Archive for Personal Development
Just Say No to…
Posted by: | Comments- Just say no to condemnation.
- Just say no to strife.
- Just say no to bitterness.
-Just say no to envy.
- Just say no to un-forgiveness.
- Just say no to defeat.
-Just say no to turmoil.
- Just say no to anger.
- Just say no…
- Just say no to Jealousy.
- Just say no to Satan.
- Just say no to bondage.
- Just say no to captivity.
- Just say no to doubt.
- Just say no to fear.
- Just say no to failure.
- Just say no to regret.
- Just say no to toxic individuals. Just say no.
- Just say no to bad influences.
- Just say no to division and dissension.
- Just say no to worry.
- Just say no to anxiety.
- Just say no to drugs.
- Just say no to cancer.
- Just say no to hate.
- Just say no to insecurities.
- Just say no to contentment.
- Just say no to pride.
- Just say no to negative thoughts.
- Just say no to closed mindedness.
- Just say no to those defeating words, “I Cant’.”
- Just say no, say no, say no!
- Just say no to stress.
- Just say no to Read More→
Have You had Your Apple Today?
Posted by: | CommentsThere is a great saying that says, “what goes in comes out.” And we can always tell what seeds a person takes in, by the seeds they put out.
Any doctor or health consultant can tell you that what you take in has a lot to do with your health, and how you perform. If you’re taking in fatty foods and or foods high in salt or sugar, you run the risk of getting diabetes, high cholesterol, or even heart failure.
On the other hand, they’ll tell you that when you take in healthy food, you’ll feel better. You’ll be more energetic. You’ll have an over-all sense of well being.
Well the same thing goes for your spiritual being. If you’re taking in junk that isn’t good for your mind and soul, you’re going to put out what you’re taking in. If you’re taking in bad seeds, such as music that’s a bad influence, or hanging around people that are bad role models, you’ll find yourself mimicking or putting out that sort of behavior.
On the other hand, if you surround yourself around positive people and listen to positive music that’s uplifting and encouraging, then you’ll find yourself doing Read More→
Make Your List and Check it Twice
Posted by: | CommentsFrom time to time, we find ourselves straying away from the fruit that God wants us to bear. Our natural human nature, at times, will cause us to bear fruit that isn’t pleasing to God.
That’s why it’s important for us to perform self assessments and make sure we’re bearing the fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23 tells us that “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” These are the traits that the Holy Spirit within us would cause us to bear.
And again, often times we’ll find ourselves being tempted to not exercise these traits. A great exercise, would be to commit the fruit of the Spirit to memory. And throughout the day, make a mental list of times when you can practice bearing good fruit.
For instance, when you’re in rush hour traffic and you’re tempted to get impatient, take a second and double check your mental list. This is the time to exercise forbearance, or patience (long-suffering) as some translations put it. Maybe someone wants to get in ahead of you in traffic, this is a chance for you to exercise kindness and goodness.
Maybe you’re trying to meet deadlines and something doesn’t go your way. You may be tempted to get frustrated or irritated. Double check your list, my friends. This Read More→
The Innocence of a Little Child
Posted by: | CommentsWe learn many things as we mature in life. And all though it’s good to learn wisdom and gain great knowledge, there are some things that should never change. It’s just like the saying, “what you don’t know won’t hurt you.” Well, that’s what happens to many of us as we grow up in life. We learn how to be prideful. We learn how to reject and be selfish. We learn how to be rude and unkind. And in turn, these things come back to bite us.
You see, little children have the awesome ability to accept, adapt, and trust. They also have one of the greatest imaginations. And it’s also at this age that we are perhaps at our most lowly and humble state.
There is something about the innocence of a child. Most children haven’t been taught not to trust, or to be prejudice, or to hate. They have a natural ability to find the optimism, joy, and laughter in most situations.
When we become older, we learn contrary to these things. As we become older, we learn how to take life too seriously at times. It isn’t until we become more mature, that we lose our ability to dream, imagine, and trust.
And I understand that once we grow older, we develop the cares of life. When we were children we could naturally put our cares on our parents and they would fix it.
But there is something to be said about this. Just like children, we can cast all our cares on the Lord. The truth is, that we have a Heavenly Father who can fix anything. In fact, He describes us in the scriptures as being children of the most high God.
We should take a stand on Romans 8:28 which says, “all things work together for the good of them who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose in Christ Jesus.”
The good news is that we are His innocent children. We should learn to have an active imagination and believe that God can cause even our wildest dreams to Read More→
The Choice is Yours
Posted by: | CommentsThere’s one keyword that applies to everyone when it comes to making a change in their lives, and that’s the word “choice.” When I write my blogs, no matter what concepts, theories, or principles I’m writing about, it all comes down to one thing, and that’s a choice that has to be made.
No matter what hurdles you face in life, you have a choice to be affected or to be an effect. In other words, you can let the obstacles deter you and throw you off track or, like a sprinter in a race, you can choose to jump over the hurdles like they’re not even there.
When worry, doubt, fear, and frustrations come your way, you can choose to give into the temptation that causes them or you can choose to give into rest, peace, assurance, faith, and joy. If the “in crowd” is going down the road of destruction, you don’t have to jump on the bandwagon. You can make the choice to take the other route that’s going to lead to a life full of hope and prosperity.
