Eight gifts that don't cost a cent.

Let use these gifts for the betterment of others so that the world will be a better place to live.

THE GIFT OF LISTENING...


But you must REALLY listen.


No interrupting, no daydreaming, no planning your response.


Just listening.

THE GIFT OF AFFECTION...


Be generous with appropriate hugs, kisses, pats on the back and


handholds. Let these small actions demonstrate the love you have for family and friends.

THE GIFT OF LAUGHTER...


Funny pictures. Share articles, funny stories and funny greetings. Your gift will say, "I love to laugh with you."


THE GIFT OF A WRITTEN NOTE...


It can be a simple "Thanks for the help" note or a full sonnet.


A brief, handwritten note may be remembered for a lifetime, and may even change a life.


THE GIFT OF A COMPLIMENT...


A simple and sincere, "You look great in red," "You did a super


job" or "That was a wonderful meal" can make someone's day.


THE GIFT OF A FAVOR...


Every day, go out of your way to do something kind.


Helping elderly cross the road can be nice.


THE GIFT OF SOLITUDE...


There are times when we want nothing better than to be left


alone. Be sensitive to those times and give the gift of solitude to others.


THE GIFT OF A CHEERFUL DISPOSITION...


The easiest way to feel good is to extend a kind word to


someone, really it's not that hard to say, Hello or Thank You.

24 Things to Always Remember . . .

1. Your presence is a present to the world.



2. You're unique and one of a kind.


3. Your life can be what you want it to be.


4. Take the days just one at a time.


5. Count your blessings, not your troubles.


6. You'll make it through whatever comes along.


7. Within you are so many answers.


8. Understand, have courage, be strong.


9. Don't put limits on yourself.


10. So many dreams are waiting to be realized.


11. Decisions are too important to leave to chance.


12. Reach for your peak, your goal, and your prize.


13. Nothing wastes more energy than worrying.


14. The longer one carries a problem, the heavier it gets.


15. Don't take things too seriously.


16. Live a life of serenity, not a life of regrets.


17. Remember that a little love goes a long way.


18. Remember that a lot . . . goes forever.


19. Remember that friendship is a wise investment.


20. Life's treasures are people . . . together.


21. Realize that it's never too late.


22. Do ordinary things in an extraordinary way.


23. Have health and hope and happiness.


24. Take the time to wish upon a star.


And don't ever forget . . .


For even a day . . .


How very special you are.

Walk Through Life's Hot Spots

Living through the pressures of life can be compared to walking through fire. The Old Testament prophet Isaiah believed that if you have faith in God, you can walk through fire and not be burned. He didn't promise that you won't feel the heat, just that you won't be burned.

Keep On Walking.

A surefire way to get burned is to stop walking. When you are afraid, or under extreme stress, or hurting -- keep going. You will get through if you keep dealing with the everyday tasks at hand to the best of your ability. PERSEVERE

Remember That This Difficult Time Will Pass.

It may feel that you are in a repeating time warp, but realize that pain is time-limited. All problems have a beginning and an end. BE PATIENT

Make Rough Times Work For You.

Not everything is good, but the Bible reminds us that everything can be used for good if you submit your will to God. Look for ways to learn, grow, or cope in your pain or stress. HAVE COURAGE

Take "What Is" And Make The Most Of It.

Make lemonade from your lemons. You are not called upon to create perfection from every situation, only to make the most of it. Don't waste your time on ceaseless complaining, but look for meaning and joy in all situations. BE CONTENT

Clean Up Your Own Trash.

Stand on your own feet and don't try to blame others for your problems. You are not a victim. Choose to live the rest of your life with a controlled response to what is happening. TAKE RESPONSIBILITY

Be True To Your Self.

You will have more strength for dealing with ordeals in life if you have the courage to be true to your own values. Hypocrisy destroys internal energy. MODEL INTEGRITY

Be Gladder Than Madder.

Expressions of gratitude calm the soul and clear the mind. SHOW GRATITUDE

Have As Much Fun As You Can.

Anticipation of fun raises the level of your energy. Learn to laugh through your trials. DISPLAY HUMOR

Determine What Is Within Your Control.

