You Don’t Control The Outcomes Of Your Life, Principles Do.

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

John 14:27

There always have been and always will be two classes on the earth to the end of time–the believers in Jesus, and those who reject Him.

Sinners, however wicked, sinful, evil, abominable, and corrupt, by faith in Jesus Christ will be purified and made clean, through the doing of His word. and the blood of Jesus Christ which was shed on calvary.

Those who reject Christ and refuse to believe the truth will be filled with bitterness against those who accept Jesus as a personal Saviour. But those who receive Christ are melted and subdued by the manifestation of His love and His humiliation, suffering, and death in their behalf.

The peace that Jesus Christ gave to His disciples, and for which we pray, is the peace that is born of truth, a peace that is not to be quenched because of division. Without may be wars and fightings, jealousies, envies, hatred, strife; but the peace of Christ is not that which the world giveth or taketh away. It could endure amid the hunting of spies and the fiercest opposition of His enemies…. Christ did not for an instant seek to purchase peace by a betrayal of sacred trusts. Peace could not be made by a compromise of principles.

It is a grave mistake on the part of those who are children of God to seek to bridge the gulf that separates the children of light from the children of darkness by yielding principle, by compromising the truth. It would be surrendering the peace of Christ in order to make peace or fraternize with the world. The sacrifice is too costly to be made by the children of God to make peace with the world by giving up the principles of truth…. Then let the followers of Christ settle it in their minds that they will never compromise truth, never yield one iota of principle for the favor of the world. Let them hold to the peace of Christ.

What Does It Mean to Overcome Evil with Good?

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Agile Methodologies

What does Romans 12:21 mean by saying, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good”? Let’s start off by drawing out some word meanings with the help of Strong’s Dictionary:

  • the word overcome (Gk. Nikao) refers to: victory, conquer, prevail, subdue, and come off victorious (implying a battle)
  • the word evil (Gk. Kakos) refers to: bad, inwardly foul, rotten (poisoned), flowing out of a morally rotten character.
  • the word good ( Agathos) refers to: “intrinsically good, pointing to what originates from God and is empowered by Him in their life”

We know from experience that what 1 John 5:19 says is true, that the whole world lies in wickedness. Crime is rampant, just check out the news. Offenses are everywhere both offline and online. People hurting people, damaging and victimizing others with words and deeds. And people are rarely apologetic nowadays. Corrupted by sin and without Christ in this world, we can’t expect any better from most of the people out there.

In the midst of this culture and environment, what is a Christian to do? How is he to act and respond? Romans 12:21 instructs the believer to observe 2 things:

  1. Do not be overcome by evil.
  2. Overcome evil with good

Do not be overcome by evil

We can apply this in so many ways:

  1. Do not be discouraged. If you’re in an environment where all the wrong things are happening to others or even to you, whether repeated offenses or unfairness is the norm; don’t be discouraged. In His time, justice will be restored and what is needed to come out will be brought to light. Ecc. 3:17 Job 12:22
  2. Do not be influenced. In an environment where wrong is the normal practice, the Christian may sometimes be tempted to do as others do, thinking that it won’t make a difference, or thinking that doing wrong pays off, or thinking that since everybody’s doing it, it must be okay. Choose to remain honest even if your peers are into plagiarized work and cheating. Stay honest even if your peers are cheating on work hours, sleeping on the job, goofing off, inflating work hours done. Stay honest even if other businesses cheat on their customers. Leviticus 19:36
  3. Do not be intimidated. Edmund Burke is attributed to have said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” John Stuart Mil said, “Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing.” Many times, it is the wrongdoers who are brave and aggressive in their ways, making no apologies about what they do and say. Christians, in the desire for peace may feel forced to stay quiet. Now, not every issue should be a battle we fight others over for. But at times, we need to make our stand known if it helps bring enlightenment even to just one person. Speak your mind when God gives an opening. Answer a curious question when somebody asks your view. God promises to teach you what to say. Luke 12:12

Overcome evil with good

We can apply this in so many ways:

  1. Do good to your enemies. The enemies Matthew 5:44 points to are those who do wrong against you and who just feels hatred towards you for no valid reason. It may be tempting to give them a dose of their own medicine or to take revenge but the verse says to love them instead. That does not necessarily mean to go out of your way to be best buddies with them, consent to their wrongdoing and to suffer repeated abuse. In the context of agape love, it means to desire their highest good. You can and should pray for God to bless them. Pray for God to bring enlightenment and salvation in their lives. You never know when your goodness will cause repentance to dawn on them, “heaping coals of fire on their head.”
  2. Do good and do it without expecting anything in return. Good works are rewarding to you personally and to others. The good you do will bring some fruit in their lives; gratefulness, hope, cheerfulness, and more. Often, good works are contagious. The good you do tend to get paid forward by others.

Who am I in Christ?

Who Does God Say That I Am?

Have you ever asked yourself, ‘Who am I really? It’s an age-old question that many people ask and some never figure it out, our identities seem to tie in to what we are to certain people and how we live our lives.

After growing up in a broken home, and spending some years in a foster home, I spent many years of my life trying to figure out who I was; really. Was I really someone’s child, someone that didn’t fight for me while I was in a foster home for years? In the foster home, I was not really a daughter, I was a foster kid. I didn’t really belong, it was a “temporary” home for years. I was another mouth to feed in the home. I became a wife at a young age and for many years that seemed to be my identity but deep down that never satisfied me.

