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Created by the talented [Link To User poulynoe]")     "Prompt: What is the best way to show a stranger the love of Christ?"I love a prompt like this. I can sink my teeth into it for it gets down to the nuts and bolts of being a Christian. The best way to show the love of Christ to anybody is to simply do the next right thing each time. If we see somebody in need then meet that need. Don't ask "What is in this for me? Ask, what is best for them? What does the next person need? I have walked up to perfect strangers in restaurants and paid for their meals. I have taken homeless people around to agencies to get them housed and employed. Being a Christian means doing the next right thing foor the nextr right reason.  Prompt: "I had church yesterday and preached last night so I'm behind the eight ball. Sorry. On my way back from safari in cyberspace I saw Jenn Webster   who writes
I know a lot of churches arre still shut down. It seems a shame that churches will voluntarily abstain from services to save lives but the nightclubs are open for people to huddle into and breathe all over each other. We all know that the patrons of bars are not observing mask rules and social distancing where churches would. I say we shut down the liquor stores and nightclubs first. Then this thing will get under control. However, we know they aren't going to shut down the titty bars and night clubs. They've got to be able to sin and frollick and destroy themselves. That's why God prophesied that pandemics would come one after anothher and they will. The new "Delta" variant will mutate and become another variant and people will continue to huddle in the mating centers and spread it. "Prompt: We need Joy as we need air. We need Love as we need water. We need each other as we need the earth we share. Maya AngelouWhat do you think? It has been a good while since I did an entry for the BCoF. I've been working like five jobs so I have been very busy. Today is a rare day and I find myself temporarily idle. So i thought I'd try to blog. I agree with Maya Angelou. In my belief humans were created to serve their Creator and each other. As such we miss out on our purpose when we only think of ourselves. Every major religion, including Wicca and the pagan religions, have doing good as their rule. The Wiccan rede says that witches are never to cast an evil spell but only spells for good. Christianity says to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Islam has a similar rule as does Buddhism and Hinduism. Love is universal truth. "Prompt: “Life would be tragic if it weren’t funny.” Stephen HawkingWhat do you think is tragic and/or funny about life?" I agree with Hawking and that says something for I don't agree with him on a lot of things. I don't understand his physics enough to argue with them but I know science is proving him wrong on a few things. For example, he said that nothing but a certain radiation escaped the great gravity of blackholes and scientists now find that certain gases can do so. So Hawking was wrong. However, I agree with hawking that life is both tragic and laughable. I mean, the US elected Joe Biden and thatt is a real laughable offense. It shows stupidity to the Nth degree. So life can be laughable when we laugh at our mistakes. On the other hand life is tragic. People often miss the point of life which is the biggest tragedy of all. |
| "Prompt: James 4:6-10 KJV But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. How do you draw high to the Lord?" God knows humanity very well. He knows us well enough to know that we think we are intelligent, sharp creatures when in reality we are as ignorant as they come. We are not smart enough to know not to touch the hot stove and touching it does not teach us. We never learn for we are not smart enough to learn. The way we draw nigh to the Holy Spirit is by submitting to Him. I find that when I submit to the Holy Spirit temptation and sin have no power over me. All I have to do is stay prayed up and stay submitted and willing to follow His lead. Prompt: I was cruising the galaxy with Garfield the cat and found this planet:
Write about this item in your Blog entry today. I love Garfield. He's cool. I love a good sunset too. The prettiest sunset I ever saw was over Niagara Falls, NY. I saw a sunset over the ocean too and that was beautiful as well. God definitely knew what He was doing. I have a friend who loves a pink and red sunrise, but those mean bad weather is coming. Pink and red sunsets on the other hand mean good weather and those I like. |
 "Prompt: What is one thing you’re super thankful for and don’t acknowledge enough?"It goes without saying that I am super thankful for the cross. I try to express my gratitude every day through my actions and by showing love to everybody I encounter. However, there are many things I could never be thankful enough for. One example is my credit rating. I had a credit rating that was in the basement. It was horrible at 512 for the longest time. Then I started graduate school and used part of my loans to pay off old debts and to pay my bills up to a year ahead of time. Those creditors reported faithful, on time payments to the credit bureau. My creit rating has jumped nearly 200 points and I credit God with that for He provided me with the finances to put it there. I also credit God with my job. I am the chaplain of the West Virginia Veterans Home. I am also a floor leader, newsletter editor, and peer recovery