Tag: people

God, Life, Religion and Spirituality, Spirituality April 28, 2019April 28, 2019

How to Tell Who is Real and Who is Fake

We live in a difficult world. In the Age of Information there are more and more people pretending to be someone else. All you need is a laptop and a half an hour and you can make yourself popular with today’s social media platforms. There are hundreds of apps out there where you can say whatever you want to say and be whoever you want to be. It’s frightening.There are hundreds of stories of people meeting from this app or that app and end up dead or abused or hurt. Acording to Naked Security by Sophos, with the finding of a survey released on Wednesday by Custard, a British digital marketing company.

In a survey of 2000 Brits, more than 75% admitted to lying about themselves on social profiles.
Only 18% said that their Twitter and Facebook profiles accurately represent them.
Some 31% said that their Facebook profiles are “pretty much my life but without the boring bits.” And 14% said that Facebook makes them look much more socially active than they are.
Men are more prone than women when it comes to dressing up the shop window. Nearly half – 43% – of men polled admitted to fabricating facts

The Bible teaches us to test the spirits. God already knew that we would run into liars, or people who like to stretch the truth. We run into fake people everywhere, even at Church. God wanted to warn us that not everyone who goes to Church is real. And the opposite is true, not everyone who doesn’t go to Church is fake. We are to test each person, ask God, and use wisdom.

My dear friends, don’t believe everything you hear. Carefully weigh and examine what people tell you. Not everyone who talks about God comes from God. There are a lot of lying preachers loose in the world.

Here’s how you test for the genuine Spirit of God. Everyone who confesses openly his faith in Jesus Christ—the Son of God, who came as an actual flesh-and-blood person—comes from God and belongs to God. And everyone who refuses to confess faith in Jesus has nothing in common with God. This is the spirit of antichrist that you heard was coming. Well, here it is, sooner than we thought! – 1 John 4:1-3MSG

I have learned this the hard way. I am such a trusting, gullible person sometimes. I used to trust everyone with everything. Until I got burned. Maybe it happened to you too. If so, I am sorry. I learned to step back and watch and ask God for wisdom. Jesus said the Holy Spirit would teach us ALL things. I have discovered that I can just ask Him and He will let me know.The other cool thing I learned is that I am NOT the Holy Spirit. It is not my job to prove to the fake people they are fake. Have you ever heard the expression – just give them enough rope and they will hang themselves? My Mom taught me that one! It is true. Just because someone is a fool doesn’t mean I have to expose them or embarrass them. I can pray for God to touch that person and give them wisdom. That way God can deal with them and I don’t have to!I have also learned that when they teach Bank Tellers to spot fraudulant money, they don’t focus on the fake money – they teach them what REAL money looks like. If you know what REAL looks like, you don’t accept FAKE.Jesus says He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. I belive Him. Jesus also said He would give us a comforter, the Holy Spirit, who would TEACH us all things. Christ in us – the Hope of Glory. As a believer with the Holy Spirit, REAL knows REAL. The Holy Spirit in us will recognize the Holy Spirit in someone else.There are times I would be walking in a store and felt the presence of God on someone I passed by. Our eyes would meet and we knew we were both believers of Christ. Same thing happened to me at work. There was one aisle I loved to walk down because there were multiple people filled with the Holy Ghost and I could smell Jesus everytime I walked through. REAL knows REAL.The definition of a fool is:

a person who acts unwisely or imprudently; a silly person or
someone who tricks or deceives (someone); dupe.

God hates fools and liars, just like we do. He knows, He sees, and He will deal with it. I don’t have to listen to liars. I just tune them out.What about you? How do you deal with fake people?

Are You Freaking Serious?

We all run into those situations. Where someone does something so ridiculously crazy you stop and ask yourself, “Are you freaking serious?” You don’t know whether to laugh out loud or beat them with a stick. Seriously.

We all have our own point of view. It’s the filter we look through to see our world. Then there are those who challenge us – just because they are still talking. Whether it’s family, work, friends, it really doesn’t matter. We all have “sandpaper people” in our lives who rub us the wrong way. It’s irritating. It’s uncomfortable. I don’t like it one bit.

What do you do when they come along and mess us your world?

Do you “scratch” back and say the first thought that comes in your head?

I tried that. It really is an easy way to start World War 3.

The older I get, the more I am willing to brush it off. Maybe it’s age, maybe it’s wisdom. I’ve learned not to say the first thing that comes to mind. That doesn’t work. Learned the hard way. Too many times I opened my mouth and regretted it later.