I am a mother, a wife, a daughter, a friend, even a patient.

All of my identities, everything that I believe I am, are all dependent on somebody and something else. Don’t get me wrong these are important roles in my life and I get to share my gifts and leave my mark in each of these lives but all of these are just roles in my life and are just a part of what makes me, me. What if all of these people were suddenly gone, what would be left of me? The question still plagues me, who am I?

Gifts and Talents

I believe my true identity goes much deeper than the just mere connection with someone else. God gives us all gifts and I soon realized that I could link up all of my gifts and talents in some way to my roles in my life. Character is the core of who you really are because when your back is up against the wall and you have no choice this is when your true self will show.

I am a good listener. Often times people call me to vent or to give them my opinion but most of the time I listen. People need that, they need for people to listen to them. Most everyone seems to be in a hurry these days and take very little time to slow down and listen. Listening comes easy for me.  Hebrews 2:1(ESV) says;

“We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we  

have heard, so that we do not drift away.”

So, because of this scripture, I see God also wants me to be a good listener to Him as well.

I am  Loyal.  I am loyal to my husband, loyal to my children, loyal to my family even though at times they may try my patience. I am loyal to my Heavenly Father, I trust Him, serve Him, rely on Him and seek Him daily. Matthew 24: 45-46 (ESV) says;

Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master  

has set over his household, to give them their (physical, and spiritual)  

food at the proper time?  Blessed is that servant whom his master  

will find so doing when he comes.”

I demonstrate my loyalty to God and loyalty to those who He has called me to serve.

I am trustworthy. I don’t gossip, I don’t tell someone else’s story if told something in confidence I keep it in confidence. I have learned to trust God and I believe He trusts me.

Psalm 91:2 (ESV) says;    

 I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress:  

my God; in him will I trust.”

I am loving and kind.  I don’t just tell of my love for people, I do my best to show people that I love them and care for them. I try to have a shoulder for people to lean on. I do my best to express my concern for others situations and the things in life that they are going through. 1 Corinthians 13: 7 (ESV) says;

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things,  

endures all things.”  

I am compassionate.  I can feel empathy for people, even if they don’t want it or deserve it in some people’s eye. I don’t want anyone to feel alone.

I also bear tangible gifts, I am an artist.  I love to draw.

I am a  musician: I play the guitar.

I am a blogger: I have been open about my health and life as well as my walk with God and how I believe completely in His word. 2 Timothy 1:8 (ESV) says;

“Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord,  

nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by  

the power of God.”

I am a daughter of a King. Not perfect, I make mistakes, but I am a working towards being more and more like my Father every day. John 1: 12 says;

“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he  

gave the right to become children of God,  13 who were born,  

not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man,  

but of God.”

Who am I?’ I am what God made me to be.

 

Are You the Sheep of God’s Pasture?

The Sheep of His Pasture

The beautiful parable that Christ gave of the one lost sheep, of the shepherd that left the ninety and nine to go in search of that which was lost, illustrates the care of the great Shepherd.

He did not look carelessly over the sheep of the fold, and say, “I have ninety and nine, and it will cost me too much trouble to go in search of the straying one; let him come back, and I will open the door of the sheepfold and let him in, but I cannot go after him.” No… He counts and recounts the flock, and when he is certain that one sheep is lost, he leaves the ninety and nine within the fold; however dark the night, however perilous and unpleasant the way, however long and tedious the search, he does not weary, he does not falter, until the lost sheep is found.

But when it is found, does he act indifferently? Does he call the sheep, and command the straying one to follow him? Does he threaten and beat it, or drive it before him, recounting the bitterness and anxiety that he felt on its account? No; he lays the weary, exhausted, wandering sheep on his shoulder, and … returns it to the fold.

The shepherd’s gratitude finds expression in melodious songs of rejoicing, and heavenly choirs respond to the shepherd’s note of joy…

For “joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons which need no repentance.”

Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine” (John 10:14).

Just as a shepherd of the earth knows his sheep, so does the God know His flock that is scattered throughout the whole world…

“And ye, my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord God” (Ezekiel 34:31).

However low, however, elevated we may be, whether we are going through adversity or in the sunshine of prosperity, we are God’s sheep, the flock of His pasture, and under the care of the chief Shepherd.

Did You Hear About The New Commandment?

Did You Hear About The New Commandment?

In John 13:34, Jesus said, “A new command I give you: Love one another.” What did He mean by that? Surely even back then, loving others was not something new. People need not learn that they were to love others. To love is natural in us. Nobody needs to command us to love. We grow up loving on our own volition. We begin to love our parents. We begin to love and prefer certain types of food more than others. We begin to love and give our attention to other people, more with some than others.

People grow up “picking up” on how to love from other people. We see how our parents love and soon after we may love just like them. We see how our friends love and how our favorite celebrity idols love. We see love depicted in movies we like. Love is modeled all around us and from this exposure, we develop our own mindset and process of loving.

So what did Christ meant when He said He was giving us a new command, which is, to love others? The verse gives clarity in the end. It says, “”¦As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” From John 13, Christ’s desire was for us to love not the way we want to, not the way we prefer to, not the way the world loves, but the way He does. Christ was specific in the kind of love He wanted. He identified it as “Agape”. This Greek word points to “divine love”. It is divine because it is God’s kind of love. And God does not love the way we prefer to love.

God’s love is a choice love.

