Mystery Solved!

cone in handI was sitting at my desk when Veronica, a fourth grader in my school choir, walked into my room after school. She said in a worried voice, “Look at my chin. I woke up this morning with this on my face.” My eyes followed her voice up to her chin where I saw strange, tiny, purple blotches that started underneath her bottom lip and continued under her chin. I asked her what happened. “I woke up like this,” she responded. “I don’t know what happened, but my mama says if it doesn’t go away soon, she’s gonna take me to the doctor.”

I had never seen anything like it. “Do you need to see the nurse?” I asked. “No, I saw her this morning. She had me to put ice on it all day.” That made me feel better. “I wanted to stay home today,” she continued, “but my mom said that I should come to school. It didn’t matter if the kids made fun of me, I had to realize that I’m still beautiful and I shouldn’t worry.” I nodded my head in agreement. I had a Halloween flashback. (See

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R. is for Remembering and Reflecting on Failure (Damaging Behavior and God’s love Part 3)

Have you ever been

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The ‘I’ in D. I. R. T. (Damaging Behavior and God’s Love – Part 2)

The

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Got D. I. R. T.? (Human Value – Part 1)

Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself. Daniel 1:8 KJV

You’re waiting in line at the market when you look to your left. There it is. The latest in the lives of the f & f (fashionable and famous). You reach to pick it up. Yum! Yum! Nothing like a good slice of juicy gossip! If it wasn’t for other people’s dirt, how boring our lives would be!

Wait a minute! It’s

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Have You Ever Been Tagless?

Have you ever spent the afternoon tag-less? Exactly what does that mean? Let me tell you what happened to me and you’ll get the idea. I went to a seminar recently. After finding my assigned room and signing in, I quickly wrote my name on my name tag and proceeded into the conference room.

I sat on the front row, of course, because I’m a ‘first row’, Type A, kind of person. I was extremely excited about being there and didn’t want to miss a thing. I wanted to make eye-contact with the presenter… you know, smile and show that I was attentive.

I pushed back my chair to go get a muffin and tea. It was then that I noticed that seemingly everyone else had only their FIRST name written in bright red on their name tags. I had written my first and last name. And it was in blue not red. WELL!! That nervous feeling came over me. I retrieved my muffin and tea and took my place at the front table.

I then looked up on the screen where various slides were being shown prior to the speaker’s arrival. There it was. The slide said as clear as day, “Write only your first name on your tag.” That was all it took. I was out of compliance! Oh no!! Then my mind began to race, “Was there something special about these name tags that I didn’t know? Were the name tags going to be used in some sort of activity later on? OH MY!! Here I was sitting with both names on my tag instead of only one.

The conference began. The presenter had everyone to stand up. We had to sit when she called out the area of education we were in. I told her, “Music,” and sat down. The longer I sat, the more anxious I became. I sat there thinking about my ‘tag situation.’

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Whatcha’ Lookin’ At? Seeing the Unseen (Prudence – Good Judgment – Part 2)

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Mirror, Mirror on the Wall – Tell Me What You See (Prudence – Good Judgment – Part 1)

Ephesians 1:18,

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There Was a Treasure in My Mom’s Womb (You

God opened my mother

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A God-Designed Original (You

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother

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There

 

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A Three-Stranded Cord (God in Marriage – Part 2)

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Visions of Better? (God in Marriage – Part 1)

A man and woman stand at the altar, surrounded by a great crowd of witnesses or maybe just a chosen few. Nevertheless, they

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Love Overflow – Part 7 Conclusion

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What’s In Your Pocket? (Love Overflow – Part 6)

Casper Reynolds loved wildflowers. So much so, that he was known for carrying around seeds in his pocket. While walking along his large property, he would often toss out a handful or two here, scatter a handful or two there. It didn’t matter that sometimes the birds ate them up, or they landed in overgrown, weedy areas. He didn’t even mind that the birds swooped down to peck them up, or that some seeds landed in shallow soil. He kept on broadcasting his seeds.

Finally, one day one of his neighbors drove by and asked him, “What in the world are you doing? For months now, I’ve seen you scattering seeds somewhere on your property. Where are you getting all those seeds from? Casper smiled and said ” You wanna see? I’ll show you.” Hopping

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Love Overflow Part 5 (Take Love the Challenge!)

