Sometimes I Wonder

I love social media!  I love being able to keep up with all of my friends without, sad to say, picking up the phone and calling them to talk.

I know it is not as personal, but considering every one's time and memory, mine because I'm getting old, keeping up is a lot easier.  There are those who don't like social media and they have their right to not participate, or to complain about those who do. God gave us the right to feel how we want to anyway.

Some times I wonder, however.  Why is it that you see things on social media pages from someone that you know they would never say with their mouths or in your presence?  Folks, what is written is no different than what is verbally spoken.  It hurts my heart to see foul language and innuendo placed upon the computer screen that is blatantly done without thought.

I am not talking about virus attacks or share's that you were unaware of. (I have had plenty of those myself)  But, to willfully use language that is unbecoming of a Christian is just above and beyond my comprehension.

So, I wonder!  Why don't we just use the idea of WWJD when writing on Facebook, My Space, Twitter, etc.?  Wouldn't that solve the embarrassment issues?

I wonder!

I'll see you later.

Today the Music Died

I write this after learning that an hour ago my mother left this world.  It is hard to put into words how I feel other than to say that at the same time I am sad and feel the void growing, I know that there are a myriad of reasons to rejoice.

My mom was a Christian.  She was a faithful follower of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  She has a home in heaven because of the forgiveness offered by God's gift of His Son's blood.  She re-enacted the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus in baptism for the forgiveness of her sins as so many have done through the years.

My mom was not perfect.  She was human.  She made mistakes and some that she lived to regret.  The one thing I am thankful for is that she knew she was forgiven of those mistakes and that her family grew in spirit because of her ability to overcome her mistakes and be a Christian example to the best of her ability.

The one thing I have missed over the years as an adult and living away from her for so many years was her singing.  She could sing, and I could write for days about those times. I have missed her singing and will continue to miss singing with her.  It is a blessing she handed down to her children and grandchildren, and even her great grandchildren, the love for music of all kinds and the enjoyment of singing.

Today, the music died in her life, but lives on through the lives of those she has left behind.  I would have loved to have sung once more with her.  But I know I will in heaven.

I love you mom.

I'll see you later...Wow, that will be neat.

Easter

Easter!  This is a special day throughout the Christian world, a day that many celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  This has always been a special day as we look at it through the eyes of a world that has walked away from the truth the Bible speaks of.  So many in our world have not taken time to honor God with a true understanding of what Easter is supposed to be about.  To many it is a time of gathering eggs and candy for children.  For others, it is one of the only days that they attend worship to thank God for the blessings they have received in their lives.

I am not sure why the world hasn’t gotten the grasp of what the resurrection celebration is supposed to be about.  When Jesus was crucified and placed in the tomb after His death, God raised His body up three days later from a cold and lonely grave.  Jesus came back to life and we have called that day Easter.  We are able to calculate, according to the days and weeks of the Jewish calendar, when that Easter day, that resurrection morning occurred. But that isn’t the main point of why this day is special.  It is a special day because the people of the world stop and recognize, for the most part, that Jesus actually did come back to life.  It was a first day of the week.  It was a Sunday!  But what makes the celebrating even better is that we serve a risen Savior.  We don’t serve a dead God!

For me, I celebrate this wonderful and blessed day each and every Sunday as I come together with my family and worship God thanking Him for the resurrection of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  The reason we are to come together is to remember His Death, His Burial, and His resurrection from the dead.  We partake of communion each and every week to remember that sacrifice and the blood that was shed for our forgiveness of sin.

No, I never get into a rut when I partake every first day of the week.  This is my focus!  This is my sign to God that my heart is His each and every week as I come to worship, praise and thank Him for all He has done in forgiving my sins and giving me the opportunity to join Him in heaven.  It is not something to be taken lightly, but thought out, remembered, and practiced as often as we come together.  I am proud that I am a Christian and proud to have Him as my Savior.  I am proud to remember Him, not only today, but every time I come into His presence and into the presence of my spiritual family.  I love Him and want to remember Him all my life.

                                                                                                                                       

Sometimes I Wonder!

I had a terrible experience this morning.  I really feel badly about it, but it just really got under my skin.  I know I shouldn't get angry with folks, but when they basically call you a liar without a reason, it makes me wonder!

I was at a local eating establishment, McDonald's, to order Lisa and I some breakfast items. I order off the dollar menu because if you get the meal deal they charge you more.  I placed my order for two sausage burritos, two cinamon melts, and two large diet cokes.  (I order this twice a week most weeks, but today was a little different.)  When my order was ready, I looked at what was given to me and it was two burritos, two cinamon melts and two small diet cokes. 

I politely told the "guy behind the counter" that I had ordered two large drinks.  He began to argue with me that I had ordered small drinks with my meals.  I tried to tell him that I never order the meal deals because they are higher in cost than the dollar menu for the same amount of items and that way I could order "large drinks" and not have to pay the extra for the meal deal up charge.

Well, that went over like a lead baloon! 

I left upset because the guy made me feel guilty (or I felt guilt for getting him upset, which made me upset).  I hate confrentation.  I love people and most of you who know me that I usually try to be nice to everyone I meet.

Sometimes I wonder why the devil has so much influence on the people I come in contact with.  He puts me in some very procarious situations in life at times, where anything I do can be manipulated into someone being upset with me or what I have done.

Sometimes I wonder about how many times I have stood "behind the counter" and allowed an "upset person" to be right?  I just know what I asked for, and wouldn't be so concerned if it had been someone who just acknowledged that they had misunderstood what I ordered and calmly changed my order without making it into his mission of the day to make me feel guilty.  I do!  He won!  I feel bad! 

Sometimes I wonder.

I'll see you later.

Fun Isn't it?

This week I preached a sermon on fellowship and worship from Hebrews 10:19-25.  It is hard to believe that we, for years, have understood that the reason we should come to worship God is to be right.  I don't believe that.  I believe that when we come to worship God as a church family it to bring Him glory and honor.  It is about us doing something that glorifies God, not about what we get out of being in worship.  Worship is not about me but about what I bring to our Father as a time of thanks and love.

God asks us to come together and praise Him.  I don't hear or read anything that says worship and fellowship times are to benefit us.

Now, I am not saying that I don't receive a blessing from being in worship, but I am saying that it is about me bringing something to God.  I do receive a blessing from being with my brothers and sisters. There is nothing I enjoy more than being in worship and remembering what God has done for me. 

What God wants is my heart, not my attendance without it.

I'll see you later.

Time was...!

Time was when you could walk down the street and be greeted by everyone who walked by.  Now, if you even get a glance from some you feel like you have accomplished a monumental feat of social elitism.  People just don't want to be bothered with the menial things in life.  Some don't even want to be recognized as those who walk among the living.

That is why I am so glad that I still speak and greet most of the people I come into eye contact with.  Today as I drove away from dropping my wife off, a lady was taking her morning walk down the street and as I stopped at the signal to wait I caught her eye and nodded "Good Morning" and she smiled and waved.  It broke me into a smile and the thought that not everyone was raised on dill pickles and some even don't mind sharing a smile and a warm greeting now and then.

How can I as a Christian do better?  I believe it is possible if I will just keep smiling and greeting.  It reminds me to "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."  It still works!

I'll see you later.

Happy Faces

I am amazed at the use of Happy Faces. :)  Still!  They aren't old to me yet.  How long have they been around?

I don't know about you but somethings never change. I can still remember when I took a quarter to pay for lunch with an extra milk.  Oh well.

I am getting old but that is okay.  I am enjoying it with Happy Faces. 

I'll see you later.