~†~ A CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE ~†~

                             

                                                       

                                   ~✞♥†♥✞~   A CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE   ~✞♥†♥✞~ 

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 ESV /

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

1 Corinthians 6:14-20 ESV /

The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, & the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord & will also raise us up by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ & make them members of a prostitute? Never! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.

1 Corinthians 6:18 ESV /

Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.

1 Corinthians 7:2-5 ESV /

Because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife & each woman her own husband.  The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, & likewise the wife to her husband.  For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does.  Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.  Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

1 Corinthians 7:10-11 ESV /

To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not separate from her husband (but if she does, she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), & the husband should not divorce his wife.

1 Corinthians 10:8a,13 ESV /

We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did… No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, & he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

1 Corinthians 13:1-8a, 11-13 NIV /

If I speak in the tongues of men & of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy & can fathom all mysteries & all knowledge, & if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor & surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope & love. But the greatest of these is love.

1 John 4:18 ESV /

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, & whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

1 Peter 2:11 ESV /

Beloved, I urge you as sojourners & exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.

1 Peter 3:1-8 NIV /

Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity & reverence of your lives. Your beauty should not come from outward adornment…Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle & quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham & called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right & do not give way to fear. Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, & treat them with respect as the weaker partner & as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers. Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate & humble.

1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 ESV /

For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God;

2 Corinthians 6:14 ESV /

Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?

2 Timothy 2:22 ESV /

So flee youthful passions & pursue righteousness, faith, love, & peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

  

 

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Acts 15:20a ESV /

But should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, & from sexual immorality,

Colossians 3:5 ESV /

Put to death therefore what is earthly to you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, & covetousness, which is idolatry.

Colossians 3:18-19 NIV /

Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, for that is what you should do as Christians. Husbands, love your wives & do not be harsh with them.

Ephesians 5:3 ESV /

But sexual immorality & all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.

Ephesians 5:22-33 NIV /

Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands as to the Lord. For a husband has authority over his wife just as Christ has authority over the church; & Christ is himself the Savior of the church, his body. And so wives must submit themselves completely to their husbands just as the church submits itself to Christ. Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church & gave his life for it. He did this to dedicate the church to God by his word, after making it clean by washing it in water, in order to present the church to himself in all its beauty - pure & faultless, without spot or wrinkle or any other imperfection. Men ought to love their wives just as they love their own bodies. A man who loves his wife loves himself. (None of us ever hate our own bodies. Instead, we feed them, & take care of them, just as Christ does the church; for we are members of his body.) As the scripture says, "For this reason a man will leave his father & mother & unite with his wife, & the two will become one." There is a deep secret truth revealed in this scripture, which I understand as applying to Christ & the church. But it also applies to you: every husband must love his wife as himself, & every wife must respect her husband.

Exodus 20:14 ESV /

“You shall not commit adultery.”

Galatians 5:13,16-17 NIV /

You, my brothers & sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. So I say, walk by the Spirit, & you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, & the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.

Galatians 5:19 ESV /

Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, & things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Galatians 5:22-23 NIV /

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness & self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Genesis 2:24 ESV /

Therefore a man shall leave his father & his mother & hold fast to his wife, & they shall become one flesh.

Hebrews 10:38 NIV /

But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.’

Hebrews 11:1 NIV /

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for & the evidence of things not seen.

Hebrews 13:4 ESV /

Let marriage be held in honor among all, & let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral & adulterous.

James 1:12, 14-16 Good News Translation /

Happy are those who remain faithful under trials, because when they succeed in passing such a test, they will receive as their reward the life which God has promised to those who love him.  We are tempted when we are drawn away & trapped by our own evil desires. Then our evil desires conceive & give birth to sin; & sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. Do not be deceived, my dear friends!

Jeremiah 17:5 ESV /

Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man & makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord.”

Jeremiah 23:14 ESV /

“But in the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing: they commit adultery & walk in lies; they strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns from his evil; all of them have become like Sodom to me, & its inhabitants like Gomorrah.”

John 8:34 ESV /

Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.”

John 14:15 ESV /

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

  

 

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Jude 1:7 ESV /

Just as Sodom & Gomorrah & the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality & pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.

Leviticus 18:22 ESV /

You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.

Leviticus 20:13 ESV /

If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.

Luke 16:10 ESV /

One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, & one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.

Malachi 2:13-14 AMP /

And this you do with double guilt; you cover the altar of the Lord with tears [shed by your unoffending wives, divorced by you that you might take heathen wives], & with [your own] weeping & crying out because the Lord does not regard your offering any more or accept it with favor at your hand. Yet you ask, Why does He reject it? Because the Lord was witness [to the covenant made at your marriage] between you & the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously & to whom you were faithless. Yet she is your companion & the wife of your covenant [made by your marriage vows].

Malachi 2:15-16 NKJV /

But did He not make them one, having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks godly offspring. Therefore take heed to your spirit, & let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth. ‘For the LORD God of Israel says That He hates divorce, for it covers one’s garment with violence,’ says the LORD of hosts. ‘Therefore take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.’

Mark 7:20-23 ESV /

And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, & they defile a person.”

Mark 10:6-9 NIV /

“But in the beginning, at the time of creation, ‘God made them male & female,' as the scripture says. ‘And for this reason a man will leave his father & mother & unite with his wife, & the two will become one.' So they are no longer two, but one.  No human being must separate, then, what God has joined together."

