A Negative World ?

Every place I turn it seems as though I find myself running headlong into that corner called negative. I turn on the TV to check the weather or the news but all I see is bad, negative news or news about some awful tragedies that are messing up other people’s lives. It seems to me that good news just isn’t news at all. Where are all of these people that go to church on Sundays? Aren’t they being told to love their neighbor, to help those in need, to touch just one life to help make just one life a little better? Or, is all of that forgotten when the church doors close behind them on Sunday as they walk out?
Today I heard something that almost made my skin crawl. One of my neighbors has a student in a special education class in one of our public schools. The student came home from school the other day very upset, his teacher had scolded him in front of the class for using the word CHURCH in class! I want you to really think about that! The teacher said that is school policy. I can’t believe my tax dollars are being spent to make rules like that! A public school in the Bible Belt in Florida having a teacher that is so paranoid that she would scold a student for using the word church. If this teacher is one of the best, and I believe only the best should teach a special education class. If this is truly school policy I think it’s time to make a few changes! I cannot visualize what must be going on in the classes of the poorer quality teachers. If this is the way we are teaching the classes now growing up, heaven help us when they become our leaders. If that wasn’t bad enough, I want you to think about this: Think what would happen if a poor kid lived on Church Street! Would the family be forced to move? The poor kid could never give his home address even if the school asks! Worst yet what if the kid’s father was a pastor of a ****** (sorry they can’t use that word).What if the family name was Church could the student only be called by their first name? I wonder if the word mosque is banned. Please tell me, how much stupid can we take before we throw up our hands and say that’s just too much.
When I was growing up the first thing we did in school each morning was to stand face the flag, place our hand over our heart, then recite The Pledge of Allegiance to OUR COUNTRY back then we weren’t worried about someone’s feelings being hurt. Next EVERYONE bowed their heads and recited the Lord’s Prayer. You notice I made it a point to say everyone. No negative mothers and fathers screaming that if they use the word God it will warp the kid’s lives forever. Back then it was truly the UNITED States of America, Today with everyone is afraid of their neighbor, for he might sue, it seems to me most people want that united part printed in very small print.
Whatever happened to: “accentuate the positive then eliminate the negative”? I’m sure all of us have negatives in our lives but we don’t have to let that be our headline of the day. For each negative in our lives I’m sure God gives us at least ten blessings. We just can’t let one negative blind us from all the blessings He puts before us each day.
Most of us have suffered a major tragedy sometime in our lives but now that’s history. No matter how badly we were hurt we cannot waste the rest of our lives waiting for that next tragedy to happen. If you waste your life waiting for something else to happen it probably will but think of all the blessings you will have missed while looking for the worst.
Only you can control your life. Only you can dream your dreams. Only you can talk to YOUR FRIEND and receive your answers. Start each day thinking how great that day will be. Don’t hold back for what might or what could happen. Just think: you woke up and you’re breathing! See there, you have two blessings already and your feet have hardly touched the floor!
Stop worrying about what might happen. Start looking for the next blessing. Didn’t that first cup of coffee taste great? That’s because you left the negatives in the bottom of the cup with the rest of the residue. Now let’s start looking for our next blessing. I’m sure Our Friend will put it somewhere it’s easy to find.