Surely there is no better time to sit and contemplate God and His world than early in the morning while the house is quiet and there is a snowstorm going on outside. What a reminder of His power and glory! Snow turns the December landscape of browns and grays into a winter wonderland just as the forgiveness of Jesus purifies our hearts.
Snow erases the noise that distracts us from the beauty of nature's sounds. Step outside after a snowfall and listen. The silence is like no other. You can almost hear Him whisper, 'Be still and know that I am God.'
Snow serves to slow us down. We can't (or shouldn't drive as fast.) We certainly can't walk as fast. In a world that is obsessed with motion and going places, again we are reminded, 'Be still'.
Spend quiet time in reflection and prayer with your Lord.
'All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and He gives them to each one, just as He determines.'
I Corinthians 12:11
Proverbs 18:16 says that your gift will make room for you. You won't have any problem finding work, friends or opportunity. In fact, if you'll focus on your strengths and do what you're gifted to do, you'll probably have to turn down opportunities.
If you are not fullfilled, it may well be because you are not pursuing your destiny. Make sure that you are fulfilling the dreams that God has placed in your heart.
If you are called to ba a stay-at-home mom and raise your children, do it to the best of your ability. Don't allow society to pressure you into some career simply becaue your friends are doing it. Recognize your purpose and do it well.
If you are gifted in the area of sales, don't sit behind a desk all day long in a room by yourself. Get into the area of your gifts, and do it to the best of your ability. If you're going to fullfill your destiny, you must do what God hardwired you to do. Make sure you operate a realm where you are passionate.
You may not have yet stepped into your divine destiny. You're still doing many things for which you have little passion and no enthusiasm. It is time to become a better you.
Certainly, you can't just snap your fingers and change careers, but at least examine your life and be aware of how you're spending your time. Are you pursuing your passion? Are you doing what you are good at naturally? If not, why don't you make some changes? Time is short. Find one thing that you're passionate about and start giving yourself to it. And God will lead you one step at a time.
Follow God's divine desiny for your life, discover your calling, and stay in your purpose. Make a decision and keep pressing forward, keep believing,and keep stretching until you see your dreams fullfilled. Then one day, you will look back and say with confidence, "This is why God put me here."
Are you burning with enthusiasm about your life, your friends, and your future? If so, congratulations and keep up the good work! But if your spiritual batteries are running low, perhaps you're spending too much energy focusing on your losses and too little time planning for futue victories.
Writer Sara Jordan gave this simple but good advice: "Every day give yourself a good mental shampoo."
If you're feeling tired or troubled or both, take time to soak in your blessings as you focus on things that are positive. And while you're at it, seek strength from the Source that never fails. When you sincerely petition God, He will give you all the power and enthusiasm you need to live victoriously through Him.
Success is a state of mind. If you want success, start thinking of yourself as a success.
No one has to remind you of the high cost of anxiety. Worry divides the mind. The biblical word for worry (merimnao) is a compound word of two Greek words, merizo ("to divide") and nous ("the mind"). Anxiety splits our energy between troday's priorties and tomorrow's problems. Part of our mind is on the now, the rest is on the not yet. The result is half-minded living.
That's not the only result. Worrying is not a disease, but it causes diseases. It has been connected to high blood pressure, heart trouble, blindess, migraine headaches, thyroid malfunctions and a host of stomach disorders.
Anxiety is an expensive habit. Of course, it might be worth the cost, if it worked. But it doesn't. Our frets are futile. Worry has never brightened a day, solved a problem, or cured a disease.
If you're great with kids, volunteer at the orphanage.
If you have a head for business, start a soup kitchen.
If God bent you toward medicine, dedicate a day or a dedicate to AIDS patients.
The only mistake is not to risk making one...
He lavished you with strengths in this lfe and a promise of the next. Go out on a limb; He won't let you fall. Take a big risk; He would let you fail. He invites you to dream of the day you feel His hand on your shoulder and His eyes on your face. "Well done, " He will say, "good and faithful servant."
Columinist Rick Reilly gave this advice to rookie professional athletes: "Stop thumping your chest. The line blocked, the quarterback threw you a perfect spiral while getting his head knocked off, and the good receiver blew the double coverage. Get over yourself."
The truth is, every touchdown in life is a team effort. Applaud your teammates. An elementary boy came home from the tryouts for the school play: "Mommy, Mommy," he announced, "I got a part. I've been chosen to sit in the audience and clap and cheer."