Let God

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Mission ‘Love-Overflow’ … Is it Impossible? (Love Overflow Part 4)

Remember the television show, Mission Impossible? I used to love that show! In the late 60’s and even in the 70’s, I couldn’t wait to sit in front of the tube and wait for the opening theme music. I wanted to see how the secret tape, with the instructions on it, was going to be delivered. It came with an envelope containing pictures of people the team was to target. If you were a fan too, you know the classic line even before I say it. That’s right! “Your mission, should you decide to accept it,…”

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You Can’t Force Someone to Love (Love Overflow – Part 3)

Have you ever tried to force someone to love? See if you recognize any of these tactics:

  • You say or do something nice so they will say or do something nice in return.
  • You give them the silent treatment so they will treat you differently.
  • You whine.
  • You dress in a way to get their attention.
  • You talk about what they are doing wrong.
  • You tell them what they should do.
  • You complain.
  • You compare.
  • You manipulate.
  • You pray that God will change them so they will be nicer and life will be more pleasant for you and others. (Wrong motive)
  • Okay, you can mentally list your own tactic right here!

I finally think I’ve got it! (English accent needed here.) You can’t force people to love God. Nor, can you force them to love themselves or you. God didn’t force you. Nor does He force you to love yourself or others. He respects you much more than that. He simply loves you completely and then lets you make the decision to love or not to love. He lets you know the consequences for making either choice.

I’ve discovered that God is the only one who can take the blinders off someone’s eyes so they may see Him. One way that He does that is when He uses believers to genuinely care about and love someone the way He states in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. This is called agape love. (See Love Overflow – Part 2)

You know what I’ve observed? When those who are closest to me see the positive changes in my choices, they sit up and take notice. I believe that my loving kindness softens their hearts. (I know my heart is softened when people are kind to me.)

It’s my hope that someone will ask me how I was able to change. This way, I can tell them about Christ. It

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What’s Circling Over Your Head? Love Overflow Part 2 (Loving Your Family)

Have you ever had the feeling that instead of your words entering your listener

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Love Overflow Part 1 – Continued

Come exercise with me. Place your hands together in front of your chest, palms inward. Now slowly move them forward, open, and away from your body. Now say, “OVERFLOW.” Let’s do it again. Great job! Thanks for helping me.

That might be my only physical exercise for today. LOL

I

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Love Overflow Part I (Loving God)

What does coffee and love have in common?

When I was very small, I visited my grandparents often. When my Pawpaw (My Dad’s father) would come home from work in

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Balance? Yes Balance! (Balance – Part 3)

In order to have a balanced life, you will have to give up something. But what you gain is worth more than the temporary relief that you feel when you barely catch the next ball before it hits the ground.

Let me give you an example. In obedience to what I believe God told me to do, this year I

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Rest in Him! (Balance – Part 2)

I had just exited the expressway one day, exhausted as usual, when I thought for the upteenth time,

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What Are You Juggling? (Balance)

You say there

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The Plan (Excellence in Living – Part 3)

“THE PLAN”

(Can’t you hear the beautiful voices singing “AH” when you look at this graphic?

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The ‘Other Me’ (Excellence in Living – Part 2)

When I walk through my front door, I

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How

“We have freedom now, because Christ made us free.” Galatians 5:1

If there

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What Love Looks Like (God is Love – Part 3)

Imagine that God, who holds us in His hands, allowed Himself to become so small that humans could hold him in their hands, all for the sake of love! That

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True Love (God is Love Part 2)

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No Dividing Line (God is Love – Part 1)

Have you ever had a

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Love – 101 Get to Know God

-101: Get to Know God

Why should anyone take the time to get to know the Creator of the Universe?

Okay, I couldn’t resist saying it one more time!

God is Love.

It’s just that simple. True love is faithful.

God is faithful to us, even when we are not faithful to Him.

God builds, restores, encourages, and saves!

He is omnipotent (all powerful), omniscient (all knowing),

omnipresent (present everywhere at the same time), and

immutable (never changing so I can rely on Him).

He is the great I AM (the final authority, the very present help that I need).

Imagine this for a moment:

LOVE CREATED THE UNIVERSE FOR YOU AND ME.

LOVE is faithful.

LOVE builds, restores, encourages, and saves!

LOVE is all powerful, all knowing,

present everywhere at the same time.

I can rely on LOVE, for LOVE is never changing.

LOVE is the final authority, the very present help that I need).

The Bible, my manual of love for the journey, says that

There is NOTHING that can separate us from God’s love,

His character, His presence.

How do I know that God’s Word is true?

His love rescued me.

Just as He loves me,

He has you on His mind this very moment

and cares about you watchfully.

He wants you to get to know Him better

and experience all the many facets of His love…

for yourself.

It makes my heart do a dance when I think about all He’s done for me

and what He has in store for you!

Yes God, The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,

Three united as One,

has designed a unique plan for your life.

Why?

That you may do good works and glorify Him.

How?

