Some of the reasons for school shootings I’ve read:

• People don’t spank their kids anymore.
• Violent video games are causing school shootings.
• Mental illness needs to be better screened in gun buying.
• Gun laws need to be ramped up.
• We need MORE guns, so criminals won’t be the only ones with guns.
• There’s a lack of parental supervision.
• We need carry permits in schools, so shooters know they will meet resistance.
• There’s no respect for life because of abortions.
• We need walls to protect schools, not for our borders.
• It’s because kids aren’t taught morals or respect of others in school anymore.
• Prayer isn’t allowed in school anymore.
• It’s because parents aren’t actively involved in their teens’ lives anymore.
• We need metal detectors at every school.
• It’s because people are all talk and no action. (Other than the shooters, of course.)

Other plausible reasons for school shootings:

I haven’t seen ANYONE mention bullying pushes people to the end of their rope, but that’s a common fact revealed after the case.

What about kids who are beaten or verbally abused at home until anger erupts through a vengeful school shooting?

In this specific case, what if he lost all hope because he felt nobody seemed to care about his education and future (we do know he was recently expelled)?

What about the possibility his expulsion is indicative that his individual behavioral and emotional problems were not properly dealt with through the years?

What help DID he receive, or what help did he need that no one ever provided, that led him to the point of shooting?

As a symptomatic clue to reasons for shootings, I’ve seen NO ONE posting anything compassionate about what might have set the shooter on this path.

Whatever the ACTUAL reason is in THIS case, I’m SURE there are many more reasons people can think of for why school shootings happen.

And you know what? An argument could be made a case for EACH of the causes for school shootings people have presented.

However, every time anyone of us thinks we have presented the ONE reason for the school shootings, we’ve missed the forest for the trees.

Heart-level reasons for school shootings:

The truth is we live in a fallen world. Many of our hearts are deficient, lacking love and respect for each other. ALL of the factors listed above come together with the blaming, angry rhetoric on social media to create the toxic social climate we have today.

There seems to be little willingness to take personal responsibility for hurtful and damning words people spew against others. Hurtful, blaming rhetoric is spewed all over social media EVERY day, on the news, and even in face-to-face encounters.

As adults, we need to be aware today’s kids are growing up seeing ADULTS hurling insults at one another. Everybody is blaming others for everything wrong with the government, society, etc.

Adults don’t bridle their tongues. They seem to have a self-righteous need to proclaim everything perceived to be wrong with OTHER people. There is virtually NO awareness of a person’s individual contribution to the climate of today’s society.

We all contribute to the toxic climate when we make individual declarations against other people groups.

I see virtually NO seeking to understand other people’s views, but rather self-righteous rhetoric flows in a finger-pointing, blame game.

Where’s the sense of love and compassion for the hurting and broken? Is it ever right to post self-righteous declarations attacking another person or group of people? Before posting, what consideration have you given to the hurting hearts and souls of the people you’re attacking?

Virtually everyone is self-righteous in their OWN eyes, and even the mass shooters somehow think they are RIGHTFULLY taking out their anger on their victims.

The truth is: we have a societal and spiritual problem. It is much bigger than any of the individual problems I’ve seen proposed as THE reason for the school shootings.

We don’t yet know WHY yesterday’s shooter went on a rampage. We do know, without a doubt, it was NOT for “NO reason.” He had a reason.

Whatever the surface reason, deep inside it’s a soul-hurting, angry-spirited reason. We could have dealt with it if we all had compassionate eyes and loving hearts turned toward the broken and hurting in society.

This is not at all to condone the shooting in any way. It’s more to say preventing future school shootings requires taking a hard, long look at how society reflects our minds, our hearts, and interactions with one another.

Whatever we say and do, we are teaching our kids through our words and actions. Are we teaching our kids LOVE and compassion? Do ANY of us TRULY love our neighbors as ourselves? Do any of us TRULY CARE?

Personally, I believe we need a national conversation focused on how we can turn our society toward compassion, love, and unity. We need to LOVE one another to make America GREAT again!

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I had important papers to mail, so I wanted to be there right as the post office opened. Therefore, I went early.

A lone clerk opened up the displays, unlocked the windows, and got ready to conduct business for the day. A line of customers accumulated. There were fourteen customers, to be exact.

An African American woman in front of me in line she asked to borrow my pen. As she addressed her priority envelope, like I had just done with mine, we chatted.

An oriental woman came up behind me, greeted me, and we exchanged a moment of morning chat and smiled. People in line smiled and chatted with one another as we all waited.

