Remember falling in love...

     Awhile back I was waiting, not so patiently, to drive in front of the WalMart so I could go down the row and find a parking place.  Have you ever noticed that the people exit the doors and walk out in front of the cars without looking either way.  I suppose they think that the drivers will look out for the pedestrians.  Well, sometimes I get a little irritated at this.  This particular time was no exception.  Only something caught my eye and immediately took my mind off my irritation and brought my thoughts back to God.

     A young couple, probably in their late teens, was walking towards the entrance of the store.  Now, I normally would've gotten upset because they had no idea they had just walked out in front of a car.  They were so engrossed in one another's company.  So why was this different than the other times I would get irritated?  I noticed something about the girl that I hadn't seen in myself in a very long time.  She had her arm intertwined in his.  She was looking up at him with such adoration.  And she was captivated in whatever he was saying.  Of course I started to think to myself - "yeah, you probably don't have any idea about the sports or cars he is talking about, but you love him so much you would never let on you don't care about the things he is saying.  You only care about him at this moment."  Then another fleeting thought came to mind.  "Boy, are you in for a rude awakening."  BUT! The Lord stopped my thoughts and I dismissed the negative thoughts immediately.  The wonderful thing that the Lord wanted me to notice about this relationship was the fact that "they enjoyed one another's company so much that they were unaware of their surroundings and the people watching them."  So, how did this relate to something I haven't seen in myself in such a long time?  Yes, it could be I haven't felt such adoration for my husband like that for the longest time.  I haven't always enjoyed his company.  We don't have stimulating conversations.  And we never walk arm in arm or even beside one another in public.  I need to work on finding those feelings again.  You know the ones when you look forward with anticipation to his arrival.  You hang onto his every word, even if what he says is not the least important to you.  You yearn for his companionship.  Your heart skips a beat or two just from the sight of your husband. 

     I would like to say that is what the Lord had me realize while watching the love struck couple.  But it is not so.  What the Lord had me realize was that I have not felt that way about HIM in a very long time.  Don't get me wrong.  I love the Lord.  I enjoy my time I make for Him (caught that didn't you?).  I long to hear what He has to say.  Only, it has been quite awhile since I gazingly looked up to my Heavenly Father with adoration.  I haven't been such a wonderful companion to Him.  I do more talking (rather arguing and asking- or is it more demanding?) than I do listening to the Lord.  I mope, moan, groan, and complain, just like I do  in my marriage, in my relationship with the Lord.  No wonder He had that couple cross my path.  It took strangers to make me realize I have been estranged from the Lord.

     When did I fall out of love with the Lord?  When did I stop looking forward to His arrival and His conversations?  When did I lose the skipping of the heartbeats upon seeing Him?  When did I leave the Lord in our relationship?  I have not severed myself from Him.  I still love the Lord, but sometime or another my part of our relationship became estranged.  I am still faithful to my Heavenly Father, but I am somewhat liken to a teenager.  I know everything and my Father can't teach or tell me anything new.  I stopped being "daddy's little girl" and went on my own merry way.  I haven't left Him, just "lost that loving feeling."  I don't have time to maintain the relationship we once had.  The relationship one has when they first get saved.  That this is the best feeling in the world and this is the best thing that has ever happened  to me feeling.  But through the irritation of a young couple, the Lord opened my eyes to the fact that the feeling is still there for Him.  He has never stopped loving me nor yearning for my company.  He has never stopped listening to me with sincerity.  He has never stopped caring about me.  He has not fallen out of love with me.  He longs for us to have that relationship we had in the beginning of our journey together.  He wants me to walk hand in hand or arm in arm with Him.  He longs for me to be engrossed only in Him, not so busy in my worldly duties and activities.  He has been looking forward with anticipation of my arrival back to Him.  He has not been too busy to visit with me or just listen to me in my time of need.  He has made time for me because He loves me unconditionally, but, it must sadden Him so to know that I neglect Him so often.  I don't mean to.  I really have every intention to spend time with Him.  I really do... Have your ever been to that point where the Lord has to put a stranger in your path and cause great irritation before you will listen to what He has to say?

