Is it meant to be?

A Facebook friend lost her job and she of course is bummed. One of her friends posted a comment to this. They said that this has happened for a reason. Their excuse was that one door was closed so that a better one could open. 

Please... 

If there is a plan for our lives why are we able to make choices? If no matter what we choose we will end up at the finish line, then why do we bother. Hey if this were true I could just stay in bed and do nothing because there is a plan for me and my life and no matter what I do I will get there. 

I'm outraged by the thought that there might be a plan for my life. I have been working hard to make the right choices. Those are the choices that will get me and my loved ones the most happiness in life. Now I hear that it doesn't matter what choices I make I'm going to end up wherever I'm "destined" to be.

NO! There is no plan, no such thing as fate. We are destined only by the choices we make. You make decisions that mean something. It matters whether you get out of bed in the morning. It matters if you eat or not. It matters whether you love or not. Your choices matter. 

It is the choices we make that determine the direction that our life will go not some "grand plan". We make our dreams come true or not. 

Something we do have to remember is the other people on this planet also make their own choices. Oftentimes their choices will affect us. This doesn't in any way mean that our lives are destined or ruled by fate. It is still a choice. When others make choices that affect us we have to make a choice on how we will react.

We just need to remember not to give up on our dreams and the choices that will get us there. If you run into a road block don't just sit there "having faith" that something better will come along. Make a choice, how are you going to get around the road block. So we can't take that road. There is always another way. If you have to take a step back to get a better view, that is okay. You will have more information to make a better choice. 

The only finish line we are all "destined" to face is death. So why not make the best of it. Make the time you have here as happy as possible. Don't stress the "small stuff". Pray for help with the "big stuff", and have faith that God will help. Make the choices that will give you a happy life. That you will arrive at the end without regrets. 

Laugh! Love! Live!

Man's Downfall - What Happened?

First some history and instructions, the following is from Genesis 2:7-9, 15-17, 21-23

And Jehovah God proceeded to form the man out of dust from the ground and to blow into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man came to be a living soul. Further, Jehovah God planted a garden in E′den, toward the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. Thus Jehovah God made to grow out of the ground every tree desirable to one’s sight and good for food and also the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and bad.

And Jehovah God proceeded to take the man and settle him in the garden of E′den to cultivate it and to take care of it. And Jehovah God also laid this command upon the man: “From every tree of the garden you may eat to satisfaction. But as for the tree of the knowledge of good and bad you must not eat from it, for in the day you eat from it you will positively die.”

Hence Jehovah God had a deep sleep fall upon the man and, while he was sleeping, he took one of his ribs and then closed up the flesh over its place. And Jehovah God proceeded to build the rib that he had taken from the man into a woman and to bring her to the man.

Then the man said: “This is at last bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh. This one will be called Woman, Because from man this one was taken.”

Now that we know the history let's take a look in as the drama unfolds showing us the downfall of man. The following is from Genesis 3:1-7

Now the serpent proved to be the most cautious of all the wild beasts of the field that Jehovah God had made. So it began to say to the woman: “Is it really so that God said YOU must not eat from every tree of the garden?” At this the woman said to the serpent: “Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat. But as for [eating] of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘YOU must not eat from it, no, YOU must not touch it that YOU do not die.’” At this the serpent said to the woman: “YOU positively will not die. For God knows that in the very day of YOUR eating from it YOUR eyes are bound to be opened and YOU are bound to be like God, KNOWING good and bad.”

Consequently the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was something to be longed for to the eyes, yes, the tree was desirable to look upon. So she began taking of its fruit and eating it. Afterward she gave some also to her husband when with her and he began eating it. Then the eyes of both of them became opened and they began to realize that they were naked. Hence they sewed fig leaves together and made loin coverings for themselves.

