Great Blessings

“Great blessings belong to those who don’t listen to evil advice, who don’t live like sinners, and who don’t join those who make fun of God. Instead, they love the Lord’s teachings and think about them day and night. So they grow strong, like a tree planted by a stream— a tree that produces fruit when it should and has leaves that never fall. Everything they do is successful.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭1:1-3‬ ‭ERV‬‬

We read in Psalms 1 the simple promises of a full and blessed life following the Lord. Is there anyone who does not want a life of strength and blessings? Why are there so few who find this? In verse 2 the secret is to love the Lord’s teachings and think about them day and night!

Are you willing to pay the price to inherit this? To live with no regrets? To face the future without fear of what it holds? Begin today, January 1, 2019. Do not go another day without running after the Lord. Commit to read his word everyday. If you haven’t read the entire Bible from cover to cover, what are you waiting for?

I'm reading the @YouVersion plan 'Eat this Book: One Year Bible with Daily Psalm'. Check it out here:

Eat this Book: One Year Bible with Daily Psalm

1 Year

Following aspects of the traditional Jewish order in the Old Testament, this plan offers a sustainable reading pace, allowing you to experience first the Old Testament and then the New Testament in one year. Each day, you’ll explore an average of four chapters, and you’ll close your time in prayer by reading a Psalm.


Eat this Book: One Year Bible with Daily Psalm

Suggestion...invite someone to join you on this journey. You Version has the option to invite someone to hold you accountable. You will change your life and possibly someone else’s. Happy New Year! Praying that 2019 will be the most wonderful year of your entire life.

After Pain Comes a New Birth

“In the same way, I will not cause pain without allowing something new to be born.” The Lord says this: “I promise that if I cause you the pain of birth, I will not stop you from having your new nation.” Your God said this.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭66:9‬ ‭ERV‬‬

One of the reasons I desperately need to read the Bible everyday is to receive a much needed word from the Lord. Our family is going through a sad, hard time. Death is a part of life and I know that, but it doesn't make it any easier. But what an incredible promise God spoke through Isaiah.

Just as labor brings pain and then a new birth follows, something new will come to life after a period of suffering. The Lord says that if He allows you the pain, He promises that new growth follows.

I think back over the saddest and hardest times that I have faced, God brought a stronger faith, a closer relationship with Him. Granted, I could have chosen to become bitter and walk away from Him. I had to allow Him to let the suffering transform me, make me more Christ like.

I think that all of us want growth, without the pain. I certainly do. I want a perfect life with no financial problems, physical problems or stress in relationships. However, that is not realistic. We get mad at God and ask him questions like, "Why did you allow this in my life?"

But I am trusting in a God who ways are higher and deeper. Even though his ways are beyond my understanding, there are promises that I can cling to. For today, this is one of those promises. He will bring joy and new birth in my life and my family's life. I choose to believe this.

"Developing "Mental Toughness"

You might spend a lot of time thinking about how to get your body stronger, but have you ever thought about increasing your mental toughness? Think of your brain like a muscle you can strengthen, and you can improve your life. Mental toughness means you won’t fall apart with bad news, or when a challenge or a problem comes your way. With a strong mindset you can set goals, overcome setbacks (without unhealthy behaviors)." ~Chris Freytag

This article was not Christian related but boy can it relate to the Christian life. Here are a few tips about developing "mental toughness." 

First of all, God is our strength.
God said this once and for all; how many times Have I heard it repeated? “Strength comes Straight from God.” (Psalm 62:11 MSG)

So we will never be strong enough on our own to amount to anything.
That being said, I think we need to develop some mental toughness about facing life.
So my tip for the day is start each day with prayer and gratitude! Plank and praise is a really good way to express your joy to the Lord. 

Another idea about developing mental toughness is to keep your promises. I need to back up here for a second. I wrote a vision plan for my own life several years ago. I try to update the goals once a year. I call them "Pat's Priorities." If you feel like your goals are within God's will for you, then your goal is much like a promise that you intend to keep.

"When you do what you say you are going to do (from your workouts to meeting up with a friend for lunch) you are a person who keeps commitments. Whether it’s a silent promise to yourself or a commitment to someone else, keep those promises and you will be strengthening your mindset because you are a person of your word." ~ Chris Freytag

When we commit to ourselves that we will read our Bible on a daily basis or commit to a friend that we will pray for them, we need to keep that promise. Whether we are keeping a promise to a friend or keeping a promise to ourselves, we are developing that mindset that we will not disappoint our friends or ourselves.

If we continually break promises, whether to ourselves or others, life seems more out of control. We will break more easily in a storm. We will be more likely to forget that God ALWAYS keeps his promises…always!

One more tidbit about developing a strong mindset...

Two people are better than one. When two people work together, they get more work done. If one person falls, the other person can reach out to help. But those who are alone when they fall have no one to help them.

An enemy might be able to defeat one person, but two people can stand back-to-back to defend each other. And three people are even stronger. They are like a rope that has three parts wrapped together—it is very hard to break. (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, 12 ERV)

Self-discipline doesn’t have to be about how much temptation you resist, it can be about how smart you are about creating an environment that supports you. Do you hang around others who want to grow in their relationship with Christ? Do you have friends and family supporting you and your goals? Do you have an accountability partner or a friend who pushes you a little bit? Each day commit to a little more "mental toughness."

An undisciplined, self-willed life is puny; an obedient, God-willed life is spacious. (Proverbs 15:32 MSG)

So much is said in this short verse. Undisciplined is what I am at times and my life starts closing in. Put the discipline back in and life does seem to be more spacious.

To be obedient to God requires discipline. We don't wait until we feel a rush of emotional desire to spend time drinking in his wisdom, spending time in prayer. To wait for the emotional feeling to be obedient means we are living an undisplined and self-willed life. 

ACE(quote from Mark) acting cures everything. When we begin acting in obedience, the feelings follow.

Do You Want to Feel New?

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (‭II Corinthians‬ ‭5‬:‭17‬ NKJV)

Are you sick and tired of the "old" you? Are you wishing that this verse would miraculously change you into a new person? Are you struggling with how this verse works in your life, with your problems? Let's assume for a moment that you truly know Christ. But you are still stuck in your patterns of your old life. You are probably discouraged because you wonder why this did not work for you. 

The problem is not that this verse isn't true. This verse is truer than any other fact that exists. Just because you doubt it's truth does not change the fact that when you are in Christ you are a new creature. But you are not "moving" into the new house. If you built a new house, you get to move in and not live in the old house anymore. 

I'm sure you are thinking "I would never want to stay in my old, broken-down shack because I have a brand new house." What causes us to live in our "old" houses? 

Well, they are familiar to us. We know how everything works. We don't have to learn anything new. We don't have to change. It takes a lot of faith to believe that this new house will be a better place to live.

Ask yourself the big question...if I have accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior, what is stopping me from moving in to my new living quarters? You have already been given the keys to the house. Our enemy is telling us that it is just easier to stay where we are. That way we don't have to do all the things that are associated with moving...sort through stuff, throw away things, actually take the steps to get familiar with our new surroundings. 

The old neighborhood is always going to look so enticing. That is our security. But the Bible addresses this so well,

"Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." Romans12:2(NLT)

So if you keep walking around the old neighborhood, you won't look any different. But if you purpose that you will not be conformed to the world, God WILL transform you into a new creature...and you will like the new you! 

Do You Want to Be Strong Without Depending on Chocolate?

Isaiah 30:15-16 (ERV)

15 The Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, says, “If you come back to me you will be saved. Only by remaining calm and trusting in me can you be strong.”

But you don’t want to do that. 16 You say, “No, we need fast horses for battle.” 

On any given day, okay most days, I need to find the strength to get through the day. I feel like there are way too many items to check off my to do list! I feel defeated before I even start the day and want to give up because I feel so discouraged…like the battle is too overwhelming for me. So at that point, I have two choices. 

First choice, eat!!!  Eat something that will make me feel better, give me energy, give me strength. I can't tell you how many times I take the first choice. It may be evening time and I have too much schoolwork to get done and I will spend my evenings working on that, as well as laundry and dinner and a host of other things. Eating something unhealthy seems to be a great solution to give me the energy I need. I can sit down and get busy and have a "snack" right beside me and I tell myself this will be perfect.  Only problem is when I finish that snack and I have to stop and get another snack and then another and suddenly I realize that the thing that was supposed to make me strong made me feel weak. Has that ever happen to you?

Read what it says in Isaiah, “Only by remaining calm and trusting in me can you be strong”But you don’t want to do that. 16 You say, “No, we need fast horses for battle.” .

I took that right out of the Bible!  I thought,"God, you read my mind."  You told me that if I wanted to be strong, the way to accomplish this is to remain calm and trust in you.  But instead, I say "I don't want to do that. You were not enough for the kind of strength I needed." God's ways are always going to seem contrary to the world's logic. When the world says to go shopping and buy something you don't need then you will feel better, God says remain calm and trust in me. When the world says to yell at your kids or your spouse and you will feel better, God says just trust me. When the world says to go through the closest drive-in and order something very unhealthy because you had a bad day, God says "Can you trust me, instead of food?' 

The second choice is always the choice that works every single time! There is not enough energy in a candy bar or bag of chips to help you through your day. The enemy will lie to you every time and a lot of time you will listen to him. And then you know what he has the nerve to do…condemn you for eating the whole thing. You just cannot win if you choose that way. Next time you get to this point where you are desperate for some strength, remember this promise:

Isaiah 40:29 

He helps tired people be strong. He gives power to those without it.