You cannot control what happens to you, but you can choose the frame you put around your experiences. You can choose how you will deal with all situations. EXHIBIT INTERNAL CONTROL

Be Enthusiastic.

Enthusiasm literally means, "God in us." If He is in you, let your life so shine. Learn to love life. Education is not the filling of a bucket but the lighting of a fire. SHOW YOUR PASSION

God is my present help in times of need, he will sustain me.

Psalm 54:3, "Strangers are attacking me; ruthless men seek my life - men without regard for God." Does this describe every day of your life? Are strangers coming at you from every direction with no regard for God and determined to see you fail? Are troubles coming at you fast and furious? Maybe the attacks are not from ruthless men, but they are schemes of the devil: negative thoughts, destructive thoughts, tempting thoughts, vengeful thoughts, greedy thoughts, or hateful thoughts.

Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me." (Psalm 54:4,

• These thoughts should go with us as we face the strangers, the enemies, and the attacks that fall in our path: The Lord is the one who sustains me. The Lord keeps me alive. The Lord will keep me from falling, even when the odds are stacked against us.
• Should your husband come home and tell you that he has decided that he no longer loves you and wants a divorce, remember: The Lord is the one who sustains you. The Lord keeps you alive. The Lord will keep you from falling.
• If you receive a notice that your company is not immune to impact of the economic crisis and layoffs may be unavoidable, remember: The Lord is the one who sustains you. The Lord keeps you alive. The Lord will keep you from falling.
• If you find yourself alone in an empty house with no place to go and no one to talk to, remember: The Lord is the one who sustains you. The Lord keeps you alive. The Lord will keep you from falling.
• If you are forced to accept that the dream you have dreamed your whole life is probably never going to come true, remember: The Lord is the one who sustains you. The Lord keeps you alive. The Lord will keep you from falling.
• If you find yourself discouraged, defeated, and deserted, remember: The Lord is the one who sustains you. The Lord keeps you alive. The Lord will keep you from falling.

These words are not intended to minimize the difficulty of any painful situation mentioned above, or your own unique struggles. Instead, they are written with the hope that whatever attack you may face you will remember that it is the Lord who sustains us, it is the Lord who keeps us alive, and it is the Lord who will keep us from falling. We cannot survive the attacks of this world or the demonic world on our own. We must depend on the Lord. David's source of strength is our source of strength. The Lord is the one who sustains us. The Lord keeps us alive. The Lord will keep us from falling. He will deliver us from all our troubles.

Time to Leave

Starting school is no longer an issue for most of us. But leaving what's safe to step into the unknown is very much an issue for many of us. And some of us are refusing to take the step that will ultimately enlarge our life, like starting school enlarged mine.

Abraham is held up in the Bible as a model of faith that we should all emulate. And it's interesting to note the very first word God ever spoke to Abraham (or Abram as he was called at that time) in the Bible and Abraham's response. In our word for today from the Word of God, Genesis 12:1, it says, "The Lord said to Abram, 'Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you." In other words, "Leave everything that's your security, everything you know, for a place you don't know but I do." Abram's response? "So Abram left, as the Lord had told him."

That willingness to leave at the Lord's command opened up a whole new world for Abraham and for his family in what would become the Jews' "Promised Land." But first he had to "leave." Most of the major advances in our lives begin by taking the risk of leaving. Moses had to leave his "comfy" life as a shepherd in Midian to become the deliverer of God's people. Peter had to leave the security of his business to become a world-impacting leader for Jesus Christ.

And God's expanding of your life may depend on you taking a great faith-step in the near future. Leaving what is familiar and safe and secure; what seems economically feasible. God's great adventure often begins with a command to leave - to leave what is geographically familiar, relationally familiar, and methodologically familiar. And God usually doesn't show you the whole picture of what He's leading you into, just that next step. He asked Abraham to leave for a future that was described simply as "the land I will show you." God wants you to trust the Planner, not the plan.