God had just placed Man in the garden of E'den and created a wife for him. He gave him a beautiful place to live with plenty of good food to eat and work to keep him busy. There was only one restriction on him and his bride, "the tree of the knowledge of good and bad you must not eat". What a happy time this must have been. The man Adam had just been presented with his wife, Eve. They had a beautiful home and satisfying work. So what happened? As perfect humans they had no ills or pains. Their every want and need being fulfilled. Why did they rebel against God?

As most everyone know the serpent mentioned here in Genesis is Satan. "So down the great dragon was hurled, the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan" Revelation 12:9. Satan was the instigator of this rebellion in E'den. He lied to Eve. He told her that God had lied to her. What do you suppose she would gain if she was "bound to be like God, KNOWING good and bad." Would it be possible for her and her husband to rule themselves without God?

So, what happened next? Let's take a look, Genesis 3:8-13

Later they heard the voice of Jehovah God walking in the garden about the breezy part of the day, and the man and his wife went into hiding from the face of Jehovah God in between the trees of the garden. And Jehovah God kept calling to the man and saying to him: “Where are you?” Finally he said: “Your voice I heard in the garden, but I was afraid because I was naked and so I hid myself.” At that he said: “Who told you that you were naked? From the tree from which I commanded you not to eat have you eaten?” And the man went on to say: “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me [fruit] from the tree and so I ate.” With that Jehovah God said to the woman: “What is this you have done?” To this the woman replied: “The serpent—it deceived me and so I ate.

So they have confessed of their sin and Eve knows that Satan lied to her. So what now, did it look to you like that Adam and Eve were sorry? If it had been you or I being born imperfect this would have made a difference, but they were perfect. They did not have the tendency to do wrong as we have. They had to make a conscience effort to sin against God. It is no different than Satan, who was also created perfect. They all made a decision to do what they did, to go against God, their creator. This was unforgivable and there was no going back. 

Now for the consequences of their actions. Genesis 3:14-19

"And Jehovah God proceeded to say to the serpent: “Because you have done this thing, you are the cursed one out of all the domestic animals and out of all the wild beasts of the field. Upon your belly you will go and dust is what you will eat all the days of your life. And I shall put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. He will bruise you in the head and you will bruise him in the heel.” 

To the woman he said: “I shall greatly increase the pain of your pregnancy; in birth pangs you will bring forth children, and your craving will be for your husband, and he will dominate you.” 

And to Adam he said: “Because you listened to your wife’s voice and took to eating from the tree concerning which I gave you this command, ‘You must not eat from it,’ cursed is the ground on your account. In pain you will eat its produce all the days of your life. And thorns and thistles it will grow for you, and you must eat the vegetation of the field. In the sweat of your face you will eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For dust you are and to dust you will return.”

So there it is, the downfall of man. 

But what is this thing "your seed" and "her seed" about which God is telling Satan? Stay tuned and I will let you in on a little secret.  

More to Come

Religion: A Controversial Topic

Religion

For me it is a no-brainier that we as mankind and our universe were created. That dictates that there has to be a higher power that did the creating. What do you believe?

Belief in God is now and always has been my center. Without this belief, why are we here. Are we only here to live and die, nothing more? If so, why do we want a meaning for our existence? If we are just to be born, live a few years then die, why do we fear death? 

Some people believe that we are born, live and then die and go to heaven if we are good or hell if we are not. If this is so, why are all the good people not wanting to die? Don't we all want to be with God?

God created the earth as a place for Man to live and heaven for the spirit creatures to live. Think about this, what was the punishment for their (Adam and Eve) disobedience? It was death. So if we are to die and go to heaven to be with God, what would be the punishment in that? That sounds like a reward. 

So you say Adam and Eve went to hell.

