Sunday Reflections

Flying Goose Wisdom

Recently, during a cycling event, I had the pleasure of seeing geese flying in formation - obviously headed for a different climate. There must have been hundreds of them and they were magnificent! That, needless to say got me thinking and I thought I'd do some reading on the subject. I've added some basic truths that correlate with the facts I've uncovered - in cycling and in life.

1. In the Spring, when you see geese heading North for the Summer or South in the Fall, flying along in "V" formation, you might be interested in knowing what scientists have discovered about why they fly that way. It has been learned that as each bird flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the bird immediately following. By flying in "V" formation, the whole flock adds at least 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own. In cycling, we travel close together inline at sometimes a high rate of speed. We have to know the quirks and habits of those around us - which make us better cyclists and the experience more enjoyable.
   
   Basic Truth #1- People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going quicker and easier because they are traveling on the thrust of one another.
   
   
2. Whenever a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone and quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird immediately in front. It's the same in cycling, called draft.
   
   Basic Truth #2- If we have as much sense as a goose, we will stay in formation with those who are heading in the same direction as we are.
   
   
3. When the lead goose gets tired, he rotates back in the wing and another goose flies point. Again, the exact same in cycling, and another cyclist will always make a place for you to get back in line.
   
   Basic Truth #3- It pays to take turns doing hard jobs, with people or with flying geese.
   
   
4. These geese honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.
   
   Basic Truth #4- We need to be careful what we say when we honk from behind.
   
   
5. Finally, when a goose gets sick, or is wounded by gunshot, and falls out, two geese fall out of formation and follow him down to help and protect him. They stay with him until he is either able to fly or until he is dead, and then they launch out on their own or with another formation until they catch up with their group.
   
   Final Truth- If we have the sense of a goose, we will stand by each other, protect one another and sometimes make new friends who seem to be going in our direction.

We have much to learn from one another and much to gain by helping each other. God's creation of us, like these wonderful birds of flight, as part of His constant circle of eternal wisdom.

Walter

Sunday Reflections

Two Days We Shouldn't Worry About

There are two days in every week about which we should not worry, two days which should be kept free from fear and apprehension.

One of these days is Yesterday with all its mistakes and cares, its faults and blunders, its aches and pains.

Yesterday has passed forever beyond our control. All the money in the world cannot bring back Yesterday.

We cannot undo a single act we performed; we cannot erase a single word we said. Yesterday is gone forever.

The other day we should not worry about is Tomorrow with all its possible adversities, its burdens, its large promise and its poor performance; Tomorrow is also beyond our immediate control.

Tomorrow's sun will rise, either in splendor or behind a mask of clouds, but it will rise. Until it does, we have no stake in Tomorrow, for it is yet to be born.

This leaves only one day, Today. Any person can fight the battle of just one day. It is when you and I add the burdens of those two awful eternities Yesterday and Tomorrow that we break down.

It is not the experience of Today that drives a person mad, it is the remorse or bitterness of something which happened Yesterday and the dread of what Tomorrow may bring. Let us, therefore, Live but one day at a time.

Walter

Sunday Reflections: Scars

Some years ago on a hot summer day in south Florida a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming hole behind his house.

In a hurry to dive into the cool water, he ran out the back door, leaving behind shoes, socks, and shirt as he went. He flew into the water, not realizing that as he swam toward the middle of the lake, an alligator was swimming toward the shore.

His mother, in the house was looking out the window, saw the two as they got closer and closer together. In utter fear, she ran toward the water, yelling to her son as loudly as she could. Hearing her voice, the little boy became alarmed and made a U-turn to swim to his mother.

It was too late. Just as he reached her, the alligator reached him. From the dock, the mother grabbed her little boy by the arms just as the alligator snatched his legs. That began an incredible tug-of-war between the two.

The alligator was much stronger than the mother, but the mother was much too passionate to let go.

A farmer happened to drive by, heard her screams, raced from his truck, took aim and shot the alligator.

Remarkably, after weeks and weeks in the hospital, the little boy survived.

