Marbles In My Pocket ~ The Official Blog of Charles L. Mashburn ~ Poems, Short Stories, and random thoughts from the author of "Be Still… and know that I am God"

I play golf and I love it… when I’m not hating it. But, more and more, I’m beginning to see the game as a life lesson, and finding many parallels with the game of golf and our daily struggles. Read the rest of this entry »

I play golf and I love it… when I’m not hating it. But, more and more, I’m beginning to see the game as a life lesson, and finding many parallels with the game of golf and our daily struggles. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m convinced the key to peace and joy is to not want anything. Instead, we should focus on God, praising Him and thanking Him for all He’s given us. When we focus on what is true, honest, and just, we will find God, and when we focus on Him, we won’t have time to want, because we’ll be too busy enjoying His blessings. Read the rest of this entry »

I was raised by a man who was constantly ranting about how this person, or that group, was out to get him, and life just wasn’t fair. I seldom saw him at peace. Unfortunately, his ways rubbed off on me, and I spent much of my life fighting against the world. As a result, I had no peace within my soul.

I didn’t learn to be at peace, and I didn’t one day figure out how to defeat those I perceived to be against me; God delivered me from my enemies—many of them imaginary—and delivered peace unto my soul. That’s not to say I am in a constant state of perfect peace, but I’m learning to let go of things quicker than I used to and turn to God for relief from the battles—whether perceived or real—of this world.

He has delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me: for there were many against me. Psalms 55:18

We all want to have worth and we want to believe our existence—our time on this earth—has meaning. Too many times, we look back at our lives and see nothing of value, and too often focus on the mistakes and bad things we’ve done. Read the rest of this entry »

There’s a reason for everything, and when it’s all said and done, all the things we’ve seen, heard, said, and done have brought us to this moment in time, and made us who and what we are. Read the rest of this entry »

Self-condemnation is something most of us have in common. We’re constantly beating ourselves up over things we wish we hadn’t done. It’s one of the reasons we get weary and fearful about the future; we think what we’ve done has messed up what would have been. It seems to me this is the sincerest form of self-flattery; believing we are in control.

If there’s one thing we should be thankful to God for, it’s the fact we are not in control. Man has a vivid imagination, and as time goes on, we seem to believe we are much more intelligent and powerful than we truly are. We can be powerful, but only when we realize the source of our knowledge and strength comes from God.

We learn from our mistakes then move forward.

There is therefore now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Romans 8:1