You'll Never See Their Pain.

Have you ever really taken the time to get to know someone whom you find really funny? We all have that one friend who's a hoot, hilarious, a stitch, goofy or strange in a very funny way. They're a lot of fun to be around. They can make us laugh until we cry, but are they crying on the inside? Are they laughing with us and are we laughing with them? Or, are we laughing at them?

Some of the funniest people I know have been through the worst emotional pain you can imagine. Instead of sharing that pain, they tend to make jokes or laugh. Sometimes, they're the only ones laughing. Sometimes, they're the only ones not laughing. I think I'm pretty funny, but very often I am only funny to me. But still....I crack me up. If you really ever took the time to get to know me, you would find that I use humor to cover my pain, fears or stress. I don't want to be the wet blanket at a party, I want to be the life of the party. People laugh at me behind my back or, at least, they think they're laughing at me behind my back. Since I can still see and hear them, it isn't really behind my back. And, it's usually not at a time when I was trying to be funny. It hurts when people behave that way, but you can't make people be kind. It doesn't cost anything to be kind, but you would think that the cost is astronomical.

Maybe those around us don't recognize our pain. Maybe it's because they're self-centered and stuck in their own little worlds. Maybe they're in pain too. Maybe they don't care. Apathy is spreading faster than the swine flu. Everyone has their own daily stresses and catastrophes to deal with; why should they take note of ours?

God sees every tear that we cry and even collects them in a bottle. I think it's a beautifully colored bottle. The tears probably have a prism effect and cause the bottle to appear like oil that has risen to the surface of blacktop after a rain. Isn't is great to know that we'll have no tears in heaven! Shouldn't you do everything you can, at this very moment, to make sure that when you are standing on the threshold of heaven, waiting for your boarding pass, that you've done everything you possibly could to save the lives of your wife, your brother, your daughter, your best friend or your parents? Wouldn't it wound you greatly to see one of them standing in the opposite line with a boarding pass that reads "FAST TRACK TO HELL"? Don't you think you would shed a few tears?

Let's say for a moment that you are a world renowned scientist and you have discovered the cure for cancer. Would you continue to let everyone die or would you give the world the answer they needed in order to live? What if your child was drowning in your backyard pool? Would you jump in to save him or would you turn your back on him and wish him luck? It might go something like this, "hey little guy...I know you can't swim....hey good luck getting out of the pool....I hope you make it!" It's a sad thing to hear, but it's more sad to think that it happens all day long, every day.

If we who are older do not minister to or share the Gospel with those who are younger, we are no different than the mother who watches her son drown in the pool and then says, "Hey, sorry 'bout your luck!". We need to be an example; to be engaged in the lives of those around us who are bleeding to death or drowning. Even if you can't swim, you surely can throw a life ring into the pool.

I once heard a saying that Christians are the only soldiers who shoot their wounded. Here's an idea...what if we helped to heal the wounded? What if we stopped looking at ourselves and and looked around us to see all of those in need.

I would challenge you this Christmas not to spend so much energy on buying gifts. I would look for the funny guy or girl, the walking wounded, and minister to them. We all know someone who has lost something, someone or, even, everything. Take what money you would have spent on presents, that you probably don't need anyway, and give it to the person who really does have a NEED.

I hope you keep on laughing and, as always, that's my opinion and I welcome yours.

Have a God Blessed day!

Nancie

I am Paul; We are all Pauls.

Because you sin every day, does that make you unsaved or a bad Christian? Do you have to ask God for forgiveness every time you sin?

If we sin all day long, in our thoughts, our words, our actions and deeds, we would have to constantly be asking God to forgive us. Thankfully, we are already forgiven if He lives in our hearts. Our goal is to sin as little as possible, but because we are human, we will always make mistakes. As much as we try to be LIKE God, we can never BE God. For there is only One and you and I are not it.

The more you chase after God, the more likely you are to be attacked by Satan. The liberal, unsaved, world loves to see a Pastor or a man of God fall into sin in a very public way. Maybe the very public pastor had a very long affair with his secretary. And when the affair came to light and hit the news, people questioned the pastor's love for God and whether or not he was really saved. No matter how much we love the Lord, we will always just be "man". At his best, man is still a man. Remember when Paul said that he hates when he does things he knows he shouldn't and doesn't do the things he knows he should? We all have those same issues. The same is true for both men and women alike.

It was Adam's fault that man fell into sin in the Garden of Eden. Yikes...you say? You think it was Eve's fault. I say a big, fat, NO! Eve was deceived by Satan, while Adam willfully chose to sin. I believe that if Eve had eaten of the forbidden tree and Adam had chosen to obey God, we would still be enjoying life in heaven on earth. That's why it is important to realize that women are more easily tricked or deceived than men and men are supposed to care for us and protect us from evil.

My Rossi .38 and Taurus .22 protect me just fine, but when I grow up, I hope God sends me a wonderful, God fearing man to help me to better discern when I'm being deceived. It would keep me from appearing in so many episodes of "COPS". But, that's a whole other story.