Maybe your Lord has sent this message into your life at this time to give you one more encouragement to obey His leading to let go of something safe and follow Him into something bigger and better, but largely unknown. Do what He's telling you to do. If you don't, you'll be like a child who refuses to leave the safety of Mommy to go into the unknown of the first day of school. You will miss the step that will enlarge your whole life and take you into God's great adventure.

Ask God for whatever you desire.

Matt 7:7-12 NIV, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks a fish, will he give him a serpent?If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets."

Before you assume you know what to do in a certain situation, ask God, or before you assume you know what that person sitting across from is thinking and feeling, specifically, ask God.

This is a good advice for all, old and young, whenever you need anything from him ask him that has everything within his reach and he will do it.

Before you lose your temper ask God how He would have you respond.

Before you assume you know all there is to know about all there is to know ask God.

Before you get married ask God whom He wants you to marry.

Before you tear into your teenager because it appears they have been disobedient, ask God to help you respond to this child you love with all your heart in the way He wants you to respond.

Before you change jobs ask God what He wants.

Before you assume you know how you should handle the difficult situation asks God to tell you how He wants you to handle the situation.

Before you treat someone with unkindness ask God to give you new words.

Before you quit ask God what He wants you to do.

Before you rush into the office ready to express how unhappy you are in the work place, ask God how He wants you to speak to your boss.

Ask God what He wants you to say. Ask God to show you what your boss needs from you.

Before you change jobs ask God what He wants.

Before you fuss at the lady behind the desk ask God to remind you of times when people have shown you patience. Ask God remind you what patience looks like.

Before you go too far into the day ask God to direct your path.

Shalom!

Living under pressure?

Prophet Isaiah believed that if you have faith in God, you can walk through fire and not be burned. He didn't promise that you wouldn’t feel the heat, just that you won't be burned, Isaiah 43:2. Living through the pressures of life can be compared to walking through fire.

You can walk through Life's Hot Spots when you:

Remember that tough times don’t last but tough people do:

This Difficult Time Will Pass. It may feel that you are in a repeating time warp, but realize that pain is time-limited. All problems have a beginning and an end.

BE PATIENT

Keep Walking:

Surefire way to get burned is to stop walking. When you are afraid, or under extreme stress, or hurting -- keep going. You will get through if you keep dealing with the everyday tasks at hand to the best of your ability.

PERSEVERE, DON’T RELENT.
Are True To Your Self:

You will have more strength for dealing with ordeals in life if you have the courage to be true to your own values. Hypocrisy destroys internal energy.

MODEL INTEGRITY.

Take "What Is" And Make The Most Of It:

You are not called upon to create perfection from every situation, only to make the most of it. Don't waste your time on ceaseless complaining, but look for meaning and joy in all situations.

BE CONTENT

Clean Up Your Own Trash.

Stand on your own feet and don't try to blame others for your problems. You are not a victim. Choose to live the rest of your life with a controlled response to what is happening.

TAKE RESPONSIBILITY

Make Rough Times Work For You.

Not everything is good, but the Bible reminds us that everything can be used for good if you submit your will to God. Look for ways to learn, grow, or cope in your pain or stress.

HAVE COURAGE

Determine What Is Within Your Control.

You cannot control what happens to you, but you can choose the frame you put around your experiences. You can choose how you will deal with all situations.

EXHIBIT INTERNAL CONTROL

Be Enthusiastic.

Enthusiasm literally means, "God in us." If He is in you, let your life so shine. Learn to love life. Education is not the filling of a bucket but the lighting of a fire.

SHOW YOUR PASSION

Have As Much Fun As You Can.

Anticipation of fun raises the level of your energy. Learn to laugh through your trials.

DISPLAY HUMOR

Be Gladder Than Madder.

Expressions of gratitude calm the soul and clear the mind.

SHOW GRATITUDE

Watch where you step

If you were to look back on some of the decisions you regret in the past, I'll bet you'd see that you failed to really watch where you were stepping; to see what this was going to cost you. For many of us, a lot of the frustration and pain we're dealing with today is the harvest of bad decisions that we've made in the past. Jesus wants us to avoid regrets like those by looking where we're stepping.

