Dear World

Dear World,

You do not know every step I have taken to stand where I am today nor how many times I have fallen and had to force myself to get back up. You do not know my disabilities or of the struggles they create. You do not know all of my insecurities, nor the reasons that caused them. You do not know the people in my life who have died and the affects it had on me.  You do not know of trust that was broken or promises not kept.

You do not know the environment in which I was raised, the tears I have cried or the heartbreak of relationships that ended.  You do not know me; I do not trust you with all my heart.

Dear God,

You know every step I have taken to stand where I am today and how many times I have fallen and had to force myself to get back up. You know my disabilities and the struggles they create. You know all of my insecurities and the reasons that caused them. You know the people in my life who have died and the affects it had on me.  You know of the trust that was broken and each promises not kept.

You know the environment in which I was raised, the tears I have cried and the heartbreak of relationships that ended.  You know me I trust you with all my heart. Carlene Altom 11-19-12

Jeez, you again?

Do you have faith in mankind?

Through God you have faith, but only in God is your Faith blinded.

Do you trust mankind?

With God you do trust, but only in God do you trust your all.

As you rebalance, you are steadied by His hand and guided by His wisdom. Your path lit by truth shines bright; you’re at peace within. Light dances around their sin exposing their world full of arrogance, pride and darkness and with deep shame they will feel your presence. A constant path you will cross, not a test but a temptation.  Keep Gods word in your mind, His love in your heart, His vision in your eyes. Your light will shine brighter, you will draw strength and they will bare witness…. it is through this witness they will come to know Him.   

Live your life like the world is watching, live to inspire because you never know whom you have inspired to live!~ Carlene Altom 9-17-12

Have you ever been burned by someone, you never want to see them again, but you find yourself running into them at every corner? Instead of being upset by it, take the opportunity to show them what you are made of, Gods Love.  

Crack or Mac..is there a difference?

If you saw a parent give crack cocaine to their 8-year-old child, or put vodka and tonic in their baby’s bottle, would you intervene?  You know it is unhealthy and can lead to a life long list of complications and even death; no one in society would frown upon you for trying to stop it, they would even call you a hero.

Now what if you saw an overweight child at McDonalds eating a Big Mac, French fries and washing it down with a soft drink? You know it is unhealthy and can lead to a life long list of complications and even death.  Would you be frowned upon for trying to stop it, would you be called a hero?

We look down on those whose babies are born addicted to drugs or alcohol. We are angry because they put their child at risk and through no choice of their own, their children can end up with life long list of disabilities and complications.

It’s hard enough as adults when we pick and choose the wrong life style then struggle with the consequences of those decisions; it’s abuse when it is done to us.

Do you consider the caregiver of an over weight child a child abuser? We speak openly about the health risk, we argue what is served on the lunch menus in our schools....we have even gone to lengths as to ban super sized soft drinks in New York! I am not saying a caregiver does not love their child, but are they showing it in a healthy way? 
 Mental abuse leaves emotional scars, physical abuse leaves physical scars and food abuse leaves both....so is it the ultimate form of childhood abuse? 

Close the window please; you’re letting the Sin in

God had Bigger plans for you, by Faith you turned over the pain and waited with an open heart for Him to show you the way!

His flock continues to deliver His message to your open heart. Your light burned through the storm of rage and you became part of His rainbow. The light within continues to shine; its warmth gives peace and comfort. You love the life you live, because your heart opened to His word, which gave strength to live the life you love. A door was never shut; you closed a small side window meant for distraction.

You overcame what was not a test from God, but a Temptation from Sin.

To live with no regret does not mean you live mistake free, it means to learn from it and make the world better because of it.  Own up, make up and move on. ~ Carlene Altom 9-14-12 

Lovin my Coat

Fashion week reminds us a change of season has come and it’s a great time to reflect on what you have accumulated not only in your wardrobe, but your wardrobe of life. Whom and what have you surrounded yourself with? Did you pick up a new cause you are passionate about, or one that seemed the “Trendy” thing-to-do and now your unsure if that’s really what you are about? Did you branch out and meet new friends or did you stick to your classics?  Are you working with questionable characters by instinct or reputation and continuing to do so despite your intuition? Have you planned out what you want to buy for this coming season?

Some of us spend time cleaning out more of what we PUT on our body in our closets then what we SURROUND our body with in our life.  Have you ever worn an outfit or suit, felt amazing doing so because it looked as if it was “made for you”?

Imagine the “Coat” of armor God has in mind for you; how you would fee and how you would thrive surrounded by people God has provided. They were your missing material in this pattern called life.  Cleaning out the negative fabrics allows you to see the pattern God has chosen for you.  In this world, His Coat of Amor is a classic to own and if you ask the designer, He will give you one for free! 

9-14-12 Carlene Altom 

Pain with a Purpose

Have you ever heard a tragedy and could relate to what that person was going through? A spouse died, you lost a job, you had a painful divorce, maybe it’s something you experienced 20 years ago, maybe it was 20 minutes ago, no matter what you could relate and because of this you are able to help this person…. Bam…You just found purpose in that pain you experienced.

Why is it when our car is not running right, we are quick to bring it to the mechanics, leave it there and wait for the call that it is fixed and ready to be picked up; yet when we have a burden in our lives and things are not running right we aren’t as fast to bring it to God and leave it there for Him to fix? We trust our car problems with the mechanic but not our life problems to God?  If we don’t leave our car, how can the mechanic fix it? If we don’t leave our problems with God, how can He fix it? We can’t just tell them the problem; we have to leave it to fix it!

The question, “Why does God allow Bad things to happen to Good people?” is one you hear or ask often when we hear of a travesty in someone’s life. I view them as “Wow, what is God going to do with that?” and sometimes an added…”Well this shall be interesting”. 

God does not “allow” anything other then the opportunity to turn what is bad into something good.

When we turn things over to Christ, His promise of protecting His children can be kept; His wrath is far greater then our pain..avenges is His!  When we stop looking at the pain, or what caused the pain and start looking for the purpose God can turn it into, we start to heal.  Everyone has a story, but it’s what we allow God to do with it that makes us different. Allow Him to turn that pain into a purpose and learn to live for the that purpose~ Carlene Altom 8-24-12