Live a Life Of Integrity & Truth

Who may live forever with God the Father?
Psalm 15 tells all.

Psalm 15:1-5

¹ LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary?
Who may live on your holy hill?

² He whose walk is blameless
and who does what is righteous,
who speaks the truth from his heart

³ and has no slander on his tongue,
who does his neighbor no wrong
and casts no slur on his fellowman,

⁴ who despises a vile man
but honors those who fear the LORD,
who keeps his oath
even when it hurts,

⁵ who lends his money without usury
and does not accept a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things
will never be shaken.

Live In The Light

I have blogged about this already, but we live in a dark world. Darkness comes to us in many different ways. There are those out there that help create darkness for others. Their lives need redemption and God's love to give them light in their life. All we can do as believers is to daily commit to walk in God's light, in His ways and hope that His light helps diminish the darkness.

Psalms 27:1-3
¹You, LORD, are the light that keeps me safe. I am not afraid of anyone.

You protect me, and I have no fears.

²Brutal people may attack and try to kill me, but they will stumble.

Fierce enemies may attack, but they will fall.

³Armies may surround me, but I won't be afraid;

war may break out, but I will trust you.

John 1:3-6

⁵The light keeps shining in the dark, and darkness has never put it out.

Father in Heaven,
You made me Your child
and called me to walk in the Light of Christ.
Free me from darkness
and keep me in the Light of Your Truth.
The Light of Jesus has scattered
the darkness of hatred and sin.
Called to that Light,
I ask for Your guidance.
Form my life in Your Truth,
my heart in Your Love.
Through the Holy spirit,
give me the power of Your Grace
that I may walk in the Light of Jesus
and serve Him faithfully.

Accept Love

I've heard about some Internet blogs/forums with terrible things said about my close friends and family. So terrible that it upset me to the point I was going to blog about how people tend to enjoy hating and having vengeance and make up such terrible things about others. Something came to me as I was reading and researching the psychology of hate....it was taking me in to their world. The purpose of this blog is to try to elevate the effects of the hate that has surrounded Raye Dawn and her family. We are trying to convey that we don't want to fight or 'hate' them. We are searching for forgiveness and healing. They are choosing NOT to accept, but that is the trouble with so much hate in the heart. We are willing to forgive and heal, they are not. I will continue to pray for their hearts.

Romans 12:9-11
⁹Be sincere in your love for others. Hate everything that is evil and hold tight to everything that is good. ¹⁰Love each other as brothers and sisters and honor others more than you do yourself. ¹¹Never give up. Eagerly follow the Holy Spirit and serve the Lord.

1 John 4:19-21
¹⁹We, though, are going to love—love and be loved. First we were loved, now we love. He loved us first. ^20-21 If anyone boasts, "I love God," and goes right on hating his brother or sister, thinking nothing of it, he is a liar. If he won't love the person he can see, how can he love the God he can't see? The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You've got to love both.

So, the bottom line is, we must do all we can to love our brother in Christ. If we don't or won't, then we CAN'T love our Heavenly Father. We are human with human emotions, so it's not an easy task to let things go in the past in order to move forward, but with God's love, we can. I watched a movie last night "Amish Grace" and it talked about forgiveness in a terrible situation. I recommend this movie. It's based on the Amish school shooting in Pennsylvania.

Dear God in Heaven, I pray for the hate to leave and the forgiveness enter. Help those that can't get past the hate and can't 'let the past be the past'. I pray for their hearts and their lives. Happiness in their daily life has to be hard to find when they harbor so much in their hearts. I pray for healing for all.

Words of Prayer

There are days when we just can't seem to find the words to pray. Our emotions seem to overtake us and we close our eyes, but the words can't come...We need to remember the prayer Christ taught His disciples. So simple, but so strong from the heart.

Matthew 6:7-19 (Worldwide English version)

⁷And when you talk to God, do not say words that mean nothing, over and over again. People who do not believe in God do that. They think their god will hear them because they say many words.

⁸ Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. ⁹ So talk to your God like this:

"Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.

