Before My Lips Open Help Me To Check My Words

Even so the toungue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!
James 3:5


Lord,

before my lips open help me to check my words. I don't want my speech to hurt anyone. May I please you with the words I speak.

Amen

Books:Christianity,Bible,Jesus,Angels,Soul,God,Holy Spirit,Doves,Love,Children,Heaven,Soul Searching,Counseling

27th Happy Anniversary Darling

Father and Mother mostly wrote love letters to each other instead of store bought cards. I like the thought of that. It makes me nostalgic. Longing for days gone by, and seeing first hand the love they shared together till the end. Here is the 27th Anniversary letter he wrote.

Happy Anniversary Darling,

I love you more now than ever; and you are prettier than ever.

These have been happy years, we've had our ups and downs but, all in all a very wonderful experience.

I pray our next 27 will be even more enjoyable.

All my love,

Jim

by

James Gargus

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As The Winds Of Time Sweep Away The Days

As the winds of time sweep away the days,
I glance back at my life through a haze.
Remebering playgrounds, parks and friends,
Childhood days I thought would never end.
A moment shared in a game of catch,
Shall memory ever attach...
In long ago youthful eyes,
Catching the ball to my dad's surprise.

My first bike, my first wreck,
He picked me up, and said, "What the heck?"
Convinced me to give it one more try,
While, knees skinned, I forgot to cry.
Just the joy knowing he was there,
Making him proud my only care.
There was nothing I couldn't do,
My heart held fast that to be true.

Though teenage years were kind of rough,
I sure wasn't too big or tough.
You taught me to defend what's right
And never back down from a fight.
So I learned the hard way to stand,
Still, with each lump, I found your hand.
Drawing from you an inner strength,
And stubborn pride of equal length.
But there the line of fate was drawn,
As though I blinked and you were gone.

I found myself facing the sun,
Not man, not boy, fatherless, one.
Eyes blinded by a void inside,
I could not live that you had died.
Alas finding it to be true,
I could do nothing without you.

Please, Dad, today just hear my call,
I'm sorry that I dropped the ball.
My life is wrecked, my knees are skinned,
My emotions undisciplined.
I can't get up although I try,
Please don't be upset if I cry.
Though I can't fight what I can't see,
Please, Dad, say you're still proud of me.

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I Turn My Heart Toward Home

Young people must learn that none of the exciting and entertaining fun things are worth it if they take you off the path that will lead you back home to your Heavenly Father.
William R. Bradford

The car door slams shut,

a page has been turned.

Now I must put into practice,

family lessons I had learned.

As first, my Heart turned toward Home.

The campus was huge and strange,

the college buildings tall and cold.

Somehow the sun had hidden itself from sight,

as the lonely scene unfolds.

Again, my Heart turns toward Home.

Strange people, they don't speak,

just pause, turn and stare,

at a small town clean cut youth,

who, at once they dubbed a square.

In alien territory, the Heart turns toward Home.

As I registered with the Dean,

I could tell by the books,

that the lessons these folks had learned

hadn't come from college textbooks.

Their Hearts were set against Home.

The dormitory grotesque and gray,

you got the sensation of a tomb.

The stench of tobacco and marijuana

filtered sickeningly into your room.

Again my Heart turns to my clean, healthy Home.

Oh, yes, the Heart doth yearn for Home.

Look toward Home, Oh, Heart.

Home Sweet Home.

by

James Gargus

Books:Christianity,Bible,Jesus,Angels,Soul,God,Holy Spirit,Doves,Love,Children,Heaven,Soul Searching,Counseling

God Kept Me

There have been times in my life when I thought I would completely loose my mind, but God kept me sane.


Isaiah 26:3
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

At times in my life, I felt I couldn't go on, but the Lord kept me moving on.

Genesis 28:15 And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.

Oh so many times I wanted to lash out at those who did me wrong, but the Lord kept my mouth shut.

Psalm 13
How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?
How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?
Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;
Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved.
But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.
I will sing unto the LORD, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.

Sometimes it seems I just don't have enough money for all my bills, but God the lights on, the water on, the car insurance paid, everything needed paid.

Matthew 6:25-34 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

How many times can I count where I thought I would fall down and he kept me from falling.

1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

As my body grew weak, he strengthened me.

Matthew 11:28-30 28Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Oh, what a marvelous God to keep us even when were unworthy.

by

Lance Gargus

Books:Christianity,Bible,Jesus,Angels,Soul,God,Holy Spirit,Doves,Love,Children,Heaven,Soul Searching,Counseling

Merciful Lord

Merciful Lord,it seems like the business world often values the ruthlessness of cutthroat tactics and dog eat dog environment. Some see it as the way to get ahead in business. Please, help me to do business the Christian way--gracious, not ruthless. My main objective is to please You, not others.
Amen.

by

Lance Gargus

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You Have Kept Me Here For A Reason

God,
You know I been though alot of things and many winds have blown me back and forth,
but You have always came through.

You have kept me here for a reason.
I have survived because You have a plan for me.
All my bad relationships, the consequences, the
hard times, the sad times, the death of my loved ones, the back
stabbing from my friends, the negative thoughts, or the lack of
support; I made it because I am blessed!