Matthew 5:27-28 ESV /

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. “

Matthew 15:19-20 ESV /

For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person.

Matthew 19:4-6 NIV /

And He answered & said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male & female,’ & said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father & mother & be joined to his wife, & the two shall become one flesh’? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”

Proverbs 2:16-22 ESV /

So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman, from the adulteress with her smooth words, who forsakes the companion of her youth & forgets the covenant of her God; for her house sinks down to death, & her paths to the departed; none who go to her come back, nor do they regain the paths of life. So you will walk in the way of the good & keep to the paths of the righteous.

Proverbs 3:3 ESV /

Let not steadfast love & faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.

Proverbs 5:1-4,6-9,15-23 NIV /

My son, pay attention to my wisdom, turn your ear to my words of insight, that you may maintain discretion & your lips may preserve knowledge. For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey, & her speech is smoother than oil; but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword. She gives no thought to the way of life; her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it. Now then, my sons, listen to me; do not turn aside from what I say. Keep to a path far from her, do not go near the door of her house, lest you lose your honor to others & your dignity to one who is cruel. Drink water from your own cistern, running water from your own well. Should your springs overflow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares? Let them be yours alone, never to be shared with strangers. May your fountain be blessed, & may you rejoice in the wife of your youth. A loving doe, a graceful deer—may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be intoxicated with her love. Why, my son, be intoxicated with another man’s wife? Why embrace the bosom of a wayward woman? For your ways are in full view of the Lord, & he examines all your paths. The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them; the cords of their sins hold them fast. For lack of discipline they will die, led astray by their own great folly.

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Proverbs 6:24-26 ESV /

To preserve you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress:  Do not desire her beauty in your heart, & do not let her capture you with her eyelashes; for the price of a prostitute is only a loaf of bread, but a married woman hunts down a precious life.

Proverbs 6:34-35 ESV /

For jealousy makes a man furious, & he will not spare when he takes revenge. He will accept no compensation; he will refuse though you multiply gifts.

Proverbs 7:4-5 ESV /

Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” & call insight your intimate friend, to keep you from the forbidden woman, from the adulteress with her smooth words.

Proverbs 12:4 NIV /

A good wife is her husband’s pride & joy; but a wife who brings shame on her husband is like a cancer in his bones.

Proverbs 12:19-20 ESV /

Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment. Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, but those who plan peace have joy.

Proverbs 18:22 NIV /

Find a wife & you find a good thing; it shows that the Lord is good to you.

Proverbs 19:14 NIV /

A man can inherit a house & money from his parents, but only the Lord can give him a sensible wife.

Proverbs 20:7 NIV /

Children are fortunate if they have a father who is honest & does what is right.

Proverbs 28:20a ESV /

A faithful man will abound with blessings.

Proverbs 31:10 NIV /

How hard it is to find a capable wife!  She is worth far more than jewels!

Psalm 85:10 ESV /

Steadfast love & faithfulness meet; righteousness & peace kiss each other.

Revelation 21:8 ESV /

“But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, & all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire & sulfur, which is the second death.”

Revelation 22:15 ESV /

Outside are the dogs & sorcerers & the sexually immoral & murderers & idolaters, & everyone who loves & practices falsehood. 

Romans 1:25-28 ESV /

Because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie & worshiped & served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; & the men likewise gave up natural relations with women & were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men & receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.

Romans 8:1-13:14 ESV /

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin & death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh & for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

Romans 13:13-14 ESV /

Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies & drunkenness, not in sexual immorality & sensuality, not in quarreling & jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, & make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

SUGGESTED READING: Song of Songs {Song of Solomon} 1-8, inclusive ~

A Biblical book of 8 chapters devoted to the pure, devoted, honest, sensual love between a husband & a wife

~*~ And The Angels Cried ~*~

              ~*~*~*~  AND THE ANGELS CRIED . . .   ~*~*~*~

AMERICA, WAKE UP!!!!!!!  STOP SACRIFICING OUR INNOCENTS!!!!!!!  We need to return to a country that puts JESUS FIRST, & OTHERS SECOND, & OURSELVES LAST!!!!!!!  Only in this way will we find true J O Y!!!!!!!  This country has become a country of "me" first; it is all about "my feelings", "my needs", "my wants".  Do not "diss" or insult or anger or irritate others...because they may LASH OUT...in a lasting way!!...Because in this country, it is all about "me".  There is a lack of respect for others, a lack of concern for another's welfare, & so little value ~ if any!! ~ placed on another's life!  WHY?!?!?!?  What has happened to us?!?!?  PLEASE, my fellow Americans, PRAY!!!!!  Pray Without Ceasing!!!!!!!  Pray for our children, & pray for ourselves!!!!!!!  Beg God to not forsake us!!!!!!!
Here is the low value that has been placed on the lives of school children {& college-aged as well} in the past 2 decades, by too many people:

Nov. 1, 1991 -- 4 killed, 2 injured: Iowa City, Iowa -- Gang Lu, a gradu­ate stu­dent in phys­ics from China, shot 4 people to death at the Uni­v. of Iowa. Lu, who took his own life in the in­cid­ent, was up­set about not get­ting an aca­dem­ic hon­or. The dead in­cluded fac­ulty mem­bers & the stu­dent who had won the hon­or. 2 oth­ers were crit­ic­ally wounded.

