Monday!!!

I woke up this morning and all I could say was thank you Jesus! I made it through another week, survived another day and with the blessing of the Lord another year. Today on Monday I feel blessed to be alive. But as you know the devil isn't going to let me get off that easy, after all he has a job to do and his job is to seek or too destroy. I looked out at my car this morning, then noticed that my tire on my passengers side was flat and it was pouring down raining outside. I could have panicked or I could have been mad, but instead I was very thankful. Why you may ask? Well because the devil forgot one very important fact, that this wasn't my first time getting a flat tire. As a matter of fact I have had several flat tires in my lifetime. I already knew what to do and how to do it. I just got up grabbed my umbrella, then walked to the nearest store, bought some fix- a -flat and then very soon after my tire was back in working condition.

 When I was younger I remember asking my late grandmother this question, "Why does God allow good people to suffer or too go through storms"? Then she smiled and answered me with this answer, Baby, so that you will be able to survive another one. She went on to say every storm, trail or tribulation, that God blesses you to survive is not only a blessing, but its also a learning experience. My grandmother was right, each storms, trails and tribulations are not only victories they are also strength builders. They test your strength as well as your character. As you go through them then you will really find out what type of man or woman you really are. Through each of them I have learned many things and also learned from my many mistakes. If you are blessed enough to read this always remember that , those situations prepare you for the future and if you are smart or wise enough, then you too will not panic when the next problem or when trouble arrives. Why? Well because you been there, done that before or already experienced it and by now you should be able to handle or weather any storm that may come your way. Yes, its Monday, not a blue Monday or day to be dread. Its just another beautiful day, that God has created, made or another week that you have survived to make it to another day. That's right God's people, Its Monday! Thank you Jesus! Its Monday!
May God bless you always,
Charles

Corinthians 6:2 For he says, "In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you." I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation
Deuteronomy 4:26
I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you this day that you will quickly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live there long but will certainly be destroyed.
Deuteronomy 4:27
The LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the LORD will drive you.
Deuteronomy 4:28
There you will worship man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell.

Life Is Short

I just received a message from a friend that touched my heart. She told me that she happened to be the only surviving member in her immediate family and has been diagnosed with stage four cancer. Her words exactly were ," I watched my family members loose weight, transform into weak and frail persons only to die right in front of my eyes"." Most of my friends and colleagues' are telling me to prepare for death, but I can't". After reading this very touching e-mail , all I could say is , Wow! This message reminds me of something my mother used to always tell me. When she would say," If you think you have it hard , there is always someone else in the world that has it worse than yourself". What my mother said and this e-mail means to me, is that Life Is Short. Most of us live our lives for tomorrow , when today is right in front of us. Every moment is precious and every opportunity should be taken advantage of. Every person that lives today, should always remind the people they love that they care for them. None of us should ever miss the opportunity to love someone or to allow someone else to love us back. Life is so short and none knows the day or hour when they shall hold their last breath again. Embrace life because its truly a gift from God and life above everything else should always be cherished. This is a message for her or anyone else that may happen to be in her shoes. Never give up, never loose faith and God is still in charge! God is still in the healing business and its not over until God says its over! I pray for her healing in the mighty name of Jesus and she shall be made whole again!To all my friends, family and associates, please enjoy, embrace the gift or blessings of life. For life is fleeting and nothing last forever but God. Take advantage of today, because tomorrow isn't promised to any of us. Enjoy the sun, for it may not rise for you tomorrow, love today or the one that you may care for will be taken away forever. Forget what happen yesterdays, thank God for if he blesses you with more tomorrows, because Life Is Short!
Be blessed,
Charles

P.S. Love the ones that are so dear to you, never keep your feelings a secret or affections away from those who you may love or may want to love. Live life without regrets and always to the fullest. Death is God's constant reminder, that nothing last forever but God.( Ecclesiastes 9:9 Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of the life of your vanity, which he has given you under the sun, all the days of your vanity: for that is your portion in this life, and in your labor which you perform under the sun.) May God bless you all, keep,you safe from harm.
In Jesus name,
Charles


Matthew 4:23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.

Matthew 4:24 News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them.

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Luke 4:41 Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, "You are the Son of God!" But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Christ

Its Over Now

Today, I over heard a woman complaining about her husbands, past mistakes. She went on complaining to one of  her girlfriends how bad of a husband she has and how bad he treated her in their past. But what she failed to mention was that they were still together and those mistakes he made was far in their  distant past. After she got through talking about her husband, she thought she would get a mans point of view so she asked me these questions . She said to me Charles is it so wrong to hold on to something that happen so long ago?Why is it so hard to forgive my husband? He is a good man and I know that he is not perfect and neither am I. But I have a hard time forgiving him and forgetting what he has done. She went on to say I have always been told in order to go to Heaven, you have to forgive the person who has wrong you and to leave the past in the past. So please tell me what can I do to finally move on so I could love my husband in a way a wife is suppose to love her husband.