     I realize that it is a busy time and one probably says to oneself several times a day - "where has the time went?"  And then one probably says - "I didn't get half of what I wanted to get done today, Or I didn't have time for myself today."   But more truthfully, one probably has said more than once today - "I didn't have time to open my Bible; I didn't have time to spend any devotional time with the Lord."  And most honestly, "I didn't make time for the Lord today, even though He has given me 24 hours to work with."  I can testify to that most definitely.

     Do you yearn for more time with the Lord?  Do you want to walk with Him down the pathway of life, arm in arm?  Do you need to rekindle your feelings and put the joy back into your relationship with the Lord?  Do you long for a loving relationship with Him?  Do you desire the Lord to be in your life 100%?  Are you willing to fall back in love with Him as you first did the day you got saved?  First things first.  You must come to realize that Jesus says in I Jn 2:15-17 "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.  If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever."

     It is God's will for us to return the love He has for us.  To know what God's will is for your life you must read His Word.  And more than that, you must as James tells us in Jms 1:22 "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves."  Once one realizes what God wants from her, it is her responsibility to go and do what the Lord wants.  In this case that we are discussing - loving the Lord thy God "with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might" (Deut. 6:6), that is the will of God.    Scripture says, I Jn 2:3-6 "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.  He that saith, I know him and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.  But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.  He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked."

     We can begin this new walk in our relationship with the Lord together.  He doesn't want us to go alone.  He wants us to  have a relationship with one another also.  One that will uplift us in our walk with the Lord.  Mt 5:6 says, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled."  Do you hunger and thirst after God's righteousness?  The Lord will fulfill that hunger.  A verse you can reflect on in your journal writing is found in Ps 107:9 "For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness." 

     It is so good to be able to share with you in your journaling experiences.  We can write about our desires and how our soul longs to have a righteous relationship with the Lord. We can write about how He fills our lives with such wonderful friends.  That is the "goodness" part you can look forward to Him filling your life with.  One may never be a millionaire, but when you have friends and family who will support you and pray for you and love you, that my friend is priceless.  You can find satisfaction through Jesus Christ.  Give it a try.  Show the Lord as much love as you first did when you accepted Him into your heart and found true salvation.  Begin that rebuilding of a relationship with Him that you had in the beginning.  He will satisfy your longing.  He will fill your hunger.  And this is what the Lord had me realize on my trip to WalMart that day.  Thank you for letting me share this with you.  I love you dearly.  Let's walk in love with the Lord together. 

     I hope you have been prompted to write about how you remember falling in love with Lord.  You can also write about when you first fell in love with your husband.  Remember looking at your newborn for the first time? You immediately fell in love with him/her.  Write about that.  Write about others you love dearly such as family members and friends. 

     If you haven't been writing in your journals lately, may you be prompted to fall back in love with journaling again.  God be with you as you journey down memory lane with your pen and paper today...

Are you an ethical person?

I had an assignment this week in my corporate finance class where I had to answer two questions.  After answering them I got to thinking of how they would make good prompts for journaling.  I have included my actual post to the homework assignment.  After reading it you will find the questions that the homework discussion questions prompted me to write...

What is ethics?This article summarized what ethics is in such a way that it was easy to understand...
Some years ago, sociologist Raymond Baumhart asked business people, "What does ethics mean to you?" Among their replies were the following:

"Ethics has to do with what my feelings tell me is right or wrong.""Ethics has to do with my religious beliefs.""Being ethical is doing what the law requires.""Ethics consists of the standards of behavior our society accepts."
"I don't know what the word means."

A person following his or her feelings may recoil from doing what is right. In fact, feelings frequently deviate from what is ethical. Nor should one identify ethics with religion. Most religions, of course, advocate high ethical standards. Yet if ethics were confined to religion, then ethics would apply only to religious people. Being ethical is also not the same as following the law. The law often incorporates ethical standards to which most citizens subscribe. But laws, like feelings, can deviate from what is ethical.  Finally, being ethical is not the same as doing "whatever society accepts." In any society, most people accept standards that are, in fact, ethical. But standards of behavior in society can deviate from what is ethical.

