How To Start Something

It takes guts to start something. Especially if its a dream that you've had since childhood.
Its so easy to just think about it, to imagine what it would be like to complete that important task, to become the person or to train for and get the job that you've always wanted.
I've heard that "the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step!" The writing of a book begins with the first word, the achievement of a goal begins with the first action.
:Last year August, I decided that I would not wait any longer; I would start working towards a dream that I've wanted to bring into being since I was 10 years old. But to achieve this dream, I had to step out in faith and act. Yes, of course I was scared, and I still wonder if I will succeed, for rhe obstacles are large and the scoffers many. But when I die, I'd be happy knowing that I at least tried to do what I believe God brought me on this earth for, than to die regretting that I never made the attempt to do it.
Are you thinking of doing something? Did God place a dream in your heart? Even if you have to start small, with just one little step, don't worry! Ask God for His help. Once you start, things will fall into place. Have courage!

"For who hath despise the day of small things?" Zechariah 4:10 (KJV)

O give thanks!

Tonight I give thanks to God for all that He has done for me. First, I thank God for having a computer and the opportunity to write this blog.

I thank God for being alive, for being still able to see somewhat in spite of the ravages of glaucoma.

Thank God for my parents who are both still alive, for my brother and his family, and for my extended family.

Thank God for being my Heavenly Father, for His only begotten Son, and for the Holy Spirit, the Godhead. Thank God for sending His only begotten Son to die for us, for me. 

Thank God for His healing power, which  is able to heal body, soul and spirit. Thank God for the cleansing, healing blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. That blood can cleanse us from our sin, make us whole, protect us from the enemy. 

Thank God for what is promised to us who believe, and endure to the end - eternal life.

Give thanks unto the LORD for He is good, for his mercy endureth forever. 

"O Give thanks unto the LORD for He is good: because His mercy endureth forever." Psalm 118:1 (KJV) 

Liar, Liar, pants on fire!

My favourite blogger on goTandem, Silas, writes today about lying. See post on https://gotandem.com/posts/1113.

There are many reasons why people lie:

• To look good in other people's eyes
• To save themselves from getting into some kind of trouble
• Its a bad habit
• Taught or learnt from parents or caregivers as a child and thinks its normal
• To be able to do what the liar  wants to do

Remember,  lying is not just saying an outright untruth; speaking part of the truth is also lying. Even letting someone believe something that is wrong without saying something to correct it is lying. Whatever the reason it's done or how it's done, lying is a sin. The results can be deadly. I know of a young teenager whose parents drop her off to school one day. When they drove away, she promptly went with a man for a "river bath" and drowned there. Imagine the shock of this girl's poor parents when they got that terrible news. I know that they would not have believed the news at first, because they KNEW they dropped their child off at the school gate. But lying and deceiving loved ones can cause terrible pain to those lie to/


This is another of those sins that God hates and thinks of as an abomination. He wants us to always speak the truth, no matter what the immediate consequences are. In the long run, it is the best thing to do. 


"But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet.  But Peter said, "Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Whiles it remained, was it not, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived  this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God? " And Ananias hearing these words, fell down and gave up the ghost; and great fear came on all of them athat heard these things....then she (Sapphira) fell down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost.." Acts 5: 1 - 5, 10 (KJV)

Gossip Giirls

I stole this title from one of today's gotandem posts ( read post at https://gotandem.com/posts/1622) . The person was writing about how subtly we gossip about people under the guise of "giving information about someone."  This reminds me a lot of     when some prayer teams meet to pray;  they call their gossipping "giving a prayer request about someone."
can do to someone's reputation, yea, even their very lives.
I remember reading a story about a woman who spread gossip about someone, which caused the person to become sick. When the gossiper heard about how her gossip had affected the person, she went to ask forgiveness from the victim. The victim forgive her, but asked her to take a pillow, rip its contents out and scatter it in the wind. She did so. The victim told her to collect all the pillow's contents. But of course this was impossible. The victim then likened the contents of the pillow to the gossip that the woman had spread. Once it has been spread abroad, the words could never be totally recalled again.
So, men and women, boys and girls, remember this! Once a slanderous word has been spread abroad about someone, all of it can never be recalled again. And be sure that God is not at all pleased when you spread gossip.

"These six things doth the Lord hate; yea, seven are an abomination unto him....a lalse witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren." Proverbs 6:19 (KJV)

Which one are you anxious about? Being a "Good-Looker" or a "No good-Looker?"