support specialist at the home. Before I came here there was no full time chaplain nor a chaplains department. Both have been created since I've been here. There was no peer recovery support specialist and that position has also been created. I run a group on Thursday afternoon during which we explore topics to help us grow as human beings. Topics include such things as interpersonal relationships, active listening, anger management, and time management. Residents come if they want and the group size varies. To me it is very rewarding. I give God credit for developing the chaplaincy and the peer support position for me. I also give God credit for developing a newsletter for the home and making me the editor. The newsletter has only had a few issues published but it is already becoming a very important tool for communication here in the home. We usually print about fifty copies and distribute them. Since the Home is ran by the State of West Virginia a copy of the "Bugler" as I named it goes to the state house where it is read by the cabinet secretary and even our governor. God again has blessed me richly. I am thankful for my publishing company. I was taking a nap one afternoon when my phone rang. COVID was running rampant then. I answered the phone and a gentleman spoke to me by name and said he wanted to republish a book I had written. The book was available on Amazon where it had been self-published. The publishing had left a lot to be desired. The font was so small you could barely see it. The formatting was a shambles and editing was unheard of. Red Sanchez, the agent who contacted me, wanted to republish it and do it right. He thought the book had potential. During the COVID lockdown it could entertain and that was important. He told me Reader's Magnet was a self-publishing firm and immediately I was sceptical. However, I had published traditionally before so I knew my work was marketable. I bought a package from him and began one of the mosy dynamic relationships of my writing career. My book "Teatime will be out in September. It was scheduled to come out this month but I requested a few additions such as lower sales prices for the book. Those meant changing things which took awhile. Reader's Magnet has treated me like gold. They had an online event called the Festival of Storytellers, where they set up virtual booths for my book and others. During that event I went live from my booth numerous times and addressed thousands of viewers about Teatime. I was also a panelist during a one hour event which featured another author's book. Due to the Festival of Storytellers and my interaction with it I was nominated for two Festival of Story Tellers/Reader's Magnet Quill Awards. The award winners will be announced on August 20, 2021 live on the Festival of Story Teller's Awards event. Again this is Reader's Magnet's way of getting exposure for me as an author. So I cannot and do not thank them enough. If you would like to be a Reader's Magnet author and be treated with respect like I am contact them at https://www.readersmagnet.com or contact my agent Mario Gonzaga at his email mariogonzaga@readersmagnet.com. They will get you set up! I am so thankful for Reader's Magnet! What I am the most thankful for however, is my relationship with Jesus Christ. Without it I would be a miserable sot. I would be nothing. God blesses me in so many ways that I cannot even count them. Some people comment that I am very "lucky". I always seem to be in the right place at the right time. I tell them that it has nothing to do with luck. I do not believe in "luck". I am blessed by my Savior. For example, I have walked to the post office five times in the past week. The walk there is easy because it's mostly downhill with a stretch of level ground. The walk back means walking up hill most of the way and is very difficult in the heat. I have not walked back any of the three trips I was there. One trip a stranger offered me a ride. The other times somebody from the home happened to either be at the post office or driving by and offered me a ride. I do not believe any of those were coincidental. God knew I needed to get to the post office and He also knew the heat would get me sick on the way back. He allowed me to walk down because I need to walk some. However, He arranged a ride back to keep me from getting too hot. Thank you Lord! These and many other things are the blessings in my life. God protects me and even if He were to let trials come my way He knows I would trust Him explicitly. You see troubles and trials to me are just as much gifts from Him as are blessings. I have known many trials in my Christian walk and God has shown me how He used those trials to shape me and build my faith and my character. Nothing, abasolutely nothing, in God's world is ever coincidental or accidental. Nothing is ever wasted. He uses the good, the bad, the evil, and the right to make me into what He wants me to be. For that I am extremely grateful! I would be remiss not to say again that what I am most thankful for is the cross of Calvary that made my abundant life possible. You see, humans fell from God's grace in the garden of Eden. Adam ate the forbidden fruit and his curse is passed on to all humans through our fathers. We are all products of sexual reproduction and it is through that act that Adam's guilt is passed on to all mankind. Man does not have it within himself to save himself or restore the relationship with his Creator. Therefore mankind is eternally separated from God and automatically going to the Lake of Fire prepared for Satan and his followers. God did not want us to be condemned. Instead of letting us die in hell, He took on human flesh by supernaturally impregnating a virgin without the sexual act or a father's involvement. Jesus Christ, born without the stain of original sin and guided and strengthened by the Holy Spirit His entire life, lived a sinless life and was sacrificed in our place. God Himself took on our punishment and hallelujah we are set free by faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of the Son of God. For that I am most grateful and can NEVER EXPRESS ENOUGH GRATITUDE! Prompt: I was traveling the galaxy with Buck Rogers and found this planet: where {user:aged) writes
