A Balanced Christian Walk

The Artist lifted the canvas And sketched each line carefully I watched as the picture unfolded It was shaped in the image of me. The shadows were deepened with sorrow And the brow was sprinkled with pain The eyes were sad and so empty A picture of sorrow and shame. He painted a heart that was broken Torn and scarred deep within, And bitter from life's disappointments And framed with the blackness of sin. I looked in the eyes of the Artist, I trembled and reached for His hand, And cried O Master Creator Transform me and paint me again. So He smiled and lifted the canvas And started all over again Remolding and shaping the image How graceful the touch of His hand. He painted a heart that was mended Replacing the guilt and the shame, And framed it with colors of crimson I posed and He painted again.

The Pencil Maker took the pencil aside, just before putting him into the box. There are 5 things you need to know, he told the pencil, before I send you out into the world. Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best pencil you can be.  One : You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow  yourself to be held in someone's hand.  Two : You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, but  you'll need it to become a better pencil.  Three : You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make.  Four : The most important part of you will always be what's inside.  Five : On every surface you are used on, you must leave your mark.  No matter what the condition, you must continue to write.  The pencil understood and promised to remember, and went into the box  with purpose in its heart.  Now change places with the pencil.  Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best person you can be.

There’s a voice calling me, to an old rugged tree And it whispers draw closer to me. Leave this world far behind, there are new heights to climb And a new place in me you will find. Whatever it takes to draw closer to You Lord That’s what I’ll be willing to do. And whatever it takes to be more like You That’s what I’ll be willing to do. These are the opening lyrics to a song written many years ago by Lanny Wolfe. The first time I heard it my spirit was so moved that it became the theme song for my life. I am convinced one of the most difficult prayers to pray is a prayer of complete submission unto the Lord but I am also convinced it is the prayer that most moves our Father and this song is a song of submission. Check the next verse out: Take the dearest thing to me, Lord if that’s how it must be To draw me so much closer to Thee Let the disappointments come, lonely days without the sun If through sorrow more like You I’ll become. You don’t hear many prayers like this today. Most of us

I have been dogged by one of those statements that someone will make occasionally that will stick in your mind and on your conscience forever it seems like, those statements that make you just say hmmm... Some time a ago a relationship I was in ended with the person saying that they were not happy and they wanted to pursue their happiness. On the surface there is nothing wrong with that but being the thinker I am I had to take it to the next level and ask what does that statement really mean? How do you define happiness and what makes a person happy? It's obvious it's different for each individual or maybe it's not? Recently this interest was perked once again by 2 articles I read on the subject, one by noted author and pastor, Rick Warren, and another by a personal friend, Dwight Rodgers, who also is an author and pastor. "Happiness is feeling good about what is happening in your life. Happiness is not popularity, which is how others feel about you, happiness is what