3 Letter Word - SIN

We learn as we grow up about sin, about doing what's right & what's wrong & about the consequences if we choose wrong.  We watch the news, read the paper & see the results of wrong choices.  If you've ever watched COPS or any other reality police show, you see what happens to bad decisions.


Despite all we know, all we learn, all we witness, we continue to make bad choices.  It's hard to understand or explain when someone we know makes bad decisions.  The worse part is when it's televised & it seems the topic every where you turn.  The TV news, newspaper, dinner time talk, it's a constant reminder.


You hear familiar comments & statements like "oh man, I've known him forever - no way", "what?  are you kidding me?", "I won't believe it until I hear it from his own mouth", "if it's in the news, then it's true", and the time comes & you really do hear the truth from the individual, it makes it real.  But, then you have to process all what you hear, what you know to be the truth, and decide where you stand in your mind & heart for the individual. 


We're all sinners, we come in this world with sin - but the choices we make are of our own choosing.  When we make bad choices, we have to face the consequences.  When you're a public individual, you are out there for people to make rash statements & be on constant scrutiny of the public.  Make one wrong move & you're nailed to the wall.


I can't excuse or explain choices & decisions of others, but I have to search my own heart & mind and base my reasoning on the person I've known long before the media came into the situation.  When you sin, it causes a ripple effect among people - friends, family, and acquaintances.  Everyone takes on a part of it, you bear it as a friend, family member, co-worker, and you bear it being a part of a community.  Follow your heart, remember what you know, not what you hear, listen with your heart, seek understanding & give forgiveness.


"He that is among you with no sin, cast the first stone."  John 8:7


Personally, I know no one on this Earth without sin.  My Heavenly Father is sinless, I'll leave the judgment to him.

What makes a survivor?

Someone made a comment recently about something I had written on Facebook and commented I wrote like a survivor. So I decided to write "what makes a survivor?"

In life we're dealt situations, I prefer to call them challenges, and we learn through these circumstances, hopefully come out ahead and with experience. When I was growing up, the statistics for divorce was 1 out of 10. Now, 1 out of 2 marriages end in divorce. I've been divorced twice, so I guess I'm worse then the statistics in that regard. I survived divorced, survived raising my kids, and going through the trials and tribulations of dealing with cancer twice. I feel being strong in your beliefs, being firm in Christ, can get you through any situation in life and you come out a survivor by necessity.

A survivor is one that knows no matter what is going on around them - they have to keep going. People, whether friends or family, are depending on us to make it - to be all we can be - to do all we can do - and to prove to themselves and others, we can do it.

What makes a survivor? One that despite the pitfalls, the valleys, and the moments that seemed hopeless, they continually climb that mountain and know that once they reach the top, they've made it, they have survived can do anything. There's a song on the radio about the climb to the mountain. And in reality, that's what surviving is all about - it's about the climb, the obstacles you go through in life, and about reaching the top.

Surviving is knowing when you look in that mirror you know you are at the top of your game, you feel as though you can accomplish anything in life. Stay focused, stay strong, listen to your heart, and keep your eyes on Jesus and you can survive anything in this world.

When you're feeling down, feeling blue, feeling discouraged, just remember that in life we have challenges, and they will test us - but with God on your side - anything and everything is possible.