WWJD

Yes I have wrote about God, my faith and yes there are those who will call me a hypocrite and who has called me on it before. I have posted several things in hopes that this person will take a second look and can find something salvageable within in me. I am not perfect, but neither is anyone that dwells upon this earth in the flesh. Yes, we can change our outer appearance,but do we really change our inner appearance (our hearts) that no one, but God can see? If we judge others for their beliefs other than our own, how they dress, how they pray, what they post on facebook, does that make us right?  No!

We have to first seek out God for ourselves, with a sincere heart, repenting for our sins seeking his forgiveness before the spirit of God shall dwell in us. Then does this make us superior to others? Do we need to change everyone we know or meet? Yes, we can try but we are known by the fruits that we bare. We witness to people with love, charity and kindness. We project something that those lost will feel they are lacking and they have to have. We don't leave messages on our facebook page if you don't have Jesus then you have nothing. I went to church today I'm going to heaven if you didn't your going to hell. I wonder does this person have a personal pipeline to Jesus that I don't know about? I say nothing. I know this person is new in Christ and may be doing what she is taught if so I would clearly think about changing churches.

My God loves everyone even the sinner. That is why there is a sinners prayer. Not everyone conforms to what you think a Christian is. When new in Christ we need a lot of work on ourselves, learning and growing in Christ. We can never take it upon ourselves to judge others since they have one judge just as you do. Be on fire for Jesus, but also ask yourself WWJD? Would he pray for the sick? Would he show love to others? Would he talk with everyone without judgement and show them the way to the truth? I honestly think so.

 Jesus is a perfectly holy, just and loving God that holds out his hand to everyone for their salvation. 

He is the first one to forgive us so we can live a holy and loving life like how he showed us. 

That's why he doesn't cast stones. 

Being human, we are prone to act on our human nature and want to deny our own transgressions by throwing stones and pointing fingers at others. 

Perception Or Reality?

"The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too" (1 Kings 19:14).

The CEO walked into his manufacturing plant only to observe an employee standing by idly not working. Angrily, he walked over to him, peeled off a $100 bill and gave it to him: "Here, go spend your time elsewhere!" The man looked at the CEO somewhat puzzled, but left with the $100. "How long has that man worked for us?" said the CEO to the employee standing nearby. "Well sir, that man does not work for us; he is only the delivery man."

Perception is not always reality. Elijah was in a crisis. Jezebel wanted to kill him. The nation was falling to Baal worship. From his vantage point - it was all over. He was the only prophet remaining in all the land who had not bent his knee to the idol of Baal. He wanted to die.

Then, the Lord sent His angel to correct Elijah's perception: "Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel - all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him" (1 Kings 19:18). There were seven thousand Elijah knew nothing about! Elijah's perception was not reality.

Whenever things are going poorly, there is a temptation to believe God is not working in the situation. We may even believe our life is over. Everything from our vantage point is dark. We see no future. However, even in these times, God's plan is being orchestrated behind the scenes. He is accomplishing His purposes. But we need a fresh perspective on our situation.

Do you need a reality check on your situation? Ask God to show you the truth. It may be very different than your perception.

Something Better ♥ True Answers

Usually when we pray, we pray hoping that God will answer our prayers.  There is nothing wrong with that.  Jesus invites us to ask and it will be given, knock and you will find, Matthew 7:7-8

7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

But sometimes I think we settle for less when all we ask for is answers to prayer.  The truth is God is waiting to pour out something better than what we ask for, something that is in fact better than we can even think or imagine, Eph. 3:20.

20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

For instance when the early church asked God for boldness to speak His word in the face of opposition, Acts 4:29.

29 Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.

God not only answered their prayer and gave them boldness to speak the word but He sent a power that shook the room they were meeting in, Acts 4:31

31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

That’s pretty much the same thing he did in Acts 2:1 where they had been praying together in the Upper Room following the Lord’s ascension.  God poured out the Holy Spirit and enabled them to speak in languages that everyone understood.

The problem is sometimes when we pray all we ask for is answers when what God really wants is to pour out his power upon us in a way that shakes the foundations of the church and leads to an outpouring of His glory.  What I need to do then is stop just asking for answers to prayer and ask for an outpouring of His power upon my live and His church.

Being there for those who helped us

I have been blessed with allot of wonderful friends... I've shared that before. I love my friends, and am always there to help in whatever they need. We know each other differently, all the 'good' and all the 'fun' in each other. We enjoy each other's company, and spend time together that we sometimes take for granted.
When we find ourselves or someone we love is suddenly faced with an illness that we think will never hit that close to home, that feeling of helplessness is almost too much to bare. We think that we're, somewhat, invincible.... that we're too strong to have such a devastating illness.

The emotions of discovering such an illness in someone you are so close to, are immeasurable.... you dwell on the realization that a best friend that you always call whenever you want to take a spontaneous road trip.... one who you know will always have your back... one who will keep your secrets.... one who understands you when no one else will.... is facing something that NOBODY should have to face.

It's not fair!!

But God is good, and He will get us through things that we don't understand. I will do whatever I can for my friend, and most of all, I will pray... ALLOT! It's been a very emotional day for me, so if some of this doesn't make sense... it's okay, it doesn't really have to, right now.

I just felt I needed to write something. Thanks for reading it.

Letters For Healing

I am a blogger I love to write and the written word is my escape, my refuge and has been for many years now. I could say yet again that a therapist recommended blogging and I took their advice. I have said so in the past and that would be honest, but in reality it never helped me, or at least not the way I expected. I thought if I blogged and there was feed back or just getting it out there that I would be cured.But,the only thing it has really done is made me more vocal about a devastating event and sometimes as the anniversaries draw near I reach the point to where I do not believe I can hold on any longer.I have thought that death would be my out. I would have no more pain, but the people who love and depend on me I would leave them devastated, and I doubt they would ever forgive me. For some they think this is a crutch I hold onto so that I do not have to make a commitment to anyone, but this could not be further from the truth. I want love and I want to be loved. I think every human being needs to be loved, but also to love someone that returns it to you ten fold.I have the dream of finding love with the man of my dreams, but I also need to be free from a love I still have for someone.      

The thing is I lost two people in my life within two weeks of each other some years ago. Yes,it was very tragic to lose my mom at a very young age but losing my fiancee' devastated me beyond repair. I have had a couple of relationships since,but they were never for filling or rewarding to me. They were lacking in so many ways and the reason was neither was Jason. No one could be Jason. So these years later I find myself in this dilemma. It is certainly not fair to be with someone I cannot have a for filling relationship with. I have tried to make myself love someone intimately and completely, but it didn't work.I have nothing wrong with me physically or sexual, but this nagging ever present thought that I am cheating on Jason.

I think I have been going at this all wrong and I talked it over with a friend, yes a male friend tonight that just wants me to get well. We know that no pills can cure me. Blogging about the gruesome events leading to Jason's death only makes things worse, so why don't I post letters from Jason even though personal I will leave some things out if it is too graphic. But, I need to remember all the good things that we shared, but without any gruesome events that I alone shared out on that road the night he died.

So today 9/14/2013 I will post Jason's writings to me. As a matter of fact I bought a Neat Receipt scanner around tax tax time this year. I had so much fun realizing what all it would do and when my brothers came up I asked them them to go to the attic and retrieve a box for me labeled Jason box 1. I had planned to scan some of the things he wrote to be, but then I thought it would be too much and so I moved the box and put it in the bedroom closet. But now I will post these in my blogs at least once a day. Some are the notes from school that you made and folded each corner to make it like a envelope. Some later on will be emails, but they are mine written to me by the boy/man that loved me as much as I loved him.

I hope this works to heal me, to show myself, I was loved, I a lovable and most of all worthy to be loved. I regret that I do not have that many love notes from me to Jason since I believe he kept them at his parents and they have never retrieved them since I did ask, but I do have our steamy emails from college.

If this offends you then I apologize, but you don't have to read them, this is my therapy and not yours. But, for those who do read I would appreciate any feed back or advice on my problem that you make give.

Sincerely,  
   

A Wish

I don't know, is it the fact that I hope a little too much somehow upon this one thing do not lead me to anything at all or is it just that time has not come? I do admit, I have always hope for good things and its hard for me to blame myself cause I'm just that one person who's pretty much an optimist. Yet at the same time, reality does bites and I'm very much aware of it. So really, I'm pretty much trapped with this clueless wonders in my head, always at the back of my head, they don't seem to leave me. Its pathetic! There are just times I wish I could do bad things you know, just to let go off my frustration or something. But, I know its not right so I don't do it. My life, to be really honest, is set of with rules, The rules has always been there and i'd accept it willingly. Hands down, So why am I complaining right? What do I do when frustration strikes besides turning to my Creator and pray so He'd strengthen your faith ? Well in my case, The answer is, Nothing. :) And that is the best thing I could and should do. And if you think I'm not making any sense, (LOL) well that's the beauty of it! hahaha Gosh. this seems like its going no where, but it makes perfect sense to me. :p

Am I too embarrassing and bold to say that I am honestly upset to see people , who sets no rule to life, When they are in fact was born stamped with that rule. I'm not perfect and I never will be, but I try to be better, and being better is not easy. Simple as giving away a smile. Some people just don't smile, but if you try, you'll be rewarded. isn't that just great??? ( LOL I don't know why I'm preaching, well take this a different way of looking at life). I wish I was a better person, I wish God will keep me grounded till the last day and my last breath. I wish everyone could a better person and I wish everyone the will to take hold of your destiny. You see, when you believe, when you know the Greatest, the Almighty is there, you will never stop wishing. You CAN NEVER stop wishing. But wishing doesn't let alone as A wish. You work, you strive. (and you pray to God!)

Out of the mouths of Babes

Everyone does not understand my religion and when I say I am of Pentecostal faith they do not understand. A friend of mine shared this baby preacher of Pentecostal faith with me a few weeks ago. I hope these videos will help you to understand. This baby has a calling. Hallelujah! 

I hope you enjoyed!

God Bless

I know I am not living the way I should right now, but I hope to change that when I return to the South.

Do It Anyway

This piece of truthful wisdom just seemed to grab, or resonate, with me today:

People are often unreasonable and self centred.

Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of alterier motives.

Be kind anyway.

If you are honest, people may cheat you.

Be honest anyway.

If you find happiness, people may be jealous.

Be happy anyway.

The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow.

Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough.

Give your best anyway.

For you see, in the end, it is between you and God.

It was never between you and them anyway.

Mother Teresa, 1979 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

Gossip

One of the greatest challenges and temptations I must deal with on a daily basis at my workplace is the pervasiveness of gossip. Not only does hearing gossip give me a negative view of others, but it is a constant temptation to participate myself. And while gossip might seem like a relatively minor sin, Paul makes it clear that God categorizes gossip alongside some other very offensive sins.

 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. (Romans 1:29-31 ESV)

On one hand, I want to build a sense of honesty and openness with people in my workplace without seeming judgmental or unfriendly; however, at the same time, I know that gossiping is unacceptable in the eyes of God – it ruins relationships, creates dissention and fuels quarrels.

Lately, I’ve been trying to think of practical ways to combat gossip in my own workplace :

1. Pray for those who are gossiping- pray that God would reveal the destruction that comes from their cutting words.
2. Pray for the victims of malicious gossip- pray that God would redeem their dishonor and restore broken relationships.
3. Seek to uplift those who are the subject of gossip in my conversations with others- be looking for evidence of God’s grace in the life of every person.
4. Thank God for his gift of grace in my own life and extend that same grace to others – remember that I am far from perfect and rely on God’s grace every day to sustain me.
5. Reflect on how Jesus treated those who were rejected in society. Make that behavior my standard for loving others- Christ made a point to reach out to those who were the subject of contempt.

I have found that when my focus is actively ministering and serving people in my workplace, gossiping about them becomes not a sin that I must actively avoid; but rather, the gossip is replaced by genuine love and concern—when I view people the same way that Christ did I can better understand why God so adamantly detests gossip and grieves its destructive consequences.

Prayer of Thanks

And everyday I must remind myself of who I was, who I am, and who I am becoming in Christ.

Father, You are holy and sovereign, clothed in perfect wisdom and divine knowledge. You are beautiful beyond imagination and loving beyond comprehension. You are good. And you are just. Your plans and your purposes are good and perfect. You abound in grace and you give good gifts to your children. 

I encourage you to daily claim truth. Proclaim the character of our God and praise Him. Trust in Him and let Him transform you.