But what about the scripture at 1 John 4:8 "He that does not love has not come to know God, because God is love." Would a loving God condemn sinners to a burning torment? It is hard to believe that a loving God would do this. As parents would we punish our children with a fiery torment because they disobey us? Do we love our children any more than God loves his creation? NO! The punishment was death, to cease to live or exist. At Genesis 2:15-17 it says the following

"And Jehovah God proceeded to take the man and settle him in the garden of E′den to cultivate it and to take care of it. And Jehovah God also laid this command upon the man: “From every tree of the garden you may eat to satisfaction. But as for the tree of the knowledge of good and bad you must not eat from it, for in the day you eat from it you will positively die.”

There is nothing there about Heaven or Hell. Consider Ecclesiastes 8:5 as it speaks of the condition of the dead.

"For the living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all, neither do they anymore have wages, because the remembrance of them has been forgotten." 

Scripturally, death is a state of nonexistence. The dead have no awareness, no feelings, no thoughts. This is something that a loving God would do to those who sin against him.

What would have happened had Adam and Eve not sinned against God? If their punishment for sin was death doesn't it stand to reason that if they had never sinned they would never have died? If they had never sinned then their offspring would not be imperfect, they would never have died either. It was their sin that made them and us imperfect. It was/is this imperfection that result in death. Where would the world of mankind be if Adam had not sinned?

Another thought, what would be the purpose of Jesus sacrifice if when we are good we go to heaven and if we are bad we go to hell. His sacrifice would be useless. But if it were as the scripture found at John 3:16 says we would have "everlasting life"...

 “For God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, in order that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life."

Jesus died so that we could live forever. So why do we still die?

More to Come

Giving a 110%

What does it mean to "give a 110%".

Who is to say what is a 100%? There is not a standard 100% for everyone. Each of us is different. So what is  100% for one person is not 100% for another.

Only we can say what is 100% for ourselves. Since we are all different, you may not be able to do some of the things that I can do and vise-versa. Even with the things that we all can do, there are factors in our personalities and make up that make our 100% different for the next person.

Also, our 100% can change from day to day. There are many things that can contribute to our ability to give the same 100% from one day to the next. An example of this would be if we were sick, we would not be able to perform as we do when we are not sick.

Can any of us do what we believe we cannot? The answer to that is no. Granted if we try we might be able to do this thing we believe we can't. It would also take practice to get a measure of expertise. As long as we give a 110% we will improve. The amount of the improvement will be based on what we are actually capable of doing.

Doing 100% is working within your comfort zone, going just to the boarder. To give 110% is to work outside of your comfort zone. All of us find this a little frighting, even scary. Some are thrill by this feeling. They are encourage to give the 110% just to get the feeling of fear, thereby increasing their comfort zone. These who are not afraid of fear continue to grow, to excel.

There are those that are disabled by fear. Some of these people are so afraid of fear they will not give 100%.  Some will only do 90 or even 80% just to make sure they do not go outside their comfort zone. This can cause negative repercussions. Their comfort zone will shrink. Thereby their efforts reduce to keep them from what they fear the most, which is fear itself. I know from personal experience that there are factors beyond our control that can contribute to this problem. Because of these factors the comfort zone continues to shrink and before you know it you are afraid to do anything because it is to scary.

To give a 110% is to give 10% more than you think you can do, to step outside your comfort zone 10%.

My Daughters

This is for my girls, Rachel and Elizabeth.

The days you girls were born have been the two happiest days of my life. The best thing I have ever done was to become your mother.

I know I have not always been the mother you would have me to be, but I hope I was always a good mother to you.

I know I didn't teach you everything you need to know, but I hope what I did teach you was enough to get you started. The rest I know will come with living life.

I know I can no longer be the center of your world, but I hope you will let me be (even if only a little) a part of your life for the rest of mine.

I know you can do it without my help. You are like you mother strong and stubborn and very independent. But you are also intelligent and good at making the right decisions.

To hear you Grandfather tell it I have never been able to do anything right. Well I say just look at you two girls and what you have become, the directions you have taken. I am so proud of  both of you. I think I have done two things right in the short time I have been here.

One is Rachel

and the

Other is Elizabeth

Always remember no matter who you are, who you were or who you will become...