Richard "Rick" Paul Reilly (born February 3, 1958 in Boulder, Colorado) is an American sportswriter.
For a field to bear fruit, it must occasionally lie fallow. And for you to be healthy, you must rest. Slow down, and God will heal you. He will bring rest to your mind, to your body, and most of all to your soul. He will lead you to green pastures.
Green pastures were not the natural remain of Judea. The hills around Bethlehem were David kept his flock were not lush and green. Even today they are white and parched. Any green pasture in Judea is the work of some shepherd. He has cleared the rough, rocky land. Stumps have been torn out, and brush have been burned....
With His own pierced hands, Jesus created a pasture for the soul. He tore out the thorny underbrush of condemnation. He pried lose the huge boulders of sin. In their place He planned seeds of grace and dug ponds of mercy.
We need to remember the generations are connected. You are sowing seeds for future generations. Every time you perserve, every time you are faithful, every time you serve others, you are making a difference; you're storing up equity in your 'generational account'.
It's not just your life you are changing; you are literally changing your family tree!
David begins this Psalm with a bold promise to the Lord, tht he will praise Him, and boast of Him at ALL times. What has caused him to make such a committment? He tells us why.
"I prayed to the Lord, and answered me, freeing me from ALL my fears...I cried out to the Lord in my suffering and He heart me. He sets me free from ALL my fears...The Lord hears His people when they call to Him for help. He rescues them from ALL their troubles" Psalm 34: 4, 6,17)
You can be delivered from debilitating fears if you accept the conditions.
Most of us have heard the story of the good Samaritan, a man who helped a fellow traveller when no one else would. We too should be good Samaritans when we encounter others who need help.
Zora Neal Hurston once said, "When you find a person who has lost his way, you show him the way.
Her insight fits well with the antidote in Helen Kellery's advice: "Believe, when you are most unhappy, that there is something for you to do in the world. So long as you can sweeten another's pain, life is not in vain."
Find someone today who needs a hug or a helping hand and give them both.
If a lion's roar isn't getting you anyplace, try a bear hug.
'10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. 19Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel...'
Ephesians 6: 10-19
The decisions we make today affect ouf children and our children's children for multiplied generations. That includes bad habits, addictions, negativity, wrong mind sets, and other types of inquiries.
One of the first steps to overcoming a problem is to recognize what you're dealing with. Identify it. Don't ignore it. Don't try to sweep it under the rug and hope that it will go away. It won't.
Instead swallow your pride, and get the help you need so you can be free. It is not easy to admit we need help, but it is necessary.
You ocan free yourself from those negative patterns and start a new pattern of goodness and love to pass along to your descendants.
Also, take responsibility for your actions. You can choose to set a new standard.
Remember, this is a spiritual battle. Recognize what it is, identify it, get it out in the open and deal with it. God's blessing and favor to your live you will see in your life, and you will pass down those good things to the generations to follow.
'You can be the one to chose the blessing and not the curse.'
This is what God commands...that we love each other.
1 John 3:23
Does bumping into certain people leave you brittle, breakable, and fruitless? Do you easily fall apart? If so, your love may be grounded in the wrong soil.
Many people tell us to love. Only God gives us the power to do so.
We know what God wants us to do. How can we be kind to the vow breakers? To those who are unkind to us? How can we be patient with people who have the warmth of a vulture and the tenderness of a porcupine? How can we forgive the moneygrabbers and backstabbers we meet. How can we love as God loves? We want to. We long to. But how can we?
Sometimes peace can be a scarce commodity in a demanding twenty-first century world. How, then, can we find the peace so desperately desire? By slowing down, by keeping problems in perspective, by counting our blessings, and by trusting God.
Today, as you journey out into the chaos of the world, bring God's peace with you. And remember: the chaos is temporary, but God's peace is permament.
To know God as He really is--in His essential nature and character--is to arive at a citadel of peace that circumstances may storm, but can never capture.
You may already endured more than your share of unfair, negative experiences. But know this: God wants to do a new thing. He wants to give you a new beginning. Don't give up. Don't go around thinking you've peaked, that you've reached your limits in life.
When one door closes, God will always open another. If all the doors close, He'll open a window! God always wants to give you a fresh beginning. He still has a great plan for your life.
You may feel that life has knocked you down through disappointments of other unfair situations. But whatever you do, don't stay down. Get back up again, dust yourself off. Get up in the morning, put your shoulders back, look in the mirror, and say, "I've come too far to stop now. I may be knocked down, but I'm not knocked out. I'm going to get back up again. I know I'm a victor, not a victim."