Oct. 1, 1997 -- 3 killed, 7 injured: Pearl, Miss. -- Luke Woodham, 16, fatally shot 2 students & wounded 7 others at Pearl High School, after stabbing his mother to death. He was sentenced the following year to 3 life sentences.

Dec. 1, 1997 -- 3 killed, 5 injured: West Paducah, Ky. -- 3 students were killed & 5 wounded at a high school in Ky. Michael Carneal, then 14, later pleaded guilty but mentally ill to murder & is serving life in prison.

March 24, 1998 -- 5 killed, 10 injured: Jonesboro, Ark. -- Middle school stu­dents Mitchell John­son & An­drew Golden pull a fire alarm at their school in a small rur­al Arkan­sas com­munity, then open fire on stu­dents & teach­ers us­ing an ar­sen­al they had stashed in the nearby woods. 4 stu­dents & a teach­er who tried to shield the chil­dren are killed & 10 oth­ers are in­jured. Be­cause of their ages, Mitchell. 13, & An­drew, 11, are sen­tenced to con­fine­ment in a ju­ven­ile fa­cil­ity un­til they turn 21.  {N’s Note: This is the one I recall the best.   What the news story does NOT say, but what I remember from the news at the time are these 2 things: It was done because the girlfriend of one of the boys had broken up with him; she was TWELVE.  The teacher who died was PREGNANT.}

http://articles.latimes.com/print/1998/mar/29/news/mn-34043

“Condolences continued to pour in from around the world, stretching the staff at the local post office to the limit...Cards & letters by the scores came from children & adults in Dunblane, Scotland, where, 2 years ago, 16 children, ages 5 & 6, & their teacher were gunned down at an elementary school by a former Scout leader. Confirming the curious link that occurs when towns are visited with similar horror, West Paducah, Ky.--scene of yet another school shooting--dispatched a team of 100 crisis counselors to assist this community.”

May 21, 1998 -- 4 killed, 20 injured: Springfield, Ore. -- Kipland Kinkel kills his parents & later opens fire at Thurston High School, fatally shooting 2 teenagers.

April 20, 1999 -- 13 killed, 24 injured: Columbine, Colo. -- Eric Har­ris & Dylan Kle­bold, stu­dents at Columbine High, open fire at the school, killing a dozen stu­dents & a teach­er & caus­ing in­jury to 2 dozen oth­ers be­fore tak­ing their own lives.

http://articles.latimes.com/print/1999/apr/21/news/mn-29502

“At one point, 3 black-clad youths described as friends of the assailants were rousted at gunpoint in a field near the school, frisked & taken into custody by SWAT team members in bulletproof vests.  By nightfall, police had recovered 30 explosive devices in the school, laying near bodies & hidden in lockers, & another 17 scattered outside.  Their danger was evident in the blast of a timed explosive that shuddered inside the school as late as 10:30 p.m.”

March 5, 2001 -- 2 killed, 13 injured: Santee, Calif. -- Santana High stu­dent Charles An­drew Wil­li­ams, 15, fatally shot 2 class­mates & wounds 13 oth­ers on the cam­pus. He is ap­pre­hen­ded by po­lice in the school bath­room, where his at­tack began. Wil­li­ams is later sen­tenced to 50 years to life.

http://articles.latimes.com/print/2001/mar/08/news/mn-35058

"Recognizing violence as a public health phenomenon is important," said California Health & Human Services Secretary Grantland Johnson. "The San Diego events dramatize the problem, but this is an epidemic."

Oct. 28, 2002 -- 3 killed: Arizona -- Robert Flores Jr., 41, who was flunking out of the Univ. of Arizona nursing school, shot & killed 3 of his professors before killing himself.

March 21, 2005 -- 9 killed, 7 injured: Red Lake Indian Reservation, Minn. -- Jef­frey Weise, a 16-year-old stu­dent at Red Lake High School fatally shoots 5 stu­dents, a teach­er, & a se­cur­ity guard & wounds 7 oth­ers be­fore tak­ing his own life. Be­fore his ram­page at Red Lake, Weise kills his grand­fath­er & his grand­fath­er’s com­pan­ion at their home on the Red Lake In­di­an Re­ser­va­tion.

http://articles.latimes.com/print/2005/mar/22/nation/na-shooting22
“His grandfather, Sgt. Daryl Lussier, had served for more than 35 years on the Red Lake police force.  ‘The boy took his grandfather's duty belt with the guns. That's what he used,’ said Roman Stately, the Red Lake fire director.”

Oct. 2, 2006 -- 5 killed, 5 injured: Nickel Mines, Pa. -- Charles Carl Roberts IV, a milk truck driver armed with a small ar­sen­al, bursts in­to a one-room school­house & kills 5 Amish girls. He kills him­self as po­lice storm the build­ing.

http://articles.latimes.com/print/2006/oct/04/nation/na-amish4
“…he carried with him tools for a sexual assault: KY lubricant jelly, plastic flex-cuffs & heavy bolts that could have been used to restrain the children, police said Tuesday…At 10 a.m. Monday, after walking 2 of his children to their school bus, he burst into the Amish schoolhouse brandishing a 9-millimeter semiautomatic weapon & ordered the adult women & 15 boys to leave. One girl escaped with her brother, Miller said, leaving the 10 girls -- ages 6 to 13 -- behind.”

