God is the real counselor

Have you ever asked yourself if you had anyone that you held anger toward or could not forgive? Have you ever been fearful of things that it kept you from enjoying life to its fullest? The lies we tell ourselves often become the "truths" that lead us to lose relationships, love and trust in others. That doesn't have to be the truth for us, but we would often rather accept misery, then opt for truth and a good life full of healthy relationships, love and commitment to those we desire the most. God loves us more than we can ever imagine and in our pain He can and will deliver us. I have been fortunate enough to be there when this has happened many times and no matter how many times it occurs, I am humbled every time by watching what ONLY God can do. If you think about it and know that we are made in His image, doesn't it stand to reason that He knows every thought, emotion, physical ailment, and spiritual need we have? My job is to allow the Holy Spirit to come alive in a clients life, and help them grow in Christ's love and care. Where is God in your life?...interesting question isn't it?

The Warrior

I believe men are warriors by nature. We see injustice and we seek to defend the weak or weary. Or we see an opportunity in life to do what is right and we take up the banner to make the world better. A warrior died yesterday. He saw the battle in people, whether it was Vietnam, Simpsonville, or wherever life took him. Furman David Chandler was a REAL warrior. There are people in the world that carry themselves so privately, and while they believe that no one is noticing; they alone are slowly, humbly making the world better. Many of us were watching David as he waged the war against the weak, the unloved , and the ones that were forgotten. David would not let them be forgotten or unloved or alone. He would enter a little rock house, and silently, behind a closed door, he would simply, pray, encourage, and remind them that one warrior was waging a battle on their behalf. David had been wounded in life physically and was dealt a life threatening blow, but he sustained the battle until the very end. That is what this warrior did. He fought until there was an outcome, and he won his war. David has gone where faithful warriors go. Davids family is left with the memories of a loving faithful husband; a dad who provided, taught and encouraged; and a grandfather who showed his grandchild where the battlefield was and how to win the battle of life, while tenderly showing him the wonders of the ocean water and the slipping of the sand as the tide turned. In his lifetime David had made as many friends as the stars in the southern sky he loved so much. While David may have wished to go through his battles alone, he carried the hope of so many family and friends that he was never going to be unseen or in the shadows of life. We watched as he fought with dignity and valor that was girded by the Lord of his life who sustained this warrior. When you lead a Godly life, those who see their world changing ask themselves, "who is doing this?" and they see David, off to the next battle for the next downtrodden soul. You see David knew that the Lord was with him through every battle, every trial, every tear, every joy, and he trusted in that each moment of his life. I was one of those souls that David fought for and won. He was my hero as he was for so many in his life. He lost his physical battle yesterday, but his banners of victory are walking testaments to this warrior who fought and prayed and loved them with every ounce of his being. David, the warrior, died yesterday, but David, the conqueror, continues to be so much more today. Davids family will be sustained by the hand of God, and by the lessons that he taught us all.

Woody

The notes of the trumpet wafted out of the instrument and into our ears and down into our souls…from one soul to another…his to ours and on and on...the trumpeter’s talents were not of his own abilities, but given to him by the grace of God and brought to life by his passion for sharing with others this incredible gift. Each note filled not only with the music it contained, but the heart of this man who loved the sound, loved the gift, loved sharing it with others, and most importantly loved the Creator of music who gave him all he ever needed. So talented in other aspects of life, and loved by his family and friends, this mans true passion was not of the skills he had achieved over life, but the gift of playing his trumpet which connected him so closely with the God who fully enriched his life. Woody was a trumpet player who played for God and we were given the opportunity to listen in. Woody probably never fully knew the gift he had been given, because there was no way of ever knowing the people who’s lives were changed by the sound of that gift. His trumpet will never play for folks any more, but for those of us that have heard the sounds of Woody’s
trumpet…we will carry the melody and part of his love into our lives forever.

My cousin

My cousin passed away last week after a long bout with cancer. She leaves 11 children, one grandchild, and a husband, and many other relatives, who loved her dearly. You see, she wasn't very much your run of the mill Mom, she was special. Her children were from 4 to 24 at the time she went home. Dianna (I won't call you Lynnie any more)loved her children so much that she raised them with caring, discipline, respect for others, impeccable manners, and all of that shrouded in a heavy coating of love. I hadn't seen Dianna for a few years and had remembered she had 6 children the last time I had seen her; and now the "team" was complete. The children were a reflection of her both physically and in terms of her personality. They loved one another, worked together, and loved their parents and family. I believe the greatest gift a parent can give to the world is the best of who they were, mirrored in their children; and I know Dianna did that...I saw it in eleven children. As I looked through the pictures of us as children and adults, tears fell...as I will miss this amazing lady...and I will at the same time rejoice in the facts that we will meet again and this time we wont talk of the pain of cancer, but of the love that only God has given her...thank you Dianna for being such a remarkable person...we will be better knowing that you loved us as Christ loved us.

finding a friend

Its amazing to me the things you can do on facebook, twitter, etc...reconnect with old friends or find lost family...and yet there are people that can not find a friend...maybe the problem is wher they're looking. I always think its me..when I cant figure a problem out, because I know I can change, but I can't change people or things most of the time...If I want a friend, I become what they are looking for...I meet their needs...after all, its not about me, but about them.

Worry...why?..I mean really....WHY?

I used to worry about everything and everything worried me. I worried about stuff that I couldn't control...and that stuff really worried me. Eventually I learned that the things I couldnt control were easy to let go of, but I still worried about the stuff I could affect. On December 24, 1988 I was worried about my dad, Christmas for my kids, bills were piling up...it was a huge burden. While I was going down the road, I was interupted in my worries by God. I had to pull off the road, and was suddenly aware of the reality that even if I could make some impact on those things, I wasn't in charge of things and that there was no reason in the world to worry about them. It became clearly evident to me that in giving up the worry part of the problems, made solving them much easier...In doing that, I was much more relaxed, able to focus on the solution vice the problem, and most importantly appreciate the fact that God was interested in MY life...I suddenly had the creator of everything helping me through the problems...and armed with that security, I was able to solve the problems, undertsand more fully the things I couldnt "solve" and appreciate the way life really plays out and the purpose of how things happen.

helping themsleves

Have you ever helped someone and then they turn right around and undo what you just did to help them?  It's frustrating, as you feel you've wasted your time and tty didn't seem to appreciate the effort you put in towards helping them with their problem. I've learned that I was probably helping the person fix the wrong problem in their life, and after realizing that I felt extremely sorry for the person I was trying to help. Why is it that we dont take the time to get to the bottom of the issue before we jump in with a solution? I'm really bad at tis...I'm so eager to help them I hear their need, jump in and ten realize that was just a symptom to the real issue and had i taken a little more time, I could have really helped them, Ultimately, the idea is to get them to help themselvs, but that can open another can  of worms, so we need to gt to the root of thatproblem as well....I guess I sometimes think people are one dimensional and have one master problem and iwill solve all their problems...The bottom line is teach a peron to fish...becasue you dont want to catch fish for the world the rest of your life...