Archive for December, 2009
The Real Reason For The Season
Posted by: | CommentsAs Christmas draws closer, it can be a rather stressful time trying to meet deadlines. It’s easy to focus on all of the negative aspects of the holidays such as the rush of Christmas shopping, crazy traffic, not knowing what to get friends and family, or even feeling obligated to give to everyone.
Therefore, Christmas can be a stressful time of year. I want to remind you to take a step back and be in the moment this holiday season. As cliche as it sounds, remember the real reason for the season.
Over the years, the world has taken Christ out of Christmas and put the focus on other tangible things. Remember if it wasn’t for the Birth of Christ we would not be saved. We wouldn’t have the right to a tree of life.
John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Friend, because God sent His son Jesus, our lives are forever changed. We know this because, in John 10:10, Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees and He says, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” Read More→
Autograph Your Work In Excellence
Posted by: | CommentsDo you find yourself putting 50% effort into what you do? Sometimes it’s easy to just invest just enough to get the job done.
A wise man once said, “Every job is a self portrait of the person who does it. Autograph your work with excellence.” I am in total agreement with this statement because people are always looking at your work and judging you by it.
Not only that, God looks at the heart of the person who does a work for Him. He’s looking at our motivation for doing what He calls us to do.
I’ll never forget when I was younger, having to rake up the leaves. Raking up the leaves in our yard was a chore because we had a lot of tress in our yard and it was big. It was easy to get tired and rake up 75% and leave the rest. However, the only problem with that was it was not only a bad impression on me but a bad reflection on the household.
Friend, remember that in everything that you do, autograph your work in excellence. We say so much about ourselves before we open our mouths. The work that we do is many times one of the best first impressions that we make.
Take pride in your work whether it be raking leaves, writing a paper for school or doing normal daily tasks on your job. Sometimes, the things that we do everyday over and over again has a tendency to get old. And it’s easy to get complacent and lackadaisical because we loose interest and vigor in our daily tasks. Read More→
The Power of Music In Our Lives
Posted by: | CommentsMusic is definitely one of the greatest gifts given to us from God. Music has the power to change our moods.
It can calm us, make us happy, make us dance and some music can even make us wild. In the book, The Secret Power of Music, by David Tame, it says “music is more than a language, it is the language of languages.
When you travel the world you’ll find that there are language barriers but one thing that all nations have in common is their ability to comprehend music. Our brain processes music differently than it processes languages. There are different styles of music but we all comprehend it the same.
Music has been used in the medical industry to treat seizures and depression. Soft music such as classical music has been shown to have a huge effect on our lives. Classical increases the release of endorphins in our body.Thirty minutes of classical music is equal to a dose of Valium.
Music also has the ability to do harm to our body. In the book, Elevator Music, by Joseph Lanza, it talks about how some types of music have the ability to cause seizures. Read More→
Embrace Who You Are
Posted by: | Comments“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” –Reinhold Niebuhr
Learn to embrace who you are. God made us all different for a reason. We must learn to love and accept ourselves just as we are.
Many times we get so focused on trying to impress other people and looking for validation from others that we miss our mark on life. We miss our true purpose because were focusing on the wrong things.
Friend I always say that it’s not what others say about you, it’s what God says about you that counts.
There’s nothing wrong with wanting to loose weight or dye your hair or buy the latest trendy outfit. However, you must ask yourself why do you want to do these things.
If you want to do it because it will win the approval of others or even just because everyone else is doing it, then that’s the wrong reason to do things in life. However, if you want to do things simply because you like it and it makes you feel better about yourself then I believe that’s okay. Read More→
Live Life In The Moment
Posted by: | CommentsAre you living life in the moment, or are you worrying about things that are out of your control? Friend I’ve come to tell you that time is too precious to spend it worrying on things that are out of your control.
I’ve heard many stories of people who’ve had near death experiences and they come back to life with a new appreciation for life. I hear how they have a new found appreciation for life in general. They are actively engaging in doing things for others and they treasure time, whereas before, they didn’t value the little things in life just as many of us don’t.