You don't just run into something because it feels good or sounds good or looks good. Before you go running ahead full speed, you have to stop your forward progress. First sit down, and asks yourself some cost-counting questions. How will this affect my family? My reputation? How will this affect my health? The other commitments I've already made? What could this cost me financially? How is it going to affect my time with God? My time to serve God? What temptations is this going to throw me into? What am I sacrificing to do this? Can I really live with what this might cost me?

Those questions anticipate the harvests that you’re going to reap from the decision you’re about to make - the price you'll be paying. Don't go charging into something until you have really looked at what you're about to step into!

So, watch your step.

Material wealth is like sandcastle, Don't Get Too Attached to them.

Imagine children playing on the beach, building sandcastles, they are giggling, enjoying their game when a big wave starts to close in. the children were not afraid, but rather they were very excited watching the waves wash away their beautiful creation. Even as little children, they knew the fate that awaits their creation, so they were not distressed or unhappy seeing it washed away into the sea.

The stuff of this world is about as permanent as sandcastles on a beach. Yet we get so caught up in it, defensive over it, and depressed over the loss of it. But God didn't create you for this world. Your destiny is not bound up in cash and bonds, land and houses, fame and monuments. So living to be a hundred years old is far less important than living well - Even if for a relatively short time. Beautifying your body is not nearly as urgent as living with a pure heart before God.

Children know that their castles in the sand are brief joys destined to be taken away by an incoming tide. So they don't fret as the waves approach. They typically watch their creations get swept away without shedding tears.

Everything about this life is so transient. The incoming wave of our mortality is going to sweep it all away. Like sandcastles at the edge of the ocean, nothing we do for the sake of this world can survive. Only what you do here for eternity will last. Only the treasures you send ahead will escape corruption.We are all vulnerable. We are all quite mortal. Everything about our existence here is about as enduring as sandcastles.

Life is God's gift. Revel in every good thing. Enjoy your castles in the sand. Just be careful not to let yourself get unduly attached to any of them.

I Love your Blog

Thank God for another wonderful day. Mumsdadschildren received another sweet award from a friend I met at Entrecard. I want to use this opportunity to say thank you once again to Karen & Gerard Zemek



Award is titled “I Love Your Blog.” I think I need to seriously think about this, how many blogs do I love? Too many if I am right, so I will just have to use my discretion here.

The Rules are as follows;

1. The winner can put the logo on his/her blog;
2. Link the person you received your award from;
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs;
4. Put links of those blogs on yours; and
5. Leave a message on the blogs that you’ve nominated.


Here come the recipients;

Hip mommy's place

Aftermidnightpage

Suzannesays

Realworldmom

Fatherblogger

Channelofhealing

Mighty Rivers

Mighty rivers become mighty because they are fed and enlarged from many sources that feed into them such as tributaries: that's what creates great rivers. From all directions, those tributaries contribute to a river, feeding it, enlarging it. That's not just the Way Rivers grow. It's the way people grow, too, if they're open to the contribution the people in their life can make. And to the contributions they can make, as well. In a sense, you are supposed to be a river, you're enlarged and improved by the people in your world, and you're supposed to be a tributary, building and enlarging the lives of the folks around you.

Paul models that in Romans 1:11-12, our word for today from the Word of God. He says to the believers in Rome, "I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong - that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith." Paul seems to understand this tributary thing. His purpose in wanting to be with these people is so he can give them some help, some encouragement, something that will make them stronger. He also looks forward to how they are going to feed his stream, too, enlarging his spiritual life.

Now, this is an exciting way to view the relationships in your life and the people in your life. You are with those people both to give and to receive. I wonder if your co-workers, your family members, your friends, and the folks at church feel richer because of the good things you keep depositing in their life. You're supposed to be one of God's designated tributaries to help them become the mighty river that He's designed them to be. You wouldn't be there with them if He hadn't decided they need someone like you, and that you need someone like them.

What really happens when you pray for someone?

IN Exodus 17:10 - downwards, the Jewish General, Joshua, has led his troops into battle against the brutal Amalekites. And old Moses goes to fight the real battle. The Bible says, "Moses, Aaron, and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning ... Aaron and Hur held his hands up - one on one side, one on the other - so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So, Joshua overcame the Amalekite army."

Just in case someone wondered what this "holding up his hands" business was all about, Moses later explained. He said, "Hands were lifted up to the throne of the Lord." Moses made it very clear that he was praying up on that hill. And notice how the battle was decided. Not by what the warriors were doing on the battlefield, but by what the prayer warrior was doing on the hill! That is always where the battles are decided - in the Throne Room of the Most High God as someone intercedes there for someone or something they care about.

God must get tired of us saying, "Well, I can't really do much. I guess all I can do is pray." What? All I can do is go to the One who rules a hundred billion galaxies and focus His love and His power on some person or situation or need? There's nothing else you can do that is even remotely as powerful as that! So who are the people you're praying for on a regular basis?

Commit yourself to be the Moses for some folks you know, and for some servants of God who are fighting on the front lines. And for some lost people for whom no one else may have ever prayed. I can tell you, as one person trying to serve the Most High God, there is nothing more decisive, more important, that you could do for us than to be a regular prayer warrior as we fight for some of those lost people.

Let people know you're fighting for them in the Throne Room of God. Find out what they need you to be praying for. You'll be their Moses, praying down victory for their battle. You'll be their Aaron or Hur, holding up their arms when they can't go another step. When you pray fervently for someone, you are playing a vital part in guarding their life, in meeting their need, in changing their heart, in winning their battle. You are praying for them, you are going to the Throne Room of God for them. You are indeed, giving them the greatest gift anyone can give!

ARE YOU GIVING PEOPLE AROUND YOU THE GREATEST GIFT? THINK ABOUT IT.

IF YOU ARE NOT AND ANYTHING HAPPEN IT WILL AFFECT YOU.

PLS GIVE AND IT WILL COME BACK TO YOU, GOOD MEASURE, PRESS DOWN SHAKEN TOGETHER AND RUNNING OVER!

Shalom!

Before you assume you know what to do in a certain situation, ask God. Before you assume you know what that person sitting across from is thinking and feeling, ask God. Before you assume you know what your next step in treatment will be, ask God.
Good advice for counselors. Good advice for normal people too.

For instance, before you tear into your teenager because it appears they have been disobedient, ask God to help you respond to this child you love with all your heart in the way He wants you to respond. Before you rush into the office ready to express how unhappy you are in the work place, ask God how He wants you to speak to your boss. Ask God what He wants you to say. Ask God to show you what your boss needs from you.
Before you make a rash decision in your anger and frustration. Ask God to help you calm down, ask God to remind you of times when you angered and frustrated other people.

Before you fuss at the lady behind the desk ask God to remind you of times when people have shown you patience. Ask God remind you what patience looks like.
Before you quit ask God what He wants you to do.
Before you change jobs ask God what He wants.
Before you get married ask God who He wants you to marry.
Before you file for divorce ask God what He can do.
Before you lose your temper ask God how He would have you respond.
Before you treat someone with unkindness ask God to give you new words.
Before you tell someone how to run their life ask God to give you the words, or ask Him close your mouth.
Before you assume you know how you should handle the difficult situation ask God to tell you how He wants you to handle the situation.
Before you assume you know all there is to know about all there is to know ask God.

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." (Matt 7:7-12 NIV)

Before you go too far into the day ask God and HE will direct your path.

DONT GIVE UP! Your miracle is on the way.

Have you heard of the Chinese bamboo tree, which is planted, watered and fertilized year in, year out for four years without showing any visible sign of growth? If you were a farmer cultivating the Chinese bamboo tree, would you not be tempted to abandon the plant and consider it a waste of your time and efforts?
But wait, during the fifth year, the plant suddenly shoots up and grows to be 90 ft tall in 6 weeks!

I wish to tell you, my dear friend, you may have been struggling, striving and pushing to succeed in life without any sign of success. If there is hope for the Chinese bamboo tree, then there is hope for you.

