Inside Out

We will never succeed in changing our outward behavior unless we first allow God to transform us inwardly. If we are ever going to improve our self-control, we first have to have Jesus Christ in control of our lives. We need to have Jesus take over our whole being: body, spirit, heart, will and mind. The person who knows and enjoys self-control is the person filled by the Holy Spirit and transformed to want to live God's way.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

12 Ways to be Happy

• Make up your mind to be happy. Learn to find pleasure in simple things.
• Make the best of your circumstances. No one has everything, and everyone has something of sorrow intermingled with gladness of life. The trick is to make the laughter outweigh the tears.
• Don’t take yourself too seriously. Don’t think that somehow you should be protected from misfortune that befalls other people.
• You can’t please everybody. Don’t let criticism worry you.
• Don’t let your neighbor set your standards. Be yourself.
• Do the things you enjoy doing but stay out of debt.
• Never borrow trouble. Imaginary things are harder to bear than real ones.
• Since hate poisons the soul, do not cherish jealousy, enmity, grudges. Avoid people who make you unhappy.
• Have many interests. If you can’t travel, read about new places.
• 10. Don’t hold postmortems. Don’t spend your time brooding over sorrows or mistakes. Don’t be one who never gets over things.
• Do what you can for those less fortunate than yourself.
• Keep busy at something. A busy person never has time to be unhappy.
• And I could add number 13: To know lasting happiness, get to know Jesus.

Today's Bible Verse

"Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools." Ecclesiastes 7:9

If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.

Keeping Things in Perspective

• Today we can complain because the weather is rainy or...Be thankful that the grass is getting watered for free!
• Today we can feel sad that we don’t have more money or...Be glad that our finances encourage us to plan our purchases wisely and guide us away from waste!
• Today we can grumble about our health or...Rejoice that we are alive!
• Today we can lament over all that our parents didn’t give us when we were growing up or...Feel grateful that they allowed us to be born!
• Today we can cry because roses have thorns or...Celebrate that thorns have roses!Today we can mourn our lack of friends or...Excitedly embark upon a quest to discover new relationships!
• Today we can whine because we have to go to work or...Shout for joy because we have a job to do!
• Today we can complain because we have to go to school or...Eagerly open our minds and fill up with rich new tidbits of knowledge!
• Today we can murmur dejectedly because we have to do housework or...Feel honored because the Lord has provided shelter for our minds, bodies, and souls!
• Today stretches ahead of us, waiting to be shaped. And here we are, the sculptors who get to do the shaping.
  What today will be like is up to us. We get to choose what kind of day we will have! Which kind of day will you choose?

Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he will sit in a boat & drink beer all day.

Worry

Worry is like a rocking chair: it gives you something to do but will get you nowhere.

The grave is a rest stop on the highway to heaven.

Ten Things God Won't Ask On That Day

TEN THINGS GOD WON'T ASK ON THAT DAY....

1. God won't ask what kind of car you drove. He'll ask how many people you drove who didn't have transportation.
2. God won't ask the square footage of your house, He'll ask how many people you welcomed into your home.
3. God won't ask about the clothes you had in your closet, He'll ask how many you helped to clothe.
4. God won't ask what your highest salary was. He'll ask if you compromised your character to obtain it.
5. God won't ask what your job title was. He'll ask if you performed your job to the best of our ability.
6. God won't ask how many friends you had. He'll ask how many people to whom you were a friend.
7. God won't ask in what neighborhood you lived, He'll ask how you treated your neighbors.
8. God won't ask about the color of your skin, He'll ask about the content of your character.
9. God won't ask why it took you so long to seek Salvation. He'll lovingly take you to your mansion in heaven, and not to the gates of Hell.
10. God won't have to ask how many people you forwarded this to, He already knows whether or not you are ashamed to share this information with your friends.