What, then, is ethics? Ethics is two things. First, ethics refers to well-founded standards of right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do, usually in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to society, fairness, or specific virtues. Ethics, for example, refers to those standards that impose the reasonable obligations to refrain from rape, stealing, murder, assault, slander, and fraud. Ethical standards also include those that enjoin virtues of honesty, compassion, and loyalty. And, ethical standards include standards relating to rights, such as the right to life, the right to freedom from injury, and the right to privacy. Such standards are adequate standards of ethics because they are supported by consistent and well-founded reasons.

Secondly, ethics refers to the study and development of one's ethical standards. As mentioned above, feelings, laws, and social norms can deviate from what is ethical. So it is necessary to constantly examine one's standards to ensure that they are reasonable and well-founded. Ethics also means, then, the continuous effort of studying our own moral beliefs and our moral conduct, and striving to ensure that we, and the institutions we help to shape, live up to standards that are reasonable and solidly-based.

http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/decision/whatisethics.html

If you follow all applicable rules and regulations, are you an ethical person?
Marshel's response:
It depends on what who is setting the rules and regulations.  What if you were to join an organization that had in their bylaws "to be a member of this elite group of individuals you must participate in the illegal selling of your prescription drugs."  If you have a legitimate prescription for your medicine than it would not be unethical to take that said "drug".  But it is against the law to sell your prescription drugs to other individuals.  So, that is not ethical because you are breaking the laws of your governmental body.  But, now to the organization you are wanting to join.  To be a member you must participate in selling of prescription drugs.  That is their rule and regulation.  Following what is required of you to be a member would be ethical.  But the organization is unethical.  I believe an ethical person would not join such an organization. 

I consider myself an ethical person.  I try my very best to follow the rules of the land, but I have been distracted before and ran a red light.  I have accidentally neglected to stop at a stop sign.  I catch myself going over the speed limit at times.  So, even an ethical person will unintentionally break the rules occasionally.

Those are just examples of an ethical person following the rules and regulations. 
Again, I consider myself an ethical person, but if rules and regulations cause me to be unethical, than I would not work for that company long nor join an organization.  I also do not keep company with unethical people but I know many.  Am I unfriendly to every person who is unethical?  No, but I do not want to be associated with their behavior or ways.  I know people who follow many rules and regulations while they are in public, but participate in illegal behavior "secretly".  They are ethical in the eyes of public, but not behind closed doors.

That question in my opinion cannot be answered with a simple yes or no.


Now for the prompts... These are to be recorded in your personal journal and not shared on public domain.

In your own words, what are ethics?
What are your moral beliefs?
Do you have religious beliefs and what are they?
Have you ever done anything immoral, illegal, or unethical?
Does your church have a covenant of what is expected of the members?  Do you adhere to each and every one of the statements in the covenant?
Are there things you would do if you knew you would not get caught?
If you know a family member or friend was doing something illegal would you inform the proper officials?
Do you find yourself having to resist temptation in certain areas of your life?
Do you still participate in sinful acts that you committed before you were a born-again Christian?
Are you suffering consequences of your sinful behavior even though you no longer are participating in those behaviors?
Are you an ethical person when people are watching but guilty of unethical behavior behind closed doors?
Has your unethical behavior in the past never been discovered by anyone?
Do you continue to feel guilty of your past even though you have asked the Lord to forgive you of it?
Do you know of people who seem to get away with being unethical or immoral?  What if you did the same thing?  What do you, as a child of God, think would happen to you?
Have you "thought" of being unethical before, but never acted upon it?
Would you ever step over the line if you were ever tempted?
Do you find yourself wishing you could do something ethically wrong just once?
Do you break any of the Ten Commandments?
The most important question though is:
Would Jesus consider you an ethical person?

These prompts are on a very personal level.  They are to prompt you to write in your personal journal only.

Did you catch that?

