Allen West's Explanation

This video is only 1 minute and 19 seconds long...and well worth your time to watch ...especially in view of the upcoming election.  It is important that we all understand the ideology of each candidate.  A thing may sound good, until the ideology it stems from is examined.  Only when we identify and understand the ideology associated with the thing being advocated will we be able to make wise choices.

If you get the 'error occurred' message just refresh the page. Or you can go to the direct youtube link to watch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=MEBuaa2OnVA

The Learning Curve

I guess I am a slow learner.

Having finally realized there is a learning curve for everything, I am free from the bondage of perfection.

Looking back I can see now that I gave up too quickly on many things.

Things that I've since returned to and found to be wonderful.

I missed out on them all these years.

The upside to my perfection is that I didn't continue to struggle with things for the wrong reason.

Sometimes the wisest thing you can do is 'give up'.

Having the wisdom to discern is key.

So treat yourself like a well loved friend or child.

I am often a cheerleader or offer the figurative cup of cold water to people in my life or who cross my path.

Giving myself the same kind treatment is a positive thing.

Give it a try.  You just might be amazed in the difference it can make in your life.

How Much Do We Owe Others and When Should We Walk Away?.

Read this link --it says everything I've been thinking of late.

 In case the link doesn't work, copy and paste below:

http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2011/09/12/how-much-do-we-owe-others-and-when-should-we-walk-away/

Merry Christmas

Today is the day we celebrate the birth of Christ.  If you don't believe in Christ than you have nothing to celebrate this day.

And groups like the ACLU who expect Christmas to be celebrated without any religious context--well, they are idiots.  To them I say 'bah humbug'.  They won't rest until every trace of Christ is eradicated. 

But to those who do rejoice in the birth of Messiah I say a hearty "Merry Christmas".

No Man is an Island

I guess they don't teach that in public high school anymore.  Listening to a morning program I heard a young musician--singer/song writer--say that because he had a new baby, he had to be careful about what he wrote NOW since his boy would grow up and be able to hear it.

WHAT ABOUT EVERYBODY ELSE'S KIDS PRIOR?  Honestly--he had no concern that what he wrote might be detrimental to them????

Granted, none of us are perfect and we are always more bothered about our own kids knowing our 'secrets' than some stranger's kids.  

But no man is an island, and we are our brothers' keeper.  And my brother, he ain't heavy.  So it's a small thing to do the right thing for the greater common good.

I Did It!

Music by the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, Brooklyn, NY

I reached my weight loss goal today--the first one.  Twenty six pounds--gone.

The plan was to work on the second goal after the holidays.  It would put me at a 30 pound loss.

Because it's only 4 more pounds AND because there's a week until Thanksgiving and a more than a month to Christmas I think I'll press on toward the second goal, eating just like I have been eating since February.

AND because I plan to eat this way the rest of my life it is EASY.

Thank you  fat free Cool Whip  for providing aid and comfort and helping me reach my goal.

I'd all but given up ever weighing this number again.  The moral is "NEVER give up".

If what you are doing isn't working or making you miserable, examine it, study it and find a WAY that WILL WORK that you can live with.

I've said it before and I will say it again:  make your diet fit YOU, don't try to conform yourself to a diet someone designed for commercial purposes.

Choosing Life--the other side of the coin

I used to awake on Fridays and think "it's cleaning day.  Yuk".  And I'd rush through the job, hating it, just wanting it to be over and done for another week.

Then I was diagnosed with cancer.  In my spirit entered the stab of conviction and guilt.  And with that conviction followed by guilt came a moment of clarity.

I had wasted my life.

Each moment is a gift.  And I possess the gift of free will.  My choices are mine.  (As well I live in a free country where I can express my free will.  Praise God.) 

I had chosen to gripe and complain--I was a murmurer like the Israelites wondering in the wilderness! ( You can read the account in the Old Testament of the Bible.)

God gave them provision freely as they had requested, yet they were not satisfied.  Each morsel they ate was not received with thanksgiving in their heart, but with resentment and anger.  They ate and pointed their figurative finger at God as if to say 'you are not gracious'.  All the while they were showing themselves to be ingrates.

In my moment of clarity I realized I too had been an ingrate.  God had given me life, a home, a family, and the ability to care for--to enjoy-- all that provision.  Yet I complained.

