Lessons from the Past

2012: A Year of Thanksgiving and Praise

Day 16: Today, I'm Thankful for Lessons of the Past

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. day. The banks and post offices were closed. Some offices were closed. But many of us went to work just like any other day.

I was a young girl when Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed. It was a brutal, deadly time in American History. It seemed we went from one tragedy to another.

President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 2, 1963.
Lee Harvey Oswald was killed on national television 22 days later, November 24, 1963.
Bobby Kennedy was killed on June 5, 1968.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated only 5 days later, June 10, 1968.

It was a lot for a small child to take in.

Friends

Photo by Gibson Claire McGuire Regester used under Creative Commons license.

2012: A Year of Thanksgiving and Praise

Day 15: I'm Thankful for Friends

This is the post I should have written yesterday. But, I was having one of "those" days. So, I posted the video from TED instead.  (And no, I didn't mean to rhyme, it just turned out that way.)

We often take our friends for granted. They are there to talk to, to hang out with, to have fun with.

Our friends also fulfill very important roles in our lives at times when we need them most. Sometimes they are there to lend an ear to talk to, or a shoulder to cry on, or a swift kick in the backside when we need that too to stay on track.

Most of all, friends are there for each other. There is no selfish underlying motive. If you need something, they are there. If they need something, you are there. That's what friends do.

Warmth

2012: A Year of Thanksgiving and Praise

Day 12: Today I'm Thankful for Warmth!

...and I mean that with all sincerity. It is cold tonight. Right now, the actual temperature is 32 degrees, but with the wind chill factor they say it feels like 23. Tonight it's supposed to get down to 17, with wind chill values as low as 8. Can you say brrrr??

But, I'm in a house with central heating, and with a space heater in the room for good measure. So while it's freezing (literally) outside, I'm still warm.

Work

Photo by Benjamin Earwicker www.garrisonphoto.org/sxc

2012: A Year of Thanksgiving and Praise

Day 9: I'm Thankful for Work

I wasn't raised to be idle. In fact, I was raised on the old saying "Idle hands are the devil's workshop." Now, I will be the first to admit that there are times in my life when I carry this to an extreme and fill too many hours of my day with work, and not enough with other things. I tend to be a bit of a workaholic if I don't rein myself in. But, I would much rather be working than be bored with nothing to do. 

In fact, I don't understand how people can be bored. It seems to me there is always something to do but never enough time to do it all. I guess I had my moments of boredom when I was younger. But, I don't think I suffered from boredom the way so many do now.

2012: a Year of Thanksgiving and Praise

The first day of the new year. I must say I'm glad to have 2011 behind me, and looking forward to 2012.


One of my Facebook friends posted their declaration for the new year and thought I would make my own. I have decided to declare 2012 a Year of Thanksgiving and Praise. 


So, on Day One of the new year, I'm thankful for new beginnings. I'm thankful that I have a New Year in which I can imagine and create what I want for my life. I'm thankful that I have the promises of God's Word to back up my desires, and there is no better guarantee than that possible anywhere, anytime.

Receiving the Promises Through Faith

"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree: That the blessings of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith."
~ Galations 3:13-14


Redeemed is from the Greek word "exagorazo"; to ransom, rescue, purchase out, buy up from the possession or power of someone, to set free from service or bondage. 


What a powerful word that is!  We are no longer bound by the curse of the law but set free by grace. How many of us grew up thinking that we could somehow earn our salvation or earn the promise of the blessings that God's Word holds for us? I know I did -- or at least, I thought I was supposed to be able to. Of course, I always fell short so I always thought that I didn't deserve and couldn't receive the promises because I wasn't "good enough".


The problem is, we can never be "good enough". The good news is, we don't have to be.

10 Year Text

"Speak what you think now in hard words, and tomorrow speak what tomorrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict every thing you said today". 