His legs were extremely scarred by the vicious attack of the animal. And, on his arms, were deep scratches where his mother's fingernails dug into his flesh in her effort to hang on to the son she loved.

The newspaper reporter who interviewed the boy after the trauma, asked if he would show him his scars. The boy lifted his pant legs. And then, with obvious pride, he said to the reporter, "But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them because my mom wouldn't let go."

You and I can identify with that little boy. We have scars, too. No, not from an alligator, or anything quite so dramatic. But, the scars of a painful past. Some of those scars are unsightly and have caused us deep regret.

But, some wounds, my friend, are because God has refused to let go.

In the midst of your struggle, He's been there holding on to you. The Scripture teaches that God loves you. If you have Christ in your life, you have become a child of God. He wants to protect you and provide for you in every way.

But sometimes we foolishly wade into dangerous situations. The swimming hole of life is filled with peril - and we forget that the enemy is waiting to attack. That's when the tug-o-war begins, and if you have the scars of His love on your arms be very, very grateful.

He did not - and will not - let you go. Time is a very precious gift of God; so precious that it's only given to us moment by moment.

Walter

Sunday Reflections

Laughter Is The Best Medicine - And Cheap, Too!

I know a couple who works in the pharmaceutical industry. He is a sales representative and she is a pharmacist. When asked what they do for a living, he is quick to reply, "She makes drugs and I sell them."

I believe it was Lord Byron who said, "Always laugh when you can. It is cheap medicine." And they're finding that to be true - quite literally.

A woman diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis wrote on a health forum about how painful the disease had become. Debra said that no drugs would touch the devastating pain. "At times I prayed to die because I did not think I could go on this way," she said. But in two and a half years she weaned herself from most of her medication, which had reached a high of 21 pills a day. This is how she did it.

"I began seeing a doctor who gave me the most important prescription that I ever could have received," she said. "He excused himself from the room. I watched him walking back and forth in the hall; he seemed to be in deep thought."

The doctor came back in with this prescription: he told Debra to get some funny movies and to begin laughing. If she didn't feel like laughing, then she should smile. If she didn't feel like smiling, she should smile anyway! He said that it would increase endorphins in her brain and help with her pain.

She did just as he suggested. She smiled constantly. Her children teased her about the fake smile, but she told them that it was going to get rid of her pain. And it did. Of course, not all of her pain is gone, but her newly acquired habit of laughing and smiling has made it manageable without all of the drugs.

Today, Debra is never seen without her smile. She says that she would not even feel normal without it.

Laughter really is cheap medicine. And it's a prescription you can fill right now.

Sunday Reflections, Part 2

Since the pursuit of happiness, as Sigmund Freud surmised, is tied to human love and to creative work and play, the principles of American Judeo-Christian values can rightly be summarized as the honoring of God-given Life, Liberty and Creativity. This seed of American social justice was then fleshed out in the U.S. Constitution through reason and common sense, unencumbered by the dysfunctional religious and secular traditions, and laws of Old Europe. Our founding fathers separated church from state, but they wisely did not separate God from state; they acknowledged God as the source of our rights, and, in fact, they were careful to place Biblical morality directly into our founding documents and laws, and into our values and culture precisely to help prevent a future of totalitarian or tyrannical rule in America. The combination of acknowledging God as the source of our rights, keeping Judeo-Christian religious morality in the state, as opposed to the church its self — and, additionally, setting up our laws based on reason and common sense — has contributed to the American Character, and to what is known as "American Exceptionalism."

Our Founding Fathers were religious in a distinctive way, the Judeo-Christian way, and they were the liberals of their day by deducing that our political and human rights come from a power higher than human government — but they were conservative to Biblical morality. There was and still is a connection between God and Liberty; He is the author of it. It is ironic that American Conservatives are now the champion of this, our most liberal founding principle — and also an irony that many American Conservatives are wholly unaware of their connection with the liberal founding ideas of this great republic. It is also an irony that many American Liberals have turned a blind eye to the required connection between God and Liberty. As Thomas Jefferson and John Adams noted, as you will see below, Liberty cannot survive among men without its Divine connection.

