NCarolinian

One thing all of creation is guaranteed is No Privacy. God is everywhere, sees everything and knows all. His numerous Holy angels are present also, executing God's will in every area of creation. I cannot speak to those to have passed on - whether they "look over the Banister of Heaven" and can view our lives here on earth. However, just the fact that God's eyes and His interested spectators, the angels of Heaven, are watching, should be enough to warrant a lifestyle change or at least a pause to consider one. The lifestyle I am speaking of here is matching your unseen life with your seen living. Do your practices, attitude, and words with God in private translate over into your public demeanor? Ones demeanor is like a tell in a game of cards, it notifies people of who you are and what your tendencies will be toward them and others. A Christ-like demeanor says you are a Christian and you practice what you preach/teach/believe. Observing my ultimate example in t...

We can talk about men and women with superpowers all day long until we are blue in the face, but none of their powers will ever be able to get at the root of humanity's problem like one hero has already accomplished.  It is amazing what we place value on in this world. Jesus stressed the importance of the eternal. There is an eternal God which has bestowed upon us an eternal decision with an eternal consequence that will place us in either one of two eternal destinations - Paradise or Hell. It is an Ultimate decision that calls for an Ultimate Hero. Matthew 10:28 begins the description of the Ultimate Hero wonderfully with Christ's own words about Himself. "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell." Two things need to be addressed immediately - (1) there is a hell and (2) Christ has been entrusted with the Judgment of who is sent there. According to Matthew 2...

"Living out of my car" is a concept that has been around for a long time. I can remember, and it wasn't so long ago, having to clean my car out from previous meals, gym clothes, general trash, unused music CD's, and my work paraphernalia. I vacuumed it out, wiped it down, made it smell real good and even washed it on the outside too. However, it wasn't long before the cycle struck again. There was a time when mobile homes were pitched by salesmen to be a home you can move to anywhere you want to live. I have seen a few, but not many mobile homes being transported to their destination over the years. There are a handful of us that travel and live like this now, but the vehicle is called an RV (recreational vehicle). The theme of lives in motion is not new. This kind of life dates back to early human life which was nomadic. However, there was a mobile life which came on the scene of humanity that heavily influenced a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a Holy n...

A favorite trait I admire in my wife, Tanya, is how she handles Displacement . There have been times in her workplace and unfortunately instances with me where a negative transfer of emotions is placed on her. For clients at work and me at home, the vehicle for this negative transfer of negative emotions usually is a legit, but small issue that gets escalated figuratively and/or literally to the point of nasty displacement on Tanya. Tanya and I have had our moments, though they are extremely far-and-few-between. But when I cross the line, when I speak harsh words, even though I might be in the right, I could have communicated better and try to be the first to apologize. She has always been gracious to accept my apology and re-instate me. Tanya has business clients and co-workers that have displaced on her as bad or worse too. Although I am sure she does not want to be, Tanya is a great Defuser . Tanya is great at listening. To me hearing is the sense humans have that collects ...

There are a plethora of reasons why I love my Mom and Dad. As Christ said about His thoughts toward us - "to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand" ( Psalm 139:17-18 ) - so is my list of loves about Mom and Dad. Today, however, I have a particular thanksgiving in mind, especially with Mother's Day and Father's Day upon us. I wish to thank Mom and Dad for all the money they spent on me and still do. Specifically, I am referring to the years I had no job and could not repay you a dime. I reflect back at all the clothes, food, sporting events I was involved with that needed fees and uniforms, prom, college, and gas for the car. I even remember, with no great difficulty, how ya'll would pay for gifts with your money so that I could participate in major holidays/events like Christmas and birthdays or just so I could participate in life. You must have invested a fortune in me, not to mention times two (x2) because of a brother. The occasional gift or m...

Threshing is to separate the grain/seed from the plant by a beating action. Before machines did this for us, outdoor threshing consisted usually of a circular floor made of a hard surface (stone, slate, tile, or wood) and sloped for rain water run-off. It was typically located on an elevated piece of land to catch the wind for the winnowing process. It was also community owned and operated. Inside threshing (barn threshing) was usually located just inside a bay door on hardwood, stone or packed dirt flooring. To prevent grain/seeds from falling or blowing outside a board called the "Threshold" was placed across the entrance/exit of the doors. "After this threshing process, the broken stalks and grain were collected and then thrown up into the air with a wooden fork-like tool called a winnowing fan. The chaff would be blown away by the wind; the short torn straw would fall some distance away, while the heavier grain would fall at the winnower's feet. The grain cou...

Matthew 18:1-5 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me." "Christ points to little children as the model to which the members of his kingdom must assimilate themselves. The special attributes of children which he would recommend are humility, unworldliness, simplicity, teachableness, - the direct contraries of self-seeking, worldliness, distrust, conceit." (http://biblehub.com/matthew/18-3.htm) Kids are thirsty sponges ready to soak up all you give out. If your output of words is pure, surrounding children are going to absorb those pure words. If yo...