your friends, and all the other people in your life do. I hope you can look at them and laugh as I have learned to do, and I promise you I just named two of the little quirks David has. Laughter, and smiles can just make these things just disappear. Because isn't it the little things we love about them too, that makes them so special? Next time someone in your life does one of those little things that seem to always bother you, smile, and thank God they are part of your life.