It may not always be easy, but it is always right!

One of my scriptures for the day was Daniel 4. Aside from the fact that I am positive I cannot pronounce the name of the king or even Daniel's name (given by the king), this is a wonderful example of why it is important to listen to the Godly people in your life!

King Nebuchadnezzar (See what I mean?) had a dream and none of his "wise" men were able to interpret it for him. So what is a king to do? Call on Daniel (or Belteshazzar as the King named him) and order him to interpret it. You see, the King believed that Daniel had "the spirit of the holy gods" in him. {Side note... at this point in the King's life he did not believe in our one true God.} So, in comes Daniel... he listens to the King's dream and right away Daniel knew this wasn't a good dream for the King to have had. Daniel had to tell the King that the Lord was going to punish him for not believing in Him.

Wow! If I am the King and I hear that interpretation, I believe I might change my way. After all, the King believes Daniel is the only one who can correctly interpret the dream. But no... that is not what happens. The King ignores Daniel's warnings and sure enough the dream comes to fruition.

I know what you are thinking... You would never ignore such a warning. Are you sure about that? I think we do it all the time! As much as I would love to say I was perfect and obedient to God's Word I am not. I am human and along with that comes selfish behaviors and bad decisions. What can be done about it? LISTEN and then APPLY! Hear what the Godly people in your life are saying to you and apply the words of God to your life. It may not always be easy, but it is always right!

Where did that come from?

Isaiah 55:8 says... “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.

This morning, during a book study I participate in, we discussed the idea of where our thoughts come from. The leader of the group (Paul, for those who know him!) suggested that our thoughts come from three places.

1. God
2. Satan
3. Self.

It is up to us to choose the right thought to retain.

This discussion got me to thinking about how God has formed us to choose Him in EVERYTHING we do. He has made us so that loving Him is entirely up to us... completely.

It amazes me that our God could have created us so that each and every one of us worshipped and believed in Him always and without a second thought. That isn't what he did. He gave us free will. We have to choose. It also isn't just about one singular choice of believing in Him. Once we have done that we still have to follow Him. We can't just say, "Hey Jesus. I believe in you. I know you died for me. So, thanks for that. Oh and... Are we good now?" No, we have to believe and follow.

Deuteronomy 13:4 says...
It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him.

So as you move throughout your day remember to seek the Lord's guidance in EVERYTHING you do (Psalm 32:8). Remember that we are human and even though it was God who made us this way, it is up to us to live His way!

It's only hair, shoes... oh and your job

There was a lot going on tonight at ye old Ethridge house! Clayton had his hair cut tonight. Yes it was a major deal... check it out.


Clay before...




















Clay after...















Then he got home and had to do a little preparation for the PSAT test he is taking tomorrow before the marching band takes off for their very first competition in probably 20 years. (That is how long it has been since Eaton had a marching band.) So, as you can see... there is a lot going on there with him.

Dylan is finishing up his football season and getting ready to kick off basketball... Yes, that means I have to buy him another pair of shoes. Should a 14 year old really be wearing 10 1/2 to size 11 shoes? Shortly after basketball starts, he will be celebrating his 14th birthday so we are working on the plans for that weekend too.

The biggest thing we were dealing with tonight was the impending news from Bobby's company regarding layoffs happening December 18. The company began delivering the news to the staff this morning and it will take until Friday to speak with everyone. Rumors have been flying so that just added to the stress of the wait. Bobby was working a night shift today so he got into work around 7pm. I didn't hear until 10pm that he is NOT a part of the layoff. While I exhaled a breath of relief, he went on to say he lost one of his team members who was asked to leave immediately and because he had been written up just under (by three days) a year ago, he would not be receiving any severance package. So after 10 years of service... tonight was his last night. So my relief was great regarding our personal situation, yet I can't seem to shake this person's situation from my mind. Three days away from his write-up falling of his record and he could have possibly had a different result for the evening.

I looked up the word forgive on www.youversion.com. It pulled 86 verses. The one that stood out for me tonight was...

2 Chronicles 7:14
if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

You know what I don't see in there... Statements like this: After one year without any further transgressions, your sin will drop from your record and you can start anew.

There isn't any clause like that with our Lord. If you ask to be forgiven, and you are truly repentant, then you are forgiven. It is over. Gone. You have a "clean slate." If you died the next minute after seeking forgiveness, God isn't going to look you in the eye and say that you were on probation from your sin and you died before that probationary period was up and you cannot enter the Kingdom. No! He is going to say to you, "Welcome home my child."

The Assumption of Flu

This past weekend and through Monday my entire family was stricken by what was believed to be H1N1. I say "believed to be" because the doctors aren't even testing for it anymore. The spread is so vast and there really isn't much they can do so they just treat the symptoms and assume you have it.

While I was enjoying my forced break from work, I kept thinking about the fact that the doctor's just assumed what we had was H1N1. Seems to me to be a pretty odd thing for a doctor to do... Assume that is. However, isn't that what we do all the time? We assume somebody has told our un-churched friend about Christ so we don't do it. We assume someone is showing that homeless person the love of Christ. We assume someone is taking care of feeding the hungry. The truth is Jesus said in Luke 10:2, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few."

We have to quit assuming someone else is doing what Christ has called us to do. Even if someone else is doing it, Christ called every Christian to show the love of Christ and share the Good News because the harvest is plentiful! The thought of leaving fruit on the tree to rot because there aren't enough people to take care of the harvest is distressing. Who has God brought in your life recently that maybe is the person you are being called to reach out to. Why aren't you doing it? What is holding you back. Use an alias if you must but post it and let's talk through it right here.