Beauty in your life- change your thoughts for a positive outlook
American schools have gotten so past the fundamentals that students need to survive in the world. I think we need to get back to basics like reading, writing, and basic mathematics, and true American history.
We also need to implement a basic home cooking and sewing, as well as shop, which taught kids a simple life skill such as welding, or painting , and building wood pieces.
Most young adults don’t know how to unplug a toilet, fix a leaky roof, or change a flat tire.
My household goblin is a feline
He has some funny quirks. He flips over his food dish, after he eats, and won’t eat in it until he sees me washing it. He will bring me this toys when he wants to play fetch. And every time I open a book he comes and demands attention.
I think this picture shows his meowfia (Mafia boss) behavior.
There is something powerful about the way the Holy Spirit transforms our lives after we accept Jesus as our Savior.
The Holy Spirit gives believers the power to live like Jesus and be bold witnesses for Him. Of course, there are many ways He does this, so let’s talk about the most common ones.
Jesus said in John 16:7, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you, but if I depart, I will send Him to you.”
If Jesus said it is best for us that He goes away, then it must be because there is something valuable about what the Holy Spirit came to do.
Acts 1:8 gives us a clue, it says, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. You will be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in all Jude’s and Samaria and to the uttermost parts of the earth.”
From this scripture, we can get a concept of what the Holy Spirit does in the life of a true believer. He sends us out as witnesses and gives us the power to do it effectively.
From my experience I have felt that we have to step out in faith and trust that everything will fall into place. I will be the first to admit this is difficult for me. And on more than one occasion I have let my flesh take over and become too sacred to approach a stranger when the Holy Spirit told me to “talk to a person.” Or witness to them. But, I will never stop repenting for not acting on the urge I felt or trying to do what the Holy Spirit asks of me.
The Holy Spirit works in a believer’s life, and there is one common goal we all share: to make us more like Jesus.
He works by renewing our minds to be like the mind of Jesus. He does this by convicting us of sin and leading us to repentance.
Through repentance, He wipes out what was dirty in us and allows us to bear good fruit. While we allow Him to continue nourishing that fruit, we grow to resemble Jesus more.
Galatians 5:22-23 tells us, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control, against such things there is no law.”
The Holy Spirit also works in us through the Word of God. He uses the power of Scripture to convict us and influence our way of thinking. He does this to shape us into godly people.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 says that, “Every scripture is God breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness, that each person who belongs to God may be complete, throughly equipped for every good work.”
When we build a closer relationship with the Holy Spirit, He will pull us away from things we have in our lives that don’t please Him. This can be as simple as inappropriate music that becomes distasteful to us because of negative messages that it brings.
The best advice someone given in one sentence, 8 small words that changed my life.
“You Have The Power To Change Your Thoughts.”
This works because thoughts are not facts, but rather habitual patterns that we retrain. It works best when we can catch ourselves in a thought, check to see if it is a fact, and change it, if it is not true.
I think we are not a victim of our circumstances, we are the architect of our own reality.
Words are powerful tools that can build up or tear down, and they frequently leave a lasting emotional impact. They can deeply influence someone’s confidence, sense of belonging, and mental well being.
There is an old children’s English rhyme that goes “Sticks and stones can break my bones but words can never hurt me.” This childhood phrase is far from the truth.
When someone uses harsh, belittling, or exclusionary language, it can cause genuine emotional distress. The fact is few things have the power to ruin a relationship like critical, assuming, defamatory, hostile and inaccurate, or even slanderous words. The reason people do this is because of insecurities, jealousy, or that it makes them feel powerful.
Using our mouths as a fountain of life requires deliberate thought and mindfulness. Ephesians 4:29 is a Biblical encouragement where we are challenged to avoid unwholesome talk and instead use only words that are helpful to those who listen.
“Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but only what is good for building others up as the need may be, that it may give grace to those who hear.”
The simple answer is everything. I used to be a chronic worrier. I felt that if I weren’t in control of everything and everyone the world would fall apart. Then someone told me, that I could change my thoughts. If I didn’t like what I was worried about, I could change it. I slowly began transitioning from being a chronic worrier into having a calmer mindset.
That required me to shift my focus from unpredictable outcomes to actionable present-moment behaviors. I began training my brain through intentional techniques, broke the cycle of continuous low-level stress, and found peace of mind.
The human brain is a marvel of biological efficiency and adaptability. It operates on about 20 watts of power, that’s roughly the energy needed to dim a lightbulb, meaning the brain can effortlessly process meaning, adapt to new environments, and fuel our consciousness.
I learned I could train my brain to perceive different situations. I could change my thoughts and perspective to become a calmer, peaceful, person, all by learning to trust God in every circumstance. And it began by trusting God almighty because He has everything under control.
There is a distance between most people and the Holy Spirit. The relationship between the Holy Spirit and us is not physical, but relational, caused by human choice, sin, and spiritual apathy rather than God’s absence.
Many people feel that God or the Holy Spirit is far away, yet Scripture teaches that God is omnipresent. The barrier exists because people harden their hearts or sin. This creates functional distance.
When people chase worldly desires or ignore moral truths, their spiritual perception grows dull.
In John 14:15-16 Jesus spoke these words to His disciples during the Last Supper in an upper room in Jerusalem before His crucifixion.
“If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever.”
One thing I’ve found is that people will say they know the Holy Spirit, but knowledge of Him and intimacy with him are two different things.
If you’ve been saved the Holy Spirit comes to lives in us. While He is so close to us, few even acknowledge Him. We must yield our lives to Him and walk by His guidance, and live under His control rather than the desires of the flesh. Ephesians 5:17-18 tells us, “Don’t be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Don’t be drunken with wine, in which is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit.”
