Oops! :)  I went to bed last night feeling like I had forgotten to do something but I couldn't remember no matter how hard I searched my memory.  So I shrugged my shoulders and went to bed.  I remembered when I woke up this morning.  I forgot to post my Gratitude Attitude for yesterday! So here goes for yesterday... Today I am grateful for words.  Words to express feeling.  Words to explain.  Words to convey thoughts. Words to describe...people, situations, theories, landscapes, etc.  But with words comes great responsibility. We can speak words of life or words of death, the choice is ours.  Words can help us out or get us into trouble.  Words come from deep within us.   Out of the depths of our hearts our mouths speak .  Sometimes my words do get me in trouble, more often when I speak them rather than write them.  It's why I prefer writing to speaking.  :)  Without words we would find another way to communica...

Eternal One: Leave this cave, and go stand on the mountainside in My presence. The Eternal passed by him. The mighty wind separated the mountains and crumbled every stone before the Eternal. This was not a divine wind, for the Eternal was not within this wind. After the wind passed through, an earthquake shook the earth. This was not a divine quake, for the Eternal was not within this earthquake. After the earthquake was over, there was a fire. This was not a divine fire, for the Eternal was not within this fire. After the fire died out, there was nothing but the sound of a calm breeze. And through this breeze a gentle, quiet voice entered into Elijah’s ears. He covered his face with his cloak and went to the mouth of the cave. Suddenly, Elijah was surprised. Eternal One: Why are you here, Elijah? What is it that you desire? The Holy Bible, The Voice Version, The Book of 1 Kings, Chapter 19, Verses 11-13 I'm down to one day from wrapping up this current 365.  And I figure...

Your fear of displeasing people puts you in bondage to them, and they become your primary focus....If pleasing people is your goal, you will be enslaved to them.  People can be harsh taskmasters when you give them this power over you.   Sarah Young, Jesus Calling May 2-3 If you fear other people, you are walking into a dangerous trap; but if you trust in the Eternal, you will be safe. The Holy Bible, The Book of Proverbs, Chapter 29 Verse 25, The Voice Version Today's quote(s) are a topic I am very familiar with.  In fact I call myself a recovering people pleaser and if you have known me for a length of time and are familiar with my story then you know my label is pretty accurate.  Once upon a time I was in bondage to people.  I strived to keep peace at any and all costs, usually to myself.  I worked hard to make sure people viewed me favorably.  I never wanted to rock the boat so I owned blame that wasn't mine to own.  All of this people ple...

You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You.   The Holy Bible (Amplified Version), The Book of Isaiah Chapter 26 Verse 3 This particular scripture in this particular version has played a big part in my life in my 30's.  God literally woke me up one morning years ago by speaking it to me.  I know.  Question that all you want but I know what I know.  I was dead asleep and my eyes popped open at a voice speaking these words to me.  I didn't even know where in the Bible exactly it was until I enlisted the aid of a concordance.  Since that time God has continued to put this verse in front of me to either remind me of its truth or to compel me to share it with others. Want peace?  Then fix, literally, your mind on all of God - his character and his promises - and press in to him.  Y...

Think very carefully about your choices.  You have planted a large crop, but your harvest is small. You have food to eat, but it is never enough to satisfy. You have something to drink, but you are never filled. You have clothes to wear, but they are not enough to keep you warm. You earn a salary, but the money runs out quickly, as if there are holes in your pocket .  Haggai 1:5-6, The Voice I've been chewing on today's quote for a couple of days.  I can't quite find my way to what is teasing my brain about it so I thought, why not?  I'll just put it out there and see if whatever is teasing me comes out through the keyboard.  :) I feel like initially what struck me about today's quote is that a lot of busy work is described here but not much productivity.  (And look for that quote at some point in the near future because I've got one sitting in my queue.)  So a large crop is planted but the harvest is small.  That tells me that a lot of bu...

For the sake of the church,  brothers and sisters, we insist in the name of our Lord Jesus the Anointed that you withdraw from any brother or sister who is out of order and unwilling to work, who is straying from the line of teaching we passed on to all of you.  You know how essential it is to imitate us  in the way we live life . We were never undisciplined  nor did we take charity from anyone  while we were with you . Instead,  you saw  how we worked very hard day and night so we wouldn’t be a burden to even one person in the community.  We had the right  to depend on your help and hospitality, as you know;  but we wanted to give you a model you could follow,  to lay a path of footprints for you to walk in .  This is exactly why, while with you, we commanded you: “Anyone not willing to work shouldn’t get to eat!”  You see, we are hearing that some folks in the community are out of step  with our teaching ; they are ...

Now, let me ask you something profound yet troubling. If you became believers because you trusted the proclamation that Christ is alive, risen from the dead, how can you let people say that there is no such thing as a resurrection? If there’s no resurrection, there’s no living Christ. And face it—if there’s no resurrection for Christ, everything we’ve told you is smoke and mirrors, and everything you’ve staked your life on is smoke and mirrors. Not only that, but we would be guilty of telling a string of barefaced lies about God, all these affidavits we passed on to you verifying that God raised up Christ—sheer fabrications, if there’s no resurrection. If corpses can’t be raised, then Christ wasn’t, because he was indeed dead. And if Christ weren’t raised, then all you’re doing is wandering about in the dark, as lost as ever. It’s even worse for those who died hoping in Christ and resurrection, because they’re already in their graves. If all we get out of Christ is a little inspira...

Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.      Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you.      I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. Isaiah 41:10 NLT I think life is pretty scary.  It asks us to take risks, it asks us to have courage, it asks us to feel things we'd rather not, it asks us to be open to things we may never consider on our own.  Life has joy, sorrow, happiness, fear, and every other emotion you can think of.  Life holds lessons for us, if we are willing to learn.  Life is pretty scary.  And sometimes the scary is good, thrilling even.  But sometimes the scary is bad, isolating at best.   I know a fair number of people.  I watch them all tackle life and I wonder, when the bad scary of life hits, how they do it.  How do they get through loss of any significant kind, tragedy, etc without grasping the hand that created them in the first place?  I...

...when we love God, we naturally run to Him-frequently and zealously. Jesus didn't command that we have a regular time with Him each day. Rather, He tells us to 'love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' He called this the 'first and greatest commandment' (Matt. 22:37-38). The results are intimate prayer and study of His Word. Our motivation changes from guilt to love.   Francis Chan *Disclaimer: My thoughts on today's quote are lengthy but that means they are important to me! * I've been a believer of God for a really long time.  And most of that time I was told and taught to make sure I had my "daily quiet time" or else I just wasn't cutting it with God and perhaps I wasn't close to God at all.  This is a widely taught and accepted mindset.  Problem is that isn't exactly biblical but Pastors, Churches, and Sunday School teachers all over the place have tried to make it biblical.  W...

The healthy Christian is not necessarily the extrovert, ebullient Christian, but the Christian who has a sense of God's presence stamped deep on his soul, who trembles at God's word, who lets it dwell in him richly by constant meditation upon it, and who tests and reforms his life daily in response to it. J.I. Packer It is a mistake *we* often make to equate health - mental, spiritual, mental - with those who are more outgoing and/or extroverted.  I'm not sure why *we* do this.  Some of the most healthy people I know are quiet and/or introverted. In matters of faith, the healthiest Christian is one who heeds Psalm 119.  Yes, the WHOLE chapter 119.  Chapter 119 is all about walking along the paths of God's word.  And when we walk along the paths of God's word we become changed, peace-filled, and we are healthy in spirit. Let us not assume that just because someone is at the "front of the pack" that they are healthy.  Do not look for external evidence b...

A Story About Forgiveness At that point Peter got up the nerve to ask, “Master, how many times do I forgive a brother or sister who hurts me? Seven?” Jesus replied, “Seven! Hardly. Try seventy times seven. “The kingdom of God is like a king who decided to square accounts with his servants. As he got under way, one servant was brought before him who had run up a debt of a hundred thousand dollars. He couldn’t pay up, so the king ordered the man, along with his wife, children, and goods, to be auctioned off at the slave market. “The poor wretch threw himself at the king’s feet and begged, ‘Give me a chance and I’ll pay it all back.’ Touched by his plea, the king let him off, erasing the debt. “The servant was no sooner out of the room when he came upon one of his fellow servants who owed him ten dollars. He seized him by the throat and demanded, ‘Pay up. Now!’ “The poor wretch threw himself down and begged, ‘Give me a chance and I’ll pay it all back.’ But he wo...

Though you probe my heart and examine me at night, though you test me, you will find nothing; I have resolved that my mouth will not sin. The Holy Bible, A Prayer of David, Book of Psalm, chapter 17 verse 3 I think *we* (those who are believers in God and those who want to mock believers of God - so pretty much everyone) make a mistake with the last part of this quote.  I think we think that to claim that God will find nothing and our resolution is to not sin that it, and David, means "sinless".  I'm pretty sure it doesn't.  Here's what I do think it means; I think it means that we should be sensitive to sin so that the moment we fall into it (and we ALL fall into it, none of us are exempt from sin) - through word or action - we are quick to repent.  I think it means that we invite the probing of God in our lives and we are quick to repent for what surfaces when he probes.  It doesn't mean that we are sinless, it doesn't mean that David thought he was...

Righteous - Those who honor God and order their lives in all things according to his will. In every human relationship they faithfully fulfill the obligations that the relationship entails, remembering that power and authority (of whatever sort: domestic, social, political, economic, religious, intellectual) are to be used to bless, not to exploit.   Psalm 1: 5 Study Note   Editors of the NIV Study Bible c 1985 Today in reading Psalm 15 I came across the word 'righteous' and when I studied a little further to make sure I had a good understanding of what it meant and/or implied I came across today's "quote" (my blog my choice on what I do! ha!).  It was too good, in my opinion, to not share.  And here's the thing.  Maybe you don't believe in God.  That's okay.  Look at what the whole message is and if you don't want to be that kind of person, whether you believe in God or not, then you might want to examine why and what hinders you from be...

