DUCT DYNASTY FAMILY/PARENTING: WRITING CHECKS YOU $&$ Can't Cash

Fools’ words get them into constant quarrels; they are asking for a beating. Prov. 18:6 NLT

Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.  Prov. 18:21  KJV

Have you ever wrote a bad check?  I have....I'd be bold enough to say every person that has, had, or have a checking account must have.   Whether it was accidental or intentional once you do it, you realize there is nothing good about it.  Not only did the bill you attempted to pay doesn't get paid, but you also get hit with multiple penalties which can sometimes exceed $25....so now you owe more than you began.

Speaking can be like writing bad checks.   We know people that love to gossip and as they are doing so there will come a day when all of that will come to a head and they  have to balance those bad (accounts) accusations, and the only way of doing that is during the presentation and confrontation of truth.  Which for some will put them in an overdraft in regards to the relationships with all those people that are involved, or were involved in what was said.  

 In parenting, we sometimes can write back checks with our mouth.  How.....when we tell our kids the consequences for certain behaviors but yet when those behaviors are exhibited we do nothing.  See then the kid doesn't believe their are consequences for their actions.   Or when we tell our kids we will reward them for certain behaviors only to never make good on those promises.   That teaches them we can't be trusted.

The scripture talks about the power in our tongue, and everyone knows that the tongue can build up, and decimate.   The question is as a husband, wife, father or mother which does your tongue do?  If Christ tells us that we will have to, meaning not optional, (Matt. 12:36) I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak.  Do we use words that build up or tear down?  Are they seen as careless because they don't take into consideration the feelings of the very people we are talking to, or about?    This is why we are encouraged to let our words be few......because those that like to talk....will reap the benefits/consequences of what they have sown.  LGLP

DUCT DYNASTY FAMILY/PARENTING: To Train or Not To Train

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.  Prov. 22:6 KJV

Those who spare the rod of discipline hate their children.  Those who love their children care enough to discipline them. Prov. 13:24 NLT

Discipline your children while there is hope.  Otherwise you will ruin their lives.  Prov. 19:18 NLT



It really doesn't matter who you are.....there is one thing we all agree on.....THAT POTTY TRAINING IS A MUST, and while it maybe debated as to when that should start.....what's not up for debate is should one do it....POTTY TRAIN THAT IS.   We all know what the ramifications are to not potty training a child.   Can you imagine 6+ able body (sound minded) child needing to have their parents clean up with bio-messes simply because someone didn't want to train them.

This is no different when it comes to discipline though.   The Bible is pretty clear on this on the latter two verses......if you love them  you will discipline them and if you don't you ...THE BLAME IS ON YOU..will ruin their lives.    I was just getting ready this morning and they had the interview of the mother of the two brothers that conducted and carried out the Boston Bombing.   This interview was taken days before the last brother was apprehended....and she emphatically stated her sons had absolutely nothing to do with this.  Notice the father wasn't interviewed or ever mentioned.  Is this a case of a single mom, left to train, raise two boys....that maybe she didn't because she was too busy trying to make a living for them, and not a life?  To TRAIN or NOT TO TRAIN.

I know parents who currently are now reaping the consequences of not having disciplined their children.  Father's who son's learned to run from their responsibilities (babies, jobs, life in general) because they watched their father run from his responsibilities.   There are daughters who seek for self worth in men because of not just the father not being in the home, but watching mom scheme how to get and keep a man.    I know parents who exalted sports & academia instead instilling a strong faith that yields character and are now wishing they had it all back to do over.    I know parents who have allowed their kids to dictate to them what they want to do, and what they won't do....and these parents are at their wits end because they can't get control over their kids.    I know parents that thought a spanking was wrong so they put their kid in time out, and now their beautiful son/daughter are serving time. 

