Marion Gaskins

Have you ever wondered why the United States of America has an EAGLE as our national symbol? If you didn't know differently, right now you'd think the United States national symbol was the OYSTER .                                                                           An Oyster ?  Let me explain......when God made the Oyster , He gave it a home, a hard shell to shelter it and protect it from its enemies.  He then put it in water.   Oysters thrive on sandy bottoms (instability)   Oysters just lay in the water and never have to make any decisions.  The currents move it about, so it doesn't have to plan.  No responsibilities.   Oysters require a flowing current to bring organic detritus (loose fragments or grains that worn away from rocks) to them on w...

Recently while preparing our home for the real estate market I realized that I actually enjoyed the appearance of the simplicity.  With less "stuff" competing for my time and attention, it became apparent that living as a minimalist might serve to be a positive lifestyle change.  Now, don't get me wrong.  When I say "stuff" I don't mean junk.  I am not a hoarder, I am not a bric-a-brac type of person.  I do enjoy and appreciate fine and unique home accessories, etc.  I do "save" some things because "you never know" when the opportunity may arise to "recycle."  Also, I am the type of person who does not like to have all of my interesting possessions on display at once.  Re-arranging keeps the visual aspect of a room alive; breaks the monotony. So, with the help of my children, I have begun to go through packed/put-away items.  It's tough.  It's not as simple as saying "keep" or "discard."  Some thin...

                                                                          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.