An older, oriental gentleman entered the post office struggling with a large, clearly heavy box. A large African American man jumped out of line to help the small oriental guy with his box. They put the box up front, right next to the clerk’s window, then went to their respective places in line.

Everyone continued chatting, smiling. It was a jovial wait.

Someone down the line mentioned race in their conversation. I have no idea what they were talking about, but suddenly I became aware of race. I looked around. It truly was a multiracial line. Yet, I was the only white person! The ONLY one.

Multiracial Line: My Community

Did I care that I was the only white person? No. Did it matter? No. I felt just as comfortable waiting in this line as I felt in lines here 20 years ago. Twenty years ago the lines were mostly white people.

But the demographics of our county have changed over the past 20-25 years. And you know what? The people are still friendly, smiling, lovely people in my community.

I looked around and saw oriental, African American, Hispanic people, and myself. ALL of us were interacting without any issue regarding our different races.

Then I thought:
I wish people wouldn’t LET the media convince them that we are horribly divided in our multiracial country. I think the MAJORITY of us are in NO WAY bigoted racists.

Sure, we have some bigots who hate based on race, but I honestly think they are FAR fewer and further between than the media portrays.

Multiracial Society: Our Reputation

I hear that Georgia has a reputation for being a ‘racist’ state among other states, but in MANY places it is NOT. There are remote, small, all white Georgia towns where racism probably is prevalent. However, I just don’t see it much at all in our diverse, multiracial area. The Greater Atlanta Metro area is multiracial. Bigotry doesn’t seem prevalent to me.. at least, not to any significant degree, but then again.. I’m white, so maybe I’m oblivious? I don’t see it among my friends either though.

Multiracial Society: What kinds of solutions are there?

How can we all let our voices of love and unity rise above the droning din of the press?

What can we do to show the world we’re the UNITED States of America, regardless of race?

How can we drown out the voices of those who want to divide us, and convince the world that we’re NOT a bunch of angry, racially-biased, unloving people?

Sadly, I think we’re letting our national news outlets focus so much on the racial divides, they’re ruining our reputation!

The MAJORITY of people in our nation are perfectly loving, reasonable, and kind people, and we need to shout out our unity and love for one another!

How do we overcome a reputation of multiracial division?

• LOVE YOUR NEIGHBORS — ALL of them! Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. A second likewise is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.” ~ Matthew 22:37-40
• DO NOT CHIME IN on the BLAME Game — whether it is blaming whites, Republicans, Democrats, angry protesters, alt-anything, etc.. we DON’T need anyone else to promote division. Division RHETORIC is rampant. “Do all things without murmurings and disputes, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without defect in the middle of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you are seen as lights in the world, holding up the word of life; that I may have something to boast in the day of Christ, that I didn’t run in vain nor labor in vain.” ~ Philippians 2:14-16
• Let your voice be used for sharing IDEAS and SOLUTIONS — propose ways to solve problems.  If you see a need for change somewhere, consider how you can be a voice for positive change, then focus on SOLUTIONS, rather than just pointing out everything you see wrong. We NEED forces for GOOD and proponents for change where divides truly do exist. “Seek first God’s Kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well.” ~ Matthew 6:33
• SHARE THE GOOD; DON’T SPREAD DIVISION! Share uplifting, encouraging stories.. (like this post about unity.)  We could ALL use some GOOD NEWS these days!!  The Good News of the Gospel, for one, could uplift MANY hearts if people took time to truly seek to understand exactly what Jesus taught.. If we all treated each other like Jesus treated those around Him, we’d surely have a more loving and kind society!

More than JUST a Multiracial Problem

I think were as divided, if not more divided over politics and policy these days. So, here again, the same advice would apply. And need I say it again?

Don’t Share angry, ranting, blaming posts. It doesn’t ACCOMPLISH anything.

If you are about to share an angry or blaming news article.. STOP! DROP the Link! And ROLL ON BY the negativity!

It truly makes me sad to see people I know trashing whole other sectors of people by sharing the news media’s biased, blaming rhetoric. It hurts my heart, and disappoints me greatly, my friends, to see those I know and love participating in growing our national division, raising anger and hatred levels, and thinking they’re doing ANY good at all!

POST AS IF Your friends were in the room and you were making a speech! Could you look your opposing friends in the eye and still say whatever the post says? Are you posting with LOVE in your heart, or anger and hatred for “them”?

If you’re a Christian, Would you say what you are about to post if Jesus was standing right in front of you?

What say ye?

Proclaim EXCELLENCE, NOT Anger!

