Quote Of The Day

                                                                                                               Story of the day:  It’s more than words!

   Jeff and I usually go to lunch on Tuesday’s or Thursday’s depending on what day his physical fitness training for the military doesn’t occur.  This week, our lunch date fell on a Tuesday and so we went to our usual place (Longhorn), for some good ol’ sweet tea and a steak.  Nothing new about our day, except that I was watching a friend’s little one while they went to school. 

   Before they dropped him off, I had explained to the dad that Jeff and I were going on our date and if he didn’t mind, his son could just go along with us.  The little one is around Joshua’s age and he and Josh enjoy hanging out, so Joshua was excited about him coming.  Before we left to the restaurant, the father wanted to give us some money for his son’s lunch, but I gracefully declined and told him not to worry about it, and that we have his “little one covered”. 

   When we got to Longhorn, we were immediately seated by the staff and they sat us next to a couple that were enjoying their lunch.  Jeff hadn’t arrived yet, and so I sat the kiddos down and ordered our drinks.  The aroma from their homemade bread was in the air, and I could taste every morsel of it, even though I hadn’t actually had any.  Jeff arriving a few minutes later, in his military uniform, was greeted and thanked for serving our country by the couple that were sitting next to us.  He accepted their thankfulness and we continued on with our lunch.  

   We chatted about the day and our upcoming move to Dallas.  Here’s where God’s Love is shown through someone else.  You see, while Jeff and I were talking and finishing up with our lunch, that couple that were seated next to us, had retrieved our bill and paid for our entire lunch.  This time, it was more than words.  They took it a step further and showed their kindness without us knowing.  They had already left and Jeff and I sat humbled by the event that had just taken place, because not only had this act of kindness touched our hearts, it touched all that were involved in it.  Both waitresses, who were in tears, shared this great news with their manager, who in turn felt the generosity and God’s love from one random act of kindness that came from complete strangers.

  God’s mercy and love was shown not only to me and Jeff, but to many because of this one couple.  In essence you could say, God had His “little one’s covered” as well!  He took care of us because we took care of another, and in this great process many lives were touced by this kind act that came from complete strangers.   To the couple that acted on a gracious deed for someone they had never met before and whom may never read this, we just want to thank you for your kindess once again.  We just want you to know that many were touched by your generosity, and through it, God’s Name and His Glory was shown this day, and it was done in a way that is forever embedded into my heart. 

Quote of the day:  Author Unknown

“One of the most difficult things to give away is kindness, for it is usually returned.”

Bible verse of the day:  Luke 6:38

“Give, and it will be given to you:  good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom.  For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank You for showing us through complete strangers how You work.  Father, there were so many lives touched yesterday by this couple and we didn’t even know what they had done, until they were already gone, and that’s what is amazing to me!  Father, I pray that You bless them this day, and let them know that we are thankful for what they did.  Father, as we go into our day today, may we continue to do for others just as the couple did for us, and may Your Name be magnified and glorified this day and everyday!!  I love You Father and thank You for showing Yourself as The One Who Gives All Things by allowing other people to give through love.  I thank You for this day!

In Jesus Name I pray,

Amen       

                                                                                                                            Story of the day:  Are you clinging?

   My father loves to build.  He adds on to his home, installs air conditioning units, runs electricity,  whatever the task, he can read about it and do it.  I would have to call him a jack of all trades.  Sometimes these extra curricular activities brings on height challenges.  They’re more challenging for me, than my father, because I am afraid of heights.  

   “Have you ever had to paint a second or third story of a house?  You get about halfway up that double or triple extension ladder and it begins to bend and bounce with your every movement.  Then you start wondering about the ladder and its footing and where you will end up when it crashes to the earth so far below you.  So, in fear and terror, you stop where you are and cling to the ladder, looking neither up nor down.

   Eventually you realize that you must paint the house and that you can’t reach it from where you are.  So, mustering up all your courage and recalling that you have never seen such a ladder fall over, you conquer the next rung and inch your way to the next, then the next.  Finally you reach the top of the ladder and cling to it for your life.  Now that you’ve arrived, you ask yourself how you can take one hand off the ladder to use the paintbrush and not plummet to the earth below.  But you do.  You begin.  After a bit of scraping, the wood soaks up the paint.  You whistle and admire the fine job you are doing.  Soon the terror is forgotten.

   You’ve learned an important lesson of life from this.”  Just like my father, new tasks can be challenging and ”no matter what high responsibility you take on, it’s scary, very scary, but only until you start working.”

Quote of the day:  Author unknown

“He who deliberates fully before taking a step will spend his entire life on one leg.”

Bible verse of the day:  Mark 9:23

“Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father,

Sometimes things in life can be scary, especially when it’s new and something I have never done before.  Father, the responsibilities that are placed before me, may I step out by faith and overcome any fear that is hindering my task.  I thank You for this day!

