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Below is a letter that my grandson is dedicating to his favorite blogger, Alice. I wrote it down on paper before he went to school this morning under his strict observation and just now finding time to get it posted. When he comes in from school he loves to check out her blog site to see if she has anything new. He is such a little scientist and her postings are right up his alley. http://catsmeow150.blogspot.com/
I would like to dedicate the following poem to my best friend, Patty Fields. We have known each other since 1980 but became fast friends in 1984. She has been with me through thick and thin. When I am feeling down all I have to do is pick up the phone or drive over to her place or have her come to my place and we laugh so hard that by the time our conversation or visit is over I am so uplifted and rejuvenated that I am ready to go on.
Being a Christian is like being a pumpkin.
God lifts you up, takes you in, and washes all the dirt off of you.
He opens you up, reaches deep inside and scoops out all the yucky stuff -- including the seeds of doubt, hate, greed, etc.
Then He carves you a new smiling face, and puts His light inside of you to shine for the entire world to see.
If you are going to take up your pastor's and pastor's wife's time in seeking their advice about a situation then make sure that you have prayed before doing so. Why? you may ask. So that when you go in to talk to them, you will have an open mind, heart, and spirit. Then you will be ready to hear and receive the advice from the man of God and his wife that you need for the situation that you are facing in your life. If you are not going to be willing to accept what it is they are going to tell you (whether you like what they have to say or not, because sometimes it is a tough pill to swallow) then don't bother wasting their time or yours. I have found that if I pray before counseling, I can swallow that bitter pill much easier with the spirit of God than if I try to swallow it with a carnal attitude. Yes, with a carnal attitude I must say it gets lodged in my throat and just won't go down and becomes very bitter and causes spiritual heartburn.
I had been having severe pain in my neck, so my primary doctor gave me several injections of cortisone, over a period of time, in the area where the pain was located. Then he decided that it was time to do an MRI of my neck to see what was going on in there. My insurance first wanted him to do x-rays. So he did. Nothing was found except a lot of swelling. So they said he could do a cat scan. So he did that. They still refused the MRI. So after arguing with them for about 3 months he decided to send me to a neurologist. He said that the insurance never denies them an MRI. So off I went to see the Neurologist.I have been thinking back on this conversation quite a bit lately and I must say, BOY WAS I WRONG! It is his calling in life. He does this everyday. This doctor knows what to look for and he sees the signals and he knows the warning signs that signal when something is not right. Something is wrong and we need to get on it right away before it is to late. He can detect that things are not as they should be in a person's life just by the way they answer the questions he ask. The way they walk and talk.
That is how it is with our Pastor. He is our spiritual neurologist. That is his calling. He knows when there is something wrong in our spirit. The man of God in our life can discern when things are out of balance in our walk with God just by the way we walk, talk, attend the house of God and the way we worship when we are in the house of God.
The pastor can tell us what it is that we need to do and we will argue "But pastor I don't have a problem with that" We don't see what he sees. Like pastor preached the other night, he is up on the wall watching for our souls. He can see much further than we can. That is what he is suppose to do. When he comes to us and tells us that we need to stay away from something or someone or we need to change something in our life, we need to listen. If we don't we are headed for spiritual disaster. The pastor will then tell us that we need a spiritual MRI. We need to find an altar and let God search our hearts, minds, and souls for anything that is not like God. That is a spiritual MRI. Then we need to under go surgery and let God remove all those things from us that are not like him.
If I had not gone to get the MRI I would not have found out about the tumor while it was small. It would have continued to grow and then it could really cause me some serious problems and maybe even death. Now that we know it is there the doctors will be keeping a very close eye on it. I am on medication and will be having MRI's to monitor the growth. If it becomes alarming to big I will have to under go surgery. It is a good thing I listened to the neurologist. I could have walked away and said "Nonsense, I don't need this MRI. I am fine the way I am." It is the same way with our walk with God. Listen to your pastor! Listen to God! Get the tumor of sin out of your heart while it is small before it grows into something that consumes your life and overpowers you to where you no longer have control of your own life or even worse causes you a spiritual death.
Bottom line is, my neurologist was right and SO IS YOUR PASTOR. So don't become a Pain In The Neck! We need to learn to JUST LISTEN AND OBEY! My niece, Yvonne Hinshaw wrote a poem that sums it up like this:
Hush The Blood Is Speaking
I heard it calling and beckoning me
Let me cover you child and set you free
Instead of listening I turned up the music of life
I was happy where I was to heed the voice would bring strife
What is this you ask that is speaking to me?
It’s the blood that is flowing from Calvary
I watch as it trickles from the cross to the ground.
I turn to run and get away from the sound
I don’t need you I cry I’m fine this way
But the blood continued calling everyday
You need this my child you can’t live without blood
Let life flow through you from the crimson flood
I tried to talk louder to drown the noise out
But the blood cried louder it began to shout
You can’t silence me no matter how strong your will
The louder you get I’ll get louder still
Just hush when the blood is speaking and let it work in you
For the blood will be your strength in everything you do
Without my blood you will spiritually die
Just let me cover you I heard the blood cry
I finally stopped running I had become so weak
I heard a voice whisper I have the strength that you seek
I turned to look and there was the blood
I knew I couldn't out run Calvary’s flood
I cried out cover me with the blood so strong
Let it cover every sin every wrong
I’m tired of running and tired of seeking
I heard a voice say hush when the blood is speaking
Here is a picture of a bulletin board I did for our junior Sunday School class about six or seven years ago. I ran across it this morning and since it is October I thought I would share it with you.


Have you ever had one of those days where you are so emotionally and physically exhausted that you just want to crawl in a hole somewhere and hide from everything and everyone? Then you think; "Oh man, I have to cook dinner, clean up the mess, get ready and go to church, put on a smile as if I am full of energy and all is well."