If you could un-invent something, what would it be?
I would un-invent water bottles. It’s a multi-billion-dollar business. However, drinking water from water bottles can be dangerous because plastic can contain chemicals and microplastics that are harmful to our health.
These plastics are so tiny they can migrate through the tissues of the digestive system or lungs into the bloodstream, distributing potentially harmful synthetic chemicals throughout the body and into cells.
One liter of water contains an average of 240,000 plastic particles from seven different types of plastics.
Bottled water is a convenience that Americans have, but if we have a different choice we should take it. 
Can you share a positive example of where you’ve felt loved?
It wasn’t until I was probably 23 years old until I knew what real love felt like. I was not told the I love you words ever, not from my parents or anyone. I did not know my parents loved me. For years I didn’t even love myself. It was after I met my husband. Before then, I just did my best to survive. Yes, I had boyfriends but I was in it for what I could get because I knew that’s all they were after.
When I met my husband, he treated me differently, he took care of me, and my needs came first, before his. It’s a good feeling when you know people love you for yourself. It changed me.
We will have been together 36 years in April. I’m not going to say it’s always been easy we’ve had our ups and downs but it has been worth it. Some say a marriage is 50-50. I think it’s more 100-100.
It takes a strong commitment, open conversation, shared values, adaptability, mutual respect, a consistent effort to nurture the relationship, the ability to compromise and a willingness to work through challenges together.
Davidic worship is intentional worshipping offered for the specific purposes that are addressed in the Psalms.
David worship is worship that is understood to be:
Expressions of faith to seek God for Psalm specific purposes.
Faith declarations that pursue the power of God
It means to seek God for wisdom and revelation for specific reasons.
To worship this way, we must make sure our hearts are in the right place. We must have a contrite heart before God.
David’s actions showed elements of worship that pleased God. While we may stumble in sin in every day life, we can still ask for forgiveness from God who loves us. We can become strengthened through our relationship with God.
David was “a man after God’s own heart” (Acts 13:22).
“After removing Saul, He made David their King. He testified concerning him: I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart, he will do everything I want him to do.”
There are four ways to worship with a heart like David’s
Stay Focused
It is easy to be distracted during worship, especially with everything that’s going on around us. We also may have a lot going on inside that can take our focus away from God. David is a great model to turn to.
The Bible says David prayed seven times a day. Morning, Noon, and Night. And then in the middle of these times, he expressed his devotion to him, such as praising God and thanking Him throughout the day. To stay focused on Him.
Worship and intimacy with God grow as we come to know God’s heart and cherish His presence in all our comings and goings in our days. In all the busyness of our daily lives, it takes intention and purpose to focus on God,
2. Be Passionate
David is a great example of what a passionate worshipper looks like. Samuel 6:12-15 says,
“David went down and brought up the Ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing. When those who were carrying the ark of the Lord had taken six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened calf. David danced before the Lord with all his might, and David was clothed in a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the Lord’s ark with shouting and with the sound of the shofar.”
David was 100% connected with God in worship. He recognized the true power of giving all glory to God, even when those around him disapprove.
3. Worship Everywhere
David worshipped everywhere. The Bible tells us that David worshipped in the fields,
“The heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim the work of his hand. Day after day they pour forth speech, night after night they display knowledge” -Psalm 19:1 (NIV).
David may not expected as a young boy to face a giant like Goliath, but when he did, he stood up to the challenge. Even when he was facing some of the most overwhelming challenges he still recognized God’s power and how amazing He is, We, too can recognize and worship God everywhere.
4. Give Him Praise In All Circumstances
According to scripture, praise and worship are acts of our will that flow out of us through God’s reverence. David often sang with unrestrained joy when praising God, often drawing inspiration from God’s revelation in the Psalms. It signifies a complete surrender to God’s glory through feverant praise, acknowledging His power and goodness through heartfelt expressions.
David’s praise was genuine and flowed from a deep personal connection with God, not just outward displays.
David’s Psalms demonstrate how he responded to God’s revelations in his life, praising Him for specific acts of grace and power.
