NCarolinian

Some of us in this world have experienced a rough life growing up. Some of us keep what happened to our parents and ancestors chained to our lives for our burden to bear. In both cases, the start of a new and better life/lifestyle begins with a decision to pursue that. The decision to escape one's negative environment or past is helped with the right attitude/mindset - I am more than a survivor .  Once you have this determination in your mind and heart. Once you have sold-out to this attitude, a next step might be to acquire a support group. Find a group of friends or a mentor that will encourage and aide in your journey to make a break with the old and take a hold of the new. However, the MUST in this equation is a personal relationship with Christ Jesus. Once you have Christ as your Lord, Savior and Friend - He is the one that promises to stick closer than a brother ( Proverbs 18:24 ). He is the one that assures you that He will never leave you, nor abandon/forsake you (He...

God tabernacled or dwelt with humanity in many different manifested forms. Some of these appearances were the great cloud of thunder and lightening at the top Mt. Sinai, a pillar of cloud by day, a pillar fire by night, a burning, but not consuming bush. Other examples would be God's Glory resting on The Ark of the Covenant and the pre-incarnate Christ visiting as The Angel of the Lord. Then there was The Word of God becoming flesh and dwelling with us on earth as a man named Jesus of Nazareth. Then sometime after Jesus' death, burial, resurrection and ascension - Paul, in his first letter to the believers in Corinth stated -  Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; When the reader of Scripture arrives at 1 Corinthians 6: 9 it should make him/her ponder - when did this happen? God's Presence went from dwelling in Moses Tabernacle to Solomon's Temple to Christ Himself/Emanue...

There are a great number of characteristics in the relationship with my parents that bled over to my relationship with God. For this fact, I am eternally grateful. A few characteristics of the parent/son relationship I remember were - always carrying their words with me, always carrying their presence with me and somehow representing them wherever I went, even as a youngster. At least when I was growing up, when I was in school, at a friend's house, at an event or simply just away from home - I tried to live according to the standards instilled in me by my parents. I was and still am - blessed. Some kids might have had hovering moms and dads, but mine did not have to be. Somehow, some way they got the information they needed about me. Either I would come forth with the info or someone else provided (snitched) it on me. So, I came to the conclusion early on to just be honest and first with the information. Not to much later in life and still to this day I find that God is eve...