I have been wanting to share this for awhile but kept forgetting to blog it :)
My great aunt, age 84, played basketball in her youth. She began to tell me how it was played and I was totally surprised!! First of all, I cannot imagine her playing basketball but second of all...I guess I just thought that basketball always had the same rules..NOT TRUE!
Back in her day, (hehe) it was called six-on-six basketball. the court was divided up by in four section, there were three forward and three gaurds and only the forwards were allowed to shoot, forwards stay in the front court and guards stayed in back court, and dribbling was very limited!! They had to pass the ball from one quarter of court to the next.
~I said: "Why?"
~And she simply responded: "Honey, it was not proper for girls to run in front of boys!"
I could say no more! But I chuckled inside when I thought of how the world has changed in less than a century. I guess it really isn't funny and life back then was so much simpler but imagine if our worry was girls running in front of the boys these days....
Monday, January 2, 2012
Sunday, January 1, 2012
New Years Day 2012
Well, I am not one to make New Years Resolutions and I tend to lean toward the old saying: "Resolutions are made to go in one year and out the other" but this year I have decided to make a couple of personal goals for myself....
In reverse order of importance I will share with you:
Second of all, I plan to write more...I love writing and I write a lot of stuff that sits in folders on my hard drive and never gets shared. I worry too much about it not being edited yet or if folks think I post too much and stuff like that. BUT, if I post too much then it is their choice to choose not to read it. So, my first day here I am writing a blog :)
First of all, I was praying about a resolution to make and as in years past the same ones came to mind at first...I plan to pray more, read my bible more, witness more...all the things that I have said in the past. God said: Shawnte, just thank ME more! Wow. what a revelation I have had ever since HE spoke. I thought all my ideas were great for resolutions but when HE suggested a resolution I knew it was clearly doable!! I quickly looked up the definition of resolution - a firm decision to do something. I immediately thought back to my very first day with the Lord...the day that HE saved me. I made a resolution that day...I made a firm decision to do something.. and that was to follow HIM, and it was completely doable because of the gift he placed in my heart. Sometimes I forget about the resolution I made that day BUT... HE is right there waiting on me to come back and I do not have to wait until the New Year. Actually all resolutions can be restarted during the year but we tend to wait...and waiting to restore the joy of our salvation can cause us to limit our own blessings, so if you are reading this a month from now and God speaks to you to renew your resolution to follow him then please do so quickly, do not wait til the next New Year.
God led me to a couple of verses to support my new resolution goal:
Hebrews 13:15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. this verse tells us to offer sacrifice of praise...really? praise..something so simple to do could be considered a sacrifice? why sure! God knew that the prideful nature of man...that we would count such a simple task of praise to be a sacrifice....it says to do it "continually" so in my resolution this confirms that my daily commited to thank God should be right on track....he goes on to say that the fruit of of lips is giving thanks to HIS name....most of the time our tongue/lips get us in trouble but this is a way that we could use our mouths for something positive...fruit benefits more than just us, it benefits those around us as well.
1 Thess. 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. I love this verse because it sealed the decision of my new resolution....this verse says that giving thanks is actually "the will of God"...we constantly seek the will of God in our lives and this is a very simple instruction that we can all keep. just say thank you!! we teach our children at a very young age to be polite and say thank you, in fact I demand it of my children and now they are learning to saying it in a meaningful way. God instructs us here to thank HIM, as you grow in the Lord it will be more and more meaningful when you thank HIM!
Eph. 5:20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
thank HIM for everything!!!
2 Cort. 9:11 Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God. when we get to the point in our spiritual life that we realize where ALL our blessings come from...it will "CAUSE" us to give HIM thanks - ever heard of cause and effect? I love the cause and effect when it comes to God, HE always outgives us!!
*All through the gospels, Jesus takes times to give thanks to HIS heavenly father, if he knew it was important to be thankful how much more is it important for us to thank HIM!
*When we thank HIM there are benefits for everyone....
John 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. a simply thank you can lift up our Lord and draw others to see HIS goodness.
Also in times of troubles and trials when we receive the comfort that only God can give and others witness that and we still thank HIM in the face of a storm, God will be lifted up!