You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light: who in time past were no people, but now are God’s people, who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

~ 1 Peter 2:9-10

I LOVE YOU my fellow countrymen, no matter your race. I truly pray I’ll see as much UNITY on Facebook as I saw in the Post Office this morning!!

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It’s difficult to love the Lord in a meaningful way, especially with the way we live in today’s society.

How Do You Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind?

The FIRST step is to think of God outside of going to church. In Judges 16:15, Delilah says to Sampson, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me?” The same would apply to us when it comes to God.

How can we claim to love the Lord when we don’t even think of him on many days?

Step 1: Desire to Love the Lord with all your heart:

Over and over in the Bible’s Old Testament, the Lord tells us to love Him with all our heart:

Deuteronomy 10:12-13 “What does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, to keep the Lord’s commandments and statutes, which I command you today for your good?

Joshua 22:5 “Only take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, to love the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to keep his commandments, to hold fast to him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

There are numerous verses in the Bible that repeat the refrain to love the Lord with all our heart and soul. So the very first thing we have to ask ourselves is: Am I even trying to love the Lord with all my heart?

Step 2: Learn HOW to Love the Lord with all your heart:

There are several aspects of loving the Lord with all your heart. Firstly, it’s important to realize God wants a relationship with you. If you think of other relationships in your life that are important, you can pattern your loving relationship with God after your other relationships.

What is involved in loving relationships?

• Spending time together;
• Talking with each other regularly;
• Seeking to know and understand the other person’s heart and desires;
• Desiring to the strengthen the relationship by doing loving things for the other person;

Every aspect of a relationship with someone in this world can be applied to your loving relationship with God. Doing so is a matter of making your relationship with God a viable priority.

How do you make God a priority in your life?

• Seek God (Hebrews 11:6) best done by reading a Bible daily;
• Serve God (Romans 14:18);
• Walk with God (Micah 6:8);
• Pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17);

By doing the things listed above, you will build your relationship with God. Over time, you will feel God’s presence more clearly in your life. You will come to know Him better, and you shall begin to know how much you love Him.

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We are all in spiritual battles, sometimes more so than others. Therefore, we need to put on the armor of God to protect ourselves.

“For though we walk in the flesh, we don’t wage war according to the flesh; for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the throwing down of strongholds, throwing down imaginations and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ; and being in readiness to avenge all disobedience, when your obedience will be made full.” (2 Corinthians 10:3-6)

This portion of the scripture jumped out at me: “we don’t wage war according to the flesh; for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God.”

So I wondered, “What are the weapons of our warfare?” Immediately the Armor of God came to mind.

What exactly is the Armor of God?

“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world’s rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

“Therefore put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having the utility belt of truth buckled around your waist, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having fitted your feet with the preparation of the Good News of peace; above all, taking up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one.

“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; with all prayer and requests, praying at all times in the Spirit, and being watchful to this end in all perseverance and requests for all the saints: on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in opening my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the Good News.” (Ephesians 6:11-19)

The pieces of our armor of God are:

• TRUTH: the utility belt of truth buckled around your waist.
• RIGHTEOUSNESS: the breastplate of righteousness.
• GOOD NEWS of PEACE: the preparation of the Good News of peace fitted your feet.
• FAITH: the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one.
• SALVATION: the helmet of salvation, and
• THE WORD OF GOD: the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

When you have FAITH, you have a shield that will protect you from the evil one.

If you have accepted Jesus as your savior, you have the helmet SALVATION.

As you go forth with the GOOD NEWS of PEACE, you will have your feet properly fitted for walking with God wherever you go.

Uphold TRUTH and RIGHTEOUSNESS in all you do and say, so you will have the belt and the breastplate fitted around you.

Lastly, if you have THE WORD OF GOD with you (to read or memorized), you will have a strong spirit that is ready at all times.

How do you put on this armor, these weapons of warfare, as protection?

First and foremost, pray and ask God to give you faith and salvation. That will get you started with putting on the armor of God.

If you’re already a Christian, and you have salvation, then read God’s Word daily to help arm yourself with the sword of the spirit. The Word of God helps us rightly divide truth and righteousness from the ways of the world.

When you read God’s word regularly, pray throughout your days, then you are walking with God. Do your best to walk in truth, righteousness and peace. By doing these things, you will have the armor of God with you at all times. You will be ready for any spiritual warfare that may come your way.