 After she was finished I smiled and said," Well first you have to leave you problems or troubles with our Father in Heaven". Then she said, "Charles, I know that and I have tried ". I have prayed many times and nothing seems to work or  happen. Then I said, "Well that's because you are being impatient and not giving God time to heal you". I went on too tell her that, "God hears your prayers and when the time is right he will bless you with the necessary strength or wisdom to over come your fears or pain. Then she looked at me with tears in her eyes and said, "I love him Charles, but I am having a hard time forgiving him! He cheated on me with that woman and sometimes when I am with him all I can see is her. Lord knows I have tried Charles, but I am scared. Then I asked her what was she afraid of, then she said to me that she was scared that he might cheat on her again and do the same thing all over again.

Then I looked at her and said It hurt doesn't it? Then she looked at me with a mean look and said, Yes! Of course it hurts what do you think? Then I smiled at her and said, How do you think God feels when we do something wrong or sin against him? Then she couldn't say anything. Then I went on to tell her despite all of our sins , God sacrificed his only son Jesus so that we may live. God forgave us and each of us are obligated to forgive others. You say that you love your husband, but you don't forgive him. Don't you realize that love and forgiveness are link together? Then she said to me Charles I do love my husband, but I don't know how to forgive him. I need help she said, pleased help me forget. Then I said to her, that it not required that you forget, but it is required that you forgive. If you pray, then ask God to take away your pain, in time he will answer your prayers. But first you have to stop doubting yourself and your marriage. God has allowed it to survive all the years for a reason. With some hard work many prayers and lots of sacrifice your marriage will blossom into something beautiful. You just have to trust God and truly give your problems to him. Then I looked at her and asked her this question, Remember you told me that your husband hurt you in your past and now he is doing better? Then she said ," Yes I remember". Then I said, Well part of your prayers has already been answered and  its over. One day soon both you and your husband will talk about what each of you went through. You will talk about the many battles, obstacles or storms that you each had to over come, just to make it too where God has you going. One day soon with the blessing of God you shall have a beautiful marriage. Every marriage requires hard work, a lot of time and  plenty of patience. None are successful over night, so just be patient and trust God more. Then she smiled and said" Okay , I will try". And then I said, All God requires is that you try, then give  all of your burdens to him . God always answers prayers and when God moves things happen.

If you happen to be reading this always remember, whats in the past should stay in the past. Everyone of us carries a little baggage or have somethings in our closets that we may want to forget and don't want others to know about. In order to move on each of us must deal with our past and then get on with our future. There is no way person can take it back what they have said or done. In order to move on you must forgive the person that has hurt them and then themselves. Its always important too learn from ones mistakes. That way one will always be prepared too never let it happen again. Forgive, but never forget that God has allowed you to go through these things, just to show you how strong you really are. Remember through God, all things are possible and with him in your life, you can or shall over come all things. Tell yourself this tonight or  even in the morning, that my past is my past and Its Over Now .

Have a blessed weekend,

Charles

1 Peter 4:8 Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.

I Corinthians 13-4

4 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Time Flies

Have you ever had one of those nights that have you constantly thinking? You know one of those nights when you toss or turn and no matter where you turn or position yourself in bed that you can't seem to get comfortable? For me its because things are constantly running through my mind. I hate those nights because I can't hardly get any sleep and if you saw me in the morning you would say," Man that dude looks really ruff in the morning ". (smile) So I get up, then get dressed for another day of work. I look into the mirror and say to myself, Wow, another day or year is gone. Its funny how fast time goes, one day you are sixteen at home with your parents. Then the next day you are forty- seven, your kids are now grown and they are out on their own. When I think about today or  years past, I can't help but think about the people I grew up with loving and admiring. You know your parents, grandparents, celebrities', teachers, some family or friends? Now they are all gone and life is seem so strange without out them. But as you know time or life does go on and we all have to learn to live without them. But I can't help but wonder how funny or fast time flies.
So I get in my car, then drive to work looking around and noticing how much things have changed in the world around us. Where there used to be woods, there are now houses, roads and bridges. I think to myself and say, "Wow I used to play in those woods and now they are all gone". Even the people have changed, the children are now more disrespectful and the parents don't seem to care. Families don't love their children like they used to. Back when I grew up  everyone looked out for each other and every Sunday we spent our time in church, then latter at grandmothers house. Life was so simple then, people cared, they loved and they worshiped God.
 Now in todays time , the price of gas or food has gone up so much, one has to wonder how high can they go and if so how can one afford them. The cars we drive, the clothes we wear, the music we listen too, the way we talk and even the phones we talk on has changed so much over the years. It makes me wonder has any of these improvements has  helped or hurt us , because people in todays time are so money hungry or materialistic. Time is constantly moving, people are getting older, young people are dying faster and it seems in today's world no one seems to cares who lives or dies.
I can't help but miss yesterday, because back then time was simple and now in today's time the world is so complicated. Back then people loved each other, young people had someone that they could look up too and people back then didn't care so much about money or materiel things. They just enjoyed life and loved each other, looking forward toward another day. Sometimes when I wake up I dread tomorrow, because what I see today disturbs me. In today's time there seem to be more hate, even though I grew up in a time when people hated you just because of your color or race. I wonder too myself what happen to the good old days, where families got together and ate or fellow shipped with each other on Sundays? Now today people only get together to watch their favorite football teams and on the very next day they hate or talk about each other .What happen to the good old days when time was so simple? Now another day, month or year is gone, its just funny how fast life or time flies.
Have a great day,
Charles

James 5:8 You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near.

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1 Peter 4:7 The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.

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2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

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2 Peter 3:11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives

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1 John 2:18 Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many Antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour.

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Revelation 1:3 Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.

Two Heads Are Better Than One

 Sometimes we miss our blessings because we are afraid of moving on. Some of us run away from a good man or a good woman, because they are scared or afraid to take chances. I have heard both men and women brag about being single, when in truth they really wished they had someone to love or as my friend would put it their perfect love.  That is why its funny to me, when I hear a man or woman say proudly," I am single by choice". My questions to them or even to you if you happen to in their situation, "Who do you think you are fooling"? Or who are you really trying to convince?( Yourself I hope, because you can't fool God!) Are you trying to cover up your pain or are you making these statement because you are afraid of starting all over again? What I have figured out is, that most of us have been through our share of heartaches'. Many of us have had been through countless failed relationships and others multiple failed marriages. Going through these things would make the strongest men or women crumble and scared to trust, love or give their heart again. That's when many of us try to occupy ourselves with work, school or other things to keep our minds off of men or women. The fear of trying something new or something unknown is scary, because you really don't know if trying something new will work out or fail again. Besides that people these days are crazy and if you have children, then you really have to be careful. You really don't know who is real or fake, but that shouldn't keep you from trying to find true love. Because if you do, then you could find yourself being a very lonely old man or woman without someone to love or to care for you. I don't care who you are, no one can be happy with the fact that they could live the rest of their lives alone.

I know there may be some that are reading this, saying to themselves that this man or writer doesn't know what he is talking about. You may say too yourself that you are happy being alone and don't really need anyone to love you. Even though if you are honest with yourselves then you would know that you are lying, because no one truly wants to live their lives alone. I have heard many men or women say, I don't need a man or a woman, they need me, when in fact men or women need each other. If your are being truthful or like my seventeen year old son would say," Being real with yourself". Then you would admit that you too are in need of companionship and someone to love. Its sad that men and women fight against each other everyday, not realizing that they are really a blessing to each other. Every since to beginning of time men and women have been forever linked together by God. When God took Adams rib then, created Eve men and women will always be linked until the end of time. God created man , then woman and he never intended on them being alone. That's why he created each with a companion. God created woman for man and man for woman or like my late grandmother would say," Two heads are better than one".

 Men seek out and search for a new spouse or mate. I know that there are a lot of crazy men or women out there. But like my mother always told me," Sometimes you have to go through the bad in order to get to the good". The Bible says," when a man finds a wife he finds a good thing". As I think about that verses I can't help but figure that both men and women have to go through many storms, trails or tribulations. In order to appreciate that good man or woman when God blesses us with them. Then when God does bless us with our perfect match, then we will truly know that Two Heads Are Better Than One.

