Peace of my heart

This was my Black Belt testing when I was forty. I had just broken my toe the week before, as I was taking my pretest for black belt. If you look closely in the photograph, you can see that my toes are wrapped.  It was a test. It was a test on more than one level. It was a test that I was not willing to forgo. I had worked too long to get to that place. I wasn't the best in the room and I definitely wasn't the youngest. I was forty years old, at the time. It was challenging, to say the least. I was awarded my black belt that day. It was not earned that day. It was earned in the three years of preparation leading up to that moment. It was in the group training twice a week, the training on my own, and in the rising early, every day, each summer, for additional training. It was in the investment of someone else's time, who cared enough to make a difference. It was in the principles learned, the patience and endurance that developed, and in the lifelong fr...

I just want to share a few thoughts... You have to be very careful how you treat those who keep covenant with God. Spiritual warfare is very real and God will take very good care of those who belong to him. If you find yourself in what seems like an impossible situation, you may just be in a spiritual battle. (I say this only to those who are of the faith.) That being said, I find myself reflecting on just how David perceived his enemies and exactly how he approached his battles. He was, after all, a great warrior; a very successful warrior. I find it very interesting that he had so much favor with Saul, that the king was willing to provide his own armor for David to battle in. 1 Samuel 17: 38-40 So Saul clothed David with his armor, and he put a bronze helmet on his head; he also clothed him with a coat of mail. David fastened his sword to his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. And David said to Saul, " I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them...

Masks..... Every day I see so many people that seem to be wearing “masks” as if presenting themselves to be perfectly happy and having it all together. Not only do they seem to be wearing masks, but they all seem to be wearing the same mask, so to speak. It's like a pre-programmed mask; a brainwashing, of some sort. It's as if everyone is just going through the motions of everyday life, without thinking or feeling. No passion; no dreams. They are quite obviously, very unhappy. When I listen to their laughter, it is like a hollow laughter with no merriment or joy. I often notice groups of people standing together, nodding their heads up and down during a conversation, wearing empty smiles and emotionless expressions. This is my perspective. I want people to see me. I want them to see the real me. I desire to be accepted as myself. I am not intimidated by true emotions or allowing them to be seen. They are evidence of the fact that I am feeling something. My sense...