A Christian is one who follows Jesus as his Lord. Instead of serving our own desires and conforming to what our surroundings tell us to be and do, we have found the freedom and life found in Jesus alone! How wonderful it is to follow our Master, for he is loving and His burden is light. I never realized what a load I had been carrying until I came to Jesus and found strength and…
A beautiful bride walks down the aisle, radiant in beauty and wearing a magnificent white dress. Her family and friends look on in delight and hopeful admiration—this is the day when she will be joined in marriage to the love of her life. The couple stands before the pastor with stars in their eyes and vow exclusive devotion to each other above all others, and commit, “till death do us part.” Fast-forward nine months and…
Are you a blessing to those around you? Should you be? If so, what does it take to effectively speak into their lives, encouraging them and helping them to live a thriving life? Those Who Have Helped You God has designed us for community—we grow through our interactions with others, as iron sharpens iron. Who are some of the people who have been most positively influential in your life? Are you glad they took time…
Have you ever had a day get off to a rough start, and you felt behind all day? Maybe your coworker rushed into your office before you’d had a chance to check your email, upset and needing your immediate assistance. Your plans for the day get all thrown off, and you may feel like control of your time and activity perpetually eludes you. Anything here sounding familiar? How did you respond? Are there things you…
On your way into work tomorrow, what thoughts will run through your mind? If you’re like most of us, your natural inclination will be something like, “here comes another day at the grind! I hope I don’t see Jim today, he’s such a loudmouth! I can’t wait till the weekend’s here!” But do these thoughts help you? Or are they helping to create the very kind of day you dread? Want Control? Take It! Setting…
Anger, disappointment, resentment, hurt: these are emotions we’d prefer to avoid. If we could choose, we’d rather live happy, content, and fulfilled, wouldn’t we? What if there was a way to significantly reduce the amount of time we spend angry or hurt? If we understand the root cause of these negative emotions and the negative situations they lead us into, we can find victory and spend more of our time cultivating excellent relationships and enjoying…
Can you believe 2014 is here already?! I hope you had a great year, and I further hope that you’re looking to make the coming year even better! One good thing that many people do is to use the new year as a time to set goals to improve themselves—this IS a good thing, IF we take these resolutions seriously and succeed. Unfortunately, in many cases, our lofty goals are left unfinished and our resolutions…
Imagine your ideal life—how would it be different than what your life is like today? Spend a few quiet minutes thinking on this, and you’ll find the key areas where you’re ready to set a goal. Make your goal bigger that what you think you can do, in order to stretch you and challenge you. This exercise can be inspiring, motivating, and exciting, but soon comes the hard part of getting it done! Can You…
What do you do when you negative things come your way? When a friend disagrees with you and puts you down, do you lash out? When your brother cancels your poker game at the last minute for the third time in a row, do you yell at him for being so irresponsible and unreliable? What about when a coworker belittles your ideas and makes you feel small? Do you react by gossiping about her behind…
Do you consider yourself to be a friendly person? Would the people who see you, whether at work, as you leave your house, or at the supermarket, speak of how you sought them out in friendship and treated them great? Do you routinely smile and greet those you pass on the street or in the hall, or is your daily focus primarily on yourself? Two Ignore, One Helps Jesus was once asked by religious leaders…