In Judeo-Christian America, one finds the idea of equality before God and the law, but not government forced economic equality. Modern European culture has stressed the value of economic equality rather than Liberty, and their governments unjustly enforce the principle. This has led to the failed European inventions of Socialism and Communism. Socialists in America have been lured into this failed European idea of social justice. Socialism is a failure in that it unjustly suppresses human creativity by excessively taxing away its rewards and by foolishly giving economic reward to many who, even though mentally and physically able, fail to honor their Divine privilege and duty to work creatively. Socialism is a triple insult to the pursuit of happiness: it coerces conformity; it suppresses God-given human creativity; and it damages the social fabric by promoting resentment, on the one hand, and ingratitude on the other. Communism was much worse in that it also dishonored the sacredness of human life and liberty. Communism was the inevitable result of separating not just church from state, but the separation of God from state. Communism dishonored God's gifts of Life, Liberty and Creativity.

European cultures have historical ties to authoritarian and totalitarian systems dating back to the Roman Empire. Even European Christianity was, for a time, contaminated by its links to authoritarian rule. American Judeo-Christian Culture, on the other hand, has been linked to honoring Life, Liberty and Creativity from the outset; deriving its wisdom from the lights of reason, common sense, and both the Hebrew Bible and New Testament Christian Bible. Thomas Jefferson, and as I can tell, the great majority of our Founding Fathers, explicitly put God into the national life of the United States, precisely by putting the Creator into the Declaration of Independence. It is important that American Liberty has something to do with God; that is something for students to know and discuss, even if they are not particularly religious. This does not represent some form of tyranny of the religious majority or an injustice; it was in fact the wisdom of our founding fathers to stand in opposition to tyranny and injustice by acknowledging the source of our rights — those rights originating from God rather than from King George III, or for that matter from the Soviet or Chinese Politburo, or a courthouse, or a legislature. It should be self-evident that if our sacred human rights are derived from government, they can also be removed by government.

America is a melting pot of diverse people, including Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists and Atheists; and from the Judeo-Christian perspective: all made in God's image. We have in America a multiethnic society, and that is good. What is unhealthy for America is for it to become Balkanized, which is very likely to happen with the atrophy of Judeo-Christian American culture and values. Worse yet would be for America to adopt the toxic values which exist in some parts of the world and in some foreign cultures. The values of Fascism, Nazism, Communism or Totalitarian Islamic Sharia Law for example must never metastasize into our American Culture, which traditionally has been Judeo-Christian. These values have been with us from the beginning and they have made us strong and successful. These Judeo-Christian values should be kept central to the American spirit and culture even as we have become more multiethnic. Honoring foreign cultures is desirable, but we should never tolerate the values of violence, coercion, supremacism, bigotry, intolerance, slavery or totalitarianism; values which are sadly endemic in some foreign cultures.

Several quotations from our Founding Fathers will illustrate American Judeo-Christian Values and our separation of church and state, but not the separation of God from state — and provide grounding for our understanding of social justice. Thomas Jefferson wrote: "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among them are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness — that to secure these rights governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed...." He also wrote: "God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God?" He also wrote: "Almighty God hath created the mind free. ... All attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burthens...are a departure from the plan of the Holy Author of our religion..." He also wrote: "I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man."

Our founding fathers wrote the first amendment to the U.S. Constitution: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;" President George Washington said this when proclaiming our National Thanksgiving Holiday: "It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God...." John Adams wrote this: "We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." Later, Abraham Lincoln wrote these words about the Bible: "In regard to this great book, I have but to say, it is the best gift God has given to men. All the good Savior gave to the world was communicated through this book. But for it we could not know right from wrong." He also spoke these words at the Gettysburg Address: "that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

What follows is a list of what this American considers to be our Judeo-Christian values, the values established by our Founding Fathers, and the basis for which is to be found in the Bible, the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. I am indebted many great American and spiritual thinkers, who have listed Judeo-Christian values and elaborated on this subject long before I took it up, and those who know their works will recognize many of their thoughts echoed here.