I read this blog entry at gotandem just now and decided to comment on it a little. (To go to this blog entry https://gotandem.com/posts/1826 and read).  Having good looks is so important to children and young people that the "Good-Lookers" are treated like princes and princesses by the  "No Good-Lookers, the "Normals"and the "Nondescripts.." 

This whole concept of the vast importance of good looks come from the shows that target the youngest members of our society. Hollywood continues to lie to millions of young people around the world. They tell them that if they are ugly or have a handicap in some way, they have no worth or value. One show that typifies this for me was Fat Like Me. This show describes a young attractive athlete who decides to research how fat people feel by donning a fat suit and pretending to be fat. She makes friends with an obese girl, and she realizes that they had a lot in common. But when the girl finds out the athlete's true identity and size, she stops speaking to her because she feels betrayed by someone whom she looked up to.

I read in a psychology book some years ago that beautiful people are thought of as good people, while "No good-Lookers"are said to be evil. We all have said this at one time or the other, "how could such a good-looking person do such a horrible thing?" It is as if being beautiful is a weapon against being bad.  There are beautiful people who are the same inside and outside as and ugly people who are ugly in appearance and temperament. The same is true in the opposite way (beauty -bad and ugly-good). 

The Bible says that God looks only on the heart. It's a pity that the same cannot be said about us people here on earth. Unless God changes us and enables us to see how He see. we will continue with the same old narrow view - that beauty is desirable above all and "Good-lookers"are good people. Will we choose to go beyond appearances and find out the truth?

"Bur rhe LORD said to Samuel, "Don't judge by his appearance or his height for I have rejected him. The LORD doesn't see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearances, but the LORD looks at the heart."  1 Samuel 16:7 (New Living Translation)

Do Wine And Beer Make You Crazy?

I looked at the 7'o clock news tonight in shock. A drunken driver had crashed into a bar where some people were sitting, killing all of them. There were pictures of bodies under the vehicle. As is usually the case, the drunk man lived, only getting minor injuries in the accident. 

I can't judge this man, because once upon a time, I too used to be in company with people who did the same thing. But we were lucky! The drivers I rode with never crashed! My friends and I could have been in this man's shoes, in jail for causing someone's death.

So many times we take stupid chances, and congratulate ourselves that we are clever for getting away with it. Of course, I don't know why that driver was drinking; all I know that one fateful decision caused five families to lose a loved one. 

Alcohol kills!!! It can destroy lives as it did through that man and many other drunk drivers! But the effects of alcohol can hide in someone's body. It can surface years later as cirrhosis of the liver to kill its victim. But sooner or later, alcohol destroys lives!

How did I stop drinking? I was able to stop because Jesus took away the need to drink when I accepted Him as Savior. I'm not saying that if you accept Jesus as Savior that this will automatically happen.It may, as well as it may not!  It doesn't happen the same way for everybody. What I can tell you is that with Jesus as your Savior and with the Holy Spirit's help, and the support of friends, family and Alcoholics Anonymous, you will be able to stop drinking.

"Wine and beer makes people loud and uncontrolled. It is not wise to get drunk on them." Proverbs 20:1 (New Century Version)

Preparations After Death

The preparations done after someone dies usually takes a lot of time, energy and money. Those who are bereaved find it very overwhelming and draining. All they want to do is to curl into a fetal position and grieve. 

Senior citizens, are advised to plan for their final funeral expenses. They are told to  plan for things like the funeral service, burial composition of wills, and insurance policies. These matters are given careful thought. Astute persons who want to give peace of mind to those loved ones left behind give careful thought to these affairs.

But there is one very important issue that most folks do not prepare for while they are alive. And after death it is too late to do anything about it. That issue is one's salvation.

John 3:16 says that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that he that believeth on Him will not perish but have everlasting life. God the Father sent His Son to save us from our sins. If we take advantage of this free gift, we will be accepted into heaven with God and the angels when we die. If we don't, we will be sent into hell and be separated forever from God. We only have time to do this before we die, so let's ask God the Son , the Lord Jesus Christ to be our Savior and to save us from our sins before that final day. DO IT SOON BECAUSE YOU DO NOT KNOW WHEN YOUR LAST DAY WILL BE!!!

'It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." Hebrew 9:27 (KJV)