Walk the Walk

Let us seek to give assurance that our names are written in the book of life. Joy in God is of great consequence in the Christian life; and Christians need to be again and again called to it. It more than outweighs all causes for sorrow. Let their enemies perceive how moderate they were as to outward things, and how composedly they suffered loss and hardships...commentary from Matthew Henry.

Commentary from Wesley on Philippians 4:5
Let your gentleness - Yieldingness, sweetness of temper, the result of joy in the Lord. Be known - By your whole behavior. By your whole behavior. To all men - Good and bad, gentle and froward. 

Let your moderation be known unto all men....not just believers ..or the members of the church,  but also to unbelievers, to the men of the world, by not avenging themselves, but giving way to wrath; by patient suffering for well doing, without making any returns of ill, either by words or deeds...excerpts from John Gill

Our Joy comes from treating all men the same, not just those walking the same path as us but all those we meet along the way.  Our gentleness will be evident if we live our love for the Lord. Lead by example...just live your faith out loud..no need to shout and point out faults..let your gentleness be evident...Just as He said.

Not "What would Jesus do" but What Did Jesus do?

...He Prayed

...He sought out the downtrodden and outcast

...He taught and served others

Dear Lord...Thank you for keeping me humble and loving toward others..all others..Let me be like you..pray for the downtrodden and seek to serve wherever I am needed. To You be the Glory, Amen.

Singing Puts Us In A Happy Place

...excerpts from an article by Julia Layton....
All types of singing have positive psychological effects. A study published in Australia in 2008 revealed that on average, choral singers rated their satisfaction with life higher than the public --  Singing can have some of the same effects as exercise, like the release of endorphin, which give the singer an overall "lifted" feeling and are associated with stress reduction.  And singing necessitates deep breathing, another anxiety reducer. Deep breathing is a key to meditation and other relaxation techniques, and you can't sing well without it......Choral singers need to concentrate on their music and technique throughout the singing process, and it's hard to worry about things like work or money or family problems when you're actively concentrating on something else. So choral singers tend to have a built-in "stress-free zone." why choral singing specifically?.  **remember the song "don't worry, be happy"......because some of the most important ties between singing and happiness are social ones....the support system of being part of a group....commitment to that group...feelings of belonging to a group, of being needed...

Well, you get the idea, singing along or singing with a group just makes you feel happy, try it sometime, and if it is just in the shower, belt it out, breathe deep and sing it from the heart.  I like to turn simple Bible verses into melodies and sing them over and over. One time during our church service, Pastor was talking about the "name of Jesus" and I couldn't help myself, I just started singing, "Jesus, Jesus, there's just something about that name" and before long the rest of the congregation had joined in.  It was spontaneous and just left us all feeling very good....and happy.

"Let us come to him with thanksgiving. Let us sing psalms of praise to him."
Psalm 95:2 (NLT)

"The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart.
He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving."
Psalm 28:7 (NLT)

Dear Lord
Let my singing forever bring joy to me and Praise your  Holy name. Amen

The Constant in Our Life

Nothing is as constant as change....Seasonal change.the constant of Spring is sure, be it wetter or drier, warmer or cooler than last year, it will come. Time never stands still; it must steadily march on..there is no going back, but only forward....


Look to what is the constant in your life and embrace it. Look to the creator of change, God. He continually sets the world in motion keeping it in perfect balance...month after month... season to season. We are His to nurture and mold, He does not change, but gives us the opportunity to be all that we can become through Him.

Psalm 136

English Standard Version (ESV)

His Steadfast Love Endures Forever

23 It is he who remembered us in our low estate,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
24 and rescued us from our foes,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
25 he who gives food to all flesh,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.

26 Give thanks to the God of heaven,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.

23 2

Lamentations 3:22 – 25
Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him. ” (NIV)

Dear Lord

Help me to adapt to the changes in my life and realize what is important and be thankful for the experiences in my life that have made me who I am. You dear Lord have been my constant, never changing, ever loving me and teaching.  As I have heard said, "You have helped me find the joy in my journey.  In Jesus name, Amen

Keep Your Promises

Bone healing is a great metaphor: If you take good care of a fracture, the bone becomes stronger than it was before. If you take good care of your promises, the relationship becomes stronger than it was before. It is impossible to follow through on every promise you make in life, but how many you break and how you handle that break, is so very important.

I hear it in the stores all the time, "not today honey, I promise you can get a toy the next time"... "I promise, we'll get a treat next time"...   waiting on a promise takes patience and builds character but the broken promise no matter how small, hurts.  A broken promise relays a feeling of lesser value to the person we have disappointed and people start to tag us as someone they cannot count on. "I will, I promise" has led to many a difficult moment along with the phrase, "I said I promise, but I didn't say when".