I will unconditionally love you now and forever, until the end of time and beyond.

Rainy Days And Mondays Always Get Me Down.

Rainy days and Mondays by the Carpenters

A new beginning

Mondays, this a chance to have a good week, to succeed at something, to please God, to try something new, to make a new friend, to do something good for yourself, your family, your friends, to try again, to set a goal, to reach your dream, to start over, to move on, to move up, to take a step back, to take a step forward, for beginnings.

Another Day...

Isn't this a great day? The sun is shining and we are alive for God to bless.

I have this solid black cat. Her name is Black Pepper. I just call her Pepper. I have never had a cat that came to their name, but Pepper does. She is a tiny little thing, only about 8 lbs. When I am on the computer, which is most of the time, she is sitting between me and the keyboard. Usually that is okay but sometimes I need full access to the keyboard. It seems that I am continually picking her up and putting her on the floor. You know I would miss her if she were not sitting there.

When I first get up in the morning she meows until I pet her. She never seems to get enough. After a while she will quite down and either sit with me at the computer or go to the bedroom and sleep. She prefers to sleep on the bed. Well that is where your suppose to sleep, right?

When I get home, no matter how long I have been gone, she will be waiting by the door meowing letting me know that I have missed some quality petting time.

She is the most friendly cat I have ever known. She will go to anyone she thinks might pet her. I remember in 2004 my sister and her two kids came to visit from way out of town. I was living at our Mothers house at the time and Pepper was with me. I remember that my niece and nephew were so surprised that if you pat your chest and say "come here Pepper" and Pepper would jump up in your lap. They thought that was really cool.

I know that if I ever need some closeness with a fellow creation that all I have to do is pat my chest and say "come here Pepper" and she is there for me. I can always count on her. Her needs are few yet she gives so much without complaining.

I'm really glad to have her in my life. Friends are always welcome and she is my best friend. I would love to have more friends like her.

I love you, Pepper

Have a great day!

Life As We Know It

Life, a gift or a curse?

Some days I see the gift and some the curse. Today is the curse and the gift.

The curse! I'm unemployed again. It doesn't look as if I will ever find a job that I will be able to stay with for more than just a few weeks.

I'm thinking about changing my career path again. Computers though very fascinating are not getting me very far. So after talking to my daughter Rachel, I'm thinking about going into a medical field. She is never unemployed more than just a day. When she gets frustrated at an employer she moves on to another job without missing a beat. She is working as a Certified Medical Assistant in a nursing home.

She said that some nursing homes will pay you to get a CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant). She said that the way she got started was to call nursing homes and find one that would train you. This sounds like something that I should do.

The question is do I have the courage to make this kind of change in my life. I'm not brave like Rachel. She is the bravest person that I know. I don't feel very brave. All it takes is a phone call or two to find the nursing home that will train me. I just need to pick up the phone.

Oh and the gift...

I am alive and it is a beautiful day. My granddaughter Abagail talked to me on the phone today, always a good day when that happens.

New Years Resolutions

1. Loose Weight!!

Most people have this on their list of resolutions for every year. I am no different. I have had a problem with my weight all of my life. I am on a perpetual diet. It would be nice just once to wake up and not be thinking about what I can and cannot have to eat during the day. I can't even imagine what life would be like without worrying about food.

The most I have weight was 370 lbs. That was in the spring of 2010. In the ensuing months since I have dropped 115 lbs then gained back 15 lbs. I do not want to ever be that heavy again. I have worked hard to get the 100+ pounds off and I still have another 100 that I want to loose. If I can just hold out for another year I should be down to my goal weight.

I'm just afraid that I have given up and that I will go back to the 370 lbs. I had  bariatric surgery a year ago and I don't want to mess that up. I MUST stay with this and get the weight off.

To all those people out there that are fighting this same disease, just know that you are not alone, that I am with you. Together we can make this work. Just remember that with Gods help all things are possible.