Write about this in your Blog entry today. Autumn is just around the corner. Around here it begins cooling down in October, though it ususally does not get really cold until the end of November and early December. I am not a big fan of winter so that makes fall my third favorite season. I do have to say that I enjoy the cooler weather of the fall more than I do the heat of summer. However, I love to look out my window and see the green leaves on the trees. During the winter when the trees have no leaves I look at them and long for the beauty of summer. I will also admit that I love the tastes of the season in the fall and look forward to helping the Salvation Army gear up for Christmas. Speaking of that the Salvation Army will be doing Angel Tree applications soon. Check with your local Salvation Army to find out when they will be doing them. It is usually in September. The Angel Tree program provides socially disadvantaged families with a means to have Christmas for eligible children and some adults. So check with your local corps to find out when applications are being taken. You have to apply to be eligible. You must also receive some type of assistance such as medicaide, disability, section-8 housing, or other government assistance. |
| "Prompt: Tell about a prayer God hasn’t answered yet. What Scripture can you use when praying that will help you?" Any scripture is a good scripture to pray. However, for repentance I recommend Psalm 51. This was the psalm of David after his sin with Bathsheba. During that sin he had committed adultery, then committed murder in an attempt to cover the adultery. However, when David repented he did so with all his heart as is evidenced by this psalm. Another good scripture is Psalm 23. This is a psalm of comfort and promise. There are many excellent scriptures to pray. There are far too many to name here. I also use 1 John 1:1-15. "Prompt: I was fighting Klingons with Luke Skywalker and Captain Kirk. We defeated them and found this planet:
Write about this in your entry today." Yes Princess Megan Rose GOT Fox   , those Klingnons are terrible. We have battled them quite often. Of course, Kirk despises them. I don't despise them. I just don't like fighting them. We do what we must.Messy Bookworm is absolutely right. Our world is a living, breathing place. We have done it a lot of harm over the centuries, but I believe God has it all under control. |
| "Prompt: Tell about a tough time in your life God ended up using for good." God used my drug addiction for good. I did all sorts of evil when I was using. I cheated on my wife. I lied. I manipulated. I stole. I argued. I fought. I was trouble and troubled. Numerous times I tried to overdose intentionally to kill myself. I was in a bad place. Through it all God stayed with me. He never left my side though He saw all my evil. He used the pain to help me empathize with others who are hurting and helpless. They do not necessarily have to be addicts. Just hurting and helpless or trapped and I can identify and build rapport. Prompt: "
I don't like trains. A train killed my niece. She had gone into the house and was out of sight about 30 seconds. The backdoor was locked with two deadbolts and three slide locks so we have no idea how she got out. The train was speeding and the engineer and brakeman were drunk. She got killed. She was eighteen months old. |
| "Prompt: Tell about a prayer God has answered." God has answered more prayers than I can count. For example, there is a soldier at church whose sister-in-law was in the hospital. She was being kept alive by a machine because her brain would not regulate her heartbeat. Anybody knows that when the brain is damaged it does not repair itself. We prayed constantly for this woman. She is now breathing on her own and her brain is restored! She is about to be released from the hospital but still needs prayer. We all need prayer. Prompt: "Today we were fighting the Cardassians in the Delta quadrant with the crew of the U.S.S. Voyager at our sides. The Cardassians tried to board us but we repelled them in a hand-to-hand encounter. We aren't sure how they got through the shields, but we're investigating it.While we were duking it out, a star appeared. It was Lilith of House Martell  ! She writes
Our struggle was with La'Brac and his Cardassian horde. They fired upon us from a cloaked position and hit us with a lucky shot that partially disabled our shields. The disability was a very small segment of the cargo bay. They used the opening to beam themselves aboard and then used the cargo transporters to beam themselves to the bridge. They are deceitful scoundrels. Commander Princess Megan Rose GOT Fox had La'Brac in a choke hold within seconds and the rest of subdued the remaining members of the boarding party. We patched the breech after Crewmember innerlight  identified the problem. The prisoners are in the custody of Lilith of House Martell who will see to it they are tried and possibly executed. |
