Open Your World…

I have been sharing thoughts for about 47 years either through “Life’s Handbook” or my blog which is just over 5 years old. I have to say It has been a humbling experience to see my world open up the world’s of other people. I never thought my words would have such an effect on others.

When I started writing back in late 1971 I was fighting to recover from injuries received in Vietnam and was lucky to be alive. But, God had a plan for me and that was to share my Life experiences wth the world. It brings back memories that Grandfather taught me and sayings like: What the caterpillar thinks is the end of the world, the Master calls a butterfly. I really thought it was the end of my world. Little did I know the butterfly in me would be the Hope for so many around the world.

Hope… Imagine just how much we can change the world if we shared hope with everyone we touch on a daily basis. I have found my thought shared in many books and even on a television show. This is amazing that God will use us to spread love and hope throughout the world.

In my post What Love Is I shared this: Light is Love and the more of our light we shine the more love we share. The more love we share the brighter our light shines. Seek the light!

As Christians we are the love and the light God wants shared with all in our path. We are His example of what love can do and the light to His path. If we all would share this love and light peace just may be possible around the world.

Life just doesn’t happen, we are here for a reason and to me that reason has turned out to be the light for others to find Hope and Love. As I share my Life experiences with my readers, I ask you to help spread the love, light and hope with all you can. I also ask for comments and questions as they open the door for more subjects to write about. Between the teachings of Grandfather and my extended education, my life experiences are open for anyone who asks.

How about you, are you ready to open your world? You just may have the hope that someone’s needs to go on.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

A life of love…

Absolute solitude puts you on a precipice, the very edge, if you will, of a two edged sword, perched between life and death, the yin and the yang , the heavens above and the earth below. It is here, the very essence of life, where life itself takes on a whole new meaning. Harmony, love, trust and faith in, with and around your fellow man step up and take a leading role in the meaning of everyday life. It takes a unique balance of all of these to maintain human relations in our complex world. The pressures put on us by our social peers, for lack of a better word, tend to drive us all in opposing directions from the center of life’s true meaning.

When reading these lines, take the time to ponder on what they mean to you. Your world will open up to you and show you new ways to love. For we all know life is too short, yet we waste so much of it in one conflict or another. Wouldn’t it be so much easier if we learned to take those conflicts as life lessons meant to share our light and love with each other?

Grandfather always reminded me:

Love doesn’t make the world go around, but it sure makes the ride worthwhile.

Love is something that has many definitions, yet we all seem to look only at the ones that make us happy. Sharing your life experiences, good or bad, can make someone else’s life a little easier for the simple reason that what you learned working through that conflict can be the answer that helps another person cope with theirs. Maybe that is why Grandfather always told me to learn from the mistakes of others, for you don’t have time to make them all yourself.

Harmony, love, trust and faith interweave and merge throughout our worlds to the point that one can barely distinguish the end of one from the beginning of another. It is done with such balance that each one will compliment the others in the dynamic state of our ever-growing worlds. Four separate feelings, each with a virtue in itself, all sharing a common beginning. They are interdependent on each other to help maintain that delicate balance of what we call life. This unshakable bond created from this common ground is the center of our worlds ….the heart.

Happiness… begins in the heart. Then it grows on the words we share with others, on the wings of birds in flight, and on the pedals of all our flowers. This is what love truly means – to share and happiness is truly a joy meant to be shared. I guess when you tie it all together life has no meaning without the love we share, for it is the sharing that makes it grow.

A life of love begins when we accept the fact that we have to release our personal prejudices, we all have some, and realize we all need each other to make it worthwhile. It all begins with that first smile, word of kindness, or the gentle hand you offer someone in need. Are you willing to take that first step?

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Thanksgiving…

This Thanksgiving I give thanks to God for family, friends and the loving peace He has blessed me with. When I look back over the past year, I am amazed at all the blessings He has given me, in spite of my short comings. Thank you Father for loving me and showing me how to love.

I’m sure we all have many things to be thankful for and I sincerely wish each and every one of you a wonderful day full of love, joy and thanksgiving. Share your blessings with every one that crosses your path. Be the shining light He intended you to be and remember love isn’t love until you give it away.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

Your story…

YOU are led through your lifetime by the inner learning creature, the playful spiritual being that is your real self.

Isn’t it interesting how we, as humans, believe our life is not under our control, that our past defines us and we can’t change our path? It’s true our past stays with us forever, but we decide what our future is. We have the option to change our paths, to go another direction anytime we want. I’m not saying it will be easy, for all things good require effort on our part. We just need to be willing to work for it.

DON’T turn away from possible futures before you’re certain you don’t have anything to learn from them.

Many times I have written that people cross our paths for a reason and that reason is we have something to share with them or they have a gift to share us. That gift just may be the answer you are seeking to brighten you future, putting you on a different path in life. Our goal is to determine if the answer we seek is in that future or not. God brought that person to you for a reason, don’t sidestep it, make the best of it. I’ve often wondered just how many blessings I’ve passed up, because I decided I didn’t have time to stop, listen and share. Yes, it’s true, we are the sum total of the choices we make in life, take the time to explore them before throwing them aside.

YOU’RE always free to change your mind and choose a different future or past.

The beauty of freewill is we always have the option to change our mind. If the direction we choose turns out to be a bad choice, we can change direction and start a new path. Powerful isn’t it? Many of us feel we have little control over our life when in fact we almost have full control. Yes, before you ask, God knows what position we are going to take before we do, but He also is there to guide us back when we overstep our brain. We just have to listen to that soft whisper in our ear.

