Make A New Year's REVOLUTION...Happy New Year!

Oops...did I make a spelling error? Well, NO! I meant to say Make A New Year's
REVOLUTION instead of Resolution. My Dictionary says one of the meanings of
Revolution is " a complete change in something,often one made relatively quickly".
So I encourage everyone to join me in a Revolution this New year's in the changes
you want to make. So often we make resolutions just to have broken them very fast.
You first DECIDE to make the complete change with your whole heart no matter how
hard it gets. Most people give up when the going gets rough.
Year 2008 has truly been a year of change in many ways and 2009 we all are looking
at many more changes. Let's all look at these changes as positive no matter what and
start our own New Year's REVOLUTIONS!


Happy New Year!

MERRY CHRISTMAS...From North Carolina

Just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. We live in North Carolina
not to far from the coast. One of my favorite Christmas songs of all time is...
Christmas In Dixie by Alabama. This is one of my favorites because it speaks of Graceland, I'm a Elvis fan from way back and it also talks about snowing in the pines and if any of you have ever been to North Carolina you know we have lots of pine trees. When it does snow it is beautiful! We usually get snow once a year if not more often. We have already had a small snowfall so far this year. Maybe it will snow for the Holidays. Regardless, I'm sure it will be a wonderful season for all of us to enjoy. Wherever you are I hope you and your loved ones have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Hallelujah Time!...at the pastor's house

Hallelujah...Sing Praises To The Lord

Our pastor's wife had a nasty fall at her work a few weeks ago and broke
the delicate small bone in her wrist. Instead of a cast they had to do surgery
and placed pins in the wrist. These pins stick out at least a inch from her wrist.
Yeeee...Ouch! Everyday tasks had really been a chore. Things such as cooking,
cleaning, folding clothes, as well as simply getting dressed were difficult.
We shall sing praises to the Lord this week as the pins came out and wrist healed.


Hallelujah...Favored To Turn 60

Our pastor turns 60 this Friday. What a Blessing! Surely Goodness and Mercy Shall
Follow You All The Days Of Your Life. Happy Birthday to our pastor!



So...Look and Listen close as we watch the eastern sky with expectation and you
might hear Hallelujah...Jesus is Coming!!! Resounding from the pastor's house as
well as around the globe.

Blessed To Be 78

We all should be blessed to turn 78. Today was my Dad's Birthday
and he was 78 years YOUNG. My prayer is to live the acive life he
has lived and to be as healthy or more so as he is at 78 years of
age. Happy Birthday Pop...may you have many more to come. We all
Love you very much!

YOU Are A Creative Genius!

You Are A Creative Genius

People seem to have the misconception that only a select few are able to unleash
a steady flow of creative genius. That is not true at all. The fact is, creativity
is very much like a muscle that needs to be exercised in order to consistently give
out great results. If you don't practice harnessing creative thinking, this skill will very much atrophy into inexistence. But keep working and this skill will soon come to you in a snap.

So how do you unleash your creative thinking? Well, the first thing is to become a human leech. No, We're not talking about just sucking the blood out of every living being available. We're saying that you should take in as much knowledge and learning you can find. Read everything available -- good and bad, and keep your mind open to the infinite possibilities of the universe.The more you know, the more you'll want to know, and the more your faculty of wonder will be exercised. Prepare to be amazed at little facts that add a bit of color into your life.

Focus on a creative activity everyday. Yes, it's an effort. Even doodling is a creative activity. Don't let anything hinder you. Mindlessness may be a creative activity, but for people who are just starting out to unleash a little bit of creative thinking in their lives, it is helpful and encouraging to have concrete evidence, that, "hey, what I'm doing is getting somewhere." So why don't you try it. Practice drawing for a couple of minutes each day. Bring out your old camera and start snapping photos like crazy. Keep a journal and make a point to write in it religiously. Another cool idea is to write by describing something with your five senses. Try to avoid vague adjectives like "marvelous," "amazing," and "delicious." Before you know it, you'll have built yourself a tiny portfolio, and you'll be amazed at the growth you've undertaken after amassing all those works of art. Who knows, you might actually take to liking those things you do everyday.Pretty soon those things will become a part of you and you'll be addicted to these creative exercises.

Think out of the box -- or don't. Sometimes, constraints are actually a good thing. Limitations discipline you to work within your means. It enables you to be more resourceful. Creative freedom is great, but limitations enforce discipline.


Try something new everyday and let your experiences broaden your perspective. Explore a new district in your neighborhood. Spend an afternoon in a museum to which you've never been before. Chat up someone on the bus. Open up to the people around you. As you thrust yourself out of your comfort zone more and more each day, your sense of adventure grows and so does your zest for life. Think about it. When was the last time you did something for the first time? If it's been a while, I tell you, you've been missing out on a whole lot of experiences that could've added to your growth, emotionally, mentally, physically, or spiritually. Why don't you try bungee jumping today? Not only will you learn, but you will also have plenty of stories to share, enabling you to practice your storytelling skills and making you the life of the party.


Creativity is essentially breaking through barriers. Yes, this includes the bizzarre and the downright strange. It's important that your creativity doesn't get you detached from the real world completely.

