Living One Day At A Time

Many of us spend so much time worried about the future and stuck in the past, that the present moment passes us by.

The present time is the one we have control of. The future is something we can shape and the only way we can mold the future is to focus on the present.

Yesterday is what you had. Today is what you have. And the future is what you might have. So, why not focus on the one thing you can control -the present.

Thomas Oppong said, “Essentially, the only thing you have any influence over is today, so logically, the present is the only thing you have and can control,”

When we dwell on yesterday’s mistakes or tomorrow’s uncertainty we miss out on today. The only power we have is inside of us. Many people realize too late that the outside world is not going to hand you anything on a silver platter or fill the hole they have inside. No amount of chasing love, sex, drugs, alcohol, or work is going to fill that hole.

We believe that happiness is an “if-then” or “when-then” proposition: If I find love, I’ll be happy. If I get that job offer, I’ll be happy. When I publish my book, I’ll be happy. When I move into my new apartment, I’ll be happy. So we end up living our lives in a future state of mind that is completely detached from the present.”

Omar Itani

Living one day at a time allows us to truly experience our lives and find what we’re good at, it allows us to find our purpose instead of having someone else tell us what it is. Without purpose, we are just passing emotions, thoughts , and experiences around.

Don’t believe it when people tell you, you’re purpose will just come to you. The truth is that visualization and positive vibes won’t bring you any closer to your dreams, they can drag you backward into wasting your life on a fantasy. We can end up trying very hard and not finding any answers that we need and our dreams can begin to feel hopeless.

So many people, including me, have spent years in the life of “if, then” and “when, then.” this will have us all waiting on our deathbeds for something to happen. Waiting for the world to change is a losing proposition.

Living in the present doesn’t mean that you are in a state of bliss, because you will still think about the past and future, we all do. But when we don’t dwell on it as much we can reframe our priorities.

Each day we need to get up and stay focused on the day ahead and what we can do in those 12 hours. It’s vital to live one day at a time one day at a time because it empowers us to live daily. We can still have future goals, but it will help ensure they don’t remain as daydreams.

When we know your values, we are in a better position to develop meaningful goals and move forward in life.

A Need a Break

Do you need a break? From what?

I would definitely use a break in the form of a long vacation. Just to get away from the daily responsibilities for a little while. A time where I can I can just take my mind off of things. . And a change of scenery.

Taking a vacation reduces stress, improves mental health, and promotes better sleep. And prevents can also boosts our brainpower.

I’m pretty sure most people need a break every now and again. Especially during the stressful times we live in.

Open Your Heart

Every moment is an opportunity to live with an open heart or to live with walls up around your heart. God’s pursuit of us His steadfast love, gives us a pathway to open ourselves up with confidence and security. He wants to fill us with courage and grace as we experience His closeness to Him.

“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life” -Proverbs 4:23

In order to experience all the fullness of life God has in store for us we must live with an open heart. Whether it is from wounds or simply bad teachings we live closed-off and self-focused. We go through our days with walls around our hearts and rarely allow ours to receive the reality of God’s closeness from moment to moment.

But when God calls us for a deeper relationship He’s calling us to a lifestyle of encountering Him. He’s calling us to tear down the walls we’ve built up and trust that living openly and receptive we will bear life, peace, and joy.

John 15:4 -5 tells us, “Remain in me, and I in you. As the branch can’t bear fruit by itself unless in remains in the vine, so neither can you, unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who remains in me and I in him, the same bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

God wants to be with you, and speak and guide you, pour out His love He has for you, and remain with you throughout your day. He is not just a God of Sundays. His presence isn’t only available at worship services or at conferences. He is the God of every moment. He is Lord of all eternity. And He wants to give you good gifts all the time. He wants to give you wonderful life-giving fruit. But you must be willing to abide in Him. You must be willing to receive all He has to give.

Life comes from the heart both physically and spiritually. Just as the heart pumps blood out to the rest of your body, your heart pumps out spiritual life. Your heart is the place where God is constantly speaking. Your heart is what He cares about. It’s not enough to give Him your mind for understanding or your head for good works, He wasn’t you at your core. He wants your life to be wrapped up in His.

Take some time to open your heart to God. Look for any walls you’ve built up around your heart. Stop believing any lies or misconceptions that keep you from experiencing God’s love.

We tend to build walls around our hearts when we have been hurt. The problem is the walls we put up to keep certain people out, we also keep the love of God out.

If you’re living at times as if God isn’t with you you have probably built walls up between you and God. I urge you o cast down these walls at the feet of Jesus and open you’re heart.

This isn’t always an easy task because humans are very good at picking things back up after we’ve given them to God. The key is to submit them to God and release everything to Him and trust God to do good with them.

God constantly blesses us. He is constantly trying to give you good gifts. James 1:17 tells us, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of light with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”

Cultivating a lifestyle of noticing and receiving God’s blessings. Look for ways He is providing for you, and give Him thanks. Let your entire life be the reality of His closeness and experience the goodness throughout your day. I’m sure you will be filled with abundant blessings as you seek to live with an open heart towards God.

