Help For Your Daily Walk

The first words in today’s scripture is “forget all that”. Said in my best Italian accent, “Fuh-ged-da-boud-it”. This is not to say you won’t look in your rear view from time to time to see what’s back there. You just don’t allow that scene to take over what is ahead for you. What’s ahead is so much greater than the difficulties or even the blessings of the past. Just as the Israelites had to quit focusing on the difficulties and look ahead to the “something new”, we should d

Hope is a good thing. It helps get you through tough times. It gives you expectation instead of dread. It gives you a positive outlook that everything will work out alright even when everything around you says, “all your efforts are futile.” What if, even though hope is great, you could have “more than hope”? You really can. If you begin to understand that praying in Jesus' name gives you victory. Stop praying from a place of weakness and begin praying from that place of vict

What does “fixer” mean? “a person or thing that fixes, sets, adjusts, or repairs...a person who arranges matters in advance.” If you find yourself saying and doing the wrong things constantly, you need to reevaluate your thought life. As I have said before, everything starts with a thought. Your actions reflect what’s in your mind. And when you “think” about it, you become what you “think about” on a regular basis. I would say, the best way to start the process of adjusting w

1. Your thoughts. It is so tempting to take the “easy” way of just “going with the flow” of the world. It really takes no thought to just “go along with the crowd “. We are not supposed to do that. We are supposed to develop our thinking. This allows God to transform us into the person we should be. A person constantly learning God’s will. 2. Your talk. Being in control of what comes out of your mouth can change the whole trajectory of your life. If you only allow what is sai

I learned this acrostic to the word FEAR many years ago and it still stands true today. We are faced with many things that grab our attention and, on the surface, seem so real, that we unintentionally allow that word to creep in…. fear. We need to weigh everything (in this day and age) against what we KNOW to be true. (Not just how it appears to be). I know it seems easier said than done. The media and advertising have gotten so good at “fooling” us that we’ve allowed them to

I wasn’t planning on heading in this direction this morning, but the words to an old Beatles song kept popping up in my head. “Life is very short, and there's no time. For fussing and fighting, my friend. I have always thought that it's a crime. So , I will ask you once again. Try to see it my way. Only time will tell if I am right or I am wrong. We can work it out. We can work it out.” We can look at our mess of a life with broken relationships and craziness and think, “wel

Have you ever been around someone that is so stoic that they never shed a tear? They have been raised in in such a way to view crying as a sign of weakness. Oh contraire! If that were the case, my mom would’ve been the weakest person around. She cried when she was sad; she cried when she was grieving; she cried when she was proud of her kids; she cried when she was happy…get the picture? These times of tears didn’t make her weak. It kept her grounded and empathetic to those a

“We are living in a time where Satan doesn’t hide anymore and yet the world can’t see him!” This is a quote I read recently, that perfectly describes how the devil is allowed to roam around “to and fro” and take up residence in people’s lives. Many don’t even realize they are being used when they tell lies about other people. They will choose to stretch the truth to prove their point regardless of who they hurt in the process. If you have ever been on the receiving end of lie

Rest must be important or else it wouldn’t be mentioned in the scriptures. Be sure to read the entire 23rd chapter of Psalm. It is a very familiar passage that many have memorized. If you are like me, you have these words in your memory, but don’t always realize we probably should be taking time to let the Lord (our Shepherd) give us the type of rest we need. We live in a world that is fast paced…It just is, and we feel as though if we don’t get with it, we will miss somethin

Being a friend means to be consistent in the way you are always there for family and friends, and in the way you treat them. You don’t just show up in the good times; you don’t just show up for the celebrations…you are there when things are tough too. It’s not always easy to be the friend that sticks “closer than a brother”, but we should do it regardless of our feelings. It may seem as though all your efforts to be that type of friend are futile and unappreciated, but they r

The pool of Bethesda had long been the place where people who were in need of healing would gather to get rid of whatever ailed them. If they were the first to step into the water as it began to swirl, they would be healed. According to early manuscripts of the scriptures, the explanation of the waters was possibly folklore. Whether folklore or real, imagine being there for 38 years with the thought, “I’ll NEVER be healed because I am crippled and someone will always beat me

As a little girl growing up in a loving family, I always felt my safest when I was with them. Even if it was somewhat dysfunctional at times, as a little tow-headed blue-eyed girl, that part didn’t matter so much at the time. The love and safety of my parents and siblings was what mattered most. Before you get all up in your judgment about dysfunction, know that there is a little of that flowing through most all families (some are just a little better at covering it up. Ha) W

None of us are immune to pain. Why must there be hurt and heartache to deal with anyway? The answer to that question is simply that we live in a world full of complicated emotions. The pain of loss can be heartbreaking. The loss could be the death of someone you love dearly, or it could be the death of a relationship. How should you deal with either of these? The way some folks deal with pain is to cause more pain. Others want to attack it with denial and self-inflicted pain.

“All that glitters is not gold” is a phrase used to describe how we look at things. So much of what we hear is to sway us to a particular side of an issue or circumstance. On the surface what is being shared may sound reasonable and true, but lurking beneath that surface is so much dirt, you may need to clean for days or even years to remove it. That devil is crafty and knows how to appeal to each of us. We need wisdom to know who to listen to in all circumstances. If you don

Everyone gets a little weary from time to time. You are pulled in so many directions, you feel as though you can’t take another step. All of those “good deeds” seem to go unnoticed and futile. Maybe you have had a measure of success but know there is more. The key measure of a success is the ability to persevere after a setback or two, not just the outcome. Develop the ability to “keep on keeping on”. Most times there is no choice, might as well step into the challenge with t

Fake people are the worst. You never really know where you stand with them. They may “pretend” from time to time they care about you and things that you care about, but in their heart of hearts they are selfish and are seeing how they can use you or pacify you. There is a line in a Russ Taff song that really nails what we have to do on the daily, “break the fact from the fake”. We need to do this from our prospective and the perception of those around us. Thank goodness God h

You may have gotten tired of hearing, “This too shall pass!”, but it needs to be said when you are in the middle of a crisis too big for you at the present moment. You have to have hope that what you are facing is temporary; you have to know and rely on Jesus, or you will not have the patience needed to get through it. You need to learn to give it to Jesus. This is where my “go-to” scriptures are so important in my life. Psalm 27:13-14 “Yet I am confident I will see the LORD'

What would cause a person to continually punish themselves for their mistakes from their past? Do you suppose there is some “self-hatred” involved in this state of unforgiveness? When the scripture tells us that good things come out of good hearts. This is not referring to just other people; it refers to you. You have must begin to see yourself as someone that is loved and is lovely. You are “good”, because God is good and has forgiven ALL your sins. When you have that person

When I named my kids, to be honest, I didn’t consider the meaning behind any of their names. I just loved them and added the middle names that either were a reminder of someone, or I just liked the way they rolled off my tongue. As they grew to toddler age and upwards, those middle names became a signal that mom meant business and they better “straighten up and fly right.” It definitely got their attention. Ha! Those little guys had a way of testing me to see if I truly meant

Extending kindness when you want to clobber someone is not always the easiest thing in the world. We can see (by watching the news or by reading Facebook posts) being a kind person is next to impossible for some people to grasp. They tend to show their inner ugliness by how they respond to what is going on around them. As Christians, we are supposed to act different than the world. Check yourself. How are you treating these “Negative Nellies”? Do you give it right back to the