NCarolinian

Why do we celebrate our differences in America?  We have St. Patrick's Day, Cinco de Mayo, and the entire month of February dedicated to the remembrance of contributions made by the African-American/black race. What if I am not Irish?  Even if I participate for fun because I'm not Irish, I am alienated to some degree because of the difference.  What if I'm not Mexican?  Going to a Mexican restaurant  is about the extent of my involvement.  So, I feel a little dis-jointed again.  What if I'm not black?  I don't know of another race that has a whole month dedicated to their accomplishments.  This makes me somewhat uncomfortable.  Are not these all a source of division in our country? Some would say the same toward all the religious holidays, Christian and non-Christian, that we celebrate.  Some people desire to take the opportunity of The Celebration of Differences to force those "differences" upon others instead of presenting th...

Heaven, is it a good idea, an actual place, or spiritualization of many peoples hopes and beliefs? Heaven, the heavens, and the heavenlies are all words describing the physical realm.  The first heaven being earth's atmosphere.  The second pair of heaven words being used to depict the celestial universe.  However, there is a "third heaven" that is spoken of by the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:2. "I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven.  Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know - God knows." The "third heaven" is considered the dwelling place of God and His Glory.  Even though God is omnipresent, everywhere, He seems to have a highest heaven reserved for His immediate presence/glory (1 Ki. 8:27).  Many have made the mistake of worshiping the created place or space instead of the Creator Himself and Romans 1:25 warns us to this point. "They exchanged the truth about God for a l...

In the beginning GOD called a lot of things "good".  GOD called "day and night"/"light" good (Gen. 1:4).   He called "land and sea" good (Gen. 1:10).   "Vegetation" was called good (Gen. 1:11-12).   GOD called the "sun, moon, and stars" good (Gen. 1:14-18).   He called  "water creatures and birds" good (Gen. 1:20-21).   "Land creatures" were called good (Gen. 1:24-25).   GOD called humans, fruit trees, seed-bearing plants, every green plant, and dominion/rulership over His creatures" good (Gen. 1:26-31). Then there was "rest".  Not only was "rest" good but GOD blessed the seventh day and made it holy or separated apart from the other days. [There is a lesson unto itself here, so learn it quickly, I'm moving on.] So, GOD has created and naturally all He has created is good.  However, there is an order to things, because my GOD is not the god of chaos. Genesis 2:5-17 speaks...

A Place Of: Dwelling - Gen. 12:8 Worship - Gen. 12:8; John 4:20 Refuge - Gen. 14:10 Sacrifice - Gen. 31:54 Gifting - Gen. 48:22 Service - Ex. 3:12 Meeting - Ex. 4:27 Planting - Ex. 15:17 Encampment - Ex. 18:5 Calling - Ex. 19:3 Specialness - Ex. 19:12 God's Dwelling - Ex. 19:20 Instruction - Ex. 24:12 Planning - Ex. 26:30 Holiness - Eze. 43:12 Temptation - Matt. 4:8 Trouble - Matt. 17:20 Prayer - Matt. 14:23 Rest - Matt. 15:29 Revelation - Matt. 17:1 Solitude - John 6:15 A Place To: Visit - Deut. 1:6; 2:3 Hear from God - Deut. 5:4 Get Cleansed - Deut. 9:21 Gain Perspective - Deut. 32:49 Die In The LORD - Deut. 32:50 Attack From - 2 Kings 6:17 Be (in the Millenium) - Isaiah Inherit - Isaiah 57:13

The Tarheels since the Virginia game... The very next game Carolina had to play yet another VA team, this time of the Tech variety.  They played it close but eeked it out in the end. The following game, against Georgia Tech, UNC got behind and never could catch up.  Why always to this team I'll never know, but the Heels always have trouble in Atlanta.  This is a game they should have won but didn't - turnovers and lack of point making, it'll kill ya. The previous loss lead into the matchup against an opponent which Carolina has never lost to AT HOME - Clemson.  The streak continued.  But why we had to spot them double digit points to begin with I'll never know.  The VT game was that way.  The GT game was that way.  The next game was that way. So, UNC vs Miami was a game of hot and cold on the part of both teams.  The Heels were cold in the first half, Miami was hot.  The Tarheels finally got it together in the second half and Mia...

Back when I was growing up and my mom or dad had to call me into the house or into their presence for something, I either got my nickname, first full-name, first full-name and middle name, or the whole thing from beginning to end.  It depended on the situation as to which one of these I heard and the tone in which I heard it spoken.  I did not want to hear my entire name followed by an exclamation point.  Things never went well for me after this and who wants to go into the wrathful presence of a parent or parents after a summon like that?  Still I had to go or it would be even worse the next time I appeared because the charge of " not coming when I called you the first time" would be levied upon me on top of whatever I did to warrant the original thunder call.  This was normal for me and my brother in my household.  It was normal for my parents when they were growing up.  I've heard it was normal behavior for other families as well.  Howeve...

Since The Fall of Humanity, mankind has had slavery.  Greed and Laziness are slavery's parents.  If these two spirits jump on a man or woman with power, influence, and/or money - look out, slavery is in the making.  Another human may be the object of the enslavement or a group of people may be the object of enslavement. Also, an idea or technology could be considered an enslavement.  "...for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him." - 2 Peter 2:19   No matter what poison your slavery chooses to manifest itself, slavery is bad for everyone.  For the enslaver he/she is really part of the slavery "gig".  They are bound to the service that their slaves produce.  Also the enslaver has a ticking time-bomb waiting to "explode" or rebel via the slaves. I know we have been slave to sin almost from the word "go".  "Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin." - John 8:34  "...f...