CATS, RATS, SNAKES, AND BOBCATS

When I was young, my aunt had a well in her backyard. It was the kind you have to lower a bucket down into and draw up the water. She built a shed over it connecting it to the house, then she closed it in with tin siding. She stored a few things in there like firewood, gardening tools, and miscellaneous things she didn’t want in the house. She left the ground for the floor and eventually, the grass all died and it was a dirt floor.

One day, I noticed several large holes in the ground behind the kitchen. They were tunnels leading under the house. There were big piles of dirt in front of them where something big had been digging. I asked my aunt what it was and she said it was Gopher Rat holes. Then, my uncle said the rats were so big that he had to use a stick of firewood to kill them.

My aunt had several cats and dogs over the years with weird names. She had a cat named Blackie, and one named Brownie, because of their color. She had a cat named Tom because he was a Tomcat, and a dog named Snowball because he was white and fluffy.

There was a rectangular hole in the floor under the kitchen sink where the big drain pipe ran under the floor. It was big enough for the cats to climb through, so my aunt put a piece of wood there like a ramp to make it easier for the cats to come in and go out of the house. Her cats were not the only thing that could come through the hole, and they weren’t the only things that did.

One day, we were at her house and she went into the kitchen for something. All of a sudden, we heard an awful commotion and she started yelling. Of course, we all ran to see what was going on. There on the floor by the stove and the back door was a big, long, black snake and it was squirming all over the floor trying to get away from the broom she was hitting it with. For some reason, I don’t remember if she killed it or if it got away, probably because we ran out of there.

I also found a baby mouse there one time by that stove behind the door. It didn’t have any hair and it was so cute, but knowing what they grow up to become, my grandmother wouldn’t let me keep it. She told me to put it back where I got it because the mother was probably looking for it.

My aunt told us about another time she went into the kitchen and found an uninvited guest. She said she got up one morning and went to make coffee and found a bobcat sitting there eating her cat’s food. Of course, he ran back under the sink and escaped through the hole her cats went in and out of. She said he came in several times. I wanted her to catch it so I could have it as a pet, but she said, “That thing’s wild. It’ll tear you all to pieces.” She said she prepared some hot water to dash on the bobcat one morning, so he would stop coming in and eating her cat’s food, and after she did that, it never came back again. I thought that was mean of her, but I think it can be a good spiritual lesson.

Sometimes sin sneaks into our lives. But, we don’t always recognize it as sin because we've let our guard down. Sin is often disguised as something other than what it truly is. Sometimes, it keeps coming back again and again. Maybe we need to dash some hot water on it and get it out of our lives for good.

The Bible says that God is able to keep us from sinning (Jude 1:24). We need that close, personal relationship with Jesus, and the Holy Spirit living in our minds to lead, and guide us. Staying in constant contact with God is a very important part of that relationship (1 Thessalonians 5:17). That includes listening as well as talking. It’s a relationship between created human beings and our loving Creator. What a beautiful relationship.

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READ BETWEEN THE LINES

When I was in school, there was a popular saying going around among the students. “Read Between The Lines.” As you said the words, you held up three fingers with the middle finger being in the middle of the other two, like three lines. When you read between the lines you would discover you were being given the middle finger.

That was a childish game, but I’ve seen adults use it and I used it myself into my late teens, occasionally. But there’s an adult version still kicking around today, but it is a little different. Something is said, and someone else “reads between the lines.” What that means is they’re discovering what the person who spoke really meant but didn’t actually say.

Now occasionally, there are instances where people will say something with camouflaged or hidden meanings that they want someone to know without actually having to say it plainly, but most of the time, when we read between the lines we’re not discovering anything new or extra that the person was thinking but didn’t say, we’re only thinking they said something they didn’t say and didn’t even think.

