There is no greater love… that man has ever known… than the love that says, ” I will lay my life down for you”. In each case the the brave one who says this has made a choice of his/her life… that defines even eternity inside of the spirit… in each man involved. To all of our soldiers here in America and abroad who took a stand so that others may live: I want to say THANK YOU!!!!!! You are loved, respected , valued and very much appreciated! Be proud this Memorial Day that you made a great choice….to stand for FREEDOM!!!!

This is a song that I love by Jason Upton. I had listened so many times that the song rings it’s own melody in my head. Will man make himself ready to receive the child who gave it all for him? Is there room for that child in a man’s life? Does man make room in his busy schedule, his family and the many other things that preoccupy his days? I do think that the way in which Mary and Joseph were received was a foreshadowing of how the greatest gift to man has been received-with reluctance,and rejection. Those who choose not to reject Him, have made the best decision that they will ever make for eternity.

This is a familiar question to many of us:what are your dreams, your goals…what do you aspire to do? In our youth, we dream without restraint. Early developmental injuries, trauma or afflictions change what our perceived limits will be and we need to take time to heal. Paul urges in I Thess. 5:14 “encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone,” that includes ourselves!!! If things have happened to you that serve to destroy or discourage your dreams, it is important to not blame yourself. Choose to set a plan in action- to choose a different way to live. Seek to heal from those wounds of the past. Challenge any destructive, unproductive thought patterns and choose to think only things that will bring you life!!!!! People who choose not to heal , choose not to grow up in those afflicted areas. It may be unrecognized what holds you back…but ask yourself what do I want to be….?

Heaven is my throne, the earth is my footstool, What kind of house will you build for me? Says the Lord.Or where will my resting place be? Has not my hand made all these things?Acts 7:49 He goes on to call the the people stiff-necked. People who resist the Holy Spirit. I looked up ‘rest’ in Strong’s and the word ‘rest’ here in this verse is different than many others listed in Strong’s.It primarily means peace, quietness, prosperity. It does appear in most of the books in the New Testament.These are some other meanings: harmonious relationships between men, between nations, friendliness, quietness order in the church and harmonized relationships between God and man-from root word eiro (Gk).It seems clear to me that God expects us to maintain peaceful relationships with everyone including ourselves. The peace that we need to operate in is only found by His Holy Spirit. When we resist the Holy Spirit’s guidance, we break ourselves away from the only peace that man is able to uphold-that of the Holy Spirit….without that peace we wind up falling on our own fleshly desires, then we do not have the ability to maintain peace with others.

It was a magical time when we were just children, if we fell down and hurt ourselves, our mom would say “let me kiss it and make it better.” Being exposed to physical,emotional abuse…..was not such an easy thing to kiss away. Wouldn’t it be great if we could kiss all the world’s problems and make it feel better? It takes each one of us who care to make a difference, to reach out to someone hurting…someone who is hopeless, someone who needs to be loved. Have a wonderful day….and don’t forget to kiss the world….today.