| Image #1997652 over display limit. -?- Image #1971183 over display limit. -?- Image #2249884 over display limit. -?- "Prompt: In what situations or with which people do you need an extra measure of patience, long-suffering, or endurance? How can you put your hope in Christ to endure these things?" My patience is tried the most when I work hard to present a class or a chapel to the veterans here at the WVV Veterans Home and then have nobody or only a few people showup. Along with being a chaplain, I am also a certified peer recovery support specialist. One of the classes I do here at the WVVH is a class called Vets Helping Vets. It's not a Chapel service. It is an educational class that teaches tips on self-improvement. I get really frustrated because I spend hours putting together Power Point presentations about the subject only to have the same two people show up for the sessions out of the eighty some who live here. They can all use it. However, I turn it over to God and He disseminates the information through the two or three that do show up. Image #2235152 over display limit. -?- Prompt: "Today was a beautiful day aboard the WDC Constitution. Those of us so inclined attended Chapel and it was beautiful. While there a star was revealed on the port view screen. Ray Scrivener  writes
I feel that some political change is healthy. After all, we grow by changing. If that change threatens the constitution then I take offense at it. Change to some degree however is healthy. Image #2251074 over display limit. -?- Image #2187503 over display limit. -?- |
| Image #2235354 over display limit. -?- Image #1997652 over display limit. -?- Image #1971183 over display limit. -?- Image #2249882 over display limit. -?- "Prompt: What is one crazy big, God-sized dream you have for your time here on earth, or more than one if you have them?" I have a dream of having our chapel packed here at the West Virginia Veterans Home. I have a feeling that will happen Thursday. We are holding a special chapel Thursday and I have fliers up about it throughout the building. We are offering five $10.00 Wal-Mart gift cards as a door prize in a drawing we are doing. That will pack the chapel. Image #2235152 over display limit. -?- Prompt: I was ctuising the galaxy with the Pink Panther and found this planet: (247) Read this cute item: STATIC What Does Jack Frost Do in Summer? (E)
Write about Jack Frost. I guess Jack Frost sits around and sweats like the rest of us during the summer. By the way, I always loved Pink Panther. I thought he was cool. Image #2251074 over display limit. -?- Image #2187503 over display limit. -?- |
| Image #2235354 over display limit. -?- Image #1997652 over display limit. -?- Image #1971183 over display limit. -?- Image #2249884 over display limit. -?- "Prompt: If you could start any ministry, what would it be and who would it serve?" God has a ministry for each of His servants. We are all give one or more talents. We know in our hearts what those ministries are. Marvelous Friend has a teaching ministry on here. Jay O'Toole  has a n exhortation ministry that can be both on here and in material space. Each of us has a calling. My calling is chaplaincy. Image #2235354 over display limit. -?- Prompt: I was cruising the galaxy with Batman and found this planet:
Write about this item in your Blog entry today. I have met Batman and seen him in action. There is a man who has been to our church who portrays Batman as part of his ministry. He has the complete Batman suit and working utility belt. One day he and Captain America were doing a fundraiser when a house near them caught fire. They kicked in the door and rescued some people and some cats. The cats needed resuscitating and somebody got a picture of them resuscitating the cats and put it on social media. It went viral. Image #2251074 over display limit. -?- Image #2187503 over display limit. -?- |
| Image #2235354 over display limit. -?- Image #1997652 over display limit. -?- Image #1971183 over display limit. -?- Image #2249882 over display limit. -?- "Prompt: Is belonging to a church necessary to be a “true follower” of Jesus?" This is a question I deal with all the time. I would have to say yes. I say yes because we are specifically instructed not to forsake the assembly. It is also hard to carry out the Lord's wishes if you do not understand the Lord's wishes. The new birth is just that> It is a birth. Just as a new born baby cannot fend for itself so the new born Christian cannot fend for themselves. They need a spiritual family who will feed them and nourish them and defend them from the enemy. He is always prowling and he will attack if he sees vulnerability. No gazelle ever strays far from the herd in Africa. If it does it does not live long. So it is with the new Christian. Even old Christians need church. It charges our batteries. Image #2235354 over display limit. -?- Prompt: I was traveling the galaxy with Johhny Depp and found this planet:
Write about no where in your Blog entry today. I am very familiar with "nowhere." I lived in the middle of it much of my life. Our nearest neighbor was a mile away. God had to pump in sunshine. It was fun. Image #2251074 over display limit. -?- Image #2187503 over display limit. -?- |
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