When we read between the lines, we’re actually projecting our own thoughts and feelings into something someone else said. It’s very likely that what we think we’re discovering between the lines is only our thinking, and has absolutely nothing to do with what the person actually said or thought. In reality, most of the time, I think we’re actually discovering what we think, and feel about the subject being presented.

You may not think you have ever been guilty of reading between the lines because you didn’t think that was what you were doing at the time, but have you ever had someone say to you “That’s not what I said?” You misunderstood what they said. Maybe that was an instance of reading between the lines.

I’ve actually been on both sides of this subject where I thought someone meant something they didn’t mean when they actually didn’t, and I’ve had people think something I said meant something it didn’t mean when I was talking. Our reaction in a situation like this can actually ruin relationships, friendships, and family ties.

So, in the future, let’s think about that before we read between the lines and if we think someone meant something they didn’t actually say, we should talk about it and discuss it with them, in a kind loving way. Not in a mean-spirited manner or a condescending way. We need to be kind, always. Sometimes I’m sure we’ll actually find that they did mean what we thought they meant but didn’t actually say, but most of the time, I think we’ll find that they didn’t mean anything more than what they actually said. We can preserve our relationships by discussing misunderstandings in a respectful, loving way.

Let’s not leave God out of the situation either. Always pray before you talk to someone about some conflict, and make sure God is with you to help with what you say, and how you react. Relationships are very important, so we have to be intentional in preserving them.

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ANOTHER EMBARRASSING MOMENT

If you follow my blog or read my books, then you know me pretty well because I’ve opened up about a lot of really personal things and even some embarrassing things that have happened to me over the years. This one though is one that you probably wouldn’t expect anyone to share. In fact, I never thought I’d ever share it, outside my family, but today, I decided I would.

I was eight years old, and we were on a school field trip to Tishomingo State Park. We were going mainly to see “The Swinging Bridge” but there was so much more to do there. We had all kinds of fun that day. After we ate lunch, we went on a hike. That was the last activity for the day, then we would get back on the bus and head back to the school.

After we had hiked for a good while, I had a rumbling in my stomach. I knew exactly what that meant, and you probably do, too. Only, you probably don’t know that I was never good at holding it in when it was ready to come out. I knew there was no way I could ever make it back to the bathroom in time, so I fell back to the end of the line as quickly as I could without being noticed. Then, as soon as I saw the last kid go out of sight, I ducked into the bushes to take care of business, but it was too late. I cleaned myself up as well as I could, but I wasn’t sure it was good enough. When there was nothing else I could do, I ran to catch up with the rest of my class.

We finally made it back to the bus and headed back toward the school. I sat by myself and hoped that no one would find out about my accident. I was hoping I could hide it until I got home. As I was thinking about this, I remembered something Jesus said in Matthew 23:25-28.

Matthew 23:25-28 
25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees. Hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but the inside is full of extortion and selfishness.
26 You blind Pharisees. First, clean the inside of the cup and plate so the outside of them will be clean also.
27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees. Hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which truly appear beautiful on the outside, but inside they are full of dead people’s bones, and every uncleanness.
28 In the same way, you also appear holy to others outwardly, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and sin.

Just like the scribes and Pharisees in Jesus’ day, we too may try to hide what’s going on inside of us by our outward appearance. We may put on fancy clothes, fix our hair, or just try to hide what’s inside with a big smile. People may be fooled, but God is not. He knows exactly what’s going on inside of us. He knows just what’s on our minds. He knows what we’ve done and said, and even what we’ve thought. We can’t hide anything from God. So why try?

We may as well be honest and open with God. There’s no need to be any other way with him. When we’re sad, we need to tell him. When we’re angry, we need to tell him. When we’re disappointed we need to tell him. When we sin, we need to go ahead and confess and ask for his forgiveness quickly and get our relationship with him back on track. We need to be as open, and honest with others as we possibly can. We don’t want to be hypocrites. We don’t need to pretend that we’re something we’re not. We don’t need to try and pull the wool over anyone’s eyes. Honesty really is the best policy.

