Refreshing Our Spirits With Scripture

 8.13- Behind the lines Intelligence. What is taking away life and hope? There are people who get discouraged with big problems they deal with. A couple of men who think no one cares decided to get out of their senior care center and moved their senior scooters out to the street corner. A lady who is full of courage and hope decided to reach out to them with her beautiful spirit and saw them. Noticed them. These guys were seen. Then she made some cookies and grabbed another beautiful 80 year old recently widowed lady and took the warm cookies to them. These guys may have served the country and given their prime years thinking no one cares. Placed in a spot out of sight and they could have assumed that the lovely world had no lovely people. Then for them a warn hearted woman brought her adventurous friend. She took the warm cookies out of the warm oven out into the baked Street corner and refreshed the old soldiers. Life isn't just changed by big institutions. It is changed by deed...

 8.12- The first thing people who are spiritually and emotionally frozen need,, it seems to me, is the ability to receive and give to others the fuel we were designed to run on. Grace, mercy and peace. A television show I like to watch is when someone has been greatly hurt by someone else and they are able to forgive them and move forward out of bitterness, resentment and back into their joy. I have seen programs where someone killed a son and the mother and father forgave the person and he came out of prison to become an adopted son to them. To focus on what person has done to your or those you love is to be without progress in life. What is most important to a productive life is to know what direction we are going. The greatest teachers have had a direction to have compassion on those who are in need of healing and fellowship and friendship. There is this line in prayer that reminds us to ask forgiveness to the extend we have forgiven others. My day is filled with joy when I...

 8.11- Today we are celebrating a couple of families who have totally blessed us since Sheila and I moved to Tarrant county 10 years ago. They are door opener families who have not only used their experiences to help us with marriage enrichment and family development ideas, but given us practical help. Morton and Suzy Jeffrey have helped us by everything from prayer to having their skills apply to car repair with competence and urgency. I have seen them scrub floors and bless grandchildren with laughter and serious challenges. Lynn and Jan Waller have helped us with everything from prayers for comfort in the hardest time of our life. I have encountered them working out in the North Richland Hills Centre to teaching about world history and religious history. From explaining how to make marriage better with humerous stories of their own methods and wisdom a few thousands of years old. Both families have laughed and cried with us. We have seen generations of growth in number and ...

 8.10- Community schools. Public schools. Sports. Football. Band practice. Beta club. National honor socirty. Robot competition. Spelling bee. Geograhy bee. Meeting after the game for a sincere handshakes that says "Good game." Fairness and completion against your past best and current best. These are the things that work well to build up students to be the best they can be. Regardless of where they live. One time the teacher of the year was asked what is most important? He said it was "Love.". Love your God 100%. Love your neighbor as yourself. School starts soon. Let's all pray for teachers and coaches. Matthew 22. 34  But when the Pharisees heard that  Jesus  had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.   35  And one of them,  [ bf ] a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him:   36  “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”   37  And He said to him,  “‘ You shall love the Lord your God with all your...

 8.9- The year is 2023. It reminds me that I must always keep hope that each stage of life has something good that comes after something bad. My teacher was a carpenter who said at least six times that after he was rejected by his religious leaders that he would be raised from the dead. It happened. That's why we call this year 2023. His promises never fail including that one. Matthew 28 28  Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first  day  of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the tomb.   2  And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone, and sat upon it.   3  And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.   4  The guards shook from fear of him and became like dead men.   5  And the angel said to the women, “ [ a ] Do not be afraid; for I know that you are loo...

 8.8- I have several friends who are involved in work in a penitentiary work. They do work to rehabilitate inmates, men and women. What a great work they do. Humility is a key character quality of all those I know in this work. They carry the spirit and the motto, "There but for the grace of God go I". I have been told the word "repent" is the reason the called them penitentiaries. The is a difference in being deeply sorrowful for the harm you have caused and being sorry you got caught and popping off to youself "everybody is doing it.". Matthew 25 31  “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne.   32  And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, just as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;   33  and He will put the sheep on His right, but the goats on the left. 34  “Then the King will say to th...

 8.7- Love of place. Like of place. North Texas. Dallas State Fair. Dallas Cowboys. Texas Rangers. Mavericks. Stars. Rolling hills. Angus cattle. White face herfords.Poppin' Johnny John Deere tractors. On 7.25.65 I moved away to West Texas. Abilene, Texas. Oil. Cattle. Feedlots blow a smell over these. Religious people. Church of Christ type. (Abilene Christan University). Baptist type. (Hardin Simmons University). Methodist type McCurry University). At times our attitudes together were sweet and beautiful. At weddings, funerals and tragedy. At times Satan tempted disciples of Jesus to have quarrels and arguments and slander so that our attitudes toward each other smelled worse than stockyards on a windy day. I met Sheila from Port Neches Texas there. I got a new vision of loving new friends. There our family began.There I was trained to teach business, sports and religion. There I learned to fail and fall down and get up and keep going. After about 50 years, 33 in Denver, we move...