I am responsible today for my thoughts, words and actions.
I can make decisions which honor God or hurt His kingdom.
I am responsible for those decisions.
I will be careful then to make the right decisions today.
I choose to make good decisions.
And I can and will humbly pray for help from God to do this.
And He will help because He loves me and He is more than strong enough to help.
So today His peace and joy will envelop me.
I will be His loving light to honor Him.❤
Those who sit or stare at their computers, “smart” phones, televisions, movie screens, etc. are way more likely to be unhealthy in every way. They are out of balance. And it gets worse the longer and more time devoted to doing too much mentally distracting (though not stimulating to intelligent, independent thought) but nothing physically. So the answer to remain balanced and healthy is to minimize mindless entertainment and physical lethargy and get up and move and serve and focus on God and others. Then everyone wins and you don’t die prematurely. Yay!😄❤
‘God does not suggest fasting. It is not a proposition, it is an order. Jesus said “When you fast…”. He did not say “if” or “when it’s quite convenient”. No, it is an order.
So fasting then is an act of obedience. So, as with any act of n obedience mentioned in the Bible, there are serious blessings when we do it.
It is not an act of comfort.. That is certainly true to the physical call part ofus. But it actually brings great comfort when we do it. God comforts us through the Holy Spirit and provides the means of strength to completenit.
Fasting can be many thinga. It can be obtaining from sex for a specified time to pray. It may mean not eating and having only clear liquids or water during a certain time so you can pray. Fasting can be obtaining from cell phones and tech and anti-social media for a specific time to pray. It may be abstaining from drugs or alcohol or gambling or pornography- hopefully all those are permanent, to pray. You know what is precious to you. The traditional fast is about food, though, and I like this one best.
Here is why fasting from food is my favorite. It drives you to a state of hunger, discomfort, less strength physically, want, need, and as such, when you pray humbly for that needed strength and satisfaction and pray diligently, God of all ability can step in in a meaningful way to draw close to you. He does not hesitate to comfort and fill you and answer prayer tangibly and this is so very precious and beautiful. No experience ever tops this.
When we obey, specifically obey with fasting, and I do so on a weekly basis, you are deepening your humble, building your faith, relying on God, out of comfort, and this combination is a precious gift to God. He loves it, accepts it and gives you a spiritual hug. This is a way to experience God much more intimately, more deeply, more precious and see His glory up close.
And of course, obeying with fasting and prayer is a growth of wisdom each time you partake of this dedicated time with God. There is no doubt you are putting God first. No greater way to put all your attention on God and that is certainly a walk toward wisdom and growth.‘❤
More to come…❤
God made each and every person on the planet with love, designed on purpose and with a special ability or gift to use for Him and others as an act of worship. There are no exceptions here.
So maybe fasting isn’t your thing, maybe it is. Maybe healing isn’t your thing but maybe it is. Maybe art isn’t your thing but maybe it is. So many options, so many needs in the church and kingdom of Jesus. Maybe you just don’t want to use your ability for God. Then don’t claim to be a follower of Christ/ a Christian and that would be a horrible decision. If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, then follow Him and use your gifts and abilities He gave you for Him and others.
The church is full of people not doing a dang thing. If you can’t be bothered, don’t even bother going. God made you, made everything that you appreciate, made everything good and on top n of that when we screwed up, Jesus came down here and suffered an agonizing death to redeem us. So what are you doing for Him?
Believing is good and well and may, may squeeze you into heaven, but what is belief without the fruit of that belief? What is the faith without using it to pray? What good is truth without sharing it? What is talk with no action?
We would be in a revival if the church Christians would wake up like it matters. Christians should be about God’s business. He has a lot going on right now. There us a lot of work to do. Christians should be missionary- minded. Christians should not be wrapped up in themselves and the world nor should they ever be lazy.❤
I made up this breakfast. Because it takes some time to cook, I cook breakfast for 3 days at a time and separate the food into three equal portions and store it in the fridge. I don’t go longer than 3 days because I want the ingredients to stay fresh.
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 yellow squash, chopped
1 pkg. Frozen spinach, thawed
Salt – free can of chicken
2 eggs
Salt, pepper, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, parsley flakes, agave nectar (drizzled in onions while cooking them)
Saute onions in skillet with water and a splash of olive oil with drizzle of agave nectar and desired seasoning on medium high. Add yellow squash after 3 minutes. Cook for 5 minutes. Add spinach and chicken and desired seasoning. After 2 minutes, drop 2 eggs on top and mix thoroughly. Once eggs are cooked thoroughly, you are finished.
It is delicious and paleo friendly. And this nutrition plan works well because I am down 21 pounds now and feel 100% healthier and more energetic. Also, my skin is no longer broken out and my skin is healthier.
Now many people in my life, myself included, have perfect parts and broken or messy parts of them, great habits and sinful habits, good focus on some things and horrible focus on others, amazing gifts in some areas and no giftedness in other areas. And most people look around and want other people’s hood parts and gifts and long for it, ignoring the bad parts entirely. And we are told by God to focus on Him and do our jobs on one hand and rest in Him on the other. So basically, do and focus on the good and forgive or deny credence to the bad stuff. And the whole time, our focus is to be on Jesus. I think surfers have more the right idea than people give them credit for. Catch the wave, bask in the surf, chill out, love everyone. Now they may take it too far and neglect responsibility sometimes maybe but they got the chill out portion of how we should be. We are to be balanced in life but always focusing on Jesus and resting in Him. Contentment is a mandate, a commmission. Yes, so is teaching, witnessing, worship, doing our gifts, baptizing, caring for those in our lives, etc. Yes, that is true. But that is it. The rest is extra. And we are called to peace and contentment in the midst of life and that can only be accomplished by focusing on Jesus.❤
Today 830 or so of my fellow citizens of our central Florida city stood in line together to receive one or two Thanksgiving dinners for an elderly person (generally widows or widowers) in our town. Our family took a meal to a sweet 96 year old lady who happened to be asleep. Lol But she will enjoy as great meal tomorrow, Lord willing. But that is a wonderful new tradition for us. Serving and giving to others is a great way to articulate a lifestyle of gratefulness. There is little as rewarding as the great feeling that comes from making someone smile. It is a lifestyle, not just a special day, but in light of this special holiday for Thanksgiving, I am thankful to God for life, for my family, for my band family, and for you. Thank you, God!! Have a very happy thanksgiving!!! ❤