What about you? How do you deal with people who drive you crazy?

faith, Hope, Spirituality, Uncategorized, Women March 23, 2016

Being a Blessing – Guest Post by Jennifer Parrish

This morning my daughter Jennifer Parrish shared an amazing story of how a complete stranger chose to bless her and her family. It is a beautiful story of ‘paying it forward’ and choosing to be a blessing in this world. This is from her FB page today:

I don’t get “serious” on here often, but something remarkable happened over the weekend and I think it holds an important lesson for all of us. I was waiting in a long line to check out at Target with a stockpile of SIX boxes of diapers and various groceries (crazy couponing, of course!) The couple behind me struck up a conversation with me to pass the time. We talked about my baby, mostly. First time mom. Sleepless nights. Those cute yet elusive first smiles and laughs. Jokes about how many diapers she must be going through as they eyed my cart. The cashier finished scanning my coupons, and as I was grabbing my card to pay, they stuck their credit card in the machine. WHAAA??? I was astonished. And overcome with emotion. I think I thanked them a thousand times as I gathered my things, teary-eyed. I haven’t stopped thinking about this. Did I say anything that made me sound like a charity-case? No, I don’t think so. I think they saw a new mom, putting an extraordinary amount of effort into saving money on the things she needed and they genuinely wanted to make a difference. What a gesture! It got me thinking a lot about money and the kind of example I want to set for my daughter. We’re all feeling the pressure to make more money, save more money, spend more money…we’re all obsessed. Even my “crazy couponing” can be viewed as an obsession with money. It’s a sickness. We have a roof over our head, food on the table, and clothes on our backs. And that’s more than most in this world. I want my little girl to know that; to really appreciate that. I think we all need to remember IT’S JUST MONEY. It’s what you do with it that really matters. Maybe it’s less about constantly collecting new and better things, and more about finding contentment and appreciation for what you have been blessed with. Maybe if we find ourselves in an opportunity to help another person, we should take it–without weighing it against our own needs first. Total strangers paid for a new mom’s diapers…and made a lasting impact on her philosophy about money, and the real value in life.

Thank you Jen – for sharing your heart with us today. Your post reminds us all how a simple act of kindness can mean so much. You are an amazing young woman and your daughter is blessed to call you Mom.

Thank you Lord for the kindness of these people. Bless them 100 times over!

Here is my daughter Jennifer and her beautiful daughter Devyn:

(Featured Image – Jennifer and Dameon Parrish)

Spirituality November 12, 2014January 11, 2016

Life Lessons from a Teen Driver

I recently had the pleasure of helping my teen daughter get her final hours of drive time in before she got her drivers license. She took the class and did some drive time with the teacher, but us parents get to help out too, especially with the night driving. Yeah, nothing like handing over the keys right? Anyway, here are my observations from the passenger seat. Got me thinking about the bigger picture and the types of people we all meet on this journey called life.

LIFE LESSONS FROM A TEEN DRIVER

1. The Diversions
Keep your eyes on the road and look forward not back. Don’t pay too much attention to the guys behind you. There will be people who follow too closely, who will tailgate you trying to make you go faster. Ignore them. They are diversions.

2. The Harassers
There will be followers and not all of them are friendly. Some just want to harass you so they follow you around. If the enemy can get you to keep looking in your rear view mirror, you will lose your focus, cross the line, and get pulled over. And you may not make it home. Ignore the harassers.

3. The Time Stealers
Be careful who you allow to sit in the passenger seat. There will be some people who want to just drive them around for no reason. They are the time stealers. They lie, cheat, steal, and come up with all sorts of reasons you need to drive them around. Only there is no fruit. No good comes of it, and you only end up more frustrated. Don’t let just anyone sit beside you – be careful.

4. The Tormenters
Not everyone gets to park in your driveway. These people like to torment others with their presence. The Narcissists, the Jezebels, the Fakers. They barge right into your life and try to take over. They have no compassion and no respect for anyone other than themselves. They are not your friends, even if they brag on about you. They may smile at your face, but there is a knife behind their back. They would love to see you fail.

5. The Gossipers
Beware of who you let in the backseat of your car. Yes, the backseat drivers. They criticize you for everything you do, all while you are trying to drive. They tell you where to go and how to get there. Bossy, condemning, and controlling people like to sit in the backseat. It’s their way or the highway. And they want to drive your car – from the backseat. They don’t want to take responsibility for their lives or happiness, they just want to criticize yours.

6. The Real Friend
They are out there. And they want you to succeed. Let them in. They are the ones who will listen, pray for you, and help you on your journey. They would ride with you anywhere, anytime just to be with you. They like your company and it doesn’t really matter where you go – as long as you are travelling together.