April 16, 2007 -- 32 killed, 17 injured: Blacksburg, Va. -- Seung-hui Cho, a 23-year-old Vir­gin­ia Tech seni­or, opens fire on cam­pus, killing 32 people in a dorm & an aca­dem­ic build­ing in at­tacks more than 2 hours apart. Cho takes his life after the 2nd in­cid­ent.

http://articles.latimes.com/print/2007/apr/17/nation/na-main17
“The killing spree at Virginia Tech was the deadliest such incident in modern U.S. history, outstripping the 1991 mass murder at a Luby's Cafeteria in Killeen, Texas, in which 23 people were gunned down.  It also surpassed the 1999 toll at Columbine H.S. in Littleton, Colo., where 2 teenage gunmen killed 13 people & themselves.”

Feb. 14, 2008 -- 5 killed, 16 injured: Dekalb, Ill. -- Steven Kazmier­czak, dressed all in black, steps on stage in a lec­ture hall at North­ern Illinois Uni­versity & opens fire on a geo­logy class. 5 stu­dents are killed &16 wounded be­fore Kazmier­czak kills him­self on the lec­ture hall stage.

http://articles.latimes.com/print/2008/feb/15/nation/na-shoot15

“It was the 5th school shooting in a week in the U.S…The shooting followed a string of violence in schools.  Last Friday, a woman shot 2 students to death & killed herself at Louisiana Technical College in Baton Rouge. Also Friday, a man shot at his wife, a teacher, in an elementary school in Portsmouth, Ohio. This week, a high school student in Memphis, Tenn., was shot, allegedly by a classmate, during gym class. And a 15-year-old was shot at a junior high in Oxnard; he has been declared brain-dead.”

Feb. 27, 2012 -- 3 killed, 2 injured: Chardon, Ohio -- 3 students were killed & 2 wounded in a shooting spree that started in a school cafeteria, as students waited for buses to other schools. Police have charged T.J. Lane, who was 17 at the time, as an adult.

April 2, 2012 -- 7 killed, 3 injured: Oakland -- One L. Goh, 43, a former stu­dent at a Oikos Uni­v., a small Chris­ti­an col­lege, al­legedly opens fire in the middle of a classroom leav­ing 7 people dead & 3 wounded. Jongjin Kim, the Oikos Univ…, said the suspect was angry because administrators refused to grant him a full tuition refund after he dropped out of the nursing program.

http://articles.latimes.com/print/2012/apr/04/local/la-me-oakland-shooting-20120404

“Bhutia Tshering, 38…apparently Goh's last victim…was killed when the gunman stole his car to make a getaway, according to the Contra Costa Times.”

Dec. 14, 2012 -- 27 killed, 1 injured: Newtown, Conn. -- De­vel­op­ing story: By late in the day, au­thor­it­ies said that the num­ber of deaths over­all stood at 28, in­clud­ing the shoot­er.  One per­son was in­jured.  The vic­tims in­cluded 18 chil­dren & 6 adults pro­nounced dead at the school, & 2 pu­pils pro­nounced dead at hos­pit­als. An­oth­er per­son was found dead at a sec­ond­ary crime scene. 

http://news.ca.msn.com/world/china-stabbing-spree-hurts-22-schoolchildren -- On this same date, in the Henan province village of Chengping, China, a man injured 22 children & 1 adult outside a primary school in central China as students were arriving for classes shortly after 8 a.m.  The attacker is 36-year-old villager Min Yingjun. – “A Guangshan county hospital administrator said the man first attacked an elderly woman, then students, before being subdued by security guards who have been posted across China following a spate of school attacks in recent years. He said there were no deaths among the nine students admitted, although two badly injured children had been transferred to better-equipped hospitals outside the county. It was not clear how old the injured children were, but Chinese primary school pupils are generally 6-11 years old… No motive was given for the stabbings, which echo a string of similar assaults against schoolchildren in 2010 that killed nearly 20 & wounded more than 50. The most recent such attack took place in August, when a knife-wielding man broke into a middle school in the southern city of Nanchang & stabbed 2 students before fleeing.”

How to Talk to your Kids about School Shootings:  http://www.homestoriesatoz.com/family/how-to-talk-to-your-kids-about-school-shootings.html

~*~*~ INSPIRING ACTS OF RANDOM KINDNESS ~*~*~

 

                 ~*~*~*~   INSPIRING ACTS OF RANDOM KINDNESS   ~*~*~*~

Call it what you will: “Paying It Forward”, committing “RAKs/RAOKs” {Random Acts of Kindness}, participating in a community “Light ‘Em Up!”, or committing “RACKs” {Random Acts of Christmas Kindness}…they all boil down to the same thing: doing something nice for someone else, without expecting so much as a “Thank You” in return.  Bring a smile to God’s face, & bring some warmth to your own soul.  You may be surprised just how good this can feel!  You could do a “one event per year of living” to celebrate your birthday, or “one event per day throughout December” as your “Advent Calendar”, or even “2 or 3 events per week”, for each week of the Lenten season!  However you choose to do them ~ even one per day, each day of the year! {How utterly awesome would THAT be?!} ~ just…please do PASS IT ON!  …& may each & every one of you be blessed for sharing your Christian love with your fellow man.  8-)

Plant a tree.

Donate blood!!

Mentor someone.