I remember a few years ago, there was a movie called The Matrix where the main character, Neo, had a choice to take either a red pill or a blue pill. The blue pill would allow him to go back to ordinary life as he knew it. But the red pill allowed him to Read More→
Change The Channel
Posted by: | CommentsWe are bombarded with many messages and images per day. Some are subliminal messages but a great deal of what goes into our mind, are things we can control.
Sometimes we don’t always make the best decisions when it comes to what we feed ourselves spiritually. Between television, music, and our peers, we’re influenced in many ways. But you do have control over what enters your mind.
Just like the television, when it comes to what goes in your heart, you have the choice to change the channel. It’s no surprised that one of the number one watched type shows on television are reality shows. And a great deal of these reality shows are feeding us the wrong image.
Next time, something comes on that’s damaging to your mind, make a decision to change the channel. When a friend starts talking negatively and feeding you the wrong message, politely disengage. When a song comes on the radio that’s negative and Read More→
Don’t Take Yourself too Seriously
Posted by: | CommentsWe live in a world today where we hear a lot of doom and gloom. When we turn on the news, we hear a negative story. When talking to a neighbor we get bad news. Or when we visit the doctor we may get a bad report.
And in the interim, it’s easy to lose our sense of self. When trying to process negative information and meet deadlines, it’s easy to take ourselves too seriously.
As a result, we lose our sense of humor. We forget to live in the moment. We overlook the little precious things because we’re so stressed about things in which we have no control.
Don’t allow a negative story to cause you to miss out on the good things in life. Don’t let a bad report force you to neglect the small things that really matter. Instead, take a moment to quote- “enjoy the roses.”
Laugh at a good joke. Enjoy a good show. Go to the park and walk around the track or even swing on the swing.
You see, one thing that we lose as we mature in life is that inner child within us. We get to a point where we lose that innocence. We take on so many cares in life that we forget about the things that truly give us joy.
I was with some friends the other day and one of my friends pulled out some bubbles and started blowing them. At first I remember thinking– ‘seriously, a Read More→
God Has The Right-of-Way
Posted by: | CommentsSometimes we grow impatient and demand our own way while waiting on the Lord to manifest His promises in our lives. Instead of seeking God for direction and waiting patiently, we have a tendency to seek our own knowledge and wisdom.
But know today that it’s better to wait on God’s timing. Even when it seems like there’s no end, God is working behind the scenes to meet you at the point of your need.
The truth is, when we grow impatient and take matters into our own hands, we mess up the flow of God. There is a process for everything in Life. God has a natural step by step progression planned out for you. And when you try to put the end result before it’s proper time, things can actually turn out against your favor.
The other day I was driving in traffic on a very busy stretch. And I came to a point where I was merging into the left turning lane to cross the median. Normally, this is a very busy stretch and it can be difficult to get across the road when yielding to the oncoming traffic. But eventually, when it comes time for the traffic lights to turn red, you can merge across the highway with no problem.
It turns out, the person in car ahead of me grew impatient and decided to “make their own way.” They eased out into the oncoming traffic, causing them to Read More→
Don’t Limit Yourself
Posted by: | CommentsThere are times when we end up shortchanging ourselves. Too often, we judge our strengths and abilities based on past experiences.
We forget that everyday is a new day. Today we’re stronger than we were yesterday. We’re wiser and better than we were yesterday. And when we place limits on ourselves we limit our growth. We end up falling into a rut.
I want to encourage you not to place limits on yourself. Don’t measure today’s strength by yesterday’s strength. Don’t judge the talents of today based on past abilities.
Today I was at the gym and I was doing an incline bench press. Normally I do less weight on an incline bench press than I do on a flat bench press because the incline press is harder. But this week I unintentionally put the same amount of weight on the incline press that I put on my flat bench press. And it turns out that I was able to bench the same amount of weight on the incline press than I can on the flat press.
The lesson I learned was that I was limiting myself. I assumed that just because the inclined press was harder than the flat press that I would need less Read More→
Always Count The Costs
Posted by: | CommentsWhen we pray for material things, we often forget that they come with a cost. We forget that God requires a sacrifice for everything.
Sometimes He requires the sacrifice up front, and other times the cost comes after the blessing is given. For instance, in order to reap a harvest, you must sow a seed. It may not always be a seed in the form of money. The Lord may require a sacrifice of praise given unto Him, extra time or extra efforts put into a certain task.
Other times, the good Lord may require us to pay the cost after the blessing is given. In this instance, it may be in the form of maintenance. An example would be, If God blesses you with a house, acres of land, and a shiny new luxury car, you’ll required to keep them up.
My friend, I want to encourage you to always count the cost. It’s not that God doesn’t want you to have the things that you ask, it could be that He’s waiting on the right time to give it to you. That’s why He’ll test you first. He’s trying to see where your faith is- He wants to know that you handle the up-keep that it takes to sustain the blessings that He has in store for you.
Many people want more money, more power, more success or more material things but you should always count the costs. A wise man said, “with great power comes great responsibility.” The scripture also says, “to whom much is given, much is required.”
It may be that your faith level is not at the level of your blessing. In other words, you may not be sowing a big enough seed up front to meet the level that requires your blessing. Whatever you do always count the costs.
In your everyday actions, always count the cost. When you’re tempted to turn left when God says turn right, know that there is a cost for the disobedience. When you sow a seed of love into your neighbor life, you will reap Read More→
