Storms and more storms

I am realizing that I have been under attack by Satan himself. Since starting my online Bible Study, many hard hitting waves have been hitting me causing me to fall behind on my studies. I'm still "showing up" for my daily and weekly encouragements, nothing will deter me.

I've survived worse, so I'm ready... Lord, guide me to do your will. I will carry my cross as long as I have to.

Praise God for my unending faith!

When Change Is Painful

We are pressured in every way but not crushed, we are perplexed but not in despair.

2 Corinthians 4:8 Holman CSB

When life unfolds according to our wishes, or when we experience unexpected good fortune, we find it easy to praise God's plan. That's when we greet change with open arms. But sometimes the changes that we must endure are painful. When we struggle through the difficult days of life, as we must from time to time, we may ask ourselves, "Why me?" The answer, of course, is that God knows, but He isn't telling...yet.

Have you endured a difficult transition that has left your head spinning or your heart broken? If so, you have a clear choice to make: either you can cry and complain, or you can trust God and get busy fixing what's broken. The former is a formula for disaster; the latter is a formula for a well-lived life.

A thought to Jump Start Your Day

Pain is the fuel of passion - it energizes us with an intensity to change that we don't normally possess.

Rick Warren

Laughing With Life

Since I can remember, I have always let life get the best of me... always worried, always fretted and stressed out with things that were out of my control, to the point of getting sick. I was very unhappy in life. I can remember days of depression being a constant companion in my life, day in and day out.

It wasn’t until 2005 when I had my awakening that I realized that there are many things in life that I don’t have control of…and the fact that I had to learn the difference as in the Serenity Prayer. There is nothing in life that is worth the aggravation, the stress, the unhappiness and miserable existence that is brought on from all the worrying. God granted me the serenity of accepting the things I couldn’t change and the courage to change the things I could and most importantly, He gave me the wisdom to know the difference.

The Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; Taking, as He did, this sinful worldas it is, not as I would have it; Trusting that He will make all things rightif I surrender to His Will;That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with HimForever in the next.

Amen.

Yes, I still think about things, yes, I still tend to worry about things, I’m only human, but… I don’t let it control me to the point of getting sick, being unhappy and miserable in my days or to the point of “dumping” on others around me. On occasion I will fret and stress over things, but I have to remind myself that I need to turn things over to God. As my blog title states: “Whatever it is, God is bigger”. I have since, learned to “Laugh with Life”. I’m not trying to make light of serious issues, the criticalness of certain situations in life, but worrying, stressing, fretting and consuming myself with doubt and fear over things out of my control is not going to fix things any quicker.

So in my devotional reading today, I was enlightened with the following words:

Laugh with Life:

A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.

Proverbs 15:13 NIV

Laughter is medicine for the soul, but sometimes, amid the stresses of the day, we forget to take our medicine. Instead of viewing our world with a mixture of optimism and humor, we allow worries and distractions to rob us of the joy that God intends for our lives.

So the next time you find yourself dwelling upon the negatives of life, refocus your attention to things positive. The next time you find yourself falling prey to the blight of pessimism, stop yourself and turn your thoughts around. And, if you see your glass as “half empty,” rest assured that your spiritual vision is impaired. With God, your glass is never half empty. With God as your protector and Christ as your Savior, your glass is filled to the brim and overflowing…forever.

Today, as you go about your daily activities, approach life with a smile on your lips and hope in your heart. And laugh every chance you get. After all, God created laughter for a reason…and Father indeed knows best. So laugh!

A Thought to Jump Start Your Day

If you want people to feel comfortable around you, to enjoy being with you, then learn to laugh at yourself and find humor in life’s little mishaps.

Dennis Swanberg

Fault-Finding and Judging Others

For one of my daily readings today, I was enlightened with the following:

I'm slipping when I begin taking another person's inventory, not mine.

~ Anonymous

It seems so much easier to live someone else's life than it is to live our own. We can see someone else's faults much more clearly than our own. We can tell someone else how to correct a character defect, and not work on our own. It is easier to take someone else's inventory than it is to take our own. These are all clues to why we have had so much trouble in our lives.

These things are all danger signs. Our very best thinking got us into this Fellowship. Most of us earned our seats around the table by totally mismanaging the affairs of our lives. We have enough on our plates trying to sort out the will of our Highter Power in our own lives. We have no business trying to run anyone else's.

If I persist in trying to live another person's life, I am likely to stop my spiritual progress. Let me remember to keep tabs on my own faults and let others take care of their own.

Sharing with others...