I hope this article has inspired you to start thinking beyond your "limits." If you follow these steps pretty soon you'llbe living a life full of interesting adventures. Unleashing your creative thinking will bring about a new zest for living life.

Memories of Year 1962

It was the year 1962 in a small inland town on the East Coast
of North Carolina. The latter few months of this year proved
to be a very eventful time of my life. I was six years old. August
of this year my biological father had passed on to his heavenly
home and my Mom and I were left alone. Mom worked all the
time so I was left with others regularly. Mom worked at a drive-in
restaurant on the main street of our town. Locals would drop in
for lunch or just to get something to drink. Occasionally there
would be a new customer as with the gentleman I am about to tell
you about. He was tall, handsome man with a flat top haircut. He
would always order a cup of coffee. This became a regular habit of
this gentleman as he was enjoying seeing my beautiful mother. It
didn't take long before he started to pursue my mothers company.
Mom wasn't to interested and thought he must be a traveling salesman
passing thru and would be short lived in this little town. After a little
persistence from the man and a some encouragement from another coworker,
mom decided she would give him a chance and the pleasure of her company.
Well to make a long story short it was more than one date. The dating process
was very short lived as this young couple were married on December 7,1962.
I am pleased to say my Mom and Stepfather just celebrated their 46th
anniversary on this past Sunday. Happy Anniversary...I Love Both of You
very much!!!

Thought you might like this poem...be sure to double click
on image to make larger.

Spritual Growth

***Spiritual Growth: the Spiritual Challenge of Modern Times***
To grow spiritually in a world defined by power, money, and influence is a Herculean task. Modern conveniences such as electronic equipments, gadgets, and tools as wellas entertainment through television, magazines, and the web have predisposed us to confine our attention mostly to physical needs and wants. As a result, our concepts ofself-worth and self-meaning are muddled. How can we strikea balance between the material and spiritual aspects ofour lives?

*To grow spiritually is to look inward.
Introspection goes beyond recalling the things that happened in a day, week, or month. You need to look closely and reflecton your thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and motivations.Periodically examining your experiences, the decisions you make,the relationships you have, and the things you engage in provideuseful insights on your life goals, on the good traits you must sustain and the bad traits you have to discard. Moreover, it givesou clues on how to act, react, and conduct yourself in the midstof any situation. Like any skill, introspection can be learned;all it takes is the courage and willingness to seek the truths thatlie within you. Here are some pointers when you introspect: be objective, be forgiving of yourself, and focus on your areas forimprovement.


*To grow spiritually is to develop your potentials.
Religion and science have differing views on matters of the human spirit.Religion views people as spiritual beings temporarily living on Earth, while science views the spirit as just one dimension of an individual. Mastery of the self is a recurring theme in both Christian (Western) and Islamic (Eastern) teachings. The needs of the body are recognized but placed under the needs of the spirit. Beliefs, values, morality, rules, experiences, and good works provide the blueprint to ensure thegrowth of the spiritual being. In Psychology, realizing one’s fullpotential is to self-actualize. Maslow identified several human needs:physiological, security, belongingness, esteem, cognitive, aesthetic, self-actualization, and self-transcendence. James earlier categorized these needs into three: material, emotional, and spiritual. When you have satisfied the basic physiological and emotional needs, spiritualor existential needs come next. Achieving each need leads to the total development of the individual. Perhaps the difference between these two religions and psychology is the end of self-development: Christianity and Islam see that self-development is a means toward serving God, whilepsychology view that self-development is an end by itself.


*To grow spiritually is to search for meaning.
Religions that believe in the existence of God such as Christianism, Judaism, and Islam suppose that the purpose of the human life is toserve the Creator of all things. Several theories in psychology propose that we ultimately give meaning to our lives. Whether webelieve that life’s meaning is pre-determined or self-directed, to grow in spirit is to realize that we do not merely exist. We donot know the meaning of our lives at birth; but we gain knowledge and wisdom from our interactions with people and from our actions there are certain beliefs and values that we reject and affirm. Our lives have purpose. This purpose puts all our physical, emotional, and intellectual potentials into use; sustains us during trying times; and gives us something to look forward to---a goal to achieve, a drifting ship at sea.


*To grow spiritually is to recognize interconnections.
Religions stress the concept of our relatedness to all creation,live and inanimate. Thus we call other people “brothers and sisters” even if there are no direct blood relations. Moreover, deity-centered religions such as Christianity and Islam speak of the relationship betweenhumans and a higher being. On the other hand, science expounds on our linkto other living things through the evolution theory. This relatedness isclearly seen in the concept of ecology, the interaction between living andnon-living things. In psychology, connectedness is a characteristic ofself-transcendence, the highest human need according to Maslow. Recognizingyour connection to all things makes you more humble and respectful of people,animals, plants, and things in nature. It makes you appreciate everything around you. It moves you to go beyond your comfort zone and reach out to otherpeople, and become stewards of all other things around you.
Growth is a process thus to grow in spirit is a day-to-day encounter. We win some,we lose some, but the important thing is that we learn, and from this knowledge,further spiritual growth is made possible.