It is not a consequential love. It is not an impulsive love. It is committed. It is loyal. It is steady. It’s not common to see young lovers turning into old lovers of each other, holding the same intensity and vibrancy of affection and commitment. And when we chance upon old couples in their 70’s to 90’s, we feel good and uplifted inside for in that moment, we get a glimpse of God’s love.

God’s love is a proactive love.

It is not a reactionary love wherein He loves us only when we are this way or that. He loves first and He loves us whether we are and whether we are not. It is not a conditional love. He loves us when we perform to expectations and He loves us in the midst of our failings. God loves whatever the situation, whatever the season.

God’s love is an action love.

Agape love is an action love. It acts and it acts independently. It doesn’t grow tired of loving because love powers its very self. God loves us when we are bearing fruit and God loves us when we are barren. God needs no reason to start loving and needs no reason to keep loving. God loves and He loves continually because God is love. God can never be without love.

God’s love is all-inclusive.

God loves all. He has enough love for all and He is able to show the same intensity on all. And that is how He loves. He doesn’t exclude others and He doesn’t prefer one over the other. For parents to love this way is a divine enabling. It is common for parents and grandparents to have favorites among the children and grandchildren. If a child is secure and can understand, it is not detrimental to growth. However, a delicate child will suffer harm from growing up in a partial environment. The home is to be a place of absolute acceptance. The home is to be a place of utmost security. And if a child can’t feel accepted and secure at home, he may think he can never find acceptance and security elsewhere.

There are so many more we can notice about God’s love. But with what we know now, may we be encouraged and inspired to begin obeying the New Commandment to start Agape loving the people around us today.

 

Should I Do Yoga if I am a Christian?

Recently I’ve been on a spiritual journey that includes deep prayer, meditation, and mindfulness to help me to connect with God. At the same time, I’ve also been on the hunt for some low-impact stretching that could potentially help with chronic pain in a natural way.

Meditation and stretching. Put those two together and what do you get?

Yoga.

So, I’ve said I need to stretch. And I find that meditation brings me closer to God. These all naturally come together in the form of yoga. But, as a Christian, should I do yoga? Am I allowed? Will Jesus love me less?

Well, first, let’s see”¦what does the Bible say about the word “yoga”? Nothing. Zero. There’s no record of that word being used.

So now what do I do? Since the Bible doesn’t talk about yoga specifically, I have to use the brains God gave me to dig a bit deeper. Then I can determine how best to deal with this current cultural trend.

Let’s start with a few of the basics:

Yoga began as a spiritual disciple in Hindu which includes breath control, meditation, and static postures of the body. Some people who practice yoga are active Hindus or Buddhists. Many are not.
In the western world, yoga is a broad term that is often descriptive of people engaging in the physical body postures that encourage strength and stamina. Sometimes this is combined with meditation for mental strength, but not exclusively. Some yoga classes used sacred words such as “Om”, “Namaste”, and certain chants that hint to Buddhism and Hinduism. Other classes make no reference to the spiritual world at all and are simply a form of physical exercise. Yoga potures have Sanskrit names that have spiritual meanings. Many times these are replaced with English names that simply describe the form the body is taking. (For instance, “lotus” has become “criss-cross applesauce”.)

The word “yoga” in Sanskrit means “yoke” or “union with God”. God tells me to not worship another god, and I must obey.

So I know that yoga started as an ancient spiritual practice of another religion which should lead me to move forward with caution. But I also know that Jesus came to redeem all things.

Is it possible to engage in a moderated form of yoga that feeds our Christian souls, or should we avoid it altogether? Can we be aware of the potential pitfalls and dangers of the spiritual side of yoga and then practice it in a meaningful way with a Christian bent and attitude?

The famous American minister John Piper seems to think that we can’t. He says we should avoid yoga completely, citing it as antithetical to Christianity.

Don’t get me wrong, I think Piper has some good things to offer. But in this situation I tend to think that maybe he’s throwing the proverbial “baby out with the bathwater”.

Christians have often taken “secular” symbols or practices and re-stored them into something that is healthy and even God-glorifying. Take Christmas, for example. December 25, the day on which we now celebrate Jesus’ birth, was reclaimed from the pagans. That date was redeemed from a pagan holiday to a Christian celebration.

Jesus has come to redeem all things. Even pagan holidays. Possibly even stretching and meditation and breathing?

Over the ages, Christians have used wisdom and the discernment to choose what is right for them as individuals and as a Body of believers. To apply Jesus’ redemption to various non-Christian things.

“Everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial.” 1 Corinthians 10:23

So I need to decide if yoga could be beneficial (or detrimental) to me. In my case, I truly believe God has given me the wisdom and discernment to be able to stretch and strengthen my body without accidentally worshipping a false god. I even believe that I can meditate and breathe while I simultaneously reflect and contemplate how incredible God is. All without slipping into the devil’s snare.

But I am aware that this may not be the case for all people.

Personally, think that I can apply the idea of a “yoke” or “union with God” in yoga to my relationship with Christ. But that doesn’t mean I’ll just sign up for any yoga class that is offered. I need to be wise and first ask questions about how spiritual a class is before taking it. For my own purposes, I tend to learn at home with videos, so there’s not much of a risk of me getting caught in an awkward situation. If something gets a little weird, I can just turn it off.

Holy Yoga is a practice that is gaining traction, offering the grounding of the Gospel while reframing the positive aspects of yoga in a Christian way.