Bible Verse of the Day

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on you own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.--Proverbs 3:5-6

Bible Verse of the Day

Do everything without complaining or arguing--Philippians 2:14

How to be Unhappy

HOW TO BE UN-HAPPY

• Make little things bother you. Don’t just let them, MAKE them.
• Lose your perspective on things and keep it lost: don’t put first things first.
• Get yourself a good worry, one about which you cannot do anything.
• Be a perfectionist, which means not that you work hard to do your best, but that you condemn yourself and others for not achieving perfection.
• Be right. Be always right. Be the only one who is ALWAYS right, and be rigid in your rightness.
• Don’t trust or believe people, or accept them atanything but their worst and weakest. Be suspicious. Insist that others always have hidden motives.
• Always compare yourself unfavorably to others. This guarantees instant misery.
• Take personally everything that happens to you.
• Don’t give yourself whole-heartedly to anyone or anything.

--Author Unknown

I have missed a few days posting.....busy, busy, busy......Here's a short one for today:

Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.--Psalm 37:4

"Up"ward communication

Let’s start off the week keeping these in mind...

• WAKE UP--Decide to have a good day. “Today is the day the Lord hath made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”--Psalm 118:242.
• DRESS UP--The best way to dress up is to put on a smile. A smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks. “The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart.”--I Sam 16:73.
• SHUT UP--Say nice things and learn to listen. God gave us two ears and one mouth so He must have meant for us to do twice as much listening as talking. “He who guards his lips guards his soul.”--Proverbs 13:3 4.
• STAND UP--Stand up for what you believe in. Stand for something or you will fall for anything. “Let us not be weary in doing good; for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good...”--Galatians 6:9-105.
• LOOK UP--Look up to the Lord. “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength”--Philippians 4:136.
• REACH UP--Reach up for something higher. Always try to better yourself. Have faith. “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”--Hebrews 11:17.
• LIFT UP--Lift up your prayers to the Lord. “Do not worry about anything; instead pray about everything."--Philippians 4:6

Think about it.....

Here are 10 things for you to think about and remember today:

• No one can ruin your day without YOUR permission.
• Most people will be about as happy, as THEY decide to be.
• Life is what’s coming....not what was.
• Look for opportunities...not guarantees.
• Life’s precious moments don’t have value unless they are shared.
• The biggest lie on the planet: “When I get what I want, I will be happy.”
• We often fear the thing we want the most.
• Others can stop you temporarily, but only YOU can do it permanently.
• Success is getting up one more time.
• Now is the most interesting time of all.

Inexpensive Gifts

EIGHT GIFTS THAT DO NOT COST A CENT

1. THE GIFT OF A CHEERFUL DISPOSITION--The easiest way to feel good is to extend a kind cheery word to someone. It’s really not so hard to say, “Hello” or “Thank you.”

2. THE GIFT OF A COMPLIMENT--You can really brighten someone’s day with a simple and sincere, “You look great in red,” “That was a terrific dinner,” or “You did a super job.”

3. THE GIFT OF LISTENING--To be a good listener you must REALLY listen. Let the other person speak with no interrupting, no daydreaming, no planning your response...just listening!

4. THE GIFT OF AFFECTION--Be generous with APPROPRIATE hugs, kisses, pats on the back, and handholds. Let these small actions demonstrate the love you have for family and friends.

5. THE GIFT OF LAUGHTER--Share your laughter and humor by clipping cartoons, jokes, articles and funny stories. Your gift will say, “I love to laugh with you!”

6. THE GIFT OF A WRITTEN NOTE--You can send someone a simple note that says, “Thanks for the help,” or a poem, story, or any kind of upbeat message. The most brief, handwritten note can be remembered for a lifetime, and even change a life, you just never know.

7. THE GIFT OF A FAVOR--Every day, go out of your way to do something kind for someone else. There are plenty of opportunities for you to do something nice for a friend, relative, or co-worker on a daily basis. Show the love of Christ with your acts of kindness to others. Let them see Jesus in you.

8. THE GIFT OF SOLITUDE--There a times when we all want nothing better than to be left alone. Be sensitive to those times and give the gift of solitude to others.

An Admiral Man

What are the makings of an admirable man? Here is one author’s view....

• If a man is honest with others and with himself
• If he receives gratefully and gives quietly
• If he is gentle enough to feel and strong enough to show his feelings
• If he is slow to see the faults of others but quick to discover their goodness
• If he is cheerful in difficult times and modest in success
• If he does his best to be true to his beliefs....

Then he is truly an admirable man.

