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God, grant me the Serenity
To accept the things I cannot change...
Courage to change the things I can,
And Wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as the pathway to peace.
Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it.
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His will.
That I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with Him forever in the next.
Amen. Attributed to Reinhold Neibuhr
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Our pastor's sermon was derived from Philippians 2:14 "Do everything without complaining or arguing." At the end of the sermon we were encouraged to commit to this by receiving a non-complaint bracelet [of course I ran to get mine 'cause I'm not much of a complainer!] Well, it's only been a couple of days and I'm already struggling with this [I have learned to take my covenants with God seriously]. Not that I can't stop complaining out right, but masking how I complain. As a former addict I became very good at manipulation, rationalization, and many other forms of head games, not only with others, but within my own mind. Through working the 4th step of The Program, my awareness has been hieghtened, and I am watchful of my character defects. So I avoid certain words that identify with a complaint, such as "I don't like....", etc. Instead I disguise it as teasing or something else along those lines - you know how it goes I say something that offends the person then, when they become indignant, I reply that "I was only joking!" This aspect, of relating to others, is easier to correct than the battle within. Another character defect of my dysfunctional upbringing is anger. I have made great improvements in this area PRAISE THE LORD with the help of Christian and secular counselors. We had discovered that part of my problem was not addressing the issues that bothered me, basicaly - complaining [I refused to be a complainer, a nag, or what ever you wanted to call it], and that I could only supress so much until I blew up in anger. So, inlies my predicament, how do I live up to my covenant within the Word, and still vent annoyances so that I'm not entering the cycle of anger by supression? I have learned to practice what Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:18 "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit,..." I expect that this is why I'm turning to my Christian siblings for advise or at least the second half of that verse "...being watchful to this end with all perserverance and supplication for all the saints" Thank you for listening, Bro Dennis
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COURT SETS ATHEISTS HOLIDAY In Florida , an atheist became incensed over the preparation of Easter and Passover holidays. He decided to contact his lawyer about the discrimination inflicted on atheists by the constant celebrations afforded to Christians and Jews with all their holidays while atheists had no holiday to celebrate. The case was brought before a judge. After listening to the long passionate presentation by the lawyer, the Judge banged his gavel and declared, 'Case dismissed!' The lawyer immediately stood and objected to the ruling and said, 'Your honor, how can you possibly dismiss this case? The Christians have Christmas, Easter and many other observances. Jews have Passover, Yom Kippur and Hanukkah...yet my client and all other atheists have no such holiday!' The judge leaned forward in his chair and simply said, 'Obviously your client is too confused to even know about, much less celebrate his own atheists' holiday!' The lawyer pompously said, 'Your Honor, we are unaware of any such holiday for atheists. Just when might that holiday be, your Honor?' The judge said, 'Well, it comes every year on exactly the same date---April 1st! Since our calendar sets April 1st as 'April Fools Day,' consider that Psalm 14:1 states, 'The fool says in his heart, there is no God.' Thus, in my opinion, if your client says there is no God, then by scripture, he is a fool, and April 1st is his holiday! Now, have a good day and get out of my courtroom!! Way to go, Judge!
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I am a grateful child of God recovering from addiction. Don't get me wrong, I have been delivered, and have over 4 years clean, with the exception of 1 relapse event about a year and a half ago! I am a member of Alcoholics for Christ Ministries, and attend meetings on a regular basis, because recovery for me is a life long process. Due to my sinful nature, I still struggle with addictive desires, and past events still haunt me. Thanks to the grace of God, He continues to restore me as I diligently seek His will for my life. I am also thankful for all of those who He has placed in my life to aid in the restoration process. 8:36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. May God's grace and mercy be with you all!
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