On that day, in that moment, unknown to me how much time I had left on this earth I determined that I would never ever again complain about housework.  And I haven't.

I do it with joy in my heart, thankful that I am here, I am alive, with my family.  Mind you, were I able to pay someone to do it for me--I would!  And I would fill that free time with other joyful activity.

Joy is where you find it, where you will take it.  In every choice you must make, you can choose the way that is life giving or you can choose 'death'...death of your spirit, body or soul.

Having an intact physical body is a precious gift.  Using that body to create life is a demonstration of thankfulness.

How will you feed that body?  Healthfully?  Instead of thinking of it as denial or restriction, think of it as your choice--because it is!-- when you forgo those foods that don't nourish your body.  And don't be resentful.  It is your choice, your free will to eat or to not eat, to eat poorly or to eat well.

If you want choose death instead of life, so be it.   But do that with joy--if you can.  If you are gonna eat junk, overeat and burden your body with extra weight, let no one judge you in that--it is your free choice, your free will.  But quit beating yourself up.  And quit being resentful.  Why?  No one is doing it to you--you are doing it to yourself.

And should you realize you no longer want to travel that road that leads to death,  don't beat yourself up either.  Instead, change direction.  It may take time to get in the habit of choosing life, but if the desire is there you will succeed.

Let Freedom Ring

To all those--past, present and upcoming--I say thank you for your brave service, devotion, and love for our country.  Putting your life on the line and being willing to shed your blood is the greatest sacrifice of all.  Jesus Christ said there was no greater love than being willing to lay down your life for a friend.

On this Fourth of July you might like to read our Constitution.  It was required reading back in the day when I was in high school.  You coudn't graduate without passing the class/test.

Here's a link to it:  http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html .

Our forefathers and fore-mothers sacrificed their wealth, their families, their very lives for this great nation and it was their faith in God that led them and from which they drew the strength to endure the hardships.  We have beds of ease as it were out of their discomfort and loss.

Each morning when you wake up in a still free country give a word of thanks and live accordingly.

Whats Your Limit?

Over the years I've gained weight, lost it and regained it.

My limit--the number at which I drew the line in the sand?  Fifty pounds overweight.

It's hard for me to fathom allowing oneself to become 100 pounds overweight.

But then I think--why 50?  Why not 25?  Or even 10?

Just think.  If ten pounds had been my line in the sand limit, how much easier would it  have been on me to lose it?

I think I've only realized the connection between my weight and my decisions these past few months.  There are consequences to the food choices I make.  How could I not 'get' that?  How can any of us not 'get' that?

I think all to often--myself included--we deceive ourselves.  We justify our overeating on the grounds that others get to eat whatever they want and so should we.  But we are foolish.

The reality is that 'others', those without weight issues are not eating whatever they want.  I know a woman who says she eats whatever she wants.  But she doesn't.  She is a very careful eater.  To those observing her she is indulging all the time.  But that is an illusion.  Like most people, she manages her weight.

I wish someone had been 'mean' enough to give me the cold hard truth.  But I understand why they didn't.  It's not popular to be the bearer of bad news.  So nice reigns, sits in the high seat, while many go to heck in a hand basket.

Don't make the mistake I did.  Don't deceive yourself.  Don't believe the lies you tell yourself.  Only you can decide what to eat and how much of it to eat.  And ultimately, you as well decide how much weight you will carry on your body.

And remember--there's no fool like an old fool.  I'm just getting in under the wire of wasted years, almost too late for it to matter.  Don't go there.  Please.  For your own sake.  Don't go there.

Weightloss Update

Down 15 pounds.  Yay me.

I feel like I've found the magic bullet.  Of course there is no magic bullet.  But when one struggles to achieve a goal-- falling down, it seems, a million times-- to finally 'walk' feels like a miracle.

The take away is this:

When you try to lose and can't, you have to figure out why and what.  Why aren't you losing.  What is going on?

Our individual bodies are unique.  What works best for one may not work for another.  And different stages of life require different approaches too.

For me eating 'small' several times a day; eating less fat; not restricting any food--instead putting it on the 'eat once in awhile'  list;  eating adequate protein and fiber at mealtime and snack time; those are the strategies that have worked for me.

