If you don't have anything nice to say, DON'T say ANYTHING!!!!!

From time to time in my blog I may refer to, "Honeyisms".  Honey was my grandmother on my mom's side and she was a wealth of knowledge and wisdom. If you don't have anything nice... was one she would use frequently.  It is no wonder that she was so loved by all those who met her.  Why in this crazy upside down world is there so much anger, hatred and jealousy?  I seriously don't get it.  Let's just cheer for others and be happy for them and their accomplishments.  Why are we so quick to criticize? How about when you haven''t seen a friend in 20 years? What do you say when you see them? " WOW, great to see ALL of you.  The LAST time I saw you, you looked great.  Yeah, you weren't fat and bald like you are now." ARE YOU SERIOUS??? A few years ago, I actually ran into someone whom I HAD a lot of respect for at one time, and she said to me, "You sure gained a lot of weight".   Not, "Nice to see you!" or, "How have you been?". If I see someone after 20 years, and they have gained weight or got old, or bald, I would never reference that. (Even if it was true.) What do you say under those circumstances?   If you once were friends, it would be easy to say, "It is GREAT to see you.", or, "How long has it been?". Another thing to say would be, "Remember when we..." and fill in the blanks.  I am sure if you were friends, you have a few fond memories to recollect.  Lord please help us to be happy, and positive in our dealings with others.  Please let us focus on the positive side of people. I ask this in Jesus name.

1.) John F. Kennedy inaugural address, 2.) Steven Tyler

What do these things have in common?  They were both on the Google trends list this morning and they have both asked for God's blessing.  I was grateful to see that JFK was volcanic and the new American Idol judge Steven Tyler was just spicy.  Don't get me wrong, I am a big Aerosmith fan from the past and I applaud Steven for his sobriety of 20 years. I know he fell off a couple of times, but recognized it and fixed it. He rocked God Bless America @ Fenway last year and JFK reveals God in his inaugural address.  This is the final paragraph of that speech:

Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own.

GOD PLEASE BLESS OUR NATION: ALL of the politicians, rock stars, entertainers, our friends, our families, co-workers, and all of those in Your need, I ask for this in Jesus name.

Regis Philbin - Birthday August 25, 1931 - RETIRES

I heard this yesterday and thought, OK, it's about time. Then I thought about retirement  and decided that I should look it up in the Bible and see what It said there.  Numbers 8:24-25 - "This applies to the Levites: Men twenty-five years old or more shall come to take part in the work at the Tent of Meeting, but at the age of fifty, they must retire from their regular service and work no longer.  I found the other references to retirement were about, going away from a place; eg. "the shadows retire", or like retiring to bed. Who ever said we had to retire? Why do people work so hard to retire?  If you have found the gifts God has given you, and you are sharing them with the world, chances are you are happy, so why retire?  Anyway it is your choice, but I have come to find out in my world, the elderly have so much wisdom to offer.  We seem to sweep older folks under the carpet or put them on a shelf somewhere. Try asking someone over 75 about their life sometime. Do not interrupt, just listen. There are some pretty amazing stories out there if we would just listen.

Lord, please give us the humility and courage to be still and listen to the elderly and You, in Jesus name, AMEN!