Continually remind yourself that you have a gift on the inside. You are talented. You are creative. That's exactly why the enemy is trying to push you down, to keep your gifts, your creativiity, your joy, your smile, your personality, and your dreams from ever seeing the light of day.
The inspiration of a thrilling revival in New Zealand promoted James Edwin Orr to blend verses 23 and 24 of Psalm 139 with a lovely Polynesian melody, that has since become one of our most challenging hymns of revival.
J. Edwin Orr has been widely known as a challenging evangelist and a noted scholar of historical revival movements.
"Cleanse Me" has been written in 1936 after a stirring Easter convention in Ngarnawahia, New Zealand. Fervent meetings sprang up throughout the city. Inspired by this intense movement of the Holy Spirit, Dr. Orr took time as he left New Zealand to write the verses of "Cleanse Me," on the back of an envelope in the post office.
If we sincerely want to change ourselves for the better, we must start on the inside and work our way out from there. Lasting change doesn't occur "out there"; it occurs "in here". It occurs, not in the shifting sands of our own particular circumstances, but in the quiet depths of our own hearts.
Are you in search of a new begining or even a new you? Are you hoping to make dramatic improvements or to break unhealthy habits? If so, don't respect chaning circumstances to mirculaously transform you into the person you want to become. Transformation starts with God, and it starts in the silent center of a humble human heart.
Life is better when we treat other people the way we would want to be treated if we were in their shoes. Things go better when we're courteous and compassionate. Graciousness, humility and kindness area all vitrues we should strive for. But sometimes we fall short. Sometimes, amid the busyness and confusion of everyday life, we neglect to share a kind word or a kind deed. This oversight hurts others, but it hurts us as well.
Slow yourself down and be alert for those who need your smile, your kind words, your hug, or your helping hand. Make kindness a centerpiece of your dealings with others. They will be blessed, and you will be too.
Your talents, resources and oportunites are gifts from the Giver of all things good. And the best way to say thank you for these gifts is to use them.
Do you have a particular talent? Share them. Have you been blessed by a particular opporunity? Use it to help others.
When you share the gifts God has given you--especially when you share them freely and without fanfare--you invite God to bless you more and more. So today, be a faithful steward of your talents and treasures. Then prepare yourself for even greater blessings that are sure to come.
The world has its own brand of wisdom, a kind tht's often wrong and sometimes dangerous. God, on the other hand, as a different brand of wisdom--a wisdom that will never lead you astray.
Our first step toward gaining God's wisdom is to know what we do not know; that is, to be aware of our shortcomings.
Corrie Ten Boom and her sister, Betsy, were amazing women of faith. The Ten Boom sisters were over fifty years old when they began hiding Jews in a secret room in their home during the Holocaust. Eventually they were found out and sent to a concentration camp.
Corrie managed to smuggle pieces of a Bible into camp. The two sisters held secret prayer meetings and cared fro other prisoners, never giving up hope. Once they even gave thanks for fleas, when their barracks became so infested than the guards refused to enter.
Betsy never tasted freedom again, but Corrie survived and went on to tell her story, The Hiding Place.
There is hope to be found, even in the midst of affliction.
Stand in your shoe. People in your family. Coworkers in you office, all these things can be a source of irritation. We want to put things right. Sometimes we can. Other things take time.
God has all the time in the world. He is willing to wait for fruit to ripen, for light to dawn, for promises to be fullfilled. He puts us in right place to make us shine. Sometimes we feel like the oyster, constantly trying to smooth over life's irritations. But He wants us to know deep down we're really His pearls.
Not everything can be fixed in the click of a mouse. Really good things take time.
No matter how dark the clouds, the sun will eventually pierce the darkness and dispel it; no matter how heavy the rain, the sun will ultimately prevail to hang a rainbow in the sky. Joy will chase away the clouds hovering over our faith and prevail over the disheartening trails that drench our lives.
'Weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning'. Psalm 30:5
Doris von Krappelhoff dreamed of becoming a dancer, but an automobile crash left her dreams in shambles. So she turned instead to singing. Along the way Doris changed her last name, borrowing from the song 'Day by Day'. So Doris von Kappelhoff became Doris Day...and Doris Day became one of the biggest movie stars of the 1950's and 1960's.
