​“And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.” Hebrews 10:24-25

Life is a TEAM sport.  Life is not meant to be drudged through alone.  God created other people to help us and for us to help.  There is the Greatest Commandment and then the second, but no third commandment to "love ourselves" as we tend to focus too much on ourselves already and don't need that command.  We are to be in relationship with God and others. Happy Feb 10th!!!

Lord, help me to be a TEAM player and not just on the team.    

"You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth?  That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you." Galatians 5:7-8

There I was, going through life, minding my own business and doing my thing.  Then all of a sudden, I start to veer off course.  I am no longer following the path I was once on.  My mind wanders to less productive topics and I find myself losing purpose and motivation.  What happened??  Life happened!  We can't wake up naive to think that we will go through our life uninterrupted.  It is not an "if" question.  But a "when" question.  When will something unwanted (a thought, a distraction, a temptation, a doubt, an insecurity, a ...) cross our mind/path and distract us from what God intended for us that day.

Lord, help me to be prepared for WHEN things that aren't from You try to mess up my day/week/life.

“Refrain from anger and give up your rage; do not be agitated—it can only bring harm.” Psalm 37:8 

Be Better!  Not Bitter!

Lord, help me to realize that my anger doesn't change the other person for the better, but changes me for the worse.

"Take delight in the LORD and he will give you your heart’s desires.” Psalm 37:4

I desire to win the lottery, retire early and have my hair back ... so that I have so much money that I can spoil my kids more than I already so they become entitle and fail the to understand the value of hard work and end up not only being spoiled but being rotten, ... and so I don't have to wake up every morning and go to a place that gives me some meaning and purpose so I can play more golf and be frustrated and angry more often, ... and so I have to buy a comb and waste more money on things like shampoo and conditioner, which is literally pouring money down the drain. 

Lord, help my desires to be Your desires because my desires aren't as great as I may think.

"The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trust in him, and I am helped. Therefore, my heart celebrates, and I give thanks to him with my song.” Psalm 28:7

I have to go to work, or ... I am blessed to be employed and not unemployed, and to have a body and mind that are viewed to have value enough that someone would pay me for doing work.  I have to go to school, or ... I am thankful to either have the financial means or someone else does on my behalf so that I may further my skills and ability, while also having countless experiences that provide both growth and memories.  I have to go to practice, or ... I am grateful to have a physical body and the ability and the opportunity to learn and grow my athletic ability and to play a game with others.  I have to do chores around the house, or ... I am overjoyed to have a place to live, carpet to vacuum, a bed to make and sheets to wash, dishes to clean because I had food to eat, bills to pay because I have the money to have heat and internet and water.  I have to tithe, or ... God only asks for 10% of the money He gives me and I get to keep 90%!

Lord, thank You for what I have and help me to see anything that is a burden to be a blessing from You because they can always be taken away.

"With you I can attack a barricade, and with my God I can leap over a wall.” Psalm 18:39

"Faith in God" is a term that is thrown around fairly easily and assumes that it means something.  But are there different levels of faith?  If there are, I want to demonstrate the faith in God that trusts the fact that with God I can "attack a barricade" and "leap over a wall". 

Lord, help me to have the faith that runs into a burning building instead of a faith that runs from a flying bug.

“How happy is the one who does not walk in the advice of the wicked or stand in the pathway with sinners or sit in the company of mockers! Instead, his delight is in the LORD’s instruction, and he meditates on it day and night.” Psalm 1:1-2)

​We have choices.  We often make bad choices.  I have photos from the late 80's and early 90's that prove my inability to make good choices in regards to fashion.  I have survived those choices.  I also made some pretty big poor choices back then in regards to who I chose to spend time with or who's opinion I valued more than others.  Those have been a little harder to survive, literally.  The best and most important decision I made back then was to follow God and no longer try to impress others or surround myself with others who didn't know God, unless I was the one who was the influencer and not the influenced.  Choosing God and Godly friends is crucial to avoid more heartache than what already exists in life already.

Lord, thank You for saving me from myself and helping me to make good choices when it matters most.

“Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not conceal my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and you forgave the guilt of my sin.” Psalm 32:5

Guilt is described as "I FEEL bad about what I did".  Shame is described as "I AM bad because of what I did.".  We are not "bad" but we often do bad things.  Our poor choices and mistakes can be forgiven.  God will forgive them when we ask for that forgiveness.  Others will often forgive us when we express that we are sorry for "what we did" and not sorry "that we got caught" doing what we did.  The big question is whether WE will forgive ourselves, and will we trust God's forgiveness to be true.  Guilt is a reminder to avoid bad choices. Shame exists when we don't accept grace!

Lord, help me to ask for forgiveness and trust that forgiveness.   

“Remain in me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me.” John 15:4-5

In college, I used to eat 4 slices of toast and drink 32 oz of 2% milk every morning ... which explains a lot.  One morning, I tried to toast the bread and after a few minutes, I realized the toaster was not plugged in.  

Lord, help me to realize that when I am not "plugged in" to You and Your power, I am simply weak uninspired bread.

​– John 15:4-5  

“Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer.” Romans 12:12

We typically send up a prayer and expect it to be like a text to a friend.  We immediately get a "yes" or "no" response or we get no response and become irritated and then decide the answer is "no" and then block the person.  Ok, that is silly.  But it is also silly to expect God to be a Gennie in a bottle that is waiting for you to make your wishes come true.  God knows more than we ever will and His "yes" is a blessing, His "no" saves us from a lot of problems, and no reply is a "not yet" so we need to be patient and be persistent and trust more.

Lord, thank You that I have friends and thank You for being my Lord and not a friend.