Witness Journal is not a diary; it is a journal of miracles in our everyday lives. About revelations, thoughts, ideas, lessons, and discerning the Word of God (correctly or incorrectly). Witness Journal are devotionals reflecting on the world, life, family, friends, praising God, problems, fears, and doubts. Witness is part of Struggling with God and Sanctifying Grace – our long walk with God. Please come along and join the Journey!
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Bicycle Grace
When the child/us (fails, falls) has a wreck on the bicycle the loving parent/God does not condemn the child for falling off of the bike.
God knows that someday the child/you/me/us will be flying fast on that bike! God sees what we can be. God sees our full, true, good, loving potential!
Lesson I Learned From My Dad
1. You always open the door for women or anyone in need.
2. On the bus you always give up your seat for a woman or anyone in need. These may not seem big, but they are!
I never learned prejudice...
because I was never taught prejudice!
Serving God in a Parking Garage
Because of miniscule opportunities and insurmountable financial difficulties I was forced to take a job a Night Security in a luxury apartment complex for a very low menial wage....
I DID NOT SEE OPROTUNITIES TO SERVE GOD;
BUT GOD DID!
Rescue Dog! Rescue Me!
Much like a Rescue Animal am I. There was a time when I was Lost, scared, feared the world around me, confused, made terrible-terrible decisions, and I somehow felt abandoned and alone even with loving friends and family around me. As much as my Pet Family have been SAVED; I have been SAVED in much the same way… by God.
Kyle Harris: Tragedy Strikes a Friend
This Tragedy is incomprehensible! We cannot understand! This tragedy does Not make sense! It doesn’t have to make sense!
We will Never have all of our questions answered. Never. And this is partly what makes it so difficult and tragic. So hard to find closure. It is such a waste and it makes no sense! And it breaks our hearts.
Now - If you are Angry and Mad at God. Tell Him! Tell God exactly how you feel. God is big enough to take it! But don’t Stop Talking to God.
Jim Cooper: Lightening Strikes Twice
I know that Jim was no angel; he was a loveable rascal and scoundrel. But I know in my heart that God has prepared a room for Jim! And I can visualize Jim’s room that has been prepared by the loving hands of God:
The music fills the room,
Family and friends are by the pool,
Family and friends are by the fireplace.
And the Door is always open
The Light is always on
And Jim is waving to us below.
Amen
Garrett Edwards But regardless of how much I tried to reject God, or get him out of my life, he was still there just patiently waiting for me. He was so deeply embedded within me, that no matter how deeply I inhaled smoke, how full my stomach became of alcohol, or how many pills were inside of me, it never even came close to the seed that God had planted inside of me when I was born....
Falling into the Pit of Despair Attributed to Rev. Chris Dowd
Associate Pastor of Arapaho United Methodist Church, Richardson, TX.
Once there was a man overwhelmed with despair walking along the road. He had fallen into the depths of despair when he stumbled and literally fell into a deep dark pit!
He looked up. He could see daylight. But there was no way that he could see to get out. He was really starting to be afraid. He looked up and shouted for help....
Sometimes our prayers are not answered
the way we want them to be....
Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their work:
If one falls down,
his friend can help him up.
But pity the man who falls
and has no one to help him up!
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
The Pit of Despair - Answer me quickly, O LORD;
my spirit fails.
Do not hide your face from me
or I will be like those who go down to the pit.
Psalm 143:7
When we walk blindly, fall into a pit, and fall to the bottom, we are crushed by the fall, and then realize that we cannot get out; not by our own doing. We are slow to recognize that we need help. Like being caught and trapped in quicksand, the more we struggle to get out, the further we fall. The more we struggle, the deeper in the quagmire we become. We are buried over our head. At the bottom of the pit do we ever realize that we can still fall even further and further?
Love lifted me!
Love lifted me!
When nothing else could help,
Love lifted me.
Turn all your troubles over to him,
because he cares for you
and is watching over you.
1 Peter 5:7 Worldwide English
Step of Faith
My encounter with a leagally blind man navigating his way through Dallas' Veteran's Hospital; one of the largest Veteran's hospitals in the country:
I cannot imagine the courage required just to wake up, make the journey to the hospital if I were blind, in the dark, and by myself.