If you think it is hopeless, that nothing works, don't give up.  Keep trying.  Eventually you will discover what does work and experience your own miracle.

Note:  If you've been dieting for years with little success and much frustration it may be time to take a break from dieting and read the book Intuitive Eating.  Reading that book helped me begin to unravel the lifelong muddle of  lose and regain.

Blah Here

Haven't been in the mood to post anything lately.  I get like that sometimes.  A slump I guess it is.  Have a lot of thoughts, stuff to say, but no interest in organizing my thoughts into a coherent assemblage.  If I could sum them up-- the flotsam and jetsam in my brain-- they'd be this:

• I don't suffer fools gladly
• Quit whinging--everybody's got it or had it bad or will have it bad at some point
• There is no magic weight loss bullet
• Over fat people are people who overeat.  You can bet that 300+ pound man or woman is eating 3000-5000 calories a day--or more.  That is a lot of food.  Oink.
• If you're a preacher and excessively fat, don't preach at me about personal discipline things.  Straighten up your own act before pointing the finger.  I tend to despise those who think they are 'better' when it is obvious they suffer from the same excesses that are common to man. It's fine to speak the truth, but not from a high place that looks down on my shortcomings while you ignore your own
• If I keep fooling myself, I will continue to be a fool or behave foolishly.  Wise up. 
• Quit making excuses.  No one wants to hear it.
• Cut the crap

And on and on I could go.  I'm in a no nonsense mood.  Maybe it's because I'm getting older.  I understand a lot of things now that I didn't before.  And I am getting to the point where I feel I must voice some of my thoughts--the ones that might not sound so nice.  But they need to be said.  Nice is not nice if it promotes error or harm or is indifferent.  I'll try to be diplomatic in what I say, because people do have feelings.

 But I'm even getting a tad tired of the feelings stuff too.  Focusing on how we feel puts us in the dynamic of being a victim. Instead of saying "what you did hurt my feelings"-wah wah-- how about saying 'that was rude'.  To the point, and pretty easy to understand.

Ah well, now I'm rambling.  Time to shut 'er up.

It's been another two weeks of mindful eating and I've lost another pound.  That makes a total of 11.  Think I'll keep on with the changes I've made. They're the closest thing I'll ever find that resembles a magic bullet.  Who knew it'd be eating small amounts of healthy food frequently and the other junk once in awhile?

Short and Sweet

Another two weeks has passed and I've lost two more pounds, for a total of 9 pounds. I will continue as I've been doing for these past 8 weeks. The way I am eating now is the way I will continue to eat 'for life'.

The one thing I have taken away recently is that if I want to be a 'little' woman--as in size--I must eat 'little' food.

Funny isn't it. And profound. The amount of food we eat is relative to the amount of weight we carry. Duh.

Whether we reduce our caloric intake by eating less food or eating less caloric food, the result is the same.

And we would do well to remember the Holocaust survivors when we reach a plateau and stall in our weight loss efforts. Those people existed on a tiny amount of food each day. The survivors were all, every one of them, skin and bone when they were released, which proves that starvation and the metabolic starvation mode our body supposedly enters will not stop weight loss if that starvation continues long term.

If I continue to eat little food in time I will be a little person.

One piece of chocolate. One bite of cake. One small portion of lasagna. A hot dog. Once in awhile. These types of foods can be eaten--if they are eaten infrequently and in small amounts.

I have a pretty good idea that all the 'small' people out there practice a lot of self control when they eat. They don't chow down, scarf the whole lot, pig out. They use reserve and self control--which cost nothing. Which require no special diets or programs.

Reserve and self control are functions of the will. And each one of us has a free will and the ability to exercise it as we wish.

Reserve and self control coupled with some brain power--i.e. using the knowledge we possess to make wise food choices that won't spike our blood sugar and insulin and affect our hunger-- are the key to long term success.

If I fail in this effort to become a 'little' person, it is my own fault. Owning that fact is critical. Blaming my failures on my past--the less than perfect childhood, the hardships and hurts-- is just an excuse, a cop out.

Score

I used to get my watch batteries replaced at the Walmart jewelry counter for $2--which was way less than paying a jeweler. Gladly I signed the waiver to not hold them liable if the watch was damaged--I don't wear expensive watches. When the price went up to $3 I thought it was still a good deal.

