Do We Have a Guardian Angel?

Do We Have a Guardian Angel?

Greg Laurie

Do we have guardian angels—personal angels who hang out with us and go where we go? I don’t know for certain, but I do know that as believers, we have angels in our lives. Every Christian does.
The Bible clearly teaches, “The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them” (Psalm 34:7). Psalm 91:11 tells us, “For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. And Hebrews 1:14 says of angels, “Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?” Also in Hebrews, we read that “some have unwittingly entertained angels” (13:2). That is an interesting thought, isn’t it? Maybe you have met an angel. If you have, you probably wouldn’t know it. I doubt that an angel would tell you he is an angel. (By the way, when we read about angelic appearances in the Bible, angels always appear as males.)
No one can say for certain whether we have guardian angels, but something Jesus said would imply that perhaps children have guardian angels. He said, “Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 18:10). This is reassuring, knowing how easily children can get themselves into trouble. But even if they don’t have a personalized angel, we can know that angels are involved in their lives.
And angels are involved in the lives of Christians. We have angelic activity around us every day. Angels are at work in our lives, protecting us, guiding us, and sometimes even speaking to us. But they work undercover. We could describe them as God’s secret agents.

Taken from “Waiting for Answers to Prayer” by In Touch Ministries (used by permission).

Cab Ride

The following is an email I received from a friend...


Cab Ride

I arrived at the address and honked the horn. After waiting a few minutes I walked to the door and knocked.. 'Just a minute', answered a frail, elderly voice.. I could hear something being dragged across the floor.

 After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 90's stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned
on it, like somebody out of a 1940's movie.

 By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets.

 There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware.

 'Would you carry my bag out to the car?' she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman.

 She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb.

 She kept thanking me for my kindness. 'It's nothing', I told her.. 'I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother to be treated.'

 'Oh, you're such a good boy, she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address and then asked, 'Could you drive through downtown?'

 'It's not the shortest way,' I answered  quickly..

 'Oh, I don't mind,' she said. 'I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice.

 I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. 'I don't have any family left,' she continued in a soft voice.. 'The doctor says I don't have very
long.' I quietly reached over and shut off the meter.

 'What route would you like me to take?' I asked.

 For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator.

 We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived
when they were newlyweds She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.

 Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

 As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, 'I'm tired.  Let's go now'.

 We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico.

Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were Solicitous and intent, watching her every move. They must have been expecting her.

 I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.

 'How much do I owe you?' She asked, reaching into her purse.

 'Nothing,' I said

 'You have to make a living,' she answered.

 'There are other passengers,'  I responded.

 Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly.

 'You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,' she said. 'Thank you.'

 I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning light.. Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life..

 I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost in thought. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk. What if that woman had
gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?

 On a quick review, I don't think that I have done anything more important in my life.

 We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments..

 But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a  small one.


PEOPLE MAY NOT REMEMBER EXACTLY WHAT YOU DID, OR WHAT YOU SAID ~BUT~THEY WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER HOW YOU MADE THEM FEEL.


You won't get any big surprise in 10 days if you send this to ten people. But,
you might help make the world a little kinder and more compassionate by sending. it on and reminding us that often it is the random acts of kindness that most benefit all of us.

 Thank you, my friend...


Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance.

Depression And It's Pain

Depression And It's Pain

Depression has become our nation's number one emotional illness, and it is increasing steadily. Rising suicide rates, especially among the young, show the final end to which depression takes people. Broken, unhappy homes and wasted lives are often the result of unfettered depression. Some depression is good because it tells us we need to stop and take stock, have a rest, or perhaps have a physical examination to see if there is a medical problem that needs to be cared for.

God’s saints accomplish great things while staggering around in dazed bewilderment. ‘By faith,’ says Scripture, ‘Abraham, ... went out, not knowing whither he went.’ (Hebrews 11:8 – emphasis mine) ‘I go bound in the Spirit to Jerusalem,’ said Paul, ‘not knowing the things that shall befall me there.’ (Acts 20:22 – emphasis mine) The disciples were frequently stunned or mystified by Christ’s words and behavior. The psalmists were forever asking, ‘Why?’(Eg. Psalm 10:1; 22:1; 42:9; 43:2; 44:23; 74:1; 88:14) And in the midst of his suffering, Job didn’t have a clue what was going on.

The reason you are so depressed is because of the thoughts you are thinking.   The thoughts came faster than a parading machine gun and they were destructive, debilitating, and down right mean. Every day, I was beating myself down. I was saying words to myself that Id never let another person get away with. Yet they were able to sneak into my sub-conscious mind day after day.

I did not write this..

I just wanted to share it

There are a lot of Christians that are depressed

The saints in the Bible went through the sames things

Read the scripture and think on them..

http://proverbs31wifes.spruz.com/pt/Depression-And-Its-Pain/blog.htm

♥ My Mom made me laugh... wiped my tears... hugged me tight... watched me succeed... saw me fall... cheered me on... kept me going strong... and drove me a little crazy at times! ♥ My Mom lost her battle with Multiple Myeloma Cancer in 2009. I have many cherished memories of time spent with my Mom. If you still have the joy of your Mother’s company, HUG her… tell her how much you love her and spend as much time as you can with her. 

A Dream or a Visit?

Several days ago, Kaylan was telling me about one of the dreams that she had the previous night. In the dream, she saw her Grandma (my mom). With Grandma was a little girl who had blonde hair. This little girl looked to be 12-13 years of age. Kaylan said that she asked Grandma who the little girl was, and was told that this was her baby sister.

