What Guide Do You Read?

This short poem sure made me stop and think..and I am sure it will make you stop and think as well.
Who or what IS really guiding our life?


WHAT GUIDE DO YOU READ?

They lie on the table side by side,
the Holy Bible and the TV guide

One is well worn and cherished with pride,
No, not the Bible, but the TV guide

One is used daily to help folks decide,
No, not the Bible, but the TV guide

As the pages are turned, what shall they see?
Oh, what does it matter, turn on the TV

Then confusion reigns, they can't all agree,
On what they should watch, on the old TV

So they open the Book in which they confide,
No, not the Bible, but the TV guide

The Word of God is seldom read,
maybe a verse as they fall into bed

Exhausted and sleepy and tired as can be,
No, not from reading the Bible, but from watching TV

So then back to the table side by side,
lie the Holy Bible and the TV guide

No time for prayer, no time for the Word,
The plan of salvation is seldom heard

But forgiveness of sin, so full and free,
is found in the Bible, NOT on TV!

Author Unknown

I suppose we can all substitute TV with our computers, our cell phones, fun activities, or anything else that keeps us occupied, and prevents us to find the time to read the Bible. It is easy to come up with excuses that we are just "too busy"...BUT, if we really look at what IS keeping us away from spending more time alone with God's Word, we realize that we can cut out something to free up some time. The question always is : Do we really want to?

The choice is always ours!

Have you ever wondered whatever happened to.....?

I hope you all had a funfilled 4th of July...Independence Day!

We watched beautiful fireworks over the lake, in beautiful Bella Vista, NW Arkansas. As we all celebrated the day with fireworks and backyard BBQs, with friends and family, I was reminded of something a friend sent me years ago, on an email. It was a serious historical aspect of this day in history. It asked the question: Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independance?

Well, I am sure most of us don't go around pondering this question. However, here are
some interesting facts:

• Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died.
• Twelve had their homes ransaked and burned.
• Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army, and another had two sons captured.
• Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.

They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.

What kind of men were they?

Twenty four were lawyers and jurists
Eleven were merchants
Nine were farmers and large plantation owners

They were men of means, well educated, but they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.

Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.

Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British, that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.

Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.

At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson Jr., noted that the British general Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his Headquarters. He quitely urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.

Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.

John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside when she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year, he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished.

Some of us take these liberties so much for granted, but we shouldn't. In our society today, there are people who want to destroy historical statues, and paintings of the people who fought for the freedoms that we enjoy today. Freedoms that they did not contribute to, or did anything to earn.
They burn the American Flag, and they despise the Military. They want to give more rights to people who come into this country illegally, (illegal is what it is: ILLEGAL....meaning they are committing a crime). At what point in our country did it become acceptable to do something "illegal" and not pay the consequences? Big cities in our nation have homeless all over the place and they the government does nothing, about it, to help them and yet they want to give to people pouring into our nation, without any legal documentation. This has to stop!

My family came to this country legally, after having to wait for years and years for clearance and 'quotas'. We went thru medical checks, background checks, and extreme vetting, before being allowed to enter the USA. My parents were in their mid 50's...they were the proudest people when they finally became American citizens. They loved this country. What has changed over the past 45 years?

The people coming in have changed, and the youth coming up, is not being taught the history of this great Nation. If the USA is so bad, why then do so many people want to immigrate here? If they don't like it here, why don't they return to their own countries? If we are all racists, then why is it that so many minorities and women are doing much better than 'white' people and males. Because this is still the land of opportunity, where hard work pays off. NOT EXCUSES!

Remember, Freedom is NEVER Free. It takes sacrifice on someones part. We have become too complacent. We enjoy the latest gadgets, our vacations etc..etc.. We all have "opinions" that we voice on social media..but we forget to thank the patriots that make our feedoms possible. Being a Patriot is not a sin, as some people may think or imply.

Instead of complaing, maybe we can all take a few silent moments to thank and pray for our soldiers and our government leaders. (As I always say: If you can't contribute to change, or don't get involved in some good way, then you have no right to complain).

I hope you enjoyed your 4th of July, as we did, and I hope that next time, we can all remember that this day is more than beer, picnics, and baseball games.

God Bless us all and God Bless the USA

The Best Place To Be

• The nicest place to be, is in someone's thoughts....
• The safest place to be is in someone's prayers....
• And...the BEST place to be is in the Hands of God....

          Anonymous