Father, thank you for redeeming me. Thank you bringing me out of a life consumed with self and pleasure and sin. Apart from you I am nothing. Apart from you I am miserable, a slave to my own selfish desires for status and money and acceptance. Thank you for Redeeming me! I am your child. I live daily in the freedom of your Truth. Everyday I experience grace beyond measure. Thank you that you have a perfect and good plan for my life. Thank you that I am becoming exactly the person who you have created me to be. 

Live in the truth of Who you are in Christ. Remember where you came from. And Reflect on where God is bringing you. Reflect upon a life transformed by the Lord of all.

I praise God that the truth found through Him and in Him gives me the strength to face every battle and every temptation. When I remember who I am in Christ, it's much harder to succumb to envy or pride or selfishness. An eternal perspective of my place in the kingdom is a reminds me that I have already been given far more mercy and grace that I deserve. And the only appropriate response is praise and thanks.

Redemption

I worship a God who Redeems! He can bring any person out of the deepest pit of despair. He can bring purpose to a life which is filled with self-serving ambitions. Even when I think of someone who is so far from God that it seems impossible that they will ever find Him, I have Hope.

I praise a God of Mercy and Grace. He is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast Love.
I praise a God with a plan to Redeem! He takes what is broken and He molds it into something new. Something even more beautiful that I could have  possibly imagined.
I praise a God of Justice. All those terrible things we see and we hear will not go unpunished. Vengeance will be the Lord's. Wrong will be made right. Evil will be punished.

Father, I praise you because you have redeemed me and you redeem me every day. You know my thoughts, my actions, my secret sins; yet, you are filled with grace and mercy. When I come before you, humbly and in faith, I know that you will forgive and that you are making me into a beautiful person.
May you redeem me everyday and make me into a person who loves limitlessly, who gives grace freely, who serves others humbly, and who lives in faith of your promises.

Father, I desperately want redemption for everyone. I want everyone person to experience the joy of a life saturated in grace and free from fear. I want chains to be broken and strongholds to be destroyed in every life. Open these hearts that they may reach out to you. I pray for their faith because even the smallest faith can move mountains. I pray for humility because pride and self-reliance bar us from receiving your grace. And I pray that You Lord would be glorified in the end.

BE THANKFUL

Thankful may I ever be for everything that God bestows.

Thankful for the joys and sorrows, for the blessings and the blows.

Thankful for the wisdom gained through hardships and adversity.

Thankful for the undertones as well as for the melody.

Thankful may I ever be for benefits both great and small

and never fail in gratitude for that divinest gift of all :

the love of friends that I have known in times of failure

and success. 

O may the first prayer of the day be 

always one of thankfulness.

"BE THANKFUL"

There Is a True Power

There's the screaming preacher, the kooky jig from the old lady up front, that one line of the song being sung over and over, some man slappin' people across the forehead, people falling down on the ground like limp rag dolls  others shaking and bawling their eyes out, that wild group of youth shouting in what they call "tongues" at the mans crippled legs while he sits there in his wheelchair silently with the palms of his hands turned up to "receive" and some of those ones screaming, you know they were just at that party last week; then there is you- sitting, watching, trying to figure out if any of this has any semblance of reality.

You've grown up around church, its never been quite like this. Sure there has been moments of this over the years, but this so-called "Pentecostal power," is becoming more and more frequent when you brave going around it Yet as much as you sort of want to distance yourself from it, it somehow intrigues you. Typically you sit and watch and decide that this is fine for them, but its just not you. Yet lately, there's been a just a twinge of curiosity. Not to the extent that you want to involve yourself necessarily, but just a new curiosity  There was that time a long, long time ago where you had a moment where you yourself acted kinda weird, but definitely not that weird... In that moment, what you felt was awesome, kind of strange, and it faded fast.


Well if this is you at all, let me pose a few things to you.

1. There's more.
There is so much more to the whole Christianity thing than just going to church and the list of things you are and are not supposed to do. There is beauty to this. I'm not talking about big gaudy buildings and big-haired ladies. No. True beauty. Something that draws you in, gives you peace, gives you everything real-- all the ways you have wanted to feel, but never known how to get there. If you truly taste a real encounter with God, you can actually experience for yourself that He is good. Everything about Him is good. When you really allow yourself to dismiss the initial weirdness of "passionate people," and avoid putting up the walls that you are often so quick to build, you can actually get to experience something beautiful. I'll explain, read on.

