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Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Scars of Life

SCARS OF LIFE

Some years ago,
on a hot summer day
in South Florida ,
a little boy decided to go
for a swim in the old swimming hole behind his house.
In a hurry to dive into
the cool water,
he ran out the back door, leaving behind shoes, socks, and shirt as he went.
He flew into the water,
not realizing that as he swam toward the middle of the lake, an alligator was swimming toward the shore.

His father, working in the yard, saw the two as they got closer and closer together.
In utter fear,
he ran toward the water,
yelling to his son as loudly
as he could.

Hearing his voice,
the little boy became alarmed and made a U-turn
to swim to his father.
It was too late.
Just as he reached his father, the alligator reached him.

From the dock,
the father grabbed his little boy by the arms
just as the alligator
snatched his legs...
That began an incredible
tug-of-war between the two. The alligator was much stronger than the father,
but the father was much
too passionate to let go.

A farmer happened to drive by, heard his screams,
raced from his truck,
took aim and shot the alligator.

Remarkably, after weeks and weeks in the hospital,
the little boy survived.
His legs were extremely scarred by the vicious attack
of the animal.
And, on his arms,
were deep scratches
where his father ' s fingernails dug into his flesh in his effort
to hang on to the son he loved.

The newspaper reporter
who interviewed the boy
after the trauma,
asked if he would
show him his scars.
The boy lifted his pant legs. And then, with obvious pride, he said to the reporter,
'But look at my arms.
I have great scars
on my arms, too.
I have them because
my Dad wouldn ' t let go. '

You and I can identify
with that little boy.
We have scars, too.
No, not from an alligator,
but the scars of a painful past. Some of those scars
are unsightly and have
caused us deep regret.
But, some wounds,
my friend,
are because God has refused
to let go.
In the midst of your struggle, He ' s been there
holding on to you...

The Scripture teaches that
God loves you.
You are a child of God.
He wants to protect you
and
provide for you in every way. But sometimes we foolishly wade into dangerous situations, not knowing what lies ahead. The swimming hole of life
is filled with peril -
and we forget
that the enemy is waiting
to attack.
That ' s when the tug-of-war begins - and if you have
the scars of His love
on your arms,
be very, very grateful.
He did not and will not ever let you go.

Please pass this on
to those you love...
God has blessed you,
so that you
can be
a blessing to others.
You just never know
where
a person is in his/her life
and
what they are going through. Never judge another
person ' s scars,
because you don ' t know
how they got them...
Also,
it is so important that
we are not selfish,
to receive the blessings
of these messages,
without forwarding them
to someone else.
Right now,
someone needs to know that God loves them,
and you love them, too -
enough to not let them go .
Always
Tell Your Family
And Friends
How Much
You Love Them!!!

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Would You Like Some Cake

Today is my youngest brother's birthday. He is 44.  We have teased him all his life that we found him in a brush pile.  So whenever anything goes wrong he claims it "I am a brushpile  baby".  He and I have so much fun teasing each other. I love my brother dearly.

Have you ever that about what it takes to make a delicious birthday cake? Here is a story I would like to share with you. I hope you enjoy it. Happy Birthday Bro.
Sometimes we wonder, "What did I do to deserve this?" or "Why did God have to do this to me?" Here is a wonderful explanation! A daughter is telling her Mother how everything is going wrong, she's failing algebra, her boyfriend broke up with her and her best friend is moving away.
Meanwhile, her Mother is baking a cake and asks her daughter if she would like a snack, and the daughter says, "Absolutely Mom, I love your cake"
"Here, have some cooking oil," her Mother offers. "Yuck" says her daughter.
"How about a couple raw eggs?" "Gross, Mom!"
"Would you like some flour then? Or maybe baking soda?" "Mom, those are all yucky!"
To which the mother replies: "Yes, all those things seem bad all by themselves. But when they are put together in the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake!
God works the same way. Many times we wonder why He would let us go through such bad and difficult times. But God knows that when He puts these things all in His order, they always work for good! We just have to trust Him and, eventually, they will all make something wonderful!
God is crazy about you. He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning.
Whenever you want to talk, He'll listen. He can live anywhere in the universe, and He chose your heart.
If you like this, share with the people you really care about. I did.

Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance.

Friday, July 2, 2010

God Bless America

Just wanted to observe our National holiday in some way. I hope that each of you are enjoying this glorious Independence Day weekend.
Don' t forget to take time to realize that our freedom has come to us at a price for freedom is never free.  Continue to pray for this great nation of ours. We may not agree with everything that is going on but we are commanded in God's word to pray for leaders whether we agree with them or not. Pray that return to what we were. Pray for what we can be again with God's help. Pray for all those men & women around the world who are fighting to protect our freedom.  Don't take it for granted.  We have already seen there are so many who would love to take it from us. 
I have a nephew who has joined the military and will leave next month for basics. Please pray for him and his protection. His name is Jake.


God Bless America
by 
Irving Berlin

While the storm clouds gather far across the sea,
Let us swear allegiance to a land that's free,
Let us all be grateful for a land so fair,
As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer.

God Bless America,
Land that I love.
Stand beside her, and guide her
Through the night with a light from above.
From the mountains, to the prairies,
To the oceans, white with foam
God bless America, My home sweet home.




Thursday, July 1, 2010

Masks

I have been thinking about great deal masks.  You know those that we all hide behind. Masks are those
objects worn either to disguise or protect the face or to project the image of another personality or being.
Seems like everyone in my extended family is probably hiding behind a mask and that none of us know the true person behind the mask.
Isn't it a shame that we don't feel free to be ourselves with our own families.  I know that in my extended family I am the peacemaker and the go between for everyone, the messenger. I feel like one day the messenger will probably be killed if not directly, indirectly from the stress of it all.  We have those who hide their hurt behind humor or too much of it. We have those who love the drama of it all. We have those who just retreat.  Those who love to be in the lime light so their mask is big and showy. Others are quite sedate.  Some are clownish.  I know that right now I would love to rip everyone's mask off and make them show their true colors but the wounds may be too deep for that.  What mask are you wearing?