Having a good relationship with the Holy Spirit means letting go of personal control and choosing a daily walk of trust, active listening, and simple obedience. To achieve spiritual intimacy with the Holy Spirit requires total dedication and quiet time to listen to divine guidance.
The Bible tells us the Holy Spirit has divine attributes. He is Omnipresent –Present everywhere at all times. (Psalm 139:7-8). He is Omniscience – All knowing searching the deep things of God ( 1 Corinthians 2:10-11). He is Omnipotent – All powerful, active in creation and miracles (Romans 15:19).
The Holy Spirit is our advocate that supports us. He allows the world to know that God is with you. He allows His anointing and power to be on display in our lives.
He is our comforter. He is something we can wrap around ourselves to keep warm. The Holy Spirit is our covering. He surrounds us and wraps us in love, peace, and presence of God. He gets us through troubled times and will forever be there when we need Him and most. Yet most people do not acknowledge Him as they move through their lives.
He is our intercessor. Although Jesus is our intercessor with God, the Holy Spirit also acts on our behalf. He prays the will of God through us when we don’t know what to say (Romans 8:26).
He is our strengthener. As our strengthener, the Holy Spirit provides additional stamina when we need it, spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically. He is our personal trainer and enforcement. If fear or the desire to quit overwhelms us, the Holy Spirit can infuse our heart with the power to stand strong.
He is our stand by. As our standby, the Holy Spirit is ready for duty or deployment, especially in times of emergency. We can rely on him as a resource to move in the places we ask Him.
He is our counselor. He’s the one qualified employee equipped to give us guidance in our personal, business, and ministry of life. He has answers to every social, relational, business, and psychological situation or problem.
He is our helper. By revealing the word and heart of God, the Holy Spirit support and helps us walk out our lives as believers so we can be a powerful witness for Jesus.
This is who the Holy Spirit is in our lives. When we yield to him, allowing him to manifest through us, our life can become an example of Jesus to the world. Other people can be drawn to you and God will get the glory.
We were created to live a life dominated by the Holy Spirit. When we step into that reality, we can find strength and peace like we’ve never known.
There are people who seek total control, supreme power, or the ability to create and destroy life. Whether it’s the human drive for control or human pride its dangerous.
There is a huge problem that will come along with it. Making choices about life, death, and nature without having the wisdom to handle the outcome. Along with using power to rule over people or force their personal will on the world.
The Bible references Ai as an ancient Canaanite city meaning “a heap of ruins” in Hebrew, this is found in Joshua 7-8 and it sounds identical to AI.
In Revelation 13 it speaks of an image of the beast that is given breath and given the ability to speak as a symbolic foreshadowing of conscious machines or robotics.
The Book of Isaiah warns against bowing down to man-made idols of wood and metal. Theologians speak of the risk of treating human inventions like AI with misplaced awe or supreme wisdom.
Recently Yuval Noah Harari warned publicly about AI’s potential to invent new religions and sacred texts. I would suggest that if you can get your hands on the written Word of God, because anything other than that can be manipulated into something other than the truth of God. And people will get deceived easily if they don’t have a good physical grasp of God’s truths.
I think we are all in for a wild ride and we had better know our Savior or the world and Satan will take over
”I will never hate anyone. But I will distance myself from people who do not value me.”
I have a few travel destinations, but definitely not 10 that the writing prompt suggests. I would like to visit a beach towns, But I would love to visit a few off the main beach towns, such as Anna Maria Island, The Gulf Shores in Alabama, or Siesta Keys in Florida, or Carmel-by-the -Sea in California. Somewhere that the tourists don’t visit, and off the beaten path.
Every prophet in the Bible carried a burden of heavy spiritual and emotional weight from God. It is both the solemn truth a prophet must speak and the deep pain they feel for people.
The nature of the burden is a divine weight from God that feels like a fire burning inside, that is impossible to hold back.
The emotional pain of sorrow from seeing things the way God sees them, often watching people turn away.
The hard truth that delivers messages of coming judgment, correction, and calls to turn back to goodness.
There is a cost that the prophet must endure as a messenger for God. They face anger, loneliness, and pushback from the very people they are trying to help.
The cost of exhaustion carries a strong sense of duty and urgency for the spiritual state of others.
Take the prophet Jeremiah, known as the weeping prophet because he cried often and felt deep sadness for his people.
He cried over the sins of Judah and the bad things nags that would happen to them. He wrote in Jeremiah 9:1 that he wished his eyes were a fountain of tears so he could cry day and night for his people.
It is said he was thought to have written the Book of Lamentations. A sad biblical book full of grief over the fall and destruction of Jerusalem.
He faced hard times. He lived alone because God told him not to marry or have children because of the coming trouble.
People made fun of him, hit him, put him in prison, and threw him into a muddy pit for speaking God’s warnings.
He faced severe rejection while serving a demanding 40-year ministry. His core duties involved warning Judah that judgment was coming through his scribe Baruch. He was burdened and paid the cost for being a messenger for God. He prayed and wept for the spiritual survival of his nation. He was chosen by God to be a messenger for a people who thought they knew better than God.
God demands total obedience despite our personal cost. Living in obedience to God sometimes brings Isolation, rejection, and speaking out an unpopular message.
God’s Word is an unstoppable Internal fire. It often comes from an internal conflict. Jeremiah 20:9: Jeremiah experienced deep depression and tried to quit speaking in God’s name. But he had a burning fire that was shut up in his bones, and he couldn’t hold it in. He was compelled to speak, because true prophecy is not a choice, and he was consumed by the weight of the message.
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