From the Heart by B.Demaere

Have you ever read a book with a new outlook, a renewed focus about it or life?  This happened to me as I was reading the “strange ” book of Ecclesiastes .  Although the author of the book is thought to be king Solomon.  It is now Solomon as a ‘senior” we are reading.  I always thought I was reading the book of an old man“tired of life”.  But now I am reconsidering him.  He is not so far from the truth.  I better pay attention to his wisdom. What I see in this book is phenomenal.   He is inviting us to evaluate our lives and to think long and hard at our time and moments. How we value it or them.   Do not work so hard that you miss half of your life.   He is asking us to consider the value of things and for him to have reached the end of his life and passing it on to us is a treasure of wisdom that I am truly thankful for.   It is my legacy from him. In the third chapter he wants to break our time in moments and name them.   That is an excellent time management strategy.   Little m

1)       Spare time? As a retire man like everybody else I have a lot of ‘spare’ time and yet all that time should be and does belong to God.   Spare time is a name we give generally to the time that we want to waste away. Our attitude must be that all that time is the Lord’s.   Since we gave our lives to him. 2)       God willing After I read an inspirational devotional in Bear Grylls’s book entitled “Soul Fuel” about “God Willing” I must agree with him that my decisions and plans should only be taken with God in mind as he is willing or not to fulfill them.   (If you remember Bear Grylls as the one in the TV series, “Running Wild with Bear Grylls” on Global TV.) Our (God’s and my) plans should not be determined by my shortcomings but by his ability to fulfill them. 3)       First things first If at the very beginning, we put him first we will be securing the best results for our lives and not have to put up with mediocrity.   This is harder for me than anyone as I r

I am just an average Joe, but I know enough to know that if you invest time and effort in the people around you.  It will be a worthwhile investment that will bring great returns in your life. Treat them with respect and dignity and you will get it back several folds.   I have made a lot of mistakes in my life, but God by his grace has covered my many faults and given me back for the little obedience I have given him. We hear a lot about ‘invest your money in this and that’ and those deals might not be always good and even scary looking. But invest yourself in people and they will go out of their way to serve you. Soon or later it will happen. Like I said, I don’t have much but the little I know, or have I invested it around me, and it grows on its own.   My wife has invested in her garden time and effort, and she is enjoying the return of a beautiful crop.   Should she have left it growing on its own would she have the same results?   I doubt it.   Time is the greatest value

  Family Affairs   Don’t miss it I know that we are busy in life or rather that we like to keep ourselves busy, while our infant girl or even teenager is crying silently for our attention.  They might even be desperately wanting your approval or guidance in their life.  But you will not give it to them simply because…you are lost in your business.  Love is yet an essential need of anyone of any age.  What you give to your children now is what they will give you in return when they grow up and more.  If they are miserable now chances are that you will be miserable with them when they grow up.  That is the fate we reap in our lives. Be all there My life with my children was good when I was ‘all there’ with them.  When I was not given to worry about our finances and rapped in myself with divers’ anxieties.  I enjoyed playtime with them, but not fully there.  It took us a while before I realized that I needed medications to live well.  Prior that time life was very chaotic; we mo

Listen! The Lord is not weak to save you, and he is not becoming deaf.  He can hear you when you call. But there is a problem---your sins have cut you off from God.  Because of your sin, he has turned away and will not listen anymore.  Your hands are the hands of murderers, and your fingers are filthy with sin.  Your mouth is full of lies, and your lips are tainted with corruption. No one cares about being fair and honest.  Their lawsuits are based on lies.  They spend their time plotting evil deeds and then doing them.  They spend their time and energy spinning evil plans that end up in deadly actions.  They cheat and shortchange everyone.  Nothing they do is productive; all their activity is filled with sin.  Violence is their trademark. I just came across this passage last night and the Lord spoke to me through it.  "Don't be surprised when evil comes your way after many prayers and supplications.  I can hear you but sin is in the way.  I can't do anything." To the