1. Our sense of right and wrong and our sense of wisdom come from the use of reason and common sense, but also, and importantly, from the Bible which, by faith was considered by our Founding Fathers to be God's inspired text — and not just from the mind or heart of man. This faith led to the mottos: "In God We Trust" & "One Nation Under God." Our Founding Fathers were believers in the God of the Bible, even if some were not Orthodox Christians, and they put that faith into the Declaration of Independence, into our laws, into our national monuments, and into our culture. Faith is a part of American Culture — something Atheists, Secularists, Humanists and those of other religions should acknowledge and accept as historical truth. To remove the results of Biblical Faith from America is to undo what the Founding Fathers have wrought.
   
   
2. Truth is Sacred; there can be no liberty or justice, and little happiness without it. Jesus connected truth and liberty when He said "the truth shall make you free." In the Book of Exodus of the Hebrew Bible God describes Himself: "The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth..." In Deuteronomy God is described this way: "He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice." Listen to King David in Psalm 25: "Show me Your ways, O Lord; Teach me your paths. Lead me in Your truth..."; and in Psalm 51: "Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom."
   
   
3. Human life is the first gift of God, and it is of infinite value since man is made in the image of God. Judeo-Christian values have led to a culture of life in America, not a culture of death. Americans with Judeo-Christian values will defend innocent God-given life.
   
   
4. Our Liberty is a gift from God and stated so in the Declaration of Independence. It is also stated in the New Testament Christian Bible: "Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Liberty." Patrick Henry and our other Founding Fathers understood that peace can only occur under liberty; peace under tyranny is an oxymoron. The tyrant or terrorist is, by definition, at war with liberty-loving people; and we either accept the struggle for Liberty, or we accept the tyranny. Just war in medieval times was connected to the defense of life and privilege for kings and tyrants; American just war refers to the defense of life and liberty of a free people — individuals who wish to be free from tyranny and terror. Americans with Judeo-Christian values will defend their God-given Liberty.
   
   
5. Human creativity is also a gift from God and is not to be unjustly suppressed by totalitarian, tyrannical or excessively taxing government. The work ethic is an important part of Judeo-Christian values, since honorable work is a reflection of God-given human creativity. Human reason is also a part of God-given human creativity, and it has led to scientific knowledge and technological progress. Reason and science are important aspects of Judeo-Christian values. Human creativity is central to the pursuit of happiness, but does not guarantee it; totalitarian systems such as Communism or Islamic Sharia Law guarantee utopian happiness, but don't deliver it, as they suppress human creativity.
   
   
6. "Establish justice." This is commanded repeatedly in the Hebrew Bible, and this is how it has been done in America: Honor Life, Liberty and Creativity. Honoring the life of others is rooted in the "golden rule": "whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them." Liberty in practical terms means: Freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, freedom of religion, no established or state-supported church, right to own property and to privacy at home, right to bear arms and act in self-defense, uninterrupted elections, and the division of powers into its three branches. It is unjust to provide special rights for certain groups of people, based upon factors other than disability — such as race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation — and thereby artificially dividing our people. It is unjust when special group rights trump the pre-existing individual God-given rights of Life, Liberty and Creativity. Our Founding Fathers enumerated these essential individual rights for all people, and our Civil War enforced it for the American slaves when they were denied their God-given Liberty.
   
   
7. "Hate Evil." This is commanded three times in the Hebrew Bible. The following is from the book of Proverbs: "The fear of the Lord is to hate evil." Hear the Prophet Isaiah: "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness...." Americans with Judeo-Christian values — as opposed to European leaders — still believe in the death penalty for pre-meditated murder, and America is still the nemesis of terrorists and tyrants — see the seal of the state of Virginia.
   
   
8. "Love your neighbor" — commanded in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles. "Love your enemy" — commanded in the New Testament Christian Bible. Generations of Americans, starting with our Founding Fathers, have had to square the values of "Hate Evil" with "Love your enemy." This has been done by hating the evil within the enemies of God-given Life and Liberty, but not hating the evil-doer him/herself.
   
   
9. Sacrificial giving is a Judeo-Christian value and duty.
   
   
10. Self-discipline, self-respect, respect for elders and for others, loyalty and gratitude are Judeo-Christian values, and also valued on other cultures.
    