For one thing, God designed the tapestry that’s you

(your DNA, your unique talents, gifts, personality, passions, experiences, and intellect).

He strategically arranged for you to be born during this time in history

to display His excellence and love, as you get to know, love, trust, and obey Him.

“Will there be problems on this love journey,” you say?

Sure, you will have problems. I do.

They come with living.

But in spite of them, I’m learning that with LOVE’s help,

I can enjoy the journey!

And so can you.

Until next time,

T’Alice

Question – What are you doing to get to know Jesus Christ?

I’ve placed below some of my favorite scriptures in the [New International Version of the Bible] about today’s blog. I hope they bless you!

Deuteronomy 7:9 – Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.

Psalm 36:6-7

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The Wall (The Power of Forgiveness – Part 2)

Every day of unforgiveness can put another brick in the wall.

The last time I wrote, I was sharing with you a lesson God was teaching me about forgiveness. (See The Power of Forgiveness – Part 1)

The lesson wasn’t over.

I was still battling with my emotions. This week, I’d like to remind you how easy it is to build a wall and how Jesus taught me that I could tear it down.

Yep, I really tried to forgive. I worked hard at it. I thought about the fact that the Lord says that vengeance is His and that He will repay whatever is due. I even tried reciting that if I forgive others God would forgive me, but if I didn

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Forgive Or Don

Forgive or don

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The Quiz (The Journey – Part 3)

Have you ever been handed a quiz,

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The Big Question (The Journey – Part 2)

I know,

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My GPS! (The Journey – Part 1)

Welcome Back!

I look forward to spending this time with you! I’m learning how to walk this walk of faith day by day; step by step. It’s my prayer that you can use something that God is teaching me to make your path brighter and easier to travel.

If you are reading this post, then I believe that you are open to hearing about the power of love. For that’s who God is. God is

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4 Simple Ways to Get God’s Favor (Part 4 of 4)

I am so tickled as I begin this post. What started out as a simple story about how God took care of me during the recent concert season has blossomed into a four part mini-series, complete with commercial interruptions! Thank you for staying with me. Today, we are going to take a look at the remaining two ways

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4 Simple Ways to Get God’s Favor (Part 3 of 4)

We all like favor. “Uh, could you do me a favor?” “Could you do me a little favor?” “I hate to bother you, but could you… ?” God’s favor has another name. It’s called Grace. It’s not based on our goodness or our record. We don’t do anything so great that we deserve it. Rather, it’s based on His magnanimous love for us. What have I learned from this past concert season about His favor? It was a refresher course, through experience, on how God is always faithful, always watching over me, always providing what I need, yes showing me His favor. I mentioned in the previous post four ways to receive the Creator’s favor. Let’s take a closer look at the first two.

Trusting Him.

Proverbs 3:5 tells us to trust in the Lord with all of our heart; and lean not to our own understanding. God instructs us to acknowledge Him in all our ways, and He will direct our paths. I can’t begin to tell you how comforting, and how reassuring it is to be certain, in times of trouble, that I AM going to be alright. I don’t have to leap over buildings in a single bound or climb Mt. Everest. I don’t have to try to figure out every angle and have 5 contingency plans (Plans B, C, D, E and F.)

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4 Simple Ways to Get God’s Favor (Part 2 of 4)

To recap, I was taking my school choir to perform at the Museum of Science and Industry. A little late but finally in route, we had settled back to relax when my assistant turned to me and said that she had left her purse and the lunches back at school. We immediately turned around and headed back. Now we were definitely going to be late.

While waiting on her to retrieve everything, the bus driver and I struck up a conversation that proved to be very confusing. I discovered that our bus driver had one set of instructions and I another. In the middle of our trying to figure out which one was correct, a second chartered bus driver came to our bus and said that he thought I was on the wrong bus. He was scheduled to take me to the Museum of Science and Industry. The other driver was scheduled to go to the Field Museum. What!

Shocked, everyone quickly grabbed their things and we boarded the correct bus. Once we were settled, my assistant and I turned and looked at each other. She said, “God protects children and fools.” I responded, “No, I had people praying for me. That’s what you call, FAVOR!!”

I’ll bet you’re wondering how in the world could this have happened. You see, there were two chartered buses parked in front of the school before we left. Apparently, someone else was also going on a field trip and we had booked the same bus company for both. My assistant asked our driver if she was going to the museum and she assured her that she was. Neither thought to ask the other, “Which museum?” so they assumed they were going to the same place. By the time that I boarded, everyone else was already on the bus. Even when I confirmed the route with the driver as we were traveling, there was no hint that we were actually talking about taking the same street, but to two different destinations.

