Our choices always matter and our choices can tear down or build both a good life for others and ourselves at the same time.
When we were born, created uniquely in God's own image...within us was planted the desire and ability to love and be loved....the ability to reach out with genuine kindness or instead retaliate with hatefulness that will in turn eventually isolate ourselves....for how many toughies will pair up with another toughy no different than themselves.
Though we must not be afraid of what others will say or think,
Nor can we be controlled by other's opinions are talk of us.
We who desire to be chases down by both blessings and MIRACLES that never cease but only keep multiplying with our joyful smiles and laughter in spite of devils who seek and track us...
We must keep on keeping on singing regardless who is murmuring behind our backs.
As we heard in last Sunday's Gospel the Lord was not concerned of who what about who HE is...
And so shall we must be continuing to bless others with our smiles and songs...there will always be someone like our former next door neighbor Veronica on Alvin Callender Street when we with God were building our home...
She came outside yelling one day not able to understand how not even hers & her nephews hateful actions against us could not kill our spirits.
She came outside as I was singing new songs through joyful tears...tears that our neighbors were trying to stifle the rebuilding of our home.
What we had completed the day before our neighbors had punched holes into in the night...
But I sang new songs to the God above knowing HE who watches through the night from HIS throne up above not only saw the crimes against us in the night but had the power to restore not only that which the angry jealous locusts had stolen...
They who were filled with jealousy, anger and hate and have never been loved nor have loved themselves....
No different than the Ponchatoula local native neighbors who say out of one side of their mouth that they are going to build Ponchatoula into a thriving economic marketing business center, yet they tie up themselves in bondage that they cannot grow...
By shunning newcomers who choose to make Ponchatoula home!
No town or city will ever grow & prosper past the point they are today without welcoming new citizens not only physically into their neighborhoods, and into the community and church families.
Regardless how many families come and are shunned they will eventually move on in the same numbers or even more.
For every family and community has both sincere and insincere folks whom they call their own.
Those whose hearts are pure but were born within a thorny city among hateful tit-tat chatter boxes who love not...
Eventually these too will choose to move onto a better place where they will not be embarrassed by their previous associations whether blood or geographic.
No they will follow the lead of those who come full of life seeking to bless an entire community when they first arrived...but refuse to live an entire life time among grumblers and wishy -washy complainers.
As Joyce Meyer has taught over the years....one can choose to complain and remain and go around and around a same old mountain of a pill.
Or you & I and each of us can reach out and beyond our circumstances for another new dream...when others fight to long and hard resisting thy kindness and blessing...
As Jesus said: "Shake of their dust and move on..."
Such cities will never grow but as Sodom & Gomorrah will be your town or city who shuns the hearts who of those who enter bearing kindness and generosity of their grateful loving hearts...
Such a town or city will never grow but die from their own choices....their own deception...
The fruit never falls far from the tree and the selfish resentful hearts wither and never blossom but rather their self-righteousness they fatten and fluff and spread as an eagle spreads its wings...
Then they go around time gloating convincing themselves and each other that they together did a good thing.
And an entire town can actually become obsolete when its members are harsh to visitors and to those visitors that try to make their town their home and to be a contributing citizen and not just a a rock along their road..
Now city or town can grow without newcomers moving in and becoming involved.
Because as quickly as a new baby is born into each native family one who has ran their race to completion regardless whether they chose the better road and arrived in their heavenly home or beneath the earth wailing and grinding their teeth...still the population of their city or town does not change nor increase, but trades one life for another while God's best who HE leads there they hold back & push away.
So soon and very soon...Proud towns and cities will die off...because they were not willing to welcome newcomers into their hearts....for no one needs to make a way to travel to a place where they will not be received.
And so complete towns and cities will become places no one needs to even bother to see.
And an entire town can actually become obsolete when its members are harsh to visitors and to those visitors that try to make their town their home and to be a contributing citizen and not just a a rock along their road..
Now city or town can grow without newcomers moving in and becoming involved.
Because as quickly as a new baby is born into each native family one who has ran their race to completion regardless whether they chose the better road and arrived in their heavenly home or beneath the earth wailing and grinding their teeth...still the population of their city or town does not change nor increase, but trades one life for another while God's best who HE leads there they hold back & push away.
So soon and very soon...Proud towns and cities will die off...because they were not willing to welcome newcomers into their hearts....for no one needs to make a way to travel to a place where they will not be received.
And so complete towns and cities will become places no one needs to even bother to see.
Mr & Mrs William Gustavson
PO BOX 1144
Ponchatoula, LA 70454