I've tried to verify the information with Kaylan as I typed this up.. she has no memory of telling me this. When she initially told me the dream, she had only JUST awoken.

Was this a dream?  Did she really see my Mom? Is the little girl the baby that was lost in the Ectopic pregnancy?

My mother wanted more grandchildren. It helps soothe my heart (a tiny bit) thinking that perhaps she is finally able to spend time with the grandchild that was lost such a long time ago.

Splinters in Her Crotch

A joke received from a friend via email. 


Splinters in Her Crotch

A woman from Los Angeles who was a tree hugger, a liberal Democrat, and an anti-hunter, purchased a piece of timberland near Colville, WA.

There was a large tree on one of the highest points in the tract. She wanted a good view of the natural splendor of her land so she started to climb the big tree. As she neared the top she encountered a spotted owl that attacked her.

In her haste to escape, the woman slid down the tree to the ground and got many splinters in her crotch. In considerable pain, she hurried to a local ER to see a doctor. She told him she was an environmentalist, a democrat, and an anti-hunter and how she came to get all the splinters.

The doctor listened to her story with great patience and then told her to go wait in the examining room and he would see if he could help her.

She sat and waited three hours before the doctor reappeared.

The angry woman demanded, "What took you so long?"

He smiled and then told her,

"Well, I had to get permits from the Environmental Protection Agency, the Forest Service, and the Bureau of Land Management before I could remove old-growth timber from a "recreational area" so close to a waste treatment facility. I'm sorry, but due to Obama-Care they turned you down!"

Things I Learned in the South

I received the following in an email from a friend...

Things I Learned in the South

  

A possum is a flat animal that sleeps in the middle of the road.

There are 5,000 types of snakes and 4,998 of them live in the South.

 

There are 10,000 types of spiders. All 10,000 of them live in the South, plus a couple no one's seen before.
If it grows, it'll stick ya. If it crawls, it'll bite cha.

 

Onced and Twiced are words.

It is not a shopping cart, it is a buggy!

 

Jawl-P? means Did y'all go to the bathroom?
People actually grow and eat okra.

 

Fixinto is one word. It means I'm fixing to do that.

There is no such thing as lunch. There is only dinner and then there is supper.

 

Iced tea is appropriate for all meals and you start drinking it when you're two. We do like a little tea with our sugar. It is referred to as the Wine of the South.

 

Backwards and forwards means I know everything about you.

 

The word jeet is actually a phrase meaning Did you eat?

 

You don't have to wear a watch, because it doesn't matter what time it is, you work until you're done or it's too dark to see.

 

You don't PUSH buttons, you MASH em.

 

Ya'll is singular, all ya'll is plural.

 

You measure distance in minutes.

 

You switch from heat to A/C in the same day.

 

All the festivals across the state are named after a fruit, vegetable, grain, insect, or animal.

 

You know what a DAWG is.

 

You carry jumper cables in your car - for your OWN car.

 

You only own five spices: salt, pepper, Tonys, Tabasco and ketchup.

 

The local papers cover national and international news on one page, but require 6 pages for local high school sports and motor sports, and gossip.

 

You think that the first day of deer season is a national holiday.

 

You find 100 degrees Fahrenheit a bit warm.

 

You know what a hissy fit is.

 

Going to Wal-Mart is a favorite pastime known as goin Wal-Martin' or off to Wally World.

 

You describe the first cool snap (below 70 degrees) as good chicken stew weather.

 

Fried catfish is the other white meat.

 

We don't need no dang Driver's Ed. If our mama says we can drive, we can drive, dag-nabbit.

 

You understand these jokes and forward them to your Southern friends and those who just wish they were from the SOUTH.

Today's message from perpetual calendar... 

"I've reached the age where it's harder to think of my body as a temple. (It's more like a building project that got out of control!)

Rumination

Rumination

ru·mi·nate

[roo-muh-neyt]

verb, -nat·ed, -nat·ing.

–verb (used without object)

1.

to chew the cud, as a ruminant.

2.

to meditate or muse; ponder.

–verb (used with object)

3.

to chew again or over and over.

4.

to meditate on; ponder.

Origin: 
1525–35;  < Latin rūminātus  (past participle of rūminārī, rūmināre to ruminate), equivalent to rūmin-  (stem of rūmen rumen) + -ātus-ate¹

—Related forms

ru·mi·nat·ing·ly, adverb

ru·mi·na·tion, noun

ru·mi·na·tive, adjective

ru·mi·na·tive·ly, adverb

ru·mi·na·tor, noun

EXPAND

—Synonyms 
2.  think, reflect. 

Related Words for : rumination

contemplation, musing, reflection,reflexion, thoughtfulness

World English Dictionary

ruminate  (ˈruːmɪˌneɪt)
— vb  (when intr , often foll by  upon, on, etc )
1.	(of ruminants) to chew (the cud)
2.	to meditate or ponder (upon)
[C16: from Latin rūmināre  to chew the cud, from rumen ]
rumi'nation
— n
'ruminative
— adj
'ruminatively
— adv
'ruminator
— n

Word Origin & History

ruminate 

1533, "to turn over in the mind," also "to chew cud" (1547), from L.ruminatus,  pp. of ruminare  "to chew the cud, turn over in themind," from rumen  (gen. ruminis ) "gullet," of uncertain origin.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper 

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/rumination