2. God is far beyond what you've seen.
When you sit in a service with all the weird stuff going on, some of it is simply just people being kooky. Some of it though is completely, and entirely legitimate. Don't get me wrong, some of it is just flat out weird, but God is mysterious. Some people "fall out" or have weird things happen to them because they are simply overwhelmed. Some of it, well I don't know why it happens. God really can meet you in a tangible way. You may not shake or cry or fall down or any of that. But don't immediately write it off. I've seem some people who would never in anyone's mind be the one to do all that, be the very ones who experience God in the oddest ways. Then there is some people who just get hooked to the moments of encounter. Truest encounter is when people take experiences and then translate that into their lives- living for something worth dying for, not just feel-good encounters then living how they want the rest of the time.

3. God is good and God is fun.
Everything that is lined out in the Bible is not just a great suggestion of how to make people live "right." I could sit here for hours and type story after story about how in my own life and the lives of many others who have tasted of the "more" of God. These stories are full of incredible, odd and just fun happenings. When you choose more of Him, every day can be filled with truly awesome experiences and its all for deep, deep, awesome purpose. How much better would it be to live with hope and purpose and in the midst have a blast instead of simply seeking fun and then often be left with tons of questions of what your purpose really is.

Not everyone gets to go to Dollar General and watch a girl slam her finger in the car door so hard that the top part of her finger falls off and then get to just pick it up and put it back on for her like nothing happened. Not everyone gets to sit and hear the life dreams of someone they just met 5 minutes before and then realize they are saying the exact things you've dreamed of for years then recognize that the God of the universe allowed you two to meet. Not everyone gets to look at a stranger and be able to tell them what they've been struggling with and then see absolute true freedom come to them as they weep before our compassionate God. Not everyone gets to work hard for something and then see the results of it be absolutely life changing for tons of people instead of just resulting in a few dollars for themselves. Not everyone runs in to financial problems and then because of the their faithfulness to the Lord, somehow be completely provided for and never really figure out where that money came from. Not everyone can talk to their friends about how they feel like they are in the same moment in their life as a guy from way-back-when and then hours later hear the same exact thing mentioned in the same context from someone else. Not everyone gets to spend time talking with God and hear something really kinda odd then tell a friend and them look at you with wide eyes, saying "shut up! no way! how did you know that?" Not everyone runs into struggle and finds hope when others are freaking out. Not everyone gets to "see" lots of stuff happen before it actually does. Not everyone gets to be around someone who is truly considering suicide and have the exact thing to say that they need to hear that sets them free and allows them to live a life of complete joy. Not everyone gets to experience the deepest love you could ever feel and it only get deeper and deeper. I could go on and on and on... All of this can and does happen to people who choose to dive into the deeper things of God. In fact every one of these things have happened to my friends and/or myself. I get to have the time of my life, all the time. I can have such similar experiences as someone hours away and then get to talk to them about it later, all because we seek God together. God and His Kingdom is way fun and so worth giving my entire life to. There is always more. The experiences only get greater. The love only gets deeper.


All this to say, I want to invite you to come and taste the deeper, the more, of God. Once you have settled within yourself that He is more than what you see from other people and then choose to try this whole "more" out for yourself, you will discover He is so worth it. And even in the midst of people who are sometimes weird about all this, He is there. All of it begins to come into perspective and you learn to love some of it and get awesome strategy to see change come to the parts that frustrate you and don't reflect your God. Settle for yourself that you want Him and you want to journey with others who just want Him, despite all the wrong thinking about God that has consumed much of the American church. Don't let other people's wrong thinking cause you to miss out on so much. Its the journey of a lifetime and it can be your life. Come along?

WAIT

Typically the idea of waiting is full of negative emotions. Twenty first century culture demands everything RIGHT NOW. There is consistently a new upgrade for faster.... everything. From our instant communication via cell phones and internet to even the food we eat, there is a constant expectation that everything should be fast.

Have you ever clicked on a program on your computer and then because it didn't immediately appear, click it 20 more times just to have it open all 20 times a few seconds later?

It is so easy for us to get frustrated when we don't get what we want immediately. Think about the devices you have- cell phone, computer, internet- any of it. Now think back 10 years. Or even less than that. Remember how much SLOWER everything was? There is a constant acceleration of all those little things that are supposed to save time, yet our lives seem to get busier and busier.

So. You're seeking the Lord and He responds to you- not with a yes, not with a no, but a "WAIT." What is your reaction?

Do we even know how to wait anymore??

In recent days, the Lord has placed an expectation in the hearts of many of His followers for the coming age. There is a sense among a whole lot of believers right now that something is about to change. Some have hope of fulfilled dreams. Others don't know what to expect- it's just a sense that something is about to happen. But for now? We wait.

While our culture demands everything fast- we actually do have some sense of waiting. In all actuality, our "now" demands have set us up to have more expectant waiting than ever before. Years ago, you sent a letter to someone and you knew you had to wait for it to get to the person, then even once he or she responded, it had to go through the mail all over again to get back to you. Therefore, when you drop the letter in the mail, you may not even think about it again for a while. You might even forget about it. Now, if you shoot a message to someone through email, it's perfectly normal to receive something back even the same day. We've grown to expect it.

We expect a quick response from most everything these days. From microwaves, to the new annoying second-by-second mini news feed on facebook, everything is RIGHT NOW. While waiting for your food in the fast food line, what do you think about? You may sit and think about what you have to do later on or about that phone call you need to make, but all the while you sit there with an expectation that food is coming quickly. You may be thinking on other things, but you definitely haven't forgotten that you are about to have food. In fact, you may even find yourself getting frustrated if it takes a little longer than expected.

So I ask again.... When the Lord tells you to wait, how do you react? What do you do? What SHOULD you do?

Well. To be honest, I don't know.

Wait I guess?

No, but seriously. What does waiting look like? What is the "doing" in the "waiting"?

Well, heres what I know about waiting. When I wait, there's an expectancy for a certain result. As I wait, I am consistently thinking of that "expected end." I look forward with nervousness, frustration or excitement depending on the situation. Nervousness comes when I've got time to freak myself out about the results ahead- its that butterflies in the stomach feeling you get when you're about to give a speech or something. Frustration comes when I am simply sick of waiting- usually this is when I've got somewhere to be and somethings or someone is holding me up. Excitement in waiting is when I know something awesome is up ahead. Its when our usual reaction is, "I can't wait!"

When God says wait, why do I so often choose nervousness or frustration? Why is it that I've allowed culture to tell me waiting is negative? Why do I let myself get caught up in what I am supposed to DO in this moment?

Waiting is not about the doing, but instead, it's more a mindset. Its inserted hope. Its something we can expect.

Galatians 5:5 says, " For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness."
So often, our faith is about waiting on the Lord. We expect right relationship with Him and do all we can by faith. He shows up without fail every time. What a faithful God we have!

So maybe we should start changing our view of waiting. Instead of dreading the process, and associating waiting with long doctors office visits or being stuck in traffic with some place to be, lets choose hope.

Waiting IS hope. If it's our faithful King whose saying it, we know there's an incredible end we can expect. When the Lord tells us to wait, He's doing something for our good and is promising us a good outcome.

Hope for it.

Expect it.

Wait on the Lord.


"But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."
Isaiah 40:31

A Time For Everything

Ecclesiastes 3:1-15, A Time for Everything

"There is an appointed time for everything.  And there is a time for every event under heaven ~
1. A time to give birth, and a time to die; 

2. A time to plant, and a time to uproot what is planted.

³ A time to kill, and a time to heal; A time to tear down, and a time to build up.
⁴ A time to weep, and a time to laugh; A time to mourn, and a time to dance.
⁵ A time to throw stones, and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, and a time to shun embracing.
⁶ A time to search, and a time to give up as lost; A time to keep, and a time to throw away.
⁷ A time to tear apart, and a time to sew together; A time to be silent, and a time to speak.
⁸ A time to love, and a time to hate; A time for war, and a time for peace.
⁹ What profit is there to the worker from that in which he toils?  

¹⁰ I have seen the task which God has given the sons of men with which to occupy themselves. 

¹¹ He has made everything appropriate in its time.  He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end. 

¹² I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one's lifetime; 

¹³ moreover, that every man who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor, it is the gift of God.  

¹⁴ I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it, for God has so worked that men should fear Him.  

15 That which is has been already, and that which will be has already been, for God seeks what has passed by."