The decision to share with others may not make sense to the world. We share out of obedience to God's Word; it says we are to help others. We accept the needs of others as our own. Anyone who gives willingly receives a blessing that comes only with true love. God will honor your attitude more than the amount.

" '. . .to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me. . . to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.'"(Matthew 25:40,44 NASB).

Day by Day with God

Our world is in a state of constant change. God is not. At times, the world seems to be trembling beneath our feet. But we can be comforted in the knowledge that our Heavenly Father is the rock that cannot be shaken. His Word promises, "I am the Lord, I do not change" (Malachi 3:6 NKJV)

Every day that we live, we mortals encounter a multitude of changes - some good, some not so good. And on occasion, all of us must endure life-changing personal losses that leave us breathless. When we do, our loving Heavenly Father stands ready to protect us, to comfort us, to guide us, and, in time, to heal us.

Are you facing difficult circumstances or unwelcome changes? If so, please remember that God is far bigger than any problem you may face. So, instead of worrying about life's inevitable challenges, put your faith in the Father and His only begotten Son: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). And rest assured: It is precisely because your Savior does not change that you can face your challenges with courage for this day and hope for the future.

Todays thoughts

Usually, I'll give the Thought for the day, here today I find myself blogging about two seperate thoughts, but both play hand in hand with one another...

Living Above the Daily Whine

Do everything readily and cheerfully - no bickering, no second-guessing allowed! Go out into the world uncorrupted, a breat of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society. Provide people with a glimps of good living and of the living God. Carry the light-giving Message into the night.

Phillipians 2:14-15 MSG

Because we are imperfect human beings, we often lose sight of our blessings. Ironically, most of us have more blessings than we can count, but we may still find reasons to complain about the minor frustrations of every day life. To do so, of course, is not only wrong; it is also the pinnacle of shortsightedness and a serious roadblock on the path to spiritual abundance.

Are you tempted to complain about the inevitable minor frustations of everyday living? Don't do it! Today and every day, make it a practice to count your blessings, not your hardships. It's the truly decent way to live.

A Thought to Jump Start Your Day

The purity of motive determines the quality of action.

*To follow that daily thought, I couldn't help but follow with
this next one, as I mentioned, they go hand in hand.

More Opportunities Than We Can Count

Everything is possible for him who believes.

Mark 9:23 NIV

Whether you realize it or not, opportunites are whirling around you like stars crossing the night sky: beautiful to observe but too numerous to count. Yet you may be too wrapped up in the daily grind to notice.

Take time to step back from the challenges of everyday living so that you can focus your thoughts on two things: the talents God has given you and the opportunities that He has placed before you. God is leading you in the direction of those opportunities. Your task is to watch carefully, to pray fervently, and to act accordingly.

A Thought to Jump Start Your Day

Unbelief keeps us livng beneath the possiblities that God dreamed for our lives.

*I have noticed that myself and many people around me complain about the minor frustrations of every day life and we tend to forget all the blessings we have been given, and the many opportunites that God has laid before us. Stop and take a few steps back, look around, things could be so much worse.

Which reminds me, I love the new song by Mandisa...

Verse 1:Been a hard one, Been a bad one
Been a tough one, Been a sad one
It's been one of those days that keeps chipping away at my heart
Nothing new here, It's what I do here
its a stereotypical day, in the life
I'm surrounded by all of the pain and the strife
but I know it's alright, woah oh

Chorus:Cause it's only the world i'm living in
It's only today i've been given
There ain't no way i'm giving in
Cause it's only the world (only the world)
I know the best is still yet to come
Cause even when my days in the world are done
There's gonna be so much more than only the world for me

do do do do do do do do do, yeah its only the world

Verse 2:Anybody can you hear me?
Do you feel me? I mean, do you feel me?
I know I'm not the only one wearing the weight in this world
We got problems (said it's alright)
Just remember (yeah, it's alright)
Take a good look around we're just stuck on the ground for a little while
Don't it make you smile

Chorus:Cause it's only the world i'm living in (Yeah)
It's only today i've been given(Yeah)
There ain't no way i'm giving in
Cause it's only the world (only the world)
I know the best is still yet to come
Cause even when my days in the world are done
There's gonna be so much more than only the world for me

do do do do do do do do do, yeah its only the world
do do do do do do do do do, yeah its only the world

Bridge:Heaven is a place where the tears on every face will be wiped away
And I can't wait to go, but for now it's enoughto know
This is only temporary this is only, Yeah, Alright!

