Month: August 2016

Life Speaks

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Let my life speak loudly, and let it speak Truth…

the grizzle grist mill

I saw this picture today, and it really hit home…


I hope that my life and my actions always line up with who I say that I am. It is so disconcerting to me how easily, it seems, some people can speak good words, smile and give a look of love and concern; they that same person can turn and completely tear another to pieces. I know there are times when we have to “smile and nod,” simply because it’s not the time or place to handle a certain situation, or maybe, you’re in the public eye, and it’s best for your leadership, your reputation and your “good name” to just keep your moth shut, smile graciously and handle someone with kindness. However, when there is underlying resentment and hatred, you can be guaranteed that will come shining through your actions! I don’t care how masked you think you are!

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Tuesday’s Treats #31

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Pueblo’s Cantina & Grill

Location: Jasper, Ga. (25 Luke Carver Dr…Listing address, because apparently there are a couple of Pueblo’s in Jasper! 😉)

I don’t know about you, but if I’m out of town, it’s so hard to know which Mexican restaurant to choose. Everyone’s opinion on this cuisine is so diverse, even in tripadvisor.com, you can end up at a great place or an awful one, all depending upon who gave the review. That’s why I decided to post about this restaurant, because we were recently in the little town of Jasper, and we were craving some steak tacos, rice and beans. I looked up on Trip Advisor, and this restaurant’s name was listed three times at three different locations, all with conflicting reviews! Talk about decision dilemmas. Ugh!

 

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After finding the one with the best ratings and driving to the address, we realized that we had actually been to this one before. The location of this place doesn’t look like much from the outside, but they have great Mexican food. The inside has a nice atmosphere as well. The sweet tea is what good Southern sweet tea should be. The chips and salsa are a great combo, and the steak is great. We ordered steak tacos, a fajita steak burrito and rice and beans. Everything tastes great, and the service is good as well.

 

steak fajita buritto

If you’re in Jasper, Georgia, and you want a good Mexican meal, find Pueblo’s on Luke Carver Dr. You won’t be disappointed. 😉

Evidently, they don’t have an actual website; however, I did find them on Facebook. Look here to find their location and see the menu.

How Do You Do It?

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I watch as a mother holds the hand of her 12 year old battling cancer in a children’s hospital day after day. I look on as a wife says goodbye to her man of almost 60 years. I wipe a tear as I read a story of a family that’s dealing with the death of two grandchildren, a son and daughter in law, all in the same week, and I wonder how you do it?  

How do you survive in this world without the love of Christ to sustain you? I wonder how you make it through these darkened days of tragedy and pain. I can’t imagine living my life with no hope, no joy, no faith in a Higher Power than myself. 

Maybe you’ll think I am just weak, that I simply need a crutch to walk through this life…well, I have found I can’t even walk without holding His hand! When I am leaning on His everlasting arms, I realize I can climb a mountain or walk through a valley! I have strength, because it’s no longer my human strength that I am relying on. It is the strength of my Creator and my God. He laid the foundations of this earth, and He breathed life into my very being; so, why would I ever think my strength is better than His? 

To top it all off, He loves me so much that He died and rose again for me. His plans for me are good plans, and He wants to give me a hope and a future! Believe it or not, He longs to do the same for YOU, because He loves you, too! Why would you ever want to deny that kind of love or reject that kind of power in your life??

Answer to Friday’s Angle #80

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How did you do yesterday?

If you guessed a Nautical, you guessed correctly! I took this pic at an aquarium, and I believe, their lighting was red; so, that’s why the color is red. 😉

I hope you had fun with this one, and I hope you will join me next Friday for another new angle! If you’d like to read the next new post, please come back to join me on Monday. Thanks for dropping by!

Friday’s New Angle #80

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FRIDAYS = A NEW ANGLE! 🙂 Woohoo! See if you can guess what this is…

Remember, the answer will be posted right here, same time tomorrow!  See you then! 😉

Desperate Living

/ The WheatandTares

Sometimes, we can get so caught up in our successes of today or our failures of yesterday that we accept the notion “all eyes are on us,” and that our success or failure will determine the destiny of those around us. Can I tell you, this is so far from truth! Yet, so many get caught up with this misconception from time to time.

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Truth be told, this mindset actually stems from a source of PRIDE! To have the belief that our actions, or lack thereof, can determine the destiny of someone else is placing ourselves in the position of God Himself, and He doesn’t give us that kind of authority. Sure, our actions can effect someone else, and they can bring pain and difficulty, or joy and freedom, into a part of that person’s life; however, God is the only One who holds the key to someone’s destiny! What we do, does matter; please don’t get me wrong. Yet, over the years, I have watched too many people who believe their actions can make or break another person’s future. To allow ourselves the privilege of this kind of thinking is to simply think too highly of ourselves and our impact on other people.

johnmichaelhelms.com


We are all just living desperate lives of survival here, and we are all simply called to love God and to love our fellow man. We are instructed to reach others for His Kingdom by showing them His love and goodness. When we lay down our pride and work together to this end, we become a unified front against the desperation of this earthly life. We become the Body of Christ to fulfill His purpose and His glory and to put the enemy to shame!

So, let us never think too highly of our successes nor too lowly of our failures. Let us always encourage each other to see the greatness of our God rather than the greatness of ourselves. Let us lend a helping hand to lift up those who might have fallen a little lower, and pray without ceasing for those who have risen a little higher. Let’s put our hands into the hands of the Father as we keep traveling on together, one step at a time, toward our promise land.