I know people that will read this and say Raymond, you're wrong and kids should be given the freedom to do as they please.....and to each of you I say, I'll let one of my kids come and crap on your floor and see if that's ok.  I seriously doubt it.  Untrained & undisciplined kids turn out to be disrespectul adults that disregard life.    Hey I'm against child abuse 100%, but I'm also for child rearing 100%......  My kids are the wonderful kids they are simply because I have had to ( a few times...not many at all) discipline them for their behavior....and as they have been with many of you, and you've seen them around me.....we have a wonderful parent/child relationship.  That's all the result of me loving my children enough to devote time to disciplining and training them up in the WORD and as the WORD tells us as parents to....and my HEAVENLY FATHER does the same to me.   LGLP

DUCT DYNASTY FAMILY/PARENTING : ALL IN MY FAMILY

..........a false witness who pours out lies, a person who sows discord in a family.

²⁰ My son, obey your father’s commands,
and don’t neglect your mother’s instruction.  Proverbs 6:19-20

 

 

I remember growing up seeing Leave it to Beaver, Good Times, the Fact of Life, My Three Sons, and other shows that gave their interpretation of what family was/is.   Looking at the brokenness in mine, but realizing it was filled with blessings made me appreciate GOD's hand over us.   Featured is a clip from the popular show Duct Dynasty, and no matter what scripted or unscripted drama they have EVERY episode ends with the family (some biological, some only employees of Duck Commander but considered family) at a dinner table all focused on prayer and fellowship.

 

Solomon penned the book of Proverbs as an outpouring of the Spirit of God upon him regarding how to do relationships.    We all know what a gossip does to the family....it maligns it, rips them apart, even pitting them against each other, and this scene depicted here doesn't happen.   People are too hurt, too angry to unforgiving to sit down and share a meal together. So in today's scripture Solomon informs us that we need to listen, remember and follow up with the instructions given to us from our parents (physical and spiritual).  

 

The truth is some of us may not have gotten good sound advice from our mother, or father or both.....but somewhere in your life the TRUTH was given to you....and you knew it.  We know truth when we hear it, because it can't be debated against.  It resonates in us....and we hold on to it....even if we don't even do it.  MAYBE the TRUTH was love your neighbor as yourself.  Maybe the truth was train up your child(ren) in the way they should go.....Maybe it was Love your wife as Christ Loved the Church, Maybe it was respect your husband, Maybe honor they father and mother....mabye even LOVE GOD, then LOVE PEOPLE...whatever it was....what did you do with the truth?

 

So as I try to highlight a few snapshots of this past weekend message......I leave you with this question:  Do you bring the family together (work family, biological family, extended family) using wisdom, or is your family fractured and distant due to foolishness?    I can honestly say......this lesson was learned a great deal at SSM, where I learned what it meant to cultivate relationships with people so much so that they didn't begin as my family....but we are fnow amily, and we genuinely love one another even though I am no longer there.  LGLP

DUCT DYNASTY: STICKY FRIENDSHIPS...We are friends! REALLY?

Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise,    but the companion of fools will suffer harm.  Proverbs 13:20

I remember as a kid watching the Incredible Hulk, and how at the end of every episode David Banner (the scientist) was seen walking by himself....hitch-hiking.   As the Incredible Hulk no one wanted to hang with him of course, because he was violent and volatile.   But even as a mild mannered scientist you quickly saw that not many people hung with him then either, and even more so most of them didn't have his best interests at heart either.   I'd almost be willing to say...he had little to NO FRIENDS, and that's not good either, rather sad.  What about you?  Do you have good friends?

King Solomon was known as the wisest man to ever live.   As a matter of fact, when God asked him what would you like to have (since he was already king,and prosperous); & King Solomon asked for wisdom.    This verse tells us a lot about relationships, and the importance of determining who it is we ultimately walk with.

