For My Sake, I Need to Encourage

 Ralph Waldo Emerson says, "It is one of the most beautiful
compensations of this life that no man can sincerely try to help
another without helping himself."

BT Washington says, "Helping
someone else is the secret to happiness."

     We give away a piece of our self when we give love, compassion and
kindness to others; but it always comes back to bless us. Helping others fills the lonely places in us and builds character.read more

Be positive with the people you are around on a daily basis. The more positive you are to people the more motivated you will feel too...read more

 
1 Thessalonians 5:11...Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

Proverbs 16:24...Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.

Colossians 4:8...I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts

a Man's True Measure

We all realize that giving on any level feels really good, but internally all forms of giving are not equal. When we give with the expectation of receiving something in return, we are not really letting go of what we are giving. If we do not let go completely, then we are still clinging to whatever we gave.

When you give freely without expectation, it can come back to you in some very unpredictable ways. But remember, if you are giving simply to get something back, then you put limits on the ways that you can receive..read more

Recently I’ve been asking myself, “What is my expectation?” before I do something for another person. The answer I find most acceptable—cheesy as it may sound—is: to feel good and show love. Strangely, when I release the need to control what I get for giving, I get enough, somehow.......

Let’s face it: none of us is always kind. Human nature dictates we’ll act with one eye on what’s in it for us, at least occasionally. And I think that’s okay, as long as we make an effort whenever possible to do good for the sake of it.
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Pay for someone behind you in line at a drive up, leave $20 at the till to pay toward the next person inline at the local discount store..it feels good to be a part of the promise that..good things are out there and happen when you least expect them..their day will change..and they will pass it on to others in retelling the story..or better yet..they will be inclined to do something for someone just because.

Deuteronomy 16:17

 Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you. 

 

 

Blaze Your Own Trail

Jeremiah 29:11"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (NIV)






There are three paths in life we can choose to take;
waiting for life to happen TO you,
making things happen, or
turning around and wondering what happened.

The middle path is where the trail blazers head. When you don’t like the path laid out for you, and don’t like any of the other paths you see, make your own.


1 Timothy 4:12
Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity. (NLT)

Psalm 119:105Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.


Joshua 1:9...Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. (NIV)

 

God Will Make a Way

God will make a way
Where there seems to be no way
He works in ways we cannot see
He will make a way for me
He will be my guide
Hold me closely to His side
With love and strength
For each new day
He will make a way
He will make a way

By a roadway in the wilderness
He'll lead me
And rivers in the desert will I see
Heaven and earth will fade
But His Word will still remain
He will do something new today

Words and music by Don Moen



         Being a graduate is like being a lump of clay. You have become a useful vessel that has been formed by the hands of literaly hundreds or thousands of people.

Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled

John 14:27...Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

You do not have to be mad in a maddening world. You can choose to be happy. You can choose to be optimistic. You can choose to let not your heart be troubled.......So let not your heart be troubled. The sun still shines. The smiles are still there. The good graces between neighbors still exist. Bad things will always and have always happened. But love and good and right prevail even in the madness of the present age. more by Erick Erickson

The peace of Christ is something alive and active, something liberating and dynamic. It is life and love and joy. Paradoxically, it is a gift which both calms and challenges us - it does not grant us an immunity to pain and suffering, or even death, rather it enables us to face all these painful realities and triumph over them in union with the victory of Christ himself.

Phillipians 4:7...The peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your heart and mind as you live in Christ Jesus

It Is Well with My Soul

Text: Horatio G. Spafford
Music: Philip P. Bliss

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
when sorrows like sea billows roll;
whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
Refrain:
It is well with my soul,
it is well, it is well with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,

let this blest assurance control,

that Christ has regarded my helpless estate,

and hath shed his own blood for my soul.

(Refrain)

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!

My sin, not in part but the whole,

is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,

praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

(Refrain)

And, Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,

the clouds be rolled back as a scroll;

the trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,

even so, it is well with my soul.

The Mother's in My Life

A Mother's Prayer by Celine Dione
The Mothers in My LIfe by Julie Cargo

I pray you'll be my eyes
And watch her where she goes
And help her to be wise
Help me to let go

Every mother's prayer
Every child knows
Lead her to a place

Guide her with your grace
To a place where she'll be safe

I pray she finds your light
And holds it in her heart
As darkness falls each night
Remind her where you are

Every mother's prayer
Every child knows
Need to find a place
Guide her with your grace
Give her faith so she'll be safe

Lead her to a place
Guide her with your grace
To a place where she'll be safe

"A mother's hands may age, but her influence lasts forever."

God Provides the LIght

We are the tent. (2 Cor. 5:4)    

Jesus is the light. (John 1:4)

The Holy Spirit is the oil. (Zech. 4:1-6)

Fueled by the Holy Spirit, we are called to let Jesus' light shine through us into the darkness. (Matt. 5:14-16)

God provides a Light that shines in the darkness, and He creates a tent (us) to shine through.

For Jesus' light to pierce the darkness, shining brighter and brighter, we need to become more and more transparent.

For His light to shine continuously, we need to constantly be refueled by the Holy Spirit through prayer, studying and memorizing Scripture, and abiding in Him.

For His light to shatter the inky blackness of this world, we need to fearlessly move our tents into places of darkness where no other light shines.

There is a world of people who long for the safety and presence of Jesus–but they need a beacon to guide them. May we humble tents, who carry the Light, glow brightly everywhere as we travel through this world!  excerpt from Amy Carroll  more

 

God's first act of creation was to speak light into his formless, empty earth and into the darkness which lay on the face of the deep...Genesis 1:3

The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine. —Isaiah 9:2 (NLT)

Look directly to Jesus for your insight and direction. Jesus is the light. Look to him and you’ll see through the world of darkness soon enough

 

Shine Down On Me

Gaither Vocal Band

 

Lord, I want to be your witness

You can take what's wrong and make it right

Daystar shine down on me

Let Your love shine through me in the night

Lord, I've seen a world that's dying

Wounded by the master of deceit

Groping in the darkness

Haunted by the years of past defeat

 

Lord, I want to be your witness

You can take what's wrong and make it right

Daystar shine down on me

Let Your love shine through me in the night