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Christianity

The Optimist By J.M. Cavaness

His vision penetrates the gauze
That hides the sham and the unreal,
And sees beyond the lines and laws
That constitute the fair ideal;
The clouds may darken all his days
He knows they have a silver lining,
And that above earth's mists and haze
The lamps of heaven still are shining.

He hears the word of faithful friend
In tones of anger rudely spoken,
But quickly memory doth send
To wounded heart love's old-time token
He does not waste a moment's time,
Nor vex his soul in idle grieving,
But sings a merry little rhyme,
And tastes the sweetness of forgiving.

Disease may throw him on a bed,
And tackle lung and heart and liver
While he can lift his hand or head
He blesses still the Mercy Giver
He says that sickness comes to rid
Of poisons his law-breaking body,
And all the microbes In him hid
Will fly before blue-mass and toddy.

Hard luck may strike him with her fist,
And leave him prostrate, bruised and bleeding,
With little power to resist
The cormorants upon him feeding
Yet from his lips escapes no curse,
Nor does he blame his stars above him,
But says it might have been much worse,
And thinks the fates will turn and love him.

His eyes look thru the uncouth dress
And see the loyal heart beneath it
Tho thorn-crown on the brow doth press,
There's only love for those who weave it
Tho by blind hate and vengeful ire
The spikes thru hands and feet are driven,
Deep In the soul there's one desire--
That this their crime may be forgiven.

He looks upon a world of sin
Portrayed by venal, jaundiced journals--
Its scenes of blood, tumult, and din.
As if were loose all hell's infernals;
He says these things must all needs be--
Are pangs of a new world a-borning;
That soon the night away will flee,
And then will dawn millenial morning.

The Optimist Creed

Promise Yourself ...
- To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.
- To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet.
- To make all your friends feel that there is something in them.
- To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.
- To think only of the best, to work only for the best, and to expect only the best.
- To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.
- To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
- To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.
- To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.
- To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

The Real Picutre And Symbol For Christianity

Psalm 66 - The Word

¹ Shout joyfully to God, all the earth;
² Sing the glory of His name;
Make His praise glorious.
³ Say to God, “How awesome are Your works!
Because of the greatness of Your power Your enemies will give feigned obedience to You.
⁴ “All the earth will worship You,
And will sing praises to You;
They will sing praises to Your name.”  ⁵ Come and see the works of God,
Who is awesome in His deeds toward the sons of men.
⁶ He turned the sea into dry land;
They passed through the river on foot;
There let us rejoice in Him!
⁷ He rules by His might forever;
His eyes keep watch on the nations;
Let not the rebellious exalt themselves. 
⁸ Bless our God, O peoples,
And sound His praise abroad,
⁹ Who us in life
And does not allow our feet to slip.
¹⁰ For You have tried us, O God;
You have refined us as silver is refined.
¹¹ You brought us into the net;
You laid an oppressive burden upon our loins.
¹² You made men ride over our heads;
We went through fire and through water,
Yet You brought us out into a place of abundance.
¹³ I shall come into Your house with burnt offerings;
I shall pay You my vows,
¹⁴ Which my lips uttered
And my mouth spoke when I was in distress.
¹⁵ I shall offer to You burnt offerings of fat beasts,
With the smoke of rams;
I shall make an offering of bulls with male goats.
¹⁶ Come and hear, all who fear God,
And I will tell of what He has done for my soul.
¹⁷ I cried to Him with my mouth,
And He was extolled with my tongue.
¹⁸ If I regard wickedness in my heart,
The Lord will not hear;
¹⁹ But certainly God has heard;
He has given heed to the voice of my prayer.
²⁰ Blessed be God,
Who has not turned away my prayer
Nor His lovingkindness from me.

Mercy Me - This Life

Away For A While - I Am Back

I am back.  The week before Easter Sunday I was in TX because a relative passed away. It was a sad yet enjoyable time because I was able to see many relatives.  Arrived home Easter Weekend which was awesome. Thank God that Easter is much more than a Sunday for those of us who are followers of the Way.  My wife and I traveled to D.C. to see our Daughter and then to Annapolis to see relatives on her side of the family.  We had a great time with our daughter and playing catch up in Annapolis was as sweet as the cinnamon rolls baked for a late breakfast.  Upon returning to Chesapeake I entered a surgical room to have my knee worked on for the fifth time in my life.  Joy!  Actually I am thankful for health care, surgeons, hospitals, nurses and relief. Last week I was laid up in recovery. This week has flown by and I am slowly but surely back at it.  So, I am back, somewhat.  Some thoughts from the past 20 days.
Life is short. Love your family even when you may not like your family.
Make decisions that bless others and lead to beautiful memories.
If you are alive today - LIVE!
Eternal life is a gift - share it with others.
Life is hard. It is even harder when you are stupid. - John Wayne
Be smart. No, be wise.
Easter is LIFE.
The church I serve in is awesome - the people are the church.
Jesus Christ is Lord.
We oft allow guilt, grudges, grief and greed to rob us of the LIFE God bestows.
Move out of the above and into God = LIFE.
Do not make decisions based on fear.
Faith is an exciting venture. Scary at times, but always heart pounding.
I am privileged to have great health care in America.
God really can heal.
Pain is a sorrowful part of life, yet God can be glorified in our lives via pain.
My pain is no greater than your pain, vice versa.
Quit comparing.
Quit complaining, LIVE!
TX has some beautiful sky. I mean BEEE AAAA UUUU TI FUL.
I am becoming a Virginian. That is weird but good.
Virginia is green and the ocean is awesome.
My son and daughter are handsome and beautiful way beyond the skin. I mean in a deep way.
My wife loves me more than I can really know.
I miss my family, yet God provides when we come together.
My brothers family in Austin is absolutely gorgeous.
My nieces are smart, edgy, and cute as can be. Children are so much fun.
Terri and Ed, sister and brother-in-law, are very gracious.
The Coverts are... no word can describe. WOW!  Birds....  LOL. They will get it.
God heals and heals and heals and heals and heals. You get the point.
My dear friend, Jeff Gross, is smart and thoughtful. I need that.
Thursday afternoons are profitable.
I AM GRATEFUL!!!

That is only a few of the thoughts from the past 20 days.