Have a blessed night,

Charles

1 Corinthians 13:4-7  4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

A Higher Standard

If you are reading this ask yourself these questions," What's the difference between you as a person that's knows the difference between right or wrong and a person that doesn't? A God fearing person or a person in the world? If you are confused by these two questions let me explain. I was taught at a early age( By my mother and father) the difference between right from wrong. I remember as a baby, learning to walk for the very first time and anxious to explore a new world. As you know all that babies are very curious , always into everything and often touch things just out of curiosity, because it something new or unknown. That is when I received my very first lesson , the difference between right or wrong. My mother on that day put me into my walker, not realizing that I was more advanced then the device that she put me in. She didn't know that at eight months old that I mastered the art of speed walking in a walker. Being in a walker made me even more dangerous, because I was able to maneuver that walker at speeds that no other baby could ever do before. When she turned her back I was off to the races. I saw something in a wall that looked white with something plugged into it. I was bound and determined to investigate this new object. So I moved my walker into position and took my metal spoon, then got closer to the white object so that I could  put my spoon into those little holes. But before I could get my spoon into it I heard my mother shout, Chuck don't you do that! Then she spank me on my hand , looked at me then pointed at the wall socket and said, " Bad, that's bad for baby and don't do that anymore"! I was so hurt , then I began to cry, because I didn't understand the difference between right or wrong. But now that I am older thanks to my mentors and parents I know the difference between right or wrong.

As I think back on my life, as a child, a young man and now an older wiser adult, I now hold myself to a higher standard, because of the lessons I have learned in my past. Combine with the life lessons that I have learned along the way, now I have become a better man.I know from my experiences that God has created all people, with different shades of colors and different religious or political beliefs. I know that there are people out there that may not like me because of the color of my skin or my political beliefs. But because I hold myself up too a higher standard, being a American and a Christian I don't judge or hate people because of who they are or where they came from. I have learned to love, respect all people, because I know that we are all Gods children and despite our differences we all were created for his glory. The question I have for you today or tonight is," Who do you hold yourself accountable to or to what standard do you live by"? Do you live by a higher standard  and do you live your life for Christ? Are you able to love, forgive or forget when someone does or says something , that you are not comfortable with? If you are its able to do these things, then you have elevated yourself to a higher standard of life, living your life for Christ.
Have a blessed day,
Charles

Romans 12:5 so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

Hard Headed

    
Many times in our lives we will be given advice, some of it bad , then some of it good its up to us as individuals to determine which is good or bad. When I was a child my father would always say that, free good advice is like just free money, if you use it or spend the money wisely then its not wasted. But if you do not take advantage of the advice or money given to you then its only a waste. That is what I like to call living or learn life the hard way. I remember as a child when I used to make both my father and mother angry, they would always say, "Son you are very hard headed , you have the ability to make things hard or easy and its up to you which direction you take your life. Then my father or mother would go on to say you either live by our the rules or suffer the consequence's. At that time I thought that  my mother or father were very mean or very restrictive people. Why you may ask? Well as you know as children, some of us thought we knew a little bit more than our parents. As children or sometimes as adults we always over look one very important fact. Our parents or elders are older than us and been where we have been or have experienced what ever we are going to go through. They have experience life, been to school, some have graduated from college, raised children of their own and already done something's that some of us may never think about. But for some strange reason we always seem to think we know better than someone older or wiser then we are.

When I look back, I often laugh to myself, because I can just hear my father in my head saying these exact things to me as I now say to my own children. My father would say wait until ,you get your own children then you will see, that I am not as mean as you may think or say I am. I am only trying to protect you and prepare you for the outside world. He would go on to say, what you have been through or what ever you might be experiencing, I been there and done that. He would say ," I been through the fire and survived, by God  good grace". If you just listen to me and heed my warnings my experiences will save you , then keep you for all of the bad experience's or heartaches that I have experienced in my lifetime. After my father got through preaching, then he would look at me and say, "Son ,you are very stubborn and hard headed, you think you know it all but in truth you don't know a thing. You are going to have too learn to live life the hard way. Just as my mother told me as a child before you were even thought of , I had to learn and now so do you. I just pray that you live to preach to your children and to others about, what you could have avoided if you just listen.

 As I think back on my life I wish I took advantage of both my mothers, fathers, grandmothers, friends and other peoples very wise advice or counsel. I know my life would be so different now and I probably would have accomplished much more than I have today, only if I had listen. All of us at one time or another would love to go back in time and change certain aspects of our life. I have said this to myself and others," Only if I could go back in time I would do this or I would do that". But as we all know there is nothing we can do to change our past, all we have is control over is today . We can change who we are today and we can start listening to that good advice now. If you are reading this journal, please take my advice, then listen when someone is talking to you and even if you may think , that you know more than someone else. Try to understand what they are talking about and stop being so hard headed. Because the advice you are getting free of charge today ,could either change, save or enlighten your life for a life time. While living your life always remember this old bible verse, "A wise man changes, but a fool remains the same".
Have a blessed weekend,
Charles
 

1 Corinthians 11:32 But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world