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Day 28 Assignment: 10-year Text by Tia Singh

Imagine your future self, ie, you 10 years from now. If he/she were to send you a tweet or text message, 1) what would it say and 2) how would that transform your life or change something you’re doing, thinking, believing or saying today?

Invent the Future

"A man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within, more than the luster of the firmament of bards and sages. Yet he dismisses without notice his thought, because it is his." 

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Day 17 Assignment: Invent the Future by Cindy Gallop

My favorite quote of all time is Alan Kay: "In order to predict the future, you have to invent it." I am all about inventing the future. Decide what you want the future to be and make it happen. Because you can. Write about your future now.


I'll take that thought a bit further. Not only CAN we invent our futures, but we DO invent them whether we are conscious of doing so or not.  I firmly believe that yesterday's thoughts created today's circumstances. If I don't like the results, then I need to change my thoughts. God created us with the ability to create what we can imagine. Any image held in the mind long enough, and believed strongly enough, will become manifest in our circumstances.

I apologize for my blog taking such an extreme turn from the type of posts I had been making, but I'm enjoying the #Trust30 challenge and hope that you all find it at least somewhat entertaining. If nothing else, it gives you a glimpse of my personality and who I really am. There are 13 days left, and then "Walk By Faith" will return to its regular programming.  ;o)

Fear

"These are the voices which we hear in solitude, but they grow faint and inaudible as we enter into the world. Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members." 

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Day 12 Assignment: Fear by Lachlan Cotter

I'm really struggling with yet another prompt on fear.

Frankly, I just don't see myself as being that fearful.  I already dealt with the psychological, subtle fears having to do with self-esteem.

Now Lachlan Cotter asks: Is fear holding you back from living your fullest life and being truly self expressed?

Your Personal Message

"To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men, that is genius." 

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Day 10 Assignment by Eric Handler

What is burning deep inside of you? If you could spread your personal message RIGHT NOW to 1 million people, what would you say?

Come Alive

Life wastes itself while we are preparing to live. 

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

Day 6 Assignment by Jonathan Mead

If you had one week left to live, would you still be doing what you’re doing now? In what areas of your life are you preparing to live? Take them off your To Do list and add them to a To Stop list. Resolve to only do what makes you come alive.

Tithing - An Act of Faith

If you're struggling with your finances, you probably find tithing a difficult concept to deal with. After all, how can you possibly consider giving God 10 percent of your increase (what we would call our income today) when you don't even know if you can pay the mortgage and feed your family this month? I know the feeling. I've been there. But, tithing is part of the Christian walk and is, in my opinion, the cornerstone of Christian finance.

For These Light Afflictions...

"For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal."
-- 2nd Corinthians 4:17 & 18

And we think we have problems...

Humbled and Amazed

It's been a while since I've written. I was going through a bit of a storm in my life. For me, that means its time to "hunker down" into the Word and make sure that everything that is going into my soul through the eyes, ears, and being spoken out of my mouth is aligned with the Word of God. 

In order for that to be the case, sometimes its easier to just remain silent. I've found that when I'm in the thick of things, it takes more effort to guard my words (James 3:8 "but the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.") than it takes to just shut up.

Life Lessons on the Drive to Work

While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
 -- Genesis 8:22

I had to smile this morning. I came up to an intersection and got into the left turn lane. There was one car in front of me. The light changed. The car behind me must have been in a hurry. Instead of simply waiting for the light to turn green again (in fact, there is a protected left turn before the rest of the traffic can go), he decided to save some time and cut through the parking lot of the business on the corner.

Faith Farming

"...And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him."
  --Genesis 5:21-24

Do you walk with God?

Something mighty happens when we walk with God; when we are in his presence. Not much is recorded about Enoch, but there is no doubt that he enjoyed a very close relationship with God.

New Year -- New Beginnings

"...for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."

     -- Jeremiah 31:34

It's the first day of a New Year -- 2010. Maybe you make New Year's resolutions, maybe you don't. But for most people, the New Year signals a time for change, an opportunity to re-create our lives and our circumstances.