I’ve never seen anything like it! Most of us, (myself included) would be complaining of what an injustice it was for him to have lost his vision. I know that I would have been tempted to be a whiner and a complainer – But he only gave thanks!
No Guarantee
God does not promise us that we will never have any problems, suffering, test, or trials. But God does promise to be with us through our problems and sufferings. God does not promise us that we will always have “green lights” and “no traffic.” God does not promise us that we will always get the “closest” parking place!
God is an Awesome God! "God is an Awesome God"
"Only God Can Make a Tree"
"Miracles in Our Everyday Lives"
God wants us to live life to the fullest. And to live life to the fullest we have to open our eyes. We need to open our eyes to the needs of others. We need to open our ears to hear the cries of those in need. We need to open our hearts and help them when we can. We need to open our arms and love and embrace ALL peoples of this earth! We need to open our minds to the possibilities and Grace that God offers us ALL each and every day!
Social Justice & Injustice Political Commentary
Lessons learned from Mister Magoo’s
“A Christmas Carol;” the Christmas classic written by Charles Dickens.
Charles Dicken’s “A Christmas Carol” is a sad commentary of the injustices, which still continue to this day; Oppression of the poor, the hungry, and the sick, the homeless, children, the elderly, the unemployed and underemployed, intolerance, prejudice, and discrimination!
Recently I watched Mister Magoo’s “A Christmas Carol.” It had been years since I had seen this 1962 cartoon classic staring Jim Backus as Mr. Magoo playing Scrooge. There are credits and a comedy introduction with bumbling Magoo but when the story begins it is captivating. Not the animation or the special effects but the story! The sad state of man’s affairs in the world; a world where the wealthy are blind to the needs of the poor. Not only are the wealthy oblivious to the needs of others but they also pride themselves in being self-righteous, judgmental, and condemning!
…like Scrooge, believe their wealth and status qualifies them
to sit in judgement of the poor rather than to assist them.
A "Gift of a Smile" is a heartwarming true story about how a dentist and an orthodontist work together to give people a gift of a smile! “Gift of a Smile” is an excerpt from
"I Believe."
"Bless You"
a short story of God's grace.
Written by Osten Aune.
When we did our first Bible Basics...
The Ultimate Gift Bible Study, when it came to the chapter on "Laughter" we used a real-life person from Northgate UMC. We used Carey Marsalis’ dad, Carl Marsalis! Carey and Carl both are a great inspiration of humor; laughing in the face of great adversity.
This "New Paradigm for God's Justice" BLOG is not a soft cozy place to be comfortable! This "New Paradigm for God's Justice" BLOG is to purposely make us uncomfortable; to challenge our Faith, to challenge our thinking, to encourage us to walk into deeper waters, to get out of our cozy "comfort zone," and "to do something!"
We are NOT called to be complacent, lethargic, luke-warm Christians! We are called to go out into the world, to "tell the 'Good News' of Jesus Christ," to make a difference! God does NOT place people in our paths for us to ignore and to walk-around like they do not exist. God puts people in our lives for a purpose!
This "New Paradigm for God's Justice" BLOG is NOT going to be politically correct! In many respects you may disagree with what I am saying (no problem)... I am NOT trying to tell you what to think... but I am trying to make you think... to challenge your thinking. Sometimes we need to be able to defend our beliefs,
(even if we only need to defend our beliefs to ourselves), to review, renew, and to reaffirm our beliefs.
"Its an Unwonderful Life" is a parody of the 1946 Christmas classic, Frank Capras's "It's a Wonderful Life" with James Stewart and Donna Reed.
Join our Bailey as he struggles with problems and contemplates suicide. Bailey meets his guardian angel and they travel back into the past and travel into the future of "what could happen."
The twist this time is their startling conclusion that the world would be better off without Bailey! What a predicament; will Bailey jump or not jump from the bridge into the icy waters below? Join Bailey on his Christmas Eve roller coaster of a ride of Faith or Fear. Christian-fiction written by Osten Aune. Though “It’s an Unwonderful Life” is Christian-Fiction, this story is not a story written for young children. If this were a movie I would give it a PG-13 rating.
YouTube “Jesus Take the Wheel” a beautiful song by Carrie Underwood
Cary Marsalis:
