Resolutive New Year

“We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day.” (Eddith LoveJoy Pierce)

Christmas time is now over. The challenges of a New Year are upon us. This insinuates a more competitive goal setting that must be met. After all, you might have set a new diet as a goal last year and if you did, did you make it? What would happen if there were new modern day goals for the North Pole?

     The 12 Days of Christmas of 2011 would look different. Maybe, it would look like 12 Drummers, and 11 Pipers piping will now be MIDI and podcasted, so that this would help in cutting costs and provide an investment opportunity on technology. The 10 Lords leaping and the nine ladies dancing are now implemented as CGI (By the way, that is Computer Graphics Imagery) because of the economic situation and have been let go. We can keep on staff the eight maids of milking so that we can have the commercial “Got Milk?” and milk mustaches on the ladies entertaining. However, I just learned a lawsuit was filed declaring there was no equal opportunity in the workplace. Yep...you guessed it...now automated too. They will be standing next to the elves. The elves were downsized (no pun intended) because the list appeared more naughty than good. After all, is there anything good coming out of the Congress and Senate lately? PETA will be happy to know the seven swans are still swimming, and we didn’t have them for Christmas day as a dinner entrée.

     Due to PETA regulations and standards, we will continue to allow the six geese to lay their eggs, and we can eat the products as long as there are no hatchlings inside. The five golden rings have been put on hold by the Board of Directors. Maintaining a portfolio based on one commodity could have negative implications for institutional investors. Diversification into other precious metals as well as a mix of T-Bills and high technology stocks appear to be in order.

     Therefore, because of wire tapping standards, the four calling birds are being replaced by an automated voice mail system. Now because the bill has not been passed for automated citizenship; the three French horns will have been deported, because they ran out of air to carry a tune in this country. As far as the two turtle doves and the partridge in a pear tree, PETA and the ASPCA are scrutinizing over the care of the animals, and now they have “Thirteen lawyers a-suing”.

     Wow. What a change. Interesting how things can become so out of whack so easily and quickly. What if we had these as our New Year Resolutions or the following: I will not sit in my living room all day in my pajamas. Instead, I will move my computer into the bedroom. I will help out the Government and conserve water by taking fewer showers. I will stop considering other people's feelings when they so obviously don't consider mine - if that unwashed fellow sits next to me again, I'll tell him he stinks!

     I hope this finds you in a joyful mood and have brightened your day. The intent is for us to look at our intentions when facing a new year. We wrack our brains to think of resolutions to improve our lives. We can obviously, prefer to make resolutions that are a sure thing like eat numerous times during the new year or sleep whenever possible.

Good resolutions are simply checks that men draw on a bank where they have no account.-Oscar Wilde

     We have to be practical in our thinking. A New Year's resolution is something that goes in one Year and out the other. Instead of being like the man in the mirror which soon forgets here are 5 things you can remember like the five fingers on your hand:

1. Mend a broken relationship – Colossians 3:13 Forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.

2. Help others who are need – Matthew 25:34-40 Feed the hungry, assist the poor.

3. Be Healthier – 1 Corinthians 19:20 we maybe the temple, so we must watch what we eat, exercise the mind and body.

4. Spend time in prayer/meditation – Matthew 14:22-23 Christ went alone to pray by himself. We too should pray more and mediate on His word.

5. Love God and others – Mark 12:29-31 This is the greatest command we are asked to do.

     Should this be just a New Year’s resolution as annual attempts or should they be daily convictions that stem from a true desire to love Him? May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thess 5:23).

Happy New Year!!

BA HUMBUG

Five people strolled into a dimly lit place, as if they stepped into the time zone and were placed back into the 1800’s. Snow covered old buildings, with candle lit lanterns and a fog strolled across the floor and chimney smoke billowed out of one of the buildings.

     Strolling about the street, are people dressed in warm clothing set for the 17th century. They break out in a song and stroll across the way. A tall elderly gentleman walks around and is greeted by others, which wish him Merry Christmas. Charles Dickens plotted the words in his reply, “BA Humbug” as Mr. Scrooge strolls to his office.

    For the last three days, this play has pondered my mind like the three ghosts that visited Mr. Scrooge. “Humbug" might have faded from the English language a hundred years ago, but it was etched into stone when Charles Dickens Novella wrote The Christmas Carol and his main character Ebenezer Scrooge viewed Christmas as "humbug." Humbug could mean "sham," it has also been used to mean "hoax" or "trick."

    What Scrooge meant, of course, was that Christmas and its celebrations and traditions, with a particular emphasis on charity toward the poor, are a sham, an insincere and wasteful ritual. It was no use to him and why should he be bothered. There is another part of “Humbug” I would like to focus on.

     Jacob Marley’s ghostly visit is not just a wake up call for Scrooge. As we hear his words, we should make sure we haven’t lost out on the things that money can’t buy. We all need money, of course - but it’s possible to pay too high a price for it. It’s as if society has caught a cultural disease called ‘affluenza’. The symptoms include always wanting more, despite what we already have. And then there’s the insatiable desire for ‘success’ without experiencing contentment. Consistently, we choose our career over family. And we seem unwilling to settle for less than the best of everything.

     What is your wake up call? Is your family asking you to spend time with them more? When is the last time you took your spouse on a date without the children? When was the last time you played ball or the Wii with your children?

     On the stroke of one o’clock, the spirit of Christmas Past arrives. Dickens explores, through Scrooge’s terrifying ordeal, the love of money compared with the value of relationships. Often times we should look to our past to see what haunts us in the present by our actions. Growing up in a rigid military and strict Christian home haunted my realm of life. Parents who were abusive did not set me up for success in my own families. As the New Year approaches, now is the time to reflect back on your past and see what changes you can make for the better. It is never too late to change and make those changes. The past doesn’t make you; it is what you do with the past to make the future brighter.

     The Spirit of Christmas Present arrives to take Scrooge on a tour of the people he now knows. Scrooge is clearly shown the effects of his selfish nature; but the spirit helps him understand that even though he is utterly hard-hearted, others have not entirely given up on him. The Spirit of Christmas Present then shows Scrooge the harsh reality of life on the streets, together with the absolute determination of the families who live there to stay out of the prisons and workhouses, whatever the cost. Scrooge has never before seen the need to help anyone other than himself.

     The second reality is how do we treat one another? How do we treat our families? Do you have parents who will not talk to you? Do you feed the poor? Scrooge has never before seen the need to help anyone other than himself. He’s always believed that the poor ‘should go to the institutions provided - if they should rather die, let them die and reduce the surplus population’. Do we allow our lifestyles to shield us from the needs of the poor and downtrodden?

     The final spirit is the Spirit of Christmas Future, who has no face and does not speak. It merely points the way. The Spirit takes Scrooge to visit the house of a man who has died in his sleep. Two associates out in the street are discussing whether it’s even necessary to hold a funeral service, since no one would bother to come.

     ’But who is this man?’ asks the miser. The spirit leads him to a grave, whose headstone bears the name ‘Ebenezer Scrooge’. It’s a chilling reminder that no one lives forever; that the journey of life is brief. As the Bible says, ‘our days on earth are as a shadow’ (1 Chronicles 29.15). Many of us will recognize the struggles of Ebenezer Scrooge in our own lives. Many of us have been hurt as we grew up. Many of us pass up the offer of friendship or kindness out of a fear of rejection. Scrooge was a man who lived in a prison of his own making, the doors shut and sealed with a bitterness, which he would not let go.

     Jacob Marley’s spirit and weighs it down. Marley tells Scrooge that he alone forged it in life: ‘I made it, link by link and yard by yard.’ His chains were forged with regrets, which he could not release, and hurts he would not forgive. And as he stands before Scrooge, he can see the even greater chains that bind his old colleague: ‘Would you know the weight and length of the coil you bear yourself?’ asks Marley. ‘It was full as heavy and as long as this, seven Christmas Eves ago.

     The good news is that we can learn from the past, to change now so that we can create a better future. The good news is that we, like Scrooge, are still alive. It’s not too late: we can choose to change. Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards. Whatever our past has been, we can have a better future. Things do not change. We do. Scrooge learns his lesson, and experiences what amounts to a ‘conversion’. He responds by changing his ways and living out the lessons that he learnt on that Christmas Eve. He repents and changes his destiny.

     You could mend a quarrel, release a grudge, lessen your demands on others, apologize, forgive someone who has treated you wrongly, find a forgotten friend, and write an overdue thank-you note, point out one thing you appreciate most about someone you live with or work with, dismiss suspicion, tell someone you love them, or give something away. You cannot do a kindness too soon, because you never know how soon it will be too late.

     In our consumer culture, Jesus isn’t just another pick-and-mix lifestyle guru; in fact, he claimed exclusively to be ‘the Way, the Truth and the Life’. If we choose to follow him, then we also have to count the cost - of dedication, commitment, perseverance, selfless love and generosity. But the reward - a dynamic, living relationship with the dynamic, living God - is surely worth it.

     It’s time to reconsider our BA Humbug lifestyle. Like a snow ball, it only begins with a flake and a mind willing to imagine what you can design. Paul reminds us that Christ works in us, and he will help with our lifestyle change. It is never too late, and it is never a humbug to change. As we celebrate the birth of Jesus, may God grant you all these things - not just at Christmas, but also throughout the New Year and all the years to come. Medication alone will not help, but counseling can help as well as Christ can help you change. Dwell on these things as a gift of Christmas. A GIFT – God’s Infinite Forgiving Thoughtfulness.

Merry Christmas to all …….

D(ebating) O(n ) U(tilizing) B(lind) T(rust)

"We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe." –Doubting Thomas

     Often times we are presented with facts and fiction. Sometimes fiction will be present as facts. How will this information, that is being presented and how we perceive it, be manifested as believing or quite doubtful? Doubt - that unnerving feeling of uncertainty - visits each one of us at one time or another during our journey. You worry that you might be wasting your time. You consider throwing in the towel and giving up.

     In Camelot, King Arthur says to Lancelot that he is satisfied he did the right thing in starting the round table. Lancelot replies, "Your majesty, did you ever doubt it?" And Arthur responds, "Lance, only a fool never doubts." Doubt is a conformation of faith, for it is an indication of the seriousness and value of faith to the doubter.

     There are two types of doubt. There is a constructive useful doubt and there is a destructive destroying doubt. Constructive useful doubt (CUD) is like a cow chewing on a cud. You chew on the information for awhile, but you take action and you begin to digest through questioning thoughts and information. It is that feeling that urges us to question rather than take someone else's word for everything. Without this constructive form of doubt we could easily be lied too, cheated, and led about blindly by others.

     Destructive destroying doubt is like a worm which grows and feeds on the worries and fears, guilt and regrets and prevents one from stepping out on faith in order to grow. It dwells on issues and problems and does not see a future. It creates distrust of everyone and everything, including ourselves. We never feel the decisions we make are right and are often unable to make decisions or do anything at all; for fear that the outcome will be unpleasant.

     There is a German saying that states, "To believe everything is too much; to believe in nothing is not enough." Helen Keller, who was blind from birth but who accomplished much through her handicaps, said this about doubt: "It need not discourage us if we are full of doubts. Healthy questions keep faith dynamic. Unless we start with doubts we cannot have a deep-rooted faith. He who has a faith which is not to be shaken has won it through blood and tears -- has worked his way from doubt to truth as one who reaches a clearing through a thicket of brambles and thorns."

     Doubt is really the faith of unbelief. Doubt is a valid tool as a lifeline to double check if all is well to set sail. Patience is attributed to Job and yet is not always a virtue: when a question or even a protest to God is in our heart and mind and soul, it may be time to speak up. God doesn’t take umbrage or offense when we ask or question. Faith in God gives us stability and coherence. The world around us may be crumbling, but God, as the psalmist says, is a sure foundation, the rock of our salvation. Whatever happens around me, I know that at least God can be counted on. He is faithful.

     Doubt is a spiritually destructive force. It tears you away from God. Doubt is not the enemy, but a gift of God to move us from trusting ourselves to trusting him. Doubt feels like God is far away or absent, but it is actually a time of “disguised closeness” to God that moves us to spiritual maturity. Doubt is not a sign of weakness but a sign of growth.

     The book of Job makes it clear that doubt can be, and often is, the key factor in overcoming a falsehood. We are not called to have faith in everything that claims to be food for the soul. We are called to test it and evaluate it, and judge it by its fruit. To have faith in everything or to believe in everything is the same as believing nothing.

     Why seek if you think you have it all? But if you doubt that you have it all, you will seek for more doubt can always be made a virtue if it is handled right, and used as an opportunity for growth. John the Baptist was using his this way, but the Pharisees were using their doubt as an excuse to not grow, and a shield to prevent their having to see the light. We need to stop fearing doubt and recognize it as an ally to faith

     John the Baptist represents the doubter who is just the opposite of the Pharisees. Their doubt drove them to the denial of all evidence, but his doubt drove him to seek more evidence. John was in prison for doing the will of God, and even one so use to being deprived of life's luxuries, can not be happy in such bondage. John began to doubt whether or not Jesus was really the Messiah. This one who said of Jesus, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world," was now isolated and felt forsaken. His personal crisis led him into the shadows of doubt, and he asked his disciples to go to Jesus and ask Him right out if He was the one who was to come, or if they should expect someone else?

    John was saying, I have lost my certainty and lack assurance, and I need some evidence to eliminate the doubts that are creeping into my faith. This kind of doubt can hurt, but it is like the pain of exercise; it hurts, but it leads to the strengthening of the muscle. Doubt that motivates a man to seek for more evidence is not harmful to his faith, but helpful, for it will lead him, as it did John, to get that which supports his faith.

    Paul stated it in I Thess. 5:21, "Test everything, hold fast to the good." When you test and chase away that doubt then you are on the road to new discoveries. Jesus understood John's doubt, and he will understand yours. Come to Christ, as John did, and seek for answers to the mysteries that puzzle you and provoke doubt. It can be painful, but the end result will be the pleasure of a deeper faith. Don't let doubt drag you into darkness.

     Job's doubt was good, for it did not plunge him into unbelief. Doubt will not hurt us as long as we always put our trust in Christ. Self-doubt is usually seen as a bad thing in today’s society. When you're working hard at something, learning and growing, it's natural to feel uncertain at times. The boldest step of faith we can take is to doubt ourselves and trust in God.

How to overcome destructive doubt:

1. Evaluate Your Situation

Test to see if it is worthy to doubt. Assess whether the doubt is in fact destructive. By asking: "How often do I experience doubt after making a decision?" "Do I frequently avoid making decisions because I am afraid they will be wrong?" "Do I constantly reassess and change my plans in hopes of getting it right?" If you relate to any of these questions then you are most likely experiencing destructive doubt. Now that you've interrupted the doubt, it needs to be replaced with an empowering thought or belief

2. Take Action:

Doubt and indecision can stall progress. The point of this step is to stop the doubt in its tracks so that it doesn't have a chance to root itself in your thought processes. You're worried that you're not making enough progress, and that worry and doubt make you so unsure about you need to do next that you just stop doing anything. Take captive every thought, “we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5).

3. Re-build Confidence:

If you're feeling insecure, you can remedy that with fresh victories - victories of all stripes, shapes and sizes. Victories don't have to be huge milestones. Each small step is a victory in itself. Have faith in yourself, your dream, resolution and goals! Always maintain hope. Begin to trust yourself and your ability to make effective decisions

     Job’s questioning of God; so it was with Thomas, yet these are men of passion and love of the Lord is an inspiration and reassuring proof that doubt, when it comes, does not have to be a negative. Doubt is debating on using blind trust. It is trust through Christ as Peter did walking on the water can we begin to grow our faith. Doubt compels us to glimpse at who we think God is. It makes us face whether we really trust God, or whether we trust what we have made Him to be in our own minds.

    Doubting God is agonizing and frightening because we think we are leaving God behind. But doubt—real hard deep unnerving uncomfortable scary doubt—helps us to see that, maybe we have made God into our own image. We come to discover, slowly but surely, that the “faith” we are losing is not faith in God. It is actually in the idea of God that we surround ourselves with.

It Is Good To Be A Rat

There was a rat that felt inadequate and all he wanted to do was die because he lost his self confidence, felt weak and felt no one liked or respected him. That night he sat down and began to talk to God, “Why nobody likes me, I am weak, nothing to offer, no meaning or purpose and I do not want to live anymore.”


God replied back to him, “you are the strongest in this world little rat.”

The rat was in awe and complexed and asked, “but how can I be?”

This started an interesting conversation between them and God said, “You are stronger than the night.” Again the little rat was perplexed and scratched his little furry head and asked, “Can you explain this for me please?”

God spoke, “because when the sun rises the night disappears and this makes you stronger than the sun.” “But how can I be” questioned the rat.

God softly spoke, “because when it is cloudy the sun disappears and you are stronger than the cloud.” Being confused the rat said, “I do not understand what you are trying to say.”

God responded, “Because when the wind blows the clouds move and disappear, and you are stronger than the wind.” Again, the little rat was puzzled and did not understand the logic behind the words of his Creator and responded, “But how?”

God answered, “Because when the wind blows, it cannot move the tower that is behind you, but you can.” The little rat snickered and thought if he was weak how can he move a tower that is 1,000 times his size and questioned God, “ tell me more about how will this make me strong.”

God smiled in His answer to the little rat and said, “My little friend, nor the sun, the wind, the clouds or the night can make this tower disappear. However, you, little rat you can; by simply digging in each stone, you can crack them and make the tower collapse.”

Does anyone occasionally get down on themselves? Beating yourself up (not literally of course), but thinking all these negative thoughts. You know there are some positive attributes, but can't help to focus on the negative ones. You ask yourself, “Why do I do that, it makes me so miserable?” What is wrong with me? Why do I feel this way?

Sometimes you just can figure out what is happening, and you could not seem to get away from it or make it better. You feel so weak and poor. Maybe, you felt in adequate because you were not able to show up for others in the way you wanted too. Or you could not seem to get a grip on everything vying for your attention in your life.

In most cases, the root of the problem is that our feelings of inadequacy are based on us measuring ourselves against the wrong standard or the conventions of the past. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? Are you not a child of God?

Have you tried changing your feelings? However, to discover that there are completely new places of inadequacy, even in those places you felt secure, and it was natural and familiar to you? Finally, you cry out to God in desperation, asking Him to overcome your failings and weaknesses and asking Him for assistance. Feel like the rat in being perplexed in the answers that God provides to you?

Don’t let past failures or fear of the future render you useless. God knows exactly why He chooses you to carry out His purpose. All He asks of you is to trust Him. Feeling inadequate is not a weakness. If you turn your attention and focus on God instead of on yourself, then it can actually be a strength. I know when I am feeling inadequate; I know that I have to depend on the Him. There is no other option, other than failure. When I am feeling adequate and strong in my abilities, I am tempted to draw from my own strength and not from the His. I personally don’t like feeling inadequate, but that is when I see Him working in my life in a special way. It is a good place to be, even though it may not feel that way at the time.

“To ourselves, we are great. Yet most of us live life without making a stand, contented to blend into the background of self-rendering nothingness, and when looking back feel contented at our mediocre accomplishments. Nobody remembers the person who conformed out of inadequacy. Nobody notices a patch of grass, they see the tree” ~Wayne Burrow

Remember, sometimes it is good to be a rat. Much can be accomplished in the small things rather than the big. Therefore, as you read this, please go with an understanding that you are adequate. You are more than a conquer (Romans 8:37). There is power inside you (Philippians 2:13). God is sufficient for you in every situation you may find yourself in, that will never change. If God leads you to do something, He will always enable you to accomplish it. There is no better place to be than in the center of God’s will, doing what He has asked you to do.

Do not believe in the self-talk lies that you are not good enough, or you're not pretty enough, or you feel inadequate and cannot do anything right. The world can distract you with smoke and mirrors. You will compare what you see when you quickly glance at the images which reflect back at you. These are mere shadows of life which have no real meaning.

Beneath the surface of it all lays a foundation, there is living in purpose, and as we sail through life, do not avoid storms and rough waters, just let it pass and just sail. Remember, calm seas never make skillful sailors. Inadequacy is only the exercise equipment of building up our skills in accomplishing more than we ever have thought about! God's plan is often a front for men's plans and a cover for inadequacy, ignorance, and evil

For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God  (2 Corinthians 1:20)  It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure. (Psalms 18:32)

Healthy Benefits for Being Thankful

God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say "thank you?" ~William A. Ward


The holiday season hits like an unexpected event. Some are prepared with savings to pay for the unexpected turn of events. Some are not prepared and fret over the situation and worry how they will cover the uneventful expenses.

Sometimes it seems difficult to be thankful when troubles arise, but with a little effort, there is something you can be thankful for. Where can one find thankfulness when you find out your little girl has cancer? Where can one find thankfulness when you loose your job? Where do you find thankfulness when you spouse leaves you for another person?

So often we can dwell on the things that seem impossible rather than on the things which are possible. We can be depressed or allow depression to set it by what remains what we feel must be done and then forget to be thankful for everything that has been accomplished for us. It feels like our only light becomes extinguished, but if you wait it can be rekindled by a spark from another person. This begins a quest to think with gratitude of those who have come into your life as a light and restarted the flame within you.

Life is short to go through it without being grateful. Make a habit to tell people thank you. Your waiters and waitresses need to hear thank you and please when they wait on you. Leave them good tips to show your gratitude of their good service. Talk to the cashier that is checking you out and make light of the situation to know they are appreciated. When you appreciate those around you and appreciate life, you will find more people and more life.

Begin to educate yourself in gratitude and not take anything for granted. Open your eyes to the countless ways in which you are supported. You will become occupied when you notice what you are giving and thanking those who have supported you than what you receive. I know what you are thinking. I am spent, worn out, put up with family, and cannot find an ounce of what to be thankful for.

I have been in your shoes. It is easy to allow pessimism and judgmental views to cloud the silver lining that is always there. My parents live an hour and half away from me. For a year, they never came up nor did they invite my family to come down because they were too busy selling or building their house. We would call and ask for them to come up or to come down and there were excuses of being sick like headaches, illness, or we have plans prevented us in seeing each other. For the last six year they have not come up to visit and the last two they barely have spoken. I called them recently, when I found out the possiblity that I may have cancer.  I have set aside forgiveness and tried to reach out to them again this Thanksgiving. My parents said, “No thank-you.”

Thanksgiving is to be about family. Could I allow my view to get in the way of enjoying a joyful event? I could, but why should I allow my parents, and their judgments against my family, to interfere in me being thankful? Last year it gave me an opportunity to invite my wife’s ex-husband and family into our home for Thanksgiving. I will admit this was tough for me. What did I learn? If Jesus can forgive and have a relationship with those who have sinned, shouldn’t we? The year before that we invited those who were without family into our home to enjoy family. When one door closes no matter how much you yearn for your parents’ love, there is something better that can be done. There is other families and friendships to be had.

I want to challenge you not to be bitter, not to be down, not to fret, and not to worry for God works things out. That is something to be thankful for. Being thankful is stepping out of our selfish zone and looking for the hidden zones that need to be tended too.

Here is how I found in the midst of rejection and storms to be forgiving and Thankful:

Philippians 4:6-7 says, "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

I had to learn the peace of God comes from having a thankful heart. Note what this peace will do for you. God says "it will keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." People who are not thankful to the Lord are not satisfied. They are discontent always complaining about what they do not have....rather than be grateful for what is God's provision for them.

Psalm 100:2 says, "Serve the Lord with gladness..." and verse 4 tells us to "enter His gates with thanksgiving.

There is much I learned to be thankful for: Salvation, daily provisions of food, clothing, housings, family and friends and prayers. I had to learn and know God’s will. His will guides and provides and that His grace is always sufficient and He will never leave me alone. Being thankful has helped me mentally and physically and there is recent research that shows it is healthy to be grateful.

Jeffrey Froh, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Hofstra University, research focuses on being grateful as a continuing behavior, and the benefits that accrue by staying focused. He advised, "The one particular study that we did was we had students count blessings, which is essentially focusing on the things they were thankful or grateful for, and we had them journal that daily for two weeks.”

Froh’s study followed up three weeks later and found that students who counted blessing were reporting more optimism and satisfaction in their lives than the ones who did not count there blessings. Froh expressed, “"It's beyond feeling good, and beyond happiness, we found that grateful kids tend to report less physical complaints; bit also in the adult literature ... they found that grateful people who counted blessings were more likely to exercise, more likely to report better sleep; less likely to report these physical complaints. There's even some research done, we're looking at, when you have a sense of appreciation your heart rhythms are more coherent and smooth, which of course is healthy."

Therefore, sit, meditate, and reflect on today and the past to remember the good things that God and others have done for you. Take time to write out a note to friends and families and show them your appreciation, even if you feel rejected. At least you can have a peace of mind you tried and the burden is on them. Allow your heart of thanksgiving to become an asset that is a pair of glasses to see a world that is half full rather than empty. It will help you to advance in a world where you can uplift others as you advance through more blessings. ALWAYS celebrate your God-given relationships and even His relationship for Salvation is a big reason to be thankful. Your heart of thankfulness will cause doors to open up for you like they did for me.

People who describe themselves as feeling grateful to others and either to God or to creation in general tend to have higher vitality and more optimism, suffer less stress, and experience fewer episodes of clinical depression than the population as a whole," explained noted author Gregg Easterbrook on beliefnet.com.

As each day comes refreshed; so does my gratitude being renewed daily. The breaking of the sun over the horizon is my grateful heart dawning upon a blessed world. Grace isn't a little prayer you chant before receiving a meal. It's a way to live.

How beautiful a day can be

When kindness touches it!

~George Elliston

Walking on Water

I waited, I waited for the Lord and he stooped down to me; he heard my cry ~ Psalm 40:2


The weekend is over and Moan-day is here. Work mounts like Mount Everest. Head swimming in a sea of thoughts of what to do and how to plan for the week. Problems flow in and out of your mind like a spring breeze reminding you of something fresh is around the corner.

Camel day comes and you’re trying to get over the hump of the middle of the week. The plans you planned have now fizzled. Your expectations are futile. Dreams are shattered or like a ship sailed away beyond your grasp into the ocean of countless and lost dreams.

Fry day is now here, and you feel like your brain is like a French fry waiting to be dipped into a sauce of weekend blues. You ponder about your Sat all day and wonder if you can make it to Son Day. Realization from the University of Hard knocks slaps you with a blow of an illness or even a death in the family. The cloud of despair just seemed to get bigger and like rain drops falling, so do the tears of wondering what is coming next. The wind begins to blow, tossing the thoughts around like falling leaves. There are flashes of light like lighting of memories of events past roar with thunderous echoes of resentment and guilt.

Maybe you are a like a friend of mine that lost a precious animal. Maybe you are like my wife who lost three loved ones in one week. Maybe you are like a co-worker worried about the health and wondering if they will make it. Maybe you put your house up for sale and are just frustrated because it is not going fast enough. These are storms and crises we face whether they are small or large we still have to go through them.

Just writing this out reminds me of my life at one point. I know that my disappointments were clearly my fault and some of my decisions were poor and I took the wrong path. Sometimes it felt like life was my car and I took the wrong turn because of a detour. The detours lead me to a new and fresh understanding about something I had to learn.

What I had to learn is how to walk on water. Impossible! Thought you might think that very thought. However, it is not impossible to walk on water. I created an acronym to help me to remember how to walk on water.

WATER = Working (an) Attitude Through (an) Eternal Relationship.

We all have dreams, expectations, and a mental picture of how our lives should be. Whether it is, for the moment, day by day, or in the future we have some idea of what we expect. A week described above can begin to fathom the demonic lie that begins to form, “Does God exist?” We feel alone and empty and sometimes wonder where He is in the midst of our storm cloudy day that seems to tatter with raining problems.

You may not even believe in God, but if this is true, then can I share a secret in life with you? There is too much evidence that He exists and I had to learn to walk on water in order to experience the freshness and newness of life to see He does exist. It begins with one simple thought: “If you do not change your thoughts and beliefs, your life that you now live, will be like that forever.” I did not want to live in a constant state of what ifs and wherefores and despair of hopelessness.

Do you fear change? Remember my acronym for fear? FEAR = Forgetting Everything About Righteousness is to forget that God cannot work in our life if we fear the inevitable knowing that He can. We allow ourselves to get into all kinds of mischief when we assume God must think and feel as we do.

Peter taught me how to walk on water. Peter says, "Lord, if it be you, ask me to come to you on the water." I understand that is the kind of thing for faith to do. Anyone can walk on solid ground, but faith is a water-walker. Faith has a can do, it has activeness, and it works where others fail, “for it is in Christ, I can do all things.” Faith is an active exercise that prompts you to move and to venture where others fear to tread. Faith developed Peter to love Christ. Even after Peter denied him, Peter was the first to strip his clothes and jump into the sea and swim to meet Christ after His resurrection.

How does one work an attitude through an eternal relationship? God is eternal and it is our attitude, which we have to work in our relationship with Him. We have to make our, “thoughts obedient to Christ”, through the “renewing of our minds”, in order to “know the will of God.”

First, we must let go of our internal intuitiveness to control. My swimming instructor always told me not to fight the water and to relax allowing the water to support your body to float. I had to let go of my fear, relax and learn to float and trust in the instruction I was given. We have to trust in the words of truth that God will see us through. Floating allows us to wait patiently on the Lord to see what he can accomplish in our live for it is, “God that works in you” to perfect His good will in you.

Second, I had to learn to keep walking through the storm. Several times I gave up, and I regret it because if I had only have stayed, I would have been promoted to the next position. Sometimes the pain we feel only sharpens us to a heighten awareness of being prepped to do greater things. We can stay as a caterpillar and slowly crawl through life, or we can change and learn to reach new heights and see a new world from a different perception.

Third, I had to realize that walking on water is not a characteristic of faith, but praying when you begin to sink is faith. Notice Peter when he reached out and said, “Lord, save me.” Peter, did not loose faith. He still kept the faith in the one that made it possible for him to walk on water and kept the faith when he lost focus.

Finally, I remember a story by Aesop, which tells of a story of man that saw a little boy drowning and sitting up by the shore, began to lecture him about venturing out to far. There are those who will ridicule or even our minds will beat us with self defeat in what we should have, would have or could have done and never have a helping hand out of our situation. Then we begin in believing in the lie and observe the burden which is too heavy to bear. However, Christ still seeing Peter reached out and lifted him up. Christ takes the burden off of us and creates the mustard seed of faith. I had to learn how to water that mustard seed and to cultivate it to grow.

Remember we have to work our attitude through an eternal relationship. That relationship is realizing when we are seeking, we use our mustard seed of faith and request help for it is HIM who catches us by the hand and raises us above the seemingly impossible surroundings. The more we seek God, the more we learn of God; The more we learn of God, the less we understand God; The less we understand God, the more we must believe God, and the more we must seek God.

To walk on water one must lean towards him and not run from the storm. Do not confine Him to your thoughts, but provide room for Him to work in your life. Be patient and wait upon him and not hesitate when he bids you to come. Trust that He will see you through and base your faith in the truth of His identity and not your own.

Isaiah 40:28-31

Do you not know?  Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God,

the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary,

and his understanding no one can fathom.  He gives strength to the weary

and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary,

and young men stumble and fall;  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.

I can walk on water because my attitude in my eternal relationship with him rests in trusting even when it doesn’t make sense for me to trust in Him. When I put trust in Him and anchor my life in the cross there is abounding love that can and has sustained me through troubled times. Now, instead of swimming, I am walking on water. If I can, you can too because Peter had the faith to show us anything is possible. Faith is the things hoped for in the unseen.

Do you feel worthy?

Have you seen the NBC television show the Apprentice with the infamous Donald Trump? It is fascinating to watch people interact and see how their plans develop. You receive the challenge and if you are the project manager, there is not much time for preparation. You go through the motion, set up the information, and you feel adequately confident when you finish your task.

Until you are sitting in the Trump room around the luxurious and lavish table, and then you feel you do not feel worthy. Conversations fly and emotions are on a high. Defense and offensive talks exchange like an old civil war event. It is a duel of guns of words loaded and measured with accuracy to knock out the opponent.

Then you sit and feel weighed and measure. You feel you did well, but then you are taken back by what everyone else states about you. The ultimate decision weighs on Mr. Trump. The words come out like a gale wind force, “You’re Fired”!

Do you feel worthy? You know you come home and feel unappreciative at work. Maybe, sometimes you feel unappreciative at home. The wife feels inadequate because the husband demands dinner and when you make it the family complains because it was not what they expected. Maybe the husband stops and buys a gallon of milk, but the wife nags at him because he forgot the diapers. Maybe, the parents are telling one child why can’t you be more like your sister Lori or why can’t you be more like your brother.

You are bombarded by messages like rain drops from the sky. No matter how pelted you feel you always walk away drenched from the words which were spewed. You just do not feel worthy. Then you sit down and you watch television. Commercials now sneak in that message that you are not worthy if you do not have this. Your life is not complete without this. You have to get this for your children because they deserve it.

You sit and contemplate. Thoughts creep in like worms to an apple. They begin to bore out the good thoughts, and you feel rotten to the core. You begin to believe in the lies. You are not good enough. You are not worthy. You cannot seem to please anyone. Then you ask yourself, “Do I feel Worthy?”

I feel the need to feel worthy is debilitating in today’s society. This is another lie which we tend to feed ourselves like fish in a pond. We want to be content in the pond and not see the stream flowing in and out. There is away out of not feeling you are not worthy.

You are Worthy. You are perfect the way you are. God has made a plan for you even with the bumps and bruises along the way. It is like being an athlete training for the marathon. Will you let yourself be defeated by self defeating thoughts that debilitate your legs of movement to rise above the occasion?

Soul searching and self-care are tools to help with self-assurance in knowing you are worthy, but they are external tools. Every situation you have lived through has shaped you into the person you are today. It is like the Potter and the clay that molds something beautiful (Isaiah 64:8). We all have our knicks and dings from an everyday use, but we are never broken and should never feel we are not worthy.  The best spiritual tool is His Word.

I have seen and counseled many individuals which struggle with the deeply held questions related to personal value and worth. The self defeat is the struggle to search for external validation. I use to seek for my parents validation and worth, and yet they say, “no thank you” and I go away feeling unworthy. Who needs the negative impact which scars the soul when you can rise above the occasion, and you seek out another set of parents who truly care for you? I did and am eternally grateful for Wanda and Jim Crownover, who stepped in order to provide parental guidance, spiritual aspiration and moral support.

The first step is avoiding those messages that make you feel unworthy. You seek out the positive affirmations and situations, and you rise above where you have fallen. However, no matter how much external validation you receive, you will not be able to accept acknowledgement because you didn’t personally believe in your own value.

How do you measure that you are worthy? You seek the spiritual where it begins. The second step is accepting you are wonderfully made (Psalms 139:14). Get rid of those thoughts and ask yourself: “Am I willing to let go of approval from others”, and Am I willing to push past through my fears when it seems like things are no going to change and see it through” by making your thoughts obedient through Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).

Remember, you attract what you are. And when you believe who you are and what you are deserving of, you will get. The truth is spoken between you and God. You know the answer to your crises or dilemma. You know if you feel worthy. So I ask, do you feel worthy?

The only measurement you should take is with the Truth. The truth is that you are worthy enough that Christ died for you (Romans 6:10, 2 Corinthians 5:15). If you seek Him and you believe it is Him who works in you (Phil 2:13) then, “God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith” (2 Thessalonians 1:11).

You are God’s most valuable player in this life! You have to constantly remind yourself. No one can make you feel less worthy, unless you allow them to. I want to encourage you that you are worthy. Believe in the love of Christ, become all that you can be even through the muck and mire and walk away knowing you might have won or lost the battle, but the War has already been won through Christ. Believe in the positive affirmation you are worthy.

     "It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer

 of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."

~Theodore Roosevelt (at the Sorbonne!) in 1910~

Getting Nailed?

Your attitudes and the choices you make today will be your life tomorrow, build it wisely.

"I can't change the direction of the wind,

but I can adjust my sails

to always reach my destination."

Jimmy Dean

Words of defeat can shred like shrapnel exploding from a tongue grenade. Maybe it is a barrage of nail of words penetrating to the soul to nail you down to a board of defeat. Feel like giving up, maybe, like a sailor without out a sail or a windless day getting you no where?

A King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock.

Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way. Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded.

After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse laying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the king indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway.

The peasant learned what many of us never understand that every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition. Ever dealt with raw wood and try to make it into something beautiful? Sometimes you can get a splinter a sharp reminder of what you are dealing with when handling raw wood. Having the right tools makes the difference between building a beautiful house or a small wooden bowl.

Words are tools like tools to a pumpkin. They are light and sharp and carve an image into the softest parts. When our self confidence is low we sometimes tend to believe what others think of us. We do not have the confidence in ourselves to believe otherwise. You cannot expect to achieve new goals or move beyond your present circumstances, unless you change." Other people's opinion of you does not have to become your reality."

Positive thinking is a mental attitude that admits into the mind thoughts, words and images that are conductive to growth, expansion and success. It is an attitude that expects good and favorable results. A positive mind anticipates happiness, joy, health and a successful outcome of every situation and action. Whatever the mind expects. It finds.

A group of frogs were traveling through the woods, and two of them fell into a deep pit. All the other frogs gathered around the pit. When they saw how deep the pit was, they told the two frogs that they were as good as dead.

The two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump up out of the pit with all of their might. The other frogs kept telling them to stop, that they were as good as dead. Finally, one of the frogs took heed to what the other frogs were saying and gave up. He fell down and died.

The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Once again, the crowd of frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and just die. He jumped even harder and finally made it out.

When he got out, the other frogs said, "Did you not hear us?" The frog explained to them that he was deaf. He thought they were encouraging him the entire time.

This story gives us thoughts to think about:

1. An encouraging word to someone who is down can encourage them to achieve their goal.

2. A destructive word to someone who is down can have negative effects. Be careful of what you say.

Sometimes you feel like you are nailed by words. However, your attitude can cause a change in how to deflect the nails. Words are like The Snow may look smooth and soft, but the rocks underneath are sharp!" Are your words encouraging to others? Are your thoughts deaf to others penetrating nail of words?

Take a leap of faith and look to Him to provide the strength and wisdom. Remember, He was nailed for us to be released from the nails. Don’t be nailed with thoughts that hold you back from moving forward. It does not matter what your circumstances are at the present moment. Think positively, expect only favorable results and situations, and circumstances will change accordingly. It may take some time for the changes to take place, but eventually they do.

Another method to employ is the repetition of affirmations. It is a method which resembles creative visualization, and which can be used in conjunction with it. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. -2 Corinthians 10:5

Fetters that Bind - Your Release - Forgive Yourself

Life is not the final frontier. It is only the beginning and there is no end. There are moments in life that can be infected with viral obstacles, bacterial thoughts which corrupt the mind in making blundering mistakes, which attacks us.

    Do we look at life as a failure? Do we need to replace the “f” in life with a “v” in order to live with Victory? It is the guilt, the shame, and the regrets which are the fetters that keep us tied to a life that seems burdened.

    When these fetters bind, they also begin a heavy burden of weight, which becomes heavy subconsciously. It happens quickly and without warning. It slips in like a mouse unnoticed. Disappointment, discouragement, depression and despair the four D’s of cancer, which seems to suck the happiness out of life. It comes and goes. Sometimes severe, sometimes a small doubt, and sometimes it sneaks in, and you do not know the reason why you feel the way you do today. It spreads and affects everyone around.

     How do you get rid of the fetter of guilt, despair, depression, the feeling you cannot do anything right, or even forgiving yourself? Negative self-talk is destructive because one compares themselves to others and not what God has truly expressed. You are wonderfully made (Psalms 139:14). The truth is always found in Christ (John 14:6).

     You are not alone in your feelings. I use to be there in my life when things were not so well. David battled this battle before you and I have had the chance. His words are a chilling reflection:

Psalms 39:

O LORD, the God who saves me,

day and night I cry out before you.

May my prayer come before you;

turn your ear to my cry.

For my soul is full of trouble

and my life draws near the grave. 

I am counted among those who go down to the pit;

I am like a man without strength.

I am set apart with the dead,

like the slain who lie in the grave,

whom you remember no more,

who are cut off from your care.

You have put me in the lowest pit,

in the darkest depths.

Your wrath lies heavily upon me;

you have overwhelmed me with all your waves

I was then reminded when I read Psalm 40. David battled this battle before you and I did and so how did he make it? He wrote

Psalm 40

I waited patiently for the LORD;

he turned to me and heard my cry.

He lifted me out of the slimy pit,

out of the mud and mire;

he set my feet on a rock

and gave me a firm place to stand.

He put a new song in my mouth,

a hymn of praise to our God.

Many will see and fear

and put their trust in the LORD.

Blessed is the man

who makes the LORD his trust,

     David describes it well. The slide to despair feels like a mud slide. Sometimes it feels impossible to get a foothold up. Hopeless. Helpless. Alone….or so it seems. Although nothing may have changed in the real world you feel that your world has crumbled into ashes. It’s a difficult place to be. It’s a difficult place to get out of. Unless you allow the Lord to help, we would most likely remain in the pit of despair. Some never get out and some choose substance abuse, but God does help.

     He does give us the hand we need, the help we need. He does change our song from a mournful song to praise. He lifts us up. If you’re like me these slides to despair happen without warning or no reason at all. The Psalms are David’s journals as he dealt with his own frequent descents into despair. Here are his directions for those of us in the pit today-

Psalms 34

I will bless the LORD at all times;

His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

My soul will make its boast in the LORD;

The humble will hear it and rejoice.

O magnify the LORD with me,

And let us exalt His name together.

I sought the LORD, and He answered me,

and delivered me from all my fears.

They looked to Him and were radiant,

And their faces will never be ashamed.

This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him

and saved him out of all his troubles.

     The first step out is to be able to forgive yourself. The second step is to recognize. He will uplift you. The climb out is God’s work as we trust him. Forgiveness is the key to unlock the fetters that bind us to a world that wants to hold us back from the light of the Son.

How To Forgive The Unforgettable- A Different Perspective In Forgiveness

“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong” (Gandhi). Why must I forgive? Can I be forgiven? What is forgiveness? What is the actual truth about forgiveness? The truth may shock you.

     Hurtful words are like harsh nails, which penetrate boards; can you forgive hurtful words? Lies are poisonous arrows, which pierce the heart; can you forgive the betrayal? Divorce is an ugly circumstance like tarry pits; can you forgive your ex spouse? A life, like vapor dissipates and never to reappear, can you forgive the murderer? Whatever the destruction to the human spirit maybe; can there be forgiveness?

     There is a misconception about forgiveness. Mankind in all its human frailty cannot provide a definition or even provide the answer to what forgiveness encompasses. We must go to the source and as well as to the truth of where it began; God’s Word.

     Why did Peter ask, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?"(Matthew 18:21). Remember, Peter was a Jew and was accustomed to the laws of Moses. Where does the concept of seven stem from?

     It stems from the way God asked for the atonement of the sins of Israel, " The Lord said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites: 'When anyone sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord’s commands- 'If the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, he must bring to the Lord a young bull without defect as a sin offering for the sin he has committed- He is to dip his finger into the blood and sprinkle some of it seven times before the Lord, in front of the curtain of the sanctuary.-- In this way the priest will make atonement for them, and they will be forgiven (Leviticus 4:1,3,6,20).

     The Hebrew word for seven is “shevah” meaning to be full, satisfied or complete. Seven is a perfect number that represents completeness. It provides a stamp of perfection and wholeness. Aaron was to sprinkle blood seven times as a cleansing of Israel’s sins, for forgiveness, to be whole again to be perfected.