God is present come rain or shine. He is even present when we fail to realize it. It’s important that we not only turn our focus to worship when we begin to lose hope but also that we turn to praise in times of abundance.
Many of us are quick to question God when things go wrong but slow to honor Him when things go well.
David did no despair in darkness and all that it represented. His life was filled with the light. The same can be represented in our lives. When were are worried, we need to remember that God is a stronghold in our lives. Only when we recognize this can we truly be filled with light.
Tips to decluttering: Clutter can be caused by life changes, such as a move, the birth of a baby, with the death of a loved one. It can also be caused by psychological issues, such as depression, low self-esteem, or attention deficit disorder.
Some good ways to reduce clutter in your life is to begin by decluttering in stages. Picking in area to focus on each week using the 50% rule reduce the number of items in a space by half to make it more organized.
Ask yourself three questions, before getting rid of an item. Ask yourself if you can use it, love it, or need it. If the answer is no, which time to let it go.
Have a maybe box. Put items you might need in a box mark the date, set a reminder to check on it in six months. If you haven’t used it in six months, you can probably get rid of it.
Ask a friend or family member to help you make decisions. And designate a place for everything putting items back in their designated homes.
Decluttering can boost our mood. Ask yourself does everything in the living area, spark joy.
Believers of God are sometimes signified as God’s Army. A spiritual force fighting for good and against evil, essentially acting as soldiers under God’s command, ready to spread His message and live according to His will. It emphasizes the collective strength and purpose of all believers in their faith journey.
The idea of “soldiers in God’s Army is drawn from scriptures where believers of God are compared to warriors fighting spiritual battles.
“We are God’s Army implies a battle against negative forces like sin and temptation, not a physical war.
This idea highlights that all believers are united under God’s leadership, each playing a role in a larger mission.
Jesus promises:
“I will never leave you nor forsake you” -2 Timothy 2:3-4
We are challenged to go forward for the cause of Christ and be good soldiers for Him.
Prayer is a powerful source, when we get all true believers praying for the same cause. Things Change
I believe this is why Satan wants to lie, kill, and destroy us. Because we are a strong force when we come together.
2 Timothy 2:3-4 tells us,
“You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.”
Enduring hardship means to not be easily discouraged, to be prepared for conflict, and to not backing down from the enemy.
God tells us in Ephesians 6:11 to,
“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”
According to the Bible Satan’s pride is the source of his discontent and hatred for God. Satan hates us because we are made in the image of God. Satan subtly broadcasts evil intentions into peoples minds, working to turn us away from God.
Satan has always hated God‘s Word which is his truth. Satan has not changed his tactics. He still knows that he must suppress God‘s Word Because it is like a lamp to our feet when we are walking in darkness.
Life is full of changes as well as people in it. We never know what’s ahead of us. God is unchanging, He is the one solid in our lives..
Life is full of changes. Sometimes it is for the better, sometimes it’s not. Surprises can be joyous, but some surprises not so much. Adjusting to life curveballs can cause tension and anxiety. Life is unpredictable. It would be nice to go through life, knowing what to expect, but it doesn’t quite work that way.
With life and people, you never know what to expect. You may think you may know a person and then they do something to completely catch youoffguard. But there’s one thing that never changes, one thing we can count on, one thing we never have to worry about having mood swings or changing his mind that one thing is God.
God love is unchanging.
Love can be one of those things that can be subject to change. Today it might be, “I would swim the ocean blue if it meant, I would always be with you.” Tomorrow it might be, “you can forget about me swimming the ocean blue because I found someone new toodle-loo.” -The Supremes.
I wonder how many heartbroken people share that sentiment. Not the two people can’t find their forever love but the perfect love that we can be 100% sure about, the kind of love that removes all doubts, the kind of love that’s absolutely here to stay, that truly everlasting mug we need so much it’s found in God. His love is amazing, steady, and unchanging.
In Psalm 89:1-2 David sang about God’s great love.
“I will sing of the Lords, great love forever, with my mouth I will make your peacefulness known through all generations. I will declare that your love stands firm forever, that you established your faithfulness in heaven itself.”
God love is firm and forever. We never have to worry about whether God love is conditional or whether it’s just altered by emotions. We may never find that steady, unchanging love in another person, but we can be confident of finding it in God. His love, never changes, it is always on the mark. He has loved us to the fullest from the moment He created us in the womb. he didn’t love us less before we knew him. He doesn’t love us more the more we love Him. His love for us is not dependent on anything but His perfect nature.
That can be hard to wrap our brains around because as humans that’s not how typical human beings operate. And because of that, Satan will try to mess with our heads. He’ll try to convince us that God does not love us and that because of what we’ve done He’s stopped loving us or that He loves us less. he will try to get us to look at God as if He operates like a human. (God is Spirit).
But thankfully, as Isaiah declared his thoughts and ways are not like ours they are much higher. Higher, better, purer, holier -Perfect.  god does not think like we do, He does not act like we do, and He does not love like we do. God makes our love look like hate. God has and always will love us 100%. So we can sing and declare along with David. “Your love stands firm forever.”
God’s Word is unchanging
“Your Word. O’ Lord, is eternal, it stands firm in the heavens” -Psalm 119:89
If God has said it is established, and there is no need for it to change – it’s perfect. Theories change, philosophies change, but God’s Word remains the same.
Some people don’t believe in absolute truth, they think truth is relative. In their mind, the world is constantly changing and all the species are evolving so truth is doing the same thing. It’s subjective, it’s relative to the times. Progressivism is the idea with modern times should come modern ways.
Therefore, the old things, but the constitution and even the Bible should be reevaluated and changed to fit with the times. These things are outdated, and therefore need to be modernized in order to be truly beneficial what might have been accepted then isn’t now. Since times and people and culture change, creates and laws and standards need to change with it.
In some cases that might be true. Perhaps certain laws need to be reevaluated and can be modified or expunged. But when you’re talking about the Bible, you’re not talking about something that doesn’t fit anymore.
Hebrew 4:12 says,
“The Word of God is living and active and sharper than a two edge sword, piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and is able to discern the thoughts and intentions of three heart.”
The Bible will always be equitable, it will always be relative. Because even though times and culture change the true nature of mankind, doesn’t the sound of the people in biblical times are the same sins of the people in modern times. The problems can take on a new shape, but the attitude and behaviors of people remain the same.
The people in the Bible dealt with anger, and so should we. The people of the Bible dealt with issues like pride, and greed, and so do we. There was a lying, stealing, and killing going on then and is no different today. There were slander, gossip, and sexual sin in biblical days, fast forward to today and you will find nothing has changed.
The Bible is not outdated or out of touch. The Bible is irrelevant to modern society. The Bible is timeless. It is applicable, it is perfect. Because God is perfect and since He doesn’t need to change, neither do His words. The Bible doesn’t need to be reevaluated or modernized. Truth is not relative. It is absolute and God‘s Word is absolutely true. God‘s word is eternal, standing firm, and timeless. Everything else in the world will someday be gone theories and philosophies alike. But not God’s Word.
I have never met an animal I didn’t like, except a few humans. But that takes a lot to get to not like them. The Bible tells us humans are considered part of the animal kingdom, but have a special distinction due to their divine likeness to God.
Humans are the cruelest creatures on earth. We see it over and over again. Abusing other animals for their pleasures. Raping, killing, and torturing other people.
I’ve never had an animal trash my reputation. I’ve never had an animal spread rumors about me. I’ve never had an animal lie to me.
Recently I heard some owners their dog in a trash dumpster to die in about 111 degree heat. sadly this isn’t the only case of animal abuse in America. Yes, people are the cruelest people.
I was made fun of from the time I was in 1st grade to the end of high school. Everything about me was fair game. The way I talked, my weight, and the glasses on my face made me the brunt of the classroom jokes.
Between school and home life it was the perfect storm for my self-doubt and self-esteem. Everything was magnified between the two.
Depending on what was said, who said it, and when it was said, we can find ourselves believing a lie about who we are for a lifetime.
Think about the woman whose medical condition became her identity in Luke 8:43-48. She was not seen as a human being with thoughts, emotions, and I need to be loved. This woman was ostracized and often judged and criticized. I imagine gossip may have talked about her behind her back. She was isolated from others, everyone avoided her because of her blood issue she was considered unclean. She likely experienced loneliness, fear, and shame.
This woman endured her condition for 12 years. Mark 5:26 she suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and has spent all that she had, but instead of getting better she grew worse.
In of her condition, she had a faith to believe that if she touched the hem of Jesus’s garment, she would be healed.
This woman had resilient hope and it paid off. Immediately after she touched Jesus robe, her bleeding stopped, and she was made free from her suffering. Jesus’s response was “who touched me?
An omnipresent Savior ask a question of finite people. It wasn’t because He was unsure, whose hands touch the edge of his robe. He knows everything. Jesus knew the exact moment the woman’s fingers touches garment and caused power to leave his body.
He knew she had spent more than a decade in the shadows of society. He knew she was weighed down by her condition. He knew she needed to be publicly redefined. Luke 8:46 says Jesus persisted “someone touched me, I know that power has gone out from me.”
Jesus left the woman no choice, she had to make her presence known. She fell at the feet of Jesus in the presence of the crowd. Jesus could have chastised her for touching Him. he could have publicly condemned her action, but instead, He patiently listen to her. Then He said. “ Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”
Jesus not only declared her healed, He called her daughter. He didn’t say “unnamed woman or woman with a blood issue,” He selected an intimate and tender term.
For 12 years, this unnamed woman was an outcast and society. No one would have wanted to be near her, yet Jesus publicly acknowledge that she touched Him, then He applauded her faith and called her daughter. With that single act, He said, you are not alone. You are not isolated. You are a daughter of God.
When we place our faith in Jesus, we too become daughters of God. It doesn’t matter if we were previously considered outcast, or lived underneath a label placed on us by humanity. Embracing our identity of daughters of God far out ways the identity that has been or will ever be placed on us. With Him, we are full loved and redefined. He is our heavenly father, and what He says about us matters the most.
In Matthew 7:11 Jesus shares a comforting truth about our Heavenly Father,
“Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you.”
So, why do we struggle to ask God to bless us?
We might feel inadequate. “I don’t deserve God’s blessings, you might think, “I’m a bad person. I haven’t done anything to earn them.” Scripture tells us if we trust in Jesus, we have been saved by God’s grace. Grace is the biggest blessing we can ever receive.
God is the giver of all good gifts and every blessing.
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, and whom can be no variation, nor turning shadow” -James 1:17
God blesses those who trust in Him.
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose confidence is in the Lord. For he will be as a tree planted by the waters, who spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes, but its leaf will be green, and will not be concerned in the year of drought. It won’t cease from bearing fruit” –Jeremiah 17:7-8
God’s blessing are our only true source of wealth.
“The Lords blessings bring wealth, and He adds no trouble to it” -Proverbs 10:22
God blesses us even more than we need for every good cause.
“God I’d able to make all grace abound in you, that you, always having all sufficiency in everything, may abound to every good work” -2 Corinthians 7:8
God blesses us when we obey Him and do what it right.
“For the Lord God is a sun and a shield. The Lord will give grace and glory. He withholds no good thing from those who walk blamelessly” -Psalm 84:11
God blesses us because He enjoys doing it. Any parent can understand this. We love and bless our children.
“Out of the fullness of His grace, He had blessed us all, giving us blessings after another” -John 1:16 GNT
My most memorable road trip was to Iron Mountain Hot Springs in Colorado. It is Colorado’s best geothermal Hot Springs. There are 16 geothermal springs in along the Colorado river.
My husband and I went there for a romantic getaway. But it actually turned in a weekend of arguing about the hotel I made reservations at. Which caused him to sit the vehicle while I enjoyed the hot springs for the day. Then we came home, driving over 14 hours in 2 days was not my idea of a romantic getaway.
I never found out what the real issue that was causing tension. Sometimes in life a small issue sets us off that causes an emotional response. I’m sure it didn’t all have to do with the hotel not being up to his expectations.
The book of Psalms highlights two main ways in life. It’s begins with 3 life lessons in Psalm 1
“ this is the one who does not walk and sit with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but who is July is in the law of the Lord, who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by the streams of water which yield its fruit and season and whose leaf does not wither, whatever they do propers. Not so the wicked, they are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore, the wicked will not stand in the judgment, or sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked needs to destruction.”
This Psalm shows us that there are different ways in life. what goes into our life determines what comes out.
The way of the righteous and the way of the wicked are the two main ways in life. The way we live is essentially our path and each of them have consequences that go with them.
A noteworthy thing about different ways in life is that always are separate from the people that take them. In other words, the righteous and the wicked represents the type of people we can be at any given time based on how we are living at any given time.
We are always on a path. Whether we are aware of it or not our path is taking us somewhere. Each decision we make authors our destination, and so we must consciously ask ourselves where am I headed based on the decisions? I’m making am doing things more aligned with being righteous or wicked? The answers to these questions should cause us to adjust if necessary so we don’t end up in an undesired destination.
God watches over the way of the righteous. Psalm 1:6 Tells us that God watches over us when we are righteous. It’s a reminder that God is no respecter of people. Nobody is special. And at the end of the day, it’s whether we are righteous before God or not.
Being righteous places us on a path which He looks after and being up on a path that qualifies us for His blessings and protection.
What goes into our life determines what comes out.
The second lesson is in Psalm 1:2 and points to the secret of righteous person prospering in whatever they do, tells us that righteous people delight is in the law of the Lord and those who meditate on His law day and night. God’s word is what righteous people pour into their lives, and by pouring it into our lives, it produces the good that comes out of it.
This is the law nature. it can apply too many things. If you’re baking a cake, the ingredient you put in it determines what type of cake comes out. the time you spend studying for a test affects the grade you get. What you eat dictates your weight and vitality.
Since it’s a law, note that in addition to prospering like the righteous by doing what is described in Psalm 1 you can get just about anything out of life by putting whatever into it that’s required. If you are not getting the results, you desire, but you are putting in the work, reassess what’s really required for you to achieve what you desire.
We are like trees.
The third lesson we learned from Psalm 1 is that we are like trees. Seeing ourselves like trees, exposes certain truths about who we are as humans that can help us live a more fruitful life. This Psalm isn’t the only place in the Bible compares us to trees. Jeremiah 7:7-8 says something similar. It says,
“ But blessed is the one who trust in the Lord whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out his roots by the stream. It does not fear when he comes, it’s leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”
Our environment makes a difference.
Psalm 1:3 describes a person that delights in God’s law and meditate on it day and night “like a tree planted by streams of water,” like trees, we start out like seeds, and if the seed doesn’t water, soil, and sunlight it never grows. So although we may have it in ourselves to be great in life being in the wrong environment threatens our potential. Thankfully, unlike trees, which need to be lucky to be planted by water, we can change our environment if it isn’t helping us to grow.
We attract people by our fruit.
Seeing ourselves like trees is that we can attract people by our fruit. Fruit go hand-in-hand with trees, and just like there are scriptures to describe us as trees, there are scriptures that describe what we can do as fruits. Galatians 5:22-23 tells us about “the fruit of the spirit.” Matthew. 7:16 says, “we are known by our fruit.” The interesting thing about a tree fruit is that it is what attracts people. I have apple trees, pear, trees, and cherry trees in my yard. Every year, I am excited to get these fruits off my trees when they are ripe for picking.
The significance of this is, once we bear fruit in our lives, we will attract people. In the case of the fruit of the spirit, it is a light that leads others to the kingdom of God. When people see that you are prospering and whatever you do, they’ll notice.
Since there are different ways in life, choose the way that leads to godly success in this life and ultimately eternal life. Remember what goes into your life determines what comes out so make changes necessary to get what you want out of life. Given our similarity to trees, keep yourself in the right environment so that you live up to your potential and attract others to the kingdom of God with our fruits.
From Pity to Praise 