Over the years I’ve learned that life just doesn’t happen, we chose the direction and He guided us along the way. We made mistakes, probably more than we should, but He was always there to help guide us back to where we needed to be, if we asked. I have also learned He is always there, as promised, and always will be.

So, are you happy with the direction your life is going? If not change it and find a path that brings you closer to Him. Ask Him for assistance and He will guide you back to where you belong. As you travel your path, shine your light and share your love with everyone you meet. One just may be that angel you are seeking.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love alway,

Ed

We Are…

As a Christian I have learned God is love and since He resides in my heart, I am love also. My soul is the light that shines the love He has given me to share with all.

Yet, some in the church feel that love is only to be shared with fellow members who talk and act as they do. The divide in our Country starts right here in the church. As strange as it sounds, the place that teaches us to love our neighbors is also the place that is dividing us as a country yet so many are blinded by their intolerance to see it.

The pastor of our church said something the other day that, hopefully, will open the eyes of Christians everywhere. He said if you think Southern Baptists are the only ones in heaven, you are going to be in for a big surprise. I think that will fit for just about every denomination we have in this world. God created each and everyone of us in His image, with His love and He blesses everyone of us.

I have written many times about how unique each and everyone of us is and how we all have a place where we fit in the world. It is also true that we need everyone working together to make it whole. Love is the answer and the glue that holds us all together. Light of the world we look out in the darkness, open our eyes let us see…

Father, I ask that you open our eyes and let us see the divisiveness among us and help us come together as one, with one purpose, to love all that cross our paths. Help us see that the blessings You bestow on us are meant to be shared in order to show Your love. Remind us that we are the light that reflects Your love and light. Open our eyes so that when we look into the mirror we see actually are looking at the face and eyes of You, that this is why we are made in Your image. I ask this in Jesus name, Amen.

I will close with one of grandfathers reminders:
The soul is not where it lives but where it loves.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

More than your share…

Over the years I’ve received many comments on my posts from people who say they’ve gone through many hardships in their lives and wonder just when it is enough.

This got me wondering why some feel they got more than their share, so I decided to share a life experience of my time in Vietnam to show both sides of that experience. As you know our lives are full of roadblocks and potholes that we have the opportunity to learn from and grow.

As you know, I was a Scout/Sniper in the Marines from 1967 to 1971 in Vietnam. As a sniper I saw my share of hardship and turmoil along with death. But this is part of combat and we all saw more than we needed. The plain fact is, war is not fun period and in Vietnam one had to fight day and night to stay alive. The friendlies you fought side by side with during the day were your enemy at night.

One mission had us finding prison camps where our solders were kept and to bring them home to safety. We were able to render the camp harmless and free our men in due time. On the return trip, I was at the back of the group closing the trail when one of the soldiers tripped a wire and blew a claymore off. It killed six and wounded a few more. I was hit in the head and right side causing severe damage to my right arm and shoulder along with opening part of my skull. I was rushed to camp and moved to the hospital ship Sanctuary where a group of surgeons put me back together. I ended up with 360 stiches in my head, a double compound fracture of my arm, a shattered elbow and they sewed the tendons back together on my shoulder which also had shattered.

While the doctors were putting me back together, I was sitting in His immediate presence while He held my hand. I felt no pain, only immense love. It was obvious He was not finished with me yet and He sent me back. Where I was taken to Germany and then sent home.

Ok, I hear you asking yourself what all this has to do with more than your share?

At the time I thought I had more than my share of pain and suffering, until I remembered He saved me for a reason and blessed me to share with everyone else. I very easily could have been one of the 58000 plus who didn’t get to come home.

It comes down to this we, as humans, tend to complain about our sufferings in life, but fail to realize all the blessings we receive along the way. Do you get more than your share of blessings? I know for sure I do.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed

When Opportunity Knocks…

When opportunity knocks do you open the door or do you turn away? I ask this question for two reasons, one is that you just may be opening the door to your true calling and two if you turn your back on am opportunity, you just may be passing up on a blessing from God. So that makes the answer to the question very important.

I started my blog with the purpose of putting my life memories and lessons down to share with my readers. Over time I hoped to open people’s eyes to a different world, mine, with the hope that they would see life as a journey full of hope and love. Now, with over 40000 readers, I have found my purpose has changed to one of following God’s will and sharing His message of love and understanding.

Life doesn’t just happen, it’s a carefully choreographed path laid out for us to follow. Oh yes we have free will and do make choices that take us off that path, but He is always there to help lead us back onto the path. His love for us is so great that He will forgive us our sins and gladly guide us in the right direction if we just ask. Yet, in today’s world, so many have trouble acknowledging this love or even considering sharing it with others.

Grandfather had a saying: Life is a gift of Love, we need to share that gift by helping others see life as an opportunity to give love to all they meet. Love just isn’t love until you give it away.

As a Christian I see this as Jesus’s command to love your neighbor as yourself and as I have loved you. This leads me to believe that when I lend a hand or help pick someone up or shine His light, I am serving Him as He commanded. Yet, so many Christians look at this as a burden and would rather turn away a possible blessing.

So I ask another question, why do you as a Christian feel it is beneath you to help someone in need when God lifted you from the depths of sin and saved your Life? Funny, I see so many who feel the under nourished and poor are there because they failed to get an education or could do better and are just leaning on others for support, so why should they help them. What they fail to see is this just may be God testing your faith and love for others.

Love happens when you realise that helping people isn’t a burden, but is an opportunity. It is your opportunity to shine His light within you so that all may see His love and blessings.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed