"Arrrr ... snarled the bad, bad old pirate, tying a (not so clean) snot rag around his neck for a bib.  "I be ready fer me grub!" 

"Aye, aye Sir," answered a young sailor close by, scrambling to get his plate.

"God, bless me Captain's plate," he whispered, silently to himself.

"Don't ye be prayin' fer me lad!" yelled the old pirate, slamming his fist onto the table.  His bread jumped off the plate and onto the floor.  Picking it up he ate it anyway.

"Aye aye ... aye Sir," said the young sailor as he turned to leave.  But that night he knelt to pray.  "Heavenly Father," said he, "Me Captain be needin' you, right bad.  I ask ye, save 'im in Jesus name!"

Outside he heard angry voices.  Through the window, he saw his Captain on the plank.  Swords and daggers were pokin' and pushin' him to the end.

"God, show me what to do!" He cried.  Grabbing a small lifeboat he lowered it down, down into the water below.  There he waited ...

The captain heard his name called out, on his way down.  Wet and grateful he crawled into the boat.

"Show me how ta talk ta yer God, Son," he said.  "I be needin' ta thank 'im right about now.  This nite, Davy Jones 'ad a locker wit me name on it, but I be needin' it no more!"

"Captain," said the boy, "Ye be talkin' ta God no different than ye talk ta me.  Just say, yer knowin' now how wrong ya been bein' an ask fer 'is forgiveness.  He be listenin' ...

A salty tear slid down the old man's cheek.  "God, I be askin' fer yer forgiveness.  Jesus, I be wantin' yer help ..."  Then he added, "I 'ave no ship ta sail fer ye, I 'ave nothing left ... but I am yers ta command!"

"Amen," said the young sailor, removing his hat.  Off they sailed into the nite.  Nobody knew they were there, except for God, of course.  And He's the one who matters most!  Yes, God had an exciting plan for their lives!

  

 How to Sort and Fold Clean Laundry ......

Fold towels neatly and place into basket. ( You may choose to roll them as this works well too.) Shake out and hang up shirts to avoid as many wrinkles as possible. Place large jeans at bottom of stack as they are heavier and tend to crawl out of the basket and walk off on their own. If this should happen, do not be alarmed. There may be a small child inside. If this should happen, you may want to know that the perpetrator of this act is looking for attention and may not want to give up the pants anytime soon. So, you grab your phone and take a picture, several poses in fact, hoping this will do the trick. When the big socks walk across the room and the jogging shorts follow ..... relax, there is no need to fight it. Supper will likely be late ..... but what a great "studio photo shoot" opportunity you will have to show for it! (O:

 Life is like a big engine. Order, sequence and timing are all important. A machine has to be primed and maintained or its gears will slip, timing will be off and there will be no productivity.

Anger and unforgiveness cause us to loose our vision. The timing slips and ... while the gears are turning ... it is all for naught. In fact, other parts must work overtime just to keep up and finally, failure comes as a whole, not in part. That is when, severely weakened and crippled by internal conflict, we succumb to an external enemy which has been patiently waiting to collect the spoils. Will this be us?

Ever had a problem with forgiveness? That's a hard one to overcome, alone, I mean. I have been dealing with that one lately. It dawned on me this morning (yes, His mercy is new every morning) what a big part I play. I routinely set traps for myself. No wait, let me clarify. I set them for others but I am usually the dumbo who stumbles in.

So this morning as I drank my first cup of coffee and "re-hearsed" my grievances, I also thought about this game I was playing with God. How many times will I send that spiritual hearse out to bury an offence in his graveyard of Grace, just to call it back again? Each time we "re-hearse" the things which should be forgiven, that little spiritual hearse has to go retrieve it and bring it back. You know, it starts stinking after a while ... but we still want it back. Why?

It dawned on me. I should let go of this because God's Word says we should let go and trust Him with these things. According to scripture, our enemy Satan wishes to destroy us by robbing us of our peace. This is one of his favorite strategies. So I thought. For God's sake Sharon, forgive and let go. Don't let the enemy of your soul steal your peace any more. This is an affront to God and a stupid move on your part. Can't you see what you are doing? Surprise, surprise ... I finally saw it!