The first half of the verse contains a promise:  WHOEVER WALKS WITH, ASSOCIATES WITH, HANGS OUT WITH the wise becomes wise.  The question : Are there any wise people in your circle of friends/influence?  What have you learned from them that has made you wiser in life?  Wiser in your marriage?  Wiser in your finances?  Wiser in your education?   Do you also bring wisdom (knowledge rightly applied) to the table?

Now the second part of the verse contains a stern warning:  But (a contrast) the companion of fools will suffer harm.  Notice it doesn't say the companion/the friend of fools will become foolish.   No it says the companion/the friend/someone who hangs with fools will eventually suffer harm.   How many kids/teens/adults have gotten hurt because they were hanging with the wrong people.   I have friends that were in car accidents that weren't drinking but the people they were "hanging with" were.   I know people who are now heavily monitored by law enforcement because they happened to be hanging with/hanging around suspect individuals.    I know people who marriages have fallen apart because they couples they hang around don't have moral marriages.   We all were kids once and got hurt because of the foolish actions of others.  But as adults are we keeping good GODLY company, or are we taking hits in our relationships because of our companionship with fools?

So the greatest question is now........as we think about WHO ARE FRIENDS ARE is:  IS YOUR LIFE HEADED IN THE DIRECTION YOU WANT IT TO GO BECAUSE OF YOUR FRIENDS or have you began to drift in a direction that causes you to pause and say I NEED NEW FRIENDS?   If that's you.....consider getting into a loving community of people headed in the direction you desire you life to be heading.    LGLP  (#joinagrowthgroupTODAY) 

DUCT DYNASTY FRIENDSHIPS: That Dog Don't Hunt

¹² This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. ¹³ There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.  John. 15:12-13

Anyone remember this movie: Fox & the Hound?  By far one of my favorite and first Disney movies that I really really GOT IT!  You know....about Friends.  Cherilyn has always made it a point to mention the desire to me that we'd  be friends, and not just friends but become one another's best friends.   See our marriage story is a unique one where we didn't get to know each other, or date for months or years before we became "comfortable" enough to pledge our lives to one another.  Nope, we met December 24, 2000, I proposed in February 2001, and we were married on May 27th 2001.  So we, following the Holy Spirit's prompting/leading married and were not each other's true friend.    I had never been married, and came from dysfunctional ones.   She had been married and divorced....both with a kid (which adds other dynamics and complexities) and we were learning each others ways, habits, etc.

Copper in this movie had decided he would stand between his master's muzzle and Tod the Fox, to say if you are going to kill him, that bullet, those buckshots will have to go through me.   Amazingly enough it shows the master his commitment to his friendship and the master ultimately surrenders and chooses not to kill Tod.    Jesus did the same thing for us....He stood between the wrath of GOD that we deserved....that because of our sins being upon us that we should be taken out before we destroy another life, and Jesus stood before the FATHER and between us and took it a step further, He actually took on what we should've gotten.   So as He's with his disciples trying to explain the WAY things really are suppose to be....He tells them that there is no greater love...than when a friend lays down their life for another.   Is that how you are in your friendships?

Cherilyn and I are there, and each day that commitment grows stronger.   I have friends....REAL FRIENDS and they know who they are, who are the model for this as well....where I have laid down my life for them, and they have for me.   I do have some casual friends, and Facebook friends that I too have an appreciation for as well....but to have a few that have never left my side (sure they got married, moved, etc.) but if I needed....they'd drop it all to be there for me I'm truly thankful for.   But this JESUS died for us, even when we were disregarding Him, and I wonder when and if our CHRISTIANITY will evolve to this degree of unconditional love....and commitment?  Will we forgive even though we know _______________________ (fill in the blank...we all have a past that we've screwed up) that they did?   This picture was taken 7  years ago for our 5th year Anniversary....and despite all that we been through THIS IS MY BEST FRIEND.  She gets my BEST and my WORST, and few other people get all of that.....and remain my friends....but I guess that's why they are my friends, and I'm theirs! 