Holy Yoga embraces the essential elements of yoga: breath work, meditation and physical postures. In all of these elements, Christ is the focus of our intention and worship.”

So as I‘m making a decision about yoga (or anything in my life!), I need to ask if it creates a risk of becoming a detriment to my walk with Jesus. If so, then I absolutely shouldn’t do it! But if yoga can be practiced in a way that is healthy to my body and mind, while drawing me closer to Christ with mindfulness and meditation, then is it possible that even John Piper can’t argue with that?

The Church, a Wolf, and Little Red Riding Hood

The Church, a Wolf, and Little Red Riding Hood

Most of us have grown up with many popular fairy tales told to us as children. The legendary story “Little Red Riding Hood” In most versions (although definitely not all of them) there is one common theme: a wolf attacks a young woman through deception.  Like parables, such stories are never intended to convey meaning in every detail. Yet, much of it may draw, even in unsuspecting ways, the reader to precepts or principles pertinent to circumstances behind the story. Such is the following on Little Red Riding Hood.

There is actually a lesson in that theme for God’s people today.

1. The Church. Satan’s wolves do more than disguise themselves as Granny. As Paul warned, they often present themselves as “ministers of righteousness” (2 Corinthians 11:15). Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheeps clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

“That’s a lie!” said the wolf. “You won’t die!”

2. The Law. One of the most common deceptions by these types of wolves is the claim that the law was done away with. Using selective sections of the apostle Paul’s writings, these wolves deceive people into crying,  “Oh, what freedom you have!”

This was the very same tactic that Satan employed in the Garden of Eden.

3. False prophets. While these people appear to be godly—they come in sheep’s clothing—Christ said that inwardly they were “ravenous wolves” (Matthew 7:15). These are people who claim to be children of God—but who don’t teach and live the word.

Another  Fake Jesus Christ was recently arrested and remanded in Uganda on Thursday, November 9th, for belonging and managing an unlawful society by the Magistrate’s court.  According to a report by Uganda’s Newspaper, Daily Monitor, the accused claimed not to be under any authority including the police, local council administration or the president of Uganda. The man purporting to be Jesus was arraigned in court alongside his three followers who preferred to be identified with their alias names.

“Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf?”

4. The world. Wake up from your Slumber. Frequently in Scripture believers are exhorted to wake up, to be revived, and they are warned of the dangers of spiritual sleep. Christ warned us “Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves” (Luke 10:3). The world is under the sway of Satan.

As a believer in Jesus, we are promised a new life covered under the protection of God in which NOTHING can separate us from His love. Rest knowing that no matter what hardship you face, God is your provider and protector!  Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of the wolf, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

5. Wealth. These wolves say, “all this I will give you if you will bow down and worship me.” Christ warned of the “deceitfulness of riches” (Matthew 13:22; Mark 4:19). Your response should be   “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

“There was something wolfish about them?”

6. Marriage  How many times have we heard the story of the little red riding hood (aka Christian Sister or Brother) who fell in love with a big bad Wolf?    ‘It wasn’t beauty, it was the beast, she or he says in regret.  Being equally yoked is not meant to inhibit our dating lives. Rather, it is a command designed for protection and honor. Being unequally yoked is more dangerous than you think – and waiting for someone with whom you share the same spiritual heritage is far more rewarding than many believe.

Hey, Little Red Riding Hood, where are you going, so alone, so”¦ alone?

7. Relationship. Without Jesus, you can do nothing. An intimate relationship with God is required. That means fellowship with God daily. The big bad wolf was disguised to trick little red riding hood, but the wolf could not mislead her because Little red riding hood knew her grandmother intimately. “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. – John 10:27”

“You can huff and puff but I will not worship you!”

8. Worship.  Shadrach,  Meshach, and Abednego answered King Nebuchadnezzar, “We don’t need to answer your last question. If our God, whom we honor, can save us from a blazing furnace and from your power, he will, Your Majesty.  Nebuchadnezzar was so filled with anger toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face turned red and he ordered that the furnace should be heated seven times hotter than normal. However,  God commissions His angels to save His chosen ones from calamity, to guard them against “the pestilence that walketh in darkness” and “the destruction that wasteth at noonday.”  

These eight types (or packs, if you will) of “wolves” have plagued Christ’s followers throughout history.

These are just a few of the tricks and deceptions that are used by Satan and his wolves. Some wolves are masters of deception and disguise. They talk like Christians. They use the Bible. They seem like nice people. They are so loving! But they will draw you in to eat you for dinner!

God’s people must learn the lesson of Little Red Riding Hood. Let’s never allow ourselves to fall prey to the Satan’s deceptions.  

The First Lesson – Don’t Talk about ‘Obs-Tackles’ Put in Your Path by the Evil One

Only a couple of things rummaging around in this crazy brain, and both of them throwing me into a stumbling, humbling Gratitude Attitude. Gratitude because lessons make me think. Gratitude because all things work to the glory of the LORD when we get out of the way and let Him carry the heavy lifting. Attitude – because I have to choose it.

The first lesson – don’t talk about ‘obs-tackles’ put in your path by the evil one, (and yes, I do believe in principalities) because ‘obs-tackles’ are bound to appear – almost immediately. By the time I went to bed last night, my “good” knee – formally the “bad” knee back in high school – was aching – A LOT. Aching enough to wake me up every time I moved – all night long. Giving up on sleep, I found that sitting, getting up – walking – trying to get anything done – the knee continued to hurt. It seriously put an ‘obs-tackle’ in my way today.