The Consequences Of Sin

There are many people who don’t take sin seriously. They think I can do anything I want, but they don’t consider the consequences.

“There is a way, that seems right to a man, but in the end, it leads to death“ -Proverbs 14:12

When was the last time you thought about the consequences of sin? I’m not talking about the little moral compass you have that tells you what is right or wrong. I’m talking about the personal effect it might have on different levels. Scripture tells us over and over that sin leads to death and destruction because these are consequences with going against the grain regarding how God designed us to live and obey Him.

Physically -Sin can cause an internal conflict between God and us, leading to health issues and taking a physical toll on our bodies. Depending on the sin we battle with, it can affect your blood pressure, and sleeping patterns or destruct our bodies depending on our lifestyle choices because of sin.

Because of my sin and not giving a thought to the consequences I have suffered many physical problems. My early drug use, caused me to get dentures at an early age, because of this my bones in my mouth are breaking down so I am unable to wear dentures at all. My cancer was a direct result of the unforgiveness, bitterness, hate, anger I carried with me for years. While these things are not a sin in results in numerous changes in heart rate, blood pressure, which increases the risk of depression, heart disease and diabetes among other diseases. The thing about unforgiveness, bitterness hate and anger is it causes us to poison ourselves, not the other person.

Emotionally -The Bible tells us that walking the wide or easy road leads to destruction. This goes beyond physical death and results in emptiness, hopelessness, and brokenness. Many who go down this path of sin because they are hoping it will fill them emotionally. Sadly, that is not the case. Many have experienced guilt, and depression, and have suicidal thoughts due to the emotional consequences of sin.

People look for an easy way out, the road with drugs, alcohol, sex, etc…anything pleasure that gives us instant gratification to try to fill the emptiness they feel inside. This leads to emotional problems down the road.

Spiritually -The most common consequence we understand is spiritual death. Any sin breaks off our relationship with God, which affects us spiritually. Many people they aren’t good enough to be in any relationship with God due to their sins. So they never attempt to turn to or back to God. And the devil is pretty dang good at making us feel like we are not good enough.

Take a few seconds and consider the cost because there’s no sin in this world that is worth the consequences.

What God Asks Of Us

God expects His people to act with justice. He expects us to be “doers of the Word.” We need to do the things God asks us to do them as best we can.

The problem is that every day each one of us has choices to make. And there is a multitude of voices from people who have their own unique ways of following God. When faced with such complexities perhaps the solution is to go back to the basics.

The first thing God desires of His people is that they do Justice, not simply assent the justice is good, but we are to do justice. Our actions reflect our beliefs. God wants His people to reflect His character. He is a just God and so His are to bring about justice in their communities. We are to seek out and support the broken, and to liberate the oppressed.

The second thing God desires is that His people love kindness. Kindness is not merely an ephemeral concept we can add to our lives, but it is something we are to love and cling to. Kindness demands that we live charitably, speak peaceably, and serve others passionately. The justice God looks for is kindness is a second person quality. It requires us to be in a relationship and have fellowship with others.

The third and final thing God desires His people to do is to walk humbly with Him. There is a certain pride that can sneak into a believer’s life. A pride that we follow God, and so therefore we must be very important people. Or so our ego can tell us. God is in heaven and we are on earth. We do not live and exist solely for our own glory, but rather we live to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. We need to humbly understand that we are not the center of the universe, but have a tremendous opportunity to share about the One who is that center.

When life gets complex and we feel left behind, we need to remind ourselves of the basics of faith. God’s desire for you and me is not a hidden mystery or secret, We are people who should do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly before God.

By focusing on the basics, we see the principles that will enable us to live faithful and fruitful lives for God.

The Most Important Invention Of My Lifetime

The most important invention in your lifetime is…

In 1972 the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanner was invented. It creates images of the body using a large magnet and radio waves.

The first successful images were made in July 1977. Since then it has saved many people. This machine can help diagnose cancer, strokes, aneurysms, and spinal issues as well as many other things.

It is a tool that doctors use to see inside the body to understand what is happening in disease. It shows soft tissues like the brain, and the heart, as well as muscles and organs.

God’s Promises

The Bible records two kinds of promises from the Lord -unconditional and conditional. An unconditional promise is one whose fulfillment rests solely with God. His commitment is independent of people and situations. For example, would be His covenant to never send another flood to destroy the earth (Genesis 9:11). No matter how the people on earth behave, He will not send another flood.

The second type of promise is conditional, which means the Lord is willing to act under certain circumstances. Romans 10:9 tells us that salvation is promised to those who confess with their mouth and believe in their heart that Jesus is Lord. We are saved when we genuinely trust in the Savior.

These types of conditional promises are often written as an “if-then” statement and involve our cooperation. For example 2 Chronicles 7:14 says,

“If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and heal their land.”