My sister always told her husband not to put her on a pedestal. If he did, then she would have farther to fall. We should never esteem anyone higher than God. A church pastor is still a man. He may be a very Godly man, but he's a human and is still likely to sin. If you've ever seen your pastor in a grocery store, were you amazed that he would visit such a place? Wow....do they really eat food? I thought they were just nourished by some random manna directly from heaven. I remember, as a teenager, seeing one of my teachers in the grocery store. I asked him what he was doing there, as if a teacher didn't buy groceries or shop for themselves. They, like Santa, had their elves do it for them.

The next time you're tempted to sin, think about not being tempted. Choose not to sin whenever possible. Do you gossip at work? Do you ever tell a lie...even a white lie? (And why is it white and not blue?) Do you make up stories to make your life sound more exciting than it really is? Well, STOP IT! That reminds me of a very funny Bob Newhart skit. You can see it on You Tube and it is appropriately called, "STOP IT!" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1g3ENYxg9k) It doesn't really have anything to do with this discussion, but it's still funny, nonetheless.

One day while teaching my Sunday school class, I passed out stones to the children in the class. I told them the story about the woman who had committed adultery and because of the laws of Moses, she was to be stoned, to death, for her crime. Jesus told the Pharisees that he who was without sin should cast the first stone. If you are without sin and you think you are in a position to stone someone who sins, you cast the first stone and let me know how that works out for you.

If you know the story of the adulterous woman, found in John 7:53 - 8:11, you would see that there was a double standard even in the time of Jesus. Why did the Pharisees not ask that the man, with whom the woman had the affair, be stoned to death? Why was it okay for the man to sin, but not the woman? Isn't it the same way in today's society? We seem to better accept that a man can run around town with every Jan, Rita and Susie. But a woman can't run around with every Tom, Dick and Harry without being called a very bad word. Be an anti-NIKE commercial and heed the words of Chris Rock - Just don't do it!

No one, except for God, has the right to judge anyone else. So, I say....JUST STOP IT! Before you become too concerned about the speck of sawdust in the eye of your neighbor, maybe you should get a plastic surgeon to remove that 2x4x10 from your own eye. Ouch...that's got to hurt and it's probably gonna leave a mark!

I hope you always keep on LAFN, and as always, that's my opinion and I welcome yours!

Have a God Blessed day!

Nancie

The End of The World.

What would you do if you found out you only had a short time to live? Would you do everything you've ever wanted and couldn't? Would you do everything right or would you live recklessly because it wouldn't matter anyway? Would you make sure you were "right with God"? Would you make sure that you were "right" with the RIGHT God?

This weekend, a new movie starts showing in theaters, "2012", and I would like to see it. (I may have more thoughts afterward.) It's supposed to be about the world ending in 2012. The Mayan calendar supposedly ends in that year. But, what if they ran out of stones to chisel? Or what if their only chisel broke? Maybe they ran out of ink. Maybe they ran out of paper. What if the guy who was in charge of printing the calendars died and no one else knew how to do his job?

Many people, especially those who were born in the south, believe they are saved, because they "grew up" in church. If you go to church, you must be saved, because God is in church, so if I go where He is, I must automatically be saved.

Some people believe that God would never send someone to hell just because they don't go to church or because they don't really practice any religion. What if my religion is right and yours is wrong or yours is right and mine is wrong? What if you think that Buddhism is right? Would a loving and God of mercy and grace condemn you to hell? Surely not, because He is a God of mercy and grace. Others believe that we all worship the same God and we choose to call him something different, i.e. Buddha, Allah, Mohamed.

The problem with these schools of thought is that God is a just and jealous God and, because He is such, He wants us to love only Him and to worship only Him. The other "gods" were just men. They weren't any different than Jim Jones or any other cult leader. They didn't form the earth or create man or cause the world to spin on an axis. They just had great ideas about being kind to one another. They talked a good game and maybe had a lot of charisma. Maybe they were like the modern day actors and actresses in Hollywood. They put on a great show, lots of people held them in high esteem, but in the end, they still put their pants on one leg at a time. And, I hate to state this fact, they all had issues just like everyone else. They also didn't know the difference between "religion" and "relationship". I have a relationship with God and it has nothing to do with religion. Religion might be a ritualistic thing, I don't know; just a thought.

The sad thing, about people in the limelight, is that they have a greater opportunity to reach many more people than the average person would ever be able to reach with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When we stand before the Throne of Grace and are judged by our Lord and Saviour, what will we have to say? Oprah will be able to say that she had all of the famous people of the world on her stage and that she embraced everyone of every kind and every religion. She claims to be a Christian. Is she? Where's the fruit? Is she a good role model? She openly lives in "sin" with her longtime boyrfriend. Is it a sign of being a Christian to give away millions of dollars to charity or giving a new car to everyone in her audience? If good deeds are the way into heaven, then I know of many bad people who did good deeds. Ted Bundy gave a lot of women rides in his car, who may have otherwise been stranded on the side of the road. Thankfully, he gave his life to the Lord before he died. I can't say whether or not he meant it or if Oprah is really a Christian, but I think we'll be shocked when we get to heaven when we look around and see whose there. We may be equally shocked when we look around and see whose not there. Then there are those who will be in hell and not be shocked at all why their friends or family are right there with them. There may even be a few people in hell who you may have been certain were headed toward heaven.

