One of my little grandchildren just loves fishing. And although he is only two years old, he can already fish with the best of them. He doesn’t use “toy” fish supplies, he uses a real fishing pole and shares his daddy’s tackle box. He already has a favorite “spot” and he doesn’t like to be crowded. His older brother fishes as well, but he seems to take the sport more seriously.

On a recent trip to Wal-Mart, he wanted a new fishing pole, but his mother explained to him that he didn’t need a new fishing pole because he already had one. Well, it seems  a few days later, that his old pole somehow managed to find it’s way under his daddy’s jeep, and his daddy backed over it and broke it. Of course amid all of the tears, his daddy promised him a new pole. Now, I ask you; coincidence, or a little politician in the making?

Sometimes when I have the time, I wonder about things in life, and just the other day, I was thinking about why there are atheists in the world, and people who do not believe in a living God. This is a very deep subject and one that  a lot of people smarter than me have tried to figure out. But when I look at the trees, the sun, the moon, the stars, the ocean, the mountains, and all of God’s  creation, I just can’t imagine not believing in a Higher Power. I just can’t buy evolution; it just won’t wash with me. But then it is too late for me for I am already a believer.

I had a “born again” experience when I was only twelve years old, and since then I have seen the wonders and miracles and power of a living God. I know He is real.It is too late for me not to believe, because I have felt His Spirit. I have seen Him do miraculous things.I have felt His love.I can’t go back to being a non believer; nor would I ever want to.

Does that mean that I get everything that I want? Absolutely not! And it is a good thing at times that I don’t. There is a country song called, “Thank God for unanswered prayer.” And it is so filled with wisdom. If we got everything we prayed for, sometimes we would find ourselves in a terrible situation. Only God knows what is truly best for us, and He is not some “Jeannie in a bottle” waiting to grant our every wish. Unfortunately, there are people who think that they can do anything they want and God still loves them above all others. God may still love you if you sin, but He is a righteous God who cannot tolerate sin. And there will be a price to pay.

Living in today’s world with all of the destruction, malice, immoral values, and people who profess to love Jesus, and then do whatever they want to do; sometimes with little difference between “believers” and “non believers”, I think if I wasn’t already a Christian, I just might become an atheist. If you had never had a spiritual experience yourself, and you looked at some of those who professed too, how would you know that He is real?

Do I live a perfect life? Absolutely not!! But I really try to. And I do love God with all of my heart. And when I do something wrong, I really know it. And it grieves me in my spirit until I confess it and try to make it right. You can’t always right all of your wrongs, but you can do the best that you can.

We all have different experiences that make up our belief system, and I am not about to judge someone who hasn’t experienced God’s love for themselves. I only ask that they allow me the same privilege to believe the way that I do. And I sincerely pray that they will feel God’s love for themselves before it is too late.

The world doesn’t have the answers. The Devil is a thief, a liar, and a destroyer. Only Jesus Christ can give you true peace. Don’t let Satan deceive you. I could never convince someone to believe; only God can do that. But it is too late for me; for I am already a believer.

For those of you that are undecided, please choose Christ. And may His love and peace guide you, and may He bring a joy into your life that you have never felt before, and may your days be prosperous and full of hope. Love to you all.

We have all had experiences where we have been disappointed in people. Sometimes it is a close friend, family member, or someone you barely know. It seems the human condition is very frail, and so often wants to lean toward destruction. Our minds are equipped to accomplish great good in the world, but we so often use that ability for destruction instead.

The Bible clearly lays out a plan for our peace and happiness, but the Devil comes behind us and whispers sweetly in our ear, “But wouldn’t you rather do this instead? Wouldn’t it feel good? Who cares what anyone else thinks about it? You know you want to.” And God’s Spirit quietly gives you a warning signal–”Beware!!! Danger ahead!!!” Which do you answer to?

We have an inner signal that will try to warn us of trouble ahead of time, but do we heed the warning, or go blindly on our way heading toward destruction, screaming, “Leave me alone, I will do what I want to do.” And then we fall suddenly into the ditch. We look around and cry, “Please help me, God!” And you know what? He does! He loves us that much! But wouldn’t it be wonderful if we would use our senses to avoid the ditch in the first place.

We don’t always heed the warning signals because the Bible tells us in Hebrews 11:24-25 that there is pleasure in sin for a season; but the wages of sin is death it states in Romans 6:16.