In Jesus Name I pray,

Amen  

                                                                                                                 Story of the day:  God, I’m still here.

   “A young man, who was obviously worried, stepped into an elevator to go to the second floor of a hospital where his father was in the intensive care unit.  Although the button labeled ”2″ was already lighted, he pushed it again and again.  A doctor standing behind him said, “Pushing the button someone has already pushed is like reminding God you’re still there when he hasn’t answered your prayer immediately.”

   As the man thought of his father in the intensive care, it was comforting to know that God does encourage believers to continue to pray the same prayers until he answers.”

Quote of the day:  Eugene Peterson

“In prayer, we are aware that God is in action and that when the circumstances are ready, when others are in the right place, and when are hearts are prepared, he will call us into the action.  Waiting in prayer is a disciplined refusal to act before God acts.”

Bible verse of the day: Matthew 7:7

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank You that You answer prayers.  Thank You for showing Yourself to us by answered prayers.  Father may the words that I pray to You be a sweet sound to Your ears and as I praise You for all that You do, may I be humbled by the way that You do things.  I stand amazed ever single day, because You are so Loving, forgiving, and full of so much Grace.  You bless me daily by the people that You have placed in my life.  As I continue on this life’s journey, may I be reminded daily of the great sacrifice that You made for me by allowing Your one and only Son Jesus to die on a cross.  It was because of Your great LOVE that I am now able to live.  I thank You for this day!

In Jesus Name I pray,

Amen 

Funny Friday Quote:  Can’t understand it!

   My Uncle Jack, a traveling salesman, was driving through Missouri, when he found the bridge over a stream washed away by a recent storm.  A native sat whittling a stick by the side of the wreckage.  “How deep is this stream?”  asked Uncle Jack.

   “Dunno.”

   “Think I can drive through it?”

   “Sure thing.  Why not?”

   Uncle Jack drove head-on into the stream.  His car promptly sank out of sight, and he barely got out with his life.  “What do you mean by telling me I could drive through that stream?”  he cried furiously.

   “Why it’s ten feet deep if it’s an inch!”

   The native scratched his head.  “Can’t understand it,”  he admitted.  Then, pointing to his own waist, he added, “The water’s only up to here on the ducks!”

Bible verse of the day:  Psalm 29:11

“The LORD will give strength to His people;  The LORD will bless His people with peace.”

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father

Thank You for such a blessed day!  Father, as I head into the day, I want to think about ways that I can glorify You by always putting You first in my life.  I pray for You to guide me away from any temptations or distractions that the world may toss my way, so that I may stand apart from the world.  I pray that my words and actions will become a living testimony to Your Love and Grace.

In Jesus Name I pray,

Amen

                                                                                                            Story of the day:  Feed me, change me, love me

   From the time we are born, we rely on people to feed us, change us, and love us.  We are all born with a “me” need that needs to be met.  As a baby that is totally understandable.  The baby needs these things in order to survive, because the baby can’t take care of himself.   But as we grow we are given the tools that we need in order to feed and change ourselves.   The I mentality should diminish as we get older, but because we have been given so much, sometimes we don’t know how to change that.  

   A caring, selfless nature isn’t built into us.  Human beings are born with a selfish desire that needs to be met and as we grow some individuals take on an ego that is filled with pride and self.  As we become Christians, we should be maturing every day.  We should stop drinking all of that formula (which is fed to us) and start eating the meat that is placed before us.  The spiritual food that is given to us and the transformation that Christ starts in us, can then lead to us putting on Christ’s attributes of faith, hope, and love.  We should put these on and do so with a Christ mindset.   But this can only be done once we let go of pride and self.

   “The story is told of a laborer who was a mature Christian and gave a solid testimony before all who knew him.  His boss came to him one day and said, “You know, whatever you’ve got, I want.  You have such peace and joy and contentment.  How can I get this?”

   The laborer said, “Go to you home, put on your best suit, come down here, and work in the mud with the rest of us–and you can have it.”

   “What are you talking about?  I could never do that.  I’m the boss, you’re the worker.  I can’t do that.  That’s beneath my dignity.”  The boss came back a couple of months later and said, “I ask you again, what is it that you have and how can I get it?”

   “I told you, go put on your best suit, come down and work in the mud with us, and you can have it.”  Again, the boss became furious and walked off.

   Finally in desperation he came back to the laborer and said, “I don’t care what it takes!  I’ll do anything.”  The laborer said, “Will you put on your best suit and come down and work in the mud?”  The boss agreed that he would even do that.  Then the laborer said, “You don’t have to.”

   Do you see the point?  The laborer knew what was standing between the boss and Christ–pride and self.”

Quote of the day:  Buddy Robinson  

“Pride is the only disease known to man that makes everyone sick except the person who has it.”

Bible verse of the day:  1 Corinthians 13:11

“When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father,

Today as I marvel in the things that You have done for me, I pray to put away any pride that may be lurking in my closet.  May I put on the mindset of Your Son and live a life that only pleases You.  Search my heart for areas that need to be changed and give me wisdom and knowledge from Your Word on how to change these areas in my life.  I thank You for this day!

In Jesus Name I pray,

Amen

                                                                                                          Story of the day:  What R U depositing into your heart bank?

   We all make deposits into our checking accounts.  We either deposit cash, checks, or have our employers direct deposit our money from their account into ours.  Either way it is done, there is some sort of deposit going in.  If we don’t take care of what is in our account or if we altogether stop putting money into our account and keep making withdrawals, then what we get from our account is negative and we can’t positively withdrawal anymore.

   The same is true of our heart.  What R U depositing into your heart bank?  Are the things positive or negative?  If they are positive, then the withdrawals will be positive.  But, if they are negative or you are forgetting to put deposits in, and are continuing to run off the fumes of what is left, then you are probably withdrawing negative things from your heart, which has probably overtaken the positive withdrawals.

   Well, Christy, how do I do this?  I am so glad you asked.  First, you start by changing your thinking.  If you think negative thoughts, you will deposit negative resources.  If you think positive thoughts, you will start to deposit positive resources.  Second, don’t give out what you don’t have.  If you continue to give and give negative or positive, and haven’t been putting any in, for example reading your Bible and praying, then stop withdrawing, because it will deplete faster than anything.  Last, make sure it lines up with the Word of God.  What we think are positive deposits, may not actually be what God is asking us to deposit, therefore it is so important to study God’s Word, pray, and to seek answers from our Heavenly Father about decisions that you will be making or what you are putting into your heart.  I encourage you to try depositing the things that God is asking of You and see all the blessings that you will be withdrawing.

Quote of the day:  Dr. Creflo Dollar

“You control what you choose, but after you make the choice, it’s gonna control you!”

Bible verse of the day:  Matthew 6:21

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father,

It is so important that I study Your Word, and constantly seek Your will for my life.  Father, I pray to not make any deposits into my heart that are not pleasing to You and when I make withdrawals from my heart that I do so in a way that honors You.  Father, please give me the wisdom in knowing what to deposit into my heart and what to keep out, even if it looks like it will keep me in the positive.  Father, You know what is best for my life and I am thankful to You for that.  Guard my heart today and keep my mind set on the things that are pure and as I make withdrawals, may the lives that I come across be impacted by the things of You.  I thank You for this day!

In Jesus Name I pray,

Amen

Story of the day:  Who gets the worm?

  Stuart Briscoe writes: ”The famous cuckoo bird never builds its own nest.  It flies around until it sees another nest with eggs in it and no mother bird around.  The cuckoo quickly lands, lays its eggs there, and flies away.

   The thrush, whose nest has been invaded, comes back.  Not being very good at arithmetic, she gets to work hatching the eggs.  What happens?  Four little thrushes hatch, and one large cuckoo hatches.  The cuckoo is two or three times the size of the thrushes.

   When Mrs. Thrush brings to the nest one large, juicy worm, she finds four petite thrush mouths, one cavernous cuckoo mouth.  Guess who gets the worm?  A full-sized thrush ends up feeding a baby cuckoo that is three times as big as it is.

   Over time, the bigger cuckoo gets bigger and bigger, and the little thrushes get smaller and smaller.  You can always find a baby cuckoo’s nest.  You walk along a hedgerow until you find dead little thrushes, which the cuckoo throws out one at a time.

   Paul teaches in Romans 8:5-8 that spiritually speaking, you’ve got two natures in one nest.  The nature that you go on feeding will grow, and the nature that you go on starving will diminish.” 

Quote of the day:  James Dobson 

“The grass on the other side is often not greener and often not even edible.”

Bible verse of the day:  Romans 8:5

“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.”

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father,

I pray to have a faith that is strong and a heart that is pure.  Help me to know this because You are always near and any challenge that is brought my way can be overcome.  With Your love, power, and guidance, Father, I can live faithfully every day.  Father may I set my mind on things of the Spirit and not of the flesh.  I thank You for this day!

In Jesus Name I pray,

Amen

Story of the day:  But other flies are doing it!  

   Charles Swindoll wrote a very interesting piece on peer pressure.  He writes:  “Once a spider built a beautiful web in an old house.  He kept it clean and shiny so that flies would patronize it.  The minute he got a ”customer” he would clean up after him so the other flies would not get suspicious.

   Then one day this fairly intelligent fly came buzzing by the clean spiderweb.  Old man spider called out, “Come in and sit.”  But the fairly intelligent fly said, “No, sir.  I don’t see other flies in your house, and I am not going in alone!”