That said, it was a very long day. Long days often lead to self-pity, dragging butt, and eventually, not getting anything accomplished. However, if I get out of my own way and let God get me through it, long days also leads to introspection.

Hence – the second lesson of the day. Devotions destroy strongholds.  If  one is smart enough to load them into the finite brain that does all that mechanical stuff in our lives. Over the decades I have  finally learned to stop wallowing in myself, shut my mouth and turn off my brain long enough so that I can feel the Spirit’s nudge. When – a choice made, and the day didn’t look or feel so long or painful any longer.

“For those who are led by The Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.”  ~ Rm 8:14

After accepting that Christ is LORD of my life, it has been the Spirit’s nudges that have kept me sane and reminded me that I’m not in this battle alone. Even when I get off track. Even when I fall on my knees and feel like I can’t get up ever again. Even when I think I am the smartest person ever. Even when the knee hurts because of my own stupidity”¦

Even when”¦

And there, my friends are my true Gratitude Attitude today. Jehovah-Shammah [The LORD who is there] loves me. Yeshua Christus loves me. Whether I am a mess and ugly as the sin that springs up daily, They – love – me. They love me enough to send a Helper – The Holy Spirit – to be with me always.

 

“If you love me, keep my commandments. I will ask the Father to give you another Helper, to be with you always. He is the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor recognizes him. But you recognize him because he lives with you and will be in you.”  ~ Jn 15-17

Gratitude Attitude 2017 #10

Why Is the Bible So Important?

Pictures of Marines are all over the place on social media. Just as they should be since it is the birthday of the Marines Corps. Tomorrow is Veterans Day, and I know, there will be tons more posts of service men – as it should be.

I am thankful that my dad was both. He wrote a postcard home as he traveled to Parris Island. He was 26 years old, and he sounds every inch of it in this one sentence: “I’m sitting in Union Station waiting on the train, I’m heading for Parris Island Marine Corps. I’m an honest to goodness Marine.”

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” ~ Joshua 1:9

He left behind a wife, a son, a dog, and a twinkle that would be born six years later. No easy communication devices. No cameras snapping a multitude of pictures. So there were letters……lots of letters. Mom and dad had a suitcase full. A suitcase that a youngster once opened and started reading.

I don’t think I sat down for a week.

Years later, Mom had me read a few of those letters to her when her body had started to break, and she developed macular degeneration. A few years after that, my brother and I decided that those treasured memories were theirs and not the world’s. I did keep a few of them though – especially the ones that had poetry my father wrote just for mom. Mom was a singer, so she would write song lyrics to him. She would tell him that all he had to do was listen, and he would hear her singing to him.

Pretty romantic stuff. No wonder the twinkle became a dream come true for them, and a pain-in-the-butt for her big brother.

“The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge” ~ Psalm 18:2

A while back I spent 100 Days writing from the little devotion booklet called “100 Rations”. Dad carried it with him to China and back home. His pocket-sized New Testament still sits on the book shelf behind my desk. He taught me to sing the Marine hymn almost as soon as I could talk. And while I haven’t been able to do it for years beyond memory, once upon a time, I could stand from a cross legged sitting position without even having to think about it.

Veterans are a blessing in this country. Men and women who are willing to sacrifice their time and comforts to protect and serve the rest of us – even unto death. It reminds me that Yeshua did the same thing – only He did it for the whole world.

Gratitude is an attitude. Everyday I need to be thankful for what Veterans have done for me. Thankful for what Christ did for me. I can almost hear my father’s voice reading the last sentence on the postcard: “So here we go. I miss you very much with lots of love and kisses. Boyd”

Love and kisses to all the Veterans and Marines out there tonight. Sweet dreams and thank you for blessing this country – each and every one of you who are reading this and those who are reading over my shoulder from a heavenly perch.

“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” ~ John 15:13

If You Want to Make Enemies, Try to Change Something: 17 Inspiring Change Quotes to Live By