 

I'm not Christ, I am an imitator, and imitation of Him, so remember that....as I continue to do my utmost to LOVE GOD, and LOVE (each of) YOU even as it may get lost in translation....if you know me...you know I'm generally trying to whole-heartedly love....I pray you do the same for His GLORY!  LGLP

 

DUCT DYNASTY: FRIENDSHIPS, WHAT ARE THEY FOR?

A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need.  Proverbs 17:17

In the 80's this group of talented entertainers debut a song called "That's What Friends Are For" and it touched and topped the Billboard Charts....you wanna know why?   Because as a culture we know that friends are important.   We know that (the lyrics say) friends are for " good times, and bad times," and we know according to the verse above this is what TRUE friends are for and about.   But that doesn't complete the verse or the sentence...it continues to say "I'll be by your side forever more, that's what friends are for...." now this is when relationships get sticky.   When friends aren't there when you need them most. I know for a fact when we've been disappointed we've said " awh...who needs them (friends)?  THE ANSWER IS YOU DO...WE DO....WE ALL DO!    The word tells us:  Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. ¹⁰ If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. ¹¹ Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? ¹² A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.  Eccl. 4: 9-12 

This is when things get sticky for real, because we forget ....you've all forgotten an engagement before.   If you're human...you've missed a birthday.  If you're human...you may have even missed a friends family member funeral.   If you're human you couldn't make the _________________ (fill in the blank)......so now what?  Does this means you aren't real friends?  Possibly if this is the norm...that you, or they never make an effort for one another's engagements.   But this is the part about being an adult that sucks!  YES I SAID IT SUCKS....because the older we get for some reason it's harder for us to forgive.   I remember having my feelings hurt as a kid, but that lasted seconds because we'd be out playing, running, jumping, skipping....(OK, maybe I took it too far...fat kids rarely skip....and I was a pretty chubby kid...lol) but you understand....we didn't and it was almost as if we couldn't stay mad long.....have we lossed that gift in being grown?  To forgive......?  In every episode of DUCT DYNASTY there is always a conflict....much like in real life.....but at the end of every episode they are all holding hands at dinner, saying grace, and sharing in fellowship.  I know it's a TV SHOW, and it's supposed to be reality......but don't you think...that's the way REAL REALITY should be in our lives......isn't that GOD's version of what and how things are SUPPOSED TO BE?




If you as a friend or your friend(s) have messed up, and missed____________......doesn't a real friend forgive?  Doesn't a real friend have the Spirit of Christ dwelling in them that says "it's ok....I understand" and then you move on?  As we continue to move towards this Sunday for Pt. 2 of our new series....Duct Dynasty...who do you need to forgive?  Since He has forgiven us so much.....who do you need to call, email....have coffee with to apologize to?  He has given us today....I hope you do something to repair a relationship & bring a smile to the face of GOD!  LGLP

WISDOM for MARRIAGES: WHAT DOES YOUR SAY ABOUT GOD

You cry out, “Why doesn’t the Lord accept my worship?” I’ll tell you why! Because the Lord witnessed the vows you and your wife made when you were young. But you have been unfaithful to her, though she remained your faithful partner, the wife of your marriage vows.

¹⁵ Didn’t the Lord make you one with your wife? In body and spirit you are his. And what does he want? Godly children from your union. So guard your heart; remain loyal to the wife of your youth. ¹⁶ “For I hate divorce!” says the Lord, the God of Israel. “To divorce your wife is to overwhelm her with cruelty,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “So guard your heart; do not be unfaithful to your wife.”  Mal. 2:14-16

Remember I started off this short take on marriages with the question about did you feel like your prayers weren't being answered......well I want to return to that tarmac as we try to land the plane on MARRIAGE FOR DUMMIES or WISDOM for MARRIAGES before I leave you guys to head toward the pulpit for Sunday morning.   Either you a byproduct of divorce, going through a divorce, been divorced, or know someone who has gone through a divorce.....I don't really care what the circumstances were......the scripture is the scripture....GOD HATES DIVORCE and it overwhelms the wife, the husband too, and especially the children with cruelty because you are literally being put off....put away....so what is God's encouragement to marriages........GUARD YOUR HEARTS!

