Just Continue That Thought...

A thought by Erwin Raphael McManus from his book,  Chasing Daylight: Seize the Power of   Every Moment   (Kindle Locations 2144-2145). Kindle Edition. It is so interesting how people want to know God’s direction for their life.  But they haven’t spent time reading the Bible or going to church and hearing God’s word through His messenger or opened a book that some Godly inspired writer has written.  And they are saying they don’t know what God wants.  It seems that they are waiting for a direct voice from God to them personally but the problem is they are looking in the wrong place. Now I have had God speak to me directly today.  It was as I was reading in the Acts of the Apostles early this morning.  He then spoke to me as I was reading from the Gospel of Matthew.  It was also from my time of prayer and then as I was reading this book by Erwin MacManus. I heard Him personally because I was spending time in the areas where He has already spoken and He applied it personally to

A thought by Leonard Sweet, (2012-03-13) from his book, Viral: How Social Networking Is Poised to Ignite Revival (p. 54). Random House, Inc.. Kindle Edition . Change can be a difficult thing for people.   We get use to certain ideas and think they will never change.   Like, who would ever think that our kids or grandkids would never have the need to learn to write?   I know.   It’s called cursive now.   For me it was print or write.   How we say it has even changed.   In thinking about this change I had a little anxiety.   Why in the world don’t they want my grandkids to learn to write in cursive (see I can change)?   That would be horrible.   But then the thought came to me, why did we need to learn to write in cursive in the first place?   I mean we first took all that time with just learning how to print and then along the way they showed us another way to do the same thing.   Why?   I haven’t done any research on the why but my first thought was because cursive is a

A thought by Leonard Sweet, (2012-03-13) from his book, What Matters Most: How We Got the Point but Missed the Person (Kindle Location 155). Random House, Inc.. Kindle Edition. Today is Valentine’s Day.   We buy that just right card that says what we wish we could say to the one we love then we go out to eat just the two of us and at some point there will be a kiss.   But how many people today don’t have anyone who will give them a card.   Today is a day that highlights our being connected and highlights our being disconnected. For some, today is the only day that they feel connected and then the loneliness sets in just like the other disconnected people. Now Margaret and I don’t really have that problem.   We moved to Pasadena, California a little over three months ago because of Margaret’s new job.   She is now the Director of the 65+ person QI department of a large health care insurance company. She has an office but she doesn’t stay in it.    One of the first things

A thought by Les Parrott, (2012-08-02) from his book, You're Stronger Than You Think: The Power to Do What You Feel You Can't (pp. 21-22). Tyndale House Publishers. Kindle Edition. I know what he is talking about. That happens when my mind is cluttered with overthinking, when I am facing a writing deadline and I am feeling the pressure.   So many ideas are going through my mind but none of them really grip me and the pressure is building.   It is so easy to rely on our own ideas, our own abilities and for the most part it is the reason why God gave them to us.   But sometimes all of that gets in the way and we need to stop and ask God for wisdom in the midst of all the clutter.   He said if we ask Him, He would give it to us. So in that situation that you are facing right now, how’s it going?    Are you getting confused and desperate?   Do you have so many thoughts running through your mind but none of them make sense?   So why don’t you get up, go for a walk, lo

A thought by Darren Whitehead, Jon Tyson, & Bill Hybels, (2011-07-19) from their book,   Rumors of God: Experience the Kind of Faith You´ve Only Heard About (Kindle Locations 1725-1726). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition . I had today, three of those defining moments with three of my Starbucks' friends.   Each one was a very special situation that I value very much. Now as you know I am a retired minister.   Ministers have opinions about everything.   We know what is right and wrong about every situation and are tempted to let you know how smart we are and how important we are.   But I have found in life that opinions do not build relationships but many times hinder them and I am into relationships.   That is why I spend so much time in Starbucks. I know that many people have been hurt in relationships and that brings a certain wall between them and people but when you share who you really are to them, little by little your walls come down and so do theirs.   And in

A thought by Erwin Raphael McManus from his book, Chasing Daylight: Seize the Power of Every Moment (Kindle Location 1500). Kindle Edition. That thought can be a tough one to deal with.   I mean in the America way, failure is failure.   It means you failed at what you were doing and there is no good in that but from a God perspective failure is a tool. Now to be honest, this is a hard one for me.   I still have some failures that hit me at my self-worth and that can be a problem, the focus on self, on self-worth.   Now God is interested in my worth but He is more interested in my character.   He wants my worth to come from Him and what He has done for me and through me but this self-stuff can get in the way.    That’s where His working on my character comes in and His using of failure eHe .   Now that puts failure on a positive plain instead of a negative one.   And that is a choice.   Do I get better or bitter?   If I think it is a punishment I don’t learn the lessons a

A thought by Erwin Raphael McManus from his book, Chasing Daylight: Seize the Power of Every Moment (Kindle Locations 329-330). Kindle Edition. It is all a matter of focus.   If I am always looking down trying to keep from tripping over a crack in the sidewalk then I miss all the beauty that is around me.   Yes there is a lot of temptation out there to do evil and we must be careful but if I make looking for good things to do then the evil goes by the wayside.   I don’t see it. It is all about focus, what you are looking for is what you are going to see. I am reading right now in Luke in the New Testament of that horrible, evil Thursday night and Friday that Jesus went through before He was killed.   To any of us looking at it there was nothing good in it.   But Jesus had a focus on the reason why He had come to earth and this horrible day was all a part of His coming and He never wavered.   What would have happened to us if He would have decided to avoid the pain,