    
11. Courage is a Judeo-Christian value, and it is also valued in other cultures. Courage can be defined as the willingness to place one's self into harm's way; and, if necessary, to die in defense of God-given Life and Liberty. I can think of no better example of warrior courage than young David as he stood with his sling before Goliath. There is no greater example of pacifist courage than Jesus, as He gave His life in defense of eternal Life and Liberty. Without sacrifice the protesting pacifist is a coward; Jesus was not a coward. The warrior and the true pacifist are linked by self-sacrifice: self-sacrifice in defense of Sacred Life and Liberty. Courage and cowardice are like fine art and pornography; you'll know it when you see it.
    
    
12. In the Judeo-Christian value system, there is a natural and common-sense balance between compassion and courageous confrontation of evil. This can be seen metaphorically as a natural balance between femininity and masculinity — both good and necessary. The secular culture of Europe, and of many in the United States today, have unwisely suppressed the masculinity of Judeo-Christian American Culture; and this has put our society out of balance.
    
    
13. From Many, One: e pluribus unum. Ethnicity and race don't matter, but values do matter. We Americans should consider ourselves blessed to live under God-given Liberty in the same melting pot; and we are privileged to pursue happiness through creative work and play, unencumbered by excessive government. Those things that divide us, such as race or ethnicity, can be viewed metaphorically as our various styles, and are not very important. Those things of lesser importance should melt into what is very important and which should unite us: our value of Life, Liberty and Creativity — those rights defined by the Declaration of Independence, and rightly identified as the gifts of God.
    
    
14. The natural resources of the Earth, including the animals, along with the rest of creation should be honored and well cared for, but also used and enjoyed, and never worshiped.
    
    

The elite European leaders and philosophers, and many Americans in the ivory tower, have decided that "God is Dead." They have it wrong, and our Founding Fathers have said otherwise. The European separation of God and state in the Twentieth Century resulted in Communism and Nazism, and a disgusting explosion of mass murder, wars of aggression, indecency, subjugation and human suffering. The Judeo-Christian values of our Founding Fathers has resulted in an explosion of Life, Liberty and Creativity for hundreds of millions of people. It can be so for our children, and their children, and for our posterity into the future — a bright future. Europe, I believe, has a simple choice: accept and defend Judeo-Christian values by placing God, but not the church, back into the state; or accept a new wave of Totalitarianism — most likely this time of the Islamist variety.

America does not have an exclusive claim on Life, Liberty and Creativity; these are the rights of all people, everywhere, and for all time. Recall that our Founding Fathers were revolutionaries; and realize that the American Revolution will not end until there are no longer enemies of our God-given Life, Liberty and Creativity. The Liberty that flourished in ancient Greece, and during the Roman Republic, was short-lived. American Liberty, however, can last as long as the Earth exists, because our Liberty has been bequeathed by the King of the Universe.

Walter

Sunday Reflections, Part 1

Separation Of Church And State

Many people in America do not understand the reason for the separation of church and state in the documents of our Founding Fathers. Early Americans were persecuted for their religious beliefs and practices in England (the country where the majority of colonists came from) - and there were Americans who came from others parts of Europe who experienced religious persecution, as well. The crowning achievement of this idea was that never again would a government ever dictate beliefs to its governed if it is to be truly free - no more persecution just because its people choose to honor God or their Creator in different ways, or even not at all. With this idea, religious tyranny ended.

In the age of Secular Humanism - rampant in Liberal ideology and the Socialist-Democratic platform - the idea of our government even remotely honoring its roots in Judeo-Christian values and traditions is preposterous and intolerable. However, it should be noted that these values have been with us from the beginning and they have made us strong and successful. They even have a basis in the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness..." Here are some important facts to consider.

• "In God We Trust" is our national motto. (36 United States Code USC), Section 186)
  
  
• "In God We Trust" has been on our coins since 1863, even before it was our national motto. (31 USC, Section 5112(D)(1))
  
  
• Our Pledge of Allegiance cites "one nation under God."
  
  
• Both state legislatures and United States Congress employ paid chaplains to pray at the opening of all sessions.
  
