Today many will pay homage to the “god” of disappointment and discouragement. Yes, I am talking about today, the day of Halloween.
So, what do I mean by that? I mean that many will celebrate Halloween and give themselves over to demonic workings. BUT, I know that you can do that any day. It does not have to be Halloween. You can find something to change your life for the worse and it does not have to be a child in a Garfield costume. Continue reading Can Halloween Hurt?
ISIS, Ebola, EV-D68, ABC123…Okay, the last one is not a real one…yet…
I am jumping out into the deep end this morning. I want to talk about fear mongering. Most of us know what fear is. We have experienced it. Perhaps it was a frightening situation in a vehicle, the sickness of a family member, or well, something like Halloween. Ask me about those and I am more than willing to share my experience! But, what has come to me recently is the amount of people who are living in fear. Continue reading Being A Vessel Of Light
Mothers day
Everybody has a list of things mom did, but I have a short list of things mom didn’t do, as well.
My mom never took sass from any of us kids. The only issue she had with 4 kids was whether she could get the majority of us for what we did. (Pretty sure it was my brother David’s fault any ways!!!) I probably need to say “thanks” for the things she didn’t do first.! Continue reading Mothers Day-A Day of Thankful Remembrance
Have you ever been down? Felt dejected or discouraged. And then someone tosses you the scripture about “righteousness, peace and joy” or “why so downcast o’ my soul?” Yep, I sure have been there.
In my earlier life I was severely prone to depression. I was treated medically for depression. I was suicidal at one dark time in my life that ended me up in the hospital for 90 days. The loss, the gun, the whole darkness. I battled suicide for years. Even in the beginning years of my Christianity I was tied to depression and sought the answers in Him while being medicated with a cabinet full of meds. And then one day I said “no more. I have nothing to lose”. I walked away. Continue reading Dejected? Discouraged? It Is Time To Say “No More”
Today in my own life I will be packing to move tomorrow. Seems good to end the nightmare on Halloween!
Lately I find myself telling others how amazing grace is not just because I believe it but because I have seen it. In the last few years I have seen more marriages healed, children restored (Even kidnapped ones!) and restoration come to family units than the first 20 years of my Christianity. I am not ready to say I have seen more miracles and healing yet in the last two years, but it is clear we are heading in that direction. Continue reading A Season Of Change-Readying For The Next Step
(Because many have asked my take on Halloween, let me share my recent thoughts. My old thoughts are all over the internet!)
So many know my background prior to becoming a believer and how I got here. In a nutshell I went from being one who religion did not really mean much to, to one day being confronted by God.
I had various touches with His word, but not so much Him. When I went through a tough time with alcohol and drugs I went to a minister and asked him to help me. He told me he “did not think God could help” me.At another time, I fell in love with a girl. Her mom was dying of cancer. I found that white covered bible from my early days in an Episcopal or Congregational church that had been given to me. For some reason I was drawn to the book of John. I talked to her a few times about God(in my limited understanding) and tried to bring comfort to her life. Her mom died, she found another guy and I gave up on God.
It was not the first time I felt like God “let me down.” (This is just one of the problems of giving people rules and regulations, and not relationship(s).) I went through it another time when I was going out with another “religious” girl. I just could not match up.
In the early 80’s I started a business. Jewelry and gifts and what was soon to become so much more. I was going along making a good living. One day while I was gone, a gal stopped by the store and left some of her creations for me to view. What I found myself attracted to was the ugliest ring you could imagine. I put it on and I could “feel” something. I found myself ordering things for my store I had never previously cared about.
Soon, books, potions, herbs and you name it, began to fill my stores. 5 of them at one point. What began as no understanding progressed to New Age and more. Never one to just go slow, I went crazy. In more ways than one. Even friends who had worked with me saw. Now people working with me had names like Raven and Princess. I found myself drawn into the darkest of realms. My mind was out of control.
And that brings me to Halloween. So many have asked me my thoughts on things related to this. I have been around long enough to know the many ways the church has dealt with Halloween. I have two thoughts I feel that are important.
One, each one of us i called to handle Halloween in our own way and as God leads. My biggest concern with Halloween is and always will be children. My grandson is 6 and he will do what I do. He tells people he wants to be like me. My over riding concern is the desensitization of children. Someone sent me a photo of a beheaded person a few weeks ago. An honor killing. They asked my thoughts. I COULD NOT LOOK AT IT! And yet kids today, many have no problem with some of this stuff. Cartoons, videos, the internet. The value of human life has been cheapened by the world.
And now the bigger problem. The church. For years we have practiced isolation. Maybe bad theology. Maybe bad eschatology. Maybe no grace. The issue is this. We will never turn people around until we, the church, turn around and turn away. From our buildings, programs and thinking that keeps us from reaching out and seeing the kingdom of God for what it is…people.
Maybe it was 12 plus years of pastoring. Maybe kids and grandkids. Maybe I am just old enough to see love, really does cover a multitude of sins.
I know we have not made it through Halloween but when you have family in different states, married children with new families you learn to make plans. And seeing my first Christmas lights, well, it excited me.
The holidays! Yippee! Break out the lights! As I have said in previous columns I am a huge fan of the holidays. Over the years my wife and I have used this opportunity to open our home to many. We have had people out of prison, off the streets and folks who were “worse” off than us. We have had as many as 25 people in our living room sharing our meal. This year is somewhat different as we are “displaced” on some levels with our home, but our children and grandchildren will still be with us and who knows, maybe someone who needs company. Over the last year or so, I have lost a few friends. I am sure their spouses would appreciate the company of others. Nothing can replace the life lost, but healing is a process and it often begins with friends and family. Continue reading The Trinity Of The Holidays Nears
(Because many have asked my take on Halloween, let me share my recent thoughts. My old thoughts are all over the internet!)
So many know my background prior to becoming a believer and how I got here. In a nutshell I went from being one who religion did not really mean much to, to one day being confronted by God. Continue reading Halloween and Believers