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EGGS AND TOAST, THE FROG, AND THE GUN

It was morning and the air was filled with the smell of scrambled eggs and toast. The lights were big and bright, and there were so many of them. The long, bright hallway seemed to go on forever, and there was a strange, not so bad, smell I had never smelled before. It was the first day of head start, and my sister and I were excited about it. We were going to have so much fun.

After breakfast was over, we went to our classroom to learn a few things and have some of that fun we were anticipating. I don’t remember many books but I remember the awesome multicolored, multi-shaped block set we got to play with, and the multicolored sticks and wheel set. I loved those toys.

At recess, we went to the playground. There we saw several things that we had never seen before. There were big tractor tires to play in, seesaws to seesaw on, swings to swing in, and a big set of monkey bars to climb on. We were a little apprehensive at first because we didn’t know what to do and we were a little afraid because, like I said, we had never seen anything like that before.

We didn’t have a TV at home, and we didn’t really get out that much because we didn’t have a car, so our experiences were limited. Plus, I was only five years old, and she was four. We finally got up the nerve to play. I don’t remember what I played on first, but I remember making my way over to those monkey bars. I wasn’t a good climber, but I did my best and finally made it to the top. That didn’t last long at all, though. Before I knew what was happening, I fell to the ground with a thud. Ohhhhhhh!!!! It hurt. I think I may have even cried. I soon recovered, and we went back inside for more learning and playing.

Another day, we were playing outside, and I saw a red frog. That’s another thing I had never seen before. I yelled out, “Hey, I found a red frog.” Only one kid seemed interested, and he came running as fast as he could. He ran right up to me, and pulled his toy cowboy gun out of the holster and smashed the frog with the handle. He said, “My momma said red frogs are poison.” I didn’t care what his momma said, he had just brutally killed an innocent frog. How could he just murder one of God’s creatures without even blinking an eye or thinking twice? That was just plain mean. It made me mad, so I hit him in the midsection, and made him cry. I don’t know why, but that was the first thing that came to my young mind. Naturally, I got in trouble, and rightfully so, but I felt justified because I thought he deserved to be punished in some way.

Each day before lunch, we would line up in the hall by the kitchen and have prayer to thank God for the food we were about to receive. One day we were in line and the teacher was praying. When she finished, one little boy said, “Teacher, Robbie had his eyes open during prayer.” The teacher said, “you had your eyes open during prayer, too, if you saw his eyes opened.” The kid just dropped his head and looked down at the floor. Then we got our food and sat down and ate.

I have a lot of memories from my childhood, and most of them are good, and even though we didn’t have a lot of things, we had lots of love. We always had food and a roof over our heads. We even had some toys. We didn’t know we were poor because we always had everything we thought we needed and at that time, we didn’t have anyone else to compare ourselves to. If you don’t know what you’re missing, you don’t miss it.

That’s why it’s so important to tell others about the love of Jesus, and a saving relationship with him. There are many people in the world who don’t believe there is a God, but there are many who do believe he exists, but they don’t know him. They’ve never met him or experienced the amazing feeling of forgiveness. I’ve known about Jesus all my life, and I was baptized when I was 12 years old, but I never knew what I was missing until I was born again years later. I dare say there are many others out there in that same situation. They need to know. Everyone needs to know and understand the love of God, and how much he wants to be with us. Whatever your passion is, whatever you love to do in life, find a way to use that to help others, and to introduce them to Jesus. We don’t have much longer. He’s coming back soon. The world needs to know.

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DATE WITH DESTINY

I was Twenty years old and it was Summer. I was driving my dune buggy on the two-mile road that led to my house from the main highway. I hadn't had my toy long but I was driving it like I had always had it. It had been raining and I wanted to get home before it started again. One of my friends was with me and he said something about slowing down. I was driving faster than I should have been on that curvy, wet road.