....to love the Lord your God and to walk in all His ways and to keep His commandments and to cling to and unite with Him and to serve Him with all your heart and soul [your very life].   Joshua 22:5 AMP If you believe in God what do you mean when you say you love him and serve him?  What is your definition of that?  Does it mean you go to a church on Sunday mornings and maybe Wednesday nights?  Is that what loving God and serving God means to you?  Or is it more?  Are you on a journey to figure out what it is still?   I love today's quote from the book of Joshua in the Bible.  It indicates to me that loving God and serving him probably is defined best without including a church building/denomination/etc.  When I look at today's quote and I read it with an open heart and mind and clear eyes I see that loving and serving God is defined by obeying all of his word, uniting myself to him, and allowing my life to be changed by his word. ...

Your own soul is nourished when you are kind.   Proverbs 11:17 Feeling low?  Kinda down in the dumps?  When was the last time you reached outside of yourself and extended kindness? If it's been a while then that may be why you are feeling a little low.  Something incredible happens when we reach out beyond ourselves - beyond our own circumstances (that may be grim), beyond our own selfishness (we all are), and beyond our own moods (we all get in them) - we experience nourishment.  Our souls lift and become lighter, our perspective on our own circumstances alter slightly, our selfishness is exposed to light and we can deal with it, our moods change course.  At least this is my experience when I extend kindness, especially when I'm not necessarily feeling it right away.  Sometimes, I admit, I have to take a deep breath and put a smile on my face and go what feels like the "extra mile" but then as I get into it I find it is good and right to do and befo...

The soul always knows what to do to heal itself.  The challenge is to silence the mind.  Caroline Myss The biggest obstacle to our healing from emotional wounds, etc is to keep our minds from engaging in that healing.  Our minds are wonderful and helpful when it comes to pretty much everything but healing.  Then our minds turn on us.  They replay the lies that hold us in bondage, they keep the shame we might feel at the front of our efforts, they whisper things to us that keep us in victim mode, they convince us that we are right and "the world" is wrong and against us.  The mind becomes our enemy of sorts when we need to heal. I know this first hand.  I've been there.  I've been in a battle with my mind and my soul. Our souls always know what to do to heal.  They are reliable in leading the way to wholeness.  They point north and lead the way but only if the mind gets out of the way.  And that is a choice each of us have ...

The truth is, once you learn how to die, you learn how to live.    Morrie Schwartz Morrie became famous when an old student of his, Mitch Albom, spent Tuesdays with him near the end of his battle with ALS and then recounted the lessons Morrie shared with him in a book.  Morrie was a pretty smart man, if today's quote was his only one * he would still be smart.  Today's quote is spot on.   Once you learn how to die to your self - your selfishness, your need to be right, your entitlements, your pride, your vanity,  your fears, your insecurities, whatever else of yours that holds you back from living life - then you begin to learn how to live.  An abundant, full, satisfied life begins when we die to our very self.  How is that possible?  Because all the things we have to die to hold us back from really living life.  So once you learn how to die to those things your life will begin.   Morrie's wisdom reminds me of age-old wisdom f...

You will never forget what you will not forgive.   Wess Stafford Some of us, okay all of us, need to invite memory loss into our lives.  Read today's quote again and you'll see what I'm saying.  Until we forgive we will not forget and most of us have at least one thing that we need to forgive and forget.  It's weighing us down, holding us back, keeping the pot stirred.  And let's be clear, you may not ever totally forget the thing forgiven but you will forget the pain associated with it, you will forget the anger attached to it, you will forget the betrayal that happened in it.  And that's what we need to forget in order to move on in healthy ways.  But we won't forget those things until we do the hard work of forgiveness.  And forgiveness is hard work.  I'm not pretending it is easy.  But it is necessary.  Forgiveness is necessary to be set free from the bondage of bitterness, anger, and being stagnant as a human. That's right, ...

A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.   Proverbs 11:25 You never know when you will be the refreshment in someones day.  Oftentimes it is through something you say or do that you don't think is a big deal but to that person it is for that moment.  And when it happens the "strangest" thing happens to you.  You also become refreshed.  Something happens to our spirits when we put ourselves aside and focus on others.  We become light in the worlds we live in.   Being refreshment to others can happen in so many different ways.  Think outside your box, don't allow yourself to be stifled.  Don't over think it, if you do you won't end being genuine as a person who can refresh others.  Let it happen naturally.  And remember, it usually happens through you without you trying or even being aware that you are doing it.  Also you can't set out to refresh others with expectations attache...

You use steel to sharpen steel, and one friend sharpens another.   Proverbs 27:17 I've been thinking about this proverb this week.  When someone confronts you on an issue in your life you can usually tell if they are doing it because they care about you or because they just want to be a  critical  voice in your world.  With the one friend you listen, as hard as it may be to hear.  With the other you take it with a grain of salt and go on your way.   Have you ever heard steel sharpening steel?  It can be a grating noise.  But at the end of the process the steel is sharp and ready for use.  That's also what happens with relationships.  When you have given someone permission to speak into your life you should expect it to sometimes be grating on your dull edges.  But if you can hear what is said and do some honest introspection about it then the hope is you come out of the process sharper and ready for further use.   I...