Sponsor a foreign child.

Build a house for charity.

Volunteer at a soup kitchen.

Participate in a walk-a-thon.

Sponsor a holiday gift drive.

Hand out “Pass It On” cards.

Hold the elevator for someone.

Send a gift to a local classroom.

Bring soup to a homeless person.

Invite someone at work to lunch.

Wave at a child in a passing vehicle.

Become a Big Sister or Big Brother.

Offer to babysit for your neighbor.

Pay past due library fees for 5 people.

Buy a phone card for someone in need. 

Volunteer at your local humane society.

Tape quarters to bubble gum machines!

Slip a $20 bill to someone who needs it.

Bring flowers to your local senior center.

Offer to walk the dog for your neighbor.

Collect canned goods for the food pantry.

Pay off someone’s layaway at a local store.

Nominate someone deserving for an award.

Share a smile with everyone you see today!!

Pay for Santa pictures for someone at mall.

Bring cookies to your local fire department.

Help someone carry groceries, or…whatever!!

Buy a carousel ride for the next 5 kids in line!

Wrap gifts for your most overwhelmed friend.

Organize a cleanup party for your neighborhood.

Tape a dollar to the candy/soda machine at work.

Invite a friend to a play or show, & pay their way.

Have your kids help clean up an elderly neighbor’s yard.

Take a set of holiday books & leave at a mall play area.

Give an honest compliment to someone you do not know.

Open/hold the door for someone…or several someones!

Purchase Girl Scout cookies; Give them to your neighbor.

Scratch your spouse’s back & give them a neck massage.

Buy a hot cocoa or latte for Salvation Army bell ringers!  

Read a story to the children at the bookstore, or library.

Put a dollar in the jar at the gas station or grocery store.

Tell your boss what you truly appreciate about her or him.

Purchase toys, &/or hats/mittens/scarves, for kids in need.

Leave a fancy new pen for your server at your next meal out.

Give cookies to the postal workers {especially at Christmastime!}

Hand out mylar balloons to children out shopping with their folks.

Bring a Cappuccino or Peppermint Mocha to the daycare workers. 

Adopt a classroom in need (send holiday party treats & craft box).

Mail a “Thinking of You” card to an old friend…or estranged relative.

Tape candy canes & happy holiday notes to ATMs, vending machines…

Leave an encouraging note in a friend’s driveway using sidewalk chalk.

Read to the kids at a local orphanage or group home or hospital wing.

Do a chore, or 2, around the home that is usually done by your spouse.

Supply the quarters for the next person or 4 at the local Laundromat!

Leave small Christmas treats/gifts in shopping carts for folks to find.

Donate old washcloths, towels, & newspapers to the local animal shelter.

Tape quarters to toy machines…or just stick ‘em in there, ready to ‘spin’!

Take toys to the kids at a local orphanage or group home or hospital wing.

Make a street pretty for Christmas (pick up roadside trash-Santa Style!)     

Pay the toll for the next 2 cars behind you at the toll booth or toll bridge.

Give stuffed animals to the police dept. for kids going thru tough a situation.

Bring dinner to a sick friend…& clean the kitchen for them while you are there!

Pay tab behind you at drive-up or inside, at Dunkin Donuts, McD’s, Starbucks, etc.

Leave a candy bar/cupcake & thank you note in the mailbox for your mail carrier.

Give a pack of their favorite gum to the checkout person {any store or gas station!}

Offer to wash the neighbor’s car…if your hose will reach from YOUR outside faucet!  ;-)

Take hygiene & sanitary supplies to the local shelters: homeless, teen, battered women…

Pump a woman’s gasoline so she does not have to get out of her car in the cold, or in the rain. 

Give a Kmart/Target/Walmart gift card to the checkout person, or to the next person in line!

Welcome the new hire at work.  Or the new visitor at church.  Or the new member at your club.

Post a “Free Sunshine & Rainbows” tear-away on the community board, in Laundromat or store.

Hand out treats to co-workers; especially good during various holidays, you can be “themed”!

Send of box of earmuffs, gloves, hats, mittens, mufflers/scarves, & leg warmers to a school.

Support or serve those affected by any natural disasters {floods, hurricanes, wild fires, etc.}.

Stop in at a favorite restaurant & offer to help clean tables or serve them in some other way.

Disperse thank you notes with pre-stamped envelopes for people to give to someone they appreciate.

Sweep a neighbor’s porch & driveway.

Bring hot coffee & a magazine to someone waiting for the bus.

Sneak in a friend’s house & clean or organize a room for them.

Pick up & put away all of the carts in the parking lot at the store.

Bake something yummy & take it to Santa & his elves (at the mall)!

Leave a note in a public restroom thanking the person who cleans it.

Pass out donuts to your neighbors as they leave for work in the morning.

Go thank a librarian & hide some money in the books while you are there.

Swing by your dentist & doctor’s offices with treats for the whole team.

Think of someone overworked at the holidays & make their day brighter.

Donate baby clothes & items, & boxes of diapers, to the local CareNet center!

Hand out water bottles to the homeless, bicyclists, joggers, dog walkers, etc.

Bag groceries for another customer at the store, or help them load it into the car.

If you live in a colder climate, take gently worn & outgrown coats to a homeless shelter.

Inconspicuously drop coins on the playground for children to find while they are playing.

Surprise a stressed-out parent with a free babysitting coupon good for the whole month!

