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 |  This contains entries to Take up Your Cross, Space Blog, Blog City PF and BC of Friends |
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Created by the talented [Link To User poulynoe]")    I am officially back from my extended leave. During my absence I worked 10 hours per day ringing the bell for the Salvation Army Huntington Corps. I was a volunteer and often had the top kettle for the day so I raised a significant amount of money, though the corps still fell way short of its goal. I know my readers missed me when I was gone and I ask you to forgive me.  "Prompt: As we prepare to go into a new year and live out the last few days of this one, Let's think about where we are spiritually. Where are you in terms of your walk with God? Are you where you want to be, or does your relationship with God need improvement?"Ringing the bell for the Salvation Army both brought me closer to God and at the same time drew me away from God. It brought me closer because the whole time I rang I played Christian Christmas music in the background and sang carols such as "Silent Night", "Joy to the World", "Hark the Herald Angels Sing," "O Come All Ye Faithful", "The First Noel" and others. I was told by most people that I have a beautiful singing voice. I sing deep, sort of a baritone. The women particularly loved my singing and a number of men told me that they admitted that I was good. Most of the people who complimented my singing backed up their compliments with a %5.00, $10.00, or $20.00 contribution to my kettle so it gave me a little more confidence in my ability to sing publicly. I was a little apprehensive about it because my commander at the Huntington Corps Salvation Army was a music major in college. One day I sang with a hastily assembled praise team at church. One of the younger men kept singing off key and off time and I commented to my commander that some members of the praise team had messed up. She said "Yes, some people think they can sing when they can't." That same night she invited the praise team to assemble and the young man whom I thought san off key and out of time was the first one she invited to join the evening's praise team. I was not invited. I took that to mean she thought I was the bad singer and have tried to quell my singing in church ever since. During the bell ringing I for some reason began singing when "Silent Night" came on the soundtrack. Donations to my kettle immediately began being big bills such as $20.00 bills and people gathered around listening to me sing. It took a few days but I figured out that I had misunderstood my commander and even if I had not misunderstood her, most people enjoy hearing me sing whether she does or not. So I plan to become a member of the now developing praise team at church. I am also going to do worship solos at church. I originally said that bell ringing had both drawn me closer to God and drew me away. That requires some explanation. I say it drew me closer because singing those old Christian Christmas carols also requires hearing the words in them. Songs such as "The Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy" are so full of doctrine that they practically preach! The named song alone tells of how at least six different witnesses witnessed the birth of Jesus. Listening to these songs and singing them drastically increased my faith. On the other hand the long hours I worked weakened my body and my resolve to stay close to the Holy Spirit. I often found myself acting in ways that I normally would not act and treating people in ways I normally would not due to exhaustion and fatigue. I also failed to practice my spiritual disciplines such as prayer and bible reading because I found myself sleeping during the times I would normally do them. So I can say I both gained and slid backwards, if that makes sense. Happy New Year everybody. I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas.  I am back from my extended absence. I was ringing the bell for the Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign, which provides the funding for Salvation Army programming throughout the year. I thank (3010) for covering for me so I could work for this wonderful charity. As a note, I know that many of you heard the bad press the Salvation Army received and how an internal audit by the Army to determine if any of our policies were in anyway discriminatory was used by enemies of the Salvation Army to claim the Army demanded an apology from whites for being white.The Salvation Army did not ask whites to apologize for being white nor will they ever do so! The Salvation Army's policy is clear. We serve human needs without discrimination. I wanted to state that. Sorry for the rant. On the way back from the starbase where I was taking my extended leave for vocational purposes, I visited the home star of [user:tigger} who has dozens of planets in her system. One planet was
which is a cafe ran completely by felines. The service there is excellent. Stop by there and write about your visit in your blog today. I visited this cafe and while I am not a really big feline fan, I found the service to be excellent and the cuisine great! Princess Megan Snow Rose   has talent that exudes from her very pores and a heart that is pure gold. Princess Megan Snow Rose I love and appreciate you very much!Prompt |
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