BURNT BISCUITS (shared from email)

When I was a kid, my mom liked to make breakfast food for dinner every now and then. And I remember one night in particular when she had made breakfast after a long, hard day at work. On that evening so long ago, my mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage and extremely burned biscuits in front of my dad.

I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed! Yet all my dad did was reach for his biscuit, smile at my mom and ask me how my day was at school. I don't remember what I told him that night, but I do remember watching him smear butter and jelly on that biscuit and eat every bite!

When I got up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my mom apologize to my dad for burning the biscuits. And I'll never forget what he said: "Honey, I love burned
biscuits."

Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night and I asked him if he really liked his biscuits burned. He wrapped me in his arms and said, "Your Momma put in a hard day at work today and she's real tired. And besides - a little burnt biscuit never hurt anyone!"

You know, life is full of imperfect things...and imperfect people. I'm not the best at hardly anything, and I forget birthdays and anniversaries just like everyone else. What I’ve learned over the years is that learning to accept each others faults and choosing to celebrate each others differences - is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship.

And that's my prayer for you today that you will learn to take the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of your life and lay them at the feet of God. Because in the end, He's the only One who will be able to give you a relationship where a burnt biscuit isn't a deal-breaker! We could extend this to any relationship. In fact, understanding is the base of any relationship, be it a husband-wife or parent-child or friendship!

"Don't put the key to your happiness in someone else's pocket - keep it in your own."
God Bless You...Now, and Always....
So Please pass me a biscuit, and yes, the burnt one will do just fine.

PAUSING A MOMENT IN JANUARY…

Winter’s cold is finally a reality and with it a brand New Year, fresh without any mistakes in it. Well, at least, hopefully, not too many. New Year resolutions are in full bloom although I have read where resolutions in general, seem to be losing some popularity. It is probably because as soon as they are made we are looking for ways to get around them and continue in the old ways and means. But one thing for sure, the New year does bring with it a sense of a new beginning, a fresh start, a chance to overcome some things that may have hindered us in the previous 365 days.
God is all about fresh starts, new beginnings, and opportunities to overcome those things that would hinder us from getting to know Him better, closer, even more intimately. That is great news when you stop to think about it…God is all about fresh, new, and unencumbered beginnings.
In Genesis 1:1, we find the opening words of, “In the beginning.”
In John 1:1, again we find the opening words of, “In the beginning.”
In 2 Corinthians 5:17, we find these words, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
What a refreshing and powerfully rejuvenating truth from God! Don’t you just feel the old skin cells of the “soul” fall away and you begin to breathe anew??? In Jesus, we become new! Christ will actually remake us inside and out, if we let Him!
Covering up the outside, like making New Year resolutions, doesn’t last because you are not dealing with the core issues like, rebellion against God. Until we come to repentance in Christ through faith in Him, following up with the washing away those sins through immersion into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we will never be a new creation! So in order to become, “a new creation,” we must first come through Jesus Christ. Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father, except by Me.”
Instead of New Year resolutions that are essentially, historically, and culturally meant to be broken, why not get to the heart of the matter, cut through the garbage and clutter and go right to ground zero? Go directly to God through Jesus Christ. You may ask how? The holy scriptures record in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
If you should say to me, “Brother Randy, I don’t know if I can hold up under all the pressures of the trials and tribulations this life is bringing,” I would respond with this verse of scripture found in 1 Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful. Who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” In His great love and mercy, God has thought of everything we need!
In this New Year of 2010, what will you resolve to do with your life? Will it be one series after another of superficial makeovers or will it be genuine in getting to the very heart of the matter, and making the choice to, “Prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight?” (Luke 3:4b) What could God accomplish through the people of His Son’s body, the church, IF we let Him? It is a journey that I invite you to pause and think about in January! (Then prayerfully do something about it!)
Remember, we are all in this together…  Peace and hugs, Brother Randy


A Christian’s New Years Resolution

· To read God’s word everyday
· To pray to God everyday, giving time for God to speak in return
· To care for the needy in the community
· To witness to the lost in family and community

Each year a number of people set up resolutions for the New Year. It can be a very good thing to do, until the goals fall by the wayside. Sometimes people are discouraged when they can’t keep their resolutions and find that the only safe resolution is, “to not set any resolutions!”
One of the definitions for “Resolution” is: the act of analyzing a complex notion into simpler ones. Such as; the complex resolution to be a better Christian in 2010 can be broken down into simple steps in order to keep it and make the desired change. Using the 4 sentences above is one example of making simple steps to achieve the goal. Or make it simpler:

· Read 1 chapter a day
· Give your requests to God for 5 minutes and listen for 5
· Do something for someone else everyday
· Ask one person a day how you can pray for them.

Making resolutions can be a godly action. Any time you set your mind to become more Christ–like, you are making right choices. God will bless your efforts. He, most of all, wants you to be a success. He used Peter to tell us this… 
But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, 
add to your faith virtue,
to virtue knowledge,
to knowledge self-control,
to self-control perseverance,
to perseverance godliness,
to godliness brotherly kindness,
and to brotherly kindness love.
For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our
Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:5-11

Sounds like a Resolution that will benefit us all. What will you resolve to do for Christ this year?  JEB.