So how did everything turn out? We made it to the museum and with some adjustments, were still able to sing all nine songs before our allotted time ran out. The kids gave a marvelous concert and everything worked out fine. Just thinking about it makes me want to put my hands on my hips, lean back, and shout at the top of my lungs, “FAVOR!!”

Believe it or not, the other two engagements this year were just as mind-boggling this one, but God worked each out. For example, our last concert was a week later, at 7 PM, in the school’s auditorium with the District bands. During the concert, the electricity went out three times. Still, it never went out in the middle of a song, when we had a soloist in front of the mike, or when we really needed the CD track. In fact, we had to sing our last song

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4 Simple Ways to Get God’s Favor (The Beginning of the Story – Part 1 of 4)

 

What does God’s favor have to do with the holiday concert season? Oh, simply…

EVERYTHING!!!!!!

It was the morning of our annual pilgrimage to sing at the Museum of Science and Industry. I had my list. I checked it thrice: buses – check, lunches – check, dress bags – check, chaperones – check, introductions, accompaniment CD, back-up CD – check, check, and check. The list went on and on. Still, I was ready. I was prepared. I had my ‘remind me’ students, my ‘pick up the food from the cafeteria’ students, and the ‘help the others with their ties’ students. Yes, we were a well-oiled machine. God was working everything out.

Okay, so it was 8:45 A. M. and we should have been in route by 8:30 in order to arrive before time. You know how last minute delays can be. We would make it, though, if we left right away. I told the students to line up at the door.

It was then that I looked around the room. In every direction, there was chaos. A shirt was thrown here, shoes were over there, and everywhere were book bags and odds and ends. I couldn’t leave my room that way. A sub was standing by to teach my regular classes.

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My “When I Grow Up, I Want To…” List

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

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Put a Lid on It!

1 Peter 3:10-12

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Spoiled Rotten

What my Bigmama lacked in things and money, she more than made up for in love. She had a heart as big as Texas and boy how she poured out her love on me. I was spoiled rotten, although you couldn

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Baby Steps (Determination)

 

I promised myself that I would write a blog as often as possible this year, even if it

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Laugh!

When was the last time that you laughed so hard that you could barely breathe? Hanging out with my family is like that. Get my brother, dad, and brother-in-law together on a road trip, and you are guaranteed belly laughs. Let my husband or my son start a light-hearted conversation, and before you know it, you

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Missed Opportunities (Ministry)

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God

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Let Your Disappointment Go and Keep Working God’s Plan!

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What Does Obedience Have to Do with Love? (Sabotage Part 5)

Do you remember the R&B song,

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Shaky and Flaky (Sabotage Part 4)

Am I unable to make a decision and stick with it? Should my nickname be Shaky

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Committed to the End (Sabotage Part 3)

I’m in! You can count on me! I’ll be there! Sounds like fun! Let’s do it! I mean well. Really, I do. I make plans, thinking that it won’t take much time to complete them. Unfortunately, it usually takes more time than I estimated. If I agree to go shopping with someone in three weeks, I often wake up on that day and think, “Why in the world did I say I was going? I don’t feel like going anywhere. My body is saying, “Don’t move.” I was excited when I made the commitment, but I didn’t know at the time that I would also have unscheduled projects, babysitting duties, and 10 additional things not even on my list for that week. So what should I do?

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To Trust or to Lean… That is the Question! (Sabotage Part 2)

I

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9 Enemies of Life – (Sabotage Part 1)

Do you keep making the same mistakes over and over again? Do you continue in the same toxic relationships from year to year? Have you ever wondered if there is something that you are doing to keep you from reaching your dreams and accomplishing your goals?

I

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Influence of a Woman of Prayer

Today, I want to tell you about someone who made a difference in my life; my Aunt Julia. My maternal grandmother came from a large family, among which, three of her sisters were preachers. One of them, my Aunt Julia, was a minister for over 50 years and a pastor for most of that time.

I remember being around seven years old when she came to see us. My mom was almost killed in a serious car accident. After she came home from the hospital, my Aunt Julia drove two days to come and check on her. I sat at Aunt Julia

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It’s My Birthday and I

That

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I know you must be wondering

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Don

When I was a child, I remember one of the favorite past times of my Texan classmates was to grab an unfortunate victim by the thumb and twist it until the person would fall to their knees and cry “UNCLE!!”

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7 Reasons Why You Shoudn’t Demand Your Way at Any Price

Have you ever heard the saying

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Steamroller or Steamrolled? (Demanding Your Way at Any Price – Part 1)

Have you ever been steamrolled? Or rather, were you the one seated behind the steering wheel, foot on the pedal, with a look of glazed determination in your eyes? Well, I was steamrolled this past weekend by a distant cousin and I

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What Does God See When He Looks at You?