“For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.” Romans 12:3-5

Pilgrims Passing Through

/ The WheatandTares

edb8cc042620994917ac978f91ed3c6bI am reminded of something, time and again, that I think often gets lost in the shuffle of everyday living, periodic competitions with our fellow man and intermitten crises that, at times, seem to shield our vision from reality:  We are ALL JUST PEOPLE living desperate lives trying to survive in this journey called life!

That moment when you feel “on top of your game,” when you feel nothing can ever stop you, and maybe even a little pride comes sneaking in to seduce you to the thought that your life is so much better than so many, remember this: we are ALL just one heartbeat away from saying goodbye to everything. There are no guarantees for tomorrow, and there are no promises beyond what God has given us in His Word.

As well, on that day when you feel “at the bottom of the bottom barrel,” when you feel nothing could ever go right for you again, and maybe even a little self pity creeps in to convince you of the thought that so many would be better off without you, remember this: we are ALL just one step away from the potential to succeed. When you put your hand in the hand of the Father, you are guaranteed to become an overcomer, and you are instantly promised ALL He has to give.

Do these promises instantaneously make our lives perfect, never again to be effected by this human nature, this earthly life? OH! How I wish it were so, but by all means, NO!! He told us in this world we would have trouble, we would have tribulation; yet, He has, also, assured us that He has overcome the world! 

So, don’t take courage in your tomorrow, and never let discouragement cloud your view of today. We only need to hold tightly to His hand and remain trusting of His heart as He guides us through to the other side! We are simply pilgrims passing through to a better land, to our eternal home.

“Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.” Hebrews 11:16

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Tuesday’s Treats #30

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Marlow’s Tavern

Location: several in the Atlanta area


Marlow’s is the BEST! This is one of my favorite restaurants. The ingredients are picked up fresh daily, and the choices are unique and diverse. They have some of the best shrimp and grits I’ve put in my mouth. Now, I switch up mine from their menu description. I order mine with the jalapeño corn grits rather than the grit cakes, but that’s just according to your particular taste. I like them both.

The Tavern burgers, chicken panini and chicken stack are all delicious, and the salads are different than any you’ll get at another restaurant. Beware, the salads are of large proportion, too! You’ll definitely want to start out with the kettle chips or the firecracker shrimp, and the warm chocolate cake is a delicious finish.

If your appetite isn’t all that today, you can even order a few small plates to custom make your meal. There’s jalapeño corn grits, fried okra, fresh fruit and white cheddar grit cakes, just to name a few. If you enjoy a little spirits with your meal, I suppose they have plenty of that, too, because it is called a tavern. That’s just not my game; so, I apologize I won’t be too helpful in that area. 😉
The atmosphere is great, and the seating is very comfortable with booths, regular tables, high tops and even a great patio area. We had a group of 35 meet here recently, and the patio area was so comfortable and accommodating. The fans oscillate and rotate, and the tables are a cool wood/metal decor, and they even have a couch a table area for the more relaxed conversations.

I believe you’ll enjoy your visit; so, I hope you’ll check them out soon. Oh, I hear they just opened a location in Florida as well! 😊 Here’s their website for all your information needs.

Paving Their Path

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Once a child reaches the age of accountability, every child must make his or her own choices, and every child is responsible for what he or she does. However, I have found that we, as parents, do have a part to play in helping to pave the path they choose in life. We can’t make their choices, and we can’t be accountable for their decisions. However, we do have the ability to make those choices easy or hard to find.

You see, our children walk down their own paths into the destiny of their own choosing. They will be faced with the good and bad consequences of their actions and with the fruit from the seeds they choose to sow. However, we can pave that path with the “asphalt” of faith, the guard rails of love and the road signs toward joy and fulfillment, or we can lay down layer upon layer of rock, rubble, nails and thorns from the bitterness, foolishness, enablement and even pain of our own lives, layers through which our children will have to fight and claw just to find those good decisions they long to choose.

 

When we live as good examples for our little ones, make good decisions for our own lives as we try to raise them the best way we know how, and strive to correct in front of them the mistakes we are sure to make along the way, their paths will be lined with the good substance they need to not only survive this life, but it also will build the foundation upon which they can thrive through this life!

If you realize your children may have a rocky road ahead, I have good news for you! You can begin TODAY picking up the stones of hatred and anger that have been thrown along their path. The rocks and rubble of foolishness and enablement can be pushed aside. The nails of spite which have been dropped and the thorns of pain which have been sown can be picked up, cut back and removed as you reach out with repentance, forgiveness, truth and love.

This process can only begin with a right relationship with God, a daily seeking of His Word and a continual reaching out to your child with loving kindness. It may not be an instant reconciliation, but with Christ, it can be an instant healing within your own heart and mind. He can help you to clear the path and to make things right again. He can guide you and your child to a better way.

Answer to Friday’s Angle #79

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How did you do yesterday?   

If you guessed a sawfish, you got it right! This picture so intrigued me, because this animal always looks like it’s smiling at me as it swims overhead in the aquarium.   

Even though there are lots of similarities, these are actually different than saw sharks, too! I had to read up on them to be sure I was telling you accurate information, as I couldn’t remember which one was at the aquarium. You can read more about these neat sea creatures here.