Go on a scavenger hunt in your home for change & find a charity that would appreciate it.

Deliver a candy cane, a hot cocoa, & thank you note to each fella who picks up your trash!
Pay for the purchases of an elderly person at the grocery store.  {Helps to be in front of, or behind, them!}

Leave $1. bills in 5 random toy bins in the $ Store!, &/or 5 random books at the book store!

Hug someone.  Hug a LOT of someones…but be sure they're comfortable w/receiving hugs!!  ;-)

Call the animal shelter & find out what donations they need. Make a contribution & visit the animals.

Go by & tell Santa “thanks” or give him a gift card for a massage if you’re feeling super generous!

Help your neighbors on either side to mow their lawn, trim around the yard, rake leaves, shovel snow…

Find a family who has a loved one (or ones!) serving overseas & thank them in an extraordinary way. 

Pass out candy & spread cheer to folks mailing off their Christmas cards & packages at the post office.

Load bags of groceries into cars for elderly or pregnant shoppers, or just a parent with lots of kids!!

Set up a “helping task force”: take back shopping carts, hold open doors for rushed & weary shoppers… 

Find a widow & tell her she is loved. Send her a note of encouragement & find a way to help her tangibly.

Wait for a public transportation bus & see if the driver will let you deliver a treat for every passenger.

Walk someone else’s dog.

Call someone you love just to listen & catch up.

Single Moms Rule ~ Find one & lighten her load!!!!

Mail an actual handwritten letter. Or two. Or ten.

Allow that person behind you in line, to go ahead of you.

Find someone who is homeless & deliver a warm blanket to them.

Set up a free hot cocoa stand & take donations for your favorite charity.

Say “Hello” & give a smile to someone with whom you do not usually speak.

Buy ten $5. Bibles at the bookstore & pray to find 10 families who need one.

Thank your local firemen (& women!) with a heartfelt note & Christmas treats.

Hide encouraging & uplifting notes all over a playground for children to find.

Go to the bank drive-thru, just to give the teller a treat through the vacuum system.

Throw away someone else’s trash: at your table, or wherever this may be appropriate!

Tell one tired mom that she is enough just as she is, that she’s great at what she does.

Tuck money into the toy section of any store with a little note for one happy boy or girl!

Send a text message to 20 people with a silly face & a funny message to make them smile.

Write your child{ren} &/or spouse a love note; tuck it into their lunch bag, purse or wallet.

Buy umbrellas from the dollar store & wait for a rainy day. Those who need them will appear!

Watch the kids for your most sleep-deprived friend, or so she can run errands or finish her shopping.

Let that car slip in front of you, especially the ones pulling out of driveways, parking lots, & side streets!

Kidnap another {single} parent’s minivan & have your family take the time to wash, clean out, & organize it.

Thank the church volunteers who care for your kids each week. Send heartfelt notes & donuts for the team.

Grocery shopping for the sole purpose of putting it in the “Food for Families” box at the front of the store!

Purchase that annual coupon book from the kid selling them in your neighborhood. Give it to someone who can really use it.

Leave stamps in stamp machine, or buy a book & leave ~ with a note ~ for the next person who comes in to the Post Office for some!

Deliver balloons to hospital patients, particularly those who are terminal, elderly, or who no one visits. {Ask at the nurses’ stations.}

Deliver hand-written Valentine, Easter, Independence Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas cards to the local assisted living facility.

Watch for the performance of a random good deed, & give the person who did it a gift card…or just $5., tucked into a “thank you” note!

Offer a few discounted services, if you run a business of any kind, or if you are licensed as, for example, a plumber or mechanic or electrician.

Pick up trash as you walk, at the park, or from around the neighborhood.  {Some trash does always seem to escape the bins on trash day, doesn’t it?}

BEAUTICIANS: go to the local women’s shelter, & offer your services!  {A hair wash & manicures all around perhaps?}  It will make the ladies feel special!!

When Kmart or Walmart asks: “Would you like to keep the hangers?”, always say “YES!”…then donate them to the nearest women’s shelter, or CareNet center.

Go to your local low-cost animal clinic, & pay for the neutering/spaying/shots of ONE of the felines ~ or more, if you can afford that!! ~ for whoever has brought in the most feral cats.

Mail hand-written Valentine, Easter, Memorial Day, July 4th, Veteran’s Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas cards to military overseas…particularly if you learn of any who do not get mail!!

Take some warm donuts & hot chocolate {or lemonade, if it is warm out} to a crew working on power lines, or road repair.  {Be sure you can do this without causing an accident, or getting yourself hurt!!}

Donate pet food, cat litter, litter box{es}, bleach, dog treats {enough for ALL!!, or they will fight!!}, & cat toys {large enough to not fall thru the bars or wire cage bottoms} to the local animal shelter!

Ladies: try to compliment each lady you see today: lovely eyes, great hairdo, terrific manicure, flattering dress, pretty necklace, sweetest smile… ~ Sadly, ladies often have trouble complimenting one another!

Give a gift card with ‘leftover’ $$ on it to the person behind you, ANY time you use one! ~ For example, you have a $25. Movie theatre gift card, you spend $19. of it; give away the card & tell them, “There is still $6. on it; enjoy!”

Sit in the hospital ER ~ this is especially good late at night, & on into the wee hours! ~ with a mass of change, then give it to folks who have none for the machines, because they had to rush out without grabbing their purse or wallet.