Then my friend asked me a good question. He said, “What would you do if you went over this hill going this fast and there was a car stopped in the road?” I said, “I’d do this,” and quickly bumped my brakes. When I did we started spinning on the wet pavement. As I desperately tried to regain control, we slid off the road into the ditch, but we didn’t stop or even slow down. That’s when I saw the light pole coming straight toward us. Just as we reached it, we quickly turned and missed the pole and started flying backward into a muddy field. As soon as we came to a complete stop, I shifted into first gear and stomped the gas to the floor, slinging mud everywhere. When we got back on the road, I drove quite a bit slower the rest of the way home. That was a scary experience but I was so thankful that God was watching over us.

I wish I had continued driving slower from then on, but I was young, but not quite as wise as I should have been at that age. You may think I’m exaggerating when I tell you this connected story, but I promise I’m not. Just a few months later it was winter and I made a spur-of-the-moment decision. I worked several miles from home and decided to try to make it to my house and back to work on my lunch break.

I was on that same road to my house where I had the dune buggy accident earlier in the Summer and once again, I was driving too fast. It had snowed earlier in the week and there had been ice on the roads for a couple of days, but the sun came out that morning and melted most of it. There were pine trees on the right side of the road casting a shadow on the pavement. Where the shade was, the road had not been exposed to the sun so the snow and ice had not melted there. 

Just as I was going over that same exact hill I saw the patch of ice. I hit my brakes in the same exact spot where I had on the dune buggy. The car began to spin out of control just like the dune buggy did. I tried to regain control just like before but I slid off the road into the same ditch at the same spot. Then I saw that same light pole coming straight toward me. Just like before, as I was just about to hit it, the car quickly turned and started rolling back into the same muddy field. It stopped almost in the same spot as the dune buggy. I’m not kidding. No exaggeration. It was eerie how similar those two incidents were, and I knew once again that God had been watching over me. That time, though, I had to walk to a neighbor’s house and get him to pull my car out with his tractor.

There was a famous philosopher and poet in the early twentieth century named George Santayana. He once said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” I hadn’t forgotten the incident the previous Summer, but it wasn’t fresh in my mind either. I hadn’t learned anything from it, that’s for sure. There are many variations of Mr. Santayana’s famous quote. The one I like is, “Those who don’t learn from their mistakes are destined to repeat them.” I believe that one can better be applied to this situation.

The Children of Israel went through similar situations where they would serve God for many years and be prosperous. Then they would turn and serve other gods. Then God would send them into captivity. Later they would repent and turn back to God and he would deliver them, but the cycle continued.

Today, many of God’s followers are in the same situation. When we turn away from him and return to our old ways, we get into trouble. Then we call on God for help. He helps us but then we seem to forget and go our own way again. When will we learn? God will not bless us when we turn away from him and do our own thing.

A good relationship with Jesus is very important. Serving the God of heaven is very important. Jesus said, “Whoever is not with me is against me” (Matthew 12:30). He also said, “No one can serve two masters” (Luke 16:13). In John 14:6, he said he is the Way. No one can come to the Father except through Jesus. He is the door (John 10:9).

Let’s not forget who he is. Let’s not forget where he brought us from. If we do, we may find ourselves back there in the same situation we were in before. We don’t have to live in the past or focus on it to learn from it. Sometimes, we do have to look back at where we were, to appreciate where we are now. I want to learn from my mistakes and be determined not to repeat them. Who’s with me?

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STUCK - PART 3

This is part three of a post from two years ago called “Stuck.” In parts 1 and part 2, I shared a few experiences, from when I was younger and got stuck in some bad situations. In part 3, I want to talk about a few other times I was stuck.

My cousins and I were out riding around the old back roads. I always liked going down roads I had never gone down before. We were in a place that is known to flood when it rains a lot. There were sand bars on the road and in the fields left there from times when the river had overflowed into that area.