We try so hard to ignore that little quite nudging of our spirit to avoid the danger. At first we are a little uncomfortable, we know it is not right, and then we feel a little less and less uncomfortable as sin progresses until we don’t feel the warning signals any more. The Bible states that sin will take you farther than you want to go, cost you more than you want to pay, and keep you longer than you want to stay.

Don’t fall into sin’s trap; it is much easier to avoid the danger of sin than to get out of it once entrapped. Don’t fall victim to sin; heed those early warning signals!!

It is that time of the year when most brides choose to make their walk down the isle. June is a lovely month for a wedding.

With all of the divorce statistics, I do hope that all of these bride and grooms are fully prepared for their future together.

The vows do say “in sickness and in health”, sickness may come….

“for richer or poorer”, a person’s financial situation could change…

“for better or worse”, worse days will surely arrive at some point….

If you do not want to be with this person should any adversity arrive, and it surely will at some point, do not make this kind of commitment to this person.

Marriage is an honorable, binding, commitment between two people who love each other, and is not to be taken lightly. Joys will come, and so will pain and suffering. They are all a part of the marriage contract and this thing called life. Do not attempt to make this journey without someone that you can truly make the commitment to be there no matter what your life together may bring.

I wish joy, peace, and love to all of you beautiful brides, as well as your handsome husbands. May all of your days together be joyful, prosperous ones.

It is that time of the year once again when we honor our fallen soldiers and decorate the graves of those who have gone before us; and once again it is time to break out the grills and let the barbecuing begin! Summer has officially begun!!

I wish you a very joyful one with your family and friends! As we wave the flag and consider the cost of the ones who have left their all so that we may enjoy the freedom we enjoy, let us take a moment to thank them and remember them and then let the festivities begin!!!

Have a wonderful week-end!!

It seems we are inundated with so many news reports in today’s society. Just when does it overwhelm us and become too much? Back in the day, news was hard to come by, and I wonder if we may have been better off by not hearing about so many tragedies all of the time. We don’t want to bury our head in the sand, but I feel sometimes we are just too overwhelmed with bad things happening all of the time. News is everywhere, and do we really need to hear about every single thing that someone is doing on Face book? Grant you, it is a great way to keep up with family and friends; as a matter of fact, I recently heard a woman say she could find out more about what her children were doing on Face Book than she could talking to them. It is a great tool if used wisely. But it does seem to me, we hear all of the bad things happening in the world much more than we do the good things. And our perspective can become distorted. I am glad we have all of the resources that new technology has given us, but sometimes I think we just need to step back and take a breather from time to time from the world at large and concentrate on the beauty around us. Thanks to all of the great photographers and painters for allowing us to do that with their creativity and talent. The world is a much more serene place because of you.

Recently JC Yates had a “Picture of the Day” entitled “Water, Stones, and Light at www.todaysphoto.org. And now she has her own web site at www.vtcreativeart.com.

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome JC to the world wide web, and I wish you much success in your future.

Just having had almost record breaking heat waves, we are once more dealing with cold temperatures, especially at night. But we will have high temperatures and sunny days soon; I hope you were not one of the ones that had already planted crops and had them frost bitten. Warm weather is most certainly here to stay soon.

I hope you had a wonderful “Mother’s Day”, and received the attention that all moms deserve. As a human being, we are sure to disappoint and hurt at times, but we all surely strive to do our best. Only after children have children of their own do they realize the sacrifice and hard work that goes along with parenting. The joys make it all worthwhile, and even in the days we are living in, parents still love their children and want the best for them. They can’t always give their children what they desire to, but I do believe that most mothers and fathers love their children dearly, and despite differences in character, they truly want their children to have a better life than they did. There are of course exceptions to this rule, but I truly believe that the biggest part of humanity has this fervent desire.

Here is to mother’s everywhere. Where would we be without them?

Today we celebrate the first day of May; the official arrival of spring. However you choose to celebrate the day, I wish you a joyful one.

A friend of mine once told me that they use to leave flowers on their friends door step on May Day as a sign of friendship. I thought that was a lovely idea to wake up to fresh flowers on your door step.

I have no special rituals for May Day; but I am most certainly happy to see it arrive; especially this year after such a harsh, bitter cold winter. Three cheers for spring!!!

I love your first “Picture of the Day” Jeannie. Great job!! Now everyone will know that you are not just a talented artist, but a skilled photographer as well!!

You can view Jeannie’s picture Water, Stones, and Light at www.todaysphoto.org .

Thanks again for taking the photo for the back of my book Lemon Days and Strawberry Nights.

We will be looking for more pictures from you in the future. Congratulations on a job well done!!!