Do a “house cleaning”, & donate books, clothing, & household items to a NON-PROFIT center/ shelter/store. This does NOT mean Goodwill; they are a 100% FOR PROFIT BUSINESS!!!! They do not pay for their goods!!  PLEASE DONATE TO ‘NOT FOR PROFIT’ PLACES!!!!

At the stores, grab a cart out of the parking lot on your way in; give that bagger/stock person one less cart to push in!

Make a "Sock Lunch": fill socks with water bottle & other snacks & treats, then tie together & hand out to the homeless!
Write a thank you card for a volunteer you know: school aide, hospital volunteer, animal shelter worker, volunteer fireman, etc.
Learn someone’s name, & speak to them regularly {i.e., Sunday School, work, your regular gas station or grocery store, etc.}

Stage an early morning chalk attack. Pick a street ~ yours or another! ~ & write a “good morning” or “have a great day” message on every driveway.

Visit an inner city playground & bring a surprise picnic lunch for as many kids as you can. Think coolers of drinks, sandwiches, a piece of fruit, & cookies for all.

Take a moment to serve those who serve for a living. Drop off gift cards for the leaders of your local ministries.  Remember children & youth ministers, worship ministers, day care leader, secretaries...

Host a baking party for moms & kids, then encourage everyone to use their goodies to “light up” the season for others once they depart.

Set up a free gift-wrapping stand in the neighborhood. Think specifically of who could use it & pass out invitations.

Show up at your local church with a group of kids to sing carols. Or, deliver a special treat to thank the staff. Ask if even they’d let you sneak kind notes all over the pastor’s office!

Make homemade yard signs or flags & place encouraging notes in friends’ or neighbors’ yards. Think superlatives like “best yard”, “sweet family” or “best Halloween candy”.

Find a parking attendant in a cold garage & take him or her a hot cup of cocoa or coffee & a fun puzzle book or magazine.

Pick a favorite retailer or restaurant. Have your kids write “why I love [blank]” & deliver the note to the manager.

Try to find out when your child’s FRIEND has a game or performance coming up. Surprise him or her by attending & bringing a poster or other fun ways to cheer them on.

Think of someone you hesitate to thank or celebrate (especially a strained or hard relationship) & do it anyway.

Have the kids spend time writing 10 reasons why they love EACH grandparent. If you live close enough, sneak over & serve them in some way.

KIDS: Sneak attack Daddy’s office &/or car, armed with special notes or a sweet treat. Make sure the people he works with know that he’s the best dad in the world…then, do the same for Mom!!

Think of those without (or living far away from) little ones in their family & invite them to join some of the season’s sweet moments with yours.

See if the director of a local preschool will let you in early to put a note of thanks or a treat to welcome teachers as they enter the door {Perhaps a prayer card or note of encouragement}.

Pack a cooler of lunches & look around your city for those who could use it that day. There are so many hungry people within blocks of our daily routines!

Have your children write notes of thanks for police officers & take them by the station with something yummy to eat. Or, bring gift cards for them if your budget allows.

Host a Christmas Party for elderly neighbors. (Or take the party to them if they can’t travel!) Have them read books with the kids & sing a few Christmas songs. Have the party as little or big as you’d like. Consider inviting other neighbors or young families to join!

Visit with elderly neighbors in November & ask how you can help make their Christmas special. What was their favorite tradition? See if you can make it happen in a small way. Could you & your children help decorate their home? Send out their Christmas cards? Wrap gifts?

Make a “Sock Hygiene Pack”: fill socks with mini items, such as: tissue pack, toothpaste & brushes, razors, chap stick, lotion, hand sanitizer, shave cream/gel, deodorant, shampoo/ conditioner, soap/body wash, mouthwash, etc., then tie together & hand out to the homeless!

Host a birthday party for Jesus as a play date for the neighborhood. Ask all of the kids what they can give to Jesus this year (such as: kindness to brother or sister, obeying mommy & daddy, respecting my teachers, loving others, a happy heart, gratitude, etc.). Have them wrap their idea in a box & open with friends.

Take a jug of water & a small bowl to the park, & give drinks of water to the dogs playing/walking there. {This may be easier to do if you have a kid with you, or a “test dog”; otherwise, the owners may fear you’re trying to poison their babies!!}

Stand outside your child’s classroom & give each child a single flower as they walk in. Then, as the children enter the classroom, have them hand the flower to their teacher. By the time class begins, he or she will have a vase full of flowers!

Take coffee to someone who works outside in the cold. Or, if you’re in a warmer climate, take them some Gatorade!

Take the Candy Cane Challenge! See how many candy canes your family can distribute in your community during the month of December. Each sweet treat must be accompanied by a genuine smile, thoughtful note, or audible kind wish from a child in your family.

Print a happy photo of your children. Write “thank you for how you serve our family” on the back. Take copies all around town to those we never thank but should.  {N’s Note: I would hesitate on this for a couple of reasons, one being: these acts really should be as ANONYMOUS as they can possibly be!}

Take your smiling, healthy kids & hug some nurses &/or doctors in your community. Call the hospital ahead of time & ask if you can bring a treat for the staff & the children who are there. Make a poster to leave with the treat at the nurse’s station.

If you are able, be an angel to one struggling family. Sneak a HUGE gift card into their mailbox to answer prayers for Christmas needs. Give what you can.