Then one year I needed a battery replaced in my Relic watch. Walmart refused it, said I hadn't purchased it from them and it was an expensive watch and they didn't want to be responsible if it was damaged. I volunteered to sign a release--no dice.

So I went to JC Penneys where they replaced the battery. I signed a waiver and paid them $10. I thought that was highway robbery but didn't have much choice.

After that I needed a battery replaced in a watch I'd purchased from Walmart and they gladly replaced it--for $5. Steep I thought--for a $20 watch--but better than $10.

Imagine my surprise today when I was in the Dollar Tree and found my watch battery there, brand Sunbeam, for a dollar. But that's not the best part. The best part is that there were 8, yes 8, batteries in the package. Eight watch batteries, good until 2012, for one dollar.

I bought the batteries, brought them home and my husband put a new one in my Mickey Mouse Watch. Appears I'm set for watch batteries for at least a year or two.

Moral of this story? We're getting ripped off paying $5 and $10 for a battery replacement, IMO. If I can buy 8 batteries at retail prices for $1, what are the stores paying wholesale? And it can't be the price of labor causing the store to charge so much. It takes about one minute to pop the back of the watch off, remove the old battery and pop in the new one. And it can't be liability if they have you waive your right of claim against them for any damage they might do to your watch.

Bottom line? It has to be greed, plain and simple. They overcharge because they can.

Easter Tidings

Yesterday was good Friday.  Good for us and good for Jesus. Many don't understand how the crucifixion was good in any aspect.

Jesus the Christ  came down from Heaven to earth on an express mission.  His mission was to die, to shed his blood, to pay once and for all the penalty of our sins.  Thus he did at the cross. He took on him the sins of the whole world-- past, present and future.  He took our place that we might not have to pay that penalty. He fulfilled his mission, so in that respect it was good for him.  Had he not gone to the cross he'd have failed in his express mission.

And for us the crucifixion was good because  he paid the ransom for our freedom--freedom from the bondage and penalty of our sin.  He took our stripes and by His stripes we are healed.

But this process of redemption only began at the cross.  After his death on the cross, he was taken from the cross, placed in a sealed tomb guarded by Roman soldiers.  It was certain death for them should they allow his body to be taken.  So they guarded it with that in mind.

Lo--on the third day the stone was rolled away and his body was not there.  The grave clothes were there, but no body.  He had risen from the dead, thus proving that he was indeed God incarnate.

His death and resurrection  was observed and recorded by many...500 at one time, and many many others at various times after the resurrection.....right up until he ascended on high.

He is not dead for he is risen.  He is risen indeed.

Why did he come to earth?  This verse from the New Testament of the Bible sums it up:

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His Only Begotten Son (Jesus), that whosoever believeth in Him, should  not perish, but have everlasting life."  John 3:16

How shall we believe in him whom we have not seen?  Faith, dear readers.  It is by faith--faith in the finished work of Jesus the Christ-- that ye are saved, through grace, and that not of yourselves.  It (your salvation) is the gift of God, and not of works, lest any man should boast.

We can not earn our salvation.  Entrance to heaven is not achieved by your good deeds outweighing the bad ones.

Entrance to heaven--salvation--is a free gift, to be received by those who will believe on his name.  As it is written in the Holy Script:  whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord (Jesus Christ) shall be saved.

That is the glory of Easter.  That God so love us, he came down, not to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.

FUN

My new year's resolve was to have fun.  I came across a great quote about fun.  I found it on the Joy Junket Manisfesto.  It says:

FUN IS A SUPER POWER

Mirth energizes.  Laughter heals.

Play transforms lives.

Now go out and have fun.  

If you'd live to visit the Joy Junket blog you can find it by clicking here.

Wasted

It's easy to see the folly of one who wastes his mind and life doing drugs.

But have you ever considered what a waste of time and life worry is?

There are some things you can't control-- period. Worrying about them is a total useless waste.

The things you can change? Do it. Quit worrying. Quit directing your energy to an activity that won't net a darn thing that is of any benefit to you or anyone else.

How long is it going to take you to quit worry, make change where it is reasonable and possible, and get on with you life?

