Barb's Mantle

2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Matthew 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
A conjunction is 'the act of joining', the 'relationship of a conjunction to it's joining components'. Every day, we use these three conjunctions in our sentences, in relationship to our lives.

*If it didn't cost so much,
*If they weren't so mean to me,
*If I had known better,

  1 John 5:4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.

Nothing in this world is perfect. We strive to be perfect, to be accepted, to win, but things don't always work out the way we plan every time.

Today, the girls' soccer team, which are in first place, went to face a losing team, one that wasn't even in the running to place. Our girls found that, although they are strong players, not easily intimidated, things can change quickly.

Proverbs 10:8 The wise in heart will receive commandments: but a prating fool shall fall. Proverbs 19:20 Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end. Isaiah 5:21 Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! James 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

As Christians, just how happy are we? Can we really say we trust God and mean it? How many times have we gotten into a fix and wondered WHY GOD let us get there? Do we ever take the blame for things 'WE' got ourselves into? Do we want a GOD who is there 'when we' want Him, or do we want to know GOD as the one who is with us every moment? Do we tend to HIS business, or are we too confined to our own lives to pay attention to the will of God for our lives? Do we tend to want to 'figure out God', or do we let GOD do what He wants to do in our lives, without trying to decide what He might do next? Lots of things to ponder.

Life is not a 'bowl of cherries' - far from it. Sometimes it's the pits, but not the cherry itself. Life has a 'flavor' all it's own, just like the cherry, and it's not always sweet. Sometimes we expect too much out of life and it doesn't always deliver to us what we expected or what we truly wanted. Things don't always go as planned or they aren't always as they have seemed. You might have a 'crushed cherry' instead of the sweet, firm 'fruit of life' that you expected to have.