"God supplies everything you need for successful change, and when you make changes with his help, it says changed." - Unknown
If you want to make enemies, try to change something.  Change, no matter what scale it is on, can be a source of stress and anxiety for many. However, it’s common for change management practitioners to view resistance to change as an irrational barrier to progress. Another school of thought is that resistance to change is a social process that can strengthen changes and help to eliminate undesirable change.
The fact remains that change is necessary in all organizations. But, it is the way change is initiated which can so greatly vary. It can be forced upon companies by outside forces or just come from a realization that the company may be falling behind the times. In this way, change management might be quite beneficial to an organization. Organizations that have learned how to transform themselves through effective leadership and strategic control are more likely to survive and prosper. The dilemma is that most people hate change and love it at the same time and what they really want is for things to remain the same but get better.
The good news is that God has a plan for your life to prosper.    If we trust in God and allow the change to grow us to become more like Jesus Christ in how we respond and act, then we are promised that all things will work together for good for those who love Him and keep His commandments!
The following thought-provoking quotes relate to change management including resistance to change, acceptance and change strategy.
  1. “One of the reasons so many celebrities keep going in and out of rehab is that they leave out the critical element to lasting change: God.” – Unknown
  2. “There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things.” — Niccolo Machiavelli
  3. “Change has its enemies.” — Robert Kennedy
  4. “He who rejects change is the architect of decay.” — Harold Wilson
  5. “Change is not made without inconvenience, even from worse to better.” — Samuel Johnson
  6. “The world hates change, yet it is the only thing that has brought progress.” — Charles Kettering
  7. “God supplies everything you need for successful change, and when you make changes with his help, it says changed.” – Unknown
  8. “It is always easier to talk about change than to make it.” — Alvin Toffler
  9. “It must be considered that there is nothing more difficult to carry out nor more doubtful of success nor more dangerous to handle than to initiate a new order of things.” — Machiavelli
  10. “The path of least resistance is the path of the loser.” — H. G. Wells
  11. “When you feel weak in the face of change, God is omnipotent, or all-powerful. “If God is for us, who can be against us?” the Bible says. (Romans 8:31, NIV) Knowing the invincible God is on your side gives you tremendous confidence.” – Unknown
  12. “Paralyze resistance with persistence.” — Woody Hayes
  13. “Culture does not change because we desire to change it. Culture changes when the organization is transformed – the culture reflects the realities of people working together every day.” — Frances Hesselbein
  14. “The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence – it is to act with yesterday’s logic – Peter Drucker
  15. “The rate of change is not going to slow down anytime soon. If anything, competition in most industries will probably speed up even more in the next few decades.” — John P. Kotter
  16. “Your success in life isn’t based on your ability to simply change. It is based on your ability to change faster than your competition, customers, and business.” — Mark Sanborn
  17. “If you want to make enemies, try to change something.” — Woodrow Wilson

Don’t make change harder than it has to be. Do it the right way. Ask God for help.

33 of the Most Inspirational Leadership Quotes for You to Live By

We’ve all seen quotes designed to motivate or inspire us.  Well, according to a new study, people who post these ‘inspirational’ quotes also have lower levels of intelligence. However, Godinterest disagrees, and see’s some quotes as  universal nuggets of wisdom. You know the ones – those quotes that give you “Aha!” moments of inspiration or meaningful insights into  your personal and professional lives.  These are the ones you  want to print out and place on your fridge  so you’ll see them  every day.

This collection of inspirational quotes features some of the all-time classics you may know, as well as some lesser-known  ones  you’ll love too. If  you have any quotes you would have added, feel free to share in the comments section!

  1. “The reason most people never reach their goals is that they don’t define them, or ever seriously consider them as believable or achievable.” – Denis Watley
  2. “Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.” – Stephen A. Brennan
  3. “Without goals, and plans to reach them, you are like a ship that has set sail with no destination.” – Fitzhugh Dodson
  4. “Goals are dreams with deadlines.” – Diana Scharf Hunt
  5. “You must have long-term goals to keep you from being frustrated by short-term failures.” – Charles C. Noble
  6. “Crystallize your goals. Make a plan for achieving them and set yourself a deadline. Then, with supreme confidence, determination, and disregard for obstacles and other people’s criticisms, carry out your plan.” – Paul Meyer
  7. “The tragedy of life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goals to reach.” – Benjamin Mays
  8. “Progress has little to do with speed, but much to do with direction.” – Unknown
  9. “The world makes way for the man who knows where he is going.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
  10. “Goals help focus you on areas in both your personal and professional life that are important and meaningful, rather than being guided by what other people want you to be, do, or accomplish.” – Catherine Pulsifer
  11. “What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.” – Zig Ziglar
  12. “It doesn’t matter where you are coming from. All that matters is where you are going.” – Brian Tracy
  13. “The true measure of a man is not how he behaves in moments of comfort and convenience but how he stands at times of controversy and challenges.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
  14. “It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it.” – Horne, Lena
  15. “Difficulties are meant to rouse, not discourage. The human spirit is to grow strong by conflict.” – William E. Channing
  16. “Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs.” – Henry Ford
  17. “It’s not whether you get knocked down. It’s whether you get up again.” – Vince Lombardi
  18. “You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” E- Eleanor Roosevelt
  19. “Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.” – Jim Ryun
  20. “Strong lives are motivated by dynamic purposes.” – Kenneth Hildebrand
  21. “People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity, no matter how impressive their other talents.” – Andrew Carnegie
  22. “Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it’s always your choice.” – Wayne Dyer
  23. “The surest way not to fail is to be determined to succeed.”  – Richard B. Sheridan
  24. “A determined person will do more with a pen and paper than a lazy person will accomplish with a personal computer.” – Catherine Pulsifer
  25. “There is no chance, no destiny, no fate, that can hinder or control the firm resolve of a determined soul.” – Ella Wheeler Wilcox
  26. “It was courage, faith, endurance and a dogged determination to surmount all obstacles that built this bridge.” – John J. Watson
  27. “Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough.” – Og Mandino
  28. “You’ve got to get up every morning with determination if you’re going to go to bed with satisfaction.” – George Lorimer
  29. “We will either find a way or make one!” – Hannibal
  30. “That some achieve great success, is proof to all that others can achieve it as well.” – Unknown
  31. “Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” – John Wooden
  32. “Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go.” – William Feather
  33. “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” – Robert Collier

 

42 Masterful Quotes to Inspire Healthier Relationships

42 Masterful Quotes to Inspire Healthier Relationships

Conflict is part of our working life and is often used as a way to work out our differences and reach a conclusion. It’s usually the approach you take that tends to exacerbate the issues and cause undue stress. How you deal with conflict reveals your character.