What about "The Last Lecture" given by Randy Pausch? He wanted to say some important things to his classes, his family and to the world before he died. He had two years to say what was important and I never once heard him mention God. It broke my heart for many reasons. Like Oprah, he had an opportunity to reach millions of people for the Kingdom of God, but I never heard him say anything about his faith. (Note to self: Oprah helped him get to stardom.)

If you're a parent and you don't teach your children about God, who will? The drug dealer on the street corner? The movie star who has been divorced three times and has a new lover every week? If you're a parent and you don't pray for your children, who will? We have a responsibility to pray for our families and to teach our children about God. One day, maybe in 2012, we will stand before God and give an account of our lives. We will be held especially accountable if we held a position in which we could have touched the lives of many and chose not to, or chose the path of least resistance - silence.

So.....what if the world really does end in 2012? Are you concerned about where you will spend your eternity? Are you absolutely sure where you would go, north or south, should you die right this minute? Are you willing to take the risk, assuming you have plenty of time to choose, and not give your life to the Lord?

I hope you keep on LAFN and, as always, that's my opinion and I welcome yours.

Have a God Blessed day!

Nancie

In the Beginning.

Why are we so consumed with outward beauty, spending a fortune on lotions, potions and plastic? Why don't we give the same consideration to our souls and minds?

In the beginning, God... He created all of us in His image. And, since He is God and he is perfect, then whatever flaws, seen or unseen, that we may have been born with,were gently and carefully thought out by our Awesome Creator. It wasn't randomly that He gave someone six toes and someone else a giant nose, while others have a beautifully sculpted nose and their hands are perfect.

Everything that God does, He does for a reason or for good purpose. One day, you may meet someone who has the same "defect" and it gives you a reason to bond with that person. Otherwise, you may never have had a chance to minister to them.

This past weekend, I saw the movie, "The Box". For me, it appeared to have a lot of theological and spiritual undertones. Two of the main characters are disfigured; one having his on his face, for the whole world to see, and the other, her foot, where no one can see. There comes a time in the movie when the two meet and the person with the disfigured foot feels the other person's pain, but knows that his pain is greater. She realizes that it is one thing to have a hidden disfigurement and it's entirely different to have it be on your face - to be seen every day, by anyone who looks upon you. It's stares back at you every time you look in a mirror or you're reminded of it every time someone recoils at the sight of you.

Why can't we see ourselves the way God sees us? It breaks my heart to see a young girl, (and I used to be that girl), with no modesty and no shame. You've seen them in your local mall - they parade around nearly naked, selling themselves to the highest bidder. Or sometimes, giving themselves away for free. They are searching for someone to love them and pay attention to them, possibly because they don't get those things at home. Maybe their parents are so busy keeping up with the Jones', they don't even notice that their daughters are gone until it's too late to ever get them back.

We are obsessed with looks, paying costs that are way too high in order to keep them. We think that if we fix the things that are wrong with us, we will "fit in" better, be one of the "pretty girls", be in the right clique or be loved by the most eligible bachelor. What is the real cost to our souls? Does it really change the way you feel about yourself on the inside by changing the way you look on the outside? I don't believe that for one instant. You can polish up the outside all you want to and, ultimately, if you don't like yourself on the inside, all of the polish or plastic in the world won't change that.

Why can't we love ourselves the way we were created...in HIS image. Perfect, not in an arrogant or proud way, but humbly and confident that He who made us, made us perfectly - just exactly the way we are. Why can't we love others that way too? We need to realize that we are all defective in our own way, but we are all beautiful to God. One is not better, prettier or more favored over another. God loves us all the same, (although I often contend that He loves me best).

I hope to always keep LAFN and, as always, that's my opinion, I welcome yours.

Have a God Blessed day!

Nancie

The Tough Questions.

Did you ever notice that when people ask your opinion on some question they may have, they don't like your answer and they ask several others the same question? They will keep asking the same question of different people until they get the answer for which they were hoping. They often end up many hours later even more confused than they were before they started asking the question.

EVERY answer to EVERY question that you will EVER ask in your entire life can be found in the Bible. Not just any bible, but the Bible written by the author and finisher of our faith - our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. You may not like the answer, because it may cause you to have to take a hard look at your life or possibly make some hard changes or difficult decisions, but the answers from Him will ALWAYS be the correct answers.

Look around you today. People are impatient. They want everything right now. We have fast food, fast cars that drive in the fast lane, people become fast friends, fast fast fast. No one wants to wait for anything. Waiting for answers is even harder than waiting for anything else. God's answers don't always come immediately and they may not come when we think they should, but His timing is always perfect. Sometimes you can't see it, but when you look back, haven't you been able to see the good in something that you may have had to wait for?

Learn to be patient, wait on the Lord, be still and listen to that still, small and quiet voice. Some people call it their "gut instinct", but I call it the Holy Spirit. That voice is there even if you don't immediately recognize that it's there. It's always right and when we ignore it, something usually goes way wrong.

Just keep LAFN and, as always, that's my opinion and I welcome yours.

Have a God Blessed day!
Nancie