I recognize them as the illusions
they are, and sent from the enemy to kill my spirit, steal my joy, and
destroy my faith; For God is all there is. All else is a lie!

Rekindle that fire that others have doused out,oh Living God!

In the Most Precious Name,
Amen!
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Soul Searching,Counseling

Hurting Each Other

How many times have you been shunned by others? How often have you extended a hand or spoken only to be ignored by that person? What about the moments when the words of another cuts you deep? Grow thicker skin is the world's response to such situations. Now what do we do when this situation is in the house of God? The house of mercy and understanding that is to extended to a hurting world. But now we have become the ones doing the hurting, hurting each other. More and more often we find people who have been hurt deeply within the family of God, leaving them worn and exhausted. More and more often we find believers, robbed of the joy Jesus promised in Him. When we find this hurt hanging on to our own bruised soul, it can make us want to leave the church and sometimes even want to "back burner" our God who seems to have allowed it all.

Sadly, we have come to accept that this is the way church is. There is an epidemic of fractured believers out there and we have actually come to accept this as the norm. So we either stay away and let our hearts become cold ... or we put on our Sunday best, call "forward march" and implement a new vision or program and hope the problems will just go away. The hurt in individual hearts and churches gets buried ... until it gets bumped again.

Let's face it, people in church can be unkind, judgemental, and even betray you. Leaving deepening wounds that are not soon forgotten. This kind of wound is horrible! We have a tendency to play down the problem and even discounting the wound.

Well, the point is, it hurt. It may not seem like much to others. But it hurt you badly or someone you know. And that's not OK, no matter how you look at it. It's very hurtful when someone in a church setting, which is suppose to be a Sanctuary from a hurtful world, acts in such an un-Christian like manner. That can create some very deep seeded bitterness.

Our Savior never intended the church to be like that. It is to be a place of encouragement. Our Lord built His church to be a place where we build each other up, where we inspire one another to do better, to love more deeply.

The Bible in Hebrews 10:24-25 says,"And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works. Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another."

Unbelievers see how we hurt others and each other. "If that's how church is," they say,"I want no part of it."

This "silent killer" creeps in and eats away at the foundations of God's house. It picks us off one by one. The "silent killer" takes out the walking wounded by going deep; deep into the fabric of the mind, body, and soul. Negatively affecting the church until everyone drifts away, or it looses it's power, only to become cold and dead. Hurt is the one thing that the world gives us as believers. That is to be expected, but the church is the one place we go to be safe, accepted, forgiven, and free from conflict and pain.

Church is more than God's house, it's His home. Home is where you go back to when things get to be too much. Home is where your accepted, imperfections and all. Home is where you let your hair down. Home is where you bask in the love that a father has for his children. Home is where family has each others back. Finally, home is our shelter from the storms of this life.

Father, bring back the love that the first Saints felt for each other in Your home.

Sharing in each others suffering for Your Son's namesake. When one Saint hurt, they all hurt. Bring back that kind of love to us before it's too late. Let not one more brethren fall by the wayside. No more cliques, no more groups, no more walls to separate us from each other.

Give us hearts of flesh to replace these hearts of stone.

This I pray,

Amen.

by

Lance Gargus

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Soul Searching,Counseling

god and jesus love us

god and jesus love us . god made us i love god . i believe in god. seven is god's lucky number. god likes us when we love other people & ;nbs p; and neighbors and cousins and everything that lives in the world . people that cry god cheers them up and he wipes away their tears, god made plants and animals and water. praise god and love him. god believes in us that we may be&n bsp; able to trust in him . he ; likes it when we be good to other people and care about them . thank you for the stars and the sun . thank god for the air we breathe. god and jesus loves us and we love them .
love god and jesus and autumn

My little daughter Autumn typed this. She hopes you like it.
Lance
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Rain Falling On A Tin Roof

and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.

Acts 14:17

"The branch of the vine does not worry, and toil, and rush here to seek for sunshine, and there to find rain. No; it rests in union and communion with the vine; and at the right time, and in the right way, is the right fruit found on it. Let us so abide in the Lord Jesus.”

Author: Taylor, Hudson

"Glad to see y'all."



The voice carried forward by a tone of genuine hospitality.

People gathered into the living room of the old home place. A place in need of repair in many spots. The years since the civil war had petrified the wood giving the place a nostalgic look.



"Get in here before you catch pneumonia from the rain," my momma urged to our relatives.



A storm had blown up with a much needed rain. The crops, especially the cotton, was in dire straits. The drought had turned everything to dust nearly. The few cows remaining in the dairy weren't complaining about the weather either.



"Listen to it come down,"she exclaimed,"The good Lord takes care of us when we believe."



The sounds of raindrops hitting the old tin roof relaxed everyone into a settled mood. Time was passed talking about family and friends. About how they were doing and to pass along a greeting from us. The children, mostly cousins, entertained themselves with games. Sitting on the front porch the sense of well being and contentment was all around us. No TV, computers, or in other media to distract us. Only one thing to listen to was the Grand Ole Opera that night. The various country singers would sing as the cool wind blowed. It was like the breath of God blowing away all of our cares for the week.