   But presently he saw on the floor below a large crowd of flies dancing around on a piece of brown paper.  He was delighted!  He was not afraid if lots of flies were doing it.  So he came in for a landing.

   Just before he landed, a bee zoomed by, saying, “Don’t land there, dummy!  That’s flypaper!”  But the fairly intelligent fly shouted back, “Don’t be silly.  Those flies are dancing.  There’s a big crowd there.  Everybody’s doing it.  That many flies can’t be wrong!  Well, you know what happened.  He died on the spot. 

   Some of us want to be with the crowd so badly that we end up in a mess.  What does it profit a fly (or a person) if he escapes the web only to end up in the glue?”

Quote of the day:  Arnold Toynbee

“It is doubtful is the majority has ever been right.”

Bible verse of the day:  Matthew 8:19

“Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.”

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father,

As I look to You as my Teacher and my Guide in this world, I pray to study Your Word and stand upon the Truth that is revealed to me.  I pray for wisdom in knowing the times that are tempting to want to follow the crowd, and stand apart as to only follow You.  Father I pray for mom this morning as she is having surgery and that You heal her completely.  Be with me while I am here and be with my father as he is with her there.  Give her strength to endure the procedure and an assurance that she is in Your total care.  I thank You for this day!

In Jesus Name I pray,

Amen

Funny Friday Quote:  Honest Young Man

   “Aunt Aggie was distressed when she lost her handbag in a shopping center recently.  An honest young man lad found it and returned it to her.

   “Funny,”  Aggie commented.  “When I misplaced the bag there was a ten-dollar bill in it.  Now I find ten one-dollar bills.”

“That’s right lady,” explained the honest lad.  “The last time i found a lady’s purse, she didn’t have any change for a reward.”

Bible verse of the day:  Psalm 46:10

“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father,

I had no idea last night as Jeff and I lay in our bed and the bed began to move that we were in the middle of an earthquake.  When I woke from a dead sleep and questioned why the bed was moving, Jeff and I just went back to sleep, although we just weren’t sure what it was.  We went back to sleep and woke up this morning to find out that we had experienced our first earthquake ever.  Father, I thank You for keeping us safe, and I pray for those that have been effected by it.  I pray as we head into another weekend, that we continue to seek Your name, worship You, and find reverence in You.  I thank You for this day!

In Jesus Name I pray,

Amen

                                                                                                                    Story of the day:  The Itsy Bitsy Spider (yeah, right!)

   I have always been afraid of spiders.  Give me a lizard or a snake, and I think I would be better off.  My idea of killing them is throwing a shoe at them and then running in the opposite direction just hoping I got it. 

   There’s something about spiders that sends chills up my spine.  I think it stems from a spider that I encountered as a teenager that was carrying it’s egg sack on it’s back.  I didn’t realize it at the time, but that little spider was just trying to get all of it’s babies to a safe location.  Well, needless to say, I threw my shoe at it from across the room, just like I normally do, and ran as fast as I could in the opposite direction.  As I looked back from around the corner, I was lucky in my mission to have hit it, but in doing so, knocked the egg sack off of the spider, which in turn opened the egg sac and all of these little babies came running out of it. 

   I don’t know what was worse, that I hurt the spider or seeing all of those little babies everywhere.  So I did what I normally do, screamed like a girl (oh yeah, I am a girl), and ran in the opposite direction, looking from behind a wall to see if they were all gone. 

   The task before me was great, because I had hurt this mama spider and her babies.  Even though I don’t like spiders, I still don’t want to hurt them.  I think that’s why I throw my shoe at them, because I know my aim isn’t great, and I will probably wind up not hitting them all, but it makes me feel better. I wanted to take this moment back, because I didn’t want to hurt that mama and her babies, but I know I did.

   Our words are like that shoe that are being thrown at that spider.  We either have the ability to hurt someone with them or not.  Our words, once they hit,  can scatter just like those baby spiders and can do more harm than we intend for them to do.  Once they leave our mouth, we don’t know where they will end up and who they can effect.

   I encourage you today, to take caution in what you say, and if it is not uplifting to the other person, than do what my mama does best, “don’t say anything at all.”

Quote of the day:  Will Rogers

“So live that you wouldn’t be ashamed to sell the family parrot to the town gossip.”

Bible verse of the day:  James 3:10

“Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing.  My brethren, these things ought not be so.

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank You that You have given us language.  I thank You for the ability to be able to communicate with others.  Father, I don’t always use my words wisely, and for that I am sorry.  I pray to always use words that are encouraging to others and if they aren’t, then do as my mama does, and “not say anything at all.”  Father, guard my heart, protect my mind, and help me to bridle my tongue so that my words don’t scatter in a bad way as to hurt people.  I thank You for this day!

In Jesus Name I pray,

Amen