Menu for Success

As children we would play chase and no one wanted to be it, so to choose “the” person to be “it”, one person would get in the middle of a circle surrounded by all of the children who wanted to play and recite, “Round and Round and Round I go where I stop, nobody knows”! We know that when you form a circle, it's not easy to step out of the way without breaking the cirlce. So you had to stand still or try to duck, but when the person opened their eyes, they could still see the person they stopped in front of. So many fun memories! We are just like the Israelites. The journey to the Promised Land was an eleven day journey; but it took them forty years to reach it. ( Deuteronomy 1:2 NLT ) They continued in the wilderness going around and around and around the same mountain doing things they felt was acceptable to do; however, they would not receive freedom from it; or as we would like to say “a breakthrough”! Why? Because their mindset kept them from "freedom"!

The Sandwich on the menu this month is: Willingness to pay the price in hard work and sacrifices, placed between rewards that follow hard work! Wow! What can I say about hard work and the rewards that follow? This is a subject that can seem contradicting if we are not careful how we view it! The United States is a country that many seek for "freedom" and opportunities to have a better life and a better lifestyle. Some flee their country from war, disasters, and hunger. The journey here is a sacrifice; because many have to leave with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Whether it is determination or fear, they took the risk and most of the refugees make it unharmed. What is fascinating to me is once they arrive in the United States, they have employment almost immediately, learn the language and the culture, and are eager for their children to get a quality education that was impossible to obtain in their country ~ due to the poverty  and oppression the

When my son was going into the eighth grade, the school invited those who wanted to attend, to an open house. They served desserts and punch while the parents and students mingled with each other and the teachers. I was in the lobby talking with other parents that came by, when my son came up to me with two of his friends following him, and said, “Mom what would you do if I got a tattoo when I get older”? I didn’t even ponder the thought, nor did I become agitated at the question. My question to him was, “What do you want to do in life? Do you want to be a doctor, a lawyer ~ what professional would you like to become”?  He responded, “I don’t know yet. I haven’t thought about it”.  I asked him, “If you went to a doctor and he had several tattoos on his body, would you go to that doctor”? His response was "no", as if to say, "I never thought about it that way"! I responded, “Don’t do anything in life you can’t undo”. He asked in bewilderment, “What do