I called in God's dump truck. It's a little more intimidating. I am less likely to call it back. I am putting, "the remains" of my grievances and offences into that truck and sending them off for good. Yes, for good! Take them God. I don't want them back. And thank you for providing free curb service ...

 A few weeks back, as we waited quietly beside Marlene's bedside, we didn't really expect that the very next day, she would be awake, alert and doing so well. When we expressed our amazement, she smiled and said,

"The light wasn't on!"

As a nurse, Marlene knew the importance of responding to the light. When a light went on, she was there. Marlene also knew that there was another light which she would respond to one day and she looked forward to meeting that Light, face to face.

On Monday, July 25, 2016, Marlene found the Light on. No longer out of breath, she ran down the heavenly corridors to meet her Savior, Jesus Christ.

Christ's purpose has been fulfilled in Marlene's life. Now He has called His faithful servant home. We will shed tears, our loss is great .... and we will talk about the great lady whom we all admire so much.

We will look for Marlene out of habit and breathe a sad sigh when we remember that she cannot be with us at this time. But, we will rejoice with her and the angels, and celebrate her homecoming in a land, not so far away, where Jesus is the Light and there is no more darkness.

ECHOS, DOMINOS AND YOUR REFRIGERATOR ... WHAT DO THEY ALL HAVE IN COMMON?  YOU!

YOU BRING CAUSE AND EFFECT INTO MOTION. YOU ARE MORE POWERFUL THAN YOU THINK.

YOU MAY NOT CARE TO STAND IN A MOUNTAIN CANYON AND SHOUT OR PLAY A GAME OF DOMINOS.  THESE THINGS MAY NOT BE OF INTEREST TO YOU.

NOT SURE WHAT KIND OF RELATIONSHIP YOU HAVE WITH YOUR REFRIGERATOR.  IT MAY BE FULL, IT MAY BE EMPTY!  

JUST REMEMBER THOUGH, THAT THE LAW OF CAUSE AND EFFECT IS ALWAYS IN MOTION.

 

AN ECHO CAN ONLY REPEAT YOUR OWN VOICE.  AND IT DOES, EXACTLY.  THAT ECHO (RESPONSE/CONSEQUENCE) IS YOU.  YOUR LIFE IS THAT ECHO.

DOMINOS WILL ONLY FOLLOW THE PLAN YOU YOURSELF DEVISED.YOU START THEM IN MOTION ... THERE THEY GO ... WHETHER YOU WANT THEM TO OR NOT.

IF YOU ARE DEPENDING ON OTHERS TO FILL YOUR FRIDGE AND DON'T LIKE WHAT THEY PUT IN IT, IT MAY BE TIME FOR A SHOPPING TRIP OF YOUR OWN.  BUT BE KNOWLEDGEABLE OF WHAT YOU MUST HAVE AS WELL AS WANT! 

IF YOU DON'T LIKE WHAT YOUR VOICE IS SPEAKING, CHANGE IT.  IF YOU DON'T LIKE THE PATTERNS YOUR LIFE SEEMS TO BE FOLLOWING, REALIZE YOU  DO HAVE THE POWER TO CHANGE THEM.  STOP COMPLAINING ABOUT WHAT PEOPLE ARE PUTTING INTO YOUR HEAD AND HEART.  YOU MAY NEED TO FIND NEW FRIENDS OR CHANGE YOUR MEDIA SELECTION.  IF YOU ARE STILL COMPLAINING, CHECK YOUR OWN CHOICES AND ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR OWN THOUGHTS AND ACTIONS. FIND SOMETHING BETTER.   

REALIZE YOU HAVE CHOICES.  WHEN YOU EXPECT OTHERS TO MAKE YOUR CHOICES JUST UNDERSTAND THAT THEY DO NOT KNOW YOU AS WELL AS YOU DO.  SOMETIMES THEY DO AND THEIR CHOICES ARE BETTER FOR YOU THAN YOUR OWN.  BOTTOM LINE:  THEY SHOULD NOT HAVE TO MAKE YOUR CHOICE FOR YOU.  YOU SHOULD BE MAKING YOUR OWN CHOICES.

MAKE THEM YOURSELF.  MAKE THEM RIGHT!