By Gary Andrews
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Over the past few years I have worked with some very wonderful people. I have seen many different personalities and had to deal with most of them. For the most part everyone wants to be happy but some can’t seem to get it through their head that happiness starts with them.
Some 20 years ago I worked with a person that had gone through some real problems at her previous job. It seems that she wasn’t happy for her family being at the income level they were at and she decided to use some of the money that was coming through the office of her employer. This lady wasn’t a bad person and her intentions were to keep her family in a higher social level than they really could afford.
On the outset it didn’t seem as though she was a miserable person, but she probably was because of the society she wanted to be part of. After many hours of counseling she did come to the realization that the people she was socializing with weren’t that happy and they in turn were making her miserable because she wasn’t at their financial level. She had a wonderful family and all she would ever need, had she just realized, that she had more love than most of these people she was trying to keep up with
Trying to keep up with our neighbors can make us miserable because of something we don’t have, instead of being happy with what we do have. In some instances it takes a tragedy or the loss of a love one to bring us into the realization of how unhappy we are as a person because of our circumstances. Once this traumatic change has been made we then realize who we are and what we have become because of the situation we allowed our self to be put in and by the company we keep.
Many times we as neighbors or co-workers don’t realize how unhappy a person is unless they confide in us. These people are sometimes very sharp in their dress, very charismatic, strictly business and professional, and don’t allow too many people to be close to them.
As the person I talked about above, who incidentally has a terrific marriage and life, no one would ever realize the troubles, pain, or misery they have as individuals. It takes an incident to bring out their true feelings and then you see a change of attitude
When we allow ourselves to become unhappy and continue to keep people around us that are unhappy then we are setting ourselves up for a fall. I remember one person telling me after coming to the realization of his unhappiness, “When you are miserable you feed off of others that are miserable also.”
There are many people in the world that are in the same situation this person was. It is my opinion and I believe that many professionals will tell you the same thing; life is too short to spend time with people who suck the happiness out of you. Please understand that I am not advocating destroying friendships or marriages but I am saying that proper counseling will help in these type situations. People have to realize when that time has come. Sometimes people closest too you will hurt you the most if your relationship is not founded on the Lord.
All of us have the opportunity to have a friend that will never leave us. His name is Jesus and yes He should be your Lord and Savior. When all else around you crumbles and fall, Jesus will be with you to lift you up again. All you have to do is put your faith and trust in Him and He will never leave you or disappoint you.
The Psalmist tells us in 37:4, “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.
(Prayer: Father God, thank you for each and every day that you allow me to live on this earth. I pray that I will live the way you want me to live and not be a burden on anyone. Amen.
(Suggested daily Bible readings: Sunday – Psalm 37:1-9; Monday – Luke 12:13-21; Tuesday – Jeremiah 9:1-6; Wednesday – Ezekiel 13:3; Thursday – Ephesians 4:1-16; Friday – Obadiah 3-4; Saturday – Isaiah 1:19.)
Gary Andrews is the author of Encouraging Words: 30-days in God’s Word. To obtain a copy go to his website www.gadevotionals.com

By Gary Andrews
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Princess Diana once said, “Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you.”
There is so much truth in this. I have seen over my years of dealing with people that everyone has kindness in their heart, however it is characterized by the environment they are in or have been raised in. I have seen people of different backgrounds and walks of life issue kindness toward others that many have never thought would be possible. There are so many people that are touched by what we say or do, and many of us don’t realize the magnitude of just how far our acts of gratitude, kindness and gentleness will be carried.
On the other hand, people have done things that have affected our outcome in life, and many times we do not realize it until it is pointed out to us.
I remember a story of a U.S. Navy jet pilot that was shot down in enemy territory while serving in Vietnam. After his jet was hit with enemy fire he parachuted to the ground only to be captured and spend the next six years in a Vietnamese prison.
Many years after his release, he was sitting in a restaurant one day when he was approached by a gentleman.
The man said, “you are Plumb aren’t you?”
The ex-pilot replied, “I am, but how would you know that.”
The man said you were shot down over Vietnam after you had taken off from the air craft carrier Kitty Hawk and you parachuted to safety only to be captured.”
The pilot said, “you are correct, but how in the world would you know that.”
The man said, “I packed your parachute!”
The pilot, whose name is Charles Plumb, stood up to shake the man’s hand and tell him thank you for the good job he had done on the parachute, because it got him to the ground safely.
Plumb is now a motivational speaker, and he tells this story at most of all his conferences.
Not only does he tell about the man that packed his physical parachute, but he tells of the ones that packed his mental parachute, his emotional parachute and his spiritual parachute.
After meeting the man, Plumb couldn’t sleep and wondered how many times he may have seen this former sailor and didn’t speak or acknowledge him. After all he was a fighter pilot and the other man was just a sailor.
How many times in life do we face daily challenges that life gives us? How often do we miss what is really important by failing to say thank you, hello, please, or congratulate someone on something wonderful that has happened to them? How many times have we missed a chance to give a compliment or just do something nice for a person?
1 Corinthians 13:4 says, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.”
Can we honestly say that we live this verse? If we showed more kindness toward our family, neighbors, friends and everyone that we meet, this world would be a better place.
Are we packing someone’s mental, emotional, or spiritual parachute?
Prayer: Father I pray that I can be the kind of person that shows kindness to everyone. Help me to understand situations around me and not be judgemental toward others. Amen.
(Suggested daily Bible readings: Sunday - Jeremiah 9:23-24; Monday - 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a; Tuesday - Proverbs 11:16-19; Wednesday - Ephesians 4:29-32; Thursday - Colossians 3:12-14; Friday - Zechariah 7:9-10; Saturday - 1 John 3:16-20.)
Gary Andrews is the author of “Encouraging Words – 30 days in God’s Word” an uplifting devotional book leading into a daily journey. To obtain a copy of his book visit his website at www.gadevotionals.com or stop by the Yazoo Herald for an autographed copy.