My resolution does not have to be your resolution but I encourage us all to give God some extra thanks this year. I want to give HIM some random thanks that I may not normally think of, thank HIM for things that HE does when I not even paying attention, thank HIM for the rain on the day that I wanted sunshine, thank HIM for the my children being too rowdy because they have voices provided by HIM, thank HIM for the deep breath I just took because every breath in me belongs to HIM anyway!! Thank HIM for my friends who took time to read this blog that he place in my heart to share!
THANK YOU for Jan. 1, 2012!!!!!
In reverse order of importance I will share with you:
Second of all, I plan to write more...I love writing and I write a lot of stuff that sits in folders on my hard drive and never gets shared. I worry too much about it not being edited yet or if folks think I post too much and stuff like that. BUT, if I post too much then it is their choice to choose not to read it. So, my first day here I am writing a blog :)
First of all, I was praying about a resolution to make and as in years past the same ones came to mind at first...I plan to pray more, read my bible more, witness more...all the things that I have said in the past. God said: Shawnte, just thank ME more! Wow. what a revelation I have had ever since HE spoke. I thought all my ideas were great for resolutions but when HE suggested a resolution I knew it was clearly doable!! I quickly looked up the definition of resolution - a firm decision to do something. I immediately thought back to my very first day with the Lord...the day that HE saved me. I made a resolution that day...I made a firm decision to do something.. and that was to follow HIM, and it was completely doable because of the gift he placed in my heart. Sometimes I forget about the resolution I made that day BUT... HE is right there waiting on me to come back and I do not have to wait until the New Year. Actually all resolutions can be restarted during the year but we tend to wait...and waiting to restore the joy of our salvation can cause us to limit our own blessings, so if you are reading this a month from now and God speaks to you to renew your resolution to follow him then please do so quickly, do not wait til the next New Year.
God led me to a couple of verses to support my new resolution goal:
Hebrews 13:15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. this verse tells us to offer sacrifice of praise...really? praise..something so simple to do could be considered a sacrifice? why sure! God knew that the prideful nature of man...that we would count such a simple task of praise to be a sacrifice....it says to do it "continually" so in my resolution this confirms that my daily commited to thank God should be right on track....he goes on to say that the fruit of of lips is giving thanks to HIS name....most of the time our tongue/lips get us in trouble but this is a way that we could use our mouths for something positive...fruit benefits more than just us, it benefits those around us as well.
1 Thess. 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. I love this verse because it sealed the decision of my new resolution....this verse says that giving thanks is actually "the will of God"...we constantly seek the will of God in our lives and this is a very simple instruction that we can all keep. just say thank you!! we teach our children at a very young age to be polite and say thank you, in fact I demand it of my children and now they are learning to saying it in a meaningful way. God instructs us here to thank HIM, as you grow in the Lord it will be more and more meaningful when you thank HIM!
Eph. 5:20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
thank HIM for everything!!!
2 Cort. 9:11 Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God. when we get to the point in our spiritual life that we realize where ALL our blessings come from...it will "CAUSE" us to give HIM thanks - ever heard of cause and effect? I love the cause and effect when it comes to God, HE always outgives us!!
*All through the gospels, Jesus takes times to give thanks to HIS heavenly father, if he knew it was important to be thankful how much more is it important for us to thank HIM!
*When we thank HIM there are benefits for everyone....
John 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. a simply thank you can lift up our Lord and draw others to see HIS goodness.
Also in times of troubles and trials when we receive the comfort that only God can give and others witness that and we still thank HIM in the face of a storm, God will be lifted up!
My resolution does not have to be your resolution but I encourage us all to give God some extra thanks this year. I want to give HIM some random thanks that I may not normally think of, thank HIM for things that HE does when I not even paying attention, thank HIM for the rain on the day that I wanted sunshine, thank HIM for the my children being too rowdy because they have voices provided by HIM, thank HIM for the deep breath I just took because every breath in me belongs to HIM anyway!! Thank HIM for my friends who took time to read this blog that he place in my heart to share!
THANK YOU for Jan. 1, 2012!!!!!
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