Marion Gaskins

                                                                          It is so strange how some things happen in your life.................. I had just finished thinking and discussing the topic "JOY - Jesus, Others and You" ,  saying                                              "Life is not about you." So - it's now the dinner hour.  My husband, whom has a cold requested Chicken Noodle soup.  He does not taste anything nor can he smell food.  As I take the can of soup from the pantry, I needed to verify whether or not it was "condensed".  To my amazement, Campbell's had changed the label.  It was now written in English - and another language, wh...

Politically, today began another 4 years with the government officials (federal, state and local) that were elected or re-elected yesterday at the polls. Here are the "results" (no pun intended) of my pondering this morning.....                                                                   #1 - God has given our government His authority. (Take a few minutes of your time.....in your Bible,  Romans the 13th chapter.  Paul speaks about this matter in a clear and concise way. The purpose of the government is to assist us in our living; to reward the good and punish those who do evil. It is therefore my obligation as a Christian, a follower of Christ, to have a attitude of cooperation, submission and reverence regardless of political party affiliation.  All human authority is delegated to men - by God. ...

Two Boxes I have in my hands two boxes, Which God gave me to hold. He said, "Put all your sorrows in the black,  And all your joys in the gold." I heeded His words, and in the two boxes Both my joys and sorrows I stored, But though the gold became heavier each day, The black was as light as before. With curiosity, I opened the black; I wanted to find out why, And I saw, in the base of the box, a hole, Which sorrows had fallen out by. I showed the hole to God, and mused aloud, "I wonder where my sorrows could be." He smiled a gentle smile and said, "My child, they're all here with me." I asked, "God, why give me the boxes, Why the gold, and the black with the hole?" "My child, the gold is for you to count your blessings, The black is for you to let go." Author Unknown

                                                                                                                                      This is my sermon for the day...... While running in the race of life and on our personal track of success, we as humans have to work very hard and not look at and measure the success of others.  Sometimes we become "side-tracked" ,  judge others and measure how far we feel they have come.  But, the success of other people has absolutely nothing to do with our success!   Our success is not measured by the words of others nor what other people accomplish. Each one of us possess extra ordinary pote...

                                                **  When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty. **  Life is not about how fast you run, or how high you climb, but how well you bounce. **   Words that soak into your ears are whispered, not yelled. **  You can't unsay a cruel thing. **  Don't skinny dip with snapping turtles.                                               **  Most of the stuff people worry about never happen. **  Man is the only critter who feels the need to label things as flowers or weeds.

I'll start out with a POSITIVE note here...... Today as I was coming down a country side road I came upon a man on a bicycle who was stopping often, dismounting and collecting tin cans into a grocery sack.  This touched my heart!  I know that in today's economy financial times are difficult.   This man may or may not have been enduring hard times but one thing was for sure...this man was not lazy.  He was doing what he had to do in order to earn some additional income.  What a refreshing change from our society's average attitude of "entitlement."  I asked God to bless the man and grant him success with his endeavor. However, as I drove on I sadly took note.......there were a lot of cans littered along the road.  I had to chuckle a bit because I had just asked God to bless the hard working man, but the sight of litter was unacceptable.    Keeping America Beautiful has always been a passion of mine.   I do not have tolerance for ...

                                                                      I published this article several years ago on a website I had at the time................... Studies show that staying mentally and physically active may help delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease.  Research also suggests that POSITIVE and mental expectations can boost your immunity when you're sick.  Did you know that the way in which your body works has a lot to do with your brain?            So, what is the prescription for a sound mind?   Start by introducing some of these steps into your daily routine.                       Challenge your mind!                       ...

On a daily basis I stand amazed at how awesome God is.                                                                                     For some of you reading this, you may not be a believer or a follower of Christ.  You may not relate to what I'm about to say - but, please just hear me out.  Okay?   I love it when situations in life unfold the way they have in the past few weeks.  Sometimes in life, circumstances or situations give us little understanding or clarity.   However, today, God brought understanding to our home about His plan and purpose with regards to a recent life changing decision we had made.  He brought true peace ! My husband and I are approaching the retirement phase of our lives.  For years we have planned "our...

ful·fill·ment /fo͝olˈfilmənt/ Noun: Satisfaction or happiness as a result of fully developing one's abilities or character. The achievement of something desired, promised, or predicted: "winning the championship was the fulfillment of a childhood dream". Are you an optimist or a pessimist?  Optimists believe that life for the most part is good.  Pessimists, on the other hand, feel and believe that life is mostly bad.  Well, guess what?   Life is both.   In order to find fulfillment in life it is imperative that you embrace this truth.  Why?  Because if you don't accept this as truth then you attitude in life will become apathetic.   Every difficulty that you encounter will be met with an attitude of negativity, lack of enthusiasm, lack of concern and despair.  You will experience emptiness.  You might survive, but I can almost guarantee that you won't be successful. If you examine the lives of successful peop...