  1. The wise man doesn’t give the right answers, he poses the right questions — Claude Lvi-Strauss
  2. A crisis is a turning point — Anne Lindthorst
  3. Conflict is inevitable, but combat is optional — Max Lucade
  4. Don’t be afraid of opposition. Remember, a kite rises against, not with, the wind — Hamilton Mabie
  5. There is no way to peace. Peace is the way — AJ Muste
  6. The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing in the right place but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment — Dorothy Nevill
  7. The most basic of all human needs is the need to understand and be understood. The best way to understand people is to listen to them — Ralph Nichols
  8. The more we sweat in peace the less we bleed in war — Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit
  9. To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong — Joseph Chilton Pearce
  10. A man convinced against his will”¦is not convinced — Laurence J. Peter
  11. My problem is I say what I’m thinking before I think what I’m saying — Laurence J. Peter
  12. Discussion is an exchange of knowledge; argument an exchange of emotion  –  Robert Quillen
  13. You can’t influence somebody when you’re judging them — Tony Robbins
  14. Quarrels would not last long if the fault were only on one side — Duke François de La Rochefoucauld
  15. It is astonishing how elements which seem insoluble become soluble when someone listens. How confusions which seem irremediable turn into relatively clear flowing streams when one is heard — Carl Rogers
  16. If it’s mentionable, it’s manageable— Mr. Rogers
  17. Don’t let yesterday use up too much of today — Will Rogers
  18. The best way to persuade people is with your ears,  by listening to them  — Dean Rusk
  19. The greatest challenge to any thinker is stating the problem in a way that will allow a solution — Bertrand Russell
  20. It is with the heart that one sees rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye — Antoine de Saint-Exupry
  21. Human beings love to be right. When a person is willing to give up being right, a whole world of possibilities opens up — Pete Salmansohn
  22. The test of a successful person is not an ability to eliminate all problems before they arise, but to meet and work out difficulties when they do arise — David J. Schwartz
  23. Why not go out on a limb? Isn’t that where the fruit is? — Frank Scully
  24. Before you speak, ask yourself: Is it kind, is it necessary, is it true, does it improve the silence? — Shirdi Sai Baba
  25. When things are not working for us, instead of fighting and struggling, we need to say, “What’s happening here? How am I not being true to who I am? What is pulling me away from my purpose?” — June Singer
  26. The only people with whom you should try to get even are those who have helped you — John E. Southard
  27. It takes two to quarrel, but only one to end it — Spanish Proverb
  28. The first problem for all of us, men and women, is not to learn, but to unlearn— Source unknown
  29. Confidence, like art, never comes from having all the answers; it comes from being open to all the questions — Earl Gray Stevens
  30. Life is ten percent what happens to me and ninety percent how I react to it — Charles Swindoll
  31. If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow — Carol Tavris
  32. Peace is not the absence of conflict but the presence of creative alternatives for responding to conflict—alternatives to passive or aggressive responses, alternatives to violence — Dorothy Thompson
  33. Let us not look back in anger, nor forward in fear, but around in awareness — James Thurber
  34. A good manager doesn’t try to eliminate conflict; he tries to keep it from wasting the energies of his people. If you’re the boss and your people fight you openly when they think that you are wrong,  that’s healthy — Robert Townsend
  35. Knowledge becomes wisdom only after it has been put to good use — Mark Twain
  36. People who fight fire with fire usually end up with ashes — Abigail VanBuren
  37. The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any — Alice Walker
  38. It isn’t a mistake to have strong views. The mistake is to have nothing else — Anthony Weston
  39. I’ve found that I can only change how I act if I stay aware of my beliefs and assumptions. Thoughts always reveal themselves in behavior — Margaret Wheatley
  40. I would not waste my life in friction when it could be turned into momentum — Frances Willard
  41. When you’re at the edge of a cliff, sometimes progress is a step backward — Source unknown

50 Quotes to Inspire Successful Leadership

Most people  believe  that the key to successful leadership is influence, not authority. Do you agree? The answer to that question, it seems, lies in whether the goal is to get others to work from a place of compliance or from a place of commitment  which underlines the difference between influential leadership and authoritative leadership.

Working within an influential leadership model, committed employees will give up discretionary time to solve problems, serve customers, and think creatively. On the other hand, people working under command and control, as we more commonly know it will only work to achieve compliance, doing only what needs to be done to get by.

As a  leader  you  must realise that every  decision  you  make  influences your  next five decisions.  Fortunately, great leaders are made, not born.

Maximise your effectiveness by emulating these words of wisdom that will motivate you in  achieving your goals  and  overcoming your fears:

  1. Build your own dreams, or someone else will hire you to build theirs — Farrah Gray
  2. Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence — Unknown
  3. proverb is to speech what salt is to food — Arabic Proverb
  4. Hold fast to dreams,  For if dreams die  Life is a broken-winged bird,  That cannot fly — Langston Hughes
  5. Remember no one can make you feel inferior without your consent — Eleanor Roosevelt
  6. We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light — Plato
  7. Every strike brings me closer to the next home run — Babe Ruth
  8. If I had six hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend the first four hours sharpening the axe — Abraham Lincoln
  9. If you look at what you have in life, you’ll always have more. If you look at what you don’t have in life, you’ll never have enough — Oprah Winfrey
  10. I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination — Jimmy Dean
  11. Believe you can and you’re halfway there — Theodore Roosevelt
  12. Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbour, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover — Mark Twain
  13. To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart — Eleanor Roosevelt
  14. Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears — Les Brown
  15. Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve —  Unknown
  16. I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions — Stephen Covey
  17. When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it — Henry Ford
  18. The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any — Unknown
  19. It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light — Unknown
  20. Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant — Robert Louis Stevenson
  21. The only way to do great work is to love what you do — Steve Jobs
  22. Change your thoughts and you change your world — Unknown
  23. The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me — Ayn Rand
  24. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck — Dalai Lama
  25. You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have — Maya Angelou
  26. I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear — Rosa Parks
  27. I would rather die of passion than of boredom — Vincent Van Gogh
  28. A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new — Unknown
  29. If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else — Booker T. Washington
  30. Limitations live only in our minds. But if we use our imaginations, our possibilities become limitless — Unknown
  31. Certain things catch your eye, but pursue only those that capture the heart — Ancient Indian Proverb
  32. How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world — Unknown
  33. The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be — Ralph Waldo Emerson
  34. We can’t help everyone, but everyone can help someone — Ronald Reagan
  35. Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear — George Addair
  36. Nothing will work unless you do — Maya Angelou
  37. I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the water to create many ripples — Mother Teresa
  38. What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality — Plutarch
  39. Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway — John Wayne
  40. Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm — Winston Churchill
  41. It always seems impossible until it’s done — Nelson Mandela
  42. Successful and unsuccessful people do not vary greatly in their abilities. They vary in their desires to reach their potential — John Maxwell
  43. Without ambition one starts nothing. Without work one finishes nothing. The prize will not be sent to you. You have to win it — Ralph Waldo Emerson
  44. There are no traffic jams along the extra mile — Roger Staubach
  45. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning — Gloria Steinem
  46. Stealing someone else’s words frequently spares the embarrassment of eating your own — Peter Anderson
  47. The Book of Proverbs are the cream of a nation’s thought — Unknown
  48. Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it — Charles Swindoll
  49. The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity — Amelia Earhart
  50. When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down “happy”. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life — John Lennon

 

 

34 Thought Provoking Change Management Quotes

Change is good. It’s also often hard. The status quo can be so much more comfortable. But to succeed in business, you must run toward change.  Companies most likely to be successful in making change work to their advantage are the ones that no longer view change as a discrete event to be managed, but as a constant opportunity to evolve the business

Here are 34 thought provoking change management quotes:

  1. It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change —  Charles Darwin
  2. One key to successful leadership is continuous personal change. Personal change is a reflection of our inner growth and empowerment — Robert E. Quinn
  3. Change before you have to — Jack Welch
  4. You must embrace change before change erases you.
    — Rob Liano
  5. Change before you have to — Jack Welch
  6. Too few leaders have the emotional fortitude to take responsibility for failure.
    — Paul Gibbons, The Science of Successful Organisational Change: How Leaders Set Strategy, Change Behaviour, and Create an Agile Culture
  7. People don’t resist change. They resist being changed! — Peter Senge
  8. If you want to make enemies, try to change something — Woodrow Wilson
  9. The key to change is to let go of fear — Rosanne Cash
  10. The world hates change, yet it is the only thing that has brought progress — Charles Kettering
  11. There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things — Niccolo Machiavelli
  12. Change is the law of life and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future — John F. Kennedy
  13. Even those who fancy themselves the most progressive will fight against other kinds of progress, for each of us is convinced that our way is the best way.
    — Louis L’Amour
  14. Whosoever desires constant success must change his conduct with the times — Niccolo Machiavelli
  15. Your success in life isn’t based on your ability to simply change. It is based on your ability to change faster than your competition, customers and business — Mark Sanborn
  16. Change your thoughts and you change your world — Norman Vincent Peale
  17. If you don’t like change, you will like irrelevance even less —  General Eric Shinseki (U.S. Army Chief of Staff, 1999-2003)
  18. We now accept the fact that learning is a lifelong process of keeping abreast of change. And the most pressing task is to teach people how to learn — Peter Drucker
  19. Whosoever desires constant success must change his conduct with the times
  20. — Niccolo Machiavelli
  21. All is connected, no one thing can change by itself
    — Paul Hawken
  22. Learn to adjust yourself to the conditions you have to endure, but make a point of trying to alter or correct conditions so that they are most favorable to you — William Frederick Book
  23. We would rather be ruined than change
  24. We would rather die in our dread than climb the cross of the moment  and let our illusions die  — W. H. Auden
  25. Every generation needs a new revolution  — Thomas Jefferson
  26. Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, concerned citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has  — Margaret Mead
  27. I’ll go anywhere as long as it’s forward  — David Livingstone
  28. Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself  — George Bernard Shaw
  29. Adaptability is about the powerful difference between adapting to cope and adapting to win— Max McKeown
  30. You can’t build an adaptable organization without adaptable people–and individuals change only when they have to, or when they want to — Gary Hamel
  31. People will try to tell you that all the great opportunities have been snapped up. In reality, the world changes every second, blowing new opportunities in all directions, including yours — Ken Hakuta
  32. A wise man adapts himself to circumstances, as water shapes itself to the vessel that contains it — Chinese Proverb
  33. The price of doing the same old thing is far higher than the price of change — Bill Clinton
  34. Each of us has the opportunity to change and grow until our very last breath. Happy creating — M.F. Ryan

Change or die? we  choose life! How about you?  

 

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