Happy Birthday Thoughts

On everyday of the current calendar year someone, somewhere is celebrating a birthday. For children the importance of the day is marked in the early years by our parents. Remembering our first or second birthday's is best reflected with photos taken and looked at later in our lives. These earlier photo reminders provide us a glimpse back in time. We marvel in laughter at hairdos and clothing realizing that time has a way of changing things ever so uniquely. My siblings and I are each a part of the baby boomers generation. The benefits of this distinction include some historical moments that I believe the younger generation are well served by being reminded of from our personal lives and our time back in the day. I've never been a fan of the television soaps fan of "Another World" or "As the world turns" but it all began in 1964. Think about the salaries of this year, 2015 and look back to the year 1964 when the average yearly income was $5,880.00. I grew up watching a black and white television watching the original Bewitched, Addams Family, Lost in Space, Flipper and yes, Gilligans Island. Reflecting on birthday's can be a lot of fun. I remember the big brown bear my Aunt Imogene Mills bought me when I was three (which I still have) and I remember the train cake my mother made me too. I also remember the words of my grand-father C.H. Mills when we moved from Warren, Michigan to Kentucky. He asked my parents when loading up a U-Haul "..just how many toys do these kids have"? Obviously he thought no matter the answer to the number of toys we had, we had to many toys. To a child the statement might seem mean. How dare someone take toys away, but in proper perspective it was a valid question. Comparing my childhood to my grandfather's and even my parents is a totally different experience than mine. On my grandfather's birthday he was fortunate and felt really blessed to receive candy, nuts or fruits. His parents strived hard to make sure once a year he had new Bib-Overhauls. A growing foot received hand me down shoes before receiving your own pair of boots which were to be used for working. Any toys he received were handmade, so if my grandfather thought I had too man toys he was probably correct. The best gifts are personal. Personal gifts include a phone call, card, and your favorite desert back then. The personal has evolved today into text messages, emails and post of facebook. There is one gift that still requires an old fashion conversation. The best gift anyone can receive is offered by Jesus Christ. The Bible says that "He stands at the door and knocks". To accept His gift on your birthday or any-day will require your acknowledgment. Accepting His forgiveness last for eternity! Until then

A helping hand

Have you ever noticed your personal difficulty in receiving help? It could be that this first sentence has you already saying to yourself "no I haven't noticed". If that's the situation for you then allow me to share my situation which is just the opposite. I want to be someone that says I receive free and unsolicited help very easily but this is just not true about me. I am not sure where the root of this battle begins but I know I've seen the current face of this monster many times. There is something about our fight for personal independence that creates walls that seem to be a hundred feet high and barriers fortified so strongly that penetration is perceived to be impossible. The battle for self begins in our lives without any training or even a suggestive hint. As a baby the skill is natural and shows itself way to often for those shouldering the role of parent. The difficulty in receiving help is more than an extra hand volunteering to assist us on a project or working with a team to accomplish a goal. I am writing about that inner battle that rages inside of even the meekest of individuals when it comes to receiving help. In saying no to help we provide answers like "oh no, I can". We express no in a positive way by saying "thanks" following by our reason why help is not required. By accepting help the initial fear is that we are somehow giving up control or acknowledging our inability to handle a situation or complete a project. These thoughts are the difficulty we struggle with because they are true. We each have issues, situations or moments where help is the only answer. There is no shame in admitting this truth, rather I would suggest there is great character in seeing our need and realizing the solution. One topic that help is a requirement is the matter of sin. The only control over sin that I have is the ability to admit I have sinned and I am a sinner. The only solution for sin is the helping hand of Jesus Christ. It maybe you don't want help, but if you want the solution, He is the only answer. Until then