Soul
It's important to take care of our soul. But how? What does that mean? Improving our spiritual health begins with a more positive outlook on life and the bigger picture. It means deepening our relationship with God through prayer, reflection, reading/meditating on the Word, and growing in wisdom and understanding.
“Pray, and let God worry.”
There’s a lot of meaning and value packed into this short quote by Martin Luther. “Pray, and let God worry”–five words and two calls to action that can be life-altering. They seem simple, however it’s easy to forget to pray–step 1. And if and when we do pray, we forget step 2. We hang on to our worry instead of handing it over to God. Together, both steps may not come naturally. They may take time to develop and become a habit. They require a lot of faith and trust that everything will eventually work out for the best. But once mastered, it becomes much easier to surmount any of…
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“Those who matter don’t mind and those who mind don’t matter.”
“How different our lives are when we really know what is deeply important to us, and keeping that picture in mind, we manage ourselves each day to be and to do what really matters most.”
“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.”
“God has perfect timing; never early, never late. It takes a little patience and it takes a lot of faith, but it’s worth the wait.”
This quote (author unknown) is about recognizing that things happen at the right time according to His plan–never too early, never too late. We may not understand why things happen when they do. Only He does. We must have a little patience and a lot of faith that things will happen when they should for reasons beyond our comprehension. And when they do, it will be worth the wait.
“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”
“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer (Romans 12:12),” was written by Paul the Apostle in his letters to Rome. There are three parts to this very short verse; and each part carries a significant meaning on its own and an even greater meaning put together. Be joyful in hope. The hope that things will work out in the end has a way of bringing us joy even in the darkest of times. It means always looking forward with the belief that things will work out for the best some way or another–even if things do not look so bright now. It’s only a matter of time.…
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Living Life Poetically: “They Tried so Hard”
“You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along’.”
Living Life Poetically: The Son Will Shine
Your Purpose
Back in the early 2000s, a book was published that seemed to be on everyone’s lips. You or someone you know may have had a copy. It was prominently stationed at most major bookstores, and people often carried it around or cited it in conversations. It was The Purpose Driven Life, by Rick Warren. The book is about understanding and living toward God’s purpose, or purposes to be exact. The author lays out up to five purposes for which God places us on this earth. It’s an overall message that is well-intended, clear, and legit. Surely, no one would have anything bad to say about this well-renowned book. Right? Well,…
A Prayer to Reorient Your Focus and Mind
There are so many old prayers out there with interesting orgins. One such prayer is The Prayer of St. Francis. The Prayer of St. Francis was first published in 1912 inside a French magazine called “The Little Bell.” Since its first publication, it’s been attributed to St. Francis. However, there’s no evidence that he actually wrote it (1). So, the prayer’s authorship is, in fact, unknown. Moreover, while we know when it was published, the year it was written is also unknown. “Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace” is the first line of the prayer, and this one line immediately sets the tone. It sets a tone of…
Increasing Faith with Patience, and Increasing Patience with Faith
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12 You’ve prayed. Others have prayed for you. You’ve hoped. You’ve lost hope. But you’ve kept on hoping. So then, you’ve kept on praying. Other’s have kept on praying for you. How much longer? You’re now beginning to lose patience. And you catch yourself wondering if your current situation is ever going to improve–get better. You’re now beginning to lose faith. And you catch yourself wondering if God is still even listening. If he still cares about you. Suddenly, you’re caught in the faith-patience cycle. It can apply to just about any change you’ve been hoping and praying for…
How to Combat Anxiety at Work By Refocusing Your Attention on God
Unless your job is doing absolutely nothing, you are sure to experience some level of anxiety from time to time. Maybe you have a presentation, work meeting, a tight deadline, unending emails, toxic boss or coworkers, uncertain outcomes, or uncertain job security. Whatever the case may be, anxiety originating from job-related challenges is quite common. But here’s the silver lining. If you aren’t anxious about anything, then you’re not being challenged. However, while challenges can be good, they’re not good when they manifest into debilitating and self-destructive anxiety. So, how do we keep anxiety at bay so the challenges we face on the job build us rather than destroy us?…
Why the Serenity Prayer Should be a Part of Your Every Day
Life can bring a lot of worries and concerns that interfere with our peace of mind. Esthella B This is a no-brainer statement that even our very first ancestors would have to agree with. However, they probably wouldn’t agree that the level and nature of our worries and concerns are the same. We’ve literally invented ways to carry around our worries and concerns PLUS other negative stimuli with us. With an increasingly fast-paced world, emails, instant messaging, and smart devices that are always “on”, we always have to be “on.” –Always ready, always anxious. However, peace of mind is something we naturally need to have more of in our lives.…
Ancient Literature in the Age of Modern Technology
Although it’s one of the oldest books ever written and one of the first to be printed with the Gutenberg printing press, the Bible is a book that a majority of people will never read in its entirety. In fact, it’s one of those books most people will never read even in its majority. Whether you believe it documents actual historical events or not, here are three things to keep in mind regardless: 1. Unless we were lucky to have a question and answer session with God, we cannot possibly know everything; even if we read the Bible cover to cover a thousand times. There are parts of the Bible…
Walking By Faith
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. (NIV, Hebrews 11:1) For we live by faith, not by sight. (NIV, 2 Corinthians 5:7) If you noticed the lack of sight in both of these verses, then you might understand why having faith is actually quite difficult. It’s like walking on a tightrope blindfolded with storms (of life) raging all around you, compromising your balance. Faith is knowing you’ll get where you need to go and that God is guiding your every step; even though you can’t see either. Being able to see into the future (what lies ahead of the tightrope)…
