NCarolinian

          I would venture to say that many people are scared of responsibility and especially that of another person. Early on in the Genesis account we read about Cain sassing back to God about his brother Abel, declaring - "I don't know. Am I my brother's keeper?" (Genesis 4:9)           However, humanity and especially Christians should be stewards of each other. When God created the human being, the man was alone in kind of creatures. God walked with Adam and spoke with him but it was not the same as having a similar partner/friend. In addition, Adam had been given the responsibility of tending to all the animals of creation and naming them - he needed a helper. God created Eve out from Adam to be Adam's help mate (Genesis 2:18-25) .           Fast forward to when Jesus was hanging on The Cross and He spells out a relationship of stewardship between two people right there -  "When Jesus sa...

          Terms and phrases like "hero" in "He/she is my hero" occur so much now-a-days that I question the value many times. The plethora of use tends to desensitize the influence of the word, idea or thing. I would encourage all of us to keep sacred those words and ideas that hold special value in order to preserve the true definition and nature of things like hero.           What we place value on in this world is amazing. Value and/or meaning is what drives the purpose of our lives. Our decisions on everything - the things we choose to think about, speak out loud and perform are rooted in what we deem as the most meaningful or hold most value in our lives. Who or what we deem as special or sacred should be treasured and shared.           My concern is I don't want us to overuse the word and concept of Hero or Superhero. These words and ideas are super-saturated within our culture and dr...

                    The Holy Spirit instructs Christians through Paul -  "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers ." (Galatians 6:9-10)           The use of the word "especially" is no accident. Applying especially in any sentence brings a special focus to whatever person, place or thing that comes afterward. In this case, "those who belong to the family of believers" or Christians are challenged to be particularly good to each other. Believers in Christ are to favor, support, encourage, pray for and help one another.           However, before Christians make good, dependable servants for each other, they need to pay attention to their development as a member of their own b...

                    The bottom line is we all have a spiritual self that needs to be attended properly and regularly.            Athletes train their bodies and minds for their sport, usually for a competition of a season of games. They make a deliberate decision to go through all the necessary preliminaries in order to play in the actual game and be a part of the winning team.            Many people have the drive to to keep themselves physically healthy and/or have this chance of victory and team comradery. Other people train in some part of education or the arts to fulfill that development need and desire to reach personal goals.            The businessman or woman will take classes to be aware of how the business world works. The musician or painter will take classes to perfect their craft as well as to understand t...

  The King James Version of James 1:17 states -  "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." The fact that we have a wonderful, divine, heavenly Father that desires to give us gifts is heartwarming, mind-blowing and encouraging to the soul all at once. However, there is a particular gift that "the Father of lights" gives in which He expects us to give or share in response. God is called "the Father of lights" which means "the lights" are His offspring. In His sermon on the mount, Jesus described His followers as light and instructed them to shine for God's glory. "You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that ...

            Much, if not all, of what gets planted in the natural world does not have a choice in the matter. The Seed does not have any choice in when it is planted, where it is planted, how it is planted, who plants it or the purpose of its planting.     Now a tree or any other healthy plant will contain a strong root system. There are usually tells or signs in nature if a tree or plant is healthy and this reflects on the root system. The environment the seed developed under - the favorable conditions that kept the growth process flowing, proper soil and few weeds are all contributors to a healthy tree or plant.      The human being has Seeds that he/she can deposit every day - words and actions. The difference here is that people have the power of the deposit or the planting. Once our word-choice or act has been decided and seeded, either on purpose, casual conversation or in jest - the seed is planted.    ...

            I was sitting in on a business class recently where the professor mentioned organizations usually don't have leaders that are good managers and managers that are good leaders, you most likely will have one or the other and hopefully you have the right role in the correct business position (i.e. CEO, Program Dir., Staff Manager, etc..).      Although it may be rare, I believe leadership and managerial qualities can both reside within a person of the highest authority and responsibility at any organization.       A leader coming from a previous managing background or position would seem healthy and supportive for the leadership role. Managing before leading means delegating responsibilities within a team, assuring cohesiveness on the squad and supplying the group with the tools to keep them productive. All these managerial duties are hands-on or personal and are an important foundational element as a leader....