  
• All military branches of the United States government have paid chaplains.
  
  
• The inscription on the Liberty Bell cites Leviticus 25:10.
  "And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family."
  
  
• A portrait of Moses with the Ten Commandments hangs above the Speaker's chair in the United States Congress. (But this is illegal in our public schools and municipal government buildings.) It is shameful that the very institution which governs us and makes the laws are able to display the Ten Commandments but the citizens cannot. Does this form of government sound familiar?
  
  
• The Library of Congress (another government institution) has statues of the apostle Paul and Moses, and it has large inscriptions of Micah 6:8 and Psalms 19:1 prominently displayed. (Try pulling that off at the next high school football game.)
  
  
• "He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" Micah 6:8
  
  
• "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork." Psalms 19:1
  
  
• The Lincoln Memorial (Government property) has chiseled on it, "Judgments of the Lord are righteous."
  
  
• The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is dedicated to a soldier "Known but to God."
  
  
• There is a prayer room in Congress. (Go tell your local school board you want the same thing that "our" Government has....a prayer room. Better yet, ask the ACLU if they will either allow prayer rooms in our schools or fight to have the one in our Government removed... just for grins of course.)
  
  
• This has to be the best one yet.
  The very branch of our US Government which ruled against prayers at a high school football game opens the Supreme Court Session with the words, "God save the United States and this honorable court." They do this publicly, not privately.
  
  
• The United States Constitution refers to Jesus, stating the Constitution was signed in 1787 "in the year of our Lord." (Could the US Government explain which "Lord" they were referring to on this document, if not Jesus?)
  
  
• The United States Government has mandated "National Day of Prayer." (36 USC, Section 169(h)). (Think about that.... The very government which has ruled against public prayer at schools because of the misguided "Separation of Church and State" doctrine has mandated a "National Day of Prayer" -- by US Government Law!!)
  
  
• Separation of Church and State. Maybe it is the believers in the US who have been separated from the State. Has that ever happened in recent world history? Think about it.
  
  God Bless America!

Walter

Sunday Reflections

I have noticed that the best way for me to get a few minutes of solitude at the end of the day is to start washing the dishes or even doing laundry. And a few minutes of solitude is something I need frequently. A time to be alone. A time to reflect.

I think there is a difference between aloneness and loneliness. Aloneness is necessary for the soul to thrive - even to come alive. Not loneliness.

German theologian and pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer was arrested and eventually hanged for opposing Hitler. While in prison, he wrote letters to his fiancée. The last letter she received was dated Christmas 1944. Speaking of the war that separated them, Bonhoeffer wrote this:

"These will be quiet days in our homes, but I have had the experience over and over again that the quieter it is around me, the clearer do I feel a connection to you. It is as though in solitude the soul develops senses which we hardly know in everyday life. Therefore I have not felt lonely or abandoned for one moment."

I can be alone without being lonely. In fact, those times of solitude are necessary respite for a beleaguered soul, set upon by the pressures of life. I need to take whatever moments I can to just be still.

Only in quiet waters things mirror themselves undistorted," says Hans Margolius. "Only in a quiet mind is adequate perception of the world."

So I'll find time to ... be still.

Walter

Sunday Thoughts

It's Between You & God

People are often unreasonable,
Illogical, and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind,
People may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful,
You will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank,
People may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building,
Someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness,
They may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today,
People will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have,
And it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis,
It is between you and God;
It never was between you and them anyway.

Be Blessed,
Mother Theresa

Sunday Reflections

In my daily walk with God, He tells me lots of stuff. No, a mighty voice does not boom down from on high and shake the very foundations of my home or office with its power. This voice is subtle - almost imperceptible - and I can't hear it unless I'm really listening.

Sometimes the voice comes as a gut feeling -- other times as the solution to a dilemma. The voice comes to everyone who seeks God's counsel. The voice of God can even be heard in our trials and tribulations. If you don't get something that you really want, maybe God's trying to tell you something. Maybe you'd better listen.