The road was getting rougher the farther we went, and I didn’t want to mess my car up, so I decided to turn around and head back to more familiar roads. I soon saw a little opening where trucks and tractors entered the field so I drove in to turn around. Well, that did it. The tires quickly sunk into that sand and my car came to a complete stop without me even applying the brake. WE WERE STUCK!

We all got out of the car to see how bad the situation was. It was pretty bad. Just about that time an old car came around the curve and slowly eased up to where we were and came to a stop. There were several shady-looking characters in the car and one of them stuck his head out and asked, “Y’all Need Ne help?”

Now, as far as I know, those men may have been the nicest guys in the world, just out riding around, like we were, but we were just teens and, at the time, most of our experiences with people who drink had not been good ones, so we said, “No Thanks.” They drove on and we started working to get the car unstuck. It wasn’t as bad as we had first thought, so we got it out of the sand, and we were soon on our way.

Another time that comes to mind is a little disturbing to me when I think back on it, but I’ll just go with “desperate times call for desperate measures.” My oldest son wasn’t even two yet. He and I were out just riding around. I came upon an old road that I had been down several years before I started driving. It was once the main road that connected two towns, but it hadn’t been used by the general public in many years. It was mostly used by deer hunters and dune buggy, and ATV riders. It was literally a dirt road.

As I drove down the road I was thinking it was still in pretty good shape. After we had driven for a while, I came around a curve and the road was blocked. A tree had fallen into the road. Even if the tree had not been there, it would have been impossible to continue on because there was a mud hole right where the tree had fallen. I was thinking we will have to turn back, but I noticed a trail bypassing the tree and mud hole. It appeared that several vehicles had left the road and had driven around the base of the tree.

There was a hump all down the side of the road where the road bank was higher than the road itself, so I knew that might be a problem. I was driving a small Toyota car, and it was pretty low to the ground. I knew I would not get over that hump traveling at a slow speed, so I gave it some gas and turned the wheel just as I came upon the detour. Instead of the car going over the hump and around the tree as I had planned, the tire hit the hump and simply slid down it, turning the car back on the road, and into the mud hole, and up under the fallen tree. I WAS STUCK AGAIN!

I tried to reverse the car but it only spun. I had some experience with stuck cars and I was sure it only needed a bit of a push while someone gave it a little gas. I had a dilemma because I had nobody to help me. My son was only a baby and he couldn’t help. He didn’t even know there was anything wrong. He just sat there in his car seat looking around.

We needed to get out of there. We were a long way from the main road and it would be getting dark soon. There was no time to walk out. I don’t remember seeing any light bulb pop up over my head, but I had an idea. I could turn the car on and put it in gear, then I could control the accelerator from under the hood. Then when the car came out of the mud, I could pull the coil wire off and the car would stop. Great idea, right? I wasn’t sure, so I unbuckled the car seat and took it out of the car with my son still buckled in it. Then I put him on the other side of some small trees on a higher level so I could still see him and there would be no way for the car to get anywhere near him just in case things didn’t go as planned.

With the car in gear and the wheels turning backward, I started pushing and it started moving. It was working! Then all of a sudden the hood started closing on me. It was being pushed down as the car was backing under the fallen tree. “No, no, no!” I screamed. I had to kill the car and it was still stuck.

While my son was just sitting quietly in his car seat just watching the action, and I was standing there, totally frustrated and as mad as a hornet, I was wondering why these kinds of things always happen to me. Just then, several people came by on ATVs and a couple of the guys helped me get the car unstuck. I was grateful and I thanked them, then we turned around and headed home.

There are many different ways we can get stuck, both literally and figuratively, but no situation is impossible with God on your side. I don’t remember the exact words I prayed that day, but I’m sure I asked him to tell ME what to do, not to send somebody to help me. I’ve learned, though, that God doesn’t always answer our prayers the way we want him to. He answers them in a way that is best for us. What I tried to do was dumb and dangerous. That was my idea, not God’s. I know he sent those nice people to help us that day, and I’m thankful he did.