Now I want to stop here.....because men aren't always the culprit (WE'VE ALL BEEN UNFAITHFUL TO A DEGREE.....repent now) ....and they too are the victims of unfaithfulness....so I want to say again....GUARD YOUR HEARTS.....why because that's what the enemy likes to go after.   He again wants you to become discontent......beit through reading books, watching movies/sitcoms and or commercials that will peak your lustful curiosities of is there is better out there for you?   You spend time fantasizing and discussing what it would be like if.........and while it always begins innocently the root of it is in the garden.   GOD had provided everything they needed.....but he slithered up to Eve and peaked her curiosity over the only thing God said they couldn't have.   Nothing has changed......GOD has given, blessed us with many things and if we take our focus off of all that we have....to turn our hearts toward the ONE THING we can't or shouldn't entertain you are talking to, and with the serpent all over again.   Remember he desires to steal your heart, kill your joy, and destroy you and generations to come......if you let him.

Pictured above is a witness stand....and simply put.....IF ON TRIAL.....WHAT DOES YOUR MARRIAGE INFORM OTHERS ABOUT  GOD?  DOES IT TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT GOD?

GOD's intentions for marriage were that we would inspire others to desire and dream of marriages like ours.   Our kids would be fed the benefits of a Godly marriages.  Our communities would be safer...because Godly marriages.   Our world would be a much better place because of Godly marriages.   More people would come to know God, because of Godly marriages....because they were instituted to point people back to Him....His Glory.   Maybe it been rough for you.....so my encouragement is focus on doing your part loving GOD, and loving your mate (back to GOD if you have to).   Stop complaining, and start praising GOD for he/she does do, and leave the rest to the Holy Spirit to do His greatest miracle.   See you Sunday....LGLP

MARRIAGE FOR DUMMIES: WIVES RESPONSE-ABILITY

³³ So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.  Eph. 5:33

GO BACK AND LOOK AT THIS PICTURE......STUDY IT!   See how she looks up to him, and how his gaze is focused on her.......is this the picture of your relationship with husband?   Or do you look down on him?  It's often joked about and presumed that when talking to your husband, you feel like you have to tell him things, 2-3x before he hears or begins listening to you.   For others you actually believe repetition is the best solution and the only solution to getting things YOU WANT done... Proverbs 19:3, and Proverbs 27:15 has something to say to this wife.

So Paul is closing off Eph. 5 by repeating something that he stated earlier in his letter to the Church in Ephesus...that wives must respect her husband, and he knew that due to what happen in the garden this would not be an easy task for you.  God said that in Genesis 3:16 that the woman would desire to control her husband.  Which is why words such as hen-pecked are used to describe marriages where the wife controls her husband.  This is why in many sitcoms the woman is the dominating figure and the husband is the subordinate.   It's why woman's rights have soared to the heights that it has.   There is almost nowhere a woman can't go, and trust me I'm not advocating for my wife to barefoot and pregnant...NEVER DO I WANT THAT.  But let me ask this is this what GOD's design was for His most treasured & most beautiful creation?   Did He want you to have to contend for positions of authority over men so much so that His first human creation has been deemed as irrelevant, and an unneccesary factor in the family?   Was single parenting in the original design?  Did HE want to see man so disrepected that women would be with women, or that they would consider having a child, but not having a husband to help parent that child.  Was it HIS design that the only encouragement the husband would recieve would be in the boardroom or locker room?