Lately I have been saying "what?" or "huh?" more than usual.  I have had my hearing checked back when I had that rhinoplasty (never again...). The ENT doctor said my hearing was fine.  So, has it changed and getting bad or am I just not listening and comprehending what people are saying?  Well, the other day my grandson was telling me something and I was not paying attention right away and he had to repeat himself.  Finally after saying what? so many times, he said, "grandma did you catch that?"  And from that question I started getting into prompt mode and came up with this one...

He had asked me if I caught what he was saying?  Did he actually throw the words at me to catch?  No, it is just a saying.  Look up the origin of that saying (or others that interest you).  Record the meaning.  Then write how it relates to your situation.

There are other things people can catch, such as a ball.  Think back on when your children play ball or when you, yourself, played ball.  There are many types of "playing ball".  Bouncey balls, baseball, basketball, football, tennis ball, tether ball, volleyball, ping pong ball, and so on.  I have memory or more of each one of those types of balls mentioned.  I could spend many hours just writing those memories.  Choose a memory from someone playing ball and write about it. Make a new memory and play ball with your grandchildren or other children in your life.  Something about a ball and children make for happy times.

We can catch a cold.  Now there is something we don't want to catch.  But it is one of the easiest things to catch.  Do you have memory you could write about that came about during a time you had a cold or someone else may have had a cold.  Good ole chicken soup and lying in bed resting type of memories.  The only time my mother paid attention to me was when I was sick.  I got pneumonia every year and would be hospitalized.  So, a cold definitely provided me with better memories of my mother.  What good memories could a cold provide a person to write about?  Here in Oklahoma we suffer from many environmental allergies and that offers many chances to say "bless you" to the chronic sufferers of allergies.  Do you have any memories of sneezing and people offering a bless you?

Have you ever tried to catch a falling star?  Now there is something I have tried to do.  Falling stars are hard to catch as a child but tremendously hard to do as an adult.  But I keep trying.  My very favorite quote came from a Reader's Digest entry by a child about the age of 7 or 9 maybe.  I do not recall his name anymore because I found the quote my senior year and that was in 1977.  Anyway, I just have to claim it as borrowed and here it is:
I saw a star.
I reached for it.
I missed.
So, I accepted the sky.

I have many memories of trying to catch a star and watching falling stars and wishing upon them.  I watched many meteorite showers in my time.  Do you have any memories like that to write about?  Have you ever tried to catch one with your grandchildren?  Just looking at the stars can provide many prompts for writing.  Afterall it is the Lord who made such a wonderful creation.  If He can make them shine years and years and years then He is capable of making you shine too.  Do you know the names of some of the constellations?  Have you ever tried to count the stars?  What about the nights when it is too light to see the stars?  Or so dark you needed to find a star?  Trying to catching a falling star is very good memory exercise.  Try it sometime.

Catching diseases is something people do.  And that is things we don't want to catch.  Do you have memories of times when you may have been exposed to a communicable disease?  I have had measles and mumps and I can write about those times.  Not so fun times but nonetheless something to remember.  I can write about the times I tried to teach children the importance of washing their hands and the silly things they do or say when washing them.  We also teach them to sang happy birthday twice while washing them to wash those nasty germs away.  Write about the ways you taught your children to keep germs away.  Write about the times you may have been worried about catching a disease and what you felt about it.  Are you suffering from a disease and it is causing you undo stress and physical harm?  Write about how you handle it and how others can learn from it.  Do an extensive study in the Bible of the diseases that the Lord helped people get well from.  Sometimes people are stricken with diseases that no matter how much we pray they still do not get healed from that disease.  Write about people you know who are ill and pray for them to be healed or for them to have comfort during the trying times of the disease.  Write out prayers for people you do not know but are suffering from diseases.  Send cards to people you know who are in the hospital and will not be able to come home or send get well cards to friends and family that you know are ill but do not have an opportunity to visit.  Use this as a time to do some "catching up" and thought I would send you a "how are you doing" card.