¹⁰ "May your kingdom come. May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

¹¹ "Give us our food for today.

¹² "Forgive us for the wrong things we have done, the way we forgive those who have done wrong things to us.

¹³ "Do not test us but help us, so that no one will make us do wrong. Deliver us from the evil one. The kingdom and power and praise belong to you for ever. Amen!"

¹⁴ If you forgive others for the wrong things they have done, then your Father in heaven will forgive you.

¹⁵ But if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive you for the wrong things you have done.'

Always Celebrate!

Tomorrow is Palm Sunday. It's the story about when Jesus rode a donkey through the city and people laid palm leaves down along the road as a sign of celebration and respect.

John 12:12-19

¹²The next day a vast crowd of those who had come to the Passover Feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.

¹³So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him. And as they went, they kept shouting, Hosanna! Blessed is He and praise to Him Who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!

¹⁴And Jesus, having found a young donkey, rode upon it, [just] as it is written in the Scriptures,

¹⁵Do not fear, O Daughter of Zion! Look! Your King is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt!

My question on this story is what happened a week later? Where were the people celebrating Jesus coming through the city? Were they in the crowd during the shouting at Pilate "crucify him!" ? Did they gather at the cross during his crucifixion? Is it that easy for people to 'turn' the other way, knowing who they are shunning? They knew who Jesus was. He had followers that knew his mission and that loved him. I believe more than just the twelve, but crowds of believers. Did all those people that waved the palms and once celebrated turn away from Jesus because of the social aspects of what was most popular at the time? Did they decide to go with the group or story that had the most publicity? They knew Jesus was innocent and who he was. The didn't stand up for him when he needed them the most. Only his closest friends and family stayed with Him to the very end. They saw the miracle of His risen life and received His blessings because of it. The others, perished.

Dear Heavenly Father, we do celebrate and wave the palms of our heart for coming into our lives. You will never leave us or forsake us in any situation. Help us to always remain true to you as a blessing to others. We don't want anyone to perish because of what we have done, but pray that they might live eternally with you because of the example of your love through us.

The Gift of Family

To us, family means putting your arms around each other and being there. ~Barbara Bush




I don't care how poor a man is; if he has family, he's rich. ~Dan Wilcox and Thad Mumford, "Identity Crisis," M*A*S*H


It is not flesh and blood but the heart which makes us fathers and sons. ~Johann Schiller

The family is a haven in a heartless world. ~Attributed to Christopher Lasch

When you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses. ~Joyce Brothers

You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them. ~Desmond Tutu

Father, I am so very thankful for my family. If it wasn't for them, life would be empty. Thank you for the love, thoughtfulness and strength that this family gives. The family depends on your direction from the Holy Spirit that gives faith everyday. I have a wonderful family! Thank you for the many extended family members that have crossed my path...my kind hearted friends. My family continues to grow but only with the help of Your love. I pray that my enemies will come to know the true meaning of friendship and family. The absolute love that comes from these relationships no matter what, unconditionally.

Tired of Lies.....

"Keep Your Tongue From Evil And
Your Lips From Speaking Lies"

Proverbs 19:5

5 A false witness will not go unpunished,
and he who pours out lies will not go free.

Proverbs 14:25
25 A truthful witness saves lives,
but a false witness is deceitful.

Jeremiah 9:5
5 Friend deceives friend,
and no one speaks the truth.
They have taught their tongues to lie;
they weary themselves with sinning.

Proverbs 12:17
17He who speaks truth tells what is right,
But a false witness, deceit.

So what should we do?

Proverbs 8:6-8
6 Listen, for I have worthy things to say;
I open my lips to speak what is right.

7 My mouth speaks what is true,
for my lips detest wickedness.

8 All the words of my mouth are just;
none of them is crooked or perverse.

Dear Heavenly Father, hear no lies from my mouth. Keep my mind and spirit free from the lies of those that hate. Clean their mouth from the lies they speak and make it truthful and just. Dear God, I'm tired of the lies.