2014

What a heavy load 2014 has on it. We seem to believe that at midnight when we switch over to a new year, our past goes away, our worries are gone and we are excited about a new year that will give us a clean slate. Then January 1st we wake up with the same worries, the same past and now we are in a new year with old and new problems. So what do we do now?

First of all we must come to terms with the disappointments of the year we're saying goodbye to. Are we going into a new beginning with self hatred, feeling like we're failures and anger toward others. Secondly when life is going by quickly we forget to stop and measure how far we've come. So the beginning of 2014 is a great time to look behind us and check our growth. Did the crisis's we feared come to past or are we still standing? If still standing then that is something to celebrate. If you faced a crisis and you're reading this, you're still standing and that also is a good thing.

Thirdly as a Christian I don't have to wait to celebrate a new beginning on a New Year's Eve. I can start over with a clean slate anytime I ask God to forgive me or help me. We can have New Years Eve anytime. 

Finally if you find you are carrying a load into the New Year, drop it right now and ask Jesus to pick it up. Don't try to help Him, He's fully capable of carrying it all with one little finger. Now march into the New Year with your head held high and a big smile on your face. You're not walking alone and your future is bright. No matter what happens Jesus see's your future, what you can't. Listen to the positive voice and put your fingers in your ears to the negative critical voice, that one wants you to fail. Distinguish between the two voices, the enemy is critical and loves to call you a failure where Jesus encourages you to take another step forward and wants you to succeed. 2014 will be what you make it depending on who you decide to listen to and remember God's voice can be very quiet and still but the enemy loves to yell. Faith drowns out the yelling though so hold faith high and go after your dreams with Jesus leading the way in 2014. Happy New Year!

Is it quiet?

I've decided to get back to writing. I feel a little grieved and uneasy this week for some reason. Lots of changes are taking place in our country and having a birthday made me more aware of how short life is.Often just writing about it is calming. I tell myself nothing stays the same in this life although we would love it to but then we wouldn't grow up or grow in wisdom. God though is always with us yet at times He seems very quiet. That could be because we often have so much noise around He must have to yell to get our attention. His voice though is often quiet and calm so perhaps the first thing we can do to connect is to cut off everything around us..but don't most of us find that scary..I do...the quietness? As a child there was always noise in our home. My mom always had the television going or the radio so quietness to me is often a frightening place. I do think of cutting off the noise yet when I try I chicken out. This fear of silence gets in the way of my talking with God. I have found though that mornings will work for me, they are quiet and are a great time to have a God chat yet isn't it funny that the phone will ring or something will disturb the peace and quiet when you finally get there. The enemy really likes to play games and we fall for it. The Lord says seek him early, He knows that if we start our day in prayer and dialogue with Him our day will go smoother and our thoughts will be on him. When we don't it seems we fall into flesh more - we didn't get His shield of protection on. If silence is too much for you, another way to reach that peaceful and quiet area we need in connecting with God is through music. Turn on Christian radio or music that will take you to His door. That works for me too. It doesn't necessarily mean soft quiet music. Find the music that speaks your language not the music you think your church or favorite pastor would like, this is about you and Jesus. Listen to the message and listen for God to speak. Even though we live in a noisy and often chaotic world, God is still speaking.He has plans for us and He doesn't want us discouraged or distracted. Jesus want's us focused on Him so we must make it a priority to spend those moments with Him and also take Him with us during our day. As I said He never leaves us, often though we move away a bit thinking he won't see some things we do but He see's everything and those "everythings" often don't please Him yet He continues to love us. Let's talk to him about our failures and joys, He's listening and He's answering.

The Wrong Change and the State Of Our Union!

Respect - is it gone? The Supreme Court has always been respected, whether you agree with their decisions or not. I was very shocked when I heard the President's remarks over the latest Supreme Court decision on campaign finance. He said they were going to challenge it. My question is how do you challenge the highest court, do you overthrow it? Do we have a king or dictator in the White House that thinks he can stir up people to assassinate others verbally or walk all over the constitution? Last night on the State of The Union Speech, the Supreme Court was ridiculed by a mob of rude democrats. How humiliating and undeserved to those in the court! What is this President teaching younger people about respect? Look at how President Clinton instructed our younger people on oral sex,they learned well. Now we have Obama teaching manners of respect or teaching how to have a lack of respect.

Smooth talkers! We need to not be led down the primrose path by a great campaign or smooth speeches. I hear jokes about Bush's speeches and how he couldn't talk. I will take a flawed man of integrity who may have problems with his words over an arrogant, narcissistic leader who carries a teleprompter around with him so he can use his words well(even to a 6th grade class). My question is are they his words? Who wrote them and why can't he remember them without help. How blind we have become!

One more item is the color word! When I look at Obama, I don't see color. I'm a conservative who doesn't want government taking over my life, I don't like his policies but I never notice his color; black,white, green or whatever. The God that I worship says there is no color, nor male or female. I personally look at eyes. Believe it or not I've had people working for me that I didn't even notice were black until some referred to them that way. I was surprised. Many years ago a close and loved friend was a black man married to a white woman. Some found that to be shocking, it didn't bother me. Color is just not a big deal - again, it's the eyes for me. Are the eyes warm, cold, angry, empty, full of passion for life or just a color on someones face. I see either anger or emptiness in our President's eyes. I don't see warmth or love, even for his party. My question is why are all these people black people flock around and ooh and aah over the only ones who notice color. Chris Matthews, Harry Reid and so many others ridicule black people and get a free ride when they do it. After the State of The Union speech, Chris Matthews said on TV (and his video of that is everywhere)that he forgot Obama was a black man for an hour. Wow! Does that mean he looks at Obama as a black man all the other hours? Can these people look at people for who they are, rather than what color they are? Evidently not! They seem to be patting themselves on the back that they let a black man become President. Isn't this racial at it's best.

The people in office! I watched them last night and what I saw was a bunch of men and women filled with botox, carefully coiffed hair (even the men), expensive suits and dresses (and I have no problem with dressing up) but I'm talking really expensive, slapping each other on the back and hugging each other while the excommunicated other party were left alone. Sort of like bullies on the playground. We're the popular group and we're not playing with those people. They have cooties. Again, what are our young people learning as they watch the public display of lack of respect for race and people with different views - point out their colors and ostracize the opposing views rather than coming together and listening to another view and learning from it.

God help me, I do want change! I want new people in office that care about others, that work for us and follow the constitution. I want new people in the office who have respect for God and this country, so much so that what is done in the White House would be transparant. I also don't want to be scolded by the leader of this country because he is a Chicago mob bully and wants to do things his way whether it's constitutional or not. I want change! I want to change him out for someone new! 3 more years people! Have we learned our lesson yet?