What Grandma Said

A few days ago I was looking back over some older blogs I found these gems that I wanted to share. I found this list of thoughts in my Grandma's bible. She passed away in 1998 and I asked then for one of her bibles. It was six or seven years later before I found this list of thoughts jotted down on a little bit of note paper. I always felt like she brought it to my attention right when I needed it most. Although she passed away 18 years ago, her wisdom is still relevant and maybe even more relevant today!

• Your best friend is he who brings out the best that is within you.
• Every human heart has an unseen battlefield where the good and the bad are fighting it out
• Without the Holy Spirit, the Christian witness is powerless
• Real goodness is a trait of character which only comes through the indwelling spirit
• God never gives power to a person who will not use it
• People are attracted to Christ by the lives of those who profess Him
• The highest purpose of prayer is to turn our attention toward God, to get God into our minds and; into our thinking
• God is as near to you as the air you breathe, not way out yonder somewhere
• Prayer is coming to God with open minds saying, "God reveal to me what you want me to do".
• Many times God reveals His will to us one step at a time, as you take that step then you can see the next one.
• We cannot prove God by argument but we can make our own lives an argument for God
• When we lose hope, we lose God
• I believe that Christ rose from the dead, this resurrection is my assurance that there is life for me beyond the grave. "Because I live, " he said, "ye shall also live".
• I know someone will carry my body and bury it in the ground. There it will decay but because I know Christ, that will not be the end of me. I shall live after death.
• A friend is one who comes in when the world goes out.
• If asked to, God will soften harshness in people
• Religion is both love for God and love for man. It involves the fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of man
• If a man would not help his son or daughter when he or she was needed it and was in trouble, then he was not a worthy father
• There have been many, many people in whose heart our Lord stilled the storm after some great sorrow or hurt or disappointment. He is still working His miracles.
• I cannot forgive my sins. I cannot blot them out. My only hope is the mercy of God.
• With God's help, we can face any temptation and overcome it.
• Without God, we cannot. Without us, God will not. (Augustine)
• It is important that we know what we believe
• God is stronger than satan, goodness is stronger than evil, love is stronger than hate, righteousness is stronger than sin
• Day by day we gather the harvest of yesterday and we are sowing for the harvest of the future
• If you have a problem, plant a seed
• a missionary is not necessarily one who crosses the sea, but one who sees the cross
• Suffering accepted and used may prove to be the best fruit of your life.
• God's grace does not always explain nor remove the thorn, but it is always sufficient to overcome
• He who cannot let go cannot hang on.

Many people are upset about the election. I pounded out a post listing  my reasons for voting how I did and then decided I would hold that blog entry for myself. The truth is that those who really know me already know what matters most to me. I went back eight years ago to see how I responded to Obama's election and remembered that the day after that election I went to a funeral for my 9 year old stepson's 35 year old mama. It was six weeks after people almost attended mine. Although I felt Obama was wrong for America - and I still maintain that he was and continues to be - I had been confronted with actual life and death so closely in the time leading up to that election that the election was the last thing on my mind that day. I won't say that Trump being elected isn't a matter of life and death. The truth is that there are people who are no longer alive because of Obama's decisions as President and Hillary's decisions as Secretary of State. Those offices are important and they do result in life and death decisions. I prayerfully made a choice that I believe will allow for the least potential for loss of life and the greatest potential for good health and prosperity for everyone. Only God knows for sure just as only God can judge the content of the heart. I'm trusting God to provide for us in this time of uncertainty just as I have trusted Him for the past eight years. My life has not been easy but He has been faithful. I believe He will continue to be faithful.

Happier blogging ahead tomorrow... love and hugs to everyone, black and white - red and blue... and all shades in between.