     Jesus’ response to Peter’s old law question: “Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times” (Matthew 18:22). Jesus’ command was extended to seventy times seven because of the hearts of men wanting to hold on to guilty debts of other's sins. This is why Jesus went on to explain in a parable to release the debt.
    
     Corrie Ten Boom, a Christian woman who survived a Nazi concentration camp during the Holocaust, said, "Forgiveness is to set a prisoner free, and to realize the prisoner was you." How does forgiveness come to mathematics of seventy times seven? We hold ourselves prisoners of our own guilt, hurt, anger, shame, and these are emotions, which hold us back from the only choice in doing the right choice and that is to forgive.

     Why is forgiving someone the right choice? Jesus taught his disciples through prayer to forgive. “For if you forgive men when they sin against you; your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”(Matthew 6:14, 15, NIV). It is easy for someone to say forgive that person, but the hard part is choosing to do it. Can you afford the cost of holding yourself as a prisoner when the ransom has been paid on your behalf?

     One will not be able to live in the physical and spiritual realm without offering forgiveness. If you do not forgive others, then there is no life with God spiritually. He forgave us of our sins, so we too should pay it forward to others, by forgiving them.

     On the physical side, you do not live life to the fullest because not forgiving another person becomes a terrible mind cancer. This is why we are too, “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:31–32, NIV).

     Jesus knew the heart of men. This is the reason why he told Peter not seven times, but seventy times seven. Mankind harbors on negativity. It is sometimes hard to let loose the pain which easily entangles us. It is because forgiveness is more than just words; it is a change of heart. "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart” (Matthew 18:35).

     Holding the past is the same as holding on to the debts that Christ spoke about in the parable. You have to let the debt go and God has provided a way to do this. How?

1. Prayer - Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. (Psalms 51:10). Like a pumpkin, let God clean out the hurt junk which exists on the inside.

2. Renew your mind - Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will (Romans 12:2). This takes practice in the self-talk that you will not hold the past against them, nor look at the person with discontent. Renewing the mind is getting rid of thoughts of malice or patterns of the world that wishes to do the opposite of forgiveness, and replacing it with a gift of forgiveness. This is where we captivate those thoughts in Christ, "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5)



3. Add to your faith -add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:5-8). When we add to our faith that God will take care of the hurtful matters it will help us in becoming effective in the knowledge of Christ in His forgiveness in us, which makes it easier to forgive ourselves of our guilt and shame when we do wrong.

4. Yield to love - Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law (Romans 13:8). It is because, "love covers over a multitude of sins: (1 Peter 4:8).

5. Express harmony - live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble (1 Peter 3:8). Living in harmony means not to hold the past or to treat them in a revenge status and allowing God to handle the matters.

6. Reaffirm - Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him (2 Corinthians 2:6-8). Sometimes we have to reaffirm love for a person because often times you do not know how their own actions have affected them in their behavior towards you.

     Notice how these steps spell out the main word: PRAYER? An unforgiving heart is a demon to the soul. Jesus said, “He replied, "This kind can come out only by prayer” (Mark 9:29). Sometimes forgiveness has to be worked out through prayer.

     Forgiveness is not forgetting or diminishing the crime. God chooses not to remember. This is difficult for us to do and God doesn’t expect us to forget. He does expect to treat our relationship with that other person through a forgiving spirit meaning, we do not bring up the past or treat them as they “should” deserve. It is to release them of the obligation of the debt of sin caused against us.

     Finally, sometimes we often do not know much at all about the offenders' intentions, motives, desires, and thoughts to confidently pass judgment on whether we can reasonably forgive them, and so the connection between understanding the offenders and forgiving them in the light of that understanding remains contentious. This example can be portrayed as, “Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).

     Forgiveness is not earned for it is a gift. Therefore, “live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing” (1 Peter 3:7-9).  It is my prayer this lesson in forgiveness can provide you some peace. “May the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you” (2 Thessalonians 3:16).

911-What is your Emergency?

Ever had a day like the song the Bangles sang, “Manic Monday”?

Bangles © Manic Monday

Have to catch an early train

Got to be to work by nine

And if I had an air-o-plane

I still couldn't make it on time

'Cause it takes me so long

Just to figure out what I'm gonna wear

Blame it on the train

But the boss is already there

Ever been in a situation where you didn’t know who to call and 911 stuck in your mind? What if that day just became worse? Ever watch COPS or CSI television shows that have that frantic voice on the phone like this 911 call into the

Rowlett Police Department on June 6, 1996:

911 Operator #1 ...Rowlett 911...what is your emergency..

00:01:19 Darlie...somebody came here...they broke in...

00:03:27 911 Operator #1 ...ma'am...

00:05:11 Darlie...they just stabbed me and my children...

00:07:16 911 Operator #1 ...what...

00:08:05 Darlie...they just stabbed me and my kids...my little boys...

00:09:24 911 Operator #1 ...who...who did...

00:11:12 Darlie...my little boy is dying...

00:11:25 RADIO ...(unintelligible) clear...

00:13:07 911 Operator #1 ...hang on ...hang on... hang on

00:15:03 Darlie...hurry... (unintelligible)...

00:16:01 911 Operator #1 ...stand by for medical emergency

     This is to an extreme from a Manic Monday to a life and death situation. Prayerfully, it is with faith we have not experienced this type of setting. If you have, please accept my condolences. For those who have not experienced this type of event, I do believe each of us has experienced a 9-1-1 experience in our spiritual life.

     First, let’s set the stage. God does not make bad things happen. This is our adversary, which causes us to believe in a lie like Eve did in her state of confusion within the Garden of Eden. He encourages us to do make the right choice in our free will to obey Him. However, like a parent, He hurts when we choose the wrong choice.  Much of our situations are from our erroneous choices. An example would be: we smoked too long and we come down with lung cancer and this is an incorrect choice and the consequences of it are cancer.

The spiritual 911 can sometimes be a life event over an accident from another human being. Perhaps our child who is sick and we need assistance because the doctors cannot figure out what is wrong. Maybe, it is your spouse who has decided to leave in divorce. Either way we seek out help, like humpty dumpty, in trying put all the pieces of our hearts back together again.

     Like the disciples who were proficient fishermen, we are professionals in life. However, sometimes we fret because Jesus is sleeping in the boat (Luke 8:22-25) and the waves of life come crashing down upon us, and we grow scared and worry we will not make it through this storm. Jesus calmed those storms by commanding, “Peace be still”. David through his tragedies wrote, “Lord, my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty. I don’t concern myself with matters too great or too awesome for me to grasp. Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself, like a weaned child who no longer cries for its mother’s milk. Yes, like a weaned child is my soul within me. Psalm 131

     Sometimes we have to do the same thing. We have to go to the One that can calm those storms. Furthermore, we have to be still in the midst of our storm and not try to do it alone. However, because of human nature we tend to the hit panic when something hits us spiritually.

     Second, we have to have our minds programmed to the faith. Faith you might ask? Silly question I know when you are at the bottom of the barrel scrapping away trying to find a way out. Faith can do many things. It is how we approach it and why. We have to transform how we perceive and look at the situations. “I will let You transform me into a new person by changing the way I think. Then I will learn to know Your will for me, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” Romans 12:1-2

     How precious is your unfailing love, O God! All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings. You feed them from the abundance of your own house, letting them drink from your rivers of delight (Psalm 36:7-8).  Four times the phrase “shadow of your wings” appears in Psalms (Psalms 17:8, 36:7, 57:1, 63:7). It can be difficult to think because He is not here tangibly that He knows and understands us because of how we feel. It is even harder to believe someone who explains everything is okay, and they are here physically with us. The key is to look and to believe and this is where our faith becomes the key.