While God's voice reaches the Christian in many different ways, it's message is always consistent. You can always tell that God is talking to your heart instead of Satan whispering in your ear. This is because God never changes. His Word is the same today as it was 4,000 years ago when the Patriarchs were flourishing. If you have any doubts as to who is really talking to you, a quick flip of your Bible will provide the answer. If the message is true with Scripture, then the words are truly from God and not the devil.

There are times when our own wants and desires get in the way of God's message. I can't tell you how many times I have started on a projetc only to have to stop in the middle because the project I was trying work on wasn't going anywhere. Why? I simply did not consult with God before I started it - I tried to do it on my own. I asked him sometime back to guide me for His glory and He took me literally. A mental block and lost time are the penalty I pay for inattention. This has happened over and over again.

If we stop to listen to God, those who ask his counsel - those who really want to know - will receive messages and advice from the Creator. You don't have to a prophet. You don't have to be anyone special. Those who will not listen will hear nothing - at least, nothing from God. But if you are hearing God, implement his recommendations with confidence. It will be the best advice you'll ever get.

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." (Matthew 7:24-27)

Walter

Sunday Reflections

Reasons Not to Worry: What the Bible Says

1. I've spent an awful lot of time in my life worrying. I've worried about grades in school, job interviews, approaching deadlines and shrinking budgets. I've worried about bills and expenses, rising gas prices, insurance costs and endless taxes. I've even worried about having my home in perfect condition for "company," and within seconds of their arrival, the house is turned upside down and no one even notices.

   I've worried about first impressions, political correctness, identity theft and contagious infections. In spite of all the worrying, I'm still alive and well, and all my bills are paid.

   Over the span of my lifetime, worrying accounts for hours and hours of invaluable time that I'll never get back. So, I decided quite a while back that I'd rather spend my time more wisely and more enjoyably. If you're not convinced yet to give up your worrying, here are four Biblical reasons not to worry.

2. Worrying Accomplishes Absolutely Nothing.

   I don't know about you, but I don't have any time to waste these days. And worrying is a waste of very precious time. Worrying won't help you solve a problem or bring about a solution, so why waste your time and energy on it?

   Matthew 6:27-29
   Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don't work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are.
3. Worrying is Not Good for You.

   Worrying is destructive to us in many ways. It becomes a mental burden that can even cause us to grow physically sick.

   Proverbs 12:25
   Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up.
4. Worrying is the Opposite of Trusting God.

   The energy that we spend worrying can be put to much better use in prayer. Here's a little formula to remember: Worry replaced by Prayer equals Trust.

   Matthew 6:30
   And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?
   Philippians 4:6-7
   Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
5. Worrying Puts Your Focus in the Wrong Direction.

   When we keep our eyes focused on God, we remember his love for us and we realize we truly have nothing to worry about. God has a wonderful plan for our lives, and part of that plan includes taking care of us. Even in the difficult times, when it seems like God doesn't care, we can put our trust in the Lord and focus on his kingdom. God will take care of our every need.

   Matthew 6:25
   That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life-whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn't life more than food, and your body more than clothing?
   Matthew 6:31-33
   So don't worry about these things, saying, 'What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?' These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
   1 Peter 5:7
   Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

Walter

Sunday Ponderings

It can’t be the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther Kings’ assassination coming up, because that would make me..... Oh, my gosh!

I forgot what I said on the phone yesterday. Can I get a transcript from Homeland Security?

If Delta is going to announce an inaugural direct flight to a communist country, I would rather go to Havana than Shanghai.

Note to self: wait until after getting my food to argue with cook or server.

All the electricity I didn’t use during Earth Hour was negated by TV coverage of Earth Hour.

Just because there were a few snow flakes coming down does not mean we had a snow storm. Some of you news media personnel need a real swift kick in the butt!

Dear Neighbors: now that Easter has come and gone could you please take down your Christmas decorations?

When Margaret Mitchell wrote “Gone With The Wind” I wonder if she knew a tornado was coming to downtown Atlanta one day?

The morality of buying beer vs. buying lottery tickets is a matter of harming yourself by wasting your money or harming others by driving drunk.

When are area car dealers going to start selling pollen colored cars?

Only in Henry County, GA could you find a school billboard that has April spelled Apiril.

Walter