Now, when did that Chinese bamboo tree grow? Was it just during that fifth year alone? Do you realize that the plant would have died if the farmer had stopped cultivating it at anytime during the first four years? Do you realize that many great dreams have been quietly buried because those who had them could not persevere? Lack of persistence is one major cause of failure. And it is proven that lack of persistence is a weakness common to the majority of people.

But, I encourage you today don’t give up. Hebrews 10:35-36 says; therefore, do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance so that after you have done the will of God you may receive the promise. DONT GIVE UP! Your miracle is on the way.

One major characteristic I have discovered about successful people is the ability to persevere. That ability to continue in pursuit of a goal till desired results are obtained. It is called Staying Power. God in His omnipotence never created anyone to be a failure. But while we were born to be successful, we were not born successful. In other words, we are not ready made. Whether we succeed or fail, win or lose in life is a matter of choice.

The discovery of your purpose in life and the deliberate choice to keep on with your pursuit of its achievement come rain or shine will certainly make you stand out. It will make you a candidate for unlimited success. This process might even bring out the genius in you. Do you realize that those we describe as geniuses, those great inventors, are not necessarily men of high intelligence? However, they are men of unparallel level of perseverance. I have since discovered that winners never quit and quitters never win. I have discovered that the reasons why some succeed are the same reasons others give as excuses for failure, the difference being in their attitudes.

The situations, which losers see as stumbling blocks, are the same situations, which winners see as stepping-stones to success. Situations, which may be described as the Graveyards of dead dreams for losers, are the Front Porch of opportunities for winners. Winners see solutions while losers see problems. Winners see possibilities while losers see impossibilities. Whether you win or lose depends on what you see. And what you see determines whether you will keep on or give up. Dear friend, don’t give up. There is a miracle within your obstacles. God will help you find it.

There is an exciting story we ought to share. It is the story of Glenn Cunningham, an American who was involved in a fire accident in school. Cunningham had severe burns. The doctors who treated him said he would never be able to walk again. But Cunningham saw the situation differently. He said, I will not only walk again, I will run. While everyone else was away from the house during the day, he would make his way to the fence. And right there on the fence, he learnt to walk again. Glenn went beyond walking, he began to run. In 1943 Glenn Cunningham set a new world record. He ran the mile in 4 minutes 6.8 seconds.

Dear friend, you may have suffered setbacks and disasters in life, which make the accomplishment of your dreams, seem impossible. They may have been in the areas of business, education or marriage. You can refuse to surrender your dreams to situations and circumstances. Don’t let life bury you before you are dead. Like Glenn Cunningham, you can rise again.

Finally, live on the offensive. Be bold and courageous. Take the initiative. Don’t wait for success to come because it won’t. Go for it. Take the plunge. God will not allow you fail.

We will succeed!

Moving Ahead, in Spite of the Danger

Television at its best - which it all too seldom delivers - can take you to some fascinating places in the world that you might never see any other way. Like the ancient Inca city of Machu Picchu, for example. The ruins of that ancient city, high up in the Andes Mountains of Peru, are remarkably well preserved, almost as if the city was just abandoned one night long ago.

A recent documentary showed burros making their way up this rugged, winding, perilous road to Machu Picchu, carrying the burdens of the humans who were leading them. You'd expect animals to be pretty skittish on a narrow trail and a deadly drop-off only feet away. Oh, but not those burros. No, they were remarkably calm the whole trip. Of course, there was a reason. They were blindfolded!

This documentary pointed out that the blindfold calmed the burros as they ascended their very dangerous road. They never realized the dangers that were all around them. They were just fine as long as they knew they were being led. You and I should be, too.

It may be that you've walked a pretty dangerous road lately, or that there's a road ahead that you're hesitant to climb because of the dangers on it: financial danger, physical danger, risking your security, the danger of losing someone that's important to you, the risks of venturing from the known to the unknown, or the potential dangers of a change in your life. To be honest, there are many times that we let the dangers decide whether or not we'll make a move. That's a bad idea. God's ancient people turned away from a Promised Land and wandered forty years in the wilderness because they let the dangers of Canaan decide what they were going to do.