     When you are in crises, and you don’t know where to turn; there is a 911 passage you can turn to. Remember, it is our adversary who likes to trick us into the here and now panic mode and not trusting. Are you ready to call 9-1-1? If not, then put a bookmark in your bible or print it out and put it on your fridge. This passage has helped me through my situations and I want to share it with.

     Remember to look for the whisper of God: Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper (1 Kings 19:11-12) Remember, to hide under the shadow of His wings let Him do the work while you rest. Here is your 9-1-1 passage:

Psalm 91-1

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High

will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

2 This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him. For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease. He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection. Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day. Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday. Though a thousand fall at your side, though ten thousand are dying around you, these evils will not touch you. Just open your eyes, and see how the wicked are punished. If you make the Lord your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home. For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go. They will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.You will trample upon lions and cobras; you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet! The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name. When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them. I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation.”

Lessons From Optimistic Rats

What came first, our thoughts or our feelings? Granted scientists have figured out what came first when they researched the egg or the chicken. After an expenditure of millions of dollars, they found that the egg came first. However, this is more complex when we think about feelings, which fabricate thoughts or thoughts that are constructing feelings. Either way both affect how we view life.
     In Learned Optimism (Alfred A. Knopf, 1991)) Martin E.P. Seligman, Ph.D., presents evidence on optimism and pessimism. In short, the book scientifically proves optimists are better in almost every aspect of life. Even when faced with hard times. Therefore, are optimists creating thoughts of illusion?

     Dr. Seligman conducted a study with rats. He had two groups that were placed in a tank of water with milk to make it cloudy. The first group of rats had to swim for a certain amount of time, but there was a hidden island under the water. They were able to find the island and were able to rest. The second group swam the same amount of time as the first and in the same conditions, except their tank had no island.

     On the second day Dr. Seligman did the same experiment. However, this time neither tank had an island. Each rat was tested separately and the times of how long they swam were calculated. The first group of rats, which had an island and then taken away in the second experiment, swam longer than the group of rats that didn’t have anything at all. Therefore, the difference between the two groups is that the first group had hope of an island for them to swim too.

     Dr. Seligman concluded in his study that pessimists respond with helplessness and give up. On the flip side, it is the optimists that persevere. Most of us learn to be optimists or pessimists in childhood and adolescence, and then, for good or bad, we carry this basic attitude with us throughout life. This is where we develop seeing the glass half full or empty.

     According to Dr. Susan Vaughn (2000), “studies suggest that reality is overrated. People who are the most closely in touch with reality are probably depressed. For example, in one study, depressed people were much more accurate than those who were not currently depressed at estimating the risks of all sorts of disasters befalling them, from plane crashes to their chances of being hit and killed by a bus when crossing the street on any given day. They saw the dangers of life head-on and estimated them accurately. Psychologists call it “depressive realism.”

     Here is my point. We don’t need rats to explain to us about hope or optimism. Christ came and developed that already for us. Can we turn our life around or is it too late? It is never too late. Christ meets you where you are in your life. Example is with “doubting” Tomas (John 20:24-31) and allowed Thomas to experience the feel. Just like the rats that felt the island they couldn’t see. Then when Christ is taken away, like the island, Thomas still believed and had hope.

     Is the sky dark in your eyes? Maybe you didn’t have a solid foundation growing up and still don’t feel a solid foundation to give you the hope that the glass is half full. It is a challenging aspect to create the illusion the glass is half full and not empty. When you are in pain you feel like being pessimistic and saying I am sick and there is nothing I can do about it. It’s everyone else’s problem. You lose hope and sight and allow the pain to interfere with something better.

     What can we learn from an optimistic rat? We don’t create an island. We believe in one. How? Paul expressed it best when he wrote, “Indeed, in our hearts, we felt the sentence of death. However, this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us (2 Corinthians 1:9-10). We believe on Him who will continue to deliver us. That is the glass that is half full.

     I had to learn to grow from being a pessimist to an optimist. When I experienced God directing my steps and not me then it becomes optimistic. When I direct them, it is pessimistic. When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble (Proverbs 4:12). No matter how many promises God has made, they are Yes in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20). When we are faced with obstacles like the disciples were, Jesus provided the optimistic hope by saying to them; this has to be done in prayer (Mark 9:29).

     There is a reason to be optimistic. In the end, Christ paid the debt and created optimism. Satan is the one which creates pessimism. Remember, Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.(Philippians 4:6) May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13).

Reference:
From Half Empty, Half Full: Understanding the Psychological Roots of Optimism by Susan C. Vaughan, M.D. Copyright © 2000 Susan C. Vaughan. Excerpted by arrangement with Harcourt, Inc.

A Marinating Thought

The nose begins to twitch. The brain comes alive. The stomach begins to growl. The fingers move with motion in trying to find what the lovely aroma is all about. It reminds me of the movie Frankenstein, “it’s alive.“
     I remember waking up at my grandmother’s farm to a fresh smell of maple bacon cooking on her iron cast skillet. My grandmothers could cook the greatest prize winning pies. My Mama would fix the best lemon meringue pie, and my Granny would cook a great apple pie. Any smell would create an appetite that you could not just stop at once piece or slice. It left you craving for more. Not sure if I can equate that to a pregnant woman with her cravings to pickles and ice cream. That just sours my taste buds.
     It is interesting how smell can carry memories from being a young child into my adulthood. For me, it is similar to the smell of grilling over mesquite wood and the smoke permeates the clothes, the hair and the skin. Wonder if they can bottle up that smell like cologne? Not that I would wear it, but the smell is phenomenal.
     I enjoy cooking. The other day Tanya was sleeping and a craving of ham came over me. Sneaking into the kitchen, I began my magic touch. The secret to great food is to marinate. Meat can be tough. Marinating can help it to be tender and yet taste great.
     Like a witch and her brew, I began to pour in the orange juice, dr. pepper, molasses, brown sugar and secret spices into my marinating sauce for the ham. It takes time in putting this together. It takes time to marinating the ham in the juices. The end result was they could not stop eating. They loved my cooking. Go me!
     If anything is to be a sweet aroma, tender and provide a good taste it takes time in marinating. Life can be sweet or it can be bitter. It all depends in what you are marinating yourself in.
     Are you marinating into a life of drugs, alcohol and other addictive thoughts and behaviors that your life tastes bitter and the aroma is a stench that you’re always in disagreements with others? It does not have to be this way. There is a recipe book already made and it helps in changing lives.
     The recipe book is Christ, and he is the recipe to a successful life. The question is what happens when we marinate in Him? “Those who think they can do it on their own end up obsessed with measuring their own moral muscle but never get around to exercise it in real life. Those who trust God's action in them find that God's Spirit is in them—living and breathing God! Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life. Focusing on the self is the opposite of focusing on God. Anyone completely absorbed in self ignores God, ends up thinking more about self than God. That person ignores who God is and what he is doing. And God isn't pleased at being ignored” (Romans 8:6, The Message).
     Marinating and meditating on Him changes life. The sweet aroma draws others around to partake in the beautiful feast of your soul. Think and marinate in these words and look at the peace you can have in your life without the other turmoil. It takes the right kind of spices to make a heart tender and sweet to others and memories to last a life time just like my grandmother's cooking!