I know....I probably got off on a tangent.....but are we the better, really when the Biblical Definition of Marriage is under attack?  I don't hold women responsible for what happen in the garden, I side with GOD on this one.....Adam was right there, and said nothing so it's his fault, not hers.    But what about your marriage.......does your husband feel like he is King of the Castle?   Do you make him feel like he is the GO TO guy when it comes to ANY decisions that need to be made?   Does his WORD, his advice HOLD MORE WEIGHT than anyone else's?  I understand that men (cause I am one) are somewhat egocentric......and like women based on how they feel about themselves means a lot.   So do you make him feel like HE's the MAN....or do you make him feel like less than a man?  Paul said you MUST (not conditional.....not an option...not if he's doing......)RESPECT HIM........I wonder are we living in a time that because of the disrepect of the modern husband we are suffering so.   REMEMBER the CRAZY CYCLE from YESTERDAY?????  IF YOU in your heart really don't respect him, what really are you saying?  LGLP

MARRIAGE FOR DUMMIES: HUSBANDS RESPONSE-ABILITY

For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her ²⁶ to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word.  ²⁷ He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault.  Eph. 5:25-27

This is probably one of the most weightiest instructions given to husbands regarding their responsibility towards their wife, their treasure, their gift from God, and it's also where we struggle at the most.   Can you believe nowadays there is a business market for DIVORCE CAKES as pictured here?

Let's start at the beginning what does it mean to LOVE YOUR WIFE AS CHRIST LOVED the Church?  Christ whole purpose was to redeem that which was broken through sacrificing His very life for the object that needed to be redeemed.   Your wife (this may come as a surprise to some of you) isn't perfect.  You can't fix her, and Christ doesn't command, or suggest you to try...but He does command you to LOVE her, which means sacrifice, give yourself up, your will, your agenda up to make sure she is held in high esteem.   This means you may have to watch a few LifeTime Movies (ouch.....this hurts me....I have to start doing this personally), you may have to accompany them shopping, or at the Botanical Garden, or even taking vacations to places she'd like to go....but really you are suppose to make her holy (notice it didn't say happy, happy, happy)  by washing her with the WORD.  

HOW?  Well in order for you to wash her, cleanse her with the WORD, this means you have to be leading spiritually in the home.  You have to be leading family devotions, you have to be making her feel secure that you have a good handle on the faith, family, and finances so she can be free to (not spend the money..lol) but to be  the mother, the nurturer, the wife, the friend, the partner he created her to be......when FAITH, the FAMILY, or the FINANCES are the concerns that weigh her down, you won't get to have FUN (if you know what I meant) and your FUTURE is bleak my friend.

SO, what are you to do?  If  you have a tablet, go on Kindle or Nook and download a family devotional and commit to doing it.   Also download a devotional strictly for you and her, or maybe just open up the Bible and start in the book Songs of Solomon and read a few verses and reflect on their sentiments for each other, and ask yourself where do you and her line up, or feel about each other.   Sign up for the AOM (Art of Marriage) weekend conferences at one of our campuses (calvaryonline.cc) and most of all don't leave your RESPONSE-ABILITY up to someone else to tell your wife how good the meal was, how nice the house looks, or how beautiful/talented she is.....because when you do....remember like Eve, you'll find a snake talking to your wife, and if you do nothing as Adam did (he was right there....read it for yourself) it doesn't get better, it gets worse.     LGLP 

WHAT's THE CONDITION of your WORSHIP/MARRIAGE?

You cry out, “Why doesn’t the Lord accept my worship?” I’ll tell you why! Because the Lord witnessed the vows you and your wife made when you were young. But you have been unfaithful to her, though she remained your faithful partner, the wife of your marriage vows.  Mal. 2:14


¹⁴ For the Christian wife brings holiness to her marriage, and the Christian husband brings holiness to his marriage. Otherwise, your children would not be holy, but now they are holy.   1Cor.7:14

This weekend we are beginning a new series DUCT DYNASTY regarding wise living as it relates to MARRIAGE, and I want to prepare those that will be in our services, those that are curiously seeking, as well as those that may not be able to attend one of our wonderful services.