The week had been a hard one as we tried to make our crops. Our hands were blistered and our necks were scalded red from the sun. The sun has no mercy in a sky with no clouds. Salt from our sweat burned our eyes. Wiping away the only moisture we felt in those hot summer fields. God always supplies a refuge though. In the distance sat an old oak tree to give us shade. The few moments we got to block out the sun from us was much appreciated. Time was of the essence though; the crops weren't going to pick themselves. With no rain there wasn't much to pick and the cows were beginning to look a might poorly. But now, God had sent his rain.



The ground soaked it up. God sends His blessings when we need it most.



"Come and eat. Suppers ready,"was the call that brought us out of the trance. Staring at the rainfall is almost hypnotic at times. It seems to relax the troubled and weary soul of lives hardships.



We gathered to the table and said grace. Truly thankful to God for what we had. Even though we had little, we shared it with others. God blessed us and we were just returning the favor.



Eating our meal, it felt like we hadn't eaten in ages. As each family member got up, they thanked my mother for a wonderful meal. We returned to the porch to socialize a while longer. The down pour was letting up, and it was getting late. Moving through the house swiftly I lit the oil lamps for some light to see our family off. They had traveled a good distance to see us. We were much obliged by their company.



"Before you leave I want you to take these tomatoes," declared my momma.



We waved good bye and wished them well. As they moved further away I looked at momma, and seen tears in her eyes. She truly missed family when they left.



"Momma," I asked,"Why did you give them our best tomatoes?"



"God wants us to give the best we have to Him, and when we give all we have, even to the least, we give it to Him."



My momma wasn't educated. She had no degrees or anything. She could barely even read or write. But no philosopher or teacher could sum up God's heart like she could in just a few words. Those words of love and kindness I hold close to my heart.

by

Louise Gargus, my Mother
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A Short Quote About Me

I fall on my face more than I fall on my knees.
by
Lance Gargus

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Soul Searching,Counseling

Dad Need A Hug

My thoughts whisk forward to a day in the future. A time when she is older. Looking more woman than girl to me. The days when she looks more like her mother as life passes before me. I can imagine the conversation as I carry her to school.

"What are you doing?" I would say to her while driving.

"Putting on makeup."

"In the car?"

"Yes," she says, "get used to it." Her sly smile revealing a double meaning.

The teenage years they say are the most trying. I don't believe I'll escape unscathed.

"Why didn't you put it on at home?"

"Because I can do it in the car on the way to school-saves me time."

Like her mother used to do she'll switch from a strange little triangle sponge to something that locks like a pencil with a fuzzy little worm attached to the end.

Glancing over at her I'll notice how steady her hands are even as I make turns and adjust speed with the traffic.

Those moments to come will be quite challenging for me as a dad. My little girl will reside in my heart and in picture frames scattered throughout our home. No longer will holding hands in public be possible nor will putting my arm around her. I know she will still love me, but this will be expressed in some new teenager code.

"I love you" will be replaced by a low-key, subtle blowing of a kiss across the room as she leaves with friends. Hugs will then only take place exclusively at home and followed by a couple quick pats on the back (the signal for "hug's over"). Sadly for me, the days when the hugs were for as long as she could sit in my lap will be behind me. I'll find myself thinking if only I held on a little longer. That day my arms will literally ache for the hugs where she'd try to squeeze the breath out of me or attempt to lift my feet off the ground.

Thoughts of her looking in the mirror at how tall she was on my shoulders. Her delicate arms wrapped around my neck, holding on for dear life. Progressing from sitting on my foot and wrapping around my leg as I walked with her- to dancing on my feet while her favorite song played.

Children growing up are a natural passage of time-but there's something special about a father's daughter that really drives it home. She is the apple of his eye-the one who he feels needs protecting. Even back in my time I can almost here the grains of sand accelerating through the proverbial hourglass--and there is nothing I can do to stop it. She'll walk down that aisle one day and I'll give her away. On the drive back home my mind will drift back like it does now to a different time and place. The cherished moments will surround and comfort me. Upon walking into my house I'll see her bedroom up the hall. Walking in I'll sit down on her bed. While no one is looking I'll stare out her window into the yard and dream of paradise lost to me.

As we pull up to the school she'll quickly close up her makeup case, while pushing it deeply back into her purse.

"Bye," I'll say. "Have a nice day."

She'll say something but her words will find themselves muffled against the outside noise.

Grabbing her purse and book bag she'll quickly jump out of the car and race off toward the school. For a moment I'll find myself watching her walk away.

"How," I'll wonder, "can my little girl be a young woman already?"

Putting the car back in gear I'll slowly pull away in thought. Gone will be the little girl who once begged me to walk her through the front door and all the way to her classroom. Gone, too, will be the little girl who timidly would hesitate at the doorway, turn and give me a hug before joining her classmates.

Coming back to reality I realize that it's not too late. Not too late to embrace, to embrace before it's nothing but memories.

by

Lance Gargus

Books:Christianity,Bible,Jesus,Angels,Soul,God,Holy Spirit,Doves,Love,Children,Heaven,
Soul Searching,Counseling