Have a little faith. On earth if you drop something it falls down. If you hit your finger with a hammer it will hurt. There are natural laws that are in operation--laws that are complex and hard for some of us to understand or explain. But they operate nonetheless. I flip the light switch expecting the lights to come on. And they do. When they don't I know that the power is off or the bulb is burnt out. When all else fails I can call an electrician.

As a little girl I remember hearing a song by Doris Day. She sang 'que sera, sera, whatever will be, will be; the future's not ours to see, que sera'. As a child I had no idea what that meant. But it is truth. We only have so much power, the rest is not in our hands to control.

And if that bad thing does happen, well, you'll live. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and do the next thing, all the while grabbing onto faith, believing that there are better things ahead. Worrying that there are not keeps you stuck, rooted in that bad place.

Worry is like a rocking chair. It keeps you moving but takes you nowhere. So, quit worrying, focus your energy in a positive direction. Have a little faith.

The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.
Proverbs 16:33

FUN IN TEN

Instead of making resolutions for the new year I resolved to have fun this year. Fun is my byword for 2010. Accompanied by my fun will be beauty--they will go hand in hand. Let fun and beauty reign.

It doesn’t cost a fortune to have a beautiful life. Beautiful things can be had for mere pennies. Some can be had for free.

If you bother to look out a window and take in the vista, there is delight to behold and if you ponder over what you see, wonder may also be part of the experience.

Venture outside and pick a flower or a branch of leaves and bring it into your home. Place it in a clean jelly jar or a favored glass or cup. You do have some fun or lovely glasses and cups don’t you? No? Then remedy that a.s.a.p. If you are going to drink, do it from something that delights your senses. Function does not have to be devoid of beauty and wonderment.

Don’t neglect to beautify the inner person. For out of this inner self springs the fountain of you. Considering what goes in must come out, examine what you are filling yourself with.

Is it that which is lovely, kind, pure, of good report, of praise, of virtue, of mercy, of grace? This goodness will displace whatever makes you ill at ease, causes you discomfort, causes you to distress.

We all live with and must deal with stress. Stress in and of itself is not a bad thing. Dis-tress is the ill, and can make us ill. So if you stress, you are human. If you are distressed you are weighted down, burdened, filled with care.

I love to begin my day with a prayer of thanksgiving, spilling from my heart onto my lips, heavenward--a whisper in God’s ear acknowledging his beneficence. A prayer as simple as breathing--in and out.. Natural--no fancy words or utterances. Just pure, plain and simple. I do not have to cloak my being in words, for God reads my heart. I need not even form my words. He knows me intimately. But he delights in hearing my utterances which are a testament of my belief, of my faith.

A good cup of coffee--or tea, a candle lighted to dispel any darkness or gloom, and music to soothe my soul--all these are good things, a good beginning to prepare oneself for inner beautification. A hefty dose of the Rx for all that ails me--meditating on, reading of God’s word--the Bible--which is his revelation of himself, his promises, his statutes and declarations--is medicine for the soul. It is the mirror. What shall I see in its reflection. A mask? Or the real me, uncovered, bare, devoid of pretense?

Attending to the needs of the day--the urgent and the important--with a slow grace, one that acknowledges all is ultimately in God’s hands--he is my pilot--allows me to function with grace and ease, full of joy and peace. I am his passenger, along for the ride, the journey, the adventure of a lifetime, my life.

This is the stuff of life--the abundant life--promised by Jesus who said he came to give us ‘life, abundant life’. He came not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved.

Take, drink, feast, delight. His yoke is easy, his burden is light. Learn of him. He is life. Abundant life, beautiful and free.

I know of no other way that is as wonderful. Is your life wonderful? Are you really living?

There is time and way to make change. Begin now. Make haste. Life is fleeting. Put the cup to your lips. Taste and see that the Lord is good, life is good. Change what you can; accept even embrace what you can’t change. This is your lot, you assignment, part of your unique curriculum. Don’t envy others their lot. For it was designed especially for them by their Creator. He doeth all things well.

Now, pass it on--share your joy, your love, your fun, your beauty and see how it grows and multiplies, becoming more than you ever dreamed or imagined. To life! To love! To joy! To beauty! To fun! And praise be to God from whom ALL blessings flow. Amen.