By GARY ANDREWS
Editor and Publisher

My wife and I are the parents of four wonderful children. The Lord has blessed us tremendously and our children are now adults living in a world that wants to dictate to them.
Reading a story not long ago about a family of ten, that is eight children and two parents, I was reminded through a statement from the father what it takes to be a close knit family. His statement was, “I don’t think parents are slowing down enough to have conversations with their children. It’s not just figuring out how to discipline them, it’s actually talking with them, talk to their hearts; understand and dig deep into their souls.”
This man and his wife are raising their children in a Christian environment through home schooling, training their children how to work with others, the discipline it takes to succeed in the world, and how to love each other.
It would be so good to see other families, even the ones with one or two children, doing the same thing. Being a school teacher my wife sees so many dysfunctional situations when her school children come to school. Family time is a thing of the past and it really takes its toll on these children when they are in public arenas.
The lack of parenting creates an avenue of disrespectful, intolerant, and disobedient children.
As I stated before, my family has been tremendously blessed because we made the opportunities of growing up with our children. As the family with eight children, we made time to talk, play, and listen to our children and their successes along with their problems. This way we were able to advise and discipline as parents should and hold them accountable for their actions.
Parents are needed once again in today’s society. We need to teach our children the difference between wrong and right, tolerance and intolerance, love and hate, and being respectful, especially to teachers, leaders, and elders.
Prayer: Thank you Lord for the parents that I had and their availability to me and their discipline. I pray that I can show the same for the children you have blessed me with. Amen.
(Suggested daily Bible readings: Sunday - Proverbs 16:6; Monday - 2 John 1-4; Tuesday - 2 Corinthians 12:14-15; Wednesday - Exodus 20:12; Thursday - Judges 13:8-24; Friday - Psalm 44:1-3; Saturday - Proverbs 6:20-23.)
Gary Andrews is the author of “Encouraging Words – 30 days in God’s Word” an uplifting devotional book leading into a daily journey. To obtain a copy of his book visit his website at www.gadevotionals.com or stop by the Yazoo Herald for an autographed copy.

By GARY ANDREWS
Editor and Publisher

President Ronald Reagan once said, “If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under.”
How true this is! And, it seems that America is headed in that direction.
Since prayer was taken out of schools in 1962 it seems that America has taken a downward turn. With our new government in place it seems that we are going further and further down the road and turning away from God in most every instance. How much longer are we, as Christian Americans, going to let this happen?
Most Americans will tell you they believe in prayer. Most Americans will tell you that that there is a God, however, most Americans are letting this country go down the tube because we are not standing on the promises that God gave to us.
We are the same as the Israelites of the old testament in 2 Chronicles 7:11-22. This passage tells us of the Lord appearing to Solomon and giving him explicit instructions for himself and Israel. Could this story apply to America of today also?
We have gotten away from what truths built this country. We have gotten away from the integrity and hard work of Godly people who worshiped the Lord and called on Him in times of trouble.
People, we are in times of trouble in America. Many of our systems are failing and we, as a worldly congregation are trying to fix it without calling on the name of the Lord, our creator and sustainer. Pay careful attention to verses 21 and 22. “...Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple? People will answer, “Because they have forsaken the Lord, the God of their fathers,...”
All of us need to pray for ourselves and pray for our country. We need to look at 2 Chronicles 7:14 and do as this verse tells us. “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive  their sin  and will heal their land.”
Prayer: Lord, thank you for being a patient God. I pray that I will be in your will in all that I do and Lord, I pray for America. We are in a time of great need and You are the only one that can bring us out of this peril. Amen.
(Suggested daily Bible readings: Sunday - 2 Chronicles 11-22; Monday - Psalm 116:1-7; Tuesday - Acts 1:24-26; Wednesday - John 15:9-17; Thursday - Luke 18:1-8; Friday - Matthew 8:2-4; Saturday - Zechariah 7:4-14.)
Gary Andrews is the author of “Encouraging Words – 30 days in God’s Word” an uplifting devotional book leading into a daily journey. To obtain a copy of his book visit his website at www.gadevotionals.com or stop by the Yazoo Herald for an autographed copy.