Chorus:Cause it's only the world i'm living in
It's only the day i've been given
There ain't no way i'm giving in
Cause it's only the world (only the world)
I know the best is still yet to come
Cause even when my days in the world are done
There's gonna be so much more than only the world for me
Cause it's only the world i'm living in
It's only today I've been given
There ain't no way i'm giving in
Cause it's only the world (only the world)
I know the best is still yet to come
Cause even when my days in the world are done
There's gonna be so much more than only the world for me
(So much more than only the world, yeah)

do do do do do do do do do, yeah its only the world
do do do do do do do do do, yeah its only the world

Where Is The Joy?

Is it just me, or are there a lot of people walking around who have forgotten what it's like to enjoy life?

How many of us go about our daily lives without a single smile or chuckle, and we act like the weight of the world is upon our backs.

Our minds think about the heating and electric bill, and we wonder if we are ever going to be able to afford that vacation to Europe. As we drive back from work, we contemplate the irritating employee who seemed to sour our day, and we hold in our tensions over meddling in-laws, and neighbors that always seem to want to chat at the wrong time.

The cares and worries of the world will be with us always, but if you want joy, look upward!

"The joy of the Lord is your strength." -Nehemiah 8:10

Daily Wisdom

more here

Unless we change direction, we are likely to end up where we are going.

- Chinese Proverb

*I sincerely believe that a peaceful world evolves through peaceful hearts. That is just one of my goals, to obtain a peaceful heart. Not only through prayer, but through the positive energies that I have control of.

Distractions in every day life...

Saint Martha

Feastday: July 29, Patroness of cooks

"Jesus loved Martha and Mary and Lazarus." This unique statement in John's gospel tells us of the special relationship Jesus had with Martha, her sister, and her brother.

Apparently Jesus was a frequent guest at Martha's home in Bethany, a small village two miles from Jerusalem. We read of three visits in Luke 10:38-42, John 11:1-53, and John 12:1-9.

Many of us find it easy to identify with Martha in the story Luke tells. Martha welcomes Jesus and his disciples into her home and immediately goes to work to serve them. Hospitality is paramount in the Middle East and Martha believed in its importance. Imagine her frustration when her sister Mary ignores the rule of hospitality and Martha's work in order to sit and listen to Jesus. Instead of speaking to her sister, she asks Jesus to intervene. Jesus' response is not unkind, which gives us an idea of his affection for her. He observes that Martha is worried about many things that distract her from really being present to him. He reminds her that there is only one thing that is truly important -- listening to him. And that is what Mary has done. In Martha we see ourselves -- worried and distracted by all we have to do in the world and forgetting to spend time with Jesus. It is, however, comforting to note that Jesus loved her just the same.

The next visit shows how well Martha learned this lesson. She is grieving the death of her brother with a house full of mourners when she hears that Jesus has just come to the area. She gets up immediately and leaves the guests, leaves her mourning, and goes to meet him.

Her conversation with Jesus shows her faith and courage. In this dialogue she states clearly without doubt that she believes in Jesus' power, in the resurrection, and most of all that Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus tells her that he is the resurrection and the life and then goes on to raise her brother from the dead. Our final picture of Martha in Scripture is the one that sums up who she was. Jesus has returned to Bethany some time later to share a meal with his good friends. In this home were three extraordinary people. We hear how brother Lazarus caused a stir when was brought back to life. We hear how Mary causes a commotion at dinner by anointing Jesus with expensive perfume. But all we hear about Martha is the simple statement: "Martha served." She isn't in the spotlight, she doesn't do showy things, she doesn't receive spectacular miracles. She simply serves Jesus.

We know nothing more about Martha and what happened to her later. According to a totally untrustworthy legend Martha accompanied Mary to evangelize France after Pentecost.
But wouldn't it be wonderful if the most important thing that could be said about us is "They served"?

Martha is the patron saint of servants and cooks.

In Her Footsteps

Dorothy Day said: "If everyone were holy and handsome, it would be easy to see Christ in everyone. But it was not Christ's way for himself. Ask honestly what you would do when a beggar asked at your house for food. Would you give it on an old cracked plate, thinking that was good enough? Do you think that Martha and Mary thought that the old and chipped dish was good enough for their guest? It is not a duty to help Christ -- it is a privilege." In what ways do you serve Christ others grudgingly or sparingly? How can you serve them the way Martha served Christ, putting her whole self into it?

Prayer:

Saint Martha, pray for us that we might serve Jesus better. Help us to overcome our distractions and worries to listen to his words and be present to him this day. Amen