2010 Handbook

A friend sent me a forward with this great list of suggestions for 2010. I'm posting it here 'cause I think it's that good-- it needs sharing. ( Note: I tried to line this up--like I was taught in school, but blogger has a mind of its own, so I gave up.)

HANDBOOK 2010

Health

1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in a factory.
4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
5. Make time to pray.
6. Play more games
7. Read more books than you did in 2009 .
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minute walk daily. And while you walk, smile.

Personality

11. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don't over do. Keep your limits.
14. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need..
18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with His/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree...

Society

25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything.
28. Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Life

32. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. GOD heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change..
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37. The best is yet to come..
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

Happy New Year!!

Some light hearted fare for New Years reflection.

Bill Vaughan
Youth is when you're allowed to stay up late on New Year's Eve. Middle age is when you're forced to.

James Agate
New Year's Resolution: To tolerate fools more gladly, provided this does not encourage them to take up more of my time.

Eric Zorn
Making resolutions is a cleansing ritual of self assessment and repentance that demands personal honesty and, ultimately, reinforces humility. Breaking them is part of the cycle.

Judith Crist
Happiness is too many things these days for anyone to wish it on anyone lightly. So let's just wish each other a bile-less New Year and leave it at that.

Joey Adams
May all your troubles last as long as your New Year's resolutions!

Minnie L. Haskins
And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year: Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown. And he replied: Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than light, and safer than a known way.

Sydney Smith
Resolve to make at least one person happy every day, and then in ten years you may have made three thousand, six hundred and fifty persons happy, or brightened a small town by your contribution to the fund of general enjoyment.


Aisha Elderwyn
Every new year people make resolutions to change aspects of themselves they believe are negative. A majority of people revert back to how they were before and feel like failures. This year I challenge you to a new resolution. I challenge you to just be yourself.

T. S. Eliot
For last year's words belong to last year's language and next year's words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning.

Final Day of 2009

The last day of this year dawns. Outside it's gray and cold. Inside there is cheer and warmth.

Looking back over the year, it's been one of change mostly. But there were many many blessings, for which I am thankful to my God, who is beneficent--a loving God, who is wise and kind and who promises, to direct my paths if I will trust in Him.

"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding; in all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths" Proverbs 3:5-6 KJV

Where will my paths lead in 2010? I have no certainty, though I have some generalized idea. But where ever they lead I can go, knowing that I am being directed...knowing that the trials and tribulations of life are not 'for nothing'.

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven" Ecclesiastes 3:1.

We may look at life and commiserate as King Solomon did here:

I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it?

³I sought in mine heart to give myself unto wine, yet acquainting mine heart with wisdom; and to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was that good for the sons of men, which they should do under the heaven all the days of their life.

⁴I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards:

⁵I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kind of fruits:

⁶I made me pools of water, to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees:

⁷I got me servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem before me:

⁸I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces: I gat me men singers and women singers, and the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and that of all sorts.

⁹So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me.

¹⁰And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour.

¹¹Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.

¹²And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath been already done.

The King, who was exceedingly wealthy and had everything and had experienced everything found it all lacking. His summation--there is nothing new under the sun, there is nothing left..it is all vanity, all empty.

How sad. Perhaps you feel that way at times as well. Many are often depressed at Christmas or following Christmas, owing in part, I think, to the 'largeness' of the holiday. It is, after all, 'the most wonderful time of the year'. But I think we come away feeling empty because, just as with Solomon, the 'stuff' of Christmas is for the most part vain. When we fail to celebrate the real reason for the season it is highly likely we will feel a letdown at some point.

Solomon finally concluded this:

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

¹⁴For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

Let us learn from the wise King Solomon.

Fear God. This does not mean 'be afraid of God'. The definition for fear as used here is this: extreme reverence or awe, as toward a supreme power. In other words, revere God. He is supreme. He is power. Hold him in awe. Look to him, trust him.

Keep his commandments. This means do what he says to do, follow his direction, don't lean to your own understanding, your own thinking, but seek his.

There are many paths. One path leads to life, all others to destruction.

If you look to God and follow his direction you can rest assured, you will be walking the path that leads to life.

May this be a year of great blessing. With Tiny Tim I say "God (would you please) bless us everyone."