God will do exactly what He’s promised. But He requires our obedient cooperation before fulfilling His conditional promises. To receive the blessing, we must satisfy the conditions He has set.

In order to receive the promises from God, we need to check to be sure that we are carrying out our part.

The Most Ideal Day

Describe your most ideal day from beginning to end.

My ideal day would start by waking up with a cup of fresh coffee in my hand, and spending my time with the Lord with no distractions. Going to a friend’s house for coffee. And being able to spend at least two hours at the gym swimming and enjoying the hot tub. Taking a long nap before I have to cook supper.

After supper being able to take my dog for a walk and enjoy time in nature. And ending my day reading and relaxing.

Perspectives

How do significant life events or the passage of time influence your perspective on life?

After being a child of emotional abuse, along with being neglected. My early adulthood was tough. I allowed the effects of my abuse to almost destroy my life. I was mentally weak and easily gave up. The nightmares and flashbacks were horrible.

I learned to make myself a priority and be kind to myself. I built up an emotional resilience and inner strength. I learned coping skills to be able to adapt to life challenges and stressors.

I learned through trial and error to see problems differently. Because of my childhood experiences, I can see a more complete picture of any situation.

Practicing mindfulness and meditation techniques has positively changed my life. And having a good support group around me, I heal more every day.

Through everything I’ve been through I’ve developed a positive perspective on life. I’ve become a strong person. I have a greater appreciation of life. I have more self-esteem and a renewed sense of meaning and purpose.

I have developed an increased personal strength and sense of spirituality which has allowed me to produce self-efficacy which has leaf to perseverance in the face of obstacles I face in life.

Life Can Hurt But God Can Heal

Life can really hurt sometimes, can’t it? Whether it’s something we bring on ourselves or it’s something that just happens, there are times when life just really hurts.

Even though we know that life can sometimes be a painful struggle, we also know that there is help for the pain. Life can hurt but God can heal. God can do amazing things in our lives and heal us from our hurts.

All through the Bible we see examples of God miraculously healing someone from their physical ailments. And probably most of us can attest to seeing someone who’s been miraculously healed from a physical ailment.

In 2014 I was diagnosed with bladder cancer. The Doctor gave me 1 year to live. After I had surgery to remove a grapefruit-size tumor from my bladder, I was sure I would die. I began seeking God more than ever. I decided that I was going to give satan the fight of his life. And I would end up winning. I listened carefully and obeyed God’s every word. The doctors said they couldn’t even see a trace of the cancer. And I was the closest I’ve ever been with God.

We have all read about healing or we’ve seen them with our own eyes. But I think that many times we miss the point of the miracles that God had done. We seem to think that the miracle was about freeing someone of their physical discomfort. But we need to understand that when God works a miracle of physical healing it’s most to present a picture of spiritual healing,

This is deemed true for several reasons. First of all physical healings are selective. Not everyone gets healed of their physical problems. The Apostle Paul himself asked God to heal his disease (the thorn in his flesh) but God kept saying “no.” Obviously there was a bigger purpose from His plan other than immediate healing.

If you think about it physical healings are temporary. Every person in the Bible who was miraculously healed in some way eventually died. People throughout history who have been healed by God died. Physical healings are temporary.

But when God does choose to physically heal someone, the reaction of everyone who saw it or experienced it shows us that when God works a miracle of physical healing it’s mostly to present a picture of spiritual healing.

Too often we focus on the miracle when we should be focused on the message of the miracle. The message that spiritual healing is available to us.

Yes, we should pray for miracles to relieve the suffering of sicknesses. It’s biblical. Many times God works as a result of our prayers. But when He does work a miraculous healing of the most, look at the picture of how He can heal our souls.

There are many people who need healing, but many people also need spiritual healing. Our souls, our spirit, our lives are plagued with sickness and even death. Life can hurt, but God can heal.

Whatever the sickness is God wants to heal us. Maybe our sickness is because of our sins. Our thought life is sick with impurity. Our attitude is sick with negativity, Our self-discipline is sick with weakness. Our relationships are such with unforgiveness.

I completely believe that my bladder cancer was because of my unforgiveness i had carried all of my life. Sometimes we don’t deal with the spiritual sickness in our lives. And if we let them go untreated for too long than that sickness kills the area of our lives in was infecting.

Untreated illness can lead to death -physically and spiritually. If there’s an area of your life that seems to be dead, trust God for a spiritual resurrection. God can resurrect the dead areas in our lives, we must simply have to trust Him.

To-Do-Lists

Something on your “to-do list” that never gets done.

Over the course of the day, it’s easy to get caught up in the little things that come up. I start my to-do list with the most important tasks of the day and determine how long it will take to get those tasks done.

The problem with to-do lists is we optimistically assume most of the day’s tasks will take less time than they will actually take. It’s easy to sociable a lengthy list of things we “think” we can get done in z few minutes.

To-do lists are never quite done because we always roll them over to tomorrow.