Friend, don’t let it come to a near death experience for you to be grateful for the “little things” in life. Treasure those things and people around you today while you are yet living.
I’m reminded of Charles Dickens’ movie, “A Christmas Carol” with Ebeneezer Scrooge. It took him dying to realize that he needed to change his ways. Don’t let it come to that, put the spotlight on yourself and evaluate what you need to do to make things right. Appreciate every opportunity given to you. Read More→
The Difference Between God’s Will and Your Will For Your Life
Posted by: | CommentsSometimes, what we want for our life isn’t in God’s ultimate plan for our life. I talk a lot about fulfilling goals and aspirations that we have for our lives and I think it’s important that we understand that there is a difference between God’s will and your will for your life.
Many times we have aspirations, or things that we want to become or accomplish in our lives, and I believe that’s okay. God is open for us to come to Him and ask in His name for things that we would like to achieve in our life and it’s up to Him to allow that goal to come to pass in your life.
When we’re talking about God’s ultimate will for our life, we’re talking about being obedient to what God commands us to do in life. When it comes to God’s ultimate will, we don’t have a choice, we must be obedient.
I’m reminded of Moses, and the Burning Bush experience. God commanded that he go back to Egypt and deliver the Children of Egypt from Bondage. Moses questioned God and doubted himself. He told God that he was slow to speak. Read More→
Invest In Your Relationships
Posted by: | CommentsWhat are you investing your time and treasure in? Sometimes it’s good to look outside of yourself and look for ways to bless others.
I’m not one to boast but one day last week I decided to treat a friend to lunch, just because. It was an out of the blue type of thing I just asked them what they wanted and I bought them lunch.
After I did that, I felt good about reaching out and doing something for someone else out of love and not expecting anything in return.
I encourage you as you go through your day to look for ways to bless others. Some people need to know that somebody cares. It seems like in the world today, people are out for themselves. Be a positive example of someone who cares.
Although one person doesn’t have the power to change the whole world at once, the world can be changed one person at a time and it starts with you and me. Read More→
Brace for Impact
Posted by: | CommentsThe worst part about life is not being prepared for the attacks of the enemy.
Many times when we are going through our trials, we’re so quick to jump on our knees and pray for the breakthrough.
When we receive our breakthrough, and things are looking good, (the money is right, you’re on top of your bills and everybody is treating you right…etc) then it’s so easy to get out of the habit of praying to God everyday and thanking Him.
Understand that no one is perfect, I’m a testament to that. I used to be the worst at jumping on my knees at the first sign of a storm pleading to God for deliverance, ASAP.(I raise my hand high on that one!)
However, as soon as I got my breakthrough and things were looking up, It was so convenient for me to skip a prayer or two here and there because I didn’t feel the need to intercede as much. I didn’t acknowledge God as much as I should. This is my story, my confession. Read More→
Take Your Limits Off
Posted by: | CommentsI can do all things through Christ which strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13 AKJV)
There are no limits to what you can do in life. When you put your faith in God, you can do anything you set your mind to do.
It’s imperative that you are confident in yourself and believe that you can achieve great things in life. It’s not easy, no one said that it would be, but friend know that your labor is not in vein.
God is moved by our faith in Him but faith without works is dead. Believe that God has given you the power to do great things.
If you don’t believe in yourself and take a step of faith, you are allowing the power that God has given you, to lie dormant. God can’t operate through us if we don’t believe in ourselves. You must believe in Him and believe in yourself to do great things. Read More→
Let Your Haters Be Your Motivators
Posted by: | CommentsThey were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, (Romans 1:29 ESV)
There may come a time, if you haven’t already faced it, when you come across haters in life. The sad thing is, everybody that you make acquaintance with are not always going to be supportive of you.
I encourage you to stay motivated, regardless of the haters that you may face. Friend, it may help to know that when you have people hating on you or what you’re shooting for in life, it just means that you’re doing something good. When people hate on you, it also means that they don’t have confidence in themselves to do the things that you’ve done or accomplished in life.
Next time you face someone who looks down on you, or tries to convince you that it’s worthless to dream big and set goals, that is a time to pray on their behalf. Read More→