We need to learn to wait on the Lord like it says in Psalm 27:14. We need to stay in constant communication with God and develop a close, personal relationship with him so we can hear and know his voice when he talks to us. We don’t need to wait until we get into trouble to talk to him. He has a lot to tell us every day, so we need to be quiet and listen. Prayer is two-way communication with God. It’s the key to a healthy relationship with him. So start using that key today.

Stuck - Part 1

http://teddylynn.blogspot.com/2015/12/stuck.html

Stuck - Part2 

https://teddylynn.blogspot.com/2016/12/stuck-part-2.html

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CUTS, SCARS, AND LESSONS LEARNED

If you know me, you know that I’ve had my share of misfortune. I’ve had plenty of bad things happen to me as I was growing up. I certainly understand that plenty of others have had a much rougher life than I have. I only mention mine to show what God has brought me through. I have had a few major things happen to me, but for the most part, the bad things I’ve experienced were small and spread out over time. There are a few things that I’ve been through that I had absolutely no control over, but as I’ve grown older I’ve come to realize that many of the bad things I’ve experienced, I brought on myself.

I’ve also realized that there is a lesson to be learned from anything that happens in life. Sometimes the lesson is to “never do that again.” Other times the lesson can have a much deeper impact, and can even change the course of our lives forever.

The stories I want to share with you in this post were not life-altering events. These were some of the less significant ones, but I did learn some important lessons from all of them. As you may have noticed from the title, all these events have a common theme. If you've been following my blog, or if you've read my books, then you know that a lot of stuff happened to me when I was twelve years old. That’s where I want to start with this post.

On his latest visit, my dad had a slingshot he had made from a forked tree limb shaped like the letter Y. He had used a piece of leather, a couple of strips of rubber from an old inner tube, and some nylon fishing string to hold it all together. I wanted to make one of my own, so I gathered up all the parts, including a nice Y-shaped limb I cut from a tree in our yard.

My grandmother and my sisters had walked to the store just up the road. I didn’t want to go because I wanted to finish making my slingshot. I wanted it to look nice and smooth so I needed to cut off a knot that was near the center to make both sides look the same. That’s when it happened. After a tough few seconds of cutting, the knife sliced through the rest of the knot. That’s not all it sliced through though. It cut right into my index finger and the blood began to pour.

As many times as I had seen my own blood, you would think I would have been calm about it, but no. It was bad. I panicked. All I could think to do was run to my grandmother for help, but wait! She wasn’t there. The next thing I remember, I was running up the road toward the store as fast as I could go. They had just started back home when I got to the store. My grandmother put some kind of a rag on my finger, maybe one of her handkerchiefs, I don’t remember exactly what it was but she calmed me down and we went back home. She cleaned my hand and got the bleeding stopped and bandaged it up. It healed in no time, but I still have the scar to remind me of that experience. The lesson I learned that day is, Always cut away from yourself, never toward you, and that my grandmother was an awesome woman with a head full of knowledge, and a heart full of love.

I was probably just a few years older when I got my next major cut. I’m certainly not proud of it at all, but I used to hit the wall or throw things when I was angry. This was one of those days, but instead of hitting the wall, I hit the door. That’s when I realized that I had punched through a frosted glass window which was much thicker than regular glass. It sliced a four-inch groove in my arm, taking the skin completely off. I was in pain for quite a while.

Then a few years after that, I was angry again and went to slap a glass off of the sink. It was an empty peanut butter jar, and those things were thick. It hit some other dishes before it left my hand and I was cut again. It was bad, too. It sliced a hole about an inch wide and an inch deep and it wouldn’t stop bleeding. I tried everything. My grandmother did all she knew to do, but it was no use. About an hour had passed, and what looked like a gallon of blood lay on the front porch before I finally decided I might need a doctor. My grandmother sent my sister to get our mother. When we got to the hospital, I had been bleeding for almost two hours.