So if there were/are cycles in marriages which would you be in currently THE ENERGIZED CYCLE or CRAZY CYCLE.     I ask because you are really in one or the other.  See in the ENERGIZE cycle you are (husbands) loving your wife......and(wives) you are respecting your husbands. But in the CRAZY CYCLE where you are not respecting him, because he hasn't been loving towards you, and because she has been DISrepecting you, you'd rather spend time in your man cave (since dog houses have been obliterated) watching...or playing online...   

See the truth is....when you are in the CRAZY CYCLE prayers aren't being answered and your worship is stymied, your prayers are ineffective because you are not loving God's daughter properly, nor is your husband being held in high esteem.   So you are stuck....your moral/spiritual compasses are broke if not altogether out of control....so the poor kids are raising cain because no one is living holy.  No one is being loving.  They can be, and are a reflection of your marriage.....so what's one to do.  I'll tell you what to do.....

1) Apologize!  I don't care who started it, but somebody needs to finish it, and if you are waiting on your spouse....you are wrong.   God isn't pleased with either one of you....so there's nobody like YOU to make it right first.

2) PRAY!  Get together and go before GOD as you have apologized to each other, apologize to Him for defaming what HIS idea was for marriage in the first place.   His idea was that it would mirror the relationship of His marriage to each of us, His children.

3) BE INTENTIONAL about getting into relationships with couples that are where you want to be.   Maybe get a marriage mentor, seek & commit to attending a marriage retreat THIS QTR.

4) Make it a point to do something special, or especially in mind for your spouse, no matter what they did, or you....always seek to please GOD in how you appreciate your spouse.

LOVE GOD, LOVE PEOPLE........(it begins at home)

APRIL FOOLS?? Whose the real fool?

Doing wrong is fun for a fool, but living wisely brings pleasure to the sensible.  Prov. 10:23

And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’
²⁰ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’  ²¹ “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.” Luke 12:19-21

When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. 1 Cor. 13:11

We all have done stupid, silly, and/or foolish things as kids.   From sneaking out, to making fun of other people, to cursing, jumping off..., and even trying to fulfill dares.  That was me, fulfilling dares.   It wasn't enough that I was a chubby little (how can you be chubby and little) jolly kid...and I was made fun of because of my roundness or that my skin had blotches in it because of my slight vitiliago......but I always felt I needed to prove a point.  So if it wasn't shocking people with my speed for my size, it was " I dare you to:" talk to that girl, jump off that porch, try these peppers....and the list goes on an on.  

But you know what...there comes a point that you transition from the foolish of your youth, and then you fall into the foolishness of an adult.   You know what I'm talking about:  where you stereotype people.  Where we treat folks differently based on the color of their skin, or their economic status, or what High School they went to, or if their kids are "normal", ......and this list of our foolish ways continues.   We even get mad at, or frustrated by non-believers cause they don't act like believers.  If this isn't foolish thinking.......remember THEY HAVEN'T BEEN WON OVER by YOUR GREAT LOVE......   So then we according to the above scripture Christ calls the person a fool that stores up earthly wealth but who doesn't have a rich relationship with GOD.....because if you had a rich relationship with GOD, you'd be a focused giver...not a foolish hoarder.

So as I try to close this.....I look at Paul's encouragement about growing up.  I love to have a good time, as much as anybody else.....but I don't ever want to do it at the expense and laughter of others.  Maybe as a teenager it was permissible....NO IT REALLY WASN'T,  but as an adult....I believe I have grown up a lot, and a good time to me is not about making fun of people, or amassing the newest things, but a good time to me is taking what GOD has given me and using them all as vehicles to express my appreciation to Him as the Giver and to others to inviting them to fellowship with me.  Simply put.....LOVING GOD, and LOVING PEOPLE.....the fool is the person who doesn't Love God and Love people....because at some point your life will too, be required of you!  LGLP