And as my grandson reminded me, there are the expressions that people say that we can catch.  There are such a vast amount of things I could write that my students have said over all of these years.  And my grandchildren are always providing me with things they say that I include in my journal writing and with you all too at times.  Did you catch that?  Next time you hear someone say something cute or silly or just downright important write it down for later.  People say the greatest things for prompts.  And advertisements provide prompts for writing.  Church marquees provide sayings worth writing about.  Do some active listening and you will surely catch something to write about.

Now we have discussed things that people catch.  But what about the things people drop?  That could provide many things to write about.  We drop items in our hands.  We drop hints or clues in our conversations or even in our writing (read between the lines).  We drop bad relationships/friendships.  We drop mail in the mailbox.  Those examples can provide you many prompts.  I know I have written many, and I do many journals on relationships and friendships that I have had to drop or been dropped from. 

To catch something that thing must be thrown first.  Can you think of things to write about that are thrown?  How about snowballs?  Now that could be some fun memories for those of us who live in areas that get snow.  But here are two things that people throw and shouldn't - hurtful words and insults.  I have spent many hours writing about this in my journals.  The Lord was there while I was writing about it wiping the tears from my eyes so I could see the pages I was writing on.  Are there situations like that when someone threw you hurtful accusations or words or insults and it just hurt really really bad?  If you are still suffering from those memories ask the Lord to help you get over them so you can move on with your life.  Write about how you were able to overcome situations like that and become victorious in the Lord.

If you don't catch something you end up having to pick it up.  Write about things you pick up.  We pick up our children when they fall or just want to be held. We pick up the yard of debris or weeds.  We pick people up from places to take them somewhere else.  We pick up the house when it is cleaning time.  We pick up a card during card games.  I know those examples provide me with lots of memories to write about.  But here is one thing we don't want to pick up.  People's bad habits. Or maybe people don't want to pick up your bad habits.  Do you have any thing like that you could write about and change? 

Well, I hope that you have caught on to how "catchy phrases" can provide you with many prompts to write about.  I have to go now I will "catch you later".  Or as I sign off in my buddy journal entries "ketcha later"...

Trust and Obey

August is the month that children are preparing to go off to school once again.  Parents are having to buy school supplies, new clothes, enroll their children, make arrangements for them to get to and from school and so on.  But what is more important than all of that is are the parents preparing their children to learn more than academics?  They need to learn social skills, self-help skills, and citizenship skills.  As Christian parents they should be teaching their children how to obey the Word of God and grow up in a scripturally sound church.  For those who have to send their children to public schools, parents have to learn to trust the school system and those who care for the children.  So, this prompt will be based on trusting and obeying those who are in authority in school and trusting the Lord to care for your children first and foremost.

As a parent start now and pray for your child's safety.  Before school even starts write out prayers for your child to stay out of harm's way.  Write out prayers for each of the staff at the school.  Pray for all who will be of an influence to your child.  Pray for all who will touch your child's life throughout the school year.  Continue to hold the school system, administration, and staff in prayer daily.

It is hard for parents of preschool-aged children to send them off to school at such an early age.  If you have to send your child to preschool, write out your concerns and share them with the Lord.  Pray that you will be able to trust the teacher and other staff to properly care for your child.  And write out your prayers for the Lord to help you deal with detachment issues.  Find other parents that you know and discuss the concerns of leaving your young child at school.  You will make it through the school year, but writing about the different problems you may have with the school or teacher will help you put the matter in perspective.  You can also reread what you wrote at the end of the year and see how the Lord provided help all along.

As a teacher I have witnessed many times children who have no respect for authority.  Teach your children to respect those in authority at school.  Explain how important it is for them to obey the teacher and other staff.  Start a journal with your child and write the names of all the people who are involved with your child on a daily basis at school.  Let them know how they can pray for them too.  No matter how old a child is, he/she can pray for others.  Take time to pray together about matters at school.  This will show your child how when things get rough or things don't go right that he/she can always pray and depend on the Lord to help them at school.  If there is not an adult to pray with them, they can learn to pray by him/herself.

