Carl V's NoteBlog: April 2015

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Thomas Hardy's The Well-Beloved

Image result for the well beloved thomas hardy the greenwood edition

480 × 522 - puddletownbookshop.co.uk

I just finished another Thomas Hardy novel that contained more talk of secret weddings. In this one, the main character is not fickle in love because it's not his fault that his well-beloved never cloaks herself in the same mortal body for very long.

I know exactly how he feels.

7 and a half cents

In the Pajama Game, the people we're meant to identify with, as opposed to the stingy management, sing a number meant to be rousing and ironic about gaining 7 and a half cents per hour at the factory. And they excitedly add up the numbers to find that they can earn this or that over the course of their years. They're counting their money before they get it, and spending it before they have it.

I think of small gains too, and play "if only." I can try to decide if a raise of that magnitude meant more in the 1950s. I can scoff at the meaningless futility of a 40 hour workweek with possible overtime. I can thank God that I am not involved in the factory grind, never at an actual factory, that I used to be drowning in. Or, I can understand that as a child of the King, I don't have to provide. I am provided for.

If I wanted to, I could charge a trip to Paris on my credit card and go eat lunch there. In the course of human history, that means I am a very rich man.

Acting Squirrely

Yesterday I sat in my car, early for work, watching a squirrel in an oak tree. I like oak trees. They remind me of a time in my life when I moved away from South Florida, because growing up there were mostly palm and pine trees, while in Tallahassee there were many oaks.

This squirrel was just staring at me. He's obviously used to people, like the one that used to come around for a sugared almond every day at Magic Kingdom. That one would scamper right up until he found a sweet prize; with nothing to stop him.

The squirrel yesterday was staring at me and I was staring at him; through my windshield. We're just sitting there.

So I started to think about how we're alike. I don't really know what he's thinking, but I think he is wondering whether I am a threat or a source for food. I believe those are his concerns. And how much time do I spend looking for food and avoiding threats?

620 × 387 - telegraph.co.uk

As We Focus by Joyce Meyer

As We Focus

by Joyce Meyer - posted April 29, 2015 www.joycemeyer.org/Article

For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. Proverbs 23:7 (NKJV)
Years ago, I learned an invaluable lesson: Whatever we focus on, we become. That simple statement taught me a great deal.
Wherever we put our energies or our attention, those things will develop. Another way I like to say it is, "Where the mind goes, the man follows!"

If I begin to think about ice cream, I will soon find myself in my car pursuing ice cream. My thought will stir my desires and emotions, and I will make the decision to follow them.

If we focus only on the negative things in our lives, we become negative people. Everything, including our conversation, becomes negative. We soon lose our joy and live miserable lives and it all started with our own thinking.

You might be experiencing some problems in life-not realizing that you are creating them yourself by what you're choosing to think about. I challenge you to think about what you're thinking about!

You might be discouraged and even depressed and wonder what caused it. Yet if you will examine your thought life, you will find that you are feeding the negative emotions you are feeling. Negative thoughts are fuel for discouragement, depression, and many other unpleasant emotions.

We should choose our thoughts carefully. We can think about what is wrong with our lives or about what is right with them. We can think about what is wrong with all the people we are in relationship with or we can see the good and meditate on that. The Bible teaches us to always believe the best. When we do that, it makes our own lives happier and more peaceful.

I have a great life and a loving husband and children. And I am privileged to be used by God to bless millions of people around the world through the wonderful ministry He has given me. But life isn't perfect, and if I had allowed the devil to fill my mind with negative thoughts as he once did long ago, I would have been defeated.
I want to focus on God's grace and give thanks for all the good things in my life. I don't want to focus on what I don't have.

An old friend used to quote this saying: "As you wander on through life, brother, whatever be your goal, keep your eye upon the donut and not upon the hole." Too many people focus on what's not there and what's not right.

All of this is to say that our thoughts largely determine our destiny. Our thoughts also determine our happiness. Proverbs 23:7 is one of my favorite verses. Thoughts are powerful. They aren't just words that flow through our minds. So it is very important for us to decide what we will allow to rest inside our minds.
We must not forget that the mind is a battlefield. We must always remember that our adversary will use it in any way he possibly can to trap us.

I'm reminded of a man who came to one of our meetings.
He wanted deliverance from viewing pornography. He said that one time he had seen something on the Internet after accidentally logging on to a site that was filled with explicitly sexual pictures. The next day he laughed about it to one of his coworkers. "Who wants to watch that stuff?" he asked.

The next night he was back at the site again. And many nights after that. He purchased sexual material and had it sent to his office. He kept his stash of pornography hidden from his family. "What's a little thing like that going to do?" he reasoned.

He confessed that the more he saw the images, the more he thought of women as objects, objects for his pleasure. One day his wife said, "I don't know what's happened to you, but you can either deal with your attitude or I'm leaving." His life was rapidly going downhill before he asked for prayer. "I never thought just watching a couple of porno sites like that could be so addictive," he said.

To put it another way, we can't have a positive life and a negative mind. Our thoughts our focus is what determines where we end up.

Jesus, our friend and Savior, wants our minds to be filled with positive, beautiful, and healthy thoughts. The more we focus on those things, the more readily we defeat Satan's attacks.
Dear patient and loving God, ask You to forgive me for focusing my thoughts on things that are not pleasing to You. I pray that You will help me fill my mind with thoughts that are clean and pure and uplifting. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Basket of Summer Fruit

Yesterday I was listening to J. Vernon McGee talk about the image of a basket of summer fruit in the book of Amos, and thinking about that image as the perfect illustration of the church.

I'll use the word church with a small c since I believe nothing can stop the real Church.

Image result for basket rotten summer fruit

Image result for basket rotten summer fruit

640 × 480 - forums.gardenweb.com

The basket may still look good to some people and they'll hold onto it as long as they can, but the time has passed. The church is rotten.

I went to church this week, and I'll go again; hopefully often. It's good for me. But what positive influence does it have outside of the room if it doesn't change the people there?