No, the deciding factor shouldn't be how dangerous it looks, but rather that you are being led that direction by the Guide who has never lost anyone He was leading, no matter how steep the mountain. In Matthew 14, beginning with verse 28, we have a beautiful, flesh-and-blood example of how a follower of Jesus Christ ought to make every potentially dangerous decision. In the midst of a turbulent storm on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus has appeared to the disciples, literally walking on the water toward them and calling them not to be afraid.

The Bible says this: "'Lord, if it's You,' Peter replied, 'tell me to come to you on the water.' 'Come,' He said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus." That is amazing! And Peter would have kept walking on the water all the way to Jesus except for the fact that, well, he took his eyes off Jesus and focused on the storm. That sank him. But I love Peter's faith here. He didn't know how he would be supported where there was no visible means of support. He only needed to know one thing: "Lord, if it's You..."

That should be the bottom line for any of us; not the storm, not the risks, not all the fearful things that might happen, not our capabilities. Now, we're not burros. We're the sheep of the Great Shepherd, and you need have no fear of any place that He is leading you.

At times I've been hesitant to take a step that God was asking me to take because I perceived it to be what I called a "risky obedience." As it turns out, that's an oxymoron. There is only a risky disobedience. Not going where Jesus is leading is the greatest danger of all! I love the hymn that says, "I will tell the saints and angels as I lay my burden down, Jesus led me all the way."

Remember, no matter how fearful the road may look, "Through many dangers, toils, and snares, you have already come. T'was grace that brought you safe thus far, and grace will lead you home."

Loose Tongue

From Proverbs 18:21 - sobering words, "The tongue has the power of life and death." Things we say can literally bring emotional life to people or emotional death. You've experienced both. People's words that made you feel more alive; people's words that made you feel like you were dying inside. That's the kind of power your words have. And if we let some wrong words spill out, we can do some terrible - sometimes irreparable damage.

Proverbs, this great book of down-home, real-life wisdom from God, identifies some of the kinds of loose lips that sink ships. Listen with an open heart for a moment would you? It may be that one of these has been coming out of your mouth lately, and God wants to stop it before it does any more damage.Here's one: "A gossip separates close friends" (Proverbs 16:28). A relationship that was a good one gets tragically poisoned and alienated by a gossiping tongue - talking about a person behind their back, spreading bad things about someone. It's cheap, it's careless, it's malicious maybe unintentionally, but it is still malicious. It sinks closeness. It sinks trust between people. I need to know that my name is safe when I'm out of the room if you're in the room.

Proverbs 17:9 says, "He who covers an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends." There's that separation thing again. You've got two choices when someone hurts you or offends you. Overlook it and move on. That promotes love. Or tell someone else about what happened, which promotes alienation and distance between people.

Reckless words also do a lot of damage. The Bible says, "Reckless words pierce like a sword" (Proverbs 12:18). The unthinking words that spill out on someone when we're angry or not getting our way or we just feel hurt. The thrust of the verbal sword takes only an instant, but the wound it leaves can last for years.Have your lips been too loose lately? It's time for the prayer of David in Psalm 141:3, "Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips." Ask God's forgiveness for those damaging words. Maybe you need to ask for forgiveness of someone you've hurt with those words and then regularly go to God for the self-control to keep those damaging words to yourself.Remember, your loose lips can literally sink someone that God loves so much.

Hold on to God's unchanging hand

There is an old hymn that talks about holding on to God's hand. The chorus has the following lines:

Hold to His hand, to God's unchanging hand.

Hold to His hand, to God's unchanging hand.

Place your trust in things eternal,

Hold to God's unchanging hand.

(Hold to God's Unchanging Hand by F.L. Eiland)

Job was reminded in Job 11:13, "If you direct your heart rightly, you will stretch out your hands toward him" Whether it's prayer or some other crying out to God, we do need to reach out for "God's unchanging hand." Sometimes, we have to work hard at remembering that, because at some point, we are going to come up against some challenges that will remind us that we just can't deal with everything by ourselves. We need support and encouragement. We need someone to hold on to us when it seems that our world is falling apart.