If a child disobeys in school there are consequences.  It may be a check mark, loss of privilege or tangible item, or other disciplinary action.  Explain to your child that when one disobeys they must suffer some form of discipline.  Share with your child how the Lord will also chastise His children if they disobey.  When you must administer discipline explain it where the child will understand.  And always let them know that they are loved.  It is the misbehavior that you do not love.  Write the incident down in a journal and how you handled it whether it was positive or negative.  Write how the child responded.  Pray that the misbehavior will turn into appropriate behavior.  Praise your child for good behavior.

If you have not raised your child in a Christian home, it is never too late to begin.  Turn to the book of Proverbs for wisdom on life's issues.  Go to your pastor and ask for help in being a Christian parent.  Read godly books on parenting.  And pray for your child to accept Jesus as his/her Savior and to grow into a Christ-Like Christian.  We trust their lives with school caretakers, but more importantly we must trust our children's lives in the care of the Lord.  We need to trust them to Jesus.  Pray for their salvation as well as their safe protection.  Record these prayers and trust the Lord to answer them.  Write your prayers about being a good parent and how you need the Lord to help you raise your children in church and that you will be a godly example.  Your children will follow in your footsteps.  Pray that you are walking in the way of the Lord so your children will not fall, stumble, slip, or go off the strait and narrow path.

Discuss with your children the type of people they should be aware of and the inappropriate actions some adults will do.  Record these discussions in your journal and pray that your child will be spared from the destructive behavior some adults participate in.  They are out there and it is our duty to protect our children by making them aware of the evil that lurks out there.  We should not go about mistrusting everyone, but we should always pray that we are surrounded by trustworthy caretakers.

For further writing activities, do a word study on trust, trustful, trusting, trustworthy.  Do another word study on obey, obedient, obedience.

Here are some verses on trust and obey that you can write out.  Ask the Lord to let you know which ones you should memorize:
Ps 25:3; 31:6; 40:3; 55:23; 62:8; 115:9; 118:8; 143:8; 144:2; Prov 28:26; Is 30:10; Nah 1:7
Deut 11:27; Josh 24:24; ISam 15:22; Jer 7:23; Acts 5:29; Ro 6:16; Ep 6:1; Col 3:22; II Thes 1:8; Heb 13:17; IPet 1:22; IPet 4:17

Here are synonyms you can write out in your journal:
Trust - confidence, faith, belief, assuredness, reliance, certainty, sureness, conviction, responsibility, charge, care, obligation, custody, guardianship, safekeeping, protection
Obey - comply with, be ruled by, follow orders, submit to respect, observe, be regulated, abide by, be governed by, mind, heed, submit to, bow to.

Record antonyms in your journal and write statements on how you will commit your ways unto the Lord and not be like - insubordinate, rebellious, resistant, disobedient, revolting, mutiny, mistrustful, distrustful, doubtful, disbelieving, discredited, questionable, uncertain.

Questions to answer in your journal -
As a student was there a teacher you trusted?  Was there other staff you trusted?  Write what made them special to you.
Write about the different friends you had in school.  Was there one particular friend you could trust above all of the rest? 
Did your parents support you and your career throughout your school years? 
Write about your grades, the extra-curricular activities you were involved in.  How did these prepare you for adulthood? 
Did you obey your school authority?  
Write what characteristics you believe make a good teacher.  Pray that those are the same characteristics your child's teacher possesses. 

Read the different parables Jesus told in the Bible.  Write about the different ways Jesus taught people.  Write how Jesus is the greatest teacher of all times.

Remember to encourage your child to trust and obey.  And remember your child is watching you to see if you are trusting and obeying.  I have seen too many times where the obedient child will end up following the disobedient child and start getting into trouble.  Start praying now for your child's future friends.  Pray that as they grow up and go into the higher grades that they will make right choices in friendships and other decisions they will have to make.  Pray that each year the teachers will show love and respect to your child.  Pray that the school system will be a positive influence to your family and that your child will grow up to be a productive citizen and will be a positive example to others. 

Here are some songs you can write the lyrics out in your journal and commit them to heart:
Trust and Obey
Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms
I Have Decided to Follow Jesus