Victory in Spiritual Warfare, DVD Leader Kit By B&H BooksVictory in Spiritual Warfare: Field Guide for Battle is an 8-session, adult Bible study. “Spiritual warfare” is defined as “the cosmic conflict waged in the invisible, spiritual realm which is simultaneously fleshed out in the context of the visible, physical realm.” Pastor Tony Evans pragmatically teaches Ephesians 6:10-18, providing application so that believers can implement the truths of God’s Word in the very real battle at hand. The kit includes three DVDs with eight group sessions, and a member book.

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Do you have regrets in life that are holding you back?

No matter what your life looks like today, you can start living towards a better tomorrow.

Start thinking about what you want your life to be like. What would you like to do? Who would you like to BE?

Start researching how to do that thing or begin developing the skills you need to become the person you’d like to be. Make a plan for moving forward toward whatever you desire to do and be in life.

God put desires in your heart, and He created you for a purpose:

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before that we would walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10)

“Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4)

We have to note though, the FIRST step is to “delight ourselves in the Lord.” What does that mean?

To delight ourselves in the Lord, we have to want to know Him, seek Him, desire to know His will for our lives and our relationships. How do we do that?

By studying the scriptures, praying, and quietly sitting with the Holy Spirit within us and listening for those whispers of direction spoken to the spirit within us.

We have to KNOW GOD, His expectations and His loving Spirit, before we can reliably discern His voice from our own impulses and desires.

If you Know God’s Will, You can discern His voice:

When you ask God, “What do you want me to do?” or “What kind of person am I designed to be?” He will respond in your spirit.

NOTE: God’s response will never be contrary to what the scriptures teach us. That is why it is important to KNOW what the scriptures say. Otherwise, you may be led astray by Satan’s trickery, your personal desires, or whims of the moment. We don’t want that!! :-O (It leads to trauma and drama in our lives!)

The Holy Spirit will give you a sense of, “Yes,” or “No,” or “Not yet.” Or, “I want you to become more patient… or more loving.. or more encouraging.”

Whatever the response is, if you are in tune with the Holy Spirit within you, then you will sense the answer when you listen to that still small voice within you.

Once you have direction, go for it boldly without looking back, like Abraham did when he left the land of his people to go to a place God wanted to give Abraham. Or like Moses who had an important message for the Pharaoh and a task of freeing God’s people. Or, when David repented of his sin’s and sought to recommit himself to living righteously.

Whatever your purpose in life is, God has given it to you along with His love, support, and direction, *if* you delight yourself in following the Lord’s guidance.

If you’re trying to hack your way through the life’s jungle on your own, it will be rough going and you’ll quite possibly always feel unfulfilled and lacking direction in your life.

“Seek first God’s Kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33)

So, fellow sojourner, I hope you will seek to KNOW God and you’ll seek His Kingdom with me in this journey we call life.

Insider Tip: Here is the best Bible Study Tool I have →

I read this bible daily, and take notes in the margins to help me learn more about God every day.

It’s an AMAZING book because EVERY time I read the scriptures, even if I’ve read them before, my eyes are opened to new understanding. There is no other book like it!

I write notes in the margins all the time, which really helps me relate the scriptures to my real life. LOVE this bible!

I hope you’ll join me in this adventure as we become who God designed us to be.

HUGS!

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Learn More about Getting the Love You Want with:

The Resiliency Workbook: Bounce Back Stronger, Smarter, & with Real Self-esteem

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© 2015, All Rights Reserved, Grow Your Spiritual Fruit, Artwork from National Agricultural Library, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.

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In high school, I played tennis virtually every day, rode my bike most days, went for walks and I still liked to spend my time outdoors. In college and my early working career, I went white water rafting, rode in a Century bike ride, went snow skiing, and bowled on a bowling team.

Somewhere along the way I lost my outdoorsy and active self.  I’m not sure where or when it happened, but when I look at myself now, I scarcely see even a shadow of my former self. I want to find THAT me again.

It’s difficult to be active when you’re 50-something, overweight, have bad knees, and have wrestled with your weight forever and a day. I’m constantly working on losing weight, so I know I need to get my brain in the game to transform my thinking and finally lose this excess weight.

But which comes first? The activity when you move at the speed of a slug or the weight loss so you can move without huffing and puffing?

Yesterday I decided.. Why sit in an office chair?  Wouldn’t it be more fun to sit on my big blue bouncy ball and bounce while I work?  It was FUN, made me feel energized, and really made me feel like I was young and energetic again. Best of all, my weight isn’t much of an issue while bouncing on the ball.

It’s not much activity yet, but it’s the beginning of building a new me. I shall be bouncing while I work for the next while and see where this new mind path takes me.

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