Think of friends you know who own their own businesses. Invite them to PASS IT ON & PAY IT FORWARD, & donate goods or services that your kids can help deliver to those in need.

Buy a bouquet of flowers & have your children give them away one at a time as you are prompted. Think of the grocery store employees behind the scenes, lonely folks you pass on the sidewalk, etc.

Think of unique ways to send love to teachers of every age (preschool, day care, after school care, etc.), maybe with a flower, treat or special note from your child.

When you make dinner for your family one night, make double; then share that extra meal with another family that could use the help.

Feed the meters around town {& have lots of fun explaining to the kids what “feeding” a meter means!} INDIANA PARKING METERS: “feeding” the meters is NOT illegal!!  You may check out the laws & regulations HERE: http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/code/title36/ar9/ch12.html

Hang out with your nearest Salvation Army rep (at the mall, the grocery store, etc.). Give his or her arm a break & ring that bell!!

Think about an organization or friend that has to raise funds each year to survive. Send them a check with a note that keeps them going.

Color posters with your kids, grandkids, or nieces & nephews, then head to the airport ~ kids & posters in tow!! ~ to welcome soldiers home.

Take a few minutes to hold the door for everyone who walks into a restaurant or office. Teach your kiddos what to say. You’ll get a reaction!

Leave a basket of Easter treats, Summer outdoor play stuff, Thanksgiving goodies, &/or Christmas gifts on the doorstep of a family that needs this.

Give out coupons for free services you can perform for those you love. (Think free back scratch, a ‘chore’ duty, hand massage, or porch sweep!)

Find a family who needs a sponsor…then buy Christmas for the entire family!!  {Or Easter or Thanksgiving dinner!!...or hold a “cook out” for them during summer!!}

Take a basket of treats for those that clean your church or your children’s school. Let’s recognize the people we never see or who serve us behind the scenes.

Think of all the service people who might help maintain or visit your home (delivery person, lawn service, etc.). Have some treats & a handmade card ready just for them.

Lighten the load of someone you love. Ask if you can take a “to do” item off their list. Can you go to the grocery store for them? Paint the kitchen? Help organize the garage?

Donate poinsettias {in late autumn/winter} or other bright & cheery potted flower {in warmer months} to the local assisted living facility, group home, homeless &/or women’s shelter…

Make a “see what happens” basket of goodies & notes to keep in your car so that you are ready for unexpected opportunities to LIGHT ‘EM UP & PAY IT FORWARD as you go around town!

Go by the airport with treats, a sign & balloons. Wait at baggage claim for troops to arrive home, then celebrate them!! Contact your local airport or Veteran's Association & find out how you can help formally welcome troops home if a large group is involved.

Fill your car with as many balloons as will fit. Take your kids to hand them out one at a time to strangers. Teach them how to say, “We just wanted to make you smile today” & maintain eye contact.

Thank all of those tired employees of the local mall for their hard work during the Holidays; think: stores, small booths, security guards, make-up/ear piercing ladies, janitorial staff, food service workers…

Send servicemen/women you know a big box of “goodies” {the Post Office has boxes that cost a set amt. for overseas military shipments; so get one, & FILL IT UP!!!!}; think: stuff they can share with their troops, especially drink/water mixes, jerky, hand sanitizer, chapstick, etc.

Buy 20 mini stockings from the $ Store, then buy 20 candy canes & 20 mini fun items {check out the ‘toy’ aisle!} to go in them; hand them out throughout December to the person who cuts your hair, the one who changes your oil, the person who gives you that manicure/pedicure, even the person standing at the stoplight with their sign…

Contact your local battered women's shelter & make sure they're accepting donations, then ask your friends to join you in a Christmas gift project: Each of you purchase an encouraging CD, make or purchase a necklace, & write an encouraging note. Have each person gift wrap these items, then deliver them to the shelter! Tip on notes: Look up Psalm 27 & consider adding it to your encouraging note.

Christmas Eve:  Take all night drug store or gas station employees a Christmas surprise (because it’s no fun to work on Christmas Eve!)

Christmas Day:  Deliver something special to folks who are working &/or recovering at a local hospital, or Coordinate a Christmas party at an Assisted Living Home, or a Shelter, nearby!

Thank God for Christmas, the birth of His Son, & the gift that He offers us. Let this be a reminder to teach your kids how to pray & why your family gave so much that one day, or has been giving all month {or all year!} long.

Attach an appropriate note to each gift you leave behind {where appropriate & possible!}, such as: “Today is my 50^th birthday! To celebrate, I am doing 50 nice things for 50 random people… & YOU are one of them!!!!  Please enjoy this tiny gift…no strings attached!!  Thanks for helping me celebrate my birthday!!”, or perhaps for the Holiday Season: “Random Acts of Christmas Kindness: you’ve been RACK’ed!!  This Christmas season, we are counting down the 25 days of Christmas by performing Random Acts of Christmas Kindness each day.  You are a beautiful Child of God, & we pray you find His blessings this Christmas season!”

Try to be “sneaky” & ANONYMOUS, as much as possible!!  The idea is to give a true service, NOT to receive the credit for same!  ;-)  Give of yourself, out of love for God & others.

…& if someone does a random act of kindness for YOU…just turn to them & say: “Folks like you make this world a beautiful & better place!!”  ;-)