Doris once said, 'Gratitude is riches. Complaint is poverty.' And her words apply to all of us. Chronic complaining--a rather common malady that infects all of us from time to time--solves nothing. So let's give thanks for blessings past, present, and future. As Doris von Kappelhoff proved, it takes great thoughts to make a great day.
You don't make progress by standing on the sidelines, whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas.
Shirley Chisholm
More about Doris Day:
Doris Mary Anne von Kappelhoff (born April 3, 1922)is an American singer, actress and animal welfare advocate known as Doris Day. Able to sing, dance and play comedy and dramatic roles, she became one of the biggest box-office stars. Day has 39 films to her credit, over 75 hours of television and as one of the most prolific recording artists in history, has recorded over 650 songs. She is an Academy Award nominee, as well as a Golden Globe and Grammy Award winner.
It is God Who is at work in you, both to will and work for His good pleasure. Philippians 2:13
Whether you realize it or not, God is busily working in you and through you. He has things He wants you to do and people He wants you to help. Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to seek God's will and to follow it.
Elizabeth Elliot said, "I believe that in every time and place it is within our power to acquiesce it the will of God--and what peace it brings to do so!" And Corrie ten Boom observed, "Surrendering to the Lord is not a tremendous sacrifice, not an agonizing performance. It is the most sensible thing you can do."
So as you make plans for the future, make sure your plans conform God's plans--that's the safest and best way to live.
The only safe place is in the center of God's will.It is not only the safest place. It is also the most rewarding and most satisfying place to be.
Every human life is a tapestry of events: some grand, some not so grand. When we reach the mountaintops of life, praising God is easy. In our moments of triumph, we trust God's plan. But when the storm clouds form over head and we find ourselves in the dark valley of despair, our faith is stretched--sometimes to the breaking point. Yet we can take comfort: wherever we find ourselves, whether at the top of the mountain or the depths of the valley, God is there. And because He cares for us, we can live courageously.
You can call upon your Creator in our hour of need and find comfort. Whatever your challenge, whatever your trouble, God can handle it.
Our future may look fearfully intimidating, yet we can look up to the Engineer of the Universe, confident that nothing escapes His attention or slips out of the control of those strong hands.
Wisdom is not like a mushroom; it does not spring up overnight. Rather, it's like an oak tree that starts as a tiny acorn, grown into a sapling, and eventually reaper up to the sky, tall and strong.
To become wise, we must seek wisdom in the right places, and we must apply the wisdom we find. We must seek out worthy mentors and listen carefully to their advice. We must associate, day in and day out, with sensible men and women. We must commit ourselves to a lifetime of learning.
We do these things, we will become wise--and we will be a blessing to our friends, to our families and to the world.
'In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.' John 16:13
Although she lost her sight in infancy, she went on to become one of North America's most beloved writers of poetry and hymns. She wrote more than nine thousand hymns; she spent her life teaching and serving the needy; and she became one of the most admired writers of the nineteenth century. Her name was Frances Crosby, better known to her legion of admires as Fanny Crosby, the woman who penned the classic hymn, 'Blessed Assurance.'
Fanny Crosby was never embittered by her blindness. to the contrary, she considered her handicap a steppingstone, not a stumblingblock.
'... but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.' Isaiah 40:31
For busy people living a fast-paced, twenty-first-century world, life may seem like a merry-go-round that never stops spinning. If that description seems to fit your life you may find yourself running short of patience or strength-or both.
When you feel tired or discourage, there is a source from which you can draw the power needed to recharge your spiritual batteries. That source is God.
Are you exhausted or troubled? Weak or worried? Worn down or burned out? If so, have a heart-to-heart talk with God. When you do, you'll discover that the Creator of the universe can help you gain a renewed sense of hope and a fresh perspective. Your job is to let Him do it.
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Birds sing after the storm. Why shouldn't we?
Rose Kennedy
This post was modified from its original form on 04 Apr, 4:06
[send green star]
What is really wanted is to light up the spirit that is within a child. In some sense and in some effectual degree there is in every child the material of good work in the world; and in every child, not only in those who are brilliant, not only in those who are quick, but in those who are stolid, and even in those who are dull. William Gladstone
If you make children happy now, you will make them happy twenty years hence by the memory of it. Kate Douglas Wiggin
And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be upon thy heart; and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. Deuteronomy 6. 6, 7
There is nothing that is puerile in nature; and he who becomes impassioned of a flower, a blade of grass, a butterfly's wing, a nest, a shell, wraps around a small thing that always contains a great truth. To succeed in modifying the appearance of a flower is insignificant in itself, if you will; but reflect upon it for however short a while and it becomes gigantic.