How to Beat Loneliness

SEVEN SURE-FIRE WAYS TO BEAT LONELINESS

• CONTACT OTHERS: Make a list of everyone you know and contact them regularly.
• GET INVOLVED: No matter where you live or what your skills or interests are, people need your help. Show interest in them and it will bring joy to you.
• DEVELOP NEW DREAMS: Dreams give hope and spark to life. Find new things to achieve. No one is ever alone who has a dream.
• EAT PROPERLY: Low blood sugar or improper diet canmagnify negative feelings. Check your food intake.
• REST: Properly recharge your body. Tired people tend to lean toward their problems and respond negatively to situations.
• COUNT RIGHT: Focus on the good things that have happened and are happening in your life.and most importantly:
• REMEMBER GOD: You are never alone because God loves you, and He is as near as your prayers.

How to be Happy

HOW TO BE HAPPY

• Make up your mind to be happy. Learn to find pleasure in simple things.
• Make the best of your circumstances. No one has everything, and everyone has something of sorrow intermingled with gladness of life. The trick is to make the laughter outweigh the tears.
• Don’t take yourself too seriously. Don’t think that somehow you should be protected from misfortune that befalls other people.
• You can’t please everybody. Don’t let criticism worry you.
• Don’t let your neighbor set your standards. Be yourself.
• Do the things you enjoy doing, but stay out of debt.
• Never borrow trouble. Imaginary things are harder to bear than real ones.
• Since hate poisons the soul, do not cherish jealousy, enmity, grudges. Avoid negative people.
• Have many interests. If you can’t travel, read about new places.
• Don’t hold postmortems. Don’t spend your time brooding over sorrows or mistakes. Don’t be one who never gets over things.
• Do what you can for those less fortunate than yourself.
• 12. Keep busy at something. A busy person never has time to be unhappy.

Confidence in Troubled Times

4 TRUTHS FOR GIVING US CONFIDENCE IN TROUBLESOME TIMES

• God controls our circumstances--Romans 8:28
• God will meet our needs--Romans 8:31-32
• God is with us
• God loves us with eternal love.

Closed doors--Final installment

Sorry! Missed posting yesterday. What is the right way to respond to closed doors in our lives?

• Wait upon God for further instructions
• Look for God’s purpose
• Anticipate the opportunity God has for us
• Thank him for protecting us from wrong decisions
• Be faithful where you are until God opens the door

--Charles Stanley

How do we respond to closed doors in our lives? There's a right way and a wrong way.

Here's the WRONG way:

• Try to open the door ourselves
• Try to open the door by manipulating circumstances
• Becoming emotionally upset
• Blaming someone else

--Charles Stanley

More on closed doors in our lives, from Charles Stanley:

God closes doors:
1. To protect us from making a mistake
2. To redirect us to a greater opportunity

The next few days posts are going to deal with God closing doors in our lives, from Charles Stanley.....

What Causes Doors to be Closed in our Lives?

• Circumstances
• Other people
• the devil
• God

Today was a nice day. Went to church, then went with Tracy and Jendy to Golden Corral (I prefer to call it Golden Coral, since we live in Florida--the name seems to fit better). After eating way too much, came home and took a nap. The rest of the day was just a nice, relaxing, lazy day; nothing wrong with that once in a while.

Because someone actually said they miss my posts here (yes, it's true!!!), I'm resuming my posts. Today was what I would call muscle or grunt day. I went to the church at 9 am to help unload the truck for Angel Food Ministries. What a fantastic ministry! Food that can be ordered for an incredibly low price, and open to anyone who wants to buy it--no income restrictions....nothing! We bought some of the frozen senior dinners, so I'll let you know how they taste. You can check out the ministry, menu, etc., at http://www.angelfoodministries.com/. Actually, unloading the trailer did not really require much time or much muscle and we had plenty of volunteers. This was the first time our church as participated in the ministries, and I thought things went really well and everything was very well organized.

Later, we went over to Fred & Cara's to pick up a sleeper sofa and love seat they sold us at a very cheap price--2 really nice pieces of furniture! We were able to get both in the back of Rick's truck, but you know what? I'm too getting too old and too out of shape to be moving sofa beds in 88 degree heat. Thank God for Rick's muscle.

OK, all done....time to rest!