As we "grow up," we also often grow independent -- independent of our parents and also independent of God. We like to think of ourselves as being able to take care of all of our own problems. This independence often reaches into all areas of our lives, even the spiritual. We lose contact with God, our heavenly Father, because we don't feel we need him. We think we can make it through life by ourselves and deal with all that the world dishes out.

We need our Heavenly Father.

Remember, we will never be too old to hold our father's hand.

Immeasurably More

Prayer is a vitally important part of our Christian walk, but it's often greatly misunderstood. Prayer is how we talk with our Heavenly Father. It can never be used to manipulate God nor cause Him to do anything outside His perfect will. God is not our magic genie who has to grant our wishes!

Our attitude toward prayer reveals much about how we view God and the closeness of our relationship through faith in Jesus. If we continually wait for a crisis before we pray, we actually demonstrate a lack of love. A man may say he loves his wife but if he only occasionally talks with her, he reveals a shallow relationship. True love will always be reflected by a desire to spend time together.

And if we lift our problems to God in prayer but also give Him our expected solutions, we demonstrate a lack of trust and reveal a misunderstanding of His sovereign nature and limitless ability.

Ephesians 3:20 "Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us."

The consistent message through all of scripture is that God is calling us to a closer relationship - calling us to love Him with ALL our heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30). Therefore, our prayers MUST begin from a position of love. He wants us to continually know Him more and understand the true meaning of "My God will meet all your needs" (Philippians 4:19), and "with God all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26). He wants us to love Him and trust Him to provide!

It's foolish for us to limit God to our own understanding. He created the Universe and knew the end of time before the beginning. He can, and will, "perfectly" solve our problems. He is working all things together for the good and using all situations to conform us to the likeness of His Son (Romans 8:28-29).

Through a proper attitude of prayer, we acknowledge and submit to God's sovereignty. We praise Him because we know He is able to do much more than anything we ask, and we submit to His perfect understanding and purpose; "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10) Our prayer is not matter of "working things out" with God - not of wrestling until we obtain OUR solution - rather, prayer simply becomes submission to His direction and trust in His perfect plan.

We must present ourselves as empty vessels and allow God to work through us each and every day. Let's love Him enough to "pray continually" (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Let's make our requests known, but then let's submit and humbly acknowledge that He can do immeasurably more.

Anger and Bitterness,Can they Cohabit?

The Word of God from Hebrews 12:15. God is showing us, there, that there are two things that can't live in the same house at the same time; actually, in the same heart. There's no way they can co-exist. Here's what it says, "See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many."

Now, with the stress you have, you sure don't want to miss God's grace and His sustaining love. But this says you can, you can miss God's grace! How do you do that? Well, by having this other guy living in your heart. It talks about having "no bitter root." If bitterness is living in your heart, grace cannot move in. One or the other has got to go.Could it be that part of your stress is a poisonous root of bitterness in your heart? Maybe you've been hurt, maybe you've been rejected, maybe you've been abused, disappointed, and there's a growing resentment in your heart. Notice - growing. It says the bitter root grows.

Bitterness and anger never stand still, they keep growing. They start to "defile many," to spill over into other close relationships.Just last week a mother told me about how she'd been hurt some years before and how her heart, she said, had grown hard. She said, "Now my hard heart is affecting my husband and my children." You see, it was bitterness that turned it hard. The irony is that a grudge chains you emotionally to the person you dislike. "I don't like so and so, so I'll think about her a lot." That's what happens! Unforgiveness is like this emotional cancer and it eats you up inside. It costs you God's sustaining grace, and they can't live in the same house at the same time!Isn't it time you released that bitterness? Hasn't it done enough damage? It isn't hurting the person you're bitter toward, but it's hurting you, and probably others you love.

Bitterness can only be moved out by something called forgiveness. Going to the Great Forgiver, the One who said of those who had just nailed Him to a cross, "Father, forgive them," and you say, "Lord, give me the grace to release this person, to forgive them, to release them to You." Not to excuse them, but choosing to treat them not as they treated me, but as Jesus treated me.