When the nurse removed the rag I had wrapped around my hand, a huge amount of blood poured out into a puddle on the floor. She took me back to a room and told me to hold pressure on the cut until the doctor could see me. When he came in he told me to let go so he could get a look at it. The second he took my hand, a stream of blood shot out and sprayed all the way up to the ceiling. I was focused on my hand and the stream of blood, so I didn’t see the doctor’s face, but I can imagine what it looked like as he quickly stepped back and said something that scared me to death. I’ll never forget that tone of shock and urgency in the words he said. With surprise and concern in his voice, he said, “Woah! We’ve cut a main artery.”

It’s funny thinking about his reaction today, but it wasn’t funny then at all. I could have died. I lost a lot of blood and I had a terrible time getting that cut to heal. I kept it bandaged up and it couldn’t dry. It swelled up from internal bleeding, and all the stitches pulled loose. When it did finally heal, it left an awful scar that produced excruciating pain every time it was bumped. That lasted more than twenty years, and believe it or not, it’s still tender to this day. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that experience.

Although it took several more years and a few more incidents, I learned not to throw and hit things when I’m angry. I also learned that the kind of anger I was experiencing was not normal, or healthy. I had some things I had to work through. I thank God and my wonderful family for loving me and supporting me through it all.

A close, personal relationship with Jesus Christ will work miracles in a person’s life. I know I sometimes sound like a broken record, but that kind of relationship only comes through prayer and Bible study, and having a close, personal relationship with Jesus is the only way we will ever make it to heaven. So, If you haven’t been born again, ask him to save you today. If you have been born again, ask him to draw you closer and stay in constant communication with him through prayer and Bible study. That’s the key.

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© 2017 Teddy Lynn – All Rights Reserved

My books are available in paperback and digital format on Amazon @ 
https://www.amazon.com/Teddy-Lynn/e/B01MZDB6L6

GETTING COMFORTABLE WITH SIN

Do you remember when you were a young child? Remember when you would get hurt? I sure do. I got hurt a lot when I was young. Most of the time it was because I was doing something I was told NOT to do.

When my children were growing up I observed lots of things they did, and I learned all kinds of lessons from them. I think they taught me as much as I taught them. One thing I observed was their pain threshold. A child cannot endure the same amount of pain that an adult can.

I remember my youngest son touching something made of metal that had been out in the sun and it burned his hand, but when I touched it, it was tolerable to me. Same thing with washing dishes. I could stand much hotter water than my children could because my hands were tougher and I had been used to heat longer than they had. The older you get the tougher your skin gets, and the more it can take.

I’ve been shaving for a lot of years. When I first started my face was tender and I got a lot of cuts. The aftershave would burn so bad at times I didn’t want to use it again. The more I used it though, the more tolerable it became. My face got used to it and built up a tolerance for pain. I guess it got tougher and doesn’t hurt as much as it once did. It was the same when I first started shaving my head. I put rubbing alcohol on it afterward, and I wanted to scream the first few times. Now it hardly bothers me at all.

Some people have chronic pain that never goes away. I have suffered from extreme back pain for many years now. At times it has been almost unbearable. After several years I came to grips with the fact I would never be free from pain again. I’ve learned to live with it and to do what I have to, to deal with it.

I hate the pain. I don’t want it in my life, but I’ve become used to it. I no longer pray every day it will leave like I used to. It has become part of my life that I have incorporated into my daily and nightly routines. I have decided there’s nothing I can do to get free from pain.

That’s how it is with sin. We know we’re not supposed to sin, and when we do it hurts. Baring the consequences, the pain is usually just emotional, but if we’re faced with that temptation again it’s easier to give in, and it doesn’t bother us as much as it did the first time. Eventually, we’re living in that sin, daily. We’ve made it part of our lives, and we no longer pray daily to be free from it. We decide there’s nothing we can do to get free.