Do you think that you are busier than most people you know? And - do you get less sleep than the average person because you are just so busy doing this and that?              Well, aren't you just the special "busy beaver!" Now, hear me out.............. Don't you think that just maybe there is a little pride involved in working more, being busier and getting less sleep than other people that you know and meet? I'm just saying................... Think about it.........seriously! I'll bet you never thought of it that way.  Yes, I just might have a point.  Oh, I'm sure that it is often on an unconscious level but, sometimes "busyness" is due to pride and the need to feel important.     I'm just saying...................

Everyone has a "message."  We want the world to know.   Granted some people are more passionate about their cause or their message than others, but, the point is - we all want to be heard.                                                                         What kind of a message are you sending?  What kind of reputation are you building?  Are you gaining the world's confidence as a person of high integrity, a person of high moral character, etc?  If you are a believer in Christ and proclaim to be a follower of Him, does your message line up with your behavior? How miserably my attitude in life fails at times!  But -  I am so so grateful for the GRACE of God .  He reels me in and says, "what on earth are you doing?"  ha!   The devil is sly a...

Thought I would share this with you.......... For more positive words please visit www.myfatherssermons.blogspot.com

At a motivational seminar not too long ago a well known speaker started off his talk by holding up a $100 bill.  With several hundred people in the room he asked, "Who would like to have this $100 bill?" Everyone lifted their hands. He said, "I am going to give this $100 to one of you, but first, let me do this." The speaker proceeded to crumple up the $100 bill.  Then he asked, "Who still would like this $100 bill?" Again, all hands present went up in the air. "Well," he replied, "What about if I do this?" He dropped the $100 bill on the floor and began to grind it with his shoe. He then pick it up...all crumpled and dirty.  "Do you still want it?"  Up in air all hands were lifted once again. "My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson today.  Hopefully it is one that you will never forget.  No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value.  It was stil...

Psalm 23:1-6 "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.   He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou prepares a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anoints my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." What a perfect picture of contentment!  It is also about the wonderful dynamics of a relationship between a Shepherd and His sheep.  What does the shepherd provide for the sheep?  Satisfaction...... contentment. Contentment doesn't mean that in life we won't or don't have desires for additional commodities or better relationships.  It m...

                                                    C ourtesy - Do you treat others as you would like to be treated?  When dealing with others do you try to understand where they are coming from and what problems they may be facing?  Be courteous! Another one of my courtesy "pet peeves" is Thank You notes.  For some unknown reason people have forgotten how to use them.  When people are kind enough to give you a gift;  Christmas, birthday, graduation, whatever - send a thank you note!  It takes 2 minutes.  If you are invited to a party, a shower, a wedding, etc. - RSVP.           Being courteous is contagious.         Try it. C ommunication -  Seriously, c lear communicate helps life go so much smoother.  Say what you mean and do what you say you'll do.  Ta...

I love those nights when God awakens me so that I may communicate with Him in a special way.  Last night was one of those uplifting occasions.  His words to me were.... "If "I" be "lifted" "up" - "I" "will" draw all men unto me."   These words are not unusual or foreign to a Christian believer but God spoke these words over and over to me and I felt compelled to repeat them over and over within my spirit.  It seemed that God was emphasizing each and every word - wanting me to understand their meaning and purpose.    Today it is my desire to expound upon my experience last evening and share what I feel God was trying to communicate with me.  Let's start with some definitions (Merriam-Webster dictionary)...... Lifted - (verb) "to raise from a lower to a higher position (elevate)"                        "to raise in rank or condition"           ...

Every year we have 525,600 minutes to "Make A Difference."                                                        Does that sound like a lot of time?  It really isn't.  Time seems to be flying by and it appears that more people waste or misuse these valuable minutes.  Are you using your time as wisely as possible?   There are little things that everyone can do every single day - 60 minutes per hour - that will make a huge impact on our world and those people with whom we come in contact with. I will list a few of my favorite, but please take a few minutes and add some ideas of your own.  Then, strive to use your time more effectively.   #1 - Volunteer.  Your help is needed.  Contact The Red Cross , a nearby animal shelter, your local church, nursing homes, etc.  The list of facilities and ...