A computer virus is a software program that is designed to ruin files and wreck data storage devices. It's no wonder that the mere mention of it causes us great alarm. We feel helpless because we can't see what we're trying to fight.
In many ways, sin is like a computer virus. We can't see our sin nature, but we know a lot about the harm it causes. It's strange, through, that we seem to be more willing to accept the existence of computer virsus than our sin nature. We look for the cases of our mortal and spiritual problems everywhere else except inside of us.
Isaiah had a tough time getting the Israelites to accept responsibility for their sin. He thus told a simple story about the dire consequences of refusing to live obediently for the Lord. Isaiah pictured Israel as a beautiful vineyard that had to be destroyed because it was overrun with weeds.
The good news is that God has been our the antidote to the virus called 'sin'. When we trust in Christ, we can overcome our evil bent.
Isaiah is one of the richest and most rewarding of the Old Testament prophetic books. Its inspired texts are a compliation of history, predictions, warnings, and promises relayed through the prophet to the chosen people of Israel.
Anticipating Fruit: Isaiah
The Decision to Sing a Song (v 1)
I will sing for the one I love song about his vineyard: My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside.
Among all the people of the earth, God had chosen the Israelites and established them in the Land of Canaan. He ruled them and provided spokespersons by whom they might constantly keep in touch with His will. By Isaiah's time the people even had much of God's Word in written form, which they could then consult.
Despite these advantages, the people of God refused to remain comitted to Him. They worshipped idols and despised His messengers. They completely disreagarded both His promises and His warnings. It is no wonder that the Lord was angry with His people, denounced their ways, and vowed that judgment would soon fall on the wicked.
Israelites were used to parables and allegories. (Judges 9:7-15; II Samuel 12:1-4; II Kings 14:9; Ezekiel 17:3-10). This is also a teaching technique that Jesus regularly used. Parables (namely, simple stories).
The song Isaiah used demanded a verdict, and the people who listened to him first employ it it would have agreed that the owner was justified in destroying the vineyard. By going along with the parable, the audience would have unwittingly acknowledged that God'speople stood condemned and merited divine punishment.
'My love one' (Isaiah 5:1) is God and 'the vineyard' is His people. The vineyard was located 'on a fertile hillside'. (In ancient Palestine, vineyards were planted on hills take better advantage of the sun.) This vineyard enjoyed favorable location, fertile soil, and a good climate. Thus, God had chosen an ideal spot for His vineyard to be productive.
This post was modified from its original form on 27 Feb, 14:57
[send green star]
Sometimes we wonder, "What did I do to deserve this?" or "Why did God have to do this to me?" Here is a wonderful explanation! A daughter is telling her Mother how everything is going wrong, she's failing algebra, her boyfriend broke up with her and her best friend is moving away.
Meanwhile, her Mother is baking a cake and asks her daughter if she would like a snack, and the daughter says, "Absolutely Mom, I love your cake."
"Here, have some cooking oil," her Mother offers. "Yuck" says her daughter.
"How about a couple raw eggs?" "Gross, Mom!"
"Would you like some flour then? Or maybe baking soda?" "Mom, those are all yucky!"
To which the mother replies: "Yes, all those things seem bad all by themselves. But when they are put together in the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake!
God works the same way. Many times we wonder why He would let us go through such bad and difficult times. But God knows that when He puts these things all in His order, they always work for good! We just have to trust Him and, eventually, they will all make something wonderful!
God is crazy about you. He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning.
Whenever you want to talk, He'll listen. He can live anywhere in the universe, and He chose your heart.
Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance.
And in every work that be began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.
2 Chronicles 31:21
What, shall we do, that we might work the works of God ?John 7:28
Give me within the work which calls to-day, To see Thy finger gently beckoning on; So struggle grows to freedom, work to play, And toils begun from Thee to Thee are done. ~J.F. Clarke
God is a kind Father. He sets us all in the places where He wishes us to be employed; and that employment is truly "our Father's business." He chooses work for every creature which will be delightful to them, if they do it simply and humbly. He gives us always strength enough, and sense enough, for what He wants us to do; if we either tire ourselves or puzzle ourselves, it is our own fault.
It's time to let God's love cover all things in your life. All secrets. All hurts.
'He...loads me with love and mercy.' Picture a giant trunk loaded full of love. There you are behind it. Slowly at first, then down, down, down until you are hidden, buried, covered in His love.