charliesbutterfly

I have done it...several times. Life was going great for me, I was thoroughly enjoying my teaching career and gaining the things I wanted out of life...including my dream car and living in my dream city when the call to go to the mission field interrupted it all. The first time admittedly took prayer and some confirmations but nevertheless I did it and the subsequent times after that were easy. It got to the point of "where Lord" when I heard the call. The fact that I needed prayer and confirmation the first time does question dropping everything immediately when He calls but times after that were immediate. So I guess my answer to your question could be yes.

Hi Kiwi, I prayed for you as I read this thread a couple days ago but didn't comment because you had been given some very good advice and lots of things to ponder and reflect upon in your quest. You came to mind this morning as I was reading this devotion, I wasn't sure I would remember where this thread was but when I logged on I immediately came to it. I hope by now you have found a resolve in your quest for peaceful salvation and are enjoying the rest you get when you surrender all to Him. If you still need confirmation here is the link to the passage I read that laid you on my heart this morning. God bless you and keep you always in His restful peace. http://www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/daily_disciples/

I gotcha Is.6:8...that's why I said drop everything and follow Him without a thought.

When I read your post the first thing that came to mind was reverance and sanctified. Which means set apart in the highest esteem.

I feel you RGB...I've often thought that when I'm watching a movie or listening to music from the big band era and 40's and 50's jazz. The musicians then were so into their music, they lived and breathed it. I would loved to have been able to follow Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Stan Getz, Charlie Parker, Thelonius Monk and many others during that time as a groupie. Doris Day was my absolute favorite actress. I love finding movies and her peformances from that era. However, music is the only reason I would want to live during that time. Considering all the other things they endured I would not want to have to live through that.

Thanks Butterfly, Here I have cable, and TCM is one of the channels that I have. I never thought to check cable listing.. But I have been given a ton of information and many of those films has caught my eye. I will check TCM out, while some of the movies are downloading. LOL...You're welcome...this being October they have a lot of horror flicks listed. If you're like me, not a big fan of those.

Here is the link to TCM's schedule: http://www.tcm.com/schedule/month/ if you can't get the network, it list tons of movies with a brief synopsis. A good one I saw on there is Splendor in the Grass.

If you can get TCM (Turner Classic Movies) in your area they show tons of black and white movies. Basically, that's all they show. If it's color it will still be an old movie that beats the modern stuff.

Ditto Walla...with the exception of Moody Praise and Worship and radio stations. Don't listen to any radio, christian or secular. I try to watch TV but get disgusted with most of what's on. I even get bored with the Christian stations. Sometimes I just want to be entertained with clean entertainment and not a lot of talk and preachy stuff. There are no shows I watch regularly. I do like Dancing w/the stars but something else may attract my attention while channel surfing, which is what I mostly do. As far as music, I love it! At one point I made a conscious choice not to listen to secular music when my relationship with the Lord was in a growing phase. Then I reached a point where I could handle some of it. I love jazz and missed it during that phase. Fortunately now there is a lot of jazz worship out there. When I get a hankering for some of the old school artists I will take a listen, but find I can't take a steady diet of it. I have an eclectic taste in music and listen to a lot of different genres, excluding hip hop, rock and bluegrass. When the music sounds good and the vocal stylings stir my soul and spirit I will listen as long as my spirit doesn't feel troubled with what I'm listening to. I used to devour books as someone else mentioned, now I read few and far between. I read so many sefl-help books (christian and secular) that to me now they all say the same thing in a different way (in their perspective genre). Other than the bilble and devotion books, fiction is my choice now. I love mysteries with a hint of romance so Terri Blackstock is an author I read a lot of. Loved The Shack by Nicholas Sparks.

Our free will to do the things we know we are not supposed to do but do anyway and then feel like we have not lived up his love because we didn't do what we were supposed to do. But thank and praise Him for His grace and mercy.

Could startpage.com be using an sdvertising gimmick...huumm....one search engine telling on another...

Thanks oldzimm. I can relate to the "OLD GLORY" feeling, after serving time overseas as a missionary I fell in love with the flag everytime I saw it. Never forget how I felt when I saw it flying over international buildings while away. Wore the colors for about a year after I returned home. I'm sure my feeling though doesn't compare to what veterans feel. Thank you for serving and protecting us. God bless you.

oldzimm thanks for that good advice. I have never spoken to any veterans but if the opportunity should arise this is good to know. Since we know what not to say can you advise us on what we should say?

What a beautiful ending! I hope you have forgiven yourself and your guilt went down with coffee and washed away.

That brings back up the question then...why? This is interesting. Do any of guys know the origin of that verse? I agree that it is a very powerful verse.

What versions are you reading? It's in the NKJV and the NASB. It is not in The Message, they do tend to combine a lot of verses in that version and paraphrase them.

You are not alone in that feeling Angelique. I have always been a loner and enjoy my times of solitude. When I need people I reach out to them and they are always there, sometimes not in the understanding I need but I get some semblance of gratification from the interaction. I fluxuate between feeling peace in my times alone and feeling lonely during those times. I have found having one close friend I can pour my heart out to has helped tremendously. I wrote a poem entitled "Alone But Not Alone". The first verse began with, "here I am once again in a room full of people--alone"...I won't share the entire poem but in the end I was not alone in that room full of people because God was wth me. I too, have lost to death, not a spouse but a parent and a best friend. I was devastated by both and very angry at God because they were very tragic senseless deaths. I suffered depression as a result, put on that facade you mentioned and walked away from God. Although friends and family were there for me it wasn't until I sought professional help that I was able to make my way back to peace with God. Sometimes you need an outside objective opinion to help you see things clearly. Like someone mentioned the lost of serotonin and dopamine keeps you in that dark place, they need a little help to get back on track. I never wanted to be medicated but the meds precribed for me then helped me tremendously. And by the grace of God and the "footprints in the sand" I did not have to stay on the meds. God provides many methods to give us the help we need when we need it. I still enjoy my solitude more than I enjoy being with people but when I start to feel lonely I know that surrounding myself with close friends and the word of God brings me to a place of contentment. I pray you find the right course that will give you the peace you need during this difficult time.

We SO need one! T.V. used to be called the Vast Wasteland.....now it's the Vast Waste Dump. Welcome to Worthy, Charles! LOL. so true, it is definitely a dump. Thanks for the welcome.

I so totally agree with the first post. I channel surf mindlessly sometimes trying make something interesting come out of what's there only get frustrated with how they set things up now. They show the same movies over and over in rotation snd some of them back to back, and those reality marathons are worst than the old show marathons. Some of the commercials are just downright stupid with immorality. Virgin Mobile advertises their phones with tha appearance of male strippers dancing in front of women. Don't mean to sound prud but when I saw that I thought "what has become of America". If I had an alternative in my little small town for the internet I would shut the thing off and save my money. HERE'S TO A NEW HOLLYWOOD!! I'm praying for a change!