The Bible tells us that by looking at Jesus we become like him (2 Corinthians 3:18). In the same way, whatever bad things we look at, we become like that. Some will argue that this is not true, but we see it all the time. You become like the people you hang out with whether they’re good or bad. My grandmother used to say they rub off on you. Ever hear the saying, “If you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas?” Ever hear “to be successful you must surround yourself with successful people?” It’s common sense. Whatever we focus on daily, we’re molded and shaped into that very thing.

I know TV and movies aren’t all bad, but the entertainment industry has an agenda other than just entertaining us. If we watch things with cursing and sexual content over and over, we get desensitized and we barely notice it anymore. Pretty soon, we let words slip that should never come out of our mouths, and soon we’re talking and acting just like the world.

Every time we give in to temptation, it becomes easier to sin the next time that temptation comes. On the other hand, every time we resist temptation, it becomes easier to resist that temptation, the next time it comes.

We have to be careful about what we look at, and what we listen to. We need to identify sin and call it by its name. There’s no such thing as a little sin. Sin is sin, and if we don’t identify it and stomp it out, it will take over our lives, and we won’t even know it until it’s too late. Don’t get comfortable with sin.

We need to look at Jesus and get to know him by reading his word and praying to him every day. We need to develop a close personal relationship with him, and he’ll show us what’s right and what’s wrong. Don’t just talk to him, listen to him as well. He’ll tell us when we do something wrong, and he’ll change us into the people he wants us to be; If we’ll only allow him to.

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My Blogs
https://teddylynn.blogspot.com
https://teddylynn.wordpress.com

© 2015 Teddy Lynn – All Rights Reserved

My books are available in paperback and digital format on Amazon @ 
https://www.amazon.com/Teddy-Lynn/e/B01MZDB6L6

THE ROAD TO HEAVEN

They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions. I’ve heard that quote all my life. In Matthew 7:13, Jesus said the road to hell is wide and there will be many people who find that road. He also said the road to heaven is narrow and not many people will find it. I don’t know about you, but I want to be on that narrow road that leads to heaven.

As we travel on the road to heaven, many times we get distracted by things on the sides of the road, and sometimes we even leave the road in pursuit of those things. I’ve been a Christian for more than half my life now, but there have been times in my walk with God that I was not faithful to him, either by doing things that I shouldn’t have done or by not doing things that I should have.

I’ve often felt like just giving up, and a couple of times I all but did. At times I have felt like the duties of the Christian life were just too much for me to perform. The standard seemed so high that I could never reach it, much less maintain it. I WANTED to do right. I WANTED to be holy. I knew what I SHOULD do, but, I didn’t always do it. I can relate to the Apostle Paul because I understand what he meant when he said, “I know there is nothing good in me, that is, in my flesh. I want to do what is right, but I do not have the ability to do it” (Romans 7:18).

I would look at other Christians who seemed to have it all together and say to myself, “I wish I could be like them.” I tried so hard to be a good person. I tried so hard to please God so I would be good enough to make it to heaven. I was trying to do all the right things for all the right reasons. Then I finally realized, that was the problem. I was trying to live a pure and holy life by my own strength.

When I saw what I was doing and started trusting more in God than in myself, things started moving in a positive direction. It’s all about a relationship with Jesus.

In my book called “The Journey To Heaven,” I share some things that I believe will help every struggling Christian finish this race on the winning side. God has a plan for each of us. We just need to Stop! Look! and Listen!

The enemy knows this as well so he will do everything he can to keep us from doing these three things. We need to examine the map that God has prepared for us. That map is the Holy Bible. If we fail to follow His map, we WILL be lost. So let’s run this race together, and win it together. I’ll see you on the other side.

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My Blogs
https://teddylynn.blogspot.com
https://teddylynn.wordpress.com

© 2015 Teddy Lynn – All Rights Reserved

My books are available in paperback and digital format on Amazon @ 
https://www.amazon.com/Teddy-Lynn/e/B01MZDB6L6