O-Dark-Thirty

We are born selfish. God knows this, as do all parents.  Marriage is not a contract, as society would have you believe. A contract states that one party will do something for the other party, who in turn has certain obligations. A contract is binding as long as both parties do what they said they would do. A marriage is a covenant. In a covenant relationship each person pledges to do what they are supposed to do. God entered into a covenant relationship with Abraham, which is fortunate for Abraham and for us. The covenant God gave certain promises and Abraham answered with promises of his own. Abraham and his descendants (us) break those promises all the time. God, however, remains faithful to His covenant. Here’s the point. Marriage can NOT be selfish. The Marriage covenant says that you will put the needs of your spouse above your own. That sounds so simple… … but if you are reading that and have the slightest twinge of “See, I told you so! You are supposed to be ...

How do you define your relationship with God? I could give you a few seconds, but if you are trying to list all the ways you deal with God, then you are probably wrong. You don’t define your relationship with God. God already defined it. That relationship is simply Creator and Created. Our rebellious nature cringes at the thought that we must be servants to God. Funny thing is, that’s exactly where Satan went wrong too. We are created to be the servants of God. The plus side is that God loves us enough to actually create us for that purpose. Think about that for a second. God, the Almighty, Omniscient, Omnipresent God of Everything actually created you. Nobody is an accident. God is never surprised. Not one individual was ever born that God wondered “Now what am I going to do with him/her?” Each of us is special, and that is a point we must learn and know all the way the very center of our beings. God is a personal God. Even most Christians don’t fathom that statement....

My cousin Lee Elston of Brown City, Michigan died yesterday. Really, he was my mother's cousin, but that's such a mouthful. Lee, Jan, Kathleen and Paul (Yeah, I stole this from Kathleen's page) I have only a few memories of Lee, since he was ten years older than I. He visited us when we lived in Rhode Island, so that would be 1964 or so. Perhaps it was spring or summer. Dad was trying to fix something in the yard – I doubt it was sewer since we lived in the city, but it sure seemed to be a septic tank in my memory. Lee pitched in and dug for hours with Dad. I remember that because I tried to help, but real work had little attraction for an eight year old. Now that specific task is lost forever. I don't recall, and the only people who would really know are gone.  I wasn't very old, but I remember Mom talking to someone about Lee and how all the local girls just fell in love with him. Tall, tanned and toned with dark hair and a quick smile.  A...