Using the word "promise" can become a habit, and it takes 21 days to make or break a habit. Are you just throwing out the word promise, to get out of a situation at the time?  Be conscious of how many times you use it in a week, and how many times you actually mean it. Do not promise what you can't deliver...it solves a problem in the moment, mends a fence perhaps, but with no follow through there is no build up of trust and the let down starts immediately with a breakdown of trust, no matter how minuscule the content. 

If God has promised, the promise is true, and God will not change His mind. You can depend on the promise.

Romans 4:20

Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God,

The key was Abraham's confidence that

 "God had power to Do what He had promised" 

We sing of His promises

"God's Promises are true, the sun's gonna shine, in God's own good time, and He will see you through"

"Standing on the Promises of Christ my King.  Through eternal praises let His praises ring"

Use this character building word with caution. Promise only what you can deliver.

Joshua 23:14, 
.....You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed.

Dear Lord,
Thank you for the power of your promises, and for giving me the faith to wait with anticipation and patience.  Amen.

Just Give it Away

“You have turned my mourning into dancing; you have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, so that my soul may praise you and not be silent.  O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever.”  Psalm 30:11–12

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.  It turns what we have into enough, and more.  It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity.  It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.  Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.

Melody Beattie

“Gratefulness is the key to a happy life that we hold in our hands, because if we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have we will not be happy — because we will always want to have something else or something more. Gratefulness makes us aware of the gift and makes us happy. As long as we take things for granted they don’t make us happy. Gratefulness is the key to happiness. Practicing gratitude is so central to my spirituality.” — David Steindl-Rast, Sacred Journey (October 2001)

Give it away without a thought of being repaid, be grateful that you had it to give. Not necessarily wealth or money, perhaps a smile to a stressed retail clerk, assistance to a burdened shopper without enough hands or a word of encouragement to your son with the failing grade.  We have more than we realize sometimes so why not give some of it away.

Can You Believe, Jesus Loves Me?

Love me when I least deserve it, because that’s when I really need it.

Swedish proverb

Jesus Loves Me

Jesus loves me! This I know,
For the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong;
They are weak, 

but He is strong.

Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
The Bible tells me so.

Jesus loves me when I'm good,
When I do the things I should,
Jesus loves me when I'm bad,
Though it makes Him very sad.

A simple children's song says it so well

not because of what we do but because of who he is

Not that we loved Him, but that He should love us! I know, incredible, isn't it?

The words to this gloriously simple song were written by two sisters, Susan Bogert Warner and Anna Bartlett Warner in 1860. William Batchelder Bradbury, who was born in York, Maine, found the poem and set it to music in 1862. While doing so, he also added the famous chorus.

~Let’s Just Praise the Lord        Bill and I received a letter not long ago that said, I don’t understand your song ‘Let’s Just Praise the Lord.’ Why do you say ‘just’? That doesn’t make any sense to me—just praise the Lord.        That same week there was a letter from a young mother who had buried their nine-year-old daughter a few days before. She said, “Our daughter was with us at your concert a year ago, and we sang together as a family with you, ‘Let’s Just Praise the Lord.’ I didn’t fully realize then why you say ‘Just’, but I do now. Sometimes we just go on praising the Lord, when there’s nothing else to do.” —Gloria Gaither ++++++++++ Let's Just Praise the Lord        (1) Let's just praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Let's just lift our hearts to heaven and praise the Lord; Let's just praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Let's just lift our hearts to heaven and praise the Lord!        (2) O we thank You for Your kindness, we thank You for Your love, We have been in heavenly places, felt blessings from above; We've been sharing all the good things, the family can afford, Let's just turn our praise toward heaven and praise the Lord.        (3) Just the precious name of Jesus is worthy of our praise, Let us bow our knees before Him, our hands to heaven raise; When He comes in clouds of glory, with Him to ever reign, Let's just lift our happy voices, and praise His name.

When things look so bleak and hopeless and life isn't worth getting up for...sing praise to the Lord and the world just seems to disappear for awhile...many times before I get out of bed in the morning I sing..
Praise Him, praise Him, all ye little children,
God is love, God is love;
Praise Him, praise Him, all ye little children,
God is love, God is love.

Love Him, love Him, all ye little children,
God is love, God is love;
Love Him, love Him, all ye little children,
God is love, God is love.

Thank Him, thank Him, all ye little children,
God is love, God is love;
Thank Him, thank Him, all ye little children,God is love, God is love

a simple child's prayer can get your day off to the right start!

Praise the Lord all you nations, Extol Him all you peoples.

For great is His love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.

Praise the Lord

 Psalm 117:1-2

Webster Dictionary

1. Extol(verb)
   to place on high; to lift up; to elevate
2. Extol(verb)
   to elevate by praise; to eulogize; to praise; to magnify; as, to extol virtue; to extol an act or a person

Psalm 109:30
With my mouth I will greatly extol the LORD; in the great throng of worshipers I will praise him.

"Whoever offers praise glorifies Me; and to him who orders his conduct aright I will show the salvation of God." —Psalm 50:23

I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify Him with thanksgiving. —Psalm 118:28