Do you feel like you’re walking through a desert of indecision? Is there someone special in your life who

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Take Another Look in the Mirror

When you get home today, take another look in the mirror and ask God to let you see

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The Eye and Heart Connection

 

God is teaching me that I see not only with my physical eyes, but with my heart and mind. Whatever I see and believe to be truth, will be reflected in my heart. More importantly, sooner or later I will say, through my actions and my words, what’s in my heart. Don

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What Do You Really Want?

 

What is your image saying to others? Ask yourself aloud,

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What a Fellowship (Building a Relationship with God) by Guest Blogger Pastor James R. Flint Jr.

God, who has called you into fellowship

with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.

1 Corinthians 1:9 [NIV]

I love little children! They know how to crawl into your lap, look up at you with clear, trusting eyes, and cling to your every word. They know how to make you feel as though you are one of the most important people in their world. And when they have to go home, they beg and plead to stay a little longer, so they can hang out with you. Why? They love the fellowship.

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Got Faith? (The Importance of Faith) (Guest Blogger – Pastor James Flint Jr.)

Hebrews 11:1, Romans 10:14-17, Philippians 1:27

Our Faith has been dulled by a society and culture that promotes

selfishness, self-security, and self-sufficiency.

To many, God is seen as an abstract being.

Even we as Christians have demonstrated day by day that our dependence on God

is predicated on our own understanding of what the solutions might be.

Faith reaches beyond solutions.

Faith reaches beyond human resolve, determination, and understanding.

Faith is the ability to see the unseen, hear the unheard, & believe the unbelievable.

How do you have Faith in a God that you cannot see?

Well, sight is surface, and Faith far deeper than just the surface.

Faith goes beyond what is temporal, temporary, and taps into the eternal.

Many Christians have lost their dependence on God.

As Christians, Faith is not only the substance of things hoped for,

but its the substance of who we are.

Our whole existence is hinged upon our Faith.

Today, fear has evolved as the dominant force in our society.

A lot of what we see happening in our world today is perpetuated by fear.

We as Christians are to be a people of Faith and not fear.

God understood how fear would manifest itself against the kingdom,

and this is why we see a vast number of

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Don

There were times when I was tempted to be envious of those who had what I wanted. I could have become comfortable with holding on to anger and hopelessness. Instead, it was the Holy Spirit, God

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The Little Word

Have you ever been so frustrated that you were tempted to give up? My software was malfunctioning last night and this morning I thought that I might have to start the website all over again. Then I found a blog that I wrote on another site in the fall of 2008.

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Are You Ready for Christ’s Return?

I was driving along, a few weeks ago, when I glanced in my right side mirror at the warning written on it, “Objects in mirror are closer than they appear.” Immediately, my mind went back to when I was seven or eight, standing on my Aunt Elema’s porch. Back in those days, a lot of the houses had raised porches. My aunt had a large house with a wrap-around porch that was on the high side, especially for an eight year old. You had to walk up five or six steps to reach the porch’s landing.

It was Texas in the summer time. Everything was dry. There wasn’t any grass next to the porch, not even any top soil, just hard-as-cement ground. My aunt had a big family. Her house was the happening place to hang out. Jumping off the front porch was one of the fun things we did.

On this particular day, I had borrowed someone’s glasses just to see what wearing glasses was like. I begged and begged until they let me put them on. Everything seemed so different through those lenses. You know that dizzy sensation you get when your eyes are trying to adjust. WOW!!

I was so impressed with the difference in my vision that this wonderful idea popped into my head. How about if I were to get a long pole and jump off the front porch with the glasses on? Now that would be fun! It certainly would be different! Usually when I jumped off the porch, I would sit on the edge of the porch and jump down. Even from that vantage point, the remaining distance to the ground was kind of scarey. But that’s what made it exciting!

My older cousins were there and they kept telling me not to jump, but what did they know? I was Determined. I picked up this long stick that reached all the way from the porch down to the ground. I planned it out in my mind. I mean I could feel the hardness of the clay ground under the stick. How difficult could this be? All I had to do was jump carefully. Through the glasses, the ground looked very far away. I’d have plenty of time to catch my fall. It was a good thing I had that stick!

I squatted holding the stick in my left hand.

One… two… three.

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I

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The Day of the Cane (Learning from Life

Okay, I

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The Scar (Compassion & Life’s Adversities – Part 2)

One of my lessons on compassion came with THE SCAR.

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The

If you

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T – A Little Terror Goes a L-O-N-G Way! (Damaging Behavior and God’s Love – Part 4)

What comes in all kinds of packages? That

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